Monday, june 22, 2015 (new)

NPA to open talks with FERMA over Apapa traffic gridlock FRANCIS EZEM

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igerian Ports Authority, NPA, said it would com-

Bayero

Vol. 5 N0. 1139

BUSINESS SECTION

Army, Navy take charge of NNPC pipelines in Lagos P.8

tropolis.

NPA said it was aware of the crippling effects the traffic gridlock the access roads have on the na-

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Free inside

Monday, June 22, 2015

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mence talks with the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, with a view to fixing the failed portions of roads linking Lagos ports with the me-

THE

N150

Senators may opt for voting to elect officers ...as Saraki group kicks against Lawan again NASS, ministerial list top agenda as APC's NWC meets

OBIORA IFOH AND GEORGE OJI

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ll Progressives Congress, APC, senators may re-

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Updated June 12, 2015

L-R: Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Sen. Chris Ngige and Chairman, APC-USA, Mr. Anthony Isama, during Father's Day celebrations at Aso Villa Chapel, State House, Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

At last, Buhari moves to Presidential Villa

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Contaminated gin: Rivers confirms 70 deaths

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Second Lekki toll gate won't attract fee –Ambode P.9

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News

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Senators may opt for election to elect officers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

sort to voting to elect principal officers of the Senate following failure by the party's leadership of the party to intervene and resolve the matter.

A meeting of the party's leadership last Thursday aimed at resolving the crisis could not produce any meaningful outcome following the insistence of the two major blocks among the senators not to yield grounds on their positions.

It was gathered that ‘Senators of Like Mind,’ which is behind the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President, turned down the proposal by the party to allow Senators Ahmed Lawan and George Akume become the Senate Majority Leader and the Chief Whip respectively.

In rejecting the proposal, the group said it would be wrong to allow Saraki’s main rivals in the contest for the office of the Senate President to occupy the two plum positions.

The argument of the group is that it would be wrong to allow people who do not share the same philosophy and ideas to work together as principal officers with Saraki.

On the contrary, the group is proposing Senator Ali Ndume (North East) as Senate Majority Leader and Sani Ahmed Yerima (North West) as the Chief Whip.

The group maintained that it could only concede the position of the Deputy Majority Leader and Deputy Whip to the rival group.

But ‘Senate Unity Forum,’ the group that supported Lawan and Akume as President and Deputy President of the Senate strongly opposed the position of the rival senators.

While insisting that the duo of Lawan and Akume should be given the opportunity to become the Senate Majority Leader and Chief Whip respectively, the Unity Forum maintained that allowing the rival group to have its way would mean that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is still the ones calling the shots at the red chamber.

The group perceives the current presiding officers

of the Senate as off-shot of the PDP, particularly with the emergence of Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President on June 9.

When it became difficult for the two groups to arrive at a compromise on how to fill the remaining principal officers of the Senate, the APC leaders were left with no other option than to recommend that the offices be determined through voting by the APC senators themselves.

Despite the outcome of Thursday meeting, there has been pressure on APC chieftains to find a way of settling the matter without resorting to voting.

As a result, the National Working Committee, NWC, meeting of the party will meet today to

continue with the effort to resolve the National Assembly crisis.

The meeting will also deliberate on the delay in announcing ministers and other top political offices

by President Muhammadu Buhari, one month after assuming office.

The meeting, which started last week also has in its agenda the issue of how the party should be financed; what procedure should be adopted to fill other principal offices in the National Assembly.

A source, who did not want his name mentioned, told National Mirror that if the crisis caused by the National Assembly election is not properly managed, it would cause more problems for the party.

The source also explained that the ministe-

rial list could not be ready when he National Assembly has not been properly constituted.

According to him, Nigerians should be concerned by positions that would not need the approval of the National Assembly.

Positions such as the Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Chief of Staff and other special advisers to the President should be the concern of Nigerians, the source stated.

Speaking on the likelihood of the NWC continuing its meeting and the possibility of the ministerial list being made available, he said: “What I can tell you is that the NWC is meeting tomorrow (today), but anything about ministerial list I don't have any idea.

“Would the ministerial list come out when the NASS is not settled? These things are not logical. It is only when the NASS leadership is complete that the President can compile the ministerial list and sends it for venting.

“So how come you people are talking about ministerial list when the NASS leadership is not yet complete. I don't think it is a sensible thing to begin to talk about. The best thing to talk about now is the SGF and other appointments that would not go to the NASS. Ministerial list - l don’t think it is time to talk about that.”

On what the NWC has been discussing at its three consecutive sittings, he said: “We are discussing reconciliation. You know we have a commit-

tee that is going around, meeting with stakeholder; the two contending groups and the leadership of the party and some other people. So, they have been going round to get people reconciled.

“They have produced their reports and we are discussing it. In a nutshell, the party is trying to find a solution to the crisis and it is not something you can do once. They will be going round, come up with their reports and then the NWC discusses them. Also there are other things in the agenda.”

Asked if the NWC was trying to reconcile Ahmed Tinubu and Buhari or Tinubu and Saraki, he said: “Tinubu has no problem with Buhari. Has Tinubu got problem with Buhari.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu (middle) with members of House of Representatives, during the visit of Speaker and member of House of Representatives to the Emir's palace, at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

Buhari relocates to Presidential Villa ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

A

bout three weeks after his inauguration, President Muhammadu Buhari finally moved into the Presidential Villa yesterday.

Buhari had been operating from the Defence House in the Maitama area of Abuja since he was declared winner of the March 28 presidential election.

He continued to per-

form his official duty at the Defence House after he was sworn in as President on May 29.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed yesterday that Buhari has moved to the Presidential Villa.

But, when contacted on telephone last night, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the President came into the

Presidential Villa yesterday to break his fast.

However, Adesina was not certain if the President would spend the night in the Villa.

“The President came into the Presidential Villa to break his fast but I am not sure if he would sleep there.

“All I can say is that the process of moving into the Villa has started,” he added.

Shehu had earlier in a statement issued on June

9, said there was no truth in the rumour that Buhari refused to move into the Presidential Villa because of purported advice from Senegalese spiritualists.

According to Shehu, renovation works in the Villa was largely responsible for the delay in Buhari’s movement.

In the statement, Shehu said such suggestion was an utter embarrassment, stressing that “President Buhari is a practicing Muslim who believes his

fate belongs to God.” According to the statement, no true believer combines faith in God and reliance on the power of ordinary mortals, who can neither protect themselves, nor protect others from the hands of fate.

Shehu said the so-called “spiritual cleansing of the Aso Rock Villa by Senegalese marabouts before President Buhari moves in” was the figment of the imagination of rumour mongers.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, June 22, 2015

3

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Photo News

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya; CEO, Idems Ultimate Ltd, Mr. Uyime Idems; his wife, Helen, and board member, Airtel Nigeria, Paul Usoro, during presentation of the key of a Mercedes Benz to Uyime Idems, winner of CEO Award of Excellence at Airtel Channels Partners Award 2015 in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Managing Director\CEO, Bank of Industry, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Waheed Olagunju and Chairman, Ammasco Industry, Kano, Alhaji Mustapha Ado Muhammed, during a courtesy visit of the bank’s management to Ammasco in Kano, at the weekend.

L-R: Company Secretary, Company and Allied Products, CAP, Plc, Mrs. Rose Hamis; Chairman, Mr. Larry Ettah and Managing Director, Mrs. Omolara Elemide, during the annual general meeting of the company in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Chairman, NATH FC, Mr. Yemi Idowu; General Manager, Strategy, SuperSport West Africa, Mr. Felix Awogu and Production Manager, SuperSport Nigeria, Mr. Niyi Oyeleke, during the EPL trophy tour visit to SuperSport Nigeria, at the weekend.

National News

Sultan worked for my victory –Dogara Tordue Salem ABUJA

S

peaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara Yakubu, yesterday revealed how Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, worked for his victory.

The Speaker made this known at a Thanksgiving Service held in his honour at the Church of Christ in all Nations, COCIN, Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State.

He was accompanied to the service by more than 20 members of the House of Representatives across political party lines and Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro.

Other dignitaries at the Thanksgiving were former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Paulen Tallen, and ex-members of the Green Chamber.

Dogara, who attributed his victory to the mercies of God, also acknowledged the goodwill of the Sultanate, his constitu-

ents, the entire state and other parts of the country.

He said: “This victory; which we are celebrating here today, won’t have been possible without God, the Sultanate and others across the country.

“For us, who are Christian minorities in the North, we should acknowledge that this victory we are celebrating here today was made possible by the intervention of the Sultan and others. We should know that there is new thinking in the North.

“We owe it a duty to make sure we unite our own part of the country and other parts of the country. My emergence as Speaker is as a result of the support of all major tribes of Nigeria, and all faiths in Nigeria.”

The Speaker called on politicians and all stakeholders in the Nigerian project to seek divine assistance in running the country.

He reiterated that there could be no solutions to the myriad of problems

dogging the country without God’s help.

“Virtually all problems come with elements that are new. The tools we have developed have become ineffective and without divine wisdom, we cannot deliver as leaders. As citizens of democracy, we must all go to work,” he advised.

He however regretted that proper leaders were lacking to take up the litany of challenges in the country.

“The biggest problem we have in this country is a lack of credible leadership. If we have credible leadership in this country, I believe Nigeria can go places,” he opined.

Besides, the Speaker who saw a mysterious play of history in his emergence, stressed that it will be the second time someone from his own part of Bauchi State will be emerging a national leader after the first Prime Minister, Sir. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Prof. Bogoro in his

speech which he later switched to Siyawa, the Speaker’s native language, advised Dogara to be open-minded and continue to keep strong faith in God. According to him, the emergence of Dogara was God’s reward to him

for his abiding faith and trust.

In his sermon, the officiating priest and Deputy Secretary General of COCIN in the country, Rev. Dauda Gimba who read from the book of proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalm 23, advised the Speaker to

keep faith in the works of God and assured him of more blessings from the Almighty.

A cluster of several pastors later showered prayers and blessings on the kneeling Speaker and his wife, mother and other members of his family.

ICAO, WHO to inspect health facilities at Lagos airport

I

nternational Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, will tomorrow inspect health facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

This is contained in a statement by General Manager (Public Affairs), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, yesterday.

The statement quoted Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, as saying that the visit was to evaluate the level

of emergency medical preparedness at the airport.

Usman said the visit, which would end tomorrow, was to guide the two international organisations in offering training and other assistance to nations and airports in Africa.

The statement recalled that the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa had generated great concern worldwide and the attention on the aviation sector had become necessary to check diseases linked to air travel.

It said the international agencies would inspect

the Air Traffic Control, ATC, Aerial Control Centre, ACC, the Air Traffic Control Tower, Designated Aircraft Parking positions and the Airport and Emergency Operations Centre.

The statement also said that other areas to be visited were the Passenger Screening Locations and facilities, Suspect Case and Contacts Interview and Assessment locations and facilities, among others.

It quoted the NCAA Director-General as urging all stakeholders to ensure maximum cooperation with the visiting team.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, June 22, 2015

5

FG sets target date for National Identification Number ISAIAH ERHIAWARIEN

T

he Federal Government has set commencement date for the use of the National Identification Number, NIN, across the country.

According to the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, with effect from 1st September, 2015, all transactions involving identification of individuals in the country will have to be by the NIN. The transaction that the NIN covers, according to section 27 (1) and (2) of the NIMC Act of 2007 include: application for, and issuance of an International Passport; opening of individual and/or group bank accounts, all consumer credits; purchase of insurance policies; purchase, transfer and registration of land by individual; National Health Insurance Scheme, transactions that have social security implications, registration of voters, payment of taxes, and pensions.

The General Manager, Inspectorate, Regulatory and Compliance Services, NIMC, Mrs. Hadiza Dagabana, in a statement disclosed that any government agency/institution, bank, insurance company and other institutions offering services and/or involved in transactions requiring the identity of an individual must first demand for the NIN.

She stated that any individual, institutions/ body who fails to comply with the Act has committed an offence and will face the wrath of the law as stated in section 28 of the NIMC Act. While commenting on the development, General Manager, Corporate Communications, NIMC, Abdulhamid Umar, called on all Nigerians to avail themselves of the opportunity of enrolment into the National Identity Database and be issued a National Identification Number, which is the single version of truth and the foundation identity.

He noted that the use of NIN shall become mandatory as from September 1, 2015, for all transactions offered by applicable government institutions.

“Nigerians should appreciate the full import of the NIMC mandate, and understand that the three decades old problem of identity management in the country has been fixed since 2012 by the provision by NIMC, of a Unique Identification Infrastructure for Nigeria and the subsequent launch of the National e-ID Card scheme in 2014,” he said.

According to him, most people are unable to appreciate the shift in paradigm from ‘Card Issuance’, their familiar turf, to ‘Identity Management’, the current global trend, which explains the reason why they insist on

Senators may opt for election to elect officers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Tinubu and Buhari are on the same side of the divide.

“We are trying to get the NASS leadership completed. Apart from the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representative and their Deputies, the other principal offices would be occupied by the party. They are not elective positions; so all these processes must be completed.

“It is not about the President. Buhari has no problem with anybody and he has not stated that he is aggrieved with anybody.

“The summary of the mat-

ter is that we are trying to get the leadership of NASS complete. We have the Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip. These are for the majority party.

These are the things we are planning to get so that the Assembly can take off.

“At the moment, we only have the Senate President, the Speaker and their Deputies. The offices are not complete as provided for by the party and if we don't go round and hear what the people are saying we might not get it right.”

getting the physical card even after they have been enrolled and issued their NIN. He said NIMC was focused on establishing ‘Foundation Identity’ saying that as the issuing authority for Nigeria, all other institutions, includ-

ing banks and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, must be focused on ‘Functional Identity’ (whether you are eligible for a specific service).

General Manager, Information Technology/ Identity Database, Mr.

Chuks Onyepunuka, commenting on the Act explained that ‘Functional Identities’ was established pursuant to various organisations’ databases such as the Bank Verification Number, BVN, and the Taxpayer Identification Number but are not

substitute for the NIN. He stressed that citizens must ensure that they are enrolled into the National Identity Database (NIDB) by1st September, 2015, the effective date of commencement of the mandatory use of NIN.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa; Secretary-General, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, Prof. Tim Unwin; Executive Commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Okechukwu Itanyi and Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, during the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Forum in Abuja, recently.

NPA to open talks with FERMA over Apapa traffic gridlock CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

tion’s economy.

This was disclosed by Chief Michael Ajayi, the newly-appointed general manager of the Western Ports, comprising the Lagos Ports Complex, Apapa; Tin Can Island Ports Complex and other terminals in Lagos.

Ajayi, during his maiden visit to the ports under his jurisdiction, said the prevalence of perennial road traffic was working against the efficiency of the nation’s ports.

He lamented that the ugly traffic situation along Apapa roads was also impacting negatively on the ability of the ports to generate revenue for the Federal Government, noting that whatever revenue the ports are generating now could only represents about 50 per cent of their actual revenue generation potential.

He disclosed that the authority would commence talks with FERMA in order to repair the bad portions of the port ac-

cess roads, especially the Tin Can Island end of the Apapa–Mile 2 Expressway which is currently in a state of major disrepair and therefore inhibiting free flow of traffic.

The general manager also disclosed that the authority would adopt several measures, including accelerated cargo passage in and out of the ports, as part of efforts to rebuild stakeholders’ confidence in the Nigerian port system and therefore boost cargo volumes in Lagos.

“I will consolidate on security gains already attained from the full compliance with the requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security, ISPS, Code to facilitate higher cargo protection to significantly attract business, which will also impact positively on the nation’s gross domestic product, GDP,” Ajayi said.

Meanwhile, most stakeholders have expressed concern over the perennial gridlock which has

made it difficult to clear cargo out of the nation’s seaports.

This problem has led to maritime cargo meant for the country being diverted to neighbouring ports.

Chairman of Seaport Terminal Operators of Nigeria, STOAN, the umbrella body for all the port concessionaires in the country, Princess Vicky Hastruup, said the gridlock was affecting port operations negatively.

She blamed the problem on the poor state of the roads, which apart from being narrow, are dilapidated and poorly maintained.

Hastruup also blamed the presence of tank farms within the Apapa axis as affecting port operations.

She said in addition to fixing the roads, government should also take urgent steps to relocate the tank farms to reduce the influx of tankers, many of which are parked on the express roads, thus inhibiting free flow of traf-

fic.

Some stakeholders also believe that in the interim, government and its relevant agencies, including the NPA, should adopt a call-up system whereby trucks would be parked in some locations waiting for their turn to either pick or drop containers at the port to reduce overcrowding.

Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, who shares this view, urged the management of NPA to work with the association to evolve a call-up system that would regulate the coming of trucks to Apapa and the port environ.

On a long term, he urged government to assist truck owners in their quest to build a modern terminal outside the port vicinity with a modern hotel and other facilities so that their drivers could lodge and park their vehicles while waiting to pick consignments.

6

News

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Abuja residents allege threat by soldiers, petition Buhari OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

D

ays after tanker drivers blocked KadunaZaria highway in protest over manhandling of its members by soldiers, residents of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have sent a ‘Save-Our-Soul’ message to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to call soldiers in the territory to order.

Specifically, residents living in communities along Abuja-Keffi road said their lives were under constant threat from “marauding military men” who have mistaken the Buhari presidency for a military government.

They urged the president to save them from military men, who allegedly block the ever-busy road during peak hours, flogging motor-

ists at the slightest provocation.

The residents stressed that the military needs to approach its duties with decorum rather than seek to cause more hardship for Nigerians on the road.

They equally noted that going to work from that axis is akin to crossing the Gaza strip (blockage), while returning home poses a great difficulty, a development they say is becoming unacceptable.

The position of the residents is contained in a press statement issued at the weekend by the Association of Residents in Communities along Abuja-Keffi Road, ARCAKR. The statement, which was jointly signed by the group’s chairman and spokesman, Comrades Ikharo Attah and Austine Elemue respectively, and made available to our cor-

respondent, noted that the action of the military was fast going beyond manhunt for Boko Haram to deliberate torture of residents living in the area.

According to the statement, “While we remain forever grateful to the nation’s military for its patriotic fight against insurgency, we wish to appeal to President Buhari to save us from the continuous blockade of the Abuja-Keffi road on a daily basis.

“On the average, we spend two and half hours to

get to work, a journey which ordinarily should not take us more than 20 minutes.

Besides the needless waste of man-hour, our productivity at work has diminished badly. Most residents in over 30 expanding communities constantly receive queries for coming late to work and sleeping during work hours.

This has led to the sack of a good number of workers, especially those in the private sector.”

The statement added that some pregnant women gave birth in the traffic,

while sick patients on referral died on their way owing to the time wasted on the way to hospital.

“Some of our children are now perpetual late comers, while others had to leave for school during odd hours.

The health implication of this ugly trend is something that is most worrisome,” the statement added.

The residents expressed worry that the tortuous military check at Kugbo has continued to remain despite the presence of over seven military bases on feeder

roads in Karu, Mararaba, Nyanya and Orozo.

The statement said: “While we must state that we are largely not military personnel, we believe that seven military bases on the feeder roads are sufficient to secure our communities instead of blocking the road at the base of Kugbo hill.” It further noted that while the military have continuously warned residents to avoid crowded places, the same military had continued to crowd motorists on the ever-busy road.

Contaminated gin: Rivers confirms 70 deaths

R

ivers State government yesterday said 70 out of 80 persons who took contaminated local gin, also known as Ogogoro, earlier this month, died.

Director, Public Health Services, Rivers Ministry of Health, Dr Nnanna Onyekwere, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Port Harcourt that two of the survivors had visual impairment.

He said the cases were reported in Woji and Gokana communities in the state.

“So far, in the past one week, we have not had any more deaths or new cases.

The situation has been put under control.

“In the beginning, it started somewhere in Woji and by the last count we had about 80 persons tracked down who took the drink.

“Of the number, 70 had died, the rest survived while two had visual impairment as a result of the drink,’’ he said.

According to Onyekwere, the state government had liaised with the relevant stakeholders, especially dealers of the local gin, to educate and enlighten the people on current happenings.

“The state has done so

much already. We started with public enlightenment with grassroots mobilisation in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency and Road Transport Workers.

“Luckily, with the Federal Government’s announcement banning the gin, NAFDAC and the police are now working with us. We have achieved success in terms of control,’’ he said.

JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

E

xecutive Chairman of FCT Universal Basic Education, UBEC, Umar Barau, has appealed to all corporate organisations in Nigeria to contribute their quota to management of the education sector in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and beyond.

Barau made the appeal in Abuja at the weekend when Rotary Club, FCT chapter, presented a borehole donated to provide potable water and constructed eight units of modern water system toilets for pupils and staff of LEA Primary School, TungaMaje, in FCT. The UBEC boss stated that the donations were

L-R: Executive Chairman, Lee Engineering and Construction Ltd, Dr. Leemon Ikpea; Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase and Managing Director, Raji Roma Ltd, Mr. Fransco Corona, during a visit to Police Headquaters in Abuja, at the weekend.

UBEC boss seeks support for education in line with fulfilling the dream of the FCT policy through infrastructural development in the school.

He identified lack of facilities, illiteracy and lack of quality education as part of the causes of enormous crime in Nigeria, adding that proper education was the key to growth and development of any country.

According to him, “the management of education in Nigeria requires all to contribute and change its face to meet the current realities. And I am optimistic that with the striving of many corporate organisations toward education, which will

allow for exploration of opportunities beyond our immediate environment, the future is bright.

He added: “We are here today not to glorify and to praise Rotary club of Abuja for its achievement in 2014, but for its current feat and achievements in 2015 having donated a borehole to provide potable water and constructed eight units of modern water system toilets for pupils and staff of LEA Primary School, TungaMaje.

“Based on this, we are calling on other organisations that are progressive and humanitarian-minded to also contribute their quota to

the development of education in FCT. “UBEC has a motto: Education for all is responsibility of all. So, let us join hands to invest in the education of our children for guaranteed future.”

While presenting the project, president of Rotary Club, FCT chapter, Mr. Ezenwa Anummu, said the gesture was the club’s support to ensure conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning.

He explained that the projects were done from resources of members with backing from likeminded peoples in line with the club’s objective of supporting communities.

Responding, Headmistress of LEA Primary School, TungaMaje, Mrs Christiana Ugwanyi, thanked the club while urging other Nigerians to emulate the club toward development of education in Nigeria.

“Let me use this medium to tell you that in 2014, Abuja rotary club renovated two blocks of class rooms and provided 100 pieces of pupil’s furniture. And today, we have water and toilets for staff and student.”

Ugwanyi however stated that the donations were part of the club’s programme of adopting a school with this year’s theme, ‘Basic Education and Literacy.’

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Good Health

FRANKA OSAKWE

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ven though, scientists have been able to develop bionic eye lens, a visual prosthesis intended to restore functional vision to those suffering from partial or total blindness, but none have been able to restore sight to congenitally blind people.

However, Israeli scientists have just achieved this feat by developing a new kind of bionic contact lens that will enable people who are blind from birth to see.

The new technology, developed by a team at Bar-Ilan University, consists of a tiny camera that receives visual information from the environment and transmits signals to a bionic contact lens. The lens passes the signals through electrodes to the cornea and from there to sensory brain areas, generating a stimulus that simulates visual information.

“This technology is good news for humanity, especially in bringing sight to people blind from birth without requiring surgery or damaging other vital senses or organs,” says Prof. Zeev Zalevsky, head of Electrical Engineering and Nanophotonics at Bar-Ilan University, who headed the research team.

In recent years, several companies around the world have developed bionic eye lens, but all of them have been of little help to those who are congenitally blind. Aside from being invasive, existing bionic eye technology requires surgery and depend on the stimulation of brain areas that process sight, which is normally developed in childhood. This makes it unsuitable for those who are blind from birth, since those areas of the brain are not developed in congenitally blind people.

According to the report published in Optical Engineering and Development, the new technology, attempts to deal with the problems of existing bionic eye technologies to enable even people who are blind from birth to see.

For existing bionic eye, the visual resolution enables the wearer distinguish between light, darkness and shadows, but cannot help them to see entire objects or letters, or to be independently mobile.

“In contrast, the new Israeli technology consists of a tiny camera with an image compressor and an electric signal amplifier located outside the patient’s body and can be attached to his eye glasses or to a cellular device. Super resolution techniques are used to encode an

Scientists develop bionic eye for people born blind

Bionic eye

image of numerous pixels and compress it into few pixels,” explains Zalevsky.

“The encoding enables compressing static visual sights, reducing the pixels yet allowing transmission of visual information similar to a healthy person’s vision.

The compressed information is transmitted, after being electrically amplified, from the minute camera by wireless technology to a bionic contact lens in the eye. The proposed lens will have some 10,000 tiny electrodes enabling cornea stimulation. The cornea is the richest eye part in sensory nerves and has tens of thousands of sensory points to which the tiny electrodes on the lens can connect with,” he said.

According to Zalevsky, the new technology is like a Braille lens that enables blind people to see in a way similar to Braille reading.

The report says the system’s feasibility has been tested on 10 seeing subjects with a model simulating the bionic lens, which transmits stimuli to the finger rather than the cornea.

The scientists say they have taught the

DID YOU KNOW?

Vitamin D can fight off HIV infection

H

igh doses of vitamin D may be able to stave off HIV infection, strengthen the body’s immune system, and weaken the virus’ ability to replicate, a new study has found.

The findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, says vitamin D supplement may be a simple, cost-effective intervention particularly in resource-poor areas, to reduce HIV-1 risk and disease progression.

Vitamin D is made by the body under the skin, in reac-

tion to sunlight, or can be ingested in foods such as oily fish and eggs. A deficiency can leave people less able to fight infections like HIV. The researchers looked at two different ethnic groups in Cape Town, South Africa, to see how differences in UVB radiation due to the seasons, dietary vitamin D, genetics, and pigmentation affected vitamin D levels.

They also studied whether high-dose vitamin D supplements reversed a deficiency in the nutrient and strengthened the immune system - making it able to stave off HIV.

Steve Wonder...will he benefit?

testees to decode simple images and then to transmit, with finger signals, images received by an external camera.

“At this state, the visual stimulus among the subjects enables spatial vision in black, white and gray, in low 100-pixel resolution.

But the actual lens will consist of 10,000 electrodes that will enable the wearer receive visual images of much higher resolution and perhaps color in the future,” says Zalevsky.

Meanwhile, a Canadian doctor, Dr. Garth Webb, claims he’s invented an implantable artificial lens that could give someone vision that is better than 20/20.

20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. According to the American Optometrics Association, if one has 20/20 vision, it means the person can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. But if it’s a 20/100 vision, it means he or she must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 100 feet.

However, the association explained that

20/20 does not necessarily mean perfect vision.

“It only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. There are other important vision skills, including peripheral awareness or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception, focusing ability and color vision that contribute to your overall visual ability.

Some people can see well at a distance, but are unable to bring nearer objects into focus.

This condition can be caused by hyperopia (farsightedness) or presbyopia (loss of focusing ability). Others can see items that are close, but cannot see those far away. This condition may be caused by myopia (nearsightedness)”, it said.

But Dr. Webb also the CEO of Ocumetics Technology Corporation says people could see three times better than 20/20 with this new lens. According to him, the procedure would take only eight minutes for an experienced ophthalmologist to perform, after which the patient wouldn’t need glasses ever again. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but this isn’t completely outside the realm of possibility.

C

Flavonoids in citrus can lower ovarian cancer risk

itrus fruits and juices are associated with a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to new research.

The research reveals that women who consume foods containing flavonols and flavanones (both subclasses of dietary flavonoids) significantly decrease their risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer, the fifth-leading cause of cancer death among women.

The research team studied the dietary habits of 171,940 women aged between 25 and 55 for more than three decades.

The team found that those who consumed food and drinks high in flavonols (found in tea, red wine, apples and grapes) and flavanones (found in citrus fruit and juices) were less likely to develop the disease.

Prof Aedin Cassidy, from the Department of Nutrition at UEA’s Norwich Medical

School, led the study. She said: “This is the first large-scale study looking into whether habitual intake of different flavonoids can reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

“We found that women who consume foods high in two sub-groups of flavonoids; flavonols and flavanones had a significantly lower risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer.

“The main sources of these compounds include tea and citrus fruits and juices, which are readily incorporated into the diet, suggesting that simple changes in food intake could have an impact on reducing ovarian cancer risk.

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South West

Monday, June 22, 2015

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PDP blasts Aregbesola over planned LCDAs Boladale Bamigbola OSOGBO

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eoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State yesterday advised Governor Rauf Aregbesola to suspend plans to create additional 36 new Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, in the state.

In a statement issued in Osogbo by Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, the party said “the reality in Osun calls for serious planning because economy of the state now or even in the near future, cannot cope with bogus 36 local government areas when it could not generate fund to develop the present 30 council areas including an Area Office.”

The state’s Assembly at the twilight of its tenure passed a bill establishing 36 additional local councils after considering the outcome of a referendum conducted by Osun State Independent Electoral

Commission, OSSIEC. The PDP said the rest of the country must be astonished about a governor “that has not been able to fulfill its financial obligations to the workforce and plunges the state’s economy into crisis, interestingly plans to create new councils to make Osun the only state in Nigeria to have 66 council areas.”

The PDP said Aregbesola, rather than consider the peculiar needs of Osun and its financial capacity, had been implementing wholesale all programmes of Lagos State, which it described as counterproductive.

“Copying Lagos notes is affecting Osun negatively. Buying helicopter, creating LCDAs, planting flowers are all Lagos ideas,” the PDP said.

It then advised Aregbesola to call stakeholders meeting that will involve all parties where issues affecting the state can be discussed and solutions proffered to them.

UI Vice-Chancellorship: We’ll ensure fair chances for all–Panel Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

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he committee saddled with selecting candidates for the position of Vice-Chancellor in the University of Ibadan, University of Ibadan Community Forum 2015, yesterday assured the community and the general public of readiness to carry out its tasks with fairness.

Chairman of the committee, Prof.

Nelson Fashina, gave the assurance while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

According to him, Community Forum 2015 is saddled with the processes that would lead to the emergence of a new vice chancellor for the institution.

He said, “Our terms of reference are to draw up modality for the community meetings. We are to come up with the cost

and logistical estimates for implementation of the meeting. Other terms are to organise and manage the meeting and to submit a publishable report/ blueprint at the end of the exercise.

“The 13-man committee is drawn from all unions on the campus, including NASU, SANU, ASU, National Association of Academic Technologists and the students union.

“We have in place five functional sub-committees. They are committees on media and publicity, logistics, committee on ceremony, organising committee and finance.

“Each committee is supposed to submit its budget for consideration and approval. The programme is being sponsored by all the unions for which ASUU is the arrow-head. The overriding logistic for implementation of our mission is to give a level playing ground to all contestants.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbeola (right) addressing pupils of Seat of Wisdom Nursery and Primary School, Awe, Oyo State, during their excursion visit to Ibadan Airport while the governor was returning from Abuja, at the weekend.

Army, Navy take charge of NNPC pipelines in Lagos

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igerian Army yesterday said it had taken over security of NNPC pipelines in Lagos area, alongside the Nigerian Navy, and craved maximum cooperation of host communities.

Director, Army Public Relations, 81 Division of the Nigerian Army in Lagos, Col. Mustapha Anka, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. Anka said the joint operation, code-named: Operation Awase, was set up to tackle vandalisation of NNPC pipelines in Majidun, Ikorodu and other parts of the state.

He said the officers and men sighted by the communities around the pipelines were on legitimate duties.

“There is no illegality in the operation of our men in any part of Lagos.

“We have since discovered that some people

in some communities around the pipelines were part of the vandals,” Anka said.

“Any member of the communities where we are operating, without any criminal intention, is free to engage in lawful activities.

“But vandals will now have no peace in Lagos State,’’ the spokesman warned.

“We also solicit the cooperation of host communities to give us information about vandals,” he said.

“We have been operating in the last eight months. The main task of the joint operation is to flush out vandals of pipelines in Lagos area and environs,” Anka said.

However, NAN reports that some residents of Omoyele Street in Majidun area of Ikorodu have complained of presence of the military in the area.

The Army spokesman, however, did not mention Arepo area in Ogun State, as part of their coverage areas.

Operatives of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, were securing some of the pipelines in Lagos and Ogun states before their contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, reportedly expired about a week ago.

Meanwhile, some security experts have hailed the deployment of a Joint Military Task Force made up of the Nigerian Army and Navy, to secure the pipelines.

A security consultant, Mr Charles Anyanwu, said issues relating to security should not have been taken away from the military.

He noted that giving such a responsibility to the ethnic militias was like making a mockery

of the military whose responsibility it ought to be.

Head of Operations, Pendulum Security, Jide Ageaga, also commended the federal government for terminating the contract with the militia.

“This is how terrorism starts. When you allow a militia group with no training whatsoever in the handling of weapons, to be in possession of arms and ammunition, we may not know exactly how it may end.

“We just hope the arms in their possession are being accounted for or withdrawn from them by the authority in charge, to avoid any form of confrontation between the parties,” he added. ‎Another consultant, Jide Oluwole, however, urged the federal government to ensure that the military was consistent in maintaining its presence around the pipelines.

TREM holds 2015 ‘Word Celebration’

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he Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, will be hosting the 2015 edition of Word Celebration with the theme, ‘There is a Lifting.’

The annual event, which will hold from Tuesday, June 23 to Friday, June 28, will hold at the church’s National and

International Headquarters, Cathedral of His Glory, Gbagada Expressway, Anthony Oke, Lagos.

The opening ceremony is expected to kick off tomorrow.

Other special activities lined up for the four days event include a special International Women Prayer Conference on

Thursday, June 25, free medical screening for all participants by 3p.m daily during the conference, while the programme will be brought to a close on Sunday June 28 by the Presiding Bishop of TREM and Chief Host, Dr. Mike Okonkwo.

Expected to minister during the programme

are men and women of God from across the globe alongside the chief host and his wife, Bishop Peace Okonkwo, Bishop Wayne Malcom (UK), Rev. Edith Iloh and Rev. Deola Ojo. There will be ministrations in gospel songs by the Evangel Voice and other TREM branch choirs.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West 9

Monday, June 22, 2015

Ambode vows to transform Lagos

…says 2nd Lekki toll-gate won’t attract fee

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overnor Akinwunmi Ambode has assured residents that Lagos State government will not collect any toll at the completed second toll point on LekkiEpe Expressway.

The governor, who spoke with journalists at the weekend, said more importantly, his concern was about ensuring the road was completed.

“We must start thinking of the future concerning that road. We said we will have an International Airport in Epe and an Export Processing Zone in Lekki and a Deep Seaport also in Lekki. What does that mean for that road?

“When you take your freight from the Deep Seaport and the Export Processing Zone, EPZ, are we going to make them to start passing through that same road? So, what is the future? We missed something between Oshodi and Murtala Mohammed In-

ternational Airport, Ikeja. There is no fast track rail that can take goods straight to the airport.

Should we also miss that here? Those are the issues we are looking at.

“Should we not start thinking about how to improve and create a 10-lane road between Ikorodu, Itoikin, Epe and Ijebu Ode so that people can go out from there? So, those are some of the things we are looking at. There is no point constructing the road, paying tolls and in five years time, the road is gone,” the governor said in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna.

On the Lagos-Badagry Expressway which is being expanded into a 10lane road, Ambode said once the road is completed, neighbouring communities and the axis would be opened up as a business hub for the entire sub-region.

He said his administration will make careful effort to grow the tourism potentials of the state, noting that a summit will be convened with stakeholders in the sector to explore the potentials that abound in the state.

The governor said as a way of tackling the housing deficit, the state is considering adopting the Rent-To-Own Policy which would be a follow up to the Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme which was about owning homes

through mortgage after 30 percent initial payment.

He said it was unnecessary for a bachelor to own a three bedroom flat, emphasizing that it was better for those in this category to rent studio apartments and later upgrade to more spacious accommodations when they are married and having children.

He reiterated his readiness to improve upon the multi modal approach to tackling the problem of transportation in the state, stating that presently 236

operators are licensed on the waterways conveying over one million people per day but is not integrated with the roads same as the rail system.

He said his administration has decided to scale up governance by rearranging the civil service through the realignment of some ministries, agencies while scrapping some and creating a new Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.

He also stated the readiness of his administra-

tion to bring more people into the tax net of the state to shore up its revenue base, stating that presently less than 50 percent of taxable adults pay taxes into the state’s coffers.

While seeking the collaboration of media managers, the governor said, “I will appeal to you that in areas where we are not getting it right, please be bold enough to tell us because you are representing the larger population that don’t have a voice.”

Crisis looms over planned sale of Osun bank branch Boladale Bamigbola OSOGBO

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here is looming crisis in Ejigbo, headquarters of Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State, following alleged plan to sell a building that was formerly used as branch of Skye Bank in the town.

While management of the bank had since moved its workers out of the town to Ede due to armed robbery attacks, it was learnt the building has been put up for sale.

Although there are two microfinance banks operating in Ejigbo, Skye Bank, sited in front of the Ogiyan of Ejigbo’s palace, is the only commercial bank in the town.

Chatting with newsmen in his palace, the Ogiyan, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode Oyesosin, said the town was against sale of the property because the land on which the building was erected was never sold.

The monarch said Ejigbo community in 1980 gave the land to Cooperative Bank to establish its branch.

Ogiyan explained: “For more than 20 years, Coop-

erative Bank operated the branch without any incident of armed robbery attack until the merger and acquisition took place and Skye Bank took over.

“I gave the land on which the structure that housed Cooperative Bank and later Skye Bank from the parcel of land belonging to the palace. In fact, some structures had to give way without compensation paid before we could carve the land out for them.”

On steps the community had taken to prevent the matter from further degenerating, the royal father, in one of the letters written to Skye Bank management, copies of which were made available to newsmen, said he released the land “purely for banking services bearing in mind its inherent social, economic and commercial benefits” to the people.

He subsequently urged the management of the bank to forthwith stop every transaction regarding sale of the land in the overriding interest of Ejigbo, while pleading that the bank continue to operate in the town, assuring that adequate protection would be provided.

L-R: Chairman, NUJ Oyo State, Mr. Gbenga Opadotun; Bishop of Elekuro Diocese, Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt Rev. James Olusegun; Captain, Boys Brigade, Mr. Taiwo Oluwole and Secretary, Boys Brigade, Oyo State, Mr. Niyi Odebode, during an enrolment service of Boys and Girls Brigade Nigeria at Methodist Church Nigeria, Gbangansi, Ibadan, yesterday.

Ado Poly targets N200m from oil palm annually Abiodun Nejo ADO EKITI

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ederal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, is expecting a revenue of about N200 million from its oil palm plantation annually, as part of efforts to shore up the institution’s revenue base.

Its rector, Dr Taiwo Akande, said: “In achieving this revenue projection, the institution will not only be financially buoyant, but will be in a better position to finance any project requiring proper funding.”

Akande, who spoke at the FPA Farms while planting palm trees to flag-off establishment of the palm oil tree plantation and mills of the institution, said the event marked “the beginning of another viable and long term project in the history

of the institution.

“The project, in the long run, is capable of creating opportunities for job creation through the Students Work Scheme Programme, SIWES, of the institution.

“It will also bring appreciable internally generated revenue to the institution, thus, improving its economic well-being. The approach adopted is that each student would be required to adopt a seedling and nurture same to maturity during his/her period of studentship,” she said.

According to her, the vision included cultivation of about 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of Teneratype hybrid palm oil trees planted approximately 150 trees per hectare, adding that the trees, when matured, would produce between 8 and 10 million kgs of fresh fruit bunches of palm fruits per year.

Akande said as a way of redressing neglect of agriculture in the country and as well out of financial difficulties, the institution embarked on developing a small-to-medium scale oil plantation and mill based on the initiatives of Abimbola Adebayo, a lecturer at the institution’s Architectural Department who conceptualised the idea.

The rector said the Tenera-type hybrid palm nut seedling being planted produces the highest oil content and has the fastest growth rate as well as ability to start producing in three years.

While calling on the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Vocational Studies to think of numerous use to which they can put the various parts of the palm tree to generate small business ideas including brooms, baskets for farm pro-

duce and display, Akande disclosed that the fruits would be internally produced when they mature.

“The Director, Obasanjo Centre for Engineering Innovation and his team are working assiduously to fabricate an oil palm digester capable of producing palm oil in commercial quantities.

“Members of staff are expected to key into the project with enthusiasm and sacrificially donate to the scheme. The Management Committee and Academic Board members are being requested to voluntarily provide a sizeable number of seedlings to support this project.

“All members of staff are enjoined to see this project as collective responsibility.

Therefore, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the project becomes successful,” she said.

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Monday, June 22, 2015

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NIEEE chair expresses concern over frequent fire

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L-R: Chairman, South-South, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Arch Bishop Goddowell Avwomakpa; President, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and former Minister, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, during the dedication of a Catholic Chapel built by Gbagi at Oginibo in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State, recently.

Sterling Bank embarks on nationwide cleaning exercise

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taff of Sterling Bank Plc at the weekend carried out a nationwide environmental cleaning exercise as part of its “Sterling Environmental Makeover” (#STEM) series.

The exercise, which is part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, focuses on environmental sustainability and aims at promoting a clean environment and good health among Nigerians.

In Lagos, the exercise, according to a statement, saw the staff of the bank in collaboration with officials of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) clean a section of the famous Ladipo Spare Parts Market at Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, to the delight of traders, who also joined the bank’s staff in the exercise.

Other locations where the exercise went on simultaneously include Ochanja Area in Anambra State;

Agodi Gate, Ibadan; Durumi, Abuja; Bata Market, Kano; Elelenwo Akpaja Road, Port Harcourt, and Behind Ogbogonogo Market in Delta State.

The bank’s staff in these locations enthusiastically undertook the exercise which many of them said was a great avenue for them to make a difference. The bank plans to extend this initiative to other parts of the country in subsequent editions.

The bank’s executive

director, Finance and Strategy, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, stated during an interview with reporters at the event that the bank started the exercise in 2013 in furtherance of its core purpose of enriching lives.

He added that Sterling Bank would continually engage in initiatives that promote a healthy environment especially those that promote healthy living through its renowned partnership with relevant government agencies.

CSOs to offer advice on disbursement of funds to higher institutions Adeola Tukuru ABUJA

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coalition of 13 civil society organisations, CSOs, have said they are set to offer advice to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) on how to better disburse funds to higher institutions in the country.

Executive coordinator of the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, CESJET, Comrade Ikpa Isaac, who noted this over the weekend on behalf of the coalition, said the group was set to offer valuable suggestions on how the funds could impact more positively on tertiary education in the country.

“As youths, we are the direct beneficiaries of improvements being made on

infrastructure in our tertiary schools and we can also confidently assert that TETFund’s investments in manpower development and capacity building are yielding results.

“Members of this coalition undertook fact-finding missions to universities, polytechnics and specialised colleges in various geo-political zones and we are proud of what we saw on ground by way of infrastructural development facilitated by TETFund. Our interactions with students and staff of the various institutions further confirmed that the upgraded infrastructures were being matched with manpower whose capacities have been enhanced.

“We are articulating our findings so that we can offer practical suggestions based

on our outreach in Nigerian campuses. We believe that such informal input will go a long way towards providing further impetus for development since we were able to independently get information from students, who identified with us as fellow youths,” he revealed.

Isaac, who spoke on behalf of the other 12 CSOs whose leaders were present, explained that the group was making a call for Professor Bogoro to sustain the turnaround in TETFund because it would be disheartening for the body to slide down in future performance ratings since this would again force prospective students to troop abroad with adverse economic consequences for parents and even the country.

“With the activities of

TETFund since Professor Bogoro assumed office, we believe that our tertiary institutions will soon get to a level where parents would no longer have to send their children to schools abroad, thereby reversing the billions of naira in capital flight lost to foreign tuition fees and sundry expenses every year.

“This will also put an end to the harrowing experiences Nigerian students face abroad as they get the kind of education they desire incountry,” Isaac added.

The coalition urged Professor Bogoro to further align his management style with the ‘Change’ agenda of the present government since he has demonstrated an uncommon capacity for midwifing change in the fund.

ational chairman of Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE), Mr. Gracious Omatseye, has expressed concern over increasing fire incidents in the country.

Omatseye told journalists at a briefing in Lagos yesterday that faulty electrical designs were usually a major cause of fire in buildings.

He observed that 90 per cent of houses in Nigeria do not conform to standard electrical designs, which may also be responsible for the fire incidents.

Omatseye, however, noted that the use of good cables and proper design, among other things, would reduce the frequency of fire in buildings.

He therefore, urged Nigerians to shun quacks and use qualified and certified electrical engineers for their

electrical designs to safeguard their buildings from the risk of fire and thunder strikes.

Omatseye also warned against the use of substandard cables, mostly those from Asian countries, which, according to him, may be responsible for the recent increase in fire incidents, adding that Nigerian-made cables are better and safer for wiring houses.

“Apart from Lagos State that is trying a bit, more than 90 per cent of houses in other states of the federation do not have electrical drawings.

“Fake cables are a major cause of fire outbreak; but generally, fire incidents are usually investigated,’’ he said.

Omatseye also said mistakes could occur in load distribution in a building structure carried out by quacks who may parade themselves as electrical engineers.

Innoson group slams N30bn suit on bank over freezing of accounts Gbenga Ogunbufunmi

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n seeking legal redress for alleged economic misfortune suffered as a result of its frozen accounts in 15 different banks through unjustifiable court order, four companies have slammed a N30bn suit against Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. The companies are Innoson Nigeria Ltd, Innoson Technical and Industrial Company, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company and Innoson Auto Parts Manufacturing Company.

According to a statement of claim filed before a Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra State, by a Lagos lawyer, Professor MacCarthy Mbadugha, the whole trouble started on September 1, 2014, when Guaranty Trust Bank Plc served Innoson Nigeria Ltd., a court order dated September 1, 2014, in suit number FHC/L/CS/1119/2014, filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, and issued by Justice Okon Abang, ordering that pending hearing and determination of the substantive suit, all commercial banks in Nigeria are restrained from accepting, honouring, or giving effect in any manner whatsoever to any mandate or instruc-

tion presented to them by Innoson Company or any of its agents for withdrawal of any money standing to the credit of any account maintained by the company.

In the order of the court, the bank undertook to indemnify the company as to any loss that may be incurred in the unlikely event that the application ought not to have been granted.

The company operates current accounts in 15 banks out of the 18 banks listed in the order.

The basis of the bank's action against the company was that the company is indebted to it to the tune of N1.5 billion and that rather than repay the loan, Innoson diverted same and was in the process of dissipating its assets in order to avoid repaying the loan.

Based on the court order, all accounts of the companies were frozen.

The plaintiff said that as a result of the order, it activities were grounded as the companies could not pay duties and clear its imported goods, thereby incurring heavy demurrage before they could make alternative monetary arrangement, and that action of the bank made it impossible for them to burrow or access funds or money from any bank or financial institution in Nigeria.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Olufemi Adeosun and Joel Ajayi

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rade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has accused Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, of engaging in politics of vendetta by sacking 344 lecturers and other personnel of the state government.

The union, which described the sack as improper, stated that it was unfortunate that the governor did not spare a thought about whether those sacked were among the electorate that voted him into office.

In a statement by TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, and its Secretary General, Comrade Musa Lawal, the union called on the governor to reverse the sack in the interest of industrial harmony.

It added that the decision to embark on mass sack was not in tandem with what the nation in general and Rivers State in particular deserve at the moment.

It expressed shock and disappointment at the development because of the grave consequences it portends for the affected workers, their dependants and the rest of

South South

Monday, June 22, 2015

11

Wike under fire for sacking 344 lecturers • TUC, NANS accuse governor of vendetta society.

The union noted that the governor’s action was likely to be the fallout of political acrimony that traversed the period before and during the recent elections in the state, stressing that any such consideration ought to have gone with that period.

“Right now, good governance should be the governor’s priority,” the statement added.

According to the congress, “Nigerians have become increasingly interested in public affairs and impatient for good governance because of years of unfulfilled promises by their leaders. They are much wiser now and can no longer be fooled and impoverished by a minute percentage of the populace.”

The labour leaders noted that many of the people whose appointments the governor terminated probably voted for him. They queried: “How will they explain to their friends, family members and associates that the man they so much believed

in and voted for has relieved them of their jobs in spite of the fact that job creation and provision of infrastructure were among his campaign promises?”

The congress called on government at all levels to eschew politics of bitterness, stressing that government is a continuum, and that any useful project embarked upon by a preceding administration should not be done away with so as not to waste taxpayers’ money that had been spent on it.

It however added that such projects could be redefined and improved on, noting that converse attitude by some of the nation’s leaders accounts for the thousands of abandoned projects across the country.

On Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority, TIMA-RIV, whose officers

the Wike-led government accused of constituting a nuisance, extorting money from people, causing accidents and loss of lives of innocent persons, the congress advised that only persons found to have indulged in such acts should be dismissed.

It charged the governor to be mindful of taking rash decisions, lest his intentions be misconstrued even when they ought to be commended.

National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has also condemned the sack of the university lecturers, saying the decision was ill-motivated and should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians.

The students said it was regrettable that the governor who is supposed to champion the cause of edu-

cation having served as Minister of State and substantive minister of education could allow political sentiments to prevail over the administration of the sector.

In a statement signed yesterday in Abuja by NANS president, Comrade Tijani Usman, the association called on the governor to withdraw the decision in the interest of progress.

It would be recalled that the Rivers State governor had directed the state Ministry of Education to sack the 344 lecturers of the state’s polytechnic and other staff employed last year by the former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, saying their employment did not follow due process.

Rector of the institution was also directed to proceed on a terminal leave.

"Nigerian students con-

demn in totality the action taken by the Rivers State governor as it lacks any moral and rational justification. Sacking 344 lecturers and other staff of the institution in one fell swoop under the guise that their employment did not follow due process is a demonstration of administrative rascality.

"It is sad that rather than concentrate on providing dividends of democracy as promised, the governor is busy carrying out vengeful vendetta,, the statement noted.

NANS regretted that the Wike led-administration, apart from the set-back its decision would cause education, it equally failed to consider the plight of the lecturers and their families who are also indigenes of the state.

Give us SGF slot, S’South begs Buhari Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA

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outh South community in Abuja yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to zone Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, to the area, saying the action would ensure equitable distribution of leadership positions at the federal level.

In a statement signed by president of the group, Barrister Lawrence Alobi, he noted that the offices of President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker have been distributed to the North West, South West, North Central, North East and South East, leaving the South South zone in the lurch.

Alobi, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, said appointing SGF from the zone would give the region a sense of belonging.

"While Mr. President

continues with his consultation on the best individuals with cerebral potentials and proven integrity to form the federal cabinet, we wish to state that the present outlook of leadership at the federal level is with a seeming national spread except that the South South zone was yet to be integrated.

“While we have no doubt in the ability of Mr. President to make the right decision that is best for the country, we wish to lend our voice with a passionate appeal to him in the interest of justice, equity and fairness, to balance the spread and appoint the Secretary to the Government of the Federation from the South South zone to give the zone a sense of belonging, and also making his government all-inclusive," he said.

The South South Community commended the President for his international and regional engagements towards finding a lasting solution to the menace of terrorism in the country and sub-Saharan Africa.

Oil workers fixing a ruptured pipeline that discharged crude into the environment on Agip’s Ossiama-Ogboinbiri Pipeline in Okpotuwari community, Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa, yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

C’River Speaker presents legislative agenda Richard Ndoma CALABAR

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peaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. John Gaul Lebo, is set to present a new legislative direction for the 8th Assembly.

The Assembly. which is dominated by 25 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP lawmakers, is expected to begin legislative session with debates and arguments on the proposed 2015-2019 Legislative Direction tomorrow, June 23, 2015.

Lebo disclosed this in a telephone interview with

our correspondent, saying that "members of the House would be required to make inputs on the floor of the House,” adding that he had “made a draft proposal of legislative direction available to members.

According to him, members would have the privilege of making their inputs to enrich content of the document.

His words: "Already, I have made a draft proposal of the legislative direction and distributed it to my colleagues. Each member now has opportunity to add to the content of the docu-

ment.

“For me, this is a new development in the process of law making where members will participate in setting agenda for the 8the Assembly. Besides, it will afford us the opportunity to x-ray our vision and mission as the first arm of government and possibly prepare for the difficult task ahead."

The Speaker had in his inaugural speech on June 11, 2015, assured Cross River people that the Assembly would be embarking on deep legislative reforms with priority attention given to legislative governance to enable

the House build a strong and formidable House economy.

Lebo who is a two-time member, representing Abi State Constituency in the state House, had also emphasised that the 8th Assembly would develop a strong architecture for the state economy and that members would become good solution and decision architects.

He added that the House leadership would collaborate and partner with the state Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, who he said, has articulated an achievable economic approach that would transform and reposition the state.

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North

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kaduna to verify workers payroll A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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aduna State government says it will commence biometric verification of all civil servants in the state from Wednesday, June 24.

According to an official statement, the verification exercise is designed to provide the government accurate number and reliable record of its personnel, and aid the clean-up of its payroll.

A circular signed by Head of Service, Mrs Alisabatu Onazi, said the exercise would be conducted simultaneously in

three zones of Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria.

The circular also specified the order in which personnel from each ministry were expected to appear for the exercise, and advised civil servants to bring their letter of appointment, letter of last promotion and means of identification, which should be any of the following: national identity card, driver’s licence, permanent voter’s card or international passport.

It said data collected from the exercise will enable the government to determine that the billions of naira expended

monthly on staff salary is being paid to identifiable and verifiable civil servants, and make savings from an updated personnel record.

The Head of Service directed that civil servants should physically appear before the verification team for screening and collection of their salary

cheques for June 2015.

The state government last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United Bank for Africa, UBA and Zenith

Bank to partner in updating the civil service payroll. The biometric verification exercise is scheduled for completion next month.

Yuguda handed over all govt vehicles, says Media Team

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edia Team of former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, has expressed concern over a publication that the new administration in the state recovered 11 cars from Yuguda’s wives.

In a statement issued by team leader, Jeff Kachikwu, in Abuja yesterday, the team said the cars in question were allocated to the immediate past governor and his official aides while in office, not to any of his wives.

It stated that the cars were voluntarily handed over to the appropriate authority within a week after handover ceremony

by Yuguda.

“It therefore, left much to be desired when the new administration alleged that Yuguda’s wives were in possession of the said cars.

“How can she (Yuguda’s wife) use government vehicles after leaving the office as First Lady when she was not even a government official while in office?

“The truth is that the cars were being used by government officials who were entitled to the cars during the former governor’s time in office, not to any of his wives.

“All the cars were duly handed over shortly after the handover date,’’ the media team said in the statement.

L-R: Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Sen. Sanni Yerima; Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sen. Danjuma Goje, during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Ilorin, at the weekend.

Delayed rain may affect food production–Farmers

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armers in parts of northern Nigeria have expressed worry that delayed rainfall experienced this year may affect food production in the country.

Meteorologists had predicted that some northern parts of the country would experience delay in the arrival of rain this cropping season, and also advised them not to rush to plant.

Some of the farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that most farmers were yet to com-

mence planting due to lack of adequate rainfall.

They said the situation posed serious threat to food production in the region this year.

One of the farmers, Baushe Talle, said: “Rain is a factor in plant growth, therefore, the greater the rainfall, the faster the seed grows and the higher the yield.’’

Another farmer, Musa Abdu, stressed the need for government to provide farmers in the region with drought-resistant seeds, to

Check cases of building collapse, experts urge FG

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xperts in the construction and building industry have called on the Federal Government and professional bodies to take proactive measures in checking cases of building collapse in the country.

The experts made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja on Sunday.

Mr Aminu Bashir, an engineer with a construction company in Abuja, noted that non-compliance to building specifications and standards were re-

sponsible for the collapse of structures.

He said activities of non-certified engineers and lack of quality-driven construction were also responsible for structural defects.

Bashir noted that efforts should be intensified to ensure compliance on specifications by builders.

He added that it was important for the regulators to stick to standards, especially in their practical supervision on sites.

“The regulators have to be more proactive, they have to go round more, en-

sure that those buildings are meeting up to standard,’’ he said.

An architect in Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Philip Shakarho, said the construction industry has done significantly well in Nigeria.

He attributed the cases of building collapse to the activities of the quacks who engaged in the business to make money.

According to him, “Most of the collapses are caused by incompetent and unskilled engineers.

“Many people come out of school with other quali-

fications; they are not architects or civil engineers.

And also because they are looking for jobs and clients that want cheap labour look for them.”

He called on the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, and the Nigerian Institute of Architects, NIA, to ensure that only registered operators had access to building projects.

He also called on stakeholders in the industry to support the professional bodies to rid the industry of the activities of quacks.

avert crop failure and ensure bumper harvest.

Also, Lawan Kado advised government to reduce the effects of potential food shortage by buying the surplus directly from farmers.

Other farmers, Musa Dogara and Maiwada Karaukarau, canvassed adequate budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector to ensure easy access to facilities and farm inputs required to sustain massive production.

According to them, such provision would ensure prompt supply of fertilisers, chemicals, improved seeds and farming implements, as well as credit facilities to farmers.

Secretary, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Garba Bichi, while commenting on the issue, advised farmers in the northern states to plant their crops as soon as the rains start.

Bichi urged farmers to embrace dry season farming as solution to inadequate or delayed rainfall.

Chairman, Kaduna State Commercial Agriculture Association, Nuhu Umar, said timely provision of farming inputs including seeds and fertiliser, was key to sustainable

agricultural production in the country.

“As long as farmers do not have timely access to inputs and at affordable price, they would continue to produce at a loss and this could pose serious threat to the country’s quest for food security.

“As such, the government must consistently make available seeds, fertiliser, tractors and other crucial farm inputs as well as training us in modern farming techniques.

“This will go a long way to assist us remain in business and compete with other farmers from developed countries,’’ he said.

According to him, farmers are recording consistent drop in yield due to lack of access to vital farm inputs and adequate rains.

Kaduna AFAN chairman, Nuhu Aminu, stressed the need for government at all levels to encourage agricultural mechanisation to enhance food production and security.

Aminu encouraged farmers to form cooperatives in order to access loan with which to procure tractors and other farm inputs to boost agricultural production.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Dogara visits Bauchi, thanks gov, APC Ezekiel Titus BAUCHI

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peaker House of Re p r e s e n t a t iv e s , Hon Yakubu Dogara, at the weekend arrived Bauchi State capital to a tumultuous reception by supporters, admirers and members of the All Progressives Congress, APC. As a result of the huge crowed that came to welcome him, it took security operatives a tough time to clear the way for him to move to the Government House, Bauchi where he was received along with his colleagues by the state governor, Mohammed Abubakar.

Dogara, who was visiting his home state for the first time since his emergence as Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that the House will convey a motion for an international donor agencies conference that will fast track development in the North-East region.

He noted that his emergence as Speaker of the House would not have been possible without the support of his colleagues and the people of Bauchi State who made sacrifices to ensure his victory.

Thanking the governor and the leadership of Bauchi APC for giving him the necessary support in his quest to become the Speaker of the House, he said that their prayers and resilience made the difference.

Dogara said: “I can recall vividly how the people of the state fasted and prayed for me when I was contesting for this position. Several young men took to the social media through Facebook and Twitter to wish me well, campaign and sell my credentials on the internet.

“I owe them a debt of gratitude. I also owe religious and traditional leaders who wished me well.

Some of them fasted and prayed for my success. I promise to reciprocate the kind gesture they showed

to me.”

He said that the APC came into power when things were difficult in the nation, pointing out that the problems were inherited and not created.

He added: “When I came home, most of the workers were raising issues about of outstanding workers salary. As I came into office, that was the first issue I addressed and today, one month salary has been paid to workers.”

Governor Abubakar said that the just concluded 2015 election in the state came with a lot of challenges, saying that a Boko Haram unit was created to scuttle the election.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

APC Action Group decries conspiracy against Tinubu …Says conspirators will live to regret it Olajide Omojolomoju

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ction Group caucus of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has decried the actions of those ganging up to fight the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying those of them who joined the party after benefitting immensely from the political sagacity and financial support of Tinubu would surely live to regret their acts of indiscipline, insubordination

and attempt at destroying the ladder that took them to the top.

In a release signed by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, the group observed that some elements who believed that they could maintain their popularity only by denigrating Tinubu kept on telling lies against him.

It said: “These conspirators are filled with venom and they consist of too many craven and irresponsible politicians who are nothing more than lap dogs for those oil barons, financial offenders and other mafias guilty

of keeping us down after having brought us to the state of forlorn hope.”

Assuring that the game plan of the conspirators and backstabbers will not stand the test of time, Action Group described them as parasites with superficial roots who will soon fall like pack of cards.

Dipe said: “We are all advocates of change, we worked very hard to attain it, and they also joined us to chant and chorus ‘APC… Change.’ Yet deep down in their hearts, they did not want a change in the status

Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako of Adamawa Central senatorial district (left), distributing improved maize seedlings to farmers in his zone, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Recognise, respect Saraki as Senate President –Aide Wole Adedeji ILORIN

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enior Special Assistant on Media to Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, Dr Muyideen Akorede, has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC to accept their fates and accord recognition and respect to Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.

Dr. Muyiden Akorede, the Special Assistant who said this on the Radio Nigeria; Harmony FM in Idofian, Kwara State also

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enjoined Nigerians irrespective of their ages to see Saraki as an emerged ‘political leader’ in the country should henceforth be given respects.

Apparently overwhelmed by the emergence of Saraki as Senate President, Akorede, whose boss; Governor Ahmed is the former’s godson on the radio station’s “Once-Off” programme declared it a natural sin for any Nigerian not to accord the Senate President his due respect.

He had said that it doesn’t matter whether anybody is old to the extent that

he carried Bukola Saraki as a baby or whatever position a person had held before, such a person cannot just call by name anyhow anymore. “He (Saraki) is now one man whose name should be called with respect”, Akorede declared.

He further said in Yoruba; “ ki awon ti won f’idi re’mi lo gba f’Olorun. Ki won ye f’apa ja’nu” meaning; “let those who lost out go and accept their fates and stop mudslinging”.

The Senate President had made his first home coming at the weekend arriving into the waiting

hands of a mamoth crowd that lined the streets to welcome him.

He had worshipped at the Ilorin Central Mosque with the Emir of Ilorin; Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari on Friday after which he retired into a two-hour closed door meeting with the Emir.

His election as the head of the National Assembly had been greeted with controversies within his All Progressives Congress, APC, a development which the distinguished Senator is reported to be going round with concerted efforts to appease.

quo. Rather they are only after a change that will improve their fortune and betray their benefactors. They aspire to collaborate with our oppressors and leave us alone in our state of poverty.

Nothing will change as long as these ones betray our collective aspirations and bite the fingers that feed them.”

APC AG said Tinubu has been there for a while; he is a long-distance runner and will surely survive their intrigues, adding that “to undermine his role in the struggle for change is to want to put our progress in reverse gear. Nigerians who agitated for the change and made great sacrifice to get it will for sure be the losers for it.”

Recalling that the history of Nigeria was replete with such act of betrayal and its attendant repercussions, Dipe likened Tinubu to late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was betrayed and conspired against, forcing things to tend towards chaos.

He said: “But Awolowo wriggled out of the crisis on several occasions while his betrayers sank deep in the pit they dug for him.

“Momentum seems to be on the side of those who are betraying Tinubu to get into the hearts of those with the blood money to spend right now, but it will soon time out. The June 9 National Assembly executive elections have pointed to the fact that there was a coup against Tinubu, Muhammadu Buhari and all that the change was meant to herald for us in Nigeria by those who bled our economy to the present state and would still want to retain a front burner position.

“However, we take solace in the fact that public opinion is already drifting away from backing the conspirators, while, like Teflon, none of their maligning can stick on Tinubu and the change we collectively laboured for will eventually happen.”

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Politics

Monday, June 22, 2015

NASS crisis can end in favour of all –Ashafa Francis Suberu

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he senator representing Lagos East senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Gbenga Ashafa, has called for the dismantling of all caucuses in the National Assembly; saying if the legislators and the All Progressives Congress, APC, leadership should close ranks, the crisis rocking the National Assembly can be resolved in favour of all.

Senator Ashafa, who made this position known in a press statement he personally signed and made available to journalists yesterday said for the APC to completely douse the raging tension in the legislative arm of the nation’s government; it would need to find a peace mechanism that will create a win-win situation.

Ashafa in the statement said both APC leadership and the National Assembly leadership need to eschew

the bad blood that has accumulated as a result of the June 9 incident in which elected legislators went against party decisions in choosing their principal officers.

The statement read: “Non-compliance with party directives and a violation of relevant sections of the APC constitution is not a good way to start in this era of change.

“Article 9:2 of the APC’s constitution, (Rules and Obligations) states that members of the party shall be obliged to affirm the party’s aims and objectives and conduct themselves in a manner that shall not bring the party to public odium and disrepute. Members of the party shall also observe the rules and regulations embedded in this constitution.”

He said within the context of the provision, the APC National Working Committee, NWC, can find a peace-building method to create a win-win situation for all aggrieved factions; adding that the party should embrace all and still

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Saraki to Kwarans: I won’t disappoint you as Senate President Wole Adedeji ILORIN

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enate President, Dr Bukola Saraki at the weekend, for the first time visited his home state after emerging as the President of the Senate.

His visit earlier scheduled for 9 o’ clock in the morning of Friday could not hold until 1.30 pm because of an earlier reported visit to Abeokuta along with some selected individuals to seek the face of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the controversial Senate Presidency.

He was received at Ilorin

airport by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, the state chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon. Ishola Balogun - Fulani and other chieftains of the party in the state.

The Senate President was accompanied to Ilorin

by Senators Ahmed Sanni Yerima, Andy Uba, Danjuma Goje; former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; the same people reported to have earlier followed him to Abeokuta.

In a brief chat with newsmen, Saraki, beaming with smiles all the way, thanked Kwarans for their support and prayer towards his emergence as the Senate president.

He said: “It is a great reception. I will have time later to thank the people of Kwara State. It is a great opportunity for people of Kwara State to have one of them to serve at this level.

I thank all the people for their support and prayers and everything, and I assure them that I will not disappoint them.”

At the Jumaat prayers he later attended at the Ilorin

Central Mosque, the Emir, Alhaji lbrahim Sulu-Gambari, prayed for Nigeria to further achieve economic fortunes and overcome all the challenges confronting her.

Expressing joy over Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, SuluGambari prayed for his success in the new assignment, praying that Saraki’s tenure as Senate President would positively turn around the fortunes of the country.

The Emir and Saraki later held a closed-door meeting which lasted over 40 minutes.

Group advocates support for Buhari, govs, lawmakers Ebere Ndukwu

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iberty Foundation, a non political, socio-cultural group has called on Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, creed or political leanings, to assist and support the present administration both at federal and state levels with fervent prayers, constructive, positive advice and gainful suggestions to turn around the fortunes of the nation.

Calling on global communities to assist in rebuilding Nigeria to a virile nation of an enviable stability and economic viability among comity of nations world over, the group charged President Muhammadu Buhari, state governors and legislators to form synergy for a responsible government that would give Nigerians dividends of democracy that had since eluded them.

The group which stated this at its rally and retreat on the nation’s political climate and the way forward to positively rebrand Lagos State in particular, other states

and Nigeria at large, held in Lagos at the weekend, called on politicians to eschew their differences, by forming a common front to firmly arrest any unimagined challenges that might tend to tear the political structures and the nation apart, The group publicity secretary, Aramide Tola Noibi, who stated the outcome of the retreat in a press statement made available to National Mirror, said the group also used the event to congratulate Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on his birthday as well as his and his deputy, Dr Idiat oluranti Adebule’s electoral victory at the 2015 Polls.

He said the remarks were made and supported by the founder and member of the Board of Trustees, BoT, Liberty Foundation, Alhaji Hakeem Danmola, along with the chairman Dr. Olujobi Ayodele Ososanya, the executive chairman, Lagos State Civil Service Commission, the secretary, Mr. Adebola Ajaguna, the coordinator, Dr. Sakiru Onasanya, among others.

L-R: Senator Dino Melaye, Kogi State Deputy Governor Mr. Yomi Awoniyi and President, Female Artists Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Ngozi Akande, during the opening of an art exhibition at the 2015 Ogidi-Ela Day celebration in Ogidi, Ijumu LGA, Kogi State, Saturday. PHOTO: NAN

Lagos PDP to Ambode: Probe Fashola Robert Awokuse

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agos State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to as a matter of urgency investigate the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, over alleged misappropriation of funds accrued to the state in his eight-year administration.

PDP, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Taofeek Gani, and available to National Mirror yesterday, observed that Ambode is yet to swing into action to fulfill his campaign promises.

Gani said Ambode is

making further promises when he ought to have hit the ground running, working to fulfill already made promises, adding that the developments is a bad omen for any meaningful change in the coming four years of his administration.

Speaking on the previous administration, PDP alleged that the Fashola-led government “was characterised by human right violations, coupled with digital and analogue styles of stealing public funds that can only be ignored by a successor who is a conspirator.”

Gani further alleged that the Fashola government amongst other

things was characterised by corruption, embezzlement, misappropriation and direct stealing of state funds, which are noted in the number of abandoned or uncompleted projects, missing SURE-P funds, huge local and foreign debts amounting to N960 billion.

He said: “On behalf of all concerned Lagosians, we call on the governor, Mr Ambode, to immediately set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the eightyear administration of former Governor Fashola. “The need for this is apt in view of the cases of human rights abuse witnessed during the

period, especially perpetrated by the State Task force and KAI officers.

“As a matter of urgency, Mr Ambode should review or terminate some elephant projects that were initiated by the Fashola administration.

Most of the projects are really prodigal and of no relevance to the masses.

Example is the huge Lagos funds sunk as partner/investor in the ongoing Eko Atlantic Project.

“Mr Ambode is administratively, legally and morally compelled to commence these enquiries to clear the doubts. Lagosians are eager to supply evidence of corruption in the eighyear administration of Fashola.”

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Monday, June 22, 2015

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The cancer scourge and Ambode’s birthday wish TAYO OGUNBIYI

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f all globally acknowledged menacing diseases, cancer remains, perhaps, the most dreadful.

Though, its threat has been on across the ages, it is, however, only in the second half of the 20th century that the numbers of cases have tremendously increased.

At present, an estimated 8.2 million people die from cancer worldwide annually. Out of this number, four million people die precipitately at relatively young age of between 30 and 45. A recent statistics have revealed that in 2001 alone, cancer is responsible for about 13 percent of all human deaths globally (7.9million).

A statistics from Cancer Research UK similarly revealed that 14.1 million adults worldwide were diagnosed with cancer in 2012, while 8.2 million people died from it in the same year (4.7 million males and 3.5 million females).

Nigeria records about 100,000 new cases of cancer annually. Breast and cervical cancer are the commonest and they occur in women. According to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP- Nigeria), 30 Nigerian women die every day of breast cancer, while one woman dies every hour of cervical cancer. Also, CECP-Nigeria has revealed that 14 Nigerian men die daily of prostate cancer, while one Nigerian dies every hour

of liver cancer and one other dies every two hours of colon cancer.

Basically, cancers occur as a result of excessive amount of toxin and pollutants people are exposed to, obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, high stress lifestyles that zap the immune system, poor quality junk food that are full of pesticides, irradiated and genetically modified foods. Another cause is electromagnetic lights. Findings have shown that tobacco use is the most important risk factor for cancer, causing about 70 percent of global lung cancer deaths and 20 percent of global cancer deaths. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the risk of developing it generally increases with age.

Cancer is no respecter of age or social status as men and women of all classes have fallen victim of this terrible plague.

In Nigeria, experience has shown that, often times, cancer patients have been treated for other diseases for a long time leading to the metastases of the disease and the eventual death of the patient.

The late legal luminary and social crusader, Chief Gani Fawehinmi falls into this category as he was once diagnosed with pneumonia but eventually died of lung cancer. Some symptoms of cancer include fatigue, weight loss, unexplained anemia and inexplicable fever.

Experts have, however, disclosed that

THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF CANCER IS SET TO DOUBLE BY

2020 AND

ALMOST TRIPLE BY

2030

a major key to fighting cancer is early detection. It is, therefore, advisable that we regularly conduct medical check-ups for easy detection and prompt treatment with little complications. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 30 percent of cancer deaths can be avoided by keeping away from or adjusting key threat factors such as being obese, harmful diet with low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, alcohol use, sexually transmitted HPV-infections, infection by HBV (Hepatitis virus), ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, urban air pollution and indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used as a first line radical therapy in a number of malignancies, where disease is clearly incurable and aiming at improving the quality of and prolonging life.

Surgeries are used to remove tumours entirely in situations where there are some degrees of certainties that the tumors can in fact be removed. Chemotherapy works by killing all cells throughout the

body that multiply and divide rapidly which include cancer cells and other rapidly multiplying and dividing cells that the body needs. These include bone marrow, which produces blood, digestive and reproductive system, and hair follicles etc. leading to anemia, loss of weight and hair loss.

It has been revealed that the global burden of cancer is set to double by 2020 and almost triple by 2030, when one out of every two persons is expected to be diagnosed of cancer in their life time. Therefore, everyone has a responsibility to support those who are experiencing cancer epidemic and are faced with insufficient resources.

It is in this respect that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State needs to be commended for creatively using the occasion of his recent birthday celebration to call national and global attention to the scourge of cancer. By calling on his family members, friends, political associates and well wishers, who wished to place congratulatory messages on his birthday, to channel same to the fight against cancer, the governor has, no doubt, raised the bar in the war against the scourge. The Ambode cancer initiative, which is being coordinated by CECP-Nigeria, will undoubtedly go a long way in touching the distraught and impacting on humanity.

Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos.

Healthy boundaries: Nothing wrong in saying no SANDRA AKUOMA

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ife cannot exist without boundaries, even with your nearest and dearest like your kids, partners, parents, etc. Think of boundaries as rules and principles you live by, where you can say what you will or won’t do or allow in your life. If you have difficulty saying no, overriding your needs to please others, bothered by someone who is demanding, controlling, criticizing, invasive, pleading, or even smothering you with kindness, it’s your responsibility to speak up. Everyone has experienced boundary violations and this is why this topic is important for all of us.

Healthy boundaries are meant to help us find safety. They outline where our mental, emotional, physical space ends, and where another person’s may begin.

When we have healthy boundaries, we take responsibility for our needs, feelings, and we allow others to have their own needs, thoughts, and feelings, without taking responsibility or needing to somehow change them. When we honour our boundaries, we set limits, and take adult responsibility for our experiences.

Setting boundaries is essential if we want to be both physically and emotionally healthy. Strong boundaries help maintain balance, self-respect and allow us to be interdependent in intimate relationships and life in general. A lack of boundaries is like leaving the door to your home wide open, anyone, including welcome and un-welcome guests, can walk in without hesitation. Having rigid

WHEN

WE HONOUR

O U R B O U N DA R I E S , WE SET LIMITS,

A N D TA K E A D U LT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR EXPERIENCES boundaries leads to loneliness and isolation, and is akin to living in a fortress with no opening in sight.

Personal boundaries exist in different forms. There are the physical boundaries, which include your body, home, work space, purse etc. These are the literal lines we draw when it comes to our physical interaction with others. This could be about physically touching someone - a hug, hand shake, etc. They could also be about the rules we have when spending time with someone. It could be us determining if and how we will share our physical body and presence with others.

For examples, I am not ok being around you if you are going to behave this way, or I do not feel comfortable sitting this close.

Spiritual boundaries also exist. Can we allow others to have their chosen spiritual life (or lack thereof), without feeling the need to change them, convince them of their wrongness, be aggressive, force, manipulate or judge them to see things differently? When spiritual boundaries are weak or non-existence it is so easy to engage with people or a person and get into an argument that you cannot win, or even be persuaded or manipulated

into other’ belief system that may not be best for you. To have good spiritual boundaries you won’t need to be manipulated into a belief.

Emotional Boundaries: These areas of boundaries protecting our feelings.

Our emotional boundaries include how we allow others to treat us, whether our emotions are respected and honoured, and how we treat others in return. This area of boundaries is also about protecting how others talk to us individually.

Healthy emotional boundaries serve two very good purposes. They keep us from imposing our emotions on other people, dumping endlessly on anyone who will listen to us and then regretting it later. They can also help us handle our feelings in appropriate ways.

Emotional boundaries also keep us from taking on the emotions of others who are spewing their emotional garbage. They also what protect us from being manipulated by others through guilt, shame and fear. They help us not take on responsibility for someone else’s emotions.

Mental Boundaries: They define our thoughts and opinions, thus allowing us to choose what we think about and to stop ourselves from thinking about other things. Additionally, as we form opinions, we have freedom in how we analyse situations, what information we integrate into this assessment, and what our resulting opinion will be. Regardless of whether or not someone agrees with our opinion, it is ours to have and create a distinction between us and someone else

in our lives. Maintaining your own opinion or value about something is one of the components that make you a unique and distinct person.

Sexual boundaries: Sexual boundaries are boundaries about your sexuality, body; who touches you intimately (or how they touch you), comments that are sexual in nature, what your level of comfortability is with sexual behaviours, and how comfortable you feel touching others; sexual glances or having someone look at you in a sexual way that feels uncomfortable; being sexualized or objectified in the workplace or by a friend or stranger, or having a sexual partner coerce you into sexual acts that you feel uncomfortable with; or receiving sexual emails, text messages or phone calls that are inappropriate and suggestive sexually. These are only a few of the many ways our boundaries can be violated sexually.

Food for thought Good fences make good neighbours from the poem ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost Ms Akuoma wrote from Lagos via sanlifepointers@hotmail.com and can be reached through 08165583876 (SMS ONLY)

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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Monday, June 22, 2015

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All the Facts, All the Sides A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, CFR PUBLISHER

SUNDAY OLAJIDE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO BEN MEMULETIWON ACTING DAILY EDITOR GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR AYO OLESIN SUNDAY EDITOR DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF AUGUSTUS IMEKAN ACTING HEAD, GRAPHICS

Still on cholera epidemic

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he United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) painted a grim picture of life in Nigeria, when it declared about a fortnight ago that more than 500 people died as a result of cholera outbreak in the country in the past five months. It said not less than 1,500 persons die in the country annually as a result of the disease. Mr. Olusoji Adeniyi, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of UNICEF, told journalists in Kano State that the mortality rate for the outbreak of the scourge called for prompt action and the need for the provision of good accessible water in the country.

Cholera, experts say, is a disease condition caused by Vibro cholera bacteria, which leads to the production of a watery diarrhoea that rapidly results in turn to dehydration. The common sources of contacting the ailment are water or uncooked foods contaminated with the said bacterium, while the treatment widely recommended are eating well, oral rehydration solutions, antibiotics, electrolytes (potassium) and zinc supplementation.

However, Dr. Olalekan Ajayi, a Lagos-based medical practitioner, said two years ago when cholera outbreak struck some parts of the country that the recurrence of the disease in Nigeria was as a

result of poverty and the impoverishment of citizens. “Cholera clearly has a direct link to poverty, dirty environment and lack of social amenities including provision of good water sources.

When these basic amenities are not being provided by the government of a nation, outbreak of diseases quickly follow; and cholera is such a disease that is still prevalent because people are so poor in this country that the majority have shallow-dug wells as their only source of water supply”, Ajayi stated.

That year (2013) alone, figures authenticated by the then Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, buttressed that the disease ravaged Zamfara State and caused 51 deaths out of 1, 110 reported cases. Plateau State was next with 11 deaths from 130 cases; and nine deaths in Nasarawa State out of 105 cases. Lagos State recorded four deaths from 134 cases; Oyo State six deaths from 29 cases; and Ogun State five deaths from 115 cases. In all, the fatality was 86 deaths from 1, 623 cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) credits cholera as a major cause of diarrhoea epidemic throughout the developing world, notably Asia, Africa and Latin America, in the past four decades. In 2011, a total of 58

NIGERIANS CAN STEM THE GRAVITY OF THE SCOURGE THROUGH INCREASED PERSONAL HYGIENE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANLINESS

countries reported a total number of 589,854 cases, including 7,816 deaths (1.3%). WHO says poor areas frequently report the vast majority of cases, with the African continent having the worst case fatality rates. It is, indeed, perplexing that Nigeria is still being heavily blighted by avoidable or preventable ailments (cholera is just one of them) 40 years after the country first experienced cholera. The country is not also in a state of war.

Instead of improving, the level of personal hygiene appears regressing, access to potable water eludes most rural and urban settlements that cannot afford standard boreholes, as some still drink water sourced from contaminated ponds and streams, while human and industrial wastes are recklessly managed.

We concur with the conclusion of many that Nigeria has in more ways than one flunked its

ON THIS DAY June 22, 1990 ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ was dismantled in Berlin.

Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. The Soviet Union prompted the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop Eastern Bloc emigration westward and preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin to West Berlin.

Letters tothe theEditor Editor Letters to

June 22, 2009 Eastman Kodak Company announced that it would discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon. Commonly known as Kodak, the firm is an American multinational into imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services with headquarters in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1889, but had financial stress in the late-1990s.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) attainment targets. The cholera embarrassment is just one indictment that highlighted failed public policies in the provision of social amenities and poor health sector management. But as the nation rues these failures in legitimate anticipation of government’s quick intervention, Nigerians can stem the gravity of the scourge through increased personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness.

Highly recommended preventive steps by health experts include proper disposal and treatment of infected faecal waste water produced by cholera victims and all contaminated materials; neutralising contact with cholera patients by washing material or part of the body so exposed with hot water, using chlorine bleach if accessible; antibacterial treatment of general sewage by chlorine, ozone, ultraviolet light or other effective treatment before it enters the waterways or underground water supplies to prevent undiagnosed patients from ignorantly spreading the disease; purification of water meant for drinking; drawing public attention to possibly contaminated water sources; surveillance and prompt reporting of cases to hasten cases’ containment.

x June 22, 2012 Paraguayan President, Fernando Lugo, was removed from office through impeachment. Lugo (born May 30 1951) was the country’s President from 2008 to 2012.

Previously a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, he was elected as President in 2008, removed from office in 2012 through an impeachment process neighboring countries deemed a coup d’état; and later in 2013, elected to the Paraguayan Senate.

of sotment resident

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover

Power generation:

Stakeholders harp on benefits As several attempts by previous governments to revive the ailing power sector appeared to have yielded no tangible results, stakeholders have revved up campaigns on the need for governments to exploit opportunities in alternative power generation sources to boost electricity supply nationwide. Udo Onyeka reports

U

nited Nations, UN, data indicates that more than 1.2 billion people globally have no access to electricity and a billion more only have intermittent access. These people rely on costly, outdated technologies that are harmful to their health and hinder their opportunities for social and economic advancement, according to the UN. Doubtless, millions of Nigerians, except the few that had appropriated the nation’s wealth for selfish gains and live in stupendous affluence as more citizens get trapped in poverty, belong to the first group described by the UN as electricity supply is never part of their daily experiences.

Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million, has installed power capacity that fluctuates between 2,000 and 4,000 MW, but experiences severe electricity shortages that are crippling its socioeconomic developments in real terms.

The Federal Government in the past 16 years has spent billions of dollars to boost power supply yet there is very little to show for such huge investments.

For instance, during the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the power generation was about 2,800 MW while at the exit of the immediate past President, the generation level dropped from about 4,500 MW level in August 2014 to its lowest ebb of about 1,200 MW in decades.

This is after its much touted power sector reform ‘Roadmap’ from which billions of dollars were raked in through the privatisation of the PHCN successor companies. Apart from the semantics that came with the exercise, there was nothing on ground to show that Nigerians gain much from it in terms of available and affordable electricity.

However, a lot of reasons have been given by the government for the abysmal performance in this all important sector. The excuses are usually hinged on inadequate funds, shortage of gas supply, pipeline vandalism or sabotage and low level of water in the dams, amongst other factors.

Experts have said that the way out of this mess is for Nigeria to join the rest of the world, especially the developed nations to seek for alternative energy.

Scientists have argued that the increased content of carbon dioxide increases the warmth of our planet and is the main cause of the so called “Global Warming Effect”.

However one answer to global warming, according to experts is to replace and retrofit current technologies with alternatives that have comparable or better performance, but do not emit carbon dioxide.

Alternative energy refers to energy sources that have no undesired consequences such for example fossil fuels or nuclear energy.

Alternative energy sources are renewable and are thought to be “free” en-

Wind energy

ergy sources. They all have lower carbon emissions, compared to conventional energy sources.

They include Biomass Energy, Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Energy, Hydroelectric sources. Combined with the use of recycling, the use of clean alternative energies such as the home use of solar power systems will help ensure man’s survival into the 21st century and beyond.

President Muhammadu Buhari in his inaugural address promised Nigerians to “identify the quickest, safest and most costeffective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians”, a promise many stakeholders believe can only be fulfilled by seeking. The way to achieve this promise would to seek alternative power generation.

According to a public affairs commentator Mr. Aso Udeh, there is no way a society can attain any level of development in today’s world economic model driven by industrialisation and technology without attending to electricity power sufficiency.

“Nigeria is a country faced with chronic power shortages that has retarded economic development for far too long, not to menUDO ONYEKA, CO-ORDINATOR BUSINESS COURAGE udonyeka@gmail.com Solar energy for street light

c

Global Media Mirror Limited

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

of alternative sources

Devakumar

tion the untold hardship her citizens are daily subjected to as a result of the epileptic electricity supply.

“Poor power supply means that households cannot buy perishable goods in bulk or prepare meals that will last for more than a day, but instead, will have to contend with frequently buying food items in retails, and preparing meals only in piecemeal, as refrigerators have merely become decoration boxes in the households.

“Shopping in retails rather than stocking food items in bulk is understandably uneconomical and wastes a lot of useful time that could be diverted to other productive ventures, and when you factor the fact that we are talking about a country where up to 70 percent of her citizens live on less than two dollars a day according to UN figures, and where the official minimum wage is a paltry eighteen thousand naira, then the picture will begin to become clearer”, Udeh said.

Many homes in Nigeria now rely on generators for electricity supply, thereby making the country one of the largest importer of generators in the world.

But technology has provided other alternatives which are also safer and cost effective. But there is increasing energy being put in finding many other alternative sources of pow-

er and making them viable, such as solar, wind, geothermal and wave energy and biomass.

Nigerian’s partnership with some developed nations in this regard could lead the country in the right direction in the search for alternative power generation.

For instance few years ago the government of Japan has awarded about N1.9bn grant for solar electricity generation project in Nigeria, as part of its infrastructure development assistance. The Asian technological giant is also considering a $200m request from the Federal Government for power transmission project.

The Japanese ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Ryuichi Shoji, had noted that the support to Nigeria was part of his nation’s Official Development Assistance following the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a summit initiated by Japan in 1993 to revive the interest of the international community in African development.

Again a German Bank recently earmarked $200m facility for renewable energy in Nigeria.

At a bi-national Commission’s meeting on energy in Abuja, the leader of the German delegation, Renate Von Bodden, disclosed that the German Development Bank, KFW, had earmarked $200m

Bodden

support in the form of Green Credit Line.

The facility, it was mentioned, is meant as support base for small and medium enterprises, specifically for the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

She also disclosed that another facility worth 5 million Euros had been set aside for technical assistance through the KFW, adding that the German agency is endowed with required experience that would be useful to Nigerians in developing their capacities in renewable energy projects.

She expressed satisfaction with the commitment so far exhibited by Nigerian officials, just as she said that German had been working with Nigerians on a number of energy related projects. “Nigeria is on track with its vision of providing more of its nationals with electricity,” she added.

Bodden had promised the former President Goodluck Jonathan that Germany would continue to support the various energy related initiatives.

Many have also called on the government to pay attention to coal as a source power generation.

Few months ago Nigeria’s attempt to diversify her sources of electricity generation with the addition of coal-to-power has received a huge boost from

the African Development Bank ,AfDB, which has announced its commitment of a $200m Partial Risk Guarantee ,PRG, to support coal-to-power investment in the country.

However AfDB’s decision to institute a $200 million PRG for coal-topower production came directly against that of the World Bank which has overtime allegedly refused to lend financial support to investments in coal-topower on the ground that it is a dirty source of energy and unhealthy to the environment.

Expressing its delight with the development, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET Plc, otherwise known as the ‘bulk trader,’ described AfDB’s move as an African solution to an African challen ge.

The Managing Director of NBET, Rumudaka Wonodi, told journalists shortly after the meeting of NBET’s board yesterday in Abuja, that AfDB recognised Africa’s challenges in growing her electricity and thus came up with such support to enable her produce electricity from various sources.

“It is welcome news and you know that we are also working with the World Bank for PRG to support the projects that we undertake, unfortunately, the World Bank is very reticent and they are not quite committed to giving

support to coal because they deem it to be dirty fuel and not very good for the environment, however, the AfDB which is African, understands that Africa needs power from every source that it can, is supporting coal.

“We welcome that and they offered to provide it in support of some of the projects that we are working on like the Zuma energy if they feel that it is necessary and some of the other coal projects that we see around the country. It is very welcome news and we appreciate that,” said Wonodi.

On the volume of the AfDB’s coal-to-power PRG, he further noted: “I know that it is a number that is about $200 million.”Nigeria is aiming to grow her electricity generation capacity by bringing into the mix, coal, wind and solar electricity sources.

Also frustrated by the challenge of unreliable power supply from the national grid and increasingly dwindling gas and Low Pour Fuel Oil supply, some manufacturers in the country are desperately looking for solutions to their power problems.

For instance, the management of Dangote Cement Plc announced it was making a $250m investment in coal-fired power plants in its Obajana, Ibeshe and Gboko plants.

Already on ground, according to the company, are the necessary equipment for the construction of the plants as well as the first consignment of coal, all imported from South Africa.

Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement, Mr. Edwin Devakumar, said the gas and LPFO supply situation in the country was getting worse, with gas-fired power plants and industries using the product to power their processes being starved of gas.

For LPFO, he said the situation had reached a critical stage, as the company had in the last six months been importing the product due to its scarcity in the country, adding

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that before then, Nigeria used to export the fuel to other countries.

Within the period, he said the company had taken delivery of three vessels of LPFO imported through the Apapa Ports, with each carrying 30,000 tonnes of the product, while each of the coal plants would have capacity to generate 30 megawatts of electricity.

In addition, Devakumar said the company had to rent tank farms in Apapa, Lagos and Calabar, Cross River State, to discharge the imported LPFO into before transferring it to the cement plants.

Meanwhile some stakeholders have called on state governments to establish power plants, to reduce their dependence on the National Grid.

Senior Corporate Communication Manager of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company, YEDC, Mr Onyekachi Nkemneme, said the panacea to energy crisis in Nigeria was the establishment of state power plants.

Nkemneme said such move would reduce the overbearing concentration on the grid and ensure efficient electricity distribution nationwide.

He noted that the distance between Kainji Dam and North East in particular, was a militating factor in the efficient distribution of power in the region.

According to him, transmission from the dam passes through Gombe before reaching Yola, and if there is any obstruction, it will definitely affect supply in Yola.

He stressed the need for governors in the zone to explore their electricity potentials to address the problem of insufficient power supply in their geopolitical zone.

The manager said that the Mambilla Plateau, in Taraba alone, had the potential of generating over 45,000 megawatts, which would be sufficient for the entire zone.

General Manager, Bauchi Meat Factory Company, Dr Alkasim Ibrahim, lamented the effect irregular electricity on the fortune of the company said activities now relied heavily on power generator due to unstable power supply from electricity distribution companies. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News NSE, London Exchange partners on showcasing quoted firms

investors. So we really don’t choose. We try to reach out to any investor who is interested in investing in our start-ups.

Investment funds are used for different purposes depending on the maturity of the startups and its products. Some start-ups will use these funds for expansion; others will use the funds for a go-to-market strategy,” he said.

Others, according to him, would apply the funds to refine their products and services further before releasing the products to the markets.

By Udo Onyeka

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igerian Stock Exchange, NSE has concluded arrangements, to lead corporate finance experts, lawyers, capital market operators, regulators and companies keen to explore a London/Lagos dual listing, to an investor road show at London Stock Exchange Group, LSEG. According a statement by NSE the road show is part of efforts aimed at promoting dual listing and showcasing the potential of quoted companies on the NSE to global markets.

“Scheduled to be held on June 22, 2015, the event themed London – Lagos: Capital Markets in Partnership is in furtherance to the agreement signed in November 2014 between the NSE and LSEG to strengthen cooperation and promote mutual development between the two exchanges”, it said.

According to the CEO of NSE, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, the event will bring together key market stakeholders to discuss opportunities for dual listing in the London and Nigerian capital markets.

“It is an opportunity for engagement between the UK and Nigerian capital markets with a view to deepening domestic and regional markets; enhancing liquidity and identifying institutional and capacity building initiatives needed to develop both markets and create long term value for respective stakeholders. The plans to get local firms to list both on The NSE and London Stock Exchange is part of our strategy of transforming Nigeria into an international financial centre that serves not only the Africa region but also the global market”, he said.

CEO, LSEG, Xavier Rolet said the event is a reflection of the global investment community’s strong desire to be a part of the Nigeria story via the increasingly strong partnership being forged between Nigeria and London.

Onyema

Brokers commend Lagos on insurance for security personnel L-R: Filippe Romanini, Member of the GlobalCCU Advisory and Judging Committee; Marie-Catherine Jusserand, Director of Marketing & Communications at Orange Campus, France; Irumhekha Oshiomha, Head, FirstAcademy, FirstBank; Barbara Harper, Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development, FirstBank; and Annick Renaud-Coulon, Chairman of Global Council of Corporate Universities at the GlobalCCU Award Ceremony in Paris, France recently

“As the world’s most international exchange, LSEG looks forward to building on the success of existing dual listings in Nigeria and London and partnering with the NSE to showcase developments in Nigeria’s economy and capital markets”, Rolet said.

Stanbic IBTC to publish names of loan defaulters

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tanbic IBTC, the local unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank in response to directive of the apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will make public list of loan defaulters.

Stanbic IBTC would be among the first banks to publish such a list after the regulator directed lenders in April to go after non-performing loans to forestall a repeat of a 2009 industry bailout that cost the government $4 billion.

The new plan requires banks to give bad debtors three months to square their accounts, following which they would be named in Nigerian media and barred from taking part in currency and government debt markets in Africa’s biggest economy.

Stanbic said in a statement today that in addition to publishing a list of defaulters by the end of August, it would also use legal and other means to recover non-performing loans.

While issuing its order, the central bank did not give an estimate of the level of non-performing loans held by banks.

In 2009, the central bank rescued several banks that had lent mainly to the oil and gas sector just before crude prices collapsed, triggering a nearcollapse of eight commercial banks

Fidelity Bank rewards loyal customers

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idelity Bank Plc has rewarded loyal customers with the sum of N52m in the on-going Fidelity Loyalty Savings Scheme according to a statement.

It said a total of 106 customers have been rewarded in this second batch with 80 beneficiaries receiving N500, 000 “Xtra income” each, under Fidelity Personal Savings Scheme, FPSS, while 26 SWEETA account holders received N150, 000 “School fees support” each.

“The Fidelity Loyalty Savings Scheme is a special scheme designed to appreciate customers that had opened Scheme and SWEETA accounts respectively.

“The accounts are interestyielding which allows deposit of cash, cheques and dividend warrants. In addition, the FPSS and SWEETA account can be opened with any amount.

According to the bank another presentation will be held next month to a fresh set of beneficiaries of the scheme.

So, open and start saving today and you could win extra income and School fees support with your FPSS and SWEETA account.

Expert identifies reasons African investors shun technology firms

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

T

he proponent of African start-ups and Executive Producer of Demo Africa has identified reasons African in-

Hare

vestors do not invest in technology companies.

Harry Hare, CEO of African eDevelopment Resource Centre, franchise owner of Demo Africa, a technology launch pad for startups in Africa, averred that in the past few years of Demo Africa’s existence “we have noticed that Africa-based investors are yet to come to the table when it comes to investing in technology start-ups.”

According to Hare, who has travelled the continent to identify innovative local companies at their earliest stages, most local venture capitalists were used to investing in brick and mortar businesses, which they “understand and find technology start-ups high risk and therefore shy away.”

He however said that the situation is changing with the advent of angel networks forming across the continent.

Since the angel investor network emerged, Hare informed, Demo Africa has witnessed encouraging feedback with the recent activities of $ 1.7 million acquisition of Weza Tele, a Kenyan-based DEMO Africa alumnus and the investment of over a million dollars in 3 start-ups just months after launching at the DEMO Africa stage.

“Investors, whether in Africa or Europe, are still

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he brokers, under the auspices of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, has commended the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on the approval of upward review of the Group Life Insurance scheme for officers of the Nigeria Police in the state.

The President, NCRIB, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu, described the governor’s initiative as the right step in a right direction, stressing that the move would encourage crime control and make the state safe for habitation and business growth.

Shoderu noted that the initiative was an indication that the governor values the importance of the service of security personnel, including the police, stressing that the governor should not relent, but extend the same gesture to other employees of the state as well as back it up with prompt payment of premium.

According to him, “the scheme which was introduced by the state government 16 years ago to complement the Federal Government’s contributory scheme, to cover death and permanent disability of the police would ensure that their dependants live normal life in the event of death or permanent disability of their breadwinners.”

He, however, implored other state governors to emulate Lagos State by paying more attention to the insurance of public properties as well as undertake life assurance for security personnel serving in their states, saying, Lagos State has become a pace setter in terms of social security.

A fortnight ago, Governor Ambode, announced upward review of the compensation value of Senior Police Officers to N5m; Inspectors to N3 million while Rank and File was hiked N2 million respectively, as one of his promises to sustain, improve and consolidate on past attainment.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

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Bank customers rush to register as BVN exercise ends June 30

of NURTW, Challenge Park, Ibadan, urged the government to put in place a proper framework to boost the sector.

By Udo Onyeka

BATNF launches 2nd phase of Ebonyi rice project

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anks are having hectic days registering customers for the Bank Verification Number, BVN, as they come in droves apparently to beat the June 30 deadline of the exercise.

Already some Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, have since June 1, began to restrict their unregistered customers from using their accounts.

It was equally gathered that some banks had placed restrictions on transfers from accounts without the BVN, some others had restricted the use of e-channels, Automated Teller Machines, ATMs and over the counter withdrawals on accounts without the BVN. One of the banks, in an email to customers, stated that “Effective June 1, 2015, please note that you will not be able to transact with your card internationally at the ATM, POS or online without your Bank Verification Number.”

Another bank stated that “In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to ensure that all bank accounts are BVN compliant with effect from Monday, June 1, 2015, we are constrained to inform you that Third Party transfers, including Instant Payments, RTGS and Foreign Currency Transfers, can no longer be conducted on your accounts with us ,via any of our channels) until your BVN registration is concluded,” the lender said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had, in October, given a December 31, 2014, deadline for all customers seeking for credit to have the BVNs. Also banks were expected to have enrolled 40 per cent of their customers before the end of 2014, 70 per cent on or before March 31, 2015, and have all customers on board by the end of June 30, 2015.

The BVN involves the registration of customers in the financial system using biometric technology to make their accounts more secure with unique identifiers such as fingerprint. It was introduced to reduce incidents of fraud and protect customer accounts from unauthorised access.

By David Audu

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L-R: Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco Angelone; one of the Judges of 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, Zukiswa Wanner; Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher and one of the Judges of 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, Molara Wood, at the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature press conference, held in Lagos recently

to establish power plants, to reduce their dependence on the National Grid.

They made the call during a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the state of electricity generation, distribution and consumption in Nigeria.

A cross section of the stakeholders, including Mr Onyekachi Nkemneme, Senior Corporate Communication Manager of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC), said the main panacea to energy crisis in Nigeria was the establishment of state power plants.

Nkemneme said such move would reduce the overbearing concentration on the grid and ensure efficient electricity distribution nationwide.

He noted that the distance between Kainji Dam and North East in particular, was a militating factor in the efficient distribution of power in the region.

According to him, transmission from the dam passes through Gombe before reaching Yola, and if there is any obstruction, it will definitely affect supply in Yola.

He stressed the need for governors in the zone to explore their electricity potentials to address the problem of insufficient power supply in their geopolitical zone.

The manager said that the

Power supply: Experts urge state govts to establish power plants

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igerians, including experts and other stakeholders in electricity generation and distribution in the country, have called on all state governments

Nkemneme

Mambilla Plateau, in Taraba alone, had the potential of generating over 45,000 megawatts, which would be sufficient for the entire zone.

Nkemneme said the Kiri Dam in Adamawa also had the potentials of generating up to 16,000 megawatts for national usage, and wondered why such areas would not be developed to address the situation nationwide.

He also pointed that the Dadinkowa Dam in Gombe was another source for generating a lot of power for Nigeria.

He said the YEDC, which supplied electricity to four states, was not into transmission and generation, but distribution only.

According to him, the states in the zone are Taraba, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

He said the company was depending on the electricity generating and transmitting companies, for distribution to consumers.

Road transportation: Stakeholders call for summit, regulatory body

A

cross section of Nigerians have expressed concern over what they described as a chaotic state of affairs in the commercial road transportation sub-sector.

While some canvassed for a conference of stakeholders to discuss the issue and proffer solutions to the challenges, others called for the establishment of an agency to regulate operations in commercial road transportation.

The stakeholders were responding to a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) in the South-West on the anomalies in commercial transportation activities.

In Ilorin, the Kwara capital, a transporter, Alhaji Fatai Afolabi, expressed support for the establishment of a commission to regulate the activities of operators in the road transportation sector.

Afolabi, who is also the Chairman, Young Legacy Motors, told NAN that road transportation catered for over 50 per cent of travellers, making it imperative for the government to set up a body to regulate the sub-sector.

He further urged the National Assembly to enact a law on the establishment of a regulatory body for the road transport sector.

Afolabi said the body, when established, would regulate and set standards for operators in the road transport sector.

He also said that the body would supervise all motor parks in the country and rid them of touts and miscreants constituting a menace to travellers.

A regular traveller, Chief Rex Olawoye, also called for a regulatory body to work with the FRSC and the various transport unions.

Olawoye, a Pharmacist, advised governments to review the operation of motor parks and rid them of miscreants.

Also responding, Malam Sulaiman Yaru-Yite, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara, urged the government to ``tackle the rot in the sector before talking of a regulatory body’’.

Yaru-Yite said that the government had neglected the sector for so long in spite of the high patronage by travellers.

Mr Muyiwa Aluko, the Assistant Organising Secretary

ritish American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, BATNF, in collaboration with the Ebonyi State Fadama Coordinating Office, has launched the second phase of the Rice Enterprise Value-Chain Development Project. The event, which held at Ojiegbe Community in Izzi Local Government Council of the state, was in continuation of BATNF’s efforts geared towards poverty reduction and wealth creation through agricultural enterprise value-chain development.

In his remarks, former Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Echiegu, on behalf of the Ojiegbe-Igbeagu Community and the state, expressed gratitude to BATNF for coming to the aid of the poor rice farmers in the community. He also commended the Foundation for the early commencement of the project, and reiterated the importance of the agricultural project intervention to the state.

Dr Echiegu, who bemoaned the dwindling revenue from the oil sector, noted that “the only hope for Nigerians is in agriculture.” He also recalled that when the first intervention was inaugurated in the state in 2008 by BATNF, he closely monitored the project from inception to its completion as the then state Commissioner for Agriculture. He observed that “The feedback received by the Ministry indicated that the three-year intervention has made a very positive impact on the beneficiaries, their families and the community.”

He thanked the Foundation and appealed for replication of the intervention in other local councils in the state.

While giving an overview of the project, the Ebonyi State Fadama Project Coordinator, Dr. Cletus Nwakpu, said that the Foundation’s intervention in the state in the last eight years has been very impactful in empowering the beneficiaries through provision of grants, trainings and other incentives, which have been instrumental to members dealing with the challenges of poverty.

He further stated that the intervention addressed the myriad of challenges facing the farmers in the entire rice valuechain, which often resulted in low returns on investment and shunning of farming. BC

A6 22

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Companies & Markets

Heritage Bank partners PMAN on biometrics card scheme

Stories by Udo Onyeka

H

eritage Bank has announced its partnership support with the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria, PMAN, for the launch of a Biometrics Card Scheme for members of the music body.

The PMAN Biometrics Card Scheme, a flagship multipurpose identity card project which was initiated to re-validate the association’s eminent status in the nation’s entertainment industry, is conceived as a starting point of an all-inclusive scheme to ensure significant levels of protection

for Nigerian musicians’ commercial rights.

PMAN President, Pretty Okafor, explained that the Scheme is a product of a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s entertainment business landscape which shows that Nigerian musicians and their colleagues in the entertainment sector have been earning far below the commercial value of their works due to a variety of factors such as poor infrastructure and weak institutional and policy environment.

According to him, the Scheme would make it possible for PMAN to develop a sound database of genuine practitio-

ners in the nation’s music business sector, thereby strengthening the anti-piracy campaign.

Additionally, the card would serve as a debit ATM Card as well as avail members a CUG, Close User Group, platform to call their music business associates for a fixed monthly flat rate using the network service provider that is also partnering with PMAN in the Scheme.

Heritage Bank’s Group Head of e-bank, Tobe Nnadozie, said the Bank’s decision to be part of the PMAN Biometrics Card Scheme is informed by its un-

wavering commitment to wealth creation, preservation and transfer in the entertainment sector.

“The entertainment sector has been identified as one of the biggest economic blocs in the country with potential to contribute hugely to the development of the national economy.

Sadly, entertainment practitioners are being hampered from enjoying large chunks of what they deserve as income from their creative investments. As a bank that is wholly committed to the mantra of wealth creation

and preservation, Heritage Bank is more than ready and willing to partner with PMAN in the task of sanitising the environment so that entertainment practitioners can really flourish”.

Nnadozie revealed that the Bank has, over the last eighteen months, midwived nearly $100m in funding for a variety of transactions in the entertainment industry, adding that it would continue to explore ways of assisting the sector to achieve further qualitative growth. BC

FirstBank wins GlobalCCU Silver Award for Business Impact

F

irst Bank of Nigeria Limited has clinched the Silver Award for Best Impact by Corporate University on Implementation of Business Strategies of the Organisation in the Global Council for Corporate Universities, GlobalCCU, Awards 2015.

A statement said the Bank achieved this feat through its corporate academy for Learning & Development – FirstAcademy, after a rigorous entry process cutting across 51 countries from all continents across the globe.

“The awards recognise and reward the very best Corporate Universities worldwide that have performed at the highest level of excellence and have created value for People, Business and Society across the world.

“The Bank’s FirstAcademy is the first corporate academy of its kind in Nigeria and it is affiliated to the Global Association of Corporate Universities and Academies and the World Institute of Action Learning. It was established to provide strategic platform for competence development, knowledge management, culture change, and overall organisational transformation. The ultimate focus of the academy is to transform FirstBank into a world-class learning organisation through best-inclass learning structures aimed at achieving the Bank’s strategic objectives and business priorities”, the statement said.

Through FirstAcademy, the Bank said it invests in its staff by providing exceptional learning interventions which enables them to be rated among the best in their chosen field, adding that the academy also enjoys a working partnership with top Ivy League Institutions such as INSEAD, Michigan Ross School of

Business, China Europe International Business School ,CEIBS, Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management and Lagos Business School, LBS. According to a statement by Filippo Romanini of the Global CCU Awards, FirstAcademy has demonstrated an effective process in securing alignment between company strategy and the academy’s strategy and learning activities, the simplicity and efficiency of its governance with a good connection to internal stakeholders, as well as remarkable connection of knowledge and learning through mobile solutions to increase the digital agility of its people. BC

L-R: Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku, handing over keys to Toyota Corolla car to Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Ikoyi Passport Office Mrs Modupe Anyalechi, being a donation by Ecobank to the Ikoyi Passport Office; and Assistant Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Zone A, Lagos, Mr. N.A Ibrahim

Mutual Benefits promises to penetrate rural areas

F

ollowing the recent award organised by African Re, where Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc was adjudged as the ‘Most Innovative Insurance Company 2015’ in Tunis, Tunisia recently, the company has promised to further penetrate the rural areas of the country to ensure that risks in these areas are equally insured.

Ogunbiyi

Group Managing Director of the assurance company, Mr Akin Ogunbiyi, while speaking at a media parley in Lagos, assured that Mutual Benefits is poised to take insurance products and services to the rural areas to ensure financial inclusion.

He noted that the insurance firms in the country concentrates majorly in urban areas, living people and assets in the rural areas uninsured, promising that his firm will continue to service both urban and rural areas to insure risks across the country.

According to him, “the major focus was to take insurance to the grassroots and ensure that the majority of low income earners have access to insurance.

Those who began the sale of insurance in Nigeria focused more on the grassroots and that is our focus.”

He, however, applauded the

National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, for its dynamism, support and initiatives in the past eight years, adding that there cannot be any innovation when the regulators are not dynamic, understanding, and supportive towards the operators and the business of insurance.

Ogunbiyi said the award was a good recognition for effort, initiative and investment of the company over the years, while dedicating the awards to its staff operators and regulator of the insurance industry.

He noted that the greatest platform the company had, that led to the award, is the introduction of Market Developmental Restructuring Initiative, MDR,

by NAICOM, adding that the initiative introduced by the commission changed the way the company began to do business.

He said the major focus was to take insurance to the grassroots and ensure that majority

of low income earners have access to insurance.

Meanwhile, Mutual Benefits won the award at the 2015 African Insurance Organisation ,AIO, seminar held in Tunis, Tunisia, last month, beating other two contenders to the award.

It was awarded with ‘Innovation Company of the year Award’ for the use of technology, breakthrough in products/ service delivery and innovative distribution channels/method introduced in the sale of insurance products to reach the grassroots.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, Ogunbiyi commended African Reinsurance for sponsoring the award, adding that the initiative will help to push the industry to relevance.

He dedicated the award to the handiwork of its staff and the Nigerian insurance industry in general. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A7 23

Companies & Markets

Sterling Bank unveils new hybrid reward product I n line with its customer-centric focus in delivering ‘solution’ covering financial and non-financial needs for its target segment. Sterling Bank has introduced its new proposition for the mass market segment with the “New Sterling Plus” as its gateway product.

The new sterling Plus is an affordable hybrid offering with the promise of many goodies and freebies such as free Lenovo smartphones preloaded with cool financial and entertainment apps and cash

rewards amongst others for its individual customers.

It is the perfect solution for solution for individuals interested in enjoying the exciting benefit of both current and savings account offerings. Without the associated cost of running a Current account. Customers are entitled to free cheque books, free debit card and free alerts, SMS and emails on their transactions.

Executive director, finance and strategy, Abubakar Suleiman, said the new product is

Anchor Insurance pays N23m claims to Niger Delta Power Holding

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nchor Insurance Company Limited has paid N23 million to Niger Delta Power Holding (Sapele Power Plant) as claims, within three days of receipt of discharge voucher.

This payment, the company said, was made to indemnify Niger Delta Power Holding for a claim that occurred as a result of electronic fault leading to arcing and fire in the main generator and subsequent explosion and fire in main transformer and Gas Turbine unit at its Sapele Power Plant.

A statement from the company signed by its Spokesperson, Mr. Kehinde Olaniyi, and made available to Business News, stated that the payment of this claim has indeed demonstrated the company’s willingness to support the Federal Government’s drive in revamping the power sector. He added that insurance played a key role in sustaining the power infrastructure so as to ensure

adequate, efficient and constant generation and distribution of power in the country.

It would be recalled that the company recently settled a huge claim to the tune of N44 million within 48 hours for one of its clients in the transportation sector and this has equally assisted business continuity for the client.

He re-emphasised that Anchor Insurance Company is adequately capitalised with multidisciplinary management who has expertise in handling power and energy insurances backed by robust and solid technical partnership with leading reinsurance underwriters and reinsurance brokers both locally and internationally.

Prompt settlement of genuine claims, according to him, “has been our culture and this we intend to keep doing so as to give confidence to the insuring populace and create more awareness for insurance culture in Nigeria.” BC

part of the Bank’s effort to make sure that every segment of the society is served with quality product.

“Our existing and potential customers led to the development of this proposition which provides offerings suited for the banking needs of the generality of the Nigerian population”, Suleiman said.

He explained that the choice of goodies for customers especially “the free smartphones” was in consideration for the increasing demand and use of mobile platforms in the Nigerian market.

According to him with apps

such the Sterling mobile Banking Solo music ,which gives access to over 20 million songs from local and foreign artists, customers are assured of having an exciting experience while fulfilling banking, entertainment, financial literacy needs.

In addition to the above, a cash rewards awaits Sterling plus accounts holders such that every week 20 people win N50,000 each,10 people win N100,000 monthly, 2 people win N500,000 quarterly and 1 lucky individual win N1 million on special holidays.

“New Sterling Plus which can be accessed at any of Sterling

Yemi Adeola, Sterling Bank MD

bank branches can be opened with minimum opening balance of N5,000”, Suleiman added. BC

L-R: Head Savings Group, Fidelity Bank Plc., Janet Nnabuko, Head, Legal Services, Fidelity Bank Plc., Abimbola Ogunjobi, one of the beneficiaries of the Fidelity Loyalty Savings Scheme, Obika Osita Jayden, Executive Director, Shared Services, Fidelity Bank Plc., Chijioke Ugochukwu and Divisional Head, Retail Bank, Richard Madiebo at the presentation of cash prizes to the 2nd batch of beneficiaries of the Fidelity Loyalty Savings Scheme

Ecobank supports women entrepreneurs, partners WoWe festival

I

n line with its corporate disposition to sustainable women empowerment, Ecobank Nigeria is partnering Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, WED, on the hosting of this year Women of West Africa Entrepreneurship, WOWe, Festival.

WOWe Festival 2015 with the theme ‘Vision to Reality’ slated for June 25 and 26 will provide the opportunity for female entrepreneurs and corporate professional women with entrepreneurial ambitions, to secure practical information on how to transform their businesses and realise their entrepreneurial ambitions.

The conference will also provide a high level networking platform that connects the most influential women entrepreneurs who exchange ideas, address challenges, will uncover new strategies and dialogue on issues relating to entrepreneurship and leadership.

Deputy Managing Director,

Ecobank Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi, said the bank decided to partner the high profile festival because of its belief in female entrepreneurs.

He was optimistic that the existing and budding entrepreneurs would find the knowledge sharing from the Festival useful.

“As a bank, it is part of our philosophy to sponsor initiatives such as this. We believe this interactive and engaging dialogue from experts that have been assembled to facilitate at the conference will assist existing and budding entrepreneurs in becoming their own brands and job creators for their societies and have a positive impact on the sub-region economy.”

Founder, WOWe, Tori Abiola, said this year’s Festival brings a completely new and superior experience for women entrepreneurs as it incorporates its first exhibition running with co-located seminars for two full days.

“This amazing platform will give visitors the opportunity to network, showcase products and give 10 lucky VIP guests the opportunity to pitch to investors looking to fund $1,000,000 towards women driven entre-

preneurship ventures at the show.”

She explained that the event will also feature eight seminar streams, workshops and master classes which will focus on fashion and beauty; technol-

ogy and digital powerhouses; finance and investments; manufacturing; agri-business; the creative industries – design, media and entertainment; talent & skills management; export. BC

Entries for Etisalat Prize for Literature 2015 begin

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

T

elecommunication firm, Etisalat Nigeria, has announced the call for entries to the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, which is in its third year.

The Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first ever Pan African prize celebrating debut African writers of published fiction.

Speaking during a media briefing held over the weekend in Lagos, Matthew Willsher, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, said, “The Etisalat Prize for Literature serves as a platform for the discovery of new creative writing talents out of the African

continent.”

Willsher reiterated that following the success of the second year, which was concluded early this year, the literary community is eagerly awaiting the third year.

NoViolet Bulawayo won the maiden edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature with her highly celebrated debut novel, We Need New Names, while Songeziwe Mahlangu emerged winner of the second year of the prize with his novel, Penumbra.

The Etisalat prize is designed to foster writing in Africa, bring exciting new African writers to the attention of a wider audience, and promote the reading

culture.

The winner receives a cash prize of £15,000 in addition to a fellowship at the prestigious University of East Anglia under the mentorship of the awardwinning author, Professor Giles Foden.

The winner will also receive a sponsored three-city book tour while the two other shortlisted writers will receive a sponsored two-city book tour to promote their books.

The Etisalat Prize for Literature also supports publishers by purchasing 1000 copies of the shortlisted books for distribution within the continent. BC

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News ECB boosts emergency funding as Greek banks bleed

T

he European Central Bank expanded emergency funding for Greek banks as savers pulled out 1.2 billion euros in a single day on Friday, bankers said, but Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted the nation’s future in the euro was secure.

With the country edging closer to default at the end of this month, the leftist leader assured Greeks that prophets of “crisis and terror” would be confounded, and his government would strike a deal with European Union and IMF creditors.

However, EU officials said euro zone finance ministers would discuss on Monday how to handle a Greek default unless Athens made new proposals on reform and austerity to persuade the creditors to unlock aid blocked since August.

European Council President Donald Tusk said no one should assume that an emergency summit of euro zone leaders he will chair on Monday evening would find a “magic solution”.

“The game of chicken needs to end, and so does the blame game. Because this is not a game and there is no time for any games,” Tusk said.

Bankers told Reuters that after Friday’s accelerated outflows, about 4.2 billion euros had flooded out of Greek accounts this week despite central bank efforts to restore calm. “Today was a more difficult day compared to yesterday,” one of the bankers said. “Monday will likely be tough as well.”

Earlier, a banking source said ECB policymakers had raised the limit on Emergency Liquidity Assistance - the lifeline keeping Greek banks afloat as deposits dive - for the second time in a week. There were contradictory reports about the scale of the increase, which the ECB never announces.

Officials said the ECB would review the limit again on Monday night after euro zone government leaders try to break the deadlock with Athens at an emergency summit in Brussels.

Greece is on course to default on a 1.6 billion euro debt repayment it must make to the

Tsipras

International Monetary Fund on June 30 unless the creditors resume funding.

Tsipras nevertheless exuded confidence and calm, going ahead with a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an economic conference in St Petersburg.

“All those who are betting on crisis and terror scenarios will be proven wrong,” Tsipras said in a statement issued by his office while he was in Russia.

“There will be a solution based on respecting EU rules and democracy which would allow Greece to return to growth in the euro.”

Russia played down any possibility of Russian financial aid for Greece. Asked if Putin and Tsipras had discussed the issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “No, no, no.”

Citigroup to shift European retail banking base to Dublin

C

itigroup (C.N) is planning to shift the head office of its European retail banking operation to Dublin from London to benefit from lower costs and capital requirements.

Last week, the bank wrote to clients to say the UK-based business, Citibank International Limited, which operates a small number of branches across some 20 European countries, would be taken over by Dublin-based Citibank Europe Plc. “From a strategic perspective for Citi, moving to a single pan-European bank is expected to reduce operational and regulatory complexity, capital requirements and cost,” the company told clients.

Analysts said UK rules that require banks to hold a higher level of cash in reserve than other European countries do was likely to be a factor behind the move but that they did not expect to see a stream of other banks moving their headquarters from the UK. A spokeswoman for the bank said the change in the retail bank’s legal domicile and principal regulatory base would not involve job cuts and that the leadership of the European retail operation would continue to be based in London.

“The primary reason (for the move) is simplification, mirroring Citi’s strategy of creating a simpler, safer, stronger institution,” she said.

Citigroup has been scaling back its retail operations in recent years and remains a small player in Europe.

Citibank International Ltd employed 4,600 people at the end of last year, filings show.

Citibank Europe Plc employed 4,300 and currently focuses on

providing transaction services to financial services and corporate clients.

The spokeswoman denied that the decision to rebase in Dublin was influenced by the possibility of the UK leaving the European Union following the referendum on EU membership which is due to be held in the next two years.

Also, although Ireland has become a magnet for international financial institutions thanks to its low tax rate, the spokeswoman said the restructuring was not tax driven.

Since the financial crisis, regulators have increased the amount of cash and government bonds banks must keep in reserve in case of financial storms.

Higher capital requirements mean less money to lend out or invest and consequently lower returns for a bank.

European Union countries apply the same international rules on capital requirements.

However, on top of the basic reserve requirements, regulators require some banks to hold additional capital as a buffer. The amount depends on the regulator’s perception of the bank’s systemic or business risks.

Dvorkovich

Russia set to provide ‘financial support’ for Greece

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ussia says it is ready to consider providing financial support to Greece as European finance ministers have been holding talks aimed at stopping a default.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that his country would look at the “question” of providing money in order to protect investment projects and trade.

Mr Dvorkovich told a TV station: “We will support any solution on regulating the Greek debt crisis that is suggested by Greece and our European partners.

“The most important things for us are investment projects and trade with Greece. If financial support is required, we will consider this question.”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in St Petersburg

that Russia was “one of the most important partners for us”.

Such an alliance would alarm EU leaders, who may see it as undermining solidarity at a time when they are trying to maintain pressure on the Kremlin over the conflict in Ukraine.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked whether there had been any discussion between Putin and Tsipras of financial aid for Greece during the St Petersburg conference and his reply was: “No, no, no.”

The European Central Bank stepped in on Friday afternoon to shore up Greece’s banks, with fears Greeks would flock to cash machines to withdraw their savings.

With about 2 billion euros (£1.4 billion) withdrawn in the last three days, there was a risk that the banks may not have been able to open on Monday, a threat that has been averted - for now - by the ECB’s credit lifeline.

Meanwhile, finance ministers of the 19-nation Eurozone held talks in Luxembourg but failed to make any breakthrough with just 12 days to go before Athens must make a crucial debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said further dialogue was needed “with adults in the room”, adding that Greece would be in default if it failed to make a key repayment at the end of this month and “there will be no period of grace”.

Mr Tsipras said he is working to make Monday’s (today) emergency summit with Eurozone leaders a “success” and he warned that a Greek exit from the eurozone would be “very negative for the people of Europe”.

Ukraine to halt payments if creditors shun ‘last chance’ debt offer

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kraine offered an updated debt restructuring proposal to creditors on Friday, its Finance Minster said, warning that Kiev would halt debt payments if bondholders did not make use of this “last chance” to clinch a deal in coming talks.

Ukraine is negotiating with foreign bondholders to restructure $23 billion of debt, but talks have soured over a disagreement on the necessity of a writedown on the principal of the bonds.

The new offer from Kiev is based on a worsened outlook for the Ukrainian economy and, like the initial proposal, it

Yaresko

includes a coupon and principal cut and maturity extensions, Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko said in a briefing.

Ukraine will stop servicing its debt “if no real progress is made in talks soon, if creditors do not use this last chance to reach an agreement” in the weeks ahead, she said.

The cost of insuring exposure to Ukrainian debt rose on Friday to a three-week high of 3114 basis points, up 129 bps from Thursday’s close, according to data provider Markit.

The latest offer includes an instrument allowing creditors to recover more value if the economy performs better than currently projected.

This new detail could help the sides reach a consensus in talks, Yaresko told New York-based investors via a video conference call after the briefing.

“The big uncertainty is GDP, so a growth-linked instrument is very sensible indeed,” said Gabriel Sterne, head of Global Macro Research at Oxford Economics.

“But ... you still need to work out what GDP you use.

What happens if you ‘lose’ the east of Ukraine. You need to spell out clearly if that makes a difference to your payments.”

The creditor group said they had received the updated proposal and would respond in due course.

The GDP-linked instrument proposed by Ukraine is in tune with one aspect of the creditors’ offer which proposes that coupons be paid only when the economy recovers to a certain level.

With the restructuring deal, Ukraine has to come up with $15 billion of savings as part of a broader IMF-led $40 billion bailout aimed at shoring up the Ukrainian economy, which has been pushed close to bankruptcy by years of economic mismanagement and an eastern separatist conflict.

Yaresko said the new proposal to creditors was based on more pessimistic forecasts for the economy in 2015.

The International Monetary Fund said in May it expected Ukraine’s GDP to fall 9 percent this year, rather than the previously expected 5.5 percent. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A9 25

Brand Watch

Airtel excites customers with ‘It’s Now’ campaign

By David Audu

I

n a bid to help African youths live their dreams, Airtel, a telecommunication service provider and supporter of grass roots football in Africa, has unveiled the ‘It’s Now’ campaign.

Speaking on the new campaign, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, , stressed that Airtel understands that people’s desire to succeed is outstripped by their ability to access the needed resources.

He noted that Airtel helped millions of Africans plug into the global community. “We push the boundaries of technology, constantly innovating and drawing on our entrepreneurial spirit to provide our customers a window to the world. This commitment to Af-

Ogunsanya

rica’s success finds its expression in the launch of our new campaign, It’s Now. Airtel takes the expression of our belief in the power of Africa’s potential to the next level by giving them tangible, aspiration call to ac-

IABC rebrands, launches new logo

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he International Association of Business Communicators, IABC, has unveiled a new logo at the annual IABC World Conference held in San Francisco, United States, replacing their branding that had endured since the founding of the organization 45 years ago.

The new logo represents the “globe” that is IABC, with the openness of the letters running over the edges of the circle representing IABC’s core values of transparency, connection, and community.

“The updated look reflects today’s strategic positioning of IABC as well as being the new face of the organization,” said Russell Grossman ABC, FRSA, International Chair of IABC. “It is based on a significant program of research and consultation, undertaken by an international brand taskforce. The result is a very flexible brand that communicates our unique

Grossman

international proposition to our members, to the global communication profession, and to the businesses and organizations we serve”.

He said the project which began over two years ago, led by an international group of volunteers, in partnership with Arcas Advertising, a Canadian agency that specializes in branding, advertising, communications and digital services, has crafted an approach that is open, accessible and professional.

“The Brand Taskforce’s research validated IABC’s diversity and international presence as a key differentiator for the association,” said Grossman.

“We have not only created a new logo here, but affirmed IABC’s approach: to identify, share and apply best practice in a world where communications is increasingly a force for good in business and society.”

Director of Communications, Melissa Dark, said, “the approach to brand adoption has been titled “freedom within a framework” by the brand taskforce. While chapters and IABC programs will be expected to conform to the logo guidelines, there is a significant amount of flexibility in-built to allow chapters to select colors and images that best suit their particular market and location.”, IABC Nigeria chapter President Mr Chido Nwakanma added that the Nigerian chapter would unveil its new look at the upcoming CEO Breakfast Forum. Changeover to the new brand across IABC’s global network of chapters will take place over the coming months BC

tion”.

“At Airtel, our core values echo this dedication to our customer’s success. Our mission is to provide them the tools they need to propel this great continent into the future. Our values drive the way we interact with our customers and with each other. We are Alive.

“We act with passion, energy and a can-do attitude. Innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit drive us. We are inclusive.

We champion diversity; anticipating, adapting and delivering solutions that enrich the lives of the communities we serve. We are respectful. We share the joy and pain of our customers. We act with humility and are always open and honest”, he added.

The campaign which has Yaya Toure, Africa’s best footballer of the year, as brand ambassador, seeks to nurture and grow talents in Africa while providing customers with access to connectivity and technological solutions that will enable them explore opportunities around

them.

On the choice of Yaya Toure as pan-African brand ambassador, he said the Ivory Coast born player has been making soccer history since he started playing in 2001and thus serves as a beacon of inspiration, showing that with hard work and dedication one can achieve his dreams.

“Touré is respected in Africa and beyond. As the first player to win African Player of the Year for four consecutive times, he is an inspiration to everyone working to achieve their potential and striving to be their best every day Airtel’s ‘It’s Now’ campaign further reiterates the company’s vision of connecting inspired Africans to knowledge and opportunities. Available through multiple channels, including television, print and radio platforms, the campaign also shines the spotlight on the company’s commitment to help people succeed, as well as providing tools and resources

that will enable them to achieve their dreams.

General Manager Brands, Airtel Networks Limited, Dele Anifowoshe, said Airtel is not just a service provider but to go the extra step and see how these products and services help people to succeed in their daily lives.

“There is no time better than the present to start living your dreams. This is why the call of the campaign is, ‘It’s Now.’ Now is the time to live your dreams.

Now is the time to start that project, apply for that job, learn that skill or make that change.

Now is the time you leave old ways behind for newer, smarter and faster ways. Take that step now and let Airtel be your partner in making your dreams come true”.

During this campaign, Airtel will give out one million naira daily for the next 60 days. Loyal subscribers will be rewarded with prizes and cash worth over 200 million naira during the course of the campaign. BC

New marketing communication agency debuts

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ntegrated Marketing Communication landscape recently witnessed an addition with the unveiling of a new company named Big & Bold Communication. The company was recently unveiled in Lagos at a mini-launch event witnessed by industry big wigs of the media, clients and prospective clients alike.

Speaking on the vision of the company, the Chief Strategist, Mr. Jide Adeyemi explained that the company is set up as a strategy agency that will help brands develop winning strategy to add niche value to brands to the client’s business through a multi-discipline and integrated approach.

Adeyemi, stated further that the company is harmed with young, creative and non-conformist team with a passion in building brands that resonate with the consumers and community.

He noted that the company would help its clients develop interesting grand story that would create an emotional bond between brand and target consumers delivering and leaving them with an #OrangeImpression which is their juicy mark of quality.

Explaining the rationale behind the choice of name and logo for the company, Jide Adeyemi sighted the analogy of the elephant and the mouse, the el-

ephant offers strength from its size - the fact that it is big while the mouse brings boldness to the table.

“Unlike the classical David and Goliath story, at Big & Bold we combine the strength of the elephant while we continually find innovative ways to help our clients to achieve their brand objectives like the mouse in our story” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, the Managing Director, Prima Garment Africa commended the promoter of the business for the new prospective and innovative communication ideas they promised to bring into the market. BC

M & C Saatchi unveils marketing formula

M

&C Saatchi has devised a new model for directing marketing investment, dubbed the “holy grail”. Based on research conducted in partnership with Unilever and Nielsen and steered by the agency group’s new research centre, The Saatchi Institute, the formula sets out to map “the correlation between the investments in the art and science of a brand and their financial impact”.

Lord Saatchi said the aim was “to predict cause and effect in advertising, the holy grail. Marketing has not yet found its Newton, until now.”

He added: “Art and science have been at war for centuries.

Big data and supercomputers make the conflict even sharp-

er. Scientists denounce the artists as dinosaurs. Flakes!

Natural luddites! Who needs them!

“Artists repay the compliment: Bean counters! Painting by numbers! The new Saatchi Institute proposes a formula to separate the combatants and start a peace process.

“At the V&A and the Science Museum, the Saatchi Institute is demonstrating the formula for consideration by the academic, scientific and marketing communities.”

M&C Saatchi celebrated its 20th birthday last weekt with an event that started at the Victoria and Albert Museum, for the arts, and then moved on to the Science Museum, for the science.

The event was hosted by the agency’s founders, including Lord Saatchi, Jeremy Sinclair, Bill Muirhead, David Kershaw and Moray MacLennan. BC

Saatchi

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Review

Stakeholders call for downstream deregulation to curb fuel scarcity

By Gbenga Odogun

T

he call for deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry has never been this loud. This follows the recent near paralysis of both the human and economic activities as a result of fuel scarcity brought about by the refusal of tanker drivers to load from the depots.

For nearly two months, oil marketers held the entire country to ransom asking the government to pay N200 billion exchange rate differential in the cost of importation before the central bank of Nigeria devalue the Naira as a result of falling revenue from oil. Although, semblance of normalcy is gradually being returned to fuel stations across the country ,experts were of the view that this may be temporary reprieve after all, as marketers are insisting on full subsidy payment by the Federal Government.

Marketers insistence on full payment of subsidy owed them may bring back the sower memories of April/ May experience. This has in turn reawaken the call for complete deregulation of the downstream sector as a way of putting a check on the perennial fuel scarcity threatening to rear its ugly head anytime soon.

Prominent among stakeholders calling for the complete deregulation of this all important sector is the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries LCCI. LCCI in a statement argued that the deregulation of the sub-sector was the only panacea that could bring an end to the perennial and knotty issues inhibiting the smooth operations of the subsector such as the lingering fuel scarcity and the payment of petroleum subsidies.

The statement issued and signed by its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, , called for complete deregulation of the oil and gas downstream sector.

Bello said that the deregulation of the sector would help to provide enduring solution to the recurring problem of scarcity of petroleum products in the country, as well as tackles the corruption in

the subsidy regime, addresses the functionality of the refineries, boosts investment in the downstream sector and creates more jobs in the subsector.

The chamber said the current regime of subsidy and government’s direct involvement in the operations of oil and gas sector should be discontinued, noting that deregulation would help the sector and lead to normalcy in the nation’s economy by attracting private capital, boost investments and create jobs.

“We appeal to the labour unions and the citizens to give the reform of the oil and gas sector a chance.

“The current model of managing the sector has done a colossal damage to the Nigerian economy.

“It is in the overall interest of the economy and the citizens that government should quickly deregulate the sector,” the chamber said.

Also speaking in the same direction, the Chairman of Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Mr. Dapo Abiodun, said the downstream sector deregulation would lead to a complete removal of subsidy for refined petroleum products.

He said that oil marketing companies had the capacity to import and sell petroleum products at reasonable and competitive prices if deregulated.

Bello

According to him“DAPPMA has for the past 10 years actively canvassed for a complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry with its attendant benefits for the sustenance and growth of that vital sector of the economy adding that “If indeed implemented, one of the key features would have been the complete removal of subsidy on refined petroleum products.

“We strongly assert that based on our experience with diesel, which was completely deregulated years ago, Nigerian oil marketing companies have the capacity to import

Abiodun

kerosene and sell same at reasonable and competitive prices if also deregulated,” Abiodun said.

Also lending his voice to the growing call for complete deregulation of the sector, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, through its Executive secretary Mr. Obafemi Olawore, advocated for complete deregulation of the petroleum sector as the last solution to fuel scarcity in the country.

According to the MOMAN boss, “I do not enjoy it. I have been in the oil industry for a very long time and almost 80 per cent of that time, we have experienced strikes.” We will

Olawore

end it one day, and it is just two words; complete deregulation.”

He also called for the passing of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which he said also, contains deregulation, without further delay.

“Once it is passed the PIB, people will set up refineries and when refineries are set up by many people, we will be able to produce enough for ourselves and for export,” said he.

Similarly, former executive secretary of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Reginald Stanley, said that deregulation policy if carefully implemented would stimulate economic growth and social wellbeing of the populace.

He noted that the opportunities and benefits outweigh the short-run cost of discomforts, but cautioned that deregulation without regulatory controls would lead to the development of anti-competitive practices and profiteering by operators.

“Regulators therefore are ‘watchmen’ making and implementing policies to prevent consumers from being short changed and ensure that operators are adequately restituted. Regulators also ensure that there is a level playing ground for all genuine operators. The industry reforms present the PPPRA with great challenges and activities, all in a bid to carry out its statutory mandate,” he said. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A11 27

Stakeholders initiate moves to deepen internet penetration

By Isaiah Erhiawarien

A

s part of efforts geared towards improving internet penetration from its current 10 percent level to 30 per cent by the year 2018 in the country, stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, industry have initiated proactive strategies to ensure that the target is realised.

Stakeholders at the 5th edition of the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable while examining the potentials of IPv 6 with regards to its future prospects and potentials for the industry, they suggest that IPv 6 has a significant role to play.

The IPv 6, Internet Protocol Version 6, is the address software on which computers connect to each other on the internet.

At the early development of the Internet, IPv4 Internet Protocol address space was developed with the capacity to accommodate 4.3 Billion addresses.

At that period, this was seen a very huge capacity that was probably not envisaged to be exhausted in several years, however with the growth of Internet off IPv4 now considered out of addresses to be issued.

To solve the problem, Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF, whose mission is to make the Internet work better, came up with a more efficient, the IPv6 address.

The is IPv6 space is developed to accommodate 340,282,366, 920,938,000,000,000,000,000 , and the idea behind this huge capacity is to ensure that even if the demand for IP addresses doubled every year, IPv6 will not be exhausted in 96 years.

It is base on this that stakeholders at the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable considers it vital the emerging broadband environment in Nigeria and a solution that sought to expand the scope of Internet penetration.

According to the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah who was one of the speakers at the forum, Nigeria has great prospects and potentials for broadband saying that the availability of a new Internet addressing system in IPv6, means that these potentials can be harnessed as the nation continues to grow its broadband penetration.

He said that the country can leverage on IPv6 to improve internet penetration in the country saying that with IPv6 enabling the provision of addresses for all

Juwah

Rudman

of activities on the internet and with a broadband penetration that ensures pervasive availability, it is imagined that limitless opportunities would be provided for the average user in Nigeria.

Juwah disclosed that IPv6 provides an open cheque to all lovers of the Internet, and it is predictable that all lovers of the Internet would appreciate broad Internet connectivity.

“We have seen today that mobile Internet has taken routes.

With portable smart devices, people are now browsing as they move. These activities suggest that connections to the Internet will continue on the upswing with the confidence that more addresses are available to be assigned”, he said.

He noted that as a regulator, NCC is committed to keeping pace with all technological developments, saying that the Commission is open to attract-

Kazaure

Nweke

ing all the benefits of these technologies and services.

He added: “This is part of our regulatory concept of technology neutrality in our regulatory processes. Licensees and services providers are not restricted to any type of technology in so far as it brings about a better, or enhanced user experience.”

On the essence of enhanced internet speed in the country, he said that the Federal Communications Commission, the telecom regulator in the USA, has changed the 2010 benchmark of 4 Mbps downloads and 1mbps for uploads, for a new “broadband benchmark speeds” of25 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.

He added that as such, what qualifies for broadband would continue to change as people are able to connect to the Internet at faster speeds for simultane-

ous multiple activities through a single connection.

The NCC boss said that there is a huge quest for improved internet access and speed in Nigeria noting that “Our growth in this sector is regarded as a revolution given the speed with which we grew from 2001 from about 400,000 telephone lines to now 145.5 Million as at April 2015, and improved teledensity from about 0.4 per cent in 2001 to 103.91 in April 2015.”

Speaking further, he stated that more than 83 Million Nigerian subscribers have access to the Internet stressing that the nation is as connected to the Internet as most other parts of the world.

He however, observed that Nigeria do not have the type of broadband connection to the Internet as have been as expected by global standard saying that “we have about 10 per cent

broadband penetration and the target is to achieve about 30 per cent penetration in 2018. There is a strong correlation between broadband penetration and the economy, which makes every effort towards broadband a compelling case.”

The Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure said that IPv4 will help the rate of broadband penetration in Nigeria saying that effective broadband penetration will revolutionise the public sector and the efficient delivery of quality public sector services to businesses and citizens.

According to him, broadband penetration is one of the key drivers that underpin Galaxy’s huge investments in ICT infrastructure in Abuja and some selected states of the federation under the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Project, NICTIB, which is in its second phase.

He added that the Federal Government is desirous of taking advantage of broadband to deepen the penetration of Internet Protocol version 6 across the internet for the socio-economic empowerment of Nigerians.

Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, IXPN, Mr. Muhammed Rudman called for more awareness on the impact of IPv6 on the broadband internet access saying that the IPv6 task force has visited 10 top service providers with IPv6 allocation but activation is yet to be effected.

He said that there is the need to provide some profit incentives to the internet industry for encouraging them to adopt IPv6 based infrastructure adding these should include reduction in regulatory fee and tax rebates.

Rudman said that upstream internet connectivity providers should be encouraged to enable IPv6 in their network stating that all new IT equipment supplied to government should be IPv6 complaint and government should set target for MDS to have IPv6 complaint networks.

In a welcome address Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke said that the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable mission is to stimulate public discourse and create awareness on the technological cum business benefits of this rapid advancing technology on Internet Protocol addresses.

She also said that it meant to encourage integration of IPv6 into all aspects of networking and telecommunication infrastructure in the country. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

Samsung’s planned merger faces stiff opposition Stories by Isaiah Erhiawarien

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S hedge fund Elliott has ramped up a campaign to block a proposed $8 billion merger of two Samsung Group firms, laying out its case online a day before a court hearing on a deal seen key to a leadership succession in the family-run conglomerate.

Escalating what is already a rare case of shareholder activism in South Korea, the fund put online a 27-page paper detailing why shareholders in construction firm Samsung C&T should reject the all-stock takeover offer from sister company Cheil Industries.

Elliott has already said it believes Cheil’s offer is too low, and its opposition could galvanise other investors. On Friday, a South Korean court will hear the fund’s injunctions, which seek to block a 17 July C&T shareholder vote on the merger as well as C&T’s attempt to sway the vote in the deal’s favour by selling shares

to ally KCC. “They are trying to show they have a strategy that could benefit not only Samsung C&T shareholders but also investors in other Samsung companies,” said Kim Sang-jo, an economics professor at Hansung University, referring to Elliott’s online document.

Some institutional and local retail investors say the deal undervalues C&T and plan to vote against it in the July meeting.

Samsung Group needs at least two-thirds of the votes cast at the C&T shareholder meeting for the deal to proceed.

The merger is part of Samsung’s restructuring efforts, which have accelerated since the company’s 73-year-old patriarch Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack a year ago.

The deal would combine various stakes in the group held by his heirs, paving the way for a smooth leadership transfer within South Korea’s biggest and most influential

isco, along with local business partners, plans to invest more than $10 billion in China over the next several years; the US network equipment maker said it seeks to shore up its position against strong domestic rivals.

Cisco, the world’s biggest maker of switching equipment and routers that run the Internet, announced the investment plans following highlevel meetings between top executives and Chinese vicepremier Wang Yang and other government agency leaders.

A statement issued by the Silicon Valley company provided the broad outlines of how it planned to invest but did not detail any specific spending or timelines for doing so.

It said in a statement it

Chambers

had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, to expand investment.

This will be used to fund innovation, equity investment, research and development and job creation, Cisco said.

It also signed an MOU with the Association of Universities (Colleges) of Applied Science (AUAS) to advance technical training of information and communications engineers.

The company said it will invest in a four-year network engineer training programme with 100 universities and colleges of applied science recommended by AUAS. Cisco is looking to capitalise on initiatives promoted by

with Esther Ozue (ozueesther@nationalmirroronline.net) 08059234648 (sms only)

Is your organisation exploring mobile Business Intelligence option?

T

Kun-hee

chaebol.

In a statement, Elliott said it supported the conglomerate’s restructuring needs but said the group should “properly recognise” Samsung C&T’s value.

In a separate statement, C&T said it was committed to moving ahead with the merger to “maximise shareholder value”. The company has hired Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse as advisors on the deal, and its top executives have met investors to win support. BC

Cisco to invest $10bn in China expansion

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Technotalk

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

the Chinese government including “China Manufacturing 2025”, “Internet+” and its strategy to deliver more services as cloud-based Internet services.

The move comes as pressure has grown on foreign technology firms in the world’s biggest Internet market as Beijing has moved to promote domestic technology suppliers it says are needed to protect state secrets and data.

Earlier this year, a Reuters analysis found Cisco was among US technology firms which had been dropped from state procurement lists in recent years.

Cisco and arch-rival Huawei Technologies of China have been battling each other for a decade. Political controversies over ties to their respective governments have raised questions about their futures on each other’s lucrative home turf.

In 2013, John Chambers, Cisco’s long-serving chairman and chief executive, acknowledged security controversies had stymied the company’s moves to expand in China.

Chambers took part in the recent meetings with Chinese government officials along with CEO-designate Chuck Robbins, who is scheduled to take over as chief executive in July. Chambers will remain as executive chairman of the company. BC

he future of business intelligence is in mobile technologies. Business intelligence and mobile technologies are quickly becoming connected due to the advent of smart phones, mobile tablets, faster phone internet service, and great mobile applications.

Business intelligence is the framework that enables organisations of all sizes to make faster, better-informed business decisions. Mobile business intelligence puts the emphasis on the application of mobile devices such as smart phones or tablet computers. Therefore, one can say that the fundamentals remain unchanged. Mobile BI is the enabler that, if designed, implemented, and executed effectively, can help organisations drive growth and profitability.

The pace of mobile adoption across devices and applications is accelerating. More people own cell phones and mobility is no longer a nice-to-have option. Instead, it has become a must have for business leaders. With this paradigm shift comes the natural extension of business intelligence (BI) to mobile business intelligence (mobile BI).

However, the way organisations go about realising the true value of mobile BI may depend on the state of their enterprise mobility (for example, whether or not a formal mobile enterprise strategy and a road map exist).

Mobile BI is more prevalent and more relevant today because the gap between the experience of traditional BI content consumed on a desktop PC and that accessed on a mobile device is disappearing rapidly. We now talk about the gap between a smartphone and a tablet device. The tablet devices are getting smaller both in size and weight to compete with smart phones. Rapid growth in areas such as the cloud, in-memory technology, big data, and predictive analytics are fueling this innovation cycle. As a result, companies are looking for ways to harness the power of mobile BI through innovation.

As businesses face more challenges and are compelled to deal with more complex business situations, they increasingly require greater mobile access to more processed data coming from both structured sources such as sales data, and unstructured sources like social media or email data that can’t be easily queried with traditional tools and technologies. Companies at the leading edge seek to gain the advantage to exploit mobile BI to support a workforce that is becoming more and more mobile.

Benefits of mobile Business Intelligence Business models that rely on insight through outdated or limited capabilities can no longer compete in an ever-increasing global market, which simply dictates mobile execution.

Organisations must deliver more for their customers and stakeholders. In this context, mobile BI can become a key differentiator in helping organisations cope with both the complexity and the real-time challenges they face with the execution of their strategy.

Where mobile Business Intelligence can add value to your organisation Is there a CEO in the world who can say “We have access to all the data we need about our customers”? A 360 degree view of customers is something every company seems to be chasing.

Though it might seem like an elusive goal, you can take the first steps by integrating data from your customer relationship management (CRM), accounting and customer support systems into your BI dashboards and reports to enable analysis of customer growth, profitability, and lifetime value which will help you identify opportunities to cross-sell, up-sell or simply target them more effectively.

While BI has traditionally been used to look at historic data, more than ever it is incorporating predictive analytics. You can use past data to project future performance and make better decisions based on more accurate forecasts.

In conclusion, as you establish your enterprise mobile strategy and goals, add more business intelligence to your overall mobile strategy because in today’s customer-centric world, customer interactions and personalisation are critical to business success from all performance assessment parameters. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

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Christopher Ezeh:

The corporate manager

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

C

hristopher Ikechi Ezeh is one of the few living legends of the corporate Nigeria who combine courage, hard work and distinct passion in their quest to attain the height of their entrepreneurial pursuit.

Chris, as he is fondly called, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and thereafter, proceeded to Cardiff Business School, UK where he bagged a Masters in Business Administration, Postgraduate Diploma in Social Science Research Methods and a Ph.D. in Marketing and Strategy.

While in the UK, Chris instructed MBA students on the Principles of Advanced Marketing and executed numerous marketing consultancy assignments in Europe and Africa in the areas of real estate development, telecommunications, cement manufacturing and independent power generation.

An accountant by training, he started his working life with Chrysler (UK) Limited in 1968 and later switched over to the British Gas as well as Conduit Group UK, all still in the United Kingdom.

From the UK, Ezeh moved to the Zambia, where he worked as the chief accountant of Indeni Petroleum Refinery of Zambia and finally returned to Nigeria to take up appointment with Gilead Consortium, Nigeria; Minaj Group, Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries Plc respectively.

However, what could be aptly tagged as Ezeh’s real journey into the world of entrepreneurship and managerial shrewdness began in 1976, when he joined the John Holt Group as Senior Accountant (Holt Engineering). Ezeh had joined the company at a time the firm was consolidating several interests; Allens, Holt Export and Leasing Services, John Holt Ventures and Shipping into divisions of John Holt PLC. A multi-national company, John Holt PLC operates in a highly diversified industry sector. The company is structured into four business segments namely, the Technical Products and Leasing Services segment which includes John Holt engineering unit, which specializes

With vast experience in national and global business management, Dr. Christopher Ikechi Ezeh has been able to deploy his exposure to turnaround many Nigerian businesses. Even at 70, this astute management expert has continued to impact positively on most firms in which he is involved. Fidelity Bank and John Holt Plc, the two major companies where he is the chairman are testimonies to his shrewdness and management prowess

Ezeh

in the sales and maintenance of large power generating sets; Startec, which provides professional lease and financing arrangements, and the fire protection unit, which provides adjunct services such as surveys, installations, servicing and maintenance; The Distribution segment which provides a range of consumer and light industrial goods; The Yamaha and Marine segment which distributes Yamaha petrol and diesel generators, motorcycles, Yamaha outboard motors, water pumps and engines and Almarine boats; manufactures glass reinforced plastic (GRP) boats,

and offers lease and hire packages for light marine vessels, air cushioned vessels (ACVs), and the Central segment includes the company’s head office, fabrication unit and assemblies unit.

The company emerged from small origins during the era of colonialism and gradually rose to become a ubiquitous trading firm in Nigeria.

Its early rise was supported by the export of palm oil, ivory and rubber and the import of Gin, and a few other foreign goods. However, with time, the company upgraded its import merchandise and became an

agent for famous multinational brands such as Sanyo and Yahama. It built around the country, stores to house and sell its locally and foreign produced merchandise. During the era of economic nationalism in the country, large holdings were bought by Mathias Ugochukwu, a wealthy businessman. Prior to that, Lonrho Africa, a mining firm based in London had acquired substantial holdings in the company.

In the 1990s, the company went through a tough period, posting loses but things began to look up for the company in 2004. During the turbulent

times, Lonrho, which was at that time, its principal shareholder, sold its interest for $2 million and about $10 million in debt.

However, ten years after Ezeh joined the group, his outstanding performance was rewarded with his appointment as the managing director. Ezeh’s headship of the multi-national company at the time the Nigerian economy was in serious crisis and at the time when the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was in place was rather very tasking.

However, the challenge of the time practically brought out the management dexterity in Ezeh to the fore. He was able to transform what had been a traditional trading company (that is, importation and sales of overseas manufactured goods and exportation of unprocessed natural products and resources) into a diversified company involved not only in trading but also in manufacturing (boats, packaging, cosmetics, and toiletries) and distribution.

In October, 1997, Ezeh further moved up the corporate ladder, as he was appointed as the Executive Deputy Chairman, the position he held till March 1998 when he retired from the company. He remained on the board as a non-Executive Director until March 2001, when he was appointed the Chairman of the Board.

Today, under the chairmanship of Christopher Ezeh, John Holt has undergone various restructuring, particularly in direct response to the dictates of the Nigerian economy. Now, the firm is deeply involved in boat building and also engages in auto sales, real estate, and engineering services.

Since 1996, in line with changing trends in the economy, Ezeh, then as managing director, had restructured John Holt along three core areas namely technical operations; motor sale/leasing and trade Continued on pg A14

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Business Courage

services.

With a dint of hard work, extreme dedication to the core values of the company and with crops of highly dedicated and resourceful management and staff, Ezeh was able to restore the glory of a company that was once a household name in Nigeria to the path of growth.

Until the country’s inclement weather took its toll on its operations, John Holt Nigeria Plc, (JHN), was indeed, a trading behemoth with ubiquitous offices, depots and branches even in remote areas. Its showrooms were not restricted to only the upper class for patronage of high-power Wilson generators, outboard engines and Yahama motorcycles; JHN also catered to the needs of middle-income earners for sundry goods as tools, textiles, beverages and household utensils.

As part of ways of redirecting the path of the company into greater glory, Ezeh, in 2010, led John Holt Nigeria into diversifying into the real estate business with over N6 billion property portfolio and ongoing development in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The restructuring of the company had involved closing down non-performing businesses while concentrating on the mainstream ones as the company looked towards making use of the opportunities in the oil and gas industry especially, in fire protection. While the aim of the restructuring was to merge and consolidate similar operations, unprofitable ventures were closed down in order to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. For example, the West African Drugs was closed down while Haco and John Holt Ventures were restructured.

According to Ezeh, the company has fully restructured in its determined effort to return to the path of profitability so that all stakeholders, especially the shareholders, can be happy and enjoy returns on their investment. “We have been able to rise to the high demand of fire-fighting equipment and tools in the country. We now have in place, dynamic management that is capable of moving the company to the next level” he stated.

Part of his strategies was the expansion of the company’s activities into area like air conditioner assembly and installation as a way of attracting more customers and sales for business sustainability. Turning around the fortune of John Holt, he confessed, was not an easy task but he was able to achieve his goals

with the never-say-die spirit which he believes so much in.

As at September 2009, the company’s net assets for the year ending was N2.943 billion, rising by 32.33 per cent when compared with the 2005 figures of N2.224 billion. In the same vein, it recorded N19.453 billion as turnover in 2009, representing a decrease of 11.6 per cent when compared with the 2008 financial year’s figure of N20.881 billion.

Aside being the Chairman of John Holt, Dr. Ezeh is also the chairman of Lonrho Africa (Nigeria) and has served as directors in many companies in the past. He was at a time, a director in NAL Merchant Bank, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Ltd, Poly fibre Industries Ltd, Western Holdings Ltd and Nigeria Ropes Ltd. Ezeh has also served as Chairman of Plateau Confectionery Ltd and Lonrho Africa (Nigeria) Ltd; Director of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group; NEPAD Business Group Nigeria and President, Nigeria - Japan Association.

Currently, Ezeh serves as the Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc and he has placed his shrewdness and magic wand at the disposal of the bank. More than anything, Fidelity is reputed for integrity and professionalism and remains one of the few corporate entities in Nigeria that enjoy management stability and it is ranked amongst the top 10 in the Nigerian banking industry, with presence in the major cities and commercial centres of Nigeria.

Incorporated as a limited liability company on 19 November, 1987, Fidelity Bank Plc obtained a merchant banking license on 31 December, 1987 and commenced banking operations on 3 June 1988 as Fidelity Union Merchant Bank Limited. By 1990, it had distinguished itself as the fastest growing merchant bank in the country.

However, to leverage the emerging opportunities in the commercial and consumer end of financial services in Nigeria, it converted to commercial banking and changed its name to Fidelity Bank Plc in 1999.

While the bank was issued a universal banking license by the Central Bank of Nigeria on 6 February, 2001, the current enlarged Fidelity Bank is a result of the merger with the former FSB International Bank Plc and Manny Bank Plc (under the Fidelity brand name) in December 2005.

On 17 May 2005, the bank became quoted on the Nigerian

However, what could be aptly tagged as Ezeh’s real journey into the world of entrepreneurship and managerial shrewdness began in 1976, when he joined the John Holt Group as Senior Accountant (Holt Engineering)

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Ezeh

Stock Exchange, and with two very successful Public Offers, and today, it has a shareholder base of over 400,000 comprising individuals, associations and business institutions within the country and in the international business community.

The management philosophy of Fidelity Bank has been particular about the quality of people. To qualify as a member of Team Fidelity, a candidate is expected to possess three vital statistics, with the acronym TAC: Talent (an innate mental aptitude), Ambition (a desire to succeed) and Character (a total quality of integrity which will guide the talent and ambition to productive ends).

The management is focused on building and maintaining a virile and well-respected brand that caters to the needs of its growing corporate, commercial and consumer banking clientele. For this purpose, the bank is leveraging its pedigree in investment banking (Fidelity was a merchant bank for 11years) and its structures and service offerings for a retail populace.

Fidelity Bank also enjoys the respect and partnership of a network of off-shore institutions with which it has correspondent banking, confirmation lines, credit and other relationships.

These include, ANZ London, Afreximbank, Cairo, Egypt, ABSA South Africa, Commerce Bank, Frankfurt, Citibank, N.A. London and New York, FBN Bank, UK Ltd, SCB, London, HSBC, US Ex-im Bank, USAID, etc.

Being a management expert, Ezeh’s comments and insights on achieving business success in Africa have always been both thought-provoking and practical. Talking about tips on achieving business success in Africa, Ezeh had submitted in one of his comments that “While sub-Saharan Africa is huge (the land mass exceeds that of the United States), individual countries except for Nigeria and South Africa are small. With the exception of South Africa, GDP per capita is low, so the markets

we are talking about are small.

Because many borrowed heavily in the 1960s and 1970s, most countries have high external debt. High payments on that debt plus foreign aid substantially lower than what was provided in those earlier days mean that most countries have very limited uncommitted financial resources.”

According to him, the problem most African economies have been facing arises from the fact that most countries except South Africa have had/continue to have (except, very recently, Nigeria) military or civilian dictatorships and allocation (as opposed to market-driven) economies means that a high percentage of the few available resources are likely to be wasted. The high levels of corruption in many countries, he submitted, imply that additional scarce resources have been squandered.

“While the above litany of problems and challenges are daunting, I however, do not mean to imply either that Africa is a basket case or that business success in Africa is an oxymoron. Over the years, there have been many corporate success stories in Africa, including (to list a few of the best known) oil companies (Shell, Mobil, Texaco, Chevron, Elf, Total, and so on) in various countries, banks like Citibank in west, east, and southern Africa, and so on.

Plus, progress being made on some of the tough challenges mentioned above. Countries in Africa are beginning to realize that to be visible on the rest of the world’s business radar, they need to partner up in regional trade groupings, as has already taken place in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. Based on calls for transparency from their own citizenry and pressure from institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Transparency International, and the African Development Bank, many governments are launching serious anti-cor-

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ruption efforts.”

To Ezeh, while more sub-Saharan governments are realizing that the business of government is to create an enabling environment, and that private sector operators are the ones with the skills and motivations needed to run successful businesses, over the next few years, many parastatals, he had predicted, will be privatized, presenting opportunities for investors with the expertise required to run such operations.”

Ezeh’s perception on the question of business success in Africa is predicated on both the philosophical outlook and to various sectors of sub-Saharan economies which are likely to offer special opportunities.

As regards philosophical orientation, he believes that the Chinese got it right when they chose the same symbol to represent both problems and opportunities. The relevance of this point, according to him, begins with the observation that badly deteriorated infrastructures across much of subSaharan Africa, and ongoing efforts to privatize those infrastructures (ports, railroads, telecoms, water systems) represent huge business opportunities. Within the next five years, Ezeh says there is very likely to be both substantial infrastructure privatization plus substantial governmental rehabilitative investments in infrastructure across the region.

According to him, business sectors likely to offer attractive investment opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa include agriculture, noting that because transport and storage are often lacking, with up to 40 per cent of the staple foods produced each year rot away or are wasted, as infrastructure repairs and investments are made, there should be numerous attractive opportunities for successful food processing-related businesses.

He also said that Sub-Saharan Africa has lots of manpower, but (especially in the technical areas), inadequate skilled personnel, adding that as infrastructures improve and the level of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa increases, there should be many attractive opportunities for businesses offering skills-based training programmes tuned to the environment and to the level of resources available.

A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Institute of Directors (IOD), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (CMA) and a member of the British Institute of Management, Dr Christopher Ezeh also holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Honoris Causa, from Enugu State University of Technology. He is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). BC

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A15 31

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs BUSINESS

Start a business today

With Mamora Victor Mamora is a system thinker and advisor whose belief and activator leadership strengths are directed towards improving workers perspective for city and enterprise development.

e-mail: olusegunmamora@gmail.com

I

f today, you were asked what your opinion is about Nigeria’s social, political, and economic challenges, what would be your response?

Dear friend, certainly, your perspective will differentiate you eventually. For some people, the challenges are opportunity to startup venture while for others it is to complain and put blame on government, employer, and family. The truth is that your decision determines your destiny in life. Your sense of responsibility and degree of action differentiates your access to opportunity in any society. I will advise that you start an enterprise to solve the problem that you often complain about and use the opportunity to build your city.

There is a popular story of two workers sent to an underdeveloped nation where they located community of people who are in abject poverty.

The two workers were sent by the same employer, shoe manufacturing company, to research business opportunity. The first worker came back with reports of unrealistic business opportunity.

He said because the people have never had footwear and argued that the people do not have value for shoe. He concluded that it is not a market for the company to enter now.

The second worker had a contrary report and saw opportunity in the market. He argued for the need to advertise the value of footwear to the people of the community.

He also saw the opportunity to increase their production in the factory, employ more young workers, increase their home country GDP, buy more raw materials at home, and reduce the health hazard the people of underdeveloped nation community are exposed to while they traverse their farms. The company reasoned along with the second report and supplied the com-

munity shoes that eventually better their financial bottom line and lives of the customers. He saw opportunities in people’s problem. That is the spirit of national improvement.

There are statistics and facts that could make an average citizenry to worry and feel powerless. This same statistic is the source of motivation for other citizenry who are the entrepreneurs of startup ventures. For example, a report says that the major part of the world population lives in underdeveloped nations. In addition, 1 billion of 5 billion plus people lives in the underdeveloped countries.

The fact is that among many of the underdeveloped nations is one common challenge, which is “Dependency theory.” Dependency theory makes a large number of citizenry to want direct employment of government because it holds no challenge and seems secure. In Nigeria, about 40 per cent of the state governments owe salaries of workers between January and May 2015.

The dependency theory will always encourage excuses for underdevelopment. It reinforces the belief that “we are the way we are because of external force.” The de-

‘

The way out of this challenge is to break the culture of dependency theory and encourage people to tap into startup enterprises opportunities and grow them to become profitable businesses

pendency theory explains the reason many citizens of these underdeveloped nations rely on politicians to solve their problems and especially using politics as a way of personal wealth creation. In many of the underdeveloped nations, working in government civil service and agencies is dependable and requires less effort and promotion is not necessarily by performance but years of presence. In many of these nations, the largest part of annual budget is on recurrent expenditure at the expense of capital projects for infrastructure development.

It is time to break free from dependency theory culture by promoting sense of responsibility to national development and improvement.

The number one problem of dependency theory is that it caps the potential of people.

The second problem is that it vests power on political class against the people who the government should depend

‘

KLINIC

upon for economic development and for business of governance through tax and levies. The third challenge is that it denies people control over life as it makes people passive and encourage status quo.

The way out of this challenge is to break the culture of dependency theory and encourage people to tap into startup enterprises opportunities and grow them to become profitable businesses.

Let me sight an example of opportunity for you from the earlier shared fact. It says 1 billion out of 5 billion plus people lives in underdeveloped countries with life expectancy below 60 years in 45 countries, mostly in Africa. This shared fact point to opportunities in Agriculture and Health sector: food and nutrition services; hygiene products development; quality water packaging; fitness venture; advocacy, and social entrepreneurship.

Motivational Business Quotes

I

t’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell. There’s always an opportunity to make a difference. – Michael Dell If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours. – Ray Kroc Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating. – Denis Waitley Management is nothing more than motivating other people. – Le Iacocca

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. – Dwight D. Eisenhower The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers.

The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question. – Peter Drucker Why did I want to win? Because I didn’t want to lose! – Max Schmelling To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business. – J. Paul Getty BC

This time in Nigeria, place a demand on prospective entrepreneurs a sense of urgency. In order for the sense of urgency to be effective, a prospective startup entrepreneur needs to understand certain facts that I will explain briefly below.

First: You need to understand that real wealth is portable; it is knowledge.

This means you should prefer intangible to tangible.

Ideas, knowledge, strategy, planning are intangibles that have great influence on any enterprise and national development.

Second: Understand that people are the essence of business.

You cannot be excellence driven except you desire to give people the best. When you take care of your team, they will take care of your venture and it trickles down to value for consumers.

Third: Understand that successful team members are professionals.

Start encouraging your team to be more professional and build relevant capacity.

When individual brings on professional input then service output will be great. The private success of the team will influence the corporate success.

Fourth: Celebrate individuality; encourage creativity in all fields.

Allow team members to come up with their ideas and experiment.

My encouragement is that is time to start that business and improve the prospect of employment for Nigerians in Nigeria. I will encourage you to pick a problem that connect with your passion and create values for us here. I believe that the potential is in you and this is possible.

Be courageous and enjoy this freedom. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Driven by

management education which is done in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC). Through the initiative, which has also helped many Nigerian women entrepreneurs, Patricia was able to properly hone her skill and improve her business strategies.

passion She virtually has the world on her hands.

Having come from a highly successful parentage and married to the family of one of Nigeria’s nouve riches, her desire to venture into entrepreneurship was certainly not propelled by any sense of desperation but a strong desire to fulfil a lifelong ambition. This is the story of Patricia Ojora, lawyer and founder, chief executive officer, PromoPrint Ventures Limited

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

P

atricia Ojora, wife of Dapo Ojora, son of the scion of the influential Ojora royal family and boardroom icon, can be said to be one of the many Nigerian women who break barriers by juggling many roles.

Though she read law, Patricia’s ambition had always been to run her own business. After her law degree from the University of London, she returned to Nigeria to attend the Nigerian Law School after which she briefly worked as a lawyer.

Indeed, she tried her hands in a few business ideas but Patricia’s entrepreneurial endeavour started on a three-fold. She operated a transport business, ran a party supplies company and later, a games arcade. She ran the game arcades for two years, solely from funds provided by her parents before she formed PromoPrint.

However, her entry into the printing business through PromoPrints has its root in some activities she was involved in as a trained lawyer. Because of her background, Patricia was involved in Livestream, a charity, non-governmental organisation, established to raise money for children with heart conditions.

At Lifestream, one of her responsibilities was sourcing branded T-shirts for the organisation’s events and in the course of that assignment; Patricia was able to discover a part of Lagos where the items could be sourced from. She

was so involved that within a short period, even without prior knowledge of how it works, she virtually became a consultant with many people reaching out to her on how to get the items.

“With my direct supervision, quality checks, and the expertise of the makers, the T-shirts turned out very nice. Several people liked the products and started asking me for help with theirs,” she revealed in a recent interview As it turned out, that assignment was to later become a major attraction and business interest for her, especially as steady stream of orders were already flowing in. As someone with a good business sense, Patricia quickly cashed in on this and decided to focus her attention on running the business.

She started out with little supplies from friends and family members and was using other peoples’ machines. However, as she got engrossed in the business, she was compelled to go for her own equipment since she had no control over the entire process from order to delivery. From the money she made from her previous business endeavour, she acquired the printing machines for the business and today, PromoPrint boasts of some of the best modern printing machines suited for its kind of business.

She started off from home but later acquired an office and a factory from where she currently operates from, thus leading to the creation of PromoPrints Ventures Limited.

Ojora

From T-Shirt making, PromoPrint graduated into an outfit that specialises in the manufacturing and branding of gift items such as shirts, caps, bags, and other corporate giveaways.

What has, perhaps helped

her in the course of her entrepreneurial development despite starting off with little experience, was her participation in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative. The initiative provides 10,000 women around the world with a business and

Business Challenges Patricia encountered essentially, the same challenges faced by many businesses operating in the country like electricity, high rental cost, human capital as well as government policies and laws, especially on importation and taxation.

Interestingly, however, one major strategy which she adopted and which stands her out is unusual attitude of treating her competitors as companions through which she share business ideas and difficulties with and in return, get useful trade secrets and hints there from. “I found out that discussing my business problems with other people really helps.

Usually, there will always be someone with a solution. I have also learnt that collaborating sometimes with your competitors rather than confronting them helps. We can share tips, sources etc and when we have a crisis; another can wade in and assist. It’s strange because the very next day you are bidding for the same jobs. But no man is an island; we all need help in one shape or form,” she said.

Management Principles

Why businesses need a content marketing strategy

T

echnology has changed our lives and influenced the way we make purchase decisions. Landlines have been cut and consumers are on the move, using their devices to consume an ever-expanding array of content and services.

Our environment has changed and, as marketers, we need to respond to this development and shift the way we interact with our audiences.

Where does content marketing fit into this shift? According to Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, the formal definition of content marketing is “A marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience — with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

While I don’t believe content marketing is the only marketing you need, you cannot successfully market and grow your business without it, and you should incorporate content marketing into the overall marketing mix.

It doesn’t matter if you are a consumer-driven brand or focused on business-to-business sales, content marketing will help you reach your goals. Here are a few reasons why you need to consider content marketing: Media Overload: We live in an “always on” society with a constant barrage of information from email, social media feeds, Youtube sensations, and digital music, along with an avalanche of more than 1,200 marketing message each day.

Consumers have become much savvier about marketing and are unwilling to be sold to. They are able to tune out marketing messages easily: 99.9 percent of banner ads are never clicked, 81 percent of emails never opened, and, according to research by Tivo, only 38 per cent of their users watch a television program in its original timeslot.

These shifts have made traditional advertising, while no less expensive, much less effective.

Marketers therefore need to create communication that is entertaining, informative, or useful to overcome consumer burnout and engage, educate, or entertain their audiences.

It all starts with search: Seventy-eight per cent of consumers research products online before making a purchase decision, typically using a search engine (most often Google, of course) as their jumpingoff point. Your brand must show up in search engine results pages to stand a chance of being consid-

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

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ThebuddingEntrepreneurs Lessons and sacrifices Her rich background notwithstanding, one critical lesson which upcoming entrepreneurs can learn from Patricia Ojora is her frugality when it comes to business finances. “I refused to spend anything on myself, any extra money I have goes straight into the business. My time has also been sacrificed because growing any business in Nigeria involves a lot of sleepless nights, as the buck stops with you. I am okay with sacrifices; it makes you a more disciplined and focused person. I believe one’s integrity is the only thing that should never be sacrificed,” she said.

Mentor Patricia believes strongly that mentoring remains a necessity and in her case, her biggest mentor was her father, who according to her tried a few professions before finding his true calling as a doctor. “He was an inspiration to many but I admired his business sense. He was a self-made man who foresaw the decline in the health industry years before it happened. He opened one of the first private clinics in Nigeria. He was even mocked in the papers but he had a headstart on most and built on his vision, which still stands today,” she said.

Patricia also admitted having many other mentors from all walks of life but above all, one other distinctive feature about her is her

determination to learn from anyone, no matter how lowly such person(s) may be. “People unknowingly make an impression on you and guide you on your entrepreneurial journey, one of the biggest pushes I had was from a former employee of mine, who refused to let me think small,” she admitted.

Reflections Looking back, if Patricia were to start all over again, she would probably have injected equity capital very early and built up the business twice as fast to gain a large share of the market. As she later admitted, waiting for the mythical moment when cash flow will grow a business is usually a lengthy process.

ered.

This, of course, brings us to the overwhelming world of search engine optimization, which I’m not going to go into here, except to reiterate what online marketers agree on: creating informative and useful content that consumers read, link to, and share will increase your ranking in search engine results.

Google Adwords might be an effective way for large marketers to show up in searches; however, it has become increasingly cost-prohibitive for small businesses. Therefore, leads need to be driven by more cost-effective organic search. Relevant, informative content and blog posts can drive leads to your website.

The Brand Experience: The brand experience encompasses all touchpoints between your target audience and the brand, including, of course, your website and social media channels. Visitors to your site who have found you either through search, a personal recommendation, or social media link need to be convinced that your product or service meets their needs.

Content marketing helps achieve this goal by demonstrating your authority and building trust. Well-written, insightful content can overcome objections to purchase and smooth the way to a sale. This includes all types of content: a blog post, video walkthrough, white paper with indepth information, even a magazine article or eBook.

Relationships Lead to Sales: Once your target consumer becomes familiar with, and builds an emotional connection to your brand, you have to convince him or her to make that final leap and hit the buy button, visit a store to make the purchase, or call to set up an appointment.

One way of doing this is to send visitors a steady stream of informative, useful content. You might take the insightful advice of the leading online marketing and copywriting educational resource Copyblogger and create an auto-responder that systematically releases a series of informative emails, eventually leading to an offer.

Another way is to collect email addresses and send a regular newsletter to build trust, or entice them to follow your social media channels where you constantly engage them in an ongoing dialog.

Loyalty and Decision Reinforcement: Content marketing is also effective after the purchase occurs. Typically, the goal is either to generate a repeat purchase, or as is often in the case of automotive marketing, reinforce the purchase decision and ensure the consumer feels that they made the right choice in selecting your product. BC

Critical success factor Patricia believes that the critical personal attributes required to be a successful entrepreneur remain individual’s strength of character, belief in God, a belief in yourself and in what you do.

She believes that for anyone to be a successful entrepreneur, such person must have passion for what he/she does; the sense to know when you are derailing and therefore need help; the humility to learn from your mistakes and the strength to rise up again after the few inevitable failures.

Role juggling For most women entrepreneurs, the task of combining business management with domestic shores and family responsibility could be very daring. Patricia even admits the fact that running her own business is hard work but her family she says, always comes first. “I am a handson wife and mother. Regardless of my business, I do school runs, attend PTA meetings and duties and do my charity work. I do tire myself out but one of my biggest phobias is being idle. I have now got to the point that I can cut down on my office hours. My kids sometimes come to the office, do some tasks and get paid as Goodies,” she said.

Though she admit that role juggling may be very cumbersome, she however advise women entrepreneurs to “Stick it out, it’s going to be hard if you want to do it well but the fulfillment in your achievements will outweigh the sacrifices. Ignore the profiling that comes with a woman working hard. Keep learning and trying to improve yourself, we are capable of so much, don’t limit yourself.

Do your best in all you do, the rest is up to God.” For now, PromoPrint is doing very well and despite the fact that Promoprint, like most firms in Nigeria generates its own electricity and supply its own water, Patricia has been able to build a thriving firm. In the past year, the firm has experienced nearly a 100 per cent revenue growth, and the growth has naturally compelled a consideration for another location to support future expansion. BC

Personal Finance 5 Simple Steps to Be a Super-Confident Leader

B

uilding confidence isn’t always easy, especially if you have low self-esteem to begin with. In the dating world, the simplest thing can be the most difficult of tasks, like saying hello to someone. But as an entrepreneur and leader, confidence isn’t a choice. It’s necessary for growing success.

Confidence isn’t a tactical thing. It’s an emotion.

Just like any emotion -- happiness, sadness, anger, etc. -- it can be triggered and groomed, almost on-demand, through physical action. So in order to achieve that high level of confidence to push through the challenges and growing pains of running a business, here are things you must do: 1. Plan ahead while leaving room for spontaneity While your business needs a plan for both the short-term and long-term, the best thing about entrepreneurship is spontaneity. When you leave room for the unknown, you open yourself up to new possibilities that may be perfect for taking your business to the next level 2. Listen before you speak Get involve in “active listening,” which is the key to carrying fun, engaging conversations that attract people around you without having to say much. How it works is simple: ask open-ended questions. After all, the point of conversation is to relate to someone.

But the important part is listening to the answers. If you’re not listening, you’re not connecting.

Any answer someone gives you will contain bits of information called “hooks,” golden nuggets waiting for you to use to relate to that person. In a world where distractions are all around, doing this effectively can show you are not only listening but also care about what the person is saying and enhancing the connection.

3. Pay attention to appearance Just because you may not be pitching an angel investor or VC everyday doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to look like a mess. You never know who you’ll meet at any given moment and it’s pivotal for your confidence to know you’re looking good. You don’t have to wear a suit, but even tech billionaire Mark Cuban does from time to time, even though he’s not a fan.

4. Exercise A healthy body is a healthy mind, whether in the dating or business world. Spend 10 to 30 minutes each day keeping your body in shape. It can improve everything from your posture and body language to your self-esteem and decision-making - especially during the most stress-induced situations. The endorphins you produce can not only build your confidence but also project it for others to see.

Achieving workout goals can give you a sense of accomplishment - momentum that can easily transfer to other aspects of your life. If you need a quick pump of adrenaline before an important meeting, working out just prior can provide the pop you’re looking for.

5. Make sure to smile Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, gave a TED talk on how your body language can not only change how others see you but also how you see yourself. The easiest thing you can do to feel confident is smile, especially when your self-esteem is low. Even in the most strenuous of circumstances, smiling can put everyone around you - including yourself - at ease.

Then, you’re in a position of influence to make decisions people will trust.

Those who are the boldest and most confident may be the ones to secure the meetings and the next greatest business deal. Make sure it’s you, not your competition. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

W

ith regards to competing favourably with SUV rivals, Honda is developing both five-seat and, for the first time, sevenseat versions of the next-generation CR-V due within two years.

Sources within the Japanese car maker revealed the twin-model strategy, which will echo the line-up of direct rivals including the Nissan X-TRAIL and Mitsubishi Outlander, as well as the more upmarket Land Rover Discovery Sport.

At this stage it’s not known whether both versions of the fifth-generation CR-V, which is due for global release by 2017, will be based on the same wheelbase – as with the X-TRAIL, Outlander and Disco Sport.

Alternatively, it could be produced with two different wheelbases like Toyota’s previous RAV4, which was available in Japan in LWB V6 form.

Incidentally, Volkswagen is also developing up to three versions of its second-generation Tiguan, which is expected to be available at least in Europe in short-wheelbase fiveseat, long-wheelbase sevenseat and more stylish CC-style four-door ‘coupe’ forms.

Similarly, Mazda is believed to be working on a stretched,

5+2-seat version of Australia’s top-selling SUV, the CX-5, which could revive the CX-7 nameplate and slot in beneath the redesigned CX-9 due to appear late this year.

Honda’s Odyssey peoplemover remains popular, but a two-pronged CR-V model range would give Honda its only seven-seat SUV and potentially arrest sliding sales of the current model as the Japanese car-maker’s latest Honda Pilot and Acura MDX remain left-hand drive models off limits for this market.

Meantime, the CX-5 has found almost 10,000 homes to May (up more than 13 per cent year-to-date), while the newer X-TRAIL (7477 – up 45 per cent YTD) and RAV4 (7411 – down 7.1per cent) have also doubled the CR-V’s sales.

Even the older Subaru Forester (4423), latest Jeep Cherokee (3539), Outlander (3421) and aged Kia Sportage (3247) have proved more popular than the CR-V this year, in a segment that has lifted more than 10 per cent for the year so far.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins admits he’s unhappy with CR-V sales but expects a new marketing campaign in the second half of this year and a smaller 1.6-litre diesel variant early next year to buoy sales.

“We’re not entirely happy

with CR-V [sales], so that’ll be a focus for the second half [of 2015],” he said. “ “We need to get on more shopping lists. Volume still pretty good but there are a lot of new entrants and we need to get amongst it.”

But the biggest problem for the CR-V appears to be the customers downsizing to the Japanese brand’s all-new HR-V compact SUV. “HR-V is the second bestselling privately purchased

small SUV and the vast majority is incremental... but some [buyers] have come from CRV,” said Collins.

In fact, despite only going on sale in February, the HR-V has outsold the CR-V in 2015 with 3891 registrations – well above Honda’s own 800/ month sales target – making it the fourth best selling small SUV and creating delivery delays of more than two months on some versions, especially high-spec variants.

“We’re on track for 5000 [HR-V sales] in the first half [of 2015]. Including our June forecast we’ll sell an average of 1000 HR-Vs a month. The biggest issue is supply to keep sales going,” said Collins.

Thanks largely to its three smallest models – the HR-V, Jazz hatch (3700 sales – up 104% YTD) and City sedan (1037, up 57%) – Honda sales are up 24 per cent this year and on track to top 40,000 in 2015.

Ford EcoBoost wins again

F

ord’s three-cylinder EcoBoost engine has notched up yet another result in the International Engine of the Year awards, making eight wins over the past four years.

Of those wins, four have been in its category – best engine under 1.0 litres – and three in a row were for the overall win. The EcoBoost triple is the only engine ever to have achieved this feat. In addition to those accolades, the three-cylinder was also judged best new engine back in 2012.

“The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine changed the game for small petrol engines and we’re proud it remains best in class despite a growing number of competitors,” says Joe Bakaj, vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe.

“The spirit of innovation that helped us create this engine is alive and well and we continue to develop new engines.”

It’s a remarkable achievement against other, much more fancied rivals. The three-cylinder is positioned very much in the bargain basement end of the mass market, and powers one in five Ford vehicles built in Europe during 2014.

Ford has not ended development of the highly-regarded small engine, however; it is studying cylinder deactivation to eke out even longer range for fewer CO2 emissions. In collaboration with Schaeffler Group, Ford is developing a dual-mass flywheel for the engine. Not only does the new flywheel reduce fuel consumption by up to six per cent, but prototype tests in Germany reveal it’s quieter and smoother too.

“Even for an aggressively downsized engine such as the 1.0-litre EcoBoost, a significant improvement in vehicle fuel economy could be found by exploiting cylinder deactivation,” said Carsten Weber, advanced powertrain manager, Ford of Europe.

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Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

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Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

Jaguar Land Rover develops pothole detector

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“We had a few sceptics at the start of the year when we targeted 40,000 sales... but now we’re well and truly on track for that,” said Collins, who added that returning to 60,000 annual sales remains Honda Australia’s long-term goal.

Collins said the overall market’s 4.5 per cent sales increase to May, putting it on track for another record year, masked much bigger growth in sales to private buyers, which at 54 per cent of the market are the highest ever, as sales to non-private customers are in decline.

Driven by free-trade agreements, price reductions, insurance claims following

Queensland hailstorms and strong demand in other eastern Australian states (but not WA, which is seven per cent down as the mining boom subsides), he said the growth in SUV sales to private customers was particularly strong.

Collins said that while only one in four sales in the smallcar segment – which is almost 11 per cent down YTD – went to private buyers, many buyers had migrated to small SUVs (up more than 25 per cent).

“Private customers continue to move into SUVs,” he said. “Although I don’t expect this kind of growth to continue, it bodes well for a good second half.” BC

“The highest priority in the development of new combustion engines for automotive applications is the ongoing reduction of fuel consumption.”

The International Engine of the Year awards are judged each year by 87 motoring journalists from 35 different countries. BC

aguar Land Rover is researching a new connected car technology that will allow a vehicle to identify the location and severity of potholes, broken drains and manhole covers, then share this data in real-time via the cloud with other vehicles, and with road authorities to help them prioritise repairs.

If a car can receive a warning from another vehicle about severe potholes or broken manholes ahead, drivers would be able to slow down and avoid the danger – or the car could adjust suspension settings to reduce the impact and smooth the ride.

This could help reduce the potential for punctures, wheel and vehicle damage as well as road accidents.

Dr Mike Bell, global connected car director, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Our MagneRide-equipped Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport vehicles feature sophisticated sensors that allow the vehicle to profile the road surface under the wheels. By monitoring the motion of the vehicle and changes in the height of the suspension, the car is able to continuously adjust the vehicle’s suspension characteristics.

“While this gives our customers a more comfortable ride, we think there is a huge opportunity to turn the information from these vehicle sensors into ‘big data’ and share it for the benefit of other road users.

“This could help prevent billions of pounds of vehicle damage and make road repairs more effective.”

The next stage of the project is to install new road surface sensing technology in the Range Rover Evoque research vehicle, including an advanced forwardfacing stereo digital camera.

“At the moment the most accurate data comes from when the car has driven over the pothole or manhole,” Mr Bell said.

“So we are also researching how we could improve the measurement and accuracy of pothole detection by scanning the road ahead, so the car could predict how severe they are before the vehicle gets near.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s research team will be working on how road profile information could be shared with local authorities, and what data would be most useful for their roads maintenance teams to identify and prioritise repairs. The project will also investigate whether Jaguar Land Rover’s experimental camera could take an image of the pothole or damaged manhole – and share this with the road authorities, with a GPS location. BC

Autocare How to care for your SUV’s exterior and interior

H

ere are top ten tips for detailing your SUV to help you on your way. Most of us won’t do much work under the hood beyond the occasional oil and filter change.

But almost all of us can attack the task of washing, cleaning and detailing our SUVs on our own.

First, do no harm: Much like the medical profession, auto detailers have to make careful, critical assessments when they work on their patients. Like a good doctor, the detailer has to be certain that the cure isn’t worse than the disease.

Protect your SUV from the elements: Sun, wind and rain are your SUV’s worst enemies. Left unprotected in the elements, an SUV will deteriorate and eventually rust away, becoming a better planter box than a mode of transportation within a few years. If you can’t get in the garage, consider buying a cover or a canopy to park under. Look for shade when you park at work or at the store.

Inspect your SUV: Finding that small problem before it becomes a big one will help keep your auto detailing simpler and more effective. Make it a habit to give your SUV a good once-over on a regular basis, at least once a month. Check all of the paint for dirt and sediment. Check the chrome for pitting and rust. Check the tires and wheels for scrapes and discoloration. Look around the interior for dirt, debris and stains.

Wash your SUV regularly: The best way to maintain a good finish on your SUV is to keep it clean. Once a month is good, twice a month is even better.

Maintain a good coat of wax: Once your SUV is clean, it’s important to put a good coat of wax on. The wax acts as a protectant, keeping dirt and dust from binding to your clear coat and paint. Wax also acts as a moisture barrier, keeping water from penetrating pores in the painted surfaces and getting to the metal below.

Avoid scratches: Scratches are the enemy of a paint job.

Not only are they unsightly, they allow contaminants to get under their surface. Big scratches are obvious but even tiny scratches are dangerous. Use the softest possible materials when you detail your SUV. Soft terrycloth is great. Many professional detailers have migrated to microfiber, a synthetic material that is highly absorbent, very soft, and very consistent.

Flip that rag: A good detail job can be wasted through false economy. Don’t try to make that rag or towel go farther by using it over and over. You won’t see a good professional detailer passing a dirty rag over a clean surface. Flip your rag over frequently, and use a clean surface to dry, wipe and polish with.

Less is more: One clear sign of a bad detail job comes a week later. The formerly glistening dashboard now looks gluey, and is sticky to the touch. Using too much vinyl dressing is worse than using none at all. Vinyl, leather and rubber can only absorb so much dressing before they become saturated, and additional dressing sits on the surface. For the first day or so, it looks great, with that wet look we all admire. But then the surface dressing attracts dust and dirt, mixing together to become a sticky mess.

Use quality, automotive formulas It’s time to detail the SUV. Should you grab some dish soap, a little Lemon Pledge and a spray bottle of Fantastic, and head out to the driveway? absolutely not. Automotive surfaces require specially-formulated cleaners, polishes and waxes to achieve the longest life and best looks. Buy the best that you can afford, and keep it simple.

Start gently and then get more aggressive Before you attack that stain with a harsh solvent and a wire brush, try a light mist of distilled water and a soft sponge. Before you hack away at that dried bird dropping with a putty knife, try leaving a hot moist towel on the surface for ten minutes. Before you blast that spot of rusty chrome with a power grinder, try gently rubbing with a soft, wet cloth.

Detailing can be a great way to bond with your SUV, and to make your investment go farther, longer and better. Hopefully these tips will help you and your ride along the way. BC

A20 36

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

REGULATORS

NDIC insists Nigerian banks are healthy T

he Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, has said that Nigerian banks are in good financial position and therefore healthy.

Deputy Director, Research, ,NDIC, Hashim Ahmad, said after the sensitisation of the 2015 Batch ‘A Stream 2′, National Youth Service Corps ,NYSC, members at the orientation camp, Paiko in Niger state that the corporation undertakes proper supervision of the banks in the country as insurer to ensure they remain healthy.

“Nigerian Banks are relatively healthy in line with global standards. It is unlikely announcing the healthy status of our banks in the public but we normally say in aggregate and I think our annual report will soon be released and be made available for public scrutiny”, he said The NDIC Deputy Director, Research said, “We don’t particularly say Bank A or B is distressed. We are simply saying that on aggregate basis we will tell you the industry is this or that, but we undertake supervision of the banks as insurer

as you know, no insurer will sit back and allow his risk to crystallize before he wakes up.

“We are embarking on the supervision of Banks to ensure they remain safe and sound,” he said, explaining that the agency also undertakes the stress resolutions of most Banks.

“Any Bank that is identified as distressed or in difficult operational situation is normally turned over to the NDIC for management and so we manage the affected Banks until such a time that it is deemed to be fit or safe and sound to continue in business,” he said.

Hashim also told journalists that, “In the course of doing that we take over the management and control of the Banks. We can go to that extent of managing the Bank until such a time we think it is able to stand on its feet and then we hands it back to its owners.

“The NDIC as the sole liquidator of banks in Nigeria undertakes liquidation when all other avenue to resuscitate the purchase of the bank fails. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will then revoke the license and

Umaru-Ibrahim, NDIC MD

hands the bank over to NDIC for liquidation widening off of the affairs of the Bank,” he explained.

Hashim also revealed how soon Savannah Bank will back on business, saying, “We expect the Bank to bounce back soonest because it has been handed over to the owners. At our own end, NDIC, we can only act and exercise our own mandate when a licence is revoked by the CBN.” BC

Retail lending far less risky than corporate lending– Lafferty

C

hairman of Lafferty Group, United Kingdom, Michael Lafferty, has said that retail banking is leading the way, among other segments of the banking industry such as corporate, investment and others.

Speaking in Lagos at the 2015 annual lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, with the theme: The Changing Global Retail Banking Landscape: How Competitive are Nigerian Banks? Lafferty said that Nigeria is not an exemption in the increasing relevance of retail banking in the globe.

According to him the attention and recognition been given to retail banking by bank executives in the country has shown that this segment of banking business has so much to offer now and in the future.

Lafferty said retail banking is different from corporate banking, because the customers are people and small businesses, rather than big corporations and that it is also much more challenging than corporate banking, because people tend to bring emotions into their decision-making – while corporates are generally far less demanding because

they make decisions on a rational basis.

However he said retail banking is a much better business from a shareholder’s perspective than corporate banking, because of its capacity to generate sustainable, higher profits long into the future, adding that retail deposit-taking is the very lifeblood of banking, as those personal deposits are so precious that a “value can hardly be put on them in times of stress.”

“Retail lending is also far

Osibogun

less risky than corporate lending, because the individual amounts at risk are small and typically dispersed across a vast customer base. By contrast, a few corporate loans that go bad can wipe out much of a bank’s capital base – and all too often they do”, Lafferty said.

Meanwhile President, CIBN, Mrs. ‘Debola Osibogun, in her opening remarks said the annual lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria is one of the Institute’s major contributions towards policy advocacy and national development.

“The Lecture is designed to focus on contemporary issues of common interest within the Nigerian Banking and Financial Services Industry as well as the Economy. Through this forum, we hope to elicit valuable contributions from the Guest Lecturer, Panellists and participants which will form part of our presentation to the relevant Government Agency.

We also consider this Lecture a knowledge sharing event, geared towards stimulating discussion and educating key players within the Industry and adoption of best practice that would engender development”, she said. BC

Pension contributors get permission to use savings for housing

T

he National Pension Commission, PenCom, has disclosed that the 2014 Pension Reforms Act, PRA, allows pension contributors to use part of their savings to own their houses.

The Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said the new Act allows contributors seeking to own their primary homes to apply to use part of their Retirement Savings Account ,RSA, balances as equity contributions for residential mortgage subject to guidelines issued by the Commission.

According to her, “The process of issuing these guidelines is already at advanced stages and it is our expectation that as soon as implemented, this development would assist in bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria.”

She stated further that the pension industry has pooled significant investible funds locally and would deploy same to relevant sectors of the economy, particularly for the development of infrastructure and provision of houses for contributors in line with relevant provisions of the pension law.

She recalled that the pension law allows pension fund assets

to be invested in infrastructure across the country, saying many jobs would be created in the course of infrastructural development and housing, such that many Nigerians would be gainfully employed. This, she said, would go a long way in alleviating the pains of austerity measures.

The Director General said the application of the Contributory Pension Scheme ,CPS, by States and Local Governments received a boost under the new pension law since a standard which State Governments are required to comply with for the benefit of their respective employees had been set.

The 2014 Act also made provisions for voluntary participation in the CPS, thereby paving the way for the coverage of the informal sector. This is intended at extending the benefits of the scheme to a wider horizon of labour in the Nigerian economy, she stressed.

Reviewing the Pension Reform Act, 2014 further, she said the responsibilities of other government institutions in the implementation of the scheme and the administration of the defunct Defined Benefits Scheme are clearly spelt out.

Buhari, Osinbajo to grace ARSO President’s Forum

G

iving practical expression to the African Union ,AU, commitment to the unification of Africa into a single market via standardisation and the establishment of a continental free trade area, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will play roles in ARSO President’s Forum.

Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, Director General and African Organisation for Standardisation, ARSO, President Dr Joseph Ikem Odumodu disclosed this in a chat with newsmen in his office in Abuja.

According to the SON chief, Vice President Osinbajo will declare the Forum open while President Buhari will declare open one of the Forum’s features – Africa Standardisation Day Seminar.

The Forum which holds at International Conference Centre, Abuja; begins today and ends on 24 is being hosted by SON and ARSO. Country Representative of the Food & Agricultural Organisation, FAO in Nigeria Dr Louise Setshwaelo will be the keynote speaker at the seminar.

The seminar theme is the Role of Standards in Promoting Agriculture and Food Security in Africa.

Dr Odumodu said that the opening ceremony will be followed by CEOs of national stan-

dards bodies in Africa and manufacturers and service providers going into a technical session to consider the odds against free trade among African countries and strategize for their removal through appropriate ARSO standardisation programmes.”

This takes place on the first day.

Across the three days of the Forum, a trade fair tagged ARSO Made in Africa Expo will be in progress, Dr Odumodu also said. “The fair is open to both certified and uncertified products since SON places high premium on Nigeria products coming to the notice of the continent and indeed the world.

We believe that manufacturers could, by being a part of this Forum, learn to embrace standards without anyone imposing it on them,” he added.

In a similar vein, the chairman of the ARSO President’s Forum Local Organizing Committee, Dr Paul Angya lauded the immense benefit of the three-day event. He said that business owners’ interaction with the national standards bodies’ CEOs will initiate a relationship that gives them an edge over their competitors who are also seeking access to the same markets of other African countries ahead of the proposed continental free trade area and the fusion of the countries into a single market. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A21 37

Stock market last week change Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N235,319.49 executed in 20 deals compared with a total of 19,675 units valued at N1.296m transacted last week in 21 deals.

Retail Bonds A total of 2,284 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N2.398m were traded this week in 2 deals compared with a total of 3,450 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N4.053 m traded in 3 deals in the previous week.

NSE trading hall

Equities turnover of 1.282 billion shares worth N31.297bn in 19,143 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.552 billion shares valued at N17.532bn that exchanged hands the previous week in 17,785 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 976.652 million shares valued at N11.266bn traded in 10,121 deals; thus contributing 76.20 per cent and 36.00 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with a turnover of 114.138 mil-

A

lion shares worth N7.977m in 3,467 deals. The third place was occupied by the Oil and Gas Industry with 70.868 million shares worth N10.490 bn in 2,016 deals.

Trading in the Top Three Equities namely – Access Bank Plc., Zenith International Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc., (measured by volume) accounted for 486.911 million shares worth N7.688bn in 3,963 deals, contributing 37.99 per cent and 24.56 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

ETPs Also traded during the week were a total of 624 units of Ex-

Index Movement The NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalization depreciated by 1.08 per cent to close on Friday at 33,257.90 and N11.353trn respectively.

Similarly, all the Indices finished lower during the week, with the exception of the NSE ASeM that rose by 0.17 per cent to close at 1,213.52.

Summary of Price Changes Twenty-eight equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than 24 equities of the preceding week. Forty-six equities depreciated in price, higher than 42 equities of the preceding week, while 119 equities remained unchanged, lower than 127 equities recorded in the preceding week.BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 19-06-15 All-Share Index 33,460.50 points Market Capitalization 11,361,690,876,359.93

NASD OTC REPORT 1 OUTSTANDING OFFERS AND BIDS ON NASD OTC Outstanding deals since April, 2015.

SD ACORN PETROLEUM PLC SD ARM LIFE PLC SD ARM PROPERTIES PLC SD AFRILAND PROPERTIES PLC SD BGL PLC SD CAPPA AND D'ALBERTO PLC SD CENTRAL SECURITIES CLEARING SYSTEM PLC SD DUFIL PRIMA FOODS PLC SD FRIESLAND CAMPINA WAMCO NIGERIA PLC

Security

Industry Oil & Gas Financials Financials Financials Financials Industrials Financials Consumer Goods Consumer Goods

SD FOOD CONCEPTS PLC

Consumer Services

SD FUMMAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRIES PLC SD GEO-FLUIDS PLC SD GOLDEN CAPITAL PLC SD INDUSTRIAL & GENERAL INSURANCE PLC SD JAIZ INTERNATIONAL PLC SD NIGER DELTA EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION PLC

Consumer Goods Industrials Financials Financials Financials Oil & Gas

SD PARTNERSHIP INVESTMENT COMPANY PLC SD RESOURCERY PLC SD RIGGS VENTURES WEST AFRICA PLC SD SPRING MORTGAGE PLC SD SWAP TECHNOLOGIES AND TELECOMMS PLC

Financials Technology Industrials Financials Technology Financials

RUSTRUSTBOND MORTGAGE BANK PLC

Nominal value (₦) 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Last Offer Date 15-Jun-15 16-Jun-15 16-Jun-15 18-Jun-15 16-Apr-15

Offers Volume offered Last Offer Price Last Bid Price 1,207,000 1.23 2.66 100,000.00 95.00 16,050 5.20 4.52 8.20 156,457 300.00 290.00 ########### 0.86 -

-

0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 10.00 0.50

5-Jun-15 14-May-15 17-Jun-15 5-Jun-15

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00

15-Jun-15 4-Jun-15 15-Jun-15

621,899.00 50,000 145,800.00 2,336,000 991,280.00 886,800 ###########

2 DEMATERIALISATION AND CUMULATIVE TRADE IN OTC SECURITIES 19-Jun-15

Security SD ACORN PETROLEUM PLC SD ARM LIFE PLC SD ARM PROPERTIES PLC SD AFRILAND PROPERTIES PLC SD BGL PLC SD CAPPA AND D'ALBERTO PLC SD CENTRAL SECURITIES CLEARING SYSTEM PLC SD DUFIL PRIMA FOODS PLC SD FRIESLAND CAMPINA WAMCO NIGERIA PLC SD FOOD CONCEPTS PLC SD FUMMAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRIES PLC SD GEO-FLUIDS PLC SD GOLDEN CAPITAL PLC SD INDUSTRIAL & GENERAL INSURANCE PLC SD JAIZ INTERNATIONAL PLC SD NIGER DELTA EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION PLC SD PARTNERSHIP INVESTMENT COMPANY PLC SD RESOURCERY PLC SD RIGGS VENTURES WEST AFRICA PLC SD SPRING MORTGAGE PLC SD SWAP TECHNOLOGIES AND TELECOMMS PLC

RUSTRUSTBOND MORTGAGE BANK PLC

Industry Oil and Gas Financials Financials Financials Financials Industrial Financials Consumer Goods Consumer Goods Consumer Services Consumer Goods Industrial Financials Financials Financials Oil and Gas Financials Technology Industrial Financials Technology Financials

0.73 0.85 274.00 1.09 0.53 2.17 1.02

0.18 -

Bids Volume Bidded Last Bid Date 1,602,000 18-Jun-15 50,000 10-Jun-15 558,380 5-Jun-15 81,950 18-Jun-15 1,550,400 -

-

-

Year end 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Mar 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec 31/Dec

Total Share Capital Volume % '000 Dematerialised Dematerialised 2,000,000,000 5,785,673,000 1,900,000,000 1,249,000,000 12,000,000,000 196,875,000 5,000,000,000 6,753,333,334 976,335,936 5,650,000,000 3,600,000,000 4,257,668,000 1,170,324,536 14,231,238,000 11,829,700,000 181,408,000 2,875,595,000 2,576,686,039 880,394,000 7,138,199,210 2,705,378,000 10,945,334,000

41,278,346 606,000,000 12,040,382 72,428,500 102,907 38,232,855 171,723,293 83,817,426 550,329,772 65,087,688 968,058,020 1,216,500 7,956,004 43,831,878 516,100,000 14,750,000 90,629,755

103,903,142,055 3,283,583,326

18-Jun-15 -

TRADE INFORMATION (JAN 2015-TILL DATE)

DEMATERIALISATION INFORMATION

Introduced by Company Registrars Meristem Securities Limited CardinalStone Registrars Limited APT Securities & Fund Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc Mega Equity Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc APT Securities & Fund Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc Nigerian Int. Securities Ltd Unity Registrars Limited UBA Stockbroking Firm African Prudential Registrars Plc Greenwich Securities Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc Anchoria Investment & Securities Lim Nnenna Ejekam Associates Capital Bancorp Plc First Registrars Limited Stanbic IBTC stockbrokers limited Meristem Registrars Limited Integrated Trust & Investment LimitedPAC Registrars Limited Icon Stockbrokers Limited Meristem Registrars Limited Sterling Capital Market Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc Greenwich Securities Limited GTL Registrars Limited APT Securities & Fund Limited African Prudential Registrars Plc FCSL Asset Management Co. Limited United Securities Limited APT Securities & Fund Limited First Registrars Limited APT Securities & Fund Limited EDC Registrars Limited APT Securities & Fund Limited Mainstreet Bank Registrars Limite Primera Africa Securities Limited PAC Registrars Limited Signet Investment and Securities Limi PAC Registrars Limited Prominent Securities Limited United Securities Limited

-

2.06% 10.47% 0.00% 0.96% 0.60% 0.05% 0.76% 0.00% 17.59% 1.48% 0.00% 12.93% 5.56% 6.80% 0.01% 4.39% 1.52% 20.03% 0.00% 0.00% 0.55% 0.83% 3.16%

If you do not see your unquoted Plc on this list or for further enquirys consult your NASD OTC participating broker or visit our website at www.nasdng.com

DEALS 14 9 5 1 56 280 54 14 23 12 49 6 12 15 550

VOLUME 13,890

218,134 6,300 303 12,451,510 135,071,129 6,301,140 10,789,938 110,159,250 10,250 6,190,477 1,900 112,400 15,560 281,342,181

VALUE (₦) 29,417.90

542,705.10 18,900.00 30,300.00 58,599,857.00 42,512,608,878.23 3,357,780.00 16,067,149.62 110,214,996.00 8,712.50 1,280,723,002.25 2,660.00 110,044.00 35,607.30 43,982,350,009.90

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

GlaxoSmithKline: Positive on growth potential in pharma space

G

laxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria, GSK, Plc, 2015 first quarter profit declined 52.07 percent owing to rising operating costs.

Profit was N295.06m in the first three months through March 2015, compared with N615.57m, according to the company.

GSK’s operating expenses increased by 22.03 percent to N2.52bn from N2.06bn as the company continues to grapple with bad roads and rising energy costs that swell distribution and administrative expenses.

Operating expenses ratio, OER, moved to 33.82 percent in 2015 from 25.50 percent the previous year.

The OER measures how efficient a company is. GSK’s OER of 0.338 percent means the company spent 33.8 percent to create the sale. An expense ratio that is increasing over time means the company has been operating less efficiently.

GSK’s cost of sales reduced by 6.60 percent to N4.53bn, as against N4.85bn in 2014 despite the company’s exposure to currency volatility.

“Exchange rate volatility is an issue,” said Managing Director of the firm T.S Dayanand, has said. “We will continue to manage that risk and have factored some of it in our budget.

We intend to localise more of our manufacturing as much as possible, even as we currently produce 75 percent of our products locally.” Dayanand had said.

However GSK’s total assets increased by 6.50 percent to N29.47bn in 2015 compared with N27.67bn in 2014.

The company’s share price closed at N44.0 on the floor of the NSE while market capitalization was N52.62bn.

2014 full year result The company’s typical double digit YoY growth was eroded as the it posted top line growth of 4.58 per cent N30.52bn against N29.18bn in its 2014 full year scorecard, which came in lower than the 15.31 per cent growth recorded in prior year.

The weak performance has been credited to sale of some brands, as well as macroeconomic constraints in the country which dampened purchasing power of consumers.

Despite the company’s cost efficiency drive, the Cost to sale ratio expanded by 4.58 per cent to 64.83 per cent when compared with 60.24 per cent recorded in FY2013 alongside the OPEX ratio, which increased by

Olusegun Osunkeye, Immediate past Chairman

Dayanand

2.64 per cent to 28.44 per cent compared to 25.80 per cent in the previous year, according to Meristem research.

“Despite the 668 per cent jump in other income, the 58.08 per cent decline in finance income and the 895 per cent YoY rise in finance charges affected profitability, as PBT and PAT declined by 36.21 per cent and 36.67 per cent YoY in that order”, the experts said.

Finance income also jumped by 58.08 per cent YoY, being interest income on short term deposits and Interest income on loans to staff, and Finance costs, interest on overdrafts, increased by 895.14 per cent .

Profit before tax was pressured to NGN2.75bn vs. NGN4.32bn in FY: 2013, which implied a 36.21 per cent decline YoY. Profit after tax slipped to NGN1.85bn vs. NGN2.92bn which was a 36.36 per cent decline relative to 2013 resulting in an Earnings margin of 6.06 per cent compared to 10.10 per cent in FY2013.

The tempered growth might not be unrelated to the strain in the company’s product portfolio, as the parent company ,GSK Plc. sold its Lucozade and Ribena brands during the year to Suntory Beverage and Food Limited a Japanese company.

Nevertheless GSK Nigeria remains the major distributor of the products in Nigeria under an exclusive contract with the new owners of the brand, as the products contribute 50 per cent the company’s revenue. GSK also blamed the weakening growth to unimpressive Macros

which dampened purchasing power of consumers.

Outlook The company is positive on the growth potential in the pharma space in Nigeria, partly driven by growth in the number of insured lives, both private and public, which is growing strongly off a low base. In addition, the reducing counterfeits in pharmaceuticals in the country, according Renaissance Capital is a substantial opportunity for the company.

According to management, GSK has seen some improvement in trading conditions post the election and is guiding for mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2015 full year.

Following the 4.5 per cent revenue decline in 1Q15, this implies c. 8 per cent growth for the remainder of the year.

“The company targets a 25 per cent revenue CAGR in its own brands over the next four-to-five years and a 10-15 per cent CAGR in the Suntory brands. GSK plans to focus its investments in marketing and infrastructure around its own brands”, Ren Cap said.

GSK believes there is significant growth potential for the company in Nigeria from extending its reach with its existing product offering and from expanding its product offering.

The company is currently in the process of redesigning its route-to-market. It currently reaches 40,000 outlets vs Nestle’s reach of 500,000 outlets.

Its target is to reach 150,000 outlets over the next three

years.

Experts’ position According to experts at Meristem Company that innovation and introduction of new products and the company’s efficient route-to-market strategy would push the company to its target double digit growth in revenue.

“We forecast a 5years CAGR of 12.59 per cent from 2015 to 2019.

“Higher Operational Costs impedes cost efficiency drive, partly due to Naira devaluation against dollar, Cost to Sale advanced by 4.58 per cent to 64.83 per cent compared to 60.24 per cent recorded in the prior year.

“We expect to see further impact of FX on company in 2015. OPEX ratio also expanded by 2.64 per cent to 28.44 per cent compared to 25.80 per cent in FY: 2013, which was largely due to higher depreciation charge for the period.

Other Operating profit, mainly profit from disposal of assets and foreign exchange gains in the year expanded by 668.88 per cent YoY”, Meristem said.

The company said it downgraded GSK to N51.08 from N57.94 by employing a blend of absolute and relative valuation models to determine the intrinsic value of GlaxoSmith.

“We revised downwards our revenue forecasts and adjusted our cost projections in line with new realities, and therefore arrived at a revised target price of price NGN51.08 which implies a 9.21 per cent downside to the current price”, the research

firm said.

Ren Cap said with the sale of Lucozade and GSK to Suntory largely in the base, the company is guiding for strong medium-term revenue growth, adding that a one-for-four share bonus issue has resulted in a restatement of the share price, and a reduction in our HEPS forecasts and TP, though our underlying numbers have not changed. Our TP is N52.80, previously N66 and we maintain our BUY rating.

“We believe GSK has the most pricing power in its categories and we have the highest HEPS growth forecasts from FY15 for GSK. Our TP moves to NGN52.80 (from NGN66), solely due to the one-for-four bonus issue. We maintain our BUY rating on the stock”, Ren Cap said.

Corporate profile GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of consumer healthcare and pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.

The company operates through two segments, Consumer Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals. It offers consumer healthcare products, including oral healthcare products for family care, and sensitivity and bleeding gums; wellness products, such as pain management, and gastro-intestinal and respiratory health products, as well as multivitamins; and nutritional healthcare products comprising functional beverages and family nutritions primarily under the Panadol, Andrews Liver Salt, Macleans, Sensodyne, Phensic, Lucozade, and Ribena brands.

The company also provides pharmaceutical products comprising prescription drugs for the treatment of asthma, malaria, depression, migraine, diabetes, heart failure, digestive conditions, and cancer; and vaccines to protect against illnesses, such as hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, typhoid, influenza, and cervical cancer under the Ampiclox, Amoxil, Augmentin, Zentel, and Halfan brands.

The company was formerly known as Beecham Limited.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc was incorporated in 1971 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, June 22, 2015

A23 39

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, June 19, 2015 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 31.55 PRESCO PLC 32.00 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. 4.26 Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2.26 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.47 CHELLARAMS PLC. 3.95 JOHN HOLT PLC. 0.94 SCOA NIG PLC 4.44 TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 2.78 U A C N PLC. 42.00 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. 5.30 CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. 0.92 G CAPPA PLC 14.46 Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 52.39 ROADS NIG PLC. 6.29 Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 10.50 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 100.00 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV 45.22 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 10.00 CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 7.00 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 0.93 GUINNESS NIG PLC 165.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 18.52 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. 1.66 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 148.02 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC 3.26 Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 178.10 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 3.87 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 6.96 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 34.70 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 3.80 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 0.50 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 18.05 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 8.50 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. 5.35 U T C NIG. PLC. 0.50 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 11.84 Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 37.57 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 850.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 31.82 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 5.43 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 1.45 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 31.77 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 45.00 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 6.10 DIAMOND BANK PLC 4.21 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 22.00 FIDELITY BANK PLC 1.79 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. NT GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 26.96 INTERCONTINENTAL BANK 13.50 SKYE BANK PLC 2.50 STERLING BANK PLC. 2.05 U B A PLC 5.16 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 9.65 UNITY BANK PLC 2.54 WEMA BANK PLC. 1.00 ZENITH BANK PLC 19.47 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC 0.50 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.92 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1.00 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC NT EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 0.53 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.50 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC NT INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.50 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. 0.5 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 2.99 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.76 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC 0.50 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD TRUSTASSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 0.50 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 5.42 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.14 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 1.26 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 1.42 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC 5.78 Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS 2.74 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 4.00 CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC 0.64 FBN HOLDINGS PLC 8.41 FCMB GROUP PLC 3.08 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.50 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 27.60 SIM CAPITAL ALLIANCE VALUE FUND 103.24 NIGERIA ENERGY SECTOR FUND 552.20 UBA CAPITAL PLC 1.41 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 3.72 UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 1.82 Pharmaceuticals

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 19-06-15

52 WK HIGH

QUANTITY

9,140 261,540 107,996

0.64 107.81 41.14

52 WK LOW

0.50 20.92 8.24

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

2,200,000,000 476,955,000 1,000,000,000

0.10 2.29 7.55

MOV. (%)

Previous

N/A 2.10 -7.25

0.50 30.90 34.50

70

4.26

4.26

60,000,000

0.00

N/A

4.26

1,249,104

7.18

0.68

1,199,549,736

0.07

-5.83

2.40

100,150 300 17,558 512 6,693,406 2,658,148

2.08 6.43 5.89

0.71 4.15 1.07

2,191,895,983 963,900,300 389,151,408

0.11 0.16 1.09

-4.55 N/A N/A

5.89 71.10

0.50 28.00

821,666,666 1,600,720,323

0.09 4.38

N/A N/A

1.54 3.95 0.94 4.44 2.75 41.50

375 3

26.00 95.49

5.05 95.49

148,500,000 196,876,000

0.33 4.50

N/A N/A

5.30 NT

807,550 217

2.66 14.46

0.72 14.46

920,573,765 125,000,000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

0.96 14.46

27,437 1,832

83.75 10.60

19.86 6.61

1,200,000,000 20,000,000

6.74 1.69

0.00 N/A

52.39 6.29

NT 324,368

7.28 20.90

7.28 8.82

1,375,000,000

0.00 2.20

N/A 5.00

NT 10.00

93 100 6,350

100.00 50.00 10.50

100.00 50.00 0.00

20,000,000 250,019,781

5.82 0.19

N/A N/A

100.00 45.22 10.00

5,016

0.50

0.50

4,772,528,415

0.00

N/A

0.50

54,992 8,132 28,374 172,515 50,000 1,808,302 513,550

19.48 0.68 297.41 30.00 9.09 179.40 0.97

3.13 0.68 209.10 5.34 0.81 91.10 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 0.00 8.66 0.63 0.00 5.03 0.00

N/A N/A -1.79 N/A N/A -1.48 N/A

6.42 0.93 168.00 20.01 1.66 150.25 3.26

24,150

75.90

38.12

640,590,362

4.46

N/A

178.10

NT 224,970 1,588,435 187,271 952,850 53,816 159,011 2,835,920 2.08 124,000 50 100

0.50 10.68 12.85 109.24 4.11 1.21 29.70 14.00 5.94 0.93 13.31

0.50 3.85 3.26 50.00 1.83 0.50 17.51 3.65 5.35 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 40,000,000 1,233,375,004 360,000,000

0.00 0.00 0.81 3.38 0.34 0.00 0.00 1.05 0.08 1.13 0.00

N/A -7.86 4.66 -0.69 -4.52 N/A N/A 6.38 N/A 0.00 N/A

NT 4.20 6.65 34.94 3.98 0.50 18.05 7.99 5.35 0.50 11.84

5,725 390,319

64.53 1250.00

8.33 400.00

3,129,188,160 792,656,250

1.57 28.34

-5.84 -0.01

39.90 850.07

25,333 100 187,845 15,000

15.58 36.19 5.54 2.88

10.03 32.27 2.91 0.57

63,360,000 819,000,000 300,000,001

3.90 13.92 0.71 0.00

N/A N/A 0.93 N/A

NT 31.82 5.38 1.67

156,973 119,119

56.00 76.00

21.02 27.60

3,176,381,636 3,783,296,250

1.34 1.42

-9.23 0.00

35.00 45.00

NT

0.97

0.57

843,284,027

0.00

N/A

NT

20,610,779 1,358,484 5,746,153 4,669,271 NT 11,491,149

12.39 7.85 17.51 3.47 8.30 29.99

4.70 1.92 9.90 1.13 3.04 13.02

17,888,251,479 14,475,243,105 9,873,614,567 28,974,797,023 16,271,192,202 29,146,482,209

1.61 1.71 3.67 0.68 0.60 3.08

0.33 0.24 0.05 1.70 #VALUE! 0.41

5,074,965 2,601,379 11,173,106 1,469,943 359,359 1,128,531 9,778,427

7.05 3.05 9.60 15.30 1.16 1.88 27.40

2.65 0.80 1.64 2.34 0.50 0.50 11.96

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

0.97 0.63 1.70 0.44 0.18 0.00 3.30

0.00 0.00 -0.19 -3.50 0.00 -3.85 -2.75

200 1,627,718 NT 9,140 1,882,960 62,000 9,054,578 4,754 NT 42,003 165,731 NT 698,304 NT 14,710 100 220 23,600 1,319,465 10,579,013 52,100 1,654,611 27,973 5,028 100 1,650 161,547,689 25,000 200 518,140 1,368,084

0.50 1.42 0.64 0.52 1.45 0.72 2.44 0.50 0.69 0.60 0.50 2.50 2.50 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 2.87 0.63 1.01 1.11 0.50 1.24 0.53 0.59

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.58 0.50 1.08 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.06 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

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

0.00 0.19 0.00 0.05 0.15 0.02 0.24 0.01 0.00 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.25 0.00 0.37 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.09

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 5.65 N/A -7.32 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A 0.00

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.55

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

8,493,173,450 2,581,733,505 13,000,000,000 16,000,000,000

0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.07

N/A N/A N/A N/A

10,000,000 584,766

6.60 1.22

0.00 0.72

500 500 500 220,000 4,570

1.65 0.50

1.37 0.50

4,200,000,000 8,679,148,676

0.03 0.02

N/A N/A

0.50 0.99

0.50 0.50

13,175,732,404 7,812,500,000

0.30 0.00

N/A N/A

313,164 369,250 500 5,000 8,812,914 27045923 1,050,953 3,807,836 465 100 1,926,013

2.1

0.5

0.61 2.02 21.50 5.70 1.33 20.72 103.24

0.50 2.02 8.57 2.90 0.50 10.64 98.33

1.70

0.00

1.18 0.19

3,608,657,661 18,750,000,000

0.00 0.15 2.45 1.23 0.13 1.53

0.50 0.94 NT 0.50 1.03 0.50 NT 0.50 0.53 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50 0.5 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.83 0.50 0.82 0.50 NT 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.51 5.42 1.14

0.63 3,778,005,975 1,333,333,333 32,632,084,358

6.08 4.20 21.99 1.76 NT 26.85 13.50 2.50 2.05 5.17 10.00 2.53 1.04 20.02

N/A N/A -6.03 N/A 2.22

0.29

1.25 0.50 1.42 0.50 6.4 2.85 4.00 NT 0.64 8.95 3.07 0.50 27.00 103.24 552.20 1.46

170 40,000

5.05 0.50

4.32 0.50

498,600,908 3,553,138,528

0.13 0.00

N/A N/A

3.72 0.50

100

10.54

7.39

152,178,750

0.00

N/A

1.82

N/A=Not Avialable @

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.59 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 3.40 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 44.00 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.50 NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 1.28 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 6.32 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 2.23 ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.50 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC 0.50 Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.91 IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC 3.98 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 11.02 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 1.69 Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 3.39 Telecommunications Services IHS NT HIS NIGERIA PLC 2 NT HIS NIGERIA PLC 1 NT MTI PLC 0.5 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. 2.72 ASHAKA CEM PLC 21.50 BERGER PAINTS PLC 11.24 CAP PLC 41.00 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 11.68 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 175.00 DN MEYER PLC. 0.76 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 0.50 IPWA PLC 0.50 PREMIER PAINTS 10.93 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 99.00 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC 1.33 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 4.25 Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2.09 CUTIX PLC. 1.73 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. 0.50 Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.52 BETA GLASS CO PLC. 37.32 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 11.48 NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC NT POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. 0.63 Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC 7.46 NIG SEW MACH. MAN. CO PLC. 0.15 STOKVIS NIG PLC. 0.14 NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 5.11 Metals ALUMACO PLC 7.75 ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 10.43 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 0.67 OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.50 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 15.90 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.5 CONOIL PLC 42.00 ETERNA PLC. 2.60 FORTE OIL PLC. 179.99 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 149.00 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 50.54 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 159.10 Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVT. CO, LTD. 315.80 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC 0.50 Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. 3.15 Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 0.84 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 5.00 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 1.22 Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.56 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL 4.07 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 3.72 TOURIST COY NIG PLC 3.51 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 9.63 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS 0.95 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.21 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 2.30 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 6.05 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.53 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 4.43 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC 0.5 Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 2.08 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 5.03 SUPPORT AND LOGISTICS CAVERTON OFFSHORE GROUP PLC 3.6 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC NT OIL AND GAS CAPITAL OIL PLC NT NAVITUS ENERGY PLC NT Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. NT HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. NT ETF’s Sector ETF LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF NT NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND NT VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF NT

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

74,488 1,444,640 66,411 163,454 251,300 100 572,185

4.80 2.50 69.00 3.38 1.76 8.59 3.50

0.50 0.61 18.97 1.23 0.58 7.36 1.83

486,473,856 1,500,000,000 956,701,192 980,000,000 1,925,717,268 153,786,012 100,000,000

0.58 0.24 3.07 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00

-9.14 1.49 -0.59 -14.29 7.56 N/A N/A

1.75 3.35 44.26 1.75 1.19 6.32 2.23

37,000

0.96

0.50

2,960,000,000

0.11

0.00

0.50

100

0.50

0.50

2,941,789,472

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT

0.91

0.91

4,966,666,668

0.00

N/A

0.91

400 100 5,460

18.70 2.94

13.12 2.07

108,000,000 492,825,600

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

3.98 11.02 1.69

27,420 1,080

0.50 4.97

0.50 3.13

4,620,600,000 4,200,000,000

0.04 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 3.39 NT NT NT 0.5

100

0.50

0.50

4,893,594,400

0.00

N/A

2,000 1,557,197 40,673 20,474 1,514,719 1,167,463 40,890 600 6,000 60 109,667 50,000 72,650

2.86 29.98 12.20 67.50 12.99 210.01 3.54 0.75 1.34

2.86 8.01 6.82 13.78 4.00 102.00 0.50 0.50 0.50

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

0.07 0.80 0.91 1.66 1.12 5.77 0.06 0.00 0.00

N/A 0.00 -1.06 0.00 10.71 -1.12 N/A N/A N/A

110.00 2.41 7.22

39.80 0.50 2.27

3,001,600,004 792,914,256 400,000,000

6.83 0.36 0.43

-0.10 N/A N/A

2.72 21.50 11.36 41.00 10.55 176.99 0.83 0.50 0.50 10.93 99.10 1.33 4.18

100 220,132 100

2.00 2.39 0.73

2.00 1.20 0.50

510,396,608 2,220,000,000

0.05 0.19 0.00

N/A -1.14 N/A

2.09 1.75 0.50

NT 561 1,361 100 NT NT NT

3.98 5.94 13.18 13.28 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 1.71 9.04 12.68 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 0.00 3.23 0.90 0.24 0.22 0.00

NT 1.52 39.90 11.48 NT NT 0.63

100 200 NT

8.69

8.26

265,409,280

0.00

N/A

0.14

0.14

2,918,000

0.00

N/A

25,000,000 683,974,528

N/A #VALUE! N/A N/A

7.46 0.15 0.14

10,000

9.35

5.68

393,120,000

0.76

0.00

5.11

320 100

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75,600,000 100,000,000

0.00 0.24

N/A N/A

7.75 10.43

100

0.50

0.50

4,058,989,226

0.01

N/A

0.50

NT 4,050

3.22 1.38

3.22 0.67

50,000,000 220,000,000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT 0.73

1,408,720

1.02

0.50

6,262,701,716

0.00

0.00

0.50

4,924,248

24.80

9.32

2,262,711,568

1.24

-6.19

16.95

10000 2,577,516 2,541,040 412,758 22,164 167,074 43,476

76.00 4.87 115.64 146.00 59.00 190.01

16.96 1.32 7.73 106.00 16.20 118.75

693,952,117 1,249,162,828 1,080,280,628 300,496,051 253,988,672 339,521,837

2.69 0.61 1.43 9.93 1.04 12.91

5.00 2.77 4.04 0.68 N/A -0.56

0.5 40.00 2.53 173.00 148.00 50.54 159.99

306,355

28,677,671

200

0.72

0.50

100

3.48

3.48

209,933

2.45

1.00

2,572,000 3,000

5.10 3.45

2.19 0.73

4,059,547

1.64

1,500

0.75

100 599,750 1,000 2,800

4,035,497,307

338.00

0.00

N/A

0

N/A

0.50 3.15

980,294,400

0.00

10.53

0.76

589,496,310 198,819,763

0.52 0.00

-1.77 N/A

5.09 1.22

0.85

865,808,912

0.00

N/A

0.66

0.50

3,211,627,907

0.00

N/A

0.50

1.72 3.88 10.00

0.64 3.51 10.00

2,078,796,396

0.00

3.33

4.07 3.60 3.51 9.63

1,000

0.51

0.50

8,000,000,000

0.43

N/A

0.50

16500 224,498 20 20,800

3.09 2.78 5.77

1.39 2.52 3.00

771,450,000 425,641,111

0.00 0.00 0.61

N/A N/A 0.00

0.95 1.15 2.30 6.05

955,140

1.29

0.50

1,507,000,000

0.21

N/A

0.56

6 40,000,700

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236,699,511 5,631,539,736

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

4.43 0.5

111,000 246,274

5.90 8.81

1.27 5.08

634,000,000 1,230,468,750

0.50 0.43

N/A -4.19

2.23 5.25

189044

3.6

60

1.43

1.04

45,000,000

0.12

N/A

NT

100

2.26

1.02

201,885,335

0.00

N/A

NT

100000 1000

NT NT

NT

0.60

0.60

30,000,000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.50

0.50

24,898,850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT

1.88

1.63

125,005,250

0.00

N/A

NT NT

NT NT 1,000

0.50

0.50

6,650,000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194,700,000

0.00

N/A

2,706

2,003

41 10

#VALUE! 49467

NT NT NT

NT NT NT

40

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“Nemo judex in causa sua and Audi Alteram partem.

These maxims have recently been condensed into two words, namely: Impartiality and fairness”

- JUSTICE MODIBBO ALFA BELGORE, FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA xx

Declining standard, calamity in legal profession –Agbakoba 42

Justice Mahmud Mohammed, Chief Justice of Nigeria

Chief Judge, Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta

Why NJC should review judicial evaluation criteria for judges –Lawyers Despite the number of judges in various judicial divisions of the Nigerian court system, judicial officers still grapple with large daily caseloads that tend to weaken their mental exertion and resourcefulness while some are in non-litigious jurisdictions. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary highlights the crucial issues in judicial evaluation exercise amidst the recent summon of three High Court judges by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for low performance.

June 12 crisis: How court declared ING illegal 45

German court bans judge from using phone during proceedings 46

W

hile the judiciary serves as an independent arm of government, the country’s democratic system requires some degree of citize oversight and accountability from all organs of government.

Judicial Performance Evaluation programme is therefore, one mechanism by which the judiciary seeks to strike a balance between its independence and accountability.

About two weeks ago, the National Judicial Council (NJC) summoned three High Court judges in the country for low performance. Although the NJC did not give their names, indications emerged that the judges were invited by the Council sequel to the outcome of a report of its Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of Superior Courts of Record in the Federation.

A statement by Acting Director, Information Unit of the NJC, Mr. Soji Oye, said the three judges were from two states. The statement, however, failed to disclose the identities and states of the judges just as the criteria for eval-

IF YOU PLACE JUDGES IN LAGOS ON THE SAME PEDESTAL WITH JUDGES IN OTHER STATES, WHO HARDLY HAVE ENOUGH MATTERS TO ATTEND TO IN A MONTH, YOU WILL DISCOVER THAT JUSTICE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DONE uation of the judges’ performance were also kept secret.

Oye said the NJC took the decision to summon the affected judges at its 73rd meeting. Indeed, the Council had placed embargo on appointment of judges for a total of 26 courts due to insufficient workload.

But the statement did not disclose the courts which, it said, were now under the NJC’s “Freeze list.”

According to it, “Council had two years ago introduced Freeze List of Courts that do not have sufficient workload and are not allowed to forward recommendation for new appointment of Judges to it until their workload improves.

At its recent meeting, two Courts were put on the Freeze List by the

Council, bringing the total number of Courts in the Federation on the Freeze List to 26. “ The business of administering justice requires considerable amounts of resourcefulness and mental exertion that judges may not be inspired to produce when confronted with persistently huge and burdensome caseloads. For instance, statistics gathered by a Justice Advocacy Group, Access to Justice (AJ) during the monitoring exercise conducted a few years ago at the Federal High Court in Lagos revealed that a number of judges had a weekly turnover of more than a hundred cases.

The AJ in its report said, ‘’Under such circumstances, the judges’ fixation to treat each of the cases, however, ‘perfunctory ’ the

treatment given to each case, may become an overriding predisposition, prompted by an instinctive desire to satisfy either the litigants’ (or their lawyers’) need to see their cases progress through the stages, or the judge’s own need to give himself a feeling of progress.’’

In effect, the judges’ performance exercise in the country should be geared towards the process of building the efficiency and productivity of Nigerian courts. This will help to translate public perceptions about the courts for positive change.

Since the courts exist to provide a mechanism for fair, reasonable and peaceful resolution of disputes, for protecting and enforcing individual rights, and for retaining checks and balances in the process of government, how they discharge these functions and the problems related to their independence or integrity should assume many dimensions of significant concern to those within the system and the public at large.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Declining standard, calamity Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is former President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The London School of Economics and Political Science–trained ex-NBA leader in this interview with WALE IGBINTADE, speaks on the award of SAN to deserving lawyers and the declining quality of legal education in the country, among others. Excerpts.

How will you react to a suggestion by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN that the rank of Senior Advocate should be awarded to all that are qualified as it being done in England?

I agree entirely. That was the position I took when I was the NBA President.

You cannot quotarize the thing. It’s a merit thing so it’s like saying if 20 people passed an examination, you pick only five. That is why the issue of Senior Advocate has had such challenges as credibility and so on. In the United Kingdom where we borrowed it from sometimes they give 200 people, other times they give 150 people, he is right. What is important is, if you meet the criteria which is well defined then, objectively, you’re qualified but what happened now is that when the criteria is met, then they start to select.

How do you know who should go and who should be dropped? So the simple thing to say or do is that everyone who is qualified should go and you will be very surprised because when I looked at the list in my time, initially, you find that the number has gone up to about 50 and then you take the criteria up because to be honest with you, without being disrespectful to my junior brother learned silks, the standard has gone down and it is because we feel that every year, we have to appoint 15 so, whether or not they are qualified people, it is churned down like a tree, it just goes on. I was once at a Bencher’s meeting when the issue of logistics and funding made us to decide just to push out law students because not to do so will be so expensive. I am not sure that is right.

That is why there are so many demerits in the system, when you say the legal system is slow, the speed of justice grinds at such a snail speed, it’s because of all these. The standard in the legal profession is at an abysmal all time low, it’s an absolute disgrace.

What is the way forward?

The only way you can repair it is not even to talk about the Senior Advocate because that’s thåe pinnacle, we are talking about the entry level where people who ought not to come and read law are

Agbakoba

WHEN YOU SAY THE LEGAL SYSTEM IS SLOW, THE SPEED OF JUSTICE GRINDS AT SUCH A SNAIL SPEED, IT’S BECAUSE THE STANDARD IN THE

LEGAL PROFESSION IS AT AN ABYSMAL ALL TIME LOW, IT’S AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE

admitted. In a system where the government has no counter setting to deliver on quality legal education, it should go into private hands, the point I pushed again as President supported by Bayo Ojo, SAN who was then Attorney-General of the Federation. The legal profession is the most regulated and controlled by government. Accountants are not, accountants are regulated by educationists

that is why it is so rigorous to be an accountant but, to be a lawyer is the easiest thing, it won’t take months to admit you, that’s where it starts, they will take money, push you out, the whole thing is so corrupt, it is infected with corruption then you come to the law school.

Now, the criteria for education is changing but, it is called clinical education, it is not book, the book would have

been done at the university so from the first year, you do theory second year, clinical education starts, you go to the police stations, you go to the courts then you learn the theories of law so that by the time you finished four years you are ready to go so that by the time you come to the law school and then do the practical but, the bulk of what you do would be accredited Masters like in England, accredited Masters who will teach you the rudiments of the profession, that is called pupilage then you are ready.

Nobody is going to fly in a plane where the pilot just came out straight from Zaria then starts flying so, the argument of course, put to the young lawyers would be unacceptable but the truth is, there is no way you can after finishing

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, June 22, 2015

Law & Justice

43

in legal profession –Agbakoba a chef ’s course in a catering school to go and start cooking in Eko Hotel so, that’s the chains, it’s not driving quality and at the end, it affects the quality of Senior Advocates, it affects the quality of Judges, I hope you know that in the United Kingdom I should have long left practice, I will be in appellate court because the requirement to be a Judge in the U.K. is to be a SAN and if you’re not a SAN, it’s the best who enter the Bench.

Are you saying most senior advocates would have been appointed to the Bench?

Yes, the whole place will be O.C.J. Okocha SAN, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, A.B. Mahmoud SAN. We all will not be in practice, we would have all gone so the quality of those in Bench is rising then it will be rising from the High Court to the Court of Appeal then it will end up at the Supreme Court. It’s not for nothing that you have the Oputas and the Idigbes because the system worked but the system has since failed. When I say the standard has gone down, it is because this system I described is not in place. What you have now is a calamity in the legal profession, a disaster of such monumental proportion and I am ashamed of it.

How do you see the emergence of Senator Olusola Saraki as Senate President?

Nigerians should not be concerned about party politics but on whether the election was in line with the constitution and rules and guidelines of the National Assembly. There are two views on this issue. If I am an APC member, I will be very angry that we did not appoint the choice of the party as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. But, I am a Nigerian; I am not interested in APC decision. I am interested in getting the best representation by the members of the national assembly, unless I can be told that the National Assembly did not elect their members out of their own choice.

To me, it is a democratic process and my view is that Saraki is the President of the Senate. That the APC was played out is a political game that does not concern us. So, what the APC and what the PDP does is not our concern. The question is, is there a valid President? Is there a valid Speaker? I say there is. So, what we should look for is a robust National Assembly that makes good laws.

What the Constitution says is that they should elect leaders among themselves.

The constitution did not say they should elect leaders from APC. There is no rule that requires the Senate President or the Speaker of the House should be elected from the APC. So, the National Assembly may decide to elect a member of APGA as the President of the Senate or as Speaker of the House.

One of your colleagues, Prof. Itse Sagay SAN recently said some Senior Advocates are obstructing the process of criminal prosecution. Do you share this view?

It’s not true, a judge is the master of the court, I cannot see how any SAN can control a judge. I don’t understand it, how can that be? But you see, the problem is, again tied to what I was just saying, the best practice. Adjudication, of course started in the United Kingdom where the notion that a judge was completely impartial and therefore does not descend into the arena was conventional wisdom. That wisdom has since disappeared, the judge of course, descended, he won’t take nonsense. If you’re absolutely talking rubbish, the judge said to you “you’re talking rubbish” then you say he is biased, no. The judge is a master of his court and I know of a judge who was my classmate who in my view is the best procedural judge in Nigeria today.

He reads the file and he will make up his mind, if you don’t have a case, you don’t have a case and he is not going to listen to you, then, you can appeal. If I was the judge and you’re in my court wasting my time, I will not listen to you.

So long as I am doing it without fear or favour, without influence, without motivation, you brought a charge that is fundamentally defective, you want an adjournment, I would strike out the charge.

A judge must take bold decisions.

So, it’s not true that Senior Advocates control the process, what is true is that some judges are intimidated by SAN. The case speaks for itself; the notion of a Senior Advocate being sought after is misplaced. I have seen many young junior lawyers who were able to hold their own and do well in front of an impartial, unbiased judge who is prepared to listen to the facts and the law. So when the Senior Advocate is circumventing the procedure, it means that the judge has subverted his authority to the Senior Advocate and has lost control. That is what Sagay is speaking about in the wrong way. Senior Advocate does not control the judge, the judge controls Senior Advocate.

Just recently, about 46 Bills were passed into law within 10 minutes by the 7th National Assembly. How do you see this?

That is an insult to Nigerians. The passage of 46 bills in about 10minutes insults us and shows how incompetent the Senate has been. Where have they been all these years? Is it because their work is almost finishing? You cannot pass bills in the way they passed it. I was shocked to see it, it just insults us and confirmed that they don’t do anything because the 46 Bills obviously are piled up and now they want to clear it but when the Bills came through by natural process why don’t they attend to it? They were looking for where to enrich themselves and they end up by passing 46 bills in 10 minutes that must be a world record. It doesn’t merit comment; it just shows how incompetent they were at the seventh National Assembly. That is what it shows.

THE PASSAGE OF 46 BILLS IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES INSULTS US, AND SHOWS HOW INCOMPETENT THE SENATE OF THE 7TH NASS HAS BEEN. WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN ALL THESE YEARS?

44

Law & Justice

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Judges still record proceedings in long hands’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 This task of judicial evaluation process is essentially intended to evaluate a judge’s performance in relation to the applicable judicial performance standards.

In all jurisdictions the world over, the person performing the evaluation (the evaluator) shall determine whether the judge has met the applicable judicial performance standards. The evaluator shall also determine whether the judge’s overall performance is satisfactory. If the judge has not met an applicable judicial performance standard, the evaluator shall identify the steps that the judge must take to improve his or her performance.

In a bid to improve the Judiciary through Performance Evaluation, the use of this process often ensure that judges are competent and free from bias.

Some lawyers spoke with National Mirror expressed diverse views on the issue.

A Lagos- based lawyer, Mr. Napoleon Emeaso-Nwachukwu said, ‘’ The quarterly assessment of judges by the National Judicial Council is a welcome development.

According to him, ‘’The saying among lawyers is that once you’re a judge you’re a Lord unto yourself. So, having a quarterly assessment of judges in terms of judgements delivered is appropriate. ‘’ But, we must not lose sight of the fact that every jurisdiction in Nigeria differs and have their peculiar nature. Lagos for instance is a highly litigious city; hence you have more than ten thousands if not more litigants in Lagos on monthly basis. So any matter in court no matter how simple is contentious. So, if you place judges in Lagos on the same pedestal with judges in other states who hardly have enough matters to attend to in a month you will discover that justice may not have been done. ‘’ Emeaso-Nwachukwu further said that ‘’I remember when I filed a matter in a particu-

Nassarawa State CJ, Justice Suleiman Dikko

LACK OF

INFRASTRUCTURE IS THE KEY ELEMENT THAT CAN MAKE THEM TO PERFORM BELOW EXPECTATIONS ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE IS CONSTANT EPILEPTIC POWER SUPPLY lar state, which I will not mention. The suit number given to me is 87; it meant that as of December 2014, they had just 87 litigants before them. But, if you look at your suit number in Lagos State as early as March or April you will be fortunate if you’re among the first 2000. All these matters will be assigned to judges, so Lagos is already concentrated in everything.’’

“Well that’s a bit steep, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is,” said the lawyer, “And what’s your third question?”

Bar

Jokes Taking after father’s footsteps

A man and the devil

A man died and was taken to his place of eternal torment by the devil.

As he passed sulphurous pits and shrieking sinners, he saw a man he recognized as a lawyer snuggling up to a beautiful woman.

“That’s unfair!” he cried. “I have to roast for all eternity, and that lawyer gets to spend it with a beautiful woman.”

“Shut up”, barked the devil, jabbing the man with his pitchfork.

“Who are you to question that woman’s punishment?”

The lawyer’s son wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, so he went to law school. He graduated with honours, and then went home to join his father’s firm.

At the end of his first day at work he rushed into his father’s office, and said, “Father, father, in one day I broke the accident case that you’ve been working on for ten years!”

His father responded: “You idiot, we could live on the funding of that case for An airliner was having engine trouble, and another 10 years!” the pilot instructed the cabin crew to have the passengers take their seats and get prepared for an emergency landing.

A few minutes later, the pilot asked the A new client had just come in to see a flight attendants if everyone was buckled famous lawyer.

“Can you tell me how much you charge?” in and ready.

“All set back here, Captain,” came the said the client.

“Of course,” the lawyer replied, “I charge reply, “except one lawyer who is still going around passing out business cards.” $200 to answer three questions!”

Culled from BarJokes.com

Lawyer with business cards

New Client

Lagos CJ, Justice Funmilayo Atilade

He advised that the criteria being used in evaluating judges should be reviewed in line with the caseload and judicial challenges in every jurisdiction.

Therefore, the rule should be amenable so that we don’t find judges been hasty in giving decisions and at the end of the day more injustice is done. ‘’ The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch, Mr. Yinka Farounbi, identified the factors that could contribute to the low performance of productivity of judges.

According to him, ‘‘ Lack of infrastructure is the key element that can make them to perform below expectations especially when there is constant epileptic power supply and generating power plant cannot function adequately as expected.’’.

Farounbi, observed that despite the electronic recording devices provided in Lagos jurisdiction, judges still continue to exert energy and time to record proceedings in long hands for several hours. This, he said, tended to reduce their productivity. He pointed out that judges deserved to be motivated not only in terms of salaries but accommodation and provision of vehicles to make their work easy.

He also stated that “if judges are specialized on criminal matters or civil matters it will enhance their performance because what a man does every day over time he will get use to it and become an expert in it.

“I think adequate and constant training should be given to them always this

Ogun State CJ, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade

will also awake them to perform better in their respective roles”.

Second Vice-Chairman, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Mr. Lateef Abdulsalam, said that the low performance could not be blamed on the judges alone but the entire society, adding that the judges are ready to work but the facilities to aid their work are not available.

According to him, many cases are not supposed to get to courts but it is the failure of the system that permits such thing to happen.

Abdulsalam, who blamed the Nigerian Police Force for lumping cases together before the court said that, a judge could not just arraign an accused person and discharge or acquit him rather a due process must be followed.

“In the process accused person would be detained and the prison would be congested and when one is being cleared they bring more. It is the failure of the system; environmental situation is also a serious factor that can contribute to their low performance.

Another lawyer, Mr. Akinwunmi Akinfule, said that the number of cases assigned to judges in Nigeria, especially in Lagos State is not obtainable elsewhere in the world. He said a situation where a judge will have to attend to about 50 cases in a day is too much.

Akinfule said that specialization of judges would go a long way to enhance their performance, adding that it will not solve the problem.

LEGAL TIPS Enforcement of judgments and court orders in Nigeria

E

nforcement is the last stage of the judicial process after the legal right, claim or interest has ended in a judgment or order, which remains to be enforced.

It is the process whereby a judgment or order of court is enforced or to which it is made ef-

fective, according to law. *Most judgments require compliance with their terms. It is only in the case of a declaratory judgment, which merely declares what the right of a party is, without imposing any sanction on a defendant or directing either

of the parties to do anything that execution is not called for or levied. * The process of enforcement is broadly referred to as execution. It will be totally unnecessary where there is voluntary compliance with the judgments and orders of the courts.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, June 22, 2015

45

June 12 crisis: How court declared ING illegal About four months after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, Presidential elections by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and the setting up of the Interim National Government (ING), the late politician, Bashorun M.K.O Abiola, challenged the validity of the acts at a Lagos High Court. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary, recounts that the court declared the ING illegal in a landmark judgement delivered on November 10, 1993.

FAMOUS CASES

W

hen the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida stepped aside on August 26, 1993, renowned industrialist, Chief Ernest Shonekan was sworn-in as the Head of the Interim National Government (ING), a contraption foisted on Nigerians by the military after the annulment of June 12, presidential elections.

Interestingly, at the time Babangida signed the Interim National Government (Basic Constitutional Provisions) Decree No. 60 of 1993, the substratum of Babangida regime had ceased to exist. Therefore, a government that had ceased to exist could not have promulgated Decree 61 of 1993 establishing the ING. Based on this illegality, Chief Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, presidential elections and his running mate, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) headed for a Lagos High Court to challenge the constitutionality of Shonekan’s ING. In suit No M/573/93, the duo had sued the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation seeking among others, a declaration invalidating Decree No 61 signed on August 26, 1993, by Babangida. They predicated their case on the premise that having announced on August 1, 1993 that he was stepping aside as President on August 26, and having in fact stepped aside on the date, Babangida could not exercise any executive or legislative authority after August 25, 1993. Strangely, Decree No 61 of 1993 signed by Babangida on August 26, 1993 was published in the Federal Government Gazette vol 80 on August 23, 1993.

Besides, they sought the court’s nod to declare that Decree No 61 of 1993 did not vest any person with the power to appoint Shonekan or anybody as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and to that extent the purported appointment of Shonekan under the decree was illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever. The suit was filed on Abiola’s behalf by Prof. Alfred Kasunmu (SAN) who led over 10 lawyers for the applicants at the hearing of the summons.

But a legal officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice in an affidavit filed by the second respondent, the AGF, argued that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

This case was decided on the new 1989 Constitution at the time by the trial judge, Justice Dolapo Akinsanya. Her ladyship, who was an upright jurist, is the daughter of late renowned Prof. Sanya Onabamiro and spouse of retired consultant surgeon, Prof. Bolaji Akinsanya.

The late Abiola

When the matter was heard, Prof.

Kasunmu argued that the general presumption was that when an enactment was made, the operational time of when it would come into effect ‘’is midnight’’.

He said since Decree No 61 of 1993 took effect from midnight of 25 August, 1993, Babangida having made Decree No 59 of 1993, he no longer had such legislative or executive powers to sing Decrees No 60 and 61 of 1993.

Mr Jerry Okolo (SAN) for the respondents said the plaintiffs failed to sue the proper persons such as Shonekan and all ING Secretaries and the consequence of this default was that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the summons.

He also argued that it was only the legislature that had power to determine when a law came into operation. He said further that based on public policy, the court should be weary to give a decision which might create a vacuum or chaos in the country.

In her judgement on November 10, 1993, Justice Akinsanya, declared that Babangida lacked the legislative competence when he signed the decree adding that ‘’ the said decree is void and of no effect.’’

According to the court, ‘’What then is the legal implication? The answer lies in the words of Lord Denning in the case of Macfoy v. UAC Ltd (1961) 3 NLR 1405 at 1400. ‘’Any purported exercise of any function being without any legal or constitutional authority was null and void and of no effect. If an act is void, then it is a nullity. It is not only bad but incurably bad.

There is no need for an order of court to set it aside.’’

Justice Akinsanya said ‘’Having resolved that Decree No 61 of 1993 is void,

Shonekan

HAVING RESOLVED THAT DECREE NO 61 OF 1993 IS VOID, THE SAID DECREE IS NOT CAPABLE OF CREATING AN OFFICE HELD BY

CHIEF ERNEST

SHONEKAN

the said decree is not capable of creating an office held by Chief Ernest Shonekan nor offices of the Secretaries. ‘’Babangida ceased to have any legislative and executive power on the expiration of 25/8/93 at midnight of that date.

Consequently, anything done by him from 12/01 hours of the 25th of August 1993 became void and of no effect.’’

The judge stated that having voided the appointment of Shonekan and others embers of the ING, the only law in existence as from August 27, 1993 that could regulate the governance of the country was the 1989 Constitution, which provided for an elected President and VicePresident and a cabinet appointed by democratically elected President. By this judgement, the ING was effectively in office for only 82 days.

This verdict was hailed by well-meaning Nigerians, civil rights groups and prodemocracy activists while it rattled the military. There was uncertainty and confusion. A flurry of political activities and re-alignment of strategies to actualise the June 12 mandate came to a feverish pitch. Seven days later, Gen Sani Abacha, the second- in command in the structure of ING and the secretary for

Justice Akinsanya

defence in the ING, eventually staged a palace coup that ousted Shonekan on November 17, 1993. Abacha pronounced himself the military Head of State, having succeeded in getting Shonekan to resign as head of the ING. Again, Abacha sacked all the democratic structures and reverted to full military rule. He, however, appointed some civilians as ministers.

The agitation for the revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993 election continued both locally and abroad. The development led to the establishment of the National Democratic Coalition, (NADECO), a coordinating group for pro-democracy activities in the country.

46

Law & Justice

Dutch Appeal Court acquits neurologist over malpractice NETHERLAND

A

Dutch appeal Court has acquitted a neurologist, who was convicted of knowingly giving inaccurate diagnoses, including Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis to patients, saying prosecutors had not proved he acted deliberately.

According to BBC report, Ernst Jansen Steur was originally sentenced to three years in prison in one of the country’s highest-profile medical malpractice cases.

He appealed, as did prosecutors, who said he should have been jailed for six years.

One of Jansen Steur’s patients took her own life after

he told her she had a terminal illness.

Johanna van Sabben, whose mother was misdiagnosed, called the ruling a “controversial and unjust judgment,” but said she was relieved the case was finally closed.

After acquitting him of the most serious charges of deliberate malpractice, the Arnhem Appeals Court gave Jansen Steur a suspended six-month sentence for offenses including stealing prescriptions.

“I think it’s a very good judgment that confirms that my client didn’t act deliberately but as a doctor with good intentions who indeed committed mistakes and some of them were very big,” said Peter Plasman.

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

German court bans judge from using phone during proceedings GERMANY

G

ermany’s highest civil court has ordered two retrials after a judge was discovered arranging childcare via text message during court hearings.

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) found that “even in an age of limitless mobile phone and internet use, a judge must devote full attention to the hearing”.

According to BBC report, the judge for the regional court in the western city of Frankfurt had been presiding over the trial of two men accused of involvement in a knife fight.

The BGH threw out the men’s conviction because the judge checked her mobile phone several times over the course of 10 minutes during witness testimony and sent two texts to a babysitter because the hearing had run longer than expected.

The BGH judge, Thomas Fischer, said mobile phones “do not belong in the courtroom – that goes for onlookers, lawyers and of course also for judges.”

He advised the judge from the Frankfurt court to call a recess in case of an emergency and then assume the bench again, focused on the case before her.

The court held that mobile phones had no place in the courtroom, and banned judges from using them while hearing a case.

At the time, the judge was presiding over the trial of two men on stabbing charges at a court in Frankfurt.

Lawyers for the accused lodged a motion of bias against the defence after the judge was seen using a mobile phone.

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (BGH) threw out the convictions after the judge who has not been identified was found to have checked the phone several times during 10 minutes of wit-

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel

ness testimony.

The judge also texted a babysitter twice when the hearing ran over longer than expected.

BGH judge Fischer said mobile phones “do not belong in the courtroom - that goes for onlookers, lawyers and of course also for judges”.

FG should harmonise investment and business laws –Ighodalo FRANCIS FAMOROTI

T

he challenges of sustaining meaningful development will continue to elude the country unless the Federal Government creates an enabling environment that would attract high quality investments.

Chairman of the NBA-SBL, Mr Asue Ighodalo, who stated this in Lagos at the opening ceremony of the 9th Annual Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law Conference, stated that “a country where its regulators are inconsistent, heavy–handed, unfair and under–capacitated cannot attract high quality internal or foreign investment or sustain meaningful growth.”

According to him, “we settled on this theme to emphasise the critical role of the regulator in creating an enabling economic and investment environment,” Ighodalo further said “The dynamics of the international economic order make it imperative that we, as a country, extensively diversify our economy. The effective diversification of our economy can only be achieved in an appropriate environment.

“We strongly believe that even handed, fair, growth focused, and well capacitated regulators are critical success factors for the creation of an enabling economic environment. A country where its regulators are inconsistent, heavy handed, unfair, and under capaci-

tated cannot attract high quality internal or foreign investment or sustain meaningful growth.”

Justifying the theme of this year’s –NBA-SBL conference, ‘Regulators as Catalysts for Economic Growth’, he observed that ‘’The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria recently released a draft National Code of Corporate Governance. Also known as the Draft Code, the National Code of Corporate Governance seeks to regulate corporate governance in the private and public sectors.

Ighodalo however noted that the Draft Code conflicts with some existing regulations such as the Companies and Allied Matters Act, which is the primary legislation for companies in Nigeria.

His words’’ “The Draft Code clearly conflicts with existing legislation and governance regulations such as the Companies and Allied

Matters Act as well as the codes of corporate governance issued by other regulators such as the codes issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, NAICOM and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The NBA-SBL chair said “Upon a careful read of the FRC Draft code,” “it is clear that scant attention was paid to harmonising this code with existing codes and complying with the provisions of our companies’ law. That up to five different regulators have the mandate to issue regulations on broadly the same subject is itself a cause for concern as such overlap sets the system up for failure.

“Such overlap requires deeper collaboration among regulators and the failure to collaborate inevitably leads to the sort of regulation which creates confusion and inconsistency.”

A 2008 World Bank study on ‘Doing Business’, using data collated from 126 economies between 2000 and 2005, revealed that trade leads to higher living standards in economies with flexible regulatory environments but not in those with rigid, inconsistent regulatory environments.

The study showed that of all the imperatives for sustained growth, even handed business regulation and policy consistency are slightly more important than financial development, higher education enrolment or the rule of law.

Ighodalo urged the Muhammadu Buhari-led executive arm of government to rectify these errors and work with the National Assembly, to review and harmonise all the investment and business laws in the country.

He said “Government should start with the NIPC Act and the

Immigration Act, and thereafter systematically review all of our other investment laws to support the development of an appropriate enabling environment which will create a strong and stable platform for effective diversification of our economy.”

Also speaking at the event, NBA President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), commended the Chairman and Council members of the SBL for their hard work in organising the conference.

He noted that the SBL is the only one of the three Sections of the NBA (the others are the Section on Legal Practice and the Section on Public Interest and Development Law) “currently firing on all cylinders”, but added that “the SBL must continue to operate as an integral part of the NBA” and “cannot be independent of the NBA.”

I exercised boldness –Ananaba

T

he first time I appeared before a judge was a long time ago, though I cannot remember the name of the judge but it was a civil matter.

I tried to exercise little boldness before the judge, and I was able to present my matter before the judge.

Since that day I got boldness to appear before any judge, I am happy to be a lawyer, between then and now many cases had been won. I thank God for it.

The law is all about knowing the onions surrounding a particular case, there is no need to entertain fear.

Paul Ananaba

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, June 22, 2015

T

he Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch is to hold its 2015 edition Law Week with the theme ‘’The Future of the Legal Profession: Protection from Exploitation’’.

The Law Week is a week set aside by the branches of the NBA across the country to celebrate the legal profession.

Addressing journalists, the Chairperson, Organising Committee, Mrs. Tolani Edu-Adeola said activities for the event will begin on for 24th to 26th June, 2015.

According to Edu-Adeola, the keynote address will dwell on the theme and would be delivered by Dr. Fabian Ajokwu SAN. She explained that the choice of the theme is to open more frontiers in the practice of law adding that while some aspects of law practice are saturated others

47

NBA Lagos branch holds 2015 Law week aspects are left un tapped.

She added that a high-profile Law Week Dinner would be devoted to honour the Special Guest and immediate past Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) at the City Hall on June 25, 2015.

According to Edu-Adeola there will be ‘’Elders’ Nite’’ to appreciate highly supportive and active Bar Elders, such as Pa Tunji Gomez, Mr. Afro Fayokun among others at a palatial Ikoyi location.

She noted that the week is designed as the “best ever in the history of the Premier Bar, given the array of resource persons, topical industry-related discourses

and fun-filled activities lined up for the week’’. ‘’With over 30 confirmed speaker/and discussants comprising the cream of Nigeria’s legal profession, this year law week promises to be intellectually stimulating and professionally rewarding. The repertoire of break-out sessions are as encompassing as the topics, including session on labour Law, insolvency law, capita market, tax Law and ADR/simulation. Some unseal practice areas have been added to his rich collection, namely medical law and media/sport law’’, she added.

She stated that there will be a Bar/

Bench forum with the topics as”the future of the legal profession in the 21st century’’ adding that several heads of court and erudite Lawyers have confirmed their attendance.

The forthcoming law week promises loads of fun and merriment.

The invitation- only high-profile Law week dinner in honour of former Lagos State governor Babatunde Raji Fashola(SAN) holds at the prestigious city hall on June 25,2015.

The programme will be concluded with variety Nite /Karaoke/cocktail on Friday, June 26.

EVENTS

L-R: Former Chairman, NBA – SBL, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) and Chairman, SBL, Mr. Asue Ighodalo at the 9th NBA – SBL conference in Lagos, recently.

Mrs Olabisi Akodu and Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)

Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos branch, Mr. Alex Muoka and Ms. Onyinye Ukegbu at a press conference on the forthcoming 2015 edition Law Week in Lagos

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Henry Ajumogobia and Mr. George Etomi

L-R: Former Attorney General of Ogun State, Mr. Akin Osinbajo, a female guest and MD/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, at the conference.

Assistant Social Secretary, NBA Lagos, Ms Chinyere Obasi and Chairman, Law Week Committee, Mrs. Tolani Edu-Adeola

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Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror We have to rally round with all tools we can get to make this government a success. We cannot fail our people and that is why I fault those who are already having their eyes on 2019.

Speaker House of Representatives –Yakubu Dogara

Fraud: Court to resume trial of 60-year-old woman OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

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Chief Magistrate’s Court in Akure, Ondo State capital, will today begin hearing of the case of Kate Njoku, who was accused of falsely presenting herself as Iroha M.A. before cashiers of Union bank Plc with intent to defraud the Bank.

The accused, who was remanded in Olokuta prison custody when the case came up for mention last week, was said to have been arrested when she fraudulently withdrew N1, 678,000 from the bank.

The prosecutor, Adejuwon Akinpelumi, told the court that the offence was committed on May 19 and June 9 at a Union Bank branch in Akure.

Akinpelumi said the offence was contrary to Sections 464(C) and punishable under section 467(2)(g) of the Criminal

Oxen ploughing rice farm on Dan-Danko Road, Kagadama village in Yelwan, Bauchi, yesterday.

Code,Cap 37,Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.

The charge read: “That you Kate Njoku and others at large between 19th Day of May, 2015

and 9th Day of June, 2015 at various times, at Union Bank Plc in Akure Magistrate district, did conspire with another to commit felony to wit forgery and thereby

PHOTO: NAN

committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 516 of the criminal code, cap 37, vol 1, law of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006.

“That you Kate Njoku and other at large on the same date, time, and place in the aforementioned Magisterial district did forge a bank note withdrawal slip of Union Bank Plc with intent to defraud and thereby committed offence contrary to section 464(c) and punishable under section 467(2)(g) of the criminal code, cap 37,vol.1, laws of Ondo state of Nigeria.

“That you Kate Njoku and other at large on the same date, time, and place in the aforementioned Magisterial district did fraudulently covert the sum of One Million Six Hundred and Seventy Eight Thousand (N1, 678,000.00) to your own use being the money entrusted into the care of Union Bank Plc and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 390(4)(6) of the criminal code, cap37, vol1, laws of Ondo state of Nigeria 2006.”

NGO partners Kogi to establish community-based risk management committee

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ction Aid Nigeria, a nongovernmental organisation, in collaboration with Kogi Government has established community-based Disaster Risk Management Committees among communities in Adavi and Igalamela-Odolu local government areas of the state.

The programme manager of Action Aid, Mr. Victor Adejoh, who disclosed this in Lokoja, said the committees were established after sensitisation programmes in the communities.

Adejoh explained that the sensitization programmes on community-based Disaster Risk Reduction were conducted by Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development, PIBCID, in collaboration with Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, KOSEMA. The programme manager, who was represented by Mrs. Gift Omoniwa of PIBCID, said the sensitization programmes supported by Action Aid dwelt on awareness creation on disaster risk reduction concepts and techniques.

He said that they were carried out in Okpakpata and Aku in Igalamela-Odolu and Adavi Local Areas where the committees

were set up.

Adejoh said that the established committees were responsible for capacity building, orientation of community members on

disaster risk assessment and risk communication to relevant security agencies.

Other responsibilities of the committees include observation

and communication of early warning signs, structural mitigation, livelihood and advocacy.

He charged members of the committee to promote participa-

tory disaster risk management in their various communities and to promptly report to appropriate agencies, cases of emergencies in their areas.

Group holds first digital legal conference

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Legal professional network, Thelearnedfriends.com, is to hold maiden edition of E-Legal Conference 2015.

The conference is scheduled to hold on July 9, 2015, at the Metropolitan Club, Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme for this year’s conference is ‘’Tomorrow’s Legal’’ and the primary objective is to provide thought leadership for the legal industry on ICT solutions.

Expert speakers expected at the conference include ; Mark Slade, British CEO Ringier Digital Marketing; Senibo Bara-Hart Legal Adviser, Samsung - West Africa and Azubuike Ezenwoke, Dean-Student Affairs, Covenant University.

Alex Mouka, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos branch will inaugurate the conference as the

keynote speaker.

The key players in the ICT and legal industry from around the world will enlighten delegates on the latest enabling tools and software developed

for today’s Law Practice Those expected to participate in the E-Legal conference include Policy and legal professionals, paralegal professionals and ICT professionals.

TheLearnedFriends.com is an online news aggregator and social media platform focused on showcasing technological innovations in the Legal Sector.

Reps member donates hospital equipment to community WILLIAMS ATTAH GOMBE

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ember representing Billiri/Balanga Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Ali Isa, has pledged to supply hospital equipment to Bambam Cottage Hospital.

The member, who said the aim of the gesture was to improve the health-care needs of the community, assured that the hospital equipment were already on the way to the hospital in Bambam.

He said the hospital equip-

ment are just a few of what he planned to do for the people of Dadiya during his tenure of representation at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Honourable Isa JC who spoke at the maiden Dadiya cultural festival tagged “DIKULOM 2015”, commended the Dadiya people for voting PDP from top to down during the last General Elections.

He said it was by their support to the PDP, that other elected representatives from Gombe South Senatorial District scaled through adding that the re-election of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dank-

wambo for a second term would experience commitment to the Dadiya people.

The member who also endorsed the speaking of the Dadiya language among their children so that their language would not disappear, advised that this should be done through organizing cultural festivals which should come out with several historical facts unknown to the children yet unborn.

The National Assembly member expressed satisfaction with the State Government for the sustenance and promotion of culture in the State.

Monday, May 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

“The great powers had photographs of the railway routes that the trains took to Auschwitz to kill Jews, Christians, homosexuals, everybody”

Somali al-Shabab launch Mogadishu attack •Kenya wages war on smugglers who fund militants Paul Arhewe,

W AGENCY REPORTS

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he Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab has carried out an attack in the country’s capital Mogadishu.

A suicide car bomber and gunmen attacked a training centre for the national intelligence agency yesterday morning.

Government officials said that soldiers “foiled the attack” and at least three militants died.

The militants have vowed to intensify attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Wednesday.

Al-Shabaab claims to have killed several intelligence officers inside the building, something the government denies.

After the suicide bomb was detonated outside the training centre, gunmen reportedly stormed a civilian house that they had mistaken for the government facility.

Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf said security forces had successfully repulsed the attackers.

“They were trying to storm the premises but they have been taken out before they reached their objective. There was no casualty on our side,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, when Kenyan police arrested six men in the vast Dadaab refugee camp near the Somali border last April, their

New recruits of al Shabaab militant group.

ultimate aim was to dismantle a decades-old sugar smuggling trade that is funding Somali militants waging war on Kenya.

The arrests, coming weeks after four al Shabaab gunmen massacred 148 people at nearby Garissa university, were part of Nairobi’s new strategy to choke off the flow of money to Islamists whose cross-border raids have hammered Kenya and its tourism industry.

While cash from sugar smuggling may amount to only a few million dollars, experts say such sums are enough for attacks that need just a few assault rifles, transport and loyalists ready to die - such as the Garissa raid or the 2013 assault on Nairobi’s

Westgate shopping mall that killed 67 people.

“It’s like the government is awakening,” said a senior Kenyan security source from Garissa region, adding the authorities had previously often “turned a blind eye to all these things because a lot of people were benefiting - but at a cost of security.”

However if a lasting impact is to be secured more must be done, say security and diplomatic sources. That includes rooting out corruption in the police force and going after smuggling cartel bosses as well as the middle men detained so far.

The move to tackle the crossborder trade may prove as vital

as the military offensive against al Shabaab inside Somalia by African Union peacekeepers and Somali soldiers that has pushed the group into smaller pockets of territory.

“Unless al Shabaab sources of revenue are chopped off, we are not going to see the end of instability in south Somalia and the region,” said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia expert based in Nairobi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has taken steps to halt the trafficking of sugar from the southern Somali port of Kismayu to Kenya’s frontier and has set up a special unit in the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to dismantle smuggling cartels, the security source said.

Chad’s ban on Islamic veil after attacks divides Muslims

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had’s decision to ban women from wearing the Islamic veil, which came two days after bloody suicide bombings hit the capital, has divided Muslims but the government defends it as part of an anti-terror strategy.

“Wearing the burqa must stop immediately from today,” Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet told religious leaders on Wednesday, after the twin bombings left 33 people dead and more than 100 others injured in the capital N’Djamena.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but authorities blame Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram, which has carried out many suicide bombings inside Nigeria in the past six years, sometimes

by women who hid explosives under modest outer garments.

Chad’s army has spearheaded a regional military effort to fight Boko Haram as the militant sect extended activities beyond

Nigeria’s north-eastern borders.

After Monday’s blasts, the Chadian air force bombed Boko Haram positions inside Nigeria.

Many Muslim women in N’Djamena wear the full-face veil

Many Muslim women in N’Djamena, Chad wear the full-face veil with just the eyes exposed.

with just the eyes exposed known as the niqab, which is usually black. But Deubet outlawed any clothing “where you can only see the eyes”.

In a country where Muslims make up 53 percent of the population -- with Christians accounting for 35 percent -- the ban on the Islamic veil, including the completely face-covering burqa, has prompted mixed reactions.

Abdelsadick Djidda, a 45-yearold teacher, said the move was “taken for our safety”.

“Wearing the burqa doesn’t derive from Chadian culture,” he said. “It comes from elsewhere.

And it’s recommended nowhere in the holy book (the Koran).”

Djidda added: “As a Muslim, I find that people go overboard a little with this camouflage.”

–POPE FRANCIS

WORLD BULLETIN US white gunman’s alleged manifesto discovered online A website surfaced Saturday featuring a racist and rambling manifesto and dozens of photos of accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof posing with white supremacy symbols and the Confederate flag.

Roof, 21, remains jailed on nine counts of murder for allegedly opening fire in the historically African-American Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Wednesday.

Who authored the manifesto or posted the images has yet been confirmed. But through online registration records, Yahoo News confirmed the website’s domain, lastrhodesian.com, was created by a Dylann Roof of Eastover, S.C. on Feb. 9.

S’Africa opposition calls for probe into Bashir’s departure South Africa’s main opposition yesterday called for a full investigation into the government’s failure to arrest Sudanese president Omar alBashir, who is due to face charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it wanted the Public Protector’s office to determine who was responsible for authorizing the use of state resources to enable al-Bashir’s departure.

Last Monday, before a Pretoria court ruled that the leader should be held in the country and the ICC’s arrest warrant executed, Bashir flew out of the Waterkloof Air Base heading for Khartoum.

Angola arrests 13 dissident youths, including rapper Angolan police have arrested at least 13 young opposition activists, including rapper Luaty Beirao, who have campaigned against President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the interior ministry said yesterday.

Activist groups, among them the Angolan Revolutionary Movement, claimed on social media platforms that as many as 20 people had been arrested when police raided a youth meeting in the heart of the capital Luanda on Saturday.

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News

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Amaechi to Wike: Your probe is dead on arrival …says he won't join issues with Ikuru Dennis Naku

PORT HARCOURT

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mmediate past Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has described probe of his administration by his successor, Nyesom Wike, as a sham.

He also described the probe as a fraudulent witchhunt meant to deceive the public, describing it as dead on arrival.

Amaechi in a statement from his media team said Wike was merely grabbing media headlines with “his concocted bogus stories of Amaechi’s alleged corrupt activities.”

The former governor also took a swipe at his former deputy, Tele Ikuru, over his

claims that the former's administration under which Ikuru served was the most corrupt in the state.

The statement reads: "This so-called Wike’s probe of Amaechi is dead on arrival. All the noise Wike is making is to grab media headlines with his lies of monumental corruption against Amaechi.

“It’s all drama made for the media. What is playing out is a script written and directed by Nyesom Wike.

Wike should move to Nollywood where his devious skills would probably be useful.

“Even while inaugurating his yeoman commission of inquiry, Wike could not conceal his vendetta agenda. He was clear to the panel

members that their job is to indict Amaechi.‎ “While it’s no longer in doubt what would be the report of Wike’s sham probe commission, what may shock Nigerians is the extent Wike has gone and is ready to go to manufacture stories of corrupt practices, and the kind of bogus tales of corruption against Amaechi with which he would soon be feeding the nation.

“Truly, since May 29, that is all Wike has been doing; cooking spurious reports of corruption against Amaechi. This has been the onepoint agenda of the Wike government, a vendetta mission against his former boss and benefactor.”

On claims by Ikuru while

presenting a report to Wike, the statement condemned Ikuru, with Amaechi saying he would not dignify the former with a response.

The statement continued: “We won’t dignify him (Ikuru) with a response.

He’s such a worthless piece of trash that we won’t waste our energy on. This is a man with no dignity, no shame. No self-respecting man would talk the way Ikuru is talking right now.

“This is a character that served the Amaechi administration for almost eight years. While he was there, he never for once complained that Amaechi or the government that he was the second-in-command was corrupt.

“As a matter of fact, he

Cultural group entertaining at the 2015 Ogidi-Ela Day celebration in Ogidi, Ijumu LGA of Kogi State, on Saturday.

was singing and parroting everywhere that Rivers State was truly blessed to have a governor like Amaechi, that Amaechi will always be remembered and hailed him for changing for good the fortunes of Rivers State.

Social media: Cleric cautions parents on negative effects on children

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Muslim cleric, Mr. Razak Abdulsalam, yesterday urged parents and teachers to guide children against the negative use of electronic gadgets brought by civilisation so that they could remain in faith with God. Abdulsalam gave the advice at an annual Ramadan public lecture titled, ‘The Path to Self-Fulfillment,’ organised by the Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness, MICA, Alimosho Usrah, Lagos.

Abdulsalam said that in juxtaposing westernisation and civilisation in Islam, Islam gave birth to civilisation but due to carelessness, Islam had found itself lost in civilisation.

According to him, people have paid too much attention to the products of civilisation, like the ones brought about by the social media.

Abdulsalam, who is a deputy director with the Voice of Nigeria, VON, noted that individuals were carried away with blackberry

Tambuwal visits hospital, laments condition of patients

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overnor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, yesterday paid an unscheduled visit to the Murtala Muhammed State Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, where he lamented the condition of patients.

Tambuwal also warned that government would not tolerate laxity from its workers.

The governor, who visited the hospital at 2am yesterday, caught some workers on duty unawares.

A statement signed by Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said the governor, upon enter-

ing the hospital, observed that there was no electricity supply, while many patients were resting outside their wards.

“After going round the dark complex for 30 minutes to assess things for himself, Tambuwal became recognised by a few staff on duty.

“Upon noticing his presence, the generator set was quickly powered on while the staff made attempts to hurry patients into their rooms.

“After speaking with some of the patients and wishing them quick recovery, Tambuwal gave them assurance that the health

needs of the populace would be taken seriously by his administration,” Imam said.

The statement also quoted the governor as advising the staff to work

with the fear of God. It warned that any government worker found negligent or derelict would be sanctioned appropriately.

It also stated that the

Nasarawa NUT suspends strike

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asarawa State chapter of Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, yesterday suspended its 19-day-old strike after signing a memorandum of understanding with the state government.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lafia, Chairman of the

chapel, Mr. Titi Jatau, said the suspension was due to commitment shown by the state government.

The chairman called on members of the union to resume work today.

Jatau said the union suspended the strike after an emergency meeting in Lafia.

He said the state gov-

“Today, he is the one shouting Amaechi is corrupt everywhere. If the government was as corrupt as he claims, what was he doing there for almost eight years, telling the world that Amaechi is the best thing to happen to Rivers State?”

governor would continue to make unscheduled visits at odd hours to government agencies so as to acquaint himself with how workers fulfill their obligation to the people.

ernment made a commitment to commence payment of April and May salaries of primary school teachers by June 25.

He appealed to the state government to henceforth pay the salaries of teachers as and when due to enthrone a peaceful learning environment.

pings, chats on whatsapp and movies. ``Parents have great responsibility to guide their children on the best ways to handle these gadgets civilisation has exposed us to. ``Elders and teachers are also not left out; when they see other children engrossed in these gadgets, they should not hesitate to call them to order,'' Abdulsalam said.

Mr. Iysa Siddique, the Chief Imam of Murdeer Madhu-Salam Arabic and Islamic Institute, admonished Muslims to eschew issues capable of soiling the image of God. Siddique, who spoke on the topic, ‘The Signs of The Last Hour,’ urged the audience to stay righteous, generous, pray and give alms. ``I charge you to stay in tune with the Almighty God by giving alms and praying five times daily. ``The signs of the last hours are evident now.

“In Israel, we have cases of people giving birth to one-eyed babies, which was written in the holy book as a sign of the last hours. ``Also, fornication and adultery are now the order of the day; people no longer see nudity as an act of immorality. ``We have pastors and imams behaving contrary to the word of God; all these are signs of the last hours,'' Siddique said.

News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that free medical check-ups were carried out on the first 100 persons that arrived in the venue.

Free drugs were also given to them, depending on their diagnosis.

Chief organiser of the public lecture, Mr. Abdulwahid Sodiq, said the free medical check-up was organised to ensure that the people stay healthy.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, June 22, 2015

51

Al-Makura condemns attack in Benue IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

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asarawa State Governor, Umaru Al-Makura, yesterday condemned the re-

cent attack on Tse-Ikpur, a community in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Noting that though the attack was in Benue, Al-Makura said Nasara-

Rep backs el-Rufai on S’Kaduna killings A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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ember representing Jaba/Zangon constituency in the House of Representatives, Sunday Katung, has declared support for Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai’s steps to end incessant killings in Southern Kaduna villages.

Katung, who won election on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, commended the governor for appointing former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai, to chair a committee charged to recommend ways to stamp out attacks on communities in southern part of Kaduna

State.

He said: “I am for anything that would end the killings and bring lasting peace to Kaduna State.”

Katung further condemned the killing of about 13 persons in parts of the state last week, saying the act was unwarranted.

He wondered why some people will derive pleasure in maiming and killing fellow human beings for no just cause.

The lawmaker, while sympathising with victims of the attacks and families of the deceased persons, said: “As a lawmaker, I am ready to work with government in ending the spate of killings that have persisted over the years.”

…warns perpetrators off Nasarawa wa was a neighbouring state, and that the loss of lives and property were grievous to every Nigerian.

The governor therefore, urged perpetrators of such attack to desist and allow government settle down and provide the needed dividends of democracy.

His condemnation was contained in a press statement signed by his Special Assistant, SA, on media and publicity, Ahmed Tukur, and made available to journalists in Lafia, the state capital.

Accordingly, the governor called for increased surveillance

along border communities by security agencies and the general public to avoid attack spreading to neighbouring communities and states.

He said: “I advise concerned parties and individuals to desist from killings and destruction of properties in times of disagreements, but

should rather seek dialogue and constitutional means of resolving differences.”

Al-Makura added that as neighbours to Benue, the people and government of Nasarawa State share in their grief and warned such perpetrators to steer clear of Nasarawa.

ARFH assists 820 orphans in Gombe WILLIAMS ATTAH GOMBE

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ssociation for Reproductive and Family Health, ARFH, says it has provided comprehensive support to 820 Orphans and Vulnerable Children, OVC, in Gombe State.

According to Programme Manager, Mrs. Faith Lana, “we provided support in areas of education, health, nutrition and psychosocial support, built capacity of the care givers and taught them to

maintain a saving culture through the village savings and loans association.”

Lana, who disclosed this after the programme in Gombe, said the association has been in the state since 2007 and would round off the project by end of June.

She said the support was basically provided to children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, either infected or affected, adding that three Gombe-based nongovernmental organisations known as care givers were selected to execute the programmes in the state.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (right) with Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abubakar, during Dogara’s visit to Bauchi, at the Weekend.

Yobe monarch presents relief items to IDPs INUSA NDAHI DAMATURU

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mir of Fika, Dr. Muhammadu Ibn Abali Idrissa, in Yobe State, has officially handed over three trailer loads of relief materials to Executive Secretary of the state’s Emergency Relief Management Agency,

SEMA, for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the state.

The relief items include 3,600 bags of rice (25kg), 600 cartons of vegetable oil (3,600 gallons) respectively.

The monarch, who is also chairman of Yobe State Council of Chiefs, during the presentation

said: “It is my honour and privilege to hand over these relief materials donated by Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI, headquarters in collaboration with His Eminence, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar.”

The royal father further stated that “these items were meant to be shared to IDPs. It is a token gift

Appointing SSAs to run Kogi LGs illegal –Group WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

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entre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, CHRCR, has described the recent appointment of a threeman Senior Special Assistants to run local government affairs as illegal and unconstitutional.

The group urged Kogi State House of Assembly, which was created by law,

…petitions state Assembly to reverse the illegality forthwith.

The Centre in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Idris Miliki Abdul, a copy of which was made available to National Mirror in Lokoja at the weekend, stressed that the move by the administration was dangerous and worrisome.

The group also lamented that even before pronouncement of the court last year the state government had frozen accounts of the 21 local government councils in the state on allegation of corruption and non-payment of salaries, describing the action as condemnable as local government workers still

remained on percentage payment.

It therefore, called on the state’s Assembly to correct the anomalies immediately.

Reacting to the statement, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi, said the action of the state government was not illegal.

Edi explained that there can be no vacuum in governance at all level of governments, adding that since sacking of local government by High Court the state government was bound to put in place alternative means of running the local government pending when election takes place

from JNI; it is not enough but it will go a long way in alleviating the suffering of IDPs. We have confidence in SEMA, and believe it would be shared judiciously.”

He used the forum to appeal to well-meaning individuals in the society to emulate JNI by contributing to the affected people in the state.

In his vote of thanks shortly after receiving the materials, the Executive Secretary SEMA, Musa Idi Chidawa, thanked the emir for the effort in securing the materials and assured that they would be distributed to the targeted beneficiaries.

“I assure you that these items will reach the IDPs. “Your Highness, we have 135,511 internally displaced persons scattered throughout 13 of the 17 local government areas of the state.”

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News

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Plots to discredit Akpabio uncovered OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

I

mmediate past governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, yesterday raised the alarm over plots to discredit him and the monumental achievements of his administration through spurious and baseless petitions to anti graft agencies and circulated in the social media.

The plots which intelligence reports said are multi-faceted are primed to scandalise the former governor through frivolous accusations, thereby instigating the Nigerian public against him, were also aimed at discrediting the incumbent governor, Udom Emmanuel.

Former Commissioner for Information in the Akpabio administration, Aniekan Umanah, disclosed that information at his disposal showed that the desperate people who are behind the anti-Akpabio and anti-Udom project, are already spreading spurious allegations of

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Ezike Mary Onyeisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Isreal MaryGrace Onyeisi.

All former documents remain valid.General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Popoola Titilayo Funmilayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Lanade Titilayo Funmilayo. all former documents remain valid.General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Known and Addressed as Miss Ekweoba Tochukwu Celestina Now wish to be Known and Addressed as Mrs Chinyelugo Tochukwu Celestina. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Ogunkoya Aderoju Oluwabunmi Maria, now wish to be known and addressed as Ogunkoya-Lodi Aderoju Mary Oluwabunmi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

unfanthomable acquisitions while in office.

Umanah said: “Information at our disposal showed that these desperate elements whose identities we know, were being sponsored by certain sore losers with their selfish motives.

“We also gathered that fake petitions containing spurious allegations are being sent to anti-corruption agencies to probe the last administration. We welcome this development since we have nothing to hide. But we are challenging these dodgy characters to be truthful enough to tell the said anticorruption agencies their hidden agenda which is well known to us.

“At the appropriate time, we will expose these scheming characters and their sponsors. Another of their plan is to engage in massive negative media against Akpabio and the incumbent governor, with the intent to weaken and distract the current administration in the state. We can confirm that huge war-chest has been assigned to this proj-

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojo Olabisi Kafayat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Amusan Olabisi Kafayat. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Mr Aina Babatunde Oluwaleke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr Aina Babatunde Lukmon.

All former documents remain valid.General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Alabi Oluwaseun Susannah, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Gbadura Oluwaseun Susannah. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Adu Mercy Oluwatoyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Ajayi Mercy Oluwatoyin. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENTS

This is to inform the general public especially the Director of Lands, FCDA Abuja about the loss of the original registered/unregistered Power of Attorney and Deed of Assignment between Peter Okolo and Company (Estate Surveyors and Valuers) and former original owners of the underlisted title documents. The original Certificate of Occupancy for each of the former original owners were submitted to FCDA (Agis) for recertification by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) through Supo Ojo and Co (Estate Surveyors and Valuers). The mandate to Supo Ojo and Co to carry out the recertification, according to NDIC, proved abortive.

1. C of O No. FCT/ABU/NG.1907 for Plot 705 at Wuye District, Abuja, originally belonging to Mohammed Ibn Gimba.

2. C of O No. FCT/ABU/KD 1814 for Plot 582 Zone B3, Wuse, Abuja belonging to Peter Okolo and Company.

3. C of O No. FCT/ABU/AD1174 for Plot 353, Zone C02 Gwarimpa District Abuja originally belonging to Alhaji Adamu Saleh Abbagana.

4. C of O No FCT/ABU/KG 805 for Plot 721 C02 Gwarimpa District Abuja originally belonging to Isah Mohammed Suka.

5. C of O No. FCT/ABU/ED 950 for Plot 392 C02 Gwarimpa District, Abuja originally belonging to Mr. Peter Abulume Osigbemeh.

6. C of O No. FCT/ABU/RV.2 for Plot 560 at Area 10 Garki District, Abuja originally belonging to Chief Dagogo Princewill. (Deed of Assignment was duly registered).

ect.

“If these people love the state so much as they claim, why can’t they channel the money being set aside to create crisis in the state, into more productive venture like creating more jobs for our teeming youths, thousands of who, were employed by the Ak-

pabio administration, with this administration also planning to engage several thousands in productive engagements?”

The statement further hinted that the current administration would remain focused and not be distracted while expressing confidence that the place

of Governor Akpabio in history of purposeful governance was already assured by posterity and no amount of blackmail would rubbish it.

Umanah added that even in the heat of campaign in the last general elections, one area that the opposition could not

fault Akpabio and his team was quality delivery of dividends of democracy, adding: “It was not a government on paper or of abstract performance. Akwa-Ibomites could see what Akpabio spent their money on. Nigerians could also see. Even the whole world applauded it.”

Ijaw Youths Council urges FG to go after sponsors of oil theft

I

jaw Youth Council, IYC, yesterday urged the Federal Government go after sponsors of oil theft in the Niger Delta region if it was committed to ending it.

The council gave the advice in a statement signed by its spokesman, Eric Omare and released in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

According to the statement, oil theft in the Niger Delta region has persisted because the sponsors of the activity CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Babalola Olubusola Olawunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Balogun Olubusola Olawunmi. All former and existing documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Adegboyega Kafilat Abidemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adelaja Kafilat Abidemi.

All former documents remain valid.General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and called Miss Nmor Chika Peace, henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Peace Chika Okorie. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Samuel Comfort Ochuko, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ariyo Comfort Ochuko. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Enaholo Blessing Ikhayere now wish to be known and addressed as Enahoro Blessing Ikhayere.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

have continued to fund it.

The council urged the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh to go after the sponsors if the government was committed to ending oil theft.

Omare said his advice was in response to the warning the Chief of Defence Staff, gave to deal ruthlessly with perpetrators of criminal activities in the region when he spoke at the inauguration of the Joint Task CHANGE OF NAME

AJAYI: I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesola Victoria Ajayi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adesola Victoria Ajenifuja. All former documents remain valid.

National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and general public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Oluwatoyin Idowu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Dada Oluwatoyin Ajibike Esther. all former documents remain valid.General public take note.

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EGUNLUSI: I formerly Mrs Egunlusi Banke Olamide now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Oluwalusi Banke Olamide. All former documents remain valid.

Redeemed Christian Church of God and the general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Mrs Bosede Oshodi-Glover, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Bosede Alawode. All former documents remain valid.

United Kingdom Home Office and General public to take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGBODU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Madonna Jennifer Ogbodu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aniamalu Madonna Jennifer. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

EVANGELISM FOR DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby informed that the above named body has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Evang. Idumwonyi Efosa Evang. Edokpayi Mercy O. Evang. Aisoweren Faith Evang. Omoziku Jude Evang. Ayemwenre S. Usunbun Evang. Imhanbor A. Classen

- Chairman - Secretary - Treasurer - Member - Member - Member

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Aggressively taking the Gospel of peace to the grassroots, To carry out sensitization on the urgent need to avoid environmental pollution, To serve as a tool for implementing national development, Promoting youth skill empowerment, Advocating for peace, unity and good governance, Serving as an agent of positive change.

Any objection thereto should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 555, Ndola Square, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, Nigeria, within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: ID. OMORODION ESQ BARRISTER & SOLICITOR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA, 08038827841

Force, JTF, permanent office complex in Yenagoa.

He said though the majority of the people in the region were law-abiding, they remained the greater victims of oil theft “because oil theft has polluted the environment.”

“It is an open secret that those involved in oil theft in the Niger Delta are well-placed persons in the society, including top ranking serving and retired military officers.

“Some persons in the

CHANGE OF NAME

Niger Delta are only used as artisans and errand boys. The IYC has said this several times and wonders why the innocent people of the Niger Delta should be the scapegoats for the sins of highly placed and powerful people in Nigeria.

“It is obvious that the poor villages cannot be the owners of an oil ship containing 15,000 tons of oil recently impounded by the JTF,” Omare said in the statement.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Ajayi Olaife Roseline now wish to be known and addressed as Olanrewaju Olaife Roseline.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as Funmilayo Opeyemi Omoperiola now wish to be known and addressed as Funmilayo Opeyemi Oguntunyo.All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to confirm that OSARO Goddey is the same person as Agbonmware Osaro, henceforth wish to be addressed as Agbonmware Osaro. All former document remain valid. Stanbic IBTC and general public should note.

I formerly known as Miss Ugbala Victoria Nwojonu, now wish to be called and addressed as Mrs Nworie Victoria Ngozi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Alagbe Adekemi Olaitan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adeniran Adekemi Olaitan all former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note

CHANGE OF NAME

ADEYEYE: I, formerly known and addressed as Adeyeye Iretiayo Esther, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Adediji Iretiayo Esther. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

BONIFACE: Formerly known and addressed Boniface Obi, now wish to be known and addressed as Evangelist Elisha Obi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AREH: I formerly known and addressed as Miss Areh Felicia Anulika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Eborka Felicia Anulika. All former document remains valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known andaddressed as Dawaki Sherifat Ayinke, now wish to be known and addressed as Fashola Sherifat Ayinke. All fomer documents remain valid. General public to take note

CHANGE OF NAME

OKOYE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoye Chinelo Faith, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onwuka Chinelo Faith. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NWAOGWUGWU: I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwaogwugwu Chinomso Roseline, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Njoku Chinomso Roseline. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and the general public take note.

ADDITION OF NAME

This is to certify that i was formerly known, called and addressed as Ajibola VictorSerge Sangobimpe. That i wish to add another name ‘Akinola’ to my name. That i now wish to be known, called and addressed as Ajibola Victor-Serge Sangobimpe Akinola. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

JIMOH: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Janet Tale Jimoh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Janet Tale Alege. All former documents remain valid. Kogi State SUBEB and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Gwakzing Domren Roseline, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Arinze Domren Roseline Ikwunwa. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Chukwudi Chinwendu Ruth, now wish to be known and addressed as Samuel Chinwendu Ruth. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OKOLO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okolo Mercy Ijeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Offia Mercy Ijeoma. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, June 22, 2015

I do not know yet where I am headed for next season. Let me just enjoy the holiday and do reflection

53

Sport

Failure attributes of Nigerian coaches

55

–LIVERPOOL STRIKER, MARIO BALOTELLI

Glo League results Abia

1

0

Akwa

Dolphins

1

1

Giwa

El-Kanemi

1

4

Ifeanyi

Wikki

3

0

Sharks

Heartland 2

0

Taraba

Shooting

0

0

Enyimba

Nasarawa

1

0

Bayelsa

Kwara

1

1

Lobi

Sunshine

3

0

Pillars

Keshi

Keshi has no interest in CIV job –Agent S

uper Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, insists he is committed to his job and is ready to see through his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) despite rumours last week that he has been shortlisted for the vacant Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire job.

Unconfirmed reports had linked Keshi to the Ivorian post that was vacated sud-

denly last month by AFCON 2015-winning Frenchman Herve Renard.

But agent of the Eagles’ gaffer, Emmanuel Addo, said yesterday that the rumours were unfounded and a figment of the imagination of some unnamed persons.

“My client is very happy with his job as coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria,” Addo said in a terse statement issued by

former Super Eagles’ media officer, Mr. Ben Alaiya.

“Stephen has a two-year contract with the Nigeria Football Federation and as professional, he will remain on the job to fulfill his term of the contract.

“My client feels highly honored to be short listed by Cote d’Ivoire, a great footballing country. Let me hasten to say, howev-

er, that he has a very good relationship with Cote d’Ivoire since his playing days. It is a relationship that he cherishes and would continue to cherish all the days of his life.

“Let me call on stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians to ignore the rumours in the interest of avoiding anything that could cause distractions in the Eagles’ camp.”

World Cup 2016: Dedevbo invites 36 players

F

alconets’ Coach, Peter Dedevbo, has invited 36 players to camp as he begins preparation ahead of next month’s 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying fixture against Liberia.

NFF Spokesman, Ademola Olajire, said yesterday that the

players should report at the team’s Serob Legacy Hotel, Abuja camp tomorrow with her training kit, medical certificate of fitness and international passport.

Dedevbo, who led the Falconets to the final of the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in

The full list Sandra Chiichii (Bayelsa Queens) Onyinye Okeke (Inneh Queens) Christy Udogad (Rivers Angels) Lovina Okafor (Pelican Stars) Kehinde Akinwande (FC Robo) Ugochi Emenayo (Nasarawa Amazons) Esther Elijah (Osun Babes) Osarenoma Igbinovia (Bayelsa Queens) Okenne Okon (Ibom Angels) Ogechi Ukwuoma (Pelican Stars) Tessy Biawho (Nasarawa Amazons) Chinwendu Ihezuo (Delta Queens)

Canada last year, has recalled goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii who was dropped from the Super Falcons’ final team to the FIFA World Cup in Canada, as well as midfielder Osarenoma Igbinovia and striker Chinwendu Ihezuo.

Some players who featured

Uchenna Kalu (Delta Queens) Lilian Toke (Bayelsa Queens) Aminat Yakubu (Sunshine Queens) Yetunde Adeboyejo (Bayelsa Queens) Goodness Iheoma (Rivers Angels) Amarachi Ojinma (Rivers Angels) Patience Kalu (Bayelsa Queens) Mary Saiki (Confluence Queens) Omowunmi Gominola (Sunshine Queens) Pato Moses (Pelican Stars) Glory Sunday (Pelican Stars) Benedicta Juan (Pelican Stars)

in the U-17 team at the FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica early last year. They include Ugochi Emenayo, Esther Elijah, Tessy Biawho and Uchenna Kalu. Others are Mary Ologbosere, Joy Bokiri and Rashidat Ajibade.

Glory Ogbonna (Ibom Angels) Mary Ologbosere (Ibom Angels) Ayo Olaiya (Bayelsa Queens) Cynthia Aku (Rivers Angels) Joy Bokiri (Bayelsa Queens) Rafiat Sule (Bayelsa Queens) Augusta Omene (Nasarawa Amazons) Chinazia Godwin (Nasarawa Amazons) Fubiana Briggs (Ibom Angels) Rashidat Ajibade (FC Robo) Ogechi Joseph (Inneh Queens) Faith Alex (Pelican Stars)

Dedevbo

54

Sports

Monday, June 22, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sterling

Aruna Quadri

Quadri bags Civil Defence promotion

M

anagement of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has approved a special promotion for 2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Player, Aruna Quadri, for what it calls giant stride of the serving officer.

Quadri, who was Chief Corps Assistant, has now been promoted to Inspector of Corps.

Director of Sports, NSCDC, Ayodele

Olusegun, said yesterday that Quadri’s global feats, in addition to his hard work and consistency, had earned him the special promotion approved by the Commandant General, Ade Abolurin, who has supported Quadri.

“We are touched by Aruna’s determination and dedication to his trade and this has promoted the force and encouraged the leadership to approve accelerated promotion as an officer of the corps,”

Copa America:

Neymar’s absence damaging

Olusegun explained.

Quadri, whose progress in table tennis has conferred attention on Nigeria and Africa, recently signed signed for a French club from his Portugal base.

“I am very happy for this promotion and I want to specifically thank the Commandant General and Director of Sports,” the athlete said, adding, “I hope this will encourage other athletes to aim high in their sports.”

City makes

Sterling

‘final push’

L

atest reports said Manchester City is lining up a final bid for Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling.

The Etihad side has already had two offers of £30million and £35million rejected for the England international, who has made no secret of his desire to leave Anfield.

The reports, however, said City would test Liverpool’s resolve with a final, take-it-or-leave-it offer of £40mmillion, including an additional £5million in add-ons.

The figure may persuade the Reds to finally accept, with Manager Brendan Rodgers keen to bankroll deals for Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke.

City is also desperate to include the number of English players at the club.

–Dunga

B

razil Coach, Dunga, has lamented the absence of star player Neymar after the Barcelona player got suspended for four games in the ongoing Copa America.

Neymar was sent off after an head-butting offence in Brazil’s group game with Colombia which the Brazilians lost 1-0, possibly ruling him out of the rest of the competition.

“Neymar is a huge figure in football,” Dunga said yesterday.

“Everybody who likes football wants to see him on the field-like Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Alexis Sanchez.

With him, the spectacle would be better, with more quality.

“If each one of us who made a mistake was cut, no one would be here. We are here to make them grow, not to search for guilty ones.”

Dunga admitted his side will miss their hugely influential forward.

“We will suffer not just in this game, but also in the others,” he said.

“We have to be mature to know that when things are not going right, we can change. It isn’t all finished because we lost a game. We just need to find a balance.”

Dunga

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Monday, June 22, 2015

55

Failure attributes of Nigerian coaches

Awoniyi

Africa U-23 qualifier:

Awoniyi, others get recall Afolabi Gambari

C

oach of the U-23 Team, Dream Team, Samson Siasia, has recalled Flying Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi to beef up his squad as he prepares for the crucial Africa U-23 Championship qualifier against Congo next month.

Awoniyi had been with the U-23 side, even as he was with the national U-20 team preparing for the recent World Cup in New Zealand, and his brace had

secured All Africa Games 2015 ticket for Nigeria as the team beat Zambia in Lusaka after drawing the Southern Africans in their first leg encounter in Abuja.

The lanky forward will be joined by Flying Eagles team mates Musa Mohammed, Kingsley Sokari, Saviour Godwin and Dele Alampasu, while the overseas-based Musa Yahaya, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon will report two weeks to the first leg of the tie with Congo scheduled for Abuja.

Siasia has also asked Sharks FC defender Chima Akas and Warri Wolves defender Semiu Laidi to report to the camp immediately.

The U-23 team played a 3-3 draw with Wikki Tourists FC in Bauchi on Saturday, forcing a dissatisfied Siasia to drop six players after the game for poor performance.

Among the dopped players are Sani Faisal, Lukmon Gilmore, Emmanuel Ammana and Tonbara Tiongoli. Others are Freedom Omofonma, Uche Okeke and Gabriel Sunday.

Wada unveils kits for Lokoja Clubs Afolabi Gambari

G

overnor Idris Wada of Kogi State has pledged continued support for Kogi United, Confluence Queens and other sporting activities in the state.

Wada, who made the pledge in Lokoja last weekend while unveiling Hummel kits for the state-owned teams, also promised to make the teams’ welfare paramount to his administration.

“I am impressed with the feats achieved by both teams in the Nigeria National League and Nigeria Women Premier League respectively and I want to assure all that the government will not waiver in its effort to take them to the greatest height,” the gover-

nor said, amidst applause from dignitaries at the occasion who include Deputy Governor, Arc. Yomi Awoniyi; Secretary to Kogi State Government, Prof.

Gbemiro Jegede; Head of Service, Dr. M.E. Atakpa, commissioners and Chairman of Kogi United and Confluence Queens, Mr. Abdul Sule.

The partnership between the government and Denmark- based Hummel, the first of its kind among Nigerian clubs, was facilitated by Abdul Sule, who is also a Hummel Ambassador.

Sule, who is a former Super Eagles defender, expressed delight at the deal saying it would represent long-term benefit for the parties.

“We are indebted to Governor Wada for his love for

football and sports in general,” Sule said, adding, “The launch of the kits is a demonstration of our ambition.”

Meanwhile, Kogi United lost 1-0 to Jigawa Golden Stars in Dutse in their Nigeria National League Week 6 encounter over the weekend.

The home team’s Rahaqu Adamu netted the goal in the 55th minute through a scrambled effort which drew protest from the visitors whose close, Yomi Elijah, blamed the referee, Mansur Shuaibu from Katsina State, for poor officiating in a match that his charges created more scoring chances.

Kogi United will wrap up the first round outing in the NNL with another trip to Kaduna United on Saturday.

Garba

Aderonke Ogunleye-Bello

P

oor coaching is fiercely attacking football growth in Nigeria.

The country is blessed with abundant untapped, raw and crude football talent which are yet to be refined into good article due to the cluelessness that afflicts majority of the local coaches.

Football coaching, as we all know, has gone scientific and much education is required to keep up with the pace with which global football coaching is moving. I think every player should engage in some self-help by taking some time out and learning their art.

Practically, the Flying Eagles early exit from the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup got a lot of people angry. But looking inward, you cannot help but fault the entire technical crew, as the talent in the team was obvious.

People always raise their games against the champion and you cannot be successful all the time, but there is much more than winning laurels in coaching with sound technicality and ingenuity.

Nigeria has only graded 400 CAF ‘C’ licensed coaches, Ghana with lower population has graded more than 2, 000 and Egypt more than 8, 000. But Nigeria has fallen far short for no apparent reason, even though the country is replete with many intelligent coaches across board.

Nevertheless, our coaches too should train themselves since it is their profession.

Falcons Coach, Edwin Okon, is the depiction of a typical Nigerian coach. Without any foreign experience, he took the team to the World Cup in Canada. Those who watched the Falcons’ game against Sweden would attest that Okon should have won easily. But he did not use the fresh attackers who sat on the bench all through, for reasons best known to him. While other attackers laboured, the substitution never came.

No one needs to be a coach to apply this common sense. Charisma and simple courteous attitude matter a lot in the career of a coach.

Passionate coaching without man-management is tantamount to monumental failure.

Their major problems include, but not limited to, selection problems, inability to study opponents, inability to make the right substitutions during competitive games and inflexibility of their mindset in making adjustments as games progress. Often times

they find it hard to give clear directives with regard to what a player is expected to do on the field of play.

Some coaches have allegedly taken bribes from football agents to inject the players the agents want to sell into the team.

Some coaches also allegedly introduce players to agents and force players to sign for their agents. The malaise should stop or better talent will wait in vain to get their chance to play in the national teams.

As a coach, Stephen Keshi won the AFCON trophy in 2013. But he made the success look like a fluke when Nigeria failed to defend the title this year. He practically disintegrated the same team that he built less than 24 months ago to start re-building all over again.

We have had enough abuse of the words “going back to the drawing board” as there is no drawing board anywhere. Rather, coaches must draw themselves to be useful.

Sentiments should be taken out of selection processes. ‘This one no call me or greet me when my wife born, I no go carry am for my team,’ is literally a regular feature in coaches’ behavior to players and it is certainly bad for football.

By and large, the country is not deficient in talent but deficient in technically experienced coaches. In truth, players can attain success and then become unruly. But it is the duty of the coach to curb the player or find a better alternative among the pool of talent at his disposal.

A coach loses it the moment he/she cannot manage the ego of his/her players.

The League Management Company should ensure that all head coaches of football clubs are CAF-licensed in accordance with the LMC statutes. Only then can the players be guaranteed of quality coaching.

Administrators also take the blame for the coaches’ falling in standards. It is undeniable that the Pinnick Amaju-led NFF recently took some local coaches to England for Capacity Training. As much as this effort is commendable, it is still not enough.

The NFF should provide the enabling atmosphere and resources to ensure coaches get the necessary badges as there is no shortcut to coaching. It is expedient on the NFF to help get FIFA-badged coaches to join the technical crews of teams in the domestic football.

Finally, let me enjoin our local to always endeavour to go for proper training and refresher courses with a view to acquiring certificates and badges. This will upgrade lots of them from the present state where they analyse matches only as fans instead of professional coaches.

Ogunleye-Bello is an Abuja-based award-winning journalist

WORLD RECORD Most bakedmile beans fi eaten in five minutes Fastest reman’s carry

Vol. 05 No. 1139 Monday, June 22, 2015

N150

T h e m o s t b a k e d b e a n s e a t e n w i t h a c o c k t a i l s t i c k i n f i ve m i n u t e s i s 2 7 1 a n d w a s a c h i eve d b y A s h r i t a F u r m a n ( U S A ) i n J a m a i c a , N e w Yo r k , U S A , o n 1 1 Au g u s t 2 0 1 4 .

Rebellion of the ‘Young Turks’ T he above label fits the masterminds of the June 9 challenge to the entrenched ‘orthodoxy’ in Nigerian politics. Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara and the members of their coalition in the National Assembly represent a new tendency in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC): resistance to the politics of the Old Guard, hitherto powerful political figures with strong voice and influence and who have always held sway in the party. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu leads the pack.

But June 9 changed the balance of power in the APC. The challenge of the ‘Young Turks’ has successfully repudiated the old order that emphasizes party supremacy as inviolate as the political leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly has been grabbed by these ‘Young Turks’.

HeartBeat Callistus Oke

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY) anthonykila@mail.com Senator Saraki rules the Senate as Senate President, while Hon Dogara is the House of Representatives’ numero uno as Speaker.

If the ‘old guard politics’ had prevailed, the APC would have planted Senator Ahmed Lawan as Senate President and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as the House Speaker.

There is a parallelism in the development to the revolutionary pressures in the Ottoman Empire between 1789 and 1807, when Sultan Selim III’s push to transform the army into a modern fighting machine along European lines and modernise the Turkish empire was resisted by the more conservative older generation, but supported by his youthful followers. About a century later in 1908, a Turkish nationalist party led by a group of three young men called ‘The Three Pashas’ - Mehmed Talaat (34), Ismail Enver (27) and Ahmed Djemal (36), that supported the reforms was formed to give additional impetus to the Turkish revolution.

The USA in 1929 caught the bug, when about 20 young Republican politicians mutinied against the leadership of the Old Guard. The press branded them the ‘Young Turks’. The tendency gained wider acceptance during the tripartite Bermuda Conference of 1953 involving Great Britain, France and the USA, when Mr. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, stunned by the resistance of US President Dwight Eisenhower to his suggestion that there was no wisdom for self-government for a people not yet ready for it during a discussion on imperialism, he (Churchill) had smiled and

THE CHALLENGE OF THE ‘YOUNG TURKS’ HAS SUCCESSFULLY REPUDIATED THE OLD ORDER THAT EMPHASIZES PARTY SUPREMACY AS INVIOLATE…

said: “You’re just like the Young Turks in my government.”

And so the rebellion of Saraki et al on June 9 during the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly is a further confirmation of the drive of the younger elements of the nation’s political class to be more assertive. However, in pursuit of this objective, I detect a taint of both the buccaneer ethics and Machiavellianism in the strategy of the ‘Young Turks’.

The Saraki-led rebellion is not a novelty in the Fourth Republic politics. The Chief Olusegun Obasanjo era, it will be recalled witnessed Ghali Umar Na’Abba as the Speaker of the House and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo as Senate President combining very well to wean the 1st National Assembly from the domineering influence of the Presidency and the leadership of the PDP. And in the final year of the last National Assembly, the retention of the speakership the House

by Hon Aminu Tambuwal even after he

defected to the APC, a development that left the PDP in quandary, further confirmed the waning influence of the political parties on their members.

Admittedly, the current development has wider ramifications on the polity. There is a running national conversation stemming from it. Two strands of the ongoing narratives appeal to me. The first is the laudatory exhortation of President Muhammadu Buhari that he is disinterested in who become the leaders of the two chambers of the National Assembly. That position betrays the mindset of a leader trying very hard to convince Nigerians and the international community that he is a genuine democrat. That Buhari’s stance flies in the face of logic is buttressed by the fact that his victory last March 28 was made possible by party discipline and cohesion, two very strong values that were dealt lethal blows by the June 9 rebellion.

The days ahead will expose the poverty of the neutrality of Mr. President at a time the National Assembly was being turned into a seething cauldron. Of what use will a castrated national leadership of the APC be to Mr. President in the event of a serious altercation between him and the federal lawmakers.

The second appealing strand of the narratives to me is that Nigeria would be better served by independent federal lawmakers.

Independence here is defined more by the freedom of the lawmakers to spite the leaders of the parties they used to grab political power. It also means a vote for bipartisanship in the National Assembly.

We understand the premise on which this is established: the seemingly profitable symbiotic cohabitation of the APC and PDP. This is nothing but the promotion of buccaneering ethics in the hallowed institution.

It is the product of the fluidity of the nation’s politics, which itself is a product of the ease with which politicians align their variegated individual interests in a common political platforms. That the APC is still an unblended amalgam of the various original political blocs that coalesced in February 2013 is buttressed by the June 9 rebellion.

Sport Extra

w

Transfer: English players over-priced, overrated–Ferdinand

F

ormer Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, feels the prices of English players in the current transfer window are too inflated.

The 36-year-old, who re-

tired from active football last month after a spell at Queens Park Rangers, was the world’s most expensive defender when he joined the Red Devils for a fee of £29.1m in 2002.

Yet the retired centre-back

feels the prices clubs are placing on home grown players nowadays is unrealistic.

“English players are so overpriced right now it’s a joke!” Ferdinand tweeted from his official account yes-

terday.

England’s hottest young properties in Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane have been priced at around 50 million and 40 million pounds

by Liverpool and Tottenham

Hotspur respectively, and Ferdinand cannot understand how these numbers are considerably higher than Manchester City’s star striker Sergio Aguero and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

Ferdinand

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