Binder1

Newswatch files notice of appeal against judgement WE HAVE TWO CONFLICTING JUDGEMENTS EMANATING FROM TWO COURTS OF EQUAL JURISDICTION. THE PARTIES IN THE SUIT ARE NOT ONLY THE SAME, THE ISSUES ARE ALSO THE SAME. THE COURT HAS CREATED A SITUATION WHERE PARTIES WILL CHOOSE WHICH OF THE TWO JUDGMENTS THEY SHOULD OBEY Ayorinde

Vol. 4 N0. 966

–Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN)

Reps move to break DSTV monopoly P.4

P.5

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

N150

Constitution amendment:

Senate okays independent candidacy, LG autonomy ...approves scrapping of SIECs

GEORGE OJI ABUJA

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he Senate yesterday adopted the report of the conference committee of the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 constitution which provides for independent candidacy in elections and scraps State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Meter: NERC gives two-week ultimatum to DISCOs

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L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mrs. Folasade Yemi-Esan; Coordinating Minister of Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, and Minister of State for Finance, Amb. Bashir Yuguda, during the 2014 Ministerial Platform press briefing in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

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FG unveils access to cash for education, health …says ICPC investigating ghost worker fraudsters P.2

Terrorism: Govt wants secret trial for Ndume

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Senate okays independent candidacy, LG autonomy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The report, which was unanimously adopted, also provides for local government autonomy in their funding, tenure, elections and clearly delineating their powers and responsibilities to ensure effective service delivery.

It also insulates them from undue and interference from state governments.

As part of the autonomy of states, accountability and effective service delivery, the lawmakers adopted the provision that authorises the funding of the state Houses of Assembly,

auditor-general of the state and the attorney- general of the state directly from the state Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Also, in line with making the local governments a full third tier government, the Senate approved the establishment of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Local Government and the state Local Government Service Commission.

Part of the amendment approved by the Senate also includes the conversion of the right to education and right to health as fundamental rights in the constitution.

The lawmakers also

okayed the provision which authorises the President of the Senate to convene a joint meeting of the National Assembly to reconsider a money bill where the President withholds his assent.

A new provision approved by the senators makes it mandatory for the President to attend a joint meeting of the National Assembly once a year to deliver a state of the nation address.

The new proposed law also expands government agencies that will henceforth be directly funded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation.

These include the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, national security agencies, the police and the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.

The amendment empowers the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly to prescribe sanctions, civil or criminal or both, for the failure, refusal or neglect to obey summons issued by a legislative house or a committee of any of the Houses.

This was also as the lawmakers approved the provision establishing the Office of the Attorney-General

Jigawa State traditional rulers welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan(second right) and Governor Sule Lamido (right) to a stakeholders’ meeting at the Governor’s Office during the President’s working visit to Jigawa yesterday.

PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

of the Federation and the Attorney-General of a state as district from Minister of Justice and Commissioner of Justice.

Some of the electoral amendments approved by the Senate include the provision which empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to de-register political parties for non-fulfillment of certain conditions such as breach of registration requirements and failure to secure/win either a presidential, governorship, local government chairmanship or a seat in the national or state assembly.

The Senate also approved the proposal which extends the time for conducting presidential and governorship re-run election to 21 days instead of the seven days for both presidential and gubernatorial elections.

In addition, the lawmakers okayed the provision which confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Federal High Court for trial of election offences and the provision which provides that a court or tribunal shall not stay any proceedings on account of any interlocutory appeal.

Finally, the Senate also approved the proposals which decongested the exclusive lists of some of its

present items and transferred same to the concurrent list.

Pensions, railways, stamp duties and wages were transferred from the exclusive list to the concurrent list. However, arbitration, environment, health, housing, railways, road safety, land, agriculture and youth were included in the concurrent list.

But the Senate rejected the provision that sought the elimination of the veil of immunity on serving governors and their deputies and the president and his vice.

With the adoption of the conference committee report on the constitution amendment by the Senate yesterday, the document will now be forwarded to the 36 states of the federation for their concurrence or otherwise.

In the event that there are not up to 24 states of assembly (2/3) agreeing on any of the provisions, that aspect automatically dies or is selected as an amendment.

Senate President, David Mark, in a closing remark after the adoption of the report, appealed to the state assemblies to expedite action on the consideration of the proposed amendments to effectively end the process.

FG unveils access to cash for education, health TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

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he Federal Government will soon introduce a social safety net that will enable the poor to enjoy cash transfers to meet their basic socio-economic needs.

Government also restated its commitment to sustaining the macroeconomic stability achieved so far in the economy by adopting appropriate fiscal and monetary and other measures.

The measures include diversification of the country’s revenue base and improving the level of prudence in the management of available resources at the disposal of government.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed these initiatives yesterday during her 2014 press

briefing on the state of the economy.

She said that despite the downturn and serious uncertainties about the growth prospects of many economies globally, the outlook of Nigerian economy remained bright and assuring for sustainable growth trajectory.

The minister supported her claims with various growth indices, particularly the rebased GDP figures, single inflation rate and robust foreign reserves profile as well as increasing opening up of the economy for private investments.

She explained that the Federal Government would ensure that the economy was not exposed to the current shocks by the dwindling oil exports revenues.

According to OkonjoIweala, the proposed social safety net will be specifically targeted at the rural poor

and serve as a financial support to them in terms of providing education for their children and enabling them to access primary health care, among other basic necessities.

The minister said the scheme had been experimented in Kano to see if people could use it to send girls to school, adding that the results showed remarkable leap in girls’ enrolment in schools.

Okonjo-Iweala said that government would expand the scope and extend cash access to poor families to enable them to move up from the poverty trap to get their children educated and get their health index right.

She said: “We have asked an Inter-Ministerial Committee, which is headed by the Ministry of Finance, to work on this issue. So, as we speak, we are looking at a Social Safety Net, which

is designed to bring people at the bottom in poverty up.

What do we do?

“We are looking at various mechanisms. The biggest social safety net is jobs. So, we are focusing on sectors that are not creating jobs fast enough. What other programmes can we put in place in addition to the SURE-P to create jobs for more people because Nigerians don’t like handouts, they want to work, they want to support themselves. That is the number one thing we are looking at. “Second is, safety net for those vulnerable groups. This is what is being done in Brazil, in Bolivia, in Indonesia and other developing countries, all those countries that I say they are doing well. This is scheme we are using.”

Okonjo-Iweala maintained that the present administration had recorded remarkable achievements

in most socio-economic performance assessment parameters, adding that despite the dwindling revenue accruing to the government from the oil sector, adequate arrangements were being provided to explore non-oil revenue sources to improve the revenue generation profile of the country.

The minister said that plans had reached an advanced stage to create some fiscal and monetary mechanisms to protect the economy against likely shocks from the current dwindling revenues from crude oil exports.

Describing the agricultural, housing, telecommunications, entertainment, water, health, works and other sectors as having enjoyed substantial support of government in terms of funding over the past two years, Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that about $14.1bn

had been raised from various global multilateral and other financial institutions to support the various sectors.

She explained that having successfully launched the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company, NMRC, a few months ago and finalised the processing of over 60,000 applications for the first pilot scheme of 10,000 housing units, government would within the next 10 days send out mortgage acceptance letters to successful applicants to enable them to begin the process of owning their own homes.

The minister noted that Nigeria was not broke as all the financial and macroeconomic indices showed that the country was financially robust.

She said that the ministry was keeping abreast with international economCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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Photo News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

L-R: Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel; Director-General, Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo; Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Mashi, and DirectorGeneral, Security Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, during the 2014 Ministerial Platform Press Briefing in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

L-R: Head, Strategy, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Ighodalo Aimienwanu; Executive Director, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, and Chief Information Officer, Mr. Segun Anako, during the Launching of the ‘ONE BANK’ (Sterling Bank Branded Phones) initiative in Lagos, yesterday.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Regional Community Health Manager, Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Ltd, Dr. Tunde Fakunle; Director, Advocacy and Programme Development, Health Insurance Fund, the Netherlands, Dr. Kwasi Boahene, and Ms. Aaltje de Roos of the Sustainable Department, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the panel session on Public Private Partnerships for Universal Health Coverage in Africa, in Leiden, Netherlands, recently.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio (right) presenting a souvenir to Africa and Middle East President, Heineken, Mr. Siep Hiemstra, during a courtesy call at the Governor’s Office in Uyo, yesterday.

National News

Reps move to break DSTV monopoly WOLE OLADIMEJI ABUJA

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bill, aimed at creating a level playing field for all television stations in the country to access and broadcast programmes regarded as premium contents, is underway at the House of Representatives.

The bill, which passed its second reading, is expected to break the monopoly of both local and foreign television stations, especially DSTV. The passage of the bill to the Committee of the House was sequel to a debate on it at the Plenary.

The bill, sponsored by Aisha Dahiru, is seeking for an Act to amend the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Act,to provide for competition in Nigeria, in order to promote efficiency The bill is also aimed at expanding opportunities for participation of Nigerians in world markets, while at the same time, recognising the role of foreign competi-

tion in Nigeria.

Aisha, while introducing the bill, informed her colleagues that a situation where the NBC would allow foreign television service providers to exclusively have access to certain programme contents for which Nigerians are exorbitantly charged, is unacceptable.

“The decree which is now an Act of the National Assembly was established on the foundation of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria As Amended. Section 16 (1b) and (2c).

“Unfortunately, this commendable effort has been truncated by a new form of monopoly that threatens the social, political and economic needs of the Nigerian people.

“The policy which is referred to as premium contents/programmes by broadcasting companies with more financial muscles and influence, is a new form of monopoly where these companies are given exclusive right to broadcast pro-

grammes with high demand while other operators are excluded.

“This runs contrary to the vision and mission of the establishing theNBC,because this monopoly allows the operator to increase subscription cost at will and give you what they feel like giving, because one does not have a choice.

“DSTV through its local partner Multichoice in Nigeria, has the exclusive right to broadcast the English Premier League, National Geographic, major sporting tournaments, discovery, Reality TV and a host of other important programmes.

“DSTV ensure that you pay full subscription before you have access to important programmes, which runs contrary to section 16 (1b and 2c) of the 1999 Constitution,” Dahiru said.

The current NBC Act, she said, is incapable of engendering competition.

“As legislators, if we do not act fast, the growing nature of this type of monopoly will stifle the industry in

Nigeria. As the voice of the people we have the constitutional obligation to make laws for the good governance of our country.

This bill seeks to use the instrumentality of the law to protect the citizens of this country from unwarranted exploitation.

“Recently, Brilla FM announced that it has acquired the exclusive right to broadcast the Spanish La Liga and Copa Del Rey in addition to the EPL. Its boss warned other radio stations to keep off its programmes, or meet with litigation. He even went on to suggest that the regulatory body, NBC, has assented to the exclusivity of Brilla FM to broadcast the programmes.

“It is interesting to note, that South Africa’s Communications Minister, Mr. Yunus Carrim, where DSTV originated, had on 19th of March, 2014 halted DSTV’s monopoly and created cheaper tariff, as well as making premium programmes available to the poor in that country . They have created room

for Africans to own pay TVs and de-monopolise movies,” she added.

The House Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) in his contribution, stated that the bill seeks to amend areas of the principal Act that are being exploited by foreign TV content providers to monopolise the airing of certain programmes.

“Because of the financial muscles of these companies, they take advantage of our laws and exploit our people.

“A situation where you can’t view certain programmes even on DSTV, let alone on other TV channels if you don’t subscribe the so-called premium bouquet is highly exploitative, even when you don’t watch your TV, your money keeps running”, he added.

Robinson Uwak, (PDP, Akwa Ibom) was of the view that; “what our colleague has brought to our notice is the loopholes in our laws which allows foreign companies to take advantage of Nigerians in an exploitative manner. I support this bill that seeks

to remove undue monopoly from the industry,” he said.

Tobi Okechukwu, (PDP Enugu), said foreign companies always find Nigeria as fertile ground for exploitation when they can’t even do same in their own country of origin.

“I think what this bill is trying to do is to encourage other investors to play favorably in the industry without any barrier. This law has come to play in South Africa, it has come to play in Kenya; and it has also come to play even in India. So it’s very important that we support this bill to eliminate this unwarranted monopoly”, Okechukwu submitted.

Minority Whip, Samson Osagie (APC, Edo) argued that “the attraction that this bill has for me is the intention to remove hindrances that bar other companies from participating in airing certain programmes for the viewing benefits of consumers. I urge my colleagues to speak for the people by supporting the second reading of this bill”.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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Newswatch files notice of appeal against judgement WALE IGBINTADE

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ewswatch Communications Limited yesterday filed notice of appeal against the judgement of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which declared sales of the majority shareholding in Newswatch invalid.

The company, in its notice of appeal filed by Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, is challenging the decision of Justice

Buba on the grounds that the trial court misdirected itself in fact and law.

Already, the registrar of the Federal High Court has issued the Civil Form 7, being summons to parties for the compilation of record of proceedings for onward transmission to the Court of Appeal on Friday.

The Newswatch’s notice of appeal stated that the trial court took the case outside the pleadings of the parties.

Specifically, the notice of appeal states that the

particulars of misdirection include failure of the trial judge to recognise the payment of N510m made by the core investor to the company.

The company also noted that there were sufficient evidence on Page 13 of the offering memorandum admitted before the court that the Newswatch Communications was running at a loss of N362m under Mr. Ray Ekpu as then Chief Executive Officer and wondered why the court awarded damages for business that was running

at a loss!

Consequently, it prayed the appellate court to among other reliefs, set aside the judgement delivered by Justice Buba.

Speaking on the judgment, Chief Ayorinde SAN said: “We have two conflicting judgements emanating from two courts of equal jurisdiction.

The parties in the suit are not only the same, the issues are also the same. The court has created a situation where parties will choose which of the

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemoni; Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Muoka Aethel and Director, Architectural Services, Mr. Sani Gidado, during the inauguration of InterMinisterial Committee on National Land Policy in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

One killed, four injured in Oyo as Customsmen invade market KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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middle aged man, simply identified as Idowu was allegedly killed, while four others were injured on Monday when men of the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Services, NSC, invaded Isale Adeen area of Saki in the upper Oke Ogun area of Oyo State.

National Mirror learnt that the incident happened at a market on Ikomi Road in the Saki West local government area when the officials shot sporadically into the air to effect the arrest of suspected smugglers of suspected contraband, but in the process allegedly shot and killed Idowu who has since been buried according to Islam-

ic rites.

It was gathered that the officers were said to have uncovered a warehouse in the market where suspected banned goods like rice and other products were being hidden.

About four other persons were said to be have been hospitalized, having sustained series of injuries in the fracas.

An eyewitness account revealed that about 10 Hilux vehicles of the Customs Service with an Armoured Personnel Carrier were stationed around the area to contain possible reprisal from the people.

Residents said that owing to the tension created, many of them could not move out freely, just as many of the farmers in the mainly agrarian community could not go to

their farms.

A resident, who gave his name as Adeola Fehintola said: “The heavy presence of the men of the Customs Service is very worrisome indeed. The sporadic shooting and its eventual effect was another.

I learnt the officials suspected a warehouse they came to raid.

“We are not saying that they should not raid. It is their legitimate role, but they should do so with rights of individuals in mind. They can impound and arrest, but not to shoot to kill.

“Smuggling is bad, but the problem many people here are facing is that everybody is now a smuggler. If my relations in Ogbomoso or Oyo ask me to buy rice and bring for them, and it is seen in my

car, I would be seen as a smuggler. That should not be the case. Everybody has got the fundamental human right under the law, but with this invasion, the rights of many people here have been violated.

“This is an agrarian community. Many farmers were afraid to go to their farms. If the government makes provision for planting of rice in large scale, many of our youths would be meaningfully engaged and the issue of smuggling rice into the country would be minimized.”

Efforts made to speak with the Public Relations Officer of the state Customs Service in Ibadan proved abortive as she said that the Command would address the press on the development today.

two judgments they should obey.’’

He recalled that sometime, last year, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had in a wellconsidered judgement restrained the former directors of Newswatch Communications Limited from parading themselves as directors of the organisation.

Specifically, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed and Soji Akinrinade, who have been at loggerheads with the new management led by Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR, were also restrained from acting on behalf of the minority shareholders.

In his judgement, Justice Abang had held that by the evidence before him, it was clear and uncontroverted that the defendants had been duly paid their terminal benefits and that they resigned voluntarily.

The court added that it was clear that Ekpu was paid over N79.5m; Yakubu was paid N77.7m; Agbese was also paid N77.7m while Akinrinade was paid N60.5m, and that none of the defendants led evidence to refute these facts.

Besides, Justice Abang also stated that the claim by the defendants that they were reappointed as non-executive directors at the same meeting at which they voluntarily resigned could not be proved by evidence before the court.

The court held that the moment the new core investor, Dr. Ibrahim, acquired 51

per cent majority shareholding after paying N510m for the acquisition, the management of the company passed to Dr. Ibrahim.

“If the directors are saying the management of the company had not passed to him prior to May 5, 2011 when the contract was completed why did they sign the Share Purchase Agreement?

Why did they admit him to the Board of Directors and why was he made the Chairman of the Board of Directors?”, Justice Abang said.

Before finally losing this substantive suit, the defendants had lost a number of interlocutory decisions, which included a preliminary objection they had filed to the suit which was dismissed on March 6, 2013.

Justice Abang had earlier quashed the two appeals filed at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal by the defendants on the grounds that they were invalid and incompetent.

However, over a year after, a sister court presided over

by Justice Ibrahim Buba in the case filed by the minority shareholders namely; Mr. Nuhu Aruwa and Prof.

Jibril Aminu against Newswatch Communications Limited, Global Media Mirror Limited, nullified the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) which transferred ownership of Newswatch Communications Limited to Global Media Mirror Limited owned by business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim.

FG unveils access to cash for education, health CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

ic developments and providing appropriate measures to ensure that funding of the economy would not be a challenge.

The minister, however, added that government was happy that all the revenue agencies were doing their best to enhance the non-oil revenue ratio of the GDP. She stressed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS; the Nigeria Customs Service and others are revving up their revenue drives to surpass the targets set by government.

The minister said that the fight against the menace of ghost workers syndrome in the public service was ongoing and that latest savings

by government from the current efforts to eliminate it stood at over N150bn.

She hinted that based on the administration’s commitment to fight corruption, those involved in the nefarious act had been handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, for proper investigations and possible prosecution.

Okonjo-Iweala said that implementation of the 2014 budget remained on course, fiscal prudence and other measures were being introduced to sustain the current macroeconomic stability and possibly surpass the GDP growth rate of the economy.

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Court to decide Confab’s legality Nov 27 Ise-Oluwa Ige ABUJA

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Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday reserved judgment till November 27 in a suit in which ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s former lawyer, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, is challenging the constitutionality of the just concluded National Conference.

Justice Abdul Kafarati fixed the date yesterday after listening to submissions canvassed by counsels in the matter for and against the action.

Abayomi had approached the court to stop the Federal Government from going ahead with the conference.

Named as defendants in the case are President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, Senate President David Mark and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/ 167/204 and dated March 3, 2014, Abayomi argued that the President lacked the powers to convoke or convene a national conference without authorising legislation from the National Assembly.

He asked the court to determine whether

a national conference could be convened by the President and/or Federal Government of Nigeria without an enabling law made by the National Assembly.

In an affidavit in support of the suit, deposed to by one Mr. Patrick Bisong, a litigation clerk in Abayomi’s office, the lawyer said the Federal Government planned “to spend billions of public money to fund the conference despite the absence of any law enabling the President to convoke the conference.”

The plaintiff therefore asked the court to restrain the Federal Government from going ahead with the conference.

Abayomi had informed the court that if the national conference was not stopped, “billions of taxpayers’ money will be spent unconstitutionally.”

Noting that “the President is working with deliberate speed to convene the conference,” the plaintiff urged the court to expedite hearing on the suit.

Jonathan had said that the outcome of the national conference would be sent to the National Assembly as part of the ongoing constitution amendment programme.

Staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service removing evidential documents at a tax evading company in Ikoyi, during the clampdown on tax defaulters in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Terrorism: FG wants secret trial for Ndume • Group flays FG, B’Haram’s ceasefire pact Ise-Oluwa Ige and Olufemi Adeosun

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he Federal Government yesterday requested a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, to take the remaining evidence purportedly linking Ndume to terrorism charges in secret.

The government cited national security and public safety as reason.

Ndume has been standing trial in open court for terrorism charges since trial began in the case.

Ndume, a senator from Borno State is standing trial before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the court over alleged link with the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

Counsel representing the federal government in the matter, E.A. Orji, in a motion dated September 23

begged the court to protect the identity of the remaining witnesses to give evidence in the matter.

“We urge the court to exclude members of the public from the trial.

“We also want the court to protect the identities of the remaining witnesses that shall give evidence in this case. The fundamental rights of the accused have not been violated because his counsel is represented and has not in any way been excluded from the matter.

“It is in the interest of national security and public safety that the motion should be granted,” he said.

The accused counsel, Mr. I. Amaza, in his submission told the court that the request will violate his client’s right to fair hearing.

He told the court to turn down the request of the

prosecution and continue with the trial.

After listening to both counsels, Justice Kolawole adjourned the case to October 24 for ruling.

Meanwhile, a civil society group, Citizens Arise Movement of Nigeria, CAMON, has accused the Federal Government of double-speak over the peace deal purportedly struck with members of the dreaded Islamic group, Boko Haram.

The leader of the group, Otunba Dino Melaye, who led over 500 protesters to the Eagle Square Abuja denouncing the failure of the present administration to tackle the issue of corruption in the country, stated that the peace deal was just one of the many lies of President Jonathan.

He said: “The ceasefire agreement is another lie

NERC gives Discos two weeks to deliver metres Chidi Ugwu ABUJA

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uccour may have come the way of electricity consumers whose metres are yet to be delivered months after payments as Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has given Distribution Companies, Discos, two weeks within which to deliver their metres.

The NERC chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, who disclosed this yesterday during a meeting with the Discos and stakeholders on Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection loss studies in Abuja, said the commission will

not view with levity failure to provide the customers with metres.

“By this week we are sending letters to all the Discos. The commissioner for consumer affairs is already preparing the letters. We will give Discos two weeks to make sure they fully metre all those who have paid because the order of the commission is 45 days. After the two weeks, we will conduct public hearings to ascertain whether all those who have paid for CAPMI metres have been metred.

“And the commission will view very seriously failure to meter these consumers. So I want to assure those of you writing

us with complaints that they paid for CAPMI metres in the last three, four months, and we will ensure in the coming weeks that those who have not been metred get theirs.

And Discos that have not metreed consumers who paid for it will be sanctioned,” he stated.

He assured that all written complaints to the commission over metering would be pursued to logical conclusion.

Earlier, NERC explained that it was working hard to ensure that electricity distribution companies provided metres to their customers, noting that the metering gap in the country was

huge.

Amadi spoke shortly after an event in Abuja: “Our expectation is that metering will increase, but let us be very careful.

The metering gap in Nigeria is about 50 per cent and we don’t expect that gap to be closed in a short while.

What we expect to see is significant and consistent effort by the distribution companies to keep metering their customers.

“Of course the gap can close quickly if increase in capacity results in increase in revenue, and the regulator will benchmark that increase in revenue.

But we expect to see continuous and good effort by the Discos to metre their

consumers and quickly close down the gap. But the gap will still be there for some time because it is a huge gap.”

On the methodology employed by the Discos in billing non-metred consumers, Amadi said the commission had educated the power firms on how to go about it properly.

He said, “We worked them through the methodology and this is because some of them are new in the sector. By this methodology, before the Discos estimate your bill, they would have looked at the energy supply in that cluster.

“They would have looked at the metered cus-

like any other told by this government. The President told Nigerians that he will not negotiate with a faceless group, this same government said that it is not going to negotiate at all, now that the federal government is negotiating, has the ghosts become human beings?

“They said that there is a cease fire and that

by Monday these girls would be released, today is Tuesday, and none of them has been released.

When there is a cease fire, both parties must have records of agreement, time and place, which were not done.”

He said if truly the ceasefire agreement was at the instance of the Chadian government, its President should have been the one to make it public, not the Federal Government of Nigeria.

tomers in that cluster and be able to have a much more accurate estimation.

What is going on now in some cases is not estimation, it is just arbitrary way of tariff and we have expressed a very strong disapproval on that. Give and take, there will be some margin of error, but it will come close to some level of accuracy.

“A consumer should also be able to benchmark his bill based on what his metered neighbour is receiving as tariff. So, if for example, an average customer in your area pays N5,000 or N10,000 and your Disco is giving you N15,000 bill, that is a smoking gun.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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South West

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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Gowon charges Nigerians on education growth …as ABUAD graduates 334

ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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ormer head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, has urged Nigerians to contribute their quota to the management of education in the country.

This was as the Federal Government was urged to include private universities as beneficiaries of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, in view of their contribution to education development in the country.

Former Vice Chancel-

lor, VC, of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, and the Pro-chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher, said it was against natural justice to deny the private institutions of enjoying

TETFUND grants for research.

They spoke in Ado-Ekiti yesterday during at second ABUAD convocation and award of honorary degrees on four eminent individuals.

A total of 334 students received first degree honours yesterday. Of the figure, 47 bagged first class, 158 got second class upper, 115 received second

class lower, and 14 graduated with third class.

Gowon, who was conferred with Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, on the occasion, harped on the need for education development to discourage social vices including the Boko Haram menace plaquing the country at present.

The former head of state, who canvassed sustenance of the country’s democracy, said: “Without democracy, economic development and related issues can hardly be possible. It is necessary for education to be on a solid foundation.”

Gowon, who praised ABUAD for its exploits,

infrastructure development and achievements in the last 45 months, said: “A truly great institution would be known for its quality and the quality of graduates it releases to the world.”

He urged ABUAD to maintain and build on its standard that had been recognised by UNESCO and others.

Gowon

Adigwe, others concealed fraud –EFCC WALE IGBINTADE

L-R: Representative of Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Folasade Ogunnaike; Onigogo of Igogo-Ekiti, Oba Sunday Okinbaloye; Project Coordinator, UNESCO, Safiyu Muhammad; Iyaloja-General of Osun State, Alhaja Awawu Asindemade and representative of the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Obi Okwuonu, during the Gender and Transformative Leadership Training in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Lagos braces up on baby HIV transmission FRANKA OSAKWE

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agos State has stated that pregnant women can prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their unborn children if they get tested.

If HIV positive, the government added, adequate treatment would be made available so that the mothers can bear HIVnegative children and also be in stable health to look after them.

This was the highlight of a public lecture on reduction of mother-to-

child transmission of HIV/AIDS death in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.

In her keynote address, the wife of Lagos State governor, Dame Emmanuella Abimbola Fashola, expressed concern that the state had remained one of the 12+1 states that accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s burden of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV, MTCT, in the country.

The problem, she said, has remained despite the efforts of the government to stop it through various strategies like free prevention of moth-

er-to-child transmission services,and increase of service delivery points from 66 in 2012 to 312 in 2014.

According to her, the problem had persisted because only a few number of pregnant women had been tested and counseled on HIV/AIDS. “Majority of pregnant women do not know the benefits of utilising these services because they are not aware or informed.

“Today, we call for action on the part of all, including women leaders, to stop this trend and join the global drive

to eliminate mother-tochild transmission of HIV and also encourage healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies,” she said.

Mrs. Fashola stated that, in the face of PMTCT/maternal health in the state, she would be working with all the chairpersons of the local governments and local council areas in other to effectively mobilise, enlighten and educate women on the availability of PMTCT and family planning services in their communities.

A

n Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, witness, Emmanuel Al-Hassan, yesterday told a Lagos High Court that many documents were contrived by the former managing director of the defunct Afribank Plc, Sebastian Adigwe, and other directors to coverup over N15bn allegedly stolen from the bank.

Adigwe was arraigned alongside Osa Osunde, Jibrin Isah, Isa Zailani, Chinedu Onyia and Henry Arogundade and Peter Ololo before Justice Olabisi Akinlade on a 36-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen property.

At the resumed hearing of the matter, Al-Hassan, who led a team of Investigating Police Officers, IPO, that unraveled the alleged fraud, however, told Justice Olabisi Akinlade that the money

could not be traced to any of the defendants.

Al-Hassan, while under cross-examination by counsel to the first defendant, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, said: “I am not a banker or a stock broker, but during the course of investigation, we discovered that Adigwe and other directors transferred N15bn in favour of Rehoboth Assets Limited.’’

Besides, Al-Hassan told the court that during the course of investigation, “we recovered so many documents. There are other documents obtained after the exit of the defendants from the bank that explained what transpired that led to N11.5bn being transferred to Spring Capital limited.’’

He stated that when the alleged stealing was committed, documents were contrived to cover up the stealing, adding that some of the exhibits before the court were part of the documentation to cover up the alleged fraud.

NDLEA nabs drug courier at Lagos airport OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, has said it apprehended an Aba-based patent medi-

cine dealer in connection with unlawful possession of one kilogramme of methamphetamine.

The 40-year-old suspect, Chike Ifeanyichukwu Pauline, was found with the drug during an outward screening of passengers on RwandAir flight.

An online statement by the spokesman of the agency, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, stated that preliminary investigations conducted by the agency revealed that the suspect was travelling to Bujumbura, Burundi, through Kigali, Rwanda.

“Chike was found with one kilogramme of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine on his way to Bujumbura. The case is under investigation,” he stated.

The suspect, in his statement, allegedly confessed that he need-

ed money for his wedding scheduled for December 2014.

“I am a patent medicine dealer in Aba, Abia State. My arrest is very unfortunate because I am a hardworking person. I was deceived into drug trafficking because

“I was desperate to perform my marriage ceremony by the end of the year. I was optimistic that I will not be arrested, but things did not go according to my expectation. What must I do to set myself free from this predicament?” Chike lamented.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

9

APC lauds Lagos over Ebola’s containment

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L-R: Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Mrs. Oyefunke Oworu; her Information and Orientation counterpart and Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on the Molete Fire Disaster, Prince Gbade Lana and Commissioner for Fiscal and Urban Planning, Mr. Deji Akande, during a news conference on the recent fire disaster in Ibadan, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Police arrest killers of Obadina, Newswatch editor DARE AKOGUN

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peratives of the Lagos State Police Command Anti Robbery Squad have arrested a six-man armed robbery gang alleged to have killed the late Deputy Editor of Daily Newswatch newspapers, Mr. Toyin Obadina.

Police commissioner Kayode Aderanti revealed this while addressing crime reporters in his office at the Police Headquarters, Ikeja.

Aderanti stated that on October 17, he received information of the activities of members of some dreaded armed robbery gang who were hatching a grand plan to unleash terror on Lagos residents.

He said based on the

tip-off, he immediately directed the command’s anti-robbery squad led by SP Abbah Kyari to go after the robbers.

According to him, his crack detectives soon located the hideout around Ajelogo/Akanimdo area of Mile 12, and succeeded in arresting two members of the gang whose names were given as Ibrahim Adeokun and Babatunde Makinde.

He further revealed that his men recovered two cutto-size locally made single barrel short guns with 12 rounds of live cartridges upon search conducted on the suspects and their hideout.

Aderanti stated that the robbers during interrogation confessed that they belonged to a six-man gang of armed robbers

that have been terrorising the metropolis.

Also, they confessed that on February 1, 2014 at about 01:30hrs they killed the owner of a Toyota Yaris saloon car with Registration No AKD 701 and snatched his car which they later abandoned at Ikorodu area.

He said the victim later turned out to be late Obadina.

One of the suspects, Adeshina Festus, narrated how prior to the robbery operation that claimed the life of the journalist, the gang had robbed one Segun Afolabi of his Nissan Xterra Jeep with Registration No LSD 780 BJ which they used to block the way before descending on the late journalist.

He revealed that the gang leader Oke and his

deputy Benjamin, who pulled the trigger on Obadina, were later killed by men of the State Anti Robbery Squad in another operation around Mile 12.

The police boss used the opportunity to once again reiterate the command’s resolve to confront headlong the issue of crime and criminality, stressing that with the arrest of those who killed the late journalist after several months, it only translates that they could possibly be on the run after perpetrating a crime, but surely cannot hide for too long.

He added that the suspect will soon be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded and that the manhunt for the fleeing duo of Olasheu and Omo Alhaji is being intensified.

ollowing the World Health Organisation, WHO’s declaration of Lagos State as Ebola free on Monday, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has applauded the state government for its pacesetting role in checking the deadly Ebola virus.

The party said Lagos indeed showed leadership in tackling the virus, which led to its successful containment in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe and made available to National Mirror, the party said the Governor Babatunde Fashola government led and dictated the pace for the successful control of the disease because it had over the years established a pro-active health sector that naturally rose up to the challenge posed by the ravaging virus.

It said that Lagos would continue to show the limitless possibilities Nigeria possesses if it has the right leadership.

“We note that Nigeria is gloating over the successful containment of Ebola virus. We note that some people and groups are positioning themselves for the accolades for this feat.

“But what is not in doubt is that the Lagos State government, through its health ministry and health staff set the pace for the control of the virus and led the way in dictating the best possible way to ensure that

the spread of the disease is put under control.

“We note that many staff of the Lagos State health ministry sacrificed themselves to ensure the disease did not spread further than it did.

“We note that before any other person or sector could react, Lagos has mapped out strategies for the control of Ebola, set out facilities for the treatment and quarantine of Ebola victims and deployed the staff of its health and allied ministries to battle the novel disease and its fallouts.

“We note that these were just possible because over the years, the proactive government in Lagos has established a viable and responsive health sector and format that has risen to the health needs of 21 million Lagosians today.

“In the glee of the World Health Organisation’s declaration of Nigeria as Ebola free, it is proper that we salute the very dedicated pacesetting role the Fashola/APC government played in achieving this feat.

“It is right to say that had the dreaded disease berthed elsewhere, Nigeria would have been grappling with an unmitigated disaster in its hands today,” the party said.

Igbokwe

Trade fair: Concessionaire accuses ex-staffers of collecting N274m rent MATTHEW IRINOYE

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ustice Kudirat Jose of the Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, was yesterday told how four erstwhile officials of the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, Badagry Expressway, and a civil servant, conspired together and continued to collect rents running into several millions from traders at the complex, even after the complex was duly concessioned by the federal government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had dragged defendants Bassey Eyamba, Francis Dajilak, Lazarus Okocha, Barnabas Kolo and Eunice Okafor, to court for alleged conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, and forgery.

They were said to have collected a total of N274 million. They pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

However, in his evidence in chief, Professor Chika Nick Eze, the first prosecution witness in

the matter, said that the complex was concessioned to his company, Pulic Nigeria Limited by the federal government through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 2007.

The witness also a professor of Political Economy further told the court that following the perfection of the concessioning, he immediately paid N212,731 million representing entry fees and payment for moveable items to the Bureau of Public Enterprise as required by law.

Eze who was led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, A. B. C. Ozokwo, also stated that though he took effective control of the complex in 2008, he later discovered that the defendants who before the concessioning were top management staffers of the complex, still collected rents and fees from traders at the complex under different names and that in some cases these monies were paid into their personal accounts.

Eze stated that Eyam-

ba who was a staffer of federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, later posed as Executive Director of the complex to the traders, a development he said enabled him to extort money from the traders.

Speaking further, the witness said on the discovery of the fraudulent activities of the defendants, he petitioned National Council on Privatisation, NCP. He said the head of the organisation at that time who is the incumbent president, Dr. Goodluck

Jonathan, gave instruction that the allegation be probed. He contended that despite the directive, no action was taken by the concerned ministry. This, he said, led to the decision to petition the EFCC. Lead counsel to the defendants, J. A. Kalu, did not cross-examine Eze owing to his insistence to peruse the fresh proof of evidence given to him by the prosecution only on Friday.

Further hearing was adjourned till November 14 and 28.

10

South East

You’re an alarmist, Imo govt tells Anyanwu CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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he Imo State Government yesterday described Senator Chris Anyanwu as an alarmist, saying her accusation that Governor Rochas Okorocha had plunged the state into huge debt, including local debts of about N50bn, among others, were petty allegations.

The government said that for the senator representing Owerri in the National Assembly to use her declaration event of governorship ambition to make ‘bogus claims’ was an indication that she had no programme or policies for the state.

In a statement signed by the media assistant to the governor, Sam Onwuemeodo and made available to journalists in Owerri, the government challenged the senator to identify the banks where the governor borrowed the money from.

According to the statement, Anyanwu would have given the particulars of the debts and how she arrived at the N50bn figure for the local content to be taken serious.

“If the alleged debt was money borrowed from the bank, then which bank? Using her declaration event for her governorship ambition to make the bogus claims was an indication that she has no programme or policies for the state,” the statement said.

It added: “Beyond all these, one could be stating the obvious if Senator Anyanwu is said to have put on the toga of an alarmist in recent times, which is not expected from a distinguished senator of her calibre.

“Recently, she deceived the distinguished senators by raising the alarm that the Imo state government was registering northerners in the state with the aim of issuing them identification cards, and the senators were deceived into passing a resolution on a matter that never existed.

“When the challenge was thrown back to the

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Ebola: UNICEF envoy calls for vigilance CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

A Gov. Okorocha

senators for proof, they discovered that they had been deceived by the female senator from Imo State, prompting the state to demand for an apology.

“This time around, the senator also used an opportunity she would have appropriated to tell Imo people what she was able to achieve for the eight years she has been in the Senate and her programmes for the state, if she becomes the governor in 2015, to raise another alarm of huge debt that does not exist, and without giving any hint to her audience that could enable them authenticate her claims.”

The statement stressed: “Senator Anyanwu did not say anything that would make any serious person to believe her. So, we see the allegation as an issue she used to fill the gap of the unveiling of her programme for the state, for her governorship dream to be fulfilled.

“She has no programme for thel Imo people. She then used the false claim to fill the blank space… Don’t forget, she needs to win the PDP ticket before talking about Rochas.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

n HIV specialist with the United Nations Children Education Fund, UNICEF, Enugu Office, Dr. Femi Adeyemi, has admonished the public to exhibit greater vigilance against the Ebola virus and prevent the citizens of ravaged countries, particularly Liberia, from flocking to Nigeria to seek for illegal succour, in view of the World Health Organisation, WHO, certification of Nigeria as Ebola-free.

Adeyemi stated that with the clean bill of health which Nigeria has earned on Ebola, it was high time all the country’s entry points and boarders were properly policed to

prevent the infection of Nigerians by desperate patients from neighbouring countries who would like to benefit from the successful manner Ebola was ‘defeated’ in Nigeria.

Speaking at Abagana, Njikoka local government area, during the inauguration of a three-day workshop for health correspondents in Anambra State yesterday, organised

by UNICEF in collaboration with the Anambra State Ministry of Health, Adeyemi cautioned the public to note that the fact that Nigeria succeeded in curtailing Ebola does not mean that the public is free of the risk, as people from the ravaged countries would like to flock to Nigeria illegally.

“Yes, we have been declared Ebola-free, but we

are still at risk, but from the west coast, people are moving into our country,” Adeyemi said.

The UNICEF doctor attributed the high success recorded in the battle against Ebola in Nigeria to the massive public awareness mounted against its spread in the country.

Adeyemi, who spoke extensively on the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV vis-a-vis how to prevent the trend, stated that if Nigeria had shown sensitivity to childhood diseases like HIV, the serious commitment that was displayed towards Ebola, then HIV prevalence would be reduced drastically.

According to him, stigma is the highest nightmare for HIV-positive

people in the country.

Adeyemi said: “The goal of all Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, PMTCT, interventions in Nigeria is HIV-free survival, which focuses on both prevention of HIV transmission and child survival.”

On how to check the problems occasioned by PMTCT of HIV, Adeyemi stated that all mothers, including HIV-infected ones, should strive to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months of life and introduce complementary foods at six months of age.

He added that improved complementary feeding of all infants, especially those born to HIV-infected mothers, should be promoted and supported.

L-R: President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ECCIMA, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye; Director-General, Mr. Emeka Okereke and Head of Administration, Phinoimar Nigeria Ltd, Chief Augustine Onyia, during a sympathy visit to Phinomar Poultry on the fire incident at the ultra-modern hatchery in Ngwo, Enugu State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Enugu PDP loses councillorship to APC DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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he Local Government Election Petition Tribunal in Enugu State has nullified the election of Michael Kelle of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the councilor representing Awgu Ward 1.

Delivering judgement in Petition No. EP/5/2013 between Chief Felix Og-

bonna of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Michael Kelle, the PDP and Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIC, the tribunal presided over by Mr. Umunna Ugwu, ordered ENSIEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the candidate of PDP and conduct a re-run election within two weeks.

The tribunal nullified the election on the ground

of substantial non-compliance with the Local Government Law of Enugu State 2004, the election guidelines and manual which non-compliance substantially affected the outcome of the election.

Reacting to the judgement, the APC lauded the judiciary for serving the cause of justice it said would always promote the inalienable rights of the good people of Enugu

State to elect their ‘true leaders’.

Chairman of the APC in the state, Dr. Ben Nwoye, said the judgement was a sign that things were changing in the state, adding that it was the second time the APC got a judgement against PDP in the state.

Nwoye said: “Before, it would have been inconceivable that a state PDP election would be

upturned here, but it has exposed ENSIEC as an electoral fraud. It shows that all our efforts at the election were not in vain, after all.

“PDP has used high handedness to stifle the opposition in the state, but this is just the beginning of what will happen to the PDP in the 2015 election. We will match PDP polling unit by polling unit and ward to ward.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

11

Hold Akpabio responsible for abandoned projects — Attah OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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ormer Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Victor Attah, has blamed the state government for the myriads of abandoned projects in the state.

Attah accused the sit-

ting governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, of abandoning most of the projects he commenced while in office and said the action had put the state backward.

Attah in an interview with aviation correspondents yesterday at the Murtala Mohammed Air-

port, MMA, Lagos, insisted that some of the abandoned projects in the state were good ideas, which he started while in office.

Some of the abandoned projects he mentioned included the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul, MRO, facility for the Ibom International Airport, the

state’s power plants, Ibom Science Park, Ibom Shipping building yard and urban water schemes with water works built in about 10 local government to articulate clean and safe water for residents in the state.

He said government should be a continuum,

pointing out that most of the projects being done today by the Babatunde Fashola-led Lagos State government were those commenced by his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He said, “It is the government that abandoned most of the projects I started in the state. You should direct your question of abandoned projects in the state to the state government. Several good ideas I started are abandoned today in the state.

“For instance, I started the MRO facility of the

Ibom international Airport when I was the governor, but today, the MRO is abandoned. When we started, we had a technical partner from the United States, Dicon, which handles their airforce, but when the government came onboard, he sent them packing. Government should be continuum.

“Most of the projects Fashola is doing today were those commenced by his predecessor in the state. That is how it should be and not the other way round.”

Bayelsa to get appeal court soon ... sets up oil and gas panel OSAHON JULIUS YENAGOA

B L-R: Kalabari PDP elder, Chief Ferdinand Alabaraban; former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara and Rivers PDP governorship aspirant, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, during the presentation of PDP governorship expression of interest form by Rivers PDP leaders to Wike in Abuja yesterday.

Rivers 2015: Mu’azu didn’t endorse Wike as PDP candidate — Aspirant DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

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ormer Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Gabriel Pidomson, yesterday denied that the National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Adamu Mu’azu, had endorsed Chief Nyesom Wike as the party’s sole candidate in the runup to the governorship election in the state.

Also, he called on people of Rivers to resist any

Mu’azu

form of ethnic domination, stating that it will be unjust for another Ikwerre man to succeed the incumbent governor, Chibuike Amaechi, in 2015.

Pidomsom, a member of the state House of Assembly from 2003 - 2007 and later SSG under the six months administration of Sir Celestine Omehia, spoke during a forum organised by the Correspondents’ Forum of the Nigerian Union of Journalists Rivers State chapter in Port Harcourt.

He explained that Mu’azu was in Port Harcourt, the state capital recently where he commissioned some projects and commended the former Minister of State for Education, Wike, for his contributions to the growth of the party in the state, which did not amount to endorsement.

He said, “You don’t expect the (PDP) National Chairman to come here and he is commission-

ing a project by a serving minister and to say you (a serving minister) is not on track.

“If he Mu’azu says that somebody is on track does not mean endorsement. We are all there in Abuja and we have contacts in the highest places. If he (Wike) has been endorsed, I will not waste my N11 million to pick nomination form.

“I do not have anything against Wike becoming governor, but my point of departure is that it is not justifiable in a state that has over 20 ethnic groups.

Rivers State has grown beyond one ethnic group.

“Where Omehia becomes governor, after that, Amaechi becomes governor, then after that, another Ikwerre man becomes governor, and then possibly after that, they will hand over to their son.

“This fight of saying that an Ikwerre man should not succeed an Ik-

werre man is beyond just justice’s sake; it is a fight for Ikwerre children of the future. If an Ikwerre man rules Rivers State for another eight years, it means that Ikwerre would have ruled Rivers for 16 years.

“It means that if eventually an Ogoni man assumes the reins of power, a precedent has been set for a particular ethnic nationality to rule for 16 years.

“Then when it goes to Kalabari people, they will rule for 16 years. You now go to Okrika, they will rule for 16 years.”

He also debunked the claim credited to Amaechi that PDP aspirants lack competence.

He noted that he has both the educational qualification and experience to run for the plum position, saying he was ready for a debate with any aspirant from the All Progressives’ Congress, APC.

ayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Wodu Kemasuode, has said plans to establish an appeal court in the state has reached advanced stage, assuring also that the court and other relevant courts will qicken the dispensation of justice before the expiration of the present administration.

He noted that once this is done, all cases pending in Port Harcourt, Rivers State would be transferred to the state and Bayelsans would no longer travel in search of justice at the appeal court in Port Harcourt.

The Attorney-General also disclosed that a committee has been set up on oil and gas with a view to mediate on matters bordering on refusal to comply with tax laws and failure to embark on thorough remediation on communities impacted by oil spills.

This, he said, is a result of the plethora of problems arising from the action and inaction of oil and gas multi-national company in the state and the Niger Delta region.

Speaking with newsmen in Yenagoa, Kemasuode said government is embittered that despite that 99 percent of their

operation is carried out in the state, yet they do not pay revenue commensurate with the volume of economies generated from the state.

He regretted that most of them remit their taxes to their head offices outside the state, pointing out that this would no longer be accepted because the adverse impact of their activities is not felt in their headquarters but in the host communities.

According to him, the Restoration government led by Governor Seriake Dickson is desirous to build on the existing milestone achievements it has recorded in all sectors of the state’s economy, such as judiciary, health, transport, agriculture, youth empowerment, security, infrastructure and capacity building, and as such no effort would be spared to shore up its internally generated revenue.

Dickson

12

North

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

PVCs distribution: INEC to recruit 10,000 ad-hoc staff

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he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Kano State is to recruit 10,000 ad-hoc staff for distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and the Continuous Voter Register, CVR. The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Abdullahi Danyaya, disclosed this yesterday at a press conference in Kano.

He said the ad-hoc staff would include corps members and students of tertiary institutions.

According to him, the total number of registered voters in the state now stands at 4.7 million, while there are 9,809 polling units.

“The state has an initial 8,074 polling units.

“The additional polling units have been appropriately allocated to the 44 local governments in the state based on the criteria and guidelines provided

by the commission,” he said.

Danyaya said that the commission had received all the materials for the PVCs and CVR from INEC headquarters.

“The PVC and CVR materials will soon be distributed to all the 44 local government areas in the state.

“All necessary logistics arrangements have also been put in place to ensure the successful conduct of the two exercises,” he said.

The INEC official added that the commission had embarked on effective voter education to fully mobilise the citizens to participate in the exercise.

He therefore advised all registered voters to go to the units where they registered during the 2011 exercise to collect their PVCs. He urged the residents of the state to support the commission to ensure the success of the exercises.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Senate passes bill to protect Nigeria’s border communities GEORGE OJI ABUJA

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bill targeted at bringing development to the nation’s border communities by strengthening the legal framework that would provide additional source of funding for the Border Communities Development Agency passed second reading at the senate yesterday.

Some of the about 21 states that will be affected by the new law if finally assented to by the president include Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Jiga-

wa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Entitled: “An Act to amend the Border Communities Development Agency Act Cap, B10 laws of the Federation of Nigeria,” the bill was sponsored by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Accord Party, Oyo South).

The bill proposed the deduction of at least 20 percent from the Ecological Funds to tackle infrastructure decay and provide health facilities, schools, and adequate security arrangements in all the affected communities.

Presenting the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, and that of Local Government Administration, the Chairman, Senator Umaru Dahiru, explained that the agency would now be able to discharge its statutory mandate effectively when the bill finally becomes law.

The lawmaker explained that when eventually operational, the inhabitants of the affected states would enjoy provision of basic amenities, such as safe drinking water, electricity, medical care and other infrastructure that would

improve their living standards.

“The bill also seeks to strengthen our borders so as to reduce the porous nature of our territorial boundaries in order to check incessant incidences of security challenges as well as human trafficking in the border region.

“The situation is so bad now that when given opportunity to choose between their country and the neighbouring countries, it is our modest belief that the inhabitants would prefer to be citizens of those countries which have basic amenities required for a decent living.

‘Late Yakowa borrowed N20bn for capital projects’ A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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ormer Commissioner for Finance under the administration of late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna State, Dr. John Makus Ayuba, yesterday revealed that the governor took loan of N20 billion for execution of projects across the state.

Ayuba, who is vying for Kaduna South senatorial ticket on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the loan was judiciously used and the state was paying back N800 million monthly.

Ayuba disclosed this at an interactive forum with members of the state correspondent chapel in Kaduna, adding that the loan cannot hamper development in the state.

Kaduna Governor, Yero

On his ambition, Ayuba stated that he is not afraid of confronting the incumbent senator, Nenadi Esther Usman, at the party primary election slated for next month, saying he would never be a bench warmer if elected.

Ayuba, while calling for an end to southern Kaduna killings, said he would engage retired military generals in the zone to proffer solution on the continued attacks.

His words: “I am not going to the senate to warm chairs. I want to represent southern Kaduna people at the National Assembly to serve my people. If you go to senate and you are sleeping, none of your colleagues will take you serious. I have no worry about incumbency in southern Kaduna.

“Insecurity in southern Kaduna is either failure of intelligence or government’s failure to act on intelligence. I will engage retired military generals to provide solution. Southern Kaduna is PDP zone. God has already anointed who will be Kaduna State governor in 2015 but we ordinary people may not know.”

L-R: Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe; representative of the First Lady, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide and Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, during the rally and inauguration of the Office of Women for Change and Development Initiative in Jos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Kwara to build gas, solar power stations — Ahmed WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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wara State government will soon embark on gas and solar powered projects to complement national electricity source that has recently become a disturbing problem in the country.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed disclosed this yesterday during the monthly media chat ‘The Governor Explains’ aired live on radio and television networks in the state.

He said though the state ranks very low on the federal allocation ladder, the

government is exposing the state to the outside world to have partnership in the programmes that have bearing on meaningful livelihood for the people.

He said the government’s focus is to consolidate on his laudable programmes in the areas of health, roads, water provision and education for which he was now shopping for a funding window.

On the recent dispute between the government and owners of missionary schools in the state, the governor said the issue boiled down to a realistic implementation of the

agreement the agreement of 2006 before the schools were handed over by the original owners.

According to him, there were three categories of schools; private, grantaided schools and the ones fully established by the government, pointing out that along the line, the grant-aided schools had become a huge burden which government’s dwindling resources could not conveniently cope with anymore.

Furthermore, the planned education law would enable owners who want to take over their schools do so in a way that would not jeopardise the

general interests of the students as the biggest stakeholder in the education sector.

He pleaded that the new policy should not generate dispute between the government and some school proprietors, saying the policy had nothing to do with religion or politics.

He also disclosed that the government was putting in place arrangements to contain erosion which has become a global phenomenon because of global warming that come to stay, adding that for a start, government was sensitising the people on good waste disposal habits.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

A

fter a lull in political activities in Osun State subsequent to August 9 governorship poll, preparations for 2015 general elections in Osun is gradually on the rise, with aspirants making their intentions to seek election into other elective offices in 2015 poll known to their party leaders.

Regardless of the fact that 20 political parties fielded candidates in the last governorship poll in the state, the party that eventually emerged winner of the poll, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the party that came second in the exercise, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, remain the dominant parties in the state.

Also, the two parties, going by the results from local government areas across the state, are employing varying strategies to better their fortunes in areas they recorded poor outings in the August poll, which is seen as a dress rehearsal to the 2015 poll. They are also reinforcing grip on their strongholds and making efforts to stabilise and settle post election squabbles that are sprouting up.

Having gotten the seat of governor, the ruling APC remains the party at the driver’s seat, but going by what seems a decent showing the opposition PDP posted, despite its several issues enroute the August 9 poll, the battle for 2015 elections remains evenly poised contest that may be determined by personalities rather than parties.

Presently, owing to the fact that more aspirants have been showing intentions to contest the presidential poll on the platform of the APC, there have been more posters of the party’s aspirants donning strategic places in the state, especially in Osogbo, the state capital.

Of particular importance is the attempt to appeal to tribal sentiment of the people by some aspirants from the North, who dressed in Yoruba traditional attires in pictures used for their posters and pasted at the areas densely populated by the commoners.

The APC had been on ascendancy in the state since 2010, when Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, was pronounced winner of the April 14, 2011 governorship election after almost four years of intense battle in court and with the soaring popularity of the governor, the party recorded a landslide victory in the 2011 general election, winning all elective positions from the state to the federal level, while the PDP only made do with appointive federal offices.

Although, with the result of the last gubernatorial election, the dominance of the APC in the state is still strong, but the party showed noticeable decline in some local government areas where it had convincingly won in 2011.

At the moment, different pro-Jonathan groups appear to have taken the battle for 2015 presidency to the door steps of the opposition party, employing varying forms of formal and informal strategies to woo people to the side of President Goodluck Jonathan, while only Kano State governor, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has a known group working for him in the state.

Likely APC, PDP presidential candidates’ supporters and their influence

13

Politics

Presidency: How Osun will vote in 2015 BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA writes on the likely pattern of voting for the presidential election in 2015.

Jonathan

Buhari

IT IS ON RECORD THAT OSUN WAS THE ONLY STATE WHERE

DR. JONATHAN LOST IN 2011 IN THE SOUTH-WEST

AND WINNING THE STATE IN THE COMING POLL MAY NOT BE CERTAIN

President Gooluck Jonathan The PDP machinery in Osun State is being revved up in preparation for campaign, should President Jonathan accept the offer to contest next year’s presidential election.

While several aspirants seeking APC ticket for the presidential poll are setting up camps within the opposition enclave, the fact that Jonathan may end up the only

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

aspirant and eventual candidate of his party without much dissention, leaves him with good mileage ahead of other presidential aspirants in the race in Osun State.

It is on record that Osun was the only state where Dr. Jonathan lost in 2011 in the South-West and winning the state in the coming poll may not be certain, but when considering almost 300,000 votes the PDP got in the last

governorship poll held in the state, then Jonathan may get appreciable votes in the coming election.

Long before now, Osun State PDP secretariat located along Tongan/Osogbo road had been converted to 2015 campaign office of President Jonathan and since concluding August 9 poll, the attention of the party has shifted towards the February 2015 general elections.

The entire party structure of the PDP in the state is supporting President Jonathan and leading the quest for votes for Mr. President is Osun PDP chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, who is being backed in the task by the appointees of Federal Government from the state.

The influence of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the governorship candidate of the party in the August 9 poll will be key in getting votes for Jonathan and other federal government appointees like Chief Francis Fadahunsi, the chairman of Cocoa Research Institute, CRIN, Ibadan and Engr. Jide Adeniji, the chairman of Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, are also believed to have began moves to win the state for PDP next February.

A good number of South-East and South-South people residing in the state may also end up being a good source of votes for President Jonathan, as demonstrated during the August 9 governorship poll in the state.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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Politics

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Presidency: How Osun will vote in 2015

Atiku

Kwankwaso

Tambuwal

members of the party in the state.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso

Among aspirants in the race for 2015 presidential election, Dr Jonathan of the PDP and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is seeking APC ticket have clear edge in the state.

Having been vice president in the ruling party, many bigwigs on the platform of PDP from the state are believed to have still maintained good relationship with Abubakar, despite him ditching the party, thereby delivering in its possession a political structure that cut across the two leading political parties in the country.

Also, the presence of the former vice president was positively felt during the last governorship poll in the state, as he openly campaigned for the APC’s candidate, Governor Aregbesola in the election.

His presidential ambition is also being helped by the presence in large number of former PDP members that have left the party long ago or moved with him to the APC, when he dumped PDP, while his contacts when he was the presidential flagbearer of the Action Congress, AC, in 2007 in the state that are still within the party are linking up with him again.

He is one of the G-7 PDP governors that formed the New PDP and also one of the G-5 governors that dumped the party at the height of the crisis that rocked it last year and move into the APC. He has since then began moves to emerge president next year.

Kwankwaso does not have clear cut political structure on ground in the state and his being new in the APC is somehow working against him, as many core APC members and leaders still regard him as a PDP member.

Despite this however, some new members of the APC, who defected into the party from the PDP, are gradually amassing into a formidable force ready to yank off good votes at the presidential poll, should Kwankaso emerge the candidate of the APC at the February 2015 election.

Former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is believed to be leading the quest for votes for the Kano State governor. The increasing presence of former PDP members in the APC coupled with the relatively high degree of acceptance the ousted national secretary of the PDP enjoys in his new party is canvassing for votes for Kwankaso, an exercise with potential to turn in good results..

In show of solidarity with the Kano State governor, replica of his trademark red cap is gradually becoming common feature of dressings by many residents of Osogbo, the state capital, who are of Northern extraction, which shows his rising profile among them.

General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) Probably, owing to his being in opposition since the return of democracy to the country in 1999, the former Head of State is very popular among the core groups in the APC that has never left opposition party for the ruling party.

He is believed to be enjoying the support of retired military men that are indigenes of the state, majority of whom are leaders in their various communities, giving Buhari high chances of getting good votes from the grassroots where some of the former service men wield influence, should he succeed in picking APC ticket.

It is yet to be established how cordial the relationship between the former head of state and Major Gen. Alani Akinrinade, rtd, the Chief of Defence Staff during Shagari regime and an influential figure in the state, especially in Ife axis where he hails from is, but having served in the military almost same period, it is believed that getting the support of major stakeholders within Osun APC by Buhari may be spearheaded by him.

Tales of how strict and corruption free the period

OSUN STATE MAY THIS TIME AROUND NOT DEVIATE FROM ITS VOTING PATTERN IN

2011, ESPECIALLY WITH

AREGBESOLA AT THE HELMS OF AFFAIRS

General Buhari held reins of power between 1983 and 1984 in the country by those that witnessed the period is also indirectly getting more people to back his ambition to govern the country at the moment. This category of people, should they continue to harp on the qualities possessed by the former military ruler may earn his peoples sympathy.

The Hausa/Fulani community and Muslims groups are also key components of the supporters that may influence voting in favour of Buhari should he be given APC presidential ticket.

Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal Although the Speaker of House of Representatives is still in the PDP, but it is already in public domain that the Sokoto-born politician is only buying time, before moving out of his present party to actualise his presidential ambition in the opposing camp.

It is suspected that agents of the federal parliamentarian have already started setting up campaign structures in the state to better his chances of winning the presidential poll, if APC gives him ticket to run.

Grapevine sources recently posited that Tambuwal, has been visiting the state quietly to convince power brokers in the APC to support his ambition.

He is particularly believed to be close to Governor Aregbesola and whoever that has the support of the state governor, will automatically get the backing of

2015 presidential voting pattern However, given the above scenario and the voting pattern of 2011, Osun State may this time around not deviate from its voting pattern in 2011, especially with Aregbesola at the helms of affairs, who may want to prove a point that his August 9 victory was not a fluke as the PDP wants people to believe.

He would likely want to prove more than one point to show his relevance to the APC, irrespective of who emerges the party’s standard bearer. It is however likely that unlike 2011 when President Jonathan did not secure 25 per cent of Osun votes, he may get the required 25 per cent this time around, but definitely, Osun will vote APC.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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15 15

From The Civil Service Head of service says civil service inhibits graduate employment41

Don gives recipe for progress and economic development in Africa

A

Federal Road Safety Corps, Surulere Unit Command, during a Safety Campaign for Ember Months in Lagos, yesterday.

2015: INEC expresses concerns over participation of IDPs OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

A

head of the 2015 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has raised concerns about how best to ensure that Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, participate in the elections.

To address this concerns, the Commission has solicited for ideas from the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution on how to make Nigerians who have moved from their original locations to other places to vote in the election.

INEC Chairman, Pro-

fessor Attahiru Jega, made the request in Abuja when the Director General of the Institute, Professor Oshita O. Oshita led his management team on a courtesy call at the Commission’s headquarters.

Professor Jega, who has on several occasions expressed worry that some Nigerians would be denied the opportunity to exercise their constitutional duty to elect their leaders due to no fault of theirs, requested the Institute to undertake a study on the issue of Internally Displaced People in the country to determine their number especially in the States under emergency rule, “to see

Power transmission network requires N160bn annual investment –Nebo P.42

how the Commission can reach those people, register them so they can vote in the elections.”

The Chairman explained that the commission has galvanized its Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, Directorate and that INEC would explore the possibility of using the institute for training and research, saying “the Institute will be of immense benefit to the Commission in this regard.”

The chairman called for collaboration with the Institute in addressing security challenges leading to the 2015 general elections, with a view to ensuring not just free, fair,

credible but very peaceful elections in the country.

Jega said INEC was looking for credible partners to help the commission ensure the conduct of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections in 2015, noting that the Institute would be a credible partner in the process.

He noted the activities of the Institute in conflict management in the electoral process and interfacing with the appointment of Judges, which had greatly improved the judicial process.

He assured that the Commission would look into those areas with a view to exploring ways of joint activities with the

Institute.

The DG of the institute, whose team was in the Commission to find ways of being actively involved in the observation of 2015 elections and other areas of collaboration with the Commission, requested that the institute be included in the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

The Chairman however explained that ICCES was a platform made up of only security agencies to address real security issues as they affected the security of elections.He informed the DG that the nature of the Committee did not allow participaCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

FCT SURE-P FCT minister approves trains 1,000 resignation of special adviser on security youths P.16

don, Prof. Adigun Agbaje, has said Africa would not make any sustainable progress in building democratic structures and achieve economic development without coherent, legitimate and effective states.

Agbaje, a professor of political science at the University of Ibadan, made the assertion while delivering a lecture at the 4th Convocation at the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture is: Lying in State; Leadership and the Travails of Democratic Governance in Africa. According to him, the quality of leadership in Africa today matters in its search for sustained democratic governance, but only in contexts outlined by other actors that equally matter. ’’In this regard, the coherence and nature of the state and society stand out, along with the prevailing culture of service and incentive rewards, as well as the array and vitality of institutions. ``A basic step towards securing democratic governance on the continent beyond its current level is to work towards the full emergence of a leadership group that is more broad-based. ``It equally requires to be inclusive at all levels of governance, public and nonpublic, one with an ethos of speaking the truth to itself and to the people it leads. ``’We must also consider CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

P.41

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Civil Service

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Former governor of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, rtd; representative of the First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Folake Odunlami; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, and Special Adviser on Media to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Hakeem Bello, during the presentation of a book, “Fashola – Portrait of a Genius in Service”, at the 2014 Press Week Lecture of the Lagos State Governor’s Office Correspondents (LAGOCO) with the theme, “Eight Years of Sustainable Leadership in Lagos”, recently.

Good governance tour, ministerial platform hallmark of Maku’s tenure CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

W

orkers at the Federal Ministry of Information have said the Good governance tour, ministerial platform were the hallmarks of the immediate past Information Minister, Labaran Maku’s tenure.

Mr. Maku quit the Federal Executive Council on October 20 to pursue his ambition of becoming the governor of Nassarawa State in 2015.

However, National Mirror investigations reveal that some of the workers of the ministry believe that the two annual projects introduced by Maku, brought about vibrancy in the ministry and, to an extent, achieved the set goals.

A top official of the ministry who preferred not to be named described Maku as an active minister who brought some form of vibrancy and showcased critical achievements of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the official, the midterm review for the activities of ministers and heads of government departments under a Ministerial Platform was a way to showcase the achievements of the government in the last two years.

“Maku worked hard to ensure that council ap-

proved a midterm review and there will be second leg of the Ministerial Platform whose focus will be concrete achievements made in all sectors. It will take off from beginning of June.

“The idea is to engage the public, hear from them and to answer questions.

A lot has been done, the MDAs will have the opportunity to present the achievements to Nigerians,” he said.

Also speaking on Maku’s achievements as minister, another staff of the ministry said unlike his predecessors who bombarded the public with jingles and

stickers, Maku opted for a more pragmatic approach of public information dissemination through multimedia platforms including the social media.

He noted that the minister has successfully pursued information management on social media which accounts for over 8090% of young people aged between 18-40 and which represents the most effervescent and dynamic segment of society.

“The minister has successfully pursued information management on social media which accounts for over 80-90% of young people aged between 18-40 and

which represents the most effervescent and dynamic segment of society.

Maku has ensured that federal ministry of Information now has a strong presence on twitter-@FMINigeria.

Facebook-Federal Ministry of Information, Nigeria. Blackberry-BB PIN 292816FB including Labaran Maku’s personal Facebook account” she stated.

Since he assumed office as Minister of Information in November 2010, Labaran Maku has not left anyone in doubt of his resolve to have Nigerians experience new frontiers in the art of information dissemination.

2015: INEC expresses concerns over participation of IDPs CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 tion of outsiders but that whatever information that would be helpful in securing the electoral process would be shared with all stakeholders involved in the conduct of elections.

The Chief Technical Assistant to the Chairman, Prof. Okey Ibeanu, while briefing the team on the Risk Management Tool being deployed by the Commission in the conduct of elections, said that the idea was to track a number of indicators of risk before, during and after elections.

Professor Ibeanu disclosed that the major aspect of Risk Management Tool

was to harmonize different electoral risks management information brought forward by all agencies observing elections and the “Institute is mapped out for this”, he added.

Speaking earlier, Professor Oshita acknowledged the good work of the Commission and efforts to address security challenges as it prepared for the 2015 general elections.

Professor Oshita said that the Institute was involved in the process of training Judges that were deployed to serve at Election Tribunals and would like to activate those processes to be deployed in the conduct of 2015 general elections.

FCT minister approves resignation of special adviser on security OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

M

inister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has approved the formal resignation of his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Colonel Abdullahi Sokyara Kudu (rtd).

The resignation, which is with immediate effect, is to enable the former special adviser to pursue his political ambition.

The Minister seized the

opportunity to thank Colonel Kudu for his immense contribution to the development of the Federal Capital Territory, particularly the new security protocol that is about to come to effect.

Senator Mohammed wished the former Special Adviser well in his future endeavours.

Meanwhile, the former Special Adviser on Security has expressed his gratitude to the FCT Minister for giving him the opportunity to serve in that

capacity in his administration.

Colonel Kudu pledged his continued loyalty and support for the FCT Minister and will always be available at any given time his professional advice is required.

Kudu also lauded the courage and determination of security agencies in the territory who he said are constantly working round the clock to give the Federal Capital Territory the desired security coverage.Colonel Kudu re-

marked that the FCT minister has worked out a new security protocol for the Federal Capital Territory to ensure that crimes are stamped out of the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the Federal Capital Territory.

In order to ensure that this new security protocol is taken to the desired level envisaged, the former Security Adviser called for synergy, cooperation and understanding amongst security agencies working in the territory.He reiter-

ated the need for information sharing, effective use of intelligence and response amongst all the security agencies.

According to him, “harmonizing operations where necessary will make the set goals achievable to have a crime free environment”.

The Special Adviser tasked the security Agents in the Federal Capital Territory to respect the rules of engagement and be obedient to superior authority.

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Views

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

17

The Excellency, Honourable and Nigerian factor TOCHUKWU EZUKANMA

O

ne of my recent articles, ‘The problem with the striking doctors’, elicited a number of responses from readers. They were almost evenly divided between those who thought the article was apropos and those who thought it was impertinent, and even, senseless.

One of them, most likely, a medical doctor, was evidently angered by the article; he was quite caustic in his text message: “Whoever you are and to whichever paramedical profession you belong, till your death, unless, of course, you go to medical school (which I doubt much if at all your, obviously, dull brain can help you out), you will never earn the respect or the prestigious status of a House Officer.

I do not know what a House Officer is, but it must be one of the designations of medical doctors in public employment.

Deviating from my policy of not replying to rejoinders to my articles, I text messaged him: “I am not into any of the paramedical professions. My degrees are in urban & regional planning. Every element of freedom comes with a corresponding responsibility. So, the doctors’ respect and prestigious status should be associated with decency and elevated morals and ethics. Lamentably, Nigerian doctors (sometimes) behave like brutes and sadists”.

Yes, every element of freedom, authority, power, prestige, etc is attended with a corresponding responsibility. But due to the Nigerian factor – lawlessness and its ancillaries – we relish prestige, power and authority but abdicate their attendant responsibilities and obligations. So, instead of being humbled by the added obligations and demands of our eminent positions, we see our lofty status as license to further our selfish interests, abuse the system and exploit others.

The Excellencies and the Honorable are the select few, elected to lead, and are, therefore, entrusted with the fate of millions of people. As they are excellent and honorable, they should transcend societal vices, and the mediocrity and pedestrianism of conventional life. They should be disciplined and continent, and thus, not readily susceptible to the lures and sirens of life; and consequently, incorruptible and financially honest. They are also expected to be honorable enough to resign their offices when, for any reason, they fail to live up to the excellence demanded by their exalted offices or breach the public trust reposed in their offices.

In Nigeria, the power elite fastidiously cling to sanctimonious titles, like the Excellency and the Honorable, while in words and deeds, they remain the mediocre and the dishonorable. At the total disregard of those that elected them to office and whom they supposedly serve, they exercise their

THE MORE RELIGIOUS THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY BECOMES, THE MORE IT IS FULL OF HATE, CRUELTY, LAWLESSNESS AND VIOLENCE powers in advancing narrow and selfish interests, exploiting the system and economically strangulating the masses. They waste public funds and maintain extravagant lifestyles that will flabbergast even the powerful, rich and famous of the wealthiest countries in the world. They misconstrue their immunity for impunity. And thus, expect to do anything and get away with it, because they are neither subject to the law nor beholden to the people.

In the churches, the revered gentlemen, with the veneration and prestige of their offices, hold sway. Supposedly called and anointed, they pretend to be all knowing and flawless. But then, they, generally, fail to live up to the enormous responsibilities of their offices. To reinforce their powers and control over their members and to dispossess them of their money, they lie and twist the Word of God. Deliberately oblivious of the desperate, gateless poverty that dominates the lives of the generality of their members, they build their financial empire and maintain an awe-inspiring life style of magnifi-

cent mansions, fleet of luxury cars, private jets and the indulgence of other avaricious fancies. So, instead of leading people to the Truth, they lead them farther away from the Truth. Not surprisingly, the more religious the Nigerian society becomes, the more it is full of hate, cruelty, lawlessness and violence.

Like the excellent, honorable and revered, Nigerian medical doctors, hardly live up to the demands and expectations of their lofty professional status. Paradoxically, although sworn to the Hippocratic Oath and with a leading role in an industry that is premised on compassion, kindness, altruism, etc, some of them, in their conduct, display mindboggling cold-heartedness and contempt for human lives. They are many substantiated stories detailing their cruelty, sadism and contemptuous indifference to human lives. In addition, engrossed by the get rich quick mentality of the Nigerian society, they jettison professional standards, and sometimes, break the law for quick money. There have been cases and allegations of downright criminality amongst the doctors.

Like the political and spiritual elites, and other rich Nigerians, it behooves our medical doctors to not just revel in the prestige and glory of their profession, but to also rise to the high morals and ethics demanded of their esteemed profession.

Ezukanma wrote from Lagos via maciln18@yahoo.com

Orhii and NAFDAC’s internationalization drive MARTINS F.O. IKHILAE

T

he successes recorded by the Transformation Agenda of Dr. Goodluck Ebelle Jonathan administration have positively altered the world’s perception about Nigeria. For example, the World Bank’s Doing Business in Nigeria 2014 Report, has significant improvement in her Doing Business Index within the last four years. Recently also, the swiftness with which the Federal Government contained the Ebola virus disease (EVD) scourge that is still devastating some West Africa and spreading to parts of Central Africa, has earned her commendation from the international community. And lastly, early in the year, a local pharmaceutical firm, Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited (Swipha), became the first in West Africa to receive the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

This feat is no doubt attributable to a transformed indigenous health sector driven by a highly focused and competent manpower coordinated by Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, the recently disengaged Health Minister, and technically supported by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). One area NAFDAC has commendably excelled is the drive to take local pharmaceutical production to the international level.

The NAFDAC under the leadership of Dr Paul B. Orhii, has relentlessly sourced and administered dynamic approaches towards boosting maximally the competitiveness of our locally produced pharmaceutical products and production processes. The underlying wisdom inherent here is that rather than

THE SUCCESS OF

SWIPHA HAS SERVED AS IMPETUS FOR MORE INDIGENOUS PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS allowing our country to remain an eternally foreign-dependent nation for its drug needs, NAFDAC has assiduously propelled the actions that have led to the transformation of our pharmaceutical industry to a highly reputable status of world class drug exporting giant in Africa.

The perception is that Nigerian pharmaceutical companies have what it takes to obtain WHO GMP. This is the reason behind the institution of the N200 billion Drug Intervention Fund by the Dr. Jonathan administration, which is to provide the capital to boost their production capacity, a development that would enable them become players in the global drug market.

Determined to achieve this goal, NAFDAC set for itself a task to stimulate improvement of the quality of locally produced medicines and build capacity of local drug manufacturers. With the WHO GMP certification, Nigerian pharmaceutical companies can access the over $300 billion global pharmaceutical market alongside pharmaceutical firms from the United States of America, Japan, India, Germany, China, Europe etc.

With the expected lift of our local pharmaceutical industry by such certification,

especially the international competitiveness status of Nigerian pharmaceutical firms, the agency set up the machinery for country to play host to the WHO pre-qualification team in 2012. The team had made an inspection tour of some indigenous drug production plants to ascertain their suitability for certification, at the end of which few firms were endorsed as showing potentials for the certification. An unrelenting NAFDAC management thereafter set for itself the task of stimulating improvement of the quality of locally produced medicines and building the capacity of indigenous drug manufacturers to in order succeed in the prequalification audit. Part of the drive made Orhii to invite the WHO prequalification team over again to help monitor, fine tune and whip into line the potentially viable pharmaceutical companies.

The synergy between WHO Prequalification Team and NAFDAC yielded some positive results. In one of several visits, Swipha was assisted by it to develop, document and produce medicines that could meet the quality standards required by WHO. Sure of a successful prequalification audit outing, the agency re-invited the WHO Prequalification Team, who obliged, came and did the necessary auditing. And in April 2014, Swipha received the WHO coveted good manufacturing practice (GMP) prequalification certification. This feat received the acknowledgement of Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General, who commended Dr. Orhii for leading NAFDAC to achieve the spectacular feat by a Nigerian local pharmaceutical firm.

Notably, NAFDAC has lifted Nigeria out of the hitherto odious status of being a market for adulterated, substandard and fake phar-

maceutical products. That her pharmaceutical products are of international standards is attested to by WHO GMP certification. The success of Swipha has served as impetus for more indigenous pharmaceutical firms like May and Baker Plc, Fidson Healthcare, Neimeth etc to get enlistment into this progressively privileged status. The WHO’s endorsement will no doubt further positively rub-off on local drug plants’ drive towards the production of quality products for both the local and international markets.

The feat has burnished Dr Orhii’s credentials. The two-term NAFDAC DG has justified the confidence reposed in him by President Jonathan in particular and Nigerians in general. Even the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), which had initially opposed Orhii’s candidacy for the position, was gracious enough to identify with Swipha’s GMP certification’s success story. It said the feat was truly inspiring.

The accomplishment is an effective solution towards the eradication of drug counterfeiting in the country, save the nation from the huge foreign exchange gulped by drug importation, and boost foreign exchange earnings for country from drug exportation.

Of course, Nigerians will now enjoy qualitative healthcare delivery services.

Ikhilae, a Lagos-based public affairs analyst wrote via martinsikhilae@ymail.com Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs.

Pseudonyms may be used but must be

Editorial

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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Africa’s poor response to Ebola

T

he Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) now ravaging Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has pathetically exposed the poor and inadequate response of African countries to life-threatening challenges. Such panicky and uncoordinated response was and is still being witnessed on the grave security challenges posed to the continent by the Algeria-based Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; Al- Shabaab, a jihadist terrorist group based in Somalia; and the Boko Haram Islamist sect currently wreaking monumental havoc on Nigeria. This lackluster approach to tackling problems of common interest questions the long held notion that Africans are their brothers’ keepers.

That Ebola epidemic happens to be the most severe public health emergency that struck Africa lately. It is not only threatening to grind the economies of the worst hit countries to a halt, the disease is also stretching their scant health facilities to extreme limits. The United States’ Centre for Disease Control recently estimated that Ebola virus could infect 1.4 million people in Liberia and Sierra Leone by

THE DISEASE HAS KILLED MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE IN WEST AFRICA; AND MANY MORE ARE LIKELY TO DIE IF THE SEEMING COMPLACENCY OF AFRICAN LEADERS PERSISTS the end of January 2015 unless there is effective containment, for example. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine also said the virus could become endemic, defying all efforts to bring it under complete control. What has compounded this sorry spectacle is that Ebola disease is spreading to large urban areas, a development that could increase the number of infected persons and make transmission harder to track.

But five months after the outbreak of Ebola, many African countries are still sitting on the fence, perhaps confused. They find it difficult to join forces to halt the spread of the disease. It would seem the strongest response to the scourge from Africa as yet was President Goodluck Jonathan’s

announcement of $500,000 aid to Liberia to fight Ebola, whereas what is required is a concerted effort and determination by all African leaders to contain the disease. Most African countries and their leaders appear to be living in denial of the lethal consequences of the epidemic, especially given that enough regional coordination and imagination has not been brought to bear on ways of tackling it. Ebola may be conquered, but insufficient African response to defeating the disease is threatening concerted lasting solution to the scourge.

A lot more of efforts to combat Ebola so far has been coming from countries, individuals and corporate entities in Europe, United States, the Caribbean and Asia, than from Africa. Cuba, for example, sent 165 doctors and nurses, while China expanded the initial medical team it deployed in the affected African countries. Britain is also currently searching for sites for at least five new Ebola control centres and 700 additional beds that will bring the total close to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target of about 1,300 beds. The capacity of

ON THIS DAY October 22, 1981 The United States Federal Labor Relations Authority voted to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) for its strike the previous August. The PATCO was a US trade union that operated from 1968 until its decertification in 1981 following a strike that was broken by the Reagan Administration. The 1981 strike and the defeat of PATCO have been described as ‘one of the most important events in late 20th century US labor history’.

treatment centres has nearly doubled to about 615 beds in Liberia; and is expected to rise in the next month to about 2,500 beds if the US delivers on a pledge to provide up to 1,700 bed units.

Even the World Food Programme (WFP) has joined in the drive, planning to build up to 30 Ebola treatment centres capable of handling 3,000 patients in Guinea. To all intents and purpose, therefore, African leaders need to accelerate action against Ebola through the African Union (AU) and World Health Organisation (WHO). It has become imperative to provide adequate equipment, kits and health personnel to fight the disease. Indeed, it is high time all African countries played active roles in the control of Ebola, to help cut the chain of new transmissions, as well as get in more volunteers and logistics; while communities should be sensitized and involved in the building of new isolation units. So far the disease has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa; and many more are likely to die if the seeming complacency of African leaders persists.

October 22, 1999

October 22, 2013

Maurice Papon, an official in the Vichy France government during World War II, was jailed for crimes against humanity. Papon (September 3, 1910 – February 17, 2007) was a French civil servant. In 1998, he was convicted of crimes against humanity for his participation in the deportation of more than 1,600 Jews to concentration camps during World War II when he was Secretary-General for police in Bordeaux.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.

The Act was an act of parliament of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly that legalised ACT. It was first presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly on September 19, 2013 by the ACT Attorney-General, Simon Corbell.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

19

Health & Wellbeing We now see women as young as 19 with breast 22 cancer – Olaleye

SAM EFERARO AND FRANKA OSAKWE

W

hat kind of service should you expect from your doctor? Do you really have any right to be involved in a matter concerning your health especially during that delicate moment when you are so ill? Consider this: At a big private hospital somewhere in Somolu Local Government. Lagos, patients don’t need to say anything when they go there to see the doctor. Some drugs (which a close source says are mere analgesics such as paracetamol and haematinics or blood enriching drugs) are already packaged to take care of any ailments they may want to complain of. Sometimes, before the patient opens his mouth to tell the doctor his problem, the medical expert has scribbled what he thinks is wrong with him on the card and the frail patient is sent to the pharmacy where the already packaged drugs are handed to him.

Funny enough, quite a majority of the patients do not think there is anything wrong with this kind of treatment. Rather, more people are trouping to the hospital daily because it is about the cheapest in Lagos. But is this the best service a doctor can offer his patient?

Experts say no. And nobody should be satisfied with such services either. According to some doctors who spoke to National Mirror, it is advisable that the patient gets involved with matters concerning his health if he really wants to remain in good health.

For instance, the patient has the right to choose a doctor that will treat him, just as the doctor reserves the right to decide whether or not to treat a patient.

Not only this, according to a Lagos-based doctor who pleaded anonymity, a patient has the right to seek a second opinion if he is not satisfies with his doctor’s diagnosis. Of course the doctor owes it a duty to hear him out before reaching a conclusion on his ailment.

This is not all, a patient has the right to be told what the finds wrong with him if he desires to know. The 1984 “Lisbon Declaration” of the medical protection society even confers on the patient the right to accept or refuse treatment. Of course, he must be adequately informed on his ailment for him to be able to decide on what he wants. If for any reason he has to refuse treatment, the doctor owes him the duty to explain the implications and consequences of his action.

Also, according to the Lisbon Declaration, “the patient has the right to be cared for by a physician and is free to make clinical and ethical judgment without any outside interference.

“The patient has the right to expect that his physician will respect his confidential nature of all his medical and personal details.”

And while in the care of your doctor, you have the right to receive or decline spiritual and moral comfort. Below are extracts from the Lisbon Declaration

Principles

Lagos to eliminate motherto-child transmission of HIV 21

Are you getting the best of your doctor?

A patient has the right to choose his doctor

1.

Right to medical care of good quality a.

Every person is entitled without discrimination to appropriate medical care. b.

Every patient has the right to be cared for by a physician whom he/she knows to be free to make clinical and ethical judgements without any outside interference. c.

The patient shall always be treated in accordance with his/her best interests.

The treatment applied shall be in accordance with generally approved medical principles. d.

Quality assurance always should be a part of health care. Physicians, in particular, should accept responsibility for being guardians of the quality of medical services. e.

In circumstances where a choice must be made between potential patients for a particular treatment which is in limited supply, all such patients are entitled to a fair selection procedure for that treatment. That choice must be based on medical criteria and made without discrimination. f.

The patient has the right of continuity of health care. The physician has an obligation to cooperate in the coordination of medically indicated care with other health care providers treating the patient. The physician may not discontinue treatment of a patient as long as further treatment is medically indicated, without giving the patient

reasonable assistance and sufficient opportunity to make alternative arrangements for care.

2.

Right to freedom of choice a.

The patient has the right to choose freely and change his/her physician and hospital or health service institution, regardless of whether they are based in the private or public sector. b.

The patient has the right to ask for the opinion of another physician at any stage.

3.

Right to self-determination a.

The patient has the right to self-determination, to make free decisions regarding himself/herself. The physician will inform the patient of the consequences of his/ her decisions. b.

A mentally competent adult patient has the right to give or withhold consent to any diagnostic procedure or therapy. The patient has the right to the information necessary to make his/her decisions. The patient should understand clearly what is the purpose of any test or treatment, what the results would imply, and what would be the implications of withholding consent. c.

The patient has the right to refuse to participate in research or the teaching of medicine.

4.

The unconscious patient

a.

If the patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to express his/her will, informed consent must be obtained whenever possible, from a legally entitled representative where legally relevant. b.

If a legally entitled representative is not available, but a medical intervention is urgently needed, consent of the patient may be presumed, unless it is obvious and beyond any doubt on the basis of the patient’s previous firm expression or conviction that he/ she would refuse consent to the intervention in that situation. c.

However, physicians should always try to save the life of a patient unconscious due to a suicide attempt.

5.

The legally incompetent patient a.

If a patient is a minor or otherwise legally incompetent the consent of a legally entitled representative, where legally relevant, is required. Nevertheless the patient must be involved in the decision making to the fullest extent allowed by his/her capacity. b.

If the legally incompetent patient can make rational decisions, his/her decisions must be respected, and he/she has the right to forbid the disclosure of information to his/her legally entitled representative. c.

If the patient’s legally entitled representative, or a person authorized by the paCONTINUED ON PAGE 22

20

Health & Wellbeing

Nutrition for Health chizobanwobu@yahoo.com 08120807588 (sms only)

B

efore a mother thinks of getting pregnant, what she consumes and how much she consumes can affect her ability to conceive a child both positively and negatively. In otherwords, dietary advice should be given because one of the most significant influences on the infant’s ideal weight should be attained three months before conception.

It is therefore vital for a mother to be in a healthy body weight before pregnancy occurs. Research has shown that a body fat content of at least 22% is necessary for normal ovulatory function and menstruation. Women who maintain a low bodyweight, who have suffered from eating disorders, or who diet regularly, often have irregular menstrual cycles and therefore may take longer to conceive. Gaining weight restores fertility, indicating that the relatively high percentage of body fat in females, compared with males, may influence reproduction directly.

So, if the woman is very underweight, it can be more difficult for

fasting or missing meals. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolists recommends that pregnant women should eat 9 servings of bread cereal, rice and pasta, four servings of vegetables, three servings of fruit, three servings of servings of pastuerised milk, yoghurt (I recommend four) and three servings of protein sources (meat, poultry, fish, eggs or nuts, beans), however, certain types of fish (shark, k, swordfish and marlin) should be avoided, and tuna intake should ould be limited, because off possible contamination. n.

Diets rich ch in iron such as unripe plantain, red meat, pulses, dried ried fruit, bread, green vegetables etables and fortified breakfast kfast cereals, should be e taken to build d up your sources of iron to prevent anaemia naemia and to build up p iron stores in the foetal body. Also, diets rich in calcium lcium should be taken to prevent osteomalacia. Use fats and sweets sparingly. Choose foods high in fiber that at are enriched such

as whole-grain breads, cereals, pasta, rice, fruits, and vegetables.

This would also prevent constipation which is a common problem in pregnancy. Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals in your daily diet even before getting pregnant.

Dietary supplements such folic acid, should be taken. Supplementation should continue until the 12th week of pregnancy, this helps prevent the ococ currence of spina bifida in infants.

In addition, wome n should be advised t o

Denture care

T

he denture is another name for artificial teeth used as a remedy for lost teeth. These dentures try to replace the natural teeth in form, function and aesthetics.

Like the natural teeth , dentures need to be properly cared for as this could be a positive step towards boosting the individual’s confidence. The lack of confidence of missing teeth associ-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Why you should improve your diet before conception

her to conceive. Underweight before and during pregnancy can be associated with an increased risk of deaths in the newborn infant increased risk of degenerative diseases in later life and low birth weight in infants.

Studies have also shown that being obese or overweight may cause problems with conceiving and also increase the risk of complications including gestational diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia and congenital defects. Obesity is however, linked to a greater abnormal labour and an increased likelihood of needing risk of an emergency caesarean operation. Infants born preterm to a mother who is obese, are also less likely to survive. It is therefore, recommended that women who are planning a pregnancy should attempt to reach a healthy bodyweight of Body Mass Index 20–25 before they become pregnant, as being overweight or obese, or underweight prior to conception is associated with an increased risk of a number of complications.

It is also important to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need. Small and frequent feeding should be taken and avoid

Chizoba Benson

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

increase their intake of folate-rich foods like spinach, green beans, oranges, as well as foods fortified with folates like white bread, wheat bread, milk, baked beans, etc. Women are advised to take a folic acid supplement of 0.4mg per day. Although, different doses are recommended depending on the level of risk.

An adequate intake of vitamin A is also essential. It is vital to note that excessive intake of vitamin A should shou be avoided because this may lead le to some confusion during pregnancy . However, women pr should avoid use of vitamin A supplements and also avoid eating supple liver and liver products because a liver is a particularly concentrated source of vitamin A. Stop or limit consuming alcohol and caffeine; reconsum member, membe tea, chocolate and many sodas also contain caffeine. Stop smoking smokin cigarettes, illegal drugs and oral contraceptives three o months month before planned conception.

Bear Bea in mind that during pregnancy, your baby is counting on you for fo the nutrients needed to grow healthy and strong so try to eat foods from each of the five food foo groups every day and do not no forget to consult your doctor to before you embark on any diet di or exercise plan.

ORAL HEALTH CARE ated with missing teeth can often bring emotional problems in children during the physiologic (normal) replacement of their deciduous or children dentition with the permanent (adult) dentition. The gap or the toothless grin that appears when effort is made to smile makes many children to become shy and not want to open their mouth.

They become shy and end up covering their mouths as they peak.

The initial period of denture use is characterized in many people by emotional, social and functional challenges thus, aside the adjustment required to deal with getting used to having a denture in the mouth, there is need to care for denture just like natural teeth.

Eating with denture The use of dentures to eat is not like the natural teeth so it takes

some time to adjust.

Dentures made with the best fit may move in the mouth and the wearer may become self-conscious, especially at social functions.

Dentures should therefore not be used to pries open bottle tops just like teeth should not be used as bottle top opener to prevent fracture.

To help retain dentures, especially the upper ones, adhesives may be incorporated. This adhesive can be used to increase the wearer’s confidence and avoid embarrassment of dentures falling or moving about in the mouth, especially when stricky food like bread, chocolates etc are consumed.

Generally. dentures made of a plastic called acrylic are softer than the outer layer of the natural teeth, the enamel.

The denture teeth (acrylic) is roughly 1ox (Ten times) softer than the natural teeth. Thus the use of abrasives – like toothpastes may damage and wear the denture teeth (acrylic) surface.

The material acrylic used to make dentures have spaces in their structures, (microscopic) too small for the naked eye to see where germs can hide, and grow.

Dentures should therefore be cleaned with cleansers available at the chemist. There is the advantage of cleansers having antibacterial (including candida) antifungal activity to clean all the germs on the surface of the dentures. Cleansers are more gentle on the

Dr. Samuel Awosolu Samawosolu@yahoo.co.

08108155239 acrylic tooth material than toothpastes which contains abrasives.

It is advisable not to sleep with dentures in the mouth to avoid accidental, swallowing or loss of dentures into the stomach or lungs. When swallowing of pooled saliva occurs in the night, a loose or displaced denture can easily get dislodged into the chest or abdominal cavities – yes, your truly has seen this!

Finally, as one advises a lot of patients seen in the dental surgery, it is essential to have spares of anything one uses on regular basis.

Hence a spare denture is not out of place, just like a spare set of spectacles or an extra inhaler for asthmatics. Dentures should be kept in a glass of clean water at night. Pouches for carrying spare dentures are available at the dentists. Dentures must be handled over bowl of clean water. Dentures also have their toothbrushes – available at dentists and pharmaceutical stores.

Dentures can have some metal parts in them to increase support. It is thus essential to care for them to improve comfort during use, confidence of wearers and total satisfaction. A visit to the dentist will help you design a daily regimen for care of your dentures.

See you next week.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

21

Lagos to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV FRANKA OSAKWE

T

he campaign for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and reduction of maternal death is set to take place in Lagos state. the state in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS),

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as other relevant stakeholders, is unveiling new strategies to ensure no child born to any HIV infected mother tests positive to the disease.

The aim is to canvass for high level support in ensuring the rapid elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and maternal deaths through the mobilization of strategic stakeholders, includ-

ing women of influence, to improve the demand for quality Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and to encourage healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies.

Part of the strategy is to unveil Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, as the face of PMTCTMaternal Health in the state.

The state is one of the 12+1 states, which ac-

counts for 70 per cent of the Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV burden in Nigeria with its HIV prevalence of 5.1 per cent based on the 2010 National HIV Sero-Prevalence Sentinel Survey and its vast population of 21,883,048, according to the Lagos State Bureau of Statistics.

According to a statement by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the campaign will enable in-

fected pregnant mothers to have increased access to services to prevent their babies from being infected, as well as to encourage more families to embrace family planning practices.

The strategy will also provide an update on progress towards elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV in the state in the light of the global plan targets highlighting achievements and gaps.

It is also expected to stimulate commitment of critical stakeholders and provide vital information on PMTCT and a directory of functional PMTCT sites in the state.

The statement noted also that UNAIDS is committed to revolutionising HIV prevention policies and practices that will ignite policy makers, opinion leaders and community gate keepers to focus on populations and programmes that will make

a difference in getting to zero new infections.

According to the 2012 projected population figures for Lagos State, there were 1,060,225 pregnant women in that year.

At an HIV prevalence of 5.1 per cent, about 54,071 pregnant women are infected with the virus and approximately one-third of whom would, in the absence of any interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, pass the virus to their babies.

This translates to 16,468 preventable HIV infections among infants in the state during that year alone.

The Lagos State maternal mortality ratio of 555100,000 life-birth is higher than the national figure of 545100,000 life birth.

This statistics clearly negates UNFPA’s mandate of a world where every birth is safe and every child is born free of HIV.

UNFPA needs $65m to fight maternal mortality in W/Africa

L-R: Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr. Femi Olaleye & Vice President, FADAN, Mrs Wunmi Oludare, during this month’s ‘Go Pink’ cancer awareness event at optimal care cancer foundation office, Lagos.

Imo deputy gov donates dental chairs to Army CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

I

mo Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere has donated modern dental chair while commending the Nigerian Army for her ever appreciable role in ensuring a peaceful and progressive path in Nigeria project.

Madumere made the donation while performing the unveiling and commission-

ing ceremony of ultra modern dental chair donated

by Prince Eze Initiative at 34 Artillery Brigand Command, Obinze, Owerri.

The deputy governor who also handed over Governor Rochas Okorocha’s financial assistance to the widow of late Sgt. Sule Abah who died recently while on duty in the state, stated the need to encourage the Nigerian soldiers.

According to the deputy

governor the army had assisted in no small measure in fighting insecurity in Imo State, adding that today people could move around freely without any fear.

His words, “ When the current administration of Okorocha came on board, what we had in Imo State was what could be described as the closest model of Hobbesian State of nature.

Life was short. It was a brute situation where our people

were so uncertainty of their life. Kidnappers and armed robbers had a field day.

Today, the news is different. We hold the role of the army in concert with other security agencies dear to our hearts. We cannot forget in a hurry their assistance. That is the reason we cannot afford to ignore the strategic importance of our soldiers who patriotically stake their lives that we may live.”

Hand washing helps in Ebola fight –UNICEF SEKINAH LAWAL

N

igerians have been advised to keep up with the habit of regular hand washing despite the fact that Nigeria has been declared free of Ebola as the fight against Ebola further underscores the importance of hand washing with soap in disease prevention and spread.

According to UNICEF’s

representative in Nigeria, Jean Gough, Nigeria has done well so far to contain the spread of Ebola. “What Nigeria needs now is sustained promotion of hand washing. Let’s pledge to make hand washing with soap a national habit and reduce the number of Nigerian children who die from diarrhoea annually’, she added.

She made it known that the global Hand-washing Day is a reminder that the simple

practice saves lives and that UNICEF has been supporting government in raising awareness about Ebola in Nigeria as well as in other affected countries, working to counter misconceptions about the disease that put even more people at risk. “In the fight against the spread of Ebola Virus Disease, hand washing with soap has been an important tool, an additional line of defence.”

This year’s theme; “Choose hand washing, choose health” is apt given that hand washing with soap not only protects the individual, but also protects his/ her family against infections and prevents the spread of disease outbreaks. “Everyone can choose to wash hands with soap after using toilet & before eating/preparing food and thereby protect themselves and their families.”

T

he United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) on Friday said that it needed $64.5 million (N10.64 billion) to provide reproductive and maternal healthcare services in some West African countries.

Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of UNFPA, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the fund was needed in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

He said that the amount was needed in the next three months.

Osotimehin said that healthcare delivery system in the countries recorded significant improvement in the area of access to maternal health and family planning services before the outbreak of Ebola virus disease.

He regretted that many of the gains had been wiped out by breakdown in many aspects of the public health system in the West African countries due to Ebola.

The director estimated that more than 800,000 women would give birth in the next 12 months in those countries.

He said that the women required antenatal, delivery, postnatal and care as well

as emergency obstetric supports.

Osotimehin said the women, out of fear, failed to visit the already overstretched health facilities thereby putting their lives and those of their babies at risk.

According to him, more than 120,000 of the women can die of complications in childbirth, if the required life- saving emergency obstetric care was not provided.

“As the world intensifies responses to the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the needs of pregnant women must be addressed urgently to save the lives of mothers and infants.

“The reality is that pregnant women are facing a double threat - dying from Ebola and from pregnancy or childbirth - due to the devastating impact of Ebola on health workers and health systems.

“The effect of the Ebola scourge in the affected countries has been more devastating on pregnant women.

“Gains in maternal health and family planning are being wiped out and women are desperate for information and services to protect their health and that of their babies,” Osotimehin said.

22

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We now see women as young as 19 with breast cancer – Olaleye As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the International Breast Cancer awareness month, attention is being focussed once again, on the dreaded condition often associated with high degree of morbidity and mortality as well as physical and emotional stress. Contrary to the popular view that Breast cancer is rare in young women aged 30 and below the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr. Femi Olaleye in this interview with FRANKA OSAKWE says the disease is now being reported in women as young as 19 years old. He also explains more about the current status of both breast ts. and cervical cancer in Nigeria. Excerpts.

What is the situation like breast cancer in Nigeria?

This month is breast awareness month. What do you have lined up?

the month of October. ctober. We have organised a “Go Pink” Benefit Concert, to identify with women who have survived breast cancer and celebrate their spirit and courage to fight the battle. e. The high-profile and well-attended ed event took place on Sat 4th of October ctober at the Intercontinental Hotel, el, Victoria Island - Lagos. Furthermore, rmore, every Friday in October has been dubbed ‘Go Pink’ Friday y and we shall be offering women more opportunities to be screened ened for FREE and get discounts on mammmograms and d breast scans at our centre located at 118 Bode Thomas Street, Surulere – Lagos. We also encourage members of the public to wear pink on these Fridays, in order to identify with the struggle to win the war against breast cancer. Women that turn up at our centre wearing a touch of pink on any given Friday in October shall get a free gift item donated by some of our sponsors.

We have lined up a variety of projects and campaigns designed to raise awareness, offer free breast cancer screening and also offer women an opportunity to undergo life-saving mammograms and breast ultrasound scans by offering massive discounts during

Hereditary/Genetics happen to be one of the most important risk factors identified. Others include smoking, obesity and long-term use of hormonal contraceptives.

Breast cancer can develop where

The incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria has been worked out as 1-2 in every 25 women; with higher incidence seen in women with family history of breast cancer and ovarian cancer and in women delaying procreation till after age 40.

It is however difficult to determine if the incidence of breast cancer is increasing or decreasing due to the fact that we do not have a national cancer registry in Nigeria.

I don’t think just having a cancer desk or a cancer control department in Abuja is enough to compile this vital epidemiological data. We should have a system in place similar to how other registries work such as marriage, death and birth registers that allow data collectors and researchers to determine rates of marriages, deaths and births respectively.

With the level of IT development in Nigeria and how topical the issue of cancer as a disease is in the minds of Nigerians right now, I do not see any reason why we cannot invest in all that is needed to intelligently fight the war against breast cancer.

What are the risk factors of breast cancer?

Is surgery the only option for someone diagnosed with breast cancer?

Surgery is one of the treatment modalities. Surgically removing the cancerous breast is paramount if a woman is going to survive the cancer. Other management options include chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Palliative treatment can also be instituted in situations where the cancer is in a late stage and therefore the cancer is inoperable and the patient needs to be made comfortable with painkillers and sedatives.

I understand your organisation is doing a lot to help fight cancer. Tell us more?

SURGICALLY REMOVING THE CANCEROUS ANCEROUS BREAST IS S PARAMOUNT IF A WOMAN IS GOING TO SURVIVE URVIVE THE CANCER there are breasts and although it is a disease predominantly seen in mature adult women, we have started seeing cases in women as young as 19 in Nigeria.

Optimal Cancer Care Foundation is a registered NGO determined to help raise awareness about the dangers of late detection, therefore we offer Free cancer screening to women at our centre and we also conduct cancer screening outreach campaigns to locations outside our centre and outside Lagos, especially Olaleye to grassroot communities (usually in conjunction with faith-based organizations and sponsors).

How are the responses like?

Responses to the FREE cancer screening have been encouraging.

The numbers of women attending have been increasing on a weekly basis and more women are taking advantage of the discounts we are offering. We are pleased to see that Nigerian women are now embracing the idea of cancer screening instead of ‘rejecting it’ and saying ‘it is not my portion’!

I hear that cervical cancer has a preventive vaccine. Tell us more about it and How accessible is it?

Cervical Cancer is one of the leading cancer killers of women presently in Nigeria.

Cervical cancer happens when cells in the cervix (situated at the neck of the womb) grow out of control. Before cancer forms, cells that line the cervix change and become abnormal. These abnormal cells grow slowly, over 10 to 15 years in most cases. The cause of the abnormal cell changes have been discovered to be due to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This is a sexually-transmitted virus and it can be found on the genitalia of 90-99 percent of men.

To prevent cervical cancer, women are therefore advised to take the vaccine against HPV and attend regular screening (every 2-3 years) until the age of 65. The vaccine is now readily available in Nigeria and can be given to pre-sexually active teenage girls from age 10.

Between cervical and breast cancer, which one is more on the increase?

Due to paucity of data on the incidence of cancer (no cancer registry), it is difficult to ascertain which of the two cancers are on the increase. But a Global Cancer Study published in 2008 (Globocan) actually stated that cervical cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in African women, but that study did confirm that the figures quoted for most of the African countries included in the study (including Nigeria) were extrapolated from population figures and epidemiological data

How is breast and cervical cancer contracted?

Cervical cancer is caused by HPV and the virus can be contracted through sexual contact only.

Breast cancer however cannot be ‘contracted’ because no single causative organism or agent has been identified yet.

What do you think government should do to help reduce cancer?

Invest more on awareness campaigns and cancer screening centres.

What will be your advice to women?

Attend regular screening. Conduct monthly self examination.

Avoid obesity and take your vaccines as per the schedule.

Are you getting the best of your doctor? tient, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 forbids treatment which is, in the opinion of the physician, in the patient’s best interest, the physician should challenge this decision in the relevant legal or other institution. In case of emergency, the physician will act in the patient’s best interest.

6.

Procedures against the patient’s will Diagnostic procedures or treatment against the patient’s will can be carried out only in exceptional

cases, if specifically permitted by law and conforming to the principles of medical ethics 7.

Right to information a.

The patient has the right to receive information about himself/herself recorded in any of his/ her medical records, and to be fully informed about his/her health status including the medical facts about his/her condition. However, confidential information in the patient’s records about a third party should not be given to the patient without the consent of that third

party. b.

Exceptionally, information may be withheld from the patient when there is good reason to believe that this information would create a serious hazard to his/her life or health. c.

Information must be given in a way appropriate to the local culture and in such a way that the patient can understand. d.

The patient has the right not to be informed on his/her explicit request, unless required for the protection of another person’s

life. e.

The patient has the right to choose who, if anyone, should be informed on his/her behalf.

8.

Right to confidentiality a.

All identifiable information about a patient’s health status, medical condition, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and all other information of a personal kind, must be kept confidential, even after death. Exceptionally, descendants may have a right of access to information that would inform them of their health risks.

b.

Confidential information can only be disclosed if the patient gives explicit consent or if expressly provided for in the law. Information can be disclosed to other health care providers only on a strictly “need to know” basis unless the patient has given explicit consent. c.

All identifiable patient data must be protected. The protection of the data must be appropriate to the manner of its storage.

Human substances from which identifiable data can be derived must be likewise protected.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Arts Lounge

Wednesday, October 22 , 2014

You must upgrade regularly in filmmaking 25 Don Nkems

The curator as culture broker

Ogbechie

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Nollywood: Re-awakening the lost cinema culture

There seems to be a shift in the art of recouping money spent by Nollywood producers with most of them recording commercial success through the use of cinemas to reach their prospective audiences, thus curbing the satanic menace of piracy.

Olawale Oluwadahunsi

P

iracy is still been viewed known over the years as thorn in the flesh for movie makers because of its menace of making the professionals lose their hard earned money even though a school of thought believes the piracy has helped the Nigerian movie industry in propagating millions of films worldwide, thus making Nigeria attain its stellar position in world movie market.

“How can you recoup your investment?

How can you survive in such an environment? It is a major issue for Nollywood” are the grueling words of Zik Zulu Okafor, the President of Association of Movie Producers, in an interview sometimes ago hinting how the growing rate of piracy was giving Nollywood producers a lot of concern and needed to be tackled with more vigour.

“Piracy is killing Nollywood. You make a film today; next week you will see it in the compilation of 20 films, selling at N100.

“How can you recoup your investment?

How can you survive in such an environment? It is a major issue for Nollywood,’’ he said.

“To fight piracy, you must be formidable and you have to have the wherewithal,’’ he said And fortunately, some of the movie producers have been found ‘formidable’ by using the cinemas to show their ‘intellectual properties’ and thus circumventing the virus of pirates that eat deep into their purses.

Films like ‘Tango With Me’, ‘Phone Swap’, ‘The Meeting’, ‘Half Of A Yellow Sun’, and ‘The Return Of Jenifa’ have proven to be commercial success through their showing in various cinemas in and out of the country.

The chairman of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Rivers State chapter, Engr. Reginald Orlu, disclosed that the nefarious activities of pirates in Nollywood is now reduced with the return of cinemas in the State and Nigeria as a nation through premier of the movies.

The movie producer who stated this during an interview recently, disclosed that the way things are organised in the industry today is that after shooting a film you take it

Typical cinema hall

to the cinemas for premier here in the country after which you still go abroad and do the same thing, before you send the film to the market. He stressed that the good thing about this is that pirates will not see the film to pirate.

According to him, even before the movies go into the market the producers must have realised the money they spent, because in most cases through premier which is the showing of the film for the first time, they receive their money in dollars and before the film is seen in the Nigerian market, it had already entered the foreign market, so pirates find it difficult to pirate the films since it is already in the market abroad where the pirates sell their pirated copies.

Engr. Orlu explained that “Lost Number” a movie produced by Ifeanyi Dike, a member of the Association of Movie Producers, Rivers State which was premiered sometimes ago, is being premiered in London after which it will enter the London market and other foreign countries before entering the Nigerian Market, so the pirates are checkmated.

Tango with Me, released in May 2010 was directed, produced and written by Mahmood Ali-Balogun starred Genevieve Nnaji, Joke Silva, Joseph Benjamin, Bimbo Manuel, Ahmed Yerima and Bimbo Akintola.

With a budget of over N30 million, the producer must have made his money back

since the release of the movie in mid 2010.

Cinema halls were well patronized because of the movie and Mr. Ali-Balogun would not have made less than N60 million.

Phone Swap is a romantic comedy, another high grossing movie that cost more than N60 million. It was produced and directed by popular director, Kunle Afolayan.

The movie has been nominated for multiple African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). It was awarded more cinema slots for the pleasure of movie lovers and brand agencies clamouring for private screening for their clients.

Genesis Cinema, Lekki, Lagos, had six showings a day from 10am to 9pm, also showing at Ozone, Yaba and Silverbird cinemas nationwide. It was premiered March 7, 2012, at the Expo Hall of Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos and in Ghana also.

The Meeting is also another film that surely raked in twice its production cost of over N30 million. Premiered on Friday, October 19, 2012, at Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the Rita Dominic produced flick which featured artistes like Nse Ikpe-Etim, Linda Ejiofor, Kate Henshaw, Jide Kosoko, Chinedu Ikedieze, amongst others was showing at the cinemas at least four times a day when it was released and it was showing for over eight weeks, with cinema halls filled.

Anchor baby, directed by Lonzo Nzekwe,

Films like Tango With Me, Phone Swap, The Meeting, Half of A Yellow Sun, and The Return Of Jenifa have proven to be commercial success through their exhibition at various cinemas in and out of the country

produced by Lonzo Nzekwe and Jeremy Hood, starred Omoni Oboli, Sam Sarpong and Terri Oliver. It was released in the USA on January 27, 2011 and in Nigeria in December 10, 2010.

The movie, written in two weeks and shot in 12 days, cost about N80 million. Anchor Baby was in the cinemas for 18 weeks, showing twice a day for the first eight weeks.

The Return of Jenifa was directed by DJ Tee, while the movie was premiered in the U.S and Nigeria. Starring Antar Laniyan, Eldee D-Don, Banky W, Helen Paul, Iyabo Ojo, Ireti Osayemi, Denrele, Omawumi, Yinka Quadri and a host of others.

It was premiered at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on September 23, 2011. When people realised the much awaited movie was at the cinema, the crowd became uncontrollable. Some would sit on the stairs of the cinema halls while some stood just to see the movie. Undoubtedly one of the best Nigerian movies, it was at the cinemas for over 12 weeks. The award-winning movie is still aired by television stations till date with people watching it over and over again without being bored.

Figurine, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, was released October 2, 2009.

The movie gulped over N50 million. It received 10 nominations and won five awards at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2010, including the award for Best Picture, Heart of Africa, Achievement in Cinematography and AMAA Achievement in Visual Effect.

With so many critical acclaims on sites and blogs tagging the movie as the best Nigerian movie they have seen, Figurine was at the cinemas for about three months, showing at least once a day with the cinema halls filled to capacity. The producer was said to have raked in the millions he invested.

Furthermore, Mirror Boy, a fantasy adventure drama, shot in England and The Gambia, was released on January 17, 2011.

The award-winning movie gulped over N70 million, and up till now, the movie is still winning awards. Mirror Boy was at the cinemas for about 12 weeks, showing at least twice a day.

More recently is ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ which was released into the Nigerian cinemas on the 1st of August. It set a new record in box office figures. The movie is right now at the number one spot in Nigerian cinemas, ahead of Marvel Studio’s ‘Guardian of Galaxy’, raking in over N300m in one week.

With the profiles of the above movies, it can be argued that the ambience of the cinema halls, the people’s love for a good film, the ability to continue the film’s showing in different venues at the same time with the price per show being twice or thrice its DVD value, the truth that the film narration cannot equal watching it, the wide use of adverts, and the fact that their monies will be recouped within a very short time are the core reasons why Nollywood producers will always opt for the cinemas.

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Arts Lounge

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

VOICES

The curator as culture broker

Okwunodu Ogbechie

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his essay grew out of my recent focus on the economics of cultural production as it impacts the value of African arts and culture in the context of globalisation. Specifically, it evaluates how value is created for cultural commodities and the role of cultural brokerage in determining which objects gain value and which do not. All forms of African art are historically less valued than art from the West and the discourse of art history did not until recently recognise contemporary African art as a valid context of practice.

Okwui Enwezor’s emergence as a notable global curator of note was therefore most opportune because it provided a singular opportunity for a curator to direct attention to this marginalised context. In the past decade, he has produced important exhibitions that brought to global attention a category of artists who are now very well represented in the discourse. It seems now is a good time to review the impact of Enwezor’s work as a curator in order to figure out the exact nature of his interventions and what view of Africa’s contemporary art they promote. Consider in this regard the role of the contemporary curator who in recent times has displaced artists and art historians from “participation in the process of constituting meaning” (Beatrice von Bismarck, 2007: 62). Much has been written on the expanding role of the curator in contemporary art and we need not focus on that here. Suffice it to say that whereas artists in the era of modernism claimed an avant-garde status and the authority to define the horizon of meanings of their work, contemporary curators have by and large usurped this role and curatorial practice is increasingly seen as a form of installation art in which curators aggregate artworks and objects to construct a structure of interpretation for contemporary practice. If we agree with von Bismarck’s definition of curatorial practice as the process of establishing connections for objects from a wide variety of sources, we will agree that it gives the ensuing installations created by contemporary curators a new position of authority that lays claim to “special powers to interpret the processes of connection” (von Bismarck, 2007: 63). This means that the curator’s work as a creator of connections and nar-

ratives between various forms of art and cultural objects is rapidly taking the place of the work of the artist. In the information age where content aggregation is the primary mode of data management, curatorial practice reconfigures artworks as data and constitutes the curator as a supremely powerful search engine that ranks artists and artworks according to rather opaque algorithms, in the process rendering specific forms of cultural practice visible or invisible according to its self-referential autonomous logic. Much as contemporary knowledge systems value content aggregators and search engines above their constituent data, the contemporary art world increasingly values the curator above the artist. In fact, the curator is displacing the artist to become the one who most directly benefits from the work of artistic production.

The second impetus for this essay came out of the global economic crises and the role of financial brokers (bankers, hedgefund managers, etc.) in creating the crisis by reconfiguring the meaning of fungible commodities. In the run up of the economic bubble, hedge fund managers in particular became star figures of pop culture by leveraging financial brokerage to stratospheric levels and manipulating financial information to create newer and more esoteric financial instruments that yielded greater levels of profit. The move away from the “basic labor” of banking and money management into this rarefied

Let us suggest then that the contemporary curator is a culture broker in pretty much the same way a

hedge-fund manager brokers financial instruments

field of financial information brokerage provides a parallel to the rise and role of the curator in contemporary practice. According to Paul Kaiser, “the success of curators as social figures in recent years derives from the old dilemma of art in the (post-) modern age, i.e. the need for art to assert its supposed autonomy in a market heavily regulated by economic forces:”1 The hype and star cult quality of most contemporary curators factor into a reorganization of cultural production as a process of brokerage and management. Curators fit into the new economy as culture brokers who mediate the value of artworks in economic and critical discourse.2 Again, in an information age where content aggregation is the primary mode of data management, curatorial practice as brokerage redefines a process where known object accumulate greater value merely by being known, while other objects of equal value, rendered unknown by selective curatorial dismissal, find it difficult to gain traction. In this regard, questions about the economic value of art and cultural production are even more relevant in the contemporary era since cultural objects have to be mediated for them to become artworks, just like money has to be made fungible in order to create wealth. “The cult of originality, the determination of value, the economics of scarcity, of supply and demand, apply themselves with particular poignancy to the visual arts” (O’Doherty 1976:110) and there is a direct correlation between the discursive visibility of an artwork and its financial/cultural value. This direct correlation sustains the business of auction houses such as Sotherby’s and also sustains the cultural value of artworks in museums and related institutions. The contemporary curator emerges as a central figure in this production of value. In fact, the validation of cultural objects and their conversion into artworks is part of a debate over “power and status” (von Bismarck 2007: 64) that pits various validating institutions (artists, art historians, critics and now curators) against each other for control of the discourse and economics of the field of cultural production.

Let us suggest then that the contemporary curator is a culture broker in pretty much the same way a hedge-fund manager brokers financial instruments. Beatrice von Bismarck points out that recent similarities that have evolved between

Memorable Reads Q

Q

What book is your favourite?

Telling what my favourite book of all times is very hard. I teach African literature a lot of the time and it is very hard for me to imagine teaching African literature without teaching Achebe’s ‘Things fall Apart’ and Soyinka’s ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ I have taught and have read them over and over again and every time I see something new. They are favourites of mine that I read all the time.

So who’s your favourite author?

My favourite authors are the writers, Soyinka, Achebe and J.P Clark.

You know I have two children and I don’t choose among them and say this one here is my favourite and I

Jonathan Hayes

Professor of African Literature

don’t like the other one so much.

Q

What are the highpoints of their books?

With Achebe’s book it is simply the totality of his intelligence. He understands his cultural practices deeply and really thinks about his themes in a simple and very clear way, but writes about them in a simple way. His art is an art that hides art in a sense, one doesn’t see what he does in the light of something difficult, but you try to do it and then you’ll discover that he is a genius.

Q

How much do you spend on books?

Some hundreds of dollars. I am not sure of the exact amount.

Ogbechie, lives in California, USA, where he is an associate professor of Art History and an entrepreneur. artistic and communicative practices in the field of art and mostly deriving from “practices adopted outside the art field in the economic world [and referring to] the forms of “immaterial work…which is not directed at material production but the creation, administration and distribution of meaning should be understood as a direct analogy to the curatorial practice of assembling, arranging and communicating”.3 The post-Fordist ramifications of this notion of “work” is evident in disparity between the remuneration that accrues to actual labor (of the artist in this case, or the teller in a bank) and the broker (e.g. the hedge-fund manager) or in this case, the curator who mediates the horizon of meanings available to the artist through his curatorial practice. It suggests that curators benefit from their work in a manner completely out of proportion to the value of their input into artistic and cultural production much as hedge-fund managers do in relation to financial brokerage. Their lopsided remuneration fits well within an economic environment in which managers reap all the benefits of labor relative to workers.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

ARTISTE UNCENSORED A producer and director, Donatus Chikezie Nkemdirim is the man behind Don Nkems Studios, the outfit behind, Movie Quest, a platform that unveils fresh talents.

You must upgrade regularly in filmmaking Don Nkems

Ngozi Emedolibe

I

n Nollywood, he is popularly called because of his production outfit, Don Nkems Studios, which has played very crucial role in the area of music and movie production, distribution and talent grooming. While he has been at the background in Nollywood, he is actually one of those critical to what the fans of the industry see on-screen. His works perhaps speak for him: ‘Under’, ‘No Guarantees’, ‘Hidden Secrets’, ‘Tears from Holland’, ‘Before the Sunrise’, ‘Heartbeats’, and ‘Unbelievable’. He is putting finishing touches to another part of his blockbuster epic, ‘Nne, the Jewel of Ukelu Kingdom’, a story of greedy exploits in cultural practices in an African village.

His advent into movies incidentally started from Aba in Abia State, where he first started as a distributor. “I started as a distributor in 1992 at Aba. Then, there was literally no industry and everything was loosely organised. From there, I decided to venture into production and directing after attending the National Film Institute, Jos, where I went in search of further studies in film making”.

For this Mbaise, Imo State born filmmaker, the need to get further training was stimulated by his passion for growth in the career. “The moment I realised that movies would be it for me, I knew there was no way to go, other than getting further training.

That was what took me to the National Film Institute, and the experience and knowledge have been very instrumental to what I have been able to achieve in the industry. I have not stopped learning about filmmaking. I am still in search of knowledge because in a dynamic industry like movie-making you must upgrade at every point in time”.

At the last count, Donatus has become a part of many professional film bodies locally and internationally: Member of National Film Fund Committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Pat Utomi; Secretary of Jury 1st International Students Film Festival, Jos; Chairman of Jury, Lagos International Film Festival 2008; Advisory Board member BOBTV (2005-2006); General Secretary, Association of Film, Video Producers and Marketers of Nigeria (AFUPMAN) 2003-2007; Member of School of Productivity, Lagos; General Secretary, Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP) (2010 Till Date); Member of British Project Professional Society, United Kingdom; Member Federation of In-

25

to him, it is dangerous to think it is making progress with a very few recognisable faces. This is why he is not relenting in his bid to make more stars in the industry.

“After I realised that the industry has a problem especially in terms of stars, my production outfit started what is called ‘Movie Quest’. ‘Movie Quest’ is now an annual event and people apply to be part of it.

The selected participants will be camped at a hostel where they would undergo all sorts of mentorship from known directors, writers and producers. The whole episodes will run like a reality TV show, which would be edited and aired eventually. But the highpoint will be the mouthwatering prizes that will be given to the winners. Someone will get our ultimate prize which is a multiple film contract and a car. There are other consolation prizes like trips to Ghana and Congo for production, because those are places where our company has production agreements. There are also technological gizmos that are up for grabs”.

Why does he think Nollywood is better off with many movie stars? “I can bet that the audience must be getting tired of the regular faces that grace our home videos.

It is not as if I have anything particularly against the known faces. But they are not enough to give the Nollywood audience the variety they deserve. Urgent steps need to be taken to identify new talents who would be taking over from these present day stars.

Any industry that has no plans for its future is taking a big risk. That is the idea behind ‘Movie Quest’”.

According to him, the next edition of Movie Quest comes up in February, 2015.

Donatus Chikezie is however very positive about the industry. “In a few years, we have come out this strong. That is a sign of positive things to come.”

I started as a distributor in 1992 at Aba. Then, there was literally no industry and everything was loosely

organised.

From there, I decided

to venture into production and directing after attending the

National Film Institute, Jos

ternational Association of Film Producers, FIAFP. While the movie industry is seen to be making progress with a galaxy of stars that

MIDWEEK JUMP

PMAN opens Live Band competition

T

he stage is set as the Abuja chapter of Performing Musician Association of Nigeria {PMAN), is set to host the maiden edition of the 1st PMAN Live Band competition scheduled to hold on the 28th of November, 2014.

The Live Band competition is aimed at restructuring the culture of music, reposition PMAN in the entertainment industry and also, unify the northern forum of the association.

The concept was borne out of the desire to transform music in Nigeria, from the perpetual habit of miming on stage during performance by musicians and upcoming musicians, to singing to a Live Band during performances.

Adeyemi, PMAN, FCT

has been produced, Donatus Chikezie, thinks, the movie industry still needs many more new stars. According

At Cannes International Film Festival with colleagues Eyengho and MacDonald

DSTV Eutelsat Awards for teenagers!

T

he DSTV Eutelsat Star Awards is calling 14 to 19 year olds to write an essay or design a poster based on the topic “Imagine you are a satellite, orbiting high above your own country or even above your own home or school” The youngsters are supposed to address the following questions: What would you see?

What would you like to tell the people below about what you see from up there?

What would you like people to know?

What would you like them to think about?

If you could send them a message or an image, what would you like to say or show?

The DStv Eutelsat Star Awards is part

of the ongoing partnership between MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat since 1999. Since its inception, the competition has drawn over a 3000 entries across the continent and has invigoratFrancine Mazala, received a passion for science amongst ing DSTV Euselsat Award the younger generation.

The awards are open to all students from secondary (high) or combined schools in Africa where MultiChoice Africa maintains operations. Entry forms can be obtained from any MultiChoice Resource Centres, the nearest MultiChoice office or copies can be downloaded online. Entries may be prepared in English, French and Portuguese and close on 27th October 2014.

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Arts Lounge

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FAR AND NEAR

Kings County: Brooklyn inspires African artists

B

rooklyn may be 7,816 miles away from Cape Town, South Africa, but the New York borough has inspired a new show at Stevenson Gallery called “Kings County,” which opened last week and runs through Nov. 22.

The gallery, which opened in the artmeets-design district of Woodstock in 2003, represents a wide range of contemporary African artists focused on the continent itself: from Anton Kannemeyer’s darkly satirical comics to Pieter Hugo’s unnerving photographs. This year the gallery participated in Frieze New York, is currently at Frieze London and will be at Paris Photo and Art Basel Miami Beach.

For its latest show, the gallery wanted to focus on geography and its limitations, said the curator and gallery director Joost Bosland. Bosland had been in talks with the gallery’s artists — including Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Meleko Mokgosi, Wangechi Mutu and Paul Mpagi Sepuya — individually about where they each live and how that influences their work, but the show didn’t materialize until he realised that all four artists had one thing in common: Brooklyn.

“The artists in this exhibition are all, in different ways, invested in this imaginary place called Brooklyn, and use the idea of the borough as a backdrop to the making of their art,” said Mr. Bosland. The show spans installation, video, work on canvas and work on paper by the artists, who have all lived in Brooklyn (called Kings County

by Dutch settlers in the 17th century). “We have two works by Mr. Meleko, one video

by Ms. Mutu, four works on paper by Ms. Akunyili Crosby and a room installation

Njideka Akunyili-Crosby

containing 20 photographs by Mr. Sepuya,” Mr. Bosland said.

The show also came about in part because of Mr. Bosland’s chance encounter with the Brooklyn-based Nigerian writer, Teju Cole on a balcony in Lagos.

Mr. Bosland recalled, “Teju spoke very passionately about Brooklyn as the only place in the world where he does not, in one way or another, stand out.”

Mr. Cole, who wrote an original piece for the exhibition, said, “When I’m in Brook-

lyn, at least in certain parts of it, I feel that no one can walk up to me and demand to know what I’m doing there.” He added, “Anywhere else in the world, even in Lagos where I grew up, I’m not so sure — I have a metaphysical confidence in the place.”

One of the artists, Meleko Mokgosi, 33, from Botswana, is known for his largescale project-based installations often focusing on the perception of historicized events; his view of Brooklyn is focused on a specific area, Sunset Park. “Crucially, it is a workspace, and I feel comfortable getting off the train every day at 8 a.m. and heading to work alongside the numerous factory workers going in the same direction; so no mystery, suspense or romanticism here — its just work,” Mr. Mokgosi said.

For the mixed-media artist, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, 31, the coexistence of universality and difference that exists in the city is often portrayed in her work: from intimate scenes of lovers to Nigerians dancing at house parties, all done in various collages. Her work explores how young cosmopolitan Nigerians maintain their Nigerian identity even as they integrate into foreign communities across the world. “Brooklyn reminds me of home (Nigeria) — both are spaces of constant cultural negotiation made up of cultural imports due to globalisation,” Akunyili wrote in an email. The appeal also lies in the fluidity of cultures. “People with many differences — not only cultural, but also racial, national, class, level of education, age, etc. — exist next to each other and so Brooklyn creates its own new and unique cultural space.”

Elliot, Afolayan, Ayuk for Goodwill Ambassadors award REGINA OTOKPA

A

ll routes would lead to the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel and Towers Abuja, come November 1st, 2014, to celebrate individuals who have rendered selfless service to humanity to promote social development in society.

Topping the list of awardees for the second edition of ‘The Nigerian Goodwill Ambassadors Award 2014’ is the Vice President, Namadi Sambo for Icon of Goodwill award, Winnie Madikizela Mandela (Mama Africa) for Legend of Goodwill award, Godswill Akpabio for Excellent Governor of the year award, former President Olusegun Obasanjo for Lifetime Democracy Leadership award, Dr. Ngozi Juliet Olejeme for Extraordinary Achiever award, High Chief Arthur Eze for Philanthropist of the year award and Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda for Excellent Senator of the year award.

Featuring under the special recognition award categories are industrialist of the year award to be carted away by Chief Innocent Chukwuma and Radio Personality of the year award for Willy Willy of WAZOBIA FM. Nominees contending for the category of the Nigeria Goodwill Ambassador Merit award are: Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Wale Tinubu, Dr. Eruani Azibapu, Ashish Takkar, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua, Dr. Anne Okigbo, Arc.Fifi Efindu, Abdullahi Mabasira, Dr. Diezani Allison-Madueke, Wogu Emeka, High Chief Athan Achonu, Ms. Adaora Umeoji, Elder Pius Omofuma, Chief Grace Ihonvbere, Sen. Daisy Danjuma, Hon. Felix

Eliot

Ayuk

Akhabue, Zakari Adamu and Chief Abel Ebiefomowel.

Making up the nominee group for Agents of Positive Change award category are: Dr. Prince Okonkwo, Desmond Elliot, Kunle Afolayan, Roseline Ajose and Isabella Ayuk.

Others include Nancy Ilo, Randy of NTA Young Hearts, Barry Johnson, Dooofan Abu-Amali, Ayodele Emmanuel, Ell Adams, Nick B, Anderson Osiebe, Mike Wonder, Fred Bright, Gina, Onumajuru Joy, Tosin Allen, Julietta Queen of pop, Anthony Abraham and Emma Bricks all going for TV Personality of the year award.

Also, the Appreciation award category

Afolayan

smiles at Venussbay, Queen of Aso organisation, DanHausawa, African Fashion, Alex Reports, Peace Ambasador Agenmcy, MBGA organisation, Simple n Bold Fashion, Daizy Magazine, Studio 24, Option A, You Intternational magazine and 1st Mega Vision.

Presenting the nomination list to the media, the President of the Nigeria Goodwill Ambassador group, Chris Odey, said the final list of the awardees’ comprising individuals and artistes, was drawn up from over 1,000 entries with specific focus on outstanding charitable activities and contributions, targeted at developing the society with reference to the less-privileged.

6th World Summit on Culture

Malta hosts 7th World Summit on Culture

T

he Malta Council for Culture and the Arts has been announced as the host of the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture, to be held in Valletta in October 2016.

Co-hosted with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), the World Summit will welcome around 500 delegates from 80 countries to discuss the major issues impacting the arts. Coming in the run-up to the Maltese EU Presidency in 2017 and Valletta as a Capital of Culture in 2018, the World Summit will usher in an exciting period for anyone involved in the Maltese and international cultural and artistic landscape.

The announcement was made at the conclusion of the 6th World Summit on Arts and Culture in Santiago, de Chile, by the Chair of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), Alan Davey.

The bid, submitted early last year by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA) was chosen by the board of IFACCA based on the published selection criteria.

The MCCA will be co-producing this mega cultural event with the cooperation of the Parliamentary Secretariat for Culture.

“At a moment like this, when my country is being entrusted with hosting such a prestigious event as an IFACCA Summit for culture and the arts, I must declare my full commitment,” said parliamentary secretary for culture Jose’ Herrera, who was present at the announcement.

“I will ensure that my country - my city fully exploits the benefits of playing host for this encounter. Only good can come from exposing Maltese artists to global influences, networking and the sharing of ideas. Winning the right to hold the 2016 Summit is the equivalent, for Maltese artists, to hosting the Olympics,” he said.

“Bringing the world back home in 2016 and engaging with so many different peoples from so many different countries will surely be a special celebration - a fiesta of the arts, understanding, culture and collaboration.”

Business Wednesday, October 22, 2014

‘It’s a shame that Nigeria has new power plant, but no gas to fire them’ 28

Delta to retire all Boeing 747s by 2017 –CEO

31

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Stakeholders express worry over transitional electricity market 33

FG not sincere on job creation, says NECA MESHACK IDEHEN

T

he Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has said the Federal Government is not sincere in its job creation initiatives.

NECA said if the government is sincere, all its policies should have employment content, adding that the three million yearly job creation target of the Federal Government is an illusion.

Director General of NECA, Mr Segun Oshinowo, said on Monday in Lagos that the question Nigerians should begin to ask is if the employment content in the government’s policies are for real. He praised the local content policy in the oil and gas sector which according to him, focused more on job creation.

“In any policy that the government is introducing or has introduced, Nigerians should begin to ask what the employment content is. The local content policy is a good policy and I think government should extend it to other sectors.”

Oshinowo decried the exclusion of the real sector from the composition of the Presidential Jobs Board inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the real private sector which represents the grassroots enterprises and entrepreneurs are excluded in the composition,

saying that the three million expected job creation is not feasible.

“This is a welcome development that would aid in addressing the time bomb of high unemployment among our youths, currently put at 80 per cent by the ,Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN ,in June, 2014.

“We hope that this initiative will not go the way of others, whose outcomes were never known to the public or implemented for the benefits of the country. ‘ ‘‘Jobs are important to the

reduction of poverty, enhancement of security and sustainable economic growth.

“We, however, wish to note that the composition of the board, unfortunately, does not include the real sector in Nigeria. Often times, government equates successful entrepreneurs to the face and representation of the private sector.

“Government is mistaking successful entrepreneurs in the country for the real private sector. And this, perhaps, is wrong.

The board is saddled with the creation of three million jobs in

a year. This is not visible.”

Calling for the implementation of the Pension Reform Act 2014, he said the implementation of the reformed law would go a long way in promoting coverage and compliance with the new contributory pension rate by employees in the country.

According to him, the National Pension Commission, PENCOM, has demonstrated how regulatory institutions could engage stakeholders in the promotion of socio-economic development of the country.

WITH AGENCY REPORT

T

he Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, SEFA, has approved a $265,000 grant to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, ICA, and United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, partnership for the development of the Atlas of Africa’s Energy Resources.

A statement by African Development Bank, AfDB, said the grant will be funded through the “enabling environment” window of this AfDB-administered multidonor facility mandated to unlock investments in clean energy in the continent.

“Africa’s renewable energy

FLIGHT

SCHEDULE Arik Air Lag-Abj:07.15, 09.15, 10.20, 13.05, 15.20, 16.20, 16.50,18.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun).

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

Aero Contractors Lag-Abj: 06.50, 13.30, 16.30, 19.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun), 12.30 (Sun) 16.45 (Sat) Abj-Los: 07.30, 13.00, 19.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat, 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 (Sun, 18.30 Sat) Lag-Benin: 07.45, 11.00, 15.30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12.30 (Sun 15.30 (Sat) Ben-Lag: 09.15, 12.30, 17.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 17.00 (Sat) 14.00 (Sun)Lag-Owe: 7.45am, 2pm daily

Med-View Airline L-R: Chairman, Humanitex Nigeria Limited, Mr. G.O Akinluyi; Federal Commissioner, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Rita Irone Begho, and General Manager, Deepwater Operation and Joint Interest, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Mr. Oladotun Isiaka, during the ExxonMobil Energy Outlook Series in Lagos recently.

SEFA supports ICA, UNEP’s effort to map Africa’s energy UDO ONYEKA

27

potential remains largely untapped, partly because of a lack of detailed resource information to enable further exploitation by both public and private investors,” explained Director of the AfDB’s Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department, Mr. Alex Rugamba.

“With this project, we will help policy-makers make more informed decisions and provide project developers with information on renewable energy resource availability within a given country, which is vital for investment feasibility assessment. It will also assist AfDB regional member countries in policymaking on renewable energy and energy-related environmental is-

sues more broadly,” he said.

The Africa Energy Atlas will feature illustrative maps, charts and comparative images that can provide important information on renewable energy resources across the continent and the possible impacts on the environment.

It will also provide visual information on the challenges and opportunities to providing Africa’s population access to reliable, affordable and modern energy services.

The atlas will target a potential spectrum of end-users including policy-makers and state-owned enterprises, for preliminary evaluation of the technical and economic potentials of renewable energy sources; private investors

and developers, as a synthetic overview of market potential before engaging in detailed studies; and academics and interested public ,for basic information and awareness of renewable energy.

According to AfDB the immediate outcomes of the project will be to; strengthen the availability of data on energy and energy-related issues; and provide up-to-date information on country-specific energy resource development and related environmental challenges, which will be used to attract private investment in the sector. This should ultimately attract investments in sustainable energy, with positive benefits for job creation, energy access and a reduced carbon footprint.

Lagos- Abuja (Mon-Fri): 07.00, 08.50, 12.00, 16.30. Abuja- Lagos (Mon-Fri): 09.00, 14.00, 15.00, 18.30. Lagos-Yola (Mon-Fri): 8.50am. Yola-Lagos (Mon-Fri): 13.00. Lagos- PHC (Mon-Fri): 17.00. PHC-Lagos: 19.00. AbujaYola: 11.00. Yola-Abuja: 13.00.

Lagos-Abuja (Sat): 08.00, 08.50.

Abuja-Lagos (Sat): 10.00, 15.00.

Lagos-PHC (Sat): 17.00. PHC-Lagos (Sat): 19.00. Lagos-Yola (Sat): 08.50. Yola-Lagos (Sat): 13.00

28

Executive Discourse

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘It’s shame that Nigeria has new po Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Mr. Ransome Owan is also the Chairman, NIPP Buyer Group. In this interview with CHIDI UGWU, he speaks on several frustrations, including lack of gas to fire the power plants as well as challenges facing distribution companies several months after privatisation of the power sector among other issues.

Excerpt:

One of the major problems facing the power sector is the inability of stakeholders to ensure steady supply of gas to power plants. How is this affecting the distribution companies?

The shortage of gas affects everybody in the value chain for electricity. Gas is critical to all power producers who use gas for their power supply. The lack of gas therefore means they cannot fire all the turbines that they have. If they cannot fire all the turbines that they have it then means that production of power is low. When the production of power is low it also means that the supply of power to the distribution companies is also curtailed therefore the distribution companies have less power for the consumers.

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, recently announced that Nigeria is ready to declare the much awaited Transitional Electricity Market, TEM. Do you think the time is right for the declaration of ?

I will defer this to the superior knowledge of the regulator who has oversight functions in the power sector. If the regulator believes that it is time I think we should take the bull by the horn. The transitional market essentially allows for proper market structure to function.

What do I mean by that? It means that all the contracts that we entered in November 1, of last year, including power purchase agreement, the long term contracts, including vesting contracts for the utility companies will come into effect. The interim market rules have suspended those, and it means that generators do not get paid the full capacity charges, and also the distribution companies do not pay the full amount that is supposed to be paid when they get electricity, so the declaration of TEM means that the minister has declared that the market is now opening.

That is all contracts must become effective. Right now, the contracts are not effective and it is disturbing both investors and market operators alike.

How do you think this gas shortage to power plants can be solved?

Thank you for that question. The issue of gas supply must be linked to the international oil companies and their domestic obligations. That means that as they export gas to overseas users they are required by law to dedicate a certain amount of supply to Nigerian power sector and the Nigerian gas market. In the past, where the demand for gas for power

was not very high it was not an issue. But now that the demand for gas to power is very high it is unfortunate that we do not have enough supply to go around. so, the people in Nigerian and west Africa are suffering from this, for example, Nigerian power plants do not have enough gas to fire their power plants, also the West African gas pipeline that is supposed to supply from Nigeria all the way to Ghana, those people are also not receiving gas. In fact, not long ago, Nigeria paid damages of $10m to Ghana for not supplying them the adequate gas they supposed to have.

The country needs gas for its own use but also need to find a way to meet its international obligations. There is no short way out. We have to invest in gas gathering, and cleaning up the gas, and giving to the power plants dry gas. That is the solution.

Do you think there is need for an upward review of gas price to be at par with the international price?

Right now, the three tiers of pricing gas in Nigeria gas to power is the lowest, then you have commercial and industrial customers who pay close to market prices.

However, this price of gas has now been reviewed upwards. It is now up to $2.80, for both the gas and transportation. We are not yet there but there is a direct move to market prices. I think that will give a signal to the international oil companies to supply the domestic market.

There has been an inter-agency collaboration among ministries of power, petroleum and other key agencies to find a lasting solution to the gas shortage. How has this trickled down to the supply of electricity in the country?

It is not a direct trickle down proposition; however, this movement to $2.80 is as a result of that meeting. You know we have to mange rate shock and the regulator is very sensitive to that. If you increase the price of gas too high and the price is passed through the tariff it means the tariff is also going to go too high. So the regulator had to strike the balance between allowing the price to go up a little bit, and also allowing the customers to pay but not too high.

The former PHCN generation companies, including Omotosho and Olorunsogo had the capacity of 2,692mw as at September 2013, as against a total installed capacity of 6,976. 40mw. Do you foresee the huge gap in the Industry?

Yes, the shortage of power affects ev-

Owan

I think our focus in Nigeria should be how to, make sure we have enough gas over the next two to three years so that all the power plants both new and the ones in the drawing board have fixed stock erybody. I think at this time we have two pronged approach: to increase the capacity of the legacy power plants that belong to former PHCN. That is one, then the NIPP power plants which had 10 0f them are also expected to bring about 5000mw into Nigerian power space. So in either case, power will increase but the key enemy we have now is availability of gas to fire the plants. Ughelli Power plant is increasing its capacity; Sapelle is increasing its capacity because they will have gas. So, if you do not have gas even if you

want to triple your capacity it stranded.

You cannot produce and the people cannot benefit.

I think our focus in Nigeria has to with say okay, make sure you have enough gas over the next two to three years so that all the power plants both new and the ones in the drawing boards have a fixed stock.

It is a shame to have 10 new power plants of NIPP and all of them do not have gas to fire.

This is unacceptable. I think that all the stakeholders and policy makers have

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Executive Discourse

29

ower plants, but no gas to fire them’ is over 51 per cent. Some electric companies have as high as 57 per cent losses. For example, Port Harcourt Electricity Company said the loss was 40 per cent when it was sold, but it is now 57 per cent measured and proven. So there is already a 17 per cent gap. So what I am saying is that the average expectation of losses is different from the measured losses. So already there is a gap they all have to meet, that is why I say that the regulators and the operators need to revisit the subject so that they can bring up new baselines for performance measurements.

Former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power, Mr. Atedo Peterside, warned that if the problems of weak transmission and gas constraints are not resolved the country’s aspiration to achieve steady power supply would be hampered.

To what extent do you think these issues can be resolved?

Actually, Mr. Peterside is correct in his observation. There are three parts to the business module of power, generation, transmission, and distribution. Anyone that constitutes a weak link will mean poor supply and poor benefits to the consumers. Therefore it is very important for us to start and complete all energy projects including transmission and distribution of power. If we do not enough transmission as we do not now, if you are having very heavy traffic that requires four lanes of traffic but you only have only one lane going and coming there will be bottleneck. And therefore evacuation of power is a problem and remains a problem until certain things are solved in Nigeria.

The second issue is that right now, what we have is that you cannot switch the power around. It is not looped. And because it is looped we when a power fall in one area it is difficult to reroute that power to meet those who have been denied that electricity loop. So we need to change the configuration of electricity system so that it becomes more robust in case something happens in one area you can switch power to other directions to serve the consumers better. to really focus on the gas problem and also transmission because if you produce you also have to evacuate. Otherwise you will a beautiful power plant and only turbine is firing the others are quiet because they cannot evacuate the power. I always say that power project is like building a bridge, if you build a bridge into the middle of the river and stop nobody will use that bridge. So the best thing is to build the bridge and complete it 100 per cent.

No power project should be 99 per cent complete.

Some Discos have complained of a drop in revenue generation. What is your take on this?

You see when the electricity companies were sold the average losses were either 30 per cent or 40 per cent for all of the 11 Discos. When the new owners now took over they now get instrumentation and measurement of losses, the average loss

Based on the proposals submitted by core investors, new meters will be installed for every electricity user in the next five years at an estimated weighted cost, of $155 per meter. Do you think this can still be met within the next five years?

The cost of meter is going to go down so the direct answer is yes. Because we do not have a choice, electricity need to be measured, so that consumers would have confidence and the operators could know that they are supplying consumers what they actually promised them. And meters are needed to stop the so called estimated billing or crazy billing. So, it is not a matter of choice. We think that the demand for electric meters is high, so in the very short future the prices will also have to come down because the volumes are going to support the price reduction. I believe the target for metering everybody over the next five years is doable.

The second issue is that right now, what we have is that you cannot switch

the power around.

It is not looped.

And because it is

not looped when a power fall in one area it is difficult to reroute that power to meet those who have been denied that electricity loop

At the Disco level, are you making any effort to domesticate these meters in Nigeria, making it possible for it to be manufactured in Nigeria?

I believe the Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, has approved two or more metering factories, two or three factories are already in Nigeria, and the regulator has Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has also approved Nigerian metering standards to allow for free competition to come in. so I believe two or three companies are already set up and are producing meters in Nigeria. The market is huge not just for the domestic market but we can also export from Nigeria. So yes, I think this is supported by the industry players.

How do you react to NERC statement which says that Power Distribution companies will not be allowed to increase electricity tariff as they work to repay the, CBN’s N213 billion facility earmarked for operators in the sector?

The regulator has the final say on what has to happen in the movements in tariff.

Perhaps there is a way that they envision the distribution companies paying back the money without increasing the tariff, byes, if they reduce their losses, and improved efficiency, each of them will be cancelled out and there may not be any rate impact. But it means that the distribution companies have to far more efficient than they are so that the impact of tariff may at best negligible.

NERC recently directed 11 Discos to remit approximately N19 billion to the Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS, the Nigerian Electricity Liabilities Management Company, NELMCO and the Operators of the Nigerian Electricity Market, ONEM. Does it mean that Discos does not remit these deductions as at when due?

Now, I think is has to do with market ex-

pectations. The main key issue is to measure how much the utility companies are collecting and what they are required to keep in order to also meet their cost of operation at guaranteed rate of return. That is the bargain. What money they collect, first they are to keep what they require to run their business and then return the balance to the market operators and everybody down the value chain. Now, if they do not get enough power to sell and the losses are over 57 per cent high it means the remittances are also going to be reduced. It is just simple mathematics.

So, it is not that they are keeping money and starving the system that will be very wrong even for themselves, suppose the generators do not give them power, then they will not have power to sell. So everybody has to be honest in the system for it to work properly. I do not believe that the distribution companies are wilfull keeping back, naturally as they collect more money and they get more power remittances I believe will be high.

How does inadequate metering system affect the distribution companies in relation to revenue losses?

It has to do with if you cannot measure it will be difficult for you to account for it at the same time. Power not measured is power estimated and everybody comes out loosing at both ends. If the electricity companies cannot measure the electricity to consumers and they keep on estimating bills for consumers, the consumers can also challenge them and that is what brings about disputed bills which will not be paid on time. The best option in the market place is to try as much as possible to meter all customers. This is similar to the sim card, every customer of a mobile phone company has a sim card that is the ID, therefore every electricity user should have meter, that becomes the ID that you can load and everybody will be happy that they are paying for what they consumed.

How do think Nigeria’s power sector can be generally improved?

I think that we have been thinking a lot in Nigeria in silos, you just think yourself, gas is thinking on gas, transmission on their own, distribution on their own, generator on their own, policy maker is they are not listening. The best way for Nigeria to move forward is to make sure that all the stakeholders come together and connect the dots. Look at all the issues wholistically including the financing of the power sector because right now there is a challenge in financing these 10 new power plants of NIPP because of lack of gas.

The investors don’t see a clear line of sight as to how they can get back their money if the power plants are not producing. The returns will not be there and everybody losses in that proposition. Even the legacy power plants cannot increase their capacity as quickly as they want because there is no gas. And in some cases the evacuation is not there to evacuate that power. In Nigeria, we need to all come together and sing from the same hym book if I may use that expression.

30

Business News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NIIMP: Planning commission engages states on infrastructure delivery TOLA AKINMUTIMI

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he Minister of National Planning, Abubakar Sulaiman, has said that the establishment of Infrastructure Development Units in federal and states’ Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, was crucial to the successful implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan ,NIIMP. A statement by the Head of Information, NPC, Salisu B. Haiba, quoted the Minister at a meeting with States’ Commissioners of Economic Planning/Chief Executives of Planning Agencies from the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja at the weekend, as saying that the meeting was part of initiatives being undertaken to adopt the appropriate strategies for the

NIIMP’s implementation.

The m inister said that the recent approval of the NIIMP by the NEC and FEC had made it a policy document of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for a coordinated and accelerated infrastructure development that will guide all tiers of government in infrastructure planning and development On the significance of engaging the states to drive its implementation, the Minister, said “the development and implementation of the SIIMP as an extension of NIIMP in our various States would help the nation to have a unified drive in all sectors of our infra structural development” While commending the state commissioners for attending the meeting, which he said gave credence to the acceptance by all of the critical role quality in-

frastructure plays in economic development of any nation, he explained in most middle income and advanced economies of the world, infrastructure constituted 70 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product [GDP] and by so doing, facilitating their rapid economic growth.

The minister explained that the NIIMP was designed to raise Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure from the current 20-25 per cent of

GDP to at least 70 per cent by 2043.

He said the Plan would also help in identifying the investment required to bridge and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure across different asset classes, including energy, transport, ICT, housing, water, agriculture, mining, among others over the 30-year implementation period.

According to the Minister, “the first five years operational plan covering years 2014-2018, has an

investment portfolio of $166.1bn, N26.9trn to be able to deliver priority infrastructure projects out of which the public sector share is $86bn”.

He said private sector would be actively involved so that they would drive the NIIMP implementation in the long run through the Public Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement and outright private investment.

Jonathan inaugurates National Schools Agriculture Programme ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated the National Schools Agriculture Programme to encourage students in schools to develop interest in agriculture for the progress and development of the country.

Jonathan who spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa stated that the programme was developed as a catch them young initiative to encourage students to take to agriculture at an early age.

The President said that the programme would help develop the culture of self reliance among the youths.

He noted that the programme which would kick off in 12 pilot states would involve 4,400 students, stressing that the initiative would later spread to all secondary schools in other states of the country when it records positive impact.

The 12 pilot states include Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Federal Capital Territory, Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna Speaking further, the president said the initiative was aimed at encouraging students not to see agriculture as a means of punishment but as a business venture.

He noted that it was also a way of addressing unemployment in the country as the agricultural sector has created jobs for many Nigerians.

While speaking on behalf of

the governors of the pilot states involved in the programme, Ebonyi State governor, Martin Elechi said that the programme would be given the necessary support.

Earlier, Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina stated that the goal of the National Schools Agriculture Programme was to build technical and entrepreneurship skills in the students to run agriculture as a business.

He explained that the initiative would also equip school leavers with practical life skills to create jobs for themselves and enable the youth develop a positive attitude towards agriculture.

According to him, In the pilot phase, a School Agricbusiness Club, SAC, would be established in selected schools from 12 states of the federation across the six geo-political zones with each club comprising of 120 students.

Education Minister, Ibrahim Shekarau in his own remarks said the agriculture clubs in schools involved would be encouraged to ensure that the such schools enjoy the benefit of the initiative.

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Ogun State, Mr. Segun Odubela (left), receiving cartons of Safeguard soap from the External Relations Manager, Procter & Gamble, Mr. Abdufattah Olanlege, as part of efforts to promote hygienic and healthy living among students in Ogun State, yesterday.

Naira firms against dollar as investors eye Nigeria assets

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igeria’s naira firmed against the U.S. dollar on Monday as financial markets got a breather following weeks of sell-offs and two oil companies sold the greenback to some lenders, dealers said.

The unit closed at 165.28 naira to the dollar, firmer than Friday’s close of 165.35 naira, its lowest level since March.

Nigeria’s stock index ended a 10-day losing streak to gain 1.2 percent on Monday, with renewed buying after investors viewed the market as oversold.

“The recovery in the debt and equity markets impacted positively on the forex market,” one dealer said, adding that some oil companies also sold dollars to lenders.

Dealers said yields fell across the board in the bond market with the 10-year benchmark bond down 20 basis point on Monday to 12.75 percent, as buying pressure mounted from some pension funds.

Oil firm Seplat sold about $20m while the local unit of China’s Addax Petroleum sold $8

million, to boost dollar liquidity on the interbank market.

The naira had been under pressure with the price of crude oil, Nigeria’s main source of foreign exchange earnings, resuming a downward move to fall below $86 a barrel on Monday as supply overwhelmed weak demand in several key markets.

The weakness in the local currency had triggered a selloff in naira assets, as foreign investors, who make up more than half of trades on the local bourse, repatriated funds.

Google UK ad revenues climb 17% to $1.6bn

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oogle has reported revenue of $1.6bn, £1bn in the UK in the third quarter of 2014, up 17 per cent from the same period last year, as global revenues surged 20 per cent.

According to Google’s results for the third quarter, the search giant’s UK revenue

totalled $1.62bn, up 17.3 per cent year on year from $1.39bn in the same period in 2013.

The UK accounted for ten per cent of total revenues between 1 July and 30 September, equal to the proportion a year earlier.

Google’s total global revenues, which include revenue shared with third parties, traffic ac-

quisition costs or TAC, were $16.52bn from 1 July to 30 September, up 20 per cent year on year.

With TAC deducted, Google’s revenues were $13.17bn in the third quarter, up 10.5 per cent from $11.92bn a year earlier. TAC accounted for 23 per cent of ad revenues, down

from 24 per cent a year earlier.

Patrick Pichette, the chief financial officer of Google, “Google had another strong performance this quarter, with revenue up 20 per cent year on year, at $16.5bn. We continue to be excited about the growth in our advertising and emerging businesses.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

31

CWG tasks FG on local content ISAIAH ERHIAWARIEN

T L-R: Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Obinnia Abajue; Founder and CEO, Konga Online Shopping Limited, Mr. Sim Shagaya; Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni; International speaker, Mr. Vusi Thembekwayo and Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Victor Williams, at the 1st Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership forum in Lagos, recently.

Delta to retire all Boeing 747s by 2017 –CEO OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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he Chief Executive Officer, Delta Air Lines, Mr. Richard Anderson has disclosed plans by the management to retire all the Boeing 747s in its fleet.

At the moment, the global airline has 16,747s aircraft in its fleet and said by 2017, the last one would be retired.

The airline stated that it would “accelerate the retirement of its 747 fleet as part of its Pacific network restructuring.”

Aviation stakeholders however said that the move by the airline to retire the brand was no surprise, but were surprised at the timeline guidance rolled out by the airline.

Delta President Ed Bastian, speaking on the same call as Anderson, said Delta’s accelerated phase-out of the 747s comes as the company shifts some of its capacity on trans-Atlantic flights to routes between the USA and Asia.

Bastian added that Delta’s acquisition of Airbus 330s next year

would help facilitate retirement of 747s.

More broadly, the move comes as industry analysts speculate that the 747’s days could be numbered and that Boeing would likely have to end production of its iconic jumbo jet sooner rather than later.

Boeing’s latest model of the 747 — the 747-8 Intercontinental — is its biggest and most technologically advanced passenger version of the jet. But, so far, sales of the plane have been tepid.

Lufthansa was the launch customer of the latest version of the jet, and recently took delivery of the milestone 1,500th 747 ever produced. Air China became the second airline to take delivery of the new 747-8i last month.

But, outside those carriers, Korean Air and Russian carrier Transaero are the only other passenger airlines with orders for the aircraft.

As of late June, the number of 747s coming off Boeing’s production line north of Seattle is just 1.5

per month — down from about six per month in 1990. And airlines that have older 747s in their fleets are phasing out the planes at an increasingly brisk clip.

Air New Zealand, for example, flew its final Boeing 747 flight in September, opting to replace the aircraft with Boeing’s 787 and 777 models.

That matches a trend in which airlines have shown an increasing preference for two-engine widebody jets — like the Airbus A330 and Boeing’s own 777 — that seat fewer people, but burn less fuel and can fly comparable distances.

Still, Boeing officials remain steadfast that the 747 has a solid future ahead of it.

“There is still a fair amount of interest” from airlines, Eric Lindblad, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s 747 programme said recently. “Enough that we’re going to sit here today and say we expect we’re going to be building the 747-8 for quite a bit longer.”

Lagos empowers farmers with cash, equipments ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

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s part of measures to boost the morale of the farmers and increase food production in the state, the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in collaboration with State Programme for Food Security, SPFS, has given a total of N14.8m as well as farming equipment worth N8m to farmers across the state.

The gifts were distributed at the 2014 edition of Farmers Forum organised by Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, Iju area Office over the weekend where farmers were interacted with to know their

challenges and proffer necessary solution.

The cash was given to boost agricultural activities in the four State Programme for Food Security, SPFS, sites across the state.

The four SPFS sites that benefited from the cash gifts are; Igboye/ Igbonla SPFS site, which went home with a cheque of N3million; Ado/Badore SPFS site went home with a cheque of N1.8m while Ayobo/Ipaja andIgbalu/Gberigbe SPFS sites received a cheque of N5m each.

The SPFS sites major in agricultural activities, which include poultry, piggery, crop production, and aquaculture processing among others.

“The cash is to assist the farmers in ensuring that there is sur-

plus food for our teeming population, not only in Lagos, but across the country,” said the Manager, Lagos State Agriculture Development Project, Kayode Ashafa.

Apart from the cash gifts, twenty groups of farmers also received farming equipment worth N8million. The equipment included 20 water pumps, 150 wheel barrow, 200 cutlasses, 200 JK files, 200 Rain boots, 200 big hoes, 200 shovels/spades, 200 safety gadgets, 200 iron buckets, 150 big plastic bowls, among others.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Hammed from Igboye/ Igbonla SPFS site said, “Our site was one of those that benefited from the cash gifts.’’

he Chief executive of Computer Warehouse Group, CWG, Mr. Austin Okere has challnegd the Federal Government to come up with a local content policy that will drive the growth of the IT and telecoms industry in the country.

He told journalist after appearing on a panel of discussion on local Content Panel at the just concluded ATCON Telecom Executives and Regulator’s Forum, that the country needs the right type of local content policy in the telecoms industry.

According to him, “We should not stampede the NCC into taking actions that will impede the much needed Foreign Direct Investment in the sector”. Explaining his position.

“We should not confuse local content with taking businesses from foreign investors and handing them over to locals without recourse to technical ability and financial capability within the value chain”.

Austin said that while telecoms operation is extremely intensive in financial investment, the rewards are very slow in manifesting.

He explained that Etisalat, with over 15m subscribers, has admitted to not making any profit despite huge investments in her network since inception saying that many of the local CDMA

operators are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain the heavy investments needed to make their networks viable, and are haemorrhage subscribers at an alarming rate, threatening their very existence.

Austin made a distinction between the capital-intensive laying of communication pipes which he refers to as ‘plumbing’, and the utilisation of the pipes to provide value added services such as Ecommerce.

In his view, local entrepreneurs will benefit more in the value chain by taking advantage of the communication infrastructure to launch hitherto unrealisable business models as has been demonstrated by Jumia, Konga, and his own company CWG Plc, which has taken advantage of the pervasive broadband infrastructure in the country to launch a cloudbased subscription business providing technology to SMEs tagged CWG2.0.

Okere gave examples of how local companies such as Alibaba in China have taken this initiative to create businesses much bigger than the telecoms‘plumbing providers’. Other examples are Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in the US and MPESA in Kenya.

“Local content should not be about targeting a bigger share of the small cake, but rather baking a much bigger cake that can go round everybody, with people paying in the areas of their greatest strengths”, Okere concluded.

IBM ditches 2015 operating EPS target, shares slump DAVID AUDU

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

I

nternational Business Machines Corp, IBM, said it is no longer realistic expectations to achieve its 2015 operating earnings target of at least $20 per share after weak client spending resulted in an unexpected fall in quarterly earnings and revenue. IBM’s shares fell more than 9 per cent in premarket trading recently.

The world’s largest technology services company, which said it would announce a new target in January, reported a 4 percent drop in revenue as clients held back on spending in September.

“IBM needs to find success and growth in the cloud through organic and acquisitive means in our opinion, otherwise there could be some darker days ahead for the tech giant, and its investors,” FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives wrote in an email.

Chief Executive Ginni Rometty expressed disappointment in the results.

“We saw a marked slowdown in September in client

buying behaviour, and our results also point to the unprecedented pace of change in our industry,” she said in a statement.

IBM’s revenue fell to $22.4bn in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $23.34bn a year earlier. Analysts had expected $23.37bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net profit from continuing operations fell to $3.46bn, or $3.46 per share, from $4.14bn or $3.77 per share in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3.68 per share, missing the average analyst estimate of $4.31 per share.

IBM, which has been restructuring to focus on high-end products like Cloud, mobile security and Big Data, also said on Monday that it would hive off its loss-making semiconductor unit to contractchipmaker Globalfoundries Inc. IBM will pay Silicon Valleybased Globalfoundries $1.5bn in cash over the next three years to take the chip operations off its hands, and it took a pre-tax charge of $4.7bn in the quarter related to the deal.

32

Business News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Niger expends N15.6bn on agric in six years T

CSR: SOS Village commends Ecobank’s support

PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

N

iger State Government said it has invested over N15.6bn to the development of the agricultural sector, even as over 1.5 million farmers have been registered in the state and names forwarded for uploading into the National Farmers Data base, Abuja.

The state’s commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Muhammad Kuta Yahaya, who state this in a joint media briefing to mark the 2014 World Food Day with his counterpart, Dr. Yahaya Vatsa, commissioner for Livestock and Fisheries Development in Minna, said the fund was spent on the sector from 2007 to date.

The breakdown of the N15.6bn, he stated N830 million was expended in the purchased of 232 tractors for mechnised farming, N670m for another 100 tractors for the states’ tractor Hire Services, 25, 320 metric tons of assorted

fertilizers at over N1.0bn, N228m on counterpart contribution for implementation of agricultural programmes such as the FADAMA II and III. He explained, N1.8bn was paid as state governments’ contribution to the Growth Enhancement Support, GES, Scheme, and N1.7bn to cover provision of 176km of the total of 500km rural roads, across the state under the rural Access and Mobility Project 2, RAMP II, in 2014, among others.

He said the focus of the 2014 World Food Day, ‘ Farming Family: Feeding the World, caring for the earth’ was chosen to raise the profile of farming families and small holder farmers in the world.

It was centred world attention on the role of families in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment and achieving sustainable develop-

ment, particularly in rural areas.

According to him, the report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, FAO, in 2013, showed that there are more than 570 millions farms in the world and more than 500 million of these are owned by families, just as even preliminary report by the Niger state Agricultural and Mechanization Development Authority, NAMDA, has revealed about 734, 000 farm families exist in the state.

He revealed that arrangements have reached advanced stage for the commencement of Rice cultivation on the 50, 000 Hectares acquired by the Dangote Group of Companies in Bida Emirate.

He further added that other Agro-based investors have also indicated interest to set up wide range of of agricultural ventures in the state, all aimed at developing the value chain crops, the state has comparative advantage on.

Catering and Confectionery class at the on-going Second Phase of the Economic Empowerment Programme of the Lagos State Government, Ibeju-Lekki Centre at Orimedu, Ibeju, Lagos on yesterday.

LASACO grows gross premium by 12% MESHACK IDEHEN

I

nsurance Firm, LASACO Assurance Plc has said its gross premium rose by 12 per cent from N4.43bn in 2012 to N4.96bn in the 2013 financial period.

The company said in a statement on Monday that its net earned premium increased by eight per cent from N3.3bn in 2012 to N3.6bn in the year under review and that the firm recorded a 10 per cent growth in underwriting profit, which stood at N1.40bn

in the year under review from N1.28bn in 2012.

According to LASACO, the company bounced back from a loss position of N180m in the previous year to record a net profit of N412m in the 2013 fiscal year.

The Group Managing Director of the company, Mr Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, explained that the company was able to perform the feat despite unfavourable operating environment, particularly in the insurance subsector of the economy, through business ingenuity and a pragmatic approach.

He stated that in order to take the performance to another level in the current business year, the company was deploying appropriate business strategies even in the face of the harsh business environment in the country.

According to the LASACO managing director, “The strategies are directed at our business model as well as marketing approach, with a view to ensuring optimal utilisation of resources for the purpose of good returns on investment”.

he National Director, SOS Children’s Villages in Nigeria, Mr. Erhumwunse Eghosa, has commended Ecobank Nigeria’s continued support and commitment to the welfare of less privileged children in the SOS homes across Nigeria. Eghosa said Ecobank has consistently demonstrated strong financial support to SOS orphanages in the country thereby making life meaningful for the children.

He enjoined other corporate organisations and public spirited individuals to emulate the bank.

In his words “We are grateful for your humanitarian support.

This most importantly reminds the children that you believe in their right to a happy, healthy childhood and a bright future.”

He assured that the children will continue to receive the needed physical and emotional bonding that every child deserves, ‘so as to help them cope with the challenges of their day to day life as well as build and strengthen the foundation for their holistic development.’

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku, said the bank’s support to the SOS Villages is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility ,CSR, commitment.

He explained that the bank has consistently supported the organization annually because ‘we share a common vision of assisting the under-privileged in the society’, adding that all children need long term family-based care.

Female farmers call for inclusive agric policy ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

I

n view of the role of rural women in the drive for food security and agricultural productivity, National President, Women Agro Allied Farmers Association, Mrs Lizzy Igbine, has called for inclusive provision for female farmers by the Federal Government in the form of funds, extensive capacity building programmes and resuscitation of dilapidated infrastructure at the grassroots level.

This request was made by Mrs. Igbine at the National Agricultural Show organised by the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Saturday, where she outlined the many issues challenging their productiv-

ity as female farmers to include lack of funds, poor market access, inadequate storage facilities and bottlenecks associated with accessing credit.

According to her, adequate funds were needed for field trials, land preparation, planting and harvest. as she said, “For women, the budgetary funds cannot be accessed and we have challenges with accessing bank loans; many banks don’t even grant loans to rural farmers as our lands to them have no value, hence we cannot use them as collateral and especially as women, land papers were not handed over to us from our forefathers.”

She therefore appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to give grants to women farmers and intervene in the bottlenecks associated with their ability to access loans.

ZenithOptimedia loses £200m O2 business to Havas Media

Z

enithOptimedia’s estimated £200m European media business for O2, including the £50m in the UK, has been snatched from them, following an intervention from Havas Media stakeholder and Vivendi chairman, Vincent Bolloré. ZenithOptimedia is a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe’s In the United Kingdom; O2 is one of ZenithOptimedia’s longest standing clients, with roots stretching back 23 years to 1991 in its earlier incarnation as BT Cellnet.

The agency network only successfully retained the European markets for O2 business, after a consolidating review that resulted in ZenithOptimedia also add-

ing Spain to its remit.

Havas Media’s Arena had previously handled media for the Telefonica-owned O2 business in Spain and had been among the agencies to unsuccessfully compete for O2’s UK business.

According to sources, French industrialist Bolloré, chairman of entertainment behemoth Vivendi, is believed to have struck a deal with Telefonica’s chairman César Alierta, resulting in the dramatic U-turn.

Elsewhere, it is understood that Publicis Groupe’s Starcome MediaVest Group has also lost Telefonica’s O2 business in Latin America as part of the same deal with Havas Media.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

EnergyWeek Wednesday, October 22, 2014

OPEC basket price hovers at $83.19 per barrel

Unstable power supply worries minister

36

35

33

International rig count drops to 1,323 37

Stakeholders express worry over transitional electricity market

Ibom power plant

The nation’s transitional electricity market, TEM has not been established barely several months after the privatisation of the Electricity Generation Companies, GENCOs and Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs. UDEME AKPAN and CHIDI UGWU report that stakeholders are getting impatient with the endless wait which also impacts negatively on the sector.

Consequently, the Federal Government, on March 17, gave indications that it has suspended indefinitely the planned implementation of the

T

he nation’s transitional electricity market, TEM was expected to be established to regulate the activities of many stakeholders, especially investors and consumers in March, this year.

But this was not to be for at least a reason. Investigations showed that adequate arrangements were not put in place to accomplish that important ambition. Specifically, some of the conditions, which were

TEM

expected to be met between the completion of the privatisation process and the start of TEM, included: the execution of the market participation agreement, market operations system regulations, market settlement system, and the procedures for registration and admission processes for market participants.

Consequently, the Federal Government, on March 17, gave indications that it has

suspended indefinitely the planned implementation of the TEM. The government indicated its commitment to putting the right market conditions in place for the sector to thrive. The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo stated that the new owners of the DISCOs were responsible for the delay in the declaration of the TEM. He stated that the new owners of the distribution companies needed to be sure of their ability to recover their investments, especially through revenue collection. The interim rules introduced were intended to cover all electricity taken from the transmission system by the distribu-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

34

Energy Week

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 tion companies with adjustment made to account for any bilateral arrangements between GENCOs and the DISCOs. However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC believed that the arrangement was targeted at establishing a framework to govern trading arrangements during the interim period when Power Purchase Agreements, PPAs between the privatised Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN successor generation companies and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET. It is aimed at managing the probable revenue shortfall in the sector by determining the revenue allowable to participants and service providers during the interim period. It also aimed at the establishment of payment arrangements and flow of funds from the DISCOs through the market operator to all beneficiaries.

The regulation aimed at enforcing, maintaining and ensuring the adherence by licenses and other participants in the electricity market to the provision of the Act and other instruments for the purpose of achieving; the creation, promotion and preservation of an efficient electricity industry and market. It also aimed at fostering of a culture of regulatory compliance; the facilitation of the swift investigation and resolution of incidences of regulatory non-compliance and the fair and transparent determination of rights and obligations.

Furthermore, it provided for the maintenance of a predictable, stable and effective system for the assessment of compliance in the NESI and the proper allocation of responsibility; the establishment of a system for the deterrence, penalisation and application of sanction to acts or omissions which constitute non-compliance with regulatory framework established by the Act and regulatory instruments made pursuant thereto.

The endless delay has attracted the curiosity of some concerned parties. For instance, some consumers who preferred not to be named stated in separate interviews that they were indeed not pleased with the development. In fact, one of them stated, “The government and key stakeholders have failed to live up to expectation. It is very disappointing. “ But hope does not appear to be completely lost. Federal Government has expressed its readiness to declare the commencement of the TEM. For instance, the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi stated, “Now that we have completed the last of the formal condition precedents, CPs, and we are effectively handling the informal CPs, NERC is poised to recommend to the Minister of Power to declare the commencement of the TEM at a named date.”

Amadi declared that the TEM is now ready for commencement. As he puts it, “By this event, we have met the last condition precedents, CPs, for the commencement of the TEM as prescribed by the Market Rules.”

“You would recall that NERC, in 2011, had established an industry wide Transition Steering Group (TSG) to manage the efforts of stakeholders in the electricity industry to achieve the CPs to the commencement of the TEM. The Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 requires that the market would enter into a transitional stage before the beginning of full

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Stakeholders express worry over transitional electricity market

Nebo

competitive electricity market, “he stated.

The chairman stated that one significant mark of that transitional stage expected participants in the market to commence full trading by contract. “During this stage of the market, institutional and normative structures of a competitive and efficient electricity market will be institutionalised,” he added.

Amadi also pointed out some informal CPs that were not listed in the Market Rules, but are necessary for the optimal working of the market. He stated, “For this stage of the market, certain formal and informal CPs needs to be met. The formal CPs include: the approval of grid codes and market rules, the establishment of an independent regulator, the establishment of market operation and system operation with functional capabilities and the establishment of a market dispute resolution mechanism.”

Meanwhile, the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity have not witnessed much improvement in the nation. For instance, an authoritative government report puts generation at over 4,000 megawatts, mw which is grossly inadequate national which has been estimated at about 10,000mw. The transmission and distribution were also said to be characterized by a lot of losses and challenges respectively.

The poor state of power supply is fueled by major setbacks. First, investigations showed that the new investors have not yet injected significant funds into the capital intensive and technologically demanding sector. It was learnt that some of the firms have not yet been able to resolve labour, staffing and training issues. One chief executive officer who preferred not to be named stated, “Honestly, we underestimated the challenges that stare the sector in the face. There are indeed enormous.

We need a much longer time to tackle the problems in the sector which have been

Amadi

Peterside

The sector is not for all kinds of

investors. It is for those who have deep pockets and who are willing to make massive investment for the medium and long

term.

The sector

needs a lot of investment there for several decades. I must confess that we are still making efforts to address preliminary issues such labour problems with unions. We are also reviewing our staff requirement as well as identify training needs. There is a great need for us to take them one after the other because they are important to our operations.”

Second, the nation lacked adequate infrastructure to deliver gas to power stations. Some of the existing facilities, especially pipelines have not been connected to the nation’s thermal plants. This partly explains why efforts of stakeholders, especially the NNPC have not been fully felt.

The Corporation stated, ‘Between when President Goodluck Jonathan came in, we were producing just about 300mscf per day and within the cur¬rent fiscal regime, we have been able to move to 1,500mscf per day.

It stated that the efforts of Federal Government and others were constrained by many problems, especially pipeline

vandalism in different parts of the nation. The Corporation stated, ‘Majorly, it started with attacks on the oil and gas facilities purely for the sake of stealing the products. Unfortunately, the gas pipelines that were never areas of attack came.

For instance, the Escravos- Lagos-Warri pipe¬line was attacked last year. That was clearly a case of sabotage because there was no way you could steal gas.

Third, the Board Chairman, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Waziri who attributed the poor situation to accidents stated, “We had accidents along the Benin- Sapele road and a lot of transmission lines collapsed due to fire incidents. These affected a very small area in that locality in terms of giving them power. But like I said earlier, these issues are being addressed.”

“It is projected that the TCN requires $8bn in the next five years to prosecute its capacity expansion programme. We hereby invite all and sundry to partake in this investment bonanza. Government has established various mechanisms to safeguard and protect your investments in the TCN and elsewhere in the Nigerian electricity supply industry, “he stated.

Despite the many challenges that stare the sector in the face, many experts who remain optimistic believe a lot can be done to change the poor state of power in the nation. Take the National president, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, Engineer Bede Opara as an example. Okpara who stressed the need to inject huge funds stated, “The sector is not for all kinds of investors. It is for those who have deep pockets and who are willing to make massive investment for the medium and long term. The sector needs a lot of investment. The investors have to invest more funds in generation, transmission and distribution before we can expect any significant improvement in the sector.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

35

OPEC basket price hovers at $83.19 per barrel T

he price of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC basket of 12 crudes stood at $83.19 per barrel on over the weekend, compared with $81.17 the previous day.

The calculation of the cartel which made this known attributed it to the forces of demand and supply at the volatile oil market.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

The continuous drop in the price of crude oil has become a major source of worry to many nations, especially Nigeria which had based its 2014 budget execution on the reference price of $77.5 per barrel.

The fear of the government is based on the fact that the latest price was a little over $8.0 in excess of the nation’s $77.5 per barrel reference price of the nation’s budget.

Oil market watchers said the situation was critical as a further drop in price

Oil vessel

could affect the nation’s capacity to generate adequate foreign exchange for the execution of the 2014 budget.

For instance, a Port Harcourt-based energy analyst, Mr. Bala Zaka said, “The crash in crude oil price constitutes a serious threat to the execution of 2014 budget.”

“Any further drop in price would affect the capacity of Nigeria which depends on mainly crude oil to generate funds for the budget<” it stated.

The situation is said to be worsened by

the nation’s dwindling oil output which is estimated at about $2. 5 million bpd, including condensates.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

Energy demand to hit 52% by 2035 –Cartel

A

n expert has forecasted that the global energy demand would rise by 52 per cent in 2035 because of increased socio-economic development in various parts of the world.

The Secretary General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Dr. Abdalla S. El-Badri, stated, “It is a future where energy demand is expected to rise by 52 per cent by 2035. Where natural gas and oil will still meet over 50 per cent of the world’s energy needs by 2035.”

He said that producers need to invest to ensure that adequate energy is constantly supplied to consumers in different parts of the world.

“The world needs to bring modern energy services to those currently living without them. We need to remember that 2.7 billion people still rely on biomass for their basic needs, and 1.3 billion have no access to electricity. “he stated.

He stated that more energy would certainly be needed to stimulate economic prosperity and growth in coming nations.

“Our global energy future is one in which none of us can act alone. Any talk of ‘energy independence’ is just that. We

El-Badri

do not live in a world of independent energy nations< “ he stated.

El-Badri stated, “Our future will increasingly be one of energy inter-dependence. The interconnected and interna-

tional nature of energy markets is tying us together as never before, “he stated.

He stated that with energy remaining central to each and every, it is critical that all stakeholders work together for a secure, stable and sustainable energy future.

“In this increasingly complex, challenging and ever-expanding energy system we need to recognize the importance of dialogue and cooperation – to help all stakeholders find common ground; to look for shared solutions; and to help bring about the market stability we all need, “ he stated.

The Secretary General said, “Obviously, we will not find agreement on everything. We do not live in a perfect world.

But at OPEC, we have long recognized the importance of adopting cooperative approaches when addressing major topical issues – involving dialogue with countries, international organizations, and other interested parties.”

He stated that this applies to both direct oil industry matters, as well as other related areas such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Commodity

Units

Price

Change

% Change

Time(ET)

Crude Oil (WTI)

USD/bbl.

81.82

-0.93

-1.12%

10:52:57

Crude Oil (Brent)

USD/bbl.

84.63

-1.53

-1.78%

10:52:51

TOCOM Crude Oil

JPY/kl

56,740.00

-2.07%

10:52:32

NYMEX Natural Gas

USD/MMBtu

3.69

-2.15%

10:53:15

Source: Bloomberg

-0.08

Source: Oilprice.com

“It is easy to appreciate where dialogue and cooperation among stakeholders can help meet some of the challenges that our industry will face in the years ahead, “he stated.

He said the challenges included developments in the global economic recovery; the potential impact of UN climate change negotiations; the role of financial markets and oil market speculation; consuming country energy policies; a shortage of human capital; advances in technology; and rising costs.

“It pleases me to talk about the healthy dialogue that exists between Russia and OPEC. Our talks over the years have been wide-ranging, focusing on such issues as the state of the world energy market, its long-term prospects and associated challenges, the global refining situation, and tight oil and shale gas developments, he stated.

He also stated, “And of course, this relationship spreads to bilateral energy ties with many of our Member Countries. For example, Russia’s Lukoil recently started oil production from the giant West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq; Russian companies are involved in helping develop Venezuela’s Orinoco belt; and there are partnerships between Russian companies and a number of our other Member Countries.”

36

Energy Week

Nipco celebrates staff, marks 10 years anniversary,

N

ipco plc .an integrated indigenous operator in the nation’s oil and gas industry, has appreciated its staff describing them a key component in the success story of the company since the commencement of commercial operation in 2004 .

The Chairman of the company, Chief Bestman P. Anekwe stated this at the Tenth Anniversary and special recognition award ceremony to show gratitude for the contribution of staff and key promoters of the organization in the last ten years.

According to him, the event which is the first of its kind in the history of the company is a commendable feat as it provides avenue to value publicly the efforts of the human capital and some founding fathers whose efforts accounted mainly for the steady growth of the organization.

Going down memory lane, Chief Anekwe said the Nipco dream which some people had thought is mission impossible has become a reality even in the face of some daunting challenges to the delight of numerous stakeholders.

He singled out the wonderful support of two founding founders of the company – Alhaji Abdulkadir Aminu and Mr Tunji Adeniji with whom he travelled across the nooks and crannies of the country soliciting the support of independent fuel marketers to key into the project.

“The trio went through lots of tribulations from the onset of nurturing the firm but our greatest joy today is that the dream of the promoters had crystallized to level even beyond our projections especially against the background of what its peers were able to achieve within a decade “, the Chairman declared .

He stated that adversaries of the project at inception are now jostling for recognition as been part of the success story adding that the Board is undaunted and will continue to propel the management to attain greater heights in the industry.

The Managing Director, Mr. Venkatapathy Venkataraman in his speech noted that as key element in the rising profile of the company, management will continue to provide enabling environment for staff to excel and thrive on a continuous basis.

He described the event as yet another demonstration on management resolve to continually appreciate of the workforce peerless contribution to the growth of the company stressing the feat had encouraged the company to deliver exceptional results in recent times.

Venkatapathy enjoined staff to continue to put in their best adding ‘’that management is committed to having a cohesive workforce and intend keeping an open door policy for all staff to improve the communication line in the organisation ‘’.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Unstable power supply worries minister CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

T

he Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo has charged the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) address the epileptic power supply in Abuja and the entire Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This is just as the Minister observed that the erratic supply of power, in Abuja and its environs, especially in key government establishments was slowing down the pace of work, which is greatly impeding the performance of government programmes and activities.

The Minister lamented that Abuja as the seat of power, cannot afford to operate under low power supply, adding that the situation where most government establishments are starved of constant power supply was totally unacceptable.

Nebo gave the marching

order when he paid on an unscheduled visit to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to ascertain the challenges that had caused the recent drop in the supply of power in the FCT. He called on the Management of the Company to do a thorough check for lapses as well as prioritise load shedding to ensure that there is equitable distribution of electricity.

Nebo charged the firm to note that Nigeria, which is presently wooing investors into power sector, would receive negative response from would-be investors if confronted with darkness when they come to discuss business.

“There is cheering news from other cities about improvement in power supply, whereas Abuja, where major government transactions take place is unfortunately starved of the needed regular power supply”, the Minister reiter-

ated.

The Permanent Secretary, Power, Amb (Dr.) Godknows Igali enjoined the company to properly balance its load shedding, giving priority allocation to public buildings, like the Federal Secretariat, Office of the Head of Service, economic and health institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, hospitals and airports.

He assured the electricity company of the Ministry’s support in tackling the challenges confronting it in the distribution of adequate power supplies to the Abuja environ.

The Managing Director of the AEDC, Neil Croucher called for a political decision in the quantum of power supply to the FCT. According to him, the amount of power supplied to Abuja has drastically reduced thereby necessitating the company to ration power in such a way as to satisfy all its customers.

He stated that the issues

“Although the field, which commenced production of crude oil in 2005, also provides 26MMscf/d of gas to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG system in Bonny, Ogbele has not been considered primarily a gas field, “he said.

He stated that “we have a substantial gas business to plan for”, according to Layi Fatona, Managing Director of NDPR. “It makes sense to immediately plan for additional gas production.”

Gas from Ogbele is currently being produced from the G3 reservoir in Ogbele 1. This is expected to be augmented in the 4th quarter of 2014 with gas from the E6 and E 7 reser-

voirs in Ogbele 6, which was completed in 2Q 2014.

With the results of Ogbele 8, the reservoirs: E8, G1 and G3 will be part of the pool from which to draw from.

Drilling and completion of Ogbele 8 is part of the company’s $90 million, two year campaign involving 6-8 wells. The Acme 5 rig has now moved to another slot where it will drill Ogbele 9, 10 and 11.

Meanwhile, the Omerelu Farm Out Agreement between Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd (NDPR) and the NNPC/Chevron JV has been executed by all parties.

The firm stated that in this latest milestone attainment for the Company, NDPR has become the farmee of the Omerelu Field, located in OML 53, and is now a Marginal Field Operator with two assets. Omerelu has 13MM bls STB (P50) and ultimate gas recoverable of 8 Bscf, which will significantly augment NDPR’s booked reserves and future (short to medium term) production output.

NDPR was granted a right of first refusal of the Omerelu Field, at the same time that it negotiated and executed the Ogbele Field Farm Out Agreement (FOA) in 2000.

The said right could be exercised only if and when Omerelu Field was declared

Nebo

raised by the Hon. Minister are of great concern to the company, adding that prompt response will be given to ensure that load shedding is prioritized for optimum results.

Croucher further said that his company is in close discussion with five other electricity companies on embedded power so as to ensure that the supply of power to Abuja and its environs is increased to boost economic activities in the area.

NDPR makes huge gas find in Ogbele

UDEME AKPAN

N

igerian independent, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR) encountered 387 feet Net Gas Sand (NGS) in seven reservoirs in Ogbele- 8, onshore eastern Niger Delta.

The well proved new hydrocarbon occurrences in two reservoirs (D7 and E 8) in a proven fault block as well as found substantial gas column in a hitherto untested fault block.

“Ogbele marginal field continues to emerge bigger than initially defined”, says Samson Ojehonmo, an energy analyst who closely follows Nigerian marginal field activity.”

Gas plant

a marginal oil field by the NNPC/Chevron JV. Six years ago, NDPR first exercised that right and after a protracted and painstaking period of negotiations between all parties including the DPR, Omerelu is now an asset of the Company. The process of formal transfer of the Omerelu Field to NDPR Ltd has already begun.

Dr. Layi Fatona, Managing Director of NDEP Plc which wholly owns NDPR Ltd, said: ‘With the Agreement now firmly in our possession, NDPR Ltd has a new lease of life. An exciting time lies ahead. As we work towards First Oil, we will draw from the lessons learnt in our journey as pioneers of marginal field development in Nigeria; not least the co-option of host communities through the Host Community Development & Environment Trust and the importance of working in an environmentally friendly manner.’

‘Located to the north east of our existing Ogbele asset, and with adequate oil and gas reserves to justify a field development plan, Omerelu is a very welcome addition to the Company. I would like to thank all who have supported the processes leading to the eventual execution of the Agreement.’

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Energy Week

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

International rig count drops to 1,323 UDEME AKPAN

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he international rig count for September 2014 was 1,323, down 16 from the 1,339 counted in August 2014, and up 39 from the 1,284 counted in September 2013.

The international offshore rig count for September 2014 was 333, up 18 from the 315 counted in August 2014, and up 20 from the 313 counted in September 2013.

The average U.S. rig count for September 2014 was 1,930, up 26 from the 1,904 counted in August 2014, and up 170 from the 1,760 counted in September 2013.

Baker Hughes which made this known in its report stated that the average Canadian rig count for September 2014 was 406, up 7 from the 399 counted in August 2014, and up 19 from the 387 counted in September 2013.

The worldwide rig count for September 2014 was 3,659, up 17 from the 3,642 counted in August 2014, and up 228 from the 3,431 counted in September 2013.

The Baker Hughes Rotary Rig Counts are counts of the

number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States, Canada and international markets.

Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of US and Canadian drilling activity. Baker Hughes initiated the monthly international rig count in 1975.

North American rig count data is scheduled to be released at noon central time on the last working day of each week.

The international rig count is Oil well scheduled to be released on the that the U.S. onshore well count 5th working day of the month. for the third quarter 2014 was Additional detailed informa- 9,566 wells, up 110 wells or one tion on the Baker Hughes rig per cent compared to the seccounts is available from our ond quarter 2014. Compared to website. the third quarter 2013, the well Baker Hughes is a leading count was up 491 wells or 5per supplier of oilfield services, cent. products, technology and sysCompared to the second tems to the worldwide oil and quarter 2014, the well count natural gas industry. The com- increased most notably in the pany’s 60,000-plus employees to- Williston (up 45 wells or seven day work in more than 80 coun- per cent), DJ-Niobrara (up 30 tries helping customers find, wells or 10 per cent), and Cana evaluate, drill, produce, trans- Woodford (up 18 wells or 28 per port and process hydrocarbon cent) basins. resources.

This increase was partially The firm has also announced offset by decreases in the Eagle

Ford (down 27 wells or two per cent), Ardmore Woodford (down 18 wells or 50 per cent) and Mississippian (down 12 wells or three per cent) basins.

The average US onshore rig count for the third quarter 2014 was 1,842 rigs, up 46 rigs or three per cent from the second quarter 2014, and up 133 rigs or eight per cent from the third quarter 2013.

On average, the US onshore drilling efficiencies dropped to 5.19, due primarily to less wells per rig being generated in the Permian for the quarter.

stallations and facilities.

“I am however happy to report that IKEDC is involved in ongoing talks with several partners to explore supply from embedded power generation, Independent Power Projects and other sources to improve supply. ``We are equally working on a robust metering model that will promote transparency in billing and eradicate energy theft, this, posed serious challenge us but before December we are going to come out with policy on way to improve power supply to customers. ``we have carefully studied with the challenges facing maters and we have come out with comprehensive approach on effective metering. ``Even now that we have not officially roil out meters, the company had installed over 5,000 pre-paid meter to customers at no cost since we took over the company,’’ he said.

Ajifowabaje, said that about 136,000 customers within the company had been installed with pre-paid meter to date, while about 36,000 were caught and discovered to have been bye-passing meter which posed a serious challenged to the company.

He said that customers with

obsolete and malfunctioning meters would also have them replaced, adding that the company had made significant progress in its quest to ensure a robust metering system that would enhance accuracy in billing.

The IKEDC boss said that the management has come out with a robust methodology plan that will address all challenges facing bye-passing of meter by customers.

The IKEDC boss said that additional security will be added to the new pre-paid meter planed to be installed in area that is observed that usually tempering with the meter.

“Our first phase plan is to ensure that about 300,000 pre-paid meter is roll out by December, while about 500,000 to 600,000 meter is targeted to be installed and replaced faulty ones in the next three years, “ he stated.

Ajifowobaje stated that IKEDC, buoyed by over N1 billion released by the board to drive quick wins had been spent to date d on rehabilitation of vandalised transformers, replacement of undersized overhead conductors, completion of abandoned distribution projects and reduction in estimated billing issues.

Ikeja Disco to install 500,000 meters in three years

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he Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) has concluded plans to roll out about 500,000 electricity pre-paid meters to customers who are presently being billed without meters through estimation in the next three years.

The MD/CEO of IKEDC, Mr Abiodun Ajifowobaje, disclosed this at the weekend during the inspections of the management team to the company’s customer’s forum interaction meeting held in 15-business district units of IKEDC. Ajifowobaje said that plan has been concluded to ensure effective metering of customers within the network, adding that

Prepaid meters

official roll out of the meters we kick start before December.

He said the two main challenges have been confronting the company, which is, effective metering of customers within the network and quantum of energy received from the national grid by the company, which has been at the front burner and we are looking for way to finding lasting solution to it.

Ajifowobaje, said that the company, instead of receiving energy daily supply of 1,250 mega watts from the national grid, is actually receiving between an average of 350 to 450 mega watts.

He also decried the spate of vandalism on the company’s in-

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Chevron wins CIPM awards

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hevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture, has won the 2014 edition of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) of Nigeria’s Human Resources (HR) Best Practice Awards in the Oil & Gas category and the overall category.

According to CIPM, Chevron Nigeria received both awards as recognition of the company’s robust human resources practices and policies, and engagement of employees on HR related issues.

Mr. Deji Haastrup, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA) of Chevron Nigeria who received the award on behalf of CNL expressed the company’s appreciation for the recognition and award.

“We are delighted to receive both awards because CIPM and members of the adjudication panel thrive on excellence. For CIPM to assess us and adjudge our company’s human resources programmes as not only the best in the oil and gas industry but the overall best in the country is something to be proud of,” Mr. Haastrup stated.

The Chevron Nigeria PGPA General Manager commended CIPM for the recognition and the company’s Human Resources & Medical department for making CNL proud.

“I thank CIPM for the honour and recognition, and our HR and Medical department for its excellent work which has brought us honour.”

The awards were presented to Mr. Haastrup by Mr. Victor Famuyibo, President and Chairman of CIPM Council during the institute’s 46th conference at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday, October 14, 2014.

CNL’s Director, Human Resources and Medical, Mrs. Ihuoma Onyearugha in her reaction described the conferment of the award as a “great moment for Chevron.” She added that “the recognition by CIPM reinforces the fact that Chevron is a great company – with good processes”.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron companies in Nigeria, Mr. Clay Neff, applauded CIPM for the awards, which he said was an endorsement of the Human Energy driving the Chevron success story.

According to him, “People are the most important asset in Chevron and this recognition is reflected in the company’s vision to be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance”.

Mr. Neff affirmed that ”the company invests in people and deploys human resources programmes to strengthen organizational capability and develop a talented workforce that gets results the right way”.

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Energy Week

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

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his is a very common aphorism common to Americans but in their case they like to say that there is no business like show business. What, with the industries of Broadway, New York and Hollywood, LA in California, theirs can only be in the context of show-business. In the converse, with Erha, Okpono, Escravos and other gushing oil fields plus 170 million commuters, ours can only be Oil and Gas or more specifically the downstream business. That sub-sector did not actually start to today, as the pioneers of the business started out in and around 1914, with the predecessor of the today’s Exxon-Mobil hurling in shiny, garawa tins of the material along with the more familiar kerosene packaging in the same configuration. In those days, cars or even lorries were very few and far between and largely clustered around the trading houses around Iddo, Apogbon, Elegbata in Lagos and the Challenge, Dugbe and Ogunpa areas of present day Ibadan. In the Benin and Port Harcourt the fulcrum was in the axis of Iya-Aro cum Ring Road axis and Harbor Road and Kingsway Stores area.

For those who wonder where such knowledge comes from for someone not yet born in those times, the truth remains that there is a staggeringly enormous material gathering mould in the records within the National Archives at Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna and Enugu. Also in the documents and pictorial exhibition in the marvelous museum at Calabar, in a building on a promontory wherein used to live the Governor of the Southern Protectorate. The only problem is that to access those records you would need the tenacity of Job against forbidding gatemen, petty officials and other custodians who seem to believe that keeping the inquisitive away from the documents is the mainstay of the job. The colonial masters, give it to them, kept records with ample details, orderliness and bequeathed same. We haven’t

done so well preserving them and making them accessible. But, thank goodness electronic storage and retrieval has come to the rescue, if only from if none else, those copies the Brits took away.

The first organized marketers of petroleum products were Esso, Shell and British Petroleum and Mobil. They built their filling stations on the Main Street of most towns, often within one kilometer radius of the Motor park. So while BP built one on Asa Road not too far from the now famous No.4 Pound Road address, Shell had one at Fegge and Ochanga/ Ikpele mmiri area that didn’t appear to have survived the War. A major market segment for those stations must have been the Erico Ferry Service that transported people between Asaba on the western bank and Onitsha on the eastern bank of the great river that Mungo Park spent his life looking for and finding. This they did all day long. At Cable Point, Asaba also was another station whose mainstay could have been the Armel’s Transport Service whose trucks doubled as human carriers and mail courier for the Nigerian Postal Service now atrophying as NIPOST. In Lagos, the stations you see not far off from Idumota, the two at Maryland; the one at Iponri as well as that one near the local domestic airport had been in those strategic points for ages and

The World of Oil and Gas With

DR. OSSIE A. ESIEMOKAI

There’s no business like the downstream had prospered their owners or franchisees and now, their estates, in some cases.

Downstream oil marketing in Nigeria has truly come a long way and weathered many vagaries. For instance the erstwhile Shell, with their distinct yellow mollusk-shell logo spelt petrol or diesel ahead for many a depleted tank running motorist has now transformed. Esso is no more, as a distinct brand.

British Petrol became African Pet-

DOWNSTREAM OIL MARKETING IN NIGERIA HAS TRULY COME A LONG WAY AND WEATHERED MANY VAGARIES

Fuel station

rol through the heartwarming fiat of a ruling duo who showed that the new Africans can grab the Unicorn’s horn and defang the Lion.

Do you, my reader understand the euphemisms here? If no, don’t worry leave proud moments in Nigerian anti-imperialism history to lie. Agip with the fire-belching logo, which was a downstream play by the Italian Oil giant Energia Nationale Italia (ENI) went through some change of agbada; while the Nigerian National Oil Corps downstream baby went into what now become the behemoth – Con Oil. Texaco sold out wisely to what now became MRS. African Petroleum, with its sprawling tank farm at Ijora and an ultramodern Lubes blending plant to booth metamorphosed into Forte Oil, with the proud acronym FO. Not many would know that ‘forte’ in pristine, old-school Latin means strength and FO which is the derivatives of the word’s first two letters also represents the initial of the proprietor - Mr. Femi Otedola.

In terms of brand image and development, give it to the trio Total, Energy and Oando. Wow, by brand development here we mean the entire gamut of brand creation, brand nurturing, brand re-enforcement and brand promise. This writer has dealt with the three corporations at very close quarters and can say one or two things about aspects of their brand delivery. Let’s start with Total. Now shod of its FinaElf

dragging appendages; the international powerhouse has done a lot of brand burnishing in the past decade. A major asset is the choice of its corporate colors borrowed partly from the Tricolor flag of its mother country France. Red, Gold and Blue, they hit you subliminally from a mile off! Well, it helps that they have the metropolitan backing of the French government and its Gaelic people, for whom the company is a major instrument of foreign policy, akin to but more benign than the French Foreign Legion.

The hardy, non-nation ensemble of swashbuckling soldiers of fortune and refuge, which constitute that fighting force the French frequently deploy to flare-points in their former colonial bailiwicks, especially in Africa, differ from the highly educated and urbane technocrats that work for Total in so, so many countries of the globe. It helped the fortunes of that company on the CAC Index that they remain the dominant factor in the downstream economy of Francophone countries.

Whether this singular factor derives from official leverage, or part of an international markets focus, of the company is difficult to know for sure. But whether in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo or Gabon this marketer provide excellent service within very impeccable environment and multiple service-mix provision. Their ‘Bon Jour’ attached supermarket annex, provides most things a time-conscious motorist would like to pick up to make his ‘Good Morning or Day’. They have some of the highest safety standard in the industry, nay in any industry for that matter; both at their more than 500 pumpislands of their gas stations or their Malu Road, Apapa trucks loading gantry.

Dr. Ossie A. Esiemokai, retired Resident Director of Academics, The Premier University of Sao Tome and Principe is the author of ‘The Gulf of Oil’ which is now in print.

CONCLUDED

Companies deploy renewable energy to boost economy

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our Nigerian companies have emerged winners of the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge sponsored by General Electric (GE), the U.S. Africa Development Foundation (USADF) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Each of the companies received a grant of $100,000. The companies, Ginphed Nigeria Limited, Quintas Renewable Energy Solutions, Sky Resources and Topstep Nigeria, all submitted entries on how renewable energy resources can be deployed to power socio-economic activities within communities in Nigeria that are not connected to the country’s national grid.

The Nigerian companies joined 18 other grant winners from Liberia, Ghana, Tanzania,

Ethiopia and Kenya. Over 300 entries were received across the continent.

Ginphed Nigeria, a company based in Cross River state, caught the eye of the judges with

Solar panel

its innovative solution to the Ginphed Farm’s energy needs.

By constructing a bio-digester to convert animal manure into biogas to be used for electricity generation, for cottage industries in the surrounding communities, Ginphed successfully is putting an end to the electricity challenge of that community.

Quintas Renewable Energy Solutions is solving the challenge of access to grid energy in the Ofosu community of Ondo State, which lacks access to grid electricity, but has a strong local farming industry.

The company plans to develop a 500 kilowatt biomass power plant which will take advantage of the community’s agricultural and forestry residue, including sawdust from the four area sawmills that currently rely on ex-

pensive diesel for power.

The new power plant will include a steam turbine, generator, and gasifier with a combustor, and the electricity will be paid for through pre-paid meters.

On its part, Sky Resources Ltd, is promoting renewable energy technologies for the Nawgu community of Anambra State through a solarpowered micro grid.

The community is not connected to the national electricity grid and grid extension is unlikely for some time.

Subscribers to this innovative power solution in the community will pay on a per-use basis. Over 75 micro- businesses are expected to benefit from this initiative, and the $100,000 grant could extend the number of beneficiaries even further.

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Industry & SMEs

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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FIIRO, experts canvass techno-entrepreneurship STORIES: ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

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s a way of achieving significant success in micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs, in the country, operators in the sector and the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, have been canvassing for huge investments in the technology oriented entrepreneurship, which has been described as the engine of economic development.

Speaking to National Mirror at the just concluded FIIRO Investment Day and Technology Week, the Director General/ CEO of the Institute, Dr. Mrs. Gloria Elemo, said the MSMEs as a driver for economic development the techno-entrepreneurship must be encouraged among the youths.

According to Elemo, Nigerians have to be discouraged from depending on external sector, saying the emphasis must be placed on MSMEs as a way of developing local market and resources for economic stability of the country.

“Emphasis must be placed on the MSMEs harnessing Nigeria’s sizeable domestic market and abundant resources to ensure a steady supply of products that are vital to the nation and economy as a whole,” she said.

She further stated that despite the huge resources endowment in Nigeria, MSMEs have not assume their rightful place and pulled the Nigerian economy along the part of prosperity and sustainable growth and development, the shortcoming she attributed to what she called Industrial growth inhibitors.

Equally speaking on the vitality of techno-entrepreneurship to the development of

Elemo

economy, the Director, Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Dr. Willie Siyanbola said the country must shift its focus from commercial entrepreneurship to technology-driven ventures if the country must develop economically.

He said with the techno-entrepreneurship, enough jobs would be created with less unemployment in the country.

Siyanbola, who observed that people are more into commercial business than technoenterprise, said the reason why MSMEs sector has not developed is that people are neither encouraged nor exposed to the advantage of the techno-entrepreneurship.

Explaining the strategies for promoting techno-entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Siyanbola said there is need for proper documentation of research and development, R&D, strengthening of capacity building and creation of venture capital to support techno-business devel-

BoI MD, Olaoluwa Rasheed

opment, provision of adequate infrastructure, implementation of new technology investment policy, as well as addressing market failures and imbalances in procurement policy.

Meanwhile, the FIIRO DG, who craved for techno-entrepreneurship among the Nigerian youths as a panacea to unemployment scourge, said there is need for commercialisation of research and development and transfer of research as FIIRO has engaged in the promotion of its research results and transferred same to investing public.

This, she said, would make the production of goods especially agricultural products easy and cheaper for the micro and small entrepreneurs.

She explained that technology has to be domesticated for local people such that rural women can be advantaged to utilise it for small and medium level production and food processing.

Elemo, who said FIIRO started technology transfer pro-

gramme in 1986, maintained that the institute has trained about 500,000 people in the aspect of tehno-enterprise across the country.

She said the production of paper mill, sorghums, cosmetics, various processed foods, and soaps, which are no more imported into the country, has been as a result of technology developed by FIIRO. According to her, the institute has developed over 250 technologies, which have been aiding the production capacity of the country especially by the MSMEs. In addition, Elemo said there is need for teamwork by all stakeholders for a greater achievement in the aspect of techno-entrepreneurship.

“There is need for a synergy among FIIRO, financial institutions, and organised private sectors, OPS, to move the economy forward. I strongly believe that our working together will produce useful results, thereby enabling SMEs to bring their

potential to the fore, and manifest their abilities to generate sustainable supply of products in abundance and offer services to the people of Nigeria”, she stated.

Elemo also noted that all government programmes and policies evolved with respect to MSMEs development must be fully implemented, while bodies and agencies including financial institutions should drive the growth.

She reiterated the need for implementation of government’s policies for the development of the subsector.

Speaking on the financial support for the trained youths by the institute, Elemo said, “We make sure we train them properly so that they don’t end up being half-baked, after training, we recommend our trained candidates to the concerned financial institutions and assure them that the technology would not fail.”

However, the General Manager of the bank, Mr. Joseph Babatunde said t the financial institutions come in to support such entrepreneurs at commercial stage of the business, when such entrepreneurs would have validated their businesses.

He explained that no financial institution is ready to support techno-enterprise at its initial stage because of high risk involved. He added that what is needed for new techno-enterprise is venture capital, which is a financial support for risky enterprises only.

He further stated that even for non-risky enterprises, there is need for innovation in production, adding that financial institutions look for innovation in production before venturing into financing such businesses.

FG, states collaborate on infrastructural development

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or the development of infrastructure as a tool to boost the nation’s economy the federal and state governments to collaborating the Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan.

With the implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, NIIM, the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman projected a sharp increase in the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product, GDP, to about 70 per cent from the current 20 to 25 per cent by 2043.

Speaking at a meeting with state Commissioners for Eco-

nomic Planning as well as Chief Executives of Planning agencies across the country, the minister said for the master plan to be successfully implemented, both the state and federal government must establish delivery units within their ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, to drive implementation.

According to him, it is essential for those concerned to strategise the implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, NIIMP, and the development of the States Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, SIIMP, as endorsed by

the National Economic Council, NEC, and approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC. He said tin most middle income and advanced economies of the world, infrastructure constitutes 70 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, which drives continuous economic growth in those Countries.

He explained that the Commission adopted extensive and inclusive processes in the development of the NIIMP with inputs from the public and private sectors, international development partners, profes-

sional bodies, academia and civil society organisations.

He said National Infrastructure Master Plan was intended to raise Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure from the current 2025 per cent of GDP to at least 70 per cent by 2043 and identify the investment required to bridge and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure across different asset classes, including energy, transport, ICT, housing, water, agriculture, and mining, among others over the 30-year period.

He stressed the first 5-year operational plan ,2014-2018, of NIIMP has an investment portfolio of $166.1b to be able to

deliver priority infrastructure projects out of which the public sector share is $86b He maintained that the private sector will be actively involved so that they would drive the NIIMP implementation in the long run through the Public Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement and outright private investment.

He said the development and implementation of the SIIMP as an extension of NIIMP in various states would help the nation to have a unified drive in all sectors of infra structural development.

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Cocktail

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Indiana dog allergic to humans

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he owner of an Indianapolis dog rescue said veterinarians discovered a black lab’s skin problems resulted from the canine being allergic to humans.

Robin Herman of the Lucky Dog Retreat said a black lab named Adam was in bad shape when he came to the rescue and while he started to seem healthier with care, his skin problems persisted.

“We still couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so we took him in for a blood test,” Herman told WRTV Indianapolis.

Herman said she was shocked when veterinarians told her Adam is allergic to humans.

“Humans? I thought (the veterinarian) was kidding, she said just like we can be allergic to dogs, he’s allergic to human dander,” Herman said.

Oddities

Woman jailed for neglecting lawn A judge in Tennessee gave a woman a reduced six-hour jail sentence because she failed to keep her lawn mowed according to standards set forth by city ordinance.

Karen Holloway first received a citation from Lenoir City over the summer, indicating that her lawn wasn’t maintained properly. At a hearing last week, Judge Terry Vann sentenced her to

Man awoke from surgery in pink panties, sues hospital

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Delaware man’s lawsuit alleges he awoke from anaesthesia after a colonoscopy procedure to find he had been dressed in a pair of pink panties.

The New Castle County Superior Court lawsuit, filed by attorney Gary Nitsche on behalf of Andrew Walls, 32, said Walls was employed by the Delaware Surgery Centre in Dover when he underwent a colonoscopy procedure at the facility in 2012.

Nitsche said his client

was put under anaesthesia during the procedure and he awoke after surgery to find someone had dressed him in pink women’s underwear.

“When the plaintiff initially presented for his colonoscopy he had not been wearing pink women’s underwear and at no time did the plaintiff voluntarily, knowingly or intentionally place the pink women’s underwear upon himself,” the lawsuit states.

Jennifer Anderson,

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director of the Delaware Surgery Centre, declined to comment Wednesday. “We just found out about this yesterday afternoon,” she told the News Journal.

The lawsuit, which also names the Eden Hill Surgical Group of Dover, alleges Walls suffered “severe emotional stress,” and Nitsche wrote his client is seeking compensation for mental anguish, lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

five days in a local jail for the offense.

“It’s not right,” Holloway told WLTV. “Why would you put me in jail with child molesters, and people who’ve done real crimes, because I haven’t maintained my yard.”

Holloway appealed after claiming that she had been “bullied,” was not read her rights and was never told she could have a lawyer present.

Vann reduced the sentence to six hours on Tuesday, and Holloway turned herself in

A riding lawn mower

at 5 p.m. to be processed into the jail.

A mother with a full-time job, one vehicle and two children living at home, Holloway admitted that she had let the yard go, but that it was “certainly not a criminal offense.” She said that she had received similar citations in the past when her husband was deployed with the military overseas.

Vann said at the appeal that Holloway was not a criminal, but insisted on the six-hour sentence even after

Holloway requested community service instead.

Vann said that Holloway could face more jail time if progress on the lawn was not satisfactory by November, when the next hearing was scheduled.

“This opens a floodgate to everybody in Lenoir City being put in jail for silly things,” Holloway said.

Authorities in Lenoir City have not responded to media requests for comment.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Civil Service

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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FCT SURE-P trains 1,000 youths OMEIZA AJAYI

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he Federal Capital Territory Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme, FCT SURE-P, has commenced training for over 1, 000 youths as part of its National Industrial Skills Development Programme, NISDP. The training, which is in collaboration with the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, began yesterday with a two-day orientation programme at the Patience Jonathan Youth Support Centre in Nyanya, Abuja.

Participants are expected to undergo training in different industrial development skills such as plumbing, tiling and others.

According to the organizers, the programme was designed to address the current paradox in Nigeria, where on one hand many youths are unable to find jobs, while on the other hand, industries claim they have jobs available but cannot find people

with requisite skills to fill such vacancies.

In his remarks, the FCT Coordinator of SURE-P, Mr. Isa Ari described the training as another milestone in achieving middle level manpower in the territory, stressing that FCT SURE-P is out to achieve the best for the residents.

Earlier in her remarks, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Training Fund, Dr. Juliet ChukkasOnaeko identified the development of relevant industrial skills as one of the most critical issues facing the country, noting that the emphasis on skills development globally is increasingly “employable skills” which are practical and immediate skills needed by industries in the market place.

According to her, “it becomes clear, that when there is skills-gap in the economy, growth in labour and productivity are hampered and unemployment rate remains high.”

She noted that the development of relevant skills is

one of several challenges facing the nation today, stressing that such neglect has contributed to the high rate of unemployment.

Chukkas-Onaeko affirmed that the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), which is the driving force of the National

Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP), was initiated to provide technical vocational skills training and entrepreneurship development to the Nigerian youth.

She used the occasion to reveal that since 2012, ITF has trained 37, 000 youths in various industrial skills,

adding that the essence of the programme is to make youth self-reliant in the society.

FCT SURE-P Project coordinator, Mr. David Gende, told our correspondent that the trainees are drawn from the six area councils of the FCT, even as he enjoined them to develop positive and

rightful attitude throughout the three months duration of the training.

One of the trainees to be trained in tiling, Miss Nancy Bitrus, who spoke to journalists shortly after the orientation exercise lauded the federal government initiative, assuring that she will come out better in a male dominated skill.

Director General, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri (Right) addressing state directors of the agency from the 36 states, including Abuja, during an interactive session in Abuja, yesterday.

Head of service says civil service inhibits graduate employment PRISCILA DENNIS MINNA

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iger State Head of Service, Alhaji Hamidu Kadi Kuta, has hinged the inability of the state government to employ the services of 6,000 out of 10,000 unemployed graduates it planned to engage for over years by the Governor Muazu Babangida-led administration, due to frustration within the Service.

Kadi, who stated this in an interview in Minna, said the decision to employ 10, 000 staff was to inject new life into the state civil service for better and enhanced service delivery to the people of the state.

He said that 4,000 have already been offered appointment and are already on the pay roll of the state government. He added that efforts to employ the remaining 6, 000 has continued to suffer set back.

His words ‘’ recently, the state government tried to employ 6,000 civil servants to inject new life in to the

civil service, but again, the civil service is the reason government has not been able to implement that policy. Because, efforts made to put together the package for government to approve were fraustrated.

Before the coming of the current administration, embargo was placed on employment by the past one.

If the service in the last 7 years has been employing, at least 2, 000 every year by now, we would have been somewhere by now.”

He explained that, though embargo was placed on employment by the immediate past administration, the current government decided to come up with the policy, worried by the number of unemployed graduates in the state.

Despite the development, Kuta encouraged parents not to be discouraged from sending their children and wards to school to acquire education, out of fear that they will not be able to secure employment afterward.

The Head of Service also

lamented that 80 per cent of the nations’ civil servants are not properly cartered for in terms of equipment or service needs to enable staff perform their duties effectively to the country.

According to him, many ministries, parastatals and

agencies of government are faced with a lot of challenges due to lack of adequate funding to run the affairs of their organizations, a development that must be addressed to move the country’s civil service forward on the path of

growth and development.

He however, revealed that before now, civil service in Niger State was also poorly funded, untill the advent of the present administration, which accorded priority to the service.” The service was

never funded in the past, only one or three parts were funded.

So the atmosphere was not conducive, but now, it is different, the various ministries have something to run with,” he further stated.

Don gives recipe for progress and economic development in Africa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

commitment to service rather than plunder and that it sees its own future as being inextricably linked to the full consolidation of democratic governance in the land,’’ he said.

Agbaje said that those who provide leadership for countries and the continent must by now, be fully seized of the fact that they cannot aspire to lead in any direction other than one towards democratic governance.

The lecturer, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, contended that such democratic governance must also not be

devoid of development, justice and equity.

According to him, the realities of today’s contemporary world, showed that even for Africa, neither electoral chicanery nor dictatorship, deception nor economic retrogression, can be sustained as long term objectives of statecraft.

He said that it could also not be in anybody’s strategic interest.Agbaje further noted that other strategic variable for sustainable development was that of a country’s educational system.

He said that some of the

leading countries with responsive leadership and stability in democratic governance were also leaders in education.

Agbaje emphasised the need for adequate skills development among the younger generation, adding that it was only through skills acquisition that a sustainable long term development could be achieved.

In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, said that 13 of the 167 graduating students were conferred with first class degrees.

Giving a breakdown of the graduating students, Olukoju said that 44 received second class upper honours while 68 were conferred with the second class lower honours.He said that 41 others obtained third class degrees.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the overall best graduating student and the best graduating students in the three colleges of the institution were all female.

He said that the university would continue to build on the resources available in order to take both the institution and the students to highest heights.

42

Civil Service

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National Land Policy under way, as minister constitutes 30-member working group

T

he Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, yesterday in Abuja, constituted a 30-member Policy Working Group to ensure the actualisation of a National Land Policy.

Speaking at the ceremony, Eyakenyi, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Ezekiel Oyemomi, said that the objective was to harness available resources, with a view to ensuring effective land use in the country.

She charged the group to develop innovative ideas that would facilitate the project, the first of its kind in the country.She noted that a National Land Policy was long overdue. ``The fact that land is a scarce resource and inelastic in supply underscores the need for prudent utilisation of land resources, which makes it necessary to establish comprehensive regulatory policies. ``This will ensure that land, as a commodity, is put to its highest and best use.``It is therefore, ironic that despite the foregoing facts, a comprehensive land policy in Nigeria has remained elusive even though housing and urban development policies have been developed by the ministry. ``You will, therefore, agree with me that the development of this all important policy is long overdue.’’

The minister said that the document to be produced by the inter-ministerial committee would be exposed to all stakeholders and subjected to national validation.

She urged stakeholders to put concerted efforts into research and consultation, to prepare a policy that would not only find usefulness across the country, but serve as a reference in Africa.

Mr Geoffrey Tabansi, the Chairman of the interMinisterial committee, said the National Land Policy would capture all the regions in Nigeria so that the development would affect all tiers of government.

Cross section of Ministers during the Federal Executive meeting in Abuja.

Power transmission network requires N160bn annual investment –Nebo

T

he Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has said that N160 billion investment was required annually to achieve improvement in power transmission network.

Nebo spoke in Abuja at the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, Expert Group Meeting on Developing Infrastructural Ranking and Scorecard Roadmap.

He said that vandalism and obsolete infrastructure were some of the major impediments to the development of ef-

fective power transmission network for the nation.

“The transmission network is the life-blood of the entire electricity eco-system and currently, it is proving to be a weak link in the Nigerian electricity supply industry. ”Transmission infrastructure is outdated and many of the equipment are in poor shape due to neglect during the NEPA/PHCN era. ”It is expected that the transmission network will require a minimum

investment of one billion dollars (about N160 billion) a year over the next few years to meet current demands and position itself towards global competitiveness.”

The minister announced that the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, was discussing with a number of potential investors towards building a solid transmission network for the country.Earlier, the NSE president, Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, said that the NSE Presidential Expert Group

Meeting (EGM) was part of its contribution to drive Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution.

Olorunfemi said that the NSE Infrastructural Ranking and Scorecard Report would be conducted using world class methodology developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“The scorecard being proposed by the NSE and all Nigerian engineers in unison, will upgrade the state of infrastructure in all sectors.”The NSE would, every four years, evaluate every major infrastructure

in Nigeria, using a simple A to F school report card format.”It will provide policy makers an empirical guide in making choices and investment decisions with respect to infrastructure development,” he said.

The NSE president said the report of the Expert Group Meeting was expected within the next 12 months.The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport and Water Resources, as well as international experts in power generation, distribution and transmission.

Council advocates strong and secure transport sector

T

he 14th session of National Council on Transport, NCT, opened on Monday in Enugu, with the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Mohammed Bashar, calling for sustained, safe and secure transport sector.

Bashar, who is the Chairman of the Technical Session of the five-day event, said that the sector was crucial to the sustenance of the economy.

He said that the sector was accorded the high-

est priority by the current administration due to its importance in the development of the nation.

The permanent secretary added that having a functional transport system was one sure way of opening the country to more development opportunities.

He noted that ``having a functional and integrated modern transport system is one sure way of achieving the vision of placing Nigeria among one of the top 20 economies by the year

2020.``We have gathered here to deliberate on the safety and security of the sector and how to improve interconnectivity of state capitals.’’

Bashar said government had taken unprecedented steps in funding the transport infrastructure in order to make the sector robust.

He said that the recommendations of the session would determine Nigeria’s policy direction in the sector for the next 12 months on the short term.“The recommendations will hope-

fully have a bearing on the longer term as we strive to make the sector safe,” he said.

He said it was government’s desire to achieve a private sector driven economy that would be anchored on service delivery.

He, however, expressed regret that previous recommendations by the NCT had not been implemented.

“Our score card shows that decisions of the 13th NCT are yet to be implemented and this session needs to recommend how

to implement those decisions,” he said.

In his address of welcome, the Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Ministry of Transport, Mrs Chika Nebo, said there was urgent need to make the sector safe for stakeholders.

She said ``this is the right time for transport safety to be considered, considering the challenges so far witnessed in the sector.``We need to take resolutions concerning issues of risks attached to issues of transportation in the country.’’

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Wednesday October 22, 2014

The succession plan of the Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, as well as his rumoured senatorial ambition appear to be in jeopardy, following the sudden demonstration of interest by the Presidency in the politics of the state, writes GEORGE OJI.

43

New twist may distort political permutations in Abia

A

bia State politics appears to be getting more interesting and complex as the run-up to the February 2015 general elections draw near. For instance, all too sudden, the state governor, Theodore Orji, who is the leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state appears to be losing grip of top political decisions in the party.

Orji’s senatorial ambition Indeed, if feelers from the state is anything to go by, Orji’s political future in the state appears unclear and in jeopardy.

Before the current developments, it was an open secret that the governor had concluded plans to seek election to the upper chamber of the National Assembly, when he concludes his current tenure as governor.

To pave way for the actualisation of his ambition, a convenient political arrangement had already been worked out, which saw the serving senator for Abia Central senatorial district, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, conceding to the governor to take over from her, while she gears up to give the gubernatorial race a shot.

To make it look as if the decision to go to the Senate was in response to the wishes of the people of the state, there were all manners of phantom political groups that strutted out in the recent past, appealing to the governor to heed the demand of the people to make his services available for the constituents at the Senate. The governor himself had already acquiesced to the demand.

However, only recently, it was revealed that President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Dame Patience, had asked Governor Orji to bury his senatorial ambition for now.

Reason was that the senatorial arrangement was not part of the earlier agreement reached between the Presidency and the governor in 2011, whereby the governor pledged to support and work for the election of the President and in turn, the President committed to supporting Orji for his re-election as governor.

There are feelers that Dame Jonathan was the one who has asked the governor to bury his senatorial ambition for the pioneer chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.

Ugochukwu contested the governorship of the state in 2007 under the PDP platform, but lost to Theodore Orji who was Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA, standard bearer and was clamped in detention by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, then.

Before 2011, Governor Orji had fallen out of favour with the leader and founder of PPA, former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu and when it became apparent that he

Dam Jonathan

Ugochukwu

would be denied the PPA gubernatorial ticket, Orji momentarily defected to the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA. However, following a hurriedly concocted agreement by President Jonathan, Orji was assured of the PDP ticket if he defects to PDP, an arrangement the then sinking governor did not bat an eyelid to grab with both hands.

That arrangement also saw federal lawmakers from the state, who had lost of re-election, retaining their seats almost effortlessly.

It was revealed that in opposing the senatorial ambition of Governor Orji, Dame Jonathan reminded him that the senatorial ambition was not part of the 2011 political arrangement then. It was claimed she told the governor that she had already fulfilled the agreement of ensuring that he (Orji) was re-elected governor in 2011, even as she also informed Orji that she had promised Ugochukwu the senatorial seat for 2015, a promise the President’s wife said she was out to fulfill at all costs.

Right now, we hear the governor is in a fix about what next to do. What is certain however is that the governor does not possess the clout and necessary wherewithal to challenge Dame Jonathan on the matter.

tending that power shift is to Abia South senatorial district instead.

This obfuscation in terms of the clear meaning of equity and fairness principles has led to serious political disquiet in the state. For instance, political elements from Abia Central senatorial district, who are also from the Ukwa-Ngwa, stock are already screaming blue murder because if the equity and fairness principle is defined along senatorial line, they would be shut out from the gubernatorial race completely.

Their argument is that the whole essence of the clamour to zone the ticket out of the Abia Central senatorial district is to allow the people of the Ukwa-Ngwa extraction produce the next governor of the state. Therefore, it would be completely unfair and inhuman to zone them out of the gubernatorial race through a myopic interpretation of the equity and fairness principles along senatorial lines. This, according to them is because, those of them that are from Ukwa-Ngwa nation but at the same time come from different senatorial district outside the Abia South district would be short changed going by the senatorial arrangement.

People in the forefront of this school of thought are from the Isiala Ngwa North, and Isiala Ngwa South local government areas of the state. Incidentally, one of the strongest contenders to the state gubernatorial race, Senator Nwaogu, who comes from the Isiala Ngwa North council area believes that she and the others who come from outside Abia South senatorial district but are of the Ukwa-Ngwa extraction have legitimate aspiration to the office.

While the ding dong affair between the Ukwa-Ngwa people continues, people from Isiukwuato area of the state have come out to vehemently oppose the zoning formula based on senatorial definition. For them, ABIA, which is the acronym coined from the first letters of the old Afikpo, Bende, Isiukwuato and Aba divisions, remains the basis for power rotation in the state.

To further prove their case, the Isiukwuato people contends that in line with the zoning arrangement based on the ABIA acronym, the first civilian governor of the state, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, was from the old Afikpo division of the state, while

Governor’s successor Before now, Governor Orji had been drumming it everywhere in the state that he would allow someone from the Abia South senatorial district to succeed him in office, under a much talked about principles of equity and fairness, allegedly reached by the PDP leaders in the state.

In apparent response to Orji’s promise, a growing number of citizens of the zone have been throwing their hats in the ring to vie for the supreme political office in the state.

Unfortunately, the unclear definition of the so called principles of equity and fairness is now generating so many ripples in the state. For instance, while a school of thought has come out to posit that the principles of equity and fairness reached by the PDP leaders in the state was to the effect that power would shift to the people of Ukwa-Ngwa, another school of thought, apparently led by the governor are con-

Nwogu

FEELERS FROM THE PRESIDENCY INDICATE THAT

DAME JONATHAN APPEARS TO BE FAVOURABLY DISPOSED TO PITCHING HER TENTH WITH

OGAH, THE OIL

MOGUL FROM THE STATE

Orji Uzor Kalu and T.A. Orju, from the old Bende division have also had their turns.

For the people of Isiukwuato, going by the original zoning formula, it is their turn now to produce the next governor of the state.

It is on this premise that some prominent sons of the place like the retired General Azubuike Ihejirika and oil mogul, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, are reported to have entered the fray for the race.

Feelers from the Presidency indicate that Dame Jonathan appears to be favourably disposed to pitching her tenth with Ogah, the oil mogul from the state. Her argument is hinged on the logic that past governors of Abia State have disappointed the people through bad governance, even as she stressed that it is time to allow Ogah impact his successful private sector experiences on the state.

If this happens to be true eventually, then, it would be difficult for Governor Orji to be in control of who succeeds him in office.

Already, Orji is rumoured to have favoured one of the unpopular aspirants from Ukwa-Ngwa, as his successor. In the event that the governor is unable to push forward his candidate as his successor, then there is big trouble for Ochendo global.

44

Politics

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

AHEAD 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Insurgency can’t stop election in Yobe –Waziri ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA

F

ormer Police Affairs Minister and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial aspirant in Yobe State, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, has vowed that the insurgency cannot deter or stop election from taking place next year in the state.

Making the assertion yesterday in Abuja while picking his nomination and expression of interest forms at the PDP national secretariat, Waziri said insurgency is not to the level of stoping election in Yobe State.

He added that the in-

•Taraba stakeholders may have endorsed Ishaku surgency in Yobe creates a sense of insecurity, but aver that this also provide opportunity to meet and talk with the people, saying that even in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria election did take place, “I see no reason why election cannot take place in Yobe.”

He said: “Insurgency is caused by endemic poverty and illiteracy, all these human indices are results of bad governance and the solution is good governance.”

In a related development, Taraba PDP stakeholders may have

endorsed former Supervising Minister of Niger Delta and former Minister of State for Power, Darius Ishaku for the party’s gubernatorial ticket.

Ishaku told journalists yesterday in Abuja that following an appeal reportedly made to former Chief of Army Staff, General

Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, to support an aspirant from Southern Taraba, “all agreed that I should stand and take the mantle.”

He argued that Taraba North has had it turn in former Governor Jolly Nyame, who governed the state for 10 years, while the Central has Governor

Suntai Danbaba, whose eight-year tenure is being completed by acting governor, Garba Umar, insisting if Umar runs next year, he will disenfranchise the Southern part of the state.

He said: “The South has been giving PDP largest vote since 1999; we are appealing to our people that

we deserve it.

“Since the accident of Suntai, there has been polarisation along ethnic and religious lines, before now we were living peacefully.

“Some of us must give our services and bring about the past glory of the state, our economy has gone down.”

Group endorses Shettima for second term INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

A

concerned youth group, Askira-Uba APC Youth Forum, AYF, has called on Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, to run for second term in office in the next year’s general elections.

AYF coordinators, Mr. Ijudical Fali and Mallam Usman Mohammed told newsmen in Maiduguri, yesterday that it decided to endorse Shettima because of his extraordinary leadership qualities and experience in governance.

It said the way and manner Shettima appoints people into political positions, particularly the recent appointment of Hon Mustapha Galadima Ghohi as caretaker chairman of Askira-Uba local government area, is highly commendable and thus equally demand massive support from all and sundry to actualise his ambition to contest and return as governor for second term.

The group, with over 2,000 registered members, had at its last meeting, held in Askira-Uba, resolved to rally round Governor Shettima to win with unprecedented victory, describing his provision of people-oriented projects, healthcare delivery, agricultural transformation drive, poverty alleviation at the grassroots level and managing the security challenges, as some of the reasons to support

the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, government in the state.

It said: “Shettima has not been found guilty of corruption or any immoral act in the course of his duty, we have seen hospitals, schools renovated with newly ones constructed, over 2,000 housing have been constructed, drilling of boreholes, youth and women empowerment initiatives, roads and drainage construction, general welfare, and above all the relative peace we now enjoy are some of the achievements recorded and which impact are felt in the last three and half years of Shettima-led APC government in Borno State.

“We shall ensure he returns to office for a second term in 2015 to better the lot of our people, the course of human survival and the pursuit of happiness as well as the restoration of peace in our dear state.”

EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

B

auchi Youths Forum, BYF, has applauded the decision of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT, to endorse the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate in next year’s presidential election.

This was just as it also

L-R: Chief Essien Ndueso; Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd); Mrs Martha Udom Emmanuel; Akwa Ibom PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Obong Udom Emmanuel, and wife of the governor, Mrs, Mrs Ekaette Godswill Akpabio, during the formal declaration of Obong Emmanuel for the governorship of the state in Uyo, yesterday.

Flush out PDP, LG boss tells communities OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

C

hairman, Yaba Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Jide Jimoh has called on traditional rulers and members of communities in Yaba LCDA to flush out the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, both at the local, state and federal levels in the 2015 general elections.

Jimoh said this yesterday at the LCDA secretariat

after an award for excellent performance conferred on him by the Baales-in-Council, Yaba LCDA. Declaring his intention to vie for the Mainland federal constituency seat in House of Representative in 2015 general elections, Jimoh said: “I want to appeal to you and your people to work together to vote out PDP in the coming elections for a greater change that we need.

“It is regrettable that PDP government has failed

Nigerians in all aspects.

What they promote is corruption. Therefore let’s change this nation through our votes for APC.” He maintained that he is contesting for the House seat to turn around the economic and political fortunes of his people.

The Baale’s -in-council gave an award to the chairman for his service to the communities.

Reacting to the award, Jimoh said: “This award really surprised me because I

can’t imagine that Baales in Yaba LCDA could do this for me. You gave me a key award to open the door to Federal House of Representatives in the forthcoming elections which God has approved today.

“Your support towards this administration since inception would be in the record that I will never forget.”

He used the occasion to present certificates of recognition to newly appointed Baales.

Bauchi youths applaud Jonathan’s endorsement •Support Yuguda’s senatorial ambition urged Bauchi South people to support Governor Isa Yuguda’s senatorial ambition to represent the district at the Senate next year.

BYF leader, Alhaji Hussaini Aliyu, while briefing newsmen in Bauchi, said the decision of the PDP on Jonathan and Yuguda’s senatorial ambition are good omen for the people.

Saying that Jonathan and Yuguda posses the leadership credibility to meet the yearnings and asopirations of the people in tandem with the democratic norm, Aliyu said Jonathan’s endorsement would go a long way in affording the government further opportunity to consolidates on the transfor-

mation agenda which aims at not only to end poverty but to create wealth.

He said: “Our stand is that as loyal PDP members, the decision of the party stand binding on us and we are determined to ensure Jonathan’s victory in the February 2015 election.”

Challenging the opposition party to concentrate in

putting its house in order instead of rushing to the media to settle perceived scores to attract public sympathy, BYF said that no amount of campaign of calumny would deter the PDP from excelling in 2015.

The forum then cautioned mischief makers, especially politician who have resorted to thugs as willing tool to win elections, to desist from any form of political violence.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

45

Index gains 0.3% as investors stake N3bn shares T JOHNSON OKANLAWON

he equity trading closed on a positive note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, as the rally continued on stocks with good earnings.

The All Share Index appreciated 0.29 per cent to close at 38,776.67 points, compared to the increase of 1.22 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 38,662.65 points.

Market capitalisation added N37bn to close at N12.8trn, lower then the rise of N154bn recorded the preceding day to close at N12.7trn.

On the sectorial indices, the NSE 30-Index appreciated 0.32 per cent to close at 1,756.50 points, while the Banking Index gained 0.38 per cent to close at 396.92 points.

The Insurance Index rose 0.47 per cent to close at 146.62 points, while the Consumer Goods Index appreciated 0.28 per cent to close at 961.30 points.

The Oil and Gas Index was up 1.37 per cent to close at 433.35 points, but the Lotus Islamic Index dropped 0.16 per cent to close at 2,538.30 points.

The Industrial Index increased 0.35 per cent to close

at 2,599.01 points. The Alternative Securities Market remained flat at 951.09 points.

Costain Plc led the gainers’ table with eight kobo or 10 per cent to close at 88 kobo per share, followed by Neimeth International Plc with nine kobo or 8.82 per cent to close at N1.11 per share.

Dangote Sugar Plc added 47 kobo or 6.47 per cent to close at N7.73 per share, while Eterna Oil Plc gained 23 kobo or 6.44 per cent to close at N3.80 per share.

UBA Capital Plc was up 10 kobo or 4.98 per cent to close at N2.11 per share.

On the flip side, Unilever Plc dropped 2.22 or 4.99 per cent to close at N42.28 per share, while May and Baker Plc dipped eight kobo or 4.68 per cent to close at N1.63 per share.

International Energy Insurance Plc fell two kobo or 3.77 per cent to close at 51 kobo per share, while PZ Plc declined N1.08 or 3.75 per cent to close at N27.74 per share.

RT Briscoe Plc shed thre kobo or 3.37 per cent to close at 86 kobo per share.

A total of 352.9 million shares valued at N3.28bn were traded in 6,171 deals.

Naira hits 8-month low as firms hedge currency risk

N

aira eased to an 8-month closing low of N165.55 against the dollar yesterday, due to strong dollar demand from importers and companies reducing their exposure to the local currency, dealers said.

The naira fell 0.16 per cent from Monday’s close of N164.28 to the dollar, a level last seen on February 21, a day after the president suspended the central bank governor, sending financial

markets into a tailspin.

Concerns about the falling price of oil, Nigeria’s main source of foreign currency earnings, contributed to the drop. The local subsidiary of Chevron sold $45m to Nigerian banks, dealers said, but that was not enough to support the naira.

“At the current level, we expect the central bank to step in or else the naira will fall further,” one dealer said The currency has lost 4.1

per cent against the dollar so far this year and is trading above the central bank’s target range of within three per cent of 155 naira to the dollar.

Demand for hard currency was coming from local importers and companies worried about the risk of a devaluation, dealers said.

“We admit that prospects of a near-term devaluation have risen, thanks largely to the recent decline in oil prices,” economists at Mor-

gan Stanley said in a note, adding that the authorities would be reluctant to devalue ahead of an election due in February.

Brent crude held gains around $86 a barrel on Tuesday as news of robust Chinese oil demand buoyed the market, although prices were capped by oversupply and concerns about the health of the rest of the global economy.

Shares rally on US tech earnings, ECB purchase plans

A

measure of global equity markets advanced yesterday after technology earnings lifted the United States shares and the prospect of European Central Bank corporate bond purchases boosted European stocks and weighed on safe-haven US Treasuries prices.

A rally in shares of Apple Incorporation and Texas Instruments Incorporation after strongerthan-expected quarterly earnings reports lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq index more than one per cent and helped put the S&P 500 on track for a fourth straight session of gains, while European shares gained on a Reuters report that the ECB was readying a plan to buy corporate bonds.

A selloff in Coca-Cola shares after disappointing results limited the Dow’s gains, however. US corporate earnings season will ramp up this week, with nearly 130 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report.

“This was strong across all sectors, and Apple gave a good guidance. Any fund manager who is underweight on Apple is probably rethinking that position today,” said Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Minneapolis-based Gradient Investments, which owns Apple stock.

The US data showed existing home sales rose 2.4 per cent in September to their highest level in a year.

The report that the ECB is considering buying corporate bonds sparked a rally in the shares of peripheral European countries and led the broader gains in European stocks.

The news also sent low-risk US Treasuries prices lower and hurt the euro.

“It increases the potential scale of the purchases the ECB will be able to make if they extend out into the corporate bond market,” said Lee Hardman, a strategist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London.

Official data showing China’s gross domestic product grew 7.3 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, marking the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2009, weighed on Chinese shares and stoked concerns over global economic growth.

MSCI’s all-country world index was last up 1.14 per cent at 404.49, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed up 2.09 per cent at 1,299.26.

The Dow Jones industrial average was last up 0.97 per cent at 16,558.65, while the S&P 500 was up 1.47 per cent at 1,931.96 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.69 per cent at 4,388.99.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, was up 0.32 per cent at 85.228. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes US10YT were last down 5/32 to yield 2.2 per cent.

Brent crude was last up $0.49, or 0.57 per cent, at $85.89 a barrel. US crude

was last up $0.04, or 0.05 per cent, at $82.75 per barrel.

However, investors piled into South African stocks, as Taste Holdings rose after buying a watch-maker and as indices tracked global markets which were lifted by prospects of ECB bond purchases.

The blue-chip JSE Top-40 index jumped 2.13 per cent to 43,385 and the broader All-share index was up more than two per cent during trade, closing 1.96 per cent up to 48,530.

The indices have recovered from eight-month lows seen last week.

“There was a lot of panic in the last three weeks and now this is the relief,” said Gary Booysen, head of trading at Vunani Private Clients.

He added that global headlines such as Hong Kong protests and economic worries about China and Europe spooked investors.

Source: NSE

Market indicators All-Share Index 38,662.65 points Market capitalisation 12.76trn

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

IKEJAHOTEL

2.89

3.18

0.29

10.03

UBA

5.29

5.77

0.48

9.07

TRANSCORP

4.69

5.08

0.39

8.32

OANDO

21.40

23.10

1.70

7.94

NASCON

8.15

8.69

0.54

6.63

FBNH

11.80

12.58

0.78

6.61

WAPCO

111.06

117.00

5.94

5.35

UACN

51.23

53.79

2.56

5.00

UBN

8.60

9.03

0.43

5.00

DIAMONDBNK

5.84

6.13

0.29

4.97

LOSERS COMPANY CUTIX

OPENING 1.88

CLOSING 1.68

CHANGE

% CHANGE

-0.20

-10.64

MAYBAKER

1.80

1.71

-0.09

-5.00

PZ

30.33

28.82

-1.51

-4.98

BERGER

8.50

8.08

-0.42

-4.94

ETERNA

3.75

3.57

-0.18

-4.80

UAC-PROP

14.50

13.82

-0.68

-4.69

LEARNAFRCA

1.31

1.26

-0.05

-3.82

CAVERTON

4.18

4.03

-0.15

-3.59

UNILEVER

45.85

44.50

-1.35

-2.94

FO

215.90

211.50

-4.40

-2.04

FGN Bonds Offer

Bid Description

Price

Yield

Price

Yield

13.05 16-AUG-2016

1.82

100.65

12.61

100.80

12.52

15.10 27-APR-2017

2.52

105.20

12.62

105.35

12.55

16.00 29-JUN-2019

4.69

111.20

12.74

111.50

12.66

16.39 27-JAN-2022

7.27

117.45

12.64

117.75

12.58

14.20 14-MAR-2024

9.40

107.75

12.75

108.05

12.70

10.00 23-JUL-2030

15.75 81.70

12.71

82.00

12.66

Closing Market Prices of October 21, 2014

Treasury Bills Maturity Date

Bid

Offer

22-Jan-15

10.45

10.74

23-Apr-15

10.96

11.60

3-Sep-15

10.60

11.67

NIBOR Tenor

Rate (%)

O/N

11.0300

1M

12.5929

3M

13.3549

6M

14.0773 The Fixings of October 21, 2014

46

Capital Market

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Stock exchange daily equities summary Equities as at October 21, 2014 1st Tier Securities

1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

47

Community Mirror Transmission infrastructure is outdated and many of the equipment are in poor shape due to neglect during the NEPA/PHCN era MINISTER OF POWER- PROF CHINEDU NEBO

Pastor arraigned for impersonation DARE AKOGUN

O of

ne Pastor Augustine Kadurumba of the Mountain Solution Ministry,

Akesan has been arrested and charged before an Ejigbo Magistrate’s court for impersonation and unlawful possession of Nigeria Police Identity card, in Lagos.

Oyo to enforce ban on street trading KEMI OLAITAN

T

he Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Gbade Lana, has stated that the government will start enforcing the ban on street trading in the state.

The commissioner who addressed journalists in Ibadan, the state capital regarding the recent fire incident at Molete area that claimed about 20 lives said the decision is in the interest of the citizens of the state.

According to him, the incident would not have claimed many lives had it been that the traders had been obeying the no street trading policy of the state government, stating that the government would not hesitate to deal with anyone who

refused to comply.

Lana who was flanked by the Commissioners for Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, Princess Oyefunke Oworu and Environment and Habitat, Mr. Lawrence Adewale, respectively, said the state government in response to the incident has set up an ad-hock committee to look into the matter to avoiding future occurrences.

He said, “Permit me to state that the present administration has zero tolerance for street trading, and this it has been demonstrating since its inception. Resultantly, I am to state that henceforth, the practice of street trading by anyone will be met with appropriate sanctions as contained in the books of laws of the state”.

Company donates transformer to community DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

T

he people of Umuebulu Community in Etche local government area of Rivers State now have cause to smile, following the commissioning of a 500KVA transformer in the area by oil giant, Total E&P Nigeria Limited.

Speaking at a brief handover ceremony at the Umuebulu Etche town hall, Project General Manager, OML 58 Upgrade of Total, Mr. Kayode Akiode said that the company was in the community to handover the project.

Akiode further said

with the commissioning, the community has been connected to the national grid, even as he described the project as laudable.

Represented by the Company’s Manager, Community Affairs Services of Mr. Okechukwu Obara, he explained that the project was proceeds from the Etche cluster 4 Northern Operation Pipeline of the firm.

Explaining that the project was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility principle, he expressed the hope that the transformer will be useful to the people and urged them to protect the facility.

It was gathered that Kadurumba, was dismissed from the police force19years ago as a constable for gross misconduct. However that did not stop him from parading himself as policeman until he was eventually arrested.

Police sources said Kadurumba who hails from Imo state promoted himself to the rank of police Sergeant and upgraded his identity card as his

mates still serving got promoted to that rank.

He was alleged to have been using the identity card to extort, harass and intimidate innocent people for about 19 years.

Police sources said Kadurumba reportedly continuously promoted and upgraded his identity to fit those of his mates still serving in the Force.

Nemesis however caught up with him when he went to Ikotun police

station to release a motorcycle seized by the police.

He reportedly introduced himself as usual as a police sergeant detective serving at Festac area command. During interrogation, the police discovered that he was actually a dismissed policeman who last served at Ajoromi police division in Ajegunle area of Lagos.

He was subsequently arrested and charged to court on a two-court of

impersonation and unlawful possession of police identity card.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The presiding Magistrate, Mr. P.E. Nwaka granted him bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

He was, however, remanded in prison custody pending the fulfillment of his bail condition. The case was adjourned till November 15, 2014.

Cross section of community leaders at the NHIS Town Hall meeting in Lagos, during the activation programme at Agege, Lagos, yesterday.

Photo: DEMOLA AKINLABI

Suspected kidnapper, others paraded in Benue HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

T

he Benue State police Command has arrested the mastermind of organised criminal activities in the state, after seizing a Gboko based businessman and requesting for a ransom of N15 million.

Parading the suspects at the state commands headquarters in Makurdi, the Commissioner of Police Mr. Hyacinth Madugu Dagala, disclosed that one Chinedu Emelewa of Aguata in Anambra State

confessed to the crime.

The Police boss stated that after abducting the victim Mr. Matthew Agbasi Onyenena from his residence they took him to Lessel road in Ushongo where his Highlander jeep was abandoned and they used their Honda CRV to convey and keep him for seven days until the said ransom was paid.

He disclosed that in the kidnapping case the command have so far recovered the sum of N937, 000 from the ransom money while efforts are still being intensified to recover

more monies and apprehend the remaining gang who are still at large.

However he suspect Chinedu Emelewa while fielding questions from newsmen denied knowledge of the crime saying he does not know what they are saying he has done.

Dagala further stated that barely two months in the state the command have been able to record tremendous success in crime booster due to cooperation received from members of the public.

He stated that eighteen

cases of armed robbery attacks and cultism on innocent citizens have been recorded at different times within the interval of two months under review.

CP Dagala said as soon as investigations into their various cases are concluded they will be charged to court for their various crimes.

Items recovered includes various cash amounts, assorted guns and ammunition, one Honda CRV jeep, one plate number as well as assorted GSM SIM cards.

48

News

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

FirstBank accuses company of ‘monumental debts’ Wale Igbintade

F

irst Bank of Nigeria Limited yesterday told a Federal High Court in Lagos how the Managing Director of Index Petrolube Africa Limited, Ezeani Nnamdi Thankgod, allegedly ruined the Nigerian banking sector with monumental debts to the tune of N12.4bn to various financial institutions.

Counsel to the bank, Ade Oyebanji, made the accusation at the resumed hearing of a debt recovery suit filed against the businessman and his company.

The bank had sued Thankgod, his company, and a director, Obinna Ezeani Nnamdi, securing a mareva injunction restraining the defendants from operating their bank accounts in 20 commercial banks in Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

The court had specifically ordered all the banks to file an affidavit before the court to disclose the state of accounts of the defendants before them, an order which had since been complied with.

The defendants had filed an application to set

Desperation drove us to arms deal in S’Africa –Obanikoro Ubong Ukpong ABUJA

aside the mareva injunction, alleging that FirstBank suppressed and misrepresented material facts before procuring the order.

In the application to set aside the injunction, the defendants had accused the bank of failing to put them on notice before securing such order, adding that the injunction was capable of crippling their businesses.

The defendants had specifically urged the court to discharge the mareva injunction, or in the alternative, allow them to carry out lodgements, withdrawals and transfers in respect of payments for importation, purchase, distribution or supply of petroleum products, by or from, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, PPMC Limited, as well as other suppliers of such products within and outside Nigeria.

The defendants, in the application, are also asking that they should be allowed to have access to their accounts to meet their other obligations such as staff salaries/allowances and other usual overheads and running costs.

I

airline.

He said most of the airlines in the industry today are safe and healthy, adding that the era of air crashes or incidents in the sector had past.

Onyema, however, said that the domestic airlines required the confidence of the flying public to operate profitably.

He stated that with the entrant of the airline, the era of unwholesome competition among the airlines would be a thing of the past, adding that through its operations, the the company would promote safe practices in the sector.

Onyema disclosed that the airline would be flying on the Lagos-Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Owerri on Friday, just as it

unveiled seven aircraft to be used for operations.

Onyema listed the aircraft in the airline’s fleet to include three Dornier 328 jets and four Boeing 737-500, adding that the airline intended to expand its network to Asaba, Kano, Yola, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Ibadan Bauchi, Gombe and Katsina in the next few months.

Other areas which the expansion would cover, according to him, are Makurdi, Minna, Zaria, Uyo, Ilorin, Akure, Benin, Calabar, Warri and Jos. On why he decided to set up an airline, Onyema said the idea behind Air Peace was not only to create employment for Nigerians, but to put food on their tables and also put smiles on their faces.

mmediate past minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, yesterday said that desperation by Presidency to purchase arms to tackle the Boko Haram insurgents led the authorities to sanction ‘pushing’ cash to South Africa.

Obanikoro, who resigned from office on Monday, said the Federal Government was very disappointed by the action of South Africa, which he said, has failed Nigeria and must apologise.

U

nhealthy competition, which results in de-marketing among Nigerian airlines, has been attributed to the reason why only two per cent of the total population are flying locally.

And in a bid to encourage more patronage in the local scene, the country’s airline operators have been charged to collaborate and cooperate with each other for the development of the industry.

The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Air Peace, Allen Onyema, stated this yesterday during the unveiling of a new aircraft and commencement of flight operations of the

Twice, the South African government had seized money meant for arms in that country, preventing Nigeria from purchase.

At first, it said the transaction was wrong as it was done in cash, and on the second attempt which Nigeria wired the total of $5.7m through a financial institution, it was seized, based on claims that the company had no valid licence to do arms business.

Obanikoro, who was interacting with journalists yesterday in Abuja stated that South Africa was a culprit in cash-for-arms, and should have under-

stood better the ‘desperation’ of Nigeria.

“I want to believe that there must be a change; what South Africa did to us is unacceptable; it is not fair, it is not just, and it was unnecessary.

“Here is a nation that stood by them during their time of need. If there’s any country that should understand the need to use cash to procure weapons, it is South Africa.

“They have gone through a very long struggle for liberation to get to where they are today, and most of the weapons they used during the period

were cash transactions, so we were in a very dire situation at that point in time, though we’ve turned the corner now, but we needed that push at that particular time, and they failed us.

“I can speak now as an ordinary citizen of Nigeria, I think South Africa failed Nigeria and they owe Nigeria an unreserved apology.

“Look at the embarrassment on the other transaction that was done through the bank, they went out deliberately to embarrass us,” he said.

L-R: Managing Director, Bardahl, Mrs. Nnenna Inyang Chiagozie; Product Certification Directorate Engineer, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Engr. Abdulrasak Oyewopo; Managing Editor, Wheels Magazine, Julie Chi-Nwaoha; Lagos State Sector Commander, FRSC, Mr. Hyginus Omeje and representative of Lagos State Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Olanrewaju Alayande, during the Aftersales Parts Exhibition and Conference 2014 in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

Airline operators urged to cooperate Olusegun Koiki

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

A’Ibom proposes N492bn budget

A

total of N492bn draft budget for the 2015 fiscal year has been proposed and forwarded to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for consideration and approval.

The amount, which was against N498.5bn for 2014, showed that capital expenditure was allocated N268bn, as against N336bn for last year, while recurrent expenditure has N94.7bn, as against N74.2bn for last year.

The Commissioner for Finance, Akan Okon, who announced yesterday at the executive chambers of the Governor’s Office, Uyo, to Government House correspondents, said members of the state executive council, presid-

Gov Akpabio

ed over by the Governor Godswill Akpabio, approved the draft budget.

Okon stated that the state government was committed to the completion of such flagship projects as Tropicana Entertainment Centre, roads, specialist hospital and four-point Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene, among others.

The commissioner, who attributed the increase in

recurrent expenditure for next year to the employment of additional 5,000 teachers and more civil servants, lauded the governor for his vision in embarking on, and completing the key projects, hoping the next administration would sustain them.

The Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Budget, Governor’s Office, Nicholas Ekarika, thanked the governor for not deviating from the 80 per cent for capital expenditure and 20 per cent for recurrent expenditure over the years.

Ekarika, therefore, called on different ministries, agencies and parastatals in the state to be judicious in the implementation of the budget.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

We couldn’t have a stronger partner and we are very, very grateful for Australia’s consistent willingness to step up and stand for values – US Secretary of State, John Kerry

Pistorius begins five-year jail term for Steenkamp’s death PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

S

outh African athlete Oscar Pistorius has begun serving time in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He was driven to Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru prison where he is expected to be housed in the hospital wing.

Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Pistorius a five-year jail sentence for culpable homicide, but cleared him of murder.

His defence said it expected him to serve about 10 months, with the remainder under house arrest. His family say he will not appeal.

The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over.

Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defence had argued for community service and house arrest.

Pistorius, 27, an amputee sprinter who became the first athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day

last year.

He says he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in his house in Pretoria.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by Pistorius through a toilet door.

Before he went down the stairs and out of court, Oscar Pistorius slipped off his expensive watch

and handed it to a relative. It seems the athlete probably knew his sentence beforehand, which helps explains the subdued atmosphere in court yesterday.

This case has revealed plenty about South Africa - its gun culture, the strengths and inadequacies of its police and prisons. But above all it has been a simple story, about the rise and fall of a global icon.

As the crowds and cameras drift away from the courthouse, what lingers is the sense of waste.

Of lives and careers for sure. But of time too.

A man and a woman went into a bathroom. Only one came out alive. As the judge made clear the trial should have been over in a matter of weeks. Instead it turned into a tortuous, overwrought epic.

T

Survivals’ blood serum for Liberian patients within weeks –WHO Serum made from the blood of recovered Ebola patients could be available within weeks in Liberia, one of the countries worst hit by the virus, says the World Health Organization.

Speaking in Geneva, Dr Marie Paule Kieny said work was also advancing quickly to get drugs and a vaccine ready for January 2015.

The Ebola outbreak has already killed more than 4,500 people.

Most of the deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Dr Kieny, WHO assistant director general for health system and innovation, said: “There are partnerships which are starting to be put in place to have capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparation that can be used for the treatment of infective patients.

Gaddafi’s cousin hopes to participate in Libyan peace talks A cousin and former aide of Muammar Gaddafi said he wants to take part in proposed talks aimed at bringing together Libya’s warring parties, in a rare bid by a member of the ex-ruler’s inner-circle to regain influence.

The Gaddafi family has kept a low profile since the 2011 uprising in which the leader was killed, ending 42 years of one-man rule. Rival armed groups have since battled for power, pushing the internationallyrecognised government from the capital and raising fears of a fullscale civil war.

“I welcome the idea of having talks under the sponsorship of the United Nations outside Libya,” Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, Gaddafi’s cousin, told Reuters in Cairo where he lives in exile.

Pistorius in court, yesterday, after his sentence was read

U.S. to screen travellers from Ebola-hit region through five airports ravellers to the United States from Ebola-stricken Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea must fly into one of five airports that have enhanced screening in place for the virus, the U.S. government said yesterday.

The restrictions on passengers whose trips originated in those three West African countries were announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and were set to go into effect on Wednesday. The measures stop well short of the travel ban sought by some U.S. lawmakers in a bid to prevent further Ebola cases in the United States.

Affected travellers will have their temperatures checked for signs of a fever that may indicate Ebola infection, among other protocols, at New York’s John F. Kennedy, New Jersey’s Newark,

WORLD BULLETIN

Washington Dulles, Atlanta, and Chicago’s O’Hare international airports, officials said.

These airports account for 94 percent of passengers coming to the United States from the Ebolahit countries. The restrictions apply to all travellers, including U.S. citizens and those who would have arrived by land or sea.

“We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a news release. “If not already handled by the airlines, the few impacted travellers should contact the airlines for rebooking, as needed.”

The restrictions apply to about nine people per day arriving from those nations that do not already fly into the enhanced-screening airports, according to Jean Medina, a spokeswoman for Washing-

White House confirms American released from North Korea Protestor Jeff Hulbert of Annapolis, Maryland, holds a sign reading ‘’Stop the Flights’’ as he demonstrates in favour of a travel ban to stop the spread of the Ebola virus, in Washington.

ton-based trade group Airlines for America, or A4A. “A4A members are cooperating fully with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to reroute the six percent” who do not fly to the five airports, Medina said in an emailed statement.

The group’s members include Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), United Airlines (UAL.N) and American Airlines (AAL.O), none of which fly to the affected countries. How-

ever, they may carry passengers from these countries on a connecting flight.

In Washington, some U.S. lawmakers welcomed the move while others said more needed to be done.

Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York called the move “a good and effective step toward tightening the net and further protecting our citizens.”

The White House confirmed yesterday that American tourist Jeffrey Fowle had been released from North Korea, had departed the country and was on his way home to his family.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the United States welcomed the move but remained focused on getting two other U.S. citizens released as well.

“While this is a positive decision ... we remain focused on the continued detention of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller and again call on the DPRK to immediately release them,” Earnest said, referring to North Korea.

50

Politics

Wednesday October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

AHEAD 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Only Atiku Abubakar can tackle PDP –Abba DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

A

frontline campaigner for former Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t Atiku Abubakar for the sole presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 general elections, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba, has said that Abubakar is the only candidate that can beat the strength of the PDP in the election.

Alhaji Abba, Chief of Staff, CoS to former governor of Adamawa State,

•Wants Kwankwaso, Buhari to step down

Murtala Nyako, was speaking when the Atiku Support Group, ASG, stormed Gombe to canverse for votes from APC members in Gombe State .

Abba said none of the other presidential aspirants of the party has the political clout to tackle the PDP in the 2015 presidential election except Alhaji Abubakar.

Arguing that there was no two ways to the suitability of Abubakar, he called on prominent contenders

in the party like General Mohammadu Buhari and Rabiu Kwankwaso to step down for the former vice president, saying that the North-East geopolitical zone had rendered enough support over the years, which is enough reason to consider a candidate from the zone stressing that it is not an issue of pleading but a right.

He argued that all the other zones of the country have produced leaders who ruled Nigeria and as

such; there is no justification for not giving the 2015 APC ticket to the NorthEast, adding that it was the most poorest and faced with so many challenges including security.

Director General of ASG, Abdulrazak Namdas, said that the former vice president is the Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NorthEast region and the North as a whole, adding that Abubakar’s flair for unity, peace and progress, which

Kaduna South Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senatorial aspirant, Dr. John Ayuba (left) and Vice Chairman, Correspondent Chapel, Mr. Midat Joseph, during a news conference by the aspirant in Kaduna, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Group cautions PDP over South East aspirants DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

S

outh East Revival Group, SERG, has warned the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the region to desist from fostering anti democratic tendencies that could be contagious to other political parties and jeopardise the genuine wishes of the people.

SERG said its warning was in response to media reports that aspirants perceived to have once supported the House of Representatives Speaker, Hon.

Waziri Tambuwal, were under watch and would be stopped at all costs from becoming candidates in the general elections.

National Coordinator of SERG, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said in a statement that PDP would be applying double standards if it okays consensus candidacy at the national level and then turn around to kick against it at state level, even when that is what the people of those states want.

He said: “We find it worrisome that only South-East aspirants are being singled out on the basis that they

were reported to have supported the emergence of Tambuwal as speaker.

Newspaper report specifically mentioned Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha as those who would be stopped.

Where then is democracy, when people are being hounded for acting in what they perceived as being in the best interest of their constituents?”

SERG said: “In the case of Hon. Ugwuanyi, we understand that almost all other aspirants present at the meeting where he was endorsed volun-

tarily stepped down for him and subsequently endorsed him as the consensus candidate. These other aspirants could not have acted contrary to the wishes of their support base, which is a valid component of democracy.

“We will not allow this to be dismissed as an internal affair of a political party because past experiences have shown that it is a matter of time before the contagion spreads to other political parties with the implication that the elections would lose credibility and acceptability even before they are held.”

Constituents buy PDP Assembly form for Delta deputy speaker THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

P

eoples Democratic Party, PDP, leaders and stakeholders in Patani local government area of Delta State have presented the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr Basil Ganagana, the nomination form to represent the area for another term.

Ganagana’s kinsmen comprising of PDP chieftains, opinion leaders, women, youths, students among others also called on the Deputy Speaker to heed the solemn demand of the average Patani indigene so as to continue to render to the people of the area quality representation in the state assembly.

Declaring their position during a solidarity visit to

the lawmaker in Asaba yesterday, Chief Harrison Biu and secretary, Transition Committee of Patani council, Comrade Fred Avwoke, who spoke on behalf of the people, stated that their decision was predicated on his effective representation, performance and experience as a legislator.

Vice Chairman, Patani council Transition Com-

mittee, Mr. Ebimobowei Ekpobetebe and Chief Yankee Lawrence, who corroborated previous speakers at the meeting, stated that they are not just urging the lawmaker to return to the House in the next election, but they have purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms for him to make good their plans to pressurise him to contest.

he had exhibited many times, has no parallel.

Urging the APC to field Alhaji Abubakar as its candidate in 2015, he said:

“The PDP is scared of him because of his political might and tentacles which force is beyond ordinary reckoning.”

Why 13 members were expelled –Osun LP chair BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

O

sun State Labour Party, LP, yesterday explained what led to the expulsion of 13 of its members at the national convention of the party held in Akure, Ondo state, recently.

Briefing newsmen in Osogbo on the participation of the chapter at the convention, Osun State LP chairman, Barr Timothy Olatunji, said those expelled have been investigated and discovered to be working against the interest of the party.

He further explained that some of those expelled have already defected to other parties, while others who, despite entreaties from the national leadership of LP, chose to drag the party before court instead of exploring crises settling mechanisms within it to settle whatever grievances they have, were also axed.

Olatunji said that after considering the reports

submitted by Osun LP at the convention, the National Executive Committee, NEC, approved expulsion of 13 members from Osun, which he said was the highest among states that laid complaints against members at the convention.

Those expelled include former interim chairman of Osun LP, Chief Daniel B. Afilaka, Comrade Rufus Oyatoro, Ibrahim Omotayo, Abiodun Afolabi and L.S. Akinsanya.

Others are: Gbolahan Olajire, Wale Alakinde, Akinfenwa Olanrewaju, Remi Ayanlade, Temitope Lawal, Kazeem Raji, Tajudeen Akande and Olanrewaju Rebecca.

While effort to reach Comrade Oyatoro for reaction proved futile as several calls to his mobile line were unanswered, Chief Afilaka, in his reaction, described the expulsion as belated, saying: “I left LP long ago, so I can’t be expelled because I have already expunged them from my schedule.”

Rivers PDP stakeholders pick nomination form for Wike ...Says he is on a ‘rescue mission’ ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA

A

head of the 2015 general elections, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stakeholders in Rivers State have picked the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the immediate past Minister of State for Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike, saying he was on a “rescue mission” to heal the state from what they called the “misrule of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi.”

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara, during an interview with

the newsmen yesterday at the PDP secretariat in Abuja, said they were motivated to pick the forms for the former minister due to his pedigree as two-time council boss in Rivers State and former Chief of Staff to the governor among other political appointments.

Explaining that the stakeholders will not discourage others from vying for the gubernatorial ticket, Opara called on those interested to exercise their franchise.

He said: “Amaechi diverted the mandate given him by Rivers people by joining All Progressives Congress, APC.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Wednesday October 22, 2014

51

people receiving retroviral Mass wedding: Panel screens 37,000 therapy in Taraba —Agency 3,000 applicants in Gombe T

T

he committee on mass wedding in Gombe State yesterday said it had begun the screening of 3,000 applicants for the second batch of the exercise.

The publicity secretary of the committee and senior district head of Gombe, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abubakar, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN,

in Gombe.

Abubakar said the committee, which had different sub-committees, was mandated to screen applicants for pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, among other cases.

He lauded the state government for introducing the programme, which was meant to assist the less-privileged, to get married.

According to him, the scheme would reduce the spread HIV/AIDS in the state.

He said the committee had consulted traditional rulers and other stakeholders to ensure the success of the exercise.

The spokesman said application forms for the programme had been distributed to 11 local government areas, as it was done in the first batch of

the initiative.

He said successful applicants would be provided with dowry, foodstuff, clothing, furniture and kitchen utensils.

NAN reports that 720 couples were married out across the state under the first batch of the programme in April.

They include 612 moslem divorcees (Zawarawa), 76 moslem spinsters, as well as 32 non-moslems.

he Permanent Secretary, Taraba Agency for the Control of AIDS, TACA, Dr. Siman Ambita, yesterday said that 37,000 people were receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy, ART, in the state.

Ambita told journalists in Takum that the agency had screened 40,000 between January and June, adding that 5000, representing 13 per cent, tested positive.

He said 79 locations were designated to offer services for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, PMTCT, of HIV in the state.

The permanent secretary said 22 of the locations were rendering comprehensive HIV/AIDS services.

Ambita said the agency was collaborating with non-governmental organisations and civil society groups at national and international levels to mitigate the spread of the disease. ``We will continue to partner with the NGOs and CSOs in our noble objective of AIDS-free Taraba,” he said.

Ambita said the state government had put in place the administrative and legal framework that created TACA as a statutory body. ``This will enable TACA to effectively carry out its responsibilities of coordination of the state’s responses to the HIV challenge and collaboration with stakeholders,” he said.

Call Plateau PDP to order, chieftain tells Mu’azu JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

T Applicants for mass wedding waiting to be screened as the second batch of the exercise commenced in Gombe, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Nasarawa PDP seeks end to insurgency IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

N

asarawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday appealed for the immediate intervention of the Federal Government to end the persistent insurgent activities in the state.

State chairman of the party, Chief Yunana Iliya, made the plea to journalists in Lafia, the state capital, shortly after a closed-door consensus meeting with PDP governorship aspirants.

He said the need for the Federal Government’s intervention into the activities of the insurgents was very urgent, before it degenerated like in some parts of country.

The PDP chieftain also cautioned governorship

aspirants in the state in the party’s fold to desist from any act of violence as they canvass for support, or else, an aspirant who insists on violence would be automatically disqualified.

“I want to state it categorically clear that any aspirant found moving with thugs to destroy billboards and posters of their opponents will be viewed seriously by the party’s hierarchy, which would lead to the disqualification of such an offender,” he said.

On the consensus meeting, the PDP chieftain stated that all the 13 governorship aspirants had agreed with the consensus mechanism being worked out by the party towards presenting a single candidate to fly the party’s flag in 2015.

Similarly, a governorship aspirant on the plat-

form of the party, Mr. Chris Mamman, said he was a subscriber to the consensus mechanism being worked out by the state chapter of the PDP as, according to him, “consensus formula will curtail electoral manipulation, desperation and overzealousness among the aspirants.”

Mamman, the immediate past president of Eggon Cultural Development Association, ECDA, told journalists at his campaign office in Lafia, that if elected as governor of the state, he would not pay back evil for evil, but would carry all the segments of the society along in the pursuit of development.

He said his aspiration was not founded on tribal leanings “as erroneously perceived by his opponents.”

Mamman stated that the movement of Sai-Godiya, his political rallying point, encompassed all indigenous nationalities in the state who adopted him as their sole candidate.

he National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has been called upon to call the Plateau State chapter of the party to order, in the interest of peace and unity.

Making the call yesterday at a press conference in Jos, a chieftain of the party, John Alkali, said the action of the state leadership of the party ran contrary to the party’s constitution, which he said, recognised equity, fairness and inclusiveness in the running of its affairs.

Alkali, who has declared his interest in run-

ning for the governorship in 2015 on the platform of PDP, was recently disowned by the state chapter of the party as a non-member and an ‘impostor’, in a statement.

The governorship aspirant, who was visibly angry over the statement, said: “It was wrong of the state chapter of the party to take a decision on members without consulting the ward executives.

“To set the record straight, I have been a committee and financial member of the party in my ward and state since I resigned my appointment as a federal permanent secretary to contest the governorship post in 2006.”

New provost resumes at Adeyemi College of Education WOLE OLADIMEJI ABUJA

T

he new provost of the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Prof. Koya Ogen, has tasked the alumni of the college to rescue the institution from decay.

He made the call at the weekend, expressing concern over the infrastructural decay in the college, vowing to ensure rapid change in the next four years.

Ogen, who assumed office in a colourful mood, was ushered into the college by staff who trooped out to welcome him.

The provost was said to have contested for the position with 38 other lecturers and came tops, in a very serious and rigorous interview after which President Goodluck Jonathan approved the recommendation by the ministry of education.

During the ceremony,

the provost conducted a facility tour of the institution, and was not happy about the state of infrastructure and welfare of the students.

Speaking with the alumni who attended the ceremony, Ogen assured that he would do everything possible to increase the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of the college, to enable the institution put in place needed infrastructure.

52

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

CHANGE OF NAME

BAKENNE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Bakenne Faizah Dolapo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Salami Faizah Dolapo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

ARIYIBI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ariyibi Gbemisola Abosede Christianah, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Odeniyi Gbemisola Abosede Christianah.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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General public take note

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Formerly known and addressed as Miss Lateef Afusat Titilayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Usman Afusat Titilayo.

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NNAJI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nnaji Dorothy Ifeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agbo Dorothy Ifeoma. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

This is to confirm that Babawale Opeyemi S. is the same one person as Babawale Opeyemi Oyindamola, that henceforth wish to be addressed and called as Babawale Opeyemi Oyindamola. All former documents remain valid,Osun State Polytechnic Iree and general public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to confirm that Hamzat Samuel Kayode is the same one person as Hamzat Azeez Samuel, that henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Hamzat Azeez Samuel. All former documents remain valid,WASSCE and general public should please take note.

NNEBE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nnebe Nkiruka Jessica,now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Obiakor Nkiruka Jessica. All former documents remain valid.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Benita Ada Okopi Comfort, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Benita Ada Anthony. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OLAYEMI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Olayemi Comfort Adebola, now which to be known and addressed as Mrs Oyeyemi Comfort Adebola. All formal document remain valid. Teaching service commission Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State and general public take.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

FATUNBI: Formerly known and addressed as Fatunbi Oyeyemi Deborah, now which to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akinyemi Oyeyemi Deborah. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Hospital Management Board and and general public should take note.

2X1 ADVERT SPACE FOR SALE

Formerly known and addressed as Rapheal Kurokpodougha Churchill, now wish to be known and addressed as Rapheal Kuro Christian. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OMINU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ominu Blessing Ella, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Iyahem Blessing Ella. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

BANKOLE: Formerly known and addressed as Bankole Oluwayemisi Motunrayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Akinyemi Oluwayemisi Motunrayo. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

FRANCIS: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Francis Victory Chisom, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okoye Victory Chisom. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and General public take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE MACEDONIAN CHAPLIN CORPS

The General Public is hereby notified that above named Chaplin Corps (Association) has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.Chap. General Sam Keddy Balogun 3.Chap General Adekunle N. Motojehin 5 Barrister C.O Adejumo

2.Dr. Mrs. Lily Rose Balogun 4. Barrister Funsho Agbana 6 Barrister Dele Suru

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

1. To help promote educational advancement by assisting public and private institutions on how best to put measures in place to control examination malpractices and anti social behaviours within socials.

2. To manage peace through conflict resolution between communities, inter religious bodies and groups.

3. To prepare youths for tomorrow’s leadership through sound educational orientation and pragmatic participatory programmes.

4. To promote inter para military sport competition as a way to forster comradeship and unity across the rank and files.

5. To assist accidents victims through medical unit of the corps by rendering first aid service to injured with both spiritual and physical helps in times of emergency situation.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission,Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street,Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Abraham Kolawole 3. Ibrahim Rauf Yemaren 5. Ogungbayi Sunday 7. Hunvoetho Albert 9. Alimi Dauda AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To foster unity among the members.

2. Samuel Boyon 4. Nurudeen Aliu 6. Senu Samuel 8. Nuatin Sunday 10. Bonu Noah

1 X 1 CLASSIFIED ADVERT SPACE FOR SALE

AGBOLAHAN: Formerly known and addressed as Agbolahan Mark Oluwaseyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Iyiola Mark Oluwaseyi. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHINYEAKA: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinyeaka Anthonia Ngozi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinyeaka Patricia Chinenye. All former documents remain valid. Anambra State Judiciary and general public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Micheal Mathew John, now wish to be known and addressed as Ogundimu Atanda Isiaka. All former documents remain valid.

Nigerian Immigration Service and General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

AMALU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Amalu Nnenna Elizabeth, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Nnenna Kesiena Evivie. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NNEBE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nnebe Ujunwa Favour,now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ezepue Ujunwa Favour. All former documents remains valid. NYSC and General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

AKUAZAOKU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Akuazaoku Ifeoma Oluchi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Isiekwene Ifeoma Oluchi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EZE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Gloria Chekwube Eze, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Maduka Gloria Chekwube. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME SOYODE: Formerly known and addressed as Kikelola Soyode, now wish to be known and addressed as Kikelola Ojewale.

All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ASUBIARO: Formerly known and addressed as Asubiaro Mujidat Yetunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Ogunfeibo Mujidat Yetunde. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

This is to inform the General Public that the above named Ministry has applied to the Corperate Affairs Commission for registration under ‘part C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Evan. N . Odigbo 2. Collins .C. Ifeanyichukwu 3. Tochukwu .H. Odigbo 4. Chukwunonso .M. Mathias 5. Edith .N. Agusionu

- General Overseer.

- Secretary.

- Treassurer.

- Financial Secretary.

- Ushers.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

1. To bring the knowledge of God to humanity.

2. To preach the good news of our Lord to the people.

3. To deliver and save peoples lives through prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Any Objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corprate Affairs Commissions, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

CHANGE OF NAME

ODUPUTE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Odupute Chizara Doris, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ike Chizara Doris. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OLOYEDE: Formerly known and addressed as Oloyede Kemisola Joke, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Adenigba Kemisola Joke. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

ONYEKWERE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyekwere Happiness Chika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogu Happiness Chika. All former documents remain valid. Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education Owerri, NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EBIGBO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ebigbo Blessing Ifeyinwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezike Blessing Ifeyinwa. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

DR. DONATUS AGBARAKWE CHIMAH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:

1.

3.

5.

7.

9.

Mr. Paul Okechukwu Chimah Barr. Chidi Benedict Chimah Mr. Ugochukwu Donatus Chimah Mr. Chuka Theopil Chimah Mrs. Clara Chinyere Chimah-Iheanacho

2.

4.

6.

8.

10.

Lolo Madeleine Julian Chimah Mr. Emeka Francis Chimah Mr. Peter Onyeka Chimah Mrs. Ifeoma Maria-Coleta Chimah-Dike Dr. Chioma Theresa Chimah

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

Awarding of scholarships to deserving students, sponsoring of educational programmes, research and quiz competitions.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: BARR. CHIDI BENEDICT CHIMAH SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

This is to inform the general public that the above named body has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

CHANGE OF NAME

OSAMWONUYI: Formerly known and addressed as Jane Josephine Osamwonuyi Godspower, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Jane Josephine Osamwonuyi Monyeh. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

SIGNED: EVAN. N. ODIGBO GENERAL OVERSEER.

DIVINE BROTHERS AUTO SPARE PARTS DEALERS ASSOCIATION, ALIMOSHO, LAGOS.

CHANGE OF NAME

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CHANGE OF NAME

AYOFE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ayofe Serifat Adebisi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Olaleye Serifat Adebisi.

All former documents remain valid.

Fountain University and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

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MEADOWS: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Juliet Onoriode Meadows, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs Juliet Onoriode Esiri-Oyomomi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Mr. Amao Nafiu, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mr. Nafiu Uthman Abdulqodir.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ADU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Adu Florence Aina now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alade Florence Aina. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission AdoEkiti and general public note.

AKEWE: Formerly known and addressed as Akewe Omozoya Patricia, now wish to be known and addressed as Ubabudike Omozoya Patrica. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

IGWEBUIKE: Formerly known and address as Mary Ngozi Igwebuike now wish to be known and address as Patience Mary Ngozi Igwebuike. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ARCH ANGEL PRAYER MINISTRY

PUBLIC NOTICE

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990.

CHANGE OF NAME

MICHEAL: Formerly known and addressed as Oyeinkuro Micheal Sikpi, now wish to be known and addressed as Sikpi Oyeinkuro Daniel. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SIGNED: BARRISTER DELE SURU, SECRETARY

OWODE COMMUNITY TRADERS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

CHANGE OF NAME

OKPALUGOH: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyinye Adaeze Okpalugoh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyinye Adaeze Umeh. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

PUBLIC NOTICE

SUNSET DELIVERANCE MINISTRY

This is to inform the general public that the above named Ministry has applied for registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under part ‘c’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:

THE TRUSTEES ARE:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

1. To reawaken the holistic Biblical preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind in these end times 2. To reawaken spiritual consciousness amongst people through evangelism and teaching of the word of God 3. To draw people to the saving grace of God and living a life of righteousness in their areas of secular calling.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Mr. Ileka Joseph Sir Anthony Udeh Mr. Damian Nnaike Mr. Emmanuel Afakwu Mr. Onwuatuelo Boniface

1. To create unity and understanding among members of the Association in the course of carrying out their lawful business.

2. To promote dealings in legal and peaceful trade among members and within the business premises.

3. To create total sanity within the business premises.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 565, Ndola Square, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SAMUEL BOYON

SIGNED: FELIX ASIEGBU ESQ.

Rev. Gilmon Ruwanzafi Mr. Orlando Nandul Bindip Mrs. Grace Bajeh Mrs. Christiana Gilmon Ruwanzafi Mr. Sonni Saji Sule

- Chairman - Secretary - Treasurer - Member - Member

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within twenty-eight (28) days of this publication.

SIGNED: CHIEF S.T. PANWAL, ESQ. S.T. PANWAL & CO, FULCRUM ATTORNEYS, PLOT 4113. LIBERTY BOULEVARD, JOS. PLATEAU STATE.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Today’s game is not about me impressing Real Madrid. It’s all about getting the desired win at home –Liverpool winger, Raheem Sterling

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

53

Sport

Glo League: Udoh targets 20 goals for 55 Enyimba

AWC: Pinnick, Glo charge Falcons against Banyana

N

FF President, Amaju Pinnick, has charged the Super Falcons to play with all their heart when confronting the Banyana Banyana of South Africa in today’s semi-final match at the on-going 9th African Women Championship, AWC, in Windhoek, Namibia.

Victories over Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia and Namibia shot the six-time champions to the semi-finals on maximum points from their three matches, with win against South Africa to guarantee a place in the tournament final and a berth at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Canada.

“I am truly impressed with the way the team has played in the tournament and they have no doubt, made Nigerians happy. Now, they have come to a point where they cannot afford to make any mistakes.

“Against South Africa, we have to be close to perfection.

The rivalry between our two countries will make the match more competitive. So, we have to be at our very best. Our girls must play with their hearts,” Pinnick said in a statement signed by NFF spokesman, Ademola Olajire.

The clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek, which starts at 5pm Namibia time (4pm Nigeria time), is a repeat of the 2012 match-up be-

Ikechukwu Uche returning for Congo and South Africa games

tween both teams in Equatorial Guinea, which the Banyana won to reach the final.

Also yesterday, national telecoms operator, Globacom, called on Super Falcons to work towards reclaiming the AWC trophy.

In a press statement in Lagos, Globacom commended the team for its outstanding performances by defeating all its group opponents (Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia and host Namibia), thus amassing nine maximum points and qualifying for the semi-finals in the process.

Globacom, therefore advised the team not to rest on its oars as it prepares to face the Banyana Banyana later today, adding that the players should concentrate and play with determination to qualify for the final.

The ninth edition of AWC will be rounded off in Namibia this Saturday.

Pinnick

NFF recommends 60 players to Amodu …for 2 AFCON qualifiers JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

T

he Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, yesterday met with the caretaker coach of the Super Eagles, Shuaibu Amodu, and handed over to him a list of 60 players based abroad and at home, out of which he would invite players for the remaining AFCON 2015 qualifiers against Congo and South Africa.

After the meeting with the

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, and his Executive Committee Members, at the Glass House in Abuja, Amodu told newsmen that his intention remained to ensure that Nigeria succeeded in picking the Nations Cup ticket.

Super Eagles are condemned to post crucial victories against Red Devils of Congo in Point Noire on November 15 and Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo on November 19 if they

would stand the chance of featuring at next years’ AFCON to defend their title.

And despite what many have described as a daunting task before Amodu and his technical crew, the former defunct BCC Lions of Gboko coach maintained, “I believe that I can salvage Nigeria football. I wanted to reject NFF offers since I was sidelined from football activities in the past years, but superior reasons made me agree and accept the

appointment.”

Asked his impression concerning the terms of his engagement by the NFF, Amodu who qualified Nigeria for the Korea/ Japan 2002 World Cup alongside with sacked Stephen Keshi retorted, “After the qualifiers, if I’m not allowed to take the team to Nations Cup, I will not be bothered.”

He praised Spain-based striker for attaining the 100 goals mark. “I congratulate Ike Uche

on his 100 Spain goals and I will still call him and I could invite him and Obafemi Martins as well for the remaining AFCON qualifiers.”

New Super Eagles Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, later informed National Mirror that the 60-man list comprised of all the players Keshi used during his tenure.

Ibitoye added that the list for the Congo and South Africa games would be unveiled first week of next month.

54

Sports

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NSA urges ‘Banyana overrun’

Today’s fixtures Anderlecht

vs

Arsenal

Atletico

vs

Malmo

Leverkusen

vs

Zenit

Galatasaray

vs

Dortmund

Liverpool

vs

Real Madrid

Ludogorets

vs

Basel

Monaco

vs

Benfica

Olympiakos

vs

Juventus

AFOLABI GAMBARI

O

rganisers of Nigerian Sports Award, NSA, have congratulated the Super Falcons for

their impressive run in the on-going African Women Championships in Namibia, even as they charge the Falcons to overrun Banyana Banyana in their semi final match today.

General Manager, Unmissable Incentives Limited, the Awards organizing firm, Mr. Kayode Idowu, commended the Falcons for what he called the team’s high team spirit and patriotism

CAF to inspect Akwa Ibom Stadium

T

he Super Falcons have been urged to work towards reclaiming the African Women Championship trophy as the competition enters the semi-final stage in Namibia today.

In a press statement in Lagos yesterday, national telecoms operator, Globacom, commended the female national team for its outstanding performances after de-

UEFA Champions League…

T

he Confederation of African Football, CAF, has agreed to send its officials to inspect the brand new Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo, which is being put forward by Nigeria as venue for next month’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifier between the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

Initially, CAF raised the issue of the fact that the venue had not yet been inspected and therefore would not stand a chance of hosting the match.

However, the NFF assured the continental body of the quality of the facility and the readiness of the Akwa Ibom State Government to guarantee safety and security of all persons at the match.

NFF said in a statement yesterday, that CAF had agreed to send an official to check out the venue next week, as Nigeria pushes ahead with all arrangements to have a hitch-free match between the Eagles and Bafana Bafana on November 19.

The 30,000 capacity all-covered facility with a bullet-proof State Box for 70 persons, is one of the most magnificent sporting infrastructure on the African continent. It will be officially opened on November 6.

L

Ronaldo nightmare for Gerrard, others

iverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers, yesterday insisted that his side cannot become too focused on stopping Cristiano Ronaldo in their Champions League game at Anfield today, although the gaffer admitted the Madrid star will keep the Reds busy all night.

Ronaldo arrives at Anfield on the back of breaking at 71-year La Liga record by scoring 15 goals in the first eight matches of the season.

“Cristiano is a player off the charts and his evolution in recent years and how he has become a goalscorer have been amazing,” Rodgers said.

“We need to know to stop

Glo to Falcons: Go for victory feating Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia and host Namibia in the group stage, amassing nine maximum points and qualifying for the semi-finals.

Globacom urged the Edwin Okon-coached team not to rest on its oars as it meets Bayana Bayana of South Africa today, adding

that the players should concentrate and play with determination to qualify for the finals.

The Falcons have won six of the eight African Women Championship tournaments since its inception in 1998. Equatorial Guinea won the 2008 edition while the Falcons

surprisingly bowed out in the 2012 edition, losing to the Bayana in the semi-finals. Equitorial Guinea also won the last edition in 2014.

Meanwhile, coach Okon has said that his side will play mass attack and mass defence to combat the South Africans. “We are

which also said was noticeable the three matches so far played by Nigeria.

“At this moment when Nigerian football seems threatened with the lacklustre performance of the Super Eagles in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers, we are indeed very proud of the Falcons,” Idowu said yesterday in Lagos.

“The Nigerian women football teams have been consistent in the last few years with remarkable performances at different competitions, especially at the recent FIFA Women U-20 World Cup in Canada,” he added.

The NSA has nominated the Falcons duo of Azeezat Oshoala and Desire Oparanozie for the Footballer of the Year (Women) category while Oshoala was also nominated for the Sports Woman of the Year category for the 2014 Awards whose ceremony is scheduled for November 13 at the Muson Centre, Lagos.

Meanwhile, the NSA organisers have charged the Super Eagles under new Coach Shaibu Amodu to win their last two games in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers to stand a chance to defend their title in Morocco in January.

him but there is danger in other parts of the field. You have Luka Modric and Toni Kroos who are wonderful players as well.

“They have amazing talents all over the field and they have the technique to play in small spaces and when the space opens up there is no one better on the counter-attack in Ronaldo.

“They are as strong a team now and are the reigning champions as well and will want to defend their title.”

Meanwhile, Madrid will play without injured Gareth Bale after Coach Carlo Ancelotti left him on the bench for Saturday’s La Liga match with Levante, which the side won 5-0. aware of what is at stake and we are doing everything possible to achieve victory tomorrow (today),” he said yesterday.

The African Women Championship will be rounded off in Namibia on Saturday.

Globacom is the major partner of Nigeria Football Federation and official sponsor of Nigerian national teams.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Udoh targets 20 goals for Enyimba STORIES: ADEOLU JOHNSON

E

nyimba striker, Mfon Udoh, has said that he hopes to reach 20 goals margin before the end of the ongoing 2013/14 Nigeria Professional Football League season.

Udoh, who has notched 17 goals this season, desires to

march the individual 20-goal single season record set by Jude Aneke, who played for Kaduna United.

The former Akwa United forward, who joined the People’s Elephant early this season after he scored 15 goals for the Promise Keepers last season, expressed confidence meeting his goal target with five games left.

“I initially hoped to score 17 goals, but now that i already reach the mark, I have set a new personal target of reaching 20 goals,” Udoh said.

“I’m happy alot achieving this and believe I can score three more goals before the endof-the-season. Though we have six games left to play, I strongly believe with God, nothing is im-

‘Gombe ‘ll escape chop’

G

ombe United goalkeeper, Chigozie Agbim, has said that his club will not be relegated at the end of the current Nigeria Professional Football League season, despite being at the wrong end of the table and also failing to secure maximum points at home in their Week 34 clash against Giwa.

Gombe could only muster a 1-1 draw against Giwa at the Pantami Stadium on Sunday in what was a must win game for them and as a result, they are 15th on the table, but Agbim still remains confident the Savannah Jewels can maintain their top flight status.

“It hasn’t been an easy season but we are very sure of staying up because we are putting a whole lot of work to ensure we do not get relegated and I’m sure we will achieve that,” Agbim said.

“The game over the weekend was a game we should have won and it is quite unfortunate that we could only get a point out of it, but we still have four games left and our faith and confidence are unflinching, we believe we can stay up and we must stay up.”

Gombe United will be away at Sunshine Stars in Akure today in a week 35 fixture, and must get a result if they are to improve their chances of survival, as only one point separate them from Bayelsa United, the team currently occupying the last relegation spot.

possible.”

On his delayed invitation to the national team, the 20-yearold said he will remain focused on improving his career as a striker and will patiently wait for his chance.

“I will continue to do my best, I leave the decision to either call me or not to the coaches,” he concluded.

Mfon Udoh in action for Enyimba in a recent game

Rangers lead ‘last ditch’ efforts

R

esurgent Rangers, title chaser Pillars FC of Kano and Enyimba will attempt to consolidate their positions today as the Glo Premier League championship race enters the home stretch.

Pillars, who are one point clear at the top of the 20team table with 56 points lost 0-1 on the road to Nasarawa United and reports reports emanating from Kano have it that the Groundnut City boys are bent on picking the maximum points when they play hosts to Kaduna this afternoon.

Warri Wolves, who are also placed second on the log with 55 points are also poised to compound Crown FC woes when they clash in Warri today.

Crown lost 0-3 to Rangers at home at Lekan Salami Stadium Adamasingba and one

doubts if they have recovered from the shock to face hungry Warri Wolves Third placed Enyimba of Aba, smarting from an away 1-0 victory over Kaduna United, are also desperate to climb the ladder and perhaps create upset at the end of the competition.

Meanwhile, it is now a straight fight amongst Bayelsa United, FC Taraba and Gombe United on who to join Nembe City, Crown FC and Kaduna United in the lower league next season.

Bottom club Nembe City have long been doomed for a life in the lower NNL. The Brass side, currently on 28 points with the outcome of a game still inconclusive after they abandoned their home against Lobi, will be away to Dolphins and it is doubtful if they will return with any point in their kitty.

55

Glo League Table

Week 35 fixtures

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

GD

Pillars

34

16

8

10

47

36

56

11

Wolves

34

17

4

13

38

33

55

5

Enyimba

34

15

9

10

43

24

54

19

Nasarawa

34

16

5

13

39

34

53

5

Abia

34

15

6

13

45

35

51

10

Sharks

33

14

9

10

40

31

51

9

Dolphins

34

14

9

11

37

29

51

8

Rangers

34

15

6

13

42

35

51

7 9

Akwa

vs

Bayelsa

Heartland

34

13

11

10

33

24

50

Taraba

vs

Lobi

Lobi

33

16

2

15

34

40

50

-6

Abia

vs

Heartland

Giwa

33

14

7

12

33

30

49

3

Wolves

vs

Crown

El-Kanemi

34

13

9

12

37

27

48

10

Rangers

vs

Sharks

Sunshine

34

12

12

10

44

42

48

2

Sunshine

vs

Gombe

Akwa

34

13

9

12

26

29

48

-3

Giwa

vs

Nasarawa

Gombe

34

12

7

15

36

37

43

-1

Taraba

34

13

4

17

29

41

43

-12

Pillars

vs

Kaduna

Bayelsa

34

13

3

18

41

50

42

-9

Enyimba

vs

El Kanemi

Kaduna

34

11

4

19

30

46

37

-16

Dolphins

vs

Nembe

Crown

34

10

6

18

26

45

36

-19

Nembe

33

6

10

17

22

54

28

-32

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Tackling Nigeria’s skills deficit

N

igeria remains one huge cacophonous cauldron. Incidentally, all the noise has to do with political power and who controls it. There is the saying that power is nothing without control. In the real sense, power both at local and international level is controlled by those with the technological edge and wherewithal to compel others to do their bidding. That is why big powers like America, Russia, China, France and Britain have continued to dominate the world in all spheres of endeavours and have conspiratorially constituted themselves into an exclusive club where the planet’s destinies are decided. At the United Nations, they are ‘Permanent Members’ of the Security Council and by extension the guardians of world peace, especially when it suits their national interests.

They have been able to hold the human

Okay Osuji (okegbuchulam@yahoo.com) 08034729256 (sms only)

race to ransom, as between them is enormous technological resources to keep the world on leash. The height attained by these countries was not achieved by sudden flight but through planned and conscious efforts to develop their societies through science and technology. For decades, they laboured and innovated and today have become ‘Masters of the Universe’.

Within their ranks are other countries of Western Europe, Australia and Japan. Increasingly, other newly developing countries of Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea and Mexico are slowly but surely making their way into this confraternity. Aside America and China among the big powers and Brazil, India and Indonesia in the developing ones, no other countries in these groups boasts a population the size of Nigeria.

While other countries have been able to leverage their human resource for the betterment of their societies, that of Nigeria seems to be held down by some divine curses. Who then is to blame? Of course bulk of the finger pointing goes in the direction of government, educational institutions and industries. Before and up till now, Nigeria’s education curricula have been configured to favour grammar school learning, as they encourage students to undertake those courses that will enable them get white collar jobs after graduation. Because of this, a lot of parents are putting pressure on their wards to go for those courses that will eventually allow them to work in government’s serpentine bureaucracy. Not that something is wrong from an academic point of view. But it is a glaring fact that the development is a holdover from colonialism, which has turned Nigeria to a

NO COUNTRY DEVELOPS WITHOUT PAYING REQUISITE ATTENTION TO TECHNICAL SKILLS AMONG ITS LABOUR FORCE nation of office clerks.

When the country was under British rule, the colonial administrators were only interested in producing filing clerks, tax collectors, court clerks and low skilled artisans to assist in running the offices and fixing plumbing. So most of the school curricula were tailored to get students to learn those skills which at the end of the day will put them in places where they will be pushing grey files and harassing communities over unpaid taxes. Even those awarded scholarships to British universities were carefully taken through academic instructions that would make them administrators and legal officers on return to Nigeria. And since there was a surfeit of low and middle level collar jobs, those graduates from the few local tertiary institutions were also happy to perform routine clerical duties. No one will blame the country’s administrators at the time, as it was what they met at independence. Even when it was known that industrial revolution started in Britain, that country has remained a technological laggard in comparison to other major industrial powers.

It was the late French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte who famously tagged Britain ‘a nation of shopkeepers’. Most people will readily agree with that assessment, as the country is known more for its grey suited bankers and solicitors than for any prowess in space technology or engineering wizardry.

That Nigeria continues to follow such archaic example has rankled many. Over the years, successive governments have given science and technology a lower position on the education ladder. Our polytechnics and technical colleges are no more than glorified artisan workshops, lacking even rudimentary tools for imparting functional skills. Curiously, their graduates are never given the same recognition as those from the universities, while their salary scales became the subject of national controversy before the authorities did anything to invest them with some dignity.

No country develops without paying requisite attention to technical skills among its labour force. And such skills can only be relevant through hands on approach. This is where industries come in. Nigeria lacks an apprenticeship policy that mandates industries to train interns to acquire technical skills at state expense. It may shock that many of the so-called expatriates coming into Nigeria acquired their skills at construction sites and factory floors and not from Ivy League universities. There is a lack of synergy between educational institutions and industries, even as they are nonexistent between the state and the latter. The technological prowess of German industries derives from this peculiar arrangement.

This dual education system means that apprentices spend about 50-70 percent of their time in companies and the rest in formal education. The low unemployment and functional skills among German youths is a byproduct of this education model. Other countries have taken to this and it is paying off. The Federal Government should adequately fund the Nigerian Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for this purpose. Nigeria will never develop if no conscious effort is made to equip the labour force with functional skills.

Sport Extra Taarabt blasts boss over ‘unfit’ claims

Q

ueens Park Rangers forward, Adel Taarabt, yesterday criticised Manager Harry Redknapp over claims that he is overweight and unfit to play.

Redknapp launched

an attack on the Morocco international after QPR’s 3-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, claiming Taarabt was not fit to play football.

“I can’t keep protecting people who don’t want to

run about and train, who are about three stone overweight,” that gaffer had said.

But Taarabt has deepened the rift with his manager by claiming that Redknapp does not

UEFA Championship Results even regularly take training sessions, and then posing shirtless in a photoshoot in order to deny the suggestion he is out of shape.

“I am a professional and this is not about re-

taliation but about protecting my reputation,” Taarabt said.

“My job is to create, bring goals to the team.

Maybe he expects me to make more tackles. I am not this type of player. I

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