Binder1234567890 friday, january 9, 2015

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Friday, January 9, 2015

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Vol. 1 No. 324

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N150

Kalu welcomes Jonathan, PDP leaders to enugu }9

Consortium pays $75m deposit for NITEL Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

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he preferred bidder and new owner of Nigeria Telecommunications Plc (NITEL) and

its mobile arm, Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication (MTEL), NATCOM Consortium, has made a part payment of $75.75 million for the deal.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said in

a statement yesterday in Abuja that the payment was 30 per cent of the $252.52 million bid price for the acquisition of the assets and business units of the enterprises.

The consortium is

chaired by Chairman, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Olatunde Ayeni.

The BPE in the statement by its Head of Public Communications, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

NEW TELEG

RAPH FRIDAY , JANUARY

Hallmark

Grant, top class movie hallmark of 2014, says s were Zik Zulu

28

9, 2015

Release

Iyabo Ojo out with Silenc e

27

Entertain ment

Events that shaped 2014

25

Funke Ak ind ready wit ele h TV series Jenifa

Page 25

I

t is surel y shows as an era of televi sion Akindele top actress, Funk has rolled e designed out ative as to make her moreplans she tertainmen promises better cret content enFunke, whos for her fans. e niche ifa fetche role as promises d her commendat Jenin 2015, more engaging ions, just as she plans build on prom ised her to Jenifa televi 2014 fortunes with She said, sion series.

“Just like version, the movi I charts in am poised to rule e the ries, TV 2015 with Jenifa reality show TV setalk show. and a character I actually want radio ed rest, but to take a deser the I am amaz ving years after, ed the Jenif that many ter still resonates. a’s characgo peopl Anywhere e I Jenifa in love to see that part of the seriesme. Main attrac tion of is havin ber of g a good actor numJenifa movi s in the origi nal as new faces e involved; as well She said ”. will be nonethe television series like it her creat ive mind as she brings shows. Her to bear on rious and words: “Funke the seek and dares to ask questis cuions, her talk attempt solutions show. Unde in ing gaze, r her pierc she ling perso interviews comp nalities with stren elgths

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opes were high early in 2014 for try, espec the indusially with the interventidifferent gover nment it more on funds. That inter made for the enter esting and event That was tainment indus ful cemented try. visit of with the led Actor Ibinabo Fiber the esima Peter s’ Guild AGN’s visit and wife, of Nige Lola luck Jona to President ria, Goodconferred than, where he with the was grand patro award of the In all it n of the guild. was a mix entertainm bag for emphasis ent industry the , with on its growth, especially significant sector. on the movi e COSON-IBA broadcast N war/ ban on of Shortly music Okoroji celebratio after the New Year n, a big ensued between royalty war ciety of Copyright girlfriend Nigeria, Kefe Independen COSON So- That was in Port Harcourt. followed ciation of t Broadcasters and Tiwa Savag by e and her that of led to the Nigeria, IBAN Asso- er, Teebl mana , which countries iz, artistes blacklisting of notab the space in another out gwho came in the conti by union of le Arab nent broadcast specific main Emirate. in the United strea and swep to Bayelsa State was finall stations. The dispu m rica Movit the prestigiou te PSqua s tervention y resolved by re break AMAA. e Academy awar Afthe inof Niger Commission ds, ia Copyright In what up High point , NCC. many descr as anoth of the held at ibe event Yena PSquare’s the rumoer publicity stunt onciliation goa, was the , Savage’s Paul Okoye, Tiwa reca majo ured break up winners, of veteran awar marriage r headline was In electronics July, David Thereafte in print and presi Clarion Chukwurads Darey Art r, in Febr Expectedly and social medi , clinched the o sima as dent of AGN, Fiber h uary, Aalde came , a scape a.

Black they a show sough ehugg goat up with t, and the former picke Entertainm that set ed after was country . Next wasa bar for the was agog on the rumour mill of the few d her award the Award, BET’s ent one of the stronghold control one by Niger - one Paul Okoy Best and PSqu of e, wife, ia. are twins stepped Internation who manyPeter Okoye’s Half Of A , who al Yellow Sun, when he out of bachelorh swore is than a friend It generated Act; Board head more married Censors his longt ood age that was than the bad on so much bad Then ime her. being ascri imblood as trove came the bigge Yet, insid rsial ers insist bed to st conit was repor the purp Sun, starr Half Of A Yello orted break ed that tedly orchestrate given to him gest expor ing Nigeria’s w d by the up was bigbetween t to the Unite face-o dom, Chiw back stage d Kingone hand the twins’ wives ff , But, huge budg etalu Ejiofo, on in December the external , and the musicians et movi release family on ’ as a resul e delayed hand. smiled home , he the other of an aspec t of with t of its issues the best Africa delayed conte it Amaka Igwe’s SONY NEM thereby for seven mont nt artiste; court n making E Africa swept passage/ South hs, EDITOR, pirates ENTERTAINM to feast it easier for of All Africa esy sony.neme@ne It was a AMAA ENT on.

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Best of showbiz

Scramble for votes CONT INUED

ON PAGE 28

CONT INUED

ON PAGE 28

Akindele

lJonathan, in Lagos, says Buhari created insecurity lAPC flag-bearer: President running visionless govt }2

L-R: Vice-President Namadi Sambo; President Goodluck Jonathan and National Chairman, PDP, Adamu Mu'azu, during the flag-off of Jonathan's campaign in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Travel Advisory Your guide to local and international flights 4

Major General Muhammadu Buhari (left) receiving a sword of honour from the Chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM King G. N. Giniwa during his visit to Ogoniland.

Obasanjo's ‘double game' unsettles PDP, APC lI can't die for my party, says ex-president Donald Ojogo and Kunle Olayeni

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eaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress

(APC) are worried by the double game which former President Olusegun Obasanjo seems to be

playing in the race to the general election.

Both party leaders who CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Quick Read

Editorial

Controversial primaries as prelude }19 EFCC nabs two over N500m }9 oil scam

2

News

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Jonathan, in Lagos, says Buhari created insecurity Wale Elegbede, Anule Emmanuel and Cajetan Mmuta

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he battle for the general election hots up yesterday as the two leading contenders in the presidential stanza of the poll, President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his main challenger, Major General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), intensified their campaigns.

While Jonathan was in Lagos, an APC stronghold, to rally support for

his candidacy and the ruling party, Buhari took the fight to the president's home state in Bayelsa where he told the PDP candidate's kinsmen to reject the president at the poll because he is running a visionless government that has not brought much development to the state and the country.

Earlier in Lagos, the president had accused the APC candidate of laying the foundation for Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges facing the country by neglecting the military during his tenure as a military head of state.

He also accused Bu-

hari of instigating crisis in the country in order to acquire power.

Jonathan challenged his predecessors to explain what they did with their defence budgets when they were in power.

The president said his generation had failed the country and called on the youth to take up the challenge to defend the future of the country by voting for him and the PDP. He said: “They talked about insecurity and that they will fight insecurity.

Are our Armed Forces weak? If we have problem, what is the cause?

Its equipment; they don’t have platform. Somebody

will wake up and tell young people of 23-yearold that he wants to fight insecurity; ask him when he was the head of government, did he buy one rifle for the Nigerian soldier?

“They refused to equip the military; they didn’t buy anything. No helicopter, nothing. Ask them what they did with their defence budget when they were in office. No country equips its armed forces overnight because their equipment are quite expensive. Armed forces are built over the years; the capacity is built over a period of time.

"They refused to build the capacity, they instigat-

ed crisis and now they are coming to tell us they will solve the problem."

The president defended his administration against allegations that it has not done enough to fight graft and insecurity as well as being a weak government.

“I want to dwell on three things because those who say they want to take over power from the PDP have been telling a lot of lies. They have hired people from all over the world to tell all sort of lies on the social media, painting all kinds of colour and giving me all kinds of bait they cannot defend. I will address insecurity, corrup-

Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (left) and former President Ibrahim Babangida during Kalu's visit to the Babangida in Minna, Niger State...yesterday

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

Northern elders tackle Jonathan over Obasanjo Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

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he Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has hit back at President Goodluck Jonathan, saying some sitting leaders are worse than pick pockets in motor parks.

NEF’s statement was a direct reply to President Jonathan’s assertion that some past leaders were behaving like motor park touts.

Addressing journalists in Zaria, Kaduna yesterday, NEF’s spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi noted that President Jonathan shouldn't have made such abusive statement on nation's statesmen who had fought for the unity of the country he now enjoys.

According to him, "Jon-

athan may disagree with ex-President Obasanjo; he is one of our leaders that come out to say things the way they are. You can criticise him on what he has done or what he has not been able to do.

“This is a man that has been saying things as he has seen them. It is only very recently, some wellmeaning Nigerians like him have come to agree that, the country is being put in the wrong direction under the leadership of the current administration.”

The former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) said “President Jonathan should know that, in a motor park, there are touts and there are pick-pockets.

So, if some past leaders

are touts, some sitting leaders are pick-pockets and thieves. So, you have to make your pick from that.”

Abdullahi pointed out that "pickpockets in a motor park cheat the passengers as well as the owner of the vehicles, while the touts do some works for a commission.”

Abdullahi reminded Nigerians that “this is country is complaining about corruption and the President himself has said that, stealing is a small corruption. And so, for him to even come around and refer to some people as touts, he should remember that, some of them sitting there are pickpockets and some of them are even worse than pickpockets.”

He noted that his NEF used to be criticised for calling Jonathan to order as it was variously described as partisan, sectional and divisive.

“Whenever we say something, it was misconstrued as outright opposition against the government or against the president, because we are not and we are not president at the moment.

But thank God, the truth will always be one. People across the country today seem to have agreed that, this is an incompetent government that is about to wreck or completely ruin this country, and sooner Nigerians come to grips with this, the better,” he pointed out.

Abdullahi, who was Special Adviser on Agri-

culture during Obasanjo administration, also tongue-lashed the Alhaji Tanko Yakasai led Northern Elders Council (NEC), saying the group lacks principle and they were not speaking for the generality of Northerners. He said that his forum is more focused and committed to the political wellbeing of Northerners and Nigerians in general.

"What is Northern Elders’ Council? Who are they? Who do they speak for? But, we speak for Nigerians, but more so for Northern Nigerians. We did not hide the fact that, we protect the interest of Northern Nigerians at any stage, without sacrificing the rights of other Nigerians elsewhere under any guise," he pointed out.

tion and insinuations of weak government.

“On Voters’ Cards, I have directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that all Nigerians not 99.9 per cent, must vote.

Before 2011, no Nigerian complained that he had no voter’s card, but we came and insist that every Nigerian must expressed themselves at the poll, since then voters’ cards became relevant.

“Already, some people are cloning cards so that your voters’ cards will not be relevant. Is that the kind of people you want to take over government? They want to take us back to the old days where nobody sees voters’ cards but results were announced. They want to take us back to the old days where ballot papers will be in South Africa and results will be announced in Nigeria.

“I addressed the anticorruption agencies on Wednesday and I told them that people are deceiving young Nigerians, but they must tell Nigerians what the government is doing. We have arrested more people within this period, we have done more convictions within this period but everyday they tell us lies. If they have succeeded in fighting corruption it won’t be with us today. There is no corruption in the fertilizer industry again through the electronic wallet technique that we developed.

If somebody tells you that the best way to fight corruption is to come and arrest your uncle and father and present them on television, you don’t stop corruption that way, you even encourages it that way.

“We must set up institutions, strengthen them to prevent people from even touching the money.

That is what we are working on and we are succeeding. They said the military is corrupt, but when this insecurity came up, we had nothing. So, to get this things quickly, we used vendors to get these procurements but now what we are doing is government to government.

Any new procurement for the Navy, Army, Air Force is government to government even if we have some issues. You don’t test people with money, don’t even allow them to touch it. I don’t have any enemy to fight,” he stated.

South West zonal coordinator of Jonathan campaign, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State said the dynamism of Nigeria cannot allow the leadership of a candiCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

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Travel Advisory

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

International Flight Schedule

Local FLIGHT SCHEDULE FIRST NATION AIRWAYS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06.50; 09:30; 11:45; 16:00 (SAT) 06:50; 11:45 (SUN) 11:45; 16:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 11:30; 13:40;18:30 (SAT) 09:00; 13:40 (SUN) 13:40; 18:30 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 14:45 (SAT) 16:15 (SUN) 14:45 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:50 (SAT) 18:20 (SUN) 16:50 AEROCONTRACTORS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06:50; 13:30; 16:30; 19:45 (SAT/SUN) 12:30; 16:45 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 13:00; 19:00 (SAT) 12:30 (SUN) 15:30 MEDVIEW AIRLINES LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:50; 12:00; 15:30 (SAT) 10:00; 15:00 (SUN) 17:30; 18:30 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 14:00, 15:00; 18:30 OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00 ARIK AIR LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:00; 09:00; 11:00 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00; 20:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 09:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI)07:00; 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 (SAT) 07:00; 11:00; 15:00 (SUN) 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 09:00; 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 (SAT) 07:30; 11:30; 09:00; 13:00; 17:00 (SUN) 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 ABUJA-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30; 16:50 (SAT/SUN) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30 PORT-HARCOURT-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10; 18:30 (SAT/SUN) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10 AZMAN FLIGHT SCHEDULE WEEKLY SCHEDULE Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 12:40pm Lagos-Abuja/Kano 4:00pm Abuja-Kano 5:45pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kan 10:10am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 12:40pm Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm WEEKEND SCHEDULE SATURDAY Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Sunday Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 10:30am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 1:20pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm

Air France

Destination Abuja- Paris Paris-Lagos Paris-PHC PHC-Paris Paris –Abuja Lagos –Paris

Flight No. AF 513 AF 3822 AF514 AF513 AF514 AF3849

Departure 23.55hrs 10.55hrs 11:00hrs 21:20hrs 11:00hrs 23:55hrs

Arrival 6:05hrs 17:15hrs 19:15hrs 6:05hrs 17:00hrs 6:20hrs

Amsterdam-Lagos Lagos-Amsterdam

KL587 KL588

13:15hrs 23:05hrs

20:00hrs 05:50hrs

Lagos-London London-Lagos Lagos-New York

W3 101 W3 102 W3 107 (Mon, Wed & Fri) W3 108 (Tues,Thurs & Fri) W3 103 W3 104 - (Tues, Wed &Thur) - (Tues, Wed &Thur) -

12:00hrs 21:30hrs 23:50hrs

18:30hrs 05:15hrs 05:30hrs

12:30hrs

16:00hrs

KLM

ARIK AIRLINES

New York-Lagos Lagos-Johannesburg Johannesburg-Lagos Lagos-Douala Douala-Lagos Lagos-Accra Accra-Lagos Abuja-Accra Accra-Abuja Lagos-Freetown Freetown-Lagos Lagos-Banjul Banjul-Lagos Lagos-Dakar Dakar-Lagos

10:45hrs 09:35hrs 11:10hrs 13:25hrs 07:20hrs 17:00hrs -(Tue,Thur,Sat,Sun) 08:05hrs -(Mon,Wed,Fri) 13:35hrs 18:00hrs -(Daily) 17:00hrs 06:00hrs - (Wed,Fri,Sun) 08:00hrs 17:00hrs -(Wed,Fri,Sun) 08:00hrs -(Wed,Fri,Sun) 15:20hrs -(Wed,Fri,Sun) 21:00hrs -(Mon,Tue,Thur, Fri,Sat) -(Tue,Wed, 01:00hrs Fri,Sat,Sun)

BRITISH AIRWAYS

hrs 14:44hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs

London-Lagos Lagos-London Abuja-London Abuja-London

BA075 BA074 BA 082 BA 083

17:55hrs 00:00hrs 09:00hrs 22:40hrs

11:55hrs 5:50hrs 14:35hrs 06:00hrs

Lebanon-Lagos Lagos-Lebanon

MEA 571 MEA 572

3:00hrs 14:00hrs

8:00hrs 19:00hrs

Middle East Airlines (Two flights weekly (Tues & Friday) to Lagos) EMIRATES AIRLINES

Lagos-Dubai Lagos-Dubai Dubai-Lagos Dubai-Lagos Abuja-Dubai

EK 7821 (Sun-Sat) EK 7822 EK 7831 EK 7811 EK 761

21:30hrs 14:40hrs 07:35hrs 14:20hrs 23:55hrs

07:40hrs 01:05hrs 12:50hrs 19:45hrs 10:30hrs

Lagos-Doha Flight Doha-Lagos Flight

QR 1414 (daily) QR 1415

14:55hrs 07:20hrs

23:45hrs 13:35hrs

Lagos-Atlanta Atlanta-Lagos

DL053 DL 054

22:15hrs 5:15hrs

05:32hrs 16:15hrs

Lagos-Houston Houston-Lagos

UA 143 UA 142

10:10hrs 19:10hrs

6:05hrs 15.15hrs

QATAR AIRWAYS DELTA AIRLINES

UNITED AIRLINES

ASKY AIRLINES

Destination Lome to Abuja Abuja-Lome- Kinshasa Kinshasa-Abuja Abuja-Lome Lome-Lagos Lagos-Libreville Libreville-Kinshasa Kinshasa-Libreville Libreville-Lagos Lagos-Lome Lome-Lagos Lagos-Libreville Libreville-Brazaville Brazaville-Libreville Brazzaville-Lagos Lagos-Lome

Flight No. KP 032 (Tue-Fri) KP 032 ( Tue-Fri) KP 033 (Wed-Sat) KP O33 (Wed-Sat) KP O40 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP O44 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP O45 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat)

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Departure 14:00hrs 16:30hrs 8:20hrs 10:35hrs 13:00hr 14:40hrs 17:00hrs 7:15hrs 9:35hrs 11:55hrs 13:10hrs 14:50hrs 17:10hrs 07:00hrs 09:20hrs 11:40hrs

Arrival 15:55hrs 18:15hrs 10:00hrs 12:20hrs 14:00hrs 16:30hrs 18:45hrs 08:55hrs 11:25hrs 12:45hrs 14:10hrs 16:40hrs 18:50hrs 08:40hrs 11:10hrs 12:30hrs

Lagos to Addis Ababa Addis Ababa to Lagos Abuja to Addis Ababa Addis Ababa to Abuja Enugu to Addis Ababa Addis Ababa to Enugu Kano to Addis Ababa Addis Ababa to Kano

ET900 ET901 ET910 ET911 ET930 ET931 ET930 ET931

13:15hrs 09:00hrs 13:40hrs 09:40hrs 12:00hrs 09:20hrs 14:05hrs 09:20hrs

20:25hrs 12:15hr 20:10hrs 12:20hrs 20:50hrs 11:15hrs 20:50hrs 13:20hrs

Lagos-Madrid Madrid-Lagos

IB 3337 IB 3336

22:55hrs 16:00hrs

05:25+1hrs 20:20hrs

Lagos-Casablanca Casablanca-Lagos

AT738 AT 737

06:25hrs 02:15hrs

09:55hrs 6:00hrs

Lagos-London London-Lagos

VS 652 VS 651

11:00hrs 22:40hrs

17:00hrs 4:40hrs

Lagos- Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi-Lagos

EY 0672 (Sunday) (Monday) (Saturday) EY 955

20.45hrs 09:50hrs 09.20 hrs 06:30hrs

07:00hrs 20:05hrs 20:10hrs 11:45hrs

Lagos-Cairo Cairo-Lagos

MS 876 MS 875

14:25hrs 08:30hrs

22:20hrs 13:30hrs

Lagos-Nairobi Nairobi-Lagos

KQ 533 KQ 534

12:30hrs 18:00hrs

19:35hrs 23:45hrs

Lagos-Kigali

AWB 201 11:15hrs (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) AWB 202 14:00hrs (Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun)

16:45hrs

332 333

06:00hrs 21:20hrs

IBERIA

air maroc

VIRGIN ATLANTIC ETIHAD AIRWAYS

EGYPT AIR

KENYA AIRWAYS RwandAir

Kigali-Lagos

Turkish Airlines

Lagos-Istanbul Nairobi-Lagos

22:35hrs 15:10hrs

17:30hrs

ASKY Airlines international travel tips Earning Miles on ASKY Airlines ASKY is a Lome -Togo based airline that provides an extensive route network within West Africa. The airline provides excellent connections with Ethiopian Airlines flights serving cities in West Africa. Ethiopian Airlines and ASKY provide an end-to-end service for frequent flyers enrolled in ShebaMiles.

The airlines jointly provide full coverage of Africa providing full mile earning opportunity for a frequent flyer.

News

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

5

AMCON to sell Keystone Bank after elections Sunday Ojeme

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he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has disclosed that the process of selling the last of the bridged banks, Keystone Bank Limited, will be completed this year.

Keystone is the biggest of the three nationalised banks after a 2009 financial crisis.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of AMCON, Mustafa Chike-Obi, the process of sale will commence in the second quarter of the year after the February general election.

He said: “We chose to start in the second quarter to allow for elections to come and go. By that time everything has returned to normal.”

He reaffirmed that the sale would be transparent and that AMCON would call for bids with a selection process lasting three to four months and ending this year.

AMCON was set up in 2010 to stabilise Nigeria’s banking industry and buy bad loans after a debt crisis in 2009.

The bridge banks taken over by AMCON include Enterprise Bank Limited,

which assumed the assets of Spring Bank, Keystone Bank Limited took over assets of Bank PHB while Mainstreet Bank Limited assumed the assets of Afribank.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had granted banking licences to the three banks and guaranteed their inter-bank obligations until December 31, 2011 to ensure continued operations and customers’ confidence.

Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank were among the 10 banks bailed out by the CBN in 2009 with the injection of N620 billion capital.

As of December 2012, Keystone’s total assets were valued at $1.916 billion (N307.5 billion), with shareholders' equity valued at about $213.3 million (N34.23 billion).

The bank together with its onshore and offshore subsidiaries, constitute the Keystone Bank Group.

The bank's subsidiaries include Global Bank Liberia - Monrovia, Liberia; Orient Bank, Kampala, Uganda; Nigeria Keystone Bank (Gambia) Limited, Banjul, Gambia Last year, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Philip Ikeazor, said the bank had

returned to profitability having increased its active customer-base to two million while divesting from its foreign subsidiaries.

He said its foreign businesses in Uganda, Sierra Leone and Liberia were to

be sold because of the bad loans on their books.

According to Ikeazor, the bank’s cost-saving measures had resulted in the reduction of operating expenses, even as shareholders’ funds still remain in

excess of N38 billion.

“We have grown our deposit liabilities, which is a mark of confidence from the public that the bank is growing and making modest progress,” he stated.

Keystone Bank, accord-

ing to the managing director, has also grown its loan portfolio and supported seven major agricultural transactions ranging from rice production and its value chains to manufacturing.

L-R: Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III and Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Haliru Momoh, at the inauguration of the Auchi-Jattu-Afashio six-lane dual carriageway in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state…yesterday.

I can't die for my party, says Obasanjo CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

have been courting the former president for support, according to sources, are concerned that they do not know on whose side Obasanjo is.

The former president, a member of the ruling party, has been at loggerheads with the PDP in recent time, leading to his constant criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Obasanjo has also, in his autobiography, My Watch', released recently, attacked APC leaders such as the party's presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu.

In fact, he said yesterday in Abuja that he could not sacrifice his life for the party as he was more interested in what would benefit Nigeria than the ruling party.

It was learnt that though the two political parties feigned ignorance and being unperturbed by Obasanjo’s verbal assaults on individuals within the parties, the development, according to a chieftain of the APC, is ‘pregnant with an unclear agenda’.

A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) also confided in New Telegraph that Obasanjo’s recent attacks on Jonathan were really ‘devastating, but avoidable.’

According to the APC chieftain, the party had got commitments from Obasanjo that he would openly endorse whoever was picked as presidential candidate provided it was not Atiku.

“Honestly, we do not know what Baba is up to; this is a man who had agreed to support our candidate as soon as he emerged provided it was not Atiku. But for almost three weeks now, he has refused to grant us audience to meet with him as planned, to present General Buhari to him.

“What he has been doing all along is to discredit some of our national leaders and the party at private meetings with his associates even when it is clear that he is not supporting President Jonathan’s second term bid.

“For now, no one can fathom what he has in mind because though we enjoy the way he is bashing Jonathan, we do not think it is wise for us to

feel at home with Baba because his agenda is only open and clear to him and no one else,” he said.

But National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has dispelled the report that the APC will present its presidential candidate to Obasanjo.

“Present General Buhari to Obasanjo for what?

I am not aware of that,” he said in a response to inquiries.

But the PDP BoT member said though Obasanjo’s constant attack on Jonathan was avoidable; the development was a disturbing signal, especially when the former leader was yet to dump the PDP. “The former president has said he is still a member of the PDP, but has continued to throw punches in the media; this is a thing he would not have allowed while he was president.

“Some of us know this ugly development is a thing that could have been avoided if it was well-managed by those in the presidency, but at this stage that the man is still openly criticising, the implications on the party are grave because whether we like it or not, a former

president commands respect in some aspects of the polity.

“Unless we are deceiving ourselves, the recent public condemnation of President Jonathan by the former president on the economy is not a thing to be overlooked; we either go for an amicable settlement of the differences between the two or presidential handlers should know what to do to make him irrelevant because the man goes about this act calls for seriousness on the part of government and the PDP,” he said.

Obasanjo, had on Monday, accused the president of squandering the fat foreign reserves his administration and that of his predecessor, the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, left behind.

But the Federal Ministry of Finance has denied the allegation, saying the depletion of the foreign reserves was due to factors beyond the Federal Government.

However, Obasanjo yesterday said he could not sacrifice his life for the PDP as he was more interested in protecting Nigeria's interest than that of the ruling party.

He spoke while receiving the presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Martins Onovo, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abeokuta.

The ex-president also extolled the virtues of the late frontline human rights activist and founder of the NCP, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, describing him as a "genuine social critic."

According to Obasanjo, Nigeria is bigger than any individual or political party.

He said though he remained a card-carrying member of PDP, he would not place the interest of the party above national interest.

"Let me make my own position clear: I am a card-carrying member of PDP because that is the party on which platform I became the president of this country. My first pre-occupation is what is best for Nigeria; Nigeria first, party second and any other thing third.

"Nigeria first means I'll not sacrifice anything for the interest of Nigeria and I can sacrifice my own life for the in-

terest of Nigeria; I can't sacrifice my life for the interest of a party. I'll sacrifice my life for the interest of Nigeria," he stated According to him, one does not necessarily have to be in government before serving the people.

He said: "My belief in this circumstance is that if you are in government and you are doing what is right and you are giving good governance, you can do a lot of things to a lot of people.

"But you don't have to necessarily be in government to serve your people; you can still do it.

The founder of your party (Fawehinmi) was never in any government and yet, he served the people of this country."

Making a veiled reference to his critics who often accused him of talking too much about the state of the nation, Obasanjo said all Nigerians are stakeholders and they must speak up whenever things appear to be going wrong.

Earlier, Onovo had commended Obasanjo for the various achievements recorded under his eightyear administration.

6

News

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari: President running visionless government CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

date that has less down a university degree.

He said: "I stand on firm ground to state categorically that hardly is there any home in Lagos and indeed South-West that cannot boast of 10th generation school certificate holders. This is why, among others, we will not settle for a president with less than a university degree."

Mimiko pointed out that Jonathan administration is proactively investing in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and providing productive engagement for the nation's young ones in agriculture, ICT and the creative industry.

Notable among those present at the event were Senate President David Mark, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, PDP serving governors and ministers among others.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck has dismissed the purported support of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) for Buhari in the February 14 election.

The president in a

statement by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the endorsement of Buhari was rather coming from the renegade faction of the MEND headed by the convicted terrorist, Henry Okah.

He advised Buhari not to place any stock on his purported endorsement by the renegade faction of MEND which is led by a convicted and unrepentant terrorist with whom no leader who truly means well for Nigeria should be associated.

According to Jonathan, "The vituperations against President Jonathan in the MEND statement endorsing General Buhari are mischievous, baseless and deliberately styled to denigrate the good works of the President.

"It is well known that President Jonathan played a significant role in ending the militancy and insurgency in the Niger Delta.

"All patriotic and right-

thinking Nigerians must consider an endorsement from a convicted criminal and his group who harbour evil intentions against the unity and progress of their country as a poisoned chalice.”

The president said he would never have accepted such an endorsement from terrorists and renegades.

Speaking at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa, Buhari called on the president’s kinsmen to vote out the PDP in the February elections.

The APC presidential candidate stated that the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta have suffered neglect under the PDP government that lacks vision.

He said Nigerians have not fared better under Jonathan.

He pledged to revamp the agricultural and power sectors, if elected.

He was accompanied by the National Chair-

man of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva; Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and other chieftains of APC. Buhari noted that Bayelsa was blessed with suitable climate and fertile land for large scale agriculture which could be harnessed to drive economic development.

He said that power was critical to unlock the potential of Nigerian entrepreneurs and would be a cardinal part of his economic programme.

Buhari also promised to embark on skills acquisition and empowerment schemes for unemployed youths in the state.

On corruption, the former Head of State said that his administration would compel anyone caught stealing public fund to return it.

He urged registered voters in the state to collect their permanent voters’ cards before the Feb-

ruary 14 general election.

Earlier, Governor Amaechi expressed satisfaction at the turnout of loyalists of the party at the rally, and expressed optimism that the party would be victorious in the elections.

Amaechi urged the people to protect their votes by voting for candidates that would improve their wellbeing.

In Benin, the Edo State capital, APC presidential running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said the party would create employment opportunities for 20, 000 youths in each state in the first year of its government.

Osinbajo stated this during an interactive session with stakeholders and people of Edo State organised by the state government at the Imaguero College in Benin City.

He said: “The first thing to note is that in our manifesto, before writing any policy, we ask, 'how many jobs will this produce? As

the first tier of relief, the APC has agreed that the states, with the backing of the Federal Government, will employ 20,000 young people.”

Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, in his remarks, lashed at President Jonathan for failing to address basic issues affecting the country.

Fashola said: “He (Jonathan) was blaming all those who ruled before him and forgot that he has ruled for six years. Good politics is about good policies. If the kitchen is too hot as it is becoming obvious, he must get out of the kitchen. This election is going to be about the job approval after six years; it is not about his age or where he comes from. Are you happy with what he has done in six years?”

The state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said the interactive session was aimed at allowing the people of the state and the electorate to hear from the candidates.

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

22oC

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Mostly Sunny

ABUJA

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Sunny

PORT HARCOURT

27o C 18oC Thunder Storms

KANO

28oC

10oC

Sunny

ENUGU

36oC

20oC

Sunny

IBADAN

20oC

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Rain Showers

CALABAR

31o C 23oC Thunder Storms

MAIDUGURI

ONITSHA

29oC 12oC Sunny

36oC

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Mostly Sunny

L-R: Director-General, Sifija Group, Mr. Amir Ben Yahmed; Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; former CNN anchor, Mrs. Zain Verjee; Mr. O’Neill; Chairman, Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu; Senior Special Adviser to CEO, NEPAD, Prof. Tandeka Nkiwane and Economist Global Editor, Mr. Mathew Bishop, during a workshop on Africa Capitalism organised by the Elumelu Foundation in Abuja…on Wednesday.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Consortium pays $75m deposit for NITEL sale CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

payment was in with the offer letter to the preferred bidder which mandated NATCOM to make an initial deposit of 30 per cent of the bid price not later than 14 days on receipt of the offer letter.

"With the payment of the 30 per cent, NATCOM is expected to pay the balance of 70 per cent of the bid price within 90 days. It is therefore imperative to inform creditors that disbursements to them will be considered only after full payment has been re-

ceived", it said.

The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) at its meeting of February 27, 2012, had approved the privatisation of NITEL and MTEL through “guided liquidation”.

The strategy was adopted by the NCP after due consideration of other options and in the light of the previous failed attempts to privatise NITEL and MTEL through Strategic Core Investor Sale and Negotiated Sale strategies and the huge liabilities of creditors to the tune of

over N300 billion.

Under the guided liquidation strategy, all the core assets and business undertaking of NITEL and MTEL were to be sold as single or multiple lots to a qualified bidder by the liquidator under the general guidance of the NCP. The bidder that acquires the assets of NITEL and MTEL will pledge to continue to operate the assets to provide telecoms services. This is as against the traditional liquidation of an enterprise by asset stripping.

Consequently, advertisements for submission of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from prospective bidders for the acquisition of the assets and business undertaking of NITEL and MTEL were placed in both local and international newspapers by the liquidator. At the closing date on June 30, 2014, 17 organisations and consortia submitted EOIs; and only two satisfactorily met the stipulated criteria for prequalification.

On September 18, 2014, the two successful ap-

plicants, NATCOM Consortium and NETTAG Consortium, that met the minimum pass mark of 75 per cent were pre-qualified and issued the Request for Proposals (RFP) and allowed to proceed to data room and physical due diligence stage prior to preparation and submission of their technical and financial proposals.

NATCOM Consortium and NETTAG Consortium, submitted their technical and financial bids before the expiry of the November 7, 2014 deadline.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

News

NATIONAL

Buhari'll win in 28 states in first ballot, says Ngige Tony Okafor AWKA

S

enator Chris Ngige, representing Anambra central district, who was recently appointed the South East Coordinator of General Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organistion, yesterday said his principal will sweep the February 14 presidential election in 28 states of the federation in first ballot.

Ngige, who spoke with some journalists in Awka to intimate them with the campaign pro-

grammes of Buhari in the zone, said he arrived at his conclusion based on the research feedback obtained from those commissioned by his party , the All Progressives Congress (APC) and even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in that respect , adding that some of such researchers were independent foreign based firms.

He maintained that the entire former northern region and south west geo-political zone have embraced what he called the new wind of change blowing across the coun-

try.

He enjoined Ndigbo to wake up from their political docility and naivety to join in the mass movement of change.

He said it was because of the indifference of Ndigbo to embrace the APC that robbed them the opportunity of producing the Vice Presidential candidate of the party, which he said, was ceded to the South West because of their strong support base of the party in the six states of the area.

He counselled the Igbo to stop putting all their eggs in one basket

politically, stressing that he saw the political hopelessness of the Igbo in the country coming long ago and that was why he and the Imo State Governor , Rochas Okorocha embarked on aggressive enlightenment of the Igbo , including the Ohanaeze, before now to educate them on why they should embrace the APC. He said from the reality of the political equation of the country, the South East had lost it, adding however, that Buhari was conscious of this development and

would ensure that the Igbo would be compensated as appropriate if voted to power in next month’s polls.

He said the Buhari campaigns would be flagged off in the South East today, starting with Ebonyi and Abia states while Anambra and Enugu states would host Buhari on Saturday at Ekwueme and Okpara squares in Awka and Enugu , respectively.

He maintained that the grand finale of the GMB campaign would hold in Owerri , Imo State on Monday , next week.

6%

The percentage of men above 60 years in Ghana in 2012.

Source: Un.org

75.4%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Japan in 2008.

Source: Itu.int

77

The life expectancy of women at birth in Bulgaria in 2010-2015.

Source: Un.org

2.23

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of Mauritania in 2008.

Source: Itu.int

PREDICTION

Ruling party may not form majority of National Assembly in next election, says ex-gov

Dan Atori MINNA

F

ormer Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu yesterday predicted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may win the Presidential elections in the general elections, but that it may not form majority

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Administrative Officer 1, Mr Bawa Kagara (third left) and Senior Executive Officer, Mrs Evelyn Nicholas (middle), distributing Permanent Voter's Cards (PVC) to prospective voters at the INEC office in Abuja …yesterday

Kalu visits IBB, says 'PDP is its own problem' of the National Assembly and governments in some states.

Kalu made this prediction while speaking to newsmen in Minna after paying a visit to former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

According to him: "PDP is the problem of itself but we will be able to sort things out. The nation will never be the same, though PDP will form the national government, they will not control the National Assembly.

"It is going to be a

problem delivering PDP in some states, but President Jonathan must win in Abia and other parts of the country."

The former governor, who said he was in the state to greet the former military leader, said they discussed about the state of the nation, governance, PDP and the progress of the country, adding that Babangida is happy that the nation is making progress.

He lamented that the polity is being heated strongly, calling on politicians to stop heating the

polity.

He said: "The polity is being heated strongly and politicians need to calm down and stop heating the polity of the country. Where people come out openly to abuse themselves is out of fashion. I hope those contesting elections should be patient with Nigeria."

Expressing concerns over the insurgency in the nation, the former governor, who is also a businessman, lamented that the problem in the north was affecting the

African economy still under colonial hangover — MD BoI Chukwu David and Amadi Nnamdi

P

olitical leaders in Africa have been charged to chart a new course for the economies of their respective countries and free Africa from colonial hangover.

Managing Director, Bank of Industry( BoI),

Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa gave the charge yesterday when he featured as a guest of AFRICAPITALISM, a forum organized by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Abuja.

Olaoluwa expressed dismay that several years after gaining independence, many African countries were still under the influence of their

European Colonial masters.

He said that over the decades, a lot of economic policies and programmes adopted by African countries had their roots in Europe.

This situation, he said, was not good enough, adding that it was wrong to allow these external influences to continue in

Africa. While giving an insight into the benefits of looking inwards in terms of economic policies, Olaoluwa said that recently, the Federal Government articulated an industrial plan which was consistent with the ECA report and the government was able to identify key sectors for driving industrialization in Nigeria.

business environment in the country, adding that everyone should be concerned about the insecurity in the nation.

Accordingly, he said: "The country has insurgency problem and we should work collectively to solve it. The problem in the north is greatly affecting business in Nigeria. All Nigerians should be concerned about this."

He, however, supported President Jonathan's call to some senior statesmen in the country to respect themselves.

7

Jonathan’s tears on Nigeria divisiveness insincere, says APC Johnchuks Onuanyim ABUJA

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday stated that President Goodluck Jonathan's tears on the fact that Nigeria has become more divided along religious and ethnic lines today than at any time in its history was insincere.

In a statement by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said, ''Mr. President, there is no point being sanctimonious about an issue for which you bear the most responsibility. You are the most divisive leader in the history of Nigeria, having ceaselessly exploited the country's fault lines for political gains".

It said Jonathan was the first leader to have turned the house of worship to a political arena, using the pulpit to make political and policy statements and making a show of what should ordinarily be a very personal religious affair.

APC said the President's belated lamentation was aimed at pulling the wool over the eyes of Nigerians with a view to extracting undeserved political gains, especially a few weeks before next month's elections. ''Where was President Jonathan when his spokespersons and party members sought to pit Christians against Muslims by labelling the country's main opposition party, the APC, as an Islamic Party?

Where was President Jonathan when his spokespersons and party members sought to portray all adherents of a particular faith as terrorists? Not once did this President call his loquacious and sycophantic supporters to order when they were denigrating people of other tribes, calling them unprintable names.

Not once did he call his supporters to order when they were threatening to bring the country down if he is not re-elected."

CSOs decry security agencies' partiality Johnchuks Onuanyim ABUJA

C

ivil Society Organisations, under the aegis of "Say No Campaign", yesterday decried what it called high level of partiality of the security agencies.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Conveners of the Organizations, who al-

leged that the security agencies favour the incumbent government, stated that if such actions of the agencies remain unchecked, it would have significant impact on the outcome of the general elections.

However, the group noted that it would launch a nationwide campaign against electoral impunity and for mandate protection.

8

News

NATIONAL

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

No signs Nigeria’ll break-up in 2015, says US

I

n what may seem a positive development, the United States government has said that there were no signs that Nigeria would break up in 2015.

Although, it said it acknowledges the country’s challenges, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, said that the problems facing Nigeria were surmountable.

The American envoy said Nigerians should

“throw out of the window” the idea from “some think-tank or somebody outside the (US) government” stating that Nigeria would fall apart in 2015.

He spoke in Lagos yesterday at an interactive session with journalists on the recent donation of a US naval ship, christened NNS Okpabana, to the Nigerian Navy.

He said, “I have been plagued by the question (on Nigeria’s possible disintegration in 2015)

and I have gone back to look and I can’t find any government report that said Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. Maybe some think-tank or somebody outside the government said it; I don’t know.

“But in my opinion as the US Ambassador to this country, I am not worried in the least that Nigeria is going to disintegrate in 2015. Regardless of what someone may have said, the question is that we are now here in

2015: Do we see signs that Nigeria is going to disintegrate or fall apart or something? I don’t know what you think. But I don’t see those signs.

“But I see signs of growth, optimism and I see that to minimise the challenges that you have, in this life, you have to keep on keeping on and I think the future is quite bright.”

Entwistle added that if the Federal Government did what would need to be done in the coming years,

especially as pertaining to “security, corruption and all of these things,” the future of Nigeria would be “very bright.”

He debunked the insinuation that the President Barack Obama administration has imposed “an arms embargo” on Nigeria following the reported refusal of the American government to sell Cobra helicopters to the Federal Government to prosecute the ongoing war against terrorism.

L-R: National Financial Secretary, Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Comrade Rebbeca Orisatoberu; General Secretary, Comrade Ogbonna Chimela and National President, Comrade Felix Faniran, at a news conference on the on-going strike by the union and Joint Health Staff Union in Ibadan …yesterday. PHOTO-NAN

22 gov aspirants threaten to dump PDP in Akwa Ibom Chukwu David Abuja

T

he problem of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP tends to be magnified as the 22 aggrieved governorship aspirants from Akwa-Ibom State yesterday in Abuja threatened to dump the party for the opposition.

That is if the leadership of the party failed to address their grievances.

The aggrieved aspirants, under the aegis of G22, made the threat when they visited the members of the Akwa-Ibom Senate Caucus at the National Assembly Complex, to present their grievances and implore the federal legislators to help take the matter to President Goodluck Jonathan for his urgent intervention.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the leader of the team and impeached Deputy Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Mr. Nsima Ekere, told the caucus that the aggrieved aspirants had tabled

their rejection of the governorship primaries to the leadership of the PDP, but regretted that 31 days after, no attention was given to them.

He said that the exercise was marred by irregularities, alleging that democratic process was put to abeyance while Governor Godswill Akpabio applied all undemocratic means to install his choice candidate, Mr. Emmanuel Udom.

His words: “Members of the G22 were aware of who the real delegates were. There were separate delegates for the three various elections conducted in the state; the delegates’ lists were not published. Before the day of any election, we were not sure of the delegates and as such, could not campaign to them. Also, even though we did not know them till that day when they were announced on the radio, they were closely monitored to ensure they adhered to instruc-

tions given to them. Because of that, statutory delegates were stopped on the ground that they might not be loyal.

“The delegates came in without knowing who the contestants were. We are saying it was against the spirit of fair play and we will not accept it. We came to Abuja and made 22 separate appeals to the Appeal Panel, but until now, the Panel has not taken any action nor have we heard from the National Working Committee of the PDP on the appeal.

“The reason we are worried is that we are loyal members and we are concerned that the development will have impact on the outcome of the general elections.

Where there is no justice and equity, it is going to be garbage in, garbage out. We want PDP to present a credible candidate that will be able to win the party and not that who thinks he has the resources to subvert elections.

Saraki applauds Shell on compensation Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T

he Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki yesterday expressed support for the decision by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to compensate the Bodo Community in Ogoniland, over two oil spill incidents in the area in 2008.

A statement by the senator’s media aide, Bankole Omishore, quoted him as however, expressing disappointment that the beneficiary community had to approach a court outside the nation to get its rights while there was an existing national government that has only failed in its duties.

The statement quoted Saraki thus: “As commendable as these recent developments are, it is also crucial to point out the fact that without clearcut and sustainable policies in place, such compensations might only be one-off occurrences.

“What Nigeria needs right now to operate in line with international best practices is a comprehensive law that works to ensure that oil-spill compensations are not arbitrary, but equitable for all affected parties.”

DSS owes Nigerians explanation on APC data center –Fashola Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

G

overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday blasted operatives of the Directorate of State Security (DSS) for exposing their incompetence and abuse of the law in handling the matter of the data centre of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

He also expressed deep concerns over the allegation by the DSS officials that the party registered underaged

persons as voters, which was the fallout of their findings, describing it as one that was carried out at an amateurish level.

Fashola spoke shortly after the presentation of a book: Judicial Integrity: Legal Essays and Materials in honour of Justice S.O. Uwafio, who recently retired from the nation’s Supreme Court and as part of his 80th birthday anniversary celebration held at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, Benin, Edo State capital.

That was as stakehold-

ers, members of the bar and bench, friends and associates of the jurist poured encomiums on his sterling contributions and accomplishments as a Supreme Court Judge aimed at strengthening the country’s judicial system.

The DSS had accused the APC of cloning the INEC’s permanent voters cards (PVCs) and in the process allegedly registered under aged persons and foreigners as voters with the intention of using them for next month’s general elections.

No foreigner will vote in general election –Adamawa NIS Boss Ibrahim Abdul Yola

T

he Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS), Adamawa State Command, Mr. Ubi Ikpi Nkanu, has disclosed that his organization wasworking round the clock to ensure that foreigners do not partake in the next general election in the state.

Nkanu made the disclosure during an interactive session with newsmen in his office, assuring Nigerians that his organization was working with sister security organizations to ensure that Nigerian borders are adequately manned with a view to ensuring that foreigners did not infiltrate the borders especially during elections.

He urged the staff

of the organization to carry out their job with high level of professionalism and dedication in other to ensure that the country’s borders were adequately manned, adding that any officer who assisted foreigners to vote will be shown the way out of the job.

“We will fire any staff that conspires to allow foreigners to vote in the next election,” he said.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Kalu welcomes Jonathan, PDP leaders to Enugu Temitope Ogunbanke

A

s the presidential campaign train of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hits the South East today, the former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has welcomed President Goodluck Jonathan and the party’s leaders to Enugu State.

Kalu in a statement issued yesterday, said the campaign will afford President Jonathan and the PDP the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the people of Enugu State and the South-East in general ahead of next month’s election.

The former governor, who pledged his support to the reelection bid of President Jonathan, also assured the president and the PDP, the South East support in the February 14 presidential election for him to be re-elected.

He said President Jonathan-led PDP administration has performed very well and therefore should be allowed to serve for another term, adding that the accomplishments of Jonathan’s transformation agenda is visible in all sectors of the Nigerian economy.

APC seeks arrest of Edo PDP chair for arson

Emmanuel Onani and Ahmed Miringa

T

he Federal Government yesterday assured the nation that the Nigerian military will soon recapture Baga and other towns in Borno State that have remained under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The disclosure was made by the Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr. Mike Omeri.

Omeri, who is the

Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), however, refused to disclose new strategies being adopted by the military to recapture the towns.

According to him, “As you are aware, full details of military operations cannot be discussed until an appropriate time.”

The reassurance came on the heels of reports that hundreds of people were killed in last Saturday’s attack on the town by the insurgents.

Baga is a town in Kukawa Local Government area of Borno State, the worst by the crisis since the last two years.

Speaking on renewed support by Nigerians yesterday, Omeri said: “We believe the unity of purpose so far exhibited by Nigerians in the fight against insurgency must be sustained by all irrespective of political persuasions, religious beliefs and ideological positions.

“The path of patriotism and honour is not

to wait until we get into government before we can contribute to save the precious lives of our citizens,” he said.

Meanwhile, the District Head of Baga, Alhaji Baba Abba Hassan, told newsmen on phone that the corpses of those killed are still littering the streets and bushes of the town and there is no way to bury them.

Though, he confirmed that there has been no fresh attack on the town as widely speculated by some foreign media, he,

however, said that the figure of 2, 000 people killed being rumoured, is outrageous, saying the actual figure cannot be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

Hassan said most of those killed are women and children as the insurgents pursued them into the bushes and killed them.

The district head said from the information they received, the insurgents came from the Sambisa Forest and Gwoza, to attack the town.

L-R: Chairman AIT, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi; Director-General, NTA, Mr. Sola Omole and Executive Secretary, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Mr. Olusegun Olaleye, at the board meeting of Election Monitoring Group in Abuja …yesterday

DSS: No discontent in our service

L

Oluwatosin Omoniyi

eadership of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State yesterday asked the Commissioner of Police in the state to arrest the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dan Orbih and other leaders of the party for sponsoring arson. That is following the demolition saga between the state government and authorities of the University of Benin in the state.

The APC chairman, Anselm Ojezua, alleged that Orbih and others had mobilized a faction of the Students Union Government of the University of Benin to carry out the ugly act, which led to the burning of state owned Comrade Bus and another one smashed during a protest by the students.

Ojezua, in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin, the state capital, said, “We are aware that the chairman of the PDP, Mr Dan Orbih and some leaders of the party sponsored a faction of the Students Union Government to commit arson by setting fire to a property belonging to Edo State government.

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Troops’ll soon retake Baga, others –FG

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

News

NATIONAL

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he Department of the State Security, DSS, yesterday said there was no disaffection among its personnel over any Christmas gift.

The DSS, through its State Director of Service, SDS, Lagos Command, Ben Olayi, said that report of discontent within its personnel as reported

previously in a national Daily was not true. He also refuted the allegation that the Director General of the service, Mr. Ita Ekpeyong made available N10M to his National Directors and refused to give due Christmas gifts to other staff.

Olayi told New Telegraph that it was a blatant lie as there was never such a thing. “It is

not true. It is all lies and figment imagination of the reporter,” he said.

He explained that to the best of his knowledge, the service personnel are not complaining nor grumbling and debunked the N10m allegations.

“No director was given a dime as Christmas package nor did the DG visit Cross River State,” he said.

Continuing, he said

that, “as a matter of fact, the DG has never visited Cross Rivers for Christmas since he assumed office.”

Olayi further explained that the DG normally gives incentive during the yuletide period according to staff rank. He said it was not as if it is an institutionalised thing but the incentive to boost the morale of the staff.

EFCC nabs two over N500m oil scam Emmanuel Onani Abuja

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested two suspects over their alleged involvement in fake crude oil dealings.

A highly-placed source at the Commission, who spoke with New Telegraph yesterday, said the suspects, who run a syndicate, had promised to supply two million barrels of "Bonny Light Crude Oil." The victim, whose identity was not disclosed, had

made a payment of N119 million into the suspects' accounts, before realising that the oil supply documents purportedly obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were fake.

Operatives of the antigraft agency are also investigating the suspects for defrauding a Kenyan oil dealer of over N100 million.

They were said to have adopted the same scheme, in duping their unsuspecting victim.

The reliable source further disclosed that the alleged fraudsters, who are

currently under the custody of the EFCC, also duped other victims of millions of naira, bringing the total amount to N500 million.

According to the source, "The commission moved against the syndicate following complainants by victims, who have been fleeced by the alleged fraudsters who operate, using different pseudo names and companies.

"In another case, members of the syndicate also allegedly obtained the sum of N300,000 from another victim, a Kenyan citizen resident in Germany.

"The syndicate had al-

legedly sold the same dummy of supplying him two million barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil, using the same modus operandi.

"The anti-corruption commission is investigating the notorious syndicate over an alleged case of obtaining the sum of N102.8 million from another complainant under the pretence of supplying him two million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil."

Several efforts to reach the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, did not yield result, as his phone line did not connect.

Boko Haram: 138 children yet to find parents in Adamawa Ibrahim Abdul Yola

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t least 138 children are yet to reconnect with their parents following attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa State, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.

The children are now in the five designated Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps spread across Yola, the state capital.

The coordinating officer of the camps, Alhaji Sa'ad Bello, who dropped the hint, said so far only seven of the children had been linked with their parents or relations.

"As I am talking to you, we have about 138 unaccompanied children as at last Friday.

So far we have reunited seven children with their relations with the help of the International Committee for Red Cross and Red Crescent," Bello said.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

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Metro Nasarawa sex workers to form association

Caleb Onwe Abuja

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ex workers operating in Nasarawa State have vowed to form a formidable group to press for legalisation of their trade and also resist any form of harassment, either from the government or individuals.

The leader of the group, popularly known as Lady Gaga, said her members were prepared to do anything within the ambit of the law to protect their means of livelihood.

She said: “Why will people leave their problems and focus on other people who are struggling for survival? If we chose to use what we have to get what we want, is it anybody’s business?”

According to Lady Gaga, the association will liaise with relevant organisations to provide insurance for all registered members.

She added that those who might want to acquire additional skills, the group would guide them and ensure that all forms of stigmatisation and ill treatment against their trade were eliminated.

According to her, sex work is like any other profession that people are into.

She wondered why people would chose to look at sex workers as those engaging in illegal thing.

While responding to the question why Zimbabwe, a red light district in Nasarawa State, is like a safe haven for sex workers, she said that Abuja used to be their operational stronghold until the emergence of Nasir el-Rufia, the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who demolished most of the suburbs and also placed “unnecessary restrictions” on them.

Doctor accused of killing mother, cutting baby during Caesarean

Camillus Nnaji and Shola Adefuwa

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pregnant woman, Mrs Funkemi Hunpe, has died as a result of alleged negligence by an Indian doctor, Dr. M. B. Jayaram, while being delivered of her baby.

The pregnant woman was undergoing a caesarean session at Prema Sai Hospital, Agege, Lagos, when she gave up the ghost.

The widower, Mr Semako Hunpe, said the medical personnel at the hospital were responsible for the death of his wife.

He also said that they inflicted cuts on his baby, Oluwasetemi Mary Hunpe, while she was being delivered.

Hunpe alleged that after his wife had died, the hospital called a pastor to pray for her, hoping to resuscitate her.

He was also angry that throughout his wife’s prolonged labour, Jayaram did not bother to join the nurses in the labour room until it was too late.

In a suit filed by his lawyer, Mr Kayode Adaramoye, at an Ikeja High Court, the widower alleged that the doctor’s professional misconduct led to his wife’s death. The case is yet to be heard.

But Hunpe averred that his wife consulted Jayaram on February 17, for the purpose of ante-natal services.

He added that when his wife began to notice pre-delivery signs on February 24, she went to the hospital and was, “subsequently placed on admission and given injections, sequel to which she was ordered to engage in labour exercise for several hours without medical attention from available mid-

T FEATURES Editor

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

wives and auxiliary nurses”.

Hunpe noted that he was invited into the labour room after several hours of “intense labour without adequate care”.

He was asked to encourage his wife, ‘to push out,’ as she appeared exhausted. In the labour room, Hunpe alleged he saw a nurse apply Aboniki (a balm) on his wife.

The nurse was allegedly rubbing the deceased’s abdomen with the balm, while asking her to push.

“After this amateurish mechanism did not yield the desired result, they cut my wife three times to bring out the baby and placed it somewhere unattended to,” Hunpe added.

He said that that there was no doctor present throughout the delivery. A nurse later went to

call Jayaram, according to him.

Hunpe said that his wife bled profusely to death owing to the unprofessional cuts she received.

The widower alleged that Jayaram told him around 6:45pm on February 26, 2014, to call his pastor, as she did not think that his wife could survive.

He explained that he was later informed that his wife was dead.

The hospital allegedly called a pastor to pray for the resurrection of the deceased. But the woman did not resurrect.

When contacted, the management of the hospital directed our correspondent to speak with the hospital’s counsel, John Adanike.

But Adanike denied all the allegations against Prema Sai Hospital.

The lawyer said the doctor

performed her professional duty in the best manner throughout the time the deceased stayed in the hospital.

He said: “Our client denies being negligent in any manner or being guilty of any professional misconduct. Consequently, our client denies liability to pay damages in the sum of N500 million or any sum at all.

“No doctor would willingly allow the death of his patient. He would work with all his professional knowledge to save life. But if by any circumstance death occurs, the doctor or the hospital should not be held to ransom. People die every day.”

However, Adenaike refused to speak on the scars on the baby resulting from caesarean operation.

Pay attention to crime, group urges Aderanti Muritala Ayinla

ABIODUN BELLO

Cuts on the baby during operation INSET: The late Hunpe

he Centre for Rights and Grassroots Initiative (CRGI) has called on the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr Kayode Aderanti, to focus his attention on the growing crime rate in parts of the state.

Its Executive Director, Nelson Ekujumi, said the commissioner stop victimising staff of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) for performing their statutory functions.

Ekujumi condemned threats by Aderanti to arrest officials of LASAA, describing

it as dangerous to public peace, democracy and the Nigerian constitution.

He said: “We regard this provocative statement from the head of a security agency in Lagos State which is constitutionally empowered to enforce the law as an assault not only on the democratic rights of Lagosians but also on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ekujumi said LASAA was created to establish sanity and protect the environment from defilement, nuisance, visual blight and other adverse effects of uncontrolled/unregulated deployment of posters of

any kind on public facilities.

He added that the agency had been performing its responsibilities creditably without prejudice to any interest.

Ekujumi also accused the police chief of acting the script of some individuals in the country.

According to him, the fact that the nation is in electioneering period does not mean that the regulatory agency will condone indiscriminate pasting of posters in the metropolis.

He urged the police boss to follow what the law says regarding the Act setting up the agency.

Aderanti

News 11

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Youths sack A’Ibom community, burn houses, cycles Tony Anichebe Uyo

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any people escaped death yesterday when armed youths invaded Ikot Edah community in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

But the youth, said to be avenging the death of one of them, burnt many houses and other property.

The attackers allegedly came from neighbouring Ikot Umiang village in the same local government area.

The violent attack, it was gathered, broke out about 8am when inhabitants of the community, who are mainly peasant farmers and traders, were set to go out for their normal daily activities.

According to sources, a young man from Ikot Edah had a misunderstanding with his friend from Ikot Umiang over a young girl at a local spot during the New Year celebration.

The young man from Ikot Umiang was allegedly stabbed to death during the ensuing scuffle.

To avenge his death, the youth of Ikot Umiang stormed Ikot Edah with guns, machetes, axes, fuel and other dangerous weapons.

They reportedly burnt all the houses in Ikot Edah, beat the aged to pulp and stole cash and other valuables.

A car belonging to the Village Head of Ikot Edah, Ete Idung Sunday Usoro, about 12 motorcycles, many bicycles and about

40 houses were completely razed.

“I watched my house completely set ablaze with N2 million cash inside,” Usoro told our correspondent.

“I have saved over N200,000 in my house for over 10 years to buy a piece of land. But today, I am as good as dead. All my goods are also gone,” said a fish seller who is in her 60s, Mmayen Nse Bassey.

Usoro said he went to the police station to lodge a complaint of a body that was abandoned in his community.

The monarch, who is in his 80s, said just as the police were making plans to evacuate the body and investigate the matter, news broke that his village had been set ablaze by aggrieved youths of Ikot Umiang.

The village head said that initially it was difficult for the police to stop the violence because the youth were armed with weapons, guns and machetes.

But, according to him, with reinforcement, the police were able to make some arrests and handed them over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

When our correspondent visited the two villages, every house at Ikot Edah community had been burnt while the inhabitants of Ikot Umiang had fled for fear of possible arrest.

At least, 25 people have so far been arrested by the police in connection with the attack.

Meanwhile, the Chairman

The burnt houses

of the local government, Mr. Ephraim Akpan, has advised the warring parties to maintain peace and order.

Akpan, who described the situation as heart-breaking, promised that no culprit would escape the full wrath of the law.

He said: “There is no situation that would warrant this barbaric act in the beginning of the year.

This is heart-breaking and I could not hold back my tears.

“But, as I said, there is no point to retaliate as the police who have done very well already will investigate the matter and bring all culprits to book.

Affected residents of the community

I’ll ensure people-oriented projects, Adebutu tells constituents Fayose is my pet project, says wife

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the House of Representatives in Remo Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu has promised to attract projects that would impact on the people if elected.

Adebutu made the pledge while launching his campaign tour at Ikenne wards 1 and 2 and a rally at the Ikenne motor park on Wednesday.

He said: “Having stayed and lived with you in the past 25 years, I understand your plights than those impostors who abandoned their people and prefer to stay in Lagos and Abuja, thereby, adding no positive value to their local communities. I established businesses in Remo and also provide jobs for Remo people.”

The candidate also promised to sponsor bills that would bring federal presence to Remo, thereby providing the much-anticipated dividends of democracy.

He also promised to encourage the youth to engage in agricultural ventures such as cassava, maize, oil-palm and plantain cultivation, fish and livestock farming, among others.

This, according to him, will guarantee food and job security and peaceful environment.

Adebutu commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his transformation efforts and solicited the support of the people for his re-election.

He also announced the continuation of the Ladi Adebutu Free Medical Programme, which, according to him, starts next week.

Also at the event was former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who paid a glowing tribute to the late sage, Pa Obafemi Awolowo, for his great political exploits.

High point of the event was the raffle draw where various prizes such as Toyota Camry, electric kettles, motorcycles, pressing irons, toasters, stabilisers, fans, and

lamps were won by people.

Meanwhile, the campaign tour continues today with a visit to Sagamu Local Government wards 12, 6, 8 and 7 – Isote, Itunsokun, Latawa and Ijagba.

The train moves to Remo North Local Government on

Adebutu (third right), Daniel (second right) and others at the event

Gunmen abduct sachet water producer Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

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unmen have kidnapped the Managing Director of ‘Our Choice Table Water’ identified simply as Mr Edwin from his house at the popular Iorkyaa Ako Street at High

Level, Makurdi, Benue State.

The businessman, who was abducted about 7:30pm on Wednesday, was said to be relaxing at home with his family after he closed from the office when the kidnappers struck.

It was gathered that the kidnappers shot sporadically

Monday with a visit to ward 7, Ipara; wards 1 and 2 Isara and ward 9, Ode Remo.

The tour will take Adebutu and his team to the 35 wards of the Remo Federal Constituency with the grand finale at Ita Oba, Sagamu on February 11.

into the air before taking the man away.

The state Commissioner of Police, Hyacinth Dagala, who confirmed the incident, said the assailants did not demand any ransom as a condition for the release of the businessman.

Dagala said that his men

had intensified efforts to apprehend the abductors.

He said that investigation into the matter was ongoing, pleading with the public to go about their normal businesses and report any suspicious moment to any police station for immediate action.

The state has in recent times witnessed a number of kidnappings.

Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

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ife of Ekiti State governor, Mrs Feyisetan Fayose, said she had no pet project, adding that her husband, Ayo Fayose, was her special project.

Speaking with journalists at Ikere-Ekiti yesterday while marking her 51st birthday at the Ekiti State School for the Blind, the governor’s wife said since the welfare of the people was the focal point of her husband’s government, there was no need to dissipate energy on any other project.

She said: “I have no special project to embark upon. Our governor, His Excellency, Dr Ayo Fayose, is concerned with the welfare of the people of the state and there is no need for me to embark on any special project.

Ayo Fayose is my project.

“I will do everything possible to support him and ensure that the projects of Mr Governor succeed.

He is fervent at improving the welfare of the people of the state.”

Fayose said her decision to celebrate her birthday with the less-privileged was to appreciate what God was doing in her life and her family.

She added: “Eleven years ago when I marked my 40th birthday, I did the same thing and I am giving the assurance that this will not be just for special occasion like this, throughout our stay in office, I promise that I will always identify with people like these.”

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News

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH - WEST

APC, PDP trade accusations over sack of 180 BRICKBATS

Fate of sacked Assembly workers hang in balance as parties throw brickbats Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

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he sack of over 180 workers by the Ekiti State House of Assembly Commission has started eliciting reactions from different groups in the state.

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday by the state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Olatubo-

sun, said the action was a dehumanisation of the people and a contradiction of the ‘Stomach Infrastructure Scheme’ of Governor Ayo Fayose.

Olatubosun noted that the affected members of staff were duly employed by the House of Assembly Service Commission with statutory approval since April 2014, with their conditions of ser-

vice clearly stated, wondering how such workers could be summarily sacked by announcement immediately after the New Year interdenominational service without following civil service rules.

“How can someone with genuine love for his people behave in a manner suggestive that he is an enemy of the people

he professes to love?

Fayose had in a similar manner reversed the appointments of eight permanent secretaries appointed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi while he also sacked another seven he perceived as loyal to the former governor,” he said.

The APC spokesman said it was clear that when Fayose was talk-

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Mr. Owolabi Bankole and Chief Alani Bankole, during the governor's visit to the Bankole family over the death of Bankole's wife, Adunni, in Abeokuta …yesterday

Osun tribunal dismisses Accord Party candidate’s petition Adeolu Adeyemo OSOGBO

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sun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo yesterday dismissed the petition filed by Accord Party candidate, Mr. Niyi Owolade, to contest the victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state.

The dismissal of the petition was sequel to the application for withdrawal by the petitioner on several grounds among which was that the statutory time allocated for the sittings of the tribunal may likely expire on February 25, 2014 and that he has not given his evidence in chief before the tribunal, which would likely take several days because of the rigorous cross-examination.

The petitioner in the letter dated 8th January, 2015 further stressed that the tribunal may not likely have sufficient time to consider the petition in view of the time constraints highlighted above coupled with other

pending petition filed by the PDP candidate, which is yet to be concluded.

In moving the motion, which was not accompanied by any written address contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act and practice direction, the petitioner’s counsel B. J. Adedayo Esq; sought the leave of court to first withdraw the earlier motion filed on December 22, 2014 seeking for the same relief in view of the latest application which the court graciously struck out after ascertaining that there was no objection to the application.

In his argument, the All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel, Ajibola Basiru, though did not oppose the application, argued that “all the grounds of the application were speculative, hypothetical and calculated to scandalise the judicial process of the tribunal.

“The dismissal of the petition is a vindication of Governor Aregbesola that the two petitions filed against his re-election are baseless and unmeritorious."

FG delaying strike suspension, says group Sola Adeyemo IBADAN

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rom the National President of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Felix Faniran, yesterday came an accusation that the Federal Government was behind the delay in the suspension of the ongoing strike embarked upon by members of the union.

NUAHP and the Joint Health Sector Workers Union had embarked on the strike that has

crippled health services in federal health institutions in the country since October 16, 2014.

While giving an update on the strike and the discussions held between the unions and the representatives of the Federal Government, Faniran yesterday said six meetings had been held with the government and that while the unions were ready to suspend the strike on certain conditions, the Federal Government had refused to act on the lowered demands of the union.

Lagos earmarks N101bn for pension arrears Muritala Ayinla

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he Lagos State government yesterday said it has set aside N101 billion in the 2015 budget to take care of the pension arrears of all retired civil servants in the state.

This was as it warned the over 1, 000 workers who will be retiring between January and June 2015, to manage their pension funds judiciously.

The government also said that its contributory pension fund between 2007 and 2014 has hit N55.5 billion, assuring serving public servants and retirees in the state of a better welfare at all times.

Speaking at the seventh Pre-Retirement Seminar held yesterday in Lagos, the Head of Service, Mrs. Josephine Oluseyi Williams, who gave the warning, said many fraudsters are around the country.

ing about the welfare for the people during his campaign, he was clear in his thoughts to employ deceit to get the people's votes after which he would make life difficult for them.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through its state Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko, said the APC leadership was only being mischievous, as its administration engaged people without giving them letters of appointment, knowing fully well that they had no plan to regularise their appointments.

“It is unfortunate that the APC in its shallow mentality could think that such mysterious employment and appointment could stand in a rational society like ours in Ekiti State, where we boast of intellectuals and integrity, except when it was desecrated by the last APC government,” he said.

He challenged the APC to explain why they kept some of the affected people as temporary staff for about four years.

He said: “It can only take a party peopled by ‘devilish hearts’ to come out with jaundice criticism of a reliable and responsive government that came after theirs in an attempt to put things in proper shape.”

You are engaging in contempt of court, Olugbemi tells Omirin Adesina Wahab ADO-EKITI

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he factional Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Dele Olugbemi, has warned former Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, against pushing people into contempt of court by asking them to intervene in the crisis in the Assembly.

He said this is because Omirin, who has gone to court to challenge his removal from office, should know that until

the case is disposed off, nobody can comment on it.

Olugbemi, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said Omirin's comment that he would involve the National Assembly in the matter, would only amount to contempt charges on his part and others.

Olugbemi was reacting to a comment by Omirin, who during a press parley, said his group would take the crisis rocking the Assembly to the National Assembly in Abuja for intervention.

Striking health workers storm Lagos secretariat Muritala Ayinla

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t least 1, 000 health workers in the employment of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) yesterday stormed the Lagos State secretariat at Alausa, to protest their unpaid December salaries.

The protesters, under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Work-

ers Union (JOHESU) LASUTH branch, also accused the state government of 'selective payment' of some members of staff.

The protesting workers comprising of middleaged women also lamented that the "No work, No pay" policy of the state government made them and their families go through hunger and hardship during festive season.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Open Forun

Bakare: Why I advocate transition govt

Parliament

Pending issues before Senate

Interview

Guber race

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Buhari doesn’t have temperament to rule Nigeria – Olajumoke

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APC’s winning edge over PDP in Lagos

Politics

Like mother, like daughter TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE writes on the failed political aspiration of the late Major Mojisola Adekunle-Obasanjo and her daughter, Mrs Adetokunbo TobunAgbesanwa

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hen Mrs. Adetokunbo Tobun-Agbesanwa, the daughter of 2003 and 2007 presidential candidate of Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), late Major Mojisola Adekunle-Obasanjo (rtd) declared her intention to contest the Lagos State governorship ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), her entrance into the governorship race did not generate much excitement.

Much like her mother, Major Adekunle-Obasanjo whose participation in the presidential elections did not have much impact, her daughter Tobun-Agbesanwa lost woefully during the December 4, 2014 APC governorship primaries in Lagos.

While other presidential candidates were campaigning throughout the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to woo electorate for votes, the late Adekunle-Obasanjo, an exwife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a retired Major of the Nigerian Army, did not embark on public campaign as expected.

She was doing her own campaign in her residence at Valley Estate, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos State.

In fact, any time she addressed press conferences, she would tell journalists that she would be the next president of Nigeria, despite not having a viable political structure or the financial muscles to

AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY EDITOR, PoLITICS ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Adekunle-Obasanjo

compete for public office. She also boasted that she was on a rescue mission to end the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and take over from the then incumbent president.

“PDP is trying to drag the masses of this country into a bloody revolution which we are not ready to be dragged into. We are interested only in the scientific, computerized and spiritual revolution of our great country, which has been set in motion since October 1, 1999 under the leadership of the God ordained Masses Movement of Nigeria.

“We are all in the battlefield now and the battle line has been drawn between the PDP, the masses and the 46 political parties that have adopted me as their national chairman and presidential candidate in 2007 election,” she told journalists during one of her press conferences at her residence in Lagos.

But despite her boasts, the London-trained radiologist, performed woefully during the elections. She lost woefully to Obasanjo and former President Umar Yar’Adua respectively during the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections. In April 2003, the MMN presidential candidate got 3,757 votes and polled a little over 4,000 votes during the 2007 elections.

Though she performed badly in the elections, her participation

Tobun-Agbesanwa

TobunAgbesanwa performed woefully during APC primaries by not even getting a single vote

added lots of comic relief to the presidential elections, especially for having the courage to contest the presidential election against her ex-husband in April 2003.

Following the footsteps of her mother, Tobun-Agbesanwa, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babatunde Fashola on School Environmental Advocacy, last year declared her intention to succeed her boss.

Tobun-Agbesanwa’s foray into politics dates back to her university days as a Political Science student of the Lagos State University, (LASU). She also served in various capacities on appointment basis and won many local and international awards for her achievements.

She was also the Founder of Moji Adekunle Women Leadership Foundation. She was the Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), handling high policy political matters, before her appointment as Senior Special Assistant to Governor Fashola on School Environmental Advocacy.

She also grew up among powerful politicians. Apart from her mother being a former presidential candidate, the APC governorship aspirant’s father, Chief Adekunle Tobun, was a gubernatorial aspirant in the aborted Third Republic.

In her quest to succeed Governor Fashola on May 29, Tokunbo resigned from the Lagos State Civil Service after a career that spanned 13 years to join active politics.

Prior to the APC December 4, 2014 governorship primaries, she told journalists that he will contend fearlessly with other male aspirants in the governorship race.

And to show her seriousness, she was among the first person and only female to collect APC Expression of Interest and Nomination Form at the party’s secretariat on Acme Road, Ikeja.

Tobun-Agbesanwa had expressed confidence of winning APC gubernatorial ticket and eventually winning the February 28 governorship election.

Her words: “I believe I even have more than enough requirements for the job. The urge to serve has been in me for a long time. Over the years, working in the civil service and serving on appointment with Governor Fashola, I have had a lot of experience on governance. So, it is only natural for me to desire to take my service of the people to a higher level now that I understand the times. It shouldn’t be when I am 60. I have also been an advocate for women’s participation in governance.

Though Tobun-Agbesanwa hails from Epe division in Lagos East Senatorial District, where APC governorship ticket was zoned to, she performed woefully during APC primaries by not even getting a single vote. Pundits believe that she lost the election because she had no political structures. Even while other governorship aspirants were campaigning throughout the state, seeking for support for them to emerge as APC gubernatorial flag bearer during the party’s primaries, Tobun-Agbesanwa followed her mother’s footsteps.

In fact, nothing much was heard about her campaign toward APC gubernatorial primaries, talk less of a gameplan for the February 28 governorship election.

Like her mother, the Fashola’s aide’s aspiration to govern Lagos was only noted through her posters in some parts of the state and media reports. Considering her poor performance in the governorship race, many people believe that she took part in the race to get attention, or for her to negotiate for public office in the next administration if APC wins Lagos State come 2015.

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Politics

OPEN FORUM Itse Sagay is a Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

...TRANSITION GOVERNMENT

Sagay: Call is premature

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here is no provision for transitional government in the constitution; it doesn’t exist in the constitution. But I assume as we did for Goodluck Jonathan when they didn’t want him to be Acting President, we invoked the Doctrine of Necessity to put him in place. So, I will not rule out the possibility; one can take an extra constitutional step when the state is in danger and the constitution does not have a way out.

So, I won’t condemn it because of that. But I ask myself: Why is it necessary at this stage? Elections are going to be held. Honestly, I would have preferred having the outcome first unless there is a severe crisis, which endangers the nation after the election; there is really no need for a transitional government, just like a government of National Unity.

So, I think it is premature; it does not arise now.

You cannot suspend elections because of insecurity in the country, because you

There is really no need for a transitional government, just like a government of National Unity. So, I think it is premature; it does not arise now

Sagay

don’t know when the problem will be solved. It may take another two or three years; we don’t know. So, we cannot sus-

pend everything. A way must be found for elections to be held in those areas.

It can be by combining polling booths in safe places or by transporting people to a safe place, or resort to electronic voting. Some things can be done. If you say you will wait for everything to be settled, then we will just be in a transition government indefinitely, which is not a healthy thing.

They should go ahead with the elec-

tion as planned but they should introduce safety measures for voters. I think the present Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not innovative; they should think out of the box. They are very orthodox and seem unintelligent in their approach to so many things because by a year ago they should have started thinking about how they are going to get those people in the troubled areas to vote without endangering themselves and the people. So, they should start thinking of having safe areas where they would now concentrate polling units so that there would not be polling units in dangerous areas or they could even have particular places where they can transport voters to vote during the elections. They can even try to introduce some forms of electronic voting; maybe voting by telephone, so that people don’t have to leave their homes. It can be done. But I don’t think we should just throw our hands in the air and say there is nothing we can do; we can do something.

Interview by TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

Okwu: Transitional government unconstitutional Maxi Okwu, a politician and lawyer, is a onetime chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP)

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he call for a transitional government by Pastor Tunde Bakare is not in the constitution. What he is talking about is extra-constitutional.

There is no provision for transitional government in the present constitution.

So, as a constitutional lawyer, I will not buy such, unless he is asking for a revolution, and you don’t negotiate revolution; it happens.

I agree with him that we have some very serious security challenges and the huge chunk of the country is under siege. What we need is some en-

Dele Ojogbede is a legal practitioner

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s far as I’m concerned, Pastor Bakare is talking rubbish. The reason I say that is I can’t see any circumstances on the ground that should compel government to postpone the election.

Is there any society without crises, do we now say because there is crises in a section of the country, that should be the end of the country? Do we blame the whole nation for the incompetence of the presidency? Mr. President could as well decide to precipitate a crisis with the ultimate aim of benefiting from it.

All these crises have been going on for quite some time and we are not seeing any efficiency on the part of the president, and Bakare will now come and tell us that because of that inefficiency, democracy should be postponed. No, I don’t believe in that at all. It is rubbish and balderdash.

It is not sufficient. Nigeria is not at war today. What we have is insurgency in

gineering by the political class and some statesmanship on the part of the president, so that we can make some arrangement to address the insurgency.

You cannot stop insurgency by having a transitional government.

It can be recalled that in Afghanistan, despite all the terror in the country, they were still able to hold elections. The case of Iraq is even worse than ours, but they still held elections. So, the elections should hold next month as planned.

I don’t support the postponement of next month’s general election. I will advise that in certain areas where it is impossible due to insurgency to hold election; let us resolve how to handle the problem of those areas. But the country will not come to a halt because some areas are facing challenges. The elections should hold as scheduled. If there is any area that it is impossible to do the election, something can be done later. It can be temporary suspended in those areas.

Okwu

I don’t support the idea of a transitional government. What the political class need to do now is to call for

political reengineering, which could be a Government of National Unity by which the government of the day or anybody, could bring everybody on board because of the issue of national emergency. That could be done for something to be worked out but not an interim government because there is no constitutional provision for it.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should realise that they cannot solve the problem of Nigeria alone.

The present administration, should look into trying to have a national consensus on the politics for a period where we can all together as a national priority face insurgency in the interest of the country. You will recall that Section 14 of the Nigerian Constitution states clearly that the primary purpose of government is security and welfare of the people.

Interview by TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

Ojogbede: It is uncalled for a part of the country, and the government has the capability to quench that insurgency. If they fail, it means that maybe there is sabotage somewhere, or that this present government is benefitting from that insurgency. You can’t compare this to the civil war we had some years ago, in which case, a whole region had cause to wage war against the country because of injustice.

We can’t have a smooth democracy if we have a one party state. Look at what happened in Ghana, they had their crises period, but they still gave their citizens the opportunity of exercising their franchise; either to adopt the existing government, or reject it at the polls.

I’m highly disappointed by the call being made by Pastor Bakare. If that was the intention of the National Conference, then they should not come and preach that idea through the back door.

We are not at war; at least not the type that would make elections to be postponed, or put in abeyance. The question

I want to put to Bakare is; if he is calling for the president to resign for an interim government, will Mr. President resign before the expiration of his tenure?

A lot of us have been waiting for the past four years to exercise our rights to make our feelings known on what we feel about the present government. This man has all the powers, the soldiers are being deployed to war without ammunitions, at the end of the day, they put them on trial. More than 200 children belonging to different people were taken away, and it took almost a month for Mr. President to acknowledge that something was amiss in his nation.

There is no way Bakare or any other person can convince me that this call is altruistic. I believe the call has some undertones. I hope this is not another scenario of Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) under the leadership of Nzeribe, because we knew how they started it.

In this country they always make it difficult for us to progress forward. At every stage you see different fathom

Ojogbede

organisations coming up to propose unfashionable theories, so as to set the hand of the clock backwards for us.

My submission is that we should not allow this government to profit from its inefficiency, and what Bakare is advocating for is tantamount to that, and I reject it in totality. I don’t agree that Nigeria is in a war situation.

Interview by Etaghene Edirin

Politics

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

OPEN FORUM Ogbeni Lanre Banjo is a former National Conscience Party (NCP) gubernatorial candidate in Ogun State and currently Ogun State Representative in the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria

...TRANSITION GOVERNMENT

Banjo: Bakare’s option won’t tackle insurgency If you give President Jonathan an opportunity to form a coalition, he would look for unpatriotic Nigerians, constitute a nuisance coalition and exacerbate our problems

I

revere my brother, Pastor Tunde Bakare as a bold, courageous and cerebral pastor cum politician. On this particular issue, I sharply disagree. Nigeria may be in a political war, but we should not allow our eyes to be beclouded by the event of the moment.

Pastor Bakare explained that the proposal for suspension of elections is not with a view to giving President Goodluck Jonathan an avenue for undue tenure elongation “but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems.” Which coalition would he bring for lasting solutions to our problems? What happens to the coalition of Federal Executive Council (FEC) which consists of the past presidents, including Interim Head of Government, the governors, the ministers and special advisers? How has this coalition of Muslims and Christians been able to build a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems?

I believe that if you give President Jonathan an opportunity to form a coalition, he would look for unpatriotic Nigerians, constitute a nuisance coalition and exacerbate our problems. By calling for the postponement of the elections, we are laying bad eggs and precedence.

So, if in the future, I feel that the Yoruba have been let out of power for too long, as passionate as I am about the suffering of

Pastor Tunde Bakare is the Presiding Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly and Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG)

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must reiterate in unequivocal terms that my position in the unfolding political situation of our nation is that of a nation-builder and not a politician, and that my desire is to see a nation that works in my lifetime.

It is clear that a great storm lies ahead as we are approaching elections without addressing the fundamental flaws in the polity. These flaws include: the awkward geopolitical structure that has the form, but lacks the substance, of federalism; the consequent lopsided economic structure in which a single product from one region of the country contributes the bulk of the revenue of the entire nation despite the abundant resources spread across the nation; a constitution that lays claim to the phrase “we the people” but to which the people made no input; contentious population figures that have been the harbinger of election disputes since the pre-independence era; and an electoral body that wears the label ‘independent’ but is practically under the control of the presidency.

These factors have directly and indirectly contributed to the current economic crisis, the political instability, and the security situation.

When I first alerted the nation that

15

Banjo

our people and I start leading the bombing of some remote villages in Sagamu in Ogun State, Iseyin and Ogbomoso in Oyo State and Arigidi Akoko in Ondo State, kidnap some Nigerians with the sponsorship of some passionate people like me, would we call for postponement of election that year? Is this the legacy we are going to bequeath to our children?

Legacy of cowardice, legacy of transitional government! Haba!

On the issue of crisis should either General Muhammadu Buhari or Jonathan win, I urge either groups to bring it on now so we can face and thrash it

once and for all. Let us not postpone the doomsday if any is destined for Nigeria.

We survived crisis in the old Western Region, we survived the Biafran war and June 12. If we are a nation of leaders with wisdom, each time we go through turbulence, we must come out stronger.

On the point of the so-called constitution that Pastor Bakare referred to as a lawyer to back his call for transition government, I do not blame him. If he quotes a section of this oligo-military constitution that calls for the National Assembly’s resolution to extend the period of four years, “but no such extension

shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.” Why on earth is Pastor Bakare calling for two years extension for a transitional government to be headed by someone who has been described as “an incompetent” ruler in violation of the same section of the decree that he quotes.

The quoted section of the constitution requires a maximum extension of six months. Are we now calling for the transitional government for two years to create jobs for the boys? Give them the opportunity to loot again? Does he think two more years of Jonathan in office would solve this terrorist problem despite Jonathan’s own admission of inability to solve this problem after six years in office? Knowing this immoral and destructively scheming Nigerians the way we know them, doesn’t the pastor realise that the problem could be instigated to escalate the terrorist act so that somebody else would call for postponement of future election just for the head of transitional government to sit tight in office? Would the transitional government headed by Jonathan satisfy the political reason for the Boko Haram terrorist act?

I genuinely believe that Boko Haram would cease fire on the election days, after our Northern leaders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have been able to make Jonathan naked and convince my brothers and sisters in the North that this is our time, let’s not miss it. Bombing could resume, however, if the election is rigged.

Interview by TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

Bakare: Why I advocate transition govt there would be no 2015 if the fundamentals were not addressed, I was asked if I was giving a prophecy in the order of “thus saith the Lord”.

Even now, many are asking the same question. At that time, like Paul, I told you that I had perceived it. But, I would want to ask, are the signs not there? If we can predict the weather, would it not be hypocritical to feign ignorance regarding the foreboding state of the nation?

Section 135(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides as follows: “If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time; but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.”

The argument against this would be the notion that the country is not at war. If indeed the country is not at war, how can one explain the invasion and annexation of Nigerian territory by insurgents launching attacks from our borders and neighbouring countries?

Let us not forget that on May 14, 2013, while declaring a state of emergency in three states, President Goodluck Jonathan said of the activities of terrorists: “These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to un-

Bakare

dermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten its territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this.”

Records indicate that since that declaration, the situation has only worsened. Therefore, if the country was at war then, according to the president, it is even more so now. I do recognise the fact that opinions are divided on whether or not the Boko Haram plague can be described as war or just an act of insurgency. Truth be told, this is mere semantics. As Aesop said, “the injury we do and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales.” De-

pending on which side of the divide one belongs, the difference between war and insurgency can be likened to the difference between terrorists and freedom fighters. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, just as one man’s music is another man’s noise. Those that are condemned as ‘terrorists’ by one group are hailed as ‘freedom fighters’ by another.

Therefore, I submit that if the President considers that a part of the federation will be disenfranchised by reason of the Boko Haram plague, a postponement of the election may not be out of place.

However, I must state that the proposal for suspension of elections is not with a view to giving the president an avenue for undue tenure elongation but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems.

In suspending the elections, to gain the support of all stakeholders, the president must not act with the intention to seek re-election. Rather, he should, within the period, commit himself to building a non-partisan coalition comprised of major stakeholders and competent statesmen from each geopolitical zone. This coalition, headed by the president, will constitute a combined force that will tackle terrorism and address what I have earlier referred to as the fundamentals, within a time frame of two years or less.

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Politics

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Pending issues before Senate went on Christmas and New Year recess in December last year.

This delay by the Senate in considering the report has led to all sorts of insinuations, including that the Senate might not consider the report because of the strong connections of some of the key players in the recruitment exercise with some powerful persons serving in the government, particularly the Senate. The Senate may wish to save its name from this allegation by adopting the report and bringing those culpable to justice.

CHUKWU DAVID examines some of the pending legislative matters that are likely to consume the attention of the Senate as it resumes plenary on Tuesday January 13

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s the Senate reconvenes sitting on Tuesday January 13, there are pending legislative responsibilities awaiting the attention of the lawmakers within the last lap of the Fourth Session of this Assembly. They are essentially issues that should have been concluded between 2011 and 2014 but due to certain inhibiting factors, such items had to see the end of the last session of the 7th Senate.

2015 Budget and MTEF One of the pending issues in the Senate that is likely going to receive priority attention from the Upper Chamber is the 2015 Appropriation Bill, which was laid to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan through the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on December 17, 2915.

The sum total of the budget estimates for the 2015 fiscal year is N4.4 trillion. A breakdown of the figure indicates that government proposed N627 billion for capital expenditure and N2.622 trillion for recurrent expenditure.

President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, said that the Red Chamber would commence debate on the document after resumption this January.

Expectedly, the Senate might before considering the budget, debate and approve the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is currently with the Senate Committee on Finance.

The Federal Government had returned the revised 2015-2017 MTEF to the Senate to ratify the adjustments made on the document in line with the current realities of progressive crash in the price of crude oil in the international market.

State of emergency Another issue that is likely to come to the front burner of the Senate is the issue of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. The emergency rule expired in November 2014, when the last request for extension by President Jonathan did not receive approval from both chambers of the National Assembly. Some northern senators were abinitio against the state of emergency in the North East.

They have argued that emergency rule could not solve the problem of insurgency in the area.

But the Service Chiefs who came to brief the Senate at the heat of the controversy gave indication that martial rule was needed to make military operations more effective in bringing

Mark

the crisis under control within the shortest possible time. The governors’ of the crisis stricken states and some other concerned Nigerians have also stressed the imperativeness of sustaining emergency rule in the affected states until the situation is brought under control.

Even though there is no state of emergency in the Boko Haram ravaged areas now, the Senate is expected to revisit the matter so that the president can write a fresh letter and submit to the National Assembly for approval.

Constitution review Although the Senate had concluded its on part of the constitution review process, it may likely still go for more amendments before the expiration of its tenure in June. The Senate on October 21, 2014, approved the report of the Conference Committee on the Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution Amendment Bill, 2014, as amended. The Upper Chamber also, on October 28, transmitted the report to the Conference of Speakers of the 36 states of the federation for their immediate ratification too.

The state assemblies also considered and voted on the items and returned same to the National Assembly on December 19, 2014.

Meanwhile the state assemblies killed some of the proposals by the federal parliament including the attempt to grant financial autonomy to the local governments.

But since constitution is a continuous process, it is possible that the Senate might bring up some of the issues for fresh legislative action, while persuading state assemblies to cooperate with the federal legislators on some of the issues.

Petroleum Industry Bill The report on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is desperately being awaited by Nigerians to be adopted by the Senate before it winds up. The bill has suffered so much politicking and setback in the National Assembly since the past seven years. It was first introduced to the National Assembly in 2008. It has passed many legis-

Okonjo-Iweala

lative processes in an attempt to make it a law that would guide and revolutionise operations in the oil industry.

In 2012, when the House of Representatives passed the bill for second reading, and subsequently committed it to an ad hoc committee to do further legislative work on it, some senators from the North, who perceived the bill as discriminatory and skewed against non-oil producing regions, particularly states of the northern Nigeria vehemently opposed its passage.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in May 2014, assured that the National Assembly would carry out a speedy action on the passage of the PIB. He said that the Senate was mindful of the benefits of the bill to Nigerians and those in the petroleum sector and would work to usher in the envisaged benefits in the major reforms intended by the bill.

But despite this assurance, Nigerians have accused the legislators of playing politics with the bill.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Senator Danjuma Goje, had alleged that the Federal Government and the leadership of the Senate were not showing necessary commitment to pass the bill.

NIS recruitment tragedy Another critical issue that is pending in the Senate for urgent attention is the report on the investigation of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment tragedy. The probe was instituted to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the March 15, 2014 tragedy, in which some Nigerians, who went for the NIS recruitment test at the various centres across the country lost their lives, and others left with different degrees of injuries in stampede that erupted at different centres.

Senator Atiku Bagudu, who was the Chairman of the Probe Panel, actually submitted the report of the investigation to the Senate on May 28, 2014 but it was not considered until the Senate

The report on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is desperately being awaited

by Nigerians to be adopted by the Senate before it winds up

Police invasion of National Assembly One of the reports pending in the Senate for consideration is the report of the Ad hoc Committee set up to investigate the invasion of the National Assembly premises by security operatives in November 20, 2014. It is expected that the Probe Panel would have completed its investigation and will submit its report to the Senate after resumption for adoption.

The members of the ad hoc committee are: Senators Ahmad Makarfi (Chairman), Atiku Bagudu, Victor Lar, Gbenga Kaka, Paulinus Nwagu, Jubrillila Bindo and Ehigie Uzamere.

The conflict resulted from the attempt by the security men to stop the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and other members from gaining access to the National Assembly complex on that day; an action that provoked serious rage and commotion within the premises of the parliament, as canisters of tear gas were detonated by the Police to scare the resilient lawmakers.

The Police authorities had claimed that they barricaded the National Assembly on the security report that hoodlums plotted to invade the parliament that fateful day. The report will reveal exactly what really transpired as all parties in the furore are making claims and counter-claims.

Limiting factors Though faced with these onerous responsibilities to accomplish before the life span of the 7th Assembly elapses in June, the senators may not be able to totally dispense with all their legislative obligations within the short time remaining. The reason is that this is an election year and they will be very busy with political activities that they may not have sufficient time to attend to a number of important issues.

Again, many of them failed in the last party primary elections, and naturally they may have been aggrieved and lost interest in the business of the Senate. And if this is the case, it means that many of them will not be attending plenary sessions, which in turn will make it difficult for the chamber to form quorum required by the law for lawmakers to sit and take decisions on issues.

As the Seventh Senate gradually winds up, it is obvious that Nigerians are eager and waiting to see how the Red Chamber is going to conclude the last segment of the fourth session.

Politics

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

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Buhari doesn’t have temperament to rule Nigeria – Olajumoke Senator Bode Olajumoke, a member of Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ondo North senatorial candidate, is confident that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the February 14 presidential election. In this interview with BABATOPE OKEOWO, he also speaks on the crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the PDP. Excerpts: What is the state of the crisis in the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the list submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)?

I have personally made efforts to reach out to the aspirants, the Director General (DG) of my campaign organisation sent letters to all the aspirants. Yes I agree some aspirants complained that they did not get the DG’s invite. We have had successful meeting, it was quite a frank talk. The joy of it was that none of them threatened to leave the party.

They expressed their anger that nobody has reached out to them. My initiative was first to reach out. We are in the process of reaching out. Somebody asked me if I had reached out to Dr. Olu Agunloye, I said no! As far as I know, that particular position was zoned to the old PDP. We had that agreement when we had the old LP joining PDP. We said there could not be full blown primaries but we needed to have an arrangement to take care of the old LP and we had consensus arrangement and part of the arrangement was that the old PDP was going to take care of Ondo North. Dr Agunloye is my friend and we exchanged text messages on Christmas Day. Now that INEC has come out with its list, we will reach out to everybody. I will call Dr. Agunloye and talk to him and we will encourage other candidates to reach out to their co-contestants.

Some of the aspirants have been so magnanimous. One of the aspirants brought two of his campaign buses to me. As far as I am concerned we will continue to talk to the people not forgetting those who are not political.

These people are in majority.

Aside reaching out to old PDP and LP, there are some elements who are opposed to your candidature in the old PDP. Are you reaching out to them as well?

As far as I am concerned, it is a continuous process, we will continue to reach out to everybody, we are not leaving anybody out.

The presidential and National Assembly elections come up the same day; do you nurse the fear that the vote of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, may have negative effect on yours?

We are doing everything possible to garner support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan. First of all, we are quite interested in our state being in the national party, so we need to work hard for President Jonathan. We are not nursing any fear as to President Jonathan’s emergence.

The good news is that more and more national figures are declaring their support for the reelection bid of the president. We read in the news the statement credited to former President Ibrahim Babangida declaring support for Jonathan saying in the interest of the unity of this country, we should all support President Jonathan.

Answering your question directly, I don’t see any issue as we are all gunning for President Jonathan and so there should be no problem. It makes it easier as President Jonathan is a PDP man and our candidate is PDP, the symbol is umbrella and we all should be looking up to that.

Olajumoke two houses and I co-sponsored a number of bills in the Senate.

I think I was most effective as a legislator. My projects are littered throughout my senatorial district. I think this is what the electorate should be looking at.

You contested against Prof. Robert Boroffice in the 2011 election and you were defeated. Are you not afraid of this rematch?

I am very enthusiastic and I am much looking forward to it.

Let us keep our fingers crossed.

What are your chances considering the fact that he is from Akoko and the region has four local governments as against yours which is two?

Very bright, every candidate seeks bright star in the horizon, but on a serious note, I am looking forward to the re-contest. I don’t think the electorate care about specific agenda. I think people are looking for personalities. Gladly, the two of us have had the opportunity to have represented our people at one time or the other. He succeeded me in the Senate, I think we must be glad that the electorate will be able to compare.

Bode Olajumoke was there from 2007 to 2011, Prof. Boroffice has been there since 2011 till date, what are the achievements of the two representatives. I think our achievements should speak very loud for us. The achievements at the plenary session of the Senate and outside the Senate. I did not only contribute effectively when I was in the Senate but I sponsored a number of bills. I singlehandedly sponsored a bill which was harmonised by the

I don’t think Gen Buhari is a proper and fit person for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in this dispensation.

Under the military, perhaps, but this is democratic setting

What about the areas in your district that the APC considers their stronghold, Akoko Southwest and Akoko Southeast local governments? How are you going to cross that hurdle?

I want to assure you that Akoko southwest this time around is very much a PDP local government from all indications. We are taking about six weeks. You can then come back and talk to me, we are very comfortable. I am home and dry in Akoko Southeast, I am part of Akoko southeast, the Navy Secondary school which we sited at Imeri shares border with Akoko southeast that is something going for us.

But generally, we are reaching out. The reconciliation we are doing is having effect. A committee has been set up to do the reconciliation within the old PDP and old LP. Somehow, we are making headway.

You were a director in the Ministry of Defence, how would you rate the chances of Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election?

People have analysed the temperament of candidate Buhari and citing very many incidents

in the past; his temperament, his attitude and his statements are being diagnosed and analysed.

To my mind, you have to concede to the opinion of Gen. Babangida, that is a very deep statesman.

For him to have openly supported President Jonathan baring in mind that he was in the military with Buhari, I think it speaks volumes for him to have come out to say for the sake of the unity of this country, let us give it to President Jonathan.

I don’t think Gen. Buhari is a proper and fit person for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in this dispensation. Under the military, perhaps, but this is democratic setting. We have to look at the antecedents and make up our mind which of them is better.

While you were in the Senate, you were reported to have called for benevolent dictator to rule this country. Don’t you think we need that person in the mode of Buhari?

I did not call for military dictatorship, I said benevolent dictatorship. If you look at it, a benevolent dictator will operate under a civilian administration.

Gen Buhari was a military dictator and that tendency still lives in him. A leopard cannot change its skin. It is not easy for a leopard to change its skin. He won’t be a benevolent dictator, he remains a military dictator. We don’t need a military dictator.

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion Goodness, Goodluck no goody-goody!

Emissary EMEKA OBASI

emobas2003@yahoo.com 08094457557 (sms only)

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ne is not simply a man because he has the ability to pee in a bottle. Some men do not deserve male hormones, such folks may indeed be wearing the heart of infantile females. These cannot lead since nature pushed them into the world to make up the Nollywood Waka pass legion.

Dr. Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan is a simple man by nature[apologies to late Highlife musician Oliver de Coque]. That does not in any way diminish his status as one who knows where he is going. Those who mistook him for a stooge, failed woefully in their assessment of the tall Ijaw man from Otuoke.

We have been fed with stories of a man who does not understand the dynamics of power, somebody whose bread was buttered by others. The opposition is so strong that you would think Nigeria does not have a President.

Behind the propaganda though, you discover that no Nigerian of this generation can claim to be better than the President in term’s of leadership experience. Let us keep academic qualifications aside, the hood does not make the monk.

He came on board as deputy governor. Then the climb to the top began, governor, Vice president and President.

Dr. Jonathan did not scheme for any of the positions. Infact, he stretched our political vocabulary when the National Assembly applied the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ following the death of President Umaru Musa Yara’dua in 2010.

I have a feeling that those who fought for Jonathan’s upward movement never reckoned that the man would have a mind of his own. Today, they have disappointment smudged across their faces.

Dr. Jonathan is not having the best of times as President, not because he is grossly under performing. Most of the strictures are coming from people who cannot come to terms with the fact that power has changed hands.

Fact is, those beautiful houses and automobiles that were seen in the garages of people who wore agbada and

babariga are now like pure water in Port Harcourt and Warri. They abound in Uyo and Yenegoa. My people have a saying that one whose sibling is in heaven cannot be preparing for hell.

In our country, most of those who were swimming in Millions before 1999 benefited immensely from the spoils of the Civil War. Those who plundered Igboland became military governors and ministers. Smart business men and technocrats also went partying after the Indiginisation Decree created free flowing liquid cash for the advantaged.

Today, private jets are all over the place. Even an Area Boy who knows his dogonyaro and monkey tail well has access to the commonwealth that was hitherto hijacked by a few who owned jackboot and bazooka.

From 2010, the tide turned. Money is going down the creeks. You can only enjoy paraga in Lagos. The Kinkana in the Niger Delta has gone sour. They are back to the days of cognac and sweet smelling brandy. Monkey is no more working for baboon to chop. Indeed, baboon is hungry and begging for a piece of our own national cake.

You see trouble everywhere around Jonathan. Insurgency has come to live with us. Things that sounded strange are here now. Killing is no more less painfull, with bullets.

Head cutting is the new sport.

How come, most of those who troubled this country in the past with maladministration, are the ones who want Jonathan crucified by all means. Suddenly, all our problems are on his shoulders. I have lived in Lagos since 1985, no clean water provided by government. Something I enjoyed in my village in the 1970s. Blackout was born before the President had his first child. There were bad roads, from Lagos to Calabar, from Ilorin to Maiduguri.

Yet, they want us to forget the past. We will not, only babies forget so easily. We will remember the present. The records are there. Let us show some of them. Nothing is hidden under the sun.

Under Jonathan, over 35,000 kilometres of Federal Roads and Bridges have been worked on. Check some of them out.

Gbongan-Ibadan –Ife dual carriageway, Akwanga- Keffi, Gombe- Potiskum, Kano-Zaria, Abakaliki-Nkalagu- Enugu and the Ewu-Uromi- Agbor Roads. There is no discrimination. No APC, no PDP roads.

In the present dispensation, there are new 11,604 Housing units,75 per cent improvement in domestic gas supply, 125 Almajiri Boarding schools and 14.2 per cent

rise in exports in the first quarter of 2014.

All these are part of the good works of Mr. President, not just because he holds a doctorate. Let us keep education out of it. It does not take a Phd to know a good ruler.

You only need a man who wants to do something for the people.

That brings me to the story of Gen, Muhammadu Buhari and his certificates. I knew the same people who are pushing him will also drag him into muddy politics. When he was Maximum leader between 1983-1985, we did not hear of credentials.

However, I think Buhari should just come out and lay everything to rest. I have General Olusegun Obasanjo’s book, My Command handy. On Page 73, OBJ described Lt. Buhari as ” a field commissioned officer”. Page 91 reads , “ Lt. Buhari, a concessional commissioned officer who had distinguished himself during the withdrawal from Owerri and had tremendous respect and confidence of the Brigade.”

I am confused. There is what they call bush rank. During the Civil War, I had kinsmen who wore ranks, fought gallantly even if they were not professional officers.

Buhari was at the Nigeria Military Training School[NMTS] Kaduna in 1963, after leaving Katsina Government College in 1961. He also proceeded to School of Infantry, Aldershot in 1963, commissioned Second Lieutenant same day in 1963 as Shehu Yar’adua and Muhammadu Jega[now Iliyasu Bashir].

So what happened to his commission that he would later be a field commissioned officer during the Biafra War? A good soldier no doubt. Does he have what it takes to lead Nigeria from this year? Are they still pushing him against his will? Yes, even as military ruler, he was not in control.

“It was my colleagues then in the military who decided to make me the Head-of- State”, Buhari said in the Sun of Saturday March 27, 2010. It is possible that this gentleman who cried for Nigeria in 2011 is being forced into the ring to fight a political war.

And Jonathan is pushing himself into the ring. In 2011, he floored his opponent. Jonathan has not lost any election.

Buhari’s best was in the bush as a Commanding officer.

This one battle is an open field. In the bible, Jonah survived in the belly of the fish. This Jonathan is also a survivor, and time and Nigeria will tell.

Palestinian and gradual return of global conscience (1) Shakiru Ayinde Yekinni

T

he recent spate of ‘recognition’ of the ‘State of Palestine’ by major European countries represents a shift, even if symbolic from the past practice of tacit support for the unjust and illegal occupation of the land of Palestine by Israel.

The injustice has long been aided by a world that seems to have completely lost its conscience. For almost seven decades now, the Jewish colony has sustained itself by the application of raw terror (genocide, massacre, mass murder, outright dispossession and in the latest phase, a total blockade of the people of Gaza) with the expectation that the dispossessed give up its agitation, migrate out of frustration or get perished under an imposed siege, and the world looked on.

The injustice has always been with the signature and ‘consent’ of EuroAmerica all along. From the Balfour Declaration of 1917 when the British government ‘viewed with favour’, the establishment of an Israeli homeland in Palestine; to the enlistment of Jewish elements into the British Army and the subsequent establishment of Irgun (otherwise called the Stern Group – a Jewish terrorist organization that was

later to form the nucleus of Israeli military).

From the referral and ‘handover’ of the ‘Arab/Israeli Crisis’ by Britain to the UN, following the former’s inability to maintain order in the Mandated Territory (owing to continuous attacks and assassination of remnant of its forces by the criminal Irgun); to the privileged information afforded the Jews in back door negotiations in the UN which had decided on the partitioning of the land of Palestine into Arab and Jewish territories with the DECLARATION that ‘each should possess its portion by whatever means possible’ (from whence the Jews who had prepared for a showdown secured its ‘allotted territories’ with brutal force, while their Palestinian counterpart were still trusting in ‘further’ negotiations).

Israel has always had its wars fought by proxy. This was evident in the assistance offered by Russia and former Czechoslovakia when the Jewish State was almost defeated in the first ‘official’ exchange of hostilities. It is also reflected in the continuous protection of the Jewish colony by the US since after World War II. But the resilience of the occupied people especially of Gaza threw up challenges that stirred the conscience of the world, touched that of Europe

but not yet America’s. What the last war on Gaza by Israel which lasted for over 50 days said was that the human cost of the occupation is neither bearable any longer nor sustainable.

Europe (not America) appears to be moving away from its inglorious past of maintaining criminal silence. And like an icing on the cake to complement the flurry of recognition, the EU Lower House in Strasbourg decided to remove the name of HAMAS from its list of ‘terrorist organizations’.

Although the ‘recognitions’ leave much to desire as they fell short of complementary actions such as sanctions, embargoes, withdrawal of aid (both military and financial) and many other measures that could drum sense into the Zionist state, it nevertheless was an acknowledgement of an unreasonable past that encourages contumacious belligerency on the part of Israel as well as a determination for change That the injustice endured this long owed to many factors, the most critical being the hypocrisy of nations and individuals saddled with bringing a lasting solution to the problem. At the level of nations, foremost among these is America who after almost five decades of monopoly of brokering ‘peace deals’ is now adjudged a dishonest broker by all except Israel whose bidding it does even at its own detriment. This

has prompted other big powers as well as coalitions of medium powers to contemplate stepping into the matter.

An example of the frustration of the world with Israel is the push by a variety of nations in the UN Security Council for a resolution recognizing the state of Palestine. Hopes are high that the resolution will scale the required 9/15 votes barring a veto from any of the big powers. Even America dropped the hint that a veto in Israel’s favour may not be in the offing.

At the individual level, I had a recent experience worth sharing here.

The venue was the Bolaji Akinyemi Auditorium of the NIIA (Nigerian Institute of International Affairs) for the December edition of the monthly public lecture. The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Uriel Palti was the Guest Speaker to discuss the topic: The Arab/Israeli Conflict: Is Lasting Peace a Possibility?

The Ambassador threw back the question and submitted that he could not say whether a lasting peace would be possible. However he attempted a distortion of the history behind the crisis by his intermittent reference to the occupied lands as the ‘lands of Israel’.

• Yekinni (laidetop06@yahoo.com) is Executive Director, Center for Global Peace Initiative (CGPI) 08026134942

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

19

EDITORIAL

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Controversial primaries as prelude

W

ith the general elections fast approaching, the political atmosphere in the country is quickly rising to a crescendo, as political activities gradually unveil, and proceed to the elections proper to usher in new administrations at various levels of governance in the country.

The recently concluded primaries of the various political parties held across the country to pick candidates to represent the parties in various elections in February is one of such activities that will lead to the successful conclusion of the elections. Unfortunately, reports from that exercise, which is a major step in the electoral process, have not altogether been very pleasing.

The primaries have been trailed by several controversies, some of which have led to aspirants going to court to challenge the results, and others dumping the party’s platform for another. There were also reports of parallel primaries in some states, producing more than one candidate for one elective position, from one political party. The complaints included the delegates’ list being tampered with, or shrouded

in secrecy, delegates being financially induced, venues of the event not made known to aspirants, and outright rigging of results among others.

In some of the complaints, many aspirants from across the states called for the cancellation of the results. In some cases, leadership of the various political parties did not help matters, as they were accused of brazenly flouting their party’s laid down guidelines in favour of preferred candidates, and announcing predetermined results.

In one of such reports which tended to the comic, an aspirant claimed to have been sent a text message early on the day of the primary that the venue had been changed, and he proceeded to the new venue, where he met a number of people milling about ostensibly also for the event, only for him to be called later in the day by one of his loyalists, that they had been expecting him all day, at the venue of the event, which they informed him was almost concluded.

Given that the foundation of any viable democracy is transparent, free and fair elections, it behooves on the political parties to set the pace, by ensuring enduring internal democratic tenets within their parties,

to be extended to the general elections, where it is expected that they would participate responsibly to produce dependable leaders at all levels for the nation.

Politicians who are the major stakeholders in the parties vying for electoral positions should understand that the purpose of the electoral process is to select popular and capable individuals willing to serve their constituents, rather than a means to take control of government for pecuniary interests, as is the present belief by most Nigerians. To this end, there is the need to tune down a great number of the incentives of public offices, which increases the attractions, and by extension, the struggle to occupy such offices.

Elections in the country have often been characterized by irregularities and fraudulent activities in which elections take the shape of a wartime scenario. This is usually the case due to the tendency of political office holders to use such offices to pillage the national wealth.

As the country goes into the elections proper, it is hoped that politicians will eschew issues and factors that led to such controversies, as we also call on the electoral umpire, the Independent National

Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that they are not dragged into such controversies by desperate politicians.

Aggrieved politicians are able to jump from one political platform to another, because the various political parties in the country have little or no difference, in terms of ideologies, or programmes. Hence an aspirant who fails to get a party’s ticket jumps to another one, all in a desperate hope to still contest the elections, with total disregard for whether or not, he/she is popular among the people.

Politicians need to do away with the desperation associated with grabbing a political office, in disregard for the choice of the people, banking instead on the support of godfathers, or a rigging machinery.

Nigerians, especially the electorate need to understand that they are the major stakeholders in the Nigerian project, and the ultimate beneficiaries of the outcome of any election in the country. They therefore need to view the parties’ primaries as a prelude to the main elections, and guide against factors that may lead to a replay of what happened, by playing their parts to ensure that elections are not rigged, but instead conducted in an atmosphere that would not create controversies.

Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief n Eric Osagie Deputy Managing Directors n Gabriel Akinadewo

Felix Oguejiofor Abugu

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Deputy Editors, Daily n Emeka Obasi, Ayodele Ojo

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

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Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed Sales/Circulation Manager n Abiodun Oyebanji Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

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20

Politics

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

APC’s winning edge over PDP in Lagos guber race Ade Adetayo

A

s expected, the intense struggle for the soul of Lagos State by both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prelude to the gubernatorial election slated for February 28 is taking on an interesting dimension.

The campaigns are already heating up the polity with critical issues bothering on accountable leadership; productive and stable economy,

job creation and security at stake. But the slogans have not excluded innuendoes, half-truths and flowery promises, which to the discerning electorate may end up as the elusive rainbow on the lambent sky.

For instance, precisely on Sunday January 4, Mr. Jimi Agbaje the state governorship flag bearer of the PDP was in North London to present a fanciful speech entitled: ‘My Master Plan for a New Lagos’ to a select audience of party supporters drawn from the United Kingdom (UK), Europe and Ameri-

ca. It focused on three key areas of security, education and health.

To the PDP faithful in the Diaspora it all sounded more like some sweet music to their ears. But to the vast majority of welldiscerning Lagosians back home, Agbaje’s claim of the ‘REAL CHANGE’ is laughable. And why not?

It all boils down to the fact that they have immensely benefitted from what good governance is all about especially during the tenure of Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Ti-

nubu. Agbaje’s treatise on the new Lagos therefore, cracks the rib all because a politician cannot give what his party does not have.

Indeed, one pertinent reason the APC’s mantra of ‘Change’ has caught the nation’s polity like a wildfire and millions of Nigerians are queuing behind its party flag bearers at both the state and federal levels is the incontestable fact that PDP has failed the citizenry and woefully too.

Agbaje’s promises to act as the key to unlock Lagos State’s huge po-

tential is not in tandem with realities on ground.

The reasons are obvious because those potential have already been made obvious to the generality of the residents courtesy of APC’s people-friendly policies, programmes and projects. Where do we start from as the list is endless?

If indeed, he is true to his conscience Agbaje would admit that given the spate of preventable fatal accidents caused mainly by the okada riders, government’s clamp down on their nefarious

activities is all meant to save irreplaceable lives.

Some were reportedly engaged in the nefarious activities of armed robbery and ritual murders.

Those whose motorcycles were seized ran afoul of the law. Every responsible government is based on the rule of law.

In addition, Agbaje’s claim of the collection of N1,000 from market women per day as unremitted and unreceipted flies in the face of the aforementioned increase in the IGR. Maintenance of modern markets do not go for free anywhere in the world. And so is quality education delivery, whether we admit it or not. But graciously, the government has made sacrifice in other areas to make the reversal possible. With the vast improvement in the pupils and students’ reading culture as evident in improved performance in external examinations set by WAEC/NECO and JAMB, his claim of poor learning conditions in Lagos schools holds little water. This is incomparable with what obtains in the PDP-led states.

Interestingly, the same scenario plays itself out when the APC flag-bearer of the state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, a thoroughbred, tested and trusted technocrat and financial guru is pitched against Agbaje. While Ambode parades a pride-evoking curriculum vitae as the former Accountant –General, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and Auditor-General whose experience traversed several of the local government councils in the state, Agbaje’s own pales into insignificance.

His only credential in politics is having contested the state gubernatorial ticket on the platform of one of the defunct political parties.

This throws up the fundamental questions. Even as an un biased observer or a referee in the game of politics, who would score more of the vital goals? Ambode of course, based on his wealth of experience in the administrative affairs of the state and his robust qualification in financial management. He stands on the brink of history to carry on the baton of the culture of leadership excellence which the forwardlooking administration of BRF will be handing over come May 29?

The choice of the vastly experienced APC in the Centre of Excellence above the untested and untrustworthy PDP is the wisest of all. The difference between light and darkness is patently clear.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Festival

21

Tourism

Why we celebrate Elegbara festival, by Adams

Beach Samaritans gives Tarkwa Bay facelift

23

24

Arts Sale of National Theatre: Anxiety CULTURE

mounts, stakeholders divided Tony Okuyeme, Ebere Ameh and Moses Kadiri

R

ecently, it was reported that the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke has sold the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, to a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The report, which was published in Nigeria Political Economist, “a liberal news magazine with global affiliations” , titled “Edem Duke Secretly Sells off National Theatre to UAE Company, Now to Become a Shopping Mall” reads in part: “Barely one year after Nigerians stopped him from turning the National Theatre into a hotel, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke, secretly jetted off the country to the United Arab Emirates, UAE, where he traded off the nation’s cultural pride to Mulk Holding, a diversified UAEbased conglomerate with interests in retail sector and other businesses.

“The secret deal, which was successfully shielded from the Nigerian media, in spite of a subsisting concessioning arrangement with the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, was signed and sealed in December , 2014 between a delegation led

by Duke, the General Manager of the National Theatre, Kabiru Yar’Adua and representatives of Mulk Holding, said to be ploughing the sum of $40 million (about N7.5 billion) counterpart fund into the project.”

The story quoted CEO of the National Theatre, Kabir Yaradua, to have said that “the interior of the National Theatre redesigned and renovated into a modern duty-free and retail shopping mall. The project will convert approximately 30,000m2 of the existing space in two 15,000m2 phases.”

The story has since thrown many stakeholders into pal-

TONY OKUYEME tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

pable disquiet, as according to them, they are still in the dark as to whether the deal actually involved the restructuring of National Theatre. While many of the stakeholders support the idea, especially if it does not entail the changing or selling of the National Theatre building, others insist that it is unacceptable.

For sculptor and photographer, Uche James Iroha, it’s a matter of every vacuum has to be filled. “Because every vacuum must be filled, there is no emptiness in life. Even air takes up space. Now we have a beautiful piece like the National Theatre.

For me, that building is the only original building that characterizes our country. It is symbolic.

According Iroha, because of the space the monument has taken, because of lack of use, something has to be done. “It is not only in art alone, see the National Stadium, Surulere, where we won the Nations Cup in the 80s, it is a drinking bar now. That space was there and it was dead.

In the health sector, there are many hospitals abandoned here and there.

“The National Theatre has been there and the leadership didn’t create the atmosphere for it to flourish, so, something else has to come in. It’s normal. I am looking at the inability for it to have been used due to corruption and wickedness in leadership.

Culture is not a priority in our country, it’s oil and gas where they can steal a lot of money.

To many in leadership, culture is not a big deal. Even in Europe, funding is taken from culture to boost defence spending. They cut the culture projects and buy more arms. So culture is always the first to suffer,” Iroha said.

In his reaction, President, Association of Voice Over Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Ehi Omokhuale, said it is a good idea if it will make the place more vibrant. His words: “From what I got, it is the surrounding that is about to be leased out. Though some say it is the main building.

“If it is the surrounding, fine; it will make the place more vibrant and viable but not the edifice. The National Theatre is symbolic and anything that will make the place more vibrant is welcome. If that happens, the main edifice in the centre will be more viable.”

If it is to provide some elements of viability around it, yes, but...,

National Theatre

If what the Minister has done is to provide some elements of viability around it, without eliminating the essence of the National Theatre, I support it

says Shyllon Foremost art collector and founder of Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF), Prince Yemisi Shyllon said he supports the idea if what the Minister has done is to provide some elements of viability around it.

“I must say that I don’t have the details. I don’t know whether what has been done is done such that they will preserve the whole essence of the National Theatre. I don’t want to react like every other person on the street; If what the Minister has done is to provide some elements of viability around it, without eliminating the essence of the National Theatre, I support it, because that place has been lying idle, being used by miscreants and beer drinkers and so on.

Government has not been giving it attention; many of the rooms and studios there are in a dilapidated state. Nobody is investing in it. If the private sector arrangement is such that we can better use the facilities via generation of resources via creation of avenues within the National Theatre, that can generate resources to sustain itself, I am in support of it.

So, I am not properly briefed to be able to condemn or praise what the Minister has done. I think we should be patient in getting to know what the whole arrangement is about. Is it such that the National Theatre will be better expanded to be able to attract local and international visitors that will be able to use the facilities around the National Theatre; and

at the same time, give room for the propagation of cultural heritage and artistic creativity. If that is the arrangement, I support the Minister.

But if the arrangement is to convert it into a commercial entity it is a complete abdication of the whole essence of building the National Theatre; I join those who are condemning it. So I think we should ask questions before we start condemning.

It is tantamount to sinking the culture sector, says Layiwola Artist and lecturer in the Creative Arts department t, University of Lagos, Prof. Peju Layiwola is not in support of the sale of the National Theatre. She posits that it is not always about selling everything in the country in the name of foreign investment.

“I lend my voice to what other concerned artists are saying that it is unacceptable. It is tantamount to sinking the culture sector. This is a centre that we should celebrate. Like other sectors, it is a general malaise in the country. And I think it will be good if we put a proper structure on ground to maintain the structure rather than outright sale. It will send a wrong signal if we sell such an iconic monument. It doesn’t augur well.

And I think that it is not always about selling everything in the country in the name of foreign investment. We may do that at the detriment of the country and I think this selling of the national theatre is a typical example.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

22

Arts

CO NTINUED FROM PAG E 21

R

enowned sculptor and Chairman, Universal Studios of Art (USA), Bunmi Babatune George says it is not a bad idea.

“We in universal Studios of Art (USA) are stakeholders; number one, because we are situated within the premises of the National Theatre, and so far, we are tenants of the National Theatre management and we have not received anything to show that our tenancy is under threat. We have spoken to the management consistently about this and they have assured us that our interest will be protected; that is why we are still practicing here. So, nothing to the contrary as far as the Universal Studios of Art is concerned.

“On the sale of the National Theatre, I read the report too. But it is not clear. I am aware of the road show that the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke came to do here in the National Theatre with the General Manager of the National Theatre.

It was a public thing, everybody attended; we were part of it. And I consider it as very laudable, the kind of programmes that Duke planned, the facilities - event centres, shopping mall, seven-star hotels and some art centres around it - that will be coming if it is done. I think it is going to be a major boost to our economy.

The National Theatre structure is not affected at all. What we were told is whatever comes out of it shall be ploughed back into the National Theatre to bring it to its full functionality.

It is not impossible that the government is looking at optimising the use of the Theatre facilities. If you are conversant with the structure, you will find out that possibly 80% of it are not being used. So if the government want to use it and concession it to people that will use it optimally and let something come out of it to run the Theatre as a complex, I don’t think that is a bad idea because what we were told at that road show was the National Theatre facilities had to be upgraded, some are not functioning, they have to start functioning but they are going to get money from some of these investments to make sure it runs.

“Selling the Theatre is a strange thing I am hearing, and nobody has been able to confirm it publicly, but we have been reading it online. How far it is true, I don’t know. But I think that the government has to confirm this publicly.”

We would appreciate further official confirmation of the story - Olaku For artist, Biodun Olaku, the stakeholders should be consulted in taking such decisions.

“We would appreciate further official confirmation of the story. To me, it still sounds like rumour. If government confirms it or denies it, it will help. And I think the question needs to be taken to the authorities.

If it is about the National Theatre, then I think, because that is the face of government in that area, needs to be grilled. Whatever assets we have there are ours as Nigerians, they belong to us. And I think every Nigerian has a right to have his query answered were there are dark clouds.

That is what I would like to say about it first. There have been mumblings here and there, and I know that last year, there was programme that was launched. But that has to do with the whole National Theatre space.

“So, it is very difficult to hold a position when it is mere specula-

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

It is not a bad idea, says George

The National Arts Theatre should not be sold because it’s our national heritage. The theatre has the potential to be a huge resource for government and Nigeria if the right people can be encouraged and new vistas explored

plans.”

Aerial view of the National Theatre

Renovate, turn it to museum of contemporary arts - Wewe Former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ondo State, Tola Wewe said it is sad that they are proposing to sell the National Arts Theatre. “This is one of the few iconic buildings we have in Nigeria.”

Wewe who has done over 60 exhibitions in different parts of the world and has won several competitive awards proposed that instead of selling the edifice, it can be repositioned to attract investors.

“I am proposing that we renovate it and turn it to a museum of contemporary arts. This will attract tourists and generate enough income to maintain the edifice. It will also create job for a number of people.”

National Theatre

tion, but one wants to believe that there is a guiding document, a policy in place somewhere, out of which the National Theatre grew. And I think the relevant bodies and the professional groups should look at the document thoroughly. Even if you feel that there should be transition, whether in terms of the physical structure, or in terms of the guiding policies; it should be a joint project. I think that if it is for the benefit of the stakeholders, it just make sense that they should be carried along; they should be involved in

whatever direction that government intends to take.”

It is not true, says Iroegbu Filmmaker and the Executive Assistant Creative Entertainment and Tourism, under the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Youth and Students Affairs, Dickson Iroegbu, debunked the claim of selling the nation monument. His words “it was former president Olusegun Obasanjo that wanted to sell it... not this government...there is no such

It’s our national heritage, says Aganbi Chairman, Actors Guild of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter, Don Pedro Aganbi, said government should not contemplate the idea of selling the monument. “The National Arts Theatre should not be sold because it’s our national heritage.” He continued, “The theatre has the potential to be a huge resource for government and Nigeria if the right people can be encouraged and new vistas explored.”

He however added that every country has a National theatre “and ours is a National Monument for generation to generation. The national theatre can be a huge tourist centre if well structured.”

Arts

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

23

Why we celebrate Elegbara festival, by Adams

A dance troupe performing at the festival

Taiwo Jimoh

T

he serene atmosphere at Shasha, Lagos State, was recently electrified as Oodua People’s Congress came out in their hundreds to celebrate the Elegbara festival in a grand style.

The elated Coordinator of the group, Otunba Gani Adams was cheered by the adherents who had anxiously waited for his arrival. Immediately he steps out his car everybody wanted catch a glimpse of the man.

Adams body guard made frantic efforts to control crowd who wanted to have a glimpse of him, when he was stepping out of his car.

The OPC boss said in his opening remarks that as we

are all gathered here to celebrate one of the deities created by almighty God. But was identified with different names, Christians known him as devil, the Muslims call him ishaytan, while the Yoruba call him elegbara.

This is another effort by Olokun Festival foundation to demonstrate our strong commitment to the celebration of our deities, heroes and heroines from south west region.

“We cannot expect the British to come and celebrate our gods for us, when they have theirs to celebrate.”

Adams who described elegbara as the third chief created by God and Balogun Orun both were created before Elegbara but he is one deities that the lord uses every unites, every seconds and every time.

He added that we should

not hope that the Chinese will come and celebrate Sango, Oranmiyan and other deities for us. It is always a concern for me when Africans celebrate foreign deities, mountains, rivers and monuments.

The OPC boss noted if our government had been doing the right thing for African deities what we are experiencing today in the drop of crude oil price, we own the oil but the buyers dictate the price.

He said elegbera is by far more important and powerful than one can imagine, because he is one of the few deities that we cannot do without.

Adding that if one recognize and the deities that person we benefit and if such a person disrespect him that person get himself to be blame.

“The deities are a messen-

ger of God and in fact he got his power from God, then how can a creature from God continued to fight God and still exist till today.”

Adams argued that how can creature by God be fighting his creator and would still be in existence till today. He said.

“With what we are doing here today we are correcting the erroneous belief that elegbara is competing with God, while he was in heaven, but he was remorseful and sought for forgiveness from God and was forgiven and later sent down to the earth and given a great task.”

He noted that whatever elegbara want to do on earth he always seeks the consent of God before testing anybody or afflicting anybody with any trail and tribulations.

The OPC boss further explained that whoever accorded the deities his respect, such a person would prosper and force that person’s enemies to fail, but if you disregard him, he would make enemies to destroy you.

“That is why it’s good to accord him the respect he deserved; there is no way we can make any headway in our quest for technological advancement because we had failed to recognize the importance of our deities.”

Oba Babatunde Akanbi Lawal, oba of Shasha kingdom thanks the organized of the event and the adherents of the deities.

The celebrating of elagbar does not meant we are pagans, we are celebrating one of our heritage, the Americans, china and the India also have their own heritage they worship.

The guest were entertained by popular musician, King Saheed Osupa and his band, while marketers seized the opportunity to make brisk business by selling different shirt with inscription of the Gani Adams.

Airtel Trace Music Star to empower youths Shola Adefuwa

T

he Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria Mr. Maurice Newa has said that ‘Airtel Trace Music Star’s aims to create the platform to empower Nigerian youths by giving them opportunities to develop their innate skills, achieve their dreams and possibly become the next biggest stars.

Newa said in a statement, that the company is delighted to be associated with TRACE in providing excitement and entertainment opportunities for their teeming customers and music lovers as TRACE will showcase their talents to Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

“This initiative is geared towards supporting and nurturing the potentials of Nigerian youths.

The uniqueness of this initiative

This initiative is geared towards supporting and nurturing the potentials of Nigerian youths

is that contestants are able to express their singing talents through their mobile phones from the comfort of any location they choose,” he said.

The competition is a mobile song contest which allows contestants to audition right from their phones to earn a chance of becoming the next big music star in Nigeria and Africa, in addition to being mentored by global superstar, Akon.

Akon expressed pleasure in joining Airtel and TRACE to develop innovative ways of identifying and nurturing dynamic music talents throughout the continent. The intersection between technology and artist development is elevated by the presence of this ground-breaking music competition concept.

The contestants will be aided by an interactive voice

prompt, loaded with bi-lingual functionality in English and Pidgin which will assist in eliminating language barriers and enable youths from across Nigeria to participate in the competition.

The platform also provides an option to rehearse on a phone karaoke that scores the performance.

Once the recordings are done, the auditioning will be carried out by a select group of judges comprising A-list music acts and industry experts. The auditioning sessions for this competition will run for eight weeks after which the organizers will stop taking entries.

Voting begins immediately after the first set of auditions and will last for 12 weeks before the final winner is selected. The public will also be able to vote for their favourite

contestants whose songs will be selected for the next round.

There will be weekly prizes for various categories.

The competition is also taking place across 12 other countries where Airtel has presence; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.

The best singing talent in each country will be identified, rewarded and put in competition with the best singing talents of other participating countries to run for the Title of best African Music Talent. The overall grand prize comprises of a recording deal with Kon Live, a distributed label through Universal Music Group and an intense mentorship programme with Akon in the United States of America.

24

Tourism

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Beach Samaritans give Tarkwa Bay facelift Ezekiel Adesawe

T

ARKWA Bay beach is one of the beaches in Lagos where leisure and fun seekers of various types harvest fun. With its natural elegance and attractions, it ought to be a rare tourist haven attracting people from different parts of the world. Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and inter-governmental Relations in 2009, attempted to transform and bring it to the consciousness of the public when it designated it a tourism enclave.

With that declaration and the mega musical event that was staged at the beach that same year, many had thought that the beach fortunes would be greatly transformed, while the growing inhabitants of the beach community, which have over the years suffered neglect and left to the vagaries of nature, finally Beach Samaritans at work on Tarkwa Bay beach heaved a sigh of relieve and Cleaning the Tarkwa Bay beach dreamt of a world of possiMeanwhile, the Chairman I am trying to say is that there Science from the University to keep the beach in a clean bilities. of Tarkwa Bay Beach Man- is no investor interested in of Ibadan, declared his love and healthy state.

But seven years on, this According to the Execu- agement Committee, Em- investing but this beach is for cleaning up the environdream is yet to be realised ment and keeping it natural tive Director of CATE and manuel Ituen, was pleased to loaded with opportunities. as the blue print is gatherco-founder of Beach Samari- receive the group at Tarkwa “Another challenge is the thus: “I love to volunteer and ing dust in the file cabinet tans, Sola Alamutu, “the Bay. He highlighted some of issue of curfew that has been also like cleaning environof the ministry, while the idea is to go to all the public the challenges responsible for placed on water transporta- ment. I met Pelu, because of people are left to their own beaches in Nigeria starting the underdevelopment of the tion in the state that once it what I do, I did publicity for devices. Though a number with Lagos, the last time we beach, stating that the lacks is 6pm no boat should travel beach Samaritans and here of tourists, particularly were at Okun Alfa and now partners who could invest on the water, this has discour- we are doing the clean-up, expatriates and others still at Tarkwa Bay. So we went on the beach, the 6pm cur- aged picnickers from visiting so far I feel impressed at the visit the beach to relax and round and searched for an- few placed on boats, and the this place. Also, the beach is turn out of volunteers and enjoy its natural platitudes other beach to clean-up, we poor transport system that battling with efficient trans- the work we have achieved but the excitement is not remembered that Tarkwa Bay ferries visitors in and out of port system because of the today and the fact that the loturbo charged because of kind of ferries used which cals joined us. It’s been fun was so popular, it’s not very the beach. lack of needed tourism facilpopular now and we decided Ituen said, “Tarkwa Bay are not supposed to be used.” and exciting cleaning up of ities to enhance the natural to come and find out.

He further noted the many Tarkwa Bay. I hope we do beach was designated a tourcolouration and fun offered Alamutu was impressed ist beach in 2009 by the former benefits of the beach to the more of this, where we will by the beach. at the turn out of volunteers commissioner of tourism and state government, community be able to spread beyond LaThis grim picture is not who were mostly young peo- Inter-governmental affairs, and fun seekers if the beach is gos.” only peculiar to Tarkwa Bay ple and hence, optimistic that Sen. Tokunbo Afikuyomi, but well developed. According to Also, another Beach Sabut to many of the beaches the group would have cleaned since then nothing has been him, “the state of the beach maritan at the clean-up and tourist havens scattered virtually all the beaches in done to corroborate what they is improving and we are try- exercise, Sharon Akinsola, across the country. It is this the country. She said, “It’s said in 2009. They promised ing to make it better with our a mass communication neglect visited on these fabeen beautiful all the way; to build kiosk, shed, and en- little effort but we believe it student of Samuel Ajayi cilities and the unkempt nawe started from the known to tertainment apparatus to en- will be better than it is today, Crowther University, said, ture of the beaches, which unknown. There’s has been tertain people, but we wrote if we can get partners who “the reason I joined beach last year gave impetus to a improvement in the turnout a letter but it wasn’t received will invest on this beach. The Samaritans is because it’s group of volunteers now of volunteers, in the last clean perhaps it wasn’t followed up. beach will provide opportuni- a great idea to be part of a known as Beach Samaritans up, those we knew were more I can tell you that this beach ties in terms of employment movement that decides to under the auspices of two than those who don’t but in has remained underdevel- for the host community, rev- clean up a nation like Nigeenvironmentally friendly this clean up, we have more oped because there are no enue for the state and fun site ria, that’s struggling with organisations. One of these people we don’t know. In the interested partners who will for picnickers”. environmental issues and to is the Sola Alamutu’s led next five years, we would have help develop this beach to a One of the Beach Sa- also encourage young people Children and the Environcleaned up most of the beach- modern beach that will meet maritans’ volunteers, Caleb like me to volunteer towards ment (CATE) that embarked es in Nigeria.” international standard, what Amoo, a graduate of Political building.” on beach cleanup exercise.

It started with the Okun beach and then came the turn of Tarkwa Bay beach cleanup as part of its end N fulfillment of its cor- resentatives of the hotel Elaborating on the of year events for 2014. The porate social responsi- visited the charity, spend- day’s rewarding activBeach Samaritans, which is bility, Southern Sun Ikoyi ing time with the children ity, Nseobot, said that the a voluntary group of young during the Christmas cel- and donated many items “hotel is pleased to supNigerians, are committed to ebration last year, visited such as food (cooked and port such a worthwhile improving the sanitary conthe Arrows of God Or- uncooked) and toiletries. cause which does such ditions of public beaches in phanage in Lagos where Speaking at the event, important work in prothe country. they interacted with the the Sales/PR Manager viding a safe haven for The group visited Tarkpupil of the home and of Southern Sun Ikoyi, children with little or no wa Bay last month and donated various items Ubong Nseobot, stated: known families or relawhere not deterred by the towards their upkeep. It “We do all we can to help tives.’’ While receiving poor state of the beach was a joyous moment for children to celebrate the gifts from the hotel, and the sorrow sight of the the people as they were Christmas, giving all the a representative of the community but went about excited by the visit, which warmth and affection orphanage thanked the their duty assiduously and many of them described we have to these special hotel for its visit, stating where assisted by the local as enliven and welcomed ones. We are particularly that “as a small developcommunity, who were imdevelopment. determined that they do ing charity, every donapressed by their noble act Some officials of Southern Sun Ikoyi and staff of Arrows of God It was a Boxing Day not miss out on the magic tion makes a substantial and therefore, decided to Orphanage with some of the items donated to the orphanage affairs where some rep- of Christmas.’’ difference to us”. give a helping hand as well

Southern Sun Ikoyi enlivens Arrows of God Orphanage I

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Hallmark

25

Release

Grant, top class movies were hallmark of 2014, says Zik Zulu

Iyabo Ojo out with Silence

28

27

Entertainment Events

Funke Akindele ready with Jenifa TV series

that shaped 2014

I

H

opes were high early in 2014 for the industry, especially with the different government intervention funds. That made it more interesting and eventful for the entertainment industry.

That was cemented with the visit of the Ibinabo Fiberesima led Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, AGN’s visit to President Goodluck Jonathan, where he was conferred with the award of the grand patron of the guild.

In all it was a mix bag for the entertainment industry, with emphasis on its significant growth, especially on the movie sector.

COSON-IBAN war/ ban on broadcast of music Shortly after the New Year celebration, a big royalty war ensued between Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON and Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, IBAN, which led to the blacklisting of notable artistes by specific mainstream broadcast stations. The dispute was finally resolved by the intervention of Nigeria Copyright Commission, NCC. PSquare’s Paul Okoye, Tiwa Savage’s marriage Thereafter, in February, Darey Art Aalde came up with a show that set a bar for the country. Next was Paul Okoye, one of the PSquare twins, who stepped out of bachelorhood when he married his longtime

SONY NEME

EDITOR, ENTERTAINMENT sony.neme@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Peter and wife, Lola

Okoroji

Kefe

girlfriend in Port Harcourt.

That was followed by that of Tiwa Savage and her manager, Teebliz, in another out of the space union in the United Arab Emirate.

PSquare break up In what many describe as another publicity stunt, the rumoured break up was a major headline in print, electronics and social media.

Expectedly, a scape goat was sought, and the rumour mill was agog on the control and stronghold of Peter Okoye’s wife, who many swore is more than a friend than the bad image that was being ascribed to her. Yet, insiders insisted that the purported break up was orchestrated by the face-off between the twins’ wives on one hand, and the musicians’ external family on the other hand.

Amaka Igwe’s passage/ South Africa swept AMAA It was a mix bag in April as Nollywood celebrity, Amaka Igwe passed on. The sour tale continued as the industry surrendered its supremacy to South Africa and other

In July, Davido clinched the Black Entertainment Award, BET’s Best International Act; It generated so much bad blood as it was reportedly given to him back stage, But, in December, he smiled home with the best African artiste; courtesy of All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA.

countries in the continent who came to Bayelsa State and swept the prestigious Africa Movie Academy awards, AMAA. High point of the event held at Yenagoa, was the reconciliation of veteran awards winners, Clarion Chukwurah and president of AGN, Fiberesima as they hugged after the former picked her award - one of the few one by Nigeria.

t is surely an era of television shows as top actress, Funke Akindele has rolled out plans designed to make her more creative as she promises better entertainment content for her fans.

Funke, whose niche role as Jenifa fetched her commendations, promises more engaging plans in 2015, just as she promised to build on her 2014 fortunes with Jenifa television series.

She said, “Just like the movie version, I am poised to rule the charts in 2015 with Jenifa TV series, TV reality show and a radio talk show. I actually wanted the character to take a deserving rest, but I am amazed that many years after, the Jenifa’s character still resonates. Anywhere I go people love to see that part of Jenifa in me. Main attraction of the series is having a good number of actors in the original Jenifa movie involved; as well as new faces”.

She said the television series will be none like it as she brings her creative mind to bear on the shows. Her words: “Funke is curious and dares to ask questions, seek and attempt solutions in her talk show. Under her piercing gaze, she interviews compelling personalities with strengths CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

Half Of A Yellow Sun, Censors Board head on Then came the biggest controversial Half Of A Yellow Sun, starring Nigeria’s biggest export to the United Kingdom, Chiwetalu Ejiofo, the huge budget movie delayed release as a result of issues of an aspect of its content delayed it for seven months, thereby making it easier for pirates to feast on.

Historic rebased economy Same year under review, the entertainment industry received a presidential kudos for its significant contribution to the country’s rebased econCONTINUED ON PAGE 28

Akindele

26

Entertainment

Stories by Sony Neme

B

ig Brother Africa winner, Uti Nwachukwu was on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 stunned by Flavour, the awards winning Nigerian artistes, Sheyi Shey, and Lilian of Big Brother Africa fame.

This took place on a day Uti dragged the cream of notable stars to wine and dine with 500 less privileged in Lagos at the fourth and largest edition of Uti Leads The Stars charity event that was held at the Calabar Hall in Surulere .

At the event, after the multitude of indigents over were hosted to a mouth-watering lunch buffet, they were later lavished with gifts, The apparently satisfied disadvantaged later entertained their donors, just as they got entertained by some Nigerian stars present.

The needy included a cross section of widows, orphans and blind, as well as Down syndrome patients and students from poor communities were among the celebrants.

Artistes who made their day were awards winning Flavour, Sheyi Shay and Saeon.

So also were Dezign and New Age that did not disappoint as they got them dancing to their hit tunes.

The event, hosted by the charming and funny ChiGul, was full of poise and love that got the audience in the Christmas spirit. Her co-anchor was Dr. Ayotunde Alao who has identified with the brand for three years consecutively. He was at his best.

It was an eventful day that was filled with emotion as guests, celebrants and patrons could not hold back as they thronged the venue filled with countless gifts for the needy.

In an emotionally laden voice, the event organisers, Uti he had this to say: “I am truly in awe! I never expected it to be this big! All along the fan club and I kept saying this year would be bigger and we wanted to touch more lives. To stand here today and see all these happening just warms my heart. To hear the widows, orphans and blind, as well as Down syndrome patients and students from poor communities, pray for us and bless us for this little effort is priceless! This has again confirm my call on people to grab the opportunity and care for the needy. I am indeed fulfilled for the year 2014! God has been faithful and I bless his name for using me and my people to bless and favour the needy.”

To the donors he was most grateful, just as he went philosophical, saying, “Words cannot express my gratitude and unending loyalty. Thank you so much for joining and empowering this initiative..May the God who answers prayers meet you all at your pressing needs and answer the prayers and blessings of the needy for you in Jesus name. To all the friends, supports fans of the Uti Fan Club, UFC, who volunteered and donated after reading about the initiative online...thank you. May God reward you all.”

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Uti: True friends in this industry are rare

Uti

Those he singled out for mention Prof and Dr. (Mrs.) Awotedu, Ubong King of Protection Plus security and Amb. Karo Ekewenu,.

Others are Anita, Leslie Williams, Mrs. Bawa, Mrs. Henshaw, the Babcock Alumni, Kwasu Enactus and Precymal, as well as Dr. and Mrs. Nwachukwu, Onah Nwachukwu, Landry King, Omemma Emmanuel Okwudili, Pascal Gracious Oil ltd UK. Also on the list of honour were Ojukwu C h i k a , C h i n ye r e Vivian,Atamah A. Pepple, Kwara State University, May and Baker, Mimee Noodles, Sunny Esezobor, Amara Amaefuna, Izuchukwu Adinamuo, GoergeBlaq couture, Sofa lounge (Mr Chris Nwakobia) and Mr Alex Kothor. So also were Melvin Oduah, Kenneth Okolie, Linda Ejiofor and Peggy.

He further said, “I don’t have a lot of friends in entertainment, but from the few I have, I know how busy we can get especially in December. So to say you all honored

Flavour was extremely kind and definitely one of our highest donors of this event! I was dumbfounded.

And then to take out time to come and sing for the widows even when he was scheduled to fly that day!

us with your presence would be an understatement! Flavour was extremely kind and definitely one of our highest donors of this event! I was dumbfounded. And them to take out time to come and sing for the widows even when he was scheduled to fly that day! True friends in this industry are rare.”

He further expressed gratitude to Sheyi Shay for her generous contributions, Saeon for love and support, Vimbai - a Zimbabwean with unshakable loyalty - and Lilian of BBA who came and donated despite being involved in an auto accident.

He concluded with a special praise thus: “Emmanuel (Mr Naija), my Kwale brother, Boma Akpore from New York and Tony Igwe, Michael Nwachukwu, Geraldine Iheme, Yolanda Okereke, Doris and Tyna my backbones since 2008! Never backed down from an Uti initiative, My UFC angels - Pat Awele, Oby Emeka, Ify Okeke and Joy Sillo without you all I don’t think this event would have even taken place!

2Face celebrates Face 2 Face 10.0

2

Face Idibia began 2015 with the release of the 10 year anniversary edition of his classic debut album Face 2 Face (renamed Face 2 Face 10.0) on Saturday, January 3.

The album, which has been re-mastered to updated standards, comes with bonus tracks including Ghetto Life Ft. Rocksteady and Blackface Naija. The album has been released through a joint venture between Kennis Music and Hypertek Digital.

As a continuation of the Triple Threat Tour launched late last year, he met same day with fans at Rumours Night Club Festac and gave out autographed copies of the album. It was a treble, as fans also got a chance to join the 2Face led Vote Not Fight Campaign by signing the pledge at same event..Later that night the album release party kicked off at the same venue.

Celebrities in attendance to celebrate with 2Face include Solid Star, DJ Jimmy Jatt, OJB Jezreel, Kenny Ogungbe, Joe El, Wizkid, Legendury Beatz, Sarz, Efa, K Slim, Queen Moda, Capita F.E.M.I, Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Rememdy, Elajoe, Azadus, and Mr 2Kay and a host of others..

Now Muzik Recording artistes K Slim, Efa, Queen Moda, and Now Muzik managed artiste Rocksteady, had kicked off performances, before veterans Azadus, OJB Jezreel took fans on a trip down memory lane as they performed their classic hits.

Kennis Music artistes Joe El and Capital F.E.M.I were also among performers before 2Baba grabbed the microphone to tease fans with some freestyles and a medley of his hits.

Wizkid joined him to perform Dance Go (Eau De Vie), a Hennessy artistry theme song and a bonus track on the Face 2 Face 10.0.

2Face Triple Threat Tour and Face 2 Face 10.0 album release party was a courtesy of Kennis Music and Hypertek Digital in conjunction with Now Muzik with support from Raypower, Kennis Music Live, PrimeTime Africa, Beat 99.9Fm, Hip Tv, theNet.ng and str8upbangin.com.

Now Muzik is Nigeria’s premiere 360 degrees entertainment solutions company with primary focus on music.

An elated CEO of Now Muzik has this to say, “At Now Muzik, we partner with our clients to device and execute the strategies to earn the little results that snowball into major brand marketing strides, thriving careers and sustained market leadership position.” Subsidiaries of the company include Now Muzik Recordings, Now Muzik Management, Buckwyld Media, Scriptorial PR and NM Encore which is the events arm of the company.

2Face

Entertainment 27

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

DSTV

CINEMAWATCH (Radio/TV/Events Guide) JAN. 9 — 16 HIGHLIGHTS

Hotel Majestic makes a bold entry

Scene from the Broken Angel

Casts from The Hotel Majestic

Stories by Sony Neme

I

n 2015, television gets more exciting as a new Nigerian telenovella, Hotel Majestic, berths on Africa Magic. The daily telenovella premiered on Monday, January 5 on Africa Magic showcase at 21:00 CAT (8pm Nigerian time).

Hotel Majestic focuses on the Emeni family as they fight one another and the outside world to protect a hotel that has been in their family for decades.

The Hotel, which is situated in a beautiful and flawless riverside community in Nigeria, has been in the family since the late 1800’s and is currently run by two greatgreat grandchildren of the original owner.

The Regional Director, MNet (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, while explaining the new telenovella said, “Hotel Majestic is yet another addition to the exciting content line up on Africa Magic. This new and exciting telenovella features a fresh storyline and the cast, an impressive mix of established and up and coming names in Nollywood, brings to life all the intrigue, suspense, ambition, betrayal and love that make it a must watch.”

In an exclusive with New Telegraph one of the cast who played Clara, Diwari Peterside, took us through her experience and challenges for her, “It is a privilege to be part of the Hotel Majestic project. I am grateful to have been offered a role, especially coming from a music background.

Shooting Hotel Majestic was fun, exciting and novel experience” She explained that except for a couple of stage plays she did while she was much younger, and maybe her music video, Ogun mi, she is relatively new to acting in general.

Her word, “I play the role of Clara, a mysterious hotel guest. I enjoy being on set, relating with the amazing cast and crew, rehearsing my lines, delivering them; the works.

Acting for TV is delicate, because the camera picks up the slightest gestures and expressions. It’s sometimes tricky balancing the right mood and tone. That said, I have not experienced any major challenges just yet; except maybe when dealing with heat during shoots and trying not to sweat out my makeup. At that, I don’t usually succeed most of the time. The makeup team worked extra hard whenever it was my turn!”

Another aspect she recalled was the friendly atmosphere that existed among the cast and crew. her words, “Everybody was friendly, but professionally competent, and there was a comfortable work ethic.

I am excited about the show.

It is a well-balanced blend of established names with up and coming talents. It also has a great team of writers, directors and producers. My appearances come up later in the series, a couple of weeks from now, and I am looking forward to seeing how it all weaves together.”

Hotel Majestic boasts of a stellar cast, which includes renowned industry names like Sadiq Daba, Gloria Young and Tina Mba, as well as Oge Okoye, Bukky Ajayi and Anne Njemanze. The telenovella also features Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) nominee Ivie Okujaye in the lead role as Alero. Ann Njamenze, Diwari and a host of others are part of the must watch family deal from DStv. With its premiere, Hotel Majestic now airs weekdays at 21:00 CAT (8pm Nigerian time) on Africa Magic Showcase (Dstv channel 151). For more information please visit www.africamagic.tv.

Iyabo Ojo out with Silence

C

hild abuse is certainly a crime against humanity. It could be your child. So let us join hands to stop this criminal and rescue our children from every form of abuse. Be it sexual, domestic, emotional or mental abuse.

From the stable of Fesprise Production comes this very educative movie, whichwill be showing today ay Silverbird Cinemas nationwide.

The producer, in an exclusive with New Telegraph, said: “The movie directed by Alex Mouth was motivated by the rise in rate of Child abuse in our society. The damage done to the child after being abuse. I saw the need to speak for the kids through my movie Silence. It could be anybody’s child.

Other movies she has produced are: Omo Gomina( Best featured film Abuja film festival 2010, Arinzo, Botife, Tenbelu, Wole Akudaya, Iyan ogun odun, Silence and her latest film yet to be released “Beyond Disability” (full English movie) Cast of the movie loaded with celebrated thespians are Alex Usifo, Tina Mba and Joseph Benjamin. Others are Iyabo Ojo, Akin Lewis, Yinka Quadri, Biola Segun-Williams, Muka Ray, Faithia Balogun. There are also Ronke Ojo, Do-

Iyabo Ojo

ris Simeon, Bukky Wright, Priscilla Ojo, Julliet Roberts, Gbeminiyi Adegbola , Seun Jimoh, Titi Shobo and Doyin Yussuf & Others.

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Entertainment

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Grant, top class movies were hallmark of 2014, says Zik Zulu Stories by Sony Neme

E

arly last there was doubt about the availability of the federal government grant, especially the possibility of Nollywood practitioners’ ability to access the three billion dollars grant. It was a fund that was expected to help boost the fortune of movie makers in Nigeria.

Interestingly, stakeholders are singing a sweet song as most of them have starting receiving theirs, weeks after meeting the conditions. This much was revealed to the media by the President of Association of Movie Producers, AMP, Zik Zulu Okafor.

Okafor revealed this much while accessing 2014 and the challenges that lies ahead for movie practitioners in 2015 According to the journalist turn producer, “Two significant things marked 2014 out: one is the federal government grant is now a reality, and secondly some landmark productions that has redefined quality of productions in Nollywood are what we expect.

There have been a whole lot of benefits from the grants in question. It has helped in capacity building, quality production and distributions.”

He further explained that capacity building has since taken off. His words: “Quite a number of directors has been to the University of Colorado, USA, for training. About 500 has been trained in Nigeria.

Presently a good number of cameramen and editors are heading to India for their own training. That is awesome. It never happened in history of our movie industry before.”

He also revealed that, “About 30 producers are going to the University of California, Los Angeles for training.

That is fantastic for us.”

With regards to production fund, Okafor explained that there has been series of releases, as quite a number of their members have received their grants. He said, “Another

CO NTINUED FROM PAG E 25

Zik

batch, including me, we were in Abuja last month to sign our own contract, we expect that before this week runs out we will begin to receive it in our accounts” He debunked the notion that accessing the fund was difficult. For him, “Just like grant anywhere in the world, the government have to show that they are prepared for it.

The process started portal was opened on the internet, and everybody has to key in and at the end successful candidates were invited for further screening. And at the end of the day the those successful were invited to Abuja. It’s a very serious exercise and only serious people have successfully satisfied the process.”

After 20 years of Nollywood (not the Nigerian movie industry), there has been a remarkable difference in terms of movie productions in the country. Okafor attributes

this trend to whole lots of factors, which he said revolves on stakeholders resolve to raise the bar.

His words: “In terms of quality and expertise on display, we can point to Falayan’s October 1st, we can talk about Invasion 1887 and we can talk about 30 Days in Atlanta just to mention a few. What we have used these to establish is that Nollywood is capable of doing a whole lots of things in terms of quality productions.

What has affected Nollywood before now is the issue of investment in the industry. We just decided to dare because you need to have real courage for you to do the kind of films you are beginning to see on our cinemas. This has embolden us as you are going to see a lot more productions.

With the presidential grant in our kitty, Nigerians should look out for more quality production in 2015.”

Events in 2014

Aye crooner has vehemently debunked as a wicked rumour

omy, to the tune of 1.2 percent.

In the exact words of the coordinating minister, and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, “Rebasing a country’s GDP is a very rigorous exercise; and a very strong one.”

Kefe’s death The month of June recorded yet another blow to the entertainment community was the death of multiple awards gospel singer, Kefe, who died in an America hospital, under controversial circumstances, after several days in coma.

Davido’s backstage award in UK controversy/Dr. Sid weds Oshomo As the mourning dies out,

Death of Oshadipe twins Yet again the industry lost a promising gospel artiste, Taiwo Oshadipe to the cold hands of death.

Davido

MAVIN artiste, it was wedding bell for Dr. Sid as he ties the knot with his girlfriend, Oshomo. In July Davido clinched the Black Entertainment Award, BET, Best International Act; an award that was reportedly given to him back stage, instead of the main stage where notable artistes from acros the globe received theirs. A claim the

Politics: Artistes’ mass failure-: It was a bubble that got burst for some artistes who shunned locations and studios to throw their hats into the murky waters of politics. Among them were Desmond Elliot, Kate Henshaw, Bukky Wright, Julius Agwu and Kenny St. Best and a host of others. At the end of the day, they failed to clinch their party’s primaries, apart from actor/director, Desmond Elliot who ran under the umbrella of All Progressive Alliance, APC.

Etisalat hosts Saro The Musical

A

s part of its commitment to promote the expansion of Nigeria’s cultural heritage, Etisalat, has called for the revitalization of talents among Nigerian youth in arts and culture at the just concluded, Saro The Musical 2.

At the event with a hndred-man cast, held at the Shell Hall of MUSON Centre in Lagos, the Head, Events & Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani said that it is important to encourage regeneration of arts and culture in the country, because it is the cornerstone of a rich civic life.

For her, “Arts and culture can be a powerful force for good and a catalyst for change. It is our belief that this force can, and should be harnessed in a positive way to work for change in Nigeria.”

Thani further said that one of the objectives of the company’s operation since 2008 is to facilitate social and economic bridge in the areas they operate.

She said, “Saro The Musical, resonates with what we stand for at Etisalat and we are honoured to have the privilege to partner with the organisers of this show, again.”

Starring a highly talented cast made up of last year’s much-lauded performers as well as an infusion of exciting actors like Bimbo Manuel, Dolapo Oni, Gideon Okeke, Saro The Musical 2 was a mindblowing reincarnation with a 100 man cast. , showcasing dazzling performances in lovely and colorful costumes, enigmatic and well-choreographed dance steps, and an exquisite fusion of jazz, afro-beat, hip-hop, highlife, juju, apala, and such other contemporary Nigerian music genres.

Saro is the story of four young people in a search for greener pastures, who migrates to Lagos with little else but an abundance of hopes and dreams, where they are duly reoriented by the people and experiences they encounter on their journey of self-realization.

Weaving together the trials, misfortunes, love, and destinies of the foursome into a 14-act masterpiece, Saro tells the unforgettable and inspiring story of the journey to success in a city filled with broken dreams, as we see Lagos personified by its numerous colourful and characters, frenetic pace of living, and endless drama.

The 2014 event hosted a cream of dignitaries including Muhamadu Buhari, Rotimi Amaechi, ElRufai, Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora and several others.

Funke Akindele ready with Jenifa TV series CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

and weaknesses, all in an attempt to maintain her audience’s trust.”

She further explained that, with Jenifa’s character getting more prominent in the coming series; viewers will be seeing various shades of her talent on radio and television too.

Hear her: “We are doing a talk show with a difference. It has been in the offing for so long, now it is coming out of the can.

It is a reality show that will touch the nerve of our socio-political existence, and it is beautifully scripted. To me, it is a gift of laughter, knowledge, and enlightenment to my fans and lovers of good art.”

Already, the pilot of the radio show that will roll out in February has since been produced and it is getting a critical appraisal from prospective advertisers and sponsors.

“At the audition, the turnout was huge, and impressive with about 1,200

Akindele

promising talents. I was really overwhelmed by the response. And I have assured all those who were duly auditioned of a role either in Jenifa TV Series or Scene One movies productions and other works that I am involved in.”

Her joy is the massive contributions by all concerned to pull off the much anticipated series.

As a prelude, Funke has just released a set of stunning photographs. Looking resplendent in the photos by Moussa Mousssa.

Meanwhile, the actress has opened fresh social media accounts to engage her numerous fans to ward off impostors extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public off her.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

29

Agric

Labour

Industrial disputes: Tougher times await govt, employers

Periscoping agriculture in 2015

31

33

Business What's news

Nigeria’s Ofon projects dip Total’s gas flaring by 10% Gas flaring in Nigeria has further dipped by 10 per cent with the completion of the flare out of the Ofon field on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 102 offshore of the country.

Thai govt panics over rice import cut back from Nigeria DECLINE Purchasing power could be hit by falling oil prices Sunday Ojeme

p.30

Customs moan as rice importers exceed preferential quotas The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has accused some beneficiaries of Federal Government’s rice policy of importing in excess of the quotas allocated to them at the preferential rate.

p.30

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Godson Ikoro

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dele Alao

Industry & Agric Editor

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

F

ollowing the fast crumbling oil prices in the international market, rice producers in Thailand are watching with apprehension over the likely effect of the price crash on rice importation by Nigerian government and private individuals.

A report analysed by the Thai National Shippers Council noted that Nigeria, which is a major importer of Thai parboiled rice, could cut back this year because over 90 per cent of its national income depends on oil exports.

The report said: “Thai rice exports this year could be lower than last year’s 10.5 million tonnes as exporters expect falling shipments of parboiled rice to Nigeria and other African countries.”

Vichai Sriprasert, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the value of rice exports in 2014 was high, adding that the figure could, however, decline this year because purchasing power in some markets could be hit by the lower oil price.

Nigeria is one of the biggest importers of rice in Africa with Thailand as its biggest source.

In 2013, Nigeria and Thailand agreed to double trade between both countries from the level of $1.5 billion to $3 billion.

The agreement was reached during a bilateral discussion between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of For-

eign Affairs of Thailand, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul and his then Nigerian counterpart, the late Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, in Abuja.

Tovichakchaikul noted that there is still much room for expansion, hence, the need

for the two countries to step up their efforts.

“Thailand will like to improve on the $1.5 billion trade volume with Nigeria. We agreed to double this trade volume to $3 billion in the next five years. We also agreed to

control a trade and economic cooperation agreement very soon and a Joint Trade Commission established there will be a vital mechanism in further promoting the NigerianCONTINUED ON PAGE 30

L-R: National Commercial Director, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, Matthieu Seguin; Marketing Manager, Colas, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Bolajoko Bayo-Ajayi; Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Patricia Jemibewon and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Sam Umukoro, at the media launch of the Share a Coke campaign of Coca-Cola, in Lagos.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Kunle Azeez

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igeria’s largest telecommunications company, MTN, may have been managing over two billion phone calls made by its subscribers on its network daily, New Telegraph has gathered.

This was arrived at based on statistics provided in a document obtained this week.

According to the document, the telco records a minimum of 23,500 calls on its network per second and 106,806 short messaging services (SMSs) or text messages sent per minute.

MTN records 2bn phone calls daily ….As subscribers hit 60 million As such, it was learnt that the volume of phone calls on MTN network per minute is 1.4 million; this increases to 84.6 million calls per hour while this graduates to over two billion calls daily.

Similarly, with the network recording 106,806 minutes on

per minute, this translates to 6.4 million text messages sent hourly and on a daily basis it graduates to over 153.8 million text messages.

Also, 2.1 million unique data connections are estabCONTINUED ON PAGE 30

Abdulwahab Isa Finance Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE November 2014........................7.9% October 2014............................8.1% September 2014.....................8.3%

LENDING RATE InterBank Rate....................12.57% Prime Lending Rate...........17.93% Maximum Lending Rate...26.83%

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parallel As at Dec. 28)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N180 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N290 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N238

l Foreign Reserves – $35.19bn as at 18/12/2014

Source: CBN

EXCHANGE RATE (Official As at Dec. 26)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N168 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N263.39 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N205.41

30

Business | News

REVENUE

Total mulls monetisation of 100 million cubic feet of gas per day Adeola Yusuf

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as flaring in Nigeria has further dipped by 10 per cent with the completion of the flare out of the Ofon field on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 102 offshore of the country.

Total Exploration and Production (E&P), operator of the field, which confirmed the completion of the flare out programme, said that this feat is a part of Total’s global environmental targets.

This flare-out milestone will allow for the

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria’s Ofon projects dip Total’s gas flaring by 10% Company inches close to 90,000 boe/d production target gradual increase of production towards the 90,000 boe/d production target through monetisation of around 100 million cubic feet of gas per day, followed later in 2015 by the drilling of additional wells.

“The flare-out on Ofon is also significant for Total’s environmental targets, representing a 10 per cent reduction in the Group’s E&P flaring.

“This achievement is a clear demonstration of Total’s commitment to

the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership promoted by the World Bank,” the company said.

The associated gas of the Ofon field is now being compressed, evacuated to shore and monetised via Nigeria LNG. “The flare-out of the Ofon field illustrates our commitment to developing oil and gas resources around our existing hubs in Nigeria. This important milestone of the Phase II of Ofon

project was achieved in a context of high levels of local content,” said Guy Maurice, Senior Vice President Africa at Total Exploration & Production.

“The flare-out on Ofon is also significant for Total’s environmental targets, representing a 10 per cent reduction in the Group’s E&P flaring.

This achievement is a clear demonstration of Total’s commitment to the Global Gas Flaring

Reduction Partnership promoted by the World Bank.”

The Ofon field is located 65 kilometres from Nigerian shores in water depths of 40 meters.

The field initially commenced production in 1997 and is currently producing about 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

The execution of the project also involved significant local content, including the first living

quarters platform to be fabricated in Nigeria.

Total E&P Nigeria operates OML 102 with a 40 per cent interest, alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (60 per cent).

In 2012, Total celebrated fifty years of its presence in Nigeria.

The Group’s production in Nigeria was 261,000 boe/d in 2013.

Deep offshore developments are parts of Total’s main growth avenues in Nigeria, where the Group operates the Akpo field in OML 130 and launched the development of the Egina field in the same lease in 2013.

Offshore production also comes from OMLs 99, 100 and 102, which are operated by the Group as part of a joint-venture with NNPC.

Thai govt panics over rice import cut back from Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

Thai economic partnership,” he said.

The Thai Deputy Prime Minister identified several areas of cooperation between his country and Nigeria, including agro-processing, especially local production of rice, cassava, the processing of gemstones, capacitybuilding, training and manpower development.

He also spoke about several Thai initiatives aimed at promoting closer cooperation with African countries,

including a high-level dialogue under the auspices of the ThaiAfrican Initiative held in Bangkok in February 2014.

Ashiru had expressed the hope that the bilateral engagement would lead to closer cooperation between Nigeria and Thailand in the areas of economic relations, security, political consultation, including regional cooperation in West Africa and South East Asia, as well as the promotion of the welfare of nationals living in both countries.

MTN records 2 billion phone calls daily CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

lished at any point in time on the network, with all being managed by the MTN Nigeria Data Centre infrastructure, manned by a team of engineers, MTN said in the document.

MTN Nigeria has invested over $13 billion (over N2 trillion) to date in fixed assets and facilities nationwide to provide cellular network access and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to Nigerians.

As a result of the massive investment, MTN currently has the most expansive network coverage, spread across 3,649 cities, towns and villages in all 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the telco said in the document.

Meanwhile, MTN said it has further grown its subscriber base from 58 million as at September

2014 to reach 60 million at the end of December of the year.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, MTN, Funmi Onajide, disclosed the new subscriber status while speaking at the media launch of ‘BetterMe 2015’ app, a new data package built around a software that allows subscribers to navigate the Internet adequately and get whatever information they are seeking.

She said the unveiling of ‘BetterMe 2015’ app signals a fundamental paradigm shift, not only for MTN, but also the entire Nigerian ICT/ telecommunications industry.

“It signals a move towards maturity in the local ICT industry as we are fast approaching the kinds of landmarks, which promote the variety of data-based products and services that we see in developed markets,” she said.

L-R: Area Head, Corporate Affairs, Dayo George; Area Head of Treasury, Bisola Adefarati; Sustainability Manager, Seyi Ashade; Export Manager, Uchechi Havor; and Area Programme Manager, Maureen Adeiye, all of British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), at the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) Conference in Lagos.

Customs moan as rice importers exceed preferential quotas EXPLOITATION

Stakeholders abuse preferential levy and duty rates Bayo Akomolafe

T

he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has accused some beneficiaries of Federal Government’s rice policy of importing in excess of the quotas allocated to them at the preferential rate.

Miffed by the reckless imports, the Customs management said it would penalise such beneficiaries.

It has, therefore, ordered that appropriate levy of 60 per cent and 10 per cent duty rate be paid on the quantities imported in excess of the approved quotas not later than January 15, 2015.

According to NCS spokes-

man, Mr Wale Adeniyi, a deputy comptroller, records of the importation were already in Customs system.

He noted that Customs had directed such beneficiaries to visit their ports of importation and reconcile the total quantities imported, using the preferential rates with their approved allocations.

The spokesman said: “The names of defaulting beneficiaries after this date will be published while appropriate sanctions will be applied thereafter.

He said that Customs was ready to collaborate with other government agencies in enforcing the import quotas, as well as other measures, to achieve national self-sufficiency in rice production.

In line with Federal Government’s new policy on rice, in 2014, import quotas were allocated to some investors in rice production and existing

millers to bridge critical supply gap.

Adeniyi further stressed that “this policy specified a preferential levy of 20 per cent and duty of 10 per cent for the beneficiaries. Other Importers were to bring rice to Nigeria under the 60 per cent levy, 10 per cent duty regime.

“In implementing this policy, Nigeria Customs Service is to facilitate the importation process for the beneficiaries of the preferential levy/duty rates, while enforcing the cap on the quantities imported in line with the approval of the Inter-Ministerial Committee.”

He said that the service was in the process of reconciling importations made by the beneficiaries.

This month alone, the Lagos Port Complex will take delivery of 175,800 metric tons of rice valued at N35 billion from eight vessels.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

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Labour

BUILD-UP Industrial disputes may take an unprecedented toll on the nation’s economy in the days ahead

Industrial disputes: Tougher times await govt, employers

Sunday Ojeme

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he industrial action embarked upon by members of the judiciary workers under the aegis of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), signals what awaits the country in the months ahead.

With oil prices crashing beyond control, political tension mounting across the entire country and the naira going through unprecedented slide against major international currencies, a battle of wits between labour unions, employees and employers is also quietly brewing in both public and private sectors.

Except the situation is carefully managed, industrial disputes may take an unprecedented toll on the nation’s economy this time around.

Already, members of JUSUN have vowed not to go back to work except their demand bordering on the non-implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on autonomy is met.

According to the union, whose New Year gift to the country is bringing the third tier of government to an abrupt halt, the strike will be indefinite and will not be suspended until the demand for the implementation of the January 13, 2014, judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja is met.

JUSUN had promised, late last year, that it would resume strike in January because various stakeholders had flouted the Memorandum of Understanding in which it was agreed that the financial autonomy of the judiciary as ordered by the court would be given effect from December 2014.

The MoU signed by various parties on November 27, 2014 meeting stipulated that as from the next Federal Accounts Allocation Committee meeting, the judgment would be implemented.

The court had, in July 2014, embarked on three weeks strike, which was suspended after stakeholders promised to ensure that the union’s demands were met.

While JUSUN has started the year by shutting down the courts, union leaders in the country are also warming up to the task in anticipation of the Federal Government’s likely decision to stabilise the failing economy through workers victimisation.

In separate messages of caution ahead of possible persecution of workers, the union leaders have directed the Federal Government to tread carefully in all its attempts to salvage the economy.

Early in the week, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria reaffirmed its stance that it would not tolerate any job cut that may arise as a result of instability in the economy.

Lagos JUSUN denies going back on strike p.32

Jonathan

The union said that the hasty and deliberate devaluation of the naira, which had brought untold hardship to the real sector and all other sectors of the economy have to be addressed.

According to the President of the union, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, and the Secretary-General, Musa Lawal, any decision to cut job by the private and public sectors of the economy might further escalate insecurity in the country.

“It becomes pertinent to warn against such a move now to avoid worsening the state of insecurity in the country today, which was occasioned by the gross mismanagement of the economy.

“No wonder, unemployment figures remain high; unimaginable crime rates, poverty, epileptic energy sector and inexplicable high tariff have become our lot. And it is a tragedy of national proportion that as parents we sleep in the comfort of our homes when the over 250 Chibok girls and the series of other kidnapped youths have not been found,” the union stated.

Rather than contemplating job cut, the congress directed government to order the appropriate agency to immediately adjust the prices of petroleum products as it would ameliorate the suffering of the Nigerian masses.

TUC stated: “We have observed that the entrepreneurs that are being empowered are compromising employment standards and flagrantly breaching workplace rights and decent work principles with intimidation and myriads of victimisation.”

On the other hand, the Congress is also mediating in the lingering crisis between the Federal Government and health workers by calling on the former to address contending issues it has with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JO-

Omar

While we implore sector operators to avoid recurrence of impasses such as the one at hand, we also want them to know that we all have flesh and blood

HESU) and Assembly of Health Care Professionals.

It is demanding that government respect the rulings of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria as regards the payment of arrears of special allowances to health professionals and the immediate amendment of the circular on consultancy status.

Among other hindrances is that the committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, is yet to reach a compromise after 11 meetings held with JOHESU between January and November of last year.

Other issues in contention are “Payment of arrears of salaries of CONHESS 10, skipping outstanding since the year 2010 and immediate release of the harmonised Scheme of Service for Nurses and Midwives and the reconstitution of boards of federal teaching and specialist hospitals with equitable representation of union and professional associations.”

The union said: “The incessant strikes have, no doubt, disrupted work in the affected hospitals.

While we implore sector operators to avoid recurrence of impasses such as the one at hand, we also want them to know that we all have flesh and blood and any one can fall ill, including government officials, their family members and even the health workers themselves.

“All hands must be on deck to ensure that a sector as sensitive as the health sector should not be toyed with. As a result, we implore government, well-meaning Nigerians and health workers to always consider the ordinary people, because in the end the nation loses,” TUC stated.

Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Mr Abdulwaheed Omar, cautioned gov-

ernment against imposition of arbitrary austerity measures.

In its New Year message, NLC noted that the workers were at the receiving end of the devaluation of the currency, which has possibility of collateral consequences.

The union leader believes that instead of punishing the workers, government could take sustainable, viable and proactive actions instead of punitive measures against workers whose quality of life had already been affected by the devaluation and other measures.

Omar instead that the best way to manage the budget under austerity is to reduce the cost of governance.

According to him, bloated perquisites of political office holders must be cut. Perquisites and comfort of politicians need to reflect the reality of the times. The president and the state houses of assembly must lead in this regard. The size of the Presidential fleet, the cost of running the State House and the retinue of political jobbers can all be reasonably cut without reducing the effectiveness of the Presidency.

He warned of possible disruption of state governments’ operations if workers were not paid their salaries after exceeding the ultimatum given, adding that despite the recent rating of the economy as the biggest in Africa, the country had not lived up to expectation in terms of performance.

Omar said: “Lending rates remained high, making the cost of doing business unreasonable; the naira was hugely devalued in the last quarter, jerking up the cost of living and preventing Nigerians from benefiting from falling crude oil prices; the economy remained largely import-based in spite of the volume of the so-called foreign direct investment.”

In his opinion, the Chairman of the NLC in Anambra, Mr Patrick Obianyo, appealed to the Federal Government to review workers’ salary to cushion the harsh effects of the economy, saying that workers, despite being the engine room of government, were always made to bear the weight of bad economic situations.

He said that workers, purchasing power was being affected by the devaluation of the naira, increase in electricity tariff and inflation, adding that the salary of workers, being fixed income, was fast degenerating.

He said: “Labour needs protection in the current economic realities. We are fixed income earners and we are the worst hit because what N10 could buy before may now require N50.

“Our take-home pay can no longer take us home. There must be true fiscal federalism when the Federal Government determines the pay of political office holders.”

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lagos JUSUN denies going back on strike ADAMANT Courts remain shut as dispute continues Stories by Sunday Ojeme

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HE Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has said it will only call off its ongoing strike if the government complied with the court judgment granting financial autonomy to states’ judiciary.

Chairman, JUSUN, Lagos State branch, Emmanuel Abioye, made this known

while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Abioye said that he was satisfied with the level of compliance with the indefinite strike, which began on Monday.

He said: “The national body of JUSUN has directed us to embark on an indefinite strike.

“They have actually told us that except government complies with the judgment of court, there is no going back.

They have actually entered into several memorandum of understanding and till now, those were not respected and that is why the strike is on.”

JUSUN embarked on the strike following the non-implementation of the Jan. 13, 2014 judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court had ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to make deductions of the amount standing to the credit of states’ judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund The court directed the AGF to remit it to the National Judicial Council, which will then disburse same to the various heads of court.

JUSUN had earlier embarked on a warning strike in July 2014, to press home their

demand for financial autonomy of the judiciary.

NAN correspondents, who monitored developments at the Lagos High Court, Igbosere and Ikeja, as well as some Magistrates’ Courts in the metropolis, report that the gates to the court complexes were locked.

Some lawyers and litigants who were unaware of the strike were denied entry into the high court premises by security men and some JUSUN officials.

A Lagos-based lawyer, kechukwu Anima, told NAN that the judiciary workers were fighting a good cause.

He urged the government to put into effect the financial autonomy of the judiciary and yield to the demand of the judiciary workers.

The lawyer said that the strike would definitely cost him and his clients a lot because he was in court to perfect the bail condition of one of his clients, who was in prison custody.

“I support the financial autonomy of the judiciary for proper checks and balances in the government. Government should endeavour to yield to the demand of the judiciary workers, it is the right thing to do,” Anima said.

….As NLC backs action T

he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has backed the ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

The union said the action was an outcome of government’s disregard for a Judicial pronouncement by a court of competent jurisdiction, adding that an independent judiciary remained a crucial part of the nation’s democracy.

The union observed that direct funding remained a constitutional right, which has been further strengthened by a Judicial pronouncement.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Esan, the union also blamed the office of the Accountant- General of the Federation (AGF), state governments and other appropriate government agencies for the broken

chain of promises, which culminated in the strike action by the union.

“Since the judgment, as many as seven Memoranda of Understanding with Government (arising from countless meetings) have been signed. In spite of serial breaches by Government and its agencies, JUSUN had continually displayed remarkable understanding and uncommon maturity,” the NLC said.

It called on the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and all the Attorneys-General of the states to respect the judgement, and ensure an end to the strike.

“It is saddening that these Law Officers are seen to be breaking the law in such a brazen manner and at a time like this. Financial autonomy for the Judiciary is non-negotiable,” the statement added.

SystemSpecs appoints CTO

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he management of SystemSpecs has announced the appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Eze as the company’s Chief Technology Officer [CTO].

As a homegrown director, Eze served as a Youth Corper in SystemSpecs and rose through the system before attaining his new position within 14 years.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1999, Eze was employed full time in July 2001. In 2003, Eze returned for further studies at the University of Hull, UK. This decision culminated into the award of PhD in Computer Science following an excellent defense of his dissertation thesis “Context-based Multimedia Semantics Modelling and Representation”.

Eze has an extensive experience in core business and financial software design and development, enterprise ICT infrastructure

management, research, and IT Management. He has attended numerous professional training programmes outside Nigeria.

Apart from a good number of scholarly publications to his credit, Eze is a member of many professional bodies such as British Computer Society, Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Nigeria Computer Society, etc.

According to the MD/ CEO, SystemSpecs, John Obaro, Eze has proven to be a great and dependable talent to SystemSpecs over the years. Even during his doctoral programme, “he has made himself available for support in the area of our core programming activities.

For instance, in 2005, he led the team that migrated our J2ee-based application to the Spring framework in order to help achieve a more stable and scalable software product for the company”, he said.

L-R: General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi; Aladeshonyin of Odo-Noforija, Oba Babatunde Ogunlaja; Oloja of Epe, Oba Kamarudeen Animashaun; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Taofiq Tijani and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mrs. Iyabo Obasa, during the commissioning of the Solar Power Energy in Epe.

NEM Insurance appoints new directors

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he board of NEM Insurance Plc has approved the appointment of a new deputymanaging director. She is Mrs. Susan Giwa-Osagie.

Also appointed is Mr. Alani Olojede as an executive director of the company.

Giwa-Osagie is a law graduate of University of Warwick, Coventry, England. She holds a Master’s degree in International Law. She also holds a diploma in insurance and is both an associate of Nigerian Institute of Management and National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria.

Her insurance career started at the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria. From there, she moved to Olympia Insurance Company Limited as legal adviser/head of corporate services. She resigned to join the African International Bank Limited as a principal manager with responsibility over insurance.

In 2004, she was appointed the executive director, business development, NEM Insurance Plc. She continued to hold this

position in the new dispensation (after the merger of Vigilant and NEM).

An experienced legal mind with extensive grasp of oil and gas insurance and business development strategies, she was elevated to the position of the deputy-managing director by the board and her new appointment has been approved by the National Insurance Commission. She is married with children.

Olojede attended Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo, Lagos where he obtained his HND in Insurance and became an associate member of the Insurance Institute pf London. He also holds a Master’s degree in managerial psychology from the University of Ibadan.

He had spent quality time in teaching before he moved to the insurance industry in 1985 when he joined Guinea Insurance Plc. To date, he has over 29 years experience in various capacities in the industry.

His well-grounded experience in life and pension, insurance brokerage, claims and general business management has

impacted positively the previous companies where he had worked in various capacities. He therefore brought this wealth of experience to Vigilant Insurance Company Limited in 1995. Upon merger with NEM, he continued as the general manager (research and branch operations with oversight functions in compliance monitoring, research and product development.

MD, NEM, Tope Smart

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

33

Agric

FG releases 11 new crop varieties to farmers p.34

Expert identifies bane of agricultural cooperatives p.35

Periscoping agriculture in 2015 As the country continues to improve on its agricultural system and towards its improved contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), findings by the New Telegraph reveal major areas of concentrations in the New Year. DELE ALAO writes

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hough available data indicates that the agricultural sector was negatively affected by insurgency activities and overall insecurity in the North East, it is on record that food production has risen massively and, as a nation, Nigeria has produced an additional 21 million metric tonnes of food within the last three years. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), records show that Nigeria’s food import bill declined from N1.1 trillion ($6.7 billion) in 2009 to N684 billion ($4.35 billion) in 2013. It continues to decline.

This became possible because of increased capacity for local food production, which reduced food importation. And at a time of falling oil prices and devaluation, agriculture has created the buffer to safeguard the economy.

A statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the agricultural sector grew by 9.19 per cent (yearon-year) in Q3 of 2014, up by 2.7 per cent points from Q3 of 2013.

The agricultural sector grew by 38.53 per cent between third and fourth quarters of 2014, with crop production being the main driver, with a growth of 43.5 per cent.

The Federal Government, in the past few years, have concentrated on improving the production of both cash and food crops while ensuring that fertilisers and improved seedlings are made available to farmers with ease.

However, there are indications that the year will witness more activities in some major sectors of the agricultural system.

Sugar Industry watchers are of the opinion that the sugar industry will experience an upsurge in fortune. According to them, the quantum of national revenue that has been going into sugar importation is unsustainable, particularly in the context of dwindling oil fortunes and devaluation of naira.

They, therefore, observed that the transformative efforts that have started in the sugar sector would be continued and the success re-

Rice field

corded hitherto solidified.

It is expected that this year will witness the distribution of 5,600 industrial seed cane to 3,398 sugarcane farmers in 14 states around existing sugarcane mills in 2015 farming season through the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES).

It would be recalled that in 2014, the value chain scheme introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) supported Honey Gold Global Resources Nig. Ltd, partnering with COSTA NEGOCOIOS in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to secure 120,000 ha in Adamawa State.

gap between consumption and local production would be further bridged. It is anticipated that, in 2015, Nigeria may become a net exporter of rice, away from the decades of annual importation that has cost the country an average of N1 billion daily. Despite the new involvement of billionaires in rice farming, the small farmers will still continue to contribute significantly.

Staple crop processing zone (SCPZ) The country will, this year, witness a takeoff of agro-industrial clusters, known as Staple Crops Processing Zones. This is expected to create thousands of rural jobs, stem rural-urban population drift and add to food supply in Nigeria. The operation of SCPZ is expected to play a role in provision of rural infrastructure in the affected areas.

Rice value chain Major increase in rice production is expected in 2015, with the continued implementation of two-cropping system, which has proved a resounding success following the three years of implementation of dry-season rice farming. With the positive responses coming from small and large scale investors in rice production in Nigeria in the last three years, and more investors still expressing interests, it is expected that Nigerian rice production volume will bring us even closer to meeting our national rice consumption needs while the

Owners of the Lekki FTZ are out to kill Nigeria’s effort to develop our palm oil industries and they are treating us like a goat

Palm oil palaver Stakeholders in the palm oil sector, late last year, disagreed with the Federal Government over the latter’s 75 per cent duty waiver granted to importers of crude palm oil, especially operators in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN); Vegetable and Edible Oil Producers Association of Nigeria (VEOPAN), Vegetable & Edible Oil Sector of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON), said that the 75 per cent waiver could best be described as nailing the coffin of the oil palm economy and burying it.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, once lamented that Nigeria loses at least N20 billion yearly in revenue due to the importation of palm oil into the country.

President of the NPPAN, Henry Olatujoye, said: “To me, the owners of the Lekki FTZ are out to kill Nigeria’s effort to develop our palm oil industries and they are treating us like a goat. Give the goat a green grass and have your way. This has to stop immediately. We are appealing to government to immediately remove that clause from the Act and close the Lekki FTZ with a view to reviewing the activities of the companies

operating in the Zone.”

Experts are of the opinion that for the country to meet the shortfall in local usage of crude palm oil and be self sufficient, it needs a total plantation of 300,000 hectares of land.

According to IndexMundi, a data portal, the domestic palm oil produced totalled 930,000MT in 2014. The consumption of palm oil in Nigeria amounts to 2.0 million MT per annum.

The official figures state that the shortage in oil palm industry is estimated to be around 900,000MT annually.

Of course, the Federal Government is striving to sustain the country’s crude palm oil industry, but stakeholders are of the view that the 75 per cent waiver should be removed in the interest of the sector and have promised to engage the Federal Government this year towards removing the waiver.

Cassava Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world, with a total production of 55 million MT of fresh cassava roots in 2014. Despite her comparative advantage in cassava production, Nigeria is not one of the major players in the global value-added trade of cassavabased products. On the other hand, cycles of boom and bust of prices, due to reliance on a single product market, garri – toasted granulated flour from cassava that is a common traditional food – has meant that Nigerian cassava farmers are often left without a market for their produce.

Furthermore, Nigeria is a large importer of wheat grain, starch, sweeteners and among others, that can be partially or completely substituted for cassava-based CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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Business | Agric

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Gombe to boost agric devt with N2.8bn in 2015 BUDGET Farmers to access N600 million revolving loan Ben Ngwakwe Gombe

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ombe State governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, has earmarked N2.8 billion for agriculture this year

This, the governor noted, in this year’s budget, was part of efforts to sustain and improve agriculture as the mainstay of the state’s economy and the largest employer of labour in the state.

To support the sector, the governor said that he would flag-off the disbursement of N600 million Gombe State Revolving Agricultural Fund in order to increase access to credit by the farmers to enable them boost production

Expert identifies bane of agricultural cooperatives

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he founder and coordinator, No Agric, No Deal, Halima Mohammed, has described lack of finance as a major factor confronting agricultural cooperatives in Nigeria.

According to her, agricultural cooperatives, as member-owned and controlled agribusiness enterprises, traditionally played important role in upgrading the socio-economic status of their members and local communities, but in Nigeria, “majority of the agricultural cooperatives face severe financial problems, which undermine their existence.

“In order to surpass this situation, we intend to source for the means of enhancing their business dimension, using more competitive forms of collaboration. These include; alternative forms of collective entrepreneurship associated with the transformation of ‘Traditional

cooperative’ into ‘New Generation Cooperatives’, which under appropriate condition can ensure development and their members welfare,” she added.

Halima noted that the key words to seriously look into this year was agricultural cooperatives for meaningful drive.

“In addiction, the multifunctionality of rural areas, where a significant proportion of farmers combine employment in the agricultural sector with employment of tertiary sector, such as processing agricultural products and services in agro-tourism and many other related activities, marks rapid development and encourage the implementation of new models of collective entrepreneurship. Within the low income communities all in a bid to make the Transformation Agenda on Agriculture a reality,” she added.

and placing more land under cultivation and mechanised farming methods.

Presenting the budget in Gombe, the governor lamented that his administration met an agricultural sector that was growing at a snail speed in 2011, faced with epileptic and inadequate access to such farming inputs as fertilizer, implements, pesticides and improved seeds.

He said that his administration procured and distributed 225 new tractors to facilitate accessible land clearing, employed 147 tractor drivers, technicians and artisans, procured and distributed 110,000 metric tons of assorted fertilisers to farmers at subsidized rates for rain-fed and irrigation agriculture.

The governor added that his administration also procured and distributed 2,280

products. An import bill of over N635 billion annually on wheat translates into massive loss of jobs in the local agricultural sector that can produce alternatives. Wheat flour can be partially substituted with High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), which Nigeria can produce in abundance.

In light of this, government launched a cassava transformation agenda in 2011, with an emphasis on import substitution, particularly to replace up to 20 per cent of the imported wheat with high quality cassava flour for use in bread, confectionaries, pasta, and to also replace imported starch, sweeteners, and ethanol with locally cassava-based products, among others. Via the HQCF, starch and sweeteners value chains, Nigeria will re-direct N267 billion to cassava farmers annually. Using the value chain approach of increasing efficiency of primary production, expansion of production, training of key actors, and policy incentives,

a 20 per cent cassava bread, starch, sweetener and ethanol value chain are being pursued in the country.

It is therefore expected that the Federal Government would continue with the revolution in the cassava sector.

Cocoa Cocoa is Nigeria’s biggest agricultural export, while the country is the fourthlargest producer of cocoa beans in the world, behind Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia. After petroleum, cocoa is the country’s most important export – before independence, cocoa generated 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.

Eclipsed these days by oil as the country’s major export, Nigeria still produces 300,000350,000 tonnes of cocoa a year, most destined for consumption abroad – the country exports about 96 per cent of its cocoa crop.

Fourteen of Nigeria’s 36 states grow cocoa: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi,

generate wealth.

On fisheries, Governor Dankwambo said his administration realised that fish farming was one of the most neglected forms of farming and in view of that, the state embarked on aggressive sensitisation and encouragement of people to engage in fish farming.

The governor said that the state have completed work on the construction of a fish hatchery with capacity of 800,000 fingerlings per annum and installing a fish feed machinery that would produce 5,000 tons of fish meal per annum and N120 million has been provided in the budget as the operations of the fisheries Department of the Ministry of Water Resources to provide the needed services to the people have been strengthened.

Tractors

A peep into agriculture CONTINUED FROM PAG E 3 3

work bulls and 1,140 ox-drawn ploughs and provided improved seedlings, purchased farming implements like riggers, harrowers and ploughs, purchased and distributed 8000 units of water pumps for dry season farmers, especially flood victims who lost their farms to flooding.

The governor, who reiterated the determination of his administration to support livestocks, said that the need to re-capture and protect pastoral resources informed the decision to create a whole ministry responsible for Animal Husbandry and Nomadic Affairs, which shall lead policy formulation and drive-growth and development in the sector.

The target, the governor stated, was to make livestock farming a thriving business that creates employment and

Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Taraba.

Despite cocoa’s importance in the years before independence, the sector was allowed to decline after the oil boom of the 1970s and suffered for decades from underinvestment.

Howevet, the cash crop under the current administration is receiving attention.

The present administration has increased the fortune of the cocoa economy by coming up with Cocoa Transformation Agenda to address the factors affecting cocoa productivity in Nigeria. The Cocoa Transformation Agenda commenced officially in 2012 and a lot of achievements have been recorded. Though, the country might not have met her target of 500, 000 metric tonnes this year, the Federal Government has, however, promised to improve its effort on the sector this year.

Other cash crops such as cashew, rubber, shea, kola among others, it was gathered, would also receive desired attention this year.

FG releases 11 new crop varieties to farmers

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he Federal Government has released another set of 11 new crop varieties to Nigerian farmers. Government had earlier released 11 varieties in June 2014, developed by research institutes, universities, crop scientists and private seeds companies. This brings to 22 the number of crop varieties released so far.

Chairman, National Technical sub – Committee on Crops, Olusoji Olufajo, a professor, said that 22 varieties were initially submitted for approval.

Olufajo disclosed that the 11 approved varieties are, one rice variety (Faro 63), three sorghum hybrids (PRADHAN, MLSH 296 Gold and MLSH 151) and one potato variety (Marabel).

Others are two wheat varieties (LACRI WHIT – 5 and LACRI WHIT – 6), two maize hybrids (SAM-

MAZ 41 and SAMMAZ 42) and two soybean varieties (NCRISOY 1 and NCRISOY 2).

Concerning the sorghum varieties, Olufajo said: “PRADHAN hybrid was recommended for release based on its white and bold grains and high grain yields, MLSH 296 Gold based on high grain yield and MLSH 151 based on its bold round grains with cream colour and high grain yield.”

He added that the sorghums were developed by the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) Zaria, and Syngenta Nigeria Limited, and the potato variety developed by National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike while Syngenta was recommended based on extra early maturity, high yield, high number of marketable tubers and high dry matter content.

Business | Agric

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

35

FG aims at availability of high quality seed FOCUS Efforts are ongoing to remove bottlenecks, which enhances scarcity Stories by Dele Alao

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he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has em-

phasised the need for the availability of affordable high-quality seeds to farmers.

According to the minister, these seeds should be within the reach of farmers irrespective of location. The minister, who noted that poor seed quality planted by farmers and adulteration of seeds deployed to redemption centers by some companies were some of the prob-

lems facing the sector, said: “Since seed is paramount to the survival of agriculture, measures must be put in place for self-regulation, as well as efforts to remove all bottlenecks which inhibit the availability of quality seeds to farmers in Africa.”

The minister harped on the need to intensify efforts to improve seed processing in the country, advance growth of

the sector and determine the type of interventions needed to make quality seeds available to farmers.

Commending the achievements recorded in the seed sector since the commencement of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) under the present administration, Director General of National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Olusegun

Ojo, noted that crop production efforts would not yield the desired result until the issue of quality seeds availability was adequately addressed, thus highlighting the need for an up-scale in the capacity building efforts to update the skills of the operators in seed quality assurance.

Me, however, he urged stakeholders in the seed industry to partner fully with the council in or-

der to achieve sustainable availability of good quality seed for Nigerian farmers.

Ogun agric agency targets N175m in 2015

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he Ogun State Agriculture Development Corporation said it is expecting to generate N175 million for the fiscal year.

Also, the corporation said it has proposed N181 million as its total budget for 2015, adding that N122 million was meant for capital projects, while N59 million woill go for recurrent expenditure.

Meanwhile, the state Ministry of Agriculture has said that self-sufficiency in food production this year will form the major thrust of its activities.

Towards this end, the ministry said that it was ready to stimulate increase in the production of both plants and animals, through the cultivation of farmlands.

Therefore, it has proposed to spend N4.690 billion this year to achieve its objective.

Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, said this while defending her ministry’s year 2015 budget at the House of Assembly, OkeMosan, Abeokuta.

Sokefun said that the capital project in 2015 would gulp N4 billion, N690 million was earmarked for recurrent expenditure and N350 million was set as the revenue target for the fiscal year.

She said that N11.9 million would be spent on purchase of agriculture equipment, just as another N108 million was set aside for production of farm seedlings.

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

36

Auto Beat

Coscharis offers Ford Mustang + aviation-inspired cockpit Paul Ogbuokiri

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oscharis Motors is set to introduce the all new Ford Mustang into the Nigeria market for the first time ever. This follows on the heels of previous successful introduction of the Ford Ecosport, Fusion, Edge and Flex variants by the company.

General Manager Ford, Coscharis Motors Limited, Cletus Aregbeshola, in a statement says the Mustang is loaded with innovative technologies and delivering high levels of performance and style, “the all-new Mustang is the next chapter in the life of one of the world’s most iconic cars,” he adds.

“Ford Mustang inspires passion like no other car,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “The visceral look, sound and performance of Mustang resonate with people, even if they’ve never driven one.

Mustang is definitely more than just a car – it is the heart and soul of Ford.”

He said

that Mustang’s impact goes well beyond the nine million-plus cars sold in its 50 years of continuous production. He adds that it has made thousands of appearances in film, television, music and video games, and is the world’s most-liked vehicle on Facebook. First shipments will arrive early in 2015.

The Mustang experience The Mustang offers four- and eightcylinder engines; the upgraded 5.0-liter V8 is joined by an all-new 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine that brings state-of-the-art technology to Mustang. Both engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or the optional SelectShift automatic transmission with Steering Wheel Paddle Shifters and Remote Start System.

The Mustang’s EcoBoost engine uses direct injection, variable cam timing and turbocharging to deliver plenty of usable performance across a broad rev range. A

unique intake manifold and turbocharger housing enable it to deliver the performance Mustang drivers expect with 231kW and 434Nm of torque.

Mustang GT continues with its proven 5.0-liter V8, now featuring an upgraded valvetrain and cylinder heads that help boost output to 324kW and 542Nm of torque. A new intake manifold features charge motion control valves to partially close off port flow at lower engine speeds.

This increases the air charge tumble and swirl for improved air-fuel mixing resulting in improved efficiency and idle stability.

Also, the clean-sheet design of both Mustang fastback and convertible evokes the essential character of the brand, retaining key design elements – including the long sculpted hood and short rear deck – with contemporary execution.

Several key design features define the all-new Mustang, including: A lower, wider stance with a reduction in roof height, and wider rear fenders and track, The return of Mustang fastback with a sleeker profile enabled by more steeply sloped windshield and rear glass, Three-dimension-

2015 Ford Mustang

Land Rover launches three limited edition Defenders

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ith the production of the Land Rover Defender in wind down ahead of an all-new model likely in 2016, Land Rover has launched three new limited-edition models. Land Rover has also announced it’s looking at continuing production of the current Defender outside of the UK and for sale outside of the EU. It’s likely the existing Defender would be produced in India.

Land Rover Vehicle Line Director Nick Rogers says: “Passion and enthusiasm surround everything we do with Defender, and that will never change.

With a history stretching back 68 years, this is a Land Rover that has thrived for decades on its unquestionable capability and iconic shape. I now have the honour of being one of the many enthusiasts at Land Rover committed to creating a fitting successor to the legendary Defender.”

To celebrate the Defender and launch the three limited-edition Defenders, Land Rover has created the largest sand drawing ever produced in the UK. A Defender outline measuring 1km across was drawn on the beach at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey using a fleet of six Land Rovers. The unique image is a tribute to the moment

in 1947 when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay and proposed the idea to his brother Spencer, Rover’s managing director.

Creating the giant piece of temporary artwork at Red Wharf Bay required a fleet of six Land Rovers, each towing an agricultural 12-foot harrow to draw the outline of the Defender in the sand. Those vehicles were: a Land Rover Series I, II and III, a Ninety from the Eighties, a Defender 90 Hard Top and a Defender 110 Station Wagon.

al, tri-bar taillamps with sequential turn signals and Contemporary execution of the signature shark-bite front fascia and trapezoidal grille.

The information and controls an active driver needs are all readily accessible in the aviation-inspired cockpit. Large, clear instrumentation puts vehicle information right in front of the driver in the roomier cabin, while improved ergonomics and tactile switches and knobs provide better control. The added width and a new rear suspension contribute to improved shoulder and hip room for rear-seat passengers, and a more usefully shaped trunk can accommodate two golf bags.

GAC Motor to present GS4 crossover in 2015

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tate-owned Chinese automaker GAC Motor is determined to build up a presence in global markets and will return to the Detroit Auto Show this year to present its new GS4 compact crossover. This will be the first time GAC Motor debuts one of its vehicles outside of China, a move the automaker says reinforces its global drive.

GAC Motor first turned up to the Detroit Auto Show back in 2013, presenting a trio of vehicles including the GS5 small crossover that featured in the recent Transformers: Age Of Extinction movie. The GS4 is said to be a sportier offering than the GS5, although we don’t expect the performance to be all that impressive considering the vehicle will be offered with engines displacing no more than 1.5 liters.

Outside of China, GAC Motor sells vehicles in the Middle East and a few Southeast Asian countries. Its presence is feeble and yet to penetrate the market.

“The debut of GS4 at the North American International Auto Show will mark a milestone in GAC Motor’s history because it shows that our products have met the international standards,” Wu Song, general manager for GAC Motor, said in a statement. “The high-performance SUV is indeed a representative of Chinese brand vehicles which are able to compete in the global market.”

In addition to the GS4, GAC Motor plans to present its WitStar and GA6 GT concept cars in Detroit. GAC will use the concepts to showcase its extended-range electric drivetrain technology, which it hopes will lure rival firms into forming a cooperation in the area of research and development.

The 2015 Detroit Auto Show gets underway January 12.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

37

Feminique

Without women, we are going nowhere, says Eniola Dada Studying in Asia, growing up in Europe and America and still traversing the globe in the course of her business, Eniola Dada has the privilege of exposure and now, a passion for the emancipation of the African women, whom she says are still having a ‘raw deal’. A top notch independent consultant with a bias for trade, women and youth empowerment, the Director, Government Affairs of Africa Council of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship, (ACOSBE) had a chat with EBERE AMEH where she spoke passionately about gender and other issues

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n independent consultant with multi-sectoral experience spanning insurance, reinsurance, marketing and corporate communications, what drives Eniola Dada is the realization that in this part of the world and in Nigeria in particular, women still have a raw deal. Currently working in the development sector, her passion for women emancipation and youth empowerment has remained both palpable and infectious.

“I am interested in trade as a tool for economic empowerment for women and youths. My major goal is to see that women are allowed to express their God-given talents and gifts,” Eniola intoned.

As the Director Government Affairs of Africa Council of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship (ACOSBE), under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Eniola is expected to relate with relevant Government institutions at the Continental and Regional levels to ensure that the voice of small business is heard. ACOSBE is one of the largest and leading SMME’s and Entrepreneurship platforms for advocacy, research, information exchange and business development services across all sectors on the Continent.

She works for governments and international and national organizations and has remained consistent in advocacy to reduce poverty in the life of women through positive engagement in productive businesses. Talking about the need for the empowerment of the Nigerian woman both politically and otherwise, she said.

“Now we are talking of political and social empowerment for the women, but if the woman is not economically empowered, she has no guts, she’s invisible and she can do nothing.

“Economic empowerment is also for the next generation, because it is the woman, whether she is single or widowed who is looking after the children - the next generation. A woman who is economically empowered would try and send her children to relatively good schools or hire a teacher, to help them get what she couldn’t get. So it’s not only about now. If a woman is empowered, her family is empowered, her community and by extension, her nation are also empowered.”

Eniola has a degree in Insurance from the University of Delhi, India. She grew up in Europe and America, so she has the exposure and has seen that the gaps are so much.

“A lot has happened in Nigeria in the past 10 to 30 years, but so much more could still happen. And I’m putting this side

EBERE AMEH ebere.ameh@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Enioma Dada

If a woman is empowered, her family is empowered, her community and by extension, her nation are also empowered

by side with the fact that about 50% of the Nigerian population are women. If they are not sufficiently mobilized, we are not going anywhere. That is the premise that I’m coming from.

Coming from a privileged background, graduating at 21 and living in three different continents, I believe I am who I am today because of the exposure and the education I had. Not everybody had that opportunity, so we just need to help each other to move forward.”

Gender equality has almost become a cliché, both nationally and internationally. Many think is has turned to mere rhetoric.

But Eniola thinks it depends on which aspect you are looking at it and what you are measuring.

“I will like to say overall, bringing it to the Nigerian context in particular, that we have made some significant progress but we still need to do a lot.

“In the work place we had our first Chief Justice of the Federation, Aluma Mukhtar who did wonderfully well, and that’s a significant thing. Dame Virgy Etiaba was deputy governor and acting governor in Anambra State and so many others. Definitely there are mountains to climb and rivers to cross but in all, we are making progress.

Though we still have a long way to go, and so we really need to do much more.”

Disclosing Part of the reason she came into gender, the accomplished consultant said it is because there is no level playing field for both genders.

“There was never a level playing field from the beginning. If

there was, the woman won’t be where she is today. Let me also quickly say that as we speak, globally, not only in Nigeria, all institutions are dominated by men. Is it the military, the police even in the religious sphere.

“Who are the custodians of the tradition if we have to talk about the traditional institutions? The Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, the Emir of Kano, they are all men. So there was no level playing field from the beginning and women have always been trying to catch up. That is why the issue of gender equality and all these things are important. That is why we need a ministry of women affairs for now, to advocate for the women because the gaps are a lot.

Whether it is trade, agriculture, even business, it affects women differently from men because of the gaps.

“My dream and that of my colleagues is that we hope there will come a time when there will be no more need for the ministry of women affairs. Gender would have been effectively mainstreamed.

We don’t ever think it will be 100 per cent, but we are hoping that a time will come when it will be less of ‘women’ and more of ‘us’.

Because we realize that men are our partners. We are not fighting them, we cannot.”

A dogged fighter for women emancipation, Eniola is a member, National Coordinating Committee on Informal Trade, she was the Team Leader, Women and Cross Border Trade Project being implemented by LIFI and funded by the Policy Development Facility of DFID-Nigeria. She was on the board of The International Alliance for Women as the first regional representative for Africa and was the was the first female coordinator of Nigerian Network of Women Exporters of Services (NNWES). Recently, she came on to the board of New Faces, New Voices, an organisation founded

by Gracia Machel, the wife of late Nelson Mandela.

She has won many awards of which space may not permit us to enumerate, including the TIAW World of Difference 100 Award.

An annual award given by The International Alliance for Women to 100 women all over the world for their outstanding contributions, her category was that of economic empowerment.

Eniola who says that success is being fulfilled at what you do, wants to be remembered as someone who loved women passionately and contributed her quota to ensuring that women are encouraged and emancipated.

38

Feminique

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Simple rules on how to keep men of these days M any women have lost some precious men in their lives because they couldn’t play by the rules of how to keep a man. Check out these 10 rules a lady pencilled down and let us know if you can play by it Some women are now in their 40’s and still don’t have any man in their lives and they blame it on the old lady in their village. Keeping a man does not demand a Master’s degree or Phd. It is simply by following some rules that will touch the man inside.

Below are 10 rules on how to keep a man: Give him space: The fact that he’s given you his key does not mean you should always be in the room, sometimes men love to be alone and always being around ruins it.

If you’re that kind of woman who wouldn’t let him have that space and always wanting him available or forcing to accompany him everywhere, you can ruin your relationship. Respect his space, it is very important to him.

Be loyal: Everybody loves those who show constant support to them and men are not an exception. Any woman who shows constant support or by being loyal to his man

has a greater chance of keeping him than those who don’t. Every man loves a woman who believes in his ideologies and is willing to support him achieve them.

Be patient: Every man will find it difficult to stay with a woman who is impatient and wants to argue all the time. If a man gets angry, it should take the patient of a woman to calm him down, so if you are the type who easily gets angry, how will you be able to calm a man down. The key point here is, be patience. Men hate women who retorts at everything they say.

Don’t nag: Most women love to nag but too much of it can scare a man away. Some women can go to the extent of even following the man to his work place and nag him till he loses his mind. Women who nag can’t keep a man for long.

Be proud of him: There’s no man on earth who wouldn’t appreciate someone who is proud of him even for the little that he has.

Being proud of your man and boasting about him makes him love you more. You’re not shy to go anywhere with him, you stand by him in all disgrace and support in difficult times makes him go bananas for you and if you’re a woman who has this quality, you’re bent on always keeping a good man.

Ebere Ameh

I

t was a chilly Tuesday morning inside our apartment at Al Sultana Hotels, Palm Jumeira, Dubai; a sharp contrast to the grilling heat outside, thanks to the constant power and superb air-conditioning. Danny woke up first and scanned his eyes round the spacious room before stretching his hand across me to get his wrist watch on the table at the other side of the room. I have been half awake.

“It’s 9am already,” he said in-between a yawn. As if expecting an answer, he glanced at me before going into the convenience. Seeing me on bed still when he came back, he pulled my duvet and crawled under it, back to me on bed, snuggling up to me, but at the same time, trying not to wake me up.

Danny suggested we celebrate the New Year in Dubai after having an amazing Christmas in Nigeria. Mom and Dad had wanted the children and I to join them to the east for the yuletide but I declined. Having lost my job and most importantly, my marriage, village was the last place I wanted to go. Tobi and Tosi, were excited when I agreed that they could travel with them. Ekaete had to join them to cater for their needs and I gave mom the impression that I will be home alone, job hunting and strategizing for the New Year.

I ended up celebrating the Christmas in Danny’s house. That was our plan anyway, and we had a swell time visiting some fun spots around. In the midst of the fun, we bumped into a couple of his old acquaintances who were really inquisitive and wanted to know about our relationship. Though they seemed to mean well for him, I noticed that Danny wasn’t comfortable with their pries, and neither was I.

Be faithful: If you’re the type of woman who’s very faithful to your man, he becomes proud of you because you make him feel he’s the world to you. Many women actually think being faithful is when you don’t allow any other man to have séx with you that is it.

Being faithful goes far beyond that to a man. Being faithful involves a lot and women need to check it to know when they are being faithful and when they are not. Having too many male friends and being too casual with them can mean being unfaithful to men.

Pray for him: Which man wouldn’t want this, not even an atheist. It is important to pray for your man all the time. When you do that, it makes them know you have good plans for them because you always wish them well. Learn to pray for your man, it makes him feel you wish him well and it’s satisfying.

Let him make the decision until he asks you: Some women feel because they are in a relationship with a man, they can make the decisions in his life. No man will like a woman who always want to take decisions for him, it makes him feel he doesn’t know his left from his right.

Don’t ask for things your father can’t buy: This simply means, don’t request for things that are

above his league. Whenever a woman keeps requesting for things from a man, he thinks you’re for sale and the moment he also gets what he wants, he’s gone, because he feels he’s already paid for it.

As far as he doesn’t cheat to your face or pick her calls in your presence, don’t complain manage it. your next might be worse: Many women have lost their sweethearts because they went probing into things that do not concern them. It is true many men love to cheat, but any man who cheats and hides it from you intends to keep you and doesn’t want to lose you in particular but if you go probing too much, he might be out the door sooner than you know it. Do not let the other woman be your worry, rather work on making him yours and the other woman will lose or else you will lose him too.

Sometimes it is important to keep mute and flow with the tide than question everything you see and enjoy the ride. You’re the queen, she’s the sidekick, don’t bother. So you see how important that is, sometimes just don’t worry your head over other women and you will still win. Culled from OMG, Ghana Dr Fadeyi’s series on Oral sex could not be featured today. He will be back with his scintillating and thought provoking articles next week. Keep a date with him and keep sending your comments and questions to drtaiwofadeyi@ gmail.com

Ego: Diary of a single mom New Year in Dubai

Could that be why he sprang the surprise? “Who would not want to usher in the new year in amazing Dubai. I have heard so much about the country but it will be so expensive now,” I told him.

“I have taken care of all that and made all arrangements. All I need is a nod from you and we depart on Tuesday. Here is the proof,” he said with a smile as he dropped some papers on the table.

My excitement knew no bounds, thank God I have valid

documents. We travelled as planned and Danny was up with even more surprises. “I’ve got everything sorted out my dear,” he said as he cuddled me on bed that chilly morning, my first morning in Dubai. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Osama, our guide, will soon be here to take us around. We have planned to visit the wonderful Burj Khalifa, and end up at the mall, where we shall skate in their amazing ice rink and do a little shopping after all,”

he suspended his speech when he saw my jaw was about to drop in surprise.

“You mean we are going to Burj Khalifa, the tallest manmade structure in the world? And the Ice Rink? Ohmy God! Danny, why didn’t you tell me earlier, when did you plan all these?” I asked in confusion.

“Does it make any difference? Laughing excitedly at my surprise, he blurted; “I’m not done yet ooo.”

“We shall go to the Gold Souk (Gold Market) at Deira on Wednesday and visit the Safari on New year day. How about that?” he queried with open arms and a broad smile.

I was already rolling from one end of the bed to the other in excitement.

Jumping down, I rushed to the bathroom without uttering a word.

Alarmed, he rushed after me, calling “Ego! Ego!, where are you going?,” he called out, all the smiles disappearing instantly from his face.

“To take my bath of course, what are we waiting for,” I responded to Danny who has already caught up with me.

Turning me around to face him, he said, “Calm down Baby, we ain’t leaving here until 12.00pm local time. I’m in touch with Osama and he will come with a car to take us around.

“Looking directly into his face, I raised my hands and held his neatly manscaped face. Kissing him tenderly, the only thing I could utter into his ear was “I love you Danny.” Swiftly, he held me in a tight bear hug and the next minute, we were cuddling and snuggling in the nearby sofa. We ended up in the Jacuzzi where we had a very relaxing time.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Islam

39 E X H O RTAT I O N

18 Rabi Al-Awaal 1436 AH

“Truly, Allah will admit those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, to Gardens underneath which rivers flow (in Paradise), wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls and their garments therein will be of silk.” (Quran 22: 23)

UNDERSTAND YOUR FAITH

The Second Coming of Christ QUESTION

What is the Islamic perspective on Prophet Isa’s second coming?

ANSWER

As given by Sa’id al-Ghamidi among the prophecies that have yet to manifest themselves are those relating to the major signs of the Last Days Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), without doubt, is the last Prophet and Messenger.

Allah did not send and will not send any Prophet after him to take his place.

Allah says: {But (he is) the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets and Allah has full knowledge of all things.} (33: 40) Moreover, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made the meaning of this verse perfectly clear when he said: “I am the last of the Prophets” “There is no Prophet after me.”

“There shall be no prophethood after me” and “Indeed, prophethood and messengership have come to an end.”

(Muslim, 2354 a) All of these statements are established with authentic chains of transmission and are found in the major books of Hadith like Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

However, Prophet Muhammad informed us, in numerous ways, that Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) will return to earth – not to bring a new prophecy, but to be a just judge for the people.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) informed us of a large number events that would unfold in the future.

Some of these have already taken place while the others are still to happen.

Among the prophecies that have yet to manifest are those relating to the major signs of the Last Days.

One of these major signs is the descent of Christ (peace be upon him) to the earth.

Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, Executive Director/CEO, Zakat and SADAQAT Foundation presenting a Laptop to Sister Alimat Bamidele at the first ZDC held at UNN, Enugu State

Jaiz Bank mulls expansion of Nigeria’s operations LOSS Bank loses N1 billion to limited scope in Nigeria Adeola Yusuf

T

he Jaiz Islamic Bank has expressed its readiness to expand its operations in Nigeria in 2015.

The representative of the bank, Dr Mizanur Rahman, who made this known maintained that the bank would flag off with branches in Lagos, Ni-

geria’s commercial capital and other states.

The bank, which lost N1 billion in Nigeria’s operation “due to limited scope within the country,” has, according to Rahman, decided to raise its game.

Jaiz Islamic Bank, which he said at a workshop was jointly organised by the Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in Saudi Arabia, the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University, in Ilorin, would soon open operational offices in Ilorin, Kwara State and Lagos.

“The bank lost about N1 bil-

lion but is hopeful it would do well in 2015,” he said.

The bank, which has 15 branches globally, is according to Rahman, set to widen its operation in Nigeria, adding that with much awareness campaign, people will realise the benefit of the bank.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, had earlier advocated for expansion of Islamic banking in Africa.

Ambali who was represented by Prof. Gabreal Olatunji argued that the market for

Islamic banking was still left untapped by many financial institutions.

The IRTI Director-General, Dr Mohamad Azmi-Omar, added that there was a need for proper development and improvement of Islamic banking in Nigeria and African countries at all levels.

Represented by Dr Ousmane Seck, the DG noted that there was need for Africans to embrace Islamic banking as a means of ensuring human capital development and eradication of poverty since it was non interest banking.

Lagos mosque completed 34 years after Muritala Ayinla

M

uslims faithful at the Ilaje Bariga area of Lagos had cause to rejoice as the lawmaker representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, renovated and commissioned a central mosque in the community.

New Telegraph learnt that the mosque, Shakirat Ajumoni Central Mosque, had been under construction for about 34 years.

The congregation had relied on donations from concerned individuals which, according to the mosque clerics, could not complete the construction work until the intervention of the lawmaker.

According to the Chief Imam of the Mosque, Alhaji Hamid Bifo, the worshippers had been struggling to ensure completion of the mosque since 1980, commending the

lawmaker for the gesture.

He said:”We all are quite overwhelmed with this gesture, the Senator’s intervention is a divine one that has been destined by Almighty God. Since 1980, we have been struggling to sacrifice all what we have towards completing this structure but to no avail, we never knew the senator before now, neither did we write his office for any assistance, it was God’s time to answer our prayers by directing him to pray with us on that faithful day which eventually yielded positive results. We shall forever be grateful to him for this timely intervention. May God Almighty Allah grant him all his heart desires too” Addressing the members of the Central Mosque, shortly before the commissioning, Ashafa narrated how the renovation idea began.

“The whole idea started

sometimes in April this year when I came to this vicinity to celebrate a birthday with a friend of mine, it was on a Friday afternoon and as a Muslim you have an obligation to always observe Jumat Prayers. All efforts to pray at the other Central mosques around proved abortive due to time factor, as a result, this mosque was discovered by one of my aides after a rigorous search, after which we joined them to observe the Jumat Prayer.

“It was after that day that I notified the congregation of my intention to help complete the mosque, and to the glory of God Almighty the rest is history today,” he narrated.

Explaining that the gesture was not the only thing he had done to uplift religious houses, Ashafa noted that several churches had also benefited from similar gestures in the past.

He added:”The commissioning of a religious house we witnessed today is not the first and will not be the last, just some weeks back, we presented some brand new drum sets to more than 10 churches under my district and also before now several mosques too have benefited through donation of rugs, power generating sets, painting of the mosque among other things.”

The mosque, which is located at No 7, Ajayi Olaiya Street, Off Obadiah Street, Ilaje, Bariga was built and furnished with modern building facilities for the convenience of the worshippers.

Meanwhile, as part of the initial promise, the lawmaker also used the medium to give scholarships to four students and promised that such scholarships would be running annually for the next five years among the members of the congregation.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

40

Leisure Arcade NUTS

NTPuzzle

By Kaycee

Fire! Fire! Fire!

ALWAYS BEES

CAST

COTTON DOGS

ELBOW

EMERGENCY FIRE GEOGRAPHY HOUSE JEALOUSY

LOVE

PLANTATION

ROCK SOCCER SOCKS SPELLING

MAMA LASISI

By Aliu Eroje

MOYIN & FRIENDS

By Ayo Oyerinde

RICK TWINS WIGGLES

A K C A S T K M F U E C X U K Z K R H L B J E A L 0 U S Y O J A J V P 0 Y O W G C A G T F M H T M T E S D C B C U A E Z J N M N L T F A S z A K T T N S Y 0 S D I S S O C C E R C S W M B E E S G T P L A N T A T I 0 N I L E L G L G R P C L G I Q R C S Y Y H L B Y R G O A O E E G W K E X V L H A O R F E G D P F R P S T A 0 U I I K W V Y R M I N H D Y S U T K N S V A W E E I W E W R Y Y J L Y H Q Z J T H V T F V S L J F L W X Q U Q E Y E J U Q A L J A Q S U M Q A 0 Y P X U O W D B F U F M L X S S R H Z Q O G V A M R I T J Q J U D X N M K F N U F N I C T R A P F G B E V K Z

NTJokes ANGEL GABRIEL

SUDOKU - Answer to No 30 2

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SUDOKU - No 31

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Gabriel came to the Lord and said, “I have to talk to you. I have some Nigerians up here in Heaven who are causing some problems. They are swinging on the Pearly Gates, my horn is missing, and they’ve got Maggi sauce and Ogbono soup all over their robes; hamhocks, Isi-ewu, Cow-feet and Bokoto bones are all over the streets of Gold.

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How to play

Sudoku

ALIU EROJE

CHIEF CARTOONIST aliu.eroje@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes (also called blocks or regions) contains the digits from 1 to 9.

A cell is the smallest block in the game. A row , column and region consists of 9 cells and the whole game consists of 81 cells. A region has thicker lines surrounding it. This simply makes it easier to play the game.

Some folk are walking around with one wing, they have been late taking their turn in keeping the stairway to heaven clean. There are soda bottles all over the clouds, some aren’t even wearing their halos, saying it doesn’t fit with their hairstyles.”

The Lord said, “I made them special, as I did you, my angel. Heaven is home to all my children. If you really want to know about problems, let’s call the Devil.”

The Devil answered the phone, “Hello? What the.! ...!, hold on one minute.” The Devil returned to the phone and said, “Hello Lord, what can I do for you?”

The Lord replied, “Tell me what kind of problems you are having down there.”

The Devil said, “Wait one minute,” and put the Lord on hold.

After 5 minutes he returned to the phone, and said “Okay, I’m back. What was the question?”

The Lord said, “What kind of problems are you having down there?”

The Devil said, “Man, I don’t belieee.....hold on, Lord”.

This time the Devil was gone for 15 minutes.

The Devil returned and said, “I’m sorry Lord, I can’t talk right now. These Nigerians put the fire out, and now they are trying to install air conditioning! They even bribed my guys!!”

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

41

Crime

FBI offers N182m reward for cyber fraud suspects

Juliana Francis

T

he Internet has become one of the easiest avenues to shop online. With online shopping, you can stay in the comfort of your home and order even the latest car. Right there, you can also pay via e-banking.

But the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning everyone, in every country to be extremely careful while shopping online, no thanks to cyber fraudsters who incessantly surf the net, seeking whom to defraud and devour.

The FBI reemphasized the warning recently on its website, after it uncovered and arrested a syndicate that had been defrauding people via Internet for long. This syndicate is alleged to be in the habit of selling non-existing vehicles to unsuspecting victims.

Shocked by the massive fraud, FBI,not only declared two of the mem-

JULIANA FRANCIS CRIME Editor

juliana.francis@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Popescu

Bosogioiu

bers wanted, but is also offering reward for information that may lead to their arrest.

The two fugitives topping the FBI

list are Nicolae Popescu, and Dumitru Daniel Bosogioiu, both Romanian citizens. Popescu is the leader of the international organized crime syndicate

CRIME QUOTE In the year 2014, we had a lot of bloodshed in this country. People were dying like rats without anybody asking about them. This country suffered a lot of blood experience.

Many of us witnessed that people were in tears. Just like the ancient world, the year 2014, the 4 in it had the queen in it, which had to do with death. Our leaders failed us with reckless abandon and nobody asked them question.”

– Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka

that ran a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.

According to the FBI, it was offering rewards for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of both men.

The FBI further said: “The defendants are charged with participating in a long-term conspiracy to saturate Internet marketplace websites, including eBay, Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and CycleTrader.com, with detailed advertisements for cars, motorcycles, boats, and other high-value items – generally priced in the $10,000 to $45,000 range – that did not actually exist.”

The FBI is offering up to $1 million, which is equivalent to N182 million for information on Popescu and up to $750,000 for information on Bosogioiu.

Interpol has previously issued Red Notices to foreign law enforcement partners, seeking assistance in the apprehension of these fugitives, and the FBI has also released wanted posters to facilitate their arrests.

FBI also announced the addition of Nicolae Popescu to the FBI’s Most Wanted Cyber Fugitive List.

FBI said that Bosogioiu is wanted for his alleged participation in a sophisticated Internet fraud scheme where criminal enterprise conspirators, based in Romania and elsewhere in Europe, posted advertisements on Internet auction market sites for merchandise for sale. Such advertisements contained images and descriptions of vehicles and other items for sale, but those items did not really exist.

Conspirators posing as sellers then negotiated via e-mail with unsuspectC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4 2

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Crime

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘Deployment of traffic wardens will check accident rate’

The 3rd Eye Economic effect of terrorism (2) Ethelbert Oney

E

xports are sensitive to both levels of terror and the intensity of settlement. Two bad quarters of terror may reduce the share of exports in GDP. The probable explanation is the low cost of portfolio substitution by foreign countries. Many results show, for example, that foreign tourists easily change their destinations due to terrorist attacks in a country.

Moujekwa

The LAWMA truck

Esther Albert

I

n the year 2014, an official of the Lagos Waste Management Authourity (LAWMA) was cut into two after the LAWMA truck (PSP), which he was in, along with three other officials, skidded off the road.

According to eye-witnesses, the accident, which occurred at the Car Wash bus stop area of Egbeda/ Idimu Road, Lagos State, was caused by commercial bus drivers who stopped indiscriminately to pick passengers at illegal bus stops.

The real bus stop is the BRT one, created by the state government. But many commercial drivers continue to shun it.

The truck was said to have overturned as its driver tried to avoid ramming into two commercial buses, filled with passengers. The commercial bus drivers

were struggling to overtake each other at the bus stop and pick passengers.

The accident caused the truck to overturn, killing the LAWMA official instantly.

But three officials among the four, escaped unhurt.

As soon as the truck overturned, the deceased, identified as Idowu, was caught under, with part of his body, from his chest, cut into half and buried under the truck.

Accidents at Car Wash bus stop have become worrisome, as it continues to increase. The latest in the catalogue of accidents occurred some weeks ago.

A truck’s brakes failed at the Car Wash bus stop, skidded off the road, passed commuters’ waiting point and rammed into the gutter, narrowly missing some nearby shops.

Eye witnesses said that but for God, many people waiting to board buses would have been killed.

Mr. Ogbeseja Patrick Moujekwa who lives around the area and has witnessed several accidents, suggested ways accidents along the route could be checked.

The 42-year-old trader said that God has been safeguarding commuters along the route, adding: “The main cause of these auto accidents are the manner in which some of the commercial bus drivers park to pick passengers. Many of them are reckless! Sometimes, when a bus is waiting to pick passengers, another will appear from nowhere on high speed. It will emerge from behind and hit the bus that was already parked and picking passengers. This senseless driving is because these drivers are struggling to get passengers. I know the accident will reduce if Police traffic wardens are stationed at the illegal bus-stops at the car wash. Their presence there will save lives.”

When Osita Chidoka was the Corps Marshal of the Fed-

eral Road Safety Corps (FRSC) he had advocated for ‘speed limit devices’ to be installed in all commercial buses. According to him, this would reduce road traffic accidents in the country.

His words: “We believe very firmly that the device should be made compulsory for all commercial vehicles. We cannot allow innocent people who board these buses to be put at risk by drivers. We are making regulations in support of the device and it is for commercial vehicles, especially the ones that carry passengers and goods.”

Although it is believed that interstate transporters have installed this device, but local commercial buses are yet to do so.

Many of the residents living at the Car Wash bus stop area of Egbeda/Idimu said that the police must ensure that commercial buses park and pick passengers at the right bus stops, to avoid further accidents in 2015.

Fraudsters target car lovers online C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 1

ing buyers in the United States.

These ‘sellers’ sent fraudulent invoices, that appeared to be from legitimate online payment services, to the victim buyers, with instructions for payment to bank accounts held by other conspirators in the United States.

These conspirators opened United States bank accounts under false identities, using fraudulent passports made in Europe by other conspirators.

“When victims wired mon-

These ‘sellers’ sent fraudulent invoices, that appeared to be from legitimate online payment services ey to an account identified on the false invoices, the conspirator associated with that

account would be notified and then would withdraw the proceeds and send them via wire transfer to another conspirator based on e-mailed instructions,” said the FBI. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Bosogioiu on December 20, 2012, in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, New York, after he was charged by indictment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Passport Fraud, and Trafficking in Counterfeit Service

Marks; Wire Fraud; and Money Laundering.

The FBI added: “If you have any information concerning this case, and you are outside the United States, please contact the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Inside the United States, please contact your local FBI office or the FBI’s Toll Free Tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-2255324). You may also submit a tip online at: tips.fbi.gov.

Popescu is also wanted for his alleged participation in this scheme.

Duration of high terror level severely harm imports possibly due to the diversion of output to local markets. And a decrease in foreign demand due to higher costs and risks of international trade; as well as the reduction in investment since Nigerians imports are known to be investment intensive since these violent acts.

The Boko Haram terrorists group have also harmed our economies in other indirect ways. These include: . Reducing future investment expectations. . Forcing governments and the private sector to invest in security measures, which reduce efficiency in vulnerable industries. . Altering behaviour by inducing economic actors (consu-mers, investors, businesses) to avoid areas of perceived risk. . The triggering of a wider geopolitical conflict, which may cause further economic disruptions in the country; for instance, the constant bloody brawl between the ruling PDP and APC, each accusing the other of masterminding the Boko Haram actions.

Attacks against tourist venues or tourist mode of movement; for example, airplanes, buses and trains, make a tourist consider the risks involved with their vacation plans, to alter plans by either vacationing at home or going to a terrorism-free country. This can translate into a sizable amount of lost revenue to Nigeria when multiplied by the average spending per tourist.

Insurance premi¬ums usually rose sharply after attacks in a given country, and most companies no longer included terrorism in their standard commercial coverage because it is a manmade disaster.

The increase in transportation fare from the East or any other part of the country to the North either by air, road or sea is times three higher compared to pre- Boko Haram era. Similarly the cost of fruits and vegetable that are supplied from the North also increased to an unreasonable high.

Ironically, the post-attack environment was also a time of opportunity for the industry. More perceived risk meant higher demand for insurance and fewer players in the market, resulting in higher prices.

However, the size and the diversity of an economy have much to do with the ability of a country to withstand terrorist attacks without showing significant economic effects. On the other hand, a rational terrorist organization can, in principle, reach its goal quicker without the consequences of killing innocent brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, friends, children and endless economic waste and sabotage.

Terrorism is an assault on any economy and ours should not be an exception.

Concluded • Ethelbert Oney is an Intelligence & Security Expert ethelbertoney@zissltd.com (08067764342 SMS only)

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

A cross-section of participants at the Bauchi Radio Corporation Workshop on Security Consciousness at all time for 2015 general election in Bauchi.

PHOTO-NAN

L-R: All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode; Tunde Brahimo and Senator Gbenga Ashafa, at an interactive session with the party’s candidates in Lagos.

L-R: Project Coordinator, Women on The Winning Edge, Mrs Titi Adeosun; Foundation and Convener, Women on The Winning Edge, Mrs Funke Felix-Adejumo and Event Planner, Women on The Winning Edge, Mrs Kofoworade Macaulay Olawoyin, at a press conference to unveil the foundation’s 2015 Summit in Lagos.

L-R: Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka and Managing Director, Independent Newspapers Limited, Mr. Ted Iwere, at an evening of Senator Okowa with Deltans in Lagos.

Photo | News

43

L-R: Mrs Remi Adimola; Founder/President MYEI, Amb. Chibuzo Patrick; former Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos Chapter, Jide Ologun; Chief Information Officer, Chellarams Plc, Dr. Harbhajan Batth; Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, Philly ‘n’ Mools Conglomerate, Mr Sabir Khan, at the Meljenstin Youth Empowerment Initiative (MYEI) a conference in Lagos.

The couple, Mr Nnenna Promise Anyanwu and Chibuzor, with Mrs Kate Iro Okungbowa, during a wedding ceremony in Lagos.

L-R: Ambassador Nwankwo Kanu; former Eagles Goalkeeper, Peter Rufai; President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick and President Goodluck Jonathan, at the unveiling of the President Cup in Abuja.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Commissioner of Police in Charge of Elections Planning and Monitoring, Ghazzali Mohammed (right) with the Representative of the Commissioner of Police, Anambra Command, Mr Emmanuel Sunday, during a meeting on the role of security personnel in Abuja.

44

Business | Money Line

RECOVERY The appreciation of the nation’s legal tender will boost investors’ confidence Godson Ikoro

S

marting from its third worst position among African currencies in 2014, the naira yesterday appreciated by four per cent to 179.20 per dollar as of 3:46 p.m. in Lagos.

The naira appreciated 2.3 per cent this year, the most among the 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg after the Somali shilling.

The naira headed for its largest advance since November 2003 as oil companies and the Central Bank of Nigeria increased sales of foreign exchange.

The apex bank sold $451 million at its auction yesterday, the most since November 26 even as oil companies offered about $200 million between January 5 and 7.

Buyers have been put off af-

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Naira records biggest gain in more than a decade ter a central bank announcement in December forcing them to use foreign exchange within 48 hours or sell it back to the institution. Demand was also hit by a ruling that banks clear foreign-exchange positions daily, having previously been allowed net-open positions of one per cent of shareholder funds.

The central bank is reviewing this, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said in an interview on January 6. His comments have helped to boost liquidity, according to Robert Hagenaars, a fixed-income trader at Zenith Bank UK Limited.

Emefiele had said that the country would never introduce capital controls but reviewing a rule introduced last month to which investors attributed the crushed liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

“Interbank market activity

is picking up, with investor confidence incrementally rising due to strong indications that the central bank will reconsider” the zero net-open position limit, Hagenaars said in a note.

ains from low oil prices can be substantial for developing-country importers if supported by stronger global growth, says a World Bank Group analysis of the oil price decline, contained in the latest edition of Global Economic Prospects.

The decline in oil prices reflects a confluence of factors, including several years of upward surprises in oil supply and downward surprises in demand, receding geopolitical risks in some areas of the world, a significant change in policy objectives of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and appreciation of the US dollar. Although the relative strength of the forces driving the recent plunge in prices remains uncertain, supply related factors appear to have played a dominant role.

Soft oil prices are expected to persist in 2015 and will be accompanied by significant real income shifts from oil exporting to oil-importing countries.

For many oil-importing countries, lower prices contribute to growth and reduce inflationary, external, and fiscal pressures.

However, weak oil prices present significant challenges for major oil-exporting countries, which will be adversely impacted by weakening growth prospects, and fiscal and external positions. If lower oil prices persist, they could also undermine investment in new exploration or development. This would especially put at risk investment in some low-income countries, or in unconventional sources such as shale oil, tar sands, and deep-sea oil fields.

“For policymakers in oil-importing developing countries,

the fall in oil prices provides a window of opportunity to undertake fiscal policy and structural reforms as well as fund social programs. In oil-exporting countries, the sharp decline in oil prices is a reminder of significant vulnerabilities inherent in highly concentrated economic activity and the necessity to reinvigorate efforts to diversify over the medium and long term,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.

Two special features on how trends in global trade and remittance flows are impacting developing countries complement the analysis on oil prices in Global Economic Prospects.

Meanwhile, Global trade expanded by less than 3.5 per cent in 2012 and 2013, well below the pre-crisis average annual rate of seven per cent, holding back developing country growth in recent years.

Weak demand, mainly in investment but also in consumer demand, is one of the main causes of the deceleration in trade growth. With highincome countries accounting for some 65 per cent of global imports, the lingering weakness of their economies five years after the crisis suggests that weak demand continues to adversely impact the recovery in global trade. However, longterm trends have also slowed trade growth, including the changing relationship between trade and income. Specifically, world trade has become less responsive to changes in global income because of slower expansions of global supply chains and a shift in demand from trade-intensive investment to less trade-intensive private and public consumption.

to $50.94 today.

Meanwhile, World Bank has said that gains from low oil prices can be substantial for developing-country importers if supported by stronger global growth.

FG may miss budget deficit target of N755Bn – FBN Capital Godson Ikoro

T

he Federal Government budget proposals projected a deficit of N755 billion for this year, and a contribution from net domestic borrowing courtesy of the Debt Management Office of N570bn, may be doubtful owing to investor fatigue, FBN Capital has said.

The DMO has released its provisional issuance calendar for Q1 2015 and seeks to raise (gross) between N215bn (US$1.17bn) and N305bn (US$1.66bn) from the sale of FGN bonds.

FBN capital said: “We are not convinced that it would be able to raise the balance from proposed sales of prop-

‘Most developing countries to benefit from oil price slump’ G

The naira fell 13 per cent last year as falling oil prices battered Nigeria, which relies on crude for almost all export earnings and 70 per cent of government revenue. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 per cent

erty, privatisation, signature bonuses and drawings from the excess crude account.”

According to the company, DMO is selling the existing 10-year and 20-year benchmarks (14.20 per cent, Mar ‘24s and 12.15 per cent, Jul ‘34s) each month.

Additionally, the DMO is to launch a new five-year instrument in February in lieu of the current threeyear paper (15.10 per cent Apr ‘17s).

Given the macro worries, not to mention the elections due in February, the company said the move to push out maturities was not a surprise.

FBN Capital observed that the DMO had the unenviable task of issuing the

calendar when there is no approved 2015 budget, adding that it was unlikely to be one until after the elections.

FBN capital argued that its funding targets increased steadily throughout the quarter.

Accordingly, it has a new challenge in that investor fatigue for auction participation has emerged. In Q4 2014, the DMO raised N182 billion and so undershot its target of between N195 billion and N285 billion.

It based its argument on compelling rates on money market instruments, the squeezing of banks via tighter monetary policy and the general macro worries prompted by pressure on the oil price and the naira.

Economic Indicators As at M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR 91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8 0.0000 12 10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$42,604,781,796.6

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 2/5/2014 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

Offer Yield 13.01 13.40 13.47 13.49 13.44 13.59

Price 90.35 99.40 104.40 109.65 114.45 76.90

Tenor (Months) 1 2 3 6 9 12

Rate (%) 12.1827 12.2737 12.3744 12.8521 12.8535 13.8443

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

FX

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR,NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

NITTY

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80 Offer 163.38

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

Business | Financial Market News

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

45

8-Jan-15

The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute professional, financial or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept liability for the results of any action taken on the basis of the Information.

Bonds FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

NA

NA

Description 4.00 23-APR-2015 13.05 16-AUG-2016 15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

23-Apr-10 16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14

4.00 13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

535.00 581.39 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 414.68 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 178.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,783.63

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,372.08

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

0.29 1.60 2.30 2.55 2.64 3.39 4.47 4.79 7.05 9.18 13.89 14.37 14.87 15.54 19.52

11.79 15.34 15.33 15.34 15.34 15.35 15.36 15.36 15.28 15.28 14.41 14.31 14.21 14.77 15.21

11.24 15.23 15.25 15.26 15.27 15.23 15.27 15.25 15.21 15.22 14.36 14.26 14.14 14.71 15.15

97.80 96.80 99.50 88.74 87.34 88.01 102.00 72.34 104.65 94.70 103.47 88.98 65.01 71.20 81.00

97.95 96.95 99.65 88.89 87.49 88.31 102.30 72.64 104.95 95.00 103.77 89.28 65.31 71.50 81.30

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

23-Apr-15 16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

24-May-12 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

24.56 2.70 112.22 116.70 66.49

24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.37 1.24 1.92 2.28 2.49

2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

15.50 17.72 17.35 16.34 16.34

94.50 99.52 97.91 95.94 92.77

Agency Bonds FMBN ***LCRM

0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

322.67

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

309.42

Sub-National Bonds A+/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.64

4.44

19.18

96.09

A/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

4.18

30-Sep-15

0.48

3.23

17.43

98.77

A-/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

1.00

4.46

19.97

94.95

A+/Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

1.00

3.48

18.99

97.07

A+/Agusto; A+/GCR‡

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

2.28

5.59

20.93

80.90

A-/Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.54

1.00

16.39

96.64

A/Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.98

1.79

17.14

92.90

A+/Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

34.14

30-Sep-18

2.15

1.80

17.14

94.74

A-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

3.74

1.00

16.36

93.52

A/Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018

09-Dec-11

14.50

13.73

09-Dec-18

2.35

1.00

16.34

96.73

A-/Agusto

*NIGER

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018

12-Dec-13

14.00

10.20

12-Dec-18

2.35

4.78

20.12

89.42

A/Agusto; A-/GCR

*ONDO

15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019

14-Feb-12

15.50

27.00

14-Feb-19

2.53

1.00

16.34

96.47

A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR‡

*GOMBE LAGOS

15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019

A/Agusto; A-/GCR

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019

02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12

15.50 14.50 14.75

16.23 80.00 26.62

02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19

2.79 4.87 2.85

1.00 1.00 2.74

16.35 16.35 18.09

98.40 93.88 93.04

A/Agusto

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

10-Oct-13

14.75

11.40

10-Oct-20

3.31

1.00

16.35

96.09

Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR‡

LAGOS

13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020

27-Nov-13

13.50

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.89

1.00

16.31

89.58

A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro

KOGI

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020

31-Dec-13

15.00

5.00

31-Dec-20

5.98

1.94

17.24

91.82

A/Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI *NASARAWA

14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

31-Dec-13

14.50

4.55

31-Dec-20

3.64

1.44

16.80

94.24

06-Jan-14

15.00

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.67

1.95

17.31

94.22

97.07

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

460.91 424.22

Corporate Bonds Bbb-/Agusto A-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

10.00

3.61

17-Aug-15

0.36

4.88

17.59

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

9.34

09-Dec-15

0.67

1.00

15.80

98.04

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.75

2.63

17.60

97.61

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.72

1.00

16.37

95.05

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.79

1.34

16.71

96.26

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.73

1.00

16.34

92.81

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.64

30-Nov-17

1.75

1.88

17.25

102.11

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

6.30

09-Apr-18

1.75

3.48

18.85

96.22

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.90

09-Sep-18

1.92

5.20

20.55

96.39

#

1.92

5.06

20.41

101.80

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.80

09-Sep-18

A/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

3.70

1.35

16.71

92.67

Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.40

18-Oct-18

2.02

2.29

17.64

97.22

BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.41

17-Feb-19

2.11

6.11

21.46

92.86

Nil

*DANA#{r}

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.98

2.16

17.51

96.75

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.85

2.76

18.07

90.00

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

11.93

0.10

30-Sep-24

9.73

1.00

16.16

79.50

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

13.25

15.44

30-Sep-24

9.73

1.00

16.16

85.88

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

124.44

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

116.23

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

3.09

1.00

16.35

85.49

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

4.32

1.00

16.37

84.94

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24.95 21.26

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

7.27

6.93

97.49

99.10

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

6.36

5.75

96.19

98.05

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

7.45

7.23

93.29

94.64

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,434.83

Corporate Eurobonds B/Fitch; B-/S&P

AFREN PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

41.21

30.37

76.50

84.00

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

7.00

7.00

100.63

100.63

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

11.19

11.19

91.50

91.50

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

12.17

11.16

85.85

88.35

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

8.49

8.27

92.00

92.66

B/Fitch

AFREN PLC II

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

25.23

22.07

62.25

68.44

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.50

7.50

95.50

95.50

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

14.21

13.51

82.66

84.66

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

FIRST BANK PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

10.00

10.00

92.00

92.00

B-/Fitch; B/S&P B-/Fitch; B/S&P B-/Fitch; B/S&P

AFREN PLC III ACCESS BANK PLC II FIRST BANK LTD

6.63 DEC 09, 2020 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

09-Dec-13 24-Jun-14 23-Jul-14

6.63 9.25 8.00

360.00 400.00 450.00

09-Dec-20 24-Jun-21 23-Jul-21

19.69 11.50 10.66

19.69 11.12 10.66

55.50 90.00 87.00

55.50 91.63 87.00

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.05

9.01

93.03

97.88

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,760.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,082.63

**Treasury Bills DTM 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56

FIXINGS Maturity 15-Jan-15 22-Jan-15 29-Jan-15 5-Feb-15 12-Feb-15 19-Feb-15 26-Feb-15 5-Mar-15

Bid Discount (%) 11.14 10.90 10.94 11.41 10.90 10.95 11.10 12.00

Offer Discount (%) 10.89 10.65 10.69 11.16 10.65 10.70 10.85 11.75

Bid Yield (%) 11.16 10.95 11.01 11.51 11.02 11.09 11.27 12.23

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 9.9167 13.8100 14.2448 15.7016

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

8.83

O/N

9.50

Tenor Call 1M

REPO

Rate (%) 9.33 14.52

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

179.50 179.78 180.06 180.72 181.94 183.15

179.60 179.88 180.20 181.16 182.90 184.59

Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

24-May-12 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

24.56 2.70 112.22 116.70 66.49

24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.37 1.24 1.92 2.28 2.49

2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

15.50 17.72 17.35 16.34 16.34

94.50 99.52 97.91 95.94 92.77

Agency Bonds 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

FMBN ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

322.67

Business | Financial Market News 46 TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

309.42

Sub-National Bonds

Investment value dips further by N247bn A+/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.64

4.44

19.18

96.09

A/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

4.18

30-Sep-15

0.48

3.23

17.43

98.77

A-/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

1.00

4.46

19.97

94.95

A+/Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

1.00

3.48

18.99

97.07

A+/Agusto; A+/GCR‡

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

2.28

5.59

20.93

80.90

A-/Agusto

*BAYELSA

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.54

1.00

16.39

96.64

A/Agusto

EDO

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.98

1.79

17.14

92.90

A+/Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

PLUNGE

A-/Agusto; A-/GCR

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

NIGER

Blue chip companies drag *NIGER *ONDO equities down A/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE A/Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

A-/Agusto

A/Agusto; A-/GCR

Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR‡

LAGOS

A/Agusto; A-/GCR

*OSUN

A/Agusto

*OSUN

Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR‡ LAGOS Stories

by Chris Ugwu A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro KOGI

T A/Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI he Nigerian stock mar*NASARAWA ket yesterday continued TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE on a negative trajectory TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION for the fourth day in the Corporate Bonds New Year as activities on the Bbb-/Agusto *UPDC shares A-/Agusto of blue chip companies *FLOURMILLS BB/GCR *CHELLARAMS lowered down momentum to en-

able the bear sustain stronghold 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 on the14.00 local bourse.

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 Access Bank and FCMB 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 alongside Guinness Nigeria 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 and other blue chips shed 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 weight, dragging the market 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 southwards.

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 The 13.50twin LAGOS IVmarket 27-NOV-2020 perfor15.00measures, KOGI 31-DEC-2020 the NSE mance 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 ASI and market capitalisation, 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 dropped by 2.45 per cent as the market tempo lowered.

At the close of trading in the day, 1210.00 stocks recorded price UPDC 17-AUG-2015 appreciation, while 34 others 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 constituted the losers’ table.

30-Jun-10

13.75

30-Dec-10

14.00

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.72

1.00

16.37

95.05

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.79

1.34

16.71

96.26

The twin market indicators, 30-Sep-11 14.00 04-Oct-11 Index, dropped 14.00 the All-Share 09-Dec-11 by 747 basis points or 14.50 2.45 per 12-Dec-13 14.00 cent from 31,167.54 the previ14-Feb-12 15.50 ous day02-Oct-12 to close at 30,420.54, 15.50 22-Nov-12 14.50 while the market capitalisa12-Dec-12 14.75 tion dropped by N247 billion 10-Oct-13 14.75 27-Nov-13 or 2.45 per cent from 13.50 N10.318 15.00 trillion 31-Dec-13 to N10.420 trillion.

31-Dec-13 14.50 Further analysis of the 06-Jan-14 15.00 day’s trading showed that Livestock Feeds Plc advanced by 4.88 per cent to close at N2.15 per share to lead the gainers’ 17-Aug-10 10.00 table while Cutix Plc followed 09-Dec-10 12.00 06-Jan-11 with a gain of 4.84 per14.00 cent to

close per share while 34.14 at N1.3030-Sep-18 2.15 9.00 Products 04-Oct-18 3.74 Vono Plc appreci13.73 09-Dec-18 2.35 ated by 4.46 per cent to close 10.20 12-Dec-18 2.35 at 27.00 N1.17 per share.

14-Feb-19 2.53 On the flip side, Access 16.23 02-Oct-19 2.79 80.00 22-Nov-19 4.87 Bank led the losers’ table with 26.62 12-Dec-19 2.85 9.58 per cent to close at N5.19 11.40 10-Oct-20 3.31 87.50 27-Nov-20 per share. Shares of FCMB5.89 Plc 5.00 followed with31-Dec-20 a loss of 9.46 5.98 per 4.55 31-Dec-20 3.64 cent to close at06-Jan-21 N2.01 per share 4.56 3.67 and Guinness Nigeria depreci460.91 ated by 9.33 per cent to close at 424.22 N128.52 per share.

On the activity chart, 0.36 the 3.61 17-Aug-15 banking sub-sector 9.34 09-Dec-15 dominat0.67 06-Jan-16 with 178.8 0.75 ed0.42 in volume terms

million shares N2.07 1.80 17.14 worth 94.74 1.00 in 1,842 16.36 93.52sub billion deals. The 1.00 16.34 sector was enhanced by 96.73 the ac4.78 20.12 89.42 tivities in the shares of ETI 1.00 16.34 96.47 Plc and1.00 Access Bank 16.35 Plc. 98.40 1.00 16.35 93.88 Also, other financial services 2.74 18.09 93.04 sub1.00 sector of 16.35 the financial 96.09ser1.00sector, boosted 16.31 vices by 89.58 the ac1.94 in the17.24 tivities shares of 91.82 FCMB 1.44 16.80 94.24 Plc,1.95 followed with a turnover of 17.31 94.22 200.2 million shares valued at N556.9 million in 950 deals.

In all, investors exchange a total of 454.0117.59 million shares, 4.88 97.07 worth billion in98.04 4,860 1.00 N4.4 15.80 2.63 17.60 97.61 deals.

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.73

1.00

16.34

92.81

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.64

30-Nov-17

1.75

1.88

17.25

102.11

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

6.30

09-Apr-18

1.75

3.48

18.85

96.22

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.90

09-Sep-18

1.92

5.20

20.55

96.39

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.80

09-Sep-18

1.92

5.06

20.41

101.80

A/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

3.70

1.35

16.71

92.67

Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.40

18-Oct-18

2.02

2.29

17.64

97.22

Seplat confirms preliminary approach for Afren S

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 eplat Petroleum Devel- the UK takeover Panel in acDANA II 1-APR-2019 *DANA opment Company Plc cordance16.00 with Rule 2.6(c) of 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO yesterday confirmedSTANBIC that IBTC it the Code.182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR Seplat13.25 stated that further was STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 A/GCRinterested in British STANBICoil IBTC producer, Afren Plc. details could not be provided TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Seplat in aCAPITALISATION notice to the at this stage due to the highly TOTAL MARKET Nigerian Stock Exchange preliminary status of events Supranational Bond validated that it had made but assured that further an10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 AAA/S&P IFC aAaa/Moody's; highlyAAA/S&P preliminary nouncements would be made 11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021 AfDB approach regardingVALUE a possible as soon as the need arises.

TOTAL OUTSTANDING combination with Afren.

Afren in December said it TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION The company, however, had received a preliminary Description noted Rating/Agency that there could be noIssuerapproach from Nigerian oil certainty that an offer would and gas explorer, Seplat PeFGN Eurobonds be made or as to the terms of troleum Development Com6.75 JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P any offer. pany Plc. BB-/Fitch; Seplat acknowledged thatFGN According to news re5.13 JUL 12, 2018 BB-/S&P in accordance with Rule ports, Seplat has until JanuBB-/Fitch; 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 ary 19 to make a firm inten2.6(a) BB-/S&P of the UK City Code on takeovers and mergers, by tion to make an offer.

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE no later than CAPITALISATION 5.00 pm on JanSeplat, which lost out on TOTAL MARKET uary 19, 2015, it must either the assets that Royal Dutch Corporate Eurobonds announce a firm intention to Shell divested in October, FEB 01, 2016 B/Fitch; B-/S&P hunt for make an offer under AFREN RulePLC 2.7I has been on the 11.50 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I of the Code or announce that acquisitions in Nigeria, en7.25 JUL 25, 2017 B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC itB/Fitch; doesB/S&P not intend to make an couraged by falling6.88oil pricMAY 09, 2018 FIDELITY BANK PLC es, but said it would pay offer, in which case the an6.00not NOV 08, 2018 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC 10.25 APR 08, 2019 B/Fitch PLC II over the odds. nouncement will beAFREN treated 6.25 APR 22,af2019 B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC The company recently as a statement to which Rule 8.75 May 21, 2019 B/Fitch; B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC firmed that it would sustain 2.8 of the Code applies.

8.25 AUG 07, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC The company noted that its drive to ensure increased 6.63 DEC 09, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P AFREN PLC III the deadline couldACCESS be exearnings and return on in-JUN 24, 2021 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 B-/Fitch; B/S&P BANK PLC II 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK tended with the consent of LTDvestment to its shareholders.

BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

#{r}

Nil

B-/S&P

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

SEC allays fear of investment safety in Ikeja Hotel

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.41

17-Feb-19

2.11

6.11

21.46

92.86

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.98

2.16

17.51

96.75

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.85

2.76

18.07

90.00

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.05

9.01

93.03

97.88

T

he Securities and Ex-0.10 forestall30-Sep-24 erosion of sharetween the children of his first 11.93 9.73 1.00 16.16 79.50 Commission15.44 holder value,” said. wife, Mrs. 16.16 Helen Ibru, 30-Sep-14 change 13.25 30-Sep-24 Adindu9.73 1.00 85.88and (SEC) has assured Mrs. Maiden, his second wife.

124.44 The ownership tussle of shareholders of Ikeja HoBut in a swift develop116.23one of Ikeja Hotels Plc subtels Plc of the safety of sidiaries, the Sheraton Lagos ment, some shareholders their investments in the12.00 Hotel and Towers, deepened of the hotel, against a85.49 court 11-Feb-13 10.20 11-Feb-18 3.09 1.00 16.35 holding company and its12.95 on January 7 as different order, on January 7, sacked 10-Jul-14 11.25 01-Feb-21 4.32 1.00 16.37 84.94 subsidiaries.

Goddie Ibru as the chairman 24.95members of the Ibru family SEC, the nation’s apex21.26moved to assert authority. and director of the company A group led by Mrs Maid- over corporate governance capital market regulator, said Outstanding Value Issue Date was noCoupon Dateof late BidGuardYield (%) Offer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer Price there cause(%)for alarm en Ibru,Maturity widow infractions. ($mm) in the holding company’s on- ian Publisher, Mr Alex Ibru, The shareholders, also at Prices & Yields going board tussle. had on January 7, 2014, on ac- the EGM, appointed Mr. Olu07-Oct-11 6.75 6.93 97.49 99.10 Mr. The Communications Ad-500.00count of 28-Jan-21 the order of 7.27 a Fed- mide Braithwaite and Sarumi as directors viser to the Director-General, eral High12-Jul-18 Court Lagos,6.36 held a Tunde 12-Jul-13 5.13 500.00 5.75 96.19 98.05 SEC, Mr. Obi Adindu, who botched Extra-Ordinary Gen- of the company.

12-Jul-13 6.38 yesterday 500.00 12-Jul-23(EGM) outside 7.45 7.23They 93.29 94.64 gave the assurance , eral Meeting also appointed the Sheraton hotel premises. KPMG Nigeria Ltd to carry said that the commission was 1,500.00 keenly monitoring developout a forensic audit of the 1,434.83 On the other hand, the ments at the company and other members of the Ibru management of the company would soon engage all par- family, led by Mr Goodie Ibru, from 1999 to 2014, when Ibru 01-Feb-11 01-Feb-16 41.21 30.37 76.50 84.00 was its chairman. ties involved in11.50 line with the450.00through an ex parte injunction 19-May-11 7.50 500.00 19-May-16 7.00 7.00 100.63 100.63 commission’s investors’ pro- from the Federal High Court, The shareholders also 25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 25-Jul-17 11.19 11.19 91.50 91.50 tection mandate.

Abuja, restrained Mrs. Ibru mandated KPMG to carry out 09-May-13 6.88 300.00 02-May-18 12.17 11.16 85.85 88.35 “We are monitoring develfrom calling an EGM or repa forensic audit of the share 08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 8.49 8.27 92.00 92.66 08-Apr-12 10.25 Hotels Plc 300.00 resenting 08-Apr-19 25.23 22.07 62.25 68.44 of opments at Ikeja her late husband’s register and verification 22-Apr-14 6.25 22-Apr-19 7.50 7.50 funding 95.50 95.50 for very closely and engaging in500.00investment vehicles holding the and payment 21-May-14 8.75 14.21 13.51 84.66 line with our investor protec-200.00shares in21-May-19 Ikeja Hotels Plc. the shares82.66 of the company 07-Aug-13 8.25 300.00 07-Aug-20 10.00 10.00 92.00 92.00 tion mandate.

All this is with Goodie Ibru’s group said by holders, directly or indi09-Dec-13 6.63 360.00 09-Dec-20 19.69 19.69 55.50 55.50 a view to making parte motion rectly to two 24-Jun-14 9.25 the neces400.00 that its ex 24-Jun-21 11.50was 11.12 , amounting 90.00 91.63 per 23-Jul-14 8.00 10.66 be10.66 or more.

87.00 87.00 cent sary interventions that will450.00sequel to 23-Jul-21 a bitter litigation 30-Sep-14

14-Aug-14

8.75

4,760.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

8-Jan-15

4,082.63

The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute **Treasury Bills FIXINGS Money Market & Forwards) professional, financial or investment advice.

We attempt to ensure the Information Offer is accurate; however, theBidInformation is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE”Tenor basis and may Rate not be accurateForeign or up toExchange date. We(Spot do not guarantee DTM Maturity Bid Discount (%) Discount (%) Yield (%) (%) NIBOR the accuracy,7 timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, 15-Jan-15 11.14 10.89 11.16neither do we accept liability for the results of any action taken on the basis of the Information.

FGN

14 21 28 Bonds35 42 49 Rating/Agency 56 63 70 77 84 91 98 105 112 119 NA 126 154 168 210 238 329 343

22-Jan-15 29-Jan-15 5-Feb-15 12-Feb-15 19-Feb-15 26-Feb-15 Issuer 5-Mar-15 12-Mar-15 19-Mar-15 26-Mar-15 2-Apr-15 9-Apr-15 16-Apr-15 23-Apr-15 30-Apr-15 7-May-15 NA 14-May-15 11-Jun-15 25-Jun-15 6-Aug-15 3-Sep-15 3-Dec-15 17-Dec-15

10.90 10.94 11.41 10.90 10.95 11.10 Description 12.00 12.35 4.00 23-APR-2015 11.42 13.05 16-AUG-2016 12.70 15.10 27-APR-2017 12.85 10.80 9.85 27-JUL-2017 12.80 9.35 31-AUG-2017 12.40 10.70 30-MAY-2018 13.00 16.00 29-JUN-2019 13.00 7.00 23-OCT-2019 12.46 16.39 27-JAN-2022 12.78 14.20 14-MAR-2024 13.40 12.80 15.00 28-NOV-2028 13.00 12.49 22-MAY-2029 13.05 8.50 20-NOV-2029 13.95

10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034

10.65 10.69 11.16 10.65 10.70 10.85 Issue Date 11.75 12.10 23-Apr-10 11.17 16-Aug-13 12.45 27-Apr-12 12.60 10.55 27-Jul-07 12.55 31-Aug-07 12.15 30-May-08 12.75 29-Jun-12 12.75 23-Oct-09 12.21 27-Jan-12 12.53 14-Mar-14 13.15 12.55 28-Nov-08 12.75 22-May-09 12.80 20-Nov-09 13.70

23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14

10.95 11.01 11.51 11.02 11.09 11.27 Coupon (%) 12.23 12.62 4.00 11.68 13.05 13.05 15.10 13.24 11.10 9.85 13.26 9.35 12.86 10.70 13.54 16.00 13.58 7.00 13.02 16.39 13.51 14.20 14.28 13.82 15.00 14.20 12.49 14.79 8.50 16.05

Bonds

10.00 12.1493

*for the Amortising bonds, the average TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUElife is calculated and not the duration

Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Issuer

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Rate (%) 9.9167 13.8100 14.2448 15.7016

OBB

8.83

O/N

9.50

REPO

Tenor Call TTM (Yrs) 1M 3M 0.29 6M

Maturity Date

NITTY 535.00 23-Apr-15 581.39 16-Aug-16 Tenor Rate (%) 452.80 27-Apr-17 1M 11.7287 2M 12.6803 20.00 27-Jul-17 3M 13.2873 100.00 31-Aug-17 6M 13.3575 300.00 30-May-18 9M 14.2150 351.30 29-Jun-19 12M 14.6761 233.90 23-Oct-19 600.00 27-Jan-22 414.68 14-Mar-24 NIFEX 75.00 28-Nov-28 Current Price ($/N) 150.00 22-May-29 BID($/N) 180.2500 200.00 20-Nov-29 OFFER ($/N) 180.3500 591.57 23-Jul-30 178.00 18-Jul-34

1.60 15.34 15.23 2.30 15.33 15.25 2.55 15.34 15.26 :Benchmarks 2.64 15.34 15.27 * :Amortising Bond 3.39 15.35 15.23 µ :Convertible Bond 4.47 15.36 15.27 AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 4.79Government of 15.36 15.25 FGN: Federal Nigeria 7.05 Mortgage Bank 15.28 15.21 FMBN: Federal of Nigeria 9.18 15.28 15.22 IFC: International Finance Corporation LCRM: Local Management 13.89Contractors Receivables 14.41 14.36 NAHCO: Nigerian 14.37 Aviation Handling 14.31 Company14.26 O/N: Overnight 14.87 14.21 14.14 UPDC: UAC Property Development Company 15.54 14.77 14.71 WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company 19.52 15.21 15.15 NOTE:

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

24-May-15 % Exposure_ Mod_Duration 03-Apr-17

Implied Yield

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

<3 ***LCRM 3<5

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

>5 Market

14.52 14.87 11.79 15.82

Spot 7D 14D 1M Offer 2MYield (%) 3M 6M 11.24 1Y

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

179.50 179.60 179.78 179.88 Price 180.06 180.20 180.72 181.16 181.94 182.90 Bid Price Offer Price 183.15 184.59 187.33 190.17 97.80 97.95 196.24 201.57

96.80 96.95 99.50 99.65 88.74 88.89 NA :Not87.34 Applicable 87.49 # :Floating Rate Bond 88.01 88.31 ***: Deferred coupon bonds 102.00 102.30 72.34 72.64 ‡ : Bond rating under review 104.65 †: Bond rating expired 104.95 94.70 95.00 N/A :Not Available {r} :Issuer in receivership 103.47 103.77 88.98 89.28 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 65.01 65.31 UBA: United Bank for Africa 71.20 71.50 81.00 81.30

4,372.08

Agency Bonds FMBN Buckets Modified Duration

Rate (%)

Bid 9.33 Yield (%)

Tenor

4,783.63

#

Rating/Agency

Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 Total Outstanding Volume(Bn) 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 1,013.31 1,034.18 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 1,378.93 1,365.98 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

Porfolio Market Value(Bn)

565.38

769.57

2,957.62

3,169.73

24-May-12 Weighting by Outstanding Vol 03-Apr-12

09-Dec-11 32.63 20-Apr-12 43.09 06-Jul-12

24.28

100.00

0.00by Mkt Weighting Value 17.25

0.00/16.00 34.26 0.00/16.50 46.62 0.00/16.50

19.12

100.00

24.56 2.70 112.22 116.70 0.33 66.49 0.43 0.24

Bucket Weighting

322.67 309.42

1.00

# Risk Premium (%)

09-Dec-16 13.81 20-Apr-17 46.20 06-Jul-17

0.37 1.24 1.92 15.34 2.28 15.30 2.49

14.88

2.00 116.8911 1.00 119.7939 1.00 86.5221

100.00

15.14

110.7689

39.99

2.63 Implied Portfolio 2.27Price

Valuation Yield (%)

15.50 17.72 17.35 1,110.23 16.34 1,014.37 16.34

INDEX

1,011.59

1,057.75

Indicative Price

YTD94.50 Return (%) 99.52

97.91 11.0227 95.94 1.4369 92.77

1.1595

5.7746

Sub-National Bonds A+/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.64

4.44

19.18

96.09

A/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

4.18

30-Sep-15

0.48

3.23

17.43

98.77

A-/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

1.00

4.46

19.97

94.95

A+/Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

1.00

3.48

18.99

97.07

A+/Agusto; A+/GCR‡

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

2.28

5.59

20.93

80.90

A-/Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.54

1.00

16.39

96.64

A/Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.98

1.79

17.14

92.90

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

News 47

SOUTH-EAST

Chime vows 100% Enugu votes for Jonathan Uwakwe Abugu ENUGU

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overnor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, has vowed to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan, secures 100 percent of votes in the state, during the February 14 presidential election. He said that his state is the strong hold of the ruling party in the South East zone of the country.

The governor expressed the position yesterday, while canvassing support for the presi-

dent in the presidential polls, stating that the feat must be achieved to completely erase the claim in some quarters that the governance of the country was the exclusive prerogative of certain personalities.

Chime, who is the presidential campaign coordinator for Enugu

State, spoke through his deputy, Chief Charles Egumgbe, who briefed newsmen on the presidential campaign rally to be addressed by Jonathan and his running mate in Enugu today.

He also disclosed that during the rally, the president would formally present the gov-

N180.3m

The total capital importation value of the Brewery sector in 2009.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

7%

ernorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the state, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his running mate with party’s flag, to officially endorse their candidacy, adding that the consummation of the president’s rally would set the tune for the gubernatorial electioneering

campaign of the party in state.

The presidential rally, according to him, would be a carnival of sorts, as he’s urged all those who want the country to progress on the basis of good governance to support the president.

On the proposed unveiling of the PDP gov-

$29.8m

The crude death rate of Northern The total salary and extra winnings made by Alex RodriAfrica in 2010-2015. guez of New York Yankees (Baseball) in 2013-2014.

Source: Un.org Source: Financenews24.com

ernorship flag bearer during the rally, the presidential campaign coordinator stated that the event would be a twin ceremony for the party in Enugu State, stating, “it would usher in our own state campaign and we would begin to penetrate all the corners of the state”.

4,167

The total area (in sq. km) of French Polynesia.

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

TUC, others applaud Obiano over workers’ reinstatement

T

he Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Anambra State council and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Anambra State branch, yesterday applauded the Governor of the state, Willie Obiano for recalling the staff of Water Corporation and paying them several years of arrears owed them.

The TUC also applauded the decision of Obiano’s government to absorb the over 100 Anambra State Broadcasting service (ABS) staff sacked by the previous regime.

These were contained in the in a 10 point communique at the end of a special session of TUC in Awka signed by the Anambra State Chairman of the Union, Comrade Ifeanyi Okechukwu.

Comrade Okechukwu, who is also the Anambra state Chairman of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria said Obiano’s government had shown enough human face since inception.

The congress showered praises to the Governor for various strides he had accomplished within a short period of time.

L-R: Chairman, Imo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sir. Nnamdi Anyaehie; party governorship candidate, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and his counterpart in Enugu State, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, during an interactive session with top Imo professionals and corporate executives over his governorship ambition, in Lagos….on Wednesday

Imo: Ihenacho unveils Ibeh as deputy Politicians, biggest threat to democracy, says group Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

T

he governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, yesterday presented Barr.

Ike Ibeh, as his running mate for the February 28 governorship election.

Speaking on the choice of Ibeh, a former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Ihenacho said, “In choosing a deputy governorship candidate, it was more like choosing a Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a thriving enterprise. Ibeh is

trustworthy and reliable.

His value, forthrightness, commitment to good governance and enviable pedigree of integrity stands him out at all times. ” Ihenacho, noted that Imo needed such men as Ibeh, who have the fear of God and are not weighed down by moral encumbrances and political baggages.

On the progress of his campaign, Ihenacho, stated that his campaign train would have covered the entire Imo North by end of yesterday.

He said, “We are mounting a vigorous and robust campaign sweeping across the 305 wards

and autonomous communities in Imo State.

We also want to empty the myth that there is crisis in APGA, having observed that some people have been at great pain to discredit the party and convey the impression that there is an internal crisis in the party.”

Continuing he said, “We have a formidable team in place. Our programmes are being executed with precision and all our expectations are being met. And as a matter of fact, we are optimistic of winning majority of the seats on offer in the coming elections.”

Aggrieved Ebonyi APC aspirants vow to work against party Charles Onyekwere ABAKALIKI

A

ggrieved House of Assembly aspirants of the All Progressives Congress( APC), in Ebonyi State, whose names were not submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after allegedly emerging winners at the

primaries, have vowed to work against the party, unless the party submits their names.

They also insisted that Senator Julius Ucha, was not the winner of the governorship primaries conducted by the party but rather Chief Austin Edeze.

In a communique issued yesterday in Abaka-

liki by the aspirants, following an emergency meeting convened by some leaders of the party in the state, the aggrieved aspirants insisted that the party would loose the governorship election next month, if it insisted on presenting Sen Julius Ucha as its flag bearer insisting that it was only Austin

Edeze, thatis the party’s true flag bearer.

The communique reads in part “That Chief Austin Edeze should be returned as the APC gubernatorial candidate for Ebonyi state in-line with the popular demand of the people since Sen Julius Ucha used thugs to disrupt the primaries which is against party guidelines.”

Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

A

civil society group, Development Dynamics has accused key players in the political landscape of the country as constituting the greatest threat to the nation’s nascent democracy.

While lamenting activities of the several public institutions relevant in the electoral process as largely undermining efforts at the full democratization of the country, the group, in a statement signed by Jude Ohanele, its Program Director, noted that while some politicians were giving to making reckless statements and hate speeches capable of inciting violence in the country, the impunity displayed by the leadership of the various political parties in the undemocratic selection of delegates for their party primary elections and the acts of vote buying by aspirants within the various

political parties during the recent primary elections pose grave pitfalls to the democratization process.

The group was also worried that the Nigeria Police to a large extent presently conducts its operations in a manner that negates its status as a non-partisan, law enforcement agency.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the group believes has continued to cast doubt on its state of preparedness for the 2015 elections following its poor handling of the third phase of the distribution of permanent voters’ cards (PVC) and continuous voters’ registration (CVR).

Development Dynamics however regretted that notable individuals including religious leaders across Nigeria seem to have abandoned their expected roles as agents of peace and national cohesion in the face of the obvious threats facing Nigeria.

48

News

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-SOUTH

Ogoni declares support for APC

T

he four local government areas of the Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State comprising Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana, have unanimously pledged their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, in the February 14, presidential election.

The Ogoni declaration of support for the APC presidential candidate, came yesterday at a welcome ceremony for General Muhammadu Buhari and other stalwarts of the

party to Sakpenwa, headquarters of Tai Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Majesty King G. N. Gininwa, thanked Buhari for accepting to visit Ogoni land.

He said, “I want to welcome you with your entourage. We want to thank Governor Amaechi for talking to you to accept to visit Ogoniland.

Ogonis have cried a lot, we want a redeemer and we believe you are the one.”

Also,the Senator representing Rivers South

East Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, expressed the people’s support for Buhari, saying, “As a former Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, you are aware of the impact of oil exploration and exploitation that has caused colossal degradation of our environment. And you also know that Ogoniland has been a major contributor in oil production since 1958, yet as the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, we have been rewarded with devastated environment and our traditional occupation of fishing and

farming are continuously going extinct”.

“Three and half years after the Federal Government sponsored UNEP report on Ogoni soil, no remedial effort have been made to address the damage outlined in the report despite the promise of the late President Yar’adua’s government to implement the content unconditionally”.

“As Ogonis we are pained that three years after the government got a report that water in Ogoniland is contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at

levels of 900 times above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline”.

“As a deprived people, we have consistently placed in the domains of all government, the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) that seeks for equal representation of Ogonis in the affairs of the nation”.

“Your Excellency, like Abraham Lincoln, your own era to serve and change this nation in line with the aspiration of our founding fathers has come, and we have decided to be part of history.

Kalabari and Ijaw Chiefs from left: Chiefs Gogo Briggs; Broadfield Michael-Jack and Diepiriye Briggs, during a news conference in Port Harcourt …yesterday. PHOTO-NAN

‘Real MEND’ dismisses endorsement of Buhari Emmanuel Masha and Joe Obende PORT HARCOURT /WARRI

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group comprising of former militants, who fought the alleged marginalization of the Niger Delta and were rehabilitated under the Federal Government amnesty scheme, in 2009, have dismissed the endorsement of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, by another faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), for the February 14, presidential election.

Speaking under the leadership, Peace and

Cultural Development Initiative, (LPCDI), the ex militants who stressed that they are the genuine members of MEND, said there had never been a time they endorsed Buhari as their candidate.

In a statement signed by General Reuben Wilson, of the LPCDI, the body, challenged Jomo Gbomo, who signed the purported endorsement of Buhari, to defend the endorsement in public t, stating that its data based must have been cloned and hacked into by the factional MEND. The body accused Buhari of saying MEND does not mean well for Nigeria,

which is a good reason for them not to have ever given their backing to the APC’s candidate, in place of President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that those who endorsed Buhari using MEND were his agents.

He said: “We have read and heard of reports in the mass media on the purported endorsement of the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari and have decided to inform the public that we, the former leaders of militant camps who owned and controlled the activities of MEND did not and could not have endorsed Buhari as our candidate.

Dickson debunks rift with Jonathan Chris ejim yenagoa

B

ayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has dismissed claim that relationship between him and President Goodluck Jonathan, has degenerated, reaffirming that he is totally commitmented to the re-election bid of the president.

Speaking against the backdrop of insinuations that some political appointees were dropped because of a rift with the President, Governor Dickson stated that as the leader of the Government and the PDP in Bayelsa State, he personally mobilized women and youth groups from all over the State and also led the State delegation to attend the traditional marriage of the President’s Niece at Otuoke over the weekend.

Similarly, ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Bayelsa State Government has cautioned politicians in the State to eschew every form of subversive and divisive tendencies, capable of threatening the existing peaceful, harmonious, united and conducive environment the Restoration Government has worked hard to put in place, that has also ushered in the rapid and massive development in the State.

Rivers: Ijaw chiefs back Peterside Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

T

raditional Chiefs of Kalabari Kingdom, in Rivers State, have declared their support for the governorship candidature of Dakuku Peterside of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that the move was in the overall interest of the Kalabari-Ijaw and Rivers State in general.

They said that the laudable power sharing initiative that produced former Governor Peter Odili, Sir Celestine Omehia and Governor Rotimi

Amaechi, was jettisoned by politicians who had no regard for the sustainable peace and inter-ethnic harmony in the state.

The Kalabari-Ijaw chiefs, who made the declaration in a communiqué issued at the end of a media interactive session in Port Harcourt, said that having assessed the recent political events in the state, the resolved to support Peterside, because the APC adhered to the principle of zoning.

According to the 11 point communiqué, signed by Chief Ngo Reuben Briggs, Barr Kar-

ibo Douglas, Hon. Lolo Tanonoemi Ibieneye, Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo, and Chief Micheal Jack, there was a strong need to defeat political hegemony by voting against Barr. Nyesom Wike, the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.

They said they were unhappy over the silence of President Goodluck Jonathan over the political issues in the state, stressing that they expected him to take a stanced that would protect the “political rights of RiversIjaw” just as he did over the Kalabari oil-fields.

I will enhance C’Rivers youths with CBN SMEs initiative –Bassey Clement James CALABAR

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senatorial candidate, in Cross River State, Chief Gershom Bassey, has said his major objective

for his senatorial bid, is to use his position in the senate to create job opportunities for youths in his senatorial district particularly, as regards the Central Bank of Nigeria Small and Medium enterprises initiated pro-

grammes.

Similarly, he said he would ensure the creation of enabling environment for investors to come into the state so that youths would be empowered in various capacities.

“I think that the whole issue is about approach.

I don’t know what the man who is currently has done because I have not felt his impact. But let’s take it that he has done something, but I think that the people will

feel my impact when I go to the national assembly and it will be beyond giving people second hand cars,” he said.

He added; “I am talking about proper empowerment, creation of jobs, creating opportunity for

investments, creating the enabling environment for small scale business to thrive; that’s the type of representation I want to give. So, that’s what we are going there for.

We are going there for serious business.”

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

News 49

NORTH

APC supporters scramble for Buhari scratch cards Ibrahim Abdul Yola

S

upporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State yesterday scrambled for the N3 million worth of scratch cards supplied to the state last week as scarcity of cards hit the state.

Reports said the first

Let’s build Plateau together, PDP chieftain tells aggrieved party men

batch of N3 million scratch cards that arrived Yola, the state capital last week, sold like hot cake as it was exhausted in less than 24 hours.

Chairman of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Alhaji Ibrahim Bappa Waziri, who confirmed the development said a fresh supply was on the way.

Waziri said as soon as the supply arrives, the

65.3%

campaign organisation would notify the public on the point of purchase.

He apologised to General Muhammadu Buhari’s teeming supporters in Adamawa State on the shortage being experienced and vowed that measures would be taken to avert further shortage.

Meanwhile, supporters of Buhari in Adamawa State yesterday

The percentage of the urban population in El Salvador in 2012.

Source: Un.org

complained bitterly over the lingering shortage of the cards, which they said was seriously affecting their desire to contribute to the Buhari presidential election bid.

They lamented that buying the cards is the easiest way to contribute their quota, when compared to going to First Bank to deposit their donation in a designated account, espe-

12.7

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of developing countries in 2005.

Source: Itu.int

cially considering the long queues that characterised the bank’s branches across the state.

“As a KEKE NAPEP operator, I prefer the card to going to queue in the bank for hours, trying to contribute,” Ibrahim Ladan said.

Buba Ishaku, an APC supporter in Jada Local Government, lamented that there are many sup-

7,554

The number of refugees in Uganda at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

porters in the rural areas of the state, who are eager to buy the cards, but in vain.

“If the cards being supplied to Yola are not enough, those of us in the rural areas seem to have a long time to wait.

The campaign organisation needs to know that we need plenty of supplies so that the card can reach everywhere in Adamawa,” Ishaku said.

N132.1m

The IGR realized from direct assessment sources in Ondo State in 2010.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

Musa Pam Jos

A

chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and House of Representatives aspirant, who lost the PDP ticket for Jos South/Jos East federal constituency at the House of Representatives primary election last month, Dachung Musa Bagos, has urged aspirants for all offices who lost their primary elections not to leave the party.

He said such defeated aspirants should accept that only one person could hold a particular office at any given time and stay to help build the party and the state towards the general election scheduled for next month.

Jonathan’s coordinator dumps PDP, picks LP ticket Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T

he North Central Coordinator of Jonathan Actualisation Movement (JAM), Dr. Mike Omotosho, has defected to the Labour Party (LP), citing injustice in the ruling party.

Omotosho, who earlier sought the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for Irepodun/OkeEro/Ekiti/Isin federal constituency, has subsequently picked the gubernatorial ticket of the Labour Party.

His defection came two days after National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, told President Goodluck Jonathan, to stop the practice of ‘Use and Dump’ within the party.

Co-ordinator, Gombe Office of The National Emergency Management Agancy (NEMA), Alhaji Saidu Ahmed-Minin (left), presenting relief materials to an Internally Displaced Person, Malam Shuaibu Bulama, during the Distribution of relief materials by the Presidential Committee on Victims Support Fund in Gombe …yesterday. PHOTO-NAN

under tree Akume accused of running Burnt secretariat: Council conducts business council under the shade Ibrahim Abdul cinity of the secretariat. of a tree.

APC like personal estate Towards the end of Yola The chairman said

Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

S

ome aggrieved members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue South senatorial district have accused Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, of running the party like his personal estate.

They particularly expressed grief over the decision of the former governor not to allow them make inputs into who among their sons, should be nominated as running mate to the party’s candidate, Dr. Samuel Ortom.

The people said Akume’s choice of his exCommissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Benson Abounu, without due consultation was a clear indication that he does have the people of the senatorial district at

heart.

Consequently, they have resolved to meet the senator to sort out the impasse before next month’s general election.

Speaking at a stakeholder meeting at Otukpo yesterday, former member of the House of Representatives, Elder Adoyi Ojogbane, said it was proper to meet with Akume so that the district can be allowed to properly pick a deputy governorship candidate.

Also speaking at the occasion, the former Chairman of the Elders’ Forum of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Alhaji Isah Usman, said it was disheartening that the Tiv people, who have refused to concede the governorship position to Idoma, would not allow them have a say in who becomes deputy governor in the state.

F

ollowing the razing of Hong Local Government secretariat by Boko Haram insurgents when they annexed the local government, the chairman and councillors of the local government have started conducting the activities of the council under a tree situated within the vi-

last year, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the local government, annexed it just as they killed many people and set properties ablaze.

During his maiden tour of the town after it was liberated, Chairman of the Local Government, Ahmed Yerima, presented a budget before the legislative

the arson and the destruction by Boko Haram fighters left over 300 families homeless in Hong, saying although his administration has provided relief assistance to the victims at a local level, he said there was the need for assistance from wealthy individuals and organisations.

Polls: Police threaten to deal with troublemakers Muhammad Kabir KANO

T

he Nigeria Police have warned politicians regardless of their positions in the society that they would not be spared if they are found wanting in their acts, especially with the commencement of the 2015 electioneering campaign.

The police said they

would not allow anarchy, uncertainty and fear to conquer the minds of Nigerians in an attempt by politicians to make Nigeria ungovernable.

Kano State Police Commissioner, Alhaji Adenrele Shinaba, told politicians and religious leaders at a stakeholders’ meeting that the ‘irresponsible attitude of some politicians,’ who make inciting remarks, would no

longer be tolerated.

He said Nigeria is greater than anybody and its integrity and sovereignty should not be toyed with. “People should know that in case of any uncertainty, no African country can accommodate the influx of refugees that may come from this country; and we should be seen to be statesmen, not people who talk anyhow.”

50 WORLD | News

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Jonathan condemns terror attack on French newspaper Anule Emmanuel

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has extended condolences to President Francois Hollande and the people of France as they mourn the victims of yesterday’s dastardly terrorist attack.

The President in a statement yesterday by his special adviser on media and publicity Dr. Reuben Abati said joined the rest of the

civilized world in condemning the heinous, senseless and totally unjustifiable killing of journalists and other persons during the attack on the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

President Jonathan said he believes that the cowardly and ignoble attack by violent extremists is a monstrous assault on the right to freedom of expression. He also noted that he sees the attack on Charlie Hebdo as another manifestation of the deprav-

ity and brutality which the world has to contend with in what must become a truly collective effort by lovers of peace, progress and freedom across the globe to rout the agents of darkness and retrogression. President Jonathan assured President Hollande and the people of France that Nigeria stands in full solidarity with them on this day of national mourning for those who lost their lives at the hands of terrorists in Paris.

“Noting that France has been a strong ally and dependable partner in strengthening regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa as a whole, President Jonathan pledges that his administration will continue to work with the French government and other friendly governments in all continents to end the scourge of global terrorism. President Jonathan urged media practitioners

worldwide not to be discouraged or disheartened by the brutal murder of their colleagues in Paris, but to remain strong and fearless in pursuit of truth and the defence of human rights and freedom of expression. He prayed that God almighty will comfort the people of France, especially the bereaved families and grant speedy recovery to all those who were injured in yesterday’s attack.

UN confirms ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Central African Republic

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People holding candles during a gathering in support for the victims of the terror shooting in paris,France as they gather near EU headquarters in Brussels.

France hunts for terror suspects, mourns victims

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cattered gunfire and explosions shook France yesterday as its frightened yet defiant citizens held a day of mourning for 12 people slain at a Paris newspaper. French police hunted two heavily armed brothers suspected in the massacre, fearing they might strike again. The two suspects one a former pizza deliveryman who had a prior terror conviction and a fondness for rap should be considered “armed and dangerous,” French police said in a bulletin.

French President Francois Hollande joined by residents, tourists and Muslim leaders

called for tolerance after the country’s worst terrorist attack in decades. At noon, the Paris metro came to a standstill and a crowd fell silent near Notre Dame cathedral to honor Wednesday’s victims.

“France has been struck directly in the heart of its capital, in a place where the spirit of liberty and thus of resistance breathed freely,” Hollande said. France’s prime minister said the possibility of a new attack “is our main concern” and announced several overnight arrests.

Tensions ran high in Paris, where 800 extra police patrolled schools, places of worship and transit hubs. Britain

increased its security checks at ports and borders.

The satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and witnesses said the attackers claimed allegiance to al-Qaida in Yemen. Around the world, from Berlin to Bangkok, thousands filled squares and streets for a second day, holding up pens to protect the right to freedom of speech. “The only thing we can do is to live fearlessly,” wrote Kai Diekmann, editor in chief of Bild, Germany’s biggest-selling daily.

“Our colleagues in Paris have paid the ultimate price for freedom. We bow before them.”

Sri Lanka votes in tightest election in decades

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ri Lankans turned out in large numbers yesterday, shrugging off some reports of intimidation to vote in the island’s tightest election in decades as President Mahinda Rajapakse battles for survival.

Turnout was higher than expected in Tamil-dominated areas of the north and east, which have boycotted national elections in the past and where resentment against Rajapakse runs high. Sri Lanka’s strong-

man leader seemed assured of victory when he called snap polls in November seeking an unprecedented third term, five years after crushing a violent separatist rebellion that had traumatised the country for decades.

But he has been dogged in recent years by accusations of increasing authoritarianism and corruption and a failure to bring about national reconciliation.

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena’s shock decision to defect from the government and stand against the president led to a bitterly fought campaign for the election, which analysts say is too close to call. Early indications suggested national turnout could be as high as the near 75 percent reported in 2010.

Rajapakse said he was confident of a “resounding victory” and promised a peaceful post-election period as he cast his ballot.

United Nations commission of inquiry says it has found evidence of ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Central African Republic, but it couldn’t prove that genocide has occurred amid months of unprecedented sectarian violence that left thousands dead.

The commission’s final report released yesterday also said that while death toll reports range from 3,000 to 6,000, any such number is a “radical under-estimate” of the people killed in the vicious fighting that continues among Christians and Muslims in the impoverished, landlocked nation.

The three-member commission of inquiry accuses both sides of war crimes and crimes against humanity but accuses the anti-Balaka Christian militia of ethnic cleansing of Muslims. It warns that “the

principal actors clearly retain a significant capacity to re-ignite the situation and trigger a renewed cycle of killings.”

Thousands of Muslims have fled Central African Republic, a forced and deadly displacement that the U.N. has described as ethnic cleansing.

The U.N. has classified the chaos as a top-level humanitarian crisis, just one of four current ones around the world along with Syria, Iraq and South Sudan. Meanwhile, a fragile transitional government is trying to hold elections by an August 2015 deadline.

A U.N. mission took over peacekeeping duties from an African Union force in September, but it faces an enormous task: bringing peace to a country the size of Texas with some 4.6 million people and little infrastructure.

Scottish separatists ‘not pushing for second referendum’

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lex Salmond, who led the Scottish independence movement in last year’s referendum, said yesterday that nationalists would not use the British general election in May as a chance to force a second vote on leaving the UK. Salmond said the next fiveyear parliament should be about holding the three main unionist parties to account over their pledge to deliver greater selfrule for Scotland. Salmond stood down as Scotland’s first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) following the September referendum, when Scots voted by 55 percent to 45 percent to remain in the United Kingdom. Opinion polls suggest the SNP could make dramatic gains and win the vast majority of Scotland’s 59 seats in the 650-member British parliament at Westminster in May. These would mostly be at the expense of the centre-left opposition Labour Party, which has dominated Scottish politics since the 1960s, and is hoping to unseat Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives in the general election. There had been speculation

that a second referendum could be the price the left-wing SNP would exact for agreeing to prop up a Labour minority government in a hung parliament, if it holds the balance of power. But Salmond, among those seeking election in May, said: “We are not campaigning for a second referendum -we’ve had a referendum.”

He said: “This Westminster election is about delivering to Scotland what was promised in the referendum and the things that people are entitled to see.” In the final days before the Scottish referendum, the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties promised Scotland sweeping new powers if voters decided to vote against independence. Salmond insisted the parties would have to “pay the consequences” if they failed to deliver on it.

Negotiations are underway about how much extra authority the devolved government in Edinburgh should have over tax and spending, with draft legislative proposals due to be published by the end of January. The plans do not go far enough for the SNP, which Salmond said is pushing for “as near federalism as we can get”.

NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

Sport News

International Sport

Abu Dhabi friendlies: Udoh, Salami depart with Eagles

Winning return excites Torres

52

53

Sport

51

Did you know?

That Kevin Gillespie,Dave Kitson and Andreas Johansson were all sent off without touching the ball

ITTF awards: NSC boss hails table tennis superstar, Quadri

Ifeanyi Ibeh

T

he Director General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has praised Nigerian table tennis superstar, Aruna Quadri, for doing the nation proud after emerging as the 2014 male player of the year at Wednesday night’s International Table Tennis Federation Star Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Aruna, who was shortlisted for the Male Table Tennis Star of the Year honours following his meteoric rise to number 30 in the ITTF world rankings during the year to become the highestever ranked African player of all time, also on the night emerged as the winner of the Star Point of the Year award thanks to his crucial winning point in the 4-2 loss to World and Olympic champion, China’s Jan Zhike, at the quarterfinal stage of the

Eduok, agent face NFF axe Emmanuel Tobi

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sports Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Editor, Sports

Ifeanyi Ibeh Sports Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan Sports Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sports Correspondent

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

T

he agent at the centre of the transfer debacle involving Super Eagles player, Emem Eduok, looks set to be suspended by the Nigeria Football Federation.

The player could also be suspended.

The agent, who also manages the Super Eagles trio of Nosa Igiebor, Anthony Ujah and Odion Ighalo, who all started their European sojourn in Norway, will according to sources within the NFF have his licence as an NFF registered players’ agent suspended for a minimum of one year – a move that will see the agent unable to carry out any transfer business involving Nigeriabased players.

Our source revealed that Eduok is also facing suspension for his role in the transfer saga since he was part of it all.

The agent also looks likely to be hammered with criminal proceedings in the Scandinavian country after presenting Eduok as a player of a Nigeria-based academy, A&B Academy, during the nowbotched deal with Sarpsborg 08, who thought they had secured the services of Eduok after the striker signed a four-year deal worth $150,000 with them.

However, much to the dismay of the Norwegian side, Eduok was last week sold by his rightful owners, Dolphins FC, to Tunisian giants, Esperance who handed the striker a threeand-a-half-year deal worth €300,000.

2014 ITTF World Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany.

And Elegbeleye thanked the ITTF for recognising Aruna’s feat even as he expressed his belief that the reigning African champion will continue to improve on his performance.

“The NSC is elated with the achievement of our athlete (Aruna) in world table tennis last year. We are happier that his hard work and dedication to his chosen profession have yielded dividends by winning

We are not happy with the cloud of controversy over his transfer issue and it is a terrible distraction to the team and Nigeria football generally

two world recognised ITTF awards for the Year 2014,” said Elegbeleye.

“We congratulate him and since he is among the High Performance A-athlete, we will continue to support him in every way for him to continue his speedy rise in the ITTF rankings. The NSC recognises his talents as a medal winning prospect for the 2016 Olympics and we will continue to support him and monitor his progress in the game. The NSC and indeed sports loving Nigerians are proud of him,” he added.

Chairman of the NFF’s Technical and Development Committee, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, was recently handed the task of investigating the controversial transfer of the striker.

And New Telegraph scooped from sources that the report from the Enyimba boss will see Eduok head to Esperance to continue his football career.

The player won’t easily be let off the hook though as he faces the possibility of being suspended from the Super Eagles, as well as the U-23 national team, currently managed by Samson Siasia.

Eduok, who has been tipped as a future star of the national team, was recently dropped from the UAE-bound Super Eagles team by NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, after it

emerged that he had travelled to Norway without the permission of Dolphins FC to put pen to paper on a deal with the Norwegian side.

And the NFF hopes any punitive measure taken against the striker and the agent who brokered the Norwegian deal will serve as a deterrent to others.

It will be recalled that Pinnick, at the time, said: “We are not happy with the cloud of controversy over his transfer issue and it is a terrible distraction to the team and Nigerian football generally. Telling him to leave the camp does not mean we are indicting him. We will carry out an investigation and whoever is found guilty, be he, or she; an agent or player manager; or an official of his club will be duly sanctioned.”

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

The monster rises again

Around the Stadia

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iolence in football is an abomination all over the world. That is why strict regulations are enacted by global governing bodies to shield sports from violence. We however watch sports violence on television and do not associate our sports with violence.

But with the narrowing of distances and time zones, courtesy of satellite television and the internet, there is no doubt therefore that sports violence is very much with us live.

We have been nauseated by tales and images of death on the field of play in distant lands and thought that our shores were insulated from such ugly scenes.

The recent news of the death of a Cameroonian footballer, Albert Ebosse, who plies his trade at JS Kabylie of Algiers, is not a cheering one. The player met his untimely death in the hands of unruly fans. He was beaten to death in the most barbaric manner. There were also cases of players who were murdered in Egypt during a local league encounter in 2009. These are ugly incidents that leave bitter taste in the mouth. The irony

JOE BOOSTER

is that they all began with little attempts at hurling projectiles into the pitch, designed to express dissatisfaction with either the quality of play by their team or perceived unfair decisions of match officials, but soon snowballed into unpleasant circumstances.

It is unfortunate however, to realise that such ugly incidents have become our experience, here in Nigeria. There was disturbing news recently about how a referee with other match officials were beaten severely by some irate hoodlums masquerading as players and officials of a club in the ill-fated match between Kwara United and Ranch Bees of Kaduna. As I sat alongside others, watching that show of shame, all that came to my mind was how would this monster be dealt a death knell before it is finally laid to rest. Every lover of football must rise and lend support to the eradication of violence in sports, especially as it affects football.

The good news however is that this particular episode was captured on tape, as such, the case of “unknown soldier”

will not arise to insult our collective intelligence. The player who started it all along with his colleagues, and goaded by club officials, must be fished out immediately and handed over to the police for immediate prosecution.

The time to draw the line between what constitutes a crime and ordinary football matter has come and nothing should be swept under the carpet as had been the case in the past.

I am aware that this matter ought to fall within the purview of the Nigeria National League (NNL) management; however, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) must as a matter of urgency make

must take the major blame.

They knew that the rescheduled game was going to be illtempered, but made little or no commitment to tightening the security during and after the game as the rules require.

Limited information gleaned from the parties, point to the fact that players reacted violently to a late penalty awarded to their opponents, hence the decision to either maim or kill the referee outright. They forgot the fact that murder is still a crime in Nigeria and people must be accountable.

It was rather unfortunate that the reaction of these players and their officials show how ignorant they are about football rules. The rule is that whatever decisions taken by a referee during a match are the referee’s opinion. This makes football referees the most dictatorial of all sports’ umpires. Whatever decisions they take during the game is final. The only option open to clubs (however belated or inconsequential) is to protest when they have the basis.

But to take the laws into their hands is completely abhorred and condemned for the good of the game.

Nigerian football cannot afford to co-exist with this hydra headed monster of violence and should not be allowed to resurrect. Every weapon permissible in law must be deployed to ensure its final death. Let the guilty also be made to face the music.

Abu Dhabi friendlies: Udoh, Salami depart with Eagles

FIFA ranking: Eagles start 2015 in 43rd place

lAs Amokachi drops Rangers star, Osaguona

Ifeanyi Ibeh

Olaide Olayinka

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he Super Eagles remained in the 43rd position on the monthly FIFA rankings released by the Zurich-based football body on Thursday.

The Eagles ended 2014 in the same position and, having not been involved in any fixtures since the last rankings were released in December, it came as no surprise that the reigning African champions remained rooted on the same spot.

As explained by FIFA in its statement, only 16 friendlies took place since the last instalment of the rankings, 11 of which took place in 2014, which meant that aside Nigeria, there were 145 other non-movers amongst the 209 teams on the rankings, leaving reigning world champions Germany in first place, and Algeria as the highest ranked African team in 18th place.

In Africa, the Algerians are followed by Tunisia (22nd), Cote d’Ivoire (28th), Senegal (35th), Ghana (37th), Guinea (39th), Cape Verde (40th), Cameroon (42nd) and Nigeria (43rd).

Mali are ranked 10th in Africa (49th in the world), while South Africa and Congo, who both finished ahead of the Super Eagles in the qualifiers for the upcoming AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, are respectively ranked 12th and 15th in Africa, and 52nd and 61st in the world.

The truth is that the nation cannot afford the reincarnation of hooliganism in football after years of neglect. The gradual return of our hitherto embattled fans in trickles, into the various football arenas, should not be truncated by violence

a pronouncement on this issue, for the fact that it is beyond what the NNL should handle.

In fact, the entire football community in Nigeria must rise unanimously to condemn this monstrosity that has re-entered our football, before it goes hay wire.

The truth is that the nation cannot afford the reincarnation of hooliganism in football after years of neglect. The gradual return of our hitherto embattled fans in trickles, into the various football arenas, should not be truncated by violence.

This is bearing in mind that anything is capable of reopening old wounds that could fan the embers of enmity.

The Federation should not wait till somebody is murdered on the pitch before it acts. They have every right as custodians of the game in the country to act proactively in the interest of all. A thorough investigation is therefore expected to be commissioned to unravel what transpired on that fateful day, and appropriate punishment meted out where necessary.

The way and manner some law enforcement agents on duty were assaulted by these rampaging brigands left much to be desired. We only have the Almighty God to thank for the high level of restrain and discipline exercised by the few police officers on duty. Had they decided to do otherwise, there would have been bloodshed at the National Stadium, Abuja.

The National league body,

T Salami

he Super Eagles, on Thursday night, departed for the United Arab Emirates where they will play two friendly matches against Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan with the duo of Nigerian Premier League stars Mfon Udoh and Gbolahan Salami topping the list of 19 players picked by Daniel

CAF, Globacom extend partnership to 2018 Emmanuel Tobi

T

he Confederation Africaine de Football and telecommunications giants, Globacom on Thursday, in Lagos, extended the sponsorship contract for the CAF Awards.

The renewed partnership will see Globacom remain as the headline sponsor of the annual CAF Awards until 2018.

The signing ceremony took place same day as the 2014 Awards Gala with CAF President, Issa Hayatou penning for the continental football governing

body and Mrs. Gladys Talabi, Globacom’s Executive Director of Legal Services, signing for her outfit.

Hayatou commended Globacom for their support towards the development of African football over the years with their involvement in the annual CAF awards.

“We appreciate your support and what you have achieved and we can only pay homage to you (Globacom) for the tremendous ef forts towards the development of African football,” Hayatou remarked.

Amokachi for the trip.

Enugu Rangers striker, Osaguona Ighodalo, who featured in some of the national team’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, was however the surprise exclusion from the side that will take on the AFCON-bound Ivoirians on January 12 before coming up against the Sudanese five days later.

Explaining why the tow-

ering Rangers forward was dropped, Amokachi cited the player’s poor form in training.

“Recall that I did say to the world and especially to the players that only 19 of them will make the team and current form and not names will form the basis of selection, that was exactly what happened in the case of Osaguona,” he said.

Warri Wolves retain Akpeyi, Salami, 21 others Charles Ogundiya

T

he management of Warri Wolves have retained the services of Super Eagles duo of Daniel Akpeyi and Gbolahan Salami, as the team resumes preparations for the new season today (Friday).

In a statement by the media officer of the team, Moses Etu, 23 players were retained from those that played for the team in the just concluded season.

Goalkeeper Okiemute Odah, defender Goodluck Onamado, Joseph Eyimofe, Etebo Oghenekaro, Joseph Osadiaye, Omo-

forman Freedom, Stanly Dimgba Abu Azeez, Ibenegbu Ikechukwu, Ichull Lordson, among others, were also retained for the new season.

The management equally confirmed the recruitment of Solomon Kwanbe from Sunshine Stars, Onyekachi Okafor from Crown FC and Kufre Ebong from Akwa United.

Meanwhile, nothing was said about defender, Azubuike Ezubuike, who is currently with the Super Eagles in the United Arab Emirates, and Thankgod Ike, who is rumoured to be on the verge of signing for a new club ahead of the new season.

SPORT 53

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ifestyle

OBINNA NSOFOR Super Eagles striker

Best food: pounded yam with white soup Best drink: Water Favorite color: Blue Best city visited: Miami Hometown: NSUGBE, ANAMBRA STATE Best club supported: Manchester United Best car: Mercedes 63 AMG Best designer: Dolce and Gabbana Best perfume: Creed Best music: Gospel music Best Match: Morocco vs Nigeria (semi final ayc 2005) Worst Match: SPARTAK MOSCOW vs LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW (2012/2013 SEASON) Best actor: Nkem Owoh Best actress: Mercy Johnson Best competition ever attended: 2008 Beijing OlympicS Best boot: Nike Best jersey no: 9

Winning return excites Torres

A

tletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres once again had butterflies in his stomach as he made his return to the Vicente Calderon.

Torres played an hour for Atletico as they claimed a 2-0 win over city rivals Real Madrid in their Copa del Rey round-of-16 first leg on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old, who was greeted by over 40,000 fans at his presentation, said he had a similar feeling in his first game back for his boyhood club.

“You always get butterflies

in your stomach at times like these,” Torres said. “I got them the other day in the presentation and I got them today (on Wednesday).”

Torres however warned his side the cup tie was far from over as they prepare to travel to The Santiago Bernabeu on January 15 for the return leg.

“It was a great job. The sec-

ond leg has to be outlined in a very similar way,” he said.

“The clean sheet gives us many options, but a 2-0 in the Bernabeu is far from a definite result.”

Torres added: “We are happy for many things: for the work of the team, for the atmosphere that we have lived and are still living at the Calderon.”

Kyrgios ready for Australian Open

C

helsea legend Didier Drogba could be set for a summer switch to Amer-

ica.

Merritt Paulson, owner of MLS outfit Portland Timbers, has revealed his desire to bring the Ivoirian forward across the pond in the summer.

Drogba, 36, rejoined Chelsea in July on a one-year contract and has since been tipped to become part of Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff once that deal ends. Drogba But Drogba has spoken of his interest in playing in the MLS to play in the MLS,” he said.

“The MLS almost signed him and Timbers chiefs Paulson admits he would love nothing a couple years ago and I know my coach would love him to be more than to facilitate that move.

“Drogba is a unique guy who, a Timber player, but I highly despite his age, is uniquely skilled doubt it at this point.”

AFCON: Senegal angry at Sakho’s withdrawal

N

ick Kyrgios has revealed that he is fit to take part in this month’s Australian Open, having overcome a back complaint.

The 19-year-old, who reached the quarter-final stage at Wimbledon last summer, withdrew from the Hopman Cup in Perth this week due to the injury which has caused him a few problems.

However, Kyrgios declared himself fit to compete in the Sydney International which gets underway at the weekend, with his eyes firmly set on the upcoming Australian Open on home soil.

“Good hit out on #RosewallArena,” the Aussie number one tweeted.

“Felt good and looking forward to cracking on with the Aussie Summer.”

The first Grand Slam of the tennis season gets underway on January 19.

MLS move beckons for Drogba

S

Torres (right)

enegal officials hope to prevent injured Diafra Sakho from playing for West Ham during the three-week-long Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Forward Sakho, 25, is out with a back injury, with a senior Senegal official accusing the Premier League side of a “lack of respect” over his withdrawal.

The 2002 runners-up wanted to assess the player’s injury themselves.

“We’re going to Fifa and the English FA,” Senegal Football Federation

president Augustin Senghor, said.

Speaking to the Senegal Press Agency, Senghor added: “Obviously, West Ham have shown a lack of respect in waiting until the last minute before alerting us to Sakho’s unavailability for six weeks and even his inability to travel by plane to join the squad.”

Sakho had been due to arrive in Dakar on Tuesday for Senegal medics to assess his recurring back problem. But the player’s agent said he had been advised against travelling.

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Tale of two flag-offs

n Tuesday, January 5, 2015 the All progressives Congress (APC) flagged of its campaign in the Port-Harcourt, where it attempted to showcase what it has to offer Nigerians. Like I said in my recent intervention in media after the event, it was nothing but empty declarations about what the party ‘would like to do’. The APC had nothing to offer in terms of real understanding of the problems of the nation and any detailed plans about how to solve them. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), on the other hand, flagged off its campaign in Lagos, the supreme headquarters of the APC yesterday (January 8), with clear and loud statements about its understanding of our national problems, the steps it is taking in dealing with them and how it will continue to steer the ship of state towards sustainable development, according to 21st century standards. The important thing to note here, among others, is the absence of a plan for national development from the APC fold.

During the flag-off by the APC the party said it would stop insurgency, but did not say how. It showed no knowledge of the capacities and challenges of the armed forces and was content to merely assure Nigerians that, once elected, it would stop insurgency the way its flag-bearer stopped the Maitasine group in the 1980s. It took President Jonathan and the PDP rally of yesterday to know that past Nigerian governments, including that of Gen Muhammadu Buhari, have consistently failed to equip the armed forces and make them combat ready.

The APC failed to situate the problem within the contemporary global and national challenges and, therefore, had nothing to offer by way of real solutions to the problem.

Thanks to these two rallies, Nigerians now know that one party is a hands-on leadership machine, while the other is only good at generalisations and unfounded claims. Yes, President Jonathan has now told us, and this is confirmed by available records, that even under Buhari in the 80s, ammunition was not bought for the military by his government.

Nigerians also now know that it was actually the current dispensation of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that the Federal Government started equipping the armed forces again.

Whereas the APC told Nigerians that it would reduce corruption by demonstrating political will and jailing everyone who is found guilty of corruption, the PDP told us that jail terms and guilt are determined by courts of competent jurisdiction. This means that a government must follow the rule of law and allow court processes to take their due course. Thus one must dismiss the APC’s empty platitudes, as it shows no knowledge or understanding of the socio-economic realities that encourage corruption and make it fester. Worse still, it knows nothing about how to fight it, beyond talking about a nebulous

PETER OBI (CON) Guest Columnist

President Jonathan has now told us, and this is confirmed by available records, that even under Buhari in the 80s, ammunition was not bought for the military by his government

‘political will’ that translates into nothing when examined more closely.

No nation is immune from corruption and nations reduce corruption through institutional checks and not the advertised personal honesty of one individual.

Anyone who listened to President Goodluck Jonathan during the flag off the PDP campaign yesterday must have heard him say that he will build institutions that will reduce corruption, in spite of the universal human challenge of deviating from the norm now and again. He did not say he will personally frighten people into avoid-

ing corruption, no! He will make it unattractive and unrewarding through institutional checks. Both The PDP and APC candidates have been Heads of the Nigerian State. The APC candidate says “ I have done it before, I will do it again by jailing those found guilty of corruption,” but without telling us how he will do it differently from when he sentenced some presumed offenders to 300 years in jail. The PDP candidate, on the other hand, says: “ I will bring corruption to an end in Nigeria by a consistently, law-governed approach that simultaneously strengthen the crime fighting agencies while also leaving no one in doubt that the judiciary, not our individual feeling and conjectures, must determine guilt and culpability of accused persons at all times”.

We need only look at how the Jonathan Government has, over the years, reformed fertilizer procurement and provided employment through agriculture, SURE-P, YouWin and many other programmes. Curiously, it is the APC whose campaign promises a government without plans that is turning around to accuse the PDP of running a government without plans. They failed to tell Nigerians the fruits of those plans. President Goodluck Jonathan was able to reel out what his Government has done, as well as the results, based on well-

A sea of heads at the flag off of the Jonathan 2015 Presidential campaign in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

laid out plans. For instance, he said that Nigeria could not have become the biggest economy in Africa without planning. By responding to all the issues raised by the APC one at a time, Mr President has elevated the quality of political debate for the forthcoming election and is indirectly urging others to do likewise.

The APC talked about improving the quality of education and left it at that. The PDP on the other hand, told us what its Government has done in education, such as setting up 12 federal Universities in states of the federation that did not have any. Mr President told us how his Government tackled enrolment and drop out issues, among so many others. He gave factual proof of hands-on capacity, unlike the APC that said that it will first hire technocrats to help it craft solution to Nigeria’s problems, after the elections. If, as APC said, it will depend on technocrats to help it design what to do, we must conclude that the party is, for now, bereft of ideas.

So why vote for such a party at all?

One area about which the president spoke admirably is transportation. He did not say what he will do, but he showed us what he had done.

He showed how his government has ended up re-awakening our people’s hope that the country will re-ignite its well-known capacities and remain on the track of progress now bestowed on it by this government. The President spoke emotionally about the trains coming on tracks after more than 30.

He talked about the revolution in our Sea ports that now runs 24-hour operations, instead of the nine hours he met when he came on board. This is clear proof of good leadership, including the on-going building of more sea ports, the rehabilitation of the old, narrow airport, rail tracks and the building of standard ones.

It is curious that the APC, at a Town Hall meeting held in Edo State yesterday by its Vice Presidential candidate promised the people that the party would initiate micro power projects, among other initiatives. All the APC needed to do before the meeting was educate itself. It is sad that a party would want to lead this country without even bothering to find out what is going on around it. A lot of efforts have been put into solving the power problem. With the unbundling of generation and distribution of power to private investors and with the investment in that sector, the country shall soon witness the fruits of that heroic decision.

I have been part of political campaigns at different levels and I have always preferred to deal with issues the way president Jonathan is dealing with them today. The PDP, through its flag-bearer, has taken matters beyond the domain of banality. It is now for others to move up, using these two flag offs as reference.

•Obi is the immediate past governor of Anambra State and Deputy Director-General, South, President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Orginisation

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