Monday 9th January 2017 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

NNPC Invites Process Licensors to Audit Refineries Targets 60 per cent capacity utilisation

Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said yesterday that it would invite external licensors

to undertake process audits on its four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna. It said that when the process audit is concluded, its importation of petroleum

products into the country would reduce and the capacity utilisation of the refineries increased to 60 per cent by the end of 2017. A statement by the Group

General Manager, Public Affairs of the corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja stated that its Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, disclosed this during a

courtesy call on him by the management of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust Newspapers. Baru explained that the NNPC was keen on

ending petroleum products importation in a few years and that a concrete plan was on the ground to achieve this. Continued on page 8

MTN Kicks As Court Orders Another Forfeiture of N8bn to FG...

Page 11

Monday 9 January, 2017 Vol 21. No 7935. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Presidency: How We Selected Beneficiaries of N5000 Stipend to Poorest Nigerians Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

BRASS FERTILIZER COMPANY MAKING STRIDES

Seated L-R: Chief Ben Okoye, Executive Vice Chairman, Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company (BFPCL) and Mr. John Goodridge, Head of Marketing & Origination Europe, Africa & Russia, BP Oil International. Standing L-R: Gareth Hodder of White & Case LLP; Sanjay Patel of BFPCL; Mychael Obaseki, BP Nigeria; Tom Fox, BP London; Abhishank Jajur, Taylor-Dejongh; Rema Shrestha and Alex Moulsdale, both of BP London, at the official signing of the $6 billion methanol off take agreement between BFPCL and BP Oil International, held in London… recently

The Presidency yesterday said that it used the World Bank’s Community Based Targeting (CBT) model, established two years ago, to select the beneficiaries of its N5000 monthly stipends to the poorest Nigerians. The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja said the CBT model of the World Bank had been used two years ago to identify most of the beneficiaries in the pilot states. He said the World Bank was also an active agent Continued on page 8

Buhari Pledges to Recover More Abducted Chibok Girls

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja and Victor Ogunjein in Ado Ekiti

As the kidnapped Chibok Secondary School girls spend 1000 days in captivity, President Muhammadu Buhari has given further assurance that the federal government will spare no efforts to recover those still in captivity.

The president gave the assurance in a statement yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, to commemorate the 1000th day of the girls’ abduction. Adesina said: "As the

country, nay, the world, today commemorates the 1,000th day of the abduction of schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, President Muhammadu Buhari has recommitted the Federal Government to securing the

release of the youngsters kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents." "We are grateful to God that on this landmark day, we are not completely in the depths of despair, but buoyed with hope that our daughters

will yet re-join their families and loved ones. Three of them have been recovered by our diligent military, while the freedom of 21 others was secured through engagement with their captors. We are hopeful that many more

Ex-Niger State Governor, Kure, Dies.. Page 11

will still return as soon as practicable," he quoted the president as saying. Adesina said Buhari reiterated his pledge, pronounced many times in the past, that government would not spare any efforts to reunite the girls with their Continued on page 8

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

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MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT

Fulani Herdsmen Invade Adamawa Community, Kill 3 Policemen, 2 others

Daji Sani in Yola Suspected Fulani Herdsmen have invaded Kwayine Community in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, killing five persons, including three mobile policemen and two civilians. Several people were wounded, while the community was completely burnt down. An eyewitness reported that the suspected herdsmen invaded the community on Saturday night when the locals

were preparing to go to bed. The eyewitness said that the herdsmen and the policemen manning the area had a dual gun-battle for several hours before they overpowered the police and entered the community, burning it down. Confirming the incident, the Police Command in the state on Sunday confirmed the killing of three mobile policemen and the disappearance of two others. The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Othman Abubakar, who confirmed the

development to journalists in Yola, said that four rifles belonging to the policemen were also missing. The dead policemen, he said, were among those drafted to secure Kwayine, Gidan Dadi and Karlahi communities after clashes that followed the killing of 47 cattle in the area. “Fulani militia attacked the three villages and we lost three of our gallant MOPOL while two are missing,” Othman said, adding: “We have constituted a high powered search team

and by the special grace of God we are going to recover our men. On the side of the civilians, two bodies have so far been recovered.” The police spokesman said the police killed scores of the militia, explaining, however that the survivors escaped with their dead colleagues. Othman said more policemen had been drafted to the affected areas. The state Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Bindow, condemned the attack, which

occurred less than 24-hours after a government delegation on peace building mission visited the area. The governor in a statement by the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, directed security agencies to deploy more personnel in the area. He described the attack as unfortunate and sad especially coming after the recent peace and confidence building efforts. “The Governor feels highly disturbed that after he had

sent delegations on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to interface with the different communities in the area, a clash could occur so soon thereafter,” he said. He assured residents of government’s resolve to restore peace to the affected areas and protect the lives of every citizen. Bindow saluted the gallantry of the police in confronting the attackers and urged them not to relent until normalcy is fully restored.

(men, women and youths) in the conversation around the criteria and parameters for determining the poorest people. He explained further that the groups would then be encouraged to identify those households that fell within the criteria that the community itself determined, and told that the information was required for government's planning purposes. He said various poverty criteria had been thrown up so far, explaining that in some cases, people had said it was the number of times they ate, the number of times the fumes of firewood went up from the house, the size of farmland or type of crops grown. After the discussions, Akande said the groups would resume in plenary and report back the criteria and parameters discussed. The CBT team, according to him, would then compile the criteria and parameters and ask each group to return to their break-out sessions and begin

to identify the households in the community that had been identified as fitting the criteria and parameters. "Once that is done at the groups, everybody comes together again with names compiled by each group. Now, when the same name is featured in at least two of the three groups, it is deemed qualified to be listed on the Social Register," he added. He said that at that stage, bank accounts were opened for each of the caregivers by capturing the biometric data of households identified as among the poorest and vulnerable. He said states had been updated on the requirements for the engagement by the federal team, adding that once the lists from sates were enumerated, their details were uploaded onto a server at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, which hosts the electronic platform that validates all the payments of the FG for the SIPs. He said banks had been

informed that payments must be at community level, so those banks engaged for the pilot stage had in turn engaged several payment agents, to ensure cash-out to the beneficiaries in their places of residence.

Failure

the federal government of contradicting itself by its recent declaration and celebration of the capture of Sambisa forest as the end of the war on terror. According to her: “This action is contrary to the pledge that Mr President and the military have made repeatedly that they would not declare victory without the rescue of our Chibok Girls and all other abducted victims of terrorist abduction. “Sambisa’s ‘Camp Zero’ is the same stronghold in which the Federal Government stated that the girls were being held and the 21 released were from there. Should parents, communities, Nigerians and the world assume that the Federal Government has given up on the Chibok Girls and other abductees? “As with the Jonathan administration, the Buhari administration’s response to issues about the Chibok girls is representative of its handling of other issues – insecurity, welfare of internally displaced persons, military welfare, corruption and poor governance. “Painfully, #Day1000 of their tragic abduction is here and there has been no status report provided by the federal government.”

PRESIDENCY: HOW WE SELECTED BENEFICIARIES OF N5000 STIPEND TO POOREST NIGERIANS in the selection process, explaining, however, that the data collected belonged to Nigeria. Akande gave the names of the nine pilot states where the programme had started as Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo and clarified that reference to Ogun, instead of Osun-among the pilot states- in his last press statement on the issue was an error. He explained that in eight of the nine pilot states, the selection process had taken place at least two years ago under a programme supported by the World Bank in an agreement entered into directly with the state governments. He said the ninth state, Borno, was added because of the situation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). According to him, the process of selecting beneficiaries is fair and transparent and without mischief. He said: "There is no way you can describe this process

as partisan. The president is president of the entire country and the Social Intervention Programmes are for all Nigerians as the case may be.” In addition to the nine pilot States, and with the release of funds for the programmes, the CBT model has now commenced in other states. He said: "There is no way anyone can describe the selection of the beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) as partisan as the beneficiaries from eight of the nine pilot states were picked even before this administration came into office. “First, the officials at federal level, working with the state officials, identify the poorest Local Government Areas, using an existing poverty map for the state, then the LG officials identify the poorest communities in the LGAs and we send our teams there. "The first thing our team does after selection of the LGAs is to select members of the NOA, the LGA and community officials to form

the CBT team. Then we train the selected officials on how to conduct focus group discussions at community level. These focus groups comprise of women, men, youths, as the community determines. "After training them, the CBT teams now go to each of their communities to sensitize the leaders, including traditional rulers, on the CBT process and the necessity for objectivity and openness in the process. At that meeting, they firm up a date to convene a community meeting at a designated location within the community. "On the set date, discussions are held in the local languages, using terminologies that resonate in that community. The CBT team will explain to the community the purpose of the gathering, i.e. to determine the parameters of poverty upon which persons can be described as poor and vulnerable within the context of that community." He said the CBT teams would then engage each group

BUHARI PLEDGES TO RECOVER MORE ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS families. "I salute the fortitude of the distraught parents. As a parent also, I identify with their plight. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years, and today, it is 1,000 days. The tears never dry, the ache is in our hearts. But hope remains constant, eternal, and we believe our pains will be assuaged. Our hopes will not be shattered, and our hearts will leap for joy, as more and more of our daughters return. It is a goal we remain steadfastly committed to," the president said. Buhari commended all those who had been in the vanguard for the recovery of the girls, both nationally and internationally. "Someday soon, we will all rejoice together,” he said, adding: “Our intelligence and security forces are unrelenting, and whatever it takes, we remain resolute. Chibok community, Nigeria, and, indeed, the world, will yet rise in brotherhood, to welcome our remaining girls back home. We trust God for that eventuality."

Real Story Yet to be Told Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose,

has said the real story about the abduction of the Chibok girls has not yet been told, insisting that the truth about the incidence would be known one day. In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the governor said the federal government needed to tell Nigerians why the 21 rescued Chibok girls were yet to return to their families since they were released by the insurgents in October last year. "Have you ever seen anyone that will be in captivity for that long and won't be eager to reunite with his or her family two months after regaining freedom?” he queried, adding: "If the girls are truly Chibok girls, their freedom must be total. They must also be allowed to tell their own stories.” Commiserating with families of the army captain and five other soldiers reportedly killed by Boko Haram insurgents during an attack on the Nigeria Army Brigade in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Fayose doubted the federal government’s claim that Boko Haram had been defeated and maintained that the war against the insurgents could only be won if federal government was transparent

with Nigerians. "If indeed Boko Haram was already defeated, where are those suicide bombings and attacks coming from?" he asked, adding: "Nigerians are faced with many wars now, Boko Haram is just one of them and it is worrisome that we are not being told the truth about anything," he stated. According to him: "It is like a patient telling his doctor that nothing is wrong with him. How will such patient be treated?" He said it was ridiculous that the federal government was celebrating the recovery of what they called Boko Haram flag as a sign of defeat of the insurgents while more daring attacks were being made by the insurgents against the army, killing the nation’s gallant soldiers. "The reality is that insecurity has increased in Nigeria more than President Muhammadu Buhari met it. Herdsmen have even killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram in the last one year while hundreds have died through extrajudicial killings by security agencies," the governor said.

FG is a Monumental

Also commemorating the 1000th day of the abduction, the leader of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, described the failure of the federal government to rescue the remaining 195 Chibok girls after 1,000 days in captivity as monumental. She spoke while addressing members of the BBOG movement in Abuja and said the inability of the federal government to rescue the remaining girls was the saddest occurrence in the nation’s history. Ezekwesili said: “We never imagined that it will last more than 30 days, then 60 days came, then two years. We have had two governments and yet we have girls who want to be educated still in the grip of terrorists and on Day 500 we had our on our global week of action and we did say that 500 days was too long for citizens to wait, for parents to wait for their daughters to be rescued. “Today, it is 500 times two. You can imagine how much of a monumental failure it is that 195 of our Chibok girls are still in terrorist captivity.” A co-leader of the group, Ms. Aisha Yesufu, accused

NNPC INVITES PROCESS LICENSORS TO AUDIT REFINERIES "We are putting together various programmes to ensure that we achieve at least 60 per cent local refining by the end of this year. It is the procedure or methodology that we are changing a little bit, we are focusing on the process licensors to come and audit our processes and they have already started auditing most of our process units in the various refineries," said Baru. He further explained: "We hope if we do all these systematically, we should be able to get about 60 per cent level of capacity utilisation by the end of this year or at worst by the first quarter of 2018 and get to 80 per cent by the end of 2018 so that we could locally be able to supply half of our PMS requirements. "Also, with other efforts in terms of other refineries coming in place, we should be able to quit importation in a few years." He urged the media to help in enlightening the public on the dangers of pipeline vandalism, which he said had become a drain on the nation’s economy.

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

Free from Boko Haram, Nigeria’s Chibok Girls Are Kept Silent

STARTERS

Two-Minute Briefing NEWS MTNK cksasCourtOrdersAnother

MONDAY JANUARY

NEWS

for comment, following a familiar pattern. People who have spoken to the freed girls say they have stories the government does not want told, including that three Chibok girls were killed during Nigerian Air Force bombings of Boko Haram camps. Amina, who is believed to be at least 20 though her uneducated mother says she has no idea, has insisted that her child's father is a victim, like herself, who was kidnapped by Boko Haram and forced to fight for the insurgents. Binta says that when her daughter was rescued — hunters found Amina, her 4-month-old baby girl and the father in a forest — she said she didn't want to go back to school. But her mother and brother, Noah, persuaded her to take up Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's promise to give her the best education possible. "They told her that soon she will be starting school," Noah Ali Nkeki told the AP in an interview. He got the news in a rare phone call from his sister on Thursday, the first time he had heard from her in three months. He cannot call her. Officials call him using a blocked number and then put Amina on the line. The girl's mother doesn't get to speak to her because she doesn't own a cell phone and reception in her village is poor. "I don't know what the government is trying to do. They have had her now for seven months," Noah said. Binta, a gaunt woman whose eyes mirror the pain of a hard life and whose hands are rough from farming, was widowed five years ago. Eleven of her children have died, in childbirth or soon afterward. Abina and Noah are all she has. "I wonder how my only grandchild is doing," she said of Amina's daughter, Safia. "Do you think she's walking by now?" Binta was suicidal after her daughter's kidnapping, community leaders have told the AP. There were reports Boko Haram threatened to sell the kidnapped girls into slavery, marry them off to fighters and force them to convert to Islam. Chibok is a Christian enclave in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria. Binta rallied after she got a message from Amina in 2015. In Chibok, two male Boko Harem fighters accompanied by a teenage girl carrying ammunition came across an elderly woman too feeble to flee. The girl, speaking the Chibok language that the fighters could not understand, told the woman, "I am Amina. My mother's name is Binta in the village of Mbalala. Please tell her you saw me." The elderly woman described the SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE

S/N CUSTOMER

OF SKYE BANK

'S SALES FOR

OF SKYE BAN

K'S SALES

NAME

FOR THE WEE

NOV. 21 - NOV.

K OCT. 24

ITEM OF IMPORT

MARKIE IDOWU

THE WEEK

25 2016

- OCT. 28 2016

PRIMLAKS INDUSTRIE S LIMITED DATE OF FUND SCHOOL FEES ABSOL FARMS PURCHASE PAYMENT NIGERIA LIMITED EXCHANGE HOT ROD RATE ACHIME & STEEL SHEET AMOUNT COMPANT ENTERPRI 24/10/2016 POULTRY 5. SES NIGERIA AMARILO PLASTICS FEEDING EQUIOMEN LIMITED. LIMITED 315.00 24/10/2016 TS AND ACCESSOR AGRICULTU 6. ARS NIGERIA RAL WATER IES 1,095.00 LIMITED PUMP 315.00 25/10/2016 DIOCTYLE 7. COBEF INTERNATI PHTHALAT 19,675.50 E (DOP) ONAL LIMITED 315.00 25/10/2016 DISPERSIO 8. DE MASTERS M INPLASTIC 20,408.95 PALACE INVESTME S 315.00 25/10/2016 POLY VINYL 9. NT LIMITED INTERNATI CHLORIDE 20,000.00 ONAL TOBACCO 315.00 25/10/2016 AUTOMATI COMPANY 10. JUDDY-BOL C WAFER PLC 18,000.00 EMA INDUSTRIE BAKING MACHINE 315.00 25/10/2016 SPARE PARTS S LIMITED 11. KHAIRAT AND BATTER PHARMACY 23,702.00 MIXER 315.00 AND 25/10/2016 GALVANIZE VET COMPANY 12. ODUGBEM D IRON WIRE LIMITED 20,560.00 I OLUGBENG 315.00 25/10/2016 A OXYTETRA 13. PRISM CYCLINE INJECTION STEEL MILLS 20,600.00 LIMITED 315.00 25/10/2016 SCHOOL FEES 14. ADETOLA PAYMENT 10,259.60 ADEGOKE 315.00 25/10/2016 WHITE QUICKLIME 15. JOY INFINITIO 25,072.09 GLOBAL BUSNIESS 315.00 25/10/2016 SCHOOL FEES 16. ONI TITILOYE DEALINGS PAYMENT 15,000.00 LIMITED 315.00 25/10/2016 AGRICULTU 17. BESTLIME RAL EQUIPMEN INTERNATI 2,341.92 T 315.00 ONAL LIMITED 26/10/2016 SCHOOL FEES 18. POLYTHEN PAYMENT 15,870.00 E ENTERPRI 315.00 26/10/2016 SES NIGERIA WHITE QUICKLIME 19. POLY LIMITED PRODUCTS 5,318.00 NIGERIA LIMITED 315.00 26/10/2016 MODIFIED 20. VISTA STARCH FOR INTERNATI 28,026.30 CARTON INDUSTRY ONAL LIMITED 315.00 27/10/2016 MOULDER 21. ACME PACKAGIN 285.20 G LIMITED 350.50 27/10/2016 UNCOATED 22. ALOKRISH WOODFRE 14,677.83 LIMITED E PAPER 350.50 27/10/2016 TESLINER 23. GIVANAS FOUTING IN INDUSTRY 15,300.00 REELS NIGERIA LIMITED 350.50 27/10/2016 EMPTY HARD 24. EURO GELATIN CAPSULES GLOBAL FOODS 4,680.00 350.50 27/10/2016 & DISTILLER ODORFERO 25. PHOENIX IES LIMITED US MIXTURE STEEL MILLS 20,000.00 350.50 27/10/2016 LIMITED HERBAL / BITTER 26. SALASAR EXTRACT 21,561.52 ENTERPRI SES 350.50 27/10/2016 CONVERTI LIMITED 27. SONA BLE/LADLE AGRO ALLIED 17,000.00 GOODS FOODS LIMITED 350.50 27/10/2016 ACTIVATED 28. EL-KAY EARTH CLAY KAY INDUSTRIE 10,385.00 FOR PURIFYING 350.50 27/10/2016 S LIMITED AMMONIUM 29. CELLOPAC WASTE OIL / SODIUM 14,767.75 K INDUSTRIE 350.50 27/10/2016 S LIMITED UNCOMPLE 30. BERGER TED EMPTY PAINT NIGERIA 20,858.80 CANS 350.50 27/10/2016 PLAIN (NON PLC 31. SUPREME PRINTED) 20,000.00 POLYARN RIGID PVC 350.50 LIMITED 27/10/2016 CALCIUM CARBONAT BLOWN FILMS 32. CHIZZY NIGERIA LIMITED 7,111.35 E 350.50 27/10/2016 LOW DENSITY 33. TATA AFRICA SERVICES POLYPROP 10,000.00 YLENE LOTRENE 350.50 27/10/2016 (NIGERIA) PIGMENTS 34. VISTA LIMITED AND ADDITIVES INTERNATI 21,825.19 ONAL LIMITED 350.50 27/10/2016 SODIUM LAURYL 35. VISTA INTERNATI ETHER SULFATE 11,440.00 ONAL LIMITED 350.50 27/10/2016 UNCOATED (CHEMICAL 36. FINE WOODFRE S) CHEMICAL 19,120.00 E PAPER S NIGERIA 350.50 27/10/2016 UNCOATED LIMITED 37. FINE WOODFRE CHEMICAL 20,000.00 E PAPER S NIGERIA 350.50 28/10/2016 SOLBIN CHEMICAL LIMITED TOTAL 27,710.00 S 315.00 28/10/2016 SOLBIN CHEMICAL 10,573.06 S 315.00 28/10/2016 85,492.74 315.00 28/10/2016 88,596.00 315.00 65,338.20 3.

SCHEDULE

S/N

SOURCE

AUTONOM

OUS

AUTONOM

DATE OF FUND

OUS

24/10/2016

OUS

24/10/2016

25/10/2016

OUS

AUTONOM

OUS

AUTONOM

OUS

TOTAL

S FOR THE

OUS

AUTONOM

772,652.00

'S PURCHASE

OUS

AUTONOM

OF SKYE BANK

25/10/2016

26/10/2016

27/10/2016

28/10/2016

PURCHASE

WEEK OCT. EXCHANGE

314.50

350.00

314.50

24 - OCT. 28

RATE AMOUNT

AMOUNT

173,842.30 18,958.10

18,000.00 1,784.66

30,000.00 3,629.50

276,437.44

250,000.00

772,652.00

www.skyebankn

g.com

2016

encounter to community leaders, who worried that the "proof of life" message might be too much for Binta to bear. Human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogede stepped in. "If I had a daughter who was missing and she tried to send a message to me, l'd be very upset if someone withheld it. Amina tried to reach out, let's help her complete the effort," he counselled. When Amina was freed, she and her family were flown to Abuja, where TV cameras and photographers documented Buhari welcoming her at the presidential mansion. That happened again with the 21 freed girls. The girls needed trauma counselling and medical care, not exposure to the media, Human Rights Watch said at the time. On Christmas Day, the freed girls visiting Chibok did not get to see their parents. They were kept in the house of a local legislator until Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima arrived to "present" them to their parents the next day. Witnesses said the girls were angry that they were prevented from going home and to their church's Christmas service. Shettima's spokesman, Isa Gusau, denied that account, which came from some of the parents. "I am not sure they were denied access to their parents because that was the essence of them being taken to Chibok in the first place," he told the AP. "If you say their movements were restricted for security reasons and for their safety, I think that makes sense." Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the Chibok association of parents of the kidnapped girls and who is not related to Amina, said the Department of State Security intelligence agents who accompanied the girls deemed it unsafe for them to visit parents in outlying villages. But those with homes in Chibok town were not allowed to stay with their families, either. Amina's mother, despite her tears, still has some faith in Nigeria's actions. "Anything that the government wants to do with Amina, I have no problem with that," she said. "But I just want to see my daughter with my own eyes." On Friday, the Bring Back Our Girls movement criticized the failure to free the 196 girls still missing, saying it "is justifiably worried that the Nigerian government has once again relapsed to the same complacency, lethargy, and inertia that has been recurrent on this tragedy." Amnesty International also called for the government to "redouble its efforts," warning that the abductions could constitute war crimes. SCHEDULE S/N

OF SKYE BAN

K'S SALES

CUSTOMER NAME ABIMBOLA IZU ADEBISI PAUL KOLAWOLE

ITEM OF IMPORT

OSAROEDEY

EVERBRIGH

INTERBANK

WANDEL INTERNATIO NAL NIGERIA LIMITED PAPERLAND INDUSTRIES LIMITED GIVANAS INDUSTRY NIGERIA LIMITED 39 WANDEL INTERNATIO NAL NIGERIA 40 LIMITED RICHYGOLD INTERNATIO NAL LIMITED 41 UBADIMMA NIGERIA LIMITED 42 MIKADO NIGERIA LIMITED 43 MRS SHAKIRAT YEMBRA & MR LOVETT 44 EZINWANNE YEMBRA DOROTHY NNORUKA 45 PHOENIX STEEL MILLS LIMITED 46 MOLHADEEN INTERNATIO NAL NIGERIA 47 ROYAL CHANTELLE LIMITED LIMITED 48 ALOZIE TONYE MILLICENT 49 CHEMLAP NIGERIA LIMITED 50 CHEMLAP NIGERIA LIMITED 37

INTERBANK

ODIFEROUS SUBSTANCE S TUITION FEES

SOURCE

AUTONOMOU

DIAMOND

22/11/2016

23/11/2016

BANK

305.00

25/11/2016

315.00

25/11/2016

315.00

25/11/2016

24/11/2016

25/11/2016

EXCHANGE

314.50

304.50

314.50

305.00

305.75

TOTAL

RATE

50,000.00 7,148.80

2,851.20

30,000.00 6,000.00

44,000.00

305.00

315.00

305.00

TOTAL

S FOR THE

50,000.00

100,000.00

305.00

25/11/2016

'S PURCHASE

DATE OF FUND PURCHASE 21/11/2016

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA AUTONOMOU S

305.00

305.50

315.00

305.00

25/11/2016

800.5

50,000.00

305.00

25/11/2016

OF SKYE BANK

AUTONOMOU

699.32

163.38

2,540.00

1,500.00

200,000.00

150,000.00

200,000.00

305.00

24/11/2016

TUITION FEES CONVERTIBL E /LADLE GOODS PVC RIGID FILM 250 MICRON NICGRVAOL SPECIAL YARN FOR FILER TUITION FEES BAG PVA FLAKES

1,743.59

315.00

305.00

24/11/2016

SALES

3,500.00

3,872.36

315.00

22/11/2016

24/11/2016

CATFISH FEED CATFISH FEED

64,894.50

306.00

24/11/2016

PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING MACHINE CUSTOMIZED BRAND MANAGEMEN T SERVER TUITION FEES ALBANEET 250MG (ALBENDAZO LE) PARACETAM OL CHEMICAL POWDER TRICYCLES IN CKD UNCOATED PAPER-WOO DFREE ODORFEROU S MIXTURE MOTORIZED TRICYCLES IN CKD PARACETAM OL (POWDER) ELECTRONIS

45,690.08

34,959.15

306.00

23/11/2016

SALES

DIBUTYL PHTHALATE

S/N

22/11/2016

SALES

2,710.00

3,400.00

2,877.37

2,122.63

315.00

22/11/2016

SALES

MOTORIZED

SCHEDULE

22/11/2016

SALES

17,679.00

3,640.29

306.00

315.00

22/11/2016

SALES

AMOUNT

306.00

21/11/2016

ETHY ALCHOHOL EXTRA NEUTRAL ALCHOHOL SILICO MANGANESE GRAIN (LC (LC CHARGES) CHARGES) AMMONIUM BICARBONAT (LC CHARGES) ODORIFERO US MIXTURES FOR INDUSTRIAL TUITION FEES (LC CHARGES) TUITION FEES

RATE

306.00

21/11/2016

CHEMICAL - LOW DENSITY POLYTHYLEN CHEMICAL E EXTRUSION - HOMOPOLUM ER (RAFFIA) LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLE NE EXTRUSION MEDICAL FEES Fd0474 TUITION FEES

- NOV. 25 2016

EXCHANGE

315.00

21/11/2016

TUITION FEES TUITION FEES

KHAIRAT PHARMACY $ VETERINARY ALOKRISH COMPANY LIMITED LIMITED

K NOV. 21

DATE OF SALES 21/11/2016

TUITION FEES TUITION FEES

KASEMI ONENEE T INDUSTRIES LIMITED EVERBRIGH T INDUSTRIES LIMITED 9 EVERBRIGH T INDUSTRIES LIMITED 10 HALIMA SADIYA USMAN 11 IBRAHIM MUHAMMAD HUSSAINI 12 ZEX STANDARD PHARMACEU 13 TICALS LAND CRAFT INDUSTRIAL LIMITED 14 SONA AGRO ALLIED FOOD LIMITED 15 FOUR BROTHER INDUSTRIAL 16 NIGERIA LIMITED MAI ANGUWA DANLAMI 17 DEBORAH SOREMI 18 CORONATIO N BANK 19 DIAMOND BANK 20 ECOBANK 21 FBN MERCHANT BANK 22 FIDELITY BANK 23 FIRST BANK 24 HERITAGE BANK 25 KEYSTONE BANK 26 STERLING BANK 27 UNION BANK 28 UNITY BANK 29 GABROVIC NIGERIA LIMITED 30 GABROVIC NIGERIA LIMITED 31 MOJEC INTERNATIO NAL LIMITED 32 MIMARATHO N RESOURCES LIMITED 33 AUSTIN OBILONU

FOR THE WEE

TUITION FEES TUITION FEES

TIJAFOX OIL NIGERIA LIMITED MOJEC INTERNATIO NAL LIMITED OSAROEDEY KASEMI ONENEE

20,000.00

18,744.57

30,000.00

30,000.00 3,255.43

Davidson Iriekpen

of the sum of N8 Justice Abdulaziz belonging to MTN billion allegedly proceeds Anka of Communications of unlawful Federal High activity, government Court in Lagos the Limited to the federal which are stashed ordered the temporary governmen has obtained in account The judge forfeiture that gave the ordert. number 0012005379 marked FHC/L/C the order, was of MTN domicile in Nigeria Communic the sum, suspected S/1676/20 Ecobank, ations Manager to be following be temporarily forfeited and filed by an Abuja-base16 operating account number , Banking an ex-parte application lawyer, John Opeyemi, 0012005379 d that has a employment of and Treasury in the credit balance of to that effect filed on behalf of AttorneyMTN communicat N8 billion. Maiturare also ion by the federal before the court (AGF), General of the Federation alleged that “from limited, the applicants did government. and an asset recovery the totality not comply Also affected by agent at our of the credible information with the order of the court. of the federal governmen disposal, He specifically court is another the order of the Group pointed out that Nigeria Limited. t, Algaita reasonably believe the applicants the order account number 1013607079 containing of the court and satisfied In an affidavit billions of sworn to by the the funds in the possession that applicant to publish directing the naira domicile Managing of the order in the ex-parte whose ownershipSkye Bank Plc, Limited, Director of Algaita Group two banks are unclaimed properties was not Allegations of or Abdullahi proceeds has the respondent obeyed, therefore not plagiarism yesterday Mohammed been Maiturare, challenged before of unlawful was not aware trailed the inauguratio activity of stealing, he thing with a of Justice Anka the court. minor adjustment AGF appointedaverred that the laundering diversion and money the order of the court until, Ecobank of the new President n speech “I ask further gave wrote . order his company of some public you to be citizens. an as an asset of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Add officials intimatea letter to the company to and their cronies Citizens notice directing the publication of recovery not spectators; in the private sector. a federal governmen agent of the it of the said citizens not subjects. in two national He was accused o. “Consequently Responsible newspapers t to track, freeze Owa also averred order. if urgent steps and recover of the speeches of lifting parts communiti citizens building your inviting any person(s) who that the subject account was might remitted funds and ensure it is are not taken to obtain have interest es and opened by Ecobank certified Presidents, Bill of United States in the funds documents to the designated In the second, our nation.” Clinton and George to, account bank statements of the accounts and Nigeria upon instructions Clinton said: within 14 days of the publication W. Bush in his of the federal “Though given by MTN on October thereof as well governmen through legally at the weekend.inaugural speech fearsome, our challenges are of the order, show cause as stop that permissible meanst outward transactions on why a MTN has operated9, 2007 and so are our strengths. final order should the accounts, The Ghanaian the funds may the account not be made as may be directed by the Americans since then forfeiting the be dissipated and have ever been AGF. president, Maiturare, a according to said funds to account documentati the banking till date in accordance with restless, former a The the of the apologised for Cable, has since And questing, hopeful people. federal government. Economic and operative may be tampered on or statements current practice applicable to we must the The judge also account held Financial with,” Crimes Commissio But how did blunder. by corporate directed But in a preliminary he insisted. bodies in today the visionbring to our task order n (EFCC), Nigeria. should be served that the also claimed and US presidents? he plagiarise the who that his company MTN Communications objection, came before will of those respective She also claimed on Limited has branch managers the had credible information that the In the first clip, urged the Akufo-Addo’s us.” of disposal Bush said: at its set aside court to discharge and has adversely affected the order utterances were the respondents banks and ask you to be revealing that running the citizens. Citizens “I similar: “Though our to orders forthwith stop funds of the business smooth which it, as made against all outward payments are strongly believed spectators; citizens not challenges of MTN it relates to its to be federal not subjects. are fearsome, so are our strengths. from the subject accounts account held as it finds it difficult to utilise governmen Responsible Ghanaians funds held in the the citizens building and to laundered t’s stolen, diverted and with Ecobank Limited. immediately have ever account in pursuit community of deliver to the The of its lawful business. service and a nationa restless, questing, hopeful been a the respective court accounts are hidden in some coded telecommu nications of character.” statements of account company, in in the two banks people. with And we must She further maintained an affidavit sworn Ecobank to certificate of bring to our Akufo-Addo authentication and Skye bank. by a legal that the task and funds are said the same today the vision and will He further maintained Ibukunoluwa practitioner, Mrs. unlawful not suspected proceeds of of those at other relevant documents who came before Owa on behalf as credible the date and activity; therefore that us.” urge the the court order time of service of from information at his disposal the company and filed before of court to discharge reliable sources, the order. on them. MTN’s indicated that court by Adeniyi Adegbonmthe The suit, there was (SAN), the deponent in which ire the order application to discharge the Ecobank an account maintained at from information averred that affidavit was accompanied with Nigeria Limited in the name him by Babatunde delivered to urging of urgency and application the court to hear Adewumi, the the case urgently.

Addo apolog ises

Gambia: Buha ri Hosts ECOWAS Lead ers in Abuja Today Tobi Soniyi

in Abuja

THANKING GOD FOR

2017

Ex-Niger Gov ernor, Kure Dies State declares

three-day mourn ing

Babangida, Dogara , Wike express

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Cont’d on page 51

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EXCHANGE RATE N305.25/ 1 US DOLLAR * *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes

Promasidor

The efforts Wins NIPR Award standard of of Promasidor Nigeria education through Limited Television Quiz its Cowbellp in elevating the edia in Education Show initiative has earned it the Mathematics ’ in the 2016. ‘Best Company The company was rewarded Awards (LaPRIGA at the Lagos PR Industry Relations (NIPR), ) organised by the Nigerian Institute Gala and Lagos Chapter Speaking at of Public in Lagos recently. McMedal, saidthe event, the Chairman Mathematics the consistency of , Lagos NIPR, Mr. Olusegun Promasidor’s Quiz initiative motivated students Cowbellpedia is commend able, adding to have interest requirement that it has in in has done well any profession in life. the subject which is a basic He in Mathematics ensuring that students affirmed that Promasid imbibe the culture or as Receiving the one of their favourite of having Miss. Oluwatoonaward, the Assistant subjects in school. Brand Manager, the company‘ i Odewole, said it was Promasidor, deserving s because of shows education and strong commitment in ics is a difficultencouraging them to eraseimproving the standard L-R: Specialtie of the notion that subject that “It is part of should be neglected Mathematager, Okomu s Engineer, Total Nigeria the corporate the company . social responsib Akpata duringOil Palm Company Plc, Plc, Enyioko Cosmo; which has greatly ility (CSR) initiative Chris Amedu Head, Brand the Consume of the subject,” imparted on Management, and Head, r Rights Awarenes she stated. students’ perceptioof Chams Plc, Also on the s Advancem Regional Trade & Regulator Adedayo CSR initiative, n ent & Advocacy Nigeria Limited, y Affairs, Guinness Adejokun; Sales the lnitiative annual ManMr. OlivierThiry, Managing Director of Technology, Promasidor summit and Nigeria Plc, Miss Mojisola said a strong Engineering award in Lagos....re foundation of become very and Mathema Science, cently to broaden important at this stage tics (STEM) education its economic has when Nigeria base like that is determine d of the developed Creativity Week world. Goes Contine To celebrate ntal ative professio the 10th year of Creativity Obinna Chima competitions nals have been selected Week, seasoned creBANK ING has also been during the 6-day event. to preside over creative and regional Nigerian banks extended to Competition creatives from Creativity per cent. It development - 11 for piled up unpaid in 2016 had week is the The Nigerian estimated West African honours According overdue official represent brain child that the funding structure obligations countries. to the report, Debt Capital of CHINI Productio Markets to correspontrade situation also atives of Cannes is slated for banks, a report led to trade the 30 per cent equity would be revival is beginning to dent evaporatio ns, the Lions the credit cent as OTC companie see a and 70 per n; shrinking The event will Muson Centre in Lagos on Nigeria. The event Nigeria Limited by Ecobank debt. suppliers’ as FMDQ continue s such in March. has revealed. credit and bill of collections Edit Seminars feature creativity competiti Although It noted that to improve transparency feet by export the report ; cold infrastruc ons, Academie investment on the final and workshops, with did specify the and s, Lions an Award Night day. affected banks,not and infrastruc credit agencies; glected ture had been in within the market,” processes Creative professio capping it up further pointed tural challenge nein it it added. According “Infrastructure s. out that, the past, but pointed out that over nals in the Nigerian tion space, $14 billion in however, there such provision of to the report, a major challengecontinues to be marketing communic foreign investmen Odigbo, Chief as the Managing Director is a lot long-term was lost within constraining,” more appetite and capital aCreativity Officer, of DDB Lagos, willingness will trigger the developm a year, a bigt it added. former President presently, issue which X3M Ideas, Ikechi given the But in other ent of the Public Steve Babaeko, potential of new long term instrumen of Nigeria (PRCAN), sources of domestic deposit moneyit said affected all to develop Relations Consultan maintain Nigeria’s a and banks ts Chido Nwakanm finance are (REITs, Infrastructural picked by the t Associatio Research analyst in Nigeria. in infrastructure becoming available. a and etc) as well Bonds, organisers the next 30 for the competiti as to provide as Jury Presidenta few others, have beenn Nigeria Limited, at Ecobank Nigeria’s diaspora years, the country counterpart s and Academy Mr. Kunle would require an estimated is a pool of funds funding for local Ezun, stated According to ons and academies. deans ing developm financthe Managing this in a report trillion. The report $3 be tappedthat can potentiall Ndu, the competiti ents of real titled: “Strategic Director y and hard listed into sector that ons will include CHINI Productions, infrastructure assets Championship, requires fundingthe Bank estimates as the World Business Review...with Nnamdi the the country in the that Nigerian economy. in diasporas and the Roger the Miami Ad School Young Pro West African obtained at insight into 2017,” over this 30-year sent back period to include The report Scholarship Hatchuel Academy. the “The Young Competition It attributed weekend. social infra- billion in remittance some $21 the Nigerian pointed out that structure the developm s alone since 2013. economy is in a related Pro category is meant to “the scarcity ent per cent; - five per cent, ICT diversifie already sector for professionals 11 of foreign and should d by Gross is open to competito change and “The new employed ex- security vital registeration and not be more Domestic administration Production (GDP) than 30 years -two per cent; rs in Cote D’Ivorie has comprising exchange the fixed pegged contributions, old. It but stated that of - 33 rate policy energy (both identified infrastruc at the Cannestwo individuals.Winners and Nigeria with a team Central Bank over-dependence of the cent, per cent; transport will 25 per area hard and soft) as its ture on hydrocarbons of Nigeria (CBN). Lions represent agriculture, International 2017,” he said. main their countries to tackle and water and minfor foreign Festival of ing - 13 per are looking earnings and governm Creativity in toward mobilisin cent; and housing June ent g funds for revenue remains infrastructure HSBC Raises the bane of development. Economists World Economic Continued growth and at HSBC last week raisedGrowth on page 24 inflation over manufacturing the next two their forecast for global boost expectedactivity, a resilient China years based on robust Crusoe Osagie It was the firstto come in the United and above all the fiscal States. time in nearly growth and inflation outlooks five years they have INDUS TRY gets underway The Bank upped their over a two-year the federal has disbursedof Industry (BOI) horizon as Donald Trump and as investors prepare governm penetration 2017 entering the for U.S. President for on-lendin over N3.1 billion “BOI is currently ent. of participat “The British White the bottom financial -elect g to micro ing ship economy appears House. in partnerinstitution of the pyramid. preneurs under entre- parts with been 11 anticipate s microfinan He noted that in all under to be in of the country its Bottom d expected ce banks the Pyramid the programm to leave the following the ruder health than had will further (BOP) programmof economic activity to stimulate the the BOP scheme to which European Union, e country’s decision enable a scheme sum of also looking e, critical within the its core mandate BOI achieve in June the brighter,” HSBC while Japan, Germany mass earlier been N1.1 billion had finance institutiondevelopment of industriand Spain are said. alisation by the pyramid at the bottom of disbursed. (DFI) said inclusion providing essentially The for is of LAPO finance aimed Olagunju during the economic duction through at poverty really active the cheque nance bank N1 billion,microfi- and the presentation microfinance Fortis micro-entfinancially excluded creation focusingjob and wealth on-lending ceremony to BOP bank N500 repreneurs. and Lotus Capital million loan beneficiar micro-enterprise on the rural In his words: ies, N500 operators with a partnership with a view to “By partnering renowned will bring the number million with these microfinance extending microfinance partnerships of such financial inclusion in “The Central we will be banks, delivery to banks for credit to 14,” he the country. able said. According should give Bank of Nigeria The acting on the funding to focus more pointed out microenterprises, Arik and Medview will enable to him, the scheme that the BOP BOI, Mr. Managing Director, special concessio of Small and the Medium Enterprise with the Waheed n and the employment aligns developmental DFI to deepen its have said the scheme Olagunju, opportunity lending activities and by utilising also decided s (SMEs). We to buy forex. is designed wealth creation objectives to leverage have to We work saved them because the services National Enterpris on the spread with of the tested of other lending to money that the country a lot of and ment financial institution enterprises Programm e Develop- deliver requires specialmicro out as capitalwould have gone s to that e (NEDEP) skills they have of served credit to the underflight” 38 acquired.” and under-ba nked at Chairman, Arik Air, Continued Joseph Arumemion page 24 Ikhide

SPECIAL RECO GNITION

Report: Nig erian Banks Obligation s to Corresp Have Overdue ondent Ban ks

BOI Disburse Entrepreneu s N3.1bn Funds to Micro rs

CITYSTRING S

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MONDAY, JANUARY 9,

2017 • T H I S D AY

Acting Featur es Editor: Charle s Ajunwa Email charles .ajunwa@this daylive.com

15,000.00

8,000.00

5,000.00

50,000.00 9,537.50

1,441.89

2,000.00

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1,801.63

301.58

3,613.36

9,589.82

5,675.99

1,500,000.00

8,547.00

7,148.80

50,000.00

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20,000.00

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Davidson Iriekpe

sdaylive.com,

undertake the first phase of In furtherance preparatory and the of support mediator, Presidenthis mandate as would lead to a high work that level Buhari will today Muhammadu of the mediator (President meeting host four other West African Buhari) leaders to a meeting and the stakeholde rs. in Abuja to Buhari avoid preserve democracy violence and mediator was designated as the A statement by in The Gambia. Mahama, for The Gambia with Assistant to the the Senior Special of Ghana the out-going President President on Media as Co-Mediat and Publicity, or Garba Shehu, just-concluded ECOWAS at the said Buhari Summit and the immediate held on December past President 17, 2016 in Abuja. Mahama as of Ghana, John The summit also Mediator gave the terms Mediator respectively and Co- of reference to include ensuring , had also been mandated safety of the Community of by the Economic Barrow, the President-elect, Adama West African States the political (ECOWAS) to entire population leaders and the ensure the safety ; upholding the the President-el of result of ect, Adama Barrow the presidentia and ensure a l election peaceful handover held on December of power on 1, 2016 and ensuring that January 19. the president-e Shehu said the is sworn lect was a follow meeting in Abuja 19, 2017, into office on January up in conformity in Accra last to the one held constitution with the L-R: Saturday on of Senator Solomon the country. sidelines of the The statement Olamilekan Adeola; inauguration of the the General Overseer, said country’s President that which expressed remained optimistic that Buhari thanksgiving service Redeemed Christian his wife, Temitope; Lagos the readiness a peaceful State Governor, resolution of the by the state governmenChurch of God (RCCG) of the leaders problem, in line of the with sub-region to Worldwide, Pastor Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; t, at the Lagos the laws and continue the pursuit House, Alausa, Enoch his of dialogue with of The Gambia the constitution Ikeja....yesterday Adeboye; and his wife, wife, Bolanle; and the leaders of Folu, at the annual Gambia. The the January was possible before 19, 2017 “The Presidents date of the new inauguration president. Senegal, the Vice of Liberia and The incumbent President of Sierrapresident of The Leone and ex-Presiden Gambia, Yaya Jammeh, t Mahama are expected after losing the election had at the meeting,” congratulat statement added. the winner of the election, ed the Laleye Dipo inMinna In the discharge Barrow. He however, of his mandate around former governor, later turned as ECOWAS Alhaji mediator for Niger State was to reject the Gambia, Buhari The results of yesterday evening Abdullahi, confirmed Mahmud foundation member thrown into mourning the incident had last week the election. of the Peoples activated the Democratic Party following the on telephone to journalists. He said he would socio-politi process death (PDP) of cal the for the the Abdullahi said developme execution of governor of Niger and became the state result at the Supremechallenge of the state, third civilian governor his task. and Nigeria as nt of State for two Abdulkhadir Abdullahi were already beingarrangements terms from1999 The president Court of Kure. The Gambia a whole. “He has left an had instructed made by the to and that he family to bring Minister of Foreign the indelible After leaving 2007. the Affairs, Geoffrey organise a new presidential would Kure was said office, he became on the sand of times, may mark former governor remains of the a member Onyeama, to election. to have died his soul The world rest in peace.” to the country of the Board of lead a Mediation in for burial. has condemned Germany yesterday Support Team Trustees (BoT) of the party. Jammeh’s afternoon Meanwhile, the Born on February with the team (MST), working on him decision and had called where he was flown to Kure was a has declared state government of the Co-Mediato to step down. three weeks ago for 26, 1956, member of a three-day Mr. John Mahama, medical attention. Kure is survived by r, the wide mourning, ECOWAS leaders statewife, Senator Senator Ahmed Makarfi According to President of Ghana.the out-going travelled had earlier according faction statement of the party. family sources, Zaynab Kure, six children, the former to the by the Commissio to a four The main task A with Jammeh Gambia to plead to Germanygovernor was taken boys and two girls. He ner for Information, Culture of the MST is was the the devastated state Chairman Director of for a kidney-rela to turned down to hand over but he and Tourism, of PDP, Alhaji Tanko ailment. ted the Federal Engineering Services in their request. Beji, described Mr. Jonathan Vatsa. the demise “as Capital Territory He further stated The Chief Press sad,” (FCT) “we that all flags Secretary to the before joining politics. cannot query adding that should be at God.” half The late governor mast through Beji said the out was a contributed late governor the state through out the mourning period. immensely to the

POLITICS TheSo eAdm n strator

She was found wandering in a forest, the first of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram to escape on her own and reach freedom. That was in May. Since then, Amina Ali Nkeki has been sequestered by Nigeria's intelligence agency, embraced just once by her family months ago. Some say Nigeria's government is keeping the young woman silent because it doesn't want her telling the world about military blunders in the fight against the Islamic extremist group, or about her desire to be reunited with the father of her child — a detained former Boko Haram commander. "I worry, sometimes, that I don't know if she is alive or dead," her mother, Binta Ali Nkeki, sobbed during an exclusive telephone interview with The Associated Press from her remote North-east village of Mbalala. She said she hasn't seen her daughter since July. Sunday marks 1,000 days since the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted together from a government boarding school in April 2014. Most of them remain in captivity. The few who have been freed, like Amina, have found themselves not completely free. The mass kidnapping horrified the world and brought Boko Haram international attention. The failure of Nigeria's former government to act quickly to free the girls sparked a global Bring Back Our Girls movement; even U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama posted a photo with its logo on social media. Amina was the first of the kidnapped girls to escape on her own. Months later, in October, the government negotiated the release of 21 Chibok girls. Another girl was freed in November in an army raid on an extremist camp in the Sambisa Forest. On Thursday, one more was found during military interrogations of Boko Haram suspects, along with the baby she had given birth to in captivity. When Amina's mother heard last month that "freed" girls would be allowed to come home for Christmas, she borrowed money to reach Chibok, the town where their former boarding school is located. She was welcomed by the 21 girls, who tried to reassure her that her daughter was "fine, in good health," even though she had not been allowed to accompany them. Human rights groups and lawyers have criticized Nigeria's treatment of the freed girls, who are held in Abuja, the capital, nearly 900 kilometres (560 miles) from Chibok. The government says the girls are getting medical attention, trauma counselling and rehabilitation. Officials in the government and the presidency did not respond to requests

News Editor

n.iriekpen@thi

New Ghanaian President Plagiarises Ex-US Presidents Akufo-

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The 21 released Chibok Girls

I S D AY

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EDITORIAL Buhar sCond t ona CashTransfer

9, 2017 • T H

MTN Kicks as Court Or ders Another Forfeiture of N8bn to FG

OF SKYE BANK'S SALES FOR THE WEEK JAN 3RD -JAN 6TH 2017

INTERNATIONAL ObamaSaysHeTakes SomeRespons b Ies

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Right in the concentratedheart of Abuja where som e of the key slums in the is the urban area called Gark institutions of country, Olaw ale Ajimotoki, but it also has one of thegovernment are t may not be an reports most neglected seat of power,regarded as Nigeria’s all be found but Garki District the main business in Garki. as

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o Democ a s Losso Powe Pres dentBarackObamafee sgood INTERN ATIONAL Obama Says abouth spo cy egacyandth nksmore De He mocrats’ Loss Takes ‘Some Responsibilitie of Power s’ for of tmaysurv vetheTrumppres dency thanmostpeop eexpect But nan nterv ewthata redSunday onABCs Th sWeek theoutgo ng ch efexecut vesa dherecogn ses thattheDemocrat cPartyhas osta otofpowerdur ngh swatch Page 47 MONDAY JANUAR Y 9, 2017 • THI

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email:foreigndesk

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President Barack about his policy Obama feels good district more of it may legacy, and thinks federal lines for both state and legislative seats system has presidency than survive the Trump that long been in ways locked in an most people expect. advantage for of his. He then tooka focus skeptical of But in an interview their party. sounded like what supported the party and who that aired Sunday on ABC’s “We were just means that we’re President-elect “This Week,” Democrats, a mild dig at Trump the outgoing showing up including of a recovery,” at the beginnings in in the election. Donald places where chief executive in went on. the failed Hillary those Obama said. right he recognises said know, “And if Democrats “I want to see “You campaign winning a lot.” now we’re not showing that the Democratic whoever is president Clinton the Democrati Party has lost Party move , by saying up in those places,are not c point at that a “The big divide even his watch, and lot of power during gonnais gonna get hit and his party’s crats need to work Demo- Obama said. in that direction,” right now is if you even if you’re between wishes “And harder to not gonna win right away more to strengthen he had done that get hit. That then means win over voters who’ve is that we aren’t what that means become urban areas, which have , but if you’re suddenly just micro-target grown to it. increasingly not in “I take some eke out presidentia ing Democratic, there at least making an redistricting you’ve got a argument that, ‘Hey, you l victories it and rural or exurban areas in that,” Obama responsibility on of know what? that state legislaturwhich a lot as if they’re said. It’s the being ignored,” feel Democrats who The president es are now Republican. he your minimum are trying to raise They draw to a question was responding that lines wage.’” from host George give a Stephanopoulos advantag huge structura Democrats have about the losses elections. e in subseque l nt Iran’s ” gress, where they suffered in Conex-President But, Obama Ali Akbar have relinquished Hashemi Rafsanjani, majorities in had disqualified he focused went on to say, figure both Mr Rafsanjani on governin in the country’s a dominant after he state legislatures parties, and in the entered the g to the exclusion politics since 1980s, race for the of politickin lost more than , where they have and Four people g 82, media has died at the age of 2013 presidential election. 900 seats. the Democra have been killed A big factor, say. After his defeat tic Party suffered. Jerusalem Obama said, in Mr Rafsanjani timing. was Rafsanjani became in 2005, Mr rammed by a Palestinian who the soldiers, before had suffered “Because my reversing over the victims. openly critical a lorry into a of the president. docket was heart attack, the reports Obama took really full a group of soldiers, said. He served as here... I couldn’t “He in economy was office in 2009 as the be In 2009, president from was a terroristwhat police say more drove backward to crush both in he sided 1989 to 1997 he acted quicklyfree fall. Although Democrachief organizer of people,” eyewitness the Ahmadine but lost to Mahmoud reformers who disputed with Three womenattack. to help, tic Party notably with and one man, Schreiber told reporters. Leah the Recovery most tion as command and func- in 2005. jad when he ran again year’s elections, although that all in their twenties, Act and and his rescue of hardline Mr were killed was really clear.” The attack“That the U.S. auto president of er-in-chief Ahmadinejad the and at least place on the Although Mr took industry, the 2010 midterm 13 more a second term. the won wounded popular Armon elections took States,” Obama said.United part of the religiousRafsanjani was , medics say. were Hanatziv promenade place before Mr Rafsanjan did not begin “We Police said the driver establishment, the overlooking i was started to improveeconomy had needs what I think he was regarded as was shot dead the walled Old City a “pragmatic those calling for the among by soldiers of Jerusalem. to happen in ways most conservative” Police spokesma from the group. people felt in over the open to improving political prisoners release of long haul, their daily lives. Over n Micky ties the Rosenfeld said and and to the West. past 15 months greater That election political freedoms the Democra that is rebuild security His final for parties have been many attacksthere heightened throughouhad been tic Party at said, because was critical, Obama ground Israelis by Palestinian the Expediency role was head of the prepared to work within it gave Republican on in response. t the city level.” a chance to dominate constitutio Council, which s the s - using Jerusalem Mayor Obama noted resolve disputes tries to network n. The state-run Irinn knives, guns and redistricting, Nir Barkat which takes that he sometimes called between parliament started his career vehicles. announced place every 10 not to “let terror on residents Republicans years. organizer as a political and the Guardian Council. that Mr Rafsanjani on Sunday win” and said were able to Israel’s police , and that militants It was the 12-membe had “passed draw new away after a bringing people into lifetime of fighting Alsheich said the chief Roni price”. would “pay a heavy r the political a dominant force in council, and constant assailant in Sunday’s attack Iran that efforts in line interprets the “There is no fulfilling the was a Palestinconstitution goals of Islam with ian from East of the terroristslimit to the cruelty that the revolution” Jerusalem. and who are willing CCTV footage . showed the to use any means possible truck driving murder Jews and to damage to ploughing off the road and life at high speed the routine of Israel’s into he said. capital,”

Iran’s Ex-Pr esident Rafsa njani Dies at 82

SCHEDULE

SPORTS gha otoDec deCh naMoveth sWeek

OF SKYE BANK

'S SALES FOR

THE WEEK

Jerusalem Attack : Four Dead Lorry Drive after r Rams Soldie rs

S/N CUSTOMER NAME 1 KAYODE OPEIFA 2 HABIBU MUHAMMED ITEM OF IMPORT 3 MAJE OBASI OGECHI TUITION FEES LOVELIN 4 UNIVERSAL TURKEY PROJECT TUITION FEES 5 ARIBALOYE LIMITED DATE OF SALES OLUFEMI TUITION FEES 6 ALZICO LIMITED EXCHANGE 03/01/2017 TUITION FEES RATE 7 AMOUNT NUUB PHARMACE 305.50 03/01/2017 TUITION FEES UTICAL & VETERINAR 8 16,183.00 FAS AGRO 305.50 04/01/2017 INDUSTRIAL Y PRODUCTS AGRICULTU 9 COMPANY RAL MACHINERI MOJEC INTERNATIO LIMITED 315.00 620.00 LIMITED 04/01/2017 PHARMACE ES PRIME 10 UTICALS MOVERS GX HADIZA ALI-DAGABA NAL NIGERIA LIMITED 1,776.00 315.00 04/01/2017 AND WATER POLYPROPY 11 NA PUMP LENE FAS AGRO 8,699.00 315.00 05/01/2017 INDUSTRIAL P2000 - D THREE 12 COMPANY FAS AGRO 8,500.00 315.00 PHASE FOUR LIMITED 05/01/2017 INDUSTRIAL INVISIBLE WIRE ELECTRON 13 COMPANY 16,942.40 LUMAX INTEGRATE 315.00 LIMITED 05/01/2017 IC SPLITKEYPA POLYPROPY 14 D 17,940.00 LENE LUMAX INTEGRATE D SERVICES LIMITED 315.00 05/01/2017 POLYPROPY 15 D SERVICES LENE JMG LIMITED 9,900.00 305.50 LIMITED 06/01/2017 ELECTRON 16 ICS 50,000.00 UlTIMATE PLASTICS 315.00 06/01/2017 ELECTRON 17 INDUTRIES ICS 10,000.00 ALOKRISH 315.00 LIMITED 06/01/2017 LIMITED SOUNDPRO 18 OF GENERATO FRANKON 9,900.00 315.00 06/01/2017 MANUFACT MANUFACT R 19 URING CONCEPT URING OF ARS NIGERIA 9,900.00 305.50 06/01/2017 PLASTICS LIMITED LIMITED PARACETAM 20 OL CHEMICAL EZINWANNE 8,197.00 315.00 06/01/2017 DOROTHY NEW MOTORCYC POWDER 21 NNORUKA 21,803.00 CELINA COASTAL 315.00 LE SPARE PARTS 06/01/2017 RESINS MTS CRUST 22 20,000.00 OSUNSANY WHITE 1000/777. 315.00 06/01/2017 A KOREDE TUITION FEES 23 KOLAPO 15,000.00 OLUSOGA 315.00 06/01/2017 OLAYIWOLA GLUE LAC 24 VALENTINE 15,000.00 BROLLO PIPE 305.50 06/01/2017 TUITION FEES AND PROFILE 25 10,000.00 NGOBROS INDUSTRIES 305.50 06/01/2017 & COMPANY TUITION FEES LIMITED 26 LIMITED ACME PACKAGING 7,911.00 305.50 06/01/2017 HOT ROLLED LIMITED 27 CHEMLAP 5,343.40 STEEL SHEETS 305.50 06/01/2017 NIGERIA LIMITED BABY DIAPERS IN COIL 10,000.00 305.50 06/01/2017 TESTLINER 10,202.00 2/3 IN 305.50 06/01/2017 PVA 11 GRANULE REELS 6,543.60 315.00 06/01/2017 10,000.00 315.0000 06/01/2017 10,000.00 315.00 06/01/2017 5,000.00 315.00 S/N SOURCE TOTAL 15,000.00 1 JAIZ BANK 330,360.40 2 AUTONOMO DATE OF FUND US PURCHASE 3 AUTONOMO 03/01/2017 US 4 GTBANK 04/01/2017 5 EXCHANGE AUTONOMO 05/01/2017 T H I S D AY RATE US 6 • 305.00 AUTONOMO 05/01/2017 US AMOUNT 314.50 05/01/2017 50,000.00 314.50 06/01/2017 48,829.86 305.00 149,268.25 314.50 50,000.00 314.50 TOTAL 939.17 8,049.32 307,086.60

SCHE DULE 54

Watfordstr kerOd on gha ow dec deth sweekwhetherhew fo ow fe owN ger astarJohnM ke Ob and takethe crazymoney Ch nanow offers gha ohas ongbeen nked w thab g moneytransfertoCh na and thasbeenreportedthere s nowarenewed nterest nthestr ker fromtheFarEast Page 54

OF SKYE BANK

'S PURCHASE

JAN 3 - JAN

6, 2017

MONDAYSPO RTS Ighalo to Decid e China Move this Week WINTER

S FOR THE

TRANSF

Watford striker Odion Ighalo will decide surrounding this week whether he will follow Ighalo’s future, insisting star John Mikelfellow Nigeria Premier he remains with the Obi and take League the “crazy money” On Saturday, club. China now offers. Ighalo played the 27-year-old the entire Ighalo has long been linked as Watford went past game with a big-mone Burton y transfer to Albion 2-0 to reach China and it the fourth round of the there is now has been reported FA Cup. He has only in the striker a renewed interest goal managed from the Far Media East. the in 17 appearances a in suggested reports have the league, a far cry from he 15 could well goals partner Carlos debut seasonhe netted in his Shensua after Tevez at Shangai top in the English flight. a 38 million Watford rejected Meanwhile, pounds bid the striker from Chelsea boss for Shangai SIPG Antonio Conte last year. Mikel’s contributhas praised Shangai ion to Blues’ in the now made Shensua have at 10 years he ‘The the club. was paid playerTevez the highest Mikel has left a weekly in the world on club for Chinese pounds. wage of 615,000 his Tianjin Teda after he first-team lost In the summer, of Conte at place on arrival a new five-year Ighalo signed Stamford Bridge. Conte said ‘The Hornets’ contract with move he believes the interests from to cool off for will be a new challenge the Nigeria “Yes, it’s China. skipper after an eventful a possibilit he could move time y “Mikel played at Chelsea. one top source to China,” with many years this club disclosed to AfricanFootball.com But there is and won a lot. a moment “There should want to change, you in this regard be an update experienc get a new this e,” Conte said Ighalo, whose week.” media briefing at a future remains international “I wish in the balance on account family the for him and his best.” for the Superof lack of goals The Nigeria Eagles, spoke having sleepless of nights before joined Chelsea in midfielder he decided 2006 after controversially not to take crazy money” “the opting tabled before contract with Premier out of a him from China. League rivals Manches Watford manager ter United. Besides winning Mazzarri has Walter major all being part of tried to avoid also honours in England,the the speculatio won he ns League the UEFA Champion s and Europa League. Ighalo…aiming

AJC TE NNIS

QUALIF

IERS

Igbinovia, Aba mu Team Nigeria’s Make Final List

WEEK JAN

3 - JAN 6,

to join Mikel

MONDAY JANUAR Y 9, 2017

in China

Ranieri’s Pla udits

The performan

2017

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ik hazuagbe@t hisdaylive.co m

for Musa, Nd idi

stars, Ahmedces of Nigerian solid display in the Wilfred Ndidi Musa and midfield heart of Wilson Igbinovi as the understand City’s 2-1 victory in Leicester from English football a was the surprise a goal downFoxes came better. over Everton in Saturday’ Mohammed to complete display. an importan s English FA week-long package at the after Ubale said third “Ndidi t Cup round clash the team “I don’t want only The Leicestervictory. Nigeria to camping of Team off at Goodison trained to the 2017 ITF/CAT City manager two days with training withrounded left veteran manager was duly African Junior us, but he my performance focus on because Championship physical exercise a light Ranieri impressed Claudio Nigerian impressed with his showed strong character for me, it Zonal Qualifiers charges and and personali Sunday evening. Musa netted . the team. is always about hold in Lome scheduled to both of time to praise the duo took the performance,” ty. A great Leicester’s Ubale added for their “The team from January Togo starting target that the who was goals while Ndidi, sterling performances. did Ndidi, who Ranieri said. (on for 11 through making his Saturday) and very well “Musa was arrived from January 21. Belgian finish top the team is to on Saturday, debut I’ve I think we of the medals’ watched him excellent. refused club KRC Genk, can go far in the competitio produced On his first table despite to accept the a and I think invitation recently n,” national camp, the plaudits he said. as he he is starting the 13-year-o to the tournament fact that Leicester City sealed his to overallinstead focused on an is taking ld a new place in the has now impressive qualified that will be team introductformat with the team of the for the fourth round defending ion of team top place FA Cup. the event. The finish team is scheduled by Nigeria at the last move to Lagos to edition held Abuja almost today from in where they Other playersa year ago. Lome on will depart for that Tuesday. in the 15-nation will be The Group tournament alongside Managing Director Rodot Oyinlomo the quartet of erstwhile of UAC and also Nigeria Limited FA CUP (RESULT Quadri, Marylove and Chelsea captain Chairman the Edward, Michael Chairman O’Traffor S) of Foundati John of HEWS sent off d David Dariway Osewa and on. on his first Terry was Ikoyi Lagos,Squash Club M’brough 3-0 Terry’s error start since Elected alongsid October as the named earlier e, who were Shef’ Wed will draw Ettah has been Mr Larry Adeseun Premier League scrutiny but Chelsea e Mr leaders overcame at the camping Chelsea 4-1 in Ekiti facilitated at the Annual the chairman replaced as General were P’borough League One impressive in respondin Peterborough by NTF 1st of the club, vice-president, Meeting which Tottenham 2-0 having completed to held Aston Villa The Blues in the FA Cup. theirdefeat at Tottenhamg are Matthew Yemi Owoseni his tenure on Saturday 7th of of 2 years first in 11 made nine West Ham 0-5 January Abamu, Michael are as stipulate Ayoola, Saminu matches in, the Constitut all competiti Man City d by the Mr Taye Ige who is now changes for the third-rou tie and Vice Chairman ons. Man Utd 4-0 Tosin Asogba, Abubakar, nd his decision ion and upon Ayemere, They exuded ; Mr Cyril Asmir almost trailed when Readings not to seek Aderemi, Omolayo Omolade energy from Secretary; reelection Wigan 2-0 N’Forest Mabadeje, Captain, Mr Biyi Angol’sBegovic saved Lee the off and had 20 at the Club’s Bamidele and Rebecca shots by close-ran Annual general half-time as Mr Yomi Adeyemi Stoke 0-2 Wolves But Antonio ge header. such squad players “It has beenPeters. over the weekend Meeting Ademola, Treasurer and as Nathanie Conte’s a very good Mr side had 20 preparation l Chalobah . West Brom and Ruben Olusunmade, Elected as Publicity Secretary for us; Ekiti 1-2 time, with shots by half impressin Loftus-Ch has been stead is the chairman in his Pedro’s Bir’gham 1-1 Derby . g in midfield. eek there wasan ideal place as Newcastle Treasurer Mrclub’s erstwhile MrIn his acceptance speech, finish and a drilled curled Antonio no Conte’s side QPR 1-2 Blackbur Batshuayi effort distracti Michy Remi Adeseun Adeseun on The courts who the will behalf of a cushion, giving them learn their and hotel on. the new executive n just a minute gave the club members thanked are before Willian opponents in fourth round Everton 1-2 committee drove walk. The Monday’ atmosphere Leicester the last exco in from 18 unanimousmandate in an stated yards after draw on BBC Two and s live and the break. decision. for us to haveis just perfect his and the Preston 1-2 from 19:00 Mr Adeseun online Arsenal exco’s commitment a great GMT. Terry saw red in Lome,” the Pharmac , a fellow of club Cardiff 1-2 Fulham to taking the Angol Conte Nigeria’s outing for to new heights. coach, down as the bringing done by, felt Terry was hard of Nigeria eutical Society Liverpool 0-0 claiming last man Plymouth Academy and the Nigeria thePresent at the AGM were and Tom Nicholls prodded was “not right”. the decision of Pharmac from members in the Executive y But the central of the club Posh, six yards for a buoyed Chairman is including the members only for Pedro defender of the Board to restore who was making his of Trustees. of a three-goal advantag 50th FA Cup start but the edge of e the box. from appearance in only his eighth this season. all competitions

Adeseun Repla ces O’trafford Squas Ettah as h Club Chairman Terry Sent off as Che lsea Prog

resses in FA Cup

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

MTN Kicks as Court Orders Another Forfeiture of N8bn to FG

Davidson Iriekpen Justice Abdulaziz Anka of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the temporary forfeiture

of the sum of N8 billion allegedly belonging to MTN Communications Limited to the federal government. The judge gave the order that the sum, suspected to be

New Ghanaian President Plagiarises Ex-US Presidents Akufo-Addo apologises Allegations of plagiarism yesterday trailed the inauguration speech of the new President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo. He was accused of lifting parts of the speeches of United States Presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in his inaugural speech at the weekend. The Ghanaian president, according to The Cable, has since apologised for the blunder. But how did he plagiarise the US presidents? In the first clip, Bush said: “I ask you to be citizens. Citizens not spectators; citizens not subjects. Responsible citizens building a community of service and a nation of character.” Akufo-Addo said the same

thing with a minor adjustment. “I ask you to be citizens. Citizens not spectators; citizens not subjects. Responsible citizens building your communities and our nation.” In the second, Clinton said: “Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. And we must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.” Akufo-Addo’s utterances were similar: “Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. Ghanaians have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. And we must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.”

proceeds of unlawful activity, which are stashed in account number 0012005379 domicile in Ecobank, be temporarily forfeited following an ex-parte application to that effect filed before the court by the federal government. Also affected by the order of the court is another account number 1013607079 containing billions of naira domicile in Skye Bank Plc, whose ownership has not been challenged before the court. Justice Anka further gave an order directing the publication of a notice in two national newspapers inviting any person(s) who might have interest in the funds to, within 14 days of the publication of the order, show cause why a final order should not be made forfeiting the said funds to the federal government. The judge also directed that the order should be served on the respective branch managers of the respondents banks and to stop forthwith all outward payments from the subject accounts and to immediately deliver to the court the respective statements of account with certificate of authentication and other relevant documents as at the date and time of service of the court order on them. The suit, in which the

government obtained the order, was marked FHC/L/CS/1676/2016 and filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, John Opeyemi, on behalf of Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF), and an asset recovery agent of the federal government, Algaita Group Nigeria Limited. In an affidavit sworn to by the Managing Director of Algaita Group Limited, Abdullahi Mohammed Maiturare, he averred that the AGF appointed his company as an asset recovery agent of the federal government to track, freeze and recover funds and ensure it is remitted to the designated bank account of the federal government through legally permissible means as may be directed by the AGF. Maiturare, a former operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), also claimed that his company had credible information at its disposal revealing that funds which are strongly believed to be federal government’s stolen, diverted and laundered are hidden in some coded accounts in the two banks Ecobank and Skye bank. He further maintained that credible information at his disposal from reliable sources, indicated that there was an account maintained at Ecobank Nigeria Limited in the name

of MTN Nigeria Communications operating account number 0012005379 that has a credit balance of N8 billion. Maiturare also alleged that “from the totality of the credible information at our disposal, the applicants reasonably believe and satisfied that the funds in the possession of the two banks are unclaimed properties or proceeds of unlawful activity of stealing, diversion and money laundering of some public officials and their cronies in the private sector. “Consequently if urgent steps are not taken to obtain certified documents of the accounts and statements thereof as well as stop outward transactions on the accounts, the funds may be dissipated and the account documentation or statements may be tampered with,” he insisted. But in a preliminary objection, MTN Communications Limited has urged the court to discharge and set aside the orders made against it, as it relates to its account held with Ecobank Limited. The telecommunications company, in an affidavit sworn to by a legal practitioner, Mrs. Ibukunoluwa Owa on behalf of the company and filed before the court by Adeniyi Adegbonmire (SAN), the deponent averred that from information delivered to him by Babatunde Adewumi, the

Manager, Banking and Treasury in the employment of MTN communication limited, the applicants did not comply with the order of the court. He specifically pointed out that the order of the court directing the applicant to publish the ex-parte order was not obeyed, therefore the respondent was not aware of the order of the court until, Ecobank wrote a letter to the company to intimate it of the said order. Owa also averred that the subject account was opened by Ecobank Nigeria upon instructions given by MTN on October 9, 2007 and that MTN has operated the account since then till date in accordance with banking practice applicable to current account held by corporate bodies in Nigeria. She also claimed that the order has adversely affected the smooth running of the business of MTN as it finds it difficult to utilise the funds held in the account in pursuit of its lawful business. She further maintained that the funds are not suspected proceeds of unlawful activity; therefore urge the court to discharge the order. MTN’s application to discharge the order was accompanied with affidavit of urgency and application urging the court to hear the case urgently.

Gambia: Buhari Hosts ECOWAS Leaders in Abuja Today Tobi Soniyi in Abuja In furtherance of his mandate as mediator, President Muhammadu Buhari will today host four other West African leaders to a meeting in Abuja to avoid violence and preserve democracy in The Gambia. A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari and the immediate past President of Ghana, John Mahama as Mediator and CoMediator respectively, had also been mandated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure the safety of the President-elect, Adama Barrow and ensure a peaceful handover of power on January 19. Shehu said the meeting in Abuja was a follow up to the one held in Accra last Saturday on the sidelines of the inauguration of that country’s President which expressed the readiness of the leaders of the sub-region to continue the pursuit of dialogue with the leaders of The Gambia. “The Presidents of Liberia and Senegal, the Vice President of SierraLeone and ex-President Mahama are expected at the meeting,” the statement added. In the discharge of his mandate as ECOWAS mediator for The Gambia, Buhari had last week activated the process for the execution of his task. The president had instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, to lead a Mediation Support Team (MST), working with the team of the Co-Mediator, Mr. John Mahama, the out-going President of Ghana. The main task of the MST is to

undertake the first phase of the preparatory and support work that would lead to a high level meeting of the mediator (President Buhari) and the stakeholders. Buhari was designated as the mediator for The Gambia with Mahama, the out-going President of Ghana as Co-Mediator at the just-concluded ECOWAS Summit held on December 17, 2016 in Abuja. The summit also gave the terms of reference to include ensuring the safety of the President-elect, Adama Barrow, the political leaders and the entire population; upholding the result of the presidential election held on December 1, 2016 and ensuring that the president-elect is sworn into office on January 19, 2017, in conformity with the constitution of the country. The statement said Buhari remained optimistic that a peaceful resolution of the problem, in line with the laws and the constitution of The Gambia was possible before the January 19, 2017 inauguration date of the new president. The incumbent president of The Gambia, Yaya Jammeh, after losing the election had congratulated the winner of the election, Barrow. He however, later turned around to reject the results of the election. He said he would challenge the result at the Supreme Court of The Gambia and that he would organise a new presidential election. The world has condemned Jammeh’s decision and had called on him to step down. ECOWAS leaders had earlier travelled to the Gambia to plead with Jammeh to hand over but he turned down their request.

THANKING GOD FOR 2017

L-R: Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola; his wife, Temitope; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; his wife, Bolanle; and the General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Worldwide, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; and his wife, Folu, at the annual thanksgiving service by the state government, at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja....yesterday

Ex-Niger Governor, Kure Dies State declares three-day mourning Laleye Dipo inMinna Niger State was yesterday evening thrown into mourning following the death of the third civilian governor of the state, Abdulkhadir Abdullahi Kure. Kure was said to have died in Germany yesterday afternoon where he was flown to three weeks ago for medical attention. According to family sources, the former governor was taken to Germany for a kidney-related ailment. The Chief Press Secretary to the

Babangida, Dogara, Wike express shock

former governor, Alhaji Mahmud Abdullahi, confirmed the incident on telephone to journalists. Abdullahi said arrangements were already being made by the family to bring the remains of the former governor to the country for burial. Born on February 26, 1956, Kure is survived by wife, Senator Zaynab Kure, six children, four boys and two girls. He was the Director of Engineering Services in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before joining politics. The late governor was a

foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and became governor of Niger State for two terms from1999 to 2007. After leaving office, he became a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party. Kure was a member of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the party. A devastated state Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Tanko Beji, described the demise “as sad,” adding that “we cannot query God.” Beji said the late governor contributed immensely to the

socio-political development of the state and Nigeria as a whole. “He has left an indelible mark on the sand of times, may his soul rest in peace.” Meanwhile, the state government has declared a three-day statewide mourning, according to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa. He further stated that all flags should be at half mast through out the state through out the mourning period.

Cont’d on page 51

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

THE PRESIDENCY

Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Signs $6bn Agreement with BP Oil A major breakthrough has been recorded in the development of the first phase of the $4 billion Brass fertilizer project, as Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL) recently signed a $6 billion off take deal with BP Oil International Limited. The contract which was signed at the London office of BP Oil International on December 22, 2016, is for exclusive off take of methanol production from phase 1 of the BFPCL project in Brass, Bayelsa State, over a period of 10 years. The agreement is a key condition precedent for securing the foreign direct investment from the project lenders and international investors. Speaking at the signing ceremony in London, Chief Ben Okoye, executive vice chairman of BFPCL, stated that attracting a major international player like BP bears testimony to the tremendous support for the project by the current administration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as the hard work and commitment of

the project developers. Okoye further described the agreement as a significant milestone in the development of the project, as it paves the way for financial close on Phase 1 of the Brass Fertilizer project. The project is designed to be built in two phases and phase one which is expected to come on stream in 2020, will produce 1.66 million metric tonnes (MT) of Methanol and 1.3 million MT of urea per annum. Phase one also includes a dedicated export jetty and a 300mmscf/d gas processing plant. The project has also secured 25 years 300mmscf/d gas supply from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC-JV). The Brass Fertilizer plant is located in Brass Island, Bayelsa State and on completion is expected to generate an annual turnover of $1.5 billion. The project is extremely strategic to the country’s agricultural and industrial sectors. It will contribute to the country’s self-sufficiency in fertilizer and Methanol based industrial raw materials.

Okoye explained that the Brass Fertilizer project has been designed to accommodate the yearning of the Niger Delta people through the provision of employment and creation of business opportunities. The project will employ about 15,000 workers during construction and 5,000 directly and indirectly during operation. It will bring significant infrastructure development into the region and attendant multiplier effect on the national economy. Speaking further at the occasion, Okoye expressed his appreciation of the business relationship with BP and disclosed that the shareholders of BFPCL are poised to meet imminently to approve the project EPC contractor and to take decisions on the project financial close. The signing ceremony was witnessed by the top management of Brass Fertilizer, BP Oil International, White and Case LLP of UK and Taylor DeJongh, UK. The BFPCL team was led by Okoye while the BP team was headed by John Goodridge, BP’s Head of Marketing and Origination, Europe, Africa and Russia.

INVITATION TO TENDER PREAMBLE: 1. The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is inviting interested, reputable and competent companies with proven record to tender for the supply of the following goods:

Lot Number Lot 1

Description of Items

Quantity

Supply of Laptops

25 pcs

Lot 2

Supply & Installation of Office Furniture ( Tables & Chairs) i. Office Tables ii. Office Chairs

20 pcs 30 pcs

2. 3. a. b. c.

Bidding will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding (NCB). MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS: Evidence of registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Current Tax Clearance Certificate. Valid/Current Certificate issued by the National Pension Commission as evidence of compliance with Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as amended. d. Evidence of registration on the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) National Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service providers. e. Current and Valid Certificate issued by the Industrial Training Fund as evidence of compliance with (ITF) Act (Amended) 2011. f. For Lot 1 evidence of registration with Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria 4. OTHER REQUIREMENTS a. Financial Capability: Company Audited Accounts/Financial Statement for the last three (3) years, viz., 2013, 2014 and 2015, to demonstrate the financial capability of the Bidder in terms of profitability and adequate working capital. b. Verifiable list of similar supplies/jobs successfully delivered/completed in the last three years including letters of contract award or job completion certificate (Please provide contact address of the clients). c. A sworn affidavit obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction confirming that all information, presented and attached are true and correct of the company and that no officer of NEITI is a former or present Director, Shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder. d. Documents to be submitted in fulfillment of the mandatory and other requirements should be arranged in the order listed above. e. Tender documents should be paginated with table of contents indicating the pages on which items are to be found. 5. COLLECTION OF TENDER DOCUMENTS a. A complete set of Standard Bidding Document in English Language in a CD ROM may be purchased by interested bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Ten Thousand Naira Only (N10, 000.00) per LOT through the REMITA Platform in favor of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Receipt should be collected from the Accounts Department on successful payment and presented to the Procurement unit for collection of the tender documents. b. Interested/eligible bidder may obtain further information from and obtain bidding documents between the hours of 9.00a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday, except on public holidays at Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) at 4th Floor, Murjanatu House,1, Zambezi Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama-Abuja.

6. SUBMISSSION OF BIDS: a. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 12 Noon on Monday, 20th February, 2017. Bids via electronic means will not be allowed. Late bids will be rejected. b. Bids must be submitted in separate sealed envelopes, duly marking the envelopes as “ORIGINAL” and “COPY.” These envelopes containing the original and the copies shall then be enclosed in one single envelope clearly marked as appropriate e.g “ LOT-1 Supply of Laptops” OR LOT-2 Supply & Installation of Ofﬁce furniture (Tables & Chairs)” delivered & addressed to : The Executive Secretary, Attention: Procurement: Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), 4th Floor, Murjanatu House, No.1,Zambezi Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama-Abuja. 7. CLOSING AND OPENING OF BIDS: Bids will be opened immediately after submission deadline by 12.15 Noon on Monday, 20th February, 2017 in the th presence of bidders' representatives who choose to attend at the NEITI Conference Room, 4 Floor, Murjanatu House, No.1, Zambezi Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama-Abuja.

Signed The Executive Secretary

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

T H I S D AY •

COMMENT

N AY, JANUARY , 2017

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

INDUSTRIALISATION, REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND AGENDA 2063

Industrialisation and integration are critical enablers for Africa’s transformation, writes Amina Mohamed

frica needs to accelerate the pace of industrialisation to encourage broad-based growth. Africa’s growth has been impressive over the past 15 years, picking up from an average of around 2% during the 1980s and ‘90s to just above 5% between 2001 and 2014. Growth has, however, dipped to just below 4% since 2014, largely in response to a global decline in commodity prices. This illustrates the continent’s continuing dependence on commodity demand, and highlights the need for it to strengthen its economic base through further industrialisation. Currently, Africa accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing, while manufacturing has been stagnant or declining as a percentage of GDP in all but a few countries. Regional integration must be a core component of industrialisation. Among the various pathways to industrialisation – strengthening democratic institutions and ensuring transparent and accountable governance, for example – regional integration is one of the most underutilised. While manufactured goods make up only around 20% of Africa’s total exports, they make up around 60% of trade between African countries. This highlights the opportunity that Africa represents as a buyer of its own manufactured products – especially those that are costly or difficult to import from more far-flung regions. Still, despite some improvements in opening borders, the continent remains highly fragmented – existing intra-regional trade levels are the lowest in the world - and the potential for intra-African trade largely untapped. For example, a truck delivering goods to supermarkets across borders in Southern Africa can be expected to carry up to 1600 documents to satisfy various legal requirements. Further, visa regulations make it harder for Africans themselves to travel within Africa than for North Americans or Europeans, and limit visits and exchanges that encourage trade. Restrictions like these make intra-regional trade in Africa the most expensive in the world – costs are 50% higher than in East Asia, for example – and, in many instances, create a situation where Chinese or European markets are ‘closer’ to many African countries than their neighbours. We also need to open our borders more to give opportunity for our people to work across borders. Free movement boosts our economies and helps to transfer skills, knowledge, technology and best practice. It encourages better understanding among ourselves and reduces the tendency for conflict; it enhances integration, which is at the core of the African Union itself. But if you think of it, our people have always migrated. The Bantu people are today part of the cultural diversity of East and Central Africa. The Nilotic people are found right across the horn of Africa and the beautiful Mande people in West Africa stretch from Chad to Mauritania. It has enriched our culture for centuries. It is the bedrock of our common African identity. I am also convinced that we have not fully exploited the Africa Youth Volunteer Exchange Programme that can be scaled up and used to give young Africans the opportunity to experience other cultures and countries, open their eyes to new opportunities and help them learn that we as Africans can work together to find solutions

REDUCING TARIFFS AND EASING LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT ARE CRUCIAL, BUT INSUFFICIENT. TO BOOST INTEGRATION AND TRADE, DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS IN AFRICA’S CONNECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE ARE NEEDED

to our own common challenges. Infrastructure investment is a critical enabler of integration. Reducing tariffs and easing legal restrictions on movement are crucial, but insufficient. To boost integration and trade, dramatic improvements in Africa’s connective infrastructure are needed. This includes not only investments in transport networks, but also those that create shared infrastructure to facilitate trade and exchange, such as investments in information and communications technology and regional markets for services – energy pools that allow power plants to distribute energy across multiple countries, for example. The African Development Bank estimates that there is an annual financing gap of $50 billion to meet sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure needs. Closing it will require drawing in greater private sector investment. One way to do this is make more strategic use of development finance and support. Investors often bemoan the lack of investable or ‘bankable’ infrastructure projects on the continent. While there are several facilities available to assist investors with the costs of identifying and preparing projects, awareness of these is low and facility design is often ill-fitted to investor needs. There is a need to better match facilities with investors through initiatives like the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa’s Project Preparation Facilities Network (PPFN) which aims to increase reach, collaboration and learning among support providers on the continent. New financial instruments can also help alleviate risk aversion in private investors. For example, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) has created a $128 million “project bond guarantee facility” that raises the credit rating of infrastructure bonds by absorbing a portion of risk. This free movement of goods and people will only become a reality when we build links across the continent: roads, railways, airports, the ports that will allow us and our goods, services and capital to move seamlessly around the continent. We already have taken steps in this regard. The Yamoussoukro declaration is a good example that if implemented, would transform air travel within the continent by making our air space open and more accessible, affordable and, facilitate the movement of goods and people. We recently launched the AU passport which we should all fully embrace and roll out. The call for industrialisation is not new for Africa, but we must now heed it in a different way. Global markets will play their part, but we must not forget the opportunities that lie on our own doorstep. Let us clear the way for them. Africa must take responsibility for the growth of its own economy and institutions. We have the means and the capital to do so. Africa’s financial challenges are not only lack of funding but also lack of effective, inclusive and optimal use of available resources. In Agenda 2063, we now have a blueprint that guides our development path for the next 50 years. Amb. Mohamed is the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and a Kenya’s candidate for the position of Chairperson of the African Union Commission

SENATE, SGF AND THE GRASS CUTTERS

Dauda Aliyu Hanga writes that the contract for the removal of invasive plants was executed

he testimonies of people we met and the evidence before our CSO group proved conclusively that it was a worthwhile contract that was executed to the benefit of the people. There have been public outcry, social media memes and even protest following the Senate’s subtle indictment of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawan, for corruption and misapplication of Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) funds. I initially also joined the frenzy, fumed, and vowed to join a street protest to force the federal government to take decisive action against those involved in the diversion of funds meant for the internally displaced persons (IDPs). Having spent several years in both public service and civil society, and participated in almost all protests and peaceful demonstrations to champion the cause of a common man, my conscience is always the guiding light of my actions. Being an active member of Citizens Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN), I decided to join other NGOs for a fact-finding mission in the North-east. Documents at our disposal indicate that the contract was clearly stated as: “Award of Contract For The Removal of Inversive (invasive) plants along River Channels & 115 Hectares of Simplified Village Irrigation Operation In Yobe State”. The documents showed that the contract was not awarded to Rholavision, the company linked to the SGF. It was awarded to Josmon Technologies Limited with address at 9, Moputo Street, 3rd Floor, Fames-Jal Plaza, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. The letter of award of the contract with the title stated above, which was signed by Aminu Ahmed, (head of procurement PINE) states: “I wish to refer to your quotation on the above subject and convey

approval for the award of contract for the Removal of Inversive (sic) Plant Species along River channels and 115 Hectares of Simplified village Irrigation Operation in Yobe State to your company at the total cost of N272,524,356.02 only, inclusive of 5% VAT with a completion Period of Three weeks.” We reliably gathered that a major director in the company above has a twin brother who is working as a personal assistant to one of the senators. We could not ascertain if the senator has any direct interest in the firm or contract. Again, we found out from the document from PINE that Rholavision was not the main contractor that got the job. Rholavision was engaged only as a consultant even though the Senate Committee created the impression that the company of the SGF executed the contract. The letter from PINE was titled: “Award of Contract For The Engagement of MSSRS Rholavision Engineering Limited As A Consultant” and reads: “I wish to convey to you the approval for award of contract to you as a Consultant on Removal of Invasive Plant Specie along River Channels and 115 Hectares of Simplified Village Irrigation Operation in Yobe State at the cost of N7,009,516.96 only, inclusive of all taxes, for the period of six Weeks....” The letter was also signed by Aminu Ahmed, (head of procurement, PINE). From the foregoing we were able to verify even from the documents that the contract in question has nothing to do with grass cutting at any IDP camp, but of course it was to clear invasive plants in River Channels which will aid the rehabilitation of IDPs by enabling easy flow of water through the channels to help fishing activities, enable proper irrigation for farming activities, and eliminate flooding for the communities during rainy season, when they return home from the camps after being

displaced by Boko Haram insurgency. During the course of our investigations with PINE, we were made to understand that Rholavision Engineering Nigeria Limited was co-opted into the project as consultants based on their past successful work in the North-east. They provided verifiable evidence showing that the company had been engaged in the clearing of the thypa grass from the Hadejia/Jamaare River Basin in 2013, a contract they executed for the African Development Bank (ADB). Our findings revealed that corruption which usually trails federal contracts channeled to states is at the heart of this crisis. We found out that some officials of one of the states in the region do not want PINE contracts awarded to independent companies, but rather that the funds from PINE should be allocated to their states through them directly. We understand this is why one of the state government officials specifically told the Senate Committee that PINE had not done anything in their state despite our on- the- spot assessment which showed clear evidence of clearing/evacuation of invasive plant species and irrigation operation on 115 Hectares of land. We have video evidence and pictures to show the state of the invasive plants in the river channels and the newly cleared channels. There is also evidence of the list of those who participated in the project and benefited from the work. Facts available to us showed that Mr Babachir Lawal actually resigned from Rholavision Engineering and all other companies he had shareholdings in, through his letter of resignation addressed to his lawyers, D. D Azura & Co, Suite C7/8 Bensima House, Plot 2942 Cadestral Zone A6, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja on August 28, 2015. Facts revealed he was a director to eight other companies (Rholavision Engineering inclusive) and

resigned from all the companies simultaneously. Our goal was to find out if indeed any work has been done at all. Remember that the work in question is the intervention by PINE within the Hadeja-Nguru wetlands, spanning an area of 3,500 square kilometre, made up of 12 local governments from three states (Yobe, Jigawa, and Bauchi). The intervention work involves manual channel removal of aquatic weeds (typha and others), simplified irrigation scheme, provision of motorised and manual boats, and construction of water control gates. CATBAN alongside the local NGOs went to the Likori bridge in Marma Channel on the Hadejia River. We found the first project sign post which consists of the contractors’ and consultants’ details. In order to see for ourselves the level of improvement as a result of the invention work, we took a boat down into the water canals that were previously overgrown with thypa grass. We paddled towards Burwa Fadama under Kabak community which subsequently led down Nguru Lake. It was at that point we gathered that at that part of Marma channel some communities were wiped out. Examples of such communities are Kakayau village, Matara Gari Gana, Duwa Kaku. Also down the Marma Channel within Yobe State, communities like, Sabon Gari, Araro, Maja Kakori, etc., were also wiped out. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was said to have visited Yobe and Jigawa States in 1988 in trail of birds from the Palace in England and spoke about the thypa grass. CATBAN can assert with authority that the contract was indeed carried out. The claims that it was meant to clear grass in IDP camp or that nothing has been done are nothing but unfortunate lies. Hanga is Director of Mobilisation at CATBAN

T H I S D AY •

N AY, JANUARY , 2017

EDITORIAL BUHARI’S CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER It is a worthwhile project if well implemented

n fulfilment of its campaign promise, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has commenced the payment of N5,000 monthly stipends, targeted at supporting one million of the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians under social investment scheme. Bank accounts have already been opened for all the beneficiaries in the pilot states and three banks have been enlisted to ensure that payments are effected to the beneficiaries within their communities and at no additional cost to them. While we commend the initiative, we hasten to point out that the idea of conditional cash transfer has been tried in the past under various schemes with unpleasant tales after hundreds of billions of naira had been wasted. For instance, under the past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, there was a programme called SURE-P, which was a response to the public demand for judicious utilisation of the savings from the partial removal of petrol subsidy at the time. At the end of the day, SURE-P did not make any impressive impact on the life of Nigerians. It is particularly THE GOVERNMENT’S noteworthy that the EXPLICITLY STATED conditional cash OBJECTIVES THAT transfer component QUALIFICATION AND under the SURE-P SELECTION FOR ANY OF THE was the Midwifery PROGRAMMES WILL NOT Service Scheme (MSS). It was BE BASED ON PARTISAN, designed to tackle ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS maternal deaths in AFFILIATIONS MUST BE the country which STRICTLY ADHERED TO. are traceable to lack of accessible, acceptable and affordable primary, secondary and tertiary health care, lack of drugs, dearth of skilled personnel, lack of access to skilled birth attendants; lack of consumables, medical equipment, poor referral linkages in our hospitals; poor transportation and general lack of access to basic emergency obstetrical care. There is nothing on ground to suggest that the objective

Letters to the Editor

of the programme designed with the specific purpose of enabling mothers to access healthcare to have their babies, was ever met. To the extent that it is the responsibility of government to adopt strategies for meeting critical challenges, this initiative is worthwhile if implemented faithfully. Because of the prevailing poverty in many of our rural communities, in some of our urban slums and in the absence of what the government should ordinarily avail its citizens (as of right), such social interventions can make a whole world of difference if implemented well. We also believe that there cannot be a better team for its implementation than the one being led by Mrs Maryam Uwais.

T H I S DAY

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et as lofty as this initiative is, as with everything in Nigeria, we believe it could easily be hijacked by politicians in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as was the case in the past, thus defeating its purpose. Under previous administrations, the cash transfer process became a mere cash transfer system to the private pockets of a select few. There was ambiguity in the system of determining the conditions that should be met, while accountability was a grave challenge. It became essentially money to be shared for political patronage. That the programme is being implemented in conjunction with some development partners such as the World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, African Development Bank and UNICEF gives it a measure of credibility. But that is not enough. It is important that the federal government’s explicitly stated objectives that qualification and selection for any of the programmes will not be based on partisan, ethnic or religious affiliations must be strictly adhered to. All factors considered, we believe that this is worthwhile initiative. If the necessary safeguards against corruption and cronyism are entrenched, this incentive may well improve on our appalling poverty indices, as has been proved in so many developing countries.

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TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND CODE LAGOS INITIATIVE

lobally, from elementary school to post graduate level, students are increasingly getting acquainted with the basics of coding. Coding, in this respect, is another name for computer programming. These days, governments, educators and tech industry advocates argue that it has become crucial to hold at least a basic understanding of how the devices that play such a large role in modern life actually work. Computer programming or coding is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging and maintaining the source code of computer programmes. This source code is written in one or more programming languages with the purpose of creating a set of instructions that computers use to perform specific operations or to control something or even for animations. According to computer experts, the knowledge of coding is important not only to individual students’ future career prospects, but also for their countries’ economic competitiveness as well as the ability of technology industry to unearth qualified personnel. In our technologically enhanced world, people with excellent computer skills are most likely to have an edge over their less computer literate colleagues when seeking employment. Currently, the era of using long hand, when secretaries are expected to type for their bosses had gone for good. So, possessing a good understanding of a range of computing skills is increasingly important. Consequently IT skills and capability developed by the subject at school are just as important if not more relevant than a good mastery of English and Mathematics. The skill of programming may be complex to learn but a basic

knowledge would only be an aid in the technological quest of a nation. In the United States, both Silicon Valley heavyweights and the federal government had backed an initiative called Hour of Code, which promotes computer science and STEM education in the country. In 2014, Singapore introduced programming lessons in its public elementary schools to boost the country’s economy. These two and many others have recognised information technology to be a strategic catalyst for getting competitive advantage for their children and citizens generally. Considering the relevance of computer coding skill in contemporary world, the Lagos State Government in collaboration with organisations such as SystemSpecs, Google, SAP and Praeklt is planning to progressively introduce software programming classes into public schools. The aim is to give students an opportunity to write code in a classroom setting. Obviously, this is the fence that divides technologically powerful cities and African countries especially Nigeria in a world that is becoming ever more tech-focused. It is that divide that Lagos State Government is making efforts to cross with its recent unveiling of “Code Lagos’’ computer programming initiative. This initiative is part of the bid to make Lagos State a technology frontier, and is also in line with the smart city agenda of the current administration in the state. Speaking recently at the unveiling of the initiative, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode stated that the primary aim of the initiative “is to meet the growing demand for technical skills” so as to develop a workforce that would speak

a universal digital language and provide solutions to myriad of socio-economic problems confronting the society. According to him, with the new concept, Lagos State “has joined the league of technology-compliant nations” that had recognised the importance of harnessing the power of technology for the success of their nations and nation-states. Coming on the heel of another recently initiated programme, tagged Eko n Keko (Lagos is Learning), Lagos State is, no doubt, in a hurry to use education as a veritable tool of socio-economic development. The thinking of the current administration in Lagos State is that the much popular mantra of Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko ( The Progress of Lagos State) cannot come to fruition without a solid foundation for children in quality formal and trending education. Adding coding to the school curriculum is not only a legacy worth bequeathing to our children but a project governments across the nation must of necessity embrace without delay. Beginning from April 2017, Code Lagos centres are to be launched in 500 primary, secondary and tertiary institutions (private and public) across the state, as well as in all public libraries and ICT spaces. There are also plans to enable interested parties log into the Code Lagos website and learn to code at their own pace. For this the government is set to commit funds to set up over 1,000 coding centres across the state. The ultimate goal is for one million students in the state to have access to the coding system by the year 2019. This is to prepare them for opportunities that would arise, as the state’s technology capacity increases. Rasak Musbau, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com 08116759819 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

The Sole Administrator It is going to be three years this year since the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has run the state without a cabinet, leaving him the sole administrator. In this report, THISDAY Politics Desk examines the state of the state and her reckless leadership. Additional reports by Yinka Kolawole

Aregbesola displaying a sample of the opon imo tab, one of the projects believed to have cost the economy dearly and completely extraneous to the needs of the people

t is the first of its kind in the history of the country. A democratically elected governor has suddenly turned around to make himself the sole administrator of his state. For this governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, it is however not the first time he would dare a thing of this nature and get away with it. When he first assumed office in November 27, 2010, he would not constitute his cabinet until almost over a year after he was sworn in. His excuses then were yet a familiar tirade. He’d sold the idea that his predecessor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was thrown out by a court to pave the way for his governorship had practically run down the state and as such, there was a compelling need to embark on a financial re-engineering of the state. He sold the idea in a most strategic manner. He even went round some major newspaper houses for their buy-in into what he chose to call his unusual approach to governance. He described his vision in the most hyperbolic language, selling the impression of one with a very sound mind and an avid reader of books, with some Marxist upbringing. He though often sounded pedantic during most of his ‘lectures’; he mostly got away with a lot of this twaddle because of his perceived ideological leaning. But it didn’t take long before he squandered his goodwill. Soon, the truth about his person and capacity to govern started to manifest. He no longer could sustain a majority of his projects or retain many of his employees across his many O’Yes creations. The finances of the state took a downward slope and everything became stagnant with a frightening debt profile. At a point, things became so bad in the state that poverty could be seen literally walking the

streets. This unpleasant circumstance would later be made worse by the hard biting recession, occasioned by their change administration. Although Aregbesola managed to scale through his re-election in 2014 despite his man-made failings, he has further changed the focus of

Perhaps, his feeble and deceptive ideological leaning is more important to the media than the actual content of his character, both as a person and governor. And without much ado, he’s failed to live up to billings as far as his governorship is concerned and could leave office more as a disappointment than reveling in the kind of goodwill that ushered him into office by the stroke of judicial intervention

democratic governance in the state as he now solely runs the state, almost three years since his re-election, thus setting an entirely new record in democratic governance. In what is best described as none other but autocracy, he now solely conceives ideas and policies, analyses them by himself, opens up bids for contracts, awards them to whoever he pleases, executes them all by himself, without as much anyone engaging him in a debate of constructive alternative views. He is suddenly an omni-administrator with preternatural tendencies to foresee challenges and needs of the state and contain them pronto. Unfortunately, he’s used to getting away with this administrative anomaly because of assumed media conspiracy to shield those they want to shield and expose those not in their good books. Perhaps, his feeble and deceptive ideological leaning is more important to the media than the actual content of his character, both as a person and governor. And without much ado, he’s failed to live up to billings as far as his governorship is concerned and could leave office more as a disappointment than reveling in the kind of goodwill that ushered him into office by the stroke of judicial intervention. A civil rights leader in the state, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman recently condemned the governor for the non-constitution of members of the State Executive Council (SEC) for over two (2) years of his second term in office, urging the State House of Assembly under the leadership of Speaker Najeem Salaam to commence an impeachment process against the governor for breaching the Constitutional provisions and the Oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sulaiman, who is the Chairman, Civil Societies

Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) lambasted Aregbesola for ruling the state like a sole administrator for over two years now, adding that the non-constitution of his cabinet has been seriously affecting the growth, development and progress of the state and advised him not to waste the precious time of the good people of the state in appointing his cabinet members. He also expressed worry about the kind of persons that people the State House of Assembly, whom he described them as toothless bulldog. He declared his organization’s support to the recent move by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly in proposing to amend the amended 1999 Constitution to compel the Federal and State Executive arm of government to constitute their cabinet within two months of assuming of office, urging the federal legislators not to drop the idea. He maintained that the financial crisis excuse of Aregbesola was not tenable in the eyes of morality and constitutional democracy, saying the man-made financial crisis facing the state was as a result of Aregbesola’s poor management of funds accrued to the state from the Federation Account, explaining that the governor has contradicted the provision of the amended 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as enshrined in Section 14 and 192 to 196, where the state should be governed with the principles of democracy, social justice and fairplay. A member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Kasali Oloyede remarked that Aregbesola’s action should be investigated for running the state as if his personal estate. The PDP man contended that EFCC and ICPC should CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

POLITICS

MONDAY DISCOURSE T H E S O L E A D M I N I S T R AT O R

step into Aregbesola’s running of the state as a sole administrator. He also wondered why Aregesola did not constitute the cabinet as a way of spreading the dividends of Democratic governance. The Transformation of Aregbesola Aregbesola is the fourth democratically elected governor of Osun State noted for hard work, resilience, humility and sincerity of purpose. A one-time lively and bubbly character, he soon became what he was not before assuming office. Many strange things started happening in the State of the Virtuous. The sobriquet of the state was changed from State of the Living Spring to State of the Virtuous without much ado from the citizenry, because the change did not affect the price of staple food. Recent changes are indeed mindboggling because they are not only affecting the price of fish; they are also threatening the very essence of social coexistence in the state. The Governor also prefers to go by the name Ogbeni, dropping the title: ‘His Excellency’. He said he was not excellent and has refused to appoint a team of cabinet members to help deliver on his promises, yet he is doing it all alone? He is the only one who deals with problems, formulates policies, disburses funds and also implements them all. But he didn’t also factor into the reality that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This, of course, explains the state of Osun today. His refusal not to appoint cabinet members is better put in perspective. What are its implications? Some people are saying that the governor’s refusal to appoint cabinet members in his second term is as a result of the poor performance of his cabinet in his first term. Keen watchers of his administration are also of the opinion that the poor performance of his cabinet permeated the state’s local government administration and service delivery in all facets of the system. Mr. Sunday Oyinloye, who claimed to be a stalwart of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) back then, noted that during Aregbesola’s first term in 2010, it took him almost a year to constitute his cabinet. He claimed he was saving money for the state. During his first two years in office, he failed to start any meaningful project by hiding under the disguise of saving money and that road construction was not a good idea during the rains. Thus, in arguing that his failure to have a cabinet in time in 2010 as a failure of his last tenure executive cabinet, it is trite to assume that the performance of his cabinet was woeful and a disgrace to the state. But that would not serve enough grounds to sole run the state at collective expense. Also, a human rights lawyer, Kanmi Ajibola, once sued the governor for refusing to appoint a team, almost two years into his second term. He filed the originating summons at the state High Court pursuant to Section 6(6) (B) and 24 of the 1999 constitution, after the expiration of seven days ultimatum given to him to appoint commissioners had lapsed. In a 24-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating summons, Ajibola submitted that the refusal of Aregbesola to appoint commissioners was illegal and unconstitutional. He sought an order of the court, directing Aregbesola to appoint commissioners into the available ministries in the state within seven days of the judgment of the court, stating also that Aregbesola has been acting contrary to his oath of office and code of conduct for public officers. Chief Judge of Osun State, Hon. Justice Adepele Oyebola Ojo, it will be recalled, recently granted an order directing Governor Aregbesola to provide information about the debt profile of the state, as sought by Kanmi Ajibola. The rights lawyer prayed the court to grant all his prayer in the new suit in accordance with Order 3 Rules 5 and 8 of the High court of Osun State Rules 2008. The Bailout Crisis While the issue of alleged poor performance has refused to subside, a fresh controversy has continued to trail the Osun bailout funds and how the disbursement has put the governor into trouble over his alleged inability to pay the full salaries to both the junior and the senior workers in the state. Thus, following the Senate’s recent resolution to probe the governor, CSCEOS, a civil society group has insisted that Aregbesola actually diverted over N16 billion of the about N35billion bailout funds. The Senate had directed its committee on

Aregbesola during one of his budget presentations to the state assembly

state and local governments to investigate how the Aregbesola administration spent the N35 billion bailout funds disbursed to the state for the payment of workers’ salaries and pension due. The committee was slated to arrive in the state on December 7, 2016. While welcoming all the investigative agencies, including the Senate Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Gumel and his members to the state, the civil society groups urged them to ensure unbiased, credible and thorough investigation into the alleged financial mismanagement of the funds accrued to the state from 2011 to 2016, including alleged diversion of the bailout funds, adding also that the team to should make their findings public for the sanctity of transparency and accountability. The group and some pensioners under the aegis of Good Governance Support Group (GGSG) of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state had earlier staged a protest in the state capital, Osogbo and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, calling for the investigation of financial impropriety and alleged diversion of the bailout funds by the one-man government. They alleged that the state under Aregbesola’s watch has been a reference point of bad governance out of the 36 states of the federation since the present administration came on board. They stressed that the governor had put the state into the economic quagmire which has made it unable to perform her social obligation to its workforce and retirees alike. Alimi-Sulaiman declared that the state government under Aregbesola’s watch has shown poor attitude to the plight of the workers and retirees alike by diverting the bailout funds meant to pay the backlogs of their salaries and pensions. The group also alleged that the recent compulsory three months annual leave handed down on the senior officers of the State civil service from directorship cadre upward was as a result of impeding financial crimes investigations from federal government agencies, saddled with such responsibility to investigate alleged financial improprieties. Reveling in Salary Payment Despite his palpable shortcoming in practically all the boxes ticked, the governor still found excitement in something. He said the ability of his government to pay salaries from September to December last year was a huge relief. He said it was in September 2014 that he had to call on workers to decide whether they wanted a staff reduction or payment of salaries according to available resources when the impact of the economic hardship in the country began to bite harder. According to him, in July 2015, the federal government listened to some of the solutions proffered to the national revenue crisis. He said when the state got N34.9bn bailout loan in 2015, there were controversies on how to disburse the funds because some people insisted that the whole funds should be spent all at once. “But I knew that with the magnitude of the economic crisis facing Nigeria, it would have been suicidal to expend the whole bailout loan at once without saving a portion of it which eventually bailed us out till around February this year,” Aregbesola said, adding that this was what made necessary, the constitution of

the state’s Revenue Apportionment Committee headed by labour veteran comrade, Hassan Sunmonu, making it possible for the state to pay salaries till February of 2016. He said the arrival of the Paris Club deductions refunds which made N11.7bn available to the state has also brought some relief, noting that the state would still need to intensify its efforts towards self-sustenance. …As Government Reacts In its wisdom, the government has described the recent protest and actions of some pensioners in Osogbo as an attempt by their sponsors to gag the truth. The government said those behind the fabrications of lies over bailout loans and other financial matters concerning Osun have also conspired to prevent any avenue for the government to set the records straight. The Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, in a statement, said the arranged protest against the non-payment of their entitlement was a cover-up to disrupt the sitting of the State House of Assembly and prevent the government from giving out the figures. He said for accountability and transparency, the state Hous e of Assembly has started probing how N34.5bn received from the federal government as bailout was spent. “The House of Assembly had summoned some government officials to appear before lawmakers on Wednesday 7th December 2016,” the statement read in part. Those summoned, the statement stated, include: the Accountant-General, Permanent Secretaries Ministry of Finance, Office of Budget Planning, Director-General of Debt Management Office, Officials of Wema Bank, Zenith Bank and First Bank, Osun State Chairmen of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE), Heads of Market Women Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)”. The Bureau queried why the protesters did not allow the House of Assembly to go on with the proceedings that was expected to be aired live on Television so that people can come out with questions that had agitated their minds if the few supposed pensioners were not out to gag the truth. He said the House of Assembly, which symbolises people’s representation, was about providing a platform to throw lights on how the bailout loan was disbursed to lay to rest, all allegations of financial recklessness levied on government. A Flashback… Shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, 27 out of the 36 states of the federation including Osun had difficulties in meeting salaries payment obligation to their workers as a result of the nation’s dwindling oil revenue. For this reason, Buhari offered to help concerned state governments with concessionary loan otherwise called bailout, facilitated through the Apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to defray backlog of salary arrears. Requests were made to the CBN by the concerned states. Osun requested for N64,327,492,947.01 to cover

salaries, allowances, pensions and gratuities of State workers while a sum of N23,887,975,810.26 was requested to offset the outstanding arrears of salaries, allowances, pension and gratuities of local governments workers in the state. Unfortunately, the CBN only approved and released N25,871,920,000 to cover just salaries and allowances of workers, leaving out pension and gratuities while only N9,117,070,000 was approved and released by the CBN for arrears of salaries and allowances, also leaving out local government pension and gratuities just as it was done for their counterparts in other states. To further display a high level of transparency in the disbursement of the loan, the state government and the labour unions agreed to supervise the disbursement exercise. And in line with the CBN guidelines, an apportionment committee headed by the first NLC President, Sunmonu, with labour unions and other stakeholders was set up to monitor the fund and the revenue from other sources. This, no doubt, afforded the labour unions and relevant stakeholders the opportunity to monitor all transactions as attested to by labour unions and bankers involved in the disbursement. But in spite of the fact that pensioners were not captured in the fund released to the state, Aregbesola ensured that both the state and local government pensioners benefited from the fund. It may not be correct, therefore, the assumption that the governor mismanaged the funds. Of all the beneficiary states, none is believed to have transparent and open management system of the fund as Osun. There are strong indications that the Osun government has demonstrated a high sense of responsibility and transparency in the application of the funds and as at November 30, 2016, the state government had N2.040 million in First Bank and N1.312 million in Wema Bank as balance of the bailout fund for the state with a balance of N173,226,000 domiciled in Zenith Bank for the Local Government bailout fund It is also noteworthy that under the modulated salaries structure, a chunk of the workers still receive full salaries and allowances while only those in the senior cadre get half salaries. Reports also have it that the government has directed an upward review of salaries and allowance under the modulated salary scheme for the end of last year. The Legislative Intervention In its intervention, a special plenary organised by the State Assembly also revealed the transparent manner by which the state disbursed the bailout funds. “How best can one show this to the whole world that the state government of Osun used the bailout for the salaries and allowances of workers of this state? We have the figures, we have the data, and we have everything. It is not as if we are just covering the executives unnecessarily, but based on the figures before us, there is nobody that will come to the State of Osun that will not go through the figure before you can know anything. What else do they need to link this, to ascertain the transparency nature of the bailout and the way it is being spent in the State of Osun? We need to thank the teams that are working together with Governor Aregbesola,” said the Speaker as the assembly adjourned the plenary organised to unveil how the funds were used. For many months there were insinuations that the governor diverted the funds for another purpose. The opposition wasn’t silent but Aregbesola too remained unperturbed until the assembly decided to call the concerned stakeholders to tell their story. After the normal opening rituals, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Kamil Oyedele opened the floor by reading a letter to remind all on what they had done as regards the allegation of fund diversion by Aregbesola. He narrated how the House has been monitoring and keeping records of all the activities of government and how it spent the bailout fund and other loans that were approved by the assembly. Also, the Accountant-General , Mr. Alaba Kolawole, switched on his microphone and threw more light on the confusion. He did not mince words as he went straight to the business of the day. Recounting how he called an emergency meeting on the 6th of July 2015, directing that the arrears of salaries, pensions and allowances CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

POLITICS

PERSPECTIVE

Nigeria’s Indifference Towards Communications Governance Nigerian leaders still have a lot to learn in terms of communications governance, writes Tunde Musibau Akanni Prior to the commencement of this year’s edition of Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Nigeria’s Communication Minister, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu stoked a fire of controversy. He announced that telephone services in Nigeria would soon be subjected to additional tax of 9 per cent. Not a few Nigerians were amused. There was a barrage of negative criticism. Most people complained that the planned tax was another manifestation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s insensitivity to the plight of an already impoverished population. The controversy gradually subsided. But it didn’t take long for another to be stirred on data service. It was the turn of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) this time. Much closer to the IGF which commenced Monday December 2, 2016, NCC blew the lid off the rather calm data sales realm to trigger what turned out to be another protracted debate. It announced that the prices of data would go up. As it happened to Minister Shittu’s offensive against Nigerians, so was NCC immediately confronted with a stern opposition from the people. Perhaps for want of what to say, NCC made effort to rationalise that the plan to endorse the price hiking for data was in the interest of the small ones among the service providers, who may be stifled out of business if that step was not taken. Thus arose questions that have not been duly addressed: How did NCC, justifiably and responsibly, arrive at this judgment? How would NCC justify its support for the poor taxpayers on whose sweat it’s been thriving? Most important: What reckoning has NCC for the engagement with stakeholders it claims to conduct? Seriously speaking! As NCC mustered efforts to defend its unenviable position, identifying as Nigerians for some of us attending the 2016 IGF suddenly became a burden. Colleagues from other parts of the world kept remarking derisively that Nigeria was always a surprise in spite of its insistence in claiming all of the superlatives relating to development in Africa. Within oneself, there was no doubting that those given governance responsibilities in this regard need to learn a lot. Shittu confessed, to senators after all, that he was not an expert but a sheer political office holder, when he tried to absolve himself of the NCC’s blunder. Even this Communications Ministry-NCC’s seeming dissonance isn’t healthy for a nation whose other sectors are not in the best form. What seems to be the biggest revenue earner after oil does not seem to be enjoying the kind of peace and seriousness that could nurture it to optimal earning capability and effective social relevance. It is rather disappointing that neither the ministry nor the regulatory body took cue from the events of the recent past and even the contemporary ones. In 1998, Columbia Journalism Review published a cover story, “Will Gates Shut the Papers?” In that report, the magazine recounted the dilemma of newspaper and

Shittu...not late to get it right

magazine publishers in the US following the inception of the internet. The publishers, at the reported annual congregation, noted that a greater percentage of their advertising accruals were being diverted to online platforms. They expressed serious concern and felt they need to be seriously creative and supported by all including the government since they would have to inevitably co-habit with the emerging, new media. The publishers’ worry became the worry of the society especially relevant government functionaries. The media were perceived as an indispensable variable in the democracy mix. Their survival would always be beneficial to the society it was argued. Subsequently, government agencies deemed it necessary to parcel advertisement out to several of these news media establishments as some kind of support. When this same experience began to

Colleagues from other parts of the world kept remarking derisively that Nigeria was always a surprise in spite of its insistence in claiming all of the superlatives relating to development in Africa. Within oneself, there was no doubting that those given governance responsibilities in this regard need to learn a lot

play out in Nigeria, it was not in any way inconspicuous. Indeed, the then Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, home to the highest number of media houses in Nigeria, acknowledged it in one of his public statements. He however barely advised that the media should explore alternative avenues for revenue for survival. Not for him, any likelihood of supporting the media. Today, big newspaper companies like The Guardian and Thisday have had to shed considerable weight of labour wages. Like Governor Fashola, like NCC since then till date. But there’s no stopping the incessantly rolling wheel of innovation. At the just concluded 2016 edition of the IGF, 73-year old Google executive and one of those, who saw to the inception of the Internet, Vint Cerf registered one bold submission – it was rightly titled: “The Internet as an Unfinished Business”. Cerf noted that even for those of them that were part of the beginning of what has turned out to be the most open technology they could not project what the functionality would be in future. According to him, it was particularly striking that when Professor Tim Berners Lee finally invented the worldwideweb in the early 1990s, he was first ignored. Incidentally, that appears to be the most dominant feature of the Internet today. According to him it has been interesting to note how OTTs (Over The Top applications) like WhatsApp and Skype have multiplied, adding that there was no predictable end to this multidimensionality in future. His advice to everyone at the opening session of the 2016 IGF therefore was that all those given the responsibilities to manage internet and allied services all over the world should be open to suggestions and even nurture the environment that would encourage volunteers of suggestions. Throughout the weeklong, multi-sided programme, this writer ruminated over this as a deep and far sighted remark and one that does not seem to resonate with the concerned authorities in Nigeria. Vint Cerf’s advice was a good reinforcement to the philosophy behind IGF itself. In most parts of the world, stakeholders are almost unanimous on the ideals of internet governance. Generally, the global best practices also endorsed by the Commonwealth Telecommunications, CTO and others recommend, among others that internet governance actors must necessarily be open and inclusive in their disposition. They must recognise the fact that as much as governments are important, so are users, the technical community, civil society and the academia. Multistakeholderism in this sense must, in the bid to making more voices heard, be emphatic on equitable participation and inclusiveness. CTO especially helps to bridge up member countries on trendy practices. Currently, that organisation is undertaking a study on the use of OTTs in relation to both the service providers and the users. It is interesting to note that the findings and

recommendations of this research will be ready in the first quarter of 2017. One then wonders why NCC does not want to take advantage of the CTO’s research efforts before taking a decision on the data services even if it means persuading the said small players? The Internet Governance Forum is the single, largest, annual global meeting of experts and other numerous stakeholders dedicated to discussing the various dimensions of the applicability of Internet to humanity. It derived from a United Nations Resolution. Interestingly, the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation delegate to the 2016 IGF was led by a Nigerian, Shola Taylor. Unmistakably committed to the ideals of the best practices in relation to telecommunication and allied services, he reiterated the indispensability of the ideals at the CTO session to the applause of all attendees. But who could take the message to the relevant authorities in Nigeria? Nigeria’s Ministry of Communication had zero representation. No less significant is the fact that although scholars around the world have been trying to use the 2016 IGF to strengthen the evolving multidisciplinary, global academic body of the Network of Scholars on Internet Governance, GIGANET. Yours sincerely has been the only university based Nigerian scholar at both IGF 2015 and 2016, courtesy of Ford Foundation and South African-based Research ICT Africa supported by IDRC of Canada. The conspicuous absence of Nigerian scholars from IGF 2016 and even that of 2015 which held in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, brings up the issue of the complete indifference or mutual exclusivity that had characterized the relationship between the Ministry of Communication, NCC and the nation’s universities and polytechnics over the years. The result: No Nigerian university or polytechnic is a member of the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, since Nigeria became a member in 1960s. The membership of the organisation is open to academic institutions in the member countries and so, academic institutions from such countries like Cote d’Ivoire and Bangladesh are members. With this conspicuous absence, how then would the duo of the Ministry of Communication and NCC realize the appropriate consciousness to collaborate on relevant concerns? As is the case with the academia, so it is with the media. NCC, interestingly, is interested in the survival of the small players in the telecommunication sector. But how much of the financial strength of the nation’s media, especially the print media, has been undermined by the inception of the internet? No one wants to heap any blame on NCC here but given its centrality to all related developments, being alive to them would only earn NCC, citizens’ better reckoning and better co-habitation with the media. - Dr. Akanni, member of the Internet Society is a Journalism teacher at the Lagos State University, LASU, Nigeria.

T H E S O L E A D M I N I S T R AT O R not paid to June 2015 be forwarded to CBN. With the assistance of a projector, he showed the letter written by the government to request the sum of over N64 billion, which was forwarded on 15th July, 2015 to the CBN. Permanent Secretary, Local Government, Chieftaincy, Rural and Community Affairs, Mr. Muftaudeen Oluwadare also confirmed that the state requested for a bailout loan of the sum of N23,887,975,810.26 from the CBN, “to actually liquidate the indebtedness of the local government on the payment of staff salaries and pension, and gratuity as at June 2015. Acting branch manager of Wema Bank PLC,

Osogbo, Musbaudeen Oyeniran while clarifying one of such grey areas said that his bank ensured that up till the remaining balance in the account now which is N1,312, 000, due diligence was done. Mr Ola Adedeji of Zenith Bank corroborated the PS of the Ministry of Local Government, confirming that the balance shown was true and accurate, “based on the statement we have, and the transaction that has taken place on that account. Because, when we applied to partake in the bailout funds, specifically for the local government employees of the State of Osun, we were guided by the CBN guidelines concerning the use and applications of those

funds as received.” First Bank’s Mr Adebayo Yakubu, who is the zonal head, Public Sector of Oyo and Osun confirmed what the PS said. The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye, however urged the state to always publicise how funds are disbursed “so that we won’t have problem like this”. The chairman of the Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Jacob Adekomi, didn’t say anything contrary . He added that “when the bailout came between August and September, precisely 15th September 2015, the labour leaders in Osun met government representatives and we had agreement via an

MOU on the disbursement of bailout. The chairman of the Joint Negotiation Committee, Comrade Adejumo couldn’t but agree with the NLC chairman just like Adeyeye, who chairs Osun chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE). In the final analysis, it is the belief of many that had the government put a cabinet in place and by implications, run a more transparent administrations, he would not have had as much crisis bordering on sheer administrative incompetence. However, moving forward, it is hoped that the governor would learn from this ugly experience and adjust accordingly.

MONDAY, JANUARY ,

FEATURES

• T H I S D AY

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Raising the Bar on Reducing Disasters As the country continues to grapple with numerous challenges on all fronts, Kasim Sumaina writes on the need for stakeholders to reduce disasters in the country

he Oxford Dictionary succinctly puts disaster as a very bad situation that causes problems. An unexpected event, such as a very bad accident, a flood or a fire, that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage. In accordance with its statutory mandate of coordinating the management of all emergencies in the country, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has developed various policy documents to guide disaster risk reduction, disaster response and recovery. Identification of the elements at risk and vulnerable groups that are likely to be most affected by a disaster is the first step in assessing disaster impacts and determining recovery needs. Enhancing Nigeria’s capability to recover from emergencies requires implementing recovery planning and programming activities in communities and across the following four inter-linked spaces that detonated the categories of impacts that communities and individuals have to recover from: humanitarian, social, economic, natural and built environments. According to the Guidance on Emergency Recovery, Nigeria is extremely vulnerable to droughts, floods, landslides, gully erosion and windstorms. Droughts it says, affect more people but flooding is the most frequent hazards. Droughts, hinted guide are most common in Sudano-Sahelian areas (such as in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe Sokoto, Bauchi, Katsina, Kano, Gombe, Kebbi and Zamfara states). Flooding along the Niger River and its tributaries affects large parts of the population living along the river and is also becoming frequent in major urban centres such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Ibadan. Landslides and extremely gully erosion impacts infrastructure and livelihoods of parts of Southeastern Nigeria with Anambra State being the most affected. Other disasters include disease outbreaks and epidemics, such as cholera, malaria, meningitis, measles, Lassa fever, yellow fever and more recently the Avian influenza virus (H5N1) in 2005. The country has also experienced many cases of collapsed buildings in some major cities including, Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt; terrorism, militancy amongst others. Experience with recent disaster recovery efforts in Nigeria highlights the need for additional guidelines, structures and support to improve on how we, as a nation, must address disaster recovery challenges. In 2012 flood disaster in Nigeria resulted in human, material and economic losses, with 363 people killed, another 5,851 injured, while 7,705,398 were affected and 2,157,419 persons were displaced. In like manner, conflicts and terrorism have caused wide spread damages, loss of lives, properties and the environment. Response to these disasters the Director General of NEMA, Muhammed Sani Sidi, noted, inform of relief, is not sufficient. Adding, “That there is the need to strengthen our strategies, plans and operations for effective disaster risk reduction, recovery and resilient building. This we hope to do through the National Disaster Recovery Strategy and Framework.” The aforementioned cases prompted the NEMA to recently explain that the national disaster profile over the years shows that Nigeria is bedeviled with varied and multiple hazards, some cutting across geopolitical boundaries, while others are peculiar to specific areas. These hazards have resulted in disasters due to the activities of man that increased the vulnerability of the population. The frequency and magnitude of disasters have therefore become sources of concern. The Director General while delivering his speech at the 2016 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction disclosed that the event provided the opportunity to discuss the over arching global challenge of disaster

A flood ravaged community reduction; brainstorming on how to encourage and bring all partners together to advance this cause. He said disaster can happen and that no one can stop disaster from happening but, harped on the need to ensure no citizen die as a result of any form of disaster. Sidi, noted that the combination of natural hazards and vulnerability pose a constant threat to both lives and livelihood as the world was witnessing a rapidly increasing impact of disasters with unacceptable impacts in mortality indices. According to Sidi, malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, HIV/Aids account for more than 70 per cent estimated deaths in Nigeria. Adding that every single day, Nigeria loses thousands of under-five year olds and hundreds of women of childbearing age. “This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality rate in the world.” He said there was the need to focus on the seven targets of the new Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Nigeria and the world at large. Adding that, this year’s theme will dwell on the first target seeking to create a wave of awareness about actions that need to be taken to reduce mortality around the world. According to UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011,”It is no denial that the threat from natural disasters is urgent and need immediate concerted attention. “Although analysis of recent trends show that the country is making progress in cutting down infant and under-five mortality rates, the pace still remains too slow. Preventable or treatable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/ AIDS account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria.” It will be recalled that the national disaster profile over the years, shows that Nigeria was bedeviled with varied and multiple hazards,

some cutting across geopolitical boundaries, while others were peculiar to specific areas. The frequency and magnitude of disasters in the country have therefore become sources of concern. “Our response to this challenge will ensure the protection and well-being of our future generation who are present here. This is building resilience on a sustainable platform. Nigeria also faces security challenges from several causes, including from micro nationalism, ethnic, religious and communal conflicts, civil disturbances. “Disaster from natural, conflict or technological sources threaten people’s lives and health, limit and increase uncertainty of their livelihoods and economic activity, severely undermine market access and competitiveness and compromise governance system. They also destroy both natural and built environment, expose females to sexual abuse and violence, contribute to increase in the number of refugees and displaced persons, erode development gains and limit structural stability. He emphasised that, “stakeholders need to create awareness on a sustainable basis especially around the communities so that we can build the resilience for the communities to be able to meet up with the challenges of disasters. We need to mitigate these disasters.” To this end, Sidi said the 2016 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, “provides the opportunity to discuss the overarching global challenge of disaster reduction; brainstorming on how to encourage and bring all partners together to advance this cause.” To develop a culture of disaster risk reduction in Nigeria in which communities and institutions understand the risks from and vulnerability to hazards and prepared with coordinated capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards in a way that balances risk with resources and need. “It is pertinent to know that, stakehold-

Stakeholders need to create awareness on a sustainable basis especially around the communities so that we can build the resilience for the communities to be able to meet up with the challenges of disasters. We need to mitigate these disasters ers involved in recovery need to recognise that successful recovery depends on their commitment to providing the human and material resources and services required during medium and long term recovery. And that, effective response to and recovery from emergencies require preparedness capacity and that the impacts of and capabilities to recover from disasters differ in different communities, that costs of recovery should be weighed against needs and resources because it is not possible to recover from all possible contingencies. The DG further explained that the strategic considerations for recovery should be early establishment of a transition strategy, from response to early recovery, to ensure the appropriate withdrawal of response functions and activities. Adding that an approach that is consistent with the level of residual risk, recovery issues and priorities by adopting a holistic approach to recovery inclusive of social, economic, infrastructure and environmental considerations. The timely identification and appointment of lead agencies to coordinate functions related to the each of the above considerations.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

FEATURES

In Nigeria, Newly Accessible Areas Reveal Scale of Crisis UNICEF warns on the humanitarian crisis in Banki, one of several towns in Borno State ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency, urging government to take urgent steps to address it

One of the towns in the North-east torched by Boko Haram terrorists

any residents of Banki in Borno State, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon, who escaped the onslaughts of the Boko Haram terrorists, have returned after the Nigerian army liberated the town in September 2015. But UNICEF warns on the humanitarian crisis in the war ravaged town, urging government to urgent steps to address them Less than 3km from the Cameroon border is the Nigerian town of Banki in Borno State. The town’s main street, once a thriving commercial area with cross-border trade, is now deserted and lined with buildings that have been destroyed during the conflict. Boko Haram captured Banki in September 2014. The small town’s position on the border made it a strategic location as they attempted to secure territory beyond North-east Nigeria. The Nigerian military, assisted by the Cameroonian army, reassumed control of the town a year later in September 2015. A tentative security is holding. Former residents and internally displaced persons from surrounding villages have now sought refuge in Banki. Widow’s Houses With the constant arrival of people, it’s difficult to accurately determine how many people live here. According to the local camp management, there’s at least 20,000 displaced people now living in Banki – and the true figure could be more than twice as high. Displaced families aren’t living in tents

in Banki, rather they have sought shelter in the town’s semi-destroyed buildings. Most don’t have roofs and the walls still bear the scars of battle. In some houses, groups of widowed women are pooling resources. The so-called ‘widows’ houses’ are home to women who were separated from their husbands during the conflict, or whose husbands have been kidnapped or killed by Boko Haram. Many feel safer living together, along with their children. As they wait to see if their husbands will return, the women make do as best they can. Some try to earn a small income through dressmaking, others get on with daily chores like pounding maize for meals or chopping firewood for use in cooking. In one widows’ house we meet 18-year-old Yagana. She used to live in a small village outside Banki with her husband and new

Displaced families aren’t living in tents in Banki, rather they have sought shelter in the town’s semidestroyed buildings. Most don’t have roofs and the walls still bear the scars of battle

baby Falti. The family decided to flee over the border to Cameroon because of the ongoing fighting. But while they were trying to get there, they were ambushed by Boko Haram. “As we were fleeing, Boko Haram stopped us,” she says. “They beat my husband and took him away.” Yagana later found out through friends that Boko Haram had shot and killed her husband. When Banki was liberated, Yagana decided to come back to Nigeria, but she is still haunted by memories. “I keep dreaming about my husband,” she explains. “Life is difficult without him, I can’t get him out of my mind.” For now, the future for Yagana and her baby is uncertain, but at least they have found some security here in Banki. “I used to feel scared all the time. But at least now, I feel safe,” she says. A Growing Crisis in Malnutrition The ongoing Boko Haram-related crisis has resulted in seven million individuals across the four North-east states in desperate need of assistance. Approximately 54 per cent are children. In Borno State alone, there are more than one million displaced people. The majority are staying with host families, but around 280,000 people live in official or unofficial camps. In a UNICEF health clinic in one camp, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist Andrew Sammy is screening children for signs of malnourishment. Today, one mother has brought in her little girl. Staff carefully measure the circumference of her fragile arm. It measures just 9.5 cm

– well below the 12.5 cm a healthy baby’s arm would measure. Her prominent bones and discoloured hair are further indicators of severe acute malnourishment. She’s in urgent need of medical care and will be given food supplements to help her gain weight. Sadly, this baby is one of thousands of children in urgent need of life-saving medical help. UNICEF estimates that 400,000 children in North-east Nigeria will suffer severe acute malnutrition this year. Without treatment, approximately one in five of those children – more than 75,000 – is likely to die. “At the moment, the critical urgent gap we see in all the IDP camps is the availability of food,” explains UNICEF’s Senior Emergency Coordinator Abdul Kadir Musse. “People could not cultivate in the last two years; still they do not have access to their cultivation areas… (and) all livelihoods are being lost. That’s why we see high rates of malnutrition.” As security gradually improves across the region, humanitarian agencies are accessing areas that have been too dangerous to get to before. In each new place, hundreds of thousands of people in need of urgent help are being discovered. In Nigeria alone, UNICEF in collaboration with the government and partners, has provided primary health care services to more than three million people with hundreds of thousands of children receiving psycho-social support, therapeutic feeding, access to safe water and education. Culled from UNICEF.org

IMAGES

T H I S D AY •

N AY, JANUARY ,

Photo Editor A

Managing Director Candel Company,Mr Emmanuel Kattie(right)and a winner of Candel Be A Millionaire Promo, Mr Awolowo Olalekan. during the presentation of gift to winners, in Lagos....recently

R-L; Ojora of Ijoraland, Oba Abdul fatai Aremu Oyeyinka Aromire Ojora; Sole Administrator, Apapa Local Government, Honourable Luqman Babatunde Alao and Physical Challenge, Toyin Tijani, during the presentation of wheelchair to Tijani at the Oba’s Palace, in Ijora, Lagos...recently

Executive Producer/Presenter, Ronke Apampa(right) and an Actress Mrs. Juliet Ibrahim at the yearly family entertainment show in Lagos...recently.

L-R: MD/CEO, Lotgrand, operators of Grandlotto, Niyi Adekunle; winner of a N10,800 million cash in the Yellow Terminal Machine Number lotto game, Razaq Adewale Abdulmali; and COO of Lotgrand, Wale Adekunle, at the cheque presentation ceremony to the winner in Lagos... recently

L-R: Managing Director, Nigerite Limited, Mr. Frank Le Bris; Long Service Award recipient,Mr. Emmanuel Olushola Egbedi and Chief Financial Officer, Nigerite Limited, Mr. Tijani Tajudeen Adio, during the end of the year party and long service award of Nigerite Limited in Lagos....recently

L-R: Deputy Governor, Sokoto State Ahmed Aliyu, DG of Ja’iz Foundation, Ambassador Adamu Babangida Ibrahim and Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal at the official launch of the Sokoto Community Contributory Health Scheme in Sokoto...recently

L-R: General Manager, Public and Government Affairs, ExxonMobil Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arinze; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; and Manager, Media and Communications, ExxonMobil Nigeria, M r. Ogechukwu Udeagha, at the Lagos Business School (LBS) annual ‘breakfast in Lagos... recently.

The President Women Society for Children /Wife of Vice Chancellor University of Ibadan Dr. Mrs Eyiwumi Bolutito Olayinka (left)and others dancing with children at the end of the year party oorganised by the University of Ibadan Women Society for Children in lbadan...recently FELIX ADEMOLA

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

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Quick Takes Promasidor Wins NIPR Award

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: Specialties Engineer, Total Nigeria Plc, Enyioko Cosmo; Head, Brand Management, Chams Plc, Adedayo Adejokun; Sales Manager, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc, Chris Amedu and Head, Regional Trade & Regulatory Affairs, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Miss Mojisola Akpata during the Consumer Rights Awareness Advancement & Advocacy lnitiative annual summit and award in Lagos....recently

Report: Nigerian Banks Have Overdue Obligations to Correspondent Banks Obinna Chima Nigerian banks in 2016 had piled up unpaid overdue trade obligations to correspondent banks, a report by Ecobank Nigeria Limited has revealed. Although the report did not specify the affected banks, it further pointed out that over $14 billion in foreign investment was lost within a year, a big issue which it said affected all deposit money banks in Nigeria. Research analyst at Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kunle Ezun, stated this in a report titled: “Strategic Business Review...with insight into 2017,” obtained at the weekend. It attributed the development to “the scarcity of foreign exchange and the fixed pegged exchange rate policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

BANKING According to the report, the situation also led to trade credit evaporation; shrinking suppliers’ credit and bill of collections; cold feet by export credit agencies; and infrastructural challenges. “Infrastructure continues to be a major challenge constraining,” it added. But in other to develop and maintain Nigeria’s infrastructure in the next 30 years, the country would require an estimated $3 trillion. The report listed the sector that requires funding in the country over this 30-year period to include social infrastructure - five per cent, ICT - 11 per cent; vital registeration and security -two per cent; energy - 33 per cent; transport - 25 per cent, agriculture, water and mining - 13 per cent; and housing

and regional development - 11 per cent. It estimated that the funding structure would be 30 per cent equity and 70 per cent debt. It noted that investment in infrastructure had been neglected in the past, but pointed out that, however, there is a lot more appetite and willingness presently, given the potential sources of domestic finance are becoming available. Nigeria’s diaspora is a pool of funds that can potentially be tapped into as the World Bank estimates that Nigerian diasporas sent back some $21 billion in remittances alone since 2013. “The new administration has identified infrastructure (both hard and soft) as its main area to tackle and are looking toward mobilising funds for infrastructure development.

The Nigerian Debt Capital Markets is beginning to see a revival as OTC companies such as FMDQ continue to improve transparency and processes within the market,” it added. According to the report, provision of long-term capital will trigger the development of new long term instruments (REITs, Infrastructural Bonds, etc) as well as to provide local counterpart funding for financing developments of real assets and hard infrastructure in the economy. The report pointed out that the Nigerian economy is already diversified by Gross Domestic Production (GDP) contributions, but stated that over-dependence on hydrocarbons for foreign earnings and government revenue remains the bane of Continued on page 24

BOI Disburses N3.1bn Funds to Micro Entrepreneurs Crusoe Osagie The Bank of Industry (BOI) has disbursed over N3.1 billion for on-lending to micro entrepreneurs under its Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) programme, a scheme the development finance institution (DFI) said is essentially aimed at poverty reduction through job and wealth creation focusing on the rural micro-enterprise operators with a view to extending financial inclusion in the country. The acting Managing Director, BOI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, said the scheme is designed to leverage on the spread and

INDUSTRY penetration of participating financial institutions in all parts of the country to stimulate economic activity within the critical mass at the bottom of the pyramid Olagunju during the cheque presentation ceremony to BOP on-lending loan beneficiaries, a partnership with renowned microfinance banks for credit delivery to microenterprises, pointed out that the BOP aligns with the employment and wealth creation objectives of the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) of

the federal government. “BOI is currently in partnership with 11 microfinance banks under the BOP scheme to which the sum of N1.1 billion had earlier been disbursed. The inclusion of LAPO microfinance bank N1 billion, Fortis microfinance bank N500 million and Lotus Capital N500 million will bring the number of such partnerships to 14,” he said. According to him, the scheme will enable the DFI to deepen its developmental lending activities by utilising the services of other tested financial institutions to deliver credit to the underserved and under-banked at

the bottom of the pyramid. He noted that the programme will further enable BOI achieve its core mandate of industrialisation by providing finance for the economically active and the financially excluded micro-entrepreneurs. In his words: “By partnering with these microfinance banks, we will be able to focus more on the funding of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We have also decided to work with them because lending to micro enterprises requires special skills that they have acquired.” Continued on page 24

The efforts of Promasidor Nigeria Limited in elevating the standard of education through its Cowbellpedia Mathematics Television Quiz Show initiative has earned it the ‘Best Company in Education’ in the 2016. The company was rewarded at the Lagos PR Industry Gala and Awards (LaPRIGA) organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos Chapter in Lagos recently. Speaking at the event, the Chairman, Lagos NIPR, Mr. Olusegun McMedal, said the consistency of Promasidor’s Cowbellpedia Mathematics Quiz initiative is commendable, adding that it has motivated students to have interest in the subject which is a basic requirement in any profession in life. He affirmed that Promasidor has done well in ensuring that students imbibe the culture of having Mathematics as one of their favourite subjects in school. Receiving the award, the Assistant Brand Manager, Promasidor, Miss. Oluwatooni Odewole, said it was deserving because of shows the company‘s strong commitment in improving the standard of education and encouraging them to erase the notion that Mathematics is a difficult subject that should be neglected. “It is part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the company which has greatly imparted on students’ perception of the subject,” she stated. Also on the CSR initiative, the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. OlivierThiry, said a strong foundation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has become very important at this stage when Nigeria is determined to broaden its economic base like that of the developed world.

Creativity Week Goes Continental

To celebrate the 10th year of Creativity Week, seasoned creative professionals have been selected to preside over creative competitions during the 6-day event. Competition for honours has also been extended to creatives from West African countries. Creativity week is the brain child of CHINI Productions, the official representatives of Cannes Lions on Nigeria. The event is slated for the Muson Centre in Lagos in March. The event will feature creativity competitions, Academies, Lions Edit Seminars and workshops, with an Award Night capping it up on the final day. Creative professionals in the Nigerian marketing communication space, such as the Managing Director of DDB Lagos, Ikechi Odigbo, Chief Creativity Officer, X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko, a former President of the Public Relations Consultant Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Chido Nwakanma and a few others, have been picked by the organisers as Jury Presidents and Academy deans for the competitions and academies. According to the Managing Director CHINI Productions, Nnamdi Ndu, the competitions will include the Young Pro West African Championship, the Miami Ad School Scholarship Competition and the Roger Hatchuel Academy. “The Young Pro category is meant for professionals employed in a related sector and should not be more than 30 years old. It is open to competitors in Cote D’Ivorie and Nigeria with a team comprising of two individuals.Winners will represent their countries at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2017,” he said.

HSBC Raises World Economic Growth

Economists at HSBC last week raised their forecast for global growth and inflation over the next two years based on robust manufacturing activity, a resilient China and above all the fiscal boost expected to come in the United States. It was the first time in nearly five years they have upped their growth and inflation outlooks over a two-year horizon as 2017 gets underway and as investors prepare for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House. “The British economy appears to be in ruder health than had been anticipated expected following the country’s decision in June to leave the European Union, while Japan, Germany and Spain are also looking brighter,” HSBC said.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria should give Arik and Medview special concession and the opportunity to buy forex. We have saved the country a lot of money that would have gone out as capital flight” Chairman, Arik Air,

Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD REPORT: NIGERIAN BANKS HAVE OVERDUE OBLIGATIONS TO CORRESPONDENT BANKS

the economy. This has continued to threaten the country’s source of foreign earnings and government revenue since the drop in crude oil prices. This has also manifested in OPEC members defending market share; competing African producers; sanction- free Iran; Shale oil; alternative and clean energy; low level of external reserves; high unemployment rate, largely youth dominated (13.9% new rate and trending up); high cost of doing business; and high cost of living (Inflation at 18.48% in November 2016) The Ecobank report argued that some factors that impacted negatively the growth of theth onomy last year included the exclusion of 41 items from accessing foreign exchange in the official foreign exchange market; drop in power supply by 1.200 megawatt to 3,455 megawatt; the treasury single account (TSA) implementation which withdrew local and foreign currency government deposits from commercial banks, hereby tightening market liquidity. BOI DISBURSES N3.1BN FUNDS TO MICRO ENTREPRENEURS

He added that BOP model is consistent with the operating models of some of the world’s best DFIs that deliver their services indirectly through intermediary retail finance that have extensive branch networks in the country. The Managing Director, Lotus Capital, Mrs. Hajara Adeola, expressed delight to be a partner in the BOP programme, stressing that Lotus Capital aligns with BOI’s objectives of financial inclusion. She said the microfinance bank offers a unique and specific alternative mechanism for providing finance to financially excluded micro-entrepreneurs. “We are very grateful to the BOI for extending credit to BOP and those who do not have the access to financial services to grow and to lift Nigeria out of the recession. We are very delighted,” she said.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

NEWS

The Amazon Project Offers N10m Seed Capital for SMEs Emma Okonji AIS Media, a United States-based digital marketing agency has announced the inaugural season of The Amazon Project, a 13-week television production that is designed to select and invest in the brightest entrepreneurs and business ideas in Nigeria. The programme is billed for broadcast on terrestrial and satellite television towards the end of the first quarter of the year. The Amazon Project (TAP) will offer about N10 million in seed capital and business incubation support to 10 winners who are able to demonstrate their superior abilities as entrepreneurs, to a diverse panel of carefully selected judges and ultimately the viewing audience. Participating judges in TAP are the Chairman of Phillips Consulting, Foluso Phillips; the CEO Zappahire Events, Funke Bucknor; Founder Numeris Media Group, Anne Agbakoba and CEO, NetPlusDotCom, Wole Faroun. The show is expected to also feature a series of guest judges. In capturing the essence of the production, the Chief Executive Officer of the project, Mr. Wole Faroun, said: “Doing business in Nigeria in a recession is like wading through the famous Amazon rainforest

where only the toughest and smartest survive. This project will reward entrepreneurs that can prove they have what it takes to make it in Nigeria by applying innovation and smart economics to meeting needs and solving complex business problems.” Creative Anchor and Lead Producer of the project, Mr.

Segun Lawal, said: “The Amazon Project is entrepretainment at its very best. In this intense, reality TV show, business meets entertainment in a manner tailored to the Nigerian environment, and geared at promoting local industry and innovation.” TAP is sponsored and supported by a leading

telecommunications firm and a foremost commercial bank. Both institutions are ideal partners for this project, having demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses over the years. The show is expected to be produced by Ultima Studios, with episodes recorded at

their multi-million-dollar studio complex in Lekki, Lagos. To ensure integrity of the contestant selection process, both short listing and voting will be overseen by a leading entrepreneurship and capacity building organisation, in collaboration with top consulting firm in Nigeria.

LUCKY WINNERS

L-R: Head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos Zone, Joshua Ngada; N1million cash prize winners, Olawunmi Olaosebikan; Chinwe Okpanumee and Regional Operations Director, Lagos Region, Airtel Nigeria, Oladokun Oye at the Airtel Red Hot promo prize presentation ceremony in Lagos…recently

NANTA Supports FG on Total Rehabilitation of Abuja Runway

Access Bank Promises to Maintain Leadership Position on FMDQ OTC Goddy Egene

Chinedu Eze The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has given support to the federal government’s plan to rehabilitate the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; saying for a thorough job to be done the closure of the airport was inevitable. The Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had announced that the airport would be closed for six weeks for comprehensive work on the runway from March 8, 2017, while the Kaduna airport in Kaduna state would be used as alternate airport. NANTA also called for urgent construction of second runway at the airport to ensure that the issue of airport closure for such activities did not arise in future, adding that a second runway was critical at the airport. The President of NANTA, Bankole Bernard, who addressed newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, said before the decision of government to repair the airport runway, many incidents were recorded on the facility when aircraft on landing damaged their landing gear or burst their tyres or hit patchwork left-overs. He cited the Saudi Arabia cargo plane that hit gravels used to patch the runway about three years ago and got damaged severely. Bankole said to avert major accidents on the runway it was expedient that the rehabilitation took place so that the runway, which exceeded its life span of 14 years ago, would be ready to serve the airport for another 20 years.

He urged the minister to put the motion in place for the building of a second runway at the airport so that one runway could be in use while the other is under construction in future, as it is happening at the Heathrow Airport, London right now. “The rehabilitation is very necessary. The runway has existed for 34 years, 14 years older than its 20 years life span. So we are in support for a total repair of the runway. The inconvenience is something we all have to bear. For us at NANTA we feel government has to take some factors into consideration. But we also want to know whether government would provide free shuttle from the alternate airport in Kaduna to Abuja,” Bernard said. The NANTA president commended the federal government for earmarking N1.01 billion for the completion of the passenger terminal at the Kaduna airport and said that the Minister assured that passengers would be protected while shuttling from Kaduna to Abuja. Bernard, however, requested that government should allow international airlines that operate to Abuja to move to Lagos, noting that if this was not done the airlines may relocate their operation from Nigeria and it would be difficult to bring them back to operate in the country, adding that the foreign carriers also contribute immensely to the economic development of the country. He also emphasised that government keep their words by ensuring that the rehabilitation was done in six weeks as promised.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe has said the bank would maintain its number one position on activity chart of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. Access Bank has remained number one on the activity chart, accounting for the highest value of securities trading on the platform. It led the top 10 banks to trade N121.59 trillion on the FMDQ OTC in 2016, a value that represented 71 per cent of the overall turnover in the market. Speaking at the FMDQ OTC office last Thursday at the ceremony to list Access Bank N35 billion commercial paper (CP), Wigwe said the bank would deplore needed resources to maintain its leadership position. According to him, the successful raising of N35 billion under the bank’s N100 billion CP programme is one of the strategies to remain an international financial group. He had noted that the high level of confidence investors reposed on the bank led to the success-

fully raising of the N35 billion from the market. “Access Bank was able to raise N35 billion from the money market, the largest listed commercial paper issuance ever in Nigeria despite the current economic headwinds and prevailing tight liquidity situation in the country. This indicates the high level of investor confidence in Access Bank. This issue will allow us create a liquidity buffer as we align our liquidity management to international best practice based on our internal Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process (ILAAP).This is particularly important given the prevailing macro environment and its impact on industry liquidity,” he said. Also speaking at the ceremony, Vice President & Divisional Head, Marketing & Business Development of FMDQ, Ms. Tumi Sekoni, congratulated Access Bank Plc on successfully raising of N35 billion from the market at relatively competitive rates. She also lauded the contribution the bank was making to the development of the Nigerian markets, highlighting that the positive impact a quotation of this sort would have on

the market was not to be underestimated. Following the signing of the FMDQ CP Quotations Register and the presentation of the FMDQ CP Quotations Certificate to the issuer, Mr. Abubakar Jimoh of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, said: “There is strong investors’ perception towards corporates with strong fundamentals and a good track record like Access Bank. This issue further demonstrates Access Bank’s commitment to continuously explore innovative financing options and consistently drive value growth for its stakeholders.” Also speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Ayo Fashina of Chapel Hill Denham, said: “This largest ever CP Issuance in Nigeria’s money markets, provides further credence to Access Bank’s long-standing reputation as a top-grade issuer. We remain grateful to the domestic institutional investors – especially the Nigerian pension fund administrators – for their overwhelming support, and to the FMDQ-OTC management and team, who have worked with us to ensure a timely completion and quotation of this CP issuance.”

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Market Sheds N214bn on Profit Taking in First Week Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Nigerian equities market opened 2017 on a bearish note, shedding N214 billion in the first week. Having recorded positive performance in the last weeks of December, most investors resorted to profit taking in the New Year, a development that depressed the broader index. Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) AllShare Index (NSE ASI) went down by 2.3 per cent to close at 26,251.39. Similarly, market capitalisation shed N214 billion to close lower at N9.032 trillion. Although trading was for only four days, three out of the days were negative. The only positive performance was recorded on Friday (+0.2) as gains in the banking space – Zenith Bank (+1.8 per cent), Access Bank (+2.3 per cent), United Bank for Africa Plc (+1.5 per cent ), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (+1.2 per cent) FBN Holdings (+1.7 per cent) and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (+0.3 per cent) – bolstered. Apart from the NSE ASI that closed negatively, all other indices also finished lower during the week. The NSE Industrial Goods Index led with a decline of 3.0 per cent following weak sentiments toward Dangote Cement (-4.0 per cent) and Lafarge Africa Plc (-2.3 per cent). The NSE Consumer Goods Index went down by 2.3 per cent on account of losses suffered by Dangote Flour Mills Plc (-4.9 per cent), Nigerian Breweries (-4.0 per cent) and Guinness Nigeria (-3.7 per cent). The NSE Banking Index shed 1.6 per cent as a result of profit taking in GTBank (-4.7 per cent) and ETI(-4.2 per cent). Also the NSE Oil & Gas Indices lost 1.6 per cent on the back of losses by Mobil Oil (-5.0 per cent) and Forte Oil (-4.6 per cent). The NSE Insurance Index recorded a 0.2 per cent as NEM Insurance Plc and Custodian shed 9.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively. Daily Market performance The market opened the first trading day of the year bearishly. The market followed the same trend on the second day, leading to a decline of 1.41 per cent in the first two trading days of 2017 as some investors lock in profits while others await government’s economic policy direction for year. The NSE ASI went down by 0.46 per cent on Tuesday to close at 26,495.04. Similarly, market capitalisation shed N41.9 billion to close at N9.1 trillion as a total of 17 stocks declined while 14 stocks appreciated. Commenting on the performance, analysts at Meristem Securities Limited said: “The performance can be ascribed to profit taking activities on some counters that rallied towards the close of the prior year. For the rest of the week, we expect a continuation of today’s trend, hence, we posit that the market may close the week on a negative note.” For the third consecutive day, the Nigerian equities market continued on its downward trend on Thursday with NSE ASI declining by 1.07 per cent. NAHCO, emerged the highest loser for the day, shedding 9.49 per cent to close at N2.86. Guinness (-5.00 per cent), Dangote Cement (-4.94 per cent), Custodian (-4.88 per

billion in 2,659 deals. The three most actively traded stocks were: Oando (51.13 million shares), FCMB (35.87 million shares) and Zenith Bank (20.81 million shares), while the most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (131.98 million), Oil and Gas (52.34 million shares), and ICT (10.77 million shares).

cent), and Caverton (-4.44 per cent) also featured on the top laggards’ list for the day. Market performance, as measured by NSE-sector indices, showed that the NSE Banking Index and NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 1.67 per cent and 0.71 per cent respectively. Conversely, the NSE Industrial Goods, and the NSE Oil & Gas shed by 1.81 per cent, and 0.14 per cent in that order. According to analysts at Meristem Securities Limited, Wednesday’s was affected by a decline in the share price of Dangote Cement which lost 4.01 per cent. “Ex-Dangote Cement, the market would have returned 0.35 per cent. While we expect the market to close negative for the week, we envisage that the market may gain tomorrow(Friday) on the backdrop of bargain hunting activities on stocks that have suffered price declines recently and are trading at historically low levels,” they said. The total value of stocks traded on Thursday was N898.71 million, up by 2.88 per cent from N873.57 million recorded the previous day, while the total volume of stocks traded was 137.69 million shares n in 2,488 deals. The most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (110.66 million), Conglomerates (11.13 million), and Industrial Goods (5.38 million shares), while the three most actively traded stocks were: Fidelity Bank (25.05 million shares), Diamond Bank (16.95 million shares) and United Capital (11.03 million

shares). However, the market rebounded on Friday, as the NSE ASI appreciated by 0.15 per cent to close at 26,251.39. The appreciation recorded in the

TOP TEN BROKERS(BY VALUE)

share prices of Guinness, GTBank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and FBN Holdings were mainly responsible for the rebound. Investors traded 210.20 million shares worth N1.51

AS AT LAST FRIDAY

BROKER

VALUE % VALUE

CAPITAL ASSETS LIMITED - BRD

5,406,349,933.74

41.82

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

1,515,829,577.64

11.73

CSLSTOCKBROKERSLIMITED EFCP LIMITED

837,955,853.94 793,890,336.36

6.48 6.14

CHAPELHILLDENHAMSECURITIESLTD-BRD

551,623,554.28

4.27

MORGAN CAPITAL SECURITIES LIMITED

499,060,775.28

3.86

VETIVA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD

436,688,447.34

3.38

330,551,518.09

2.56

A.R.M SECURITIES LIMITED - BRD CARDINALSTONESECURITIESLIMITED READINGS INVESTMENTS LIMITED - BDR

TOP TEN BROKERS

(BY VOLUME)

BROKER CAPITAL ASSETS LIMITED - BRD MORGAN CAPITAL SECURITIES LIMITED

319,778,765.86

2.47

303,518,828.89 10,995,247,591.42

2.35 85.06

AS LAST FRIDAY VOLUME

%VOLUME

7,017,529,112

81.24

512,440,114

5.93

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

153,036,825

1.77

APEL ASSET LIMITED - BRD VETIVA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD

109,971,646 78,231,008

1.27 0.91

CARDINALSTONESECURITIESLIMITED

67,121,992

0.78

CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

66,821,153

0.77

NEWDEVCO FINANCE SERVICE CO. LIMITED

51,443,843

0.60

MERISTEM STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

30,630,263

0.35

CHAPEL HILL DENHAM SECURITIES LTD - BRD

29,362,320

0.34

8,116,588,276

93.96

Market turnover Meanwhile, a total of 4.319 billion shares worth N7.376 billion in 9,330 deals were traded this last week by investors in contrast to a total of 405.939 million shares valued at N3.724 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 6,363 deals. As usual the Financial Services sector led the activity chart with 4.177 billion shares valued at N5.306 billion traded in 5,047 deals, thus contributing 96.71 per cent and 71.94 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Oil and Gas sector followed with 65.827 million shares worth N594.522 million in 1,385 deals. The third place was occupied by Conglomerates sector with a turnover of 26.487 million shares worth N48.163 million in 299 deals. Trading in the top three equities namely – Unity Kapital Assurance Plc, Omoluabi Savings and Loans Plc and FCMB Group Plc accounted for 3.863 billion shares worth N3.013 billion in 286 deals, contributing 89.45 per cent and 40.85 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Also traded during the week were a total of 55 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N505.65 executed in 11 deals, compared with a total of 9,965 units valued at N56,446.35 transacted the previous week in 16 deals. A total of 5,100 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N5.120 million were traded this week in two deals, as against no bond transaction the preceding week. Price gainers and losers The price movement chart showed that 18 equities appreciated, lower than 37 equities of the previous week. Thirty-one equities depreciated in price, higher than 21 equities of the previous week, while 126 equities remained unchanged higher than 117 equities recorded in the preceding week. UACN Property Development Company Plc led the price gainers with 14.5 per cent, trailed by United Capital Plc with 10.6 per cent. Access Bank Plc appreciated by 6.9 per cent, just as Eterna Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Unity Bank Plc garnered 6.4 per cent, 6.4 per cent and 6.3 per cent in that order. Other top price gainers included: FBN Holdings Plc(4.4 per cent); UBA(4.0 per cent); Fidson Healthcare Plc(3.9 per cent);and CAP Plc (3.1 per cent). Conversely, NAHCO led the price losers with 13.9 per cent, trailed by Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc with a decline of 13.4 per cent. N.E.M Insurance Plc and Sterling Bank Plc shed 9.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively. Other top price losers included: Cadbury Nigeria Plc (7.6 per cent); Union Bank (5.1 per cent); Mobil Oil Nigeria (5.0 per cent); Dangote Flour Mills (4.9 per cent); Ashaka Cement Plc(4.9 per cent) and Custodian and Allied Plc (4.8 per cent).

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INSIDE BROAD STREET

A view of Lagos financial district

AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

DMO to Sell N430 Billion Bonds in First Quarter Obinna Chima The Debt Management Office (DMO) said it plan to issue between N340 billion to N430 billion of local-currency bonds during the first quarter of this year. The debt office said on its website it would auction N110 billion to N140 billion worth of bonds maturing in 2021 and N85 billion to N105 billion in debt maturing in 2026. It will also sell N45 billion to N55 billion in bonds maturing in 2027 and N100 billion to N130 billion of the 2036 debt. According to the debt issuance calendar, the 2027 bond will be a new issue, in March. The rest will re-open previously issued debt, starting after January 18, Reuters reported. Africa’s biggest economy has proposed a 2017 budget deficit of N2.36 billion for this year. The government hopes to fund it by borrowing N1.254 trillion domestically and N1.067 trillion abroad. But the government had struggled to fund the 2016 budget after a planned Eurobond sale and World Bank loan were delayed. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week sold N172.85 billion at its first treasury bill sale of the year on Wednesday with yields unchanged from the previous auction, held on December 21. Traders revealed that the central bank sold N115.85 billion of one-year debt at a rate of 18.68 percent, the same as the previous auction, traders said. They said the central bank also sold N35 billion of 91day paper at 14 percent and N22 billion of six-month bills at 17.5 percent, unchanged from the previous auction. Subscription at the auction came to N194.12 billion, well up from N42.68 billion at the previous auction. The central bank issues treasury bills regularly to help lenders manage their liquidity, curb rising inflation and provide naira to help the government fund its budget. The monetary policy committee had last November left the benchmark monetary policy rate at 14 per cent. Inflation also stood at 18.48 per cent in December. Jobs in Third Quarter The Nigerian economy added 187,226 new jobs in the third quarter of 2016, from 155,444 jobs in the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed last week. Also, THISDAY reported that labour

MARKET INDICATOR productivity for the quarter rose to N713.7 per hour, compared to N636.3 per hour in the second quarter. Notwithstanding the employment generation report, which was released alongside the labour productivity index by the NBS Monday, January 2, the data came amid rising unemployment of 13.9 per cent during the quarter under review. The NBS further stated that the economy needed to generate 2.6 million jobs annually to hold down the current unemployment rate, as the country’s labour force is estimated to grow at over 2.6 million per annum. According to the job creation report, employment generation was insufficient to meet the ever-growing labour market, leading to the continuous rise in the level of unemployment in the country. NBS said the huge number of unemployed was a reflection of the current economic realities, as only few businesses are growing and employing while many others are shedding jobs. External Reserves Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves continued the appreciation which it commenced about two months ago it closed at $26.094 billion last Wednesday, according to latest figures made available by the CBN. The current value of the reserves, which is derived mostly from the proceeds of crude oil sale represented an appreciation by $2.137 billion or nine per cent, compared with the $23.957 billion it was as at November 2, 2016, data gathered by THISDAY showed. A source who spoke with THISDAY on the condition of anonymity said the increase in the level of exports as well as the drop in imports in the country, following renewed import-substitution drive by the central bank and federal government could be responsible for the appreciation of the external reserves. THISDAY recently reported that the import substitution policies being driven by the central bank and the federal government appeared to be yielding results, as a country assessment report on Nigeria by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently indicated that a sharp decline in imports contributed to a modest recovery in Nigeria’s external current account balance in the first half of 2016.

Infrastructure Funding Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund is setting up a company in partnership with London-based local currency guarantee firm, GuarantCo to enable pension funds to invest in Nigerian infrastructure bonds. The Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, who disclosed this last week said the new business will be launched in a few weeks’ time and aims to overcome some of the challenges facing the financing of infrastructure projects in Africa’s most populous nation. “The company will provide enhancements for infrastructure bonds, and we believe this will make an effective platform for Nigerian pension funds to invest in them,” Reuters quoted Orji as saying. GuarantCo facilitates infrastructure development in low income countries by providing credit guarantees denominated in local currency to financial institutions and bond investors. It is funded by Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Australia, and specialises in frontier market infrastructure. NPLs Seen Rising Access Bank Plc last week said it was expecting that the level of troubled loans in Nigeria will continue to climb before an economic recovery in the second half of the year brings relief to the country’s lenders. “Across the entire industry you will see an uptick in non-performing loan ratios,” the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe, told Bloomberg in an interview. “We are better than most.” Nigeria’s fourth-largest bank by assets expects that its non-performing loans (NPLs) will climb to “slightly below” three per cent of total loans by the end of this year, Wigwe said, compared with 2.1 percent for the nine months through September. The picture is not as rosy for the rest of the industry as lower crude prices and foreign-currency shortages cause Africa’s largest economy to contract. Loans in the sector in danger of not being repaid surged to an average 13.4 percent by the end of September, above the five per cent threshold set by regulators. Access Bank is targeting companies that source their raw materials locally for loans to reduce the risk of unpaid debt, the CEO said.

STATUS REPORT

Heritage Bank Offers N50m Grant to Entreprenuers Heritage Bank Plc said it has gone into partnership with the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) in an initiative aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs with grant of N50 million. The grant was awarded to about 35 young entrepreneurs from agricultural, creative industry and the information & communication technology (ICT) sector after a rigorous and transparent review process conducted by an independent body, out of the tens of thousands who applied for the grant. The bank explained in a statement that the initiative was part of its contribution to help steer the economy out of recession. Speaking at a ceremony held in Lagos, the Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, who said the nation’s economy had experienced severe economic downturn, affirmed that the 35 successful entrepreneurs would be provided with the required guidance on fund management as individual beneficiaries would get at most N2million each. Sekibo, who was represented by the Divisional Head, Retail/SME, Mrs. Ori Ogba, stated that the bank supported the initiative because of its believe in Nigerian youths, who make up about 80 per cent of the country’s population. He further explained that Heritage Bank was impressed with the nature in which talents were sought out for, the rigorous selection process and the integrity with which the overall scheme was delivered. Sekibo expressed satisfaction in the long term sustainability of the initiative, stating, “We will not support something that will not stand the test of time.” In his remarks, the Chairman/Founder of the NYPF, Mr. Moses Siasia, said the idea of the grant was born out of the desperation of young Nigerians to build businesses in an economy fraught with a seemingly endless onslaught of challenges. He explained that the society does not encourage young talents and innovations, while stating that the country is yet to tap up to five per cent of its youthful resource. He called on all stakeholders to see youth growth as a priority for National development.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Arumemi-Ikhide: Nigerian Airlines Recorded Huge Losses to Aviation Fuel, FX Scarcity in 2016 The Chairman of Arik Air, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide spoke to Chinedu Eze on the challenges that hampered the operations of local airlines in 2016. Excerpts:

Arumemi-Ikhide Arik Air must have lost huge revenue when the unions stopped your operations for one day? We had held talks with labour and we seem to be agreeing on certain issues they pointed out, but suddenly they decided to call for strike, even when we have not concluded our discussions. Whatever their grouse may be, I don’t think it is proper for them to be exaggerating issues. It is true we had not paid our staff for October and November, but they claimed we owed the workers seven months. That is wrong and unprofessional. We know they want to establish a union in the company and we told them that they should give us time because most of the airlines they are referring to are much moreolder than us. Like British Airways which is over 90 years old, Ethiopia Airlines is over 70 years and that is the same with other legacy airlines. What we said was that they should give us time and let us put our house in order. We will sit down and talk with them and reach an agreement. We usually have normal management meetings with the staff and the staff is free to air their views. I am aware that most of the staff in Arik have their own views, a few of them want to join the union which we are not opposed to but majority of them do not want to join. Be that as it may, I think the message the action of the unions sent out to Nigerians is that there is uncertainty in doing business in the avia-

tion industry, not just Arik. Whatever we do, we should understand that with all the difficulty in the country such action makes doing business in the country unattractive. By that action I hope they know that they are scaring investors away from the sector. We must understand that the whole world was watching and most of them were perplexed that the unions could do that from the responses we got, some people were surprised that the unions could do that and the authorities did not do anything to stop them, knowing the effect on the image of Nigeria in terms of

I must say that it is not just Arik, whether it is Medview, Dana, Air Peace, we have all lost a lot of money, because we have to pay our financiers. So I think in other climes the government would have compensated us for these huge losses.

attracting foreign investment. And of course people are watching, you will recall that one of the negative comments made by Richard Branson about Nigerian aviation has been haunting us. Branson said we don’t keep agreements. Previous Ministers have tried to explain it away but it has not been convincing to international investors. Arguably Nigeria has the freest media in Africa, but we expect them to always ensure they inform the public well. They should be committed to facts and not peddle prejudices or take one side of a story and be broadcasting, especially when they have access to balancing the story. Arik Air never owed its staff seven months, so the television that broadcast that report should have come to us. When you have reputation as a media outlet you should nurture that reputation. You can see the unfairness of that medium and yet they keep awarding several media awards for many years consecutively to that medium. When you bring in the so-called expert on television he should go beyond theories and talk about realities. We are the ones wearing the shoe so we know where it is pinching and those who go to talk on television should arm themselves with facts from the field before they go and talk on television. They talked about interline with foreign airlines. When you want to interline you have to follow the rules, including dealing with the banks. We have interline with Emirates but

we do not sell their ticket because if we do then we are liable to pay them in dollars. If somebody wants to go to China he pays us in Naira, we pay Emirate in dollars. So look at it with even with the restriction of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it is not appropriate for any Nigerian airline to go into interline arrangement with foreign airlines now. The impact of the strike on Arik affected many Nigerians because many of our passengers were stranded in various parts of the world, some in UK, South Africa and various airports in Nigeria. I am aware that there are many of these travellers who decided not to cancel their ticket because they don’t want to go to any other airline. So whatever we are doing in this country we should think about the need to sustain the businesses that we have; that is the way we can grow our economy. Let’s talk about the problem of inadequate supply of aviation fuel on your operations, especially during the Christmas holiday? Well fuel (Jet A1) is very necessary for air travel all over the world and Nigeria is an oil producing country but unfortunately there is no processed or refined Jet A1 recently. I will speak for the industry generally. Since the devaluation of the naira, Jet A1 price has increased tremendously from N105 in Lagos to about N230 in Lagos. Of course that means over a 100 percent increase and if you want CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

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NEWS

Indonesia Penalizes JPMorgan for Negative Report Indonesia has cut some ties with JPMorgan Chase & Co after the bank’s research analysts issued a negative report on the country, the latest in a series of skirmishes between Wall Street banks and governments in emerging markets. Indonesia will no longer use JPMorgan as a primary bond dealer and has also revoked a special designation that allows it to perform certain banking services, Suahasil Nazara, head of the Ministry of Finance’s fiscal policy office, told Reuters. It is the second time recently that JPMorgan’s research arm has drawn ire from the Indonesian government, and highlights the inevitable conflicts banks face when their analysts express a negative view on a country or company that their investment bankers are trying to court. In other cases, banks have altered research reports, lost lucrative contracts or parted ways with analysts following

Deutsche Bank to Pay $95m to End Tax Fraud Case Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $95 million to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the German bank of tax fraud for using “insolvent” shell companies to hide significant tax liabilities from the Internal Revenue Service in 2000. Under the accord described in papers filed on Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, Deutsche Bank also admitted to trying to stick the shell companies with the tax bill for its then-new stake in drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in December 2014 that had sought to recoup more than $190 million in taxes, penalties and interest. “The government, through this action and settlement, has made Deutsche Bank admit to its actions designed to avoid taxes,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement. Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Amanda Williams said in a statement: “We are pleased to resolve this claim and put these events from more than 16 years ago behind us.” The settlement marks the latest step in Deutsche Bank’s bid to resolve legal matters that in recent months caused investors to worry about its future, and whether it had enough capital. Last month, Deutsche Bank reached a $7.2 billion settlement in principle to resolve a U.S. probe of its sale of toxic mortgage securities. The tax case arose from Deutsche Bank’s early 2000 acquisition of Charter Corp, which had been sitting on a large unrealized gain in Bristol-Myers.

controversies about their negative opinions. JPMorgan did the right thing by not backing down from its report, said Roy C. Smith, a finance and management professor at New York University’s business school. The bank stands to lose relatively little in Indonesia, where it does not have much financial exposure. “(It’s) a mistake by Indonesia, which needs JPMorgan’s support and advice more than the bank needs Indonesia,” Smith said. “No effort by governments unhappy with research calls to ‘discipline’ the banks have been successful, though efforts are made from time to time to satisfy local political expectations.” Global banks made changes to how they perform research in 2003, after a sweeping settlement with then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and U.S. regulators. They erected hard barriers between

analysts and bankers and altered compensation structures to prevent conflicts of interest from affecting research. But the conflicts persist. Although pressure is usually less explicit than what JPMorgan faces in Indonesia, banks ranging from Morgan Stanley in China to Banco Santander in Brazil have faced similar rows with governments in emerging markets. In JPMorgan’s case, analysts led by Adrian Mowat downgraded their investment recommendation on Indonesia stocks to “underweight” from “overweight” in a Nov. 13 note, and also downgraded Brazil equities to “neutral.” They cited higher risk premiums for emerging markets after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, predicting that higher volatility might stop or reverse flows into fixed-income assets. The analysts characterized the

recommendation as merely a “tactical” response to Trump’s victory. They noted that economies in both Indonesia and Brazil are improving, with lower policy rates likely to support valuations for 2017. Nazara, of Indonesia’s finance ministry, said JPMorgan’s analysis “did not make sense” because it gave Brazil a better rating than Indonesia, despite what he said was a more stable political situation in the Southeast Asian nation. “We have asked them to clarify their assessment,” Nazara said. “They’ve explained to us, but we found their argument not credible. It’s not that we think we’re so great, but we look at ourselves and we look at other countries’ economies.” “Our mindset is, if you’re doing business here in Indonesia, the spirit is to maintain stability. Don’t create unnecessary volatility to create business,” he added.

After performing what Nazara described as a “comprehensive review,” Indonesia decided to drop JPMorgan as a primary dealer and a so-called perception bank. A 2006 government decree says perception banks are appointed by the finance minister to receive transfers of state revenue not related to imports, including tax, onshore excise and non-tax revenue. A JPMorgan spokeswoman said that it continued to operate its business in Indonesia as usual. “The impact on our clients is minimal, and we continue to work with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the matter,” she said by email. JPMorgan strategists have had a “neutral” recommendation on emerging market government bonds, including those of Indonesia, since before the election, a JPMorgan spokesman said. Robert Pakpahan, Indonesia’s director general for budget

financing and risk management, told reporters that JPMorgan’s research should not have a major impact on Indonesia’s future bond issuance, but the sanction on JPMorgan would remain in place “until we say otherwise.” In 2015, Indonesia’s thenfinance minister said that JPMorgan had been “sanctioned” for a negative report recommending less exposure to government bonds, but did not explain what the sanctions involved. Banks have encountered a variety of problems managing conflicts in emerging markets. In another high-profile skirmish in 2006, Morgan Stanley’s head economist in Asia, Andy Xie, left the bank after a critical email he sent about Singapore was leaked. In 2014, Banco Santander publicly fired an analyst who had published a critical note about Brazil’s economic policies.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Sales Practices a Key Risk to Banking System, says U.S. Regulator Wells Fargo’s phony account scandal has spurred a top United States bank regulator to count sales practices as a chief risk to the country’s banking system and to embark on a wide-sweeping review of large and mid-sized institutions. In a half-yearly report on threats to banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last Thursday said it now counts “governance over sales practices as a key risk issue.” The office, along with other regulators, has been looking at bank sales practices since

it penalised Wells Fargo in September for $185 million for years of allegedly opening ghost credit-card and bank accounts in customers’ names or convincing customers to add unnecessary accounts. This is the first time the OCC has deemed sales practices a key threat, putting them on the same level as hacking, low reserves, and a gathering storm of credit risk from significant growth in loans and deteriorating lending standards. On a call with reporters, Comptroller Thomas Curry said the review continues, but

declined to provide details and said he could not give a public assessment on individual banks or the sector as a whole. “The office is currently looking at how the banks it has selected for review - large and midsized banks - handle their sales practices and then will expand its work in the near future based on the findings,” he said. While he would not give a timeline for the review, Curry said OCC staff have an “internal goalpost.” The OCC said it expects to continue to see mergers and

acquisitions among banks, which could pose risks to banks’ ability to manage information systems and platforms and controls. It said that banks should “consider the strategic implications of a lower interest rate environment for a longer time period,” “A persistent low and flat interest rate environment continues to pressure some banks and asset managers to reach for yield by extending asset duration, taking additional credit risk, and looking for new revenue channels,” it said.

Lone Star Favoured to Buy Novo Banco United States private equity firm Lone Star will work “tirelessly” to reach an agreement with Portugal to buy Novo Banco, it said on Thursday after it became the top candidate to acquire the bank carved out of collapsed Banco Espirito Santo. Portugal’s central bank said earlier it plans to hold further talks with Lone Star after selecting it ahead of other prospective purchasers including China’s Minsheng Financial Holding and U.S. funds Apollo and Centerbridge. Portugal had hoped to decide on the sale of Novo Banco by the end of last year, ahead of

a final August 2017 deadline for the sale. “We will continue to work tirelessly with the Bank of Portugal... and the Portuguese Government to confirm a final agreement to support Novo Banco for the long-term benefit of its customers, employees, creditors, and the overall Portuguese economy,” Lone Star Europe president Oliver Brahin said in a statement. The central bank said that Lone Star’s proposal “is the one that goes the furthest,” in ensuring stability of the financial system and confidence in Novo

Banco. But the central bank added that Lone Star set conditions in its offer that could have an impact on public accounts, which it will seek to “minimise or remove in the deeper negotiations that start now.” The finance ministry welcomed the next stage of the negotiations aiming to overcome those conditions. “The government always underlined that this sales process to private investors must ensure that there is no impact on public finances or cost to taxpayers,” it said in a statement. Lone Star made no mention

China’s ZTE May Slash about 3,000 Jobs Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE, which is fa c i n g U n i t ed S t a t e s t rade sa n c t i on s t h a t could se v e re l y d i s ru p t it s suppl y c h a i n , i s slash i n g a bou t 3 , 0 0 0 job s, i n c l u d i n g a fi ft h of positions in its struggling handset business in China, company sources said. The sou rc es sa i d t h e Shenz h e n - ba se d c o m pany, one of the world’s biggest t e l ec oms g e a r makers, i s a xi n g a b o u t 5 pe rc en t o f i t s 6 0 , 0 0 0 globa l workf orc e. It s gl o ba l h a n d s e t oper a t i on s w i l l s h e d 600 j o bs, or 1 0 pe rce n t of the total, with the cuts conc e n t ra t e d i n C h i n a , where it has been losing marke t sh a re . “C ut s i n t h e h a n d s e t busine ss i n C h i n a w i l l be beyond 20 percent,” said a se n i or exec u t i v e who h a s bee n br i e fe d on t h e l a y- o ff s, w h i c h are sc h e d u l ed to b e com p l et e d wi t h i n t h e first qua rt er. A l oc a l ma n a g e r i n one of t h e c o mp a n y ’s over sea s bra n c h es s a i d a 10 per cent quota was give n t o sh e d st a ff i n his depa rt me n t b y t h e end o f J a n ua ry. “I was also given names that must go because they had tried to apply for

jobs at (rival) Huawei and are therefore branded as ‘unstable factors’,” said the manager, who is not in the handset unit and asked not to be identified. The company declined t o co m m e n t . ZTE is the only Chinese smartphone vendor with a m e a n i n g fu l p re s e nc e i n t h e Un i t e d S tate s , w h e re i t s 1 0 p e rc e nt m a r k e t s h a re m a k e s it the fourth-largest vendor. The U.S. Commerce Department first announced i n Ma rc h t h a t i t wo uld impose a ban on exports by U.S. companies to ZTE fo r a l l e g e d l y b re a king Washington’s sanctions on sales to Iran. T h e b a n h a s n o t ye t come into effect following a series of reprieves, the last of which expires on Feb. 27, but if it does go ahead, the company’s s u p p l y c h a i n co u ld b e severely handicapped. It relies on U.S. companies i n cl u d i n g Qu a l co mm , Mi cro s o ft a n d Inte l fo r a b o u t a t h i rd of its components. The uncertainty hangi n g o v e r t h e c o m p any weighed heavily on i t s b u s i n e s s l a s t ye ar, with its w o r l dw ide s m a r t p h o n e s h i p m e nts t u m b l i n g 3 6 . 5 p e r c e nt c o m p a re d w i t h 2 015,

ac c o rding to indus try datab as e IDC . Z TE c hairman Z hao X ianming s aid in his N e w Ye ar s p e e c h to s taff that the c o mp any, which has annual sales of more than $15 billion, had “e nc o unte re d its b igge s t c ris is in its 31 ye ar his to ry”, ac c o rding to a trans c rip t o n the c o mp any’s o ffic ial We C hat ac c o unt. He vowed to enhance inte rnal auditing and s aid the c o mp any w as streamlining its manageme nt s truc ture . “In 2017 ... businesses that do n’t fit o ur s trate gic dire c tio n o r w ith low output performance will be shut, suspended, merged or reconfigured, improving the company’s c o re c o mp e titiv e ne s s ,” Z hao s aid. Internal memos seen by Re ute rs s ho w the c o mp any als o c re ate d fo ur new senior vice president p o s itio ns in c harge o f inv e s tme nt, inte rnal audit, c o mp lianc e , and tax, re s p e c tiv e ly. Re v e nue s fo r infras truc ture v e ndo rs like Z TE are als o b e ing s que e ze d as C hine s e te le c o m o p e rato rs ’ 4G ne tw o rks ne ar c o mp le tion and revenues from 5G development remain s o me ye ars o ff.

of conditions on its offer, but it was “deeply optimistic about Portugal” and its economic future, Brahin said. The firm promised to provide the capital and expertise necessary to maintain Novo Banco as a “pillar of the Portuguese banking system,” he said. The finance ministry welcomed the next stage of the negotiations aiming to overcome those conditions. “The government always underlined that this sales process to private investors must ensure that there is no impact on public finances or cost to taxpayers,” it said in a statement.

General Motors Moving to Sell Indian Plant to China’s SAIC A subsidiary of China’s top carmaker SAIC Motor Corp plans to acquire certain General Motors ( manufacturing assets in India, a filing with the country’s competition watchdog showed on Friday. The assets, which could give the Chinese automaker a toehold in the Indian car market, will be acquired via an Indian subsidiary of SAIC that is yet to be incorporated, according to the filing with the Competition Commission of India. According to Reuters, as part of a side deal, General Motors also plans to buy out SAIC’s 9.2 per cent stake in SAIC General Motors Investment - a joint venture it formed with the Chinese automaker in 2009 to expand its presence in emerging markets like India, a separate filing showed. GM, in an emailed response to a Reuters query following the filing, said discussions with SAIC on the sale of Halol - its plant in the Western state of Gujarat - were progressing well and that the two parties were working to secure necessary approvals. “We’ll share any progress at the appropriate time,” GM said. It was not immediately clear whether the two deals

are being structured as some sort of asset swap, or whether there would be payments made by both parties for the assets. A spokeswoman for SAIC declined to comment. Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters last April that the Chinese carmaker was in discussions to buy GM’s Gujarat plant and had been evaluating car models to launch in India. GM said in 2015 that it planned to stop production at one of its two plants in India by mid-2016 and consolidate operations at one location. The Detroit carmaker’s Halol plant can manufacture up to 110,000 vehicles a year. GM also runs a plant in Talegaon in the western state of Maharashtra that has a capacity of about 170,000 vehicles a year. Several foreign carmakers like GM, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Ford Motor (F.N) have struggled to ramp up sales in India, expected to be the world’s third-largest car market by 2020, and are now pushing exports from the country to utilize idle manufacturing capacity. Sagging sales and a regulatory crackdown on diesel-powered vehicles had forced GM to redraw its plans in India.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

ARUMEMI-IKHIDE: NIGERIAN AIRLINES RECORDED HUGE LOSSES TO AVIATION FUEL, FX SCARCITY IN 2016 to look at it the airfares are going up but not reflecting the actual price of fuel. If you fully pass the high cost of aviation fuel to the passengers, nobody will fly. But unfortunately the most disturbing thing is that it is even very scarce and that has affected the performance of the airlines. Suffice to say however, that the federal government warned its citizenry that because the country is in recession we all have to change our life style and we all have to bear some inconveniences. One of the consequences of economic recession is weak naira, which makes the price of anything that is imported costlier than it used to be before recession. I want to make one point clear. There is rumour that Arik Air cannot pay for fuel and that is why it is not getting fuel. That is not true. The fact is that we cannot get the volume of the product we need and it is more than total of what other commercial airlines need. For example, our flight to New York needs over 90,000 litres of aviation fuel. With 90,000 litres of fuel another domestic carrier can operate all its local routes and still have fuel in reserve. So the major challenge we have is getting the volume we needed to operate our flights. And we don’t just buy from any oil marketer. We have marketers that were recommended for us because of the type of engine our aircraft have. We have some approved marketers that we purchase our fuel from. Remember recently, one of the major carriers had issues with fuel it purchases from Lagos, it affected their engines and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had to carry out a lot of investigations. And I think one marketer was suspended for a while before it was allowed to continue. So in Arik we have our preferred marketers because we have tested their products and we are quite satisfied with their products. And like you know, we are the only one with EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) safety certificate in West Africa and this is a no mean feat, so we can’t cut corners, we don’t have the same operating standards with other airlines. In order to maintain and retain this safety certificate there are certain process and procedures we have to carry out and follow. It is something we guard jealously and you will find that our operations are carried out with strict safety standard in mind. Be that as it may, I must also say that the marketers we purchase from are very professional and we are quite satisfied. In spite of that we still audit them and test their product from time to time. During Christmas period what is the number of flights you made in the previous years? Christmas period we do almost about 136 and 140 flights a day, in fact there is a year, I think 2013 or 2014 before the elections we clocked about 146 flights a day and we had to deploy all our aircraft, we are talking about domestic, West Coast and international flights. On the average we use almost about 550 to 600,000 litres a day but when we do flights to New York, London and Johannesburg, we up it up to about 750 to 800,000 litres a day. But unfortunately in December 2016 we were not able to do more than about 79 to 80 flights and that was a struggle. And let’s say quickly that I want to appreciate the efforts of the fuel marketers, they too have been working very hard, I know they have a lot of challenges and in my opinion I think the government should make Forex available to these marketers to import aviation fuel. Aviation is an engine for economic growth, it is not elitist as thought by some people and I know that PMS (petrol) affects everybody, for convenience of driving, movement within the country but the economic drivers of the nation need Jet A1 to move around from one place to the other. I don’t think it is appropriate to think that Jet A1 is meant for the elite; no, it is not. I appeal that the government should give equal urgency to provision of Jet A1. Apart from the Yuletide period, in the last couple of months there has been this serious shortage of the product with its astronomical price increase. What are the projected losses due to inadequate supply of aviation fuel?

Arumemi-Ikhide Well, we have lost a lot of money, not just in revenue but we have some fixed cost, some of these aircraft have to be paid for by the financial institution that gave you the aircraft. And of course you know that with the devaluation of the naira you need more naira to get more dollars. So it is a huge amount of money that we have lost and all the airlines have all lost. I must say that it is not just Arik, whether it is Medview, Dana, Air Peace, we have all lost a lot of money, because we have to pay our financiers. So I think in other climes the government would have compensated us for these huge losses. If you look at when 9/11 (terror attack in United States September, 2001) occurred the US government compensated the US carriers. During the period of volcanic ash eruptions that affected flight operations to Europe and the Americas, the UK government compensated all the UK carriers, but here, we are left like that; nobody bothered about us. You know that the airlines have lost a lot of money during this period, especially this Yuletide period. You know also that as we get near to Christmas, it is a one- way business; even when you are going (outbound) you are full, but when you are coming (return) you are practically empty. I will say that three to four days to Christmas most of the airlines are just trying to operate most of these flights just to serve their customers. At the end of the day your load factor even if it is at 100% when you are going, when you are coming on the average it is 50%. The peak of the period is already over now and because of

Since the devaluation of the naira, Jet A1 price has increased tremendously from N105 in Lagos to about N230 in Lagos. Of course that means over a 100 percent increase and if you want to look at it the airfares are going up but not reflecting the actual price of fuel. If you fully pass the high cost of aviation fuel to the passengers, nobody will fly.

the fuel situation, flights were disrupted. So I sincerely hope that next year (2017) a better arrangement will be made and the marketers themselves will have to increase their facilities and be ready. But on the whole, yes we are in recession but then there should be better planning and forex should be made available to the marketers to import fuel. You will remember that one of the reasons Emirates pulled out of Abuja and reduced its frequency in Nigeria from three to one was because of fuel scarcity, they mentioned it, so it is not a question about Nigerian airlines are complaining and complaining. And most of the foreign airlines go to Accra to go and pick up fuel to go to Europe and some of them go to Malabo (Equatorial Guinea). That tells you that there is serious problem and I know that Air Cote d’lvoire does a lot of tinkering, gets sufficient fuel from Abidjan while coming to Nigeria, they do occasional top up and go. We have no other country than Nigeria and this is our base, so we feel the pinch more. There have been rumours that Arik Air compromises safety standard and does not have spares for its aircraft. What is your response to these allegations? You know that for Nigeria to get category 1 safety status, Arik was the airline that was used by NCAA and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and even for the renewal of the Category 1 it was also Arik that was used. And like I said earlier, we have part 129 FAA certification, so we can fly our plane ourselves into the US and into Europe. And the Israeli airspace CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) came to Nigeria and they carried out a check on us and found out that we met all their safety standards, which is very rigorous and stringent. I think only Arik and Ethiopian airlines and South African Airways met their stringent conditions. So if Arik could do that, I think one should give kudos to Arik. But most unfortunate in Nigeria we don’t value our own, we try to pull ourselves down, say everything bad about ourselves. Just recently again we have been on this European safety certification and we have been on it for just a few months now. We have gone through everything they required, the authorities from Europe have come here, they have checked all our system, they have observed us, they were here observing us for months. They have checked our stores, they have checked our maintenance procedures, they checked the background of our engineers both our contract engineers and local engineers, they have also checked the management of the airline, even the spares we buy and where we bought them from and they looked at the procedures of how we change our spares and make sure that

all our spares are changed at the right time. They know that we have zero tolerance for safety, and then they saw the training school we send our pilots to, we send then to the best training school, CAE, Oxford or we send to Boeing and the one in Canada. All pilots are sent to the top training school so when you have European certification both for maintenance and operation, that means all aspect of aviation have been checked. The good Lord has been very good to us. Somebody started spreading rumours about us a few days ago, unknown to the person EASA certification result was to come out and when it was released, the good Lord has vindicated us that the person who wrote that story was just writing something that is untrue. And people tend to do some demarketing but whoever is doing it has been put to shame because this is a certification that was published by EASA themselves we did not know it was coming out and then it came out at the right time. Even when that rumour came we had the IOCs (International Oil Companies) have sent their safety auditors to us, they’ve come and then they were quite surprised at all the spares that we have. They witnessed our procedures and were quite surprise that somebody could write such negative things about us. NCAA has come out to say that they have checked and they issued a release about our airworthiness. I must commend the NCAA, any time we have all these foreign inspectors, the NCAA will come around too. We have helped NCAA too because they had to adjust their own game with these various inspections we have been having. So there have been a lot of discussions and to us having all these international inspectors is a routine thing for us. In fact, most of the time I don’t even know when they come, we just find out that our quality control and engineers have done everything. We have IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit). We have finished IOSA for a long time; we have e-IOSA now, which is enhanced IOSA (an advancement of IOSA). We got IOSA about five years ago and we have now migrated to e-IOSA and I think we are the first in Africa to get it. IOSA is part of the air that we breath, we live with it as breath of air, so we comply with IOSA regulations, FAA, EASA, so safety wise we have tried our best, you can only try your best and leave the rest to God. So I don’t know what certification we need again on safety but we have met all certification that is why if you noticed we are the only one flying Nigeria registered aircraft into US, UK, New York and when we were going to Dubai, we are the only one. So we are proud to fly the green, white and green. We look forward CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

ARUMEMI-IKHIDE: NIGERIAN AIRLINES RECORDED HUGE LOSSES TO AVIATION FUEL, FX SCARCITY IN 2016 you want to leave it then give the airport control, give everything to the local airlines; yes they need to do that. If you say you want to hands off aviation then don’t say you are concessioning the airport because you can’t concession and give the airports to others, while the real work is being done by the airlines. So you can’t just come and say you concession to this and this and then you now say we pay this and that. So they should allow the body of airlines to run aviation and then take care of the airports, maintain them and control them. We would have made better progress some time ago, when we applied to the government to give us a piece of land at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos to build our own terminal, that request was turned downed. We wanted to build our own terminal. We wanted to build a hanger in Lagos it was again turned down. Can‘t see any progress has been made within the last three years on that.

to having our brother Medview go through the system and then be able to fly Nigeria registered aircraft to London and to US and to Jeddah. We are looking forward in cooperating with them and they are very decent people, they are not people who engage in negative publicity and de-marketing like one of the local airlines. How has inadequate supply of foreign exchange affected your operations? In aviation 80 per cent of the input is in dollars because we don’t manufacture the spare parts here. And even all the charges like over flight charges I am sure Medview and ourselves have been had hit on this because we had to pay Europe control in foreign exchange and it is not in CBN rules. We found that the regulations of the CBN do not take into cognisance payments for international aviation. If you talk about over flight charges, you put in your paper to the bank they say sorry it is not part of the CBN rule. If you talk about even simulator training, you should know that, yes we fly internationally but most Nigerians like to pay in naira. Even London-Lagos now for this season you will find that many Nigerians pay in naira here. And we as Nigerian airline we cannot refuse our countrymen from paying in their local currency. That is the only way we can strengthen the naira because the more you go down to foreign airlines and pay then they will demand from CBN to take this money out, then you are encouraging capital flight. And we felt that this is the reason why the CBN should give Medview and us special concession, and give us the opportunity to buy forex. At least we have saved the country a lot of money that would have gone out as capital flight. They should also give other airlines too to meet their spare parts requirements. I am aware that one airline is in the habit of using such funds meant for airlines for its other sister company business and that I am sure the CBN and the authorities can check. We need to be very honest with ourselves, we need to be straightforward, the money belongs to all of us Nigerians. The more capital flight we can save or prevent, the better. But then a few people are abusing it and they should not be allowed. Somebody cannot have one or two aircraft and be requesting something in the neighbourhood of $26 million. It doesn’t make sense. I think there is need for the CBN to work with the airlines and put some regulations down to check round tripping and abuse in the system. Yes, there is scarcity of foreign exchange but what is there is that we should be able to use it prudently and use it justifiably not somebody having two or three aircraft and asking for stated sum and yet people who have six aircraft are asking for $5 million and they can’t get it. Whatever savings we can make as Nigerians, we need to save and save our country. The country belongs to us we have no other country than Nigeria and we shouldn’t be wasteful. We need to be prudent and I appeal to the CBN to call for a meeting, let us discuss it, let us put a mechanism in place that will ensure that only the needed foreign exchange is made available for the local airlines. Recently Lloyd’s of London threatened to stop insuring Nigerian airlines because of their failure to pay their premium. How will this affect airline operation in the country? Yes, I agree with Lloyds of London. Let us take this thing in two parts. Aviation is an international business even if you are flying Lagos to Abuja, you are going to meet people from other part of the world flying. And of course if you are flying to London or New York or any other place, you have it as an international business. So insurance especially aviation is done in dollars and I think these are one of the reasons I believe CBN should meet with the airlines, let us sit down, form a committee and we can put some regulations down that will be easier to pay for. This is because when you are making your claims it is in dollars. For example, if your aircraft is damaged you are going to pay in dollars because when you get to the place to repair it; you pay for the service in dollars. If there is compensation, God forbid if

Arumemi-Ikhide anything happens, it is going to be in dollars. So, I think there is need for us to understand that the currency in aviation is in dollars. Like I said earlier on Medview and ourselves, we are taking naira from Nigerians who buy tickets, yes, we can spend the naira here, pay salaries and other things but we still need some dollars to pay for spare parts, services and other requirements. However, let me say quickly that this shortage of forex is not peculiar to Nigeria. Our experience is that the same thing is happening to us in Angola and Arik has some funds trapped in Angola since February 2016 and we have not been able to get it out. We have made a lot of effort to the Angola Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist us. We have written to IATA and the Angolan government is insisting that they have a serious problem of foreign exchange; that we should bear with them. So let’s not heap all the problems at the door step of the Nigerian government. We even have some West African countries that used to be flexible, they are now tightening up,some of our funds are tied up in some countries. But what I still appeal to the Central Bank of Nigeria is to assist us to pay the over flight charges because this is very important both for Europe control, the Caribbean and some other parts. Let me humour you a bit, but it is a fact. In Angola we wanted to have our funds trapped there, which is in their local currency and we wanted to pay for the over flight charges to go to South Africa with their local currency too and the Angolan government refused; they said we should pay them in dollars. Whereas they have our own money trapped there and we told them that you are refusing your own local currency and you are saying I should get you dollars when I have a lot of the Angolan currency trapped in your country and I can’t get it out, where am I going to get the dollars.

control, a lot of people have records of Arik, a lot of financial bodies have records about Arik, so they watch us and they know what we are doing. So when people write whatever they want to write we don’t bother ourselves. But let me comment on something. A week ago I was watching a programme on AIT by Rev. Father George and he was talking about people spreading false information. That was even before this rumour came out. He said that people like bad news. Once they hear any bad news they go straight to the social media and spread false information that in itself is bad and it is destructive to the society. You don’t check, you didn’t confirm whether what you have is correct or not you start passing it round. Any time you now get good news and you have something that is serious nobody is going to believe it. So what I am saying is that I never knew that EASA would release their certification about Arik, this gentlemen went out and spread false information about us. And I was wondering why a highly respected person would get a text and start circulating it without checking. There are some people I have respect for, but when I see what they do my opinion about them changes. This is because if you cannot reason, cross-check their facts before spreading false information then their dignity is questionable and their sense of reasoning is also questionable. This is because the issue we are discussing about is that Arik has over 600 pilots, if one pilot who was disciplined decided to write against is because he knows the psyche of the public, he plays on their intelligence and then you now decided to take and spread it. I read in the papers the other day that an Arik staff had an accident, if the person is working in Arik he should have a name but all the newspaper headline said that Arik staff had accident. So it looks as if all the public want is negative news about Arik.

Is it possible that because of lack of forex some airlines may have aircraft that are due for maintenance but they may not take them out for checks? I can’t speak for other airlines. Let me speak for Arik. Now we have scheduled maintenance and whenever they are scheduled we carry out the maintenance, we cannot because of forex refuse to carry out this scheduled maintenance. Like I told you, we have IOSA, we have EASA and FAA certification, so we breathe safety like air in Arik. Mind you, we are being monitored by European aeronautical

Have you spoken to the government about the charges levied on domestic carriers by agencies? In think all domestic carriers have spoken with one voice. My brother in Medview the other day spoke extensively about it, the Chairman of Air Peace spoke about it and we have always talked about it. And as far as I am concerned, it doesn’t make sense. There are multiple charges, they are expensive and they are not actually necessary. The government itself has to contribute something to air travel in Nigeria. If you say

How are Nigerian airlines going to come out of this recession? Well, I think everybody has its own strategy and the only way to come out of it is if the airlines, I mean the functioning airlines come together and talk. They mustn’t merge but I think it is lack of cooperation; lack of discussing strategies to tackle the problem is what is worrying us. I think confronting it alone will not help. We need the cooperation of Air Peace and Medview and Dana to work together and form a body to strategise. One person cannot strategise, so we need to strategise and look at it and actually get it done. If we don’t do that then I think we are not going to get anything done and that is the truth. The system is taking advantage of lack of corporation among us and again we should not allow armchair critics and armchair operators to meddle into what is not their business. A few of them told me they have been in aviation for 50 years, all their life. I respect them, they have been there but they are not operating now and the challenges of that time and now are completely different. So as far as I am concerned there is need for us to make moves to talk to one another, interact with one another, that is the only way. Even though we make one flight a day to UK, I know that in UK there is this body that talks about the airlines, some of them make about 20 flights a day, some three flight and some one flight, so we have three categories but at the end of the day we still talk. Even in the repair of runway at Heathrow, we had an input and to be fair to them in UK they are quite reasonable. People fear that the cancellation of flights, flight delays during the last festive season will affect the patronage of Arik as many people were disappointed with the airline. We really apologise for those infractions. We apologise to our customers. I want them to understand that every airline wants to operate and generate revenue. No airline will pay huge sums of money and acquire aircraft and want to leave it on the ground. Aircraft is making money when it is in the air. The truth is that we have a deficient system and no matter how you make your plans, if any part of the process chain is deficient it will affect your operation. We did not get enough aviation fuel to operate our flights. Our fuel demand is about a total of what all the other domestic airlines need to operate all their flights. We promise that if the fuel supply is normalized today we wont have such disruptions. I also want our passengers to know that stopping an airline from operating because you did not get your bag or your own flight was cancelled cannot solve the problem; it will compound it. For example, your bag did not arrive with you from London, another flight wanted to go to London to go and bring the bags, you refused that they should go. You have stopped the airline from going to get the bags and you have complicated issues for that airline. This will delay the airline from getting your bags. While we apologise to the airlines, we also plan to open a channel of communication to ensure that our passengers get the right information.

BUSINESS

T H I S D AY • MON AY, JANUARY ,

ANA Y

SecureID: Deepening Local Capacity With a combination of entrepreneurship and new technology, SecureID has become Africa’s first SIM card manufacturing company, writes Peace Obi

R-L Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, CEO, SecureID, Kofo Akinkugbe and Chairman, Board of Directors,Mr. Dotun Suleiman, during the inauguration of SIM card manufacturing Uncommon approach most often they say gives uncommon result. That may be the simplest way to describe the breaking of the uncommon ground by SecureID, a leading smart card manufacturing and personalisation company in Lagos. Undeterred by seemingly harsh investment climate, skeptics fear of its survival in a foreign-dominated line of business, controlled by the technologically advanced countries, the entrepreneur and her team pursued dreams, resolutely. And against all odds, SecureID berthed on Nigerian soil some 10 years ago and has remained committed to its vision. SecureID has not only weathered the storms but has emerged stronger with many feathers on its cap – the latest being the addition of SIM card manufacturing plant to its line of business. At the inauguration of the first SIM card manufacturing plant in Nigeria, which is also the first of its kind in Africa, in Lagos the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, noted that it is uncommon to see a company that could combine the three components that the administration has identified as being strategic to industrialisation, economic development and general well-being of the economy. Stating that it takes a strong entrepreneurial spirit and zeal to drive a vision as broad and technical as SecureID, Enelamah said: “What I find very interesting is that the company we are sort of celebrating today is an interception of three things that are vital to us as a country and to this government in terms of our strategy - entrepreneurship, manufacturing and whole technology and telecoms space. It is not often easy to get a company that can somehow

combine those three components together. It takes entrepreneurial spirit, vision, drive and zeal to make it happen,” he said. In a tour of the facility, Enelamah described the manufacturing plant as being of world class standard and as one example of federal government’s economic diversification and backward integration initiatives. Expressing confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians, the minister noted that given a conducive environment, entrepreneurs could survive and contribute significantly in the economic development of the country. He added that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to partnering with the private sector as part of its strategies towards the attainment of its goals of diversification, job creation and industrialisation. Speaking further, the minister noted that an enabling environment is one of the things the government needs to get right. According to him, creating the right investment climate, ease of doing business for private sector would enable Nigerian businesses to survive and prosper. “As a country and as a government, we must support more and more of our entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and vision and allow them to reach their full potentials,” he said. Assuring the company of government’s support, Enelamah said: “We are very committed in the area of financing. I want to acknowledge the BoI for their support for SecureID and many other players. They have our full support to actually assist the industrialisation of Nigeria. So, what I can assure you is that we will continue to support you, to add value to employment generation and improve on the administration’s import substitution strategy.”

In her speech, the Chief Executive Officer of SecureID, Kofo Akinkugbe, expressed gratitude to God for the turnaround of event - the success story and most recently the expansion of SecureID line of business into SIM card manufacturing. She disclosed that said if asked to title her speech, it would be: “Seeing is Believing.” According to the CEO, prior to the incorporation and commencement of operations, not many believed her dream. “Whenever I shared my vision to the banking out space a number of years ago, most reactions could be best described as mild dismissal. Yet, we have remained undeterred. I remember in 2005 when we made enquiries for our first German machines, the German representative at the point laughed at us. And when he asked where we want to use the machine, we said, “Nigeria”, he said, “wow, Nigeria, Nigeria, okay.” And then, a few years later, we approached another manufacturer for a press, you have got to see his reaction. “But today, we are very proud to be located here with SIM card manufacturing facility functions. Now, SecureID stands to be the first end-to-end SIM card manufacturing plant in Africa. And we have set out to take advantage of the telecoms space. And again, of course our vision is to remain a global brand and market leader in card solutions. The plant as it is has a current capacity of 200 million cards per annum. “Now, with the inauguration of this manufacturing plant, we are well positioned to provide proximate services to the telecoms industry bringing the same superior technology they have always enjoyed but produced locally.”

Adding that with the adoption of superior technology, a world class production plant and standards, among others, that the company is determined to remain a market leader in its line of business, and that SecureID is committed to local content policy. “Our impact does not stop here as this facility will continue to serve as nucleus of our high tech manufacturing company. We are a 100 per cent Nigeria company employing some of the finest young talents, particularly graduates. Ninety-eight per cent of our workforce are Nigerians. “I see the infinite opportunities in Nigeria, not only in the economy but also in the people. We are going to continue to make sure that even our raw materials as much as possible are locally available. And one thing that we are going to continue to do is to backward integrate to make sure that all the input to our local presence here are locally available. Also one area we are looking at is the recycling of our products and recycling of our waste which also can be an input for other industries,” she said. Describing the journey so far as both tough and fulfilling, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the company, Mr. Dotun Suleiman hinted that though faced with a lot of challenges, the management of SecureID had remained resolute. “It has been a long and fulfilling journey. It has been hard, it has been tough but it has been very satisfying and fulfilling. When you start with a vision and actually see your vision come to light in your lifetime, that is truly fulfilling,” he said. Enumerating some of the hurdles the new product may encounter as the company pushes further on its drive to take advantage of the telecoms space

by domesticating its solutions, the chairman cited adoption as a major challenge to contend with. According to him, the telecoms companies are used to importing their SIMs and they have their suppliers who have been in the business for a long time. “These suppliers supply not just Nigeria telecoms but global telecoms and because the companies themselves are part of the global network, they tend to centralise their procurement to realise economics of scale. “And so, when you will now say you want to domesticate some of that, it is very difficult to break into that market. This is another reason why we need government’s support. Because left to the telecoms alone without a small push or nudge from policy, they will just do the comfortable thing,” he said. Noting that though the high foreign exchange may also play in the company’s favour, Suleiman reiterated the need for government’s support through the instrumentality of policy. “What is playing in our favour is what is happening to the high foreign exchange rate because what we produce is produced locally, marketed in naira and they are paying in naira. So, the foreign exchange challenge is our major advantage. But even in spite of this advantage, they still need to be nudged a little bit. Government has been supporting but much still needs to be done,” he said. The acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Waheed Olagunju, in his remarks applauded management’s investment decision and disclosed that the venture was supported based on its potential to positively impact domestic consumption, aid technology transfer and create employment opportunities in the sector.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

Getting the Nigerian Economy out of Recession Rislanudeen Muhammad looks at how the economy plummeted into a recession and what can be done to reverse it Nigeria’s 2016 budget was tagged budget of economic recovery and growth strategy. It was aimed at pulling the economy out of recession and stagflation. Africa’s largest economy slipped into recession second quarter of 2016 having had two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth rate. The economy contracted -0.36 per cent in first quarter and -2.06 per cent second quarter 2016, further sinking into recession with -2.24 per cent GDP in third quarter of 2016. Fourth quarter of 2016 data in unlikely to take any different trajectory. Nigeria’s recession deepened in the third quarter and oil production fell, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported late November 2016 as dollar shortage kept Africa’s biggest economy in a stranglehold. Nigeria’s Q3 GDP contraction was largely caused by declines in oil and manufacturing sectors output, down by -22.1 per cent and -4.38 per cent respectively. This reflects the continued foreign exchange shortages and suboptimal crude oil output due to attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta. Given the persisting dollar illiquidity and volatility in Brent crude price, IMF projection of -1.8 per cent GDP for year end 2016 seem to be more than a reality. Meanwhile, Moody’s analysts were rather optimistic that Nigeria ‘s GDP could expand by 2.5 per cent in 2017 provided oil output of 2.2 million barrels daily is achieved, a tall order given the sabotage act by so called Niger Delta avengers. The NBS report came a day before a major November interest rate decision by the Central Bank in period of galloping inflation that has peaked to 18.48 per cent in November 2016. Dollar scarcity in an import dependent economy has pushed prices high and further exacerbated by currency restrictions hitherto imposed to defend the naira. Fiscal spending has been slow notwithstanding the fact that deficit financing to reflate the economy towards growth and away from recession was projected in 2016 budget. In the meantime, Central Bank’s monetary policy committee concluded its last meeting for the year in November 22, 2016 and unsurprisingly agreed to retain monetary policy rate at 14 per cent. Fixed income market continued to re-price assets in tune with inflationary trend. October treasury bills nominal rate for example was 17.48 per cent and because treasury bills and bonds are not taxable, real rate is around 24 per cent. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) stand to benefit. But such incentive measure has yet to improve the dollar liquidity as the FPIs seem to think about other factors beyond rates in taking investment decision. NBS reported further increase in November 2016 consumer price Index which measures inflation to 18.48 per cent year on year, 0.15 percentage points higher than 18.33 per cent recorded in September 2016. Increases were recorded across all major divisions, which contribute to the Headline index. With an economy in recession, suffering from stagflation and largely import dependent, it is difficult to think about taming in-

Buhari flation because of negative interest rate and keeping monetary policy rates high with hope of attracting foreign portfolio investment (especially in the fixed income markets whose rates are tied to MPR) and also improve liquidity in foreign exchange market. That has naturally traded off the growth we needed to pull the economy out of recession. Meanwhile, many deposit money banks have granted their customers dollar denominated loans while their cash flow and repayment source is in naira. Major short-term advantage is improved dollar liquidity and single digit interest rate on dollar loans as against highly expensive, double digit naira loans. However, due in large part to depreciation of naira exchange rate as well as persistent excess demand for dollars, loan repayment become difficult or near impossible. More so, loans granted in dollars were largely booked without hedging against exchange rate risk. With Nigerian economy in recession, even naira loan repayments are becoming difficult. This pose the risk of worsening non-performing loans, already at 11.7 per cent, above five per cent CBN maximum risk tolerance level per cent CBN June 2016 financial stability report. Over time, key CBN prudential ratios like capital adequacy and liquidity ratios may be difficult to be met by banks exposed to dollar loans without commensurate dollar cash flow. A call for rate reduction to support cheaper local borrowing by the government was advocated by the Honourable Minister of Finance just before the September 2016 MPC meeting. Without prejudice to CBN’s independence, I think it is time to have an effective synergy of monetary, fiscal and trade policies as for umpteenth time, it is becoming clear that lack of harmony in policies will not get the economy back on track. With consistent, month on month inflation increase from 9.6 per cent in January to 18.48 per cent in November 2016, life among the

poor and vulnerable is gradually heading into Hobbesian state of nature. The 2017 medium term economic framework and fiscal strategy paper had a very optimistic anticipation of Nigeria getting out of recession by 2017. Indeed while 2016 budget was anchored on reflating the economy and pulling it out of potential recession as at then, 2017 was premised on recovery and growth. What happened? What went wrong to the extent that the economy slipped deeper into recession and will 2017 budget get us out of it? 2016 budget provided for N1.8 trillion capital expenditure or 30 per cent of total budget and N2.2 trillion deficit funding. Capital expenditure performance is low in 2016 due in large part to inability of government to get the required loans needed to finance the deficit. 2017 capital expenditure is projected at N2.24 trillion also 30 per cent of total budget while total borrowings will be N2.3 trillion or 2.18 per cent of GDP, disaggregated as N1.067 trillion or 46 per cent external borrowing and N1.254 trillion or 54 per cent internal borrowing. Oil benchmark of $42.5 a barrel is realistic given the current and projected near term price of above $55 a barrel. Provision of N65 billion in 2017 as against N20 billion in 2016 for Niger Delta Amnesty may be an attempt to deal with the sabotage activities as without optimal production level of 2.2 million barrels a day, projected income may not be attained and deficit level further accentuated. The budget also projected income diversification with projected non oil and other revenues of N1.583 trillion as against N1.985 trillion oil revenue. As in 2016, there may be high budget performance in recurrent, loan repayments and other obligations but low in capital expenditure aspect of the budget in 2017 provided revenue as well as borrowing estimates are not met. In fact while the 2017 budget is big in nominal term, it is actually smaller than that of 2016 in dollar

real term. In analyzing proposed medium term borrowing of $29.9 billion, we have to look at several exogenous and endogenous factors. While existing debt to GDP ratio at 14 per cent and proposed fiscal borrowings of 2.18 per cent of GDP are still healthy, we need to be careful by looking at net revenue to GDP which is weak as well as current Debt Management Office(DMO)’s debt sustainability analysis report which capped total domestic and foreign borrowings at $22.08 billion. It is however important to note that due to lack of any fiscal buffer in savings, Nigerian government today do not have any option of financing its budget other than through borrowing. Indeed the 2016 budget itself was premised on deficit financing to the tune of N2.2 trillion out of which 1.8 trillion naira was for capital expenditure. In a period of recession where the economy has contracted for three quarters consecutively and still counting, the plausible way to pull ourselves out of it is by way of reflating the economy through massive investment in infrastructure, income and job creating sectors like agriculture, mining and manufacturing, public private partnership etc with multiplier implication of increasing employment and jump starting the micro economy. To that extent, the budget was rightly structured to deal with that challenge of stagflation and recession. However we need to be careful in ensuring we borrow for capital expenditure only, on projects that will generate growth and support repayment of the loan. We should not borrow for consumption. Notwithstanding our estimated debt to GDP ratio of about 14 per cent, which is low for an emerging economy like Nigeria, our current debt profile of about N16.3 trillion is already becoming a source of concern due in large part to our dwindling revenue especially from oil. The sum of N1.6 trillion is set aside for debt servicing alone in 2017 budget. We must therefore borrow with caution to ensure optimality in both borrowing as well as our spending pattern. While budget 2016 unrealistically projected exchange rate of N199 to a dollar, 2017 budget projected another unrealistic figure of N305 to a dollar. In view of current distortions in the market, while naira was overvalued in late 2015 to part of 2016 before adoption of flexible exchange rate, it may be undervalued now with net beneficiaries at both situations being speculators and rent seekers. Even though tax revenue to GDP ratio is low at about 12 per cent post GDP rebasing, the fiscal budget did not anticipate any increase in tax but rather work towards enhancing efficiency of existing tax collection. This is a right decision as you don’t raise taxes in period of recession until at least the economy starts recovering. The President in his budget speech did mention the underlying imperative for aligning fiscal, monetary and trade policies. This is important as those policies have hitherto worked at cross purposes and seem to contradict rather than complement each other. It is

necessary to have clarity on foreign exchange policy for example to assure foreign and local investors who are expected to bring in the dollar liquidity badly needed to correct the market, deal with imported inflation, build in a more coherent public private partnership that will address our infrastructure challenge estimated at over USD350 billion. With a GDP size of over N100 trillion, 2017 budget is only about seven per cent Nigeria’s GDP. We should engage more in articulating clear policies that will encourage both private foreign and local investment in areas like power, Agriculture and Agro allied businesses, mining and developing small and medium enterprises by putting in place clear incentive measures as well as realistic and consistent monetary, fiscal and trade policies. Even though the value of capital importation into Nigeria in the third quarter of 2016 fell 34 percent compared to same quarter of 2015 to USD1.822 billion, it is still an improvement as that figure represent over 74 per cent quarter on quarter improvement in capital importation compared to second quarter of 2016, a major improvement in foreign capital inflows since beginning of recession. This, may in part vindicate CBN’s decision not to reduce rates to support growth while focusing on attacking inflation and hence incentivizing foreign direct as well as portfolio investments especially in fixed income market given the high monetary policy rate of 14 per cent. The hope was for such improved capital inflows to improve dollar liquidity and allow manufacturers import critical inputs to jump start the economy, improve GDP growth rates and eventually reduce unemployment rate currently at 13.9 per cent. Ours is still import dependent economy. While government should be focused on reducing dependence on imports for basic needs like food as well as export income diversification, improvement in capital importation should in medium term support dollar liquidity and help in stabilising naira exchange rate provided the central bank deals with glaring opportunity for round tripping, arbitrage and speculative demand given the huge disparity between official and parallel market rates. As part of measures to get out of recession, improved investor confidence is needed to bolster liquidity in the foreign exchange market. In attempting to eliminate the wide spread between the official and black market, government should work towards improving credibility of the foreign exchange market by discouraging hoarding of local currency and speculative demand as well as maximally sanctioning incidences of round tripping and arbitrage. This will enhance foreign portfolio as well as diaspora participation in the market, improve liquidity, support GDP growth and employment, and reduce cost of doing business by taming inflation and ultimately reducing the unbearable misery index. ..Rislanudeen is an economist and former acting Managing Director of Unity Bank Plc

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Survey Shows PMI Rose Five-month High in December Nume Ekeghe The Stanbic IBTC’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has indicated that the index attained a five month high, which was a reflection of an improvement in the macroeconomy. This emerged after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that its Manufacturing PMI stood at 52 index points in December 2016, also indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector during the review period. The central bank’s PMI index had recorded decline in the preceding eleven months. Continuing, Stanbic IBTC explained that the headline figure was derived from its Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMITM). Readings above 50.0 signalled an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration. At 48.1 in December, up from November’s 47.7, the headline figure rose to a five-month high but remained below the crucial 50.0 no-change mark. It therefore signalled a further contraction of Nigeria’s private sector. Moreover, the latest figure lengthened the current downturn to eight successive months. Commenting on December’s survey findings, Ayomide Mejabi, Economist at Stanbic IBTC Bank said: “The rate of contraction in Nigeria’s private sector slowed in December as a result of weaker declines in output and new export orders as well as a slower increase in

output prices. The headline PMI rose to its best level in the last five months, perhaps indicating that underlying macro-economic bottlenecks are being resolved. Having said that, most other facets of activity continue to deteriorate as new business orders returned to contraction territory. “In addition, after recording marginal growth in October, employment extended its recent decline from November into December. The price PMI subindices on the other hand show that underlying inflationary pressures may be subsiding, as while output prices continue to increase, they are doing so at a slower pace compared to earlier in the year. In summary, it is perhaps still too early to ascertain if a turnaround in Nigeria’s economic challenges is imminent as anecdotal evidence still suggests that many of the productive sectors continue to struggle with foreign exchange needed to boost domestic investment and consequently, growth.” Furthermore, it stated that the main findings of the December survey were the weakening of Nigeria’s private sector stemmed from a slower decline in output, with panel members citing weaker underlying demand. Furthermore, business activity has decreased in every month since February. The latest survey data signalled a return to contraction territory for new business following a marginal increase in November. The fall was broad-

based, as new export orders also lowered. Inflationary pressures weighed on consumer demand, according to several survey respondents. Meanwhile, firms continued to work through their outstanding business levels in December. Although the rate of deterioration eased to the slowest in four months, it remained strong in comparison to the three-year series average. Job cuts in Nigeria’s private sector were evident for the second month in a row. In fact, the rate of job shedding was the fastest in the series history, despite being relatively moderate. Nigerian businesses raised output prices again in December. The rate of inflation was marked despite slowing since the previous month. Moreover, output charges rose at a stronger pace than input prices. Nigerian private sector firms commented on exchange rate depreciation, rising delivery costs and higher foods prices as the main factors driving inflation. For the fifth time in as many months, input buying in the private sector of Nigeria decreased. The rate of decline was little-changed from November, with firms linking the fall to a lack of working capital. That said, pre-production inventories accumulated at a fractional rate in December. Finally, suppliers’ lead times shortened in Nigeria’s private sector during the month. However, the rate at which vendor performance improved was only slight.

FirstMobile App Increases Daily Transactions Limit First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced increased transaction limits on its FirstMobile Lifestyle app to a maximum daily limit of N150,000.00 without the use of a token and a total daily transaction limit of N1 million. This development was expected to boost convenience and ease of banking as well as enhance customers’ digital banking experience in line with the bank’s commitment to offer value-added services that suit the lifestyles of its customers. FirstBank had launched FirstMobile as part of its drive to leverage evolving technology in providing cutting-edge banking services to its customers and the mobile banking app which is secure and easy to use, allows users to carry out

banking transactions on the go from their mobile phones anywhere in the world. A statement from the bank at the weekend explained that the banking app comes with a user-defined transaction pin which is an extra security feature and customers can also perform the following actions on the enhanced app: change transaction PIN, reset transaction PIN, synchronise token, and change their log in pin – mPIN. “With the integrated lifestyle mobile banking app, customers can enjoy real-time mobile banking services such as domestic funds transfer from self-owned accounts to FirstBank accounts and other banks’ accounts; make quick airtime purchase for self and others on all mobile networks;

bills payments; cheque services including confirm cheque and stop cheque; flight booking; and quick account services such as account balance inquiry, statement view and much more,” the statement added. In December 2016, FirstMobile recorded a milestone in its user numbers with the attainment of one million active users while over N1.3 trillion transaction volume had been consummated using the FirstMobile app since its launch in 2015. According to the Head, Digital Banking at FirstBank, Mrs. Folasade Femi-Lawal, the bank will continue to leverage evolving technologies to support consumers’ lifestyle by providing them with a suite of financial options in a convenient and highly secure environment.

12 Winners Emerge in Sterling Bank Promo Sterling Bank Plc said it made 12 of its customers millionaires in its ‘New Sterling Bank Sterling Plus Cash Reward’ promo last year. According to the bank, other winners also emerged in other categories of the promo with a total payout of N80 million. The New Sterling Plus is a new proposition for the retail segment of the market. A statement from the bank indicated that from the breakdown of the winners in the 2016 edition of the promo, 25 customers went home with N500,000 each, 80 won N100,000

each while over a thousand won N50,000 each. The newest millionaires were Mr. Ekiwu Daniel of Okpara branch, Enugu of the Bank and Yaya Saidu Habu of Unity Road branch, Kano. They were selected during the El-Malud and Christmas draws via an electronic raffle draw and winners emerged from various parts of the country. Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Branding and Communications, Mr. Henry Bassey, said the promo was instituted to reward customer loyalty and encourage a savings culture

among Nigerians. The Sterling Bank disclosed that the season three of the promo would commence soon, adding that all customers with a minimum balance of N5,000 automatically qualify for the draws with one ticket while subsequent multiples of N5,000 result in additional tickets. The bank described the Sterling Plus account as a hybrid offering with the promise of many goodies and freebies such as free Lenovo smartphones pre-loaded with cool financial and entertainment applications among others for individual customers.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JUNE 2016 Broad Money (M2)

21,684,965.22

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,125,933.16

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,379,187.93

---- Demand Deposits

7,746,745.22

-- Quasi Money

12,559,032.07

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,105,663.47

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,579,301.76

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

24,318,143.03

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,893,190.01

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

5,004,677.26

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,111,487.25

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,424,953.01

--Other Assets Net

-9,738,841.27

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,370,199.87

--Currency in Circulation

1,684,725.89

--Banks Reserves

3,685,473.98 •

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Price (N)

Buying Price(N) 1,660.29

1,685.29

1,000.00

11,002.32

11,326.67.11

Stanbic Balanced Fund Stanbic IBTC NEF

Selling Price

Stanbic SIBond

120.47

Stanbic IBTC Ethical

1.10

1.13

Stanbic IBTC GIF

142.90

143.38

UBA Balanced Fund

1.2563

1.2493

UBA Bond Fund

1.3443

UBA Equity Fund

0.8205

0.8074

UBA Money Market Fund

1.1510

ARM Aggressive Growth Fund

N13.0544

N13.4480

ARM Discovery Fund

N288.2515

N296.9425

ARM Ethical Fund

N22.5268

N23.2060

ARM Money Market Fund

13.1030 (Yield % ) •

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 21 DECEMBER 2016 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $52.25 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $51.99 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

UPDC, United Capital, Access Bank Opens 2017 on Positive Note Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Investors in UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc, United Capital Plc, Access Bank Plc, Eterna Plc and FCMB Group Plc have started counting their gains at the stock market. Although the market recorded a decline of the 2.3 per cent in the first trading week of 2017, these

five stocks witnessed significant appreciation in their prices. UPDC led with 14.5 per cent rise, followed by United Capital with 10.6 per cent. Access Bank Plc went up by 6.9 per cent, while Eternal Plc and FCMB Group added 6.4 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively. For the shareholders of the United Capital, it has been a very bullish period despite the

T H E

overall negative performance by the market in the past one year. United Capital had delivered an impressive return of 108.4 per cent to investors in 2016 before added another 10.6 per cent last week. Market operators attributed the consistent high demand for shares of United Capital, which led to the capital appreciation, to the impressive financial

N I G E R I A N

results of company. United Capital Plc had last year recorded an impressive performance and rewarded shareholders with a dividend of 35 kobo per share. The company is already heading for another impressive year in 2016 going by its nine months ended September 30. According to results, gross earnings stood at N5.689 billion

STO C K

in 2016, up from N4.088 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. Investment income grew soared from N491 million to N2.612 billion, while net operating income settled at N5.132 billion compared with N3.722 billion in 2015. Profit before tax grew by 65 per cent to N3.962 billion in 2016 from N2.397 billion, while profit after tax rose from

E XC H A N G E

N1.910 billion to N3.170 billion. It followed that with a highly impressive performance for the half year to June 30, 2016, growing PBT by 47 per cent. The Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni expressed optimism that the company would consistently deliver value to all stakeholders.

N AY, JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

NSE CEO Unveils Measures to Improve Market Performance Goddy Egene The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, will on Thursday unveil plans to reposition the exchange and the stock market in general for better performance in 2017. Apart from unveiling plans to reposition the market, Onyema will also appraise the market performance in 2016. The market recorded its third consecutive decline in 2016. Specifically, the NSE declined

by 6.17 per cent in 2016. Also, volume and value of trading dipped last year. Investors staked had N557.75 billion on 78.90 billion shares in 2016, showing a decline of 41.33 per cent compared with N950.66 billion invested in 92.83 billion shares in 2015. According to analysts at Meristem Securities Limited (MSL) said participation in the market was weak, as the volume traded and market turnover for the year pared

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

by 15 per cent (78.90 billion units in 2016 vs 92.83 billion units in 2015) and 41.33 per cent (N557.75 billion in 2016 vs N950.66 billion in 2015) respectively. The analysts explained that activities in the market was tempered during the year, as evidenced by the decline in volume traded and market turnover. “We attribute this dull mood to weakened investors’ appetite given several headwinds that pervaded

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 05-Jan-2017, unless otherwise stated.

the different sectors of economy in the year. The weak investor sentiment was also compounded by the attractive interest rate environment in the year amid the rising inflationary pressure, which made fixed income investments a safe haven for investors,” they said. Looking ahead, MSL said they expect a spill over of these sentiments into the first half of 2017. “We expect a spill-over of these sentiments into the

first half of 2017, on the back of sustained gloomy state of the economy, as FX pressure continues to plague companies. We, however, do not rule out the possibility of a positive return in 2017, as we expect the higher crude production and price stability, coupled with effective execution of 2017 budget, to bode well for the Nigerian economy in the coming year,” they said. In their sectoral review, MSL said the agriculture sector led the outperformers.

According to the firm, the Meri-Agri Index returned 26.45 per cent to outperform other sectors in the market for the second year consecutively. “The sector’s positive performance was steered by the usual suspects- Okomu Oil Palm Plc (+32.57 per cent) and Presco Plc (+21.52 per cent), while Livestock Feeds Plc (36.84 per cent) depreciated in value for the year. Other counters (Ellah Lakes Plc and FTN Cocoa) traded flat throughout the year,” they said.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors. Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return. NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Afrinvest Equity Fund 126.02 Nigeria International Debt Fund 213.89 ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.69 AIICO CAPITAL LTD Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price AIICO Money Market Fund ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name ARM Aggressive Growth Fund ARM Discovery Fund ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund AXA Mansard Money Market Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Nigeria Global Investment Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name FBN Fixed Income Fund FBN Heritage Fund FBN Money Market Fund FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Equity Fund Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Growth Fund

100.00

aaml@afrinvest.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 127.13 -0.59% 215.40 0.47% info@acapng.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.70 -1.17% ammf@aiicocapital.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00

17.06%

enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Bid Price 12.51 290.95 22.57

Offer Price 12.88 299.72 23.25

Yield / T-Rtn 2.63% 4.10% 2.35%

1.00

17.06%

investmentcare@axamansard.com Bid Price 105.58

Offer Price 106.32

Yield / T-Rtn 5.95%

1.00 1.00 15.30% investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price 2.15 9.19 83.57

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 2.20 5.58% 9.42 -6.76% 85.71 3.03% invest@fbnquest.com

Bid Price 1,088.81 110.53 100.00 $104.93 $104.26

Offer Price 1,090.02 111.29 100.00 $105.18 $104.51

Yield / T-Rtn -0.14% -0.94% 15.33% 0.64% 0.68%

113.63

-0.48%

112.11

fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Bid Price 0.92 2.57

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.93 -1.60% 2.57 0.16% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 2,189.46

Offer Price 2,214.18

Coral Income Fund 2,108.26 INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price

Yield / T-Rtn -0.35%

2,108.26 1.13% enquiries@investment-one.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund

1.00

15.90%

Vantage Balanced Fund

1.67

1.69

-0.65%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.00 1.02 0.00% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,011.23 1,011.23 0.13% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.58 9.67 -0.83% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.98% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.05 1.07 6.65% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.37 10.54 0.28% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 15.09% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 109.19 109.96 7.18% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.25 1.25 0.16% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,835.38 1,845.51 0.22% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 154.04 154.04 0.05% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.76 0.77 -0.65% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 187.61 187.61 0.39% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 130.68 132.41 0.67% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.38% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,533.30 7,631.11 -0.59% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.12 1.13 7.13% United Capital Bond Fund 1.23 1.23 17.13% United Capital Equity Fund 0.67 0.69 1.89% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.00% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 9.85 10.03 3.19% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.13 11.24 -2.78% Zenith Income Fund 17.16 17.16 6.96%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 123.97

1.01% 0.00%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.68 74.78

8.78 76.15

-1.13% -1.34%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.61 6.94 11.94 15.67 126.49

2.65 7.02 12.04 15.87 128.49

-5.00% -1.27% -0.49% -1.74% -2.59%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

NATIONAL INSURANCE COMMISSION HEAD OFFICE: Plot 1239 Ladoke Akintola Boulevard Garki II, Abuja. P.M.B 457. Abuja. Nigeria Call Centre: 092919241, 092919242, 092919243, 092919244, 092919247, 092919249, 092919256, 092919257, 092919258, 092901511 E-mail: contact@naicom.gov.ng. Website: www.naicom.gov.ng

Understanding Compulsory Insurance Products INSURANCE OF BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION he law makes it mandatory for licensed

Sub-contractors, Agents,

their legal liability to clients resulting from

insurance of building under

Servants and Consultants of the

construction compulsory for the

Contractor or owner of the

owner or contractor.

building.

he Insurance Act 2003 makes

health care services providers to insure

professional negligence.

The policy covers legal liability to clients and

D. HOW MUCH PROTECTION DO I

third parties for breach of contract or the duty

against the risk of bodily injury, death

GET AS A SITE WORKER OR

to render the standard of service for which

or property damage in the event of

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC

collapse of building under

Non-Payroll Site Worker or

professionals involved include doctors,

construction. The policy protects

Member of the Public Death -

nurses, pharmacists, radiographers, etc.

The objective is to provide security

the health professional has been hired resulting in death, disability or injury. The

C. HOW MUCH PROTECTION DO I GET AS A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL The CMD - 25% of the Selected Sum Any other Medical Professional - 10% of the Selected Sum The Medical Institution - 100% of the Selected Sum D. HOW MUCH COMPENSATION DO I GET AS AN INJURED PATIENT Death - N2.0m Permanent Disability - N2.0m Other level of Injury - % of N2.0m depending on the level of disability Medical Expenses - Local - Max N2.0m, Foreign - Max N5.0m

workers Non compliance may attract revocation of

license by National Health Insurance

WHO IS LIABLE The Chief Medical Director of the

Council.

constructi

Hospital A. FOR WHOM

on site The Negligent Medical Professional The Medical Institution and all the

and other

The Medical Institution Medical Professionals working therein. F.

members

WHO PAYS THE PREMIUM

B. WHAT DOES THE POLICY COVER The Premium is to be borne 100% by

It provides compensation for the NHIS

the

the Hospital patients who suffer Death, Sickness,

public.

G. PENALTY FOR NON-COMPLIANCE Permanent Disability, Partial Disability Personal Prosecution for involuntary and Injury by Shock from the mistakes, murder etc.

errors, negligence and acts of

Revocation of Permit of the Medical commission or omission of medical

owner or

Institution. practitioners and institutions.

person responsib N2.0m le for the construction has the duty to Permanent Disability - N2.0m insure while non compliance attracts Other level of injury - % of N2.0m

he Insurance Act 2003 makes it

All Recreational Centres, Club Houses,

mandatory for every public building to

Cinema Halls etc. - Any other building

a penalty of N250,000 or 3 years depending on the degree of

disability

be insured with registered insurer against the

Medical Expenses - Local - Max

risks of collapse, fire, earthquakes, storm or

imprisonment or both.

FOR WHOM

flood.

N2.0m, Foreign -Max N5.0m

except churches and mosques. All Schools and Training Institutions B. WHAT DOES THE POLICY COVER? Compulsory

All the owners and contractors of Property Damage The public buildings insurance cover

Compensation to any user, licensee or

provides for compensation in the events of

member of the public who dies or

bodily injury, death and property damage to

becomes injured as a result of Fire,

Max in total Legal Cost and

tenant, third party and members of the public

Flood, Storm, Earthquake or Collapse of

B. WHAT DOES THE POLICY

Expenses

arising from the above risks.

the building.

COVER

Reimbursement for defence cost to

buildings of more than two (2) floors

S i t e W o r k e r, 3 r d P a r t y o r

under construction.

Surrounding Properties - N50.0m

the Contractor in case the matter

Compensation for property damage to The owner or person occupying the property any user, licensee or member of the

Construction Risks of every has the duty to insure while non compliance

goes to court - N1.0m Max.

public as a result of Fire, Flood, Storm,

description resulting in: attracts a penalty of N100,000 or one year Earthquake or Collapse of the building.

Death or injury to site workers

imprisonment. C. HOW MUCH COMPENSATION CAN I

E. WHO PAYS THE PREMIUM A. FOR WHOM?

and Death or injury to any

GET

The Building Contractor All Business and Office premises

member of the public.

Compulsory

PENALTY

FOR

NON(government, corporate, private) - All For Death to any User, Lisensee or

Property damage to the site COMPLIANCE

Petrol and Gas Stations

N250,000 fine plus three (3) years

All Hotels, Guest Houses, Hostels and

public, or to the surrounding

imprisonment - Sec. 64 (3) of the

Residential Estates. - All Hospitals,

properties.

Insurance Act 2003.

member of the public - N2.0m maximum

workers, any member of the

For Permanent Disability to any User, Licensee or 3rd Party - N2.0m maximum Health Centres and Clinics (public & For Damage to any Public utility private)

C. WHO IS LIABLE

G. THE REGULATORY AUTHORITY

N10.0m maximum All Residential Buildings that are let out

Owner and/orContractor of the

The

National

Insurance

For Damage to any 3rd Party Property in full or in part - All Markets and

Building under construction

N35.0m max.

Commission (NAICOM) Shopping plazas

A public enlightenment and Insurance Education Publication of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

Acting Features Editor: Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

A part of Garki

The Hell Inside Abuja Right in the heart of Abuja where some of the key institutions of government are concentrated is the urban area called Garki, but it also has one of the most neglected slums in the country, Olawale Ajimotokan reports

t may not be regarded as Nigeria’s seat of power, but Garki District as the main business district of Abuja is the heartbeat and pearl of the nation’s capital. Some of Garki’s key features are boutique hotels, major roads and public institutions, where policy decisions regulating the matters of state are formulated. The headquarters of Nigeria Army, the Old and Federal Secretariats, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ministry of Defence, Arts and Culture Centre, the General Post Office, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCTA) International Conference Centre, Nicon Luxury Hotel and Hawthorne Suites can

all be found in Garki. It also houses the cluster of foreign embassies chief among which are China, U.S., Brazil, Ghana and Angola, all conspicuous on both sides of Ernest Shonekan Drive. Some of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists, including Herbert Macaulay, Tafawa Balewa, Ladoke Akintola, Ahmadu Bello, Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti and Moshood Abiola all have major roads named after them in Garki. But at the southern most corner of the district is Garki II: a sharp contrast to the sterling attributes of Garki. It is here that the Garki Village, a cobweb of unplanned structures and one of the knockdown places in the heart of Abuja can be found. The Garki Village scarcely exists in the

consciousness of the decision makers, who place it on the same scale as Ajegunle, the sprawling slum in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, where public infrastructure and health facilities are decrepit and not adequate. It is located in a place off the two major link roads, Ahmadu Bello Way and Samuel Ladoke Akintola Boulevard. Aside parts of the only tarred roadsLagos Street and Oka Akoko, that link the neighbourhood, plus the 80 metres stretch to the quarters of the Sa’Peyi (Village Chief), Alhaji Usman Nga- Kupi- the rest of the place is a ghetto conscripted to its fate by the relevant authority. The bumpy roads, particularly Enugu Street

and Nsukka Street have overtly evolved into ducts where waste water generated by the households gather as there is no functional drainage in the neighbourhood. The lack of drainage exposes the inhabitants to the risk of malaria and other opportunistic diseases that thrive in dirty environment. Water has become a scarce commodity for the community dwellers, whose regular source of supply is through truck pushers and untreated sachet water sold by retailers. Private hospitals and the Garki Village Primary Health Centre built by Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) serve the medical needs of the residents. The Primary Health Centre has a doctor, a few nurses and auxiliary medical

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

Enugu Street in Garki

This is a settlement where all the ethnic groups of Nigeria are represented. The people here are law abiding but you can see for yourself the hardship we are subjected to. There is irregular supply of electricity, we buy unclean water that puts our health in jeopardy and there is no road personnel. It renders services on children immunisation, public healthcare, pregnancy and laboratory service. “This is a settlement where all the ethnic groups of Nigeria are represented. The people here are law abiding but you can see for yourself the hardship we are subjected to. There is irregular supply of electricity, we buy unclean water that puts our health in jeopardy and there is no road. And scarcely do you see health workers come to immunise children. You can also see the drainage water dissecting

the chief’s road. There is no planning here because it is a village for the common people of Nigeria. They have no regard for us,” lamented Daniel Imoto, a businessman at Garki Modern Market. A tailor adjacent the Sa’peyi’s house, Sadik Awwal also listed similar plight which members of the community confront on daily basis. According to Awwal, steady electricity, water supply and medical facilities are some of the basic requirements of the community. "We are minding our business as a people, there is no issue with security because there is a police barracks serving the whole community, but we feel we are unjustifiably excluded from the development around us. Government should live to its responsibility,’’ Awwal charged. Lagos Street (Crescent) is the hub and melting pot of the Garki Village. Every night the peace of the community is disturbed by revelers who gather to drink and patronise the women of easy virtues who line the road for customers. It is also a notorious hangout for homosexuals, who sometimes openly solicit for patronage, though some are wary as they make overtures to male passersby. There caution is because the Nigerian law criminalises homosexuality which is punishable by a 14-year jail term if an offender is convicted.

The call girls, provocatively dressed, wait patiently for their target, mainly the urban mobile patrons with flashy cars. They strike a deal and agree to meet at a getaway usually one of the nearby hotels in the area. Both sides of Lagos Crescent are lined by rows of makeshift canteens where people are served bowls of hot, spicy foods and different types of alcohol.

Lagos Street is the hub and melting pot of the Garki Village. Every night the peace of the community is disturbed by revelers who gather to drink and patronise the women of easy virtues who line the road for customers. It is also a notorious hangout for homosexuals, who sometimes openly solicit for patronage

The tang of the food as it is prepared on the stove in addition to the hum generated by the vehicles in a long line, combine to give the nightlife an added fervour. "This is a community that rarely goes to bed. You can hardly go hungry here because by the nature of the night life here, food is available at any given time of the day. One can still get food to buy here by as late as 2a.m. It is one of the reasons that make this place special and bubbling,’’ noted Imoto. But Ibrahim Idris, a bicycle repairer is happy with the business opportunities offered in the community. Idris was born in Garki to Hausa parents and has been in the business of fixing creaky bicycles since his father initiated him into the profession 20 years ago. The last in a family of five brothers, it was through the proceeds from the vocation that he used to educate himself and fend for the family. ‘’Business is booming in this community. I used to do work a little anytime I come out, but I get more patronage on Saturdays than on other days. Now I have five apprentices working under me,’’ Idris said. "When you visit here in the night, you can hardly find a space because of the vehicular traffic. This is a good place. The only appeal I will make to government is to fix our roads to ease movement of people and goods".

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 T H I S D AY

RETURNS ON UTILIZATION OF FUNDS SOLD TO CUSTOMERS FOR THE WEEK ENDED FRIDAY 06-JAN-2017

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Obama Says He Takes ‘Some Responsibilities’ for Democrats’ Loss of Power President Barack Obama feels good about his policy legacy, and thinks more of it may survive the Trump presidency than most people expect. But in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” the outgoing chief executive said he recognises that the Democratic Party has lost a lot of power during his watch, and wishes he had done more to strengthen it. “I take some responsibility on that,” Obama said. The president was responding to a question from host George Stephanopoulos about the losses Democrats have suffered in Congress, where they have relinquished majorities in both parties, and in state legislatures, where they have lost more than 900 seats. A big factor, Obama said, was timing. Obama took office in 2009 as the economy was in free fall. Although he acted quickly to help, most notably with the Recovery Act and his rescue of the U.S. auto industry, the 2010 midterm elections took place before the economy had started to improve in ways most people felt in their daily lives. That election was critical, Obama said, because it gave Republicans a chance to dominate redistricting, which takes place every 10 years. Republicans were able to draw

district lines for both state and federal legislative seats in ways that locked in an advantage for their party. “We were just at the beginnings of a recovery,” Obama said. “You know, whoever is president at that point is gonna get hit and his party’s gonna get hit. That then means that suddenly you’ve got a redistricting in which a lot of state legislatures are now Republican. They draw lines that give a huge structural advantage in subsequent elections.” But, Obama went on to say, he focused on governing to the exclusion of politicking and the Democratic Party suffered. “Because my docket was really full here... I couldn’t be both chief organizer of the Democratic Party and function as commander-in-chief and president of the United States,” Obama said. “We did not begin what I think needs to happen over the long haul, and that is rebuild the Democratic Party at the ground level.” Obama noted that he started his career as a political organizer, and that bringing new people into the political

system has long been a focus of his. He then took what sounded like a mild dig at Democrats, including those in the failed Hillary Clinton campaign, by saying Democrats need to work harder to win over voters who’ve grown

skeptical of the party and who supported President-elect Donald Trump in the election. “I want to see the Democratic Party move in that direction,” Obama said. “And what that means is that we aren’t just micro-targeting to eke out presidential victories it

Iran’s Ex-President Rafsanjani Dies at 82 Iran’s ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a dominant figure in the country’s politics since the 1980s, has died at the age of 82, media say. Mr Rafsanjani had suffered a heart attack, the reports said. He served as president from 1989 to 1997 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he ran again in 2005. Although Mr Rafsanjani was part of the religious establishment, he was regarded as a “pragmatic conservative” open to improving ties to the West. His final role was head of the Expediency Council, which tries to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council. It was the 12-member council, a dominant force in Iran that interprets the constitution that

means that we’re showing up in places where right now we’re not winning a lot.” “The big divide right now is between urban areas, which have become increasingly Democratic, and rural or exurban areas that feel as if they’re being ignored,” he

went on. “And if Democrats are not showing up in those places, even if you even if you’re not gonna win right away, but if you’re not in there at least making an argument that, ‘Hey, you know what? It’s the Democrats who are trying to raise your minimum wage.’”

Jerusalem Attack: Four Dead after Lorry Driver Rams Soldiers

had disqualified Mr Rafsanjani after he entered the race for the 2013 presidential election. After his defeat in 2005, Mr Rafsanjani became openly critical of the president. In 2009, he sided with reformers who disputed that year’s elections, although the hardline Mr Ahmadinejad won a second term. Mr Rafsanjani was among those calling for the release of political prisoners and greater political freedoms for parties prepared to work within the constitution. The state-run Irinn network announced on Sunday that Mr Rafsanjani had “passed away after a lifetime of fighting and constant efforts in line with fulfilling the goals of Islam and the revolution”.

Four people have been killed in Jerusalem by a Palestinian who rammed a lorry into a group of soldiers, in what police say was a terrorist attack. Three women and one man, all in their twenties, were killed and at least 13 more were wounded, medics say. Police said the driver was shot dead by soldiers from the group. Over the past 15 months there have been many attacks on Israelis by Palestinians - using knives, guns and sometimes vehicles. Israel’s police chief Roni Alsheich said the assailant in Sunday’s attack was a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. CCTV footage showed the truck driving off the road and ploughing at high speed into

the soldiers, before reversing over the victims. “He drove backward to crush more people,” eyewitness Leah Schreiber told reporters. “That was really clear.” The attack took place on the popular Armon Hanatziv promenade overlooking the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said security had been heightened throughout the city in response. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called on residents not to “let terror win” and said militants would “pay a heavy price”. “There is no limit to the cruelty of the terrorists who are willing to use any means possible to murder Jews and to damage the life routine of Israel’s capital,” he said.

SCHEDULE OF SKYE BANK'S SALES FOR THE WEEK JAN 3 - JAN 6, 2017 S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

CUSTOMER NAME KAYODE OPEIFA HABIBU MUHAMMED MAJE OBASI OGECHI LOVELIN UNIVERSAL TURKEY PROJECT LIMITED ARIBALOYE OLUFEMI ALZICO LIMITED NUUB PHARMACEUTICAL & VETERINARY PRODUCTS LIMITED FAS AGRO INDUSTRIAL COMPANY LIMITED MOJEC INTERNATIONAL NIGERIA LIMITED HADIZA ALI-DAGABANA FAS AGRO INDUSTRIAL COMPANY LIMITED FAS AGRO INDUSTRIAL COMPANY LIMITED LUMAX INTEGRATED SERVICES LIMITED LUMAX INTEGRATED SERVICES LIMITED JMG LIMITED UlTIMATE PLASTICS INDUTRIES LIMITED ALOKRISH LIMITED FRANKON MANUFACTURING CONCEPT LIMITED ARS NIGERIA LIMITED EZINWANNE DOROTHY NNORUKA CELINA COASTAL CRUST OSUNSANYA KOREDE KOLAPO OLUSOGA OLAYIWOLA VALENTINE BROLLO PIPE AND PROFILE INDUSTRIES LIMITED NGOBROS & COMPANY LIMITED ACME PACKAGING LIMITED CHEMLAP NIGERIA LIMITED

ITEM OF IMPORT TUITION FEES TUITION FEES TUITION FEES TUITION FEES TUITION FEES AGRICULTURAL MACHINERIES PRIME MOVERS GX AND WATER PUMP PHARMACEUTICALS POLYPROPYLENE P2000 - D THREE PHASE FOUR WIRE ELECTRONIC SPLITKEYPAD INVISIBLE POLYPROPYLENE POLYPROPYLENE ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS SOUNDPROOF GENERATOR MANUFACTURING OF PLASTICS PARACETAMOL CHEMICAL POWDER NEW MOTORCYCLE SPARE PARTS RESINS MTS WHITE 1000/777. TUITION FEES GLUE LAC TUITION FEES TUITION FEES HOT ROLLED STEEL SHEETS IN COIL BABY DIAPERS TESTLINER 2/3 IN REELS PVA 11 GRANULE

DATE OF SALES 03/01/2017 03/01/2017 04/01/2017 04/01/2017 04/01/2017 05/01/2017 05/01/2017 05/01/2017 05/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 TOTAL

EXCHANGE RATE 305.50 305.50 315.00 315.00 315.00 315.00 315.00 315.00 305.50 315.00 315.00 315.00 305.50 315.00 315.00 315.00 315.00 305.50 305.50 305.50 305.50 305.50 305.50 315.00 315.0000 315.00 315.00

AMOUNT 16,183.00 620.00 1,776.00 8,699.00 8,500.00 16,942.40 17,940.00 9,900.00 50,000.00 10,000.00 9,900.00 9,900.00 8,197.00 21,803.00 20,000.00 15,000.00 15,000.00 10,000.00 7,911.00 5,343.40 10,000.00 10,202.00 6,543.60 10,000.00 10,000.00 5,000.00 15,000.00 330,360.40

SCHEDULE OF SKYE BANK'S PURCHASES FOR THE WEEK JAN 3 - JAN 6, 2017 S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6

SOURCE JAIZ BANK AUTONOMOUS AUTONOMOUS GTBANK AUTONOMOUS AUTONOMOUS

DATE OF FUND PURCHASE 03/01/2017 04/01/2017 05/01/2017 05/01/2017 05/01/2017 06/01/2017

EXCHANGE RATE 305.00 314.50 314.50 305.00 314.50 314.50 TOTAL

AMOUNT 50,000.00 48,829.86 149,268.25 50,000.00 939.17 8,049.32 307,086.60

T H I S D AY •

N AY JANUARY ,

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

6-Jan-17

5-Jan-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

01 Dangote Cement Plc

167.00

167.02

-0.01%

2,845,764,736,635.00

9.20

18.14

5.01

4.79%

3.80

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

142.00

0.00%

1,125,932,326,096.00

4.03

35.19

3.73

2.54%

6.87

03 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

23.54

23.47

0.30%

692,809,958,932.96

4.90

4.80

1.72

7.52%

1.41

809.00

810.00

-0.12%

641,258,907,868.00

8.81

91.81

3.71

3.58%

20.32

14.77

14.50

1.86%

463,726,213,219.22

3.91

3.78

0.97

12.19%

0.67

379.99

0.00%

210,252,385,836.87 -44.58

-8.52

2.71

4.19%

0.53

07 Lafarge Africa Plc

40.00

0.00%

182,196,072,400.00

-9.39

-4.26

0.85

7.50%

0.90

08 Access Bank Plc

6.28

6.14

2.28%

181,667,661,842.68

2.59

2.43

0.51

8.76%

0.41

09 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

9.85

9.73

1.23%

180,743,079,467.75

0.68

14.56

0.31

6.29%

0.29

10 United Bank for Africa Plc

4.68

4.61

1.52%

169,788,183,186.96

1.75

2.68

0.51

12.82%

0.39

11 Presco Plc

40.10

0.00%

159,216,129,504.50

0.03

1,371.42

2.23

3.24%

3.81

12 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

15.00

0.00%

150,000,000,000.00

2.04

7.37

1.07

0.67%

1.27

04 Nestle Nigeria Plc 05 Zenith Bank Plc 06 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

13 Unilever Nigeria Plc

35.00

0.00%

132,415,368,750.00

0.69

50.57

1.99

0.14%

14.11

14 FBN Holdings Plc

3.50

3.44

1.74%

125,633,524,772.00

0.21

16.87

0.24

4.29%

0.20

15 Guinness Nig Plc

80.00

78.90

1.39%

120,471,055,040.00

-3.06

-26.16

1.17

4.00%

3.06

16 Forte Oil Plc.

80.58

80.75

-0.21%

104,953,927,279.74

3.31

24.37

0.68

4.28%

2.43

17 Total Nigeria Plc

299.00

0.00%

101,517,029,263.00

38.02

7.86

0.38

4.68%

4.46

18 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

265.05

279.00

-5.00%

95,575,774,193.10

19.32

13.72

1.05

2.72%

5.16

19 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

129.00

0.00%

82,636,156,827.00

-0.05 -2,824.30

0.89

1.71%

3.72

20 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

5.99

0.00%

71,880,000,000.00

1.03

5.84

0.50

8.35%

1.15

21 International Breweries Plc

18.50

0.00%

60,943,611,680.00

0.02

821.05

2.29

1.35%

5.56

4.69

4.54

3.30%

56,442,362,612.86

-3.15

-1.49

0.22

15.99%

0.35

23 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

38.58

0.00%

50,925,600,000.00

-2.95

-13.09

0.44

3.89%

2.68

24 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

18.48

0.00%

48,495,903,215.76

-1.19

-15.49

0.12

10.82%

0.49

25 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

40.17

0.00%

38,318,564,700.00

4.82

8.33

5.83

0.25%

2.37

0.89

0.88

1.14%

34,461,687,708.25

-0.47

-1.91

0.66

0.00%

0.47

16.64

16.90

-1.54%

31,963,183,399.68

3.37

4.93

0.42

6.01%

0.42

28 Fidelity Bank Plc

0.83

0.00%

24,038,946,124.36

0.39

2.14

0.16

19.28%

0.13

29 FCMB Group Plc

1.17

1.12

4.46%

23,169,171,613.77

0.61

1.91

0.14

8.55%

0.13

33.00

0.00%

23,100,000,000.00

2.28

14.45

3.46

3.48%

13.50

31 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

8.50

0.00%

22,520,226,213.00

0.85

10.01

1.20

6.47%

3.05

32 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.70

0.00%

21,762,897,521.50

0.76

4.85

0.60

3.78%

0.76

33 Diamond Bank Plc

0.90

0.00%

20,844,350,071.20

-0.29

-3.07

0.10

0.00%

0.09

34 Wema Bank Plc

0.53

0.00%

20,444,467,022.93

0.06

8.90

0.40

0.00%

0.43

35 Sterling Bank Plc

0.70

0.00%

20,153,292,688.20

0.29

2.43

0.19

12.86%

0.25

15.75

0.00%

18,835,054,686.00

-2.98

-5.28

0.67

1.90%

2.14

37 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

9.50

10.00

-5.00%

17,842,919,380.00

0.50

19.03

0.64

13.68%

1.75

38 Mansard Insurance Plc

1.69

0.00%

17,745,000,000.00

0.28

6.07

0.89

2.96%

0.84

39 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

14.50

0.00%

14,500,000,000.00

5.69

2.55

1.01

0.69%

0.39

40 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.00

0.00%

10,372,744,312.00

0.42

2.38

0.47

12.00%

0.55

41 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.29

1.30

-0.77%

10,229,954,978.82

-0.40

-3.19

0.21

12.40%

0.31

42 Skye Bank Plc

0.50

0.00%

6,940,150,705.00

-2.93

-0.17

0.04

60.00%

0.07

43 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.51

0.53

-3.77%

6,825,196,508.52

0.18

2.83

0.87

5.88%

0.41

44 Unity Bank Plc

0.58

0.00%

6,779,816,006.36

-0.10

-5.66

0.10

0.00%

0.08

45 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

46 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

4.33

4.55

-4.84%

5,441,414,726.78

0.22

19.78

0.49

2.31%

0.51

47 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

3.00

3.09

-2.91%

5,156,249,985.00

0.30

10.03

1.22

23.33%

0.14

48 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

2.72

2.86

-4.90%

4,417,875,000.00

0.15

18.00

0.55

7.35%

0.74

49 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.62

0.00%

4,296,726,777.60

0.22

2.78

0.15

8.06%

0.42

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.33

0.00%

1,995,000,000.00

0.24

5.65

0.30

3.76%

0.31

22 Oando Plc

26 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 27 U A C N Plc

30 Cap Plc

36 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

TOTAL

8,473,065,724,954.37

TOTAL MARKET CAP

9,032,484,259,046.31

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

93.81%

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 5-Jan-17

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

26,212.09 9.02

26,251.39 9.03

0.15 0.15

108.60 8.46

108.82 8.47

0.21 0.21

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Close 6-Jan-17

Change %

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open 5-Jan-17

FCMB Group Plc Oando Plc Access Bank Plc Zenith Bank Plc FBN Holdings Plc

1.12 4.54 6.14 14.50 3.44

Close 5-Jan-17

Change %

1.17 4.69 6.28 14.77 3.50

4.46 3.30 2.28 1.86 1.74

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open 5-Jan-17

Cadbury Nigeria Plc Mobil Oil Nig Plc Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc Wapic Insurance Plc

Close 6-Jan-17

Change %

10.00 279.00 2.86

9.50 265.05 2.72

-5.00 -5.00 -4.90

4.55 0.53

4.33 0.51

-4.84 -3.77

Market closes positive as NSE Index gains 0.15% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Wednesday, January 6th, 2017, ended on a positive note compared to the previous closing as market closed green. This was further highlighted by positive performance from the NSE Subsectors: Consumer Goods and Banking (Save Insurance and Oil & Gas). Trading activities increased in volume as 210.21m shares worth of N1.51 billion in 2,659 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 137.69m shares worth of N898.71m in 2,488 deals which exchanged hands on Thursday. Topping in volume terms are: Oando Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, while Zenith Bank Plc and Oando Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms. The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed positive with 0.15% (+39.30) increase to close at 26,251.39 from 26,212.09 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization appreciated in tandem to N9.03 trillion from N9.02 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with an increase of 0.21% to close at 108.82 from 108.60 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.47 trillion from N8.46 trillion of the previous trading day. A total number of 13 stocks gained on the bourse today while 16 stocks declined, leaving 70 stocks unchanged. FCMB Group Plc emerged as the day’s toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 4.46% to close at N1.17 per share. It was followed by Oando Plc with a gain of 3.30% to close at N4.69 per share. Others on the gainers list include: Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc; while on the decliners’ list, Cadbury Nigeria Plc emerge with a loss of 5.00% to close at N9.50 per share. It was followed by Mobil Oil Nig. Plc with a loss of 5.00% to close at N265.05 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, CCNN Plc and Wapic Insurance Plc. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

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Killers in North-east, Southern Kaduna are Evil, Says Osinbajo Govt will never abandon families of dead soldiers Paul Obi in Abuja The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday described Boko Haram terrorists and herdsmen murdering people in the North-east and Southern Kaduna as evil. The vice president stated this during the Inter-Denominational Church Service of the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at the National

Christian Centre, Abuja, yesterday Osinbajo tasked the military to be more committed and dedicated in its constitutional role of safeguarding the country’s territory, stating that government was committed to ensuring that the dreams of the fallen heroes for their children were achieved. According to him, those who caused crises leading to deployment of the military where

Okafor, APGA Factional National Chairman Dies in Enugu Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu The factional National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Nwabueze Okafor, is dead. Okafor became the party’s leader following the suspension of the embattled National Chairman, Chief Ike Oye. He (Okafor) was equally suspended dinning with members of his factional executives last week by Oye and his team fuelling strong indications that the party was headed for a major crisis ahead of the Anambra State gubernatorial election. Popularly known in Enugu State with his chieftancy title, Okpochengene, Okafor was a former National President of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), and former Chairman of Enugu South Local Government Area. Okafor’s close friend and Assistant National Financial Secretary of APGA, Okecheckwu Nkolagu, who confirmed the death, said he died at about 8a.m.

yesterday. Though his family sources could not be reached for comments, another political ally of the deceased said Okafor died at the Niger Foundation Hospital in Enugu after brief illness. “He complained of weakness and was rushed to Niger Foundation where he lost the battle. May his soul rest in peace,” the source noted. It added: “You know he had suffered some illnesses when he was a council chairman. Maybe the illness came back or something but I can tell you I was informed he died this morning (yesterday).” In 2015, Okafor contested for Senate in Enugu East senatorial district on the platform of APGA but lost to his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), counterpart, senator Gil Nnaji. Shortly after the election, Okafor was nominated the APGA National Vice Chairman (South-east) before he assumed the acting National Chairman of the party when Oye was suspended by the national executive committee of the party.

Ambode to Reshuffle Cabinet Any Moment As works commissioner resigns Olawale Olaleye Any moment from now, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, will reshuffle his 37-man cabinet, in a move that would see a majority of the members laid off for fresh ideas to be injected into the system. This purported cabinet reshuffling is however coming at a time one of the commissioners in charge of works and infrastructure, Ganiyu Johnson, has tendered his resignation letter. A few more others, sources said, were expected to turn in their resignations too before they are shown the way out by the governor. Johnson has however embraced the initiative, when it was clear to him that he would go and the governor is said to have accepted his resignation. Sources within the government hinted that apart from age (Johnson is over 70), the former works commissioner is said to be unable to fly with the governor’s idea of a new Lagos as well as key into his development agenda, factors believed to be responsible for by

age. While several names are being dropped as those likely to be sacked, THISDAY has also confirmed that such names as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello, will not be dropped on any account as he ranks among the bulwark of the state. Also likely to retain their jobs are commissioners in charge of health, Olajide Idris; his counterpart in environment, Babatunde Adejare, as well as their colleague in transportation, Dayo Mobereola. They are among the inner caucus of the government and think-tank of the administration. However, apart from the fact that a majority of the commissioners will be relieved of their postings while some of the vacant seats will be filled, many others will also be redeployed to other sectors, where the governor thinks they can better function. The reshuffling, THISDAY learnt, is going to happen in a matter of days as the governor is presently putting finishing touches to the lists of those going and the new ideas coming in.

some of them paid the supreme sacrifice are evil. He challenged both Christians and Muslims to remain firm and not allow perpetrators of the crises achieve their aim of setting them against one another along religious and tribal lines. “And that when any Nigerian is killed, it is evil that has presvailed, it is darkness that prevail. “We must never be decieved by those who killed in the name of religion. No religion teaches the killing of the innocents “Anyone who kills another and said God is great is either insane or does not understand what he’s saying. “We are committed to ensuring that our fallen heroes, especially dreams for their children, are achieved, “the vice president reiterated. Speaking further at the occasion attended by all the nation’s service

chiefs and head of all para-military agencies, Osinbajo hailed the military over the various roles it have played at ensuring that Nigeria remained one, “especially the latest feat of defeating the Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east, urging its personnel not to rest in their oars. He also assured them that the federal government would not abandon the families, especially children of soldiers who paid supreme price to ensuring that Nigeria remains one indivisible entity. Reading from the Book of Timothy, in the Holy Bible, the vice president observed that soldiers occupy a special place in the gospel of Christ, regretting that the military profession was one in which “saints are condemned.” “Soldiers occupy a special place in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The military profession is the only profession to which the saints

are condemned. “The only profession to which the body of Christ is compared. The body of Christ is not compared with doctors, with business men, with bankers. As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer and I know what the scripture says about lawyers. “The two reasons why followers of Jesus Christ are described as soldiers: The first are the attributes that the soldiers have which are unity, brotherhood, loyalty, discipline and the most importantly, the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country.” He added that “the second reason why Christians are often compared with soldiers is the recognition that life itself is a warfare, that life is a war. It’s a battle between good and evil and between light and darkness. “It is only a fool that does not know that the physical is determined by the spiritual and that

there’s not a physical manifestation of anything that has not been settled in the spirit. “That every physical war has an underlined spiritual foundation. And so as we fight physical battle, we recognised that really, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual holds of wickedness in the heavenly place. “Every war, every physical battle has a spiritual undertone. And so today, as we celebrate our fallen heroes, we do so with the wisdom of the scripture. First, that the physical battle that they fought for freedom, for justice and recently, against terrorism and hate are battles fought to ensure that good must prevail over evil. They are battles fought to ensure that light prevail over darkness.”

WE WANT CHIBOK GIRLS RESCUED

Members of Bring Back Our Girls during their protest on the 1,000 day of abduction of Chibok girls to the Presidential Villa, Abuja....yesterday

Sirika: 2017 Budget will Address Power Failure in Lagos, Abuja Airports, Others Dele Ogbodo in Kano The Minister of State for Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, yesterday, said the challenge of power failure experienced at Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other airports across the country would be addressed with the 2017 budget. He affirmed that the 2017 federal appropriation has provision for alternative electricity power supply, should there be failure from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at the airports. The minister made the disclosure after inspecting the ongoing international terminal building works at the Mallam Aminu Kano airport in Kano. He however admitted that there were power challenges across the airports in 2016, because there was no provision for power in 2016 budget, adding that the two runways at the airport are in perfect condition. Sirika said: “Here in Kano, we have three standby generators in good condition, so should there be failure, the alternative power

will come on.” The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), he added, was prepared this year to ensure that there is no power failure in our airports. On the completion of the five new terminals awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), for $500 million, the minister acknowledged that work was at advanced stage and nearing completion, adding that the job done looks a good one, though the contractor has not given an exact date of completion of the project. While also expressing satisfaction with facilities at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, he said the college is being repositioned for the mandate it was set to deliver. The minister said: “It is very clear that the College is being repositioned towards being a true centre of excellence. “You can see that this college is one of a kind; the only college that I have known to have its own airport, it’s own towers, very

elaborate training facilities, hostels, swimming pool, golf course and tennis courts. “They have training aid units, digital boards, quite a number of active and live hangers to carry out aircraft maintenance. “And of course they are not 100 per cent, there is room for improvement and I have no doubt that with support from government they should be able to achieve what is expected of them.” While, admitting that funding for its agencies is shrinking, he charged the management to devise means of sourcing for alternate revenue through exploring alternative source of funding, adding that it makes no sense to decentralise the college for now. He said: “NCAT has capability to do training in solar light training for technicians etc.I think they have quite a number of things, they would just settle down and need to this out there for the world to see so that they can do with their capability. “When I was a student here some three decades ago, there

students from South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Ghana, Gambia and a few from India they all came here for training and they got the best of training. “It still remains the same environment and same college and has been upgraded and I think that this is the time that people should know about it, and therefore people should come and partake in what the college can offer.” The minister, who assured Nigerians that government will build Aviation University with campuses in Lagos and Abuja, said NCAT would continue to deliver on its mandate while the university will be involved in deeper researches in aircraft building, design and assemblage. “The University will be fully into research and development and production of higher level management manpower and like I said you need the University to be able to be go into deep research in the hope the in the very near future, Nigeria will start to produce aircraft components until when Nigeria is able to produce aircraft.

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

FG Reads Riot Act to Special Varsities over Mandate Violations Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The federal government has directed that all specialised universities are to stick to their core mandates which they were set up to carry and desist from running programmes which have no bearing to their foundation. The Head of Media of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in a statement yesterday, said specialised universities are set up to pursue specific courses/ programmes to steer the need of manpower in a particular sector of the economy. Benjamin listed some of these specialised institutions to include universities such as universities of agriculture, universities of technologies, and universities of medicine, among others. He said the federal government had observed that these institutions have derailed from their statutory responsibilities there by running programmes that are antithetical to their mandates. “Government notes the

unfortunate situation were universities of agriculture offer programmes in law, management courses such as accounting, banking and finance, business administration among others and. As if that was not enough some institutions changes the nomenclature of some of the course to read for instance banking engineering, accounting technology, among other names. This is an aberration and should be stopped with immediate effect,” he stated. In view of this ugly development, Benjamin said the Minister of Education has directed the JAMB to delete all such courses on its portal and all candidates desirous of sitting for the 2017 UTME are advised not to be hoodwink into such programmes as they are illegal and are not provided for in JAMV brochure. Again, he used the opportunity to say that the board would has not commenced the sales of the 2017 UTME application forms. He urged the candidates to exercise patience as the board is putting final preparations towards

commencing the sales. He noted that the delay has been occasioned by the board desire to reduce to the barest minimum challenges associated with the conduct of the board’s examination. The JAMB spokesperson however, noted that in the final analysis Nigerians should note that admissions will be conducted within the stipulated dateline. In view of the above, he said, candidates and parents are advised not to pay money to any agent, bank for any registration as the Board has not and will not appoint any agent. “Soon we will commence the sales and the board will make elaborate announcement with jingles to ensure that the public is well informed of the commencement of sales. “Our earnest attempt is to come near perfection in the conduct of the next examination and we plead with the public to support the board effort in ensuring that the Nigerian candidate gets the best, “Benjamin said.

THISDAY Journalist Wins Childhood Development Reporting Award in US A Health Reporter with THISDAY Newspapers, Martins Ifijeh, has emerged one of the three winners of the International Centre for Journalist (ICFJ) 2016 Early Childhood Development Reporting Contest which was announced in Washington DC, United States, on January 7. His winning piece, ‘Malnutrition: Raising Nigerian Children with Low IQ,’ according to a panel of international judges won the Best Report category of the contest, while a journalist from India, Priyanka Vora, won the Best Use of Data category with her story: ‘Encephalitis killed children in Malkangiri.’ Sharon Barang’a, a reporter from Kenya won the Best Visual Category of the early childhood development contest which had entries from Asian, American and African countries. Ifijeh’s story highlighted how malnutrition, which affects more than 11 million Nigerian children, endangers the mental and physical health of an entire generation, and how it can negatively affect the economy and development of a country. He focused on a mother whose 14-month-old daughter could not sit or stand and was the size of a three-month-old due to poor

nutrition. The story showed how early intervention with a special diet helped the little girl avoid developmental problems. According to ICFJ organisers, the award recipients, whose stories emerged best in the three categories would have an all expense 10 days trip to Washington, D.C., and New York this spring, where they will receive a cash price and a study tour. “They will also use the opportunity to share their experiences covering health and development, and meet with global health experts and journalists who focus on early childhood issues. While in New York, the award recipients also will attend the DART Center’s Institute on Early Childhood Experience and the Developing Brain,” the organisers stated. ICFJ, which is in partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation seek to promote stories on early childhood development and the need for proper nutrition, especially within the first 1,000 days, as this represents the critical period when children need proper nourishment, responsive care, learning opportunities and

MartinsIfijeh protection from disease, violence and stress. Ifijeh is the current winner of the prestigious Nigeria Healthcare Media Excellence Award 2016 (Print category). He was described at the award presentation as a reporter whose health stories have impacted Nigeria’s health sector for good in the year under review (2015 to 2016).

Aremu Asks Ajaero, Others to Return to NLC Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Former Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and now Vice President of Industrial Global Union, Issa Aremu, yesterday asked the aggrieved labour leaders that formed the United Labour Congress (ULC) to retrace their steps. He asked the ULC’s masterminds to return to the fold of the NLC and join hands with its leadership to find solution to whatever is the problem with the union. Aremu disclosed this in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the celebration of his 56th birthday and launch

of a book: ‘Reflections On Good Governance and Development,’ he authored. He said: “It is never too late to return to one labour movement. “Let us bring our grievances to the table and resolve our differences. I am not a party to ULC, but NLC.” On the war of words between some Nigerian leaders, Aremu noted: “Nigeria cannot develop with the ruling elite engaging in war of attrition on issues bordering on personal issues. He cited such wars of attrition to include the ones between exPresident Olusegun Obasanjo and

Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona; and Senator Shehu Sani and Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai. Instead, Aremu said the ruling elite should disagree on progressive national issues to bring about best policy formulation for the good of Nigerians. In his remarks, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Is-haq Oloyede, said there are great lessons that Nigerians could learn from the book. Oloyede was represented by Justice Mustapha Akanbi as the chairman of the occasion.

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Bakare Tasks Buhari on Restructuring, Corruption Shola Oyeyipo The President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government has been tasked to demonstrate the audacity and courage required to restructure Nigeria; stop corruption; set national goal and move the country forward. Making the call yesterday during a state of the nation broadcast held at the church premises in Lagos

titled: ‘Looking into the Future with the Eyes of Faith’, Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly and former running mate to President Buhari, Pastor Tunde Bakare, also urged the leadership to adopt the Singapore model of fighting and conquering corruption. While he underscored that a national vision must galvanise and inspire corresponding action among the citizenry, including individuals, families, communities, corporate

EX-NIGER GOVERNOR, KURE DIES According to the commissioner, the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has also declared a workfree day on the day of the burial of the former governor to enable the people of the state to accord the departed leader a befitting burial. The statement expressed that the government would miss the wise counsel of the former governor, who despite political differences never failed to offer meaningful advice to the government. The intervention of the former governor during the recent labour crisis in the state was not only legendary but showed him as an elder statesman, whose main concern was for the good, progress and unity of the state. “Kure remained a leader who out of office showed concern for the development of the state. His statesmanship saw him jettisoning party affiliation when he personally intervened in the recent labour crisis in the state,” the statement concluded. Already, eminent Nigerians such as former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike have expressed sadness over the demise of Kure. Babangida in a statement by his media office, said: “The sudden death of former governor of Niger State, Kure, this afternoon in Germany comes to me as a great shock but as a believer, ‘all souls must taste death’ sooner or later.” The former military ruler

condoled with the family of the deceased, government and people of Niger State, saying: “My amiable friend and companion is gone. We that were left behind are on transit sooner or later.” He prayed for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for Kure and urged the family, people of the state and Nigeria at large to take heart and pray for him in his journey to the great beyond. On his part, Dogara mourned the former governor’s demise, describing it as a big loss. In a statement issued last night, the House Speaker also extended his condolences to the government and people of the state. The late Kure was a seasoned progressive politician and technocrat whose experience and wisdom would be missed, Dogara said He also sought prayers for Kure’s immediate family, to have the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. Also, Wike has expressed sadness over the sudden death of Kure, describing him as a true democrat who contributed to the consolidation of the nation’s democracy. In a statement last night, Wike said t he received the message of the death of the former governor with shock. He said Kure died at a time that the nation needed his contributions to further consolidate on the democratic process. While condoling with his immediate family and the people of Niger State over his sudden demise, The governor prayed God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Ebira Group Inaugurates 33-man NEC After far-reaching consultations with various stakeholders, the Ebira Peoples Association (EPA), the umbrella body of all Anebira at home and in the Diaspora, has constituted and inaugurated its National Executive Council (NEC). The new national executive is headed by Dr Musa AbduRahman Adeiza, its President-General and Dr Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba as the Secretary- General. The new executive has the imprimatur of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, who co-signed their appointment letters and the endorsement of all the first-class rulers (Ohis) in their four local governments, who were equally present during the inauguration ceremony. Speaking at the occasion, the new President-General called for unity, peace and harmonious coexistence among Ebira people and between them and other citizens

in the country. These he said are basic requirements needed by any human society to make meaningful progress and engender positive development. He appealed to his colleagues to join hands with him in the service of their fatherland. Adeiza called on the people of the state to support the government of the day by offering useful suggestions on policies and programmes that would have positive impact on the lives of the people. Adeiza also called for prayers for Governor Yahaya Bello and his team and for the wisdom and guidance to succeed in office, while appealing to the government to come clean on the issue of salaries of workers by bringing a closure to the screening exercise, identify ghost workers and pay those who have been screened and cleared to address the pervasive poverty in the state.

organisations, Bakare said the biggest indicator of the absence of a national vision is the preponderance of sectional agitations. He highlighted agitations by the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) and the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in the South-west to the push for secession by the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-east, from the terror unleashed by Boko Haram in the North-east to the ugly development involving the Shiites in the North-west, from the violent attacks by herdsmen in some parts of the North-west, especially the wanton destruction of lives and property in Southern Kaduna, and in the North-central from where it has spread down to the South, and the militant quest for resource control in the South-south. Identifying the absence of true federalism as fundamental flaw in Nigerian federal system, Bakare, who is the convener of the Save Nigeria Group, said though the “hues and cries for restructuring in our nation appear not to have

been well received by this present government, it is the way to go. “Why must we restructure? We must restructure to correct the flaws in our federal system. A federated state is defined as ‘a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union’. “Our founding fathers agreed that Nigeria would be a truly federal state with limited and specific powers allocated to the federal government and residual powers inherent in the regional governments. “This agreement was the social contract upon which the Nigerian state was formed, but this social contract was broken on May 24, 1966, through the Unification Decree by Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s administration, and that was the day Nigeria died. He lamented that the 36 federating states are unable to generate significant internal revenue, unable to overcome economic challenges and facilitate accelerated economic growth. “These 36 states should in fact become districts headed by

mayors within the framework of six geopolitical zones, because they will be stronger and more productive within a zonal structure. As zonal structures, they can pool resources to build transportation infrastructure; as zonal structures, they will empower local governments to bring effective governance directly to the people.” Eulogising the government for some achievements recorded in the anti-corruption war, particularly with the recent searchlight beamed on the judiciary, the clergymanturned politician said Nigeria is “still fighting corruption-our nation’s perennial archenemy-with kid gloves.” “It is very disheartening that allegations of corruption remain rife in our country, even against key office holders in the present government. In my search for solutions to our ingrained corruption, I recently came across the Singapore model of fighting and conquering corruption in a book by Jonathan Tepperman titled: ‘The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in a World in Decline.’

“From being dubbed ‘Sin-galore’ after independence in 1959 to being ranked the seventh least corrupt state in the world by a 2014 Transparency International report, Singapore’s upward trajectory provides a compelling contemporary case study (Tepperman 106-107). He implore President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow a leave from Singapore leader, Lee Kuan Yew, who took personal responsibility for stemming the tide of decay, focusing his campaign squarely on corruption which then, as in Nigeria now, was part of their culture. “As Nigerians know too well, winning an election is one thing, governance is another kettle of fish-but we cannot, in good conscience, continue to make excuses. Thirty-five year old Lee Kuan Yew did not only win but was, in the same vein as this administration, immediately confronted with multifaceted threats to Singapore’s stability, including severe under-development, widespread poverty and ethnic divisions,” he noted.

SERVICE FOR FALLEN HEROES

L-R: Rivers State Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo; Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; state Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Col Wilberforce Josiah (rtd); andotherservicecommanders,duringanInter-denominationalservicetomarkthe2017ArmedForcesRemembranceDaycelebration,atthefirstBaptist Church,PortHarcourt....yesterday

Female Inheritance: I’ll Lead Jihad against Senate, Auchi MonarchVows Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Vice-President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) and Otaru of Auchi Kingdom, Alhaji Aliru Momoh Ikelebe III, yesterday lent his voice in support of the Sultan of Sokoto’s rejection of a bill before the Senate on female inheritance, vowing to lead a spiritual jihad against the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly should they pass the bill. The monarch, who made the vow yesterday at the 20th edition of the annual Auchi Day celebration of Allah, the Most High, said the country is peaceful because it was Allah’s will that Muhammadu Buhari would be president which

is being manifested in his fight against corruption and terrorism. The Otaru, who is also the Chaiman of Mussabaqah, an Islamic religious body that coordinates Qu’anic recitation competion, noted that the issue of inheritance sharing is a serious issue and had been stipulated in the Holy Quran and as such had led to a peaceful society over the years. He warned that since the inheritance sharing in the Quran was given by inspiration, it can only be understood spiritually. According to him, “It is the Quran that specifies how you share inheritance and we have had peace in this community regarding how you share inheritance. If anything, I believe it is a joke but if it is not, I will lead a spiritual Jihad against

the Senate if they should order the alteration of the Quran. A lot of us are in a specific position to do what we like but those positions are limited in the sense that our body as human can’t access as a slave of the Almighty. “I have been on the issue of inspiration because when human beings are given spiritual favour they do a lot of things that they don’t know about doing. He said following his spiritual odyssey on President Buhari since he indicated interest to run for the presidency, “I came to the conclusion the Buhari is one of the few individuals that can’t be shown to the world under any circumstance. Some people who

said they saw Buhari die; they should wait for what will happen to them. He continued: “Let us not deceive ourselves; the issue of Inheritance is a clear matter. Nigeria is at peace, it means therefore that it is gradually coming down to us and nobody can take it either as an individual or a group to disturb this country because the man that is ruling now is the one that God has given His mandate. But we have seen countries that are been destroyed because they have rejected Almighty God whether Christian or Muslim community. “Let me say again that nobody should touch the inheritance that is given to us by God himself otherwise problem and problem will come,” he stated.

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Last Minute Intrigues as Nwodo, Ejike Battle for Ohanaeze President-General Nwabueze, others allege plot by politicians to hijack the organisation Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Ahead of next Tuesday’s national election of the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the major candidates are locked in last minute intrigues with a view to outwitting each other. At the moment, the three

major candidates for the position of President-General of the organisation are former Minister of Information, Chief John Nnia Nwodo; a former Vice Chancellor of Anambra State University of Science and Technology, Prof, Chiweyite Ejike, and Admiral Allison Maduekwe (rtd). All the candidates are from Enugu State

Boko HaramYet to be Emasculated, Fayose Tells FG Sympathises with families of slain soldiers .

Victor Ogunjein Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has commiserate with families of the army captain and five other soldiers reportedly killedyesterday by Boko Haram insurgents during an attacked on a brigade in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, calling on the federal government to stop deceiving Nigerians with stories of defeat of Boko Haram terrorists and return of Chibok girls. The governor, who maintained that the ongoing war against the Boko Haram terrorists can only be won through truthful information by the federal government and cooperation of all Nigerians, asked: “If indeed Boko Haram has been defeated, where are those suicide bombings and attacks coming from?” In a statement issued yesterday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said: “Nigerians are faced with many wars now, Boko Haram is just one of them and it is worrisome that we are not being told the truth about anything. “It is like a patient telling his doctor that nothing is wrong with him. How will such patient be treated?” He said it was funny that the federal government was celebrating

the recovery of what they called Boko Haram flag as a sign of defeat of the insurgents while more daring attacks were being made by the same Boko Haram against the army, killing our gallant soldiers. “The reality is that insecurity has increased in Nigeria more than President Muhammadu Buhari met it. Herdsmen have even killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram in the last one year while hundreds have died through extrajudicial killings by security agencies,” the governor said. Speaking on the 21 Chibok girls, said to have been rescued, the governor maintained that the real story behind the Chibok girls abduction will be told one day. He said the federal government must have to tell Nigerians why the 21 rescued Chibok girls have not returned to their families since last year October. “Have you ever seen anyone that will be in captivity for that long and won’t be eager to reunite with his or her family two months after regaining freedom? “If the girls are truly Chibok girls, their freedom must be total. They must also be allowed to tell their own stories. “However, as it appears, the girls may have moved from one captivity to another,” he said.

Air Force Establishes Presence in Lake Chad Basin Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Nigerian Air Force is to strengthen the nation’s capacity to ward off security threats in the North-eastern part of the country with the establishment of more presence in the region, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said. He said as part of efforts to comb out security challenges on the fringes of Lake Chad, the Air Force would establish a Forward Operational Base in Monguno, northern part of Borno State. Speaking at a camp fire organised to mark the successes recorded by the force in 2016 on Saturday night in Maiduguri, Abubakar said the purpose of establishing the mission was to contain the act of insurgency in northern Borno having dislodged the terrorist from Sambisa Forest. He added that this would also ensure the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) back to their respective communities in

troubled Borno State. The air chief also said the force has commenced air surveillance on the fringes of Nasarawa and Benue States to tackle the menace of cattle rustling and other forms of banditry. He said: “The Nigerian Air Force will support the theatre to also root out the Mohammed Nur faction (of the Boko Haram) from northern Borno. “We are creating the Forward Operational Base in Monguno in order to increase or helicopter gunships.” Abubakar said the Nigerian Air Force will also establish a Cancer Centre in Maiduguri as well as Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, as it’s contribution to the development of the state. The Air Chief promised that the welfare of officers and men of the force would continue to remain his priority. The Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, in his speech said the air component of Operation Lafiya Dole has played a pivotal role in the success recorded in the counter-insurgency operation in the North-east.

where the position was zoned. While Nwodo enjoys the endorsement of Enugu State Government, Prof. Ejike, on his part, has been endorsed by a former Secretary General of the organisation and renowned Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, technocrats, youth groups and Umuada Ndi-Igbo. Also, some of the candidates for other positions have raised the alarm over alleged moves by the outgoing leadership of the organisation led by Chief Enwo Igariwey to impose some candidates on the organisation. Okpani Nkama who is running for the position of National Publicity Secretary which was zoned to Ebonyi State accused Igariwey of pandering to the decision of the state government to railroad a particular candidate to the position. Another group, Igbo Progressive Movement (IPM), yesterday accused some politicians in the South-east of planning to hijack the leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo “apparently for their selfish interests.” The group in a statement by its leader, Ozo Emeka Ezue, warned that should the plan of the politicians materialise, it would

deal a huge blow to the organisation in the long run. Meanwhile, Prof. Nwabueze and some groups that endorsed Prof. Ejike insisted that Ejike remained the best candidate for the apex body’s president-general. They were unanimous that at a time when the organisation is in shambles, and in some kind of disarray inflicted on it by lapses on the part of the leadership in recent years, the need for someone “with great integrity, impeccable character, outstanding sagacity and intellect, principled and disciplined, someone imbued with a passion and a vision for the promotion of the interest of Ndigbo, especially in the context of Nigeria. Former Ohanaeze leaders in a statement personally signed by Prof Nwabueze explained that “Professor C. Ejike seems to be such a person. He possesses, in an eminent degree, the qualities mentioned above.” Nwabueze who frowned at any form of imposition stressed that: “In terms of educational/academic qualifications, experience and other credentials, Ejike has been a university professor in the field of Zoology for some 23 years at

various universities--Ife, Ibadan, UNN and UniJos – Dean, Natural Sciences, UniJos Vice-Chancellor, Anambra State University of Technology. “From working closely with Professor Ejike as my Deputy in the Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), I know him to be a good manager of men and resources, however small the resources, an exemplary leader, a man of outstanding intellectual endowment, with an affable personality and a high sense of responsibility.” Stressing that Ohanaeze should respect it’s constitution, the foremost constitutional lawyer noted that “the office of president-general belongs to the entire Ndigbo, not to any one particular state, as to bestow on it the right to impose a sole candidate on the organisation, which he said would stultify the idea of a healthy contest or competition, as the guarantee for a credible and competent choice. “The forthcoming election provides an opportunity to revitalise Ohanaeze; to inject into it the spirit; vision and dream that

led to its founding some 40 years ago and to create, as it were, a new Ohanaeze Ndigbo,” he stated. He stressed the need for the emergence of “strong but humble personalities that could take the organisation, and indeed the entire Igbo race, to the desired height,” adding that “Prof. Ejike is topmost.” Also, a former DirectorGeneral of the defunct Nigerian Maritime Administration (NMA), Mr. John Egesi, stated that while all the candidates could do well, the organisation needs a person of outstanding “capability” like Prof. Ejike. Egesi, who opined that the Ohanaeze had so far maintained an “unimpressive record” due to political meddlesomeness, stressed that the body “should not be cast in the hue of a political party or perceived as an extension of a political party by the generality of Nigerians.” Likewise, its president-general should not be “a dye-in-the-wool politician. “As a vice chancellor and university lecturer, the development and advancement of young people all over the country have been his life-time career.”

REWARD FOR HARD WORK

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson Oke; Beneficiary and retired Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Elizabeth Abiodun Ashiru; Director General, LASPEC, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga; and acting Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Adesoye, during the 34th retirement benefit bond certificates presentation ceremony in Lagos......recently Kola Olasupo

Stakeholders Move to Dislodge Illegal Settlers in Lagos Community Barely 24 hours after a proenvironment non-governmental organisation, Safe Habitat, called on the Lagos State Government and relevant stakeholders to show serious interest in the activities of aliens from neighbouring countries and criminals fleeing other parts of the country in some riverine communities in the state, there are strong indications that efforts are on to dislodge them and remove their shanties any moment from now. The group with focus on environmental safety had in a statement by its Executive Director, Ade Williams, last Saturday said: “We are concerned about information reaching us that some aliens and criminals fleeing from law enforcement agencies have

formed the habit of creating illegal settlements and shanties in some water front communities especially in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state, where they constitute environmental nuisance and launch criminal attacks on residents of Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island among others.” Williams said the earlier government and other stakeholders take decisive action against such settlements and shanties, the better for the environment, lawful residents and business development of the area and the state at large. In a follow up statement yesterday, Safe Habitat said: “We are glad to update members of the public that further information reaching us after our statement last

Saturday indicates that both the state government and the relevant stakeholders in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state have started taking steps to remove the shanties in Ebute Ikate Elegushi to stop the entrenchment of environmental nuisance and security threats coming from the community.” While commending the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; the Elegushi royal family and the Ikate Elegushi Residents Association for rising up to the challenge, Safe Habitat noted that the state government had taken similar action last year to rid Ikoyi and Victoria Island of such environmental nuisance.

Williams said past government in the state had equally summoned the same will to cleanse Kuramo beach of criminal activities in 2007 by dislodging illegal settlers erecting shanties there. “We are aware that the prompt response by the state and the relevant stakeholders is to disallow fleeing Boko Haram insurgents dislodged from the North-east, Niger Delta militants and other criminal elements from neighbouring countries from having a foothold in EtiOsa and indeed Lagos state. “We indeed commend this and urge all stakeholders to mobilise support for the effort,” Safe Habitat Executive Director, Williams stated.

MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017 • T H I S D AY

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

JTF Arrests Militant Leader, Five Others in Delta Sylvester Idowu in Warri Operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) code named Operation Delta Safe have arrested six suspected militants in connection with series of attacks on national assets last year in some parts of Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State. Security sources disclosed yesterday that the suspects, including a commander, identified as Bounanawei Smith alias ‘King of the Forest’, were apprehended at a private guest house on Esiso Estate in Warri by a combined team of military officers. THISDAY checks revealed that Smith was arrested late last Saturday while holding a meeting with others while some escaped from the military onslaught. “The military last Saturday night

stormed a guest house owned by Bounanawei Smith alias ‘King of the Forest’. He was arrested along with five others, including Oyinkuro Dofa, Sunny Amange, Ebimene Monday, Churchill Agbelogode,” the source disclosed. Though the Spokesman of Joint Media Campaign Centre of Operation Delta Safe, Lieutenant Colonel Olaolu Daudu, could not be reached for confirmation, the Spokesman of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Eric Omare, confirmed the arrests. He said those arrested were IYC members and that they were holding a meeting when soldiers invaded the venue. “The IYC states that the federal government is inciting crisis in the Niger Delta region by the incessant invasion, arrest and detention of

Niger Deltans especially ex-agitators without any justifiable reason. “The latest of such invasion and arrest is the commando style arrest of ex-agitator, Bounanawei Smith

(alias King of the Forest) in the late hours of last Saturday. Bounanawei was arrested while hosting some IYC members in his guest house on Esiso Estate, Warri, by a combined

team of military officers,” he said. Omare condemned what he described as naked, primitive and unwarranted display of force, recalling that it was on record that

Bounanawei had since accepted amnesty and has been very active in maintaining peace and security in the Niger Delta especially in Delta State.

Suspected Arsonist Arrested in Ondo James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Police Command yesterday said it had arrested a man identified as Oladapo Alaba for planning to burn down a popular supermarket, Ceci, located in Alagbaka area of Akure, the state capital at the weekend. The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr. Femi Joseph, who disclosed the arrest of the suspect, said the man was about to carry out the dastardly act at about 3am on Friday when the men of the command on routine patrol caught him. Joseph said Alaba was suspected to be one of those hoodlums that burnt down public places in the recent time in the state. “Our men, while on patrol at about 3a.m. saw the suspect at the premises of the supermarket and immediately he saw our men he ran away but our men chased him until he was arrested. “We have begun investigation on the matter and in our preliminary

investigation, we discovered that he wanted to set the supermarket on fire. We are still interrogating the suspect to know if he was sent by some people or not and also to know his actual intention for deciding to carry out the act,” the PPRO said. The PPRO also declared that the suspect would be charge to court after the investigation had been concluded, calling on the people of the state to cooperate with the police to expose the hideouts of criminals in their environments. “We need the support of our people to fight crimes in this state, we, the police cannot do it alone, we can’t be everywhere at the same time, that is why we need the people to give us information about anybody suspected to be criminal or engaged in criminal activities among us. “We are committed to ensuring that the rate of criminalities is reduced to the barest minimum in this state”

ASUU Calls for Prosecution of Agbulu’s Killers Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it will go to any length to ensure that the three suspected kidnappers that kidnapped and killers of Miss. Christiana Agbulu, a Lecturer of Biological Sciences at the Federal University of Agriculture, Markudi, Benue are prosecuted. Addressing journalists at the weekend, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU in Kogi State, Professor Ukooh David Ikoni, said the three suspects must be prosecuted in line with the laws of the land. “We are appealing to the relevant agencies that are involved in this case that justice prevails so that maximum penalty is applied to the perpetuators,” he stated. According to Ikoni, the late Agbulu was buried at her home town Ugbokolo in Benue State last Thursday, adding that her exit was a painful one to her parent and the Federal University of Agriculture.

He noted: “If government refuses to carry out their functions as demanded by law, the union will insist that they comply with the provision of the law because we would not allow our colleague to die in vain.” Meanwhile one of the three suspects that kidnapped and killed the female lecturer has been killed. Sources close to the Kogi State Police Command yesterday disclosed to THISDAY that the suspect was gunned down in an attempt to escape from police custody. According to the source, the other two suspects would soon be prosecuted, adding that the suspects confessed that they were behind kidnap and killings of young ladies in Lokoja in the last four months. The police source disclosed further that with the relevant information they extracted from the suspects, they would soon arrest some commercial motorcycle riders who connived with the three suspects.

ENOUGH OF THE KILLINGS IN KADUNA

Representative of Rivers State Governor and Chief of Staff, Mr. Chukwuemeka Woke (left) receiving a letter from the state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Primate ICT Anyanasikike, who led Christian leaders to Government House, Port Harcourt, to protest the Southern Kaduna killings ....yesterday

Police Arrest Driver,Three Accomplices for Robbing Boss Chiemelie Ezeobi The Decoy Team of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command, yesterday arrested one Abass Ope and three other accomplices for robbing his former boss of his car, electronics and pet dog. The 24-year-old driver from Ogun State was arrested at Ojuelegba area of Lagos while trying to sell off his ex-boss’s Toyota Avensis 2013 model with the registration number AGL 734 AR for N2 million. Arrested along with him were three of his friends 23-year-old Balogun Oluwaseun, 23-year-old Sanni Azeez and 22-year-old Stephen Ewiele. Abass was said to have during the Christmas period stormed his boss Magodo home, while he and his family were holidaying in Delta State. He was said to have gone with a conspirator to move a 100-inch LCD TV, another 42-inch LCD TV, a dog, a suitcase, two DSTV decoders and a Toyota Avensis, from the home. It was learnt that the suspect

invaded the home of his ex-boss after learning that he had travelled to Delta State for the Christmas holiday, and that the gatekeeper had also gone to church. Our source said the suspect was aware of where his boss usually kept keys to his rooms which made it easy for him to commit the crime. It was revealed that his ex-boss, on getting report of missing vehicle and property called the suspect on more than two occasions to intimate him of the development but he denied knowledge of the incidence. The source further added that the boss had to cut short his holiday in Delta with his family to report the incident at Magodo Police Station. The source added that he was shocked when an official of the RRS called him to notify him of his recovered vehicle because, he never reported the theft in RRS office. According to Abass, “I took the car because I had no money to take care of myself and younger ones. They had no clothes, no shoes and this is yuletide season. “They looked up to me to take care of these expenses. It was about

three months now that I left Mr. Ekinodo (his former boss). I had worked for him for four years before leaving him on August, 2016. “I left because he had a little challenge and things were pretty tough for him. I left so that he could have himself sorted out but he was a very nice boss to work with. “He enrolled me into university but I couldn’t continue the education when I left him. While he had this challenge, he owed me eight month s salary; this prompted me to take his property and the vehicle. “The auto dealer wanted to pay N2 million for the car but I insisted he pays N4 million because I know it is worth more than that. “He offered me N1million instantly and that the balance would be ready in about few minutes time, but I decided to ignore the offer hoping that the dealer would call me back for a re-negotiation. “I went back to Ojuelegba few hours later in company of three of my friends, that was when RRS operatives arrested us.” In response, Ekinodo Ifoghale said, “I am in shocked. This is a guy I treated like a son. Apart from

my wife, he was the closest person to me. This is a guy that did my shopping for me. Even, before I buy anything for myself, I bought for him first. “How can I owe him eight months’ salary when he never worked for me in those periods? Did he inform me that I owed him? He was never in my house in the periods he claimed. “I called him more than twice when I got the report of the break in. He told me he knew nothing about it. “If he had told me he needed money, I would have given him because we were still very close despite the fact that he was no longer working for me.” Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, Superintendent of Police, advised members of the public to always do a background check of their domestic servants so as not to expose themselves to criminals. The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Yaba, for further investigation.

Student Killed as Cattle Rustlers Again Attack NigerVillage Laleye Dipo in Minna A 19-year-old senior secondary school student has reportedly been shot dead by cattle rustlers who attack the Angwa Umadi village in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday morning. Fifteen other members of the village were said to be seriously injured and were said to be receiving treatment at the Erena dispensary.

According one of the villagers, Isaiah Baga, the student who he did not name, came out at about 12.28a.m. yesterday to ease himself but unfortunately fell into the hands of the rustlers who were operating outside. Baga said the invaders numbering about 40, operated for about one hour after which they went away with 212 cattle and a number of sheep and seven new motorcycles.

Baga said the attack came four days after some armed policemen came to patrol the area, adding that “we have reported the latest attack to the authorities but we are yet to hear from them.” Senator representing Niger East senatorial district, David Umaru, had called on the state government and security agencies in the state to rise to their responsibilities by providing security for the lives and property of the people.

Umaru said his people were being exterminated and that many of them had fled their ancestral homes for fear of attack. In an apparent response to the remarks of Umaru, the state government at the weekend, expressed its readiness and that of the security agencies in the state to tackle the upsurge in cases of kidnapping and cattle rustling in some parts of Rafi and Shiroro Local Government Areas.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

WINTER TRANSFER

Ighalo to Decide China Move this Week Watford striker Odion Ighalo will decide this week whether he will follow fellow Nigeria star John Mikel Obi and take the “crazy money” China now offers. Ighalo has long been linked with a big-money transfer to China and it has been reported there is now a renewed interest in the striker from the Far East. Media reports have suggested he could well partner Carlos Tevez at Shangai Shensua after Watford rejected a 38 million pounds bid for the striker from Shangai SIPG last year. Shangai Shensua have now made Tevez the highest paid player in the world on a weekly wage of 615,000 pounds. In the summer, Ighalo signed a new five-year contract with ‘The Hornets’ to cool off interests from China. “Yes, it’s a possibility he could move to China,” one top source disclosed to AfricanFootball.com “There should be an update in this regard this week.” Ighalo, whose international future remains in the balance on account of lack of goals for the Super Eagles, spoke of having sleepless nights before he decided not to take “the crazy money” tabled before him from China. Watford manager Walter Mazzarri has tried to avoid being part of the speculations

surrounding Ighalo’s future, insisting he remains with the Premier League club. On Saturday, the 27-year-old Ighalo played the entire game as Watford went past Burton Albion 2-0 to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup. He has only managed a goal in 17 appearances in the league, a far cry from the 15 goals he netted in his debut season in the English top flight. Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has praised Mikel’s contribution to ‘The Blues’ in the 10 years he was at the club. Mikel has left for Chinese club Tianjin Teda after he lost his first-team place on arrival of Conte at Stamford Bridge. Conte said he believes the move will be a new challenge for the Nigeria skipper after an eventful time at Chelsea. “Mikel played many years with this club and won a lot. But there is a moment you want to change, get a new experience,” Conte said at a media briefing “I wish for him and his family the best.” The Nigeria midfielder joined Chelsea in 2006 after controversially opting out of a contract with Premier League rivals Manchester United. Besides winning all the major honours in England, he also won the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

AJC TENNIS QUALIFIERS

Igbinovia, Abamu Make Team Nigeria’s Final List Wilson Igbinovia was the surprise package at the week-long camping of Team Nigeria to the 2017 ITF/CAT African Junior Championship Zonal Qualifiers scheduled to hold in Lome Togo starting from January 11 through January 21. On his first invitation to national camp, the 13-year-old sealed his place in the team that will be defending the top place finish by Nigeria at the last edition held in Abuja almost a year ago. Other players that will be in the 15-nation tournament alongside the quartet of Oyinlomo Quadri, Marylove Edward, Michael Osewa and David Dariwaye, who were named earlier at the camping in Ekiti facilitated by NTF 1st vice-president, Yemi Owoseni are Matthew Abamu, Michael Ayoola, Saminu Abubakar, Tosin Asogba, Omolade Aderemi, Omolayo Bamidele and Rebecca Peters. “It has been a very good preparation for us; Ekiti has been an ideal place as there was no distraction. The courts and hotel are just a minute walk. The atmosphere is just perfect for us to have a great outing in Lome,” Nigeria’s coach,

Mohammed Ubale said after the team rounded off training with a light physical exercise Sunday evening. Ubale added that the target for the team is to finish top of the medals’ table despite the fact that the tournament is taking a new format with the introduction of team event. The team is scheduled to move to Lagos today from where they will depart for Lome on Tuesday.

FA CUP (RESULTS) M’brough 3-0 Shef’ Wed Chelsea 4-1 P’borough Tottenham 2-0 Aston Villa West Ham 0-5 Man City Man Utd 4-0 Readings Wigan 2-0 N’Forest Stoke 0-2 Wolves West Brom 1-2 Derby Bir’gham 1-1 Newcastle QPR 1-2 Blackburn Everton 1-2 Leicester Preston 1-2 Arsenal Cardiff 1-2 Fulham Liverpool 0-0 Plymouth

Ighalo…aiming to join Mikel in China

Ranieri’s Plaudits for Musa, Ndidi The performances of Nigerian stars, Ahmed Musa and Wilfred Ndidi in Leicester City’s 2-1 victory over Everton in Saturday’s English FA Cup third round clash at Goodison left veteran manager Claudio Ranieri impressed. Musa netted both of Leicester’s goals while Ndidi, who was making his debut on Saturday, produced a

solid display in the heart of midfield as the Foxes came from a goal down to complete an important victory. The Leicester City manager was duly impressed with his Nigerian charges and took the time to praise the duo for their sterling performances. “Musa was excellent. I’ve watched him recently and I think he is starting to

understand English football better. “Ndidi only trained two days with us, but he showed strong character and personality. A great performance,” Ranieri said. Ndidi, who arrived from Belgian club KRC Genk, refused to accept the plaudits as he instead focused on an overall impressive team

display. “I don’t want to focus on my performance because for me, it is always about the team. “The team did very well (on Saturday) and I think we can go far in the competition,” he said. Leicester City has now qualified for the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Terry Sent off as Chelsea Adeseun Replaces Ettah as O’trafford Squash Club Chairman Progresses in FA Cup The Group Managing Director of UAC and erstwhile Chairman of O’Trafford Squash Club Ikoyi Lagos, Mr Larry Ettah has been replaced as the chairman of the club, having completed his tenure of 2 years as stipulated by the Constitution and upon his decision not to seek reelection at the Club’s Annual general Meeting over the weekend. Elected as chairman in his stead is the club’s erstwhile Treasurer Mr Remi Adeseun who the club members gave the mandate in an unanimous decision. Mr Adeseun, a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy is the Executive Chairman of

Rodot Nigeria Limited and also the Chairman of HEWS Foundation. Elected alongside Mr Adeseun at the Annual General Meeting which held on Saturday 7th of January are Mr Taye Ige who is now the Vice Chairman; Mr Cyril Ayemere, Secretary; Mr Biyi Mabadeje, Captain, Mr Yomi Adeyemi, Treasurer and Mr Ademola Olusunmade, Publicity Secretary. In his acceptance speech, Mr Adeseun on behalf of the new executive committee thanked the last exco and stated his and the exco’s commitment to taking the club to new heights. Present at the AGM were the members of the club including the members of the Board of Trustees.

Chelsea captain John Terry was sent off on his first start since October as the Premier League leaders overcame League One Peterborough in the FA Cup. The Blues made nine changes for the third-round tie and almost trailed when Asmir Begovic saved Lee Angol’s close-range header. But Antonio Conte’s side had 20 shots by half time, with Pedro’s curled finish and a drilled Michy Batshuayi effort giving them a cushion, before Willian drove in from 18 yards after the break. Terry saw red for bringing Angol down as the last man and Tom Nicholls prodded in from six yards for a buoyed Posh, only for Pedro to restore a three-goal advantage from the edge of the box.

Terry’s error will draw scrutiny but Chelsea were impressive in responding to defeat at Tottenham, their first in 11 matches in all competitions. They exuded energy from the off and had 20 shots by half-time as squad players such as Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressing in midfield. Antonio Conte’s side will learn their fourth round opponents in Monday’s live draw on BBC Two and online from 19:00 GMT. Conte felt Terry was hard done by, claiming the decision was “not right”. But the central defender who was making his 50th FA Cup start but only his eighth appearance in all competitions this season.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS

After Ballon d’Or, Ronaldo Set to be Crowned 2016 FIFA Best Player Duro Ikhazuagbe The world’s best football players and coaches will be recognised today at the inaugural edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland. All eyes are on Real Madrid and Portugal talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo to cap a brilliant 2016 with another accolade to his trophy chest. Last month, Ronaldo won the France Football’s Ballon d’Or to emerge the world’s best footballer. He has his eternal rival, Argentina and Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid and France player Antoine Griezmann to contend with. However, in terms of achievements, Ronaldo stands head and shoulder above the others. First the former Manchester United star triumphed in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, clinching the title by scoring the last penalty in the shoot-out. This was a fitting way to cap a campaign in which he finished top of the competition’s scoring charts with 16 goals, seven more than second-placed Robert Lewandowski. Then as Portugal captain, he had the honour of lifting the first major trophy in his country’s history at UEFA EURO 2016. Ronaldo’s Portugal secured the honour by upsetting hosts France in the final in Paris. With his irrepressible thirst for goals, power and speed, Ronaldo continues to amass silverware and records in abundance. Lionel Messi on the other hand has not showed signs of letting up. After rounding off 2015 by collecting the adidas Silver Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, he continued to figure large for club and country in 2016.

In winning his eighth La Liga winner’s medal with Barcelona, he chipped in with 20 goals (putting him third in the scoring charts) and an impressive 16 assists, and also won the Copa del Rey for a fourth time with Los Blaugrana and the Spanish Super Cup for the seventh time. He also starred for Argentina on their run to the final of Copa America Centenario, serving up more assists in the tournament than any other player and ending it as the second highest scorer. In the process, Messi also became La Albiceleste’s leading all-time goalscorer. The third nominee, Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, was named the best player both in the Spanish league, in which he helped Atletico Madrid finish third, and at the UEFA EURO, 2016. Last year will go down as the season in which Griezmann truly came into his own. With 40 goals over the course of the 2015/16 campaign, he spearheaded Atletico and France’s respective charges to the finals of the UEFA Champions League and EURO 2016, although both ended in heart-wrenching defeats. A skilful, unselfish attacker, the 5’9 (1.76m) schemer can quite simply do the lot. As Griezmann himself recently told FIFA.com, he is a “more complete player now” than ever before and has “improved in every way in the last two years”. One person who would certainly echo this view is his coach Diego Simeone, who is on record as saying that the man they now call Grizou has raised his game to such an extent that he is currently “among the top three players in the world”. The FIFA Awards are not limited to the Best Player category alone. Awards are going to also be given in the Best FIFA Women’s Player

AFCON 2017!

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating after leading Portugal to win Euro2016 Award category with Melanie Behringer, Carli Lloyd and Marta as nominees. Nominees for the Best Coach of the Year appear a tough one to predict who is going to smile away with the crown. English Premier League winning gaffer of Leicester City, Claudio Ranieri, leads Fernando Santos who won Euro 2016 as Portugal coach while Zinedine Zidane who also won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid are in the category. For the Best FIFA Women’s Coach Award category, the nominees are; Jill Ellis, Silvia

Neid and Pia Sundhage The FIFA Puskás Award 2016 nominees include; Marlone, Daniuska Rodriguez and Mohd Faiz Subri. There is also the FIFA Fair Play Award and the FIFA Fan Award. Nominees for the Fan Award category are; ADO Den Haag supporters, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool supporters and Iceland supporters. The winners of the Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Player, and the Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Coach awards, are determined through a combined voting

process, in which 50 per cent of the decision is based on the votes of captains (25 per cent) and head coaches (25 per cent) from national teams all around the globe. The remaining 50 per cent is split equally between an online public ballot of football fans (25 per cent) and submissions from a selected group of media representatives (25 per cent) from all around the world. The vote took place between Friday, November 4 and Tuesday November 22, 2016. According to FIFA, the winners of the inaugural Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s

Player, and Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Coach awards will be given a newly-designed, platinum-coated trophy. This is the first award by FIFA after ending its five-year romance with France Football and the Ballon d’Or in 2015. “The trophy has a shape which resembles the iconic FIFA World Cup trophy, an homage to tradition with a contemporary, dynamic design. The winners of the other awards will also be handed different, platinumcoated, trophies during the ceremony,” concludes the FIFA statement.

AFCON 2017!

Zimbabwe Players in Bonus Row, Delay Flight

Zimbabwe’s national football team refused to board a flight for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon, officials said yesterday in a dispute

over allowances and winning bonuses. The team was due to fly together on Saturday to Cameroon to play a friendly

Zimbabwe in bonus row with ZIFA

on Tuesday before proceeding to Libreville. After tense meetings with the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), some

players finally left Harare yesterday morning while the rest of the squad was set to depart later in the day. “We had a fruitful

meeting and the players and administration reached an amicable solution,” ZIFA Spokesman, Xolisani Gwesela, told AFP, declining to elaborate how the impasse was resolved. On Friday, players sat in hotel corridors and refused to attend a farewell dinner at which the country’s Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the guest of honour. “ZIFA totally condemns the behaviour portrayed by the team and their desire to hold the nation at ransom in their quest to earn money that this economy cannot sustain,” the association said in a statement late on Saturday. Among a raft of grievances, the players rejected $1,000 appearance fees and demanded $5, 000 instead, sources at the association said. They also demanded $150

daily allowances for locallybased players and $500 for foreign-based players, instead of $50 and $100 respectively. The players had earlier refused to use “substandard” accommodation at a facility run by the association and were barred from training at the national sports stadium over a $60 debt owed by ZIFA. Zimbabwe’s economy has been wrecked by hyperinflation, corruption and agricultural collapse, and the national football team has often relied on well-wishers to pay its players and coaches. A cash shortage in the country has also seen football match attendances plummet. Last year the country was expelled from the 2018 World Cup preliminary competition over non-payment of a $67 000 debt owed to former coach Jose Claudinei Georgini.

Monday January 9, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

Price: N250

MISSILE NDA to FG

“The world is aware that, the government of Nigeria has ear problems, but we never knew that it has taken a deteriorating deaf level dimensions. It is only through hard knocks we can speak to the Nigerian government henceforth” –The notorious militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) threatening to resume attacks on oil and gas facilities in the region if the federal government fails to accede to its 16-point demands in order to engender peace in the oil rich region.

SINAKAWONISE GUEST COLUMNIST

Why NCC’s Failed Data Price Hike was Flawed

he now suspended Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) directive to telecommunications companies (telcos) to have a floor price for their services was premised on the goal of protecting competition in the sector. The directive purported to protect small telcos such as Smile, Spectranet and Natcom by fixing a floor price that would guarantee that they recover their cost and make profit at their small scale of operation. The current price of data per megabyte among the big four is as follows: Glo - 21 kobo, MTN - 45 kobo, Airtel - 52 kobo, Etisalat- 94 kobo; average price - 53 kobo. For the small telcos, the price structure is as follows: Spectranet - 58 kobo, Natcom- 72 kobo, Smile - 84 kobo; average price - 71 kobo To ‘protect’ the small telcos, NCC directed that the floor data price for all Telcos (big and small) should be 90 kobo /Mb - an increase of 328 percent on the Glo price of 21 kobo/Mb. Here is why the NCC was absolutely wrong to have reasoned and acted the way it did: One, it runs counter to the logic of capitalism and principles of free enterprise to fix price in order to protect some operators (big or small). Anti-trust laws are never designed to stymie efficiency but to promote it through competition. For any new entrant or small operator to survive and thrive in an established market/ sector, it must DISRUPT the market/ sector through innovative technology and/or business model. For Glo to enter and survive in the GSM market more than 2 years after MTN and then Econet had been dominating the market, it disrupted the sector with per second billing which MTN and Econet said was impossible. Currently in the United Kingdom, Virgin Telecoms entered the crowded telecom sector by disrupting it with the technological innovation of launching internet vehicles into space. That innovation enables Virgin to charge a mere £15 per month for a subscriber to have 5,000 minutes to call UK lines, 5,000 minutes to make international calls, and 5 gigabytes of data all in one month. The resultant effects is that hundreds of thousands subscribers hitherto paying other telcos an average of £60 per month for less benefits have migrated to Virgin. Now, that is disruption for entry and thriving! It is therefore wrong for a regulator to seek to protect so-called small operators by fixing an inefficient price floor for them to continue in efficiency. Two, to protect three inefficient telcos, owned by probably less than 100 Nigerians and foreigners and which have among them less than 5 percent market share, 100 million Nigerian subscribers

to suggest an oligopolistic situation. Rather, they continue to compete among themselves by rationalising their operations and embarking on cost saving measures (such as infrastructure sharing), all to the benefit of subscribers and the economy in general. The fear of getting to a monopolistic/oligopolistic situation is therefore unfounded, at least for now. Four, empirically speaking, one of the small telcos, Smile, is already disrupting the market by selling its voice service for 5/min. This is currently the cheapest in the market. Smile is able to do this by using a technological disruptive internet App for its subscribers to make voice calls to all GSM lines in Nigeria, and to pay the same rate even while abroad. This is disruptive of the local Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC must subsidise their inefficiency by paying more than 300 percent more for data (especially for Glo subscribers). And that was to happen during a biting economic recession that continues to pauperise our people! Competition was conceived and promoted to serve man, not man to serve competition for its own sake. Three, since GSM operations started in Nigeria 15 years ago, there hasn’t been any evidence of price fixing by the telcos

Three, since GSM operations started in Nigeria 15 years ago, there hasn’t been any evidence of price fixing by the telcos to suggest an oligopolistic situation. Rather, they continue to compete among themselves by rationalising their operations and embarking on cost saving measures (such as infrastructure sharing), all to the benefit of subscribers and the economy in general

and international roaming voice rates of the big Telcos. Would the NCC seek to protect the big telcos against ‘small’ Smile? So obviously wrong are the assumptions and actions of the NCC on this matter, and given the pervasive corruption in Nigeria, that it is difficult to resist the temptation to suspect that the NCC must have been compromised to come up with that economic-sabotaging and anti-people directive. No thanks to the current economic recession and all thanks to popular uproar, the NCC failed in its bid to return telecommunications to the David Mark era when they weren’t for the poor. •Kawonise is a former Information and Strategy Commissioner in Ogun State

THE WANING NEWSWORTHINESS OF CONCEDING DEFEAT

I CONCEDED DEFEAT …. I CALLED MY OPPONENT TO CONGRATULATE HIM, BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS….

...YES, YOUR EXCELLENCY!

I WAS MAGNANIMOUS IN DEFEAT – I PLEDGED TO SUPPORT AND GUIDE HIM… I SHOCKED THE WHOLE WORLD BY DOING THE UNEXPECTED!

...YES, YOUR EXCELLENCY!

WHY IS THE WHOLE WORLD NOT APPLAUDING ME AS LOUDLY AS THEY DID WHEN PRESIDENT JONATHAN OF NIGERIA CONCEDED DEFEAT?

WELL, SIR, IT APPEARS SINCE THE UNEXPECTED EMERGENCE OF TRUMP AS PRESIDENT OF AMERICA, NOTHING SHOCKS THE WORLD ANYMORE!

09-12-16

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