Monday, May 27, 2013

Subscribers demand N583bn free airtime for poor services KUNLE AZEEZ

Omobola

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elecoms subscribers have demanded N583bn worth of free airtime from network

Vol. 3 N0. 629 FRONT PAGE COMMENT

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here appears to be no end in sight to the raging feud between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State purportedly occasioned by conflicting

operators as compensation for the lingering poor quality of service or face legal action.

The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, a telecoms consumer

Six killed, scores injured as hoodlums clash in Lagos

rights group, yesterday decried the current quality service provided by the operators.

Speaking with National Mirror yesterday, President CONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>

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Fashola

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NGF election and Jonathan-Amaechi feud political interests, even after the Nigeria Governors Forum’s (NGF) chairmanship election held on Friday during which Amaechi reportedly defeated Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State.

rejected Amaechi as the winner and, instead, proclaimed Jang as the authentic chairman of the NGF. Indications at the weekend were that anti-Amaechi

Amaechi got re-elected for a second term with 19 votes as against the 16 Jang garnered at the poll in Abuja. But the ruling PDP Governors Forum chaired by Governor Godswill Akpabio has

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16>>

Governors’ Forum:

AYODELE OJO, SAM OLUWALANA, OBIORA IFOH AND JAMES ABRAHAM

Presidency, PDP move I against 8 governors I won the election, says Rivers governor

Poll shouldn’t divide us –Jang

ndications emerged yesterday that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were planning to deal with some governors of the ruling party who voted against President Goodluck Jonathan’s preferred candidate CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

My wife, daughter still missing –RhodesVivour P.4 Chinese consortium plans N948bn investment in P.8 housing sector Relatives of 10 SSS operatives killed in Nasarawa State during the candle light procession for the victims in Abuja at the weekend.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

THE

Seven states control 90 per cent of cash transactions

We’ll crush Boko Haram –President Terrorists must surrender –SSS Military succeeding in North-East, says FG

Again, aviation union threatens strike

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BUSINESS SECTION

‘ ‘Nigerian banks are averse to risk’ a Free Fre ree e insi iinside nside nsi ide de

P.A4, A5

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Photo News

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: National Mirror newspapers award winners: Economic and Community Development, Mr. Sina Fadare; overall winner, Miss Tobore Ovuorie; winner, Basic Education and Literacy, Mr. Tunbosun Ogundare; winner, Maternal and Child Health, Mr. Mojeed Alabi and runner-up, Economic and Community Development, Mr. Leo Okachie, at the 3rd Edition of the Rotary International District 9110 Nigeria Humanitarian Reporting Awards in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Former Lagos State Governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande; Chairman of Photo Tech, Alhaji Bola Adegunwa; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu1 and Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, during a special prayer to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Oba Akiolu at the Iga Iduganran Palace, Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Vice-Chairman, Lafarge Nigeria, Mr. Jean-Christophe Barbant; Finance Director/Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Alfred Amobi and Managing Director, Mr. Joseph Hudson, at the Shareholders’ Relations Forum in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Chairman of the occasion, Rotarian Pat Ikheloa; President, Rotary Club of Egbeda, Rotarian Chuks Okonkwo; his wife, Onyi and Rotarian Tonia Taiwo, at the 10th anniversary/luncheon of the club in Lagos, on Saturday.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

National News

Jonathan didn’t go missing during AU summit –Presidency ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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he Presidency yesterday said it was not true that President Goodluck Jonathan went missing when he was expected to address a Special Summit of the African Heads of State and Government to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last Saturday.

Reacting to media reports that Jonathan did not show up in the hall to make his speech at the summit, a situation which forced the summit announcer to skip Nigeria’s name to call another speaker, the Presidency said such report was misleading and mischievous.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati while speaking on the issue, said contrary to the report that the President did not show up in

the hall, Jonathan took part fully in the opening ceremony of the session until he went into another hall where he and four other Presidents met on the proposed six-lane Lagos-Abidjan Expressway which is also an important issue as far as Nigeria is concerned.

According to him, Jonathan attended the meeting alongside the Presidents of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana while their counterparts from Togo and Benin were represented.

Abati said before the President left the hall for the meeting, he directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, to read his (the President’s) already prepared statement, stressing that Nigeria was not the only country whose statement was read by a minister during the session.

Abati said; “It is perfectly normal for Presidents to meet on the

sidelines of any international meeting, and as the AU plenary went on, many Presidents stepped out to hold bilateral meetings and returned to the hall.

“Where they are listed to make a statement in a plenary session and as it happened in our case, the President had gone to attend a meeting on the sidelines, the

minister sitting in for the President can ask for a different slot to enable his principal return to the hall to make the statement.

“Where he does not do this, he may opt to present the country’s statement. It was not only Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru, who presented the country on behalf of their principals.

“So, as you can see, there is nothing amiss here. President Jonathan was perfectly in order. He did not abandon his duty post. He was in fact busy at work on behalf of Nigerians.

I see the mischief that has suddenly erupted around this matter as a classic case of much ado about nothing.

“President Jonathan

is an accomplished diplomat; under his watch, Nigeria’s relationship with other countries has continued to grow strong. We are witnessing under this administration, a truly golden and glorious moment in Nigeria’s foreign policy process, an achievement which President Jonathan cherishes,” Abati added.

My wife, daughter still missing, says Rhodes-Vivour ISE-OLUWA IGE

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ixteen days after his wife (Adedoyin), his daughter and chauffeur were abducted by a gang of daredevil kidnappers on the Benin-Ore Expressway while going for a wedding ceremony, justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, yesterday said he had no information yet on their whereabouts.

Sahara Reporters had posted on its website on Saturday that the family of the Supreme Court judge had been released to him.

But the Supreme Court judge, who spoke with National Mirror last night said people had been ringing him to congratulate him but that he was yet to either see them or hear from them.

“As I speak with you, I have not seen my wife, daughter and driver.

“I don’t know where they got their information; I have not been contacted,” he said.

Though traumatised, he was however hopeful that his agony would soon be over.

The jurist was thrown into similar trauma a couple of weeks ago by another gang of abductors.

About two weeks ago, the rumour mill also had it that Justice RhodesVivour’s family had been released, National Mirror

had gone to his Maitama official residence located off Oguta Lake Street, behind the Chancery of the Botswana High Commission to confirm the rumour, but the place was deserted.

The gateman who came out to attend to the enquiries of this reporter said that the jurist left Abuja on Sunday, May 12, after it dawned on him that the abductors were not ready to release his family immediately.

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We’ll crush Boko Haram –Jonathan OMEIZA AJAYI AND ROTIMI FADEYI

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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said his administration was determined to crush terror and check the excesses of the deadly Boko Haram sect.

Speaking with journalists at the 21st ordinary session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Africa Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President insisted that the security situation had become so serious that it must be tackled to maintain peace in the country.

“The excesses of Boko Haram must stop. That is the decision of this present government now. It must stop, whatever it will cost the government, it must stop,” he said.

He, however, said that terrorism was a global problem, which his administration was working hard

to overcome with “immediate, medium and long term approaches.”

Jonathan explained that the movement of firearms within the African sub-region must also be checked as most of the deadly weapons went into the hands of wrong people after the Libyan crisis.

He said: “For the short term, of course, there must be military intervention, we must beef up security, we must change the security architecture to make sure that we detect that something is about to happen before it happens so that we will be able to stop it.

“We have stopped a number of incidents in the country. It is just that the few that happened affected lives and whenever life is affected, you will not even think that somebody is doing anything.

“That is why recently, I even had to declare a state of emergency in three

states so that we go all out to make sure that we seize these weapons. We must comb the whole place to seize all these weapons and so on.

“A lot of free weapons come in because of the Libyan crisis. We must

seize them. They are illegal weapons and must be seized and you cannot do that without declaring a state of emergency to enable the military enter any house, whether it is a residential building, it is a church, a mosque, a shrine,

anywhere, hotel, anything that we suspect. We will be able to enter and seize these weapons.

“In the short term, it is to seize these weapons. That is why those three states we have the worst cases we declared a state of emergency.

By the time we finish combing, we would have not just stopped it there, but we would have seized most of the weapons they are using.

That is the short term,” he said.

The President noted that CONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>

L-R: Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba; his wife, Vivian, and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, at the Navy Week inter-denominational church service in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Presidency, PDP move against 8 governors

in the election of the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF. The election produced Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the leader of the forum.

Also, both Amaechi and Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang yesterday insisted they won the NGF election.

Speaking yesterday at an interdenominational church service in Port Harcourt to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebration, which also coincided with his 48th birthday, Amaechi said: “Let me say to you, I am the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

That we are not talking it’s because we have decided not to talk. They voted, we voted and we won. If they had won, I would have congratulated them.”

His rival, Jang, also yesterday promised not to let Nigerians down as NGF chairman, even as he cautioned that the election should not divide the governors.

Jang said he would extend the hand of fellowship to Amaechi.

In the impending cabinet shake-up, President Jonathan is likely to drop ministers nominated by the governors while they will

not be given the privilege of nominating a replacement into the new cabinet.

The governors, as usual, were given ministerial slots from their state.

Already a fresh plot is being hatched to impeach Amaechi as Rivers State governor.

It was learnt that some forces close to the President are also pushing for the expulsion of the governors that supported Amaechi’s re-election from the PDP. Some of the governors targeted for the attack are Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), and Abdullfatah Ahmed (Kwara).

These PDP and other opposition governors were said to have voted for Amaechi.

A source, however, told National Mirror that President Jonathan might meet the governors this week to resolve the differences over the NGF election.

Amaechi defeated Jang, the anointed candidate of the pro-Jonathan governors, in the keenly contested election on Friday.

Amaechi polled 19 votes against Jang’s 16 to be re-

elected. The outcome of the election is already heating up the polity with the two governors claiming victory.

The two camps - Amaechi and Jang - are planning to meet separately with the President to present the contentious NGF leadership to him.

A source familiar with the plot to impeach Amaechi told National Mirror that the anti-corruption agencies were discreetly looking into the financial transactions of Rivers State under his administration.

Also, some groups in the state plan to write petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, on the alleged large scale corruption in the state.

“This will lead to chains of investigation and arrest of commissioners and senior aides of the governor.

“The House of Assembly is already being probed directly by the anti-graft agencies using the constituency projects as the basis.

“Also, the spending of financial releases to the Assembly is being looked into critically,” the source said.

The probe of the law-

makers, according to sources, is to pressurise them to impeach the governor.

A similar incident took place in Plateau State when Joshua Dariye was impeached.

“The approach to be adopted will be similar to the one that took place in Ekiti State when Ayo Fayose was sent out of the Government House.

“Then, the members of the House of Assembly were harassed into submission to impeach Fayose at gunpoint. This may soon play out in Rivers,” a source said.

Aware of the plot, Rivers State Commissioner for information, Ibim Semitari, recently said the people of the state would resist the plot.

A source told National Mirror yesterday that the plot to expel some of the PDP governors was part of the pro-Jonathan governors’ demand from the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whom they met at his residence in Abuja on Saturday.

In the alternative, the governors, led by Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Gabriel Suswan (Benue) and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), are canvassing for the removal of the state party structures from the PDP op-

position governors.

Similar treatment had been meted to Governors Amaechi and Murtala Nyako in Rivers and Adamawa states respectively.

According to a source in the PDP, the pro-Jonathan governors are hinging their demands on the “anti-party activities” of the governors who went against the decision of President Jonathan and the PDP to swing victory to the side of Amaechi.

“The pro-Jonathan governors are still fighting back. Apart from splitting the Governors’ Forum with the inauguration of a parallel NGF executive with Governor Jonah Jang as NGF chair, they are also launching a two-prong attack on the pro-Amaechi governors.

“The first step is to strip the governors of the control of the party structures at the state level by instigating the formation of parallel state executives and their subsequent recognition with several court cases against the legitimate party structure.

“The second aspect of the plot is to expel the governors on the strength of anti-party activities. Don’t forget that anything can be termed as anti-party activi-

ties,” a source said.

It is not clear if Tukur is yielding to these requests, but pressure is being mounted on him.

Meanwhile, the nine governors of the PDP, who refused to tow the party decision on the election of the NGF executives, have vowed to resist any intimidation from the party leadership.

The governors have said that any intimidation from the party leadership will only expose them to reaching out to the leaders of the All Progressive Congress, APC, a yet to be registered political party being put together by the opposition elements.

In a chat with National Mirror, one of the proAmaechi governors said that they were not worried about the turn of events, but warned that any attempt by the PDP leadership to punish the governors for voting according to their conscience would be disastrous.

“Most of us voted according to our conscience and in this case we are right and we have been proven to be right as my brother and colleague, Amaechi, won convincingly.

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Subscribers demand N583bn free airtime for poor services CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

of the association, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the drop in service quality had been “affecting Nigerians telecoms consumers adversely in recent times with attendant economic losses.”

He insisted that operators must pay the subscribers a compensation of N5000 worth of free airtime each.

It was learnt that with an

active subscriber base of 116.6 million in the country, according to the latest official subscriber data by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and with N5000 paid to each, NATCOMS was demanding about N583bn worth of free airtime from the operators.

Chief Ogunbanjo said subscribers were not deriving maximal value for their money “as the networks

are now characterised by frequent hiccups and poor signal or service outage, making subscribers to enjoy only 30 seconds in a one minute call duration.”

Ogunbanjo added: “We have observed with utter dismay the continuous decline in quality of service on mobile networks in past weeks till now.

“From our observation, the current trend set in

about two weeks ago after the NCC lifted ban on promos and lotteries activities by the operators, though the service has been raising a question mark since the beginning of the year.

“Though some may think the ugly development is due to the recently-introduced mobile number portability, MNP, but I have a contrary view.”

Ogunbanjo said that the

Children riding on roller coaster during the celebration of this year’s Children’s Day at the Dreamworld Amusement Park in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

We’ll crush Boko Haram –Jonathan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

some of the Boko Haram sect members had been fleeing Nigeria and relocated to Niger Republic with the recent suicide attacks in two places simultaneously in the country, leading to the death of about 20 soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Department of State Service, DSS, has restated its commitment to the security of the nation.

The DSS said it would not back down in the fight against terrorists and insurgent extremists.

DSS Director-General, Mr. Ekpeyong Ita, stated this at a “Candle-lit Night of Tributes” in honour of 10 operatives of the service on Saturday in Abuja.

He said the deaths of the men had only emboldened the service.

Ten DSS operatives were about three weeks ago killed by suspected cultists in Alakio village, Nasarawa state.

The men had reportedly gone to the area to arrest the Chief Priest of the Ombatse deity. The leader of the operation, Mohammed Gobir, was also killed by the cultists.

Also, the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe, who decried the killings, said government was even more determined to eliminate cases of criminality in the country.

The Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Admiral Ola Saad Ibrahim, said since the world is no longer as safe as it used to be, Nigerians must rise up to the challenge of stamping out evil.

The Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, pledged the readiness of the Senate to support the SSS at all times.

Another senator, Mohammed Magoro, said the current attacks on security agents “are indications of what is in the pipeline”.

Magoro, a retired Major-General, said he was aware of the many successful operations of the SSS, attributing the failure of the Alakio operation to betrayal by some security agents.

The pioneer DirectorGeneral of the Nigeria Security Organisation, NSO, Gen. Mohammed Abdullahi (rtd), who represented past DGs of the SSS, won-

dered the continued silence by human rights organisations to condemn the attacks.

He lamented that such organisations would have continued to make so much noise if the operatives had killed the cultists.

He also expressed dismay that after the attack, the leader of the group had continued to walk freely and make worrisome statements, querying why his shrine had not been pulled down.

In a related development, the Federal Government at the weekend in Abuja said the military was succeeding in its operation to restore peace in the North-East.

Interior Minister, Abba Moro, who stated this while speaking with journalists, said the government was getting positive results, saying peace was gradually returning to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

He said the declaration of state of emergency on the three states by President Jonathan was to enable government to take firm measures to ward off the activities of the terrorist groups.

network integrations for MNP technical requirements by the operators took place before the launch of the MNP. “So, if there were to be any hitches at all, it would have been during the preMNP launch.

“Today, most subscribers lose several minutes of calls to poor networks. We lose from poor signal as we spend more to accomplish our communication needs while the operators, on the other hand, make more revenue. We cannot continue this way.

“We are going to write the umbrella body of telecoms firms, which is the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators in Nigeria, this week to tell its members to compensate telecoms subscribers in the country to the tune of N5 000.”

“If this fails, we would have no other option than to drag the operators to court over the losses the poor quality of services cost the subscribers on a daily basis.

“As rights group, we have been advised to be methodical in our demand for com-

pensation and that is why going to court will be our last resort,” he said.

None of the GSM operators contacted at the weekend agreed to comment on the matter.

However, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, confirmed that there had been serious shortfalls in the quality of service within the last one month.

“The commission has got a few complaints about drop in the quality of service in the last few days.

But you are also aware that we just lifted the ban on promos. So we are monitoring all that to know what the challenge really is.

“By the end of the month, we are going to carry out a test on all the networks to know how they have measured up with the KPIs.” National Mirror gathered that the majority of the networks might be found wanting in meeting the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measurements on quality of service to be taken by the NCC in June.

Presidency, PDP move against 8 governors CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“We are chief executives of our various states and no one can dictate to us how we can run our states. What transpired last Friday is a reflection of the beauty of democracy,” the governor, who is from the North-East, said.

Asked if the party should wield the big stick just like what is happening in Rivers and Adamawa states for rubbishing its credibility, the governor said: “Which stick are they going to wield? Let me tell you, the party would be treading on a dangerous path should they attempt any form of intimidation. “That would be unfortunate. Intimidation cannot work; it has not worked in Adamawa and Rivers states. Tell me, how then it will work in some other states.

“The party cannot afford to any factionalisation. It is even more dangerous at this critical period of merger and de-merger.

“If the party does not want some of us, we can understand and we will take necessary action.”

It was learnt that the pro-Jonathan governors had been advised by some

power brokers to exercise restraint in their conduct after they lost the NGF election to Amaechi.

Governor Ahmed has called for reconciliation among the governors.

Speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the weekend, Ahmed called on his colleagues to shun divisive political tendencies and bury the hatchet.

He added that the governors should focus on using the NGF as a platform for driving development for the benefit of the people.

“If there are issues as regards the election of the forum’s chairman, we should use the same platform to resolve them rather than fanning the embers of discord in the media.

“Our choking security challenges should not be compounded with political conundrum,” the governor said.

He, therefore, called on the leadership of SouthSouth Governors’ Forum, the Northern State Governors’ Forum, the SouthEast Governors’ Forum and their colleagues from the South-West to utilise their various platforms to

strengthen the forum and complement the leadership at the federal level.

Speaking with journalists in Jos yesterday, Jang said he was prepared to work with Amaechi.

The governor said he never bargained for the NGF chairman, “but that is the way God works. So, this is God’s will.”

His words: “As far as I am concerned, I have been given an assignment and by the grace of God, I will do my best to unite the forum and make sure it provides the right leadership for the people of Nigeria because we are governors that are governing our respective states.

“And so, we are bound together to work with one another. The NGF election or selection or whatever you call it should not divide the governors; we have one purpose and were elected by the people to work for them.

“We have worked with Governor Amaechi, the former Chairman of NGF, before and so he should calm down and work with me so that together we will continue to give Nigerians the right leadership for electing us as their governors.”

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Chinese consortium plans N948bn investment in housing sector OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, SINOSURE, and International Commercial Bank of China, ICBC, are in Nigeria as part of efforts to invest $6 billion about N948 billion in the country’s housing sector.

The Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, Mallam Gimba Yau’ Kumo, disclosed this at a Media Round-Table organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Abuja.

Kumo said the investment tour was part of the bank’s business expansion initiatives aimed at attracting foreign investors into the capital-intensive sector and by implication, ensure a public private partnership arrangement in its development.

Specifically, the mortgage finance expert disclosed that the FMBN had opened discussions with the two investment entities with a view to securing a single digit loan facility totalling $6 billion

for the development of the sector.

He said the loan had a tenor of 15 to 20 years and would be given directly to Chinese Construction companies in the country on disbursement tranches of $1.5 billion basis, adding that the firms would build the houses under the supervision of the FMBN. Kumo said his bank’s responsibility in the housing project would be to create mortgages over the housing units, collect mortgage repayments and use the proceeds of the repayment to pay back the loan.

He said: “As we speak now, a team of the Chinese SINOSURE/ICBC is visiting the country following the series of discussions we had with them in the past and in furtherance of our business expansion drives to encourage private sector involvement in the development of the sector.

“Apart from these Chinese companies, we are also discussing partnership with Globus Financial Services LLC of the United States to access a US $1 billion 10-year facil-

Insecurity, fallout of Jonathan’s re-election bid – CPC OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has blamed the security challenges in the country on President Goodluck Jonathan’s ambition to return to power in 2015.

The party which restated the call by its leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, for Jonathan to resign, noted that the President on assumption of office two years ago engaged himself with his re-election bid rather than working towards achieving his electoral promises.

The CPC National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, said in a statement yesterday that: “It seems that the President, for the self-centred reason of his re-election desire, is at the epicentre of most of the dire security challenges assailing our dear nation.

“As our national leader once asserted, we believe it is time for the President to throw in the towel

because he has ceased to serve the nation but self.”

While assessing Jonathan’s mid-term tenure as President, Fashakin said: “The time is propitious, therefore, to take a retrospective look at the last three years of political governance of the nation.

“The performance score-card on the economy, security, education, youth employment, foreign relations and infrastructural development reveals overall dismal failure.”

The CPC national publicity secretary noted that shortly after being sworn in as President, Jonathan showed more interest in securing another mandate than in working assiduously for the Nigerian people who elected him.

He said: “Posters of President’s electioneering campaigns for the 2015 elections have continued to adorn our cities, with hypocritical denials from government. It did not matter that no arrests have been made of the culprits!

ity to finance affordable houses and infrastructure.

“The pilot scheme will involve the FMBN to fund off-takers considered for some Federal and state Governments’ institu-

tions.

The FMBN MD listed the institutions targeted to benefit from the scheme as the Nigeria Police Force which would get $100 million; the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC

($50 million) and Nigerian Air Force ($50 million).

Others, according to him, include Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC ($50 million) and Federal Ministry of Education ($50 mil-

lion).

The states to benefit from the financing window are Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Rivers, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Kano. Each of them will access $50 million.

L-R: Former Minister of Defence, Dr. Mohammed Bello; wife of the new Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mrs. Cecilia Dikki and her husband, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, at a reception in the DG’s honour, in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Emergency rule won’t last six months –President ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has said that the State of Emergency declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to check the deadly activities of Boko Haram might not last for six months as prescribed by the constitution.

Jonathan disclosed this at a meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, UN, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.

This, according to him, is informed by the success so far recorded by troops deployed to the three states.

Also yesterday, Jonathan

said his administration recorded great achievements in most sectors of the economy despite the security challenges in the country.

The President, who spoke through the Senate President, David Mark, at this year’s Special Inter-denominational Service to commemorate Democracy Day at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, noted that the various policies introduced by his administration had attracted foreign investors to the country while making progress in other areas of the economy.

At the meeting with KiMoon on the sideline of the Africa Union, AU, confer-

ence in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President said the military operation had so far recorded the desired success while the rules of engagement had also been adhered to.

Jonathan noted that the operation had not recorded collateral civilian casualties, adding that government would do everything possible to ensure that the civilian population was not put through hardship.

He said: “The military intervention in the affected states is going on well. There is no human rights abuse and there is no collateral damage with regards to security of

individuals.

“I am optimistic that with the level of success already being recorded, the emergency rule in the affected states may not last up to the six months stipulated by the constitution.”

The President noted that government’s decision to release women and children that were detained over the activities of Boko Haram members was in the spirit of the rules of engagement of the operation.

Earlier, Ki-Moon said terrorism had become a global phenomenon that must be confronted by the international community.

Govt must focus on children’s well-being –Clerics OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

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s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate Children’s Day today, some clerics have called on the Federal Government to refocus greater attention on the security and well-being of the child.

The Senior Pastor of the Foursquare Church in Asokoro, Abuja, Rev. Babajide Olowodola, who spoke yesterday at a service in commemoration of the Children’s Day celebration, attributed the current wave of crime among Nigerian

youths to the lessons they learnt from adults while growing up.

Olowodola said Nigeria might be heading for the precipice except urgent measures were taken to close some societal gaps capable of harming the children.

He said: “Violence, intolerance, corruption follow after a trickledown phenomenon. It trickles from the head down to the base of the pyramid and the children are watching. The best picture they are getting first is from the family.

“Our parents must

make out more time for the kids, likewise our teachers. There are too many gaps that we see now, so the church has to rise and fill the gap.

“Unless we take urgent steps to moderate some of these societal gaps, Nigeria might be heading for the precipice.

“We must bring ourselves to the level of no ill-feelings or rancour.

The children play together even after a quarrel. That should be the ethos of our country. We must lead good lives and show the children good example and neighbourliness. That is what we

are celebrating.”

Another pastor and Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Rev. Ibukun Odusote, frowned at the continued abuse and trafficking of children.

She urged parents to raise their children in a way that would guarantee their personal safety at all times.

Meanwhile, Globacom has affirmed its faith in the future of Nigeria, describing the country’s children as highly talented and having the potentials to be world-beaters in all disciplines.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 27, 2013

System collapse responsible for nationwide blackout –TCN UDEME AKPAN AND CHIDI UGWU

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he supply of electricity has worsened in many parts of the country as a result of transmission system collapse.

Investigations showed that many parts of the nation, especially Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Uyo experienced epileptic power supply, especially in the last few days.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) explained that the situation occurred as a result of the collapse of transmission grid.

The company’s spokesman, Mr. Dave Fabiyi, said: “The Transmission

Company of Nigeria has apologised for the nationwide power outage which occurred on May 24, 2013 as a result of the collapse of the transmission grid.”

He said the fault occurred on a major transmission line from Benin to Lagos through Osogbo and shut down the Egbin, Omotosho and Olorunsogo power stations.

Fabiyi said effort by the company’s’ engineers to rectify the fault as well as bring up the system took some time because of the magnitude of the incident.

He said three of its transmission towers were damaged by rain storm n the North-West. The damage affected a major 330kV transmission line taking power from Kainji to Brinin-Kebbi in Kebbi State

and to the Niger Republic.

He said repairs are on-going, but would take some weeks to complete.

Fabiyi, however, said that arrangement had been put in place to give skeletal electricity supply to the affected areas.

He said this would cause load shedding in Zaria in Kaduna State; Funtua in Katsina State; Gusau and Talata-Mafara in Zamfara State; Sokoto in Sokoto State as well as BrininKebbi in Kebbi State.

Fabiyi said: “While TCN regrets the inconveniences the incidents have caused its valuable customers within the nation and Niger Republic, it assured that it will continue to work towards stabilizing and expanding the nation’s transmission grid.”

Aircraft: Caverton denies relationship with Rivers

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averton Helicopters yesterday insisted that no relationship exists between it and the Rivers State Government on the controversial Bombardier BD 700-1A11 (N565RS) aircraft.

The House of Representatives Committees on Justice and Aviation had, while submitting a report on the grounding of the aircraft by aviation authorities, said there was a relationship between the company and the Rivers State Government.

The lawmakers also called for the prosecution of Caverton for allegedly providing information that led the authorities to wrongly believe that the

Rivers State Government falsified documents leading to the grounding of the aircraft.

But Caverton, in a statement signed by its communication consultant, Waziri Adio, expressed surprise at the position of the House of Representatives, especially since there was no independent and forensic investigation of the issue.

The statement reads: “We expected more rigour, more nuance, more balanced and greater restraint from such an august body.

“We challenge those who insist on manufacturing an ‘agency relationship’ where none exists to show concrete evidence.

“Such concrete evidence should include mandate from the Rivers State Government to Caverton Helicopters on the said aircraft; evidence of payment(s) to Caverton Helicopters with corresponding invoice(s) for the purported services provided by us to the state government in the last eight months on this aircraft; executed management or agency contract between Rivers State Government and Caverton Helicopters and any correspondences (whether through letter or email) on the issue during the past eight-month period we were purportedly involved with the aircraft.”

Group flays ‘baby factories’ trend as Iroko holds fiesta TERH AGBEDEH

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group of Nigerian and international non-governmental organisations have condemned the rising commercialisation of new born babies in some parts of the country.

That is even as Dr. Ola Balogun’s band, Iroko, will be hosting a Children’s’ Day celebration in Lagos from 4 to 6.30p.m at the J.K. Randle Memorial Hall, Onikan, Lagos today.

Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA)UK, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of

the Earth Nigeria (ERA/ FoEN), Media Concern Initiative for Women & Children (MediaCon), Healing Hearts Foundation, Spaces for Change, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, the Charles and Doosurh Abaagu Foundation and the Women Environmental Programme (WEP) in a joint statement called for decisive steps by government and stakeholders to curb the menace popularly referred to as “baby factories” boom.

‘This year’s Children’s Day celebration calls for sober reflection because more than ever before, our beloved country is again

being made the laughing stock of the whole world’, said the statement, signed

by AFRUCA’s Executive Director, Debbie Ariyo; Gender Focal Person of the Environmental Rights Action, Betty Abah; Spaces for Change’s Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, Josephine Effah-Chukwumah of Project Alert, Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, Executive Director of MediaCon, WEP’s Priscilla Achakpa, Sophie Mbanisi and other rights activists.

The statement cited the recent clamp-down on a home in Imo State where 22 pregnant teenagers were rescued.

News

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South West

Monday, May 27, 2013

Six killed, scores injured as hoodlums clash in Lagos FRANCIS SUBERU

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o fewer than six people were killed yesterday in a renewed clash between rival groups in Ajah area of Lagos over the struggle for the control of motor parks in the area.

It will be recalled that the Ilaje community was set ablaze seven months ago over disagreement as to who controls Ilaje Bus Stop which led to the death of three people.

The battle for ownership and territorial control in Ajah, between Ilaje com-

munity, who are regarded as settlers in the area, and the indigenes of Ajah community, has been on for long and the hope of many residents that it had ended was dashed at the weekend when fighting resumed.

Three factions, Ajah Boys, Olumegbon Boys and Ilaje Boys, have so far been identified in the latest clash with the Ajah Boys said to be having the upper hand.

A resident of Ilaje, who simply identified himself as Tunde, told National Mirror that the latest clash was supposed to be between the Olumegbon Boys and Ajah Boys, but that it was extended to the Ilaje Boys,

who were not part of it.

Tunde said that four Olumegbon members and two people were killed in the clash, which disrupted commercial activities in many parts of Ajah on Saturday.

It was gathered that the Olumegbon and the Ajah, who had initially formed an alliance against the Ilaje Boys, have for some weeks been having disagreement over a ‘minor issue’ on the control of parks and other places.

It was gathered that the Olumegbon Boys were on Saturday deceived that there was going to be a peace meeting, when the

Ajah Boys attacked them, killing four people in the process.

Ajah Boys, who felt that the Ilaje Boys might support the Olumegbon Boys, invaded the Ilaje Boys’ base and reportedly killed two members of the gang.

The situation became very riotous as sounds of gunfire filled most part of Ajah, forcing many residents to flee, while others remained indoors.

A resident, who did not want to be named, stated that the recent crisis might not be unconnected with moves by a prominent person in the area to become the monarch of the town.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Agbakoba sues First Bank for N800m WALE IGBINTADE

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ormer President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has dragged First Bank before a Federal High Court in Lagos, claiming gross mismanagement of his margin loan running into N800 million.

Agbakoba is contesting that the bank failed to use its professional expertise and skill to manage, operate and control the loans.

He averred that it was the responsibility of the bank to manage the risks of the loans and that its failure made them to lose huge sums of money.

In his statement of claim, Agbakoba said as a result of the banker/ customer relationship between him and the bank, the bank in 2008 introduced its margin trading facility to him and requested that he take a margin loan contract, which he accepted.

He stated that the bank explained to him that its customers were to purchase shares with the advanced margin trading facility and pledge the shares to it.

He contended that the defendant, for a management fee, was to professionally manage the advanced facility by selecting the broker and securities the facility would be invested into.

The former NBA boss said the defendant was to also prepare all the paper works needed, provide information about the fund’s holdings and performances and reserved the power to exit should the fund diminish to a threshold that could impair the economic underpinnings of the investment and left the bank’s exposure uncovered.

He said he was also servicing the margin trading facility by paying interests on the facility as and when due.

“In fact, the defendant always deducted the interests due on the facility from the plaintiff ’s Operative Account with the Defendant (Current Account Number 5072010001816) as and when due.

Agbakoba is therefore seeking a general damage of N500, 000,000 for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of the margin loan agreement by the bank.

Osun rehabilitates railway station with N1.5bn L-R; Business Manager, PHCN, Ekiti State, Mr. Peters Nkenchor; Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Caretaker Chairman, Ikere Local Government, Hon. Michael Adesoji Bamidele and the Special Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Hon. Tale Oguntoyinbo, after a peace meeting between representatives of PHCN and the Ikere community, at the weekend.

FRANCIS SUBERU

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he Lagos State police command yesterday said it has so far arrested 20 persons in connection with the murder of a riot policeman and two other injured officers last Friday in the state.

According to the Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, the arrested suspects have been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti Street, Yaba, Lagos, for further investigation.

20 arrested over murder of policeman The deceased riot police officer and his colleagues were attacked at Imowo Nla community in Ikorodu area of the state while trying to restore peace over a disputed large expanse of land in the community.

During the attack, it was said that a number of persons were wounded.

It was learnt that trouble started on the disputed land last week Tuesday as different families lay claim to the land, leading to a serious scuffle between the families.

As the situation de-

generated, the Area Commander in charge of Area ‘N’ Command headquarters, Ijede, Ikorodu, Amos Marcus Omu-Iyadun, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, called for reinforcement from the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja so as to restore normalcy.

National Mirror gathered that within two days, the ugly situation was brought under control and the policemen were withdrawn to the neighbouring Area ‘N’ command headquarters, Ijede.

Brutalised lawyer: Court adjourns till Friday KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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n Ibadan High Court presided over by Justice Muktar Abimbola, at the weekend, fixed Friday, May 31, for either a report of settlement or for further hearing in the case of assault

instituted by an Ibadan-based legal practitioner, Olaniyan Demilade, against the Inspector-General of Police, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police and four others.

Others sued are Sola Olanrewaju, the Divisional Police Officer; Stephen Owolabi, the Divisional Crime Officer; In-

spector Etim Ebighe and Corporal Egunnusi Dominic, all of Kajorepo Police Station in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Demilade in the suit which he is claiming N500 million damages said he was attacked at the police station following a controversy that arose over a bill of lading for

However, on Friday, May 24, about 50 hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers popularly called ‘Omo Onile’ in five buses invaded the troubled community again and unleashed mayhem.

The deceased riot policeman was one of the three armed police officers said to have raced to the scene of incident immediately the news came to the area command. Upon their arrival, the hoodlums opened fire on them, killing one of them and injuring the remaining two. a consignment of goods.

Justice Abimbola while adjourning the case said it was part of the responsibility of the court to encourage settlement where the parties in the case depose to such a move.

He, therefore, enjoined parties to the case to fasttrack the peace process and file the term of settlement be-

ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

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sun State government yesterday said it has spent N1.5billion on the rehabilitation of the Osogbo Railway Station to meet the status of a modern station.

Revealing this to journalists in Osogbo at the weekend was the Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Works and Transport, Engineer Oladepo Amudah while on inspection to the yet to be completed rehabilitation works in the station.

The special adviser, who pointed out that the present administration in the state would do all fore the next adjourned date or be ready to go on with the case.

Counsel to the defendants, Barrister Promise Akanwa, had told the court that his clients were ready to settle the case out of court, disclosing that they are already making move to contact the plaintiff and find ways of resolving the case amicably.

it could to make the station a second to none, added that work would not stop until it is completed.

“Governor Aregebsola embarked on the rehabilitation work due to its commitment to rejuvenate the terminus to become one of the best in Nigeria and the first phase of the rehabilitation work has reached 40 percent completion while the second phase is presently at 60 percent.

“The station is now wearing a new look with facilities such as a modern day police post, asphaltic overlaying of 45mm and 30mm thickness and marking of the railway terminus which is meant to improve the socio-economic development of the state capital.”

He also stressed that by November this year, the completion of the recreation centre would have been achieved while all other befitting amenities would also have been put in place.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, May 27, 2013

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Again, aviation union threatens strike •Gives FAAN 21-day ultimatum OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND AZA MSUE

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risis is once again brewing in the aviation industry barely a week after the rift between unions and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, was settled.

The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN and the leadership of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nige-

ria, ATSSSAN, are at loggerheads over staff welfare.

ATSSSAN, it was gathered, is now mobilising workers for a showdown with the management of FAAN over unresolved labour related issues, which may lead to long industrial action.

On Wednesday, the union gave the management of FAAN a 21-day ultimatum to address all welfare issues of the workers bothering on conditions of service.

It warned that failure to

meet the ultimatum would result in total grounding of aviation activities in the country.

A petition signed by the ATSSSAN Secretary-General, Comrade Olayinka Abioye, sent to the Managing Director, FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, accused the management of the agency of failing to meet up with its obligations in the issue of welfare for the staff.

The Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, and her Ministry of Labour and Productivity counter-part, Mr.

Emeka Wogu, were also copied.

The petition dated May 22, stated that the union could no longer fold its arms and allow the perpetuation of anti-worker policies, fragrant ‘demotivation’ and violations of the staff rights and privileges to maximum benefits in their career growth, through promotions, recognitions of exemplary conduct and performance with cognate experience.

Meanwhile, the African first class aerospace medical doctor, Dr. Makanjuola Akindele Owolabi, has called on

the Federal Government not to politicise aviation sector, saying the consequences would be too much to bear.

Owolabi, who received the award of Fellow in Aerospace Medicine and Human Factors of both West African College of Physicians and United States, said Governor Danbaba Suntai’s accident was not his fault but caused by human factor.

He said this while briefing journalists in Kaduna on his award by International Aerospace Medical Association, adding that he trained numerous medical professionals and other air operators on how to avoid human errors during their duties.

Owolabi said he would

continue to contribute his quota to the development of aviation sector in Nigeria and the world in general.

He said: “The aviation sector should not be politicised because it will affect the aviation.

The right professionals should be fixed in the right places.

“What happened to Governor Danbaba Suntai was human factor because he is competent and capable. Governor Suntai is one of my referees; his accident was caused by human factor not his fault.

“Eighty per cent of air accidents in Nigeria and world are been caused by human factors not the fault of a pilot.

We are training air operators on human factors.”

Ijegun explosion: 100 fresh victims demand compensation MURITALA AYINLA

A L-R: Marketing Manager, Oral Health Care and Innovations, GSK Consumer Nig. Plc, Mr. Winston Ailemoh; Brand Manager, Macleans, Mr. Davis Iyoha; Dr. Dipo Ayedun and Braimah Emmanuel, during the Macleans Milk Teeth Free Dental Check in commemoration of the Children’s Day in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

PDP’s spiritual warfare against Amosun, wasteful venture –ACN FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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he Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has described the recent prayer session organised by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to stop the second term bid of Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, as a mockery of religion.

ACN called on PDP to first of all seek God’s forgiveness for the eight years’ sins it committed against the electorate in Ogun State rather than embarking on spiritual warfare against Amosun.

An online statement signed by the state ACN Publicity Secretary, Sola Lawal, at the weekend, warned PDP to desist from such prayer, stressing that God does not honour such spiritual blackmail shrouded in falsehood.

The youths’ wing of the Engineer Bayo Dayo-led chapter of state chapter of PDP last Thursday launched a spiritual warfare to enable the party defeat Amosun in the 2015 election.

The youths, who organised themselves under the aegis of PDP National Youth Vanguard, at the one-day in-

ter-religious prayer session, also engaged the services of both Christian and Muslim clerics who conducted more than three hours’ prayer session to enable them achieve their aim.

But reacting to the development, Lawal pointed out that it was the prayers of the electorate that “kicked out PDP’s eight years ineptitude administration which left the people of the state with indelible scars”.

He said: “The extent of bloodletting, brigandage and general atmosphere of lawlessness perpetrated by

top brass in the government of PDP has never been witnessed in the state.

“It is now a comforting surprise that those who played God yesterday have not only come to realise their dispensability and limitation but also the rapacious reach of retributive justice.”

Lawal described the prayer session as an abominable act, stressing that the PDP was only evoking “divine judgement against itself for its unrighteous and evil acts perpetrated against the people of the state”.

NURTW, party endorse Aregbesola’s re-election bid ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

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embers of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Osogbo Local Government Area of Osun State and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, yesterday endorsed Governor Rauf Aregbesola for second term in office.

Speaking at the reno-

vated railway station in Osogbo, the state capital, an ACN chieftain, Elder Wale Lasisi, on behalf of other party members in the town moved a motion to pass a vote of confidence on the governor and his deputy to run for a second term in office on the platform of the party and was seconded by Suleiman Alaka.

The party members said Aregbesola had recorded

many achievements in the state, adding that he remained the hope of the hopeless.

Speaking at the event, a leader of the party in the council, Ajibola Basiru, called on members to maintain unity and harmonious co-existence within the party and be its good ambassadors to be able to bring into the ACN camp those still outside the fold.

Also, the NURTW members at Oke-Fia Motor Park, Osogbo, expressed their support for Aregbesola’s re-election bid, saying he was capable of steering the ship of the state to the Promised Land.

The chairman of the union, Chief Azeez Alayande, gave kudos to the governor for being prudent in the way he allocates the resources of the states.

bout 100 have come out to say that they were also victims of the 2008 pipeline fire explosion in Ijegun, Lagos State which claimed several lives and properties worth millions of naira.

The people came out shortly after the disbursement of N81 million to the 233 victims of the explosion captured by government agencies.

Governor Babatunde Fashola had, about three weeks ago, approved N81 million for 233 victims of the explosion after the victims succumbed to outof-court settlement, five years after the incident.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, had begun disbursement of the money to the affected victims on the basis of degrees of the impact of the explosion on the people.

Speaking at the presentation of cheques to the last set of victims of the explosion at the weekend, the Chairman of the Association of Ijegun Pipeline Explosion Victims, Olaseni Soewu, disclosed that about 100 new victims who were not captured in the list of the affected victims had just shown up.

Soewu blamed those not captured in the list for being pessimistic about the outcome of their struggle, adding that many victims began to show up when it was announced that gov-

ernment would assist the victims.

He said: “Some were just bringing the death certificates of their relatives that lost their lives in the explosion five years after. How do I treat that kind of case?

“We have a list of uncaptured victims, with our traditional ruler now, is over 100. Even our Kabiyesi (traditional ruler) was affected but not captured.

It is disheartening. Most of the people that were not captured are doubting Thomases.”

While assuring that the Association of the Ijegun Pipeline Explosion Victims would treat the cases of the acclaimed victims on merit, Soewu commended the state government for fulfilling its promise to assist the victims of the explosion.

The General Manager, LASEMA, Dr. Femi OkeOsanyintolu, said some of the people whose names were not on the list never believed that government would fulfil its promise, adding that everyone who came out for the enumeration was captured by the agency.

Oke-Osanyintolu disclosed that families of each of the 19 dead victims received N1 million while 52 of those with severe injuries got N500,000 each, adding that 72 of those who lost properties were given N250,000 each and 90 others mildly affected got N100,000 each.

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South East

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Three children, centenarian abandoned at medical centre GEORGE OPARA ABIA

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he prevailing economic crunch facing Nigerians took another turn at the weekend when it was discovered that three children and a 101-year-old woman were abandoned at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

National Mirror gathered that the sick children and the aged woman were abandoned at the hospital when their relations could no longer pay their bills.

The names of the abandoned children are; Miss Testimony, three years old; Adamma, six years old and Zion, two years old, who is the only boy among them.

The aged woman, Madam Martha Nwabuisi, 101 years old was also abandoned at the hospital.

Head of the Nursing Department in the hospital, Mrs. Lovina Okoro, who spoke with our correspondent, said the names of the children were given by the nurses for the purpose of identification as they were abandoned by unknown

persons without any identifiable names.

“When those children were brought in, we didn’t know their names. And we gave them names to give them a sense of belonging.

“Sometimes abandonment is recorded in the Intensive Care Unit, ICU. There, babies are called by their mothers’ names. In such cases, the babies have no name, Lovina revealed”.

It was also gathered that one of the people who abandoned the babies gave a fake residential address and cell-phone numbers. When

spirited efforts were made to trace the address, the nurses realised that the address was fake and when the phone number was called, the receiver suppressed his voice, made incomprehensible sound and swiftly cut the line.

Discrete investigation, however, showed that the sick children have been abandoned for periods between six months and two and half years while the old woman who was admitted at Ludlow Ward has been long discharged but abandoned since 2009.

In a particular case, it

was learnt that an unnamed woman went with her baby girl to the casualty ward of the hospital, sought and got the attention of a medical doctor, who after examination, prescribed some drugs to be bought for her treatment.

Rather than buy the prescribed drugs, the woman, in a dramatic movement abandoned the sick baby on a bench and disappeared, leaving the voiceless and hapless baby to her fate.

At the Okpara Children Ward, where the children were admitted, a nurse told our correspondent that little Adamma was brought in by a woman who claimed to be a social worker. When grilled, Adamma was reportedly found by the roadside along Aba road in Umuahia metropolis, but the name of the social worker was unknown.

Also, Zion was said to have been brought in by a woman who claimed to be

her grandmother but later disappeared into thin air while Testimony was reportedly found by a policeman who said he found her in a nearby bush at a village called Amankwo.

A hospital source said in an interview that the bill of Mama Martha has been settled by a philanthropist but the family could not take her home. She said: “This old woman had been abandoned in the last three years.

“A philanthropist had come to settle her bill but her family rejected her. She can’t walk. She has poor vision. We use pampers for her because she wets her body. Nurses supply her with hospital dresses and even personal dresses, food and other basic needs.

When grilled, Madam Martha said she hails from Umuajata in Olokoro community; a suburb of Umuahia and that one Mrs. Oluchi Eleru, her relation brought her to the hospital.

Health workers decry disparity in remuneration GEORGE OPARA ABIA

L-R: Commander of the 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, Col. Taritimiye Gagariga; Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; Commissioner for Works, Callistus Ilozumba and Lt.-Col Bayode Adeyore, during the inspection of works on roads within the barracks by the Anambra State government, yesterday

ACN assures free, fair primary election for aspirants CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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he Anambra State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has promised to conduct a free and fair primary election for all the aspirants seeking to be the party’s candidate in the next gubernatorial election in the state.

State Chairman of the party, Chief Amechi Obidike, announced the readiness of the party to provide a levelplaying ground for all aspi-

rants positioning themselves to carry the flag of the party at the gubernatorial election, when the State Executive Committee hosted Chief Godwin Ezeemo, a key aspirant at the headquarters of the party in Awka, the state capital.

Obidike, who said the party has not adopted anybody as its candidate, said it is their wish that more aspirants would emerge, so that the best would be chosen at the primary election.

According to Obidike; “The party wants more as-

pirants, and the more, the merrier, and we are assuring that we would provide a levelplaying ground for all the aspirants, we have not adopted anybody because we have not held any primary.”

Earlier, addressing the State Executive Committee members on the import of his political ambition, Ezeemo said he joined the ACN because it is the only party that has not been riddled by crisis in the state.

Ezeemo said he has done a lot to lift the fortunes of

the party since he became a member of the party and after relocating to Nigeria from England, where he spent some years as a businessman.

He said he is aspiring to govern the state in order to ensure a sustained development and provide welfare packages for the masses.

He added that the zoning formula being canvassed by some stakeholders would not deter him from pursuing his pet project, which he said is timely and important.

APC’ll provide solution to Boko Haram, others –Geidam ALIUNA GODWIN EBONYI

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obe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, at the weekend in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, said the merger of opposition parties in the country will bring a solution to the security threat the country have been facing in the last 14 years.

The governor made this known while fielding questions by journalist shortly after a condolence visit to the family of late Hon. Livinus Nwambe, who was the special assistant to the National Chairman of All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, said the death of Chief Nwambe is a great loss to all opposition parties in the country.

Meanwhile, Governor Gidam, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Idi Barder said: “The merger of all opposition political parties in the country will remove Nigerians from acute hardship, poverty, insecurity and poor road networks.”

“We thank God for bringing us peacefully into Ebonyi.

We are here to condole with

the family of late Chief Livinus Nwambe, who was the secretary of the ANPP during the national convention of the party. We worked closely with Nwambe throughout the three months we had our national convention. His death is a great loss to the family, the people of Ebonyi State and the entire ANPP as well the entire opposition parties in the country.”

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he Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, has called on the Abia State government to stop the disparity in the remuneration of health workers in some state-owned health institutions.

The affected health institutions are the Abia Hospital Management Board, HMB, and the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, in Aba. State Chairman of MHWUN, Chief Uchenna Obigwe, who briefed journalists at the weekend, said the call was one of the major positions taking during the South-East zonal meeting.

The union appealed to Governor Theodore Orji to intervene in the matter, adding that Abia State was the only state where we have disparity in the remuneration of health workers across the country.

“At the HMB and ABSUTH, non-clinical workers are paid the minimum wage rather than the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS while the clinical workers are paid Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS. “The disparity is at vari-

ance with the circular from the Salary Income and Wages Commission, SIWC, and also negates the World Health Organisation’s recommendation on remuneration of health workers,” he said.

The union also called on the management of ABSUTH to remit more than N12 million check-off dues dedicated from salaries of MHWUN members at ABSUTH to the union.

Obigwe said the union frowned at the claim of ABSUTH management that the check-off dues were used to pay workers’ salaries.

“The union viewed the claim of the management of ABSUTH as deliberate falsehood because of the record of Governor Theodore Orji on the issue of workers’ welfare and labour relations,” he added.

The union also commended the governor for approving the payment of CONHESS to health workers in the local government areas since 2012, but appealed for the implementation of the new remuneration without further delay.

The zonal officials of MHWUN said quick intervention of the government on the issues deliberated at the meeting were crucial for industrial harmony in the state.

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

I’ve delivered on my electoral promises –Ahmed

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NGF election: Rejection of results, bad omen for 2015 –ACN OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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he rejection of last Friday’s result of the election to elect the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) by a faction of the governors has been described as a bad omen for the 2015 elections.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which stated this yesterday in a press statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, added that the governors who rejected the result that returned Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, were “undoubtedly acting the script written for them by the presidency and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

Mohammed added that the message the Presidency is sending out to the na-

tion through the “puppet governors” was that “the result of the 2015 elections would only be valid if a certain candidate emerges the winner.”

His words: “If an election involving only 35 governors can generate so much controversy and threaten to overheat the polity, what will happen when millions of Nigerians vote in 2015?

Is this how President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the godfather of the losing governors, has been sanitising the electoral process as he has been enthusing? ‘’The show of shame by the bad losers supporting Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, of course at the behest of the presidency, is an extension of the threat that has been issued by some rabble-rousers that it is either Jonathan for 2015 or there will be no Nigeria

as we know it.”

Saying that this was the Laurent Gbagbo Option that plunged Cote d’Ivoire into a crisis in which it is yet to fully emerge and which the governors were clamouring for, the ACN said that the governors must urgently be called to order.

It said: “Governors who participated willingly and fully in the NGF election have suddenly turned around and called the election a fraud after their candidate has lost. What were they thinking when they voted? Could it be that they were so sure that their armtwisting tactics had worked and hence were sure of victory, only to be drubbed?

Did they deviate from the presidency’s script that

they should only use the consensus they extracted from unwilling governors instead of an election to determine the NGF chairmanship?

“If they realised the ballot papers were not serialised, as the bad losers later claimed, why did they participate in the election?

Couldn’t they have raised an objection and refused to participate?

“Were they dragged to the venue of the polls screaming and kicking? If so, where is the evidence that they were forced to act against their will?’’

The ACN equivocally condemned the meddlesomeness of the Presidency in the NGF election and particularly criticised

President Jonathan, who as the leader of his party and of the country, has expended so much of the little goodwill he has on the NGF elections.

The party noted that despite the belated and “tepid denial” by the Presidency, it was an open secret that the arrowhead of the pro-Jonathan governors, Governor Godswill Akpabio was acting at the behest of the presidency.

Muhammed added that what Jonathan had done by his meddlesomeness was to stake his presidency on the NGF elections, “thereby making the elections a referendum on his leadership of his party and country.”

He added: “In both in-

stances, he got the outcome he deserved: A leader who cannot hold his party together cannot hold a nation together. And here are some of the lessons that the presidency should learn, if it so wishes, from the outcome of the NGF elections - There is always a limit to hubris and the use of naked power against perceived opponents. Needless to say that latent power is more potent than naked power.

“A leader should never do things just because he can. The presidency and the ruling party have lost control of themselves. They are bound to also lose control of the nation - democratically - in 2015. Make no mistake about it!’’

I’ll handle Rivers PDPHiscrisis –Tukur words: “Our elected OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

T

he National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bamanga Tukur, at the weekend said that the attack on Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, is within the powers of the party to handle, but only when the case is formally reported to the party headquarters.

Tukur also said that all elected political office holders on the platform of the ruling party must be willing to give periodic account of their stewardship to the people who gave them their mandate.

Speaking with journalists at his residence in Abuja, Tukur said that the Amaechi debacle “is a state affair for the time being. If somebody is fighting, you have to know what is happening. When they bring to us what is happening, at the centre, we take action.”

He said that it was only through accountability to the electorate that political office holders could justify the mandate of the people who voted them into office.

political office holders from the ward level, council chairmen, state Assembly members, governors, senators and the president must all have the responsibility of giving account of their stewardship to ensure that we are all on the same page.”

The National Chairman said that the PDP as the ruling party has built the structure of giving account to the electorate, which must be adhered to by all those given various mandates on its platform, Tukur said: “The PDP is still the only hope of Nigerians, so I am offering that hope as we mark this year’s Democracy Day. We also hope to strengthen the party as an institution with its laws and structures to enable for continuity.

“Democracy is work in progress; we have made appreciable progress in the past years of democracy in various areas. On security, we have been attacked by an evil curse but the government is doing something. If you take a look at Abuja today, it is far better than what it was 14 years ago; so it is step by step.”

L-R: Senate President, David Mark; wfe of the President, Mrs. Patience Goodluck; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim; Women’s Leader, Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Kema Chikwe and Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, during the 2013 Democracy Day Interdenominational Church Service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

...Amaechi didn’t contest against Jonathan –Fayemi ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

E

kiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described the emergence of his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaech, as chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, as victory for democracy and “not a victory over President Goodluck Jonathan.”

Fayemi, who said the outcome of the election was a demonstration of governors’ confidence in

Amaechi’s leadership of the Forum, described as “sad” comments by the anti-Amaechi camp that the NGF election was rigged.

Speaking at his Isan Ekiti country home yesterday, Fayemi said: “It was a contest among governors for the chairmanship position and it would be wrong for anyone to consider it a contest between President Goodluck Jonathan and Amaechi as the President was not a contestant.”

Asserting that “this country belongs to all of

us and we are committed to working closely with the President of Nigeria,” Fayemi added: “He is our leader. We have respect for him and his office. So let no one think it is a defeat to the President. It was a race between Governors Jonah Jang and Amaechi.”

Two parallel chairmen, Governors Amaechi and Jang, reportedly emerged from the NGF election which held in Abuja last Friday. While Amaechi was said to emerge victorious in the election, Jang was said

to have emerged through concession.

But Fayemi said that the decision of the Forum to opt for election instead of consensus was as a result of democratic growth, saying: “Governors routinely decide who becomes their chairman and they have done so consistently since 1999,” he said.

On comments in some quarters that the NGF election was rigged, Fayemi said: “It is sad and soiling the integrity of anyone who holds such a belief.”

14

Politics

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed believes he has progressively positioned Kwara State in the last two years. In this interview, he speaks on his achievements, the essence of continuity and the driving force of his government. FELIX NWANERI reports.

In the next two days, you will be two years in office. How has the journey been so far?

I am pleased to say we have delivered on our promises to ensure continuity in governance and significantly better the lot of our people. We have completed most of the inherited infrastructural projects and continued with institution such as the International Aviation College, the Advanced Diagnostic Centre, KWASU and the cargo terminal. In the last two years, we have done over 800 kilometres of rural and urban roads. We have renovated five general hospitals and of course the tertiary hospitals have also been supported in terms of infrastructure and human support. For instance, in Sobi (Specialist Hospital), we’ve started training our house officers who will become consultants. In the water sector, we’ve completed renovation of over 15 water works and sunk 330 boreholes across the 16 local government areas. We are working on the issue of schools now. In the next couple of weeks, we are going to renovate another round of classrooms. We’ve done over 400 classrooms, largely supported by the state government and funding from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). We made sure that this funding is channelled towards critical areas of need and of course, what the people want.

Jobs for our youths are critical. We have provided permanent employment for 2,000 youths under our bridge empowerment scheme, KWABES and trained another 150 under our Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme, who will benefit from our N45 million micro-credit intervention for youths.

In the area of skill acquisition, I will tell you what I am doing with entrepreneurs. Every skill acquisition centre in Kwara State that has more than 10 apprentices has been registered under our Human Capital Development Ministry. And we have now compartmentalised all our skill acquisition centres; that is, individual, independent skill acquisition centres. The next level is that we now draw a curriculum for each of the sectors. If a young man is going to learn welding today, what are the basic things that he needs to know? We will meet those who are in the business and we will draw basic curriculum. We share it to all of them. And then we let them know that once they graduate we will give them government approved certificate. That is not all. It will enable them to be part and parcel of a cooperative system where they would see themselves forming cooperatives and accessing funds from the N500m that we have set aside for all cooperative groups to access and become entrepreneurs. This fund is not given to them in cash, but used to kit and support them. This will compliment what is happening at the International Vocational Centre, Ajasse. Also by the third quarter, we are going to rehabilitate three technical colleges that will churn out skilled school leavers.

These are the things we are doing modestly and I know that at the end of the day, we would have created a platform that would be worthy of emulation because we know this country requires to be moved forward. We have everything in this country to strengthen ourselves.

In specifics, what is your administration’s vision?

For us in the state, we’ve always recognised that development requires planning and planning has to be articulated in line with what resources you have available. When we were coming in 2011, our slogan was “the legacies continue”. And the reason for that was very basic because we wanted people to have value for money.

Everybody has a role to play and when roles are clearly defined, goals are set and then we move on to achieve what we have to achieve with strong will and zeal that must ensure that we deliver goods and services to our people. In Kwara, we are very modest. We had to ensure that we had clearly spelt out, well-articulated, methodically defined set goals and targets fashioned after policy thrusts which have largely been formulated by drawing from the people what they want. It makes it easier because you have platforms

Monday, May 27, 2013

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I’ve delivered on my electoral promises –Ahmed schools will turn out those who will support the system.

Otherwise we end up producing graduates whose levels of knowledge acquisition would not be relevant to the system.

That informed why we set up the International Vocational Centre.

In Nigeria today most of our secondary schools are regular. Half of those who have left school do not go beyond secondary school levels. What happens to them? They roam the streets. That is why we have a plethora of unemployed youths and it is largely out of the fact that we have taken the issue of skill acquisition very seriously.

By September or October we will be opening it up and we will be getting the first set of recruits that will train there. The curriculum is fashioned after the City and Guild that are largely guiding what we are doing and it is going to make people learn skills under a curriculum that has been designed in partnership with the National Employers Consultative Association. So we know what the market/ industry needs are.

Ahmed

WE STARTED THIS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN 2011 WITH AN END IN MIND. WE ALREADY HAD A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHERE WE ARE GOING TO, WHAT RESOURCES WOULD BE

AVAILABLE AND HOW WE WILL END UP AT THE END OF THE TERM on which you can now begin to allocate resources from an optimal and strategic perspective and it gives you a clear focus of where you want to go.

In other words, we started this government business in 2011 with an end in mind. We already had a clear picture of where we are going to, what resources would be available and how we will end up at the end of the term. If we continue to allow governance to be driven in this form, there is no way people will not get dividends of democracy.

To what extent has the continuity policy benefited the state?

When we came in 2011, one of the programmes that had not been fully completed was the International Aviation College, Ilorin. We completed it. We ensured that it swung into action as students are already flying. The Diagnostic Centre, we completed. What is going on right now is training and retraining of those who would run that place because the equipment is first of its kind in this part of the country. Most importantly, it is going to serve as a platform for supporting the health delivery sector. Our health sector has been methodically divided into three key sectors – primary, secondary and tertiary. At primary level, quite a lot have been done, largely fashioned after the policy that will ensure that nobody moves more than 500 metres to access primary health care. We have carried out a data profile that will let us know how far we are from our targets.

This is also supporting water supply. We don’t want anybody to move more than 500 metres to access potable drinking water. We’ve carried out a statistical analysis of this and of course our policy on education is clear. Education up to secondary school level is free. At the basic level it is not only free, it is compulsory. We are strengthening the tertiary institutions by creating platforms where there is an interface with government so that we will continue to identify areas of need. This is what will inform how the

What state is your administration in on the agriculture reforms?

Nobody has been able to get it right in commercial agriculture, but we have got it right here in Kwara. As you know that there is no substitute for experience, we have had that experience. We can now tell you what it takes to drive commercial agriculture. Now we’ve successfully done it with our Zimbabwean farmers, the next step is incorporating our local farmers and that is where we are now. The last administration took us to a success level where the white farmers were on auto-drive, the next level is how our local farmers will benefit from this technology – the agriculture value chain. How does it transcend to moving our agriculture from subsistence farming to commercial farming and how do we share this experience with our neighbours?

How do we share this platform with others that will necessarily begin to see that commercial agriculture has to be pursued from this angle? That is the next level we are in now and we will make sure that this goes round.

We have taken agriculture very seriously because there is no country in the world that has ever developed by producing raw materials. You must go into value addition and that is the level we are in now. You see a lot of people telling us that in Shonga you have brought in farmers. So much has been spent we cannot see what they are planting. You cannot see it because what they produce are industrial feed stock. You’ve been taking Peak Milk, part of what goes into making it comes from Shonga. You go to Mr Biggs you eat chicken, part of the chicken you see is from there. So in commercial farming, we want our people to begin to see that it is a commercial venture where you must understand the value chain and see the risks involved at each level and how you key into not only the risk but participating in the platform that will always ensure success.

What is driving governance in Kwara?

Like I told you, we’ve marshalled out everything we need to do in the state for our-four-year term which is encapsulated into what we call the Medium Term Sector Strategy Framework, defining what is to be achieved under three key headings: Human Capital Development, Economic Development and Infrastructural Development. This is the basis for moving governance from 2011 to 2012 to 2013 and so on. The most important thing is that we have broken them into modules. Modules are achievable within defined timeframe, which tells you that you are able to take it from point A to point D; somebody takes it from D to G; somebody takes it from G until you eventually get to Z. With this kind of platform, we begin to see value for money and people will understand the concept of governance which will no longer be an all-comers game. It will be the game of those who have strategic thinking and those who optimally utilise resources for the benefit of the people who want the resources. And that is the level we want to move governance to.

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15

Commoditising ‘God’s gift’

HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

‘

B

aby factor’; so apt, yet so gory.

Whenever ‘factory’ is mouthed, only an imagery of a production plant is formed in our inner recesses. So ‘baby factory’ is synonymous with a place for the production of babies! Axiomatically, ‘Ahamefula Motherless Babies’ Home’, where 17 pregnant teenagers were recently recued by Imo State Police Command, could better be described as ‘Ahamefula Babies Factory because the babies that come out of the so-called Home are a commodity for sale!

This applies to the circumstances of the other 14 pregnant teenagers freed by the same Imo police from Umuguma, Owerri, the state capital. So both ‘Madam One Thousand’ who runs the former and ‘Pastor’ Chinedu, owner of the latter, are baby factory owners.

What a business. Nigeria has sunk so low that children, who the Psalmist describes as “a gift from the Lord…a real blessing”, have now become a commodity that can be priced and bought.

Last April in Aba, Abia State, a 20 year old man sold his only son for N350, 000 to enable him procure a Greek visa. He

I

NIGERIA HAS SUNK SO LOW THAT CHILDREN, WHO THE PSALMIST DESCRIBES AS “A GIFT FROM THE LORD…A REAL BLESSING”, HAVE NOW BECOME A COMMODITY THAT CAN BE PRICED AND BOUGHT

was determined to leave the country for good. Though this is a different strand of the same business, the implication is the same: production and sale of new born babies. This is now an industry in the country.

It is generally known that teenage girls, acting alone or on the prodding of their parents, voluntarily walk into the baby factories disguised as orphanages scattered round the South East, allow themselves impregnated, carry the pregnancies for nine months, deliver the babies safely and surrender them for negotiated sums, and walk away smiling to the banks. There is no crime beyond these hardened Jezebels.

When I reflected over this booming business in new born babies, what struck me was the situation in Israel in the days of Prophet Elisha. The Syrian King Ben-

hadad had laid siege to Samaria, causing chronic food shortage. So bad was the situation that people were forced to be killing and eating their children. (See 2 Kings 6: 24-30 through chapter 7).

The severe privation-induced cannibalism among Israelites provoked indignation in their king. The scripture told us that when he heard the pathetic story of one of the affected women, the king “rented his clothes”. This showed he was deeply touched by the material conditions of his people.

We have not seen such demonstration of concern from our own leaders. Many are addressing the symptoms instead of treating the cause(s).

I have asked leading authorities if there is a positive correlation between the state of the nation’s economy and the manifest responses from the deeply affected and impoverished segment of the society - proletarianised Nigerians, urban and rural poor and grossly underemployed urban and rural dwellers, and chronically underpaid workers.

The consensus is that severe privations could induce deployment of certain abnormal measures by victims of such privations. The case of prostitution is cited, and it is largely seen as a survivalist measure by those who go into it.

Some of the pregnant teenagers, it is argued, had to take this extreme measure just to stay alive! They have reached a point where they do not care what they do, so far they are alive.

Agitated by this revelation, I looked at

our prevailing socioeconomic conditions.

The World Bank’s Nigeria Economic Report (NER) 2012 serves as my guide.

About 70 million adults Nigerians are poor. Lagos is said to have the lowest poverty rate of 22.9 percent and Jigawa the highest at 77.5 percent. It is also revealed that the South West has the lowest rate of poverty and the North the highest.

The findings are very revealing in several respects. Most profoundly, they show a nexus between positive governance and economic wellbeing. The South West has a rich tradition of progressive politics.

The governments of the six states in the region have consciously put in place poverty alleviation measures that have largely lifted the people economically.

Visit Osun and Ogun states and see how governments consciously drive people’s empowerment processes. The case of Lagos State is self explanatory. As the nation’s commercial hub and with a robust informal sector put at N7.615 trillion, the economy of the state runs on auto pilot!

I dare say, however, that certain antipoor measures recently adopted by the state government in the name of urban renewal could slow down the growth of that sector.

Who will be courageous enough to tell those doing business with new babies that proceed from the transactions is blood money! I doubt if such money will bring any blessing to those involved.

We should not forget how Judas Iscariot ended his life after collecting money to betray Jesus Christ.

Appreciating public disgust for taxation

n government budgeting, part of the revenue for its implementation will be derived from taxes, which the citizens should bear. But in a country like Nigeria, will the citizens voluntarily pay? A 2001 International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) journal authored by Tanzi, V. and Zee, H., sees the tax system as a very powerful device of redistributing income more equitably. How true this assertion is for Nigeria and most Third World countries is debatable given the tax burden on the low income earners and the ease with which many rich and big corporate bodies and individuals either evade tax or are under-valued.

However, the two scholars quoted above noted that developing countries would probably need a higher tax regime if they wish to be fully integrated into the global economy and attain the economic level reached by the industrial countries. This suggests that a country like Nigeria must implement a higher tax regime to meet the citizens’ needs.

The question is where do we factor in the known apathy of the people towards taxation and the permissive suspicion that tax end up in the pockets of tax consultants, internal revenue officers, and the big men in the government. Nonetheless, behind the crux of taxation remain the enduring need of poverty alleviation, equitable and hitch free revenue mobilization, efficiency of fiscal allocation and management, and sustainable development. Consider this checklist: free and qualitative education, health services, public infrastructure, national defence, social welfare and government overhead. Taxa-

tion becomes a practical means of internally raising revenue to finance them.

Taxation is a normal process and the citizens pay with enthusiasm in systems where they appreciate the enormity of the burden of governance and where they also understand their civic obligation and responsibility to assist the government deliver on its social contract. After all, meeting the social contract between the government and the citizenry demands a commitment to equitably provide public services and goods, and the readiness of the citizenry to bear some of the cost. This scenario, seeming utopian in the Third World context where corruption is the norm and good governance a challenge, is possible because there is respect for the rule of law in such climes and the accounting system is reliable, while compliance is voluntary on the part of the citizenry who have confidence on the fairness of the tax.

Our disgust, phobia and trepidation over taxation in the Third World are not unfounded. They are very justifiable because most Third World countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, are still grappling with the challenge of underdevelopment with manifestations of poverty and economic crises, low capacity utilization or even collapse of the industrial sector, illiteracy, deficit of committed leadership, disenchanted citizenry and political instability. In this discouraging environment, good governance is only a lip service as corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, weak legal and institutional frameworks to implement policies and structural

TAXATION IS A NORMAL PROCESS AND THE CITIZENS PAY

Mirror of the moment

WITH ENTHUSIASM IN SYSTEMS WHERE THEY APPRECIATE THE ENORMITY OF THE BURDEN OF GOVERNANCE misalignment (who does what, what linkage and coordination and what monitoring and evaluation mechanisms) compromise public service delivery.

As there is a deficit of transparency and accountability in most processes and procedures of accessing government deliverables, the citizens are usually suspicious of the intentions of policy introduction, including taxes and levies. The refrain is: What is our gain? How does it benefit us? Is it not for the interest and for the pockets of the few rich high up there? This is because they see the leaders’ attitude and lifestyles being at variance with popular situation and common concerns. Generally, the Third World situation does not conduce to a tax system that reflects egalitarianism and voluntarism. Taxation is more often seen as punitive and exploitative. Hence, it features low compliance and high collec-

ABDUL-WAREES A SOLANKE korewarith@yahoo.com, 08090585723 (SMS only)

tion cost, doubtful acceptability, difficulty in enforcement and is also usually a subject of the vagaries of the local uncertain politics, values and economic dislocations.

In essence, we are not happy paying taxes in the Third World, and Nigeria is not an exception.

The challenge now is what tax policy can be attractive in the Third World? Ironically, this question is not just for taxation, but for every policy issue. Any tax policy in the developing countries, however, must take serious cognizance of the subsisting challenges, beliefs and values. The question to ask is: Does it reflect the economic structure of the society? Therefore, in designing and implementing any policy, what allowances are made for the incorporation of local opinion leadership in mobilizing support for it? Are the citizens sufficiently informed and educated about it? Are they convinced about its gains and benefits?

Are they educated about its processes, that is, the exemptions, deductions or intention? Do they understand its structure?

16

Editorial

Monday, May 27, 2013

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All the Facts, All the Sides All the Facts, All the Sides

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NGF election and Jonathan-Amaechi feud CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

elements in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party might be plotting the expulsion of Amaechi from the party under whose platform he came to power. “Initially, some of the aggrieved governors thought of going to court to stop Amaechi from being recognised as the NGF chairman, but feared that they might not be able to secure an ex-parte injunction. It was likewise also gathered that some of the 19 governors who backed Amaechi during the NGF election had planned, as a counter attack to the gangup against their man, to wrest the chairmanship of the PDP Governors Forum from Akpabio on the ground that the latter’s leadership of the Forum was an imposition. It would seem, therefore, that the battle line has been drawn between the pro-Jonathan and proAmaechi camps, the obvious consequence of heating the already tensed polity.

Amaechi was widely believed to have stepped on the President’s toes when he was alleged to be nursing the ambition of being a running mate to Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State in the 2015 presidential elec-

JONATHAN SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS NOT TO BE GOADED BY POLITICAL JOBBERS INTO REGRETTABLE ACTIONS tion. Though he is yet to openly declare his intention on the subject, Jonathan’s body language has created the general impression that he is rooting for a reelection come 2015. Therefore, Amaechi is viewed as a threat to that ambition. But since speculations about Amaechi’s vice presidential ambition hit the media, and despite the Rivers State governor’s denial of the report, he has been facing ceaseless assaults from Jonathan’s aides and loyalists. A private jet owned by Rivers State, which Amaechi uses, had been grounded by the FG; an Abuja High Court imposed a state chairman of the PDP on Rivers State, who immediately suspended 27 lawmakers loyal to the governor; policemen were deployed to the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council secretariat,

whose leadership Amaechi suspended; while the Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree, recently alleged plots to assassinate Governor Amaechi, some lawmakers and prominent government officials in the state, following the withdrawal of policemen assigned to Governor Amaechi and other key government officials in the state.

The NGF election became an issue in the aftermath of the intrigues that gave birth to the PDP Governors Forum, which was hurriedly floated by the PDP national leadership, allegedly with the support of the Presidency, to clip the wings of Amaechi who chairs the bigger and more politically influential body – the NGF. It was, therefore, expected that the Presidency would do all it could to strip Amaechi of the position. And with Amaechi’s victory, it is obvious that Jonathan’s clout has been jolted. The president and the ruling party have not only been humiliated by the pro-Amaechi camp, Jonathan’s bid for re-election in 2015 might also suffer a grave threat.

Although the Presidency has denied Jonathan’s in-

terest in the NGF election, there exists, nevertheless, very strong public apprehension that Abuja might bare its fangs the more on Amaechi, to the point that there might be a backlash.

Apart from generating greater sympathy for Amaechi nationwide, any further unwarranted attack on the governor may lead to the breakdown of law and order in Rivers State and possibly beyond. The Presidency should tread with care and be guided by the strong point made by the late National Security Adviser (NSA), General Owoeye Azazi, that the lack of internal democracy and the resultant bitterness and acrimony within the ruling PDP largely contributed to the insurgency and bloodletting up North, particularly since 2011. Democracy demands a level playing field. It’s about free choice and credible processes, not arm-twisting, breathing down heavily on or violent intimidation of perceived opponents. Jonathan should be cautious not to be goaded by political jobbers into regrettable actions that might seriously undermine the nation’s democracy.

ON THIS DAY May 27, 2006 The May 2006 Java earthquake struck at 5:53:58 am local time, devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, killing over 6,600 people. The earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean around 25 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Yogyakarta, near Galur, on the southern side of the island of Java (7°57 43 S 110°27 29 E7.962°S110.458°E),10kmbelowtheseabed,withamagnitude of 6.2, accordingtoaUnitedStates’GeologicalSurvey.

May 27, 2004 The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, indicted Slobodan Milosevic and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. Milosevic (August 20, 1941 – March 11, 2006) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician. He was the President of Serbia (1989 to 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000.

May 27, 1980 The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retook the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 people and possibly many more. The Gwangju massacre refers to a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea from May 18 to 27, 1980. Estimates suggest up to 2,000 people were killed in the crisis. During this period, citizens rose up against Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship and took control of the city.

A2 18

Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

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Cover

An oil production installation in the Niger Delta

By Semiu Salami

F

ew weeks after a group of youths and elders under the name “Restoration Niger Delta” stormed the National Assembly with petitions alleging underhand dealings in the transfer of 60 per cent of the 55 per cent equity holding production rights of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), in OMLs 26, 30, 34 and 42 to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, emerging facts show that the allegations may not be entirely true after all.

The communities, comprising of Itsekiri, Ijaw, Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa oil-producing communities of Delta State had stormed the National Assembly on April 25, and handed the Assembly a 30-day ultimatum to redress what they alleged was fraudulent allocation of oil mining licences (OMLs), or risk the oil fields being shut down.

In the petition presented to Senate President David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, the communities alleged that there was “deliberate exclusion of

Allegations and counter allegations continue to trail the Strategic Alliance Agreement signed between the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts with respect to four oil blocks.

Analysts however say the allegations may just be a mere storm in the tea cup as most of the allegations are based on presumptions rather than facts indigenous rights to pre-emption and/ or first refusal and breach of open and competitive bidding on the four oil blocks.”

They demanded an outright cancellation of “the on-going hand-over of OML 4, 26, 30, 34, 38, 41 and 42 to Atlantic Energy and Septa Energy” while the deal “be put on hold pending the determination of the issues raised in the petition.”

A part of the petition reads: “We, members of the oil-producing communities, are compelled to bring to the notice of the National Assembly the manner and /or mode upon which the allocation of the oil mining leases were fraudulently allocated by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the officials of the ministry and

the SPDC. Jide Omokore’s Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited neither tendered for, nor bided for the blocks. By this deal, 60 per cent of NNDC’s 55 per cent stake of these assets is about five billion barrels, which when calculated with the 2013 crude oil benchmark comes to $380 billion or N58.9trillion. This figure is exclusive of the four trillion cubic feet (4TCF) of gas asset in the blocks valued at $15.72 trillion.”

According to the petition, the game behind this deal is brought sharply into focus by noting the fact that, on OML 26, 30, 34 and 42, Deiziani Alison-Madueke’s alleged no–bid approach via the so called “Strategic Alliance Agreement” fetched the Federation Account an upfront cash

payment of little more than $50 million as initial entrance fee from Atlantic Energy, while SPDC’s open and competitive bidding process, though excluding indigenes of the area on the other hand, got $1.3 billion from Heri-

tage Oil Plc, for its 45 per cent joint venture beneficial stake of the same block.

Now, there are discordant tunes coming from the area. Another group from the same ethnic nationalities which the “Restora-

Business Courage A Publication of GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR  PUBLISHER SEMIU SALAMI ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI TAYO ADELEKE

EDITOR STAFF WRITER SENIOR REPORTER

OLATOYE RAPHAEL SEYI OKUMODI

HEAD, PRODUCTION SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST

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Jide Omokore, CEO Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts

tion Niger Delta” claimed to represents has publicly dissociated itself from what it regarded as the “misguided, uninformed and selfish” position taken by the “Restoration Niger Delta” group.

The new group, the Niger Delta Youths Oil-Producing Communities, led by Larry Sambo, is alleging that the group that wrote the petition was in the National Assembly for its selfish interest.

The Sambo-led group argued that Atlantic Energy Concept Limited was an indigenous company, which followed due process in the transaction involving the four leases.

It said the NPDC, a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), did the right thing in its transaction with the Atlantic Energy Concept Limited, as it supported the local content policy. “If not for anything, the deal supports the local content policy, which the oil- producing communities have agitated for over the years. The local content is a key provision in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is one of the major reasons the oil-producing communities have consistently urged the National Assembly to press the piece of legislation, which we believe will mark an unprecedented participation of Nigerians in the petroleum sector,” said the group.

The group argued that “As long an Ijaw man can live in Lagos, an Urhobo or itsekiri can own a house or business in Lagos or Jos. We wonder why a Yoruba man or whosoever, as the case may be, would not be able to do business in our area, in as much as the interest of the host communities are protected.”

Victor Briggs, MD NPDC

It accused those at the forefront of the call for the cancellation of the oil blocks of fighting for their selfish interest, adding that their action was blackmail capable of causing disintegration. “We have closely monitored the position of those calling for the revocation of the licenses of the affected blocks and we have come to a conclusion that these paid agitators within and outside the House of Representatives are at work again,” the group said.

However, independent investigations carried out by Business Courage reveal that contrary to the allegations contained in the petition, the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA), which the NPDC entered into with Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, did not include transfer of its production rights.

According to findings, what the NPDC did under the SAA with Atlantic Energy falls under the drilling funds category, a debt financing which is by way of loans and which does not in any way undermine or jeopardise the equity holding of NPDC in the affected oil blocks.

The agreement between the two parties was neither a divestment of asset nor transfer of operatorship but simply an alternative funding arrangement in order to meet the NPDC’s cash call obligations in the Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 26, 30, 34 and 42 in question. Besides, detailed scrutiny reveals that there is no place in the petition where the particulars of NPDC‘s equity interest in the OMLs were shown to have been transferred whether in part or wholly to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited in

defiance of the intendment of the Procurement Act. ``It is thus, to say the least, spurious that while the petitioners raise issues of equity divestment, albeit erroneously, all the ingredients of their submission border on either a display of dearth of the proindigenous disposition of the oil industry regulations or a deliberate misrepresentation of facts for mischievous purposes,” an NPDC official said.

A source in NPDC who spoke with Business Courage at the weekend under strict confidentiality said that the company negotiated the most competitive financing terms for itself not minding whether it adopted the Modified Carry Arrangement (MCA) or the Project Financing model.

The source said that the NPDC, after a careful due diligence which considered other oil companies that showed interest and submitted proposals for the Strategic Alliance Arrangement selected Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited as its provider of alternative funding in order to meet their cash call obligations in the affected oil blocks.“Such funding is by way of loans and do not in any way undermine or jeopardise the equity holding of NPDC. It is also important to note that the NPDC itself does not own the OMLs but is only an operator of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s interest in the OMLs and as such could not have sold what did not belong to them,” he said.

Besides, further investigations revealed that the funding options became pertinent, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s

restriction of excessive lending by banks to the oil industry, the situation which has made funding especially in the highly specialised upstream sector a much more difficult endeavour. This development, industry sources said, has pushed oil industry operators, especially those in the upstream sector, to look for alternative funding arrangements.

Some of these form of alternative funding, which are essentially joint venture arrangements and are said to be in sync with world best practice, include Illustrative Agreements, Royalty Purchase, Sale Purchase Agreements, Farm Out Agreements, Production Sharing Contracts and Drilling Funds.

“Alternative funding for oil companies and indeed MDAs has been a welcome development under the present administration’s transformation agenda. It is much cheaper and, in this case, a more specialised form of raising working capital. In these times when all should be concerned with cutting production costs in the oil industry, particularly in the wake of huge subsidies, this strategic action by NDPC should be welcome and encouraged,” one of the top executives of NPDC said.

The source further said that in the financing arrangement that produced Atlantic Energy, many oil firms that showed interest were considered and the process of due diligence showed that many of such firms were already in huge debts and some were indeed in the CBN caution list.

“The action taken by NDPC is a strategic one that is fast gaining popularity and global relevance

in the oil industry. Rather than violate any guidelines in the industry, it has rather shown that the organisation is proactive and very much at home with global trends, and very much attuned to the present administration’s transformation agenda. It is only worthy of commendation and not condemnation,” the source said Interestingly, this is not the first time the use of Strategic Alliance Agreement he to finance oil and gas production in NPDC’s assets would generate bad blood.

When Seven Energy International Limited, another indigenous oil and gas development and production company, entered into SAA with NPDC in 2011, there was similar allegation that the assets of NPDC had been sold to the indigenous company.

Septa Energy Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven Energy had entered into SAA with the NPDC for the development of OMLs 4, 38 and 41 but the deal was misrepresented as divestment of the interest of NPDC in the three oil blocks. Sources say that it took the minister of petroleum several months to convince her detractors that the transaction was simply a funding arrangement and not a sale of assets.

For now, while the outcome of the investigations currently being conducted by the petroleum committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate are being awaited, informed industry analysts at the weekend argued that the paucity of verifiable facts to backup the allegations contained in the petition may have rendered the petitioners argument futile ab initio.

They argued that the petition was actually written on false premise as all the issues raised were based on wrong assumptions. They argued that since the NPDC itself does not own the oil blocks but is only an operator of the Federal Government’s interest in the leases, it would be presumptuous to allege that the said oil blocks would be sold without due and verifiable authorisation of relevant supervisory agencies, especially the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

“Rather than violate any guidelines in the industry, it has rather shown that NPDC is proactive and very much at home with global trends, and very much attuned to the present administration’s transformation agenda.

NPDC’s initiative in adopting the SAA model as alternative funding arrangement is worthy of commendation and not condemnation,” the analyst said. BC

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News commercial centres. We should, therefore, not forget that right now, it is only Lagos that is functional,” she said.

The E-PPAN boss further said that “By the time we started the Cash-less Lagos scheme, the projection of the regulator was that by December, 2012, we would have recorded 40,000 PoS terminal deployment. But available data showed that we now have about 150, 000 PoS machines in Lagos.”

Obasanjo applauds Omatek’s doggedness in manufacturing local computer

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Lemo

Seven states control 90 per cent of cash transactions

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that Lagos and the six other states control about 90 per cent of cash transactions in the country. The other states are Rivers, Anambra, Abia, Kano, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo, who disclosed this, said this was the reason why the above mentioned states were been slated for the second phase of the cash-less project billed to kick off on July 1.

Acknowledging that there have been and there are still challenges with the cashless project, Lemo however assured that most of them are being resolved.

He listed one of the major challenges to include interconnectivity in some of the clusters, which he said is being addressed.

Lemo said that besides the use of alternative channels of transactions such as Point of Sales (PoS), the cashless project would be driven through the telephone.

Nigeria is second in number of mobile phone users in sub Saharan Africa after South Africa, which is also the largest economy in the region.

Lemo also said the cashless policy had been successful in Lagos, adding that the number of Point of Sale (PoS) machines in Lagos has increased significantly from about 5,000 when the policy took off last year, to over 150,000. “We still have few challenges, but if I look back, I really would say that we have done a lot to transform the payment system in Lagos through PoS,” he said.

The cashless policy, whose implementation began in Lagos in January, last year, is aimed at reducing the dominance of cash in the system. The

policy specifies penal charges for individuals and corporate organisations that want to withdraw or lodge cash above the prescribed limits.

Under the policy, the CBN pegged the daily cumulative cash withdrawal or deposit limit for individual accounts at N500,000 per day and N3 million per day for corporate accounts.

Just a week ago, the Chief Executive Officer, Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Onajite Regha, said the coming on board on the next phase of the cash-less policy in July may raise the value of electronic funds transfer in the country to N160 billion per day by the end of the year.

The E-PPAN boss, who spoke in Lagos, said the current value of electronic fund transfers – put at N80 billion per day by the CBN, would most likely double because there would be a lot of changes, which would compel people to use e-Fund transfer channels.

The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) is handling transactions worth about N20 billon daily, while the Nigeria Electronic Funds Transfer is conducting about N60 billion worth of transactions daily.

NIBSS provides the infrastructure for automated processing, settlement of payments and fund transfer instructions between banks, discount houses and card companies in Nigeria. It is owned equally by all licensed banks in Nigeria, and the CBN. Discount houses operating in Nigeria also hold substantial shares.

A NEFT payment is an irrevocable fund transfer instruction.

Onajite Regha said that“By the time we do six months into the new phase, the figure is likely going to rise by over 100 per cent. All these places we are going to are places where cash is moved heavily. We are looking at six additional

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo has praised the courage of Florence Seriki, the Group Managing Director of Omatek Ventures Plc, which has assisted the company to remain in business till today.

Obasanjo who stated this recently in Lagos when he visited Omatek’s new ultra modern factory in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos State, noted the challenges the company has gone through in the last few years and expressed his happiness that Seriki was able to stand through the storm and bring the company back to reckoning.

“Omatek’s new factory is a physical example of what a man can do, a woman can do it better. l want to congratulate and commend you because l know this organization has gone through long challenges of finance, and you have endured. l know the history of this company and l know the difficulties it has faced in the last few years,” he said.

Obasanjo noted that it is time Nigeria and all stakeholders in the economy begin the process of backward inetgration. “I believe that we need to now check the process of backward integration, so that if it is only what we produce locally will make us to provide more jobs for the unemployed, let us begin to encourage our own local industries,” he said, noting that this is how other countries that are self sufficient today started.

The former president said Onatek has proved beyond all reasonable doubts that the best thing to happen to this country is the development of local content policy which is capable of developing the local economy. “Our local content policy should be for every thing that is produced in this country; and you have proved before us that you are capable of developing local content.”

Obasanjo therefore advised the Nigerian banking sector to rise to the ocassion and support this policy by giving the needed support to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). “If you should do what you ought to have done, this

Obasanjo

country would move faster than it is,” he said.

Obasanjo also noted that Nigerian banks have realised that one of the ways to remain in the business is by helping the SMEs to do better, “because a bank that is not helping others, a bank that is not helping production, is not helping itself. I believe that with the consolidation of banks, we now have strong commercial banks, strong enough to be more adventurous to help the growth of entrepreneurs in the country,” he said.

He specifically commended the Bank of Industry (BoI) on its achievement in helping the economy to grow through its proactive response to the plight of the SMEs in the country. “We must enhance our production; we must encourage local production and we must also patronise our local products,” he said, adding that “Bank of Industry has taken the responsibility of helping the industries, also because it has more funds. They need to do more locally and encourage the development of Nigerian producers to export Nigerian products.”

Bello

Nigerian Shippers Council Act long overdue for review Stories By Francis Ezem

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he Nigerian Shippers Council has said that its enabling act enacted over 35 years ago cannot sustain its functions in a modern maritime industry and has therefore been long overdue for review.

The Federal Military Government had in response to trend in the global shipping

area, especially in terms of fixing freight rates by the liners promulgated the Nigerian Shippers’ Decree 13 of 1978 now Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act to protect the interest of Nigerian shippers (importers and exporters), among several others.

Acting Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer of the council, Hassan Bello, who spoke at a recent forum, said there was urgent need to review not only the council’s enabling legislation but all other obsolete laws in the maritime industry.

According to him, efforts by the Federal Government to fully tap the abundant resources in the industry might not be realised if these laws were not reviewed in line with the changing trends in the global shipping industry.

Citing the council as a case in point, Bello observed that the NSC Act enacted in 1978 merely gave it some regulatory functions but largely in advisory capacity, which might not enable the council to address current issues in fixing freight rates and generally protecting shippers’ interest. “Current realities in the industry have placed on the council the responsibilities of intervening in the areas of tariffs, benchmarking of freight, monitoring and enforcing standards in service delivery which were not envisaged by the Act from the onset. Government could no longer alone run the roads, the rail, freight and sea ports, but must encourage private participation which was not envisaged by the Act”, he argued.

According to him, with increased private sector participation in the industry there was the need to engage commercial regulators that would moderate the activities of these private sector operators, who only language is that of profit.“The regulators would among others attract more private capital into the transport industry encourage increased participation and competition in the sector and arrest abuse of monopoly”, he said.

Bello said that the regulators would also evolve mechanism for settlement of dispute in quick and reliable ways and control entry and exit into the market to discourage quackery and fraud.

He argued that these can only be achieved if the laws establishing the council, the Nigeria Ports Authority and other maritime agencies were reviewed urgently.

“You will agree with me that there has been a passage or a fusion of time since international trade has grown in leaps and bounds, leaving the laws panting, running after it and that should not be the case”, he argued.

The NSC was created to provide a forum for the protection of the interest of shippers, who are weak and fragmented in matters affecting

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the shipment of imports and exports to and from Nigeria and to advise the Federal Government on sundry related matters.

LIRS warns against attack on tax officers

Nigerian banks are averse to risk, says expert

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early 10 years after the completion of the banking consolidation by the Federal Government designed to shore up the statutory financial base of Nigerian banks from about N10 billion to N25 billion, experts say most of the banks have failed to invest towards the development of indigenous shipping capacity because they are averse to risks.

The Registrar, Chartered Institute of Shipping, Dr. Alex Okwuashi, who spoke in an interview, noted that most banks in Nigeria lack the culture of risk taking, which makes them concentrate on only short term investment such as import financing, which completes the circle of investment in three months.

He blamed the low level of development of the Nigerian maritime industry on this attitude of the banks towards financing investment in the maritime industry.

“Acquiring a vessel is a very capital intensive venture and the gestation period is usually long and so many banks in Nigeria are not comfortable with such long term investment”, he said.

While debunking claims that most of the banks find it difficult to fund ship acquisition for instance due to the fact that they are usually expensive, he noted that that was far from the real issues, adding that a consortium of four or five banks can come together to fund such a venture.

On why many foreign ships refuse to fly the Nigerian flag, he noted that it has to do with the policy of the government, which does not see any reason for granting incentives to foreign vessels flying the Nigerian flag.

He cited the example of Liberia, which he argued is a smaller country in terms of population, natural resources, he noted that many foreign ships fly the Liberian flag because of the incentives they get from such. “Let me tell you, no shipping line flies a certain flag just for the fun of it. Flying a particular flag comes with a whole lot of incentives and benefits”, he had argued.

Okwuashi who, decried the absence of any ship including Roll-On-Roll-Off ships, regretted that Nigeria loses billions of naira due to the inability of Nigerians to own a single ocean going vessel.

According to him, it costs between $500 and $700 to ship a unit of vehicle, adding that it is quite unfortunate that Nigeria loses several billions o naira due to the

Ship

inability of her nationals to participate in the carriage of the consignments.

“It is regrettable that Nigeria does not have a RORO or any other ocean going vessel for that matter to participate in the carriage of these vehicles especially since in the 1970s”, he stated.

The dwindling fortunes of indigenous ship owners in Nigeria is taking a worsening dimension as recent report indicates that It was gathered that Nigerians spend in excess of N29.1 billion ($182 million) in terms of freight paid on vehicles imported into the country annually.

Import statistics by the Nigerian Ports Authority for the 2012 shows that a total of 130, 000 units of motor vehicles were imported into the country between JanuaryJune of the year, which brings to a total of N14.6 billion ($91million).

This figure however increased marginally in the second half of the year thus bringing to a total of over N29.1 billion ($182million) for the entire 2012 fiscal year.

In addition to the massive loss of revenue in terms of freight on RORO operations, Nigeria also loses huge sums in terms of crude oil freight and other general cargo.

For instance, statistics shows that though Nigeria generates more than $5 million daily on crude oil freight at an average freight rate of $2.5 per barrel, less than two percent of this revenue is retained within the country due to the fact that she does not have any tanker vessel to participate in this lucrative trade.

Analysis also shows that the 13-member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have a total of 134 tankers, Nigeria, which is the sixth largest producer has only two, which are used for storage instead of lifting crude oil.

According to the figures, Nigeria lifts less than 500DWT per day out of the 24 million DWT aggregate tanker capacity of the OPEC. Records also show that though more than 65 percent of the entire imports (bulk and containers) from America, Asia and Europe into the West African sub-region end up in the Nigerian market due to the size of her population, none

he Head of Distrain Unit, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Folasade Coker-Afolayan, has warned taxpayers against assaulting tax officers on official duties.

Coker-Afolayan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the service would no longer tolerate attacks on its officers on lawful duties.

She said that culprits would henceforth be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Coker-Afolayan, who led the enforcement team, described the development as uncivilised, saying that such actions were slowing down the team’s operations.

She said that nine firms were sealed in the last two days for failure to remit taxes.

Coker-Afolayan explained that three of the companies were shut on Tuesday with total tax liabilities of N43.8 million.

She said that another six were sealed last Wednesday for failure to remit N29.3 million personal income taxes of workers to the state government.

The tax officer advised companies operating in the state to remit their taxes promptly to avoid being sealed.

Balewa, NAPEP boss

nuts for increased income.

The statement said that Shea butter nuts farming and Shea butter production will greatly increase farmers’ income as the two are major sources of nutritional and economic importance to many people, especially in rural areas. ``Shea butter is extracted from Shea nuts and it is used locally for cooking and exported as an ingredient in the food and cosmetic industries. NAPEP is expected to create awareness about Shea butter nuts production by organising workshops, seminars and training sessions for rural dwellers. NAPEP will also engage experts to explain to the people, the many benefits of Shea butter nuts cultivation and the Shea butter production and will attract banks and investors into the venture,’’ it said.

in Nigeria, we have been experiencing governments that never accomplished what they set out to achieve. Policy inconsistency is unhealthy for the growth of any country’s housing sector,” he said.

Ubosi advised the Federal Government to adopt strategies that developed nations had used to optimally provide accommodation for their citizens. ``Promoting security of tenure is a prerequisite for sustainable improvement in housing and environmental conditions, `` he said.

Ubosi also urged the Federal Government to focus more on the development and maintenance of road and provision of potable water.

“The Federal Government and local authorities should design, adopt and implement pro-poor city development strategies and ensure sufficient availability of land for housing development,” he said.

He suggested that emerging economies like Nigeria should pool resources together to overcome the challenges confronting their housing sectors. ``Nigeria has the capability of being one of the world largest economies in the next 20 years,” he said.

Experts blame housing sector challenge on policy inconsistency

A Babatunde-Fowler, LIRS boss

NAPEP to promote Shea butter nuts production

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he National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) has reiterated its commitment toward poverty eradication in the country through increased Shea butter nuts production.

According to a statement signed by Danladi Kobi, its Chief Press Secretary, NAPEP would partner with the German Development Agency (GIZ), for sustainable economic development in the country.

It added that the collaboration would ensure that the current subsistence level of Shea butter nuts farming in the country was increased.

It said that the programme was also encouraging farmers to extract the butter in the

property consultant, Chudi Ubosi, has said that policy inconsistency remains the biggest challenge confronting the development of the housing sector in Nigeria.

Ubosi, President, International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), Africa Regional Chapter, said that the problem in Nigeria was unstable policies as “an administration that formulates a housing policy never accomplishes it``.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that housing sector had been known for contributing to the economic renaissance of many countries. “Unfortunately,

Ubosi

Ogunsanya

Airtel Nigeria tasks CIPM on promotion of local talents

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he Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, has charged the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) to celebrate and promote local talents.

Ogunsanya who gave the advice at the investiture of the 16th CIPM President, Victor Famuyibo, said that African talents should be adequately empowered and supported, to take up corporate leadership opportunities across the continent.

According to him, Nigerian human resources practitioners should support local talents,

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News and provide world-class training opportunities for them.

The Airtel chief urged the human resources practitioners to imbibe the culture of paying for performance, and creating strong platforms to celebrate outstanding employees. ``I encourage the new president of the CIPM to be the catalyst of Africans for Africa initiative.

This is a strategic initiative.

It assures investment in our future prosperity. Let me also add that promoting Africans for Africa is not a cost-cutting measure because good Nigerian talents actually cost more than the average expatriates,’’ Ogunsanya said.

Famuyibo said that he was committed to realising the vision of the CIPM and would strive to push the transformation agenda of the institute. ``I will not only be a gatekeeper but a game changer, in the way that you will all love it,’’ the CIPM chief said.

Customs impounds 70 bales of second hand clothing

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he Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’ of the Nigeria Customs Service said it has impounded 70 bales of secondhand clothing and 23 rolls of textile materials smuggled into the country.

The Area Comptroller of Customs in the zone, Victor Dimka, made this known at the weekend in Owerri in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Ifeoma Onuigbo.

Dimka said the textile materials were concealed in a sand-tipping truck, adding that the duty paid value on the contraband stood at N8.24 million.

He said that the use of tipping-trucks with inscription ‘Human Rights against Corruption’ demonstrated how desperate smugglers had become.

He said that a team led by a Superintendent of Customs, intercepted the truck along Uyo axis in Akwa Ibom and arrested one suspect within the week.

Dimka said that smugglers would not beat the eagle eyes of customs officials no matter the strategy they adopted.

NDLEA caution airlines against drug trafficking by crew members

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he Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade has called on airlines operators in the

Giade

country to take necessary steps to prevent drug trafficking in the country.

The spokesman for the agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju, w3ho disclosed this in a statement in Lagos, said that the United Kingdom authorities have released the Arik crew member that was allegedly found in possession of cigarettes. ``The crew, a female, is currently helping NDLEA officers in the ongoing investigation. The crew member, who was reportedly found with 6kg of substance suspected to be cocaine, is still being quizzed in London,” the statement quoted Giade as saying.

The statement warned that any airline found wanting would be penalised, pointing out that section 25 of the NDLEA Act outlined the responsibilities of airlines. ``It shall be the duty of every commercial carrier to take reasonable precaution to ensure that its means of transport are not used in the commission of offences under this Act. They are to comply with appropriate security measures at points of entry and exit in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other customs control areas, to prevent unauthorised cargo in its means of transportation,” it stated.

Section 25 of the NDLEA Act stipulates training of personnel to identify suspicious consignment or persons, promotion of integrity of their personnel and submission of cargo manifests in advance.

It also provides for the use of tamper-resistant, individually verifiable seals on containers and reporting to the agency at the earliest opportunity all suspicious circumstances relating to drug trafficking.

work together, post and bid on projects and unlock all the benefits that accrue.

The company said it was taking the initiative in order to help businesses to harness the power of employing a temporary workforce in the country.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tekramspace Nigeria Limited, Abiodun Owotomo, said businesses are under increasing pressure to achieve bottom line growth and deliver constant innovation in an overcrowded market in a changing global economy.

Owotomo said businesses that hope to survive in such environment must explore new and innovative ways to generate sales, display a tight control on costs and constantly update organization skills. “More and more companies are turning to temporary employees to address these very challenges and gain the benefit of employing a component of flexible workforce either through contract employees or projects,” he said.

He listed the benefits of working with Tekramspace to include cost saving to the business from more efficient delivery and timely completion of projects.

According to him, savings will also be made on pension contributions, health benefits, administrative and other associated costs which can be substantial in the long run. Other benefits include harnessing of new skills and increased the quality of projects.

“Working with Tekramspace is as easy as opening an email account and you could be up and running in a matter of minutes. See what contract employees can do for your business! Visit us on www. tekramspace.com today,” he said.

The objective of this initiative is for Tekramspace to contribute its quota to government’s effort at reducing unemployment in the country, Owotomo said, adding that “Tekramspace is a Nigerian business that is keen to see significant improvement in the lives of fellow Nigerians.”

24-hour bureau of information debuts Firm moves to reduce operations in Nigeria

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi unemployment with National online portal A24-hour Bureau of Directory and

By Kunle Azeez

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start-up firm specialisng in connecting businesses with freelancers, Tekramspace, has concluded plans to put on stream an online portal where businesses and freelancers can

Information Services designed for businesses listings, people finders, driving directions, Tax advices, address finders, health histories, police information and record backup, weather forecasts, reverse phone tracker, and jobs finder, has been launched in the

Juwah, NCC boss

country.

Known as the 7411 Bureau of Information, the bureau is in line with the Goodluck Jonathan led Federal Government’s commitment to make Nigeria an investment hub for the entire world through proper information dissemination and accurate forecasts through the Nigerian Communication Commission.

Under the platform, provisions have been made for the entire country to have access to information over the phone to aid business development, police help, crime reporting, data documentation, Standard Organization of Nigeria approved products and instant governmental decisions almost on any developmental issues.

Several businesses, schools, governmental bodies, ministries, banks, security agencies and the entire country will be opened to seek daily tele-guidance and coordinated information from this 7411 information bureau.

To have easy access into information and lifesaving tips, people are to dial 7411 on any phone in Nigeria and +2347411 from outside Nigeria.

Speaking through the agency in charge of licensing-, Engr. Dr. B.M Sanni of the NCC said the need for government agencies and health establishments to find and be found in Nigeria cannot be overlooked or pushed to the back in the development process of any serious country wishing to make proper development.

According to him, gone were the days when life changing information and tips were prized above money, stressing that Nigerians must not forget the role of information accessibilities in human per capita development.

“We at the Nigeria Communication Commission are committed to building information rich Nigeria,” concluded Dr Sani.

He enjoined the entire country to embrace the use of the services to aid information knowledge level, business development and contribute to making Nigeria move forward.

The Chief Technical Officer of 411ng.com, Matt Howard maintained that the data centre is an advanced one of a kind, built with over 13 million different software used in B2B directory tracking,

global positioning, 24hr traffic surveillance people finders, stock market analysis reporting, finger print readers, vehicle tracking, crime scene reporting, CCTV Data records and backup, cross marketing and emergency response call forwarding to police and trained authorities.

The centre, he said, will presently receive in – bound enquiry calls from over 3,000 Nigerians at a time for now, and about 27 million enquiries can be processed every day.

The company’s Chief Operating officer, Denise Cann also stressed that the directory number – 7411 may equally serve as a counter terrorism number into which the entire nation may dial into at an hour it is needed.

Such distress calls or emergency, she explained, would be forwarded to police or the joint task force as the case may be for rapid intervention as she maintained that they are to work with major companies like Google GPS, NIGCOMSAT, CBN, GLO1 and Main one to achieve this noble feat.

Umar

Minister warns jetty operators against security breaches

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he Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has urged jetty operators to abide by the laws guiding their operations or be sanctioned.

Umar, at an interactive meeting with stakeholders in the maritime sector in Lagos, said that reports of security breaches at private jetties had been received by the government. “In view of the current security challenges in the country the issue cannot be ignored,” the minister said.

He said that jetty operators were expected to work in concert with the relevant security agencies to ensure compliance with the laws guiding their operations.

Umar said that the meeting was aimed at fostering greater collaboration between the ministry, its agencies and other stakeholders in the maritime sector.

“The maritime sector is very crucial to the success of the Transformation Agenda of the current administration as it is the second largest revenue

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Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

A7 23

News earner for the country. The effective management of the sector will not only promote enabling environment for economic growth. t will add value to the economy by providing job opportunities for youths of this nation,” Umar said.

He said that the government would ensure that stakeholders in the sector worked in accordance with their statutory functions.

Ahmed

Kwara spends N11bn on road projects

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he Kwara State commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr Abubakar Kannike, has said that N11 billion was spent by the state government on road construction and rehabilitation in the last two years.

The commissioner made this known last Friday in Ilorin, the state capital, while briefing newsmen on the two years anniversary of Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed’s administration in the state.

He said the projects were the ones inherited from the former administration as well as those initiated by the present government.

Kannike said there was no abandoned project in the state while the state government is not owing any contractor handling the road projects.

The commissioner also said the administration inherited 28 road projects covering a length of 256.127 kilometres, adding that a total of 41 road projects had been completed and handed over while 31 others were on-going.

The commissioner also said the administration initiated 38 new asphalt roads across the state with a total length of 129.583 kilometres at a total cost of N6.7 billion.

“Out of this, a sum of N3.1 billion representing 47 per cent payment has been made.

Eight of these roads have been completed and delivered while 14 road projects have reached between 60 per cent to 90 per cent level of completion,” he added.

According to him, work on the remaining 16 roads have commenced while 14 were projected for completion by May, bringing completed roads to 58.

Kannike also said the state

government initiated 41 rural/ feeder roads with a total length of 368.65 kilometres across the state representing 46.70 per cent of the target of 800 kilometres.

“So far, the sum of N2.1 billion has been spent, 70 per cent of these roads have been completed while 30% is outstanding,” the commissioner added.

The State Commissioner for Energy, Sulu Oloje, said that a total of N1.5 billion had been expended on transformers in the last two years of the Ahmed administration.

According to him, between 2011 and 2013, a total of 136 transformers were procured while 129 were installed across the state.

He said the state government also provided electricity poles to 19 communities while street lights were provided in four areas with a total length of 11km.

The commissioner listed such areas to include Offa Garage, Geri Alimi to Isale Oja, University road in Tanke to university gate and Sango to Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour Studies.

In his own presentation, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Sidiq Abubakar, said that N1.9 billion had been spent to provide water since 2011.

According to him, a total of 334 boreholes were sunk across the state since 2012 while 11 water works were rehabilitated.

He said the government embarked on sinking 10 boreholes every month to make potable water available to the people.

Adesina laments importation of crude palm oil

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he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina has lamented the continued importation of crude palm oil into the country.

Adesina stated this last Friday when he played host to a delegation of Plantation Owners Forum Association of Nigeria (POFAN) led by Muyi Ladoja.

According to the minister, the continued importation of crude palm oil is the price the country is paying for the neglect of the sub-sector.

The minister gave the assurance that the Federal Government would recover all the sectors that were neglected.

Adesina said that the Federal Government had a challenge of waiver in the palm oil industry, adding that it was shameful that we were still importing crude palm oil.

He said that the issue of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation

Adesina

Scheme (ETLS) was of great concern to the Federal Government.

“I want you to come up with verifiable data on the ETLS to enable us discuss with the relevant ministries and get back to you,’’ the minister said, and promised to discuss the setting up of a development fund for the oil palm industry.

Earlier, Ladoja said that the continued importation of crude palm oil had threatened the livelihood of smallholder farmers. “It is not illegitimate to import crude palm oil into the country provided the appropriate duty is paid.’’

He said that the importation of crude palm oil through the ETLS protocols was being abused, and urged the Federal Government to intervene in the existing importation waivers.

He suggested that the Federal Government should exempt large-scale crude oil investments from paying company tax.

In his remarks, , President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Henry Olatunjoye said that 2,000 oil palm plantation had been abandoned by smallholder farmers due to importation.

He urged the Federal Government to address the situation before the smallholders sell off their plantations.

Dangote to construct $500m Tanzania cement plant

government.

The events leading to the ground breaking ceremony according to the statement, commenced in 2007 following discussions with the government of Tanzania by the Group and subsequent agreement on the proposed cement plant.

The plant is expected to be completed within 22 months.

Dangote said the commencement of the construction of the plant signposts another step forward in the Group and Tanzania’s mutually beneficial business relationship, which will further strengthen the ties between the two countries.

“Our investment in this sector, which is outside the traditional mining sector, is to take advantage of the abundance of limestone in the country and work towards making Tanzania self-sufficient in cement production. We must commend the government and people of Tanzania for the recent public sector and banking reforms, as well as revamped and new legislative frameworks, which had spurred private sector driven investment.”

The statement assured the people of Tanzania especially the host community of Mtwara of a new dawn as the company will impact positively on their lives. “While we are in business of creating wealth primarily, we are also mindful of the need to touch lives of people. As a company, we have always been conscious of the need to give a little of our profits back to the society as a guarantee for sustainable business success.

Meanwhile, the Terminal E Health Safety and Environment (HSE) Community of the Greenview Development Nigeria Limited, (GDNL), a subsidiary of the Dangote Group has organized a safety awareness campaign to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Managing Director of the Dangote Port Operations, Captain Joshua Oyewumi explained that safety at work place and its environment is key to the operations at the Dangote group and that a sound and healthy workforce means higher productivity.

He stated that the international Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that over two

I

n furtherance of its Pan African expansion drive, leading cement company, Dangote Cement Plc will today lay the foundation stones for the construction of its new $500 million cement plant in the East African country of United Republic of Tanzania.

A statement from the Dangote Group in Lagos indicated that the new plant with capacity for three million mtpa production already endorsed by the government of Tanzania is part of the industrial revolution and economic emancipation programme of the home

Dangote

million people suffer various injuries in the work place and that the tide had to be stemmed because injury to employees negates productivity.

Oyewumi stated that the safety awareness rally embarked upon by the workers to mark the day was meant to arouse their consciousness to the fact that safety and health at the work place is everybody’s business.

He pointed out that many professionals with jobs in the offices, retail location or other low risk commercial settings often take workplace safety for granted pointing out that injury at work was not exclusively reserved for those with dangerous outdoor jobs because each year, billions of naira are paid out as medical bills and compensation for employees workplace related injuries whether minor or major.

Edem

NTDC urged to raise tourism awareness in US

A

US-based tour operator, Paul Cohen, has urged the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) to raise the awareness of the Nigeria tourism market in the US. Cohen who is the President, Partners Concept Ltd., a US-based tourism company was quoted as saying that the awareness would attract more America tourists to the country. ``The Nigeria travel and tourism industry needs to understand the US market.

They must take steps to create and adapt this market to meet the demands of America tourists. Government needs to raise awareness in the US market to make Nigeria a must-see destination,’’ the statement said.

Cohen also said that the awareness would enhance Nigeria’s image as a tourism destination and as a leading nation in Africa.

He added that Nigeria had tourism products, ranging from natural beauty, culture and history that could attract American tourists.

According to him, American tourists are interested in the culture and historical aspects of the continent, adding that Africa is one of fastest-growing destination regions for U.S. overseas travellers. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

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Global News

Schulz

Germany reports sluggish first-quarter growth

G

ermany’s economy barely grew in the first quarter of 2013 as exports and investment shrank, figures show. But higher domestic consumption - thanks to rising wages - helped offset the declines in foreign trade and capital investment, raising hopes it will help drive a sustained recovery.

Gross domestic product rose 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter, but contracted 1.4 per cent compared with a year earlier.

The figure showed the economy narrowly avoided falling into a recession.

In the previous quarter, Germany’s annual economic output shrank by 0.7 per cent. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

In the latest GDP data, which confirmed a preliminary estimate, only household spending was positive, growing 0.8 per cent. Imports fell by 2.1 per cent and exports dropped 1.8 per cent, “Germany’s consumers ride to the rescue,” said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Bank.

“In 2013, Germany will have to rely largely on domestic demand for growth.

With consumption showing signs of strength and some bounce-back in investment after the long winter, the outlook for domestic demand is brightening,” he said.

“Strong fundamentals such as low unemployment, rising wages and low inflation are starting to have their ‘normal’ effect. And more growth is in store,” A separate survey of 2,000 households by market research group GfK showed consumer sentiment rose for the sixth month in a row.

GfK pointed to “the favourable and stable framework conditions in Germany. The high level of employment, favourable

wage agreements and slowing inflation are buoying sentiment.”

Business sentiment also showed a surprise rebound this month after two consecutive months of declines, according to the closely-watched Ifo business climate index released on Friday.

But some analysts still warned that the recovery was fragile.

Germany’s economy lost steam last year as the eurozone crisis and weakness in China hit exports.

“The data also hold an inconvenient truth,” said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING, stressing that “Without its exports, the German economy is currently only like a sports car without sixth gear.”

News Corp said last year that it was separating its entertainment and publishing businesses, partly as a result of the UK phone-hacking scandal in 2011, in which journalists gained illegal access to the phone messages of many well-known people and allegedly bribed members of the UK police force.

It closed the News of the World newspaper in 2011 following the scandal.

The new News Corp will be an independent publicly traded company and will have $2.6 billion (£1.7bn) in cash when the spin-off is completed at the end of next month.

The publishing spin-off will retain its ownership of newspaper titles, including the Wall Street Journal and the Times newspapers in the UK. The more lucrative TV and film business will include the US news channel Fox News and the 20th Century Fox film studio.

Fox television stations benefited from an increase in political advertising revenues driven by the US presidential elections.

The company’s movie business was boosted by the theatre release of the Life of Pi, which grossed more than $500 million.

Sasini, Kenyan tea and coffee producer records higher profit

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Murdoch

News Corp to split in two on 28 June

N

ews Corp has announced it will officially split its publishing and entertainment businesses on 28 June.

Its board approved the separation into two firms, which will both be headed by the current chairman and chief executive, Rupert Murdoch.

The publishing firm will retain the News Corp brand, while the other will be renamed 21st Century Fox. Shareholders had voiced worries about the damage done by events at the News of the World.

enyan tea and coffee producer Sasini reported a 61 per cent rise in its firsthalf pre-tax profit last Friday, which it said was mostly due to higher tea and coffee sales and better tea prices, although it cut its dividend.

Its pre-tax profit rose to 286.4 million shillings ($3.4 million), while earnings per share rose to 0.91 shillings for the six months ending in March from 0.78 shillings in the same period a year ago.

“The increase in profits is largely as a result of higher production and sales volumes for tea and coffee and also improved tea prices,” the company said in a statement.

“The results were however negatively impacted by significantly lower coffee prices and the effects of a stronger

Caesar Mwangi, MD Sasini Tea

Kenya shilling.”

Sasini said that its performance was further curbed by rising labour, power and agricultural input costs which narrowed margins. Total revenue rose seven per cent to 1.47 billion shillings.

Sasini, which is also involved in dairy farming, horticulture, tourism and retailing, said it would pay an interim dividend of 0.25 shillings per share, down from 0.50 shillings per share last year.

interest for the investment were housing, energy and infrastructure.

Bick

Manchester United cuts debt costs

M

Mahama

Ghana-Turkey trade to hit $1bn by 2015

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urkey and Ghana have indicated their commitment to increase bilateral trade portfolio from the current $500 million to $1 billion by 2015.

Aydin Nurham, the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Ghana disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s president John Mahama in Accra.

President Mahama on his part indicated that Ghana and Turkey were halfway through in achieving the $1 billion trade portfolio, and indicated that Ghana was committed to achieving that target.

The discovery of oil and gas in Ghana in 2007, a stable democratic credential and a growing middle class has made the West African country an attractive destination for investors.

There have been at least 10 key Turkish business delegations to Ghana in the past year. Not only have both countries re-opened their respective diplomatic missions, but trade exhibitions and fairs between both countries are regular events these days.

President Mahama and Vice president Kwesi AmissahArthur have both visited Turkey separately this year while the Turkish President Abdulla Gul and Prime Minister Recep Erdogan have both visited Ghana in the last few years.

On the sidelines of the annual Eurasia Economic Summit (in Istanbul, Turkey in April this year, a Turkish investment associationMUSAID- pledged to invest $1.5 billion in Ghana’s economy. The Vice-president of MUSAID in charge of Foreign Relations Mutlu Bozkurt indicated that the areas of

anchester United has struck a new loan deal to cut the amount of interest it pays on its huge debts.

The Premier League club, which is owned by the Glazer family, has refinanced £178 million of outstanding debt, a move that should save it £10 million a year.

The Glazers bought Manchester United in 2005, taking out hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of loans to fund the takeover.

That has prompted concerns over the financial stability of the club.

It still has about £307 million in debts, but has continued to enjoy on-field success under the Glazers, with five Premier League titles and one Champions League victory.

The club has also spent significant amounts of money on big name signings, including Robin van Persie from Arsenal last year.

Its finances continue to be bolstered by TV revenues.

In the 2012-13 season, it is reported to have made more than £60 million - more than any other club.

The refinancing deal has been struck with Bank of America and means that interest rates on the loans of between 8.75 per cent and 8.38 per cent will be cut to a variable rate.

Last year, the club paid about £50 million in interest alone.

David Bick, chairman of Square1 consulting, told Radio 5 live that the deal meant Manchester United would now be paying off their debts “on more reasonable terms”.

He said the club still had “a long way to go” in paying off its debts, but said the Glazers appeared to have made the most of the club’s global presence, which has drawn revenue in from places such as East Asia.

“It’s a massive global brand, they have extracted commercial income from all corners of the globe,” he said. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

A9 25

He belongs to the retailing cadre of the entrepreneurial divide where he operates under the brand name Polo, a company which started some two decades ago selling watches, jewelleries and assorted bags. Today, Polo has become the leader in the luxurywatch and jewellery market as the exclusive agency in Nigeria for some of the finest Swiss watch and jewellery brands. This is the story of John Obayuwana, the Rolex man, who is also making significant inroads in the construction sector in Nigeria

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

T

Obayuwana

he story of John Obayuwana, the brain behind Polo Limited, Nigeria’s foremost luxury item collection firm, is indeed, an interesting one to behold. Ordinarily, by Nigeria’s standard, wrist watch retailing, the type of business he had decided to venture into could be said not to be a money-spinning business. This is because; the watch market in Nigeria is an unstructured and an-all-comers affair, estimated at about over 55 million units. It is a market that is dominated by inferior low-end watches imported daily mainly from Asia.

But not one to be daunted by this palpable trepidation, Obayuwana went into the business of selling watches with style. Twenty six years after he established Polo, the result of his business adventure has been glaring and he has been able to show that he is an example of a dogged businessman who thrives where others dread. His company, Polo, has been able to maintain a reputation that has soared over the years through a painstaking artistry.

When he chose to venture into the business of selling watches, Obayuwana certainly knew he had to do it with a difference to stand out from the crowd. From the word go, Obayuwana positioned himself at the high to middle segment of Nigeria’s luxury goods market. With the mindset that there are always the precious few in every society who are driven by some inner force to excel in all they do, and for the fact that they need materials that could show their class in the society, Obayuwana targeted top governments officials as well as wealthy and influential individuals.

At a time when many people would look down on the business as a degrading enterprise, Obayuwana approached his business with the mindset of a man set to conquer his world.

Continued on pg A10

Business Courage

For Obayuwana, the idea behind Polo is beauty; a devotion to beauty with focus on bringing excitement to people’s lives. His work style speaks of excellence, a quality which has earned him the franchise as a Rolex agent in Nigeria.

Obayuwana started Polo in 1987, as a watch retailing business to serve the crop of highly successful, articulate, sophisticated individuals with eyes for some of the best things of life.

The world of Polo began as a devotion to beauty and a refined way of doing things that seek perfection at all times. The name Polo has come to mean beauty to its highly placed clients, a four-letter stamp of good quality products and services on watches, jewellery and other exceptional products. Its quest to satisfy the needs of its discerning and affluent clientele, led the company through the portals of the makers.

However, just like it is for every other business, the road to success for Obayuwana’s Polo did not come on a platter of gold. What stands him out in this line of business, he admits, is being able to stay true to the core values of intimacy with its customer service, as well as to its core beliefs in integrity. Polo, Obayuwana noted, has over the years been able to keep to honesty as it stays true to values that bring nobility, honesty and enablement to individuals. “We have firmly resisted the short cut, because the short cut can bring you big success in the short term but in the long term, you will be out of business and you are nothing without a name. We have resisted this even when it is not the fashionable thing to do because out there, everybody is in a hurry; we are not very fashionable. If you like, you can call us traditional. We believe that there are some core values that shouldn’t shift with fashion; we have passed through phases and here we are,” he said in a recent interview.

Obayuwana’s journey into the luxury goods business did not come by accident. Having studied in the United Kingdom, he was able to have established connections with makers of luxury goods, particularly in Switzerland.

He couldn’t recall how much he started the business with, but Obayuwana admitted that though he started the business with very little or no capital, sheer hard work, integrity and determination to succeed remained the major plank upon which the Polo business was built.

Today, Polo is the exclusive agent in Nigeria for world-class luxury brands for wrist-watches, jewellery, leather goods and

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Monday, May 27, 2013

In Polo we do not cut corners, we have a name and our name speaks for us. We spent over 20 years building the Polo brand and we are happy and proud of the business we do

other fine accessories. “It’s been good. We started small and we have grown. We have been growing steadily over the years.

There have been challenges along the way but overall, it’s been good,” he said.

Though Polo is a fully independent business built with a set of governing principles, but just like most luxury brands around the world, the business is strongly rooted in the Oba-

‘

A10 26

yuwana family, with John and Jennifer in charge of the day-today running of the business.

Jennifer, the eldest child is the Executive Director at Polo.

A 2004 graduate of Business Administration from the American University of Paris, France and International Relations from Franklin College Switzerland in 2006, Jennifer joined her father in the running of the business after completing her

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studies and has contributed to the expansion of the business.

She has a keen eye for luxury and an undeniable sense of style, which she has used to further advance the course of her father’s business.

No doubt, Polo seems to have been built on a solid foundation of hard work and loyalty, the attributes which have kept it ahead of its competitors. Polo also draws on its wealth of strong connections with the major luxury brands of the world. Creativity is also a core part of the business and Polo believes that in its quest for excellence, its employees need to think out of the box.

The company gives priority to the personal and professional growth of its employees to enable constant improvement in retail processes and customer service and satisfaction.

In its 26 years of doing retail business in West Africa, Polo has achieved significant milestones, one of which is winning the exclusivity to a number of world class luxury goods - wrist watches, fine jewellery, leather products, ball pens and accessories from brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Rolex,

Piaget, Hublot, Roger Dubuis, Chopard, Cartier, Frank Muller, Longines, Rado, Balmain, Baume & Mercier and Mont Blanc and many more In a rare feat of maintaining standard as renowned retailers of some of the world’s most luxurious goods, the company launched the first functional Rolex approved workshop in West Africa last year. This is a major milestone in the history of luxury retailing in the region which came after Polo announced in 2010 that it had acquired the exclusive franchise and sole distributorship rights of Rolex in Nigeria.

Obayuwana said that Rolex occupies a very unique position at the top of wrist watch making industry. “Everybody wants Rolex because not only is it a only recognized brand, it is also probably the most exclusive brand in the world,” he said. He further spoke on the strength of the Polo brand saying “in Polo we do not cut corners, we have a name and our name speaks for us. We spent over 20 years building the Polo brand and we are happy and proud of the business we do”.

On why he decided to collaborate with Rolex, Obayuwana said that Rolex connotes prestige, luxury, durability and store of value. Rolex is the most renowned watch brand in the world. It is truly a special piece.

“When you talk of watches generally, there are watches and there are watches. If you are talking of watches at the highest level of performance, at the highest level of technical excellence, that is one level. There is another level that has to do with watches in the mid-range.

Then you have watches that just barely tell you the time which you pick up in any street corner for peanuts. But they are also watches. So, it’s difficult to group watches generally. But when you speak about Rolex, you speak of watches at the highest peak of excellence, perfection and performance.

And you think of watches that are made with details, high tech that modern technology can provide; a product of the ingenuity of human technical knowhow. That is what we mean when we talk of Rolex.”

Obayuwana is so passionate about the Rolex brand. “Everybody knows Rolex. It occupies a very unique position at the top of the wristwatch making industry and has a special pride of place. It is the core. If you have a watch collection and there is no Rolex in it, it is not complete, because not only is it recognized, not only is it sought after by kings, royalty, leaders in government and politics, from arts, name them, it is also the most inspirational brand in

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We have firmly resisted the short cut. Because the short cut can bring you big success in the short term but in the long term, you are out of business and you have no name. We have done this even when it is not the fashionable thing to do because we believe that there are core values that shouldn’t shift with the winds, with fashion

the world,” he said.

“You just must have a Rolex. When you have bought one, then you must want to buy another because it has a range of collection from everyday wear, knock about in stainless steel to the dress watch to the gala evening, special dinners, big business meetings, and they have activity watches - sports watches; watches that you can take under the sea at a depth of 4,000 feet. These are marvellous watches. And then, there is what they call the pilot watch,” he said.

According to Obayuwana, what is unique about all of this is that Rolex holds its value.

“This is the strongest thing about Rolex. It absolutely retains its value. It is not a fashion object that is simply flashy in your face and after one or two years it ceases to be hot and you discard it. Rolex is an iconic brand that started at the turn of the last century and some of those pieces today still exist in private collections.

“The most actively traded watch at auctions is Rolex .You can always be sure that the value of your Rolex will keep increasing and you lose very little.

We are happy to introduce Rolex to the Nigerian people and we recommend it to all connoisseurs, to all taste makers. We recommend it to all successful people because they call it a crown for every achievement. In fact, that is how they describe Rolex in addition to what they say: that Rolex is the king of watches and also the watch for kings,” he states of the brand that was won by one of Britain’s most popular fictional heroes – Special Agent 007, James Bond, for decades.

Obviously, Rolex is not the

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Business Courage A11 27

Monday, May 27, 2013

only luxury brand stocked by Obayuwana’s Polo stores. From the world’s oldest brand name in watch manufacturing Vacheron Constantin to Chopard and Piaget, Polo is the go-to place for these and other luxury brands.

“We have managed to secure the exclusive agency in Nigeria for some of the world’s most exclusive wristwatches and jewellery brands. Vacheron Constantin is over 200 years old.

We are talking about Chopard which styles and dresses the stars, celebrities, all the moguls, the big names in the arts.

We are also talking about Piaget. In the world, there are three brands that are considered over all brands and Polo is privileged to represent these three. These are the Rolls Royce of the watch and beauty industry,” Obayuwana states with his trademark broad grin.

Obayuwana attributed Polo’s phenomenal rise to the fact the company has never deviated from its values. “By staying true to our core value of intimacy with our customers, of staying true to our core belief in integrity that we are true to our word and we remain true to the values that bring nobility and honesty that brings ennoblement to the individual.

“We have firmly resisted the short cut. Because the short cut can bring you big success in the short term but in the long term, you are out of business and you have no name. We have done this even when it is not the fashionable thing to do because we believe that there are core values that shouldn’t shift with the winds, with fashion.”

That philosophy has helped Polo record an impressive growth from a modest presence on Allen Avenue, Ikeja where

Obayuwana

the company started from about two decades ago to the exclusive zones such as Transcorp Hilton in Abuja and The Palms in Lagos where its shops are today.

Obayuwana noted that the relationship between Rolex and Polo goes beyond franchise as it won Rolex’s sole and exclusive distribution and retail right of Rolex watches in West Africa.

“Franchise is a typical market.

I will give you an instance. You have a global Radisson Hotel and you own Radisson Hotel in Nigeria. All you need to do is pay them a fee for using that name. With a similar arrangement, you can also have Hoss Electronics. The parent Hoss organisation will do the interior, they will furnish it, they will train your people and they will give you every other support.

You can write your invoice with Hoss logo. But you own it and every year you pay royalty to Hoss. Now that is franchise. We are retailers and that is already more than prestigious alone.

The relationship also entitles us to all the necessary back-up support,” he said in an interview.

But how did the exclusive distribution came about? According to Obayuwana, the exclusive distribution came through the company’s commitment to the highest value of watch making, commitment

to the best brands which it believes are the most trusted watches as well as its commitment to the core values of service excellence. “They came and investigated our business, they looked at our structures, they have seen our capability, sufficiently enough for them to say okay, we trust you to represent us in Nigeria,” he said.

Today, Obayuwana believes that Polo doesn’t have any close competitor in the watch market. Rather, competition comes more from London, Paris and Dubai. “Of course, there are many vendors out there who are also trying to take a piece of the action. They must be quite a lot, but I don’t know of any who has the set up that we have, who has the organization that we have, who has the family of brands that we have. I don’t really know,” he boasted.

However, aside Polo which Obayuwana is largely known for, he is also the Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of CAT Oil & Gas Limited as well as CAT Construction Group Limited.

CAT Construction’s fields and scope of activities include infrastructural development of new townships, settlements and industrial areas which include infrastructural highway development and construction of bridges, flyovers and tunnels, construction of runways,

airplane shelter and other aviation infrastructures. CAT construction group also deals in construction of administrative buildings, hospitals, healthcare centres and schools as well as construction of shops and market buildings, construction of residential, condominiums and apartment buildings.

Since its incorporation years ago, the company has been able to execute many projects like the Erosion Control Works, Pinnock Beach Estate Infrastructure Project, Five Star International Hotel, Abakaliki, Aruma House, Port-Harcourt, New Secretariat Complex at Yenagoa, Protea Cattle Ranch Conference- Obudu, New Airport Road, Novotel Hotel Festac, Administrative Office Complex PH and Tinapa Business Resort. Others are Nigerian Security Printing and Minting, 1004 Estate Limited, Peace garden city project as well as many private residential buildings.

But behind the veneer of luxury lies a heartache seldom seen by the public. The global economic slump has dealt a severe blow to customers’ capacity to patronize luxury brands. For luxury goods, the picture was a lot dimmer as that sector tends to feel the squeeze in the event of an economic downturn. But the Polo boss has a less pessimistic view. “Everybody went through it. You go up, you go down, and you go up again. It is normal. We lost money, everybody lost money, the banks are not lending. We go through it because if you are prepared for the good times, you also must prepare for the bad times and we are not complaining all the time. We are moving forward,” he said.

The biggest challenge for Obayuwana however stems from the virtual collapse of basic infrastructure like stable electricity and good roads. The absence of these and several other social amenities are sad points of reference for the average Nigerian. However, Obayuwana’s sense of optimism would not allow him dwell more on those aspects. “Doing business in Nigeria can be difficult but there is also a silver lining.

We have the people, we have the market, and we have the resources.

“Of course, there are challenges like unreliable electricity, the bad condition of our roads, but it is our still home. Nigeria is one place that a young man, an entrepreneur with a dream can start something and make it. Nigeria gives a lot of opportunity to those who dare. If you are hard working, you will be successful in this country much more than you would be if you were living in Europe,” he said. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

10 Questions

We must end casualisation in – ASSIBIFI President Olusoji Salako is the President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (ASSIBIFI) and hopes to succeed Peter Esele as President-General of the Trade Union Congress in June. In this interview with Meshack Idehen, the ASSIBIFI President spoke passionately about his desire for the labour movement, particularly ending casualisation and other workplace related challenges. He also said that the growing unemployment challenge presently confronting the country can be reduced with the institutionalisation of a strong economic and monetary union. Excerpts...

The banking industry is also contending with several other issues apart from those that are labour related. What do you think can be done by stakeholders to address all or some of these challenges?

Before now, everybody in the banking industry was just doing with impunity, whatever they felt like doing. That is why for example, some managing directors, chief executive officers and other top

officials of banks that ordinarily should not be seen or known were constantly reported moving around in a convoy of cars with security details as if they are state governors. This is because they spend a lot of money and also because they have a lot of money at their disposal.

As an association, we are constantly thinking and trying out new ideas of how to grapple with the challenges the sector is facing. We (ASSIBIFI) are not in any way limited to the issues of labour and workers welfare alone. ASSIBIFI has contributed in no small measure toward initiating policies that can move the sector forward. This is aside other efforts that may not be readily visible to those outside the sector.

On what can be done to address these challenges, including those that ASSIBIFI may not directly have a hand in controlling, it is important that government develop the right political will to implement its own policy. If you deploy money into a system, effort must be made to ensure that the system works. When government begins to do things and write several versions of its own policy, then there is a problem. Government must develop the right political will to tackle the issues involved.

What is responsible for the many difficulties associated with being able to receive assistance from banks in terms of loans and extension of credit facilities, particularly for small and growing businesses?

Banks don’t keep or deliberately hold on to money for the fun of it. Commercial bank exists for the purpose of expanding the growth of the economy through support for business and initiatives that can grow and boost the economy through funding support.

However, the challenges’ associated with banks lending, especially the high level of infrastructural deficiency has not helped matters. Most commercial banks spend a large part of time and resources chasing loan beneficiaries in order to recover facilities that have been extended to them, because a large part of what is given to those seeking support is spent by them on getting and maintaining infrastructure for their business, instead of ploughing it into their core business.

This is a big problem, since many are not able to continue and grow their business

after putting all those things in place.

You have indicated your interest to succeed the outgoing Trade Union Congress president come June. What informed your decision to decide to become the TUC president general?

You will agree with me that the Trade Union Congress under Peter Esele has achieved unbelievable heights as far as enhancing the welfare of the Nigerian workers are concerned. This is aside his achievements in other areas that organised labour is having issues with.

Nevertheless, there is the need to consolidate and build on the achievements already recorded. So apart from raising the bar to consolidate on the gains of the outgoing president-general, it is my wish and that of the nation’s workers to take organised labour in general and the TUC in particular to the next level. More so, the decision to run for the presidency of the TUC is one that was collectively reached through very wider and all embracing consultations with all relevant and important stakeholders within and around the labour movement.

As an aspirant, there is an enormous amount of common ground between our affiliate associations in TUC that I would utilise to consolidate on the gains on

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ground. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason for us not to work together, particularly since we are all seeking to advance the cause and interest of the nation’s workers.

What in particular in terms of tangible

Before now, everybody in the banking industry was just doing with impunity, whatever they felt like doing. That is why for example, some managing directors, chief executive officers and other top officials of banks that ordinarily should not be seen or known were constantly reported moving around in a convoy of cars with security details as if they are state governors. This is because they spend a lot of money and also because they have a lot of money at their disposal

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Y

ou rose to prominence on the strength of your agitations for improved and stable work and wage environment for workers in the financial service sector. How has it been running ASSIBIFI, and how would you describe the journey thus far?

The financial services sector with particular emphasis on the banking and insurance sub-sectors has witnessed a lot of transformation over the last few years. You will recall that along the line, after the crisis of the early 90’s, what I will call the cowboys came and hijacked the banking system with new ideas and new templates. Many of them also came with the idea of marketing, lacking sadly, however, in operational sagacity. During that period, as long as you can bring money into the system, you can become anything.

So coming into ASSIBIFI has provided a platform and an opportunity to initiate and implement a consummate and wholistic approach to the financial service sector operations, keeping in mind that banking in particular requires a conservative approach meriting the trust of the people.

Banking sector thrives on public confidence, anything short of that is not meeting the expectations of what banking and allied financial services should be.

However, because of the challenges that that era of banking threw on the country, it was not expected that labour agitation and the associated challenges would arise. As the president of ASSIBIFI, it has been our responsibilities to devise and evolve ways and means by which we can anticipate and deal with these issues as they arise, considering in particular that labour issues in the banking and financial sector is different from labour issues in other sectors.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A13 29

Monday, May 27, 2013

n work places

Casualisation in the banking sector, just like other sectors in the economy has continued to remain a challenge.

What can be done to tackle the problem of casuslisation of workers in Nigeria?

Much as we are of the belief that the era of strikes and protests should give way to constructive, engaging and productive dialogue and superior arguments, casualisation is one of the numerous challenges that the Nigerian economy and not just the banking sector alone is facing and grappling with.

and visible objectives would you seek to pursue and achieve when you become TUC president?

Apart from the provision of a robust platform for social change and justice for workers as well as solid intervention thrust that promotes industrial democracy in Nigeria which my presidency of TUC will strive to achieve, the establishment of a functional and well-equipped secretariat with highly skilled and motivated staff is an objective that we will also assiduously pursue.TUC under our leadership will also ensure that the congress is equipped with multiple streams of income to meet its obligations to the toiling workers in Nigeria.

It is for these reasons and many more that I am urging other aspirants to key into the “moving train of TUC’s development projects” by aligning with us to take the labour centre to the next level.

Personally I believe other contestants will support me to win the coming election to enable the labour centre to take a stand on matters that affect workers.

There are speculations that some individuals are keen on ensuring that a particular candidate with links to the government emerges as TUC president. What is your response to these insinuations?

TUC and indeed the organised labour

Casualisation is another form of modern day slavery and we are determined to confront and put an end to the scourge. Decent work and decent pay is the right of all and any worker. It is sad though that Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all manner of goods, services and policies, no thanks in a large part to the Indians and Chinese.

We have taken and will keep taking steps to tackle the problem. Both ASSIBIFI and its parent’s body, the TUC has repeatedly urged the Federal Government to invoke the relevant laws of the country against companies that enslave Nigerians through the practice of casualisation and contract staffing.

Central labour organisation including the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) is also seeking appropriate sanctions against companies including those outside of the financial services sector like the oil and gas companies that violate the expatriate quota rules and promote casualisation.

However, it should be noted that the practice of casualisation is gradually abating in the banking sector, but oil and gas companies have remained adamant despite all previous conferences and dialogues between the organised labour and the management of the companies.

In times past, what we had in our country is that you work for a period of two years in the oil and gas industry and then you become a staff, once you are found to be able to discharge your duties

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What is in vogue now is contract staffing and casualisation and once you are a casual or contract staff, it means you can wake up in the morning and by four o’ clock, you are out of job. In this country now, there are people who have been casuals and contract workers for up to 15 years and they don’t have any benefits attached to their contract of employment

very well, you start enjoying the benefits of being a staff.

What is in vogue now is contract staffing and casualisation and once you are a casual or contract staff, it means you can wake up in the morning and by four o’ clock, you are out of job. In this country now, there are people who have been casuals and contract workers for up to 15 years and they don’t have any benefits attached to their contract of employment. All these, we must put an end to through policy formulation and adequate engagement with those involved, alongside invoking relevant laws when necessary.

The issue of unemployment, including the type caused by sometimes premature disengagement of workers has remained a sore point between the organised labour and the government.

How do you think unemployment and the challenges it produces can be addressed?

It is only when a strong economic and monetary union is in place that unemployment would be sustainably addressed and be reduced. The three tiers of government as a matter of compulsion and will must provide opportunities for youth through, self-employment initiatives, as well as a sustained economic growth. Also, a conducive economic atmosphere must be created and sustained for the economy to thrive and for jobs to be created and sustained.

How do you believe labour and government can work together to achieve remarkable industrial growth and harmony?

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as a whole is administered by the will and voice of the people. These rumours within and outside the circle of the organised labour that the Federal Government and its allies are tacitly throwing their weight behind candidates that are known to be close to the government are neither here nor there. Government is a responsible stakeholder in organised labour, and i believe it would not do thing that would indicate otherwise. As an analysts said, the influence of government may or may not be felt, as TUC being a highly organised labour union always ensures it succumbs to the will of the people.

My presidency of the TUC will observe the core role of the trade unions in various institutional settings in the protection of the rights and welfare of workers, campaign against unfair and unjust labour practices, champion the cause of progressive labour legislations, and proceed to more strategic mandate in building the Nigeria of our dream.

It is only by coming together and presenting frank arguments devoid of deceit that such collaboration can work.

Like I said earlier, it is not all issues, disputes or disagreements that requires or calls for strike or public protests.

Nigerian workers should be made to feel appreciated for the effort they are putting through adequate and timely wages, and provision of decent workplace. The average Nigerian workers unlike their counterparts in other parts of the world only look to government to provide the atmosphere for them to thrive and be productive. So, the government must always put these factors into consideration when dealing with workers and labour related issues.

What edge or advantage would you say you are bringing on board as you seek to become TUC president?

The sagacity and the know-how to take the TUC to the next level I have got. When elected as President-General of the TUC, I will use the opportunity to call for an effective implementation of international labour standards in law and in practice, and the normalisation of the industrial relations processes in the country. The Labour Act must be changed, and workers must have the right to bargain collectively, and decisions reached must be implemented and protected in practice.

There is an urgent need for the review of the nation’s Labour Act to protect workers, because. So far, the Labour Act does not protect the workers from discrimination and union busting, and it puts workers in difficult situations (and) at the mercy of their employers.” BC

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Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The crave for enterprise social networking More firms seems to be adopting the use of enterprise social networking (ESN) products replicating Facebook-like and Twitter-like functionality for workplaces, but there are serious doubts if Africans businesses are toeing the line

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

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oing by a recent research released by Avanade, a global business technology solutions and managed services provider, from a global survey on adoption of social collaboration technologies by 4,000 end users and 1,000 business and IT decision-makers in 22 countries, it has been revealed that more businesses are using social networking technologies in the enterprise.

Enterprise social networking (ESN) products replicating Facebook-like and Twitter-like functionality for workplaces have been around for about five years. ESNs are internal platforms designed to foster collaboration, communication and knowledge-sharing among employees. Because they are social, they are intended to be engaging, encouraging adoption and participation. However, many ESNs struggle to attract users.

The value of ESN is undeniable in enhancing employee collaboration and communication, but many ESN implementations have failed to deliver on their promise for various reasons, such as lack of integration with third-party business software and poorly planned deployments, a Microsoft official said.

However, Avanade’s research also reveals common misconceptions when it comes to social collaboration. Those who have adopted social networking technologies in their company reported using consumer-oriented social technologies including Facebook (74 per cent) for collaboration at twice the rate of Microsoft SharePoint (39 per cent), four times more than IBM Open Connections (17 per cent), and six times more than Sales-

force Chatter (12 per cent).

However, recent data has shown that this trend may change in the next 12 months.

Decision-makers planning to adopt social technologies report Microsoft SharePoint (23 per cent) and Salesforce Chatter (23 per cent) at the top of their list of collaboration deployments planned in the coming year.

Though Facebook is currently ranked number one among social collaboration technologies in use today, when asked what social tools businesses wanted to adopt in the next year, Facebook fell to the very end of the list with only eight per cent of decision-makers respondents noting it as a priority.

Avanade’s research also shows that majority of businesses that have adopted social collaboration tools are seeing benefits and making plans to adopt more social tools in the future.

Key data findings include: eager adopters are leveraging social technologies at work – approximately eight in 10 decisionmakers (77 per cent) and seven in 10 end users (68 percent) report using enterprise social networking technologies.

Of those businesses currently using social collaboration tools, 82 per cent want to use more of them in the future.

Across the board, IT and business decision-makers, along with end users, report positive outcomes from their use of social collaboration technologies in the enterprise. IT decision-makers report these social technologies make their jobs more enjoyable (66 per cent), make them more productive (62 per cent), and help them get work done faster (57 per cent).

With all the positive perceptions and business outcomes,

a healthy minority of business and IT decision-makers (23 per cent) have not yet adopted social collaboration tools in the enterprise.

“Businesses have a variety of needs and expectations driving adoption of collaboration tools.

And the consumerisation of IT has raised expectations among employees about the social technologies that they can use to collaborate inside and outside of the organisation,” said Rudi Greyling, Avanade South Africa’s chief technology officer and innovation director. “To fully maximise the opportunity around these tools, successful collaboration strategies will align closely to the goals of the business, while prioritising the needs of end users, and be supported by the right tools, training and policies to promote adoption throughout the organisation.

Furthermore, as reported in the 2013 Accenture Technology Vision, integrating collaboration into business processes will also transform the way work is done in the enterprise. We see huge opportunity for business results with the right social collaboration strategy in place.”

Meanwhile, in a related development, Microsoft has said it sees a big opportunity in that market, to which some feel the maker of Windows and Office has been slow to respond as SharePoint isn’t late to enterprise social networking.

Microsoft’s approach will be to increase enterprise social features in SharePoint, as part of an integrated, organic collaboration platform that also includes Lync, Outlook and its Office productivity applications, said Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s senior director of SharePoint product management.

“We believe social technologies will be incredibly important in transforming the way people interact with organizations. But we also think much of the discussion happening in the industry today, led by the pure play, standalone social vendors, is somewhat misguided,” he said.

“Social shouldn’t be implemented just for social’s sake, but for business sake. It shouldn’t just replicate Facebook for the enterprise, but rather focus very squarely on task completion, on helping people get their jobs done,” Spataro added.

Spataro declined to give specifics about how this vision and strategy will be manifested in Microsoft collaboration products, but said that SharePoint has been gaining enterprise social features since its 2003 version, continued adding them in its 2007 and 2010 versions, and will pursue a “people-centric” model going forward.

“The first 10 years of SharePoint’s life were very clearly focused on documents. It was a document-centric system. That’s exactly what the industry wanted at the time,” he said. “As we look towards the next 10 years of SharePoint, we want to maintain that document strength but we’re also going to increasingly

become a people-centric system.”

Vendors like NewsGator have provided ESN capabilities to SharePoint for years, meeting the demand of customers who weren’t satisfied with the native social collaboration features of the product.

“There have always been places where the partner ecosystem has been able to innovate faster than we have, so they produce solutions on top” of SharePoint, he said.

However, some like Forrester analyst Rob Koplowitz feel that Microsoft has been slow on the uptake.

“Microsoft has lagged behind vendors with more focused offerings. The decision to use SharePoint as a primary delivery device for enterprise social capabilities has advantages but speed to market is not one of them and enterprise social is a fast moving market,” he said.

Faster moving vendors that have a delivery mechanism that allows keeping up with consumer trends have had the advantage so far, he said. SharePoint’s biggest functional shortfall has been its lack of native Twitterlike micro blogging and Facebook-like activity streams, Koplowitz said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A15 31

Monday, May 27, 2013

Technotalk

Greyling

But there are those who believe that the social enterprise networks have failed to promote economic development in Africa.

Although social networks were thought to offer a solution to state incapacity and market failure, the proliferation of socially embedded enterprise networks across Africa has generated disorder and economic decline rather than development.

Though Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, another research company had predicted that by the end of 2013 more than 90 per cent of Fortune 500 companies will have partially or fully implemented an Enterprise Social Network (ESN), a 70 per cent increase over 2011, according to a recent survey, if registration is required, some 20 to 30 per cent of employees will not sign up. Of those who register, only a third will read content once a week or more and just 40 per cent will make an ESN post

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in the average month.

While those numbers might appear low considering some of the more optimistic projections for ESNs, they reflect the challenges companies have always faced popularizing internal networking technologies. Enterprise tools for sharing internal information (Intranets) have been available since the mid1990s (albeit without the social aspect), but even when every employee’s homepage is the Intranet, more than half don’t use it on a daily basis. In short, employee engagement may be a perennial issue for internal knowledge-sharing platforms.

How do the numbers from the survey correspond to consumer-oriented social networks?

Some consumer-oriented social networks have large numbers of members signed up, but in general the proportion of active users is very much in line with this year’s ESN survey. About 58

We believe social technologies will be incredibly important in transforming the way people interact with organizations.

But we also think much of the discussion happening in the industry today, led by the pure play, standalone social vendors, is somewhat misguided

per cent read posts once a week or less and 56 percent make less than one post a week4. A separate study suggests five percent of users create 75 per cent of content5.

It is also assumed that there may be a natural ceiling on social network usage, with any network eventually comprising a small group of super-users who contribute most content, a larger group that reads but doesn’t create and a final group that doesn’t create or consume6.

Another belief is that it might be expected that ESNs, being relatively new technologies, would primarily appeal to younger employees. In fact, the same survey said that in 40-49 year olds were more than 40 per cent more likely to have registered and more than 100 percent more likely to post more than four times per month than 20-29 year olds. This may not surprise those inside the enterprise who implement ESN solutions, but might surprise many outsiders who have a preconception about which age groups are most active on social networks.

According to the same survey, a large proportion of employees feel that time restrictions prevent them from using ESNs regularly, or at all. Many don’t have a clear idea of the potential uses and benefits, or may believe they are already overloaded with information and can’t be bothered to keep up with yet another social network.

On what can companies do to improve the success rate of ESNs, the survey indicates that users feel their ESN experience could be improved if the company incorporated the ESN into existing business processes. In addition, a ‘how to’ guide and a list of potential uses and success stories would be valuable while about a third of those who use an ESN say it has made a positive impact on their work.

According to the research, a more positive way of appraising ESNs might be as a relatively low-cost, risk-managed, complementary method of communication and collaboration (internal and perhaps external) that may not be appropriate for every user and every communication, but which may be productive for some people in some contexts.

Employees are being offered more and more tools, each of which is increasingly specialized. As the number of available tools rises, the number of tools not used also rises: an inescapable consequence of proliferating choices. On the other hand, the current generation of ESN tools is only a few years old.

It concluded that organizations that expect enterprisewide ESN adoption in the very near term are likely to be disappointed; whereas those that regard ESNs as simply another form of communication that is better than Instant Messaging (IM) and email for certain groups at certain times are more likely to be satisfied. BC

with Esther Ozue (ozueesther@nationalmirroronline.net) 08059234648 (sms only)

iPad /iPhone as mobile recording studio, dictation machine

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pple’s iPad is a touch-screen tablet that’s changing the way people look at computers. Virtual keyboard that’s built into Apple’s iPad/iPhone, makes it easier for typing important notes, reminders, to-do lists, and memo; and it can as well be used for digital recording and as a dictation machine.

Recordings made on an iPad/iPhone, can be edited, shared with others via email, synchronized with a primary computer, uploaded to an online service, or listened to. Synchronizing a recording with a cloud-based file sharing service, such as iCloud, Dropbox, or with a primary computer using the iTunes sync process, is extremely useful.

Transferring your recordings to a primary computer allows you to easily edit, listen to, and archive them and allows you to free up internal storage space within your iOS (operating system) mobile device, because long audio recordings become large digital files, which take up significant storage space on your mobile device.

There are many different apps that can be used for dictation / audio recording by your iPhone/iPad and some of them are discussed below: Evernote This is a powerful note-taking, information-gathering, organizing and archiving app for the iPhone/ iPad and also has an online-based app. Evernote is used to create text-based notes, incorporate digital photos, or record audio via your iPhone/iPad, and then add that content directly into the app. Your notes can be automatically synced with other versions of Evernote running on your primary computer and thus, your recordings can be made, labeled, and shared with ease.

Evernote is extremely versatile and allows you to record information in many different ways. Once you open a new note, you can start typing text using the iPhone or iPad’s virtual keyboard. However, you can just tap on the camera icon to snap a photo or record a video clip that can be embedded within a note being created. Clips from websites can be added to notes as well by tapping on the microphone icon that is displayed near the upper-right corner of the note window, Evernote becomes a basic digital recorder that utilizes the microphone that’s built into the iPhone or iPad as you record new audio, However, in using Evertone as a dictation tool, note that the functionality is limited to recording and playing back of the audio content.

Microphone + Recording This app is great for recording dictation or meetings which offer a straightforward user interface with large, well-labeled, on-screen buttons for recording and playing back audio. There’s also a menu button for managing recordings, an on-screen equalizer that can be viewed while recording, and a mute button that can be used in conjunction with an external microphone.

Recordings can be custom-named, organized, and stored within the iPhone or iPad’s internal storage, shared via email, uploaded to Facebook, or synced via iTunes Sync.

QuickVoice Recording any type of audio, whether dictation, meeting, or presentation could not be easier with Quick Voice. On the screen, you’ll see two main command buttons, labeled Play and Record. To create a recording, simply tap on the Record button and when you’re done, tap on the Stop button, it will be listed on the main QuickVoice screen with a general “MyRecording” filename, along with the time, date, and duration of the recording. To change the filename, tap on the Title button once the recording is selected, and then enter a new filename.

Recorder Pro: Professional Voice Recording The strength of this app is its functionality for organising and sharing recordings. On your iOS mobile device, individual recordings can be grouped together and organised into separate (custom-named) folders, which can then be password-protected for security. The app is also fully compatible with iCloud, so recordings can be stored online and easily retrieved from other computers or devices that are linked to the same iCloud account.

To create a new recording, tap on the Record menu button that’s displayed near the bottom of the app’s main screen. The recording screen displays a graphic of a microphone, along with a Record and Pause button. Simply press Record to start recording. Then, tap the Stop button to end the recording process. When a recording is completed, tap on the Save button. You can then play back recordings, share them via email, or open them within Evernote, for example, by tapping on the Share icon.

StudioMini Recording This app allows you to edit recordings directly on the tablet screen and also to incorporate a handful of audio effects to the recordings, while you’re recording or during the editing process.

Instead of just giving you the ability to record, play back, and share recordings from your iOS mobile device, this iPad app transforms the tablet into a highly-functional, multi-track digital recording studio that’s capable of creating CD-quality recordings, and then exporting them as WAV files.

This app is a bit more complicated to use than many of the basic digital recording apps, but it’s also much more powerful, especially when it comes to recording and sharing/syncing recordings.

Finally, it’s advisable to always figure out your needs and then choose an app that offers functionality and support your needs BC

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Business Courage

AfICTA’s summit to connect key ICT leaders Stories by Kunle Azeez

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frica Information and Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA) is set to convene its first ICT Summit to connect key ICT leaders in the public and private sectors across Africa to brainstorm for a digital African continent.

The summit tagged AfICT Summit (AfICTS) will be organised in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) and Nigeria’s Ministry of Communication Technology.

Other co-organisers of the forum are the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Edo State Government, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and a host of others.

The event is scheduled to take place at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos on 26-28 June, 2013 with the theme: “Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age in Africa”.

AfICTA, in a statement, said with a population of more than 1 billion, Gross Domestic Product of over $$2 trillion as at 2012, growth rate of more than five per cent, and with a huge natural resource base, Africa is poised to accelerate its development for a 21st Century African renaissance.

The statement said, as the private sector led voice of the continent’s ICT industry and in line with its vision towards the fulfilment of the promise of the digital age for everyone in Africa, AfICTA is convening the summit to connect key ICT leaders in the public and private sectors across Africa to brainstorm and thus engender the fulfilment of the promise of the digital age in Africa.

“The promise of the digital age is as articulated in the Geneva Convention 2003 and the Tunis Agenda 2005 of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) for an Information Society by 2015; a global society that reaps the full benefit of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), thereby bringing dividends of improved living standard, wealth and prosperity for citizens. Can this be a reality in Africa?” the AfICTA statement said.

AfICTA said the three-day Summit is geared to addressing the roadmap for a digital Africa. “On day One, there would be business leaders outreach programme by the

Business Constituency ICANN and Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) awareness/adoption workshop to be conducted by ICANN Security and Stability Task Force.

“The Domain Names System (DNS) Workshop will run concurrently with other events on Day 2 & 3 solely for network engineers.”

It added that as a way of recognizing African ICT champions, a dinner will be hosted to honour African ICT champions selected based on public input.

Intel takes Nigerian students to global tech fair

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lobal chip makers, Intel Corporation, said it has sponsored nine Nigerian secondary school students to represent Nigeria with their urinepowered generator innovation at the 2013 international leg of the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in the United States.

In the national leg of the competition, secondary schools from 36 states of the federation showcased their projects and inventions with the goal of addressing the challenges in their local communities.

According to the organisers, the annual event has been instrumental in encouraging secondary school students to develop an enquiry-based, practical approach to the Science and Engineering learning process.

Speaking on the development, Corporate Affairs Manager, Intel Corporation, Osagie Ogunbor, said Intel was passionate about encouraging the youths to develop interest in Science and Technology, saying the company believed in the future of the youth.

“Intel has sponsored the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair since 1997 because Intel believes that fostering a passion for math and science in today’s youth is imperative for the global economy and the future of innovation,” he said.

Giving further details on the competition, Ogunbor

Ogunbor

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

reiterated that the selection process was well informed and being carried out by seasoned professors in the Science and Engineering fields.

“At the competition, finalists are judged by hundreds of science, engineering and industry professionals who have a Ph.D. or equivalent (6 years of related professional experience) in one of the scientific disciplines; Animal Sciences, behavioural and Social Sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, Computer Science, Cellular and Molecular biology and others.

“Finalists’ projects tackle challenging scientific questions that address some of today’s most pressing global issues.

Projects represent a wide range of scientific disciplines and are judged based various categories,” Ogunbor added.

He also mentioned that the top research project in the competition will receive the Gordon E. Moore Award, a $75,000 grand prize from the Intel Foundation, given in honor of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist. Two additional research projects will receive Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of $50,000.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a programme of Society for Science and the Public, is the world’s largest high school science research competition.

Through a global network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students around the world are encouraged to explore their curiosity of how the world works and develop solutions for global challenges.

tive to host a meeting that lets everyone to contribute, no matter where they are, up to 25 locations.

Bulbring said eBeam systems recognise that schools and businesses often have tight budgets, even as she said eBeam solutions can be used on the projectors and white boards that one already owns or on the wall in the absence of a white board.

Bulbring said the eBeam systems were designed to adapt to users’ needs, bringing interactivity to their existing environment with relevant solutions that will work for the users.

“The eBeam solution is upgradeable, pocket friendly, doesn’t require professional installation and even the small form factor of the systems make shipping and other logistics affordable. The system take just a few minutes to install, is flexible and scalable,” she said.

She also explained that the choice of Technology Distributions as the sole distributor for West Africa was based on TD’s strong reach in sub Saharan Africa.

Other criteria for choosing TD, according to Bulbring, include the company’s corporate governance that matches international standards; the financial muscle to keep large stock and engage in meaningful marketing and a highly motivated distribution channel.

TD, eBeam to deepen interactive technologies in Nigeria

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T

echnology Distribution, Nigeria’s leading distributor of Information and Communication Technologies in West Africa, has joined hands with eBeam, global leader in interactive technology to deepen the deployment of the latter’s solutions in the country.

With the partnership, the two companies said redemption has come for education and businesses in Nigeria and Africa in general teaching and learning can now be achieved in compelling ways that excite the children and create enthusiasm for learning.

Addressing resellers at the formal launch of the eBeam/ TD partnership at the weekend, Regional Manager, Africa and Marketing Manager, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), eBeam, Michelle Bulbring, said the products also allows a company execu-

Airtel partners on Windows 8 smartphone irtel Nigeria has partnered Huawei and Microsoft to unveil Ascend W1, its first Smartphone that runs on the Microsoft windows Phone 8 operating systems.

The latest Huawei Ascend W1 smartphone comes bundled with free 200 Megabytes (MB) data plan for the first 6 months on the Airtel network.

In addition, customers who purchase the phone would also enjoy Airtel’s special Smartbytes plan of 20 free SMS, 18kobo per second calls to all networks in Nigeria and 20 kobo per second call rate

Huawei Ascend W1

Liang Wei

to fire international destinations including the United States, the United Kingdom for land line, Canada, India and China.

Speaking at the launch, the Chief Sales Officer for Airtel Nigeria, Inusa Bello, said the company was proud to collaborate with Huawei in providing Nigerians with innovative mobile experience especially on superior data offerings, to enhance the way they work and play.

He said to activate the free Airtel 200mb of data for six months, all customers need to do was to text ‘SMART’ to 141.

“Only recently, we unveiled a special recharge card called the Single Recharge that enables customers to do both voice and data recharge using one card. Today, WhatsApp subscribers on Airtel platform are enjoying exclusive first of its kind data bundle service in partnership with “WhatsApp Inc. These innovations ride on our superior and widest 3.75g service, underscoring our determination to become the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians”, he said.

According to the Managing Director of Huawei Devices, West Africa, Tony Liang Wei, “The phone is specifically created for Africa and is powered

by Microsoft, making it the first Huawei Windows 8 smart phone in the world. He added that the smart phone has 470 hours of standby time, the longest of all Smartphone’s in its class.”

Country Manager, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Emmanuel Onyeje, also stated that Microsoft was confident that the Ascend 1 from Huawei, provides excellent value for African consumers and will support both companies’ ambitious growth plans for the continent.

The Ascend W1 is 10.15 mm thin and features a 4-inch IPS LCD 480 x 800 touchscreen with OGS Technology, powered by the highend Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 MSM8230 dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and Adreno 305 GPU. With a 1950 mAh battery, the Ascend W1 has 470 hours of standby time, the longest among all smartphones in its class. BC

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Business Courage A17 33

Monday, May 27, 2013

FG to make N474bn from deep-water projects

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he development of deepwater assets in the Nigerian oil and gas can contribute $3 billion (N474bn) to the country’s economy and generate about 200,000 jobs annually, the Commercial Manager, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, Stefan Vas de Wael, stated this in Lagos,.

Currently, deep-water oil fields in the country include Abo, Erha, Bonga, Usan, Agbami and Akpo while undeveloped deepwater potential abound.

Vas de Wael said the undeveloped deep-water assets could add over 600,000 barrels per day of oil, which would amount to doubling the current deep water liquids from deep-water fields in the country.

He said over $5 billion (N790bn) would be required annually to develop and produce five million barrels of oil per day. “If all the deep-water assets in Nigeria are developed, they could generate 200,000 plus jobs, $3 billion in GDP and 600, 000 barrels oil per day.

This is according to McKinsey Multiplier Model,” he said.

According to him, developing 200,000 jobs is equivalent to growing the oil and gas industry by 30 per cent and $3 billion GDP will amount to additional 15 per net of projected GDP growth rate. “The 600,000 barrels per day will amount to

doubling current deep water liquids production. Annual spend of $5 billion plus to develop and produce 5 million barrels of oil per day,” he said.

Speaking on the challenges facing deepwater projects in the country, the Commercial Integration and Business Value Manager, SNEPCO, Taaj Shobayo, said deepwater exploration and production was expensive, complex and risky with long cycle times.

According to him, current offshore projects take 10-20 years from licence award to production.

He said, “Deep-water exploration and production is expensive, complex and risky with long cycle times. Current offshore projects take 1020 years from license award to production. A typical well in a deep water cost about $150 million and you will be spending another $500 million for further appraisal. And when the project is not good enough, all this money will be lost.

Because of the financial outlay and the technology involved, only few operators play in the deep water space.”

Shobayo explained that if the fiscal terms of the Petroleum Industry Bill were not favourable, it meant all the deep-water projects would not go forward.Highlighting the cost intensive nature of deep

water projects, Shobayo said a huge amount of money expended between exploration and production.

Managing Director, Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Company, Chike Onyejekwe, said the Nigerian deep-water fields have attracted about $48 billion Foreign Direct Investments since 1993.

The SNEPCO boss said the investments came through deep-water projects such as Abo (Agip), Erha (Mobil), Bonga (Shell), Usan (Total), Agbami(Chevron) and Akpo oil fields.

He said the investment was a pointer to the enormous opportunities presented by deepwater fields, especially in growing Nigeria’s economy.

The fields, according to Onyejekwe, have delivered over 0.8 billion barrels up to 2012.

The SNEPCO boss further said the international oil companies would invest about $165 billion in the Nigerian oil and gas industry in the next five years, which is twice the value of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

He further stated that Shell had recorded tremendous success in its Bonga deepwater oil field, saying as at December 2012, it had exported about 450 million barrels of crude oil. In the same year, Shell produced about 33 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production. BC

Orya

Experts express worry over nondocumentation of export The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has expressed worry at the quantum of goods leaving the country annually without documentation. And in order to address this situation, the council has launched the e-registration website and e-registration booklet to reduce the volume of consignment leaving the country through informal exports.

The Executive Director, NEPC, David Adulugba who disclosed this during the launching in Abuja, stated that the quantum of goods leaving the country annually without documentation was worrisome.

“The launch of the site – www.nepc.gov.ng – and the booklet was vital to the growth of the non-oil export sector.

The initiatives will enhance the process of registering products meant for export as well as

assist in capturing data of the informal trade between Nigeria and other countries. Findings by the agency revealed that there were 48 loading points where goods were exported to other countries informally in Nigeria. More than three quarters of the goods leaving the country were informal; the agency is ready to tackle the problem promptly,” he said.

According to him,“Normalising all informal exports would help to grow the economy. The council has also established e-registration office at the headquarters to change the usual bureaucratic approach in government business as well as help in registering exporters and bringing the much-needed foreign direct investment to the country.”

He added that the initiatives will promote the council’s activities in all the available social network sites on the Internet, as the features of the e-registration include development of a database system for potential exporters to upload all the necessary and required documents on registration for the purpose of verification.

Robert Orya, Managing Director, Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank, urged exporters to explore the opportunity provided by the bank to boost their activities, assuring that the bank is ready to go into partnership with stakeholders to make sure non-oil export sector takes its rightful position in the developed economy. BC

The Stock Market last week

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turnover of 2.120 billion shares worth of N25.676 billion in 31,806 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of The Exchange in contrast to a total of 2.292 billion shares valued at N24.025 billion that exchanged hands last week in 29,048 deals. The Financial Services sector (measured by volume) accounted for 1.484 billion shares valued at N12.673 billion traded in 16,807 deals. The Consumer Goods sector followed with 158.061 million shares valued at N5.679 billion traded in 6,284 deals.

The Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by volume) with 1.105 billion shares worth N10.439 billion exchanged by investors in 11,839 deals. Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Skye Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, UBA Plc and FiTOP 10 PRICE GAINERS: Company COSTAIN (W A) PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC EVANS MEDICAL PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC MCNICHOLS PLC GLAXO S. CONSUMER NIG. PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC ASHAKA CEM PLC P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC

Open 0.94 44.50 1.80 21.42 1.43 49.00 8.49 24.20 45.00 9.70

Close 1.49 64.53 2.60 25.91 1.72 58.00 9.90 27.50 51.12 11.00

delity Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the five banks accounted for 681.026 million shares, representing 61.65 per cent, 45.89 per cent and 32.13 per cent of the subsector, sector’s turnover and total volume traded during the week, respectively.

The Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services subsector of the Financial Services sector, boosted by activity in the shares of Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc followed on the week’s activity chart with a subsector turnover of 220.151 million shares valued at N298.891 million traded in 974 deals.

In the course of the week, 44 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N93, 588 were executed in four deals compared with a total of 63 units valued at N136, 137 transacted the previous week in three deals.

Also, 1,300 units of FGN bonds valued at N148,039 were traded during the Gain (N) 0.55 20.03 0.80 4.49 0.29 9.00 1.41 3.30 6.12 1.30

% Change 58.51 45.01 44.44 20.96 20.28 18.37 16.61 13.64 13.60 13.40

week in 13 deals in contrast to 670 units valued at N79,630 transacted the previous week in seven deals.

INDEX MOVEMENT The NSE All-Share Index appreciated by 1.20 per cent to close on Friday at 37,350.53 while the market capitalization of the listed equities on the mainboard advanced by 1.20 per cent to close at N11.939 trillion.

Last week, the NSE-ASI and NSE-30 Indices appreciated by 2.49 per cent and 2.47 per cent, respectively.

All except one of the NSE sectoral indices also appreciated same as during the preceding week: NSE Consumer Goods, NSE Banking, NSE Oil/Gas, NSE-Lotus II, NSE Industrial Goods and NSEASeM Indices advanced by 2.51 per cent, 3.20 per cent, 1.45 per cent, 5.09 per cent, 1.76 per cent, and 0.31 per cent.

TOP 10 PRICE LOSERS: Company Open COURTEVILLE BUS SOLUTIONS PLC 0.96 U T C NIG. PLC 0.92 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.89 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC 19.80 ETERNA PLC 3.93 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC 1.33 IPWA PLC 0.70 CUTIX PLC 2.30 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC 53.94 AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOG PLC 4.80

Close 0.72 0.72 0.71 16.20 3.30 1.13 0.60 2.00 47.50 4.31

Loss (N) % Change -0.24 -25.00 -0.20 -21.74 -0.18 -20.22 -3.60 -18.18 -0.63 -16.03 -0.20 -15.04 -0.10 -14.29 -0.30 -13.04 -6.44 -11.94 -0.49 -10.21

However, NSE Insurance Index, depreciated by 2.83 per cent.

SUMMARY OF PRICE CHANGES Forty-four equities appreciated in prices during the week lower than 63 equities of the preceding week. Fortysix equities depreciated in prices higher than 20 equities of the preceding week, while 105 equities remained constant lower than 112 equities of the preceding week. BC

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Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

The 2014

Chevrolet Impala T

he 2014 Chevrolet Impala is all-new for the first time since 2000, and it finally sheds a platform that traces back to the 1980s. It shares its architecture with the Cadillac XTS and Buick LaCrosse, but features a distinctive design and unique chassis tuning.

Model lineup The 2014 Chevrolet Impala is offered in LS, 1LT, 2LT, 1LZ and 2LZ trims. The LTs get LT badging and the LZ models have LTZ badging. Standard features on the LS include cloth upholstery, power mirrors, an 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat with 4-way power lumbar adjustment, AM/FM/CD audio, 4.2-inch color infotainment display, 10 standard airbags (including front knee and rear side airbags), OnStar assistance system and 18-inch steel wheels with wheel covers.

The 1LT adds dual-zone automatic climate control, MyLink infotainment system with 8-inch touch screen and alloy wheels. The 2LT comes with the same equipment as the 1LT plus the 3.6-liter V6 engine.

The 1LZ adds perforated leather upholstery, HID headlamps with LED daytime driving lights, 8-way power front passenger seat with 4-way lumbar adjustment, rear obstacle detection, rear-view camera, keyless access and starting, 19-inch wheels, and a suite of safety features that consists of forward collision alert, side blind-zone alert, lane-departure warning, and rear cross-traffic alert. Like the 2LT, the 2LZ comes with the 3.6-liter V6 engine, plus a sunroof.

Under the hood The 2014 Chevrolet Impala will be offered with three engines. At launch it gets a directinjected 3.6-liter V6 that makes 305 horsepower and 264 lb-ft of torque. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy ratings are 19 mpg city/29 mpg highway.

Soon after launch, the Im-

pala will add Geneneral Motors’ ors’ new 2.5-litre 4-cylinder unit. In the he Impala it produces 196 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque, and has preliminary EPA estimates of 21 mpg city/31 mpg highway. Toward the end of the year, the Impala will be offered with GM’s eAssist mild hybrid, which pairs the 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine that produces 182 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque with a 15-kilowatt electric motor that can aid propulsion but can’t power the car on its own. This powertrain carries an EPA estimate of 25 mpg city/35 mpg highighway.

stylishly conceived dual-cockpit themes, but the execution left much to be desired. The attractive look was betrayed by hard plastic materials that looked and felt cheap. The Impala raises the bar in that regard. The dual cockpit look is still used, but most of the surfaces are either soft to the touch or wrapped with stitched vinyl to create an upscale look. However, there are fears that the quality may not go more than skin

deep, as d wrapped plastic is still plastic.

Only time will tell if the Impala’s interior will hold up without developing squeaks and rattles.

To go with the improved new look, Chevrolet offers a new generation of its MyLink infotainment system. It pairs with smartphones to offer access to applications, including Pandora Internet radio, and its 8-inch dashboard touch screen is the control panel for n navigation and com-

m u nications f u n c tions. ns. The emscreen easy-to-access ploys large, easy-to-acc iicons and d it iis customizable t i to include the icons you want in the configuration you want (four designs are also offered).

Voice recognition can also be used, and the system stores up to 60 favourites, which can include radio stations, phone numbers and navigation destinations.

MyLink is easy to use, although the commands could be a bit quicker to respond. The large icons mean

Inner space About five years rs vago, Chevrolet’s int e r i o r s underwent nt a design renaissance.. The cars had

Toyota reclaims world’s most valuable automotive brand title

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apanese auto maker, Toyota has overtaken BMW to become the world’s most valuable automotive brand, as per an annual market study done by BrandZ. Mercedes-Benz caught the third spot this year. Toyota which had lost its position to BMW has reclaimed the top spot once again in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 published recently. Toyota’s brand value increased by 12 per cent to $24.5 billion (£16.2 billion), making it one of the biggest movers in the automotive sector.

BrandZ report has been publishing its reports for eight years, and Toyota has been crowned brand value leader in the auto sector six times, and second on two other occasions. Toyota’s global sales in 2012 increased by 22.6 per cent to 9.75 million units, a factor which has helped its in brand valuation in this year’s report.

BrandZ also suggests that brand value developments ments in the sector were shaped in part by the growth of customer mer affinity towards hybrid vehicles. Toyota has also earned the he respect by developing world’s first mass produced full hybrid rid vehicle in 1997- Toyota Prius. Sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrid models have crossed 5 million mark globally. Lexus has retained its 10th position in the list of Top 10 for the most valuable automotive brands with a brand value of $3.5 billion.

Unveiled, the new BMW M3

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mages show how new lighter, more powerful and faster BMW M3 could look ahead of its summer 2014 release date The new BMW M3 will be lighter, more powerful and faster than the model it replaces. A company insider told us how the four-door saloon (the coupe will be called the M4) “will take the brand’s most popular and famous performance model to new heights with the latest body and engine technologies”.

Exclusive images obtained by Auto Express, show how BMW will transform the 3 Series saloon into a street racer, with a lower ride height, blade front bumper and other cues such as M3-badged vents on its flanks and intricate mirrors.

Under its bulging bonnet, the M3 will use a new six-cylinder 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine. Unlike the M5’s reworked version of BMW’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, the new engine will be used exclusively in M models, not appearing in any lesser cars.

Performance figures are expected to be around 450bhp – an increase of 30bh 30bhp over the 4.0-litre V8 in the car. There will be an even bigger current ca increase in the torque figure – potenBMW M3 tially as much as 150Nm – taking tiall the total to 550Nm at just th 2,000rpm.

2 Despite offering more standard equipment than its predecessor, and superrior comfort, the new car will weigh about 100kg less than w

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A19 35

Monday, May 27, 2013

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

drivers won’t fumble to hit the right part of the screen, and a as an added bonus, the touch screen flips up to provide access to a hidden storage bin behind it.

Interior space is more generous than in the last Impala.

Front seats offer lots of room, but they are too flat to provide much lateral support in aggressive turns. Even tall passengers will be comfortable in the rear, which is wide enough for threeacross seating and has enough contours to make outboard

passengers comfortable. The rear seat folds down to expand on the generous trunk that offers 18.8 cubic feet on its own.

On the road The Impala shares its basic structure with the Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac XTS, but some adept chassis tuning gives it unique, accomplished driving dynamics. The LaCrosse is tuned to be softer and quieter, and the XTS features loads of suspension technology to make a large car handle rather well.

before. BMW will achieve this by using a raft of lightweight body materials in construction. Just like the current M3 Coupe, the new saloon will get a carbon-fibre roof, but the lightweight material will also be used for the bonnet and boot lid. Meanwhile, the front wings will be made from composite plastics.

All of this should result in scintillating performance. Our insider said BMW is expected to quote a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds – three tenths quicker than the current M3. He also warned that official figures are usually conservative and it could be even quicker in the real world.

And while top speed will be limited to 155mph, the new M3 should be able to hit 180mph when electronically derestricted.

Of course, M cars aren’t just about straight-line performance – the new M3 must be as engaging to drive as its predecessors. Less weight will improve agility, while the latest M Division limited-slip differential will boost traction when exiting corners. The car will also feature hydraulic steering, rather than the electrical set-up of the normal 3 Series, and will run on normal tyres, not run-flat rubber, to further improve feel.

The driver can still alter the weight of the speed-sensitive steering, as well as the stiffness of the adaptive dampers, the severity of the throttle response and the shift speed of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Enthusiasts will be pleased to hear a manual version will still be offered, and that BMW is also working on tuning the acoustics of the turbocharged engine to ensure it’s suitably charismatic.

The new M3 is expected to appear later this year at the same time as the M4 Coupe – possibly at the LA Motor Show in November.

It’ll go on sale in the UK next summer, priced from around £55,000, an increase of about £3,000 over the current car. An M4 Cabriolet is set to follow in early 2015, while an extreme GTS version is also expected. BC

The Impala uses pretty standard suspension components — MacPherson strut front suspension, 4-link rear suspension — but a couple of key tweaks aid the ride and handling. Rebound springs on the struts make the car want to return to a flat attitude after the suspension has compressed in a turn, and taller bump stops provide more resistance to bottoming out over bumps.

On the road, the Impala offers much of the XTS’ dynamic capability and the Buick’s refinement. It drives smaller than its considerable size, rotating willingly and staying fairly flat through turns. Those rebound springs help the car feel natural when transitioning back to a straight line, and the bump stops combine with a long wheelbase and an independent rear suspension to create a smooth ride. The brakes are strong, and while the steering is a bit too light for our taste, it’s direct and predictable.

The engine at launch is GM’s 3.6-liter V6. It offers plenty of pep, with zero to 60 mph arriving in a swift 6.8 seconds. It’s strong off the line, and there is no issue bothering on torque steer even though the Impala sends 305 horsepower through the front wheels. The 6-speed automatic transmission kicks down responsively to provide highway passing punch and shifts smoothly. While it can be shifted manually, we would prefer steering-wheel paddles to the plus-minus toggle on the shifter.

The Impala will also be offered with GM’s 2.5-liter 196-horsepower 4-cylinder engine and 2.4-liter 184-horsepower eAssist mild hybrid. Both will come with active noise cancellation to reduce the typical 4-cylinder buzzy engine sounds. Both should also provide adequate power and improved fuel economy. With projected EPA ratings of 25 mpg city/35 mpg highway, the eAssist won’t offer the thriftiness of the more advanced hybrids on the market, including the 40 mpg combined rating of the Toyota Avalon, one of the Impala’s main competitors.

Family sedan With its 2014 redesign, the Chevrolet Impala is no longer best left to rental fleets. A roomy interior, capable handling, a smooth ride and thrifty 4-cylinder or willing V6 power make it a fine choice as a family sedan, although the hybrid can’t match the fuel economy of the competition. BC

Autocare Common signs of a worn out engine

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xcessive smoking Smoke comes in lots of forms each with a distinct colour that tells us a bit about what’s going on inside the engine. Those colours are white, black and blue. *If you’re getting a lot of white smoke from the tailpipe, chances are that you’ve got a blown head gasket or damaged cylinder head. That white smoke you’re seeing is coolant and water entering the combustion chamber, and it most likely started with the engine running hot. Check your engine oil dipstick and oil filler cap. If it’s covered in creamy brown, there’s water and coolant in your oil. Then, when the engine is cold, check the coolant level in your radiator. It’s probably going to be low. If that’s the case, the top end of your engine (cylinder head) needs to come off to determine the extent of failure and cost to repair. * Black smoke indicates your engine is running rich. Most of the time it doesn’t mean your engine needs rebuilding; rather, it needs repairs related to the items that control the fuel/air mixture entering the combustion chamber. Too much fuel, or too little air and you have black smoke. There are times when black smoke can indicate serious internal engine troubles, but it’s more an exception than the rule. * Only one thing burns blue and that’s engine oil. Several components inside your engine can cause this to happen, but the basic condition is the same. Oil is getting past sealing surfaces due to wear or breakage. But, is it the top end of your engine that’s the culprit or the bottom end? Could be one or the other, or both.

At the top end of your engine is the cylinder head or cylinder heads (in the case of V type engines like V6 or V8 engines).

What’s happening is oil is leaking past worn valve guide seals or a broken valve guide. There are a few inspections and tests that can be performed to determine the extent of failure, but to fix these types of problems, the cylinder head(s) need to come off.

Ugly, loud banging and knocking noises Loud engine noises that sound like someone banging on an anvil with a hammer are never good. Most of the time those loud noises are coming from the bottom end of your engine indicating that there’s been a bearing failure at the crankshaft or at the point where the connecting rods meet the pistons... the piston wrist pins. The more loads you put on the engine, like climbing a hill or accelerating quickly, the louder the noise.

About the worst thing you can do in this case is to keep driving the vehicle! While the knocking sound is a sure sign on internal engine trouble that needs prompt attention, your engine is usually still serviceable – meaning that no irreparable damage has been done to the engine block, cylinder head(s) and crankshaft.

Now, not all knocking noises coming from your engine mean you need a rebuild. Knocking noises can come from the top end, or valve train. Sticking or leaking hydraulic valve lifters, worn camshafts or rocker arms and a host of other top end engine components can cause knocking noises as well. Most of the time, these types of problems can be solved without tearing apart the entire engine.

Major power loss and rough running Engines rely on tight tolerances to operate efficiently and effectively. Lose those critical tolerances and the ability of your engine to perform as intended falls by the wayside. A gradual loss in power over the course of years and thousands and thousands of miles is to be expected and falls into the category of wear and tear. A rapid or immediate loss of power can indicate a major component failure and should be addressed quickly.

Usually, an immediate change comes with other symptoms like rough running or noises. If you’re experiencing this type of trouble, get it into a shop now, and it might be a good idea to tow it in as opposed to risking catastrophic and expensive damage by driving it any longer.

No one ever wants to have engine troubles, But much like our own bodies, our car’s engine will give us plenty of signs that it needs attention. In either case, if we ignore those signs long enough, they’ll end up as bigger problems. Take a proactive stance when those signs start popping up and you can fix the trouble at a lower cost and with less hassle. BC

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Business Courage

FG urges private sector to partner institutions on scientific innovations

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he Federal Government has urged the private sector to partner with institutions to develop the various innovations emanating from schools for economic advancement.

The Minister of Education, Prof.

Ruqqayatu Rufa’i, made the call in Abuja at the public presentation of the ministry’s 2012 annual report, the National Education Innovations Exhibitions 2012 and the report of the third National Conference on Examinations.

She said such partnership was necessary to help in the commercialisation of innovations that would ensure large scale production of goods and services from the talents that abound in the institutions.

She said this would boost the nation’s economy through the creation of employment opportunities for the youths. ``The development of our innovations would also reduce the importation of similar products; there is already a market for innovations from tertiary institutions,’’ noted.

The minister said that the first National Education Innovations Exhibition held in November 2012 was organised to publicise the creations of the institutions and showcase the abundant talents in Nigeria.

According to her, the exhibition provides the opportunity of first experience of what the nation’s higher institutions of learning are doing to solve some of the challenges facing the nation.

She said: ``Over the years, we have been made aware of pockets of innovations which exist in our education institutions.

The challenge has been that of bringing these out to the public domain through commercialisation so that they can serve the interest of society,’’ she said.

She stressed that the ultimate advantage of commercialising products and services was to help enhance the nation’s competitive global stand.

On the report of the national conference on examinations, Rufa’i said

Ruqqayatu Rufa’i

it was a ``detailed and sincere interaction on the challenges we face and ways of tackling them’’. ``It should be noted that we are not just interested in the passing of examinations, but also in ensuring that students develop the necessary skills to enhance their ability to contribute to the growth of society.’’

The minister lauded the efforts of government which had attracted the interest of international development partners.

“These development partners are assisting the education sector through various intervention programmes.’’

She said the public presentation of the reports was a ``message that we are continually on our toes, responding to current challenges and working not to go with the flow, but taking the initiative to keep ahead of developments.’’

The Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, said the reports were meant to dissect the problems in the sector.

Wike further explained that the presentation was not to detail the ministry’s activities, but to intimate Nigerians on major achievements for appraisal and future improvement.

The UNESCO Representative, Prof.

Hassana Alidou, noted that Nigeria ranked top among African countries that were committed to developing education as the key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. BC

Ogun disburses N1bn loan to 45 societies

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bout 45 co-operative societies, comprising 460 individuals in Ogun, last Friday benefited from the N1 billion industrial development loan scheme of the state government.

Bimbola Ashiru, the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, announced this in Abeokuta at a ministerial news conference to mark the second year anniversary of the Gov. Ibikunle Amosun-led administration.

Ashiru explained that the scheme was a counterpart fund agreement signed between the government and the Bank of Industry in 2011.

He said that it aimed at supporting local industry and micro, small and medium enterprises towards employment generation and wealth creation.

He said it was part of efforts to alleviate poverty and empower women and artisans in the state.

The commissioner said that about 4,000 direct jobs had been created, while several indirect ones had also been created through value chain activities.

He charged interested entrepreneurs to take advantage of the scheme, saying it was open to all.

Ashiru said the state government remained steadfast in its plan to re-position the state in the area of industrialisation.

He said the catch phrase, “Ogun state

is opened for business”, is a reality.

He said a two-day investment forum was organised in march 2012 during which the government showcased its vast investment opportunities to prospective investors.

He said the initiative had continued to yield positive results with the establishment of more than 45 companies. ``Since the showcase, over 45 companies had opened offices, while over 80 other organisations had signified interest to establish business in different parts of the state.

The commissioner solicited for the support of the people for the Amosun-led administration in its bid to rebuild the state. BC

Amosun

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Porting from frying pan to fire

I

n just about a month after the launch of the much-awaited Mobile Number Portability scheme, it is becoming increasingly obvious to the millions of mobile phone subscribers that nothing may change after all.

The MNP is designed to enable mobile phone users switch networks or port their mobile phone numbers from one network to another while still retaining their original numbers.

The idea is that porting will encourage healthy competition among the service providers and improve service delivery as well as provision of value added services with the users being the ultimate beneficiaries. A subscriber can port once in 90 days according to the guidelines released by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

However, apart from the excitement generated by the coup scored against Etisalat by MTN in the Saka porting ad campaign saga, my guess is that most phone subscribers will not bother to port for the simple reason that none of the four GSM networks can claim to offer distinctively better services than their rivals at this point in time.

This, ironically, is due to the runaway success recorded by the telecoms firms in terms of growth and huge revenues, which appears not to have been matched by deployment of adequate infrastructure to cope with the demands of the 166 million (and counting) active subscribers using the networks.

Interestingly, it was the poor quality of service issue that gave rise to the clamour for the MNP, which the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission approved and implemented, stating with the GSM networks.

The service is to be extended to the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), operators like Visafone, Capcom, MultiLinks and MTS Wireless, at a later date.

Just before the MNP rollout, all the GSM firms swore that they were fully prepared for porting with deployment of infrastructure including functional number portability gateway (NPG) and all-call query signal transport point (STP) systems, 4G Long Term Evolution and High Definition voice an upgraded billing systems among other.

Fine, but what’s the point in all these if one cannot make a simple one minute call without the call dropping six or seven times within that same minute.

In some cases the person at the other end of the line can’t hear you though you can hear him loud and clear, yet the seconds are counting and money is burning. You send a text messeage, it is not delivered, yet you are billed. I can go on and on.

What mobile phone users are experiencing nowadays reminds me of the early days when “the network was not yet mature” and subscribers were

fleeced of millions of naira due to frequent drop calls, under a per minute billing regime, until we were rescued by Globacom, which introduced per second billing.

Some analysts claim that subscribers get only 50% of the value of calls made in recent weeks. While one appreciates some of the problems the telecoms firms are facing including wilful destruction and theft of equipment, it is no excuse for the deteriorating service especially in the voice segment.

To add to the discomfort of mobile service users is the barrage of annoying and unsolicited text messages and voice calls (by a machine), marketing one product or the other, inviting users to subscribe to one service or take their chances in a promo run by third parties.

God help you if you do as there is usually no way to unsubscribe save you run out of credit.

Regardless, mobile telephony remains a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure mix as it has in the last decade or so, redefined the way Nigerian live, work and do business to a large extent.

This is why we should be going forward not backwards. The revenues from the services are at present mind boggling, which is why the banks are falling all over themselves to fund their expansion projects, so it’s not about lack of cash.

Mobile phone users require and deserve better quality services that they presently get. The NCC itself has been trying to address this issue by whipping the GSM firms in line especially by banning promos, which tend to increase network traffic and subsequent congestion and downtime. Fines have also been imposed, with the four GSM firms alone paying about N1.2bn in the past seven years or so.

Yet most of the networks consistently fail to meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measurements on quality of service set by the NCC. The KPI standards ensure that consumers continue to have access to high quality telecommunications service by setting basic minimum quality levels for all operators.

These standards define the lower and upper bounds of acceptability of such technical issues as transmission rates, error rates, call completion rates, among others as well as commercial consumer issues such as access to customer care centres, billing integrity and other characteristics that can be measured and improved.

In the current situation where virtually all the networks are guilty of the same “offence”, where does one port to?

For me, I will still keep my two GSM lines and one CDMA line and “port” from BC phone to phone.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

A21 37

NSE moves N3.89bn worth of shares

I

nvestors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last Friday exchanged 364.22 million shares worth N3.89 billion in 6,034 deals.

The volume of shares traded declined by 15.14 per cent from the 429.18 million shares valued at N5.73 billion exchanged in 6,408 deals on Thursday.

The All-Share Index improved by 878.1 points or 2.41 per cent to close at 37,350.53 against the 36,472.43 posted on Thursday following price gains by blue chip stocks.

The market capitalisation, which opened at N11.66 trillion, appreciated by N281 billion or 2.41 per cent to close at N11.94 trillion.

Dangote Cement recorded the highest price gain of N13.20 to close at N184.50 per share.

Cadbury trailed with a gain of N5.85 to close at N64.53, while Glaxo Smithkline rose

by N5.10 to close at N58 per share.

Nigerian Breweries inched by N2.13 to close at N172.13, while Lafarge Wapco

gained 89k to close at N96.50 per share.

On the other hand, Unilever led the losers’ chart, depreciating N4.14 to close at N64.46 per share.

PZ Cussons came second with a loss of N3.88 to close at N51.12, while CAP lost N2.49 to close at N62.51 per share.

Okomu Oil dropped N2 to close at N47.50, while Mobil Oil lost 50k to close at N118 per share.

Unity Bank was the most active with a total of 43.24 million shares worth N28.98 million. Access Bank came second with 38.63 million shares valued at N438.16 million, while Skye Bank recorded a turnover of 30.97 million shares worth N158.20 million. BC

CBN sells N277.9bn treasury bills T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold treasury bills worth N227.91 billion last week.

The Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA) disclosed this on its Website on Friday.

FMDA said that five categories of treasury bills were sold at the last biweekly auctions.

It said the auctions included

the Open Market Operation (OMO) which comprised the 139-day and 128-day tenor bills.

FMDA said that N59.53 billion worth of 139-day bills were sold, while N110.8 billion worth of 128-day treasury bills were sold. The 139-day and 128-day tenor bills had yield rates of 13.32 per cent and 13.03 per cent, respectively.

It also said that the 91-day,

182-day and 364-day tenor bills were auctioned at the Primary Market Auction (PMA) ``The three bills - the 91day, 182-day and 364-day tenor bills - worth N25.65 billion, N31.25 billion and N50.68 billion, respectively. ``They traded at yield rates of 9.20 per cent, 12.45 per cent and 14.30 per cent, respectively,`` the association said. BC

Shareholders endorse Skye Bank’s N50bn capital injection

By Johnson Okanlawon

S

hareholders of Skye Bank Plc have endorsed the plan by the bank’s Board of Directors to raise additional N50 billion to strengthen its balance sheet and support its business expansion.

The shareholders gave their nod to the bank’s plan at the Annual General Meeting which took place in Lagos last week.

They also approved the bank’s plan to raise the capital from the capital market, local, foreign or other investors whether by private placement, public or rights offer and issuing ordinary shares of the bank for such equity.

The statement form the bank on Friday quoted the Group Managing Director, Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, as saying that the bank would raise tier 2 capital before the end of the third quarter and seek additional funds through tier 1 issue in the nearest future.

Durosinmi-Etti said the bank had been growing and so needs to shore up its capital.

According to him, given the way the bank had optimized its capital, additional funds would lead to better value creation for all stakeholders.

The bank’s audited report

which was prepared in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and approved by all financial services regulatory agencies, was presented to the investing public recently.

Key extracts of the audited report showed that profit after tax leapt to N12.64 billion in 2012, representing an increase of 872.6 per cent from N1.30 billion recorded in 2011.

Profit before tax had rose by 480.9 per cent from N2.84 billion in 2011 to N16.51 billion in 2012. The bank maintained a steady top-line in 2012 with net interest income and net noninterest income of N44.50 billion

and N22.60 billion respectively.

On the basis of the impressive bottom-line, the board of the bank has recommended an increase in dividend per share from 25 kobo paid for 2011 business year to 50 kobo for 2012.

The statement said, “This performance underlined Skye Bank as a return-driven bank.

Earnings per share increased to N1.01 in 2012 as against 20 kobo in 2011. At current market value, earnings yield stands at about 16.6 per cent while dividend yield stands at 8.2 per cent, within the top bracket of earnings and yields of quoted equities. A dividend cover of 2.02 times for 2012 as against 0.80 times for 2011 underlines the ability of the bank to sustain its impressive dividend payouts.

“The bank’s balance sheet also showed similarly impressive performance as the bank’s focus on quality growth brought down the relative level of non-performing loans to its lowest level. The bank’s assets quality improved considerably as non-performing loan/gross loans ratio surpassed industry’s target of 5.0 per cent at 4.95 per cent in 2012 as against 6.39 per cent.” BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 24-05-13 All-Share Index 37,350.53 points Market Capitalisation N11,939,337,743,821.25 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CADBURY

58.68

64.53

EVANSMED

2.37

2.60

9.70

LEARNAFRCA

1.65

1.81

9.70

52.90

58.00

9.64

1.36

1.49

9.56

GSK COSTAIN

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE 9.97

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

ETERNA

3.66

3.30

VONO

2.34

2.11

-9.84 -9.83

MAYBAKER

2.25

2.03

-9.78

ACADEMY

1.79

1.62

-9.50

IKEJAHOTEL

0.77

0.71

-7.79

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 16-May-2013

RATE%(CURR) 23-May-2013

CALL

10.2500 – 11.7500

10.1500 – 11.6000

OBB

10.2500 – 12.2500

10.1000 – 12.2500

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%) 12.50

DATE

182-Days

25000

23-May-13

182-Days

20647.81

11.31

22-May-13

364-Days

75683.60

13.59

22-May-13

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

182-Days

70,000

12.3

23-May-13

196-Days

700,000

12.35

23-May-13

133-Days

10,000

12.30

17-May-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$300m

MARKET DEMAND $300m

$300m

22-May-13

$300m

$245.5m

$245.5m

20-May-13

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nestle Nigeria: Unwavering commitment to sustainability

By Johnson Okanlawon

T

he 2012 financial year was another challenging year for Nestle Nigeria Plc the company, as the crisis in the North east of the country affected its net worth. But the company delivered on a good performance, taking the necessary initiatives to respond to the challenges and grasp many opportunities the current environment brings.

The company recorded improved operating profit margin, a demonstration of having strong alignment with the consumers which enhanced its operational and financial performance. For instance, the company declared a profit after tax of N21.14 billion for the financial year ended December 30, 2012, an increase of 28.1 per cent when compared to N16.5 billion recorded in the same period of 2011.

The company’s revenue rose by 19.1 per cent to N116.7 billion, from N97.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011, while cost of sales increased by 16 per cent to N66.5 billion, from N57.4 billion recorded in 2011.

With 28 per cent increase in net earnings per share, the board of the food and beverage multinational increased in cash payout by 59 per cent. The company dolled out about 75 per cent of net earnings for the year, gradually moving back to Nestle Nigeria’s traditional payout policy of almost distributing net earnings to shareholders.

Besides, net assets improved by 47 per cent, underlying increase in equity funds due to improving retained earnings.The balance sheet position of the company emerged stronger with better financial structure and improved liquidity.

Business Strategy In 2012, the company increased the investments behind its brands. It invested sustainably, expanding its manufacturing footprint, while continuing to reduce the environment impact of its business. As nutrition is the heart of the company, it offered consumers tastier and healthier food and beverages choices. Hence, it helped the consumers care for themselves and their families.

Profitability Substantial growth in sales and profit translated into equally significant increase in cash distributions to shareholders.

The company’s gross earnings

grew from N98 billion in 2011 to N116.71 billion in 2012, the turnover or revenue for the review period increased by 19 per cent. The increase in revenue could be traced to the company’s investment in business expansion in the recent times The cost cutting strategies of Nestle are working well, resulting in good profitability. Gross profit moved by 24 per cent in 2011 to N50.2 billion in 2012.

Its pre-tax profit increased by 37.64 per cent between 2011 and 2012 to N25 billion, from N18.2 billion.

Return on equity which reveals how much profit a company earned in comparison to the total amount of shareholder equity found on the balance sheet stood at 61.83 per cent.

Both gross profit margin and pre-tax profit margin in 2012 increased over the 2011 figures.

Gross profit margin moved to 42.99 per cent, from 41.44 per cent, while profit before tax margin grew by 2.88 basis points to 21.46 per cent.

The company’s total cost as a percentage of gross earnings stood at 57.11 per cent, down from 58.66 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2011. Its net worth margin currently stands at 18.11 per cent, up from 16.84 per cent in the corresponding period of 2011.

The overall results indicate that the current year’s performance is better than the previous year’s.

Efficiency Average number of employees increased marginally from 2,168 persons in 2011 to 2,179 persons in 2012. The company’s cost efficiency improved during the year as the company reined in relative cost of sales.

Average cost of sale per unit of sale decreased in 2012, providing early headroom for profit growth. While average cost per

staff increased from N5.21 million in 2011 to N6.08 million in 2012, average contribution of each employee to pre-tax profit improved from N8.39 million to N11.50 million.

Overall outlook suggests improved productivity alongside the improvement in cost efficiency. Total cost of business, excluding finance charges, dropped slightly from 78 per cent in 2011 to 77.7 per cent in 2012.

Liquidity Ratios One area that the management of Nestle Nigeria needs to improve on is its assets quality. This is because both current and quick ratios fall short of common rule of thumb. The current ratio which expresses the relative relationship between current assets and current liabilities stood at 1.05:1 in 2012 compared with 0.90:1 in 2011.

A rule of thumb suggests that a 2:1 ratio is ordinarily satisfactory. Similarly, quick ratio, which measures the debt-paying ability of a company also showed that the company would not be able to meet its financial obligation as at when due.

Quick ratios stood at 0.70:1, up from 0.50:1 figure recorded in 2011 and 1.5:1 minimum value for a company with strong assets base.

A cursory look at the balance sheet position in 2012 compared with the position as at 2011 showed that the company’s fixed assets recorded an increase.

This is due to its recent investment in capital asset to boost its business expansion project.

Fixed assets increased by 12.98 per cent to N62.16 billion, from N55 billion in 2011. Cash and bank balances increased from N1.1 billion in financial year 2011, to record N3.81 billion 2012.

Working capital grew from a

Martin Woolnough, MD Nestle Foods Nigeria

deficit of N2.6 billion in 2011 to a positive figure of N1.18 billion in 2012. Stocks decreased by 11 per cent to N8.8 billion from N9.9 billion in the previous period while trade debtors increased by 23 per cent to N13.46 billion from N10.98 billion, while trade creditors increased by 31 per cent to N19 billion in 2012 from N14.5 billion in comparable period in 2011.

Current asset moved from N22.2 billion in 2011 to N26.36 billion, while current liabilities stood at N25.18 billion in 2012.

The company did not make bank over draft in the review period but its short term borrowing inched up by 30 per cent to N3.5 billion in 2012 from N2.66 billion in 2011. Total assets hit N88.96 billion in 2012 while shareholders’ fund closed at N34.19 billion Structures Nestle Nigeria is a member of the Nestle Group, which holds about 62.76 per cent equity stake mainly through its Ghana-incorporated Nestle CWA

Limited. Olusegun Osunkeye retired as chairman of the board of directors of the company after 40 years and was succeeded by David Ifezulike.

The company subscribes to many international codes as well as Nigerian code of corporate governance for public companies. The annual report also contained corporate governance report detailing key principles, methodologies and actions. The highest-priced stock at the Nigerian stock market, Nestle Nigeria has also been hailed severally as the icon of good corporate governance. It has usually been the first quoted company to submit its audited report and accounts well ahead of due date and its forecasts are mostly reliable.

According to the Meristem Securities Limited, an investment firm, the company ’’s shares has risen more than 30 per cent since the interim dividend was paid 10 weeks ago, on low volumes, to become the most expensive stock on the bourse on a per share basis, with an impressive return on average equity of 73.7 per cent.

Business Outlook The environment looks to be every bit as challenging in the current financial year as it was in 2012, but noted that the current year will again provide opportunities to leverage on competitive advantages deliver on growth opportunities and benefit from its drive for continuous improvement across the company. With five months already passed in 2013, the company is confident that it will continue to deliver strong growth and improvement in its capital efficiency in spite of the uncertainties ahead. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, May 27, 2013

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, May 24, 2013 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 47.50 PRESCO PLC 30.01 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 3.31 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.82 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 1.60 S C O A NIG. PLC. 5.42 U A C N PLC. 70.50 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. 1.49 G CAPPA PLC NT Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 56.01 ROADS NIG PLC. 10.07 Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 15.82 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC NT UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 280.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 28.00 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 172.13 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 50.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 9.48 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 9.90 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 85.75 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.99 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 25.91 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 13.32 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.72 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 64.53 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 987.80 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.31 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 2.11 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 51.12 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 64.46 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 11.35 DIAMOND BANK PLC 6.99 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 15.00 FIDELITY BANK PLC 3.11 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 5.01 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 29.05 SKYE BANK PLC 5.07 STERLING BANK PLC. 2.72 U B A PLC 8.20 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 9.25 UNITY BANK PLC 0.67 WEMA BANK PLC. 1.18 ZENITH BANK PLC 22.75 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.91 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1.24 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.64 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.50 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.90 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.50 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. NT LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 2.30 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.80 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.59 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STACO INSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.15 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.15 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC 1.50 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT FBN HOLDINGS PLC 18.35 NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.55 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 15.28 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 4.80 Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 2.23 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 2.60 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 1.70 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 58.00 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 2.03

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 23-05-13

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

137 000 748 984 1 110 749

0.64 34.01 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.10 6.73 2.75

N/A -11.94 3.52

0.50 53.94 28.99

NT

4.26

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

1 539 700

1.70

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.11

1.85

3.25

158 936 NT 9 795 697 1 029 031

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 5.81 5.32 5.52 28.70

2 191 895 983 963 900 300 389 151 408 821 666 666 1 600 720 323

0.08 0.24 0.00 0.35 6.89

10.30 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.65 NT 1.54 NT 70.80

NT NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

1 715 877 NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

0.94 NT

255 971 310

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.93 4.73

-3.85 N/A

58.25 10.07

NT 151 175

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A -6.94

NT 17.00

NT NT

100.00 50.00

97.00 50.00

20 000 000 250 019 781

11.75 0.75

N/A N/A

NT NT

118 000

0.50

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 553 627 1 334 214 NT 726 881 NT

4.63 0.68 265.00 12.83 3.20 138.85 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

900 000 000 272 160 000 1 474 925 519 2 112 914 681 562 000 000 7 562 562 340 126 000 000

0.00 0.03 9.46 0.25 0.00 5.08 0.00

N/A N/A 1.82 N/A N/A -3.84 N/A

NT NT 275.00 28.67 NT 179.00 NT

55 163

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

2.69

N/A

50.00

NT 661 395 9 185 685 1 309 643 1 520 124 NT 2 120 6 064 054 NT 13 000 NT

0.50 19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 2.70 43.96 6.70 5.66 0.88 4.22

0.50 4.15 3.64 52.50 1.91 1.00 20.41 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

2 000 000 000 5 000 000 000 12 000 000 000 1 879 210 666 7 930 197 658 3 722 493 620 178 200 000

0.00 0.00 0.91 3.79 0.51 0.00 2.50 1.07 0.08 1.13 0.00

N/A 3.04 16.61 0.88 3.46 N/A N/A 3.26 N/A 20.00 N/A

NT 9.20 8.49 85.00 2.89 NT 21.42 12.90 NT 0.60 NT

40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

2 536 932 293 097

29.20 684.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.35 25.43

45.01 3.98

44.50 950.00

NT NT 1 399 427 177

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 34.39 3.01 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A 2.80 N/A

NT NT 3.22 2.34

521 218 809 502

43.50 41.60

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.70 1.44

13.60 -0.89

45.00 65.04

NT

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

NT

38 625 037 5 097 705 9 752 901 7 226 530 575 052 10 265 228 30 970 066 3 294 838 27 546 929 1 319 606 6 979 749 1 653 351 15 691 253

11.70 9.27 17.05 3.20 8.30 29.05 10.17 2.91 8.20 10.07 1.92 1.75 22.75

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 3.04 11.64 2.73 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

17 888 251 479 14 475 243 105 9 873 614 567 28 974 797 023 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.60 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.09

3.18 0.00 -2.28 1.30 0.20 8.96 0.40 -5.88 -5.75 -2.94 0.00 -4.84 4.84

11.00 6.99 15.35 3.07 5.00 26.66 5.05 2.89 8.70 9.53 0.67 1.24 21.70

NT 5 320 338 NT 5 000 155 001 60 750 325 500 NT NT 10 000 NT 59 440 127 000 NT NT 123 965 123 965 105 900 NT 804 692 NT NT 466 714 NT 85 000 NT 60 000 708 026 NT 3 627

0.50 1.01 0.64 0.50 1.20 0.50 3.51 0.50 0.69 0.50 0.50 0.80 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.93 0.50 0.66 1.11 0.50 2.35 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.31 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.95 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

20 585 000 000 7 809 391 256 211 626 000 6 000 000 000 10 372 624 157 8 820 010 363 5 100 846 808 8 847 298 420 4 549 947 000 3 827 485 380 720 000 000 5 061 804 000 6 420 427 449 28 000 000 000 7 323 313 227 3 437 330 500 4 083 713 569 10 000 000 000 7 998 705 336 5 332 830 881 5 649 693 923 5 003 506 791 2 508 315 436 6 668 750 000 5 203 757 266 6 141 087 609 8 493 173 450 2 581 733 505 13 000 000 000 16 000 000 000

0.00 0.05 0.00 0.05 0.14 0.02 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.01 0.37 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 -8.00 N/A -1.23 N/A N/A -4.84 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.89 NT 0.50 1.15 0.50 1.72 NT NT 0.50 NT 0.90 0.50 NT NT 0.50 0.50 2.50 NT 0.81 NT NT 0.62 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50

3 000 4 405 704

6.00 1.15

0.00 1.00

144 388 500 100 000 2 000 1

1.51 0.50 0.50 0.99

1.33 0.50 0.50 0.50

4 200 000 000 8 679 148 676 13 175 732 404 7 812 500 000

0.03 0.02 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.50 0.50 0.50 NT

NT NT 9 534 650 NT NT 780 484 397 966

0.61 2.02 19.60 0.15 552.20 0.66 13.36

0.50 2.02 8.50 0.15 555.20 0.50 6.40

3 778 005 975 1 333 333 333 32 632 084 358 5 880 000 2 500 000 3 608 657 661 18 750 000 000

0.00 0.00 3.03 0.00 12.65 0.00 0.87

N/A N/A -1.18 N/A N/A N/A 1.19

NT NT 18.57 NT NT 0.63 15.10

400

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

4.80 0.50

0.01 0.07

6.00 1.08

3 500

0.50

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

6 780

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.06

N/A

2.23

106 151 790 965 260 437 578 207

1.65 3.20 49.00 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

486 473 856 1 500 000 000 956 701 192 980 000 000

0.00 0.44 2.62 0.20

44.44 8.97 18.37 12.15

1.80 1.56 49.00 1.81

N/A=Not Avialable

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.80 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. NT PHARMA-DEKO PLC. NT ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.96 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC 0.50 Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 17.00 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 2.29 Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC 2.35 MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 27.50 BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.25 CAP PLC 62.51 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 11.00 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 184.50 DN MEYER PLC. NT FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC 0.60 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 96.50 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC NT PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC NT PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 2.00 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.90 BETA GLASS CO PLC. 10.00 GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 2.70 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. 8.30 Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC NT 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 0.55 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 15.35 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 CONOIL PLC 24.00 ETERNA PLC. 3.30 FORTE OIL PLC. 14.00 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 118.00 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 16.20 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 169.90 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.63 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 4.50 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.55 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 6.27 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.71 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 4.53 TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 1.50 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.62 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.81 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 5.49 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.96 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 4.31 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 7.70 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 0.97 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.60 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

61 120 NT NT

1.96 12.91 4.28

0.76 8.59 3.50

1 925 717 268 153 786 012 100 000 000

0.09 0.00 0.00

-3.61 N/A N/A

0.83 8.17 NT

11 210 592

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.10

0.00

0.96

1 000

0.50

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT

0.91

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT

500 1 146

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

0.00 0.01

N/A N/A

17.00 2.29

13 873 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 17 050 000 NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT 2.35 NT

NT 578 761 13 195 367 076 700 481 607 946 NT NT 11 000 840 653 NT NT NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 56.50 3.36 5.28 13.40

2.86 9.10 7.27 14.50 4.20 95.00 0.93 0.50 0.91 37.00 0.52 2.27 10.93

260 000 000 2 239 453 125 217 367 585 560 000 000 1 241 548 285 15 494 019 668 242 908 200 2 109 928 275 513 696 000 3 001 600 004 792 914 256 400 000 000 75 000 000

0.00 2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 8.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.26 0.23 0.00

N/A 13.64 0.00 -7.39 13.40 -1.34 N/A N/A N/A 4.72 N/A N/A N/A

NT 24.20 8.25 67.50 9.70 187.00 NT NT 0.70 92.15 NT NT NT

NT 8 900 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A -13.04 N/A N/A

NT 2.30 NT NT

NT 1 711 7-075 NT 2 717 101 NT NT

3.98 6.91 12.71 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 9.53 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

N/A N/A

42 640 000 6 215 000 000 240 000 000 199 066 550

0.00 0.05 0.05 0.90 0.24 0.22 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A

NT 1.90 9.80 NT 2.70 NT NT

NT NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

25 000 000 683 974 528

20 500

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.76

-2.35

8.50

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.43

N/A N/A

NT NT

NT

0.50

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT

3.22 1.38

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

15 935 122

1.02

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.13

0.00

0.55

4 648 728

24.80

10.94

2 262 711 568

1.73

1.66

15.10

NT 10 000 34 141 232 100 273 721 1 008 873 119 994 38 566

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

125 487 475 3 716 976 579 693 952 117 1 249 162 828 1 080 280 628 300 496 051 253 988 672 339 521 837

0.00 0.00 0.47 0.61 0.00 6.11 3.62 14.63

N/A N/A 71.43 -16.03 -1.69 3.51 N/A 2.97

NT 0.50 14.00 3.93 14.24 114.00 19.80 165.00

NT

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

3.48

3.48

0.19

N/A

NT

418 930

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.21

-9.44

1.80

72 000 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.58 0.25

4.65 N/A

4.30 NT

409 646

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.08

N/A

0.55

400

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

10 000 2 774 760 100 27 080 317

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.95

3.00 1.16 4.31 0.50

1 548 780 000 2 078 796 396 1 772 884 297 25 813 998 283

0.18 0.92 0.00 0.22

N/A -20.22 N/A 0.00

6.27 0.89 4.53 1.50

10 000

0.50

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

329 900 239 708 NT 24 313

3.68 8.00 2.92 6.82

1.64 1.94 2.78 3.09

403 200 000 771 450 000 425 641 111

0.14 0.29 0.01 0.50

N/A N/A N/A -4.85

1.70 2.00 NT 5.77

2 293 613

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

1.03

NT NT

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236 699 511 5 631 539 736

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

NT NT

265 259 13 581 493

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A 11.59

4.80 6.90

NT

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

NT

11 000

1.02

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

0.97

500

0.60

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.60

NT

0.50

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

NT

0.50

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 20 000 NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

24 200 000 5 857 500 000 15 000 000 98 600 000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 NT NT

NT NT 16 000

0.50

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT 2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

40

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“If men will multiply injuries, actions must be multiplied too, for every man that is injured ought to have his recompense.”

JUSTICE CHUKWUDIFU OPUTA RETIRED SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

Judgement: Supreme Court Justices can’t sit over one matter –Okunnu, others

Many judges with bad records still on the Bench –Dabiri 44

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar

Fawehinmi

Twelve years ago, late fiery lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi proposed that the full panel of the Supreme Court should always sit to hear and determine important cases before the apex court. Since this proposal was made, divergent views have emerged on the issue writes KAYODE KETEFE, Assistant Head, Judiciary Desk.

T How securities firm battled Tinubu, two others over N2.5m loan facility 46

he Supreme Court, as the name suggests, is the most powerful court in Nigeria, being the court to which the final appeal lies. The justices of the court themselves often make reference to position of the court when they say “Appeal only lies from this Court to the God Almighty.” The renowned jurist, retired justice Chukwudifu Oputa of the Supreme Court, once made a remark about the court which has now become famous. “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible because we are final” That succinct statement summarises the unique position of the4 Supreme Court in the hierarchy of court in Nigeria. Given this fact, stakeholders in the administration of justice often make various suggestions on how to strengthen the court by making it more efficient and dynamic as a strategic institution in the nation’s administration of justice. A number of these suggestions for improvement have revolved around the composition, constitution of the justices of the court, the appellate and original jurisdiction of the court, as well as appointment of the justices into

the court.

Sections 230 and 231 of the 1999 Constitution, which creates the Supreme Court, provides on the composition and appointment in the apex court as follows: “230. (1) There shall be a Supreme Court of Nigeria.

(2) The Supreme Court of Nigeria shall consist of -(a) the Chief Justice of Nigeria; and (b) such number of Justices of the Supreme Court, not exceeding twenty-one, as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.

“231. (1) The appointment of a person to

YOU CANNOT ASK ALL JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT TO SIT ON A MATTER AT

THE SAME TIME, IT WILL CREATE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE

the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. (2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. (3) A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria or a Justice of the Supreme Court, unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than fifteen years.”

Section 232 of the constitution grants appellate jurisdiction on the Supreme Court directly from the Court of Appeal either as of right or with the leave of court.

Section 233, however, grants original jurisdiction on the apex court in matters relating any dispute between the Federation and a state or between states if and in so far as that dispute involves any question (whether of law or fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends. The court also has original jurisdiction on any matter expressly conferred it by the National Assembly.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

42

Law & Justice

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Proposal ‘ll not aid justice administration’

Okunnu, SAN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 On the issue of the composition of the Supreme Court panel, section 234 provides that the court shall be properly constituted if it consists of five judges.

The said section, however, makes provision for the panel of the Supreme Court to be composed of seven justices on some three special occasions.

These are situations when (a) an appeal lies to the court on the interpretation of the constitution; (b) the interpretation of the Chapter Four of the Constitution which dwells on Fundamental Human Rights and (c) when the Supreme Court is exercising its original constitution on the issue of any dispute arising from any dispute between the Federal Government and state or states or between states among themselves.

Of all the provisions on the Supreme Court in the constitution, the two that have generated the greatest controversies is the mode of appointment of justices and the composition. On the issue of mode of appointment, some lawyers and jurists are suggesting that the constitution should be amended to allow brilliant accomplished lawyers like Senior Advocates of Nigeria and others to be appointed directly to the Supreme Court.

On the issue of composition which has generated more controversies, there are a growing number of lawyers making recommendations that the statutory requirement that justices of the Supreme Court should sit in panels of five and seven should be jettisoned and substituted with provisions mandating the full number of justices of the court to sit on cases before it.

The proponent of “full court” sitting included no less a person than the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN). Eight years before Fawehinmi’s death, he had called for an amendment of the constitution to allow the all the justices of the apex court to sit on cases before them.

The activist, who referred to judgements coming out of the Supreme Court as “minority judgements,” added that a full complement of the justices of the court would ensure that cases are viewed thoroughly from every perspective before judgement is pronounced.

Fawehinmi insisted this measure would enrich our jurisprudence as each of the justices would bring his our brilliance, erudition and particular jurisprudential view to bear on every matter.

A number of lawyers have also supported the view of Fawehinmi although many lawyers have also faulted the proposition on various grounds. The opponents, for instance, argued that it could be expensive by consuming both money and time.

Otteh

Those in support of reform to allow all justices of the Supreme Court to sit would point to America where a similar practice exists and stress that American jurisprudence has been expanded and improved by it.

It is a fact that all the justices of the Supreme Court in the United States sit and write their judgements on every issue. This was easily illustrated in the case of former election petition between the former President George Bush and his democrat opponent Al Gore, where all the nine justices of the American Supreme Court sat and gave judgement in favour of Bush by a majority of five to four.

According to lawyers and other stakeholders, there are as many reasons to be raised in favour of the proposition of “full court’ sitting as there are to be raised against it. For example, while it is true that an important constitutional issue would be best treated if all the justices of the Supreme Court hear and determine it, there is also the disadvantage that the panel of the court would have to be sitting one at time as there could not be simultaneous sitting of many panels.

National Mirror sought the views of some Senior Advocates of Nigeria and other experienced lawyers on this issue. In his own opinion, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, (SAN), said, “You cannot ask all Justices of the Supreme Court to sit on a matter at the same time, it will create miscarriage of justice.

“What happens if one or two of the judges cannot come on a particular day? The court will have to wait for him or what? I don’t think the proposition will be beneficial to our administration of justice.”

Another lawyer, Dr Joseph Nwobike (SAN) said “I support the current practice at the Supreme Court; it gives the opportunity for the other panel of judges to sit on other matters. If all the judges were to sit at the same time, then the court will be burdened unnecessary.

EIGHT YEARS BEFORE FAWEHINMI’S DEATH HE HAD CALLED FOR AN AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW ALL THE JUSTICES OF THE APEX COURT TO SIT ON CASES BEFORE THEM

“The reason the current practice is the best is that it allows panel of judges to sit on different matters and will also save time.

Also expressing a similar view, Mr. Adekunle Oyesanya (SAN) said “What I believe the constitution says is that a total of seven judges sit over a constitutional, matter, that is the maximum.

“The maximum number of 21 justices is designed for the purpose of the entire Supreme Court, not for sitting purpose. All cannot sit on the matter at the same time. If that happens, they will wear themselves out.

“Another issue is that some of the justices had sat on the same matter(s) now coming before them at the apex court when they were at the Court of Appeal, the law does not allow them to sit on the same matter at the Supreme Court. So, making all the justices to sit on a matter would not allow this.”

The Executive Director of Access to Justice, Mr. Joseph Otteh said, “It may not be expedient if you ask all the judges of the Supreme Court to sit in hearing every matter. We have to think of the time and resources that would be consumed. But I think you can use that strategy in specified number of cases like when the issue involves important constitutional matter.

In that kind of situation, the numerous judgements will expand the scope and understanding of the law” Expressing a contrary view, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Yahaya Oladeji, said “Every judge is a library of knowledge, when you allow all the judges to make pronouncement on a matter, there is no doubt you would have a rich collection of judgements that would enrich the judicial thinking and our system of law.

“There is also the advantage that there will be less error (s) in the judgements of the Supreme Court if more of the judges hear and determine the cases”.

LEGAL TIPS

EVIDENCE OF A WITNESS The Law of Evidence deals with the facts relating to a matter presented to a court or judicial tribunal. The person who is summoned or invited by the court to give the evidence is called a witness.

Types of Evidence

•Direct Evidence is also known as the ‘’original’’ type or testimony concerning a fact actually perceived by a witness with one of his senses.

•Hearsay Evidence or second -hand evidence pertains to fact or information given to a witness by some other person but proved by him in court.

He tells the court what some other persons had told him.

Note that hearsay evidence may not be generally admissible in some cases because of the rules against it.

•Circumstantial evidence is also indirect evidence, which is inferred by the court from the facts in issue.

•Oral Evidence is the testimony of a witness usually on oath given by his word of mouth in the witness box.

•Documentary evidence is the evidence derived by court from the contents of some documents such as books, records, photographs and video clips produced before it.

•Real Evidence is derived from inspection of physical objects such as a place of accident, person, or thing.

Written by Francis Famoroti, Head, Judiciary.

We welcome feedback and reactions from readers via our e-mail: nationamirrorlaw@ yahoo.com

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 27, 2013

43

44

Law & Justice

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Many judges with bad records still on the our own time, I think you got to have seven years post-call or so before you appear in the Court of Appeal. You can’t go to the Court of Appeal on your own. Your senior could lead you, but you cannot on your own appear. But eventually, they dropped this tradition. Good things are not valued in this country. Instead of setting a standard with it, they rubbished everything.

You must have handled several cases in your legal career. Is there any particular case that you ‘ll never forget easily?

I have handled numerous cases, but there is one I cannot really forget easily. I lost the case, but I didn’t lose completely. It was during the Buhari/Idiagbon’s military regime. In those days, anybody caught stealing anything relating to electricity were sentenced to death. At that time, one young man stole a meter here on in Lagos Island and he was caught and charged to court.

The young man was not having a kobo, but I just felt concerned about him and defended him. The case got to a stage where we had to interpret the dictionary meaning of a meter. While I submitted that a meter is not supposed to mean an electrical device and that a meter merely determines the volume of power, the lawyer on the other side said it was actually electrical device. In his judgement, the judge waived the death penalty and sentenced the young man to imprisonment. That young man is today a pastor.

Dabiri

Chief Abiodun Dabiri studied law in the United Kingdom and he is the principal partner, Abiodun Dabiri and Co. He is a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch and a one-time member of the Disciplinary Committee of NBA. In this interview with WALE IGBINTADE, he speaks on the falling standard of legal practice in Nigeria and the recent sanction imposed on some judges by the National Judicial Council (NJC). Excerpts.

What motivated you to read Law and how was it like studying Law in United Kingdom those days?

I never had the ambition of becoming a lawyer.

I had wanted to be a post master because in those days postmasters wear impressive uniforms. Law was something that came by way of accident. At that time, I was fascinated by the uniform and I said okay, that was what I would like to do. But when I left this country in 1962 to England, I did not really know what I was going to do.

In England, I discovered that some of my friends were doing Advanced Levels there and I decided to join them. After my A Levels, I did some counselling and they said; ‘you better go for Law with the subjects you passed’. That was how I came into Law. It wasn’t pre-designed. Maybe it was pre-ordained, but I found the course very interesting and useful.

Could you share your first experience in court?

Obviously, I was nervous because that was my first appearance in court alone before a judge and I was making some sort of submissions. But in those days,

you would have done your home work properly by looking at your file, read it and get some cases to support it. In fact, you really have to be prepared before you appear in court. But, now people go to court and say ‘my Lord, my senior is not in court and he wants to handle this matter himself and we will want to ask my lord for an adjournment because he is not here now’.

What do you think is responsible for the falling standard of legal practice in Nigeria?

I think lack of requisite training of young lawyers is partly responsible for the falling standard being experienced today in the profession. The fact that you passed the Law School exams does not mean you can start to do the work straight away. What it means is that you have just been prepared to a stage where you can become an apprentice to learn the job and not to practise it. This is because you don’t have the experience. All those things we read in the textbooks, not all of them can be applied when it comes to the nitty-gritty of the practical aspect of legal practice.

But what do we have today? You see somebody leaving the Law School within two months or three months, he is on his own. Probably he doesn’t know anything about procedure; he doesn’t know anything about the ethics of the profession or the courts. In

I AM SURE IF

ALAYEMIEYESEIGHA‘S CASE HAD PASSED THROUGH THE PREROGATIVE OF MERCY

COMMITTEE,

I DOUBT IF HE

WOULD BE RECOMMENDED FOR PARDON

Not long ago, the Presidency granted amnesty to a former governor Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alayemieyeseigha. Are you in support of this pardon?

The President has constitutional power to pardon, but such pardon had to go through a procedure.

Every State has Prerogative of Mercy committee and I believe the Federal Government has it too. It is this committee that will recommend to the President that pardon should be granted to deserving individuals. But, it not something that is political because it is now politicised. How can the President pardon a convict like former governor of Bayelsa State? The man is still a fugitive, he is still a wanted criminal and if he sets his foot in any of the European countries, he will be arrested. Is this not an embarrassment for our government to do a thing like that?

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 27, 2013

Bench –Dabiri

There is growing breach of professional ethics among lawyers in the country. What is your view?

It wasn’t like that when I started practising, but the numbers of lawyers back then were very few. But, what some legal practitioners failed to appreciate is that you cannot be bigger than the profession you belong to. The decadence we are having now is a reflection of what is happening in the country. Lawyers are not different breed from the society they live in. Every profession has its bad eggs and whatever we may say, we still have people who are not corrupt and who are above board. But we have some people who are bound to steal, because it is their way of life. They think they are smart, it is only when they are caught that they know that crime does not pay.

WILL SERVE AS LESSON FOR OTHERS BECAUSE A CORRUPT JUDICIARY WILL LEAD TO DISORDER

How will you react to recent decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to discipline some judges in the country?

What the Chief Justice of Nigeria is doing is highly commendable. The Chief Justice of Nigeria is the only one who is taking the issue of corruption in the judiciary seriously. It was alleged that Justice Archibong was bad and the NJC recommended that he should be warned. But, the man had previous records of doing these things. But, when the recommendation reached the CJN, she decided that the judge should be dismissed. There are so many of them with bad records that are still on the Bench.

What the CJN has done will serve as lesson for others because a corrupt judiciary will lead to disorder.

There is no point in saying you want to eradicate corruption while some are still corrupting the system.

Is it possible for these judicial officers to be corrupt without the participation of lawyers?

You see, lawyers are the nearest to the judges and since judges are human beings; they have friends and from time to time they have to relate with them.

Judges can still have friends, but when a case is bad it’s bad, there is nothing anybody can do about it.

You can hire 20 Rotimi Williams of this world and bring them from their graves, when the fact of a case is bad; there is nothing anybody can do about it.

But, some judges are not fearless and they are corrupt. Some of them find it difficult to give judgement against the government. It is possible that some lawyers are corrupt and some judges are using them.

But, I have never seen one myself. It is not open, it is like a secret business, but when people are making allegations, there is element of truth in these allegations. Why should a lawyer be phoning a judge and be exchanging correspondence when a matter is pending before him?

The Council of Legal Education recently declared that the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has not been accredited to run Law degree programme. Is it fair?

45

not be at the same level with those who have passed through full time study.

WHAT THE CJN HAS DONE

Do you think this will affect the President’s commitment to fighting corruption?

I really don’t understand the President. It seems he doesn’t have a direction. He does not have a purpose, neither did he know anything about governance. I am sure if his case had passed through prerogative of mercy committee I doubt if Alayemieyeseigha would be recommended for pardon.

They should include Bode George too, so that the world will know that everything is now political.

For instance, look at Ibori’s case, if Ibori had been found guilty in Nigeria, he would have been granted State pardon.

When Ibori was arraigned before a hurriedly created Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, Justice Marcel Awokulehin came out to say that all the charges were frivolous and there was no prima facie case against Ibori. He dismissed all the charges levelled against Ibori without taking any evidence at all.

But, when Ibori was arrested and put on trial in London, he was convicted on similar charges that a Nigerian court dismissed. Is that not an embarrassment?

The President is merely celebrating corruption with his state pardon on the former governor of Bayelsa State.

Law & Justice

The Nigerian University Commission regulates establishment of universities and accreditation of courses, but the Council of Legal Education, being a different body, is empowered to admit students into the Nigerian Law School. If you did a part-time study in England and obtained LLB, you will not be allowed to register in the Nigerian Law School.

Admitting part-time students into the Nigerian Law School was cancelled because of the abuse. A lot of students like Chief Executive of Officers of banks and multi-national companies would enroll as parttime students without attending classes, but at the end of the day, the university will award them either second class upper or second class lower as the case may be. But, when they get to the Law School, they find it difficult to cope, they cannot pass the exams.

But the implication is that the students have wasted their time and resources. Is that not so?

It is not a waste because they have their LLB which they can use in other fields. But, if the Law degree has been accredited by the National Universities’ Commission, I do not see why they cannot be admitted into the Law School, but there must be certain conditions they must meet. But they can-

Do you support the call in some quarters that senior lawyers should be appointed to appellate court as justices?

I’m not in support of it. Being a judge is a different kettle of fish from being a lawyer. As a judge, you have to be unbiased and listen to both sides of arguments without descending to area of conflict. Again, you need to be trained on how to write judgements and that is why judges are trained by the National Judicial Institute (NJI). The Institute also provides continuing education for all categories of judicial officers by organising, conducting and facilitating study courses, lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences and other programmes related to judicial education. So, it takes time to write good judgement and you have to be trained to do so. But, if senior lawyers are to be appointed, they must undergo special training.

What is your advice to young lawyers on how to be successful in the legal profession?

The problem with young lawyers is that they want to reach the top in a hurry. So, they need a lot of patience and perseverance and should be ready to learn from their seniors. For a lawyer to be successful, he must be willing to learn from his seniors. It’s unfortunate that a lot of young lawyers today no longer want to go into practice; they want to work in oil companies. If you look at a car with manual gear system, from neutral you go to gear one, then to two, three and four. But, if you are in hurry and you move from neutral straight to gear four, you will damage the car. That is what life is all about; you have to take it step by step.

Well, all of us are worried that lawyers behave as if there is no regulations, as if there is no provision regulating their conducts. But there is provision. There is also the committee charged with the discipline of lawyers. Those people are doing their best. But in the first place, it requires a complainant to bring to the disciplinary committee that this lawyer has committed an offence. Without that, the Bar Disciplinary Committee cannot just take it up. Those of us who are lawyers owe a duty to bring to the appropriate authority conducts unbecoming of lawyers. It is a combination of the functions of all of us and I think people are disillusioned that some lawyers behave as if there is no law or as if they are above the law, but it is important that cases of indiscipline at the Bar should be brought to the appropriate quarters.

The appropriate body should also meet more often to consider petitions brought to their attention on conduct of lawyers. It is not right that a lawyer, through their greed, should collect money on behalf of their clients and don’t pay it over. These are things that are happening now and we read about it in the papers. There is the criminal aspect of breach and trust which the EFCC or the Police can prosecute, but there is also the indiscipline aspect which can be considered by the Bar disciplinary committee and may result in the removal of their names from the roll of lawyers or temporary suspension, depending on the gravity. I think we need to sit up and repair the image of the Bar in the eyes of the public. It is a serious situation.

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Law & Justice

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How securities firm battled Tinubu, two others over N2.5m loan facility Shortly before Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was elected the Lagos State Governor, he guaranteed a N2.5m overdraft facility advanced by the IMB Securities to one of its customers in the early 1990s.

The delay in repaying the loan however, resulted in a legal duel among the parties.

FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary writes that the case afforded the Supreme Court the opportunity to interpret the immunity clause.

B

arely few years before he became the Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu had guaranteed a loan advanced by the IBM Securities to one its customers.

The beneficiary of the facility eventually defaulted in fulfilling his obligations.

Attempts by the securities’ company to recover the remaining part of the loan from the customer were to no avail.

This prompted the company to institute an action against Tinubu and two others at a Lagos State High Court.

Specifically, by a writ of summons instituted on November 26, 1992 at the High Court, the firm claimed against the first defendant the sum of N2.5 million being the outstanding balance owed in respect of an overdraft facility it granted the said first defendant.

The plaintiff also claimed, as against the second and third defendant (Tinubu) the same amount together with interest upon the breach of their obligations under the contract of guarantee entered into by the parties and arising out of the overdraft facility.

By a motion on notice dated January 27, 1994, Tinubu however applied to the trial court for an order to set aside the service of the writ of summons and the statement of claim in the suit on the ground that they were purportedly served on him on January 20, 1994 after the expiration of the 12 months life span of the writ of summons.

The politician also prayed for the striking out of the writ of summons and the statement of claim and for the dismissal, or alternatively, the striking out of the plaintiff ’s action. Following this development, the plaintiff, in a swift reaction, applied for the renewal of its writ of summons by a further period of six months.

Both applications filed by Tinubu and the IMB Securities were consolidated and heard together by the trial judge who in his ruling of June 17, 1994 granted the plaintiff ’s prayer. A further period of six months and the service of the processes in issue on Tinubu accordingly extended the life span of the plaintiff ’s writ of summons on January 20, 1994 and was deemed proper service.

Tinubu’s application for the dismissal or alternatively the striking out of the plaintiff ’s action was struck out.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, Tinubu lodged an appeal against it to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Judicial Division on June 12, 1995.

Whilst this appeal was pending and the

Tinubu

FAMOUS CASES parties had duly filed and exchanged their respective briefs of argument in respect thereof Tinubu successfully contested election to the office of the Governor of Lagos State.

He was accordingly sworn in as Governor of Lagos State of Nigeria on May 29, 1999.

On December 1, 1999 when the appeal was listed for hearing before the Court of Appeal, the plaintiff ’s counsel applied for the adjournment of the appeal sine die until such time as Tinubu would cease to hold office as the governor of the state.

He contended that the civil proceedings in issue, in so far as it concerned the claim against him, could no longer be continued in view of the provisions of Section 308(1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

Tinubu’s counsel opposed the adjournment of the appeal sine die as applied for by the plaintiff, and contended that the appeal could be heard, notwithstanding the position of his client as the state governor.

After hearing the arguments of the parties on the issue, the Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision delivered on January 29, 2001 granted the plaintiff ’s application and adjourned Tinubu’s appeal sine die until he “vacated the office of Governor of Lagos State.

In the main, it held that ‘’the prohibition imposed under Section 308(1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution against the institution or the continuance of any civil or criminal pro-

Fashola

ceedings against a person to whom Section 308(3) of the same Constitution applied during the period of office is a restraining order which binds the parties in the class of cases therein specified and that the continuation of an interlocutory appeal in respect of such a suit is an indirect way of continuing the case before the trial court.’’

Aggrieved by this decision of the Court of Appeal, Tinubu appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appellant filed five grounds of appeal.

The panel of the justices of the apex court that heard the appeal are; Justices Muhammadu Uwais, Adolphus KaribiWhyte, Salihu Belgore, Idris Kutigi, Anthony Iguh, and Umaru Kalgo.

In the lead unanimous judgement delivered by the Supreme Court on October 5, 2001, Justice Iguh acknowledged that on January 20, 2001 the Court of Appeal had adjourned sine die Tinubu’s appeal pending before it until he ceased to hold his office as the Governor of Lagos State.

He declared that in the light the grounds of appeal filed and the substance of the submissions made in the appellant’s brief of argument the single issue for determination in this appeal is: “Whether having regard to the provisions of Section 308(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the Court of Appeal was right in declining to entertain the appeal of the Appellant pending before it until the Appellant vacated his office as the Governor of Lagos State”.

At the oral hearing of the appeal the respondent, although served with the hearing noticed in respect of the appeal, was absent and un-represented. Mr. Babatunde Fashola appeared as counsel for Tinubu.

Fashola contended that the only question before the court below was the interpretation of Section 308(1) of the 1999 Constitution with a view to determining whether it prohibited the appellant from the prosecution of his appeal.

In his judgement , Justice Iguh observed that the real question posed for determina-

JUSTICE IGUH ACKNOWLEDGED THAT

JANUARY 20, 2001 THE COURT OF APPEAL ON

HAD ADJOURNED SINE DIE

TINUBU’S APPEAL

PENDING BEFORE IT UNTIL HE CEASED TO HOLD HIS OFFICE AS

GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE

THE

tion was whether any part of the provisions of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution might be construed as prohibiting the appellant from continuing the prosecution of his interlocutory appeal in the civil proceedings instituted against him by the Plaintiff/Respondent before the trial court.

Interpreting the enabling section, the Supreme Court said “To allow the Appellant, who is the executive Governor of Lagos State to further press on with his appeal is another way of continuing the suit before the lower court”. ‘’It is thus clear that applying the mandatory provisions of Section 308(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, no civil proceedings may be instituted or, if already instituted, as in the present action, shall be continued against him while he holds the office of Governor of Lagos State .

Justice Iguh said ‘’in my view no question of waiver of the relevant immunity by the incumbent of the offices concerned or, indeed, by the courts may therefore arise.’’

I accordingly determine that this appeal ought to be adjourned sine die to be re- listed only when the appellant vacates the office of Governor of Lagos State. I make no order as to costs.’’ The five other justices on the panel concurred with the lead judgement.

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Law & Justice

Monday, May 27, 2013

47

Event

L-R : Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika and Mr. Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) at the Seminar on Forum for Lawyers to x-ray the Court’s Rules 2012 and Evidence Act 2011 organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch as part of its Law week in Lagos recently.

Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) and former Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.

Former first Vice- Chairman of the branch, Mr. Yinka Farounbi and ex- Publicity Secretary, Mr. Wale Ogunade.

Mrs. Roli Craig and Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Ayo Odugbesan at the seminar.

. L-R: Justice Olubunmi Femi-Adeniyi; Chairman, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Mr. Monday Ubani and Mr. Philip Jimoh- Lasisi (SAN).

L-R: Mandy Asagba, Messrs. Dele Oloke and Dare Akande.

PHOTOS: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Bar Jokes

Offer legal advice

T

aylor was desperate for business, and was happy to be appointed by the court to defend an indigent defendant.

The judge ordered Taylor, “You are to confer with the defendant in the hallway, and give him the best legal advice you can.”

After a time, Taylor re-entered the courtroom alone.

When the judge asked where the defendant had gone, Taylor replied, “You asked me to give him good advice. I found out that he was guilty, so I told him to split.”

S

What’s your wife’s name?

t. Peter is questioning three married couples to see if they qualify for admittance to heaven.

“Why do you deserve to pass the Pearly Gates?” he asks one of the men, who had been a butler.

“I was a good father,” he answers.

“Yes, but you were a drunk all your life. In fact, you were so bad you even married a woman named Sherry. No admittance.”

St. Peter then turned to the next man, a carpenter, and asked him the same question.

The carpenter replied that he had worked hard and taken good care of his family.

But St. Peter also rejected him, pointing out that he had been an impossible glutton, so much so that he married a woman named BonBon. Culled from Lawyers.Jokes.com

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Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror “They don’t know the contributions I have made towards the sustenance of peace in this country. Maybe the impact of my contribution would have been felt if there had been no oil and no money to share at the federal level.”

FMR. GOVERNOR OF BAYELSA STATE, CHIEF DIEPREYE ALAMIEYESEIGHA

FRANCIS SUBERU

I

n its renewed efforts to rid the society of fraudsters, police detectives at the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, have arrested two land speculators for allegedly duping some military officers and other innocent Nigerians of their money.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer for SFU, Ngozi Isitume, the suspects, Ayoade Precious Abidemi and Temitope Ajisigiri Kehinde, were apprehended following a petition addressed to the CP, SFU on March 8, 2013.

Land speculators held for defrauding clients Ngozi said the complainants alleged that sometime in September 2010, Ayoade and Temitope approached them that they have a large expanse of land for sale at Ofada, Ogun State.

“The military personnel having indicated interest paid N7.3 million to them with expectation that the land will be allocated to them. Their suspicion was aroused when they requested for title document, but were presented with forged survey plan.”

Subsequently, the suspects were

arrested and investigations revealed that Ayoade, a 29-year-old graduate of Yaba College of Technology and Managing Director of Ampris Global Resources; obtained the said sum from the complainants.

He stated that he registered his company in 2009 to sell and develop estates and that he had an agreement with a family to purchase 200 acres of land which he has started paying for in tranches.”

Ayoade admitted that he had no intention to defraud, since he had

allocated plots to some of the buyers, saying he had not processed the Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, with Ogun State Land Registry, but had sent an application to that effect.

He, however, promised to refund the complainants their money.

Tope, a 30year old graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye was a consultant with Ampris and rose to the position of Business Development Manager.

She brought notice of the land-

sale to the complainants and provided them with the company’s account number where they paid the money for subscription, even as she admitted to the crime but stated that she did not intend to defraud the complainants.

The Commissioner of Police - SFU, CP Tunde Ogunsakin said investigation on the matter is continuing, but advised the public wishing to own properties to ascertain the genuineness before investing their money.

IGP commissions police hospital in Abia GEORGE OPARA ABIA

T

Sato drummers entertaining guests at Badagry in Lagos last Thursday.

PHOTO: NAN

Akwa Ibom inaugurates committee on motor parks TONY ANICHEBE UYO

T

he Akwa Ibom State government has inaugurated a 57 man committee for the management of government owned motor parks in Uyo,even as the Commissioner for Transport, Bassey Abia, said the committee would oversee to the relocation of illegal motor parks.

It will be recalled that the government ordered the closure of all illegal parks and relocation to approved ones by commercial transporters.

The approved ones are Itam, Ikot Akpe, Mbiaobong Etoi and

Nnung Oku parks.

According to him, “the committee will ensure that all transporters relocating to government owned parks are given their stands for passenger loading.

“We held several meetings and far reaching consultations with different stakeholders in the sub-sector; which culminated in the resolution to set up a committee on relocation of illegal motor parks.”

He charged the members to discharge their duties diligently, adding that the government was going to provide necessary security.

He said the relocation exer-

cise should be with immediate effect so as to decongest the major roads in the city for easy vehicular movement.

Abia said, “At my inception a year ago, the immediate task we set was to tackle the challenges of illegal parking and traffic decongestions and obstructions.

“We cannot accept the menace of traffic jams occasioned by illegal motor parks in Uyo most especially, with the uncommon transformation we are witnessing in infrastructural and urban renewal.

“One of the core mandates of the ministry is to regulate the operations of road, water

and air transport services in the state.”

Speaking on behalf of the members, chairman of the central committee, Mr Clement Ikot, promised to be transparent in the management of the motor parks.

He appealed to the government to provide them with adequate security for effective discharge of their duty to avoid negative eventualities.

In his remarks, the state chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Mr. Uwem James, promised the compliance of all the transporters to relocate to government owned parks.

he Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar has commissioned a 14-bed hospital, an upgrade of the police medical services in Umuahia, capital of Abia State.

Commissioner of Police medical - South east, Grace Chita Okudo, said the zone was relatively disadvantaged in terms of receiving grants from the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS. The situation has made the registration of police personnel in medical health facilities difficult.

According to Okudo, the police medical services have since increased the number of health facilities and upgraded existing ones to be comparable both aesthetically and in quality to any good health centre nationwide.

In a bid to make health services accessible, the police medical also set up primary health and maternity homes in areas with high police population in the South east and offering professional training to its staff.

The newly commissioned hospital is equipped with EGC machines, ultra sound scanners, laboratory equipments, pharmacies and many others.

Nevertheless, there are constraints in number of medical professionals but civilian staff and visiting consultants have been engaged.

Abubakar who had served in Abia State as Police Commissioner in 2001 -2003, said the history of the police medical services in the state is well known to him and thus charged the medical team to be diligent and efficient in providing services to police personnel and members of the community it serves.

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

London terror attack: British-Nigerian suspect was arrested in Kenya

50

“Respect is given to those who have morale, to those who make themselves respected.”

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO

Militants kill six in attack on Kenyan police posts PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

• Muslim cleric shot dead

G

unmen believed to be Somali militants killed six people in an overnight attack on police posts near Kenya’s border with Somalia, Kenya’s police chief said yesterday.

David Kimaiyo, the inspector general of Kenyan police, said two of the victims in the Saturday night attack were Kenyan police officers and that six more are missing. The al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility in Twitter updates, saying it killed eight people in the cross-border attack and wounded more than a dozen. The militants also said they had seized two Kenyans in the attack as well as weapons and boxes of ammunition.

Meanwhile, a Muslim cleric accused of possessing explosives and radicalizing Kenyan youths into joining the Somali Islamist rebel group al Shabaab was killed in a shootout with police on Sunday, Kenyan authorities said.

Police said Khalid Ahmed, a

Kenyan police officers at the scene of an attack.

Somali with a Kenyan passport, had been a close friend of Aboud Rogo, a slain Muslim cleric whom the Kenyan government and the United States accused of helping al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in Somalia.

Senior police official Thomas Sangut said Ahmed was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police at his family home in the Indian Ocean port city of

Niger president says Libyan militants behind deadly bombings

N

iger President Maha- southern Libya,” Issoufou told madou Issoufou said France 24 Saturday, adding that the suicide bombers Libya is a “destabilizing force” who carried out two attacks in the region.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, leader that killed 20 people came from of the Islamic military group beLibya.

Nineteen soldiers were killed hind the attack on the In Amenas and more than a dozen injured gas complex in Algeria where 39 Thursday in Agadez when a ve- oil workers died, claimed responhicle drove into a barracks and sibility for the Niger attacks, the exploded. One person was killed Libya Herald reported.

The Libyan government had and 14 others injured in a separate suicide attack later in the not responded to Issoufou’s asmorning at a mining operation sertion, the newspaper said. owned by uranium m i n i n g group Areva in Arlit.

“The assailants, according to all the infor mation that we’ve a c q u i r e d , Twisted metal lying at the site of the car bomb attack inside came from a military camp in Agadez, Niger

Mombasa. Two policemen were wounded, and a hand grenade, two gun magazines and 68 rounds of ammunition were recovered, Sangut told a news conference.

The bodies of two administrative police and four civilians were discovered in the bush hours after the militiamen attacked the Abdisugow and Damajale police posts, Kimaiyo said, adding that firearms were

missing at the posts. The dead included a teacher, a Red Cross officer and a 15-year-old boy, he said. Two other people —including a village chief — were shot and seriously wounded in the attack, he said.

“We will pursue the attackers to the end and enough officers are currently involved in the operation,” he said.

Kimaiyo said he believed the attackers belong to Somalia’s al-Shabaab, which has staged many attacks inside Kenya in retaliation for the Kenyan government’s decision in Oct. 2011 to send troops into Somalia to battle them. The Kenyan government sent troops there after several cross-border attacks and kidnapping of foreign tourists that were blamed on al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab was working to establish a new generation of East African jihadists, a report by the United Nations warned in July 2011. The extremists represent a new security challenge for the region and wider international community, the report said.

Burkina Faso soldiers in Mali worry about defence

A

frican soldiers in the fabled city of Timbuktu worry their equipment, training and circumstances are not adequate to defend against another takeover by Islamic extremists who know the terrain as a double bombing by radical elements has also threatened neighbouring Niger.

Burkina Faso soldiers officially took over at the end of April after hundreds of French forces left the northern Malian town several months after their military operation largely ousted the radical Islamic fighters from the area.

French forces parachuted into Timbuktu in late January to liberate the city from the radical Islamic fighters who had occupied it for 10 months. Al-Qaida’s wing in Africa imposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, requiring women to wear the veil and carrying out public whippings. The French are now scaling down their deployment from

4,000 to 1,000 soldiers in its former colony by the end of the year, leaving other forces in charge.

But a report by obtained by The Associated Press this week indicates that some 500 soldiers from the neighbouring West African country are facing problems with defence.

“Insufficient night vision capabilities and radio communications with the Malian army for coordination,” are among the issues, the report turned in to the head of the African-led mission in Mali said.

Col. Gilles Bationo, who leads the Burkina Faso soldiers, also said that their second-generation night vision equipment doesn’t allow them to see if there is wind, dust or no moon in this desolate area of the world. He said that the jihadists also circulate faster through the deserts in their vehicles because they know the terrain so well, making it difficult for the forces to capture them.

WORLD BULLETIN Brazil to cancel $900m of African debt Brazil has announced that it will cancel or restructure almost $900m (£600m) worth of debt with Africa.

Oil- and gas-rich Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania and Zambia are among the 12 African countries to benefit.

The move is seen as an effort to boost economic ties between the world’s seventh largest economy and the African continent.

Official data in Brazil show that its trade with Africa has increased fivefold in the past decade.

The debt announcement was made during the third visit in three months to Africa by Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, who attended the African Union summit in Ethiopia.

“Almost all (aid) is cancellation,” Ms Rousseff’s spokesman, Thomas Traumann, told reporters.

“To maintain a special relationship with Africa is strategic for Brazil’s foreign policy.”

He added that most of the debt was accumulated in the 1970s and had been renegotiated before.

A spokesman for Brazil’s Foreign Ministry told Efe news agency that the debt restructuring for some countries would consist of more favourable interest rates and longer repayment terms.

Congo-Brazzaville owes the most to Brazil - $352m - followed by Tanzania ($237m) and Zambia ($113.4m).

Libyan congress approves new interior minister Libya’s national assembly yesterday approved a new interior minister after the incumbent submitted his resignation amid a rise in violence in the North African country.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan last week nominated Tripoli police colonel Mohammed Khalifa alSheikh to take over from Ashour Shuail, after the latter said he would quit his post for “personal reasons”, official sources said.

Shuail, former police chief in the eastern city of Benghazi, was named interior minister late last year to tackle Libya’s biggest domestic policy challenge - establishing a legitimate, effective national police force.

However, armed violence persists in wide areas of the oilproducing state.

Ninety-nine out of 124 congress members present at the Sunday session voted to approve Sheikh as the new minister, the assembly’s media office said. “(Sheikh) is a professional policeman and had positive relations with the revolutionaries which is good,” one congress member, who declined to be named, said after the vote.

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World News

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

London terror attack: British- Nigerian suspect was arrested in Kenya

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ne of the suspects in the Woolwich murder case was arrested in Kenya in 2010, the Foreign Office confirmed yesterday.

It said Michael Adebolajo was arrested there and it gave consular assistance “as normal” in the circumstances.

He was believed to have been preparing to fight with Somali militant group al-Shabab, a Kenyan government spokesman told the BBC, and was later deported.

Meanwhile, police investigating soldier Lee Rigby’s murder have arrested a 22-year-old man in north London.

The arrest at Highbury

Grove, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, brings the total number made so far in the case to nine.

Several hundred people have gathered at the scene of the murder, some chanting Rigby’s name and waving Help for Heroes flags.

The Met Police said it was aware of a planned community event in which a group of people intended to lay a wreath.

A small group of English Defence League members have also joined the crowd.

The Kenyan government had previously denied that Adebolajo had ever visited the country, but spokesman Muthui Kariuki said there had been some confusion as he was arrested under a

different name.

Adebolajo was handed over to UK authorities when it emerged he was a British citizen, he added.

In video footage of his court appearance which emerged y, Adebolajo is heard to say: “These people are mistreating us, we are innocent.”

Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab is affiliated to al-Qaeda and is thought to have 7,000 to 9,000 fighters.

It killed 76 people in a double bomb attack in Uganda as they watched the 2010 World Cup. The family of Drummer Lee Rigby, who was slain in Woolwich last week, visit the scene of his death Adebolajo, 28, and a

Michael Adebolajo was among a group of Islamist Extremists who clashed with police outside the Old Bailey in 2006.

PHOTO: TELEGRAPH

second man, Michael Adebowale, 22, were arrested on suspicion of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday.

They remain in custody in hospital in a stable condition after being shot and

wounded by police at the scene after the killing.

Three further men, aged 21, 24 and 28, were arrested in London on Saturday evening on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder - a Taser was used on two of them.

A 29-year-old man arrested earlier on suspicion of conspiracy to murder was released on bail on Saturday, while two women aged 29 and 31, arrested on Thursday, have been released without charge.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, May 27, 2013

51

DESOPADEC sacks 400 workers over forged certificates •Dismisses two HODs over N74m scholarship fraud

AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

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ver 400 Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) workers have been sacked.

The sacked workers were among the 600 accused of using forged certificates to secure appointments at the commission.

It will be recalled that DESOPADEC recently discovered about 600 workers with forged certificates.

The discovery, National

Mirror learnt, followed the screening of the commission’s work force.

A senior DESOPADEC official, who did not want his name mentioned, said in Asaba, the state capital, that the forged certificates were discovered during the screening.

Speaking on the development yesterday in a telephone interview, the commission’s chairman, Mr. Oritsuwa Kpogho, confirmed that over 400 workers were fired for allegedly using forged certificates to secure appointments.

The commission boss said: “I have sacked those who have fake certificates; you know it takes political will to do that type of a thing. I have sacked workers who have fake certificates.

“We have done one set of screening, which is verification of certificates and over 400 workers have been sent away. The screening we are doing now is aimed to actually identify those who are not coming to work and just earning salaries.

We are also trying to see those who made wrong

claims about where they come from. Check what DESOPADEC is today and what it was. I do go to sites to inspect projects just to make sure that the commission is what it is today.”

Meanwhile, a N74 million scholarship scam has been uncovered in the commission.

Investigations by National Mirror revealed that two Heads of Department (HODs) were alleged to have embezzled the money.

Confirming the fraud,

L-R: Former Delta State Deputy Governor, Chief Benjamin Elue; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama and state House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Victor Ochie, at the 2013 Democracy Day thanksgiving service held at Flock of Christ Mission in Warri, yesterday.

Governor releases N1.6bn SURE-P fund to LGs

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elta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has said that his administration had released over N1.6 billion to the 25 local government areas in the state.

He said the money was the local governments’ share of the SURE-P funds.

Uduaghan, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay, at the SURE-P interactive session/ town hall meeting with stakeholders and traditional rulers at the weekend in Asaba, said some of the local governments had begun implementing the approved programmes and projects after due consultation with the state government.

The governor said that the SURE-P projects were all put in place to ensure that the down trodden, women and youths in the rural communities were not left out of the dividends of democracy.

He said: “Here in Delta

State, we have put up a lot of projects and programmes to make sure that the down trodden, women and youths in the rural communities are not left out of the benefits and dividends of democracy.

“So, SURE-P is an addition to our schemes and everything will be done to ensure the success of this initiative”.

Uduaghan, however, told the meeting that his administration was poised to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, adding that the state was a member of the R20 Team, a body dedicated to tackling the issue of climate change.

He called on the royal fathers to assist the state government in monitoring projects set up by the SURE-P. The governor said: “I implore our royal fathers to help monitoring projects that are set up by the SURE-P initiative as Mr. President, with all good

intentions, has put up the SURE-P initiative so that people at the rural level will not be neglected.”

In a brief speech, the Minister of Labor and Productivity, Chief Emeka

Wogu, said the SURE-P initiative was designed to transfer part of the wealth saved from the oil subsidy to provide jobs for women, youths and people with disabilities.

the commission’s chairman, chairman, Mr. Kpogho, said those involved had been fired after investigation.

He said: “A university connived with our staff

and there were irregularities. The two members of staff involved in the embezzlement have been dismissed from the commission. The two of them are HODs too.”

JTF arrests 21 suspected oil thieves in Bayelsa, others EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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he Joint Task force (JTF) said it had arrested no fewer than 21 suspected oil thieves in the creeks of Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Edo and Delta states.

The JTF said it arrested the suspects between May 17 and 24, adding that it had handed them over to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for prosecution.

In a statement made available yesterday to National Mirror, JTF media coordinator, Lt-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said that a vessel christened “Erishna Dolphin,” allegedly used for stealing oil, was impounded by operatives along Obi creek in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Nwachukwu said: "The vessel, which was intercepted by troops of 343 Regiment of Sector 2 along Obi creek in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, has been secured by operatives of the JTF pending recovery to Brass terminal.

"Eleven oil theft suspects operating two barges laden with 7,500 and 500,000 litres of adulterated Automated Gas Oil illegally distilled

from stolen crude oil have been arrested respectively at Bakana creek and Abonema water front in Rivers State by troops of 146 Battalion of JTF. “The barges, which are now secured at Abonema Wharf, were intercepted during one of the anti-oil theft patrols carried out by gun boat troops of the battalion."

According to the spokesman, the suspects were being detained at Headquarters of JTF Sector 2 to assist in preliminary investigations, after which they would be handed over to an appropriate agency for prosecution.

The official revealed that a total of 21 illegal refineries and 41 pumping machines were destroyed Ondo, Edo and Delta states.

He said: "Fifteen of the illegal distilleries were discovered along Takula creek and Itakpe at the boundary between Ondo and Delta states where 40 steel surface tanks and 25 pumping machines used in the illegal trade were scuttled.

“Other items scuttled include 426 plastic tanks and 10,645 drums used to store adulterated Automated Gas Oil distilled from stolen crude oil.

Shun hatred, Uduaghan preaches peace at thanksgiving SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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elta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday admitted that he suffered facial paralysis a few weeks ago.

Uduaghan, who attributed his recovery to divine intervention, said the ailment, known in medical parlance as bell palsy, was first discovered during one of the crucial sessions of the state executive council.

The governor, whose health challenges was a subject of public discuss in the state, said his detractors peddled rumours that he was dead.

Bell palsy is a form of fa-

cial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII, which eventually resulted in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side.

Uduaghan spoke at an interdenominational thanksgiving service to mark his sixth year in office at Flock of Christ Mission, Effurun, the headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.

He said: “Yes, recently I had health challenges. It was first noticed during an executive council meeting and I had to go home. I called my doctor and he said my left hand was weaker than the other. Of course, I told him my right hand must be stronger that the left hand”.

Uduaghan told the congregation about how he was rushed to the National Hospital Abuja, where he spent three days before he was spirited abroad for better medication.

The governor said: "For three days, all medical tests were carried out and sadly all the texts did not reveal anything and the medical team advised that I should be sent abroad, but I initially refused.

“The following day after the ailment was noticed, I still attended to visitors, but when the pressure was becoming too much, I went to National Hospital where all sorts of tests were carried out and there was actually nothing found. I did all the

tests, but there was nothing.

I was in Abuja for three days getting physiotherapy."

Uduaghan, however, said he had fully recovered, adding that his healing was miraculous.

The governor, who bemoaned the rumours about his health challenges, said it was unfair for a human being to wish another person misfortune.

Rather, he said the best approach was to pray and wish the sick a speedy recovery.

The governor said: "The miracle of my healing is that I got over the health challenge within 10 days where some people did not overcome such between six months and one year.

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North

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Court orders SSS to release terror suspect, Berende WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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L-R: Former Gombe State Governor, Senator Danjuma Goje; Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed; Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Idris Wada and former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, at the Saudi Arabia Cultural Centre Mosque, Julius Nyerere Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja, recently.

Nigeria lost N2.6trn to flood last year –NEMA OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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final computation of the losses suffered as a result of the 2012 flooding disaster has revealed that the country lost over N2.6 trillion.

The report also indicated that the incident affected over seven million people, displaced 2.3 million people, killed over 363 persons and damaged 597,476 houses.

The statistics are contained in a paper delivered by the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Muhammed Sani Sidi, at the fourth Global Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland at the weekend.

The Global Platform for

Disaster Risk Reduction is the world’s foremost gathering of stakeholders committed to reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of communities and nations.

Giving the analysis, SaniSidi said: “The comprehensive Post Disaster Needs Assessment conducted from November 2012 to March 2013 with the support of the World Bank and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, GFDRR, United Nations, development partners and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, put the estimated total value of infrastructure, physical and durable assets destroyed at US$9.6 billion.

“The total value of losses across all sectors of economic activity was estimated at

US$7.3 billion. The combined value of these damage and losses was US$16.9 billion.

“The flood was a classical case of how disasters can reverse development in a developing country like Nigeria.

“However, the calamities wrought by the 2012 floods offer for our country an important window of opportunity to address difficulties and long-standing development issues.

“It brought all stakeholders together as never before to address the consequences of the flood, plan to reduce the vulnerability of our people and increase their resilience.”

The DG noted that Nigeria was committed to the fulfilment of its responsibility to increase the tempo of

activities in disaster risk reduction, DRR, stressing that all relevant stakeholders had been mobilised with a view to confronting the hazards risk in the country, especially with the consequences of climate change and global warming.

Sidi, however, criticised some aspects of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 – 2015 which is already approaching its end, especially concerning the practice of DRR at the country level.

He said consultation on Post 2015 in six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory gave the indication that the participation of women and children would be critical to the successful implementation of any framework on DRR beyond 2015.

We’re being marginalised –Northern minorities JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

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bout 300 ethnic minority groups in the North, who said they were being marginalised, have called for the convocation of a national conference as a solution to the problems threatening Nigeria’s existence.

This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of their four-day conference, which ended in Jos yesterday.

The communiqué was signed by Blessing Chamang Mada and Rev. Lawan Ibrahim.

It reads in part: “We the representatives of indige-

•Demand national conference nous minorities in northern Nigeria have continuously been marginalised in northern Nigeria and as farmers, our people have been killed and farms destroyed by Fulani marauders, most of whom are non-Nigerians, who are now demanding our lands under the guise of grazing reserves.

“There is favouritism displayed in respect to compensation and government response in situations of violence and conflict. Whenever Non-Muslims are victims, they are ignored however, when Muslims are victims, they are promptly compensated and settled.

“The Nigerian security agencies are highly polarised such that attacks in certain communities are carried out by men in police or Army uniforms. There are situations where identity cards of serving security personnel were found at the scene of crime e.g. attack in Wereng in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State and Tafawa Balewa council in Bauchi State.

“This has put northern minorities in confusion as to the identity of genuine security men.

“There is a trend of abduction and forceful conversion of non-Muslims, especially

the girls, all over northern Nigeria. The involvement of emirs and security personnel in this situation is worrisome.

“There is a deliberate denial of development in non-Muslim indigenous communities in northern Nigeria. Non-Muslims are marginalised with respect to admission into school, denial of roads, infrastructure, employment, hospitals, grant of certificates of occupancies, building plans for churches, appointments and promotion.

“We call for an indigenous national conference to produce a Constitution that truly reflects our diverse interests.

Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin has ordered the immediate release of Alhaji Mustapha Berende held by the State Security Service, SSS, for suspected terrorism.

SSS arrested Berende late last years for alleged link with the Republic of Iran over terrorism and running errands for an Iranian terror group between that country and Nigeria.

The court presided over

by Justice Olayinka Faji also awarded N1.5 million damages against the SSS in favour of Berende.

The suspect had in a suit No: FHC/IL/CS/1/2013 dragged the SSS DirectorGeneral, Abuja and SSS Director, Ilorin before the court, praying the court to declare his continued detention since December 17, 2012 as an infringement on his fundamental human right of freedom of movement.

Also in his suit filed on January 3, Berende prayed the court for an order directing the 1st and 2nd respondents to produce him before the court and release him on

bail, pending the completion of litigations, if any.

The applicant also demanded a payment of N5,000,000 being damages for his unlawful detention.

Giving the order, Faji said: “I therefore make the following declarations: The arrest and detention of the applicant without trial since December 17, 2012 under the condition and control and power of the respondent is illegal, baseless and unconstitutional.

“The continuous holding of the applicant in the custody of the State Security Service is a gross and flagrant violation and infringement of the applicant’s fundamental human right to freedom of movement.

“The respondents are also ordered to release the applicant on bail, pending his arraignment before a court of competent jurisdiction.

“It may be that the respondents are fighting scourge of terrorism which affects national security. There is, however, a need to maintain the clear balance between law enforcement and protection of human rights. Human rights violations cannot and must not be justified by waving the flag of terrorism.

Abuja Securities, Commodities Exchange for privatisation –NCP UDO ONYEKA

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he National Council on Privatisation, NCP, said it had given approval for the commencement of the privatisation of the Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange, ASCE. According to NCP, the formation of a Steering Committee to be chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, is expected to speed up the process.

The NCP Head of Public Communications, Chigbo Anichebe, said in a statement that a privatised ASCE would provide stable prices and a sure market for all agricultural produce locally and internationally as well as guarantee employment for millions of Nigerians and provide raw materials for industrial production.

He said: “The constitution of the Steering Committee was one of the high points of the third meeting of the NCP in 2013 which held on Thursday, May 9, 2013 in the Presi-

dential Villa, Abuja.

“The Steering Committee was set up with a view to identifying the best options for resuscitating the exchange.”

Anichebe said “other members of the Steering Committee include the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance; and Ministers of National Planning, Agriculture & Rural Development and Communication Technology.

“Others are the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, and the DirectorGeneral of the Securities & Exchange Commission, SEC.” He said the ASCE had witnessed various operational challenges arising from inadequate equity base; impairment of shareholders’ funds arising from operating losses; lack of sector infrastructure like standardised silos and warehouses to store commodities and generate the warehouse receipts that could be traded on the exchange.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Past failure behind me now – Robben

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

I am sad we lost that important game and so missed out Champions League qualification, but that is football for you

- NIGERIAN MIDFIELDER LUKMAN HARUNA EXPRESSING DYNAMO KIEV’S DISAPPOINTMENT

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D’Tigers: NBBF reappoints Coach Bakare

Neymar signs for Barca today

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JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

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he Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has reappointed Coach Ayo Bakare as head of the technical crew of the senior men’s national team, D’Tigers.

Bakare is reappointed to build on the success of the NBBF programme which he carried out since 2011, resulting in the team’s impressive outing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. His assistant, Sani Ahmed, is also reappointed, while Union Bank coach and ex- national captain, Ayinla Johnson, also returned to the senior team staff after his departure in 2005/2006 when he assisted Coach Sam Vincent.

Two young coaches, Abdulrahman Mohammed, of Abuja team, Mark Mentors, and Ogoh Odaudu of Port Harcourt-based Royal Hoopers, are added to the coaching staff as a deliberate succession plan.

The coaching staff for the women’s team, D’Tigresses, was also announced.

The crew will be headed by veteran Coach, Scott Nnaji, who was head coach when Nigeria won the Afrobasket in 2005 in Abuja and was an assistant at Mali 2011.

Nnaji will be assisted by Coaches Lateef Erinfolami of First Deepwater and Adewunmi Aderemi of First Bank. The staff also includes Coach Emmanuel Odah of FCT Angels and a female coach to be determined and announced later, who, together will form the succession pair for the future survival and success of the team.

Following the appointments, NBBF President, Mr. Tijani Umar, has raised hope that the men and women’s senior national teams would do well at this year’s Afrobasket Championships scheduled for July and September respectively.

D’Tigers, are in Group D and are yet to win the tournament since its inception, but many are tipping them as title favourites due to their excellent performance at the London 2012 Olympics.

Speaking to National Mirror at the weekend in Abuja, Umar assured that plans were in top gear to ensure the country clinched the continental title for the very first time, adding that the NBBF was involving foreign-based players who would pair with experienced home-based side.

He said, “We are also building succession teams in such a way that we will be able to sustain what we have started.

What it means is that in the next couple of years, Nigeria will maintain a certain momentum in the continent and entire globe.”

Training camp for the D’Tigers will open in Abuja today with 12 home-based players.

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Success celebrating after scoring a goal in Morocco recently.

Isaac Success lands at Udinese

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talian club, Udinese, has signed Golden Eaglets’ striker, Isaac Success, on a record-breaking four-year deal worth €1.4 million, according to reports.

A reliable source who was part of the deal told MTNFootball.com, “Udinese have signed Success on a four-year deal. It’s a great deal for both the club and the player.”

The deal, which was brokered by an unnamed France-based FIFA agent, will see the Serie A

club splash out a transfer fee of 400,000 Euros to the young striker’s youth club in Benin City, while he will earn 250,000 Euros a year for the next four years.

MTNFootball.com further gathered that Success would be sent to Spanish La Liga side, Granada, on loan to gain experience and playing time. Udinese is believed to have shares in Granada and another Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo, has been playing on loan in Spain from the Italian club.

This is believed to be a massive transfer coup as Udinese has thus beaten bigger clubs like Manchester City, Lille and Benfica to the promising centreforward.

Udinese though are yet to announce the capture of the young striker, who was top scorer at the recently concluded Africa U-17 Championship in Morocco where he scored seven goals as Nigeria reached the final and qualified for the World Cup in UAE.

razil’s World Cup hope, Neymar, is moving to Spanish champions, Barcelona, the striker said on Saturday, and will sign a fiveyear contract today.

Neymar chose Barcelona over their Spanish arch-rivals, Real Madrid, after Santos ended three years of resisting offers for the 21-year-old forward and let him go before next year’s tournament in Brazil.

“On Monday I’m signing a contract with Barcelona,” Neymar said on his Instagram page and Twitter account.

Santos, on their Facebook page, and Barcelona on their website ( w w w. f c b a rc e l o n a . e s ) confirmed Neymar’s decision.

“My family and friends already know about my decision... I want to thank Santos’ fans for these nine incredible years. My feelings for the club and the fans will never change,” Neymar added.

“Titles, goals, dribbles, celebrations and the songs the fans created for me will always be in my heart.

Confed Cup: Mikel keeps date at Brazilian Embassy JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

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helsea FC midfield ace, John Mikel Obi, has confirmed he will be available for Nigeria’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Kenya and Namibia and the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil next month.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said the 26-year-old, who was influential in midfield as the Super Eagles triumphed at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in February, already has an appointment with the Embassy of Brazil in London today.

“I always love to turn out for my country.

I wish to confirm that I will be in Kenya and Namibia for the World Cup qualifying games and will also be in Brazil for the Confederations Cup. “It’s also true that I would so much have

loved to play in the friendly match against Mexico in America, but circumstances and logistics have made this impossible. I love to represent my country,” Mikel reportedly said in a telephone conversation with Eagles’ Team Secretary, Enebi Achor.

Midfield Obi will join the Eagles in Frankfurt, Germany on their return from USA and fly with the team to Nairobi aboard a Lufthansa Airline flight on Tuesday, June 4.

The player has had a magnificent two seasons, winning the UEFA Champions League and Europa League trophies with Chelsea and the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Mikel was in the middle of battle as the Super Eagles overpowered Harambee Stars 3-2 in Nairobi on November 14, 2009, in their final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying series, to send Nigeria to the finals in South Africa.

The match on Wednesday, June 5 will take place at the same venue – Moi International Mikel (right) tussling with Yaya Toure of Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Cote d’Ivoire at the 2013 AFCON finals.

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Sport

Monday, May 27, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL FALL OUT

Tit bits...

Ribery

Klopp, Dortmund fans reflect on European agony

Franck Ribery said he was happy for the whole club after helping Bayern Munich to win the UEFA Champions League.

It made up for those painful losses by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley Stadium, with Ribery delighted to end the team’s long wait for a first Champions League crown since 2001.

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orussia Dortmund fans were inconsolable after their European dream ended in Wembley heartache as boss Jurgen Klopp gave a typically frank assessment: ‘It was a great final but the result is shit.’

The German side saw their Champions League hopes dashed by Bayern Munich as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat after a thrilling final in north London.

Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben did the damage with a last-gasp winner.

Afterwards Kloop said: “The sadness will eventually go away and maybe in two years, when the final is in Berlin, we will come back. The whole atmosphere tonight was brilliant. Everything was good. But the result is shit.”

Klopp did feel Bayern defender Dante should have received a second booking for the foul on Marco Reus that earned Dortmund their penalty, although he was gracious enough not to make a massive deal out of it.

“What do you think,”,he said, then: “We have same opinion,” when told by his inquisitor he thought Dante should have been sent off.

“When I saw it in the game I was sure. On TV, I think you have to give it. But there have been worse decisions than that in finals before now.”

Weidenfeller

Bayern’s captain Philip Lahm (middle) lifting high the Champions League trophy with his joyous team mates at the Wembley Stadium, on Saturday.

Past failure behind me now – Robben

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an of the match Arjen Robben struggled to articulate his feelings after his late goal earned FC Bayern München their fifth European Champion Clubs’ Cup triumph on Saturday.

Robben’s winner came as welcome redemption for the Dutch international, who missed a spot kick in extra time during last season’s showpiece before Chelsea FC prevailed on penalties.

Meanwhile, Franck Ribéry was relieved to finally get his hands on the trophy and Javi

Martínez was left to reflect on an extraordinary first season in Munich.

Robben says scoring the winning goal has allowed him to put past Champions League disappointments behind him. He scored in the 89th minute to hand Bayern a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

“You don’t want the stamp of a loser. There was all the disappointment of last year but I personally also had the World Cup. That was three finals”, said Robben.

“It wasn’t so much pressure.

I tried to make it into positive energy. I couldn’t start thinking negatively; otherwise it would be too difficult. We did it and we can forget about the other things.”

Robben was delighted to rid himself of the loser’s tag after his last-minute goal gave Bayern their fifth European crown.

Twice in the past Robben ended up on the losing side in European club football’s biggest game.

With the Bundesliga title already secure and a German Cup final to come against Stuttgart next weekend, it could be an historic year for Bayern.

Dante praises Robben after Bayern’s final glory

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David Alaba lifting the Champions League trophy with Nigerian and Austrian flags round his waist

ayern Munich’s defender Dante paid tribute to Arjen Robben after the Dutchman’s dazzling display in the UEFA Champions League final.

Robben missed a penalty in last season’s final loss to Chelsea but was the star of the show in Saturday’s showpiece at Wembley as he set up Bayern’s first goal and then scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over German rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Brazilian centre-back Dante was delighted to see Robben make such an important contribution and is also pleased that the supporters can enjoy success after the agony of last year.

“Arjen is a great player. Regardless of the goal, he had complicated moments in the past but he works hard and deserves this title. He wanted to take revenge for last year’s final. He scored the title-winning goal. I am very happy for him

Robben stylishly sliding the ball past Dortmund’s goalkeeper, Roman Weidenfeller for Bayern Munich’s winning goal.

and for the club and the fans”, Dante told ESPN Brazil.

As well as losing to Robben’s former club Chelsea in last season’s final, Bayern were also defeated by Inter Milan in the 2010 showpiece.

And Dente admitted the feeling of finally winning was overwhelming, saying: “It’s a moment I can’t explain, the most important tournament after the World Cup. Bayern had been trying to win for four years.”

Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller is proud of pushing Bayern Munich all the way in the Champions League final on Saturday.

The 32-year-old’s efforts between the posts were crucial in keeping his side in the contest throughout, only to be undone by Arjen Robben’s 89th-minute winner, as Bayern ran out 2-1 winners at Wembley Stadium.

Lewandowski There are hints that Robert Lewandowski is likely to be the next Dortmund player to swap the Westfalenstadion for the Allianz Arena.

Mario Goetze has already decided to join Bayern, which is paying the rising star’s 37 million euro buy-out clause, and Lewandowski appears to be on the verge of joining him.

Heynckes may delay retirement

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upp Heynckes has hinted he may continue coaching elsewhere after guiding Bayern Munich to UEFA Champions League glory.

The 68-year-old will be replaced at the Bayern helm by Pep Guardiola next season and was widely expected to bring an end to his distinguished coaching career.

However, after the 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, the veteran coach indicated his time may not yet be up.

“The decision on what I will do after the cup match was already taken last June? Retire? No, you will learn that after the cup final (against Stuttgart next weekend)”, Heynckes told reporters after the game.

A win in the DFB-Pokal final next weekend would complete an historic treble for the Bavarian giant, but the coach admitted his team was not always on top in the game against Dortmund.

“There was pressure on both teams but we certainly felt the burden of being favourites in the first 20 minutes. We didn’t get into the game in the first half so I corrected a few things at the interval”, Heynckes said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, May 27, 2013

55

Chinese, Norwegian fans hail Utaka, Chima IKENWA NNABUOGOR

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ormer Super Eagles’ striker, Peter Utaka, returned with a bang, scoring a goal in Dalian Aerbin’s 3-2 loss at Yakubu Aiyegbeni’s Guangzhou R&F in China on Saturday. The former Danish League top scorer had earlier gone six games without scoring. He scored in the 86th minute but it was too little too late for the visitors as the hosts had earlier taken a 3-1 lead.

The Enugu-born striker was on for 90 minutes. Utaka has now scored three goals in 10 appearnaces for his side that won promotion to the Chinese Super League last season.

His compatriot Yakubu was however not on the score sheet in the game and was replaced at the start of the second half.

He has also netted thrice in 10 league outings for his side.

In Norway, little known Nigerian striker Daniel Chima lifted defending champions Molde, hitting a brace in a rare 4-0 victory over Honefoss on Saturday.

Life has continued to become more difficult for the Norwegian back-to-back champions since the new season began three months ago but the Kanoborn striker hit a brace to plot the champions’ path to victory.

Chima opened scoring for the beleaguered side as early as the 12th minute. He struck again in the 60th minute to wrap a great evening for the champions, who had hit two goals earlier in the second half. Chima, who hit seven goals last season, has now scored three goals in 12 outings so far this season. With this victory, Molde gained two places to place third from bottom as they previously led from bottom for the better part of the season.

Also in the winning side was another Nigerian, Emmanuel Ekpo, who was on from start to finish. Ekpo, who became a champion last season after his switch from MLS side, Columbus Crew, was on a rare 90 minute appearance in the sweet 4-0 victory, having previously played substitute roles. It was indeed his fifth start this season in his overall eight appearances so far. He’s yet to get on the score sheet. His disciplinary record is still blemish-free.

Earlier on Friday, Kadunaborn striker Leke James failed to hit the target as his side Aalesunds were beaten 2-1 at log leaders Strømsgodset. James, one of the front runners in the Norwegian Premier League top scorers’ chart with four goals, was typically left on the pitch for the entire duration of the game. He

Ambrose

Chima celebrating after scoring his goal.

Utaka

has so far played all the games in the 12 week old Norwegian Premier League. He’s only been cautioned once.

Still in Norway, former Heartland striker Samuel Olanare played from the bench for Valerenga Oslo as they fell 2-1 at home by visiting second-placed Rosenburg. Olanare was introduced in the 69th minute as he continued his search for his first goal this season. He was making his eighth appearance this season. He managed just a

goal last season.

In Scotland, Super Eagles central defender Efe Ambrose finished in style as he added the Scottish Cup silverware to his individual honours cabinet though he played from the bench as his side Celtic beat Hibernian 3-0 to clinch the Scottish Cup yesterday. Ambrose, who was an 80th minute substitute claimed a double having been crown Scottish league champions a fortnight ago with a game remaining. Am-

brose joins the Eagles camp in Nuremberg, Germany today as a double champion. He had earlier ended the season playing a mouth-watering 27 games with three goals to his credit. He was also yellow carded three times.

In Belgium, kid wonder Imoh Ezekiel ended the play-offs without registering his name in the score sheet as Standard Liege thrashed Gent 7-0 in the second leg of the Europa League play-off finals to end the double legged tie on 7-1 goals aggregate

on Sunday. Ezekiel, who had also failed to score in the first leg on Thursday, was on from start but made way for Japanese striker Yuji Ono in the 71st minute. But he had helped his side to two assists, both producing the first two goals in the 4th and 15th minute. The young striker, who missed out on the Ebony Shoe Award earlier in the month, ended the season with 16 strikes from 32 appearances. He was red carded once and got into the referees’ books once.

In Russia, Ahmed Musa failed to cap his victorious season with a goal as league champions CSKA Moscow were hammered 3-0 at Rostov in the last fixtures of the Russian Premier League on Sunday. Musa, who was crowned champions last weekend with a game in hand, was on from start to finish as he failed to add to his season’s 11-goal returns. Musa eyeing a double in the Russian FA Cup final against Anzhi on June 1, ended the season as club’s top scorer and joint third best, two goals shy of top scorer Brazilian Wanderson of Krasnodar.

He made 27 appearances in his second season for the champions.

In the winning side, former Super Eagles central defender Isaac Okoronkwo returned from a long-term injury to finish the season in style but played from the bench as Rostov beat CSKA Moscow 3-0.

Okoronkwo was introduced in the 62nd minute as he ended the season, claiming just four appearances. Okoronkwo spent the better part of the season on the treatment table.

It was still yet another fruitless season for the estranged Super Eagles striker Obinna Nsofor as he ended the season, playing from the bench for Lokomotiv Moscow as they beat Mordovia Saransk 2-1 yesterday. The former West Ham striker was only good enough for four minutes, replacing teenage Russia Aleksey Miranchuk. Nsofor returned a paltry two goals in 25 league outings in the closed season. He was also in the referees’ books twice.

WORLD RECORD

Most people firewalking consecutively - single venue Vol. 03 No. 629

Monday, May 27, 2013

W

hen it comes to Islam, there are some cumbersome burdens that media practitioners and social commentators are silently coping with.

One is the need to be very sensitive and indeed tread quite carefully when they have to deal with anything Islamic because of possible reactions of Muslims.

These dreaded reactions come in various forms and magnitude, depending on the fortune (or shall we say misfortune?) of a writer, actor or speaker. It varies from the petty insults of readers that take their time to call someone like me names and wish me ill for pointing out that it is wrong and ignorant for people to go and kill other people because they think there

N150

The most people firewalking consecutively is 608 people and was achieved by Eastbourne Scouts, in Eastbourne, Wellington, New Zealand, on 28 April 2012.

The burdens of Islam NOTES FROM CAMBRIDGE Anthony A. Kila

anthonykila@mail.com are sinners. It may also take the shape of those who feel the need to participate in protests where flags and houses are burnt, people injured and killed because of a mediocre quality video or cartoon they find offensive. Then, there is, of course, the more solemn and stately fatwa that turns its addressees into celebrities by driving them underground and into a life of fear to be lived in the company of security forces.

There is need, still in 2013, to take extra care when it comes to anything Islamic is a burden not only on artists, actors, writers, thinkers or speakers but also to humanity as whole. As human beings, we have gained more from independent and rational thinking than from dogmas and rituals. Just as Christianity was, in the bad old days, a burden to the development and progress that comes from critical and analytical thinking, liberal initiatives and diversity of opinion and actions some centuries ago when the church had access to unlimited power and its leaders were accorded the status of infallible, so is Islam today, if unchecked or in the hands of unchecked bigots, a burden to development and progress. That might sound harsh, but it is true.

There is another Islamic burden that analysts and commentators have to bear: the conscious and continuous need to generalise. The “do not generalise” mantra is based on the idea that there are billions of good Muslims in the world so one should not equate the activities of some

THE SIMPLE TRUTH IS THAT MORE ISLAMIC SCHOLARS AND

ESPECIALLY LEADERS, NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A PART OF ISLAM THAT IS

STILL STRUGGLING IN ITS BID TO COEXIST WITH MODERN TIMES few violent or ignorant Muslims with the identity of Islam. Of course, we must not generalise, how can one disagree with such statement? That fact is so obvious that it risks turning into an excruciating truism. It is time to take the discussion to a higher level. Let us make it more exciting by asking ourselves some simple questions: how come out of the millions or so Orisa worshippers in the world, that Christians and Muslims scornfully call pagans, we do not have cases of just a few Orisa terrorists? Why is it that we do not have some few cases of Jehovah Witness terrorist?

We all need to share these burdens in a more equitable mode. There is no gentler way to put it; the simple truth is that more Islamic scholars and especially

leaders, need to understand that there is a part of Islam that is still struggling in its bid to coexist with modern times.

Just as Christian leaders and scholars have had to do in the past, Islamic scholars and leaders need to today come up with some theoretical elaborations and theological references that will deal with modernity or update their system, as my students will say. As Muhammad Iqbal puts it, “The task before the modern Muslim is therefore, immense. He has to rethink the whole system of Islam without completely breaking with the past...The only course open to us is to approach modern knowledge with a respectful but independent attitude and to appreciate the teachings of Islam in the light of that knowledge, even though we may be led to differ from those who have gone before us.”

For the endeavour of these leaders and scholars to work, Muslims of goodwill also have the burden of making a choice: embracing the modernists and isolating the bigots. Choosing is necessary but not sufficient, Muslims of goodwill also have the burden of engaging in some very clear actions that will make it clear that their own religion is different and against the practices of violent, selfish, and misguided bigots that preach hatred and engage in viciousness in the name of religion.

Examples abound to follow for those who really care; they can stand in support of and follow the teachings of the likes of Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who in his 2010 Fatwa, not only gave a total condemnation and “absolute” condemnation of terrorism, which he judged to be without “any excuses or pretexts”, he even went on to declare terrorism as kufr.

There is, of course, our own Sheik Ahmad Mahmud Gumi, who in very clear terms has had the courage and lucidity to call the members of Boko Harem evil and asking all northerners to hound them.

We don’t need to wait for one more body to have the courage to call evil its name.

Sport Extra

T

he Flying Eagles will depart for Toulon, France, this evening from Munich, Germany.

The team of 30 players and 10 officials will leave Elfershausen, where they have been training for about two weeks, by 9am local time on

Flying Eagles off to Toulon Monday for the four-hour bus ride to Munich.

The team will then fly to Marseille by 3.45pm local time and then go by road to Toulon in a trip expected to take them about two hours.

The Flying Eagles will open their Toulon campaign against defending champions Mexico on Wednesday. Kick-off time is 5.30pm local, which is 4.30pm Nigerian time.

On June 2, they face Belgium and two days later they battle world champions Brazil, who incidentally did not qualify for next month’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey.

Their final group game is on June 6 against Portugal, who they will also face in their opening World Cup Group B match on June 21 in Kayseri.

The team are expected to announce a final 21-man NFF President, Aminu Maigari squad on June 7.

Kayode Olanrewaju

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