Binder1

Oil prices plunge to 5-year low

PVC cloning: APC dares DSS to disclose findings

… naira now N184 to dollar

AYO OLESIN AND UDEME AKPAN WITH AGENCY REPORTS

Alison-Madueke

Vol. 41 N0. 995 115

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il prices plunged to a five year low just as the naira touched a

record low against the dollar yesterday as the new dynamics of the world oil market took its toll on resource dependent economies.

Markets globally felt the shockwaves as the slump in

oil prices reeled out punishing effects on equities and currency markets even as analysts raised the spectre of a further drop in prices.

Amid the rout, airlines CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

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Oyegun

Tuesday, Tuesday,June December 7, 2011 2, 2014

N150

Court says PDP can remove Tambuwal as Speaker T ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

...asks party to commence legal action

he ongoing move to sack the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday got a boost as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja issued an order permitting the Peoples Democratic ParCONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Ondo PDP, state, LG exco to remain till 2016 P.8 AU sets six months target to end Ebola scourge National Agency for the Control of AIDS on a road show awareness campaign to mark the 2014 World AIDS Day in Abuja yesterday.

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PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

B’Haram: Over 100 killed as explosions rock Yobe, Borno

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...Ado-Ekiti prison bombed FG halts US training of Nigerian military

Death toll in Rivers shooting rises to 15

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oil prices plunge to 5-year low CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

are expected to benefit from the falling oil prices, which could result in lower fuel bills though ticket prices may not fall in tandem as the holiday season begins.

The yield on Nigeria’s Eurobonds rose to an eightmonth high as confidence in the nation’s creditworthiness dipped further amid the emerging developments.

The naira fell by 2.9 per cent to 184.05 per dollar yesterday afternoon in the interbank market as the effects of an official devaluation by the Central Bank of Nigeria failed to stem a cash crunch in the market.

Yields on Nigeria’s dollar-based Eurobond due to maturity in July 2023 bond climbed 36 basis points to 6.11 per cent, the highest on a closing basis since March 25, Bloomberg reported. The yield rose above similarmaturity debt for lower-rated Kenya, an oil importer, for the first time since the Nairobi-based government issued its bonds in June.

Surging supplies in the United States amid limited demand growth has created a glut, helping send crude prices down 37 per cent this year. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, relies on oil for 70 per cent of government revenue and over 90 per cent of export earnings.

“The momentum in the market is quite negative,” Samir Gadio, head of AfCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

President Goodluck Jonathan (6th right); President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mrs. Debola Osibogun (5th right) and other members of institute during their meeting with President Jonathan in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Over 100 killed as explosions rock Yobe, Borno INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

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oko Haram terrorists yesterday struck in Damaturu, Yobe State and Maiduguri, Borno state capital, killing more than 100 people.

The casualties included civilians, terrorists and security operatives. Several others sustained gunshots wounds in the attacks, which also included a raid by the terrorists on Lassa village in Borno State.

In the Damaturu attack, at least 60 people lost their lives when over 100 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles laden with Improvised Explosive

Devices, IEDs, and motorcycles attacked the Bukar Abba Ibrahim University, BAIU, the state owned radio station, telecom masts, Police mobile base and a primary school.

The Damaturu attack started at about 5am and left many residents trapped in their houses, while thousands of others fled into the bush.

“The attackers stormed the town around 4:45 am and detonated explosives along the Gujba road before they advanced to the Mobile Base which they set ablaze. The gunmen shot their way indiscriminately into the base but casualty figures could not be ascertained.

“I was performing ablu-

tion to say my early morning prayers when a loud blast went off and shooting continued.

“We all ran into the bush but we can see the mobile base in flames and shootings were still on,” a resident told our reporter on phone.

Another resident of an estate along Gujba road confirmed that the attackers raided the area shooting and detonating explosives.

“We can see thick smokes going up and hearing intermittent shootings,” the resident said.

Students of the state university told our correspondent that they managed to escape to the bush from their hostels but they could not confirm if the school

was torched.

A student, Mr. Modu Alhaji Isa said: “The gunmen burst into the state capital through the Gujba axis of Damaturu-Biu road; and commenced shooting sporadically with the torching of buildings at the campus, and Mobile Police Unit premises, before soldiers and policemen engaged them in a fierce battle that lasted for over four hours.”

Many residents close to the theatre of war started fleeing in droves through the Gashua road as most of the entrances into the were not safe for motorists, while others were cordoned off by security agents.

Another resident said there was confusion and

panic among the people with gunshots and explosions everywhere especially from the southern part of the city.

However, by 9am, reports indicated that the shootings had subsided after a military plane hovered around for about 45 minutes, dropping bombs and deadly explosives on the terrorists.

The Yobe State Police Commissioner, Markus Danladi confirmed the early morning attacks, even as he said that after four hours of heavy fighting, the terrorists were repelled by a team of soldiers and policemen with casualties on both sides.

He said: “We are able to CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Court says PDP can remove Tambuwal as Speaker CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ty, PDP, to commence a legal action meant to oust him from office.

Justice R. B Mohammed, who gave the PDP the green light to commence a mandamus action against the Speaker however ordered that Tambuwal himself should be duly notified of the suit to enable him appear to show cause why an order to compel him to sack himself or empowering his deputy to sack him from office must not be issued.

Specifically, the court ordered that all the processes in the case must be served on the Speaker and other respondents in the case through the Office of the

Clerk to the House of Representatives.

Respondents in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/901/2014 are the Office of the Speaker of House of Representatives and the Deputy Speaker.

Spirited moves by a member of the inner bar and senior counsel to Tambuwal, Mr A. Magaji, SAN, who was in court to frustrate hearing in the case yielded no fruit.

Tambuwal was elected into the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP to represent Kebbe/Tambuwal constituency in the House of Representatives before he later emerged the Speaker.

But on October 28, this year, while his tenure is still running, the Speaker defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, and adjourned sitting of the House for more than a month.

The PDP and the Presidency however contended that by the defection, Tambuwal had lost his seat at the House of Representatives, citing section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 constitution as reason.

The section reads: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if being a person whose election to the

House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.”

But instead of going to court to declare his seat vacant, the executive moved against Tambuwal with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, withdrawing his security details.

The action of the IG sparked a row. But last week, the PDP approached the Federal High Court with a motion exparte for leave to commence a mandamus action compelling the Speaker to convene a sitting of the House and

declare his seat vacant by himself in accordance with the provision of section 68 (2) of the 1999 constitution.

In the alternative, the PDP is asking for an order empowering Tambuwal’s Deputy, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha to perform the function of declaring the seat vacant in the absence of the Speaker doing so.

In the application, the PDP argued that under Section 68(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Constitution (as amended), the 1st respondent (Speaker) has a mandatory duty to bring into effect the provisions of Section 68 (1) (g)

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Constitution (as amended) where the relevant facts come to, or are within the knowledge of the Speaker The party insisted that Tambuwal is aware that he has left the PDP and joined the APC by his open declaration on the floor of the House on October 28, 2014.

The party said he had even procured the governorship nomination form of the APC. Chief Mike Ahamba brought the ex parte application on behalf of the PDP. The matter has been adjourned to December 12, for hearing.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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Photo News

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

L-R: Design Director/Chief Executive, Space Concepts Ltd, Sam Cookey; Executive Consultant, Jacinta Ltd, Susan Dahiru-Gumel; Executive Director, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma; Keynote Speaker, Erelu Bisi Fayemi and Visionary/Executive Director, ACTS Generation, Laila Jean St. Matthew-Daniel, during the International Conference on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Trafficking in Nigeria 2014, in Lagos, recently.

L-R: Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, Engr. Umar Bindir; Chairman of governing council, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdu Bulama, during the training of researchers workshop on Intellectual Property Generation, Protection and PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA Management in Abuja, yesterday.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Agu of Ndidia-Ozaa, Ukwa West, Eze Samuel Agu; Eze Obinna Nwagbara of Uhuru-Ndoki; Eze Godwin Ukanna of Ipu South and Eze Ikeagwuchi- Ekeke of Obeaku-Ndoki, during a media briefing on the political PHOTO: NAN situation in Aba, yesterday.

L-R: CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation Dr. Wiebe Boer; Entrepreneurship Director, Parminder Vir, and Founder Mr. Tony Elumelu CON, during the launch of the $100m Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, TEEP, designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs, Lagos, yesterday.

National News MARCUS FATUNMOLE AND FRANKA OSAKWE

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he African Union, AU, yesterday set six months target for the elimination of the deadly Ebola virus disease, EVD from the West African region.

The AU said it had resolved to deploy ‘massive and surge of medical personnel’ to countries ravaged by the virus.

Initiator of the AU response to the virus and Director, Department of Social Affairs for the AU, Ambassador Olawale Maiyegun, disclosed this in Lagos yesterday at a 2-day Pre-departure training by the African Union Commission for Nigerian contingent to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra-Leone on the EVD’s containment.

The programme comes under the auspices of the Africa Union Support for Ebola in West Africa, ASEOWA. Two hundred and fifty health professionals and other care givers are being trained in the first batch of the volunteers that are currently over 500 from the

AU sets six months target to end Ebola scourge country.

According to him, there had been a huge gap in the required health professionals needed to manage the situation in the three countries.

Hence, the AU, he stressed, called on the 54 member-countries to provide a minimum of 20 health personnel to fill the gap.

“So, we said we were go-

ing to work to make sure that by Christmas, we have 1000 medical professionals, mainly doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, psychosocial and other supports to the affected to countries from the African countries,” he added.

He maintained that Ethiopia had given 210 volunteers, while Democratic Republic of Congo and Ke-

nya would be sending their volunteers soon.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State government yesterday provided the volunteers with 5000 Personnel Protective Equipment, PPEs. The state Commissioner of Health, Samson Parker, stated this during the opening session of the training.

He emphasised the need for Nigeria to assist

the countries affected by the disease.

He argued that Nigeria in particular must assist those countries, given the fact that considerable number Nigerians live there and that many of them would be returning home during the Yuletide.

Besides, Parker said Nigeria could only boast of its Ebola-free status if the disease

is completely defeated from all countries of the world.

Similarly, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan, who was represented by the Director-General, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr Abdulsalam Nasidi, urged the volunteers to abide by protocols and guidelines for the tasks before them.

FG halts US training of Nigerian military PAUL ARHEWE

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he Federal Government has suspended the training of Nigerian military by the United States, amid recent claims that the country is blocking several of its attempts to procure sophisticated weapons from foreign countries to combat the Boko Haram sect.

In a statement released

yesterday, the US Embassy in Nigeria said it would discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion, based on a request from the Nigerian government.

The first two phases of training were conducted between April and August this year.

The Embassy said, these “had provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills.

“Based on mutual assessment of the Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third iteration of training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills”.

“We regret premature termination of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nige-

rian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram.

“The U.S. government will continue other aspects of the extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programs,” the Embassy’s statement reads.

In September this year, reports indicated that the American government had truncated efforts by the Nigerian military to procure US-made Chinook

helicopters from Israel.

These choppers were aimed at facilitating the movement of troops and the injured. Other snag in the military cooperation between the two countries include the refusal to provide Nigeria’s security agencies with timely intelligence needed to defeat Boko Haram insurgents who are currently waging war to curve an Islamist caliphate in North-Eastern part of the country.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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Oil prices plunge to 5-year low CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

rican strategy at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in London, said: “If you talk to international investors, they are concerned about the exchange rate outlook because of weaker oil prices and fiscal issues.”

Brent crude weakened 0.1 per cent to $70.05 a barrel after earlier falling to a fiveyear low of $67.53. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, including Nigeria, kept output targets unchanged last

week even as price of crude heads for its worst year since 2008.

Oil-rich emerging markets were battered as crude prices plunged again and more weak data came out of China yesterday.

Russia’s rouble tumbled more than three per cent to a new record low as the combination of Western sanctions and low oil prices hit further.

As the rouble slumped, Russia’s dollar-based RTS stock index dropped four

per cent to a five-year low, leading the charge down in a 1.3 percent slide in global emerging market stocks.

Other oil-heavy markets also suffered. Malaysia’s ringgit fell 2.4 percent, headed for its biggest two-day slide since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

“This oil price situation is starting to percolate throughout the world,” said Brown Brothers Harriman strategist Ilan Solot.

“A lot of people are gradually moving from the excite-

ment of cheaper oil means better consumption, more disposable income, to ‘this is getting a little scary’.”

Meanwhile, the US oil imports from Nigeria and Algeria has dropped by 93 per cent between 2010 and 2014 as a result of the production of American shale oil.

The increased production of shale oil, which is equivalent of Nigeria’s Bonny Light has encouraged the US to drastically reduce its oil imports from the two African nations.

L-R: Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Chika Balogun; Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission Prof. Attahiru Jega and National Commissioner, Ishimel Igbani, during the 9th Public Lecture on Electoral Violence in Africa for Nigerian Youths, in Abuja, yesterday.

The US Energy Information Administration, IEA which confirmed the development yesterday stated in a statement that the sweet grades were mostly affected.

It stated that the US has been steadily cutting oil imports from Nigeria because of US shale oil production, which is low in sulphur and otherwise called “light, sweet,” similar to Nigeria’s “Bonny Light” oil.

This resulted to the decline in the country’s crude oil export with crude oil export in May this year at 1.88million barrels per day with exported 1.71mbd and 1.61mbp respectively in June and July.

The nation is estimated to have exported 70.14 million barrels of oil including condensate in August, or an average 2.26 million barrels per day, bpd.

Additional exports were recorded between September and November, this year at relatively low prices because of the lull at the global market.

However, the lower oil prices is expected to have beneficial effects on airlines as North American airline earnings will climb 73 per cent to $19bn in 2015 from

$11bn this year, bolstered by lower jet fuel costs, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst forecast.

Glenn Engel raised earnings estimates today for nine US and two Canadian carriers as a result of the decline in prices for oil, which is refined into jet fuel. Airlines also will benefit as lower energy costs give consumers more discretionary income they may spend on travel, he said.

Earnings that match Engel’s forecasts would extend a turnaround among US carriers that racked up $58bn in losses from 2001 to 2009 before returning to profit in 2010. Executives at American Airlines Group and Delta Air lines have said they expect to report record results this year.

“We continue to believe that the recent decline in jet fuel prices represents significant upside to airline EPS, if sustainable,” William Greene, a Morgan Stanley analyst, said today in a report to investors.

However the effects of lower oil prices are yet to be seen by Nigerian airlines who have consistently complained of high cost of aviation fuel which accounts for over 30 per cent of operating costs.

Over 100 killed as explosions rock Yobe, Borno CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

repel the insurgents this morning; some of them were killed, while others fled with gunshot wounds towards Gujba road, abandoning some of their vehicles, rifles and ammunition.

“The military jet has to be deployed to push the insurgents back as the situation is now under control and the entire town has been cordoned off. The casualties cannot be counted now but it is massive, the insurgents were overwhelmed and they suffered a lot of deaths but few police officers and civilians were also killed in the crossfire.”

In Abuja, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, confirmed the air bombardment of Damaturu to rid the city and environs of the insurgents.

In a post yesterday on its twitter handle, the DHQ said that the Air force operations were to back the ground troops as they carefully engage the terrorists in

the gun battle.

The DHQ explained that the operations became very necessary at the moment to ensure the security of the civilian population.

“Troops backed by the Air force are carefully engaging terrorists who attacked the town in the early hours of today (yesterday).

“The approach is to secure the civilian population while repelling or apprehending the terrorists,” the DHQ stated in the post.

It was gathered that before yesterday’s attacks, the insurgents had captured nearby Buni/Yadi and Bara towns in Gujba and Gulani council areas of the state, and continued to control them, until the attack on the state capital.

The Maiduguri attack occurred at about 11:25am, during which 22 people were feared killed, while 48 others were injured.

The attack was carried out by two female suicide

bombers, who detonated Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, at Layin Yankaji gate of the Monday Market in Maiduguri.

The blast came one week after a twin bomb blast hits the same market, in which over 70 people mostly traders were killed and about 98 others sustained serious injuries.

Our correspondent learnt that sporadic gunshots woke the residents of Maiduguri at about 8am.

But military sources said that the shootings were not from Boko Haram sect, but a routine test of arms and ammunition by security operatives in the state.

Sources at the State Specialists Hospital in Maiduguri where the dead and the injured were taken confirmed that at least 22 people were killed while more than 40 others injured.

A trader, Mallam Jubrila Aji said the explosion occurred as the two female suicide bombers tried to

enter the market at the gate through Yankaji.

“The first suicide bomber detonated the bomb when a civilian JTF was trying to search her before entering the market, after some seconds the second suicide bomber also detonated her own,” Aji said.

Our correspondent learnt a TVC cameraman, Mr. Julius Emmanuel was arrested by the military authorities while trying to cover the incident, while journalists were prevented access to the scene.

The security operatives and the youth vigilantes popularly known as Civilian JTF barricaded the scene of the blasts.

The Borno State Police Spokesman, Gideon Jibrin confirmed the suicide bombings.

He said in a text message to journalists: “Two female suicide bombers detonated an explosives in Monday market in two

different locations killing only 16 people, and injured many.”

Also, another attack at Lassa town in Askira/Uba local government area of Borno state over the weekend left 11 residents dead with Churches, including the biggest EYN church in the village and many houses razed by the Boko Haram sect.

Sources said during the Lassa attacks, vigilante youth confronted the sect which led to the killing of 41 terrorists, while 17 others were arrested.

In his reaction, Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, who was on official assignment to Abuja condemned the attack as heinous and barbaric.

The governor, in a state3ment expressed appreciation to the security forces who worked very hard on the ground and from the air to repel the attack and force many of the attackers

to flee.

“As a result of their effort, Damaturu remains firmly under government control.

“His Excellency the governor has also been told that the security effort is still ongoing. Security agents will continue to track and pursue any remnants of the attackers who might still be hiding in town.

“The governor urges people in Damaturu and all across our State to continue to remain vigilant and pray to Almighty Allah for His intervention. His Excellency has noted that the prayers people have been offering have been significant to the success that the security forces recorded today.

“While commending the security forces for their work in repelling the attack, the governor also calls on them to remain at their highest alertlevel and to carry the good work to its logical conclusion.”

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PVC cloning: APC dares DSS to disclose findings

…court orders release of detained party officials OBIORA IFOH AND WALE IGBINTADE

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he All Progressives Congress, APC, has challenged the Director of State Security, DSS, to tell Nigerians the outcome of its investigations into the allegation of PVC cloning that forced the security agency to invade the party’s office in Lagos over a week ago.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mo-

hammed, the party said if no evidence of PVC cloning was found, the DSS should apologise to Nigerians for acting on the basis of faulty intelligence.

It said any further delay in telling Nigerians the outcome of the investigations, after almost 10 days, could mean that the DSS is trying to manufacture evidence to support its faulty intelligence. ‘’Without carrying out any investigation and with no shred of evidence, the DSS gleefully announced to the

world that they stormed our Data Centre because they got information that Permanent Voters Cards, PVC, were being cloned there. ‘’On the basis of this uncorroborated announcement, the PDP categorically accused APC of cloning PVCs. It is now over a week since the DSS carted away materials and computer servers after ransacking our offices for over two hours. The agency’s experts must have analysed the information in the materials

and on the servers. ‘’Therefore, we are now asking them to immediately announce their findings to the world. After all, it took them only a few hours after their Gestapo-like invasion of our offices before they issued their baseless allegation of PVC cloning to justify their action,’’ APC said.

Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, ordered the release of the five officials of the party detained by the Department of State Security Service.

The five officers APC staff, Chinedu Atuche, Fayemi Olaposi, Augustine Onuchukwu, Ebun Ilori and Esther Enemy were arrested on November 22 by the DSS during a raid of the APC Data Office at Allen Avenue, in Ikeja, Lagos.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa ordered their release while delivering its ruling in a fundamental rights suit, filed by Professor Yemi Osibanjo (SAN), on behalf of the applicants, seeking enforcement of their fundamental rights.

Justice Yunusa in a ruling stated that it was against the provision of Section 35 of the Constitution to continue to hold the applicants in detention while the DSS was conducting its investigations.

The court held that a citizen could not be

detained for more than 48 hours before being charged to court, adding that if there was any need to extend that period, the law enforcement agency shall be required to file an application for a review of the period before a court of law.

Consequently, Justice Yunusa ordered that the applicants should be released immediate.

The court also restrained the DSS from further arresting the applicants pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The court however, ordered the applicants not to travel outside the country pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The matter was subsequently adjourned till January 19, 2015 to hear the substantive suit.

Five banks to disburse N220bn MSMEs fund — CBN UDO ONYEKA

T L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idis; Project Coordinator, National Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalam Nasisi; River State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tamunoiyoriari Parker and Director, Department of Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Amb. Olawale Mayegun, during the training of 250 doctors to be sent to Sierra Leone and Liberia to fight Ebola by the Federal Ministry of Health, in Lagos yesterday.

Substandard products: Court summons NBC, Coca-Cola bosses ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

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Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, ordered the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Plc, Mr. Adeola Adetunji and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, Limited, Mr. Ben Langat to appear, before the court on December 18, this year or be sanctioned.

The duo are to appear over a criminal charge pressed against them and their company.

The Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General of

the Federation, had, filed a criminal charge against Coca-Cola Chief Executive Officer, CEO, over allegation that they produced substandard product.

At the last adjourned date, the court ordered that the Coca-Cola and NBC helmsmen must appear in court.

However, when the case came up for hearing yesterday, the CEOs of the two companies were absent in court.

When the trial judge asked about their whereabouts, their counsel, Mr. Gbolahan Elias (SAN), told the court that they were not present in court de-

spite admitting that they had been served with the processes in the case.

At this point, Justice Chukwu frowned at the submissions of the lawyer and warned counsel against indulging client to disobey the court.

Justice Chukwu, said that though, he would not immediately take their pleas on the charges preferred against them because of the preliminary objection, but that his order should be respected with their physical presence in the court.

Prior to the judge’s charge, Elias, counsel to Coca-Cola and Adetunji,

was laying ground for their objection on the case, but counsel to the government, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), objected and said, “the court ordered a substituted service and that has been carried out and the proof of service is before the court, I am surprised that the accused person are not in court today, my lord”.

But Elias, while admitting that the order for substituted service was given, said; “Before the motion by the government lawyer for the substituted service, there was a preliminary objection that he did not have the authorisation to prosecute this matter”.

he Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has signed an agreement with five commercial banks to disburse part of the N220bn Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, Fund to entrepreneurs in the country.

The banks include; United Bank of Africa, UBA, Skye Bank, GTBank, Zenith Bank and Fidelity Bank.

Acting Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Dr. Mudashir Olaitan, while disclosing this at the ongoing workshop for Business Editors and Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria, FICAN, in Kastina, Kastina State yesterday, added that the five banks, having signed a Memorandum of UnderCHANGE OF NAME

SUNDAY: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Sunday Ishioma Anita, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Osobala Ishioma Anita. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AJIDE: Formerly known and addressed as Dupe Ajide, now wish to be known and addressed as Dupe Oche. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

standing, MoU, with the apex bank would be able to get the fund disbursed to the MSME operators in nooks and crannies of the country.

Olaitan, who was represented by Assistant Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Mr. Babatunde Ogunlaja advised the benefiting banks to disburse the money to businesses in both rural and urban areas, so that entrepreneurs can further expand their businesses, thereby creating jobs and reducing poverty.

While advising financial institutions to lend 60 per cent of what they get for women to cater for their peculiar financial exclusion circumstance, he also called on them to adhere strictly with the 50:50 per cent ratio lending for micro enterprises and SMEs respectively.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Chizoba Ebith Adinmu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chizoba Jane Ezike. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

This is to confirm that I, Sunday Edirin Efedede is the same person as Sunday Edirin Efedede. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National News

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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Omoku shooting: Death toll hits 15 DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

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he death toll in last Friday’s shooting in Omoku, OgbaEgbema-Ndoni local government of Rivers State has risen to 15.

Gunmen numbering about 10 had stormed the community around 7pm

on Friday, moving from house to house, forcing people out of their homes and shooting them at random.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was among those killed by the hoodlums.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Ahmad Mohammed,

said only seven persons were killed in the incident, which he attributed to a cult clash by rival cult groups.

But the member representing Ogba-EgbemaNdoni in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Gift Wokocha, said no fewer than I5 persons lost their lives in the attack.

Wokocha urged people of the area to live peacefully and shun acts capable of destroying the economy of the area.

“There is no need for rancour and acrimony in Omoku. Omoku is an oil producing community, and the people have to be protected,” the lawmaker said, just as he decried the

spate of kidnappings in the area.

“People now live in fear.

Some are moving away. If the economy of Omoku is crippled, who will live there and do business?” he asked.

Wokocha also appealed

PDP elders caution Kashamu on utterances FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye; Governor Babatunde Fashola; his Deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope–Adefulire and Chairman, State House of Assembly Committee on Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Rotimi Olowo, during the signing of an executive order establishing a Sex Offenders Register in Lagos, yesterday.

Elumelu offers $100m to empower African youths TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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hairman of Heirs Holdings and former boss of United Bank for Africa plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has offered the sum of $100m million (N17bn) to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

Announcing what he called the “biggest offer” by a single humanitarian organisation in Africa at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Elumelu said the initiative packaged together by his charity organisation, Tony Elumelu Foundation, was designed to help identify and grow an initial 10,000 start-ups and young businesses from across Africa in the next decade.

He noted that a total of 1,000 young and dy-

namic African entrepreneurs living on the continent are expected to benefit annually from the scheme, which covers not only funding but also training and mentoring.

He said the expectation was for beneficiaries from 18 years and above irrespective of educational qualifications to create one million new jobs across sectors of the economy and generate $10bn (N1.7trn) in annual revenues on the continent.

Disclosing that interested applicants have between January and March next year to send in their online applications through a website dedicated for the purpose, Elumelu said each successful applicant to be selected by independent committee of African business leaders irrespective of loca-

tions and type of business would be entitled to $10,000, which will come in two batches of equal amount.

However, he noted that the money was not a grant but would come as a start-up capital of initial $5,000 and the remaining as an investment.

Entrepreneurship, according to him, is the cornerstone to Africa’s development and the key to local value creation in Africa.

“I am determined to ensure the next generation of African entrepreneurs have the platform they need to turn their entrepreneurial aspirations into sustainable businesses that will drive economic growth and job creation across Africa,” he stressed.

He said the decision to make the second tranche

of funds an investment was to give the beneficiaries a sense of self sufficiency and expose them to the rudiments of structured financing, what it takes to obtains loans and why it should be paid back.

Elumelu said the initiative was borne out of the need to encourage people to come up with ideas that would create huge opportunities for business and job creation.

to residents of the community who fled at the wake of the incident to return home, assuring that the security operatives and the council authorities were doing everything possible to protect lives and property.

ollowing his verbal attack on the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, concerned leaders of the party in Ogun State yesterday warned the South West chairman, Mobilisation and Organisation of the party, Buruji Kashamu, to desist from always fomenting trouble within the PDP state chapter.

Ogun elders under the aegis of the Stakeholders Forum of PDP accused Kashamu as being an agent of the opposition in the state.

In a statement signed by Wale Egunleti, Dele Ajayi and four other members, namely Kayode Amusan, Michael Fasinu, Nosiru Isiaka and Olu Fatoki, the elders said Kashamu’s action was capable of undermining vested authorities and fuelling crisis within the party.

Kashamu had last Sunday at a press conference at his Lagos residence accused the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, of attempting to impose a governorship aspirant and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji

Bankole, on the party in the state.

The Stakeholders’ Forum leaders insisted that Kashamu was an agent of the opposition, advising him to respect the party’s constituted authorities “and to stop parading himself as bigger than the party through frivolous and unfounded comments capable of causing disaffection among the PDP family.”

They also challenged Kashamu to explain what they described as the “shady role he played in the botched House of Assembly primaries, how he got the materials used for the exercise, if Engineer Bayo Dayo being an automatic delegate had the right to conduct primary election as well as the source of delegates’ list used in the purported exercise.

The party leaders therefore implored the PDP national leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, to caution Kashamu from further destabilising the party, even as they pledged support for Mu’azu and other leaders.

They alleged that Kashamu successfully contributed to the woes of the party in 2011.

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10

South West

Ondo PDP, state, LG exco to remain in office till 2016 —Court FRANCIS FAMOROTI

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Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the tenure of offices of the 22 top officers and chairmen of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in the 18 local government councils of Ondo State is for a fouryear term which subsists till March 2016.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola who gave the verdict in his judgment in a suit filed by the Ondo State PDP, specifically ordered that the officers and chairmen of the local government councils in the state who were sworn-in on March 10, 2012 would occupy their respective offices till March 9, 2016.

Notable members who secured the legal victory for the party are; Messrs.

Olusegun Sunday Seja, Babatunde Akingbehin, Rotimi Ademuji, Biodun Enijuni and Sunday Thompson. Others were, 17 PDP Chairmen in the council areas in the state.

They had through an exparte motion gone to court praying it to court stop the PDP, its principal national officers and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, among others, from any steps with regards to their tenure of offices or any steps affecting their interests regarding the conduct of any primary election to any legislative house in the state or the National Assembly.

Sequel to their application,the court made among others, an interim order barring the chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee in the state, Dare Adeleke

and another key officer, Solomon Osawu from parading themselves as elected leaders of the part in the state.

Justice Ademola then adjourned the matter for hearing of the motion on notice after the service of the necessary processes on all the respondents.

At the hearing of the motion on notice, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, appeared for Seja, Akingbehin, Ademuji, Enijuni and Thompson while Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN represented 17 other plaintiffs, who are mainly PDP chairmen in the local government councils in the state. Their lawyers prayed the court to grant all the reliefs sought in the originating summons by their clients.

In his response, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who appeared for the PDP, its National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Muazu, and the party’s National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladapo opposed the originating summons and urged the court to uphold the averments in the counter-affidavit of the respondents.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Inspector -General of Police, Suleiman Abba, who were named as parties were not represented in court.

Delivering judgment in the matter last Friday, November 28, Justice Ademola resolved the key issues in the matter in favour of Seja and other plaintiffs.

The judge declared that the tenure of offices of 22 top officers and chairmen of the party in Ondo State, which is for a four-year term, would subsist till March 2016.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lagos opens register for sex offenders FRANCIS SUBERU

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agos State Government, yesterday, signed an Executive Order empowering the state to open a Sex Offenders Register, to record cases of sexual violence against women, children and of their perpetrators.

The register will contain details of sex offenders including names and photographs among other information that can be useful for public cross-referencing.

Issuing an Executive Order to that effect on Monday, the state governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said the registry was part of several criminal law reforms and policies in Lagos, to enhance the rights of women, children and other vulnerable people in the state.

Fashola

Fashola pointed out that the current security challenges facing the country has pushed sexual offences against vulnerable member of the society to the background, adding that series of policies including the post-partum depression defence, six month maternity leave for public servants in the state as well as the domestic violence and child abuse laws were all put in place to protect women and

children.

The governor stressed that successful implementation of the order requires cooperation of all stakeholders.

He advised women to kick against acts which may cause their rights to be compromised in the work place, warning that it will no longer be business as usual for those who have formed the habit of harassing vulnerable members of the society.

Earlier, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye said, a number of measures have been put in place for successful implementation of the order.

According to Ipaye, a Domestic Violence and Sexual Response team, comprising, policemen, officials of the state Office of the Pub-

L-R: Secretary, Zoological Society of Nigeria(ZSN), Dr. Olajumoke Morounkeji; President, Prof. Sonnie Oniye; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka and Chairperson, Organising Committee, Prof. Adiaha PHOTO: NAN Ugwumba, during ZSN annual conference in Ibadan, yesterday.

OAU students' groups clash over Jonathan BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

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here was pandemonium on the campus of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, yesterday, when rival students' groups clashed leaving at least five students injured.

Though there was conflicting reports about the cause of the clash, but a source on campus however, told National Mirror, that

trouble started during the Students’ Union Congress held at Awolowo Hall Café and that the clash was fuelled by some cultists brought to the campus by an unidentified students' group.

But when contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, dismissed the claims that the clash was cult-related.

Olanrewaju said two students’ groups have issues

lic Defenders, Directorate for Citizens’ Rights, medical personnel and others have already been constituted.

He said sex offence are prominent in Alimosho, Kosofe, Agege and OshodiIsolo local governments, adding that over one hundred cases of such offences are being tried in the state high courts.

In an interview, some members of the civil society groups who were at the ceremony described the order as a welcome development.

Mrs. Itoro Eze-Anaba of Partnership for Justice and Laila St. Matthew-Daniel of Act Generation, said the order would reduce sex offences to the barest minimum and called on other states to emulate what Lagos State has done.

Jonathan

and resort to violence, inflicting injuries on one and another. He said one of the group accused its rival of sidelined it in the discus-

sion with President Jonathan during his visit.

He said, "There was nothing like cult clash on campus, but two students’ groups clash, because a group believes it was not allowed to partake in the discussion with Mr. President. Number of injured students is not known yet," he said.

A student source, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the congress was said to have been

called in response to an alleged cultist attack on some of students on Sunday.

Two of the attacked students said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Ile Ife were reportedly attacked with machete.

Some of the alleged cultists, the source said, were sighted at Student's Union building after the conclusion of meeting of the two groups who were quarrelling over Mr. President’s

visit.

It was further learnt that some students, later mobilised and captured two of those that perpetrated the attack on the injured students on Sunday and beat them.

Another source however explained that the attack came in retaliation to some students identified by some power brokers among students, who were believed to have attempted to disrupt President Jonathan's visit.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Tuesday, December 2 , 2014

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Warder feared killed in Ekiti jailbreak he Nigeria Prison along Afao Road in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, was blown open at about 10.30pm on Sunday night by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, who invaded the place and freed some inmates.

A prison officer was feared killed in the attack that left no fewer than 20 sniffer dogs dead.

Sources said the gunmen, numbering over 60, arrived the prison in Hilux vans wielding dangerous weapons such as dynamites, AK 47 rifles, cudgels, cutlasses and charms.

The sources said the attackers were chanting 'Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar' during the operation as they set free some inmates.

Although journalists were not allowed into the premises, blood stains could be seen all over the prison at the entrance, which indicated that someone was injured in the attack.

Unconfirmed report had it that the attack was masterminded by the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, to release one of its leaders, Mr Adeniyi Adedipe, who is being held at the facility in connection with the murder of a former state chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Chief Omolafe Aderiye.

Another report has it that the attack was masterminded by insurgents to free their members believed to be detained in the facility.

But the Comptroller of

Prisons, Mr Kehinde Fadipe, who confirmed the attack, denied loss of life during the attack.

Fadipe also said the detained OPC chieftain, Adedipe, was still in the prison custody, adding that there was no Boko Haram member detained in the prisons, hence no cause for the insurgent group’s invasion.

He said: "We are moving around to assess the situation. It was not a jail break, but an attack on the prison.

The main entrance was broken.

"We were attacked from outside not from within; they came with different weapons, attacked our men on duty and we have been here since 10.30pm yesterday (Sunday)."

Although he did not give figure of the inmates that escaped, Fadipe said his men were already out to re-arrest the escaped inmates.

Albeit, an escapee inmate returned to the prison on his own, saying he ran out when he heard sporadic shooting at night but had to come back. A woman, believed to be the wife of the slain warder, was weeping profusely as she was supported by some officials, who led her into the prison premises.

Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, expressed displeasure at the jailbreak, saying the perpetrators would fail.

The governor said: "We regret the jailbreak perpetuated by the evil people which led to the escape of many inmates. My prayer is that those behind this attack will not know peace."

Oyedele, said the project is unprecedented in the history of housing development in the state, calling it an extension of various landmark achievement recorded by Amosun's administration.

He commended the state government for subjecting the project to serious debate before the final signing for its take-off.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the governor on Housing, Segun Abiodun, said the project upon completion would serve as a magnet to attract residents

and visitors from all the local centers within walking distances.

"At the heart of the MITROS City is a well designed Central Business District that will serve as a magnet to draw residents and visitors from series of local centers that are all within walking distances of each other. A multimodern traffic strategy coupled with clear hierarchy of primary, secondary and local roads will ensure good access and connectivity within the new development and wider locale."

ABIODUN NEJO ADO-EKITI

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L-R: Osun State Head of Service, Mr. Olayinka Owoeye; Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola; former Chief of Staff to the governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola and others, during the governor's resumption of office after his second term inauguration in Osogbo, yesterday.

Contempt: Court threatens to arrest Daniel, Bankole WALE IGBINTADE

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Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday threatened to order the arrest of former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, if he fails to appear in court on December 19.

Justice Okon Abang also ordered former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole to be present in court at the next adjourned date.

Daniel and Bankole are among alleged contemnors in a contempt proceedings initiated by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, executive committee members in Ogun State, led by Chief Adebayo Dayo.

Other alleged contemnors in the proceedings are the PDP, Dave Salako and

the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Ogun executives had initiated the contempt proceedings against them for allegedly disobeying orders of the court.

The plaintiffs alleged that the respondents had been attempting to remove them from office, despite two Federal High Court judgments affirming the legality of their positions.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Justice Abang warned that he would not tolerate any disobedience of his orders by anybody.

"I have jurisdiction to enforce the judgment of this court. It's up to them to be here on the next adjourned date. If they're not here on December 15, I will compel

their attendance. I so hold," the judge said.

He declared that it was wrong for anyone to disobey a court order and give the impression the court is powerless, saying: “The court should bark, bite, and where the situation demands, break the bones," the judge warned.

The judge said he would also not consider any application filed by the alleged contemnors if they do not appear in court personally.

"The alleged contemnors are not in court, but they ought to be in court.

It is mandatory that they be here. They cannot be in the comfort of their homes.

They must be in court before any application filed by them can be taken.

"The second (Bankole), third (Daniel) and fourth

(Salako) respondents have no reason being absent in court today and no reason has been offered for their absence. It's not a civil matter.

This is a quasi-criminal matter," the judge said.

He described such behaviour as "reprehensible to the extreme," adding: "I will not be a party to this type of unwholesome development."

The court subsequently granted an ex-parte application brought by the plaintiffs' counsel, Mr Ajibola Oluyede, allowing them to serve the alleged contemnors with the motion on notice for committal outside Lagos.

Besides, the court restrained the PDP National Working Committee from recognising any primaries except the ones conducted by the Adebayo-led executive.

Ogun signs pact to construct MITROS City FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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gun State government yesterday signed a concession agreement with UBA Construction Company, an indigenous firm, to develop the MITROS City project in the state.

The housing estate, which is to be sited by the Isheri Olofin/Akute axis along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, is said to be part of the urban renewal policy of the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration.

The project that is being sited on a 2,000-hectare of land is aimed at attracting investors, creating jobs and adding aesthetic value to the location, particularly for the manufacturing companies that have opened businesses in that corridor of the state.

Upon completion, the project which may take between five and seven years before completion is to accommodate citizens of low, medium as well as upper income earners.

Amosun, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government,

Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, explained during the signing ceremony that the city once completed would provide people with modern and befitting atmosphere to live and work.

Adeoluwa, who described his principal as "crazy for development" of the state, stated that what Amosun met upon assumption of office in 2011 was a glorified village "where things have remained the same for centuries with unsightly environment."

The SSG added that it was against that backdrop

that the Amosun-led administration was committed to bringing development to the state through the project, assuring that the project would be delivered on time.

Against the backdrop of insinuation that the project was coming towards the twilight of his first term in office, the governor explained that plans for the relocation of existing communities within the areas of the project accounted for the delay.

Chairman of the construction company, Adeniyi

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South East

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria records .7million HIV/ AIDS cases yearly —Rep JAMES DANJUMA AND IGBAWASE UKUMBA

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Wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano (middle); wife of the traditional ruler of Awka, Lolo Nora Nwosu (left); President of Awka Development Union, ADU, Women Wing, Barr. Oge Ekweozo and other members of the union during a courtesy visit to the Government House, recently.

Police kill four robbers in gun duel CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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our armed robbers who engaged the police in a gun duel were shot dead at Nekede Polytechnic Junction, Umudibia Autonomous community in Owerri West local government area of Imo State.

The robbers were killed on Sunday at about 9.30 pm while allegedly robbing a shop in the area. The fiveman robbery gang operating with an ash coloured Toyota Corolla with Reg. No. YC-755-KJA was intercepted on tip-off by the police patrol team of the state command.

It was gathered that the notorious robbery suspects had been terrorising the neighborhood of Nekede, particularly students who

were constantly robbed and raped.

Parading the lifeless bodies at the Command Headquarters, Owerri yesterday, the Commissioner of Police, AbdulMajid Ali, who restated his resolve to wipe out criminals in the state, disclosed that his monitoring team had acted promptly after an intelligence report.

According to the police commissioner, on sighting the police patrol team, the robbers engaged the police in a shootout during which they sustained serious gunshot injuries and were rushed to FMC Owerri where they were confirmed dead.

However, one of the robbers, one Lucky Amaechi, 33 from Umuyika Ngor in Ngor Okpala council area

was arrested unhurt and is assisting the police in their investigation.

Ali listed exhibits recovered from the suspects to include a cut-to-size barrel, one locally made single barrel, short gun and six rounds of live cartridges.

Additionally, the CP said that a team of its surveillance squad arrested one Ifeakachukwu Nwafor, 23, a native of Abukwa Umuobom in Ideato South council for possessing a locally made pistol with two live cartridges which he concealed inside a notebook cut-to-size.

The suspect, a 200-level student of a tertiary institution in the state, was arrested at Imo State University, Owerri back gate.

Similarly, the commissioner said the command

on November 22 received tip-off that two ladies were robbed and thrown off a moving tricycle on Aba road. He said his men swung into action and arrested one Chinwendu Ogu, 23, who hails from Umueke in Ibeku LG of Abia State.

The rider of the tricycle, he added, was arrested while others escaped with a single barrel shortgun loaded with live cartridges fully recovered.

The police boss also disclosed that one Valentine Eke, 19, of 137 Ikenegbu Extensive Owerri, was arrested for threatening his neigbhour with a pump action gun.

He advised members of the public to always assist the police with useful information about the activities of criminals.

Elechi accuses 'foreign' investors of fueling PDP crisis …as party raises reconciliation panel OBIORA IFOH AND ALIUNA GODWIN

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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has given pass mark to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly primaries just as it set up a three-man Governors’ Reconciliation Committee for the state. This is even as Governor Martin Elechi yesterday accused some foreign investors of fueling the current crisis rocking the party in the state.

In a statement, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the

committee includes Governors Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Theodore Orji of Abia and Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

The statement reads, "In response to enquiries raised by a false media report, the National Working Committee, NWC, of PDP wishes to announce to the general public that the Ebonyi State House of Assembly primaries was successfully conducted last Saturday, November 29, 2014.

"The NWC states that the result of the exercise has since been received at the national secretariat of

the PDP in Abuja.

"The national leadership urges members of the party, especially in Ebonyi State to totally disregard any other report."

The party said the special three-man reconciliation committee was set up to reconcile all major stakeholders in the state to achieve the desired unity before the general elections.

Meanwhile, Governor Martin Elechi yesterday accused some foreign investors of fueling the current crisis rocking PDP in Ebonyi and asked them to refrain from such act.

Briefing journalists

in Abakaliki through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, Elechi said PDP crisis is being fueled by external economic interests.

He explained that "unfolding events have revealed that some of the forces which had been engaged in desperate bid to take over Nigercem Nkalagu and the strategic mineral deposits at Azuinyaba in Ishielu LGA and Amoha in Afikpo LGA among other parts of the state, have resorted to funding political office seekers who they see as willing tools for the economic rape of Ebonyi State."

he House of Representatives committee chairman on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leprosy, Dr. Haruna Kigbu, yesterday said the national response to HIV/AIDS is adjudged below average with over 700,000 new infections recorded yearly.

This, according to the lawmaker, is especially with respect to mother-tochild transmission though the Federal Government has increased its budget for awareness campaign, prevention, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS from a paltry N300 million to N7 billion over the past eight years.

The house committee chairman on HIV/AIDS disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, during this year’s World AIDS Day, adding that more needs to be done to fight the pandemic.

He said: “Looking at the indices, we have done well in fighting the disease. But on the other aspect, new infections have continued to occur especially from mother to child. We are aware that 700,000 new infections are recorded yearly which is the highest in Africa. It may be because of our population, we have 3 million to 4 million Nigerians who are infected.”

Dr. Kigbu said although the federal government has done well in terms of creating awareness, funding for related programmes aimed at fighting the scourge is heavily dependent on foreign donors which shows that Nigeria, like many other African countries, do not take public health issues seriously.

“In terms of funding we have not done well at all as a country. It is 80 to 90 percent donor-driven. Funds for antiretroviral, funds for capacity building, even funds for awareness campaigns come from the global funds which do not augur well for the fight against HIV/ Aids,” he maintained.

The HIV/AIDS House committee chairman highlighted that other areas posing serious challenge to the fight against the disease is that of accountabil-

ity, pointing out that most recipients of donor funds have not been accountable.

According to him, “People have spent donor funds on frivolities, workshops that don’t really matter.

These are areas we can cut down spending.”

He continued: “One of the highpoints is that most of the players in the national response to HIV/AIDS are faceless. When we call them to account in terms of registration by the federal ministry of health, you don’t get to find them but somehow they keep tapping from the donor fund. What that means is that all that money is going into private pockets.”

Meanwhile, 20,000 people live with the virus in Katsina State.

This is even as N118.5 million was disbursed to Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, to help fight the disease across the state.

Disclosing this yesterday during the commemoration event, the state chairman, Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Shehu Ibrahim, said most of those affected by the virus were women.

Ibrahim however said that the prevalence of the disease has been brought to an all-time low due to vigorous sensitisation efforts being carried out.

He called on people in the state to know their status to avoid transferring the virus to others even as he called for non discrimination for people living with the virus.

In a related development, the sum of N118.5 million was disbursed to CSOs by the state's Agency for the Control of AIDS, SACA, to help control the disease in the state.

Disbursing the amount yesterday, the agency's executive secretary, Dr. Muhtari Kankia, said the money was provided by the World Bank.

Kigbu

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

SUPER TUESDAY

13

Politics

Imo 2015: PDP must unite, work hard to defeat APC –Udenwa

14, 43

INEC and politics of PVC, CVR Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s commencement of distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, in May this year has continued to generate ripples even before the elections. OMEIZA AJAYI, examines the trend and its implications for next February’s polls, asking that if such a simple exercise could be bungled, then what hope for next year’s elections?

TOP STORY

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ith less than 11 weeks to the 2015 general elections, the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise have remained fraught with irregularities.

The situation was made worse in that the irregularities being experienced are not just one isolated case as there continues to be series of genuine complaints by many stakeholders across the country.

For the records, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before now, appeared to be more concerned with its controversial decision to create additional 30,000 polling units in the country, rather than getting its act straight with regards to the PVCs and CVR. INEC had severally assured the voting public of its readiness to deliver free, fair and credible elections, often mouthing a chain of reforms and strategies to back up its assurances. Specifically, it said the PVCs would bring about a credible election next year as it is designed to erase the problems of identification as well as authentication of voters.

The PVCs The PVCs, according to INEC, are chipbased and “would guarantee eligible voters the right to vote during elections and solve the rigours of identification and authentication.”

The contract was awarded to Art Technology Limited, with its technical partner “Obature” in France, at the cost of N65 per card.

About N2.6 billion was earmarked for the production of 40 million cards in the first phase of the exercise, with a projection of at least 73 million prospective voters to be captured in the whole exercise.

Meanwhile, INEC has put the current total number of registered voters in Nigeria at 70,383,427, out of which Lagos State, with 5,426,391 voters, has the highest number of registered voters in the country. Lagos is followed by Kano with a number of registered voters of 4,751,818.

The nationwide distribution of PVCs and the CVR exercise were scheduled in three phases for efficiency.

The first phase of PVCs distribution began on May 23 and ended on May 25 while the CVR for that phase was slated for between May 28 and June 1, in states

Jega

Fashola

DESPITE REPEATED CALLS ON INEC TO IMMEDIATELY RECTIFY THE HITCHES IN THE

PVCS DISTRIBUTION AND CVR TO ENSURE THAT NO NIGERIAN IS DISENFRANCHISED, NOTHING MUCH HAS BEEN ACHIEVED

like Taraba, Gombe, Zamfara, Kebbi, Benue, Kogi, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa.

The second phase took place in July in Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Kwara, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Oyo, Delta and Cross River states.

The third phase, slated for August was scheduled for Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Imo, Lagos, Ogun, Edo and Rivers states.

Unfortunately, the exercise has dragged on till yesterday and could perhaps, still be extended again.

The last phase, perhaps has elicited more reactions and controversies.

Knocks for INEC Many Nigerians have lashed out at INEC for its inability to conduct a credible PVCs distribution exercise, expressing concerns with its readiness for next year’s polls.

Since its commencement, controversy has trailed the third phase of the PVCs distribution in Adamawa, Edo, Imo, Kano, Lagos, Ogun and Plateau states.

The criticisms have often been loudest in states controlled by the opposition All

Progressives Congress, APC, as it has accused INEC of “merging” with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to disenfranchise voters.

For instance, Niger State APC, recently told Nigerians that over a million names of registered voters were missing from INEC’s register. It said majority of those affected are its members.

APC spokesman in the state, Jonathan Vatsa, specifically stated that voters in several local governments, including Shiroro and Gbako could not find their details on INEC’s systems.

Civil societies kick Many civil society groups, which had often worked with INEC as observers, have also risen in condemnation of what was seen as the commission’s ineptitude.

Speaking under the aegis of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, the groups expressed concern that the distribution of PVCs and the conduct of the CVR in INEC’s third phase states of Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Imo, Lagos, Ogun and Rivers experienced serious glitches and complaints from citizens who have received very little infor-

mation on the exercise.

As at November 7, the exercise had been suspended in Rivers State and was just being partially conducted in Lagos and Imo States.

Lending credence to National Mirror’s observation in many states, the ‘Situation Room’ reported that “several registered voters or persons intending to register have turned up in centres across the states only to be turned back or find that there are no registration officials on ground to conduct the exercise.”

The situation heightened tension and apprehension among registered voters and potential voting registrants.

In Kano, Ogun and Plateau states where officials have been present, they have had fewer cards than the voters’ register, the group added.

More disturbing was the fact that INEC’s silence and inadequate information where provided, have increased confusion, fears of disenfranchisement and raises questions over the general election.

Despite repeated calls on INEC to immediately rectify the hitches in the PVCs distribution and CVR to ensure that no Nigerian is disenfranchised, nothing much has been achieved.

Poor training of personnel INEC personnel who are handling the exercise appear ill-trained and less motivated. This is an irony when considered in view of the fact that the commission has continued to hold series of training for various stakeholders in the electoral process. The commission’s personnel indeed need even more training.

From Abuja to Lagos, it is one story of lamentation about the chaos that has become associated with the processes or the other.

In many of the registration points, there were no signs that the exercise was on as officials were not on ground.

Where INEC personnel were on ground, their stock-in-trade in many of those areas was impatience as well as verbal abuses of registrants. Simply put, many of them worked under the kind of pressure that they had never been exposed to and so, even the slightest enquiry from the public got them agitated or flared up.

Fat purse, poor machines From the first to the third phase of the CVR exercise, one recurring decimal has been the use of obsolete computers by CONTINUED ON PAGE 45

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Politics

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Imo 2015: PDP must unite, work Politicians are incurable optimists, but how is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, viewing the threat from the opposition All progressives Congress, APC? I am very optimistic about the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Let me tell you, I am one of those who fashioned the opposition All progressives Congress, APC. Before we started the APC meetings, some of the meetings were held here in my office. One of the main reasons some of us supported the formation of APC was to have a strong opposition. We believed that for our democracy to move on fine, there has to be a very strong opposition and that was why we came together to form the APC. I am happy about it. I do not see opposition in terms of being a threat, of course it ought to be strong enough. It also helps to advance our democracy, it also helps PDP to look back and build up itself. If you allow PDP and other mushroom parties alone, those are no threat to PDP. There will be a lot of laxity on the part of PDP. PDP is forced to sit up when there is such a threat from APC. For me it is very very good for our democracy.

You once left the PDP to APC. At what point did you return to the PDP? I came back to the PDP when I felt that the very principles upon which we started the APC was no longer there; the principles were being lost and I felt this was not what we bargained for.

In 2007 when you were leaving office, it was thought that you would hand over power to a PDP candidate, but surprisingly, the Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA, took over from you, thereby allowing PDP to lose the state?

Well, it is a long story, very long story indeed. It was a combination of so many factors. The Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA, that succeeded me, was pushed up by the PDP. If you remember, there was no PPA in Imo State, it was still the same PDP. But I think it is a very long story like I said earlier, that had to do with the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, that had to do with the then Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, chairman, Professor Iwu. So, it was a culmination of events.

Will you say that there is no APC in Imo State now?

I would not say that there is no APC in Imo State.

So, where do you see Imo State going in 2015?

To be frank with you, over 70 per cent of active non politicians in Imo State are in PDP, that is the issue.

When you say 70 per cent of non politicians, who are you referring to? Are these the ones that have the voting power to take the decision in 2015?

Yes, they are going to make the voting decisions. What you will know about voting power and all that is that those people you see at the grassroots are controlled by the politicians. The voting power we know where it is.

It is not the few politicians that have the voting power, but the grassroots that have the voting power, but are still being controlled by these other people we are talking about. So, the issue is that in Imo State, most active non-politicians are in the PDP. But as I keep warning, PDP must come together, PDP must work hard in order to beat APC. It is not for any other thing, the power of incumbency is so much, you do not under estimate it, no matter how you deride an incumbent, he has a lot of inbuilt stability in him. He has a lot of funds available to him, he has a lot of structures that are available to him.

So, for you to beat him, you must work hard, and that is why I said that PDP in Imo State, must unite, come together, work hard and be focused in order to defeat the incumbent, it is not an easy affair.

Let’s go back to your days in office and how PPA succeeded you?

Chief Achike Udenwa, a former governor of Imo State and delegate to the just concluded and happenings in Imo State political terrain with GEORGE ORJI. Excerpts: PPA did not succeed me in the true sense of the word.

In name? Yes, but it was still PDP. I don’t have any regrets, but I have told you the issues then. The President then, the chairman of PDP and the chairman of INEC all had interest in the party. I have told you that there is need now for all of us in the PDP to close ranks and work for the success of the party. It is not a question of the aspirants, because right now the number of aspirants in PDP in the state are nearing 30. This is not healthy. The important thing is can these 30 gladiators come together? Only one of them can be governor. The unfortunate thing now is that this is the first time since 1999 that the PDP will be contesting an election in the state from the opposition, it is now a different ball game.

Is the equity charter still alive in the state?

This is a very delicate issue. Well, there has been no written down charter of equity or understanding or any zoning. But there has been the understanding.

When I became the governor in 1999 and I must say that the tendency for everybody then was looking up to Orlu to produce the governor, and that was how I emerged.

So, there is something, even though some people may not believe it, but it is there. In 2003, I had to go back, I was given a second term. Then in 2007 was when we had the constitution that you are talking about and we still insisted that the governor should come from Okigwe.

Now, Okigwe produced the governor. Then in 2011, the incumbent still got the PDP ticket but did not succeed.

That was how Orlu again produced the governor by default. So, we said it, as at today we look at equity, we look at what should be. Everybody thinks that Owerri should produce the next governor but unfortunately, there is no where it is written.

As the former governor of the state who performed well in office...

I have not said that, you are the one saying it.

But given what is happening in the state now, what is your rating about the state’s development?

I am not qualified to do the rating, it will be passing judgment on myself. It is others who have tested me, tested Ikedi Ohakim and tested Rochas Okorocha, that will make up their minds on who have done best for the state. So, am I in a position to rate? I say no. You must know that three of us operated at different times and under different circumstances; the environments were not the same, the income profile was not the same, so, there is actually no proper basis for assessment of the three of us.

Your former colleague-governors are all striving to go to the Senate, do you also share the same aspirations?

No, I am not contesting any elections to the Senate. I will try and play the role of a statesman and an elder to other younger politicians.

The National Conference took a number of far-reaching decisions that appear very difficult to implement, like state creation, what is the way out?

Yes, there are constitutional restraints and it is not bad that we have such restraints so that we do not have proliferation of states. But looking at the realities on the ground, you must know that there are certain areas that need special attention and you need to get strong stability of the states.

Nigeria is a heterogeneous society. Nigeria is not just made of Yoruba, Igbo or Hausas. There are quite a lot of other ethnic groups and in most of the states you have many other ethnic nations besides the major predomi-

Udenwa

THE POWER OF INCUMBENCY IS SO MU IT, NO MATTER HOW YOU DERIDE AN

BUILT STABIL

nant ones. In those states, you might have up to ten or twenty other minority groups and they usually do not have any say in the running of the states. At the national level, we talk about the domination of the minority, but when you get to the states you see larger minorities.

So, these were the trends the conference considered in coming out with the number of states, which we recommended. The recommendations were principally to make for stability.

Did you also consider the constitutional restraints that

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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A PUBLICATION OF NATIONAL MIRROR NEWSPAPERS

Omuma youths disrupt PVC distribution DENNIS NAKU,

PORT HARCOURT

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Members of the families of the late Pa. Steve Kasoro Kwakpovwe during the final burial rites in Ughelli in Delta State.

2015: Group campaigns against violence OSAHON JULIUS YENAGOA

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s the general election continue to gather momentum, a non-governmental organization, Stakeholders Democracy Network, has begun a campaign against violence amongst youths of the Niger Delta.The group, currently working across three states – Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta, organized a road walk, tagged, ‘Dawn in the Creek’ to sensitize the youth to the significance of peace in nation building.

Speaking to newsmen at Sagbama, the headquarters of Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Monday, Assistant Programmes Manager, SDN, Mrs. Brenda Bepeh, said the show was part of the group’s campaign against violence. She said the SDN had trained 21 youths from the three states on community film making.

She said the gesture was to change the negative narrative that youths of the region were synonymous with violence, kidnapping, sea piracy, pipeline vandalism and other social vices through community film-making.

Bepeh advised youths of the Niger Delta to channel their en-

ergies and resources toward positive thinking on how to resolve conflicts through non-violent means, shun negative influence during and after the 2015 polls.

One of the trained film makers, who is from Nembe Ogbolomabiri, in Nembe Local Gov-

ernment Area of Bayelsa, Jim Nengimote, commended the group for impacting positively on the youth.

Nengimote, who trained as a script writer, recalled that he had been a graduate for years without a job, saying his encounter with the

group had rekindled his hope in life.

The ‘Dawn in the Creek’ road show was attended by large number of youths, including men and women.The show featured film/ music festival, wrestling competition, interactive session and seminars.

Navy wants Red Cross to train troops on conflict resolution DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

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he Nigerian Navy said yesterday that it was engaging the services of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to train its personnel on international arms laws and conflict resolution.

The Commandant of the Nigerian Navy College (NNC), Onne, Commodore Atiku Abdulkadir, who disclosed this while declaring open the three-day training in Onne, Rivers State said the exercise would also focus on counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency.

Abdulkadir said the training would improve its personnel knowledge and proficiency on rules relating to their conduct,

when deployed to conflict areas.

He said, “All officers and trainees’ must be adequately informed on what their responsibilities are, when they find themselves in conditions and situations that they have to apply the impulse of this (international arms) law, appropriately.

“The armed forces; particularly, the navy is always involved in resolution of one conflict or the other; be it in direct conventional warfare and counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism.

“In all these, it is expected that personnel will be getting in contact, either with armed personnel who are no longer in capacity to continue to fight, or a civilian who acted against the law, and maybe carrying arms.

“So, we need to educate our

officers and men on how they should relate, and how they should behave in conflict and in resolution of conflict.”

Abdulkadir further said the naval headquarters sought help of ICRC on realisation of the need for the nation’s armed forces to act in line with International Humanitarian and Human Right Laws.

He said that newly graduated officers from the Nigerian Defence Academy and those on Direct Short Services Cadets would participate in the training.

In his address, team leader of ICRC Instructors and Head of Unit, Armed and Security Forces in Nigeria, Maj. Livinus Jatto (Rtd), said that there were international rules of engagement in modern warfare.

ouths in Omuma local government area of Rivers State have disrupted the on-going distribution of Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) in the area, over what they term their exclusion from the exercise.

It was gathered that some youths there prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC from carrying out the exercise which is ongoing in 12 local government areas across the state.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) , Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, last Thursday announced that the exercise will hold in only 12 of the 23 local government areas due to technical problems.

Our reporter learnt that the youths ‘ protest came on the background that those trained as ad hoc staff of INEC during the registration exercise in 2010 were not involved in the PVC exercise.

It was also learnt that the youths prevented the commission from carrying out the exercise in the 130 units in the local government, saying those who were part of the exercise in 2010 must be involved in the PVC distribution.

During the protest, neither casualty nor destruction of property was recorded.

Reacting to the development, the State INEC Public Relations Officer, Tonia Amaobi said the commission was expected to meet with community heads and the Caretaker Committee Chairman yesterday with a view to addressing the issue.

Amaobi noted that the commission insisted on using National Youth Service Corp, NYSC members for the exercise for effective and efficient distribution of the PVC, regretting that about five years ago, authorities of the NYSC stopped deploying corpers to the area, following the kidnapped of five female corpers in 2010.

She explained that the local government area has about 130 units and that it required about 200 staff to man the positions.

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Rivers: INEC extends PVC distribution in 12 LGA’s DENNIS NAKU, PORT HARCOURT

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he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has extended the distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC’s in 12 Local government Areas of Rivers State.

This is as the State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr. Owene Wonodi has expressed annoyance over the none distribution of the PVC’s in ward one, units seven, eight and nine and ten of Egumabali hall in D/Line axis of Port Harcourt local government area.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC of INEC, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak who disclosed this said the extension only affects local governments where the exercise began on Friday, November 28, 2014.

Ikoiwak said the extension was to enable the commission make up for the delays in its distribution to the areas concerned.

He listed the 12 affected lga’s as, Obio/Akpor, Etche, Oyigbo, Tai, Phalga, Okrika, Onelga, Ikwerre, Opobo, Khana and Gokana and Emuoha, even as he assured residents of the areas that all those who registered would get their PVC’s.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Commissioner for Youths Development, Owene Wonodi has expressed annoyance over the none distribution of the PVC’s in ward one, unit seven, eight and nine and ten of Egumabali hall in D/Line axis of Port Harcourt local government area.

Wonodi said that despite earlier promises by INEC to make the PVC’s available, it has failed to do so, wondering why among the wards in Port Harcourt city, only the four units in ward one were yet to be issued with the PVC’s.

“Since Friday, we (people of the area) have been told that our materials have not arrived. This morning (Sunday), the same thing. We were told that we should go and come back again tomorrow (Monday).

He said that the people of ward one will resist any attempt

by INEC to disenfranchise them.

According to them,”The people here are not happy about the development and some of them are begining to smell a rat that among all the wards in Phalga, why is it that its only ward one that have not received the PVC materials.

“I will not conclude that this is a ploy to disenfranchise people from performing their civic rights. We are only been careful that the romours making the

rounds are not true.

“But If that is the case, we will not find it funny because there is a high level of awareness and consciousness amongst people here. We will resist any such attempt here and i will join the people in

doing that,” Wonodi said.

When National Mirror visited Egumabali hall in ward one, D/Line, about 9am on Monday, hundreds of residents were seen waiting for the arrival of INEC staff.

One of the residents who

gave her name as Josephine told our reporter she and others have been reporting at the unit to collect their PVC since last Friday, but that no INEC had come to attend to them.

She said,” My brother, I am tired of coming here. They

told us to come and collect our Voters’ card since lastv Friday, but till today (Monday) nobody is coming to attend to us. Commissioner came the other day and advised us to be patient. So, we are still waiting.”

Supporters at a reception rally for Umana Umana in Akwa Ibom State recently.

PDP elders seek cancellation of primaries in Akwa Ibom ENOBONG MICHAEL, UYO

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takeholders and elders of the People’s Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State have called for cancellation of the House of Assembly party’s primary elections in the state.

The stakeholders, elders, and aspirants said that the sudden change in venue in the pretext of forestalling any security breach in the state constituencies where the primaries was to be held, was enough condition for cancellation of the outcomes of the primaries in line with the party’s guidelines.

Former Petroleum Minister and member, Board of Trustees, PDP, Chief Don Etiebet, on Monday, expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the party’s House of Assembly primaries .

Etiebiet lamented lack of internal democracy in the state, especially as the national PDP headquarters have failed to listen to the cries of stakeholders and elders in Akwa Ibom State. He said, “I am not satisfied with what happened on Saturday in the guise

of holding PDP primaries in the state. My position arises from the fact that, right from the beginning of the process leading to Saturday’s exercise I had raised questions on the credibility of the process.“Internal democracy has been trampled upon in Akwa Ibom State. We do not understand what is happening to PDP in the state. Things cannot continue this way; the people’s rights to choose their leaders have been denied.”

Former deputy governors in Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Chris Ekpenyong and Nsima Ekere, have also condemned the conduct of the state house of assembly primaries.In a petition to PDP Special Planning Committee for Akwa Ibom State, signed by Ekpeyong and former PDP State Chairman, Mr. Essien Ibok, rejected the holding of the House of Assembly primaries at MOPOL Base in Ukana, Essien Udim LGA. They stated that the arrangement contravened the PDP Constitution, which stipulates that the party’s primaries, must be held at the headquarters of the constituency.Ekere said the ar-

rangement was flawed since the list of delegates that were announced by the state-based radio station was not in tandem with the original list of delegates that had already been submitted.

“Since they used a list which route we do not know, whatever comes out of the primaries is automatically faulty,” he said.

Meanwhile, seven aspirants in the race from Uruefong Oruko State Constituency have protested the conduct of People’s Democratic Party primaries election into the state house of assembly.

The six aspirants that include Messrs. Ita Okpoyo; Edet Bassey; Paul Akaiso; Etifit Nkereuwem; Emmanuel Ating; Esin Otong, and a PDP elder in the area, Chief Okon Offong, described the conduct of Saturday’s primaries election into the state house of assembly as farce and complete rape on democracy.

Okpoyo, who is the immediate past assistant legal adviser to PDP in the state and aspirant, said the party office where the primaries election was supposed to be conducted was locked up.

He stated that all the aspirants

had been ambushed as the purported primaries election was being conducted in Uyo stadium, they and their supporters, were in Uruefong Oruko PDP headquarters waiting for the arrival of materials from the state party headquarters in Uyo. “What we have seen on Saturday is a complete rape on democracy. Until October 20, 2014, I was the assistant legal adviser of PDP in this state: the law on the conduct of primaries election is very clear.

“The Electoral Law 2010 as amended clearly provides that the conduct of any primaries must be held in the headquarters of that area where the aspirants hail.

“If it is the House of Representatives, it must be the headquarters of the Federal Constituency, and if it is the Senate, it must be the headquarters of the senatorial district of that area.

“There is no proviso of any kind that says you can take it to anywhere. The party chairman, of this state, Mr. Paul Ekpo, purportedly changed the venue from Urue Offong/Oruko to Uyo stadium.

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Views

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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The legal challenge of Nigeria’s insurgency FEMI FALANA Continued from last Thursday

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f the abducted 276 Chibok girls, 219 are still in captivity. More women and school girls have been kidnapped by the sect. For instance, when Mubi in Adamawa State was recently attacked, about 350 children were declared missing. But despite the increasing deadly attacks of the sect, the National Assembly has not deemed it fit to hold a special joint sitting on the threat to the corporate existence of the nation.

On its own part, the Council of State, which met in Abuja on November 4, 2014, commended President Jonathan’s handling of the war on terror. According to Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, the “Council was satisfied that the Defence Ministry and all the other agencies have taken the right steps and the President is on course and we are very hopeful that sooner or later Nigerians will hear good news.”

Meanwhile, the genuine demand of the members of the armed forces for equipment and payment of salaries and operational allowances is considered treasonable by the military authorities. Twelve out of the soldiers who took part in the protest against the General Officer Commanding the 7 Division, Nigeria Army, Maiduguri, have been tried for mutiny and sentenced to death. Scores of others are currently undergoing trial for mutiny before courtsmartial.

The Legal Challenge

The arrogance of the ruling class enshrined in section 2 of the Constitution to the effect that Nigeria is “one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state” has been exposed to ridicule by the terrorists. However, in exercise of his powers under section 305 of the Constitution (as amended), President Jonathan imposed a state of emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to restore law and order. The implication of emergency rule is that the fundamental rights of privacy of homes and correspondence, religion, thought and conscience, freedom of expression, assembly and movement enshrined in sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution may be justifiably encroached upon in the interest of defence, public safety and public order (Section 45 of the Constitution).

However, notwithstanding the war on terror, Nigerian judges have continued to uphold the fundamental rights of Nigerians. In Babankura Fugu v. President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Borno State High Court awarded N100 million damages to the applicant to atone for the extra judicial murder of his father, an alleged terrorist suspect. In the same vein, in Hadiza Bala Usman & Ors. v. Inspector-General of Police (unreported), the Federal Capital Territory High Court declared illegal and unconstitutional the decision of controversial AIG Joseph Mbu, to ban the rally staged daily by the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners.

Since the neo-colonial state has failed to provide for the “security and welfare of the people” as required by section 14(2) of the Constitution, the terrorists have overrun the north east region. No doubt, the military authorities are embarrassed that sol-

THERE IS NO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION FOR PROSECUTING SOLDIERS, WHO

DEMAND ADEQUATE EQUIPMENT TO FIGHT TERRORISM diers vamoose at the sight of the terrorists.

But instead of charging those soldiers with mutiny, the defence chiefs ought to have asked the Federal Government to comply with Section 217(2) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the federation shall “equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective” for the defence of Nigeria from external aggression and the maintenance of its territorial integrity.

It is submitted that there is no legal justification for prosecuting soldiers, who demand adequate equipment to fight terrorism. Since the soldiers are entitled to their fundamental right to life guaranteed by section 33 of the Constitution, they have a duty not to commit suicide by fighting the well equipped terrorists with obsolete weapons.

Therefore, it is illegal and unconstitutional on the part of any court-martial to convict and sentence soldiers to death for demanding weapons to fight the terrorists.

To fight the scourge of insurgency, Nigerians should demand a wholesale re-organization of the armed forces and a probe of the huge funds earmarked for the nation’s defence in the last five years. The National

Assembly should ensure that the $1 billion loan recently approved for the purchase of military hardware is judiciously utilized by the Federal Government. The members of the Joint Task Force should be motivated through training as well as prompt payment of their salaries and allowances.

Those who lose their lives in the battlefield deserve to be accorded decent burials in a cemetery reserved for heroes, while their family members are promptly paid their entitlements.

The Federal Government should, without any further delay, dislodge the terrorists from the 16 local government areas illegally occupied by them. In view of the patriotic role of the civilian Joint Task Force in liberating and securing some towns in the occupied territories, the youths in the north east region should be mobilized to flush out the terrorists from their communities. While we advocate that the armed forces be adequately funded, we suggest that the three tiers of governments should religiously implement the policy on the provision of compulsory and free universal basic education for every Nigerian child. They should also embark on genuine empowerment programmes and job creation for our army of unemployed youths.

Finally, the FG should withdraw completely from religious affairs.

Concluded Falana (SAN), a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, recently delivered this abridged text at the 7th Annual Professor D.A. Ijalaiye Distinguished Personality Lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Karis Award, Okotie and unsung Nigerians NGOZI ADIGHIBE

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nce again, the Household of God International Church, ministry of the Pastor-Politician, Rev. Chris Okotie, will on Sunday, December 14, 2014, roll out the drums to celebrate the Church’s popular Grace programme, a charity outreach that is held every year.

GRACE, the acronym for God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense, was conceived in 1990 by the highly resourceful Reverend-cum musician, to support some charitable organizations.

From inception, four organisations were selected and have been retained ever since, namely; the Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted, Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, the Strong Tower Mission and Sunshine Foundation, and have each been given cash donations (now increased to N1 million), to support their work.

However, in 1996, the event took a new dimension in that Rev. Okotie added the Karis Award to the cash donations to the four selected charitable organizations, as his own way of celebrating Nigerians, dead or alive, whose contributions are perceived not adequately acknowledged or even not at all acknowledged by the ruling political class. For this purpose, a cash reward of N1 million is also set aside yearly.

The award is said to be borne out of

Okotie’s patriotism and the need to foster national unity and zeal, and the decision of who the yearly recipient should be is without any religious, political, geo-political or tribal or social bias. The substantiation of this claim can be seen from the diversity of the previous Karis awardees, the chairmen and special guests of honour of the GRACE events. A statement released by the Church has stated that “Nigerians from different walks of life, different faiths, tribes, political leanings, geo-political zones and social backgrounds, had either been conferred with the Karis Award or chaired or graced the Events in past.

“The GRACE Event is fully sponsored by the Church, meaning there is no fundraising before or during the event. We have never asked any invitee to donate money to our Church for GRACE event or for any other reason, although some who wanted to identify with and support what our Church had been doing through the programme had, out of their own volition, done so in the past for which we expressed our gratitude”. It also stressed that there were no religious or political strings attached to receiving the award or donations as recipients are not requested to attend or be affiliated with the church.

The annual GRACE event is thus one of the Church’s ways of giving back to the society and encouraging patriotism and excellence among Nigerians.

This year’s marks the 24th anniversary

THIS YEAR’S AWARDEE, THE LATE MRS. BEATRICE IBENEME (NEE OKEBUGWU), WAS THE PIONEER FEMALE POLICE WOMAN

of the GRACE Event and the 18th anniversary of the Karis Award. Through them many lives from different parts of our nation and different occupations have been positively touched.

This year’s awardee, the late Mrs. Beatrice Ibeneme (nee Okebugwu), was the pioneer female police woman with enlistment No. 001. The Church appears to be looking in the direction of women in the armed services, as last year’s awardee is also the first one-star general in the Nigerian Air force, Air Commordore Habiba Ruth Garba. This rare privilege of seeking out women for recognition is in line with the spirit of our various governments appointing women into top positions in the cabinet, judiciary and, even the armed forces. In the private sector, we now have women who run banks, Ivy League institutions and other strategic corporate bodies.

The unfolding relevance of Rev. Okotie’s concept of the GRACE programme and the Karis Award at this auspicious

time in Nigeria is the foresight of placing emphasis on the reward of integrity and selfless service. What better values for promotion at a time Nigeria is grappling with the challenge of pervasive corruption and criminalities.

One visitor, who accompanied a Karis Award recipient during a previous event expressed fascination at the general ambience of the venue. Referring to the vast number of Christmas lights which adorned the entire vicinity, she claimed that it was the best celebration of Christmas she had ever seen anywhere in the country. As the Church, which also backs the Gideon Bible ministry annually, again plays host to Nigerians from all works of life, the world looks forward to seeing more of this special celebration of the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev. Okotie, the chief host, has always said that “greatness does not consist in being great, but in the ability to make others great”. This line of thought may be another galvanizing reason for the evolution of such a laudable project that seems to improve with each passing year.

Adighibe wrote from Lagos.

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.

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BEN MEMULETIWON

GENERAL EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA

COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

CALLISTUS OKE

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

ISE-OLUWA IGE

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

FIDELIS LEMCHI OWOAMANAM

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, S/SOUTH

GABRIEL SUNDAY

ACTING HEAD, GRAPHICS

2015 and invasion of Lagos APC office

T

he history of partisan politics in Nigeria since the nation attained independence on October 1, 1960 is replete with saddening memories. Many Nigerians are not only still traumatized, but cannot but shudder at the prospect of liberal democracy in the land. To some, politics is another name for the licence politicians procure that enables them to engage in all manner of irresponsible acts; a painful indication that no lessons have been learned by the political elite from the country’s unflattering past political experiences, especially during the civilian era. Less than three months to the 2015 general elections, a pall of tension is menacingly hanging over the land, oozing from nefarious intra-party activities and inter-party fissures over mostly self-serving agitations. Contributing to the heat are the unprofessional conducts of some of the nation’s security agencies, who have refused to draw a neat line between national and partisan interests; as the Saturday, November 22, 2014 raid by a combined team of men of the Department of State Security (DSS) and OP-MESA (a joint internal security operational platform constituted by the military and Nigeria Police) on the Bola Ajibola Street, Ikeja, Lagos data centre of the All Progressives Congress (APC) strongly portrayed.

In the operation that lasted

over two hours, 25 of the party’s data agents and three security guards were arrested. In addition, computer software and hardware used at the centre, including server; hard drives; hard copies of already captured data and flash drives, were all carted away by the security operatives. The operation became necessary, according to Marilyn Ogar, the spokesperson of the DSS, because the agency received a petition linking the main opposition party with the cloning of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Permanent Voters’ Card (PVCs) with the intention of hacking into the apex electoral body’s data base to compromise its stored data. Ogar said the operation was ordered after surveillance on the building by the DSS confirmed that, indeed, “some unwholesome activities were going on in the building”. Quite expectedly, the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, denied the DSS allegation, insisting instead that the act was part of a ploy by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to intimidate the opposition ahead of the 2015 general elections.

We must admit that the allegations the DSS levied against APC are weighty enough. It is imperative, therefore, that concrete proofs be provided to justify the sting operation. Otherwise, the operation stands condemned. The

December 2, 1980 Four American nuns and churchwomen, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel, were murdered by a death squad in El Salvador. The armed squad conducted extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of persons for the purposes of political repression, genocide or revolutionary terror. The killings were often carried out in ways meant to ensure the secrecy of the killers’ identities.

VARIOUS INSIGHTS ARE POINTING TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE EXERCISE COULD BE MORE CONTENTIOUS THAN USUAL APC was on point when it said that only an independent inquiry would unravel the circumstances surrounding the operation. It may be said though that the DSS, as Nigeria’s primary domestic intelligence agency, acted constitutionally. There was also a semblance of adherence to due process by the agency when the inventory of all recovered items from the building was documented at the back of the Search Warrant, which was signed by the DSS team leader and witnessed by two of the APC staff on duty.

But an election year in the country has always witnessed the most bizarre of conducts by the ruling political class and their collaborators in the security community. Ahead of the 1983 general elections, for example, the then Inspector-General of Police, Sunday Adewusi, literarily handed over the Mobile Police unit of the Nigeria Police Force to the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

The decisive role this played in

ON THIS DAY December 2, 1993 Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, was shot and killed in Medellin. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (December 1, 1949 – December 2, 1993) was a wealthy Colombian drug lord and an elusive cocaine trafficker. In 1983, he had a short-lived career in Colombian politics. He was born in the town of Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia, the third of seven children to Abel de Jesus Dari Escobar and Hemilda Gaviria.

the victory of the NPN at the time was well documented. For the forthcoming 2015 general elections, various insights are pointing to the possibility that the exercise could be more contentious than usual.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) and the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), both Non-Governmental Organisations, recently identified tensions within and between the two major parties; inadequate preparations by INEC, as well as partisan inclinations of the security agencies as some of the factors pointing to the possibility of very volatile and vicious electoral contests next year. We agree no less.

Since it is generally acclaimed that the worst democratic government is better than its most benevolent military alternative, it is the responsibility of politicians to spare a thought on the future of Nigeria’s wobbling democracy.

To avert violent protests and possible breakdown of law and order before, during and after the polls, the heads of all the nation’s security agencies should quickly impose strict conduct codes on their personnel. The leaders of political parties should also play the game according to the rules and ensure a level playing field for all. Parties should submit to the regulatory prescriptions of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the statutory body that binds all political parties in Nigeria together.

December 2, 2001 Enron filed for ‘Chapter 11 bankruptcy’. Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities and services company based in Houston, Texas in the United States. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, it employed approximately 20,000 staff and was one of the world’s major electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper companies, with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion in 2000.

Business

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Experts chart way forward for Great Green Wall

‘Nigeria aviation industry still evolving’ 31

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Again, experts highlight need for terrorism, insecurity insurance cover 33 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 Oil vessel

Falling crude oil prices cast shadow over 2015 budget The volatile oil market was expected to witness some stability after the recent meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC in Vienna, Austria. UDEME AKPAN who reports that crude oil price would continue to fall, which would likely affect the ability of the nation to generate adequate foreign exchange for the execution of the 2015 budget.

W

hen members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC met in Vienna, Austria on November 27, 2014, many keen observers felt there would be a significant leap in the price of oil at least for a reason. The organisation was expected to cut its 30 million barrels per day output, thus causing part of the excess crude to be withdrawn from the market which is said to have been over-supplied.

But that was not to be. The organisation resisted all pressures to effect the cut for some reasons.

First, the decision was taken mainly because of the awareness that non-member states, es-

pecially United States and Middle East nations now have the capacity to flood the market with commercial crude oil. Second, members of OPEC felt it would not make sense to effect a cut in its output as that would not culminate in a significant impact on the global oil market.

It also took a look at other issues. HE Abdourhman Ataher Al-Ahirish, Libyan Vice Prime Minister for Corporations stated that the Conference reviewed the oil market outlook, as presented by the Secretary General, in particular supply/demand projections for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2015, with emphasis on the first half

of the year. He reported that the Conference considered forecasts for the world economic outlook and noted that the global economic recovery was continuing, albeit very slowly and unevenly spread, with growth forecast at 3.2per cent for 2014 and 3.6per cent for 2015.

“The Conference noted, importantly, that, although world oil demand is forecast to increase during the year 2015, this will, yet again, be offset by the projected increase of 1.36 mb/d in nonOPEC supply. The increase in oil and product stock levels in OECD countries, where days of forward cover are comfortably above the five-year average, coupled with

the on-going rise in non-OECD inventories, are indications of an extremely well-supplied market,” he stated.

He stated the Conference concurred that stable oil prices – at a level which did not affect global economic growth but which, at the same time, allowed producers to receive a decent income and to invest to meet future demand – were vital for world economic wellbeing. Al-Ahirish stated that in the interest of restoring market equilibrium, the Conference decided to maintain the production level of 30.0 mb/d, as was agreed in December 2011.

“As always, in taking this decision, Member Countries confirmed their readiness to respond to developments which could have an adverse impact on the maintenance of an orderly and balanced oil market. Agreeing on the need to be vigilant givCONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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 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

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Business

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Falling crude oil prices cast shadow over 2015 budget CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 en the uncertainties and risks associated with future developments in the world economy, the Conference directed the Secretariat to continue its close monitoring of developments in supply and demand, as well as non-fundamental factors such as speculative activity, keeping Member Countries fully briefed on developments,” he stated.

He stated that the Conference appointed Dr. Bernard Mommer, Venezuelan Governor for OPEC, as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the year 2015, and Mr. Ahmed Messili, Algerian Governor for OPEC, as Alternate Chairman for the same period, with effect from 1st January 2015. He stated that the Conference decided to extend the tenure of HE Abdalla S. El-Badri as Secretary General for a further period of six months, until 31st December 2015. The organisation also stressed the need to engage stakeholders, especially non-OPEC producers and consumers in a continuous dialogue targeted at reducing output and undue speculation.

Expectedly, the price of crude has continued to witness dramatic fall at the volatile market mainly because many stakeholders who are aware of the conversation have not yet complied. For instance, the price of Brent crashed from about $75 to $70 per barrel over the weekend, showing three dollars below the nation’s $73 per barrel of the 2015 budget. The price of OPEC basket also crashed from over $73 to $70 per barrel.

This development has impacted negatively on many oil countries, especially Nigeria whose economic planners thought the $73 per barrel reference price was good enough for the 2015 budget. In the past few weeks, the Federal Government has adopted various reference prices for its budget because of the sad realities at the global market. The crude oil price was first pegged at $78 per barrel. Later, the government adopted $75 per barrel before reviewing it further to $73 per barrel.

The continued lull has attracted the comments of many stakeholders. For instance, the Managing Director of Cowey Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu who has been watching developments at the volatile market stated that it is a wake-up call on member states, especially Nigeria to diversify their economic bases. “The development shows that a time has come for us to look beyond oil in the generation of our foreign exchange.

We cannot depend on oil alone especially now that OPEC has lost its monopoly to determine what happens in the market,” he stated.

The National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Colman Obasi stated that the nation and others need to use tier oil revenues to stimulate the development of other sectors of their economies. “We have the oil but the oil would not last forever. Now that the oil flows, we should use the oil money to develop other sectors, especially agriculture and solid minerals,” he stated.

Investigations showed that the Federal Government may be compelled to adopt

Alison-Maduekwe

Okonjo-Iweala

THE CONFERENCE NOTED, IMPORTANTLY, THAT, ALTHOUGH WORLD OIL DEMAND IS FORECAST TO INCREASE DURING

2015, THIS WILL, YET AGAIN, BE OFFSET THE YEAR

BY THE PROJECTED

1.36 MB/D IN NON-OPEC INCREASE OF SUPPLY new measures; including further downward review of the present budget reference price should crude oil price crashed beyond expectation. “The 2015 budget is a project in progress. We can still make a few changes based on the need to do so,” a ministry of finance source stated.

A few days ago, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, raised hope that the government has the capacity to manage this and other related issues.

Specifically, she expressed the readiness of the government to effectively manage the economy in the face of falling oil prices. The minister stated that appropriate fiscal and monetary strategies would be adopted to cope with the potential risks.

She said sundry fiscal measures, including setting a target of increasing the nonoil revenues by N480bn within the next three years and introduction of tax reliefs for capital market operators are being considered to mitigate the negative effect of the dwindling export oil earnings on the macro economy.

The minister stated that contrary to some misgivings in some section of the public that the Nigerian government was not prepared for the shocks the drop in oil prices could cause the economy; the

Dawah

minister said that the current crisis in the global oil market was foreseen far before it occurred. She recalled the various fiscal initiatives taken over the past decade, including the creation of the Excess Crude Account, ECA, which had savings in excess of over $22bn in the 2008-2009 global economic depression, saying that the idea of having a fiscal buffer to mitigate impact of dropping oil prices as being witnessed now has never been lost to government.

She explained that even when the ECA had been drawn down remarkably, the National Economic Management Team, NEMT, was fully conscious of the implications of the mono-product base of the economy with crude oil export accounting for about 70 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and therefore working on short to medium term strategies to cope with the current situation.

The minister who agreed that there will be tough times ahead for the country to effectively respond to the risks posed by the drop in crude exports earnings, allayed fears that the country may not survive, adding that based on extensive discussions with international experts within the context of emerging developments in the global oil market, the NEMT had three scenario based approach to arrive at $73

oil benchmark price for the 2015 budget.

The minister stated that even if the oil prices fell below the proposed benchmark, the NEMT could still use $70, $65 or even $60 benchmark oil price for the 2015 budget without the economy crumbling as some critics of the measures unveiled a few days ago had predicted. She stated, “Panic is not a strategy. We are managing the situation to keep the economy on a stable sustainable course and we will not listen to those who want us to throw up our hands in despair and give up. Our scenario based-approach to managing the impact of the oil price drop is proactive and comprehensive. Even if the price drops to 60 dollars, we are ready.”

“The common man is a priority in our strategy for the fall in oil price. His interests are a priority. That’s why even in implementing cuts in capital budget for 2015, the areas that are of most benefit to the common man, critical infrastructural projects like the Lagos Ibadan expressway, the second Niger Bridge, rail and power projects etc which will create jobs and enhance the comfort of our people will go on,” she stated.

“This pro-common man focus can also be seen in the safety nets which is a major priority for the President. The projection is for two to three million families across Nigeria will benefit from a conditional cash transfer scheme to encourage school attendance, improve health and nutrition, reduce infant and maternal mortality, and so on”, the minister added.

The minister stressed government’s determination to continue to explore nonoil revenue sources to boost the revenue accruals, including a renewed drive to ensure improved filing of tax returns by SMEs and increasing audit checks from the present three to four times yearly to as many as times as possible to reduce tax revenue losses to government. The minister noted that that the FIRS surpassed its initial revenue collection projection in 2014 budget by N65 bn this year. She stated that with its target raised to N168 billion in the 2015 budget, it was projected that within the next three years the agency could generate about $3bn additional revenues to government.

She stated that as part of renewed focus on increasing tax revenues to mitigate the impact of the fall in oil prices, the FIRS was working with Mckinsey to ensure that the set non-oil revenue collection target is realised. Okonjo-Iweala stated that the government would continue to cut administrative budgets remarkably and ensure that MDAs operate more transparently in the management of public funds by plugging all loopholes of wastages and unnecessary overhead expenditures.

However, some observers, including a Port Harcourt-based energy analyst, Mr. Bala Zaka has called on the Federal Government to work towards passing the nation’s Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB into law in order to attract more investors into the petroleum industry. They argued that massive investments would culminate in increased output and revenue which should be utilised to diversify the nation’s mono-economic base.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business News

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Nigeria agric earnings expected to hit targets $263bn in 2030 SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE

E

arnings from Nigeria’s agricultural sector are expected to double in the next 15 years, according to a recent report released by McKinsey.

In the report, earnings projections from the sector would double from $112bn in 2013 to $263bnin 2030.

The report shows that while the nation’s rich-oil reserves remain a critical source of government’s income as well as exports, the nation’s entire resource component is put at 14 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with agriculture witnessing a faster growth.

Reacting to the project, a Nigerian-born researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture Research Service,

Chika Nwugo said, such indicator about Nigeria’s agro-economic prospects would be based on structured, concerted, focused and impactful regimes of reforms, which the sector has undergone in the last three years.”

According to him, “These reforms have suddenly brought Nigeria into international reckoning as a viable investment destination for agribusinesses.”

He noted that Nigeria’s reputation as a credible agro-investment destination has grown further as evidenced by the recent report from Inform Group, one of the organizers of Agra-Innovate Conference and Exhibition in Nigeria.

Nwugo disclosed this during the maiden edition of the conference held recently in Lagos, where local, international agribusiness and allied investors converged to deliberate on the development of agric sector, es-

pecially the yet-to-be-tapped aspects.

Director of Agra Innovate Project, David Ross said, Nigeria is endowed with agricultural resources, which other countries can depend on.

“The profound reconstruction and modernization of Nigerian agriculture, being undertaken under the current leadership of the country has gathered respect throughout Africa and the wider world”, Ross said, According to him, Nigeria is being looked upon, not with pity, but with eyes panned at learning a thing or two from largely succeeding agricultural policies.

“Africa now looks up to Nigeria. For example, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and a few others are copying the GES. African Union recently adopted it as standard replication across countries”, he added.

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Austerity measures ploy to pauperise citizens –NUPENG MESHACK IDEHEN

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he Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, said it is worried about the new imposition of austerity measures as announced by the Federal Government over falling oil prices.

According to the union, the austerity measure is another ploy to further pauperise the downtrodden masses of this country, because past austerity measures like the Structural Adjustment Progamme, SAP, only brought untold hardship on the people.

President of NUPENG, Mr Igwe Achese, told National Mirror that the union condemns the latest austerity measures because the Federal Government should have been prepared long before now for any shock to the nation’s economy.

He said NUPENG wants to know what happened to the excess crude account, which could be used to cushion the effect of the economic shock as a result of the drastic drop in oil sales in the international market.

The NUPENG president said the union is calling on the Federal Government to look beyond oil, as

the government cannot continue to run the economy of this country basically on proceeds from oil to execute the budget.

Nigeria, the oil and gas workers union said, is blessed with a lot of solid minerals that have remained untapped for years. The country also have abundant farm produce, like cocoa, palm produce and other agricultural products that would generate employment and foreign exchange but lying idle because of over dependence on oil, it added.

The union noted that even the country’s crude oil has over 70 by-products that have not been tapped and yet the government is panicking because of low sales of crude oil.

“The union calls on our policy makers to go back to the drawing board and develop new strategies beyond oil to revamp the economy.

It is a shame that only rhetoric’s has become the order of the day, instead of tapping these unharnessed resources”.

According to NUPENG, over taxing the people at this point in time will not do any good, when the economy is in shambles. The solution is to develop other natural resources for revenue generation, Achese said.

Expert advocates special dept to combat loan defaults in MFBs

T L-R: Chairman, Senate committee on Agriculture, Senator Emmanuel Buacha; Zonal Manager , Bank of Industry, Mrs. Bisi Ajayi; Minister of Agriculture and rural development Dr. Akinwunmi Ayodeji, and Chairman, Honeywell group of companies, Oba Otudeko, during the handing over of equipment to Master Bakers by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Bank of Industry in Abuja recently.

he Managing Director of Future Growth Microfinance Bank, Abuja, Mrs Frances Becky, has advocated the establishment of special arm of government to combat loan defaults in Microfinance Banks (MFBs).

Becky told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Lagos that microfinance banks’ 45.70 per cent Portfolio-At-

Deloitte to race Saudi regulator’s ban on audit work

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eloitte LLP may be blocked from auditing companies in Saudi Arabia after the country’s market regulator told firms registered in the kingdom to stop using its local services, according to a circular obtained by Bloomberg.

The Capital Market Authority said in the circular dated November 27 that publicly traded companies it regulates should avoid working with Deloitte’s Saudi Arabian practice as of June 1.

The ban could be revoked if Deloitte resolves a dispute the regulator didn’t specify, according to the circular. The dispute

relates to Deloitte’s audit work for Mohammad Al-Mojil Group (MMG), a construction-industry services provider based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

Deloitte operates in the kingdom as Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co., and has had a practice there for more than 50 years, according to its website.

It audits some of the country’s largest companies, including state-owned Saudi Telecom Co. and Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. The kingdom, the largest Arab economy, is tightening rules on corporate governance

as it plans to open its $520 billion stock market to foreigners next year. The CMA, as the regulator is known, last month started a probe to determine if Etihad Etisalat Co. violated rules after the telecommunications company blamed auditing errors for a drop in profit that led to a stock market sell-off.

The notice on Deloitte was sent by the CMA’s Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes, the circular said.

The possible ban would apply to publicly traded companies or those seeking to join the stock market, according to the circular.

The CMA has filed a case

against Al-Mojil officials, who were there between 2008 and 2011 during its initial public offering, the regulator said on November 11. During that period Deloitte acted as an auditor to the company, also known as MMG. MMG shares haven’t traded since July 2012 when they were suspended after losses triggered mandatory reporting rules that it didn’t fulfill.

Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair declined to comment, while the CMA didn’t respond to calls or an e-mail requesting comment. A spokesman for MMG in Dammam also declined to comment.

Risk (PAR) in 2013 needed quick intervention to prevent a repeat.

She said what this means was that the Non-Performing-Loans (NPLs) held by the sub-sector was 45.70 per cent. ‘‘This figure also put depositors’ confidence and the 220 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) at risk,” she said.

The managing director said that although the 2013 figure was a decline from the 61.9 per cent of 2012, the percentage was not healthy for the survival of the sector.

She stressed that the special department would adjudicate expeditiously on matters concerning loans default in the sector.

She added that if adequate measures were not put in place to tackle the menace, it could force many of the outfits to windup.

Becky also advocated extensive sensitisation of the sector by the regulatory bodies, especially the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). ‘‘Intensive orientation, through continuous training of clients and customers of microfinance banks by the operators should be undertaken by regulatory bodies.’’

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Business News

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

E-product registration will enhance international best practice, says SON FRANCIS EZEM

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he Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has said that its decision to introduce the electronic products registration for all regulated products was in line with its efforts at enthroning a regime international best practice in the nation’s supply chain.

The director-general of the regulatory agency, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who spoke in Lagos, disclosed that apart conforming to international best practice, the electronic product registration is also in tandem with the recent introduction of electronic banking in Nigeria, which would among other factors promote trade.

He noted that the philosophy behind the electronic banking regime as well as the electronic product registration was to enable stakeholders carryout out such transactions at their own time, conveniently and with less

human contact, which makes the entire process efficient and seamless.

“The improvements that SON has made in recent times including e-products registration, e-invoice, among several other are in keeping with global practices. We have not invented any of these innovations. Genuine international players welcome the developments which we expect their Nigerian counterparts to more readily embrace because that’s where the world is headed”, he said.

“The thinking behind e-banking is behind e-products registration: do it at your convenience, any time, day and wherever. So why would genuine players not embrace something so positive?” , he wondered.

It was gathered that with eproducts registration, agents can easily ascertain when an importer is bringing in fake product because if the agent checks the portal, he immediately finds the genuine importer.

Investigations however showed that many of the agents do not do that, as some stakeholders believe that the first consideration should be on finding the genuineness of the product and importer before accepting the contract or the job.

It was also gathered that many clearing agents claim that the importers do not always tell them the truth about the genuineness of the content of the consignments they are given to clear, a claim that has been faulted by most regulatory agencies, which insist that most of the time, the agents know and charge higher for such ‘bad jobs’.

The SON-boss, who took a swipe at some agents, who prefer to clear the bad consignments, said there had been cases where importers walk up to officers and men of the organisation to report other importers who are about to bring in fake and substandard products but that no agent has done that.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Airtel to make 60 Nigerians millionaires ISAIAH ERHIAWARIEN

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irtel Nigeria has launched the second edition of the consumer promo Airtel Red Hot promo, which created lifechanging opportunities for scores of Airtel customers to become instant millionaires last year.

For the second edition, the operator said it has raised the bar by offering a star prize of a brand new 2015 Range Rover saying the promo will produce one winner of one million naira daily while 100 lucky customers will each win N10,000 daily for 60 days, through electronic draws.

According to a statement from company, Eevery customer that participates in the promo stand the chance of winning the star prize at the end of the promo adding that these exciting prizes, will include smart phones that will be given to 100 lucky customers every week as well as free airtime to over 5,000 customers.

Africa converges on Lagos for Social Media Award

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L-R: Airtel’s Regional Operations Director (ROD), West, Mr. Segun Macaulay; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Head, Public Relations, Airtel, Adefemi Adeniran and Zonal Business Manager, West, Mr. Ekundayo Fatoki during the courtesy visit of Airtel CEO to the Governor in Ilorin at the weekend.

ISSAN calls for enactment of cybercrime law FRANKA OSAKWE

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he Information Security Society of Africa-Nigeria, ISSAN, has commended the Senate for passing the cybercrime bill and urged the House of Representative to also, as a matter of urgency, follow suit so that the law will be enacted before the expiration of the current Assembly.

Speaking at a workshop on cybercrime organised in Lagos by the society in collaboration with Digital Encode, an IT company, ISSAN President, Mr. David Isiavwe, described cybercrime as major threat to global economy with the world losing as much as $445bn annually.

According to him, the rate of

spread of cyber crime in the world far exceeds that of Ebola and population explosion, hence the need for urgent attention He stressed that cyber criminals are getting bolder and daring by the day and flourish in countries, especially in the developing world, where there are no appropriate laws to curb their activities.

In view of these, he urged the National Assembly to hasten up with the passage of the bill. “We are still waiting for the House of Reps to pass the bill. This is urgent and critical to enable Nigeria truly stand out as the Giant of Africa,” he said.

He also urged companies to work together toward improving the defense of their networks adding that this will lead to greater protection. “There need to be

greater and better tracking of cybercrime. Business and government need to have integrated, more intelligent solutions for better defenses in the network”, he added.

Also speaking at the workshop, the Managing Director of Digital Encode, Mr. Wale Obadare, expressed the need for corporate organisations to take the issue of information security more seriously as cybercriminals are ever more determined to hack into various IT devices to obtain vital information which could lead to the collapse of such corporate institutions.

He urged corporate bodies, both public and private, to invest in information security and be more alert so that they do not fall victims of cyber criminals.

Chief commercial officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Maurice Newa, stated that Airtel will continue to create platforms to enrich and empower its customers, noting that the Airtel Red Hot promo Season One was a success as it opened doors of fortune to new and existing customers.

He said: “The second edition is bigger and bolder with lots of goodies for Airtel customers. This is another opportunity for our customers to become instant millionaires while others will step up their style by winning smartphones and free talk time to chat with friends, family, business associates and loved ones.

“Airtel Red Hot promo is another unique way of showing appreciation all Airtel customers in Nigeria. In addition to the innovative products and services which the network offers them, the Red Hot promo presents them with opportunities to enrich their lives and achieve their dreams.”

ocial Media practitioners, enthusiasts, influencers and users from the African continent will converge on Lagos, Nigeria for the first Social Media Awards Africa on Friday and Saturday, December 5 - 6, 2014.

The event, which is powered

by Sterling Bank Plc, will kick off with a summit on Friday at the Event Centre, Alausa, Ikeja with the theme: Social Media for Governance, Leadership & Development, while the grand event, the Award presentation will hold on Saturday at BICS Garden, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

Most of the participants from Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia have started arriving in Lagos for the Award. Papers will be presented by Social Media experts across the globe.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola and the Minister for Communications & Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson are billed to attend the Social Media Summit and deliver the Host’s message, Partner’s Goodwill Message and Chief Host’s message respectively.

Topics for discussions at the Summit will include: Social Media and the Future of Africa; Trends and Implications for Business; Leadership And Development; Perspectives on Social Media; Brands and The Quest for Relevance; Social Worth and Social Media as a lever for Public Governance.

Visafone named best CDMA firm ISAIAH ERHIAWARIEN

V

isafone Communications Limited has won the CDMA Operator of the Year award at the just concluded AfriICTA 2014 awards ceremony.

Chairman of AfriICTA, Mr. Mkpe Abang, who presented the award said “Visafone was adjudged the CDMA Operator of the Year because of its resilience in the market in the face of stiff competition and a very harsh economic climate.”

He noted that the company has remained a dominant player in the deployment of high speed data and high quality voice services in the market place stress-

ing that in the intervening years since roll-out, the company has continued to grow phenomenally.

Responding, the Chief Executive Officer of Visafone, Mr. Srinivasa K.V. said “We are excited by this award which recognises the company as the CDMA Operator of the Year. We are encouraged and will continue to provide high quality services focused at specific segments to stand out as the provider of high quality services in the telecom sector.”

Srinivasa explained that the company which recently emerged the Telecoms Company of Year in the Niche Services category at the just concluded Nigeria Telecoms Awards.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Jobs & Career

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

23

Power sector privitisation will create jobs, boost economy –MD Ibom Power Effective power generation and distribution has remained a constant challenge for Nigeria, despite the privatisation of the sector. In this exclusive interview with MESHACK IDEHEN, the Managing Director of Ibom Power Plant and Senior Special Assistant to the Akwa Ibom Governor on Power, Dr. Victor Udo, highlights what can be done to bring the sector at par with the rest of the world.

What were you doing before your appointment as Senior Special Assistant on Power to the Akwa Ibom State Governor?

Before I joined Akwa Ibom State Government in 2011, I worked for over 20 years in the United State’s power sector.

I held senior management positions at Pepco Holdings Inc between 1997 and 2011. I worked as an electrical engineer in the company’s 450MW power plant in Beasley Point New Jersey.

I was a system planning engineer and a business process analyst in the same company before joining the management rank. Part of the management responsibilities in the positions I occupied included public policy research/ development, risk management, business planning/performance and technology research/venture management.

In 2003, I was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey as a member of the renewable energy task force. Similarly, in 2009, I was appointed a member of the planning board of New Castle County, Delaware. That’s basically what I was doing before I was appointed the Senior Special Assistant to His Excellency on power in 2011.

Power sector reforms have been concluded despite some level of resistance from certain quarters, including from workers union in the sector. What is your view on the privatisation of this crucial sector?

His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan’s privatisation of the power sector is laudable. He has demonstrated his commitment to solving the problems in the power sector by implementing the roadmap for Nigeria’s power sector reform. He has done a marvellous job and if past administrations had shown such commitment to the power sector, we are certain that our story would have been refreshingly different today. AkwaIbom State Government, under the administration of His Excellency, Governor Godswill Akpabio expressed support for the privatisation process. The Governor demonstrated this by partnering with our sister states that are served by Port Harcourt Electric Distribution Company, PHEDC, namely the “BRAC” states (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River) to acquire PHEDC through 4-Power Consortium.

We successfully bided for and acquired PHEDC under the Federal Government privatisation process.

In my opinion, privatisation of the power sector is commendable because government should not be expected to do everything. While the government focuses on providing security, education, health, road construction and growth of the economy and so on, power is better off in the hands of private investors for effective management and operation. Power is similar, in many ways to the telecoms sector.

For instance when the government operated the telecoms industry through NITEL, there were lots of operational inefficiencies and poor service delivery. But with the advent of private investors such as MTN, Airtel, Glo

Udo

and Etisalat, we have witnessed significant improvements in the telecoms industry. With the ongoing implementation of power reforms, the success story witnessed in the telecoms industry will soon be replicated in the power sector.

What exactly do you think the problem is that Nigeria’s power sector has been grappling with through the years, and how do you think the problem can be addressed?

This is a very important question. Over the years the problem with Nigeria’s power sector has been poor maintenance of power infrastructure overtime. Recently, the Minister of Power announced that power generation in the country dropped by more than 1000MW due to vandalisation of gas pipelines across the states. This implies that availability of gas supply is a major challenge confronting Nigeria’s power sector as a whole.

Another challenge I have identified, especially from

Privatisation of the power sector is commendable because government should not be expected

to do everything.

While

the government focuses on providing security,

education, health, road construction and growth

of the economy and so on, power is better off in the hands of private investors for effective management and operation

our experience at the state level, is the lack of operational excellence, which is, not having the required core competency to effectively manage and operate the power system and the abundant commerce. For instance, in Akwa Ibom State, gas is not a problem; His Excellency, the governor has provided the enabling environment for a gas processing plant to be built in the state. This gas facility was commissioned by Mr. President a few months ago and is currently supplying gas to Ibom Power Plant at over 100MW production daily.

So we have gas, we have generation and we are collaborating with Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, on the enhancement of transmission infrastructure in the state but the major challenge we have remains power distribution.

Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC, lacks the operational excellence to effectively manage distribution assets and power delivery in the State. These are two major challenges in the power sector.

Without gas, power cannot be generated. Even if the infrastructure is in place, if the operational competency is lacking, power will be unavailable. In Akwa Ibom State, what we have done to tackle these problems, as I mentioned earlier, was to attract a private sector investor, SEPTA Energy, to build a gas processing plant in the state which is currently supplying gas to the state owned Ibom Power Plant.

In the areas of competency development, His Excellency created the role of a Senior Special Assistant, SSA,to focus on power. Part of the role of the SSA on power is utility competency development using the people processes and technology, PPT, integration. We have three engineers assigned to monitor and intervene in power related issues across the three senatorial districts of the State. We also liaise with communities across the 31 local government areas of the state through the electricity consumer committees amongst other processes. Our efforts are aimed at coordinating utility activities across the state for immediate and sustainable results in the power sector.

Many previously unknown firms with little or no technical expertise have all sprung up. Some of them have bought up power sector assets, and claim to be ready to provide affordable and adequate power for Nigerians. Do you think these new firms have what it takes to provide power for Nigeria’s development?

This is a technical question. From my understanding, there are two arms involved in the privatisation of power assets. There is the investment arm and the operational arm. An investor does not necessarily require technical expertise to invest in the power sector. The investor has the money, acquires the assets and hands it over to an operator for effective management and operation. Therefore, it is the operator that requires technical expertise. For instance, most people that have money to invest in stock exchange market are not involved in the daily trades in the stock market rather they engage the services of a stockbroker to manage their investments effectively. Like I said earlier, Akwa Ibom State acquired shares in PHEDC through 4-Power consortium but I also mentioned that PHEDC lacks operational excellence. In tandem with my explanation, Akwa Ibom is an investor; in other words, in collaboration with three other States, we put in money to acquire the assets through 4-Power but PHEDC operates the assets on behalf of the four States (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River). However, the original vision of the four Governors was to operate power distribution assets along State lines, so that apart from being investors, states can also have a say in the operation of their power distribution assets. If this is done, I believe that Akwa Ibom State will be a model for steady power supply in Nigeria because we already have all the building blocks in place.

24

Jobs & Career

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tips for becoming better at your job

W

ith a still-shaky recovery, tepid hiring and continued stagnation in many workplaces, employees have a tough time feeling inspired to extend any extra effort. But if you can improve your job performance, you will put yourself in a good position to climb up the ladder should an opportunity materialise, or to move to a totally new job, in case you hear of an opening at another company.

Get organised-First, conquer your email inbox with a system of prioritising urgent items, putting less pressing tasks on a to-do list, and responding to and deleting any messages you can dispose of quickly.

Get organised- With the onslaught of email, texting, tweeting and everything else, it can be challenging to stay on top of your workload. We ran this story about conquering your email inbox, which recommends a system of prioritizing urgent items, dealing with short requests quickly, deleting junk and putting less pressing matters on a to-do list. One more tip: Consider imposing some discipline on email interruptions. Check your inbox once a half hour or once an hour, to give yourself time to complete tasks that require concentration.

Second, stop trying to multi-task- In 2009, a group of Stanford researchers released a study that showed how people who do heavy multitasking, keeping up several email conversations at once while texting, jumping from one website to the next and trying to work at the same time, do not pay attention as well as those who maintain a more streamlined work flow.

Third, put yourself in the mindset of your boss- We’ve run several stories about dealing with difficult supervisors.

ing closely to what others say can be even more useful and can garner more appreciation from co-workers.

Workers on duty

The most effective strategy: Empathize, and discover your boss’s style, so that you can imagine what he or she is looking for in an employee. We ran this piece about dealing with a younger supervisor, this story about a series of questions you can ask your boss, which will help you get to know her (what was her previous job? what are her career aspirations?, this story about dealing with a lousy manager (set an agenda, don’t yell back), and this piece about managing up a difficult boss (treat him like a difficult client). The overarching lesson: figure out your boss’s style and orientation and try to stay one step ahead.

Forge strong relationships with colleagues outside your immediate area of

responsibility-companies, even small ones, can be very political places. Diamond recommends allying with people who can help you, including employees who have been there a long time and who may be overlooked by others, those who work in human resources, staffers in the information technology department, even security guards and cleaning staff who have probably absorbed much more about your firm than you realise. Diamond calls it building your own coalition.

Focus on listening- Listen to your boss of course, but also pay close attention to your colleagues and subordinates. At work we often feel like we have to perform by doing verbal gymnastics, but listen-

Try getting in early- Even 15 minutes can make a difference. If you can swing an early arrival, you will get a step ahead of the day’s tasks. You can even reward yourself later with a longer lunch break or a departure for home that comes earlier than usual.

Make sure you give yourself genuine down time-We ran a piece on the importance of vacation. That means time away from the office when you don’t check work email or let yourself think about the next project. It can give you a sense of control, of purpose, it can shake up your perception of time, and offer the space to expand cultural horizons and allow the kind of relaxed break everyone needs to refuel.

Once you’ve refuelled, aim for clarity and precision in everything you do at work- If an email won’t convey the subtlety of your decision to push for a colleague’s ouster, then pick up the phone or visit in person.

Do plenty of research and preparation before you undertake any task- Don’t take up your boss’s time before you’ve performed plenty of legwork. Prior to a meeting, rehearse your strategies and objectives.

Try some humility-Most career advice seems to encourage relentless self-promotion. But Orville Pierson, author of The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search, says it’s better to avoid strings of hyped-up adjectives and instead to describe your accomplishments simply, without embellishment.

Source: Forbes.com

Job Vacancies

O

n available job vacancies for this week, the position for Direct Sales Agent in a multinational company is on offer.

The company which is the leading provider of human resource personnel to major corporations in Nigeria said it is seeking to recruit highly intelligent, young and dynamic professionals with integrity for the position of Retail Sales Offices Nationwide. The skills and educational requirement are the following Responsibilities are to Introduce and sell the bank’s products and services to new customers and to manage customer relations and cross sell to existing customers.

Qualifications and requirements are a Bsc. Only (Second Class Lower), Not more than 24 years, no prior experience required, NYSC must be completed and drive for result.

Others are Relationship management, Negotiation skills and Good oral and written communication skills. Interested and qualified applicants are to visit www.jobberman.com for more details.

Still from www.jobberman..com is the post of a Communications Manager, Nigeria Franchise for the Coca-Cola Company.

Job Summary for the position includes playing a key role in the development and implementation of effective communication and stakeholder engagement strategies to grow the reputation of our Company and Brands and support the business goals in Nigeria.

Boosting the company’s communications impact across the media spectrum (print, broadcast and social) to increase awareness and recognition of the economic and social impact of the Coca-Cola business and engage our various audiences.

Championing ambassadorship through leveraging internal communication (including Coca-Cola Journey) and volunteering opportunities to inform engage and inspire our system associates amongst other duties.

Required Experience for the job is over 7 years’ experience in communications or public relations functions, while the preferred qualifications is a university degree preferably in communication, journalism or English Language and related fields From www.findjobafrica.com is the position of a Personal Assistant to be based in Ikoyi, Lagos who will work closely with senior management to provide administrative support, usually on a one-to-

one basis. Discretion and confidentiality are therefore essential attributes for the successful candidate.

The PA is expected to deal with secretarial and administrative tasks, devising and maintaining office systems, including data management and filing; arranging travel, visas and accommodation and occasionally, travelling with the manager to take notes or dictation at meetings or to provide general assistance during presentations; Other responsibilities are screening phone calls, enquiries and requests, and handling them when appropriate; meeting and greeting visitors at all levels of seniority; organising and maintaining diaries and making appointments and dealing with incoming email, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of the manager; Qualifications for the post are a degree, as well as personal qualities, experience and general office skills. Candidate must be conversant with Microsoft office suites and Internet service. Good interpersonal skills. Fluent in spoken and written English, and experience of between 5 to 7 years experience. Preferred age 40 - 45 years.

From www.jobberman.com, is the po-

sition of a Relationship Officer who is to be based in Delta State.

The company which is into information technology and customer service said some of the responsibilities for the incoming is to Initiate apt activities to ensure on time and scheduled response to customers, review independently all documents and link entire customer accounts to suitable relationship, provide securities details, quotes and valuations to customers and implement and supervise all unsolicited trade activities.

Other responsibilities are to conduct evaluation of client’s accounts, collect mandatory information to analyze client situation, develop and oversee relationships with clients performing alongside the relationship manager to ensure top level service provided to clients and perform as key contact point for portfolio of clients dealing with routine matters throughout range of services and products.

The qualification and requirements are amongst others, a minimum of OND in any related discipline, at least 2 - 4 years experience with a branding or advertising company in similar position and excellent communication and presentation skills.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

25

Real Estate & Environment

Experts chart way forward for Great Green Wall

Forest area in northen Nigeria

...FG budgets N16bn, targets 15,000 jobs

Experts have charted ways for the Federal Government to implement the Great Green Wall programme in some affected frontline states of the North. OLUFEMI ADEOSUN reports on the gains and challenges facing the project.

J

ust like the great wall of Jericho, the Great Green Wall is a continental afforestation project, designed to return degrading lands in the dry areas of African region back to productivity.

For instance, the dry lands in the northern parts of Nigeria have a lot of agricultural potential, if properly harnessed.

This is because, people from the region en-

FERMA re-launches operation zero-potholes 27

gage predominantly in crops and livestock productions.

Regrettably, the impact of climatic change, which has accelerated the process of degradation, particularly in the frontline states, is not only threatening this source of livelihood of the people, but has become a major cause of the ravaging crisis in the region.

Prior to 2005, when the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the programme at the continental level, there were no concerted efforts at both levels of governments to address the scourge of desertification in the affected states.

However, the sustenance of this laudable project by the present administration has no doubt, raised the bar as many Nige-

Road mishaps: Works minister to implement speed limiters 28

rians, especially those from the northern part of the country, have come to realize the importance of the programme.

Last week, the people of Bachaka community in Arewa local government area of Kebbi State trooped out in their thousands to witness the flagging-off of the Nigeria CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Tips for styling large living rooms 29

26

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Experts chart way forward for Great Green Wall ...FG budgets N16bn, targets 15,000 jobs CONTINUED FROM 25 component of the Great Green Wall programme in the state.

President Goodluck Jonathan was on hand to flag-off the programme. Duringhis speech, he was intermittently interjected in Hausa language, which some journalists could not understand.

Investigation reveals that they were informing the President that their lands had been degraded for so long, asking him to save their souls. ‘‘Mr. President, save our farm lands. We can no longer get water to drink, we are now famished, help us reclaim our lands, so that we can feed our families.”, they pleaded.

Apart from Kebbi state, other northern states benefitting from the programme include Kano, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Jigawa states. Others are Zamfara, Sokoto, Gombe, Bauchi and Katsina states.

The Great Green Wall programme is about 1,500km-long (East-West) and 2kmwide (North-South) with economic and forest tree species adopting a communitydriven, integrated rural development approach.

From the continental level, the programme is conceived as a 15 km wide strip of greenery (trees and bushes) of about 7,775 km long, stretching from Senegal in the west to Djibouti, the horn of Africa in the east. The belt is expected to pass through eleven countries, including Nigeria.

Speaking on the imperative of the project for Nigeria, President Jonathan said it would among other things; check the advancement of desertification and erosion as well as restoring eco-balance, including creation of sustainable jobs for thousands of youths in the states, where the programme is being implemented.

According to him, the initiative availed Nigeria, the great opportunity to advance its vision of a green pathway for human development while addressing emerging environmental challenges in the country.

On the effects of desertification on the nation’s environment, the President said, “Desertification is one of the greatest environmental and developmental problems of the 21st century. This ecological problem is a vicious circle of environmental degradation, impoverishment, forced migration and conflicts, often threatening the political stability of affected countries and regions.’

Continuing, he said, “Waging an effective war against the spread of desertification is one of the greatest challenges in development politics today. In Nigeria, the worst environmental changes brought about by desertification, mostly occur in eleven frontline states of Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

He there noted that his administration decided to give priority attention to the scourge of desertification, not only because of its likely spillover effects on other states of the federation, but also its potential to weaken the nation’s socio-economic development efforts while engendering

Jonathan

Adeshina

OUR DESIRE TO ENHANCE THE ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF OUR GREAT NATION, AND IMPROVE THE LIVELIHOODS OF THE CITIZENRY REQUIRES THAT WE ADDRESS THE RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES IN THE DROUGHT AND DESERTIFICATIONAFFECTED STATES other challenges.

Jonathan added thus, “The Great Green Wall programme is an expression of our commitment for enhanced environmental management, thus overcoming the problems of desertification.

The President also noted that, it is a strategy adapted by African leaders supported by the international community as well as development partners, to fast-track attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), roll backpoverty and also address the specific risks and vulnerabilities in dry lands.

“Our desire to enhance the economic transformation of our great nation, and improve the livelihoods of the citizenry requires that we address the risks and vulnerabilities in the drought and desertification-affected states. This is what we intend to achieve by coming together to implement this programme.”, he added.

While assuring that the federal government will give priority attention to the implementation and delivery of the pro-

Onolememen

gramme to the people, the President urged various governors of the benefitting states to provide the required land on time and also sensitize the affected communities to enable them participate actively and subsequently own the programme.

He said, it was in furtherance of his administration’s determination to deliver on the project, that it gave the agency the power to implement the project, which hitherto had operated as a department in the Ministry of Environment.

According to him, the gesture is to eliminate bureaucracy in the effective implementation of the programme.

In her speech, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam said, apart from addressing the issue of desertification, the programme would also create additional 5,000 jobs in each of the affected states.

She noted that, the President has provided funds for the 2015 framework, disclosing that in all, he has provided about N16 billion for the project, assuring that

the money is intact for the programme.

“The Great Green Wall will also check soil erosion in the affected communities.

Since trees take carbon dioxide from the air, planting large scale trees will help absorb excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thereby contributing its quota in checking ozone depletion.”, she added.

Also speaking, the District Head, Bachaka community, Alhaji Yakubu Tsamiya, while commending the federal government for such initiative, said it would help to address the long-time desertification problems, plaguing the community for several years.

He told the President that, life has been so hard for the people in the area, noting that they did not only lack adequate water to sustain their agricultural activities, saying such large portion of land has been made unproductive due to desert encroachment.

Tsamiya however assured the federal government that he would mobilize his people to take care of the seedlings, which had been planted in his domain.

His words, “We cannot thank President Goodluck Jonathan for this kind gesture.

For a very long time, we have suffered under the heavy weight of desertification with our lands completely eroded and lacking productivity.

This has not only affected our people in terms of daily survival, but has also exposed serious air-borne diseases.

“We are ready to work with Kebbi state government and the federal government to ensure that the project succeeds. We are ready to tend the seedlings and watch them develop into maturity.”

A renowned environmentalist, Dr. Newton Jibunoh, who spoke to National Mirror, said the programme is a laudable one, warning that it would crumble, except government has an effective structure to engender sustainability.

He said, “This is something we have been advocating. Particularly for me, this is what I have been craving for the past forty years that I came in contact with the desert. I think, it is a positive development, but I have always insisted that the most important thing is putting a structure in place to have sustainable infrastructure that will ensure the trees we plant survive and that they are not cut down for firewood. These are all the things we need to take care of.

Jibunoh, also a member of the National Council of Presidential Committee on Great Green Wall, also noted that the programme can only stand the test of time and achieve its set goals, if government allows the people to own it.

“We need to get the community involved. We need to let them know the project belongs to them. It is through this that they can take charge and become partners in the development,” he further noted.

The environmentalist also charged the federal government to provide adequate water resources to nurture the seedlings, stressing that trees need up to two to three years to be nurtured before they could nurture themselves.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, Dember 2, 2014

MORTGAGE NOTES with Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja

Degradation: NESREA threatens sanction against erring factories Olufemi Adeosun ABUJA

Fasanya-Osilaja

Email: Nike@MVPSolutionsinc.com https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=35277333

World-class documentation standards attract global investments (2)

S

o, what is the big deal about high quality documentation, and why is it so important for any company with a global investment interest?

The major goal of most of our clients, partners and affiliates, especially in the Finance and Housing NGO markets, is the attraction of foreign investment / donations. I submit to you, that excellent documentation is what sets you apart. Your documentation processes tell your proposed partners, customers, and your industry at large, that you are a serious contender in your market place. It separates the “testers” from the “stayers”. It is very possible to maintain a full dossier of compliance documents, even as a small company without the capacity to pay a full time Company Secretary, simply by contracting with an independent record keeping agency for a small fee. Several of these abound, and are experts at what they do.

What are some of the critical considerations involved, and why?

1. To be considered a serious corporate contender, you must have at a minimum: Compliant set-up documents: Incorporation papers; licensing documents; corporate insurance coverage; E&O insurance etc Standard operating documents: records of board and management meetings; proper corporate resolutions for new businesses and solicitations; process and procedure guides; employee handbooks; code of ethics, annual audits etc.

Compliant monitoring documentation: Regulatory reports; audited financials; internal and external compliance paperwork etc

2. On the other hand, a big problem is the sheer volume of hard copy documentation generated on a daily basis.

Always consider your target.

It would be simple common sense for a Housing NGO to provide a digital package to an Environmental Housing Foundation you are seeking investment / donations from.

Documentation must always be available in a digital package that is accessible from wherever you are, and easy to forward to requestors.

3. PLEASE make sure your documentation is high quality: Grammatical errors, incomplete paperwork, careless errors etc are a total turnoff at the higher levels of interaction. Spell and grammar checks should be second nature to you. Please research the company, obtain a list of their required documentation list (call or Google), and provide ONLY and ALL the documentation requested. A tool we have used very successfully over the years is a GREAT Cover Letter. One that explains your passions and goals, and why you deserve your target’s patronage. Works every time!

Don’t get verbose. Don’t “dub” form letters from the internet.

We’ve seen them all.

4. If possible, have your paperwork translated to a format acceptable to your target.

In the US for instance, a great tool is to have your corporate tax returns transferred to the US form 1120 or 990 or whichever form fits your organization. These are easily accessible on Google, and provide a clear and succinct overview of your organization. Please don’t lie or fudge numbers. A background check will be completed on

you, reveal all misrepresentations, and jeopardize your chances of patronage completely.

5. Try, try, and try again.

Just because you are turned down for insufficient documentation does not mean you are completely turned down. Your application has not been reviewed on its merits. Go back, reorganize and improve your document package, make sure there are no inconsistencies, again add a follow up cover letter, resubmit, and stay positive.

6. Google yourself and your organization.

You never know what you might find. Make sure your information is consistent and true. Be extremely careful what you post on the internet. The internet is a permanent gossip. The following is a quote from a statement by the defendant Lauren Stevens, a lawyer, in ethics trial: “….Although you think what you are writing will never see the light of day, you should write as if you might need to defend it on the front page of the New York Times…” . Be duly warned.

Hopefully, it is now easier to understand the need for proper and high quality documentation should be at the top of any organization’s priority list. However, documentation is only as good as its implementation. As a result, the next priority item must be TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING! Your comments and viewpoints are welcome, and as always, make it a GREAT day.

ABOUT THE WRITER Fasanya-Osilaja has owned and operated Marvel Ventures Mortgage, Inc. (www.marvelmortgage.com), a Chicago-based Mortgage Brokerage Company since 2000 and has worked in the US Mortgage industry since 1996. She also consults and facilitates industry-required activities, from set up of mortgage organisations to documentation, training and compliance.

27

T

he National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, has threatened sanctions against erring factory operators that debase the environment in the process of carrying out business activities.

In order to keep a tab on the activities of factory operators across the country, the agency disclosed that it has engaged the services of some environmental consultants.

Director General, NESREA, Dr. Mrs. Ngeri Benebo disclosed this in Abuja at the weekend while briefing journalists on the activities of the agency in the last eight years.

Benebo, a pioneer director general of the agency will be bowing out from the service this month after serving for eight years.

Benebo said: “Compliance monitoring in factories and facilities is now in place and noncompliant facilities stand the risk of being sanctioned once they are caught.

“There are now accredited environmental consultants in place to check quacks as well as serve as the eyes and ears of the agency in the field.”, he said.

As part of efforts to engage relevant stakeholders, Benebo said the agency had developed environment training manual in collaboration with the Nigerian Police.

She also added that the agency also organized annual stakeholders forum in order to ensure massive participation in environmental governance in the area of compliance, monitoring and enforcement.

Commenting on some of the major highlights of her stewardship in the agency in the last eight years, the DG said, “In our determination to make our beloved country a cleaner and healthier place, major steps which include implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); also initiated the very important National Vehicular Emission Control programme based on Public Private Partnership aimed at reducing air pollution from vehicles and removing cars that are not road worthy from the Nigerian roads.”

While urging Nigerians to always tend to the environment, she stated that there would not be a sustainable environment, until every citizen takes environment as an issue of national importance.

FERMA re-launches operation zero-potholes Olufemi Adeosun ABUJA

A

s yuletide season sets in, the Managing Director, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, Engr.

Gabriel Amuchi has announced plans to re-launch operation zero-potholes to make federal roads motorable.

Amuchi, who gave the assurance in Kabba, Kogi state while on an inspection tour of some federal roads in the state said, FERMA engineers are being mobilised to utilize the dry season to achieve massive road repairs.

The gesture, he noted, is to reenact the “safe passage” initiative carried out in 2012 and 2013.

It would be recalled that the operation zero-potholes campaign was a huge success in the reduction of numbers of bad roads in the country.

While in Kogi State, the MD inspected the failing expansion joints on Murtala Mohammed Bridge at Kotonkarfe.

According to him, the bridge is an old one with outdated designs, adding that continuous heavy traffic on the bridge has necessitated continuous maintenance.

He assured that with the transformation agenda of the government on road sector, the agency would not wait till bridge collapses in the country.

The FERMA boss was also on Lokoja–Okene road, where he assessed the failed portions of the road at the Federal College of Education, Okene.

He instructed the contractor to speed up the work this dry season, taking into cognisance that, the road is a major transport link with high traffic volume, which connects North and the South.

While inspecting Kabba bridge at Ahmadu Bello University College of Agriculture campus, Amuchi said, the agency is poised to take proactive steps in ensuring that the road conditions across the country would be given necessary attention during this dry season.

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Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tips for styli Designate zones In a small room, you will likely only have room for one conversation area and no additional space for furniture groupings. Large rooms can function as so much more than just a large sitting area, but you might have to get creative with how to best utilize the size or shape of the room you have. Identify several possible functional areas within the room, such as a conversation zone (or two or three!), a media zone, an area for a writing desk, a console or a game table, a dining area or perhaps a reading area.

Divide the space visually You can add ceiling beams, half walls or pillars (like what is between my own family room and kitchen) to divide up a room visually in semi-permanent ways, or for flexibility you might be able to use area rugs, curtains, wallpaper and furniture placement to help create visually cozy spaces within the larger room. Even a sofa with its back to another space, or a chaise lounge, a large bench, tables between chairs, an attractive screen, large lamps, curtains, or plants can help divide the spaces.

t t s

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c n d c e t w m li

w t a p t a

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Anchor the room Great rooms or large living areas can end up feeling cluttered if you put too many small pieces in the room without at a couple of anchoring pieces. A sectional, large sofa, large coffee table and even built in bookcases or a piano will help anchor a room so smaller pieces can be tucked in here and there as accents if necessary.

Scale matters Do you have tall ceilings that makes your room feel out of balance? Opt for taller furniture whenever possible. If furniture is all short, your ceilings will feel

p w s p h u o p r

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Road mishaps: Works minister to implement speed limiters Olufemi Adeosun ABUJA

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inister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen has expressed the readiness of his ministry to abide by June 2015 deadline for the implementation of speed limiters on nation’s highways.

Onolememen maintained that the implementation of the programme would lead to about 50 percent reduction in road accidents as well as checking unacceptable road crashes on highways and other road corridors nationwide.

The minister, who disclosed this recently during a “Sensitisation forum for the implementation of Speed Limiting Devices in Nigeria” said, in conformity with the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety, the ministry through the Road Sector Development

Team, RSDT, executed an extensive programme for highway developments and maintenance, which is part of the statutory responsibilities to reduce accidents on highways.

The programme was organized by Federal Road Safety Corps with the theme: The Benefits of Speed Limiting Devices in Transport Management, The minister said the most road crashes in the country with colossal loss in human lives and property were caused by overspeeding, adding that it was more disturbing when most of these crashes occurred on roads that were in perfect condition.

While commending the Federal Road Safety Corps for flagging–off the sensitization campaign for the implementation of Speed Limiting in Nigeria, the Minister said, the aspect of speed management, relating to Speed Zoning, Speed Limits and Engineering Treatment are being taken care of by the Federal

Ministry of Works while other areas of Speed Management are being implemented by the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Police and some members of the Road Transport Haulage Industry.

The Minister further noted that the introduction of Speed Limiting Technology (Road Speed Limiters) to Nigerian traffic management toolkit is formidable, even as he affirmed that, the new device would disallow the attainment of speed beyond the pre-programmed maximum limit.

He said, to ensure a successful enforcement of speed limiting devices for vehicle in Nigeria to be totally implemented, attention must be geared towards the quality of the equipment, its calibration, the likelihood of it being tampered with by the drivers, availability and effectiveness of enforcement personnel as well as adopting mandatory speed limiters for

Founder, Lagos Urban Forest and Animal Welfare Initiative, LUFASI, Desmond Majekodunmi, Permanen ture & Cooperatives, Dr. Yakub Olajide Bashorun and LUFASI Trustee, Laurens Gaarenstrom at the op and Animal Welfare Park, Lekki.

vehicles travelling along Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, sub-region corridor.

He also called on Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON, to institute a strict inspection regime to ensure that all speed limiting device to be used in Nigeria are of high standard and properly calibrated.

In his opening remarks, the

Corps Marshal & Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, said, the purpose for organising the forum was to inform and prepare the public for the implementation of speed limiting device and its benefit to Nigeria transport management sector.

Boboye also said, the road traffic

crash geria traffi hicle lost w He coun while of co

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Real Estate & Environment

ing large living rooms

too tall and your furniture will be dwarfed. Consider a taller bookcase, an armoire, taller backs on chairs and sofas and taller accessories.

Creative lighting

No matter what size of a room you have, lighting can make a difference in how the room feels. Fortunately with a large room there are often more windows, so during the day lighting isn’t as much of a concern. But shadows and dark corners can make everyone feel uneasy at night. If you have just one center ceiling light, you will likely want to add more light with lamps. A room can look awkward if you have too many lamps, though, so here are a couple of tips for lighting a large room.

Perhaps pick two or three lamps of larger scale with similar shades and then mix in slimmer less obtrusive metal floor and wall lamps to bring lighting all around the room. Mixing in glass lamps can also prevent lamp overload. You can have an outlet put into the floor near the perimeter of a conversation area for a lamp cord if it isn’t convenient to plug it in the wall.

Use color

Color and pattern can be used to break up big expanses of walls in a great room or cut the size of a tall wall down to a more comfortable height. Add wainscoting with varying shades of neutrals or colors painted above and below the molding. If you have a high ceiling, you may want to try a simple trick to cozy up your room. If you paint the ceiling a shade or two or even several shades darker than your walls (or use paneling!), your ceiling won’t seem as tall and your room might feel more snug and cozy.

Double up If you can’t find a coffee table big enough for your

ent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Agriculpening ceremony of Lagos Urban Forest

hes data of the year 2012 in Nia indicated a total of 14, 783 road ic crashes, involving 22,071 vees out of which 6,573 lives were while 40,683 were injured. e noted that speed violation acnted for the highest causalities e 35 per cent accounted for loss ontrol and dangerous driving.

space, bulk up a larger conversation with two matching square or rectangle ottomans side by side. Or use a coffee table with two ottomans pulled up next to it. You can also use two area rugs for two separate conversation areas rather than one large one.

Create greater punch by bringing together four chairs and a round ottoman or table rather than just two chairs. Chairs are less visually divisive in a room than a sofa so they can create a pleasing flow and conversation area in large spaces, small rooms or awkward areas with challenging traffic patterns. Anytime you can use several of anything like double footstools, two lamps or sets of chairs, the impact will be greater!

Avoid too much wall ‘hugging One thing that often looks funny to me is a large room with the sofa is pushed back against one wall and the chairs on the opposite size of the room against the other wall, leaving too much open space in the middle.

If you have to shout in order to have a conversation with someone sitting across from you in the room, it is likely your furniture is too far apart.

With a larger room you can pull seating out from the walls to create a much cozier conversation area around a focal point like a fireplace. Don’t fear empty walls, you can use wall space for art, buffets and consoles, benches and bookcases or additional conversation areas where the furniture can be pulled closer together.

Bold is best Art work and accessories in a big room should be bigger and bolder. If you have framed prints or photos for your wall, go with a larger size than the standard 8 x 10 or 5 x 7 frames. Go group larger pieces together to make an even more bold punch in a room rather than several smaller pieces spread throughout the room.

South Africa’s real estate growth dips

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ndications from the South Africa’s real estate sector shows the housing markets was marginally lower in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

At both categories of affordable and luxury housing, the nominal price growth continues in the first quarter of the year.

The bank says, house prices continued to be driven by property market conditions and related factors, which were affected by a combination of macroeconomic developments, the state of household finances and the level of consumer confidence.

Based on the current trends and prospects, the economic and household sector related factors, have continued single digit nominal house price growth forecast for 2014 and 2015.

‘Real house price growth will be the result of the combined effect of nominal price trends and inflation, with some real price deflation projected for this year and next year,’ the report says.

In the first quarter of 2014, the average price of affordable homes of 40 square meters to 79 square meter and priced up to R545,000 increased by 3,1 per cent year-in, yearout, after rising by 4,2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year quarter.

Some real price deflation of 2.6 per cent year on year was recorded in the affordable segment in the first quarter compared with a fall of 1.2 per cent year on year in the final quarter of 2013.

The average nominal price of a

LASG unveils animal sanctuary, hospital Sylva Emeka-Okereke

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n keeping with its greening programme, the Lagos state government has opened its urban forest and animal sanctuary, aimed at providing recreational green space to the public.

Located in a most tranquil setting, which hosts hundreds of mature palm trees as well as the remnants of the rare Ekki (iron) wood tree, the project is actualized with the supports of Lagos state government.

It is a base for the ongoing development of a world-class animal hospital, dog kennels as well as horse rescue centre.

Unveiling the Centre recently, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, Dr Olajide Bashorun said, efforts to realise the project has been on for long without the involvement of the state government, disclosing that the recent involvement of government has made it possible.

“The Lagos state government has been very supportive of this project and we are very happy about it. By next year, before the tenure of Governor Babatunde Fashola is over, we are hopeful that, all aspects of the project should have been fully realized.

The intention of the government is to ensure that we don’t have stray animals on the streets of Lagos”, he stated.

Expectedly, the main structure of the animal hospital would soon be completed and would serve as veterinary hospital with all necessary facilities.

Already, the management has identified some people, who are interested in animal transportation with specialized vehicles.

According to the management, the park has a unit that will control the stray animals, particularly horses and dogs.

The Founder, Lagos Urban Forest and Animal Sanctuary Initiative, Mr Desmond Majekodunmi said, the 25 hectare urban forest is dedicated to the protection of some rare species of plants and animals.

“We have worked for some years

29

now to protect the place and develop it as a nature park for the preservation of nature For instance; we have the popular “Ekki tree” here. These are very rare species of the hardest woods known to man. The nature park is also the abode of some rare species of birds like bald vulture, which according to ornithologists, are very important birds because they help as crucial scavengers to balance up the ecology”, he explained.

Majekodunmi, an environmentalist also noted that, the management has dedicated a large portion of the land for children Play Park, where children can interact with nature, adding that there is going to be an environmental education college, where children and students can learn about ecology as well as importance of preserving nature.

“We have to remember, that every single thing that we need for our survival comes from a healthy environment. We are so happy, that Lagos state government has given full collaboration and endorsement. The governor has

home in the middle segment of the market for homes of 80 square meters to 400 square meters and priced at R4 million or less increased by 8.5 per cent year on year compared with 8.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

In the luxury housing market homes priced at between R4 million and R14.6 million saw prices increase by 7.7 per cent year on year following a 7.5 per cent rise in the fourth quarter of last year.

In real terms, the average price in this category of housing was up by 1.7 per cent year on year in the first quarter of the year compared with 1.9 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of last year.

At a provincial, metropolitan and coastal level, house prices performed relatively well in most regions on a nominal and real basis in the first quarter of 2014.

The report says that the performance of the residential property market at a geographical level is affected by economic trends in general, but these regional markets may react differently to these developments as a result of various area specific factors, such as location, physical infrastructure and the level and extent of economic development and growth.

‘These factors may affect property demand and supply conditions, market activity, buying patterns, transaction volumes and price levels and growth,’ it points out.

The report also states that headline consumer price inflation averaged 6 per cent year on year in the first four months of the year, and is forecast to remain above this level in the rest of the year.

been keeping an eye on this place, he is very keen to see it established as a well to protect nature reserve and animal hospital”, he added.

Continuing, he said, “There will be an animal sanctuary here, because a lot of poor animals in Lagos, especially some of the horses in a terrible conditions. We will be going out and taking them away from those situations and put them in a more humane kind of setting, where they will be rehabilitated.

We have already started the process. So it is our little contribution to the wonderful greening environmental programme of the state government”.

Speaking on the management of the park, a trustee of the initiative, Helena Van Dieirendonck said, the centre is a non-profit-making organization that will help Nigerians to appreciate nature more.

According to her, the park will serve many purposes, which include a training center for young veterinary doctors in Nigeria as well as environmental education centre for the children while preserving the biodiversity of the place.

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Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

US changes tactics, targets 5.4million households U nited States property recovery is moving back to the normal conditions, however some new researches have suggested that, the landscape has changed more dramatically than many could imagined.

The research also suggests that US has an unprecedented number of doubled-up households as people moved in together to make ends meet during the economic crisis.

According to analysis by real estate firm, Zillow, all those roommates have changed the American housing landscape with 5.4 million households existing under the normal conditions, instead lost in guest rooms and basements, sharing space with friends, family and roommates while waiting for better economic times.

More than a third of working adults are living in doubled-up households, driving the median household size up to 1.83 adults in 2012 from 1.75 in 2000.

The phenomenon is concentrated in markets, where rent has most outpaced income, notably in

California and Florida.

For example, in California in the Riverside metro area, under normal conditions, there would be 12.6 per cent more households.

In the Miami metro, more than 230,000 households, about 11.3% more households than currently existed were lost as people doubled up.

According to Zillow, the rise in doubled-up households is a troubling sign of the times and starkly illustrates one of the prime drivers behind weak home sales. But there is a silver lining behind this data.

Like a coiled spring, all of these doubled-up households represent tremendous potential energy for the market. If and when these compressed households begin to unwind and these millions of Americans do start to create their own households, demand will bounce back, possibly even causing household growth to outpace population growth.

The analysis suggests that added demand will, in turn, create more incentive for builders to con-

struct more homes, and will help unblock the market.

There is no magic bullet, but continued home affordability, an increasing supply of both for rent and sale homes as potential for incomes grows more quickly while the economy recovery will help the market to realize this potential.

The median income of adults in doubled-up households in the US has risen over time, from a median of $24,000 in 2000 to $29,000 in 2012, but people in doubled-up house-

holds have incomes that, increasingly, lag behind median incomes overall.

On average, doubled-up adults make 76 per cent of the median income of people without roommates, which means it can take longer to save up for a down payment or deposit on a place of their own.

This comes at a time when sales are on the up again. The latest data from the National Association of Realtors shows that existing home sales rose 1.5 per cent in October

and are at their highest annual pace since September 2013.

But the housing market this year has been a tale of two halves. While sales activity in October reached its highest annual pace of the year as buyers continued to be encouraged by low interest rates, improving levels of inventory and stabilizing price growth, economists, some agents and investment strategists, don’t expect the housing market to normalize for at least three more years.

Property investors in France see impressive 2015

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ext year looks brighter for property investors in France as they are very optimistic about 2015, expecting the market to remain buoyant, particularly in the most-sought areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices.

‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts.

‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves, so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added.

For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ Swannie said.

But the market slowed down.

In France, it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum

continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case.

‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie noted.

He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a ‘deal’.

For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price.

The properties selling at the moment are those, which have either been put on the market very recently and have been aggressively priced to sell or those where the owner needs to sell and is willing to be flexible. If owners are not willing to take an offer, then their property will sit on the market for a long time, according to Swannie.

A Saudi Arabia Housing property

Saudi Arabia grows real estate sector

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ver the years, the residential prices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have risen from 5 percent to 7 percent, according to the residential research report from international real estate firm, Knight Frank.

It points out to the fact, that there have been variable performances across the capital’s districts, with congestion issues in the south, which is due to price stagnating.

Meanwhile, in the north, which has seen notable development activity, prices have seen a healthy uplift of around 9 percent.

In the short to medium term, with new supply unlikely to be able to fully-offset pent-up demands, the firm expects residential prices to continue to move to upward direction.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia’s residential construction sector has been expanding rapidly. Indeed, the latest available data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency shows that the value of residential building construction across the kingdom rose for the ninth consecutive year in 2012, increasing by 11.4 percent year in, year out.

Riyadh is an important driver of construction activity in Saudi Arabia and the capital city ac-

counted for an average of 27 percent of all residential and commercial permits issued across the Kingdom between 2003 and 2013.

Moreover, the number of permits issued in the capital rose by 319 percent over 10 year period, outperforming Saudi Arabia as a whole, which experienced a 215 percent increase.

The report points out that despite the rising development activity demands for residential units, the demand continues to outstrip supply in Riyadh.

Indeed, the capital has a requirement for around 50,000 housing units per annum over the next five years and has an estimated housing inventory of 1.15 million units.

However, due to construction delays and lack of available land, developers have found it increasingly difficult to bridge the gap between supply and demand.

Although, there are a number of large housing schemes planned to be completed in the short term, there is unlikely to be enough capacity in the system to deliver the required number of units to satiate current levels of pent-up demands.

Figures from the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI) show that 60% of

housing units in Saudi Arabia are owner-occupied and in Riyadh this drops to 53 percent.

By comparison, the levels of owner occupation in neighbouring countries is much higher at 75 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 80 percent in Qatar, 82 percent in Bahrain and 83 percent in Oman.

The report explains that in order to address the housing undersupply issue, the government has launched a number of projects in recent years although not all of these have achieved the success that had been envisioned.

For example, in 2011, the government announced a programme of works to build 500,000 homes across the kingdom. ’ However, the scheme struggled to gain traction due to issues related to a lack of land availability, complexities in allocating aid and slow moving bureaucratic processes,’ the report points out.

Another more recent initiative was the introduction of the mortgage law. If successful, it will provide low and middleincome Saudis trying to get on the first rung of the property ladder easier access to finance and is projected to push-up the kingdom’s homeownership to 80 percent by 2024.

Aviation

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

31

‘Nigeria aviation industry still evolving’ through those processes? What the airline operators need is to build airlines that are sustainable.

Discovery Air is one of the airlines issued Air Operator’s Certificate, AOC, by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, in July this year, but barely few months after the commencement of flight operations, there were allegations that the airlines is owing workers. In this interview with OLUSEGUN KOIKI, the Chairman of the airline, Mr. Babatunde Babalola speaks on the issue and other topical matters in the sector. Excerpts: There are allegations that your airline, Discovery Air is indebted to its workers and other companies in the sector four months after commencement of flight operations, why is this so?

A few questions have been asked about Discovery Air on state of affairs of the airline. The airline is one of the new airlines that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, issued Air Operator’s Certificate, AOC, about five months back and then, before now, we have been going through the process, one of them was the certification that would lead to the issuance of AOC. That took us about 18 months to accomplish and from day one, NCAA insisted on having the full complement of staff before they can issue an AOC, which is one of the prerequisites for the issuance of AOC. From then, if I recall vividly, I think we had over 70 staff and the full complement of pilots, cabin crew, engineers and all other support staff. If I recall as well, I think we were paying the sum of N39m monthly as salary from inception without any form of revenue then and that we did for 18 months.

The AOC was issued in July and we started operations immediately with two aircraft, Boeing 737-300 and less than a month after the commencement of operation, we had to send one of the aircraft for a C-C- check.

We believe so much in safety, we cannot compromise safety. In the time past, some other airlines used to doctor their safety certificates, but we didn’t do that, we had to take our machine to one of the best Maintenance Repair and Overhaul, MRO, facility in England by the name ATC Lasher, which handles our C-Check.

Normally, when you go for a C-Check you spend an average of about $300,000 in other places like Turkey, Poland and some other countries, you can get it cheaper, but on this particular one, we spent nothing less than $800,000.

To be more specific, do you owe your staff or any other companies in the sector?

Aviation lives on credit. Even British Airways as big as it is, if you got to Heathrow Airport in London, they would tell you they owe Aviance. So, it is not a big deal for us to owe, but what is important is whether you are a going concern and are you servicing your debts? If a business is a going concern, there is no way you won’t owe. In account there are two entries anyway; credit and debit.

Talk about salaries for the staff, a good business owner should not knowingly owe his staff. The salaries we are working on are those we owed before the issuance of AOC, which we are working on to make sure we pay and don’t forget within that period, we were not earning anything.

The salaries we owe were the ones of the last three months to the issuance of AOC. However, we have been paying salaries regularly apart from those three months. We are just trying to amortise it and gradually we are paying the arrears that we owe. Yes we owe, but gradually we are paying it off, there is nothing to hide.

What is your say about alliance or partnership among local airlines in the country?

I want to say having a synergy with other airlines is a good development if it can be achieved and it is a way to go. On our own, we’ve started talks with other airlines; Air Peace and Azman Airlines and there is a likelihood of that to happen in first quarter of 2015.

If you look at OneWorld Alliance, it took them almost a year to come up with that structure because a lot of variables you have to consider before you go into a codeshare.

You can’t be in bed with somebody you don’t love. It is a way to go.

Babalola

What is your say on the short lifespan for Nigerian carriers?

What I have seen in aviation is that there is no way the Nigerian economy or the flying public in the country can support a machine of $100m. I didn’t buy a brand new aircraft and that is why our own strategy is quite different.

Our machines are in the neighbourhood of $7m to $8m. So, if I’m competing with the likes of Arik and others and my overhead, I learnt that an airline is paying a salary in the neighbourhood of N650m monthly. This is on how many passengers of N10, 000 each?

At the moment, relatively few Nigerians are flying, how do you think players in the sector can attract more passengers into it?

What I think the government is trying to do at the moment is to try and open more airports, which I think is a good move, but unfortunately, most of our airports do visual operations. For instance, you can’t go to Calabar Airport by 7pm and likewise some other airports in the country.

What I want to say here is that we are evolving, it’s a process for us as a country, but are we really patient to go

IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL FOR US TO OWE, BUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHETHER YOU ARE A GOING CONCERN AND ARE YOU

SERVICING YOUR DEBTS? IF A

BUSINESS IS A GOING CONCERN, THERE IS NO WAY YOU WON’T

OWE. IN ACCOUNT THERE ARE

TWO ENTRIES ANYWAY; CREDIT AND DEBIT

Since the commencement of operations in July, how many passengers have you airlifted within the period?

It’s on record that we were one of the first airlines in the country that within three months of operations, we have been able to lift almost 85,000 Nigerians, which is unprecedented I think and within three months, we’ve been able to open new routes; Lagos-Uyo, Lagos- Port Harcourt and before now, we have been flying from Lagos to Abuja.

I’m glad to tell you that last Thursday, November 27, 2014, we commenced the Owerri route, Enugu on December 1 and same week; we are going to start, Enugu-Abuja-Port Harcourt, Abuja-Enugu-Owerri, Abuja-Uyo. What we are doing right now is one-way and we would be doing both ways now. Abuja is now going to be our sub-hub while Lagos will continue to be our main hub. The routes that we are going now, we would be going to those routes from Abuja as well. That is what we are doing right now.

On regional routes, this should start latest first week in January 2015. Before you can get regional routes, you need to be certified again by NCAA, Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, of the country you are going to. That process is on and we are desirous of going to Dakar, Bangui, Libreville, Brazzaville and Malabo; all from Lagos. We want to do it in such a way that we would fly to all the francophone countries. That’s our plan and we hope to get the certification done by first week of December.

With your current fleet, how do you intend to achieve the route expansion you just mentioned?

I don’t want to tell you the aircraft that are coming in because of the competition, but we definitely have additional aircraft coming in very soon.

One of the challenges Nigerian airlines are having is the utilisation of their machines. You can have 50 machines and if they are not properly utilised, you won’t achieve anything. How many machines did Air Nigeria have when they were going to all routes? They had about 12 and they were all over the place. It indicated that somebody somewhere was planning the utilisation properly.

At the moment, we have only two machines, but what we are planning to do is to maximise the usage of the machines and bring the third and the fourth one to complement our routes. By regulation, we are allowed to use each machine for six landings within the speculated number of hours that each crew sector should work without infringing on the regulation because the regulation says a pilot and the cabin crew should not fly for more than a certain hours in a month. This, we are aware of.

However, you will find out that most of the machines are used during the day, Nigerians don’t fly at night and after the 7am to 7pm flight, the machines are just wasting away and machines are built to fly because it is when they are flying that you make your money. Whether you fly them or not, one day, the C-Check would be due and you have to take it out. So, what we are doing at the Discovery Air is to maximise the usage of the machines; we will use our normal 12 hours and use the other 12 hours on the regional routes.

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Aviation

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Airside shegzzy4live2000@yahoo.co.uk 08186007273

Again, Nigerian airports emerge some of the worst in Africa

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igerian airports for over a decade have been playing the catch-up game with other major airports across the continent despite the aggressive investments of erstwhile Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah in her over two years in the saddle a minister of aviation.

A survey conducted by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, the website that documents information on airports and the people who sleep in them, itemised three Nigerian airports among the worst in Africa.

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, is voted the 10th worst in the continent, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt emerged

the seventh and the sixth worst airports on the continent.

From dirty floors and bathrooms to the regular request for bribes, Nigerian airports ranked high. Other complaints revolved around a lack of air conditioning in sweltering climates, general navigational chaos, limited yet expensive restaurant options and questionably effective security processes among many other defects.

Airside insists Nigerian airports have not lived up to the expection over the years and the attitude of different government agencies especially at MMIA is not helping matters. Airside says despite the conspicuous arrays of security agencies at the nation’s airports, they have only helped to create more chaos, rather than sanity.

Big airline, unresolved delays, cancellations

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assengers of local airlines in Nigeria are one of the most maltreated clients anywhere in the world.

Their rights are consistently being trampled upon by the airlines without any major step taken to checkmate the activities of the airlines by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, despite the promulgation of the Passengers’ Bill of Rights by the agency.

Airside was in Benin recently and had planned to return to Lagos through one of the airlines that ply that route. A journey of about 30 minutes by air took over five hours to accomplish, no thanks to delay by the airline.

The airline in question (name withheld) continued to announce different departure times for the Lagos bound passengers; from afternoon eventually till evening. The passengers finally departed Benin in the evening without any major reason given by the airline, apology or even refreshment during the period for the delayed passengers.

Airside feels this is gradually becoming the character of most of the domestic carriers who take the rights of their clients for granted. If the carriers want to compete and operate profitably, there is a need for a change of tactics.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NCAT boss welcomes more aviation training schools in Nigeria Stories: Olusegun Koiki

T

he Rector and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, Capt.

Samuel Caulcrick has described the springing up of more aviation colleges in the country as a good development.

This is as he revealed that plans are underway to amend the enabling Act of the college to upgrade it into a degree award institution.

Caulcrick who made this known in an interview with aviation journalists said that more aviation colleges by either private or government would further expand the industry and enhance competition in the system.

“Yes, we want them to come in so that we can all raise the bar together through competition,” he said.

He also disclosed that the process to have campuses outside Zaria was in the pipeline, adding, that the management was already in the process; “It is in our budget this year, so that we can reach out to all corners of Nigeria,” he added.

Caulcrick also disclosed that as

Chidoka

the college is planning to celebrate its 50 years of establishment later this month; efforts are also in top gear to change the enabling Act of the college.

He informed that the document leading to the amendment in the Act was at present in the Ministry of Justice going through necessary legal activities.

Caulcrick also disclosed that document to this effect had gone to the Attorney-General of the Federation adding that the management was awaiting directive from the Federal Executive Council before the bill is sent to the National as-

Winner emerges in Travelstart Selfie In The City competition

Arik Air increases frequency on local routes

O

ne of the leading airlines in the country, Arik Air, said it is increasing frequencies to a number of routes in some cities in the country and others in the sub-region.

This was contained in its 2014 winter schedule released by its spokesman, Mr. Ola Adebanji.

Adebanji stated that the increase in frequencies is to enable the airline cope with passengers’ demands and give travellers more options for same day return trips.

The airline said that it has increased its frequencies on the Lagos-Calabar, Lagos-Enugu, LagosBenin, Abuja-Benin, Lagos-Kano, Abuja-Kano, Abuja-Asaba and Abuja-Ibadan routes.

The frequency on the LagosCalabar and Lagos-Enugu routes have been increased from daily to twice daily while Lagos-Benin has

been increased from twice weekly to 20 three times daily and twice on Saturdays.

Similarly, the Abuja-Benin flight frequency has been increased from daily to 13 weekly (two daily and one on Saturdays).

Abuja-Ibadan, Abuja-Kano, Abuja-Asaba and Lagos-Kano services now operate daily to the cities.

Besides, with the new winter schedule, the days of operation for the Lagos-Luanda service has now been changed to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This flight was hitherto operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Commenting on the new schedule, Arik Air’s Managing Director, Mr. Chris Ndulue said that an increase in passengers’ demands necessitated the increase in frequencies.

sembly.

He regretted that the existing Act had strictly been treating the college as an arm of the Aviation Ministry, thereby creating limitations for the institution.

Speaking on some of the efforts to move the college forward, the Rector noted that NCAT had secured temporary accreditation from the National Board of Technical Education, NBTE, to start Diploma courses. He further said that the entry requirements of some of the courses offered were now first degree because they are professional courses.

He said, “We are trying to change the enabling Act. Don’t forget that the Act is one of the oldest in the aviation industry today. It is 50 years, it needs to be amended.

We are in the process of achieving that.

“But, we are not sure where we are, whether we are going to make the entry for all our courses, first degree, particularly flying because we need to capture them early.

That is why in the past we take them after the School Certificate Examination, but now we have over a million of Nigerians who are willing to go into aviation and have acquired their first degree at the age of 20 or 22.

The Managing Director, The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma and the Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Saidu Usman Dakingari during the inspection of the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi recently.

I

n a bid to better engage its customers, give back to the society and create increased awareness for its brand, an online travel agency, Travelstart, recently organised a photo contest for its esteemed customers.

The photo contest tagged, “Selfie In The City,” was unveiled to its clients through facebook and other social media platforms.

At the end of the three weeks competition, Miss Chidinma Winifred Nwadinigwe, a graduate of Medical Laboratory Science from Imo State University emerged winner with 936 votes in her entry.

Speaking at an award presentation ceremony in Lagos, the

Country Manager, Travelstart, Mrs. Lillian Obinna-Igwe, said the contest was developed as a strategy to reach out to fans via social media platforms as well as customers by uploading content on its home page through their smart phones.

Obinna-Igwe noted further that the contest was also geared towards promoting culture and tourism in Nigeria while giving a wider visibility to the brand simultaneously.

She said, “The idea behind this competition was to create a platform for Nigerians to whip out their smartphones, strike a pose in a specific destination in any

Nigerian city and upload their “Selfie” photos on our website for a chance to win great prizes such as return tickets to Nairobi sponsored by Kenya Airways.”

She explained that the competition started on the September 4 and ran through September 26, 2014, adding that the contest attracted submissions of hundreds of photos, revealing interesting places in different parts of Nigeria.

The winner went home with a goody bag full of various gifts courtesy of Travelstart and an award of two economy class tickets to Nairobi, Kenya, which was sponsored by Kenya Airways.

Making the presentation of the tickets, the Sales Executive, Kenya Airways, Mr. Clement Okoedoh, described the partnership between the two organisations as big in the continent’s aviation industry.

He added, “Our coming together to make this contest possible is more of a synergy between two big brands. We like to partner with our allies who are reputable and Travelstart is one of them.”

An elated Chidinma commended the two companies for the award and promised to be a worthy ambassador for the organisations.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Insurance

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

33

Again, experts highlight need for terrorism, insecurity insurance cover

Calls continue to mount on insurance companies to commence the provision of cover for kidnapping and terrorism related incidences in Nigeria, even as analysts say the upsurge in insecurity may be opening up a new window of profitable service operators, writes MESHACK IDEHEN.

D

uring the recent 18th African Reinsurance Forum of the African Insurance Organisation, AIO, insurance experts from across the continent concluded that Nigeria accounted for more than a quarter of kidnap for ransom cases that were reported worldwide.

Following that forum, Nigeria’s insurance operators, the experts noted, have began to deploy their skills and experience to organise insurance products and services to cover individuals, companies and company’s assets in high risk occupations or high risk locations.

However, in the light of heightened insecurity challenges the country is currently grappling with, that the insurance industry and its practitioners can provide specialist Nigerian initiated insurance cover for terrorism and kidnapping, alongside the usual liability cover and protection for personnel, property, shipping, crews and cargoes which many firms have specialised on.

Based on those observations, stakeholders told National Mirror it was time indigenous operators take the bull by the horns and adopt the recommendation of the AIO, thereby expanding the frontiers of insurance business in the country, and also provide needful and profitable insurance services at the same time.

Life and Accident insurance specialist, Mr. Tosin Jegede, told our correspondent life insurance as well as disability and personal accident cover is already on the menu of what most insurance firm’s offers.

He said however that there was need for those cover initiatives by insurance companies to be taken to the next level, saying a more comprehensive and long lasting insurance covers for terrorism be made more accessible, and to include offerings like medical emergency evacuation insurance and provision for emergency evacuation by air ambulance.

He explained that over recent years, that Nigeria which is considered Africa’s most populous country has seen an increasingly violent rise in the tensions between its many ethnicities and faiths, the life insurance expert noted that visiting Nigeria can be a potentially dangerous prospect for visitors and investors alike, adding these developments justifies the need for some type of insurance covers for these emerging risks groups.

Oil and gas workers, he observed, and foreign nationals for instance have also been a favoured target for kidnappers, and it was only wise and prudent that insurance cover be made available for such an event.

Life Assurance Practitioner, Mr. Basil Ngwuta, explained besides piracy, kidnapping and killing of foreign nationals and oil workers, that some parts of the country,

Commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel IGP, Abba Suleiman

National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki

There are lots of opportunities for operators in these emerging risks, given professional experience, and we also want to add value to foreign insurers and plan kidnapping cover for particularly areas bordering Cameroon, Niger and Chad have continued to remain sensitive flashpoint for violence; political and civil unrest that can break out at short notice, adding it was crucial to be aware that standard insurance policies in high risk areas or for high risk occupations has become inevitable in the country insurance industry.

Former Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Oladipo Bailey, on his part, said terrorism, kidnapping and other types of special risk that borders on insecurity was before now not given adequate consideration by operators and other insurance stakeholders because it was new in the market and is part of exclusion, as well as because it is usually funded by government in some jurisdictions, on account of the size of risk exposure.

Bailey said however that the situation has now taken a new dimension following the upsurge in these acts of terrorism and kidnapping. He said it was for these reasons and the need to expand the industry that his company, Shepherd Insurance Brokers Limited recently teamed up with a foreign firm from Afro-Asian Insurance services which is a United Kingdom-based firm to explore the market and provide solutions to grapple with the scourges.

That aside, the former commissioner for insurance added the incidence of violent crime such as mugging, kidnapping and

Nigerian market

carjacking has increased a lot in recent years, particularly in Lagos, advising it was important for everyone to be vigilant, avoid travelling alone or at night, and not to carry valuables. Making sure individual insurance cover has sufficient cover for personal possessions, according to him, is also of importance.

Bailey explained foreign insurers are already entering the Nigerian insurance industry to provide cover for terrorism, kidnapping, noting the upsurge of terrorism carried out by the Boko Haram group in some parts of Northern Nigeria has made insurers from the United Kingdom and Lloyds to come in, with the foreign firms already discussing with local insurers and brokers for platforms to provide cover for these emerging risks.

National Mirror gathered re-insurance brokers from Lloyds of London have visited Nigeria and had strategic meetings with FBN Insurance Brokers Limited and Continental Re-insurance Plc, to focus on capacity building to develop risks for terrorism, including kidnapping, among others.

Senior brokers and Account Executives, Mr. Chris Davis and Peter De Kersaint Girardeau, who led the Afro-Asian delegation to Nigeria, told our correspondent there is huge potential for growth ofterrorism, kidnapping and insecurity related insurance and re-insurance service in the Nigerian market.

They explained though terrorism is a bad development, that insurance is coming and capable of absorbing the shock by providing risk in these areas that would help stabilise the economy and make the environment conducive for local and foreign investments, saying if there are no insurance and an effective means of compensation in the event of loss, many would not feel comfortable to do business here in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is going to be the hub to penetrate other parts of Africa where there are similar incidents, particularly political violence and piracy, in which insurance companies have or are developing a lot of expertise.

“Africa is now the new Eldorado, having witnessed a lot of losses and declining growth in Europe, America and Asian countries. There are lots of opportunities for operators in these emerging risks, given professional experience, and we also want to add value to foreign insurers and plan kidnapping cover for Nigerian market”, they said.

Insurance Expert and Managing Director of Risk Guard Africa Limited, Mr. Yemi Soladoye, in the same vein, said the spate of kidnappings and other security challenges in the country is making foreign insurers to show interest in providing special covers for the Nigerian market, which local underwriters have yet to develop.

He said despite the prevalence of kidnapping, bombing and other security issues, which have caused loss of lives and properties, that the local industry has not developed the technical capacity and experience to underwrite the risks.

According to him, “broking firms will sooner or later have to discuss how to provide some covers like kidnap and ransom, piracy, terrorism and other risks with other local insurance companies to see how they can help to mitigate the losses arising from the risks”.

34

Insurance

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Insurers seek support for terrorism insurance Stories: Meshack Idehen

L

ocal underwriters said they have approached their foreign counterparts for technical support in insuring risks associated with kidnapping and terrorism.

This development, National Mirror gathered, is because of the raging insecurity which has seen several soldiers and police been killed in the North-East by Boko Haram insurgents, while abduction of prominent people is still a major concern in the Niger Delta region.

It was gathered very influential individuals and corporate companies whose employees are exposed to kidnapping due to the nature of their work are reportedly taking terrorism insurance cover secretly.

Speaking in that regard, the Managing Director of AIICO Insurance Plc, Mr. Edwin Igbiti, said kidnap and terrorism acts had become major threats to a number of multinationals and corporate firms in some parts of the country, especially the North-East and other zones in the country.

He said the insurance product was designed to protect individuals and firms operating in high-risk areas, saying AIICO in partnership with the International American International Group and Crisis Management Consultants recently held a simulation exercise on kidnap and

ransom insurance.

To develop this product in the country, he said it was also creating support for insurance specialists and brokerage firms.

“The exercise will equally expose us to the various risks, dynamics and intricacies of the business of kidnap and how best to handle, manage and mitigate the identified risks,” he said.He however noted that what the company had done was a simulation exercise and not a product launch.

According to him, the kidnap cover or policy does not pay ransom on behalf of the insured, but the insured must first pay the ransom; thus incurring the loss, and then seek reimbursement under the policy.

He said managing kidnap and other crises was essential in protecting the life and well-being of a victim as well as an organisation’s assets.

On his part, Managing Director, Equity Assurance Plc, Mr. Ekpe Ukpabio, said that the company had relationship with foreign partners and was providing cover for kidnap and ransom.

“We are having cases of kidnapping and ransom requests and we have actually done some policies already. We have renewed our partnership with some foreign reinsurers and brokers that are providing it. We have been able to give cover for this

Equity Assurance MD, Ekpe Ukpabio

class of business.”

Some executives of Afro-Asian Insurance Services Limited, a firm of international insurance and reinsurance brokers, had visited some local insurers earlier to explore the possibility of providing covers for special risks in the country.

Afro-Asian Insurance which has partnership with Shepherds Insurance Brokers Nigeria said it was exploring ways to provide covers such as kidnap and ransom, piracy, terrorism and other risks with local insurance companies.

FBN Insurance Brokers and Continental Reinsurance, West Africa’s largest reinsurer, had also disclosed their partnership with the United Insurance Brokers Group of the United Kingdom on terrorism and political violence insurance.

Ladipo-Ajayi underscores commitment to customer service

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he Managing Director of LASACO Assurance Plc Mr. Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi has underscored the commitment of the company to sustaining its customer centric posture in order to remain a dynamic and vibrant player in the nation’s financial services sector.

According to him, this has manifested in several strategies being deployed to develop innovative products and services to align with the aspirations of the customers.

LASACO, according to Ladipo-Ajayi, has established a

Ajayi

solid reputation excellence customer service delivery and prompts claims settlement.

The company since inception has thrived on the platform of qualitative customer’s service delivery.

The brand does not only have focus on quality service delivery but also places a high premium on delighting the customers. The brand delights the customers to win through brand loyalty. It has been able to secure greater levels of loyalty from its customers through a dynamic service delivery.

He said that since inception, LASACO has continued to reinvent the wheel to ensure that customers derive good benefits out of their relationship with the company. Expectedly, LASACO has never been tired of building on such assets of integrity, reputation and good corporate identity as a means of deepening its bond with the customers.

With this strive; it has therefore remained a reference

point for maintaining a solid pedigree as a forward looking and vibrant organisation, he added.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tips for insurance agents

B

usiness insurance is a specialised and competitive form of insurance.

Business insurance agents need to work hard in order to provide their clients with the best possible service and ensure that they enjoy a successful relationship with their firm and their clients. Agents need to be able to provide the best possible advice and service, while also building up a good client base.

Business insurance is a specialised type of insurance. Insurance agents who wish to work in this field will be more successful if they are able to focus on handling business insurance policies. It is important for an insurance agent to obtain as much experience as possible in this field and to build up plenty of specialised knowledge.

Business insurance agents need to be able to provide their clients with expert advice, so they need to know as much as possible about this type of insurance. Agents also need to ensure that they stay up-to-date with all of the latest developments in their field in order to remain competitive.

Successful business insurance agents need to build up as much experience as they can in the field of business insurance. They also need to ensure that they have the best possible reputation among both insurance professionals and business clients. Having a good reputation is essential for success in this type of insurance since one of the most important ways in which business insurance agents find new clients is through referrals made by their existing clients. Agents also

need to work hard to promote their own services and to find new clients.

Business insurance is a very competitive field, so business insurance agents need to be as competitive as possible. This means that they need to keep their clients happy, to build up a goof reputation and work to attract new business clients. Businesses which are searching for an insurer tend to spend a lot more time making their decision than clients in other forms of insurance. They are more likely to choose an insurer based on a referral from a business associate, and they are usually going to shop around before choosing an insurance provider. It is essential that a business insurance agent is aware of this and that they make sure they create the best possible first impression for potential new clients.

Providing a high quality service is also essential in business insurance since business clients will be searching for an insurer with whom they can have a good business relationship.

It is, therefore, important for business insurance agents to focus on service as well as on providing good insurance policies. A successful agent should be open and honest with their clients. They should offer the best possible advice and they should work on building strong relationships with their clients.

This will encourage business clients to refer their agent to their business associates. It will also help build a loyal client base.

Motor Vehicle comprehensive insurance, marine hull (engine) insurance policy, group life insurance policy for career officers, staff electoral hazard insurance policy, Ad-hoc staff electoral hazard insurance policy, electronic/computer all risk insurance policy, as well as fire, special perils and burglary insurance policy.

The various items to be insured are at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja and the zonal offices of the commission in the six geo-political zones of the country.

Among other things, insurers and brokers wanting to participate in the business are required to provide CTC of tax clearance certificate or acceptable evidence of up-to-date payment of Company Tax for the year 2011, 2012 and 2013, evidence of VAT registration and remittance of all taxes, as well as evidence of registration and remittances of both employer and employees’ Pension Contribution including group life assurance policy.

Additionally, the underwriters

are also expected to submit documents such as the current practicing licence issued by the National Insurance Commission, evidence of valid reinsurance treaty arrangements, identification of available extensions and exemptions applicable to each cover and more importantly the time limit within which claims shall be processed and paid, as well as the guarantee/remedy against failure to settle claims as indicated.

Source: www.insure.net

INEC plans insurance cover for political office holders

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he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it intends to arrange comprehensive welfare insurance policy for political office holders in the country.

INEC said to arrange the insurance cover, that it has already invited insurance companies and insurance brokers to express interest to provide cover and to manage the various insurance policies respectively.

In order not to be left out, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, has advised its members to hurriedly express interest to manage the insurance policies of INEC. Apart from notifying the insurance brokers, our correspondent gathered that the NCRIB also passed the message across to its members through the various social networking platforms.

The comprehensive welfare insurance policy for political office holders aside, INEC also plans to arrange

INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Money

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

35

Access Bank, others leverage on innovative cards As competition among financial institutions in the country becomes more intense banks are turning to new initiatives, services and products to increase market share and retain their customers. UDO ONYEKA reports.

F

ierce competitions for deposits and customers have led financial institutions into seeking new and innovative ways of serving their customers. The banks have also acquired cutting-edge technology to best each other in the area of service delivery, This effort however is also in tandem with e- banking vision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Bankers Committee.

It is a known fact that the CBN and banks are committed to effective electronic banking and payments system.

Describing the payments system as an important component of services that banks render to Nigerians, experts say the importance of effective, efficient and safe service delivery to the Nigerian banking populace is of utmost important.

The experts’ emphasized on secure, robust and accessible payments infrastructure.

It is gathered that bank including Access Bank had taken deliberate actions in recent times to focus attention towards electronic payments as a veritable option for efficient payments service towards the promotion of rapid financial inclusion and increased economic activities.

It is in this regard that customized debit card unveiled recently by Access Bank Plc, have been received with joy by customers and prospective customers.

The debit card tagged, “Persona” allows customers carry around their fond memories by uploading their favourite image on their debit cards.

The Access Bank Persona debit card is a customised card and enables customers to enjoy the privilege of branding their payment cards with their favourite photographs and images showing fondest memories. Cardholders can alternatively select images from the bank’s gallery and upload their favourite images on their debit cards.

National Mirror was informed that Access Bank’s card products business is currently developing a suite of valued added products and services to enhance the value proposition to its cardholders.

The bank said this essentially entails building the value propositions for “our products around the lifestyle characteristics of our target demographic segments. We will seek to create loyalty driven by engagement, leveraging off the lifestyle attributes of the

Wigwe

CBN Gov., Emefiele

We will not stop because it is not in our DNA to stop…all we do is win. We will continue to win with our customers by our side, because we are inspired by you

target market which drive or are closely associated with spending habits/patterns such as travel, shopping, music, sports among others”, Group Head, Channel Services, Access Bank, Mr. Segun Ogbonnewo, said.

According to Ogbonnewo the plan of the bank is to position its product suite differently for wider appeal by proving a richer context to it, adding that Access Bank have named the collective ecosystem of these non generic products and service enhancements ‘Persona’, with a tagline...’inspired by you’.

He said the product suite will be supported by a dedicated Microsite for the card offerings which will host the dynamic product information about these products and also publicise the bank’s loyalty and reward offerings.

“This customised Debit card is the first in a series of initiatives under the Persona umbrella, and it is the flagship so it also bears the name Persona…

“In keeping with our commitment to inclusive banking services and channels, we have tried to ensure that it appeals to every customer segment, from the young and elderly, to the student and the professional.

“Your Persona is simply an expression

of who you are to the watching public…and we all want to make a good impression…we all want to be heard…this is a product that allows you express in a simple yet powerful manner, who you want to be seen as,” Ogbonnewo said further.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe described the customized debit card as part of the brand’s new future as well as a great future at the bank.

According to him Access Bank believes in creating its own destiny.

“We insist on pushing boundaries and we thrive on excellence. In the past few months you have seen us unveil a series of new initiatives, products and services. We have only just begun the journey and this is yet another train stop on the way.

“We will not stop thanking those who have been on the journey with us so far and we welcome the teeming numbers of customers who are coming on-board every day. We promise you that we won’t stop doing what we do best…improving your service experience across all touch points …doing new things and finding new ways to do old things.

“We will not stop because it is not in our DNA to stop…all we do is win. We will continue to win with our customers by our side, because we are inspired by you.

“This unique product was inspired by our customers. We have several people that have been with us for so long, since 2002. Even as a whole scale commercial bank, the customers stood with us, even when we did not have many retail products to offer. Now, we boast of the most widely used cards, we boast of the best premium cards, we boast of cards that are extremely efficient, but what we are doing today is even much more different”, Wigwe said.

Managing Director/CEO of Vervecard, Mr. Charles Ifedi, said that the “Persona” card, which was a great milestone to Access Bank, is at the forefront of driving the cashless initiative in Nigeria, adding that the launch of the product in partnership with Access Bank is in harmony with Verve’s vision to advance a cash-less society in Nigeria, where consumers enjoy the security and convenience of electronic payment. Apart from Access Bank which seems to be ahead of many banks in the cashless project drive few other banks have unveiled card products.

For instance MasterCard and United Bank for Africa, UBA, recently introduced personalised debit card in dubbed the UBA “All About U” Card. The bank said the unique MasterCard can be customised with elements such as images, colours and more.

Also Sterling Bank Plc recently formalised its partnership with the Arsenal Football Club with the launch of co-branded debit cards for the use of millions of fans and card holders in Nigeria.

As part of the bank’s objective on satisfying the needs of its customers, a statement from Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Strategy and Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola, said the co-branded debit cards, available in Visa and Verve was one of numerous benefits of the initial three-year partnership between the bank and Arsenal Football Club.

In an effort to encourage the use of cards, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Limited recently concluded a special offer to reward customers who use their debit MasterCard for cash withdrawals, purchases or online payments within and outside Nigeria, with cash and unique gift items.

Ecobank hands over N75m hostel to Delta State University

E

cobank Nigeria at the weekend handed over a multi-million naira hostel complex to the Delta State University, Abraka as part of its corporate social responsibility, CSR Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, South South and South East, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Umadia, said the project was in line with the bank’s CSR policy to give back to the communities where it operates.

He explained that the aban-

doned 166 room 4 - Wing female hostel was completed and made habitable by the bank with the sum of N118m under a Build, Operate and Transfer ,BOT, Agreement entered into by both institutions in 2007, stating that “the University recently approached the bank to take over the management of the hostel and pay our bank the outstanding balance of N64.36m which the bank was yet to collect. But the bank in a CSR initiative gra-

ciously forfeited the outstanding balance and injected additional N10m to renovate the hostel before today’s handover to the school.”

Umadia reiterated that the bank has been involved in various intervention measures in the education and other sectors of the economy.

In his speech, the out-going Vice Chancellor, Delta State University, Prof. Eric Arubayi, commended Ecobank for handing over the hostel to the school, despite the fact that it was yet to collect half of

the funds it spent to complete the abandoned hostel complex under BOT agreement, assuring that it would be put to good use.

According to him, ‘this handover is a great honour to me as this is my last day in office. We are greatly touched by this massive CSR project from Ecobank. The decision of the bank to forfeit about N65m and further injecting N10m to renovate the hostel before the handover is highly commendable.”

He lauded Ecobank’s professional ways of doing business and excellent service delivery, assuring that, the university will continue to do business with the bank.

The President, Student Union, Delta State University, Comrade Obaro Ohwojero and a cross session of female students at the event were full of commendation for Ecobank, and urged other corporate organisations to emulate the bank.

36

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Taxation

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Taxation of contract and direct labour procurement of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) of government in Nigeria (3) F. O. Anuya (Ph.D)

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irect labour procurement of goods and services and contract implications Opadiran (1987) defined Direct Labour Procurement as a process by which a project is executed by the workers of an organisation instead of the project being contracted out. It can simply be described as a ‘do it yourself ’ approach to project procurement.

Direct Labour could also be defined as a method of procurement whereby a client otherwise known as “the owner” uses his or her own in-house resources for the design and execution of a project. The in-house resources here will include both supervisory staff, skilled and unskilled labour force besides Equipment. Worthy of note in this system is the elimination of the contractor, which makes the direct labour method distinct from other procurement methods.

According to Iyagba and Idoro (1995), Direct Labour method of procurement can take various forms among which are; Fully In-House Direct Labour Here the organization has the human resources in place for all the phases of the project. The organization pays the monthly wages or otherwise of the Human resources.

Partially In-House Direct Labour Here the design and production information could be prepared by practicing consultants, while construction is handled by permanent personnel.

Hire-Labour Direct Labour Here the project owners do hire oflabour, machinery, purchase material and coordinate the construction work, possibly engaging a qualified professional for the management of the construction process.

Self-help Type of Direct Labour Self-help construction where the inhabitants of a community are organized and mobilized with the direct labour establishments of a Government Ministry.

Others are:- The developer provides the necessary recources, buys the necessary materials, hires the men and the machinery required, and mobilizes the resources on his own.

- Communal construction with the use of voluntary labour drawn from family members and friends.

- A self-help construction whereby the inhabitants of a community organize and mobilize themselves to execute a project.

These arrangements were seen to originally represent the true context of direct labour construction. Based on the definition, the following comments are made on the different forms of Direct Labour presented above:-

FIRS Chairman, Mashi

FERMA MD, Gabriel Amuchi

FORMS

CONTRACT IMPLICATION

Fully In-house Direct Labour

No contract

Partially In-house Direct Labour

Design and production of information by third parties are contracts.

Hire-Labour Direct Labour

Hire of labour, machinery, qualified professionals and contract purchase of materials will not qualify as Direct labour. Cash purchase of materials may qualify.

Self-help type of Direct Labour

Direct Labour of the Direct Labour Establishment of the Government Ministry

Others

May qualify as Direct Labour when executed through cash advance to a staff of the MDA within approval limit. They may not qualify when managed by a third party.

Contract can be inferred from the basis for payment by the project owner. a. Cash advance to staff to be retired after the procurement – No contract b. Payments for staff invoices – Contract (staff should not invoice his/her employer) c. Payment to staff for third party invoices - Contract d. Payment based on certificate of job completed - Contract Any Direct Labour Procurement must possess these characteristics to qualify as non contract procurementa. Ownership of procurement facilities The Ministries, Department and Agencies of Government must use only the in-house resources for the design and execution of the project. b. Absence of contractual relationship with both staff and non staff, in the procurement. c.

Payment should be through cash advance to staff. The cash advance must be retired at the end of the procurement and within approved limit.

Direct labour procurement and the Nigerian tax laws The schedule to the Companies Income Tax {Rate, etc of Tax deducted at source (Withholding Tax)} Regulations 1995 exempts those transactions which are, and indeed constitute “Outright sale or purchase of Goods and Property” and which

take place “in the ordinary course of that particular kind of business”, from Tax deduction at source. Where a sale or purchase transaction becomes repetitive or habitual, it will not qualify for exemption.

The sale of goods on a once-for –all basis will qualify for the exemption in so far as it meets the second condition. A sale takes place in the ordinary course of business when it takes place in the course of that particular business. Where, for instance, a trader sells goods directly to third parties, he will be seen as acting in the ordinary course of his business, that is, trading. However, where the trader enters into contract for the sale of the goods, he is no longer acting within his ordinary course of business, that is, trading, but has made an adventure into another business, that is, contracts. Further, a manufacturer who makes contractual sale or purchase is no longer acting within his ordinary course of business that is manufacturing, but has gone into another business, that is, contract. Although the manufacturer may use the items purchased or sold in his manufacturing business, the contractual arrangement for the sale or purchase will be subject to five per cent withholding tax.

Conclusion It is the Public Procurement Bureau’s Policy that Procuring Entities outsource those services that are either not part of

their core business activity or for which there is a fluctuation requirement in the terms of specialist skills or equipment , or where the open market provides a more efficient and commercial alternative. It is also its policy that Services, Materials and Equipment shall be acquired by Procuring Entities at the most favourable terms compatible with the desired quality and delivery requirements, taking account of total life cycle costs and in a manner that safeguards and preserves the reputation of the procuring entity; and to support the development of an indigenous contractor base in Nigeria and particularly in the area in which the various Procuring Entities operate. Despite these comprehensive provisions in the Procurement Act and the Financial Regulations, many Government Agencies deliberately set aside contract award procedures in favour of Direct Labour Procurement option.

The pertinent questions would be: - why are the MDAs interested in Direct Labour Procurement method? Could it be for better quality delivery, availability of more competent In-house staff, cost saving, non availability of competent contractors or Tax planning etc? Whatever the reasons, their actions should be guided by relevant Laws.

They should be sure and ready to prove a case for Direct Labour in the Public Procurement Act, that they have ascertained:that a schedule of rates, cost – plus or target contract would not be feasible, as quantities of work to be carried out cannot be defined in advance; that works are small and scattered or in remote locations with no local contractors and demobilization costs for outside contractors would be too high; that works must be carried out without disrupting existing operations; that the risk of unavailable work interruptions is better borne by procuring entity than by a contractor; that no contractor is interested in conducting the work at a reasonable price; that it has been demonstrated that Force Account (Direct Labour) is the only practical method for constructing and maintaining works under special circumstances; or that national security would be compromised if any other method was used. Any Tax planning that violates the provisions of the Tax laws is illegal.

Some Government Accounting Officers are quick to argue that the reason for Direct Labour Procurement option is the absence of budgetary provision for the payment of VAT which are invoiced to them by the contractors. It is advisable that Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government should include the VAT payable in the budget estimate for approval instead of violating the provisions of the relevant laws. From the content of the Financial Regulations and the Accountant General Circular of 2009, it is instructive to note that any payment for public procurement above Two Hundred Thousand Naira may not be accepted as a payment for Direct Labour, and could be deemed as Taxable Government Expenditure.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

37

Capital Market DAAR Communications shareholders approve bonus dividends payment Tola Akinmutimi ABUJA

S

hareholders of DAAR Communications Plc has approved a bonus dividend of one for every two shares held by them.

The approval was given during the company’s 5th Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the company held in Abuja as proposed by the board.

The Chairman of the company, Dr Raymond Dokpesi, said that the bonus dividend was proposed by the board following the continued loyalty and commitment of the shareholders to the company.

He said despite the challenges which the company experienced within the 2012 financial year, it was able to record a turnover of N4.2bn as against the previous year’s figure of N5.1bn, representing a decrease of 21 per cent.

According to him, following the Federal Government’s directive that all publicly quoted entities adopt International Financial Reporting Standard by January 1,2012, the company had fully complied with the directive.

Dokpesi noted the directive necessitated the re-statement of certain previous year’s transactions.

For instance, he said the 2011 restated Profit After Tax was N2.69bn while the Profit After Tax, PAT, for 2012 is now N0.273bn.

He said: “Substantial part of these adjustments arise from the accounting treatment of the receipt during the year of the debt owed your company by the Federal Government for providing host broadcast facilities for the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Cup. “By these results therefore, I am happy to report to you that your company has returned to profitability.

“I irrevocably assure you that this trend would be sustained and you would be assured of better returns on your investment in the company in the subsequent years”, Dokpesi added He said with the company’s return to profitability, the management was set to take advantage of opportunities in the operating environment, adding that “as we look into the future, we expect better operating environ-

NSE DG, Onyema

Dokpesi

Substantial part of these adjustments arise from the accounting treatment of the receipt during the year of the debt owed your company by the

Federal

Government for providing host broadcast facilities for the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Cup ment given the government’s commitment to the privatization of the energy sector which constituted the greatest challenge to business growth.

He expressed the belief that there would be relative stability in the macroeconomic policies of the government as well as concrete steps towards addressing the worrisome security challenges in the country.

The DAAR communications chief pointed out that the digitalisation of the broadcast industry would be consciously executed such that the industry operators would derive maximum benefit from the migration.

Some of the shareholders commended

the board for the financial performance of the company and urged the Board to consider payment of cash dividend during the next financial year.

NSE begins roadshow in Asia today Johnson Okanlawon As part of efforts aimed at enhancing foreign investors’ participation in the Nigerian capital market, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has commenced a roadshow to Asia today.

A statement from the Exchange said the high level investment delegation, comprising listed companies, market operators and top Nigerian government officials will visit Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing with the objec-

tive of developing partnerships and improving deal flow into the Nigerian capital market.

The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, as saying that the roadshow is part of the NSE’s drive to increase participation by Asian investors in the Nigerian capital market.

“The event will highlight the robustness of our capital market as well as showcase the Exchange and its listed companies and market operators. In each destination, participants will have the opportunity to interact with the major institutional investors and fund managers, and explore business opportunities,” he said.

It explained that the roadshow themed “Investing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange: Investing, Partnerships & Governance”, will bring together African focused investors and fund managers to discuss ways to strategically position themselves, develop partnerships and expand into Nigeria in order to grow and gain competitive edge in the region’s high growth market. Additionally, the meeting will explore the role of governance in facilitating trade and investment for businesses, and share insights on doing business successfully in Nigeria.

The Executive Director, Business Development at the NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, said, “We are delighted to tell our story to this dynamic region.

“We are all familiar with major Asian direct investment into Nigeria, but our initial engagement with the Asian market also indicates considerable appetite for portfolio investment into our capital market, and we look forward to meeting their major financial institutions and corporate face to face”.

He stressed that there is still widespread unawareness of Nigeria’s potential adding, “The first challenge is to confront and overcome the perceptions that exist in the minds of some people outside Nigeria. Asia has a considerable pool of investible finds looking for attractive opportunities and we need to inform their investors of the opportunities available in the Nigerian stock market.”

NSE suspends further trading in Oando Rights Issue Johnson Okanlawon

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange has suspended further trading in Oando Rights until further notice.

A statement from the lead stockbroker to the issue, Vetiva Securities Limited said the company has not obtained a formal clearance of the offer documents and registration of the shares from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company last week commenced a fresh capital raising

exercise from existing shareholders through a rights issue.

The company notified the Exchange of its rights issue to raise about N48.8bn.

Specifically, the energy company is to issue about 2.217 billion ordinary shares to shareholders in the ratio of one new share for every four shares already held at N22 per share.

Shareholders had recently given the directors of the company the authorisation to raise more capital to finance the firm’s asset acquisition programme.

Market analysts said equity financing of its expansion and asset acquisition programme would enhance the company’s bottom-line.

While the Oando recorded high growth in gross profit, financing charges reduced the growth in its bottom-line for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.

The company, which recently acquired Nigerian assets of ConocoPhillips, COP, to boost its operations and leadership position, posted a turnover of

N338bn, compared to N386bn in the corresponding period of 2013.

Gross profit rose 97 per cent from N46.7bn to N79.5bn.

However, high administration administrative expenses, financing moderated the profit after tax. Although the company reduced selling and marketing expenses from N5.2bn to N4.2bn, administrative expenses rose from N26.6bn to N47bn.

Similarly, net financing cost soared by 203 per cent from N8.61bn to N26.1bn.

Oando recently paid a divi-

dend of N1 dividend per share for shareholders comprising 30 kobo for the 2013 financial year and 70 kobo interim for the six months ended June 30, 2014.

The shareholders of the company, who approved the dividend at the annual general meeting in Lagos, commended the board and management for the dividend.

They also expressed high hopes that the acquisition of the COP assets in Nigeria, would add more value their investments going forward.

38

Features

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kaduna: Fighting to curb activities of pipeline vandals Juji village is fast becoming a haven for pipeline vandals. The proximity of the community to the Kaduna Refinery makes it a magnet for all manner of illegal petroleum activities in the area. Recently, AZA MSUE accompanied security operatives who raided the hoodlums’ hideouts and reports on the startling discoveries.

T

he activities of pipeline vandals have become a major threat to the nation’s growth prospects, as its implication ranges from economic to social and political. These acts also account for the low production at the country’s refineries. The supply of petroleum products through pipelines have be thwarted by vandals who are living in luxuries with their illegal gotten wealth.

Statistics show that a total of 16,083 pipeline breaks were recorded in the past 10 years and according to the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the country lost $10.9 billion to oil thefts between 2009 and 2011 and 10 million barrels of crude oil valued at $894 million was also lost to pipeline vandalism.

The devastating effects of vandals on Nigeria’s economy are beginning to manifest with dwindling oil revenue now evident.

Experts say that, for a largely mono-culture economy, trifling with this monster will destroy the economy.

The incessant attacks on pipelines by vandals coupled with other factors have forced the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to rely more on trucking for the movement of petroleum products from the depots to different parts of the country.

Former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, had earlier this year announced the deployment of state-ofthe art Horizontal Direct Drilling System (HDD) designed to re-direct the pipes and ensure restricted access by vandals.

In Kaduna State, the activities of vandals are not pronounced as that in the SouthSouth zone. This could be one of the reasons why the Kaduna refinery has been out of production for months now.

In Juji village, an underground crude oil pipelines passes to the refinery. This rustic community of mostly farmers has been a safe base of operation for pipeline vandals.

Curiously, the villagers are also complicit in the illegal oil business.

The operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been deployed in the village on constant surveillance. Recently, in an operations led by the Commandant, Alhaji Zakari Ibrahim Ningi the agency arrested 10 pipeline vandals who attempted to fire at them.

The state commandant said that more than 500 jerry cans of illegal petroleum products were confiscated, while some vandals escaped into the bush.

Ningi while commending information volunteers said the command’s anti vandal team swung into action after receiving an

Some of the arrested pipeline vandals

intelligence report on the activities of vandals at Juji village, adding that on sighting them, some of the vandals escaped while abandoning the stolen product.

He noted the vandals were arrested with their vehicles, even as he warned pipeline vandals to desist from their nefarious acts, saying that all those arrested would be charged to court after investigations are completed.

Ningi said it was discovered that the vandals broke a pipeline containing petroleum products. Consequently, the oil spill has contaminated the only stream in the community.

The Commandant has called on the residents to be cautious in consuming fish by ensuring that only known dealers are patronised to avoid poisoning.

He said: “In line with our core mandate and directives to end vandalism,our personnel are always on routine surveillance to check the activities of pipeline vandals in the state. So far, the success by the command in the area of anti-vandalism is unprecedented, as we have recovered two Volkswagen cars with registration number Gombe AE406BLR, NigerAA305BDA and five motor cycles. Also, we recovered 50 drums and 500 jerrycans of petroleum products. While the vandals have confessed to the crime, the command is still investigating to know the sponsors with a view to charging them to court.”

“It is worrisome that in spite of repeated warnings, pipeline vandalism is assuming frightening dimension, as was discovered in Baban-Sauri village, where the residents are complicit in illegal siphoning of petroleum products. When we arrived at Juji village, the vandals fired at us but we shot back to scare them. Some ran into the bush but we arrested 10 suspects, while three others were later apprehended at Malaban Lido.”

Ningi added: “Our personnel are well trained to operate in the bush. We commend all law residents of Juji village to always avail us with information that can lead to the arrest of pipeline vandals. There is no hiding place for them in Kaduna State. We have the capacity to flush out all the vandals. We call on parents to watch the movements of their children. We are also calling on vandals to repent for their own good and our society.”

One of the vandals, who identified him-

NSCDC officials guarding jerry cans of illegal petrol

self as Stephen Gambo, confirmed engaging in the illegal siphoning of petroleum products. He attributed his action to poverty. “I did it but I am pleading for mercy because my mother is ill and my father is down with stroke. No food at home for me and my brothers to eat. I will never engage in this act again.”

In a related development, the Kaduna State Command has also arrested three notorious vandals with more than 107 Jerry cans at Kangimi village, in Igabi Local Government area, while they were trying to vandalise an NNPC pipeline in the area.

The command said the vandals whose names were given as Haruna Rabiu,Ibrahim Mohammed, and Mohammed Inuwa, are believed to have been among those perpetrating criminal activities in the area.

In a statement by the Public Relations Officer,(PRO) Oguntuase Akin Michael said

IT IS WORRISOME THAT IN SPITE OF

REPEATED WARNINGS, PIPELINE VANDALISM IS ASSUMING FRIGHTENING

DIMENSION, AS WAS DISCOVERED IN

BABAN-

SAURI VILLAGE

consequent upon information to the corps, another vandal Abubakar Gambo, has been arrested and he has given useful information on their mode of operation.

According to the statement, in their confessional statements, the suspects said they were hired by a a kingpin to carry out the act. “While we are still investigating the matter, the command has also embarked on man hunt for the fleeing ring leader. Among the items recovered are drilling machines, diggers and Peugeot J5 bus with registration number XA 488 BBU” Meanwhile, a resident of Juji village, Mr.John Adams has called on the federal and state governments to bring development to the area. He said they are suffering from poisonous gases being emitted from Kaduna refinery, stressing that many villagers now suffer from many kinds of ailment.

“We are pleading with the government to develop our village. The land on which the refinery was built belongs to us. But as rich as everyone working there is, our people do not have decent shelters over their heads.

We need hospital, accessible roads, school for our children among other things. We too are citizens of of Nigeria. We are living in abject poverty; some of our people cannot afford two square meals a day. That is why pipeline vandals are stealing petroleum products to feed themselves”.

However,as the war on vandals intensify in Kaduna and environs, the federal government must pull all stops and fight pipeline vandals in order to stem the decline in proceeds from crude oil.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Features

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

One of the old office buildings

39

The railway compound at Ebute-Metta, Lagos

NRC: Facing uphill task of modernising a slumbering giant The place of railways in the development of any country cannot be overemphasised. This is why the ongoing modernisation of Nigerian Railway Corporation is eliciting interests. But FRANCIS SUBERU writes that the corporation is still burdened by old and dilapidated structures in need of rehabilitation.

N

igeria boasts of being the giant of Africa. That was until it began to see its monumental assets collapsing in quick succession.

One of such assets that gave the country its pride of place was the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC). The Corporation traces its history to the year 1898, when the first railroad in Nigeria was constructed by the British colonial government.

On October 3, 1912 the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway were amalgamated, starting nationwide rail services under the name, Government Department of Railways. With the passing of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act of 1955, the company gained its current name, as well as the exclusive legal right to construct and operate rail service in Nigeria.

The rail network reached its maximum extent shortly after independence, in 1964. After that, the NRC entered a long period of decline, inept management, and eventually a complete lack of maintenance of rail and locomotive assets became the order of the day.

In 1988, NRC declared bankruptcy, and all rail traffic stopped for six months. After that, train services resumed, where the tracks were usable. By 2002, passenger service was again discontinued only to resume in 2006. In December 2012, regular and scheduled passenger service was restored on the Lagos to Kano line.

However, despite the improvements, the infrastructural decline in the corporation persists across its seven districts including the Lagos District, Northern District, Eastern District, Western District, North-East District, North-Central District and North-West District.

Incidentally, across the seven districts in which the corporation has been divided, NRC has big yards, up to a size of

mini towns with lots of facilities.

As scarce as land is in Lagos, the NRC has a land space covering from EbuteMeta to Yaba and from Yaba to Surulere.

A railway staff that has worked for more than two decades told our correspondent that the land on which the National Stadium at Surulere is built used to belong to the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

Lagos District covers a distance of 43km on the mainline (Iddo - Ifo Junction), 87km on (Iddo - Idogo) and 48km on (Apapa - Ifo Junction). The District which covers Lagos State and southern part of Ogun State has a total of 15 stations on the main line and 10 stations on the branch lines.

The Lagos District yard has all the facilities of a functioning and recognisable town, including a federal medical centre, police command, primary and secondary schools, bars, football pitch and game centres, petrol stations, canteens, workshops, training schools, halls and so on.

These facilities are equally replicated in all the seven districts of the corporation. The problem however, is that the facilities are old and neglected. Of great worry is the level of dilapidation of the residential quarters and offices.

A look at the structures tells you they are old and weak. Walking into the NRC yard at Ebute Meta gives an ancient expression. You feel you are living in the 19th century. Though about one quarter of the structures is abandoned, majority are still very much in use, even though

the ones occupied are barely better than those unoccupied.

Imagine buildings with combination of bricks and planks. At the time of their construction, they would have been strong and firm but now, after being neglected for decades, they are rusted and shaky.

NRC offices look more of museums. It would have been good for primary schools and secondary schools students’ excursions as one finds everything archaic.

From the floors of the usually one story building to the 1950 model fans and office tables, there is a strong expression of neglect, as most of the buildings – housing the offices have clearly not been refurbished for decades.

Investigations revealed that miscreants have started taking advantage of the neglect, as there are many reported cases of rapes by the residents. A resident, Ayodeji Daudu said he has witnessed the rapes of women and hemp smoking at various hideouts in the railway compound.

“Female residents are always afraid because stories of rape are rife here. It is dangerous for a lady to move around abandoned buildings at night because that is where the hoodlums perpetrate their evils.”

When contacted on security situation in the yard, Commissioner for Police, Nigeria Railway Command, Ebute-Meta, CP Yarz Jatau was said to be very busy and would not to attend to calls.

The information officer, who pleaded anonymity said crime in the yard has reduced.

Management of the corporation however took exception to claims that most of the structures in the yard are inhabitable. According to the Assistant Director of Public Relations, David Ndakotsu, the

NRC OFFICES LOOK MORE OF MUSEUMS. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR PRIMARY

SCHOOLS AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS’ EXCURSIONS AS ONE FINDS EVERYTHING ARCHAIC

structures are old but very strong, saying budgetary provisions are made yearly to renovate them.

“Yes, they are old but are habitable.

Even the house that I occupy is old but very comfortable. We renovate the buildings yearly because there are budgetary provisions to take care of that. Our staffs are very happy with this because you don’t have to worry about accommodation when transferred from one district to another.”

Responding to allegations that miscreants have taken over the yards while outsiders are illegally occupying buildings meant for the staff, Ndakotsu said no outsider is allowed to live or trade in the compound, adding that all the businesses are carried out by the Nigeria Railways or concessioned out by the management.

Ndakotsu further said Nigeria Railways has begun a nationwide exercise to modernise its facilities and infrastructures.

He said: “Contrary to reports, activities have since commenced on the rehabilitation of NRC workshops and others facilities in all the seven districts that make up the corporation such asEbute Metta, Lagos, Ibadan, Zaria, Bauchi, Enugu and Kafanchan. Our workshops are being retooled and modernised to compliment the entire railway rehabilitation and modernization programme currently going on”.

According to him, NRC is currently replacing old equipment with modern technology. It has also increased the production capacity through equipment modernisation. The modernisation of the Ebute Metta workshop also includes the use of electricity as a source of heat in furnances and various castings and forgings. It also handles most railway rolling stocks and other spare parts needs.

He concluded by saying the overall aim of the Federal Government through the massive intervention in the railway transport sector is to grow the economy, mass movement of people and goods notably agricultural produce, job creation, eradication of poverty which are basically the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Global Business

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

China’s deposit insurance GlaxoSmithKline plans reorganisation seen as risk for small banks G C hina’s plan to introduce a deposit insurance program may exacerbate a liquidity shortage at smaller banks and increase their chance of failure as savings shift to the biggest state-controlled lenders.

While the move could limit systemic risks, it may fuel competition for deposits and drive up lenders’ borrowing costs as savers divert Money to stronger banks or those that offer higher interest rates, according to Jim Antos, a Hong Kongbased analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. China may offer customers deposit protection as soon as the start of 2015, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing unidentified sources. The insurance would help to prepare China’s financial system for bank failures as the economy slows and authorities allow banks to pay higher interest on deposits.

“Competition for large deposits will clearly increase, with pricing and the perceived financial strength of the banks being the key factors for consumers,” Antos wrote in an e-mail. “We expect to see a shift of large deposits to the megabanks which, being government-owned, are viewed as stronger institutions.”

The government may cap coverage at 500,000 yuan ($81,000) and set different premium levels based on a

Xi Jinping

bank’s regulatory rating under the plan, Economic Information Daily reported Friday, citing a person close to regulators.

Multiple government departments, including the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, are preparing the programme, Xinhua said.

The nation’s savers had amassed 112 trillion yuan of deposits by the end of October, PBOC data show.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and its three largest stateowned peers held 43 per cent of that total.

Chinese banking shares rallied in Hong Kong and Shanghai today.

ICBC surged 5.5 per cent to close at 4.04 yuan, the highest since September 2013, while its Hong Kong-listed

shares rose 1.5 per cent to HK$5.26.

Bank of China Ltd. gained 8.1 percent in Shanghai and 3.6 per cent in Hong Kong.

“We haven’t seen anything like this for A-share banks in quite some years,” said Antos. “A few years ago you could not give the shares away for free. Now they are being snapped up enthusiastically. The economy is not as robust and the banks really have not changed their business practices much in the intervening period.”

The central bank last week moved further toward freeing up interest rates by raising the cap banks can pay on deposits to 1.2 times the benchmark rate from 1.1 times. That may make it more costly to attract and retain deposits, putting a strain on finances of smaller lenders.

Deposit insurance is “a clearly defined exit strategy for troubled banks,” Judy Zhang, a Hong Kongbased analyst at BNP Paribas SA, wrote in a note today. “It protects the public interest and shows the government is accelerating financial reform to gradually break its implicit guarantee of the financial system. However, it may lead to a deposit shift from small banks to large and medium-sized banks in the short term.”

Richest London areas see first home price dip since 2009

H

ome prices in London’s wealthiest neighborhoods fell on a monthly basis for the first time in four years as uncertainty over property taxes and national elections next year deterred buyers.

Values in the 13 neighborhoods including Chelsea and Mayfair that Knight Frank LLP defines as prime central London declined 0.2 per cent in November from October, the first drop since October 2010, the broker said in a report

London estate

Saturday.

London’s luxury-home market is running out of steam after outperforming the rest of the U.K. since 2009. The opposition Labour Party plans to raise 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) from an annual tax on homes valued at more than 2 million pounds if it wins the election next year. Labour and Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party were tied with 31 per cent support in a YouGov/ Sun poll published November 28.

“It is difficult to rank individual reasons for the decline in order of importance, but anecdotally they appear to include the looming U.K. general election, the proposals for a mansion tax and the impact of capital gains tax reform for nonresidents,” Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, said in the statement.

Annual price growth in the prime areas has slowed to 6.1 per cent in November from a high this year of 8.1 per cent in June, Knight Frank reported. The average gain for the U.K. was 8.5 per cent, Nationwide Building Society said Friday.

Buyers from Asia and the Middle East and Russia, who helped drive price growth in the central London market, are now facing a rising U.K. pound as well as series of levies imposed by Cameron’s government. The pound has strengthened 3.8 per cent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies.

laxoSmithKline Plc is planning a reorganisation that will include hundreds of job cuts in the U.S., people familiar with the situation said.

The drugmaker is poised to announce a workforce restructuring as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private company matter.

The changes will involve operations in the U.S., where London-based Glaxo has struggled to sell respiratory medicines in recent months. Deirdre Connelly, president of North American operations, is scheduled to speak to U.S. employees tomorrow, two people said.

Glaxo pledged in October to cut costs by £1 billion ($1.56 billion) over three years, with half the savings coming in 2016. U.S. sales are flagging amid increased competition for the company’s best-selling Advair asthma medication. Analysts estimate that sales of the drug will decline 30 per cent by 2015, from $5.3 billion last year.

This has put Connelly under pressure. The former Eli Lilly & Co. executive was part of a management reshuffle last month, and now reports to Abbas Hussain, Glaxo’s head of global pharmaceuticals, rather than directly to Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty. Glaxo shares have fallen about 8 percent this year, while the Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index has climbed about 22 per cent.

In October, “GSK announced a new restructuring program to refocus our global pharmaceuticals business and deliver cost savings,” Glaxo said in an e-mailed statement on November 28. “The aim of this program is to improve performance by taking unnecessary complexity out of our operations and establish a smaller, more focused organisation, operating at lower costs, that supports our future portfolio.”

Each business unit is “currently deciding how to respond to this challenge,” Glaxo also said. “When we do have proposals, we will first share those with our employees.”

Canada extends order on rail shipment to alleviate grain backlog

C

anada extended an order that requires the country’s two largest railways to ship a minimum amount of grain each week until March 28.

The federal government said the measure is to ensure that the remainder of last year’s crop is moved along with this year’s and that normal operations of the grain supply chain are maintained, according to a statement. “Our government continues to act to ensure that grain and all commodities get to market in a timely manner,” said Transport Minister Lisa Raitt.

The government first imposed an order requiring Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. to move 500,000 tons of grain a week in March after a backlog of grain left as much as C$20 billion ($17.5 billion) of crops stuck on prairie farms. A similar order was made between August 3 and November 29 to prevent a recurrence of the backlog during the

Rail lines

fall harvest.

Canadian National Railway, the country’s largest railway, said the government should have focused on encouraging greater supply chain collaboration and lifted the weekly grain volume requirements rather than extend them.

“CN believes that normal commercial relationships and a stable regulatory environment are essential for an effective, well-functioning rail transportation marketplace,” the company said in a statement. “More regulation threatens to increase costs, stifle innovation and potentially discourage Investments that are critical to building strong, safe and resilient supply chains of the future.”

The new order sets new weekly quotas ranging from 200,000 tons to 465,000 tons depending on the week.

Failure to do so could result in penalties of as much as $100,000 per violation, according to the government statement.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Fuel scarcity looms over leadership tussle in Warri IPMAN THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

P

Flag officer commanding Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Agba being assisted by Mrs. Gemu during the decoration of Commodore Musa Gemu last week

Coalition tackles FG, oil firm on communities’ compensation OSAHON JULIUS YENAGOA

E

nvironmental rights activist and Bayelsa State Coordinator, Environmental Rights Action, [ERA] Mr. Alagoa Morris, at the weekend raised the alarm that the explosion and blow-out in 2012 at seven Bayelsa communities in Southern Ijaw local government area of the state had polluted the rivers .

He called for proper investigation into the incident, saying the people of the impacted communities had been suffering under hardship due to the explosion.He said if quick action was not taken, the communities would be washed off by ocean, noting that ocean surges had become a recurring decimal in the affected communities.

“The people of the affected communities are suffering seriously. Their means of livelihood have been drastically affected. The major occupation of the people, fishing, has been hampered because of the blow-out and explosion,” Morris said.

Also speaking, a Niger Delta advocacy group, the National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spills in the Niger Delta, tasked the Federal Government and Chevron Nigeria Limited on the

need to pay compensation to the communities which suffered the massive explosion. It will be recalled that in 2012, there was an explosion at Chevron’s oil/gas rig, off the shores of the Atlantic Ocean which reportedly affected about seven communities of, namely, Koluama 1 and 2, Ekeni, Fishtown, Foropah, Ezetu and Sangana) in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

The National Coordinator, NACGOND, Dr. Edward Obi, said at a press conference at the weekend in the state capital, Yenagoa, that since the explosion, lives of the people in those communities had worsened as they had lost their means of livelihood.

He said, “The people have lost their means of livelihood almost entirely.

They can no longer fish and expect anything near their previous yields.

The fishes have either died or migrated to other safer regions in the sea. In their place, strange invasion of weeds that are alien to them have resurfaced.

“Sea levels have also risen dramatically and local residents are attributing that to the sad events of 2012 where two persons allegedly died and hundreds of persons injured.”

Obi lamented that the

Federal Government and Chevron had reneged on the promises made during their visits when the explosion occurred.

He said the palliatives promised by President Goodluck Jonathan had also not materialized, adding that the N120m given

by Chevron in a “so-called ex-gratia gesture was not meant to replace a proper and formal assessment of damages and compensation to be paid to communities and individuals.”

The NACGOND boss, who said the coalition would continue to engage the government and the oil firm until the people were adequately compensated, also vowed to take the matter beyond Nigeria if they continued to display nonchalance.

He called on Governor Seriake Dickson to reignite his initial passion and vigilance against what he called, “environmental terrorism” when he visited the explosion scene in 2012.

Obi urged the governor to make good his promise to set up a technical committee to get to the root of the matter and properly assess the impact of the incident on the environment and fragile economy in the immediate, medium and long term.

He also called on the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AllisonMadueke, to immediately revisit the issue and activate regulatory machinery to make e Chevron to attend to the compensation of the communities for the sake of justice and peaceful coexistence.

alpable tension at the Warri Refinery branch of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, may ignite another round of fuel scarcity in Delta state following the emergence of a factional executive body thereby heightening the lingering leadership tussle at the depot.

Sunday Mirror gathered that this was as a result of last week ‘kangaroo’ election secretly held in a Warri hotel where one Benjamin Omoefe who was early this year suspended by National leadership of IPMAN emerged as the new chairman of the association.

Sources at the Warri depot told our correspondent that there is an uneasy calm at the refinery as the seeming tension that enveloped the area may burst which is capable of leading to serious fatal clash between supporters of both parties.

At a press briefing in Warri on Monday, Chief Akpos Edafevwotu, whose tenure is expected to end November next year however debunked media report of a new executive, claiming that there is no change of the guard at the Warri IPMAN as he is still the chairman.

Edafevwotu described last week’s election as illegal and unrecognized by the national leadership of the association noting that the purported election was conducted by unknown miscreants who have ear-

lier been suspended from membership of the association.

The Warri IPMAN chairman flanked by members of his executive said: “IPMAN is a body of employers and not employees.

What we are hearing is that a group of employees and suspended IPMAN members coming out to claim they have been elected to lead Warri IPMAN chapter even when our tenure is yet to expire. This is unacceptable to us.”

He presented to newsmen copies of a letter dated November 18, 2014 signed by the Alhaji Danladi Garba Pasali, National Secretary of IPMAN addressed to Area Manager, NNPC/PPMC Warri, Depot Manager, commissioner of police and director DSSS affirming him as the substantive chairman of Warri IPMAN. The letter reads: “The National Executive committee of IPMAN is hereby informing you that the above name (Chief Akpoviri Edafevwotu) is the elected and recognized IPMAN depot chairman in Warri.

“He was elected for five year tenure in November, 2010. His tenure will expire in November, 2015 as enshrined in our amended constitution of 2009.”

He maintained that should the last week election be legal, it would have strictly followed the stipulated laws guiding IPMAN elections, explaining that IPMAN elections are conducted in segments before an AGM election where executives are duly elected to pilots its affairs.

NNS decorates Gemu with new rank THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

C

ommodore Musa Gemu, the commanding officer, Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, Delta was last week decorated with new rank of “first-star general” in the Nigerian Navy.

Gemu’s new rank did not come on a platter of gold but through hard work and diligence especially the fight against the scourge of illegal oil bunkering along

the creeks of Delta State.

The Adamawa born military officer alongside seven others were promoted and decorated with their new ranks by Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Peter Agba assisted by commander, Joint Task Force (JTF) code-named Operation Pulo Shield, Maj. Gen Emmanuel Atewe.

Commodore Gemu who was deployed to NNS Delta

February this year in the height of illegal bunkering activities, has been able to lead serious fight against the worrisome situation of oil theft in the creeks. The officers were stripped of their old ranks by top military officers and assisted by the promoted officers’ wives before they were later decorated with their new ranks.

The newly promoted senior officers were charged to see their new ranks as a

call to be more committed and discharged their duties with greater unwavering commitment.

Speaking during the programme, duo of the Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Peter Agba and the commander, Joint Task Force (JTF) code-named Operation Pulo Shield, Maj. Gen Emmanuel Atewe in separate remarks at the occasion said promotion only comes from God.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Deputy majority leader, Ogor, adopts 361 Orphans THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

S Leo Ogor, centre, and others being conducted round Grace orphanage home by the proprietor, Rev Great

Community protests release of suspected oil thieves OSAHON JULIUS YENAGOA

T

he release and non-prosecution of five youths suspected to be behind the multiple attacks on the oil well belonging to the Nigeria Agip Oil Company in Okoroma Community, Nembe local government area of Bayelsa state has led to protests by the elders and youths of the community, who accused security agents of promoting alleged lawlessness and oil crimes.

The suspects identified as indigenes of the Okoroma community was said to have blown up the oil well over a disputed Security Surveillance Contract in the area but were apprehended by the combined team of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’ The suspects had a fortnight ago wore masks and attacked the oil well known as Oil Well 7 and the Obama Oil Field pipeline con-

necting Brass Area of the Nigerian Agip Oil company(NAOC) with improvised explosives suspected to be dynamite.

The Protesting Indigenes of the Okoroma clan, in a letter written by their counsel and Port Harcourt based Legal practitioner, Barr.Nnamdi Ugwu, argued that though the security agencies led by operatives of the DSS and the JTF arrested those fingered in the bombing of Agip Oil well, the decision to release the suspects and failure to prosecute them has sent a wrong signal to other youths who had threatened to commit other violent crimes against oil multinationals in the area.

The letter, which was sent to the State Governor, Hon.Seriake Dickson and made available to newsmen alleged that the five suspects including one Joe Kilete, Ibrimo Sunday, Famous Fiberesima, Engr.Kuro Okardi, Joseph Bokolo, Betram Sagbe, Douye Ozu and Dressman Moneyman, were released from the custody of the

security agency in a suspicious circumstance.

According to Okoroma community, the suspects had boasted during arrest that their incarceration was temporal as they were working for the office of the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah(rtd), ”the heinous act was committed by the suspects with connivance of their political god fathers, which is worrisome. Person elected, like the Deputy Governor, should not be seen sponsoring or aiding the commission of crime against the people.”

“The letter, dated 6th of November, 2014 and written by the Nembe Council Chairman, Eminah Beneth to the Deputy Governor,accusing Agip of Divide and rule, is a prima facile evidence that the above stated crimes were planned and excuted with involvement of government officials.

The manner in which the arrest and release of suspects was done is a direct catalyst to encouraging and enticing other people to resort

to commission of crimes to drive home their demands.It is dangerous and foreign to our clan.” “that shutting down of Obama Well 7 and the vandalization of Obama/Brass pipelines are criminal offences punishable by the laws of the Federation and that the use of explosive devices by any unauthorized person or persons is a criminal offense punishable by the laws of Nigeria.

That it is a criminal offence to watch the suspects who perpetuated the above heinous crime to walk away unpunished because they have political god fathers.”

The Okoroma Community however called on the security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and the suspects rearrested to enable prosecution. ”The Okoroma clan is known for its peaceful and harmonious nature with records of non-violence to host communities and the criminal acts of the few persons arrested and freed is strange to the community.

Ogonis won’t be second fiddle in Rivers politics –Dep. speaker DENNIS NAKU,

PORT HARCOURT

D

eputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Leyii Kwanee has said that the people of Ogoniland cannot play second fiddle in the politics of the State.Kwanee was reacting to the selection of Hon. Dakuku Peterside as the consensus candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the State by the party’s stakeholders last week, in preference to an Ogoni indigene, Senator Magnus Abe.

Peterside, an indigene of Opobo in the River South East Senatorial District is a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum, Downstream.

The deputy speaker however charged eligible voters in Ogoniand to remain calm in the face of the “political permutations” that appears to have horse traded the Ogonis in his party, the APC. He also restated his appeal to all Ogonis particularly his constituents to avail themselves of the opportunity to collect their

Permanent Voters’ Card, PVC and as well register during the continuous Voters’ Registration exercise due to begin on December 3, this year.

The Deputy Speaker noted that participating in this exercise is the surest way for the Ogonis to determine their future as an ethnic nationality ahead of the 2015 elections.

Speaking from his home town in Taaba, Khana Local Government Area, he said, “I charge those of you who are 18 years and above to return home immediately and get reg-

istered as Voters, in order to have a stake in the politics of Rivers State especially in the forthcoming general elections” we cannot afford to be second fiddle at this time regardless of the political permutations in my party...”.

He said adequate logistic arrangements have been put in place at his 6 Tombia Street GRA Phase 2 Office in Port Harcourt to enable indigent members of Khana Constituency II return home for the issuance of the INEC PVC and the CVR.

uccour came the way of about 361 orphans in Delta State at the weekend as the Deputy Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mr Leo Okuweh Ogor adopted and promised cater for the children. Ogor, who is the member representing Isoko Federal Constituency at the green chamber told the orphans that he will do his best to promote their educational pursuit vowing not allow the children go hungry anymore.

He made the promise when he visited the Human Welfare for Empowerment and Development Initiative (HWEDI) under Ascertion Grace Global Outreach Orphanage home at Irri in Isoko South Council Area of the state.

Speaking during the visit, the lawmaker noted he was at orphanage to identify with the inmates and to have a better understanding of their needs while also expressing appreciation to the proprietor of the home for coming to the aid of the downtrodden in the society.

Ogor who also donated food stuff and other materials to the children, promised to build a befitting hostel as part of his contribution to the welfare of the children said that he would do for them what he could do for his children.

The deputy leader stated that: “I want to state very clearly that very few people will do what you people are doing here. It’s quite amazing and I will always continue to identify with you. By the power of God that has made it possible for me to be what I am today, I hereby adopt you all as my children. I will do for you what I can do for all my children. You will never ever go hungry again in your life.

“It is an experience for me to be here and definitely I will never forget you people. Don’t play with your education; education is what will make you to stand out in life.

The destiny of a man can only be delayed but it can’t be denied.”

Ogor also used the occasion to donate items provided by MTN Nigeria to the Orphanage through his influence. He also ordered an immediate construction of modern toilet facilities for the orphans.

Receiving the lawmaker and members of his entourage, Proprietor of the Orphanage home, Rev. Precious Great, thanked the lawmaker for always identifying with them through the provision of food items on regular basis.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Politics

43

k hard to defeat APC –Udenwa

d National Conference, shares his thoughts on national issues, outcome of the confab

conference. One is administrative, which the President might be able to do on his own. Then the other one is something the National Assembly must come into, because state creation is one of the things the National Assembly must come into and so if it is agreed, (though you have the constitutional restraints), the National Assembly can make it easy to pass these recommendations. You know in state creation, the state Houses of Assembly are also involved and so if everybody is on the same page, then you can create the states.

Looking at the body language of the lawmakers, do you think it is something they are disposed to doing?

Yes, I believe so, if they want to be patriotic. I believe so, because if you talk about the National Assembly, who are those in the National Assembly? They are Nigerians like you and I. some of these minorities that want to remedy their situation, they also have representatives at the National Assembly. The National Assembly is not an isolated body. They are representing their people and they know the problems of their people.

The problem some of the lawmakers have is that they feel that they are the elected representatives of their people who should be called upon to discuss issues concerning their people not a conference like yours?

We are not denying them their rights. That was why there was no laws setting up the National Conference, that shows you that the National Conference does not have executive powers, we can only recommend. This is about having Nigerians from all shades of the country, from every facets of the society, the old men, the very young people, politicians, civil societies, the academics, all sorts of people. That body is in a better position to look at the issues dispassionately. The difference is that the National Assembly is made up mainly of politicians. When we recommend to them, we are not saying that they must take all our recommendations, but they have something to work on.

UCH, YOU DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE

N INCUMBENT, HE HAS A LOT OF IN-

LITY IN HIM

make state creation a very burdensome exercise?

Yes, we have constitutional restraints but it depends on how the Federal Government wants to handle the recommendations from the conference. This is why in one of the volumes of the reports, we have suggested constitutional amendments that will allow some of the things to go through. So, if these amendments are made, it will relax certain things. But concerning the one that has to do with the creation of states, we are not saying, relax what constitutional provisions are, no. There are two ways of implementing the recommendations of the

There are other serious recommendations like the unicameral legislature. And given that this kind of recommendation would amount to near self suicide by the lawmakers, how would you think they will accept it?

I don’t want to look at the problems of Nigeria from a narrow perspective. The issue is that we took on the presidential system and found that it is good because you have somebody to hold accountable. During the debate, some other options came up, there were options that we should go back to the parliamentary system and all that. But we still believe in the presidential system, it is a workable system, but the only unfortunate thing is that the presidential system is too expensive, and it is in trying to cut down the burden of high cost of governance that some of these issues came up. We felt we should have a presidential system but not one with full blown paraphernalia of presidential system that is very expensive. America is practicing the full blown presidential system with all the paraphernalia, but it is on a different economic level than Nigeria. It was just because of the cost that we recommend certain measures.

In your own opinion, how best can we implement the conference recommendations?

We debated all that, that was why the report was in parts. There are those issues that are purely administrative, they are not legal, which the President with his aides; the ministers, and even the governors, that is the National Council of States, can all meet and implement.

The other ones can go to the National Assembly by way of executive bills, and these executive bills can be debat-

ed by the National Assembly. They are Nigerians, I have no fear, whatsoever is troubling you and I are troubling them. If they look at these recommendations, I am sure they will pass them.

What of the ones that have constitutional implications?

Yes, the same thing, they are still part of the things the legislature has to look at; the ones that have constitutional implications, the legislators that will look at them and amend the constitutions accordingly, where necessary.

Can we share your thoughts on Nigeria’s 54 years of independence and 15 years of uninterrupted democracy in the country?

I like the distinction you are making. When people say we are 54 years, the bulk of the 54 years have been under military regimes. In fact you can talk of 15 years of uninterrupted democracy since 1999, it is about 15 years old only. During these years, we are bound to make our own mistakes, we are bound to have our drawbacks.

It took quite sometimes before we could separate the military from democracy. By the time we started democracy in 1999, there was still the military mentality. That also tells you that our first president under the democracy was also a military man. Having passed that transitional phase, probably, it is now that we are trying to be democratic and we should not expect too much from it. As I told you, we are a nation of diverse nationalities but somehow, we have managed to get along fine. That is where the issue of the national conference comes in. It has to do with trying to give a sense of belonging to all the segments of the country.

PDP recently adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as tits sole candidate for the 2015 presidential election. Do you agree with insinuations that the adoption was anti democratic and shutting out other contestants?

It is not a questing of shutting people out, I do not think we have shut people out. There are two types of transitions. When you have a transition where the incumbent still has an opportunity; he has not exhausted his possible tenure, that is one type of transition. Then you have the other transition where the incumbent has finished and a fresh man must come in. As long as the law allows President Jonathan another tenure, for stability purpose in the party and to give the government a longer time, you will see that it is more rational to allow him to run his second tenure, unless where there is absolutely no faith in him, which is not the case here.

You can even imagine what prompted Obasanjo to look for a third term. Government policies take time to mature and when you start a policy, you allow the government enough time to carry these policies through.

That is why, unless the incumbent has done so badly, you will definitely give him a second tenure to carry through these policies.

I was going to raise the issue of insecurity, that is one area people have scored him really low?

Yes, in terms of insecurity, I am one of those who believe that the issue of Boko Haram should have been tackled earlier than now. You can see that before we started being serious with the Boko Haram issue, they had dug in. You ask yourself, who is the person going to fight Boko Haram? It is our armed forces and they are part of our society. Recent events that has happened in the North-East even shows you that our armed forces are not as strong, not as united as we thought; they have been exposed, but somehow, it looks as if they are trying to come back to life. Now we hear that some soldiers are being court marshaled for indiscipline. Any army that loses discipline is no more an army, because that is what makes the army: That tells you that they have been very complacent over the years, that they were no longer a fighting force. But somehow, they are trying to recover themselves again.

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Politics

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

2015: Reinstatement of deputy gov raises dust in Taraba “personal grounds,” led to the emergence of Hon. Mark Bako Useni, from Takum II state constituency, as the speaker. Useni is one of the former G8 members of the House loyal to Suntai.

Kente became speaker in November last year, following the death of late Haruna Tsokwa, who was elected speaker after the impeachment of Haruna Gbana, in a circumstance many saw as a ploy by Umar to hold on to power.

It would be recalled that the Supreme Court had on Friday November 21, nullified the October 4, 2012 impeachment of Danladi and ordered his reinstatement as the deputy governor. In a judgement delivered by Justice Sylvester Nwgwuta, the court held that the deputy governor was not given fair hearing, even as it faulted the composition of the seven-man panel that probed the allegations of misconduct against him, describing as an academic exercise, the process that led to his impeachment.

JUSTIN TYOPUUSU

T

he Supreme Court ruling of Friday November 21, which nullified the impeachment of Sani Abubakar Danladi, deputy governor of Taraba State and ordered his immediate reinstatement and swearing-in as acting governor, is still raising political dust in the state.

The ruling has not only alter the political calculations in the state but has ushered in new political permutations and intrigues ahead of next year’s general elections.

Already, the deputy governor, now acting governor, had on assumption of office on Friday night nullified all political appointments made by the former acting governor, Garba Umar, from November 14, 2012 to November 21.

Danladi had said: “After consultations with Governor Danbaba Suntai, the governor has ordered me to nullify all political appointments made in the state from from November 14, 2012 to date.”

Danladi has also, on approval of his boss, appointed and sworn in Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Timothy Kataps, and Chief of Staff, CoS, Government House, Aminu Jika, who were appointed by Suntai when he return from a medical trip in August last year.

The return of Suntai’s loyalists; Kataps as SSG and Jika as CoS, is seen by many in the state as a sign of a major political realignment of forces by Suntai’s camp to install a successor of their choice come 2015.

The sudden turn of events, which saw Suntai’s men garnering support for Danladi, whom they worked for his removal in 2012, may not be unconnected with what many described as the over zealous ambition of Umar to govern the state come 2015, which saw him clearly destroying Suntai’s political structures and building his own.

This, Umar successfully did within the two years he presided over the state as acting governor. He sacked all political appointees appointed by Suntai and brought his men, including changing of the leadership of the House of Assembly to suit him.

He was seen as the leading governorship aspirant in the state. Having pocketed the delegates of the party during the November 1 ward congress of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, his emergence as the party’s flag bearer was certain, even as he was seen as a determinant of who gets what office come 2015 in the state.

But in a dramatic twist, following the Supreme Court ruling, Umar’s hope seemed to be dashed. National Mirror gathered that the judgment greatly altered political calculations in the state. And even before that ruling of the Supreme Court, there was a court injunction obtained by Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP from using the delegate list from Taraba for the primaries, all in an attempt to cripple Umar.

Though Umar is still in the race for PDP gubernatorial ticket, his chances are now very slim. For instance, he is contesting against the popular wish of most critical stakeholders in the state, even among his Northern zone, who have rule the state for ten years. The Central zone where the incumbent Governor Suntai comes from have done eight years while the Southern zone have not rule the state and are clamouring to rule come 2015.

The reinstated deputy governor, Danladi, who is from the same village with Umar did not purchase the PDP intent and nomination forms before the deadline for the submission of the forms and will not be contesting, but his close link with Suntai’s camp, which

The odds favour former minister

Danladi

provided him with moral support and logistics to come back to power, is been interpreted by political analysts to favour the candidate of the group who is from the Southern zone.

A source close to the group told National Mirror that Danladi has entered into an agreement with the Suntai group to support someone from the Southern senatorial district to emerge the PDP gubernatorial candidate and the next governor of the state. Under the arrangement, Danladi will be made a minister after elections while all his entitlements from the day he was impeached to date will be paid.

As part of measures to regain full control of the state, the group perfected plans to impeach the former Speaker, Josiah Sabo Kente and having gotten wind of the development, Kente resigned to avoid being impeached.

The resignation of Kente did not come to many as a surprise. He is believed to be a strong supporter of Umar. Kente, who is from the Southern part of the state, did not picked form to contest any political position in 2015, but was widely rumoured to be favored to pick the deputy governorship ticket to Umar, against the interest of his elder brother, David Sabo Kente, who is also contesting the gubernatorial ticket on PDP platform.

The resignation of Kente, who said he resigned on

WHAT REMAIN TO BE SEEN IS HOW SUNTAI’S CAMP, NOW CONTROLLING GOVERNMENT

UMAR NOW OUT OF POWER... WILL SLUG MACHINERY AND

IT OUT AT THE PRIMARIES OF THE PARTY SCHEDULED FOR

DECEMBER 8

As the Supreme Court ousted Umar and reinstated Abubakar, the political pendulum in Taraba seems to be favouring former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, against Umar and other PDP aspirants in the state.

Umar, who was the leading aspirant of PDP in the state before Friday, November, 21 though still in the race, but his chances of clinching the party’s ticket is now very slim. Already, the delegates’ list he was relying upon is being challenged in court.

The reinstated deputy governor, now acting governor, Danladi, has constituted a 13 member “policy and contract verification committee” to probe the ousted acting governor for the period he was in the saddle.

Though Danladi told journalists in Jalingo that the committee was not meant to witch hunt anybody, Umar is not likely to come out clean at the end of the exercise.

Umar cannot at the moment and even before now, boast of having the support of any prominent politician that can create impact for him in the state.

He is having too many political enemies, including the party’s chairman in the state and this will serious work against him.

As it stands now, the Kaduna-based architect and former minister, Ishaku, though not well known in the state, he is flying on the big wings of retired General Theophilus Y Danjuma, who is said to have the backing of the Presidency to install a governor of the state in 2015.

Ishaku is also relying on the support of other prominent Tarabans like Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, former governor of the state, Rev. Jolly T. Nyame, Amb Emmanuel Njiwah, as well as the entire Suntai camp and the House of Assembly, which have thrown their weights behind the general’s anointed candidate.

Another candidate who is seen by many as the best material for the job still in the Southern zone is David Sabo Kente, popularly known as DSK. The Wukari-born philanthropist and a retired deputy director of finance, at the National Assembly has through his foundation “DSK Foundation” touched many lives across the nooks and crannies of the state and beyond.

He is well known and his is a household name in the state, but he lacks the support to make any meaningful impact at the primaries. Though there are other aspirants seeking the party’s ticket, like Amb. John Musa and Obidah Bitrus, they are considered as jokers seeking political relevance in the state.

What remain to be seen is how Suntai’s camp, now controlling government machinery and Umar now out of power but angling to teach the others a political lesson, will slug it out at the primaries of the party scheduled for December 8.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 INEC. It was a common thing to hear that the systems were down, just having been used to register less than 50 persons. For an exercise with a short deadline, such hiccups effectively ensured that many Nigerians were shut out of the process.

Despite its huge budget, INEC has refused to adopt measures that would make the process easier for Nigerians. First, in the case of the PVC distribution, some of the lists pasted by INEC were even torn before they were pasted. They were pasted on lizard-infested walls in some cases. The names were neither listed in alphabetical or numeric order.

In many centres in Kogi, the cards were just spread on the floor and one needed to join others on the floor to search for one’s cards.

The registration machines were in poor state while the printers were either non-functional or unavailable.

INEC and politics of PVC, CVR

People waiting to collect their Permanent Voters Card at Community Secondary School Agboyi- Ketu, Lagos, recently.

APC, Fashola lambast INEC Opposition APC is one party that has complained about virtually everything under the Nigerian sun, however, its recent criticism of INEC’s handling of this exercise seems to be justified, following the general outcry that has greeted it.

Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola has also lashed out at INEC for doing a shoddy job, alleging that about 1.4 million voters in the state were disenfranchised.

According to the APC, the process was intentionally programmed to fail in order to disenfranchise voters in the states with the highest number of voters, most of which are under its control.

In a statement issued in Lagos last Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, APC said the fact that most of the 12 states in which the process has been largely botched have the highest number of voters and are under the control of the APC points to a clear collusion between INEC and the PDP. It said most registered voters were unable to collect their PVCs because INEC engaged in a programmed incompetence to swing the elections in favour of the PDP, in what is a clear case of rigging at source.

Mohammed said: “There is no doubt that this programmed incompetence has emanated from just one source, the ICT unit of INEC, with the intent of sabotaging the PVCs distribution process in key states, hence we are calling on INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, to institute an internal inquiry into the botched exercise with a view to fishing out the fifth columnists who are behind the sabotage, and mete out the necessary punishment to them.

APC said the unmitigated disaster that the PVCs distribution exercise turned out to be in those states raises some questions: Why did INEC put those states together for the PVCs distribution exercise in the first instance?

Why did INEC announce the dates for the distribution of PVCs in the states if the electoral body was not ready?

And why was a process that has taken INEC four years to plan end up being so shoddy?

It said the plan, therefore, is to postpone the elections in the states to a later date, so the PDP-led Federal Government can then use the Ekiti formula that includes massive militarisation and widespread intimidation to prevent free and fair elections in the states.

INEC hits APC, accuses Fashola of lying INEC has however hit back at the APC, saying it has not delisted any duly registered person from the register of voters.

Expressing commitment to ensuring that every properly registered voter get his or her PVC for the 2015 general election, it said nobody will be denied his or her PVC. However, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, said it has become necessary to reassure the voting public against the backdrop of temporary challenges that have been experienced in the third phase of the distribution of PVCs in some states.

Idowu added that INEC deferred the distribution of PVCs in four other states it had earlier listed for the third phase because the cards for those states have not been fully delivered by printers.

Idowu said: “It is partly for the same reason that the

45

commission rescheduled the distribution of PVCs in limited areas of Lagos and Nasarawa states,” adding that the outstanding cards will, however, be certainly distributed in good time before the 2015 general election.

He added: “They are presently being produced and have been scheduled for distribution under the fourth phase of the exercise from Friday, November 28 to Sunday, November.”

Idowu said it is completely false that INEC has removed the records of 1.4 million persons from the Register of Voters compiled in 2011 in Lagos State, adding that while it is true that at the end of the 2011 general registration exercise, INEC announced a figure of 6.1 million registrants in the state, when that data was subjected to the Automated Fingerprints Identification System, AFIS, software, 82,892 multiple registrations were eliminated.

INEC added that there was the technical challenge of loss of data and incomplete data affecting about one million records – mostly in 1,792 polling units that were identified and made public before the present exercise.

Idowu said: “That was why/how the Post-Business Rule figure for Lagos State, on the basis of which PVCs were printed, came down to about 4.6 million registrants.”

He said a pre-acknowledged data loss and incomplete data of some registrants is not a ‘conspiracy’ issue as has been alleged by some notable persons, adding: “It is a back-end technical challenge that is far from sealing the fate of affected persons, and for which INEC has already put in place measures to ensure redress.

He added: “INEC has made provision for eligible persons for whom PVCs could not be printed due to data loss or defective data to come out from Wednesday, November 12 to Monday, November 17 for their data to be recaptured during the CVR. In special consideration for the 1,792 polling units in Lagos State where the challenge of data loss is much pronounced, the CVR will take place at the polling unit level, as against the Registration Area, RA, level in other parts of the state.

“The Register of Voters is the most important bedrock of the credibility of any election. It is, therefore, not in the best interest of the political process, or indeed the enlightened self-interest of the political elite, to needlessly impugn the integrity of the Register.”

Every registered voter will be catered for -Jega In spite of all the challenges and complaints that have trailed the exercise, INEC boss, Prof. Jega has assured

PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT BEFORE THE

FEBRUARY ELECTIONS,

EVERY VALIDLY REGISTERED

NIGERIAN WILL HAVE HIS / HER PVC TO BE ABLE

TO EXERCISE THEIR VOTING RIGHT

that every voter will get the PVC. At a recent meeting with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West and Central Africa, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Prof. Jega said the challenges experienced during the third phase of PVCs distribution and CVR in some states were transient and did not threaten INEC’s readiness to deliver superlative elections in 2015.

Jega said: “The last phase of the distribution of PVCs and updating the register was to cover the remaining 12 states. I must say with regret that we experienced some challenges in the production of those cards within our defined time schedules, and this has necessitated adjustment of the timeline for distribution of the cards.

“Whereas we had wanted to distribute the cards within the same period in all the remaining 12 states, we now have to stagger it in order to ensure that we have all the cards before they are distributed. And, of course, people have been very anxious and many have been disappointed – not just by the change in the timetable for distribution of the cards but also by the logistical challenges and operational delays experienced in the field.

“But these are minor challenges as far as we are concerned. We are absolutely sure that before the February elections, every validly registered Nigerian will have his / her PVC to be able to exercise their voting right. And we are doing everything possible to ensure that happens.”

With less than 11 weeks to the general elections, the Jega-led INEC would have to do more to convince Nigerians that it is ready to, and capable of conducting free, fair and credible elections.

APC clears Emerhor for Delta guber THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

B

usiness mogul and gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, has been cleared to run for the December 4 primary in the

state.

After the screening exercise, Emerhor was on Sunday presented his clearance certificate by the chairman of APC South-South Screening Committee, Alhaji Tijani Gwazo.

Emerhor noted that his clearance has set the stage

for the battle for Delta State Government House, describing it as the beginning of good things to come.

It is could not be ascertained if any other governorship aspirant from Delta has faced the screening or been cleared by the party.

Emerhor, it would be recalled, was on November 18 adopted as Delta APC’s sole aspirant and by extension candidate for the 2015 gubernatorial election by all zonal, local government and ward leaders of the part across all the three senatorial districts of the state.

46

Politics

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

GUBERNATORIAL UPDATE

Kwara PDP guber aspirants sign undertaking WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

L

ess than a week to the gubernatorial primary election in Kwara State, aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, numbering 13 have agreed to accept the result

•Dele Belgore declines of the election and work for whoever emerges as the candidate.

However, one of them; Mr Dele Belgore, who was gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, is said to oppose to arrange-

ment, according to the National Mirror sources.

The aspirants, including Belgore, had organised themselves into a forum known as Kwara State PDP Gubernatorial Aspirants’ Forum, KWPDPGF, met on November 24

and prepared a document which they all signed to the effect that they would work for peace throughout the period of elections.

Sources said while twelve people signed the document, with Belgore declining on the grounds that he was not present at the meeting where the decision was taken.

The delegates, elected during the ward congress on November 1, had been a subject of controversy ever since with accusing fingers being pointed at Belgore and Alhaja Bola Shagaya, who were both alleged to have doctored the lists, particularly, that of Ilorin West Local Government Area.

KWPDPG had in its meeting of November 1, however adopted lists for 15 local governments leaving out Ilorin West.

The signed agreement, addressed to the PDP National Chairman, through the Senate President, and a copy obtained by National Mirror, reads in part: “We the 13 PDP gubernatorial aspirants express our confi-

dence in the said presentation of the list for 15 LGAs as true and authentic.

“We therefore use this medium to pledge our individual and collective loyalty to the party and the eventual winner of the expected free and fair gubernatorial primary election of December 8.”

Those who signed were Senators Simon Ajibola, Suleiman Ajadi, Gbemisola Saraki, Deacon John Dara, Arch Kale Belgore, Engr Sunday Babalola and Alhaji Jani Ibrahim Others were Prof Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem, Hon. Bio Ibrahim, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, Mallam Sanusi Abdullahi and son of late Governor Mohammed Lawal; Akeem.

UPP to unveil presidential candidate Dec 11 ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA All Progressives Congress, APC, members from Lagos State protesting the imposition of candidates through alleged fake primaries in Lagos at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, yesterday.

Aba Catholic professionals support Ogah’s guber aspiration EBERE NDUKWU

U

chechukwu Ogah’s gubernatorial aspiration in Abia State received further boost with the endorsement of his aspiration by the Association of Catholic Professionals, Aba, ACPA. In a press statement made available to Na-

tional Mirror, ACPA not only endorsed Ogah as its candidate, but also called on the delegates to listen to the voice of the people, which they say is the voice of God rather than listen to the voice of men.

ACPA president, deputy president, secretary, publicity secretary, women leader and organising secretary, Uche Nwafor, Nze Sylves-

ter Ukeagbu, Chidi Kizito, Ndubuisi Okoro, Lolo M. C. Enyioma and Innocent Nwafor respectively said: “After diligent and careful scrutiny of all the governorship aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the 2015 gubernatorial election in Abia State, we, ACPA members in Abia State, have unanimously adopted Ogah as

our sole candidate for 2015 governorship election.”

It said some of the qualities that endeared them to Ogah include, sincere concern for the common man, philanthropic gestures, integrity, dignified mind that is worthy of emulation, adding that his background as a known technocrat makes him the man to salvage Abia State.

Agbaje salutes PDP legislative standard bearers EBERE NDUKWU

A

Lagos State People’s Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial aspirant, Jimi Agbaje, has congratulated the party’s standard bearers for the 2015 state House of Assembly polls, at the PDP last Saturday’s primaries, commending them for participating in the competition in a mature, peaceful and democratic manner.

Agbaje, stated this in press statement made available to National Mirror yesterday, opining that the primaries were free and fair on the aggregate, adding

•Denies calling for Obanikoro to quit race that those who lost should cherish the joy in competition, while the winners must be humble in victory.

Especially pouring encomiums on the party hierarchy in Lagos State for providing a level playing ground for all aspirants for the 40 available tickets, Agbaje urged losers to be sportsmanlike in defeat and make sure they forge a united front with the victorious candidates in order to secure the votes of Lagosians, who are hungry for change.

He said: “PDP has always been a family and it is in our

tradition to promote internal democracy by running primaries that are transparent, free and fair. Saturday’s primaries have met the standard. But we must eschew all bitterness and as a strong force take the electoral battle to the ruling party in Lagos State. This is PDP’s chance. This is PDP’s moment. And we must seize it.”

Meanwhile, Agbaje has said that he has no hands in the calls by PDP youths on Sunday, asking Senator Musiliu Obanikoro to quit the gubernatorial race.

Youths from Obanikoro’s home constituency,

Lagos Island, in reviewing Saturday’s primaries, said results from the contest painted the former Nigerian Ambassador to Ghana and former PDP governorship candidate as a spent force, counselling him to throw in the towel.

A statement by his Director of Media and Publicity, Felix Oboagwina, said: “Whoever knows Agbaje will realise that it is not his style to throw punches in the dark. He is too decent for such shenanigans. He maintains the courage of his conviction and he will boldly express himself.”

U

nited Progressive Party, UPP, National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has said the party will unveil its presidential candidate on December 11 in Aba, Abia State at its National Convention.

Chekwas noted that contrary to speculation, the party would contest the presidential election with other major parties.

Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, Okorie reiterated that the Igbo nation in the country is quite excited by the opportunity UPP is giving them to vote for a presidential candidate in the next year election.

He said: “On December 11, we will present our presidential candidate at Aba, the heart of Igbo nation.”

Chief Okorie, who said he is being guided by the political philosophy of late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, emphasised that UPP would be opened to any form of coalition with either the All Progressives Congress, APC or Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the general election.

He said: “No government will be formed in 2015 without the critical factor, which is the UPP. We are in the race to win

the presidential election.

We are opened to coalition or alliance with either PDP or APC, but not until after the election.

“We have what other parties don’t have; we have a minimum of 25 per cent of block votes in all states without campaign.”

Saying UPP was not interested in any pre-election merger with either PDP or APC, he noted that he was in Lagos for a town hall meeting with all the Igbo associations as part of the reach out and consultations embarked upon

by UPP ahead of next year elections.

He said: “Last Sunday, we convened a town hall meeting in Lagos which was attended by over 86 Igbo associations at the Sheraton Hotels. At the end of the meeting, we requested to pay a courtesy meeting to the governor which was graciously accepted. The visit was well covered and reported as it were by the Lagos state Government House correspondents who were there.

“But I was surprised, indeed when the social media was awash that I was in Governor Fashola’s office for merger talks.”

He alleged that the media campaign against the party was being sponsored by Igbo people who are members of the ruling PDP.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

47

Equities gain 1.8% in one week JOHNSON OKANLAWON

T

he benchmark index of equities turned green last week, as investors traded 2.092 billion shares worth N28.2bn in 22,865 deals, compared to 1.359 billion shares valued at N14.5bn exchanged in 20,844 deals the preceding week.

The lead indicator appreciated 1.82 per cent to close at 34,543.05 points on Friday, while market capitalization gained N221bn to close at N11.4trn, from N11.2trn at which it commenced trading last week.

The NSE 30-Index appreciated 48.05 points or 6.41

per cent to close at 1,575.87 points, while the Banking Index rose 3.09 per cent to close at 366.13 points.

The Consumer Goods Index was up 6.32 per cent to close at 899.60 points, while the Oil and Gas Index was up 6.81 per cent to close at 416.86 points.

Lotus Islamic Index added 1.20 per cent to close at 2,150.13 points, but the Industrial Index shed 1.62 per cent to close at 2,020.88 points.

The Alternative Securities Market remained flat at 1,036.13 points.

The financial services sector led the activity chart with 1.671 billion shares

valued at N15.9bn traded in 12,563 deals, hence contributing 79.8 per cent and 56.4 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The consumer goods sector followed with a turnover of 111.632 million shares worth N6.34bn in 4,082 deals. The third place was occupied by the conglomerates sector with 80.121 million shares worth N389.5m in 1,229 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely- Zenith International Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc accounted for 812.237 million

shares worth N10.7bn in 5,326 deals, contributing 38.8 per cent and 38.1 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema had said that foreign investors fleeing Nigeria as oil prices plunge are leaving stocks undervalued.

According to him, the benchmark index’s 17 per cent decline this year isn’t justified by economic changes and as a result Nigerian equities are effectively on sale, saying that the fundamentals demand higher valuations

ASI slides as banking, oil stocks sink HANNAH AYANGBILE

T

rading in equities ended on a bearish note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday as some investors’ loss their holdings.

Specifically, the All share Index depreciated 1.82 per cent to close at 33,914.25 points as against the shed of 0.47 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 34,543.05 points.

Market Capitalisation was down N208bn to close at N11.2trn, in contrast to the loss of N53bn and closing value of N11.4trn a day earlier.

There was a mixed perfor-

mance of the sectorial Indices as the NSE 30-Index rose 1.72 per cent to close at 1,548.73 points, whilethe Banking Index shed 1.01 per cent to close at 362.45 points.

The Insurance Index was up to 2.81 per cent to close at 151.86 points, while the Consumer Goods Index gained 1.59 per cent to close at 885.34.

The Oil and Gas Index depreciated 2.92 per cent to close at 404.68 points, while the Lotus Islamic Index shed 1.39 per cent.

The Industrial Index lost 1.78 per cent to close at 1,984.83 points. The Alternative Secu-

rities remained flat at 1,036.13 points.

Mansard Plc led the gainers’ table with 26 kobo or 8.25 per cent to close at N3.41 per share, followed by Cadbury plc with N2.17 or 4.99 per cent to close at N45.67 per share.

Costain West African Plc gained five kobo or 4.95 per cent to close at N1.06 per share, while Presco Plc appreciated N1.40 or 4.86 per cent to close at N30.20 per share.

RT Briscoe Plc was up to four kobo or 4.71 per cent to close at 89 kobo.

Conversely, Oando Oil Plc

declined N1.96 or 9.44 kobo per cent to close at N18.80 per share, while UBA Capital Plc shed 32 kobo or 6.24 per cent to close at N4.81 per share.

Seplat Plc depreciated N25 or 5.95 kobo per cent to close at N395 per share, while UBCAP plc dipped nine kobo or five per cent to close at N1.71 per share.

Dangote Sugar Plc dropped 34 kobo or 4.88 per cent to close at N6.63 per share.

A total of 102,000 shares valued at N363.4m were traded in six deals.

Kolade urges FG to honour Adadevoh …as she wins SEC integrity award TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

F

ormer Chairman of Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SUREP) and seasoned diplomat, Dr. Christopher Kolade, has called on the Federal Government to honour the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, for the supreme sacrifice she paid protecting the country at a time its collective survival was threatened by the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, scourge.

Kolade gave the charge at the weekend during the Integrity award night held as part of the Capital Market Committee (CMC) Retreat in Abuja.

Both the late Adadevoh and First Consultants Hospitals where she worked until her death, won the award with a cash prize of N2.5 million each.

The diplomat and industrial giant commended Adade-

voh specifically for doing what is right even in the face of intense pressure and at the risk of her life.

He said: “It is important for us to come away from the territory of inadequate sense of what is right. In this county where doctors have problems with employees they withdraw their service so that patients will die. There must be other ways of settling disputes and quarrels with your employers because I don’t think it makes us proud to allow people die to settle quarrel.

“Her example shows us that at the end of the day we are human beings create by God almighty, if we are like God will we deliberately promote a situation where people lose their lives because we are involved in a quarrel t which they are not a party?

“We are in danger of loosing our identity, unless we look for wiser and more decent ways of resolving issues we

are going to continue behaving like people who have no sensitivity to human lives. Adadevoh died because she saw her role as one to save us from the virus. May God honour her soul and May Nigeria and sufficient reason somewhere in the future to honour her”, Kolade noted.

Earlier, the Director- General of SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh, said that the award was the Commission’s contributions toward the promotion, recognition and reward for integrity, adding that late Adadevoh and First Consultants Hospitals’ acts of honesty and integrity had sprinkled a burst of refreshing dew upon the national consciousness.

She said that the integrity award was a careful response to a critical need of the Nigerian society, as it is through it that trust is built and sustained.

In a response, Simon Tasie, of First Consultant Hospitals, said looking at events of the last four months they were

proud of the role they played but also mourn their fallen heroes.

“We declined to allow him go in public good, the whole country is our constituency and we must live up to our individual and collective responsibility. We are very grateful and highly honoured for this award and pray you grow strong in regulating. We must all live up to our responsibility so that in 50 years time we will live to remember what Adedevoh has done” he added.

In 2013, Mr. Nwolbak Konpe and Mr. Ngwu Uchenna were awarded with N5m.

Konpe was selected for the prestigious award after he returned money in excess of N1.2m which he recovered from a motor accident scene involving nine victims in whom seven persons lost their lives, while Mr. Uchenna was selected for returning N400, 000 he found in a tricycle, popularly referred to as ‘keke NAPEP’.

Source: NSE

Market indicators All-Share Index 33,875.26 points Market capitalisation 11.18trn

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

UAC-PROP

10.52

11.40

0.88

8.37

OANDO

20.39

21.41

1.02

5.00

OKOMUOIL

26.80

28.14

1.34

5.00

UBCAP

1.61

1.69

0.08

4.97

RTBRISCOE

0.81

0.85

0.04

4.94

TRANSCORP

3.88

4.07

0.19

4.90

CONTINSURE

0.89

0.93

0.04

4.49

NAHCO

4.69

4.90

0.21

4.48

WEMABANK

0.92

0.96

0.04

4.35

LEARNAFRCA

1.36

1.41

0.05

3.68

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

ACADEMY

1.00

0.95

-0.05

-5.00

UPL

4.13

3.93

-0.20

-4.84

AFRIPRUD

3.00

2.88

-0.12

-4.00

HONYFLOUR

3.28

3.15

-0.13

-3.96

CUTIX

1.53

1.47

-0.06

-3.92

INTBREW

29.00

28.00

-1.00

-3.45

WAPIC

0.69

0.67

-0.02

-2.90

UBN

8.35

8.15

-0.20

-2.40

FIDELITYBK

1.70

1.66

-0.04

-2.35

NEIMETH

0.92

0.90

-0.02

-2.17

FGN Bonds Offer

Bid Description

Price

Yield

Price

Yield

13.05 16-AUG-2016

1.72

99.05

13.65

100.05

12.98

15.10 27-APR-2017

2.41

102.10

14.03

103.10

13.53

16.00 29-JUN-2019

4.58

108.15

13.54

109.15

13.26

16.39 27-JAN-2022

7.17

113.60

13.37

114.60

13.17

14.20 14-MAR-2024

9.29

105.40

13.17

106.40

12.98

10.00 23-JUL-2030

15.65 80.00

13.02

81.00

12.84

Closing Market Prices of November 28, 2014

Treasury Bills Maturity Date

Bid

Offer

26-Feb-15

13.00

13.43

14-May-15

13.00

13.82

03-Sep-15

12.05

13.27

NIBOR Tenor

Rate (%)

O/N

13.3000

1M

13.7099

3M

14.3443

6M

15.1255 The Fixings of December 01, 2014

48

South South

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria’ll launch indigenous satellite by 2018 —Minister

M

inister of Science and Technology, Dr Abdu Bulama, said on Monday, that Nigeria would launch its first “made-in-Nigeria satellite” by 2018, in the bid to hasten the pace of socio-

economic development in the country.

Bulama told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja, that science and technology would fast track Federal Government’s transformation agenda and

New HIV/AIDS fight’ll gulp $35bn, says UNAIDS MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

A

new roadmap targeting elimination of HIV/AIDS by 2030 would require 'no less than US35 billion," the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS has said.

The organisation disclosed this in a statement released yesterday to commemorate this year's 2014 AIDS Day. The new roadmap known as "Fast Track: Ending the AIDS Epidemic by 2030" is being supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNAIDS said.

The pace of responding to HIV in the next five years by countries around the world will be fundamental to ending the epidemic, the organisation stated.

It said that countries would need to use the powerful tools available, hold one another accountable for results and make sure that no one is left behind, even as it advised that speedier end to the epidemic demands a smart and aggressive approach combining biomedical, behavioral and structural interventions.

"Rapidly increased HIV testing, prevention and treatment and eliminating stigma and discrimination are key parts of the solution. With clear mileposts to measure acceleration, Fast Track strives to have 90 percent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90 percent of people who know their status receiving treatment and 90 percent of people on HIV treatment having a suppressed viral load by the year 2020.

"The plan, referred to as 90-90-90, should be boosted to 95-95-95 by the year 2030.

These indicators, coupled with zero discrimination, can reduce new adult HIV infections in low and middle income countries from

2.1 million in 2010 to nearly 200,000 in 2030. That would lower the epidemic so significantly to a level where it is no longer a global threat.

"Fast track portrays a sharp contrast between an accelerated path to ending the HIV epidemic and the current course, where steady progress is not moving fast enough. One indispensable shift is to heighten inclusivity so that people at higher risk of acquiring HIV are not left behind. Increased access to biomedical prevention tools such as medical male circumcision, pre-exposure anti-retroviral prophylaxis and strengthening of health systems are also cited.

"To end the epidemic, Fast Track also calls for paying special attention to 30 countries that account for 89 percent of all new infections. In those places, promoting proper use of condoms, as well as messages that encourage sexual risk reduction and support for girls and women, are particularly important.

"The path to a fast-tracked end of HIV will only be possible if more resources are mobilised for the roadmap.

To reach the 2020 goals, Fast Track projects a need for at least US$35 billion in investments in low-income, lowermiddle-income and uppermiddle-income countries.

Meanwhile, wife of the Nasarawa State governor, Salamatu Tanko AlMakura, has accepted her appointment as a UNAIDS Special Advocate for the elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV for the next one year.

The UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, appointed Mrs. Al-Makura as a UNAIDS Special Advocate to champion the "Mother to Mother" model programmes as part of efforts to ensure that no child is born with HIV in the state, as contained in a release made available by UNIADS, yesterday.

sustained the growth of the national economy. ``The African economy, I believe in the last couple of years, has shown a remarkable sign of growth; but this growth is unfortunately more of community drive, not of the manufacturing sector. ``For this growth to be sustained and for it to be transformed into a real national transformation agenda for the development of the nation, it must be productivity-based; productivity aspect must come in. ``And the only way you

can do that, is to develop your time and technology, to apply science and technology in your economy. ``Such that the economy, while growing, the productivity of the manufacturer will have played a key role.

This is what is happening in developed societies.’’

He said the ministry was deploying science and technology apparatus to enhance the pace of socioeconomic development and infrastructure such as roads, power, water supply, and transportation ``This is against the back-

drop of our cross-cutting role with other sectors of socio-economic development,” he added.

He said ministry was working hard to lead Nigeria into the new developmental model through integration of a national culture of science, technology and innovation.

The minister said the ministry would play the role of an effective strategist and coordinator of all the research and development activities in the country. ``By this, Nigeria in the nearest future will be an

acknowledged member of the fast developing scientific and technologically progressive nations of the world,’’ he said.

He said the ministry had excelled in the production of made -in-Nigeria tricycles, curtailing of trypanosomiasis, design and fabrication of interlocking blocks and launching of road safety guidelines among others.

Bulama added that the effort to partner international bodies to complete the science and technology park at SHESTCO was on-going.

L-R: Minister of Sports, Mr. Tammy Danagogo; Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial aspirant, Mr. Nyesom Wike; party chairman, Bonny Local Government Area, Mr. Simon Hart and former Director General, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, during the inauguration of New Rivers Vision office in the local government, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Corruption: Immigration officers to wear tags OLUSEGUN KOIKI

I

n a bid to effectively monitor the conducts of its on-duty officers, the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos Command has tagged the counters of all its personnel.

National Mirror observed yesterday, that each officer on duty has removable tag placed against its counter while attending to arriving or departing passengers.

Our correspondent, who visited the terminal yesterday, observed that all the 16 counters for immigration processes for arriving passengers were tagged, while the same was also done for outbound passengers.

The tag is removed when an officer completes his or her duty, while a new officer who reports for duty also put his name into the tag for

easy identification.

A source close to the command also confided in our correspondent yesterday, that the Comptroller General, NIS, Mr. David Parradang ordered the latest move for proper identification of its officers especially those who have contact with passengers.

The source further claimed that some of the officers were bent in soiling the name of the service by their corrupt practices particularly from those travellers departing the country with virgin passports and foreigners entering the shores of the country through any of the international airports, in spite of the various measures put in place to checkmate such unholy practices among its officers.

The source emphasised that the recent publication, which accused some of the officials of the service of corruption at the Lagos Airport,

was actually responsible for the latest effort by the NIS headquarters in Abuja to cleanse the system of corrupt practices.

The NIS believed that with this move, it would be easier for passengers to properly identify any officer who requests for bribe from them and take the necessary step to report such officer to superior officers.

The source said, “Our bosses ordered all our officers to tag their counters to check against corruption in the system and warned them seriously that anyone found wanting would be left to face the music.

“So far, no serious report has been made against any of our officer since the new system came into place and I think our officers too are cautious as they know the implication of this. Personally, I would say it is a good development as it will check against low level corruption

among our officers.”

It would be recalled that passengers had over the years complaint against the attitude of some of the immigration officers on duty, alleging that they unapologetically compelled them to pay some amount of money before they could be processed and allowed to depart the country.

About a month ago, a publication had accused immigration officers at the Lagos Airport of corrupt practices, alleging that if they refused to comply with their request, some of them are denied boarding through spurious immigration claims by the officers.

Parradang, NIS boss

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

Community Mirror The Friday boming of emirs palace Mosque has proved ultimately and beyond any doubt, that this ountry faces daunting challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgents.

GOVERNOR OF OSUN STATE – RAUF AREGBESOLA

Couple, woman fight over child custody DARE AKOGUN

A

baby girl delivered by a house maid is now a subject of controversy between two women over who should take custody of the baby.

It was learnt that the maid lived with a couple Mr Oyekale Oladele and his wife Ngozi, who are childless.

It was gathered that the 15-year-old maid was brought to Lagos by one Mrs. Evelyn Njoku to the couple who was allegedly impregnated by Oyeleke.

Sources said after the maid became pregnant, the couple denied Mrs Njoku access to her.

The maid was allegedly hidden at Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, quarters at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport where both families live.

By the time Njoku discovered that the girl was still at Oladele’s residence, she was heavily pregnant.

She reported the matter to the police and the couple was arrested and charged to court with abduction and unlawfully

impregnating the maid.

Community Mirror gathered that the girl was later delivered of the baby.

Though no DNA test has been conducted to ascertain the paternity of the child, Oyekale is already claiming responsibility for the pregnancy.

On the other hand, Mrs. Njoku is refuting Oyekale claim to the child, as the maid was not legally married him according to native laws and custom, even as she insists the baby belongs to her since she is the maid’s guardian.

Njoku later took custo-

dy of the mother and child but the latter were allegedly abducted by Oyakale and his wife, Ngozi who were re-arrested by the police and charged with abduction.

When they were arraigned in court, the couple pleaded not guilty.

The presiding Magistrate, Mrs. K.B. Ayeye granted the couple a bail in the sum of N100, 000 with one surety in like sum. They were remanded in custody pending when they fulfill the bail condition. The matter was later adjourned till December 8, 2014 for mention.

Commuters staring at a commercial bus which veered off the busy Agege Motor road in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

Two arrested in Ondo over car robbery HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

T

he police has arrested two suspected armed robbers who specialise in snatching cars.

The two men, Afolarin Abiola and Ajayi Ifeoluwa were alleged to have invaded the residence of one Akintimehin Emmanuel and robbed him of his Toyota Camry car with

registration number Lagos FST 48 AC, two handsets and N11, 000.

Speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Isaac Eke, said his men arrested of one of the suspects, Afolarin Abiola who gave information leading to the arrest of Ajayi and recovery of the car.

He said, the two suspects took detectives to Sapele in Delta state where the vehicle was re-

covered saying the two suspects will soon be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation.

The command also paraded 14 cult members arrested from various part of the state which include.

Akure, Owo and Ondo.

Some of those arrested include Olaposi Akeem, Olaposi Mustapha, Moshood Rasak, Yemi Odoba, Opeyemi Ogunbodede and Francis Adeleye.

Others are Oladimeji Sunday, Oluwaseun Micheal, Akintunde Seun, Oluwole Seyi, Emmanurl Ngozi, Olayinka Andrew and Akinbinu Ayomide.

According to the police boss, information revealed that members of the cult were responsible for some killings, rape and other crimes in the state, saying the suspects are members of Aye, Axe, Eye and Icelanders.

Boy mauled by wild dog flown abroad for treatment FRANCIS SUBERU

M

aster Omonigho Ibrahim, the four year old boy who was recently attacked by a wild Alsatian dog in his father’s apartment at 35 Adegboyega Street, Akesan, Igando, Lagos has been flown to India for medical treatment.

Lawyer to his father, Barrister Goddy Okpamen who confirmed the development, said the father was able to raise the money through an NGO, even when the Delta State Government had indicated intention to pay for the treatment.

Omonigho Ibrahim was attacked by the dog on September 29, 2014.

The lawyer spoke just as the Lagos State Government issued a statement that the boy has been discharged from the Burns & Plastic unit of LASUTH by his father, Odia Abraham against medical advice.

Speaking on the development, Odia Abraham dismissed allegations that the boy was forcefully discharged. According to him the NGO, Global Initiative Abuja, will visit the Ministry of Health, Lagos State to thank the state government.

“If they were fighting, will they be coming to Lagos”, he said.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said the boy’s father took ill-advised step to take his son out of the hands of the plastic surgeons at LASUTH on Friday, November 28, 2014 against medical advice.

He said all attempts to talk Mr. Abraham against taking this wrong step were rebuffed.

“He was given a full exemption from paying any fees for the management of his son’s health at LASUTH during his stay there and Omonigho while recovering wrote a “thank you” letter to the Governor”, Idris noted.

Idris noted that whilst conservative wound management was being done in the Burns and Plastic Ward, in LASUTH, the state government set plans in motion to take Omonigho abroad for further management after a thorough search for a suitable hospital.

“The chosen facility was the RAK Hospital, Dubai UAE. He noted that the boy’s father was promptly informed and was invited to discuss details of the approval, travel plans and hospital arrangements.

“However, Mr. Abraham informed us that a nongovernmental organisation from Delta State has made arrangements to fly him and his son to a hospital in India.

Lawmaker donates motorcycles, sewing machines JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

A

lawmaker, Hon. Gambo Musa has donated motorcycles and sewing machines worth millions of naira to his constituents in Katsina State.

The beneficiaries were selected from Danmusa, Batsari and Safana council areas.

At the ceremony, Gambo said items do-

nated include nine cars, 100 motorcycles, 40 spaghetti-making machines, and 40 sewing machines.

He lamented the rate of unemployment among youths and pledged to introduce more empowerment programmes.

He said similar assistance had been given to youths and women, and such assistance would enable them become self reliant.

50

Politics

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Niger 2015: Nasko’s quest for consolidation T

he entry of 39-year old Umar Mohammed Nasko into the Niger State 2015 gubernatorial race has been seen by the people of the state as a positive development because they were all aware of his antecedents.

Nasko, after deep thinking has also accepted the calls of Niger State indigenes at home and abroad to serve as the next governor of the Power State.

As he formally declared his intention to succeed Dr. Aliyu on November 20 at the Bako Mohammed Memorial Statdium in Minna, he said: “With humility and deep sense of responsibility, I offer myself to serve the people and lead Niger State to more promising years ahead.”

But in the euphoria that followed his declaration at the event, Nasko did not fail to recognize Aliyu’s remarkable achievement in piloting the affairs of Niger State in the past seven years and six months.

He said: “May I register my gratitude to our political leader, guardian and mentor, the Chief Servant, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, CON, Talban Minna, a model of compassion and wisdom, for transforming Niger into a state of shared values and unlimited opportunities and especially for being a leader with vision and foresight, creating a stimulating environment for the young to grow and write their own scripts in the developmental history of our state.”

According to Nasko, his tutelage in the Aliyu’s school of service has prepared him for the task of taking Niger State to the next level, adding: “Today, I am well groomed to advance the frontiers in the development of Niger State beyond Vision 2020.”

He also did not forget the builders of the state as he looked ahead to contributing his quota.

He added: “I recognise and acknowledge the crucial roles and remarkable contribution of our past leaders in the state at various levels, which has invariably provided the much-needed foundation that we are enjoying today. They gave their best in the yester years so that our today and tomorrow will be successful. Without those sacrifices and efforts, we would not have been here today.

“Your presence here in spite of all odds symbolises your belief in the capacity of the youth and the young at heart to provide purposeful leadership, because effective political leadership is not often defined by chronological age but the maturity of mind and capacity to mobilise mass support towards electoral victory.”

Infrastructural development also attracted Nasko’s attention when he said: “I note with delight that today we can boast of many dualised roads in our capital city and other major cities in the state, which is a departure from the past. Indeed, it is gratifying that Minna is recognised today as one of the liveable cities in the world.”

Harping on his mission to consolidate the achievement of Aliyu, Nasko said: “The mandate we are seeking is therefore aimed at consolidating on the gains recorded by the Chief Servant, whose achievements will serve as the springboard for higher performance. What defines a good democratic system is the access and equal opportunities available to all stakeholders.

“If given the ticket, I shall carry everyone and every part of the state along, while ensuring even development.”

In a move that would establish trust with the people of Niger State, Nasko said: “We shall uphold the confidence reposed in us by living up to expectations and even beyond the call of duty.

“In addition to sustaining the laudable policy initiatives and fully implementing the transformational projects of the present administration, we will create an investment corridor in Niger State to attract foreign direct investments that will leverage on our vast economic resources for the actualization of Vision 2020.

Our economic development blueprint will be anchored on the agriculture sector, where we shall exploit our comparative advantages of abundant arable land and consolidate on the value chain in rice, yam, cereals, fisheries and livestock development across the state.”

On manpower development, the aspirant also said:

The 2015 gubernatorial race in Niger State which will produce successor to incumbent governor, Alhaji Muazu Babangida Aliyu, is reaching its crescendo with few days to the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU, examines the prospects of Umar Mohammed Nasko, a leading aspirant in the race, .

Nasko

THE MANDATE WE ARE SEEKING IS THEREFORE AIMED AT CONSOLIDATING ON THE GAINS RECORDED BY THE

CHIEF SERVANT, WHOSE

ACHIEVEMENTS WILL SERVE AS THE SPRINGBOARD FOR HIGHER PERFORMANCE

“Our goal is to encourage the establishment of small and medium scale industries that will promptly accommodate the skills of the local people and youths.

“Local Government-based farm settlements would be established all over the State, as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and its agencies, especially the Niger State Agriculture and Mechanization Development Authority, NAMDA, would be further strengthened towards realising our agriculture transformation agenda.”

He also touched on alternative source of revenue, pledging to explore the state’s abundant arts, culture and tourism potentials to create additional income streams for the state.

But Nasko was specific in his quest when he pledged to pursue the actualisation of critical infrastructural projects across the state with greater vigour to improve the socio-economic lives of the people of the state, especially the communities benefitting directly from the projects.

He said: “We will also ensure that all on-going Federal Government projects here, like the dualisation of

Suleja-Minna road, are completed without delay, while opening discussions with the appropriate Federal Government agencies for the construction of Abuja-Minna fast railway service to effectively link Niger State to the on-going national railway transformation network.”

Assuring that education will take a huge chunk of his priority, Nasko said his education policy at primary and secondary levels shall seek to improve infrastructure, create conducive environment for learning, and ensure the safety of all pupils/students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff in Niger schools.

He said that more qualified teachers and supporting staff shall be employed while ensuring regular monitoring of schools by strengthening the inspectorate division of the Ministries of Basic and Tertiary Education.

In the area of health, he promised Niger people that “more general hospitals will be built while others will be upgraded to meet the health needs of the people. All collaboration and partnership engagements with global agencies and development partners will be enhanced for the benefit of our people. We believe that only a healthy citizenry can contribute meaningfully to the development of the state.”

Aside exploring ways to enhance the capacity of some governmental agencies like the PPP Agency, OneStop Investment Centre, Industrial Park Agency, Minna Airport City Agency and others, he promised to ensure the entrenchment of the MBA Annual International Literary Colloquium as an enduring legacy for developing the creative talents of young people of Niger State.

The security of lives and property of Nigerlites, Nasko said, would remain a fundamental responsibility to engender peace and harmony in the state, even as he looked ahead to ensure that the state becomes the safest in the country.

In an effort to guarantee security, Nasko also unfolded his plan for Niger youth when he said: “We shall look into youth unemployment, underemployment and wrong employment, as well as youth empowerment to build the capacity of the youth to contribute to the overall development of our state. This will indeed be the golden opportunity for us to prove ourselves and show that we can do it better.”

A workaholic, Nasco had been tasked by the Niger State governor, Aliyu, to run the affairs of several ministries and he emerged successful.

Nasko, who hails from Magama Local Government Area of Niger State, is a product of the University of Lodz in Poland. He obtained a Masters’ degree in Political Science from Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland in 2001.

He holds the traditional chieftaincy title of Jarman Kontagora, in addition to Sarkin Kudun Birnin Magaji in Zamfara State.

He worked at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja in the 311’s Air Defence Artillery Detachment as Sky Guard before proceeding to the United Nations Human Rights Office Krakow, Poland where he served as a volunteer from 1999 to 2001.

Winner of many international and local awards, not a few who know him closely have described him as a stickler for excellence, having been deeply committed to the promotion of professionalism in civil administration.

Such is the pedigree of the man angling to take over from Dr Aliyu at the expiration of his tenure on May 29, 2015, and not a few political analysts and watchers of political events in the Power State have said that he would be a perfect fit into the shoes of the Chief Servant, should Niger electorate deem him fit for the job.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

51

World News

We have advocated the building of a new type of international relations underpinned by win-win cooperation –Chinese President, Xi Jinping

South African govt opposes bid for Mandela’s home PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

S

outh Africa’s government has opposed a legal bid by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to claim ownership of her ex-husband Nelson Mandela’s rural home, in an ongoing dispute over his estate.

In court papers, Mrs Madikizela-Mandela said that South Africa’s first black president had unlawfully registered the property in his name, reports said.

Mandela died nearly a year ago, and left his ex-wife out of his will.

His estate was provisionally valued at 46 million rand ($4.3m; £2.5m).

The thrice-married Mandela divorced Mrs MadikizelaMandela in 1996.

She said Mr Mandela may have committed land fraud when he registered the property in his name, the South African Press Association (Sapa) reports.

In papers filed in the Mthatha High Court last month, she said

L-R: Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, President Jacob Zuma, and Mrs Machel were united in mourning Mandela’s death last year

the ex-president had incorrectly used part of the State Land Disposal Act by donating the land to himself, according to the local Dispatch newspaper.

Her lawyers want Mr Zuma and the Department of Rural Development to produce official records proving the property

belonged to Mr Mandela, including the validity of the title deed, local media reports said.

She wants the registration of the property under Mr Mandela’s name to be annulled by the court, the Dispatch reports.

In response, Mr Zuma’s

spokesman Mac Maharaj said that the state attorney had filed a legal notice to oppose the action, pending instructions from the president.

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela’s lawyer Mvuzo Notyesi told the Dispatch that he was confident of their case.

Netanyahu’s youngest son begins army service

A

vner Netanyahu, the youngest son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, began his three-year mandatory army.

Avner Netanyahu began his three-year mandatory army service yesterday, enlisting in the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Collection Corps.

Like every soldier on the first day of service, Avner, accompanied by his famous parents, arrived at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill.

“Like any parents sending their child off to the army,” Ne-

tanyahu said, “we are excited to see our son” begin his army service.

He and his wife Sara were “full of pride” at the milestone of their son, and like “every home in Israel, we are no different.”

Netanyahu told his son to protect the country and protect himself, the proud father told reporters.

In a personal note to other soldiers drafted that day, he wished them success and reassured other parents that “everything will be OK.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) sends off his son to the army.

FBI warns US military about ISIS attack

T

he FBI has issued the strongest warning to date about possible attacks by the ISIS terrorist group against the U.S. military inside the homeland, officials tell ABC News.

In a joint intelligence bulletin issued overnight by the FBI with the Department of Homeland

Security, officials strongly urged those who serve in uniform to scrub their social media accounts of anything that might bring unwanted attention from “violent extremists” or would help the extremists learn individual service members’ identities.

“The FBI and DHS recommend

that current and former members of the military review their online social media accounts for any information that might serve to attract the attention of ISIL [ISIS] and its supporters,” the federal bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies said, advising that troops “routinely exercise opera-

tional security in their interactions online.”

Officials said they fear copycat attacks based on what happened in Canada last month, when two uniformed Canadian soldiers were killed in two separate incidents by young men who claimed they were ISIS followers.

WORLD BULLETIN

Liberia, Guinea meeting Ebola targets –WHO Liberia and Guinea have met a Dec. 1 target for isolating 70 percent of people infected with Ebola and safely burying 70 percent of those who die, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

Only last week, the U.N. health agency had said only Guinea was on track to meet the targets for getting the deadly Ebola outbreak under control in the three hardesthit West African countries.

But at a news conference in Geneva, WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward said the organization had revised its conclusion based on more analysis of its data. Sierra Leone also probably met the targets in the west of the country, he said, and likely will improve to the 70 percent target nationwide “in the coming weeks.”

Aylward also told reporters that WHO’s ambitious plan to stop the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa has shown it possible to quickly reduce the “yawning gap” between disease levels and the capacity to respond.

“You can catch up with Ebola even on this scale,” he said.

However, he added that it “doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to get to zero” cases and eliminate unsafe burials without more cooperation among organizations, communities, citizens and country leaders.

ICC rejects Congolese warlord’s appeal The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has rejected an appeal by the Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, against his conviction for using child soldiers.

Prosecutors said boys as young as 11 had been abducted to fight in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo that started in 1999.

Girls were used as sex slaves, the trial heard.

In 2012, Lubanga became the first person to be convicted by the ICC. He had been the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia which was active in the war that started in the Ituri region in northeastern DR Congo.

During his trial, the court heard how the influential leader would go to people’s homes asking them to donate something for the war effort - cash, a cow, or a child to fight for his rebel army.

The ICC convicted him of recruiting children under the age of 15 and sending them to the battlefield. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

On Monday, the five-judge panel dismissed or rejected all seven parts of Lubanga’s appeal in a majority decision.

52

North

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North-east pensioners demand N61bn gratuities EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

P

ensioners in the six North-eastern states of Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Taraba have lamented government’s inability to pay the N61 billion arrears owed them in the states, and threatened to embark on protest.

Speaking under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, the group in a statement in

Bauchi said it would embark on the irrevocable path of protests if nothing is done to promptly pay their arrears across the states.

Speaking on behalf of the union, the Zonal Vice President North East NUP, Alhaji Mohammed Inuwa, said the pensioners were worried over non-payment of their backlog of gratuities.

“We are suffering neglect in our own states after having served our

states and the federation,” he said.

However, the Bauchi union chairman, Comrade Habu Gar, said the present administration had refused to pay their backlog of arrears even after the review of pension and gratuity payment in the state, even after promises to pay all retirees their due.

Gar said the state government owes pensioners to the tune of N11 billion in arrears, adding that the government had failed to pay

local government pensioners and gratuities for two months amid other promises it made. He lamented that many pensioners had died without enjoying their benefits as a result.

The chairman gave the government till December end to settle all arrears, otherwise retirees would troop to the streets.

He therefore called on Governor Isa Yuguda to intervene and ensure the immediate payment of their gratuities and pen-

sions in the state.

He said, “As a body, we are aware that the backlog of pensions, gratuities was inherited by the present administration, but we believe that

FIRS to clampdown on tax defaulters in Taraba … govt tasked on HIV/AIDS treatment JUSTIN TYOPUUSU JALINGO

T

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima (left) and Dr. El Nur Dongel during the launch of Free Pupils Feeding Initiative of Borno State, yesterday.

Govs now toothless bull dogs –Aliyu …makes case for state police PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

C

hairman Northern State Governors Forum, NSGF, Mu’azu Aliyu, has described some of his colleagues that are supposed to be the chief security officers in their states as “toothless bull dogs” since police commissioners in their states do not respect their directives.

He condemned the situation whereby police commissioners would refuse to take directives from governors on directives pertaining to security until they hear from the police high command in Abuja.

Aliyu therefore sanc-

tioned the need for states to have their own police to enable them adequately tackle such matters in view of the prevailing insecurity, especially in parts of the north.

The Niger State governor said initially governors in the north were opposed to the idea of setting up state police, in the belief it would be used arbitrarily by politicians, but said it is now necessary to have it.

“The federal government has become stronger than the federating units (states). Governors need some sort of respect; the federating units are now toothless bull dogs as many commissioners of police are not taking direc-

tive from their governors.”

Adding that thankfully Niger State “don’t have that kind of problem,” Aliyu stated: “The northern state governors’ forum earlier opposed the issue, but with security challenge, we need to review our stand.”

Aliyu stated further that for this reason, the 19 state governors, traditional rulers and elders of the region would soon meet to take a joint position on the increasing insecurity and tackle the issue of state police.

government is a continuous process and since Governor Yuguda is on a Restoration Mission, we plead that the governor look into the plight of pensioners.”

he Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, yesterday, said it will clampdown on taxable corporate organisations and individuals in Taraba State that have failed to remit their tax returns to the revenue service.

FIRS Tax Controller in Taraba, Jonathan Onuh, gave the warning while speaking to journalists in Jalingo.

He said that its enforcement team will soon embark on payment enforcement exercise between December 10 and 12, 2014.

He called on all defaulting companies and individuals to ensure they are up to date in remitting their tax returns to the service, using their Tax Identification Number, TIN, adding; “defaulters would have their companies sealed off and products seized during the exercise.”

The tax boss noted that the FIRS during its return enforcement exercise carried out in the state between November 3 and 7, 2014, discovered 60 companies and enterprises that have not been remitting their tax returns to the service.

According to Onuh, there are 1,604 tax payers in Taraba State who are

expected to remit their returns to the revenue service on monthly basis, adding that government is now concentrating more on non-oil revenue generation.

“In the face of the dwindling oil revenue, we are stepping up our efforts to ensure that our nonoil revenue generations grow. We are partnering with other stakeholders to make sure the exercise succeeds”, he said.

He lamented that hotel owners in the state have been ‘recalcitrant’ in remitting their tax returns to the service, warning that those with such attitude should change or be ready for appropriate sanctions from the FIRS. In a related development, the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Taraba State have called on the state government to close the gap of HIV/AIDS treatment to reduce its current high prevalence rate of 10.5 per cent.

Spokesman of the network, Johnson Abraham, made the call yesterday on the occasion of this year’s World AIDS Day in Jalingo.

Johnson lamented that the state government has not done enough in terms of HIV/AIDS treatment, the effect of which he said, was the high prevalence rate of the virus in the state.

Bauchi: FIRS seals firms for tax evasion EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

T

he Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, tax enforcement team has sealed off Bauchi State Investment Company, BIC, and Abdulrashid Tyres in Bauchi local government area of the state for tax evasion

amounting to over N24 million.

Aside the state government-owned BIC, among the defaulting companies is Garu Microfinance Bank.

The task force carried out the exercise in the companies without hitches, except at the Garu Microfinance bank where they allegedly faced some level of

resistance from the bank’s Managing Director.

At the bank, which allegedly owes over N14 million, workers salaries were about being paid when the FIRS taskforce visited to close the bank but after pleas, the bank and the FIRS reached agreement that within 24 hours the bank would make move for payment.

At Bauchi Investment Company, which allegedly owes over N8 million, the task force sealed the company.

Zonal Comptroller of the FIRS Bauchi Office, Richard Magaji, expressed satisfaction with their activities and explained that only last week it was the turn of Abdulrashid Tyres.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

It would be hasty to say that we will make up for the AFCON 2013 cup loss in Equatorial Guinea –Burkina Faso captain, Charles Kabore

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

53

Sport

President’s Cup: NTTF dangles N1.8m carrot 55

Brahimi beats Enyeama, wins BBC award

A

lgerian midfielder, Yacine Brahimi, has been voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2014.

After a record number of votes were submitted from fans in 207 Fifa-registered countries, Brahimi came out on top ahead of Nigerian Vincent Enyeama, Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ivorian pair Gervinho and Yaya Toure.

The 24-year-old becomes the

first Algerian to win the award, which is decided by football fans.

“It’s a big honour for me to receive this wonderful trophy.

I owe it to my country, Algeria, and to all the people who voted for me,” Brahimi said.

“It’s also a trophy for the whole of Africa, because it rewards an African player. So I am really very happy,” he added.

Ronaldo

Brahimi starred for Algeria at the World Cup in Brazil, helping the Fennecs to reach the last-16 for the first time and scoring his first international goal in the 4-2 win over South Korea in the group stage.

Domestically, Brahimi started the year at Spanish club Granada, where his strong performances led to him being named best African player in the country last season, and

Messi

earned him a move to Porto.

He has scored six goals in 15 appearances for his new club and is reveling in the challenge of European Champions League football, where he hit a hat-trick in the club’s first group match.

Brahimi will also be part of Algeria’s squad to play in the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea from January 17 to February 8.

Brahimi

Neuer

World Player:

FIFA shortlists Ronaldo, Messi, Neuer F

ormer world players of the year Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have between them won the past six awards, face opposition from Germany’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the short list announced by FIFA yesterday.

Ronaldo, who is the present holder of the title having also won it in 2008, scored a record 17 goals in a Champions League campaign as Real Madrid went on to win their 10th European

Cup last term.

Messi, the only player to have won the award four times, failed to win a title this year either with Barcelona or Argentina, although he was integral in his country reaching the World Cup final where they lost 1-0 in extratime to Germany.

The 27-year-old did pick up the consolation of player of the tournament.

Neuer, who was outstanding in goal for Germany and for Bayern Munich as they won the domestic

double, would be only the second goalkeeper to win the award, to be announced on January 12 in Zurich, after the then Soviet Union’s Lev Yashin.

Coach of the year is to be fought out between Germany’s Joachim Loew, Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, who guided the far less moneyed to the Spanish title and the final of the Champions League.

The trio selected for the Puskas award for best goal are Co-

lombia’s James Rodriguez, for his goal against Uruguay in the 2-0 victory in their World Cup last 16 clash, Robin van Persie’s leaping header against Spain in their World Cup group game and outsider Irish woman Stephanie Roche for her goal for Peamount United against Wexford Youths in October 20, 2013.

Roche doesn’t make the women’s player of the year shortlist which consists of Brazil’s fivetime winner Marta, Germany’s European player of the 2013-14

season Nadine Kessler and America’s all-time record goalscorer Abby Warmbach, winner in 2012.

Japan’s Asian coach of the year Norio Sasaki, who has been in charge of her national side since 2007, Ralf Kellermann, who guided VfL Wolfsburg to the women’s Champions League title and his compatriot Maren Meinert, who coached the German Under-20 team to their age category global title, are in line for the women’s coach of the year crown.

54

Sports

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Henry

VCN sponsor hails ex-Eagles

exits Red Bulls

IFEANYI EDUZOR

F

ormer Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry has left New York Red Bulls after four-and-a-half years with the MLS club.

The 37-year-old’s final match was a 2-2 draw on Saturday which meant the Red Bulls were beaten 4-3 on aggregate by New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Championship play-off.

“The decision has always been that I would leave after the duration of my contract,” the former France international said.

“I’ll take the next few weeks to decide on the next chapter of my career,” Henry added.

S

Reds extend

Gerrard stay L

Steven Ste S te even eve en G Ge Gerrard err rra ard rd

Henry

iverpool Manager Manager, Brendan Rodgers, yesterday confirmed that captain Steven Gerrard has been offered a new contract by the Reds.

The former England midfielder’s current deal expires at the end of the season and he would be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club from January should he decide to end his time at Anfield.

Rodgers said Gerrard will be given all the time he needs to decide on his next move, but believes the 34-year-old’s decision will not be financially motivated.

Gerrard started Saturday’s 1-0 win over Stoke on the bench, a game which marked 16 years to the day since his debut for the club, but Rodgers denied he had fallen out with his club captain.

“I saw some things on Sunday which were unfortunate in terms of rift between him and I, but if there were two words I would use to describe our relationship it would be ‘honesty’ and ‘respect’.

“It’s not so much the number of games that he plays now, it’s the level of the game and that’s something that I’ll work with him and look at.”

It hurts to miss AFCON finals –Ejide

ponsor of the VCN Sports U-15 tournament, Vincent Nwaribaku, has applauded ex-internationals Joe Erico, Henry Nwosu, Etim Esin, Peter Neketien, Segun Oguns and the former chairman of Surulere Local Government Area, Tajudeen Ajide, as well as veteran sports journalist, Paul Bassey, for attending the championship final staged last weekend in Lagos.

Nwaribaku, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of VCN Sports Limited, noted that the presence of the personalities had boosted the maiden youth development tournament which featured 64 teams at the Jalisco Playing Field Oshodi and the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium, Lagos.

“I sincerely believe that the players and officials were fully motivated by these personalities at the final,” the sponsor said, adding, “I hope some of the players would go on to play for big teams in Nigeria.”

Media Sports FC of Maryland defeated Smart Strikers of Ifako-Ijaiye 2-0 to emerge the winner with a giant trophy and N200, 000 while Salenko FC won the third place match.

The Most Valuable Player, Best Goalkeeper, Highest Goal Scorer and Best Behaved Team also got awards.

Ejide

In this interview, Super Eagles and Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel goalkeeper, Austin Ejide, laments Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea How would you describe Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s massive 4-0 win over Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli league at the weekend?

It was a very important match for us because we lost our last game away to Tel Aviv. We needed to respond and we did just that.

How delighted are you to keep a clean slate?

I’m happy not to have conceded a goal in the game. But it’s not my first time of keeping

a clean sheet. Unfortunately, some people would rather notice me when I concede goals.

Your compatriot, John Ogu, was also on the score sheet…

John is rated highly here in the club and Israel and he has proved just that and everybody is happy. Hopefully he’ll take it from there.

How disappointed are you that Nigeria will not defend its AFCON 2013 title in Equatorial

Guinea?

It’s very sad, painful. We did our best to win against South Africa but the victory couldn’t come. After we won in Congo, it looked like we’re going to qualify but unfortunately the draw with South Africa made it impossible for us.

Perhaps, you and your mates underrated South Africa…

It’s hard to explain what really went wrong. I’m sure every one of us played his heart out

aiming for a win because we all wanted to be at the Nations Cup finals next year. But you know football can be unpredictable and we saw the odd side of it at Uyo. So, how is Hapoel Be’er Sheva faring in the on-going Israeli league?

Well, I can say we’re doing good, last season we finished second on the final log and played in the UEFA Europa League. This time, we want to

top the final table so as to have a shot at the UEFA Champions League next year.

What do you think Nigeria will miss not playing in next year’s Nations Cup? As defending champions we had no reasons not being in Equatorial Guinea to defend our title. But it has happened so we have to take the positives and move on. We’ve got to work harder in the coming editions of the tournament.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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President’s Cup: NTTF dangles N1.8m carrot AFOLABI GAMBARI

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he Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) is staking N1.8m for the maiden President’s Cup holding on December 10 and 11 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

According to the federation, the tournament, an effort to inspire the players to excellence, will involve the top 16 players within and outside the country while it will also serve to honour outstanding players and officials in the outgoing year.

Organiers said yesterday that 16 men’s singles and the 16 women’s singles players would be drawn into four groups of four players in each group.

The matches will be played in a round robin format with the top two players progressing to the next stage of the championship while the top eight play-

ers will also be drawn into two groups of four each with the top two advancing to the semifinal stage.

National Mirror gathered that the NTFF Technical Committee would determine the other criteria for invitation which would include for each event, but not limited to, available top four Nigerians in the current world rankings as well as performances during 2014 and only players registered by clubs which are affiliated to their state association and or the NTTF would be eligible.

All players will also hold the current NTTF Player’s License to be produced on demand. Every player listed for the competition will be rewarded with cash while the star prize is N250, 000.

Player of the year as well as the young player of the year will be honoured at the closing ceremony on December 11.

Aruna Quadri is among the foreign-based players expected at the President’s Cup

Ibile Games 2015: Oshodi inaugurates MOC AFOLABI GAMBARI

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agos State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Mr. Wahid Enitan Oshodi, has inaugurated the Main Organising Committee (MOC) and the various Sub- Committees for the Lagos State Secondary Schools Sports Festival (IBILE 2015).

According to Oshodi who is also the Chairman of the MOC, the festival slated to hold from January 26 to February 6 2015 is in line with the developmental focus of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration on grassroots sports development.

It will also help Lagos State to prepare adequately for the annual National School Sports Festival (NSSF).

Over 500 secondary schools from the public and private schools in Lagos State that include Lagos State government schools, Federal Government schools, military schools and

AFOLABI GAMBARI

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itadel of Grace has defended the Kidsport Charity Games it won last year after beating SOS, Isolo 1-0 to lift the champion’s trophy of the 6th edition whose final was played at Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos on Sunday.

Citadel’s 16-year-old Taofik Ismail also won the Most Valu-

missionary schools and others will participate in Athletics, Chess, Gymnastics, Scrabble, Swimming, Weightlifting, Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo and Wrestling.

They will also engage in Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Fives, Basketball, Cricket, Handball, Volleyball and Hockey, while Deaf Sports Athletics and Table Tennis are also listed for the games that have been scheduled for Teslim Balogun Stadium, Rowe Park, National Stadium, Agege Stadium, Unilag, Tafawa Balewa Square (Cricket Pitch) and Jubril Martins Secondary School.

As the sports festival approaches, the Lagos State Sports Forum has scheduled a seminar holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos for December 16 and it will attract about 600 games masters from public and private schools in Lagos State, chairmen and technical directors of 36 sports associations in Lagos

Pison Royals to honour Ojeagbase, others

enowned publisher, Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, tops the list of sports personalities to be honoured by the Pison Royals Foundation at its Awards Night scheduled for Sunday in Lagos.

According to the founder of the religious-cum sports organization, Mr. Oscar Ezinwa Emmanuel, other awardees are Group Managing Director of Complete Communications Limited, Alhaji Mumini Alao; CEO of Brila FM, Dr. Larry Izamoje; sports management consultant, Mr. Mitchel Obi; CAF Media Committee member, Mr. Paul Bassey; renowned football encyclopedia, Mr. Kunle Solaja, Mr. Toyin Ibitoye, Mr. Godwin Enakhena and Mr. Sam Femi Olusetire.

“President General of the Nigeria Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, will also be honoured, as well as President of the Athletic

Federation of Nigeria, Evangelist Solomon Ogba and Pillar of Sports, Dr. Donatus Ejidike,” Emmanuel told National Mirror in Lagos yesterday.

FIFA agents, scouts and private football club owners will also receive awards. In this category are Churchill Oliseh, Marshall Mbre, Friday Nwankwo Kujah, Gafar Liameed Olawale, Peter Rufai, Innocent Ogah, Pauline & Wilson Foundation, Agboola Dabiri, Akeem Busari and Alloy Chukwuemeka.

“At Pison Divine Royals, we see sports as an invention of God and seek to utilise it to change the evil trend sweeping through sports in our land,” Emmanuel philosophised, adding the event which would also honour Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, for his contribution to sports development in the state, would see gospel entertainers Glory Adeyemi, Oby SIlvanus Chukwuma, Adedomu Sobowale, Fadeke Adeyemi. Green Niyi and Rosemary Ayoko thrill the audience.

platform to express themselves to learn, develop and be entertained,” he added.

Meanwhile, MVP winner, Taofik Ismail, said the competition had assured him of hope for the orphans.

“It shows that Nigerians really care,” Ismail said.

Organiser of the event, Bukola Alabi Edem, also enjoined

good-spirited Nigerians to aid the orphanage homes whose needs he said include mattresses, pillows, diapers, stationery, foodstuff, soaps, detergent, baby foods and cereal, among others.

Cadbury Nigeria, Airtel, Flour Mills of Nigeria, PZ Cussons, Newbreeze Productions and the Lagos State Government supported the annual event.

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Oshodi

State and representatives from Ministry of Education.

Director, Grassroot Sports, National Sports Commission, Mr. Alhassan Yakmut, will deliver a keynote address while three papers will be presented

by Mrs. Gloria Obajimi on School Sports and Sports Facilities,, Prince Wale Oladunjoye (Grassroot Sports and Development: The Lagos Experience) and Chief Segun Odegbami (Sports and Education).

Ojeagbase

Citadel wins Charity Games able Player (MVP) award of the competition.

The 2014 games had dignitaries in attendance, some of who include Mr. Olumide Aregbesola, who represented Chief of Staff to Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Lanre Babalola, as well as a host of others.

Babalola said the competition had since inception in 2008

offered less privileged children the opportunity to express themselves through sports, adding that the children were also enabled to unite with the society.

“Kidsport Games has reminded us of the responsibilities due to these children,” the COS said.

“I commend the organisers for providing these kids with a

WORLD RECORD

Best selling group Vol. 04 No. 995 Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The Beatles have amassed the g reatest sales for any g roup. Alltime sales have been estimated by EMI at over one billion discs and tapes to date.

N150

Akwa Ibom standards for the NDDC

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he statement could have been made unnoticed and by anyone but not when it came from the managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Sir Bassey Dan-Abia, while inspecting projects of his commission. He charged contractors to stick to the standards set by the Akwa Ibom State government in the provision of infrastructures. When an intervention agency like NDDC admits that there is a standard to be copied, then such deserves a critical examination, either for refutation or affirmation.

The NDDC helmsman must have indeed seen something not common to projects execution in other places par-

TALKINGPOINT Seyi Fasugba

seyifasugba@yahoo.com 08053069514 (sms only)

ticularly within the area of its coverage and must have been convinced that there are standards and there are quality standards. Given the resources at its disposal and the purpose of the agency, which was established under the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, there should have been a measure with which to assess its assignment since inception. It sounds rather absurd that the agency which was established to midwife developments in the once volatile Niger Delta region of the country must have been overwhelmed by its challenges.

It must, however, be noted that the landmark achievements of the Akwa Ibom State government can hardly be glossed over, and if it startled the man who should know better, then it must be a worthy legacy indeed, particularly at this time some state governments execute projects with imposing billboards without anything on ground to commensurate to the resources deployed in erecting the boards and without any connection with the aspirations and needs of the people. Governor Godswill Akpabio is a man loved by his people, no matter the opinion of others, as long as he continues to forge ahead in delivering what he has promised to do.

He has been described and labelled in many ways, but one thing certain is

NOBODY CAN DENY HIS PASSION AND MISSION TO TURN THINGS AROUND IN

AKWA IBOM STATE that he cannot be ignored not only in history of the development of his state, but in the country as a whole. It takes an uncommon man to accomplish uncommon things in government given the distractions and battles waiting to be fought, mostly within, before anything tangible can be done.

It is still fresh in memory that even though the man was not favoured to succeed the former governor, Obong Victor Attah, but against all odds, he emerged the candidate to beat. One thing you cannot take away from the governor is his passion to serve, and his vision to change the landscape of the state in terms of development. Like other leaders the state has produced over the years, Akpabio built on the foundation laid by them and decided to also break new grounds. It was difficult for many people to see the translation of his vision in his first term in office, but yet nobody can deny his passion and mission to turn things around in Akwa Ibom State.

One of his favourite statements has been that he wants to be judged by the difference in Akwa Ibom, before, during and after Akpabio. What will be the lot of the state after him depends on the government that will succeed his administration. It is, however, very interesting to note that during his tenure, his legacies are already becoming a point of reference for an agency as the NDDC. This, in essence, is what democracy should deliver to us as a people. Just like Akpabio, there are many first term governors who are passionate about making the difference in the lives of the people and on the development landscape of our nation. Democracy offers opportunity for leaders who are not comfortable with the status quo, but ready to effect changes that will provide opportunities for future generations to contribute their quota.

After almost 16 years of interrupted democratic governance, we should be able to see the growth and development of many more modern state capitals and with many other cities and towns of the nation developed enough to rival major ones in the world. Among other things, healthy competition among elected officials to provide dividends of democracy would have helped greatly in arresting rural-urban drift, and to a large extent, reduce violent crimes and insecurity.

The reference by the NDDC to the Akwa Ibom State standards is a welcome development, but my prayer is for us to see the achievements of other governors as development reference points for others and not as negative indices of regrets. This is necessary now more than ever before so that attention will shift from elective office holders to the differences and impacts their tenures have made on the people and the nation as a whole.

Sport Extra

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uper Falcons Coach, Edwin Okon, will depart Lagos on Thursday at the head of Nigeria’s delegation to the draw ceremony for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Okon, who led the Falcons to clinch a seventh African

Falcons Coach off to Canada 2015 World Cup draw title in Namibia in October, will be joined by Team Administrator Ruth David and Media Officer Gracious Akujobi.

The draw for the 7th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals

will be held in Ottawa on Saturday, with 24 finalists to be divided into six groups of four teams each.

Already qualified for the finals are host Canada, United States of America,

Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, England, Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, China, Korea Repub-

lic, Thailand and New Zealand.

The last spot will be taken by the winners of the intercontinental play-off between Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago.

Okon

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