Thursday, march 13, 2014

FG moves to privatise roads, airports, seaports ROTIMI FADEYI, OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND FRANCIS EZIM

Umar

Vol. 4 3 N0. 807 657

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he Federal Government has unfolded plans to privatise the transport sector, including roads, airports, seaports and harbours in the country.

Already, the government

has initiated four bills to actualise the plan.

These include the National Transport Commission Bill (2014); the Nigeria Railway Bill (2014); the NiCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

OPEC worried as US, others increase supply to 1.33m bpd P.4

Alison-Madueke

Thursday, March July 4, 13, 2013 2014

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Stop inciting statements, Presidency warns Sanusi …says he is blackmailing government

ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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Approves forensic audit of NNPC accounts

he Presidency yesterday warned the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, against making inciting statements against the Federal Government.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, condemned Sanusi’s resort to playing politics with serious national is-

FIRE RAZES LAGOS MARKET

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TI wants Abacha’s Centenary Award withdrawn Shops razed by fire at Iponri market in Lagos yesterday.

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ARG, others kick against national conference delegates list Ekid nation alleges marginalisation

Ekiti 2014: New police boss reads Riot Act to officers

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ARG, others kick against national conference delegates list AISHA TITILAYO AND ANIEFIOK MACAULEY

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pposition to the list of delegates released by the Federal Government for the national conference continued yesterday with the Afenifere Renewal Group joining seven others in the South- West to reject the Yoruba nominees.

Also, the leadership of the Ekid Peoples Union in Akwa Ibom State, led by Prof. Asindi Asindi, has said that the purpose of the national conference is already defeated as nominees are not the true representatives of all ethnic nationalities.

The Yoruba groups in a statement in Lagos noted that it would be difficult to prove that the delegates from the region were the best the region could offer.

The groups are the Afenifere Renewal Group led by Hon. Olawale Oshun; Oodua Foundation chaired by Prof. Banji Akintoye; Oodua Nationalist Coalition led

by Group Capt. Adesoji Aderemi (rtd); Agbekoya Reformed Society led

by Chief Kunle Oshodi; Oodua Peoples’ Congress headed by Edward Olusola Ajayi; Atayese led by Chief Adekunle Olaiya; Covenant Group led by Dr. Kola Afolabi and Afenifere Youth Forum chaired

by Dotun Atilade.

The final list, according to the groups, is a deviation from the position of eminent Yoruba, including royal fathers that the region should be represented by her “First 11”.

The groups said in the statement titled “SouthWest’s confab delegates’ list: Is this our First 11?” that the need to send the best was to maximise the opportunity presented by the national conference to adequately propagate the interest of the region during the talk shop.

They described the list as a “gathering of the good, the bad, and the ugly,” and said that the controversies trailing the published list “suggests that some delegates were forced in against the wish of the people.”

“While we cannot speak on how delegates from other ethnic nationalities and interest groups emerged, we owe the Yoruba people a duty to provide some insights about the delegates from the South-West. Not doing so, in our view, may be misinterpreted as an endorsement of the process.

“We could have sent our own list of delegates to the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, but we did not. We put the region’s interest above any other considerations in order to create a united plat-

form that will best serve the aspirations of Yoruba people.

“This decision seemed right, considering the advocacy from every quarter that the region must send its “First 11” to the conference. This informed our decision to participate at the Ishara unity meeting and also at the Grand Yoruba Summit in Ibadan.

“However, it is difficult for those that masterminded the final list or anyone for that matter, to prove that the list truly represents Yoruba’s “First 11.”

“The ‘selection’ process got so convoluted that people who did not expressly endorse the harmonised Yoruba Agenda for 2014 National Conference made the delegates’ list.

“This is a worrisome development that gives some credence to the rumour making the rounds that the delegates to the national conference might have been selected for other reasons at variance with the plan to restructure the country and find lasting solutions to our many problems.

“Should this conference, therefore, fail to meet the expectations of our people - which is to attain true federalism let every Yoruba son and daughter know where the betrayal emerged from.

“We are still asking ourselves if there is truly an unspoken agenda that the President wants to achieve by convoking this conference and we would wish the answer is nega-

tive.

“But the myriad of controversies trailing the published delegates’ list by the Federal Government suggests that some delegates were forced in against the wish of the people.

“Certainly, there are some delegates whose credibility and loyalty to the Yoruba agenda and the pursuit to restructure Nigeria is unwavering.

“There are also those who are perceived, largely due to their antecedents, as reactionary elements who would rather want the retention of the status quo. We hope those in the latter category can prove their worth at this conference and put national interest above any parochial interest.

“However, we would like to remind all delegates of Yoruba extraction that the people of the region have set their minimum irreducible agenda for the outcome of this conference, and it would be in the interest of all that the agenda is fully pursued and realised.

“Finally, as a group that is irrevocably committed to true freedom and development of the Yoruba people, we shall focus on the opportunities that the conference presents and continue to work and press for the interest of our people at the national conference, believing that delegates, no matter their platform, would see reason to seize this golden opportunity to change the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

L-R: Ministers: Mr. Sam Ortom (State for Trade and Investment), Mrs. Lawrencia Laraba-Mallam (Environment), Senator Bala Mohammed (FCT) and Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide (State for FCT), at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

Stop inciting statements, Presidency warns Sanusi CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

sues.

It said that his suggestion that the “missing” oil funds might have been diverted to fund campaigns for next year’s general elections was “mischievous, irresponsible and designed to incite other political parties and members of the public against the Federal Government”.

It said that the claim, which amounted to cheap blackmail against the government, was clearly made in furtherance of a selfish personal agenda and was “most unbecoming of someone who still holds the high office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria”.

It added that the Presidency would not ordinar-

ily have wished to take issues with Sanusi who as CBN governor remained an appointee of the President, but the unacceptable manner in which he had been misinforming the public made it imperative for the statement to be issued.

The statement reads: “We have noted with disappointment the unrelenting attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to falsely portray his recent suspension from office as an attempt by the Presidency to bury his allegation that huge sums of money due to the Federation Account are unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation, NNPC. “The Presidency wishes to reaffirm that Mallam Sanusi’s suspension has absolutely nothing to do with his unproven and inconsistent claim that $49.8bn, $12bn or $20bn is missing from the national treasury.

“As was clearly stated in the letter suspending him from office and confirmed by President Goodluck Jonathan in his last presidential media chat, Mallam Sanusi’s suspension was wholly based on the need for him to step aside while the weighty charges of financial recklessness, gross misconduct and persistent disregard for laid down rules and regulations in the management of the Cen-

tral Bank made against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and others are properly investigated.

“It is most unfortunate that instead of trying to provide some reasonable response to the clear and unambiguous query of his official conduct as Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi has cynically chosen to whip up public sympathy for himself and anger against the Federal Government by deliberately misleading unwary Nigerians and the international community into believing the falsehood that he is being punished for exposing corruption.

“In recent days, the suspended CBN gover-

nor has, following in the footsteps of others who have an axe to grind with the government, taken to spreading his false claims and allegations through gullible foreign media correspondents, telling them among other things that his threat to force commercial banks to open up their books to unravel the whereabouts of the ‘missing’ funds, whether $49.8bn, $12bn or $20bn ultimately led to his suspension.

“He also continues to make the mischievous claim that the government is somehow involved in a scam to divert huge sums of money from the Federation Account through the misappropriation of kerosene

subsidy funds.

“Mallam Sanusi’s allegations are patently untrue. But Government is making no effort to bury them as he falsely claims.

Relevant committees of the National Assembly are still investigating the claims and the suspended CBN Governor remains free to give evidence before them in support of his allegations.

“Furthermore, in keeping with its avowed commitment to full transparency, openness and accountability in governmental affairs, the Federal Government has authorised the engagement of reputable international firms for the recommended forensic audit of NNPC accounts.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

L-R: Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke; Minister of State for Niger Delta Development, Mr. Darius Ishaku; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and Minister of Environment, Mrs. Lawrencia LarabaMallam, during the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

L-R: Convener, Nigeria Katalyst, Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim; Executive Director, Abuja Collectives, Mr. John Odah and Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development, Alhaji Yinusa Yau, during a press conference on the security situation in the North-East in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

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L-R: Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Adebowale Adefuye; United States Trade Representative, Florizelle Liser and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, at the 8th Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Meeting in Washington DC, recently.

L-R: Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Nimi Briggs; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Admin, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ethelbert Nduka and Prof. Robin Hawton, during a symposium to celebrate the 50th birthday of Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele at UNIPORT, Rivers State, yesterday.

National News

Transparency Int’l calls on FG to rescind Centenary Award to Abacha

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ransparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, yesterday criticized the Federal Government for honouring the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, as a recipient of the Centenary Awards It called on the government to rescind the award.

Gen. Abacha, according to Transparency International, was investigated for corruption and human rights violations.

“Just last week, the United States government froze $458m in assets it claims he and co-conspirators stole from Nigeria.

“Honouring a person

with a reputation for abusing his position of power for personal gain - the Transparency International definition of corruption - sends the wrong message about the priorities of a country like Nigeria, which has claimed that fighting corruption is at the top of the government’s agenda,”

OPEC worried as US, others increase supply to 1.33m bpd UDEME AKPAN

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embers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have expressed worry as non-members led by United States, Canada and Brazil are set to export 1.33 million barrels per day this year.

The export by the United States and others is expected to take over a greater part of the market share of the cartel whose members include Nigeria, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, among others.

The increased influence of the United States and others is also expected the affect the capacity of the nation to generate adequate foreign ex-

change to finance their yearly budgets because of high dependence on petroleum.

A report released on Wednesday read: “NonOPEC oil supply is expected to increase by 1.31 mb/d in 2014, following estimated growth of 1.33 mb/d in 2013.

“Growth is seen mainly coming from the US, Canada and Brazil, while Norway, United Kingdom and Mexico are seen declining.

In February, OPEC crude production, according to secondary sources, averaged 30.12 mb/d, up 259 tb/d from a month ago.”

The report said the assumption that the global economy would witness gradual recovery in 2014, led by growth acceleration in

the major OECD economies, remains valid.

It stated: “This is despite softening economic indicators at the beginning of the year, particularly in the US and China, which have highlighted some fragility in the ongoing momentum.”

The report stated that some of this might be explained by temporary factors such as the extremely cold weather in the US and reduced economic activity due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

The report said: “Additionally, anticipation of a sales tax increase in Japan, the ongoing challenges in domestic consumption in Brazil and recent developments in Ukraine have added to this year’s growth risk.”

said Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for SubSahara Africa at Transparency International.

“Giving an award to a public official implicated in numerous acts of corruption contradicts Nigeria’s international commitments and obligations to stop corruption.

“I applaud those who have rejected their Centenary Awards in protest.

They send a clear message that there are social consequences for honouring those who abused their positions of power by creating an embarrassing situation for those handing out the Centenary Award,”

Uwimana added.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on Friday February 28, decorated 100 prominent Nigerians during the centenary anniversary awards night and dinner.

Seven living former Nigerian Heads of State and Presidents were among those decorated.

10 students killed 4 injured in Katsina auto crash

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o fewer than 10 students were yesterday killed and four others injured in a ghastly accident on Sheme-Kankara Road in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accident occurred when a truck conveying the students to Government Day Secondary School in Kankara town collided with an oncoming truck.

The Malumfashi Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Malam Tijjani Muhammad,

confirmed the incident.

Muhammad said the accident occurred in the morning when the students were going to school, adding that the truck was also carrying timber.

According to him, the truck was coming from Sheme and going to Kankara while the other vehicle was from Kankara going to Sheme junction.

He said the rescued victims and the dead were taken to Kankara General Hospital.

An eyewitness, Malam Umar Tanko, said that the victims were residents of dif-

ferent villages studying at Kankara and boarded vehicles daily on the road.

Tanko said the students were sitting on top of the timber when the accident occurred, adding that logs of timber fell on them.

Also the Kankara General Hospital register indicated that the survivors and the dead had been evacuated by their respective families.

NAN also gathered that Government Day Secondary School, Kankara, had been closed to mourn the dead students.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

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FG moves to privatise roads, airports, seaports CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

gerian Ports and Harbour Authority Bill (2014) and the National Inland Waterways Authority Bill (2014).

Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, while briefing State House correspondents yesterday at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting said government was making the move to open up the transport sector to for private investments.

He said that government would remove the legal bottlenecks hampering private sector participation in transport and provision of infrastructure.

Maku explained that government could not continue to fund all the sectors of the economy, saying that the proper thing to do was to lead the way by deepening reforms in the transport sector and other sectors of the economy.

The minister disclosed that the FEC had already set up a council committee headed by the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Muhammed Adoke (SAN) to implement the plan.

He said the committee would also include officials from the ministries of works, aviation, transport and relevant stakeholders in the transport sector.

According to him, the committee is expected to get the four draft bills ready for FEC approval before being forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and passage to law.

He stated that the passage of the bills would open up opportunities for Nigerians to enjoy increased and better road, rail, sea and air travel infrastructure.

The minister explained that the idea was to get the private sector into the construction, maintenance and ownership of seaports, harbours and airports across the country, with possible privatisation of existing facilities.

He stated that privatisation would encourage competition, productivity and efficiency in the transport sector.

“For instance, well maintained private roads and terminals will be a big boost to easier public transportation while providing jobs for more Nigerians”, he said.

Maku assured that in the privatisation process,

the interest of Nigerians would be protected to avoid exploitation, saying that the citizens had a lot to gain in job creation and business opportunities.

Also yesterday the council received a report presented by Works Minister, Mike Onolomemen, on the National Council on Works meeting held in September last year.

He explained that the report showed that major arterial roads across the country were being rehabilitated and expanded with funds.

Meanwhile, the immediate past President of Nigerian Association of Master Mariners, an umbrella body for retired indigenous ship captains, chief engineers and engineers, Capt. Adejimi Adu, who reacted to the new development, said that the port privatisation carried out by the Federal Government had failed to achieve the desired goals of reducing cost of operation and making the seaports efficient and competitive.

According to him, by the population of Nigeria, her seaports are supposed to be the hub port of destination for the West and Central African sub-regions, but regretted that Nigerian-bound cargoes are still diverted to neighbouring seaports because of inefficiency.

He blamed the situation on the failure of the Federal Government to put the necessary structures that would enhance competition in place.

“In the current port concession arrangement, the Nigerian Ports Authority is the judge and the jury; no competition, no regulatory organ. If the government must privatise the harbours, these issues must be addressed,” he said.

He said that before the privatisation would commence, the government should create an independent regulatory body that would enhance competition, insisting that all players must play according to the rules of the game.

Also, Chairman of Cargo Defence Fund, Capt. Cosmas Niagwan, said the government should tell Nigerians what it had done with the power sector reforms.

He advised that the government should learn from history so that the same mistakes were not repeated over the years to the detri-

ment of the nation.

“But on a serious, the harbour is a specialised area and Nigeria has experts to run it. Government can privatise the roads, but it should leave the harbour alone for professionals who are not in short supply to run it,” he said.

However, stakeholders in the aviation industry have commended the Federal Government for its plan to privatise some aspects of the sector.

Those who spoke to our correspondent on the phone

yesterday said that with an effective legal framework and open bidding, the planned privatisation of the sector would be a success.

The Managing Director, Belujane Konsult, Mr. Chris Aligbe, said that privatisation of the sector was a step in the right direction.

He noted that the privatisation could be through concession or Public Private Participation, PPP. Aligbe insisted that with the current economic situation of the country, the government could not effec-

tively manage the industry to compete with its foreign counterparts.

He said: “That’s the way to go if we really want to move forward. There is no way the public sector can manage our airports anymore. They will never become what they should be.

“There were some bottlenecks in the past agreements because these agreements did not sit on a framework. The frameworks that will aid successful concessioning or agreements were not there. So,

Items recovered by men of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Lagos, yesterday.

the first thing to do is to put the framework in place and once this is there, either privatisation or concessioning will be successful.”

A member of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, Mr. Sheri Kyari, said that the issue of privatisation was not new to the sector.

Kyari noted that the sector had witnessed several privatisation processes in the past, but did not yield the expected result for various reasons.

PHOTO: NAN

Afenifere, others kick against national conference delegates’ list CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

misfortune of the country and put it on a path of the much required development and purposeful governance,” the groups said.

Also, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN, yesterday questioned the criteria for the selection of Yoruba delegates to the conference.

This was expressed by the National President of MSSN, Mallam Abdulazeez Folayemi, during the society’s Diamond Jubilee lecture held at the University of Ibadan. The lecture had as its theme ‘Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria: Impact, prospect and problems.’

“We want to ask Afenifere socio-cultural group the criteria of becoming one of the spokespersons for the Yoruba race. The Yoruba Council of Elders should tell us the qualification of becoming an elder in Yorubaland. Is it by age, education, sta-

tus, achievements?”

Folayemi also expressed worries on how the Afenifere Group arrogated power to itself in South-West.

He, however, promised that the MSSN would consult and come up with an authentic Muslim list of delegates to be submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Folayemi called on Muslims to reject any move by Afenifere to continue to dominate and marginalise Yoruba Muslims.

“We must rise up to reject the list of Yoruba delegates to the national conference, all major Islamic organisations should condemn the selection method that marginalised Muslims in the South-West,” he said.

In Uyo, Asindi, who addressed journalists yesterday said “the purpose of the conference already looks defeated because of

the numerous agitations and petitions flooding newspapers.

“Some of the delegates listed for the conference ought not to be there, they are already being recycled to the detriment of those with new ideas to move Nigeria forward,” he noted.

Asindi, a professor of medicine in the University of Calabar, stated that in spite of the assurances from the Federal Government that all ethnic nationalities would be given due consideration in the composition of the conference, it was a grave concern to Ekid people that they had been deliberately and conspicuously excluded from the delegates’ list.

“It is of grave concern to us that Ekid representation as an ethnic nationality has deliberately and conspicuously been excluded from the list of delegates to this all im-

portant conference.

“It will be terribly unfair and glaring injustice for Ekid ethnic nationality to be excluded from this conference and we will view this exclusion as another step to malign and oppress us.

“There is a serious imbalance in the Akwa Ibom State representation at the conference. What we have observed from the list of Akwa Ibom State delegates lends credence to the assertion of some selfish and myopic people that Akwa Ibom State rests on a tripod of Ibibio, Annang and Oron to the detriment of other ethnic nationalities in the state,” he said.

While calling on those in authority not to gloss over the petitions and agitations arising from the list, Asindi said it would be difficult to accept and be bounded by whatever decisions that would be reached at the conference.

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IG laments graft in police OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

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L-R: Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina; Vice President of Gambia/Minister for Women Affairs, Dr. Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy; South African Minister for Women Affairs, Ms. Lulama Xingwana and Senior Special Assistanttothe President on MDGs, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, during the 58th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, yesterday.

Oil ownership: Bugaje’s statement prelude to genocide –Asari-Dokubo OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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eader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Mujahid AsariDokubo, has said that the statement by Alhaji Usman Bugaje that the oil in the Niger Delta belongs to the north, is a prelude to genocide.

He alleged that the north was planning genocide against the people of Nigeria.

Asari, who addressed the press in Abuja yesterday, in reaction to Bugaje’s comments, also called on security operatives to invite Bugaje to explain his statement, which according to him, is inciting.

He stressed that Bugaje’s statement should be taken serious as he (Buga-

je) spoke for the north.

“The intention and implication of Bugaje’s statement is that the north is planning genocide against our people, the same way they are sponsoring Boko Haram. That is the import of what Bugaje has said; people might not see it, and they will say Asari is an alarmist.

“He spoke the mind of the north. They are deceiving and inciting their people against our people.

What Bugaje did was to incite this people, but we are ready for them. So, he can go on inciting his people. We are ready for everything they are planning for.

“What Bugaje said started when Ken SaroWiwa started the Ogoni struggle, and Bala Mohammed came out and said that the oil segment-

ed from the north to the south, as if the world is horizontal. They are telling us their willing for crisis because they are handin-glove in this struggle to subjugate and steal what did not belong to them.

“The Nigeria security agents should look at what Bugaje said, and call him to explain, because his statement is a prelude to genocide against our people and Nigerian state should not joke with it because Bugaje is not an ordinary person. People should not play with his statement. The weight of what Bugaje said will revibrate years to come,” Asari-Dokubo said.

It will be recalled that Bugaje, one of the speakers at the Northern Leaders Conference in Kano, said that the crude oil domiciled majorly in the Ni-

ger Delta region, belonged to the north.

According to Bugaje, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, APC, it is wrong for any state to claim that it is oil producing because 72 per cent of the total land mass in the country belonged to the North and that by the United Nations’ laws; it is only the North that actually has the right to claim ownership in Nigeria.

In his presentation, Bugaje insisted that “there are no oil producing states. The only oil producing state is the Nigerian state itself.

Whatever mileage you get in the sea, according to the United Nations Law of the Sea, is a measure of the landmass that you have; that is what gives you the mileage into the sea.

Presidency, defence ministry deny Gusau’s resignation ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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he Presidency has denied report of the resignation of Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, who was sworn in along with 10 other ministers last week.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the report was not true.

According to him, Gusau remains in the cabinet of President Goodluck Jona-

than.

Briefing State House correspondents, Abati explained that Gusau’s absence from yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting was with the permission of the president.

Abati explained that the clarification was necessary to avoid speculations.

He said: “This is to let you know that that story is untrue. General Gusau remains in office as Minister of Defence. He was absent from today’s (yesterday)

meeting of the Federal Executive Council, and this particular online medium cited this in support of its allegation that he had resigned.”

“Well, he (Gusau) was absent from today’s (yesterday) meeting with the permission of President Jonathan. So, the story is not true, he remains in office and he himself has already dismissed the story as untrue.

“But I think this further clarification is necessary before we are confronted with

a situation where all kinds of wild speculations begin to come up and the story begins to develop and grow various branches,” Abati said.

The Ministry of Defence also denied the alleged resignation of its minister yesterday.

“Our attention has been drawn to a media posting on the social network to the effect that the Honourable Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Aliyu Gusau, has resigned; and wish to state, categorically, that the minister has not resigned his appointment.

he Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday lamented the growing wave of corruption in the force.

He charged newly-decorated officers to work towards combating the menace.

Abubakar spoke while decorating eight officers, including an Assistant Inspector General, AIG, and seven commissioners of police with their new ranks in Abuja.

While noting that bribery and corruption remained the bane of the organisation, the IGP charged them to rise to their responsibility of enforcing discipline in the force.

“Discipline should be the focal point of the police. I want to specifically charge the CP in charge of X-Squad to revive the unit and ensure that corruption is fought to the barest minimum, not only in

the police, but also in the whole country,” Abubakar charged.

Some of the officers are AIG Adeola Adeniji, now in charge of Zone 4, Makurdi, Benue State; Baba Tijjani, CP, Federal Operations; Mohammed Mohammed, Deputy Force Secretary and Abdul Bube, CP, Border Patrol.

Others include Abubakar Marafa, CP, Anti Fraud; Hosea Karma, CP, Police Mobile Force; Augustine Evbkhavbokun, CP, Provost and Esosa Amadasun, CP, X-Squad.

Abubakar expressed confidence in the ability of the officers to effectively discharge their mandates.

Referring to Amadasun, the IGP said: “I know that the CP is competent and that is why the Police Management Team has deemed it fit to put him in charge of the unit. Make sure that the menace of corruption is a thing of the past in the entire police force.”

We’re restructuring INEC for 2015, says Jega WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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he Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commissions, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday in Ilorin said the commission was doing an internal comprehensive re-organisation and restructuring.

This, he said, was in compliance with the recommendations of a highly rated management consulting firm.

Jega, who spoke at a public lecture and book launch entitled: “Challenges of Fraud-Free Elections Under a Democratic Dispensation” organised by the Mustapha Akanbi Foundation, MAF, noted that the venture was in addition to a detailed strategic programme of action which would be in operation till 2016.

He added that a detailed election project had also been drafted, which implementation would further ensure seamless execution of specific tasks leading to the 2015 general elections.

According to him, “Nigeria is a democracy in

transition; we are still refining the political culture from anti-democratic tendencies that many years of authoritarian rule fostered in our national life.

Deepening democracy in Nigeria demands collective and determined efforts by all stakeholders to achieve this.

“Until 1999, Nigeria’s experience with democratisation was fits and starts; characterised by military interventions, while the fourth republic has witnessed some stability. Democratisation process was bedeviled by badly conducted elections that left Nigerians frustrated and questioning the values and validity of electoral democracy.

According to the INEC boss, “Even though the 2011 elections were not perfect, they were adjudged locally and internationally to be perhaps the best in Nigeria’s history. We have, however, ensured closer collaboration and partnerships with a range of critical stakeholders. We have indeed raised the bar.”

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Ekiti 2014: New police boss reads riot act to officers ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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en and officers of the Ekiti State Police Command have been warned not to compromise their integrity during the June 21, governorship election in the state.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Felix Uyanna handed down the warning in Ado Ekiti yesterday while decorating 46 newly-promoted officers of the command. He also advised them to see their promotion as a further call to duty and commitment to the country.

Uyanna said any officer found wanting during the exercise would be dealt with.

The new Commissioner of Police said: “You must show high level of integrity during the election which is fast approaching, if anybody ask you to compromise, tell him you cannot and that there is a line you cannot cross.

“Those that will be involved in the electoral exercise will be given guidelines

on the conduct of Policemen during elections and any breach will not be tolerated,” he warned.

Uyanna charged officers of the command to be as current as much as possible on variety of issues and be ICT compliant, saying: “In this respect, I want you to keep abreast of events and also upgrade yourselves educationally, especially in ICT. “Some of the courses may take you few weeks and the knowledge gained is useful to you for a whole life time,” Uyanna counseled.

The police boss further directed his men to use force permitted by law and that such force must commensurate with the offences committed. Don’t go and bring a man who only has a disagreement with his wife in handcuffs”.

One of the officers, Mr Segun Atanda, who was promoted from the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police to Superintendent of Police, assured that officers of the command would justify their elevation.

Meanwhile, Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu has said that the state government would collaborate with the Police and other relevant agencies to ensure a peaceful electioneering campaign and polls.

T

ragedy struck Tuesday night in Lagos when 14 people got drowned after the boat conveying them to their destinations capsized at Festac Town in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the state.

National Mirror learnt that the incident occurred around 9.00pm when the local boat conveying about 24 passengers from 6th Avenue to 4th Avenue, FESTAC Town capsized.

Witnesses said 14 people were reported drowned,

while six were rescued and five others still reported missing.

According to the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, the boat capsized at 4th Avenue, opposite 41 Road junctions, adding that the causality figure was high because the passengers were not putting on live- jackets at the time the accident happened, an act he said, was unpleasant.

Corroborating the earlier information, spokes-

person of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Ibrahim Farinloye said 14 people have been confirmed dead, with five rescued and five still missing.

Farinloye said the services of local divers have been employed as search for six others still missing continued.

While lamenting the tragic incident, Chairman, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Ayodele Adewale said four of the survivors swam to shore while a woman who was rescued (now dead) was taken by LASEMA to the hospital.

$5.9m fraud: Ajudua files bail application Edosomwan submitted nessmen, Messrs Remy WALE IGBINTADE

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mbattled Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua yesterday filed a fresh bail application before an Ikeja High Court asking the court to grant him bail on health ground.

Ajudua and one Charles Orie are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding two Dutch busi-

Cina and Pierre Vijgen, of $1.69 million.

The two accused persons were re-arraigned before Justice Kudirat Jose on February 5, 2014 following the transfer of the case from the former trial judge, Justice Joseph Oyewole.

Moving Ajudua’s bail application on Wednesday, his counsel, Mr Charles Edosomwan (SAN), said there was overwhelming medical evidence that Ajudua was ill.

government was deeply concerned about security of residents and ready to support every step that will ensure the sustenance of peace in the state.

The Deputy Governor said Ekiti people are peace-loving, accommo-

dating and not easily provoked, he therefore urged the new Police chief to instruct his officers to be civil and more vigilant so as to enable them recognise any move that could jeopardise the peace being enjoyed in the state.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad-hoc officials attending to prospective voters during the take-off of the continuous voters’ registration exercise at Igbehin, Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

14 die, six rescued as boat capsizes in Lagos FRANCIS SUBERU

She gave the assurance in Ado-Ekiti during a courtesy visit to her by Uyanna yesterday.

Adelabu said the deployment of the new Police boss to Ekiti State came at a very critical period, but assured that the

that there was overwhelming medical evidence before the court that Ajudua was suffering from a lifethreatening ailment.

He said his client was ready to face trial contrary to the claim being made by the EFCC that he absconded after he was granted bail on medical grounds in 2005, arguing that all actions taken by Ajudua were not to evade trial, but to stay alive and combat the illness.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NSCDC seizes 15,000 litres of fuel from vandals KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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s Nigerians still groaning over nonavailability of petroleum products, the Oyo State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Wednesday disclosed the seizure of a truck laden with 15,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from vandals in Ibadan.

NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Shem Obafaiye, told journalists that vandalism of pipeline was recorded at Pere/Aroje area of Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area of the state around 2:00 am on March 11, 2014.

According to him, the connivance of some herdsmen with the vandals prevented NSCDC personnel to apprehend them at the scene of the crime.

Obafaiye said: “The interception of this truck is as a result of our intelligence gathering method.

We got information that

some vandals were about to take off after loading the truck with PMS. When they saw us, they disappeared into the cattle ranch.

“It is like they are using these Fulani men. In the night, the Fulani men take their cattle about. This is very unusual. The purpose is to go round and see if our men are there monitoring the pipelines. When they see our men, they would tell the vandals to run away.

“This is 15,000 litres of PMS. They have done the vandalism. We will take the truck to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Vandalism is a daily thing. We have been apprehending vandals in Ogo Oluwa, Ogbomoso, Ibadan and other surrounding towns”.

He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the uncooperative attitude of NNPC for not informing the command before they pump fuel to enable it curbing the activities of vandals.

Lagos police arrest 13 touts at embassies FRANCIS SUBERU

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o fewer than 13 suspected touts who operate car parks and visa agencies around embassies and high commissions in Lagos State were arrested on Wednesday by the police.

The areas, including Walter Carrington Street and Victoria Island, were raided by policemen following stakeholders’ petitions to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, requesting his intervention.

It was learnt that some anti-riot policemen deployed to provide security in these areas aided the touts in their illegal activities.

Sources said the touts charge motorists N1,000 to allow them park their vehicles in front of the embassies thus making it difficult for applicants and officials to gain easy access to the premises.

National Mirror also learnt that touts run illegal agencies where they dupe applicants who they would lure with a promise to assist them get all the documents they need to obtain their visas.

South West

Thursday, March 13, 2014

One of the petitions reads: “A number of touts, agents and vendors continue to harass visa applicants in front of our embassy building. The property we use for parking lot had been taken over by touts loitering about.

“We learnt that some anti-riot policemen attached to some of the embassies were conniving with the touts to collect illegal fee from motorists that parked indiscriminately in front of the embassy”.

A source, who did not want his name mentioned, said that 27 touts were recently arrested by policemen attached to Bar Beach Police Division.

The source said the raid was successful because it was led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station, Mr. Fayoade Adegoke.

After the screening of the suspects by the police, 13 of them could not identify themselves with any genuine business.

“After the raid, the place seems to be free from touts for now as all of the persons arrested had been charged to court, but before long, they will return,” the source said.

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New aviation CEOs yet to resume nine days after OLUSGEUN KOIKI

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ine days after four Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the country’s aviation agencies were sacked by President Goodluck Jonathan, their successors are yet to resume.

Sources told National Mirror that the former CEOs and their successors are still in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

As at now, none of the former CEOs has handed over to his successor.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government last Tuesday sacked all the CEOs, but retained the Director-General of the

Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Anthony Anuforom, while the Commissioner for Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Capt. Mukhtar Usman, was redeployed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Those sacked were the Managing Directors of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Mr. George Uriesi and Mr. Nnamdi Udoh respectively.

Others were DirectorGeneral of NCAA, Capt.

Fola Akinkuotu and the Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Capt. Chinyere Kalu.

Their successors are Mr. Saleh Dumona, FAAN; Mr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam, NAMA; Capt.

Samuel Akinyele Caulcrick, NCAT; Mr. Felix A. Abali, AIB; while Usman was redeployed to NCAA. Investigations indicated that none of the new appointees had resumed office and this was alleged caused by the former CEOs who were said to have started lobbying the Federal Government to rescind their sacking.

When our correspondent contacted AIB spokesman, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, he confirmed that the new commissioner was yet to resume officially to his new duty post, but declined

to comment further.

He, however, explained that the handing over note ceremony was yet to be performed by the erstwhile commissioner, adding: “I don’t think he can resume without the handing over note. But why he is yet to resume is what I don’t know.”

Also, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Yakubu Dati, did not respond to a phone call made to his mobile line on the issue while the spokesman for NAMA too could not be reached.

But NCAT spokesman, Mr. Amadi, said that the new Rector resumed office on Monday after the handing over note by Kalu.

Advertising body flays APC for engaging foreign firm DAVID AUDU

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he Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has condemned the recent engagement of a foreign agency by the All Progressive Party (APC) to handle its political communication ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Making the association’s official position known during a media briefing on Wednesday, AAAN President, Mrs. Bunmi Oke, said the APC’s singular move to hire foreign firm to handle its political communication signaled a bad precedence for Nigerian professionals and the development should be reversed in the interest of the hard working and competent Nigerians.

“It is not in our national interest for a foreigner to come here and articulate for us our political agenda and direction, “As a body we are not in support of what the APC has done”, describing it as “a dangerous signal that portends grave danger for the survival of local initiative,” the association said.

It will be recalled that APC last month announced that it had engaged AKPD of Chicago to handle the party’s political communications for the 2015 general

elections.

The APC’s decision, however, sparked condemnations from interest groups.

But APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said AKPD of Chicago was not a public relations firm as widely misunderstood, but

a research and investigation firm.

He insisted that the firm has a distinctive pedigree that endears it to the party.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

6 million people afflicted with glaucoma -Experts CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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L-R: Senior Adviser on Environment, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Mr. Peter-Claver Nwaiwu; Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, UNN, Prof. Bartho Okolo and representative of Managing Director, SPDC, Mr. Nedo Osayande, at the inauguration of Centre for Environmental Management at the Enugu Campus of the institution, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

‘Zionists’ claim responsibility of govt house attack DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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group, Biafra Zionist Movement, BZM, has claimed responsibility of the March 8, 2014 attack on the Enugu State Government House.

One person was shot by the police in the incident.

President of BZM, Ben Onwuka, at a press briefing in Enugu, yesterday, said they were at

the government house to hoist a Biafran flag, indicating the dissolution of Nigeria as a federation.

He warned that even though the security operatives succeeded in removing the hoisted flags, the group would return for another attack.

Onwuka said that after ‘100 years of forced amalgamation of ethnicities in Nigeria, self determination had become an issue in the choice of a new nation.

He also announced two states in the middle belt - Kogi and Benue had ‘willingly joined the Biafran federation, raising the population to 13 states.

Onwuka disclosed that he led the hoisting of flag at the government house in an operation he claimed lasted for over four hours before they were overpowered by security personnel.

He denied an allegation that his group used

cutlasses to attack the security agents.

The BZM leader stated that his group went to the government house to hoist the flag because Enugu was the capital of the defunct Biafra Republic.

He, however, said that they did not intend to inflict any harm on any person, adding that even if they had met the Governor of Enugu State, they would not have caused any harm on him.

Elechi seeks moderation of morning prayers A LIUNA GODWIN ABAKALIKI

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bonyi State governor, Chief Martin Elechi, has called on the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, state chapter, to stop the practice of preaching with megaphones at morning hours.

According to the governor, some churches were inconveniencing the people through the act.

Elechi, on a visit to CAN, said though preaching was an acceptable practice in christendom, it should not be used to disturb the people.

“People need rest,

mostly during early morning, for example, to prepare for the new day.

Any disturbance then would defeat the objectives of the preaching,” he stated.

The governor noted that in advanced societies, there are areas mapped out for churches to preach.

He also said that government sponsorship of pilgrimages amounted to a breach of the nation’s constitution.

“Majority of our people are pagans, so we the christians and muslims are using our educational status to satisfy our own interest,” Elechi stated.

Responding, CAN chairman, Rev. Emmanuel Nshii, thanked the governor for the visit, urging him to continue delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

“Appreciation is a virtue christians should imbibe in their daily living, as it promotes harmony in the society and makes it a better place,” he said.

The governor urged leaders to rule with the fear of God as they would account for their stewardship before God. “The present challenges confronting the country would be overcome if the people look towards God in truth and holi-

ness and tow the path of righteousness,” he admonished.

Nsii prayed for peace and unity in the country.

Elechi

s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark 2014 world glaucoma days, the Nigeria Optometric Association, NOA, has said that about 70 million people worldwide are afflicted with the disease.

Another estimated six million Nigerians are living with the eye problem, the association added.

According to the chairman of the association, Imo State branch, Dr. Chima Madu, more than half of the victims of the disease are unaware of their condition.

Briefing reporters in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on programmes lined up to mark the week, Madu said the association had been engaging in advocacy, support and collaborative efforts of relevant stakeholders in the healthcare industry.

These, he added, include the state ministry of health and hospital management board which regulates seven general hospitals.

According to him, the association had designated the general hospitals as ‘free glaucoma screening centres’ throughout the week.

Madu described glaucoma as a group of eye

diseases that cause progressive damage to the optic nerves, which is associated with characteristic loss of periphery or side vision before progressing to total blindness.

He advised people to form the habit of visiting a clinics and hospitals manned by qualified eye care professionals for routine checks at least once every six months.

He also advised that enlightenment programmes should be done frequently to educate the public on the dangers of the disease and to reduce the risk of blindness.

Madu also warned that the risk of glaucoma increases with age, family history, diabetic mellitus, myopia and alleviated intra ocular pressure.

He advised government health institutions to work in collaboration with relevant professional bodies and agencies to drive the enlightenment programme to the grassroots.

Madu added: “Government should establish and implement workable healthcare policies that allow adequate engagement of all care providers without discrimination and rancour so as to provide adequately for the health needs of the citizenry.”

Imo Assembly probes contractor

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he Imo State House of Assembly on Wednesday resolved to invite the contractor handling Princess Hotel, Okigwe project to explain the collapse of the building.

The resolution followed a motion on adjournment raised by Mr. Kingsley Dimaku, the Chairman of the House Committee on Project Monitoring.

Dimaku (PDP- Ehime Mbano), said the hotel could not have collapsed under construction if the contractor had used standard building materials.

The state government is building three five-star hotels in the three geo-political zones of the state, including Princess Hotel.

Also, Mr Victor Ndunagu (APGA- Mbaitoli) urged the assembly to assist in improving infrastructure at the School of Health, Ofekata, Orodo in Mbaitoli Local Government Area.

He said the school lacked potable water, good classrooms and good boarding facilities for its 362 students.

The Speaker, Chief Benjamin Uwajumogu, directed that the contractor be invited to the assembly on March 20 to explain the collapse.

He also referred the motion by Ndunagu to the House Committee on Education and advised it to visit the school to assess the situation and report to the assembly.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Chevron orders staff to proceed on early retirement …Workers adamant, get April deadline

SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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hevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, has ordered its workers who have served for 25 years and above to proceed on early retirement.

It said the directive was sequel to the ongoing restructuring to cut operational costs and flush out

ageing workers.

Those affected by the directive of the American oil giant were workers who still have about five years to remain in the service. The exercise, the company stated, cut across all cadres of the organisation.

National Mirror learnt that the exercise was designed to eliminate work-

ers who no longer add value to the company and replace them with fresh and youthful workforce.

Already, the initiative, tagged “Voluntary Service Disengagement Package, VSDP”, is causing ripples in the oil industry as the affected workers are adamant.

Reports available to National Mirror from the

company indicated that the embattled workers have vowed to resist the management.

The stage is thus set for a showdown as the management have indicated that the decision was irreversible.

It was also gathered that the workers had dragged the management before the national lead-

L-R: Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Bassey Dan-Abia; Board Chairman, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw and Executive Director, Projects, Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli, during the commission’s board and management retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Uduaghan, in London, woos investors

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ith the deepening of the privatisation of state enterprises and investment in the development of critical infrastructure, Nigeria now offers the best destination for investments in Africa, Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has said.

Speaking in London where he addressed British investors at the Institute of Directors (IoD), Uduaghan said the government has effected a paradigm shift from reliance on crude oil as the driver of the economy. According to him, investment in power sector, agriculture and manufacturing, offer

investors new vistas with yields that might not be obtainable anywhere else.

He spoke at an event marking the Commonwealth Day Observance Service and the Nigerian centenary celebration on Tuesday.

Uduaghan asked British investors looking to invest in Africa to come to Nigeria.

The governor who spoke on “Perspectives on Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Delta: The Delta Beyond Oil Initiative”, said while oil remained a major resource, “we recognise its finite characteristic and that dependence on it in the

way we have done, since it started to create wealth in the country would deny us other opportunities.”

In a press release issued in London by the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah who accompanied Uduaghan on the investment drive, the governor illustrated the concept of his ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ initiative which has become a template for the transformation of Nigeria’s economy.

The initiative, he stated, is designed to harness the potentials in other sectors of the economy.

Uduaghan said his government was providing an

enabling environment for investment in Delta State by focusing on infrastructure and human capital development as well as peace and security.

He told British investors at the meeting that the federal government had been of tremendous support to the state as part of a drive to attract Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, for the country as a whole.

He listed one area where investors can partner with the state as tourism sector.

According to Uduaghan, investors are now taking the advantage of the peaceful environment in Delta State to invest in tourism.

Teachers warn Edo govt against lawlessness SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

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he war of words and tension between public school teachers and the Edo State Government continued unabated on Wednesday as the former accused the latter of

resorting to lawlessness in its determined bid to organise competency test for teachers.

While the Assessment Test Committee inaugurated

by Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole on Tuesday announced the date of the test for all teachers as March 22nd 2014, the teachers have headed to the National Indus-

trial Court, Akure Division, to stop the proposed test by serving the state government with its court papers.

According to the legal counsel of the teachers that would be represented by four of their members in court, Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, the state government was resorting to lawlessness by going ahead to make

an announcement of the date for the test on Tuesday.

Hebasedhisallegationonthe ‘fact’ that the government did so even after receiving the court process of the suit marked: No. NICN/BEN/07/2014, served on Oshiomhole through his Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Henry Idahagbon on Monday.

ership of two umbrella labour unions in the oil industry, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG. But investigation revealed that some sections of the unions supported the exercise since it was targeted at eliminating and replacing the ‘deadwoods’ in the service of the company.

Under the VSDP initiative, the company introduced juicy and attractive packages to entice its workers to opt for early disengagement from office.

Among other things, the company offered to pay all the entitlements of the affected workers, including their five-year salary upfront.

Findings showed that the management has also decided to wield a big stick in the event that the workers declined the offer by the first week of April.

Specifically, it was learnt that the management had decided that the workers either embrace the offer by end of March or be forced out of the es-

tablishment.

It was gathered that the management had intimated and secured the nod of the relevant government agencies, especially the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and Ministry of Petroleum Resources, as part of the strategies to ensure the success of the new employment policy.

Our correspondent who visited the Warri office of CNL in Delta State yesterday reported that the latest development has polarised the workers into two camps.

While the morale of the affected workers is at a low ebb, some young workers were excited that the exercise would create the opportunity for them to move up and upgrade their career.

One of the workers said “Chevron is offering to some ageing workers, who have become deadwoods after working for 25 years and above or just have five years to go to retire.

“The package entails that all their entitlements will be paid, including their five years upfront salary.

Straw, Bruton laud Amaechi’s model schools, healthcare

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ormer British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw and former prime minister of Ireland, John Bruton, have both commended Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi, for building model schools and primary health care centres to improve the well-being of Rivers people.

Straw also rated the schools as world standard, describing them as a replica of what obtains in the United Kingdom.

He spoke to newsmen on Wednesday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, shortly after commissioning one of the model primary schools built by the Amaechi administration at Elele in Ikwerre Local Government Area.

Straw expressed satisfaction with the arrangement put in place by the Amaechi administration with an Indian company

in the management of the Information and Communication Technology, ICT programme, as well as the provision of quality teachers to enhance the standard of education in the state.

According to him, “The model primary school is very impressive indeed, and the pupils were well behaved. It seems to me to be a very good school for the people of Rivers State, and I am particularly interested in the arrangement Governor Chibuike Amaechi is having with an Indian company to provide computers and quality teachers for the ICT programme.”

Straw added: “Governor Amaechi was also telling John Bruton and I that it is expensive to deliver quality education to the people, but I find it imperative for him to do so if he must enhance the standard of education in the state.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

The unanswered question on many lips is whether the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State will remain the same after the emergence of its candidate for the June 21 governorship election especially as the aspirants have refused to reach an accord on whether consensus or primary should be adopted, OBIORA IFOH and ABIODUN NEJO think that the crisis may undermine the party’s chances at the poll.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Politics

Ekiti 2014: Crisis of consensus and PDP’s chances

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hen the idea of adopting consensus as the means of selecting the candidate of Ekiti State in the governorship election was mooted early last year, nobody had thought it would turn to be an issue that would haunt the party to the election time. This was as at today, over a year after the idea was mooted and less than four months to the poll, the PDP in the state has found it difficult to come out of consensus which appears an intractable quagmire for the party.

There is no doubting the fact that the polarisation consensus has caused in the party since the idea berthed has continued to linger, giving the impression that the party is sitting on a keg of gun powder which time will expectedly explode.

What President Jonathan told the aspirants Worried by this lingering crisis, leader of the PDP and the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on January 4, summoned all the party’s governorship aspirants in the Ekiti State election to the presidential villa for a closed door meeting to discuss the party’s chances. The meeting was attended by former Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade, former governor, Ayo Fayose, Senator Gbenga Aluko, Abiodun Aluko, Femi Bamisile, Yinka Akerele, Bisi Omoyeni, Dayo Adeyeye and Senator Bode Olowoporoku.

Olubolade said that the President told all of them that he had not endorsed anyone, rather, the president did set the pace to ensure that violence does not take place in the state by insisting that a consensus option should be explored rather than primaries.

Olubolade further said: “What the President said was that he has not endorsed anybody. That means any aspirant can become the governor. That is good for democracy.

What we need to do is to take it in good faith and learn the lesson he has offered and use it not to make the mistake of the past so that election will be free and fair under a peaceful atmosphere. This is what is important for all of us.

Definitely, a governor will emerge. I think the President has set the pace to ensure that violence doesn’t take place with that kind of a meeting.”

Jonathan

Muazu

consensus as lazy politicians who are afraid of contest and incapable of winning elections and wish to hide under a cunning way to emerge candidate, adding that it is only free and fair primary election that can produce a generally acceptable candidate.

two members of the state Executive Council who are supporters of the consensus option.

The aftermath of the crisis, which left the party’s State Executive Council, SEC, divided, was the suspension by the chairman of some key members of the SEC and one of the aspirants in the anti-consensus camp. This was followed promptly by the drama of counter suspension of the state PDP chairman by the affected exco members.

Although it took the intervention of the party’s national leadership to restore seeming normalcy and unity in the executive council, the division in the SEC and the party over the contentious issue has refused to go away.

The fall out of state PDP intervention The state PDP chairman, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, in his effort to nip the crisis in the bud, early last year, constituted a Consensus Template Drafting Committee, headed

by Justice Edward Ojuolape, to permanently resolve the crisis, but the effort only incinerated the crisis.

On the day the committee was to be inaugurated, some hoodlums invaded and sacked the party secretariat, brandishing dangerous weapons and in the process injured

THERE IS NO DOUBTING THE FACT THAT THE POLARISATION

Reasons for or against consensus

CONSENSUS HAS CAUSED IN THE

Aspirants in the party have been singing different tunes on the modality for the choice of the party’s flagbearer in the election. While a section of the aspirants are in support of consensus, the others said nothing short of transparent primaries would be acceptable to them.

Those who support the consensus idea are of the view that, as long as the process was transparent, it would discourage post-primary crisis and promote unity as well prevent a situation where aspirants spend huge sums to emerge as candidate and at the end of the day not have sufficient cash the prosecute the election proper.

But those in favour of primary dismissed advocates of

PARTY SINCE THE IDEA BERTHED HAS CONTINUED TO LINGER,

GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT THE PARTY IS SITTING ON A KEG OF GUN POWDER WHICH TIME WILL EXPECTEDLY EXPLODE

Wadata House to the rescue With the inability of the SEc to resolve the crisis, the party at the zonal and national levels intervened and urged all parties in the crisis to maintain the status quo.

The party added that the national body would give direction on the form the selection of the governorship candidate would take at the right time. And since then, there has been disquiet over the matter.

The issue, however, became louder again as the election date draws nearer especially with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC fixing June 21 as the election date and March 23 for campaigns to begin and the need for the party to pick its candidate not later than April 14, the last date slated for submission of candidates’ names to INEC. The situation became tense as the aspirants who are opposed to consensus ensured that any attempt to arrive at any consensus arrangement was frustrated.

However, on the likely negative implication of the discordant tunes among the aspirants of the party over the CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ekiti 2014: Crisis of consensus and CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 mode of selection of the party’s candidate, the new PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, decided to take the bull by the horns.

Muazu’s move was against the backdrop of the running time and the fact that the other major political parties in the race the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Labour Party and Accord Party were not having qualms with their flagbearers.

The PDP chairman asked the contenders to obtain nomination and Expression of Interest forms as indications of their readiness to participate in the governorship tussle as aspirants, following which the party would tell them the next thing to do - whether primary or consensus.

Only 18 out of the 33 contenders obtained the forms, a development whichhas been described by some political watchers as the party’s way of saying those who have paid the prescribed N11million for the forms would go for primary and not consensus.

The aspirants are Prince Adeyeye, Navy Captain Olubolade (rtd), Amb. Bejide, Mr Fayose, Senator Aluko, Mr Omoyeni, Surveryor Aluko and Mr Deji Ajayi.

Others are Alhaja Habibat Adubiaro, Mr Bodunde Adeyanju, Mrs Bosede Dada Bamisaye, Dr Obafemi, Mr Wale Aribisala, Senator Olowoporoku, Chief Ropo Ogunbolude, Mrs Bola Oloyede, Otunba Reuben Famuyibo and Mrs Modupe Ogundipe.

The PDP state Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, said the implication of obtaining the nomination and expression of interest forms after paying such amount is that “they are not going for consensus. The party will follow what is in the constitution, which stipulates primary, to elect the candidate among the aspirants”.

More crisis as three aspirants were screened out In what appears as courting more crisis, the screening committee for the Ekiti State governorship contest has ended the aspiration of Dada, Senator Olowoporoku and Obafemi in the contest as 13 out of the 16 aspirants were cleared for the contest.

Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, chairman of the screening committee while submitting the report of the committee to the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus at Legacy House, Abuja on Monday said Olowoporoku was disqualified because of a petition that he was earlier expelled from the party and has not been readmitted while Obafemi was disqualified for his inability to present his National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, discharge certificate.

Mrs. Dada, according to the committee, was unable to present evidence of payment of membership dues, evidence of WAEC certificate and also evidence that she paid her taxes as and when due.

The fate of Olowoporoku and Obafemi according to sources could add to the stress the part is witnessing presently as their supporters believe that they were unjustly

Ogundipe

excluded from the elections.

Consensus, the arguments The state PDP Chairman, Ogundipe, said the party was looking beyond the emergence of candidate to winning the governorship, and as well working round the clock for the best.

Ogundipe, who said that the payment of the nomination and expression of interest fees were to determine the number of aspirants, said the party leadership would decide, assuring that “at the appropriate time, our candidate will emerge.

“We are following the due process for

Adeyeye

the emergence of the party’s candidate.

I can assure you that the candidate will emerge through an acceptable constitutional process. The name you call it does not matter, but an acceptable means in the overall interest of our party.”

Describing the PDP as a party with leadership structure, hierarchy and discipline, Ogundipe said: “In the PDP, we have a leader and what the leader said has not changed. The leadership of the party at the national level will make this known at the appropriate time”.

Fayose said a consensus candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in

Ekiti would not be in the interest of the people as the arrangement is anti-democracy, because it will not reflect the people’s wishes.

He emphasised that he was anti-consensus because the party leadership had repeatedly said that it would enthrone internal democracy within the party, adding: “If you defeat me on the field, I will shake your hand and support you financially in whatever way, and if I defeat anybody on the field, there will be less acrimony.”

Another aspirant, Senator Aluko said the conduct of primaries in Ekiti would result in the splitting of the party, though

I will comply with the consensus directives Caleb Olubolade, the immediate past Minister of Police Affairs told OBIORA IFOH that If consensus is being canvassed

by President Goodluck Jonathan and the party, they must have their reasons and every loyal party member must key into it. Excerpts: Many aspirants have indicated interest for Ekiti governorship under the PDP, what is the edge you have over others?

I joined the race because I have the conviction that I am one of those that are very well qualified to govern Ekiti state. I have had military service in Nigeria with clean records. I also had the privilege to govern Bayelsa state as military administrator with what I will describe as good performance. I have also been privileged to be Minister of Special Duty, Minister of State (FCT) and Minister of Police Affairs under the dynamic leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan. So, I know what transformation agenda is all about. What is more important is to ensure good governance in Ekiti state and it is only those who have

the capacity, who have the experience, who have the exposure and who also have the love of their people at heart that can do it.

And so, if I am not showing interest or I am not picking up this form it will be a great disservice to the people of Ekiti State. I have enough service to render them and this is why I am contesting.

There were plans to pick the candidate through the consensus option; don’t you think the PDP will be approaching the election with a divided house if primaries are not conducted?

I will not say the issue of consensus candidate did not work because the process is on-going, it is not concluded. So, it is not easy to just say it didn’t work. The candidates met, and the leadership of the party has given their directives on the matter.

As a disciplined person I normally comply with the directives of the higher authority. Once the leadership has spoken, it becomes our duty as followers to do exactly what they have said. If consensus is being canvassed they have their reasons and we must key into that. Anybody doing anything different from that has his reasons and will be treated as such. I strongly key in into the consensus matter and I believe

that it will be concluded and there will be positive result. The party is supreme, whatever the party says that is what we will all do, we have no choice, and we don’t have to do anything different. We will respect the party’s decision on the subject.

It is not even an issue for debate. Discipline is embedded in PDP and that is what makes us thick and bring sanity into the party. That is my position on that matter.

It’s been rumoured that you are the likely favoured consensus candidate and also that you have the support of the Bayelsa State government because of your previous relationship with the state. What is your take on this?

Your first question borders on consensus and you have said it that it is rumours and we don’t have any remedy for rumours.

Rumours will always be there. That means it is not likely to be true. I don’t want us to hinge our position on rumours. If some people say a few things, it may be right and it may be wrong. The issue of consensus should not really worry us. I have said that on all matters, the party is supreme. I believe that whatever PDP wants us to do that is what we are going to do.

I was only privileged to work in Bayel-

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Politics

Thursday, March 13, 2014

PDP’s chances WE ARE FOLLOWING THE DUE PROCESS FOR THE EMERGENCE OF THE PARTY’S

CANDIDATE. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE CANDIDATE WILL EMERGE THROUGH AN ACCEPTABLE CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS

he noted that he was not afraid of heading to primaries, saying: “I can guaranty you that if we go ahead to conduct primaries today, five different primaries from the PDP would hold and we will have different results from different aspirants.”

Former acting governor of the state, Hon Tunji Odeyemi, noted that adoption of primary would create crisis in the party, saying: “Only a fool would expect that a fairly acceptable candidate would emerge through the primaries being proposed by some of the aspirants.”

The former acting governor said: “Looking at the history of primaries in the past.

There is no way we won’t have crisis. It re-

quires that every member of PDP should reason together and unite. The leaders of our party should also rise to the occasion and ensure that sanity reigns supreme in the party. Let us get it right from the issue of candidacy.

He wondered why some aspirants could disregard the honest and fatherly advice offered by President Jonathan on the adoption of a consensus option in picking Ekiti PDP governorship candidate.

Also political leaders in the Ekiti South Senatorial District, under the aegis of Ekiti South Leaders’ Forum, ESLF, said “It is in the interest of the PDP, Ekiti people and people of the South Senatorial District for a candidate to be picked from among the aspirants from the zone through consensus.”

To the leaders, the consensus option will save the party the crisis and waste of money usually associated with primary elections. They added: “No aspirant is greater than the party, and its leader, President Jonathan who suggested the consensus option.”

In a release signed by its chairman, Chief Afolabi Ojuawo, and secretary, Hon Gboyega Akinola, ESLF insisted that the PDP must pick its gubernatorial candidate from the zone to enhance the party’s chances of winning the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti State, adding: “No indigene of the zone will settle for anything other than the governorship. The position of our people in the South is that PDP should pick its governorship candidate from the South, and minister from either Central or the North.”

of the President - Olubolade what I will say is what you sow is what you reap.

Olubolade

sa State, I did not appoint myself. So, it is natural that I would have interacted with them and even those I did not interact with would have heard about me because they would have seen my footsteps in the land. Naturally we flow, so if they want to do anything for me they should do it.

If anybody is not comfortable with that

How do you think PDP can upstage the incumbent governor, considering that Governor Kayode Fayemi is very much on the ground in the state?

In a democracy once there is an election it is a contest, the issue of being on the ground becomes irrelevant. It is a contest and we must go for it. By the end of the contest we will know if he is on the ground or not. What is important in governance is to look at your state, look at what they want to achieve, see how you can use your experience to achieve that and do it with the honesty that it requires, honesty of purpose. Give joy to your people, relieve them of their pains, be transparent and you will be loved by the people. It is not the speech we make that will give us good governance - it must be from the heart but while doing it carry your people along and you will never fail.

So, that is what I intends to do in Ekiti State. Carry the people along, be transparent, listen to them, hear their views, put programmes on the ground, key in into the transformation agenda of Mr. President so that there are no gaps.

15

Consensus, undemocratic, not for me - Fayose

Fayose

Former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose in this interview with OBIORA IFOH insists that the only way internal democracy will be seen to be working is only when a primary election is conducted to chose PDP’s candidate in Ekiti state. Excerpts: You have insisted that a candidate must emerge through primaries even when some other aspirants favour consensus option, why do you differ?

From day one I have been anti-consensus and I have maintained the same position because the party has repeatedly said it wanted internal democracy. So to me, I have made my position known. But the party, through the National Organising Secretary reaffirm that the party will conduct a free and fair primaries. Whosoever wins the primary becomes a candidate of the party and I want to tell you, there is none of the aspirant that is not qualified. They are my brothers irrespective of the contest. In contest, we will still be brothers and Ekiti people. So to me, I will do all it takes to ensure PDP comes first, then our interest.

If eventually, the party says no primary but consensus, will you still play along?

This year, I will be 54. It is too late to cross carpet to any other political party.

Even if the party does not pick me, I will not cross carpet. If it is the will of God that I will be candidate of the party, in whatever manner the party goes about it, it will happen. And if it is not the will of God, I will still stand by the PDP. It is too late. I am no longer a small boy. I am a former governor, so I have to take it in good fate. I believe I

will be victorious either way.

News is rife that there is an anointed candidate in the contest?

Let me tell you again, even if the President has any mindset, you can only hear the mindset through the party. And the mindset the party is telling us today is that there will be primaries. No more no less.

This new chairman has repeatedly said he wants to entrench internal democracy.

And they have reiterated it by their statement today. And I stand by what they say.

They are honourable people who will not go back on their words.

What plans do you have for Ekiti People different from what governor Fayemi has given them?

They are operating from the air. I will operate on the ground. That is why they call me Jule governor because I am at hand, steady for the common people on the street. The reason Fayemi is having this whole problem is that he is too elitist. This big grammar, I am eating with Obama, I will speak with Obama next week… the Ekiti people do not know Obama. They don’t even know Abuja.

They cannot take transport from their own town to Ado-Ekiti. I am a grassroots man, I live with them and I eat with them. I will tell you again, Fayemi is gone. He is not in tune with teachers, workers. He lacks human relations. If it is there I will tell you. Today, Fayemi is reasonably gone because most of the projects in our state are done by outsiders. And Ekiti people, when they reject you, you cannot beg them. You will see in the next election. I am more for the common people.

That is why I have blackmailers. Let me tell you, power will be given to the common man on the street again and it is obvious. After eight years of my departure, nothing new has happened.

16

Politics

Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Jang: Celebrating exemplary leadership at 70 JAMES MANNOK

O

ne reality of life which Plateau State governor, Jonah David Jang, popularly known as Baba Jang, always easily acknowledges is captured in the following words of his: “For some of us, one of our legs is in the grave and the other is outside.

It is only the one outside that will step in to meet the one in the grave, and then the box is closed.”

As forthright as it comes, this statement provides an insight into the mind of one man who understands the vanity that life is, and its temporal nature. It is the sum of his beliefs which also find expression in the immortal question: what do we bequeath to today’s generation and indeed future generations?

Could this be the motivation and driving force behind Governor Jang, whose physical frame disguises the giant strides recorded in his public life?

From the old Benue to the old Gongola and to present day Plateau states, he has distinguished himself as a performer. In Benue State, some have called him the architect of modern Benue State and in the defunct Gongola, he was named a “Construction Wizard”.

In Plateau State today, he is not only redefining the socio-political and infrastructural landscape, but also giving meaning to governance. Little wonder, he had a landslide victory during his second term bid, one of the most decisive political victories in a most keenly contested election.

Yes, that’s Jang, well acknowledged and well celebrated at the polls. But this story does not end there. For a man who was a military governor at about the age of 40, retiring as a one-star General in the Nigerian Air Force, a born-again Christian and an ordained minister of God, you might still ask: “what other legacy is he bequeathing when that ‘second leg meets the other’?”

For a man that providence would again make a civilian governor at the age of about 63, having been one in his military days, it just might have signalled the arrival of the “old brigade” for Plateau State!

But the shocker is this: Close to 80 per cent of members of his cabinet were under the age of 50 at inception! He would say with a sense of fulfilment: “My government is for the youth; we must mentor and teach them to take over from us.”

When, at a time he was under pressure to sack his cabinet, he remarked: “When we keep sacking, when will the young ones learn. We need to give them a chance to make mistakes and be corrected.”

Governor Jang believes that one of the greatest challenges facing the nation is lack of mentoring and preparing leaders for the future.

One recalls a day three of us were with him in the office, and he asked rhetorically: “Do you gentlemen know you are the ones that should be running the government while I ought to be the captain? You are to bring inputs and convince me.” We all left Baba’s office taken aback, but humbled by his belief in the limitless capabilities of the youth.

Today, he has taken this mentoring to another level with a monthly leadership

JANG ROSE TO PRESIDE OVER WHAT ARE TODAY FIVE

STATES:

BENUE, KOGI, TARABA, ADAMAWA AND PLATEAU, AND HAS TAKEN THE OATH OF OFFICE FOUR

TIMES AS GOVERNOR, MAKING HIM ONE OF FEW

NIGERIANS SO

PRIVILEGED Jang

mentoring session is held at the Government House Chapel for all top government officials in all the arms of the government.

It usually reaches climax when after the speaker, Baba steps onto the pulpit. As he speaks about his vision for Plateau, he scolds, encourages and weeps, often times set apart by a heavy-laden voice yearning for a Plateau of the Promised Land. He speaks from the heart and you feel him and his passion for the state.

For Governor Jang, you cannot divorce your spiritual life from governance. He had actually sent that message clearly at the beginning of the administration when he handed over the state to God in prayer led by Pastor Ayo Oritseajafor, National President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. Seeing Baba on his knees at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium that fateful day in tears, and calling onto God, was not only touching, emotive and emotional, but exemplary. He has virtually remained on his knees for Plateau State along with many believers. He will tell you, prayer and fasting remain my key of inspiration in governance. He would always ask: “How else would I have endured the trying days of the state during the crisis?”

This strength of character has manifested in Baba’s principled, bold, and blunt life which has made some perceive him as “stubborn” or “difficult”.

A man not given to grandstanding, he is not afraid to say it as it is, no matter who you are or whose ox is gored. Baba would often say “once I pray and have a conviction, I stand by it”. And he has, on so many occasions, been vindicated and emerges the winner in these situations that might have initially looked unsurpassable. He would say: “A leader must take a decision and be responsible for it.”

I recall an encounter in the early days of the administration when we were under attack by our critics for being slow and seemingly non functional. I said “Sir, we need to do something to ward off our critics”. He smiled and tapped me on the shoulder, and said: “Young man, you want people to say we are working? Don’t worry.”

Today, he has demonstrated a systematic approach to governance by being strategic in conceptualisation, articulation, and execution of projects.

When it was time to silence the critics, Baba gave out to contractors cheques of close to N5 billion at a go. And, immediately, caterpillars and graders were on the loose throughout Plateau State! Then the question on the lips of the critics became: where did he get the money from? That was to be the first sign of a prudent manager of resources which has run through his close to seven years of administration.

A man not keen about titles or awards, Governor Jang was the first governor to drop “His Excellency” from his compliments and even “executive” as official salutation. In humility, he accepts there is nothing “excellent” about him nor is there anything “executive” about it. To him, only the Almighty God is excellent. According to him, he is on a mission to serve and not to be exalted.

He remains very reluctant to receive awards; hence, he would not imagine paying for such! In his words: “Why should one pay for an award?

His traditional titles from the Tor Tiv, Gbong Gwom and the Attah of Igala were all conferred on him after leaving office. His legacies in the states spoke for him. Among the few awards he has agreed to are Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of Jos and ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos. Governor Jang, who is a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club, sees humanity as his primary source from which he draws the inspiration to serve. Though his critics have accused him of “not reaching out” by using government resources for “goodwill”, the priest in Jang will not allow him make noise about any philanthropic gesture, because, according to him, it is service to God. He keeps his promises to assist. From widows, orphans, the sick, to the mission fields, Baba Jang has poured enormous milk of kindness on humanity. He may not believe in sharing public resources; but he steps in on what one may consider

“functional reaching out,” which is on a need and urgency basis. Simply put, he is a silent philanthropist with a distinct and unique style.

His respect for womanhood is unparalleled. This saw him pick the first female deputy governor North of the Niger; and till date he has given women great opportunities to contribute to governance. The gentleman in Governor Jang would make him stand up to greet women, sometimes even those younger than him. At a certain function, when he noticed some women standing without seat, he paused and challenged the men as to whether it was right for men to be seated while women stood without seats? At every opportunity, he would encourage men to not only love their wives, but their families. He is a true apostle of the family bond and exemplary family life practitioner.

No wonder Governor Jang takes every issue that borders on his family with all the seriousness that is required. He makes time for them, shares their individual and collective concerns; even as governor, he still makes time for family prayers. No doubt he is close to his family, both nuclear and extended.

This soldier-turned politician is indeed an epitome of God’s grace. From the humble background of a son of a forest guard, raised by a mother who was widowed for over 50 years before she died, Baba Jang rose to preside over what are today five states: Benue, Kogi, Taraba, Adamawa and Plateau, and has taken the oath of office four times as governor, making him one of few Nigerians so privileged!

At 70, the biblical three score and ten, we celebrate a man of many parts: soldier, clergy, politician, philanthropist, responsible family man, principled and courageous administrator, a change agent, inspirator and motivator per excellence.

Happy Birthday, Baba Jang!

James Mannok is the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Government House, Jos.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

17

A fresh struggle with INEC JIDE OLATUBOSUN

I

n the system of democracy which Nigeria practises, the intrinsic nature and peculiarities of the people of this country cannot be ignored. The western brand of democracy comes with centuries of practice, failures, re-adjustments and successes. One of the hallmarks of these climes is the ability of the populace to influence the thought of the elected members of their parliaments.

Onyechekwa Jemie wrote in BD Sunday of 23 February, 2014 that; “In a true democracy, what the people say means something. The people’s voices carry weight. And any politician or public official, whether elected or appointed, would be a fool to ignore public opinion- otherwise he/she may be kicked out of office even before the next elections”. The Nigerian experience since the Second Republic shows that the reverse is the case, as the executive and legislative arms of government decide what the people should get, rather than give them what they ask for.

According to Jemie, “in Nigeria, public opinion counts for nothing- unless it is backed by a ‘warning strike’ or something comparably dramatic and intimidating. Once the election is over, the leaders ignore their constituents (electorate) until the next elections,

when all is forgiven and forgotten, perhaps, with the aid of monetary inducements here and there”. Because this is the case, even appointed officials have a tendency to lord it over the citizenry, who are considered to be beneath them in status.

A case in point is the blatant disregard for constituted authorities based on the perceived immunity of public servants. In this perception, government officials believe that they are covered by their connection to power, so they can flout laws with impunity. This perception is what I believe beclouds the judgment of Professor Attahiru Jega and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in their disregard for the court judgment which upturned body’s de-registration of FRESH Democratic Party and 28 other political parties nine months after the judgment was passed.

Our brand of democracy has been tilted to favour the politicians and appointees, rather that the electorate, whereby politicians have come to believe that whatever they decide, should be accepted by the populace.

It also means the electorate has been brow-beaten into accepting politicians as masters and benefactors, and they, as beggarly servants, who should be grateful for the favour they do them.

When our legislators sit at sessions, they are expected to push the needs of

AS THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE GETS

UNDERWAY, KEY ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE IN THE FRONT BURNERS OF DISCUSSIONS AMONG THE NOMINEES IS OUR BRAND AND INTERPRETATION OF DEMOCRACY their constituencies, based on interactions with them. The executives likewise are expected to do same. But what we have in our brand of democracy is disconnect from the same electorate, once victory is won. From that point on, only political contractors matter.

The executive arm of government on the other hand, measures its successes by the fabricated figures it churns out, and not on the impact of their projects on the lives of the people. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said government should be judged by “the amount of investments that have improved the livelihood of the people, and not by the growth in GDP, as increase in GDP does not translate to actual wealth creation and wellbeing of the people”. Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt corroborated this when he said, “We build

and defend not our generation alone.

We defend the foundations laid by our fathers. We build a life for generations of unborn. We defend and we build a way of life… for all mankind… not only for our future economic soundness, but the very soundness of our democratic institutions which depends on the determination of government to give employment to idle men”.

The lacuna in our democracy calls for a paradigm shift, which is our collective responsibility towards ensuring citizens’ rights. Nigerians need to be more assertive in demanding accountability by our elected leaders and appointees. As the national conference gets underway, key issues that should be in the front burners of discussions among the nominees is our brand and interpretation of democracy, and how it affects us. Politicians continue to find loopholes in our corrupt system, upon which they ride to disenfranchise the people.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) engaged INEC in a long drawn battle before it finally got registered, despite the fact that there was no real reason given why it could not be listed. This is what I believe INEC is playing on, a legal ambiguity by way of the right to appeal at any time, which can be used to deny FRESH supporters the right to be vote in 2015.

Jide Olatubosun wrote from Lagos.

Deconstructing our youths’ incompetence tar W W hen will this myth about incompetence of our youthful generation go away? This was the question that popped up in my mind upon reading a statement credited recently to Head of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Nigeria, Mrs. Toyin Ademola. Speaking at a recent career fair organised by her professional body in Abuja, Mrs Ademola struck the familiar, albeit unproven chord, by saying the many graduates from Nigerian tertiary institutions don’t get jobs because they are not employable. She was further quoted to have added that there are many vacant positions in government and private establishments, but our graduates don’t have the professional wherewithal to appropriate them.

The ACCA boss position obviously re-echoes the popular presumption about the intellectual incapacity of our graduates and youth generally. We are all used to the self-deprecating rhetoric of branding our educated youths ‘halfbaked graduates’, who are irredeemably unfit for any worthwhile employment. Nigerian youths have over the years being unduly victimized through home-spun warfare of unsavoury verbal attacks culminating in psychological torture and at times, erosion of self-belief.

They have been spared no negative epithets by the older generations who perceived them as some sort of inferior species on all indices that define human personality.

The youth are morally insolvent, intellectually incompetent, and even spiritually blind!

All the adjectives that have semantic connection with words despicable, contemptible and miserable have been lavishly exhausted in description of the Nigerian youth by their own

E SHOULD LEARN TO

APPRECIATE OUR YOUTHS AND STOP DENIGRATING THEM AS IF THEY DID NOT GENETICALLY DESCEND FROM THEIR PROGENITORS

people whose only difference lies in being older!

Yet all the socio-economic misdeeds culminating into woes afflicting the younger generations have been perpetrated by the older Nigerians. Many graduates of today are unduly adjudged unemployable educated illiterate, hardly capable of any worthwhile cerebral exploits. Even though there are no attestable proofs to justify the postulation, its proponents miss no opportunity to expound this pernicious philosophy. This myth, it appears, has always been perpetrated out of sheer generational bias.

This mindset is rooted in vainglorious desire for contrived self-importance, even at collective level- a base kind of arrogance that flows from concocted superiority.

In truth, the assumption is most unscientific, science tells us that by the very process of evolution, the human species, like other species, are evolving towards perfection on all fronts, including intellectual, thus the homo sapiens is evolving towards ‘homo sapiens sapiens’ that is from ‘the wise man’ to the ‘wise wise man’ or in better term, the ‘super man’.

But the advocates of this generational bias are

saying the exact opposite. By common sense, if human beings are retrogressing in intellect rather than progressing as the theory of evolution suggests, then the entire landscape of the earth should be brimming with morons by now,-through gradual descent into intellectual senescence over the millennia.

Furthermore, empirical evidence does not support inference of any disability in the intelligence of a Nigerian youth. Nigerian educational system could have fallen over the years as a result of underfunding and disregard by the rulers, but certainly the intellect of the youth has not fallen with it. The youth have developed numerous compensatory measures to remedy whatever defects that arose from their deprivations. To drive home the point, it is a common knowledge that Nigerian youth take part in many international professional examinations and acquit themselves well.

Many of them are adept at manipulating computers and other sophisticated paraphernalia of modern technology which the older generations never heard of in their own times.

If anything, I think the present generation of youths should be lauded for longsuffering, perseverance and doggedness. There were times in this country when employers would invade venues of graduation ceremony and scooped up fresh graduates for immediate employment.

There had been times when fresh graduates were enticed with cars to take up employment; the older generations who enjoyed all these perks are the one quick to condemn the younger ones who had no such incentives to goad their intellectual enterprises. Many of the older generations learnt the expertise on the job and did not just become gurus upon graduation from tertiary institutions, but

CRITICAL STROKES

KAYODE

KETEFE

kketefe@nationalmirroronline.net 08032147720 (SMS only)

the youth are expected to be perfect straight away from school. There are many young Nigerians brandishing local and international academic/professional certificates, including the vaunted ACCA, and yet have no jobs. There are simply acute shortage of jobs leading to mass unemployment and underemployment and the problem is not because the youth are unemployable.

We should learn to appreciate our youths and stop denigrating them as if they did not genetically descend from their progenitors, who have chosen to don the toga of unfathomable superiority. Whatever vices now being exhibited by the youth were not inculcated in them by some subterranean spirits, the youth acquired them through indoctrination by the older generations many of whom now deprecate the same youth with unbridled passion.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Misapplication of SUBEB, UBEC funds

A

recent report indicated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an-eight count charge of fraudulent practices against a former Secretary to the Edo State Government and three other officials of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) over a missing N113 million. One of the charges said the officials conspired amongst themselves in the same manner, place and date and agreed to spend public funds allocated for a particular project on another project. The Edo experience buttresses how deep corruption and abuse of office have ruined the nation’s public sector.

Corruption scam had similarly trailed the Rivers State SUBEB in 2011, when it was alleged that the board included ghost workers on its payroll to defraud the government. It was later claimed that the board was saving N200 million monthly made possible by the removal of 1,477 ghost workers discovered on its payroll. Some of the ghost workers were said to have taken up appointments elsewhere without formally resigning, and were still receiving salaries from the state government. Just last year, N.7 million was reported missing from the coffers of the Imo SUBEB. The board also denied it.

From Kano, about June last year

equally came the report that the state’s Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission would launch an investigation into the Kano SUBEB over alleged anomalies in contracts worth over N1.4 billion, among others.

The mother of all the scams, perhaps, was at the federal level, where a former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on trial for corrupt exploits, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Modibbo, told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja in 2011 that he awarded UBEC contracts worth billions of naira to several companies belonging to his wife, then a member-elect of the House of Representatives. Last January, a non-governmental organisation, Centre for Complete Education (CCE), raised alarm that fraud might have frustrated the N29 billion textbook scheme initiated by the Federal Government under UBEC. Coordinator of the group, Mr. Adamu Shehu, in a statement in Abuja, said the textbooks meant to be distributed to schools since the beginning of first term had not been shared even in second term. “Government should probe supplies of the book to ascertain how much we have lost to the contract fraud bonanza since 2009 when the scheme started’’, the said group said.

Reports in 2013 had alleged the

TIGHTER CONTROL MECHANISMS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE INTERVENTION FUND HAVE BECOME IMPERATIVE diversion of the free textbooks and other irregularities, a development that compelled the FG to set up a presidential committee to monitor the distribution of the books. The project was, however, said to have been stalled after the initial distribution was made to some schools in the previous years. Several secondary schools across the country are yet to benefit from the free instructional materials even when the FG has paid 60 percent of the agreed sum to the contractors handling the project.

Such has been the pathetic tales dogging virtually also projects and services that should be of benefit to ordinary Nigerians.

Like the current Chairman of UBEC Governing Board, Chief Amalate Turner, said late last year during the opening ceremony of a retreat organised for members of the board and management of the commission, the FG introduced the UBE programme “when it became clear that states and local gov-

ON THIS DAY

March 13, 1943

March 13, 1991

The Holocaust: German forces liquidated the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. The Krakow Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Jewish ghettos created by Nazi Germany for the purpose of persecution, terror and exploitation of Polish Jews during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. The Ghetto was liquidated between June 1942 and March 1943, with most of its inhabitants sent to Belzec and Płaszow and exterminated at Auschwitz concentration camp.

The United States’ Department of Justice announced that Exxon had agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil.

ernments, if left alone, cannot meet the enormous funding needs of the sub-sector, which still remains their constitutional responsibility.”

Even with the intervention of the FG, however, reports say some care-free state governments refused to provide counterpart funding, which is a prerequisite for accessing the funds. About N47.99 billion Universal Basic Education (UBE) fund is said to be lying idle at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a result. It is thus a fatal blow to the UBE programme, when states that were able to provide counterpart funding lose huge sums of money meant for the programme to thieving civil servants. The emerging trend is unacceptable.

What happened in the Edo SUBEB and elsewhere, including at the centre, demands that states and the FG develop more than a passing glance at the management of SUBEB and UBEC funds.

Tighter control mechanisms for the protection of the intervention fund have become imperative. The two levels of government should guard against the appointment of unscrupulous officers, who view SUBEB and UBEC funds as their share of the national cake, as heads of the establishments; and those of them found to have misused the funds should face the wrath of the law.

March 13, 2013 Pope Francis was elected in the papal conclave to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, December 17, 1936) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, in which capacity he is Bishop of Rome and absolute Sovereign of the Vatican City State.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technician and nightclub bouncer before entering the seminary.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

19

Education Today

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

AFE BABALOLA UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI (ABUAD)

A prestigious university in Africa with a visionary founder and leader - Dr. Lalla Ben Barka, Assist. D.G UNESCO, Paris

EFA: Why Nigeria may not meet 2015 deadline TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE AND SAIDAT ALAUSA

N

ational Mirror can authoritatively report that chances of Nigeria meeting the Education For All (EFA) target by 2015 is slim.

EFA is a global movement launched in 1990 in Thailand for collective commitments of signatory countries to achieve six fundamental goals in education. These are the expansion of early childhood care and education, provision of free and compulsory primary education, promotion of learning and life skills for young people and adults, increasing adult literacy by 50 per cent, improvement in quality of education, as well as stemming gender disparity.

But 24 years down the line and eight months to the deadline, Nigeria is still grappling with virtually all these important issues.

For instance, Nafisat Olaniyi is a 12-yearold food vendor on the street of Lagos. She has never been to school. Her excuse according to her is that her parents lack financial wherewithal to support her education.

At her age when she should be in the junior secondary school but she cannot write or speak in English. She told National Mirror in Yoruba that it was not as if her parents are not aware of the free education policy in the state but they cannot afford other financial commitments such as feeding and clothing.

“That is why I am selling food at bus stops and mechanic workshops to raise additional income for the family. I’ve ruled out the possibility of going to school,” she said.

Also, Yakub Davoh, 14, is a potter at the popular Oshodi bus stop, also in Lagos. He was brought to the city from Nasarawa State two years ago by his uncle, who is a guard at a private residence in the neighbourhood.

“I followed him because he promised to look for a house help job for me since I was not doing anything. But on getting to Lagos, the story changed,” he said.

Like Nasifat, Yakub is also not educated and is still not sure whether he will ever go to school.

These are just few among millions of out-of-school children in the country. They are virtually all over the country engaging in things not meant for their ages.

Similarly, Mama Arike as she wants to be identified is a petty trader at Ojuwoye Market in Mushin, Lagos. She told National Mirror that as far as she is concerned, she believes that adult literacy class is not meant for somebody of her age.

“I will be 49 years by June. I didn’t have the opportunity to go to school before I mar-

Street children mending shoes for their peers during the school hours at Ijaiye-Ojokoro bus stop, Lagos.

THERE ARE MANY SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN FLOODING THE STREETS

DURING SCHOOL HOURS.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING? SOME ARE ROAMING AIMLESSLY WHILE OTHERS ARE ENGAGING IN MENIAL JOBS THAT CANNOT GUARANTEE THEM GOOD FUTURE.

ried. Now, I have children who are students, what else do I need school for again? So, count me out of adult education,” she said in Yoruba.

Many like Mama Arike who are stark illiterates abound in the country and they are not ready to go for adult education.

This was even confirmed by the Country Director of UNESCO, Prof. Hassana Alidou at a launch of EFA Global Monitoring Report

in Abuja recently, saying Nigeria was among the countries with worst education indicators globally.

He also said although the country spends so much money on education, many children are still not learning.

Equally, UNESCO has severally pointed out that it would take some countries including Nigeria more than 70 years for significant percentage of their children to have access to at least, primary education whereas the Federal Government is boasting of meeting the 2015 EFA deadline.

For instance, while granting audience to the Director of the Bureau for the Development of Education in Africa, BREDA, an arm of UNESCO, Dr. Ann-Therese Ndog-Jatta, the supervising Minister for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike said the federal government was fully committed to the elimination of all forms of illiteracy. He blamed past governments for the challenges being faced in the sector.

But the world body puts the number of Nigerian children out of primary school as at 2013 at around 10.5 million with the North east sharing the largest burden.

National Mirror’s investigations revealed that many factors were responsible for the development ranging from economic, social to

PHOTO: TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

cultural issues.

This worrisome situation however, does not go down well with the stakeholders in the sector.

The Provost, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija-Epe, Lagos, Prof. Olu Akeusola told National Mirror that there were no parameters to show that the country would meet the deadline.

“There are many school age children flooding the streets during school hours.

What are they doing? Some are roaming aimlessly while others are engaging in menial jobs that cannot guarantee them good future. So, I can say categorically that Nigeria will not achieve EFA deadline in the next 20 years let alone next year,” he said.

Agreeing with Akeusola, Mr. Fowowe Sunday, a lecturer at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, (AOCOED), Ijanikin, Lagos, added that another strong factor thwarting EFA goal is that of girlchild education.

He is particularly worried that contrary to the gender parity in education, the proportion of boys to girls especially in the north with many cases of underage marriages remains wide.

20

Education Today

Thursday, March 13 , 2014

I don’t pray to be a lecturer, says First Class graduate

Afeez Aderibigbe (middle) with parents, Mr and Mrs Aderibigbe(right) and family members after the ceremony

DHIKRU AKINOLA

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hey were just 150 in all and from the number, 10 stood out. They were those who made First Class from the Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State.

And one among them still surpassed the rest and he is Afeez Aderibigbe, the overall best of the set.

Afeez, 26, stole the show at the university’s convocation ceremony penultimate week. He graduated with a degree in Physics Electronics and came out with the Cumulative Gradient Point Average (CGPA) of 4.84 from 5.0 obtainable points. The exemplary performance earned him many awards which were unveiled at the event.

Apart from being the overall best, he was the best in his department and in the faculty, among others. And he was called to the podium many times to receive his prizes, ranging from money to material gifts. And for the development, he became the toast of the parents and well-wishers in attendance.

But Afeez said he was not surprised at the achievement as he had prepared very well for it.

“I must say I worked very hard to earn the grade. While I was reading, some of my mates were either sleeping or doing some-

TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

U

nrestrained attacks of the radical Islamic religious sect, Boko Haram, on vulnerable members of the society in some parts of the North, have become a source of worry to a concerned group.

Grassroots Widows and Orphans’ Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, which expressed this in Lagos, said that, activities of the sect members had led to killings, maiming and displacement of people, particularly women and school children, adding that the population of widows/widowers and orphans have increased, as scores of men and women had been at the receiving end.

According to the founder of the group, Alhaja Fausat Hassan-Olajoku, “attacks

thing less profitable. Also, whenever I was not in the hostel at night, I would be in class reading and I thank God for crowning my effort with a good success,” he said.

Afeez was once at various higher institutions before he later secured admission into the Fountain University in 2010. First, he was at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNNAB) for a degree programme. He was even going to 300 level as a Fishery and Aqua-culture student when he decided to abandon the course for another.

That was in 2007 despite the fact that he was on 4.56 CGPA. “I just didn’t like the course. I chose it due to my inability to secure admission for my dream course,” he noted.

His hatred for the course took him again to enrol at the University of Lagos for a diploma course and at that time according him, his parents could not afford to finance his education.

“They told me they didn’t have the money as three of my younger siblings were about entering university at the time,” he recalled.

So, in the interim, Afeez enrolled at the Lagos State Technical College to study electrical installations and that took him another three years.

For his determination to be a degree

I MUST SAY I WORKED VERY HARD TO EARN

THE GRADE. WHILE I WOULD BE READING, SOME OF MY MATES WERE EITHER SLEEPING OR DOING SOMETHING LESS PROFITABLE holder he enrolled first as a diploma student with the Fountain University before he proceeded for a degree course.

While in school, Afees at times used to teach his mates on difficult subjects, yet he wouldn’t like to work in academic environment let alone becoming a teacher.

“Although I can teach very well, I just don’t pray to become a teacher and you don’t need to ask me why. I will like to work in another environment outside academic,” he pointed out.

In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Bashiru Raji commended Afees for the achievement, urging him and his other mates to go and impact on the society.

Group laments Boko Haram attacks on school children, widows on schools and killing of innocent children were detrimental to youth and manpower development.”

Hassan-Olajoku, who is the vice chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Ijaiye-Ojokoro, Lagos State, lamented that the displacement of women and children in the area had caused them untold hardships, such as diseases, homelessness and deaths for the victims, and called on governments at all levels to assist the victims of such insurgents.

She also urged the people of Osun State to support the ongoing educational reform of the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbe-

sola, saying, such change was desirable to enhance manpower and overall economic and social development of the state.

She said the new school system, including the ipad-like Opon Imo(tablet of knowledge), will particularly enhance girl-child education in the state, as more women would have greater opportunity of getting proper education, which they lacked before now.

She urged women to embrace health education and status against diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and stroke, saying that, “As an NGO, we often organise seminars and tests for women in our own little way.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We won’t call off strike -COEASU WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

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ecturers at the Federal College of Education, Okene have vowed to continue with the ongoing nationwide strike by the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) until the Federal Government met their demands.

By this development, the hope of the new and returning students of the institution resuming for new academic session next week as scheduled in the school calendar has been dashed.

The college’s acting Chairman of the union, Mr. Olorumonu Moody disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Lokoja, accusing government of lack of sincerity in its position to address the lingering crisis.

He said COEASU’s demands were to address the decay in the colleges of education and not that of the lecturers per se but that the government had not shown enough commitment so far to meet the demands.

COEASU, according to him is not asking for salary increase, but for the government to provide necessary infrastructures and facilities that would make polytechnic education in the country globally competitive.

He said, it was disheartening that rather than for the government to take all the contentious issues seriously and find a way of addressing them, it is only making unfulfilled promises, which he said was not acceptable to them.

He said the country would not progress without quality polytechnic education, which he said produces middle level manpower to grow the economy.

Senator lifts OAU with N3m DHIKRU AKINOLA

A

senator representing Osun Central in the Senate, Prof. Sola Adeyeye has donated a sum of N3 million to three departments in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The departments are Mathematics, Physics, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

The lawmaker said he donated the money to appreciate one of his former lecturers while in the University of Ibadan as an undergraduate, Prof. Gabriel Ajayi on his meaningful impact on his person back then.

A release by OAU’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, said the lawmaker used the occasion to call on teachers to emulate the good work of his former lecturer.

Reiterating his commitment to education development, Adeyeye promised not to relent in contributing meaningfully to education development at all levels.

The OAU vice chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole who received the cheque on behalf of the departments thanked the donor for the gesture.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Education Today

Thursday, March 13, 2014

21

Commissioner stresses importance of school library TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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he Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Segun Odubela has said school library was important in such a way that school curriculum irrespective of level of education revolves around it.

He stated this in his keynote address at the official reopening of the newly refurbished Abeokuta Girls Grammar School Library by the alumni of the school.

Odubela, who was represented by the Chairman of the State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Ms Adebukunola Onabanjo said a functioning library would help students to source for materials that would enhance their knowledge on various subjects being taught in class.

He noted that because the state government had taken the issue of equipping the school libraries very seriously, it had contracted out equipping 15 libraries out of the 26 proposed model schools that near completion.

The commissioner stressed that the library facility would also boost reading culture especially among the secondary school students.

Also speaking, the special guest of honour, Sir Kessington Adebutu commended the alumni, saying the gesture showed they appreciated the contribution of the school to their current status.

Odubela

L-R: Award recipient, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija; Chairman, House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Lagos State, Hon. Wahab AlawiyeKing; Governor Babatunde Fashola; Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye and Former Deputy Governor, Princess Adebisi Sarah Sosan at the state’s Breakfast Meeting and CSR Award ceremony on the ‘Support our Schools’ initiative, recently.

Don’t tarnish FUTA’s reputation, VC warns jambites TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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he Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Prof. Adebiyi Daramola has warned the newly admitted students of the institution to stay clear of any act that could tarnish the good reputation of the university.

He said the university worked very hard to earn its good standing and would therefore do everything possible to protect it.

He gave the warning while addressing the students at the recent orientation programme organised in their honour.

According to him, FUTA does not and would never tolerate any form of indiscipline from its students no matter how highly placed their parents are in the society.

“So, I need to sound it to your hearing very clearly that here in FUTA, there is no room for cultism, fighting, examination

malpractice, hooliganism, sexual abuse and any other form of uncivilised attitudes from both the students and the workers.

Make sure you are well behaved by following the rules and regulations guiding your conduct. Face your studies, attend class regularly and avoid activities that can disrupt your calendar to enable you graduate on record time. This university will not hesitate to sanction any student who flouts its rules,” he said.

He noted that the management would provide enabling environment and all necessary facilities to their studentship a worthwhile experience.

“Our focus is to produce well-rounded graduates who will become masters in their chosen fields upon graduation,” he stressed.

The vice-chancellor told them that there were study opportunities awaiting those among them who would distinguish themselves academically from the rest in and

outside the country.

“Even some of our students are currently studying at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in the United States where they will complete their programmes up to post-graduate level,” he added.

On his part, the Dean of Students Affairs, Dr. Boniface Kayode said the students would need to adjust quickly to the university environment, where they enjoy some level of freedom unlike when they were in the secondary schools.

“Know that you will need to use your time wisely, make friends to only those who will impact on you positively and face your studies to justify your parents’ investment on you,” he further counselled.

He told them that his office is open to them and they should therefore make it their home.

Encomium for grant-winning don SAIDAT ALAUSA

T

Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Mr. Guy Clarke (middle) with the students of Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Lagos at a one-day field trip on Information and Communication Technology organised by the company for the students recently.

he Head of Department, Crop Production and Technology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Dr. Akin Popoola has continued to receive encomium for winning international grant for his university.

The don won a grant from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Agricultural Research to refurbish and equip the plant tissue culture laboratory and library in the institution’s College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT).

The latest commendation was from the institution’s Vice-Chancel-

lor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole while inaugurating the facilities recently.

He noted that the scholar won the grant through his proposal and that the development would encourage other lecturers to write good proposals that could win similar grants for the university in future.

While commending other lecturers who had won grants for the university before, the vice chancellor said all these grants would help the university move to the next level.

Speaking on the Screen House, the Head of Department, Dr. Akin Popoola, explained it was a jointlyfunded project by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria.

22

Education Today

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Provost cautions against danger of strikes TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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he Provost, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Otto/ Ijanikin, Lagos State, Mr. Wasiu Bashorun has called on the governments at all levels and private sector to invest more in tertiary education so as to prevent the sub-sector from further degeneration.

He made the appeal at the college matriculation ceremony held recently.

According to him, federal and state governments as a matter of priority should, on a comprehensive basis, address the various challenges confronting public tertiary institutions in the country by funding them L-r, Registrar, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Mr. Bola Disu; Provost, Mr. Olalekan Bashorun and Dean, very well to make them condu- School of Prelim Studies, Mr. Surajudeen Raufu at the college’s matriculation ceremony. cive for learning and teaching.

He said current situations students to give their studies and colleges of education-AcaHe said on no account should demic Staff Union of Polytech- of things in the country de- a deserved attention and shun the Federal Government allow nics (ASUP) and the Colleges manded that all stakeholders all forms of vices such as exthe Academic Staff Union of should come together to find amination malpractice, hooof Education Academic Staff Universities (ASUU) to carry Union (COEASU) whose mem- common lasting solution to the liganism and fighting, among out its threat to go on strike bers are currently on a several lingering crisis in the sector, others that could truncate their again before it would honour months old nationwide strikes noting that incessant strikes in future. its own part of the agreement He urged them not to engage to sheath their swords and call ivory towers have taking huge made with the union. off their actions in the interest toll on the subsector and the in activities that could make On the other hand, he also their staying on campus longer of students and the education economy. appealed to the ASUU’s counHe however, advised the new than necessary. sector. terparts in both the polytechnic

ANCOP to governments: Give adequate attention to teachers’ welfare JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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he All Nigerian Conference of Principals, ANCOP, has called on the federal and state governments to give attention to welfare of teachers instead of building school infrastructure.

ANCOP, at the end of its executive meeting in Katsina State said teachers’ reward should not only be in heaven but during their life time.

The National President of the group, Mrs. Fatimah Abdoulrahman, in an interview with newsmen, expressed concern on failure of government to boost morale of teachers through provision of good welfare package.

She said teachers need to be encouraged and provided with welfare package if government is serious with revamping education in the country.

She said Nigerian teachers are faced with many challenges in carrying out their responsibilities, but that providing them with improved welfare would serve as great motivation.

“Our students fail in NECO and WAEC, because teachers are not motivated to carry out their work,” and that teachers leave teaching for other profession due government’s refusal “to show seriousness on the profession.”

She said the conference was convened to look into problem facing teaching problem and ways to ensure delivery of quality teaching in schools.

L-R: Nollywood actress, Stephanine Okereke, CEO, Edumark Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosu and Former Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Dr. Leke Pitan cutting the cake of unity at the seminar, in Lagos.

Students mentored on future challenges SAIDAT ALAUSA

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n educationist and Chief Executive Officer of Edumark, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde has said it was necessary for students to be well prepared in their endeavours for future challenges.

She made the observation in Lagos at this year’s edition of “We Are The Future of Our Nation” (WATFON), a programme organised annually for the final year students of secondary schools by the consult.

According to her, students must know that they would have to take advantage of every opportunity before them to

prepare themselves well enough in achieving their ambitions as they grow older.

In her remark, the wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun advised the students to always hold on to their dreams as well as following the good steps of elders in their chosen endeavours.

She advised them to be patriotic to Nigeria saying that there are more to benefit from loving the country as there is no place better than home.

“You don’t need to look at this country in a negative way all the time. There are many good things about Nigeria.

Hold on to them and play your part to make it better,” she further counseled.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

IABC appoints Nigerian as council member

T

he International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has appointed a senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lagos, Mr. Richard Ikiebe into a 10-man inaugural Global Communication Certification Council.

The council is responsible for the development and management of certification programmes for the internationally recognised association.

The President and International Executive Board chair of the association, Robin McCasland announced the composition of the council last week to include Ikiebe as a pioneer member.

He noted that an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) USA, Dr. Janet McCormick will chair the council while Dr. Rajeev Kumar of the Tata Group corporate communication in Mumbai, India will serve as his deputy.

Other members of the council according to him include Ana Maria RamirezGomez from Switzerland; Lynda Phelan, from Canada; Liam Fitz Patrick from United Kingdom; Jacky Hood from USA; Neil Griffiths from United Kingdom and two ex-officio members.

The certification programme according to him would be open to all communication professionals, non-IABC members inclusive, and provide a common and consistent platform for assessment.

Ikiebe who has a renewable three-year term on the council was nominated by the IABC Nigerian chapter. He has over 35 years experience in media and communication in the public and private sectors.

He is a Senior Fellow and pioneer Director of the Center for Leadership in Journalism at the PAU’s SMC. He teaches graduate and executive courses in Journalism, Journalism History and Media Leadership in the school.

Currently, a Vice-Chairman of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Ikiebe once served on the board of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) where he was the Chairman of the Commission’s Subcommittee responsibles for international investment promotion.

IABC) is a professional network of about 14000 business communication professionals in over 80 countries.

Congratulating Ikiebe on the appointment, the President of Nigerian chapter of the professional body, Mr. Chido Nwakanma said Ikiebe’s appointment would not only boost business communication in Africa, but will also stimulate adoption of best practices by communication experts in both private and public sectors in the country..

Ikiebe

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Education Today

Thursday, March 13 , 2014

23

Lecturers’ input and quality of Nigerian graduates M Education A part from truancy on the part of the students, the quality of graduates produced by Nigerian universities is further impacted by the quality of input into their training by their lecturers. This depends on many variables including their academic capabilities, personal attitudes and the environmental conditions in which they operate.

A lecturer-per-excellence is a sober, morally upright, intelligent, motivating and highly dedicated intellectual, committed to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge through research and teaching. By virtue of this, he is considered competent to produce motivated graduates who are considered worthy in character and in learning.

Only a few Nigerian lecturers belong here!

Many lecturers currently in the system are products of the collapsing academic institutions and lack the basic knowledge of the courses they teach. Others do not even possess the requisite qualifications to progress to the Ph D programme which is the terminal qualification required to remain in the academic arena. These are all employed on the basis of their social connections and not because of their academic prowess.

Another category of lecturers in the system have the knowledge of the subject matter but ei-

ANY LECTURERS CURRENTLY IN

as I see it

COLLAPSING ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

info@alphaedufoundation.org 08030904461 (email/SMS only)

THE COURSES THEY TEACH

DAMATURU

T

he Yobe State government has earmarked a sum of N100 million as compensation to the families of students of the Federal Government College, BuniYadi, who were killed by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, recently It would be recalled that some suspected terrorists stormed the college at night and killed about 43 students while abducting some before destroying the school property worth millions of naira.

The Chairman of a committee set up by the state government to look into the ways the families of the affected students could be assisted, the state’s Attorney General and Commis-

AND LACK THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF

by Tosanwumi Otokunefor

ther do not know how to teach or have no time to prepare lecture notes. Their lectures are monotonous repetition of old notes with little or no explanations.

Students are bored most of the time and struggle to complete the notes by filling in the gaps after lectures. They complete all that they need to do in record time but without motivating the students.

Finally, there are these otherwise brilliant lecturers, first class first degree holders or some other impressive qualifications and extremely knowledgeable in their fields of study. They talk and behave responsibly in the mist of their colleagues, but the students are unhappy with them because they are absolutely unrepentant truants. They are absent from school most of the time. Their lectures are delivered a week or two to the examinations when other lecturers are doing revision with their students. On the other hand, some of these brilliant lecturers may simply relinquish their courses to junior colleagues or

Students killing: Yobe earmarks N100m compensations for families INUSA NDAHI

THE SYSTEM ARE PRODUCTS OF THE

sioner for Justice, Ahmed Goniri disclosed this during his visit to the college last week.

He said his committee would liaise with the school’s authority to ascertain the actual number of missing students for purpose of meet their parents.

He solicited the support and co-operation of people especially traditional rulers in the area to provide useful information that could lead to recovery of the missing students.

Gaidam

graduate students who deliver the lectures haphazardly and immediately convert the opportunity into a revenue generating venture. These lecturers are usually full time business men, politicians or some religious freaks that are not afraid to defraud either God or man and get paid for work not done! They are more likely to secure one political appointment or the other because of their connections to the ruling class.

All these could only have happened because of the breakdown of the implementation framework of the guidelines that regulate academic activities in the tertiary institutions.

But things have not always been so, and ought not to remain so.

Lecturers’ activities in the classroom ought to be monitored and performances assessed regularly.

Such performance records should henceforth become a vital component of the annual promotion exercises. In the past, even the students were given the golden opportunity to anonymously assess the perfor-

mance of their lecturers in the classroom, but now, all that has changed!

But apart from the academic capabilities and the personal attitudes, environmental factors have often played very important roles in the output of lecturers. Even the lecturerper-excellence cannot achieve optimum output under the prevailing conditions in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria today. With the resumption of work after the lengthy ASUU strike, many universities are playing the catch-up game by administratively reducing the duration of the semester to half the normal duration. In essence, a three credit load course is reduced to half the nominal value, but credited in full to the student. These facts are not hidden from the administrators of education nationwide but they are simply glossed over.

Right now, February salaries have not been paid at some federal universities and the no-pay-no-work rule is being activated by some university

unions. If this happens, the Federal Government would be unwittingly precipitating another crisis when the consequences of the last ASUU strike are still reverberating over the entire nation. This will predictably result in further dislocations and uncertainties in an already troubled academic system. You cannot effectively repackage a 15-week work schedule into seven and still expect the same results.

As at today, the quality of academic staff of universities cannot be guaranteed. The process of hiring has literarily been hijacked by powerful pressure groups and interests within and outside the academic arena and factors such as tribal, religious, political, and social affiliations rather than academic excellence now have the right of way. The results of credible interviews are often set aside and mediocre candidates are recruited while the truly qualified candidates continue to roam the streets. What sort of graduates would you expect from Nigerian universities under this new breed of second rate lecturers?

Obi commends ABUAD’s giant stride TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

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Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Ferdinand Obi has lauded the huge achievement recorded so far by the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) within four years of its establish-

ment, describing the achievements as a beginning for the institution.

He gave the commendation on Tuesday during the visit of 11 branches of the Mid-West Bar Forum to the university recently.

The erudite lawyer who led the team said with the huge investment and fast development in the institu-

Students of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, during their visit to Mr. Mohammed Fawehinmi at GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, to intimate him about their dissatisfaction with the huge tuitions charged by the institution on Monday.

tion, he foresees the university becoming one of the best rated globally in the nearest future.

He congratulated the university as well as its founder, Aare Afe Babalola for making tremendous impact in the university education in the country.

He said he was particularly proud of the sterling quality of Aare Babalola in education, law, humanity and other endeavours and he prayed unto God to continue to strengthen him for selfless service he is known for over the years.

Responding, Aare Babalola thanked Obi and members of his delegation for honouring him with the visit and for the commendation showered on him and the university.

He assured the visitors that the university would not deviate from its core dream of producing wellrounded graduates and qual-

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Edited by: Saidat Alausa shinyan20022002@yahoo.com, 08027633686

NUC advises JABU on Law programme SAIDAT A LAUSA

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he National Universities Commission, NUC has advised the management of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji- Arakeji, Osun State on how to run its proposed College of Law effectively.

The advice came during the recent NUC visitation to the university to ascertain its level of preparedness to commence programmes in Law. On the curriculum of the proposed College of Law, the Chairman of the NUC team, Prof. Ehi Oshio admonished the management to inculcate into students’ curricula a second language. He also lauded the university on the worthwhile landmarks it has made since inception and the enviable position it attained among the comity of universities in the country.

The Dean-designate of the proposed College of Law, Prof.

Yomi Dinakin stressed the fact that the inclusion of a second language such as French would give the prospective students an edge over their counterparts and make them open and eligible for diverse international opportunities.

Amidst other suggestions made by the NUC team was that appropriate measures should be made to have a curriculum in place to ensure that it meets the laid down standards and minimum benchmarks for running a College of Law in any higher institution of learning.

In a related development, delegates from the University of Ilorin recently visited the university to inquire about the way it is running its entrepreneurship programme in order to do the same at UNILORIN. A member of the delegation, Professor Fajemidagba, who is the Director, Technical and Entrepreneurship Centre of UNILORIN stated that apart from learning about the JABU entrepreneurship model, UNILORIN also has plans to partner with JABU regarding production of entrepreneurial products.

story with pix

President- elect, Ibitola Babatope(in green)addressing students after the announcement of the election result

Excitements as EKSU students elect officers OLATUNJI AWE,

300L POL. SCI. EKSU

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tudents of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, went to the poll recently to elect their first set of leaders.

This was three years after the merger by the state government of the three universi-

ties, namely: University of Ado Ekiti; University of Education, Ikere and University of Science and Technology, Ifaki to become EKSU. The election was long overdue according to the students as they went into jubilation over the development.

The president-elect, Ibitola

Babatope of the Faculty of Agriculture and popularly known on campus as Sugarito, polled a total of 1, 047 votes.

He appreciated the students and promised not to let them down.

The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dipo Aina, on his part, commended the civility

at which the students comported themselves before, during and after the election, saying the development showed their tolerance politically.

But he told them that resuscitation of students’ unionism was not a licence to indulge in social vices such as hooliganism and cultism.

2015: Students urged to participate actively in politics MUSLIUDEN ADEBAYO

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tudents of tertiary institutions in the country have been advised to participate actively and meaningfully in partisan politics as the 2015 general elections draw near.

The Head of Department, Management Science and Accounting, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Dr. Owolabi Usman gave the advice while delivering a paper, titled: “The Role of the Youths in the Socio-economic development of Nigeria” at the second annual symposium and distinguished personality lecture held last Thursday.

The event which was organised by the Federation of Oyo State Students Union (FOSSU), LAUTECH chapter in honour of late Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the former premier of the defunct Western Region was part of the union’s annual week celebrations.

Usman, who described youth as a subjective word that has no single definition identified poverty, lack of access to quality education and unemployment as some of the challenges facing youths globally.

But it was disheartening according to him

that still, most youths, especially in Nigeria have turned themselves to agents of evil perpetrating such vices as hooliganism, prostitution, drug pushing and examination malpractice under the guise that they are confronting with cultural and socio-economic problems.

He noted that youths have their contributory roles to the development of the society.

These roles according to him include the use of their vibrant energy for the purpose of enhanced productivity, the use of their naturally endowed knowledge for research, the use of their mobility as a weapon of national and international political and economic integration, participation in sporting activities and the use of their human and material resources for global advocacy.

He said a stronger family unit and workable educational policy were needed to make youths functional to realise their potentials.

He therefore told them to participate positively in electoral process but not to be involved in any act that could truncate their future.

“Don’t allow any politician to use you as weapons of destruction. When they ask you to carry gun or cutlass to fight their opponents, ask them the whereabouts of their children. You will see they won’t be able to

give you convincing response. Their children are abroad schooling while they want to destroy the lives of another man’s children.

Please, don’t allow them to ruin your career because of their political ambitions. So, do away with all forms of electioneering hooliganism. I will only ask you to get involved actively and responsibly in politicking. Ensure you exercise your voting right. By so doing, you can make a positive change in governance. Otherwise, you will not have moral right to blame or query them if they should get to corridors of power by crooks. The future of Nigeria is in your hands. Let us build it together.”

In his remark, the former Nigerian Ambassador to Hungary and son of late Chief Akintola, Amb. Yomi Akintola, thanked the students for organising the lecture in honour of his late father.

He asked them to face their studies and pray hard unto God to enable them achieving good success in their endeavours.

Dignitaries in attendance included Oba Aare Ogboni of Osun State, Chief Najeem Okikiola; Oba T.A Olajoju 11, Agba of Agaara; Mr. Waheed Olowonijaye; Alhaji Tairu Bamidele; Pa George Olayinka; Mr. A.O. Adewole and Hon. Taiwo Adeyemo, among others.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Campus News

Thursday, March 13, 2014

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Be good ambassadors, provost tells new students SAIDAT ALAUSA

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he Provost, Muritadha College of Education, (MURICOED), Olodo, Ibadan, Dr. Amuzat Asimiyu-Olaiya has charged the newly matriculated students of the college to be part of those whom the nation will look on to, to salvage the nation from her present calamity, therefore they should strive hard to acquire sufficient skills and knowledge which will enable them face the challenges ahead.

Amuzat who disclosed this at the college’s 4th matriculation ceremony lamented that teachers today are no more productive and it is his hope that these ones would acquire enough experience to be productive after their training. He told the students that the College would not condone any act of indiscipline like fighting, indolence, exam malpractices, hooliganism, among others, as any student caught would be sanctioned.

The provost added that the College vision is to become a world class teacher training institute, producing functional and resourceful managers of instructions, who in turn will turn things around positively in the nation educational sector.

Amuzat noted that no nation in this world would make any remarkable progress and development without functional educational system, thus, Nigeria educational system is in a thick mud, as our school system is producing half-baked graduates, academic failures and redundant products, all in the name of poor quality of teachers and inadequate allocation and utilization of resources.

The provost gave thanks to God for assisting the college to be growing from strength to strength, as the college is matriculating over 30 students, as against 18 last year.

FEDPOFFA ASUP chair wins award

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he Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Federal Polytechnic Offa chapter, Dr. Sola Ojeniyi has won the 2013 Nigerian Universities Doctoral Thesis Award Scheme (NUDTAS). The award was organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC), a university regulatory body in the country to celebrate exemplary works in the academic circle.

Ojeniyi’s doctoral thesis in Arts emerged the best in the country last year.

For the achievement, he was among the 17 award recipients honoured by NUC in Abuja recently.

In a chat, Ojeniyi attributed the success to hard work, commitment, determination and above all, the grace of God upon his person.

He thanked his supervisor, Prof. Victoria Alabi from the University of Ilorin, whom he said, would never accept substandard works from her students.

He pointed out that writing doctoral theses required a lot of technicalities, knowledge of which he said, helped him immensely on the project.

Students at the eating competitiion

Osogbo students celebrate amidst cultural funfair KEMI BUSARI

400L, POL. SC. OAU

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he Obafemi Awolowo University branch of the Osogbo National Students Union (ONSU) has celebrated this year’s edition of the annual Oroki Day. It was held at the Biological Sciences Lecture Theatre of the university last week.

The event featured: “Eko” (pap) and “Efo riro” (vegetable soup) eating competition as well as cultural and comic displays. Osogbo indigenes are known for eating pap with vegetables soup without being tired. The top three contestants in the eating competition were rewarded with some exercise books and copies of magazine. It was an amusement session as volunteers devouring wraps of pap with delicious vegetable soup.

Speaking on rationale for organising the annual programme, the president of the association, Akano Sulaiman said the group had so far contributed meaningfully to the promotion of unity and development among students of tertiary institutions in and outside the country who are indigenes of Osogbo.

He added that the association was also known for the celebration and promotion of Osogbo culture.

Delivering a speech, titled: “What does it take to be educated?” a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Dr. Ademola Adeleke said education goes beyond schooling or possessing of a certificate.

According to him, education starts from birth and goes on until death. “So, to be edu-

cated is to have training that is capable of earning a living,” he said.

Enjoining the students to be focused on their studies, the don who is the former Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education in the university lamented that Nigerians worshipped certificates than the technical know-how of holders of such documents.

He said it was high time Nigeria stopped from the practice to grow the economy.

Also addressing the students, Prof. Richard Olaniyan ,a member of the Governing Council of Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso challenged the students to rise up to the academic responsibility of studying and civic responsibility of voting rightly as election approaches.

He also advised them to make themselves relevant in the society in whatever they do.

Ikale students honour eminent indigenes KEMI BUSARI AND AFEEZ LASISI (100L, POL.SC.), OAU

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Ojajuni, a police officer (Ikale Patriot’s Award).

Others are Hon. Sheba Abayomi, Distinguished Achiever’s Award) and Chief Victoria a former member of the House of Fafoluyi(Ikale Distinguished Representatives who bagged the

he Obafemi Awolowo University chapter of the Federation of Ikale Students Union (FISU) honoured eminent sons and daughters of the community with awards at this year’s Ikale Festival Day. The honour was for their exemplary contributions to the development of the area.

The award recipients included the late Comfort Omoge who bagged posthumous Evergreen Musician Award; Dr Olawamide Akinbola (Most distinguished Mr. Tunde Aiyenumelo presenting an award to CSP Olubode Ojajuni (middle) medical doctor); Mr. Olubode at the event

Ikale Distinguished Achiever Award and Gbenga Johnson as the most outstanding young musician of Ikale land.

A guest speaker, Mr. Olubode Ojajuni, also a Chief Superintendent of Police, thanked the students for deeming it to honour him and others, saying the awards would spur them for activities that will lead to the development of Ikale land.

He asked them to remain focused and shun every form of social vices as they go about their daily activities.

Earlier, the president of the association, OAU chapter, Mr. Iwakun Oyeniyi said the forum had been a veritable means to unite undergraduates who are indigenes of the area over the years.

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Sanusi’s bullish entry into apex banking

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HE PUNCH of February 25 welcomes us today: “Easy ways to top-up airtime without loading cards” (MTN full-page advertisement) Everywhere you go: top up (phrasal verb which applies here) and top-up (noun).

THE GUARDIAN of February 21 continues the race this week: “For close to five years, he raced through the banking sector like a bull in a china hall.” Get it right: like a bull in a china shop.

“Singapore jails senior civil servants over (for) corruption” “ANA postponements (sic) (postpones) February reading” “Peugeot plans to inject $7.26b on (into) research, development” “South African Airways celebrates 80 years (years’ or 80th year) anniversary” “LASU Management re-opens (reopens) the university” (Half-page advertisement) “You lived well and you have gone to (preferably for) a well deserved (well-deserved) rest. Rest in perfect peace.” (Full-page advertisement) Except for graveyard peace, ‘peace’ is an absolute and does not need inflection, intensification or adumbration. So, rest in peace (R.I.P—not R.I.P.P)!

Finally from the Back Page of THE GUARDIAN under review: “One has witnessed at different occasions dissenting opinions of doctors as regards prescriptions for patient’s (a patient’s) ailment.” The Guardian youth speak: on different occasions.

Next is DAILY TRUST of February 20 with a slip right from its front page lead story: “Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar spoke at his palace in Sokoto….” Does the Sultan of Sokoto have another palace elsewhere? Let us think as we report.

“Heritage Bank plans listing in (on) capital market” “Pact with China conducive for peace, says Taiwan (Taiwan’s or Taiwanese) president” “Otherwise, there is no point we engage in importing that much on yearly (a yearly) basis.” “…he said though the institute has (had) developed 62 rice varieties for farmers, five most prominent varieties are (were) in circulation and are (were) doing very good (well).”

“NEMA, stakeholders meets over displaced persons” You can readily identify the slip-up.

“With the LG polls now fixed for next week Tuesday….” Either next Tuesday or Tuesday, next week—no jumbo-mumbo!

Lastly from DAILY TRUST: “Replicate your performance to (in) your constituents (constituencies)” “Security at airports: Police deploys (sic) sniffer dogs at (in) Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, 5 others” (AIT News, 4 p.m., February 20) “PIB: Senate to re-open probe” (Source: as above) My comment: already treated.

From DAILY TRUST we move to THISDAY of February 18 for the next four entries: “I am not in FCT for politics, says Mbu” It categorically means you were in Rivers State to play presidential wife’s politics! That is the power of words.

“Absence of interpreter stalls trial of Portuguese woman charged for (with) drug trafficking” “Thumb (Thumbs) up for Nigerian refs in Mali” “Obasanjo: Amaechi’s k-leg (knocked

WITH THE LG POLLS NOW FIXED FOR NEXT WEEK TUESDAY….”

EITHER NEXT TUESDAY OR TUESDAY, NEXT WEEK—NO JUMBO-MUMBO! knees) has been straightened” “Failure of Oduah to handover (hand over) stalls….”

The following five solecisms are from DAILY INDEPENDENT of February 18 starting from its front page: “DHQ assures of continued offensive” Who did it assure?

“Battle for soul of Ecobank intensifies” So the battle intensifies itself ?

“Harnessing potentials of local software industry in Nigeria” ‘Potential’ is uncountable, but there is ‘potentialities’, “…who had at one point or the other (or another) been to Oyo State….”

“Tackling voters apathy in Nigeria” This way: voter apathy SATURDAY INDEPENDENT of February 15 disseminated all manner of school-boy howlers right from the front page: “Fear has grip (gripped) notable politicians in Ebonyi State following findings by….” Most of the ensuing blunders were caused by sheer carelessness and loose thinking as the computer system has an in-built mechanism that detects most of the spelling errors contained herein.

“The discovery was made when the

Involve in grassroots administration, youths told SAIDAT ALAUSA

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he Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof.

Modupe Adelabu has said youths would need to be engaged in entrepreneurial and other meaningful activities from the grassroots level.

She said this was the only way to reposition the local government administration in the country for the 21st Century challenges.

Adelabu made this observation at a workshop organised for the local government personnel in Ekiti State by Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji- Arakeji, Osun State, recently.

Delivering a lecture on a topic “Youth and women empowerment for rapid eco-

nomic development of local governments,” through a representative, Dr. Akinola, the deputy governor said youths had significant roles

in local government administration as well as nation building.

JABU’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sola Fajana on

his part appealed to the local government officials to always be accountable on their respective responsibilities.

L-R: Country Manager, Intel Corporation, Mr. Ekundare Olubunmi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology, Akwa Ibom, Chief Clement Isok; Lead judge from the Department of Production Engineering, University of Benin, Prof. Chris Ovuworie; Head of Marketing, interswitch, Enyioma Anaba and Executive Director, Genius Ilumina, Dr. Jerry Orhue at the closing ceremony of the just concluded 2014 National Festival of School Science Fair held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

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SSS arrested some kidnappers in the state alleged to be the brain (brains) behind high profile (high-profile) kidnapping in the state.”

“The SSS in the state said on Friday that it has (had) arrested….” “…motorists were made to watch a bizzare (bizarre) spectacle, (needless comma) as four policemen beat a man gave (who gave) his name as…to a state of stupour (stupor).”

“The policemen, who drove to the scene in a patrol van with registration number KJA 284 AX, threw caution the winds (sic) (threw caution to the winds).”

“Federal University Lafia, (otiose punctuation) matriculates 380 students” Would it have matriculated traders? Just yank off the last word in the extract!

“Community sends SOS to Amosun, Fashola over harrassment” Spell-check: harassment, but embarrassment.

“When Fayemi’s wife rescued woman abandoned with tripplet (triplet)” Still on SATURDAY INDEPENDENT under focus: “…Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, has already served the people creditable well…” This is an over-kill: use either ‘creditably’ or ‘well’. Both cannot co-function in the same environment.

“Adewale Ayuba is one musician (music/ musical) act who has been around for years. “ “My husband usually ask (asks) me to abort my pregnancy, woman tells court” Finally from SATURDAY INDEPENDENT, a voice of your own: “Movie directors threaten sanction on (against) actress” Next on focus is DAILY SUN of February 10: “They buy at N159 and sell at N167, the CBN has (had) addressed last year when….”

“But what the banks decided to do is (was) to even stop selling.”

TN Foundation, a charitable arm of MTN Nigeria has been lauded for upgrading the workshops of technical colleges in Ondo and Lagos States under its Youth Skills Development projects (MTNFYSDP).

The commendation was given to the telecoms giant by the Ondo and Lagos State governments at different times at the handing over ceremony of some of the facilities provided under the scheme to the beneficiary schools.

The MTNFYSDP intervention project involves the refurbishment of workshops in six core areas, which include electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and air conditioning, furniture design, construction, plumbing and fabrication.

MTN commended on vocational education

The foundation also organises training for teachers as well as students on these subjects.

It will equally provide one year post-handover technical support and maintenance to the beneficiary colleges.

Speaking at the handover ceremonies of the projects at Government Technical College, Owo, and that of Ikorodu in Lagos, both governors, Olusegun Mimiko and Babatunde Fashola applauded the foundation, saying the gesture would help in moving the technical education in the country to the next level.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Business & Finance About N125bn is being spent to import 16.3 million tonnes of fish into the country yearly.

In 2014, while the target is N3.9trn, we are projecting to collect N4.1trn.

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, DR. AKINWUMI ADESINA

ACTING EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, FIRS, ALHAJI KABIR MASHI

UK blamed for foreign domination of shipping business in Nigeria FRANCIS EZEM

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ore than 53 years after attainment of political independence, a maritime expert says that the British Government should be held responsible for the foreign domination of shipping business in the country both within the international shipping arena and the coastal and inland region.

Chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Dr. Chris Asoluka, who spoke at the ongoing 2014 edition of the Nigeria Maritime Expo in Lagos with the theme: “100 Years of Maritime Development in Nigeria”, observed that between 1914 when the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated to 1960 when Nigeria gained political, the British Colonial Government adopted policies that built a foreign cartel and monopoly over the local shipping industry.

“Our findings indicate that the colonial state shipping development between 1914 and 1960 was clear, vigorously pursued and ensured the monopolisation and cartelisation of trade and shipping to the British interests”, Asoluka said.

While tracing the historical development of the shipping business in Nigeria, he noted that the incorporation of the Nigerian economy into the British imperial orbit ensured that Nigeria was an agricultural cen-

tre, exporting palm products, cocoa, groundnuts and cotton.

According to him, imperial trade of unequals resulted in the prime goal of dominating trade and shipping business for maximum expropriation of the colonies by the British metropolis.

“Use of the instrumentalities of government under the cover of “law and order” to support British businesses in Nigeria including the monopolisation of certain trades and the cartelisation of shipping in the form of liner conferences, who over the years consolidated their grip on the industry has left it dominated by these foreign players”, he also insisted.

According to him, Nigeria colonial shipping was largely controlled by the conference lines, which at independence posed a number of challenges for the young state, adding that the sum effect of this was to impede free competition, which could bring down freight rates.

Asoluka, who doubles as member of the governing council of Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, also said: “The maritime industry was one critical area the Colonial Administration did not deem necessary to prepare Nigerians for eventual takeover neither encouraged nor created indigenous entrepreneurs” While tracing the evolution

of shipping in the post independence Nigeria, which was characterised by the establishment of institutions, he noted that the most important consequence of independence was that it gave the West African Governments the power of regulating and, if they wish, of restricting the activities of foreign shipping companies.

It was gathered that this led to the enactment of the Port Act, 1954 as amended, which established the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian National Shipping Line in 1959, the Nigerian Shippers Council in 1977, Maritime Academy of Nigeria in 1988 and Nigerdock, among others.

ICT Unit, Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters, Mr. E.D Chikan (left) and Zonal Coordinator, Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’ Port Harcourt, Mr. Dan Ugo during the sensitisation workshop in Port Harcourt , recently.

NSE seeks advisers for public listing

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igeria Stock Exchange, NSE, plans to appoint financial advis-

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LAGOS: 01-8446073, 08094331171, 08023133084, 08034019884 ABUJA: 08033020395, 08036321014

ers to guide it through the process of becoming a publicly listed company; it said NSE is the second-biggest bourse in sub-Saharan Africa after Johannesburg, which has been a listed company since 2006.

Nigeria’s bourse is currently owned by stockbrokers and

some institutional investors and has around 200 listed companies, all included in its benchmark share index.

It said it had won approval from its board to appoint advisers for the listing, which analysts say will help improve transparency and product de-

velopment and deepen the market, leading to more inflows from foreign investors.

The exchange said in a notice that it wanted joint bids by one foreign and one Nigerian adviser where at least one of the parties has participated in the listing of a stock exchange.

FDC hinges Naira exchange stability on increased oil earnings

Nigeria’s ICT sector poised for increased FDIs

Nigeria’s outdoor advertising dogged by over-regulation, multiple taxation

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FDC hinges naira exchange stability on increased oil earnings TOLA AKINMUTIMI

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he Financial Derivatives Company Limited ,FDC, a leading economic thinktank and financial consulting outfit, has predicted that prospects for Naira exchange stability would remain dim unless earnings from crude oil exports increase to complement monetary and other fiscal measures that may be adopted by the authorities.

Making the submission in his Monthly Economic News and Views paper with the theme ‘The Politics of Suspension, Succession & Re-election’ delivered at the March 2014 Lagos Business School Breakfast Meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bismark Rewane, projected that recent developments within the domestic economy, including the crisis of unaccounted

oil revenues, the kerosene subsidy saga, suspension of the CBN Governor and massive depletion of foreign reserves, posed potential threats to the country’s financial system stability.

He pointed out further that with the dwindling oil revenues and increasing demand for foreign exchange which rose to $3.1 billion in February and the plunging of the external reserves to a 17-month low of $39 billion, the likelihood of depreciation of the national currency had become more imperative than ever before.

The financial consultant, who listed the depletion of the Excess Crude Accounts to $2.5bn amongst other unhealthy fiscal features of the domestic economy, noted that the pressure on Naira had been more as the currency comes under speculative and arbitrage attack and panic buying after failures by the authorities to

reduce forex demand by various measures, including deliberate delay of the downstream import allocations.

According to him, a cursory look at the interbank exchange market in February indicated that dollar sales by the CBN and IOCs at the RDAs rose to $3.1bn in the month up from the $2.98bn in the preceding month, representing 3.76 per cent spike, indicating that the national currency lost 1.39 per cent and 1.78 per cent at interbank and parallel markets respectively during the month. Rewane attributed demand for forex at RDAS, lower oil revenues, depletion in reserves, speculation and fear and reversal of FDI flows to the domestic and other emerging markets as factors influencing the forex pressure.

On the recent change of guards at the CBN which he described as a bizarre move by President Jona-

Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkiru Onyejeocha (left) and a member of the committee, Hon. Jerry Manwe, during the budget defence meeting with Ministry of Aviation in Abuja, yesterday.

BA projects 15% growth in 2014 in Nigeria OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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he General Manager, West Africa, British Airways, Mr. Kola Olayinka has disclosed that the projection of the airline is to grow its performance in Nigeria by 15 per cent in 2014.

This is as he said that the ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ British Airways project, which the airline commenced on Wednesday, would cost it over N50m for the six lucky winners.

Speaking with journalists at the airline’s office in Lagos, Olayinka said that in a bid to realise its 2014 projection in the country, the airline has already began initiatives to attract more passengers to its service, adding that it would be faster and smarter with its programmes in the year.

British Airways had recently said that it hoped to boost its performance in 2014 by eight per cent. Olayinks said, “We want to grow our business in Nigeria in

2014 by 15 per cent even though the plan of the management is to boost business in the globe by eight per cent. We need to plan ahead of our management. We want to get some of the customers we didn’t get in 2013.

We want to be faster and better than the other airlines. The customers are very smart and expect result from whatever money they must have spent.

“We were the biggest airline to fly to Nigeria in 2013 and the year was great for us, but we are not resting on our achievements.

We want to go better and achieve more successes in the year.” On its ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ programme, Olayinka disclosed that three best students each from both the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria and the International College of Aviation Technology, Ilorin would be selected for the programme.

He noted that the six winners would be exposed to the opera-

tions of the airline in Nigeria with a visit to the ministry of aviation while they would also spend a week with the Chief Executive Officer of the airline in United Kingdom.

He emphasised that the airline has over the years invested in capacity building in aviation sector both locally and internationally.

He insisted that for the country’s aviation industry to be at par with its counterparts, it required more technical personnel, adding that BA would continue to contribute its own quota to the development of the industry.

He however noted that the essence of the programme was not to give job opportunities to participants, but to open doors for participants. He said, “we want to open doors for young Nigerians and we hope Nigeria can produce a CEO for any of the international airlines or even run their own airline too. We believe that we have a key role to play in helping the society to grow.”

than designed to send a signal of political machoism to opponents, the FDC chief said the fallout of Sanusi’s suspension with the assumption of office by Dr Sarah Alade as Acting Governor and imminent take-over by Godwin Emefiele will not necessary address the lingering challenge of Naira exchange stability if proactive measures are not taken. According to him, Alade’s dilemma is that tenor may be too short to make an impact, adding however that it could be long enough to stabilize things if revenues improve and leakages stop.

Likening the Acting Governor as a person standing between a rock and a hard place, Rewane predicted that in order to maintain the value of the naira and achieve some measure of financial system stability “she may have to depreciate the currency by approx 5 per cent at the Monetary Policy Committee ,MPC, meeting on March 17 or tighten to the max, leaving little room to manoeuvre.

“With External Reserves now at $39bn and likely to decline further options are narrow and choices are hard”, Rewane said. He therefore submitted that in view of the precarious situation, the MPC may have the option of increase MPR to 13 per cent; private sector CRR from 12 to 15 per cent, public sector CRR to 100 per cent and leave an option to increase liquidity ratio in May. He explained that the outcome of the above choice would stabilise the slow down reserves depletion. The other option for the Committee could be to allow the naira to slide by N5 or 3 per cent to N162 official increase public sector CRR to 100 per cent with the

potential outcome of the parallel and interbank forex markets converging at N168.

He however explained that in all cases, if the oil revenue leakage is not addressed, the naira pressure will resume later Rewane submitted further that Godwin Emefiele’s options may be to devalue quickly and blame Sanusi for pursuing a wrong exchange rate policy, noting however that “the problem is that you cannot devalue big time 6 months to an election” Other measures he identified the incoming Governor may adopt include, increasing interest rates to attract more hot money, wait for a post election devaluation; yield ground on Exchange Rate; yield ground on External reserves and on leakages, pointing out that it will be desirable for him to take very hard decision to ensure Naira exchange rate and macro economic stability since “it is war time that Generals are made” The FDC chief executive projected that given his antecedents, Emefiele may assume office by June with a very strong resolve to emphasise enforcement of collateral covenants by banks and curb reckless lending as a strategic option of financial system stability.

On the cashless policy agenda, Bismark explained that with the full implementation in 36 states and FCT slated for May this year, the ability to deliver seamless services to customers will be a defining factor for the banking sector.

He listed increased investment in alternate channels for banking as necessary if the goals of the policy were to be achieved in the economy.

‘We’ll continue to moderate relationships among stakeholders in maritime’

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ontrary to the popular opinion, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council NSC, has come out to say that it has legal backing to carry out the economic regulatory role of the Nigerian Maritime industry as recently bestowed on it by the federal government.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Maritime Expo, NIMAREX 2014 in Lagos Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr. Hassan Bello disclosed that the law establishing the council actually gave it a lot of economic regulatory powers arguing that notwithstanding, there was nothing more than the pronouncement of the President.

According to him, “we have a legal backing. If you look at the law setting up the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, you see a lot

of economic regulatory powers, certain regulations had emphasised that.

So we have a legal backing and what could be more legal than the pronouncement of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

On what should be expected of the Shippers’ Council now that it had been conferred with the role of an economic regulator of the industry, he explained that Nigerians should not expect anything different from the council’s role of moderating the inter-relationship between the stakeholders in the industry.

He observed that no new function was given to the council only that the federal government confirmed the council’s role adding that it was nothing strange nor anything outside the purview of the council’s duties.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

UDEME AKPAN

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n indigenous oil firm, Seplat Petroleum has been listed on the London Stock Exchange as part of efforts to raise $500m for expansion.

The company, with operated gross daily production of 60,000BOPD of crude and 90MMscf/d of natural gas, intends to use the platform to raise about $500 million, in part for debt repayment, in part for prime acreage acquisition and in large part for aggressive increase in hydrocarbon output, to 100,000BOPD by 2017 for crude and 390MMscf/d by 2017 for natural gas.

The African oil and gas report that confirmed the development stated, “Seplat, which also plans a listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, is the first company, incorporated in Nigeria, to make the main board of the LSE. It stated, “Companies from

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Seplat seeks to raise $500m for expansion ‘outside the west’, or from the so called emerging markets, have had a hard time listing on the LSE, since “the flotations of ENRC of Kazakhstan and Bumi of Indonesia in the 2000s tarnished the reputation of the City of London.

The report maintained that, “Controlled by foreign tycoons and lured to London by persuasive bankers, each was allowed to list despite a poor record in regard to corporate governance.

It stated, “The UK Listing Authority, which acts as the gatekeeper for the London Stock Exchange, has tightened rules for IPOs. SEPLAT was founded in 2009

by Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Platform Petroleum (Joint Ventures) Limited for the purpose of investing in Nigerian oil and gas opportunities.

Maurel & Prom, a French independent oil company, subsequently acquired a 45per cent equity interest in SEPLAT; this interest was later spun-off to form Maurel & Prom Nigeria S.A (now Maurel & Prom International).

In July 2010, SEPLAT acquired a 45per cent participating interest in, and was appointed operator of, a portfolio of three onshore producing oil mining leases (OMLs 4, 38 and 41) located in the Niger Delta.

In June 2013, the Company entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a 40% participating interest in the Pillar Oil operated Umuseti/Igbuku marginal field area in the western Niger Delta.

Seplat also has a similar agreement with Chorus Energy which holds the Matsogo/Amoji/Igbolo fields. Seplat hopes to be able to

deliver 100MMscf/d from Platform operated Egbeoma field, Pillar operated Umuseti/Igbuku and Chorus held Matsogo/Amoji/Igbolo fields combined by 2017.

Seplat hopes to have completed the de-bottlenecking of the Oben Gas Processing plant to 240MMscf/d capacity by the end of 2014, in order to satisfy some contractual agreements with power companies that are due by 2015.

The company is thinking of looping the Sapele Gas Plant to Oben. “The offtake in Sapele has been epileptic so we may as well expand the Oben processing plant and mothball the Sapele plant”, company sources say.

Seplat hopes to acquire the 45per cent stake held by Shell, TOTAL and ENI, in one of the four Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 18, 24, 25 and 29, that the three

European partners have put up for sale. Shell, which is managing the transaction, is expected to announce the winners by April 2014.

Commenting on the p listing, Dr. ABC Orjiako chairman of Seplat noted that “The global offer proceeds will allow us to further implement our business strategy, which includes acquiring new assets.”

“We are confident that Seplat will continue to succeed and flourish as a leading Nigerian oil and gas operating company with a proven track record for delivering value to its investors, while fostering indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

We are committed to maintaining our track record and achieving our growth aspirations through sound corporate governance and best practice,” Orjiako added.

ALSCON sacks staff in cost cutting move MESHACK IDEHEN

T Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar (left) and Chairman of the occasion, Gen. Raji Razaki (rtd), inspecting a prototype of a boat at the International Maritime Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, recently.

ODU’ACCIMA to produce alternative energy sources for industries in SouthWest ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

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n a bid to find a lasting solution to the incessant power crisis, the bane of industrial growth in Nigeria, the Odu’a Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture is set to rescue the situation by providing other sources of energy among the six Southwest states of Nigeria.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Leadership Workshop on Alternative Sources of Energy” at NACCIMA’s headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday, the President, Odu’a Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture, Iyalode Alaba Lawson said that energy is the major challenge to the Nigerian economy and has to be sourced from other resources rather than total dependence on fossil fuels.

Lawson explained that neither government nor organized private sector nor the chambers can solely redeem the situation. She said it

required the collaboration of all to proffer solution to the energy challenge for industrial growth in the country.

As a result, the chamber in collaboration with Energy Commission of Nigeria, ECN, council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria, CREN, and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, would be partnering the Southwest states governments and Bank of Industry, BOI, on the prospect of using solar, Biomass, biodiesel, and ethanol fuel as alternative sources of energy to fossil fuel which is inadequate and highly cost to run any business in the country.

The chamber would also involve foreign investors to raise the sufficient fund for the execution of the project.

The project will be formally launched on at a leadership workshop with the theme: “Exploring Alternative Sources of Energy in the Economic Development of

South West Nigeria” to be held at City Hall, Lagos Island between 27th and 28th of March, 2014.

In her words, “Until we all come together to proffer and agree on solutions to this malignant national challenge, the end in sight is one of economic doom and dependency of our region on grants from donors.

he management of Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON, has said it will downsize its workforce and that the move is the latest in the current effort aimed at minimising losses.

Managing Director of the company, Mr. Stanislav Kruglyashov,in a statement on Tuesday, said the ongoing crisis in global aluminium industry; the disruption in gas supply for ALSCON non-completion of the ALSCON’s connection to the national grid project are the main problems the firm is grappling with.

He said also that the management is taking further steps aimed at minimising losses while aluminium production at the Smelters is suspended. He explained the firm last year also laid off staff, while reiterating that crisis in the global aluminium market and legal uncertainty as reasons for its action.

The ALSCON MD noted that

the management of the company will provide the affected employees with compensation benefits in accordance with the Nigerian laws, pointing out such measures will also include further optimisation of payroll which foresees layoff of part of the staff currently employed at ALSCON.’ ALSCON, he explained is part of the United Company Rusal which has been working in Nigeria for the past seven years during which it has proved itself a worthy investor, noting Rusal has invested actively in the development of ALSCON as well as implementing social infrastructure on a number of programmes aimed at raising the standard of living of the Ikot-Abasi local communities.

National Mirror gathered that Rusal, the current operator of ALSCON is facing exceptionally tough market conditions and executing production cuts programmes approved by the company’s board since 2013 aimed at reduction of cost and minimisation of losses.

Minister wants shipping potential harnessed among G-8 countries

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he Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, has urged G-8 member countries to strengthen cooperation on shipping activities to boost trade.

Umar made the call at the 3rd D-8 Expert Working Group meeting on shipping in Abuja.

The theme of the two-day meeting is `Harnessing Shipping Potential for Economic Empowerment of the D-8 Member Countries’.

“I implore you to consider the

need to establish concrete foundations for meaningful cooperation amongst member countries in shipping.

“Through the establishment of Memorandum of Understanding, bilateral agreements in areas like sea time training, ship building and repairs and in the strengthening of trade and other shipping activities among member countries.’’

He said that strengthening cooperation among member coun-

tries would fast track investments in the maritime sector and increase the share of trade between 10 per cent and 25 per cent by 2014.

Umar urged member countries to explore the advantage of the D8 multilateral talks held in 2010 and 2011 which aims at tapping areas of benefit from members with comparative advantage.

“There is the need for member countries to ensure effective monitoring and supervision of the resolutions reached,’’ he added.

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Firm emerges with recharge cards to enhance payment for electricity UDEME AKPAN

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revenue collection company, `Scratch ``N’’ Pay’ working for Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), has sensitised electricity customers on need to embrace the use of recharge cards for prompt payments of bills.

The Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Olaonipekun Famoroti, who gave the advise in Lagos during a customers and cards distributors sensitisation forum, said that customers can now stay in their homes and make payments for electricity, thereby, reducing the risk of carrying cash around.

Famoroti said that the Scratch `n’ Pay has very unique ways that make electricity consumers pay their bills effectively through the use of scratch cards.

He said that the best and easy

payment options to IKEDC customer is through point of sales terminals, POS, mobile phone, and agent locations near you.

The managing director urged all electricity customers to get a `Scratch ‘n’ Pay’ recharge card from dealers shop closer to them for convenient payment of electricity bills.

He said that the scratch card is also another way to empower people to be self sufficient in their various business of endeavour through recharge cards distributors or agents to the company.

He said, “We are revenue collection agents to IKEDC and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, which means we collect revenue on their behalf, though the use of electronics devices.

Famoroti said such devices are Point of Sales, Internet, Mobil phone and other forms of elec-

tricity collections that will make payment more convenient to electricity customers.

He stated, “We ensure customers pay bills at ease from the comfort of their homes without going to any electricity offices and their account will be automatically credited ’’ he said.

Famoroti said that the essence of today’s meeting is to sensitise both electricity consumers and small scale entrepreneurs on ways to partners with scratch `n ‘ pay company towards becoming a distributors or agents.

He stated, “want to ensure that sales agents are in every nocks and crannies of the street within the IKEDC operational centres.

Famoroti stated, “We are going to embark of massive recharging point on ways of distribution over 1,000 umbrellas to agents to make payments easier for customers.

L-R: Proprietress of DFG Schools, Mrs Eva Adegbohungbe; Director, UACN Plc, Mr. Joe Dada; Managing Director, Softskills Management Consultant, Mrs. Wonu Adetayo; Group Managing Director/CEO UAC, Mr Larry Ettah and Director, Mrs Awuneba Ajumogobia at the company’s International Women’s Day celebration for 2014 in Lagos, recently.

BackUp Networks moves to empower Nigerians in IT skills KUNLE AZEEZ

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leading Nigerian Information technology firm, Backup Networks Limited, in collaboration with the National Open University (NOUN), has commenced a certificated training programme to empower Nigerians to develop expertise in smartphone repairs in the country though PhoneDoctorService.

Com, a newly created unit of the company.

PhoneDoctorService.com is a special unit of Backup Networks Limited committed to the mission of harvesting technology solutions to meet the needs of mobile device users in organisations.

Speaking on the initiative in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, Backup Networks Limited, Mr. Monday Ogbe, said the part-

nership was designed to empower Nigerians to leverage the over 400 million smartphone business boom in the country for worthy employment.

According to him, with the growing rate of unemployment in Nigeria, PhoneDoctorService.

Com provides a platform for unemployed and other interested Nigerians to undergo a weektraining after which they would be provided with the tools that enable them to handle any repair works on any kind of smartphone.

“Currently, there are over 400 million smartphone devices within Nigeria cutting across all major manufacturers and this number is increasing on a daily basis, as there are newer manufacturers coming in and one of the biggest challenges to the manufacturers is how to cope with the increasing demand for

after-sales services to their customers. This is where we believe a huge opportunity lies for Nigerians,” he said.

Speaking on the training module, Ogbe, who stated that the training is open to any literate person regardless of discipline, said: “During the training, trainees will acquire knowledge in troubleshooting and repair of various smartphone faults such as broken screens, faulty charging ports and others; disassembly and assembly smartphones.”

According to him, they will also be trained on Mobile Device Data Management; identification and resolution of softwarerelated issues on mobile devices while as well teaching the trainees on how they can set up their own smartphone repair business with marketing techniques to drive such smartphone repair business.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Standard Chartered takes $57m stake in Copperbelt Energy

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tandard Chartered’s private equity arm has acquired a quarter of Zambia’s Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc for $57 million, its first investment in the growing African power industry.

The bank will take 25.8 percent of the Lusaka-listed power supplier by acquiring a stake in parent company Zambian Energy Corporation, Standard Chartered and Copperbelt said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Copperbelt, which supplies power to mines in Africa’s largest copper producer, has recently acquired stakes in a power company and

power plant in Nigeria.

A lack of power is a serious hurdle for many sub-Saharan economies, even as they benefit from rising incomes and investment from China.

London-based Standard Chartered has been ramping up its private equity investments in Africa.

In January Standard Chartered said it had bought 13 percent in Botswana-listed supermarket chain Choppies Enterprises, a deal that was likely worth around $60m, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Dell eliminates price barriers on IT products KUNLE AZEEZ

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n Information Technology firm, Dell, has introduced a new mobile workstation category with the Dell Precision M2800, a 15-inch mobile workstation offering ISV-certified and optimised performance and dependability at a breakthrough price.

According to the company, the Dell Precision M2800 helps to bridge the gap between businessclass laptops and mobile workstations by offering an affordable ISV-certified system with professional graphics and processors.

It said engineers, designers and video editors now have access to the right tool to perform their critical functions with the speed, accuracy and reliability of a Dell Precision workstation.

Speaking in the statement, President, Jon Peddie Research, Mr. Jon Peddie, said “Dell has found a way to disrupt the market and remove barriers for a certain set of customers who require a workstation experience yet are

constrained by budget.”

According to him, “The M2800 brings forth a tremendous opportunity to address a gap in delivering an entry-level workstation with strong performance and ISV certifications to run demanding, mission-critical applications, at a great value.”

Offering workstation-class performance in a mobile form factor, the Dell Precision M2800 can be configured with fourth-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, AMD FirePro W4170M graphics with 2GB [1] of dedicated GDDR5 video memory, up to 16GB 1 of system memory and up to 1TB [2] of storage to run graphic and data intensive workloads seamlessly in the office or with clients on-site.

Delivering amazing clarity for detailed work, the Dell Precision M2800 comes with a 15.6-inch UltraSharp display available in HD or FHD (1920 x 1080), external multi-monitor support and docking compatibility to simplify the transition from the road to a deskbased workspace.

Farmers receive crops seedlings in Delta for farming season

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he Delta Government on Tuesday in Asaba distributed seedlings to farmers who were affected by the 2012 flooding to enable them to resume their business.

News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the seedlings were part of the Federal Government’s grant to the state for the farmers affected by the flood.

NAN also reports that the farmers were selected from Oshimili South, Oshimili North and Aniocha South local government areas of the state.

Oshimili North received 1,000 sachets of amaratus green vegetable seedlings, 1,000 sachets of okra seedlings and 500 sachets of groundnut seedlings.

Oshimili South reseived 2,000

sachets of amaratus green vegetable seedlings, 1,500 sachets of okra seedlings and 1,200 sachets of groundnut seedlings.

Aniocha South received a total of 1,500 sachets of okra seedlings and 800 sachets of groundnut seedlings.

The State Committee Chairman, Justice Francis Tabai ,rtd, presented the seedlings to the farmers.

He said that the essence of the gesture was to equip them of the farming season.

Tabai recalled that the committee, in the last two years, had distributed cassava stem cuttings, yam seedlings, and plantain suckers, among others, to the flood victims.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Nigeria’s ICT sector poised for increased FDIs The Information and Communication Technology industry in Nigeria is on the verge of welcoming fresh Foreign Direct Investment as the Nigerian Communications Commission intensifies efforts at attracting foreign investors to drive broadband revolution in the industry. KUNLE AZEEZ reports.

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arely 12 years after the liberalisation of the Nigerian telecoms industry, the whole gamut of Information and Communication Technology industry has grown in leaps and bounds with investment in the industry which hitherto stood at around $500 million skyrocketing to over $25 billion as at the middle of 2012, according to the industry regulator.

From telephony or voice service to data service, the industry has witnessed tremendously but steady growth, a feat that current-

ly positions the country as one of the fastest growing telecoms market in the world.

Indeed, industry regulators and experts are on accord that the next revolution in the industry is high-speed broadband internet, whose impact on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, various study say, is tremendous.

Also, the Nigerian government, through the Ministry of Communication Technology and the NCC, have been putting a number of initiatives in place to accelerate this revolution while

partcualrly making frantic efforts to woo investors into the country to come and invest in the nation’s broadband sector.

Demonstrating this during the recently concluded 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, was given a rare privilege of addressing the cream of the global telecom stakeholders at the Ministerial Programme where he elevated the potentials of Nigeria’s broadband programme and the opportunities available for

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Backup Networks, Mr. Monday Ogbe; Executive Director Training & Operations, Backup Networks, Mr. Nurudeen Ottun; Sales Manager, Backup Networks, Mr. Chibuzor Ndimeli; Director, Centre for Lifelong Learning & Workplace Training, National Open University of Nigeria, Dr. Mande Sumaila and Project Coordinator of the Centre, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Yesufu during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on PhoneDoctorService.com in Lagos on Monday.

CWG, MAG Tech to tackle cyber attacks for businesses KUNLE AZEEZ

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n indigenous Information and Communication technology conglomerate, Computer Warehouse Group Plc., in collaboration with a specialised information security and intelligence company, MAG Tech, has taken a step to measures towards curbing cyber-attacks and fraud for businesses in the industry.

This move was demonstrated as CWG and MAG Tech recently organised an information security session in Lagos where decision makers charged with security in financial sector, and technology experts converged to deliberate on the new ways for combating IT insecurity.

The session with the theme, ‘Security Operations Centre: Financial Services in the Cyber Attack Era’ was created a rich avenue for the stakeholders to ex-

tensively discuss and understand the new concept of Security Operations Centre, SOC, as the ultimate information security platform required to drastically minimise the cyber-attacks and threats currently facing financial institutions.

Speaking at the session, the Chief Technology Officer of CWG, Mr. James Agada, said that CWG, as a technology company, goes beyond enabling businesses with products and solutions to concepts that will ensure 100% security of all the customers’ transactions.

According to Agada, product and product knowledge are not adequate to achieve the end result of any business solution, and hence the need for the new concept, which is centered on how to detect and react to fraudulent transactions.

Agada further expressed that 50% of the transactions in the industry are running on the servers

that are being managed by CWG’s seasoned and trained engineers.

“Our aim is to ensure that these skills are internalized in Africa as information security is crucial to us and our customers,” he said.

Chief Technical Officer, MAG Tech, Nadav Arbel, said stated that cyber-attack was originated from the Darknet, which is the illegal part of the internet.

According to Arbel, Cyberattack occurs when there is data leakage which may be caused by mis-configuration of a server or other sources.

“No one can run a business efficiently without being on the internet and as long as your business is connected on the internet, you will experience some form of cyber-attack and threat.

Hence the solution is your ability to detect and prevent it. Security Operations Centre has been conceptualized for detection and prevention of darknet’s negative impact on businesses,” he added.

willing investors.

The Ministerial Programme of the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is a privileged event where decisions makers, ministers, investors, service providers, global mobile providers among other top industry players.

At this year’s programme, a session was dedicated to Nigeria and Juwah seized the opportunity to make a profound presentation to the world about what to expect in Nigeria, which is at the threshold of unleashing a broadband revolution that will impact the Nigerian nation and the African continent.

Juwah, who obviously was still basking in the euphoria of the successful bidding process for the 2.3GHz spectrum auction in Nigeria, Juwah told the gathering that “We are going to fast track the nation to a knowledge economy and the contributions of broadband to GDP growth will increase considerably.”

He told the gathering that Nigeria had just successfully completed the auction of the 2.3GHz Spectrum and “we have outlined

a number of programmes under the broadband infrastructure framework while licensing of infrastructure providers, tagged Infracos is about to begin.”

Juwah also had a mouthwatering offer for investors in the Nigerian broadband infrastructure deployment programme using the Open Access Broadband strategy with the planned licensing of InfraCos that will provide a national broadband network on a non-discriminatory, open access and price regulated basis to all service providers.

“We are creating enabling environment and incentives for the private sector to roll out broadband networks which will be a one-off incentive for last mile to be achieved. We will replicate the success we made in voice in broadband plan as we proceed on the journey.

“We are also going to license more retail services and encourage the operators where possible to extend fibre to homes and businesses on their own. Government is committed to providing incentives to winners of infrastructure licenses,” he said.

NIGCOMSAT warns of foreign ICT vendors’ proliferation KUNLE AZEEZ

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he board of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, NIGCOMSAT, has has expressed dismay over the proliferation and domination of foreign Information and Communications Technology vendors in Nigeria, warning that if the trend remained unchecked, it will undermine the war against security challenges.

Chairman of the NIGCOMSAT board, Prof. Turner Isoun, stated this in a statement issued by the company’s Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Sonny AragbaAkpore, after the board meeting held recently.

Isoun, in the statement, frowned at the ‘ugly’ trend, saying the proliferation of foreign ICT vendors proposing and supplying security solutions to Nigerian security, Para-military and critical infrastructure bodies portend serious threats.

According to Isoun, the danger is that the nation is exposed “to a myriad of potential security threats from otherwise restricted

data being exposed to numerous vendors”.

Isoun, who is the longestserving Science and Technology Minister in Nigeria’s history, explained that “this predicament is particularly worrisome not only because of the present state of national insecurity but also because NIGCOMSAT limited is the only government agency mandated to act as a clearing house and solution provider for security related ICT solutions to Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs and institutions.

Isoun explained that NIGCOMSAT Limited currently manages the National Public Safety Communications Systems (NPSCS), a national safety network, and that a network upgrade for the safety network was ongoing.

This, the board Chairman said, is to protect the nation’s borders and other key infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines.

He, therefore, cautioned all government agencies to direct their ICT needs to NIGCOMSAT limited or through the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology within the next four weeks.

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Nigeria’s e-commerce sector valued at N225bn KUNLE AZEEZ

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he current value of Nigeria’s budding e-commerce sector has been estimated as a N225 billion by Buyam.com, an online marketplace Managing Director of Buyam.com, an online marketplace, Mr. Emeka Mordi, disclosed this in Lagos while speaking on the latest addition of merchants to the site.

“With the value of e-commerce standing at around N225bn and continuing to grow rapidly, it is a sector that expects to see a lot of positive movement, in terms of new players in the coming years.”

Mordi stated that the developments were what his company was looking forward to and anticipating to leverage by making its online destination a convenient site for customers to have access to major retailers in the country.

However, Mordi explained that in a bid to make online shopping more affordable, desirable and accessible to a wider range of people; an online marketplace in Nigeria, Buyam.com.ng, has added more merchants to their growing repertoire of online stores.

“In the last couple of months, we have worked closely with our partners to understand the things they want, and most importantly, the things that they do not want. We have come to realize that majority of our customers want to be able to shop for different products, in different places, but at the same time; and this is the unique platform that Buyam offers them,” he said.

This, he said, goes a long way in demonstrating Buyam is committed to ensuring that its customers have a diverse and varied range of products and services to choose from.

He explained that with the cost of getting onto the internet

dropping every day, it seemed ecommerce was fast becoming the way to do business, especially as the online experience is married with the growing, aspirational middle class and a growing variety of payment options.

Speaking on the metrics for selecting merchants on the site, he said, Buyam.com will typically accommodate any type of merchant; from those who have massive inventories like Park ‘N’ Shop to smaller-sized businesses with less extensive stock.

“We are cognizant of the fact that our customers have varied needs and in order to effectively meet those needs, we must provide as much diversity in stock and brands availability. For the merchants, it is also a win-win situation as we are built from the ground up with the Nigerian merchant in mind. Whether small or large, they all get the same level of fantastic service from our extremely professional and efficient service team.”

L-R: Special Adviser on ICT Development, Cross River State, Mr. Odo Effiong; President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON, Dr. Chris Uwaje and Provost, College of Fellows, Nigeria Computer Society, Alhaji Ladi Oguneye, during the 2014 ISPON President’s Dinner held in Lagos recently.

90% future works will need digital skills –Microsoft KUNLE AZEEZ

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he Information Technology giant, Microsoft, has said that between 80 and 90 per cent of 80-90 per cent of future works will require digital knowledge.

Speaking during his visit to Nigeria recently, the Microsoft International, Mr. Jean Courtois, said 80-90 per cent of future works will require digital knowledge in Nigeria, stressing that skill development is a big investment for technology and the country.

Courtois, who urged Nigeria to explore the abundant skills embedded in it to develop a digital economy, also noted that Nigeria has since remained a priority country in Microsoft operations in

terms of continuous investment.

According to him, Microsoft has invested fresh $75 million in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and other African countries.

“I think so far in a new drive, we have invested about $75 million in the African Markets and Nigeria has had a fair share of that deal.

We have invested in access, innovation, skills development, youth empowerments; software development; digital curriculum and skills among others,” he stated.

Stressing that the firm planned to provide more access for people across the globe through device productions, Courtois acknowledged various government supports for Microsoft’s growth in Nigeria, noting that apart from the fact that the country is blessed naturally, it has abundant skill deposits.

Courtois, who said Microsoft is leveraging the windows platform to gain market share, stressed that because of the immense contributions of the Nigerian market to Microsoft operations globally, the country’s status would be uplifted.

According to him, in Microsoft’s new financial year 15, starting July 1, 2014, Nigeria will become a single country subsidiary, reporting directly to Microsoft’s Middle East and Africa operations, stressing that the firm will enable this through all of its assets.

“This is why the 4Afrika Initiatives is particularly focused on Nigeria and few others in Africa. Nigeria is a major hub for Microsoft on the continent,” he added.

Meanwhile, Courtois has hinted on the appointment of its new Country Manager, Kabelo Makwane, a South African.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tech Box

MTN embarks on new technology trial

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TN Group with presence in 22 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said it would try the exciting new Ericsson Radio Dot System in public venues and enterprise buildings across South Africa, and later across MTN operations.

An in-building environment presents a special set of challenges for mobile operators, concerning complexity, scalability and service continuity. Current indoor solutions are built mainly for voice coverage and do not meet the growing capacity demands of apps.

The Ericsson Radio Dot System was introduced to the African market at AfricaCom in November, 2013. It is a cellular radio that is small enough to fit a per-

son’s hand, but provides quality indoor coverage that previously required complex in building installment.

The disk-shaped, breakthrough solution, addresses a broad range of scenarios for providing high-quality access to mobile broadband indoors.

MTN South Africa, pioneers of Long Term Evolution deployment in the region, have further demonstrated their commitment to delivering consistently high quality end user experience and innovation by being the first operator in Africa to trial the Ericsson Radio Dot System.

The deployment will address indoor coverage and capacity needs of their individual and enterprise mobile broadband subscribers.

Telco advocates sustainable CSR initiatives

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Nigerian telecoms firm, Etisalat has emphasised the importance of sustainability and integration of Corporate Responsibility practices in business practices by all organisations.

The company said this at a recent Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Masterclass organised by the Etisalat CSR Centre of the Lagos Business School, Pan-African University.

The Master class is designed to address emerging trends in sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and the concept of shared value, the future direction of CSR in Nigeria, confronting risks and creating opportunities through responsible management of the supply chain, amongst other pivotal issues.

According to the Director, Brands and Communications,

Etisalat, Mr. Enitan Denloye, “At Etisalat, Corporate Social Responsibility means creating value through sustainable products and services, minimizing its environmental impact and striking a balance between contributing to the well-being of the society and meeting the expectations of our stakeholders.”

He explained that Etisalat’s external CSR strategy is a twopronged integrated approach, which he described as top-down and bottom-up.

“This approach empowers various socio-economic levels, and ensures development and sustainability. At the top, business leaders, policy and decision makers are trained on the significance of CSR best practices to enable them become genuine influencers and positively impact on those at the lower socioeconomic levels,” he said.

Teasy Mobile expands mobile money services

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Nigerian mobile payment service provider, Teasy International Company, is using VeriFone Mobile Money to offer a wider range of mobile money services and make them more relevant to local needs.

Teasy will use mobile, Point of Sales, PoS and biometric technology for user identification and authentication, in keeping with Central Bank of Nigeria’s Know Your Customer and financial inclusion policies.

VeriFone Mobile Money is a joint venture between VeriFone and Mobilis Networks, a provider of cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) services for mobile banking, billing and payments.

Teasy will work with local in-

dustry players to roll out VeriFone contactless POS devices, while VeriFone will integrate the mobile wallet, banking, and telecommunication provider networks with the POS terminals.

Speaking in a statement, VeriFone Mobile Money’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chris Jones, said in a statement that Nigeria was a rapidly advancing and sophisticated mobile money market, and that there were many mobile wallet providers already in the Nigerian market.

“With Teasy Mobile, VeriFone Mobile Money will be offering fast and secure transactions at the Teasy retail agents’ point-of-sale terminals.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Brands & Marketing

Thursday, March 13, 2014

33

Nigeria’s outdoor advertising dogged by over-regulation, multiple taxation Outdoor advertising practitioners have in recent times faced issues of multiple taxation, over-regulation making industry players to call for clear cut regulation. DAVID AUDU in this report takes a look at this vital subsector of advertising in Nigeria.

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o say that h the h outdoor d advertising d i i is i a major employment and revenue generation subsector in the advertising industry in Nigeria is to state the obvious.

Despite its strategic position, this sector has been entangled in the jogular of over regulation and multiple taxation. This rather ugly development, which is currently taking its toll on the practitioners in the industry, is also threatening the survival of the sector as a whole.

Since the July 2012 Advertising Practioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, conference in Lagos, where stakeholders vowed to tackle the issues of multiple regulation and taxation, nothing really seems to have happened, as scores of government agencies in different names have cashed in on these lapses to continue to exploit, harass and intimidate practitioners.

Investigations showed that the problem of multiple regulation seems to persist with practitioners gradually acquiesce in the face of other daunting economic challenges.

A competent source in the industry lamented recently that “everybody operating in that industry seems to be complaining.

Outdoor advertisers are being harassed by federal, state and local government agents.

It’s simply over-regulation! It is a stifling environment to work in. It shows APCON is not fully in charge, otherwise all these things can be done through APCON. APCON is to advertising what Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, is to the nation’s financial sector. But you can see the difference in the way the two regulatory bodies discharge their duties Another source buttressed the views above, adding “one is supposed to just get an approval from APCON and proceed with your promotion.

“We all wish it is as simple as that, but the reality on ground is what you have experienced recently. It is called “Multiple Taxation”. Multiple taxation frustrates and sometimes cripples honest businesses from thriving. In a developing country like ours, it is highly unchecked therefore

Chijide

Billboard

those at the receiving end are we the agencies, operators and our clients”, the source further lamented.

“I don’t know who you are engaging for but my advice to you is what I usually do with my corporate clients, charge regulatory fees and licenses. Pass on the bill to them, but any time you get the chance, explain to them industry challenge of multiple taxation. Let them know that your organization and other associates are conferring with all relevant regulatory agencies through APCON to bring to a close these irregularities of a regulation, he also advised.

APCON Chairman, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, had at the last year’s forum with the theme: “Outdoor Advertising Regulation and Control in Nigeria”, noted that the forum would serve as an opportunity to review the practice and regulation of outdoor advertising with the aim of identify-

ing the grey areas in this form of advertising.

He further stressed that they aim to clearly define areas of conflict, which he says is basically in tune with revenue generation, as conflicting laws have had to make people pay different taxation to different groups making claims at billboard sites.

President of Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, OAAN, Mr. Charles Chijide recently noted that a number of the associations member have had to close down business because of the hostile operating environment the business has subjected them to, due to the new regulation regime introduced across states and taxation from different levels of government.

“Therefore, there is an urgent need to review the current situation to save the vibrant subsector of Advertising practice in Nigeria and ensure its survival by

THIS EXPLAINS WHY AN OBVIOUSLY EXASPERATED CHIJIDE LIKENED OUTDOOR PRACTICE IN NIGERIA TODAY TO SWIMMING IN SHARKS-INFESTED, HIGHLY TROUBLED WATER

all This ll stakeholders. k h ld hi is i the h only l way it i can contribute its quotas to the economy through employment generation among others,” he said.

He decried a situation where over 70 per cent of advertisers have abandoned the outdoor form of advertising as they can no longer cope with the different illegal charges they have to pay to different groups, which have in turn reduced the rate at which consumers get to know about their products.

The question many are still asking is who regulates outdoor advertising in Nigeria? Relevant sections of the Nigerian Constitution vested the control of outdoor advertising on local governments, but federal and state government agencies still jostle with LGs for the control of the sector.

Lagos State Advertising and Signage Agency (LASAA), last year introduced another dimension into the issue of regulation as it gave a graphic account of its running battle with military and police formations incursion into outdoor advertising and regulation. A situation the agency’s managing director then, George Noah said is cousing the agency to lose billions of naira.

And as if the burden of payment of one fee or the other to the government agencies was not enough headache for outdoor practitioners, it is now an established practice that touts – otherwise known as area boys – must also collect their own ‘fees’ from practitioners anytime they are on site to erect a billboard or change material on the boards.

This explains why an obviously exasperated Chijide likened outdoor practice in Nigeria today to “swimming in sharkinfested water.

Outdoor advertising is attractive and strategic to mass communication. It also plays a major role in the beautification of the environment hence the need for government to pay close attention to the medium.

Battle of supremacy between WhatsApps and WeChat Mobile Apps DAVID AUDU

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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obile Apps battle of supremacy deepened recently, when Facebook coughed out $19 billion for messaging service WhatsApp in February, and eyes popped when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was probably worth even more.

Now, analysts over at Crédit Lyonnais Securities Asia have taken up

the baton on outsised messaging app valuations: it says that WeChat, a Chinese competitor owned

by Tencent, is worth “at least $60 billion,” because of the fact that it has more active revenues streams incorporated into its service than WhatsApp does.

In a research note published Tuesday on Tencent analysts Elinor Leung and Terry Chen make the case for how WeChat should be worth at least two to three times

the value of WhatsApp, which they had previously valued at $35 billion. Although it looks like WeChat has less users — around 300 million today to WhatsApp’s 465 million — it has more revenue streams.

“WhatsApp only generates US$1/download,” they write.

“WeChat could generate revenues from mobile games, advertising, eCommerce, O2O, mobile payment and Internet financing.

Asia leads the global smartphone game market especially Korea, Japan and China. eCommerce, online to offline payments and mobile payment are unique business opportunities in China given the poor offline infrastructure.

Tencent has also invested heavily and made aggressive acquisitions such as JD and Dianping to secure the business opportunities.”

It also believes that WeChat is likely to hit 450 million users this

year, with each subscriber worth some $142.

WhatsApp has been careful in saying that it will continue to build its business under Facebook with the same revenue model in mind — no advertising, and users paying for the service itself. WeChat is not quite in the same boat but it too has taken an more delicate approach to advertising, for now at least.

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Brand & Marketing

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Oando’s new Oleum TVC explores arts, history to engage consumers DAVID AUDU

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ando Marketing Plc., manufacturers of Oleum engine lubricant, has launched a radio and television commercials, which exploits its historical background to engage consumers on the benefits of using its new lubricant called the Master Oil. Unveiling the new commercial to journalist, in Lagos last week, the Head, Marketing Communication, Oando Marketing Plc., Mr Seun Soyinka, said the commercial demonstrate, the processes behind the new lubricant and seeks to communicate to users to know that it is not just using any lubricant, but the one that will give value and peace of mind, hence ‘the detailing of our background and the technology that goes into its production in the commercial’.

The TVC tagged History also delved into arts to reinforce a highly technical concept of combining a monochrome, the arts of painting, drawing, or print in shades of a single color, to convey the company’s transformation process over the years, He said each art form detailed the research into Oleum lubricant; and then to this modern era of full

colour process, which also show the combination of laboratory test and development to demonstrate how engine perform using the lubricant.

According to Soyinka, the commercial, the first outing by the Oando Marketing Plc. outside the Oando Group, targets the class of people that can understand the value of the product, stressing that the lubricant as a premium brand from Oando group will give consumers nothing less than what was in existence before, and therefore the need to continue to improve.

“This informed our decision to develop a commercial directed at a target audience, to educate them on the brand called The Master Oil lubricant coming from the stable of one of the largest indigenous oil firm in Nigeria.

“We want to convey through the commercial the reputation of the company behind the lubricant brand. That is why there is a deliberate detailing of the lubricant’s production process, and we also want to communicate to those who know what good quality is, and for them to insist on it, no matter the competition out there”, Soyinka explained.

The commercial opens with a light beam from skyscrapers

across a lagoon into an artist workbook on a table in an ultra modern office, which soon begins to show in animation the different phases of the company’s operations, research and development over the years in a monochrome form.

The second phase of the full colour transforms the finished work into the laboratory, where various elements of conpugraphics combines to show the coming together of engine parts to form a complete working whole. The commercial demonstrate why Oleun lubricant is good for engines.

While agreeing that the commercial alienates certain category of audience who may be key to the success of the new lubricant, he however disclosed that those category of people like the auto mechanic for instance, would be engaged using a different model approach, noting that what is important first is for the auto owners to be convinced on the importance of using certain brand of lubricant.

Soyinka also disclosed that besides engaging the roadside auto mechanics to educate them on the technology behind the new lubricant, there are about 400OandoAuto care centers around the country to cater for the needs of consumers.

L-R: Group Head, CMC Connect, Mr. Tola Odusote, Group Head SilverBullet, Mr. Babajide Satukesi, Secretary-General PRCAN, Mr. Muyiwa Akintunde, CEO BlackHouse Media, Ayeni Adekunle and MD/CEO CMC Connect, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya at the PRCAN Masterclass series 10 last Friday in Lagos.

UNESCO, Always launch new literacy programme for Nigeria

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s part of its corporate social responsibility, Procter & Gamble through its feminine brand Always, is partnering with UNESCO to launch a new literacy project for girls and young women in Nigeria, starting from this month.

The project themed: “Empowerment of girls and women through the use of ICTs in Literacy and skills Development,” is aimed at providing 60,000 Nigerian illiterate or very poorly educated girls and young women in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory “Abuja” with

basic literacy and life skills over the next three years.

More than 850 facilitators will be trained to provide literacy classes in a traditional classroom environment but also – made possible by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) - broadcasted to the public via

TV and radio lessons.

“The partnership between UNESCO and Always on this project will go a long way to ensure that girls are given every opportunity to succeed in life,” says Professor Hassana Alidou, Director UNESCO Regional Office in Abuja.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Skye Bank, Wema partner Intercontinental Hotel on reward programme DAVID AUDU

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reward programme aimed at encouraging customer loyalty was launched last week by the trio of Skye Bank Nigeria, Wema Bank and Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos.

At a press briefing to unveil the programme, Director of sales and Marketing, Intercontinental Hotel, Mr, Krishna Kunar, said the Reward Club with a tag line “Book Local, Spend Globally” was the first of such initiative by the hotel in the world, stressing it was a demonstration of its commitment to develop the hospitality business in Nigeria.

He explained that beneficiaries get percentages of every dollar spent in the hotel, and this percentage is credited to a Master Card account, which is issued free of charge by the partnering banks, Skye Bank Plc. and Wema Bank Plc. respectively.

Responding on behalf of Skye Bank, Head of POS Channel, Chuks Iku, noted that the partnership is also aimed at strengthening the cashless policy of the federal government as well as deepening the brand equity of the participating firms.

Also speaking at the event, Head of E-Cards, Wema Bank, Damola Boladeokun, said for the past three years, the bank has been issuing the card to other partnering organisations, but this is the first time with Intercontinental Hotel, while hoping that it will create a mutual beneficial relationship among all the parties.

Explaining further the benefits of the Master Card to the holder, he said, the card can be used anywhere in the world, but restricted to basically the web and POS channels; besides, he said, it is a priority card that affords the user access to all VIP lounges in over 300 destinations.

Winners emerge in Nutricima Mega Cash promo ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI

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he first sets of winners have emerged in the ongoing Nutricima ‘Mega Cash Promo.’

At the first e-raffle draw conducted in Lagos and witnessed by officials from national and state lottery board, five consumers emerged winners of N1 million, while five others won N500, 000 each.

The draws also produced five people who won N250, 000, while N50, 000 went to five more people and 20 others were surprised with N5, 000 cash prizes as bonus wins.

Present at the e-raffle draw were the Director, Regulation & Monitoring, National Lottery Regulatory Commission,

Prince Emmanuel Jeminiwa; Assistant Manager/Coordinator, Lagos Zonal Office of National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr Fidelis Ajibogun and Assistant Manager, Legal, Lagos State Lotteries, GbemiAjibose as well as Head of Marketing, NutricimaLimited, WandeOluwasegunfunmi and Category Marketing Manager (Standard Milk), Raphael Agbaje.

Speaking shortly after the draws, Prince Emmanuel Jeminiwa, Director, Regulation & Monitoring of the apex Lottery Regulatory Commission said the Mega cash promo by Nutricima was regularised with the commission, making it transparent, credible and accountable.

BJAN marks World Consumers’ Day

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s part of activities to commemorate the World’s Consumers’ Day celebration, Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria, BJAN have concluded plans to honour individuals who have contributed to the nation’s marketing communication environment and consumer empowerment in the 2013.

Those scheduled to be honoured include the outgoing chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, ‘LoluAkinwunmi, General Manager, Consumer Marketing MTN Nigeria, Kola Oyey-

emi, Chief Executive officer of Starcom Media, AyodeleKupoluyi, CEO of Oracle Experience, Felix Eiremiokhae and CEO of Absolute PR, AkonteEkine.

Others are EhiBraimah, CEO, Neo Media & Marketing, Ken Egbas, CEO of TruContact CSR Nigeria, DozieMbanefo, CEO of New Crystal, BunmiOke, President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria and DejiElumoye, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos chapter.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Brand & Marketing

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Marketer calls for harnessing of Nigerian foods

Instagram signs $40m ad deal with Omnicom

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nstagram has signed its first major ad deal with a media DAVID AUDU agency group, a commitormer Marketing Manager ment from Omnicom to spend of Mandillas Nigeria, Mrs. up to $40 million (£24.1 million) Kemi Koyejo has called on a year in the United States. government and the private secOmnicom’s media and cretor to harness the diverse food ative agencies will see their potentials in Nigeria as part of ads streamed across Instagram our cultural exports to other feeds in the US. It is the first countries and at the same time partnership of its kind for the boost the much needed foreign exphoto and video-sharing netchange generation. work, although parent company She made the call during a meFacebook has signed similar dia chat ahead of the first ever Nideals. gerian Foods and Drinks ExhibiInstagram has already tested tion tagged ‘Naija Food Fiesta’ set paid advertising models in the to hold in Lagos soon.

US, with brands like Levi’s, MiKoyejo, who for 20 years presidchael Kors and Ben & Jerry’s ed over the marketing empire of posting ads onto the network.

Mandillas in Nigeria, said NigerThe new deal means Instaains have always been passionate gram will allow Omnicom greatabout their foods and drinks, but er targeting and measurement of ads on the platform. Previous brands using the service were only able to target users based on information such as age and gender, which had been gathered from Facebook profiles.

A spokesman for Instagram in Europe said: “At the moment we are still testing out the ad deal in the US and if it goes well, there is of course the potential to look into expanding the service into other markets.”

The deal gives Omnicom advertisers in the US a new option for planning and buying on Instagram, as rather than programmatically buying ads, L-R: Group Head, E-Channels, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Chuks Iku; General Manager, Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, Mr. Dithere will be more of a manual dier Coeln and Executive Director, South South, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Ibiye Ekong, at the launch of Intercontinetantal’s and selective process.

‘Reward Club programme in Lagos at the weekend.

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wondered why this sector of our culture has not been properly exploited to complement our foreign exchange earnings.

“I don’t mean that we do not eat our local foods, but packaging them in such a way that when you mention Nigerian food it will generate interest anywhere. There is so much variety of food and wine in Nigeria that if consciously packaged and promoted, it could boost tourism and project Nigeria on the world food and culture map”.

She said food has always been a passion for her even while she was engaged full time, adding that now retired, she hopes to deploy her marketing experience to promote Nigerian food to the rest of the world

Koyejo who is now the Managing Director of ARESVEEPEE Limited said the Nigerian Foods and Drinks Exhibition is dedicated to promoting various kinds of foods, beverages, confectionaries, condiments, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from the six (6) geo-political zones in Nigeria with a view to growing the immense potentials of the sector.

“One of the major highlight of the exhibition will be the setting up of the longest dining table in Nigeria, a table that can sit at least 100 guests , and will be set in the middle of the exhibition centre. There will also be the production of cookery book containing various Nigerian dishes and the eating and drinking competition.

Ads will come in the form of static images or videos, which will be posted in the feed for a controlled period.

In a similar development, Omnicom Media Group has also bought Mobile5, the mobile marketing agency with clients such as Samsung, Canon and Trinity Mirror.

Oli Roxburgh, Steve Clarke and Guy Marks founded Mobile5 in 2011. It will continue to be run as a separate agency within OMG and based at its Regent Street Offices but will provide mobile services to the group’s EMEA agencies.

Mobile5 has 31 members of staff and provides services such as mobile strategy and insight, mobile experience design, mobile content creation and mobile commerce and marketing solutions.

The agency already works with OMG on clients including PlayStation and Waitrose. Colin Gottlieb, the chief executive of Omnicom Media Group EMEA, said there was a “real opportunity” to have Mobile5 inside the OMG family.

Gottlieb added there is synergy between OMG’s existing agencies and Mobile5 because the latter does not do any planning and buying.

“They are doing the stuff that’s further up stream and that’s the stuff that we’d rather have on top [of our existing services],” Gottlieb said.

Consumers, brands and mobile communication

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he advent of mobile technology has actually changed the way brands relate with consumers. The reason is not farfetched as we are in the digital age. Brands now utilize new media platforms to engaged the consumers to achieve desired consumer response.

There is a paradigm shift from the mass market to the mobile market as brands now specifically target their audience to deliver messages. The mobile medium is now a definitive medium through which brands communicate with their target audience. This is also reinforced with the fact that there is a tremendous shift in media consumption by the mass market to the mobile.

It is also proven through empirical evidence that consumers access the internet for the first time on their mobile devices.

This poses serious questions to brands campaigns especially with regards to traditional advertising. Mobile devices have also out there numbered the

number of television sets. How then should brands communicate with the advent of mobile technology? What should be the role of traditional advertising?

A major implication of the present scenario is the marketing communication agencies need to brace up for the challenges ahead. Agencies now need to develop requisite skills and expertise needed to embrace the digital space. From findings, clients now want agencies to think out of the box. Consumers are now empowered with the use of new technologies as they now change the rules.

However, agencies need to adapt innovative solutions to further engage the consumers.

The need to embrace mobile or digital advertising is key but there should be creative approach to it. Agencies should not only seek to embrace new platforms but there should be connection, engagement and interaction between the brands and consumers. Consumers want to be taken through an ex-

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with Ayodeji Ayopo Tel: 08023448199 E-mail: mayomipo@yahoo.com perience that traditional advertising cannot achieve. This is one major area agencies should focus on. There should be an experience for the consumers that make them connect the more with the brands. Consumers want interaction with their preferred brands beyond mere advertising. Consumers need touch points that can create exciting experience for them.

Mobile advertising cannot replace traditional advertising as it complements it. The task for marketing communication agencies is to convert the potentials that abound in the digital space into something creative. It is not just to flash an advert on the mobile device but it should

create a unique experience for the consumers. Consumers want an experience that ordinarily, newspaper adverts cannot achieve for them and this should be given utmost consideration in mobile advertising.

The caution here is that not every consumer is switched on the mobile devices. Some brand messages may not reach the identified target as a result of this. This also eliminates the possibility of engaging consumers in very interactive way.

Brands should not deploy technology at the expense of the vast majority of consumer who remain unheard. It is not really about the platform of communication but how the platform

is deployed innovatively. This should be focused in for brands to engaged and retain their audiences.

A changing media audience also needs a dynamic communication approach. Mobile has become a catalyst for social and economic change but this should be evaluated in line with desired consumer response. The availability of latest mobile applications is also limited to urban areas as well as mobile infrastructure. The issue of contents on the mobile device is also very key. There should be brand messages to be made available on variety of mobile devices.

Consumers are becoming sophisticated especially the youth market. However, platforms that will create interactive touch points should be given priority. Any medium deployed for brands communication should deliver a worthwhile experience for the consumers.

36

Global Business

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

German exports, imports surge at fastest pace in nearly 2 years

Bank of England announces shake-up as it probes FX case R T he Bank of England will overhaul the way it works with banks and financial markets as it faces criticism of its response to signs of possible manipulation of foreign exchanges rates.

BoE Governor Mark Carney faced more than four-and-ahalf hours of questioning by lawmakers on Tuesday, a large part of which was devoted to the bank’s response to allegations that key currency benchmarks had been rigged.

“This is as serious as Libor if not more so because this goes to the heart of integrity of markets and we have to establish the integrity of markets,” Carney told legislators.

A new deputy governor position, responsible for banking and markets, would be created as part of the shake-up which will be spelled out in detail on March 18, he said.

“One of the first tasks of that individual is that he or she will conduct a root-and-branch review of how we conduct market intelligence,” Carney said.

The BoE said in October, shortly after Carney took over as governor in July, that it had hired consultants McKinsey to advise on a strategic review to

Cameron

reflect the Bank’s expanded powers to oversee the banking sector.

The Bank currently has three deputy governors, one for monetary policy, another for financial stability and a third in charge of the BoE’s oversight of commercial banks.

The case for change at the Bank has grown stronger since allegations that staff might not have acted on signs of possible manipulation of foreign exchanges rates.

Carney told the lawmakers that the BoE’s top management moved quickly as soon as it learned of the allegations and it was relentless in its investigations.

The BoE last week suspended

an official amid an internal review into whether Bank staff failed to flag up signs that foreign exchange traders exchanged client orders to manipulate daily benchmark exchange rates, dating as far back as 2006.

Carney, facing questions from lawmakers about the case, said he and other top officials at the BoE first became aware of the allegations on October 16 last year and he told the Bank’s governing board, its Court of Directors, on the same day.

“We convened governors, we decided to launch an investigation within 48 hours, we retained external counsel and they had begun a very thorough, systematic, relentless investigation,” he said.

Carney said the BoE would need to consider changing its policies and how to bring about a change of culture at the Bank.

The new strategic plan would include measures to “reinforce the positive cultural changes that have happened in the institution”, he said.

Paul Fisher, another member of the Monetary Policy Committee who was previously BoE’s head of foreign exchange, said he only learned of the allegations of manipulation last year.

World stock markets mostly flat, gold edges up on Ukraine, China

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ajor world equity markets were mostly steady on Tuesday, the euro edged down and gold rose as traders kept a wary eye on tensions between Ukraine and Russia and the pace of growth in China.

Markets have taken a break from recent volatile trading, and moves in most major stock markets were relatively muted. An index of global stocks .MIWD00000PUS was trading around break even, while the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 nudged higher.

“Market players remain cautious. There’s a lack of enthusiasm in chasing stocks, and some are just thinking about moving to the sidelines after the roller-coaster ride we’ve had since the start of the year,” said Guillaume Dumans, co-head of research firm 2Bremans.

The U.S. Treasury market was muted, with the 10-year yield slightly higher to 2.80 percent, falling 5/32 in price. The activity in credit markets was focused on the municipal sector, where the island of Puerto Rico sold $3.5 billion in debt to shore up its struggling finances. The bonds sold at an 8 percent coupon with a yield of 8.727 percent, levels much less

expensive than expected in that market.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 37.28 points or 0.23 percent, to 16,455.96, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.84 points or 0.26 percent, to 1,882.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 19.418 points or 0.45 percent, to 4,353.866.

Economic figures were limited on Tuesday. A sharp fall in wholesale sales surprised investors and led to a buildup in inventories in January, particularly in autos and machinery stocks. Wholesale inventories rose 0.6 percent. This is a positive for first-quarter growth, though economists expect the weak sales figure to be reversed.

The euro fell against the dollar and the yen on Tuesday after European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Vitor Constancio told investors that they may have missed the message on policy that rates are set to remain accommodative for some time to come.

Strong trade data from Germany, the region’s economic powerhouse, helped the country’s DAX .GDAXI index outperform, as it rose 0.9 percent.

“Recent events, especially concerning Russia and Turkey, have made the outlook less certain, and their impact will only be felt

in a few months from now,” said Markus Huber, a senior sales trader at Peregrine & Black.

Tensions over Ukraine continued to build on Tuesday. With diplomacy at a standstill, Ukraine’s acting president announced the formation of a volunteer national guard, while ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich insisted he remained the country’s legitimate leader.

Turkish assets have been hit by political scandals and a power struggle between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and a U.S.-based Muslim cleric.

Jintao

obot arms work on a Porsche Macan body at the new plant in the eastern German city of Leipzig February 5, 2014.

German exports and imports surged in January at the fastest pace in nearly two years, data showed on Tuesday, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy started the year on a strong footing and is on track to robust growth.

Data from the Federal Statistics Office showed seasonally-adjusted exports up 2.2 percent in January, well above a consensus forecast for a rise of 1.4 percent. Shipments abroad had fallen 0.9 percent in December.

Imports jumped even more, by 4.1 percent, more than double the highest forecast in a Reuters poll of 2.0 percent, bouncing back from a downwardly revised fall of 1.4 percent in December. The consensus forecast was for a rise of 1.3 percent.

This narrowed the seasonally-adjusted trade surplus to 17.2 billion euros from a revised 18.3 billion in December.

“Foreign demand is going well, this is a positive sign for economic growth in the first quarter,” said Ralph Solveen, an economist at Commerzbank. “The economy should

grow by about 0.75 percent, not least because the construction sector will have benefited from a mild winter.”

The trade data comes on the heels of upbeat figures last week showing industrial orders and output rose in January. Forward-looking indicators have also been positive, with the mood among consumers, investors and businesses hitting multi-year highs in recent months.

A breakdown of year-onyear data showed demand from European countries beyond the euro zone contributed most to the surge, up 9.1 percent. But exports to the common currency bloc were also up on the year, by 3.2 percent, and only shipments to countries beyond Europe fell.

Merkel

Lenovo says China strike an IBM matter, but it won’t cut wages

C

hinese PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd said it was up to IBM to resolve a wildcat strike at a China-based factory, as a deal to buy the U.S. Company’s server business had yet to be finalized.

More than 1,000 workers went on strike last week to protest over the terms of their potential transfer to Lenovo, which said in January it would buy one of the server businesses of International Business Machine (IBM) for $2.3 billion.

In a statement posted on its website late on Monday, Lenovo said the strike was an internal matter for IBM but it also pledged to maintain the salaries and benefits of all workers that chose to stay with the company after the deal is completed.

“Lenovo and IBM are two independent companies. Any integration between Lenovo and IBM’s x86 server department will not be conducted until the deal is closed,” the statement said.

“To ensure a smooth transition, Lenovo is committed to provide opportunity for all employees from IBM’s x86 server department who transfer to Lenovo,

without any reduction of their wages and benefits,” it added.

More than 7,500 IBM employees in more than 60 countries were expected to transfer to Lenovo once the deal is completed, Lenovo said. The workforce was a “great asset” and part of the reason for the acquisition, it added.

The striking workers also had expressed concern about their severance package if they decided to leave after the deal, which is awaiting regulatory and government approval.

The IBM strike fits a growing pattern of industrial activism that has emerged as China’s economy has slowed.

A shortage of workers has shifted the balance of power in labor relations, while smartphones and social media have helped labourers organize and made them more aware than ever of the changing environment, experts say.

On Tuesday, three workers said by telephone that many colleagues had returned to work or quit, while others continued to strike.

37

Global Business

Thursday, March 13, 2014

ECB to take tough stance in health check on banks

T

he European Central Bank, ECB, will press euro zone banks to revalue their assets and take a more realistic view on likely losses when it probes their balance sheets in the coming months, signaling a new, more aggressive era of banking supervision.

Publishing guidelines on Tuesday for its forthcoming asset quality review, AQR, the ECB said it would trawl through trillions of euros of assets at 128 leading banks between now and August, aiming to ferret out any problems before it takes over as the euro zone’s banking watchdog in November.

The exercise is part of a bigger plan to harmonize the way banks are supervised and if necessary wound down, aiming to restore the sector’s stability and avert a repeat of the debt crisis which cost trillions in taxpayer bailouts.

While preparations for coordinated supervision are already in full swing, European ministers were still trying to agree on how to build a safety net for failing banks on Tuesday in Brussels, redoubling efforts to avoid an embarrassing delay to the euro zone’s centerpiece crisis

Mario Draghi

reform.

Sabine Lautenschlaeger, vice chair of the banking watchdog and a member of the ECB’s executive board, told the Wall Street Journal she expected some banks would need to improve their capital situation as a result of the tests, either by raising funds or selling assets, without giving a specific number. “It’s the last chance to clean up,” she was quoted as saying.

The asset quality review will be followed by separate and wider “stress tests” of Europe’s banks, to see how they would fare under certain shock scenarios. All results will be released in October.

Estimates of banks’ capital shortfall range from 280 billion euros, $390 billion, to as much as 770 billion euros, $1 trillion.

Previous stress tests of leading European banks failed to completely root out problems in the sector and the scope of the current review that combines backward looking checks and forward looking stress scenarios is unprecedented.

Euro zone banks have never before been measured against common thresholds, such as a single definition of when loans become impaired, and many have never had their books interrogated in such detail. Previous tests relied on locally approved data.

“We expect the AQR and stress test to introduce greater transparency on ‘problem assets’ and speed up the healing process,” said analysts at Citi.

Many banks have already been raising funds, shedding assets and writing off bad debts ahead of the review and stress tests. Italy’s Unicredit on Tuesday posted a record 14 billion euro loss after writedowns and provisions as it moved to clean up its balance sheet ahead of the ECB’s examination.

White House has optimistic growth forecast for 2014, 2015

T

he White House on Monday forecast more robust economic growth in 2014 than last year and a further pickup in the economy for 2015.

Under a White House projection, the U.S. economy is expected to expand by 3.1 percent this year, faster than last year’s 1.7 percent.

Growth would pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015, the White House said.

The administration also forecast that unemployment would ease to an average of 6.9 percent in 2014. The jobless rate, which reached a high of 10 percent in 2009, fell to a five-year low of 6.6 percent in January.

Many economists say that the unemployment rate has dropped in part because many people have stopped looking for work. The U.S. labor force participation rate has fallen from over 66 percent before the start of the recession to 63 percent.

The administration’s 2014 growth projection was more optimistic than the 2.9 percent forecast of “Blue Chip” forecasters, and the 2.7 percent projection of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

In contrast, the White House jobless rate forecast for the current year was more pessimistic than the 6.6 percent Blue Chip view and the 6.8 percent CBO projection.

Almost five years after the end of the recession, the economy is still growing modestly and the unemployment rate, while declining, has remained persistently high.

The administration, mindful that President Barack Obama’s popularity has slipped in opinion polls and worried that Democrats could lose ground to Republicans in November elections, has emphasized an agenda focused on jobs and growth.

The White House pointed to the declining budget deficit and the improved housing market, as among factors pointing to the likelihood of stronger growth. White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman said ramped up U.S. energy production, slowing health care costs, and advances in technology would also drive stronger economic performance.

But Obama, who has vowed to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, wants Congress to raise

the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25 and spend more to help speed the economy. Last week he proposed a budget for fiscal 2015 that would spend $56 billion above the $1.014 trillion Congress agreed to in January.

The additional spending would fund education, training and defense projects, and would be offset by higher revenues obtained by closing tax loopholes that benefit wealthy people. White House economic forecasts are based on the assumption that Congress would pass the president’s proposal, but it was roundly rejected by most Republicans and is unlikely to be become law.

Obama

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Barclays on ‘collision course’ with shareholders over bonus bonanza

B

arclays faces a backlash from shareholders over its decision to raise bonuses despite a fall in profits, with investors increasingly demanding CEO Antony Jenkins give more money to them and less to his staff.

British banks have failed to rein in pay despite a new EU cap, leading to a threat that politicians and regulators in both Brussels and London might impose more curbs.

Few have drawn as much criticism as Barclays, where profits fell by a third but staff have just won a 10 percent bigger bonus pot to share for last year than the year before.

Jenkins said in a newspaper interview last week that he was forced to increase bonuses after an exodus from Barclays’ investment bank in America left him fearing a “death spiral”. But the excuse seems only to have annoyed shareholders who think he should have fought harder on their behalf.

“The bonus issue is on a collision course with shareholders again. I have been unhappy with this for a long time,” one of the bank’s institutional shareholders told Reuters on Tuesday.

“Shareholders have been long suffering, while employees sail on unscathed. They will trot out the same arguments again, about how if they don’t pay up they will lose key staff. This is a bluff that has never yet been called,” the shareholder added.

In a rare public display of criticism, Fidelity, Barclays’ 17th biggest shareholder, said it was “disappointed” the bank was not paying shareholders more.

Chief investment officer Dominic Rossi said the bank had landed itself in a “public relations mess”. Fidelity confirmed the comments, first reported by Sky News.

Antony Jenkins

General Motors recall faces US investigation

A

US congressional committee has said it is investigating General Motors’ recall of nearly 1.6 million vehicles over faulty ignition switches.

The problem could turn off the engine in affected vehicles while they were being driven, disabling the airbags.

The carmaker announced the recall last month, but it has admitted employees knew about the defect as early as 2004.

The issue has been linked to 13 deaths and GM has also launched an internal investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile, a recent report by the New York Times claimed that the US safety regulator had received more than 260 complaints over the past 11 years about GM vehicles that “suddenly turned off while being driven”.

“But they declined to investigate the problem,” the report alleged.

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee said that it is also investigating the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration’s, NHTSA, response to consumer complaints related to the problem.

Fred Upton, chairman of the committee, said: “Did the company or regulators miss something that could have flagged these problems sooner?”

He added: “We plan to seek detailed information from both NHTSA and GM and will hold a hearing in the coming weeks.”

The recall covers six models: the 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt, 200607 Chevrolet HHR, 2007 Pontiac G5, 2006-07 Pontiac Solstice, 2003-07 Saturn Ion, and 2007 Saturn Sky. Recalls are not uncommon in the industry.

However, the issue is being linked to deaths and General Motors’ admission that employees knew about the defect for many years may prove tricky for the company.

The NHTSA has already demanded detailed information from GM about when it knew of the problem and how it handled it.

The carmaker could face fines if the regulators rule that it took too long to report safety issues.

The company also faces recall and repair costs as well as potential liability claims.

On Monday, the company said it had hired Anton Valukas, the Chicago-based lawyer who led the court-ordered investigation of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, to lead its internal inquiry into the matter.

GM spokesman Selim Bingol said Mr Valukas “has been charged to go where the facts take him and give the company an unvarnished report on what happened”.

38

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Insight

Thursday, March 13, 2014

39

Lagos Classics changing face of Nigerian sports Lagos State Government took the bold step of reviving Nigerian sports through the introduction of International Classics. The tournaments have received a lot of kudos from various international sports federations. But IFEANYI EDUZOR reports that critics say that Nigerian athletes are shortchanged as they always make up the numbers and miss out in the dollar prize moneys.

W

ith few activities over the years in the Nigerian sporting calendar, the Lagos International Sports Classics which were introduced in 2013 have become the major competitions that engage athletes and give them exposures in their various sports.

Eight sports, basketball, squash, chess, table tennis, swimming and taekwondo, were organised in the maiden edition featuring local and international athletes with millions of naira at stake for winners.

The classics, brain child of the Lagos State Government, were introduced as a way of creating opportunities for Nigerian athletes to compete against their foreign counterparts and get the desired exposure and experience to compete optimally at the international level. And the successful hosting of the classics in 2013 encouraged Lagos State Government to embark on the 2014 edition.

When the idea for the classics was first muted by the Lagos State Ministry of Sports and Social Development many pundits expressed fears not only about the success of the championships, but the ability of the state to sustain it, but their successful hosting has shown that the event if well managed could help in developing talent in the country.

Lagos International Classics, apart from receiving kudos from athletes and officials have also received the blessing and recognition of various international sporting federations, who apart from rating them high, also charged other African countries to emulate the State and develop their sports through such classics.

The classics which have been embraced by many international athletes led to the reviving of many sports in the country and with Nigerian athletes beating some of the best players especially in chess where Nigeria’s trio of Omoifo Osemekhia, Ochuko, Onovughe and Emmanuel Maduagwuna tying with Egypt’s duo of Abderrahman Hesham and Mohammed Ezat to share the star prize. It was also a contest in which Grandmaster Dejan Antic of Serbia and Uganda’s international master, Elijah Emojong, struggled to have five points which is an indication of the competitiveness of the classics.

Although a lot of critics are of the opinion that Nigerian athletes are not gaining much from the classics considering that

Swimmers during an international competition

AT THE INAUGURAL EDITION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP,

WHICH WAS HELD IN

AUGUST 2000, THE PRIZE MONEY WAS $ 43,000 WHICH WAS

LATER INCREASED TO

$50,000 IN 2003

the star prizes are always won by foreign athletes, but the exposure it has given to the country’s athletes cannot be over emphasised coupled with the fact that many athletes who would not have had the opportunity of competing at the international level made good use of the opportunity offered.

With the classics, many of the country’s athletes who hitherto would have found it difficult to compete at the international level are now more exposed with increased composure when facing their counterparts at the international level.

Table Tennis: The maiden edition of the Table Tennis classics which was hosted at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, attracted great table tennis players from about 12 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe namely; Nigeria, South Africa, Chinese Taipei, Cameroun, Congo Brazzaville, DRC Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Lithuania, Senegal, Tunisia and Italy.

The tournament which was staged according to International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) rules saw players competing in the senior and junior categories made up of 10 events.

Over N6.5million was up for grabs as the total prize money with the winner in

the men and women singles event earning N.8m and N.6m respectively while all players that made it to the round of 16 also got cash rewards for their performances.

Although African champion, Omar Assar, retained his crown after dominating Nigeria’s Segun Toriola in a scintillating final, but the successes of the classics cannot be quantified as it offers Nigerian players in the top three an opportunity to score points and be ranked by ITTF. Successes recorded encouraged the ITTF to list the classics in its 2014 World Tour Calendar which means that the tournament will now be treated as part of the professional circuit of ITTF calendar of 2014 together with ITTF-Africa Top 16 cup.

As an ITTF sanctioned event, it will be automatically uploaded on the ITTF Calendar of 2014 together with ITTF-Africa Top 16 Cup without any additional fees from Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) while the event will get higher ranking which will ensure better attraction from top players to participate and gain more points and also to qualify for World Tour Finals.

Swimming: The four-day event which gulped about N5.8million attracted over 300 swimmers from various parts of the country and the West African sub- region.

To make the championship held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos more competitive, it was classified into open and schools categories with the three top athletes in each category taking home cash prizes.

In order to ensure that the championship which was sanctioned by the African Swimming Confederation gets further international recognition, the Nigerian Swimming Federation (NSF) made sure that only Nigerian swimmers who were selected based on their performance at the 5th Chief of Naval Staff Open Swimming Championship held in Oghara, Delta State along with a few wild card entries from some states that did not participate in the

Enitan Oshodi

event took part in the competition.

The championship apart from enabling the athletes have a taste of the Olympic size swimming pool at Teslim Balogun Stadium, also enabled the NSF to discover more talent through the schools categories as well as make a good assessment of Nigerian swimmers in preparation for continental and world championships.

Scrabble: Logistic reasons accounted for scrabble not being part of the 2013 classics but the staging of the maiden edition of the tournament from January 23-26, 2014 at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall at Teslim Balogun Stadium attracted athletes from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Scotland, United States of America and England.

The classics with prize money of N4.8million saw players participating in the Masters, Intermediate and Open events depending on their ratings Among the top players who took part CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

40

Insight

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lagos Classics changing face of Nigerian sports CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

in the competition include Nigeria-born United States-based Sammy Okosagah, a two-time winner of the Governor Godswill Akpabio Tournament in Uyo as well as Nigeria-born Scotland-based Lukmon Owolabi.

Explaining how they were able to get many players that participated in the championship, a member of the technical committee of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Emmanuel Oyeleke, told National Mirror that Nigeria has over 2000 scrabble players, with whom they have been maintaining an online forum through which they relate and disseminate information. He said they also have international representatives who liaise with international bodies to make the classics a success.

Chess: Lagos International Chess classics attracted over 300 players within and outside the country with the only grand master in the competition being Serbia’s Dejan Antic. Apart from him, international Masters from Belarus, Romania, Egypt and Uganda were also part of the four-day event with players competing in two events; Open and U-14 divisions while the winner in the Open event went home with the star prize of $5,000.

Throughout the event, Nigeria’s number one player, Bunmi Olape, led the onslaught against the foreigners while Port Harcourtbased Chukwunonso Oragwu who is Nigeria’s second top rated player and Afolabi Akintola supported him.

The tournament which came shortly after the successful hosting of the tennis classics attracted world No.12, Sergey Kasparov, of Belarus, Woman Grand Master (WGM), Alina L’Ami of Romania and the Egyptian trio of Mohamed Ezat, Abdelrahman Hesham and Walaa Sarwat who are all International Masters as well as Ugandan No.1 player and the country’s sole international Master, Elijah Emojong, among others.

Squash: The 2013 Lagos Squash Open Classics, which served-off in Lagos on November 13 was a tournament with a difference considering the number of countries that participated with a prize money of $ 40,000 at stake. In terms of international visibility and acceptability, the squash classics is now a delight of players worldwide.

Notable squash players such as Adrian Grant of the United Kingdom, players from South Africa and Zambia participated in

ALTHOUGH A LOT OF CRITICS ARE OF THE OPINION THAT

NIGERIAN

ATHLETES ARE NOT GAINING MUCH FROM THE CLASSICS CONSIDERING THAT THE STAR PRIZES ARE ALWAYS WON BY FOREIGN ATHLETES

Governor Fashola

the tournament.

Nigeria was represented by Jonathan Peters, Endurance Omosan, Idowu Enimakure, Tunde Ajagbe, Gbenga Adeyi, Wale Amao, Jerry Ojodioffo and Taiwo Sadiq in the men’s event while Joy Ugbememe, Kafayat Idris, Udeme James and Ebifemi Taiwo represented the country in the women’s event In the U-19 category, eight players qualified to represent the country. They include: Edward Bethel, winner; Temiloluwa Adegoke, Musa Abubakar, Olanrewaju Pratt, Ayomide O, Precious Fada, Oladele Pratt.

Apart from organising a world class championship, the Lagos State Squash Association also used the occasion to hold a workshop for referees during which the chief referee of the World Squash Association (WSA), Rod Symington, trained Nigerian referees on current trends in the sport.

Governor’s Cup: The idea of having a tennis tournament in Lagos that would attract players from around the world was first muted by the Senior Adviser to the Governor on Grassroots Sports, Prince Wale Oladunjoye, in 1999. This noble idea was immediately accepted by the then Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, and it has turned out to be the most prestigious tennis championship in the continent.

At the inaugural edition of the championship, which was held in August 2000, the prize money was $ 43,000 which was later increased to $50,000 in 2003 and further reviewed upwards to $80,000 during the 2013 edition.

Since its inception about 13 years ago, the championship has become a part of the ITF Pro Circuit run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) aimed at providing a platform for budding professional players who are ready to move into the ATP/WTA tours.

The Lagos Governor’s Tennis Cup also offers valuable WTA tour ranking points for participants to move up the International tennis ladder. Apart from this, the championship attracts players from over 40 countries of the world who compete to determine who wins the highest tennis prize money in Africa.

Basketball: Basketball was another sport which Lagos State considered for its classics which attracted prize money of $12,000 with the top eight teams winning prizes in the senior category.

Beside host Nigeria, teams from other African countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Senegal and Benin participated in the three-day event.

The tournament which dunked off on 3x3 formats which is a departure from regular full- court basketball format. 3x3 previously known as FIBA 33 is a formalised version of three-on-three basketball which was initially developed on inner-city asphalt outdoor courts in the United States.

With over 250 million players worldwide and among the most played recreational sports in the world, 3×3 will become a key factor for the growth of basketball.

This variant of the sport is promoted by the FIBA since 2007. The format was first tested at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau; introduced at international level at the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore, and made its worldwide competitive debut at the 2010 Youth Olympics, also in Singapore.

Organisers of the Lagos classics explained that they used the new format in order to enable junior players from West Africa be acquainted to it before they participate in international championships in future.

Taekwondo: About 300 athletes from Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Niger, Benin Republic, Sen-

egal and Togo took part in the taekwondo classics which was held at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

The championship which was held in both the junior and senior categories attracted prize money of $ 12,000 and has been adjudged as one of the best organised tournaments in recent times.

Apart from athletes who competed for honours at the event, talented teenagers as young as five years demonstrated the latest techniques in the game to the admiration of the fans, including President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, George Ashiru, who applauded Lagos State for the initiative.

Funding the Classics: Funding the classics has majorly come from the Lagos State Government, but corporate organisations like Etisalat and FCMB who are leading companies in the telecommunications and financial sectors of Nigeria’s economy took part in the sponsorship of the last Governors Tennis Cup. Achievements: The achievements recorded by the classics since 2013 cannot be overemphasised. Apart from providing a platform for the country’s athletes to be busy and get the desired exposure, it has also enabled the various classics to be included in the annual calendar of international sporting federations.

Successes recorded at the classics encouraged the ITTF to list the classics in its 2014 World Tour Calendar which means that the tournament will now be treated as part of the professional circuit of ITTF in 2014 together with ITTF-Africa Top 16 cup.

The championships also enabled young players to compete with more experienced ones, thereby having a chance of improving their global rankings.

Also, the prize moneys really encouraged the players to put in their best and also offered the country the opportunity of discovering more talent that will be nurtured to become future champions.

The classics have led to the reviving of many sports in the country and with Nigerian athletes dominating some of the best players, especially in chess.

Speaking on the achievements recorded by the classics, Lagos State Commissioner for Sports, Wahab Enitan Oshodi, noted that without the classics many sports would have been redundant, only waiting for the National Sports Festival before anyone could remember them.

He stated that the decision of the Lagos State Government to commit so much resources into the events was to develop sports at the grassroots noting that the achievements in terms of exposure of athletes and upgrading of facilities cannot be quantified.

“Our aim for the classics is for us to ensure that we expose our athletes to competitive action as well as give them optimum exposure. I think with what we have done so far, we are satisfied with what we have achieved and hoping that subsequent editions will be bigger and better. Although there are some challenges, which we hope to correct by the next edition and ensure we stage a world class competition everybody will be proud of,” he said.

41

Capital Market

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Equities shed 0.3% on profit taking JOHNSON OKANLAWON

T

rading in equities closed on bearish note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, as some investors took profit from the gainers recorded the preceding days.

Specifically, the All Share Index lost 0.30 per cent to close at 39,150.30 points, as against the increase of 0.25 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 39,269.40 points.

Market capitalisation shed N38bn to close at N12.57trn, in contrast to the rise of N31bn recorded

the preceding day to close at N12.61trn.

All the sectorial indices shed substantial part of their value except the Industrial Index which rose 0.19 per cent to close at 2,610.49 points. The Alternative Securities Market remained unchanged.

The NSE 30-Index dropped 0.31 per cent to close at 1,757.18 points, while the Banking Index shed 0.41 points to close at 393.70 points.

The Insurance Index dipped 0.31 per cent to close at 142.92 points, while the Consumer Goods Index depreciated 0.70 per cent to close at 960.70 points.

The Oil and Gas Index fell 0.70 per cent to close at 299.29 points, while the Lotus Islamic Index declined o.13 per cent to close at 2,792.60 points.

7UP Plc led the gainers’ table with N4.13 or five per cent to close at N86.77 per share, followed by Union Bank Plc with 50 kobo or 4.91 per cent to close at N10.68 per share.

Oasis Insurance Plc appreciated two kobo or 3.85 per cent to close at 52 kobo per share, while Conoil Plc added N1.90 or 3.80 per cent to close at N51.90 per share.

Continental Insurance Plc was up three kobo or 2.80 per cent to close at

N1.10 per share.

Air Service Plc shed 15 kobo or 4.87 per cent to close at N2.93 per share, while Royal Exchange Plc depreciated three kobo or 4.76 per cent to close at 60 kobo per share.

Learn Africa Plc lost nine kobo or 4.74 per cent to close at N1.81 per share, while DN Meyer Plc depreciated seven kobo or 4.73 per cent to close at N1.41 per share.

Stanbic IBTC Plc was dwon N1.00 or 4.71 per cent to close at N20.25 per share.

A total of 281.6 million shares valued at N3.12bn were exchanged in 4,506 deals.

Source: NSE

Zenith Bank posts N95bn profits, declares N1.75 per share JOHNSON OKANLAWON

Z

enith Bank Plc has announced that it will pay a dividend of N1.75 per share to its shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2013.

The bank, in its results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, said that its profit after tax stood at N95.3bn in the review period, from N95.1bn recorded in the same period of 2012.

Its results showed that its profit before tax grew by 8.3 per cent from N102bn at the end of the 2012 financial year, to N110bn in the year under consideration; while

its gross earnings also rose by 14.5 per cent to N351bn, up from N307bn recorded the previous year.

The result also showed that net assets rose by 10 per cent from N462bn at the end of 2012, to N509bn in the year under review.

However, the bank posted a profit before tax of N102.10bn for the financial year ended December 2012, up by 51.4 per cent from the N67.44bn recorded in 2011.

Further analysis showed that the profit after tax for the period was N100.68bn, which represents a 106.7 per cent increase from the N48.70bn recorded in the corresponding period in 2011.

Other highlights of the results showed that gross earnings rose by 25.88 per cent, from N243.94bn to N307.08bn, indicating an increasing market share.

The result also showed the bank’s commitment to prudent debt management, as its total non-performing credit facilities to total credit facilities stood at three per cent, an improvement over the six per cent recorded the previous year.

The bank in 2012 listed $850m worth of its shares on the London Stock Exchange at $6.80 each in a major step to improve liquidity in its stock through Global Depository Receipts.

By its size, the $850m

GDR listing is the largest of any Nigerian bank on the LSE to date and is expected to help Zenith Bank, with a market capitalisation of $4.24bn, access to a wide range of major institutional investors and significantly raise its international profile.

Zenith Bank, which has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and representative offices in South Africa and China and a customer base of over two million, was named the ‘Best Bank in Corporate Governance’

by World Finance and one of the ‘20 Global Super Brands’ by FTSE Global

China worries hit stocks, copper rebounds from 4-year low

G

lobal stock indexes declined for a fourth day and copper hit four-year lows before rebounding yesterday, as increasing concern about China’s economic slowdown unnerved investors.

The concerns over China also kept a lid on the Australian dollar, the Chilean peso and other currencies closely linked to commodities markets, while supporting safe-haven assets like U.S. government bonds and gold.

The moves follow China’s first domestic bond default, which has raised concerns about a possible unraveling of the many loan deals which have used the metal as collateral.

Chinese firms that have difficulty raising loans have often bought copper

as security for funds they borrow, but the 14 percent drop in its value this year is making banks more wary about the practice.

Data, including China’s recent weak export numbers, has underscored worries that the world’s secondlargest economy is slowing.

“China has been a concern with its economic data which have been on the softer side. We have been weak with commodity currencies so far this week,” said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at Oanda in Toronto.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange slid to a session low of $6,376.25 a metric ton ($ 7028.3 ton), its weakest level since July 2010, before recovering to trade at $6,544.75, up one per cent. Shanghai copper futures earlier fell by their

five per cent daily limit.

“Most people are still cautious so we can’t expect a quick rebound,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at VTB Capital. “On a fundamental point of view we have to wait and see in the second quarter how China stimulates its economy.”

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 16.18 points or 0.1 percent, to 16,335.07 points, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.33 points or 0.12 per cent, to 1,865.3 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 5.93 points or 0.14 percent, to 4,313.117.

Signs of progress in diplomatic attempts to ease tensions surrounding Ukraine helped equities pare earlier declines.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with his Russian

counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in London on Friday ahead of a referendum Sunday on whether the Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula will join Russia or go independent.

“People are just kind of reassessing, they are looking at that headline and thinking maybe it is not going to turn out to be a disaster in Russia and Ukraine,” said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

Shares of Fannie Mae dropped 15.4 per cent to $3.42 and shares of Freddie Mac were down 17.3 per cent at $3.34 after the leaders of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday announced an agreement on legislation to wind down the government-owned mortgage financiers.

Source: FMDA

Market indicators All-Share Index 39,150.30 points Market capitalisation 13.22 trillion

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

7UP

82.64

86.77

4.13

% CHANGE 5.00

UBN

10.18

10.68

0.50

4.91

OASISINS

0.52

0.54

0.02

3.85

CONOIL

50.00

51.90

1.90

3.80

CONTINSURE

1.07

1.10

0.03

2.80

ZENITHBANK

21.99

22.57

0.58

2.64

TRANSCORP

4.08

4.18

0.10

2.45

IKEJAHOTEL

0.66

0.67

0.01

1.52

COURTVILLE

0.72

0.73

0.01

1.39

WAPCO

111.00

112.50

1.50

1.35

CHANGE

% CHANGE -4.87

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

AIRSERVICE

3.08

2.93

-0.15

ROYALEX

0.63

0.60

-0.03

-4.76

LEARNAFRCA

1.90

1.81

-0.09

-4.74

DNMEYER

1.48

1.41

-0.07

-4.73

STANBIC

21.25

20.25

-1.00

-4.71

INTENEGINS

0.64

0.61

-0.03

-4.69

ETERNA

3.71

3.55

-0.16

-4.31

ABCTRANS

0.97

0.93

-0.04

-4.12

NAHCO

5.84

5.60

-0.24

-4.11

GUINNESS

180.00

173.15

-6.85

-3.81

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Day

22,057.31

11.50

07-Nov-13

182-Day

30,000.00

11.59

07-Nov-13

182-Day

47,786.39

13.05

07-Nov-13

Open Market Operations TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

178-Day

86,709.13

12.35

07-Nov-13

175-Day

95,368.69

12.35

07-Nov-13

-

-

-

-

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$350m

N/A

$343m

04-Nov-13

$400m

N/A

$399m

30-Oct-13

42

Capital Market

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Stock exchange daily equities summary Equities as at March 12, 2014 1st Tier Securities

1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

43

Community Mirror We came to see the President and it is in connection with issues of national importance and for the development of the South West.

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi

Woman kills sister over inheritance OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

A

62-year-old woman, Yemi Olasehinde, has been stabbed to death by her sibling, Iyanu Olasehinde, at Okedasa, Ondo State.

Eyewitnesses said the incident followed a heated argument between them over the inheritance of

their late father.

The argument was said to have degenerated into a brawl during which the suspect took a knife and stabbed her sister.

It was learnt that distressed cries from the deceased, who was reportedly deported from the United States of America, USA, some years ago, attracted neighbours, who

rushed her to a hospital, where she gave up the ghost.

When newsmen visited the Enuowa Divisional Police Station in Ondo town, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Ebenezer Adegalu, was not available for comment.

However, a senior police officer, who requested anonymity, confirmed the incident, adding that the

remains of the deceased have been deposited at the Ondo State Specialist Hospital morgue.

He added that investigations into the matter have commenced, while the suspect and five others have been transferred to the homicide section at the Police Command Headquarters in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Overloaded truck on Ojo-Iwo Road in Ibadan, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Fire guts shopping complex in Lagos FRANCIS SUBERU

G

oods worth millions of naira and 17 shops have been destroyed in an early morning inferno that gutted the prestigious Iponri Shopping Complex, Surulere , Lagos.

Community Mirror gathered that the fire started at 12am yesterday and destroyed 17 shops before the Lagos State Fire Services put out it out.

Confirming the incident, the Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe confirmed that the fire gutted 17 shops, adding that the losses could have been bigger but for the quick intervention of the agency.

He said, “We battled

the inferno when it was still raging. Officers at the fire service station in Sari-Iganmu were mobilised as they came with a 10,000 litre water tanker.

According to him, the magnitude of the fire compelled them to mobilise the fire service stations at Ilupeju and Onikan which helped put out the fire.

He said that most of the burnt items were generators, textiles and plastic materials, among others.

He said the inferno was as a result of upsurge in electricity, pointing out that few days ago, fire had occurred in the complex with two shops burnt.

Fadipe explained that some of the electric wires in the complex were ruptured, adding that he had alerted the

traders on the need to bring technicians to rectify the cables.

Also speaking on the incident, South-West spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye said the fire started at 12am yesterday.

He said: “A serious fire outbreak occurred at 12:00 a.m. at Iponri shop-

ping complex which destroyed 17 shops, while three fire trucks from Sari Iganmu, Ilupeju and Onikan were able to put out the fire”.

Similarly, the General Manager of Lagos State Management Authority, LASEMA, Dr. Femi OkeOsanyintolu said the fire razed several shops resulting in the loss of goods worth millions of naira.

Family accuses police of linking it with murder CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

A

royal family in Atta community, Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State has raised alarm over plan by the police to link it to the assassination of a former council chairman, Mr. Brenden Ogunye, saying the move is intended to stop the coronation of the Ezeelect, Chijindu Okereke.

The family claimed that their sons and those perceived to be loyal to the Eze-elect were arrested and detained by the police for three weeks, immediately the former council boss was murdered early this year without proper investigation to ascertain those behind the act.

They accused some notable persons in the community of being behind the move to destabilise the community having failed to install their own candidate on the traditional stool.

Speaking at a press briefing in Owerri, the Secretary to Okereke Chileke Nwahiajoku Royal family, Prince Henry Okereke and some community elders accused some politicians of trying to truncate the deserved victory of Chijindu Okereke , after several petitions to the state government failed,even as the Eze James Muruakor panel set up for identification of Ezeship candidates upheld the candidacy of Eze Okereke.

“Since then, there has been desperate attempts by some people to link the family to the murder of Bren-

Pastor arraigned for chopping off girl’s fingers DARE AKOGUN

A

49-year-old cleric, Pastor Moyo Martins, has been arraigned in court for allegedly chopping off the finger of a-two-year-old girl Saidat Faleye, in Yaba area of Lagos.

It was gathered that the mother of the child, Mrs. Bola Faleye, had left her in the custody of Martins, as she was taking her bath and few minutes later, the girl was heard crying in the pastor’s room which drew the attention of the mother and neighbours.

On rushing into Moyo’s

room, they found that the girl’s fingers had been chopped off by Martins, even as Saidat was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

The suspect who has since been arraigned on a one-count charge before a Yaba Chief Magistrate Court initially denied the crime but later confessed

den Ogunye,even as perpetrators of the dastardly act are moving about freely,” he stated.

He exonerated the family from the death of Mr. Brenden Oguinye who was assassinated on January 18, 2014 at his Umuhu Atta country home.

Contrary to police reports, he denied that none of the arrested suspects made “confessional statements to the murder”, adding that the arrest was carried out to install one Geo Anika. While calling for proper investigations into the killing, he described as embarrassing the role played by the police in the matter. “Two members of our royal family and three others were maliciously paraded as having made confessional statements.”

According to him, troubles started when a newspaper publisher and prominent politician in the area failed to get the consent of the Eze-elect to sign a document that the traditional stool should be rotated among the villages in Atta. ”The Eze-elect rejected his three day ultimatum to sign the document,even as they have declared war on the family.”

Reacting, a contender to the throne, Geo Anika said the late Eze Okereke was only a regent appointed by one Nze Iwuala Njoku Ugwoeto.

“He was appointed in the presence of all Atta indigenes and an agreement to that effect was signed by representatives of the people,” he said. that he did it in error while pleading for forgiveness.

Martins however pleaded not guilty to the charge and elected a summary trial at the Magistrate Court.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Y.O Aje-Afunwa, admitted him to bail in the sum of N100, 000 with one surety in like sum. The matter was adjourned till April 24, 2014 for further hearing.

44

Young & Next Generation

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Youths celebrate 100 unsung heroines LEONARD OKACHIE

A

s Nigeria celebrates a 100 years of existence, it is obvious that women have contributed immensely to the nation’s socio-economic development. Unfortunately, many of the women who are actually playing laudable roles in the society remain unseen and uncelebrated.

It is for this reason that a group of youths led by Mr. Bayo Omoboriowo has embarked on a project tagged ‘100 Unsung Heroines’ to celebrate this set of people.

The project, which is year-long campaign will witness organisers visit various states of the federation moving through villages and communities in search of women doing exceptionally well in their various communities Speaking at the launch of the project in Lagos recently, in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day, Omoboriowo remarked that Nigerian women have exceptional stories.

“These women are fabric of society today, without whom we won’t be seated here today. I was amazed when I met a woman whom from the little profits she makes from the sale of bottled drinks, has been able to train her kids in schools outside the country.

“Until we start celebrating these women who are doing great things we will be limiting the possibility of building other role models and upcoming heroines. We are doing this project to celebrate these women, let the world see and appreciate them. In doing so, we can thereby build more role models that will be contributing to National Development.”

Omoboriowo, who won the Future Awards’ Creative Artist of the Year, 2012, emphasised that by using the women in the informal sector as a case study, the project aims to highlight the unique role the women play in the everyday development of the nation as they go about their daily activities.

“We are on a trip to project to the world the unparallel energy and resilient spirit of a select portion of the Nigerian women in the informal sector making a difference in their own way thereby birthing a better nation,” he said.

He disclosed that the idea started while he was walking along Mushin market and

JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

A

s Nigerian youths gathered in Abuja for the National Youth Peace Concert, youths from Borno State were shedding tears to mourn some of the young ones who were killed as a result of the cri-

Mama Makoko (Regoe Alfredo-Durugo) one of the unsung heroines with her 'children' on the podium

decided to take photographs of some market women. "Many of these women, I discovered in the process, have unique stories about themselves and petty trade.”

Keynote Speaker and Project Launcher, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili lauded the youths for recognising women, who are their mothers, adding that “somewhere down the road in the archives of history, the events of today will be referred to as one of the events of our time that shaped womanhood.”

Ezekwesili, who is former Vice President of the World Bank Africa, urged government at all levels including parents to increase investment in the empowerment of the girl-child.

She said, “Quality education for the girl child is not just as a tool for transforming them into human capital, but as a means of making them very effective decision makers. When women are able to make decisions effectively it has a very high collateral positive effect in the society and community she belongs to.”

Omoboriowo flanked by his team, addressing the guests

``We need to know that investing in country’s citizens should not be discriminatory between men and women. We need to invest in the productive abilities of the girl-child and women in our communities.

We need to recognise the talents of the girlchild, as well as give them opportunities to make decisions. Let us make more Nigerian women and girls become celebrated heroines.”

Wife of the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Pamela Schmoll observed that history was full of unsung women across the globe, adding “We do not even have to look outside Nigeria for unsung heroines. Women

often go unnoticed. We need to invest and truly appreciate the role of women in our society.’’

Some of the guests included, Chairman Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Finance, Princess Funmi Tejuosho; ExPresident, Nigerian Traller Operators Association, Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi; music star, Waje; ace photographer, Aisha Augie –Kuta; and Founding Partner Red Media Africa, Adebola Williams.

The event was graced by some of the unsung heroines, one of whom was the popular Mama Makoko (Regoe Alfredo-Durugo) of the Makoko community in Lagos.

Borno delegation mourns at national peace summit sis going on in their state.

The group in their number matched in parade with white handkerchiefs to wipe their tears instead of placard like their counterparts from other states at the con-

First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan (middle) and others at the National Peace Concert in Abuja.

cert organized by the Office of First Lady in collaboration with National Orientation Agency and women development centre.

The leader of the Borno Youth and a Peace Ambassador, Mr. Ahmed Shehu explained that their presence at the concert was not for merry making but to let their counterparts from other parts of the country and the whole world know what they are going through in Borno.

According to him, Borno youths present at this concert is the way to show their sorrowfulness at senseless killing in the state He said "Our presence is to inform the Nigerian government on the need to assist Borno State government to restore peace into the troubled state and other states facing similar problem in the country. We are here to tell other Nigerian youths on the need to join hand and forces together to restore peace into the trouble states in Nigeria," he said.

"This event does not reflect what we are facing in the state and I expected that we will all join force together, identify problem and tell people especially those who can assist us in finding a lasting solution to the crisis," Shehu commented.

On the present situation in the state, Shehu said troop sent to the state are not enough to tackle the situation. He said, "The situation is disheartening and the troop are not enough to handle the crisis and I want to say that what our governor said concerning the situation is a representational opinion of Borno people. Borno State problem is North East problem and North East problem is a Nigerian problem, which solution must be sought to quickly."

He therefore called on the government on the need to implement all recommendation by various committees that were set up to look into the Borno crisis especially in the areas of empowerment and injustice.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Young & Next Generation

Thursday, March 13, 2014

FRANCIS SUBERU

F

ormer Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiagele Ezekwesili and the General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry, DCLM, Pastor William Kumuyi are expected to address over 100,000 youths on empowerment in a programme tagged: Youth Empowerment Summit, YES. The youths, drawn from public and private schools and young school leavers in Lagos State will gather at the Deeper Life Conference Centre, DLCC, Km 42, LagosIbadan Expressway, Ogun State on Saturday, March 22, 2014 for the one day empowerment programme.

Convener of the programme, Pastor Kumuyi said the event promises to be one of the single biggest gatherings of youths in Nigeria and is being packaged by the Deeper Life Students’ Outreach (DLSO).

A statement signed by the National Youth Coordinator, DCLM, Peter Elias, said the first edition of YES was held in 2012 and that the theme of this year’s event is “Empowerment for Greatness.”

Elias said the YES would feature skill development for success, leadership, peer education, self-awareness, role modelling, career choice and development, employability and entrepreneurship.

He disclosed that Ezekwesili, would be the special guest speaker at the event, as adequate security had been provided at the venue of the programme.

“A number of others seasoned speakers who are accomplished professionals and entrepreneurs will speak at the break-out sessions during the programme. One thing that must be stressed here is that the Convener, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi has been looking forward to this event, praying and preparing to be used of God to revolutionize the life of youths in Nigeria and across Africa. There will be a live transmission and streaming of the pastor’s sessions of the event to all venues across Africa,’ he said.

According to him, Kumuyi launched the maiden edition of YES in 2012 as a platform for identifying, harnessing and propelling youths as strategic and indis-

Ezekwesili, Kumuyi, others to address youths on empowerment

45

Science for Kids

Elephant

Why do elephants have such big ears?

E

Children dancing at the 2nd Bishop Leonard Umunna annual sports cultural carnival, Ajegunle, Lagos, recently.

pensable partners in the quest for realizing national aspirations, saying that the man of God had continually harped on the need to do something to urgently provide a solution to the leadership crisis in Africa.

“To do this he desired that we explore and deploy our existing resources and platforms in the ministry to organize regularly a programme that will help the youths to take their rightful place and affect society positively. Thus, Youth Empowerment Summit has been repackaged to hold in Lagos, in Nigerian cities and all over Africa quarterly henceforth.

“The goal is to reposition our teeming youth population across Africa towards taking their proper place as change agents. This is only possible if youths have

inner change, attitudinal and behavioural transformation and value re-orientation,” he said.

He added that the one-day event would kicked off around 8.00 am and end 4;30 pm, saying that there would be free transportation to convey youths to the programme from strategic parts of Lagos.

“We are expecting nothing less than 100,000 youths at the event. Already, a meeting was held with Proprietors and Principals of Private Secondary Schools to sensitize and evolve an arrangement that facilitates this relationship. A number of these schools will be responsible for bringing their students themselves while Deeper Life buses will be on hand to convey others to the venue of the meeting...”he said.

lephants are animals that definitely stand out above the crowd. They are the largest land animals, and they are famous for their useful trunks, which can be used for smelling, digging, communicating with other elephants, and picking up food and water. But trunks aside, two things that really make the elephant stand out are its massive flapping ears.

Most people know that wooly mammoths, who lived in colder areas before they went extinct, looked like hairy elephants.

But there’s one major difference: wooly mammoths had much smaller ears. So this tells us that the hot climate elephants live in is responsible for their massive ears.

Elephant ears are one sixth the size of an elephant’s body. That means if you were an elephant, your ears would be the size of your whole head. And they’re important because the bigger you are, the harder it is for you to cool down. Elephants are very big, so living in hot dry climates could be very dangerous for them without some way of cooling off quickly.

That’s where their ears come in. Elephants use their ears like fans to help create breezes, but their ears do more than that. Those big ears are just full of blood vessels. Warm blood from deep within the elephant’s body flows to the ears, where the blood vessels are very close to the skin and lose heat very easily. Elephants will even spray their ears with water to help them lose heat faster. This works so well that blood leaving an elephant’s ear is 9ºC cooler than it was when it entered the ear.

An elephant’s ears are its air conditioning!

Source - Science Score

Black boys viewed as older, less innocent than whites –Study

B

lack boys as young as 10 may not be viewed in the same light of childhood innocence as their white peers, but are instead more likely to be mistaken as older, be perceived as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

“Children in most societies are considered to be in a distinct group with characteristics such as innocence and the need for protection. Our research found that black boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at an age when white boys still benefit from the assumption that children are essentially innocent,” said author Phillip Atiba Goff, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles. The study was published online in APA’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers tested 176 police officers, mostly white males, average age 37, in large urban areas, to determine their levels of two distinct types of bias -- prejudice and unconscious dehumanization of black people by comparing them to apes.

Black boys

White boys

To test for prejudice, researchers had officers complete a widely used psychological questionnaire with statements such as “It is likely that blacks will bring violence to neighbourhoods when they move in.”

To determine officers’ dehumanization of blacks, the researchers gave them a psychological task in which they paired blacks and whites with large cats, such as lions, or with apes.

Researchers reviewed police officers’ personnel records to determine use of

force while on duty and found that those who dehumanized blacks were more likely to have used force against a black child in custody than officers who did not dehumanize blacks.

The study described use of force as takedown or wrist lock; kicking or punching; striking with a blunt object; using a police dog, restraints or hobbling; or using tear gas, electric shock or killing. Only dehumanization and not police officers’ prejudice against blacks -- conscious or not -- was

linked to violent encounters with black children in custody, according to the study.

The authors noted that police officers’ unconscious dehumanization of blacks could have been the result of negative interactions with black children, rather than the cause of using force with black children.

“We found evidence that overestimating age and culpability based on racial differences was linked to dehumanizing stereotypes, but future research should try to clarify the relationship between dehumanization and racial disparities in police use of force,” Goff said.

The study also involved 264 mostly white, female undergraduate students from large public U.S. universities. In one experiment, students rated the innocence of people ranging from infants to 25-year-olds who were black, white or an unidentified race.

The students judged children up to 9 years old as equally innocent regardless of race, but considered black children significantly less innocent than other children in every age group beginning at age 10, the researchers found.

46

Media

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Female journalists decry abuse, threats STORIES: LEONARD OKACHIE

W

omen in the news media said they had experienced some form of intimidation, threats, or abuse in relation to their work, ranging in severity from name-calling to death threats.

They stated that the majority of threats, intimidation, and abuse occurred in the work place, and was perpetrated most often by male bosses, supervisors, and co-workers.

These were part of the core findings of a global survey conducted among nearly 1,000 female journalists, by the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI).

The 40-page joint report, entitled “Violence and Harassment against Women in the News Media: A Global Picture”, which was launched on Monday, also revealed most incidents of harassment and violence were never reported, even though a majority of women who experienced them said they were psychologically affected.

In addition, the survey gathered data regarding sexual violence, physical violence, sexual harassment, and digital security threats experienced by women journalists as well as what measures have been taken for

prevention, protection, and preparedness within news organizations.

The survey and the report were carried out with funding from the Government of Austria and supported by UNESCO. It could be recalled that the Global Media Monitoring Project (2009 report) stated that women in Africa are more likely than men to be featured as victims of media gender-limitations if there are no communication initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours of women and girls to media.

"When looking at the top managerial seats in media like producers, senior editors and senior reporters, the most striking gender issue is that the industry is dominated by men. It's a cultural mindset that women are considered delicate and therefore can't just get assigned tough field work or head-cracking tasks," says Emma-Claudine Ntirenganya, programme manager at Radio Salus of University of Rwanda in similar report.

"This disproportion is basically due to cultural impediments that female journalists are more suitable to 'soft' subjects such as family, lifestyle, fashion and arts than the 'hard' news, politics, economy, production and editing that are much more likely to fall in masculine domain," Ntirenganya says.

Members of Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), during a walk for health and solidarity road show in Lagos.

Digitisation will enhance national development –NBC

T

he National Broadcasting Commission of Nigeria (NBC) has expressed confidence that digitisation of the nation’s broadcasting industry would develop the nation.

Head, Public Affairs of the commission, Alhaji Awwalu Salihu, said the switch over from analogue to digital was timely.

RATTAWU to embark on warning strike

T

he Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), is to embark on a three-day warning strike on March 26.

The notice of strike is contained in a statement signed by, the General Secretary of the union Mr. Henry Odugala in Abuja.

The statement explained that the notice was due to inadequate fund for digitalisation project, among others.

It recalled that the ultimatum began on March 6 and would end on Wednesday, March 26.

“All members of RATTAWU are directed to begin a three-day warning strike after the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum to the Federal and state Governments. The three days warning strike must begin on Thursday March 27,’’ it said.

The statement said the deadline had also been communicated to all Chief Executives of radio and television stations across the country.

It also said the union was concerned about the continued retention of power by local governments to collect radio and television licence fees without provision to distribute it contrary to international best practice.

The statement listed other is-

sues as ``the massive decay in the sector, low salary for workers and short-payment in the pension and gratuity of retired staff members of NTA under the contributory pension scheme.

DG, NBC, Emeka Mba

Salihu said that the commission would put everything in place to improve and conserve the existing space, so that it would be efficiently utilised.

According to him, it will also enable the commission to have enough space to introduce broadband and other services within the system.

He said: ``We are switching over from analogue to digital broadcasting in order to have better reception, better picture quality and cleaner sound quality. `` We are also going to witness serious improvement in the area of interactive television, online booking for shopping, online programmes for getting people’s opinion heard among other advantages.”

He expressed optimism that at the end of the project, Nigerians and the country as a whole would

have a cause to smile.

Salihu, however, called on Nigerians to support the Federal Government in its quest to transform the nation’s broadcasting industry for better service delivery.

Salihu said the private broadcasting stations were carried along in the process, adding that they were partners in progress.

He said that private stations had been part of the commission in all the summits and workshops the commission had organised so far.

Salihu said that the just concluded workshop, tagged `` INEC/ NBC media forum on coverage of 2015 general elections”, was a pointer that private stations had been carried along.

He recalled that the stations were part of the presidential advisory committee that fashioned out the proposal for the transition.

Garlands, as ace cameraman, Davies turns 80 AYO ESAN

T

he ace cinematographer, Ganiyu Davies who worked with the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation Television (NBC) as Chief Cameraman, has turned 80.

Davies covered historical landmarks like the treasonable trial of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the trial and execution of a notorious armed robber, Isola Oyenusi.

Born in 1934 at Agarawu in Tinubu Area of Lagos , Davies attended Bethel School Lagos and from there, moved to Lagos City College in 1953 for his secondary education. After leaving City College, he joined Marine as a cadet, working in engineering section.

Between 1953 and 1955 he started cinematography, a career that later brought him into limelight and which enabled him to have a one on one interaction with the shakers and movers of Nigerian politics immediately after Nigeria

independence in 1960.

He started the cinematography at Victoria Street now Nnamdi Azikwe Street in Lagos and worked with different production outfits before he joined the Nigeria Television Service which later became known as Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation Television as Chief Cameraman .

On his memorable assignment while in active service, he recalled with nostalgia how he covered the late Chief Awolowo's treason trial at the Lagos High Court between 1962 and 1963.

"I was even given five pounds bonus for the good coverage. I also covered the arrival of Awolowo at the Airport down to Ikenne after he was released by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon", he said .

On the coverage of Isola Oyenusi's trial, Davies said, " When he was sentenced to death by chief Magistrate Agboola Ojomo, he was even asking from some people in my presence to give him cigarette to smoke, which they

did and he smoked it, that was at the High Court in Race Course . I could say he was not even afraid to die".

He also recalled how he was at the United Nations to cover Nigeria’s admission into the United Nations.

“After that I went with former Nigerian Prime Minister, late Alhaji Tafawa Balewa to England to cover the prime ministers’ conference at Marlborough in London . I also covered the civil war between 1967 and 1970", he told National Mirror.

He said working for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation Television, which is now known as Nigeria Television Authority, NTA was the dream of every journalist then.

Davies explained: "After the civil war, I covered many historical assignments, one of them is a production in Sierra Leone known as Black Gold, which I covered for Sierra Leonean Government. That was in 1966.

Between 1970 and 1975 I did a

feature film for the present Oba of Owu- Abeokuta, Oba Sanya Dosumu. The title of the film is 'Dinner with the devil'.

“After that I covered an assignment with Eddy Ogboma when he produced feature film known as ' The Rise and Fall of Oyenusi' in 1978.”

He explained that Oyenusi was a notorious armed robber in Nigeria then and because he covered his trial and death, he was contacted to produce a feature film on Oyenusi's life .

Ganiyu Davies

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Media

Thursday, March 13, 2014

47

Journalists need prayers –Cleric

A

cleric, Pastor Chukwumeyere Ikejiaku of the City of Love Christian Centre, Ikeja, has called for special prayers for journalists in the country.

Ikejiaku made the call at a prayer session organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos State Council.

“Journalists need prayers. Their efforts at informing the public always should be commended.

They are the one exposing corrupt leaders and other social vices in the society. It is obvious that they are prone to attacks and that is why they need our prayers,’’ he said.

The clergyman, however, cautioned journalists against publishing falsehood and urged them to do more of investigative journalism.

The Chairman of the Council, Mr. Deji Olumoye, said the purpose of the session was to seek God’s protection for journalists in the country.

Meanwhile, the council commended the management of the Sun and Vanguard newspapers for providing insurance policy cover for journalists in their establishments.

The chairman of the council, who made the commendation at the council’s March congress, urged other media houses to emulate the two organisations.

Olumoye, however, condemned the inability of the Champion newspaper management to pay the two years’ salary arrears of journalists in the organisation.

Journalists during a protest in Lagos.

Media Abroad

Liberian President threatens to sue newspaper

T

he International Law Group (ILG), which represents the legal interest of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has said it intends to initiate legal action against the Chronicle Newspaper if the management of the paper does not withdraw immediately a story it posted in its paper on March 7, 2014.

Mr. Philibert Browne is the publisher of the Chronicle Newspaper. In an official communication dated March 7, 2014

and addressed to the management of the Chronicle Newspaper, a copy of which is in possession of the Heritage, the ILG recalled that the story was headlined "In the wake of Aicha Konneh's Alleged Gold-And-Diamond Smuggling For President Sirleaf: President Sirleaf Under International Security Watch."

According to the communication signed by J. Fonati Koffa, Esq, the entire story, as to the whole and its subparts, is false

Yahoo to block Facebook and Google accounts

U

sers hoping to sign into Flickr and other Yahoo services with their Facebook or Google accounts will not be able to do so for much longer, and will be asked to create a Yahoo ID, the company said.

The move is the latest change CEO Marrisa Meyer has made to the company's operations, and is

Marissa Mayer

part of an effort to "continually improve the user experience", allowing Yahoo to offer the best personalised experience to everyone".

Facebook and Google sign in buttons will eventually be removed from all Yahoo sites, according to a Yahoo spokeswoman.

The first Yahoo service to require the new sign-in process is Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick'Em, a service focused on the NCAA college basketball tournament which begins later this month.

News of the change to Yahoo's Tourney Pick'Em sign-in process was first reported by the technology blog Betanews.

In eliminating the Facebook and Google sign-in features, Mayer, a former Google executive, is effectively reversing a strategy that Yahoo adopted in 2010 and 2011 under then CEO Carol Bartz.

relatively and absolutely as to the involvement of President Sirleaf in any transaction with Ms. Konneh.

Asserted the communication: "In fact the body of the story contradicts the headline in that the story claims that it is Ms. Konneh, not President Sirleaf, who is under the so-called international security watch.

Moreover, the story attempts to tie various slanderous allegations, of unproven nature, to create the impression that President Sirleaf is engaged in or supported unlawful activity."

"The falsity of the statement is not only distressing to our client but demeans her image and reputation as a peaceful citizen and a responsible leader of Liberia.

She has asked us to institute a lawsuit as a legal remedy," the communication among other things added.

Meanwhile, the management of the Chronicle Newspaper through its Publisher, Mr. Philibert Browne, said the paper stands by its story.

In a brief interview with this paper (Chronicle Newspaper ) via cell phone in response to the ILG communication in which the President asked it (ILG) to institute lawsuit as a legal remedy, Mr. Brown uttered: "We are not retracting any story, we did not make up the story. If anyone has problem with the Chronicle Newspaper regarding this particularly story let he or she

Sirleaf

seeks redress from the United Nations."

When quizzed by this paper regarding an assertion by the ILG that the body of the story contradicts the headline, the boss of the Chronicle Newspaper averred that his paper never contracted itself.

According to him, if Mr. Koffa and President Sirleaf

want to sue the paper, they are welcomed to do so. "We did not manufacture the story. The UN Panel of Experts Report on Liberia is our source of our story, so we are not deterred by any threat of lawsuit from Mr. Koffa and the President," the tough talking Publisher of the Chronicle Newspaper maintained.

48

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CONVOCATION The Management of Fidei Polytechnic, Gboko hereby informs the general public that a joint convocation ceremony has been approved by the governing council and is scheduled to hold in November, 2014.

The Convocation ceremony shall include graduates in both National Diploma (ND) and Higher Diploma (HND) Consecutively, the management has invited all students concerned to come and update their information for the purpose of documentation. The documentation exercise shall close in May, 2014. Any student who does not appear for screening and documentation shall not be considered as a graduate from the polytechnic.

Similarly, management wishes to remind all students that the following items must be presented for screening before documentation is done for any student.

They are: 1. Original receipts of all school fees paid 2. Original copy of admission letter.

3. Student identity card 4. Original copy of statement of result and testimonial.

Note: that there shall be no extension of the fixed date, students who graduated from Fidei Polytechnic, Gboko, the first privately owned Polytechnic in Northern states of Nigeria shall invite all Northerners to attend this history making occasion.

Very Revd Fr.Chris I.Utov PhD.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

As the South African government, we want to send a very stern warning to anybody, anywhere in the world, that our country will not be used as a springboard to do illegal activities– Central Africa Republic President,

T

South Africa Justice Minister Jeff Radebe

wo women have died after a gas leak sparked an explosion which levelled two buildings in East Harlem, New York City, authorities said.

Eighteen others have been injured in the incident, which sent smoke billowing into the city sky.

More than 250 firefighters are tackling the blaze at the scene near 116th Street and Park Avenue.

All train services in and out of Grand Central terminal have been halted following the incident near its tracks.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news conference from the scene that the gas leak had been reported to the utility company just 15 minutes before the blast on Wednesday morning.

The area is engulfed in thick choking smoke, says the BBC’s Nick Bryant at the scene De Blasio said the “major explosion” had destroyed two buildings and heavily damaged other structures.

A number of individuals were still missing in the area, he added.

“Every effort is being expended to locate” them, he added.

New York fire department has elevated the incident to the highest threat level possible.

Among the injured was a child said to be in a critical condition, CNN reports.

The utility company, Con Edison, says a resident in a nearby building reported smelling gas

WORLD BULLETIN Pistorius smashed door to reach his girlfriend

Blast kills two in New York City, buildings collapse O

Rescue workers at the site of the blast. Photo: Reuters

shortly before the explosion.

Streets and pavements around the site were littered with broken glass from shattered windows.

Witnesses reported the powerful blast knocked items off shelves in nearby stores.

Authorities in the area were said to be handing out medical masks to residents due to the thick white smoke at the scene.

A witness told the BBC “there was just a lot of panic” following

the explosion.

Dan Scarvino had just emerged on to a nearby train platform when “suddenly a plume of smoke came out of nowhere”.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added.

A witness told the New York Daily News she had smelled gas “for weeks” before the explosion.

“We saw people flying out of the window... those are my neighbours,” Ashley Rivera said.

Another witness told the newspaper he heard two loud explosions that shook the barber shop where he works.

“It was loud, like boom, boom!”

Mitch Abreu said. “It rocked the whole block.

“A window blew out of the other shop down the street,” he added.

“It looked like the [Twin] Towers all over again. People covered in dust and covering their mouths.”

Missing jet’s last message unveiled

T

he last communication received from a Malaysia Airlines plane suggests everything was normal on board minutes before it went missing over the South China Sea, Malaysian authorities say.

Flight MH370 replied “All right, roger that” to a radio message from Malaysian air control, authorities said.

The search has been widened to waters off both sides of the peninsula.

Malaysia’s air force chief has denied reports the plane was tracked to the Malacca Strait in the west.

The China-bound plane went missing on Saturday with 239 people on board.

It vanished about an hour after it took off from

Kuala Lumpur International Airport, as it flew over the South China Sea, south of Vietnam’s Ca Mau peninsula. No distress signal or message was sent.

Irene Burrows, whose son and wife were on board: “It’s just disappeared off the face of the earth” Malaysian authorities revealed the plane’s last communication at a news conference held in Beijing for relatives of the 154 Chinese who are among the missing passengers.

As the plane reached the boundary between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace, the Malaysian air control announced it was handing over to Ho Chi Minh City Control.

Minutes later, all contact

scar Pistorius was not wearing his prosthetic legs when he smashed a locked door to reach his girlfriend, an expert told his murder trial.

The forensic evidence contradicted the athlete’s claim that he was wearing his artificial limbs at the time.

The damaged bathroom door is in the court to be examined during the trial.

A big day in the Oscar Pistorius murder case. The defence worked tirelessly to disprove a finding by Colonel Johan Vermeulen, a decorated forensic expert in the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Oscar Pistorius’s toilet door stood obtrusively in the courtroom, held up by a white frame, behind it a toilet cubicle. Col Vermeulen, a state witness, told the court that based on the marks on the door and their level Pistorius was on his stumps when he struck the door with a cricket bat.

The defence strongly challenged his version, adding that they will present their own expert witness who will prove Pistorius was in fact wearing his prosthetics. Defence lawyer Barry Roux also introduced another dimension to the case, suggesting that the police recklessly handled the crime scene - he pointed to police shoe prints on the door. The forensics from the scene are a make or break for either side.

Roux’s plan seems to include discrediting the integrity of the evidence collection process. He has already hinted at the possible contamination of the crime scene, placing the SAPS under a rather embarrassing spotlight.

Pistorius denies intentionally killing Reeva Steenkamp in February last year, saying he fired after mistaking her for a burglar.

There was also a toilet cubicle in court, says BBC’s reporter at the court in Pretoria.

It is a replica of the room in which Steenkamp was shot.

CHANGE OF NAME

Indonesian Air Force crewman prayed prior to a search for the missing plane

with Flight MH370 was lost.

China’s foreign ministry said there was “too much confusion” regarding the information released about the plane’s flight path.

“It is very hard for us to decide whether a given piece of information is accurate,” spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.

CHANGE OF NAME

FAJIMOLU: Formerly known and addressed as Mss Oluwayemisi Enitan Fajimolu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ouwayemisi Enitan Taiwo. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGBONNAYA: Formerly known and addressed as Ogbonnaya Onyinyechi Magdalene, now wish to be known and addressed as Oko Mary Onyinyechi. All former documents remain valid. The general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

GBARANEN: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Gbaranen Love Kabor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Love Kabor Isaac.

All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and The general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EDET: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Edet Njong Esther, now wish to be known and addrssed as Mrs Enang George Bassey. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and The general public take note

ADEOGUN: Formerly known as Miss Adeogun Kafayat Gbeminiyi, now wish to be known as Mrs Awosade Kafayat Gbeminiyi. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and The general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME ESIEDESA: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Esiedesa Oghenemine now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ogu Oghenemine. All former documents remain valid. The general public take note

OBUAKOR: Formerly known and addressed as Miss Ngozi Stella Obuakor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ngozi Stella Onejeme. All former documents remain valid. The general public take note.

50

Politics

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Return to democracy: What future for Plateau LGAs JAMES ABRAHAM writes on the recently held Plateau council election and concludes that for the return of democracy at the grassroots to have the desired impacts on the people, the new helmsmen must brace up to their responsibilities

I

f there is anything the people of Plateau State have yearned for in the past three years, it is for democracy to return at the grassroots.

Since 2011 when the tenure of the last set of democratically elected council administrators expired, caretaker committees have been at the helm of affairs at the 17 local government areas of the state.

To many, this was strange in a state that has been at the fore front of championing democracy and good governance.

However, with penultimate week’s conduct of the local government election in the state and the subsequent swearing in of winners at the poll by Governor Jonah Jang, six days after, many believe that a new era has set in on the Plateau.

Even before the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, led by Hon. Peter Dalyop conducted the election, which has been hailed by many stakeholders as free, fair and credible, analysts had predicted that it was going to be total victory for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The reason for this prediction was not far-fetched. Apart from the party’s popularity and strong financial backing, which made it possible for it to traverse the three senatorial zones of the state, soliciting for the peoples’ votes in the build up to the election, no other political party nor their candidates were on ground to match the PDP’s dominance in the state.

Little wonder then when the results of the election were eventually announced, the PDP swept the poll.

The election which was conducted in 15 out of the 17 local government areas of the state saw the PDP winning all but Langtang North LGA, which result is now a subject of litigation.

Although Wase and Jos North local government areas were left out during the poll for security reasons, the general belief was that what obtained during the last council election, where PDP trounced other parties to emerge victorious may not be different any time election eventually hold in the two remaining council areas Now, while the return to democracy at the council areas may be cheering news to the citizens of the state, National Mirror investigations reveal that there are issues of concern, stemmed from the long years of infrastructural neglect, deprivation and socio economic disconnect, which have since become the hallmark of most rural communities in the state.

The questions now on the lips of many people include: Will the newly elected council chairmen be able to stem the tide of violence which has plagued almost all the 17 local government areas in the state for years, resulting in the death of hun-

Jang

dreds of innocent people and properties worth billions of naira destroyed? Under the new era, will the people be able to feel the impact of democracy being a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally either directly or indirectly through elected representatives in the proposal, development, and creation of laws at the grassroots?; Will the new council helmsmen be able to look inwards and find ways of fixing and reinvigorating the various sources of revenue accruing to the council areas in order to raise their revenue profiles or will they continue to depend on meagre federal allocations and handouts from state government which they only use to pay salaries with little or nothing left for developmental projects?; How will they handle the issue of transparency and prudence in the management of the local resources?

These and many more questions have continued to agitate the minds of the stakeholders, since the swearing in of the newly elected council chairmen by Governor Jang at the Rayfield Government House in Jos, the state capital Speaking during the ceremony which attracted virtually every segment of the society, including market women, farmers, businessmen and women, traditional rulers and politicians alike, Governor Jang himself acknowledged the enormous task before the chairmen and charged them not to disappoint the people who elected them into office.

His words: “Today opens another chapter in the entrenchment of democracy at the third tier of government in Plateau State. We are not only witnessing the swearing in of the newly elected local government chairmen but the stepping in of democratically voted leadership. I

therefore congratulate the new chairmen on their victory at the polls. It also unveils the reality of your conviction to aspire for these offices which cannot be divorced from your submission of self for service to the people. Here lays the crux of your mission in office.”

Jang added: “I am personally fulfilled that the long awaited local government elections have been successfully held. The numerous postponements were not deliberate but were based on the need to ensure the right atmosphere for the exercise for all the political parties as well as adequate logistic arrangements. “The peaceful conduct of the exercise is the vindication of this decision. Permit me therefore to congratulate the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, for delivering on a successful and peaceful exercise. Our electorates and all political parties’ supporters have equally demonstrated great maturity and understanding before, during and after the elections. For us in government, that speaks of the spirit of a collective resolve to push the frontier of our democracy especially at the grassroots.

“The pointer here is for our new local government chairmen to accept their new role as that which goes beyond party affiliation in their service to the people. It is incumbent on them not to betray this trust bestowed on them by the people. Mark you; you cannot put a price on trust!

“A large section of our population resides at this level of governance. The implication is that a good size of the populace is yearning for improved governance and service delivery. This is the state at which we are inaugurating this crop of local government chairmen. You are coming at a critical time that will see you work-

THE POINTER HERE IS FOR OUR NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMEN TO ACCEPT THEIR NEW ROLE AS THAT WHICH GOES BEYOND PARTY AFFILIATION IN THEIR SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE.

IT IS INCUMBENT ON THEM NOT TO BETRAY THIS TRUST

ing with two administrations. We will be handing you over to a newly elected administration in May 2015.”

The governor added that as part of his administration’s desire to “propel development at the local government areas”, it has made some savings from the Value Added Tax, VAT, which he said will be released to the council chairmen for the implementation of capital projects.

Jand added that he looks forward to a synergy with the Three Pillar Policy at the state level with the local council administrations, as both tiers of government are to complement each other, saying: “We are all partners in the development of our dear state.”

While pledging that a retreat would be organised for elected officials at the local council level for them to realign their vision with the state’s Redemption Agenda, Jang said: “Let me intimate you that a strategic plan for the local governments was designed jointly by the state government and GIZ. This we believe will help fast tract development at the local government level while better appreciating the peculiarity of rural development.”

The governor added that he dreamt of local government councils “where the leadership will truly wake up to their constitutional roles in the overall interest of our people; where leaders can stand tall at the end of it all and give account of their stewardship.”

It will be recalled that the state government had undertaken a biometric exercise to ascertain the actual strength of its work force both at state and local government levels. The governor told the newly elected council helmsmen that “that of the state had since been completed with that of the local government areas about to be completed. I therefore urge you to support this effort aimed at sanitizing the local government system, especially regarding workforce and wage bill.”

He added: “As part of human capital development and empowerment, a financial literacy training aimed at establishing micro finance banks has been carried out in the local government targeted at mainly women across the state.

The Redemption Agenda of government is not unmindful of the strategic role of the traditional institution is playing in society and the need to have an enabling environment for them to operate.”

Reiterating his administration’s resolve to ensure that an enduring democratic structure anchored on sound governance and service delivery was built at the grassroot, he promised that “election would be conducted in the remaining two local government areas of Wase and Jos North as soon as the state Security Council was satisfied with the state of security and assured cooperation of the people. It should be stressed that we are not ready to take chances on any situation that could tamper with the peace we are enjoying in the state.”

With the swearing-in of the new helmsmen at the local council level, all eyes are now focussed on them to perform. And as they settle down to work, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to translate their electoral victory into dividends of democracy for the people who entrusted with their mandates.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday March 13, 2014

The defeat against Brazil notwithstanding, we are focused on Morocco 2015 AFCON finals –South Africa Coach, Gordon Igesund

Joy Bokiri, Aminat Yakubu, Uchenna Kanu, Rasheedat Ajibade, Fubiana Briggs, Ugochi Emenayo, Ihuoma Onyebuchi, Chinwendu Ihezuo, Onyinye Okeke, Tessy Biahwo, Ayomide Anibaba, Joy Duru, Cynthia Aku, Mary Ologbosere, Faith Alex, Olubunmi Elijah, Vivian Ikechukwu, Augustar Mene, Patience Dike, Mercy Vincent, Desire Ijeh.

Broadcast right: Court upholds injunction on LMC, NFA

53

…Bala Bala hands captain’s captainn’s band to Ihezuo

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI AND JOEL AJAYI

N

Nigeria’s Chinwendu Ihezuo (left) in action for Flamingoes.

Giwa FC: Court restrains LMC

A

Sport

Flamingoes land in Costa Rica

FULL LIST

Federal High Court sitting in Jos yesterday, restrained the League Management Company (LMC) from enforcing its ban on Giwa FC’s participation in the 2013/2014 Globacom Premier League.

The LMC, organisers of the league, had in a letter dated March 7, 2014 expelled the club from this year’s competition.

Ruling on a motion ex parte in a suit filed by Mr. Funky Odi-

51

gie, a football enthusiast, Justice Ambrose Allagoa, the Presiding Judge, granted the order of interim injunction.

“The interim injunction is granted restraining the League Management Company, the purported Governing Board of Nigeria Premier League and the Nigerian Football Federation jointly and severally.

“They are restrained from further preventing or further excluding Giwa FC of Jos from

participating in the Nigerian Premier League pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” he said.

Allagoa in the ruling said that leave was granted the applicant to serve all originating processes on the defendants outside the court’s jurisdiction and to have the processes endorsed as such.

The court adjourned the matter to March 27 for hearing of the motion on notice.

igeria’s U-17 National Women’s Team, Flamingoes, arrived in Costa Rica early this morning, ahead of the World Cup that kicks off on Saturday.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) spokesman, Ademola Olajire, informed National Mirror yesterday that the Flamingoes flew out of Frankfurt, Germany last night to arrive in San Jose, capital of Costa Rica, this morning.

And as the U-17 Women World Cup gets underway this weekend, Flamingoes coach, Bala Nkiyu, has declared that his side i s now ready to face any opposition with the aim of reaching the final.

The cadet championship will hold between March 15 and April 4 with 16 countries jostling for honours. And the Flamingoes and their counterparts from Ghana and Zambia are representing Africa at the tournament.

In a statement released to newsmen after his team concluded a two-week training tour

in Portugal, Nkiyu whose players didn’t kick a ball during the qualifiers, but went ahead to qualify for the tournament, remain optimistic that nothing will stop them from achieving their mandate.

According to him, “The players have continued to improve by the day. They have been adapting to playing instructions. In the previous tournament, the team couldn’t progress beyond quarter-finals not because they didn’t do well.

“So this time, we are determined to correct any past mistake and surpass previous records. Our target is to get to final and lift the trophy by the grace of God.” Nigeria is in Group D with Mexico, Columbia and China and will play their opening game on Sunday against China at the Estadio Alejandro Morera stadium in Ajajuela.

Yesterday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) released the final 21-woman list Coach Nkiyu has picked to challenge for glory.

Nikyu picked Azerbaijan 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup silver boot winner, Chinwendu Ihezuo, as captain of the team.

Ihezuo scored six goals at the last tournament in Azerbaijan to finish second top scorer behind North Korea’s Ri UnSim. She also scored five goals when the Flamingoes humiliated hosts Azerbaijan 11-0 in a group phase match in 2012.

52

Sports

Thursday March 13, 2014

Europa League...

Today’s fixtures

Basel vs Salzburg Porto vs Napoli Ludogorets vs Valencia Alkmaar vs Anzhi Juventus vs Fiorentina Lyon vs Plzen Sevilla vs Betis Tottenham vs Benfica

Castro in Napoli range F

C Porto’s Interim Manager, Luis Castro, faces his first major test in today’s match against Napoli in the Europa League last 16.

Castro was promoted from the B team to replace Paulo Fonseca, who was sacked last week.

The 52-year-old guided the Dragoes to a 4-1 home victory over Arouca on Sunday in his first game in charge.

“I know this job carries a lot of responsibility,” Castro said yesterday.

“We are one of the best clubs in the world in terms of titles and as such, this adds to

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

the responsibility.

But we want to end the season in the best possible way and try to win titles.”

Castro insists there is no chance of him fielding a weakened team against Napoli despite their important meeting in Lisbon.

The Italians travel to the Estadio do Dragao on the back of Sunday’s 1-0 triumph over Roma and the return leg takes place at the San Paolo Stadium on March 30.

Castro

Seedorf disappointed A

C Milan Coach, Clarence Seedorf, faces a major challenge to lift the spirits of the struggling outfit following Tuesday’s demolition in Spain.

The Italians were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the last 16 after losing 4-1 away to Atletico Madrid, having previously been defeated 1-0 in the first leg at San Siro last month.

“After Atletico’s second goal, my team struggled psychologically and failed to react, as we often do,” Seedorf said yesterday.

Seedorf

UEFA trophy berths in Lagos AFOLABI GAMBARI

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he Heineken/UEFA Championship League trophy has arrived in Nigeria as the competition enters the crucial knockout stage in the 2013/14 season.

National Mirror learnt yesterday that the trophy which arrived with Brand Ambassador, UEFA Champions League winner and coach, Ruud Gullit, will be unveiled in Lagos today.

Heineken has numerous events planned around the trophy during its stay in Lagos.

Last night, it was on display at the Heineken

House, Ikoyi Lagos and is expected to go on a city wide tour of the city to enable Nigerians to have first hand contact with it.

The UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour has been presented around the world for eight consecutive years by Heineken, a UEFA Champions League partner.

This year it will give football enthusiasts in Nigeria, Argentina and Vietnam the chance Meet the Trophy this year. The trophy represents the excellence of the UEFA Champions League worldwide and symbolizes the ultimate prize in European club football.

“We are disappointed as the Champions League was an important aim for us and economically for the club.”

Milan has endured a poor campaign, sacking coach Massimiliano Allegri back in January and appointing former player Seedorf as his replacement.

The Dutchman, who had no prior coaching experience, retired from football to accept the Milan job and does not regret his decision.

“I am absolutely convinced I made the right choice,” he said.

Agbonlahor seeks chop escape

A

ston Villa striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor, is looking for the club to get to 40 points “as quickly as possible” to guarantee Premier League football next season.

Villa lies currently six points clear of the drop zone.

“You never know in football. We have to keep on getting the results as early as possible and not leave it late,” the Nigerian-born player said.

“We want to pull away a bit more and try to get to that 40-point mark as quickly as we can.

“The gaffer gives us the confidence–his instructions are to go out and

play freely. He doesn’t want us not to go forward and he gives us an attacking incentive. That came off against Norwich.

Villa’s next outing will see the side welcome tabletopping Chelsea to the Midlands.

“We have to be on top of our performance to get anything henceforth,” he said.

“Good thing we have seen what we can do when we play at home at a high tempo.”

Agbonlahor

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Thursday March 13, 2014

53

Broadcast right: Court upholds injunction on LMC, NFA J

ustice Mrs Ogala of a Lagos High Court has reaffirmed her earlier injunction on the League Management Company and the Nigeria Football Association over the Nigeria Premier League broadcast right.

Bambo Adesanya (SAN), lawyer to Total Promotion Limited informed the judge of LMC’s disregard of her earlier injunction which asked all parties to return to status quo on the broadcast right, through its public statements on the ongoing broadcast of the current Premier League season by Supersport without going through TPL. She consequently warned that all parties must keep and maintain the status quo as directed or face the consequence.

Meanwhile in continuation of the legal battle for the soul of the League Broadcast Right, parties in the suit read their written submission on the issue of jurisdiction as specifically relating to whether or not the court can entertain the sworn affidavit of the chairman of Total Promotions, Niyi Alonge.

LMC lawyer, Akin Olujimi (SAN), submitted that the omission of the phrase, ‘I verily swear on oath’ by Niyi Alonge makes the plaintiffs statements unacceptable by the court but TPL’s lawyers counted his claim, saying technicalities could not be used to bar the court from hearing a suit.

The court adjourned to March 27 for the judge to deliver ruling on the issue of jurisdiction.

T/tennis: Oribamise listed for Japan event

Action during last season’s Premier League

SOPOT 2014: Elegbeleye defends Nigeria’s no-show JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

D

Oribamise

F

or the first time in recent times, the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) has included teenage sensation, Esther Tosin Oribamise in its team for next month’s World Team Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Oribamise, 12, was part of the Team Nigeria to the last World Junior Championships in Rabat, Morocco and a member of the African team to the 2013 World Cadet Challenge.

According to the list released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Oribamise will join compatriots Funke Oshonaike, Edem Offiong, Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Ganiat Olatunde Aruna in the women’s event while veteran Segun Toriola will lead the men’s team alongside Portugal-based duo of

Aruna Quadri and Seun Ajetunmobi.

Also listed in the men’s team are home-based duo of Ojo Onaolapo and Kazeem Makanjuola.

The NTTF explained that Oribamuise’s inclusion owed to the need to expose the young player to international competition.

Meanwhile, the ITTF has seeded Egypt ahead of Nigeria in the championship as the North African nation is rated 32 and 24 in the women and men seedings while Nigerian men and women are rated 34 and 39.

Over 125 countries have been listed for the tournament and according to ITTF, this is an improvement from the 118 nations that featured at the 2012 edition in Dortmund, Germany.

irector-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye has given a pass mark to Team Nigeria that competed at the recent Indoor meet in Poland, despite the country’s failure to win a medal.

Elegbeleye stated that the 12 athletes that represented Nigeria had gathered required experience.

“I think we need to understand the rationale at which Nigeria participated in the championship,” he said.

Medal hopeful, Gloria Asumnu, crashed Nigeria’s

final hope of a podium appearance in the 60m final when she finished seventh, one step lower her sixth place finish two years ago at the 14th edition of the championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

The reigning African 200m queen had raised hopes of a possible upset when in the semi-final when she ran 7.11 seconds to place second behind Cote D’Ivoire’s Muriel Ahoure (7.06).She was however blown away by the strong field which included double sprints champions at the IAAF World outdoor Championships in Moscow, Russia last year, Shelly-Ann FraserPyrce who won the title in 6.98 seconds and Ahoure who

Elegbeleye

came second.

The men’s 4x400m relay team also failed to make it beyond the first round despite running a new 3:07.95 African Indoor Record.

Nigeria last won a medal at the 12th edition in Valencia, Spain where Olusoji Fasuba made history as the first African sprinter to win the 60m gold.

L-R: Public Affairs Manager, Edem Vindah; Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Walter Drenth; Former Nigeria international, Victor Ikpeba; Senior Brand Manager, Heineken, Ngozi Nkwoji and Corporate Affairs Adviser, Ekanem Kufre, at the formal opening of the Heineken House, Ikoyi Lagos on Tuesday

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Politics

Thursday, March 13, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Restructure Rivers PDP, group urges Mua’zu DENNIS NAKU

PORT HARCOURT

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orried by the recent defection of some members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, a youth group, the PDP Third Force

Movement, has called on the party’s National Chairman, Adamu Mua’zu to make conscious efforts aimed at restructuring the party in the state.

The group said it may be difficult for the party to contain the growing popularity of the APC if Mua’zu does not act fast to properly

position it for the 2015 general elections.

A statement released in Port Harcourt on Wednesday and signed by secretary of the group, Opriti Amachree, said that cracks within the party ranks was due to complaints by some groups within the PDP over the overbearing influence of

the Grassroots Democratic Initiative, GDI, a grassroots and mobilisation arm of the party in the state, in the affairs of the party.

There have been pockets of protests by some groups within the Rivers State PDP that the GDI appears to be monopolising the party’ s events in the state, even as

L–R: President, South-East South-South Professionals of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; Chairman, House Committee on Works, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi and Hon. Warman Ogoriba, during a visit by the professionals to Ihedioha at National Assembly in Abuja yesterday.

PDP screening c’ttee report favours consensus, zoning ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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ndications have emerged that the Senator Ndoma Egba-led committee that screened Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, aspirants in Ekiti State recommended consideration of consensus and zoning for the emergence of the party’s candidate for the June 21 governorship election.

Sources at the PDP national secretariat said the committee, in its report, which had been submitted

to President Goodluck Jonathan as the party leader, recommended that any attempt to have primaries would lead to crisis in the party, citing the protracted crisis that emanated from the March 2012 state congress.

The sources said yesterday that majority of aspirants that were screened had preference for consensus and would prefer zoning of the governorship to the South if need be.

They said that the result of the screening showed that the best three aspi-

rants were from the Southern senatorial district while the fourth and fifth were from the Central senatorial district.

This was just as cleared aspirants have been invited for a meeting in Abuja on Saturday night with the Consensus Committee of the party headed by a prominent leader of the party from the South West.

Meanwhile, the PDP in the state has postponed the primaries earlier scheduled for Saturday by a week to enable the contribution

of all members to the continuous Voter’s Registration Exercise which began in the state yesterday.

In another development, one of the governorship aspirants, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, yesterday at his country home told journalists that those canvassing the adoption of consensus arrangement to select the party’s candidate in June 21 election must ensure that the person chosen must be the one with the biggest support base in the party.

Constituents beg Akpabio over Etok’s ‘unwarranted attack’ ANIEFIOK MACAULEY UYO

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he people of Ikono/ Ini federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State yesterday tendered an apology to Governor Godswill Akpabio over what they termed unwarranted attack and insult on his person by their son, Aloysius Etok, the senator representing Akwa Ibom North West in the National Assembly A PDP chieftain in the area, Chief Otu Robert, who tendered the apology at a town hall meeting and briefing by the governor pleaded that Akpabio, being a man with a large heart should forgive Etok in all

his altercations against the governor in the media.

Etok, who was not present at the town hall meeting had on a television programme last year warned Akpabio not to undermine his office as a senator of the Federal Republic, just as he also respects the governor and his office, adding that Akpabio was intimidated by the effective representation he has given the people of the senatorial district.

However, Robert who admitted that Etok has heaped unimaginable insult on Akpabio at every opportunity, appealed to the governor to put behind the Insult and embrace the erring senator once again as his own.

Regretting that Etok’s behaviour lately has been a source of concern to the people of Ikono/Ini in general, Robert however pledged the people’s unwavering support to Akpabio’s administration.

In his remarks, Edidem Nyong Udo Obob, Paramount Ruler of Ikono commended Akpabio whom he described as a chip off the old block who has followed the good steps of his father by making his tenure in office worth-while by directly touching the people’s areas of needs.

In his response, Governor Akpabio accepted the people’s apologies on behalf of Senator Etok, stressing that that as a man

of God, he was under obligation to extend forgiveness to others irrespective of the depth of abuse.

it was being alleged that the GDI receives more funding from Abuja than the mainstream PDP in the state.

Other groups within the PDP also complained that the GDI do not take other members of the PDP in Rivers State along, when planning for events on the strength of the party, only to invite other stakeholders barely 24 hours to the event.

The statement reads: “We believe that the PDP is the only broad-based party in Nigeria that represents the interests of all segments of our state and so it is imperative that the party be made to function properly and effectively as what exists in Rivers State today is not the PDP that we have always known. It is at best an appendage of the GDI. These, indeed, portends danger to

Boko Haram: Rep tasks JTF, media on insurgents’ reportage OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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ice Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, representing Ife federal constituency, has called on the military Joint Task Force, JTF and the media to be more discreet in their reportage of the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North East.

In a press statement issued yesterday in Lagos, Makinde said the need to review the media contents being churned out on the activities of the dreaded sect is pertinent such that terrorists will not be using coverage both for publicity and recruitment tool; prevent leakages of mapped out strategies and diffuse

LG boss empowers 160 people with N1.6m OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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he chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Hon. Jide Jimoh has empowered 160 people with N1.6 million These set of people were trained on skill acquisition programmes by the council.

Jimoh disclosed this while addressing the participants at the council secretariat, adding: “We had promised that our admin-

the political future of the PDP in Rivers State.”

It pointed out that the formation of the PDP Third Force Movement was among other things, to checkmates the excesses of the GDI, a group which has the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike as its grand patron.

It stated that the GDI has taken the shine off the state PDP, which as a party has all it takes to rally massive support for President Goodluck Jonathan and ensure that he actualise his second term ambition.

The group further insisted that its call on the national leadership of the party became imperative because “we want the process to be set in motion before we enter the electioneering period for the next election.”

istration would provide money as take-off grants to assist the participants after the training.

“You can see today that we have fulfilled the promised made during your graduation ceremony. No matter how little the assistance may be, it is a good thing and you have to use it wisely.”

Jimoh added: “We have made provision of about N1.6 million with each person to receive N10,000 to support his or her business.

heightened apprehension around the country.

He averred that the renewed onslaught against the sect in the past week has been quite fruitful, hence the need to consolidate on the milestone effort of the JTF and other agencies, through a deliberate review of every strategy that will culminate in weakening the activities of the sect.

He said: “There is no doubt that terrorism must be reported. However, the way the events are framed and the extent to which it is covered are also important.

“Accordingly, in order to alter the symbiotic relationship between terrorism and the media, it is expedient that the media should be re-evaluated and ensure that its rhetoric change when covering terrorismrelated news and stories.

“Just as the security elite can de-securitised issues in international affairs through speech-acts, media can adopt the same approach and de-securitised terrorism-related acts and stories through covering those incidents just as any other story in a more general perspective.

“Achieving this may not only prevent terrorists from using media coverage as an important publicity and recruitment tool, but may also prevent the emergence of an atmosphere of fear at the public level.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Thursday, March 13, 2014

55

Gunmen kill ward head, 11 others in Katsina JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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group of armed men have killed no fewer than 12 people, including a Ward Head in separate attacks on two villages in Faskari Local

Government Area of Katsina State.

The armed men, suspected to be cattle rustlers, stormed the two villages with sophisticated weapons and fired indiscriminately at hapless residents.

It was gathered that the

gunmen first invaded Koran Mota village on Tuesday evening where they killed seven people.

An eyewitness said the armed men stormed the village in motorcycles and initially fired shots into the air before they aimed their

guns at the residents.

The gunmen thereafter moved to neighbouring Unguwar Rimi village where they shot dead a middleaged man.

Another eyewitness said that four other people were also killed by sus-

pected armed men at Mararabar Rindu in Faskari Local Government Area.

When contacted for comment on the incident, the police spokesman, Mr.

Two die in Benue auto crash HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

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ragedy was recorded on Wednesday on the busy Makurdi-Gboko Road in Benue State as a 14-seater bus collided with a Toyota corolla car.

Two of the occupants of the car died on the spot, while the rest were critically injured.

The auto crash, according to eye witnesses, occurred when the car, in a bid to avoid some pot holes, veered into the opposite lane and collided with the oncoming bus.

The witnesses said attempts by the bus driver to

A pick-up van loaded with yam tubers set ablaze during Tuesday’s attack by gunmen at Tse-Akenyi and Ukpan communities in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Moro, group condemn attack on Suswam’s convoy TORDUE SALEM AND OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

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inister of Interior Abba Moro has condemned Tuesday’s attack on the convoy of the Benue State Governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, and the reported sacking of over 100 villages in Guma Local Government Area of the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

Moro, an indigene of Benue State, described the attack as unwarranted and inhuman.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, George Udoh, The minister added that the attack was “morally condemnable, barbaric and callous.”

He said: “The obvious intention of the criminal and unpatriotic elements and forces behind the dastardly attack is to create unnecessary tension in the land ahead of the 2015 general elections as well as set back the progress the President Jonathan-led government has recorded in the fight against terrorism and all

forms of violence across the country.

“It is obvious that the attackers do not mean well for Nigeria and its unity and development.”

Moro, however, expressed confidence that the war against terrorism would be sustained as the government would not kowtow to the forces of terror.

He said: “The determination of couriers of wickedness will not overcome the will of the government and the people to secure peace and safety.

“Recent developments have further emboldened the government to redouble its efforts to nip in the bud all acts of terror and violence as security agencies will continue to receive all the support they need from the government to reverse this unfortunate and unacceptable trend that threatens the peace and stability of the people of Benue State.”

The minister, however, condoled with Suswam and families of those who lost their lives in the attack.

A group, Conference of Benue Journalists (CBJ),

also condemned the attack.

In a statement signed on Wednesday in Abuja by its chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Iffer, the group called on President Goodluck Jonathan to prevent recurrence of the incident.

The CBJ’s statement reads: “As a group, we totally condemned the senseless and dastardly act of aggression that is being perpetuated against the people of Benue State, especially with the recent reported attack on the governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, who was on his way to commiserate with victims of such attacks.

“President Goodluck Jonathan must, as a matter of urgency, not only order the deployment of security personnel, but to ensure that the situation is brought under total control before it becomes too late”.

The group warned that failure to prevent the recurrence of the attack would spark off serious security challenge for the country, considering the place and location Benue State as well as its proximity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The group said: “The continuation of the attack poses serious security situation, even for the nation’s capital, because if Benue people decide to defend themselves, the outcome can best be imagined. It is also becoming clear that either the security personnel are either not capable or not prepared to protect our people.”

The group, however, called for investigation into alleged involvement of some military personnel in some of the attacks recorded in the state, especially the violence at Jato Aka in Kwande Local Government Area where it was reported that army personnel seen conniving with perpetrators of the violence were apprehended by youths.

Aminu Abubakar, replied by sending a text message which reads thus: “Preparation for President’s visit tomorrow. Later please.”

avoid the collision failed due to the close proximity of both vehicles which were both on high speed.

Two of the occupants of the car died as others were injured.

Good samaritans, however, conveyed the dead and the injured to hospitals.

As at the filing this report, both vehicles were yet to be carried off the road.

The Benue State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Daniel Ezeala, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident, but promised to confirm the crash from Gboko Division and brief reporters in due course.

Kwara launches health insurance scheme WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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he Kwara State Gover nment on Wednesday launched a new leg of the Community Health Insurance Scheme and commissioned a remodeled General Hospital at Share in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the insurance scheme launch for the Share zone was a continuation of the programme which was inaugurated in the commercial farm town of Shonga in Edu Local Government Area in 2007.

The governor said that the scheme was an ideal example of the recommended public-private

partnership “as it involves the state government, the Dutch Health Insurance Fund, Hygeia Community Health Care and PharmAcces Foundation.”

The programme, according to the governor, involves the provision of subsidised health insurance and accessible healthcare to the rural people for as little as N300 per annum as well as the upgrading of healthcare facilities to ensure quality.

Governor Ahmed said so far, 80,000 people, mainly women and children, had subscribed to the programe in all the three senatorial districts of the state, while 15 clinics and hospitals have been upgraded to acceptable standards to participate in the programme.

Jonathan visits Katsina today JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan is expected in Katsina State this morning for a two-day official visit.

During the visit, the

President is to commission many projects, including the multi-billion naira new Government House and the six-lane Ring Road in the state capital.

He is also expected to inspect several federal and state government projects,

including the Federal University in Dutsinma, Songhai farm, Olympic-sized stadium and Orthopaedic hospital, among others.

The last time Jonathan visited Katsina State was some few days to the 2011 general elections.

WORLD RECORD

Most magicians in a magic show The most magicians in a magic show is 106 and was achieved

by Magic Circle Germany and Julius Frack (Germany) at the Landestheater Tübingen, Germany, on 4 March 2012

N150

Vol. 04 No. 807 Thursday, MARCH 13, 2014

National conference of octogenarians

G

radually Nigeria is becoming an elitist society, unless you believe it is already there.

Elite are usually privileged and out of touch with the plight of the common man. When President Goodluck Jonathan released the list of 483 delegates (four higher than the initially proposed 479), it was disturbing to find it populated mostly by politicians and heavily biased towards the North. One wonders whether the large number of politicians on the list is an attempt to lend credence to the adage that ”everyone is a politician” or just a reflection of the “Naija factor.” Furthermore, the list has a preponderance of elite, septuagenarians and octogenarians.

Some of the septuagenarian/octogenarian delegates include Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi (rtd.), Chief E.K. Clark

F

ormula One legend, Michael Schumacher, is showing “small, encouraging signs” and his family remains confident he will “pull through and will wake up”, according to a statement released yesterday.

just from Boko Haram terrorists, but other insurgency groups. We are also

Guest Columnist

Alex O. Atawa

Akpodiete

and Dr. Ahmadu Ali. Compare this to the list of delegates to the pre-independence London Constitutional Conference of mostly young and vibrant men and women.

No one should take my analysis to mean disrespect to our elders. We are tought in our African culture to respect our elders, which we must do.

However, in African culture, our elders do not go to war. We should project younger generations since they represent the future of Nigeria and we are supposed to be discussing the future of Nigerians at the planned national conference expected to begin next Monday.

Our elders are supposed to stay at home to advise and give wise counsel.

Arguably, the conference may run for hours and we do not want our representatives to fall asleep in the middle of deliberation from fatigue or other age-induced limitations. This is why the decline of participation in the Presidential Committee on National Conference by Prof. Ben Nwabueze on the reason of age is laudable. Prof.

Nwabueze, who is the chairman of The Patriots, had stated in October 2013 that “it is an appointment for a younger person, not for an old man of 83 years afflicted by ill-health.”

Almost all cultures in Nigeria recognize this factor through the use of age group system. If you have not realized it, we are at war in Nigeria. Not

IF YOU HAVE NOT REALIZED IT, WE ARE AT WAR IN NIGERIA. NOT JUST FROM BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS, BUT OTHER INSURGENCY GROUPS in economic and political war. This is a watershed moment in the history of this country. Who is fighting for the common Nigerian? Who is fighting for the younger generation, who are mostly unemployed and marginalized. Do not be deceived by the “bone” thrown to youths under the guise of miniscule representation by National Youth Associations.

We should put forth our best foot and our best brains forward. Are we saying that the common man is dispossessed of the intelligence required to represent us or himself ? In other words common sense is no longer common. We are of curse cognizant of the fact that even when the common man is there, the level of oppression may prevent his voice from being heard. At least, he will be there.

The Urhobos, the fifth largest ethnic group, are complaining that there is no Urhobo traditional ruler on board and

only one Urhobo person, Prof. G.G. Darah, is on the list. That is a matter to be taken up by Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), now that they have decided not to boycott the National Confab.

In October 2013, I wrote my third piece on the national conference titled ‘National Confab of 389 Tribes.’

In that piece, I commented as follows: “It is notable that youths (Nigerians under 40 years of age), are rarely involved in this SNC mantra. They are more interested in a better Nigeria that includes better job opportunities and security. Many of them are tired of losing their girlfriends to sugar daddies or “uncles” because of their lack of financial wherewithal. An average youth believes that those clamoring for SNC are part of the problem with the country. In fact, if it was up to them, no one born before independence should open his mouth to call for any emancipation of the country since they are the ones that put us in fetters. How can the prison warden and incarcerator be championing the call for a prison break? Unless as a commentator said, these almost octogenarians oppressors are still seeking for relevance.”

Again, the retinue of delegates was mostly elitist retirees that are likely to be averse to repositioning the country, when they participated in putting us in that position in the first place and repositioning will not benefit them.

These people are not only anachronistic in their views, they are probably out of touch with modern democratic tendencies and technology. Only God will help us because we are clearly unable and unwilling to help ourselves.

Both protagonists and antagonists are waiting for the conclusion or resolution of this mega conference.

Akpodiete is an author, lawyer, political analyst & social commentator and wrote via Profatawa@ gmail.com.

Sport Extra

Schumacher inches towards recovery Schumacher has now spent almost eleven weeks in a coma following a skiing accident on December 29 having undergone two operations to remove blood clots from his brain.

The 45-year-old remains in a waking-up process at the University of Grenoble hospital in France.

“We are, and remain, confident Michael will pull through and will wake up,” the state-

ment, issued by his agent on behalf of his family, said.

“There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know this is the time to be very patient.

“Michael has suffered se-

vere injuries and it was clear from the start this will be a long and hard fight for Michael, and we are taking this fight on together with the team of doctors, whom we fully trust.

Schumacher

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