Monday, December 10, 2012

Justice Musdapher delivers Again, National Mirror, National Mirror’s anniversary lecture Newswatch shine at ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

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he immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, will next Thursday December

Vol. 2 N0. 509

Air traffic:

20, 2012 deliver the National Mirror second anniversary lecture in Lagos.

Musdapher, a versatile and accomplished jurist, will exhaustively examine the relationship between the law and e-media practice

in Nigeria, and how balance could be struck.

The lecture is in line with National Mirror’s anniversary theme for 2012 which is on “the judiciary and the challenges of the rule of CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

media award

NM wins Wole Soyinka prize for investigative reporting P.4

Monday, December 10, 2012

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Controllers raise alarm over unsafe airspace EXCLUSIVE

OLUSEGUN KOIKI

...say pilots flying blind in last three months

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BUSINESS SECTION

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he Nigerian airspace is gradually becoming a nightmare for pilots flying within the country as indications emerged over the weekend that the radio communications on some routes may have collapsed.

This is contained in a six-page petition written by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, NATCA, an umbrella body of Air Traffic Controllers,

Free F Fr ee e inside ins nsid ide id e

Lagos-Kano mass transit train service begins Dec 20 P.A7

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Mandela recuperating in hospital Ghana poll: Opposition alleges rigging

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L-R: Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu; Deputy Governor, Operations, Mr. Tunde Lemo; Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi and Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc and Chairman, Sub-Committee on Economic Development and Sustainability, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, at the 4th Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat in Calabar, yesterday.

Poverty, hunger afflict West Africa despite resources P.10 –Fashola

Gunmen abduct Okonjo-Iweala’s mother L-R: Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Sarah Sosan; wife of the Governor, Abimbola Fashola; Founder/Group Managing Director, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Dr. Stella Okoli and special guest of honour, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during the 2012 Emzor’s annual PHOTO: BAYOOR EWUOSO thanksgiving in Lagos yesterday.

...Palace deserted, community in pensive mood

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Global Fleet Oil & Gas gets new CEO

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Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Boko Haram: JTF, police arrest 28 suspects AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST AND

OBIORA IFOH

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o fewer than 28 suspected terrorists were arrested in separate dawn raids in Kano, the Kano State capital, yesterday by the Joint Task Force, JTF, and the police.

A reliable source said the JTF-led operation in Rijayyar Zaki, Kurna Asabe and Yankaba was in response to the spate of gun attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in some parts of the commercial city.

Our correspondent gathered that following the assault in Yankaba, where two teenage students, Chukwuemeka Ebuka (16) and Daniel Nwachkwu (17) were shot dead on Thursday by gunmen, 12 suspected militants of the sect were arrested while six were picked up in the Kruna Asabe operation.

A JTF member, who did not want his name mentioned, told National Mirror that, acting on intelligence report, the 12 arrested Boko Haram suspects in Yankaba arrived in Kano from Yobe State.

It was also learnt that an-

other team of security personnel, also acting on a tipoff, raided a compound in the university town of Rijayar Zakai, where another group of 10 suspected Boko Haram members were also apprehended.

Military uniforms and other incriminating items were said to have been recovered from the suspects.

As at the time of filing this report, all the suspects have been handed over to the military authorities.

JTF spokesman, Lt. Ikedichi Iweha, said the JTF would not relent in the efforts to liberate the state from the grip of the terror-

ists, adding that raids on suspected hideouts of the gunmen would be a routine exercise.

“Our plan is to choke up the state to suffocate them and that is what we are doing and getting the desired results.

“You can see what they are doing now is to throw cans indiscriminately to sustain their terror, but I assure you we are on top of the situation.”

Meanwhile, moved by the security challenges ravaging the country in the last two years, prominent traditional rulers will on Tuesday meet in

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Prof. of African Studies, Brown University, Providence, USA, Chinua Achebe and his son, Dr. Chidi Achebe, at the Achebe Colloquium on Africa 2012 with the theme, ‘Governance, security and peace in Africa,’ at the Martinos Auditorium, Granof Centre, Rhode Island, USA... at the weekend.

Katsina to design a new framework for sustainable dialogue among different communities in Nigeria for peaceful coexistence.

The meeting, facilitated by the National Orientation Agency, NOA, will attract royal fathers from the host state, including the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Usman; the Emirs of Daura and Dass; the Ataoja of Osogbo; the chairman, Imo Traditional Rulers Council and the chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council.

NOA Director-General, Mr. Mike Omeri, who made this known yesterday, said: “The concept of the dialogue is in concert with the various efforts of stakeholders at dialoguing for peace and in a country where recurring violence and kidnapping are leaving a great toll on communities.

“We want to support communities and a network of organisations, religious leaders, women and youth leaders, etc. who can promote and participate in dialogue to reinforce the civic role of religion, culture and politics in promoting peace and respect for pluralism in the community.”

Omeri added that violence was alien to Nigerians, hence the need for “synergy in dialogue to checkmate the disturbingly

predictable patterns of violence and counter violence in the country.”

He said the dialogue framework would also help to cultivate a culture of inclusion and peaceful communication necessary for the amicable settling of conflicts that might arise from differing religious, political and cultural commitments.

The NOA boss said: “We are optimistic that Nigerians can dialogue to bring this cycle of sectarian violence to an end. The first step will be for Nigerians to accept and respect their basic religious, political and cultural differences and realise that, while such differences are inevitable, they can be a source of strength and durability for our nation.”

He said the national launch of the dialogue framework in Katsina would be marked by a peace forum and Seminar on Security Challenges and Peace Building in Nigeria tagged “Do the Right Thing: Promote Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria”.

He said all the Directorates of the Agency in the 36 states and FCT are already prepared to replicate the peace forum in their various states thereby multiplying the impact.

In doing so, he said, the NOA would work with all stakeholders including the media for effective mobilization for dialogue.

Controllers raise alarm over unsafe airspace CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ATC, of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, signed by its General Secretary, Mr. Banji Olawode.

The statement, made available to National Mirror, indicated that there were about 114 reports of unreliable radio communications between Lagos and Kano since September till November 24.

Also within the same period, there were 72 reports of “erratic working conditions of 124.1MHZ radio frequencies of Kano-East as reported by pilots flying in the route.

The petition noted that between October 17 and November 24, there were 58 different reports on the frustrations of duty air traffic controllers and pi-

lots on 128.5 MHz (KanoWest radio) with six reports of its total failure.

Olawode had written to the Managing Director, NAMA, Mr. Nnamdi Udoh and copied 13 other persons, including the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah; the Chairmen, Senate Committee and House Committee on Aviation; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation; National Security Adviser; Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority; Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB); Director-General, State Security Service, SSS. Others are the Director of Operations, NAMA; the Director of Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, NAMA; Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON);

Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN and International Air Transport Association, IATA, representatives in Nigeria. The statement warned of impending air accident if the anomaly was not corrected soon.

However, the management of NAMA said that to further improve air traffic services within the nation’s airspace and decongest the existing radio frequency, most especially in Lagos, it would sectorise its Lagos Area Control Centre.

The petition, titled, “Continued worrisome state of communication facilities within the Nigerian airspace,” noted that despite the fact that the airspace was fully covered with radar, lack of functional and

reliable communication facilities as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, had made the airspace unsafe for users.

The petition noted that a reasonable percentage of Air Safety Reports, ASRs, made within Nigerian airspace for the past two years were communication failure related, adding that between January and November 26 this year, 19 of such reports had been received.

NATCA explained that each of these reported air incidents had the potential of resulting in mid-air collisions, adding that the situation was increasingly making Nigeria a laughing stock among the global aviation community.

The petition recalled the memo written by NATCA

with reference number NATCA/GS/305/VOL.II Annexure A (2.1) and dated July 5, 2012, expressing the frustration of the association brought about by the terrible state of the radios at the ATC units, thereby considered the option of directing her members to downgrade applicable services.

Also, the Lagos ATCs, in their letter according to the petition, had on October 25, 2010 and November 26, 2012 expressed their frustration concerning the deplorable state of the VHF 127.3MHz radio and continuously being handicapped in providing safe Air Traffic Control Services due to “the poor and substandard communication.”

Lagos ATC had warned of impending “time bomb

to the nation and mankind at large,” if the situation was not corrected by the agency.

The petition reads in part: “Between October 17 and November 24, 2012, there were 58 different reports on the frustrations of Duty ATCOs and pilots alike on 128.5MHz (Kano West radio) with six reports on its total failure.

“Between September 29 and November 24, 2012, there were 72 reports on the un-reliable working condition of 124.1MHz (Kano East radio) as reported by pilots and ATCOs with eight reports on its total failure and 114 reports on the unreliability and erratic working condition of 127.3MHz (Lagos ACC’s radio) with four reports CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 10, 2012

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Photo News

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Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Dr. Jiomh Ibrahim (4th left) and others CEOs cutting the cake.

Group Managing Director of Global Fleet Group, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim and his wife, Modupe, at the end of year party of Global Fleet Group in Lagos yesterday.

L-R: Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) recipients, National Mirror Staff, Mr. Tubosun Ogundare; Mr. Mojeed Alabi and Mr. Sina Fadare, displaying their awards at the awards presentation in Lagos at the weekend.

PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Dr. Ibrahim with the newly promoted Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Bridget Henry-Iyasere.

National News

Again, National Mirror, Newswatch shine at media award Win Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Repor ting

LEONARD OKACHIE AND FEMI OYEWESO

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ational Mirror newspapers and Newswatch magazine won several awards at this year’s Nigeria Media Merit Award, NMMA. The grand presentation ceremony, which held at the Grand Expo Centre of Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos had Sina Fadare, Tubosun Ogundare and Mojeed Alabi of National Mirror winning at different categories.

Newswatch magazine, a sister publication, excelled in four categories, including Environmental Reporter of the Year (Christopher Ojaero/Anthony Akaeze), Defence Reporter of the Year (Maureen Chigbo), Aviation Industry Reporter of the Year (Emmanuel Uffot), and Oil & Gas Reporter of the Year (Maureen Chigbo).

Also, two staff of National Mirror, Tobore Ovuore and Adeyinka Adeparusi both won at the

2012 edition of Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting, WSAIR. The award, promoted by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, WSCIJ, a non-governmental organisation, is aimed at stimulating the emergence of a socially just community defined by the ethics of inclusion, transparency and accountability through supports to the media.

At the award held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta yesterday, Ovuore emerged the overall winner in the Health category, while Adeparusi, emerged as runnerup in the photo journalism category.

The panel of judges said Ovuore won the award in Health category because of her report entitled: “Travellers shun vaccination as touts take over,” while Adeparusi won for his story entitled: “Ojora House arrest.”

This is coming only a week after National Mirror was adjudged the Best Newspaper/Maga-

zine, while the Managing Director and Editor-inChief, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, bagged the Dele Giwa Prize for Best Editor of the Year at the Celebrity Media Awards, CMA, 2012.

Fadare, a senior correspondent, won the Bukola Saraki Prize for Agriculture Reporter of the Year at the NNMA. His winning entry entitled; “Kano: A long dream to bring back the groundnut pyramid,” was published in the October 18, 2011 edition of National Mirror.

Ogundare, a senior correspondent, bagged the Bank PHB Prize for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporter, CSR, Reporter of the Year. He beat Goddie Ofose of Daily Independent and Moses Kadris of Nigerian Compass to win the category. He won the same category two years ago and Features Writer of the Year the same time.

Alabi’s story on “OAU: Major headaches awaiting the new VC,” published on May 26, 2011 in the National Mirror, won Ibrahim Shekarau Prize for Educa-

tion Reporter of the Year.

He beat Anthony Akaeze of Newswatch magazine and David Maduabuchi of Daily Independent.

The award night had 51 categories from 3,000 entries, with Tell magazine carting away several awards, the highest of the night, followed by Newswatch magazine. Tell won in 13 categories, including the Newsmagazine of the Year. The Nation won in four categories namely:

Industry Reporter of the Year, Cartoonist of the Year, Newspaper Reporter of the Year, and Columnist of the Year. National Mirror won in three categories. Punch also won in three competitive categories: Telecommunications Reporter of the Year, Editorial Writing of the Year, News Photographer of the Year. The Punch Editor, Joseph Adeyeye, was adjudged, Editor of the Year, beating Steve Nwosu of The Sun and Debo Adesina of The Guardian.

The newspaper also went home with the Best Newspaper of the Year award, beating The Guardian and The Sun. The Guardian won in two categories: Sports Reporter of the Year (Okusan Olalekan) and Tourism Reporter of the Year (Olawunmi Ojo).

Vanguard won the Investigative Reporter of the Year (Kemi Ishola Balogun) while the Culture & Tradition Reporter went to Sulaimon Olanrewaju of the Nigerian Tribune.

Global Fleet Oil and Gas gets new CEO JOHNSON OKANLAWON

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he Energy Group has appointed an astute banker, Mrs Bridget Henry Iyasere, as Chief Executive Officer of its oil downstream subsidiary, Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited.

Iyasere, who will be responsible for implementing the company’s revised business strategy and providing overall leadership in the delivery of new projects, including the handing over of filling stations to dealers,

was, until her appointment, General Manager, Finance at Air Nigeria. She had previously also served as Chief Executive Officer of NICON Investment.

The appointments were announced by the Group Managing Director, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim OFR, at the weekend during the Group’s end of year party in Lagos Also appointed was Mrs. Abosede Jinadu, who is now Chief Executive Officer of Global Fleet Industries.

The occasion saw the elevation of several staff of

the company to the position Assistant General Managers from Business Development Managers.

Among those elevated are Mr. Fidelis Lemich, Ms Bimbo Busari and Ms Yemisi Ajayi.

Dr. Ibrahim at the event charged the new appointees to continue to be diligent in the discharge of their duties pointing out that rapid promotion await staff that are able to demonstrate the requisite competence, initiative, entrepreneurial and leadership skills going forward.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, December 10, 2012

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Gunmen abduct Okonjo-Iweala’s mother SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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he octogenarian mother of the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was yesterday abducted by gunmen.

The 82-year-old Prof.

(Mrs.) Chukwuka Okonjo, who is also the wife of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, the headquarters of Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Obi (Prof.)

Chukwuka Okonjo was abducted from the palace.

The queen of OgwashiUku was seized by 10 armed men at about 1:47p.m.

National Mirror gathered that the octogenarian was abducted at the gate of the palace and whisked away to an unknown location.

The abductors reportedly operated in a Golf Volkswagen car with which they took the minis-

ter’s mother away from the scene.

Eyewitnesses told National Mirror that the hoodlums, who had laid ambush within the precincts of the palace, swung into action as soon as the queen appeared to attend to some domestic workers at the gate.

It was learnt that the royal father was away when the gunmen besieged the palace.

One of the kidnappers, who raided the inner chambers of the palace, reportedly emerged moment later with some personal belongings of the Okonjos.

Her whereabouts was yet to be ascertained as at the time of filling this report yesterday.

One of the eyewitnesses said: “The abductors were heavily armed. They were about 10. They rounded up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lay face down.

“Immediately they saw her (the queen), who was

coming towards the gate with her maid to serve the workers soft drinks, they bundled her into a waiting vehicle, a Golf car while another car was parked outside.”

National Mirror reports that gloom enveloped the community yesterday moments after information about the fate of the octogenarian filtered around the area.

Residents discussed the incident in groups and the palace was deserted in the aftermath of the incident.

The minister’s mother became the latest victim of the spate of kidnappings in Delta State and other parts of the South South and South East in which the victims include both the high and low in society.

Justice Marcel Okoh of the state’s High Court and Vice-Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Mr. Ekenwan Akwagbe, had suffered similar fate.

The Commissioner for Higher Education in the state, Prof. Hope Eghagha, who was abducted on September 30, regained freedom two weeks after ‘buying’ his liberty from the gunmen.

Two expatriate workers of a construction giant, Setraco, abducted at a site in Gbarigolor, Ughelli South LGA, almost two weeks ago, were yet to regain their freedom.

Efforts by the security agents to ensure early release of the Lebanese from captivity were futile.

The mother of a member of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, had also been abducted by gunmen in the state.

The wife of the Port Harcourt correspondent of Vanguard newspaper was the guest of the kidnappers in Eku, Ethiope LGA of the state, for over one week recently.

She regained her freedom when her embattled

Prelate, Methodist Church of Nigeria, Bishop Sunday Makinde (left) presenting the certificate of Knight of John Wesley to Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akapbio, during a thanksgiving service at Methodist Church, Itiam Offot in Uyo at the weekend.

husband parted with a ransom.

However, it was gathered yesterday that the incident jolted the state government.

It was learnt that top hierarchy of government was unhappy that the incident would send a wrong signal to the international community, particularly because of the status of her daughter.

Findings by our correspondent showed that the state government had mobilised security agencies to ensure early release of the octogenarian from captivity and apprehend the ab-

ductors.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the report.

Muka told National Mirror in a telephone interview that the police had moved in to secure freedom for the octogenarian.

He said the manhunt for the kidnappers had begun, adding that the police were already working on a clue that could produce early results.

The PPRO also urged members of the public to provide relevant information to assist in the task.

Controllers raise alarm over unsafe airspace CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

on its total failure between September 8 and November 26, 2012.

“Report made by NAMA’s General Manager, Safety Management System/Quality Assurance to the General Manager, Electronics Communication on terrible working condition of 127.3MHZ at 1305UTC on 15th November, 2012.”

NATCA challenged Udoh to urgently declare national emergency on Air Traffic Services communication facilities within Nigerian airspace to mitigate the communication situation degenerating into distress stage thereby threatening the lives of air travellers and general public at large.

It also charged NAMA to provide reliable VHF radios and backups for the two Area Control Centres (Kano and Lagos) without further delay or in the interim and until effective VHF radios are provided, downgrade the two

ACCs to Flight Information Centres equipped with HF radios like 8903KHz for the provision of Flight Information Service (FIS) only.

The General Manager, Public Affairs, NAMA, Mr. Supo Atobatele, agreed that the current radio frequency – 27.3 MHz for the Lagos Area Control Centre – is at present congested following heavy traffic within the southern airspace.

He said the decongestion of the radio frequency would commence by December 17 with the integrity of the system ascertained.

The management said that the best solution was to create additional frequencies to allow for effective radio communication between pilots and air traffic on controllers.

NAMA said to improve the traffic services to pilots, the management had raised another frequency on 120.9MHz, emphasising that this would help to decongest the current one.

Justice Musdapher delivers National Mirror’s anniversary lecture CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

law.”

The lecture, which holds in Muson Centre, Lagos, is a two-in-one event as a book entitled “For law, for country: Conversations with the Bar and the Bench,” will be publicly presented at the event The book presents divergent views of legal practitioners, especially Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), in both private and public practice on one hand and judges on the other hand on

various topical issues in the judiciary including policies.

Aptly described as “conversations with the bar and the bench,” the book offers lawyers belonging to different generations, areas of specialisations and holding various philosophies to freely express their views on the current challenges bedevilling the judiciary and the rule of law.

The management of National Mirror newspapers said that the book is “a humble contribution of National

Mirror newspapers to safeguard the integrity of the judiciary and rule of law in the country.”

The occasion of the annual lecture will also present a rare opportunity for who-iswho in Nigeria, especially in the legal community, to reunite and discuss the judiciary and the all- important topic of e-media practice in Nigeria and the law.

The event will be chaired by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, who himself is an accomplished

legal practitioner and member of the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Governor Godswill Akpabio and other lawyer-governors – Dr. Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sullivan Chime (Enugu) are also expected at the event as special executive guests with legal background.

The president and commander in chief of the armed forces of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, is expected as the special

guest of honour at the event.

The maiden lecture which held in Abuja was delivered by legal luminary and Chairman of Association of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Richard Akinjide.

He spoke on Africa and the Challenges of 21st Century.

The paper was exhaustively discussed by eminent Nigerians in attendance including Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), Chief Mike

Ahamba (SAN), among others.

The maiden event which held at NICON Luxury hotel in Abuja was attended by President Jonathan Goodluck, represented by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, who commended the editorial quality of the newspaper, the then serving CJN, Justice Musdapher, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke (SAN) and among several others.

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Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Why Senate can’t act on PIB now –Committee GEORGE OJI ABUJA

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he Senate has refuted claims that it was under pressure not to commence deliberations on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), saying that the delay on the bill was occasioned by the greater need to deal conclusively with the budget appropriation bill before the end of the year.

The PIB was transmit-

ted to both chambers of the National Assembly

by President Goodluck Jonathan, in July this year before the lawmakers embarked on their two months annual vacation.

But, while the House of Representatives commenced debate on the bill upon resumption and has progressed to the third reading stage, the Senate is yet to begin deliberation on the bill.

This development ig-

nited speculations that the international oil companies and other stakeholders, who are opposed to some of the provisions of the bill, are mounting pressure through the upper house, to frustrate the passage of the bill into law.

However, Senate Committee Chairman on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, explained to National Mirror that the Senate was not under any form of pressure to frus-

trate the passage of the bill into law by anybody or group.

He said what has delayed deliberations on the bill was the priority the red chamber, albeit, the entire National Assembly, placed on the passage of the 2013 appropriation bill.

Enang said as a result of the expectations of Nigerians and the desire of the National Assembly to break away from the past, both chambers of the par-

liament are determined to ensure that the appropriation bill was passed into law before the end of the year.

“If you observe in our last notice paper, we had it there, but a few things happened, particularly the stress of appropriation bill so we could not take it. But we are going to list it from December 10. I am sure we will be able to take it and pass it to the committees,” Enang said.

Continuing he said; “Even if we take it now and pass it to the committees, they will still have to wait to complete the appropriation before they start work on it.”

Reminded about the fast pace of their colleagues in the House of Representatives, Enang interjected; “We are always faster with bills than the house and I assure you that we will surpass your expectations.”

LUTH foils attempt to break into Babalakin’s private ward FRANCIS FAMOROTI

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L-R: Executive Director, Tabitha Cumi Foundation Arc. Tayo Erinle; member Board of Trustees, Hajia Aisha Alkali and paediatric specialist, National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Agwube Ahmadu, during the 5th anniversary of promoting value of girls education in Nigeria in Abuja at the weekend.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Don’t cover up N232bn illegal payment to oil marketers –NBA WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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he Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch, at the weekend, said the recent revelation by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that N232 billion was illegally collected by 50 oil marketers should not be swept under the carpet.

The NBA said the matter must not end without prosecution in the country’s law court.

The association also warned the Federal Government not to increase the pump price of petroleum products so that it does not stir the anger of the people of the country.

Chairman of the branch, Rafiu Balogun, who made known the position of the association at the weekend, said any attempt to increase the fuel pump price would be “aggressively resisted.”

He said the recovering of the N29 billion by debt swap from those who collected it illegally as stated

by Okonjo-Iweala was not satisfactory and called for a blacklisting of the marketers aside from their prosecution.

Balogun commended the efforts of the government to sanitise the oil sector and asked the government to be more transparent to ensure that there is no sacred cow.

His words: “The corruption in the oil sector

is another vexing issue of national importance which must be tackled headlong by the Federal Government.

The subsidy scam and the colossal sum of money lost to fuel subsidy are worrisome and saddening.

“We commend the Federal Government for the efforts to sanitise the sector; the prosecution of the erring individuals and compa-

nies involved is commendable. We, however, warned that there must not be any sacred cow and the government must be as transparent as possible.

“That takes us to the Ribadu Report; the Federal Government should not jettison the report as it could still be useful in the series of investigations into the fraud and the perpetrators.”

Bank lending to agric rises to 3.5% –CBN UDO ONYEKA

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anking sector lending to the agriculture sector has increased from 1.5 per cent of total industry portfolio to 3.5 per cent in 2012, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Governor of the Central Bank (CBN) and Chairman of the Bankers’ Committee, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, disclosed this at the end of the fourth annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat in Calabar, at the weekend.

He said banks have outlined strategies to further increase agric lending to seven per cent of industry portfolio by next year and to 10 per cent by 2017.

His words: “With a vision for a better future for Nigerians, the Bankers’ Committee is committed to a lead role as catalyst for economic development, improving access to finance by the unbanked and under-banked population and the growth of the real sector.

“The Bankers’ Committee has focused on the power, agriculture and

transport infrastructure sectors for driving growth and identified opportunities for financial system intervention in the transformation of these critical sectors of the economy.

“Through collaboration with the government, the banking community and real sector stakeholders, the Bankers’ Committee programmes and initiatives have contributed to tangible improvements in providing the enabling environment and private sector funding for the power and agriculture sectors.”

he security agents at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, yesterday foiled attempts by an unidentified person to gain access into the private ward of the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), at the hospital.

It was learnt that the strange man had beaten the security about noon, and was about entering Babalakin’s private ward when some nurses trailed him to the door of the ward and enquired about his mission.

A source said the man’s explanation was unconvincing, prompting the LUTH officials to invite policemen attached to the hospital to the scene.

It was gathered that when the security men arrived, they were in the process of rough handling the strange man and he quickly identified himself. The source said the man claimed to be a plain cloth operative with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The source added that the EFCC and other armed men later accosted the strange man and led him away. It was learnt that nobody could ascertain the mission of the yet-to-be identified operative, who claimed to be an EFCC official.

The hospital authorities could not be reached for comments. At press time, attempts to speak with the EFCC’s spokesman, Wilson Uwajaren, failed, as his two phone lines were switched off.

Power generation: GENCOs lament gas shortage CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

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espites claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that it had surpassed its gas to power aspirations, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), successor generation companies otherwise known as GENCOs have lamented that some Nigeria Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) cannot run due to gas shortage.

It will be recalled that NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Engineer Andrew Yakubu, recently claimed that the corporation had exceeded its target for ‘Gasto-Power’ aspirations and was taking steps to grow the nation’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily crude oil production to four million barrels per day.

But, the Chief Executive Officer of Egbin Power plant, Engr. Mike Uzoigwe, at the weekend, said some of the NIPP units which have been fully commissioned could not run due to shortage of gas.

“It is pertinent to note here that some NIPP units have been fully commissioned but cannot run due to gas supply associated problems. The Geregu power plants still experiencees gas supply shortage,” he said.

Uzoigwe, who was speaking on behalf of the GENCOs during the signing of performance contract between government and generation companies’ agencies and parastatals under the Ministry of Power, noted that barring any unforeseen inhibitions, Nigeria’s power generation capacity would hit a record 6, 873 megawatts by the end of 2013.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Monday, December 10, 2012

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FG, varsity workers’ meeting ends in stalemate OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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he country’s university system may witness another round of crisis, as a meeting between the Federal Government and the nonteaching staff unions in the universities to resolve the pending issues and

• Seven-day warning strike begins tomorrow avert planned strike over the Earned Allowance and the report of committee on NEEDS assessment in the institutions ended in a deadlock.

Following the stalemate, the unions, which comprise Senior Staff

NBS canvasses stakeholders’ support for job creation survey TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

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he National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has appealed to corporate bodies and other stakeholders for support for its ongoing 2nd and 3rd Quarters National Job Creation Survey by providing necessary information that would help it produce data on the Nigerian labour market.

The survey will cover the informal and formal sectors in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The 14-day exercise, which commenced on December 5, is targeted at improving the available information and data on the Nigerian labour market through the application of appropriate statistical methodology for tracking variability in the number

of jobs created or lost every quarter.

The exercise, which is being conducted in collaboration with National Planning Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of Chief Economic Adviser to the President and Ministry of Labour and Productivity, will cover two quarters - March to June, 2012 and June to Septembers 2012 - and involve field officers’ visits to selected establishments, households and public institutions during which the required data would be collected.

On the need for stakeholders’ collaboration, the NBS said: “The NBS hereby solicits from establishments/households the necessary cooperation for the success of this exercise, particularly in completing the questionnaires correctly.

Prayer’ll solve Nigeria’s problems –Jonathan MURITALA AYINLA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has said that if Nigerians could come together and pray, challenges confronting the nation would be overcome.

Jonathan, who spoke via multi-media during the 7th edition of “The Experience” concert held at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), congratulated Pastor Paul Adefarasin on the successful conduct of the music concert.

Jonathan said the yearly event is an indication that there is nothing the country cannot accomplish if Nigerians come together and pray on the

nation’s challenges.

His words: “It was a magnificent spectacle to see every tribe and tongue gather together all praising one God with one voice. This is the Nigeria we strive for and occasions such as “The Experience” are the evidence that the Nigeria we dream of can be attained.

Jonathan

Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, NonAcademic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, have resolved to begin a seven-day warning strike tomorrow.

The meeting was held at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, late on Friday night.

President of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, President of NAAT, Comrade Sani Suleiman, and the General Secretary of

NASU, Comrade Peter Adeyemi, who spoke at the end of the parley, said the meeting presided over by Anyim, with the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqquatu Rufai, in attendance, could not reach any meaningful conclusion.

They added that the warning strike would go ahead as planned.

While Adeyemi said his union had invited its members to a meeting at the University of Ibadan tomorrow to deliberate on the outcome of the meeting with the government and decide on the way forward, Ugwoke said the unions

would use today to mobilise their members across the country for the commencement of the strike tomorrow.

On his part, Suleiman said the decision to go on strike was unchanged, explaining that the union had directed its branches to hold congress meeting today.

Adeyemi said in a short text message to National Mirror that: “We have already invited NASU members in the universities to a meeting in Ibadan on Tuesday (tomorrow) to deliberate on the outcome of our meeting with the SGF. The meeting will decide on the way forward. Until then, nothing changes.”

Ugwoke said the unions discovered from the meeting that the government had no intention to pay the Earned Allowance, adding that the government had not been sincere with them.

The SSANU president wondered why the government kept on inviting them to meetings, promising them all along when it knew it had no intention to pay the money.

He said: “They let us know at the meeting that they have no intention of paying the money. All the while, they have been deceiving us. They told us that they cannot do anything about it now, since the budget is before the National Assembly.

ICPC seeks support for anti-graft war

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Tobore Ovuorie of National Mirror giving a speech after winning the Health Category award of Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalist held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday.

PDM meets ahead of 2015, promises robust leadership OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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embers of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), a political group formed by the late Shehu Yar’Ada, met at the weekend in Abuja with a promise to enthrone robust leadership in Nigeria in 2015.

Members of the group agreed to work together to enthrone good leadership as a testimony of the philosophy of the late Shehu Yar’Adua.

A source at the meeting said that former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Board of Trustee, Chief Anthony Anenih, has been tipped to chair the newly formed Elders Council of the PDM. Speaking at the meeting held at the Shehu Yar’Adua Center in Abuja, PDM Chairman, Bode Ajewole, said the political association would decide the nation’s leadership in 2015 and would not be used as a mere rubber stamp.

s the World marks the Anti-Corruption Day today, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Ekpo Nta, has called on Nigerians to develop a new mindset in the anticorruption war.

He advised Nigerians to see the recent rating of Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world by Transparency International report as a wakeup call that should not be seen as dampening “our enthusiasm, but to spur us in the anti-corruption war to zero level.”

South West

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Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ACN lacks credibility to comment on VP’s residence –PDP Hails FG for donating SURE-P buses, N8bn to Lagos

OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as a deceptive party following the latter’s comments on the proposed official residence for VicePresident Namadi Sambo.

PDP said it was sad that ACN could not differentiate between the office of the Vice-President and the occupant of the office.

PDP said the inability to differentiate between office and its occupant led ACN to say the former planned to erect mansions for its leaders, saying: “This comment by ACN is a further confirmation of its characteristic deceptive disposition and actions.”

PDP spokesman, Taofeek Gani, said: “For a party whose government in Lagos State is erecting as part of pension gifts to Bola Tinubu, the immediate past governor, a

magnificent mansion in a choice area of the state on two acres of land and on 400 square metres of reclaimed waterfront on which the Lagos State Government has so far spent N7 billion, there is no other way to describe the ACN other than being a party of deceitful and double-faced individuals.”

PDP recalled that shortly before he was re-elected in 2003 as governor, Tinubu constructed a new Governor’s Lodge for over N3 bil-

lion and the pension law passed for former governors excluded the first executive governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

It said: “We will like to alert the good people of Nigeria to the hypocritical and deceptive character of ACN and its repeated acts of deliberate falsehood and hypocrisy.

As the late Chief Awolowo has rightly explained, it is a sign of weakness and utter dementia for the ACN to attempt to commend

itself to the public, to resort to negative process of falsehood and hypocrisy.

The time has come for Nigerians to know ACN for what it represents-falsehood and deceit.”

Meanwhile, PDP commended the Federal Government for its determination to ease transportation problems in Lagos State by donating SURE-P luxury buses as well as the release of over N8 billion for the provision of potable water for residents.

The party spokesman, Taofeek Gani, said at the

weekend that the gestures were indicative that the PDP-controlled Federal Government “is indeed non-partisan on issues concerning the welfare of Nigerians in any part of the country.”

The PDP, however, regretted that the Lagos State Government is rather playing politics with the gestures meant to alleviate the hardship that residents may face due to the partial removal of petroleum subsidy by not putting up the SURE-P buses into use for the public.

Ekiti shuts 35 substandard schools

NUC approves Oyo technical varsity

ABIODUN NEJO

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IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

ADO EKITI

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or not meeting the required standard, the Ekiti State Government has shut 35 more private schools.

The development brought the number of private schools shut by the state government to 166.

Commissioner for Education, Dr Eniola Ajayi, who disclosed this at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, warned that the state government would continually shut substandard and unregistered schools.

Ajayi said the minimum standard expected from private school proprietors included: operation on their permanent site after three years of establishment, registration by government, four standard classrooms at inception, functional library, separate laboratories for Physics, Chemistry and Biology for secondary schools.

Others included availability of quality teachers and principal with at least five years teaching experience, as well as adequate and suitable furniture, coupled with the availability of at least four standard toilets.

The commissioner, who reiterated Governor Kayode Fayemi, administration’s commitment to the provision of a conducive learning environment that would enable student perform excellently, stressed that the government would not compromise the future of children.

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, MediaCom Nigeria, Dr. Ken Onyeali-Ikpe; his wife, Nneka and Chairman, Troyka Group, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, during a launch to mark Onyeali-Ikpe’s 50th birthday in Lagos, at the weekend.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Lagos police warn Okada riders to shun planned protest FRANCIS SUBERU AND MURITALA AYINLA

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he Lagos State Police Command has warned commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada riders to shun their planned mass protest in the interest of peace.

In a statement signed yesterday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, the police warned that who-

ever is found disturbing the public peace would be dealt with.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to insinuations and rumours that Okada riders will be going on rampage tomorrow, 10th December, 2012 (today).

“In the interest of peace, they are warned to desist from such plans as whoever is found wanting or disturbing the peace of the state will be dealt with

in accordance with the laws of the land.

“The Commissioner of Police is hereby advising all Okada riders to remain calm and embrace peace since their matter is already in court and would be decided soon.

Meanwhile, the reappearance of commercial motorcycles on prohibited roads in has begun to worry Lagos State Government.

National Mirror learnt that the state government is not happy with the re-

appearance of the motorcyclists on the prohibited routes, thus blaming the Commissioner for Police, Umar Manko, for subtle enforcement of the state traffic law after the initial enforcement which saw the impoundment of no fewer than 5,000 motorcycles.

A source, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “Really, the state executive council is not happy on continuous operation of motorcycles after the enforcement of the law.

Ondo coastal community, Chevron sign peace pact HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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equel to the assurance by the people of Ilaje in the coastal area of Ondo State to cooperate and provide adequate security for the officials of Chevron Oil Company, indication emerged that exploration on Omuro/Ojuimole Oil Fields in the area will soon begin.

The agreement was reached during a peace meeting held

at the palace of Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan.

Speaking at the meeting, Commissioner for the Environment in Ondo State, Chief Sola Ebiseeni, noted that the essence of the meeting was to create mutual understanding between the host community and the oil company.

Ebiseni said the government would continue to encourage foreign in-

vestors in the state and commended the people for their peaceful co-existence and support at all times.

Also speaking, Oba Akinruntan, who described the people of Ilaje as peaceloving, said that they had signed a peace pact.

He assured the oil firm of adequate security and support.

However, the communiqué signed by the residents of the area and the commis-

sioner, as well as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Olufemi Bosede, was read.

The communiqué, interpreted to the people in their mother tongue, was jointly embraced by all.

It will be recalled that Chevron Oil Company stopped exploration in Omuro/Ojuimole Oil Field in 2002 over what the company’s management called insecurity of lives and property.

he National Universities Commission (NUC) at the weekend gave letter of recognition to the first technical university in Nigeria.

The NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie, while presenting the letter to Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi Abuja, lamented that university of technologies in the country had lost focus of their establishment.

Stressing that Nigeria is in dire need of technical universities, Okojie decried the dearth of industries for practical learning in Nigeria, adding that the development contributed to the continued dwindling of academic standard.

He, therefore, called on Governor Ajimobi to provide friendly learning environment for students, promising that NUC would necessary supports to ensure the success of the university.

Receiving the letter, the governor said the technical university, which is the first in the country, will be very unique in the sense that its curriculum would include courses that normally not available in Nigeria regular universities such as mechatronics, cyberspace security, aircraft engineering and other unique courses.

Okojie

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, December 10, 2012

Housewife in police net for dumping day-old baby ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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26-year-old housewife at Ikere Ekiti, Mrs. Adejoke Ojo, has said that her inability to buy child care materials and the fear that she may not be able to fend for the baby were the reasons she dumped her day-old baby boy in a bush shortly after delivery.

The woman, who went into labour on her own, was delivered of the baby with no midwife or any assistance last Wednesday in her Ikoyi Street, Ikere

Ekiti home, said she came to that conclusion because she feared she would not be able to take care of the baby with three other children.

Adejoke, who is at present being held at the Ekiti State Police Command Headquarters in Ado Ekiti, said there was no money to take care of herself even when she was pregnant. This, she said accounted for her inability to register at any hospital for antenatal and post-natal treatment.

According to her, she did not seek the assistance of family members

ICPC summons Speaker over alleged contract scam FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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he Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) has summoned the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Ishola Adekunbi, over his alleged involvement in inflating prices of the 28 official cars bought for the state lawmakers.

The Speaker was said to have inflated the contract for the purchase of the 28 Toyota Avensis cars to the tune of N6 million each.

National Mirror reliably gathered that the ICPC’s invitation was sequel to a petition written against him over the matter.

It was further gathered that the Speaker will be appearing before the commission’s Head of Investigation today in Abuja,

along with the Clerk of the House, Muyiwa Adenopo, the Deputy Clerk as well as some principal officers of the Ogun State House of Assembly.

As at the time of filing this report, it was gathered that ICPC’s letter summoning the Speaker has been served on him.

Part of the allegation in the petition against the Speaker reads: “For conferring unfair advantage and inflating the price of 28 Toyota Avensis car bought for the honourable members as official car to the inflated amount of N6 million per one Avensis.”

When contacted, the Media Consultant/National Coordinator of the National Anti-Corruption Volunteer Corps, Folu Olamiti, confirmed the story, stressing that the speaker would be a guest of the commission today.

Ogun to install power plants to boost water supply

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gun State government said it has perfected plans to install power plants in each of its water booster stations in the state before the end of the first quarter of 2013.

The planned light rail project, to boost transportation system in the state is also to take off during the year.

The action, according to the Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Olu Odeyemi, is aimed at ending decades of con-

vulsive supply of portable water to residents of the state.

The commissioner disclosed this while defending his ministry’s 2013 budget at the Ogun State House of Assembly.

Odeyemi said the state government would overhaul and complete the installation of new power plants at the booster stations to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to pump water regularly to all the nooks and crannies of the state.

because she did not want to add to her poor parents’ burden in the village as she could not assist them.

Her husband, Mr. Dada Ojo, who has also been arrested by the police, said he was not aware of the incident as his wife did not tell him of her plan to dump the baby in the bush.

He said when he returned home from work in the evening and observed that his wife had given birth, he asked of the baby to which the woman replied that the baby boy was dead.

The husband, who said he wondered what could have led his wife to the act, said the woman was not hungry as she claimed; saying he was always giv-

ing her money for food from his daily revenue.

He, however, said the woman had been jobless since her petty business collapsed about three years ago, the revival of which he said had not been possible in view of his condition as a low-income earner.

A passerby, who saw the baby crying in the bush with congealed blood on its body, had alerted the Ikere Local Government authorities, who in turn went for the baby and took it to the Basic Health Centre where the boy was attended to.

Sources said the baby, who was responding to treatment as at the time of filing this report, was in stable condition.

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Traffic law: 35,000 enrol in Lagos driving institute MURITALA AYINLA

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he Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI), Ayodeji Peter Oyedokun, has said that over 35,000 people have voluntarily enrolled in the state-owned driving institutes across the state.

The state had earlier made it compulsory, courtesy of its road traffic law, for drivers to attend the drivers’ institute once in a year.

Speaking exclusively with National Mirror, during the visit of the officials of the state Ministry of Transportation to patients of the Emergency Ward at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), the LASDRI boss said each of the institutes received no fewer than 75

people daily.

His words: “We have not really started enforcing the law on drivers in the state, but people are voluntarily complying.

“Right now, we have over 35,000 on our data base. The enforcement of the Lagos Traffic Law has really enhanced the patronage. We have five centres located in Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja and Lagos Island.

“It is a behaviour motivation process that is measured through the use of questionnaires we send to corporate organisations where some of the trained drivers came from.

“The responses we are getting show that people that sent them are getting interested in the whole programme. They are seeing the changes in the behaviour of drivers they send for the training.”

L-R: Bride’s Father and Human Rights Activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi; the couple, Oluwafolakemi and Oluwajuwalo Majekodunmi; Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi; wife, Florence and mother of the bride, Mrs. Funmi Falana, during the wedding reception of Falana’s daughter in Lagos, at the weekend.

Dana Air: 40 families deny airline’s multiple claims OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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ontrary to claims by the management of Dana Air that the delay in the payment of $30, 000 compensations to some families of the ill-fated crash of Sunday, June 3, 2012, was caused by multiple claims; some of the families of the victims have denied such claim.

National Mirror gathered over the weekend that at least 40 families of the victims have employed the services of a lawyer to press home their case and claiming that the airline

was avoiding paying compensations to them.

It was also gathered that about five families have submitted their letters of administration to the office of the airline.

Receipt of the letter of administration was one of the conditions given by the solicitors of the airlines to the victims’ families for them to receive the remaining balance of $70, 000 to be paid by one of its insurance companies, Lloyds of London.

Our correspondent gathered through a source close to one of the agencies in the industry that the 40 families have secured the

services of M. O. Awoniyi & Co to press home their demands and insisted that all necessary documents that would aid the collection of the initial payment of $30, 000 compensations had been submitted to the airlines.

The same families, it was gathered, had petitioned the Senate Committee on Aviation on the deliberate refusal of the airline to pay them the initial compensation.

Dana Air management has overtime claimed that internal wranglings among the victims’ families was part of the reasons why it was not able to

pay some of the families, but noted that 80 families have so far been compensated by the airline.

An online statement once signed by the Media Manager of the airline, Mr. Tony Usidamen, stated that some family members, in order to receive the sum, came forward with unverified documents, which identified them as the next-of-kin, but were later exposed through the verification process.

Usidamen, assured that the airline had adequate insurance covers for the aircraft, adding that funds are on ground for compensation purposes.

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South East

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lawyers injured as violence disrupts NBA meeting CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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he monthly meeting of Awka branch of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) held last Saturday was marred with violence involving supporters of two factions fighting for supremacy.

It was gathered that during the fighting, some law-

yers were injured.

Sources told National Mirror that trouble began when one of the lawyers fighting to remove the branch chairman from his position was distributing a write-up to members.

The lawyer was suddenly confronted and attacked by an irate group, which inflicted injuries on him.

As the fight broke out,

there was confusion as people scampered for safety.

The meeting was immediately terminated.

The matter has been reported at the “B” Division of the Anambra State Police Command.

The faction whose members were injured during the fracas reported the incident to the police and petitioned the National Ju-

dicial Council (NJC) and other relevant agencies on the issue.

The crisis in the Awka branch of NBA has created two factions. One group is loyal to the Chairman, S.U.S Mbanaso and the other group comprises those agitating to remove him from the post.

The crisis has defiled all solutions, including both

the intervention of elders of the association and National Executive Committee of NBA. The crisis began when some members, who accused the branch chairman of acts of high-handedness, purportedly met and passed a resolution to remove him.

Since then, both factions have been trading allegations and insults.

I’m ready for LG poll, says Obi CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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nambra State Governor Peter Obi has reiterated his administration’s readiness to conduct local government election as soon as all legal impediments are settled.

He, therefore, appealed to parties still in courts to withdraw their cases.

He spoke yesterday while answering questions from journalists during the outing service for the late Mr. Azubike Nwebili, the husband of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Chinwe Nwebili, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Iyiowa Odekpe.

Commenting on the abolition of joint account and direct allocation of money to local governments, Obi said he supports the move as long as it takes care the interest of teachers.

The governor, however, commended the people of the state for their support for the many on-going projects being executed by the government.

He reminded those who park vehicles along the Nkpor axis of Onitsha-Enugu dual carriage way that any one not removed by yesterday would be assumed to be government property and would be forcefully removed to pave the way for the construction of the road.

L-R: Former President-General of Ohaneze-Ndigbo, Chief Eze Ozobu; President, Igbo Youth Movement, Mr. Elliot Uko and former Military Governor of Old Imo State, Rear Admiral Ndubisi Kanu (rtd), at the 2012 Igbo Youth Movement colloquium held in Enugu, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Poverty, hunger afflict West Africa despite resources –Fashola

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overnor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State has identified conflicts, fuelled by desire for dominance, territorial control and economic benefit, as responsible for the underdevelopment of West Africa.

He said the region, blessed with about 300 million people, all types of natural resources such as oil, gas, coffee, cocoa, timber, gold, etc and access to water, especially the Atlantic Ocean, had until recently made global headlines for the wrong reasons.

Fashola spoke on the topic: “Regime Change, EthnoReligious Insurgency and State-craft in the 21st Cen-

•IYM honours Achebe tury,” at the 2012 Chinua Achebe Colloquium on Africa held at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island United States on Friday.

He said: “Apart from hunger and poverty experienced by a people so blessed; and I am not happy to say this, peacekeeping operations have consumed several millions of dollars as perhaps the only successes that can come out of a region of such vast resources.

“These are peacekeeping missions to end the mindless slaughter of innocent men, women and children who have been victims of

mindless orgies of violence in the pursuit of crass and brazen ambition under the guise of attempted governance.”

Meanwhile, the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, in Enugu on yesterday conferred an award: “The Great Igbo Icon,’’ on Prof. Chinua Achebe, a renowned novelist.

The award, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, was presented at the organisation’s 2012 End of Year Colloquium.

The IYM also gave a leadership award to retired Adm. Ndubuisi Kanu, while it recognised Senator

Uche Chukwumerije, as the “People’s Hero”.

Its President, Mr. Elliot Uko, said in his opening remarks that the award on Achebe was to recognise his truthfulness in his writing.

Uko described Achebe as a great writer who had put the tradition of the Igbo in the contemporary map of the world with his writing.

He said the literary icon was worth celebrating because he portrayed things succinctly as they occurred, adding that he deserved more than the award.

On Kanu, the youth leader said he was given the award because he championed the cause of the Igbo selflessly and fearlessly.

No more ad-hoc projects in Abia –Orji

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overnor Theodore Orji of Abia State has said that the era of spending public funds on ad-hoc projects was over. Orji spoke while inaugurating electricity and borehole projects executed at Umuuwaya-Mbara in Amuzukwu Area of Umuahia North at the weekend.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects were part of those initiated by Hon. Oluchi Ibeji, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency.

Governor Orji, represented by the Commissioner for Public Utility, Mr Vigilus Nwankwo, said Abia State Government would only embark on quality and enduring project known to the administration as “legacy projects’.

He said that his administration had embarked on a number of projects to reposition the economy and social ambiance of the people of Abia.

The governor said: “When we came on board, the contract for the execution of 133/132 injunction substation at Ohiaya was moving at a snail speed.

“Though a federal project, we awarded contract for the provision of five feeders, now assisting evacuation of power from Alaoji to Umuahia.’’

Orji said that since the projects became functional, Umuahia and environs now enjoy steady electricity supply.

He urged the benefiting community, especially the youth to take advantage of the electricity project to establish small scale firms to support government in job creation.

Corruption hampering coal-to-power project –CPC DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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he Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in Enugu State has raised the alarm over the fate of the coalto-power-project of President Goodluck Jonathan, following the alleged misappropriation of funds

budgeted for its feasibility studies.

In a statement by its governorship candidate in Enugu State, Osita Okechukwu, the party said it was alarmed that the project might be dead on arrival as the N972 million duly appropriated in the 2012 federal budget for the feasibility study of coal de-

posits in Enugu, Kogi and Gombe states axis was allegedly being misappropriated.

Okechukwu, who is also the National Publicity Secretary of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), alleged that N138 million had already been spent on spurious subheads and the outstand-

ing sum schemed to be siphoned before December 31, 2012.

Okechukwu said: “We had hoped that the gross unemployment in Enugu State and likewise in Kogi, Gombe and all the adjourning states will be ameliorated with the CoalFired-Power-Plants when President Goodluck Jona-

than made this a hallmark of his Road Map to Power Sector Reform.

“It could be recalled that an Inter-MinisterialCommittee, comprising of Power, Solid Minerals, Environment and Water Resources was set up with the mandate to work modalities to utilize coal to power.”

Orji

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, December 10, 2012

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Akwa Ibom community rejects Mobil’s relief materials

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beno, an oil-producing community in Akwa Ibom, has rejected the relief materials presented to it by Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), to cushion the effects of the recent oil spill in the area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the oil company had, a few days ago, announced that it would send relief materials

to communities impacted by the November 9, oil spill from its facilities.

Many communities in the nine local government areas in the state were affected by the spill and it was learnt that Mobil had distributed the relief items to more than 90 per cent of the affected areas.

But Ibeno community turned down the gifts on

the ground that the company said that it was donating the materials “on humanitarian ground and not because it is liable for the spill.”

According to the Head of the community, Chief Ukott Esenem, the oil company said that the donation of the relief materials did not necessarily mean that it was respon-

sible for the spill.

Mobil had, in a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr. Nigel Cookey-Gam, said that the items were meant to provide temporary relief to the spill victims.

Meanwhile, a member of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists and a reporter with The Nation

newspapers in Akwa Ibom State, Kazeem Ibrahim, narrowly escaped death at the weekend.

Ibrahim, like other journalists, was at the Government House, Uyo, venue of the church service to cover the golden jubilee celebration and 50th birthday of Governor Godswill Akpabio.

His reason for coming to cover the event was,

however, shattered when officers of the State Security Services (SSS) barred him from gaining entry into the complex even after identifying himself.

Ibrahim’s pleas to allow him cover the event fell on deaf ears and while an argument ensued, the gun-trotting security operatives descended on the harmless journalist and beat him blue black.

FG inaugurates waste processing plant in Rivers OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson (left) presenting a cheque of N1billion counterpart contribution to the General Manager, Southern Operation of the Bank of Industry Mr. Shuaibu Ottam, at Government House, in Yenagoa.

Bayelsa signs pact with S’African firm on investment EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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ayelsa State government yesterday signed an agreement with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa and the Bank of Industry (BoI) on a proposed plan to improve the economic profile of the state and create over 2, 000 jobs for the people.

The business pact with the South African firm was targeted at creating a new positive profile for the state and diversifying from the oil and gas sector while the agreement with BoI was to create jobs in the state under the small and medium scale enterprises scheme.

Economic Adviser to the state Governor, Tam

Alazigha, disclosed this in Johannesburg, shortly after signing the pact with IDC. He noted that the rating of the firm would promote the image of the state.

“The IDC is noted for transparency and accountability and with the position of the present administration on this key issue, foreign and local investors would be willing to invest in the state,” Alazigha said.

According to him, the pact would focus on operational and support skill requirements, human resources and capacity building, development and support of institutional policy and procedure and overall guidance in both establishing and operating developmental institutions.

The governor’s aide fur-

ther said that other areas of co-operation between the two countries include capacity building, best practices and investment partnership in Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation. (BDIC) The BDIC, which has an authorised share capital of N10 billion was established in August this year, following the passage of a bill by the state House of Assembly.

Governor Seriake Dickson has presented a N1billion counterpart funding contribution draft for the development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to the Managing Director of BoI, Ms Evelyn Oputu.

Oputu said BoI had already approved 12 projects worth N72 million for the development of small and medium scale businesses in

the state.

Dickson said the N1billion equity contributions would be utilised for the purpose of building entrepreneurial skills on the training of youths and women.

“The empowerment programme is geared towards creating capacity, wealth and job opportunities that would make beneficiaries self-reliant rather than dependent on government and other individuals for livelihood.”

Delta spends N1.5bn on scholarships annually –Uduaghan

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elta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has said that his administration spends N1.5 billion annually on scholarships for students of the state origin.

The governor, who stated this at the weekend in

2015 polls: SSG preaches love, unity among citizens AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

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head of the 2015 general elections, Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), Comrade Samuel Ovuozorie Macaulay, has charged all sons and daughters of Isoko nation and the entire state

to, as a matter of importance, show love to one another and be united with one indivisible voice.

Macaulay, who gave the charge at the weekend during an interactive session with Isoko people, put together by the Isoko Advancement Network (IAN) at the Re-

gency Hall, MKO Abiola Gardens Hill, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, noted that the ‘Pull Him Down’ syndrome has been the bane of growth and development of Isokoland.

The SSG, who took time to shed light on what the Uduaghan administration is doing in Isoko land and Delta

he waste to wealth project of the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) received a boost at the weekend with the commissioning of another demonstration waste control project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government had, sometimes in June this year, established a similar pilot project in Ekiti State.

Apart from engendering employment in the area, the plant is also expected to produce eight tonnes of high grade manure every fortnight.

Four communities identified with the pilot project and have since been provided with colour-coded bins to enhance segregation of waste at source. The communities are; Amadi Flats, Elekhia Housing Estate, Rumuibkwe Housing Estate and Mgbuesilaru/ Rumoudara area.

Declaring the plant open,

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, represented by the Commissioner for Transport in the state, Mr. George Tolofari, said the plant could not have come at a better time, when the state was struggling with the menace of waste and how to manage it.

While thanking the Federal Government for citing the plant in the state, the governor noted that it would greatly improve sanitation in the state.

He further commended NESREA for actualising the ‘waste to wealth’ project and ultimately creating employment for the state’s teeming youths, assuring that the project would be properly maintained.

Also speaking, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia, who was represented by NESREA Director-General; Dr. Ngeri Benebo, commended the state for their continued and unflinching support towards the realisation of the noble objectives of sustaining the values of the nation’s environment.

State in general, called on all Isoko sons and daughters both at home and in the Diaspora to speak with one voice so as to get to the top politically come 2015. He added that; “Isoko will not be left out in the scheme of things as far as growth and development is concern in the state.”

Asaba, during the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries of the 2012 first class graduates and Law School students, who are on the state’s scholarship, explained that it was part of the human capital development efforts of the state geared at realising the policy of ‘Delta Beyond Oil.’ According to him, education was one of the other major sustainable means of building a state beyond oil.

He said the scholarship scheme entailed bursary awards for undergraduates of the state origin in tertiary institutions, law students in Nigeria law schools, first class graduates and PhD students.

The governor noted that 135 graduates have so far benefitted from the first class graduate scheme with N476, 086,400 released at the weekend for the 2012 batch.

Each of the beneficiaries of the first class graduate scheme will get N5 million yearly to study up to doctoral degree level in any university of their choice within or outside the country.

Uduaghan

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North

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politicians responsible for Nigeria’s woes –Maitama Sule TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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frontline politician and First Republic Minister, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, has decried the consistent falling of the socioeconomic fortune of Nigeria, saying the situation has continued to take a huge toll on the wellbeing of Nigerians.

He expressed this displeasure and what he called a huge disappointment in the current political leaders in Lagos at the weekend at the Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA) ceremony.

At the ceremony, he was honoured with the Outstanding National Leader-

ship Service Award for his immense contribution, particularly to the media industry in the country.

The 83-year-old politician blamed today’s political leaders for the woes, saying majority of them used their offices to pursue personal aggrandisement to the detriment of the generality of the people.

Recalling his days in government with the likes of the late Sir Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello, as either national or regional leaders, Maitama Sule said those leaders, despite their ethnic and religious differences, practised partisan politics characterised by love and sincerity of purpose.

“But today, the reverse is the case. People go into politics because of the personal benefits they can get and not because they want to serve their fatherland and that is why the country continues to slide,” he said.

The former minister noted that political leaders of those days were

able to do so much for the country because they were honest, disciplined and principled in their dealings and they were always thinking how to better the lots of the people.

He said that was why Nigeria was also held in high esteem among the comity of nations at that time.

“And ironically, their

belief was that Nigeria would become better by the day after them, but we have run above board and nothing seems to work again,” he lamented.

Alhaji Sule, however, said that despite the state of confusion Nigeria has found itself today, things would get better for the country and her citizens.

“I have a great hope that Nigeria will still become a strong, united and prosperous country that will even inspire other black countries of the world, but to achieve this requires that every one of us and particularly the current set of political leaders rise to their responsibilities,” he said.

Danjuma remains a selfless leader at 75 –NSGF PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

C

hairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday described the former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma, as a selfless patriot that continues to serve humanity even in retirement.

He said the former chief of army staff, who is often regarded as a ‘Soldiers’ Soldier’, turned 75 yesterday, but still continues to offer useful advice to the nation.

Aliyu, in a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, yesterday said Danjuma’s life is a testimony to the power of good leadership and purposeful living.

The forum said General T. Y. Danjuma impacted positively on his chosen profession and went on to become Nigeria’s most powerful Chief of Army Staff because of his rare vision and good leadership.

The forum noted that; “Were General Danjuma not as visionary and courageous as he is, the army would not have attained the height it has reached and Nigeria would have been the worse for it.

“It is no longer news that he rose through the ranks to reach the highest echelon of the military by sheer dint of hard work, perseverance and honesty and used his office to preserve the oneness of Nigeria.”

The 19 northern governors then acknowledged General Danjuma’s achievements, especially his efforts at keeping Nigeria one.

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed (left) and General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), during the governor’s condolence visit to General Buhari over the death of his daughter in Kaduna, at the weekend.

Why we haven’t declared full industrial action in Plateau –NLC OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said that it has refrained from declaring a full blown industrial action in Plateau State over Governor Jonah Jang’s refusal to pay the N18,000 minimum wage to the workers because the state had had its own share of unrest in recent times.

This was even as the union admonished the governor to drop his military toga if he must succeed as a civilian governor.

NLC President, Com-

Kano flood victims get FG’s N400m relief fund AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

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he Federal Government has donated N400 million to victims of the recent flood disaster in Kano State. Minister of State for Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, announced this when he led members of the Presidential Sub-committee on Flood Assessment to visit the state governor, Rabi’u Musa wankwaso, in his office.

He said the assistance is an immediate relief to augment what the state government is doing to bring suc-

cour to victims of this year’s flood in Kano.

Ambassador Yuguda, who expressed the sympathy of the Federal Government to the government and people of Kano State, said the government has taken notice of what the government of Kano State is doing to alleviate the plight of the victims.

The minister explained that his committee that is chaired by the Minister of Environment, will assess the extent of the damage done by the flood in Kano and what can be done permanently to overcome the problem.

Responding, Governor Kwankwaso said because the state government realised that the annual flood affects the same villages, his administration has decided to relocate them from low plain areas, adding that plans have been concluded to build free houses for them.

The governor also said his government has awarded contracts for the upgrading of three local government headquarters in the state, explaining that a census of all the old houses in those places has been conducted so that they can be reconstructed in tune with modernity.

rade Abdulwaheed Omar, who said this in a statement in Abuja, said it was unfortunate that despite the intervention from the national leadership of the Congress, the governor continued to treat workers in the state with disdain over the issue of minimum wage, which has become law in the country.

His words: “For us, we have restrained ourselves from using the full weight of our capacity to declare total industrial action in the state because the state has been engulfed in several avoidable crisis enough to cause the governor deeper concern for

peace.

“However, Jonah Jang seems determined to deepen the crisis as he has been mobilising unemployed youths against striking workers in the state.”

It will be recalled that since June 1, 2012, local government workers, primary school teachers and health workers in the state, have been on strike as a result of the refusal of the Jang administration to implement the new national minimum wage.

The strike started after the state government, through the Ministry of Local Government, was notified thrice in writing

by the state councils of both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria.

Bur, rather than meet with the state councils of the NLC and the TUC, the government had ignored their notices and since June, the workers have been on strike.

Omar

Fire destroys N1.67bn property in Kwara

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roperty estimated at over N1.67 billion were lost to 179 fire incidents recorded in Kwara State between January and December, 2012.

The Director of the state Fire Service, Malam Raji Tiamiyu, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin, yesterday.

According to him, some of the property damaged by fire includes buildings, clothes, electrical gadgets, household utensils and

other assorted materials.

He said the state fire service recorded 179 fire incidents from different parts of the state during the period under review.

Tiamiyu also said that the service was able to salvage property estimated at about N1.7 billion between January and December, 2012.

He said 13 lives were lost in the fire incidents, attributing the causes of the fire to negligence and the lukewarm attitude of

some people.

The director said the service was making efforts at ensuring that cases of fire outbreak were reduced in the state.

He, however, identified shortage of personnel as the major constraint of the establishment and called on the state government to address it.

The director announced that more offices would be established in some local governments to assist in combating fire outbreaks in the state.

NIGERIA @ 52

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Politics

SURE-P: Three days of grills, drills by NASS

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Corruption‘ll destroy Nigeria, says ACN SINA FADARE

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he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has warned that the endemic proliferation of corruption in the country may collapse its economy if urgent action is not taking to arrest the situation.

The party, which based its premise on the recent poor rating of the country

by Transparency International in its 2012 Corruption Perception Index (CPI),

noted that the ranking ridicules the Presidency’s claim that corruption has gone down under its watch.

ACN in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, expressed serious concern at the negative impact the report is having on the country’s economy as well as its image.

The party said that if the situation on ground is left unchecked, corruption is capable of bringing Nige-

ria down even ahead of the slow intensity warfare and general insecurity in the country.

It said: “The harvest of corruption scandals that has dogged the Jonathan administration is probably unprecedented in the country’s history and this has been attested to by the global anti-corruption body in its latest CPI. Sadly, despite the Presidency’s selfdelusion, Nigeria remains among the most corrupt nations on earth.”

The party regretted that “Liberia and Sierra Leone, which Nigeria helped to liberate from the throes of war are now doing much better in fighting corruption than the country (Nigeria), just like much smaller and lessendowed nations like Niger, Gambia, Burkina Faso and Mali were better rated.”

ACN blamed Nigeria’s precarious position in the global anti-corruption battle to the fact that the Jonathan administration has not only become corruption

L-R: Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Sagir Aminu Saleh; Governor Isa Yuguda and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Dandija, shortly after the presentation of the 2013 Appropriation Bill at the House of Assembly complex, Bauchi recently

No marginalisation in Delta State – SSG FELIX NWANERI

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he government of Delta State has ruled out the marginalisation of any of the several ethnic nationalities that make up the state.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay, stated this at the weekend at an interactive session with members of the Isoko community of the state resident in Lagos.

Macaulay particularly charged the people of Isoko nation to disabuse their minds about marginatinalisation and form a formidable front to work for the progress of the area as well the state.

His words: “No ethnic

group has been marginalised in Delta State and I am assuring you that the state government will do everything possible to ensure that no part of the state is cheated. So, I will rather advise Isoko people to shun the pull-him-down syndrome and come together to work for the progress of Isoko nation and Delta State.”

He described the forum organised by the Isoko Advancement Network as a unique one and stressed the need for all tiers of government to ensure constant dialogue between the leaders and the led.

“Governments should avoid distancing themselves from the people, so that the masses can have a sense of belonging and key

into developmental programmes that are meant to impact positively on the society,” he said.

The chairman of the event, High Chief Ser-

gent Uredi, in his remarks charged the people to change in the way they do things in order to achieve the desired transformation of Isoko nation.

scandal-prone, it has also allowed impunity to thrive by paying only lip service to probing the scandals and bringing perpetrators to book.

The party noted that the massive oil subsidy scam, the Malabu oil scandal, the

pension scam, and now the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting N2.1 billion scam are just a few of the corruption scandals that have dogged the Jonathan administration, adding that no culprit has been brought to book.

Land use law, for the masses – Oshiomhole burial grounds, churches,

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he Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole has stated that the newly signed Edo Land Use Charge Law 2012 is meant to protect the poor from the hands of a few rich.

According to Oshiomhole, the law is no respecter of anybody hence he would apply the law dispassionately to help the state to grow.

The governor spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Prince Kassim Afegbua.

The Edo State Land Use Charge Act was signed into law on Friday at the Governor’s office. The law which came into force immediately by virtue of the assent makes provisions for consolidated rates and other levies on land use which in the governor’s opinion would help improve the revenue profile of the state.

It however exempted certain categories of buildings or property from being taxed; namely

mosques, family compound, houses in rural areas that occupy 100 by 100 square meters, and other rural settings within urban areas.

Speaking to National Mirror in a telephone interview yesterday, Afegbua said there is no cause for alarm because the law is very clear on those to be affected.

His words: “The law does not forbid anyone from building a house or property of choice. The law is simply saying that for the amount of land you choose to use, X amount of money would be paid to help government to continue to provide all those essential services and maintenance of existing ones.

“This is not too much a thing to demand from our propertied class. We are not taxing the poor at all. Those rural dwellers in urban and rural areas are exempted.

Churches, mosques, other places of worship and houses that occupy land areas of 100 metres by 100 metres and below are also exempted.”

Taraba Senator eulogises TY Danjuma at 75 OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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ormer Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma was yesterday celebrated as he marked his 75th birthday anniversary.

At a get together at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotels and Suites where the who is who in Nigeria’s political and economic landscapes gathered to honour the retired general, the

senator representing Taraba South in the National Assembly, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, said that the celebration was significant not only to Taraba, the General’s home state, but to Nigeria in particular and African in general because the General is beyond the Nigerian nation.

He said: “The occasion is a celebration of God’s mercy on the life of General Danjuma, who has been so favoured by God in the political and economic

landscape of the Nigerian nation in past decades.

Having traversed the Nigerian landscape like a colossus that he is, he has every reason to celebrate. It is so unique. At 75, we can well say that he has paid his dues to the Nigerian nation, he has paid his dues as a soldier, as a politician and as a businessman and as a father to so many.

“As the senator representing General Danjuma at the Senate, it is significant because we are cel-

ebrating one of our own, who has risen to become a world citizen; to us this is very unique, noble and germane and we need a day like this to celebrate God and our own son,” the senator said.

The senator said that the expectation of his people from the general is that “now that he is father to all, he would play that fatherly role, not only in his community or his state or Nigeria alone but in Africa as a whole.”

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Politics

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SURE-P: Three days of grills, drills by NASS Members of the National Assembly joint committee on Petroleum (Downstream) used the occasion of the budget defence last week to raise critical issues about the Subsidy Reimbursement and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), writes GEORGE OJI.

YOU COLLECTED N27 BILLION AND YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO

CREATE 50,000 JOBS.

I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT ACTUALLY

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he SURE-P committee was set up in February this year by the Federal Government as an interventionist committee to manage the proceeds from the partial removal of fuel subsidy from N65 to N97 per liter in January this year.

Government established the committee basically in response to the agitation

by Nigerians for the prudent, transparent and accountable utilisation of the proceeds from the fuel subsidy removal.

Last week, members of the committee were at the National Assembly to defend their 2013 budget proposal before the National Assembly joint committees on Petroleum (Downstream).

However, notwithstanding the towering corporate and morale integrity of the chairman of the SURE-P committee, Dr. Christopher Kolade, the lawmakers took their turns, one after the other to express their impressions about the committee.

Chairman of the National Assembly joint committees on Petroleum (Downstream), Magnus Abe, who presided at the three-day budget defence explained why the members had to go the extra mile to scrutinise the activities of the SURE-P committee more than they did with the other government agencies.

“The SURE-P committee was set up by the government to manage the proceeds from the fuel subsidy removal. The money is coming from all Nigerians and as a result, they would want to know how the money is being utilised.

“As the representatives of the people, our job is to ensure on behalf of the Nigerians we are representing here that the committee accounts for every kobo they spend from the money,” Abe explained.

Before going into the nitty gritty of the accounts book of the SURE-P committee, the first issue the lawmakers tried to thrash out was to establish the fundamental raison d’etre of the committee.

In a frank, polite, but frontal manner, the lawmakers bared their perception of the SURE-P committee. Individually and collectively, the lawmakers made the point that the committee was mere duplication of functions of already existing government institutions.

In other words, the lawmakers stressed the point that the committee’s intervention programmes, which ranged from the provision of road infrastructure, youths empowerment and job creation, provision of water, intervention in maternal and child care services, etc. are duplication of the existing functions of the ministries, departments and agencies of government.

The lawmakers were of the opinion that it was either the government allowed the SURE-P committee to exist as an independent body that initiates and partici-

EXPLAINS HOW THE

LIVES OF THOSE 50,000 WILL BE TRANSFORMED

...IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO Kolade

Abe

pates in projects and ensure the completion of the projects or allow the ministries to continue to perform those functions as they have been doing.

Former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, for instance regretted that the existence of the SURE-P committee side by side with the MDAs further adds to the cost of governance that government has been complaining about, adding that “tt is either we abolish the ministries and transfer their functions to the SURE-P committee.”

But chairman of the SURE-P committee, Dr. Kolade, was quick to remind the lawmakers that the decision as to whether or not to scrap the committee lies with the Federal Government, which set it up in the first place and not the parliament.

Nonetheless, Kolade took some time to explain a few details about the workings of his committee. According to him, whatever sums that are saved from the withdrawal of fuel subsidy are shared between the three tiers of government, noting that, “We manage the funds that accrue to the Federal Government while the ones for the state and local governments are managed by them.”

He revealed that a total sum of N135 billion has as at the end of October this year

been realised from the fuel subsidy, and that overall, his committee expects to realise the sum of N180 billion this year.

He disclosed that the funds are usually utilised in line with what is budgeted for the committee by the parliament. He said funds are expended for maternal health programmes, construction of roads, bridges, railways, vocational trade, youth empowerment programmes, etc.

Another issue that the lawmakers strongly raised and sought explanations on was how the SURE-P committee ensures that it does not engage in the duplication of projects and payment for projects already embark upon by the MDAs. Kolade explained that SURE-P projects are managed by project implementation units in the ministries, departments and agencies, noting that, “we physically inspect the works being done on the projects to verify them; we then approve the funds to the projects when completed.”

Before embarking on the defence of the 2013 budget appropriation for the committee, the lawmakers queried the spending of the sum of N75 million on local tours alone by the committee in its 2012 budget.

Peterside Dakuku, chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), who raised the issue wondered why such a huge sum should be expended on only local tours for a committee that had barely been in existence for just four months.

Kolade whose explanations hardly satisfied the lawmakers stated that local tours are embarked upon by sub-committees members of his committee to verify if projects earmarked by the Federal Government are actually being executed; and according to specification too.

Also the budgeting of the sum of N27 billion by the SURE-P committee for youths empowerment and job creation was one issue that elicited protracted debate between members of the committees and the lawmakers.

While Kolade insisted that his committee had designed enough programmes with the money to assist greatly in job creation and youth empowerment, chairman of the senate joint committees, Abe, said the nation had walked that path before and that there was ample evidence that the programme would fail.

Abe told Kolade: “I don’t think this your

explanation will go anywhere …you collected N27 billion and you say you are going to create 50,000 jobs. I think you need to have a document that actually explains how the lives of those 50,000 will be transformed and how you are going to attain from point A to B. It is not something that you can do.”

On his part, Kolade maintained: “No we have the documents it is 5,000 people that we are paying N10,000 per month.”

Abe insisted: “We have done that before in this country like the issue of poverty alleviation using N10 billion was brought to pay people. If we want to help unemployment in Nigeria we must design a programme that actually put something into the lives of the people that is sustainable and lasting, to now share N10,000 to people there is no guarantee as to which people will get it. I don’t think and see how that can help.”

One other issue that drew the ire of the lawmakers was the spending of the sum of N2.2 billion by the committee on the running of the office of the committee in just four months of its existence.

Again, Kolade’s explanations fell short of satisfaction. According to him, the amount represented the cost of the rental for the office space currently being used by the committee as well as cost for the entire administrative management of the committee.

It was also revealed that out of the 1,200 mass transit buses earmarked in the 2012 budget by the SURE-P committee only 800 has been purchased so far.

The committee explained that it was not able to access the N15 billion it budgeted for the programme, which is supposed to be domicile with the infrastructure bank.

The committee was also unable to explain satisfactorily to the lawmakers how it intends to recover the money from the beneficiaries.

The lawmakers also expressed surprise that no provision was made for agriculture and housing by the committee in its interventionist measures in its 2012 budget. The lawmakers described such omission as a contradiction by the committee for two such sensitive sectors that are considered to have greater impact on the masses.

Specifically, Senator Ben Ayade submitted that, not capturing agriculture and housing in SURE-P’s budget compromised the philosophy of the programme, which he noted was geared towards job creation for the teeming unemployed population.

Ayade maintained that the establishment of farm settlements was one of the veritable ways of creating jobs, adding that engaging multinational companies in the execution of contracts would culminate in the exportation of capital.

Accordingly, he advised that indigenous contractors should be engaged in executing SURE-P projects.

Lawmakers also doubted the sustainability of the 2,000 newly-recruited midwives saying, the committee cannot employ for state governments. This came shortly after it was announced that SUREP signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, wherein the ad-hoc midwives will later be absorbed by the various states, on permanent employment.

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Monday, December 10, 2012

15

Brasilia Declaration and Nigeria’s corruption challenge HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

Continued from last week

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he 2012 Brasilia Conference evaluated the measures put in place for the global fight against corruption.

At the 2010 Bangkok Conference, the world economy was reeling from excruciating financial crisis; certain measures were thus considered by IACC as necessary for effective management of the world by state actors and non-state actors.

Two years after, when anti-corruption activists gathered in the Brazilian capital, the verdict was that the global drive to inculcate the culture of trust in business, sports and politics, had not achieved much; hence the conference declaration of the need to “bring corruption fighters together to create a more focused effort against the abuse of entrusted power”.

There was a clear understanding among the conferees that the biggest challenge to the fight against corruption is the impunity of those in the positions of power, which they admitted “undermines integrity everywhere”. The bulwark against impunity,

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he Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, ought to be unsettled by President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of N22.6 billion bailout for the reckless margin loans of stockbrokers, which paralysed the stock market since 2008. Sadly, Sanusi, the man largely derided as the Emir of CBN, may need to apologise to other capital market stakeholders for prescribing death penalty for this vital sector of the economy.

Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had on December 3 announced the cheery news that federal government had accepted the recommendation of its CBN Deputy Governor, Dr. Kingsley Mogbalu-led Capital Market Committee to confirm if Sanusi’s wild imaginations were true that the capital market should die.

Really, Islam forbids lottery, so Sanusi’s pretentious labeling of the capital market as a casino is understandable in the context of his aspiration to become the Emir Kano or governor of the state, a development that has made him to become very politically active in recent times. In public relations and journalism, bad news is worth the bucks. Oftentimes you cultivate it for relevance, especially as human memory is fragile and temporal. Except that former military President Ibrahim Babangida, in a Newswatch magazine interview decades ago, who confidently asserted that gullible Nigerians would forget his sapping Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), inspired by the IMF, is realizing how wrong he was.

Sanusi had recklessly pronounced

it was agreed, would be the sheer size of anticorruption activists. Citizens, acting in coordination, can more effectively challenge governments, corporations, financial institutions, sports bodies or international organizations that neglect their duty towards them, was how it was put.

The popular imagination is that law is a weapon of deterrence. The Nigerian experience shows that the existence of law cannot alone deter bad conduct. We have EFCC and ICPC, yet corruption is expanding in scope by the day. The way forward, according to IACC, is that everybody must imbue the culture of transparency and that the impact of this must be “felt at every level of society”.

The citizens are therefore, compelled to join forces with individuals and groups that see corruption as evil and strive to fight it.

The Brasilia Declaration admonishes the people to hold their leaders to their word and expose those who go back on promises.

On this score, Nigerians are good at reminding their leaders of their electoral promises.

The Nigerian civil society groups deserve a thumb up for purposeful and unrelenting anti-corruption crusading. Against the governments, ruling political elite and captains of industry, especially the multinational corporations (MNCs), these groups have put up a strong fight against corruption and other ills of the society.

In the country, access to information through a free press, unfettered Internet and other open pathways to inform the public are guaranteed. The drawback has always been the manipulating of the judiciary by the guilty. We seem to have no an-

THE NIGERIAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS DESERVE A THUMB UP FOR PURPOSEFUL AND UNRELENTING ANTI-CORRUPTION CRUSADING swer to that now, but with the CJN, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Though the Declaration has canvassed the empowerment of civil society to review the distribution of aid and the extraction of minerals and address the effects of corruption on the younger generations and on women, we might have a problem with this in Nigeria. The problem has to deal with full disclosure. Transparency has become one big problem in politics and business.

The second problem is the impunity of the political leadership. There is always the reluctance on the part of the leaders to sanction bad conduct.

Consider this declaration: Secrecy in the world of money has meant trillions lost by developing countries. To restore their trust, transparency and accountability must be rooted in the financial system.

The EFCC and CBN have set benchmarks for financial transactions, all aimed at tracking down money launderers.

These measures are constantly being vio-

lated with the connivance of banks. And so, money laundering ensues trillions of naira are leaked out of Nigeria every year.

At the political level, the efforts of the National Assembly and Presidency have uncovered horrendous scams, but acting to punish offenders has been a problem.

In the management of sports, the admonition is that fans and sponsors, players and athletes need power over the bodies that run their sport. These bodies should be encouraged to lead by example by upholding basic principles of integrity. Nigeria sports bodies cannot pass this integrity test. May be the time has come for anti-corruption activists to pay attention to sport administration in the country to clean up the system.

The security of anti-corruption activists, journalists and whistle blowers is seen as paramount to the success of the struggle; so Nigerian activists are encouraged to promote greater people engagement and find ways to provide greater security for anti-corruption activists.

The final message is that reducing impunity also requires independent and wellresourced judiciaries that are accountable to the people they serve. The records of EFCC and ICPC show that our judiciary has not been helpful in the fight against corruption in the country.

The Brasilia Declaration admonishes all to embrace transparency to make strong the potency of the message: We are watching those who act with impunity and we will not let them get away with it!

Concluded

That N23bn capital market bailout THE TRUTH IS THAT WITHOUT

SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDING THROUGH SHARE CAPITAL AND

CUSTOMER DEPOSITS, THE BANKS WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE the capital market as a kalokalo casino for investor fools, who dared to help their country to provide cheap capital, which Sanusi’s supervised commercial banks refused to supply. Because shareholders were such casino fools, Sanusi said that the stock broking firms that granted reckless loans that undid the market did not deserve any bail out. He has forgotten he ironically recommended same for the greedy banks that granted the margin loans that wrecked the stock market. The truth is that without shareholders’ funding through share capital and customer deposits, the banks would not have existed in the first place.

Sanusi’s illogicality became more glaring when banks started collapsing because of lost depositors’ funds fraudulently used to fund illicit margin loans, most of which were lent to banks’ subsidiaries through dubious registrar firms, which covered their fraudulent transactions, and fraudulent stock broking firms, which the CBN corruptly allowed to superintend business

transactions of their principals. It was the failure and irresponsible negligence, bothering on conspiracy of the CBN, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) that broke the back of the thriving capital market from capitalization of about N13 trillion a year earlier to about N6 trillion at its nadir in 2008. Sadly, the financial institutions’ share of the capital market was over 6o percent, which meant bank distress through CBN’s indiscretion and SEC’s inept watchdog role, signaled the market’s cave in.

All efforts to revive the market have failed woefully in four years. Despite the fraudulent sponsored media reports that the market was looking up, local and foreign investors have shunned it like leprosy.

Dumping of valueless shares has been unrelenting. The market-maker investors, including foreign investors, who got privileged insider information of imminent collapse, had bailed out long before the crash. That is why efforts of Aruma Otehled SEC to woo multinational oil corporations and telecom firms and other big economic players to list their shares in public offerings to deepen the market, have failed.

However, with government erasing the N22.6 billion bad margin debt loans incurred by 84 stock broking firms, which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) bought, there is hope of investors’ confidence returning. Idle stock broking firms that have offloaded staff can return to woo potential investors to the market. After all, the banks that caused the market crash were bailed out with trillions of naira and FG is yet to bring the bank owners and directors to book. Why? The unscrupulous EFCC and police had

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

had to conspire with rogue lawyers and judges to stall their trials and eventual jailing to prevent the next banks’ cyclical collapse.

Government has permitted the waivers of stamp duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on traded shares. However, it is instructive to note that in a medicine-after-death therapy, the CBN has forbidden banks from owning round-tripping registrar and stock broking firms through which the hitherto respected former managing directors of commercial banks fleeced depositors of their life savings by diverting deposits to fake money-laundering firms. Many victims of the bank-induced capital market crash are dead, some paralysed, while some are walking corpses.

The SEC and CBN regulators therefore, must be alert to ensure compromising regulators that tolerate insider-dealing corruption do not pollute Presijo’s fresh air again.

Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs.

Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

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Incessant cases of building-collapse in Lagos

ith the rate at which buildings come crashing in Lagos State without any comprehensible physical environmental pressure, we imagine how many hundreds of buildings would collapse if any earth tremor or the type of natural disasters being witnessed in the countries around the West Atlantic or Indian Ocean were to occur in Nigeria’s foremost commercial capital. Indeed, there is a long history of collapsed buildings in Lagos. However, the most recent incident at Jakande Estate, Isolo, in which two sisters, their mother others perished, has again drawn attention to the sad phenomenon. Eye-witness account said signs that the sixstorey building was about giving way was noticed at about 12.30am when a loud noise was heard.

The Cokers were apparently deeply asleep.

The authorities were said to have given residents of the illfated building evacuation notice, which the Cokers ignored for the obvious reason of lack of funds to relocate; that is if they had been able to find another apartment. These are common hardships Lagosians face on daily basis. The fact that the family opted for the low-cost housing scheme in the first place is instructive. The scheme, of which the Jakande Estate is one, was commissioned about 30 years

THE TYPICAL ATTITUDE OF GOVERNMENTS AND LEADERS IN

THE COUNTRY, OF SHUTTING THE STABLE DOOR AFTER THE HORSE HAS BOLTED, IS

RETROGRESSIVE AND CONDEMNABLE ago to serve the housing needs of the less privileged and help address the housing deficit in the state. The unfortunate incident resulted in the immediate audit of other buildings and similar estates all over Lagos. Five blocks comprising six flats each and accommodating 30 families had already been marked for immediate demolition; while about a total of eighty such buildings may follow. As a palliative, however, the Lagos State Government was said to be providing a temporary transit camp to hasten the demolition exercise. Toyin Ayinde, the state commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, however, regretted that because of the problem of

housing infrastructure deficit in Lagos, the government might not be able to accommodate all the families affected by the demolition.

Mainly due to poor construction standards and the ineptitude of regulatory and supervisory authorities, cases of collapsed buildings have become relatively common in Lagos. In 2006 alone, up to three incidents were reported, while two were reported between June and July 2011, among others; all leading to several deaths and scores of fatally injured people. Similar reports also come from other parts of the country.

There had been global incidents of building-collapse, like the Ronan Point apartmentscollapse in Britain in 1968; the 2000 Commonwealth Avenue Tower-collapse in Boston, Massachusetts, United States in 1971; the collapse of Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995; and the collapse of an apartment building in central Nairobi in 2006; among others, which resulted in scores of deaths and injured persons. But unlike the Nigerian situation, where such tragedies are mainly traceable to compromised standards and grossly inefficient supervision by the regulatory authorities, most known foreign cases of building-collapse are either occasioned by natural

disasters or error in the handling of explosives.

The relevant authorities cannot pass the buck in the latest Lagos tragedy. For, in addition to the lapses in building construction standards and inept official regulation/supervision, how come occupants of the collapsed building were given evacuation order by the government, without any immediate measures to provide them alternative accommodation, even if temporarily; and ensure that they left the building before tragedy struck? Rather than act proactively to prevent the disaster, the government kept off, only to now say it is providing so-called ‘transit camps’ when the harm had been done. The typical attitude of governments and leaders in the country, of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, is retrogressive and condemnable.

In addition, it is morally objectionable that the government should abandon the victims to their fate on the grounds of insufficient accommodation. Being an emergency situation, we consider it the Lagos State Government’s bounden duty to relocate all affected persons, rebuild the houses as quickly as possible, and thereafter, relocate them back to their houses.

ON THIS DAY December 10, 1994 Rwandan Genocide: Military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the UN, Maurice Baril, recommended that the UN multinational forces in Zaire should stand down.

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 genocidal mass slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people in the East African state of Rwanda.

December 10, 1983 Democracy was restored in Argentina with the assumption of President Raul Alfonsín. Alfonsín (March 12, 1927 – March 31, 2009) was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. He was the first democratically elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization Process.

December 10, 1968 Japan’s unsolved “300 million yen robbery”, occurred in Tokyo. Four Kokubunji branch employees of the Nihon Shintaku Ginko bank transporting 294,307,500 (about $817,520) yen in the trunk of a company car were conned by a fake uniformed officer who stopped them and warned that a dynamite about to explode was planted in the transport car. When the four employees stepped aside for safety, the con man got into the car, drove off and disappeared with the cash.

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A reprieve for th About two years after banks were bailed out from the effect of the global economic recession and the attendant stock market crash, the Federal Government rolls out a N22. 6 billion forbearance package to help 84 stockbroking firms address the burden of the huge margin loan and help buoy investors’ confidence in the stock market. But some fear the package may be a Greek gift after all

By Salami Semiu

L

ast Monday, the Federal Government, through the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala announced a N22.6 billion forbearance package on the margin loans debt of 84 stockbrokers as a result of the 2008 global economic meltdown and Nigeria’s banking sector crisis.

The move, according to the minister, was a step towards allowing the affected stock broking houses get re-admitted into the capital market and re-invigorate activities in the stock market to enable it play the critical role of providing long term funds for sustainable development of the economy.

The forbearance is for the huge debts that arose from the margin loans that went bad due to the crash of the stock market following the 2008 global economic depression and is a fall out of the Committee early set up by the minister to make recommendations on measures to resuscitate the capital market.

The committee headed by Dr Kingsley Moghalu, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was specifically tasked with the mandate to chart an appropriate course for fasttracking efforts to transform the market into a major source of attracting investment and long term investible funds for the economy.

It would be recalled that Dr Okonjo-Iweala, while speaking on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual General Meeting in Arusha, Tanzania in May, had said while the government, through the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), had

Oscar Onyeama, NSE Boss

intervened successfully and safe guarded the banks, the request for forbearance package by the stockbrokers would also be granted. “We are working on the forbearance; we have now agreed on it, and that we are going to implement it. We are having discussions about how to do it,” he said, adding that ‘’We must remember that we don’t want any moral hazard, we don’t want those stockbrokers who did the right thing to think that they are not appreciated or that they have been neglected. So we must honour them too by looking at the type of forbearance to be accorded to

the stockbrokers who are having difficulty. But there would be forbearance and there would be some conditions attached to that and we would spell that out.”

According to her, while it appears that it was taking government a long period, “our commitment is to make sure that we provide sustainable policy guidelines for growth and wealth creation for both the investors and stockbrokers”.

The N22.6 forbearance is part of the recommendations of the Committee, which the minister said was done in accordance with section 6(5) of

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e market?

Arunma Oteh, SEC Boss

the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Act. Dr Okonjo-Iweala said that the forbearance is to make up for the shortfall of the margin loans purchased by AMCON which value have fallen from N42.6 billion to N19.96 billion currently. “AMCON had purchased these margin loans from the banks for about N42.6 billion, but the value of the underlying assets or collateral is worth only N19.96 billion today. In furtherance of AMCON’s cleanup of the banking sector, it is necessary to wipe off the debt

overhang in the capital market, as this is hampering market activity,” she said.

Apart from the forbearance, the government has also provided some tax incentives to encourage more participation in the market. The minister noted that taxes on Stock Exchange transactions fees are as high as 12 per cent (five per cent in VAT and up to seven per cent in stamp duties), much higher than in other jurisdictions, adding that these constitute a major disincentive to invest in the Nigerian Capital Market.

She disclosed the government’s decision to waive the 0.075 per cent stamp duties payable on Stock Exchange transaction fees; and exempt from VAT, commissions earned on traded values of shares, payable to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and those payable to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as well as the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS). This, she said, the government has done by including the commissions in the list of VAT-exempt goods and services.

BC

Okonjo-Iweala

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Madubuike

Olushekun

However, for any of the identified 84 stock broking firms to benefit from the N22.6 billion package, the minister said that the government’s intervention would be accompanied with sanctions and conditions to discourage excessive borrowing behaviour by capital market operators in the future. Some of the conditions attached to the debt relief, according to Okonjo-Iweala, include barring brokers benefiting from the relief from providing any professional services to AMCON for a period of not less than three years.

Also, there must be greater disclosure by the brokers, which would require firms to reveal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), any dealings in any security, at a minimum of N25 million, executed in a single deal, or multiple deals on the same day, on behalf of their clients.

Furthermore, the government has imposed a limit on debt financing which is part of the stock brokers’ net capital requirement, thus implying that no benefitting broker shall permit his aggregate indebtedness to exceed 100 per cent of his net capital. Besides, stockbrokers taking the debt relief offer would also be required to separate their assets and control for brokerage services and/or future margin facilities through the use of custodians.

Such stockbrokers would also be prohibited from taking proprietary positions, or trading on their own account for one year.

The minister regretted that activity on the Nigerian Capital Market, particularly the stock exchange, has been very slow

in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown and the Nigerian banking crisis. “We saw the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) plummet from a peak of about 66,000 points in March 2008 to less than 22,000 points by January 2009, wiping out over N8 trillion (or around 70 percent) of the total capitalization of the stock exchange within this period. Since then, activity on the stock market has remained sluggish even though there are some signs of recovery, with the index now at about 26,494 points thanks to the efforts of the NSE and the SEC,” she said.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala emphasised that a vibrant capital market is essential to the government’s Economic Transformation Agenda, especially in terms of raising much-needed long-term financing for critical infrastructure and the housing sector. According to her, research (by the IMF and the World Bank) has shown that solid economic growth in any country is closely linked to the joint development of the banking sector and the capital markets. While the banking sector has already been cleaned-up, the capital market needs some intervention.

The minister however acknowledged that there were some other stock brokers who did not partake in any market infractions, including overexposure to margin loans, and who managed their stock broking businesses well. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, she said, plan to celebrate the good standing of these stock brokers in due

course.

However, the announcement of the forbearance package, particularly the conditions attached to it has continued to generate mixed reactions among stakeholders in the capital market. In fact, there are strong indications that some stockbrokers may reject the N22.6 billion debt relief owing to what they termed the stringent conditions attached to the facility.

Some of the potential beneficiaries referred to the debt relief as a “Greek gift”, and have already opted to continue servicing the loan themselves, rather than taking the offer.

A dealing member who pleaded anonymity last Friday told Business Courage that the conditions attached to the relief are strange. He said that stockbrokers who would likely take the debt are those who owe huge amounts running into billions of naira and who may have been convicted of the crime.

“The conditions attached to the debt relief are very strange. I know people who have their names on that list but are not going to take the debt relief offer,” he said.

Another broker, a chief executive officer of a renowned stockbroking firm in Lagos wondered “how can the Federal Government say that they are giving debt relief to stockbrokers but the conditions are not favourable. Accoding to him “It is like you giving someone a gift with one hand and taking it back with the other hand. Let me use my firm as example, we have a debt we are servicing currently and we prefer to ser-

vice this debt than taking the FG’s offer.”

There are however, many other operators who see the issue differently. Ariyo Olushekun, Managing Director of Capital Asset Limited and President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, believes there is no reason why the 84 stockbroking firms would not take the offer, stressing that the relief was in their own interest. “The important thing is that they got the relief.

The debt relief is okay,” Olushekun added.

Olushekun said that the government’s offer would help in sustaining the recovery being witnessed in the market.

According to him, this is something the stockbroking community had been asking for; the Federal Government must be commended for acceding to the request, which has demonstrated the government commitment to the development and growth of the market. “The forbearance is a fantastic development that is highly welcomed by the stockbroking community. The immediate effect it would have on the broking firm is to improve their balance sheet and bring it to positive. After this, they can recapitalise and begin proprietary trading and contribute to the flow of activities in the market,” he added.

Emeka Madubuike, Chairman of the Association of Stockbroking firms, said earlier that forbearance was the oil needed to compliment the new trading regulations introduced by the regulatory authorities, stressing that stockbroking has become an endangered profession after the near collapse of capital

market.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, said last week that the debt forbearance granted stockbrokers was a critical step towards the resuscitation of the Nigerian capital market. Chukwu added that the relief would significantly relieve the operators of the huge debt burden which most of them had been subjected to since the capital market crash of 2008. “Although the forbearance will not necessarily lead to an immediate restoration of their liquidity, it offers the stockbrokers a fresh lease of life to either recapitalise or merge their operations so as to be economically viable,” he said.

Rather than condemn the conditions imposed, Chukwu said operators should look at it from the perception that it would “further make it imperative for the affected operators to consolidate into bigger and financially stronger companies.”

Another operator, Idowu Ogedengbe, noted that the forbearance should help lead to an increased level of trading activities on the Nigerian bourse considering the fact that the stockbrokers in question were the most prominent in the market before the bubble bust. “Their absence from trading has left the market at the mercy of the offshore portfolio fund managers who currently trade about 80 to 90 per cent of volumes being done in the market on the most active stocks.

While it is obvious that it will take a while for volumes to be driven by the retail end of the market, however, given an access to liquidity by the returning dealing members of the NSE, I expect some respite to the declining share prices and an appropriate valuation of the equities market, which apparently is currently undervalued, “he said.

Chidi Agbapu, Managing Director of Emerging Capital Limited, said the move was a good one as brokers needed the forbearance to boost liquidity in the market and take the market close to where it was in 2008.

“It is positive news for the stock market community. We have been waiting for this news. The Federal Government has done the right thing. The next step now is to carefully manage the rebound so that we will not repeat the same mistakes again, “he said.

The Nigerian capital market since the onset of the global financial depression in 2008 to March 2012 lost N4.6 trillion due mainly to the effects of banking consolidation and investors loss of confidence.

At the same time, estimated debt overhang, arising from margin loans incurred by stockbrokers, also stood at about N300 million. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

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News

R-L; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Bank Limited and guest speaker at the 28th edition of Omolayole Management Lecture Series, Ahmed Kuru; Michael Olawale-Cole, Chairman of Council, Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM); Dr. Michael Omolayole, Senator Babafemi Ojodu, the second guest lecturer at the event and Dr. Dahiru Sani, Director-General, Kaduna Business School and National President, AIESEC Alumni Nigeria during the lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos…recently

Seme Border earns N9bn in nine months

By Francis Ezem

N

igeria’s non-oil export to other African countries like the Republic of Benin, Togo and Ghana etc has recorded an all time high, as the Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service nets a whopping N8.5 billion export revenue between January and October, 2012.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme.

The 16 states that make up the ECOWAS had adopted a scheme in which goods manufactured within the community would be exported through member-states dutyfree, as part of measures to facilitate trade and integration.

The affected export products include finished agricultural products as well as other manufactured products like beverages, food seasoning, confectionaries, detergents and other washing materials among several others.

Statistics released by the Customs Area Controller of the command, Othman Saleh shows that the Free On Board value of exports at the command between January and October stood at N8.5 billion.

According to him, collections from the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme stood at N42.6 million within the period under review.

The controller had noted that before now, the export section of the service has not been a revenue yielding one due to Federal Government’s policy that is geared towards boosting export of made in Nigeria

goods as a way of increasing the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

Other revenue figures released by the command in terms of import duty, charges and other levies shows that it collected a total of N7.4 billion between January to November out of the N8.4 billion revenue target given to it by the headquarters as part of the N1 trillion for the entire service under the 2012 fiscal year.

The CAC, who assumed duty in September, said that within the first one month of his resumption as the head of the command, a total of N773.4 million was collected as revenue at the end of September in contrast to the N635.9 million collected in the previous month of August.

It was also gathered that though the revenue dipped in October to N613.2 million, this was however higher than the figures of 2011, which was N539.1 million even as the figures picked up again in November, as a total of N824.3 million was collected, which is higher than both the September and October revenue figures.

Saleh had disclosed that on resumption of duty, he intensified the anti-smuggling campaign by holding meetings with the traditional ruler of the border communities as well as other sister security agencies operating at the borders.

It was gathered that this measure, which has been described as reasonable coercion is currently yielding fruitful results as a total of 317 seizures have been made within the nine months under review with a duty paid value of N142.3 million.

Records also show that out of a total of 22 suspected smugglers arrested by the command, five have been convicted while other cases are at various stages of investigation and prosecution.

The command had recently arrested a couple with substances suspected to be cannabis, which were loaded in a KIA Sephia car, the suspect and exhibits, which had since been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in line with inter-agency collaboration.

The command had lost whopping N1.9 billion revenue within the review period, which it would have collected from goods imported into the country due to the enforcement of ETLS. The command HAD processed ETLS compliant imports with Cost Insurance and Freight value of N6.6 billion between January and October, 2012.

Mobil intensifies clean up of Ibeno spill

M

Dikko, Comptroller-General of Customs

obil Producing Nigeria (MPN) has intensified the cleanup of the Atlantic shoreline in Akwa Ibom contaminated by the November 9, oil spill emanating from its operations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that additional

100 oil spill personnel have been added while the mop-up exercise has been extended for additional 10 days for the third time.

Irvin Obot, Zonal Director at the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), said the agency was still assessing the impact of the spill along the Atlantic Coastline in Akwa Ibom from Ikot Abasi to Mbo local government areas.

A statement signed by General Manager in charge of Public and Government Affairs in Mobil, Paul Arinze, said that some 500 youths from its host community were engaged in the cleanup of the shoreline.

Sources at Mobil’s Qua Iboe terminal said on Friday that another team of 100 oil spill response team was mobilised to trap the residual oil on the ocean surface in addition to the coastline clean up team.

The four labour contractors handling the coastline operations were allocated 140 workers each to fast track the cleanup process on the 30 kilometre stretch of Ibeno coastline.

Okon Akpanowong, a community leader in Ibeno, said that the last extension lapsed on December 2, while the 10-day extension runs from December 3, to December 13.

MPN, operator of the Qua Iboe oil field, said the spill incident discharged an estimated volume of 200 barrels of crude into the Atlantic, a development that compelled it to declare a ‘Force Majeure’ on the Qua Iboe crude streams effective November 21.

Force Majeure is a legal notice that frees oil firms from liabilities for not meeting supply obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

Jang, Plateau State governor

back to the government on the financial implications which enabled us have what we call our constituency projects, `` he said.

Yiljap said that the government intended to construct a number of classrooms in 22 constituencies at a cost of about N214 million and Primary Healthcare Centres in nine constituencies at the cost of N92.6 million.

He said drilling of boreholes and provision of electricity in 20 constituencies would cost the government N173.9 million, while construction of rural roads and culverts in eight constituencies would cost N40 million.

The Commissioner said the construction of Agro Export Centre at the Jos Airport and a road leading to the Agricultural Services Training Centre (ASTC), Kassa would cost N192.4 million. ``This administration will continue to maintain financial discipline so that it can do more for the people and hopes to work closely with the House of Assembly to ensure the development of the state, `` he said.

Plateau to spend N2.9bn on constituency projects

T

he Plateau government has set aside N2.9 billion for the execution of some constituency projects in the state. The projects cover various sectors like agriculture, health, water resources and urban planning, among others.

Abraham Yiljap, the State Commissioner for Information told said on Friday that the projects were chosen by the legislators. ``Each house member gave us information of the projects he or she feels are necessary for his or her people and the government has looked into them and ready to execute them.

Professionals were sent out who took stock and reported

Abdullahi, NPA boss

101 ships expected in Lagos

T

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Friday that 101 ships were expected to arrive at the various terminals in Lagos ports between Dec. 7 and Dec. 31.

The NPA daily publication, ``Shipping Position’’, made available to newsmen in Lagos, said that 20 of the ships

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News would come in with petroleum products such as petrol (PMS), diesel (AGO), kerosene (DPK) and aviation fuel (JET A1).

It said that other expected ships contained fish, bulk wheat, rice, petroleum products and general cargo.

Other ships, it added, were laden with new and used vehicles, steel products, base oil, bulk sugar and bulk malt.

It said that 14 ships had arrived and were waiting to berth and discharge petroleum products at the ports.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that three other ships were also waiting to discharge bulk wheat, bulk sugar and vehicles.

NGO trains 25 youths on entrepreneurial skills

N

o fewer than 25 youths last week in Abuja graduated from a youth mentoring programme known as ``Develop for Development Initiative’’.

(DDI). The programme was organised by Afrigrowth, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO).

The graduating youths were the last batch of 100 youths mentored for eight weeks apiece by the organisation for 2012.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dayo Keshi, the President of Afrigrowth, urged the youths to put into use the knowledge acquired thereby creating jobs for other youths.

According to her, the NGO does not have the resources to reach out to all the youths in society, hence the need for the graduands to mentor their peers. ``We have given you an edge over others; therefore, you can create jobs for yourselves and for others out there. Your generation is demanding that you change and work with the times, there is no free launch anywhere,’ she said.

Dr Carlos Torres of the Nigeria Monitoring and Evaluation Management Services said that giving back to the society was the greatest source of self satisfaction.

Torres urged the youths to develop themselves further to build their capacity to enable them garner requisite experience in managing projects. ``Knowledge, helping society, helping your peers, these are the greatest sources of happiness,’’ he said.

In his remarks, Zubairu Attah, National Coordinator of Lawyers without Borders, advised the graduands to always carryout research and apply their resources wisely. According to him, it is not about intelligence, but

Keshi

knowing how to apply the knowledge.

Also speaking, Amb. Joe Keshi, Chairman of Afrigrowth, reminded the youths that life was full of challenges, which one must confront in order to succeed. ``There are jobs in the country, it depends on how employable you are and your ability to find these jobs.’’

One of the graduands, Shodeinde Otolorin , said that he had been enabled to apply classroom knowledge to real life experience.

Another beneficiary, Isaac Egboja, said the training was inspiring as he was better equipped to be an entrepreneur and face the challenges of life. He appealed to the NGO to expand the programme to accommodate more youths.

Ministry of Agriculture had also allocated 15 tractors, 225 trucks of fertiliser and 102 trucks of improved rice seedlings for the take off of the strategic plan for dry season rice production.

According to him, the association has targeted to produce 1.2 million tonnes of rice this year, adding that ``the association will strive to secure a loan of N9 billion capable of realising a turnover of N24 billion per annum, especially considering the number of large-scale rice farmers and their commitment to the programme.’’

He lamented that the association had not been able to access agricultural loans in the past due to leadership tussle that engulfed the association, adding that ``we will unite and reverse the trend”.

He explained that each rice farmer would be allocated three bags of assorted fertiliser at the cost N2, 700, while crystal brand of fertiliser would be sold to farmers at N1, 500 per bag.

He said that at the end of harvesting season the Federal Government through the national office of RIFAN would announce the official price of rice, adding that dealers would purchase directly from the farmers at production point.

Kebbi rice farmers target 1.2m tonnes

Amosun, Ogun State governor

Ogun to construct micro water schemes

O

gun State Government is to construct Micro Water Schemes with capacity of one million litres per day across the state in 2013.

Oluwatoyin Agboola, the General Manager, Ogun Water Corporation, made this known while defending the 2013 budget proposal of the corporation before the state House of Assembly on Friday in Abeokuta.

She said that construction of the Micro Water Scheme was part of government’s efforts to ensure that people have access to regular supply of potable water.

The General Manager said that corporation had proposed

the country.

Responding, the deputy governor, Emeka Sibeudu, assured that the items would get to the flood victims. He said the government had been supporting the victims by providing them with funds, food items, clothes, drugs and mattresses, among others to aid their resettlement.

He said that though the camps for flood victims had been closed, the government was now faced with the challenges of rehabilitating the victims.

The deputy governor commended the federal and state governments, state emergency relief agency, corporate organisations and individuals who had rendered assistance to the victims

.. Kano gets FG’s N400m flood relief fund

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Sibeudu

Flour Mills donates N5m relief materials to Anambra flood victims

T

T

he 26,000 registered rice farmers in Kebbi plan to cultivate 64,000 hectares of farmland for commercial rice production.

Dodo Aliero, acting Chairman of the Kebbi branch of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), said the farmland was prepared and allocated to the association by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Aliero told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Birnin Kebbi that the allocation of the land for rice production was part of the Federal Government’s effort to boost food security.

He said that Kebbi was among the selected states for the pioneer programme on commercial production of rice.

The association’s chairman said that ``the Federal Government will also support farmers with 500,000 square hectares of cultivable arable land for rice production this year”.

He said that the aim of the programme was to produce rice in commercial quantity as part of efforts to bring to an end importation of the commodity.

Aliero said that Federal

to generate N240 million as revenue in 2013. “The 2013 revenue will be at the rate of N20 million per month,” she said.

Also defending the budget of her ministry, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Elizabeth Sonubi, said the ministry generated N1.5 million revenue in 2012 as against the estimated N900,000.

Sonubi said the ministry proposed to generate N2.4 million revenue in 2013 while N835 million had been budgeted as total expenditure.

She said that N435 million would be spent on recurrent expenditure while N400 million had been earmarked for capital expenditure.

he Anambra Government on Friday in Awka received relief materials worth N5.1 million from Flour Mills of Nigeria Ltd for flood victims in the state.

The items, which comprised bags of rice, semovita, goldenvita as well as cartons of spaghetti and noodles, were presented by the company’s Milling Director Solomon Obichukwu to the state deputy governor Emeka Sibeudu.

Obichukwu said the gesture was in consonance with the company’s corporate social responsibility. ``We have followed with regret, the devastation caused to people, homes, farmlands and structures, which affected many states of Nigeria. We have decided to present a truck load of our company’s products comprising rice, semovita, goldenvita, spaghetti and noodles valued at N5.1million for distribution to the victims in Anambra state”, he said.

Obichukwu reiterated the commitment of Flour Mills to assist in providing better life for Nigerian, adding that the company had earlier visited Edo and Delta to make similar donations.

He commended the efforts of the federal, state and local governments to alleviate the sufferings of flood victims in

he Federal Government last Friday donated N400 million to victims of the recent flood disaster in Kano state.

Amb. Bashir Yuguda, the Minister of State for Works, announced the donation when he paid a courtesy visit on Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso at the Government House, Kano.

The minister who was accompanied on the visit by members of the Presidential sub-committee on Flood Assessment, said that the gesture was aimed at complementing the state government’s efforts toward alleviating the sufferings of the victims of the disaster.

Yuguda, who expressed the Federal Government’s sympathy to the government and people of Kano State, commended the Kwankwaso administration for the steps it had taken to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims.

According to him, the committee, which is under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia, would assess the extent of damage caused by the flood, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

Responding, Gov. Musa Kwankwaso, said the state government had concluded arrangement to relocate the affected villagers.

He explained that ``the state government realises that the annual flood affects the same villages, hence its decision to relocate the villagers to safer areas.’’

He also disclosed that his government had awarded contract for the upgrading of three local government headquarters in the state.

On flooding in Kano City, Kwankwaso promised to construct a dual carriageway

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

A7 23

News Development, Muhammed Abdullahi, said that the ministry would support the centre with two new tractors with implements.

He said that the ministry was also working on identifying 1,000 farmers that would cultivate 2,000 hectares for rice production under the proposed 2012 dry season farming.

He added that efforts were on to register close to 1,000 farmers in the rice belt of the state with a view to getting them to form clusters.

Lagos-Kano mass transit train service begins Dec. 20 From left: Mr. Ola Oresanya, Managing Director, LAWMA; Mr. Jide Sonoiki, Group Head, Collections; Mr. Lanre Adesanya, Executive Director, South; and Bimpe Olambiwonnu, Financial/Regulatory Reporting, during a courtesy visit to Sterling Bank Plc by LAWMA official on Wednesday.

over Jakara stream, which runs through four local government areas in the metropolis, as part of measures to address the problem.

He thanked the Federal Government for the gesture and gave assurance that the assistance would reach those, who deserve it.

In another development, the Federal Government on Friday released 24,000 bags of assorted grains for distribution to flood victims in Taraba.

The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Anthony Jellason, disclosed this in Jalingo at the flag-off ceremony for distribution of relief materials to flood victims in the state.

He said the grains, which included maize and sorghum, would be distributed to the 16 local government areas in the state for onward distribution to the victims in their areas.

Jellason listed the state’s silos in Jalingo, Mutum Biyu, Bali and Wukari as the official collection centres, adding that the distribution was free of charge.

In an address, Samuel Adaji, the Zonal Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture said the grains were part of the 40,000 tonnes of food distributed by the Federal Government under its Flood Recovery Food Production Plan.

Mailafia

He said the programme was aimed at compensating people, who incurred heavy losses during the September flood.

Adaji urged the state and local governments to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution exercise.

He also appealed to those in charge of the distribution to pay more attention to women and children.

Tijani

Minister reiterates FG’s commitment to provide inputs for farmers

B

ukar Tijani, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to provide inputs for farmers before every planting season.

Tijani spoke last Friday at the launch of a One-StopShop Agro-inputs Centre in Wushishi, Niger.

He said that the major focus of the Federal Government had been the task of making food available, affordable and accessible to Nigerians.

The minister explained that the ministry was mindful of the impediments of inaccessibility of quality agricultural inputs. `This impediment informed the decision of the ministry to propose the establishment of these centres in each local government area of the

country by 2015. The centres are part of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in the Agro-input sub-sector, to strengthen food security programme of the Federal Government,’ he said.’

Tijani said that the centres were aimed at providing market information services; promote private sector investment in viable commercial agriculture and enhance food security.

He observed that each of the centres had facilities for about 500 tonnes storage capacity for fertiliser, seeds and agro-chemicals as well as provide tractor hire service.

The minister added that the centres would also enhance the activities of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme.

He recalled that the first phase of 62 One-stop-shop was awarded in October 2010, while the second phase of 18 was awarded in December 2011.

He said that the projects after completion were envisaged to concession to private sector operators through approved concessioning process, adding that most of the centres in the first phase had been completed and ready for use.

Earlier, Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger said that the initiative was aimed at providing immediate high quality farm inputs for farmers.

Represented by Daniel Shashere, Secretary to the State Government, the governor said that the centres would complement the GES scheme by catering for additional farm input requirement.

He said that the state government had put in place strategies for the rehabilitation of irrigation pumps for flood victims in the state.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural

T

he Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Adeseyi Sijuwade, said last Friday that the Lagos to Kano mass transit train service would commence operations on December 20.

Sijuwade made the announcement at the first management retreat of the corporation, held in Lekki, Lagos.

According to him, the rehabilitation of the tracks from Lagos to Kano, including bridges and culverts has been completed for the commencement of the train service. He assured commuters from either Lagos to Kano or Kano to Lagos safe or cheap rail transport services during the yuletide. “This formal launch would be announced soon to ensure the resumption of full inter-state mass transit services along the rail tracks on weekdays,” he said.

Sijuwade said further that adequate security would be put in place with the collaboration of the police and Man-O-War before the commencement of the service, adding that the rehabilitation of eastern railway lines terminating at Maiduguri was in progress and that trains would begin to move on the corridor in 2013.

Sijuwade who had earlier said that the retreat was aimed at bringing out the potential of the NRC, stressed the need for strategic management of assets and facilities of the corporation in line with the organisation’s vision and mission.

Sijuade

AMACOS ’92 Set pledge assistance to Mapoly

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he 1992 Set students of Mass Communication department, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta has pledged to assist in uplifting the state of infrastructure in the school through series of intervention projects aimed at lifting its standard. It particularly pledged to offer technical assistance to the Mass Communication department to ensure that it maintains its frontline position among higher institutions running mass communication courses in the country.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Salami Semiu, part of the group’s intervention initiatives will involve provision of modern learning infrastructures and occasional visits to the school to obtain first hand information on areas where it could offer assistance.

The group regretted that 20 years after its members graduated from the school, the state of infrastructure in the school, particularly in the Mass Communication department has not improved significantly, stressing that some of the facilities used 20 years ago are still in use, not minding their current descript status.

The statement said that as part of event commemorating its 20 year anniversary, the group will on Friday, December 14 paid a visit to the school where some items, particularly those that would further enhance the accreditation of the department would be donated.

The statement further disclosed that six former lecturers of the department would be singled out for honour and recognition at its get together party slated for Saturday, December 15 at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. The lecturers that would be feted at the 20th Anniversary get together include Professor Lai Oso, Dean, School of Communication, Lagos State University, Dr. Bayo Oloyede of the Redeemers’ University, Bidemi Osunbiyi, Taiwo Otunba and Babs Bello.

The group called on other alumni of the school to come to its aid to further uplift its social and academic standards to a more enviable level; stressing that efforts must be made to give back to the school in appreciation of the invaluable knowledge garnered from the school.

It also called on the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who himself is an alumnus of the school to ensure that the institution gets maximum attention of the government. “Governor Amosun himself is an alumnus of the school, so the onus lies on him to ensure that his government assist the school in whatever way possible. This can never be too much for him to do and we strongly believe that he will do the needful,” the statement said. BC

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News

Galvin

US unemployment rate falls to four-year low

T

he US added 146,000 jobs in November, official data shows, as the economy seemingly shrugged off storm Sandy. The unexpectedly strong performance brought the unemployment rate down to a four-year low of 7.7 per cent of the workforce.

The jobs figure was well above most analysts’ expectations and continued a recent surge that began in July.

Weekly jobs claims registered a sharp but shortlived jump in the number claiming benefits in the states ravaged by the storm last month.

“Our analysis leads us to conclude that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November,” said John Galvin, acting commissioner at the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), which produced the jobs report.

The jobs survey data for the individual states - which can be used by analysts to determine what effect, if any, the storm had - will not be released until 21 December.

The relatively good news for November was however offset by the BLS’s decision to downwardly revise the jobs figures for the preceding two months by a cumulative total of 49,000.

The October figure - which was originally reported just before the elections as 171,000, prompting some Republican supporters to suggest that the numbers had been manipulated - has been cut in the latest estimate to 138,000.

Moreover, despite the strong pick-up in jobs during November, the fall in the

unemployment rate to 7.7 per cent from 7.9 per cent in October was in large part down to people giving up the search for work.

The unemployment figure only includes those actively seeking a job, and once people stop doing so they drop out of the statistics.

The jobless rate peaked at 10 per cent in 2008, and has fallen in fits and starts over the past three years, but still remains some way short of the five per cent level that has accompanied periods of healthy growth in the past two decades.

The number of jobs being added by the US economy since the recession ended has been far weaker than during previous economic recoveries, and has scarcely been enough to keep up with the natural growth in the US population.

The total number of people in employment has been stuck at about 58 per cent of the US population since 2009, well down from the 63 per cent level that characterised the boom years of the past decade, as many Americans have retired or given up seeking work.

The US Federal Reserve is due to meet this week to decide whether to expand the central bank’s policy of buying up debt from the markets in order to stimulate the recovery.

Meanwhile, industrial output fell a steeper-thanexpected 2.6 per cent in October.

It comes one day after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi cut his forecast for eurozone growth.

Draghi blamed his move on stagnation in core eurozone countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Southern European countries, such as Spain and Italy, have been in recession for more than a year, but the malaise has spread to the rest of the single currency zone via weak export demand and falling consumer and business confidence.

Meanwhile, the ECB’s German counterpart warned that Germany’s economy may suffer a recession during the current quarter and the first three months of next year.

The Bundesbank has cut its growth forecast for the current year as a whole to 0.7 per cent, from one per cent previously, in light of what is seen to be a very poor performance since the autumn.

The Bundesbank’s view of the economy is markedly worse than it was in the previous forecast six months ago. It still thinks Germany will avoid a recession in 2013 but it doesn’t think growth will be that strong, either.

But in 2014, it forecasts that the economy will rebound to grow at nearly two per cent. German economists defend that relative optimism by saying that they expect Chinese growth to pick up and that will mean rising demand for German machinery.

Chancellor Merkel’s spokesman said she was “cautiously optimistic that we’ll keep growing”. Few expect her to lose power in the election next year. The question is, rather, with which party her CDU might form a coalition. It is possible that there will be a coalition between her centreright CDU and the centre-left SPD.

B

Tshabalala

arbitration ruling to refund at least $60 million worth of shares to a union pension fund.

“Standard Bank will, within a week, appeal the whole of the award of the arbitrator,” Africa’s largest lender said in a statement, adding the arbitrator had failed to take into consideration several mitigating issues.

An arbitrator ordered the bank this month to pay at least 528 million rand ($60 million) worth of shares to a pension fund belonging to the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union.

The case, which had previously been in litigation in a high court, dates back to a 2002 deal between the bank and the fund in which the fund lent Standard Bank shares and was later repaid.

The arbitrator ruled the deal should have never happened and ordered Standard Bank to surrender shares in mobile firm MTN (MTNJ.J) and media company Naspers (NPNJn.J) worth about 528 million rand, based on this week’s prices.

Fiat to cut 1,500 jobs in Poland

I

Crisis dims German growth hopes

G

ermany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, has cut its growth forecast for next year, saying the country’s economy might be entering a recession.

Growth in 2013 is now expected to be just 0.4 per cent, compared with a forecast in June of 1.6 per cent, but is expected to bounce back to 1.9 per cent in 2014.

UK inflation expectations rise

Draghi

Standard Bank to appeal $60m ruling

S

outh Africa’s Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) said on Friday it would appeal an

talian car giant Fiat has said it will cut 1,500 jobs in Poland because of the weak car market in Europe.

The layoffs will be made at the carmaker’s plant in the southern city of Tychy.

Production at the plant has fallen during the economic downturn as output is adjusted to meet falling demand.

Demand for new cars in the European Union fell by almost 10 per cent in October compared with a year earlier, with all the major markets contracting.

ritons expect a higher rate of inflation over the coming year than they did three months ago, a quarterly Bank of England survey showed on Friday.

The BoE’s November inflation attitudes survey showed that average public inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3.5 per cent from the 2-1/2 year low of 3.2 per cent in the August poll.

A rise in public inflation expectations can act as a warning sign for central banks that higher wage demands and further prices rises in shops are in the offing, though to date there has been little sign of this in Britain.

At a two-year horizon, Britons expected inflation of 3.2 per cent, and in five years time they saw inflation at 3.6 per cent. In August, the expectation was for 2.8 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively.

The news of the rise in inflation expectations follows the biggest jump in more than a year in the consumer price index of inflation targeted by the BoE, which rose to 2.7 per cent in October. The people surveyed for the BoE believed that inflation was running at a rate of 4.4 per cent, higher than in August.

Consumer price inflation has not been below the BoE’s two per cent target since December 2009.

This increase was a factor behind the decision by some members of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee not to approve more quantitative easing to stimulate the economy in November, and on Thursday the MPC again voted to hold asset purchases at 375 billion pounds for another month.

Higher university tuition fees and food prices lay behind most of October’s rise, however, and there is little sign of widespread inflation pressures in an economy which is still struggling to generate solid growth, four years after the height of the financial crisis.

The BoE forecasts inflation of about 2.6 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2013, and of 2.3 per cent for Q4 2014. BC

Osborne, UK Finance Minister

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

A9 25

The

Amazon on global radar She was born into a wealthy but highly polygamous family of eight wives and 52 children. But as fate would have it, she and her sister, Doyin survived. Today, the competitive spirit, passion and resilience which has become the hallmark of Folorunsho Alakija has put her on top of her game, emerging as the world’s richest black woman. This is the amazing story of Nigerian billionaire oil tycoon, fashion designer and philanthropist owner of Famfa Oil and Gas Alakija

By Salami Semiu

P

erhaps, except those in the high class, who operates at the same pedestal with her, it is very likely that not many will know with certainty, who Folorunsho Alakija really is. Yet, this is one woman, whose philanthropic

and entrepreneurial endeavours stand her out of the crowd both in Nigeria and other parts of the world. This is the face behind Famfa Oil and Gas, operators of the highly lucrative OML 127, a 200,000 barrel per day oil exploration and production company.

Born on July 15, 1951 into the wealthy but extremely po-

lygamous family of the Olowus in the Ikorodu division of Lagos State, Folorunsho’s father, the late Pa Olowu had 52 children from eight wives but Folorunsho happens to be the second surviving child. Her mother was a fabric merchant, from whom she, at a very tender age, learnt how to market fabrics to Nigerian women. That was how

she developed her business and fashion sense at the very early stage of her life.

Folorunsho, according to her own account, had a very happy childhood and enjoyed her upbringing. At just seven years old, her parents decided to give her and sister, Doyin, an international education, sending them off to a private girls’

boarding school in Northern Wales, United Kingdom, where they were the only black people.

Folorunsho and Doyin eventually adapted to their new life becoming Flo and Doy, monikers given by their English friends.

After four years abroad, they returned to Nigeria at the behest of their parents who didn’t want Continue on pg A8

Business Courage

them to lose their African values, culture and tradition.

However, despite the robust childhood she enjoyed, her parents, not minding that only two of their 52 children survived did not treat Folorunsho and her sister, Doyin with kids’ gloves.

She recalled with fond memories, sometimes in the early 1960s, when she just returned to Nigeria from her first educational years in England when her mother sent her to take a note to her father at home. By the time she got to her father’s room, the old man was having his nap. As she made tried to turn away with the note undelivered, her father said, ‘You might as well put it in my mouth.’

As a teenager, Folorunsho did as he said. “I put the note in his mouth. Suddenly, he jumped up, took his brush and spanked me hard several times while telling me that I was silly, stupid and disrespectful. I did not understand why I was being spanked; after all, I had done as he asked. I cried all the way as I ran back to my mother, hoping to find understanding, compassion and perhaps even approval from her,” she recounts.

Surprising to her, rather than comfort her, her mother further scolded her, laughed at her and told the story to everyone who cared to listen. “I could not fathom the “injustice” and wanted to get on the next plane out of Nigeria to England, as it seemed the whole of Nigeria was against me. I did not realise my folly until many years later as an adult,” she said.

Many years after she returned from England, Folorunsho admitted remembering England with nostalgia and with the determination to return someday.” I was sure that something was still out there waiting for me, and that without it, life would just be meaningless. I applied for an international passport and a visa, which took ages. While waiting for all these documents, and because I was not quite sure what the future held in store for me, I decided to apply for my Higher School Certificate (HSC),” she recounted.

Two years after completing her HSC studies, she got a job as a secretary at Sijuade Enterprises then located inside the Western House, Broad Street, Lagos and worked there for a year and half, marking her initiation into the corporate world.

Along the line, Modupe Alakija, her husband, who at that time was her boyfriend, had heard of an opening at a new American bank that was planning to commence business in Nigeria. She applied, and in mid-1974, she was employed as the Executive Secretary to the Managing Director of The First National Bank of Chicago (formerly International Merchant Bank Limited and now Finbank

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Monday, December 10, 2012

However, Folorunsho’s biggest break came in the early 90s when she got involved in the lucrative oil and gas business. As the story goes, the idea of investing in the sector was broached by a friend she met while was still actively involved in the world of fashion

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A10 26

Plc) at St. Gregory’s Road, Ikoyi.

As the Executive Secretary, one of her first tasks was to organise the bank’s launch at a corporate reception, where everyone relevant in the banking industry was to be invited. “This was quite a responsibility, and I got to work in earnest. I was given quite a lot of free reign, and now, in retrospect, I realise that must have been what helped to sharpen my organisational skills, which have come in so handy in all my endeavours,” she said.

With the astuteness with which she handled her assignment, Alakija’s progression along the corporate ladder was rather swift. With her creativity and organisational skills, she became the bank’s first Head of Corporate Affairs and excelled so much in that position so much that, two years later, she already had another responsibility waiting for her. This time,

in the bank’s treasury department, even though she had no prior core banking experience.

Prior to that time, however, Folorunsho was selected along with ten others to attend an inhouse intensive banking course.

She was the only non-professional banker and also the only one without a university degree, but when they were rated after the training and her result was outstanding “I was very proud.

I brought a lot of excitement to my new role and made a lot of friends in the banking industry.

I saw it as an avenue to practice my trading and business skills for which I had a natural flair,” she recollected.

At that point in her banking career, when she had garnered enough exposure, and made many high profile friends and above all, had sufficient fund in her account, the idea of quitting the job to put steam to her entrepreneurial dream grew

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

higher. She wanted to start her own business in the fashion industry based on the experience she had learnt from her mother.

After some initial hesitation, she opted out of the bank, and went back to England for a course in fashion design, thus fulfilling a lifelong desire to return to that part of her childhood.

On returning to Nigeria in 1985, Alakija began what became an award-winning, pioneer fashion institution, Supreme Stitches, a premium Nigerian fashion label which catered exclusively to upscale clientele, from a three-bedroom apartment in Surulere, Lagos.

The business thrived, and Alakija quickly made a tidy fortune, selling high-end Nigerian clothing to fashionable wives of military bigwigs and society women. One year later, she emerged as the nation’s best designer and a household name, catering to many society women.

However, Folorunsho’s biggest break came in the early 90s when she got involved in the lucrative oil and gas business. As the story goes, the idea of investing in the sector was broached by a friend she met while was still actively involved in the world of fashion.

As a starting point, she incorporated FAMFA Oil Limited, a family-run oil and gas exploration and production company in September 1991 and in May 1993, Alakija applied for an allocation of an Oil Prospecting License (OPL) under the regime of former Military President Ibrahim Babangida. The license

to explore for oil on a 617,000 acre block – (now referred to as OPL 216), located approximately 220 miles South East of Lagos and 70 miles offshore Nigeria in the central Niger Delta was granted to Famfa Limited in August same year. . In February 1996, the name was changed to Famfa Oil Limited with the vision to be the leading indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company in Nigeria.

Incidentally, OPL 216 was an oil bloc which no one wanted at that time for several reasons, it was this same oil bloc they got allocated.

At that time, many wealthy Nigerian businessmen and military bigwigs who had been allocated oil blocs by the military administration had no clue as to the technicalities in operating an oil block, so many of them typically acquired OPLs, and then flipped them off to international oil companies for substantial profits.

But Alakija was intelligent.

She had no expertise or experience in running an oil field, but she decided not to sell off her license. In September 1996, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40 percent of her 100 percent stake to Star Deep.

Subsequently, Star Deep sold off eight percent of its stake in OPL 216 to Petrobas, a Brazilian oil company, still leaving Folorunsho Alakija and her

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Business Courage A11 27

Monday, December 10, 2012

Alakija (right) with Jonathan

to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under the Back-in-Right Regulation of 2003 which gives the government participatory rights in any OPL or OML. The 40 per cent forceful acquisition means that Famfa was left with a 20 per cent stake even when the government did not pay for the stakes it allotted to itself. In 2003, Famfa applied for a conversion from an OPL to an OML, the request which was granted in 2004, thus turning OPL 216 to OML 127.

Not contented with the 40 per cent it pulled from Famfa, the government again in 2005, forcefully acquired a further 10 per cent stake in OML 127.

Expectedly, Folorunsho Alakija immediately went to the courts to challenge the government’s forceful acquisition which raised the government’s stake to 50 per cent and left Famfa with mere 10 per cent equity.

The company filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge government’s forceful acquisition.

Among other reliefs, it asked the court to declare that the decision of government to take 50 per cent stake in the licence was illegal and unconstitutional. It further asked the court to restrain the government from taking the said 50 per cent stake, claiming that government’s action was arbitrary and was not done in accordance with the due process. The company said that there ought to be a negotiation before government could take the 50 per cent stake.

Expectedly, the Federal Government countered the submission and argued that it had the right to take the stake.

The Federal High Court

‘

Aside her interest in Famfa Oil, Folorunsho Alakija also has a real estate portfolio worth well over $100 million.

Earlier this year, there were reports that Alakija acquired a property at One Hyde Park in the United Kingdom for $102 million through Rose of Sharon 5 Ltd. She is also reported to own a Bombardier Global Express 6000 which she bought earlier this year for about $46 million

‘

family with 60 per cent equity.

Star Deep Petroleum carried on with exploitation of the oil field and in 2000, the first appraisal well was confirmed to have recoverable reserves in excess of one billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The first well which was drilled in 1999, Agbami was the first prospect identified with the 3-D visualisation technology for finding exploration targets.

The wildcat was 4,700 feet under water, which made it the deepest water depth well at that time.

In 2000, the first appraisal well was confirmed to have recoverable reserves in excess of one billion barrels of oil equivalent, thus surpassing expectation and ranks among the largest single finds in deepwater West Africa.

In August 2001, an additional 14 wells appraisal programme confirmed earlier reserve figures. With Peak production estimated at 200,000 barrels of Oil per day, Agbami is clearly a world class and high impact project.

In February 2005, a unitization agreement was signed between licencees OPL 216 and OPL 217, where Statoil is the operator with Chevron as a partner.

A Unitization agreement came to be because Agbami reservoir straddles between OPL 216 and OPL 217. Till date, wells have been drilled on the field. These include wells on OML 127 side of the field and wells on OML 128 side of the field.

Incidentally, this discovery turned the government’s attention to the virtually abandoned bloc as the Federal Government at that time immediately ordered that a 40 per cent interest in OPL 216 be allocated

agreed with the Federal Government, awarded the case to the government but Famfa proceeded to the appellate court which set aside the judgement of the High Court .

The legal rigmarole did not ended there. The Federal Government, dissatisfied with the Appeal Court ruling, lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court.

However, in May this year, the Supreme Court finally voided the government’s acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in OML 127 and subsequently transferred the 50 per cent stake back to Famfa Oil. In a unanimous judgement, the apex court held that the Minister of Petroleum Resources did not follow due process and the law in the forceful takeover of the 50 per cent interest in OML 127.

It rejected the argument of the Federal Government that there was an agreement be-

tween it and the plaintiff (Famfa) allowing it (the government) to take up 50 per cent stake in the licence.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour who delivered the judgement of the court said: “The agreement executed by the parties was done in clear violation of the provisions of paragraph 35 of the 1st Schedule to the Petroleum Act. “It remains for all time a worthless piece of paper in the light of the long settled position of the law that parties even by consent cannot alter the provision of a statute.”

The court held that though the Federal Government had a right to a participating interest of 50 per cent in OML 127, and indeed in any OML, it found that there was no compliance by the Minister of Petroleum Resources with the provisions of paragraph 35 of the 1st Schedule of the Petroleum Act. The court consequently de-

clared the acquisition illegal and unconstitutional because it offended section 44 of the constitution. Section 44 (1) of the constitution states that “No moveable property or any interest in an immoveable property shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria except in the manner and for the prescribed by a law.”

Aside her interest in Famfa Oil, Folorunsho Alakija also has a real estate portfolio worth well over $100 million. Earlier this year, there were reports that Alakija acquired a property at One Hyde Park in the United Kingdom for $102 million through Rose of Sharon 5 Ltd. She is also reported to own a Bombardier Global Express 6000 which she bought earlier this year for about $46 million.

Alakija has since turned to the next natural step of a successful businesswoman: giving back to her community. She became a more religious person at the age of 40 and from then on, she found passion in caring for the under-privileged. This passion led to the establishment of Rose of Sharon Foundation, a private, voluntary, non-profit, faith-based, non-governmental Organisation based in Lagos, established to serve as vehicle for easing the burdens of existence for widows and orphans, through community network amongst others.

Believing that there is a particular stigma widows face that affects them adversely, her idea was to be a stop gap for these marginalised set, who by African culture and tradition lose out immediately after the death of their husbands. So her idea is to help provide a platform that aids by helping with interest free loans to at-least start a business or continue with one “Once they lose their husbands, the society turns their backs on them, their in-laws begin to mistreat them, they become depressed, they don’t know where to turn, they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.”

So far, about four years after, Rose of Sharon has empowered about 3, 000 widows, providing them with workshops to connect with other widows and share their testimonies. These women also received monetary support, scholarships for their children and interest free loans to start up small businesses.

Recently, Folorunsho was ranked as the world’s richest black woman, beating the record set last year by the American pop star actress, Oprah Winfrey. Her estimated networth is put at $3.3 billion.

With a 200, 000 barrels per day daily production at OML 127, Alakija’s 60 per cent stake in a $10.74 billion oil well is worth $6.44 billion. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Driven by

uncommon passion He had set out to read Mass Communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, AgoIwoye, Ogun State but had to abandon the classroom in pursuit of an entrepreneurial dream and today, Wande Adalemo superintends over Oxygen Broadband Networks, Nigeria’s first metropolitan wi-fi/ internet service company.

By Salami Semiu

L

ike most entrepreneurs, the road to the top is usually not a rosy one and only those who can persevere, focused and resolute could breast the tape. These are, perhaps, the same attributes that saw Wande Adalemo through the thick and thin to his present status as an entrepreneur and chief executive officer of Oxygen Broadband Networks, an indigenous an internet service company.

What is however striking about Adalemo’s entrepreneurial sojourn was that, this is a man that until 1998 never set his eyes on a computer, not to talk of knowing how to use it.

He was practically green as far as information technology was concerned.

He had registered to read Mass Communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye Ogun State but his interest changed when he visited his uncle, Femi Adalemo, who was then the Chairman of the Nigerian Internet Exchange Committee.

It was while he was in his uncle’s office that he saw, for the first time, the use of the internet, particularly the use of email. “I went to his office and he said he wanted to send a mail to someone in the United States. Five minutes after, the person in the US had responded to the mail and that surprised me. I couldn’t sleep that night, and in the morning, I went back to him and asked him to teach me how to develop

something that will make Nigerians send and receive e-mails easily. I told him I wanted to do something that would make it easier for every Nigerian to send email. He told me it was networking and that was how it started. So, as I grew in my knowledge of what the Internet access and broadband were, it became more of a passion,” he said in a recent interview.

In Adalemo’s own account, that was how he developed the passion that has today become a money spinner. But then, he admitted that getting the technology was one thing and putting it together was another but stressed that getting funding is usually very challenging.

In his own case, it took him almost seven frustrating years before the required funding came his way.“We had spoken with a thousand of individuals to put their money in the business and the answer we kept getting was no. Eventually, we found someone and it was an interesting story. We met the first investor, who later became a co-founder of the company, in 2005. I didn’t have a penny that day and then a friend of mine called and said there was someone that is interested in this crazy idea of yours, let’s go and see him.’

Wande said that he had to trek from Iponrin, Lagos mainland to Ajose Adeogun in the highbrow Victoria Island to meet the investor. “I had met several potential investors who had discouraged me but I did not give up. So, when I got there, he told me; ‘If you cannot convince me in two minutes, I

Adalemo

cannot invest in this because an idea that cannot hit someone in two minutes is no good idea.’ Well, I think I was able to hit him in two minutes and the next question he asked was how do we move?” he recalled.

That was the beginning of what is turning out to be a wonderful experience for Wande who had to forgo academics for his dream of entrepreneurship.

“The first thing we did was to go around the world to see where WiMax was failing because my own idea was that WiMax will not work but WiFi will. So, how do we get WiFi to work? And from there, he got some of his friends involved in the business.”

Oxygen Broadband Networks started out with a $2 million investment and it is be-

lieved to have so far invested N1 billion with a network infrastructure already in place and duly licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as a broadband network company.

The company is using the popular Computer Village in Lagos as its pilot scheme for the Wi-Fi network to provide access to the Internet. By using Wi-Fi

Management Principles

Between a leader and manager

I

t is a common belief that management and leadership are the same role. While it is common that a manager also plays the part of the leader, these two roles are truly separate in function and in the way they add to the success of an organization. By understanding the difference between management and leadership, you will become more effective in helping others see the road ahead.

To understand the difference between management and leadership, consider the construction of a new road. To build that road, there are workers, machinery and tools which are all vital in the road’s construction. Managers help ensure those workers, machinery and tools work together in the most efficient way possible. A manager makes sure those workers are well-trained, motivated, rested and that they know what they’re supposed to do next. The manager does the same thing with the tools and the machinery to make sure that they’re working correctly and that the workers are able to use them efficiently and safely. This is the role of management.

On the other hand, a leader makes sure that the road is going in the right direction before the construction begins. That leader also monitors conditions in new situations to ensure that the road under construction is still the correct one and is still going in the right direction.

How does this affect you as a leader? Are you spending your time managing people when you should be making sure that the road ahead is the one that you want to be on? To expect to be an effective leader, you must present a clear vision and a trail you are willing to walk on first. While there are times when it is appropriate for a leader to fill a management role, it is vital to understand the difference between leadership and management so you can be effective no matter which role you happen to be filling at a given time. If you are a leader overseeing managers, it is impor-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A13 29

Monday, December 10, 2012

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs technology, he says a fault tolerant and flexible infrastructure can be delivered. Already, a central Network Operation Centre has been put in place to enable a 24/7 monitoring of the network and to guarantee fast reaction times in case of faults by the local NOC personnel. Already, over 20,000 connections are believed to be on its network in the first Hot-zone.

According to him, the second phase of the company’s expansion will be the ASPANDA Market at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Alaba and Oke Arin markets.“For or us at Oxygen, we are taking our WiFi network to a point where we have a hot spot in virtually every major street in Lagos. It begins to tell us where we need to start focusing our attention in Nigeria. It also begins to tell us where we need to start building broadband ecosystems. We need to start looking at solutions that will enable people to just plug and deliver broadband services to everybody,” he said.

Adalemo says his company believes that “your Internet should be wherever you are going and instead of carrying your modem or dongle around, if you know that Oxygen is present at the place you are going to such as the cinema, restaurant, clubs and malls, among others; then, it becomes a better option for you.”

Clearly, things are already looking up for Adalemo’s Oxygen Broadband Networks. The

company has partnered with Nigeria’s Main One Cable Company as well as with Loop21 Mobile Net, a Wi-Fi hotspot software development company located in Austria. It has also sealed a partnership deal with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), to provide its WiFi network for Point of Sale (PoS) connectivity at the Computer Village and Oke Arin Market.

In order to meet up with the growing demand for its services, Oxygen Broadband Networks says it has laid out an expansion plan, which would see it invest another N200 million in

tant that you provide them with the correct perspective so they may be effective in their management role. Don’t manage the managers. Lead them.

If you are not in a formal leadership role, it is also important that you understand that when a leadership opportunity arises, there is a difference between being a leader and managing the effort. Even if you end up filling both sets of shoes, it’s important to understand the difference in roles in order to fill them effectively. If, on the other hand, you learn how to lead by showing people that you are walking down the right road, you will become a natural leader and will be able to help many others find success as your achieve your own.

The four most important aspects of leadership are: • Recruiting – The ability to attract and retain the best is imperative to the success of an organization.

• Coaching – Coaching is always teaching, rarely telling.

Teaching is helping subordinates self-realize the answer on their own and not always blurting out the answer for them.

• Accountability – Creating a clear and detailed written plan that involves 30-, 60- and 90-day written goals that not only involve revenue goals, but behaviour goals, as well.

• Motivating – Understanding what motivates individuals is what will elevate them to the next level. Motivation is different for each individual and a true leader knows how to unlock it. BC

rolling out services in six locations across Lagos State before the end of 2012.“We are doing another N200 million investment and we are going to six new locations

by December 2012. We are partnering with malls on the Island, Surulere, and high traffic restaurants. We already have agreements with all of these people,” Adalemo said.

The expansion, according to him, will see the company expand to 20 locations in March 2013, and 100 locations in Lagos by 2015.

It would focus on Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano later. “Of the N200 million needed to roll out services

by December 2012, we have attained N75 million equity investment to date, which means that we are really set to move to these new locations,” he said.

The company currently operates with 100 per cent private equity fund from the board of directors which he said “are putting in more funds to see us expand,” but said further that the company had already attracted institutional investors such as Google and Main One Cable Company, which were interested in investing in it and help boost broadband access in the country.

Adalemo emphasised that the company would continue to expand because he believed WiFi technology would play a major role in boosting Internet access in Nigeria. “Because we believe that everybody should be on the internet and we are restricted by regulations as to how to expand (we cannot cover wide area), we decided to take the internet to where everybody is going,” he said.

Expectedly, Adalemo does not regret the fact that he could not finish up his programme at the university but urge young Nigerian entrepreneurs not to be deterred by environmental challenges surrounding but remained focused, stressing that he dropped out of school when he found out that academic works were disturbing his entrepreneurial drive. “I will say that I am also a proud school dropout because at some point, I realised that pursuing academic excellence was interfering with my passion for this dream. May be Oxygen would have become a dream earlier but for exams in school,” he said He however cautioned that his position should not be misconstrued to mean that he encourages people to drop out of school but to “think outside the box. The emphasis on paper qualification in our society has not helped us. If school will limit you as an entrepreneur, get out; and if it will enhance you, stay with it.” BC

Personal Finance Tips on setting up an advisory board

A

dvisory boards can provide small businesses with the valuable guidance and support needed to chart a sustainable course for growth. However, selecting the proper advisory board members can be a difficult task. Where should you look?

How many members will you need? How much should you pay them? These are just some of the questions we’ll answer here.

Don’t look far You shouldn’t have to search far and wide to find members for your board. Call colleagues, friends, and family for referrals. Speak with other small business owners in your neighbourhood. Talk to your vendors. Recently retired executives and managers are often interested in helping the business community, and they possess the proper experience to guide you. When you sit down with a candidate, be honest. Tell them your problems and aspirations, and see how they react. Is it with enthusiasm? Knowledge? Choose people you admire and with whom you’ll be able to develop a relationship of trust.

Choose confidants The professionals whom you ultimately will recruit for your advisory board should be capable of handling sensitive issues and confidential information with discretion. Again, trust is an issue and something to consider when making your selection.

Map out your expectations From the outset, establish specific terms of office, and make your expectations clear. How often will the board meet? How long should each meeting last? What will you offer your members in return for their time? Advisory board roles should also have term limits. It can be awkward and potentially damaging to your business’s reputation to kick out an advisor if he or she is not performing. Setting term limits allows the transition to happen naturally.

Determine the size of your board Two or three people — provided they’re the right people — can often provide a huge and tangible benefit for a small business.

You do not want too many people on your board as this will invite unproductive challenges.

Give appropriate reward Most advisory board members won’t be in it for the money; simply being an active part of your business will be payment enough.

However, people also like to feel appreciated, so offer them some sort of nominal retribution. Host an upscale lunch each meeting, or pay each member a modest per-meeting honorarium. And, of course, thank them often for their time and reward their ideas with smiles, whether you use those ideas or not.

Prepare for meetings To get the most out of your advisory board meetings, prepare for them well in advance. Choose a site that is both comfortable and free of distractions. Solicit input for the agenda, and distribute important information ahead of time. Run the session as you would any professional meeting, and follow it with an action plan.

Stay in touch Keep your advisory board members informed of your company’s activities between meetings. The fact that they’ve agreed to be on your board means that they care about the welfare of your business. If they are consistently up-to-date on the goings-on of your enterprise, they will be of greater value to you.

Distribute your business plan It may seem obvious, but it’s a good idea to distribute copies of your business plan to each member of your board. The more familiar they are with your business, the more valuable their contributions will be.

Maintain a professional edge Remember that your advisors are neither employees nor suppliers, and they should not be treated as such. Advisors should in no way be held accountable for the decisions of the company nor for any fallout those decisions trigger. They are there to make suggestions and observations based on the quality information with which you provide them. It is up to you as the owner to make the decisions and to implement the plans.

Create short-term goals If you are uncertain regarding a potential advisor or whether or not your company even needs an advisory board, ask your advisors to help with short-term goals. Once you’ve achieved some business objectives, you will be in a better position to determine your business’s need for an advisory board. At that time you can talk about a longer commitment, or thank them for their help and continue on without a board. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Are smartphones replacing digit Just as digital cameras disrupted the market for photographic films, smartphones and tablets are fast threatening to overthrow digital cameras. With the growing popularity and sophistication, would smartphones ever become replacement?

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

S

martphones, device that not only lets you make telephone calls, but also adds in features that, in the past, you would have found only on a personal digital assistant or a computer such as the ability to send and receive e-mail and edit Office documents, seem to have come to stay. Though they are generally referred to as high-end phones as a result of the high price tag on them, these days, they come in different forms, from the popular Blackberry to ipad, iPhone, Galaxy Tab, Nokia, and so on.

Generally, one major feature which they all have in common and which seemed to have been endearing many to these smartphones has been their hightech cameras. Today, most smartphone such as the Galaxy or the iPhone have images sensor of 8 megapixels or better – a capacity for quality far beyond the first cell phone camera, the Sharp JS-H04 with only 0.1 mega pixels.

An investigation carried out

by Business Courage has revealed that smartphones are daily becoming the main camera of choice by many people.

Obadipe Ebunoluwa, a student of University of Lagos noted that the trend could continue as it is more convenient to carry a device which can perform all functions. “Consumers want to share their photos and videos directly from the device that takes them, without needing to upload them to a PC and process them first.” She said.

A cross section of people interviewed told this magazine that they have more pictures in their phones than their digital camera. While a recent study shows that about 70 per cent of Nigerians take photos from their mobile phone cameras, most journalists have also been discovered to prefer taking photos via smartphones for their professional purposes. Adebayo Fayemo, a senior journalist with a Lagos based newspaper maintained that most of the

time he had to conduct interview, he had always relied on his mobile phone.

In a related development, a new study by a Mintel in the U.K. indicates that more consumers are relying on their smart phones instead of compact Digital Cameras for both still photos and video capture.

This new study suggests that almost half of all Smart Phone owners are using their phones instead of compact ct Digital Cameras for taking photos and videos, even en rs though most users and experts agree e that image quality y is better from dedi-cated Digital Cam-eras.

While the trend d that we’re seeing is s that a lot of users are buying Smart Phones with built in cameras, photo sharwith image qualiing sites like ty improving with Picasa, or upload each new generavideos directly to Yoution, connectivity ty Tube. has also been playing Canon Camera While more people are a big role, since applications discovered to be using the available for both Apple iOS and smartphones for taking picGoogle Android make it easy to ture, there have been growing send images to Social Network- fears that point-and-shoot digiing and Photo Sharing sites for tal cameras, once the darlings viewing by others. This might of amateur photographers, are not be unconnected to the rea- slowly being pushed out of the son a growing number of con- market, thanks to the growing sumers are finding it much eas- popularity and sophistication ier to use their Smart Phones of smartphones. This has put to capture and share images, in danger Japanese companies against using their dedicated like Canon, Olympus, Nikon digital cameras for the same and Sony who previously owned purpose, with the smart phones that market. needing fewer steps to share the Nadine Deisenroth, marketimages with others, thanks to ing manager of HTC Germany, built in internet access and ap- reassured that they consider plications designed to interface cameras as an important part with Social Media and Photo of their smartphones. Thus, Sharing sites. they will continue improve For example, we’re seeing phone-cameras in the future. more cameras capable of up- Those mobiles come with fealoading images directly to photo tures to record videos and sharing and social media sites shoot pictures at the same time as time passes; thanks to the and shoot a huge number of inclusion of Wi-Fi. One example pictures within a few seconds is the recently reviewed Sam- time. Pictures taken by smartsung WB850F, which includes phones even have the quality Wi-Fi connectivity that allows to be printed which means they users to directly upload pho- also can be used for professiontos to Social site like Facebook, al purposes.

Just as digital cameras disrupted the market for photographic films, smartphones and tablets, experts have said these devices might soon overthrow digital cameras.

Though the biggest problem with smartphone images has been “noise” or artifacting that make the pictures look grainy, it is not surprising that now cameras such as the Nokia Purview are on the leading edge of a revolution in photography.

For instance, regarded as the flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, Nokia’s major selling point for its newly introduced Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 has been the superior power of its camera lens.

Using advanced floating lens technology, the camera in the Nokia Lumia 920 is able to take in up to five to ten times more light than competing smartphones, enabling users to capture sharp, crisp pictures and videos even indoors and at night, without using flash. This is complemented by Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a first of its kind feature which prevents pictures and videos from blurring when users are on the move.

The main camera features advanced optics which makes it possible to capture clear, bright pictures and video indoors and also at night. This is thanks to the PureView technology and Carl Zeiss lens which also compensates for hand movement and provides image stabi-

lization, so all you photos look great. It also means that your videos are stable and more enjoyable. The Nokia Lumia 920 also comes with Nokia City Lens, the latest addition to the Nokia location suite.

Vice President, Nokia West Africa, James Rutherfoord told reporters and VIPs at the launch of the new smart phones in Lagos that the Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 920 are ready for business with a full business suite right out of the box, comprising of Microsoft Office suite, Sky Drive and Microsoft Lync. He explained that Nokia hoped to satisfy the needs of business and non-business smart phone owners with its current and future range of Lumia devices.

“These are the best devices we have made in the smartphone category and we believe that this is going be much appreciated by our consumers. At Nokia, our focus is to bring the very best of technology to our consumers which aid, excite and benefit their work and social lives,” he said.

Indeed, the future is looking far from flash for the digital camera market. While the market was valued at an impressive £843 million back in 2006, by 2016 it is forecast to have declined to just over half a billion (£523 million). In addition, the picture is no more positive for camcorders, which have experienced a 21% decline in sales

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Business Courage A15 31

Monday, December 10, 2012

al cameras?

iPhone camera

Rutherfoord

over the past five years, down from £354 million in 2006 to £279 million in 2011.

Samuel Gee, Technology Analyst at Mintel, said:“Although smartphone cameras do not typically match the quality of output of dedicated devices, the technology is consistently improving, as the quality of camera image output becomes too high for consumers to reliably distinguish between competitors. Dedicated device manufacturers investing in digital services and including social connectivity and image-editing features in upcoming devices will remain a more enticing proposition in the face of gently growing opposition.”

Today, as many as 80 per cent of all consumers capture photos with a digital camera or camcorder and some four in ten (40 per cent) only use a digi-

tal camera or camcorder. This compares to almost half (45 per cent) of consumers who use their smartphone to capture photo or video. Meanwhile, the traditional film-camera is used by just 8 per cent of all Brits.

In terms of purchasing, four in ten (39 per cent) camera owners purchased a camera to replace their old one. Around a third (34 per cent) of consumers purchased a camera for their holiday (34 per cent) while almost one in five (18 per cent) purchased a camera to record a specific event.

Some 21 per cent of all camera and camcorder owners agree that smartphones are a better long term investment than a camera or camcorder owner. However, while there is a trend toward using smartphones for photo taking, over seven in ten (71 per cent)

Technotips

strongly agrees that the quality of photos is better on a digital camera or camcorder than a smartphone. One in five (19 per cent) Brits have bought a compact digital in the past 12 months, with around the same number (22 per cent) claiming they do not own one.

“As newer technology continues to improve the specifications of top-end equipment, measurements like megapixel density or the top level of optical zoom possible will become meaningless to consumers best served by less expensive, middleof-the-field devices. Camera manufacturers must choose to either invest in a web service that complements captured photos or video, or to focus on including new, innovative hardware capabilities and modifications, to retain consumer interest.” Sam continues.

Once, the photo shop was an essential port of call for any returning holiday-maker, but today just 23 per cent of camera owners take their photos to be developed there. While around four in ten (42 per cent) digital camera owners print their photos at home using their printer, more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all consumers prefer to look at photos on a PC screen rather than print them out.

So, what are the camera manufacturers doing about it?

The fact remains that not all hope is lost however. The firms have been working to augment camera features to make them more attractive, such as waterproofing or sharing on social networks. Many believe that there is still a market for digital cameras in growing economies where not everyone can afford a smartphone. But while the companies have not yet conceded the battle, analysts say that the trend will most likely continue as smartphone camera technology steadily improves to rival even professional digital cameras.

For one thing, some of the digital imaging sensor manufacturers are refocusing their efforts more towards Smart Phones and Tablets. For example, Sony recently announced that it is increasing total production capacity for image sensors to approximately 60,000 wafers per month to supply image sensors mainly for Smart Phones.

As the smartphone manufacturers continue rolling out products, the question remains who will win the battle? Only time will tell. BC

New and interesting features of Office 2013

M

icrosoft’s New Office 2013 will feature a lot of innovations and great specs that will give users the required impetus in the new digital surrounding.

Both business models and consumers will reap the benefits as the Microsoft Office 2013 is designed to deliver awesome flexibility and productivity due to inclusion of cloud service and pairing facility with new Windows 8. Excellent features of Office 2013 are discussed below –

Applications – There will be Windows 8 styles apps in Office 2013 such as Lync and OneNote which will provide you with amazing touch-first experiences on the favorite tablets.

Accessing the features with finger has been made simple due to radial menu.

Connectivity – You can do a lot of things in SharePoint such embedding and viewing Office contents, videos and pictures. You are also free to follow sites, documents, teams and people.

Meetings – The fresh Presenter View will offer you quality information about the speaker notes, presentation time, upcoming and current slides in the PowerPoint. Presentations and meetings will be much easier for you with zooming, marking playing HD videos and navigating slides with stylus and touch.

Inking – Email responses can be handwritten and converted into text. You can also create contents, access features and take notes with the help of stylus.

Markup and reading – Get an enriched reading experience in Word through Read Mode. The consumer can further turn pages by touching, see the revision marks and stream new videos even in Word.

SkyDrive – Your documents will be saved in SkyDrive which makes them accessible anywhere via tablet, PC and phones. Syncing facility is also there and you can further access those documents in offline mode.

Skype – Every month, the customer will get 60 world minutes on Skype which is now incorporated in Office 2013.

Contacts can be easily synced with Lync.

Digital Note-taking – It will allow you to access all the documents and files with OneNote through multiple devices.

You can easily take notes with the help of keyboard, pen or touch.

Subscription – If you are interested in getting elegant cloud services to avail extra storage in SkyDrive and extra minutes in Skype; you can easily enroll yourself in the new subscription service. It is in fact, cloud-based and you will get all the future upgrades.

Touch feature – The fresh Office 2013 offers you a great response to touching just like mouse and keyboard. Touching and swiping fingers will be easier for you to zoom and read documents and presentations. BC

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Business Courage

Dada

Etisalat offers two power bike at EasyBlaze Roadshow Stories by Adejuwon Osunnuyi

E

tisalat has brought the 3G Easy Blaze road show to an end with the presentation of power bikes to two lucky winners.

The event, which took place at the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos over the weekend, was part of a series of road shows organised to educate Etisalat customers and internet users on the advantages and effectiveness of the EasyBlaze broadband internet service.

Director, Products and Services, Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada said that the road show was part of the numerous activities the company is using to showcase the efficacy of its 3G service. “With the extension of our 3.75G service to more cities across Nigeria, Etisalat in the last three months embarked on a road show to showcase the speed and uniqueness of our Easyblaze broadband internet service that gives users real value for money. Etisalat’s 3.75G network is unique in the sense that it is the highest technology attainable in the 3G network category. Our network is capable of attaining 42mbps, which is the highest speed obtainable on the 3G network,” he said.

... appointed first GSM Apple authorised reseller

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tisalat Nigeria has entered into a deal with Core Group Africa, the Apple authorized distributor for Nigeria, to make its products readily available across the country. The deal makes Etisalat the first mobile network operator to become an authorised reseller of various Apple iPads and accessories in Nigeria.

Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar said that with the signing of the agreement between the two companies, Etisalat will be the first telecommunications operator permitted to sell Apple’s iPad in selected retail outlets spread across the country, while offering a two-year warranty cover on all iPad devices sold.

In addition, he said that the company will also offer customers who purchase the products at its Experience Centres with a 12-month free internet data access on its super fast easy blaze product. He however pointed out that the two-year warranty will only apply once the subscriber registers the iPad purchased from Etisalat on www.isocietynigeria.com.

He assured that the company is ready and well positioned to provide its customers with best support services and support on iPad in Nigeria. He said that with the deal, Nigerians are now able to purchase authentic iPad products in Nigeria with the peace of mind that this will be fully supported locally.

East Africa steals the show at the Dstv Eutelsat star Award

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nthony Oyom Peter, a Ugandan and Eva Chemwgorem, a Kenyan have emerged winner of the second edition of Dstv Eutelsat star awards organised for high-school students from across Africa.

Organised by Eutelsat and MultiChoice Africa, Oyom Peter was chosen for his essay while Chemwgorem won based on her poster.

Anthony came out top in the Best Essay Award category with his entry “A watchful eye from above the heavens” that impressed the judges with its creativity. Chemwgorem’s “Africa united through satellites” won The Best Poster Award .

This is the second year that a Ugandan student takes first place in the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards, after last year’s winner, Mary Musimire.

Antony’s prize is a trip with one of his parents to watch a live rocket launch and a visit to Eutelsat in France while Eva will also visit Eutelsat’s Paris headquarters to get a closer insight on satellite technology.

Awards for the runners up for Best Essay and Best Poster Awards went to Charles Finch from Swaziland and Tony Tumnsiime from Uganda who will both visit MultiChoice’s broadcast facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tanzania’s Deputy Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, January Makamba, who encouraged the founding sponsors in their

Monday, December 10, 2012

efforts to provide sustainable solutions to some of Africa’s social challenges tasked the private sector to collaborate with government in order to play a meaningful role in the sustainability of communities and the furthering of education in our young minds.

Of the over 1100 entries from across the continent, the final judging panel reviewed the work of 10 finalists.

NSE deploys NIGCOMSAT e-voting solution for elections Stories by Kunle Azeez

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n what many industry professionals have described as a pioneering landmark in the history of Nigeria, the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) at the weekend successfully conducted its yearly general elections online real-time through an e-voting system manufactured locally by engineers at Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).

The elections were monitored by participants and voters online either on their laptops or smartphones that are internet enabled.

Prior to the election, data of the members were captured electronically and biometric information taken.

At the venue of the election, the data was accessed electronically and accreditation was smooth.

NIGCOMSAT provided mobile internet via Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for connectivity to broadcast events online real-time on the NigComSat-1R satellite.

By this means, participants and contestants monitored the procedures online real-time as voting was updated on the dedicated website for the election as each voter cast his or her ballot.

The elections were conducted at the Kwara Hotels, Ilorin and transmitted live on NTA Network.

NSE President, Mustapha Balarabe said, the engineers have done it again adding that “this innovation from our engineers at NIGCOMSAT

Balarabe

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is commendable. It is novel and we are the pioneers, and this has proved that so many good things could come out of Nigeria and we engineers are pioneers in this regard of e-voting.”

He said engineers have done what could be adopted by government in future general elections that is likely to save the Country from incessant huge capital flights.

This, he said will free the country from post-election rancour and litigations by those who lost and think that the elections have been rigged in favour of their opponents.

Microsoft, Phase3, Main One back Tent Gathering 2012

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ey players in the Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology, including software giant, Microsoft, National Long Distance Operator, Phase3 Telecoms and wholesale broadband capacity company, MainOne, are the lead sponsors of the first edition of a student technology gathering organised by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), a non-profit social enterprise that connects young Nigerians with ICT opportunities.

Tagged, TENT Gathering 2012, the project exposes today’s Nigerian students to technical, business and leadership requirements for ICT innovation. TENT is a acronym for Techie, Entrepreneurial, Nigerian and Talented According to PIN, the vision of the programme is to help jumpstart the culture of innovation and enterprise in the mould of global companies that started from the university halls of their young founders.

Chief Operating Officer of PIN, Tope Ogundipe, who announced the scheme, said, “PIN is proud to enjoy the support of these leading technology companies that have once again demonstrated their commitment to capacity building in Nigeria.”

Speaking on the sponsor for the programe, Ogundipe said Microsoft has been PIN’s partner for a long time, adding that PIN was glad that Microsoft had found TENT Gathering as canother worthy programme to support.

“We believe that Phase3’s support is the beginning of a new relationship that will add value to Nigeria’s ICT sector through the empowerment of students. MainOne’s entry into Nigeria changed the game for Internet access and we are glad to have them as long-term partners for our annual TENT events.”

She explained that this year’s edition of TENT gathering is scheduled to hold at

the campus of one of PIN’s Knowledge Partners, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Airtel rolls out new 0701 number range

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irtel Nigeria has unveiled its new number range, 0701 at the Airtel Night of Influence, a high profile event, recently in Lagos.

With the introduction, guests at the exclusive event were offered a special privilege to reserve their preferred numbers in the 0701 series.

Numbers allocated to customers will become fully active as soon as Airtel finalizes arrangement to kick off with the implementation of the new number range.

The new numbering scheme reflects the increasing growth in both the capacity of the network as well as

Otudeko

its subscriber base. Airtel’s Chairman, Oba Otudeko disclosed during the event that the network has capacity for double its existing 22 million subscribers.

Airtel added additional 5.5 million subscribers in less than two years and its growing rapidly as it reaps the gains from its trend setting and revolutionary approach to empowering telecoms consumers.

The Airtel Night of Influence is a high-octane networking platform provided by the leading telecommunications services provider for interaction and discourse on issues in the Nigerian and African political economy.

CNN anchor Dr. Fareed Zakaria provided insights and analyses of African and Nigerian political economy for the distinguished audience of high net worth persons at the event at the Zinnia Hall of Eko Hotel & Suites.

Speaking at the event, Zakaria, renowned journalist, internationally acclaimed author and host of popular Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN called on Nigerian leaders to take charge of the country’s future by investing in the educational sector to provide quality foundational education for children. BC

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Business Courage A17 33

Monday, December 10, 2012

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Corruption rating and drop in FDI T uesday last week, at the opening of the 18th National Economic Summit Group (NESG), Frank Nweke Jnr, the group’s director general revealed that foreign investment flows into the country in the 12 months to June 2012 fell by 19.14 per cent to $10.4 billion, from $12.8 billion a year ago.

What this imply is that, placed on a 10-point scale, the economy scored 4.18 points, or 41.8 per cent, leaving a distance of 58.2 per cent yet to be covered.

This fact also made the share of foreign direct investment to shrink to 43 per cent from 62 per cent recorded in the preceding year.

Nweke said that areas like infrastructure and political governance scored below the aggregate, stressing that the low point was as a result of unending probes into untraceable public funds which have created a high level of public distrust for politicians. According to him, out of 144 countries, the Global Competitiveness Report ranks Nigeria as 102nd in terms of public trust for politicians, 122nd in terms of patriotism in decision making and 135th in terms of diversion of public funds.

Aggregately, however, NESG believes that the resurgence of violence, particularly the activities of the Boko Haram is responsible for the economic decline.

“These results collectively echo investor

perception about the extremist insurgence in the northern part of the country and gradually renewing militancy in the Niger Delta and the resultant negative impact on investments into the country.”

Interestingly, however, three days after the NESG verdict, the global corruption watchdog, the Transparency International (TI) came out with its own report, ranking Nigeria as the 35th most corrupt country in the world. In the TI’s report, Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed. Nigeria shared such ignominious position with countries like Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan. Sadly too, neighbouring countries like Togo, Republic of Benin, Mali and Niger even fared better in the ranking.

Clearly, there is a parallel between the dwindling inflow of foreign investment as revealed in NESG’s account and the country’s rating by Transparency International.

Though this year’s Perception Index is a slight improvement on that of last year, when the country was ranked as the 37th most corrupt country and 143th of the 183 ranked countries, the fact remains that all these variables add up when critical investment decisions, particularly those based on long term investment plans are considered.

In fact, in my mind, the negative impact of deep seated corruption as we have it here, markedly outweighs the effect of Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militancy combined. Though the activities of the terrorist group have wrought incalculable damage to the integrity of Nigeria, the restricted nature of the group’s activities may in all honesty, not be significant enough to drive away genuine investors from the country.

The major bane, which groups like Transparency International have consistently emphasised but which political leaders have done practically nothing significant to address, remains the hydraheaded corruption monster, which has eaten so deep into the fabrics of the country and its people.

What is particularly worrisome is the fact that successive administrations, including the incumbent have repeatedly emphasised zero tolerance to corruption and corruptive tendencies but with little or no serious effort made to fight it.

Till date, those indicted in the Halliburton corruption scandal are still being treated like national heroes even when their foreign collaborators have been prosecuted and jailed or fined in their respective home countries.

The recent revelation from the fuel subsidy probe viz a-vis the way and manner the government has being handling

the prosecution of those indicted in the multi billion naira scam leaves so much to be desired.

This is even the reason why I find government’s explanation and sometimes condemnation of some of these ratings and reviews rather disturbing and irresponsible.

Rather than admit its inefficiency and failure, government has always found it convenient to engage in the blame game, either accusing its perceived adversaries or what it sometimes choose to call “irresponsible media exposure” as justification for its poor ratings.

This same worn out path was toed last week by Labaran Maku, Minister of Information when he said that the Transparency International’s report and a similar one by Galup Poll were synopsis of negative media report.

It is not enough for the government to continue to blame its inadequacies on perceived adversaries. The hallmark of a responsible government anywhere in the world is to take full responsibilities for all its actions and inactions.

The major step towards tackling the corruption problem must start with the government admitting failure for not been sincere enough in its previous actions in tackling the cankerworm and resolving to, unequivocally step up effort to address the malaise.

No matter how much the likes of Maku tried to shore up Nigeria’s image, nothing will change until it becomes glaring to the entire world that the government is really very serious in addressing the issue of corruption. No amount of window dressing can do the damage. BC

BELIEVABILITY INDEX

Can ENCON Plc cope with the challenges of listing?

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he board of directors of Energy Company of Nigeria (ENCON) Plc last week announced moves to make history by listing the company on the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) before the end of the second quarters of 2013. If this target is achieved, ENCON Plc will become the first core energy company to be listed on the bourse.

The timing of the listing according to Engr. (Dr.) Abidoye Ayoola, chairman, ENCON Plc is on the heels of recent developments in the capital market.

Speaking at the company’s 7th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos last week, the chairman noted that the Nigerian capital market which has been unstable and depressed in the last three years has commenced gradual and steady recovery.

Describing the recovery as a refreshing development, he stated that the company’s stockbrokers and capital market specialists have advised it to commence preparatory work towards the listing, expressing the board’s appreciation for the understanding of shareholders. He stated that barring any unforeseen circumstance, the company’s shares will be listed not later that the second quarter of 2013.

As the company warms up for the listing, some of the questions which prospective investors will likely be interested in getting responses to before taking position includes; what the background of ENCON Plc is? Who are the drivers of the company?

What are the potentials the new equity to deliver value for investors? What is the financial history of the company? As well as, how investor friendly is the board?

ENCON Plc is an independent power producer incorporated as a private company in Nigeria in 2004. The company was established primarily with the purpose of taking advantage of the deregulation of the electricity supply industry in Nigeria.

In February 2009, it was converted to a Public Limited Liability Company due to

expansion and growth.

The primary activities of the company are power development, generation, distribution and supply of electricity. Since inception, the company has established some subsidiaries through which it carries out its activities. These include the Ewekoro Power Limited, Ikorodu Industrial Power Limited, Ilupeju Power Limited and Uni power Agbara Limited.

The company’s turnover for the period ended December 31, 2011 dropped by 56 per cent to N0.803 billion when compared with N1.83 billion posted in the similar period of 2010. According to the chairman, the decline in turnover was as a result of partial operation of Ewekoro Power Limited and non operation of Ikorodu Industrial Power Limited during the period.

Expatiating on the company’s performance during the 2011 financial year, Ayoola noted that only two out of its five existing subsidiaries, Unipower Agbara Limited and Ilupeju Power Limited supplied power to their customers fully during the year. According to him, during the 2011 financial year, ENCON added the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) as one of its prime customers for the supply of 3MW power for an initial take-off period of five years while it lost its Ewekoro Power generating contract. The NBC plant according to him, commenced commercial operation in the first quarter of 2012, while the Ewekoro Plant was terminated by Lafarge Wapco when it completed its own power plant.

Ayoola said that the loss of the Ewekoro contract, a major source of revenue negatively impacted on the company’s revenue and profitability in the year under consideration.

Besides this, the Ikorodu Industrial Power Plant remained redundant for the better part of the year due to non resolution of the contentious issues in its take-off agreement. According to him, a hike in gas price in 2010 had caused substantial

burden to consumers, especially those supplied by private electricity companies.

He stated that with the introduction of new billing system tagged MYTO2 in the year, the grid market became more attractive and thereby broadened the market for electricity. Consequently, the company, he said, is presently considering exploring the possibility of connecting the Ikorodu plant to the national grid as an alternative solution. He stated that a bilateral agreement with the Ikeja Distribution Company for the sale of the power from the plant is being negotiated.

But then, it was not a year of only dooms, as key initiatives that will determine the future prospect of the company were equally achieved during the period. One of such is the 144MW plant for Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone, in Rivers State.“On a very promising note, I would like to inform you that your company is at the threshold of a major transformation to a big player in the emerging power market in Nigeria.

Before mid 2013, we expect to commence work on the 144MW plant for the Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone, Rivers State.

This is a result of the company winning the bid for 25 years power supply concession with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)/ Federal Ministry of Transport,” he told shareholders at the meeting.

Speaking further on the prospects of the company, Ayoola said that the company had been selected as one of the power providers to construct gas fired plant of initial capacity of 144 MW from its existing Ikorodu site for supply to the national grid under the power sector reform agenda. Both the Onne and Ikorodu projects are undergoing pre-development activities such as Environmental Impact and Social Assessment Studies (ESIA), preliminary engineering design, dueprocess compliance, technical, financial and legal diligence.

He told shareholders that the company has expended over N250 million at this

preliminary stage to bring the project to fruition, stressing that the two projects will cost about $450 million or N72 billion on completion. He assured that the owners of the company have a lot to gain from their investment in the company as these two projects alone will bring about a quantum leap in return on investment, capital appreciation and a robust balance sheet.

Ayoola was quick to alert shareholders on the implications of the expected growth, his words, “It is also noteworthy that the emerging growth opportunities and the transition from a small to a big power company will necessarily come with its own challenges. It will require us to strengthen the human and financial resource capacity, governance structure, as well as our internal process and corporate brand. I want to assure you that the board of directors and management are proactively preparing for these challenges in the overall interest of the company”.

There is no doubt that ENCON Plc if properly managed will deliver value for investor. For instance, despite recording a drop in turnover in the 2011 financial year, the company posted a profit before tax of N559 million as against N324 million in comparing period of 2010 representing 73 per cent increase. However, the growth in profit was attributed to gains arising from divestment from the Lagos Island Power Limited.

Meanwhile, profit after tax hit an all time high of N519 million representing 476 per cent increase when compared with N89 million in 2010. Shareholders’ fund grew by 10 per cent to N5.629 billion from N5.13 billion. As a result of the improved financial situation, dividend paid-out also appreciated by 100 per cent to 10 kobo per share as against five kobo paid in the previous year.

With the prospect that ENCON Plc has presented to investors, indeed, there can be no better time for it to be listed on the NSE than now. BC

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Monday, December 10, 2012

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11 new cars

to avoid B

ack in the 1970′s and ’80′s, there were more than a few true clunkers that suffered from dubious engineering, poor build quality, vague fit and finish and uncertain durability. Component failure was not a simple matter of a “check engine” light illuminating on the instrument panel, it was of far greater magnitude, with engine blocks cracking, manifolds. With the industry having made great strides over the last two decades in terms of design, performance and durability, it doesn’t take much for a new car to get slammed these days for what once would have been considered minor infractions.

Consider that Consumer Reports dropped the Honda Civic from its “recommended” list after its model-year 2012 redesign, not because it was an awful car, but because it wasn’t deemed as good as some of its competitors. The 2012 Civic is found to be less agile and with lower interior quality than its predecessor. (Honda has since rushed a nominal redesign of the Civic for 2013 that seems to address most of its perceived deficiencies).

According to a report by Forbes.Com, multiple sources, tempered with its own newmodel test-driving experience, came up with the proverbial rogues gallery of unlucky new cars across a broad spectrum of vehicle types that just don’t hold up under the glare of scrutiny. According to Forbes.Com, the report is based on Consumer Reports‘ ratings for performance, reliability and other factors, cross checked against the latest Initial Quality, Vehicle Dependability and Performance, Execution and Layout Studies conducted by J.D. Power and Associates. It looked at residual value predictions for 2013 models compiled by Automotive Lease Guide and personal injury claims data from the Highway Loss Data Institute.

Finally, it noted how well each vehicle performed in crash tests conducted by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to come up with the 11 new cars it feels are best avoided by discerning

drivers.

Dodge Jourourney Despite receiving a much-needed eded interior makeover and nd a new V-6 engine offering g for f a model-year d l p, and even in light 2011 revamp, of the Dodge ge Journey offering some clever features, such as in-floor storage age bins, this midsize crossover er SUV still lags behind the competition ompetition in terms of refinement and reliability. Though ugh the aforemenentioned V-6 works admimirably mated ed to a six-speed eed automatic transmisransmission and all-wheel-drive, the base powertrain that comes with front-drive models – a disappointing 2.4-liter 173-hp four-cylinder engine and awkward-shifting four-speed automatic transmission – is just not up to snuff. Consumer Reports says it’s, “mediocre overall…its lack of agility makes it feel like it’s larger than it is.”

Jeep Compass / Jeep Patriot These mechanically-related five-passenger crossover SUVs were upgraded with improved interiors for 2011; the Compass got an exterior makeover to make it look more like the larger Grand Cherokee, while the Patriot continues with its more-militaristic look. They’re still below-par performers, however, with lacklustre four-cylinder engines and a choice of a clunky five-speed manual or a lazy and harsh-sounding gearless CVT automatic transmission and are rated among the

Jeep Wrangler

Jeep Patriot Jeep Compass

Nissan Versa Hatchback

worst performing f i models d l in their class.

Jeep Wrangler This brash SUV can trace its lineage to the original Jeeps from WWII, and it remains among the most off-road capable models on the market.

While the Wrangler has received steady improvements over the years to help make it more civilized, even adding four-door Unlimited models to help broaden its appeal, it remains inferior to virtually all other vehicles in terms of sophistication, accommodations and on-road performance.

Nissan Versa Hatchback While the sedan version of the subcompact Versa was recently redesigned, the stubby tall-roofed hatchback version won’t get a makeover until next year, and so it trundles on in its current rental-car-quality rendition. It received the triple crown of below-average marks

ffor iinitial i i l quality, li d i / design/performance and reliability and it was cited for having among the highest injury-claim frequencies.

Nissan Xterra The midsize Xterra is a backto-basics SUV that’s outclassed by many other truck-based models and certainly most carbased crossovers. Since the Xterra’s part-time four-wheeldrive system must be manually engaged, it’s not as useful under most circumstances as would be an automatic full-time system. The vehicle’s ride can get downright bouncy at times with the steering becoming unnerved over rough roads.

Smart ForTwo This diminutive model is small even by micro car standards and is woefully underpowered. It’s saddled by an

Nissan Xterra

Smart ForTwo

eccentric-shifting transmission, is largely impractical with only two seats and negligible trunk space and delivers a rough and noisy ride. On the plus side, it’s able to park in roughly half the space of a normal car. It’s among the worst performing models tested by Consumer Reports, and takes a leisurely 14.6 seconds to reach 60 mph.

Fuel economy is decent (but not spectacular) at 34/38 mpg city.

Suzuki Grand Vitara Suzuki is soon to be a socalled orphan brand, with the automaker closing its U.S. newvehicle distributorship and exiting the market in the coming

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Business Courage A19 35

Monday, December 10, 2012

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Autocare Common transmission problems and how to fix them

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Volvo XC90

ransmission problems would usually bring to mind replacing or rebuilding your transmission. But it does not necessarily have to be so. There are a few common transmission problems that you can fix on your own, at a fraction of the cost most auto shops would charge you.

The easiest way to avoid any transmission problems is to have preventive maintenance in place. This means you need to avoid any eventualities that might lead to leakages, slipping, and overheating.

Transmission Fluid Leak A transmission leak problem usually means that there is a seal problem. At the first signs of a fluid leak or if the coolant is low, you have to check the driveshaft, transmission and input gasket seals. If there is a leak, you can easily repair this by purchasing a bottle of Stop Leak and pour it in using the transmission fluid dipstick. Add enough Stop Leak to replace the lost fluid. If there is a substantial amount of leakage going on, you can also opt to input a full bottle to stop the fluid leakage. This type of problem should really be remedied the soonest as possible, as it can cause your transmission to slip and possibly overheat.

Suzuki Grand Vitara

months. While Suzuki says it will honour all warranties, its cars will likely become more difficult to service down the road and take a major hit in terms of resale value. The compact Grand Vitara SUV compounds those problems with uninspiring performance; it’s noisy and sluggish…steering is somewhat vague and handling is reluctant.

Suzuki Kizashi This modest midsize sedan is reasonably likeable, though it’s overshadowed by most other models in its segment. It will

soon be orphaned along with the rest of the Suzuki line as the brand winds down its US auto operations. Kizashi’s fourcylinder powertrain is rather leisurely…the CVT (transmission) makes the engine work hard and noisily to keep up the pace.

Suzuki SX4 With Suzuki shuttering its US car sales, this barely adequate subcompact sedan, fourdoor hatchback and mini-crossover combo becomes an even tougher sell. While it comes decently powered – at least on paper – with 150 horsepower, its four-cylinder engine, “drones on the highway and delivers

slow acceleration…the ride is stiff and the cabin is noisy. The interior is cramped for all but the shortest riders and the car gets unimpressive fuel economy at 23/30-mpg city/highway.

Volvo XC90 Long in need of a redesign, the aging – and expensive – Volvo SX90 seven-passenger crossover SUV is big and heavy and feels as ungainly on the road as a roomier full-size truck based-model. Its only available engine, a 3.2-liter sixcylinder generates just a pokey 240 horsepower. It has much higher than average ownership costs and below average reliability. BC

Transmission Slipping The causes of transmission slipping can either be a fluid leak or a faulty solenoid. Some signs of a transmission slipping would be gears slipping or shifting very slowly. If it is the fluid leak causing the transmission slipping, then it can be easily fixed by Stop Leak. But if it is something wrong with the solenoid, you would need to open it and check for debris or any obstruction. If the problem persists with the solenoid, check your warranty and have it replaced by your dealer. Remember that transmission parts have a longer warranty than other parts of the car.

Transmission Overheating When your transmission overheats, this is usually caused by your vehicle pulling a very heavy load. This could occur if your transmission fluid is old and dirty or if you have clogged cooler lines. To fix this would be to replace your drain and your transmission fluid, as well as clean the transmission filter. Remember that when you clean the transmission filter, you might need to open the transmission system. So, before attempting this, make sure you already have your manual at hand and that you are comfortable following the instructions.

Transmission Maintenance You should be checking your transmission every six months or every 6,000 miles for any problems. Transmission fluids should also be replaced when it starts to become a brownish colour rather than the original red colour. If you expect to haul heavy loads, you should also consider getting auxiliary oil cooler to help your transmission system maintain operating temperatures. This is because the heavier the load your car will pull or carry, the faster the oil cooler needs to cool the transmission fluid, and at times it cannot keep up.

A few tips to keep in mind to better care for your transmission system is to never shift into ‘Park’ or ‘Reverse’ until the car has completely stopped. And you should never shift out of ‘Park’ without pressing on the brake pedal. BC

Suzuki Kizashi

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Business Courage

Pharma-Deko posts N729m profit

By Tayo Adeleke

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harma-Deko Plc has recorded a 1430 per cent growth in its profit after tax for the unaudited third quarter of the current financial year ending December 31, 2012. The company also recorded a 1368 per cent rise in its profit before tax for the same period. The company achieved net profit of N729 million in third quarters 2012 against N47.6 million. Similarly, profit before tax moved to N699.5 million. The increase recorded in both profit before tax and profit after tax could be attributed to extraordinary items worth N671 million in favour of the pharmaceutical company. According to data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company said its shareholders’ funds had also increased, bringing the continuous decline, the fund recorded in the past years to a close.

Chairman of the company, Folarin Williams (Junior) said the erosion of the shareholders fund, which started five years ago was halted and a positive figure was recorded. Thus, shareholders’ funds closed at N931.5 million in third quarter 2012 from a negative figure of N719 million in third quarter 2011.

However, the company recorded N734.2 million as turnover in nine months ended September 2012, a 22 per cent decline from N945.2 million posted in the previous period. Gross profits as well dropped by 16 per cent to close at

Williams

N348.5 million. The company is currently facing liquidity challenges having posted a negative working capital of N351 million. Meanwhile, Williams has reiterated the need for capital injection to enhance company profitability in future. “The above achievement in turnover would have been doubled or more if the challenges of inadequate working capital and high financial exposure being experienced by the company had been resolved” he noted. Pharma-Deko is a Pharmaceutical Consumer Manufacturing company; with over 50 years history in the manufacturing and marketing of Pharmaceutical and healthcare Consumer products. BC

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Ike Emeagwali, Chairman

view period helps the company to end the period in positive earnings. Its profit before tax increased from N10.8 million debit in the second quarter of year 2011 to N4.2 million in the corresponding period of 2012, indicating a growth of 138 per cent. In the same way, the company posted a growth of 136.4 per cent in profit after tax in its half year result ended September, 2012.

It recorded an increase from –N11.4 million in the review period compared to N4.15million in the same period of year 2011. The company’s balance sheet recorded a modest improvement as total assets moved to N766.9 million in 2012 from N672.5 million in 2011. Working capital stood at N49.72 million while due to related company closed at N26.8 million. Total liabilities inched up to N243 million from N219.3 million in 2011. Trade debtors closed at N32.5 million while trade creditors stood at N37.8 million. Net assets (Shareholders funds) dipped to N122.6 million from N127.63 million in 2011.

Meanwhile, Thomas Wyatt cash flow closed in a negative in the review period. It ended at a loss of N16.4 million, an improvement from N42.4 million in first quarter. BC

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Sanusi’s obvious truths

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Thomas Wyatt posts profit amid drop earnings homas Wyatt Plc has recorded a turnover of N56.8 million in its second quarter ended 30 September 2012. This was contained in its result sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange last Friday. The company’s turnover decreased slightly from N60.9 million in the second quarter of 2012 compared to N56.8 million in the review period of year 2012, translating to 6.7 per cent drop. However, effort of the management to reduce cost in the re-

Monday, December 10, 2012

o some, the Governor of the Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi is a mere rabble-rouser who loves to hear his own voice. Not given to shying away from speaking his mind on national issues including those some will say should not be his immediate concern, Sanusi has in a few short years at the helm of the apex bank become a rather controversial figure many love to hate.

Yet, love him or hate him, the Kano prince’s frank comments about the goings on in the polity and actions taken to address issues in the financial system, his primary constituency, are uncharacteristic of the pretentious power elite that would rather stay behind their high walls content with the knowledge of millions of dollars salted away abroad while the country goes to the dogs.

Of course, Sanusi cannot always be right, but I am tempted to align with him on two recent issues he raised for which some have called for his head.

One, is his conclusions about the civil service, which he said needs to be trimmed by half as part of measures to cut government overheads and channel more resources to investments. The CBN governor might have sounded extreme in advocating such as drastic action given the emotional and vitriolic attacks he has received since then.

Some have argued that it is the political class with their retinue of advisers, assistants and other aides that are responsible for government’s bloated overheads.

However, the issue remains that the biggest drag on the economy has been government’s inability to create the conditions for wealth creation since it spends 70 per cent to 75 per cent of total resources just on running itself.

Sanusi’s comments also raises the question of what exactly has been the contributions of the civil service to nation building over the years. Can we say that the civil servants have earned their keep given the fact that their salaries are usually on top of the priority list of government spending at all the three tiers?

Some decades ago civil servants were seen as the custodians of whatever was right and proper. Moulded in the fashion of the British bureaucracy, the public servants of yore were sticklers for rules, diligent, dignified in carriage and conduct. They were men and women of character.

What we have today is a bunch of mercenaries waiting at every turn to make a quick buck. Rather than oil the wheels of government, they deliberately jam the wheel to make sure something drops on their laps. Indeed, the public service is now seen as the easiest way to “make it” in Nigeria.

I don’t need any empirical data to establish that public servants are the wealthiest group of Nigerians that are not company directors. They come to

the office dressed in drab suits and worn ties yet, even level 10 officers own substantial properties in Abuja and state capitals, their children school abroad, which is why the education system remains in a mess. They get a cut of every contract that government awards if they are not the contractors themselves. For anything that must get done in any ministry, a fee must be paid and God save that minster or any newcomer that comes in trying to “change” the system, he is simply isolated or set up for a disgraceful exit. While I will concede that there are exceptions, these may be those that are not yet in a position to “pension” themselves as the case is. The public service is Nigeria’s biggest problem and we have no clue about how to address this.

The other issue has to do with the federal character principle, which Sanusi says promotes a culture of mediocrity in government. Of course, a silly arrangement that says ministers must be appointed from every state does stand logic on its head as it means that anybody who is a friend of a state governor can be nominated and appointed minister, which is the routine nowadays.

Sanusi captured the effect so succinctly when he said that since 1999 “we have had more than 200 ministers and how many of them can we really remember because they are so many and their jobs are so poorly defined and no one can remember them for anything they did.”

As Sanusi pointed out, the federal character clause designed to “balance the equation” to ensure that state with smaller pools of talent get represented at the centre regardless of whether their candidates have the competence and experience to do the jobs to be handed out.

The result of such folly is what we see in the inability to see any real innovations or forward thinking in most government ministries. Many ministers are just there to attend FEC meetings, junket from one conference to the other, make as much money as they can and wait for the day they get the boot.

The federal character principle is applied in all areas from admission into schools, recruitment into the civil service, the armed forces and Police and even in land allocation. It is anticompetition and it is not the way to continue.

Sanusi’s warning is that Nigeria is going nowhere if we retain a system that is not working. Countries that stand out in the committee of nations achieved this by deploying their best brains in all spheres of human endeavour. In this present government, one can point to only two or three ministers that may be in a position to show that they did anything while in office.

We should look at the message, not the messenger. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

A21 37

NSE index up by 0.67per cent, as Aiico, UAC Properties, Sterling Bank top gainers

A

ctivities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed Friday on a positive note. A review of the equity price movements indicated that thirty five (35) equities gained while thirty-one (31) equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and thirty-two (132) equities remained constant. When compared with the preceding week, thirty (30) equities gained while thirty- four (34) equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and thirty-four (134) equities remained constant. Aiico led the gainers’ table with a gain of N0.05 kobo to close at N0.66 kobo per share, UAC Properties gained N0.55 kobo to close at N10.60 kobo per share, Sterling Bank N0.08 kobo to close at N1.57 kobo per share. UTC led the losers’ chart by shedding N0.03 kobo to close at N0.58 kobo per share, followed by MCNICHOLS that shed N0.04 kobo per share to close at N0.85 kobo per share and NEIMETH shed N0.04 kobo to close at N0.88 kobo per share.

A turnover of 1.144 billion shares worth N11.239 billion in 18,947 deals was recorded last

week in contrast to a total of 1.216 billion shares valued at N8.886 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 18,902 deals. The Financial Services sector (measured by turnover volume) accounted for 872.712 million shares valued at N6.803 billion traded in 11,398 deals.

The Consumer Goods sector followed with 75.609 million shares valued at N3.117 billion traded in 3,812 deals. The Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume);

Yemi Adeola, MD Sterling Bank

with 645.733 million shares worth N5.555 billion exchanged hands by investors in 8,257 deals. Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activities in the shares of Zenith Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the two banks accounted for 196.229 million shares, representing 30.39 per cent, 22.49 per cent, and 17.15 per cent of the turnover recorded by the subsector, sector and total turnover for the week, respectively.

Also traded last week were 611 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N1.591 million exchanged hands in 5 deals in contrast to a total of 550 units valued at N1.462 million transacted last week in 5 deals. Also, 4,650 units of FGN Bonds valued at N5.008 million were traded during the week in 12 deals.

However, there were no transactions in the State/Local Government Bonds and Corporate Bonds/Debentures sectors. The NSE All-Share Index appreciated by 0.67 per cent to close at 26,671.72. Also, Market Capitalization of the listed equities increased by 0.67 per cent to close at N8.522 trillion. BC

FirstRand eyes Nigerian acquisition to fund RMB lending

F

irstRand Ltd. (FSR), South Africa’s secondlargest bank, needs to buy a retail and commercial lender in Nigeria to support its investment bank and win access to consumer deposits for corporate funding, said Alan Pullinger, the unit’s chief executive officer.

“In Nigeria, you want a funding bank,” Pullinger, who heads FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank, said in an interview in Johannesburg at the weekend.

The investment bank, which won final approval for Nigerian license last month, “has legs for a while and we can carry

it through the short term, but long term we want to get into retail and commercial banking,” he said.

FirstRand said on Aug. 22 that it agreed to buy a 75 per cent stake in Merchant Bank Ghana Ltd. for 746.2 million rand ($86 million) to strengthen its position in Africa after earlier this year ending talks to purchase Lagos-based Sterling Bank Plc. The investmentbanking unit has 12 people in its Nigerian office and plans to expand its workforce in Africa’s largest oil producer to about 20, Pullinger said. To continue lending to companies, it needs

to have access to deposits, he said.

“We are exploring various options in Nigeria, including the assets which form part of the Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria,” said Sam Moss, a director of FirstRand, commenting on an agency set up to buy bad debt from the nation’s banks. In Ghana, the central bank still needs to give its approval for the Merchant Bank deal, she said.

FirstRand, which is the bestperforming stock among South Africa’s four largest banks this year, dropped 1.6 per cent at 1:41 p.m. in Johannesburg. BC

Interbank rate rises on large treasury bill sales

I

nterbank rates inched up to an average 11.91 per cent last week from 11.33 per cent the previous week after the central bank sold large amounts of treasury bills to some lenders in a move to reduce liquidity in the system, traders said.

The central bank sold about N63 billion ($400 million) in Open Market Operations (OMO) to help dampen inflation by soaking up cash, traders said.

The central bank had sold about N127.17 billion in treasury bills at the primary market on

Wednesday, which left the market cash balance at about N190 billion on Friday compared with market open cash balance of N242 billion last Friday.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rose to 11.75 per cent last week from 11 per cent the previous week, 25 basis points below the central bank’s 12 per cent benchmark rate and 1.75 percentage points above the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate.

Overnight placement and call money both closed at 12 per cent apiece compared with

11.5 per cent, respectively last week.

Dealers said a possible budget flows this week could depress rates marginally, but expected central bank to take out excess funds from the market to keep the rates within its benchmark interest rate.

“We see cost of borrowing easing marginally next week on likely inflows of budget cash and some treasury bills maturities repayment, helping to increase liquidity in the market,” one dealer said. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 17-17-12 All-Share Index 26,671.72 points Market Capitalisation N8,522,241,184,555.37 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

AIICO UAC-PROP

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

0.61

0.66

8.20

10.05

10.60

5.47

STERLNBNK

1.49

1.57

5.37

NNFM

17.51

18.38

4.97

OANDO

11.53

12.10

4.94

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

UTC

0.61

0.58

-4.92

MCNICHOLS

0.89

0.85

-4.49

NEIMETH

0.92

0.88

-4.35

LIVESTOCK

1.42

1.36

-4.23

HONYFLOUR

2.10

2.05

-2.38

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 29-Nov-2012

RATE%(CURR) 06-Dec-2012

CALL

13.0000 – 14.0000

10.2500 – 12.2500

OBB

11.1000 – 14.0000

10.2500 – 11.2500

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

40536.7

91-Days

30647.81

12.40

21-Nov-12

45000

12.45

21-Nov-12

182-Days

12.50

DATE

364-Days

21-Nov-12

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

113-Days

100,000

13.60

28-Nov-12

84-Days

80,000

13.50

22-Nov-12

98-Days

70,000

13.56

22-Nov-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$80m

$80m

$80m

05-Dec-12

$180m

$164m

$164m

03-Dec-12

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NCR Nigeria: Battling with huge operating cost

By Tayo Adeleke

N

CR Nigeria Plc’s plan to achieve an improved performance at the end of the current financial year may have suffered a setback particularly with its half year 2012 performance. The setback could be attributed to the company’s huge cost of sale, which at half year, has already surpassed income by 10 per cent. Cost of sales stood at N2.6 billion against turnover of N2.35 billion, leading to a net loss of N378 million. Also, both top line and bottom line indices nosedived significantly from previous period.

The company’s principal activities continue to be the sales and services of information technology solutions like the Automated Teller Machines (ATM), through which NCR helps its customers transform transactions into relationships and use information more effectively and dynamically to make smarter business decisions faster. The company was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on May 30, 1979.

Financial Health The company, despite recording a 40 per cent growth in its turnover, recorded significant decline in its operating profit, profit before tax and profit after tax for its 2011 financial year. It recorded a turnover of N2.855 billion, rising from N2.042 billion recorded in its 2010 financial year. Chairman of the company, Adekunle Ojora attributed the increase in its turnover to the cashless economy policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as the reversal of the offsite ATM directive. He said that this year alone (as at Q2 2012), the company had sold over 1,200 ATMs to various companies, adding that over 500 were sold the preceding year. According to him, all these will translate into higher profits for the company in the ongoing financial year as it would be reflected in the balance sheet. Its operating profit, however, dipped by 67 per cent to N369.275 million, from N1.104 billion in 2010; profit before tax stood at N369.681 million, dropping by 65 per cent from N1.061 billion recorded in 2010, while profit after tax dipped by 73 per cent from N721.586 million recorded in 2010 to N196.646 million in the year under review. Despite the decline in its profit, the company declared a dividend of N345 million, representing a dividend per share of N3 for its shareholders.

Profitability Ratio Profitability indices of the company are declining gradually.

Return on Equity (ROE) dropped

could not translate into profit for the company as a result of huge cost of sales for the period.

The cost of sales stood at N2.59 billion, 10 per cent more than the company’s turnover for the period. Gross loss stood at N216.6 million compared with N641 million gross profits in 2011.

However, inventories moved from N513.64 million in 2011 to N777.8 million in 2012, fixed assets increased from N63.2 million in 2011 to N74.88 million. Details of the half year balance sheet show that total assets grew from N3.18 billion to N4.07 billion in 2012 while total liabilities stood at N3.74 billion, up from N2.14 billion in 2011.

Meanwhile, working capital dropped from N980.1 million as at December 2011 to N256.73 million as at half year 2012.

to 19.07 per cent from 62.24 per cent in 2010, while gross profit margin decreased by 35.02 basis points from 56.83 per cent in 2010 to 21.81 per cent in 2011.

The company was unable to take in more for stakeholders as both pre-tax profit margin and profit margin reduced significantly in the review financial year ended December 2011. Pre-tax profit margin moved to 12.96 per cent from 51.98 per cent in 2010 while profit after tax margin stood at 6.90 per cent in 2011 down from 35.37 per cent in the preceding year.

Liquidity Liquidity position of NCR Nigeria Plc recorded mixed performance if compared with the figure posted in the previous year. NCR financials performance gave a brief summary of the inability of management to meet its financial obligation to debtors as at when they fall due. The current ratio, which measures ability to pay short term debts from its operating cash flows, declined from 2.55:1 in 2010 to 1.47:1 as at financial year ended December 2011 (falls below the accepted benchmark of 2.0:1). In the same way, quick ratio dipped from 2.25:1 in 2010 to 1.22:1 in 2011, lower to benchmark of 1.5:1. This is a declining performance compared to the previous year’s figure.

Meanwhile, trade debt stood at N988 million from N443 million in 2010 while trade credit closed at N66 million compared to N34 million in the preceding year.

Current liabilities moved from N872 million in 2010 to N2.12 NCR Financial Data

Ojora

billion.

However, following the management decision not to borrow fund to run its operation in 2011, the company heaved a sigh of relief as its working capital indices improved significantly to N980 million. Interest expenses also reduced significantly to N4 million from N55 million in 2010.

Capital Adequacy During the year under review, the company’s shareholders’ funds dropped to N1.03 billion from N1.16 billion, representing a decline of 10.95 per cent. As at 31 December 2011, the fixed assets had 23.5 per cent increase to close at N63 million from N51 2011 =N=(‘Nm)

2010 =N=(‘Nm)

Gross Earnings

2,856

2,041

Cost of sales

2,232

881

Gross Profit

623

1,160

Profit Before Taxation

370

1,061

Profit After Taxation

197

722

284

225

Retained Profit Admin Expenses Distribution Expenses Taxation Shareholders fund Interest Expenses

173

340

1,033

1,160

4

55

Current Asset

3,113

2,220

Current Liabilities

2,123

872

Fixed Assets

63

51

2,599

1,961

Trade Debtors

988

443

Trade Creditors

66

34

Return on Equity (%)

19.07

62.24

Gross profit Margin (%)

21.81

56.83

Current Assets-stocks

Profitability Ratios

Profit Margin (%)

6.9

35.37

12.96

51.98

Current Ratio

1.47

2.55

Quick Ratio

1.22

2.25

Debtors(No of days)

126.27

79.22

Creditors(No of days)

10.84

14.17

980

1109

Pretax Profit Margin (%) Liquidity Ratios

Working Capital

million while inventories grew by 98.5 per cent to stand at N514 million from N259 million in 2010. Cash and Bank balances also had significant growth of 123 per cent in the review period. It moved from N443 million to N796 million. Current assets increased by N893 million to close at N3.11 billion in 2011 while total assets grew to N3.18 billion from N2.27 billion.

Half year performance In the last six months of ongoing financial year, NCR Nigeria Plc has not done well in all measuring indices. Both top line and bottom line indices nosedived significantly from previous period. The company recorded a net loss of N377.99 million for the period ended June 30, 2012, a worse figure when compared with N509.9 million profits achieved in the corresponding period of 2011.

According to the data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s gross earnings rose by 144.8 per cent, from N961.3 million recorded in 2011 to N2.35 billion in 2012. This

Future The company may eventually end the current year in a loss if the management fails to rescue the company finance from the growing huge cost that continues to impair its turnover. Based on the company’s half year performance ended June 2012, the management needs to work harder to return the company to profitability at the end of financial year.

However, NCR management has expressed optimism of a significant improvement in its financial performance in the years ahead. Speaking on the company’s future plans, Ojora noted that the company was able to secure significant orders for upgrading projects in cheque clearing and National Electronic Funds Transfer to assist with internal image clearing and decision making. “In addition, we have introduced two new products; the ATM Passport (Cheque Image Capture solution) and the Branch Passport (Cheque Capture solution for Bank branches) and the roll out of these would be completed before end of the year 2012,” Ojora said. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, December 10, 2012

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, Dec 07, 2012 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 34.00 PRESCO PLC 15.01 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.36 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.29 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. NT S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 42.00 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. NT G CAPPA PLC NT Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 33.00 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 10.60 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC NT UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 241.10 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 13.99 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 143.55 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 40.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 8.00 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 5.75 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 65.50 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.05 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 18.38 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 6.20 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.58 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 28.50 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 660.05 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.54 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. NT Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 29.00 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 47.00 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 9.00 DIAMOND BANK PLC 4.56 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 10.99 FIDELITY BANK PLC 2.08 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 3.15 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 20.24 SKYE BANK PLC 3.99 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.57 U B A PLC 4.56 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 7.36 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.50 ZENITH BANK PLC 17.80 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.66 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.71 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. NT CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.24 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.56 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.50 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. NT LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. NT LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 1.83 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.54 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.51 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STACO INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC NT Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 6.00 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.15 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC NT UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. 0.50 DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT FBN HOLDINGS PLC 15.07 NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.50 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 10.70 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. NT Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. NT Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.04 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 1.04 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 45.50 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.52

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 07-12-12

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

65 000 79 490 475 401

0.64 34.01 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.10 6.73 2.75

N/A 0.00 -1.31

0.50 34.00 15.21

NT

4.26

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

106 603

1.70

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.11

-1.45

1.38

12 500 NT NT NT 231 956

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 5.81 5.32 5.52 28.70

2 191 895 983 963 900 300 389 151 408 821 666 666 1 600 720 323

0.08 0.24 0.00 0.35 6.89

0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.29 NT 4.81 NT 42.00

NT NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

NT NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

246 386 NT

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.93 4.73

0.00 N/A

33.00 NT

NT 272 677

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 0.09

NT 10.59

NT NT

100.00 50.00

97.00 50.00

20 000 000 250 019 781

11.75 0.75

N/A N/A

NT NT

6 500

0.50

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 85 922 5 087 505 NT 2 639 344 NT

4.63 0.68 265.00 12.83 3.20 138.85 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

900 000 000 272 160 000 1 474 925 519 2 112 914 681 562 000 000 7 562 562 340 126 000 000

0.00 0.03 9.46 0.25 0.00 5.08 0.00

N/A N/A 4.74 N/A N/A 2.33 N/A

NT NT 230.19 13.60 1.53 140.28 NT

18 997

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

2.69

N/A

40.00

NT 4 327 150 725 072 2 243 977 1 272 000 NT 116 943 275 720 NT 180 000 NT

0.50 19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 2.70 43.96 6.70 5.66 0.88 4.22

0.50 4.15 3.64 52.50 1.91 1.00 20.41 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

2 000 000 000 5 000 000 000 12 000 000 000 1 879 210 666 7 930 197 658 3 722 493 620 178 200 000

0.00 0.00 0.91 3.79 0.51 0.00 2.50 1.07 0.08 1.13 0.00

N/A 3.23 0.00 -0.76 3.02 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A -9.38 N/A

NT 7.75 5.75 66.00 1.99 NT 18.43 6.20 NT 0.64 NT

40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

2 024 253 76 584

29.20 684.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.35 25.43

4.40 1.53

27.30 650.11

NT NT 54 225 NT

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 34.39 3.01 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A -1.12 N/A

NT NT 3.58 2.88

63 762 341 850

43.50 41.60

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.70 1.44

4.77 0.32

27.68 46.85

NT

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

NT

35 980 489 5 091 146 5 634 174 14 372 723 1 269 954 11 673 516 12 886 093 5 930 022 17 239 932 2 448 753 2 082 750 1 335 540 35 406 677

11.10 9.27 17.05 3.20 8.30 20.30 10.17 2.91 5.21 10.07 1.92 1.75 18.20

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 3.04 11.64 2.73 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

17 888 251 479 14 475 243 105 9 873 614 567 28 974 797 023 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.60 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.09

0.45 4.83 -0.09 0.00 -6.53 4.60 2.84 6.08 1.33 0.82 0.00 0.00 2.95

8.96 4.35 11.00 2.08 3.37 19.35 3.88 1.48 4.50 7.30 0.50 0.50 17.29

NT 2 466 880 NT 14 630 469 175 NT 243 879 NT NT NT 26 000 161 760 3 181 666 NT NT NT 63 000 37 500 NT 3 150 904 24 000 NT 32 729 NT 30 000 55 000 12 220 500 50 000 NT NT

0.50 1.01 0.64 0.50 1.20 0.50 3.51 0.50 0.69 0.50 0.50 0.80 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.93 0.50 0.66 1.11 0.50 2.35 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.31 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.95 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

20 585 000 000 7 809 391 256 211 626 000 6 000 000 000 10 372 624 157 8 820 010 363 5 100 846 808 8 847 298 420 4 549 947 000 3 827 485 380 720 000 000 5 061 804 000 6 420 427 449 28 000 000 000 7 323 313 227 3 437 330 500 4 083 713 569 10 000 000 000 7 998 705 336 5 332 830 881 5 649 693 923 5 003 506 791 2 508 315 436 6 668 750 000 5 203 757 266 6 141 087 609 8 493 173 450 2 581 733 505 13 000 000 000 16 000 000 000

0.00 0.05 0.00 0.05 0.14 0.02 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.01 0.37 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 -3.17 N/A 8.00 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.54 NT NT 0.67 0.50 1.20 0.50 NT NT 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 1.89 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50 0.51 NT NT 0.50 0.50 0.50 NT NT

5 000 13 690 000

6.00 1.15

0.00 1.00

NT 2 430 NT NT

1.51 0.50 0.50 0.99

1.33 0.50 0.50 0.50

4 200 000 000 8 679 148 676 13 175 732 404 7 812 500 000

0.03 0.02 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 NT NT

54 000 NT 15 729 517 NT NT 620 956 238 389

0.61 2.02 17.01 0.15 552.20 0.66 11.38

0.50 2.02 8.50 0.15 555.20 0.50 6.40

3 778 005 975 1 333 333 333 32 632 084 358 5 880 000 2 500 000 3 608 657 661 18 750 000 000

0.00 0.00 3.03 0.00 12.65 0.00 0.87

N/A N/A 1.28 N/A N/A N/A -9.09

0.50 NT 14.88 NT NT NT 11.77

NT

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

NT

16 680

0.50

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.06

N/A

4.25

2 196 1 020 682 111 996 219 608

1.45 3.20 39.00 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

486 473 856 1 500 000 000 956 701 192 980 000 000

0.00 0.44 2.62 0.20

-13.33 1.96 0.00 4.11

1.20 1.02 45.50 1.46

N/A=Not Avialable

0.01 0.07

6.00 1.15

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.88 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. NT PHARMA-DEKO PLC. NT ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.50 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC NT Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 14.40 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. NT Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC NT MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 18.00 BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.41 CAP PLC 27.98 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 4.92 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 121.00 DN MEYER PLC. 2.80 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC 0.50 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 58.00 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC NT PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 4.18 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.52 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS NT BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 2.35 POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. NT Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC NT STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. NT Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.59 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 12.10 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 CONOIL PLC 19.62 ETERNA PLC. 1.58 FORTE OIL PLC. 7.98 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 109.25 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 25.01 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 121.68 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.31 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2.84 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC NT Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC NT IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.91 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 0.95 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.79 LEARN AFRICA PLC NT STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.40 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.50 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 2.71 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 5.48 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 0.85 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.60 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

576 164 NT NT

1.96 12.91 4.28

0.76 8.59 3.50

1 925 717 268 153 786 012 100 000 000

0.09 0.00 0.00

-4.35 N/A N/A

0.92 8.17 NT

100 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.10

0.00

0.50

NT

0.50

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.91

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT

8 967 NT

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

0.00 0.01

N/A N/A

14.40 NT

355 930 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 1 272 718 21 654 92 500 42 234 314 044 200 NT 30 000 1 709 882 NT 5 000 NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 56.50 3.36 5.28 13.40

2.86 9.10 7.27 14.50 4.20 95.00 0.93 0.50 0.91 37.00 0.52 2.27 10.93

260 000 000 2 239 453 125 217 367 585 560 000 000 1 241 548 285 15 494 019 668 242 908 200 2 109 928 275 513 696 000 3 001 600 004 792 914 256 400 000 000 75 000 000

0.00 2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 8.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.26 0.23 0.00

N/A -6.64 0.00 3.86 0.00 -0.41 N/A N/A N/A -1.68 N/A N/A N/A

NT 19.28 8.41 26.94 4.92 121.50 NT NT 0.50 58.99 NT 4.18 NT

NT 4 000 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A

NT 1.52 NT NT

NT NT NT NT 911 407 NT NT

3.98 6.91 12.71 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 9.53 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

N/A N/A

42 640 000 6 215 000 000 240 000 000 199 066 550

0.00 0.05 0.05 0.90 0.24 0.22 0.00

N/A 1.73 N/A N/A

NT 1.99 NT NT 2.31 NT NT

NT NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

25 000 000 683 974 528

NT

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.76

#VALUE!

5.97

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.43

N/A N/A

NT NT

28 640

0.50

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT

3.22 1.38

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

1 983 223

1.02

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.13

7.27

0.55

1 934 739

24.80

10.94

2 262 711 568

1.73

2.11

11.85

NT 500 19 497 12 952 440 108 814 6 943 11 200 45 392

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

125 487 475 3 716 976 579 693 952 117 1 249 162 828 1 080 280 628 300 496 051 253 988 672 339 521 837

0.00 0.00 0.47 0.61 0.00 6.11 3.62 14.63

N/A N/A 4.98 19.70 -9.73 -5.00 N/A -2.41

NT 0.50 18.69 1.32 8.84 115.00 26.32 124.68

NT

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

3.48

3.48

0.19

N/A

NT

134 125

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.21

-7.09

1.41

192 569 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.58 0.25

-6.27 N/A

3.03 NT

10 000

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.08

N/A

0.50

NT

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

NT

NT 153 500 NT 2 112 793

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.82

3.00 1.16 4.31 0.50

1 548 780 000 2 078 796 396 1 772 884 297 25 813 998 283

0.18 0.92 0.00 0.22

N/A -7.14 N/A -2.06

NT 0.98 NT 0.97

5 050 000

0.50

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

34 147 NT NT 50 200

3.68 8.00 2.92 6.82

1.64 1.94 2.78 3.09

403 200 000 771 450 000 425 641 111

0.14 0.29 0.01 0.50

N/A N/A N/A -3.30

1.79 1.81 2.65 4.55

8 300

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236 699 511 5 631 539 736

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

NT NT

5 200 1 227 941

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A -5.19

2.60 5.78

NT

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

NT

60 000

1.02

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

0.97

500

0.60

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.60

NT

0.50

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

NT

0.50

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 20 000 NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

24 200 000 5 857 500 000 15 000 000 98 600 000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 NT NT

NT NT 16 000

0.50

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT 2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

40

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“Courts will not allow fishing interrogatories. An owner of an aquarium may, but certainly not the court.”

JUSTICE NIKI TOBI, RETIRED JUSTICE OF SUPREME COURT

How controversies trail Wills of prominent figures Only few judges are vast in Maritime Law –Igbokwe

In spite of Wills by some notable deceased personalities, disputes and rumblings still rage among their children and heirs in the country. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Ag. Head, Judiciary, highlights the attendant controversies that have been trailing the reading of Wills of the certain prominent citizens.

42

Indian court seeks explanation for Facebook arrests 45

Succession crisis hits Appeal Court... as Bulkachuwa steps in acting capacity 46

Okotie-Eboh

W

riting a Will is one of the decisions most prominent Nigerians are reluctant to make.

This is because the mention of Will evokes fear in some people. To others, it connotes an impending death. No one likes to think about his own death. In fact, one shudders to think about dying.

According to familywillscenter.com, ‘’If one thinks rationally, one must make a Will. A person must be worried as to what happens to his business and property after he passes away.’’

The simplest and easiest way to ensure that one’s business, property and all other assets are distributed in accordance to one’s wishes after his death is to write a Will. It is a legal document that binds the person’s heirs to accept his wishes and there is no quarrel over the distribution.

By the provisions of the Wills Act 1837, a Will is a person’s declaration of his intention of how his property is to be dealt with after his death. Apart from this Act, the Will laws enacted by the various states in the federation also govern the disposition of property.

In legal parlance, the maker of the Will is called the testator. He must have sound and disposing mind at the time of making the Will such that

Mudashiru

he understands what he was doing.

By writing the Will, he is able, by the expression of his free will in the testamentary document, to benefit those he love or owe a duty of care.

Thus, a document is not a Will unless it speaks from death.

The document is so important in that it tells lawyers and others how a person wants his property distributed after his demise.

Interestingly, this speeds up the probate time because the courts don’t have to guess how the deceased person wants his property divided among his beneficiaries.

Perhaps, it may be argued that a Will displaces the application of rules of inheritance under native Law and Custom and the deceased equally has the opportunity to give his funeral directives. The Will also enables the deceased to make his wishes known to his heirs and beneficiaries; and let those who would benefit know too.

Besides, it has been said that it confers protection on the children of the deceased and equally prevents one’s property from possibly reverting back to the government.

Despite the desirability of making a Will, most of the Wills of prominent

THE MENTION OF

WILL

EVOKES FEAR IN SOME

PEOPLE.

TO OTHERS, IT

CONNOTES AN IMPENDING DEATH Nigerians read after their deaths have often generated controversies. Indeed, the main issue often canvassed in court by the disputing parties is the validity of the last Will and testament of the testator.

Of note are the attendant crises and court litigation that trailed the 1947 Will of the first Republic Finance Minister, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, who died in 1966. The major actors in the case were the late Okotie-Eboh’s eldest daughter, Mrs. Alero Jadesimi, the late politician’s widow, Mrs. Victoria Okotie-Eboh, another daughter, Mrs. C.R Akele and their half-brother, Mr. John Okotie-Eboh.

By its judgement on February 6,1996, the Supreme Court had pronounced that late Okotie-Eboh’s Will dated 21st day of August 1947 was valid.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Only few judges are vast in Mr. Mike Igbokwe is a senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and leading voice in maritime law and practice in the country. He is a Senior Partner in the law firm of Mike Igbokwe and Co which he founded in 1990. He was conferred with the rank of SAN in 2004.

In this interview with WALE IGBINTADE, he speaks about the maritime industry, anti-suit injunction by foreign courts, among other legal issues. Excerpts. this provision of the law?

The reason some people are against this law is that, they argued that in law, especially in contract an agent should not be liable for damages in respect of a contract where he acted on behalf of a disclosed person. But, what that argument does not appreciate is that, in tort, an agent can be personally liable even though he is acting on behalf of a master or a disclosed principal. Again, this particular provision was actually put there in order to ensure that the mischief was redressed and that the Nigerian claimant would be given justice. Now, they can sue the shipping agent and get judgement. What I always tell shipping agents is that, they should not complain, all they need to do is to make sure that before they agree to act as agent for any foreign ship, they must get an indemnity stating that the foreign ship will pay in case the ship owner does anything wrong and the shipping agent becomes liable. So, there is no need for controversy, it is one of the best things to happen to the maritime industry.

Igbokwe

It appears you are more involved in maritime practice than other aspects of legal practice.

Is that correct?

Yes, I am more into maritime practice but that is not the only thing I do. To start with, I cut my teeth as a general legal practitioner.

In those days, I got exposed to trial and appellate legal practice involving subject matters such as banking, land, tenancy, insurance and criminal cases among others. Later, I got my postgraduate Diploma in Maritime law as well as Master’s in Maritime and Commercial law. I have done so much in the maritime sector that a lot of people know me more for maritime cases than other aspects of law. Again, I wrote a book titled ‘Nigerian Maritime Cabotage Policy and Law- The case and Advocacy’, which I published in 2007. It is the most comprehensive book on cabotage.

It has to do with a lot of papers I wrote and published in a bid to sensitise the Nigerian public about the essence of cabotage. I was one of those who worked hard to ensure that Nigeria had a cabotage policy and a Nigerian cabotage legislation which came into fruition via the Capital Act of 2003. A lot of the papers I presented had been on Maritime law.

Section 16 of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act has generated controversy in the maritime industry. What is your take on this?

It should not generate controversy because it was well- thought of and well delivered.

There was a mischief that, that particular section was calculated to redress. That mischief has to do with a situation where ship owners, especially foreign ship owners with ships registered outside Nigeria that come to Nigeria to trade violate some contracts or do something that will make the ship owner li-

SOME JUDGES DON’T EVEN APPRECIATE THAT IF THEY DELAY THEIR DECISIONS, IT GIVES

ROOM FOR THE FOREIGN COURT TO HIJACK SUCH CASES AND CONTINUE WITH THEM able. However, either before they are arrested in order to get judgement security for the satisfaction of the liability or after they are arrested and they escaped before giving satisfaction for the claim against them. The case would die and the Nigerian claimant will go without justice. This is because, the owner of the ship is not based in Nigeria and cannot come and attend to the case. Even when you get judgement you will be forced to try and enforce it abroad because there is no ship or bank guarantee that has been given to secure that claim or to ensure that the claim would be satisfied when you get judgement.

Secondly, even when you get judgement, if the owner of the ship happens to come from a country that does not have enforcement of judgement by way of reciprocity, then you cannot enforce that judgement against the owners of the ship in their country. So, the legislative intention was to ensure that in such a situation, the shipping agents should be held liable for any default of the ship owners.

But, why are shipping agents not happy with

Are you satisfied with the anti-suit injunction whereby a foreign court will restrain the Nigerian court from resolving disputes that arose in Nigeria?

I am not satisfied with it. One thing we should have in mind is that every country is sovereign. It is true that the United Kingdom was once Nigeria’s colonial master, but since Nigeria became independent in 1960, we have become a sovereign nation and all its institutions or arms of government must be respected and accorded the mutual respect. Therefore, a situation where a foreign court would make an order to restrain through anti-suit injunction, a Nigerian court from proceeding with a matter that has been instituted in the court on the basis of a foreign jurisdiction clause or law is not acceptable.

It tends to give the impression that the Nigerian court in not respected by the foreign court even though these are two courts of sovereign nations. It has been argued that it is not the court that is being restrained but the parties that took the case to court.

But, be that as it may, the effect of that restraining order is to prevent the court from hearing the case. So, how can you say that court is not also restrained from hearing the case? But, the truth of the matter is that, the time has come or should come when Nigerian courts should now sit up. We have pronouncements made by the Supreme Court in several cases where the apex court said that courts must jealously guard their jurisdiction against any ouster.

The truth of the matter is that whether or not a Nigerian court would hear a case before it on the basis that a party has raised a preliminary objection that the case ought to be heard abroad due to a provision in the

contract between the parties that in case there is any dispute, it should be resolved in a foreign court or in foreign arbitration is discretionary. There are certain requirements or criteria that if they are met the Nigerian court can properly exercise its discretion and hear the case in Nigeria.

Can a Nigerian court proceed with a case even when parties have agreed in their contract to settle dispute abroad?

Yes, it is discretionary and there are certain principles that must be applied. But, the problem is that some judges, with due respect to them, either out of ignorance or out of not being aware of what the true position of the law is or some other reasons best known to them wrongly decline jurisdiction to entertain such cases despite the pronouncement of the Supreme Court.

Some judges don’t even appreciate that if they delay their decisions or the entertainment of such applications, it gives room for the foreign court to hijack such a case and continue with it. So, what they usually do is to get anti-suit injunction and use it to harass the director of the company or the individual. They begin by telling them that if they do not comply, certain penalties will be imposed on them, namely; Imprisonments of your directors or your good self, fine or seizure of your assets or goods or the company’s assets that are in the foreign jurisdiction. So, if you don’t quickly obey or go to the foreign court to set aside such an anti-suit injunction, they proceed and sell your goods or use police to harass you.

So, at the pains of being imprisoned or their assets being seized abroad, they now complied and ask their lawyer here in Nigeria to discontinue the suit. The serious implication of this is that, the moment the suit is discontinued here; it prevents the Nigerian judge from entertaining and determining the maritime suit. Also, the experience the judge would have garnered from hearing and determining that suit and also the development and the growth of our maritime jurisprudence and law would be hampered. Another disadvantage is that, the Nigerian lawyers, representing both the claimants and the defendants who ought to have made some money from the case would definitely lose their fees. The case is now hijacked and transferred to foreign solicitors who will now conclude the case and earn fees from it.

So you have some financial detriments here. The experience which the Nigerian lawyers would have garnered on litigating the matter until judgement is delivered is also denied them. But, the most unfortunate implication is that indirectly and contrary to the provision of the constitution of access to court to redress any grievance rather than going for self -help or an extra-judicial

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 10, 2012

Maritime Law –Igbokwe

means of resolving disputes is denied them.

The implication is that people would no longer have confidence in going to court anymore. They would rather settle their disputes themselves and these may involve dangerous means.

The time has come for the Nigerian court to be bold and ascertain their position in the face of even anti-suit injunction from any country whatsoever by virtue of the fact that they belong to a sovereign nation and the constitution is backing them. Whether on appeal or in terms of going to court, there is the constitutional right of appeal, there is also constitutional right of going to court. The Nigerian court must invoke its judicial powers and jurisdiction to entertain that suit and decide the dispute one way or the other.

Don’t you think slow disposition of justice in Nigeria is the reason why foreign ship owners want dispute resolved abroad?

The delay in our courts is not peculiar to

only maritime cases and if it must be dealt with, it must be looked at holistically. I know that maritime cases have standing orders governing them not just universally but also in the Federal High Courts. They have to be entertained and determined expeditiously.

When you consider causes of delay in our courts, some people will blame the lawyers, some will say the judges are to blame and other would blame the parties. But, my take is that, every person who has a role to play in the administration of justice can cause delay. For us to have expeditious entertainment and determination of cases, all those persons must cooperate together to ensure speedy trial. I give you an instance, if the judge is ready to sit, the lawyers are ready to proceed and their witnesses are in court, but because Power Holdings has disconnected power and the stand-by generators of the court are down or perhaps there is no diesel due to lack of funds and the court room is too hot, the case will be adjourned.

If the judge is ready, the lawyers are ready but the witnesses are not in court, the case cannot proceed. In a situation where lawyers are ready, with some flying in from outside jurisdiction, their witnesses are in court and the parties are present in court but the judge is sick or has a congested list, the case cannot go on. Even if the judge is ready to sit, the lawyers are there, the parties and witnesses are in court but the registrars are on strike, the judge will not carry files and be calling cases.

So, all these officers in the temple of justice including the government that provides infrastructure must play their roles effectively. A lot has been done with a view to speeding up the administration of maritime justice through the rules of court. The latest one is the 2011 Admiralty Jurisdiction Civil Procedure Rules but because the rules are implemented by human beings cases get delayed. Some lawyers are found of wasting time probably because they know they don’t have a good case and want to the delay the suit. There are also some judges that delay cases and they give you long adjournment and the case keeps dragging on.

I think we have reached the stage where we tell parties in a suit to file all their processes and set apart three days for hearing of the case and the hearing of the case must end within those three days. Any of the parties that failed to comply would have himself to blame. Until we get to that point we will not make substantial progress in terms of speedy determination of cases. Again, there is congestion in our courts and we don’t have enough judges to hear the cases.

For instance, the federal high courts have been given so many jurisdictions under Section 251 of the 1999 constitution. But, you must back it up with enough manpower

IN THOSE DAYS, YOU DARE NOT WEAR YOUR COLLAR AND GOWN OUTSIDE COURT PREMISES; IT WOULD BE SEEN AS AN ADVERTISEMENT

and resources as well as paralegal staff and equipment to enable them work speedily. If the court system becomes so slow that the people lose confidence in it, the danger is that they will become lawless.

Some have advocated arbitration as an alternative. Yes, to some extent arbitration could be an alternative but for you to go to arbitration the contract in which the dispute has arisen must have an arbitration clause and if it is not there you can’t go for arbitration. Secondly, if the parties to the suit are more than the parties to the contract that has an arbitration clause, they cannot also not go for arbitration because arbitration is contractual and cannot be binding on none parties to the contract that has arbitration clause. However, arbitration is doing a lot to quicken the process. The reason businessmen put arbitration clauses in their maritime agreement is just to make sure they do not have to go to the regular courts because of the delay.

How knowledgeable are Nigerian judges in handling maritime cases?

Few of our judges are quite knowledgeable but the rest learn on the job. There are some judges today that were good maritime lawyers before they went on the Bench.

Those ones you can’t take it away from them they are experienced. Now, there are also some judges that by virtue of having been learning about maritime law on the Bench, they were forced by virtue of the maritime cases coming before them to study maritime law. I must also point out that, some government agencies like the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in conjunction with National Judicial Institute had for many years organised series of maritime seminar for judges, where recent development in maritime law are debated. Without these seminars, a lot of the judges would be making mistakes because maritime law is highly technical.

That is not to say that brilliant judges cannot learn about it on the job but it will not be the same when you have educational background in maritime law because it is very wide. I am of the view that the time has come to encourage more lawyers who studied maritime law to come on the Bench especially at the Federal High Court and also at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

This is because a maritime case that is decided at the federal High Court may go on appeal to the Court of Appeal and thereafter to the Supreme Court. So, we need judges or justices who are familiar with the principles of maritime law to be in these courts, so that when such cases come before them they will be in a position to do justice to it. Maritime cases always involve enormous assets running into millions of dollars and they require not just expeditious determination of these cases but also require knowledgeable judges to be able to handle them properly and on time.

You are a prominent member of the Nigerian Maritime Lawyers’ Association. What positive impact has the association brought to the maritime industry in Nigeria?

The Association has done a lot; part of its objectives is to create a forum where lawyers that practice maritime law can come together. Also, we belong to Comité Maritime International (CMI); it is the umbrella body for Maritime Associations of different na-

Law & Justice

43

tions. They help a lot in reviewing not just maritime treaties but also in coming up with maritime treaties especially for International Maritime Organisation. So, the Nigerian Maritime has done a lot in sensitizing the public about maritime law and also consults with relevant government agencies in the maritime sector. The association has made a lot of inputs into laws and rules of procedure governing maritime practice.

What is your view about adherence to professional ethics among lawyers?

When I started as a lawyer, the respect for professional ethics among legal practitioners was more than what we see today. In those days, you dare not wear your collar and gown outside court premises; it would be seen as an advertisement. After court proceedings, you have to go somewhere and change to mufti.

Again, the incidence of disrespect to seniors and misappropriating or embezzling clients’ funds were not common. You avoid anything that could mar your reputation. I am not saying they were not there but not as common as we have them today.

I think one of the causes is that the Nigerian society has become so corrupt. Most Nigerians prefer to “make it” through quick and wrongful means. They are not concerned about success that is based on hard work. If you know what you are doing as a lawyer and you are patient, focused, hardworking and you know the law, clients will come after you.

In the legal profession we know each other.

We know the stuff everybody is made of. But, the fact is that you cannot expect a society that is corrupt not to breed corrupt persons and lawyers are part and parcel of the Nigerian society that is corrupt. However, it is not an excuse, the essence of professional ethics is for orderliness and it’s for decency and for progress.

Those that refused to comply with them create problems for themselves, their clients or for the court, even to the legal profession.

They give the good ones a bad name. I have observed that some of the people who create problems for the legal profession today are those who never went through training under seasoned senior lawyers. Because, there is no way you will work under a seasoned senior lawyer and you will be doing something else from what you learnt under him. I don’t have any regret for choosing law; it is the best profession you can think of.

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Law & Justice

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘It’s imperative to insert Riot clause in the Will’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 Notwithstanding this, all is still not well with the deceased’s children.

The Will of the late founder of the defunct Stationery Stores Football Club of Lagos, Israel Adebajo, who died on July 25, 1969, was also a subject of controversy. The rumpus raged between one of his widows, Irene on one hand, two other widows, Olabisi and Adunni Adebajo (later Justice Adebajo) and some of the deceased’s children on the other hand. The matter lingered in court for several years until it was judicially determined by the Supreme Court on April 18, 1973.

Irene Adebajo had appealed against the judgement of the then Chief Justice of Lagos; Justice J.I.C Taylor, delivered in the Lagos High Court on November 12, 1971. Specifically, in the judgement, the court, dismissed Irene’s action and pronounced in favour of the will of Israel Adebajo (deceased) dated 21st January, 1969 and made and executed on 25th June, 1969 by the said deceased.

But the widow had appealed, among others, and sought a declaration that Adebajo died intestate.”

The apex court, in its lead verdict read by Justice Taslim Elias, said ‘’we agree with the learned Chief Justice (Taylor) that “no argument has been put forward nor any evidence led to show that the terms of the Will are incoherent, or strange or unnatural or that the Will was not duly executed”. As we have said earlier, there is no need in the circumstances of this particular case for the defence to have pleaded a counter-claim in order to be entitled to an order pronouncing in favour of the Will. ‘’Therefore, we see no reason to vary the order which the learned Chief Justice did make, namely, an order pronouncing in favour of the Will dated 21st January, 1969 and made and executed on 25th June, 1969. The appeal is accordingly dismissed with costs to the respondents assessed at N270.’’

In a similar vein, the children of the late famous Ikorodu-born transporter, Chief Julius Oshinowo of the Oshinowo Transport Company fame were also embroiled in a legal tussle at a Lagos High Court over the validity of the Will left behind by their father. At the centre of the controversy some years ago was the former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Inumidun Akande, who is a daughter to the deceased and also one of the beneficiaries of the Will.

About two years ago, the Will made by a former Military Governor of Lagos State, late Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru (rtd) also caused disaffection between the deceased’s widow, Foluke and family members.

Mudashiru died on September 23, 2003 in a United Kingdom hospital after a brief illness and his remains were later buried in London by the widow and her children.

The widow and the children eventually challenged the validity of the Will. They lost at the High Court and also at the Court of Appeal.

The appeal was instituted by the deceased’s widow, Foluke and three children, Tolulope, Openifolu and Oladapo, acting as the late governor’s next –of –kin and beneficiaries of his estate.

Three core issues came up for determination.

They include: whether the Will titled : Trustees/ Executors was the last Will of the late Mudashiru and not a forgery as claimed by the appellants; whether the trustees appointed by him were also executors of the Will, and whether the lower court acted rightly when it made declarations and orders in the absence of a counter-claim.

The appellate court, in its judgement, affirmed the right of execution granted by the state’s High Court to those appointed as Trustees over the

Ojukwu

Ibru

FAWEHINMI PLEADED WITH ALL HIS CHILDREN AND WIVES NOT TO RESORT TO ANY FORM OF LITIGATION OVER HIS

WILL

Will of the late Mudashiru. The Appeal Court, in a unanimous decision read by Justice John Nyang Okoro, upheld the December 15, 2009, judgement by Justice Aishat Opesanwo, in which she dismissed the suit by the deceased’s widow and some of her children and declared the Will as valid and the trustees as executors.

On the appellants’ argument that the deceased’s signature was forged, the appellate court held that from the preface of the Will, it could be seen that the late Mudashiru made the Will.

On the alteration of the Will, the court said there was nothing unusual in making corrections where necessary, as long as they were initialled.

Barely one year after the death of the Guardian newspaper publisher, late Mr. Alex Ibru, members of the family, including children of the deceased’s first marriage had dragged his widow , Maiden, to a Lagos High Court.

The claimants, Chief Felix Ibru, Miss Grace Ibru and Mrs. Mabel Okolie, nee Ibru, also joined in the suit the registrar, trustees of Omamo Trust and the Probate Registrar, Lagos High Court.

They contested the Will left by Alex Ibru, claiming there are two other ones made and filed at a Lagos High court, in May, 1989 and July, 1992 respectively.

The claimants said they discovered that another Will which was read on October 31, 2012, as a third Will.

They, therefore, prayed the court to declare that the last Will and testament, dated 8th September, 2011 made by Alex Ibru was void and of no effect and to declare that the one dated 6th July, 1992 is the last valid Will of Alex Ibru.

The plaintiffs also prayed the court to order Mrs. Ibru to render an account of the estate of her late husband and for the court to award N10 million as the cost of the action.

The matter is still pending in court. While this is yet to be decided, the Will purportedly made by the late Ikemba Nnewi and ex-Biafran Leader, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu is already generating controversy. Ojukwu died on November 20, 2011 in London after a brief illness. But Bianca, Ojukwu’s widow, is reportedly favoured by the last Will and

testament purportedly read on November 30 at the Enugu State High Court. Since the purported Will was read, controversies had started brewing as regard its authenticity among family members, especially between the children and Bianca.

Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the first son of the late ex-Biafran warlord, said his late father’s Will, reeked with suspicion. Emeka Ojukwu Jr, said to have gotten Ojukwu’s native house at Nnewi, also described the Will as fake.

A former speech writer to the late Ikemba, Uche Ezechukwu, is quoted to have hinted that a fierce legal battle was about to be generated by the controversial Will.

Perhaps, one deceased personality whose Will has not raised any commotion after it was read is the late lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

Fawehinmi died in September 2009 while his Will was read in May 2010. In the Will, he shared his vast assets among his three wives, 15 children, four sisters and other dependents. The late lawyer also appointed First Trustees Nigeria, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Plc as his executor and trustee.

Among other directives, Fawehinmi instructed the trustees to open Gani Fawehinmi Trust Account, into which all monies accruing to his estate should be paid. The late activist also pleaded with all his children and wives not to resort to any form of litigation over his Will urging them to resolve any dispute or controversy amicably.

The former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rose Ukeje, in a paper titled: Putting Your House and Business in Order,” delivered in Lagos, observed that Wills are intended to avoid commotion after death.

She said experience had shown that to the contrary family members usually get into serious controversy that could, at the end, waste the assets in issue.

Justice Ukeje, therefore, recommended that it might be imperative to insert in the Will what she described as the ‘’Riot Act’’.

According to her, This is to the effect that ‘’any one who challenges the Will in its entirety, or refuses his or her own devise or challenges the gift to another person loses his own devise.’’

She also added it should be included in the Riot Act that anyone who suggests in any way that the donor was mad or coarsed while making the Will loses his gift.”

Be that as it may, Justice Ukeje’s suggestion is worth considering by all and sundry.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, December 10, 2012

Indian court seeks explanation for Facebook arrests Foreign

I

ndia’s top court has ordered a state government to explain the arrest of two women for a comment one of them posted on Facebook, in a case that has sparked nationwide outrage over the misuse of India’s Internet laws.

According to AP, the women were arrested in Thane, a suburb of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, and imme-

India diately freed on bail for criticising the shutdown of India’s financial capital after the death last week of a powerful rightwing politician. While one woman posted the comment, her friend who “liked” the comment was also arrested.

The Supreme Court gave Maharashtra four weeks to explain the circumstances under which the women were arrested. The court was hearing a petition

filed by Ms Shreya Singhal, a student in New Delhi, challenging the Internet law and the possibility of its misuse. Ms Singhal said the wording of the law was vague, allowing it to be abused by people in authority.

The widespread protests in the media and the public outcry that followed the arrests led the Maharashtra government to suspend the two policemen and transfer the magistrate who had approved the arrest and granted bail.

Indian women arrested for facebook posts. Renu Srinivas and Shaheen Dhada

Ghana President, John Mahama

Ghanaian court rules on NDP presidential case

T

he Human Rights High Court in Accra has dismissed an application for judicial review filed by the National Democratic Party (NDP) accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) and its Chairman, Dr. Kwadow Afari Gyan of human rights abuse, when the commission rejected its presidential nomination forms for the general elections on the basis of not complying with regulations.

Ghana According to All Africa, the court, presided over by Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, ruled that the EC in no way infringed on the applicant’s human rights for rejecting the nomination forms but that it was due to the NDP’s own tardiness that ended their Presidential ambitions.

According to the

court, the applicant failed to put forward a strong case to obtain a favourable verdict and that its nomination forms could not pass validation following non compliance of the regulations of the EC. The court further struck out the name of the chairman of the EC, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan from the suit for improper joinder.

Expatiating on its ruling, the court noted that the applicant was required by law to submit its nomination forms on or before specified deadline given by the EC, beyond which it would not be accepted.

The court further rejected the assertion by the applicant that the EC gave only a day for the submission of nomination forms, noted that the commission abided by the mandated two days required under the laws.

It further rejected the claim of the applicant that the EC did not grant it time to correct the errors on their forms, explain-

45

ing that the commission does not have the right to grant additional time to correct errors and submit out of the specified time because the new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 75 has taken the discretionary powers from the EC. The court noted, therefore, that the applicant could not correct the errors on its nomination forms before the closing time, thereby bringing its presidential ambition to a premature end, adding that the NDP failed to provide any law that allows for extension of time to correct anomalies on the nomination forms.

The decision of the court followed an application for ‘mandamus’ filed by the NDP, asking the court to order the EC to en-list its presidential nominee on the list of candidates for the up-coming general election, in addition to declaring the rejection of their nomination forms by the commission as an infringement of their human rights among other claims.

Event

L-R: Dean, Faculty of Law, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. M.T Abdulrazaq; Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Margaret Ekpe and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Victor Odunaiya at the Alimosho Lawyers’ Forum’s First Summit held in Lagos recently.

Cross- section of participants at the lecture.

L-R Baale of Adeku village in Alimosho Local Government, High Chief Taiwo Adeolu; Legal Adviser, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Mrs. Margaret Adewale and the guest lecturer, Dr. Abiola Sanni of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.

Other participants at the lecture.

Photos: FRANCIS FAMOROTI

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Law & Justice

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Succession crisis hits Appeal Court as ... Bulkachuwa steps in EMMANUEL ONANI

O

n Friday November 23, the curtain at the Court of Appeal fell and a new director was ushered into the stage, in a well-choreographed drama that seems to paint a vivid picture of the “theatre of the absurd”.

A clue to the new development was given by the National Judicial Council, NJC, which in a terse statement signed by its Deputy Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye disclosed that, President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the recommendation for appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, as new acting President of the Court of Appeal, PCA. The appointment, the statement added, was propelled by the compelling need to fill the vacuum, which the expiration of the fifth term of Justice Dalhatu Adamu on November 23, would have created. After all, even nature abhors a vacuum!

The November “ritual” thus ended the record-setting, record-breaking stewardship of Adamu as first acting PCA (August 22, 2011 to November 23, 2012), and heralded the beginning of a new era; the swearing-in of the first female acting PCA. It is interesting to restate the fact that, the development at the appellate court, which resembles ancient-day “ritual of purgation”, is consequent upon the suspension of Justice Ayo Isa Salami as PCA on August 18, 2011, by the Justice Aloysius Katsina-Aluled NJC, on grounds of “gross misconduct” and refusal to tender “unreserved apology” to the former CJN. The Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice,

Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, insists that until all pending cases are disposed of, the Federal Government, which draws it strength from the rule of law and due process, cannot take steps to reinstate Salami.

At a Ministerial Press Conference held in Abuja in May, Adoke noted that... “there has been a lot of misconception...On the 11th of May, the NJC was said to have recalled Justice Salami; it was just this Friday that the Federal Government received the letter from the NJC notifying it that Justice Salami was being recalled.

“And on that day the Federal Government also received various mitigations by way of originating processes challenging the powers of the NJC and seeking an order to restrain the President from giving his vet to the resolution of the NJC. “So, as it is today, the matter is subjudice and no responsible government will try to overreach the court.

This government is prepared to do the right thing and will do the right thing as soon as the judiciary puts its acts together the matter re solved expeditiously”, Adoke added.

In any case, the new acting PCA’s term is expected to end on February 24, 2013, and whether the nation will be treated to another round of renewals, time will tell.

Section 238 (4) and (5) provide that, “If the office of the President of the Court of Appeal is vacant, Or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint

Justice Isa Salami, suspended President, Court of Appeal

the most senior Justice of the Court of Appeal to perform those functions.

“Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provision of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect, after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.”

Before her appointment, Justice Bulkachuwa was the Presiding Justice (PJ) of the Yola Division, Court of Appeal. She was inaugurated in a brief ceremony, in one of the Chambers of the CJN. The event witnessed some drama, as journalists, especially, were barred from entering the venue, where Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo, also took oath as Justice of the Court of Appeal.

A very senior official of the court,

Investment tribunal sanctions securities’ firm, manager TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

T

he Investment and Securities Tribunal sitting in Abuja has sanctioned a stock broking company, Davandy Finance and Securities Limited and its Abuja branch manager, Mr. Abodunde Abiodun, for culpability in a multi-million naira fraud and breach of the code of conduct for capital market operators.

According to a statement by Kenneth Ezea, Deputy Director/Head, Public and International Affairs of the Tribunal made available to National Mirror last week , the penalties imposed on the company include repayments of N98.8 million, shares buy-back, N2.5 million damages, debar of company and manager from market operation and further prosecution by police and EFCC for fraud, amongst others.

The judgement which was signed by the Tribunal Chairman, Dr. Nnenna A. Orji, is intended to entrench new mandatory improvements of the principles, processes as well as regulatory fundamentals of the capital market.

In addition, the company and its of-

Investment Law ficer were jointly and vicariously found guilty of fraudulent sale of 500,000 Wema Bank Plc shares belonging to an investor without authorisation and also for fraudulent conversion of another N117million invested with them.

Delivering judgment in an appeal filed by Mrs. Olabisi Titiola and eight others against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Davandy Finance and Securities Limited and 11 others, the Tribunal found that the company violated the provisions of Rule 182 (a)(1) of the SEC Rules and Regulations and article 1(v) of the code of conduct for Capital Market Operators by disposing of the 500,000 units of Olayinka Temitayo’s Wema Bank Plc shares without authority.

The Tribunal ordered Davandy Finance and Securities Limited to buy back within 30 days from the date of the judgement 500,000 units of Wema Bank plc shares for OlayinkaTemitayo and the accrued benefits thereon from August 3, 2009 till date. It said failure to comply with the decision should at-

tract a penalty of =N=5,000 (Five thousand naira only) per day until it is fully paid pursuant to Rule 7 of the SEC Rules and Regulations.

The facts of the case showed that the Appellants namely; Olabisi Titiola, Oluwademilade Michael, Temiloluwa Samson, Anike Adeola, Asiwaju Tumwase Evangelical Foundation, Samsibah Enterprises, Oluwatayo Favour AkinAdaramola, Mosopefolowa Hepsbah Akin-Adaramola, Akin-Adaramola Oluwatimilehin Samson had petitioned the SEC through their solicitors, Femi Alemede & co, alleging to have invested the sum of =N=117,500,000.00 (One Hundred and seventeen million, five hundred thousand naira) with Davandy Finance and Securities Limited through Mr. Abodunde Abiodun, the Abuja branch manager.

The Appellants further claimed that OlayinkaTemitayo being the maiden name of Olabisi Titiola had in August 2009 received an SMS alert on her mobile phone to the effect that the respondents had sold 500,000 units of her Wema Bank Plc. shares without her authoriisation.

OlayinkaTemitayo reported the unauthorised sale to the Central Securities

who did not identify himself, insisted that journalists would not enter the venue and when asked why, he said “Because we did not invite the press; it’s only NTA that is allowed in”.

Some of Bulkachuwa’s judgements were delivered in the Yola and Jos Divisions of the Appeal Court, where she presided. These include her verdict dismissing the appeal of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and its governorship candidate in Adamawa state, Marcus Gundiri, against the return of Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd) as Governor, as well as the July 15, 2008 verdict that returned the Senate President, David Mark to the sixth Senate.

In her lead judgement in the Appeal court, Jos Division, Bulkachuwa held among others that, “Where an election has been concluded and returned as in the instant appeal, Section 69(b) of the act applies and such returns cannot be cancelled or invalidated by anybody.

“In the instant case, all the processes of an election had been concluded as all entries into the various forms of the election results have been made and endorsed by party agents at the various levels. The returning officer at the top of the electoral pyramid lacked the power to cancel the elections. Section 69 of the Electoral Act does not confer such powers on him. The lower tribunal was, therefore, wrong to have held that he had such powers.

“For all that I have been saying, this appeal has merit and thereby is allowed. The decision of the lower tribunal, which was given on the 28th of February, is hereby set aside. The return of the appellant (Mark) as Senator representing Benue South is hereby affirmed.”

Clearing System (CSCS) and the SEC. The SEC thereafter held its administrative proceedings in October, 2010, and upon an evaluation of the evidence presented by the parties, including the fact that while in the employment of the company Abiodun operated an illegal Equity Investment Scheme whereby funds were received from the investing public with promise of paying back capital and interests on investments without the authorisation of the company and knowledge of its directors, amongst others, decided that only the Abuja Branch Manager alone should bear the responsibility for restituting the victims.

However, in its judgment, the Tribunal frowned at the SEC’s decision to shield the company and its directors from direct or vicarious responsibility, stressing that there was no evidence before it to show that Abiodun had another company with a different name from Davandy Finance or that he operated his equity fund from a separate office while working for Davandy Securities.

Accordingly, the tribunal found the second respondent (Davandy) jointly and severally liable with the eight respondent (Abiodun) for the balance of N98, 823, 207 .00 outstanding and all accrued interests.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

School debate experience came to my rescue –Aladesanmi

M

y first appearance in court was in 1986 during my National Youth Service Corps programme. I was serving with Chief Afe Babalola SAN. I just got to the office one morning and I was told to go to Iwo immediately to handle a matter at the Magistrate’s Court.

It was a case involving alleged malicious destruction of property.

The client was in office, and he was to go with me to Iwo for the case. This was to be case I would appear alone. The natural anxiety was there. As a matter of fact, as we were was going in the vehicle, my mind was beating very fast all the way from Ibadan to Iwo! When we got to the court, I took one look at my client and said in my heart “I pity you!”

I was well-dressed and looked corporate; the client never knew I was just a rookie lawyer.

But before the case was called, I steeled myself up. I remembered my exploits in the school debate ways back in my secondary school days in the King’s College, Lagos, where I was the Chief Debater.

Then I told myself, if I

I

Rotimi Aladesanmi

could stand up before the crowd and argue articulately in school debates, I could as well stand up and argue my case before a magistrate in court. That was that,

I dispelled the fear and when it was my turn I mustered courage and addressed the court.

“I told the judge that the charge sheet was incompetent” Fortunately, the magistrate turned to the police prosecutor and asked what he had to say on my objection.

I was amazed that the prosecutor had nothing to say in defence of the charge. The magistrate consequently struck out the charge!

Unreasonable bill

A

client who felt his legal bill was too high asked his lawyer to itemize costs. The statement included this

item: “Was walking down the street and saw you on the other side. Walked to the corner to cross at the light, crossed the street and walked quickly to catch up with you. Got close and saw it wasn’t you. -$50.00.”

Some last-minute requests

man woke up in a hospital bed and called for his doctor. He asked, “Give it to me straight. How long have I got?” The physician replied that he doubted that the man would survive the night.

The man then said, “Call for my lawyer.”

When the lawyer arrived, the man asked for his physician to stand on one side of the bed, while the lawyer stood on the other. The man then laid back and closed his eyes. When he remained silent for several minutes, the physician asked what he had in mind. The man replied “Jesus died with a thief on either side. I just thought I’d check out the same way.

What is the oldest profession?

A

physician, an engineer, and an attorney were discussing who among them belonged to the oldest of the three professions represented. The physician said, “Remember, on the sixth day God took a rib from Adam and fashioned Eve, making him the first surgeon. Therefore, medicine is the oldest profession.”

The engineer replied, “But, before that, God created the heavens and earth from chaos and confusion, and thus he was the first engineer. Therefore, engineering is an older profession than medicine.”

Then, the lawyer spoke up.

“Yes,” he said, “But who do you think created all of the chaos and confusion?”

Culled from Bar Jokes.Com

47

The President’s economic team and the rest of us CHIJIOKE NDUBUISI

Bar Jokes

A

Law & Justice

Monday, December 10, 2012

n most advanced democracies, the political, economic conventions and practice had always been that managers of affairs of men take full responsibility of any major economic or political policies propelled by them but suffered causality in hand of the downtrodden masses as not meeting the minimum expectation of people to alleviate their problems. In France, former President Sarkosazy threw in the towel having been defeated in a general election mainly as result harsh economic policies introduction by him. And in his first speech after the defeat, he says ‘I accept the full responsibility for this defeat”.

He therefore urges his country men and women to cooperate with new president to move the country forward.

So many other instances of this are abound in other advance countries. This particular noble practice of economic and political behavior appears to be eluding us a nation when one juxtaposes the recent happening with respect to the planned introduction of N5,000 currency by Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Lamido Sanusi and the behaviors of gladiators in the whole matter especially the leadership of C.B.N plus members of president’s economic team who hurriedly approved the introduction of the currency and failed, refused or neglected to see anything bad in its introduction vis- a -vis the poor masses.

This obviously brings us to the question as to the manner of persons in the president’s economic team, its composition, structure, the pedigree of members, their postulations, propaganda, projections and any modicum of intellectualism imbued in them.

The importance of good economic policies that would transform the lives of masses cannot be overemphasise, so that any government that worth its salt and wants to obey the constitutional provision of welfare of people being the cardinal objective of government must be careful on bringing in on board of persons who would pilot the economic affairs of the nation. That apart from Dr. Ngozi Okonji -Iweala, world acclaimed technocrat, others in the president’s economic team and advisers are least qualify to be there and that the idea of appointing traders, business men who are in top echelon of wealth and have totally lost touch with the masses may not be good for the economic wellbeing of this country.

It is submitted that the President’s economic team is patently and incurably defective, unimpressive, radiating no confidence and deserves to be disbanded. This is to give way to a brand new team composed of intellectuals with known fraternity with the poor masses in the interest of economic transform of this administration.

The fact that none of members of president’s economic team who gave the advise that government should go on with planned introduction of N5,000 currency note and which policy was later defeated and subsequently cancelled has not deemed it fit to apologize to the nation or even resigned

THE PRESIDENT’S ECONOMIC TEAM IS PATENTLY AND

INCURABLY DEFECTIVE, UNIMPRESSIVE, RADIATING NO CONFIDENCE AND DESERVES TO BE DISBANDED their appointments accentuates our stand that some of the members of the teams are indeed dishonourable and do not deserve such appointment in midst of so many competent Nigeria to be given such position.

That had government heeded to their advice, one could have imagined the calamitous affect it would have on lives of the poor masses and economic overall. So many people could have been sent to untimely death as a result of not making ends meet. Time has come when men and women who are saddled with responsibility must bear the consequences of their actions and inactions while in office. Public office must be seen as a sacrosanct call and any step, conduct, action tending to discreet or spoil the office in whatever way must not be encourage at all in overall interest of the state.

What stops the members of economic team from even acknowledging defeat and tender an unreserved apology to the nation, or better still resign their appointments.

It is known that Nigerians have short memory when it comes to the affairs of the nation and ordinarily would have forgotten and even forgiven after a few months or years of their ill-fated advice. After all there are so many economic atrocities committed against Nigerian people by previous administration, yet , Nigerians today praise, celebrate those leaders today apparently they have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing.

We sincerely urge our leaders either in political or economic front to learn from noble practices of other countries that have passed our present developmental stage and do apply it to the nation building for interest of advancement of the country.

To be in government at all cost must not be encouraged at all. Leaders must always apply the admonition of late American President John F. Kennedy that we must always look for what we can do for our country not what the country can do for us. This is apt in circumstance because, leaders must always uphold nobility practices which exalt the nation.

In conclusion, we advice economic and political leaders to take full responsibility of their actions or inactions and as Ghandi 1869-1948 warned us about the things that destroy us as a nation “Politics Without Principles” knowledge without character”.

Ndubuisi is a Lagos-based Legal Practitioner and President of COGTLA Group of Lawyers.

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 10, 2012

Community Mirror “With the socio-econmic damage done to the north by incessant insecurity, it would require more than 20 years to clean up and revive the region.”

FORMER MILITARY HEAD OF STATE; GENERAL ABUBAKAR ABDULSALAMI (RTRD)

Kwara advocates establishment of hydro power commission WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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he Kwara State Government has said, it is ready to champion the establishment of Hydro Power Producing Area Development Commission (HYPPADEC) by the Federal Government, to take off before conclusion of the on-going unbundling of the power sector, in order to mitigate the sufferings in the affected communities.

Secretary to the Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold said the state would champion this cause by ensuring that governors in the zone impress on the Federal Government on the need to facilitate immediate take off of HYPPADEC. According to him, the State Executive Council, expressed concern on delay in the take off of the Commission in spite of the enactment and signing of the Act into law.

Gold said, “The take off of the commission will enable government tackle the perennial challenges and miseries facing the downstream communities”.

Speaking on the recent Visitation Panels to the three Colleges of Education in Ilorin, Oro and

Lafiagi, Gold said the council directed the schools to discontinue all degree and outreach courses and rather focus only on training of teachers for basic education.

The SSG said the council also approved the setting up of committees to look into the debt of N152million in the College of

Education, Ilorin and another committee to check the appropriateness of re-introducing the IJMB Programme in the Oro and Lafiagi campuses without losing focus of their primary mandates.

He said government has renamed the road to Government

Secondary School as “Sola Saraki Way.” Similarly, he said the council mandated Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to write President Goodluck Jonathan to support Senate resolution to rename the Ilorin International Airport after the late political icon.

Two barrow pushers trying to prevent cow meat from falling to the ground at Mile 12 market, Ikorodu, Lagos.

PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

World Bank to empower youths in Cross River OKAY OSUJI

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he World Bank is to appraise the readiness of Cross River State in the implementation of Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) in 2013.

Speaking at a meeting organized by Department of International Development Cooperation (DIDC) in Calabar, Consultant, Social Protection, World Bank, Dr. Suleiman Yusuf said the institution is desirous of empowering youths with the requisite skills and ideas that would make them economically independent.

He said that Cross River has been selected alongside Osun and Niger by the bank for such empowerment and called on the

state government, to provide the enabling environment for the youths to thrive in ideas and businesses.

Also speaking, Senior Health Specialist of the Bank, Dr. Oluwole Odutolu praised the government’s strides in the tourism and called on the youths to channel their energies towards the industry as is being done in other countries.

He said this form of streamlining would further endorse Cross River as tourism destination of the country, and indeed Africa.

Participants were drawn from the Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Ministries of Youths and Sports Development, Social Welfare and Community Development and Wom-

en Affairs.

Others were Road Maintenance Agency, Supreme Coalition, Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA), and Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realization (POWER) and Boys Brigade.

In their separate remarks, participants agreed to harmonize their various youth empowerment schemes even as they urged the World Bank and DIDC to ensure there are no leakages in the intervention process.

Coordinator of Boys Brigade and Accountant, Ministry of Information, Elder Antigha Ita, recalled the efforts of his organization in empowering the youths and stated that, through close monitoring and supervision, the efforts have

produced tremendous results.

In his opening remarks, the Head of YESSO Coordinating Unit in the Department of International Development Cooperation (DIDC), Mr Festus Ofutet said the state was fully prepared for the YESSO operations, judging from the programmes rolled out by the government in the areas of social works, skills acquisition, Conditional cash Transfer (CCT) and Social Safety Net. On its part, Ofutet said, MEDA in collaboration with National Directorate of Employment (NDE), is expected to host the skill for job programme, while the Ministry of Social Welfare and Community Development will host the CCT and other social safety Nets Programmes under the coordination of the Department of International Development Cooperation.

Lagos embarks on corrective surgery for mouth deformities MURITALA AYINLA

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he Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris has said that about 2,000 people suffering from congenital mouth deformities called cleft lip and palate have benefitted from the government free corrective surgical intervention, known as Free Cleft Lip and Palate Corrective Surgery Programme.

Idris who disclosed this when he visited the beneficiaries at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH,) recalled that the programme was initiated in 2006 due to the increasing number of patients suffering from these deformities.

He said: “Realizing the gravity of the problems associated with cleft lip and palate; consequences of which include bizarre facial appearance, inability to feed well from birth leading to malnutrition, ear and chest infections, poor physical and mental development amongst others, the Lagos State Government came up the programme, tagged “Operation Smile” to curb the menace and bring smiles to the faces of patients”.

NGO trains rural dwellers in soap, lotion making skills JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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total of 100 rural dwellers, including women and the elderly, have undergone training in the production of household items, soaps, air fresheners and body lotion, in Batagarawa Council Area of Katsina State.

The training was organized by a Non Governmental Organisation, the Walin Hausa Foundation, as way of empowering beneficiaries to become self reliant.

According to executive chairman of the foundation, Jamilu Umar Abdullahi, the beneficiaries, were chosen from Baganzamawa, where the NGO is situated.

Abdullahi, said the 100 trained community members would each be given incentives to enable them start up businesses.

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

‘Venezuelan President Chavez needs cancer surgery again’

“ZANU-PF will fight like a wounded animal to reclaim the government we lost in 2008 elections” - ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT, ROBERT MUGABE

50

PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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n Ghana’s tight presidential election race, official results have not yet been announced, but local media have tipped President John Dramani Mahama as the winner while the party of opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo accuses vote rigging.

Scores of supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party protested alleged voting fraud by taking to Accra’s streets, carrying twigs and singing. Riot police and military personnel came out to maintain order.

The opposition party said there was a conspiracy to “falsify the election results.”

“Considering the closeness of the polls, this error is very significant and goes to the heart of the credibility of the results. Indeed, we have enough concrete evidence to show that the 2012 presidential election was won by our candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo,” said Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, chairman of the party.

The party called on the national electoral body to carry out an audit, and asked to withhold final results until an investigation is completed.

Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Chairman of Ghana’s electoral commission, said he had not heard of the opposition party’s accusations, when reached by The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Ghana’s 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary elections led by former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has described the electoral process as generally peaceful and transparent and appealed to political parties and candidates to accept the eventual verdict that would emerge from the poll.

“The ECOWAS Mission is of the view that apart from the logistical challenges that caused undue delays in completing the electoral process, the Electoral Commission provided the necessary environment and facilities to eligible Ghanaians to exercise their franchise in a secure and transparent manner and ECOWAS expects this spirit to continue

Ghana’s poll: Opposition alleges rigging • Election peaceful, transparent –ECOWAS Observers

Angry demonstrators protesting alleged vote counting irregularities, in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday.

Photo: AP till the concluding phase of the electoral process,” the Mission said in its 46-point Preliminary Declaration issued in Accra on Saturday 8th December 2012.

In the statement read by the Deputy Head of the 250-strong observer Mission, Dr. Christiana Thorpe, Chairperson of Sierra Leone’s Electoral Commission, the declaration congratulated the electorate of Ghana for their courage, patience, determination and commitment in the face of challenges and appealed to them to maintain the same spirit till the end of the process,” The Mission also congratulated the country’s security agencies for “their commendable role in ensuring election security It urged the Electoral Commission “to expedite action on the proclamation of the

provisional results, to prevent further anxiety within the polity.” It also “enjoins all aggrieved parties to resort to only legal means in seeking redress.”

The Declaration said the ECOWAS Observer Mission “will continue to closely monitor the concluding phases of the electoral process, in particular the voting process in the extended ballots, as well as the tallying and declaration of provisional results by the Electoral Commission (EC) and should the need arise, will not hesitate to make further declarations.”

Electoral chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan said no incidents of fraud or violence have been confirmed. Yet rumours of misconduct have been rife.

Egypt’s president backs down from decree

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gyptian President Mohamed Morsi has annulled a decree that granted him expansive power and the army was mobilized to maintain security, officials said.

In a televised statement on al-Arabiya, Vice President Mahmoud Mekki said the army had been mobilized to maintain security. The Egyptian cabinet approved measures permitting the army to use force if “necessary to perform their duty,” al-Ahram newspaper reported.

Islamist politician Mohammed Selim elAwa told a news conference Saturday the referendum on a draft constitution on December 15 would go ahead as planned and be immune from judicial appeal, al-Masry al-Youm said.

“If the people voted no to the referendum, a new Constituent Assembly will be formed within three months via general elections, after which it will write a new constitution

Morsi

within six months,” he said However, one of the key demands of Morsi’s opponents was to halt the referendum.

Ahmed Said, head of the Free Egyptians

Party and a key member of the National Salvation Front coalition, called Morsi’s announcement shocking, saying it failed to halt the referendum, the BBC said. Former presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the founders of the National Salvation Front, called Morsi’s decision “ armtwisting.” The party was expected to issue a response yesterday.

Tanks, concrete blocks and barbed wire surrounded Morsi’s palace in Cairo, which has been the flashpoint of violence in the country in the past week, the BBC said.

At least seven people were killed and hundreds injured in violent protests between anti-Morsi protesters and supporters that plagued the country after Morsi announced a decree giving him sweeping powers shielding him from judicial review, Ahram Online said.

WORLD BULLETIN

Mandela looks well in hospital –Zuma South African President Jacob Zuma has visited Nelson Mandela in hospital and says he “looks well after a restful night”, Zuma’s spokesperson said.

The president has been reassured that Mandela is in the hands of a competent medical team at the hospital in Pretoria, Mac Maharaj told the BBC. The 94-year-old was admitted to hospital on Saturday to undergo tests.

South Africans have been waiting for word on Mandela’s condition amid messages of hope for a speedy recovery.

Mandela was taken from his home in the rural village of Qunu, in Eastern Cape province, to hospital in the capital on Saturday.

Local media report that the decision to move him was taken so quickly, some family members and his own foundation were initially unaware it had happened.

Al-Shabab militants lose Somali town Somali troops and African Union forces have captured the town of Jowhar from the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, reports say.

The troops encountered no resistance as the militants had fled, said a military spokesman and residents in the town.

Jowhar was the biggest town under the control of al-Shabab Islamists.

The al-Qaeda linked group has been driven out of most urban areas over the past two years, but still controls many rural areas of the country.

Jowhar, 90km (55 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, commands access to Somalia’s biggest road linking the southern and central regions of the country. It is also at the heart of a rich agricultural area.

“We took control this morning and are now establishing security in Jowhar,” a spokesman for the AU mission in Somalia, Amisom, told AFP news agency.

Papal envoy to Ivory Coast dies in car accident Ivory Coast’s president says that the papal envoy to Ivory Coast was killed in a traffic accident.

Ouattara expressed “deep regret,” in a statement read out on state television on Saturday evening over the death of Indian archbishop, Ambrose Madtha.

Madtha, who assumed his post in 2008, had officiated a service in the north-western town of Odienne on Saturday and was travelling to the western town of Man when his vehicle collided with another vehicle.

50

World News

Hamas’ Gaza jubilation proves Israel at risk –Netanyahu

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amas’s vow to vanquish Israel after claiming “victory” in last month’s Gaza conflict vindicates Israel’s reluctance to relinquish more land to the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the Islamist Hamas movement, made a defiant speech before thousands of supporters in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, promising to take “inch-by-inch” all of modern-day Israel, which he said he would never recognize.

“Over the last day, we have again been exposed to the true face of our enemies. They have no intention of compromising with us.

They want to destroy our country,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting.

The Israeli leader has faced fierce foreign criticism this week for announcing a wave of Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem following a de-facto recognition by the U.N. General Assembly of a Palestinian state.

Monday, December 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Venezuelan President Chavez needs cancer surgery again’

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enezuelan President Hugo Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery after announcing that the illness returned despite two previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Chavez acknowledged the seriousness of his health situation in a televised address Saturday night, saying for the first time that if he suffers complications Vice President Nicolas Maduro should be elected as Venezuela’s leader to continue his socialist movement.

The president is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10.

“There are risks. Who can deny it?” Chavez said, seated at the presidential palace beside Maduro and other aides. “In any circumstance, we should guarantee the advance of the Bolivarian Revolution.”

Chavez, who won re-elec-

tion on Oct. 7, said he would undergo the operation in Havana in the coming days.

He asked for lawmakers to grant permission for him to fly to Havana on Sunday, but it was unlikely that his request would be denied. It was unclear what time he would leave.

Under the Venezuelan constitution, as vice president Maduro would automatically fill in as president on a temporary basis should Chavez be unable to finish the current term concluding in early January.

But the constitution also says that if a president-elect dies before taking office, a new election should be held within 30 days. In the meantime, the president of the National Assembly is to

Chavez kissing a crucifix during a televised speech from his office at Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday.

Photo: AP

be in charge of the government.

Several outside medical experts said that based on Chavez’s account of his con-

dition and his treatment so far, they doubt the cancer can be cured.

Chavez said he hasn’t given up.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, December 10, 2012

Gunmen kill policeman, injure three others in Maiduguri T

51

My vision for FUTMINNA –VC PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

S

uspected gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect yesterday shot dead a policeman (name withheld) and injured three others in Hausari Ward of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The incident occurred at about 11:am barely 24 hours after some suspected gunmen killed a teacher, Mr. Reuben Malgwi, and three other residents in Polo and Sulemanti wards of Maiduguri metropolis.

The slain police officer

was patrolling when the gunmen, on a tricycle, ambushed and shot him in the head before fleeing into the nearby Maiduguri Monday Market (MMM).

Many residents of Hausari ward fled the area shortly after the incident.

Traders and other shops owners also abandoned their wares and fled.

One of the residents, who identified himself as Dauda Isa, said: “We don’t know who these gunmen are targeting in their selective killings in Maiduguri. There is no day that a policeman, soldier, residents and traders were not killed by these gun-

men. No one is being spared because even a blind man was last Friday shot dead and one of his sons injured in their home on Baga Road.”

Hausari ward, located North of MMM, is one of the flash point residential areas identified by the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police.

According to JTF sources yesterday, the Boko Haram terrorists, after killing one or two residents, fled into the communities and hide among the people.

The sources said soldiers could not fish them out because of the calamities that may befall innocent residents in an exchange of

gunfire with the armed terrorists.

Confirming the incident, the mortuary attendant at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) said: “The police brought in a body of one policeman in a Toyota Hilux van this afternoon for certification and record.

Speaking on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Borno State Command, Gideon Jibrin, said he received a report of attacks and killing in the Hausari area of Maiduguri where a policeman was shot dead by suspected gunmen by 11am yesterday.

he Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA) Prof. Musibau Adewunmi Akanji, has explained his vision for the development of the school.

Prof. Akanji said he had commenced steps that would assist in moving the institution from its present 21st position among Nigerian universities to the best university in the nation.

He said: ‘’I want to improve on our national ranking and secure African recognition for the university. My happiness is that with the caliber of the people I met on ground in the university, I believe within the next one year, our ranking will be improved.’’

Akanji, who is the 6th vice-chancellor of the institution, spoke to

journalists in Minna, the Niger State capital, promising to, within the first one year of his five years tenure, propel the institution to international ranking as well as a hub of scholarly distinction.

He also promised to run an open administration where everybody would be carried along before major decisions are taken.

The vice-chancellor said: “I promise to be a listening leader and not a boss.”

FUTMINNA was recently adjudged by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as one of the two institutions with A+ ranking among all Nigerian universities.

Prof. Akanji, who hails from Essa Ward, Offa, Kwara State, was born on January 4, 1953 and succeeded Prof. Mohammed Salihu Audu, whose tenure ended on November 26, 2012.

Shettima expresses satisfaction over Shehu’s palace INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

G Acting Commander, Infantary Corps, Maj,-Gen. Kenneth Osuji, (left) presenting plaque to Central Africa Republic officer, Lt. Col. Dany Yatangba, at the a graduation ceremony of commanding officers course in Jaji, Kaduna State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Why Islam is misunderstood –Tambuwal AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

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ouse of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has identified lack of understanding of Islamic tenets by a vocal minority Muslim as a major challenge confronting Islam.

He said at the weekend that religious leaders and traditional rulers must double their efforts to address the challenge for clarity of Islamic tenets.

Tambuwal said: “The misgivings are promoted by the activities of some Muslim youths.”

Speaking during a prayer organised by the

Tijjaniyya brotherhood at the Emir’s Palace in Kano, Tambuwal said despite security and other negative challenges confronting the nation, there is still hope of a bright future for the country.

The Speaker said Islam, like other religions, encourages peaceful co-existence among the people.

While commending the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, for organising the annual prayer session, Tambuwal urged religious leaders to intensify prayers for the nation and its leaders.

He assured that as representatives of the people, lawmakers would always put the interest of Nigerians at heart.

overnor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has expressed satisfaction with the construction of the palace being built in Kaduna for the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai El-Kanemi.

The construction of palace, located at Doka Crescent in Kaduna metropolis, started in March this year on the order of Governor Shettima following the absence of a functional palace for the Shehu unlike other traditional rulers in northern Nigeria who have befitting palaces for meetings in Kaduna in line with practices since the days of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

250 polio patients undergo corrective surgery in Abuja, Keffi MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

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ive days into their mission in Nigeria, 26 Indian doctors who arrived at the country to offer free corrective surgeries for 400 polio patients said they had treated about 250 people.

The exercise holds at two centres namely University of Abuja Teaching Hospital

in Gwagwalada and Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Speaking with National Mirror at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, leader of the team, Dr Girisi Gune, said the 10-day exercise, which was made possible in partnership with Rotary International, had been successful.

According to him, some

Nigerian doctors, who participated in the task, would continue with the exercise for other affected Nigerians after the Indian surgeons had left.

In an interview with journalists at the hospital, Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who participated in the operations, said: “By the end of today, we would have a total of 230 patients that are

being operated on.

“If you think of the procedure, it will be well over 300 because some of the patients require more than one procedure. Even the one I was involved in needed at least two procedures. The number of procedure will outweigh the number of patients. We are expecting that by the end of today, 230 would have benefitted and over 400 procedures

would have been done.

“As at Friday night, they had done more than 300 procedures. There are various types of operations.

Surgical operation involves using physical means such as cutting into the skin, repairing tissues and all those things that doctors do in their special room called the Theatre. For each patient, it could be one operation.

Shettima, who was in Kaduna to attend the wedding of Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s daughters, left Sultan Bello Mosque immediately after the wedding to inspect the project.

Governor Shettima was happy with the construction of the Shehu’s palace, which is about to be completed.

The Governor noted that Kaduna has remained central to all northern states ever since its days as headquarters of the Northern Nigerian Government which is why emirs have palaces in the city to host important meetings with their colleagues and other guests as part of their contributions to the promotion of peace, mobilisation of citizens towards important campaigns on immunisation, back to farm and schools programmes as well as promoting unity in the North and the nation.

Shettima said his administration felt duty bound to demolish the ruined palace and build a befitting structure with guest rooms, living rooms and offices because of the Shehu’s status.

He believes that with the new palace, the Shehu could host important events and dignitaries to advance courses that will promote and preserve peace.

Cocktail

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Monday, December 10, 2012

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (59) “John David Rockefeller made his fortune during the Great Depression. So did the Kennedy family. Today, we have financial icons like Warren Buffet who are buying up everything in sight.

Warren’s motto is simple, “when everyone is greedy, sell, when everyone is scared, buy.”

–T.Harv Eker +++ Life Is As You See It I have always believed that there is no reality but perception.

Life is as you see it and take it. Life is to you what you think it is to you.

A similar life event will make some people and break another set of people. A lot of positive things can happen for us if we make up our mind to see crisis as opportunity and see disappointments as appointments in disguise.

Life is full of choices. We can go for a positive life in the midst of negativity and despair and prevail or we can be content with the status quo and live a mediocre life.

Many times light is of no use until there is darkness. Yes, these are tough days, but you are tougher. Yes, things are so hazy now, but you are the light of the world and no darkness can bury you!

TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

Iran angry as Swedish ambassador crosses legs

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he newly appointed Swedish ambassador to Iran apparently upset the Iranian president by crossing his legs, an Iranian website reported.

The offending act came during a meeting after a ceremony in which Swedish ambassador Peter Tejler presented Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with his credentials, The Local.se reported.

Iranian website Asriran.com posted photos A from the meeting in which Tejler is sitting crosslegged, but in the photos,

Ahmadinejad is also seen crossing his legs.

Armenian website Panorama translated Asriran.com’s report, which explains that sitting crosslegged “contradicts i n t e r n a t i o n a l diplomatic norms.” “ M a h m o u d Ahmadinejad, for his part, himself crossed

his legs in response to the impoliteness of his interlocutor,” the Asriran.com report said.

The Atlantic Wire, from University of West Florida, said showing the soles of one’s feet is considered offensive in Muslim culture.

“Pointing the soles of the feet towards someone

is impolite because the soles of the feet [shoe] are considered dirty, closest to the ground, closer to the devil and farther away from God. When in the presence of Muslims, be careful not to raise or cross your legs in such a way that the sole of the foot faces others in the room,” The Atlantic Wire said.

Woman fined for renting shed to homeless

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Canadian woman has been fined $500 for renting out her garden shed out to a homeless couple and their three dogs for $200 a month, officials said.

The woman was warned by the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, two weeks ago that the shed was not suitable for habitation, CBC News reported Friday.

City spokesman, Stephen Fleming, described the small building as “a standard type of metal garden shed that you’d get at your local hardware store. It certainly doesn’t look like a place for people to be living in.”

The woman ran an electric power cord from her house to the shed.

“We didn’t want

anything to happen to the occupants because of where they were living, because it was substandard,” Fleming said.

The homeowner, whose name was not reported, was told she could rent a room in her home to the couple, or they could go to a homeless shelter that has room for their dogs, Fleming said.

L-R: Sweden’s Ambassador Peter Tejler and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting, recently.

PHOTO: PRESSTV

Monday, December 10, 2012

Daystar honours Paralympians 54

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

53

Sport

As far as I am concerned, the favourites of Afcon 2013 finals are jittery at the mention of Super Eagles –Former Nigeria international, Patrick Ekeji

AYC 2013: Flying Eagles, Eaglets know foes AFOLABI GAMBARI

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he draws for African Youth Championship in the Under-20 and Under-17 categories were made yesterday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Flying Eagles will face opposition in a tricky Group B of the AYC billed for Algeria comprising Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. Host Algeria is in Group A alongside Benin Republic, Ghana and Egypt.

Golden Eaglets, who pulverized opponents in the qualifying rounds, are in a tough group of the championship scheduled for Morocco and will contend with Cote d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville and Ghana in Group while host

Morocco will contest with Gabon, Tunisia, Botswana in Group A. Meanwhile, Eaglets’ Coach, Manu Garba, has said that he will not bother on the strength of his opponents but will prepare his wards ahead of the battles ahead.

“I am confident that we will be ready when the competition starts and I think we have prepared for it, even though the preparation is still ongoing,” Garba told National Mirror yesterday.

Flying Eagles’ Coach, John Obuh, had previously called on the NFF to assist in getting his wards battle-ready for the AYC, although he has penchant for over-relying on foreign-based players.

“I hope the NFF will approve my programme early enough,” Obuh had said.

FIFA Cup: Aboutrika propels Al-Ahly

S Kano Pillar’s Reuben Gabriel (right) is among the NPL players facing threats to their Super Eagles’ spots

Home-based Eagles face AFCON shut out

AFOLABI GAMBARI

T

he uncertainty surrounding the kick off of the Nigeria Premier League may be the undoing of the homebased players aspiring to be included in the finals 23-man list of Super Eagles to the African Nations Cup finals in South Africa next month.

Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Keshi, is expected back in Nigeria this week from the USA where he has been holidaying to welcome the home-based players to the national team’s camp that will open on December 17 when the side will commence final preparation for the Afcon finals.

The trio of Sunshine Stars’ defender, Godfrey Oboabona; Kano Pillars’ midfielder, Reuben Gabri-

el and Warri Wolves goalkeeper, Chigozie Agbim, have enjoyed regular call-ups to the Eagles and have all hoped to be in the South African train. But they have remained largely inactive due to the stalling of the NPL new season after a seemingly unending crisis has threatened to put Nigeria’s football in the backwater of Africa.

National Mirror learnt last week that the home-based players may have forfeited the chances for spot as the tempo competition for places increases by the day, although Keshi is understood to be ready to stick by his principle of blending his team with the home and foreign players.

But Keshi’s preference for Serie B midfielder, Obiorah Nwankwo, may have put Gabriel’s position under threat, as well as the coach’s

reported pursuit of in-form Millwall defender, Danny Shittu, may shut Oboabona out of the team.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ademola Olajire, has said that Technical Committee is yet to decide against the inclusion of home-based players in the Eagles’ final squad to South Africa, saying only coach Stephen Keshi can take such decision.

“As far the NFF is concerned, the coach has not passed a vote of no confidence on the home lads,” Olajire contended.

The Eagles’ training camp will move to Faro, Portugal on December 27 with predominantly homebased players who will be joined by the foreign legion on January 5.

It remains to be seen how many of the home based players would make the trip to Portugal.

ubstitute midfielder, Mohamed Aboutrika, yesterday proved the hero once again Al-Ahly in the Egyptian club’s FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal in Toyota against Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

The goal was Aboutrika’s fourth goal at a FIFA Club World Cup, levelling him for all-time topscorer honours with Lionel Messi and Brazilian Denilson.

Aboutrika replaced the injured Hossam Ghaly midway through the first-half and the 34-year-old legend and veteran of four world club finals scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the champion of Africa who now moves on to meet Corinthians, shrugging off his defender and slamming home low and inside the far post from the corner of the area..

A roller-coaster first half began with Sanfrecce’s first-choice goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa stretchered off with a facial in-

jury, suffered in a collision with bulky Al-Ahly striker Gedo after only four minutes. Eleven minutes later, substitute net-minder Takuya Masuda – who didn’t play a single J.League game this term – was helpless to do anything about the CAF champions’ opening goal.

Former Croatian youth international Mihael Mikic rose in the area to head a loose ball down, and Hisato Sato, the Japanese top flight’s leading scorer this year, collected and fired home from a tight angle to level the score. The goal came while Al-Ahly were down to ten men, coach Hossam El Badry hesitating to replace influential former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Ghaly.

In the first game of the day, Monterrey proved too hot to handle for Asian champion Ulsan Hyundai, the former’s 3-1 win setting up a glamour clash with English Premier League champion Chelsea on December 13 in Yokohama.

Mohamed Aboutrika (22) and team mates celebrating Al Ahly victory in Tokyo yesterday

54

Sport

Monday, December 10, 2012

RVP sinks City at home

T/tennis: Director debunks allegations YEMI OLUS

T

R

ed-hot striker Robin van Persie’s injury-time winner yesterday sent Manchester United six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a stormy derby win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Wayne Rooney’s two first-half goals put the leaders in control against the reigning champion but Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta put City level as the game entered its closing moments.

Van Persie then demonstrated his worth with his 14th goal of the season as his free-kick deflected off Samir Nasri and beyond a stretching Joe Hart, ending City’s unbeaten home Premier League run stretching back to a 2-1 defeat by Everton in December 2010.

Mancini had taken a giant leap of faith in selecting Balotelli ahead of Tevez and it was a decision that was not rewarded.

The Italian striker skied a good chance in some early phases of home domination but City were undone by that brilliant counter-attacking opener from Rooney who soon put the second goal away to compound the host’s woe.

But City came back to business as Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta leveled score, only for van Persie to snatch the winner.

echnical Director of the Lagos State table tennis team, Mr. John Peters, has described allegations of biased officiating for Lagos at the National Sports Festival as unfounded.

Team Lagos topped the medals table at the table tennis event with five gold medals out of the seven that were for grabs at the competition.

The host state won the men and women doubles, men singles, men team event and the mixed doubles. Delta State

S

which finished in second place took the remaining two gold medals in the women’s team event and women’s singles.

But a number of coaches from opposing states had expressed misgivings at the officiating, arguing that the Lagos players were favoured to win their matches.

“It is very unfortunate when people say things they are not sure of,” Peters said yesterday.

“The truth is that many of these officials are sentimental and are quite ignorant of the rules which must be followed irrespective of whose ox is gored,” he added.

Daystar honours Paralympians YEMI OLUS

N

Robin van Persie

Golf: Mark hails Glo’s initiative

enate President, David Mark has said that the Glo Golf Tour possesses the capacity to change the face of the sport in Africa, even as the leading pros from Ghana maintained their solid hold on the first two positions on the

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

leaders board at the tour’s final at the Golf and Country Club, St. Mark, Akpegede, Oturkpo, Benue State.

Mark competed with over 70 golfers in the 36-hole amateur event.

Abuja leg winner of the com-

Senator David Mark teeing off in Oturkpo, Benue State at the weekend

petition, Emos Korblah, playing on home turf, whipped up a tour best score of 69 to beat countryman Vincent Torgah, who scored 71 on Saturday, to second place. Korblah now has a combined score of 212 while Torgah has 214.

Sagamu winner , Andrew Odoh moved up the table to the third position after playing 71 to bring his combined score to 218, making him the leading Nigerian contender for the crown.

Senator Mark, who spoke after the event, said the tour would help to discover younger talents across Africa.

“We need to catch the players early so that they can subsequently grow up to compete favourably with world class players,” he said while commending Globacom for complementing government’s effort at developing sports in the country.

“I look forward to this competition being upgraded from a West African event to an All Africa Golf Tournament next year,” Mark said.

igeria’s medal winning Paralympic athletes were honoured over the weekend during a thanksgiving service held at Daystar Christian Centre, Oregun Lagos.

The athletes were honoured for their performance at the Paralympic Games 2012 which was held in September in London where the team won six gold, five silver and two bronze medals.

In attendance were all the medalists including Grace Anozie, Loveline Obiji, Yakubu Adesokan, Folashade Oluwafemiayo, Anthony Ulonnam, Joy Onaolapo, Victoria Nneji, Eucharia Iyaizi, Esther Onyema, Lucy Ejike and others.

Senior Pastor of the church, Sam Adeyemi, commended the special athletes and their officials who he said overcame various challenges to make the country proud.

“There are choices you have made in life that could have been

Honouree, Loveline Obiji

poorer and there are different things you could have done to survive to the point of wasting your talents but you chose the path of discipline and chose to rise over the obstacles that life has thrown at you,” Adeyemi said.

“The paralympics you competed against people who were born into countries that are different from ours, places where they have infrastructure, countries where special attention is paid to people like yourselves.

This is a bold message for us, that we should not use our circumstances as excuses to give up in life,” he added as he later feted the athletes and rewarded them with cash awards.

Gold medalist Onaolapo, who spoke on behalf of other athletes, expressed gratitude at the church’s gesture.

“This is the first time a church is inviting all of us as a whole for a thanksgiving service since we returned from London,” Onaolapo said, adding, “We feel honoured to be part of this initiative.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, December 10, 2012

55

Lagos out, Cross River in as sports festival ends YEMI OLUS

T Cross River State Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Patrick Ogbe; Minister of Sports Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi; Director General, National Sports Commission, Dr. Patrick Ekeji; Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola and his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope Adefulire during the handing over of the 2014 festival hosting flag to Cross River State

he 18th National Sports Festival got to a thrilling end yesterday as the curtains came down on the event which started November 27 in various centres across Lagos State and preparations commenced for the 19th edition to be hosted by Cross River in 2014.

Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, who stood in for President Goodluck Jonathan at the closing ceremony, rated the Eko 2012 games high while commending the Local Organising Committee for what he called a wonderful job that would stand the test of time.

“Commendation must specially go the athletes for their resilience and the spirit of sportsmanship they demonstrated

throughout the festival,” Abdullahi said.

“I have been involved with the Nationals Sports Festival right from the 16th edition and I think Lagos has raised the stakes with the near perfection of the organization of the games, as the opening and closing ceremonies remain the talk of the town,” the minister added.

Team Delta finished top of the medals table and was handed the Yakubu Gowon trophy with N20m cash award while Rivers which came second got N15 as host Lagos which came third got N10m.

Popular artistes Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage and Whizkid thrilled the crowd that called for more as the atmosphere was electrified with fireworks that rent the skies in and around the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

18TH NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL FINAL MEDALS TABLE SN

Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission, Mr. Amaju Pinnick (l) Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and captain of Team Delta Ruth Izenegu displaying their trophy as the festival’s overall winners

Members of the Lagos State cultural troupe entertaining guests

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (l) presenting a trophy to captain of Team Lagos, Muhammed Babatunde PHOTOS: ADEMOLA AKINLABI

MEDALS WON

STATE Gold

Silver

Bronze

TOTAL

1

Delta

116

97

75

288

2

Rivers

76

71

71

218

3

Lagos

64

47

71

182

4

Edo

25

23

44

92

5

Bayelsa

19

17

22

58

6

Ondo

18

12

28

58

7

Ogun

15

22

31

68

8

Cross River

12

14

23

49

9

Oyo

12

13

17

42

10

Akwa Ibom

7

18

19

44

11

Imo

7

14

18

39

12

FCT

7

12

10

29

13

Kano

7

4

12

23

14

Plateau

6

9

18

33

15

Ekiti

5

1

9

15

16

Niger

4

2

5

11

17

Benue

3

5

21

29

18

Bauchi

3

3

7

13

19

Nasarawa

3

3

1

7

20

Ebonyi

3

2

3

8

21

Jigawa

3

0

6

9

22

Kaduna

2

2

7

11

23

Osun

2

1

4

7

24

Abia

1

6

13

20

25

Enugu

1

5

8

14

26

Borno

1

3

5

9

27

Kwara

1

2

9

12

28

Kogi

1

2

3

6

29

Kebbi

1

0

1

2

30

Anambra

0

3

2

5

31

Taraba

0

2

1

3

32

Zamfara

0

2

0

2

33

Yobe

0

1

4

5

34

Adamawa

0

1

3

4

35

Gombe

0

1

2

3

36

Sokoto

0

0

4

4

37

Katsina

0

0

3

3

TOTAL

425

420

580

1425

WORLD RECORD

Largest LED 3D TV Vol. 02 No. 509

N150

Monday, December 10, 2012

The largest LED 3D TV is built by EKTA and provided by Videoforce for Viasat Sweden’s 3D event in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 28 May 2011. It measures 7.11 m (23 ft 3.92 in) diagonally and the display area is 6.192 m (20 ft 3.78 in) x 3.483 m (11 ft 5.13 in).

Ajaokuta Steel: Abandoned national treasure T he careless abandonment of the Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCO) by the federal government puts the issue of the nation’s drive for economic development in sharper perspective. Records show that a whooping $7 billion had been spent on the project before it was abandoned and that only about $1 billion was all that was needed to get the company firing to roll out the steel. The abandonment does not make economic sense.

All over the world, steel development is considered a strategic component of a nation’s economic development master plan.

The General Olusegun Obasanjo-led military government developed the template for the Nigeria’s integrated steel development in 1979. That initial enthusiasm cooled off with time, and now we have found our self in the dilemma of closing our eyes to the numerous benefits from having a sound and robust steel sector.

In October 2002, the secretary general of African Iron and Steel Association (AISA), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, an expert in iron and steel matters, had in a paper

Michael

Guest Columnist

Jegede

observed that there was the need to have a sound industrial base for industrialization to occur. He added: “This will provide the solid foundation on which the industrial super-structure will be built. This industrial base is nothing other than a well-developed iron and steel industry that will be producing such critical industrial raw materials as cast iron (different categories); rods and bars (both high tensile and mild steel varieties); wires (in all its ramifications); structural steels (light, medium and heavy structural); flat sheet steels (plain and galvanized, and also the entire spectrum classified as flats); stainless and other special alloy steels; rails and pipes; plates (various sizes in width and thickness)”.

For Sanusi, it is only governments that could provide the initial funds in view of the high capital costs and the long gestation period of steel projects. This, he noted, was the trend worldwide where all pioneer steel industries and accompanying infrastructures of any nation, are public-owned.

Explaining further, the expert had said: “It is after several such facilities are available and have proven themselves in a country, the industry is privatized to allow the government to move on to other strategic areas of development. This is how today’s industrialized nations became what they are.

“Taking cognizance of the above, many third world countries followed suit and have been able to shift their economies away from third world poverty and starva-

IN NIGERIA, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO DEPEND SOLELY ON OIL, REFUSING

TO DIVERSIFY OUR ECONOMY tion, and seriously threatening the developed countries of the world in economic wellbeing for their people”.

He mentioned India, South Korea, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Turkey, Venezuela, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Mexico, as examples of such countries, saying that the steel projects in all these countries started as serious national projects with their governments as sole financiers.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), first Prime Minster of India, who worked with Mahatma Gandhi to win independence for that sub continent, called the giant steel structures in Bhilai, Durgapur and Ruerkela in the late 1950s, the “temples of modern India”. Nehru must have made that pronouncement to demonstrate how much value and importance he attached to steel development.

Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Venezuela, Indonesia and Mexico are oil producing countries with excellent oil reserves.

Yet, they deemed it fit to also develop viable steel industries. In Nigeria, we have continued to depend solely on oil, refus-

ing to diversify our economy. Even though we have other numerous non-oil natural resources at our disposal, we choose to remain a monolithic economy. This obsession, as it were, has made our economy to be susceptible to external manipulations, a development that negatively affects our economic planning.

When Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, an accomplished professional with a wide range of experience in engineering, agriculture and management consultancy, visited ASCO and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe last year to assess the facilities on ground, he argued that with proper development, the steel sector could conveniently rival the oil sector. In fact, the senator representing Kogi Central (where ASCO and NIOMCO are located) in the Senate, said he would not go to sleep until the project fully became a reality.

He had pointed out that “Nigeria, for the past nine years, has spent over N2.1 trillion to import steel into the country.

This shows that the country would have saved a lot of money if the Ajaokuta Steel Company was working. So, Ajaokuta Steel project is a must-do deal.”

Nigeria owes the initial impetus for development of a robust iron and steel industry to General Obasanjo, who upon the discovery of good grade iron ore deposit in Itakpe in 1973, set in motion the process that led to the signing in 1975 of a contract with Messrs Tiajpromexport (TPE) of old USSR to build an integrated steel plant of 1.3 million tonnes of long products to be immediately expanded to 2.6 million tonnes in flat products while the third phase would have raised the annual production to 5.2 million tonnes. The first phase was to be completed in 1981 and the third phase in 1986.

To be continued Jegede, a media wrote in from Abuja

practitioner,

Sport Extra

I

ndia has dropped three of its most experienced players from the country’s squad ahead of the fourth and final Test against England in Nagpur.

All-rounder Yuvraj Singh, veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh and left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan were axed yesterday following the seven-wicket defeat in Kolkata that

Cricket: India axes Singh, two others

earned England a 2-1 lead in the series.

However, batting all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and paceman Parvinder Awana have been called up as the host attempts to avoid a first home series defeat to England since 1985.

India has been comprehensively outplayed since cruising to a nine-wicket win in the opener at Ahmedabad last month, as fiery criticism has been directed at coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who insisted the players should be held

accountable for their poor performances rather than the former England coach.

“The coach has excellent technical knowledge about batting, and guides the players in the right direction,” Dhoni defended NFF President, Aminu Maigari Fletcher yesterday.

Yuvraj Singh

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