Monday, october 13, 2014

Nigeria, others losing $1trn yearly to illicit financial flows Development committee tasks World Bank on climate change agenda AYO OLESIN AND TOLA AKINMUTIMI WASHINGTON DC Okonjo-Iweala

Vol. 4 N0. 959

D

eveloping countries, including Nigeria, are estimated to be losing up to $1trn yearly to illicit financial flows, thus

accentuating poverty level in the affected countries.

Indeed, Africa alone is reported to account for about CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

THE

BUSINESS SECTION

CBN advocatess SWIFT’s sanctions screening Transformation taking place in Africa –Okonjo-Iweala P.A5, P.A6

Free inside

Monday, October 13, 2014

N150

Again, OBJ slams PDP over apology

FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

F

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday described the plea by the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to return and lead the party again as a misinterpretation of his position to abstain from participating in national politics for now.

The former president insisted that he had chosen not to participate in PDP affairs at the national level

...says you're wrong, I'm still party member Won't associate with wanted drug baron

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Striking Unity school teachers resume Wednesday –Minister P.9 ADVERT HOTLINES

A tanker loaded with diesel lost control and got burnt at Molete Area of Ibadan, yesterday.

Gunmen kidnap ex-NBA president, Wali P.5

PHOTO: NAN

For advert bookings and information, please contact: LAGOS 01-8446073, 08113947415 08113947419 08113947420 08113947422 ABUJA 08113947421 PORT HARCOURT 08113947418 OGBESE 08113947424

Mutiny: Three soldiers appeal death verdict ...say our trial, a sham

Aides, others injured in Amosun's convoy accident

P.2 P.8

News

2

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Mutiny: Three soldiers appeal death verdict ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

T

hree of the 12 soldiers sentenced last month to death by the Military General Court-Martial have appealed against the judgement at the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal.

The appellant soldiers are Igomu Emmanuel, Stephen Clement and Andrew Ngbede with service numbers 09NA/62/1648/LCPL, 03NA/53/1816/CPL and 09NA/64/4214/PTE respectively.

They are contending that the charge, which formed the basis on which they were sentenced to death, was defective but that their trial also offended the principle of fair hearing, natural justice and audi alteram

partem.

The Military General Court-Martial is a special court that tries people over infraction of military laws.

Its verdict is appealable to the Supreme Court.

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal will soon examine the appeal to confirm if fundamental ingredients of fair trial were observed in the case.

An Abuja-based lawyer and member of the inner bar, Chief Godwin Oblah (SAN), is handling the case for the convicted soldiers.

The appeal itself was filed in Abuja last week Thursday at the registry of the Abuja Court of Appeal The appeal, which is anchored on 11 grounds, is inviting the intermediate appellate court to reverse the

death verdict on them.

They invited the appellate court to hold that the General Court Martial erred in law and thus occasioned a miscarriage of justice when it disregarded the objection of the defence counsel raised before and at the arraignment of the appellant on the defective nature of the charge brought against the appellant.

Specifically, they noted that they were charged and convicted at large under Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act but that the charge did not tie the offence they allegedly committed to any of the sub-sections of Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act and that the section did not define the offence of criminal conspiracy as an offence known to law.

They also argued that Count 1 under which they were charged and convicted was ambiguous, uncertain and defective as they were charged under Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act and punished under Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Law. Furthermore, they contended that the Count 3 under which they were charged was equally uncertain and defective as they were charged under Section 95 of the Armed Forces Act, which provides a punishment of life imprisonment if convicted, but were punished and sentenced to death under Section 106 of the Armed Forces Act. They alleged that the entire charge upon which they were tried and convicted was vague, so disjointed,

imprecise and so incoherent that they did not understand the charge, neither were their individual names stated on the charge.

The soldiers argued that it was in breach of the provisions of Section 36 (6) of the Nigerian Constitution, which entitles them to be informed of the details and nature of the offence for which they were charged.

They insisted that this incoherent and disjointed nature of the charge upon which they were tried and convicted infringed on their fundamental rights.

According to the second grounds of the appeal, the soldiers averred that the General Court Martial erred in law and came to a perverse decision when it based its decision solely on

an equivocal, indirect, negative, uncorroborated and suspicious circumstantial evidence in convicting them for attempt to commit murder.

They said that the General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Maj.-Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed (N/7915), whom they allegedly attempted to murder by firing shots at his official vehicle, was never led by the prosecution to give evidence on the alleged attempt on his life at the trial and there was no ballistic evidence that he was shot at.

The appellants also contended that none of the witnesses at the trial clearly and unequivocally identified any of them as the person who shot at the vehicle CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Nigeria, others losing $1trn yearly to illicit financial flows CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

L-R: Chairman, Kam Industries, Alhaji Kamaldeen Yusuf; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, and General Manager, Large Enterprises, BoI, Mr. Babatunde Joseph, at the inauguration of KAM Cold Steel Mill In Ilorin, Kwara State, at the weekend.

Again, OBJ slams PDP over apology CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

because the party was still being controlled at the zonal and national level by politicians who lacked the moral, honour and integrity to be associated with, particularly in the South- West geopolitical zone.

The national leadership of PDP, including the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu; the Senate President, David Mark, and the ex-governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had last Wednesday in Abuja, pleaded with Obasanjo to return to the party and lead it to victory again during the 2015 general elections.

But Obasanjo, in a statement issued yesterday in Abeokuta, stressed that nobody or group of per-

sons within the party had offended him to warrant being forgiven but that his position on the party was on principle.

The former president, however, declared that as an ex-president who had had the opportunity of being the Chairman of West Africa Commission on Drug and a member of Global Commission on Drug, he would never accept to be in the same political party with “an indicted drug baron wanted in America” as the zonal leader.

The former president, who said the plea manifested gross misunderstandings and misrepresentations of those making the pleas, further stressed that he had never left the party for once.

He said: “There are misunderstandings and mis-

representations which some of those appeals and pleas manifested; hence this explanation from me.

“Talking of inviting me back to PDP is wrong and it is a great misrepresentation as I have never left PDP and I will never leave PDP. “I have said it before and I will say it again, I rose to become the President of Nigeria on the platform of PDP and for that reason alone, I will remain a card-carrying and ward-active member of PDP for as long as I have to be a political party member.

“Secondly, nobody has personally offended me as a result of my membership of PDP. If, however, anybody or group feels offended by my continued membership, I will offer an unreserved apology but continue to re-

main in the party.

“I have had occasions to say to the President, the Senate President and the party chairman separately that I have no quarrel with any individual or group in the Party. There are, for me, issues of principle, morality, honour, integrity, commitment and character which are paramount.

“For instance, as a former President of Nigeria, the Chairman of West Africa Commission on Drug and a member of Global Commission on Drug, I cannot accept that the zonal leader of my political party, and worse still in my zone, will be an indicted drug baron wanted in America.

“How do I explain that to friends outside Nigeria?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

$55bn yearly associated with illegal trans-border financial transactions globally.

Participants at a session on ‘Illicit Financial Flows on the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Meetings in Washington DC, United States, noted that monies being lost by African countries surpassed all overseas development assistance and foreign investment inflows into the continent.

According to them, for every $1 given to developing countries in assistance, about $10 is lost to illegal flows.

Reflecting on the ugly development, the President of Global Financial Integrity, Raymond Baker, described the illicit flows as a major constraint hampering sustainable development in the affected countries.

Specifically, Baker noted that the illegal movement of funds across geo-political frontiers globally had continued to undermine the countries' strives to promote and achieve economic progress.

Governor, Central Bank of Bangladesh, Atiur Rahman, believed that the figures could be more than reported and represented and could be likened to barely scratching the surface of the actual losses to the global economy.

Denmark's Minister for Trade and Development, Mogens Jensen, noted that but for the illicit funds flows, the global economy would have been better positioned on the path of faster growth and shared prosperity in the various countries.

He explained that though the impact of the illegal financial transfers was more felt in developing countries, they also posed serious problem for the rich countries.

Meanwhile, the World Bank/IMF Development Committee has called on the World Bank Group to sustain its commitment to climate change risk management as a strategic option of averting its negative impact on current efforts aimed at achieving faster growth and shared prosperity in the global economy.

The committee, in its communiqué issued at the end its meeting at the weekend noted that doing so was consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It advised the WBG to contribute to the success of the November conference of the parties in Lima, Peru.

He recalled the initiatives being undertaken by the two Bretton Woods institutions to address the lingering problem of poverty and other socio-economic challenges being faced by many CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, October 13, 2014

3

4

Photo News

Monday, October 13, 2014

L-R: Consul in Consular and Chinese section, Mr. Xu Xinglong; Deputy Consul-General, Mr. Li Yong; Deputy Editor, Politics, National Mirror Newspapers, Mr. Olajide Omojolomoju; Advert and Marketing Manager, Mr. Ganiyu Bello; Consul-General, Mr. Liu Kan; Manager, Special Projects, National Mirror Newspapers, Mr. Akanbi Amuda; Deputy Advert and Marketing Manager, Mr. Bode Ehinmisan; Director in Consular and Chinese section, Mr. Yao Wenjun and Protocol Officer, Mr. Xie Chao, during a courtesy visit to the Consul-General, in Lagos, at the weekend.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan; Chairman, Nigeria’s chapter of Alliance for A Cavity- Free Future (ACFF), Dr. Olabode Ijarogbe, and Sen. George Manso, during the official launch of ACFF in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

L-R: Director, Nigeria’s National Centre for Disease Control, Abdulsalami Nasidi; Director, P&G, Global Government Relations -Sub Sahara Africa, Temitope Iluyemi; Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, during the donation of Safeguard soaps in support of the Federal Government’s hand washing campaign, in Abuja,at the weekend.

L-R: A member of the Mothers’ Union/Women’s Guild, Mrs. Ibietan Hannah; Diocesan Publicity Secretary, Mothers’ Union/Women’s Guild, Lady Nkechi Okoronkwo, and the President/Primate’s wife, Mrs. Nkasiobi Okoh, during an interview with newsmen at the 15th Annual Diocesan Women’s Conference at St. James Anglican Church, Asokoro, in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

National News

2015: Money for tickets in PDP ...aspirants’ woo power brokers for endorsement

GBENGA OGUNBUFUNMT

T

here are strong indication, that the tickets to contest for elective positions on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2015, will go for the highest bidders, a source within the party has told our correspondent.

Although, PDP has thrown its doors open to all aspirants to contest the 2015 elections with the party’s Nomination and Expression of Interest forms currently on sale across the country.

But a source within the party, who did not want his name in print, as he is also an aspirant, described what is currently going on in the ruling party as “currency war.”

The source added that what aspirants are now doing, is to ensure that they outdo others with huge

financial inducement of stakeholders, and power brokers particularly at the state level so as to get “endorsement” as the party’s flag bearer.

This he said, led to the practice of endorsement of candidates which is

gradually rendering the proposed party primaries, a no -contest of candidates, but “currency contest.”

“Series of complaint to the national headquarters from candidates who did not have the deep purse to engage in the ‘’naira

for naira to stakeholders’’ for endorsement led to a recent directive by party leadership for a stop to endorsement of candidates at all levels, haven realised the inherent danger,” the source said.

Another source, who

confirmed the development, said the endorsement by stakeholders at state level is the first level of the ‘’currency war,’’ adding that aspirants for the party primaries are now oiling their naira machineries for the screening

stage and the larger primaries.

The source said that what may likely determine the emergence of any aspirants in the next two to three months may likely be the amount of naira he is ready to dole out.

mies, the World Bank and the IMF had advised countries to adopt contingent strategies, in form of fiscal and monetary policy measures, as well as structural reforms of their economies to effectively manage the funding of their budgets in the face of increasing volatility of the international oil markets and dwindling revenues to its coffers.

With oil prices falling to 84 dollars per barrel in recent days, the IMF has warned of negative effects on countries that de-

pend on oil and other commodities for revenues.

The Federal Government, however, said prudent strategies will be adopted to respond to any funding challenges that may arise, especially by ensuring improved nonoil tax revenues, building up the savings buffers and adopting the right fiscal and monetary policies for sustained macro-economic stability.

Disclosing this during the media briefings by the Nigerian delegation to the ongoing World Bank/IMF

Meetings in Washington DC, United States, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that discussions were ongoing amongst top officials of the CBN, the Budget Office and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Economy, amongst others, to manage any risks to the economy.

She explained that rather than borrow to meet funding needs of the economy, government

will continue to explore avenues to raise tax revenues, plug leakages in all areas of public expenditures and strengthen the savings buffers to bridge the quantity and price shocks the oil market.

In his remarks, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, assured that the regulatory apex bank would continue to adopt appropriate monetary policies that will increase borrowing to the real sector and ensure financial system stability.

FG ’ll not borrow to finance economy AYO O LESIN AND TOL A A KINMUTIMI WASHINGTON DC

T

he Federal Government yesterday ruled out the possibility of borrowing as options being adopted to finance its yearly budget.

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that based on the global dimension of the economic challenges being experienced by developing and emerging econo-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, October 13, 2014

5

Gunmen kidnap ex-NBA president, Wali ISE-OLUWA IGE, DENNIS NAKU, WALE IGBINTADE AND MATTHEW IRINOYE

G

unmen on Saturday abducted the immediate past president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Okey Wali.

The incident happened in Rumualogu, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was gathered that a four-man gunmen trailed Wali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, to Rumualogu, near the Choba-UNI-

PORT road before kidnapping the victim at 9pm.

Our correspondent also learnt that the ex-NBA president was going for a visit at his neighbourhood on the outskirts of Port Harcourt when the hoodlums struck.

Wali’s car, which was abandoned at the Ozuaba junction, was later recovered by the police, who said they were on the trail of the kidnappers.

The kidnappers had trailed Wali to the Ozuaba junction, shot into the air and dragged him out of his car and was reportedly whisked through the Choba

River in a speeding boat.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Mohammad, confirmed the incident to our correspondent yesterday.

Mohammad said that moves were on to rescue the ex-NBA president and apprehend those behind the act.

He said: “As soon as the police got the information of the abduction of the exNBA president, we quickly swung into action and recovered his car by the Ozuo-

ba waterfront.

“We are still on their trail, with a view of rescuing him safely and possibly apprehend his abductors.”

Wali, an indigene of Rivers State, was elected the 26th president of the NBA in 2012.

Reactions yesterday trailed the abduction of Wali, with the NBA expressing serious concern over increasing level of insecurity in the country.

In a statement by its President, Mr. Augustine

Alegeh, SAN, the NBA urged the Federal Government to step up efforts in tackling the growing security challenges in the country.

This is even as it reminded the government that its primary constitutional responsibility is to provide for the welfare and security of all Nigerians.

Prof. Fidelis Oditah, said: “It shows the extent of the lawlessness and insecurity that has gripped our nation.

It is an absolute disgrace and continues a pattern of

desecration of and lack of respect for our institutions which has characterised the past few years in Nigeria.”

Dr. Abiodun Layonu, SAN said: “I just prayed that he would be found safe and reunited with his family.”

Joseph Nwobike, SAN said: “This is sad, despicable and it’s bad for this country. This is ominous for democracy and challenging to the legal profession. I plead with his captors to set him free now.”

Again, OBJ slams PDP over apology CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

This is only one of the many issues that I have pointed and still pointing out.

“I have national and international standard to maintain and reputation to keep and sustain. For these reasons, I opted to remain active only at the ward level of the party till the leadership does the needful.

“But under no condition will my commitment to Nigeria be diminished. And, for me, it is commitment to Nigeria first and any other commitment can only follow in second or third place.

Where any other commitment is in tandem with what I see and understand as commitment to Nigeria, such other commitment will share a pride of place with Nigeria.

“I must hasten to thank the President, the Senate President and the Chairman of PDP with whom, at their instances, these issues

have been discussed and laid to rest. My interest and commitment to Nigeria go beyond partisan politics.

“Today, Nigeria needs all hands on deck to deal with our pressing problems of security including the issue of Chibok girls, widening inequality, infrastructure, impunity, corruption, poverty and youth education, skill-acquisition, empowerment and employment.

These are issues of concern to most Nigerians. We all need to join hands to move Nigeria forward. I don’t need to be begged for that.

“Rather, I beg and appeal to those who are begging me to realize that we must put Nigeria’s interest above politics – party or personal – otherwise, we will all be judged at the bar of history if not the bar of current affairs. In addition, we must preserve, sustain and deepen democracy and democratic practices.”

Mutiny: Three soldiers appeal death verdict CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

of Maj.-Gen. Mohammed and that the General Court Martial merely relied on circumstantial evidence.

Besides, they prayed that the Appeal Court should set aside the decision of the Military General Court Martial and discharge and acquit them.

They also prayed to the court to order the payment of dues and outstanding peculiar benefits or otherwise accruing to them.

However, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.

In May, some protesting soldiers had fired shots at the vehicle of the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed, in Maiduguri, Borno State, and were subsequently charged.

The court-martial found them guilty of mutiny and sentenced 12 of the protesting soldiers to death.

All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant and former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (left) being welcomed by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, during a visit to invite the governor to his Presidential bid declaration at the State House, Marina, Lagos yesterday.

Nigeria, others losing $1trn yearly to illicit financial flows CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

countries globally.

The committee, therefore, recommended critical measures needed to be pursued by governments, development partners and institutions as well as other stakeholders to reverse the ugly trend.

For instance, it noted that the new approach being adopted on investment in infrastructure, including energy, was crucial to sustaining economic growth and ensuring shared prosperity.

The committee, therefore, encouraged the WBG to continue its operational and advisory support to improve infrastructure.

According to the committee, the Funding for the Global Infrastructure Facility, GIF, is a welcome step to launch a platform that will facilitate the mobilisation of private capital for infrastructure projects.

It, however, expressed the hope that the GIF would soon acquire the required scale and ambition while also looking forward to increased cooperation to build

a pipeline of commercially, ready-to-finance viable projects.

To achieve this objective, the committee also called on the WBG and IMF to support countries to deliver efficient, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy through the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.

On the issue of shared prosperity, it stated: “We welcome the discussion on promoting shared prosperity and the WBG’s role in supporting investment in human capital, improved access to markets, structural reforms, financial inclusion, infrastructure, improved tax and transfer systems, including social safety nets, and addressing climate change.

“We underline the importance of policies and institutions to promote an enabling environment for the development of the private sector, which is critical for investment, job creation, and inclusive and sustained economic growth. We call on the WBG to support countries to prioritize and implement tailored policies in

these areas, to track results and impacts, and to build statistical capacity. “We welcome the IMF’s commitment to provide support in its areas of special expertise, including the design of tax policies and fiscal reforms.”

It noted that while IDA countries had recorded strong growth since 2000 and had shown impressive resilience during the global economic crisis, a fifth of IDA countries had not recorded per capita output growth since then and were vulnerable to adverse shocks, including natural disasters, epidemics and economic and financial sector vulnerabilities that could quickly reverse the progress achieved.

The committee, therefore, asked that the IMF and the WBG to continue to monitor economic risks and vulnerabilities.

It congratulated the WBG for delivering increased lending, investment, mobilisation of resources, including private sector investment, and advice this past fiscal year, while undergo-

ing a fundamental internal change process.

The World Bank/IMF Development Committee stated that it expected an important shift in the way the WBG operated to deliver more efficient support to client countries, drawing on partnerships, integrated regional approaches and knowledge sharing, including South-South cooperation, responding to client needs and reacting quickly to unexpected shocks.

Other areas of priorities identified by the committee as germane to current moves towards inclusive growth and shared prosperity within the global economic system are the need for the WBG and the IMF to support the international efforts to reach agreement on the post-2015 development goals; support for countries in turmoil and transition in the Middle East and North Africa and in other regions; and deepening of gender integration by the WBG across its operations and the need to focus more clearly on implementation and impact.

6

News

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Malabu oil scam: Take action now, APC charges Jonathan ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA

T

he All Progressives Congress, APC, has challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently take action on the massive Malabu oil scandal rocking his administration and, again, putting Nigeria under the spotlight as a corrupt nation.

In a statement issued yesterday in Lagos, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan must end his silence on the matter since half of the $1.1 billion paid to Malabu Oil and Gas company for oil field OPL 245 by two oil majors was allegedly used to bribe Nigerian officials, who in turn used the pro-

ceeds to buy private jets and armoured limousines.

It said since the deal to pay Malabu the huge funds was brokered and passionately defended by the Jonathan administration, it stood to reason that officials of the administration could be part of the scandal.

“The only way to know for sure is if there is an independent investigation

of the allegation, which has been published by the international media after Italian prosecutors intensified probe into the deal.

“This is where President Jonathan comes in; he must allow unfettered probe of this scandal that has again put Nigeria in bad light. Whatever happens, however, the names of those who received the bribes will soon be known,

thanks to the determination of the UK and Italy to show that no one who violates their laws will go scot-free.

“Just like the Halliburton and Siemens bribery scandals that were also exposed from abroad, this Malabu scandal has again damaged Nigeria’s standing in the comity of nations. While US, France, Italy and Germany have jailed officials and imposed fines on the foreign firms that gave bribes to Nigerian officials in the Halliburton and Siemens scandals, none of those who received the bribes here in Nigeria has been touched. The Malabu scandal must not go the same way,’’ APC said.

The party said Nigeria’s image in recent time is perhaps the worst in terms of corruption that has cost the nation billions of dollars that would have otherwise gone into

national development. ‘’There is no better way to say this. The Jonathan administration is swimming in corruption and the President has contumaciously allowed it to fester because his government is feeding fat on the proceeds of graft. He has even tried to use semantics to cover up the extent of sleaze, saying stealing is not corruption,’’ it said.

APC said apart from the Malabu, Halliburton and Siemens scandals, the Jonathan administration has done nothing to tell Nigerians what happened to the $20 billion diverted oil money; the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud for which no single person had been brought to justice; opaque crude oil swaps at the expense of encouraging domestic refinery; payment of billions of naira in kerosene subsidy without appropriation and the gargantuan police pension fraud.

2015: Buhari, Atiku woo Okorocha for VP CHRIS NJOKU Lagos State Coordinator, Federal Road Safety Corps Special Marshals, Pastor George Benson (4th right); representative of the State Sector Commander, Mrs. Akinnosoye (5th right) and FRSC Special Marshals Unit 19 Surulere Baptist Church, during the 2014 Ember Month Road Safety Awareness Campaign in Lagos, yesterday.

I can’t debate $15m arms deal - Tambuwal ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

S

peaker, House of Re p r e s e n t a t iv e s , Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday said he was bound by the decision of the lower chamber not to debate the $15 million arms deal.

Tambuwal said: “I abide by the position of the House, considering its stand that the botched $15million arms deals should not be debated. I have to take responsibility for whatever negative or positive meanings the people read into our actions because that was the position of the House and I am bound by it.”

The Speaker, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti yesterday during the inauguration of the Ekiti State Government House and presentation of two books written

by Governor Kayode Fayemi as part of activities to wind up his four-year

tenure, cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, against perverting the will of Nigerians in the 2015 general elections.

Tambuwal, who described the polls as a deciding factor of the unity of the country, said: “My expectation from INEC is that there should be election in Nigeria and it must be credible, impartial and transparent. INEC must display patriotism by not favouring any of the party and respecting the will of the people for democracy to grow and for us to remain united.”

Tambuwal said posterity would be a better judge that Fayemi ruled Ekiti in dignified ways to the extent that he left indelible marks in the state, adding that Fayemi combined good governance and politics that “despite losing election, the governor still continued to deliver dividends of democracy to the

people”.

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, who inaugurated the Government House and presented the books, said Fayemi had placed Ekiti on honourable footing by the various programmes and legacy projects he had put in place, adding however that the decision to toe Fayemi’s path was the choice of his successor.

The Nobel laureate said it was now left for the next governor of the state to “either honour or desecrate” the Government House.

Soyinka, who noted that Ekiti had known very honourable people such as the late governor of old Western State, Adekunle Fajuyi, stated that he had been watching Fayemi and he was happy that the outgoing governor did him proud. He urged Ekiti people not to lose hope of having another governor who would yet again be

“honourable, intelligent, committed and humanistic rulers.”

Fayemi said what he did in the last four years was to ensure that he instituted programmes that would bring a fundamental change in the lives of the populace, boasting that he had succeeded in fulfilling all his promises to the people.

Fayemi said: “What we have pursued in the last four years is integrity, honour, compassion, truth, commitment and competence and we have no apologies for whatever we did.

Tambuwal

OWERRI

I

mo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has become the beautiful bride, for the three top presidential aspirants of All Progressives Congress, APC, who are now shopping for their vice president, it was gathered at the weekend.

The presidential aspirants-former head of State, General Mohammed Buhari, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso of Kano State, it was learnt, are negotiating with Okorocha to accept the position of vice president.

But it was gathered that the party leadership is still entertaining doubt as to whether the decision to pick their presidential candidate from the North would give the party victory in the South particularly South East and SouthSouth where the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had picked its presidential candidate.

Buhari and Atiku who were in Owerri at the wedding of Okorocha’s daughter, Uju, and Dr. Uzoma

Anwukah, son of the Secretary to the Imo State Government, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, are also seeking Okorocha’s support at the party’s forthcoming presidential primaries.

Although none of them agreed to speak to curious reporters when approached, National Mirror learnt there is common understanding among APC leadership caucus to pick somebody from the South as vice president who will help to divide the votes from the zone.

Apart from Buhari and Atiku, the National leader of APC and former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, National Chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun, former Chairman of APC, and Chief Bisi Akande were also present at the wedding.

Speaking at St. Joseph’s Catholic Chaplaincy Imo State University, Owerri where the event took place, Governor Okorocha said the galaxy of Nigerians, including Muslims and Christians at the wedding, indicated that Nigerians were ready to live in unity irrespective of religion or ethnicity.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National News

Monday, October 13, 2014

7

$9.3m arms deal: Presidency absolves Oritsejafor OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

T

he Federal Government has absolved the President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo

Oritsejafor, of complicity in the controversial $9.3m arms deal in South Africa.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan (Public Communication), Dr. Doyin Okupe, told religious

Victim of insurgency accuses Army of torture LIVINUS MENEDI YOLA

A

displaced person from Michika, Adamawa State, Ali Ibrahim, has alleged that soldiers tortured him and some other Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, leading to the death of some of them, on suspicion of being members of Boko Haram.

Speaking to journalists in Yola yesterday, the victim said he survived after the military who took him for dead, dumped him among several corpses of detainees in the bush.

He said he was attacked by vigilante men at Betso village when he and one Haruna Abdullahi escaped from Michika the day Boko Haram took the town.

The vigilante people, he added, manhandled them and robbed them of money and phones before taking them to soldiers.

He said none of them carried weapon or anything suspicious as at the time they were rounded up

by the villagers.

“The vigilante tied our hands and manhandled us.

They also robbed us of our money and mobile phones after asking us questions about our faith and tribe.

We are Muslims, born and grown up in Michika town,” Ibrahim stated.

According to him, “they refused to listen to us, they took us to soldiers. The soldiers tortured us in Mubi and transferred us to the Gibson Jalo 23rd Armoured Brigade Barracks in Yola where Haruna and other detainees died. They asked us to admit we were Boko Haram but we refused.”

The victim said he watched some of the detainees die of wounds and hunger at a detention cell at the headquarters of 3rd Armoured Brigade in Yola. ““We were beaten and left without food or water.

I did not know what happened to me until I woke up at night and found myself in the bush alongside corpses. Then, I crawled to a place where some people helped me,” he narrated.

affairs correspondents in Abuja that the founder of Word of Life Bible Church had no hand in the deal.

He said: “Most Nigerians do not also respect the sensibilities of other people. Oritsejafor is the president of CAN and head of all Christians in Nigeria, who is representing at least

50 per cent of people in this country.

“When it comes to a man like that, people should be cautious and circumspect.”

Okupe also enjoined Nigerians to stop playing politics with every issue of national concern, stressing that such attitude is usually not in the

spirit of nationalism and patriotism.

According to him, the Office of National Security Adviser, NSA, has done well for coming out promptly to tell the truth on the matter.

The presidential aide also said it would not be proper for government to

be making public its plans on how to tackle the ongoing security challenges in the country.

He also responded to criticisms that the issue went out of hand because the government did not come out publicly on the issue before embarking on the adventure.

Widower of Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, a former managing director of News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Mr. Vincent Oyo (left) and DirectorGeneral, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri, during a condolence visit to the Oyo family in Abuja, yesterday.

Swiss firms ask court to stop sale of Union Bank shares ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

T

wo Swiss firms, GG Private Limited and Rainmaker BV

Limited, have requested a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, to stop the ongoing move to sell 9.1 per cent shares of Union Bank of Nigeria, UBN, to Atlas

Mara Co-Nvest Limited.

GG Private Limited, owned by Rainmaker BV Limited, was appointed by UBN’s board of directors as its Lead Financial Adviser to conduct a capitalisation and stake sale mandate to shore up the bank’s capital.

To be restrained specifically are the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, and the United Global Partners Limited, UGPL, with its consortium of investors including Africa Capital Alliance, Corsair Capital, FMO, Richard Chandler Corporation and Chartered Private Equity.

The plaintiff firms are also urging the court to issue an order declaring as illmotivated, illegal, null and void, the replacement of the mandate given by UBN in 2009 to GG Private Limited to act as the bank’s lead financial adviser.

In the alternative, they wanted an order upholding the Exclusive Mandate Agreement between them and the UBN’s board of directors mandating them to carry out a stake sale and

recapitalisation of the bank.

They also wanted a separate order directing a forensic audit of the change of ownership transaction of the Union Bank in breach of the Exclusive Mandate Agreement between UBN and the plaintiffs.

The change of ownership transaction was conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Chapel Hills Advisory Partners Limited and former CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

The transaction conferred 85 per cent ownership of UBN on Africa Capital Alliance and United Global Partners Limited.

They are also demanding for an order declaring the decision by the CBN and its former governor, Sanusi to approve United Global Partners Limited and Africa Capital Alliance as core investors and majority owners in UBN as ill-motivated, contrary to public interest and ultimately injurious to them and other former stakeholders.

8

South West

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Report reckless driving, management urges LAGBUS users FRANCIS SUBERU

A L-R: Mrs Adetoun Odukomaiya, All Progressives Congress, Lagos State governorship aspirant, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode; his wife, Bolanle, and Mr. Tokunbo Odukomaiya , during the celebration of life of late Mrs. Comfort Olufunmilayo Odukomaiya, at First African Church Mission in Epe, Lagos, at the weekend

Scores die in Ibadan market inferno KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

R

esidents and traders at the popular Molete Market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were thrown into anguish, as they lamented the death of yet-to-be-ascertained number of persons, in an incident caused by a fuel tanker that fell and started a fire in the area on Saturday night.

While there has been no official confirmation of the number of those who died in the inferno, eyewitnesses, however, put the figure at around 70.

An eyewitness, a motorcyclist, said corpses were initially deposited in two commercial buses after the incident, before evacuation for burial.

Molete was in sober mood yesterday as sympathisers and those whose shops and vehicles were burnt, mourned.

No fewer than 17 burnt vehicles, majority of them burnt beyond repairs, were counted.

Inside one of the burnt vehicles, a private car were the body of a pregnant woman and two others which witnesses said, were those of her children.

An eyewitness said the husband of the pregnant woman had just gone out of the car to buy bread when the fire from the burning tanker caught up with the woman and the children inside.

It was learnt that the husband reportedly collapsed because of shock and was taken to a private hospital where he was being attended to by press time.

It was also gathered that many of those who died were those who initially took refuge inside some nearby shops when the fire started, but were later trapped inside.

National Mirror learnt that among the victims of the inferno, the second major fire incidents in the state capital in two months, coming barely less than two months of the first incident at the popular Alesinloye market fire on August 16,was an eight-year-old girl.

The police and other security operatives were yesterday seen restoring order while men of the state fire service tried to evacuate the fallen tanker and other vehicles affected.

Some eyewitnesses said the fire incident started when a truck carrying fuel fell at the busy Molete roundabout, burning 13 vehicles, three houses, seven commercial motorcycles, three commercial tricycles and goods worth millions of naira.

According to them, most of the deaths recorded those of roadside traders who continued to violate the state government’s order to vacate and move to modern markets built by the government.

A retired school prin-

cipal, Mr. Adewuyi Ajani (65), who had lived all his life in the neighbourhood, while speaking, said it was the fifth time that such an incident would occur, with the first incident dating way back to August 23, 1971.

He stated that before Saturday’s tragedy, three other similar incidents happened in 1975, 1987 and 1994.

The Public Relations Officer, University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, Mr. Ayodeji Bobade, said apart from the eight-year-old girl that was rushed to the hospital, having suffered high degree burns, six other men and four women were also brought to the hospital late on Saturday in severe conditions, with one of them confirmed dead later.

He said: “Eleven people were brought here with a girl, all suffering from severe burns. One of them died over the night, while others are receiving treatment at the burns unit of the hospital.”

The Iyaloja of Molete Market, Alhaja Iswat Oyinlola, said but for the river behind the market, which

Gov. Ajimobi

absorbed more than half of the fuel that spilled from the tanker, many deaths would have been recorded.

It was learnt further that among the dead was a man who was caught in the fire after leaving a drug store overlooking the overhead bridge.

The owner of the pharmacy store, Chigozie Eze, said he lost everything to the fire.

Another resident, Alfa Ahmed Adeoye, who had a store full of building materials and house accessories in the market, was one of the traders that were hard hit in the inferno.

midst growing complaints by Lagosians of the recklessness of some LAGBUS drivers, the management of the public intra-city mass transit company has charged residents to always report any perceived dangerous driving to the head office.

According to the LAGBUS Asset Management Limited which manages the buses, reckless driving is an intolerable act and should not be encouraged.

LAGBUS Managing Director, Mr. Babatunde Disu, who spoke to our correspondent yesterday on the growing complaints of LAGBUS drivers’ recklessness, urged residents to always report any Lagbus driver found to have contravened the traffic regulations and laws, saying that was the only way to assist the company improve on its services.

Disu said the LAGBUS management had begun a holistic re-training of over 996 drivers in order to improve on service delivery, as well as address some of the complaints of the residents.

“That is one of the reasons for the training. Let the people of Lagos never get tired of reporting such incident of reckless driving. That is how we can continuously improve.

“I’m sure if people look

at the way our captains have been driving in the last six months and compare it with their experiences a year ago, they would see the improvement. We will continuously improve,” Disu said.

While commenting to the two LAGBUS drivers honoured recently by Governor Babatunde Fashola for distinguishing themselves by complying with safety rules and regulations, the managing director said the company would do everything possible to reward excellent driving.

The honoured LAGBUS captains are Mustapha Musiliu and Okuromade Kamoru.

Disu said: “We have two of our captains being honoured by the governor, Babatunde Fashola.

“One of them has been with us for about five years. Part of the criteria we looked at are: their attitude to work, what confidence we have had about them over time, and how they have managed their vehicles.

“We also consider whether they had been involved in any accident since they were employed.

The honour is fantastic, it just showed what Lagos State stands for and the need for continued improvement and excellent in service.

“We at LAGBUS don’t have a choice than to continuously strive at improving in our service delivery.”

Aides, others injured in Amosun’s convoy accident FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

T

wo aides of Governor Ibikunle Amosun and some occupants of a blue-coloured Mitsubishi passenger bus carrying foodstuff were injured yesterday in a crash along the LagosIbadan expressway.

National Mirror reliably gathered that incident occurred at Sapade-Ogere Remo road at 9:30am when a commercial bus had a head-on collision with the governor’s convoy in which one of the jeeps in the convoy was damaged.

Although the governor was unhurt, two of his aides were said to have

been injured, as well as some occupants of the bus, which registration number could not be ascertained.

It was gathered that the governor’s convoy was heading towards Ibadan, while the rickety bus was coming from the Oyo State capital, before the head-on collision.

National Mirror gathered that the accident occurred at construction site, which forced motorists to use only two of the four-lane road.

It was also learnt that the driver of the lost control before ramming into the governor’s convoy.

According to an eyewitness, the occupants of the

commercial bus, mostly women, the aged and children, sustained injuries.

The source said immediately after the accident, the governor alighted from his official jeep and sympathised with the passengers.

Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said no life was lost.

The commissioner, who said he was part of the governor’s entourage, however, denied that people sustained injuries.

He said the accident involved one rickety commercial bus rammed into the governor’s convoy.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, October 13, 2014

9

Poison meant for co-worker kills guest BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

O

L-R: Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi-Laoye Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and 1st Vice President, Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr. Ajayi Patunola, during the investiture of Governor Aregbesola as Patron of the institute, in Osogbo, on Saturday.

Striking unity school teachers to resume Wednesday –Minister TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

T

he Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has said teachers in the 104 Federal Government colleges nationwide, who are currently on strike, will resume work on Wednesday.

He stated this over the weekend in an exclusive interview with National Mirror.

It would be recalled that teachers under the aegis

of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, embarked on the ongoing strike since September 12 to compel the Federal Government to pay them their accumulated promotion arrears and other entitlements.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, the minister said representatives of both parties met last Thursday in Abuja and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to resolve their

differences to enable normalcy return to schools.

The government, he pointed out, agreed to pay by installment and run in three phases beginning with the teachers’ promotion arrears covering 2007 to 2013.

He said the amount for the first phase, which is about N527 million had been released and payment already being made to the teachers and other affected officers in the ministry.

He said, hopefully, significant percentage of them would have been

paid between then and Wednesday while the balance, about N1.7billion would be paid much later.

“So, I wouldn’t see any reason they should not suspend their strike by Wednesday,” he stated.

But reacting, the Lagos Zone Coordinator of the teachers’ union, Mr. M. A. Isa, told National Mirror that the association would not suspend the strike unless about 99 per cent of members were paid their promotional arrears.

Lagos model of good governance, APC insists ...Says Fashola’ll appoint LG caretaker c’ttees by October

T

he Lagos State chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has described as baseless the allegation that the Governor Babatunde Fasholaled government of Lagos State is a bad model of democratic governance.

The PDP in Lagos had, in a recent statement, accused the Fashola-led government of not showing willingness to conduct local government election as the tenure for the present dispensation ends in October 29, 2014.

However APC said: “Contrary to the bedtime stories of Lagos PDP, we want to make it clear that Lagos State government is prepared to conduct LGA elections, as it has been doing in the past when INEC concludes its delineation exercise in some states in the

country.

“INEC is creating new wards and new polling units in some states in the country including Lagos and until it finalises that very important exercise, it may not be feasible to conduct LGA elections because we need to know the new wards and the new polling units before going to the polls.”

The APC said conduct of council poll was hinged on certain measures being on ground, including a verifiable voters’ register.

“If the new voters’ cards and the new voters register are yet to be seen, tell us how you can conduct elections. Once these structures are put in place LASIEC will move into action.

“Some PDP controlled states have not conducted local government elections

in the last eight years but we are not PDP. We do the right thing, we follow the rules and we get results.

However, if these issues are not resolved before the October deadline, Lagos State government may appoint caretaker committees to replace the outgoing LGA chairmen.”

It also debunked rumour that the administration in Lagos was destroying PDP signs. It stated: “On the allegation that Lagos State government officials are provoking PDP members by removing and destroying PDP signs, please let it be known that Lagos State has a Signage Agency called LAASA and if Lagos PDP wants its services they know what to do.

Advert agencies in Lagos know that it is not business

as usual as LAASA has cleared the mess in Lagos and set up new standards for outdoor advertising” “Lagos State government has not provoked anybody or any group but sometimes decisions are taken in the overall interest of 25 million Lagosians; rather it is Lagos PDP that has been provoking Lagos APC. We saw the provocation when a junior Minister in the Ministry of Defence, Senator Obanikoro went with armed soldiers to Ilubirin Housing Estate to harass contractors building homes for Lagosians. We see this provocation when one of our leader on the Island, Alhaji Azeez Asake, was brutally murdered by PDP thugs after their rallies at TBS.

sun State Police Command has said it will soon prosecute a man accused of killing a fellow guest at a naming ceremony in IleIfe with poison.

It was learnt that shortly after the mysterious death of the unnamed man, after he returned from the ceremony, police authorities in Ife town swung into action to get to the root of the incident.

The death of the deceased, said to be an artisan, it was learnt, led to the suspicion of those that attended the event with him.

After thorough investigation into the matter, police eventually apprehended one 27-year-old Taofeek Adeyemo, who was confirmed to have attended the naming ceremony, where the deceased took his last drink.

Speaking to newsmen in Osogbo, while parading the suspect, Osun State Commissioner of

Police, Abubakar Marafa, who spoke through the Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Folasade Odoro, said the suspect had confessed to the crime and advised people to be careful of the kind of company they keep.

The police boss said the command would soon arraign the suspect and warned criminals in the state to expect tough times, stressing readiness of the police to ensure safety of residents and rid the state of criminal elements.

While responding to questions from newsmen, Adeyemo said he did not intend killing the deceased, adding that he actually poisoned the drink of a co-worker but unfortunately, the deceased took the drink and died.

Adeyemo claimed that he intended to poison his co-worker because he always threatened to kill him and that he had to act fast before his friend would carry out the threat against him.

Ekiti launches free school bus scheme

E

kiti State primary and secondary school pupils will enjoy free bus rides when schools reopen for the 2014/2015 academic session, courtesy of the state government.

The gesture came barely a year after Governor Kayode Fayemi promised to make public schools more attractive and more competitive.

Presenting 10 luxury buses through his deputy, Prof Modupe Adelabu, at the weekend, the governor said his administration has never deviated from its commitment to the provision of conducive environment for learning.

He directed that pupils in private schools in uniforms should be allowed free ride in any of the buses designed for their routes in city centres including Ado-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti, Ikole-Ekiti and Ijero-Ekiti.

According to him, the presentation was in fulfillment of a promise he made to the pupils during a live programme on Ekiti

Television, an arm of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State, BSES. Pupils, drawn from public primary schools, had during the chat asked the governor when they would start riding in buses to school like their peers in privately-run schools.

The governor urged head teachers to maintain the buses to preserve their lifespan.

Also speaking at the Christ School Sports Ground, venue of the presentation, the Commissioner for Education, Science & Technology, Mr. Kehinde Ojo, reminded parents and guardians of the importance of qualitative education for the future of their children and wards.

Gov. Fayemi

10

South East

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmir-

Ebonyi north, youths rally support for Health minister ALIUNA GODWIN ABAKALIKI

P

Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi, and other Chiefs arriving for the 2014 Ofala Festival, sponsored

by Globacom, on Saturday.

2015: INEC demotes 2 electoral officers DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

A

head of the 2015 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has demoted two electoral officers, EOs, in Enugu State to assistant electoral officers.

The electoral umpire in the state has also come under severe criticism for posting a “controversial” officer to Udenu local government area, home of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, consensus governorship aspirant, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr. Lawrence Azubike, however said that what took place in his command

was not demotion but an effect of restructuring based on performance and other indices that also involved transfers of some staff.

The demoted officers were the former EOs of Igboeze South and Nkanu East local government areas respectively.

Feelings in the state is that the newly redeployed electoral officer to Udenu local government (names withheld), who was accused of being responsible for the zero registration recorded in Igboetiti local government in the 2011 Continuous Voters Registration, CVR, may have been posted to Udenu council to undermine the PDP consensus candidate, Ugwuanyi.

Checks in the state head office of INEC indicated

that the staff members were not happy that electoral officers like the present Udenu council boss, were on grade levels 15 and above and ought not to remain as EOs in the councils based on INEC restructuring exercise, like it is in Enugu.

It was alleged that the demotion of the two ill-fated electoral officers were done to pave way for the “untouchable EOs” of grade level 15 and above who are supposed to have assumed duties as Heads of Departments or units at the state office in Enugu.

It would be recalled that the state recorded zero registration in 621 polling units allegedly caused by incompetent electoral officers of INEC who neither

gave adequate trainings to the NYSC ad hoc staff used during the voters’ registration, nor were they even around their areas of operation to monitor job in the field.

Some INEC electoral officers in charge of local government areas in Enugu are said to reside in Abuja and Bayelsa states respectively, despite their primary assignments being in the local government areas of the state.

“What they have done now is to post two additional junior staff to those incompetent officers that are due to be returned to the state office just to make them remain in those positions contrary to INEC restructuring,” said our source.

Aspirants besiege Enugu APC DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

A

spirants for state and national elections have besieged the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, seeking the party, platform to contest the 2015 general elections.

The party in the state however warned that it would not be a dumping ground for disgruntled politicians, especially from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who fail to actualise their aspira-

tion in other political parties.

The state APC chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, who disclosed this shortly after the party’s meeting in Enugu, noted that the party wants to change bad governance in Enugu, adding that it already has aspirants in the entire 24 state constituencies of the state.

Nwoye further said in some constituencies like Enugu North senatorial zones, APC has multiple aspirants who he said were ready to fight and

wrest power from the ruling PDP in the state.

He said: “We are a party of change; the aspirants spoke to stakeholders of the party which is made up of ordinary people such as market men and women, Okada riders etc.

One is Dr. Ifeanyi Asogwa, a PhD holder, which is the type of breed that we are bringing out to lead the state. We also have Barrister Okey Ezea who is well known in Enugu State, he won the 2007 governorship election which of course was denied. This time

around, we are ready to stop such occurrence.

“The PDP candidate is one man candidate, Sullivan Chime’s candidate as against whoever will emerge from APC. He will be the people’s choice, he will not be a candidate of the cabals, and our candidate will not be like those who twist their tongues that they were ambushed like Senator Ayogu Eze. A sitting Senator is going about crying like a baby that he was ambushed and as if he cannot do anything about the ambush.”

eople of Ebonyi north senatorial zone have declared readiness to support the minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, to succeed as the sole candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The stakeholders who comprise Sylvester Ogbaga, member representing Abakaliki/ Izzi federal constituency; some members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, EBHA; Chukwuma Nwazunku, speaker EBHA; former speaker Augustine Nwankwagu, some commissioners and host of others stated this at the weekend while briefing journalists in Abakaliki.

The supporters who called on Chukwu to make himself available to run for the 2015 guber poll, in a seven-paragraph communiqué signed by over one hundred stakeholders from the zone and made available to National Mirror, said the unanimous agreement of

Abakaliki political bloc to allow Ebonyi south zone to produce the next governor of the state in 2015 was a welcome development.

According to the communiqué, “it is moral, equitable and just to rotate the governorship of Ebonyi State between the three senatorial zones in order to guarantee political stability, social cohesion and multilateral contributions to the growth and development of our young and dear state.”

They applauded the decision of the Governor Martin Elechi-led administration alongside the founding fathers of the state to adopt Chukwu as the PDP sole guber candidate.

“That the decision of the heirs and heiresses of Ekumenyi to unanimously adopt Prof Chukwu, the current minister of Health as the most capable and suitable candidate among the impressive list of contestants for the governorship position is an inspired decision based on sound judgment and excellent process of elimination,” it stated.

Nsukka group lauds PDP, Chime over Ugwuanyi’s emergence CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

T

he Nsukka Professionals Group, NPG, has commended the Peoples Democratic Party caucuses and Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State over the emergence of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the consensus candidate for the 2015 governorship election in the state.

In a statement signed by the president of the group, Dr. Basil Onugu and secretary Otoboeze Chikwado, it noted that Ugwuanyi did not only emerge as the consensus candidate of his party but because of his sterling qualities that earned him the trust and respect of both the stakeholders and his fellow aspirants.

According the group, “There is no iota of doubt that Hon. Ugwuanyi is eminently qualified, competent, and has the right complement of skills necessary to, not only sustain but also advance Governor Chime’s enviable legacies to the next level.

“Above all, unity and peace remain not only a sine-qua-non but also most imperative for the sustenance of the current tempo of development in the state.

“Hon. Ugwuanyi is not only an epitome of peace but also large hearted and quite accommodating to the weak and mighty alike.

He is a team player of choice.”

The group further commended all other aspirants who accepted and supported Ugwuanyi’s nomination in the spirit of sportsmanship and appealed to the aggrieved ones to sheathe their swords as a patriotic sacrifice for the zone in particular and Enugu State in general.

Gov. Chime

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SouthSouth

Monday, October 13, 2014

11

2015: It’s governorship or nothing —Ogoni insist DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

T

L-R: Acting President-General, Urhobo Progressive Union, Chief Joe Omene; Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Abejirin, during the funeral service for Maj. Gen Patrick Aziza in Adabrasa, Delta State, at the weekend.

Union bans commissioner, 2 others from Urhobo activities THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

U

rhobo Progress Union, UPU, the apex socio-cultural umbrella body of Urhobo people, over the weekend placed a ban on Delta State Transport Commissioner, Mr. Ben Ibakpa; Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Monday Igbuya, and Waste Management Board Chairman, Olori Magege, from partaking in cultural activities concerning the ethnic group.

Their sins, according to the UPU, was their

series of ‘unprovoked attacks’ and for publicly flaunting the unanimous decision of the leadership of the organisation tagged “Uvwiamuge Declaration”, aimed to project Urhobo political interest in the coming governorship election in the state.

Acting President-General of UPU, Chief Joe Omene, handed down the decision during a press briefing.

According to him, the ban became necessary following ‘relentless vituperations’ targeted to discredit the union’s earlier decision.

Omene stated that the

affected persons, as the representatives of the people, failed to adhere to the collective decision of Urhobo, but had decided to turn themselves to ‘errand boys in corridor of power’ to their political mentors.

UPU said the accused persons had “consistently paraded themselves as anti-Urhobo and willing tools and instruments of division in the hands of their mentors against the interest and the generality of Urhobo nation, advising that life and politics could be very slippery.

“The above sanctions will remain in force un-

til the above persons purge themselves of their inimical actions and apologise publicly to the Urhobo nation before the leadership of UPU will consider their position in the matter.

“The UPU wishes to sound a note of warning to other Urhobo sons and daughters who are following the footsteps of the aforementioned persons to retrace their steps and desist from deliberately insulting the Urhobo nation, as the Uvwiamuge declaration is concerned; otherwise they will equally face similar sanctions,” the union stated.

Ijaw youths slam EFCC, ICPC on anti-graft war

THEOPHILUS ONOJEGHEN WARRI

T

he Ijaw Youth Council has berated the nation’s anti-corruption agencies; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Independent Corrupt Practices and Others Related Offences Commission, ICPC, for allegedly failing to discharge their statutory responsibilities in the fight against corruption in the country.

The council also expressed worry over the alarming rate of unemployment in the Niger Delta region, calling on

Lamorde, EFCC boss

the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to take steps to massively develop the agricultural sector and allied industries to save the region from ‘looming danger’.

The call was contained a communiqué issued at weekend at the end of its two-day first IYC world summit with the theme,

“Partnering for Prosperity and Sustainable Development”, held to direct the youths of the region towards economic prosperity and sustainable development of the Niger Delta.

The communiqué, signed by the spokesperson of the group,Eric Omare, implored President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently overhaul the nation’s anti-graft agencies by repositioning them for utmost performance to tackle corruption in the country.

Part of the communiqué read: “The summit observed that the anticorruption agencies in Nigeria are not effective

in the discharge of their functions.

“Hence, the summit calls on President Jonathan to carry out an urgent and massive overhaul of the leadership of the various anti-corruption agencies to wit, the EFCC and ICPC.” The summit, which was attended by thousands of Ijaw youths, government functionaries, corporate organisations, entrepreneurs and youth leaders from other ethnic nationalities, resolved that governments must turn to agriculture to provide jobs for unemployed youths in the region, to make them selfreliant.

he people of Ogoniland have insisted that it is their turn to produce the next governor of Rivers State in 2015, saying they would not settle for anything other than that office.

The president, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, Mr. Legbosi Pyagbara, stated this yesterday at the Wesley Methodist Church, at MOSOP’s dedication service of the Ogoni Project 2015 in Bori, Khana local government area of Rivers State.

The theme of the event was “That We (Ogoni) May Be One.” Pyagbara appealed to the Ogoni to sink their differences and form a coalition geared towards Ogoniland producing Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s successor.

He added that the people had the advantage of using their years of struggle for justice and against environmental degradation in the area to rally the support of other areas to occupy the Brick House, the seat of power in the state.

“Let’s us culminate our struggle for justice, liberation and against economic and environmental degradation with the election of a governor in 2015 from Ogoniland.

“This is the best time for Ogoniland to produce the next governor of Rivers State. If we miss it this time, then, we will have to wait till 2023.

“For over 40 years, we have not been able to produce the governor of our state; we have not been able to produce a deputy governor; we have not been able to produce a speaker.

“At what time is Ogoniland expected to produce a governor in Rivers State? Why do the political parties think an Ogoni man or woman should not be governor?,” he stated Pyagbara stressed: “Why do the political parties think that Ogoniland is content with the position of Secretary to the Government?”

He reassured the people of Ogoniland that the surest way to attain the coveted position of governor was for the people to be united as a people and speak with one voice.

US varsity to honour Tess Onwueme

T

he University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, in the United States, will, on Saturday, October 18, 2014, host the celebration of archival collection in honour of Prof.

Tess Onwueme, its eminent professor of global letters.

In a statement by the university, the event is in recognition of “her exceptional achievements and contributions to world literature/ drama, the University of Wisconsin system, the Africana, and the world at large.

“To mark this historic event, international scholars, writers and speakers are expected to dialogue and participate in the celebration of the remarkable archival collection of the literary icon now being acquired by the University of Wisconsin, in addition to showcasing a production from Onwueme’s awardwinning plays during the event.

“As you are aware, Dr. On-

wueme is the recipient of several prestigious national and international awards, including the FonlonNichols Award, the Phyllis Wheatley/Nwapa Award for outstanding black writers, the Martin Luther King, Jr./Caeser Chavez Distinguished Writers Award, the African Distinguished Writers Award, and the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA Award.

“The archival collection, including the author’s original manuscripts, creative life-work and other materials related to her scholarly and professional career are being donated to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation.

“In turn, the materials would be given to the Special Collections and Archives Department of the university’s library and become a permanent resource for scholars, students, and teaching faculty across the world” it added.

12

North

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Maku set to quit cabinet Oct 20 ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

I

nformation Minister, Labaran Maku, is to resign his position in the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on October 20 for the realisation of his ambition to contest the governorship seat of Nasarawa State in 2015.

Maku, who spoke at a special mass thanksgiving at the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, St. Patrick’s Parish, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, said

by October 20, anyone in the cabinet interested in contesting election must step down.

Apart from Maku, other Ministers with gubernatorial ambition set to quit the Federal Executive Council include Senator Bala Muhammed (Federal Capital Territory), Chief Emeka Nwogu (Labour) and Kabiru Turaki (Special Duties).

Ministers of State that also have interest in becoming governors of their states are Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Defence), Mr. Nyesom Wike (Education), Dr. Samuel Ortom (Industry, Trade and Investment) and Bashir Yuguda (Finance).

The FCT Minister is nurs-

ing the ambition of becoming the governor of Bauchi State, Nwogu is eyeing the Abia Government House, Turaki is interested in taking over from Governor Saidu Dankingari in Kebbi State while Yuguda is nursing the ambition of becoming the next governor of Zamfara State.

For Obanikoro, the governorship seat of Lagos State is on his mind. He had earlier contested for the position on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in 2007 but lost to Babatunde Fashola of the then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, now All Progressives Congress, APC. Wike is interested in taking over from Governor Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State, Ortom wants to assume the position of Benue State governor in 2015 while Yuguda wants to be the next Zamfara State governor.

At the thanksgiving service yesterday, Maku stated that time had come to sacrifice the comfort of ministerial position at the centre and go into the wilderness to liberate his people and stop the killings and miscarriage of justice in Nasarawa State.

FCTA issues 44,501 number plates in 8 monthsa total of 1,505 renewed OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

T

he Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, said it issued a total of 44,501 number plates between January and August 10, this year.

Giving the breakdown after a meeting with some senior officials of the FCT Transportation Secretariat in Abuja, FCT minister Bala Mohammed said out of the figure, 31,417 were private, 12,987 commercial, 78 fancies and 19 out-of-series number plates.

The Minister disclosed that the FCT administration recently received additional 10,839 private number plates from the FRSC plant to take care of the ever-increasing demand for number plates in the territory.

Mohammed revealed that within the same period under review, the FCT administration issued 13,491 driver’s licences to qualified persons.

He further revealed that

driver’s licences have been issued to the successful applicants between August 9 and September 9, 2014.

In its efforts to ensure that only road worthy vehicles ply the roads and highways of the territory, the FCT administration has maintained routine inspection, pre-registration inspection, accident inspection and inspection for boarding of vehicles across the territory.

According to him, between August and September, more than 5,400 passed inspection for road worthiness while about 360 failed.

The Minister reiterated that 13 accident inspections and more than 2,755 preregistrations were carried out within the period under review to boost safety in the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the FCT. Mohammed noted that illegal motor parks were one of the major causes of traffic bottlenecks around the roundabouts and interchanges and assured that that it is being tackled.

L-R: Medical Director, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Taiwo Sheikh; Chairman, Board of Directors, Alhaji Lamaran Yero and District Head of Barnawa, Alhaji Kabir Zubairu, at a public lecture to mark the 2014 World Mental Health Day, in Kaduna, on Friday.

Flood destroys north-south rail track, traffic grounded

…nearby buildings, residents endangered WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

T

he Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, rail track that links southern and northern parts of the country has been washed off in Ilorin, Kwara State.

This has led to the stoppage of rail traffic between the two geo-political zones in the last 13 days.

In a chat with National Mirror at a temporary bridge construction site along Unity Road in the city, an engineer who is an Assistant Director with the NRC pleading anonym-

ity said a run-off water channelled from the GRA and Ajase Ipo Road, Ilorin by the state government caused the damage.

The repair work, which had made principal officers of NRC relocate to Ilorin from Lagos and Ibadan Headquarters when National Mirror visited the place on Sunday, was said to have included temporary girdle bridge that could not exceed six months and a six-metre span waterway as temporary measure.

Our correspondent learnt that to get a permanent solution to the problem, there must be a “re-

designed and constructed culvert with adequate capacity to accommodate storm water from the environment”.

It was also said that water gradient designs the state government did few years back was at variance with the NRC design which was gradually damaging the rail track until storm water occasioned by repeated torrential rains lately caused storm-water that subsequently washed it off.

It was learnt that more dangers still lie ahead for buildings around the track which may collapse soon as well as water discharges

would end up “undermining the structures and integrity of the buildings and possible loss of lives and properties.”

The NRC chief said despite the negative effects of the closure of north-south rail services on the federal and state governments, the state whose wrong channelisation caused the challenge had kept mute ignoring complaints by the NRC. Meanwhile, all passenger and freight trains from Lagos in the south and Kano in the north have been grounded in various stations, this reporter was further told.

Kwankwaso to declare presidential ambition Oct. 23 ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA

G

overnor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State has decided to go ahead with plans to publicly declare his presidential ambition on October 23.

Speaking yesterday on Kwankwaso’s plans for the presidential race, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, and one of his campaign coordinators who pleaded anonymity to newsmen in Abuja said barring any unforeseen circumstances, the governor will unveil his presidential campaign plan by next Thurs-

Kwankwaso

day.

He said the governor had embarked on nationwide consultations with party leaders and political stakeholders regarding the 2015 presidential election.

The source further dismissed reports that the governor may have slowed down his campaign due to pressures to yield ground to

Muhammadu Buhari, saying rather it is the former Head of State that should make way for a younger and more vibrant candidate in line with the need for generational shift.

“Inasmuch as we agree that Buhari is a man of integrity, you will also agree with me that age is not on his side. He is 73 going on 74 years and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar is about 70 years old. But Kwakwanso will be 58 by October 21.”

On Kwankwaso’s chances against the older and more established politicians in the race, the source said it was not true that the governor is a dark horse in the

contest.

According to him, Kwankwaso has had long years of experience in politics beginning in 1991 when he emerged the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Social Democratic Party.

The APC chieftain said contrary to popular belief in Buhari’s dominance in Kano today, Kwankwaso as governor was in total control of the party structures and commands the loyalty of most party men there.

He said if a politician’s pedigree is to be used as yardstick, the governor has done credibly well.

Monday, October 13, 2014

N

ewly sworn-in Governor of Adamawa State Barrister Bala James Ngillari, is yet to name his deputy.

Besides, he is also said to be faced with a major challenge in picking a candidate for the job, and, this development is caused by the disunity within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. One of the major constraints, the new governor is the demand by members of the state House of Assembly, who allegedly insisted that their “nominee” should get the plum job.

Barrister Ngillari, who is just settling down to the demands of his new office, is beginning to find the task of the office very demanding, particularly in handling the various interest groups in the state, who are at war with one another on who should produce his deputy.

This development has warranted a medley of meetings in Yola and Abuja by members of the PDP, to ensure amicable resolution of the issue, as indicated by the meeting of all the party stalwarts in Abuja over the weekend.

The meeting came on the heels of the balkanisation of the Adamawa State PDP over the choice of who becomes the deputy governor of the state.

Stakeholders in the state have being divided on some major political appointments to be made by the new governor of the state, the division has therefore splintered the state PDP into three interest groups in the state.

The balkanisation of the state chapter of the PDP into three interest groups has caused some party stakeholders to ask for the removal of state PDP chairman, Chief Joel Madaki.

A PDP, stalwart in the state, Chief Medan Teneke, said that the resultant contentions among the various interest groups in the party in the state stemmed from rebellion against Ngilari and lack of loyalty by the Madaki-led state executive against the new governor.

Madaki is allegedly accused by some big wigs in the party of being neck deep in the aspirations of the erstwhile acting governor, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, to rule the state and is still said to be tacitly supportive of the former acting governor actions and the activities of his group.

Teneke has hinged the removal of the state party chairman on insubordination, owing to his failure to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Governor Ngillari after the Abuja Federal High Court ruling, which ushered him in as the substantive governor of the state.

National Mirror reports that Chief Madaki and the entire members of the state executive committee had allegedly failed to turn up for Ngillari’s swearing-in, perhaps out of shock and in demonstration of their solidarity to the erstwhile acting governor over the sudden turn of events.

Meanwhile, Teneke’s outburst may however not be unconnected with the current tension in the party over who gets what, especially as the contending camps which have emerged battle to get their “nominee” for the post of the deputy governor.

Ngillari, who was sworn-in as governor of the state on Wednesday, October 8, apart from not naming his deputy, is also yet to make any pronouncement on any appointment into key position in his administration.

The only appointment he has made since becoming the state chief executive was that of his Chief of Staff, CoS, Alhaji Tijjani Chubado. This was followed with the summary sack of all political appointees as well as the swearing-in of a new acting Chief Judge for the state, Jutice Ishaya Banu.

Informed sources told National Mirror that names that have come up as possible occupant of the office of deputy to Ngilari include: son of former National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, Auwal Tukur; a former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Yola North/South/Girei federal constituency, M.C Tahir; former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Aliyu Idi

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

Adamawa deputy governorship: The trouble within LIVINUS MENEDI examines the intrigues and power play delaying the appointment of a substantive deputy to the Adamawa State Governor, Bala Ngilari.

Ngillari

Hong and the member representing Fufore/Gurin state constituency in the state Assembly, Musa Kabello.

All of these potentials have however heated up the polity, causing strains in the harmony displayed by the PDP in the build up to the October 11 botched governorship by-election, with their various interest groups and camps beating drums of war.

All of the camps, who are now at daggers drawn with one another, beside trying to outsmart one another, are also engaged in all manners of manoeuvres aimed at exploiting Ngillari’s alleged simplicity and softness.

National Mirror findings indicated that the desires of a faction amply co-ordinated by a minister from the state, loyal to Tukur to secure the nomination of Auwal as Ngillari’s deputy was scuttled by high-wired political manoeuvres by the faction which has the former acting governor and 19 other state legislators in cahoots with the state party chairman, who allegedly “boxed the governor to a corner to ensure they secure the plum post for one of their own”.

If things go the way the Fintiri/Madaki faction has anticipated, one member from among the 20 state legislators will assume the position of the deputy governor.

There are strong indications that the Adamawa State legislators have allegedly vowed not to cooperate with the new governor if their interest is not protected.

According to informed sources, the state lawmakers felt humiliated by the “way their own candidate, the acting governor whom they had supported, appeared to have been defeated” by the return of Ngillari as the governor.

They feel getting one of them from the House to occupy the number two seat will help to give them a sense of belonging in the government and assuage the feeling of humiliation in the face of emerging realities in the body polity.

However, the fierce battle over who gets what in the new dispensation has also drawn major stakeholders like Professor Jubril Aminu, Wilberforce Juta, Air Commodore

Fintiri

IF THINGS GO THE WAY THE FINTIRI/MADAKI FACTION HAS ANTICIPATED, ONE MEMBER FROM AMONG THE

20 STATE LEGISLATORS WILL ASSUME THE POSITION OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR Dan Suleiman and other eminent political figures in the state into the fray. Professor Aminu, who any day would always look to favour his political protégé, Dr. Hong, it appears has the backing of his clique of elders, would not have to look far and wide for a nominee as their camp is already primed by the former Education and Petroleum Minister to support Hong.

But it appears as time ticks away, and the pressure mounts by the day and with the bar of performance appearing to have been raised by Rt. Hon. Fintiri, during his short stint as acting governor, the people expect a quick resolution of every political bottleneck and the government getting back on track and settling down to real governance.

Against this back ground, Ngillari’s slow-pace response at over-coming this governance challenge will however, lend credence to what his detractors have called “his alleged indecisiveness,” which many of political opponents have often advanced as his “weakness.”

The earlier this contentious issue is resolved amicably without upsetting the apple cart in Adamawa State, the better, not only for the Ngilari governorship, but the people of the state.

14

Politics

Monday, October 13, 2014

Groups support Dominic’s governorship ambition EBERE NDUKWU

G

overnorship aspiration of Michael Adegbola Dominic, one of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, aspirants in Lagos, got a boost yesterday as two non- government organisations, NGOs, Action Against Impunity and Corruption in Governance, AACIG, and Women Development Initiative for Freedom, WDIF. The groups affirmed their full support for his candidature, positing that the PDP in Lagos will do itself a lot of good by fielding Dominic as its standard bearer.

At a joint press confer-

ence yesterday, where the two NGOs made their position on the forthcoming governorship election in Lagos known, they added that Dominic stands out among other aspirants who have shown interest in the ticket in all ramifications.

AACIG president, Austin Emmanuel, said it has observed Dominic’s track records as a politician and medical practitioner for over a decade and has found out that he is an honest and unblemished politician whose sole aim of vying for the highest office in Lagos is to “establish justice and create an enabling environment for the downtrodden masses in Lagos.

“Not only did this highly

experienced politician and medical practitioner supported various anti-corruption agencies in the country with financial assistance, he also personally instituted several cases such as the perjury case against former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu.”

He therefore urged Lagosians and non-Lagosians who want true change to support his ambition for the realisation of the Lagos of our dream, urging PDP to consider him as its candidate because he towers above all the other aspirants in terms of experience, maturity and pedigree.

WDIF director, Angela Dada- Johnson said her group is supporting Domi-

nic’s ambition because they trust he will give equal representation to women if he eventually becomes the governor of the state.

She said: “Dr. Dominic has done a lot for women through his profession.

Testimonies abound of how he has given succour to lots of women, especially widows who visited his Santa Maria hospital, attending to their need free of charge, without taking a kobo. Many of these people told us that they are alive today because God used him to save their lives. This is the kind of man we want at the helm of affairs in Lagos, so that he can do much more.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LP elects national officers HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

F

ormer National Secretary of the Labour Party, LP, Abdulkadir Salaam, has emerged as the new National Chairman of the party at its 4th National Convention held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Salaam, unanimously elected to steer the affairs of the party for the next four years, replaced Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, who stepped down after spending 10 years as the party’s chairman.

Also, Barrister Kayode Ajulo emerged as the National Secretary, while other members of the National Executive Committee, NEC, elected unopposed include: Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi, National Vice Chairman SouthWest; Alhaji Mohammed Momoh, National Vice Chairman North-East; Umaru Mohammed, National Vice Chairman, North-West. Mrs Oluchi Opara, National Treasurer and Mrs Ebele Ifendu, National Publicity secretary.

Others include: Clement Ojukwu, National Organising Secretary, Akin

Oyelakin, National Legal Adviser, Alhaja Abimbola Ogunlade, National Women Leader while Maria Lebeke became new National Auditor.

Salaam promised to continue to steer the ship of the party towards development by making the party attractive to politicians across the country, commending Nwanyanwu for taking the party to its present height and assured that he will continue to follow his footsteps to make the party one of the best in the country.

Soliciting for the support of past leaders and members, he urged them to redouble their effort by continuing to build the party, saying the party will soon be a beautiful bride to politicians by providing a strong platform and structure that election can be won.

He said: “We must continue building the party; we must embark on real mobilisation and make LP a better platform and better alternative for politicians.”

Former LP Chairman, Nwanyanwu was elected as member of its Board of Trustees, BoT.

...Remains alternative platform for Nigerians –Bamidele L-R: Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial aspirants, Engr. Seyi Makinde, Senator Ayo Adeseun and former Deputy Governor, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi, at the party’s South West Delegate Conference in Ibadan, yesterday.

Onyebuchi not fit for gov –Ebonyi PDP stakeholders ADEOLA TUKURU ABUJA

S

takeholders of Ebonyi State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has expressed dismay over the alleged adoption of Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, as the next governor of the state, saying that he is not qualified to be ‘imposed’ on the people.

Concerned citizens of Ebonyi and PDP members, among whom were: Chinedu Nwoye, Ben Bright Mpkuma, John Okpo and Dr. Jerry Uhuo, at the weekend in Abuja, said the decision was taken without the knowledge, approval and consent of the youths, leaders of thoughts, stakeholders and the state executive of the PDP. They said: “It is impor-

tant to point out that this announcement of Professor Chukwu as the purported consensus candidate of the PDP took place at a sallah get together organised by the state governor, Chief Martin Elechi.

“Party leaders are expected to emerge through due process and through conventions and congresses. The development is shocking and unac-

ceptable as the so-called consensus candidate is believed to be unknown to be a PDP card carrying member.

“Prof Chukwu is a strange-element in the PDP. He is essentially a civil servant. If he is interested in seeking the office of governor, he should submit himself to party primaries organised for that purpose.”

2015: Dankwambo to announce intention soon DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

F

ollowing the vote of confidence passed on Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the governor has promised to make known his intension towards the

2015 elections soon.

Reacting to the confidence vote passed on him by the party, the governor said that what transpired was not an endorsement of him as the sole candidate for the party in the next election.

Gombe PDP had last Wednesday, after its State Executive Council, SEC,

meeting, said it was supporting the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate for the 2015 election.

At a press conference addressed by Senator Joshua Lidani, representing Gombe South senatorial district, PDP said it endorsed Governor Dankwambo as its sole candi-

date for the governorship election next year However, on arrival from this year’s Hajj, Dankwambo told journalists in an interview yesterday that the party only passed a vote of confidence on him for his efforts in the governance of the state and did not an endorse him as the party’s sole candidate for the 2015 election.

ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

H

ouse of Representatives member and governorship standard bearer of LP in the June 21 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, Hon Opeyemi Bamidele, has declared that the successful conduct of the LP National Convention on Saturday had put the records straight that the party has not gone into extinction in Nigeria, following the defection of some bigwigs.

He declared that “the LP is an alternative platform that is ready to stand against any storm for the survival of the country’s fledging democracy,” adding that no challenge would make the party go into oblivion.

Insinuations were rife across the country last week that the defection of the LP National Leader and governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun

Mimiko to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, signalled the end of the party in the country.

But Bamidele, in a statement in Ado Ekiti yesterday by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, said: “LP is a party that is ready to give every Nigerian the alternative platform to contest for any elective position. We believe that no challenge is worth the death of any party, except when those within are not committed.

“But, as leaders, we have to sacrifice our conveniences and comforts to ensure that no Nigerian is deprived of his fundamental rights.

“We are proud to say that the LP in Nigeria remains solid and maintains unwavering commitment to the development of our democracy.

No ambition of individual is worth the death of any party, particularly the LP, because it is ideologically-based.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Monday, October 13, 2014

15

Preventing disasters through regulated public life Mirror of the moment ABDUL-WAREES A SOLANKE korewarith@yahoo.com, 08090585723 (SMS only)

I

t was on account of recent tragic incidents in the country, especially the destruction of religious and residential houses and accompanied death of scores of lives that I established the thesis in my recent article that tragedy or exploitation always lurks public life is left unregulated.

The cost, I concluded in that piece, are blood and tears.

Often caught flat-footed by many tragic incidents, Nigeria is derided by sundry commentators as been master of fire brigade approach to addressing public challenges, and that we relish soaking ourselves in medicine after avoidable death.

Such appellation of course is an indictment of policy practice and regulatory processes in the country. The onus is now on the nation’s policy community to review various aspects of our public life to arrive at pragmatic solutions and regulations to many issues that usually snowball into crises and tragedies.

From environmental protection to food and drug control, and from traffic regulation, physical planning and urban development to social welfare, etc, there

are standards, procedures and specifications that ought to be observed. There are mechanisms and agencies for ensuring compliance and enforcement. There are self-regulatory mechanisms by the respective players. In addition, there should be incentives and encouragements for the public to comply voluntarily.

Why then do we get things wrong in spite of the existence of government agencies and professional bodies, as well as huge investment in acquiring necessary monitoring facilities and training of officials? One or a combination of the following indices is likely to be responsible: corruption, confusion and contempt.

When licensing and approval processes are corrupted or compromised, misfits and quacks become the dominant players in service provision. Incompetent advisers and unqualified researchers dominate as project consultants. LPO merchants gain ground as big contractors, and the nation is left at the mercy murderers in search of fortune. But government regulatory agencies also need to audit the fibre of their bureaucrats and ensure that they are impervious to corruption. This is not a matter of just being well-remunerated, it is also of awareness of the graveness of their responsibility in preserving and protecting life and property in the country.

In some instances, it is neither the fault of victims nor of the offenders that tragedies are recorded, but because of the confusion in our regulatory environment.

Where we do not have uniform laws and

HEAVY LEVIES AND FINES, FROM EXPERIENCES IN MANY

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DETER VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE guidelines, for instance between state and national regulatory agencies or where there is duplicity of functions and responsibilities among various agencies, the citizens are left to grope and take the easy way out, usually in non-compliance with rules and regulations on the excuse of ignorance.

In my estimation, the solution is not in just prosecuting and fining offenders, but in harmonizing conflicting laws and regulations on the one hand, and on the other hand, aligning responsibilities among regulatory and monitoring agencies. If this would mean mergers or total wind down of some agencies, so be it, in so far as the public good would be better served.

It is saddening that many enforcement and regulatory agencies are only active during national emergencies, and once normalcy returns, they are off the public radar until another season of anguish, bloodbath and tears. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that regulatory agencies continuously engage the public by widely communicating their programmes and activities and the benefits of their operations. They should keep the public informed of trends, practices and technolo-

gies for prevention and mitigation in their peculiar briefs.

If ignorance is not tenable before the law, what about the contempt of law? Really, many infractions of regulations in our public life result from contempt, either because they are out of tune with realities of our socio-cultural milieu or they are too punitive, instead of being genuinely redeeming. The reason for this aberration is they are often targeted at driving revenue for the government! Heavy levies and fines, from experiences in many developing countries, deter voluntary compliance.

Rather, they open widows of compromise and corruption.

Ideally, regulations should be simple, transparent, but sufficiently deterring; and when they entail charges, they should be structured in a way that its essence is not defeated. One other fact about regulation of public life we must take seriously is the need to always engage all the necessary stakeholders. Robust understanding of the essence of a policy or regulation would facilitate the cascading of information concerning it to win public support.

There is no doubt that Nigeria does not lack relevant regulations to address many of her public problems, at least from the avalanche of policy documents, enactments of the parliaments and other international codes to which the nation subscribes. What we need is getting serious and proactive, not necessarily harsh or vindictive. We must not wait for disasters to happen before we take action.

Steps to becoming a better listener SANDRA AKUOMA

T

his is the last of a four piece article.

Good eye contact, leaning forward, nodding your head, and making encouraging gestures, indicate interest and attention. Keep your body relaxed and focus on the speaker during conversation. Avoid crossed arms and legs, clenched fists, turning the eyes/head/body away. This shows you are not interested in the discussion.

Avoid distracting behaviours, such as talking to your help, driver, nanny, watching TV, mobile phones, on computers/tablets/ ipads during conversation. These make it difficult for you to listen; and you distract the speaker! Also bear in mind that shyness, uncertainty, shame, guilt,etc, along with cultural taboos, can inhibit eye contact in some people under some circumstances. Excuse the other person, but stay focused.

Now that you’ve made eye contact, relax.

You don’t have to stare fixedly at the other person. You can look away now and then and carry on like a normal person. The important thing is to be attentive. Mentally screen out distractions, like background activity and noise. In addition, try not to focus on the speaker’s accent or speech mannerisms to the point where they become distractions. Finally, don’t be distracted by your own thoughts, feelings, or biases.

Listen without judging the other person, or mentally criticizing the things he/she tells you; you never know you can learn a

EMPATHY IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF GOOD LISTENING; IT IS A

GENEROUS AND HELPFUL THING TO DO thing or two. If what she says alarms you, go ahead and feel alarmed, but don’t say to yourself, “Well, that was a stupid move”.

Let the other person know you value what he or she is saying, even if you don’t agree.

Try to avoid responding negatively, for example criticizing, ridiculing, dismissing, diverting (talking about yourself rather than about what the other person has said) or rejecting the other person or what he/ she is saying. As soon as you start being judgmental, you’ve compromised your effectiveness as a listener.

Allow your mind to create a mental model of the information being communicated.

Whether a literal picture, or an arrangement of abstract concepts, your mind is powerful so it will do the necessary work if you stay focused, with all your senses fully alert. When listening for long stretches, concentrate on and remember key words and phrases. When it’s your turn to listen, don’t spend the time planning what to say next. You can’t rehearse and listen at the same time. Think only about what the other person is saying.

Finally, concentrate on what is being said, even if it bores you. If your thoughts start

to wander, like thinking about what you are going to have for lunch or wear for the next wedding party, immediately force yourself to refocus. Allow the other person to talk without interruption until he or she gets to the point. Let him/her finish before attacking. Try to avoid giving unwanted advice or direction unless the person specifically requests it from you. For example, if a friend or co-worker simply wants to ventilate hi/ her anger about an incident, he/she may not appreciate you giving unwanted advice about how you feel he/she should feel.

When you don’t understand something, of course, tell the speaker to explain it to you. But rather than interrupt, wait until the speaker pauses. Then say something like, “hope you don’t mind?” “I didn’t understand what you just said about…”

If you feel sad when the person with whom you are talking expresses sadness, joyful when he/she expresses joy, fearful when he/she describes her fears, convey those feelings through your facial expressions and words. That way, your effectiveness as a listener is assured. Empathy is the heart and soul of good listening, it is a generous and helpful thing to do, and it facilitates communication like nothing else does. This is also a practical demonstration of us loving our neighbours.

Show that you understand where the speaker is coming from by reflecting the speaker’s feelings. Like saying “You must be thrilled!” “What a terrible ordeal for you.” “I can see that you are confused.” If the speaker’s feelings are hidden or unclear,

then occasionally paraphrase the content of the message. Or just nod and show your understanding through appropriate facial expressions and an occasional well-timed “hmmm” or “uh huh” “ok”,” “abi” or I can imagine”. These encourage your person to speak, and they show that you are interested in the discussion.

If you exclude email, social networking, the majority of direct communication is probably non-verbal. We learn a great deal of information about each other without saying a word. Even over the telephone, you can learn almost as much about a person from the tone of the voice than from anything said. Face to face with a person, you can detect enthusiasm, boredom, or irritation very quickly in the expression around the eyes, the set of the mouth, the slope of the shoulders. These are clues you can’t ignore. When listening, remember that words convey only a fraction of the message.

Remember our bad listening skills will not stop overnight, it requires patience, persistence practice; it’s a journey.

Akuoma wrote from Lagos via sanlifepointers@hotmail.com

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

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

16

Editorial

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

KAFILAT OGBARA

MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO

SUNDAY OLAJIDE

DEPUTY MD/CEO

SEYI FASUGBA

DAILY EDITOR

GBEMI OLUJOBI

SATURDAY EDITOR

KAYODE FASUA

ACTING EDITOR, SUNDAY

AYO OLESIN

GENERAL EDITOR

BEN MEMULETIWON

GENERAL EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA

COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

CALLISTUS OKE

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

ISE-OLUWA IGE

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

FIDELIS LEMCHI OWOAMANAM

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, S/SOUTH

GABRIEL SUNDAY

ACTING HEAD, GRAPHICS

States and internally generated revenue capacity

O

ne of the key recommendations from the recently concluded National Conference was the creation of more states to address some perceived shortcomings in the present 36-state structure. However, the situation in most of the states today in terms of finances makes the case for more states most untenable in a federal structure where states are supposed to be largely autonomous, especially in financial terms.

The Nigerian scenario is far from the conventional norm.

Latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the internally generated revenue capacity of the 36 states only confirm that most states cannot survive without the monthly statutory allocations from Abuja, which is largely funded from crude oil sales and taxes like VAT, etc.

The NBS revealed, for example, that in 2003, Lagos State alone generated about N384.26 billion internally for that year, representing 65.4 percent of the N587.61 billion IGR mobilised by 14 states of the 36 states.

The NBS figures, which cover a four-year period (2010-2013), showed that none of the other states was able to generate up to N100 IGR in any given year. During the period under review, Lagos State collections stood at N992.12 billion. The

state collected N185.89 billion in 2010; N202.76 billion in 2011; N219.20 billion in 2012 and N384.26 billion last year.

Rivers State came a distant second with total revenue accruals of N87.91 billion in 2013, compared with the N66.28 billion it collected in 2012. The Bureau reported N8.73 billion and N8.49 billion IGR collections for Anambra and Plateau states respectively, in 2013. In 2012, Anambra collected N7.60 billion, compared to the N6.15 billion it raked in 2011. In 2010, the state’s IGR value stood at N7.68 billion.

Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kano, Ekiti, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Sokoto and Yobe states had abysmal IGR records from 2011 to 2013. The reasons for this poor IGR performance in most states of the federation are easily decipherable. The Federal Government itself had set a bad example by remaining over-reliant on oil revenues to fund its operations, neglecting taxes for many years. While improvement in tax collection mechanism, including an incentive-based scheme for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has boosted government’s non-oil receipts, most states depend heavily on the statutory revenue allocation from the Federation Account

NO STATE CAN LAY CLAIM TO AUTONOMY OR DELIVER THE REQUIRED SOCIAL GOOD FOR CITIZENS WITHOUT AN EFFECTIVE TAX SYSTEM for financial survival. Many of them could only pay workers’ salaries and fund overheads, after which they have little or nothing left to invest in social infrastructure. Even the socalled rich states like Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom rely mainly on their 13 percent oil derivation revenues from the same Federation Account to lay claim to such rich status.

The apparent lack of initiative and enterprise in most Government Houses in terms of being creative in internal revenue generation to boost earnings profiles as against their perpetual dependence on monthly allocation from the Federation Account, is one of the reasons why governors are still insisting that excess crude revenues should be shared instead of being saved for the rainy day.

Most states, in dire financial

ON THIS DAY October 13, 1976 The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, who was then working at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national public health institute in the United States. Ebola virus disease (EVD), Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), or simply Ebola, is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an Ebola virus. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus.

Letters tothe theEditor Editor Letters to

October 13, 1990 End of Lebanese Civil War: Syrian forces launched an attack on the free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace. The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon lasting from 1975 to 1990; and resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. Today, approximately 76,000 people remain displaced within; in addition to the mass exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.

strait, have had to embark on illegalities, such as replicating taxes already within the purview of the FG or local governments, to shore up their finances. In some states, especially those in the North, government cannot even collect taxes for fear of political backlash, since basic services are lacking and citizens do not see the point in paying. Lagos was able to raise IGR by the carrot and stick approach, including educating citizens of the need to pay such statutory tariffs, showing what taxpayers funds are used for and tightening the screws on defaulters, even though the general rate of avoidance and default remains high.

The Lagos approach can be borrowed by other states, since it is clear that oil revenues are subject to market-driven fluctuations and no state can lay claim to autonomy or deliver the required social good for citizens without an effective tax system. It is IGR that can make a state viable and selfsustaining. We also believe that states can free up more funds for development and other critical needs if they curtail lavish spending on luxuries and inanities, including retinues of needless aides and foreign trips, as well as block all sources of leakages that characterise government’s fiscal operations at all levels.

x October 13, 2010 The 2010 Copiapo mining accident in Copiapo, Chile, came to an end when all the 33 miners affected arrived at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue. The mining accident, also known then as the “Chilean mining accident”, began in the afternoon of Thursday, August 5, 2010, as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San Jose copper–gold mine.

A2 18

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover

AMCON vs Bi-Courtney:

Legal fireworks continue over N50bn debt controversy After losing the legal battle to take over the assets and concessionary powers of Bi-Courtney to discontinue with managing the MMA 2 as a result of its inability to pay an alleged N50billion debt, another court has ruled that AMCON and indeed the Federal government are the ones owing Bi-Courtney to the tune of N132billion. But AMCON is back in court to set the stage for another round of legal battle. Thus, the question many stakeholders are asking now is: How far can AMCON go?

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

T

his might not be the best of time for the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), reason being that shortly after the asset managers went to town with the news of securing a court order to take over the concessionary powers of BiCourtney to continue managing the MMA 2 over its inability to pay an alleged N50billion debt owe the asset managers, another court has ruled that AMCON and in fact the Federal government were the ones owing Bi-

Courtney just after its proprietor, Dr. Wale Babalakin(SAN) appealed the judgement at the Federal High Court in Lagos The stormy clouds, which had gathered for about seven years has been blown away by Justice Ibrahim Buba judgement who described steps taken by AMCON’s lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba, as a gross abuse of court process.

Justice Buba had in his September 29, 2014 ruling vacated the order made by Justice Okon Abang empowering AMCON to take over the assets of BiCourtney over the contentious

N50 billion debts.

Justice Abang had ruled that Bi-Courtney’s account in banks be frozen with immediate effect. AMCON was also empowered to take over three other giant companies namely Chartered Investment Limited, Resort International Limited and Roygate properties, all belonging to Dr. Babalakin.

Justice Abang also ordered AMCON to take over the Old Federal Secretariat building Ikoyi, Lagos, belonging to Roygate Properties in pursuant to a concessionary agreement between Roygate and the Federal Government.

Babalakin

The court empowered Agbakoba to commence a recovery process with a view to recovering the companies’ assets and enforcing the liability of individual shareholders and directors. Specifically, the court mandated Agbakoba to manage the companies’ affairs so as to recover debts owed AMCON. Agbakoba swiftly declared himself in several paid newspaper advertorials as the receiver of MMA2, the only successful concession company in the country.

But in setting aside the Justice Abang order, Justice Buba upheld Babalakin’s position that AMCON and the Federal Government of Nigeria owe the terminal operators, Bi-Courtney Limited, N132billion, which has remained unpaid till date.

In its submission before Justice Buba, Bi-Courtney contended that Agbakoba obtained the order by concealing the existence of two court orders since 2011 in suit numbers: FHC/L/ CS/1305/2011 and FHC/L/ CS/1306/2011, which specifically restrained the Federal Government and AMCON from interfering with operations and finances of Bi-Courtney Limited and Resort International limited as well as their related or associated companies.

The judge, in his ruling, agreed with Bi-Courtney’s position and categorically affirmed that the order obtained by Ag-

bakoba on behalf of AMCON constituted a gross abuse of the process of court and was designed to ridicule the legal system. He further declared the order a nullity ab-initio, which means that in the eye of the law it never existed in the first place and any action taken by AMCON or its counsel, or purported receiver, further to the illegal order is also a nullity.

Clearly, the position of BiCourtney has always been that it is not indebted to AMCON or any person claiming through AMCON in any manner whatsoever, that on the contrary, it is AMCON and the Federal Government of Nigeria that owe it N132billion.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, the company accused the AMCON of insincerity, breach of trust and feeding Nigerians with falsehood.

The Head of Litigation, Babalakin and Co., Tola Oshobi, who stated these also called for an independent investigation, adding that AMCON should be sanctioned for spreading falsehood to the public.

According to the company, the assertion that Bi-Courtney is indebted to AMCON was nothing but mere allegation, which has not been confirmed by any court.

It accused the corporation of using the media to scandanlise the company and its owner, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) with

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

Mustafa Chike-Obi, AMCON Boss

screaming headlines.

Oshobi said even though the company took loans from banks to build the MM2, it could have paid it if the federal government had kept to the agreement it signed with the company.

He contended that the refusal of the government to concede the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) to the company in breach of the agreement they reached was the major reason why the company could not pay all the loans.

Besides, the company lamented that more than two years after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered federal government to pay the sum of N132 billion to Bi-Courtney, the judgment was yet to be obeyed.

He said the company won several cases against the federal government at both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

The judgment had also directed the federal government to deduct and remit to AMCON from the judgment sum, any claims due to AMCON and remit the balance to Bi-Courtney.

He said if AMCON really wants any money from the company concerning the indebtedness, as an agency of the federal government, it knows what to do.

According to Oshobi “the position of Bi-Courtney is that it is not indebted to AMCON and the reason is that there is a sub-

sisting judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja that expressly awarded damages in the sum of N132 billion to Bi-Courtney and against the federal government.’’ ‘’The same judgment specifically said that whatever claims AMCON has against Bi-Courtney should be deducted from the debt the federal government owes Bi-Courtney and remit the balance to Bi-Courtney.’’

Oshobi said the debt owed the company by the federal government was predicated on the breach of an agreement between the firm and the government.

He pointed out that that the refusal of the federal government to hand over the old domestic terminal of the Lagos airport was responsible for the default in the firm paying the loan it took from a consortium of banks.

Besides, Oshobi described the purported takeover of the MM2 terminal and the old Federal Secretariat in Lagos by AMCON as a contrived reckless action and a deliberate assault on the integrity of the judicial system by the corporation and its appointed receiver.

The company stated that the assertion by AMCON that BiCourtney and its associated entities have signed an offer Letter with AMCON which constitute an admission of liability in the sum of N50 billion was not sin-

cere.

He added that an offer letter being paraded by AMCON is non-binding on it as the condition precedent had not been met.

According to Oshobi, “Every second year law student in any university that has studied contract law knows that it is elementary that when an agreement is made contingent on the occurrence of certain conditions precedent, that agreement does not become enforceable or binding until the occurrence of those event(s). The question AMCON needs to answer is which, if any, of these conditions precedent have been fulfilled?’’

“Bi-Courtney went into the concession for the development of the burnt terminal of the airport on build, operate and transfer bases. The understanding is that Bi-Courtney would source the funds to build the airport and run it for a number of years to recover its investment.’’

He said: “Part of the understanding is that all flights in and out of Lagos would be operated to and from that terminal during the life of the concession and this is because it is the only way Bi-Courtney can recover its revenue. But right from the commencement of the concession, the federal government was in breach. At a point about 70 per cent of passengers were

routed through MMA2 contrary to the agreement and we were losing huge revenue.’’

From day one of the concession agreement he said, the Federal Government started breaching, for instance, Clause 2 of the agreement expressly provided that all domestic flights shall operate from MM2, but that the clause was ignored, with attendant monumental losses to Bi-Courtney.

He added: “We are not here for propaganda, but we are here for the truth and the truth must be known not because of Bi-Courtney, not because of Dr Babalakin, but because of Nigerians who are suffering underdevelopment due to lack of projects.

“So many projects in Nigeria will never start because those behind it have to be on suicide mission to start it, otherwise if they are not, then they must be checked. So for us, this is a battle for Nigerians,” Oshobi clarified.

Going into details, he explained that from day one, only Chachangi Airline moved to MM2, while Aero, Virgin and Arik Airlines operated from old terminal and International wing, contrary to the agreement that all domestic flights must operate from MM2.

After a sustained battle, Oshobi recalled that Virgin and Aero eventually moved to MM2, but Arik moved to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), also in contravention of the agreement.

He added that the most painful aspect was that the Federal Government encouraged the breach of the agreement.

This development, Oshobi recalled, later prompted his company to approach an Arbitral Panel in 2008 as provided in the agreement, and that the position of Bi-Courtney was upheld by the Arbitral Panel.

The decision of the Arbitral Panel was approved by the Federal High Court, while six appeals were filed by the Federal Government, aviation unions and the companies affected.

Oshobi added that over a period of four years, all the six appeals were dismissed.

Rather than complying with the judgment Oshobi said the Federal Government through the Federal Aiport Authority (FAAN) decided to redevelop the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which had equally been concessioned to Bi-Courtney by virtue of the agreement.

He said he was constrained to come out with the true position for Nigerians to realise the level of injustice, which had been meted to him and his companies.

He said the judgment where it was held that Federal Government owed him N132 billion was delivered in 2012, and that according to recent calcu-

A3 19

lations, the debt had risen to about N300 billion.

Going by the submissions of parties involved in the dispute, it is becoming clearer that the Federal Government had its own game plan shortly after MMA2 started operations in May 2007.

Business Courage learnt that the concession agreement provided for a coordinating committee with three representatives from the Federal Government and three from the concessionaire. The committee is to serve as an arbitration body to settle disputes between the parties.

Based on allegations that there were a series of breaches on the part of the Federal Government, the concessionaire approached the arbitration body, stating that it has been denied the exclusivity clause and several revenue sources in the concession agreement.

Bi-Courtney is expected to make its revenue from passenger traffic, cargo handling, parking space, advertisements, space rental, and fuel surcharge on every litter of petrol sold, among others, as these were the revenue streams on which a consortium of banks had based their financial projections and assumptions before they granted the firm a loan to build the terminal.

The firm submitted to the arbitration body that the Federal Government was maliciously blocking these revenue streams by providing another terminal for the biggest airline operators.

Arik, and Virgin Atlantic, which later turned to Air Nigeria, were controlling between 60 to 70 per cent of the market, and they were initially allowed to operate from the International Airport terminal.

Even, when Air Nigeria eventually moved to MMA2, the Federal Government allowedArik and some other airlines to move their operations to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), which is next door to MMA2, and should have been part of the concessionaire’s terminal under the agreement.

The firm also submitted that the spaces being let out at the GAT should have been part of its revenue, and that the government has also been denying it of revenue from advertisement space, fuel surcharge, and several other sources.

Although the firm claimed that it had never had up to 50 per cent of the revenue it was supposed to be making from the terminal, it had paid over N11billion of its debts to the banks before the debts were transferred to AMCON. The dispute was eventually resolved in favour of Bi-Courtney.

The unanimous decision of Continued on pg A4

A4 20

Business Courage

Continued from pg A3 the coordinating committee was that the Federal Government was in breach of the agreement; that it should hand over the GAT to Bi-Courtney, and ensure that all domestic flights originate from the concessionaire’s terminal.

Despite the fact that the Federal Government was adequately represented at the arbitration panel, its agencies refused to comply with the resolution.

This development made Bi-Courtney to seek redress at the court.

After a review of the case, the court found that all the decisions of the coordinating committee were correct, and it reaffirmed the decision in a 2011 judgement.

The court also asked the government to forward an account of all the revenues it has made, and Bi-Courtney was asked to present an account of all the revenue it has lost as a direct result of the breaches.

Bi-Courtney complied, and the Federal Government did not. The court thereafter awarded N132billion to BiCourtney to compensate for the breaches.

Dissatisfied with Justice Buba’s order, AMCON, through its lawyer, Agbakoba, filed a notice of appeal and formulated four grounds before the appellate court.

According to AMCON, the fresh application became necessary owing to the need to “restrain the respondents (BiCourtney Group) from dissipating their assets and rendering nugatory the possible outcome of the appeal at the Court of Appeal”.

AMCON insisted that the Federal High Court had a duty to stay further proceedings in the suit pending appeal to avoid foisting a fait accompli on the Court of Appeal.

According to the first ground of the appeal, Agbakoba argued that Justice Buba erred in law and misdirected himself when he heard and granted the oral application of lawyers to the Bi-Courtney Group to vacate the receivership, possession and freezing orders made by Justice Abang on September 22 without such application being fixed for hearing.

He contended that Part XIV of AMCON Practice Directions, 2013 was clear that all applications other than a simple application must be filed and served on each party before hearing.

In ground two, the appellant (AMCON) argued that Justice Buba equally erred and misapplied the law when he held that the orders of Justice Abang amounted to abuse of court process, as the cause of action in the suit before Justice Buba was different from that which Justice Abang based his orders.

Besides, the appellant added that there was a full disclosure of all relevant materials and facts at the time Justice Abang was moved to grant the orders, and as such Justice Buba was legally wrong to arrive at the conclusion that AMCON misled Justice Abang.

In ground three, AMCON averred that Justice Buba was equally wrong when he held that the discharge of Justice Abang’s orders had concluded the suit, as Sections 49 and 50 of AMCON Act allows the appellant a period of 14 days from the date an order is granted to file a debt recovery action.

In ground four, the appellant submitted that Justice Buba also erred in law by setting aside Justice Abang’s orders when, in fact, the oral application before him by lawyers to the Bi-Courtney Group were only for suspension of the execution of the said Justice Abang’s orders pending the hearing of an application to set aside the said orders. BC

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News tion with activities every day to give our loyal customer the Sterling Bank customer experience.

To demonstrate the Bank’s commitment to reward loyalty, Atilola said the bank gave out various gift items to the customers in all branches nationwide.

Some of the items included hand sanitizers, branded phones, petts tablets, pocket cards, tv sets, fridges and other items.

Atilola

Sterling Bank appreciate customers with gifts Stories by Adejuwon Osunnuyi

S

terling Bank added a new dimension to the Customer Service Week celebrations as it gave out various gift items to its walk-in customers in all parts of the country.

Besides, the bank said the week has also provided it the opportunity to raise companywide awareness of the importance of customer service and reward customer loyalty.

The Customer Service Week is a week-long opportunity to raise awareness of customer service and the vital roles it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the economy. This year edition was celebrated worldwide between October 5 and 10.

Shina Atilola, Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications in a statement said: “Our success story so far is attributed to the overwhelming support we have received from our customers. This is why we consider them the most important to us and hence the reason for us as a responsible financial institution to celebrate them during the Customers Service Week”.

The Bank’s spokeperson said that Sterling Bank has remained consistent in the provision of quality customer service excellence across its service points and “we are using the celebration to leverage on our planned enhanced customer service initiatives during the week”.

Some of these initiatives, according to him will include the opening of additional branches to take the Bank’s quality banking products and services to the door steps of our customers, development of additional customer oriented products and services and deployment of additional ATM points to ensure that customers have access to the Bank’s ATMs at no additional cost.

Atilola assured that the bank will continue to celebrate its customers and provide unparalleled banking services to ensure that their expectations are met at all times.

His words: “At Sterling Bank, we view Customer Service Week as prime time to recognize our awesome customers through a week-long celebra-

New ATM Policy: Sterling Bank deploys additional ATMs to protect customers’ interest

T

o cushion the effect of the perceived reintroduction of the ATM charge of N65 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Remote-on-Us ATM transactions on its customers, Sterling Bank has announced the deployment of additional ATM points nationwide thereby increasing its footprint at existing and new locations.

The Bank said that additional ATMs would be added to existing branches while ATM Galleries will be put in place in strategic locations nationwide. A robust infrastructure to support the expansion has also been put in place, the Bank said.

Remote-on-Us transaction occurs when a card holder goes to the ATM of a Bank other than his or her own bank to make a withdrawal. The card holder will be charged N65 after making three withdrawals from such ATMs after a given month. The Bank where his or her account is domiciled will be responsible for the payment of the charge of N65 for the first three withdrawals from another bank’s ATM. While speaking against the backdrop of insinuations that the charge was initially removed by the apex bank in December 2012, Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Shina Atilola explained that “the charge payment was never suspended by the CBN. Rather, the responsibility for absorbing the charge was transferred to the commercial banks to pay on behalf of their customers” to encourage the use of ATMs by Nigerians.

“It is true that some members of the public have indicated that the policy may discourage the use of ATMs. However, this is largely due to the insufficient awareness of the facts.” He said.

He explained further, “Firstly, the three free withdrawals from other bank’s ATMs is monthly – meaning that you withdraw cash from other banks’ ATMs three times every month without being charged. Secondly, all withdrawals from your bank’s ATMs would continue to be free. Finally, the reduction in the financial burden borne by banks would encourage banks to increase ATM deployment which further makes their banks closer to them.”

Atilola disclosed that Sterling Bank has commenced aggressive roll out of ATMs nationwide. His words: “We have almost doubled our ATM count between December last year and September 2014. We started the year with 300 ATMs but aim to close the year with about 1000. This would involve additional deployments at existing locations, partner locations and ATM galleries” He also stressed that the public needed to know that beyond cash withdrawals, customers could do transfers (inter and intra bank), pay bills such as electricity and DSTV and buy air time at the bank’s ATMs. His words: “As a financial institution poised to enrich lives, Sterling Bank will continue to maintain high quality ATM services by supporting the inter-operability of the payment system in the country. We will continue to deploy more ATMs to promote the cashless policy of the CBN and ensure that our customers are not at disadvantage in any way.”

PZ Cussons Nigeria records 31% drop in profit

P

Z Cussons Nigeria Plc has recorded a 30.8 per cent decline in pre-tax profit during the first quarter 2015 ended August 30, 2014.

In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s pre-tax profit fell to N 872.29 million during the period under review against N1.261 billion recorded the previous year, representing a decline of 30.8 per cent.

Turnover dipped to N15.019 billion during the period, compared with 15.066 billion in the same period of last year.

The Nigerian unit of British household products maker had reported 9.15 per cent decline in pre-tax profits during the financial year ended May 31, 2014 In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s pre-tax profit fell to N 6.94 billion during the year under review against N7.65 billion recorded the previous year, representing a decline of 9.15 per cent.

The revenue rose to N72.90 billion 2014 from 71.34 billion naira a year earlier. PZ Cussons Plc, the maker of Imperial Leather soaps, said continued unrest in northern Nigeria had resulted in a decline in sales in that region.

According to reports, Nigeria is by far the British soap and shampoo maker’s biggest market, though it also sells in Ghana and Kenya. Africa accounted for about 42 per cent of Cussons’ revenue in the year ended May 31.

The company linked Boko Haram insurgents fighting in the country as major factor that has contributed to the depletion of its revenue.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc had reported a 9.15 per cent decline in pretax profits during the financial year ended May 31, 2014.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

World Bank lauds Nigeria on Ebola feat

P

resident of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, after a special meeting of the group and the IMF, said Nigeria has demonstrated high competence in the way the Ebola Containment was handled.

He praised the federal, state and local government and all medical workers and the private sector for working together to contain the Ebola virus in the country.

The meeting of the World Bank and IMF, which held in Washington on Thursday morning, noted sadly that the virus continues to surge in the three worst affected countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

If more countries get trapped in the spread within two years, the financial impact could reach 32.6 billion dollars by the end of 2015.

The United Nations Ebola response coordinator, Dr. David Nabarro, has said that the worst outbreak of Ebola on record can be contained if countries quickly build and staff treatment centers in West African nations hardest hit by the deadly virus.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said Ebola had claimed the lives of 3,879 people from among 8,033 confirmed, probable and suspected cases since it was identified in Guinea in March.

Officials with the U.S. Center for Disease Control were dispatched to study how Nigeria achieved its Ebola containment after the United States reported that Ebola had been discovered in Dallas, Texas.

The CDC Director, Tom Frieden, said in a statement, “It’s clear the nation (US) needs a quick and thorough response to its first Ebola patient” noting that “their (Nigeria’s) extensive response to a single case of Ebola shows that control is possible with rapid, focused interventions.”

Kim

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

Nigeria has not reported new cases since August 31.

Likewise, Senegal has not reported any new Ebola cases since September 18.

According to the CDC, Nigeria reported their first case July 20 when Patrick Sawyer traveled from Liberia to Lagos, Nigeria. He exposed 72 other passengers with the virus. Nigerian health officials found everyone who had been in contact with Sawyer and developed a mobilization plan.

They reached more than 26,000 households in this process. Nigeria also established the Ebola Management Center in the process.

Azevêdo

Trade is critical for boosting growth in developing world

T

he World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have agreed to enhance their co-operation in assisting developing and least-developed countries to better utilize trade facilitation programs which can help countries reduce trade costs and more fully engage in the global economy.

Trade facilitation aims to reduce barriers developing countries now face moving goods quickly and cost effectively by increasing port efficiency, improving customs and regulatory environments, and upgrading infrastructure to increase trade exports.

“Trade is a critical component to ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity and we are pleased to work with our partners at the WTO and other organizations to pursue these goals together,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “Our own research tells us that African countries are missing out on opportunities for billions of dollars in extra export earnings because of existing trade barriers.

Trade Facilitation was one of the important elements of

the outcome from the Bali Ministerial and we remain fully committed to supporting implementation of the Bali deal as we see the development benefits of reducing costs to trade,” he said.

In July, the WTO launched its Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility, to ensure that no country is left behind and all are able to access the support they need. The Facility, which is designed to provide a fail-safe mechanism for developing countries that are unable to obtain support from the development community, will be available to help those countries implement the provisions of the Trade Facilitation Agreement - agreed on by all WTO Members at their December 2013 WTO meetings in Bali.

The WTO will work closely with partner organizations, including the World Bank Group, to identify sources of funding and support.

“I am delighted to announce this strengthened partnership between the World Bank Group and the WTO. Our coordinated efforts will ensure that developing countries are able to obtain the support they need to tackle the bottlenecks and high costs that impact so heavily on the competitiveness of traders in many developing countries. Our two organizations, working closely with all our development partners, will support trade facilitation reforms that are so crucial in cutting the costs of trade, alleviating poverty and promoting development,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo.

Mr. Azevêdo and Dr. Kim, will discuss these matters and other trade issues at a Flagship Seminar Event at the World Bank to be held today, from 4pm to 5pm.

In June the World Bank Group announced a new Trade Facilitation Support Program to assist developing countries to implement the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. As the world’s largest multilateral provider of trade-related assistance the World Bank Group is a primary partner in the effort.

The Bank’s support in this area is now more than $13.2 billion in grants and financing, half of which is focused on Trade Facilitation.

Today’s announcement confirms that the two organizations will work closely together to ensure that support is available for all who need it under the terms of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

DG Azevêdo and Presi-

dent Kim have agreed that their organizations will work together to prepare a joint World Bank Group/WTO Study on the role of trade in ending extreme poverty while boosting shared prosperity next year

Barau

CBN advocates SWIFT’s sanctions screening to Nigerian banking community

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is implementing Swift’s Sanctions Screening service and is mandating use of the hosted service by the country’s banking community in order to strengthen the Nigerian financial market and ensure it meets global best practices for financial crime compliance.

SWIFT Sanctions Screening is a hosted subscription service that filters messages in real time and checks against customers’ selected sanctions lists. Once active, the Sanctions Screening service automatically routes messages in certain predefined categories to a centrally hosted filter where the messages are matched against a client’s choice of sanctions lists. Sanctions Screening combines a highly sophisticated screening engine with SWIFT’s security, resilience and reliability to create a world-class shared service. The screening engine checks for possible matches from sanctions lists information using logical tests to detect anagrams, inversion of letters, missing letters, misspellings, abbreviations and phonetic similarities.

Suleiman Barau, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, says: “With financial crime becoming more prevalent globally, it is now one of the biggest challenges facing the world’s financial industry and every bank must play a role in combating this challenge. Central Bank of Nigeria wants to ensure that Nigeria’s

A5 21

financial community adheres to global best practice and complies with all international regulations. Implementing SWIFT’s Sanctions Screening is an essential element of this strategy.”

The Central Bank aims to complete the implementation by the commercial banks in Nigeria by the end January 2015. To assist the country’s commercial banks to meet this deadline, the CBN has created a Sanctions Screening Service Committee, comprising 15 people from various departments, including operations, IT, legal, treasury and payments. The Committee will work with the Nigerian banking community and SWIFT. The move can also be seen as pursuant to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Payment System Vision 2020 (PSV2020), which calls for a “Nationally Utilised and Internationally Recognised” payments system and provides a robust platform to support Nigeria’s continued economic growth.

Christian Sarafidis, Deputy Chief Executive, EMEA, SWIFT, says: “SWIFT is delighted to support the Nigerian financial services community as it works towards its 2020 vision and implements global best practice in terms of new regulations. We are expanding our footprint in Africa to reflect the dynamism of the continent and particularly the rapid growth of Nigeria.”

Sanctions Screening recently surpassed the 230-customer milestone just two years after its introduction as the first solution in SWIFT’s financial crime compliance services portfolio.

In Africa, there are currently more than 60 customers – now including seven central banks – using Sanctions Screening with more new customers in the pipeline.

Like Nigeria, several other countries have seen broad take-up of Sanctions Screening as part of a community approach to addressing concerns about financial crime and meeting global regulations, including Angola, Ghana and Sierra Leone.

“Sanctions compliance is complex and expensive, and the penalties for noncompliance can be very severe,” says Hugo Smit, Head of Africa South, SWIFT. “SWIFT’s Sanctions Screening is cost-effective and easy to implement. It requires no hardware or software and no operational maintenance of multiple lists that change

A6 22

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News regularly and provide our customers with a peace-ofmind that their compliance solution meets international industry standards. SWIFT is committed to developing such solutions that address industry challenges.”

Banks using the Sanctions Screening service can send their transactions to a screening engine, which filters the messages in real time and checks against the banks’ selected sanctions lists. The service covers the majority of the messages used in cross-border financial transactions and is expected to support all types of financial messages, including Single European Payment Area (SEPA) payments, in 2015.

CBN frawns at media reports

T

he CBN has noted with concern stories in some segments o the press purporting to report decisions taken as a result of the ongoing audit of Nigerian banks.

The Central Bank confirms that examiners have concluded their work on 11 out of the 14 banks not included n he first audit exercise. They have also made significant progress on the remaining three banks and these are Citibank, Stanbic IBTC and Standard Chartered.

The Central Bank confirms that the complete reports are due to be presented and deliberated upon by the Committee of Governors and the EXCO of NDIC in the next two weeks and only after the process is completed will final decisions be taken.

GTBank, London institutes to train Nigerian designers

G

uaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), in collaboration with Frallain Inc and Istituto Marangoni, has organised a year-long fashion, arts and craft workshop, aimed at developing the Nigerian fashion industry.

The programme tagged: ‘Lagos Fashion and Design Week Fashion Focus’ will give fashion designers an opportunity to participate in targeted workshops and networking sessions from now till next year.

According to the Creative Director, LFDW fashion focus, Wadami Omolegbe,

Omolegbe

‘Fashion Focus’ is aimed at developing the Nigerian fashion ecosystem by nurturing the very best of talents through intensive workshops and classes delivered according to international standards so they can compete in fashion industry locally and globally.

The workshop features 15 participants selected from among 100 entries by the LFDW Fashion Focus judges, Kehinde Okunoren, Wadami Amolegbe, Dimeji Alara and project co-coordinator, Oluwabunmi Alake, of the British Council.

A comprehensive threeday workshop was organised for the 15 designers during the first phase of the activation series, in partnership with various institutions and industry leaders from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

It featured facilitators from Yaba College of Technology, as well as Nike Awoyinka, the Head, International Development, Ravensborne, UK, Elena Corchero, Lost Values, UK, Iain and Andrew Foxall, Foxall Studios, UK. The participants will have a chance to showcase their work in front of a select audience during the Guaranty Trust Bank Lagos Fashion and Design Week, 2014.

One of the 15 finalists, Temitayo Nathan, CEO of T.I Nathan, said, ‘I enjoyed every part of this experience.

I learnt the ethics of fashion trade and how we could work with our hands to make fabrics and accessories. I also learnt how to mix wearable technology with fashion, how to tackle retail spaces and boost customer service with technology.’

Access Bank declares N42.2bn pre-tax profit

A

ccess Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax of N44.2bn for the nine months ended September 3 2014. The bank the figure

represented a 20 per cent increase on the N35.1bn it recorded during the same period in 2013.

The bank said in a statement on Thursday that the rise in profit was due to improved efficiency, rising market share and strong risk management practices.

The group’s unaudited nine months’ results, which it filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday, showed that its gross earnings rose by 17 per cent to N182bn from N154bn in the corresponding period of 2013.

The growth in gross earnings was driven by an increase in interest income from loans, it said.

Similarly, Access bank posted 21 per cent growth in operating income to N126bn from N104bn in 2013. Customer deposits increase by 11 per cent to N1.5tn from N1.3tn in full year 2013. The bank’s asset quality ratios also improved as non-performing loan ratio was down 20 basis points to 2.5 per cent, from 2.7 per cent in December 2013.

‘Further analysis of the result indicated that Access bank continued to improve on its operating efficiency and steady income growth resulting in cost to income ratio of 61 per cent in third quarter 2014 compared to 75 per cent,’ the statement said.

It added that total assets grew by 14 per cent to N2.1tn from N1.8tn in full year 2013, while loans and advances of N1.1tn showed an increase of 33 per cent compared to N811bn in full year 2013.

The Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, was quoted as saying, ‘The Bank’s resilient Q3 2014 results reflect consistent improvement in our balanced growth and target metrics. Our performance over the past three quarters demonstrates the effectiveness of our corporate strategy as the Bank continues to grow its market share in key segments whilst enhancing shareholder value.

‘We have implemented a disciplined and conservative capital enhancement plan, designed to ensure we maintain our moderate risk appetite. This will ensure a stronger capitalised Bank, enabling us to remain competitive and take advantage of significant market opportunities in the execution of our long-term strategy,’ he added.

Access Bank is a leading African bank, operating 366 branches and 1,043 ATMs in major centres across Nige-

ria and with subsidiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom. Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1998, the Bank now has over 835,000 shareholders.

Exciting Transformation Taking Place In Africa – Okonjo Iweala

O

konjo-Iweala stated this Wednesday in a paper she presented while addressing the American Think Tank organisation, the Atlantic Council, in the United States.

The minister who was a guest of the organisation spoke on Nigeria in the first of a series of talks on ‘New Africa’, organised by Atlantic Council in partnership with Thomson-Reuters.

In the paper titled, Vision for Sustained Prosperity in Nigeria, the Minister said an exciting transformation is taking place on the continent of Africa.

According to her, ‘In the decades of the 1980s and the 90s, we saw an Africa that was heavily indebted with an average debt-to-GDP ratio of 75 percent; an Africa plagued with slow economic growth of about 2 percent annually, hyperinflation - with inflation rates as high as 48 percent on occasion, and rampant poverty; an Africa troubled by civil wars and political strife, and an Africa in desperate need of donor aid and assistance.

‘Fast-forward two decades and the story is remarkably different. We see now, an Africa whose economy is growing faster than most economies in the world with better than 5 percent annual growth in GDP. We see an Africa with low debt, averaging about 32 percent of GDP (which is certainly much lower than those of developed countries including the US and several in Europe), low inflation - at single digit on

Okonjo-Iweala

average, and a middle class that has nearly tripled in size - from about 126 million people (or 27 percent of total population) in 1980 to nearly 350 million people (or 34 percent of population) by 2010, according to the African development Bank.

‘We see an Africa that is obviously enjoying a peace dividend and better governance with democracy now entrenched in most countries. We see an Africa that is now being courted by foreign investors with FDI increasing from $9 billion in 2000 to about $50 billion by 2012. ‘ The minister said Africa has come a long way but it has gone from a being lost cause to an almost hot prospect.

‘Now you may think this sounds strange when all everyone is talking about is the Ebola crisis and flashpoints of insurgency like the Boko Haram in Nigeria and El Shabab in Kenya. You might also think it sounds strange with conflict in CAR and South Sudan.

‘Yes, these are certainly challenges. Ebola could be devastating if not decisively dealt with as a global challenge. The IMF estimates 1.5 to 3.5 percent off growth rates of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Nigeria and Senegal are relatively unscathed. But if not stopped, Ebola will travel as we have seen and could cause considerable harm.

‘But Ebola is not a problem that is permanent, it is a problem that can be managed so don’t expect it to reverse Africa’s growth trajectory. Boko Haram and El-Shabab are real problems but again the push back is beginning. But what is interesting is that the existence of these problems has not managed to turn back the tide of a better performing Africa,’ she said.

Okonjo - Iweala maintained that Nigeria is a classic example of this Africa Rising phenomenon, and perhaps one of its most successful stories.

According to her, ‘The return to democratic rule at the turn of the millennium brought with it better macroeconomic management and a series of reforms that unleashed economic growth, with GDP growing at an average 7 percent per annum over the last decade driven by the strong growth in the non-oil sector, particularly telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail, to name a few. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A7 23

Brand Watch with Adejuwon Osunnuyi megacrown1@yahoo.com 08025237926

Wiko takes Nigerian channel partners to Dubai ahead of launch A

head of its formal launch in Nigeria, Wiko Mobile has taken 12 channel partners on a pre-launch excursion to Dubai with the aim of interacting with other partners across the globe.

The Nigerian channel partners met with their counterparts from Kenya, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, countries of interest to the third largest phone maker in Europe.

According to Country Sales Manager for Wiko in Nigeria, John Peters, the Dubai prelaunch event enabled channel partners from Nigeria interact with other Wiko associates around the world so as to understand the Wiko brand culture, brand vision and brand attributes.

The channel partners were drawn from key markets across the country, underlining the vision of the brand to take a significant share of the phone market from onset.

Peters said: “The 12 channel partners were taken from Nigeria to a pre-launch function in Dubai providing the platform for them to meet with their counterparts from across the globe. This was to explain to them Wiko’s value proposition, product proposition and also show them the road map.”

“It enabled them grasp the concept of how Wiko intends to operate in all the countries they will be launching its product. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Poland, Vietnam, Kenya and Nigeria. So all representatives from these countries were brought to Dubai so they can get full details of what Wiko is all about.”

He also noted that it was important for the Nigerian Channel Partners to “understand the Wiko story; Where we are coming from, where we are now, where we intend to be in the future and know what Wiko specifically intends to do in

M-Net, multichoice lift the lid on new Dstv premium channels

T

his month, DStv audiences will be exposed to two new high-end television channels that will hit the screens in the next two weeks.

These out-of-the-ordinary additions to DStv’s Premium package will be called M-Net Edge (113) and VUZU AMP (114).

Switched-on, trendy viewers who currently enjoy VUZU, will be able to dive into the coolness and amplified experience of VUZU AMP for the first time on Tuesday 13 October at 17:00 CAT. Channel 114 on DStv will be the home of this amplified VUZU channel featuring local and international content in HD. On Tuesday 20 October at 19:00 CAT, M-Net Edge will officially launch on channel 102, as the thought provoking and more irreverent home to awardwinning television.

It will be a companion to flagship channel M-Net 101, known for its blockbuster and Hot off the Heels series.Due to the age restrictions linked to the programming on M-Net Edge, the channel will be on air for eleven hours only - from 18:00 CAT in the evening until 05:00 CAT the next morning.

The revolutionary M-Net Edge line-up will feature the most critically acclaimed cult-craze series from Hollywood – the kind of risqué shows you would prefer not to watch with the entire family. On the October schedule,

for example, you will find the eagerly awaited Emmy awardwinning comedy-drama Orange is the New Black. Among the other big attractions are the brand new series Masters of Sex and Satisfaction, as well as new seasons of The Americans, Defiance and American Horror Story.

VUZU AMP will kick off its mission to be the antidote to average with The Flash, which means that the channel will boast “Express from the US” titles. The show will premiere in the US on 7 October and will make its debut shortly thereafter on VUZU Amp. Already earning a huge amount of attention in global TV-land, The Flash is based on the DC Comics character Flash, a costumed superhero crime-fighter - and is a spin-off of Arrow.

At the time of its launch, VUZU AMP will also host many season premieres of hugely popular television series, among them The Vampire Diaries, Devious Maids, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, So You Think You Can Dance and Pretty Little Liars.

To make way for these two unprecedented channels, the current M-Net Series Showcase and M-Net Series Reality channels on DStv Premium will discontinue. Instead, the content from these channels will be found on M-Net Edge (channel 113) or VUZU AMP (channel 114). BC

each market. So market-wise, coverage-wise and channelwise all these were explained to them at the forum in Dubai,”

Peters said.

The Wiko range of phones, which will launch on October 22nd in Lagos, Nigeria offers

a value proposition of stylish yet affordable products across the spectrum from low-end to high-end. BC

L-R: Miss Naomi Lucas, Chief Executive, Eclat Nigeria; Abiola Aloba, Head, Brand Management, Sterling Bank Plc and Omojuwa Japhet, a prominent online media practitioner at the press conference to announce the flag-off the 2014 Social Media Award, Africa in Lagos recently

BrandiQ holds symposium on Brand Nigeria

I

n line with its tradition of providing selfless support and bolstering the corporate image of Nigeria through innovative platforms, BrandiQ Magazine is set again this year to bring together seasoned industry analysts and minds to crack some puzzles facing the nation.

The event, which is the second edition of Brand Nigeria Symposium, is billed to take place at the prestigious Lagos Civic Centre, Victoria Island on Thursday, November 6.

Just like the maiden edition, this year’s symposiumis structured for the express purpose of collating, analysing and aggregating all shades of opinions, ideas, suggestions and thoughts that will place Brand Nigeria on a sustainable path to greatness.

It would be recalled that

Osagie

last year’s symposium themed ‘Brand Nigeria at 53: Opportunities and Challenges’ witnessed the formal introduction of BrandiQ magazine to the Nigerian public. The event was chaired by Apostle Hayford Alile, former Director General, Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It featured paper presentations by well respected scholars and professionals including Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman, Troyka Group; and Prof.

Emevwo Biakolo, Dean, School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

At that event, the Chairman of the Editorial Board of BrandiQ magazine, Dr. Phil Osagie, Managing Director, JSP Corporate Communications, announced that the symposium would henceforth be an annual event.

This year’s symposium, which is meant to consolidate on the gains of the 2013 event, has the theme: ‘Politics, Business and 2015 General Elections – Driving Participation Through Deliberative Engagements.’ The sub-themes for this year’s symposium are: Youth participation in Nigerian politics: How and Why?; Political Marketing: Ethical roles of PR, Advertising and Marketing; The Role of Media in Nigerian politics; Influence of Politics on Business in Nigeria.

This year’s theme and the

corresponding sub-themes are carefully crafted to drive effective deliberation. They will be discussed by seasoned and experienced professionals and academics.Just like last year, observers believe that this year’s speakers will deliver thought provoking papers that can raise the consciousness of the nation in all ramifications. Over 500 participants from different sectors and students are expected to grace the occasion.

Commenting on the event, the principal organiser and Editor-in-Chief of BrandiQ Magazine, Desmond Ekeh, said: “akin to last years’, the 2014 symposium will create innovative in-roads that will lead to solutions to the myriads of challenges facing brand Nigeria.

Of particular reference is the increasing temperature of the political space boiling towards 2015, insurgent activities of Boko haram, the recent Ebola epidemic and economic imbalance to mention a few. Also, the timely and balanced treatment of these nagging issues in the present edition of BrandiQ Magazine, which has ‘The Cost of Insurgency’ as its cover, shows that we the organizers of this annual symposium are mindful of the peaceful co-existence of Brand Nigeria in spite of the seemingly chaotic socioeconomic space.” BC

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News Brent Crude Oil Futures $/barrel

T

Sapin

France’s credit outlook cut to negative by S&P

C

redit rating agency Standard and Poor’s has cut France’s credit outlook to ‘negative’, due to concerns about the country’s struggling economic recovery.

However, it affirmed France’s AA/A-1+ rating, the third-highest rating.

“We believe that...a recovery of the French economy could prove elusive,” said S&P in a statement.

France’s finance minister, Michel Sapin, said the country’s debt was “one of the surest in the world”.

“We will pursue the needed reforms, to boost our medium term growth prospects,” he said in a statement.

“French debt is one of the surest and most liquid in the world, with debt levels very much contained,” he continued.

Official figures from the Bank of France showed that the French economy did not grow at all in the second quarter, and for the third quarter it is forecasting growth of 0.2%.

“We believe that...a recovery of the French economy could prove elusive and that France’s public finances might deteriorate beyond 2014,” the ratings firm said.

The French government has also said it will reduce its budget deficit to below the EU threshold of 3% of GDP by 2017, two years later than promised.

S&P said the negative outlook indicated a one in three chance that certain events would occur which would push it to downgrade France’s actual credit rating within the next two years.

For now, S&P said France’s high income per capita and productivity, recovering competitiveness and profitability among French companies, and France’s stable financial sector justified the country keeping its current rating.

he price of Brent crude oil dropped $1.65 to $88.40 a barrel at one point before recovering some ground to stand at $89.64.

US oil fell by $1.92 a barrel to $83.85, its weakest level since June 2012, although it also regained some ground to stand at $89.39. Both oil benchmarks have lost about 20% since their peak in June.

Oil prices have been undermined by a combination of increasing supplies and weakening demand.

Libya has recently increased its supply of oil to the open market, and demand from China, the world’s second biggest user of oil, has slipped as its economic growth has slackened off.

Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank, told Reuters the oil markets were now in “panic mode”.

“Panic and capitulation.

We are now in uncharted territory,” he said. “The rout will probably continue until [oil cartel] Opec says enough is enough.”

Eurozone risks

T

his week, German economic data has presented a consistently negative picture. Figures released on Thursday showed exports fell 5.8% in August, and this followed weak industrial output figures on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was concerned by the country’s slowdown.

“We are quite concerned about the slowdown in Germany. We have revised down our forecasts,” said Mahmood Pradhan, the IMF’s European Department Deputy Director.

“The second quarter negative [GDP] number has been followed by a number of soft indicators that point to a further weakening in Germany and I think this underlines the general point that the euro area recovery looks much weaker than anticipated last spring,” he said.

Earlier this week, the IMF cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015, and on Thursday IMF chief Christine Lagarde crystallised investors’ worries about flagging economic growth by warning that the eurozone could return to recession.

The IMF’s downgrade of prospects for the three biggest eurozone countries’ economies - Italy, France

and Germany - prompted the Chancellor, George Osborne, to warn the UK economy was facing a “critical moment”.

On Thursday, he told the BBC: “The eurozone risks slipping back into crisis. Britain cannot be immune from that. It’s already having an impact on our manufacturing and our exports.”

“It now looks as though investors are nervous about a confluence of factors, ranging from worries of a global economic slowdown, an economic crisis, with German economic data especially poor, deflation... the impact of Ebola and lurking geopolitical risks,” said Neil MacKinnon, economist at VTB Capital financial group tolEuropean and US stock markets have seen sharp falls as fears have deepened over prospects for the global economy.

London’s FTSE 100 share index fell 1.4% to 6,339.97, a 12-month low, as did Germany’s Dax. France’s Cac-40 fell to it lowest level in 2014.

In the US, the Dow Jones erased its gains for the year, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbling more than 2%.

Poor economic data from Germany this week has stoked fears that the eurozone could be heading for another recession.

Oil prices also saw sharp falls, with the Brent crude price hitting its lowest level for nearly four years.

Lagarde

Worries over new Euro – US trade ties

T

here are rising concerns in Europe over negotiations to liberalise trade with the United States.

The project, known as the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, aims to remove a wide range of barriers to bilateral commerce.

Opponents are planning demonstrations and protests across Europe on Saturday 11 October.

In Britain, events are

planned in at least 15 cities and towns.

One campaigner involved in planning the day of action said she expected at least 400 local actions in about 24 countries, with large numbers of events in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, in addition to the UK. The EU and the US launched the negotiations last year and the aim is to stimulate more trade and investment, and, in the process, to produce more economic growth and employment.

It has proved to be extremely controversial.

One aim of the negotiations is to reduce the costs to business of complying with regulations. A firm in, say Europe, that wants to export to the US often has to comply with two sets of rules.

Critics say the result of this would be lower standards of protection for workers, consumers and the environment. Food safety is a particular concern among European opponents of the negotiations.

In the EU, campaigners say that consumers could be faced with more genetically modified food, hormone treated beef and chicken meat that has been rinsed with chlorine.

Another major concern is the provisions under discussion to enable foreign investors - for example American firms investing in the EU - to sue a host government in some circumstances if they are hit by a change in policy.

That turned out to be so controversial that the European Commission decided to hold a public consultation.

There were 150,000 responses which the Commission is still analysing.

The conduct of the negotiations is also contentious.

Campaigners say they are secretive and undemocratic.

They also dispute TTIP advocates’ claims about the economic benefits.

The Questions and answers (TTIP) - Trade - European Commission. It insists that standards will be maintained and that the negotiations are accountable and transparent.

S&P Strips Finland of AAA rating

F

inland was stripped of its pristine AAA long-term credit rating Friday as a top ratings agency views threats to the nation’s economy. Just

12 nations still have perfect ratings.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service cut its long-term foreign credit rating on the Nordic country by one notch to AA+ — just as investors are getting increasingly worried about Europe’s economy.

It’s the latest nation to be stripped of its perfect AAA rating — leaving just 12 countries in the world at AAA. The U.S. lost its AAA rating from S&P in August 2011. Separately, S&P downgraded the outlook on France’s debt to negative to stable — in just the latest blow to investors’ perception of Europe. France’s debt is still rated AA. Finland was taken down a notch for a bevy of reasons cited by S&P, including a downward revision to the nation’s economic future. A tougher economy means the nation might have a more difficult time cutting public debt.

S&P spelled out its rationale for the downgrade in one sentence: “The downgrade reflects our view of the risk that the Finnish economy could experience protracted stagnation because of its aging population and shrinking workforce, weakening external demand, loss of global market share in the key information technology sector, structural retrenchment of the important forestry sector, and relatively rigid labor market,” it said in the report.

Finland’s downgrade is just the latest in what’s been a whittling down of the credit health of the world’s nations.

The nations that still have AAA ratings from S&P include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom Source: S&P Getting back to AAA is not easy — and many nations never pull of the comeback.

There are 10 nations that lost AAA ratings — that haven’t gotten them back yet: The nations that lost AAA ratings from S&P and haven’t gotten them back include: Country When lost AAA rating New Zealand 1983 Japan 2001 Spain 2009 Ireland 2009 United States 2011 Guernsey 2011 Isle of Man 2011 Austria 2012 France 2012 Netherlands 2013 Source: S&P BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A9 25

A hand in many pies He is one investor with a very tall ambition. Discerning, methodical and astute, he braced all odds to attain a frontline position in all sectors of the economy in which he plays in, and he actually has his hands in many juicy areas. This is the story of Emmanuel Isichei Ugochukwu Ojei, Executive Chairman/Group Managing Director, Nuel Ojei Holdings

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

N

o matter from which perspective one decides to look at it, the fact remains that he is one Nigerian whose name overtly personifies courage, vision, hard-work as well as sturdiness. He belongs to the category of rag to riches Nigerian entrepreneurs who started with nothing but walked their ways through the turbulent waters, breaking barriers to attain success. Today, Dr. Emmanuel Isichei Ugochukwu Ojei is not just that entrepreneur noted for sales and services of the Mazda brand of automobiles only; he sits atop a group of company with diverse interests cutting across major lucrative sectors of the economy, all under the umbrella of Nuel Ojei Holdings (NOH).

Said to be worth over N25.7 billion ($165m) as at the end of 2011, Nuel Ojei as he is fondly called, has been able to build a conglomerate of sort, making him a major employer of labour and he is currently counted among top 20 richest Nigerian entrepreneurs.

With aggressive marketing and outstanding initiatives, Nuel Ojei’s group of companies whose scope of activities remain diverse and include construction, banking, importation, sales and services of choice motor vehicles, oil and gas, has remained a major beneficiary of juicy public and private sector contracts over the years.

Born in Lagos in 1951, Ojei had his early education in Lagos before proceeding to Issele-Uku Technical College, Issele-Uku, Delta State for his higher education where he obtained his Ordinary National Diploma (OND), Business Administration and Management between 1970 and 1972.

Barely a year after completing his OND programme, Ojei, in 1973, joined the services of Rutam

Ojei

Motors Limited (a part of the Ibru Organization), where he served as Sales Manager until 1976 when he left to establish his own automobile workshop business, an idea he was said to have dreamt about while he was with Rutam Motors. That dream did not materialize until after many years of toiling.

Again, less than one year

after he left Rutam Motors to establish his first business, the failure of that endeavour forced the young Ojei then to beat a quick retreat and returned to paid employment but he was back, this time to run his dream business under a registered name of Nuel Ojei Company..

In March 1977, he ventured

into the insurance industry, working with UnityKapital Assurance Plc which he later became a director in.

As business continued to blossom, Nuel Ojei felt the compelling need to restructure and harmonize his various business interests into one dynamic group, thus leading to the incorporation of Nuel

Ojei Holdings Limited (NOH) in 1989.

Now, barely two decades after, NOH has rapidly evolved as a behemoth in the Nigerian business landscape under Nuel Ojei’s visionary leadership.

Today, the Group has over 10 business units and associate companies and maintains a highly diversified investment platform with tentacles in automobile, banking, insurance, oil and gas, solid minerals, energy and telecommunications among others.

In association with a vast network of reputable overseas technical partners, NOH has been involved in the execution of a number of technology-driven, high-end projects in the areas of power and energy, aviation safety and security, shipping and ship building, oil and gas among others, carving a niche for itself as a foremost wholly owned indigenous private conglomerate, combining a crack team of about 200 highly experienced expatriate and Nigerian professionals in its workforce.

Continuous expansion has led to the building of the state of the art office complexes in key commercial centres such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Asaba while overseas liaison offices are equally maintained in high brow areas in Germany and the UK. In line with the avowed philosophy of Ojei which espouses honesty in business dealings, and true to its corporate slogan of ‘…no quality compromise…’, NOH is known for a culture of corporate excellence, prompt service delivery, uncompromising faith in customer satisfaction and abiding commitment to contractual obligations.

The Group, Business Courage learnt, recently executed a strategic restructuring programme that was geared towards placing the respective subsidiaries Continued on pg A10

Business Courage

and business units on sound footing to enable them function as autonomous corporate entities. Already, some of the companies within the Group have become self-financing and self-accounting independent units, it was learnt.

Notably among the subsidiaries of NOH is Nuel Auto Distributors Limited (NAD), the automobile business unit of the group which was incorporated in 1981 as a sole representative of Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan.

In addition, the company also represents Swaraj Mazda Limited, India, an Indian-Japanese Joint Venture for small and medium sized trucks as well as specialized vehicles.

In November 2008, NAD also entered into an agreement with WeststarAssociates Limited sole representative of MercedesBenz in Nigeria to operate the authorised workshop and dealer of Mercedes-Benz products in the country.

With over a decade’s operational experience in automobile business, NAD has emerged as a major player in Nigeria through immense contribution to the development of the nation’s transport sector.

NAD maintains state of the art office complexes, complete with ultra modern showrooms and workshop facilities in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Asaba. These workshops have recently been structured to operate as autonomous units; and are staffed with the finest array of Nigerian and expatriate engineers/technicians who have been re-trained in the latest technological knowhow of both Mazda Motor Corporation of Japan and Daimler Benz of Germany.

Another company making waves under the group is the Emo Oil and Petrochemical Company Limited (Emo Oil).

The company serves as the local content vehicles in oil exploration, exploitation, and production of crude oil; crude lifting, petroleum products importation/ exportation, consultancy for gas and pipeline integrity projects.

Emo Oil and Petrochemical Company Limited (Emo Oil) was incorporated in January 1993 as a member of the Nuel Ojei group of companies and has remained a key player in the Nigerian oil and gas Industry.

Its involvement in oil and gas exploration and production, pipeline construction, oil services and consultancy over the years has led to the establishment of several other affiliated companies to form what is today known as the Emo Group within the Nuel Ojei corporate family.

Notably, the Emo Group comprises Emo Oil and Petrochemical Company Limited, Emo Exploration

and Production Limited, NJ Exploration Limited and five other companies. The group has a workforce of over 200 expatriate and Nigerian employees.

Agricultural Tractors and Equipment Company Limited (ATECO), is another subsidiary under NOH Group which deals in agricultural tractors and implements.

The company currently represents Punjab Tractors Limited, India in Nigeria and the West African region.

In recent years, ATECO has handled large orders from government agencies for distribution of tractors to large scale farmers across Nigeria. With agriculture as the key to future national economic expansion, ATECO has continued to work in partnership with relevant agencies and organisations to support large scale mechanized farming in Nigeria.

Another member of the Emo Group of companies is the Emo Ashapura Energy and Mining Limited, formed as a Joint Venture in partnership with Ashapura Minechem Limited, India and specialises in the mining of solid minerals. Following the acquisition of various mining leases from the Nigerian Government, Emo Ashapura is currently embarking on the establishment of a mining and processing plant for barites and bentonites in Nigeria.

Following the Ministry of Mines & Steel Development’s change in strategy to privatize the Nigerian Mining Corporation with intent to secure technically competent investors with financial capability to mine the minerals in Nigeria, Emo Ashapura has recently acquired the following mining properties belonging to the former Nigerian Mining Corporation from the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Bureau of Public Enterprise: Nigerian Barytes Limited (formely 18706, Now ML 245, sold as a package), Nigerian Kaolin Company, at Kuba Ladi, Jos (now consolidated into ML 549, also sold as a package),Minerial License ASEPL 202 at Ogoja, Cross River State (EL 166 EL), and Mineral License ASEPL 203 at Ogoja, Cross River State (EL 167 EL).

Dr. Ojei’s involvement in the energy sector cannot be over-emphasized. Through his Glantre Nigeria Limited, he has been able to explore the sector to a great deal. Glantre Nigeria Limited is today one of the leading providers of Power and Distribution Transformers to the Nigerian electricity subsector.

Incorporated in 1986, the company operates in partnership with VA Tech Elin Transformers GmbH & Co., Austria, which has recently

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, October 13, 2014

‘

Today, the Group has over 10 business units and associate companies and maintains a highly diversified investment platform with tentacles in automobile, banking, insurance, oil and gas, solid minerals, energy and telecommunications among others

been taken over by Siemens AG, Germany. The company no doubt recognizes the fact that the potentials for growth are enormous in the rapidly expanding power sector in Nigeria. The company has handled large orders for government agencies, for several decades and sees the continuing emphasis on independent power projects as an indication of brighter prospects for the company.

The NOH has been in partnership with a wide range of companies for effective service deliveries and most of these partnerships has been project –specific. For instance, its partnership with Thales France has seen the firm execute the Total Radar Coverage of the

‘

A10 26

Nigerian Airspace (TRACON) project. It’s in partnership with Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC), Seoul to achieve local content vehicle for oil prospecting, exploration and production while it’s in partnership with VA Tech Elin Transformers GmbH & Co, Austria (now Siemens AG, Germany) for sales and distribution of power transformers.

NOH’s partnership with Mazda Motor Corporation of Japan has fetched the firm the sole distributorship for Mazda cars in Nigeria, offering sales, marketing and after sales services of Mazda vehicles.

NOH is also in partnership with Weststar Associates Limited for repairs, service and sales

of Mercedes Benz products.

The same also goes for Swaraj Mazda, India which enables it distribute and sell refuse disposal trucks, agricultural tractors and equipment in the country.

For the exploration and mining of Barytes, Kaolin and bentonite, NOH is in business partnership with Ashapura Minechem Limited of Mumbai, India.

A man of many parts, Ojei is also on the board of many companies and organisations.

He is as an advisory board member of the Economic Growth and Development Centre, (EGDC). The EGDC is a non profit, non-governmental organisation, committed to achieving the goals of speeding economic development and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. The EGDC was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in January 2003.

Within the short space of time, the EGDC has made appreciable strides in the pursuit of its primary objectives. It is engaging a number of non-governmental organisations including advocacy groups within and outside the country, development partners, governments and policy makers as well as private sector stakeholders in the poverty eradication and development issues. The EGDC collaborates with government and non -government agencies in finding the best approaches as to poverty alleviation in the country, through projects and initiatives that bring the gains of good governance and democracy closer to the people. In this regard, it helps government institutions and other clients to reach the grassroots through its numerous and carefully designed programmes.

In 2011, Ojei was recognised as one of the 50 ‘founding fathers “of Delta State, by the Delta State Governor; Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan during the state’s 20th anniversary for their industry, integrity, professional expertise and contributions towards the development of the state and nation.

Uduaghan had extolled the virtues of the awardees explaining that most of them have made their mark in various areas of specialization.

He said “This award is an initiative meant to recognize the deserving Deltans who have selflessly served the state and country in their various endeavours and whose efforts have helped to transform our society.”

In recognition of his business acumen, he was awarded with a Doctorate Degree in Business administration by Delta State University Abraka. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

SMEs

A11 27

with Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

Why SMEs can’t access govt funds – SMEDAN T he problem of raising funds being faced by the SMES has been blamed on the operators not wanting to come to the government because they believed they would be trapped to pay taxes and levies. This was the opinion of the Lagos State Coordinator of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria SMEDAN, Mr Yinka Fisher while speaking exclusively with the Business Courage in Lagos.

He pointed out that professional practices was available to SMEs; that is why they are advised to link up with SMEDAN, because the agency opens a window for them to connect with opportunities that will help grow their businesses in terms of technology, accounting, ideas, innovations and other departments that are readily available in SMEDAN. “That is the reason why they are always moving backwards instead of them forging ahead, to tap into all these opportunities. the entire enabling environment has been created by government, the financial windows are there but still you don’t see MSMEs tapping into it all because their papers are not properly put in place”.

Every now and then Micro Small and Medium scale Enterprises MSMEs get to hear and read about a new intervention fund being implemented by various agencies of government, development institutions and even big league private sector players. Unfortunately after the excitement dies down, the reality dawns on the operators that the hurdles before accessing these funds seems to get higher by the day.

Despite a lot of protests being directed at the funding agencies for not lowering the requirements, one thing that has become clearer over time is that the MSMEs themselves seem not to be doing enough to address their shortcomings.

The latest of such funds was a credit of $500m announced penultimate week by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved for Nigeria to increase access to finance by Small and Medium Enterprises.

The bank noted that limited access to finance was a key obstacle to enterprise growth and entrepreneurship, particularly for young people, and a major obstacle faced by the SMEs. The bank, which disclosed this in a statement said the credit would come from its International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s lending window and that the Development Finance Project will provide stable funding to

support the growth of Nigeria’s SMEs through the establishment of a development finance institution.

The DFI will provide term funding to eligible financial intermediaries to lend to SMEs and will also provide partial credit risk guarantees to participating commercial banks.

According to the bank, the project is in support of government’s efforts to promote the growth and job creation potential of the private sector through improved access to financing.

It noted that only 6.7 per cent of Nigerian firms reported having a loan or active line of credit in 2014, adding that SME lending made up only around five per cent of the total commercial bank lending.

The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, MarieFrancoise Marie-Nelly, said, “Women entrepreneurs in Nigeria are held back by knowledge gaps, limited access to markets, and challenges regarding land ownership rights, which in turn, limit their access to finance. Specific attention will be paid to strengthening the capacity of businesswomen to address these challenges.”

The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance and is expected to run for seven years.

Whether the fund will be successfully drawn on by the SMEs remains a question for speculation, given that there are other available funding windows which are yet to be effectively accessed by the sector.

According to the Access Bank Head of Women Banking Unit, Ms. Titilola Familoni, “Entrepreneurs need to know how banks think. Banks do not like funding a customer’s risk. A bank will ensure that it is protected from whatever risk that lending to a customer carries. Equity is important in business. A customer desirous of a loan needs to have a savings culture.”

She added, “Entrepreneurs need to prepare themselves before approaching a bank for a loan. Preparation makes the borrower to approach the bank from superiority point of view and he will get the loan.”

The banker, however, said Access Bank was already exploring ways to assist entrepreneurs to realise their goals.

This, she said, was being done through identifying and solving challenges that affect their businesses.

She, however, reiterated the need for SMEs to structure their businesses properly, saying such would make funding attractive to banks.

“We have discovered that

Fisher

many SMEs have no business plans and are owned by one person who does all the work and usually has no business plan; this has to stop if they want a bank to take them seriously, especially when it comes to giving out loans,” she explained.

Familone gave the assurance that the bank would ensure proper training on basic cash flow forecasting and analysis skills for customers in order to overcome the challenges that come with faulty reports.

“Most times, people think that banks can just jump in and finance a business. But our approach is different. We need to first know and understand what the customer is doing before giving out loans.

Remember that the money belong to the depositors and has to be protected,” she said.

Analysts also believe that there is a significant role for the accountancy profession in addressing this challenge.

Applying their broad-based knowledge in accounting and business, accountants are perfectly placed to work with governments and other relevant institutions, such as SME bodies, to provide financial literacy and management training for owner-managers. Although the external environment presents some of the key challenges in SME financing, such businesses’ internal resources must not be overlooked.

In fact, formal enterprise or management training is rare among business owners, creating a significant skills gap common in both developed and less developed economies.

This skills gap invariably affects owners’ ability to obtain finance – from knowing how to

present a business plan and being able to navigate through the available financial products, to knowing how to apply business skills and acumen to manage and develop their business with a strategic approach to its operations, and ultimately finance.

Only recently the UK government passed a Bill which mandates banks which refuse loans to small businesses to provide SMEs with advice on alternative funding options.

The Bill addresses inadequate information regarding financing options which has long been a significant hindrance in the ability to grow a business. With over 700 separate SME support and funding schemes in the UK, legislators felt that small businesses needed to be given clear, appropriate advice, which will address their business needs and ensure ongoing financial stability.

Professional accountants are of the opinion that Small business owner-managers often also need external support, in the form of advice and professional services, to help them overcome their limitations or resource constraints.

This is especially pertinent when seeking external funding where they need to overcome additional hurdles to mitigate risk aversion on the part of lenders.

They argue that accountants are almost universally the professional advisers of choice for SMEs; bank managers and the legal profession and their role as financial advisers is universally accepted as the core of the profession’s offering to SMEs. However, the bulk of work still remains for the SMEs

themselves to do, in seeking out these professionals who are capable of getting them over the hurdles of loan acquisitions for a fee.

According to Eze Ubiji, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises NASME, “Within NASME, we have consultants, accountants, lawyers and Business Development Service Providers BDSPs who are willing to offer their premium services at discounts for members. If you really want to make progress, you’ll have to leverage on them.”

He further noted that ignorance was no excuse and warned of the risk of many operators of SMEs in the country losing out on available funds, “Like the N220bn SME loan from the CBN, a lot of things have been said about it, if you really want to access it you will have to comply with the requirements, but most entrepreneurs do not know about the technicalities and this is where consultants can come in and help them put all they need to access the funding together.

And the good thing for our members is that they don’t need to go too far as we have the resources within our association to help them meet all the requirements and it is even easier for our members as the association is ready to intervene on their behalf to see that they are not over-billed.”

Slowly but surely, evidence is emerging that the accountancy profession for example has a broad role to play in improving SME’s access to finance. Moreover, this demand for business support services is at the forefront of the profession’s transition from providing compliance services to supplying business advice.

Specifically access to finance should be a high priority for policymakers, as the shifting needs and risk profiles of start-up and growing businesses create genuine funding gaps that can greatly diminish the prospects of the most promising businesses, and thereby their economic contribution.

Familoni further advises entrepreneurs to put in place the right structure in businesses, as proper accounting shows seriousness on the part of the business owner, adding that banks asked for collateral for loans because it was a requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Entrepreneurs need to get their records right as such would help them in accessing funding from banks. When the records are right, no bank can say no to a loan request,” she said. BC

A12 28

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

‘Tourism is big business’

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi and Rukayat Oluwatosin

C

ould you tell our readers about your background?

My name is Fatai Adeogun, the MD/CEO Fafesto Galaxy Travels & Tours Nigeria Ltd. I attended Yaba College of Technology in the 90s where I was trained as an accountant, and later Lagos state University (satellite campus, Anthony.) and I worked for a one of the leading multinational Engineering company, as an account officer for years before leaving in year 2003 to start my own business my own business. I travel abroad in pursuit of greener pastures.

While abroad, I developed interest in Tourism by visiting interesting places and sites all around the world. While I was doing that, I have flair and I develop my interest in travelling and helping people out because a lot of people are ignorant and do not know how to go about their way round the bottle neck procedure imposed on Nigerians by the embassies. In quest for the right knowledge, I enrolled at Lagos State Travel and Tours school at Ojuelegba, where I was taught how to organize Tours, trips and studies abroad as a travel agent.

What line of business are you into?

I am into tourism. I am also a consultant in all travel related matters. These include ticketing, accommodation overseas, protocol services and schooling abroad for those who are interested.

Could you tell us about business world in tourism?

All over the world, Tourism is a big business, which brings a lot of resources to both individual and government at large if well developed and taped into.

Every country has so much wonders to attract visitors from other parts of the world. These factors are spread all over to the extent that one can never exploit one tenth of it in a life time. In most developed countries where tourism is meaningful, you find out that it’s an avenue for the government to generate income as a way of tax , levy and pass.

The fact that people and citizens

are involved one way or the other, it creates huge employment for all and sundries.

In Nigeria, Tourism is not yet developed. As a matter of fact, most youth are unemployed as people are not looking in the direction of tourism. The only area in Lagos seems to be the beaches, which are now a shadow of themselves due to erosion, neglect and other factors. If the government is able to facilitate and support in a way of developing roads, infrastructures and security, the tourism business in Nigeria will boost the economy of this country. The volume of money spends every day on tourism outside Nigeria

by Nigerians seeking leisure and holiday abroad is more than enough to develop our country.

Why is tourism not attracting the type of attention it gets all over the world in Nigeria?

Poverty is a big factor affecting the business of tourism in Nigeria. Even when people are interested, money is involved, an average Nigerian cannot afford to have leisure or take time out as most will channel their time and little earning on other pressing needs. Most of the few Nigerians that can afford to travel are only going there for business and after they make their money, they come back or bring things to sell. We hardly go for leisure, people don’t go to exploit places, and there is need for tourism because tourism is a form of education, when you have heard about places, you gather your friends or relatives and go to the place to exploit, presently we have some of clients went to Brazil. As you know in some part of Brazil have the same culture with the Yoruba’s like the Osun people, these people have been hearing about the people in brazil and they consulted us and we did research and we gave them a write up on things that they will see and benefit from. We arranged their tour package, and the places they will visit, it was a memorable and educative trip.

This, we do, for groups and individual who are interested.

Do we have something of this

nature in Nigeria, like a tourist centre?

Yes, we have tourist centres in Nigeria but because of what we see every day, people are not really amazed. Imagine, people who live at Abeokuta, that is a tourist attraction place, they don’t really value it. It is people who live abroad or outside Abeokuta that will see those things and say ‘I wish I go to that place because the people around their don’t really value what they have’. If you ask people in Abuja “have you been to Lagos?” majority of them will say no. If you ask people in Lagos, ‘have you been to Ibadan ?’, they will say no. Nigerians are after economic gain and not the leisure and

that is the problem we have in this country. You can see like the Synagogue Church, a lot of foreigners come from overseas to see and witness the wonders, while most people in the neigbouhood may not even know a jack about the tourist nature of the place.

Since you started this business, what are the challenges you have encountered so far on your own part as an entrepreneur?

First and foremost, I would say the purse of individual.

There are people who really want to visit interesting places, interesting sites all over the world, but when they consider

what they have, they may even be ignorant of how to go about it. Some of them are not ready to consult because when they consult people, at the end of the day, they give them a bill, they tell you this is their charges for helping carry out research or putting you through. But, because of the income of Nigerians, an average person cannot afford to pay anybody to help them carry out research so the patronage for an average person is very low and not encouraging.

Apart from tourism, what else does Fafesto Galaxy travel and tours do?

Yes, I can say that I also consult. I am consultant. I am also

Management Principles

Principles for Managing Employee Transfer

A

transfer occurs when a classified employee (“employee”) is appointed to the same or similar position in another department. Most transfers will occur as a result of a job posting.

There are three types of transfers; lateral transfers, voluntary transfers and involuntary transfers.

Lateral transfer is when an employee is transferred to another area or department with the same title, or the same salary range, if the title is different. No immediate salary action is to be taken. The base salary of the transferred employee will be reviewed during the normal common review process.

The following conditions constitute a Voluntary Transfer: When an employee voluntarily elects to apply for a position and is selected for the job which has a lower salary range than their current position.

It is also when an employee actively volunteers to accept an open position in a lower salary range because of a position elimination or Departmental reorganisation.

Involuntary Transfer involves eliminating an employee’s current position due to a restructuring or reclassification and is transferred to a position in a lower salary range.

A sound transfer policy should be evaluated in the organism to govern all types of employee transfer to get reasonable consistency of treatment rather than to decide each case independently.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A13 29

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs down your price, people can compare prices and patronize you.

involved in charity work as social responsibility as giving back to my society. We also train youth in view of getting employment.

Technically as an entrepreneur, do you believe that one should not go into a saturated business?

You can go into a saturated business if you can give it all it takes and make your own better.

We live in a competitive world.

If you are doing something and someone is already doing it, and you believe you can add something extra or do better than that person, the patronage will shift to your own end. It is all about packaging, how you satisfy your clients and the people you are dealing with. Sometimes, if you can bring

How does Fafesto Galaxy Travels & Tours Nigeria Ltd gets involved in assisting people who desire to study abroad ?

We help people who want to study abroad; Nigerians who are willing and that can afford it, in any part of the world. Recently, some Nigerians students now studying in Australia because it is a very lovely and developed country, their standard of education is very high, and their certificate is well recognized worldwide. There is also opportunity for people to school and work there at the same time because it is a very good country and economy there is booming so they need people to work, just like Canada. Canada needs people, but they need professionals. People who are serious minded. Not people who are just coming there to lace around. In Australia, they understand that there are international students, for you not to put all the burden on your parents, so there are job centers that you can go to and they allow you to work at least for some hours, all you have to do is work according to you your timetable, and if you look at what is happening in Nigeria today, Nigerians are even going to Ghana to study, some decades back, even teachers in Ghana use to come to Nigeria to teach and do all sort of business but this day Nigerians are now going abroad, people who cannot go to USA, UK, Canada now go to Ghana and when you look at quality education, is not like Ghana does not produce good student but people want to bring more sophisticated certificate so as to get good jobs in Nigeria, but from the research we’ve carried out we discovered that Australia is where people can go to and get good certificates, so

In formulating the transfer policy, the following principles should be followed 1. It must be in writing and be made known to all the employees of the organisation.

2. The policy should very clearly specify the type and the circumstances under which transfers will be made.

3. Basis for transfers should clearly be mentioned in the policy when two more person desire transfer to the same job or place, what would-seniority or merit or any other factorbe the deciding factor.

4. It should indicate the executive responsible for initiating an approving the transfers. Should it be initiated and approved by first-line.

5. The policy should specify the unit or area over which transfer would take place i.e. whether transfer can be made only within a department or also between different departments within the organisation of the inter-plant.

6. It should be mentioned whether an employee will retain is seniority credit permanently or for a temporary period or lose it altogether.

7. The rate of pay to be received by the employee on transfer to the new job should also be specified. Under what circumstances should he get the rate of his previous assignment or when should he get the pay of the new job? If the rate of the new job is lower, will it be protected on the transfer?

Thus a sound transfer policy should incorporate t above elements so that a uniform system may be adopted throughout the organizations. BC

we have contacts in Australia and people who want to go to school through us we could help them pay schools fees, get the necessary document for them to present in Nigeria embassy.

When you school and work in Australia, can the job pay your school fees?

I will say no because before the embassy can give you visa, they have to make sure that you have a sponsor who is financially capable to help you through, the money you get from the job is just for you to sustain yourself and buy little things except you want to put yourself under pressure.

If challenges come up along the line, is there insurance for people who want to go and study in Australia?

Yes, it is part of the charges paid to the school; every student travelling is insured by the school, it is part of the money you pay to the school.

Since you left your job as an accountant to establish your own company, can we call you an entrepreneur?

Yes I am.

People often say you cannot be an entrepreneur without taking risk, do you believe in that?

Yes, I believe in that. Coming out of your house, eating, even sleeping you take risk, some people have gone to bed and they never woke up some people will even say if the person had known he/ she wouldn’t have gone to bed in the first place, coming and going to work every day is also a risk, but whatever you do, it is that risk factor that attracts money, as an entrepreneur, having an office and employing people are always risks because you might not even make it in that business but nobody is going to compensate or refund whatever you have invested in that business.

Could you compare between an entrepreneur and an employee using your own experience?

It has similarity because someone who is employing people is on the basis of making gain and achieving a goal which may not work because at the end of the day people may abscond with their money of accountant embezzle money, or they go bankrupt so I say there is similarity in that and as an entrepreneur who is taking risk, you know that this country, we don’t have government backup, you have to be the one that will source for the fund to start up any business you want to do which can be affected by so many things, natural disaster, government policy, whatever comes your way that will put up the business are all risk, there people who do not want to take risk at all, they remain where they are, they are not moving forward because they are not ready to take risk. BC

Personal Finance

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

How to juggle two jobs with ease

W

orking more than one job is hardly anyone’s idea of an ideal employment situation, but it can often prove necessary. You may find yourself piecing together an income from several part-time jobs, or you may want to earn a little extra spending money on top of your regular paycheque.

In any case, learning how to handle two or more jobs requires some special considerations. These considerations will help you manage your time and keep you from becoming overwhelmed by multiple jobs.

Ensure that working multiple jobs is the only viable option. The first question to ask yourself is whether you really need to be working two jobs. If you can leave one job and get extra hours at the other while still meeting your financial obligations, consider doing it. If you are working multiple jobs to generate spending money that you don’t need to meet your basic obligations, the physical and psychological stress is often not worth it.

Prioritise and delegate your responsibilities.

Unfortunately, balancing two jobs and a long work week will leave you unable to keep your home clean, cook your own meals, and take care of other responsibilities with diligence. To compensate, prioritise your tasks so that some are performed less frequently. If you can delegate cleaning or child care tasks to a family member, consider doing this to lighten your load of responsibilities.

Establish an exit strategy. You would likely prefer to be focusing your time and effort on only one job.

To make sure this becomes a reality, you need to determine what steps you will take to allow you to quit one job. For example, you may decide that you only need to work two jobs until you graduate from school. Or, you may move to an apartment with a lower rent payment so that you can leave one job.

Get rest whenever possible. If you are balancing multiple part-time jobs, your schedule will likely vary from week to week. It may not be possible to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, especially during the same hours. For this reason, you should take advantage of any down time you do get by going to bed early or resting for a few hours.

Sleep deprivation will eventually wear you down and make it progressively harder to balance two jobs along with your other commitments.

Make sure to keep in touch with friends and family. It’s no secret that working an immense work week can lead to neglect of your social commitments. However, neglecting your friendships generally only serves to increase the stress created through your multiple jobs. Try to meet with friends or make phone calls during quick lunch breaks or during a commute, for instance.

Overlap your work responsibilities if possible.

You may find that you can perform work for both jobs at the same time. For instance, if you work as a nanny or babysitter, you may be able to work on your computer for another job while caring for your clients’ children. Downtime during jobs, for example during a train/bus commute, can also be utilised by working on projects from your other job. BC

A14 30

Business Courage

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, October 13, 2014

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs KLINIC

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

R

ecently, a team of researchers from Babson College and Baruch College interviewed nearly 6,000 U.S. adults as part of the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report. Most respondents were just starting out, but had taken significant strides, writing business plans and securing financing. Others had been running their businesses for less than three-and-a-half years, according to Donna Kelly, a professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College.

According to the report, an increasing number of U.S. entrepreneurs (69 per cent) start their business at home, and many (59 per cent) continue to work from home, even after it is up and running.

As far as launching a business goes, “it’s a lifestyle preference,” says Dona Kelley. “They are opportunity-driven. They see an opportunity to improve their income or to pursue independence.”

In addition, the reports of the same research shows that only 16 percent of funding received by entrepreneurs surveyed came from banks, whereas 82 percent came from personal savings, family, and friends.

Worthy of note is that about 23 per cent of the startup entrepreneurs rely on at least one unpaid family member for help, while another 21 per cent count one or more paid relatives among their staff.

Dear prospective entrepreneur, the fact is for startup entrepreneur is that your family and friends are your point of advantage in life. Your starting point is from home because love begins at home.

Some time a budding entrepreneur might be finding it difficult to market her products or get the require support doing a project successful but often time many people in that position have not realise the important fact that family, friends, and community are starting platform for enterprise success. The first set of your venture marketers, customers, workers, financier, workspace agent, consultant, and constructive critics are in your family and community.

When an entrepreneur careless about the importance of family and friends support it increase

the startup cost and raise barrier to accessing the opportunity in family system.

My encouragement is that you look inside your family and community for opportunity first before you run outside for support. This idea is also an extension of the law of progress that says “first within then without.”

An example is a start up entrepreneur who started her cake bake enterprise from home. She began with fund from her dad, use her mum baking oven and kitchen utensil, market to her friends in the neighborhood and aunty for nephews birthday. She simply leverage on what and who she has to start her enterprise from home. The family and friends were the first marketer of her services, she never paid them in cash but kind. This example is a practical example from my sister in-law who runs her enterprise and growing in the last five years. Her family home was her starting point. You too can start from where you are now.

In the present economic situation family and community has a lot of responsibility towards supporting entrepreneurial passion of people as a functional method for community development and city building. This has been the trend of events in many developed economies.

In many developed economies, entrepreneurs who received support from family members started the top businesses that have grown over years. They

T

No excuse; start from there

‘

Dear prospective entrepreneur, the fact is for startup entrepreneur is that your family and friends are your point of advantage in life. Your starting point is from home because love begins at home

either use the car garage as home office, workshop, laboratory, or received their startup fund from parents, uncle and friends.

The truth is that relationship is a form of capital that builds on the foundation of love and good attitude. If you cannot start your business from home, get support from any member of family, friends, and community member then you most likely have attitude problem. The danger there is that if you successfully raise interest-bearing loan from bank or external party you may likely lose it because your bad attitude will attract more people with bad attitude on your team.

With many bad attitude people on any venture, failure is inevitable. Now, let us see examples of entrepreneurs who started from home with family whose business have become global brands.

Michael Kittredge In 1969, at 16 years old, Mi-

is known as the birthplace of Silicon Valley and HP is now one of the largest companies in the world.

‘

BUSINESS

chael Kittredge made his scented candle in his garage out of melted crayons as a gift for his mother. The neighbors took notice and expressed interest in buying Kittredge’s candles, so he started mass-producing them.

Four years later, Kittredge outgrew the garage so he moved the Yankee Candle Company to an old mill in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Today it’s the largest manufacturer of scented candles in the US. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard In 1939, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in Packard’s garage with an initial investment of $538. Their first product was an audio oscillator and one of their first customers was Walt Disney, who purchased eight oscillators to develop the sound system for the movie Fantasia.

The HP Garage in Palo Alto

Motivational Business Quotes

o be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart. – Thomas Watson, Sr.

The absolute fundamental aim is to make money out of satisfying customers. – John Egan There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities. – Michael Dell I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well.

– Alan Greenspan You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

Let’s be honest. There’s not a business anywhere that is without problems. Business is complicated and imperfect. Every business everywhere is staffed with imperfect human beings and exists by providing a product or service to other imperfect human beings.

– Bob Parsons

You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins. – Jim Stovall The only way around is through. – Robert Frost You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong. – Warren Buffett BC

Dr David O. Oyedepo In May 1983, 29 year old David Oyedepo started the faith based organisation known as Living Faith Church with 3 people from his resident and on table tennis as official working table in Kwara state, Nigeria. Today, the organisation is rated as one of the wealthiest faith based organisations in the world. Through the leadership of Oyedepo Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Schools have been established to equip the youth for global influence.

William S. Harley In 1901, 21-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans to create a small engine to power a bicycle. Over the next two years, Harley and his childhood friend, Arthur Davidson, built their motor-bicycle out of their friend’s 10 by 15-foot wooden shed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the equivalent of a garage because they didn’t have cars.

They officially founded Harley-Davidson in 1903 and today it’s the most well-known motorcycle brand in the world.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, ages 21 and 26 respectively, started Apple Computers by selling 50 units of Wozniak’s Apple I Computer at $500 apiece to a local retailer.

Jobs took the purchase order to a parts distributor and ordered the parts. “The Steves” and their small team hand-built 50 computers in 30 days from a garage in Cupertino, California. Today, Apple is the most valuable technology company in the world.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin As Stanford Graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin started what’s now known as Google from Susan Wojcicki’s garage in September 1998. Soon the project was interfering with their schoolwork, so they tried to sell it to Excite for $1 million.

Excite rejected the offer and now Google is the most trafficked site in the world. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A15 31

How Mobile phone sector transforms economic and social activities in Nigeria T

he telecommunication sector of the economy has sprout since the licensing of the industry in the country. As it is, the sector can be described as the fastest growing with the immense influence and grip it has on its users across the country and the world over. It came packaged with quite a number of conveniences ranging from social media, e-commerce, mobile payments.

The country joined the digital age with the emergence of democracy in 1999.

The former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, paved way for the full liberalization of the telecommunication industry in the country. The Federal government strengthened its liberalization by setting up the Nigerian Communications Commission to regulate the all the activities in industry.

However, the liberalization policy opened up the sector to competition. In 2001 three companies, South Af-

rica-based MTN, Zimbabwebased ECONET (now Airtel) and Nigeria-based M-Tel were licensed by the NCC to provide GSM services in the country. Globacom, the Second National Operator based in Nigeria, was given a license in 2002 while Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), based in the United Arab Emirates, got the fifth GSM license in 2007.

The revolution of GSM in 2001 changed the face of information and communications technology in Nigeria and contributed to the rapid development of the Nigerian telecoms sector. The telecoms sector is a major contributor to foreign direct investment in Nigeria, along with the banking, and oil and gas sectors.

Competition in the sector has continued to empower consumers in terms of innovative products with high quality; and also drives the economy by providing employment and revenue to the government.

According to the latest annual subscriber data compiled by NCC, the Nigeria’s telecom operators have been able to connect over 177 million mobile phone subscribers, of which more than 129 million of them are active users of the networks.

NCC indicated in its annual telecoms industry data that Nigeria’s tele-density has increased from 85.97 percent in June 2013 to 92.42 percent at the end of April 2014.

Tele-density is the percentage of connected lines in relation to the population in a given period of time, and its growth is proportional to the growth in telephone subscriber base.

The telecommunication sector contributed 8.53 percent to the country’s GDP in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest statistics released by the NCC. Based on the information released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, it is now

obvious that the sector is contributing in no small measure to the Nigeria’s economy.

NBS is the nation’s statistical agency statutorily responsible for the compilation of the national accounts statistics.

While presenting to the public the result of Nigeria’s GDP rebasing and re-benchmarking exercise, CEO Yemi Kale stated that the telecommunication sector contributed 8.69 percent to the nation’s economy in 2013, equivalent to N6.97 trillion ($44.3 billion) out of the total rebased GDP estimate of N80.22 trillion ($510 billion).

Nigeria’s Vanguard Newspaper reported that at the 2013 International Telecommunications Union’s Telecom World Summit, Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, disclosed that the “ decision to invest in Nigeria in 2001 was a decision highly criticized in South Africa. But it is a risk that has now paid off.”

Goodluck also noted that in 2001 when MTN was granted license to operate in Nigeria, the share price of the mobile operator dropped by 40 percent, but today the share price in South Africa is over 2000 rands.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Eugene Juwah, has expressed optimism that the ICT sector will contribute about 15 percent to the country’s GDP by 2015.

Also, while speaking to the press in Lagos, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said “Nigerian operators have created close to 10,000 direct jobs since liberalisation of the telecoms sector, and a pace of nearly 1,000 direct, full time equivalent positions are being created each year.

“On an indirect basis, the total number of jobs created by the telecoms operators’ hovers between one and three million depending on the estimates,” Ogunsanya added.

Continued on pg A16

A16 32

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Technotalk with Esther Ozue ICT Investment Trends In Insurance Enterprise ICT Spending Patterns Through To The End Of 2015 Maximising computer

(ozueesther@nationalmirroronline.net) 08059234648 (sms only)

T

he findings from a survey of 132 insurance companies regarding their Information & Communications Technology (ICT) investment trends. The survey investigates how insurers’ currently allocate their ICT budgets across the core areas of enterprise ICT expenditure: hardware, software, IT services, communications, and consulting.

Kable’s survey shows that insurers are increasing their investment in ICT services by (X%), compared to 2013, and reach (X%) in 2014.• In 2014, X% of insurers are planning to increase their overall ICT expenditure (both slightly and significantly) in the IT project of business support.• Core policy administration has been assigned the highest investment priority, as X% of respondents are considering it as one of the top three IT projects for insurers in 2014. This report presents the findings from a survey of 132 insurers regarding their Information & Communications Technology (ICT) investment trends. The

survey investigates how insurers currently allocate their ICT budgets across the core areas of enterprise ICT expenditure: hardware, software, IT services, communications, and consulting.The report illustrates the core technologies enterprises are investing in, including security, business intelligence, and content management. The survey also highlights the approach adopted by insurers to purchase technology. Through Kable’s survey, the report aims to provide better insight to ICT vendors and services providers when pitching their solutions to insurers.

In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:• Understand how ICT budgets are set to change in 2014 in terms of their overall size.• Appreciate how IT budgets are allocated across the core elements of IT spend, including hardware, software, services, communications, and consulting.• Learn how IT money is being spent in areas such as the data centre, applications, IT management and

the network.• Gain an understanding regarding which ICT functions insurers are interested in outsourcing.• Identify insurers’ investment priorities based on their budget allocations across core technology categories such as security, business intelligence, and content management. • Learn about the drivers that are influencing insurers’ in each technology category.• Establish how insurers’ IT budgets are currently allocated across various segments within a technology category.• Gain insight into how insurers plan to change their ICT budget allocations across various segments within a technology category.• Understand the vendor mindshare for various core and advanced technology categories.• Provides insight into insurers’ preferred buying approaches.• Comprehend the business and IT objectives that insurers are looking to achieve through their IT investment strategies. • Understand the factors that are influencing insurers’ decision to select an ICT provider. BC

Why GT Advanced Technology’s Decline Is as Clear as Sapphire Glass

I

f you thought the newest Apple (AAPL) phones were going to have sapphire glass screens made by GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) , you were wrong. On Sept. 8, the day before Apple unveiled the newest versions of its iPhones, rumors started circulating the sapphire screen hadn’t made the cut. That day GT Advanced shares started falling and they have since been down by as much as 35%. On Tuesday alone the shares fell to an intra-day low of $11.10 from $17.15. Shares currently trade around $11.60.

Despite the recent decline, shares have been up over 33% for the year to date thanks, in part, to those rumors. So if you’re in the stock now, lock in profits and move on to the next great idea or risk losing 25% more.

Raymond James analyst Pavel Malchanov believes these shares are still too expensive.

At 22 times forward earnings estimates of 54 cents per share, according to Yahoo! Finance, it’s hard to argue against Malchanov’s position.

Of all of the analysts who cover GT Advanced, the lowest analyst price target is $9, which represents roughly 25% decline from current levels.

Hanging on to a stock on hopes that it will recover is one thing, but for a company that has yet to post positive earnings and recently posted year-over-year revenue decline of more than 60% that’s not a risk worth taking.

Plenty of bets were made ahead of Apple’s launch of the

iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus. But Raymond James deserves credit. On Aug. 28, the investment firm downgraded the stock to underperform. Raymond James remains bearish. This time, bet on the analyst.

Apple does plan to use sapphire glass on its Apple Watch but GT Advanced, which has a supply agreement with Apple, has yet to disclose any financial details about it.

Malchanov doesn’t think the Apple Watch sapphire-coated display is enough of a catalyst to propel the stock higher in 2015, which is when the watch will be made available to the public.

Accordingly, until there is more clarity on the pricing structure of the watch relative to the sapphire display size, these shares will continue to see more downside pressure. So for investors thinking the recent 35% decline presents a buying opportunity, you’re likely to get cut by a falling knife. BC

performance

M

any computer users tend to pay little attention to their computer performance. It doesn’t really matter if your computer is expensive, cheap or from a famous brand, what counts is its usefulness and how you can securely use it to grow your business.

One of the drastic things that can happen to your computer is the drastic slowdown of its overall performance.

Getting rid of any temporary files can clear up a significant amount of disk space and helps you to maximise your computer performance.

Disk cleanup will do this for you without a lot of hassles. Temporary files are always kept when you surf web pages or use programs on your computer which can build up and occupy a huge amount of space on your system.

Running Disk Cleanup will remove all temporary files, if you check the appropriate box before starting the process. It is essential to clean up any disk errors, at least once a week, and this can be done by using the Check Disk utility. This can be accessed by clicking Start, then My Computer, then the drive you want to be error checked which is usually C for most users, then select Properties, click Tools, then Check Now. Check Disk can take an hour or two to run.

Disk Defragmenter should be run on a monthly basis at least if you want to maximise your computer performance. Over time, your files can be fragmented to different areas of the disk, and this will cause your system to take longer to retrieve the files or run the program, since the computer will have to search for every fragment and reassemble the file.

Disk Defragmenter fixes this, by bringing file fragments back together, making it much easier for the computer to find the file or program much quicker.

You can also maximise your computer performance by reducing the size and duration of the history for web pages. It is best if you only save these pages for one day; it is advisable not to save more than seven days under any circumstances because your computer will slow down significantly.

Simply open the Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Internet Options, and then change the settings as needed.

This will maximise your computer settings and make it run much faster.

You also should make sure you do not save encrypted web pages, because these pages can contain sensitive security information.

You could also maximise you computer performance by installing a quality anti spyware and antivirus program as these will both keep electronic infections and malicious software off your computer. The programs need to be updated frequently if you stay connected at all times, like with broadband and cable connections.

Another efficient way to maximise your computer performance is to use a registry cleaner. When you remove programs, fragments can stay in the Windows registry after the program is uninstalled. This can cause your computer to become sluggish and perform badly. A registry cleaner will solve this problem by automatically editing the files in the registry and cleaning out any fragments of files that were removed or not needed.

Uninstall features you do not use. Operating systems are installed comprehensively, and usually include a list of features you may never use. Identify the operating system (OS) features you do not need and uninstall them to free up system resources of which the process may be different from one computer to another.

Finally, your desktop is a vital area in maximising your computer performance. A lot of people save every of their work on the desktop thereby clogging the hard drive. Local disk is the appropriate place to save your works.

Follow these simple tips and see the results manifest by having a superfast computer performance. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Gonzalez

ITC launches SME Trade Academy with Subsidized Courses for Developing and Emerging Economies

I

n order to enhance international competitiveness of African small and medium-sized enterprises, the International Trade Centre has launched an e-learning SME Trade Academy to offer practical, vocational training online for SMEs and trade advisors in the public and private sectors.

ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the Millennium Development Goals.

According to the press statement made available by the ITC, the SME Trade Academy is centered around an online platform to complement ITC’s existing capacity building work, training and advisory services in the field.

It offers an initial catalogue of online courses ranging from export marketing to supply chain management and access to finance for SMEs. Commenting on the initiative, ITC Executive Director Arancha Gonzalez said that the e-learning platform puts ITC’s expertise in the hands of entrepreneurs who want to tap into potential trade opportunities through practical online training and export related courses, coupled with mentoring.

Gonzalez explains that “e-learning at ITC is about quality and pragmatic, practical training. It is not about theory or academic training. Instead it focuses on providing managers and

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

staff of SMEs and trade and investment support organizations with the necessary tools and practical knowledge to enhance the internationalization of companies,” she said.

ITC disclosed that ahead of the launch of the SME Trade Academy, more than 400 participants from 55 countries have had the opportunity to test the platform, highlighting many tangible and sustainable benefits towards improved effectiveness of ITC’s trade related technical assistance.

ITC’s emerging distance learning programme offers a series of online courses and access to educational material on a range of trade related topics. The programme aims to provide staff in trade support institutions, enterprises - particularly SMEs - and trade policy specialists with access to pragmatic, topical online courses and learning material in support of skills development.

The organization noted that the course catalogue is constantly enriched. Tutors include both ITC subject matter experts and external, guest experts who often are globally recognized references in their topic of expertise.

Charged courses cost from $20 to $500 and are subsidized at 60 percent for emerging economies and 100 percent for the least developed countries.

The academy will also focus on enhancing technical assistance through in-person workshops.

Xiaomi, but was referring to Apple’s competition in general.

Xiaomi has been accused of copying before, but the company has said the suggestion was “sensationalist”.

Hugo Barra, who was poached by Xiaomi from Google, said the Chinese firm was “an incredibly innovative company”.

But the company has come under fire from people who believed its designs appeared similar to Apple’s iPhones and iPads.

Sir Jonathan, who was born in Chingford, London, was at the San Francisco event to discuss his career.

But when asked about his feelings towards copycat manufacturers, he said: “I have to be honest the last thing I think is, ‘Oh that is flattering.’

“All those weekends I could’ve been home with my family - I think it’s theft and lazy. I don’t think it’s OK at all.”

However, some argue that Apple itself is not immune from picking up design and hardware inspiration from its competitors.

“Every Apple product is an evolution of a product that has come before it,” said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davis Murphy Group.

“They are rarely the first to come to market with a product.

UGRL quiz contest showcases pupils ICT competitiveness

By Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

U

Jonathan

Apple’s designer accuses copycats of theft

A

pple’s lead designer Sir Jonathan “Jony” Ive has hit out at companies he believes copy his firm’s products.

Speaking at an event hosted

by Vanity Fair, the 47-yearold said: “I don’t see it as flattery, I see it as theft.”

He was responding to a question from the audience about Chinese tech maker

nited Global Resources Nigeria Ltd UGRL has hosted the third in their series of quiz contest for pupils in Lagos state to showcase their ICT competitiveness and potential for passing professional certification examinations.

According to Vipul Gajjar, UGRL’s general manager, this year’s event which was hosted in Lagos had about 50 participating schools in the primary segment drawn the from private schools in Lagos.

“We started this quiz competition three years back and we got a very good response in terms of the students’ performance and it also offers us the opportunity to give back to the society and we are planning to extend it to Abuja, Portharcourt and other major towns in Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that the com-

Gajjar

pany was part of the education system of a lot of schools where they help to entrench competitiveness and high ICT standards of learning.

“You can see that the quiz tends to help exhibit the children’s high level of competitiveness level in the knowledge of ICT and the opportunity for them to also obtain international certification. So the next generations to lead Nigeria are going to be ICT influenced,” he said.

He disclosed that it was very important to take children‘s ICT knowledge down to the primary school level and that the effort is being well repaid as over 30 students last year got international certification from Microsoft.

He noted that the achievement was due to the collaboration of partner schools and hard work put in by the UGRL teachers who cover about 52 schools with over 6000 students in Lagos where they teach a specialised ICT curriculum.

“We are teaching them ICT as a core subject and the schools see our efforts as an added value in the training of their students.

We have made this a yearly event because the parents and students are very appreciative and that is why the event is bigger this year compared to the two previous editions in terms of size and number of participants,” Gajjar said.

He narrated that nine years ago most of the schools did not have a single computer but today all partner schools have invested heavily and shifted to the model of one computer per child which has produced better delivery and outcomes evident in their performances in the quiz competitions and other international certification examinations.

“We started with private schools that can accommodate the required ICT infrastructure and we are also ready to move into public schools if they can provide the platform. We want to

A17 33

bring ICT to the grass-root level that is why we are starting from the primary schools,” he said.

Gajjar hinted that career oriented programmes for secondary schools where students will be offered guidance and counseling advice, was being planned by the company in the near future.

One of the teachers of a first time participating school, Totsville school, Samuel Ogunyemi observed that the questions grouped into three areas: the fundamentals, the Microsoft word and excel were really of a high standard.

“I think the fundamental which is a general area is a bit simple for the children but as they entered the basic aspects which is the word and the excel it wasn’t that easy; the questions these children are answering correctly are even a bit difficult for adults to get so I think if they continue like this it portends good for the future of the country,” he said.

Matthew Alo, one of the UGRL trainers disclosed under the UGRL initiative, students were exposed to sitting for real-time online examination at a very tender age and that through the initiative last year one of their partner schools was able to produce Nigeria’s youngest certified Microsoft professional aged nine.

He lamented that during the just introduced JAMB computer based testing CBT examination in the country it was discovered that there were students who had never touched a computer in their lives and as such they didn’t even know the different parts of a computer.

“Most of the things we train the children on are things that most adults find difficult to access despite the fact that we are in a computer age. The challenge we are having in this country can be overcome if we catch them young to get them used to ICT and prepare them for further exposure,” he noted.

At the end of this year’s keenly contested quiz competition, Childline private schools came first and were presented with a laptop for the school while second placed Jewel and Pearls Private School got a projector set and Halcyon International School who came third got a HP all-in-one printer besides individual prizes for all the contestants BC and the audience. BC

A18 34

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

Autocare Seatbelt Effectiveness

By Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

T

he Land Rover Discovery Sport is the replacement for the Freelander, and is set to go on sale in 2015. The Land Rover Freelander will be killed off early next year, and replaced by this new Land Rover Discovery Sport, a seven-seat SUV that will kick-start a new family of models sold with the Discovery name.

Prices will start slightly up on the current, ageing model, but Land Rover says the additional cost is justified by the design, technical and practical improvements made on the Discovery Sport. Rivals include the Audi Q5, Hyundai Santa Fe and Volvo XC60.

The Discovery Sport has been designed to be the most versatile car in its sector, yet retain the premium quality for which Land Rover is known. It is 9cm longer than the Freelander, at 459cm, 7cm of which has been used to make the middle row of seats truly spacious.

Behind the wheel The only engine available initially is an 188bhp 2.2-litre diesel engine denoted as the Discovery Sport SD4.

It produces 310lb ft of pulling power and gives the car a 0-60mph time from 8.4sec. This model is available only with four-wheel drive, but nonetheless average fuel economy is 46.0mpg while CO2 emissions start at 162g/km, depending on whether the engine is linked to the ninespeed automatic gearbox or sixspeed manual. The current Freelander powered by the SD4 engine averages 40.4mpg and emits 185g/ km.

However, the SD4 powertrain will be replaced as soon as mid-2015, by a more efficient turbocharged diesel called eD4. This new engine, part of Jaguar Land Rover’s new Ingenium engine range, will emit from 119gkm of CO2, suggesting an average economy figure of around 47mpg. It will be available with a nine-speed automatic gearbox or six-speed manual.

This power unit will be available with two- or four-wheel drive models.

Additionally, Land Rover says the Discovery Sport has been optimised for use off-road. In particular, it highlights the car’s 60cm wade depth and the four settings of its Terrain response system: general, grass/gravel/snow, mud and ruts and sand. Other standard off-road aids available include hill descent control, roll stability control, dynamic stability control, traction control and engine drag torque control.

The steering is also electrically power assisted, reducing fuel consumption and allowing the introduction of an option for a self-parking function where the car steers itself into a parallel parking space or parking bay.

On the inside Land Rover describes the interior seating arrangement as 5+2 rather than a full 7-seater, because the rearmost seats are for occasional use only; they’ve been designed around an average 15-year old.

As standard the middle row of seats can be reclined, slid back and forward by 16cm, and can be split 60:40. They are also 5cm higher than the front seats, to give passengers a better view.

Climate control for the front two rows of seats is standard, while buyers can specify air-con for the rearmost seats, as well as additional 12V and USB sockets so that passengers can use their electronic devices.

The four trim levels are called SE, SE Tech, HSE and HSE Luxury. The highlights of SE include half-leather, climate control, 18-inch wheels, rear parking sensors and heated seats.

SE Tech costs £1500 more and adds a touch-screen sat-nav, front parking sensors and a powered tailgate.

HSE adds a further £3600 for full leather, a panoramic roof, reversing cameras and 19-inch wheels, while HSE Lux adds £3600 for premium leather, climate-controlled seats and the automatic parking function.

New technol technology In the cent centre of the Discovery a new eight-inch Sport’s dash there’s the screen that uses phonestyle dragging, scrolling and swiping functions to move between functions and screens. ti The T main screen controls functions such t as the audio, climate, telephone and navigation controls, while other options w including turning the i car ca into a wi-fi hotspot or d displaying off-road or economy data. Sat-nav is econ standard standa on SE Tech models and above.

The Discovery Sport’s infotainment system is also optimised for use with smartphones. As an option, downloadable apps will allow owners to perform tasks such as summoning the emergency or breakdown services through the touch-screen, or to track their car if it is stolen.

Also, two phones can be linked at once; one to make calls and one to stream music from.

Buyers have a choice of three audio systems: SE models get a 10-speaker system, while HSE models have an 11-speaker system. Buyers also have the option of a more advanced infotainment system, which includes a more advanced sat-nav system, a dual-view screen system, so a passenger can, for instance, watch a DVD while the driver sees the sat-nav.

Among the safety features are ABD automatic braking, which uses sensors to detect potential impacts and automatically apply the brakes to stop the car from speeds up to 32mph, or reduce impact speeds at up to 50mph. The same system also gives audio and visual warnings if it detects a possible cause of a collision, such as a row of stationary traffic. Additional to the standard roster of airbags, the Discovery Sport also features a new pedestrian airbag system which triggers from the base of the windscreen when the car detects a significant front impact at between 15 and 30mph.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport goes on sale on January 22 2015.

Initial demand is expected to be strong because of the traditional appeal of new Land Rover models, plus the inherent improvements over the outgoing Freelander. However, the decision to launch the car with an engine that will be replaced around six months after its launch is likely to prompt many buyers to wait for the more efficient unit, despite pricing details for that car not yet being available. Resale values and running costs of the newer engine will also likely be much better. BC

B

elts work as a restraint for vehicle occupants both by keeping them in their cars during a crash and by lessening the impact of a crash. During a crash, three distinct forces occur.

The first is the force of the vehicle colliding with another object. The second is the force of the occupant’s body colliding with the interior of the vehicle.

The third is the force of the occupant’s body organs colliding against the body’s skeletal structure. A seatbelt functions to stop the occupant with the car, preventing the body from continuing to travel at the car’s original speed after the car has stopped. The seatbelt also spreads the deceleration energy over the larger, stronger parts of the body, namely, the pelvis, chest, and shoulders, which are more able to absorb the energy without sustaining injury.

According to traffic safety researchers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), seatbelts reduce a person’s chances of dying in a crash by 45 per cent and being injured by 50 per cent. Seatbelts also prevent total ejections from a car during a crash, an important factor in preventing fatalities, since 75 per cent of car occupants who are totally ejected during a crash are killed, according to NHTSA. Several independent studies have shown that seatbelts also reduce the severity of injury: the odds of serious injury for people not wearing seatbelts are four to five times greater than for people who are belted. In short, research has repeatedly demonstrated what is now widely known: seatbelts save lives and prevent injury.

Seatbelts also reduce the cost associated with motor vehicle crashes, the most costly and fatal form of unintentional injury. Because seatbelts lessen the severity of injury during a crash, the average inpatient charge for an unbelted driver is over 60 per cent greater than the charge for a belted driver. According to the national safety council, the estimated cost of motor vehicle crashes in 1994 alone was $169 billion in lost wages, medical expenses, and administrative costs.

As more drivers buckle up, the social costs associated with motor vehicle injuries decline. NHTSA estimates that between 1975 and 2000, seatbelts saved over 135,000 lives -- 12,000 in 2000 alone.

If all vehicle occupants used seatbelts, over 9,000 additional lives could have been saved in 2000.

Seatbelts first appeared in American automobiles in the early 1900s. With few other cars to collide with at the time, seatbelts were popular not for their role in crash protection but because they kept occupants inside their cars during bumpy rides.

Seatbelts were later installed in airplanes to keep pilots from falling out during upside-down manoeuvres, and added to race cars in the 1920s.

In 1950, the first factory-installed seatbelts in the U.S. appeared in the 1950 Nash statesman and ambassador models. This was nearly 20 years after U.S. physicians had begun urging auto manufacturers to provide seatbelts in cars.

Until the late 1960s and early 1970s, the automotive industry in the U.S. was almost entirely unregulated, and concern over traffic safety had been minimal. In 1965 an estimated 50,000 people were killed in automobile crashes. That same year, the senate passed a two-year, $320 million highway beautification bill that provided $5 million for a study of ways to dispose of scrapped cars, and a meagre $500,000 for a study of highway safety.

The auto industry at the time believed that safety would not sell, and that an emphasis on a car’s safety features would scare the public. Advertising instead generally focused on a car’s comfort, style, and performance. At the same time, efforts to reduce traffic crashes never focused on the automobile, but rather on the driver or the road. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A19 35

Global Commodities ENERGY AND OIL PRICES CRUDE OIL & NATURAL GAS Commodity Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) TOCOM Crude Oil NYMEX Natural Gas

Grain market hit turbulence after data surprises

W

orld food prices fell to their lowest since August 2010 in September as prices of all major food groups except meat dropped, led by a sharp decline in dairy prices, the UN’s food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 191.5 points in September, down 5.2 points or 2.6 percent from August.

The figure was 12.2 points or 6.0 percent below September 2013.

It was the sixth consecutive slip in the index, which FAO said was the longest period of continuous falls since the late 1990s. Affecting all international commodity prices is “the US dollar’s broad appreciation,” FAO said.

The Russian ban on dairy imports from countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine continues to weigh on dairy prices, FAO said.

European Union dairy farms are

moving away from cheese production and raising butter and skimmed milk output, which is in turn stimulating powdered milk production “as manufactures seek to adjust products to ensure the best returns,” FAO said.

Bucking the trend, meat prices gained marginally to 207.8 points in September, 0.3 of a point higher than its revised value for August. At historic highs, meat prices may have “reached a peak,” FAO said.

Underpinning falling prices are strong output forecasts for cereal and wheat, and expected high levels of cereal stocks at the end of the year.

FAO raised its forecast for global cereal production for 2014 to 2.523 billion tonnes, 65 million tonnes higher than its May forecast.

The agency also raised its world wheat output forecast to 718.5 million tonnes, a new record, versus 716.5 million tonnes previously, and predicted world cereals stocks at the end of the 2015 season would be 627.5 million tonnes, versus 616.0 million tonnes in its previous forecast. BC

Brazil dryness extends fears for 2015 coffee crop

C

offee prices suffered a late retreat despite mounting concerns over the threat that 2015 will bring a second successive drought-hit harvest in Brazil, amid reports of poor results from the first round of flowering.

Arabica coffee futures for December delivery ended 0.9% lower at 214.45 cents a pound in New York, well below an intraday high of 221.40 cents a pound.

The weak close came despite continued talk of the damage to prospects for Brazil’s 2015 coffee harvest, particularly of arabica beans, from drought which has already badly dented the 2014 result, costing farmers well over 10m bags in output, compared with harvest estimates close to 60m bags before dryness struck.

A water deficit which has passed 200mm in some areas of Brazil’s coffee state of Minas Gerais, according to ProCafe, above the level of 150mm the consultancy deems critical, in encouraging plant damage, besides discouraging blossoming, and the setting of what flowers do form.

‘Irreversible losses’ The fixing of “most” flowers during the

first blossoming, from late August to early September, “might not occur due to the water deficit”, said Cepea, the research institute linked to Sao Paulo University.

“Recent rains have not mitigated the lack of water,” the institute said, noting that industry figures it has talked to dispute ideas that rains late last month have significantly improved the chances of flowers setting to form the cherries which will be harvested in mid-2015.

“Players surveyed… say that part of the losses caused by the dry weather is already irreversible,” Cepea said.

‘Most flowers fell’ In the Cerrado Mineiro region, in north western Minas Gerais, which enjoyed a relatively strong late-August blossoming period, “due to the heavy dry weather after flower opening, most flowers fell”, and has not been followed by a second blossom.

In more southern areas of the state, “the first blossoming was not significant”, with what flowers did occur small, thanks to “the lack of rains and high temperatures”.

“Rains were registered in late September, but the volume was not enough to change the scenario,” the institute said.

Price 97.88 104.84 66,540.00 3.80

Change 0.00 -1.18 -550.00 -0.04

% Change 0.00% -1.11% -0.82% -1.12%

Contract Sep 14 Sep 14 Jan 15 Sep 14

Time(ET) 17:14:59 18:00:00 14:59:41 17:14:49

REFINED PRODUCTS RBOB Gasoline USd/gal.

NYMEX Heating Oil USd/gal.

ICE Gasoil USD/MT TOCOM Kerosene JPY/kl

274.43 286.61 885.75 82,810.00

0.00 0.00 -3.75 -470.00

0.00% 0.00% -0.42% -0.56%

Sep 14 Sep 14 Sep 14 Feb 15

17:14:28 17:14:28 18:00:00 14:59:41

EMISSIONS ICE ECX Emissions

6.29

+0.06

+0.96%

Dec 14

11:59:59

Gold, Silver and GOLD COMEX Gold TOCOM Gold Gold Spot Euro Spot British Pound Spot Japanese Yen Spot Indian Rupee Spot

Units USD/bbl.

USD/bbl.

JPY/kl USD/MMBtu

EUR/MT

Industrial Metals Prices USD/t oz.

JPY/g USD/t oz.

EUR/t oz.

GBP/t oz.

JPY/t oz.

INR/t oz.

1,294.80 4,272.00 1,293.75 963.31 769.12 132,749.13 78,627.69

+12.00 +17.00 +11.16 +5.41 +9.49 +895.09 +492.11

+0.94% +0.40% +0.87% +0.56% +1.25% +0.68% +0.63%

Dec 14 Jun 15 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

17:15:00 14:59:58 16:59:45 16:59:57 16:59:56 16:59:45 16:58:44

USD/t oz.

JPY/g USD/t oz.

EUR/t oz.

GBP/t oz.

JPY/t oz.

INR/t oz.

20.37 67.10 20.33 15.14 12.09 2,085.85 1,236.10

0.00 -0.80 -0.07 -0.09 +0.01 -10.61 -6.26

0.00% -1.18% -0.33% -0.60% +0.05% -0.51% -0.50%

Sep 14 Jun 15 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

17:14:56 14:38:39 16:59:48 16:59:57 16:59:46 16:59:52 16:59:46

OTHER PRECIOUS METALS Platinum Spot USD/t oz.

Palladium Spot USD/t oz.

1,463.69 864.45

+3.06 -8.43

+0.21% -0.97%

N/A N/A

16:58:10 16:56:03

INDUSTRIAL METALS COMEX Copper USd/lb.

LME 3 Month Copper USD/MT LME 3 Month Aluminum USD/MT LME 3 Month Zinc USD/MT LME 3 Month Tin USD/MT

321.45 7,115.00 1,988.00 2,360.00 22,850.00

0.00 -10.00 -34.00 -20.00 -40.00

0.00% -0.14% -1.68% -0.84% -0.17%

Sep 14 2014 10 31 2014 10 31 2014 10 31 2014 10 31

17:15:00 07/31/2014 07/31/2014 07/31/2014 07/31/2014

Agricultural Commodity Prices GRAINS CBOT Corn USd/bu.

362.25 CBOT Wheat USd/bu.

534.25 CBOT Oats USd/bu.

330.75 CBOT Rough Rice USD/cwt 12.79 CBOT Soybeans USd/bu.

1,058.50 CBOT Soybean Meal USD/st 342.40 CBOT Soybean Oil USd/lb.

35.71 ICE Canola CAD/mt 434.30

-4.75 +4.00 +0.25 -0.20 -23.50 -6.40 -0.69 -7.00

-1.29% +0.75% +0.08% -1.50% -2.17% -1.83% -1.90% -1.59%

Dec 14 Sep 14 Dec 14 Sep 14 Nov 14 Dec 14 Dec 14 Nov 14

14:15:00 14:15:00 14:15:00 14:14:58 14:15:00 14:15:00 14:15:00 14:14:59

SOFTS ICE Cocoa ICE Coffee “C” ICE Sugar #11 ICE Orange Juice Conc ICE Cotton #2 SFE Greasy Wool CME Lumber TOCOM Rubber CME Ethanol

USD/mt USd/lb.

USd/lb.

USd/lb.

USd/lb. cents/kg USD/tbf JPY/kg USD/gal.

3,207.00 192.35 16.35 139.35 63.27 324.10 205.80 1.91

-12.00 -2.70 -0.11 -1.35 +0.40 -0.30 -0.10 +0.01

-0.37% -1.38% -0.67% -0.96% +0.64% -% -0.09% -0.05% +0.47%

Dec 14 Sep 14 Oct 14 Sep 14 Dec 14 Aug 14 Sep 14 Jan 15 Oct 14

13:30:00 13:35:10 13:08:34 14:00:00 14:20:35 14:54:40 05:59:55 14:14:11

LIVESTOCK CME Live Cattle CME Feeder Cattle CME Lean Hogs

USd/lb.

USd/lb.

USd/lb.

156.00 220.28 102.83

-1.33 -0.40 -0.35

-0.84% -0.18% -0.34%

Oct 14 Aug 14 Oct 14

17:00:00 14:54:32 14:54:31

SILVER COMEX Silver TOCOM Silver US Dollar Spot Euro Spot British Pound Spot Japanese Yen Spot Indian Rupee Spot

As with the 2014 harvest, prospects appear better for the robusta crop grown in Espirito Santo state, which has undertaken a third blossom, encouraged by widespread irrigation, although rain too is needed to boost the fixing of flowers.

‘Worsening every day’ The comments follow those from Cocatrel, the Brazilian co-operative, which on Tuesday said that drought had already cost it about 30% of 2015 coffee production, comparing the likely harvest with that of 2013, the last year not affected by drought.

And prospects are “worsening every day” without rain, said the co-

operative, which in 2013 harvested 1.5m bags of coffee, but estimates this year’s crop at 900,000 bags.

Cocatrel, based in southern Minas Gerais, said that its trees had seen a weak blossoming in August and a stronger one last month, but said rains were needed for flowers to set.

However, London analyst told Agrimoney.com it was still difficult to assess accurately what Brazil’s 2015 production prospects are.

Besides the lack of precedents to work off, “one day you get sent a picture of healthy coffee trees from a roaster, and the next a picture of awful looking trees from a co-operative”. BC

A20 36

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ossie Esiemokai Oss

Money Talk

Informed Analysis & Markets Discourse

E-mail: anthonyossie52@yahoo.com Tel: 08023021212 (SMS only)

It’s been a Long, Long Way from 1960 (1) T Thinking that we meant to compliment his knowledge of the Nigerian political economy condition; he gave us his entire focus while suspending his campaign of patrimonial denigration.

He may also have expected us, at this point, to complement and substantiate his assembly line pack of lies and misinformation, some of which were out rightly libelous anywhere between Teheran and Tijuana, Mexico. How on earth can he know that?

“Brother, how long ago did you come to these shores?” - we mildly asked him. In real terms, we doubted if he can in all honesty; still qualify to be counted among our brothers. Never mind, after all, we still shared common tribal marks and skin pigmentation of the sepia hue.

“I checked out during the inception of the Buhari Administration in 1984” - Brother Critic answered askance, not knowing where the wind was blowing.

He should have, at this point, asked the weatherman!

“Was it before the Andrew clip on national television or after, Sir” - we asked, very politely.

“I saw it just before I left”- his antenna was now extruding. This inquisitive guy was not heading where he thought. But it was beginning to be too late for his escape from merited reproach and odium.

“What did you do here in the US?” “I worked of course!” - his voice was now raised a decibel or two higher. Reverse umbrage was setting in and we were having our cockles warmed.

“When last were you home, my man?”

“What’s that got to do with you? If you must know, it was in 1998!”

“Oh, I see. Why don’t you write the Honorable Minister of Information Mr. Labaran Maku, as an emigrated Nigerian and naturalized US citizen, to send you a complimentary, return airticket to visit the old country and see things for yourself? While there, you may wish to ask the protocol Officers to check you into Transcorp Hotel or the Nicon Luxury Hotel, both owned by dynamic entrepreneurial Nigerians in your age group. After that visit you can return to the beautiful land of the brave and the free to continue this fulmination. But by then, you would be better informed, my brother.” Case closed. The chill or ice that followed could be cut with a hacksaw!

In all of its fifty-four years as an independent sovereign nation, Nigeria has been good, if not to all its citizens; to the vast majority. No nation can be

‘

Nations seek to increase the proportion of the middle-class, pursue sustainable growth and improve the quality of life of its citizens. It is not a mean endeavor, not anywhere; but all the same, it is a noble cause and the raison d’être of Governments and the governance mandates politicians and political parties in democracies are given

‘

his writer had been away for nearly three years. We were on an assignment in a far off, but neighboring country. The time away gave us ample and sober time to take a long and dispassionate view of our nation Nigeria, its promise, its selfactualization, the political economy factors powering its growth and development as well as the man-made issues inimical to its progress. One thing is certain, the country has come a very long way and it has weathered its travails and celebrated its victories in grand style. There is this pervasive national past-time of eternally deprecating our nation common to Nigerians, both at home and in the outside world. I know so, because oftentimes in my sojourns among its nationals in the Diaspora straddling United Arab Emirates or to be more specific Dubai, Budapest, London, New York, Atlanta and as far afield as Washington DC; it is the same depressing lamentation ad nausea.

Listening to a particularly vociferous but utterly ill-informed diatribe of one fellow country man (remember that early morning wake-up call to us, primarily bloody civilians?) in an ornate civic center in Chicago, Illinois in 2013, we put our self under considerable restraint. It was a time on the cross for us particularly when this lout of a fellow was simply playing to the gallery in front of fellow Africans including Malawians, Togolese, some Ghanaians and a sprinkling of East Africans. It was at an African reception of sought. Needless to say that our goat was got and stewed, when he attempted sacrilegiously, to cast aspersions on one of the superstars of the current Federal Government executive cabinet and was applauded by some non-Africans sitting on the next table. Our ‘Deep Throat’ countryman, a throwback to those market and motor park conjurers of this writer’s childhood, had a nasal twang possibly due to the abject number of years he spent flipping burgers in a congested fast food kitchen in his long, long years in the United States. In those same years, the object of his undeserved calumny came into the same country, attended Harvard University and went on to work at the topmost echelons at a Breton Woods citadel of the world financial system.

Without betraying our seething umbrage, lest we descend to his level in an ensuing argument or debate (he definitely wouldn’t be capable of this) we politely called his attention.

Photo: Courtesy New York City

said not to have its fair share of poverty, social disparity, injustice, crime and its genesis called corruption. This writer has seen homeless destitute near the PEWEX shop in Warsaw, in the area near Gare du Nord in Paris, in London Town, near Grand Central in New York and even in the Osu Area of beautiful Accra Ghana. National immunity against the dreg poverty did not come along with Dr. Salk’s humanity saving polio vaccine. The aspiration and the fight of every nation on earth is against poverty and changing the face of its demographics to progressively reduce the numbers of its poor and economically disadvantaged.

Nations seek to increase the proportion of the middle-class, pursue sustainable growth and improve the quality of life of its citizens. It is not a mean endeavor, not anywhere; but all the same, it is a noble cause and the raison d’être of Governments and the governance mandates politicians and political parties in democracies are given. That contract between those entrusted with governance and the commonwealth is, if anything, sacred to both parties. Governance and provision of the dividends of that social contract is not easy for the governing class while betrayed expectations, no matter how unrealistic and exaggerated those are, is painful to the governed plebeians.

This writer has lived through and celebrated all the fifty-four Independence celebrations and a few before those. In 1958 and 1959, we turned up with our pupil schoolmates at the Aba Township Stadium to march to the beat of -‘Home again Home again.

When shall I see my home? so la fa mi re do! When shall I see my Native Land? We shall never forget our home!’. We have never been able to ascertain the origin of that pining song, but we do suspect the Expeditionary Forces Nigeria sent to fight the ferocious Japanese in the dense humid jungles of Burma, which is today Myanmar, where An Suu Kyi is now free, composed it. It was a lusty song and to do justice to it, you needed a good stomach infrastructure breakfast of akpu and oha soup meal that morning. God would continue to bless my late mother who knew how to lay down a good concrete foundation. So you thought that stomach ‘infrastructuring’ started only yesterday?

We would kick off the day singing the British Anthem of ‘God Save The Queen’. That sweet, solemn and prayerful song does in itself not require any stomach reinforcement.

We however would have compulsorily been made to buy the artificial opium poppy weeks before. The various competing schools’ marionette bands were a sight to behold with their drum majors leading. Somehow, do whatever you may or wish, Christ the King School, Asa Road always carried first. Or you thought that vote rigging only started yesterday? We the other beaten schools would sing home a consolatory song that attribute this perennial primacy of a particular school among the eighteen in town to juju or jazz in today’s parlance.

Next week, this column would objectively look into the various succeeding Republics and their juxtaposing, cousin military regimes. What a promise: Balewa, Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala/ Obasanjo, Shagari, Buhari/Idiagbon, Babangida, Shonekan, Abacha, Abubakar, Obasanjo (Chief), Yar Adua, Jonathan. Our peg and emphasis would be economic gains and developmental attainments. Fellow countrymen, it would not seek to deconstruct but rather place in historical and evolutionary perspective - the eternal, indivisible project called N-i-g-e-r-i-a.

Happy Birthday Fatherland! BC Dr. Ossie A. Esiemokai, retired Resident Director Academics - The Premier University of Sao Tome and Principe is the author of ‘The Confessions of a Political Godfather’ now in print.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A21 37

Skye Bank pays mandatory deposit of 20 per cent for Mainstreet Bank acquisition

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

F

ollowing the signing of an agreement for the purchase of 100 per cent shares of Mainstreet Bank with the state owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Skye Bank Plc, the preferred bidder, has paid the mandatory deposit of 20 per cent for the acquisition of the target bank.

The payment, which was made well ahead of the deadline, confirms Skye Bank’s commitment and ability to consummate the transaction. The bank has also confirmed its ability to meet the remaining financial commitment on the acquisition within the specified time frame.

A statement from the bank said the agreement for the purchase was signed at the Lagos office of AMCON. The bank’s executive management team led by the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Oguntayo, signed on behalf of the bank, while AMCON was represented by its executive management.

It would be recalled that AMCON had announced Skye Bank as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of all its interest in Mainstreet Bank, representing the entire capital of the bridge bank. Skye Bank emerged the preferred bidder after a rigorous bidding exercise that spanned

Oguntayo

five months, with over 20 bidders contending.

The acquisition of Mainstreet Bank is part of Skye Bank’s strategic plan for growth. The bank also emerged from the very successful merger and integration of five banks in 2006, following the first phase of the banking industry consolidation. The bank intends to leverage its wealth of experience from the successful integration of five banks to drive efficiency, increase market share and ultimately ramp up stakeholder value from the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank.

The acquisition will avail the bank many benefits, including cost leadership, business optimisation, and greater ability to offer business convenience to its teeming retail and commercial customers, with a com-

bined branch network of over 450, across all the states of the federation.

AMCON was set up in 2010 to buy bad loans from lenders and stabilize Nigeria’s banking industry after a debt crisis threatened the industry with collapse.

It is selling three lenders it nationalised in 2011 after regulators said they were unfit for business. Mainstreet is the second of the nationalised banks that is close to being sold. AMCON named HBC Investment Services, a unit of Nigerian Heritage Banking Co., as preferred bidder for Enterprise Bank (FENB) on September 12.

Skye Bank was picked as the preferred bidder for Mainstreet after the asset attracted collapse. It is selling three lenders it nationalised in 2011 after regulators said they were unfit for business. Mainstreet is the second of the nationalised banks that’s close to being sold.

AMCON named HBC Investment Services, a unit of Nigerian Heritage Banking Co., as preferred bidder for Enterprise Bank (FENB) on September 12.

Skye Bank was picked as the preferred bidder for Mainstreet after the asset attracted interest from 25 local and foreign investors, AMCON said.

Cedar One Investment Partners Ltd. is the first-reserve bidder and Fidelity Bank Plc (FIDELITY) the second. BC

Access Bank’s net earnings up by 28%

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

A

ccess Bank Plc has reported 28 per cent growth in profit after tax during 3rd quarter ended September 30, 2014.

The bank in a filing with Nigerian Stock Exchange said the post-tax profit rose to N35.346bn up 28 per cent from N27.597bn during the comparable period of 2013.

Access Bank also said its nine month pre-tax profit rose to 42.15 billion, up 20 per cent from N35.087bn recorded a year ago.

Also, revenue rose 17.3 per cent to N181.798bn during the period under review from N155.026bn posted in 2013.

Access Bank Plc had reported 3.85 per cent growth in its 2014 half-year pre-tax profit.

The bank in a filing with Nigerian Stock Exchange said the pre-tax profit rose to N27.1bn up 3.85 per cent from N26.1bn during the comparable period of 2013.

Also, revenue rose 15.2 per cent to N117.93bn in the six months period under review from N102.4bn posted in 2013.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, the bank was poised for building and leveraging on resources and benefits of being a large diversified financial institution and also resolute to achieving the objective of becoming the world’s most respected African Bank.

Wigwe said the bank’s target was to achieve top three position in Africa by all financial metrics in 2017. He listed others to include becoming a reference

Wigwe

point for technology, sustaining high independent agency, leading project and structured finance bank and becoming best treasury and financial market bank in the country.

Access Bank Plc had announced that it would hold an extraordinary general meeting to seek shareholders’ approval to raise additional equity capital by way of rights issue.

The Bank would also seek shareholders’ approval that its authorised share capital be increased from N13bn, made up of 24 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each and two billion preference shares of 50 kobo each, to N20 billion by the creation of 14 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

The corporate action is expected to expand the bank’s operations and bolster its cash reserves. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has placed Access Bank’s shares on technical suspension, so as to preserve shareholders’ value before the rights issue. Access Bank Plc had successful issued a $400 million seven year tier-2 capital issuance, which is callable at the end of five years. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 10-10-14 All-Share Index 41,103.94 POINTS Market Capitalization N 13,572,347,588,448.67 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

CADBURY

52.5

53.69

CHAMPION

11.21

12.35

1.14

CCNN

15.08

15.75

0.67

OANDO

25.75

26.37

0.62

8.95

9.39

0.44

UBN

1.19

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

GUINNESS

204.24

195.7

33.25

32.15

-1.1

174

173.08

-0.92

177.09

176.66

-0.43

30.4

30.01

-0.39

PZ MOBIL NB GUARANTY

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE -8.54

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 10-Oct-2014

RATE%(CURR) 13-Oct-2014

CALL

0.0000 - 0.0000%

10.1500 -1 0.5000%

OBB

0.0000 - 0.0000%

10.2500 - 10.7500%

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%) 9.95

DATE

91-Day

21538.34

30-SEPT-14

182-Day

33783.25

10.1

30-SEPT-14

364-Day

59081.14

10.35

30-SEPT-14

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

160Day

60000

10.8

RATE (%)

13-OCT-14

DATE

161Day

50000

10.8

12-OCT-14

177Day

30000

10.8

10-OCT-14

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$500m

US$ 499,957,598.98m

US$ 499,957,598.98m

10-OCT-14

$350m

US$ 349,962,201.74m

US$ 349,962,201.74m

6-OCT-14

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Honeywell: sustains profitability on aggressive marketing

By Johnson Okanlawon

H

oneywell posted impressive performance in the 2014 financial year, as the company increased its production capacity and improved distribution of products. Both topline and bottomline closed positive in the year under review. However, it was not all positive news in its operating environment, as the recurrent infrastructural challenges coupled with the insurgency in the Northern part of the country affected the distribution process of the company.

Profitability For the company’s financial year ended March 31, 2014, it posted a profit after tax of N3.5bn, an increase of 18 per cent when compared to N2.8bn recorded in the same period of 2013. The company, which provides food products, recorded a turnover of N55.1bn, from N46bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2013, representing an increase of 21 per cent. The increase in revenue was attributed to increased production capacity and improved distribution of products.

The gross profit rose from N8bn in the year ended March 31, 2013 to N10.4bn in the period under review as a result of the efficient management of raw material sourcing and control of production cost.

The Managing Director, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, said the results reflect the company’s increased output capacity and aggressive push to meet rising demand across its product categories. According too him, despite the challenge of input cost pressures caused by increase in wheat prices, Honeywell Flour Mills was able to achieve a 32 per cent growth in gross profit.

Jaiyeola, who explained that the tough business environment in the economy had led to an increase in Honeywell’s operating expenses as it strengthened its operations, stressed that the company was keen to achieve sustained growth.

He said, “Growing the top line is our number one pri-

ority, even as large industry capacity remains a constant threat. We are committed to the development of higher margin products and from our results you can see that investments in brand equity are beginning to yield fruits as sales of our value- added products like semolina, wheat meal and noodles contributed more to our portfolio mix than in the past.

“This is a trend that we plan to sustain and even grow as we embark on a new phase in our corporate existence.”

He added that the company is currently at advanced stages in the development of a new pasta plant and an integrated animal feed mill in Sagamu, Ogun State.

Jaiyeola

Liquidity The company’s shareholders’ fund and total assets increased by 11 per cent and 15 per cent to N20.6bn and N63.8bn respectively. Earnings per share also rose to 42.26 kobo from 35.86 kobo declared in the preceding year. It paid a total of N1.34bn to shareholders in the year under review, representing a distribution of 17 kobo for every 50 kobo ordinary shares held. The company’s current assets stood at N27.7bn, as against the non-current assets of N36.1bn. its current liabilities rose to N28.1bn, while total liabilities stood at N43.2bn. retain earnings stood at N20.6bn.

Business strategy In the period reported, Honeywell Flour Mills forged

stronger relationships with its distributors and strategic partners through several business-tobusiness engagement fora and initiatives aimed at improving its distribution network ahead of planned capacity increase.

The company anticipates more impressive results and appreciable growth in the 2014 financial year when additional capacity from its 1,000MT/day twin mill facility, which is close to completion, will come on stream.

This capacity increase of 62 per cent will take total milling capacity to 2,610MT/day and will be reflected in increased sales and profit.

To support its longer term aspirations, the company is looking to expand its growth platforms via the introduction

of new brands, in the near term, that will participate in fast growing food segments to meet the needs of consumers.

Honeywell Flour is one of the largest fl our millers in Nigeria and its range of products include: Honeywell Superfi ne Flour, Honeywell Semolina, Honeywell Whole Wheat meal and variants of Honeywell pasta and Honeywell Instant Noodles.

Background The company is part of the Honeywell Group, an indigenous Nigerian conglomerate engaged in select businesses in key sectors of the Nigerian economy covering foods & agro allied; energy; real estate; services and; infrastructure. It is one of the major flour milling company

in Nigeria. The company was initially registered as Gateway Honeywell Flour Mills Limited on in 1985. But a change in the ownership of the firm in 1995 led to a change of name to Honeywell Flour Mills Limited.

It is believed that the entry of the company into the flour milling industry in Nigeria redefined industry standards following its high quality that was said to have compelled an improvement in the quality of flour products by other players in the industry.

Over the years, it has positioned itself as one of the market leaders in milling, processing and packaging of flour and other wheat based products. Specifically, it produces and markets four major product brands. The range of products include: Honeywell Superfine Flour, Honeywell Semolina, Honeywell Whole Wheat Meal and variants of Honeywell Pasta and Honeywell Instant Noodles.

The company has 100 per cent ownership of Honeywell Superfine Foods Limited (HSFL), which commenced operations in December 2006 as a vertical integration of the company’s operations to develop, produce, market and sell flour-based semi-processed food products in the fast moving consumer goods sector.

The Chairman and founder of HFM is Oba Otudeko, while the Executive Vice Chairman is Babatunde Odunayo.

Outlook Analysts are of the opinion that Honeywell Flour Mills has strong revenue growth potential and operates in one of the fastest growing sectors of the Nigerian economy. The additional milling capacity being planned by the company is also expected to support its earnings growth and reduce profit volatility in year ahead.

The management of the company as well looks towards expanding its growth platforms via the introduction of new brands, in the near term, that will participate in fast growing food segments to meet the needs of consumers and ultimately increase stakeholders’ earnings. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

A23 39

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, October 10, 2014 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 34.00 PRESCO PLC 37.50 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2.99 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.54 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 1.08 SCOA NIG PLC 4.67 TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 5.79 U A C N PLC. 58.00 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. 0.90 G CAPPA PLC NT Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 67.20 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 15.85 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 100.00 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 12.35 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 195.70 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 30.90 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 176.66 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC 4.40 Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 147.73 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 6.55 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 8.17 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 62.00 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 4.00 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 21.99 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 9.37 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. NT UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 53.69 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,050.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4.27 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 1.42 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 32.15 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 47.99 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 9.02 DIAMOND BANK PLC 6.25 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 18.70 FIDELITY BANK PLC 2.05 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. NT GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 30.01 SKYE BANK PLC 2.87 STERLING BANK PLC. 2.30 U B A PLC 6.65 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 9.39 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.95 ZENITH BANK PLC 24.30 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.80 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC NT CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1.00 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC NT EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.50 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC NT INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.59 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC NT MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 2.90 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.54 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.79 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD TRUSTASSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. NT UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC NT WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 0.74 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC NT INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC NT RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC 1000 Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS 3.3 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 4.09 CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT FBN HOLDINGS PLC 13.48 FCMB GROUP PLC 4.51 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.59 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 35.00 UBA CAPITAL PLC 2.18 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. NT UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC NT Medical Supplies

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 10-10-14

QUANTITY

1,109,654 225,175 7,536

52 WK HIGH

0.64 107.81 41.14

52 WK LOW

0.50 20.92 8.24

SHARES OUTSTANDING

2,200,000,000 476,955,000 1,000,000,000

EPS

0.10 2.29 7.55

MOV. (%)

N/A 0.00 0.00

Previous

0.50 34.00 37.50

70

4.26

4.26

60,000,000

0.00

N/A

NT

505,970

7.18

0.68

1,199,549,736

0.07

1.70

2.94

38,000 3,830 1,000 3,600 10,319,496 980,299

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

0.00 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 NT NT NT 5.79 57.49

375 3

26.00 95.49

5.05 95.49

148,500,000 196,876,000

0.33 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

652,495 10012

2.66 14.46

0.72 14.46

920,573,765 125,000,000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

0.95 14.46

9,301 25,000

83.75 10.60

19.86 6.61

1,200,000,000 20,000,000

6.74 1.69

0.00 N/A

67.20 NT

NT 22,116

7.28 20.90

7.28 8.82

1,375,000,000

0.00 2.20

N/A 9.31

NT 14.50

5,000 100 5,150

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

NT NT 9.13

6,125

0.50

0.50

4,772,528,415

0.00

N/A

0.50

200,390 20,000 87,664 205,839 33,224 815,195 21,000

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 3.00 N/A N/A 0.37 N/A

9.70 NT 190.00 30.01 2.12 176.00 4.63

16,736

75.90

38.12

640,590,362

4.46

N/A

147.73

NT 152,820 2,680,729 50,464 916,159 100,000 217 655,499 2.08124,000 10,000 5,000

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 0.00 -0.61 1.64 0.00 N/A N/A 5.16 N/A #VALUE! N/A

NT 6.55 8.22 61.00 4.00 NT NT 8.91 NT 0.50 13.41

139,090 57,241

64.53 1250.00

8.33 400.00

3,129,188,160 792,656,250

1.57 28.34

2.27 -0.47

52.50 1,055.00

25,333 100 125,025 14,900

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 -0.47 N/A

NT NT 4.29 1.56

762,669 238,795

56.00 76.00

21.02 27.60

3,176,381,636 3,783,296,250

1.34 1.42

-0.31 -2.46

32.25 49.20

NT

0.97

0.57

843,284,027

0.00

N/A

NT

11,885,323 7,349,729 6,792,518 24,205,413 NT 12,250,439 303,035,428 9,570,001 15,227,141 714,535 1,118,530 1,408,878 26,317,753

12.39 7.85 17.51 3.47 8.30 29.99 7.05 3.05 9.60 15.30 1.16 1.88 27.40

4.70 1.92 9.90 1.13 3.04 13.02 2.65 0.80 1.64 2.34 0.50 0.50 11.96

17,888,251,479 14,475,243,105 9,873,614,567 28,974,797,023 16,271,192,202 29,146,482,209 13,219,334,676 12,563,091,545 32,334,693,693 13,509,726,273 33,675,576,085 12,821,249,880 31,396,493,790

1.61 1.71 3.67 0.68 0.60 3.08 0.97 0.63 1.70 0.44 0.18 0.00 3.30

1.35 1.13 2.97 3.54 #VALUE! 2.07 8.71 6.98 -0.60 3.19 0.00 5.56 1.25

8.90 6.18 18.16 1.98 NT 29.40 2.64 2.15 6.69 9.10 0.50 0.90 24.00

250 1,812,391 NT 9,140 97,100 456,127 9,054,578 500 NT 1,000 2,000 NT 1,192,154 NT 12,000 4,771,900 50,685 77,230 645,838 1,024,158 20,055 1,654,611 1,400 12,000,000 490 600 80,000 50,100 100 3,900 823,769

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 -3.33 N/A -1.25 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

NT 0.82 NT NT 0.96 0.50 NT NT NT NT NT NT 0.51 NT 0.50 NT NT 3.00 0.54 0.80 0.50 NT 0.50 NT NT NT 0.50 0.50 NT NT 0.72

10,000,000 351,000

6.60 1.22

0.00 0.72

1.18 0.19

NT 0.98

500 300 5,000 300,000 606,270

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

8,694,328 1,766,917 500 3,000 11,251,614 7371169 10,100 123,030 6,289,604

2.1

0.5

0.61 2.02 21.50 5.70 1.33 20.72 1.70

0.50 2.02 8.57 2.90 0.50 10.64 0.00

3,778,005,975 1,333,333,333 32,632,084,358

0.00 0.15 2.45 1.23 0.13 1.53 0.29

170 40,000

N/A=Not Avialable

5.05 0.50

4.32 0.50

0.63

3,608,657,661 18,750,000,000

498,600,908 3,553,138,528

0.13 0.00

N/A N/A -3.02 N/A 9.38

N/A N/A

NT NT NT 0.50 0.5 3.18 4.30 NT NT 13.90 4.45 0.55 32.00 2.05

NT NT

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 1.82 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 2.05 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 3.33 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 62.61 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.72 NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 1.06 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. NT PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 2.49 ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.52 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC NT Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC NT NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. NT TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. NT Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Services MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 32.00 BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.60 CAP PLC 39.00 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 15.75 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 220.80 DN MEYER PLC. NT FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC 0.50 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 127.00 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC 1.60 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.80 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.59 BETA GLASS CO PLC. 20.00 GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC NT POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. NT Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC NT STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. NT Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.50 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 26.37 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC NT CONOIL PLC 47.01 ETERNA PLC. 3.74 FORTE OIL PLC. 225.00 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 173.08 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 56.00 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 180.00 Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVT. CO, LTD. 640.00 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. NT Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 4.40 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 1.35 Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC NT Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL NT IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2.00 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS 1.32 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.32 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.10 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.68 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 4.66 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC 0.5 Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 2.01 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 4.98 SUPPORT AND LOGISTICS CAVERTON OFFSHORE GROUP PLC 5 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 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL 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 NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 1,908.00 VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF 18.73

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

92

10.54

7.39

152,178,750

0.00

N/A

1.82

172,030 354,919 80,420 439,029 13,448 46 1,000

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

-2.38 -2.06 -3.07 -9.95 0.95 N/A N/A

2.10 3.40 64.59 1.91 1.05 7.00 2.49

200

0.96

0.50

2,960,000,000

0.11

0.00

0.53

24,000

0.50

0.50

2,941,789,472

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.91

0.91

4,966,666,668

0.00

N/A

NT

1,300 1,000 200

18.70 2.94

13.12 2.07

108,000,000 492,825,600

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

NT 13.50 NT

1,000,000 5,000

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 NT

400

0.50

0.50

4,893,594,400

0.00

N/A

NT

2,000 2,643,413 33,337 147,362 1,094,572 10,538,928 10,360 38,000 11,000 965,183 650 159,000

2.86 29.98 12.20 67.50 12.99 210.01 3.54 0.75 1.34 110.00 2.41 7.22

2.86 8.01 6.82 13.78 4.00 102.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 39.80 0.50 2.27

260,000,000 2,239,453,125 217,367,585 560,000,000 1,241,548,285 15,494,019,668 242,908,200 2,109,928,275 513,696,000 3,001,600,004 792,914,256 400,000,000

0.07 0.80 0.91 1.66 1.12 5.77 0.06 0.00 0.00 6.83 0.36 0.43

N/A -3.03 0.00 0.00 11.31 0.36 N/A N/A N/A -1.31 N/A N/A

NT 33.00 8.60 39.00 14.15 220.00 1.10 0.50 NT 128.68 1.60 5.32

70 318,691 100

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 -1.10 N/A

NT 1.82 NT

NT 335 15,029 100 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

N/A #VALUE! N/A N/A

NT 1.59 18.85 NT NT NT NT

1,200 NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265,409,280 2,918,000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

25,000,000 683,974,528

28,255

9.35

5.68

393,120,000

0.76

#VALUE!

NT

10 100

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75,600,000 100,000,000

0.00 0.24

N/A N/A

7.75 NT

2,156,788

0.50

0.50

4,058,989,226

0.01

N/A

0.50

NT 100

3.22 1.38

3.22 0.67

50,000,000 220,000,000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

8,966,697

1.02

0.50

6,262,701,716

0.00

0.00

0.50

7,522,790

24.80

9.32

2,262,711,568

1.24

5.48

25.00

10000 112,160 620,191 119,851 147,632 350 11,937

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

0.00 -1.58 0.90 -1.66 N/A 0.56

NT 47.01 3.80 222.99 176.00 56.00 179.00

44,688

28,677,671

200

0.72

0.50

667.00

4,035,497,307

0.00

N/A

NT

100

3.48

3.48

0

N/A

NT

252,913

2.45

1.00

980,294,400

0.00

#VALUE!

NT

12,579 14,654

5.10 3.45

2.19 0.73

589,496,310 198,819,763

0.52 0.00

-4.14 N/A

4.59 1.35

10,515

1.64

0.85

865,808,912

0.00

N/A

0.50

30,500

0.75

0.50

3,211,627,907

0.00

N/A

0.50

69200 23,539,246

1.72

0.64

2,078,796,396

0.00

31.58

NT 1.52

310,000

0.51

0.50

8,000,000,000

0.43

N/A

0.50

1 27,522 75 724,000

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 -0.73

1.4 1.40 NT 4.13

157,150

1.29

0.50

1,507,000,000

0.21

N/A

0.67

54,281 1,000

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236,699,511 5,631,539,736

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

50,000 3,650,263

5.90 8.81

1.27 5.08

634,000,000 1,230,468,750

0.50 0.43

N/A -1.39

2.01 5.05

4648110

5

60

1.43

1.04

45,000,000

0.12

N/A

103,000

2.26

1.02

201,885,335

0.00

N/A

30 1000

NT

NT 0.5 NT

30000

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

12 110

-1.09 49467

NT NT NT

1,929.00 18.58

A24 40

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News Brent Crude Oil Futures $/barrel

T

Sapin

France’s credit outlook cut to negative by S&P

C

redit rating agency Standard and Poor’s has cut France’s credit outlook to ‘negative’, due to concerns about the country’s struggling economic recovery.

However, it affirmed France’s AA/A-1+ rating, the third-highest rating.

“We believe that...a recovery of the French economy could prove elusive,” said S&P in a statement.

France’s finance minister, Michel Sapin, said the country’s debt was “one of the surest in the world”.

“We will pursue the needed reforms, to boost our medium term growth prospects,” he said in a statement.

“French debt is one of the surest and most liquid in the world, with debt levels very much contained,” he continued.

Official figures from the Bank of France showed that the French economy did not grow at all in the second quarter, and for the third quarter it is forecasting growth of 0.2%.

“We believe that...a recovery of the French economy could prove elusive and that France’s public finances might deteriorate beyond 2014,” the ratings firm said.

The French government has also said it will reduce its budget deficit to below the EU threshold of 3% of GDP by 2017, two years later than promised.

S&P said the negative outlook indicated a one in three chance that certain events would occur which would push it to downgrade France’s actual credit rating within the next two years.

For now, S&P said France’s high income per capita and productivity, recovering competitiveness and profitability among French companies, and France’s stable financial sector justified the country keeping its current rating.

he price of Brent crude oil dropped $1.65 to $88.40 a barrel at one point before recovering some ground to stand at $89.64.

US oil fell by $1.92 a barrel to $83.85, its weakest level since June 2012, although it also regained some ground to stand at $89.39. Both oil benchmarks have lost about 20% since their peak in June.

Oil prices have been undermined by a combination of increasing supplies and weakening demand.

Libya has recently increased its supply of oil to the open market, and demand from China, the world’s second biggest user of oil, has slipped as its economic growth has slackened off.

Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank, told Reuters the oil markets were now in “panic mode”.

“Panic and capitulation.

We are now in uncharted territory,” he said. “The rout will probably continue until [oil cartel] Opec says enough is enough.”

Eurozone risks

T

his week, German economic data has presented a consistently negative picture. Figures released on Thursday showed exports fell 5.8% in August, and this followed weak industrial output figures on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was concerned by the country’s slowdown.

“We are quite concerned about the slowdown in Germany. We have revised down our forecasts,” said Mahmood Pradhan, the IMF’s European Department Deputy Director.

“The second quarter negative [GDP] number has been followed by a number of soft indicators that point to a further weakening in Germany and I think this underlines the general point that the euro area recovery looks much weaker than anticipated last spring,” he said.

Earlier this week, the IMF cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015, and on Thursday IMF chief Christine Lagarde crystallised investors’ worries about flagging economic growth by warning that the eurozone could return to recession.

The IMF’s downgrade of prospects for the three biggest eurozone countries’ economies - Italy, France

and Germany - prompted the Chancellor, George Osborne, to warn the UK economy was facing a “critical moment”.

On Thursday, he told the BBC: “The eurozone risks slipping back into crisis. Britain cannot be immune from that. It’s already having an impact on our manufacturing and our exports.”

“It now looks as though investors are nervous about a confluence of factors, ranging from worries of a global economic slowdown, an economic crisis, with German economic data especially poor, deflation... the impact of Ebola and lurking geopolitical risks,” said Neil MacKinnon, economist at VTB Capital financial group tolEuropean and US stock markets have seen sharp falls as fears have deepened over prospects for the global economy.

London’s FTSE 100 share index fell 1.4% to 6,339.97, a 12-month low, as did Germany’s Dax. France’s Cac-40 fell to it lowest level in 2014.

In the US, the Dow Jones erased its gains for the year, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbling more than 2%.

Poor economic data from Germany this week has stoked fears that the eurozone could be heading for another recession.

Oil prices also saw sharp falls, with the Brent crude price hitting its lowest level for nearly four years.

Lagarde

Worries over new Euro – US trade ties

T

here are rising concerns in Europe over negotiations to liberalise trade with the United States.

The project, known as the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, aims to remove a wide range of barriers to bilateral commerce.

Opponents are planning demonstrations and protests across Europe on Saturday 11 October.

In Britain, events are

planned in at least 15 cities and towns.

One campaigner involved in planning the day of action said she expected at least 400 local actions in about 24 countries, with large numbers of events in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, in addition to the UK. The EU and the US launched the negotiations last year and the aim is to stimulate more trade and investment, and, in the process, to produce more economic growth and employment.

It has proved to be extremely controversial.

One aim of the negotiations is to reduce the costs to business of complying with regulations. A firm in, say Europe, that wants to export to the US often has to comply with two sets of rules.

Critics say the result of this would be lower standards of protection for workers, consumers and the environment. Food safety is a particular concern among European opponents of the negotiations.

In the EU, campaigners say that consumers could be faced with more genetically modified food, hormone treated beef and chicken meat that has been rinsed with chlorine.

Another major concern is the provisions under discussion to enable foreign investors - for example American firms investing in the EU - to sue a host government in some circumstances if they are hit by a change in policy.

That turned out to be so controversial that the European Commission decided to hold a public consultation.

There were 150,000 responses which the Commission is still analysing.

The conduct of the negotiations is also contentious.

Campaigners say they are secretive and undemocratic.

They also dispute TTIP advocates’ claims about the economic benefits.

The Questions and answers (TTIP) - Trade - European Commission. It insists that standards will be maintained and that the negotiations are accountable and transparent.

S&P Strips Finland of AAA rating

F

inland was stripped of its pristine AAA long-term credit rating Friday as a top ratings agency views threats to the nation’s economy. Just

12 nations still have perfect ratings.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service cut its long-term foreign credit rating on the Nordic country by one notch to AA+ — just as investors are getting increasingly worried about Europe’s economy.

It’s the latest nation to be stripped of its perfect AAA rating — leaving just 12 countries in the world at AAA. The U.S. lost its AAA rating from S&P in August 2011. Separately, S&P downgraded the outlook on France’s debt to negative to stable — in just the latest blow to investors’ perception of Europe. France’s debt is still rated AA. Finland was taken down a notch for a bevy of reasons cited by S&P, including a downward revision to the nation’s economic future. A tougher economy means the nation might have a more difficult time cutting public debt.

S&P spelled out its rationale for the downgrade in one sentence: “The downgrade reflects our view of the risk that the Finnish economy could experience protracted stagnation because of its aging population and shrinking workforce, weakening external demand, loss of global market share in the key information technology sector, structural retrenchment of the important forestry sector, and relatively rigid labor market,” it said in the report.

Finland’s downgrade is just the latest in what’s been a whittling down of the credit health of the world’s nations.

The nations that still have AAA ratings from S&P include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom Source: S&P Getting back to AAA is not easy — and many nations never pull of the comeback.

There are 10 nations that lost AAA ratings — that haven’t gotten them back yet: The nations that lost AAA ratings from S&P and haven’t gotten them back include: Country When lost AAA rating New Zealand 1983 Japan 2001 Spain 2009 Ireland 2009 United States 2011 Guernsey 2011 Isle of Man 2011 Austria 2012 France 2012 Netherlands 2013 Source: S&P BC

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

Section 182(1) of the Constitution is not to be used as an instrument by politicians to hinder the emergence of their opponents as governors

– Justice George Oguntade, retired Justice of the Supreme Court. xx

Nigerian politicians have turned governance into theatre –Taiwo 42

How Apalara, Islamic preacher, was killed 45

Ntaganda case: ICC to open trial on June 2, 2015 46

Aloma Mariam Mukhtar

Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba

The judiciary and admissibility of confessional statements Amnesty International in its 2014 reports on Nigeria titled: ‘Welcome to Hell Fire,’ Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Nigeria’ accused the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in the country for alleged complicity in cases of gross human rights violations of detainees in custody. The report alleged that incidents of torture of victims under police custody continue to escalate, because nobody has been held accountable. In this report, WALE IGBINTADE takes a look at series of denials by suspects of making confessional statements often presented in courts by the Police, and sought views of senior lawyers on the issue.

W

hen Kabiru Olanrewaju, an armed robbery suspect, disembarked from the Black-Maria van that brought him and other suspects to the Lagos High Court, he was visibly limping. This was as a result of gun wound on his right leg. Olanrewaju is standing trial alongside one Idowu Olalekan (22 yrs) and Tajudeen Busari (30 yrs) on a twocount charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.

When it was Olanrewaju’s turn to open his defence and confirm whether or not he authored a confessional statement presented by the prosecutor, Olanrewaju led in evidence by his lawyer, told the court that he was arrested in September 2008 and was later shot at Lion Building Police station in Lagos, to make him sign a written confessional statement that he was an armed robber. According to him, he merely signed a document at the Police station, but did

not make any statement. ‘’I do not know what is contained in the document. I signed the confessional statement because I was shot on my leg. I was shot after the policeman asked me a question, and I said I didn’t know anything about what he asked. I signed the document because the policeman threatened to shoot my second leg,” Olanrewaju stated.

His case is similar to that of 34 -ear-old Okwumo Nwabufo, one of the suspected killers of Miss Cynthia Osokogu, in his EvidenceIn-Chief before Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court.

Nwabufo told the trial judge that the confessional statement allegedly made by him was made under duress, stressing that he was tortured by the police.

He told the court: “when we got to the police station, I was taken to the Area Commander’s office. He showed me a lady’s picture and asked if I knew her. I said yes, she is my friend; and he immediately called me a murderer. While he used plier to pinch my left eye. I was then taken to a room where I was chained and tortured, to accept whatever they (the police) told us concerning the murder. I was

I AGREE WITH THE AMNESTY

INTERNATIONAL REPORT THAT THIS ABUSE EXISTS WITHIN THE SYSTEM. I ALSO AGREE THAT NOTHING IS BEING DONE TO DISCOURAGE IT

chained and hung upside-down, like a roasted chicken’’, he added.

Nwabufo further disclosed that it was during this torture that the police brought out a suspect and shot him on the leg “to show that they would shoot us if we refused to comply”.

The above court proceedings appears to give credence to the report released by Amnesty International on Nigeria that torture is a routine occurrence in the country, largely to extract confessions or as punishment for alleged crimes, and that hundreds of suspects in police and military custody across the country are being subjected to a range of physical and psychological torture.

But the courts had, in several cases held that such confessional statements were validly obtained and that the accused was merely looking for an excuse to escape justice. For instance, in the case of Cynthia Osokogu, the court held that there was nothing to show that the suspects were tortured to make confessional statements.

In the opinion of the learned judge, the defendants were questioned in an open place and were also asked by a superior officer if they made their statements voluntarily, which they attested in the affirmative.

The Black’s Law Dictionary CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigerian politicians have turned Barrister Taiwo Obayemi Taiwo is a Lagos based legal practitioner and the Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association.

In this interview with WALE IGBINTADE he speaks on the new NBA executive, delegate system of election and the standard of legal practice, among other issues bothering on the country’s judicial system. Excerpts Some of your colleagues have reservations on the just concluded NBA election. What is your take on the election?

As far as I am concerned, the election was okay. It was free and fair. Some people may have misgivings about the process, it may be personal, it may be selfish and it may be political. Personally, I know that from what I saw, the election was very peaceful and transparent. The chairman of the electoral committee, led

by Mr. Okey Amaechi, SAN, performed creditably well. Apparently, people have had their set-mind before the election, but the election went orderly and smoothly.

Will you say that the zoning arrangement was strictly followed?

As far as I am concerned, the issue of zoning is very straightforward, but whether or not it’s going to affect future elections in NBA is something I don’t think I can say for now. This is because I don’t know the minds of other people; I can only speak for myself. Speaking for myself and taking into consideration my position now as the Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, I have to synergise with people within and outside the zone that I belong to, before coming into conclusion.

Over the years, some lawyers have criticised the delegate system of election.

They said it’s not democratic, what is your view on this?

As far as I am concerned and unless somebody is asking for chaos, then you could say the delegate system of election is not democratic. There is nothing wrong with delegate election. What a lot of lawyers are yearning for, is that every lawyer should be able to vote for a candidate of his or her choice. That was the case before the Port-Harcourt debacle. What informed the delegate system is the fallout of what happened in Port-Harcourt, which left NBA in limbo for many years.

The association was in limbo until notable people came up to fashion a way out of the quagmire we were in at that time.

However, I do not see anything wrong in one man one vote, if the association decides that, that is the way they want to do it. The new NBA President, Mr. Austin Alegeh, SAN, has promised to carry out electoral reforms which include electronic voting. I think this should be able to allay the fear of those who may want the association to continue with the delegate system rather that one man one vote.

As the second vice president of NBA, what should we expect from you?

Well, section 13 of the NBA constitution has specified my line of duties as the second Vice President. In line with the constitution, I will be in charge of NBA branches in the northern zone for one year after which I will take over the

Taiwo

IF YOU LEVELLED AN ALLEGATION AGAINST A JUDGE, HE CANNOT COME TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN TO DEFEND HIMSELF administration of NBA branches in the eastern part of the country. I can’t do beyond what the President of the Bar, the National Executive Committee and the Association assign to me.

The new NBA executive will make sure that NBA has a voice as the conscience of the people of Nigeria. Personally, I will be a catalyst for change and ensure that NBA performs its role as vanguard of the rule of law. All these will form part of the advice I will give the President of the association.

People are of the opinion that the NBA has been docile on topical issues concerning the country in recent times. Do you share this sentiment?

I will not say the former executive went to sleep, but the style of administration of individuals may differ. Possibly, the former executive of the NBA decided not to be combative, but to silently work behind the scene and ensure that things are done rightly. It would be a disservice to criticise them because the present executive will also be subject of criticism or analysis when we leave office. I will prefer a situation where, if any of our colleagues have anything against the executive they should present it to the President or any of the national officers.

What is your view on the recommendations of the National Conference which advised that 19 new states should be carved out from the existing ones?

I think it’s unnecessary, taking into consideration the current economic situation in the country. Today, some states are like local government councils and cannot stand on their own. Many of the states rely on federal allocations to survive. They base their budgets not on Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, but what they receive from federal allocation. So, I don’t think it’s viable, at least for now to create more states. Some states do not have IGR to rely on. They merely rely on the federation allocation. If you fragment them with no clear point for their survival, we may be doing something quite dangerous. We should not create additional states based on personal idiosyncrasies or because of perceived marginalisation. That is not the way to run a country.

Not long ago, former Adamawa State governor and former Deputy governor of Enugu State were impeached by their respective states’ lawmakers. How do you see this trend?

Politicians have turned governance

into theatre. You don’t impeach a governor just because you have the majority in the house. You don’t remove a governor just because somebody somewhere has promised to give you money. You don’t remove a governor just for political reasons, but that is what is happening in Nigeria. Once a governor is at loggerhead with the powers from above, the next thing is that they set in motion a procedure for impeachment. It is only in Nigeria that governors will set-up an impeachment procedure for his deputy governor. It’s very laughable. I thought it was a joke when I heard about it. When has it become an impeachable offence for anybody to have an ambition? When has it become a gross misconduct for a deputy governor to rear cows or chickens in the government house. These are ridiculous times and I pray that our politicians will realise the fact that history will not judge them well if they don’t do the right thing.

What is your assessment of the standard of legal practice in Nigeria?

I am one of those that are worried about standard of legal practice in the country. When you look at the standard now and compare it with when the likes of Rotimi Williams and likes started practice, you will shudder at what goes on in the legal proffession. I have been in legal practice since 1986 and I have not done any other thing. When we started, you cannot even appear as a junior of less than four years at the Court of Appeal. You must be led by a senior. But, what do you find these days, today, they

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, October 13, 2014

43

governance into theatre –Taiwo are called to the Bar, the next day you see them packing files going to the Court of Appeal. To go and do what and what training have they gone through? The training at the university and at the Law School is not enough to make you a good lawyer.

So, a new wig still needs to undergo pupilage from those who are advanced in the doctrine and art of legal practice.

What we have today is an abnormality, you see someone who cannot even speak good English parading himself as lawyer. I think something has to be done. I want to assure you the new NBA executive will set in motion series of continue legal education for the benefit of members. We will find a solution to this situation, which I believe is getting to an emergency situation.

Recently some judicial officers were disciplined by the National Judicial Council, NJC. Some have opined that they should be made to face trial. Do you support this?

The point is that you cannot do anything outside what the NJC had done.

Don’t forget that judicial officers have their tenure as judges as guaranteed by the constitution. They also have judi-

THE LEGAL PROFESSION HAS A

CODE OF CONDUCT AND RULE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS WHICH SAYS YOU

DON’T DISCUSS CASES WHEN A MATTER IS STILL PENDING IN COURT

cial immunity, except it’s outside their judicial functions. Judges cannot defend themselves like lawyers. So if you levelled an allegation against a judge, he cannot come to the public domain to defend himself. He cannot call a press conference. He cannot put up a paid advert in the newspapers to defend himself.

He can only reply to the petition through the NJC and it’s the decision of the NJC that is finial. But, don’t forget that many petitions against judicial officers are frivolous. Some people write petition against judges because they lost cases. If you lose a case and you are sure of yourself that you ought not to have lost that case, the reasonable thing to do is to appeal. Unless, you are very sure of your allegation and you can proof, then you are free to write petition.

Most judges, don’t want their judgement to be upturned by the Court of Appeal. The beauty of a judgement is when it is afirmed by the superior courts.

However, it does not mean that every judgment that is set aside by the superior court is because the judge is deficient.

In this profession, we learn everyday and nobody has monopoly of knowledge.

In some situations, the Supreme Court has revised itself and it happens all over the world.

Do you subscribe to the suggestion that serving judges should be exempted from adjudicating on election disputes?

Yes, because when you appoint a judge to serve in an election tribunal, other cases before him will suffer. Serving judges are prone to being abused by politicians than a retired judge. Unless the retired judge is inordinately corrupt, what else does he want in life that would make him succumb to pressure from politicians?

Some have said that a litigant cannot walk into the chamber of a judge to give bribe if not led by a lawyer. Do you agree?

No, I don’t, it is not in all cases. What of if the litigant is known by the judge. I am not exonerating lawyers in any way, what

I am simply saying is that not everybody that approaches judges are lawyers. The legal profession has a Code of Conducts and rule of professional ethics which says you don’t discuss cases when a matter is still pending in court. I believe that the time will come when some lawyers would be made scapegoats for discussing on the pages of newspapers, matters that are before the court. If you are aggrieved about a judgement, the most sensible thing for you to do is to go on appeal. If you have to criticize the judgement of a Judge, there are intellectual magazines, there are law reports and there are professional journal in which you can criticise the judgement of a judge. You do not have to take the judge to the cleaners just because you want to make a point.

Many lawyers have stressed the need for judicial reform, but what particular area do you think the current CJN to focus on?

The most needed reform now, is the independence of the judiciary. The judiciary must be truly and totally independent of the executive and the legislature.

It is not good enough for the judiciary to go cap-in-hand to the President or a state governor for funds. The judiciary should have its own budget so that it would not be at the beck and call of the executive arm of government. I think that is the most important reform. The other reform has to do with the appointment of judges.

Do you subscribe to the view that some Senior Advocates of Nigeria should be appointed to the Supreme Court?

Under the Constitution, any lawyer who has attained ten years post-call can be appointed as a judge of the High Court.

Any lawyer who is 15 years and above at the Bar can become a judge of either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, so, it is not sacrosanct that a Justice of the Supreme Court must pass through the ranks. So, I do not see anything wrong from appointing judges to the appellate

courts from practising lawyers.

In my view, there is nothing wrong if you pick some Senior Advocates who are good and are also interested to go the Supreme Court. I am not saying judges who worked very hard should not be compensated by promotion, but it is in the interest of the system, if some Senior Advocates who are good are also elevated to the Supreme Court.

What is your assessment of the fasttrack procedure in the Lagos State Judiciary?

The fast track procedure introduced by the Lagos State judiciary is commendable and essential. However, you should bear in mind that fast track is a nomenclature. The people who are meant to practice it are the ones to make it fast track or ‘slow track’. For instance, when a lawyer discovers that he does not have a good case, he may want to delay the matter by all means. I believe that if the fast track procedure is to work as planned, lawyers and judges must be up to their responsibilities.

Do you subscribe to the suggestion that there should be special court to adjudicate on corruption cases, as being advocated in some quarters?

There is nothing wrong in that, I believe that if we have special courts, corruption cases may be dispensed with speedily. I think we should give it a trial; we have had tribunals in the past What are your expectations from the new Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Funmilayo Atilade?

I was at the swearing-in of my lord,the Chief Judge, Justice Atilade and I listen to her speech. If she can carry out all the reforms as she promised, it will be better for the Lagos State judiciary. I have no doubt that since she has been in the system for so long; she knows what do to make the system better and the Lagos judiciary brighter.

44

Law & Justice

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Court should refuse confessional statements obtained under duress’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 defines confession as “a criminal suspect’s oral or written acknowledgement of guilt, often including details about the crime”. In other words, a confession is an admission, in whole or in part, made by an accused person of his guilt.

National Mirror spoke to some lawyers on the issue. According to Mr. Seyi Sowemimo, SAN, ‘’this is another feature of our law enforcement procedure which is yet again quite troubling. I tend to agree with the Amnesty International report that this abuse exists within the system. I also agree that nothing is being done to discourage it’’.

Sowemimo advocated for a situation in which the conduct of the Police is supervise by some independent organ, saying, ‘’we have situation whereby Chief Judges of respective states visit the prisons regularly in a bid to release those who are unlawfully detained. But, despite this, you find that there are still lots of people who are unlawfully detained in our prisons’’.

He lamented that most laws that have been put in place to check police abuses are not being enforced. He said ‘’we are not enforcing sufficiently those laws which have been put in place to check these abuses. For instance in Lagos State, there is a provision that if you’re taking confessional statements, there should be video recording and that it should be in the presence of the lawyers to the accused person. But, this provision is not being strictly enforced’’. We need our courts to be strict about these measures’’.

In order to check these abuses, he suggested that court should refuse to admit confessional statements that have been obtained in breach of stipulated procedures and the rules. He added that if this was done, ‘’the Police would know that it’s futile to get confessional at the end of the day, they wouldn’t be able to make use of in court. It is now the responsibility of judges and lawyers to ensure that our laws are enforced’’.

Reacting to the issue, former Chairman Nigerian Bar Association (NBA, Ikeja branch, Mr. Monday Ubani, noted that it is inhuman to torture suspects before getting

Bar

Jokes

Two Lawyers in a Bank

Two lawyers are in a bank, when armed robbers suddenly burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line the customers, including the lawyers, up against a wall, and proceed to take their wallets, watches and so on. While this is going on lawyer number one jams something in lawyer number two’s hand.

Without looking down, lawyer number two whispers, “What is this?”

To which lawyer number one replies, “It’s that $50 I owe you.

Cigars for the Judge

A defendant in a lawsuit involving large

Sowemimo

Ubani

Omodele

SECTION 9 ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAW OF LAGOS STATE PROVIDES THAT STATEMENTS ARE TO BE OBTAINED FROM SUSPECTS IN THE PRESENCE OF THEIR COUNSEL OR RECORDED IN A VIDEO TAP confessional statement from them.

Ubani who frown at the development said that it is an infringement on people’s fundamental human rights adding that many non-governmental agencies have taken it up at different fora.

The former chairman however urged the amnesty international to always do proper investigation before publishing their findings on the alleged offense.

In his view, a Lagos based lawyer, Yemi Omodele said ‘’in the jurisprudential history of criminal justice system in Nigeria, statements obtained by the police from suspects have always been challenged by lawyers in courts. In fact 95 percent of the statements obtained by the police from suspects are always passing through what is called trial within trial in law courts in the country’’. ‘’This is to say that suspects cannot willingly and voluntarily say and give state-

sums of money was talking to his lawyer.

“If I lose this case, I’ll be ruined.”

“It’s in the judge’s hands now,” said the lawyer.

“Would it help if I sent the judge a box of cigars?”

“Oh no! This judge is a stickler or ethical behavior. A stunt like that would prejudice him against you. He might even hold you in contempt of court. In fact, you shouldn’t even smile at the judge.”

Within the course of time, the judge rendered a decision in favor of the defendant. As the defendant left the courthouse, he said to his lawyer, “Thanks for the tip about the cigars. It worked!”

“I’m sure we would have lost the case if you’d sent them.”

“But, I did send them.”

“What? You did?” said the lawyer, incredulously.

“Yes. That’s how we won the case.”

“I don’t understand,” said the lawyer.

“It’s easy. I sent the cigars to the judge, but enclosed the plaintiff’s business card.”

Culled from Lawyers’ jokes- ahajokes.com

ments to the police’s satisfaction without been deceived or beaten. In most cases, Police want the suspects to say what they want and to confess to the crime even when they did not commit same. Again, the police are not willing to do proper investigation.

According to Omodele, some Magistrates and Judges do agree in their reasoning and findings that statements are obtained by duress from accused persons while some do not.

He pointed out that the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2011 has tried to reduce the act of obtaining statements from suspects in Lagos State.

He stated that Section 9 Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State ‘’provides that statements are to be obtained from suspects / defendants in the presence of their counsel or recorded in a video tape. This provision is to checkmate the police in their act of brutality. Though,

I am not aware of any police station in the state where such video recording has ever taken place. It seems to me that, that section of the law is look warm and its enforcement compliance requires that the government makes provisions for the video recorder and the cameraman to every police formation’’.

On the section that suspect’s lawyer be present when statements are being obtained, he said ‘’a lawyer who go to the police station to say he wants to be there while his client’s statement is to be obtained will have himself disgraced. This is because when policeman sees a lawyer at the station in respect of the case under investigation, they often threaten the suspect and send the lawyer away claiming that investigation is still ongoing’’.

Omodele acknowledged that some suspected criminals always tell lies, but added that that does not mean that they should be compelled to confess. ‘’There should be better and modern way of getting the truth, rather than force. Some educated police officers are intelligent, but they are not the ones in charge of obtaining statements. There should be training and re-training of the police officers in Nigeria.

The higher officers in the system should dedicate themselves to service rather than living it to the junior ones’’, he stated.

LEGAL TIPS Customary law marriage and bride price system *Customary law marriage comprises marriages under various customary practices in existence in Nigeria, and Islamic law. *The common characteristic of customary law marriages is the ability of the men to marry as many wives as possible. *Under the Islamic law, a man is allowed to marry as many wives, provided he has the capacity to take care of them. *Yet another characteristic of customary law marriage, for instance, among the Ibo people and the Muslims

of Northern Nigeria, is the fact neither infancy nor old age is a bar to marriage. *Consent of the bride’s parents and not that of the man, is an important prerequisite in customary law marriage. *This is because the bride-price is paid to the woman’s parents.

However, the bridepride today is basically a commercial transaction in some communities. *In some communities fixed amounts exist to be paid on the bride, in others amounts vary with professional quali-

fication or income capacities of the woman. *It is also the practice nowadays among some families in the South- West to return the bride-price paid on their daughters. *The rationale for this that their daughters are not objects of trade but precious gifts that should be well cared for by the groom’s families.

Written by Francis Famoroti, Head, Judiciary. We welcome feedback and reactions from readers via our e-mail: nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, October 13, 2014

45

How Apalara, Islamic preacher, was killed The murder of a notable Islamic preacher, Bisiriyu Apalara, in Ebute-Metta area of Lagos in 1953 was a tragic incident in the pre-Independence era. The deceased was killed and his body dumped into the lagoon. Eleven persons, including two brothers, were subsequently tried, convicted and condemned to death for the murder. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary highlights the case.

FAMOUS CASES

W

hen Bisiriyu Apalara woke up on January 3, 1953, in OkoBaba area of Ebute-Metta, it never occurred to him that the day would be his last on earth. In line with Islamic injunctions, he did his ablution and prayed to Almighty Allah before setting out of his house. That outing, however, turned out to be an eternal journey to the world beyond.

Prior to that day, he had had clashes with the leaders of Oro, Awo-Opa and Agemo traditional cult groups, accusing them of being deceitful and over indulgence in fetish practices. At every gathering, Apalara never hid his resentment for them and he often criticised and preached against them during the series of his Islamic lectures.

He warned them to avoid their evil deeds.

In one of such Islamic lectures, Apalara openly demonstrated before his adherents and members of the public what he called the hypocrisy of Oro and Agemo cult groups.

Sensing that Apalara had exposed them and ridiculed their beliefs, the members of these groups plotted his murder. It was a well-planned and orchestrated crime that would not show any inklings of its commission. Interestingly, the masterminds and executors of the crime were caught and their complicity was established by the prosecution.

Shortly after his preaching on January 3, 1953, some men ambushed the Islamic preacher in the night on Tapa Street, Ebute-Metta, and attacked him with cutlasses. They left him to die and thereafter dumped his body into the lagoon. About two days later, when his body came afloat, the assailants tied rope round his body with a heavy object and his body sunk. Hence, the body of the deceased was not found, despite the efforts of divers that combed the lagoon and its environs. Nonetheless, he was presumed dead.

This incident that occurred exactly 61 years ago, led to the arrest of several persons linked with the crime and they were charged with Apalara’s murder.

The first accused person was Joseph Ogundipe. Ten others were also apprehended, including two Oteka brothers.

They were tried by Justice de Comarmond and a jury at a Lagos High Court, which found them guilty of killing the deceased. It was a case rooted in cir-

Supreme Court building, Tinubu Square, Lagos, in pre-Independence era.

cumstantial evidence.

The trial judge devoted part of his summing up to the evidence of the victim’s death. ‘’ His belongings were found in his house, and he has never been seen again, and we have got the evidence of the attack upon him and you know that blood (which was human) was found leading from that place, Tapa Street, to the foreshore.’’

The hearing of the case took approximately five weeks at the end of which the jury brought in a unanimous verdict of guilty against each of the accused persons.

They were thus condemned to death for the murder of a person whose body was not found. The convicts were dissatisfied with the decision of the court and they lodged a notice of appeal before the West African Court of Appeal (WACA). The appellants urged WACA to quash their convictions.

At the hearing of the appeal, Mr. Alli Balogun appeared for the first appellant, Mr. A. Tejuoso for the third, seventh, eight and eleventh appellants, Mr. G.B.A Coker for the second, fourth, and ninth appellants, and Mr. Tejuoso, led Mr. Coker for fifth and sixth appellants, the tenth appellant argued his own case and the Crown was represented by Mr. Madarikan.

The case of the appellants who relied heavily on the ground of appeal was that the verdict of the lower court was unreasonable and against the weight of evidence. The appellants also complained that the judge did not direct the jury properly on the possibility of returning a verdict of manslaughter.

Delivering judgement, the WACA said ‘’ we have examined the evidence against each appellant with anxious care and are satisfied that there was evidence against each one of them upon which the jury could properly come to the conclusion they did.’’

The court said the evidence in each case, ‘’was carefully and fairly dealt with by the trial judge in his summing up to the jury,, who had the advantage of seeing and hearing the witnesses, and there is, in our view, nothing which would justify our interfering with the verdict of the jury, in any one of the cases, on the ground of appeal in question. ‘’ The WACA held that it was unable to agree with the appellants that the trial judge failed to direct the jury properly as to the nature of evidence required in the absence of corpus delicti.

According to the court, ‘’ It appears to us that there was ample evidence, if

SHORTLY AFTER HIS PREACHING

JANUARY 3, 1953, SOME MEN ON

AMBUSHED THE

ISLAMIC PREACHER ON TAPA STREET, EBUTE-METTA, AND ATTACKED HIM WITH CUTLASSES

accepted by the jury as it clearly was, that Apalara died on the night of the 3rd of January, 1953, as a result of injuries inflicted upon him, and we are of the opinion that this aspect of the matter was clearly and adequately put to the jury by the trial judge when he summed up the case to them. ‘’ The WACA noted that the appellants’ lawyers also argued that the trial judge erred in leaving the question whether the seventh witness called by the prosecution, Yesufu Aka, was an accomplice, to the jury, and in the absence of corroboration of his evidence the jury ought not to have convicted some of the appellants.

But the court declared that there was no substance in this complaint even as it held that the prosecution had proved in the court below that the 10th appellant, accused No 19 was at the scene of the crime on January 3, 1953.

It said ‘’ the accused denied that the statement he was alleged to have given to the police, exhibit ‘’C 1’’ was a voluntary one. He denied attending the meeting held at the Bale’s house on the 2nd January, 1953, or being at the scene of the crime on the night of the 3rd of January, 1953, and there was ample evidence, obviously accepted by the jury, showing his complicity in the crime. ‘’For these reasons we are of the opinion that there is no substance in any of the appeals and they, therefore, dismissed.’’

In effect, the WACA affirmed the conviction of the appellants and the death sentence passed on them. The men were eventually executed on May 27, 1954.

Law & Justice

46

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ntaganda case: ICC to open trial on June 2, 2015 Man on trial for allegedly asking Gardaí to import cocaine IRELAND

A

man has gone on trial accused of soliciting two undercover Gardaí (police officer) to travel to Brazil to collect cocaine and bring it back into Ireland.

A report by ABC news says that Sunny Idah (39) with an address at Lipton Court, Dublin has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of soliciting another person to unlawfully import cocaine on dates between September 14 and 19, 2010.

Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny

In a brief opening address on the first day of the trial, Patrick McGrath SC, prosecuting, said the jury would hear evidence that two undercover gardai posed as Polish drug mules and made contact with the accused.

He said that after making telephone contact with a man, who the prosecution say was the accused, the gardaí met him at various locations including the Regency Hotel in Dublin and at a McDonalds fast food outlet.

It is alleged that Mr Idah arranged for the undercover officers to travel to Brazil to pick up the drugs and import them back to Ireland.

Counsel said the accused allegedly spoke to the undercover officers about ingesting the drugs into their body in plastic bags and bringing it into Ireland that way.

Mr McGrath said the officers were authorised to go undercover and had clear instructions as to what they could and could not do. “They cannot entrap people,” he said.

The trial continues before Judge Catherine Murphy and a jury. It is due to last ten days.

THE HAGUE

T

before Trial Chamber VI composed of Judge Kuniko Ozaki (Japan), Judge Robert Fremr (Czech Republic) and Judge Geoffrey A. Henderson (Trinidad and Tobago).

Bosco Ntaganda, former alleged Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Force Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo [Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo] (FPLC), is accused of 13 counts of war crimes (murder and attempted murder; attacking civilians; rape; sexual slavery of civilians; pillaging.

Other offences are displacement of civilians; attacking protected objects; destroying the enemy’s property; and rape, sexual

rial Chamber VI of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has scheduled to open trial in the case of The Prosecutor vs. Bosco Ntaganda, on 2 June 2015.

Mr Ntaganda is accused of 13 counts of war crimes and 5 crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ituri, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The confirmation of charges hearing in the Ntaganda case was held from 10 to 14 February 2014. On 9 June 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber II unanimously confirmed the charges against Bosco Ntaganda and committed him for trial on the confirmed charges before a Trial Chamber.

The trial is conducted

T

he Supreme Court turned away appeals last Monday from five states seeking to prohibit same-sex marriages, paving the way for an immediate expansion of gay and lesbian unions.

BBC report says that the justices did not comment in rejecting appeals

from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

No other state cases were currently pending with the high court, but the justices stopped short of resolving for now the question of same-sex marriage nationwide.

The court’s order immediately ends delays on marriage in those states.

ity (murder and attempted murder; rape; sexual slavery; persecution; forcible transfer of population) allegedly committed in Ituri, DRC, in 2002-2003. Mr Ntaganda is in the Court’s custody.

Romanian man charged for Dublin Airport carjack IRELAND

A

24-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged over a violent car hi-jacking at Dublin Airport.

Report by BBC says that a 65-year-old man sustained head and body injuries and was hospitalised

when his car was stolen outside the airport at approximately 3.40pm.

The car was stopped on the Naul Road, in Ballymun, and a 24-year-old man was arrested.

The arrested man was taken to Beaumont Hospital and following treatment he was brought to Ballymun Garda Station where he was charged. He

Supreme Court dismises gay marriage appeals WASHINGTON

ICC President, Sang-Hyun Song

slavery, enlistment and conscription of child soldiers under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities).

He is also accused of five crimes against human-

Couples in six other states — Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming should be able to get married in short order.

Those states would be bound by the same appellate rulings that were put on hold pending the Supreme Court’s review.

Experts and advocates

on both sides of the issue believed the justices would step in and decide gay marriage cases this term.

The justices have an obligation to settle an issue of such national importance, not abdicate that responsibility to lower court judges, the advocates said.

Opting out of hearing the cases leaves those lower court rulings in place.

appeared before Judge Patricia McNamara at Dublin District Court.

Petricia Lucaci, who is from Romania but currently of no fixed abode, is charged with dangerous driving, assault causing harm to the 65-yearold man and theft of his car.

Mr Lucaci has been living in Ireland for about three months doing casual work with a landscaping company. With a bruised swollen left eye, he remained silent during the hearing and consented to being remanded in custody.

Garda Garvan Lennon told Judge McNamara that Mr Lucaci replied “yes, that is true” when the motor theft charge was put to him.

The 24-year-old man had no reply to the assault charge but said “it’s true”

in relation to the dangerous driving offence.

Gda Lennon asked the judge to remand the accused in custody and said, “there will be further more serious charges in relation to the incident”.

He also said Mr Lucaci “might require some psychiatric assistance”.

Defence solicitor David Stafford said that there was no application for bail and he also asked the judge to make an order for his client to get medical treatment during his remand in prison.

He said Mr Lucaci is not on any medication at present.

Judge McNamara said she would note on the warrant that Mr Lucaci should receive appropriate medical attention. He was remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on October 15.

‘My Lord I can’t start this case - Sasegbon

T

he very first case that I handled was a case that has to do with stealing. I was given the file and I have not read it properly. The Director of Public Prosecution just gave me the file. It was before an Ikeja High Court.

The DPP directed me to go to the court and ask for adjournment because the witnesses are not ready.”

So, I went to court and just told the court that I am here on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecution and that the DPP

says I should tell you that the witnesses are not ready and he wants an adjournment.

The Judge said to me ‘you are not serious. Have you got the file with you?’

I said yes. Then I assume that you have read that

file, start the case now, the judge ordered”.

I said my Lord I can’t start this case but the judge said ‘anytime they gave you a file as far as I am concerned you have read the file and must know what is in the file.

Deji Sasegbon

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, October 13, 2014

THE ADVOCATE OLUGBEMI FATULA

08037213732 (sms only) E-mail: afribic@yahoo.com

Overview of the law of defamation

A

defamatory statement is a statement which is calculated to injure the reputation of a person to whom it refers, and which tended to lower the person in the estimation of right thinking members of the society generally; or expose him to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or cause other persons to shun or avoid him; or discredit him in his office, trade or profession; or injure his financial credit.

The law of defamation seeks to protect a citizen’s character generally from unwarranted attacks and criticisms. It recognises the citizen’s right to good name and reputation and seeks to protect him from any attack that may expose him to social ostracism and cause other people to shun or avoid him.

Libel and Slander In terms of the mode of making the statement considered defamatory, common law distinguishes between two types of defamation – libel and slander, the former being generally more favourable to the plaintiff because it is actionable per se and injury to reputation will be presumed.

Libel is defamation in a permanent form, the most common being written or printed words contained in a newspaper, a book, a letter, and a notice. Defamation is also in permanent form if contained in painting, cartoon, photograph, statute or a film. Words contained in a radio

broadcast are also treated as been in permanent form. Broadcast includes publication for general reception by means of wireless telegraph or television. To sustain an action for libel, the plaintiff must prove that the publication was in writing; the publication was false; the false publication was made to a person apart from the plaintiff and the defendant; the publication referred to the plaintiff and was defamatory of the said plaintiff; and the publication was made by the defendant.

Slander on the other hand is defamation in a transient form, most often through the medium of spoken words or gestures. It is ordinarily actionable only on proof of actual damage. The plaintiff must prove some financial loss or, material disadvantage, e.g. loss of employment or clientele as a result of the slander. This means that slander is generally not actionable per se unless such slander involves: imputation of a criminal offence, imputation of diseases, imputation of unchastity or adultery to a female, imputation affecting office, profession, calling, trade or business reputation In cases of slander, which are not actionable per se, the plaintiff cannot recover damages merely on account of his loss of reputation. He will be able to recover only if he can prove that he has suffered some special (i.e. actual) damage. If the speaking of any defamatory words

THE LAW OF DEFAMATION

SEEKS TO PROTECT A CITIZEN’S CHARACTER GENERALLY FROM UNWARRANTED ATTACKS AND CRITICISMS

causes special damage i.e. the loss of some definite temporal advantage, there is a good cause of action, not merely for the special damage but for the defamation. An action for slander would fail for lack of proof of special damage.

Section 3 of Defamation Law of Lagos State, 2003, provided that, for the purpose of the law of libel and slander, the broadcasting of words by means of wireless telegraphy shall be treated as publication in permanent form. The Law enacts in its section 2(2) that any reference in this law to words shall be construed as including a reference to pictures, visual images, gestures and other methods of signifying meaning.

This means that defamatory works contained in a radio broadcast are also in the ambit of the section. In David – West v. Biodun Oduwole, the Court of Appeal relying on Merchandami v.

Pinheiro (2001) 3 NWLR and C.R.S.N.C v. Oni (1995) 1 NWLR. A where the same principle was also upheld unanimously, it was stated that libel is actionable and proof of damages is unnecessary. The reason is that every libel is a civil wrong and the law implies general damages.

In other words, once libel is proved, damage is presumed.

Consequently, there is no need to prove actual damage. This decision was also upheld in David West v. Oduwole (2003) 12 NWLR. Defences Courts have over the years evolved some principles in form of defences, which seek to achieve balance between a citizen’s right against unwarranted attacks and criticisms on his character and good name and the freedom of expression. These defences include qualified privileges, absolute privileges, Justification, Fair Comment Consent –Volenti non fit injuria, Unintentional Defamation, Res judicata Statute of Limitation.

An action for libel is personal in the sense that only the person whose reputation has been injured can seek redress.

Law & Justice

47

Event

Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, and Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, at a valedictory session held in honour of a former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips.

Chief Judge, Lagos State, Justice Funmilayo Atilade (left) and the immediate past CJ of Lagos, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, at the event.

Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN, and Mr. Kunle Ogunba, SAN, at the event

Senior Magistrate Margaret Dan-Oni and Chief Magistrate Kehinde Ogundare

48 48

National Mirror National Mirror National Mirror Friday August 1, 2014 Monday, October 13, www.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, October 13, 2014www.nationalmirroronline.net www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror Any society that departs from the course of the law is on the path of destruction.

GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE- BABATUNDE FASHOLA

Pastor arrested with human skull BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

A

pastor, Clement Oyetunde of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, OkeItura, Modakeke, Ife East area office of Osun State, has been arrested by the police for being in possession of human skull and charms.

Sources said that the 35-year-old man, Clement Oyetunde, was arrested at Adeowo area of the

town.

Speaking on the arrest, the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, Folashade Odorop, said the suspect was arrested following a tip-off from some residents.

According to him, Clement and one Wasiu, said to be on run, buried the human skull inside his house at Adeowo.

On arrest, Clement confessed to the crime, saying some evil spirits

chased and forced him to reveal how the human skull was buried in the house which he uses as a church.

While responding to questions, the suspect said: “I am a pastor of the Cherubim & Seraphim, Oke-Itura parish, Adeowo area of Modakeke. It was Wasiu who brought the skull to me. We buried it at the backyard. Wasiu left immediately and I do not know his whereabout now.

Burnt section of residence belonging to Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu, in Bauchi, recently.

Few days later, I was sleeping when I heard strange voices singing and drumming as if they were worshiping. The sound suddenly changed into traditional song and some invisible spirits told me to return the skull of Iya-Osun.

“They said the skull belonged to Mama Osun from Ondo State. They insisted I must return the skull.

“I then ran out of the house and called for help

PHOTO: NAN

Bid to stop suit against Elegushi fails WALE IGBINTADE

A

Lagos High Court Judge, Justice Olatunde Oshodi, has ruled that he has jurisdiction to adjudicate on a suit seeking to restrain Oba Saheed Elegushi (2nd defendants) from parading himself as the Oba Elegushi of Ikateland.

Ruling on preliminary objection filed by the traditional ruler challenging the jurisdiction of the court to the suit filed by one Alhaji Wasiu Alade Elegushi and Madam Tawakalitu Jinadu Elegushi, Justice Oshodi

held that the court has jurisdiction, as formulated by the statement of claim. ‘’Let me quickly state that from what is before the court, it fails to see how this suit can be said to constitute an abuse of court process. There are no facts brought by the 2nd defendant to show any abuse of the process of the court.

The 2nd defendant did not depose to any fact that can or will suggest that this suit constitute an abuse of court’’, it declared.

Besides, Justice Oshodi stated that there was no proof of any multiplicity of suits or that it was frivo-

lous or meant to pervert justice.

He further held that there is nothing in the Obas and Chief Law of Lagos State, Cap 02 that creates a condition precedent; hence the court cannot fault the claimants in taking out a Writ of Summons to challenge the decision of the Lagos State Governor as pleaded in the statement of claim.

The 2nd defendant (Oba Saheed Elegushi) had in a Notice of Preliminary objection filed by his lawyer; Dr. Muiz Banire urged the court to dismiss the suit on grounds that the claim-

ants did not comply with the preconditions for the institution of the suit. He argued that the claimant ought to have sought for judicial review of the action of the governor appointing the 2nd defendant as the paramount Oba, and not by mode used in commencing the suit.

But, counsel to the claimant, Mr. T O Adeyemi contended that the action of the governor confirming and appointing the 2nd defendant as the traditional ruler is an administrative function.

The claimants joined as defendants, the Chairman,

so that the spirits would not kill me. It was then that neighbours called in the police.

The police boss then solicited for more cooperation to nip criminal

activities in the bud and commended residents of Modakeke, especially the landlord association and the vigilantes for the information leading to arrest of the suspect.

Jilted lover arraigned for alleged arson man, Sunday Ishiaku, has been arraigned before the Magistrate’s, Court, sitting in Ijeshatedo, Surulere, Lagos, for attempting to set his lover’s apartment ablaze for refusing sex with him.

It was gathered that Ishiaku allegedly carried a litre of petrol to the apartment of Kadijat Saga, a Togolese, where he poured it in the room to burn her property.

It was gathered that the neighbours intervened and handed him over to the police, even as Ishiaku claimed that Saga has been collecting money and had refused to have sex with since they met three years ago.

Ishiaku said he knew Saga in Togo before she came to Nigeria. He said they were customers dealing on medical supplements

before their relationship became intimate.

He stated that he has been assisting her and even met the family demands but that Saga refuses to have sex with him.

“When her mother was sick, I gave her money for the treatment and after returning to Nigeria, refused to show appreciation for the assistance,” he lamented.

He, however, denied that he tried to set her room ablaze, saying it was mere allegation.

Ishiaku was charged with conduct likely to cause breach of public peace and attempted arson under the Criminal Code.He pleaded not guilty.

Speaking, Saga said she did not consider Ishiaku as her lover, noting that they were only friends.

She said she was surprised when neighbours called that Isiaku wanted to set her room on fire.

Eti-Osa Local Government Council, (1st defendant), Oba Rilwan Osuolale Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos (the consenting authority) (3rd defendant), Chief Fatai Olumegbon (Chief Olumegbon of Lagos, head Idejo family(4th defendant), the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (5th defendant) and Governor of Lagos State (6th defendant) respectively.

The claimants through their lawyer, Mathew Ariyo Adebayo are asking the court for an order compelling the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th defendants to complete the processes for recognition, appointment and installation of the sec-

ond claimant, Alhaji Wasiu Alade Elegushi as the new Oba Elegushi of Ikateland in accordance with the provisions of the existing declaration and law.

In their statement, the claimants averred that in accordance with Elegushi of Ikateland Chieftaincy declaration 1958, after the death of Oba Yekini Elegushi who is from Kusenla ruling House, the next ruling house to present a successor to the throne of Elegushi Ikateland is the Jinadu- Oja-Ogun ruling House.

The claimants added that the immediate Elegushi, Oba Yekini Elegushi died sometimes on or about November 7, 2009.

DARE AKOGUN

A

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

Obama hangs tough on migrant detention despite slowing influx

50

No one from outside or inside can stir things up in my country and lay ugly traps.

–Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan

Liberian nurses threaten strike over Ebola pay AISHA TITILAYO

N

urses and medical workers in Liberia are threatening to go on strike over a pay dispute, a move that could deliver a serious blow to the fight against Ebola which has killed hundreds in the west African country.

Members of Liberia’s National Health Workers Association said they would not report for work on Monday unless a demand for an increase in hazard pay was met.

The association said on Sunday it was calling for hazard pay to be increased by around $200, from what is currently less than $500. The average Liberian health worker’s base salary is between $200 and $300.

George Williams, the association’s secretary-general, said he was waiting for the government to address their specific demands.

“Up to this point nobody has come to us to resolve them, so the strike action stands for Monday,” he said. “Our doors are still open to negotiation and we are waiting.”

Around 200 health workers are known to have contracted the disease in Liberia, where personal protective equipment

Around 200 health workers have contracted Ebola in Liberia, 95 of whom died

is scarce, and at least 95 of them have died from the infectious disease.

When the first Ebola cases were confirmed in Guinea back in March, Liberia agreed to pay $700 per month in hazard pay because there were only two treatment centres and far fewer health workers involved, assistant health minister Tolbert Nyenswah said on Sunday.

As the epidemic and efforts to contain it expanded, how-

ever, that commitment placed a “huge financial burden on the state,” he said.

The government then lowered the monthly hazard allowance to $435 per month. By comparison, doctors receive at least $825 in monthly hazard pay, and their salaries are more than double of most other health workers, Nyenswah said.

Ordinary Liberians expressed alarm on Sunday at the prospect of a strike, saying

it could cripple the campaign against Ebola just as the international community ramped up assistance.

The World Health Organisation has recorded more than 2,300 confirmed, suspected and probable deaths from the deadly disease in Liberia, more than any other country.

The disease is spread via the bodily fluids of infected patients, leaving health workers especially vulnerable.

Two killed in fighting, 6 wounded in CAR, Cameroon ambush

T

wo people were killed in fighting in the capital of Central African Republic and six peacekeepers from Burundi and Cameroon were wounded in an ambush, a spokeswoman for the United Nations mission in the country said on Saturday.

The violence follows days of fighting that threatens the interim government of President Catherine Samba-Panza, who took office in January aiming to end two years of unrest in which thousands have died and more than 1 million have fled.

Samba-Panza said she would

Central African Republic’s interim President Catherine Samba-Panza addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York

not step down in the face of heightened political pressure and there were signs late on Saturday that tensions could be easing as one militia group withdrew its call for her resignation.

“I will not resign. I must lead this country until the end of my mission,” Samba-Panza told state radio.

The unrest is a struggle for power and resources in an impoverished country with reserves of gold and diamonds.

Rival communities have also clashed across religious lines.

Those killed overnight include a gendarme and a local leader for a militia known as “anti-balaka”, whose adherents follow Christianity and animism.

The peacekeepers were attacked in a neighbourhood near the Bangui airport and two were

seriously hurt, Myriam Dessables, a spokeswoman for the country’s UN mission MINUSCA, told Reuters.

The United Nations took over peacekeeping in mid-September from a mission run by the African Union. The country was plunged into chaos as mostly Muslim rebels from a coalition called the “Seleka” seized power in March 2013.

Its rule was marked by abuses that prompted a backlash from the “anti-balaka”. France sent troops to its former colony and an existing African peacekeeping force was beefed up.

Sporadic violence has continued despite the Seleka leader’s resignation from the presidency in January.

A Reuters witness said there was little gunfire in the capital on Saturday after days of violence rated the worst in months.

WORLD BULLETIN

...Funds should not be repackaged aid, Africa bank chief says The head of the African Development Bank expressed concern on Saturday that some donors responding to the Ebola crisis were repackaging aid money, funnelling it away from other areas in need in the three countries at the centre for the epidemic.

In an interview, Donald Kaberuka said moving funds from already allocated development projects in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone was unhelpful in the long term and make their rebuilding harder.

“I have told donors that I hope what they are announcing is additional resources because if it isn’t ...once (Ebola) is gone we will have no resources to build health care systems and continue reconstruction,” Kaberuka told Reuters on the sidelines of meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Suspected Somali militants abduct Kenyan traders –Governor Suspected Somali militants have abducted five Kenyans who were transporting the stimulant khat on Kenya’s northern coast, a regional official said, the latest in a string of incidents blamed on the Somali rebels.

Somalia’s al Shabaab group has launched a series of attacks on the coast in recent months, saying the attacks are punishment for Kenya’s sending troops to Somalia to fight them.

In the latest attack, two drivers and three assistants were attacked by a group of militants as they transported the khat, according to Miiri Njenga, county commissioner for Lamu, the region where the abductions took place.

UN chief calls for peace in Libya during surprise visit The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called for peace in Libya during a surprise visit to Tripoli as part of a UNbrokered reconciliation process.

On his first visit since 2011, when Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted, he told MPs meeting at a hotel in the city there was “no alternative to dialogue”.

Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini accompanied him.

50

World News

WORLD BULLETIN

Voting begins in tense Bosnia election Voting has begun in Bosnia in an election dominated by nationalist rhetoric and a stagnant economy.

It comes nearly 20 years after the end of the devastating Bosnian war in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Tensions between Bosnia’s main ethnic groups - Muslims (Bosniaks), Serbs and Croats remain high, and some groups have called for secession.

The country is one of the poorest in Europe, with joblessness at 44% and youth unemployment even higher.

Polls will close on Sunday afternoon and the first results are expected later on Sunday evening.

It is the seventh election since the US-brokered Dayton peace agreement ended the 1992-1995 war between the main ethnic groups.

In February, mass violent protests broke out in Bosnia, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with political elites and the high levels of corruption in the country.

Texas health worker becomes first person to contract Ebola in U.S. A Texas health worker at the hospital treating the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States has likely become the first person to contact the deadly virus in the country, raising fresh worries about the spread of the disease.

The worker at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital had been wearing protective gear during treatment of the patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died last week after being exposed to Ebola in Liberia, health officials said on Sunday.

The infection indicated a breach in protocol which may have caused other health workers at the hospital to also be infected, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Brazil election: Silva backs Neves in blow for Dilma The Brazilian environmentalist Marina Silva, who came third in Sunday’s presidential election, has backed opposition centrist candidate Aecio Neves in the second round.

Mr Neves won 33.5% of the votes in the first round to 41.5% for President Dilma Rousseff, who is running for a second four-year term.

Ms Silva failed to qualify for the 26 October run-off, with 21.3%.

She cited Mr Neves’s “commitments” as the reason for supporting him.

On Saturday, he announced in an open letter to the nation that he would include in his manifesto issues such as land reform, the demarcation of indigenous lands, the rights of rural communities and environmental concerns.

Monday, October 13, 2014

T

he surge in child migration from Central America is receding but the United States is aggressively pushing ahead with plans to expand detentions, a little-publicized part of a broader campaign to deter illegal migrants.

Under pressure from opposition Republicans to stem the unprecedented flow of children earlier this year, the Obama administration beginning in June pledged to speedily return them to their home countries and help better secure borders in Mexico and Central America.

But a third leg of that strategy has quietly created a network of family detention centers to lock up some children and their parents rather than freeing them pending deportation hearings.

The centers, which were opened this summer to receive families with children, are in Artesia, New Mexico and Karnes, Texas. Another one in Texas is scheduled to open in coming months. With little public debate, they have effectively become flagships of the Obama administration’s “get tough” campaign to discourage future border crossings.

These augment a Pennsylvania facility that has been in operation since 2001, but holds only small numbers of people.

It represents a U-turn for the Obama administration, which for

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Obama hangs tough on migrant detention despite slowing influx

U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the Oval Office after returning via Marine One helicopter to the White House in Washington

five years favored less restrictive programs, such as ankle bracelets and telephone check-ins, for keeping tabs on families while they awaited court decisions on whether or not they would be deported.

In 2012, the administration noted these programs saved “many millions of dollars.”

“The Obama administration in 2009 decided that it was going to turn away from family

detention ... the turn back is really alarming,” said Carl Takei of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The White House referred briefly to “increased detainment” in a fact sheet it issued on July 8 on an emergency funding request to Congress. But the policy change, which immigration groups characterize as a major shift for the administration, has not been laid out in detail.

Triple suicide attack hits Kurds in Iraq

A

triple suicide attack tore through a Kurdish compound in eastern Iraq, killing at least 29 members of the security forces and wounding 88, according to hospital and security officials.

The attack happened in Qara Tappah, in the eastern Diyala province about 120km northeast of Baghdad.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Erbil, said the attack was a triple car bombing.

“They targeted three different locations in close proximity to each other - two of them were used as bases by Kurdish security forces, a third by the PUK political

party,” Khodr said.

“The Kurds are at war and definitely this is a major blow, especially as of late Kurdish forces, with the help of US-led air strikes, have been able to capture back territory from ISIL in recent weeks.”

Kurdish sources told Al Jazeera that the death toll was likely to rise.

In a separate incident, officials say a bomb killed the police chief of Iraq’s Anbar province.

Councilman Faleh al-Issawi told the Associated Press news agency that the bomb went off on Sunday morning near a convoy carrying Brig Gen Ahmed al-

Iraq’s Anbar province has seen a growing rebellion since early this year

Dulaimi in the vast province west of Baghdad.

The convoy had been travelling through an area to the north of the provincial capital, Ramadi.

Pinpointing military and humanitarian aid from nations in the international struggle against the armed group.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad, said that authrorities had responded to the attack by imposing a curfew.

“This is seen as quite a major attack,” Khan said. “Enforcing the curfew will be difficult because ISIL are in control of much of the province.”

It was not immediately clear if others were killed. The councilman said Iraqi security forces had recaptured the area from the rebels a day earlier.

Anbar has seen a growing rebellion since early this year.

Groups led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have fully controlled the city of Fallujah, parts of Ramadi and rural areas.

The upsurge in violence in Anbar comes as ominous warnings were sounded that ISIL could be close to taking over the whole of the province.

The big expansion of detention beds, from only 90 last year to about 3,700 by the end of this year, comes amid data showing that the seasonal migration wave has receded. The number of families coming over the border declined to 3,295 in August, from 16,329 in June.

“These (family detention) facilities will help ensure more timely and effective removals that comply with our legal and international obligations, while deterring others from taking the dangerous journey and illegally crossing into the United States,” a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said.

Human rights groups counter that the new policy is badly misguided.

Michelle Brane, director of a migrant rights program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, said children, some of them infants and toddlers, cannot be properly cared for in large detention centers.

The policy shift on detention centers, which has not been debated much in Congress, follows President Barack Obama’s warning last summer to illegal migrants from Central America that they would be detained and promptly shipped back home if they attempted to make the dangerous journey.

Immigration advocates argue that many of these children have valid claims for asylum and flee to the United States because their governments cannot protect them from both gang and domestic violence.

The detention centers are intended to discourage another migrant wave that some fear will start early next year, said Marshall Fitz, an immigration specialist at the Center for American Progress, which has close ties to the White House.

March to June, when it is neither dangerously cold nor hot, have been peak months for children, either traveling alone or with their parents, to brave the journey to the U.S. border by foot and atop trains.

“We could see the same thing come back again and I want to build against that,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Thursday.

Advocacy groups and defense lawyers donating their services to detainees complain of unsafe conditions, poor medical care and inadequate access to lawyers at the government-run center in Artesia and the Karnes facility, which is operated by the GEO Group, a for-profit operator of prisons.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, October 13, 2014

51

Aliyu seeks more private varsities in the north PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

T

he Chairman, Northern States Governors’ Forum, NSGF, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has called for the establishment of more

private universities to tackle deficit in the number of government owned universities in the region.

He also said Nigeria would be a safer and more prosperous nation with a secured development aspiration if the educational

sector was given more than casual attention.

Aliyu, who is also the governor of Niger State, in a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Israel Ebije, said this at Base University, Abuja’s first convocation ceremony

over the weekend.

He added that private investors need to augment government-owned universities, and emphasized the need to bridge gaps, especially with an alarming proportion of over children said to be out of school in the region.

According to him, no nation that can achieve maximum development without a quality labor force.

The governor said the education sector must be properly managed for quality service and accessibility.

He maintained that adverse academic deficit does not only affect development negatively but expose the country to social vices due to illiteracy and poverty.

The NSGF chairman stressed that while ensuring that university education must be reinvigorated and proliferated, the standard of graduates must be a major consideration.

He said that graduates from Nigerian varsities must be employable anywhere in the world.

Gov Aliyu

The governor said as part of efforts to encourage the spread of universities across the country, a policy of free land for any investor wishing and ready to establish private university was in place in Niger State.

He, therefore, advocated that universities must be planned for, to accommodate qualified admission seekers.

Dangote calls for action on building collapse Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, acknowledging his supporters at Gombe International Airport on his return from hajj on Saturday.

PHOTO: NAN

Aspirant chides APC over high cost of nomination form PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

A

presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Prof. Mahmood Muhibeedeen Aliyu, has berated the party for charging N27m on the nomination form, as against the N22m by the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, towards the 2015 election in the country.

He also urged the APC leadership not to allow the

emergence of a consensus candidate as adopted by the PDP, noting that such a decision would give room for mediocrity, which not be good for the nation.

Aliyu, who stated this over the weekend in Minna, Niger State, while declaring his presidential ambition for the 2015 election, said for a party desirous of effecting change, charging such a high amount for nomination form does not speak well, hence the need to consider a downward review of the

price to attract more contestants.

“The APC is charging N27m for the presidential nomination form to contest election, while the PDP charges N22m.

“For a party that is clamouring for change, it should make it easy for ordinary people to come out and contest for the much desired change.

“I really wish my party will charge lower for the form,” the aspirant, who is a professor of Business Administration at the Ah-

madu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, stated.

Aliyu called on the APC to discountenance a situation like in the past, where aspirants will have to sponsor delegates to party conventions, which according to him, is not good for democracy.

Asked what he had to offer, particularly in the face of a trend that his generation had plunged the nation into its current challenges, the 63-yearold presidential aspirant though admitted the guilt.

Saraki suspends presidential bid OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

F

ormer Kwara State governor, Senator Bukola Saraki, has said that the suspension of his bid for the presidency in 2015 was for the interest the country and party.

He, however, added that his stepping down had nothing to do with supporting any aspirant, but vowed to work for his party to dethrone the ruling party at the centre.

In a statement he personally signed, the All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, said: even though his

presidential interest had sparked widespread excitement across the country, and had received major support from key stakeholders and youth groups based on his leadership profile characterised by infrastructural development, economic growth and striving social wellbeing, he decided to step down “because Nigeria’s political outlook for 2015 is very complicated.”

The former governor stated: “This is the time for every patriotic politician to situate his personal ambition in the context of the country’s overall interest.”

According to him, party

primaries in any healthy democracy would always leave several contenders disappointed, and sometimes bitter, as there would be only one winner.

“The party would then invest so much energy and time afterwards managing and reconciling various interests.

“I don’t think our party can afford too much internal rancour going into next year’s election. I therefore think some of us need to make the sacrifice and be part of the solution rather than the problem of the party,” Saraki said.

He was one of the masterminds of a major breakaway from the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, ear-

lier in the year.

The senator recounted how he, along with other progressives in the PDP, decided to leave the party to join the APC “when it was clear that PDP, especially at the national level, had become too invested in the personal ambition of one man at the overall detriment of the country and its democracy.”

According to him, Nigeria desperately needs change.

According to him, the APC can only live up to the aspirations of Nigerians for change if it was not derailed by too much acrimony from its primaries, which is coming close to the general election.

C

hairman of Dangote Cement Plc., Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has charged stakeholders in the building and construction industry to come together and confront building collapse in the country decisively.

He spoke through the Group Managing Director of the company, Devakumar Edwin, in Obajana, Kogi State, during a sensitisation tour of the cement plant by the leadership of National Association of Block Moulders of Nigeria in the South West and Edo State.

He said incidents of structure failures had assumed a national embarrassment, adding that there is the need for all to fashion a way out of the problem.

Dangote said that this was one of the reasons why his company hosted the block molders, as critical stakeholders, to the sensitisation tour and practical demonstration of block making and lectures on how best to get the quality blocks for strong structures.

He added that the visit of the block moulders, as well as the series of sensitisation workshops organised across the country for the block molders, would assist in educating them on the fact that there are different grades of cements for different purposes and for different applications, as pre-

scribed by the regulatory authority, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON. He told the block molders that his company had been campaigning for quality and standardisation so as to save the nation of the headache associated with building collapse, which according to him, leads to avoidable loss of lives and property.

Earlier, the Obajana plant director, Mr. J. V. Gungune, told the block molders that the essence of taking them round the plant was for them to appreciate what the company goes through in the process of producing cement, from the mines to the loading bay.

He said the block molders would also discover why Dangote Cement, as a leading player in the industry, could not compromise quality.

Gungune said the company would want its products standardised in the interest of the end users who would not have understood that there are grades of cement for different uses.

In his address, the coordinator of the tour and Dangote Cement’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Johnson Olaniyi, told the block moulders’ leadership to ensure that the lessons received during the sensitisation exercise percolate downwards so that the essence of their coming would have positive effect.

52

Monday, October 13, 2014

CHANGE OF NAME

EGBO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Egbo Adaeze Amarachi G., now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ugwumba Adaeze Amarachi G. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME That Adedayo Adenike Mary is the same and one person as Adedayo Olayinka Bunmi, now wish to be known as Adedayo Adenike Mary. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti West Local Government And Local Government Service Commission and Ado-Ekiti State and general public note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly Know and addressed as Miss Olusola Iyabo Ajayi, now wish to be known and addressed to Mrs Fasae Olusola Iyabo. All former documents remain valid.College of Health Science and Technology Ijero Ekiti and Guarantee Trust bank and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGBUJIE: formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogbujie Ann Obiazonwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mbanaso Ann Obiazonwa. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AGUSI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Agusi Sandra Chidinma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Abbah Sandra Chidinma.

All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should remain valid.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Omotosho Abimbola Oluwaseun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Odusanya Abimbola Oluwaseun. All former document remain valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

OLAJOLO: Formerly known and addressed as Olajolo Olaitan Moyosoreoluwa, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Ogungbile, Olaitan Moyosoreoluwa. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGUNYADI: Formerly known and addressed as Ogunyadi Oluwakemi Ganiyat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Daniels Kemisola Adeyemi. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NWANKO: Formerly known and addressed as Nwanko Umunna now wish to be known and addressed as Umunna Maxwell.

All former documents remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NWABUEZE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwabueze Amaechi Judith now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Darkomoh Amaechi Judith. All former documents remain valid General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

YUSUF: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Titilope Nusirat Yusuf, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Titilope Nusirat Liasu. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGUNTOYINBO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Oguntoyinbo Bola Sinmiat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Salami Bola Sinmiat. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

ONWUDI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Onwudi Jacinta Ifunanya, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Nweke Jacinta Ifunanya. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

JOKOTOLA: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Jokotola Olasunbo Omowumi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akanni Olasunbo Omowumi.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Olatunji Fagbemi Modinat Tinuade, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Joseph Modinat Tinuade. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyenwe Chinwe Ngozi now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ahaotu Chinwe Ngozi. All former documents remain valid.

IMSU,NTI,UNIPORT and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Balogun Hassan Ayinke now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Sanni Ayinke.

All former document remain valid NYSC and general public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

AHOVEY: Formerly known and addressed as Ahovey Yewande Cecilia, now wish to be known and addressed as Olowu Yewande.

Cecilia. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AKINTADE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Akintade Bosede Yemisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Odetola Bosede Yemisi. All former documents remain valid. Abeokuta South LGEA, Ogun SUBEB and General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

OKOLO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okolo Ngozi Hope, now wish to be known and addressed as Dr Mrs Chinweuba Ngozi Hope. All former documents remains valid. General public take note

IBEKA: Formerly known and addressed as Mrs Ibeka Ebele Ruth, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Okwuchukwu Ebele Ruth. All former documents remains valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

IDRIS: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Idris Oluwaseunfunmi Sekinat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ogunsola Oluwaseunfunmi Sekinat. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EGBENDE: Formely known and addressed as Miss Egbende Fatimo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adeniji Fatimo. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

OKOROEGO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoroego Faith Oluchi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Igbobi Faith Oluchi. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OLADUNKANMI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Giwa Rukayat Olasunkanmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Rukayat Giwa Ayodele. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

TITILOYE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Titiloye Rukayat Olasumbo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajetunmobi Rukayat Olasumbo. All former documents remain valid. Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue and general public to please take note.

AKANJI: Formerly called and addressed as Miss Akanji Rukayat Adeola now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Bello Rukayat Adeola.

All former documents remain valid,NYSC and general public should please take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Monsurat Olamide Adeniji, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Monsurat Olamide Akanmu. All former documents remain valid. National Youths Serbice Corp (NYSC), management of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EKWEALOR: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ekwealor Stella Tochukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Agu Stella Tochukwu. All former documents remains valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to confirm that Adetimilehin Christianah is the same one person as Adetimilehin Christianah Temitope, that henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Adetimilehin Christianah Temitope. All former documents remain valid, Osun State Polytechnic,Iree and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

ORJI: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Bridget Kperechi Orji, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Bridget Ugwu (Nee Orji). All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OLAOSEBIKAN: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Olaosebikan Rose Funmi now wish to be known and address as Mrs Olaifa Rose Funmilayo. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

WALKER: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Walker Chizoba Cecilia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oguinye Chizoba Cecilia.

All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OKEKE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okeke Joy Chinenyenwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Onunze Joy Chinenyenwa. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EGBUCHE: Formerly known and addressed as Egbuche Lovelyn Ekene, now wish to be known and addressed as Ikem Lovelyn Ekene. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Dotun-Odumade Babatomiwa Olutayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Oluwafemi Oluwatomiwa Praise Olutayo.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

AKINOLA: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Akinola Nofisat Yetunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Babayemi Nofisat Yetunde.All former documents remain valid. IBEC and General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

MOLUGA: Formerly known and addressed as Moluga Babafemi Oluwole, now wish to be known and addressed as Isaac Babafemi Oluwole. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NWAOGWUGWU: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwaogwugwu Chinyere Sandra, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Nwogu Chinyere Sandra.

All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHUKWUEKE: We are formerly known and addressed as Elendu Chukwuemeka Evans Chukwueke, and Ifeoma Lorita Eze, now we wish to be known, called and addressed as Evans Elendu Chukwuemeka Chukwueke and Ifeoma Lorita Best Chukwueke. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Christopher Silverline Uzoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akuave Silverline Uzoma. All former documents remain valid.Nigeria Immigration Service and General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

ADERINWALE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Aderinwale Olaide Abisola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Dasaolu Olaide Abisola.All former documents remain valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

MOLUGA: Formerly known and addressed as Moluga Folashade Olajumoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Isaac Folashade Olajumoke. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NDUUR: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nduur Priscilla Ngoualdu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Andrew Kegh Priscilla Ngoualdu. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

This is to inform the general public of the Loss of the Original Letter of Intent for Grant of Plot No SP 189 at the Apo Mechanic Village, issued to Barnabas Amarakuo of Block B Facility Area, Finance Querters, Wuye dated 19|12|2005 by Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency. All effort to trace the said document failed.The general public and AMMA should please take note.

Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

3X2

CHANGE OF NAME

THE TRUSTEES ARE:

PUBLIC NOTICE ADVERT SPACE FOR SALE

CHANGE OF NAME

OLUBUKOLA :Formerly known and addressed as Miss Olubukola Adesuwa Osazuwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Olubukola Adesuwa Sosan. All Former documents remain valid.

General public, please take note.

1. Elder Omolayajo Babatunde Ladega 2. Prophet Demola Ogunlesi 3. Elder Isaac Adegboyega Olaopa 4. Lady Evangelist Bola Amosu 5. Evangelist Julius Ayodele Bankole 6. Elder John Ojekunle

- President - Spiritual Head - Secretary - Treasurer - Member - Member

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all nations of the world.

2. To baptize and make disciples for effective evangelism and teaching the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. To provide for the less privileged.

4. To preach and train Christians to posses the good Christian virtues to shines as light to the world and salt of the earth.

Any objection to the registration should be addressed to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street P.M.B. 198 Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: ELDER OMOLAYAJO BABATUNDE LADEGA PRESIDENT

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE

Announcer:

CHANGE OF NAME

IGBERAESE: Formerly known and addressed as Igberaese Omon Esther, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Okpere Omon Esther. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OMEYE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Omeye Julieth Nnedinso, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Paul Julieth Nnedinso. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

THE NEW MILLENNIUM APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF GOD This is to informed the general public that the above named church has applied to the Corporate

AKINRINBOLA: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Akinrinbola Oluwatosin Racheal now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Olakunle Oluwatosin Racheal.

All former documents remain valid. Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, N.Y.S.C and general public take note.

Linkers Agency Ltd Government Licensed Auctioneer 08033436829

CHANGE OF NAME

OKOLIE: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okolie Ujunwa Cecilia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mbah Ujunwa Cecilia. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

OKORO: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoro Chineye now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Eze Chineye. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

This is to inform the general public that approval has been given by Anambra state Security Trust Fund (ANSSTF) to dispose by public auction sales of all unserviceable vehicles located at various police stations in the state starting from 16th October,2014 by 10am prompt.

Interested buyers are to inspect the allotted vehicles during working hours at the above police stations.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

PUBLIC NOTICE

INDOMITABLE YOUTHS ORGANIZATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the companies and Allied Maters Act 1 of 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Miss. Ameze Igiebor Mr. Idurobo Imafidion Miss. Akpobi Ufuoma Mr. Izekor Harrison Dr. Oniovokukor Bright Mrs. Alile Precious Miss. Ehigiator Hope Dr. Idurobo Omonyemwen

NEW TRUSTEES ARE:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Mr. Izekor Harrison Dr. Oniovokukor Bright Miss Akpobi Ufuoma Miss Okuoimose Monica Mr. Idurobo Imafidion Mrs. Ekhaguere Hope

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To build a society where the youths are in forefront for National Development.

2. To eradicate societal ills amongst youths through sensitization on the dangers of cultism, drug abuse, prostitution and its related consequences of sexually transmitted infections as well as HIV/AIDS. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris cresent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, maitana, Abuja, within 28 days from the date of this publication

SIGNED: AKPOBI UFUOMA, SECRETARY 08026233860

PUBLIC NOTICE

This is to inform the general public that the property at No.70 Wetheral Road, by Odoagu Street, Owerri Imo State, is not for sale. Whoever enters into contract (agreement) with anyone in relation to the above mentioned property is doing so at his/her own risk. Contact can be made to the sons of late Mr. Anthony Anaele Anuforo of Egbelu Emeke Obibiezena in the person of Mr. Evans Anuforo and Mr. Smart Anuforo.

Signed: 08068309194

Monday, October 13, 2014

The first game against Cote d’Ivoire was an eye opener. tomorrow’s game against nstt Zambia will be different ent

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

53

Sport

AWC: Falcons tackle She-Polopolo 55

–FALCONS STRIKER, DESIRE OPARANOZIE OZIE

Lawal questions Keshi’s competence ... As fans boo Eagles PAUL EREWUBA

F

ollowing the lackluster performance of the Stephen Keshi- coached Super Eagles in their 1-0 defeat

by Sudan over the weekend, former Super Eagles midfielder, Garba Lawal, has called for the immediate removal of Keshi.

A first half header from Bakri Abdelgadir gave Sudan a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the El-Merreikh Stadium last Saturday.

Lawal said Keshi’s team has no game plan, insisting

that Keshi be replaced immediately after the qualifiers for the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, irrespective of whether Nigeria qualifies or not.

The former Roda JC of Holland midfielder said that Keshi shouldn’t remain in charge of the Super Eagles, because he has ‘lost it’.

“At this moment, I would say Keshi has lost it. We don’t even know if we will qualify for the AFCON or not, because it is going to be very difficult right now. We lost one at home, lost one away, and drew away, so it’s a problem.

“We don’t have time for

another coach to come in at the moment, but it still can be done. But Keshi has lost and I kept talking about the players he was ignoring. I talked about Ike Uche and I wonder if Taiye Taiwo won’t play better than Elderson Echiejile is at the moment, but yet these guys are continually snubbed.

“So we should get another coach because we cannot continue contemplating which is not good for a country like Nigeria. Champions of Africa struggling to qualify for the African championship is not good enough because it is obvious the coach has lost it, he has lost it,” Lawal said.

T

he Super Eagles were booed on arrival from Sudan on Sunday by aggrieved fans at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The fans, who booed the Super Eagles, were still furious with the team for their 1-0 loss to Sudan on Saturday.

Bakeber Bakri scored the match winner in the 42nd minute to hand Sudan the three needed points.

The Super Eagles touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwi International Airport around 9am local time (10am CAT) on Sunday only for them to be booed by angry fans.

The fans were apparently still battling to terms with the Super Eagles’ loss to Sudan, which leaves Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, hanging.

It was learned that it took the intervention of armed security men before the Super Eagles were allowed to board a bus from the airport.

Nigeria now sit at the base of Group A in the 2015 AFCON qualification on one point, Sudan are in third spot while South Africa are the new leaders on seven points followed by Congo on six points.

Eagles regroup for Sudan replay •Kick-off 5pm •tickets go for N3,000, N200

Super Eagles during training

ADEOLU JOHNSON

T

he Africa Nations Cup qualifying return leg tie between the Super Eagles and their Sudanese counterparts billed for Wednesday, October 15, at the Abuja National Stadium will start at 5pm, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has

said.

NFF’ Spokesman Demola Olajire told our correspondent that tickets for the match will be on sale as from today at the NFF Secretariat, the Old Parade Ground and Wuse Market, all in Abuja.

He said Ticket for the VIP section will cost N3, 000 while that for popular side will go for N200 only.

He called on Nigerians coming for the very crucial encounter to don the national colours of green and white, in order to endow the arena with glamour and inspire the African champions.

He said: “This is the first match the Super Eagles are playing in Abuja after a very long time.

“We are pleading with our

people, residents of Abuja and environs and indeed football lovers from across the length and breadth of the country, to turn out in large numbers to cheer the Super Eagles, and also to turn up in the national colours of green and white.”

“The full–strength Senior National Team has not played at the National Stadium, Abuja

since 8 October, 2011, when a 2-2 draw with the Syli Nationale of Guinea condemned Nigeria to non–qualification for the 28th Africa Cup of Nations, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012.

“Since then, the team had made Calabar principally its home, with the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna also hosting a couple of games”, he stated.

54

Sports

Monday, October 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net . at o a o o e. et

Ronaldo ‘will cost a billion’ –Agent

C

ristiano Ronaldo’s agent has a warning for anyone wanting to buy the Real Madrid forward: He will cost you €1 billion.

Jorge Mendes insists the player has the staggering £785

million buy-out clause in his Bernabeu contract because that is how much he is worth.

Ronaldo has been linked to a return to Manchester United in recent weeks, but Mendes said: “The price is

that stated in his release clause €1 billion.”

He added: “United are in his heart and he is very respectful of people who show him affection

but he is in Madrid to the end.”

Earlier this week, Mendes insisted he “no longer get calls from anyone asking about Cristiano because th know they k that th t it is impossible to get him out of Madrid.”

Balotelli

We’re happy to offload Balotelli –Gandini

Ronaldo

A Federer

Federer wins Shanghai Masters

R

oger Federer on Sunday won his first Shanghai Masters title with a straight sets victory over Gilles Simon in China.

The Swiss world number three let out a huge roar after unseeded Frenchman Simon hit a forehand into the net to give him a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2) victory.

“To win the biggest tournament in Asia is a treat,” said Federer, who was beaten in the 2010 final by Britain’s Andy Murray.

Federer, 33, won the opening set with his only backhand winner down the line.

Simon led 6-5 in the second set and had two set points but two unforced errors allowed Federer a way back and the 17time Grand Slam winner took

advantage.

“I got lucky to come through the first round after saving five match points. It’s been a dream week,” added Federer.

The victory moved Federer up to second in the world rankings, behind Novak Djokovic For 29-year-old Simon, who went off court for a medical time-out after the first set, it was a second defeat in a Masters final, having lost in Madrid to Murray in 2008.

He matched Federer for much of the match from the baseline but the Swiss dominated when he came to the net, winning 24 of 35 points.

In both tie-breaks Federer played aggressively and he set up four championship points with a blistering cross-court forehand return.

C Milan sports chief Umberto Gandini admits they were delighted to offload Mario Balotelli to Liverpool in the summer.

Gandini says the £16million sale of the troubled Italian striker to Liverpool in late August made everyone at the club “happy”.

He told the Daily Star Sunday: “We all felt coming to Italy, to a place where he was loved, would have been the ideal environment for him to blossom into a star player.

“But it didn’t work out for both sides.

“Mario was not the kind of player we were looking for in order to have a better team on the pitch.

“On the other hand, he probably felt the Premier League was the best stage for him to perform on and he wanted to go back there.

“So Liverpool came at just the right time. It just made everyone happy.”

Keane predicts more years of pain for Man U

M

anchester United legend Roy Keane is not yet convinced by the team’s recent revival.

Keane believes there will be two more years of pain before the 13-time Premier League champions stand a chance of being England’s top dogs again.

He said: “Things have been a bit better the last few weeks for United. They have got lots of goals in their team now and are great going forward.

“But in terms of winning the big prizes like the Premier League and the Champions League, I think that might be a few years down the road yet.

“They need to rebuild their defence.

“You can win football matches going forward but at the back - with the injuries and lack of experience they have - it will be very hard to win titles.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Monday, October 13, 2014

55

NPL Week 32 Results Gombe Utd

2

1

Enyimba

Bayelsa Utd

1

2

Warri Wolves

Sharks

1

0

Pillars

Akwa United

0

0

Abia Warriors

Kaduna Utd

0

0

Elkanemi

Lobi Stars

2

0

Rangers

Taraba

2

0

Dolphins

Nasarawa

3

2

Nembe

Heartland

3

0

Sunshine

Crown

1

1

Giwa

African Women Championship Result

Cameroun

AWC: Falcons tackle She-Polopolo tomorrow …As Nigeria’s MVP chants ‘war’ song

T

T

he Guild of Sports Editors,the umbrella body of all managers of sports in the Nigerian media, has called for the immediate removal of Stephen Keshi as caretaker coach of the Super Eagles, following Saturday’s disgraceful loss to Sudan in a 2015 AFCON qualifier in Khartoum.

The body wants the new executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation to ask Keshi to stay away from the team for the reverse fixture of the AFCON qualifier in Abuja on Wednesday.

‘The Guild feels Keshi should not be honoured with a place on the Super Eagles bench on Wednesday in the reverse fixture after toying with the emotions of over 100 million football loving Nigerians through his unnecessary arrogance,ungurded and sometimes insulting utterances as well as questionable invitation of players,”said the Guild’s president Tony Ubani in a statement on Sunday.

‘We also want the NFF not to re-open contract extension talks with Keshi who seems to have lost

0

South Africa

Chukwu advises Keshi

Super Falcons

he Super Falcons will face debutantes, the ShePolopolo of Zambia, tomorrow in a Group ‘A’ second match of the African Women Championship (AWC) at the Sam Nujoma Stadium. Hosts, Namibia, will face Cote d’Ivoire at the same venue in the other Group ‘A’ day two match.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Su-

1

per Falcons 4-2 win over Cote d’Ivoire Ngozi Okobi, has stated that the victory over Cote d’ Ivoire is just a tip of the iceberg.

“This is not the best of the Falcons. I believe by our next game tomorrow against Zambia we will be near our best.

We will go back and improve on other parts of the team ahead of our next matches,” the Delta Queens FC player said at the

post-match press conference .

The 19-year old added that the opening win puts them on course as far as their title aspirations are concerned.

“Winning the title is our main aim and that is the purpose we are here. We are very ready to win the trophy,” said Okobi, Six-time winners, Super Falcons got off their campaign at

the 9th African Women Championship with a hard fought 4-2 win over Cote d’Ivoire, but forward Ngozi Okobi has said there best is yet to come.

The Nigerians had to sweat to overcome the promising Ivorians in the Group A opener with Okobi adjudged the Woman of the Match, playing an influential role in her side’s triumph.

Keshi Must Go the motivation to take the Super Eagles beyond where he has taken the team. ,’further said Ubani in the statement.

The body, however, believes Keshi is only the undertaker in the new low Nigerian football has sunk and wants the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF to take a wholistic look at football development in Nigeria starting with the leagues.

‘The success of any football administration depends on how it is able to develop its league to not only provide quality players for the various national teams but also provide employment for millions of Nigerians.

‘England last won a major tournament some 48 years ago but its FA has developed its league to be the best in the world with millions of job opportunities for its people,’Ubani said.

‘We demand a total restructuring of the league body and an enforcement of all laws guiding club football in Nigeria. A situation

where clubs do not have a youth team and where players salaries are not paid promptly cannot engender growth.

We want the new NFF executive committee to be bold and daring in

some of the inevitable decisions they will take to ensure a new and positive order in football administration in Nigeria and we pledge our unflinching support towards that cause,”concludes Ubani.

F

ormer Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, has passionately asked Super Eagles caretaker coach, Stephen Keshi, to honourably take a walk.

The Eagles were handed a shock 1-0 defeat by Sudan’s in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match at the Municipal Stadium in Khartoum, Sudan.

Forward, Bakeber Bakri scored the match winner in the 42nd minute to hand his side the three points.

Nigeria now sit at the base of Group A in the 2015 Afcon qualification on one point, Sudan move to the third spot while South Africa are the new leaders on seven points followed by Congo on six points.

Still shell-shocked over the unexpected Eagles’ defeat in the hands of Sudan, Chukwu said Keshi does not need to wait any longer but take the exit option.

“This is football for you, Keshi won the 2013 AFCON title and took us to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and everyone was happy.

“Now that he has not done well so far in the qualifiers to the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Nigerians definitely won’t be happy with him.

NPL: Sharks edge past Pillars

S

harks held on to a battling 1-0 win over Nigeria Premier League leaders Kano Pillars in front of their home fans yesterday.

Fortune Omoniwari’s stunner rescued Gbenga Ogunbote’s team as they played very well to earn a victory at the Sharks Stadium in the NPL week 32 encounter.

Omoniwari’s clinical brilliance made the difference as Sharks enjoyed the better openings but the away team had the ability to penetrate.

Coach Ogunbote had his defenders and goalkeeper to

thank for the victory, as Adamu Hassan was a thorn in the flesh.

From the beginning, Pillars were on the front foot. They forced two corner kicks in quick succession to no avail.

In the 22nd minute, Chiamaka Madu sent a brilliant a lovely volley from just outside the area and his effort brought out the best from Theophilus Afelokhai.

With the game gathering pace, Pillars were unable to clear their lines from a Thompson Stowe corner kick and Omoniwari toe poked it beyond Pillars goalkeeper Afelokhai in

the 30th minute.

Two minutes later, Zango Umar of Pillars handled Odinga Odinga’s goal-bound strike.

The referee pointed to the spot, but Christian Pyagbara rattled the bar.

At the other end, Pillars nearly netted an equaliser but it took the brilliance of Jamiu Alimi to deny the dangerous Hassan.

The home team’s back four grew in confidence and frustrated the away side with their timely blocks as the game ended 1-0 in favour of the Blue Angels.

WORLD RECORD First father andFastest son to finish in first, second place at the Daytona 500 mile fireman’s carry

Vol. 04 No. 959 Monday, October 13, 2014

N150

Bobby Allison (USA) won the Daytona 500 in 1988, with his son, the late Davey Allison (USA), finishing second, marking the only time a father and son have ever finished 1-2 at the Daytona 500.

2015: Who are Jonathan’s rivals?

T

he countdown to the 2015 general elections shows we have less than five months to the D-Day. In all honesty, do you get the real vibes of an election year such as the Americans experience in a similar situation? In our type political order, where almost all the elections are crammed into the same electoral calendar, the presidential election, in particular, ought to unleash high decibel frenzies that should be used as a measure of how Nigerians are connected to the dreams and aspirations of their favourites among the presidential hopefuls instead of the current subdued politicking.

My follow up question is: Who are the rivals of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in the February 2015 presidential election? The logic of this question flows from the fact that GEJ’s candidacy is already a fait accompli since all his po-

HeartBeat Callistus Oke

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY) anthonykila@mail.com tential rivals within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have chickened out of the race after his endorsement by the national hierarchs of the party. But who will he face in that election? As at today, the All Progressives Congress (APC) remains the only party of the fifty something motley crowd of legitimately licensed political parties crowding the nation’s political space that is posed to wrestling the PDP for the coveted presidential crown.

This means we are likely to have a two sum game scenario of APC versus PDP. What real action do you expect from such a scenario, particularly where the aspirants have been in our political radar since 1999? We have not seen any dark horse so far. In the first civilian supervised post military presidential election in 2003, incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo was kept busy with 19 rivals wanting his throne. The number of challengers to PDP’s hegemonic hold on the reins of presidential powers grew to 24 in April 2007. And in 2011, President Jonathan was challenged by 19 other contenders. Here we are in 2014 and less than five months to the election, unsettling quietude from the rest of the political parties has descended on the polity.

I think it might appear many would be presidential aspirants are only too ready to take calculated risks in our now well circumscribed political environment. The dictates of our prevailing political reality

MANY WOULD BE PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS ARE ONLY TOO READY TO TAKE CALCULATED RISKS IN OUR NOW WELL CIRCUMSCRIBED POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT had set in motion the forces of realignment, the product of which is now the new big partism political order.

The PDP’s suffocating hold on the country got the opposition to reevaluate their strategy. Such rethink of strategy birthed the APC in February 2013 and got registered in August 2013. The All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Rochas Okorocha’s faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) had to die for APC to exist.

The PDP’s own contribution to the decimation of the constitutionally permitted multiparty structure of the polity began shortly before the 2011 general elections when its national hierarchs encouraged the defection of the incumbent governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji from the camp of Orji Kalu’s Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) to their party. The fate of PPA as a political party was finally sealed when Ikedia Ohakim lost the Imo governorship election of that year.

The icing of the decapitation of the multiparty cake was accomplished by the recent decampment of the only Labour Party governor, Oluegun Mimiko of Ondo State and Mr. Peter Obi with all their political assets to the PDP. The Labour Party only now exists in name, while APGA is gasping for salvation with just Anambra State to breathe on. When both the APC and PDP share 35 of the 36 states between them, the current lull in the polity could be understood.

And so, the 2015 politics will assume a two sum game in which the APC and PDP will square it up with each other.

The problematic, however, is that while the strategic adoption of endorsement option by the latter has helped to sustain the momentum of its preparations for the 2015 contest, the APC leadership has to contend with how best to manage the presidential primaries of the party to ensure its continuing cohesion. The three leading contenders for APC presidential ticket - General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso of Kano State – have the capacity to cause serious havoc on its 2015 presidential campaign efforts if their interests are in any way undermined by the party’s bigwigs.

Only a consensual resolution of the big issue that is amenable to the three contenders could stave off a likely eruption within the party. The prospect of such a consensual resolution of the issue might have been hampered by the current push for the demonization of one of the troika.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed et al would need the Wisdom of Solomon in the days ahead to unknot the troubling riddle of how to get a crisis free presidential candidate.

And for those prematurely celebrating the prospect of two party system in the country, have they paused to ponder the enthronement of big interest politics over broad-based consensual and inclusive politics the new political order could promote?

Sport Extra

w

Portugal Masters: Levy wins rain-shortened event

F

rance’s Alexander Levy won the Portugal Masters as the event was reduced to 36 holes by persistent rain.

The tournament had already been cut to 54 holes

after rain on Thursday and Friday meant many players did not start their second rounds until the weekend.

Levy, who was leading on 18 under after round two, had played one hole of

round three when rain returned and organisers decided 36-hole scores would stand.

It is the 24-year-old’s second European Tour win, after April’s China Open.

“If at the start of the year you say to me, ‘You are going to win two tournaments’, I would say ‘never’,” Levy told Sky Sports.

“It’s a very nice feeling to me. I’m very happy.”

Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, who parred the first alongside Levy, finished second, three shots adrift on 15 under with Chile’s Felipe Aguilar two further back.

Levy

Printed and Published by Global Media Mirror Ltd: Head Office: Mirror House, 155/161 Broad Street, Lagos Tel: 07027107407, Abuja Office: NICON Insurance House, Second Floor, Central Business District Area, Abuja Tel: 08070428249, Advert hotline: 01-8446073, Port-Harcourt Office: Suite 115, NICON Hotel, 6, Benjamin Opara Street, Off Olusegun Obasanjo Rd, GRA Phaze 3, Phone: 07032323254 Email: mail@nationalmirroronline.net.

Editor: SEYI FASUGBA. All correspondence to PMB 10001, Marina, Lagos.

Printed simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja and Akure. ISSN 0794-232X.