ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS: We won't negotiate with Boko Haram — GEJ

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62151

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MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Boko Haram kills 24 in fresh Borno attack >8 ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS:

We won't negotiate with Boko Haram — GEJ

BY EMMA UJAH, BEN AGANDE, CALEB AYANSINA, EMMANUEL UNA, EMMANUEL ELEBEKE & ABEL DANIEL

•We'll not exchange the girls with animals — Mark •Terrorism has no place in Islam — Sultan •Boko Haram has friends among us — Danjuma A

BUJA —AGAINST the backdrop of divergent views on the need to negotiate with the Boko Haram Islamic sect for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the sect from Chibok, Borno Continues on Page 5

COLUMNIST:

Advantages of a stronger Naira•P.40

Our pussyfooting northern governors •P.46

Mr & Mrs

JOS AGAIN!—Relations of victims weep as people look at destroyed houses and vehicles at the site of a car bomb blast where football fans were watching the final of the UEFA Champions League match, Saturday night in Jos. Photos: NAN/AFP.

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan...>17 C M Y K

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

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4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

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POCKET CARTOON

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala flanked by the CEO Business in Africa Events, Mr Udechukwu Christian (l) and Mr Omar Ben Yeddar, the CEO, IC Publication, at the African Development Bank, AFDB, Bankers' award meeting last Friday in Kigali, Rwanda.

CHIBOK GIRLS: We won't negotiate with Boko Haram — Jonathan Continues from page 1 State, President Goodluck Jonathan reechoed the government position, yesterday, declaring that the Federal Government will not with the sect for the release of the girls. He said the abducted girls must be released unconditionally.

Senate President

David Mark, on his part, had harsh words for the insurgents. He said Nigeria will never negotiate to exchange her people with animals who have declared war against parts of Nigeria even as former Chief of Army Staff, Lt General TY Danjuma argued that Boko Haram had friends among Nigerians and such people

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.... Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand...’

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail — Napoleon Hill

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APOLEON Hill, in one of his famous books made a distinction between people. And he said the difference between people who are able to live a fully functioning life and to attract riches and wellness and happiness and abundance and prosperity into their lives is that the people who do that have something that he called a “burning desire.”

And a burning desire is very different than just, “Oh, I’d really like to do well, I’d like to have my book do well, I’d like to have this music that I’m writing do well, I’d like people to know about it,” and so on.

A burning desire is much deeper, it’s like having an inner candle flame that, no matter what goes before you, it doesn’t even flicker. And this is something that you can experience if you believe in yourself.

There are so many people, who don’t give enough, and maybe just a little more effort would have made a difference – they have a desire but they don’t have the willingness and the fearlessness and the determination to follow through with their dreams.

should prevail on the sect to release the girls unconditionally.

The President who reechoed the government position, yesterday, at the Asu Ekiye musical concert and fund raising ceremony in Abuja, advised Nigerians to shun religious and ethnic sentiments in the fight against terrorism.

Jonathan said Nigerians must stop the blame game and the pull down syndrome that are distracting the fight against the insurgents.

He said: “We have gone beyond blames and counter-blames, we are confronted with the reality and must not allow our emotion, religion or ethnic differences speak for us. We must protect Nigeria.”

Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Youth and Student Matters, Comrade Jude Imagwe, the President commended the resolute spirit of the Nigerian masses in the face of the insurgency, saying Nigerians have won the fight against terrorism by their resolute spirit.

He urged Nigerians to support government's efforts to bring back the girls, adding that the terrorists have declared war on the citizens and they must rise up as one to fight and win back the country.

“We must rise up to tell them that they cannot defeat us, they must release our sisters back to us unconditionally but

Nigerians must join hands with the government to encourage our security agencies to find the girls and bring them back to us.

“Our security men are working, their mission is to ensure that Nigeria is a safe place and what Nigerians should do this time is to pray for them and support them.

“These are trying times for us, nobody believed that this can happen in Nigeria yesterday. No Nigerian would have imagined that a Nigerian will wake up one day to commit suicide but that is where we have found ourselves, so we must fight together.

“Government is fighting terrorism irrespective of the pull down syndrome, distractions and Nigeria will not stop moving forward.

“Because they know we are religious people, they wanted to divide us using religion, but when we defeated them, they resorted to attacking the citizens. It will take a collective responsibility of all citizens to come together to defeat them again, we must rise up as one people.”

We will never exchange our people with animals –David Mark Senate President, Mark also declared that Nigeria will never negotiate to exchange its people with criminals who with animalistic instincts have declared war on parts of the country by killing people and destroying property without any justifiable reason.

Mark told a crowd of supporters of Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba in Ikom, Central Senatorial District of Cross River State on Saturday during a grand empowerment programme stated that Nigeria will deploy all available resources to combat the Boko Haram insurgents and their sponsors and defeat them.

“We are not negotiating with criminals who like animals are killing people and destroying property without any reason; we have the resources to wage war against anybody who declares war on us and defeat such people and their sponsors”, he said.

Senator Mark who was angry when he learnt of another bomb blast in Jos, said: “Ordinarily, nobody prays for war but in a circumstance where some people are sponsored to destroy a country, there is

no other option than to fight and defeat such people. We do not care what name they go by or who their sponsors are but we have borne the pains of their attacks for too long and shall deploy every available resources to fight and stop such attacks”.

Boko Haram has friends among us — T Y Danjuma General Theophilus Danjuma also called on leaders in the north and Boko Haram sympathizers to use all their means of communication and influence on the terrorist group to release the abducted school girls.

He made the call, yesterday, in Lafia during the 40th Anniversary celebration of the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustafa Agwai I. General Danjuma who was conferred with a traditional title at the emirs palace said “nobody has the mandate and should not be allowed to scatter Nigeria. Therefore, I urge all the elders and politicians who are in touch with Boko Haram to use your influence wherever you are to bring sanity to the North.

"To capture young girls and convert them to Islam at gun point is against Islam. General Buhari had earlier said that the activities of the Boko Haram are against Islam and nobody has come out to challenge him. I plead with you especially religious leaders to speak out.

“Initially when Americans were threatening to brand Boko Haram as a terrorist organization, there were uproars in Nigeria. Boko Haram has friends among us; those friends should use whatever influence and communications to plead with them to be civil. Please release our girls”.

Danjuma regretted the bad image with which Nigeria is being painted in the eyes of the international community as a result of the terrorist ac-

tivities being perpetrated by Boko Haram.

He noted that pre-election violence has started in some parts of the country, and therefore, called on everyone to join hands in the fight against terrorism.

Terrorism has no place in Islam — Sultan Meanwhile, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has condemned the Boko Haram Islamic sect, describing it as un-Islamic, as according to him, “terrorism has no place in Islam.”

He spoke at the National Prayer for Peace and Security, organised by the council at the National Mosque, Abuja, yesterday.

The leader of Nigerian Muslims told the gathering of Islamic clerics, traditional rulers and political leaders from Northern Nigeria and other parts of the country that there was need for all well-meaning members of the Nigerian public to unite against the insurgents.

His words: “We must rise up, as always, with one voice to condemn all acts of terrorism, condemn those terrorists wherever they are and try our possible best as Muslims to ensure peace reigns in our community”.

The Sultan, like many other respected Islamic leaders in Northern Nigeria have been severally criticized for allegedly keeping quiet about Boko Haram.

He pledged his commitment to assisting the government in the efforts to restore peace to the troubled Northern Nigeria, in Particular and the nation as a whole.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vandals kill two Policemen, abduct two others in Ogun

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA — PANDEMONIUM broke out, yesterday, at the Arepo pipeline on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Ogun State after suspected vandals reportedly shot dead two policemen and abducted two others during a gun battle.

Vanguard gathered that the vandals were scooping fuel in the area after an explosion earlier, prompting a team of policemen to race to the scene.

It was learnt that firefighters and rescue personnel were still battling to put out the fire from the pipeline explosion at press time.

Attempt to confirm the incident from the state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, was unsuccessful.

But a security source who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the suspected vandals clashed with policemen at Arepo, yesterday morning.

She said an illicit operation was ongoing at the area when fight erupted between the vandals and some policemen.

“Vandals, who normally operate in the Arepo area, shot some policemen. Two policemen were kidnapped but I can’t say whether the policemen have been rescued or not."

Meanwhile, four articulated vehicles, including a petrolladen tanker, were burnt in a multiple accident which occurred on Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Saturday night.

Fuel tanker crushes NYSC member to death in Kwara

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LORIN— A vehicle con veying petrol, Saturday evening, crushed to death, a member of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, Mr Muibi Abdulrasa, in Ilesha-Baruba town of Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State.

An eyewitness said the deceased and his colleague were riding on the same commercial motorcycle when the incident occurred.

The tanker was said to be coming from Saki in Oyo State to dispense petrol at a filling station, while the two corps members were returning from a market in Ilesha-Baruba.

Teacher nabbed for defiling 3 pupils in Ibadan

BY OLA AJAYI

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BADAN — A TEACHER, identified as Olayinka Folarin, has been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command for allegedly defiling three under-aged primary school girls, including two orphans, who live in an orphanage, His Heritage Home.

The incident happened at a private school in Oluyole Estate, Ibadan. The victims whose ages were put between 10 and 11 years were said to have been serially abused by the teacher.

According to one of the rape victims, the teacher, who has four children, had been having sex with them since 2013 on a weekly basis.

The girls, it was gathered, were being abused inside the school toilet without the knowledge of the school management.

Though, the suspect had allegedly threatened to kill any of the girls who spoke out, but his shady deal was exposed when one of the girls was seen crying after another round of illicit sex with the teacher.

The wailing of the girl prompted some male students to ask what happened to her. She then confided in them that Folarin had just finished raping her.

Plot to nab him

In a bid to get him red-handed, the boys reportedly told her to let them know when next their teacher wanted to take advantage of them.

The boys advised the girls to tell their guardian, Mrs Temilolu Morounkeji, who runs the home for orphans and vulnerable children after school hours.

It was the woman and one Pastor Marcus Williams, a member of the Child Protection Network, Vanguard gathered, that informed the Police, who later arrested the teacher.

A medical check was carried out on the victims at the Adeoyo state hospital by one Dr Ariwoola and his report read: “Semen was seen around the victims vulva.

Hymen was not intact.”

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer,

Mrs Olabisi Ilobanafor, described same as “pathetic.”

“This was happening in a school and it has been happening for months undetected. The teacher has been sleeping with the victims in the school toilet.

He has been sleeping with the girls every week since last year.

When the matter was reported to us, the Police went into the matter and our investigation revealed that he has a gel used in lubricating the girls. The gel has been recovered from where he kept it in the school premises. He has been arrested and he will be charged to court.”

She explained further that the police will also investigate if there were other girls who had the same experience, saying: ”He even threatened to kill them and one of the girls said she was afraid of what the suspect would use in killing her whether physical or spiritual.”

Women waiting to buy kerosene at a filling station in Dutse, Jigawa State, yesterday.

Photo: NAN.

5 die, 52 injured in Katsina auto crash

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ATSINA — NO fewer than five persons were killed while 52 others sustained injuries in an accident which occured, yesterday, at Gora village in Malumfashi Local Government of Katsina State.

Malam Muhammad Tijjani, the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Commander in Malunfashi, confirmed this to NAN. Tijjani said the incident occurred at 10 a.m. and involved a truck conveying over 100 people.

The commander said the truck was from Gombe where the people attended the annual Maulud celebrations commemorating the birthday of a popular Islamic scholar, late Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass.

Nyass was a Senegalese and grand leader of Tijjaniyya Tariqa Sufi adherents and Vicegerents of popular late Sheikh Ahmad Tijjany, the founder of the Islamic sect.

He said the victims were returning to their home town, Bakori, headquarters of Bakori

Local Government in Katsina State when the inccident occured.

Youths apprehend suspected kidnapper in Delta

BY EMMA AMAIZE

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KU— A KIDNAPPING operation went awry, yesterday in Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, as vigilant youths seized a member of the three-man kidnap gang, while two escaped.

Vanguard learnt that the kidnap suspect was handed over to Police and Army personnel, which mobilised to the community following a tip-off.

A villager, Mr. Andrew Otabor, told Vanguard: “Three young men were seen today (yesterday) moving about Akasidi Street, Eku, and they tried unsuccess-

fully to stop a woman, who drove into her compound.

“The attention of the youths was drawn to the incident and they mounted surveillance. At 1 p.m., the same gang attempted to kidnap one Mr. Ese Ogbemudia at gunpoint, as he drove into his residence, apparently he was returning from church with his children inside the vehicle.

“Mr. Ogbemudia, a government official, refused to stop his car, reversed and drove out of the compound, leaving the suspected kidnappers confused."

Man, 36, electrocuted as fire guts 20 shops in Lagos

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BY EVELYN USMAN

AGOS — GOODS worth several millions of naira were yesterday destroyed by fire which gutted a market at the Low Cost Housing Estate, Oke-Afa, in Ejigbo Local Council Developmental Area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that 20 shops were affected by the fire suspected to have been caused by power upsurge.

This came as tragedy struck, weekend, in Ikorodu area of Lagos State following the electrocution of a man by a high tension wire that snapped.

Vanguard learnt that an alarm was raised by a night guard, who noticed smoke billowing from one of the shops moments after power was restored, following which youths in the area battled to contain the situation.

But their efforts were in vain as the fire spread to other shops, where power generating sets were kept.

The youths, it was gathered, forced some of the shops open and took the goods to safer place. Some shop owners, who were contacted reportedly rushed to the scene to salvage some of their

wares. While some of them succeeded, many others did not.

When Vanguard visited the scene at 3 p.m., yesterday, the affected shop owners were seen lamenting their loses.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Fire Service Director, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, said when news of the incident reached them, two trucks from Isolo and Ikotun fire stations were drafted to the scene to put out the fire, adding that no life was lost.

Electrocution

The deceased identified as Ahamed Abas, was reportedly in

the company of an undisclosed friend inside a commercial bus at 5.45a.m., Saturday.

On reaching Disu Ajegbe Street, the duo reportedly saw a high tension wire which snapped from a pole and resulted in a fire.

The fire, according to the Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, was spreading towards an auto parts shop.

Fadipe said an eye witness narrated that Abas alighted from the commercial bus and attempted to throw the wire away from the auto parts shops, with his bare hand, only to be electrocuted.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 —7

‘New automotive policy to create 700,000 jobs’

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

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NBC SUMMIT: From left— Director-General, Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba; General Manager, GOtv, Mrs Elizabeth Amkpa; former Director-General, NBC, Chief Tom Adaba, and General Manager, Regulatory Affairs, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. Shumani Gereda, during the Digital Broadcast Summit organised by NBC in Lagos.

Jonathan wasn't booed in South Africa— ABATI

BY BEN AGANDE

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BUJA—THE Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, has denied media reports that President Goodluck Jonathan was

booed while on a visit to South Africa.

Reports quoting AFP claimed President Jonathan was booed in South Africa for the alleged shoddy handling of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls by his

government.

However, in an interview on his arrival from South Africa, Abati said such a thing never took place.

He said: “It is unfortunate that on our arrival, I read one or two reports alleging that the President was jeered at the inauguration ceremony.

Confab delegates mobilise for Land Use Act's retention

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

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BUJA—AS the National Conference resumes plenary today to continue consideration of reports of its various committees, some delegates have begun moves to prevent the removal of the Land Use Act from the constitution.

The Conference Committee on Land Tenure Matters and National Boundaries recommended the removal of the Act. Leader of the anti-Land Use Act removal group and a delegate from Ondo State, Remi Olatubora, told journalists in Abuja, yesterday, that they would ensure that the recommendation did not sail through.

He said: “This particular draconian recommendation of the committee is against the poor masses of this country.

It is a coup against the masses and we must all stand against it.”

Debate on the controversial recommendation by the

General A. B. Maman-led committee created anxiety last Thursday, causing the conference management to abruptly adjourn to today.

While some delegates applauded the recommendation, others condemned it, arguing that some of the recommendations could not be implemented as they were drafted to favour certain classes of people or ethnic groups.

The committee viewed the controversial Land Use Act as an attempt at codification of all laws in Nigeria pertaining to land administration.

Before the Act

It said before the Act came into effect, land belonged to specific owners or group of owners, families or communities that could alienate, sell and dispose same without the requirement of obtaining any authorisation or ratification from the state government.

The committee noted that the original land tenure

systems, in which the community exercised management and control powers, guaranteed that community members have access to land for farming, habitation and other economic activities.

‘It's a decoy'

However, Olatubora said the recommendation was a decoy for the few rich to take over the entire land, adding “the only way the poor masses of this country could have access to land is that the land title has been statutorily vested on the state governors who are the trustees in each state of the federation.

“One important thing is that the Land Use Act limits the quantum of land that any individual can hold in any state.

“But for the control the Land Use Act imposes on the quantum of land any individual can purchase, the few rich people of this country would have bought the entire land.”

“This is absolutely untrue and those who are peddling that kind of misinformation are being unfair. They are being uncharitable and it fits into an ongoing attempt to throw just about anything at this administration in attempt to discredit it.

“If anything, what we witnessed is that South Africans showed much appreciation of President Jonathan’s presence at the inauguration and the President received great hospitality from the people.

“The whole world recognises the challenge that we face in Nigeria at the moment in relation to the abduction of the girls and the challenge of terrorism.

“Yes, the outrage is shared both by Nigerians and other people all over the world, but the world also realises that terrorism is a global challenge and this administration continues to show a great resolve to deal with the problem.

“The momentum is on and you know the message from government is that government is saying categorically, no to Boko Haram, no to terrorism. And Nigerians are calling on the terrorists to release the girls.

“Government is saying that it will do everything within its power, explore all options, leave no stone unturned to ensure that out girls are brought back.

“In that regard, there is a meeting of minds and Nigerians can be very sure that President Jonathan is really committed to this effort to ensure that the girls are brought back and safely.”

HE Federal Government, weekend, projected that the new automotive policy would create more than 700,000 direct and indirect jobs across different sectors of the economy.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, gave the projection during the inauguration of Precision Auto Care Centre, an integrated, state-of-theart automobile facility owned by Kunech Group, in Lagos.

Aganga said: “The automotive industry in Nigeria currently employs about 2,500 people, but the implementation of the new automotive policy will generate more than 700,000 direct and indirect jobs.”

Obasanjo Foundation, FOG organise global forum

BY HENRY UMORU

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BUJA— FORMER President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, world leaders and the 36 state governors are expected to attend a conference in London being organised by Forum of Governors Network, FOG, and Olusegun Obasanjo Global Foundation, OOF. The conference is tagged Nigeria Governors Conference London 2014, with the theme Promoting Social and Economic Development and Investment in Nigeria, and holding between the second and third of June.

A statement by the Chief Executive Officer, Forum of Governors Network, Adekunle Adebanjo, said the conference aims to raise awareness on the context of each state, their needs and key areas of focus.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Expert expresses doubts over Boko Haram sanctions

Boko Haram kills another 24 in fresh Borno attack zAsks villagers to raise N250,000 for ‘God's work’

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oko Haram is probably beyond the reach of global sanctions, but attempts to curb the Nigerian Islamists’ reign of terror is an indication of growing international commitment, analysts said.

The United nations, UN, Security Council, last week, designated the extremist group as an AlQ a e d a - l i n k e d organisation, cementing long-held suspicions of its ties to militants in the global jihadi movement.

However, in spite of sanctions designed to cut off overseas funding and support for the sect, which kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls last month, there are doubts about what impact they might have on the ground.

“Boko Haram has for several years now existed beyond the formal parameters where an arms embargo or assetfreeze would affect the group,” Jacob Zenn, from the Jamestown Foundation think-tank in the United States, told AFP.

... as Yayale advocates amnesty

BY SONI DANIEL, Regional Editor, North

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ORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmad, said yesterday that the Federal Government should grant general amnesty to the members of the Boko Haram sect if they meet the conditions that gave rise to pardoning Niger Delta militants in 2009.

Ahmad, however, expressed doubts whether the sect members would ever come out and establish real contacts with the government with a view to facilitating genuine dialogue.

Ahmad, who was part of late President Yar ’Adua’s team that midwifed the Niger Delta amnesty package in 2009, pointed out that unlike the Niger Delta militants who had a clear and definite demand, the sect's agenda was unclear and confusing.

BY NDAHI MARAMA AIDUGURI—NO fewer than 24 people were reportedly killed yesterday in an attack carried out by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Kamuyya village, Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.

Boko Haram militants have recently intensified bloody attacks in the rural areas as over 100 villagers have reportedly lost their lives within the last one week.

The latest incident occurred in the afternoon when dozens of the insurgents, armed with assault rifles and explosives invaded a weekly market in Kamuyya village, and killed 24 persons.

Residents said the insurgents had visited the town about two months ago and asked the village head to mobilise his subjects to contribute N250,000 for them to execute God’s work.

The villagers, most of them peasant farmers and petty traders, had only managed to raise N70,000, a situation

which angered the insurgents.

They reportedly threatened to return and collect the balance, warning the community to either heed their demand within a stipulated period or face deadly attack.

A resident, Bukar Umar, said: “Actually, when they issued such threat, we all took it lightly and nobody bothered to make any extra effort to raise the amount they requested for.

“Maybe that was what ignited this bloody attack

ENDORSED: From left— Interim National Chairman, All Progressives Congress,

APC, Chief Bisi Akande; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; and Interim National Publicity Secretary, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at an endorsement meeting and courtesy visit to Fayemi ahead of the June 21 election, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Compulsory insurance premium hits N29bn

BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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HE National Insurance C o m m i s s i o n , NAICOM, has said that volume of premium written under the compulsory insurance has grown to N28.68 billion from 2009 to the end of 2012.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, disclosed this at a seminar for insurance journalists held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last Friday.

According to Daniel, the premium increased by 92 percent from N14 billion.

Daniel said the number of insurance policies written under compulsory insurance in the last three years also appreciated sharply by 111 percent from 72,180 in 2009 to 152,181 at the end of 2012.

The NAICOM boss added that the industry, in the last three years, has had some

geometric projections, adding that the industry will achieve well over 100 percent at the time the performance of 2013 is added to the figures available.

He noted that despite the inability of the commission to attain the N1 trillion mark it planned to, through the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative, MDRI, in 2009, it had vigorously pursued it across the six-geo-political zones of the country and considerable progress had been made given the above statistics.

According to Daniel, the performance so far shows that insurance companies are voluntarily meeting up to their obligation without the commission getting involved, adding that they are also meeting up to their responsibility of claims payment.

Going forward, he said that they will consolidate on the

gains made so far and ensure proper implementation of compulsory insurance products to be able to enhance the industry contribution to GDP. He noted that the various state governments had continued to show interest in insurance business, adding that group of underwriters have come together to enforce the motor vehicle third party liability insurance in Imo State in collaboration with the state government and that the scheme was working.

He said another group of 19 underwriters are enforcing the occupiers’ liability insurance in Enugu State in collaboration with the state government.

He further said that the commission will continue to collaborate with other states government to embrace these models of insurance.

because we were unable to meet their demand.”

The attack

Umara said over 20 insurgents stormed the Kamuyya weekly market, when traders were conducting their businesses and opened fire into the crowd before setting shops and vehicles on fire.

According to him, “the militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided the area and proceeded to the major market. They began to shoot sporadicaally into the crowd, killing 24 people on the spot and burnt most of the shops in the market.”

He said the people were taken unawares as the town had not come under such heavy attacks for a long time.

He expressed dismay that innocent people were killed without the intervention of the security forces.

He said: “Throughout the onslaught, which lasted over five hours, there was no single security personnel to confront the invaders as they had a field day.

Food hunting

“The invaders snatched several vehicles and loaded them with bags of foodstuff before fleeing the area.

“They destroyed everything we have, carted away our foodstuff and burnt down the remaining ones.

“The most painful thing is that they did not spare even the fleeing residents as they trailed and killed anybody who attempted to escape.”

Another resident, who preferred anonymity, claimed that over 100 houses were burnt after the attackers killed 24 people, leaving several others wounded.

He decried absence of security operatives in the area, even as they alerted relevant authorities on the need to deploy troops to safeguard the community.

He said: “Immediately after the last week attack in Kimba village, where scores of people were murdered, we urged the security agents to deploy their personnel, but our appeal fell on deaf ears.”

The resident further explained that after wreaking havoc in market, the hoodlums proceeded to the main town and set houses and vehicles on fire.

“After the carnage in market, the militants moved into the main town as they set ablaze several houses and vehicles.”

Vanguard , MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014— 9

Fashola's successor: Jimi Agbaje, best candidate — DPA ...Oba Akiolu on his own —SOLOMON

BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH &DAPOAKINREFON

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AGOS—MORE controversies have continued to trail the recent endorsement of Mr. Akinwumi Ambode by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu 1, to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos. The Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, weekend picked holes in the

endorsement, saying the monarch was only expressing his personal opinion.

Meanwhile, leaders of Democratic People Alliance, DPA, in Lagos, have said the party’s governorship candidate in 2011, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, remains the only candidate capable of unlocking the potentials of the state for accelerated and even development.

They spoke weekend when the

party and coordinators at the wards, local and state government levels, re-grouped to resuscitate his campaign structures ahead of 2015 general elections.

Speaking after a meeting of leaders and coordinators of DPA held at Maryland in Lagos, coordinator of the forum, Mr. Olayiwola Popoola, insisted that Agbaje remained the only candidate for his group.

Union demands urgent relocation of tank farms from Apapa

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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AGOS—MARITIME Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, weekend demanded immediate relocation of Tank farms from Lagos and other ports formations across the country, warning that their continued operations close to the ports was threat to life and business.

At its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Lagos, President-General of MWUN, Mr. Anthony Nted, lamented that

government appeared to have relaxed on earlier promise to relocate the tank farms.

According to him, “we observe that petrol tankers have permanently taken over the Apapa/Oshodi Express road and all access roads to our seaports.

The resultant grid-lock has made movement of people and goods in and out of our seaports and work places within the Apapa industrial/commercial area impossible. This has further compromised the efficiency and service delivery level of our ports

and also inflicted an avoidable heavy man-hour loss on the Maritime industry in particular and the national economy in general. The presence of tank farms in the Port area is no doubt responsible for the uncontrollable flocking of petrol tankers on all major roads leading to the port.

“We have repeatedly called for the relocation of the tank farms from Tin Can and Apapa, for both safety of lives and property and economic reasons. Although the government had earlier promised to relocate these tank farms away from their present sites, we are surprised that they have not done so yet.

For us, the time for the relocation is now.

"We therefore demand that all the tank farms be relocated away from all our seaports in Warri, Port Harcourt, Onne and f r o m residential/ commercial area.”

Popoola said although Agbaje was yet to decide, he maintained that his group was speaking Agbaje’s mind and that his campaign structures that promoted his identity in 2011 were still intact.

Solomon, on his part, told newsmen, that the traditional ruler’s comment was merely a political statement.

He said: “Let me say that in making the pronouncement, Kabiyesi was expressing his preference. He has also expressed his personal opinion. We are talking of a party now; I don’t know which part or provision of the constitution of the party says a traditional ruler endorses or can endorse. Whatever he says is his personal wish, which is not the same thing as the wish of the generality of the people.

At the end of the day, we have a party structure. Let me also tell you that he made the pronouncement at a time when we had not even concluded putting party structures in place. So, it could have been in consultation with who? Is it with the political leadership?

Is it with the traditional leadership? We have had different opinions since then.

We deliberately did not come out to say anything about it because we felt it was a political statement. And what do you do with political statements? You either respond or leave it. In this case, we decided to leave it.

"Every vote carries the same weight, regardless of the status of the individual. So, what anybody can do is to go behind his chosen and preferred aspirant, mobilise people behind him, and provide a level playing field.

It is the provision of the constitution; that is the tenet of democracy – provide a level playing field."

Lagos urges LASU lecturers to suspend strike

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

L

AGOS—LAGOS State Government has appealed to striking Lagos State University, LASU lecturers to embrace dialogue instead of continuing with their industrial action which it described as “an unnecessary drawback for its spirited efforts to boost the academic standing and reputation of the institution.”

The government in a statement weekend, through the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, said the state government would not allow itself to be stampeded into acceding to demands that were inconsistent with its policy objectives, noting that it was imperative for Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, LASU to have a rethink on its proposed industrial action in the interest of the students and allow for dialogue.

N346m debt: GTB appeals vacation of court order

BY INNOCENT ANABA

G

UARANTY Trust Bank, GTB, has appealed the ruling of a Federal High Court, Lagos, vacating the order of the court preserving the assets of a company indebted to it, for which it had appointed a Receiver manager, pending the final determination of the suit.

The bank in the N346 million debt recovery suit against a Lagos businessman, Otunba Ayoola Abioye and his company, BSS Steel Rolling Mills Limited, is also praying the court to restrain Abioye or his privies from taking advantage of the ruling of the court by taking steps that will prejudice the right of the bank to approach the Court of Appeal to hear and determine the appeal already lodged at the appellate court for adjudication.

The bank official, Soga Adewale in an affidavit in support of the application, averred that by offer letters dated May 11, 2009, June 30, 2009 and March 2, 2010, GTB at the request of Abioye, the bank granted various loan facilities totaling N400 million for the importation of iron rods into the country, while the tenor for the repayment of all the facilities was two years inclusive three months’ moratorium.

The loan facilities were secured by an all assets Deed of Debenture over all the fixed and floating assets of BSS steal rolling mills limited and Tripartite legal mortgage on Property located at 25 Sehinde Crescent Oshodi, Lagos State owned by Ayoola Abioye, who is the Vice Chairman of the BSS company.

Other security for the loan included Tripartite legal mortgage over a five bedroom duplex located at 24C, Victoria Garden City, Victoria Island, Lagos State, Tripartite legal mortgage over a property owned by one Samuel Ariyo situated at 191 Igbosere Road Lagos and personal Guaranty of Otunba Abioye for the full facilities and accrued interest thereof.

10— Vanguard , MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Labour Party faults Amosun’s $7.3bn investment claim

Cholera outbreak hits Ogun, 20 hospitalised

...We're ready to take over from APC — ISIAKA

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

BEOKUTA—NO fewer than 20 persons, mostly children have been hospitalised following cholera outbreak in Idi-Araba NITEL area of Ikorita Meje in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The epidemic was said to have affected four communities in the area and forced residents to flee.

Vanguard’sinvestigationrevealed that the abandoned refuse dumpsite in the area might have been responsible for the outbreak.

It was gathered that residents used to dump refuse in a canal in the area which eventually blocked the drainage and wreaked a lot of havoc.

At the time of this report, no fewer than 20 casualties were recorded including an old man identified as Alhaji Abu. Chairman, Ogo-Oluwa C o m m u n i t y Development Area, Nurudeen Bisiriyu, told Vanguard that four communities had been affected.

Bisiriyu also said the canal had been turned to refuse dumpsite and had led to the collapse of a building after a heavy downpour last week.

According to him, “about 20 children have been taken to hospitals because of the cholera. In fact, Alhaji Abu, whose house was behind the dumpsite has been diagnosed of the disease.

We have written letters to the local government, the lawmaker from this place, Olakunle Oluomo, the Chairman and the health officials of the local government, but none of them has replied our letters.”

When contacted, the Director of Information in the council, Prince Tola Osunlaja said the council had begun moves to relocate the dumpsite.

He however, explained that the dumpsite had been there before the present administration came on board, saying, notwithstanding, the council executive had secured another place to be used as a dumpsite.

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

OGUN STATE INVESTORS FORUM: From left—Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun,Former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan ,The Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki; The Managing Director of Sovereign Wealth Fund, Mr. Uche Orji and The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun at the Ogun State Investors Forum held at Abeokuta.

LP, APC in bloody clash in Ekiti ...Journalists, scores injured as Police arrest 28

BY GBENGAARIYIBI & DAPO AKINREFON

I

T was a tale of sorrow, tears and blood, weekend, as supporters of the Labour Party, LP, and All Progressive Congress, APC, engaged one another in a bloody clash in Ikere Ekiti, when the LP organised a mega rally to drum support for its governorship candidate, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele.

In the melee that ensued, one person was shot and several cars damaged, while no fewer than 28 persons have been arrested by the police. Dangerous weapons like guns, machetes, broken bottles were freely used and miscreants looted properties worth millions of Naira Three crew members of African Independent Television, AIT, who came to cover the event, were attacked, while two out of their Vsat cameras, were reportedly stolen.

Narrating the ordeal, Bamidele’s media aide, Mr Ahmed Salami, claimed APC members were the aggressors.

Salami explained that the programme had almost came to an end and the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and the National Chairman of the party, Dan Nwanyanwu had left for the palace of Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Samuel Adegboye when some APC members drove a bus to the venue of the rally with the motive of disrupting the programme.

His words: “Dr Mimiko and members of our party had already wrapped up the rally when thugs numbering 30 invaded the venue.

They knew that the police had left the venue and our people had no protection. They shot into the air sporadically and many of our members had to run into the bush after many had been macheted and beaten by APC thugs”.

He noted that men attached to the Ikere Divisional Police Station were watching unconcerned as the thugs had a field day.

KFCO faults LP However, the Director of Media, Kayode Fayemi Campaign organisation, Mr Dimeji Daniels, has faulted the claim of LP .

According to him, the LP members were just attacking members of APC going on the street, alleging that they did not stop there but went to the party’s secretariat at Ikere and set the furniture ablaze.

Daniels maintained that a member of APC was now in a critical condition at Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti as a result of the gunshot attack he sustained during the mayhem.

He said the APC could not have been responsible for the attack because the party was holding a meeting when the incident happened.

We’ve made arrests —Police

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Victor Babayemi, who

confirmed the incident, said his men had recovered the vehicle that conveyed the thugs to the venue and were already on the trail of the occupants of the bus.

Babayemi said: “It was an APC branded vehicle and it is now in our custody. We also recovered four expended cartridges at the scene of the incident. We are happy that some of the perpetrators were known and their names are already with us and that will help our investigation”.

The PPRO said that the leadership of the APC in Ikere Ekiti would be summoned by the police to disclose the identities of the occupants of the vehicle.

APC is full of pretenders —Mimiko, Bamidele

Meanwhile, Governor Mimiko and Bamidele have described the leaders of the APC as bunch of pretenders, who aere being hypocritical with progressive politicking.

BEOKUTA—LABOUR Party, LP, in Ogun State, has faulted the claim by Governor Ibikunle Amosun that his administration has attracted $7.3 billion since he assumed office three years ago.

The party in a statement by its state Publicity Secretary, Deji Kalejaiye, said it read with dismay the statement credited to the governor on the pages of national dailies that Amosun's administration had attracted investments worth $7.3 billion in three years.

Urging the governor to “stop embarrassing the people of Ogun State,” the party said "we need to state, without any fear of contradiction, that there cannot be anything farther from the truth in this statement. It is an embarrassment to the good people of Ogun State that its chief executive officer will be caught in the web of lies and deception which has now assumed a second nature to the state governor and his retinue of cabinet members."

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant of the party (LP), in Ogun State, Prince Gboyega Isiaka has said the party is ready to take over from the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, next year.

Isiaka hinged his optimism on what he called, “total rejection of APC in Ogun State because of abysmal performance of Governor Ibikunle Amosun”.

Following the opening of LP secretariat in Abeokuta, Isiaka said LP had clearly made a statement as the party to beat and hinted that a large number of people everyday joined the party to rescue Ogun State from bad government.

Release of Chibok schoolgirls, peaceful conduct of Ekiti guber polls, my birthday wishes — DEP GOV

A

DO EKITI—EKITI State Deputy Governor, Professor Modupe Adelabu has listed the release of the 237 Chibok Government Secondary School girls and the peaceful conduct of the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State as her birthday wishes.

She spoke after a thanksgiving service at the Chapel at the Deputy Governor ’s Lodge weekend as part of activities to mark her 64th birthday anniversary.

The service presided over by the Regional Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles, MFM, in Ado Ekiti, Pastor

Olumide Adebayo, was the first of a three-legged programme drawn up to mark the birthday.

Another service in which the Pastor-in-Charge of Ekiti Province I, Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, AdoEkiti, Pastor Ola Adejube, presided was also organised in her honour in her office by members of staff.

Both clerics reiterated the need for Christians to cultivate the attitude of thanksgiving, praise and worship.

They reminded the audience that birthday celebration was to renew covenant with God. Those who spoke glowingly of

the deputy governor included: Governor Kayode Fayemi, his wife, Bisi, former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo, Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr Adetunji Omirin, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Ganiyu Owolabi and the Permanent Secretary in the Deputy Governor’s Office, Mr Babatunde Alokan.

Among those who graced the reception which dropped the curtain on the celebration were: Head of Service (HoS), Bunmi Famosaya, Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Special Duties, Chief Babtunde Odetola and Senator Babfemi Ojudu.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014—11

Partner FG to end terrorism, Kalabari leaders urge politicians

P

Group faults Attah on 13% derivation

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

ORT HARCOURT— POLITICIANS have been urged to sink party differences and work with the Federal Government to secure the release of the Chibok girls and end terrorism in the country.

Leaders of Kalabari in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who spoke under the aegis of Kalabari Ijaw Stakeholders, lamented the abduction of the school girls by Boko Haram insurgents.

Chief Precious Elekima, who spoke for the leaders, said Nigerians should unite to resist acts of terrorism on its soil, stressing that the monster was a common enemy to all.

He said: “We call on all political parties and Nigerians to unite and stand side by side with President Goodluck Jonathan to fight terrorism.”

Commending the efforts of the military in the fight against terrorism, the Kalabari leaders also lauded the international forces for their support.

“We, as parents, can see our children in the abducted girls. We see the diming lights of their dreams and hope. Boko Haram can wreck lives and structures of innocent people, but they cannot touch the foundation of the country," they said.

PERMANENT VOTERS CARDS: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and wife, Unoma, displaying their permanent voters cards at their polling unit in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state.

Accept outcome of state congress, Delta APC youths urge Okotie-Eboh ….He's authentic state Chair—Eyengho

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI—YOUTHS of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State have urged Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh to accept defeat in the party’s congress and join hands with the Prophet Jones Erhue-led executive to move the party forward.

They also dismissed reports that APC structure in the state is flawed with misnomer, reiterating that the structure of the party was well rooted on a solid foundation. “This is not unconnected with the reason all big names in Delta opposition have found acceptance in Delta APC,” they added.

But reacting, factional Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr. Alex Eyengho, said: “Okotie-Eboh is the authentic chairman of APC in Delta State.

The congress that saw the emergence of Okotie-Eboh was the only congress held at the

party’s secretariat.”

Describing as mischievous and malicious, the call on Okotie-Eboh to accept defeat, Eyengho called on the Prophet Erue faction to join hands with them to move the party forward in the state.

The youths, under the aegis of Delta APC Youth League, who were reacting to media reports that Okotie-Eboh had constituted a parallel executive of the party in the state, insisted that “it was uncalled for and totally unacceptable for Okotie-Eboh to embark on that journey, having participated actively in the APC congress at Asaba, but lost out.”

The group, in a statement at the end of its meeting in Sapele, noted that “power is given by God and people should learn to accept defeats in a free, fair and credible election such as the type that brought in the Prophet

Oshiomhole, Ikimi endorse Ojezua as Edo APC Chair

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

B

ENIN—AS the All Pro gressives Congress, APC, in Edo State holds its state congress today, the leadership of the party has endorsed a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Anslem Ojezua, as the state Chairman of the party.

The out-going interim Chairman, Chief Osaro Idah, was also endorsed as the state Secretary while Prince Austin Eweka and Mrs. Oviasu were endorsed as state Vice Chairman and state Woman Leader respectively.

The position of the state chair-

man was zoned to Edo Central, the senatorial district of a national leader of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi. Vanguard learnt that Ojezua received the endorsement of Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Chief Ikimi after series of meetings held by the leadership of the party.

Meanwhile, royal fathers in Edo South senatorial district have reiterated their support for Governor Oshiomhole, saying that those who recently defected to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from APC did so for their alleged selfish interests.

The Enigies, numbering over 60, when they paid a courtesy visit to the governor, said they were happy with the developmental

strides of the governor, especially in Edo South and have confidence in his government. Chairman of the Enigie, HRH Edomwonyi Ogiegbaen, Enogie of Egbaen-Siluko, and five other royal fathers spoke for the royal fathers.

According to Idurase, the reasons given by Pastor IzeIyamu for his defection were not in the interest of the people of the state.

Responding, Governor Oshiomhole thanked the Enigies for their show of solidarity.

Oshiomhole said: “I am short of words to express myself. I can only say that I am grateful."

Erhue-led executive.”

The statement by the state Coordinator of the group, Mr. Ufuoma David, expressed worry over allegations that Okotie-Eboh was being “sponsored by the agents of darkness, who have held this state in bondage since 1999, the cabal that has continually made Deltans to beg in the midst of plenty.

“Okotie-Eboh should not allow himself to be used by those who are already jittery over the wide acceptance of APC in Delta State. Adolo should distance himself from people bent on using media propaganda to create the impression of divisiveness in Delta APC.”

ARRI—THE Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, CENTREP, has picked holes with the reason advanced by the former governor of AkwaIbom State, Obong Victor Attah, for the retention of 13 per cent derivation by the National Conference Sub-Committee on the Devolution of Powers.

The group, in a statement by its national Chairman, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, said: “Attah, a delegate to the confab and co-chairman of the committee, argued that it was to ensure the protection of certain things within the entity called Nigeria. We find his position unacceptable, to say the least, as same is tantamount to evading the core issues confronting us as a nation.

“We insist that until the core issues of resource control, true and fiscal federalism and regional autonomy are discussed, agreed upon and implemented, unity, peace, stability and nation building would continue to elude us as a nation.

“Postponing indefinitely issues that touch on our unity as a people is not the best way to resolve them."

12 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 13

Nwakoby emerges UNIZIK VC WORSHIP: From left, Mrs. Grace Gado, wife of the president, Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Int'l; Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Gado, President, ECWA; Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, his wife, Mercy Orji, and Sir Emeka Ananaba, Deputy Governor, during ECWA Mega Worship, 'ECWA PRAYS 2014,' Ibeku High School Field, Umuahia, Abia State.

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA — AFTER months of intrigues and politicking, the race for

Insecurity: 2015 general elections'll hold — Jonathan

BY BEN AGANDE

A

BUJA — PRESI DENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, assured that despite security challenges facing the country, the 2015 general elections will be held.

Speaking at the 2014 Democracy Day Interdenominational Church Service in Abuja, President Jonathan said the next Democracy Day celebration would be held when a new government would have been ushered in.

“After today, the next Democracy Day will witness a new government.

I remember when I was in my village this morning to collect my permanent voter’s card, and a pressman asked me whether there will be elections in Nigeria, I told him there would be elec-

tions in this country.

“This country will continue to move forward in spite of some of the setbacks we are witnessing,” he said.

The President said the insurgency being spearheaded by the Boko Haram was meant to bring down his government but that intention was thwarted by God through prayers.

“Without your prayers, it would have been worse.

With your prayers, our girls will be seen by our security men. All these distractions were planned to bring this government down. Since they failed, terror will also fail. Forces of darkness will never prevail over light. I call on all Nigerians to continue to pray and with God on our side, we shall overcome,” he stated

Speaking on the nation’s 15 years of unbroken democracy in the country, he said that it is the best form of government and also provided opportunity for state governors to compare notes.

President Jonathan said his administration’s transformation policies are not mere campaign promises, as these records of achievements are verifiable.

He listed the sectors which have recorded major improvements as rail, roads, airports, agriculture, petroleum, power, industry and housing.

Pastor Goodheart Ekwueme who delivered the message reading from Phillipians 2: 9, Esther 4: 13, 2 Chronicles 7:14 noted that the circumstances Nigeria currently finds herself are similar to period of Mordecai recorded in Es-

ther 4: 13.

“The dark moment we find ourselves now will surely transform to greatness. It is when the time is darkest that God chooses to reveal His glory. I believe Nigeria will arise. A new Nigeria is about to be born.

Nigeria is simply experiencing child labour that

will give way to the birth of a great nation,” the pastor said He, however, said that three things must be done before the rebirth would take place: "genuine repentance, fear of the almighty God and offer of a united prayer unto the Lord as a church."

the next vice chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, has come to an end with Professor Greg Nwakoby of the Faculty of Law of the university emerging winner.

The summary sheet signed by the eight-member selection committee showed that Professor Nwakoby scored 89.65 percent to come tops, having scored 45.5 per cent of 50 per cent in curriculum vitae and 44.4 per cent of 50 per cent in interaction.

He was followed by Professor Josephe Ahaneku who scored 80.65 per cent, among other contestants.

Count Nsukka out of campaigns against Ekweremadu —Forum

BY TONY EDIKE

E

NUGU— THE Nsukka Zonal Forum, NZF, yesterday, dissociated itself and Nsukka people from a recent media report credited to a group known as Nsukka Zonal Union, NZU, which accused the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, of working against its people’s quest

to produce the next governor of Enugu State.

The group, according to the statement by Chief Okey Agu, National President, Nsukka Zonal Forum and former member Constituent Assembly, said the fallacious allegations by NZU, which came at a time Ekweremadu declared his support for the emergence of the next governor of the state from Nsukka

zone, was the handiwork of mischief makers and very unfortunate.

The statement read: “The attention of the Nsukka Zonal Forum, NZF, and, indeed, the good people of the zone has been drawn to a recent report at page 46 of Vanguard Newspaper of Tuesday, May 20,2014 entitled, “Nsukka Union Warns Ekweremadu on Enugu Guber Poll,” which was credited to the Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of Nsukka Zonal Union, Chief Matthias Ezema.”

Agu quoted the report as saying, “ it is ridiculous that the Deputy Senate President is now trying to destroy the party (PDP) because of his vaulting ambition of either remaining perpetually in the Senate or becoming the governor. ”It also claimed that “Ekweremadu had never hidden his hatred for Nsukka people . . . and his ‘evil machinations’ against the collective will of the electorate in Enugu State will fail.”

Clarifying issues raised in the report, Agu said: “The National Secretariat of the Nsukka Zonal Forum, NZF, wishes to totally dissociate itself and the good people of Nsukka zone from this calumny, show of ingratitude and disrespect to the person and Office of the Deputy President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

OMOLARA OLAMIDE OLAJUMOKE WEDS

From left, Senator Jibril Aminu, Princess Abiola Dusumu, Erelu of Lagos, and Chief Olusegun Osoba, during the traditional engagement/wedding between Omolara Olamide Olajumoke, daugther of From left, Princess Remi Olajumoke, mother of Senator and Princess Bode Olajumoke and Mr. Iretemide Olayiwo- the bride; HRH Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lala Balogun, son of Chief & Mrs. Kunle Balogun, at Tafawa Balewa gos, and Aremo Kola Oyekan.

Square, Lagos, weekend. Photos: Shola Oyelese

From left, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Sen. Bode Olajumoke, father of the bride and Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor.

From left, Chief Niyi Adebayo and Chief & Mrs. Ernest Sonekan.

The newly wedded couple - Mr. & Mrs. Olayiwola Balogun.

Newly wedded bride, Mrs. Omolara Olayiwola Balogun flanked by parents of the groom Chief & Mrs Kunle Balogun.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 15

C M Y K

16— Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 SECURITY challenges in the North-East are seen as threats to the 2015 elections. Another threat to elections, beginning with the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, is the legal squabble between the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Fresh Democratic Party, FDP. The elections could be cancelled to the detriment of taxpayers if the INEC refused to include candidates of FDP on the ballot, and the party successfully challenges its exclusion in court.

INEC on December 5, 2012, deregistered FDP and 27 other parties, drawing its powers from the law. INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, cited Section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act 2010 which states, “ The Commission shall have power to deregister political parties on the following grounds: (i) “breach of any of the requirements for registration; and

Fresh V INEC: Threat To Elections (ii) for failure to win a seat in the National or State Assembly election.”

FDP on July 29, challenged the action. Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, annulled INEC’s decision. “The statutory powers conferred on the first defendant (INEC) can be described as ministerial but when such power concerns deregistration of political parties, it becomes a quasi-judicial power because after registration, a political party becomes a legal entity and acquires a legal right and a decision to take away such legal right without a hearing,

according to Section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, is hereby declared null and void. Insofar as the first defendant (FDP) was not heard before the decision was taken, the said decision is null and void,” Justice Kolawole ruled.

He also said that the amendment was inconsistent with the general provisions of the Constitution in relation to formation and continued operation of political parties. The court ordered INEC to restore and recognise FDP as a political party in Nigeria.

INEC ignored the court order.

FDP was excluded from the Anambra State governorship election, it is not part of the governorship election in Ekiti State.

Five months after the judgment, INEC filed notice of appeal, which it abandoned. In the absence of an appeal the judgment stands. INEC as a democratic institution should recognise FDP and the 27 others.

The test of its fairness lies on how it treats all parties, the small ones included.

As a product of law, INEC should embrace the law in its operations.

Its refusal to re-register FDP as ordered by the court is lawlessness taken to ridiculous heights. The 2015 polls should be conducted with an impartial INEC as umpire. To sustain a big democratic space, INEC would have issues with regulating parties, but they should be resolved within the law.

OPINION

BY MICHAEL EGBEJUMI-DAVID

I

WATCHED Mrs Jonathan’s meeting on Channels TV and came away with more than mixed feelings.

As I watched this important gathering that Mrs Jonathan had pulled together on the back of lack of results in the case of the abducted school girls of Chibok in Borno State, my immediate impression was that, chai, with the right handling, this lady could be a good leader. And since we are already being led, or must be led by a Jonathan, we are probably being governed by the wrong one.

Then, lamentably, Mrs Jonathan veered off and went the way of…well…Mrs Jonathan. She began to want to conflate matters and lay the wrong emphasis on the wrong things.

But, doesn’t matter; Mrs Jonathan had done something that, in the beginning, was certainly right; something that needed to be done and should have been done long before then. Through her small meetings, Mrs Jonathan managed to upstage her husband and, in fact, achieved in a couple of days more than the President and his security chiefs have achieved in damn near three years. Her intervention was more dynamic and shone more light on some pertinent issues - not like the occasional photo op talk-shop we get from the President.

Sometimes, a leader just has to lead; period. Mrs Jonathan, in her own garrulous way, did just that at the end of last week. She had dragged before

The Jonathans: There is God oo her some of the dramatis personae in this whole sordid Chibok matter.

Through her effort, we can now see that there has been a method to Boko Haram’s madness all along. We now know that apart from churches, Boko Haram appears to have been deliberately targeting schools with largely Christian students or in largely Christian populated areas.

Through Mrs Jonathan’s effort, we also found out that the governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, despite West African Examination Council, WAEC's, advice to the contrary, deliberately left the school (a state school) open for exams and therefore left it vulnerable to what subsequently befell those girls. Mr Shettima refused for the students to be moved to relatively safer examination centres in Maiduguri.

Instead, he wrote to WAEC assuring them that adequate security will be provided for the school. Obviously, adequate security wasn’t provided; look what has happened! You can begin to see why Mrs Jonathan veered off tangent and gave in to her more impulsive, antediluvian and suspicious side.

This should give all of us a pause.

The rest of us and Mr Jonathan need to rethink our approach to this menace.

Furthermore, I was shocked to hear the President say that we do not have a modern army. We don’t? What then has been happening to all the billions

that go into Defence budgets every year? So, in a way, I was relieved to learn that the Americans are coming to help us out. At this point, any help would be better than what has obtained for three long weeks. However, it would be best if the Americans assist from the ‘ rear ’ so that their humanitarian intervention doesn’t turn into another theatre of good versus evil confrontation. My guess is that the cowardly Boko Haramites are still holding on to the school girls in the forest as human shields. What an ordeal!

And this is why I disagree with Ms Iyabo Obasanjo who in a recent open letter to Boko Haram likened that group to a revolutionary one.

I don’t know whether Ms Obasanjo’s take was informed by her ongoing walk down the cathartic path, but to christen Boko Haram a revolutionary group sounds too close to blasphemy. If anything, Boko Haram is the military arm of one half of the exploitative and thieving cabal that holds Nigeria down.

Their current campaign is directed squarely at the people – the exact opposite definition of a revolution. After maiming and killing fellow citizens, their leaders can often be found cooling off in the inner recesses of the mansions and guest houses of cabal members.

This is why I spit whenever I hear another one of their leaders carp that Jonathan should not seek re-election

because of his lack of vigour in combating insecurity in the country.

This is coming from the same people who told us that they will make the country ungovernable. It is like a tenant who lets into the house his stickyfingered prodigal son only to turn around and blame the gateman for his missing briefcase.

Their Boko Haram has taken up arms against the state, not in a revolutionary fervour but to criminally avenge an election loss. Do revolutionaries drive past schools of the privileged, head for schools for ordinary folks and gun down sleeping students in their beds? Do revolutionaries drive past opulent mansions and other obscene edifices of graft and go bomb a motor park for the exclusive use of ordinary folks? I don’t think so.

It really burns me that Mr Jonathan continues to refuse to pick up the sponsors of Boko Haram. What really is stopping him? I don’t at all understand this kind of leadership model.

So I found Mrs Jonathan’s effort and contribution (which sadly later degenerated into a spectacle) in unravelling this national heartbreak refreshing. We just wish Mr Jonathan could be more like her in some aspects.

*Dr. Egbejumi-Davis, a medical practitioner, wrote from London.

MAY 26, 2014

MEETING: Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala flanked on the right by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director, UBA Capital, Mrs. Toyin Sani and President, South-East/South-South Professionals of Nigeria, Emeka Ugwu-Oju at the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB) meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan, performance

unmet debt obligations of AMCON that need refinancing will threaten government’s fiscal operations. At inception, AMCON’s debt is the equivalent of 56.53 per cent of national debt of N10.04 trillion as at December 2013. In reality, gross national debt should include AMCON’s outstanding, and that is huge risk and a threat to sustainable growth.”

On AMCON’s lifespan which was increased by another 10 years by the National Assembly recently, he noted that, “An AMCON continuing in operation in perpetuity is great inefficiency and a waste of taxpayers’ funds, as it will continue to incur high carrying cost from high operational costs as well as from the erosion in the value of assets not disposed and restructured over time. The other worry here is the ‘moral hazard’ whereby continuing existence of AMCON would send a wrong signal to the banks to book loans that can always be sold to AMCON if the loans become deficient.”

He further noted that, “A poorly designed and implemented exit strategy for AMCON can be injurious to the economy. AMCON’s outstanding credit estimated at N3.9 trillion is about 4.86 per cent of Nigeria’s rebased GDP at N80.22 Continues on page 18

zAMCON’s debt is liability to government, says Adedipe zNo, AMCON’s guarantees not public debt, byChike-Obi

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

S

takeholders in the financial sector have raised questions over the effectiveness and success recorded by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON in its debt recovery efforts since it was set up in 2009. They also argued among other things, against the Act increasing the lifespan of the corporation and AMCON’s increasing role of assuming non-performing loans.

Dr. Biodun Adedipe, a financial expert, said since AMCON was established to stabilize the financial C M Y K

system by restoring confidence in the financial services sector following the financial crisis, it has become imperative to appraise its impact on the nation’s economy.

Delivering a paper entitled: The impact of AMCON on the Nigerian economy, at a symposium organised recently by Bank Directors Association of Nigeria, BDAN in Lagos, he said that AMCON’s debt is a contingent liability to the government, since AMCON’s bonds are backed by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), which implies that in the event of a default, the government will have to settle AMCON’s creditors. In that case, the

Federal Government would issue bonds to refinance AMCON’s debt, making AMCON’s debt a “contingent” liability to the government.

He explained that, “Given the country ’s increasing debt stock, a default by AMCON on its debt obligations will exert more pressure on Federal Government finances. If the government defaults, this will adversely affect investor confidence on Nigeria’s bond market.

“Nigeria’s fiscal framework is characterized by deficit budgets, high infrastructure deficit, high dependence on crude oil, low level of non-oil exports and low non-oil revenue,

-10.15

184.0

+8.00

2,915.00

17.87

-0.33

109.79

+0.70

102.08 +0.58 CURRENCY BUYING US DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA YUAN RIYAL

154.73 260.0702 211.8873 173.4836 1.525 0.3032 237.8816 24.8206 41.2558

CENTRAL SELLING 155.23 260.9106 212.572 174.0442 1.53 0.3132 238.6503 24.901 41.3891

155.73 261.751 213.2567 174.6048 1.5349 0.3232 239.419 24.982 41.5225

KRONA

28.382

28.4737

28.5654

SDR

239.0579

239.8304

240.6029

CBN Exchange rate as at 23/05/2014

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Cover Story

Developing Entrepreneurial Spirit in Nigeria - Part 1

MoU SIGNING: MD/CEO, CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited, Mr. Kelechukwu Mbagwu exchanging pleasantries with the President, Fidelity Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, Mr Chima Igboenyesi, during the signing of CMB Development Memorandum of Understanding with the Fidelity Bank Cooperative Society in Lagos on Wednesday.

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan, performance Continued from page 17

C M Y K

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trillion, and this could be a source of macroeconomic instability and influence adversely, Nigeria’s subsequent sovereign ratings. A downgrade of the country will not augur well for the newly acquired status of ‘frontier economy.'

He further added that, “The proposal for the AMCON Amendment Act 2013 to make the banks bear the cost of intervention is an aberration that, when properly interpreted, means simply that AMCON bought over NPLs at a discount (banks took the loss on that) and negotiated restructuring terms that possibly included interest (and perhaps principal) forgiveness with the ‘bad debtors’, and will now make the banks contribute to the Sinking Fund that will pay the cost of AMCON’s intervention. The summary is that the borrowers in question ended up getting away with whatever discount AMCON obtained from the banks and the discount they subsequently obtained from AMCON! There is no successful ‘bad bank’ model that worked with this arrangement!”

He recommended that if AMCON is to successfully deliver its mandate, it must have a well defined lifespan.

“AMCON was conceived to operate for 10 years, but the enabling Act gave it life in perpetual succession. This is a departure from global best practices and should be a key issue in the ongoing effort at amendment of its Act. The

Continuing contribution of banks to this fund is an aberration that brings back almost the entire cost of intervention back on the banks

,

only distress resolution asset management company that has continuing life is NAMA of Ireland whose mandate is completely wider in scope than that of AMCON,” he said.

He said AMCON should pursue a clear mandate and that since its mandate on the types of assets to be acquired and resolution methods are clear to some extent, it should not engage in running a business taken over, except perhaps such business is placed on receivership.

He said: “AMCON doesn’t seem to have its mandate defined in terms of clear, time-bound metrics that indicate the percentage resolutions over specific time periods. Such targets should aim at volumes in absolute and relative terms for disposal of the acquired assets. As well, there should be an end-

term target cost of resolution that is either linked to the value invested in NPL acquisition by AMCON or as percentage of GDP. This should apply also to return on investments made by AMCON. That is the only way to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the ‘bad bank’ crisis resolution model.

On the Sinking Fund, he said, “Continuing contribution of banks to this fund is an aberration that brings back almost the entire cost of intervention back on the banks. He added that, “The AMCON Act needs amendment that the National Assembly should expedite action on in order to achieve quicker resolution and higher recoveries. More bite given to AMCON will enable the corporation prosecute recalcitrant borrowers who have the attitude that bank loans are shares of the national cake.”

He said, “As structured today and as it operates, AMCON cannot deliver its mandate effectively and efficiently, and that will vitiate the impact it is expected to have on the banking industry on the one hand, and the national economy on the other.”

However, in a swift reaction, AMCON’s chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi who was also present at the event, said operations of the corporation have not drained public funds and

Continues on page 19

scale ventures, did little to curb unemployment. The failure or even inadequate success of these measures is attributed primarily to disregard or ignorance of ground realities, and lack of a coherent, consistent, macrolevel vision.

Nigeria’s unique set of problems calls for broadbased policy intervention from the bottom up, and any individual law or policy that is not part of a unified effort is unlikely to make much difference. The ‘bottom up’ analogy is pertinent, as one of the first things Nigeria ought to be doing is

,

A

recent collection of essays on entrepreneurial innovation in developing economies, titled Lessons from the Poor, mentions an aspect of Nigerian clothing design.

Examining the traditional adire dye industry, author Thompson Ayodele informs that the bottom 19 per cent of entrepreneurs polled for the study earned more than state and federal civil servants. For the purpose of this essay, the story is significant in more ways than one. First, it is a classic instance of entrepreneurial spirit, describing the transformation of an established Yoruba craft into a venture for wealth creation and employment generation.

Second, and perhaps only in between lines, it reflects a measure of the serious imbalances that plague Nigeria’s economy.

Africa’s second largest economy is a bundle of extreme contradictions; with billions of dollars in annual oil revenue on one end and pervasive poverty for most of its 148 million people on the other.

Relative political stability since 1999 has delivered some reform and regulatory initiatives to correct huge and longstanding macroeconomic disparities, yet the country remains overwhelmed by persistently dismal indicators and human development indices. Nigeria’s current per capita GDP of $1,501.72 ranks it below much smaller African economies like Sudan, Congo and Swaziland. The latest UNDP poverty survey of 108 developing nationsthplaced the country at the 80 position, below Rwanda and Malawi.

Achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals and its own more ambitious 2020 target require a paradigm shift in mindset and priorities. It also requires the successful engendering of a broad, panNigerian entrepreneurial spirit!

A slew of relevant policy redirections have already been initiated in this regard: The government has deregulated oil prices, disinvested public sector undertakings, created special economic zones and passed assorted legislation to encourage enterprise development. While some of these measures are starting to show positive results, many have been largely ineffective while yet others have completely collapsed. For instance, a massive privatisation drive launched after 1999 managed to rake up private sector investment.

However, Abuja’s simultaneous inclination for microenterprises, instead of small-

Nigeria’s unique set of problems calls for broad-based policy intervention from the bottom up, and any individual law or policy that is not part of a unified effort is unlikely to make much difference

,

improving the condition of its roads.

The business environment in the whole of Africa is crippled with massive infrastructure shortfalls that result in the continent’s high enterprise mortality rate.

Significantly, the rate of failure affects older and new entrants alike. A leading cause is almost always infrastructure deficits that critically hamper genuine economic growth and productivity.

Since 2008 the government has began to show the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF such as modernizing the banking system, curbing inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and resolving regional dispute over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. GOP rose strongly in 2007-10 because of increased in oil exports and high global crude oil prices.

Nigeria likewise suffers from endemic infrastructural woes with regards to roads, communication and especially power (small and large businesses alike across the country rely heavily, and at times exclusively, on

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 19

Cover Story

CBN against the government and many Nigerians doubted the credibility of data coming out of the CBN. This lack of trust between the apex bank and the Federal Government has to be bridged through an open and transparent dealing

Tough task ahead for Emefiele at CBN between the bank and government.

Godwin Emefiele is a very reserved and conservative person.

His style must be open and transparent. He should steer the bank away from the past controversies which were mainly political in nature. The new CBN governor must draw a distinction between the core mandate of the CBN and what is political. He should take his cue from Joseph Sanusi, whose reform of the banking system was profound but was not conducted through press conferences but through a fair and firm decision-making process. CBN had in the past maintained a professional posture which allowed it to act professionally without dabbling into politics. What Emefiele should do is ensure that the CBN top and middle management are highly professionalized. He must forge a close tie with the Deputy Governors, and policy coming from each must be properly scrutinized. He should carry along the management staff of the bank in decision-making and avoid the temptation of doing it alone.

One area that may prove difficult for the new governor is staff audit. The CBN was in the past manned by competent and qualified economists and accountants who could face up to professionals in the banking industry. The Research and Banking Supervision unit of the apex bank was very thorough in recruitment and

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rd hen on the 3 of June, 2014 Mr. Godwin Emefiele formally assumes office as the CBN Governor, he will be confronted with several nagging issues which he needs to resolve fast if he is to succeed as CBN governor. Many of the issues are like landmines which require both native intelligence and God’s guidance to handle.

He must, as a matter of urgency, attempt to restore both local and foreign confidence in the bank. Many Nigerians lost confidence in the bank as a result of the controversial banking reforms in which the CBN told investors it was out to protect depositors and investors can go to hell. Local and foreign investors got worried, especially when some unguarded utterances led to the erosion of capital in the nation’s stock market. Many investors have not forgotten so soon.

In recent times, the lack of proper co-ordination of facts and figures coming out of the apex bank simply ridiculed the institution. It is now evident that some figures quoted by the former CBN governor were never compiled by the CBN; they were more political than real. The CBN has never faced such turbulence in recent times. For whatever it will take, Emefiele must ensure that every of his utterances is to assure both local and foreign investors just as well as depositors. The Governor must ensure that accurate data are fed to the public. All departments of the apex bank must cross-check data before they are issued out.

Investors in Nigeria were not surprised when former central bank governor was suspended in February.

Before the suspension, he had succeeded in polarizing the bank. He distanced the bank from government by alleging that $49.8 billion was unremitted and later changed it to $10 before making it up to $20 billion. This pitched the

One area that may prove difficult for the new governor is staff audit. The CBN was in the past manned by competent and qualified economists and accountants who could face up to professionals in the banking industry

,

staffing. This is not the case today. In the last five years, the morale of many professionals in the bank had been dampened by appointments of persons from outside the bank that were neither qualified nor competent to head units. Such individuals, political appointees most of whom are either sons or daughters of political heavy weights or surrogates of former governors, are now in top positions in the bank.

These appointments were made without complying with CBN's due process and most unfortunately, those appointed were made to head units they are not qualified to superintend over. This brought a lot of discontent and disaffection in the apex bank.

The new governor is certainly inheriting a baggage of discontented staff whose loyalty and performance will depend on how he will quickly address this anomaly. It will be a tough way to go but for him to succeed, he must act fast and timely to raise the morale of the CBN staff.

Mr. Emefiele’s task also will be to convince investors and bankers that he is his own man, not just another political appointee. That Mr. Emefiele is a respected figure in Nigerian banking will help.

He became Zenith’s chief executive in 2010, having been deputy head from 2001.

Under him, the bank has performed strongly. Its 2013 pre-tax profit of $680m was the biggest ever made by a Nigerian bank and amounted to a high return on equity of 23 per cent.

Zenith from where Emefiele is coming has a reputation for investing heavily in technology and good customer service compared with rivals.

The expectation is that Mr. Emefiele will carry this culture of investing heavily in technology and good customer service to CBN. He should complement this with staff training and re-training.

He must see his role as a manager of the economy and not a crusader. He should ensure that monetary and fiscal policies are in harmony to ensure proper management of the economy. He should

develop strategies that would tap into the idle cash in the informal sector by deliberately encouraging the formalization of the informal sector. The CBN under Emefiele should not be one that pursues low inflation at the expense of job creation. It is when there is availability of credit that investors can borrow to create wealth and job opportunities.

He should make CBN policies to be focused on development banking that will encourage small and medium enterprises to grow the economy.

Emefiele must not see the independence of the CBN as that of a sovereign within a sovereign state. He should learn to make the CBN a banker to the government and from time to time as it was the practice of the apex bank, offer professional advice to the President. The CBN must be insulated from political influence.

To put paid to the ever recurring dispute on flows into the federation account, Emefiele should bring together all revenue-generating agencies to reconcile the federation account. This should be published on a monthly basis.

Mr. Emefiele must know from the very beginning that the world will scrutinise his early actions to get a sense of whether the central bank’s policies will change under his leadership. This will be especially important in the run up to presidential elections in 2015, with the likelihood of extra government spending putting the naira under pressure.

Mr. Emefiele should ensure that the central bank coordinates its policies closely with fiscal authorities.

Notwithstanding CBN’s independence, it must walk in line with government policy.

Monetary and fiscal policies must walk hand in hand for the growth of the economy.

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan, performance Continued from page 18 that it intends to pay whatever money it had borrowed.

According to him, “It is not correct that there has been N3.17 trillion of tax payers’ money injected into the banking system. So far, tax payers’ money that has been paid into the banking system is N10bn. The rest of the money is funds that we have borrowed and we intend to pay back. So it is premature to say that N3.17 trillion has been

injected into the banks.”

On how long AMCON should exist, he said, “The impression that asset management corporations all over the world ended their operations within a certain period of time is misleading. I need to point out that the scope of the Nigerian banking crisis was bigger in terms of GDP than any of the countries that had combated financial crisis through an asset management company.

Nigeria is the biggest case where you have the biggest airline in trouble, eight of the 10 largest manufacturers in trouble, many of the petroleum companies in trouble, many of the banks in trouble and the scope of the problem would not be addressed in the same way you would address a localised real estate problem.”

On the corporation’s debt, Chike-Obi said, "AMCON has guarantees which cannot be considered as debt by any

standard. He mentioned that AMCON’s debt is equivalent of 56 per cent of national GDP. At this point, let me say that we have had discussions with several agencies in the world.

America for example has $1.3 trillion of public debt and about $18 trillion of guarantees.

Guarantees are not considered anywhere in the world as part of public debt except where there is no clear path for repayment. So, in the case of AMCON where we have

shown the regulatory agencies the clear path to repayment, it is not considered as public debt. We have had discussions and all written agencies including IMF have agreed that AMCON’s liabilities should not be part of the GDP.” He further explained that, “the plan for AMCON is 10 years for now. In 2023, we expect AMCON to be a very

Continues on Page 21 C M Y K

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Business & Economy

Fowler cites over N20b monthly IGR as legacy

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

M

r. Babatunde Fowler, executive chairman of Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue has pointed to the state’s monthly internally generated revenue now peaking at N20.5 billion as his administration’s legacy.

Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) is the major revenue generating agency of the state government saddled with the responsibility of collecting taxes.

Over the years, LIRS has increased the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from a monthly average of N600 million in 1999 to N3.6 billion in 2006 and N20.5 billion in 2013, thereby making the state less dependent on proceeds from the Federation Account.

Fowler who hinted to newsmen that he might soon retire from the service, said: “I can’t be here forever; people should know that a time would come and I have to quit. Very soon, I will be knocking the 10- year period and I think at that point in time, it is time to step aside and let somebody else come in."

SMEs need to leverage technology for growth —LEAP

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he Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs in Nigeria have been tasked to embrace modern technology in order to achieve meaningful growth that will provide employment and contribute to the economic development of the nation.

The Board Chairperson of Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Professionalism, (LEAP) Africa and Managing Director, Shell Nigeria C l o s e d - P e n s i o n Administrator Fund, Mrs. Yemisi Ayeni, who gave the advice to business owners, stressed the need to embrace technology especially given the increasing internet penetration and social media activity in Nigeria.

According to her: “Any business owner wanting their business to transit to the next generation has no choice but to use technology effectively.

C M Y K

ECOWAS set to implement strategy on maritime security

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COWAS is set to i m p l e m e n t the provisions of its maritime security strategy along with other regional economic communities in the continent, an official said on Thursday.

Mr. Mohammed Tukur, the Maritime Safety and Security Officer in ECOWAS Regional Security Division, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja. Tukur, who spoke on the sideline of an international conference on African Approaches to Maritime Security, said the conference would enable stakeholders formulate legal documents on maritime security.

“The Yaoundé summit on maritime security came up with the Yaoundé Declaration. The AU also has the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy. ECOWAS too has adopted the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy (EIMS).

We have these strategic frameworks in line with the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions 2018 and 2039 on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of the states of the Gulf of Guinea.

“Operationalising these strategies will be done step by step and the AU will rely on the regional economic

OGUN INVESTMENT SUMMIT: From left: Mr. Olawale Oshinowo, D-G Lands, Ogun State, Rasak Aboyeji, Regional Business Executive, South-West 2, Sterling Bank Plc and Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Finance Commissioner, Ogun State at the state's Investment Forum in Abeokuta. communities for implementation.”

He said the EIMS adopted in March would ensure a holistic maritime policy framework for action and cooperation within West Africa.

Tukur said it would also strengthen collaboration with other African regional bodies.

He said the development of an Integrated Maritime Strategy between ECOWAS

and the Gulf of Guinea Commission was ongoing.

The official added that the outcomes of the Yaoundé Summit were steps towards inter-regional cooperation to tackle challenges to maritime security. He said the community ’s membercountries had begun the implementation of ECOWAS Pilot Model Zone E within the framework of the EIMS.

FG targets $558.1bn GDP in 5 years —Aganga

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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he Federal Government has said that the implementation of the National Quality Infrastructure Policy, NQIP, which would serve as support to the Nigerian Industry Revolution Plan will help to grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product to $558.45bnwithin the next five years.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga made this known while speaking at the second meeting of the National Steering Committee for the Nigerian National Quality Policy in Abuja on Tuesday. Aganga who said the country’s GDP would rise from N510bn to N558.5bn in five years' time

explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss in plenary, the progress so far made by the different subcommittees which were constituted during the inaugural meeting of January 27, 2013 and this year.

“With National Quality Infrastructure in place, a skyrocketed increase is anticipated from our GDP from $510bn in 2013 to $558.45bn, a 10 per cent growth within the first fiveyear implementation period.

The Minister was optimistic that with an increase in the contribution of the services sector from the previous 26 per cent to 51 per cent, all energy of the government would be channelled to fast track the early take off of the NQIP. Dr. Aganga said this quality policy which would enhance

Nigeria’s reputation as a provider of quality products and services in the global market will also give credence to the commitment of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, by the signing of the agreement on Trade Facilitation which was signed th at the 9 Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia in December, 2013.

The minister who was represented at the event by the National President, National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Alh Ibrahim Garba, said the national policy would seek to stop the conflicts that might arise as a result of duplication of mandates.

“We must join hands and see this assignment as a step towards creating an enabling environment for the public and private sectors to achieve global excellence in the quality of goods and services

Tukur recalled that Nigeria and Benin signed a bilateral agreement for combined patrols to combat piracy in 2011. “This has served as a model for the implementation of the Pilot Model Zone E project,” he said.

The ECOWAS official said countries within the project include Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Niger, and that other projects would be launched to accommodate all memberstates.

“Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone will comprise Zone F, and the final zone, Zone G, will include Gambia, Cape Verde, Senegal and Guinea Bissau.”

Though the official did not say how much funding would be required, he however said it would be a collective effort of the commission and memberstates.

“It is an expensive, herculean task which involves maritime domain awareness and having surveillance equipment to ensure we have an effective response mechanism. And by the time the regional maritime strategy between ECOWAS and Economic Community of Central African States, (ECCAS) is established, we will have a perfect structure, while the countries would have acquired the necessary experience.”

Also speaking, Mr Felix Henkel, Abuja Regional Office Co-ordinator, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, said there was the need for enhanced civil society awareness on ways to tackle threats to maritime security.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 21

Business & Economy

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Cultural entrepreneurship economy will guarantee development —Duke

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has liberalised the conditions for accessing the N200 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).

In a circular released weekend, the CBN announced extension of the tenure of the scheme to 2025, and revised guidelines for its operations.

Previously, loans obtained under the scheme must be repaid within seven years. The CBN under the revised guidelines removed this limit, saying loan repayment period would be determined by the gestation period of the agricultural project being financed.

“Loans shall have a maximum tenure based on the gestation period of the enterprise plus three years cash flow allowance and /or working capital facility of one year with provision for roll over. The scheme allows for moratorium in the loan repayment schedule taking into consideration, the gestation period of the enterprise,” the guidelines stated.

Also to allow more agricultural firms to obtain loan through the scheme, the CBN reduced the minimum asset base criteria for corporate borrowers. Previously, only agric firms with asset base of N350 million and above with the prospect to grow the net asset to N500 million in the next three years, can obtain loan through the scheme.

These criteria were, however, relaxed under the new guidelines to N100 million and above with prospect to grow the net asset to N250 million in the next three years.

BY CALEB AYANSINA INISTER of Tourism, M Culture and National Orientation, High

AWARD: From left, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development and Co-operatives, Ogun State, Mrs. Yemi Olanrewaju; Area Sales Manager, Consolidated Breweries Plc, Mr. Ayoola Sodipo; and Commissioner, Ministry of Community Development and Co-operatives, Ogun State, Chief Samuel Duro Aiyedogbon, during the presentation of the Most Community Friendly Co-operative Organisation of the Year Award to Consolidated Breweries, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

CBN liberalises access to N200bn agric credit scheme zExtends tenure to 2025 The CBN, however, limited the loan that banks can grant to a single project to N2 billion per bank. “The single obligor for any project from a participating bank under the scheme shall be N2.0 billion while for state governments shall be N1.0 billion.”

The Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) was introduced in 2009 in response to yearnings for long-term credit to farmers at low interest rate. According to the CBN, the scheme was established: to fast track development of the agricultural sector of the

Nigerian economy by providing credit facilities to commercial agricultural enterprises at a single digit interest rate; to enhance national food security by increasing food supply and effecting lower agricultural produce and product prices, thereby promoting low food inflation.

"To reduce the cost of credit in agricultural production to enable farmers exploit the potentials of the sector; To increase output, generate employment, diversify the revenue base, increase foreign

exchange earnings and provide input for the industrial sector on a sustainable basis."

The CBN in its 2013 half year report said that, “As at endJune 2013, N199.37 had been disbursed to 273 projects. In the review period, the sum of N16.3 billion was released to eight (8) DMBs for on-lending to nineteen (19) projects under the CACS. An analysis of the number of projects financed showed that processing accounted for 52.6 per cent, while production and marketing accounted for 36.9 and 10.5 per cent, respectively.

Chief Edem Duke has emphasized that it is only cultural entrepreneurship economy that could guarantee development in Nigeria. Duke said this in Abuja during the celebration of the 2014 World Culture Day and the launching of UNESCO Club for global Education.

He noted that the role of culture in the development of a society cannot be overemphasized, and that, if well exploited, it will bring about growth and development.

According to him, this year ’s theme which is Cultural Entrepreneurship development in Nigeria, will draw attention to cultural diversity, cultural pluralism as well as other principles and values.

He said: “The fundamental essence of the day is rooted in the three pillars of cultural diversity, dialogue and development. These three pillars are seen as sine qua non for global peace, cooperation and understanding, which are essential ingredients for political and social stability in the world. The world is diverse with peoples from every nation and culture inter-mingling and engaging in political, technological, economic and social activities."

Cover Story

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan, performance Continued from page 19 small entity. The reason why we said 10 years and not five years is because for example, we hold about N300 billion of public stocks and the average trading volume is five billion a day. So if you must sell it at the average of 2.5 billion a day, it will take many years to sell all the shares. So we take longer time frame so that we can dispose of these shares.

“The same thing goes with aircraft, airlines, manufacturing companies, tank farms. I think we are in possession of 80 per cent of tank farm capacity and any attempt to dispose of them in any rash manner, will lead to the exact crisis you are trying to solve. So we do not plan for perpetuity, we plan for 10

years and we hope that by then AMCON will remain a very small entity that may be domiciled at NDIC or somewhere else so that it will be better for future crises.”

On whether AMCON’s debts and lifespan constitute a moral hazard, he argued that, “for a bank to sell any loan to AMCON means the bank has to take the provision, it has to take the huge loss, and the average purchase price is about 40 per cent of the cost of loan. I don’t know of any banker, who has made the loan and says because AMCON is there, I am going to make the loan where I am going to make 60 per cent. The issue of moral hazards does not arise because AMCON prices very diligently.

Additionally, the issue of how long AMCON would remain is not a moral hazard; the issue is how efficiently it will dispose of what it has.”

He said that “the banks' bearing of the cost of the loan is the nicest thing Nigeria has done and I think that the world has been emulating them. The beneficiaries of AMCON are the banks. The banks, even before the tight monetary policies and the CBN Cash Reserve Ratio and other regulations, were making profits. I will challenge any bank that was doing better before AMCON and is now being penalised by paying 50 basis points to come up and show me the numbers.

I think it is a responsible thing for the beneficiaries of the

intervention to pay for it. This is also to make the banks realise that in case of any future occurrence, it would be borne by them.”

On his part, the president of BDAN, Olorogun (Dr.) Sonny Kuku said it was imperative that AMCON’s performance is being appraised since the aim of setting it up in the first place was to stabilise the economy which was on the brink of total collapse.

He said: “If you look at the Nigerian economy, it has been centered on financial institutions, and the financial institutions drive the economy. The intervention of the CBN was crucial and a major instrument that the CBN used to stabilise the economy was AMCON. So it

is imperative that after five years, the effect of AMCON on the economy should be reviewed. It is a very delicate subject because if after today we had found out that AMCON failed, it means that a lot of thinking that went to it was faulty. But as we have seen today, it is an entirely different story and this is to say that at least, one aspect of government has done very well. You see, as bank directors, we were directly affected and if those loans were not taken off our books, we will still be struggling today to try and fulfill our obligations."

On AMCON’s 0.5 per cent interest rates that shareholders are conteding, Continues on Page 32

C M Y

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Banking & Finance

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

A

rrangements have been concluded for business owners in the category of small and medium scale enterprises to improve their capacity for business development and growth with a capacity building programme known as SME Financial Forum. The second edition of the Forum is scheduled to hold in Lagos on Tuesday June 3rd.

The forum is organized by SME Business Platform which hosts Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Live radio programme in association with the telecom giant, MTN Nigeria, on Inspiration 92.3FM in the past two years.

The organizers of the event in a statement said the Forum would bring together all the key stakeholders in the Small and Medium Enterprise subsector of the economy to brainstorm and network to get the best option for financing businesses in the SME categories.

EMP sponsors African Banker Awards

E

merging Markets Payments (EMP), an electronic payments processing company in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), recently participated as a sponsor at the African Banker Awards.

EMP has been sponsoring the regional awards ceremony for several years, with this time being the first as the Platinum sponsor. During the event, EMP Chairman Paul Edwards had the honour of presenting the award for African Bank of the Year to Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. In addition, EMP showcased its cutting edge innovations and vision for advancing the payment card industry at the annual event which took place in Kigali, Rwanda.

“Supporting the development of the payments industry is one of EMP’s key objectives and we work closely with our partners in order to do so,” said Paul Edwards, Chairman of EMP. “Sponsoring an event such as the African Banker Awards provides us with a great opportunity to continue to support the industry through a platform that recognizes the talent, determination and innovation that is moving the industry forward.”

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has simplified ownership of bank accounts by creating three types of accounts through the Tiered Know Your Customer (KYC). The aim is to make financial services easily accessible to more Nigerians.

The Lower Level Account and Middle Level Account are both savings and can be opened on behalf of the owner by a bank agent from outside the bank. While the Middle Level Account requires documentation and verification of the customer’s identity, the Lower Lever Account does not require documentation or verification of customer’s identity. The objective is to make it easy for people to own a bank account. But to balance the objective of financial inclusion and the need to ensure the accounts are not used for money laundering, the CBN imposed transaction limits on these accounts.

However there have been concerns about the challenges of operating these accounts vis-a-vis the transaction limits, verification of documents, and impact on banks’ operations.

Transaction limits (Threshold) Without any doubt there would be occasions when the customer may exceed the transaction limit. It could either be deliberate or not. For example, in the case of the Lower Level Account (LLA), the customer can make a single deposit that exceed the N20,000 limit for single deposit, or he may make a deposit that makes his cumulative balance to exceed the N200,000 limit.

Furthermore, a third party can transfer money into his account, say, N50, 000, which exceeds the N20, 000 limits for single transaction. Also, he may have a cumulative balance of N185, 000, and a third party transfers N20, 000 into the account, thus increasing the balance to N205, 000, which exceeds the regulatory limit. In these circumstances what should the bank do?

Should the bank close the account, upgrade the customer to the next level account, which requires documentation and verification?

According to the CBN, customers that exceed the

MoU SIGNING: From left: Lee Zak, Director, United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA); Dr Teddy Ngu, Head, Corporate Development and Investment, Honeywell Group; during the MoU signing ceremony of the Sagamu Independent Power Project in Lagos.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION: Challenges of bank ownership simplification transaction limit should not be allowed to withdraw from the account, irrespective of the reason for exceeding the limit. Such customers should be moved to the next level account, and he/she must

,

MTN, Microsoft, Ecobank drive SME Financial Forum

Customers that exceed the transaction limit should not be allowed to withdraw from the account, irrespective of the reason for exceeding the limit

satisfy the documentation requirements of the next level account. But if the customer is unable to provide the required documentation, he/ she should be advised to operate the account within the limit, and should not be allowed to withdraw from the account beyond the cumulative balance. This implies that if the cumulative balance rises to N205, 000, the customer would not be allowed to withdraw more than the N200, 000, which is the limit.

T

on daily transaction or on cumulative balance. The customer can still operate the account, by making deposits.

But he or she cannot withdraw from the account.

The ideal thing for the

he CBN also made it clear that banks are not to reject deposits or transfer in excess of the limit on single deposit, either by the account holder or third parties. Also banks cannot close the account because it exceeded the limit

,

customer especially those on LLA, is that, immediately they open the bank account, they should begin the process of obtaining documentation to move to the next level (MLA), such that whenever they exceed the daily transaction limit or the cumulative balance, they can easily upgrade to the next level, and hence be able to withdraw their money. According to the CBN, the customer can operate more than one of these three types of accounts.

In other words, you can upgrade to the next level while still enjoying the lower level account, but within its transaction limits.

Verification of documentation The Medium Level Accounts

(MLA) and High Level Accounts (HLA) require documentation which must be verified by the banks. The acceptable documentation to ascertain the identity of the individual is National Identity card (issued by Nigeria Identity Management Commission), Drivers License (by Federal Road Safety Corp) and Voters card (by Independent National Electoral Commission. Should these documents be verified online through the website of the agency or through written letter (which may take a while)? Should banks verify information supplied by customers from all these agencies or just one of them?

These concerns are germane because it determines how quickly banks can open the account for the customer, and allow him to operate such. The apex bank advised that banks should do the verification online, and where the website of the agency is not available or functioning, or does not have capacity for such verification, banks should write to the agencies to verify the customer’s documentation.

The apex bank however stated that, “It is envisaged that, with time, all these institutions will improve on their database infrastructure to a level that will facilitate their active partnership in this project.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 23

Banking & Finance

PRE-AGM: From left, Mrs Abimbola Izu, Company Secretary /Legal Adviser Skye Bank Plc, Mr Timothy Oguntayo, Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Designate, Mrs Amaka Onuwughalu, Deputy Managing Director Designate, and Mr Dotun Adeniyi Executive Director, Enterprise Wide Risk Management, Skye Bank Plc at the Pre Annual General Meeting press briefing of the bank held in Lagos.

Skye Bank deepens market penetration with $150m fresh capital

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE & PETER EGWUATU

S

kye Bank Plc said that it has raised $150 million Tier 2 capital that would be deployed to deepen its market penetration and finance big ticket projects.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Skye Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo disclosed this during the bank’s pre annual general meeting press briefing held in Lagos. He said, “We are sourcing Tier 2 capital from development finance institutions based in Europe and as at today we have completed about $150 million

of that. One third of that should come in before June, while the balance should come in before the end of July. So our Tier 2 capital raising is going as planned and it should be available for use by the second half of this year. This will enable us deepen our penetration in existing markets, while also providing the avenue for exploring uncharted segments and other opportunities.”

He stated that the bank is committed to reducing its cost-to-income ratio, saying “ In a year beset with various regulatory headwinds on the backdrop of monetary policy tightening with attendant

impact on liquidity, cost, fees, and overall earnings, our results for the first quarter declined.

“Our operating expense increased during the review period by 17 percent, from N14.9 billion the previous year to N17.4 billion as a result of increased statutory payments and other operating costs."

He expressed optimism that the growth pattern would be improved upon in the remaining period of the financial year.

Oguntayo declared that the bank is committed to growing its deposit base especially savings deposit, stressing that its leadership is in e-

channels. “We have efficient Automated Teller Machines, ATMs deployed in our branches and we also have efficient internet banking service. We are also strong in Real Estate as well as Oil and Gas sectors.

Also, in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs sector, we have been playing active role in partnering with entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, nurture them up to the point of taking them to be quoted on the stock exchange, which is our target.”

The Bank boss noted that the bank recorded a growth in its net interest income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

The bank’s net interest income stood at N13.6 billion during the period as against the N12.1 billion it reported during the corresponding period in 2013. This represents a growth of 13.4 per cent.

Similarly, the bank’s operating income grew to N20.9 billion during the review period from N19.5 billion the previous year, an increase of 7 per cent.

However, the bank said its profit before tax declined from N4.6 billion during the first quarter in 2013 to N3.4 billion during the corresponding period in 2014. Profit after tax also decreased to N2.8 billion as against N3.7 billion the previous year.

FBN shareholders slam CBN, AMCON over charges, okay N35.8bn dividend

S

HAREHOLDERS of FBN Holdings Plc have lambasted the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON over charges levied on the bank.

They also unanimously approved the N1.10 proposed by the company as dividend per share for the year ended December 31, 2013. The proposed dividend represents an increase of 10 per cent above the N1.00 paid the previous year.

The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Sunny Nwosu said the shareholders were appreciative of the efforts

which the staff and management put in place to deliver increased returns on investment. We are really against the CBN and AMCON over the exorbitant fees they levied on our bank, reaping from where they did not sow. It is really painful and indeed unacceptable.”

Mr Goodluck Akpoborie, a shareholder said “The AMCON charges are just too high on our bank. If I knew that this was how it would be, I would not have given support for its establishment.

AMCON is just riping the banks unnecessarily and the new CBN Governor should look into it."

In the same vein, Chief

Timothy Adesiyan, President Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, NSSA said, “The AMCON charges are unwarranted. It is just unjustifiable, increasing it from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent. The banks are already battling with other operating expenses. With all these kinds of levies and sanctions, the CBN and AMCON are not helping the banks to position very well to increase profitability and enhance shareholders returns.”

On his part, Mr Boniface Okezie, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PSAN decried the huge sum of money being deducted by

AMCON from the group saying, “It is affecting shareholders’ investments and must be challenged. The CBN and AMCON are not friendly with shareholders and it is time they stop these charges because it is affecting our returns on investment. “ Speaking at the Annual General Meeting in Lagos, the Chairman, FBN Holdings, Dr. Oba Otudeko, said, “I am happy to confirm that the key actions we took in 2013 financial year were fruitful.

According to him, the diversification and strong natural synergies, in turn, reduced risk and improved the quality of the company’s earnings.

GT Bank named 2014 African Bank of the Year

G

uaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has been adjudged the “2014 African Bank of the Year” for the 2nd consecutive time by African Banker Magazine.

The African Banker Awards is one of the biggest annual events that recognizes and celebrates the achievements of the financial services industry in Africa. It recognizes individuals and financial institutions contributing to the development and growth of Africa’s banking industry and changing perceptions of the continent’s domestic and international markets.

Outlining the rationale for selecting GTBank as the overall winner of the coveted ‘African Bank of the Year’ award, the panel of judges commented that the award recognises financial institutions that are industry leaders, consistently report strong financial performance and significantly contribute to the quality of service offered by the financial services industry within their country and across the African continent.

AfDB grants $200m financing facility to Ecobank

A

frican Development Bank (AfDB) and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has signed a $ 200 million Trade Finance Facility agreement.

The facility was signed at an official ceremony held during the AfDB Annual General Meeting in Kigali by Mr. Albert Essien, Ecobank’s Group Chief Executive, and Mr. Alex Rugamba, Director, AfDB. The facility comprises a $100 million unfunded risk-sharing facility to bolster Ecobank’s capacity as an international confirming bank for trade transactions originated by issuing banks in Africa and another $100 million trade facilitation loan which will be used by Ecobank to provide trade finance support to local corporates and SMEs in Africa. Over a period of 3.5 years, the facility will support approximately $1.8 billion of trade transactions in Africa.

C M Y K

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Corporate Finance

U.S. commerce Secretary, Elumelu seek more US-Nigeria investments

T

he U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker and the Chairman of Heirs Holdings Mr. Tony Elumelu, have called for increased investments between the US and Nigeria.

Both leaders spoke at a gathering of business leaders in Lagos.

Pritzker, who is leading 20 American companies on an Energy Business Development trade mission to Ghana and Nigeria, said American companies would invest in countries that observe the rule of law, follow ethical standards and have good work environments.

“Nigeria needs to take the tough steps that allow businesses to truly thrive. Our companies want to do business in countries that follow the rule of law, maintain ethical standards, abide by workplace safety, encourage workforce training and protect intellectual property,” she stated.

She also maintained that Businesses must operate freely and devoid of unnecessary regulation, government interference and corruption.

Group launches data bank on performance

By CALEB AYANSINA

D

UE to inability of govern ment to develop a standard archive to check performance of each state, a group known as Legal Phobia has launched a data bank, where citizens can cross check achievements claimed by political office holders.

The Governance Impact Assessment Report, a compilation of all people-based projects, programmes and policies of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is geared towards holding political office holders accountable in the areas of infrastructural development and the well-being of the people.

Launching the report in Abuja, the Chief Operating Officer of Legal Phobia, Ibrahim Yeku believed that pragmatic governance must follow due diligence and be accountable to the electorate.

He said, "This is part of our objectives of rejuvenating the Nigerian project and reclaiming a political leadership that is accountable to the people.

C M Y K

From left: Head, Retail Banking Products, Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Sheahan Arasaratnam; Mrs. Teniade Macaulay, (N1 million award winner); and Head, Brand and Marketing, West Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Chima Nwuke, during the One Million Naira cheque presentation to Macaulay at Standard Chartered Bank, Head Office, Lagos.

FMDQ plans collaboration with NSE to increase market depth

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

F

MDQ OTC Plc is s e e k i n g collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, to introduce more tradable instruments in the financial FMDQ is a market.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s licenced window for trading fixed income securities in the Nigerian capital market.

It is also a self-regulatory organisation (SRO).

Speaking at the maiden licensing ceremony of FMDQ OTC dealing members in Lagos, where a total of 26 dealing members, comprising of 23 banks and three discount houses, were licensed, the Chairman, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said that such collaboration will help to increase the depth of the market.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who doubles as the Chairman, FMDA Board of Trustees, also emphasised the importance of regulation and compliance to extant rules by the dealers, saying that without compliance, there will be no effective market.

He noted that the event was a demonstration of the importance the OTC market attached to regulation, while assuring that FMDQ will continue to champion change in the Nigerian economy by promoting the

growth of financial markets within the nation.

“The importance of regulation and transparency in this market cannot be over-emphasised as FMDQ is a market for all stakeholders of the OTC market,” he said.

“Furthermore on regulation, compliance is paramount.

Without

compliance, we do not have an effective market. It is essential that the dealing members of FMDQ comply with the rules and regulations of FMDQ and those set by our regulators – the SEC, CBN and DMO. Cooperation with FMDQ in shaping good conduct of the participants is of utmost importance and should be

seen as our collective responsibility,” he added.

He explained that FMDQ is designed to be the link between investors, issuers and other stakeholders in the financial markets, saying that as a self regulatory organisation, FMDQ has positioned the Nigerian OTC market to become a highly trusted and respected financial hub of activity where expansion is encouraged, businesses are enhanced, performance is driven and stakeholders’ value created.

“To achieve this, FMDQ works closely with the market regulators and agencies from which it derives its authority towards adoption and enforcement of pre-existing rules and regulations of the respective regulatory agencies, formulation of new market rules, regulations and guidelines to strengthen the operations of the markets in consultation with the regulators and issuance of reports on market conditions and activity,” he stated.

The Acting governor of CBN, Sarah Alade, said that the emergence of FMDQ will enhance the liquidity, transparency and safety of transactions in the inter-bank market, adding that it will go a long way in strengthening long-term sustainability of the financial system.

She charged the management to among other things, strive for investors’ protection and education and ensure the observance of rules and regulations by its members, introduce best practices amongst its members

Standard Chartered Bank, others conclude $750m Edo power deal

S

tandard Chartered Bank and Azura Power Holdings Ltd have announced the completion of signing key industry contracts and confirmation on the debt financing of the flagship 450MW Azura-Edo Independent Power Project (“Azura-Edo IPP”) in Edo State, Nigeria.

The $750 million transaction is the first of a new wave of projectfinanced greenfield IPPs currently being developed in Nigeria.

The financing of the Azura-Edo IPP involves $220 million of equity and $530 million of debt from a consortium of local and international financiers. The announcement was made at a formal signing ceremony to mark the conclusion of the key project and financing agreements that form part of the wider

transaction.

The event also showcased the $300 million investment being made by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc (“Seplat”) in new gas processing facilities at its Oben Gas Plant, which, as part of Seplat’s joint venture with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, will supply the Azura-Edo IPP with the project’s fuel gas requirements.

In total, the investments by Azura and Seplat constitute over a $1 billion of local and international financing into the Nigerian gas and power sector.

Speaking on behalf of the Global Mandated Lead Arranger, Mrs. Bola Adesola, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, said, “We are proud to have played a leading role in structuring the financing for this ground breaking transaction, which

creates a template for other similar transactions. Our advisory, structuring and financial contribution to this transaction forms part of the bank’s USD2billion pledge to President Obama’s ‘Power Africa’ campaign launched last year, which aims to bring electricity to more than 20 million Africans within five years. We are on course to exceed our $2 billion target well ahead of time, which is more than 20 percent of the total private sector commitment.”

Also speaking at the event the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Honourable Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said: “The completion of this transaction marks a major step forward in the power sector reform process with the creation of a strong and robust model for project financed power sector transactions.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 25

Corporate Finance

CSCS cleared transactions worth N1trn in 2013 … Grows profit by 56%

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

he Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, has announced that the total value of transactions it cleared in the year ended December 2013 is worth more than $1 trillion.

This represents a 59.0 percent increase in the value

of equities cleared and settled over the preceding year.

The company also reported profit before tax of 4.82 billion, a 56 percent growth over N3.09 billion reported in the previous year.

The company ’s total revenue grew by 33.16 percent from N5.17 billion in

2012 to N6.8 billion in 2013 just as its expenditure decreased by 0.71 percent from N2.078 billion to N2.063 billion.

Addressing shareholders at the 20 th Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the Managing Director, Mr. Kyari Bukar, said the value of transactions settled within the year exceeded that of the previous year by 4.0 percent with net value of transactions amounting to N658.22

billion.

The record, according to him, makes a strong argument in favour of the fair price of Nigerian equities despite the reduction in the number of listed securities (equities, Bonds and ETFs) from 256 in 2012 to 254 in the year under review.

He noted that CSCS recorded downturn in activities relating to clearing and settlement of fixed income securities, owing to

the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) action in December 2013 of withdrawing the clearing and settlement function of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities (FGN Bonds and Nigerian Treasury Bills) for Deposit Money Banks and Discount houses from CSCS. “Currently, the CBN performs the function of clearing and settlement of these securities through its newly established Central Securities Depository.

Dangote Sugar to increase production capacity to 2m metric tons … pays 60kobo dividends

By NKIRUKA NNOROM & WILLIAM JIMOH

D

angote Sugar Refinery, DSR, said it has begun implementation of sugar development plan that will result in production capacity increase from 1.5 million to 2.0 million metric tones per annum over the next five to 10 years.

Addressing shareholders at the company’s 8th Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the Chairman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the development will further consolidate the company’s position as the largest sugar producer in West African region.

“This plan is pursuant to the introduction of the Federal Government’s National Sugar Master Plan in Nigeria and is targeted at the production by your company of 1.5million to 2.0 million metric tones of sugar per annum from locally grown sugar cane within the next five to 10 years,” he said.

H e explained that the company has taken great care in the preparation of the sugar development plan with their operations being structured to include an increased focus on the company ’s backward integration project.

Looking ahead, Dangote said DSR has a robust growth agenda driven by the backward integration development plans.

“As we commence this journey, our priority remains to consolidate our clear leadership of the sugar industry in Nigeria. We will work to ensure ongoing operational efficiency to drive continued growth across our markets,” Dangote assured.

Meanwhile, shareholders at the meeting unanimously approved payment of N7.2 billion dividend, which translated to 60 kobo per share, earlier recommended by the Board of Directors.

Some of the shareholders, who spoke at the event, commended the board and management for the positive performance recorded in the 2013 and the dividend of N7.2 billion recommended for year.

Speaking on behalf of other shareholders, Nona Awoh, Chief Sola Abodurin of Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association, and Mrs. Bisi Bakare of Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said various strategies put in place by the board and management made the company to overcome the challenging operating environment and deliver improved bottom-line. .In his report, the Group Managing Director of DSR, Mr. Graham Clark said the company’s master plan is being developed against the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan, which is a corner stone of the Federal Government policy.

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C M Y K Company Oil and Gas and Products Petroleum Prod ucts Capital Oil Plc 1st fTier Securities AGRICULTURE Crop Production FTN Cocoa Processors Plc Okomu Oil Palm Plc Presco Plc Livestock/Animal Specialities Livestock Feeds Plc CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. Levents Nigeria Plc Chellarams Plc John Holt Plc SCOA Nigeria Plc Transnational Corporation UACN Plc

Opening Price (N) 0.50

Daily Stock Market Report Closing Price (N) 0.50

Opening Price N

Quantity Traded 100

Year High 0.50

Year Low 0.50

HEALTHCARE Medical Supplies Morison Industries Plc Healthcare Providers Union Diagnostics & Clinicals Services

0.09

0.50 32.30 35.30

3,000 492,527 414,505

0.50 24.58 8.30

0.50 14.53 6.40

0.10 7.33 2.75

50.00 2.77 4.37

3.03

3.00

2,789,945

0.66

0.48

0.11

15.00

1.52 3.95 1.21 5.06 3.73 57.00

1.45 3.95 1.27 5.06 3.89 58.00

60,000 10 1,500 1,000 18,172,516 212,587

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 1.82 42.50

1.45 6.43 5.89 5.52 0.50 28.70

0.16 0.31 0.00 0.35 0.24 6.89

5.18 20.74 0.00 15.77 3.64 4.14

5.30 1.25

5.30 1.25

31,443 366,200

4 2,720,390.38

20

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Non-Building/Heavy Construction Julius Berger Nig Plc Roads Nigeria Plc

72.00 8.46

72.00 8.46

147,861 6,166

62.26 8.28

32.96 3.01

Real Estate Investment Trusts Skye Shelter Funds Union Homes Real Estate Investment CONSUMER GOODS Automobile/Auto Parts DN Tyres & Rubber Plc

P.E. Ratio

0.50 34.00 35.10

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction/Structure ARBICO Plc Constain (WA) Plc

Real Estate Development UACN Property Development

E.P.S.

Sim Capital Alliance Plc Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc UBA Capital Plc

Pharmaceuticals Ekocorp Plc Evans Medical Plc Fidson Healthcare Plc Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig May & Baker Nigeria Plc Neimeth International Pharm Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc Pharma-Deko Plc

10.11 2.26

17.80

17.80

239,562

20.15

11.59

1.69

7.33

95.00 47.59

95.00 47.59

4 70

100.00 -

97.00 -

11.75 -

8.51 -

98.33 22.41 2.42

1.91 0.50 3.72 2.70 2.60 67.00 1.60 1.07 7.36 1.57

Quantity Traded

Year High

Year Low 103.50 10.64 0.03

10.56 0.87 0.21

9.71 18.03 6.71

2.23

785

10.54

9.52

0.00

0.00

0.50

60,250

0.50

0.50

0.00

0.00

3.72 2.70 2.56 67.00 1.67 1.02 7.36 1.57

162 505,030 3,046,313 21,551 194,950 481,265 2,150 571

5.31 1.45 3.20 23.11 5.61 1.96 12.91 200

5.31 0.70 0.83 2.58 3.61 0.95 0.95 4.28

0.19 0.44 2.62 0.20 0.09 0.00 0.00

0.57

1,319,400

0.52

0.50

0.10

10.00

0.50

0.50

1,100

0.50

0.50

0.00

12.50

15.99 1.97

16.83 1.97

5,098 15,000

9.31 3.59

3.25 3.25

0.00 0.01

1.43 0.00

0.50

0.50

3,602,000

50,000

0.50

0.50

4,000

1.47

0.50

0.00

0.00

19.85 10.00 37.51 9.89 222.98 0.50 1.06 110.01 4.86 1.50 10.00

19.90 10.00 37.51 9.70 223.62 0.50 1.06 112.50 4.10 1.50 11.00

4,623,468 318,331 18,445 854,196 2,803,848 2,000 13,098 2,219,400 20 200 123,564

30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 0.75 3.51 48.05 5.28 3.36 13.40

12.00 8.10 15.16 4.16 95.00 0.50 1.02 36.58 5.11 0.51 10.93

2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 7.56 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.44 0.23 0.00

7.86 4.97 8.88 2.31 13.17 0.00 0.00 42.86 14.19 2.89 0.00

1.61 2.70

1,883 2,717,101

6.91 3.60

ICT Telecommunications Starcomms Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials Ashaka Cement Plc Berger Paints Plc CAP Plc Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc Dangote Cement Plc First Aluminium Nigeria Plc DN Meyer Plc Lafarge WAPCO Plc Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Premier Paints Plc

0.50

14,000

0.50

0.50

0.00

0.00

20 72,525 167,840 2,013,799 10,000

4.63 255.00 7.10 100.00 1.01

2.23 186.00 5.23 72.50 0.93

0.00 9.95 0.41 5.08 0.00

0.00 19.98 16.29 22.22 0.00

Beverages-Non-Alcoholic 7-UP Bottling Company Plc

85.80

85.80

90,019

51.49

,39.00

2.69

13.92

Food Products Dangote Flour Mills Plc Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc Flour Mills Nigeria Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc National Salt Co. Nig Plc UTC Nigeria Plc

Tools and Machinery Nigerian Ropes Plc

7.46

7.46

10

8.69

8.26

8.00 9.51 70.00 4.00 12.75 0.50

8.00 9.85 70.50 3.85 12.75 0.53

170,490 1,922,503 638,233 1,443,557 1,707,523 85,088

19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 6.70 0.88

4.31 4.02 57.00 2.31 3.80 0.50

0.00 0.91 4.09 0.39 1.01 1.13

16.91 14.38 16.89 16.92 5.75 8.83

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals BOC Gases Plc

5,413

9.20

6.80

Food Products-- Diversified Cadbury Nigeria Plc Nestle Nigeria Plc

73.84 1,080.00

73.84 1,080.00

143,245 26,821

37.27 840.10

8.33 400.00

Household Durables Nigerian Enamelware Plc Vitafoam Nig. Plc Vono Products Plc

32.27 4.11 1.66

32.27 4.11 1.58

60 1,131,280 10

36.19 5.54 2.88

33.96 2.91 2.88

13.89 0.61 0.00

2.44 7.07 0.00

Personal/Household Products PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc Unilever Nigeria Plc

34.83 49.53

34.83 49.53

188,383 276,200

41.02 47.39

21.02 27.60

0.82 1.44

4.39 32.91

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking Access Bank Plc Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Fidelity Bank Plc First City Monument Bank Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Skye Bank Plc Sterling Bank Plc UBA Plc Union Bank Nig. Plc Unity Bank Plc Wema Bank Plc Zenith Bank Plc Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Sector African Alliance Insurance AIICO Insurance Plc Continental Reinsurance Plc Cornerstone Insurance Company Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc Equity Assurance Plc Goldlink Insurance Plc Great (Nig) Insurance Plc Guinea Insurance Plc International Energy Insurance Plc Investment and Allied Assurance LASACO Assurance Plc Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc Linkage Assurance Plc Mansard Insurance Plc Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd Niger Insurance Co. Plc OASIS Insurance Plc. Prestige Assurance Co. Plc Regency Alliance Insurance Sovereign Trust Insurance Staco Insurance Plc Standard Alliance Insurance UNIC Insurance Plc Unity Kapital Plc Universal Insurance Plc Wapic Insurance Plc Microfinance Banks Fortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc Mortgage Carrier, Broker and Sector Abbey Building SOC Aso Savings and Loans Plc Resort Savings & Loans Plc Union Homes Savings Plc Other Financial Institutions Africa Prudential Plc Crusader (Nigeria) Plc Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc FBN Holdings Plc Nigeria Energy Sector Fund Royal Exchange Assurance

9.10 6.39 15.34 2.05 4.75 28.15 3.26 2.25 7.19 10.20 0.50 0.94 23.25

9.30 6.50 15.13 2.08 4.75 27.68 3.33 2.27 7.20 10.20 0.50 0.99 23.41

5,886,912 5,845,262 666,718 8,161,644 865,336 8,989,369 3,860,852 3,539,698 13,836,068 601,798 202,100 6,162,268 7,196,977

12.39 7.51 14.04 3.47 5.70 26.09 6.50 3.05 7.69 10.60 1.22 1.75 21.49

4.70 1.92 9.90 1.13 2.90 13.02 2.65 0.80 1.64 2.34 0.50 0.52 11.96

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.00 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 1.34 2.09

8.73 8.34 5.00 7.93 0.00 12.39 9.15 5.43 11.19 0.00 0.00 0.43 10.24

0.50 0.83 1.02 0.50 0.50 2.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.41 0.50 0.80 0.50 0.51 0.57 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.81

0.50 0.81 1.07 0.50 0.50 2.06 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.41 0.50 0.81 0.50 0.51 0.55 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.81

1,000 218,633 515,040 157,414 50 9,054,578 100 93,000 330,000 2,200 19,777 1,670,890 15,000 3,200 151,500 83,513 200 3,421,230 255,200 300,000 500,000 200 12,100 1,000 20,000 45,000 10,100 1,000,000 159,276

0.50 1.11 1.03 0.54 0.50 2.44 0.50 0.68 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.60 0.50 2.59 0.54 0.81 0.61 0.50 1.01 0.50 0.56 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.08

0.50 0.50 0.58 0.50 0.50 1.08 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.06 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.00 0.50 0.14 0.02 0.50 0.28 0.01 0.00 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.00 0.37 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.07

0.00 22.20 6.79 27.30 10.00 7.43 50.00 0.00 16.67 50.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 0.00 16.67 16.19 0.00 2.19 26.00 16.67 15.50 12.50 5.65 0.00 0.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 15.43

6.27 1.03

6.27 1.12

1,000 4,280,192

6.00 1.18

0.00 0.92

0.04 0.92

150.00 10.56

1.35 0.50 0.50 0.50

1.35 0.50 0.50 0.50

80 101,100 202,200 3,125

1.57 0.50 0.50 0.50

1.37 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.19 0.02 0.00 0.00

47.6 7 25.00 0.00 0.00

3.25 0.50 0.99 13.65 552.20 0.55

3.11 0.50 0.99 13.90 552.20 0.55

3,269,739 22,000 500 11,015,210 20,545

0.75 0.50 2.02 20.00 250 0.78

0.00 0.50 2.02 8.57 552.20 0.50

0.19 0.00 0.00 2.03 12.68 0.13

9.16 0.00 0.00 9.85 43.55 6.00

9.05 14.13 0.00 0.00

0.63

13.79 178.50 25.75 176.13 0.77

27.61 32.84

88.50 0.00 3.07

Computers and Peripherals Omatek Ventures Plc

0.50

1.35 25.43

P.E Ratio

103.50 15.69 1.41

13.79 178.50 25.50 173.50 0.77

Beverages-Brewers/Distillers Champion Breweries Plc Guinness Nigeria Plc International Breweries Plc Nigerian Brew Plc Premier Breweries Plc

E.P.S

15,358 419,471 8,893,276

ICT Computer Based Systems Courteville Investment Plc

IT Services NCR (Nig) Plc Tripple Gee and Company Plc Processing Systems Chams Plc 4.11 4.73

Closing Price N

103.50 22.41 2.42

as at Friday, May 23, 2014

Packaging/Containers Avon Crowncaps & Container Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company

1.61 2.74

5.94 1.47

0.5 0.25 0.00

0.78

39.60 9.16 0.00

6.47

6.47

Metals Aluminium Extrusion Ind Plc

7.37

10.50

10.50

50

12.39

10.70

0.13

85.77

Non-Metalic Mineral Mining Multiverse Plc

0.50

0.50

2,100

0.50

0.50

0.01

0.00

Paper/Forest Products Thomas Wyatt Nig. Plc

0.79

0.79

1,000

1.38

1.38

0.00

0.00

Electronic and Electrical Products Cutix Plc Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc

1.90 0.50

1.90 0.50

723,831 10,000

2.50 2.58

1.62 2.58

0.11 0.00

13.15 0.00

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Se Abbey Building Society Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Packaging/Containers Abplast Products Plc Beta Glass Co. Plc Nampak Nigeria Plc Poly Products (Nig) Plc Studio Press (Nig) Plc W.A. Glass Ind. Plc

1.44

1.44

2,000

1.51

1.33

0.03

28.80

3.98 17.07

3.98 16.22

6,888 80,736

3.98 15.58

3.98 12.71

0.00 3.90

0.00 3.26

4.30 1.05 2.92 0.63

4.30 1.05 2.78 0.66

29,198 200 84,311 2,749,340

4.30 1.86 2.92 0.63

3.60 1.05 2.92 0.63

1.22 0.30 0.07 0.00

3.52 6.18 41.71 0.00

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services Japaul Oil & Maritime Service

0.50

0.50

1,723,530

0.97

0.87

0.19

6.06

Intergrated Oil and Gas Services Oando Plc

18.28

20.00

17,573,308

78.97

27.99

1.73

4.17

20.50 0.50 46.74 169.20 124.90 51.49 156.00

20.50 0.50 46.74 186.54 130.00 51.49 156.00

82,191 609 35,492 318,012 84,468 4,015 33,617

37.10 0.70 5.59

0.50 0.50 3.89

4.93 0.00 0.61

7.40 0.00 6.99

163.50 2,100 240.00

141.00 63.86 195.50

6.11 2.98 14.63

11.11 19.23 17.07

0.50

0.50

200

200

0.50

Petroleum and Petroleum Products African Petroleum Plc Beco Petroleum Plc Conoil Forte Oil Nig Plc Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc MRS Oil Nigeria Plc Total Nigeria Plc Hospitality Tantalisers Plc SERVICES Afromedia Plc Automobile/Auto Part Retailers RT Briscoe Plc Courier/Freight/Delivery Red Star Express Plc Trans-National Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC Hotels/Lodging Capital Hotel Ikeja Hotel Plc

0.01

0.50

30

0.72

1.04

1.09

556,567

3.65

1.30

0.21

8.19

4.50

4.50 2.20

27,400 2.31

3.67 1,000

2.65 0.25

0.60 11.12

4.91

0.50

202,000

1.64

4.55 0.90

10 3,466,527

400 2.07

0.50 4.55 0.86

0.51

0.90 3.00 1.33

0.00

0.04 0.34 0.92

12.75

11.25 34.09 2.12

Media/Entertainment Daar Communications Plc

0.50

0.50

15,000

0.50

0.48

0.00

0.00

Printing & Publishing.

Academy Press Plc Learn Africa Plc Studio Press Nig. Plc University Press

1.71 1.73 2.40 4.16

1.71 1.71 2.40 4.03

1,000 339,000 540 525,861

3.68

0.25

12.19

0.00 6.82

3.17 0.30 0.00 3.60

0.54

27.69

Road Transportation Associated Bus Company Plc

0.83

0.81

1,151,200

0.80

0.50

0.00

0.00

Speciality Interlinked Technologies Plc

4.90

4.90

1,995

5.15

4.90

0.00

0.00

Transport-Related Services Airline Services and Logistics Plc Nigerian Aviation Handling Company

2.25 5.00

2.25 4.99

192,050 252,484

2.78 11.75

1.57 6.50

0.60 12.53

4.22 8.75

26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Capital Market

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 27

Commodity index May 16 -May 22, 2014

C M Y K

28 —Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Interview

M

r. Ikpong Umoh, is the Chairman, Toiletries and Cosmetics (T&C) group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). He spoke on the recent appointment of the new Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), the failure of Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme and numerous challenges facing the Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector of the economy.

Excerpts The Federal Government has just appointed Mr. Rasheed Adejare Olaoluwa, as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BoI). What do you think is the task before him?

The task before him is to restructure the programmes of BOI to accommodate new SMEs in order to enhance job creation. For Nigeria to achieve tangible economic growth and development like advanced countries, we need many SMEs to spring up across every part of Nigeria. The bank no doubt plays a role in terms of interest rate, because BOI charges lower interest rates ranging from six to eight per cent. It deals with single digit interest rate and the companies getting loans are allowed to use the money over a year before they begin to pay back, but that is not enough.

So far, how has BOI impacted on the SMEs subsector?

The bank has not impacted positively on many SMEs, especially in the area of startups. For instance, about 130 manufacturing companies, mostly toiletries and cosmetics closed shop in Nigeria in the past few years, yet we have a financial institution like BOI. The bank is only targeted towards existing firms and nothing tangible is done to assist new SMEs that are just coming up in the sector. Also, the bank gives loan only for equipment as well as expansion but nothing for raw materials, forgetting that machinery alone does not make a firm.

Some years back the Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme was established to nurture the growth of SMEs. How useful has this scheme been over the years?

The Scheme was set up through the initiative of the Bankers’ Committee, to reinvigorate SMEs in the C M Y K

SMEs investment scheme, a total failure — MAN "BOI must restructure to nurture new businesses"

granted a bail-out of N200billion to the real sector. How has SMEs benefited from this fund?

I have not seen the money. I do not know of any SME operator in T and C group of MAN, who has benefited from it.

Government should publish the names of the companies that collected the money for everyone to know. This is the only way we could ensure transparency in the system.

Mr. Ikpong Umoh

country. Under this scheme, all commercial banks were to set aside their 10 per cent profit before tax, for investment in the industry, based on equity participation. Meaning that, if an SME operator approaches a bank, such bank ought to assess the total network and organisational structure of the company to determine the amount of investment in that firm in order to invest more in it.

Assuming the total investment capacity of the company is N100million, the bank is expected to bring in another N100million and its director to be on the Board, to monitor the activities of the company for a specific period.

After a while, the firm would repay the bank the money brought in on equity basis for a period of five years.

Once that is done, the bank would remove its director for the firm to stand on its own.

The scheme was a total failure because banks did not understand the workings of SMEs. They wanted a quantum leap in business but SMEs do not work like that.

The banks assumed everything was high in terms of big pay for the bank director, official car and renovation on ground, not knowing that SMEs require slow and steady process not quantum leap in the market. So, when money came in, they used it to pay high salaries while the business suffered. The banks' scope of planning did not fit into the business structure of SMEs.

What measures should government put in place to turn around the SMEs subsector?

Government should jettison toxic economic polices capable of destroying our economy. Such policies include global listing, policy on Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and the move by government to ban tokunbo vehicles.

These polices are working against our economy in various ways. For instance, the policy on global listing has paved the way for us to have over 90 per cent foreign made cosmetics products in Nigeria, whereas these products could be produced locally to create more jobs.

Foreign investors do not come to Nigeria and build factories, rather they are foreign importers, who obtain licenses under global listing chain and import foreign products from their parent companies abroad to Nigeria. You could see how they are working against us.

Now, the foreign investors that are asking government to ban tokunbo cars are trying to do the same thing. They want to monopolise the economy while local firms go under.

Some foreign investors would come to Nigeria without money. They come here only for banks to team up and syndicate loans to them to kill our economy. Today, we use foreign cosmetics that are not developed according to our skin and climate and nobody is saying anything. Our government must wake up to Are you saying that its responsibility for our payment of salaries was economy to move forward.

Government should assist wrong?

No, payment of salaries was local manufacturers to thrive not the problem. The issue and create jobs for our people was about the salary and stop looking for foreign structure. For instance, a investors who are only small scale business must interested in their own have operated with a salary economic interest. structure of N500.000, but the Cosmetics and toiletries bank director came in and fixed a salary structure of business is one of the fastest N1.5million. That greatly growing in the world, why is affected the marginal Nigeria lagging behind?

Nigeria is lagging behind increase realised by the company. At the end, the firm because of toxic economic could not optimise reasonable policies and lack of outputs to stay afloat in transparency in the system.

Government lacks the political business. will to take decisive actions on The Central Bank of certain issues. Who would Nigeria (CBN), under salvage this situation and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, bring a plain level playing

,

By UDEME CLEMENT

Assuming the total investment capacity of the company is N100million, the bank is expected to bring in another N100million and its director to be on the Board, to monitor the activities of the company for a specific period

,

field, so that local cosmetic manufacturers can thrive and rank among the top 20 cosmetics in the world? In the last 20 years, Global Beauty Market has grown on the average by 4.5 per cent a year. In some countries like the US, Germany, China, Japan and Britain, the annual growth rate ranges from around 3 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

In Africa, countries like South Africa and Nigeria experienced strong growth in the last 10 years and should achieve stable and continuous growth in the years to come.

It is estimated that by the year 2017, the Global personal care market would have grown to about $630billion in value. In Nigeria, the major beneficiaries of this growth are the foreign- made cosmetics firms. Foreign products occupy almost all the major shelves in the open markets and supermarkets.

Our policy on global listing for super and hyper markets has become the “new iron curtain”, which ensures that the indigenous cosmetic manufacturers are screened out of the current and future boom.

Looking at the activities of SMEs in 2014, do you think government is doing enough to rejuvenate the sub-sector?

Well, efforts are being made by government to grow the SMEs but the policies and programmes mapped out only operate on paper and nothing on ground to stimulate industrial growth. Even agencies established to nurture the growth of SMEs operate only in Abuja, without offices and field officers in strategic locations within the country.

For example, Nigeria Industrial Revolution programmes was launched recently by government, to kick-start industrial revolution in the country. The current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga, went to Brazil and signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazilian government to partner with Nigeria in reviving SMEs. A lot have been done on paper but nothing practical to fast track development of the subsector.

The situation we are experiencing in this country is terrible. Up till now we do not have electricity for businesses to thrive despite the privatisation of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 29

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Homes & Housing Finance

UK mortgage lending leaps 36%

U

K mortgage lending in April was 36 percent higher than a year ago, a lenders’ group says, as a major bank moves to cool the housing market in London.

Gross lending was up 8 percent compared with March to an estimated total of £16.6 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The data includes the first week of implementation of new mortgage rules. The regulations, introduced by the City watchdog - the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), came into force fully on 26 April but some lenders were already applying the new rules. They ensure that lenders conduct a full affordability check on mortgage applicants.

The extra time required for lending assessments was expected to slow down the mortgage market, and there have been falls in the number of mortgage approvals in recent months.

Although total lending rebounded April, to the highest level for any April since 2008, the CML said it was too early to be accurate about the effect the new rules would have.

Lagos land transactions revenue drops 18.3%

T

he revenue generated form land transactions by the Lagos State government dropped by 18.3 percent to N8.4 billion in 2013 from N10.28 billion recorded in 2012.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who gave out the figure, said “the resultant shortfall arose as a result of a reduction of about 40 per cent in the revenue expected to be generated from transactions on state land and capital contribution.” He however said government hopes to generate more revenue in 2014 through property re-certification and transactions on some state land.

Muri-Okunola also said a total of N1.6 billion was paid as compensation to residents whose properties were acquired for infrastructure development in 2013.

According to him, the compensation was paid for the execution of six major projects among which are the Itire/Okota Link Bridge and the Agbowa Housing Scheme in Epe. He said the money was paid to facilitate easy resettlement of owners of such acquired properties.

C M Y K

SON to partner stakeholders in tackling building collapse

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

S

t a n d a r d Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is ready to work with manufacturers of building materials, professionals, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders in the housing sector to tackle the recurring incidence of building collapse in the country.

Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who was represented by an official of the organisation, Mr. Adeoye Onipede, at an event in Lagos, said collaborative efforts of all relevant stakeholders are required to curb the menace. He also said there is a need for massive education and enlightenment campaigns on the dangers of building collapse and the need to adhere strictly to good ethical and professional practices.

“It is a well-known fact that the strength of reinforced concrete depends on the proportion of cement, sand, stone and iron rod in it. Here, the professional bodies also have critical roles to play.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria will continue to work with experts and relevant stakeholders to ensure that

Prefab houses: Easy and fast to construct the benefits of standardisation are actualised and ensure a structurally safe environment to all Nigerians,” he stated.

The SON boss said his organisation has stepped up enforcement actions, noting that most of its state offices have been equipped with mobile block testing machines to monitor the quality of sancrete blocks across the country. “Modern pieces of

equipment are being installed in our laboratories as effective and efficient testing facilities,” he said.

Odumodu said standardisation and quality assurance play very important roles in putting up an enduring building that will not collapse. According to him, building collapse usually occur due to factors or combination of factors

‘Access to affordable housing can curb corruption’ C

orrupt practices and inefficiencies in handling government transactions can be greatly reduced by facilitating easy access to affordable housing by workers in the public service.

Executive Secretary, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Dr Hannatu Fika, made the observation during a courtesy visit to the Managing Director of Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), Mr Sonnie Ayere, in Abuja.

NMRC was launched in January this year by President Goodluck Jonathan to boost mortgage financing in Nigeria for housing

delivery and home ownership schemes as well as reduce all impediments to a sustainable and dynamic housing market.

Fika also noted that without proper motivation of public servants to drive the policies and programmes of government, private sector organisations will also be incapacitated. She said her board is committed to delivering 1,000 housing units out of the government’s targeted 10,000 units this year for public servants if given the opportunity.

She said the template of the board is risk free and the repayment option is made easy for the off takers and the mortgagers. “The new mortgage refinance will serve as a vehicle to actualise the dream of transformation

agenda as it affects the housing sector especially for public servants,” she stressed.

In his response, Ayere described the visit by the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board was timely, especially with the renewed vigour for effective housing delivery by government. He however expressed reservation on the current three percent interest rate charged by the board, saying it is not market driven.

Ayere counseled that with the high demand for housing loans by public servants from the board, it will be better to look at an option that is market driven, achievable and sustainable. He called for the board to partner with the Federal Mortgage Bank of

including the use of low quality building materials; employment of incompetent contractors; non- enforcement of existing laws; poor work ethics of Nigerians; and lack of adequate enforcement of relevant regulations by town planning authorities. Others are cost-cutting tactics by building owners; unethical practices perpetuated by the professionals involved in the construction process; and poor supervision at the construction stage.

He said the alarming rate of building collapse in recent times in various parts of the country is worrisome to the public at large as well as to professionals in the building and construction industry government, and particularly put a burden on SON for checks and balances. “Over the years, SON has set the pace towards facilitating industrial development through standardisation by focusing on improving product quality and promoting enforcement of quality regulations, and enhancing competitiveness against imports at the domestic market. SON is prepared to sustain this fight with the support of all professionals and other government agencies that have been collaborating with us until the objective is achieved. These, of course, include the fight against substandard building materials,” he stated.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 31

Insurance

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

A

recent survey carried out by Accenture has revealed that the insurance industry could tap into huge revenue potential only through a deliberate transformation and positioning of the sector.

The survey tagged: Consumer Innovation Survey on Insurance, demonstrated convincingly that insurance customers want relevant, convenient and cost-efficient products that address their buyer values and needs.

The survey showed that the predominant insurance product uptake by 1.5 per cent of the population that is insured is motor value insurance.

Another survey across several geographies indicateed that 67 per cent of customers would consider buying insurance from organisations other than traditional insurance companies, while indicating that insurers must take the offensive, make some bets and take some calculated risks to attract and acquire new customers and to retain the customers they already have.

According to the survey, “The revenue potential that is at play for the insurance industry is significant but will only be realised through deliberate transformation and positioning that enhances all channels and experiences.

“Companies that transform their technologies as well as underlying business models will be equipped to deliver the experiences that customers will increasingly expect and demand. Only true digital transformation at a strategic level will let customers define their own experiences rather than simply provide products for them to buy.” Accenture recalled that the EFInA, Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2012 survey confirmed that: while 28.6 million adult Nigerians are currently banked, representing a banked population of 32.5 percent of the adult population, only 1.3 million adults, 1.5 percent of the population have personal insurance; As a result of the deliberate collaborative strategy and individual actions by banks to focus on specific unbanked and under-banked groups, the banking sector is well on track to dent the financial exclusion trap and to increase banking inclusion to 80 percent by 2020. The insurance industry in Nigeria is over-concentrated on C M Y K

Premium pension takes retirement forum to South East

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

P

FORUM: Managing Director, CFG Advisory , Tilewa Adebajo; Managing Director Standard Chattered Bank Plc, Bola Adesola ; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Guinness Nigeria Plc, Seni Adetu and Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Sesan Sobowale at the Ogun State Investment Forum held in Abeokuta

How insurance industry can actualize revenue potentials, by Accenture intensively competitive, oversold and narrow-margin corporate underwriting, dominated by brokers while under-serving and under developing personal risk underwriting.

The same report indicated that the areas where risks are experienced which in turn imply a high need for insurance have extremely low insurance uptake.

Accenture said, “There is an opportunity for the insurance industry to translate the areas of acknowledged need to effective demand for risk cover.”

Some of its key finding showed that insurance must be ‘sold’ and the driver for growth in insurance is effective selling predicated on clear customer segmentation and customer centric strategies; also that optimal sales performance insurance is achieved by knowledge-based customer insight, enabled by the combination of distinctive sales methods and supporting sales tools.

On youths and insurance, Accenture said, “With the demography of the Nigeria population, clearly a successful digital positioning

will be necessary for insurers to realize the opportunities offered by the younger generation.”

Accenture is an outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

Combining unparalleled e x p e r i e n c e , comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become highperformance businesses and governments.

Street presence: Guinea Insurance partners CIIN

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

G

uinea Insurance Plc has entered into a strategic partnership with the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) to ensure that the recently held “street presence” exercise in Lagos, was seamless and successful.

The company said that the move is part of its resolve to support growth and development in the industry.

Accordingly, the company hosted the pre-walk reception of the institute’s members at its new corporate head-office at Jibowu, where the pre-walk

aerobic exercise and health tips were held shortly before the road show commenced to the destination point – National Theatre, Iganmu last week.

In a letter to the company signed by the Director General of CIIN, Mr. Kola Ahmed on behalf of the President/Chairman of the Council, Mr. Fatai Lawal, the Institute thanked the management of Guinea Insurance, noting that, “our bid to bring innovative idea to this year ’s event in partnership with your everprogressive company and

well-known brand had propelled the need for the change in venue this year.”

Meanwhile, Divisional Director, Corporate & Legal Services, Guinea Insurance Plc, Isioma Omoshie, in a speech during the pre-walk exercise, expressed gratitude to participants for attending this year ’s exercise en masse and further reiterated the company’s commitment to continually support the Institute and industry in general. “Our partnership with the Institute is in sync with the repositioning programme of the company.

remium Pension Limited has taken its interaction and collaboration between the retirees whose pension is managed by the company to the South East geopolitical zone of the country recently.

The retirees’ forum organized by the company was held in Owerri, Awka and Enugu.

In a statement, the company said that the retirees in the southeast look strong and healthy and even employable.

Managing Director of the company, Mr. Wilson Ideva said, “There is no better testimony to the success of the contributory pension scheme than the good looks and evident good life of the retirees under the scheme.”

Ideva said that the return on investment by Premium Pension Limited has continued to be above 12 percent, in other words, above inflation for the past three years. “We salute the vision of those who set up the contributory pension scheme in Nigeria. This is one government policy that has been consolidated and begun to yield dividends within a short time,” he said.

He pointed out that with the continued increase in the return on investments, retirees would have to benefit more in the near future.

In his comment, Head of the South East Zonal Office of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr. Eneh Michael Ejiofor described the retirees’ forum as reflective of industry best practice and demonstrative of the high premium placed on retirees

by Premium Pension Limited and the contributory pension scheme.

“As a matter of right, your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) must continuously be enlightening you on the developments in the management of your RSA and the industry in general.

The pension industry is already huge and would even be greater in the next few years. Funds under management in the contributory pension scheme is one of the most protected in the world,” Ideva said.

C M Y K

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 33

Business & Economy

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r David MacRae is the former Ambassador and Head of European Union Delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) between 2010 and 2013.

In this chat with Financial Vanguard, Dr MacRae, whose involvement with Africa as an economist, aid official and diplomat, goes back over many years, speaks on sundry issues including corruption. He advises that resources from the oil sector should be invested wisely in basic infrastructure and human capital development.

Excerpts: Corruption is said to be one of the greatest problems in Nigeria and many are of the opinion that government is not handling it the way it should. How do you advise that the Nigerian government and people tackle this hydra-headed monster?

Corruption is of course not confined to Africa but it is true that Nigeria has acquired an unfortunate reputation as a country where corruption is especially bad.

This perception discourages inward investment, thus reducing development opportunities. It even affects the way Nigerians are viewed by the outside world which is unfortunate when, as those of us who have been living here for some time know, most Nigerians are decent people who deserve to be treated better.

T

he government has in place an anti-corruption programme which includes c o m m u n i t y

Invest oil revenue in infrastructure, human capital devt —DAVID MACRAE zBureaucracy, corruption hamper businesses

,

BY EBELE ORAKPO

The closer policymakers come to adopting an approach to the management of oil wealth the way the Norwegians have done, the better it will be for Nigerians

awareness. Effective implementation of this programme would go a long way in dealing with the problem but this r e q u i r e s improvements in the justice system which is a serious challenge. It is important to take measures to improve the effectiveness of the judicial system and to ensure that corruption cases are dealt with speedily and effectively with no prospect of impunity for offenders.

Based on your experiences of living in Nigeria and other places you have lived in Africa, what is your impression about Nigeria’s business environment?

It is expensive to do business in Nigeria. Security costs are high. Power is deficient. Infrastructure is seriously deficient.

Businesses can be hampered by bureaucracy and corruption at all levels. The legal system is also seriously

,

defective. Despite these obvious deficiencies, it is a tribute to the inventiveness and skills of the Nigerian business community and businessmen that it has been possible in recent years for the economy to register significant growth year on year.

This is due in large measure to the oil sector. It is highly desirable that a major effort is made to direct the resources from the oil sector into much needed investment in human capital and basic infrastructure, and to open up the economy to international

Dr. David MacRae trade and especially to take advantage of the West African market. This is an enormous subject but, in a nutshell, the closer policymakers come to adopting an approach to the management of oil wealth the way the Norwegians have done for instance, the better it will be for Nigerians.

In what way would you encourage investment in Nigeria?

In trying to answer this question, I am not only mindful of the state of the business environment but also the perception of Nigeria to the outside world. These are the challenges.

On the more positive side, I would draw on my experiences as a former ambassador here. Firms from countries of the European Union have been investing in Nigeria over many years making the EU the biggest

Cover Story

investor in Nigeria. To draw attention to this fact, and to encourage further business investment in Nigeria, the EU now organises the EUNigeria Business Fair each year in Lagos. This is expected to become increasingly important in future. One of the themes has been to project Nigeria as a SME-friendly country as SMEs are key in developing supply chains and creating jobs.

A market which is not SMEfriendly cannot deliver on development. EU-connected SMEs possess high levels of business and technological know-how and are constantly looking for investment opportunities around the world. The Fair not only highlights the riches of Nigeria (its resources, people and market) but also the positive concrete trends which make Nigeria a place of choice.

AMCON: Stakeholders bicker over lifespan, performance Continued from page 21 he said, “You cannot eat your cake and have it. This is because if AMCON had not come in, those shareholders wouldn’t have any money today. So what AMCON is doing is to make the banks themselves pay for being rescued. I can tell you that all the banks were rescued but some were rescued more than others. Some were forced to clean their balance sheets; fortunately, they had enough assets to be able to clean their balance sheets so they were not on the rescue list.

“Some did not have enough assets; they had negative balance sheets.

There is hardly any bank that will say it went scot-free. That 0.5 per cent

which is as long as AMCON exists is like paying insurance for a major illness that would have killed you.

So the shareholders should understand that it is a very small price to pay. In any case, 0.5 per cent of assets of banks, is very small and shareholders are paid money based on their equity and it’s like 10 per cent of the total assets of the banks.

“Is it in any way affecting the profits that banks are declaring? Yes of course, what is taken should affect the profits of the banks but you can see that banks are declaring more and more profits despite that and they are able to do that because the enabling environment has been put in place by the CBN and the NDIC

and the AMCON who are making available the stabilizing instruments.“ He noted that even though “the National Assembly has approved that AMCON will go on for another 10 years, we must realise that they are not going to be buying more liabilities. They are going to just spend the time winding down, selling off all these bad loans until they can sell as much as possible. They said their target is 80 per cent but if they achieve 50, 60 per cent, they have done very well compared to other asset management companies all over the world.”

He added that, "AMCON bought the debts at at very low prices. For

instance, if they bought a debt from you that has no collateral, they only bought it for 5 per cent, so even if they don’t sell it, they wouldn’t lose more than 5 per cent but sometimes they can sell it for 100 per cent or 10 per cent or 15 per cent, which is why they are achieving 112 per cent. So they might be able to achieve 80 per cent but what has really happened is that they bought it at very low prices and they are trying to achieve certain levels for high prices.

So in the end really, if it’s well managed, AMCON would have done very well. And whoever brought the idea has done a good job.

C M Y K

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Appointment & Promotions vicahiyoung@yahoo.com 08033348923

Caverton announces Ileoma new CFO

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AVERTON, one of Nigeria’s leading providers of support solutions to local and international oil companies across aviation and marine services, has announced the appointment of Mr. Samuel Ileoma as its Chief Financial Officer, CFO. The appointment took effect May 2, 2014.

Ileoma brings extensive financial and operational leadership experience to Caverton having worked at senior management level at various multinational companies including BJ Services, DiageoGuinness and Baker Hughes.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

His professional career started with Peat Marwick (now KPMG) in 1987 from where he joined Mobil Producing Nigeria as an accountant.

He served as the pioneer Finance manager for BJ Services between 1991 and 1995 after which he was seconded to the UK office in Aberdeen.

The CFO moved to DiageoGuinness in 2000 as Manager of West Africa Audit and Risk Management and served in that role for six years, when he

undertook several assignments across Africa, Europe and Australia.

Mr Ileoma also worked at Baker Hughes and more recently at Bristow Helicopters as Compliance Manager for the West Africa Strategic Business Unit.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Bode Makanjuola Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Caverton said “I am pleased to welcome Mr.

Samuel Ileoma as CFO. He brings on board a wealth of comprehensive financial experience spanning over 2 decades. His track record for success and broad understanding of aviation services will be very valuable to our company as we focus on growing revenues and increasing margins within the oil and gas servicing sector, one of the fastest growing industries in Nigeria”.

Hotel and Catering institute elects Gabriel president

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igerian Hotel and Catering Institute, NHCI, has elected Mr. Gabriel Adebayo Ayodele as its new President.

A fellow of the Institute and Controller, Marketing and Sales of Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Ayodele is saddled with the responsibility of running the organization for the next one year at an election held during the 13th

AWARDS: From left: Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Walter Drenth, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Emmanuel Oriakhi, Marketing Manager, Consumer Market Intelligence, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Charles Chijide, President Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN; Babu Akinbobola, Chairman, Media Link and Ita Bassey, Senior Brand Manager, Star lager beer, at the 8thExhibition and Poster Awards in Lagos

Annual General meeting NHCI in Lagos.

His predecessor and immediate past president, Mr. Bola Jaiyeola, General manager, Business Development Odua Investment Limited, now represents the Institute at the National Council of Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria, FTAN. Other fellows of NHCI elected into the new council include Mallam Aminu Kabo, first Vice – President, Mrs. Bola Dada, second Vice – President and Alhaji Gbenga Dau’ud Sunmonu as Third Vice-President.

To further strengthen the foremost hospitality Institute, about six notable professionals representing interests in the hotel and tourism Industry were appointed.

They are Mr. Kazeem Durosomo, a fellow of NHCI and the Institute of Hospitality, United Kingdom, representing the Hotel sector, Mrs. Angella Kachukwu representing Hospitality and welfare sector, Col Beatrice Echenzu (rtd) representing institutional sector.

Others include, Mrs. Ebere Onu of Imo state University, representing the education sector, Mrs. Olabisi Onala, from the office of Chief of Staff, Lagos State Governor’s office, representing the corporate and industrial sector and Mr. Clement Izuogu, representing the oil and Gas sector.

Airtel appoints regional operations directors for Lagos, North I N line with its commit ment to develop local talents as well as create leadership opportunities for exceptional Nigerians, leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the appointment of Mr. Femi Oshinlaja and Mr. Wole Abu as Regional Operations Director for its Lagos and Northern Regions, respectively.

In their new roles, the duo will be responsible for ensuring market leadership, driving brand engagement and preference as well as providing leadership for the sales force in the Lagos and Northern operations.

Abu comes into his new role with over 23 years of working experience, with skills built across various functions spanning Human Resource and Administration, Networks, Operations, Legal & Regulatory and Sales & Marketing. He joined Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria) in 2002 as Facilities Manager in the Human Resources and Administration Department from C M Y K

where he was transferred into the role of Project Manager: Network Implementation in the Networks Department.

As part of his attributes of taking new challenges, he was promoted and transferred into the role of Head of Division, Business Support and Regional Sales Manager in Celtel Nigeria and Zain Nigeria, respectively. Abu has also played the role of Zonal Business Manager in both South and Lagos Regions of Airtel Nigeria. He possesses a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Benin and an MBA from the Lagos Business School.

Oshinlaja has over 12 years work experience as a Sales, Marketing and Business Operations professional across the Banking, FMCG and Telecoms sectors. Having worked for Multinational firms namely British American Tobacco, Nokia and Diageo, he has also had the opportunity of working in Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

Prior to his appointment, he was National Key Accounts Manager

in the Nigeria Bottling Company (Coca-Cola Hellenic). Before then, he was the Channel Development Manager in British American Tobacco Marketing & Distribution Company, where he won the channel game against Philip Morris by implementing a competitive strategy in the ‘HORECA’ space.

As National Sales Manager in Diageo, he was instrumental to the set-up of the new Spirits business in Nigeria and within the first year of trading, he led the sales team in exceeding their annual

operating plan. At Nokia Nigeria he was responsible for the implementation of retail plan for product availability, merchandising and promotion in all outlets, which consistently achieved volume and net Absolute Gross Margin.

He holds a B.Eng. degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ilorin. He is also an Associate member, National Institute of Marketing, Nigeria.

U.S. states probe eBay cyber attack EBay Inc came under pressure last week over a massive hacking of customer data as three U.S. states began investigating the ecommerce company’s security practices.

Connecticut, Florida and Illinois said they are jointly investigating the matter. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested eBay provide free credit monitoring for everyone affected.

Details about what happened are still unclear because eBay has provided few details about the attack. It is also unclear what legal authority states have over eBay’s handling of the matter.

Vodacom Business wins 2014 ICT awards

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odacom Business, Nigeria has won both the Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year and the Cloud Service Provider of the Year categories at the Beacon of ICT, BoICT, Awards.

The ceremony took place in Lagos.

The BoICT Awards is an annual ceremony which recognises stakeholders, contributions and commitments to the growth of the Nigerian ICT industry.

This year, over 250,307 Nigerians voted in different categories with Vodacom Business Nigeria emerging winner of the Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year category for the second year running.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 35

Tax Matters

By EMBUKA ANNA

T

axation is arguably as old as mankind. In his book, Income Tax Law and Practice in Nigeria, Ola, C. S. said apart from revenue to the government, taxation is important to everyone and taxes collected come back to the taxpayers in the form of social amenities. Almost everything we own and use for personal or investment purposes is a capital asset.

Examples include a home, personal-use items like household furnishings, and stocks or bonds held as investments. Capital gains are the profits realized from the sale of assets at a price that is higher than the purchase price. When a capital asset is sold, the difference between the cost sale and the sales price is a capital gain or a capital loss. You have a capital gain if sales price is higher than cost of sale. The reverse is the case for a capital loss.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a type of tax levied on capital gains accruing to individuals and corporations. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and State Boards of Internal Revenue are responsible for the administration of the CGT in Nigeria. It is a tax applicable to capital gains accruing to any person (company or individual) on the disposal of a chargeable asset. Capital gains taxes are triggered when an asset is realized, not while it is held by an investor.

An investor can own shares that appreciate every year, but the investor does not incur capital gains tax on the shares until they are sold.

Not all disposals are subject to CGT; only chargeable assets are. Chargeable assets are all forms of property, including options, debts and any form of property created or acquired by the person disposing it, or otherwise coming to be owned without being acquired.

Landed properties and buildings are the main income yielding assets in Nigeria.

Most countries’ tax laws provide for some form of capital gains taxes on investors’ and individuals’ capital gains, although CGT laws vary from country to country. In Nigeria, CGT was originally introduced by the Capital Gains Tax Act of 1967 with a rate of 20% but effective from 1998, the CGT rate was revised down wards to 10%.

The legislation currently governing taxation of capital gains is the Capital Gains Tax Act CAP C1 LFN 2004.

Capital gains are excluded from taxation under the Companies Income Tax Act

The CGT – An Untapped Revenue Goldmine (CITA) to avoid double taxation since such gains are subject to tax under the CGT Act. Assets situated outside Nigeria are chargeable to CGT on the amount received in or brought into Nigeria. In the case of a non-resident, CGT is charged on any part of the gains received or brought into Nigeria.

Disposal to a Connected Person

W

hen a taxpayer transfers his capital asset to say, his wife, this is seen as a transaction between ‘connected persons’.

In this case, the chargeable gains will be calculated on the basis of the market value of the asset at the date of transfer.

Section 24 of the CGT Act, 2004 provides that a person is ‘connected’ if: That person is the individual’s spouse.

A trustee of a settlement with any individual who in relation of the settlement is a settler.

A person is connected with any person with whom he is in partnership and with any person the spouse or relative of any person with whom he is in partnership.

A company is connected with another company if: The same person has control of both or he and persons connected with him has control of the other.

Where a group of two or more person has control of each company and the group either consists of the same persons or could be regarded as consisting of the same persons by treating a member of either group as replaced by a person with whom he is connected.

A company is connected with another person if that person has control of it or if it and that person connected with it together have control of it.

Any two or more persons acting together to secure or exercise control of a company shall be treated in relation to that company as connected with another and so will any person on the directions of any of them to secure or exercise control of the company.

C

apital gains is the net consideration accruing to a person on the disposal of capital assets after the sum of the total consideration and expenses for acquiring the asset has been deducted. It is arrived at by deducting from the proceeds accruing to any person on disposal the following:

EXAMPLE: Ola sold his property for N150,000 on the 2nd of June, 2005.

He incurred the following expenses in the course of the sale: Adverts (online and print): N 8,000 Legal service charge: N15,000 He bought the property on 13th December, 1981 at N60,000 and incurred the following expenses: Agency: N10, 000 Renovation : N 10, 000 .

Here is a computation of the amount of CGT due from Ola: N N Proceeds from sale: 150,000 Less expense: Adverts: 8,000 Legal service charge: 15,000 Agency: 10,000 Renovation: 10,000 (43,000) Net sales proceeds: 107,000 Less cost of acquisition: (60,000) Gains 47,000 Capital Gains Tax = 10% of N 47,000 The amount or value of the consideration (in money or money ’s worth) given wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in providing the asset.

Expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred on the asset for the purposes of enhancing its value being expenditure reflected in the state or nature of the asset at the time of disposal.

Expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred on the asset in establishing, preserving or defending the title or right over the asset.

The incidental cost of making the disposal, incidental costs of the acquisition of the asset or of its disposal includes fees, commissions or remuneration paid for professional services of any surveyor or valuer or auctioneer or accountant or agent or legal adviser and cost of transfer or conveyance including cost of advertising.

Expenses Allowable and Computation of CGT

E

xpenses allowable as a deduction in computing the gains or losses of a trade, business, profession or vocation for income tax purposes are not to be deducted in the course of determining the applicable CGT. So also are premiums or other payments made

under a policy of insurance against the risk of any kind of damage or injury to lose or depreciation of any asset.

This does not prevent the deduction of expenses allowable in the computation of capital gains under the CGT if the assets have qualified for capital allowances.

According to Ayua, I. A. in his book, The Nigerian Tax Law, the above position on deductions is to the effect that capital gains are liberally calculated for the purpose of the CGT law. In practice, capital gains are calculated by deducting the total cost of acquisition from net sales proceeds.

Exemptions

T

he CGT Act exempts gains accruing to the following: Ecclesiastical, charitable or educational institutions of public character.

Any statutory or registered friendly society.

Any co-operative society registered under the Trade Union Act, in so far as the gain is not derived from any disposal of any asset acquired in connection with any trade or business carried on by the institution or society and the gain is applied purely for the purpose of the institution or society as the case may be.

Gains accruing from any local government council.

Companies being purchasing authorities

established under any law in Nigeria empowered to acquire any commodity in Nigeria for export.

Superannuation funds (pension provident or other retirement benefits fund, society or scheme approved by the Joint Tax Board under Section 20 (1) (f) of the Personal Income Tax).

Decorations, stocks and shares (the Act provides that where a person disposes a decoration awarded for valour or gallant conduct which he acquires otherwise than for consideration in money or money ’s worth, such is not a chargeable gain. The Act also recognizes disposal of Nigerian government securities, stocks and shares as nonchargeable gains).

Reliefs

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o prevent double tax e l i e f on disposed assets, the Act provides that relief would be given in respect of replacement of business assets, compensation for assets lost and destroyed and in respect of delayed remittances from abroad.

The relief would be in the form of tax deferred. r

Offences and Penalties

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ith regards to the FIRS’ jurisdiction, offences and penalties under CGT is as provided for by Part VI of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007. On failure to deduct or remit taxes, Section 40 of the FIRSEA 2007 provides that “any person who being obliged to deduct any tax under this Act or the laws listed in the First Schedule of this Act but fails to deduct or having deducted fails to pay to the Service within 30 days from the date the amount was deducted or the time the duty to pay arose, commits an offence and shall upon conviction be liable to pay the tax withheld or not remitted in addition to a penalty of 10% of the tax deducted or not remitted per annum and interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria minimum rediscount rate and imprisonment for a period not more than three years”.

On general penalty, Section 49 (1) stipulates that “any person who contravenes any provisions of this Act for which no specific penalty was provided, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N 50,000.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both fine and imprisonment”.

C M Y K

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE, UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE, UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND, UNIVERSITYOFBIRMINGHAM, UKAND SOOCHOWUNIVERSITY, SUZHOU P.R. CHINA ADMISSION INTO FOUNDATION PROGRAMMES 2014/2015

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for the Foundation Programmes offered by the University of Lagos in the 2014/2015 Session. Students who have two A-level passes, HND holders and graduates of recognised Institutions are exempted from the entrance examination and may be considered for admission into the Foundation Programmes.

Highly successful candidates after an examination administered by the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB), are eligible for consideration for direct admission into the 200 Level of the Degree Programmes of the Universities through JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board), or admission into either the University of Bedfordshire, University of Central Lancashire, University of the West of England and University of Birmingham, UK and Soochow University, China. This is strictly a non-residential programme.

The University will provide an intensive one-year taught Foundation courses of study in the following Faculties:

(A) ARTS (08037118691) (i) Linguistics, African & Asian Studies (Yoruba, Igbo) (ii) Creative Arts (Theatre Arts, Music, Visual Arts) (iii) English (iv) History and Strategic Studies (v) European Languages (French, Russian) (vi) Philosophy (B) BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (+234-8078053979) (i) Accounting (v) Industrial Relations & Personnel Management (ii) Actuarial Science (vi) Insurance (iii) Finance (iv) Business Administration (C) EDUCATION (+234-8023810802) (i) Adult Education (xii) Education Mathematics (ii) Educational Administration (xiii) Education Physics (iii) Education Biology (xiv) Education Yoruba (iv) Education Chemistry (xv) Christian Religious Studies (v) Education English (xvi) Islamic Religious Studies (vi) Education French (xvii) Human Kinetics & Health Education (vii) Education Geography (xviii) Business Education (viii) Guidance & Counselling (xix) Education Economics (ix) Education History (xx) Technology Education (x) Education Igbo (xxi) Home Economics (xi) Education Integrated Science (xxii) Early Childhood Education (D) ENGINEERING (+234-8055556945) (i) Chemical Engr. (vi) Mechanical Engr. (ii) Civil & Environmental Engr. (vii) Petroleum & Gas Engr. (iii) Surveying & Geoinformatics (viii) Computer Engr. (iv) Electrical & Electronics Engr. (ix) Systems Engr (v) Metallurgical & Materials Engr.

(E) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (+234-8023166473) (i) Architecture (iv) Quantity Surveying (ii) Building (v) Urban & Regional Planning (iii Estate Management (F) LAW (+234-8023132114) (G) SCIENCE (+234-8023288606) (i) Biochemistry (viii) Marine Biology (ii) Botany (ix) Mathematics (iii) Microbiology (x) Physics (iv) Zoology (xi) Geophysics (v) Cell Biology & Genetics (xii) Geology (vi) Chemistry (xiii)Fisheries (vii) Computer Sciences (H) SOCIAL SCIENCES (+234-8033304512) (iv) Political Science (i) Economics (ii) Geography (v) Psychology (iii) Mass Communication (vi) Sociology (I) PHARMACY (+234-1-8023004426) (J) COLLEGE OF MEDICINE (+234-8023059033, +234- 8023014284 & +234-08023034954) (i) Dentistry (vi) Medical Laboratory Sciences (ii) Medicine (vii)Nursing Sciences (iii) Physiology (viii) Radiography (iv) Physiotherapy (v) Pharmacology SOOCHOW UNIVERSITY, CHINA, PROGRAMME: Medicine (only) Enquiries 090993621958; 08086757464 UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE (U.K.) PROGRAMMES: (Enquiries – 09093621958; 0806757464) Accounting, Advertising, Biomedical Science, Business Studies, Computer Science, General Media Studies (Mass Communication), Law, Marketing and Psychology.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE (U.K.) PROGRAMMES: (Enquiries09093621958; 0806757464) Business Related Programmes: Business Administration, Business Studies, Business Information Systems or Technology, International Business, International Fashion Management, Management and Marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Business Management, Business Operations Management, Retail Management (with options).

Economics-Related Programes: Economics, Business Economics Law-Related Programmes: Law, Human Rights, Law and Criminology.

UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND (UWE), BRISTOL (Enquiries – 09093621958; 0806757464) Science-Related Programmes: Biomedical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Human Biology, Conservation Biology, Sports Science, Forensic Science, Forensic Biology, Forensic Chemistry.

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UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM PROGRAMMES (Enquiries–09093621958; 0806757464) Chemical Engr, Civil Engr, Electrical & Electronics Engr, Mechanical Engr, Materials Science and Technology ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS A minimum of FIVE credits (English Language and Mathematics and three relevant subjects) obtained in one sitting at the SSCE/WASC, GCE/O/L, NECO with results obtained before registration. Note that Engineering, Computer Sciences and Mathematics candidates require credit in Further Mathematics. Candidate must be 16 years and above by September 2014.

PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETING FOUNDATION PROGRAMMES EAPPLICATION FORM - Visit the University of Lagos website, click on the Foundations link Go through the subject requirements page to confirm if you are registrable for your proposed course Complete the Pre-application page to obtain a payment reference number (PRN), using the applicant’s names Make payment at any branch of the underlisted banks with the payment reference number (PRN) * Access Bank *Ecobank *First Bank *GTbank *UBA Plc *Union Bank *Wema Bank *Zenith Bank - Return to the University website, click on the Application Form Link, Login with PRN and applicant’s surname in lowercase as password - Complete the application form, print two copies, stamp and sign them at your faculty, submit a copy of the form at the faculty coordinator’s office and come along with a copy for the entrance examination on 8th - 13th September, 2014 Cost of Application Form(including online free practice tests): =N= 25,000.00 (excluding Bank Charges) N.B.: Please read the information and Guildelines for completing the application forms online to determine if you are registrable for your proposed course ¾ The Application opens on Thursday 22nd May, 2014 and Closes on Wednesday 20th August, 2014. ¾ Submission of printed application forms to the Foundation Coordinators at the Faculties: 22nd May -20th August, 2014.

Conduct of Examination: Computer-Based Testing (Please check the Unilag Website a week before the examination to verify your venue and examination date).

Examination Dates: 8th - 13th September, 2014 Venue: .Check the University of Lagos Website by Monday 25th August, 2014.

Mode of Examination: All Questions are Multiple Choice. x(xamination subjects are: Mathematics, English Language (20 questions each) and 3 other relevant subjects of 15 questions each that is, a total of 85 questions to be answered in 1 hour. xStudents to Report at designated venues - 7.00 a.m. for Verification Examinations begin at 9.00 a.m.

Results:- Results will be released on the University website and at the Faculties on Monday 29th September , 2014.

Registration: Starts 6th October, 2014 Period of Programme: 6th October, 2014 - 30th June, 2015 All Enquiries are to be made to Director, Foundation Programmes 09093621958; 08086757464; 08039193089:08123800468; (Please call between 11a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday - Friday) PARTNERING UNIVERSITIES

Dr. (Mrs) Taiwo F. Ipaye, MNIM Registrar & Secretary to Council

C M Y K

SOOCHOW UNIVERSITY, SUZHOU, P.R. CHINA

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 37

E - Commerce

Africdeals.com pledges commitment to reliable, efficient online shopping Stories by JONAH NWOKPOKU

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ounder of Africdeals.com, Mr. Deji Adeoni, has said that his e-commerce company, Africdeals.com will provide seamless, efficient and reliable online shopping for variety of items for online shoppers across the African continent.

He said he conceived the idea of an e-commerce site with international standard in 2009 to offer reliable online shopping experience and provide an alternative for Africans who shop overseas.

Speaking with newsmen at the just concluded Offshore Technology Conference, OTC, Adeoni said Africdeals.com, launched May 1, 2014, sells consumer electronics like computers, cameras, toys, accessories, adults and kids clothing, designer handbags and whatever can be found on the website.

"If you don’t find it there, you can place an order. The rea-

UNVEILING: From left, Tawanda Gumbo, Transnational Leader, Deloitte; Folake Ani-Mumuney, Head Marketing, First Bank and Junior Achievement Nigeria, JAN Ambassador; Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO, PAGA, JAN Ambassador and Kunbi Wuraola, Executive Director, JAN at the unveiling of JAN in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

son is because most merchandise that come into Nigeria and most other African countries lack quality and are mostly being sold for the price of the originals. The quality and standard is way different from what you get in the United States and a few

other countries that have standard quality and control measures in place?,” he said.

Adeoni explained that Africdeals.com was created so that Africans, especially Nigerians can shop and have their items delivered within three weeks of pur-

chase.

“If Nigerians go to Amazon and other foreign e-commerce sites to shop, they won’t ship it to Nigeria because they don’t trust us but as indigenes of Nigeria, I understand the market very well.

“The creation of Africdeal.com is to enable Nigerians go to our website, shop and purchase whatever they want to buy and we ship directly to them in Nigeria.

Our prices are competitive compared to what one can get on

Amazon and BestBuy, for example, and one can be rest assured that one is getting the right quality,” he said. , Adeoni also noted that the quality of its merchandise will help build customer confidence in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

Konga.com, Infinix offer car reward to online shoppers

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igeria’s online m a r k e t p l a c e , Konga.com in collaboration with device makers, Infinx will reward loyal shoppers in the month of May with an opportunity to win a brand new Hyundai i10 and other gift vouchers.

In a statement, Konga said, “To win the car, customers have to purchase the new Infinix 8s tablet on Konga.com.”

It said the tablet is exclusive to Konga.com and if one buys it, one will get a free Bluetooth headset including a free 100 per cent bonus data for twelve months from MTN. Commenting on the offer, Konga’s Head of Marketing, Gabriel Gab-Umoden said, the offer is part of the marketplace's commitment to driving online shopping and boosting access to tablet in Nigeria.

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Agric Business

BY JIMOH BABATUNDE

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ormer Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has emphasised the need to invest in technology to modernise agriculture in Africa and increase access to affordable finance for smallholder farmers.

He said this is required to increase productivity.

Obasanjo, who spoke as a member of the Africa Progress Panel at the ongoing Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank holding in Kigali, noted that though few farmers have access to finance, the cost of it is still excessively high with interest rates ranging between 18 and 20 per cent.

“There is no way farmers can make it at that rate of interest unless they are producing cocaine,” he said, underscoring the need to provide affordable financing to farmers.

Obasanjo added: “Agriculture should not be seen just as a development project – it should be seen as a business. Whether you are talking of small scale or medium size – this is very

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productivity enhancement through support to research; and sector capacity-building and knowledgesharing on appropriate development policies for the sector in Africa, has helped to improve agricultural productivity and competitiveness in the region. Viswanathan Shankar, the Group Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas, observed that since the majority of Africans depend on agriculture, investing in the sector is critical to reducing inequality and creating jobs. He noted that access to finance can be improved by investing in the entire agriculture value chain.

In her remarks, Claire Akamanzi, the Chief Operating Officer of Rwanda Development Board, said Rwanda has managed to sustain growth in agriculture reduction on average at 8 per cent over “Improving agricultural the last decade due to the productivity is not rocket Government’s heavy science. People know what to investment in the sector, do – the question we must ask including ensuring access to is why people are not doing financing for small farmers. it?” he said, pointing out that Over the past few decades, a several countries, including growing concern about SubCape Verde and Rwanda, are Saharan Africa’s agricultural already demonstrating the sector has been its poor possibilities for agricultural performance in terms of growth. The AfDB, through its productivity and yield of main investments in rural food staples, as well as market infrastructure; agricultural

Obasanjo, others urge African govts to boost agric productivity important. African farmers are living in antiquity by the material that they use, including inadequacy of infrastructure and poor access to markets. This should not be so.”

Speaking at the interactive session, Donald Kaberuka, President of the AfDB, emphasized that increasing productivity in agriculture is critical for sustainable development and .poverty

AFAN to distribute 18,540 tonnes of fertiliser to farmers in Gombe

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he All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Gombe State chapter, says it will distribute 18,540 tonnes of fertiliser to farmers in the state.

Alhaji Gambo Sarkin-Noma, the Secretary of the association, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe that the commodity, which would be given on loan, would be interest-free.

He said that the association was just awaiting clearance from the state government before it commenced the distribution of the commodity.

Sarkin-Noma said that the fertiliser would be distributed to only bonafide farmers in the 114 wards of the 11 local government area of the state.

The AFAN secretary said that the initiative was the product of collaboration between the state government and JAIZ Bank, aimed at improving both farming activities and the economy of the state.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 39

Advertising, Media & Marketing

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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he differences between former Nigerian Institute of Marketing, NIMARK and Chartered Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, CIMN members have been finally laid to rest, as both factions decided to form a unified force.

Speaking at a press briefing to announce the unification in Lagos, the president of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN, the umbrella body of marketers in Nigeria, Ganiyu Koledoye, said that he is glad the NIMN factions are laying to rest their differences to form a common front in the interest of the marketing profession and the Nigerian economy at large.

He stated that the crux of economic growth is marketing which he described as creative and optimum utilization of resources Koledoye who said the “Institute is born again” noted that soon there will be a uniform structure in the institute signaling end of three years squabbles between the two factions, a situation he agreed affected the reputation of the institute.

Speaking on the economy, the NIMN president stated that the $68 billion investment commitment by foreign investors at the World Economic Forum in Abuja would help propel Nigerian and other African economies.

He further said that if the investment is channeled to

Things Customers Hate – Part 4 CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

H Third left: Head of Marketing, Mr. Norden Thurston; Pepsi Music Ambassador, Tiwa Savage with Nigerian Idol season 4 contestants during the Pepsi Day Out with Contestants in Lagos recently.

Feuding marketing associations bury hatchet, to form unified force agriculture, education, mining and infrastructure, especially electricity generation, the African economy would stand on good pedestal for global competition.

According to him, “I will like to narrow it down to education in particular because we would like to drive Nigeria’s economic development through

education because the economy cannot be developed by people who lack the idea to progress the country positively”, he said.

According to the marketing professional, the WEF for Africa forum was important as it focused on the critical sectors Nigeria and the rest of Africa need attention to become more competitive in the global market.

La Casera empowers distributors with N60m

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he La Casera Company has committed N60 million to enhance the services of its distributors.

The company said the investment is to help the distributors contribute their quota to the growth of the economy by providing more employment for Nigerians through the sale of the La Casera brand.

The company which rewarded its loyal distributors for performing exceptionally well in the 2013 trade year, tagged Distributors Conference 2014 in Lagos, saw the presentation of awards to distributors who distinguished themselves in enhancing sales for the company in the previous year.

The distributors also went home with prizes ranging from Ford Ranger vans that will aid them in the distribution of the products to cash prizes amounting to C M Y K

Not knowing the price of your product ave you met a frontline person who didn’t know the price of their product(s)? I have met quite a number.

And I think it’s rather unprofessional not to know the price of the product you sell. Your price list should be within easy reach at all times since you may not be able to memorise all prices, especially if you have many products or if prices change often. But even then, you are likely to remember the prices of your fastest moving products, if you make the effort.

N60million, according to their performance in the previewing year.

Speaking, the Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Dileeban Ponniah, said: “I am highly honored to be here to celebrate, recognize and reward our esteemed distributors who have

consistently shown great loyalty to our company with their unflinching support to our growth and aspirations.

Ponniah, continued, “Your immense efforts have contributed to the phenomenal growth of the company, and we are indeed proud and thankful to be associated with you”.

Search for Top 50 brands in Nigeria begins

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he attempt to search for the Top 50 brands in Nigeria has begun in earnest. Organisers of the annual search for 50 most popular and top of the mind brands in Nigeria, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, through the Project Coordinator, Taiwo Oluboyede, at the press briefing to herald the second edition of the search serves as a media for recognition and classification of brands performance in the market.

According to him, recognition of the brands include rating and information, the avenue, he said, also serves as a means of celebrating brands that have gained significant brand equity overtime, whilst having good market share.

Not knowing what is happening in the organisation I have met a number of frontline people who didn’t know who was responsible for what in their organisations. I have also met those who didn’t know what products had arrived and what promotions were running, even when such promotions were being advertised in newspapers or on company website.

Indeed, the frontline person is not always to blame. Sometimes people in Marketing run programmes without informing the customer-contact employees. When this happens, you can expect very poor outcomes.

Complaining about the workload Some of us are perpetual complainers. If you have such people serving customers, they will definitely display their complaining behaviour on the frontline. For those who complain about their workload, even to customers, my advice is: go get a less demanding career. Serving customers professionally is hard work. And customers want to be served; they are not interested in anybody’s workload issues.

Chatting away on the phone Gossiping, giggling or chatting away on the phone while a customer is waiting is really not the way to go. Customers perceive those who indulge in such behaviour (and their organisations) as unserious.

Dressing shabbily or indecently We won’t launch into a homily about what constitutes indecent or shabby dressing. You should know what is acceptable within your society or even among the class of customers you serve. I think the dressing of those who serve customers ought to conform to a certain level of dignity. Avoid being offbeat.

“It’s five o’clock. I’m about to leave. Please come tomorrow” Many of those who work in ministries, government departments and agencies still use this kind of expression, in spite of the SERVICOM initiative to make public service a lot more responsive to the needs of the public. They are perpetual time-watchers although they are never “on seat,” as the saying goes. Ironically, the ideals of SERVICOM have found more expression on the posters on notice boards and office doors than in the attitude and behaviour of many public servants!

If a customer comes at 5 pm, when you think your work is done, don’t dismiss them with a wave of the hand. I suggest you go the extra mile. Give them some attention. You know the extra mile actually begins when you have done your bit. If you can serve a customer today, why ask them to come back tomorrow?

“My boss is too busy to attend to you now” Secretaries or Personal Assistants (PAs) to top executives are good at saying this. Those who speak in this manner miss the point. The boss may be too busy to attend to other people, but not his customers. Reason? He is still there because customers spend enough money to keep him on the job!

What are those things you don’t like as a customer? To share them on this page, send an email to: allwellnwankwo@gmail.com. TO BE CONTINUED.

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

The narrative, this week, will answer questions on the impact of a stronger naira exchange rate such as N80:$1 on critical economic indices like inflation, interest rate, fuel subsidy, national debt and job creation. The discussion is as follows:

Why do you believe that a stronger naira is better for the economy?

Historical evidence clearly confirms that the trajectory of deepening poverty in Nigeria correlates loyally with depreciation of the naira exchange rate from stronger than 1:1 in the 70s and early 80s to current market rate of about N160:$1. In reality, a much stronger naira should yield more benefits to our economy, and halt deepening poverty; conversely, any naira depreciation will further fuel inflation, deepen poverty, and widen the already huge gap between the rich few and the poor masses.

So, how does naira exchange rate affect inflation?

Inflation is generally defined as excess money chasing too few goods; in other words, inflation will be restrained, when optimal naira values exist in the system. For example, the

Advantages of a stronger Naira substitution of naira allocations for say, $1bn distributable revenue at a rate of N160:$1 will increase the actual naira stock in the banks by N160bn, while commercial banks could leverage almost ten-fold on this amount, to compound the burden of surplus naira in the economy.

Conversely, additions to already bloated money supply from monthly naira allocations would be reduced by at least 50% to just N80bn, if the same $1bn allocation was exchanged at a stronger rate of, say, N80:$1.

Consequently, inflation will fall with a stronger naira rate, as there would be less surplus naira chasing available goods and services; lower inflation rates will increase the purchasing power of all income earners, while also reducing production cost.

Indeed, economic best practice inflation rate is often less than 2% in successful economies. In reality, our current inflation rate of 8% means that static income earners (e.g. pensioners) will lose 40% of their incomes’ purchasing power every five years.

Does a stronger naira positively affect interest rate?

In the earlier article “Should the Naira be Devalued”, we explained that existing high interest rates are the result of CBN’s selfinfliction of surplus naira on the economy.

We also explained that systemic naira surplus increases with lower naira exchange rates; thus, a stronger exchange

rate of, say, N80:$1 will reduce the level of disenabling excess naira by at least 50%.

In such event, CBN will not become compelled, for fear of inflation fueled by surplus naira, to sustain disruptively high Monetary Policy Rates (MPR) that trigger over 20% cost of funds to the real sector. Thus, with reduced or optimal money supply, the apex bank will inevitably reduce its MPR (i.e. rate at which it lends to commercial banks), from the current disturbingly high level of 12%, to benign levels that will encourage banks to, in turn, provide credit to the real sector at rates that support increasing productivity and more job opportunities.

Evidently, lower cost of borrowing will reduce interest rates, so that madein-Nigeria goods would become more competitive against imports, which are supported with cheap concessionary funds. Thus, a stronger naira will not only stimulate productivity, but would also bring about much cheaper made-in-Nigeria goods, and create additional jobs.

Nonetheless, we must recognise that no country successfully grows its economy when government deposits with banks earn zero percent, while government simultaneously pays doubledigit interest rates to the same banks, just to remove perceived surplus naira from the system.

Will a naira exchange rate of N80:$1 have any

other positive economic impact?

An exchange rate of N80:$1 will also enhance the naira’s purchasing power.

Thus, the N18,000 minimum wage, for example, which is currently equal to about

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IN an article earlier this month, we explained why further naira devaluation would constrain demand and economic growth, and also add millions more to the population of impoverished Nigerians, who are currently unemployed or live on less than $2 per day.

In a subsequent article, we identified the unyielding, suffocating self-inflicted burden of surplus naira as the primary cause of continuously depreciating naira despite bountiful dollar reserves since the return to civil rule in 1999.

Indeed, economic best practice inflation rate is often less than 2% in successful economies, while a 5% inflation rate will generally be regarded as failure in the management of money supply

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$110, would now be worth $220 per month; thus, the additional product demand created by the higher purchasing power of income earners would encourage local entrepreneurs to produce, if cost of funds also fall below 10%.

What impact would such entrepreneurial impetus have on our economy?

Well, the renewed spirit of enterprise would ultimately lead to the creation of more job opportunities, as new investors enter the market, while established industrialists expand their capacity utilization, or retool their plants for increased production. Ultimately, the wages earned by the increasing army of newly employed workers, will also create additional consumer demand that will further invigorate the industrial climate, and instigate additional industrial expansion, with even more job opportunities.

Will a stronger naira eliminate fuel subsidy?

Yes, it would; for example, if 1litre of petrol sells for $1

ex refinery, this would be equivalent to N160/litre in Nigeria. If however, the naira rate falls from N160:$1 to, say, N200:$1, the same petrol ex-refinery would now also sell for N200/litre.

Furthermore, if however, petrol continues to sell for N97/litre instead of the actual market price of about N200/litre, the attendant subsidy value would increase to N103/litre, instead of the current N53/litre with exchange rate of N160:$1.

Thus, the sum of over $12bn (N2tn) which is currently frittered away as fuel subsidy annually, will become available for rapid infrastructural enhancement in the areas of education, health, transportation, etc.

Evidently, it will cost this and future generations an arm and a leg, if we had to borrow $12bn annually at cutthroat interest rates to enhance our infrastructure.

Will a stronger naira reduce our national debt burden?

As earlier explained above, a stronger naira will reduce the cost and size of government borrowing, as cost of funds will fall for both private and public sector borrowings. Additionally, government need not increase its debt burden, by providing funds to the banks at zero percent, and irrationally borrowing back the same funds at doubledigit interest rates in order to manage surplus naira and contain inflation.

In conclusion, however, the problems associated with excess naira will be correctly resolved if dollar certificates are adopted for the allocation of dollarderived revenue.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS!

Business & Economy NSE market capitalisation rises by N92bn

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ransactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday maintained the bullish trend with the market capitalisation appreciating further by N92 billion.

The market capitalisation rose

by N92 billion or 0.70 per cent to close at N13.831 trillion against N13.060 trillion achieved on Thursday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index, which opened at 39,553.00, appreciated by 278.83 points to close at 39,831.83. Forte Oil, for the second consecutive day, led the gainers’ table, appreciating by N17.34 to close at N186.54 per C M Y K

share. Mobil trailed with N5.10 to close at N130, while Nigerian Breweries rose by N2.63 to close at N176.13 per share.

Lafarge Wapco garnered N2.49 to close at N112.50, while Oando gained N1.72 to close at N20 per share.

Conversely, Sim Cap led the laggards’ chart, dropping N5.17 to close at N98.33 per unit.

Okomu Oil lost N1.70 to close at N32.30, while Beta Glass dropped 85k to close at N16.22 per share. Caverton lost 74k to close at N7.02, while GTBank depreciated by 47k to close at N27.68 per share. Transcorp

was the most active stock with a turnover of 18.17 million shares worth N69.79 million. It was followed by Oando with 17.58 million shares valued at N352.59 million, while FCMB traded15.94 million shares worth N61.53 million.

UBA sold 13.84 million shares worth N99.64 million, while FBN Holdings accounted for 11.02 million shares valued at N153.26 million. In all, investors exchanged 198.03 million shares worth N3.09 million achieved in 5,187 deals on Friday against the 267.78 million shares valued at N3.18 billion traded in 3,937 deals on Thursday.

Omoh Gabriel Babajide Komolafe Clara Nwachukwu Peter Egwuatu Yinka Kolawole Favour Nnabugwu Godwin Oritse Godfrey Bivbere Michael Eboh Franklin Alli Ebele Orakpo Ifeyinwa Obi Rosemary Onuoha

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Group Business Editor Deputy Business Editor Energy Editor Asst. Business Editor Snr Bus. Correspondent Insurance Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Energy Reporter Industry/Agric. Reporter Energy Reporter Maritime Reporter Insurance Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS Princewill Ekwujuru Nkiruka Nnorom Jonah Nwokpoku Naomi Uzor Providence Obuh LAYOUT

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Media/Marketing Capital Market E-Commerce Industry Micro Finance Graphics Department

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014—41

DAY 42

Northern Govs, politicians not behind Boko Haram—Sen. Aliero •Blasts Dokubo Asari for calling the abduction a scam

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

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BUJA—FORMER Gover nor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Adamu Aliero, has rejected the claims in some quarters that northern states governors and some politicians in the North were behind Boko Haram insurgents in the abduction of Chibok School girls.

He also took a swipe at leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, over a statement credited to him that the girls’ abduction was a fiction. He said it was a wrong notion that should be widely condemned, stressing that no responsible person could ever fathom and eventually encourage the killing and maiming of innocent Nigerians.

Aliero who was also a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) spoke in an exclusive chat with Vanguard, yesterday. He said the insurgents were acting on a religious ideology and belief that completely

ran at variance with Islamic principles and dictates, stressing, “Certainly, the insurgent attack is condemnable and contrary to certain beliefs in certain quarters that some politicians are the ones pushing this insurgency, I think they are wrong. No responsible politician will support the killing and maiming of innocent people in Nigeria. Afterall, it is the very people you aspire to govern, then how can you come and sponsor their killing, crippling the economy, causing untold hardship to them? It is my belief that the insurgents have no local support.

“After all, we know it started in 2009 when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was the president and we know that the killing of their leader is what caused the escalation of the insurgency. The whole thing was wrongly handled. If government had handled it properly, we wouldn’t have reached where we have reached today. So, there is a lot of misunderstanding and some people are making mis-

leading statements about the insurgency. It is my believe that politicians are not behind it.”

According to him, the Islamic extremists had a link with AlQaeda and other terrorists cells from where they got their training and funding and urged the federal government to step up effort to contain the insurgency in the north east.

L-r: Rotimi Makinde, Evelyn Ojakovo, Beni Lar and Khamisu Mailantarki, during the House committee on Human Rights campaign for the release of the kidnapped school girls in Abuja.

RCCG prays for abducted Chibok girls

By SAM EYOBOKA

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HE Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, yesterday, convoked an emergency prayer summit to pray for the safe release of the more than 275 schoolgirls adopted by the Islamic militant group, Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, April 14, 2014.

The intensive prayer summit which lasted for two hours took place in all the zonal headquarters of the church across the country, essentially for youths of the

church as well as the safe release of the adopted schoolgirls and other social interruptions across the world.

A letter convoking the prayer summit was written by the Special Assistant to the General Overseer of the church on Administration and Personnel, Pastor Johnson Odesola, and addressed to all provincial pastors in the church who were in turn advised to inform zonal pastors under them for implementation.

The letter dated May 23, 2014 directed the emergency prayer

summit should hold on Sunday from 12 noon to 2.00 p.m. in all zonal headquarters of the church, with prayers focused on the Chibok girls kidnapped over five weeks ago.

Other areas which the letter directed attention to, was the Boeing 777 Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared en route Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew aboard and other salient national and international issues e.g. bombings, storms, civil unrests, etc.

2014 EDITION OF AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS, AMAA, IN YENOGOA

From left,Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Mr. Barclays Ayakoroma; Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah (rtd), and the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lulu Mguni, during the 2014 edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, at the Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, weekend. Photo: Lucky Francis

AMAA 2014 Achievement in MakeUp - Once Upon A Road Trip - South Africa

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Director -Teco Benson (Nigeria)

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Film- Of Good Report - South Africa

AMAA Award For Achievement in Costume Design - Ni Sisi (Kenya)

AMAA Award For Best Actor in a Leading Role - Mothusi Magano (South Africa)

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Patience Uzorkwo (Nigeria)

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 43

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44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

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V anguard Vanguard anguard,, MONDAY, MAY 26 , 2014 — 45

BRIEFS

Obama visits US troops in Afghanistan under cover of darkness

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VEN with the military prowess of the United States of America, President Barack Obama secretly slipped into Afghanistan yesterday under the cover of darkness for a weekend visit with U.S. troops serving in the closing months of America’s longest war.

Air Force One landed at Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, after an overnight flight from Washington. Obama was scheduled to spend just a few hours on the base and had no plans to travel to Kabul, the capital, to meet with Hamid Karzai, the mercurial president who has had a tumultuous relationship with the White House.

Obama’s surprise trip came as the U.S. and NATO withdraw most of their forces ahead of a year-end deadline.

Obama is seeking to keep a small number of U.S.

troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 to train Afghan security forces and conduct counterterrorism missions. But that plan is contingent on Karzai’s successor signing a bilateral security agreement that Karzai has refused to authorize.

Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the president had not finalized the troop decision and no announcement was expected during the Afghanistan visit. But Rhodes indicated it was possible Obama could announce his decision during a foreign policy speech Wednesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

At least 2,181 members of the U.S. military have died during the nearly 13year Afghan war and thousands more have been wounded. There are still about 32,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan,

down from a high of 100,000 in mid-2010, when as Obama sent in additional soldiers to quell escalating violence.

This was Obama’s fourth visit to Afghanistan as president, but his first since winning re-election in 2012. The scourge of Taliban terrorism has been a global concern just as its Nigerian affiliate Boko Haram has been terrorising parts of Nigerian. Obama’s secret visit to a hostile territory further raises questions about the motives of those criticising Nigeria’ s President Goodluck Jonathan for not visiting Chibok where Boko Haram took 234 students hostage on April 14. The US army has the sophistication to secure their president from harm, contrary to his Nigerian counter part who is heading a military establishment that has questionable loyalty.

Palestinians raise threat to land with Pope

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OPE Francis arrived in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on his first trip as pontiff to the Holy Land.

But during his visit to Jerusalem, Juliette Bannoura approached Pope Francis can save her family’s four acres (1.6 hectares) of olive groves and other Palestinianowned lands in the scenic Cremisan Valley south of Jerusalem from the path of Israel’s separation barrier.

Bannoura, 36, was among a select few

A woman besieging Pope for assistance Palestinian Christians who had lunch with the pontiff Sunday during his pilgrimage to Bethlehem,

Pakistani PM accepts to attend Modi’s swearing in

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AKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to attend Narendra Modi’s inauguration today has raised hope of a new thaw in relations between the two South Asian nations.

It is the first time since the two countries won independence in 1947 that a prime minister from one country will attend such a ceremony in the other. Mr. Modi has dramatically altered India’s swearing-in ceremony, which has never been attended by

foreign leaders. In addition to Mr. Sharif, he invited the presidents of eight south Asian countries, including Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, in what is seen domestically as a bold step toward a policy of regional engagement. Modi and Sharif will have a bilateral meeting after the inauguration.

Several of Modi’s critics in India welcomed the move. Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Indianadministered Kashmir, said in a Twitter post.

the cradle of Christianity.

During the hour-long meal, which included stuffed peppers and ice cream for dessert, she and her husband Elias — a Spanish-speaker — outlined the threat to the terraced valley. The area is also home to a monastery and convent sitting on dozens of acres (hectares) of church-owned land.

Many landowners in the valley, including Bannoura, are from Beit Jala, a Christian town of 16,000 next to Bethlehem.

“This valley is very, very important to us,” she said.

“It’s our heritage, our culture, it’s our tradition.”

Bannoura said the pope listened carefully. “He said ‘I’m very interested in your case,’ and he said he will look at it when he goes back,” she said.

46—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

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AST week Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, was engaged in an interesting exchange with the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, the selfstyled Chief Servant of Niger State.

Maku accused the Arewa governors of “not doing enough” in the effort to bring the Islamic insurgency being championed by Boko Haram to an end. In a sharp repartee, Muazu said Maku was being “uncharitable”, adding that no governor would like his domain to be turned into a theatre of attacks, mass killings, abductions and destruction of schools, an experience that Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kassim Shettima in particular, is going through on a daily basis.

Yes, you could say Maku was engaging in the blame-shifting tactics that the Federal Government

Our pussyfooting northern governors team led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, to intercept them at the gates of the Villa and receive their message. The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Ms. Olajumoke Akinjide, who acted as the federal government’s spokesperson, urged the protesters

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When you examine some of the activities of the governors and leaders of Arewa, you will reach the conclusion that they are determined to destroy the north politically, economically and socially, even though they rowdily posture as the champions of northern interests

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and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have resorted to as the Boko Haram atrocities expand both in intensity and scope of devilry. You must have noticed the PDP’s tendency to accuse the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its chieftains of supporting Boko Haram, even though no one (apart from Senators Ali Ndume and Khalifa Ahmed Zanna) has been picked up for trial.

Former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nasir El Rufai, recently dragged PDP to court with huge financial claims for accusing him of having links with the terrorists, a very commendable step. We are now waiting for the PDP to tender its evidence and get El Rufai convicted for the alleged offence. Otherwise, it will be clear to all that they are using spurious accusations of their political opponents to obfuscate a very serious security issue rather than tackling it as the ruling party.

When Dr. Oby Ezekwesili led the #Bring Back Our Girls protest to Aso Villa last week, the President sent a

to direct their angst at Boko Haram, the perpetrators of the evil, and not the federal government that is “doing everything” to combat them. She forgot that we did not give our votes to Boko Haram. We gave our votes to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to assume the enormous powers of the President of Nigeria and protect us from our predatory enemies, such as Boko Haram. He swore on the Constitution to do so. So, we have the right to ask him to live up to his pledge and duty. He must lead the effort to secure the release of those abducted Chibok girls and crush Boko Haram or he will not be able to come to us for another vote. We do not care how he intends to do it. Let him just do it.

Still, this does not, in any way subtract from the truth in what Maku said. In fact, he was being diplomatic in describing the irresponsible behaviour of Northern governors and a large chunk of northern leaders, particularly those who subscribe to the unpatriotic activities

BY MOSHOOD ISAH

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HE heinous activities of terrorists in Nigeria has no doubt tainted the image of Islam and Muslims much more than it has dented the image of the country. The latest of such atrocities is the abduction of over 200 girls in the remote village of Chibok in Northeastern state of Borno. The girls who were allegedly forcibly converted to Muslims have been in captivity for more than one month. So far, clues remain bleak on how to rescue them.

While the Boko Haram terrorists’ group claim to be fighting for Allah, foremost Islamic groups and scholars, even globally notorious extremists have condemned the group. Thus the stunning abduction appeared too much even for fellow militants normally eager to condone terrorist acts against the West, its allies and intersts.

Boko Haram was rejected long ago by mainstream Muslim scholars and Islamist parties around the world for its seemingly senseless cruelty and capricious violence against civilians. The notion of whether the insurgents are fighting for Islam as alleged by some Christian clerics should be less pertinent than the need to evacuate the menace from our society.

The presidency has also come under

of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). When you examine some of the activities of the governors and leaders of Arewa, you will reach the conclusion that they are determined to destroy the north politically, economically and socially, even though they rowdily posture as the champions of northern interests.

It is these people who, through their myopic and discriminatory policies and measures, have driven the wedge of division between the Christians and Muslims, the HausaFulani and the various Minority communities in the north. In total defiance of the constitution, they have elevated Islam to the status of state religion, investing billions in Islamic education that has limited scope in creating a future for the youth. No similar attention is paid to Christians. In fact, they carry on as if the Christians do not exist in the North. The correct thing should have been to provide sound Western education for both Christians and Muslims while creating a fertile environment for individuals to pursue religious or spiritual knowledge according to their needs without government wasting valuable public funds dabbling into the private religious affairs of people. They feed the opium of religion to the Muslims, some of whom turn around to use it against society. That is why religion is the greatest demon bedeviling the north, giving it little room for development and accounting for almost unbroken, steamrolling violence.

Nigeria is not the only country where Islam is practised. In the whole of Africa, it is only in Nigeria and Sudan that Islam is deployed by a dominant tribe (Hausa/Fulani and Arabs) mainly as tool for the

imperial subjugation of others.

Many countries in West Africa, such as Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso and Gambia are dominated by Muslim majority populations. There are also substantial Muslim presences in Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria is the only country in the sub-region where, because of the negative orientation of northern leaders Islam has been made a major precursor for national instability. I emphasise the north because Islam is also widely practiced in Yorubaland, and yet they coexist with people of other faiths.

Muslims are part and parcel of factors that make Western Nigeria a major front for stability and development in Nigeria, which makes it attractive for other Nigerians to go there in search of economic fulfillment. The North would have commanded a similar attraction had its leaders not used religion negatively to poison the north and the rest of the country.

Imperialist mentality What makes religion such a fatal contagion in the North is the in-built “born-to-rule”, imperialist mentality that Arewa leaders have nursed from their cradle. This had its watershed in history, particularly the making of the Sokoto Caliphate and also the subsequent undue advantages granted the region’s ruling class by the departing British colonial masters. It gave some of these northern leaders the mistaken notion that Nigeria is a colony of Arewa. How can Nigeria be a colony of Arewa or any other section of Nigeria when the country fought and

OPINION Still on foreign intervention excruciating criticism on its perceived inaction towards quashing the menace of insurgency in the country. This has probably pressured it into accepting offers for help in combating this menace by permanent members of the United Nations Security Council led by the United States of America.

Scoops also has it that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Natanyahu has also conveyed his sympathy and solidarity and as well offered to send a team of counterterrorism experts to assist in the ongoing search and rescue mission The eventual decision to accept foreign assistance may seem to have come rather late but just few were actually aware that Nigeria had pleaded for this help long before the insurgency deteriorated to its present level.

Nonetheless, the recent acceptance by foreign allies to assist the nation in the search for the abducted girls may not have come at a better time. This is due to the fact that the event has escalated the animosity between and amongst religious and ethnic groups.

More so, political insinuations and accusations have also not gone unnoticed as it is alleged that there is more to the

macabre of the abducted girls than meets the eye.

Ultimately, President Goodluck Jonathan has welcome and accepted a definite offer of help from the United States of America and others in the ongoing effort to locate and rescue the girls abducted from Chibok four weeks ago. This is likely to include the deployment of U.S. security personnel and assets to work with their Nigerian counterparts in the search and rescue operation. There are reports though yet to be verified that US marines are already in the country for this purpose and more.

While some have lauded this development, many others remain sceptical. It is pertinent to also mention that the use of US killer drones is not yet on the cards, just few marines and technical expertise. There is also need to remind pessimists that China, Israel and France have also offered to help with security expertise all in the quest to locate these abducted girls and return them to their families.

The fact is that Nigeria is inexperienced in fighting terrorism; the idea of foreign help is just a matter of when and to what extent.

To think the US is here to wage war against

won her independence in 1960, nearly sixty years ago? How can Nigerians win independence from Britain only to surrender and become indentured subjects of local colonisers? It was only tolerated when Nigerians did not know about the conspiracy between the colonialists and those they handed over power to. Now, everybody’s eyes are open and watchful.

That negative mentality accounted for the fight by some northern governors and leaders to grab the presidency from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan by all means fair and foul.

Some of them withdrew from the PDP and went to the APC in an attempt to weaken Jonathan.

Expensive experiment Boko Haram actually started as an expensive experiment by politicians, especially governors, in using religion to fight their political battles. Some of the governors and wealthy individuals have been funneling money to Boko Haram, either to safeguard themselves, families and interests or as part of the conspiracy to upstage Jonathan and snatch power back. They pussyfoot behind the scenes, while the noisier ACF acts as the public defenders of the interests of Boko Haram to spite Jonathan while the north is annihilating itself.

One thing is clear, though. The game is out of the hands of those who started it. Boko Haram is no longer in the control of local jihadists. It has become part of an international coalition of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Even if Jonathan comes down in 2015 and an Arewa man becomes president, he will still have this monster to face. It is better for an Arewa man to become president of Nigeria through the consent of majority of Nigerians rather than a “snatch”, which won’t work, anyway.

We have no other choice than to work together as Nigerians to bring back our girls and crush Boko Haram. If we are not together we will continue to fail. None of those sneaking around in the background like thieves in the night will get what they are hoping for. No one will emerge as president of Nigeria through sabotage.

Northern Nigeria in order to decimate the Muslim majority as being insinuated by some clergymen, is scholarly kindergarten.

This is especially considering the large population of Christians in the North East.

There is also need to remind us of the fact that the United State is currently hunting the Ugandan Rebel Leader, Joseph Kony who leads the Lord’s Resistance Army. Thus, the stereotypical believe that the United States don’t offer succour for goodwill may be lulled for a while.

Although it is still a bit pardonable to instigate that the United States may not help Nigeria for free as it is believed that ‘nothing goes for nothing’ all the same, there is need to understand that the Nigerian military are not making headway in the rescue mission and thus needed intelligence and logistic succour, which it can muster.

In a nutshell, what Nigerians need is remain optimistic and give all needed moral support to the President and his Service Chiefs in a bid to rescue the girls. Rather than criticize virtually every step taken by the President, all hands should be on the deck to see the end of barbarism of the militants. *Mr. Isah, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014— —47

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HERE is no gainsaying the fact that some people are out to mess up the Dr Goodluck Jonathan-led government.

During and after the campaign for 2011 national elections many politicians swore that they would make the country ungovernable for Jonathan if they did not win.These threats were made on pages of our national newspapers during press briefings granted by these ambitious politicians.

Jonathan,in his kindness ignored those threats. If either Obasanjo or Buhari were president when such threats were made, believe you me,those politicians would either be dead now or be behind bars. Today, many of the politicians who made treasonable threats are now members of the All Progressives Congress, APC and they want us to believe that Jonathan is not only incompetent in ruling the country but also insensitive to the plight of the masses .

Meanwhile, few days after the Nyanya bomb blast, Jonathan continued his earlier-scheduled PDP rally in one of the Northern states and APC expectedly criticised Jonathan for making the

journey at a time the country was mourning. How many of these APC members put on sackcloth or declared fasting in their states to show they are/were mourning?They should thank God immensely that they have a gentleman as president else they would have been behind bars. Let them ask Pastor Tunde Bakare how many times he was arrested by law enforcement agents during the Obasanjo regime. The said Bakare is a Christain just like Obasanjo but that was not enough for Obasanjo to spare the man of God anytime he preached against his government. Today any urchin can boldly abuse Jonathan on the pages of newspapers and Jonathan will still allow them to be. Very soon the newly-found missing Malaysian plane will be linked with the Jonathan government. I so much like Nigerians for this reason: We always abuse any opportunity given to us, hence the current abuse of the freedom of information given to us by Jonathan. Where were these progressives during the Obasanjo and Abacha regimes?During the Obasanjo regime, did the Nigeria Governors Forum wield the type

Buhari should stop making more threats about the 2015 elections; in fact, he and other like-minded politicians should be brought to book for proposing to make the country ungovernable for Jonathan

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of power they wield today?In fact, few people knew of its existence until gentleman Jonathan assumed power.

I often ask if these APC members see us as fools as they play out their political gimmicks.

Who is Buhari in Nigerian politics to talk when democrats are talking? If it were in developed climes,the likes of Buhari would been barred for life in politics.

This is a man who truncated our democratically elected government. He placed his Fulani brother, Shehu Shagari,under house arrest, while Ekwueme was jailed without trial; that was leaving the anus that farted to knock the head.He gagged the press through his dastardly Decree No 4. Today,he tries to convince gullible minds

Edo and the Almajiri politicians

BY NOSAKHARE OSARODION

"A rolling stone gathers no moss” — Publilius Syrus T’S another season for serious politicking, horse-trading and carpet-crossing as the 2015 general elections draw near. Already, in Edo State, even when the gubernatorial election in the state is not due until sometime in the year of our Lord 2016, the political gladiators have sharpened and brought out their long knives to, as they say, share the loot!

In Year 2007, some politicians in Edo State, citing alleged disenfranchisement from their party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, formed an association of likeminds, which they called the Grace Group, with the motto “No Man is God”.

Their motto was carefully chosen to reflect what they perceived as the choking influence of Chief Tony Anenih, then Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, also a “son of the soil” who was 'lord' and 'master' and whose word was law. In fact, the fear of Anenih was the beginning of wisdom such that, even though he himself has never faced the electorate to test his popularity at the polls, elected Governors, Senators, Reps members and others deferred to him and he was fondly referred to as either the 'Leader' or the 'godfather!'

The Grace Group was led by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, at different times Chief of Staff and Secretary to State Government to Chief Lucky Igbinedion’s government which is regarded as having failed woefully to live up to expectation.

Even Lucky Igbinedion’s father, the Esama of Bini Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion begged the people of the state to allow his son repeat as

I

Governor having failed in his first tenure. He said at the time: “If a child fails in a class, you ask him to repeat”!

Lucky was known as an absentee Governor and Ize-Iyamu as SSG was effectively in charge, leaving crumbs for the then Deputy Governor, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe. If Lucky’s government failed, Ize-Iyamu was a major contributor to that failure.

Always a political schemer, Ize-Iyamu plotted and turned Lucky and his political godfather, Tony Anenih, against each other, such that neither wanted to see the other. That was in 2007. Fastforward to May 2014, in an interview he granted the media and which was widely published, Lucky Igbinedion just woke up to realise how he was used and kicked around like a football by his own appointee, Ize-Iyamu when he said “the quarrel was not between Anenih and myself, it was those that were playing the intrigue of 2007 elections. We were both used as pawns (by Ize-Iyamu). We (Anenih and I) never quarreled.” (emphasis mine) It is now on record that Ize-Iyamu dumped the PDP, Lucky Igbinedion and Anenih and joined the Action Congress of Democrats, ACD, which later metamorphosed into Action Congress, AC, then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and then All Progressives Congress, APC. Now the question: What is the truth behind the dumping of the PDP by Ize-Iyamu and his group? The answer is not far-fetched: naked, inordinate, unbridled ambition to become the GOVERNOR. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I can’t stand a man who lacks ambition, but I also detest a man whose ambition is as open as a naked live wire. Just as the naked wire

that it is the turn of the North to be president. Did he not know about the federal character or zoning arrangement when he chose another Northerner as his deputy when he was military head of state, even when power had virtually been with the North since the July 29,1966 countercoup? What was he doing with his victims at the SSS office in Ikoyi Lagos during his regime as the military head of state?Today he wants to tell us that he has undergone some sort of metamorphosis and is now a true democrat who will obey the rule of law? The obnoxious Decree No 2 allowed Buhari and his second in command to arrest and permanently detain innocent citizens without trial or legal representation. But what do we see today? Even Boko Haram suspects still enjoy their rights to fair hearing. The arrest,re-arrest and trial of now convicted Kabiru Sokoto will tell the world that Jonathan obeys the rule of law.

Would Buhari kill Kabiru Sokoto without trial if he were the president or would he permanently keep Sokoto under house arrest as he did to his Fulani brother, Alhaji Shagari?

This is the man that wants to come back as our president? I heard him saying he would sue the Federal Government for linking him with Boko Haram. If it were during his autocratic

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BY PAUL JOHN

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Politics of Nigerian security challenges

In Edo, the almajiri politicians who moved from the PDP yesterday to the APC are quickly dancing to the PDP when they realised that their dreams of grabbing the governor’s seat will not be fulfilled in the APC

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can be deadly, the overambitious man can also do anything to fulfill his dream.

Ize-Iyamu dumped the PDP because the godfather, the Leader of the PDP wanted his kinsman, Odion Ugbesia, now a Senator as Governor and IzeIyamu would have none of that. To him, it is either his way or the highway. He chose the highway. The rest is now history, neither him nor Ugbesia became Governor as the then President, Chief Aremu Olusegun Okikiola Obasanjo had another card up his sleeve, throwing up Professor Oserheimen Osunbor as the Governor, although his election was eventually upturned by a court of law and Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole has been in the saddle in the state since November 12, 2008.

Now the Almajiri politicians who dumped the PDP yesterday, abused everyone therein and joined the ACD which has over the years transformed to APC now want to go back to their vomit, the PDP today. Of course, Nigerians are familiar with the way an almijiri works.

An almajiri, like the the Fulani nomad, in tending his cattle, moves from place to place, never staying in one place permanently all in his search for greener pastures. The almajiri are ubiquitous in the North, bowl-in-hand, seeking the next target for the next meal. It is no wonder the almajiri never builds

regime,would anyone be permitted to make such declaration? Buhari should stop making more threats about the 2015 elections and apologise for saying that baboons and dogs would be soaked in blood. In fact, he and other like-minded politicians should be brought to book for proposing to make the country ungovernable for Jonathan.Buhari,in particular, must tell us how baboons and dogs will be soaked in blood after the 2015 elections.

Expectedly, APC criticised the President for attending to an earlier scheduled PDP rally when the nation was mourning the victims of Nyanya bomb blast.

Yet, the same APC governors refused to come to the national security council meeting.

Tomorrow,they will tell us that Jonathan is not only insensitive to the plight of the masses,he is also incompetent in protecting lives of the citizens. In our constitution, the governors are the chief security officers of their states. What have they done to nip these security challenges in the bud in their respective states before calling on Jonathan? It is open knowledge that Boko Haram members live in certain communities in certain local governments. *Mr. John, a public affairs analyst,wrote from Abuja.

permanent structures for himself and his family as he is always on the move.

Same scenario is playing out in Edo politics now as the almajiri politicians who moved from the PDP yesterday to the APC are quickly dancing to the PDP when they realised that their dreams of grabbing the governor’s seat will not be fulfilled in the APC. During a meeting with the President on April 29, 2014, Ize-Iyamu and 20 others who were with him gave their conditions to re-join the PDP, which among others include: that doors must be open to them when they eventually join the PDP; that they get a blanket waiver, get special considerations for themselves and their members; that the zoning formula of the PDP as regards Edo governorship be made known to them and that the governorship slot be given to them in the 2016 gubernatorial election. They promised to use this bargaining chip as a means of helping the President in getting a second tenure in 2015. They got a positive response from the President.

Well, 2016 is by the corner and the people of Edo State are waiting to see how Ize-Iyamu and his group, the rolling stone which gathers no moss, will get the gubernatorial ticket of the PDP when others who kept faith with the party in their dark days when they were trampled underfoot by the galloping APC stallion are also eyeing the same ticket.

It will be interesting to see Ize-Iyamu upstage the likes of Charles Airhiavbere, Matthew Iduorikemwen, Mike Onolemenmen, Oserheimen Osunbor, Odion Ugbesia and Kenneth Imasuagbon who stayed with the party and did not jump ship into the APC when things were rough and who are also eyeing the gubernatorial ticket.

•Osarodion, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.

48 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Why there's envy over oil

shoulders and we took a decision that however long it would take and to the extent that would be possible, we would discuss until we exhaust ourselves and come to a mutual understanding of the position that we know would not cause further disruption in the polity, but rather help to move the country forward.

It was not an easy task. It was a deadly way of negotiating a mine field. It was a mine field and anything could have exploded at any point in time but by God’s grace it didn’t. And with the wisdom and integrity of the people, we finally decided that it should be Nigeria first.

On controversies that trailed the derivation debate and retention of 13 per cent derivation I do not want you to isolate the issue of 13 per cent. Look at it like I said from the issue of destabilizing the polity. At the beginning, some of us from the South said we want total resource control.

— Obong Attah •With state police, Boko Haram ‘ll not ‘ve escalated OBONG Victor Attah was governor of Akwa Ibom State between 1999 and 2007, when he was chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees, BoT of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He was a member of the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference and is presently a delegate at the on-going National Conference on the platform of Former Governors Forum. He is the co-chairman, Committee on Devolution of Powers. In this interview, he bared his mind on issues that arose from the conference, including resource control, state police and insecurity in the land among others. Excerpts:

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Resource control I don’t want to speak particularly about my committee.

But I do know that there are certain issues that my committee, particularly the issue of resource control, that my committee considered in great detail and came to some conclusions; I know that that matter will have to be opened again.

When it will be opened again, I don’t know. But I know that the matter has to be revisited. In the mean time, as a committee, we tried to put things in place by making it easier for when next we meet to discuss this.

We like to compare ourselves with America, but we cannot really compare ourselves entirely with America because in America you don’t have issues of indigenes and non-indigenes.

These are the kind of things I am talking about. And it takes a long time to resolve that kind of matter.

You will not have a situation like ‘this is my father’s land and you don’t belong here; this oil is

coming from me and I am the one to dictate how you should have it or how you should not have it.’ If you want to live where the oil resides, go and live there. If you want to live where there is no oil, go and live there but there is not going to be the kind of entrenched interest as we have here.

So we are a different type of country and in recognizing that fact, we have to accept the fact that our circumstances change.

There is need for similar conferences to be held, with regard to what has been done or said before.

We should allow ourselves to be guided by agreement we have reached in the past because always, what we are trying to do is to establish the need to want to live together in harmony and in peace and provide circumstances in which the country can grow economically and have social harmony.

What is the position of Former Governors’ Forum at the confab?

You cannot expect my forum to have a common position for two main reasons. Firstly, the interests are more region-based and we come from different states belonging to different regions.

There will be a diversity of opinion and positions in a number of states.

Since we come from different parts of this country and are in different committees, we really have to look more at what those committees have been able to come out with than what the governors’ forum has been able to come out with. If you ask the governors forum to discuss the issue of restructuring today, you would get as many diverse opinions as there are members.

What is your take on true federalism, parliamentary system, state police, state creation and a host of other

•Attah: We must find solutions to the things plaguing Nigeria issues that came up at the committee stage?

Regionalism, I believe, is something that would come on us gradually. The first time the idea of zones was brought into the Nigeria lexicon was in the 1994/1995 constitutional conference. It has taken us this long for a number of us to accept, that perhaps we should indeed recognise those zones and make them federating units.

Others are still resisting and saying the state. It is possible that the state will always win but it is also possible that in future, the zones would be made federating units.

Issue of state police And on the issue of state police, I do not see how we can have a federal system without decentralising the police. I believe strongly that if we have regions, there should be regional police, if we have states, there should be state police. In fact, I believe that if we had had state police, the issue of Boko Haram would not have escalated to this level.

You set a governor up and tell him he is the chief security officer of the state and you don’t give him the means by which to secure the place. He has to depend on a commissioner of police that came from somewhere by somebody else who does not understand the circumstances of the place. I sincerely believe that is an essential task of true federal

arrangement.

On state creation, the demand by some for more states is borne out of the fact that we made number of states the issue in sharing revenue rather than the fact that you should be able to maintain yourself and pay a certain amount of what you generate in your state to the federal government.

By the time we get to that kind of stage in this country which we must get to subsequently, states would be merging rather than asking to be sub-divided because

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BY HENRY UMORU ow far has it been at the National Conference?

The president is really anxious that we find solutions to the things that are plaguing Nigeria today. A number of things that are seriously wrong with the country are established and the president was quite concerned that we must find solutions to these matters and recommend what ought to be done so that the country can move forward again.

What new thing do you see in this conference that was absent in past conferences?

A lot has changed. Don’t believe for one minute that this is going to be the last of such conferences that we are going to have. It is not by any means and

Committee meetings We want to go back to where we were, where we will control our resources and pay whatever is prescribed which cannot be more than 20 per cent to the centre.

The constitution says, oil, minerals belong to the Federal Government, we said okay. Even if we subject ourselves to that, but we would like that clause subsequently changed in the constitution of Nigeria. But even if now, we subject ourselves to that, we want derivation therefore to become the issue and we want that derivation to be at 50 per

On state creation, the demand by some for more states is borne out of the fact that we made number of states the issue in sharing revenue rather than the fact that you should be able to maintain yourself and pay a certain amount of what you generate in your state to the federal government some of them even till date are not viable.

That is why there is so much envy over the oil. They want the oil to be shared. Now, 87 per cent goes to the centre leaving only 13 per cent as derivation which oil producing areas consider insufficient. These are issues that I know would be looked into again in future.

On some volatile issues that came before Devolution of Power Committee You just said it was volatile. It was incendiary and capable of scattering the entire conference.

So we recognised the enormous responsibility that was put on our

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cent. At committee meetings, some people brought out all kinds of statistics that because they have given 13 per cent today, they must be considered.

In fact, some members said it is unfortunate because those places you are quoting don’t have the means of production and generation of revenue that we have.

What is your take on the spate of insurgency in the country? Is the government handling it well?

Not being in government, it is difficult to say if government is handling it well or not because if I should say that, I would have Continues on page 49

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 49

Why there's envy over oil — Attah Continued from page 48 to give you instances where I think it is handling it well and instances where I think it is not handling it well and perhaps proffer solutions.

Let me tell you what bothers me and I mean this in all honesty. I read in the papers, unless it is denied, then I can take it that it is true, that some people saw a car parked and it was suspicious; they called the authority, nobody came for two hours until it exploded. That is my worry.

Before now, you heard that even before the Chibok incident the authorities learnt that this could happen and yet no security was put in place. I think these are the areas we have to look into.

Is it sabotage? At a time, our president said even his own government and the security force had been infiltrated.

These issues bother me and that is where we have to look and see how we can help because almost in every instance, even down to the Nyanya incident, if there had been rapid response, it might not have happened. If we know that something is happening, and we let it happen and then relax, then something is wrong.

We are now beginning to have foreign intervention, is it not a slap on the Nigerian military or an indication of not being in charge?

No, it is not a slap on the Nigerian military. If we are not sufficiently equipped to fight this battle, we can bring in support from friendly countries that are willing to and I do not see that as an admission of weakness.

Admission of weakness It’s an admission of sensibility that we want to stop this thing once and for all and you can call for back up, whenever it is necessary.

They are not going to be here forever and their mission is specifically aimed at the Chibok girls. I am not involved in government and so I do not know if they will just focus on Chibok and whether they will stay and provide support after they must have found these girls. Too much time has elapsed and I hate to see what the conditions of those girls are now and the mind, feeling and trauma of the parents. If your child is killed today, you know, you feel sorry, you bury the child; time will help you to forget it. But every day you wake up and say what is happening to my girl child?

On claims from some quarters that the insurgency is designed to make President Goodluck Jonathan jettison the idea of contesting in 2015 I don’t get involved in such speculations. I just want the insurgency stopped however they are going to stop it, I want it stopped.

From left: Rt Rev. & Mrs Segun Adeyemi, Bishop of Kwara; Rt. Rev. Samuel Sowale, Bishop of Ilesa; Mrs Abosede Osunkeye; Rt. Rev. & Mrs James Odedeji, Bishop of Lagos West; Justice Babasola Ogunade, Chancellor, Lagos West, and Rt. Rev. & Mrs Dapo Asaju during the closing ceremony for the 3rd session of the 5th Synod at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe.

Jos bombing: Jang orders local security outfit take-off •Pleads with residents to be courageous to defeat terrorists

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH & MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

J

OS —GOVERNOR Jonah Jang of Plateau State, yesterday, asked the people of the state not to be cowed by the spate of bombings being launched by terrorists in the state but to be courageous and hopeful for an abrupt end of the insurgents.

Jang, who spoke at a special interdenominational service at the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN, in Jos, said the state would overcome the atrocities of the insurgents if the people put their trust in God. The governor was reacting to late Saturday night’s bombing incident in which a suicide bomber blew up himself along with two other persons in a botched attempt to bomb a public viewing centre in the city while the UEFA finals was going on.

While calling on the people to be more security-conscious, Governor Jang said he believed the latest bomb was locally made in the area it went off.

To provide additional support to other security agencies in the state in countering terrorism, the governor announced the immediate take-off of a local security outfit to be known as ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ in the state.

Although details of the new outfit were not given, it is expected to work closely with the Joint Task Force, JTF, to enhance information gathering and sharing among the agencies and the locals in fighting terrorism.

The governor, however, renewed his call on the natives to be more vigilant and to promptly report suspicious movements and elements to law enforcement agonies for appropriate actions.

On Saturday night, a suicide bomber blew himself and two others up in a failed attempt to kill football enthusiasts, who had

converged on the state capital to watch the finals of the European Football League, UEFA. The bomber, it was learnt, was killed when the bomb he had

primed went off before he could reach its target.

Special Adviser to Governor Jonah Jang on Media, Pam Ayuba, told Vanguard that the

church service was the only event organised by the governor to mark this year’s Democracy Day in keeping with the mood in the nation.

Dangote endorses new cement classification

by SON

L

AGOS — FOLLOWING the release recently of the classification of cement and its uses by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), leading cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc, has expressed its satisfaction and support for the move, pledging to abide by the classification.

Already, the company said it had complied with the grading of cement and had gone ahead to produce to specifications rolled

out by the regulatory authorities.

The SON in the wake of the building collapses across the country and the attendant controversies on the quality of cement being produced in the country, summoned a meeting of a stakeholders in the building and construction industry.

SON, in the new classification exercise, warned members of the public to adhere strictly to the stipulated application of cement

MTN sponsors 20 Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem

L

EADING ICT and telecom munications company in the country, MTN, is sponsoring over 20 Christians to Jerusalem for this year’s pilgrimage as part of its commitment to uplifting the spiritual life of its subscribers and ensuring they become better in their Christian faith.

General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Kola Oyeyemi, explained that the strategic focus for this initiative is to show support to MTN Christian subscribers.

According to him, “we are committed to the total well-being of our customers as we drive to make their lives brighter through our propositions, products and value-added services. This is one of such initiatives aimed at uplifting and encouraging our subscribers to get closer to God. Through our bold new digital Value Added Services like the daily devotionals, Bible quotes,

sermons, songs, prayers and hymns, callertunez and other spiritually uplifting and faith enriching contents, we keep them connected to their Maker on a daily basis.”

One of the lucky subscribers, Tunde Akinnoye, a Sunday School teacher at the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, Mokola, Ibadan, commended MTN for using its platform to enrich its subscribers especially in their Christian life.

He said: “I am very grateful to MTN for this rare and wonderful opportunity. This journey to Jerusalem will uplift my spiritual life and move me closer to God." Another lucky subscriber, Faith Onyekachukwu Eselojor, a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Abule Ijesha, Lagos, said: “MTN has added spiritual value in the aspect of sending inspirational messages, and quotes from the Bible through SMS."

types and save the nation the embarrassment of incessant structure failures.

Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Devakumar Edwin, while addressing a group of Kenyan businessmen, who visited the Ibese cement plant of the company, weekend, said the decision to embark on the high quality grade was to help Nigeria stem the tide of collapse building and commended SON for the bold move, pointing out that Dangote was ready to support the regulatory body in the onerous task of ridding the nation of structure failures.

He said: “After 28 days, the 32.5 grade gives a strength of 32.5MPA, whereas the 42.5 grade gives a curing of 42.5MPA i.e 30 per cent higher in strength.”

Mr. Edwin said in Lagos that in spite of the high quality grade of Dangote Cement, it has not increased its price for the product.

Speaking also at the Public Hearing, Director General of SON, Joseph Ikem Odumodu, said the restriction placed on the use of low grade cement is important to mitigate the problem of collapse building in the country.

Contributing, President of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigerian (CMAN) Engr Joseph Makoju, said the 42.5 grade is superior cement over 32.5 and that Nigeria used to produce and import 42.5 before the coming of 32.5MPA.

50 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 51

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vanguard CLASSIFIED MICHAEL—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Roseline Michael, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Roseline Ache John.

All former documents remain valid. Court of Appeal (HQ) Abuja and general public please take note.

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All former documents remain valid. Voice of Nigeria and general public please take note.

Confirmation of Name This is to confirm that the names Ugbome Jude Ajirioghene and Oviemuno Peter Ajirioghene as it appear in some of my documents refer to one and the same me. I now wish to be known and addressed as Ugbome Jude Ajirioghene.

All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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PEPSI presents 1million goodwill messages to Eagles

H

EAD Coach of the national football team, Stephen Keshi who orchestrated Nigeria’s win at the African Cup of Nations last year, has been unveiled as a brand ambassador to one of the world’s leading beverage brand Pepsi.

Keshi alongside his assistant coach Daniel Amokachi and full back Elderson Echiejile were unveiled amidst cheers from the audience at an event tagged the “Pepsi Samba Party ”. The inclusion of these new stars to Pepsi’s existing line-up of football ambassadors namely Victor Moses and Peter Osaze creates one of the most multi-talented and iconic line ups ever.

In appreciation, the “big boss” as Keshi is called thanked Pepsi for being a major supporter of the beautiful game of soccer and sports in Nigeria. “When I am on national duties, I always make sure I put in my best

and when the going gets tough on the pitch, that’s when I dig deep and bring out something I never knew was there.

We may be very few on the pitch of play but we realize that our team actually comprises of 160 million Nigerian fans who always support and cheer us on. Pepsi is a great brand and I am happy and honoured to be associated with it” Head of Marketing, Seven Up Bottling Company Plc, Mr. Norden Thurston, said, “Here in Nigeria, the passion for football knows no bounds. With Pepsi’s fantastic new line up this passion is set to rise higher than ever before as fans and consumers from across the country identify with Pepsi football stars they admire” He went on to add that “Keshi and our other brand ambassadors have always made us proud and it was now their moment to shine.”

Channels kids’ Cup: Semi-finalists emerge

T

HREE of the four schools representing Lagos in the ongoing Channels National Kids’ Cup competition have qualified for the semifinals. The schools include Ebute Metta Primary School, Dr Teslim Elias Primary School and Toyibat Primary School. The only other state with a representative in the

semi finals is Oyo through IMG Primary School.

In the semi final pairings Dr Teslim Elias Primary School will clash with Ebute Metta Primary School while Toyibat will lock horns with IMG. The semi final matchess come up todasy at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

Sports: A unifying tool, says Jaiyeola

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ANAGING Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola has described sports as a unifying national factor and a major developmental tool, saying the company will continue to support good cause in Nigeria through sponsorship of sporting events and other laudable programs.

The presence of the company was visibly felt, weekend, during the grand finale of the maiden Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Games, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos,

on Saturday and where Lagos state topped the medal table.

The DAWN Games which is only open to secondary school students, is a Western Nigeria Sports Festival where participating states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo showcase their potentials in competitive sports.

Jaiyeola, whose company is a major sponsor of the tournament, said sport has proved overtime to be a major unifier loved by everyone irrespective of race, creed and religious leanings.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 53

C M Y K

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 — 55

M

Team Nigeria Continues from B/P lifted 87kg in the snatch to set new African record, some minutes later she set another African record in the same category when she lifted 102kg in the clean and jack category.

Emmanuel Inemo Appah continued from where Amalaha stopped as he also won the second gold for Nigeria in the 56kg boys weightlifting event.

N i g e r i a ’ s representatives in the Team Event of Badminton first defeated Egypt 3-0 and followed it up with another 3-1 impressive victory over South Africa to win the gold medal of the event.

Nigeria had also spanked host Botswana 5-0 and

Mauritania 3-0 in the quarterfinals stage to move to the semi-finals of the event.

Nigeria also qualified for the final of the boys’ table tennis event which was also decided yesterday night while the girls won the bronze medal of the girls event.

In Judo Nigerian girls bowed out in the semifinals in the category 5566kg while the boys lost out in the first round.

In Rowing also in the girls single event, Nigeria’s team were disqualified while the Nigerian boys qualified for final B. In Volleyball boys event, Nigeria defeated host Botswana 3-1 to kick start the event on a bright note.

....The list..... give us the list....

Was I sure the list was going to be released?

I was sure.

As a member of the Special five man CAF Inspection team to the six countries that have bid to host the African Nations Cup in 2019 and 2021, the call of duty had taken

,

ARK Anthony: Let but the commons hear the testament which pardon me, I do not want to read…..For they would go and kiss dead Caeasr’s wounds and dip their napkins in his sacred blood 4th Plebeian: We’ll hear the will. Read it Mark Anthony.

All:The will, the will we will hear Caesar’s will…

Mark Anthony:Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it….

-Shakespear’s Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2.

Happy to be back, after three weeks that seemed like eternity.

In coming back, permit me to draw us back, back to April 22, 2014, the day we emerged from that famous Technical Committee meeting, “without a list” It is a day I will never forget. A day that the media insisted on the list. “ the list they said, we want the list.

The list was not going to be given to them by force. No one said the list was going to be given to them that day.

The NFF had decided to meet with Coach Stephen Keshi to discuss World Cup plans, including of course his world cup list.

When we left the meeting, no one bothered about the plans and preparations. Will there be a friendly match in Nigeria to send off the Eagles? Will there be a fund raising to support the Eagles budget? Are we expecting the release of funds adequately and timely?. No those were irrelevant. Give us the list.

The list I said was not ready. The coach had said there was no hurry, that no country had yet released the list and that there was need for him to consult further….

The list I said was going to be ready in a week’s time.

The week that followed was cacophony personified. The media went to town. Terrible reasons were advanced on why the list was not ready. Some said there was even no list at all……..others invented the blows that were exchanged at the meeting as Keshi clutched the list refusing to release it to the NFF…….

When it was time for the list to be released ( as promised ) Some of my colleagues called on D Day asking me when and how the list was going to be released. I replied that I was out of the country and some jocularly replied that not able to stand the heat, I was running away from the kitchen…..

Who, was going to release the list?

I told them that it was customary for the coach to release the list himself, and even answer some questions if need be.

We have credible examples in the dropping of players like Nasri from the French list and Carlos Tevez from the Argentina list.

,

me to Algeria and Cameroun, incidentally, two of the countries that are also going to the World Cup! The list situation in Cameroun and Algeria was not different from the Nigeria situation. The only marked difference was that the meeting of the coaches and the Federations to discuss the list was not publicized, so no one came out of the meeting to meet a legion of reporters and a battery of cameras insisting on the list!

Like Nigeria, the coaches insisted on having their way.

In Algeria there is the case of the coach dropping a player because “ ….he cannot feel him……”

When the list was finally released, the press went wild.

In Cameroun, the media accused the coach of taking some players he wants to trade with. In Algeria the media believed that there should be more emphasis on fitness and ability instead of emotions……so much ink and decibels thrown forth.

Continues from B/P

At a brief ceremony held in Lagos recently with Keshi in attendance, I had the occasion to tell the media that we were all going to same destination but from different roads. That we have all contributed what we think should be a perfect list but that it can never work out that way because if Paul Bassey is coach today,( Thank God I am not ) the players he will take to the world cup will NOT be the players Tony Ubani will take…..

We have credible examples in the dropping of players like Nasri from the French list and Carlos Tevez from the Argentina list. Therefore we should all now forget the issue of list and queue behind the team, support them with our thoughts and our prayers because should Keshi fail ( God forbid ) it is Nigeria that has failed.

Why have I gone back to this? Because after Scotland’s match on Wednesday, the media is likely to surface again, because in a few days when the Coach will drop the seven that will not go to the world cup, the media will come to the fore. I now appreciate those coaches that went straight to their twenty three. The English coach immediately placed seven players on “standby” and faced the firing squad of the media once and for all. Not so Coach Keshi who, although a lot of people believe knows the seven that will not go to the world cup must still be facing some sleepless nights as to the wish that he has made the right decisions.

Yes the media should do its work, but I will not be that player that will go and slap the referee after the penalty has been awarded, quite conscious of the fact that he will never change his mind.

No I will not. I will simply walk away, turn my back, bury my head in my hands and pray God that the penalty is not scored.

A tear for Jabby, farewell for Gusau

I

was away when I heard that Public Relations maestro, longest serving image maker of the National Sports Commission and member of the Sports Veterans fraternity, Chief Ajibade Fashina Thomas has lost his son abroad.

Chief Jabby, my sympathy. Be strong in The Lord.

Also of deep regret is the death of Ibrahim Gusau whose tenure as Chairman of Organising and Disciplinary committee of the league saw great improvement in the running of the league. Only the good lord will be able to console his family and members of the football fraternity in Nigeria.

See you next week .

Madrid fans

front of his house still lamenting ,when he slumped . Unfortunately, he did not live to see his expectation come true , as efforts to resuscitate him in a private hospital where he was said to have been rushed to, failed as he was confirmed dead. Real Madrid, however, won the match 4-1. He did not live to see his Club lift the Champions League the 10th time.

Ogunbanjo on his part was said to have gone to a saloon on Okepopo street, off Olushi, to have his hair cut but decided to watch the match alongside other football fans.

When it became apparent that Real Madrid could not equalise, some of his friends were said to have started making jest of the club’s fans,when all of a sudden Soga as he was popularly called,

Continues from B/P

Godfrey Oboabona, Gabriel Reuben, Juwon Oshaniwa, Efe Ambrose and Sunday Mba. Emmanuel Emenike and Ramon Azeez were the latest to arrive the team’s camp.

The home-based stars are Chigozie Agbim, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Daniel Akpeyi, Kunle Odunlami and Ejike Uzoenyi.

All other players were expected to link up with the team lastnight.

reportedly slumped.

Owner of the shop where Ogunbanjo slumped , one Danku explained that : “ Soga came to have his hair cut. When that was done, he said he would watch the UEFA championship match between Real and Atiletico Madrid and when it was 90 minutes and Real Madrid had not ‘levelledup’ , there was tension among fans that Real

Madrid had lost the match”.

“A boy sitting beside Soga noticed when he slumped and raised alarm.

Infact, he slumped on him.

We quickly rushed him to the emergency unit of Island General Hospital where he was confirmed dead by medical doctors on duty”.

Vanguard gathered that their remains were buried yesterday morning at a public burial ground on the Island .

Eagles Pachon.

Fourteen players made the trip from Abuja to London, while Ukraine based striker, Michael Babatunde was already waiting at the team’s hotel.

Among them were nine foreign based stars, while the rest are based in Nigeria. The list includes Ogenyi Onazi, Victor Obinna Nsofor, Ahmed Musa, Michael Uchebo,

Camp mood is already gay with Lazio of Italy midfielder Onazi keeping ribs cracking with jokes. It has always been his character to be jovial and even immigration officials in Abuja and London got a dose of Onazi’s jokes.

Turkey based defender, Godfrey Oboabona, also set the business mood in camp alive when he said the World Cup is a place to showcase true skills and he will do everything

within his powers to be part of the final 23 man list for the Mundial in Brazil.

Babatunde Michael, who was the first player to arrive camp also spoke in a similar vein, assuring that he will give his all to be part of the Nigerian team to the World Cup. The team will have their first training on today’s evening with all the 30 players invited for the World Cup preparation expected to take part.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

AYG: Team Nigeria bags 3 gold medals T

Eagles land in London for Tartan Army T

HE Super Eagles arrived London yesterday ahead of a World Cup warm-up against Scotland on Wednesday night.

The Super Eagles are putting up at the Hilton Cobhams Hotel in London.‘ The team with coach Stephen Keshi at the head of the delegation left the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Sunday morning and arrived the Heathrow Airport in London at exactly 2:15pm local time, which is also Nigerian time.

On ground to welcome the team was team secretary Dayo Enebi Achor and NFF friendly games Consultant, Jairo

Continues on Page 55

EAM Nigeria has bagged three gold medals in the ongoing 2nd edition of the African Youth Games holding in Gaborone, Botswana.

The African edition of the Youth Olympics which kicked off last week would be rounded off on Saturday, May 31st, 2014.

The Nigerian Contingent started impressively with football when the Nigerian U- 15 football team defeated host team

2-0 in Friday’s match before following it up with a goalless draw against Mali the following day But the amazing performance was recorded by Nigeria’s Chika Joy Amalaha in the girls 58kg weightlifting. Amalaha won gold medal in her event and also created an African new record in the competition. In the 58kg category she

Continues on Page 55

2 Real Madrid fans die in Lagos

BY EVELYN USMAN

T

ECSTACY: Super Eagles Victor Moses (c) jumps for joy in celebration with Mikel Obi (r) and Ogenyi Onazi.

WO fans of Real Madrid died weekend at Lagos Island, following the club’s inability to get an early equaliser against Athletico Madrid.

Identities of the deceased were given as Olusoga Ogunbanjo (39), a refrigerator technician who resided at 23A, Smith Street, off Evan Street and Bambo Sholeye, (42), said to be a staff of the Lagos State

Waste Management Authority ,LAWMA, who resided at 49/51 Apatira Street, off Olushi Street both in Lagos Island.

Reports said Sholeye who went to watch the match in a shop, later stormed out in frustration before the regulation time. He was said to have lamented the failure of the club to equalise the one goal scored by Atiletico Madrid in the first half .

Reports said he sat in Continues on Page 55

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 2 Rascal (5) 7 Rind (4) 8 Deed (6) 9 Cede (5) 11 Dog (3) 13 Rank (3) 15 Rush (4) 16 Interval (3) 18 Gala (4) 19 Gave (7) 20 Roguish (4) 22 Sprinkle (4) 23 Caption (7) 25 Pitcher (4) 27 Deed (3) 28 Expensive (4) 30 Performed (3) 31 Noise (3) 33 Unfastened (5) 36 Coating (6) 37 Competent (4) 38 Called (5)

DOWN 1 Rendezvous (5) 2 Cunning (3) 3 Hatchet (3) 4 Cushion (3) 5 Pig-pen (3) 6 Automaton (5) 10 Thin (4) 11 Made (7) 12 Attained (7) 13 Diminished (7) 14 Occidental (7) 16 Cheese (5) 17 Emulsion (5) 18 Nourished (3) 21 Girl’s (3) 24 Image (4) 26 Broader (5) 29 Passage (5) 32 Wager (3) 33 Vase (3) 34 Obscure (3) 35 Father (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Delay 5, Forget 8, Peril 10, Elapse 11, Edam 14, Aiming 15, Titanic 18, Per 19, Lad 21, Deft 23, Penal 24, Hate 27, Dam 29, Art 31, Lasting 32, Maimed 34, Lieu 35, Earthy 38, Nudge 39, Recede 40, Edged.

DOWN: 2, Eel 3, Appeal 4, Yes 5, Flea 6, Roamed 7, Target 9, Reviled 12, Dip 13, Mire 16, Iota 17, Canal 20, Damaged 22, Fawn 24, Hamper 25, Tail 26, Ermine 28, Stored 30, Tee 33, Dune 26, Age 37, Hue.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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