Binder1 tuesday 29 july, 2014

Sanctity of Truth Facebook.com/newtelegraph

Tuesday, July 29, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 161

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Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

Three killed in suicidal attack on NNPC station in Kano lFour soldiers, 36 feared killed in Adamawa lKalu seeks global unity against Boko Haram

Our Reporters

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or the second day running, female suicide bombers yesterday attacked Kano, the

commercial nerve centre of the North.

Three persons were killed and 10 others were severely injured in the twin attacks targeted at

the Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC) Mega Station and the Trade Fair Complex, Kano.

Another female suicide bomber had blown

up herself on Sunday at a police checkpoint in Kano when she was ordered to stop for a search by a team of policemen manning the checkpoint.

However, in the wake of the rising deadly attacks suspected to be carried out by Boko Haram, a former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji

Uzor Kalu, has called for a global unity to defeat the insurgents who at the weekend shifted attention to Cameroun CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Ebola virus in Nigeria

Ambassador, 58 others in contact with dead victim

lNCAA suspends airline’s operations to Nigeria for flying in victim Muritala Ayinla and Wole Shadare

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he Federal Government has intensified efforts to curtail the

spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Nigeria following the discovery of a patient in Lagos last week.

Further investigations into the case, carried out

in conjunction with the Lagos State Government, have revealed that 59 others, including Nigerian Ambassador to Liberia, Chigozie Obi-Nnadozie,

had contact with Mr. Patrick Sawyer, the EVD victim who died in Lagos last Thursday.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide

Idris, at a news conference yesterday in Lagos, said the 59 people had contact with the late Sawyer, a senior diplomat with the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Ebola fact sheet

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Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is deadly. According to the World Health Organisation, EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90 per cent. Formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, it is a severe, often-fatal illness primarily occurring in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rain forests.

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EVD is transmitted from animals: It is contracted by humans after contact with wild animals. The fruit bat — also called megabat or odd world fruit bat — is the natural host of the Ebola virus. Fruit bats are known to house a number of diseases that are lethal to humans, yet they themselves are rarely affected. The virus is now being spread via human-to-human transmission.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

L-R: Former Military Administrator of Bauchi State, Navy Captain Rasheed Raji (rtd.); Chief Imam of Egbaland, Alhaji Liadi Orunsolu and Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, during the Eid-el-Fitr prayer, in Abeokuta…yesterday

Impeachment: I will be vindicated, says Al-Makura Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

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asarawa State Governor, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, yesterday restated his readiness to appear be-

fore the seven-panel set up by the state Chief Judge Justice, Umaru Dikko, to defend the allegations

of gross misconduct levelled against him by the state House of Assembly.

The governor, addressing supporters of the All

Progressives Congress (APC) who paid him Sallah homage in Lafia, however, said he would not be bothered as he was sure that he

would be vindicated at the end of the day.

According to him, the allegations against him CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

APC: Jonathan unserious about free, fair elections }4

July 29: Aguiyi-Ironsi, Gowon, revenge and ouster }13-16

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Ambassador, 58 others in contact with dead victim CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), who was diagnosed of the EVD on arrival in Nigeria to attend the ECOWAS convention in Calabar.

Idris, at the news conference held in conjunction with Federal Ministry of Health officials, said: “So far, a total of 59 contacts have been registered consisting of 44 hospital contacts (38 healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 airport contacts, comprising three ECOWAS staff members, driver, liaison and protocol officers, Nigerian Ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five airport passenger handlers.

“As of the time of this report, 20 contacts had been physically screened of which 50 per cent are type 1 contact and 50 per cent had had type 2 contact. Airline manifest has not been provided by the airline at the time of this report and therefore the precise number of passenger contacts is yet to be ascertained, especially as two flights were involved (Monrovia-Lome and Lome-Lagos).”

Harping on the management, prevention and control of the endemic, Idris said an isolation ward had been designated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for case management, adding that the designation of three other health facilities was underway.

A total of 100 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was procured by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health and has been distributed to the private hospital and the State Ministry of Health. WHO also donated 250 PPEs to the NCDC/FMOH. “Adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was decontaminated using 10 per cent sodium hypochlorite and cremated,

with the permission of the government of Liberia. A cremation urn has been prepared for dispatch to the family. The vehicle that conveyed the remains was also fully decontaminated,” he added.

According to him, although no Nigerian has been infected, all contacts are being actively followed.

He said based on investigation carried out so far, the government could assure Nigerians and the global community that as of today only one case of imported Ebola and one death had been recorded in Lagos.

“We call on all Nigerians to be calm and not panic and do hereby assure them that both the federal and state Governments are up in arms to ensure that the virus did not escape and that no Nigerian is infected with this

virus,” he stated.

Idris said preliminary laboratory investigation conducted by the NCDC AI virology laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the World-Bank Funded African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) Redeemers’ University, detected viral DNA from Sawyer and that in both, blood and urine samples obtained from the patient were positive for the Pan Filo virus analysis and Ebola Zaire MGB virus strain- specific analysis.

Idris added that samples were also collected for further confirmation at the WHO Collaborating laboratory for Ebola in Dakar.

Giving the detail of unfortunate importation of the diseases to Nigeria, Idris said the 40-year-old

Liberian victim arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos from Monrovia via Lome on Asky Airline Flight No KP50, on his way to Calabar for the ECOWAS retreat of heads of offices meeting, as a senior ECOWAS official in Liberia.

He explained that his plane was reported to have had a brief stop in Accra and Lome, and the aircraft was changed at Lome, adding that he was also reported to have fallen ill while on board and remained very ill on arrival at the airport in Lagos.

In addition, Sawyer was taken from the airport by ECOWAS protocol officials to a private hospital, First Consultant Medical Centre, Obalende, in Lagos, where he tested positive to EVD. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

28oC 23oC Rain Storms

ABUJA

28oC 21oC Storms

PORT HARCOURT

29oC 21oC Rain Showers

KANO

22oC 14oC Rain Showers

ENUGU

29o C 22oC Thunder Storms

IBADAN

28oC 22oC Storms

CALABAR

28o C 23oC Thunder Storms

MAIDUGURI

ONITSHA

36oC 25oC Partially Cloudy

31oC 24oC Rain Showers

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

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

L-R: Globacom’s Director of PR, Events and Sponsorship, Mr. Bode Opeseitan, representing Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr; President, Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria, Mr. Zik Zulu Okafor and Nollywood star, Amanda Ebeye, at the conferment of the ‘Entertainment Pillar of the Decade’ award on Adenuga, in Lagos...on Sunday

Four soldiers, 36 feared killed in Adamawa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

where they abducted the wife of the country’s Vice Prime Minister, Amadou Ali, and killed at least three others during a raid on Ali’s country home.

In the latest attacks in Kano, one of the female suicide bombers disguised as a customer wanting to buy kerosene and blew up herself after she had dissolved into the crowd of buyers.

The blast left 10 people injured and three of them died shortly after they were taken to a hospital for treatment.

In the second attack at the Trade Fair Complex, close to a mall housing Shoprite, the female suicide bomber blew up herself, injuring three

policemen while nobody was killed.

The spate of attacks being carried out by female suicide bombers has sent panic across the metropolis and dampened the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

Kano State Police Command spokesperson, Magaji Musa Majia, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said they received a distress call at about 10am that there was an attack on the NNPC Mega Station, which prompted them to mobilised the anti-bomb squad there.

However, he said by the time the squad arrived on the scene, they found out that the suicide bomber had blown up herself, injuring 10

others.

He added that the victims were rushed to the hospital for treatment and three of them died shortly on arrival.

According to him, in the second attack, no one was killed but three police officers were injured.

Also speaking on the attack on the NNPC Mega Station, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said in a statement that four persons, including the suicide bomber, had been confirmed dead, while eight others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The suicide bomber was said to have

“slipped” into a crowd of people queuing to buy kerosene, before detonating the bomb. Also yesterday, the fragile peace prevailing in Kaduna town since last Wednesday’s twin bomb attacks, was tested following a bomb scare.

Shop owners hurriedly closed their business premises and pedestrians fled for safety on the ever-busy Ahmadu Bello Way when a sack was spotted, close to a major newspapers distribution point in Kaduna, which people suspected to be a stuffed with bombs.

The police anti-bomb squad arrived on the scene and after a series of checks, it was discovered that the sack conCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Jonathan unserious about free, fair elections, says APC Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

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he All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of paying lip service to free and fair elections.

According to the party, Jonathan should walk his talk about organising free and fair elections because all his assurances have not translated into credible elections.

APC in a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the president should also order investigation into the search of an office of an independent opinion poll firm by security operatives.

The party urged the president to go beyond mere rhetoric and take concrete actions to ensure that elections are not marred by the intimidation and harassment of opposition party members and supporters as well as the deliberate disenfranchisement of voters, which hallmarked the Anambra and Ekiti

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gubernatorial elections, among others.

The APC said: “On the same day the president’s latest assurances of free, fair, credible and transparent elections in 2015 were being reported, agents of the Jonathan-led Federal Government were ransacking the offices of a company hired to carry out an opinion poll for Osun State ahead of the August 9 gubernatorial election.

“If the opposition can no longer freely carry out opinion polls, if the companies hired to carry out such polls are harassed and intimidated by SSS officials as they did to tnsrms, the offices of which were searched for six hours, after which top officials of the firm were dragged to the SSS office in Shangisha (Lagos) and computers carted away, then how can any president convince anyone that free and fair elections can be held under his watch? ‘’If the Ngozi OkonjoIweala-linked NOI polling firm has never been harassed for its choreo-

graphed opinion polls that favour the Jonathan administration, why should other firms be subjected to the kind of Gestapo tactics that tnsrms was exposed to? This is why we are asking President Jonathan to walk to talk.”

The party alleged that the foundation was being laid to rig next month’s governorship election in Osun State as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been frustrating attempts

by APC members to obtain their permanent voters’ cards while the PDP has been boasting that it will again use the military to illegally shut down the

state and bully the opposition in Osun, just like it did in Ekiti.

The party also accused INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, of being bias and queried his statement in which he tried to justify the deployment of troops in Ekiti for the state’s gubernatorial election because doing so helped to ensure a violence-free election.

“Jega should be asked to explain why is it that the troops who were sent to provide security for the Ekiti election were harassing and intimidating only the opposition?

Why is it that they were arresting only opposition

members? Is that also part of providing security for an election? If soldiers had only provided nonintrusive security for the election, perhaps no one would have complained.

But where they turned themselves into the enforcement arm of the ruling party, everyone, including INEC, should be concerned,’’ APC said.

The party called on Jonathan to refrain from deploying the military for elections and to warn his cabinet members, such as Minister of State for Defence, Ambassador Musiliu Obanikoro and Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Abduljelili Adesiyan

and party officials to stop interfering with the electoral process. ‘’Saying one thing and doing the opposite, Mr. President, will not translate to credible elections.

The world is watching.

“As a starting point, APC urged the president, if indeed he is committed to free and fair elections, to launch an inquiry into why the offices of the firm carrying out an opinion poll for Osun State were invaded and to tell Nigerians whether the firm would have been harassed if it had been hired by the PDP or its candidate for the August 9 election,” the party added.

Ebola fact sheet

First case was in Sudan and Zaire: Although it is widely believed that the first EBV outbreak was recorded in the then Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1976, WHO acknowledged two simultaneous first discoveries — in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Yambuku outbreak was in a village close to the Ebola River, which explains the name of the virus.

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Physical contact primary mode of transmission: The original spread in Africa began through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines. Humans become infected through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people. Infection is also possible through indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. It can be transmitted via contact with human corpses.

One more thing that underscores the deadliness of the virus is that humans who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus via their semen for up to seven weeks after their recovery.

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Symptoms occur about a week after infection: Symptoms of EVD usually occur between two and 21 days after exposure to the virus, but most symptoms manifest in eight to 10 days.

This is immediately followed by severe acute viral illness often characterised by sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.

These primary signs are subsequently followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function. In some cases, there is both internal and external bleeding.

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No cure: There is yet no cure for EVD — at least for the moment. Tests are ongoing on the suitability of a number of vaccines, but none has been approved for clinical use just yet.

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Definitive detection is by laboratory tests: Correct diagnosis of Ebola virus requires series of laboratory tests. WHO categorises samples taken from patients as “an extreme biohazard risk” and states that testing should be conducted under“maximum biological containment conditions”.

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Though no cure, it is preventable: First line of prevention is awareness on the need for humans to avoid contact with fruit bats and monkeys/apes. The consumption of their raw meat should also be stopped. These will help to reduce the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission. Everyone who has reason to touch animals should do so with gloves or any other appropriate protective clothing. Animal products, especially for those who love eating‘bush meat’should also be thoroughly cooked before consumption. As for human-to-human transmission, close physical contact with Ebola patients should be avoided. *Culled from TheCable

L-R: Director, Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi; Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris and Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, during a joint press briefing on Ebola outbreak in Lagos… yesterday

Ambassador, 58 others in contact with dead victim CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

The commissioner said: “An initial diagnosis of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever was made. He was admitted and investigations were carried and supportive treatment was commenced. The private hospital immediately notified the state Ministry of Health which also notified the Federal Ministry of Health. The patient however died at about 6.50am on the 25th July 2014.”

Idris explained that the Joint Federal and State Team on the basis of all experiences gathered from the response to this outbreak recommended to mobilise funding for response activities, logistics and supplies; train and orientate health staff on the Ebola outbreak response standards operating procedures and supply laboratory diagnostic supplies or activate the mobile VHF laboratory.

Idris added that other recommendations were to

provide adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), organise psychosocial support and provide incentives to health personnel involved in Ebola outbreak response, design key messages in the local language and intensify public enlightenment in the local languages and involve the community in response activities.

He advised Lagos residents to remain calm as government was doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the diseases in the state.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the airline that flew the late Sawyer into the country.

Its Director General, Benedict Adeyileka, said in Lagos yesterday that the agency took the action to suspend ASKY Airline’s operations to Nigeria with immediate effect in order to protect Nigerians from EVD, which is ravaging some parts of East and

Central Africa.

ASky Airline, Ethiopian Airline’s feeder airline with hub in Lome, Togo, is an important player in the West, East and Central Africa operating 80 flights into Lagos and Abuja weekly.

The airline reportedly flew the Liberian who was obviously infected with the virus into Lagos, Nigeria which has created panic and diverted world attention to Nigeria.

Adeyileka said the airline representative could not offer any conclusive or substantial evidence neither did he demonstrate any capacity to be able to prevent a recurrence or possibly ship loading Ebola victims to Nigeria.

The airline’s inability to give the needed assurance, he added, was contrary to the provision of Article 14 of the Chicago Convention,1944, which states that “Each contracting state agrees to take effective measures

to prevent the spread by means of air navigation, of cholera, typhus (epidemic),smallpox, yellow fever, plague and such other communicable diseases as the contracting state shall from time to time decide to designate.....”

Spokesman for the aviation regulatory body, Fan Ndubuoke, in a statement, also said top management of the NCAA decided to suspend the airline’s operations instead of risking the lives of Nigerians.

He added that the airline operations were suspended with immediate effect until it could prove that it was capable of adequately screening passengers in all their points of operation, including profiling of each passenger.

Also, Arik Air which had earlier suspended flights to Monrovia and Freetown has been advised to maintain the cessation of flights until is cleared by NCAA.

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Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nigeria will overcome its challenges, says Tinubu

lAmosun, Ajimobi preach peace Temitope Ogunbanke

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ormer Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, has charged Nigerians not to give up on the nation, particularly in the face of the current security and political challenges in the country.

Tinubu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in an Eidel-Fitr message by his media office and given to New Telegraph yesterday, expressed confidence that Nigerians will overcome the security and political challenges in the country if every citizen of the country remains steadfast in their patriotism and prayers.

He said: “We must not give up on Nigeria particularly in the face of our current security and political challenges. We shall overcome if we all remain steadfast in our patriotism and prayers.

We must at all times imbibe the spirit of unity, no matter our religious or political affiliation or ethnic grouping. Nigeria belongs to us all and all must come together to defend our togetherness.

“Those that insist that they are more patriotic than other Nigerians based on different political or religious affiliations must desist. They do this country great harm by seeking to exploit our present circumstances to gain political space and advantage. At the end of it all, no one is greater than Nigeria as we will guide our unity with a singularity of purpose and superiority of vision.

“I call on all wellmeaning Nigerians of all faiths to seek the face of God at this most trying of times. Insurgency is an unwanted

and dangerous guest in our midst; we must be resolute and consistent in confronting it. We can only do this with a united front.”

Tinubu also commended Muslims for taking part in the Ramadan month and congratulated them for enduring the rigours of fasting.

Meanwhile, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has admonished Nigerians to embrace peaceful coexistence, irrespective of their differences, saying that violence should not be an option in resolving crisis.

Amosun, after praying in Abeokuta in commemoration of the Eid-el-Fitr, said development could only be achieved in an atmosphere of harmony.

While thanking God for the grace to see the end of Ramadan, he called for unity in the face of the present challenges facing the nation, pointing out that the result of violence is always very unpalatable.

“We should not resolve to violence and killings, regardless of our religious and political differences. It is only in an atmosphere of peace and harmony that development can come.

The result of violence is very unpalatable.

“I want to implore you to embrace peaceful coexistence at all cost and not leave the lessons of Ramadan in the mud. Instead, we should carry it along in our day-to-day lives,” Amosun stated.

Amosun’s counterpart in Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, charged politicians to embrace politics of intellectualism, development and poverty alleviation rather than politics of brigandage, character

Impeachment: I will be vindicated, says Al-Makura CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

are false and he will be vindicated by the time he appears to defend himself before the panel.

He said his administration had achieved so much in the past three years in terms of development in all sectors of the economy of the state.

The governor added that he would love to remain the governor who would be remembered for putting smiles on the faces

of the rural people in the state by providing roads, free education, hospitals and other infrastructure for them.

Al-Makura urged the people to remain peaceful and be law-abiding as there can be no meaningful development without peace.

Earlier, the state’s APC Chairman, Mr. Philip Shekwo, had said they came to express their love, loyalty and support to the governor.

assassination and name calling.

The governor, after praying in Ibadan, said yesterday that the state had risen beyond the

hitherto pedestrian level when politics of violence, brigandage, character assassination and name calling used to hold sway.

``All we are doing in Oyo State now is politics of intellectualism, development and poverty alleviation. All of us in the position authority and leadership should be ready to develop Oyo

State and help it to grow,” he added.

He also called on the people of the state to continue to live in harmony and support the present administration in its transformation policies.

L-R: Kwara State Deputy Governor, Peter Kisra; Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari and Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, while paying Sallah homage to the emir in Ilorin...yesterday.

Kalu seeks global unity against Boko Haram CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

tained waste polythene bags.

The spokesman of Kaduna State Police Command, Aminu Lawan, confirmed the incident and commended the people in the area for being security conscious.

Meanwhile, no fewer than four soldiers and six civilians have been feared dead in an attack on a military base in Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

Similarly, 30 persons were feared killed by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram in some communities of Hong and Madagali Local Government Areas of the state.

The armed gunmen, numbering 100, had on Sunday stormed military checkpoints, police out posts in the town at about 8pm and engaged security personnel in a gun fight.

Confirming the attacks, yesterday the state acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmad Umaru Fintiri, said four soldiers were killed during the attack.

At least 30 persons were feared killed by unknown Gunmen suspected to be members of

the dreaded Boko Haram sect in some communities of Hong and Madagali Local government Areas in Adamawa state.

An eyewitness said the gunmen attacked the communities on Sunday morning while the village head of Zar community in Hong Local Government Area, a retired Wing Commander Dauda Daniel is still missing.

A fleeing villager who simple identified himself as Marcus Baba in a telephone interview said Daniel’s whereabouts are unknown following the attack on the Zar community.

But worried by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, especially the recent kidnapping of the Ali’s wife, Kalu has called for enhanced diligence, solidarity and military cooperation as part of global efforts to end the menace of terrorism in Africa.

Kalu in a statement given to New Telegraph yesterday, said: “With tremendous dismay I learned that the international terrorist group Boko Haram has kidnapped the wife of Cameroun’s Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali. In a deadly cross-border attack over the weekend

involving approximately 200 militants, at least three innocent civilians were reported as having perished in the typically restive northern border town of Kolofata.

“An equally brutal attack waged at the same time against the home of a religious leader, who is also the town’s mayor, resulted in the kidnapping of five of his family members.

“These incidents once again underscore the volatile nature of a group that – without moral qualms – continues to heartlessly attack, slaughter and destroy all that stands in its path.

“Despite the marked, albeit belated, efforts undertaken by international policymakers to assist in quashing this threat by bolstering military support for border communities, we have in great measure collectively failed to act in unison and in a timely manner to recognise the gravity of this swiftly expanding cabal. “ N ow, fighting against time, we must urgently call for enhanced diligence, solidarity and military cooperation as part of our global efforts to end the menace of terrorism in

Africa.”

He expressed worry about the rate of Boko Haram attacks, saying: “The number of attacks committed by the terrorist group has escalated, as has their barbarism and ruthlessness. This year alone, Boko Haram has stolen world headlines time and again through shameless acts such as the kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April, bombings in the heart of Nigeria’s capital, and an increasing number of assaults along the Cameroun-Nigeria border. Fears have been rightfully stoked that the terrorists are seeking to increasingly penetrate countries across the African continent with their misguided mission and mantra.

“Judging from the evidence that we see now almost daily, this assertion is undisputable. Incontestably, it is time for Nigeria, Cameroun, and the international community to start taking strategic action. Once a local threat, Boko Haram is today global in scale. Now is the moment to act together to prevent this horrid group from further increasing its capacity,” Kalu added.

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NEWS

MILITARISATION Striking medical doctors may lose their positions to military and para-military officers Obinna Odoh

ABUJA

A

n undisclosed government official has revealed to journalists that government is planning proscription for all the medical doctors working in public health institutions to replace them with the unemployed medical doctors and the retired ones following several efforts made by

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

FG plans to sack striking doctors, says MDCAN president government to end the strike action embarked upon by Nigerian Medical Association which proved abortive.

This was contained in a press release issued and signed by the president of Medical Dentistry Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Dr Steven Oluwole.

According to him, government in a bid to remedy the situation of the strike action embarked upon by the union for al-

most one month now, has decided to use its powers to compel the doctors either to return to work or lose their work.

Oluwole disclosed that government intends to guard the medical institutions with military and paramilitary medical professionals to render services in the meantime to alleviate the plight of Nigerians in replacement of the striking doctors.

Furthermore, the

statement revealed that all public health institutions will be privatized and no work, no pay principles will be enforced on the doctors but those willing to comply with government directive of returning to work will be protected and spared.

However, MDCAN President said that such decision by the government is worrisome and unlawful.

He further highlighted that the laws that es-

tablished public health institutions did not restrict them to treatments only but empower them to champion the course of researches and other functions aside treatments.

“Are there no laws that established the tertiary health institutions? Will privatization of Teaching Hospital fulfil the objectives for which they were established? Will the Ministry of Health find suitable replace-

ment for all the specialities in the Teaching Hospitals, from unemployed doctors and the retired doctors ? Queried Oluwole.

He added that if government had listened to their caution before the commencement of NMA strike which MDCAN implored government to look more professionally than politically at all the issues, the unfortunate incident would have been averted.

Senate decries poor investment in power generation Abdulwahab Isa

Abuja

T

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Arik Air, Captain Ado Sanusi; Group Chief Executive Officer/President, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide ; parish priest, Church of Resurrection Catholic Church, Magodo, Rev. Father Rapheal Adebayo and Managing Director, Arik Air, Mr. Chris Ndulue, during a special prayer to herald Arik Air Dubai Route in Lagos… yesterday.

PHOTO: ADEYANJU OLOWOJOBA

Police arrest Benue politician for gun running Our Correspondent

politician in Benue State, who claims loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party ( names withheld) is now cooling his heels behind bars over allegation of gun running.

The PDP kingpin is reported to be supplying arms and ammunitions to armed robbers for their operations.

New Telegraph gathered that the arrest came barely five days after Governor Gabriel Suswam had lamented what he called the growing crime rate in Makurdi metropolis, the state capital when he charged the police to brace up to curtail the situation.

Suswam had at the commissioning of the Radio Network Integration System and generators at the police command’s headquarters in Makurdi, called for collaboration to reduce the rising crime wave in the state.

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But sources at the police Criminal Investigating Department (CID) confided in our correspondent that confessional statements from a team of five robbers led by " a pastor" from one of the prominent local government areas in the Benue North East (names withheld), who have been terrorizing the state has allegedly been arrested and is being quizzed.

The robbers, New Telegraph learnt, had confessed using the arms to carry out five successful operations before they were picked up.

Investigations revealed, the politician, who is nursing an ambition for an election was arrested at his Makurdi business premises, but later granted bail in the sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) with a chieftaincy title holder in his local government as surety.

Kashamu tackles Daniel, Bankole over 2015 Kunle Olayeni

Abeokuta

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ogun State, Prince Buruji Kashamu, yesterday took a swipe at a former Governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

While Kashamu declared that his party does not need an alliance with Daniel and the Labour Party (LP) to win the 2015 general elections, he also berated Bankole for allegedly dropping President Goodluck Jonathan's name to boost his governorship ambition.

He stated this in an interview with reporters at his Ijebu-Igbo residence shortly after his Omo Ilu Foundation held Sallah gift ceremony to mark the Eid-elFitri celebration.

Over 20,000 bags of

rice and other food items as well as various cash sums were distributed to people across the state.

There have been speculations lately that the PDP and LP would work out an arrangement to defeat the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration in 2015.

But Kashamu, who is the chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of South West PDP, criticised Daniel, who is reportedly promoting LP ahead of 2015.

He stated that the former governor betrayed the PDP in the past and may not hesitate to do it again if given a chance in the party.

He said, "We don't need any alliance with Labour Party or any other party in Ogun State before we can win, because we have done our home work very well and have put our house in order."

he Chairman, Senate Committee on privatisation, Senator Olugbenga Obadara, has decried the low level of investment in power generation resulting in unstable and unreliable power supply in the country.

His objection to poor investment came as Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced plans to inject $8 billion to upgrade its operations to achieve 20,000 megawatts electricity supply in the country.

Obadara stated this recently when he led members of his committee on oversight function of TCN regional office in Osogbo, a BPE statement issued by Chigbo Anichebe said.

Receiving members of the Senate Committee on Privatization, TCN Executive Director, Mohammed Shaike said TCN would work jointly with the Infrastructure

Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to achieve the target.

He informed the Senators that in its determination to develop the technical manpower of the company, TCN’s Management Contractors-Manitoba International had trained some of the technical staff abroad to acquire technical and strategic skills.

Also speaking, TCN’s General Manager, Mr. M.J. Lawal, said the company’s power lines accommodate a maximum voltage of 330kv and that its transmission coverage extends to Benin and Niger Republics.

He said that despite the low power generation from the generation companies, plans were on to upgrade the transmission lines to accommodate more voltage to distribute to the distribution companies.

Lawal listed the challenges faced by the company to include; poor office accommodation, lack of safety facilities and training for the technical staff.

FCTA attracts N1.8trn investments Yekeen Nurudeen

Abuja

inister of the FederM al Capital Territory, Senator Bala Moham-

med has disclosed that his administration has attracted N1.8 trillion ($11 billion) worth of private capital investments to the nation's capital since April 2010, when he assumed office.

The Minister explained that the areas of investment inflow included infrastructure provision through land swap, city centre, railway, housing development, commerce, hotel and tourism.

He said his administration has been able to expand the frontiers of development in FCT es-

pecially through acceleration of infrastructure provision.

He spoke while hosting a cross-section of FCT residents to a luncheon at his Life Camp official residence after paying Sallah homage to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Asokoro, Abuja.

Mohammed cited the ultra-modern Abuja International Airport Express Road and the Zuba-Kubwa-City super highway constructed by his administration as edifying examples of his efforts to open up the nation’s capital and its satellite towns.

According to him, the new super highways rank among the best on the continent.

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Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

7

Gale of impeachments may truncate democracy, Enugu APC warns FEAR

Even Okolagu, a retired soldier is afraid of democracy as PDP waxes stronger through impeachment Uwakwe Abugu Enugu

A

ll Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State at the weekend warned that the gale of Impeachment of governors elected on the party's platform is an ugly trend

which portends grave danger to the corporate existence of Nigeria as a nation.

The warning came as the national Vice Chairman of the party(South East), Chief Emma Eneukwu, inaugurated the state executive committee of the party in Enugu, calling for unity on the part of the party faithful in order to make APC at all levels remain more focused to do the 2015 epic battle.

He said that was especially in the face of the alleged grand design by the ruling party at the centre to destabilize

APC ahead of the general elections.

Speaking during the inauguration of the new state executive committee of the party led by Dr, Ben Nwoye, a leader of the party in the state, Brig. Gen. J.O.J. Okolagu(rtd), however, posited that despite the development, the opposition party was not afraid of any further impeachment or ongoing threats dangling round some of its governors.

"We are also not deterred by the recent removal of ex- Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako. What we

are saying is that if this ugly trend is allowed to continue, it is capable of truncating the ongoing democracy in the country", said the APC chieftain, who also predicted that the impeachment actions will backfire .

The Enugu APC maintained that "no amount of blackmail or propaganda by the PDP will force the opposition party to abandon its project of wresting power from President Goodluck Jonathan, come 2015".

Okolagu regretted that rather than addressing the litany of problems confronting

Nigeria, occasioned by alleged PDP misrule, the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration has been busy plotting impeachment of elected opposition governors.

He maintained that PDP as a ruling party has done more harm than good to Nigerian citizens since the advent of the present democratic rule, saying the only option left for Nigerians was to work hard in spite of intimidating tactics, to vote it out of power in 2015.

The APC leader, who once contested for the Enugu North senatorial

seat on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, also urged the Igbo and other citizens to disregard the propaganda being spread and peddled by the PDP, to portray APC as a South West party and sponsor of Boko Haram, saying that "these are all wicked lies".

"I want to ask the Igbo people and entire Nigerians to embrace the wind of change blowing across the country courtesy of APC, because the ruling party, PDP has failed the masses woefully in all ramifications, " he concluded.

CNPP hails Jonathan over Oyeyemi's appointment Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he Conference of NiT(CNPP) geria Political Parties said the appointment of the highest ranking officer in the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as Corps Marshal, will engender harmonious working relation and promote peace within the rank and file of the commission.

Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi was named FRSC Corps Marshal following the appointment of Mr. Osita Chidioka as minister.

CNPP in a statement by its National Secretary, Chief Willy Ezugwu, yesterday, described Oyeyemi's elevation as commendable and advised President Goodluck Jonathan to toe the same line in filling vacancies in military and para-military formations.

Ezugwu observed that Oyeyemi's appointment was done without delay

and without creating rancour within the FRSC as had been the case with some agencies and organisations in the past.

“We expect that President Goolduck Jonathan will allow the same seamless transition occur in national institutions, whose leadership positions become vacant, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, which will soon have vacancy for its Inspector General,” he added.

The statement said appointing the highest ranking officer into the leadership of organisations has the potential to encourage upcoming officers to give their best when they are certain that diligence and service are recognised and congratulated Oyeyemi on his appointment.

It charged him to take the FRSC to greater heights in the quest to ensure safety on Nigerians roads.

Jigawa to regulate commercial motocyclists Dahiru Suleiman Dutse

s part of measures in Adriving, controlling reckless overload, and

breach of traffic regulations within Dutse vicinity, the Jigawa State government has commenced the registration of commercial motorcyclists. They are also to wear reflective jackets.

In achieving the desired objectives, a committee saddled with responsibility of registering commercial cyclist for the use of reflected jackets for easy identification has been formed and it has so far, registered 32,412 commercial motorcycles, across the state.

Alhaji Garba Alhassan, the chairman of the committee disclosed this while presenting a report of the committee to the Secretary to the State Government

Alhaji Lawan Abdu, in his office in Dutse.

Alhassan said the committee had also supplied and distributed 16,000 reflective jackets to the commercial motorcyclists in the state.

He explained that the registration was done to check high influx of commercial motorcyclists from other states into Dutse, the state capital and other major towns of the state.

The chairman said that the reflective jackets were provided to the commercial motorcyclists for easy identification and use at night.

According to him, out of the 27 local government areas of the state, only Dutse, Guri, Jahun, KafinHausa, Taura and Ringim local government councils had enacted bye-laws regulating the operation of commercial motorcyclists in their areas.

A cross section of fun seekers at the Bar beach, during the Eid-il-Fitr celebration in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

2015: UPP zones presidency to the South East Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

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head of the 2015 general elections, the United Progressive Party, UPP, has zoned its presidential ticket to the South East geo-political zone of the country.

The party has, consequently, urged eligible aspirants from the zone to vie for the position.

The UPP disclosed this yesterday in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Ogbuehi Dike, in which it felicitated with Muslims in the country on the occasion of this

year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

The party further urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to sit up and prepare adequately for the 2015 general election.

It pointed out that Nigerians will not tolerate flimsy excuses from the electoral umpire, stressing that Nigerians expect free, fair, transparent, acceptable and credible elections where the people’s vote will count and be counted.

The UPP reiterated its call for electronic voting system in the forthcoming polls.

This, the party reasoned, was the only way INEC will guarantee peaceful and credible elections.

The statement reads, "The United Progressive Party felicitates with Muslims in the country on the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

"We commend our Muslim brothers and sisters, who went through the month-long Ramadan fast to renew their faith in Allah and prayed for peace, unity and progress of our great nation.

"We enjoin Muslims to imbibe the lesson of this

exceptional self denial and demonstrate love, forgiveness, tolerance and brotherhood to fellow compatriots.

"Today, Nigeria is at cross-roads, being attacked by Boko Haram insurgents, infected with corruption that has eaten deep into the marrow of our national till with disillusioned citizenry awaiting UPP government in 2015.

"Our long national nightmare will soon be over as UPP in alliance with like-minded political parties are set to redefine politics and governance in Nigeria in 2015."

We'll fulfill our promises, says Fayose's deputy Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

kiti State Deputy GovEEleka, ernor-elect, Dr Olusola has given the assurance that the incoming Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration will fulfil all the promises made to the people of the state during the electioneering that took place be-

fore the recent governorship election.

Speaking during a media chat in Ikere-Ekiti on Monday, he also said the administration would be open to constructive criticisms from members of the opposition.

Eleka, who was elected in the June 21 governorship poll in the state, said the Governor-Elect, Mr Ayodele

Fayose, is conversant with the nitty-gritty of Ekiti politics, which he said, would help the administration to navigate the thorny path of Ekiti politics.

Eleka said he could not be averse to criticisms as a well-groomed academia, who had served in various leadership positions in his 24 years as a don in the

Department of Building at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Eleka, however, maintained that as much as the incoming administration would tolerate criticisms, the opposition must imbibe the culture of constructive criticism in order not to mislead the members of the public.

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

HOSTCOM pass vote of confidence on Ofa Gabriel Choba, Ughelli Members of the Host Communities of Delta Central (HOSTCOM) in Delta State have passed a vote of confidence on Dr. Henry Ofa for transforming his mandate areas of the oil bearing communities as member of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission (DESO-

PADEC).

Speaking on behalf of Delta central HOSTCOM, Chief Vincent Atumah, while moving the motion at a meeting which was unanimously supported by other members, said the confidence vote came as a result of good works the commissioner has done for his people.

ECOBA Lagos honours 11

L-R: Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation, Mrs. Josephine Washima; fellow awardee, Ambassador Larry Allison and International Peace Ambassador, Dr. Aisha Emeje, during the investiture ceremony for Special Ambassadors for Peace for the National Unification Initiative by the Universal Peace Federation in Abuja…at the weekend PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Sultanate Council to establish women medical varsity in Sokoto Umar Danladi Ado Sokoto

T

he Sultanate Council of Sokoto said yesterday that it has completed all plans to establish an all-Women Medical University in Sokoto.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III, disclosed this at the meeting of the state Educational Development

Trust Fund conducted on the 2nd of Shawwal yearly.

"The council had already applied to the state government for a land and it is receiving a positive attention."

He stated that the aim of the proposed University is to further boost the education of women in the state and Nigeria, generally.

Sultan Abubakar also

said that the council is making arrangements to convene a meeting with prominent indigenes of the state on Dec. 27,2014.

According to him, the summit is to brainstorm on the state of education in the state, with a view to assessing the achievements and proffer the ways forward. " Already, a technical committee for the meet-

ing had been set up and it will soon swing into action," he explained.

He commended the state government for according priority attention to education and other aspects of human endeavour.

The Sultan also commended the people of the state for their sustained efforts to assist towards the promotion of education in the state.

Katsina emir spends N1m monthly for prayers

Ohafia youths receive N5m empowerment items

Ahmed Sani Mohammed

Igbeaku Orji

Katsina

The Emir of Katsina, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, said he spends about N1 million monthly to sponsor prayers for the continued peace and stability of the state and the nation.

Kabir, who spoke while on Sallah homage to Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema yesterday, said the money which was distributed to Islamic scholars came from his personal pocket.

He said he found it nec-

essary to spend his personal money for prayers because no traditional ruler in the state is collecting money as security vote.

“We are not given a single kobo as security vote.

I spend N1 million every month to sponsor prayers for peace and stability of the nation.

The emir said to protect the integrity of the traditional institution in the state, the emirate council has warned all traditional rulers to stop collecting royalties from their subjects.

Eid-El-Fitr: Dosunmu calls for vigilance, support for security agencies Muritala Ayinla As Muslims faithful in Lagos continue the Sallah celebration yesterday, the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2011 governorship election in Lagos State, Dr. Ade Dosunmu has called on all Nigerians to give full support to the security agencies in the ongoing efforts to rid our country of terrorists.

The former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency

(NIMASA) was reacting to the spate of bombings in the Northern part of the country, especially the most recent one in Kaduna and Kano that claimed so many lives.

He urged Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliations, to rally round President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the security agencies in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency that has persistently engaged in massive killings.

Umuahia

No fewer than 78 youths in Ohafia, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State have received empowerment items worth millions of naira from a foundation known as Mba Ukaha Foundation (MUF).

The beneficiaries were provided with the necessary tools to practice their trade after they successfully completed the skills acquisition programme organized by the foundation.

The items include two sets of auto-mechanic tools, 22 computer sets, 20 hair driers, 26 sewing machines, one grinding machine, four vulcanizing machines, and over 1000 exercise books.

Presenting the items to

the beneficiaries at Achichi Elu in Ohafia Council Area, the President of MUF, Hon Mba Ukaha, said the gesture was in fulfilment of his pledge to empower the youths.

Ukaha, who represents Ohafia South State constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, put the cost of the project which included monthly stipend for the beneficiaries at over N5millon.

The lawmaker, who is also the House Committee chairman on Ethics and Special Duties, said the project was the third phase of the programme, adding that beneficiaries of the next empowerment programme would include politicians and the clergy.

Foundation marks World Hepatitis Day Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

The Clem Agba Foundation, (TCLAF), a nongovernmental organization yesterday held its awareness campaign as part of activities to mark the World Hepatitis Day with a march round major streets in Benin Edo state capital.

Members of the body bemoaned the upsurge

on cases of hepatitis which has claimed the lives of many Nigerians due to low information and poor attention to the disease.

Already, the foundation has packaged a day free screening and vaccination against the disease scheduled for Thursday this week for health workers in the state.

Students of Edo College, Benin City were last week Friday very ecstatic as the School’s prize giving day was reinstituted by Edo College Old Boys Association (ECOBA), Lagos branch.

Students of the school in SS 3 and JS 2, who distinguished themselves in Mathematics, English Language, Econom-

ics, Accounts, Fine Art, Agricultural Science, Physics and Biology in the 2013/2014 academic session were recognised and honoured with plaques and cash prizes.

A total of 11 students were given prizes but Master Audu Donald, an SS III student emerged as the best student in English Language, Physics and Biology.

Udoedehe predicts mass defection into APC Tony Anichebe, uyo A former Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Senator John James Akpan Udoedehe, has emphatically stated that the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio will produce the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, flag bearer for 2015 governorship election. But he said he(Udoedehe) will defeat any candidate produced by the governor in the general election.

Udoedehe stated this yesterday at his country

home, Afaha Offot, Uyo, during the appreciation/ thank you ceremony organised for all his groups and supporters in 2011 general election.

Acknowledging the power of incumbency and that of the presidency in influencing the choice of a candidate that will carry the PDP flag, Udoedehe said those who are eyeing PDP gubernatorial ticket in the state are just wasting their time as the governor will use his influence as the party leader to have his way.

NUJ chairman decries nudity in universities Tony Anichebe, Uyo The alarming trend of indecent dressing embraced by our youths in the Universities and even taken to the extreme on social media have again been described as worrisome by the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Akwa Ibom State Council, Elder Patrick Albert.

Elder Albert used the

occasion of the wedding ceremony of Mr. Clement Barukui, a journalist working with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) where he functioned as the Governor of the Feast to call on parents, most especially mothers to take actions that would reverse the ugly cases of nudity gradually being accepted by our youths in the guise of fashion.

One dead, three others injured in auto crash Onah O. Onah A middle aged man yesterday lost his life in a fatal accident along thee Onitsha-Asaba Expressway while three others sustained various degrees on injuries.

Eye witnessed account told New Telegraph that the driver whose name was not immediately known, was heading to Asaba, Delta State where he intended to wash the vehicle before the acci-

dent happened.

It was said that the driver left the lorry owners house in anger and thereafter stopped at a joint where he drank some shorts of illicit wine before proceeding on his journey.

As the driver approached the Niger area of the Enugu/Onitsha Expressway, he lost control of the vehicle and skidded off the road and fell into a very deep gulley.

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Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Be a team player, Mark charges new NBA president democracy

Senate President wants Alegeh to defend democracy Chukwu David Abuja

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resident of the Senate, Senator David Mark has tasked the Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA) to rise and help protect and defend the nation's democracy in the face of the deepening and deteriorating socioeconomic and political challenges.

President Mark said

60.77%

this in a congratulatory message issued in Abuja yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mummeh, to the newly elected national executives of the NBA. The Senate boss, congratulating the Austine Alegeh (SAN) led executive, expressed happiness over the smooth conduct of the election held in Abuja.

Mark further urged the NBA executive to sustain and indeed improve on the sanctity of professional excellence, rule of law and human rights which the legal profession is known for.

"History has placed

The percentage drop of air travel passengers in Minna airport (2012-2013).

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

the leadership of NBA on you at this moment.

It is incumbent on you to justify the confidence reposed on you. You will do this by upholding the integrity, professional excellence and being a team player.

"Besides, the ordinary Nigerian believes that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man. You should do more to ensure that Nigerians have trust and confidence in the judiciary at all times", he stated.

Senator Mark reminded the NBA of the need to continue to stand and defend the defenceless, protect the weak and the

N88.6m

The IGR realized from road taxes revenue sources of Plateau State in 2011.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

vulnerable in the society.

He also implored the NBA to make the protection and defence of democracy their cardinal objective, pointing out that, by the calling of the legal practitioners, they are strategically placed to ensure that the citizens enjoy their fundamental human rights unhindered under a democratic rule.

Senator Mark however, assured of the Senate and indeed the National Assembly's collaboration with the legal body especially in the process of legislation for the good governance as well as the welfare and security of the citizenry.

53.32%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Kazakhstan in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

9

Lawmaker renounces chieftaincy title to avert family feud Tony Okafor Awka

Representative of Tinhe Ogbaru , Anambra state, the lower house of the

National Assembly , Victor Ogene, has renounced the chieftaincy conferment billed to be bestowed on him by the traditional ruler of Ogbakuba community, Igwe Afebero in Ogbaru local government area of the state.

Ogene told newsmen in Awka yesterday that he so decided to prevent possible family feud that could ensue between father and daughter.

It was gathered that the Speaker of the Anambra state House of Assembly, Princess Chinwe Nwaebili who is allegedly eyeing Ogene’s seat at the National Assembly moved against the Monarch (his father) when he got the hint that Ogene would be conferred with the title.

The speaker, sources said had taken offence against her father because

the monarch's action could be misinterpreted to be a tacit endorsement of her opponent.

The monarch is said to have identified with Ogene since he was elected into the National Assembly.

But Ogene yesterday said he had prevailed on the Monarch to shelve the chieftaincy award so that he would not be seen to be a source of discord between the monarch and her daughter.

Ogene’s media aide, Edward Dibiana in a statement announced his boss’ withdrawal from the exercise. The statement reads: “The postponement of a chieftaincy title conferment on him (Ogene) by His Royal Highness, Igwe P.C.U Afubero, Eze Izagbo II of Ogbakuba, Ogbaru LGA, Anambra state at Ogbakuba is being shelved to avoid the intense politicisation and attempts to breach public peace, using the occasion as an excuse”.

Arewa group tasks youths on peace, development Yuzarsif Alhassan Bauchi

he Chairman Arewa TAlhaji Youth Mobilization, Abdullahi Musa

L-R: Business mogul, Chief Lamidi Ajadi; Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ismail Olalekan Alli and others at the Eid-il-Fitr prayer at the Agodi Praying Ground, Ibadan …yesterday

Ladoja: Accord lawmakers not part of plan to impeach Ajimobi Sola Adeyemo

Ibadan

F

ormer Oyo state Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, yesterday exonerated the Accord lawmakers in the State House of Assembly from the last week's rumoured impeachment of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, saying if it was true, it was wrongly timed and undesirable.

Ladoja said this while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan after the Eid-elFitri prayer.

His words: “I know what it means to be impeached as I have been a victim of impeachment before and I don’t wish it for my brother, Ajimobi.

If the purported moves

by the lawmakers to impeach the governor are true at all, Accord lawmakers in the Assembly are not part of it. We have met our lawmakers and we have told them that Accord will not be part of any moves to impeach the governor, if at all the report is correct”.

According to him, whatever Ajimobi’s alleged misconduct might be, the state lawmakers ought to have published such misconduct before their purported moves.

He observed that the next election in the state was even nearer and was not favourable to the impeachment plan, as according to him, the electorate would decide whether they still want

him (Ajimobi) there or not.

The State House of Assembly is made up of 18 lawmakers from All Progressive Congress (APC), nine Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and five Accord. It was rumoured that some lawmakers numbering about 24 served impeachment notice on Ajimobi, although some APC lawmakers and the APC state chairman, Chief Akin Oke, later debunked the claim.

On the speculation that the Accord party would likely choose another candidate aside Ladoja as its flagbearer in the 2015 election, the former governor declared that he remained the candidate for the

party.

“If there is any candidate that I will support as my party’s governorship candidate in the 2015 governorship election, the candidate is Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja. But this is subject to my party’s approval in the primaries”, Oke stressed.

On the security situation in the country, Senator Ladoja said he was optimistic that Nigeria would overcome the lingering challenges, while urging Nigerians to learn from the lessons of the just- concluded Moslem Ramadan fast which centred around self-denial, love for the fellow human beings and promotion of spirit of give and take.

Naira yesterday tasked Northern Youths on national rebirth as well as peace and development in the North-East of the country.

Alhaji Naira stated this during a courtesy visit to Alhaji Danlami Takko, the deputy chief press secretary to governor Isa Yuguda, in government house Bauchi.

According to him, they were at the state house to seek the support of the state executive and other stakeholders in the fight against insurgency in the

North.

He said that it is only when youths are giving the necessary moral training through education and other skills that their productivity would become meaningful in the development of the northern part of the country.

Naira said that the group which was formed in 2011 has the total registered members 4,873 from across the state.

He revealed that the current situation in the northern part of Nigeria cannot be related to religious issues, saying that it is time for all people of the North to do the right thing, which he said is the solution towards moving the region forward.

Group seeks reconciliation among feuding Edo APC, PDP lawmakers Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

orAEdonon-governmental ganization (NGO), the Progressive Indigenes Association (EPIA) has appealed to the factions of the state House of Assembly to sheathe their swords and accept reconciliatory moves of the Oba of Benin, Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the leadership of the organization.

The President of EPIA, Bishop John Edokpolor made the appeal at a press conference held in Benin the state capital.

Edokpolor described the feud among the 15 APC and nine PDP lawmakers in the state legislature which has led to the emergence of parallel

plenary of the factions as embarrassing and a catastrophic disaster rocking the Edo nation.

He noted that by the crisis, the legislators are not working in the interest of citizens who elected them but purely for their personal interests and their political parties in the state and wondered why people of the state should be subjected to bear the brunt of the ugly drama.

"These matters are for their own political party interests, whereas their primary goal is supposed to serve the interest of the state, primarily the indigenes of the state. Unfortunately this is not what they are doing now, with what we are currently experiencing", he said.

10

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Five killed, houses torched in Benue cult attacks Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

A

t least five persons have been reported killed while 10 houses were burnt as attacks on residents of Agboughul community in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, have continued unabated in recent weeks.

More than 10,000 residents of the community are said to have packed out of the area and are now taking refuge in Makurdi metropolis as well as other surrounding villages.

It was gathered yesterday that all the six traditional rulers within the locality and their families have also deserted the area, which is widely believed to be the centre of secret cult activities where new comers are also initiated.

It was also learnt that most of the victims of the attack are innocent people who are not members of the cult groups.

Gabriel zSuswam, Benue State gov.

Some of the fleeing victims, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the community had become a centre of violence.

According to them, the cult groups have vowed to make the entire area inhabitable for the non-initiates.

“My son, as you can see, I am the only elderly person remaining in this community, all others have left with their families for Makurdi town or nearby villages to save their lives,” an elderly man said.

“These wicked boys are fond of operating in the night or sometimes in the day time. The moment they see a house they want to attack, they will strike and so far they have killed five people.

“Nobody is sleeping in this area peacefully. Even about six of the traditional rulers are no longer here. But as for me, I don’t know where to run to that is why I am still here,” he added.

According to him, a detachment of

armed mobile policemen as well as men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) are on a daily basis patrolling the area to help maintain peace, but always retire to their homes very early, abandoning the people to the hands of the cult groups.

The man, however, commended the efforts of the vigilance men.

Most of them, according to him, stay till day break in providing security in the community.

Agboughul community has not witnessed peace in the last 15 years because of inter-tribal and communal clashes which had claimed scores of lives.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Daniel Ezeala, denied the killings and burning of houses.

He said that if there was any attack, the police would have known.

Ezeala added that the police were on top of the situation.

22-year-old man arrested for defiling teenager

Apapa-Iganmu LCDA disburses N320m loan

Kunle Olayeni

loan disbursed by the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State.

The loan was granted within the last three years under the LCDA’s micro credit scheme.

Reviewing the programmes of the council at a stakeholders’ forum in Ijora-Badiya, the Chairman, Dr Adesola Adedayo, said that the micro credit scheme had remained the bed-rock of his women and youth empowerment programme which, according to him, has been successful.

He said: “A major highlight of this heart-warming report is that customers’ re-payment stood at over 99 per cent while total portfolio at risk (doubtful and bad debt) stood at N1.5 million.

“Considering the canons of lending employed in the packaging and delivery of these soft loans, I cannot but commend the integrity of our people.

“Your response has put to rest the widely held misconception that lending to the poor is risky and fraught with uncertainty.’’

Adebayo said that the scheme was rooted in a tripartite agreement between the council, Lagos State MicroFinance Institution (LASMI) and Infinity Micro-Finance Bank Limited.

The chairman said that the

Abeokuta

man, Qudus Aby22-year-old Giwa, has been arrested the police in Ogun State

for allegedly defiling a 15-year-old girl.

The suspect allegedly had unlawful carnal knowledge of the teenager at Sabo area of Ijebu-Ode on Friday.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said the courage of the victim to personally report the matter led to the suspect’s arrest.

He disclosed that anticrime detectives attached to Obalende Division in IjebuOde arrested Giwa.

Adejobi, however, said that the suspect had already been transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Department of Criminal Investigation (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta

for proper investigation and prosecution as directed by the Police Commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye.

He said: “The courage of the victim to personally report the matter to the police was commendable as many victims of similar experience don’t have such courage to report or notify anyone.

“The commissioner of police has commended the victim for her courage to report the matter to the police not minding any social stigma and promised to make sure that justice is done in the case.”

The PPRO reassured the public of adequate protec-

Umar Ado Sokoto

lood, which ravaged Kutufare village in FState, Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto destroyed about 50 houses and ren-

dered scores of people homeless.

The victims are now taking refuge at the only primary school in the village.

A member of the state House of Assembly representing the area on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Sani Yakubu, disclosed this to journalists

tion of lives and property and proper investigation of all cases reported to the police.

ver 8,000 petty traders, artisans Ohave and small-scale manufacturers benefited from N320 million

council was committed to creation of more employment opportunities through promotion of small-scale industries and vocational training.

Adebayo, who is a medical practitioner, said that the council had, under its free health programme, performed 100 eye surgeries (mostly cataract extractions) and 670 other surgical cases of hernia, appendectomies, ovarian cysts, gynaecology and dentistry.

He added that the council, also within the period, built a new N300 million secretariat and tarred many roads with standard drainages in its seven wards.

On education, the chairman stated that 12,000 packs of exercise books, 12,000 pairs of school uniforms and 12,000 pairs of school sandals were distributed to public school pupils.

The chairman said that the council also rehabilitated the Army Children School, Baptist Primary School and Anglican Primary School, all in Marine Beach.

Within the period, he also said that JAMB examination forms were purchased for 400 indigent students while intensive free coaching clinics were organised for them as well.

He also said the council provided uninterrupted 12-hour street lighting to reduce crime rate in the Ijora and Orile communities.

Flood destroys 50 houses, renders scores homeless yesterday.

The lawmaker said that the incident occurred on the night of July 26 as a result of the overflow of Kalmalo River.

He said: “About 65 farmlands and assorted farm produce believed worth millions of naira had been destroyed by the flood.”

According to him, farm produce destroyed include sweet potatoes, millet, guinea corn, beans and cassava, among others as well as

various food products stored in silos by the victims.

He added: “We have collated the names of the victims and their losses and we will soon send our report to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other relevant agencies.

“We are also preparing to provide immediate relief assistance to them, before succour

comes to them from the relevant authorities and donor agencies.”

Yakubu also warned that gully erosion was threatening the 8.5-km Balle-Bangi Road.

He said: “The road is on the verge of being sub-merged. If that happens, various villages and towns will be cut off from other parts of the state.”

According to him, the road is also a major link between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

METRO

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Policemen kill 31-year-old man HEARTLESS Reckless policemen take to their heels after killing a pedestrian

Ajani’s body.

Ayorinde Durojaiye inside a Volkswagen bus have reportedly killed a 31-year-old carpenter Pat olicemen the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State.

A witness claimed that the three policemen were on patrol duty when they knocked down and killed the man identified as Ajani with their bus with registration number XU 337 KRD. The witness, who gave his name as Michael Oladeyi, said that the accident occurred when the police bus attempted to overtake a lorry at Iyana-Ipaja on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

Ajani, fondly called Baba Saheed in the neighbourhood, was said to be on his way to the ‘Sawmill,’ when he was killed.

“He was returning to the Sawmill on Saturday from the market where he went to buy some items to use for a customer’s work when he was killed,” a trader in the area said.

Oladeyi also said that when the police bus hit Ajani, the policemen stopped to check him. But when they realised that he was dead, they abandoned the bus and fled on foot.

The Chairman of the Millers Association at the Sawmill, Mr Babatunde Fatai, said that Ajani had been to the sawmill that morning, but decided to go to the market to get some items to make furniture for one of his customers before he met his death.

The police bus

Camillus Nnaji

T

raders at the popular Ladipo International Auto Spare Parts Market in Mushin, Lagos, have called on the state government to save them from dangers posed by flooding and bad road network.

The Chairman of the Ladipo Main Market Traders’ Association, Hon Kingsley Ogunor, who spoke with NT Metro yesterday, appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola to come to their aid.

He said: “It is obvious that one of the challenges we face in this market is environmental problem arising from flooding, refuse heaps and potholes on the roads leading in and out of the market.

“Virtually every week, trucks conveying containers to the market fall because of large potholes on the roads.

It is unfortunate that a container having passed through millions of miles overseas down to Ladipo, will fall and destroy goods worth millions of naira at its destination.”

Ogunor asked Fashola to reconstruct Ladipo market roads so that traders would remember him for doing that.

He said: “Initially, they started repairing the roads leading to the market, but stopped at a point, it is that point that we are having problem and containers are falling” On the poor sanitary condition of the market, the

11

Ladipo traders task govt on flood, road repairs

Ladipo market

chairman said the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) had failed in the discharge of its duties.

“We pay LAWMA every month to evacuate refuse from the market. But you can see that there is no positive contribution from them because very soon they will

charge us that the environment is not clean,” he added.

Ogunor also asked the government to assist them by providing security installation surveillance in the market.

“Another request we need from the governor is in terms of security surveillance. We need surveillance cameras,

bomb detectors and security patrol in the market. On our own part, we have constituted a strong security monitoring committee to stabilise the market, monitor security breaches and report immediately. We ordered that no vehicle should be packed in the market overnight.”

Rivers LG empowers 250 women

O

bio/Akpor Local Government Area of River State has empowered over 250 women through a skills and craft training organised by its Caretaker Committee led

by Lawrence Chukwu.

Presenting certificates of participation to the women at the end of their training in Port Harcourt, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke through his wife, Judith, hailed the Obio/Akpor CTC on its pragmatic efforts and performance in empowering women to be self-reliant and employers of labour.

Amaechi said his administration was poised to encourage infrastructural and human capital development and empowerment of the citizenry as priority projects till 2015.

He said: “Rivers State must be developed in the interest of the citizens and our future generations. The legacy of this administration has shown Rivers people and indeed those who live and do business that there is a difference between a government called by God and that made by man.

“We are grateful to God that He has been behind this government since 2007. My problem with those in the opposition is nothing, but, of the fact that they don’t know how to do good to our citizens, they don’t even know between evil and good.

“This government is planted on the foundation of God.

L-R: Rivers State governor’s wife, Mrs Judith Amaechi, Okocha and one of the women.

My administration entered into gigantic projects men thought could not be finished, but, we are proud to say with God all things are possible.”

Amaechi urged the women of Obio/Akpor to see the developmental initiative by the caretaker committee of the council as a step in the right direction.

The governor advised them to resist attempts by the opposition to lure them with material things and propaganda in the face of truth.

Amaechi urged the women to channel their energies towards the victory of the

All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

He said: “I want the women of Obio/Akpor to refuse attempts by the devil and the opposition to deceive them with material things. Women in APC have to stand for the truth and reality, because you trust in God Almighty and not in man. No matter the storm that will come our way, you need to be steadfast, and be assured that with God, everything will standstill.

“That is the way to be Ambassadors of Christ. It is time for women to be responsible in governance and ensure the

people experience and feel the dividends of democracy.”

Government House Chief of Staff, Chief Tony Okocha at the event, said empowerment initiative in Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area was a monthly exercise aimed at improving the living standard of citizens in the area.

On his part, Chukwu said the council was in alliance with the APC in the area to give the needed assistance to members to boost productivity and reduce the crowd of the unemployed in the labour market.

12 NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Orji charges Nigerians to promote indivisibility ONE NATION Abia governor hosts muslims, preaches unity through his top aide Igbeaku Orji

UMUAHIA

A

bia State Governor, Theodore Orji, has charged Nigerians to be committed to the indivisibility of the country, saying that terrorists are the common enemy of Nigeria and must be seen as such.

The governor, who gave the charge when he

received the leadership of the Muslim community in Abia State at the Michael Okpara Auditorium during the traditional Sallah homage, said the charge became imperative given the wave of insecurity across the country, which has been given all sorts of religious coloration.

According to him; “We should therefore resolve to fight the enemy in whatever guise of religion. The unity of Nigeria is not negotiable and cannot be left solely in the hands of any person, group or religion.”

He added: “It is good to know that despite challenges to our collective unity, we have elected to

live together.

“From our families down to the larger society, let us imbibe the culture of promoting the tenets of peaceful cohabitation.

Today as we make merry; let us remember the thousands of mostly innocent Nigerians, who have lost their lives to terror attacks,” he advised.

Governor Orji, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Cosmos Ndukwe, said Abia State has keyed into President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda with peace as its bedrock, adding that the state government was committed to providing a secured environment

for life and business.

Responding, leader of the Muslim community, Sheikh Ali Ukaiwo, assured that the leadership that the Muslim community was committed to ensuring that Boko Haram does not penetrate the state.

He condemned the activities of the sect, describing it as satanic.

He said Boko Haram is not about Islam. Ukaiwo maintained that 90 per cent of victims of Boko Haram attacks were Muslims. The Muslim cleric urged Nigerians to collectively fight the sect as a common enemy rather than pointing accusing fingers at one another.

Delta 2015: ‘Competence, not power shift will determine ticket’ Gabriel Choba

Ughelli

A

top contender for the 2015 Delta State governorship ticket, Chief David Edevbie, has stressed the need for competence and experience as the major qualifications for anyone who wants to govern the state from 2015.

He said such candidate should be able to take it to the level where it could be compared to states in the federation.

Edevbie, who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after his consultation visit to the Urhobo Political Congress (UPC), said he is most qualified to take Delta State to the next level.

He dismissed the argument of some governorship aspirants, who claimed that it is their turn to govern Delta for the sake of power shift and equity, pointing out that there is no way power shift will produce the best governor

needed to improve the lives of the residents and bring development to the state.

He said: “My position on power shift is very clear. You heard the people today; they made it very clear that they don’t believe in power shift. Yes, there is rotation of power within the constitution of the PDP, but the underlining factor is majority. I don’t think that it was ever envisaged that there would be power shift that will expect a situation where the majority will now become minority and such majority will not have a say. I don’t think it ever provided for that.”

On his dream for Delta State if he becomes governor, the technocrat said he envisaged where a lot of development will take place that would surpass other states in the country. “I am sure of starting strong, even as the incumbent governor is finishing strong,” he added.

A’Ibom 2015: Ibibio elders okay Udom Emmanuel Biyi Adegoroye

head of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries in Akwa Ibom State, a political group, the Ibibio Elders’ Forum, has unanimously resolved to back the governorship aspiration of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Udom Emmanuel, for the growth, unity and sustainable development of the state.

The forum, which comprises elders from Ibibioland, made the resolution while receiving Emmanuel at the palace of the Chairman of the forum; Dr. John Ukoh, at the weekend, adding that they were motivated by what they described as the humane disposition, humility and administrative ingenuity of the aspirant.

Some of the elders, who spoke after the event, said their decision to support the SSG’s aspiration was based on their collective scrutiny and conviction on his personality and capability to run the affairs of the state.

They recalled the superlative performance of Emmanuel in the private sector, which they noted, witnessed unprecedented employ-

A Chairman, Atlas Petroleum, Prince Arthur Eze (left), presenting a cheque of $1m to Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to strengthen the governor's efforts at cleansing the state of criminals…yesterday

Baraje laments moral decadence Ortom denies rift with Suswam, the rate of crime and says he won’t defect to APC Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

A

chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, yesterday lamented the high level of moral decadence in the country, calling on Muslim parents to put more effort in the upbringing of their children and wards.

Baraje, in his Eid-elFitr message to Nigerians, said parents and Islamic clerics should not shy away from emphasising the importance of Islamic education as a reliable source for training children who are expected to turn out better in life.

According to him; “Muslim clerics should know that giving Islamic education to children and wards is the only way to bring mutual respect that will eventually lead to the desired peace in our nation.”

He equally bemoaned

violent acts, especially among youths, charging parents not to relent in ensuring good upbringing of their children.

The politician also called on Nigerians, irrespective of religious affiliations, to abstain from all forms of violence and make room for forgiveness, patriotism, love and harmonious relationship.

While rejoicing with Muslims on the occasion of the Ramadan, Baraje said since the period symbolised a time of spiritual cleanliness, Muslims should continue to move closer to Allah, even after Ramadan.

He also stressed the need for Muslims to make the lessons of Ramadan a long lasting experience through sustained devotion to Allah and called on those on lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia, to pray for peace and tranquility in Nigeria.

Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

eoples Democratic ParPaspirant ty (PDP) governorship in Benue State,

Dr. Samuel Ortom, has denied having any strained relationship with Governor Gabriel Suswam, just as he dispelled rumour of his alleged plan to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) if he fails to secure the PDP’s governorship ticket.

Speaking at a parley with journalists in Makurdi, at the weekend, Ortom, who is the Minister of State for Industries, Trade and Investment, said he has no issue with the governor, adding that they are still best of friends, more so that both of them are politicians under one umbrella, the PDP. The governorship aspirant, who acknowledged the immense contributions and support of Governor Sus-

wam that saw him emerge as National Auditor of the PDP as well as minister in President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, said those peddling the rumour were out to inject bad blood in the existing healthy nexus between him and the governor.

He said his resolve to remain in the PDP and work for its success in the 2015 general elections was predicated on the giant strides the administration has recorded at both the federal and state levels, vowing not to defect to the APC even if he fails to clinch the governorship ticket.

He disclosed that even though he is in the PDP, he has endeared himself to politicians in the opposition parties, pointing out that if elected governor, he would unite the people irrespective of their political affiliation to fast-track development in the state.

ment of indigenes of Akwa Ibom in the banking sector, saying “those who got jobs through Emmanuel’s assistance have established themselves to the envy of their contemporaries.”

They said Emmanuel is the only Ibibio son to sit on the Board of African Finance Corporation and remains the highest ranking Akwa Ibom son in the current day financial world, adding that “fielding any candidate with less credentials in the 2015 election would amount to going to war with a mere recruit when the state has a ‘General’ like Udom Emmanuel.”

The position of the forum was further buttressed by the former Minister of Lands and Housing, Chief Nduese Essien, who observed that the current Governors’ Forum needs someone with sound qualities like Emmanuel to be able to compete and blend effectively with other governors from across the country.

“It is on this basis that the entire Ibibio elders of Akwa Ibom State have realised that we need someone like Udom Emmanuel as Governor, come 2015, because he is the right choice and truly deserves the seat,” he said.

Enugu: Of political terrorism and chicken impeachment / PAGE 18

POLITICS

13

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Delta: Kingmakers’ conspiracy of succession

p-17

TUESday, July 29, 2014

July 29: Aguiyi-Ironsi, Gowon, revenge and ouster In Nigeria’s political history, the fate of two military officers – one dead, one still living – was decided by a specific date. The first officer was 41 years, 10 months when he became the Head of State. Six months later, he was removed in a bloodbath. His predecessor was 31 years, nine months when he succeeded the former as Commander-in-Chief (known then as Supreme Commander). Nine years later, he was removed in a bloodless coup. That is the story of the late Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military ruler, and his successor, General Yakubu Gowon. In 1966, Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed. In 1975, Gowon was removed from office. But the events happened on the same date – July 29. Today, Nigerians will, once again, reflect on the drama that occurred decades ago, which led to fundamental changes in the country’s history, writes GABRIEL AKINADEWO.

I

N many countries, there is nothing significant or spectacular about the date. July 29. But in Nigeria, the most populous black nation, this is not so.

In the West African country, October 1 is also significant. In 1960, that was the day Nigeria got her independence from Britain. But the importance and relevance of July 29 to her political history, negatively or positively, remain unarguably obvious.

The drama of the day, 48 years ago, triggered a chain of events that led to some fundamental changes in the country’s history.

It was the day the first military Head of State, Major General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, was overthrown and it turned out to be the bloodiest military coup in Nigeria.

Ironically, nine years later, when the beneficiary of the July 29, 1966 coup, General Yakubu Gowon, was removed from office, it was bloodless.

Although there was blood during the first military coup of January 15, 1966, what happened on July 29, 1966 was a bloodbath as a “ruthless blitz” was carried out on southerners, mostly, Igbo officers.

It was a day that not only changed the political history of Nigeria but later restructured the geography of the nation, a day that changed the structure of the Nigerian Army, which started the process leading to the 30-month civil war when hundreds of thousands of Nigerians were killed.

The two major actors of July 29 in 1966 and 1975 were the late AguiyiIronsi and Gowon. Ironsi, popularly known as Johnny Ironside was born on March 3, 1924 at Umuahia-Ibeku (Abia State) and enlisted in the army at 18. As a Lieutenant, he was ADC to the then Governor General, Sir John Macpherson, became a Major in 1955, was named Equerry to the Queen on her tour of Nigeria in 1956, promoted Lieutenant Colonel in 1960 and got his first command, the Fifth Battalion in Kano.

The same year, he commanded the Nigerian contingent to the United Nations Forces in the Congo. In 1962, he was named the military adviser to the Nigerian High Commission in London

The late Aguiyi-Ironsi

and later promoted a Brigadier.

In 1964, he became the first African to be named the commander of the entire UN Peace-keeping Force in Congo with the rank of Major General.

When he returned to the country, he became the first indigenous General Officer Commanding (G.O.C) of the Nigerian Army, succeeding a British, Major General Welby-Everard. He later became Nigeria’s first military ruler after the Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu coup on January 15, 1966.

Gowon, a Sho-Sho, was born on October 19, 1934 in Garam, Pankshin, Plateau State. He enlisted into the Nigerian Army and trained in Officer Cadet

Gowon

What happened on July 29, 1966 was a bloodbath as a “ruthless blitz” was carried out on southerners, mostly, Igbo officers Training School, Teshie, Ghana in 1954.

He was the first indigenous Adjutant, Fourth Battalion, Queen’s Own Nigerian Regiment (QONR), as the Ni-

gerian Army was known then, between 1960 and 1961 and was Brigade-Major of UN Peace-Keeping Forces, Luluabourg, Congo between January and June, 1963.

He was promoted Major in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel in 1963, named Adjutant General, Nigerian Army from 1963 to 1965, was Chief of Staff in January 1966, became the second military ruler on August 1, 1966, promoted Major General in 1967 and became a four-star General in 1971.

He was 31 years, nine months when he succeeded Aguiyi-Ironsi and he is still the second longest serving comCONTINUED ON PAGE 14

14 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Danjuma: After we arrested

Danjuma

The late Muhammed

The late Fajuyi

Aguiyi-Ironsi with soldiers at Police Headquarters in Lagos

CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

mander-in-chief in Nigeria after General Olusegun Obasanjo who ruled for 11 years. Gowon ruled for nine years.

The murder of Aguiyi-Ironsi on July 29, 1966 could be traced to happenings six months earlier when Majors Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Adewale Ademoyega, Donatus Okafor, Humphrey Chukwuka, Chude Sokei, Captains Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Emmanuel Anuforo and others staged the first coup.

By the time the coupists stopped firing, many politicians and officers were dead. They included Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello, Western Premier Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh.

Others included Brigadier Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colonel Kur Mohammed, Colonel Ralph Sodeinde, Lt. Col Yakubu Pam, Lt. Col Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe and Major Samuel Adegoke, among others.

But since the leaders of the coup hailed mainly from the South, some elements in the North believed it was the beginning of the process to ‘Southernise’ Nigeria.

This was so given the fact that in the Nigerian Army then, the leading officers were from the East.

In 1960, there were only six commissioned officers from the North in the army. The Defence Minister then, Alhaji Ribadu, knew this scenario was not good for the interest of the North. Not long after assuming office, he declared that 50 per cent of the commissioned ranks must be northerners.

Obviously, this could not happen overnight as officers must be educated.

In military statistics then, the great majority of infantry men were from the North and 80 per cent of this majority were Tivs. But 70 per cent of officers ranks were from the East. This was due to their level of education.

Then, indigenes of the West were better educated than their counterparts in the East and North but the educated in the West chose to go into other professions such as law, medicine, engineering, foreign service and others. This led to the proliferation of Easterners in the officers’ ranks.

So, between 1960 and 1966, in compliance with the pronouncement of Ribadu, the North had more junior officers enlisted into the army than other zones but the senior officers’ ranks were still dominated by Easterners.

That was why the ringleaders of the July 29 coup were Northern officers of middle ranks.

Despite the fact that the victims of the January putsch cut across the

The late Ademulegun

Aguiyi-Ironsi, to convince northerners that he was a detribalised Nigerian, chose most of his aides from the North zones, it was believed in the North that it was an Igbo agenda to ‘southernise’ the army.

The emergence of Aguiyi-Ironsi as the Head of State added to this fear but then, he was the most senior officer around.

Because of the command structure of the army, there was the need to centralise governance. On May 24, 1966, Ironsi announced the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree.

This was after the Supreme Military Council (SMC) had ratified it.

The provisions involved the abolition of the regions and their conversion into groups of provinces, although with the same boundaries, governors and administrations. Nigeria would cease to be a federation but would become the Republic of Nigeria.

In reality, the Unification Decree virtually changed nothing but names. It

was just an exercise to formalise governance through the command structure of the army.

The massacre that followed was unprecedented as many Igbo were killed in the North. Aguiyi-Ironsi, to convince northerners that he was a detribalised Nigerian, chose most of his aides from the North.

He made Gowon his Army Chief of Staff and right hand man. Mallam Hamsad Amadu, a relative of the late Ahmadu Bello, was his private secretary. His personal escorts were composed mostly of Hausa soldiers commanded by a young Hausa lieutenant, W.G. Walbe and his Army ADC was Lieutenant Sani Bello, a Hausa.

Many attempts were made to pacify the rioters in the North to no avail. To wield the big stick would have confirmed the fear of an attempt by the Igbo officers to lord it over the rest.

In July, Aguiyi-Ironsi embarked on a nationwide tour to tell the people his good intentions. He never returned to Lagos.

On July 28, he was in Ibadan to open the Conference of Traditional Rulers and he was the guest of the Western military governor, Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi.

In the evening, Aguiyi-Ironsi was dining with Fajuyi at the Government House, Ibadan. With them was Colonel

POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

15

Ironsi, I lost control

The late Maimalari

The late Ibiam at Fajuyi’s burial

Officers with Fajuyi’s casket in Ibadan

Hilary Njoku, the Igbo Commander of the Second Battalion in Ikeja.

A few hours later, the coup started with a mutiny in Abeokuta barracks.

A Hausa captain led some soldiers into the officers’ mess around 11 p.m. and shot three Eastern officers, a Lt. Col, a major and a lieutenant.

The armoury was seized. Southern officers and senior non-commissioned officers were rounded up and shot around 5 a.m. on July 29.

Same happened at the Second Battalion in Ikeja and Fourth Battalion in Ibadan.

When Aguiyi-Ironsi heard about the mutiny, he dispatched Njoku to Ikeja to counter it but Njoku was lucky to have escaped as he was shot and wounded on his way. The Ibadan end of the mutiny was co-ordinated by Major Theophilus Danjuma, with assistance coming from Majors Adamu Martins and Murtala Muhammed.

Earlier, in a deft move, AguiyiIronsi’s southern bodyguards were disarmed by their Northern counterparts led by the Adjutant, Second Lieutenant Garba Paiko. The death squad was later strengthened by an extra 30 troops led by Danjuma from the Fourth Battalion in Ibadan.

The battalion was under the command of Colonel J. Akahan, a Tiv, from the North.

The late Sodeinde

The late Wey at Fajuyi’s burial

Akahan later became Gowon’s Army Chief of Staff. He died in a helicopter crash during the civil war.

When the Danjuma team arrived the Government House, the detained Southern bodyguards of Aguiyi-Ironsi were shot.

Aguiyi-Ironsi sent his Air Force ADC, Lt. Nwankwo, to find out what was going on. He was arrested by the Danjuma group.

The Head of State and Fajuyi were eventually arrested. The duo and

Nwankwo was younger than Aguiyi-Ironsi and Fajuyi. Although tortured badly, he seized the opportunity of a lapse and escaped into the bush. Aguiyi-Ironsi and Fajuyi did not have the strength to do this.

Magazines of Sten guns were emptied into them

Nwankwo were tortured and taken to a bush part on the road leading to Oyo town.

Nwankwo was younger than AguiyiIronsi and Fajuyi. Although tortured badly, he seized the opportunity of a lapse and escaped into the bush. Aguiyi-Ironsi and Fajuyi did not have the strength to do this. Magazines of Sten guns were emptied into them.

The police later found their bodies and buried them at the Ibadan cemetery. Six months later, they were taken to their respective home towns for military burial.

But in an interview with the Sunday Guardian on February 17, 2008, Danjuma exonerated himself from the killings.

He said: “What happened was that after we arrested him (Ironsi), I lost control. Remember that I was a complete stranger. I came from Lagos with Ironsi as a staff in the Army Headquarters attached to him. I stayed in the barracks with the Adjutant (the Chief of Staff of the Commanding Officer). I stayed with him in his single officer quarters. And it was there, that at one or two o’clock in the morning – I was in bed – when he came and knocked at my door. He said, “sir, do you know what has happened.” I said, “no”. He said there was some trouble in Abeokuta, “an Igbo officer holding a secret meeting with all the Igbo officers

in the officers’ mess and our boys (Hausa soldiers) went and shot all of them”.

“I asked the Adjutant, who was in a position to know, if the Supreme Commander – at that time Ironsi was known as Supreme Commander – had been told?

He said, no; he didn’t think so. I said okay; he should get me some soldiers. He brought soldiers. I didn’t come to Ibadan with combat dress. I had to borrow the combat dress of an officer about my size. It was an American combat dress.

This officer had just come back from the U.S. You know, when you travel with the Head of State, you have to dress decently, wear service dress and so on. So, I borrowed fatigue, wore it. In fact, I wore it over my pyjamas and left with the Adjutant. I said, “take me to Government House”. We got there. We asked soldiers who were on duty to ground arms. They all grounded their arms. I told the Adjutant what to do. Soldiers grounded their arms; we disarmed them and armed the soldiers that we brought.

“Meanwhile, the anti-tank gun (with Ironsi’s convoy) was there, the commander was there. The commander was from the garrison in Ibadan. We knew him; we told him. He said we should use the gun to blow down the building.

I said no. There’s no need; the Head of State was there; we had to arrest him.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

16 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Ojukwu to Gowon: You’re not the most senior officer CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

We were there and waited. Any time anybody came out from the building, we arrested him. They removed their shoes and we asked them to sit down.

We wanted to arrest him (Ironsi) alive and go and lock him up. We wanted to interrogate him, to find out the role he played in the coup (January 1966); his stories didn’t add up about how he escaped from Flagstaff House where he was staying at No.1,Glover (Ikoyi), and ended up in Ikeja. How it came about that Njoku, who was supposed to have handed over the command of the largest garrison in Lagos, which was then the Ikeja Garrison, did not hand over.

Njoku was still in command and he (Ironsi) went to join him. We were going to interrogate him about all those, or at least, that was what I thought we were going to do.

“Everything I told the soldiers to do or not to do, they obeyed. (Adekunle) Fajuyi (Military Governor of Western Region) came out of the building. As he came down the steps, I saluted him and said: “Sir, you are under arrest; hands up’ He looked at me and called me, “Danjuma?” I said, “Sir, you are under arrest”. He raised his hands and came down. He said, “What do you want?”

I said: “We want to arrest you and we want to arrest the Head of State.” He asked: “And you are going out with him?” I said, “yes”.

“He (Fajuyi) pleaded with me not to go up with armed men, that he was going to go up and call him (Ironsi) provided I guaranteed his safety. I gave him my guarantee. I said: “I guarantee your safety.” He went there, and didn’t come down. So, I decided to climb up. As I climbed up the steps, armed soldiers followed me. I had a grenade in my hand.

I didn’t have any arm. As I came, Ironsi was sited. Fajuyi was by his side. I said: “Sir, you are under arrest.” And I gave him the order to stand up. Reluctantly, Ironsi stood up. He used to carry a staff crocodile. He had it in his hand. They both came down. Fajuyi was still asking me about guaranteeing safety. I guaranteed his safety absolutely. So, we came out of the building down toward the car.

“One of the soldiers said we shouldn’t allow him to carry his crocodile, that there’s juju in it. I said no; there’s nothing in it. He said he’d disappear if we allowed him to carry it. He started to talk and I told him to shut up. That was the time I lost control. The soldier batoned me and pushed me aside and took charge. To my greatest surprise, I expected the Adjutant, who was there, to intervene. He probably incited them. He said,”Yes, the soldier is right. This thing here (Ironsi’s crocodile) is his Zasa; it’s juju that will make him disappear.”

So, they took the thing from him, pushed me aside and bundled him and Fajuyi in a vehicle and drove away. It was six o’clock in the morning. I had to hitch a ride to go to the barracks. They left. There was no vehicle even for me to leave that place; they just drove away, taking them away. So, I had to make my way back to the barracks. If you read Gowon’s book, it’s there. They named names of the people who actually took Ironsi away”.

About 50 southern officers and more than a hundred other ranks were shot on July 29, 1966 in many barracks. Some of them were Lt. Col I.C. Okoro, Lt. Col. Gabriel Okunweze, Major Theophilus E. Nzegwu, Major Bernard Nnamani, Major Christopher Chukwunuike Emelifonwu, Major John Ikechukwu Obienu, Major Ibanga Ekerem, Major Peter C. Obi, Major Alister Drummond, Major Ayodele Ogunro, Major O.U. Isong and Captain P.C. Okoye.

Also, two of the officers who planned the January 15 coup, Okafor and Anuforo, detained in the West, were brought out of their cells and murdered.

Initially, feelers coming from the

The late Wey (middle) with others saluting at the Lagos Airport when Aguiyi-Ironsi’s body was being flown to the East

Gowon arriving at the National Hall, Lagos for his first press conference after the coup

North indicated secession of the region from the country. So, between July 29 and 31, other regions were preparing for the secession.

But on Monday morning, August 1, the then British High Commissioner, Sir Francis Cumming-Bruce, sought an audience with Gowon. For six hours, he told Gowon the consequences of Northerners’ plan to secede.

When later in the day, Gowon made a broadcast that he had been brought to the position of “having to shoulder the great responsibilities of this country and the armed forces with the consent of the majority of the members of the Supreme Military Council,” Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu- Ojukwu, the Military Governor of Eastern Region, protested.

To him, there was no full meeting of the SMC, of which he (Ojukwu) was a member, which selected Gowon as the new Head of State.

Also, he believed that since the death of Aguiyi-Ironsi had not been confirmed and announced officially, there was no vacancy for the post of Commander-in-Chief.

Ojukwu’s most potent reason was that Gowon was not the most senior officer in the country then. To Ojukwu, if there was going to be a change in the leadership structure, Ironsi’s second in command, Brigadier Babafemi Og-

To Ojukwu, if there was going to be a change in the leadership structure, Ironsi’s second in command, Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, must take the baton undipe, must take the baton.

If not, Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, Rear Admiral Wey, Colonels Imo, Effiong and Njoku, senior to Gowon, must be considered. So, Ojukwu believed Gowon was not rightfully entitled to the headship of the government. But the northerners refused to take orders from these senior officers except Gowon. In fact, a northern sergeant (a non-commissioned officer) had told Ogundipe off, a serious offence in the military. The impasse eventually led to the civil war between July 6, 1967 and January 15, 1970.

Nine years after the coup that removed Aguiyi-Ironsi from power, Gowon himself was thrown out and what led to his removal on July 29, 1975 could be traced to events after the civil war

when he started personalising state matters. In short, his administration became a byword for corruption and 10 of the 12 governors under him had to be dismissed by his successor, the late General Murtala Muhammed.

On October 1, 1974, Gowon dismissed as unrealistic the 1976 deadline for a return to civilian rule. When Nigerians started losing confidence in the government, Gowon’s relation, who was the head of the Brigade of Guards, Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba, Colonels Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua and Abdullahi Mohammed, planned his ouster. They sought and got the support of some senior officers. Gowon himself had the feeling that something was in the offing. When he was going to Kampala, Uganda on July 27 to attend the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit, he asked Garba at the Lagos Airport whether a coup was indeed in the offing.

‘No’, replied Garba.

At 6 a.m. on July 29, 1975, Garba announced that Gowon had been ousted from power. The coup took place on the ninth anniversary of the one which resulted in the death of Aguiyi-Ironsi and others, and which, brought Gowon to power.

From Kampala, Gowon went to Lome, Togo briefly to stay with Gnassingbe Eyadema before going to Britain on exile.

POLITICS 17

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Dominic Adewole

T

he phrase ‘the more you look, the less you see’ is associated with partisan politics in Delta state, and it has again taken center stage in the rat race to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2015.

The godfathers, the likes of former governor of the state, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, the ‘Odidigoigbo of Africa’ as he is popularly known in political circles in the state, who is currently cooling-off in a London jail, and the incumbent powers-that-be in the oil rich state, have beefed up their seemingly mystical antics among the numerous aspirants vying for elective offices, especially the governorship, in a desperate bid to install n a man after their heart.

The political temperature across the state has now shown that the forthcoming 2015 general elections, will no doubt, be a battle royale between the pretenders, who suddenly became interested in the contest after they were planted as spoilers by these godfathers, not only to disorganize, but also heat up the polity for some genuine contenders that are not in their good books.

In a ‘lest we should be the last’ fashion, the many faces of the pretenders, some of whom have employed the services of some faceless groups, corporate organizations, socio-political pressure groups, women groups and community development agents among the Market Women Association, to beat the “Wind of Change” drums on their behalf, particularly, in Delta North Senatorial District of the state, are now at crossroads over campaign promises and blueprints for the rapid development of the state.

New Telegraph authoritatively gathered that most of the pretenders whose faces adorn billboards around the state with various headlines and inscriptions, have already settled for a candidate anointed by the ‘king-makers’ Council’, who at the end of the day would carry their flag.

The pretenders were painstakingly planted by the ‘council’ not only as a political means to blindfold and mislead some genuine contenders, but as useful theoretical frameworks for scoring political goals.

Since the advent of democracy in 1999, conspiracy has been skewed by these cabals that live and have their well-being in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to undo their opponents by splitting the votes of other popular contenders in order to give victory to the anointed one.

In 2007, Ibori introduced what has come to stay as “Split-the-Vote-System” when he engaged and financed some aspirants within and outside the ruling PDP in the state against one another to pave the way for the ‘anointed one’ of the ‘king-makers’ Council’ to emerge.

Today, his ‘boys’ who are scattered across the three senatorial districts of the state and who are still within the corridor of power have banked on the system to hatch any political plot. The system is so scientific that those who brandished Abuja might like Chief Godswill Obielum and the wife of the former national chairman of the ruling party, Mrs. Maram Nneamaka Ali, were forced to bow to the existing order.

The format recently sent panic across the Delta North axis of the state, a senatorial district that has since anchored its campaigns on fair play, justice and equity based on the rotational arrangement of the state PDP because it has not had a shot at the governorship seat of the state since 1999. Yet, pretenders from the zone who have raised the hope of their supporters lack the requisite requirements to sustain their aspirations in the race, and are gradually falling by the road side.

Delta: King-makers’ conspiracy of succession

Uduaghan

Of the 12 aspirants from Delta North jostling to succeed the incumbent governor, New Telegraph gathered that nine were planted as “spoilers” to be compensated after the plot must have been hatched next year. Some have been penciled down for commissionership positions, others have bargained for ministerial slots.

No wonder, recently, a political pressure group at the fore-front of the agitation for an Anioma for governor, come 2015, Anioma Agenda (AA) warned against the idea of an ‘anointed candidate’, maintaining that, “only aspirants who subsume their personal ambition to the common interest of Anioma nation, should on the merit of service and sacrifice, be considered.”

The state president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Sir Vincent Ugbelase, chairman of the AA, Alex Onwuadiame, a lawyer and the Media/Research Director of the group, Oyibosochukwu Nwabueze, in a statement vowed to resist any deliberate attempt to sabotage the collective interest of a DeltaNortherner from succeeding Governor Uduaghan next year.

However, the ‘big three’ in the race, including the former Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, the Senator, representing Delta North Senatorial district, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who doubles as the chairman of Senate Committee on Health and Dr. Festus Okubor, the Chief of Staff to Governor Uduaghan, suddenly locked themselves up in hi-tech subterranean moves.

The unfathomable politics orchestrated by this ‘king-makers’ in the state in the matter, pulled down former Speaker Ochei, who has since regained his strength, for brandishing his multibillionaire might.

Although the sledged-hammer that was waged on Ochei immediately threw up Senator Okowa whose aspiration was under threat at that time by the dashing entrant of Governor Uduaghan’s Chief of Staff, Okubor,

Ibori

The unfathomable politics orchestrated by this ‘king-makers’ in the state in the matter, pulled down former Speaker Ochei Ochei’s resignation as the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly after he was threatened with impeachment acted as the first scapegoat of the confusion set by the ‘king-makers’.

No doubt, Ochei, alongside other aspirants from Delta North senatorial district of the state, stands the chance of succeeding Governor Uduaghan, but the unbeatable plot by this ‘kingmakers’ to hatch their conspiracy, remains a serious challenge as the clamour for a return of the governorship seat to Delta Central and Delta South. Now, the involvement of former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, a man from Uduaghan’s Delta South, in the race speaks volume.

Seconding Ochei’s predicament was the recent case of the wife of the former national chairman of the ruling party, Chief (Mrs.) Mariam Nneamaka Ali. The show of shame that trailed her matter brought onlookers in the state face to face with the elements of the unfolding conspiracy. While the battle over who succeeds the governor was still raging, Mrs. Ali, fell prey to the teeth of the ‘king-makers’ when she engaged the state chairman of the party, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, an alleged members of the council, in fisticuffs.

This time, the fight was over the soul of Delta North senatorial district’s seat in the National Assembly.

But little again did Mrs. Ali know that Nwaoboshi was under the manipulation of the ‘king-makers’. The scuffle has since assumed a dangerous dimension with women under faceless

groups in the state engaging in protests and counter-protests, either for or against Nwaoboshi. While what led to the fight was fast becoming a history, the untold story of how the governorship of the state would be fought and won according to the political characters in the ‘king-makers’ council’ has not been told.

It is obvious to discerning minds across the state that the ‘give-and-take’ politics of 2007 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo exchanged Mrs. Ali in PDP for Chief Patrick Osakwe in the Accord Party (AP) to favour Ibori’s agenda of making Governor Uduaghan succeed him, is about to play out again.

The powers-that-be in the state do not cherish ‘Mama’ Ali’s undue interference in the politics of the state.

She is seen as a stranger from Kogi state where her husband hails from.

It would rather be appreciated if she turns her ambition for the Senate to her husband’s senatorial district in Kogi. If not for anything, the bashing she got in 2007 and 2011 respectively, was enough for her to have a rethink.

Then, she was deceived by opponents in Delta, even by the national body of the party that came with a separate list of delegates, other than the one allegedly prepared by the state chapter, for the primary election of the party held at the Cenotaph in Asaba.

The one she is going through now was richly orchestrated to finally nail her. She was set against her son (Nwaoboshi) – the man who sacrificed everything between 2007 and 2011 to make sure she realized her ambition of becoming a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when he (Nwaoboshi) led his supporters in the state to the venue of the primary election, by all means, as the state chairman to prevent Okowa from winning the PDP’s flag.

Now, the ‘king-makers’ are at something beyond the ordinary again. Having incorporated Nwaoboshi into the assemblage, New Telegraph gathered that Delta North Senatorial District, CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

18 POLITICS Okwudili Edeh

“I

gave him the option to resign.

It has actually come to a point where we need to know who actually is boss because we can no longer work together. Let the House of Assembly do their job and see if, indeed, he is fit to remain as deputy governor.

– Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime on the plot to impeach his Deputy’s impeachment Writing in the History of the Poleponnesian War, capturing the nearly three-decade struggle (431-404 BC) between the mighty Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta, Thucydides dramatizes the preluding dialogue (416-415 BC) to the notorious routing of Melos

by Athens.

Whereas the Athenians offered Melians to surrender and pay tributes to them or be utterly destroyed, the people of Melos on the other hand, stuck to their god-given right to remain neutral in the power tussle between Athens and Sparta. They appealed to the Athenians’ sense of honour, decency, justice, and even mercy towards a tiny peace-loving, but powerless colony of Sparta.

To this the Athenians responded: “Of the gods we believe, and of men we know, that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can. And it is not as if we were the first to make this law, or to act upon it when made: we found it existing before us, and shall leave it to exist forever after us; all we do is to make use of it, knowing that you and everybody else, having the same power as we have, would do the same as we do…. The strong do as they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

Melos was eventually besieged and starved to surrender. They mercilessly slaughtered all male of military age they could find. The rest, women and children were sold into slavery, while Melos was repopulated with people from their other colonies. Historian, Alan Ryan, described it as “the worst atrocity committed by a usually decent society, but even more as one of the most famous assertions in history of the rights of unbridled power”.

The widely reported brazen acceptance by Governor Sullivan Chime of the responsibility of the ongoing theater of the absurd, aka chicken impeachment, in Enugu comes as another demonstration of impunity in modern times.

The motion adopted by the State Assembly reads in part: “The deputy governor is guilty of various acts of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office…. The particulars of gross misconduct are as follows: “By a resolution of the Enugu State House of Assembly at its plenary on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, the Enugu State House of Assembly prohibited the maintenance and operation of commercial livestock and poultry farms within residential neighbourhoods in Enugu metropolis in promotion of public health standards; which resolution

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Enugu: Of political terrorism and chicken impeachment Chime can easily have his deputy impeached (no thanks to our brand of democracy). But I doubt that he understands the great loss in reputation and political capital this unpopular move is already causing him

Chime

was further accepted by the government for implementation.

“Notwithstanding the said resolution, the deputy governor continued to maintain and operate a commercial poultry farm within the premises of his official residential quarters.

“The deputy governor persists in defiance of lawful directives issued to him by the governor, which defiance has adversely affected and will continue to affect the smooth running of the government; and he will continue to do so if not removed from office.”

The Assembly listed such manifest breaches of the constitution to include his alleged refusal to carry out the directive of the governor to represent him at the flag-off ceremony of the construction of the second Niger Bridge in Onitsha by President Goodluck Jonathan on March 11, and at the South-East Governors Forum held in Enugu on Sunday, July 8.

However, they forgot to include the major sin, which is that the deputy governor has declared his intention to run for the Enugu East Senatorial seat that Chime has reserved for his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo.

Although Sunday Onyebuchi has not told his own side of the story, it is obvious Chime does not know the limit of his powers. While he has the capacity to induce and coerce, he lacks the constitutional right to direct his deputy to resign. Whereas the choice

Onyebuchi

of a deputy, is that of a governorship/ presidential candidate, and the party, both are always elected on a joint mandate. Impeachment of one cannot be at the pleasure of the other, but of the freewill of the people acting on cogent grounds through their elected representatives in the Assembly. Right now, the Assembly members are acting on the orders of Governor Chime.

Two, available media reports (video and print) on the second Niger Bridge event, show that the deputy governor was actually there from the beginning to the end. He sat beside Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Again, why impeach the deputy governor more than six months after forcefully evacuating his 3,000 birds to Godknows-where, whereas the governor himself runs large farms in the same Enugu State Government House? Even the usually quite deputy governor had upon the destruction of his poultry farm in January 2013 challenged the Governor’s Office to “deny that there is no bigger poultry, piggery and cattle ranch in the Governor’s (Chime’s) Lodge.”

In fact, there is even an aggressive brownish monkey stationed at the entrance of the Governor’s Lodge, which keeps harassing unsuspecting ladies (although it is restrained with a long chain). Also, whereas the deputy governor’s defunct poultry was located in the designated Farm Unit of the Government House, the governor’s ostriches

King-makers conspiracy of successions CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 7

where he hails from, was zoned to him for proper management but not without a warning; “if you want to succeed as the emerging leader of your district, shine your eye against your mother (Mrs. Ali) because she will be poke nosing into your affairs unduly. But the fastest way to get to the pinnacle of your political career is to occupy the position she has been eying.’

The caucus tentatively concluded, that the ‘king-makers’ have endorsed Governor Uduaghan’s ambition to occupy Delta South Senatorial seat in 2015, and agreed that Nwaoboshi must gird his loins for the Delta North seat,

even as they prepare Okowa to succeed the incumbent governor, as Senator James Manager, who has allegedly agreed to vacate the Senate seat for Uduaghan goes as deputy governor, or be prepared to be a minister. Time will tell?

So, to fulfill his part of the deal, Nwaoboshi must offend Mrs. Ali by picking the senatorial form for Delta North of the party to contest, having sensed that his ‘mother’ (Mrs. Ali) would indicate interest again for the seat next year.

But, Mrs. Ali, who was pissed-off on hearing that Nwaoboshi has littered Asaba metropolis with his campaign

posters, plotted to disgrace him publicly. The opportunity came when the party summoned a stakeholders’ meeting.

Governor Uduaghan would have been part of the spectators that watched the show of shame if not that loyalists of Nwaoboshi were restrained from laying helping hand to their master.

As the battle rages and the next line of action between the duo of Nwaoboshi and Mrs. Ali, remain unpredictable, especially as the tension keeps building within the political spectrum of the state over who succeeds the governor, and where the successor will emerge from, Deltans await the outcome of the hi-tech conspiracy.

and cows prowl the length and breadth of the Government House, defecating all over the place. The ostriches still chase visitors about as I write.

Indeed the alacrity with which a notoriously docile Enugu State House of Assembly, that only passed its first Private Member Bill since 1999 (Enugu State Investment Promotion Commission Bill) in June 2014, swung into the impeachment action is very dismaying. The same Assembly looked the other way while the estranged first lady of Enugu, Mrs. Clara Chime, was illegally detained and dehumanised in the Enugu State Government House for over six months. It also lied to the world that Chime was on accumulated leave whereas it turned out (as was widely published) that he was battling for dear life overseas for about four months.

Yes, Chime can easily have his deputy impeached (no thanks to our brand of democracy). But I doubt that he understands the great loss in reputation and political capital this unpopular move is already causing him. Worst still, this chicken impeachment comes less than a year after his second consecutive wife left him in scandalous circumstances.

It is a global knowledge that he is in a running battle with members of the National Assembly for unilaterally decreeing that second term lawmakers would be retired in 2015- just to enable him snatch Ekweremadu’s seat and give the rest to his cronies.

The current scandal has also reopened the scandalous carting away of his Deputy’s 3,000 birds last January, while his camp is already throwing verbal punches at the Anglican Archbishop of the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma.

But I know that although the rule of raw power as taught by the Athenians insists that “The strong do as they can and the weak suffer what they must”, it is both crazy and foolhardy to apply 415 BC rule to 21st century democracy. It is pure political terrorism and Chime should know that it ultimately backfires, for no man, however great or powerful could be greater than his people. Governor Chime should apply the brakes now or burn his fingers- like others before him.

•Okwudili Edeh writes from Enugu

EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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19 Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha

TUESday, JuLY 29, 2014

The inexplicable kerosene scarcity

iven several past promises and assurances, we would have thought that a new era of unfettered supply of petroleum products, especially Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) used for domestic energy and aviation fuel known as Jet-A1, had dawned. But this hope seems forlorn in the light of recent reports from all over the country regarding the product’s scarcity, which started late last year and has continued uninterrupted. The scarcity has also affected the pump price, which has risen from N50 per litre to N180 and N200 in some states.

Nigerians are tired of official explanations, which apparently lack commitment to resolving the issues. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, some time ago, accused marketers of being responsible for the scarcity, explaining that the bulk of kerosene imported into the country was of the same quality as aviation fuel and as such, marketers who got allocation from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the sole importer of the product, were diverting the product to airline operators to make bogus profits.

That is one unfortunate account.

Another account attributes the scarcity to pipeline vandalisation, use of the product for road construction and same hydraheaded problem of diversion.

NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr. Andrew Yakubu said this at the investigative public hearing on Supply, Distribution, Expenditure and Subsidy on kerosene at the National Assembly in February. And the only solution he had to offer for non-availability of the product “is for the Committee to collaborate with the NNPC to encourage the sale of Liquefied petroleum gas otherwise known as cooking gas.” In other words, he contended that the increase in the consumption of cooking gas would automatically reduce the dependence on kerosene.

What this argument seems to suggestis that those who are supposed to watch the distribution network of the product are helpless and seemingly incapable of effectively handling the situation. But, we are not persuaded by this line of argument credited to the NNPC helmsman. For, there seems to be in this action, a deliberate effort to emasculate the populace and force them to begin to work against the ecosystem by felling trees for firewood that would eventually lead to desert encroachment and deforestation.

From their privileged positions, these public officers seem to measure the average Nigerian by their own opulent lifestyle, irrespective of the social standing of the majority of the people. The logic is incomprehensible.

It may appear sound to argue as some government apologists

have done, that the problem confronting the supply of kerosene to Nigerians is insurmountable, and therefore, all Nigerians should begin to use cooking gas.

Yet, it must be pointed out that in other countries where governments have instituted such policies for the poor, concerted efforts would be made to monitor and make sure that the people for which they are intended benefit from them. The goal here is to enhance the welfare of the people and guarantee their access to basic social amenities as a way of giving the populace a sense of belonging and alleviating some of their problems. But in our clime, as it is, the good intention of government always pales into insignificance as a result of poor handling by compromised government officials and what remains then is sour grape in the mouth of poor Nigerians For whatever reason, the legality of the kerosene subsidy regime has been a matter of controversy, which the House of Representatives attempted to tackle.

But going by the utterances of officials and the perennial scarcity, it is crystal clear that respite is not yet in sight for Nigerian masses. However, what is even more worrisome is the admittance of helplessness by NNPC over the situation and its advice to impoverished Nigerian masses to begin to use cooking gas as the alternative. It is estimated that at least 30

per cent of all households in the country depends on kerosene as source of energy, while about 56 per cent depends on firewood or charcoal, due to lack of access to kerosene.

Unfortunately, attendants at filling stations have taken advantage of the situation to shortchange desperate members of the public by engaging in sharp practices at the expense of those who depend solely on kerosene for their domestic uses. There is hardly anywhere in the country where the product is sold at the official price of N50.

Again, the consequence of this systemic hoarding or induced scarcity by compromised government officials and their collaborators, is the danger often posed by adulterated chemicals in the name of kerosene, which have resulted in explosions that have caused injuries, deaths and damages to properties.

This scarcity is a huge embarrassment and we condemn it in its entirety. In fact, it is ridiculous, scandalous and shameful that in this 21st century, a country rated as sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world still imports kerosene and other refined petroleum products. Considering these bottle-necks in the distribution chain, the most sensible thing to do is to provide adequate policing of the supply chain to obviate the criminal activities of the middlemen, thereby eliminating the black market regime.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Deputy Managing Director/DEIC YEMI AJAYI Editor, Daily LAURENCE ANI Editor, Saturday EMEKA MADUNAGU Editor, Sunday LEO CENDROWICZ Bureau Chief, Brussels MARSHALL COMINS Bureau Chief, Washington DC SAM AMSTERDAM Editorial Coordinator, Europe EMMAN SHEHU (PhD) Chairman, Editorial Board GEOFFREY EKENNA News Editor TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

20

Sanctity of Truth

OPINION APC on the trope of treachery Ginikanwa Nwasoria

I

t was first, Ondo and next, Ekiti (with more damaging blow to the bloated image and contrived quest of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his political dominance and control of the Yoruba nation), where the ordinary people without let or hindrance chose their own leader. These common people of the two states have shown that the age of their place as mere choristers of the pater nosta or serfs intoxicated by the profession of their faiths has ended but that they are vibrant, intelligent and knowledge members of our society, irrespective of their economic status. With the outcomes of the governorship elections in both states amidst heightened campaign for an economic bloc in the South West geo-political space and fusion into one political party, these voiceless people more or less declared with their sovereignty through their ballot might, that, important as the economic fusion of their geo-political configuration may be, they need not be drawn into a collapsed soviet society type or Nazi Hitler’s Germany type of one party dictatorship of an absolute persona.These common people hitherto stripped of their humanity, their being and meaning by questionable past elections, exercised their sovereignty. Yet, by a warped sense of thought, some marauders of politics are aiming to steal it away. While Fayemi as a knowledge man yielded to the sovereign choice of the people, his party calls their bluffs. That, in the first place, is not strange as it is consistent with their character as cases abound. But, for want of space, one---the abysmal and primordial nature of their primaries--in all facets will suffice.

Fayemi’s action of accepting the election result

and congratulating the victorious Fayose is hardly popular among Nigerian politicians. Little wonder the APC on whose platform he contested the election has lampooned and overruled him and headed to court regardless of the general applause for INEC for having organised, in Ekiti, the freest, fairest and most peaceful election in Nigeria’s political space since its political independence. Doubtless, among the retrogressive APC, Fayemi’s political career would be in jeopardy for taking the path of honour by accepting defeat. Nonetheless, he has gloriously engraved his name in the annals of history.

Hitherto, APC was believed to be agitating for free and fair elections, which occasioned the virulent outburst of Muhammadu Buhari, one of their arch leaders as captured in the Vanguard of May 15, 2012 who declared, inter alia: “God willing, by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way. If what happened in 2011 should happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.” This is a language of violence, which must never be tolerated in any society that purports to be guided by the rule of law. Anyway, it is consistent with a man whose statements of fury agitated the evil Boko Haram now perpetrating unwholesome evil in our land. A leader must at all times be known for wisdom, decorum, and peace-making for the good of all. But, today, there are lamentation, wailing, sorrow, tears, and blood in our land because of the vituperations we heard in the early 1980s with the popular, “my people are useless, my people are senseless, my people are indisciplined” maxim, culminating in the draconian war against indiscipline, which stripped the ordinary man of his spirit.

In clear terms, what the APC leadership has implicitly inferred is that the common peoples’ sovereignty

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

must be challenged and eroded. It is a subtle way of saying ‘you “untermenschen” (inferior beings) do not possess the capacity to choose a leader.’ This has found justification and confirmation in the party’s stymied resolution to approach the courts. Whilst the same party over and again cites the United States as the bulwark and model of representative democracy relevant for the deepening of a democratic culture in Nigeria, they forget Al Gore’s decision of not dragging the exalted office of that country’s presidency into mud by not approaching the court of law regardless of the show of shame in Florida in the 2000 controversial presidential election that installed George Bush as America’s 43rd President. To challenge the peoples’ sovereignty is tantamount to building the party’s gallows. Democracy is in the hands of the people---it is about them. No wonder it is simply defined as government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is the free expression of their sovereignty and their choice becomes law cast in stone more or less. The political class should be reminded that as the fountain has its source of water, so are the people the source of power in a democracy and the power conferred on a person to lead is borrowed and can be reclaimed just as the Ekiti people did with Fayemi.

Reassured by their sovereignty, the ordinary persons and trembling citizens of Ondo and Ekiti were emboldened and shook their heads at the Tinubu conundrum. Can we conclude that the political wind of change is blowing across the South West geo-political zone? We await the fame or otherwise test for the justification or condemnation of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s “omoluabi jingle” among its ordinary people in the soon-to-be-held Osun governorship election for proof.

• Ginikanwa Nwasoria, a public affairs commentator, can be reached via(ginikanwasoria@yahoo.co.uk).

Finally, reason prevails in Bala-NUJ tango Rogers Edor Ochela ‘’Nerves frayed in a political shouting match are usually soothed when the light of compromise overtakes the darkness of intransigence’’—Wise Saying ll over the world, differences between individuals or nations are usually resolved on a round table. Also, it has been established that the ability to say ‘sorry’ is an act of maturity in all ramifications. And so it was with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja Chapter.

It would be recalled that the Union had recently demanded an explanation from the minister for the latter’s purported donation of 22 buses to the Bauchi State Chapter of PDP. NUJ through its chairman, Chuks Ehirim, in a press statement had averred thus: ‘’This Council is indeed worried by the donation of 22 18-seater buses by the FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed to the Bauchi State chapter of the PDP. Conservatively, each costs N6.5million. It will interest us to know where the minister got N143million for the buses.’’

But in a surprising move largely seen as demonstration of maturity, Comrade

A

Ehirim later said the Union had absolved the minister of any blame in the bus donation saga. He made this public when the Abuja Council of the Union presented a membership card to the Minister in his office in Abuja.

Comrade Ehirim, who commended the minister for taking the allegation in good faith and with a sense of maturity, noted: “We investigated what he told us and found out that actually those buses were not presented by the Minister himself but by people who are close to him. In this country, some people can even go to the extent of printing posters or purchasing aspiration forms for those they feel should contest elective positions and our investigation proved, just like the Minister explained to us, that those donations did come directly from him.”

“Having found out the truth,” Ehirim added, “we want to use this occasion to make it public that we took our first action based on our professional calling that even if he is one of us, if we felt that certain actions taken were not in conformity with what we believe in, we would still ask questions. Thus, we are calling on other professional bodies in the country to borrow a leaf from the NUJ.” While presenting the membership card

to the Minister, Ehirim stressed that “in our tradition, every journalist ought to have membership card, which is renewable every year and the Minister being number one journalist here, and a very strong member of the FCT Council, we have come to present him with the 2014 membership card.”

Thanking the Union for always being on the side of truth, even as he admonished the media to continue to uphold objectivity in order to make the society better for all, Senator Mohammed said the membership card was very dear to him, as it had re-connected him with his umbilical cord—journalism--which he described as his launching pad.

He commended the Union for being society’s mirror as it is supposed to be, but advised the Nigerian media to desist from using gory pictures from emergency situations, describing such practice as unethical.

As the NUJ noted, the buses in question were donated to the PDP by the minister’s Committee of Friends and not the minister himself. The donation was even made while the minister was in far-away Brazil.

From all intents and purposes, the way and manner the NUJ allowed sense of maturity and justice to prevail in what was obviously a case of misinformation by absolving the minister of any blame smacks

of courage, humility and maturity and is, to be sure, worthy of emulation.

There are lessons to be learnt from this seeming Bala/NUJ tango. Part of the reason Nigeria is currently in the grip of many social is that we are not tolerant enough of each other’s foibles to say a simple sorry when it matters most. We often find it too difficult to swallow our pride and apologize when we have wronged the other person. But, NUT literally apologized and it means a lot As a former journalist, Mohammed himself understood where his colleagues were coming from and rather than fly off the handle when he was confronted with the allegation, he took pains to prove that he was innocent. By this, he demonstrated that even though he could have easily called the Union’s bluff (since he did not do any wrong anyway), it was better to make his colleagues know the truth than for him to throw his weight about.

If you ask me, Senator Mohammed has simply shown that it is possible for public officers to divest themselves from the mentality of invincibility and act like normal human beings—like the rest of us.

•Ochela, a former newspaper editor contributed this piece from Abuja

ARTS TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

21

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TONY OKUYEME tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com okuyemeogom@yahoo.com

Tony Okuyeme or the first time since the inception of the United Dance Organisation Worldwide (UDO) and its annually organized World Street Dance Championship, Nigeria’s flag will be hoisted by qualified Nigerian street dancers. The 9th edition of the championship, which began in 2002, will hold in Glasgow, Scotland from 22nd to 24th of August, 2014.

This prestigious dance championship attracts over 8,000 dancers and spectators from all over the world and Nigeria will be represented for the first time. As is the tradition, all participating dancers whose art promotes street dance, will be competing for the Grand John Enubiak

I

t was an engaging feast for theatre enthusiasts in Lagos penultimate Sunday at Terra Kulture, Thiamiu Savage Street, Victoria Island, with the stage production of Camwood on the Leaves, a radio play by Prof.

Wole Soyinka.

Adapted for the stage by Kenneth Uphopho‘s Performing Arts Workshop & Studios to mark the playwright’s 80th birthday, Camwood on the Leaves is a thought-provoking story of two families, the Olumorin's and the Erinjobi's, who are set on a war path because of their children who have chosen to fall in love. Both families must overcome their differences to see the pain behind the rebellious duo.

The play begins with a prologue; which introduces two families that were set on war path because of their children who have chosen to fall in love with each other, and on the other hand, the fierce disagreement between Erinjobi and his 16-year-old son, Ishola.

Erinjobi is a reverend; he dedicates most of his time to his ministry and spends his valuable days in the church. Erinjobi tries always to instill moral discipline into his only son; Ishola.

But, he was always applying it by force and this made Ishola to

― William Archer

theatre

Nigerian street dancers for world championship in Glasgow

F

"The drama is not dead but liveth, and contains the germs of better things."

title of UDO World Champions. This 2014 edition has a reviewed cash and prize breakdown of over 25,000 British Pounds. Over-18 advanced team winners will go home with 7,500 pounds plus free entry to UDO World Champion jacket for 2015 while runners-up will get 2,500 pounds. Under-18 winners will go home with 1,500 pounds plus UDO World Champion jacket and free entry to UDO World Championship 2015.

The Nigerian delegation will be led by the Director of UDO Nigeria, Mr. Albert Odulate, who will be joined by the production director, Mr. Mufu Onifade, production choreographer, Mr. Muyiwa Osinaike and team manager, Temitope Odulate.

Nigerian dancers in performance

Onifade in a statement said the Nigerian dancers that will participate at the event include, Oluwayemisi Olufojude, Promise Enweribe, Eghonghon Odiley and Ifeoma Efkwu. Others are Jello Abeng, Nkem Ike, Emmanuel Dickson, Gloria Idindun and Odo Obi. According to Mr. Odulate, “Nigeria is presenting a strong team that will showcase the richness of talents that Nigeria can boast of. This is a boost for us, not only at this 9th edition, but to also become a strong feature and competitors to beat at the UDO events for many years to come”.

“Already, the Nigerian participation has been endorsed by Nigerian Government and this is morale-boosting to the dancers who are in high spirit

to hoist Nigerian flag in Glasgow,” Onifade stated.

UDO is an event management company which promotes, stages, and manages street dance events globally with a growing membership of over 30,000 members worldwide. It has successfully hosted 8 street dance championships in various countries.

The championship itself is the largest street dance competition in the world where thousands of street dancers from across the globe gather to test their skills against the very best and be crowned the UDO World Street Champions. The 9th edition is slated for Glasgow in Scotland from August 22 to 24 and will feature Nigeria’s participation for the first time.

In Lagos, Camwood on the Leaves lights stage

never behave modestly both at home and outside.

Olumorin on the other hand is not too religious but always inculcate good morals into his daughter; Morounke.

Ishola and Morounke are childhood friends. When Morounke’s father noticed that the friendship between them was getting too intimate he quickly intervened and warned his daughter to stop seeing Ishola if she doesn’t want to incur his wrath. He also went to Erinjobi and also told him to warn his son to stop seeing his daughter.

Erinjobi immediately warned his son to cut-off every relationship he had to do with Olumo-

rin’s daughter.

The two children however refused to yield to the warning given to them by their parents; instead, they continued with their relationship, which finally ended up with Morounke getting pregnant.

When the Olumorins noticed that their daughter was pregnant for Ishola, they immediately went to the Erinjobi household and broke the news to them. Ishola’s father felt disgraced and humiliated by the action of his son.

While both families are at each other’s neck over the unexpected pregnancy, the young lovers couldn’t care less if the

heat consumed their parents; now living together in their love nest in the forest, they both hold fast to their mutual affection.

And evidently satisfied in their own little universe, they go snail hunting at dusk, chattering happily and content just hearing each other’s voice. Ishola felt comfortable but was always having nightmares which always frightens him.

The Olumorin’s family believed that Ishola had absconded with their daughter despite the atrocity that he has done, and threatened to kill Ishola if he sets his eyes on him. The Olumorins felt that the Erinjobi’s family were taking sides with

their son and had hidden him from them.

The Olumorin’s had already sent search parties to go in search of their daughter. This search was long and successful at the end as they found Morounke in the same forest with Ishola, but could not apprehend him because he had a gun with him. Ishola’s parents and Morounke’s parent were called for in the forest.

Ishola father pleaded with his son to come out and release Morounke. Ishola refused and called his father by name, warning him not to get closer if not he would pull the trigger. Ishola’s father summoned courage and went into the forest to get Morounke and on that verge; Ishola pulled the trigger at his father and killed him.

The story ended on a tragic note. .

In an interview shortly after the performance, Uphopho said directing the play was quite challenging because it was technical. “The play is quite technical. The play was originally written for radio. We adapted it for stage. So you can imagine trying to replicate some of the things that were described, because in stage, you have to see them. So, it took quite an effort to also get some things in place to try and tell the story as best as we could,” he said.

22 ARTS

W

hen Agozie Uzo Ugwu got admission to read Law at the University of Nigeria, his parents, both academics, were highly delighted. Their daughter having read Engineering, and their younger son secured admission to read Medicine; Law was in line with their prayers for young Agozie. Little did they know that he would soon abandon Law, after one year, to pursue his true love – Theatre and Film Studies. Their indignation gave way to resignation and here they are happy again with their enterprising and promising film director, stage producer and script writer all in one.

“For one full year, I studied law and I pulled out to write another JAMB where I filled Theatre and Film Studies. I can remember the first course I did in law was legal methods and I had a B. I was doing well but I had an emptiness in me.

My younger brother had just gone in for medicine, my sister had read engineering and I was to read law but I took that bold step. I did because I saw myself a jobless Lawyer after graduation. I could envision a Lawyer in deep depression trying to fulfil the desires of his parent.

What interested me was not the legal books. When I sat down to read at night, I saw myself reading literature books and writing poems.

I watched films and I went into my room and critiqued it. I wrote critiques of films which I sent to media houses and they did not publish them. Maybe, I understand now, that my language may be too ordinary, but I saw errors in the films. I saw mistakes and poor dialogue in Nigerian movies. It was porous, devoid of statements and dialogues that would last in the mind of the audience, that would make impacts - what they call dramatic line in drama,” Agozie explained.

As an undergraduate of theatre and film studies, Agozie toured secondary schools and villages producing and directing plays. That was his passion for theatre that he couldn’t wait to graduate.

“My first degree was from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. While I was in school, I was touring secondary schools in the area. I also toured Enugu. Right from my very first year in school, they couldn’t do production without me. Not because I was acting but because I was a production planner. I would plan a production, do the publicity, handle the props, get the set, get the light and so they didn’t want me to act but to organize the show for them. Even though I wanted to act, somewhere along the line, I got to know that I am not cut for that. I was better producing or directing and I embraced it.

I left school in 2010 and served at Art Council in Ogun State, where I was also doing productions. After service in 2011, I came to Lagos. I did my first year, post-graduation in Lagos. I was in Port Harcourt, Abuja and some other places, to put up productions.”

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Agozie: With theatre, I’m living a fulfilled life After directing Zulu Sofola’s The Wizard of Law, which was staged at Terra Kulture recently, the young and enterprising CEO of Mosaic Theatre Productions, Agozie Uzo Ugwu is warming up for more actions. In this chat with EBERE AMEH, he speaks extensively on his entrance into theatre, his upcoming events and the future of theatre in Nigeria

A scene from The Wizard of Law

Theatre has not received adequate funding and unless enough fund is available, the audience will continue to dwindle Agozie, who is now a PhD student of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Lagos says he is living a fulfilled life. Having produced, directed and staged many plays across the country, there is no time for wasting time for Agozie, whose burning desire to practise theatre and also explore the efficacy of the art as a veritable tool for the creation of awareness and stimulation of change in the society, led him to the establishment of his own theatre production company – Mosaic Theatre Production.

“My study of theatre is all about identifying my passion and talent and actually rooting for them. I am living a fulfilled life now. I am happy with what I do and that is why I have gone ahead to study it up to PhD. Mosaic Theatre has in view this year to present a play Adamma by Prof Ojo Bakare Rasaki in October at the Terra Kulture. Also on our production plan is the play production of When the Arrow Rebounds a play adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s

Arrow of God by Emeka Nwabueze at the Enugu State Cultural Fiesta come December, 2014.”

Speaking exclusively to New Telegraph on the future of theatre in Nigeria vis-a-vis her counterpart – film, Agozie said, “The future of Nigeria theatre is evidently bright and in the near future I have no doubt that the awareness will be in the public domain.

Theatre is not in competition with film, and as such the issue of it catching up does not come to play. Theatre and film to me have different types of medium in transmission of their arts. Both borders on acting but the medium of conveying the art is quiet distinct and so catching up with each other is out of the equation.

Theatre as a brand has a live experience and magic that the film do not have.”

On the poor attendance to theatres, Agozie assured that the reason is very simple.

His words: “Theatre has not received adequate funding and unless enough fund is available, the audience will

Agozie

continue to dwindle. Nevertheless, the audience is not necessarily poor because anytime there is fairly adequate funding, the turn up is always very high,” he observed.

Comparing Yoruba and Igbo theatre, the enterprising producer said, “The Yoruba theatre before and after the time of Hubert Ogunde has been widely popularised in Nigeria but that does

not mean the Igbo theatre is dead. Theatre is theatre irrespective of the culture giving impetus to it or the source from where the material for theatrical performance is being taken from. The Igbo and many cultural sensibilities of the south-south and other regions in Nigeria in my opinion have also received recognition in the theatre,” he intoned.

MOM&PARENTING

NEW TELEGRAPH

23

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OLUWATOSIN OMONIYI oluwatosin.omoniyi@newtelegraphonline.com tosin042001@yahoo.com

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

Watch that child in boarding school Watching our children grow up to school age is exciting. But seeing them attain secondary or higher institution age is more fascinating. That is because they are nearing the maturity age and becoming intellectually aware. It is therefore imperative for parents to be mindful of the moral aspect of education and the schools where their wards obtain their education. We should also be conscious that some schools could be the nursery of all vices and immorality.

OLUWATOSIN OMONIYI writes

T

eachers are believed to be impactful on children, not only academically but moral wise.

What then can be said in the case of boarding house students, who are fast derailing from the path of moral, unto that of embarrassment, with the system getting careless about them and their welfare?

Anuoluwa Anjorin is a typical example of a morally loose child. An SS3 student of a government secondary school somewhere in Lagos, she is a lesbian and a petty thief. A trait, the parents said, she didn’t exhibit at home and throughout her primary school days. “If what the guardian counsellors are saying is true about my daughter, then, it is their fault.

She picked up that character here in the school,’ said, her heartbroken mother. The school authorities went berserk, insisting it is a trait that has been with the girl. The parents probably didn’t notice. She came from home to school with it. “School is like a showcase, where children come to display both academic and moral properties,” the house matron said. The Matron added that this particular Anjorin has been a pain in the neck for both teachers and authorities. She was allegedly sneaking out of school for parties always. She was also alleged to always intimidate pretty girls in junior classes to become her lovers. “The parents cannot say she learnt those bullying attitude and evil acts here in the school.

Here, we not only concentrate on the academic performance of these chil-

Secondary school girls acting lesbianism

Makarfi

Uguru

dren, we also make the moral teachings as part of the curriculum for the girls,” said the matron.

Betty Manko, an SS1 student of St. Loius Catholic girls Secondary School, Jos Plateau State became an ex-convict because of her crime in school. She inserted candle in place of penis into her lover’s private part.

Manko was said to be in the act of various sexual activities with her fellow female students inside the hostel.

On this fateful day, her mates said, as usual, she tied a curtain called

“Asewo curtain” around her bunk and sexual moans were coming out through the curtain. A habit they said, tempt most of them into the acts. Suddenly, a sharp cry came out “Oh, it’s painful, please bring it out quick.” When the cry became more hysterical, pandemonium broke out as other students rushed there and saw blood rushing out of her private part. The hostel matron rushed to the scene of the incident and from there, to the hospital.

In an all boys school, homosexu-

PHOTO: www.kanyiokeke

ality is an order of the day at their tender age. What will one say in the case of Joseph Amatsu, 15, of a day and boarding boy secondary school somewhere in Benue State. For now, Amatsu is cooling off at one of the police stations for brutalising his classmate, who refused his sexual advances. As a matter of fact, he was said to be attempting to rape him and in the course of the struggle that ensued between them, he injured his mate in the left eye. At JSS 3, he has become very active. Even his bodily features says it all. He talks and behaves like a bully. He confessed to getting initiated into the act from his JSS1 days by his house master, who also got initiated by one of the teachers. Little wonder, Amatsu can dare even his seniors and go unpunished. Teachers, house masters and seniors are involved; hence, they commit their atrocities with impunity.

However, lesbianism and homosexuality are not the only ill traits of boarding schools. There are the issues of bullying, neglect and other moral decadents. One of such case is the issue of the son of a female journalist in Abuja. Her son had been sick for couple of days in the boarding school he attended but the school auCONTINUED ON PAGE 24

24

MOM&PARENTING

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nine ways to tell which of your children is guilty

K

ids get into trouble, but they don’t like to be in trouble, so they’ll try and avoid being caught as best they can. And if you’ve got a few little ones, it can get a little tricky trying to figure out who done it in any situation.

Luckily, the guilty child usually incriminates himself with his own words (or lack thereof) and actions.

It’s adorable really, watching them try and play innocent, but here are a few telltale signs that help point out which child is truly the offending sibling. The child that is caught red-handed.

One of the most obvious ways to figure out who is in the wrong is by looking at the evidence. Kids are not the best at covering their tracks, and chances are that the one who ate all the cupcakes is the one with frosting all over her face.

• The child that is being oddly silent.

Typically your children are talking over each other in hopes of being heard — so if one of your chatterboxes suddenly has absolutely nothing to say, then you’ve found your culprit.

• The child that has come up with a wildly unbelievable explanation.

Sometimes the responsible party has a completely outlandish story to accompany why something has occurred. Crystal vase shattered?

Maybe the neighbor’s bird broke into the house, and while it was trying to get out, it flew into the vase and broke it.

• The child that is instantly

blaming the other one.

• The guilty party is quick to blame the other person, even if the other party is physically hurt or nowhere near the scene of the crime.

• The child that starts crying out of nowhere.

One of my children breaks down into tears as soon as I ask the who done it question. Poor kid, gets him every time.

• The child that is avoiding eye

contact.

Your guilty child most likely is looking anywhere but at you.

• The child that is overly adamant that it was not him.

If your kid says, “No! No, no, no. It definitely wasn’t me, mom. I would never do something like that . . . Nope, not me.” You’ve got your guilty party.

• The child that is saying, “I love you” a lot.

If one of your children starts off the conversation with “Mommy, I really love you,” then chances are you’ve found your culprit.

• The child that just looks guilty.

Sometimes it’s as easy as one look. You know your kids, which mean you probably can just tell which child is responsible just by looking at them.

• Culled from www.circle of moms.

Teen confesses to molesting and raping orphans during missionary trip

M

atthew Durham may have just earned the title of worst person alive. During a missionary trip to Africa, the 19-year-old raped and molested several children at the orphanage where he volunteered.

According to reports, Durham confessed to raping young girls, forcing boys to perform oral sex on him, and even making other kids watch. The victims are reportedly between the ages of 4 and 9 years old, and at least one is HIV positive. Durham has been volunteering at the orphanage for the past two years, but it was during his last visit that suspicions grew.

“A caretaker at the orphanage noticed something wasn’t right and confronted Mr. Durham,” United States Attorney Sanford Coats tell KTLA. Though Durham admitted to some of the acts, his lawyer, Steve Jones, claims that the teen was not

in control of the situation. According to Jones, Durham’s despicable actions were the result of “pseudo-

tribal psychological voodoo practiced on him.” Call us crazy, but we’re not buying that theory for a second.

Father takes matters into his own hands after son’s sexual abuse

D

on’t come between a parent and someone who is harming their child. After walking in on a man sexually abusing his son, a Daytona Beach, FL, father called the cops and proceeded to beat the alleged abuser, Raymond Frolander, within an inch of his life. Authorities arrived at the house and found the 18-year-old lying motionless on the floor with bruises on his face and blood coming from his mouth.

Frolander was taken into custody and admitted to abusing the boy, who was under the age of 12. At

Frolander

this point, no charges have been filed against the boy’s father.

Moral upbringing: Checking the influence on your child C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 3

thorities didn’t deem it fit to inform the parents on time about the boy’s illness. By the time they informed the mother of the boy’s illness in the morning and she flew in from Abuja to rush the boy to a hospital, he died on the way. Painful, one would say.

Daluchukwu Ozowalu, an SS1 student of St. Gregory school, was battered by his mate based on the instruction of the games master. Ozowalu complained of tiredness, as such, he could not continue with the days Physical Education, PE, game going on. The game master simply instructed one of the students to stand up and bite Ozowalu all over the body with his teeth. Shockingly and disappointingly, the school authorities did nothing about it nor treat the boy. The boy put a call through to his parents, who rushed to the school. Upon inquiry, the boy alleged that the school sick bay refused to treat him, asking him to go slug it out with his mates on the field. The few above mentioned cases are some of the nefarious activities

going on in some of the boarding schools, a sign that parents are failing or have failed in their duties to their children. Expert say it’s not fair for parents to relegate their responsibilities to the school authorities. Moral upbringing according to the experts, is a continuous process of life. Based on these, a police commander withdrew his son from a college in Ondo State. His grouse and fear was that most of the cases he handled of recent are associated with bullying, gay and lesbian cases.

“Most annoying is that, most of the students perpetuating these crimes are children of the rich and occur in most private boarding schools,” he said.

Fadeke Uguru, educational consultant, told New Telegraph that she agrees with parents withdrawing their children from boarding houses on moral grounds and for two main reasons. “It is important that the moral beliefs of the school align with the parents’ beliefs. That’s the foremost thing to check before putting a child in a school,” she said.

The second reason she gave is that, parents of a child in the boarding house should have a contact person who will keep the parents aware of the child’s behaviour. Those things can be a bit difficult to confirm. “It would take considerable effort to confirm these things.

Uguru pointed out the issue of peer pressure makes boarding house a morally difficult ground.

She explained that boarding schools are difficult because people come from different backgrounds and there are many opportunities for a child to be influenced negatively.

Instead of boarding schools, she advised parents to let their children stay at home and go to school because the teenage years are so delicate. “It is important that the right attitudes are imparted into the children at this level,” she stated.

Uguru also pointed the society as another contributing factor to moral decadence of the children and youths at large. “That’s the more reason they should attend school from home, so that the parents can combat the nega-

tive effects of the society on them.

Being at home, the parents can see changes in the children and deal with it immediately,” she urged.

Myles Makarfi, an expert on parenting, said most children in boarding schools are still of moldable characters. As such, they shouldn’t be encouraged to be left on their own in the name of going to school. According to him, children most advised to attend boarding schools shouldn’t be weak-willed, gullible and low self esteemed. Rather, they should have the right sense of judgment and a healthy self esteem value. He, however, advised parents to investigate the history of the school and check out the disciplinary process. “They should also put into consideration the school value,” he said.

Makarfi pointed out that government has a role to play in helping to mould the youths, who turn out to be the nation’s leader. He advised them to enforce child rights law, and include into school curriculums, books that bothers on morality, “Education without character is a disaster”.

BUSINESS Tuesday, JULY 29, 2014

What's news IPMAN reconciliation stalemates The on-going reconciliation of two factions of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) stalemated at the weekend.

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FG reads riot act to IOCs over expatriate quota violation Some of the international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the country still violate Nigeria’s law on expatriate quota, the Federal Government has said.

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Nebo under fire over 10,000 MW claim, traffic rule violation Electricity labour unions have descended heavily on the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, over his claims that the country would generate 10,000 Mega Watts of electricity by December, describing such statement as deceit of the highest order.

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Ikoyi-VI Model City Plan pushes for high-rise, multi-level parking If the final draft of the revised IkoyiVictoria Island Model City Plan (2013 – 2033) is finally adopted by stakeholders, Lagos as a city will definitely witness more high-rise and multi-level parkings in the next 20 years.

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BUSINESS CREW AYODELE AMINU, Deputy Editor (Business) Simeon Ogoegbulem, Dep. Business Editor BAYO AKOMOLAFE, Asst. Editor (Maritime) SUNDAY OJEME, Asst. Editor (Insurance) SIAKA MOMOH, Asst. Editor (Industry/Agric) Godson ikoro , Asst. Editor (Money Market) JONAH IBOMA, ICT Editor DAYO ADEYEMI, Property Editor ADEOLA YUSUF, Energy Editor

25 NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

One week, three crashes: Airline fatalities worst since 2010 }p-37

ayodele aminu, Deputy Editor, business

ayodele.aminu@newtelegraphonline.com ayodeleaminu@yahoo.com

Fresh polemic over fixed electricity charge reversal order BICKERING NERC and DISCOs have disagreed over new conditions for power charges review

for power outages should pass across the entire value chain.

Director of Eko Disco, Ernest Orji, also said that the order is difficult to implement as the Discos do not yet have statistical meters to determine such claims from consumers. “In our submission, we argue that

there should be a new structure for Service Charge (SC) and no more fixed charges (FC) so that a percentage of supply is given as compensation to consumer or exempt them from paying the SC for that period.

Abimbola Odubiyi of the Abuja Disco argued that the

order will encourage the culture of consumers not paying their bills. He urged NERC to look into the order to ensure sustenance of market financial progress and extending the rule to the TCN, Gencos and gas CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

James Nwabueze Abuja

F

resh controversy has engulfed the power sub sector as Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) disagreed with electricity distribution companies (Discos) over the order to revise conditions for fixed charge.

While NERC maintained that the order was made following complaints by customers on irregular electricity supply with agitation on the cost of providing such service arising from the MYTO 2, some of the Discos insisted that the order came without due consultations with operators.

NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, had said that the order to reverse the conditions for the Fixed Charge was made following complaints by customers on irregular electricity supply with agitations on the cost of providing such service, arising from the MYTO 2.

He said: “NERC issued an order with ‘Order No: NERC/ FC 133’ dated 1st May, 2014 directing that a customer who has not received continuous or cumulative electricity supply for a period of 15 days in a month shall not be required to pay the Fixed Charge, provided that the disruption is not due to non-payment of electricity bills or customers action.”

But the Enugu Disco, represented by its AGM, Regulatory Affairs, Reuben Okoye, submitted that the order was made without due consultations with the operators and that outages are not caused by Discos fault alone as some may arise from transmission or generation failures.

Okoye said that it is difficult to independently determine customers that had power outages in a period and that the penalty

L-R: Executive Director, Technical, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Mrs Folashade Onanuga; Executive Director, Finance and Investment, Dr. Adekunle Wright; Director-General, Mr Rotimi Hussain and Mrs Adeola Adeleke, during the presentation of best Contributry Pension Scheme-compliant state won by Lagos State, in Abuja.

Why state-owned airlines failed,

by Ethiopian airline chief Seeks African skies' liberalisation

EXTINCTION The secret is not in the ownership, whether private or government, but management

Wole Shadare

T

he failure of state-owned airlines such as Air Afrique, Nigeria Airways and Ghana Airways, has been attributed to quandary and mismanagement of the carriers, which were once the pride of Africa.

This was the submission of

the Managing Director, Ethiopian Airways International Services, Esayas Woldemariam Hailu, who spoke to New Telegraph on the sidelines of a press briefing at the weekend in Lagos.

He was reacting to insinuations that these airlines could possibly have died due to the fact that they were government as against public ownership.

Hailu said: “Ownership is not the question. There are so many private airlines, which came and fade away and there were government-owned national carriers also in other parts of the world that have survived and thrived.”

“For example, when we take the case of Ethiopian Airlines, 9/11, SARS, energy price hike; at least two domestic evolutions: the toppling of Monarchy in Ethiopia and the toppling of the military junta in Ethiopia, Ethiopia-Eritrean war, all these were obstacles that were survived by Ethiopian Airlines.

“The secret is not in the ownership, whether private or government. If it is squandered or mismanaged, it will be no more. So, it is a matter of diligent management. When it comes to Ethiopian Airlines, government has given the manCONTINUED ON PAGE 26

WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor Abdulwahab Isa, Finance Editor Chuks Onuanyin, Energy Nnamdi Amadi, Reporter JOHNSON ADEBAYO, Asst. Production Editor

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE June 2014................................8.2% May 2014....................................8% April 2014.................................7.9%

LENDING RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at July 25)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N169 InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . 10.50% Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N288.50 Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N228 Maximum Lending Rate..25.83% • Foreign Reserves – $38.942bn as at 24/07/2014

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at July 25)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N156.73 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N265.95 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N210.87 Source: CBN

26 business | news DIVIDED IPMAN has failed to meet Federal Government’s one week ultimatum to resolve leadership crisis Adeola Yusuf

T

he on-going reconciliation of two factions of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) stalemated at the weekend.

The Presidency, which masterminded the reconciliation, has been unable to end the leadership crisis within a week as ordered penultimate week, as reported by New Telegraph.

Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, has called for a meeting with the two factions of the fuel marketers association, but checks revealed that the meeting could not hold.

A faction of IPMAN did not show up and this made the reconciliation to be put on hold.

“The meeting scheduled for Wednesday (last week) was aborted as the Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo-led faction failed to show up for the parley,” a source at the meeting told our correspondent.

“Instead, they wrote a letter to the minister of labour, who the Presidency directed to find a lasting solution to the problem, alleging that the minister is bias against them. The entire team, including Managing Director

IPMAN reconciliation stalemates  Faction shuns minister’s resolution meeting NNPC GMD, SSS, NUPENG, Police kept waiting of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), NUPENG leadership, security operatives, the police and State Security Service (SSS), all waited in vain for them.

“Their letter was read to all, including the other group represented by Obasi and its executive who were at the meeting.

Pasali signed the letter.

“Both government delegation and Chief Obasi Lawsonled IPMAN members left afterwards with the minister promising that the issue will be reported to those who sent him,” he said.

The crisis rocking IPMAN had degenerated with a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja giving an order restraining one of the factional presidents, Chief Obasi Lawson, from activities of the association.

The Justice Valentine Ashiled Court, which also bared Lawson from going near the national headquarters of the association, insisted that the order stands pending the determination of another case before the Port Harcourt High Court.

In a suit number: FCT/HC/ CV/1479/2014, the court ordered that the defendant, “whether by himself, his servants or agents,

Fresh polemic over fixed electricity charge reversal order C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 5

suppliers in the case of similar defaults.

National Vice President of National Associations of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Alhaji Sanusi Maijama, gave an instance of the electricity bills payment.

He said: “If one million consumers pay the N750 FC monthly, then they are paying N750 billion to the Discos for doing nothing. I have said earlier that if there is efficient service and every consumer pays his bill, government can generate much revenue than the oil sector.”

Equally, representative of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Okpe Sunday Adejoh, said that over 95 per cent of industries in Idu industrial area of Abuja have

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

cut off from grid electricity over incessant outages.

He argued that the 15 days outage penalty period is not enough for consumers as a day of outage means huge loss, adding that Discos should consult with Gencos and the transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) to share such penalties as the FC they collect monthly is also shared among them.

Amadi concluded that the Commission will consider the submissions, which he summarised into: expunging the order, keeping it, and/or revising the order to make for clarity.

Referring stakeholders to the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005, Amadi said: “Discos should note that recouping their investment as entrenched is dependent upon performance and anything short of that will mean cheating on electricity consumers.”

by whatever name called and however described, is hereby retrained from further interfering with or doing anything directly or indirectly, which is capable of impending the smooth administration, management and control of the affairs of IPMAN nation-wide, by the plaintiffs hereof, as its national executive officers and

L-R: Kevin Chinonso, car winner; Emeka Collins, Zonal sales Dealer, Star Times, Alliagbor Abass and Primary Technical Engineer, Mr Ogbemudia Godday, at the car presentation to the star prize winner in the on-going Extra-Time promo in Abuja.

FG reads riot act to IOCs over expatriate quota violation SCORECARD NCDMB has given reasons for inability to meet some targets since 2011 Adeola Yusuf

S

ome of the international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the country still violate Nigeria’s law on expatriate quota, the Federal Government has said.

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Ernest Nwapa, who said this at

Why state-owned airlines failed, by Ethiopian airline chief C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 5

agement of the airline 100 per cent autonomy to run the company with industry discipline in economic sense. The only thing they request at the end of the year is to show them the numbers; our performance,” he added.

Hailu stated that any company that is in Africa, be it private or government that has hardworking workforce, diligent management, prudent, cost and customer service will succeed.

Giving insight into what made Ethiopian Airlines the

most profitable airline in Africa, the airline chief said that the Ethiopian government, being the shareholders emboldens aircraft manufacturing countries to give the airline guaranty on aircraft financing.

He explained that when they import aircraft from the United States, aircraft giant, Boeing and the American Exim Bank scrutinize the airline’s track records and its credit worthiness before they assist them in financing their equipment.

“Because we are 100 per cent government owned, we don’t sell shares; we are not listed, so,

the plaintiffs shall forthwith take possession of and have unimpeded access to the offices of the national secretariat of IPMAN located at No 41, Eyadema Street, Asokoro within jurisdiction.”

In the case brought by Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, Alhaji Abubakar Maigari Shettima and nine others, the court

also restrained the defendant, “from taking any step or doing anything that is capable of prejudicing the hearing and determination of the pending case at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt.”

IPMAN’s former National President, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadri, had earlier stepped down following leadership crisis rocking the association.

AbduIkadri agreed to step down due to the lingering crisis over tenure elongation within the association.

we cannot trade cash. But we operate year to year and we make profit. We pay our principals and interests on time. So, we are self-financed airline. We finance our fleet from our annual operational profit, from our revenue, from our own cash flow.”

He reiterated that the carrier had deliberately created four hubs in the whole of Africa to enable it feed traffic into its major hub in Addis Ababa through ASKY, a sub regional airline that has 22 destinations with the siphoning of all the traffic and feeding Ethiopian at different locations.

a function in Lagos, noted that this is one of the setbacks for the Nigeria Content Act. The Act stipulates that expatriates (foreigners) must not be employed for a work which Nigerians have available expertise on.

Preaching a drastic reduction in the expatriate quota, the Act also stipulates that in a situation where there is a work which only an expatriate worker has expertise on, proper application and notification should be made to government through the NCDMB, which will thereafter approve on behalf of government.

But the NCDMB Executive Secretary, who was represented by a top management staff of the agency, Rotimi Olagbayi, insisted that some of the companies still violate this provision.

Although he did not mention names of the defaulters, he reiterated his commission’s commitment to apportion appropriate sanctions on them.

“The target we set in 2011 has recorded improvements.

The local content is now contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since we began in 2011 and we have, based on this, concluded plans to establish more conducive environment for easy implementation. Those who default will be duly addressed,” he said.

Besides the violation of Ni-

gerian Content Development Act, the success recorded by the NCDMB had been punctuated by court cases.

Government’s aspiration to get a boost for $5 billion local content investments in Nigeria has been subjected to threats by cases such as the on-going court cases on Chevron’s oil blocks, and the one between Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) and Samsung/Total.

While the Chevron’s case is delaying investments of about $1 billion, Total/Samsung and Ladol are at war over a $3.8 billion Egina oil platform project.

“These court cases, no doubts, have effects on local contents investments,” an NCDMB source had earlier told New Telegraph.

“We only hope that the court adjudicate on the matters and dispense justice fast so that the investments that are on hold as a result of the cases can be made,” he said.

The lingering disagreement between Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) and Samsung/Total over a $3.8 billion Egina oil platform project had taken fresh twist, as the plaintiff - LADOL, accused Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), of breaching an earlier ruling by Justice Chukwu Jeku Aneke of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, that parties maintain the status quo pending the determination of the suite.

27

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Electricity transformer. Inset: Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo

RESIGN NOW Labour leaders have called for the sack of the minister of power Stories by Adeola Yusuf

E

lectricity labour unions have descended heavily on the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, over his claims that the country would generate 10,000 Mega Watts of electricity by December, describing such statement as deceit of the highest order.

This came just as Lagos residents asked the minister to resign for driving against traffic during his visit to Apapa in the metropolis last week.

Nebo had, last Thursday, committed the act in Lagos as his convoy drove against traffic during his visit to Apapa Wharf to receive 248 power equipment containers abandoned there 11 years ago.

A resident of Apapa, Dimeji Adeoye, said that the minister should be sacked for his conduct.

“That day I was passing by and there was no traffic at all, but I saw the convoy of the minister driving against traffic for a distance of about 12 kilometers. These are supposed to be leaders. In other climes, nobody does that and goes scot free,” he said.

“He should resign for breaking the rule or he should be tried for such a conduct against the Nigerian constitution,” he submitted.

The minister had told a delegation from India that the Federal Government would, next month, summon a forum

Nebo under fire over 10,000 MW claim, traffic rule violation of all electricity distribution and generation companies, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian Electricity Management Liability Company (NEMLC) and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, to fashion out how to achieve the target of 10,000MW. But President, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, Mr Bede Opara, expressed surprise at what the minister was thinking when he made such claims.

The 10,000MW target, Opara said, was difficult to achieve.

“What is giving him (min-

ister) that confidence? If it is about the new projects that are on ground and whether the new ones are going to be inaugurated before then, we will cross our fingers and watch.

“Unless he is talking about the new power stations that are going to be inaugurated; but for the old ones taken over by the investors, I am yet to know of any that has been rehabilitated to produce that kind of power,” he said.

Secretary-General, Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, Mr Joe Ajaero, said that Nebo should be ready to step aside if government

failed to achieve the feat.

He said: “I have stopped reacting to such comments, but I expect the minister to tell Nigerians that he will resign if 10,000MW is not achieved.

This is because we now have a minister who operates on the pages on newspapers and not really in the power plants and the transmission lines to make sure that Nigerians have stable power supply.

“So, I will comment if he should say that he is going to resign by December if power fails to hit 10,000MW. I challenge him to come out with that statement because those

are political statements, especially as we countdown to the elections.

“Some of us are not carried away by such statements. Is it based on the availability of gas? Is it based on the enhanced transmission network? Is it based on the refurbished distribution network? What is he basing his analysis of giving Nigerians 10,000MW on? Is he talking of sustainable 10,000MW? Government has not done enough work; if it has done enough to get us 20,000MW, then we can talk of 10,000MW in December.”

FG targets 2.6m barrels daily oil production OPTIMISTIC First quarters’ crude oil output hits 2.26m barrels per day

T

he Federal Government has reviewed the success of its fight against crude theft and pipeline vandalisms, stating that the country’s crude production could reach 2.6 million barrels with the on-going clamp down on oil thieves.

Currently, Nigeria produces 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd).

Nigerian National Petro-

leum Corporation (NNPC), which, in a statement on its website, described this as a restoration effort, maintained that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is taking the fight against crude theft with more vigour.

Group Managing Director, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, the statement noted, said that the country’s oil production was presently at over 2.3 million bpd and is expected to rise further as government clamps down on oil theft and sabotage attacks on production facilities.

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had earlier said that crude oil production has averaged 2.26 million barrels

per day in the first quarter of this year, bolstering the country’s economic growth rate to 6.21 per cent.

According to data released by the NBS, oil output was 30,000 bpd lower than average production of 2.29 million bpd in the corresponding period of last year, but it was higher than the 1.87 million bpd at the end of 2013.

“As a result, the growth rate of real GDP was recorded at 6.21 per cent in the first quarter in 2014, higher than 4.45 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013,” said the NBS. This shows that there is a slight improvement in oil out-

put by 1.76 per cent (140,346 thousand bpd) in the first quarter of the year.

But Yakubu said that the country’s oil production was expected to rise further as government clamps down on oil theft and sabotage attacks on production facilities.

Oil is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy.

But large scale theft and security challenges currently faced by the country have prevented Nigeria from producing up to its optimum estimated capacity of 3.2 million bpd, as well as depriving the country of an estimated amount of N966 billion ($6billion) annual revenue.

28 business | ENERGY OBSTACLE Non-passage of the bill retards the growth of the industry Adeola Yusuf

T

he seventh National Assembly has been urged to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the expiration of their tenure, which would end in less than one year.

Group President, DIVCON Engineering, Andy Ikhekide, made this call at the 10th anniversary of his company in Ota, Ogun State.

He maintained that the passage of PIB would be one of the greatest legacies, which the present National Assembly could leave behind.

The bill is currently under discussion before the parliament in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer.

Meanwhile, Ikhekide, who was passionate about the development of the oil and gas sector, disclosed that the nonpassage of the bill is a big hurdle to the aspiration of government and the operators to move the industry forward.

“The seventh National Assembly should quickly pass the PIB. They would have set a legacy as Nigerians who are

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Expert tasks NASS on PIB passage patriotic if this is done,” he said.

This, according to him, is “as a result of what the country will gain if the bill is passed. In the same vein, the banks should invest in longterm funds for research and development.”

Stating that Nigeria as a nation has abundant gas resources, the DIVCON boss wondered why the country is still suffering power generation woes.

“We have over 184 trillion cubic feet of gas. It takes a few nations in the world to have these abundant resources. It is, however, a serious issue that we still operate a generator economy as a country. We should make sure that the right thing is done to ensure efficient power supply,” he said.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke, had earlier said in a statement released by the Nigerina National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that the proposed changes to the oil industry are designed to increase exploration and development activities by creating a more competitive environment.

Nigeria has long planned a thorough overhaul of its oil industry, encompassing every-

thing from tax rates, environmental laws to the structure of the country’s state-owned oil company, but the bill has stoked controversy and drawn strong criticism from the oil sector.

Uncertainty over the bill’s passage has already taken its toll on the industry.

Last year, Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources said that the country’s reserves had fallen to 36.5 billion barrels from 37 billion barrels in 2010 as a result of a slowdown in investment linked to uncertainty over the bill.

The landmark legislation intended to reform Nigeria’s oil sector is said to introduce harsh fiscal terms that could deter $109 billion worth of new investment in the coming years, according to Nigeria’s oil industry trade body - Oil Producers’ Trade Section of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.

The bill, according to the group, would make Nigeria one of the harshest investment climates in the world, said Mark Ward, head of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (XOM)

Nigerian unit in a presentation given.

Ward was speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Oil Producers’ Trade Section of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.

According to the presentation, the unfavourable fiscal terms would result in Nigeria’s oil production hitting a plateau of about 3 million barrels a day around 2016 and then start to decline as $109 billion in planned new investment would no longer be economically feasible.

Firm seeks FG’s partnership on renewable energy COMMENDATION Government’s efforts to resuscitate rural electrification have been lauded

A

private sector-led initiative - PAWA 774, said at the weekend that it would seek the partnership of the Federal Government to deploy 10MW of clean, renewable energy power plants in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

The company, which said this in a statement, also commended the government’s announced plans to power rural communities nationwide with renewable energy.

Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, had affirmed that government would deploy a three-phase programme utilizing solar, wind and biomass energy to power hundreds of rural communities that have groped around in darkness for decades.

“We have quietly been implementing our vision to power hard-to-reach communities with Nigeria’s abundant, renewable energy sources,” said Professor Olurinde Lafe, a founding partner of the PAWA774 initiative.

“We are therefore highly encouraged by the minister of power’s plans to bring this all-important resource to Nigerians who have been off the power grid for generations and offer our support to realize the

dream of constant, sustainable power for all Nigerians.”

The statement claimed that since 2012, PAWA774 has run a renewable energy plan that aims to provide about 8,000MW of clean power to Nigerians over the next five years, through communityowned power plant franchises.

Through the PAWA774 initiative, entrepreneurs will be trained to operate modern electrical power plants running on renewable energy fuels derived from solar, wind, hydro and biomass sources.

These “pawapreneurs”, will prosper in the emerging vibrant renewable energy sector and contribute meaningfully towards the expansion of clean power generation in Nigeria.

“Our renewable energy training programme, certified by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, is available to those who wish to enter this sector,” Lafe said.

“PAWA774 also has the capacity to design and operate each power plant so that it is optimised and most sensible for the specific community, protecting its environment and building the local economy.”

PAWA774 is a unique distributed power generation model and the first of its kind in Nigeria. The power plants are built in small clusters interconnected to a local, smart micro-grid mesh coupled with a ubiquitous community energy storage system. The result is interruptible supply of power to the nation, one community at a time.

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Laah Yakubu, presenting a trophy to Imo State contestants who won the 2014 NNPC Annual National Quiz Competition at the corporation's headquarters in Abuja.

PHOTO: Anthony Iguza

Activists move to end corruption in oil sector James Nwabueze Abuja

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ctivists under the auspices of Social Development Integrated Center (SocialAction) have said that the country needs to move from the level of transparency to accountability so as to end corruption in the oil and gas sector.

The group made this call in Abuja at the opening ceremony of its international conference with the theme "Beyond transparency: Oil and the crisis of democratic governance in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea."

The conference is aimed at identifying prospects for innovative synergies between the different transparency initiatives and extractive sector and economic development agendas in Africa so as to promote a more robust and coherent regulatory framework in turbulent political environments

such as Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the Director, SocialAction and Coordinator, Gulf of Guinea Citizens Network (GGCN), Dr. Isaac Osuoka, noted that the reports made by National Extractive Industry Initiative (NEITI) and other bodies set up by government has exposed monumental infraction resulting in the dispossession of the public treasury.

Stating that transparency cannot be an end in itself, Osuoka added that the dominant justification for promoting transparency discourse and the principles, is that its implementation would bring about reversal of the negative social impact of mineral extraction such as looting of public revenues.

"It is evident that transparency cannot be an end in itself.

There has to be the recognition that transparency is concomitant with democracy and national development goals" he

added.

Fielding questions from newsmen, chairman, governing board, National Human Right Commission of Nigeria, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, said: "We can be transparently autocratic or transparently corrupt. The proposal is that we move from transparency to accountability.

"Accountability requires citizen sectors that work; it requires a bureaucracy administration that works; it requires a judiciary that takes its job seriously with legal professionals that are capable. Do we have them? If we don’t, how do we create those capabilities?”

The conference, which drew participants from the civil society organisations, academia, policy makers and the media both nationally and internationally, also has among its objectives, to examine the interconnection between transparency and human security regionally and globally.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

N8.22trn oil revenue: NEITI indicts states ACCUSATION States misappropriate public funds with dubious laws Stories by Adeola Yusuf

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he N8.22 trillion crude oil revenues that accrued to state governments in Nigeria in four years was allegedly misappropriated with dubious laws, the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has said.

Its Executive Secretary, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said this in a remark at the launch of a study by Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).

She maintained that NEITI had in its recent audit of crude oil revenue accrued to state governments in Nigeria within 2007 and 2011, discovered that N8.22 trillion was paid out to states from the federation account.

The study conducted by the TUGAR located within the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) indicated that instances of fiscal indiscipline remained prevalent among states in the country.

Before the report, TUGAR had collectively coordinated the activities of all Federal Government anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria with technical coverage extended to the

OFF TARGET Seplat achieved first-half average oil production of 27,375 barrels per day, against 27,183 in 2013

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igerian upstream oil operator, Seplat Petroleum Development Company has blamed lower revenue for the drop in its half-year profit.

The company’s half-year pre-tax profit fell to $156 million, down 26 per cent from $210 million a year earlier.

In its first interim report following a debut $500 million IPO in April, the Nigerian firm reported that its gross revenue also dropped seven per cent to $388 million during the period to June 30.

Seplat achieved first-half average oil production of 27,375 barrels per day, against 27,183 barrels per day in 2013 and plans to invest around $250 million in 2014.

Head of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema, had said that a stock market debut by oil and gas firm, Seplat, in Lagos and London, is likely to unleash a round of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Nigeria after they stalled in the wake of a 2008 financial crisis.

More oil and gas listings, Onyema said on the side-line of Africa Investment Summit, are to follow Seplat’s, which

L-R: Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Ernest Nwapa and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the ministers visit to NCDMB headquarters at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, recently.

activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), NEITI and possibly the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF).

Coordinator of TUGAR, Lilian Ekeanyanwu, said that the legal regulations, practices and implementation of anti-corruption measures in the management of states’ public finance

were still poor.

She said: “Implementation of contents of existing reform laws on the same public finance was still very slow without the required political will from the state governors.

“Five out of the 10 states that were covered in the study had enacted public procurement and fiscal responsibility laws but with inconsistent implementation while none of the 10 states has a functional audit

law to guide their public finance expenditure.”

She also noted that the five other states did not have any modern public procurement or fiscal responsibility law but are seen to be making attempts to adopt the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which the Federal Government implements in its public expenditure cycle, without necessary laws and institutional frameworks.

Why Seplat’s half-year profit fell would help tackle the sector’s under-representation on the Exchange.

The sector, the NSE helmsman told Reuters, currently makes up just 2.6 per cent of market capitalisation versus 14 per cent of Nigeria’s newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

After Seplat, the sector will made up 5.9 per cent of the bourse.

Seplat had raised $500 million in its IPO and listed its shares in Lagos and London on April 14. The offering gave Seplat a market capitalisation of $1.9 billion.

None of the foreign oil majors such as Shell (RDSa.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) that have been operating in Nigeria for decades is listed. Only local firms, Oando (OANDO.LG), Forte Oil (FO.LG), Conoil (CONOIL.LG) and now Seplat, have listings.

Heavyweight cement producer, Dangote Cement (DANGCEM.LG) accounts for a third of the Nigerian bourse, followed by the banking sector NGSEBNK10, collectively making up 15 per cent.

Seplat’s IPO was the first major IPO in the market since the

2008 burst.

IPOs dried up after a 2008 crash wiped over 60 per cent off the NSE stock market’s capitalisation. The index .NGSEINDEX has since recovered, gaining 35 per cent in 2012 and 47 per cent in 2013, but IPOs are yet to resume.

The market was down six per cent in the first quarter, which Onyema attributed to the tapering of quantitative easing in the United States, volatile emerging market currencies and Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, which had led to some pullback from foreign investors.

Eko Disco to customers: Don’t harass our staff

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he Eko Electricity Distribution Company has decried the spate of harassment and violent attacks of its staff on official duty in some communities in recent time.

A statement from the company’s Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Godwin Idemudia, said that the company would no longer tolerate any act of molestation, harassment or violent attacks perpetrated by anybody or group of people against its staff while performing their legitimate duties.

He said that some individuals and communities have formed the habit of attacking

EKEDC staff to evade payment of electricity bill or disconnection for non-payment.

Idemudia cited the instance of a retired Army officer in Iba area under the company’s Festac Business District, who attempted to shoot one of the company’s staff that was in his house to ascertain whether the house had paid its electricity bill for the month.

According to the EKEDC spokesman, the retired officer, after being alerted of the presence of the EKEDC man by his son, ran inside and took a pistol with which he ran after the staff, who was

only saved by some people in the area.

The case, he said, has been lodged with the police and investigations have started.

He added that the company would pursue the case to a logical conclusion through diligent prosecution of the perpetrator in a court of competent jurisdiction.

The statement also reminded members of the public that the law of the land does not allow anybody to perpetrate any form of harassment or molestation against the other, stressing that such acts are not only barbaric and uncivilised, but are also criminal.

“Among the states with procurement laws, some limitations have been observed in the content of the laws, for example in the Jigawa State’s law, some clauses exclude application of due process rules to procurement processes below N100 million, which constitute the largest group of procurement activities in the state.

“In Ebonyi State, the definition of Open Competitive Bidding (OCB) robs its processes of prior and simultaneous distribution of information on procurement activity. It also removes advance determination and disclosure of conditions and criteria for selection from being an integral component of open competitive bidding.

“Also, requirements of political approval for procurement expenditure are notable in Ekiti and Jigawa State laws.

The procurement laws exclude application of its provisions to special goods, works and services involving security unless with prior approval from the governor. This appears intended to statutorily protect them from public scrutiny of the controversial state security votes,” Ekenanyawu stressed.

“The Taraba State procurement law gives the State Executive Council the power to suspend application of the law to any particular procurement activity if it deems fit.

“The findings indicate that fiscal indiscipline is prevalent in states in this study. The financial statements and audit reports of states reveal the same types of fiscal indiscipline; optimistic revenue projections and under collection, budgeting based on the unrealistic revenue projections, excess expenditure on some budget heads, under spending allocations on some other heads, and failure to spend at all on yet some others.”

The study equally “indicated that state governments had often resorted to misappropriating revenues accrued to their states without functional laws governing their financial expenditure on procurement of public goods among others.”

The mapping and scoping survey of anti-corruption and governance measures in public finance management within Nigerian states has shown that state governments misuse public revenues accrued to their states through dubious and faulty public finance laws.

It equally serves as the secretariat of the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), which is the coordinating forum of agencies with anti-corruption and accountability mandates Nigeria.

Currently on its third phase, having initially undertaken a first and second phase on gap and compliance analysis of anti-corruption initiatives within the activities of the federal government and 16 states of the federation, findings in the recent study, which covered the management of public finance in 10 states - Cross River, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Jigawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Katsina, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ogun and Yobe were presented to the public recently.

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BUSINESS | ENERGY

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

NAPIMS okays Mobil's N6bn community projects LOCATION The projects are to be executed in eight local government areas of Akwa Ibom State Stories by Adeola Yusuf

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obil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/MPN joint venture (JV), announced at the weekend, that it had received formal approval from National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) to proceed with its Special Community Assistance (SCA) projects in Akwa Ibom State, valued at N6 billion.

The company, which said this in a statement by its General Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Mr Paul Arinze, maintained that the special community assistance projects, would address areas such as education, health and capacity building.

“It will be executed in eight local government areas as part of the JV’s long term, multiyear 24.6 billion Naira Social

Investment Package for Akwa Ibom State, which was previously announced in July 2013,” the statement read.

“We acknowledge the leadership of Akwa Ibom State government in moving discussions on these projects forward,” said Nolan O’Neal, Chairman and Managing Director of MPN. “We are confident that through mutually beneficial relationship with communities where we operate, and the many businesses and vendors that provide necessary products and services, we will see the benefits

of oil and gas operations multiplied as wide as is possible.”

Following the announcement, MPN commenced with naming the first three project managers responsible for supervising the execution of the community-nominated projects: E & T Integrated EMS Limited, Union Consultants and Bil Integrated Systems Limited. These companies were selected following a competitive technical bid and evaluation process, jointly supervised by NAPIMS and MPN. They will manage execution of projects

in the Ibeno, Eket and Onna Local Government Areas, respectively, with their service covering verification of the community-nominated projects and engagement of local contractors, the statement explained.

Selection of project managers for the five other local government areas will be initiated after planned discussions with Akwa Ibom State government and representatives of the communities. The other local government areas according to the statement are Esit Eket, Mbo,

Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin and Eastern Obolo. The projects are expected to have a positive impact on the local economy through direct and indirect job creation, as well as capacity building and promotion of local content within the communities.

Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) has operated in Akwa Ibom State for over 50 years and remains committed to delivering sustainable, long-term benefits to the communities and government of the state, the statement added.

Libya's oil output slips

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ibya’s oil production has fallen, turning back a hard-won increase since April in revenue for government facing increased fighting around the airport in the capital and in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The El-Feel oilfield was forced to cut back due to events in Tripoli penultimate week, where two rival brigades of militias have fought over control of the airport.

Security guards from the north-western Zintan region, whose fighters also protect the airport where clashes have gone on for a week, protect el-Feel, operated by state-run National Oil Corporation and Italy’s ENI. National Oil Company spokesman, Mohamed El Harari, said that output as of Monday was around 450,000 bpd compared with 555,000 bpd on Thursday.

At least 47 people have died in the weeklong Tripoli airport clashes, which involved artillery, Grad rockets and anti-aircraft guns, in some of the heaviest street fighting since the 2011 civil war.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry warned its citizens not to travel to Libya after 22 Egyptian soldiers were killed by gunmen near the border on Saturday.

“In the light of escalating violence... on Libyan soil, especially in Benghazi... the Egyptian Foreign Ministry calls on all citizens not to travel at all to Libya at the current time for their own safety,” it said in an emailed statement.

Oil rig

COLLABORATION Need for alliance with the media and NGOs to discourage people from encroaching on pipelines

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hell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has asked for the support of the media and other critical stakeholders in addressing the crude theft, which is ravaging the Nigeria’s oil industry.

The company said this at a summit organised for journalists and other stakeholders in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, insisting that the menace remained unabated in the Niger Delta region.

Manager, SPDC Pipeline Right of Way Management, Mr Wenike Princewill, noted that crude oil theft and illegal refining were the main sources of pollution in the Niger Delta.

He warned against blowing oil well-heads, saying apart from revenue loss to government and Shell, the impact could be dangerous to the host communities.

The Bayelsa State government, he said, was supportive in enforcing Shell right of way.

He said that currently, Shell had over 3,000 occupiers on its well-heads, noting that occupiers failed to observe the

Anti-oil theft campaign: Shell seeks media, stakeholders' support mandatory 100 metres from the pole.

He expressed happiness that Bayelsa had prescribed punishment for occupiers of Shell’s right of way, saying the initiative was a welcome development.

Princewill said Shell, in a bid to make it difficult for oil thieves to operate, had resorted to burying pipelines deeper and covering them with concrete.

The oil major, according to Princewill, believed that only a concerted response by all stakeholders could end the oil theft and related atrocities in the region.

According to him, the Federal Government estimated crude oil theft and associated deferred production at over 300,000 barrels of oil per day.

Intentional third party interference with pipelines and other infrastructure, Princewill said, was responsible for about 75 per cent of oil spill incidents and about 92 per cent of oil volume spilled from facilities operated by Shell over the last five years.

He said: “When the losses were converted into money, the country must be losing

approximately $3.2 billion per day at $100 per barrel.

“Much greater volumes of oil are discharged into the environment away from the SPDC facilities through illegal refining and transportation of stolen crude oil.

“In 2013, the number of spills from the SPDC operations caused by sabotage and theft increased to 157, compared to 137 in 2012, while production losses due to crude oil theft, sabotage and related temporary shutdowns increased by around 75 per cent.

“On the average, around 32,000bpd was stolen from the SPDC pipelines and other facilities while the joint venture lost production of around 174,000bpd due to shutdowns related to theft and other third party interference. This equates to several billions of dollars in revenue losses to the Nigerian government and the joint ventures.”

He stated that the ugly development called for collaboration with the media and non-governmental organisations to discourage people from encroaching on pipelines.

Princewill, who said that Shell had its huge footprints in Niger Delta, with Rivers and Bayelsa having high scope of oil exploration, added that there was high incidence of encroachment on Shell’s right of way.

However, he said that despite those efforts, the menace of oil theft and sabotage had persisted, with long-term social, economic and environmental degradation.

Shell had a deliberate policy that whenever it confirmed a leak, it usually suspended production in order to stop the flow into the environment.

He said that efforts were made to contain spills, with access to spill site usually a critical factor in shaping the response.

Princewill said: “There have been instances where individuals, community groups or armed gangs have denied Shell access to spill sites.

“The reasons for this range from intra-communal disputes to demands for clean-up contracts and/or higher compensation or plain criminal activity,” he explained.

BUSINESS | ENERGY

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nigeria, Korean varsity partner on alternative energy

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he Chonnam National University of South Korea has finalised arrangement to host interested Nigerians as part of efforts to develop and promote knowledge in the area of alternative source of energy, a member of the university community, Prof. Byungchul Choi, has said.

Disclosing this in a statement made available to New Telegraph, the Chairman, Adesoke International Ventures, Prince Timothy Okedele, said that the event is built around the ENTECH “Wind Korea” 2014 Environment and Energy trade show holding in BEXCO, Busan metropolitan city, South Korea, next month and a similar one slated for March 2015.

He said that the 8th ENTECH 2014 trade show, apart from being a platform to connect Nigerians with international professionals for interaction and corporate affiliations, would catalyse a rapid revolution in Nigeria’s energy sector and proffer idea on how to combat the nuisance of environmental pollution.

He pointed out that government delegates and other stakeholders would acquire the latest trend in renewable energy technology, water treatment, waste management and anti-air pollution, as well as seize the opportunity to exhibit/promote the nation’s economic potential such as minerals, agricultural, cultural heritage and other resources that were hitherto not known to Asia and the global community for export promotion in Nigeria.

Okedele noted that it was an opportunity for government agencies, organisations and institutions to also register members, professionals, youth and students for participation at the International Symposium on Alcohol Fuels (ISAF) billed to hold in March, 2015, with the focus to discuss sustainable alcohol fuels for promoting mobility and climate stabilisation.

He assured that Nigerians had a lot to benefit, emphasis-

ing that ISAF is a special event, which organisers have designed to help inspire participants, especially youth/students to be more scientifically and technologically relevant.

According to him, Nigerian participants at ISAF 2015, will have the opportunity to enjoy a free participation at the 2015 Solar, Water, and Earth & Energy Technology (SWEET) 2015 exhibition happening in the same month (March).

Speaking further, Okedele condemned a situation where good proposals meant to develop a sector as significant as power were left untreated for as long as three years in an administration with just four-year tenure.

He emphasised that all hands should be on deck to accelerate development on technology exhibitions and foreign missions.

He therefore advised ministries and government agencies to eradicate the culture of treating invitations to foreign technology summits with levity, as they were necessary towards equipping the youths with the basic technological insight to explore and do exploits for the nation.

He also charged Nigerian researchers to arise and do the very best through research and development to boost the image of the country in science and technology and begin to compete with their counterparts in developed worlds.

Okedele cited the case of Americans who worked hard to realise the American Solar dream, “when after their president declared interest in solar in October 2010, an American solar panel was installed on the roof of the home of the American first family three years later.”

He tasked Nigerian researchers never to rest on their oars, as it was a penchant for researchbased exploits that made it possible for the UK in the past years to grow from near zero solar photovoltaic panel to 2.5 GW of capacity and China leapfrogging Germany to become the first country in the world to install 3GW of utility Scale Solar.

Gabon picks seven firms for oil block talks

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abon has selected seven companies for a final round of negotiations as part of an offshore licensing round the government hopes will reverse a chronic decline in output, the country's oil ministry said at the weekend.

The new blocks are located in deep offshore waters - an exploration play that is expensive and uncertain but potentially very rewarding given the similarity of geological structures to oil-rich Brazil, where billions of barrels of oil have been discovered.

Former Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Country (OPEC) member, Gabon, produces about 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from a peak of close to 400,000 bpd in the 1990s.

An oil ministry statement said that Impact Oil & Gas, Repsol , Perenco, ExxonMobil,

Marathon, Petronas and Ophir were ranked highest for the nine blocks due to be allocated.

“These companies listed are invited to finalise negotiations for the signature of the relevant CEPPs (exploration and production-sharing contracts) as soon as possible,” according to a statement signed by Minister for Oil and Hydrocarbons Etienne Dieudonne Ngoubou.

The statement showed that Cobalt, Noble, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were ranked lower down the pecking order for the blocks. The ministry said it had the right to open negotiations with the lower-ranking contenders if talks with the first-choice companies were unsuccessful.

Bids for another eight blocks offered “did not reach the expectations of the Gabonese Republic,” the statement added.

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FG to help DISCOs, GENCOs reduce revenue loss NEW RULES Government is planning new rules to boost electricity revenues Adeola Yusuf

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he Federal Government, at the weekend, waded into the revenue loss rocking the power distribution and generation companies.

The DISCOs and GENCOs had earlier sent a Safe Our Soul (SOS) message to government over the losses they record on monthly basis.

Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Benjamin Dikki, however, said at the weekend, that government was ready to block

holes that they consider to be responsible for the loss.

Government, he said during the maiden post-privatisation visit to Eko Electricity Distribution Company in Lagos, was considering a law stipulating stiffer sanctions for perpetrators of energy theft, perpetual bill defaulters and vandals of electricity equipment.

Dikki promised severe sanctions for perpetual defaulters in the payment of electricity bills.

Those also engaging in other sharp practices considered to be detrimental to the growth of the recently privatised electricity industry in the country will, according to the BPE boss, be severely dealt with when the law comes into effect.

This, Dikki said, becomes necessary in light of the fact that it is the responsibility

of government to provide an enabling environment for the new electricity companies to carry out their business activities without any disturbance or distraction.

He disclosed that the bill, currently undergoing scrutiny in the office of the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, is aimed at providing a legal framework for the new companies to operate and collect their due revenue without hindrance.

Dikki said that the Federal Government had approved the deduction of debts owed by government agencies from their budgetary allocation.

He said this is to address the issue of the indebtedness of military formations and many government agencies to the electricity distribution companies.

Vandalised power installation belonging to Ibadan Electricity distribution company located at Olorunsogo area of Bode Olude Street, Iberekodo area of Abeokuta. Inset: The vandal arrested by the community’s vigilante group.

Oil surges above $108 per barrel Adeola Yusuf

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rent oil prices reversed early losses to climb more than $1 a barrel last Friday, as fighting in Ukraine and deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States ignited new fears of supply disruptions in the market.

A Russian security official said that up to 40 shells fired on Friday by Ukrainian forces fell on the Russian province of Rostov, near the border with eastern Ukraine where Kiev is fighting pro-Russian separatists.

Brent crude led a mid-morn-

ing spike in prices shortly after Reuters reported that EU sources said European Council leader Herman van Rompuy has written to EU leaders saying any restrictions the bloc agrees on Russian access to sensitive technology should exclude natural gas.

While that news did not appear to pose a particular threat to oil flows, traders said it helped kick off a flurry of covering ahead of any further tension this week.

"The escalation of hostilities is stoking supply fears, as the energy card is waiting to be played by Russia and the

West as a way to inflict economic harm on each other," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

Brent crude for September delivery rose $1.32 to settle at $108.39 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 10. Friday's rally pared a series of recent losses, with Brent ending almost 1 percent higher from the beginning of the week.

US crude for September delivery gained 2 cents to settle at $102.09 a barrel, after falling as low as $101 a barrel earlier in the session. It ended the week one per cent lower.

32 BUSINESS | ENERGY

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Vessel with stolen Nigeria’s crude arrested CAPTURED Four suspected illegal oil bunkering workers have been arrested Adeola Yusuf

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vessel laden with 35,000 metric tons of stolen crude from Nigeria has been arrested in Republic of Benin.

The Beninoise state television station, Canal 3, which

stated this, noted that Beninoise coastal guards arrested the suspects at Zone de Ambassad/Leobelle located off the coast line of Cotonou.

It was not immediately clear where the ship and its crew were heading when they were arrested.

Four persons, in an oil bunkering ship, were arrested after a failed attempt to illegally export about 35,000 metric tons of crude oil believed smuggled from Nigeria.

Luck, according to Cabal 3, ran out on the quartet suspected to be Nigerian repre-

sentatives of an oil-bunkering ring in the West African subregion.

The ship, laden with crude oil presumed stolen from the Niger Delta, was said to have broken down on the high seas midway into its ill-fated journey.

The ship attracted attention when it lost engine on the high seas for about a week.

Following reports by residents to security operatives that the ship was an endangered, naval gendarme on routine surveillance in the area reportedly moved into

the ship to rescue it and its crew.

Once on aboard the ship, the naval guards arrested the four suspects, and on interrogation, they reportedly failed to provide satisfactory explanations concerning the crude oil consignment they were carrying and the destination they were heading.

Following the arrest of the four suspects, the Benin Republic authorities has since mobilized the deployment of about 26 trucks to transfer the crude oil from the stranded ship, which has been floating

on the seas for days.

A Nigerian online newspaper, Premium Times, which visited the scene reported that there was huge oil slicks that covered the entire coast line in the area was noticeable, an indication of a leakage of crude oil into the waters surrounding the stranded ship.

“The oil seepage from the ship has seriously impacted the immediate surroundings of the beach and environment turning the colour of sands in the area into red,” the paper reported.

N'Goma FPSO sails to block 15/06 offshore Angola

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taly's Eni announced at the weekend that the N’Goma FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) is ready to sail away to the offshore site block 15/06 in Angola, following the naming ceremony held at Port Amboim.

It will then commence mooring and hook-up operations.

Eni and its partners have met a key milestone towards the achievement of the first oil of West Hub Development Project, scheduled by year-end 2014.

The project will mark the return of Eni as deep water operator in Angola.

The West Hub project is the first development that will come on-stream among the blocks awarded in Angola's 2006 licensing round. The West Hub Development Project includes the Sangos, Cinguvu and Mpungi fields and involves the drilling of 21 subsea wells of which 12 producers, 4 alternate water and gas injectors and 5 water injectors.

Water depth ranges between 3,281 and 4,921 feet (1,000 and 1,500 meters). A second, similar, development project is also being executed (East Hub) to exploit the reserves discovered in the North Eastern area of the same block.

Eni has been present in Angola since 1980 with a net production of 87,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboe/d) in 2013.

A crude oil refinery worker

Statoil cut 1,000 jobs in second quarter N orway’s Statoil confirmed at the weekend that it reduced its headcount by approximately 1,000 employees during the second quarter as part of a cost-reduction programme that could see as many as 1,400 people lose their jobs at the company.

Statoil said in a statement: “We continue progressing our programmes to reduce cost and improve capital efficiency. In the quarter, we have announced a potential to reduce between 1,100 and 1,400 positions. Reductions of around 1000 positions in our

Eni to revive Saipem sale plans

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he new management of Italy’s Eni plans to press on with the sale of a controlling stake in oil services subsidiary Saipem so it can focus on the more lucrative business of finding oil and gas, sources said.

Former ENI CEO, Paolo Scaroni, had inked in plans to dispose of Saipem but they were put on hold when Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, drafted in new management to run the state-controlled oil giant.

Saipem became a liability for Eni last year when half of its market value was wiped

out by two profit warnings and a damaging investigation into alleged corruption in Algeria, which also engulfed Scaroni.

With oil and gas production compromised by conflict in Libya and unrest in Nigeria, along with project delays in Kashagan and Angola, Eni also needs to sell assets to fund increasingly costly upstream investments and maintain its dividend.

“Eni’s new management is indeed ready to resume the sale of Saipem, though it first needs to cut its debt either via asset disposals or raising equity,” a source close

to the matter said.

Eni has a 43 per cent stake in Saipem and fully consolidates it on its balance sheet, including 5.5 billion euros of debt.

But it keeps it at arm’s length and has no day-to-day influence over management because Saipem also works on some contracts awarded

by Eni. Claudio Descalzi, who took over the top spot at Eni in May, has yet to pronounce on plans for Saipem but is expected to flag his intentions at a strategy meeting next Thursday

staff and support services are already implemented.

We have also established six specific high-impact projects addressing technical efficiency across the company, and we are now executing the first wave. We are on track, and will provide an updated status when we report our results for the full year.”

The news of redundancies comes weeks after Aker Solutions, a key supplier to Statoil, reported that it is trying to find roles for more than 200 of its employees amid a slowdown in Norway’s offshore maintenance and modifications market.

During the quarter, Statoil made progress with its Johan Sverdrup field development project, including the award of a letter of intent for two steel jackets for the first phase of development.

The firm also saw the CLOV deep-water development come on stream in Angola, which was in line with the original project schedule.

The firm made a high-im-

pact discovery offshore Tanzania at the Piri field, which it described as the world’s largest gas discovery so far in 2014.

Meanwhile, Statoil and Thailand’s PTTEP completed an agreement to divide their interests in Canadian oil sands, while the firm also completed the farm downs of its Shah Deniz and South Caucasus Pipeline assets.

The firm’s production during the quarter was 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, which was down nine percent compared to 2Q 2013.

Statoil said that the start up and ramp up of new fields such as Skarv in Norway, Marcellus and Eagle Ford in the US and the PSVM and CLOV developments in Angola contributed positively to the production, but that this increase was offset by divestments and other facts such as seasonal effects and gas production optimization. Statoil’s net income for 2Q 2014 was $1.92 billion, compared with $688 million in 2Q 2013.

PROPERTY&ENVIRONMENT PAGE 33, Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Proposed transportation routes

Eko Court

New Ikoyi-VI Model City Plan pushes for high-rise, multi-level parking BLUEPRINT The plan divides VI and Ikoyi into zones and ascribes different uses to them Dayo Ayeyemi

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f the final draft of the revised Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City Plan (2013 – 2033), is finally adopted by stakeholders, Lagos as a city will definitely witness more high-rise and multi-level parkings in the next 20 years.

The revised Model City Plan, which was presented to major stakeholders comprising the Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residents’ Association (VIIRA), business owners, investors, bankers and built environment professionals, among others, entailed guides for orderly development of Victoria Island, Ikoyi and part of Obalende, while identifying their infrastructure needs to promote sustainable development.

Limited land resources The Model City Plan is part of the efforts of the Lagos State Government to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing Lagos megacity.

The revised Model City Plan discourages sprawl development in VI and Ikoyi due to limited

land resource of Lagos; but canvasses compact developments that encourage vertical growth (high rise buildings) in order to cope with the influx of people and businesses in the megacity.

The concepts adopted by the blueprint as presented by government, include Twin Cities, Compact City and Growth Management Programme, in order to achieve the best development plan for the area.

It divides the entire Victoria Island and Ikoyi into zones and ascribes different uses to them based on existing situations.

The plan identifies location around the Nigerian Law School, Akin Adesola Street and Adeola Hopewell environs as strong Central Business District (CBD) for both Ikoyi and Victoria Island.

It also recommends a maximum height of 90 metres for high-rise buildings and minimum of 45 metres in area.

Oyin Jolayemi area is zoned as District II with maximum height of 60 metres for building and minimum of 10 metres.

Saka Tinubu environs, was zoned as Telecoms District, specifying maximum height of 30 metres for building and 21 metres minimum.

Some parts of Banana Island, Gerrad and others were tagged ‘high residential’ area with a building height of 60 metres.

The density in the area is 150 units per hectare.

Park view I and II, Lugard and Victoria Island Extension were zoned for medium residential area with building height of 30 metres and 21 metres minimum with a density of 80 units per hectare. Locations such as Banana Island zone B, Oyinkan Abayomi, Osborne I and II, among others, were designated as low-density area with 18 metres maximum height for building and 7.5 meters minimum.

For efficient and improved transportation system devoid of gridlock, the plan proposes six routes for shuttle service and also identifies roads and other infrastructure for upgrading.

The new blueprint shows transportation routes for business investments and all 38 upgraded roads identified in the existing plan.

Reason for revised plan The Ikoyi/Victoria Island Model City Plan was the first conscious effort of the Lagos State government in 2005 and it became operational in December 2006 as a physical planning document for 10 years (2005_2015) to guide development and redirect activities within Ikoyi, Victoria Island and parts of Obalende, and to provide improved facilities that were either inadequate or

VI-Ikoyi Model City Plan

unavailable. The new plan will generally increase the ‘density’ of many parts of the districts.

Ikoyi and Victoria Island have between them a whopping 22,000 hectares of the primmest land in Lagos with values at an average of N250,000 per square metre for bare land.

Speaking during the public presentation of the model city plan in the Conference Hall of the Bankers’ House in Victoria Island, Lagos, Commissioner for Physical Planning in the state, Mr Olutoyin Ayinde, went down memory lane, pointing out that as a result of urban migration, commercialisation and globalisation, Lagos has grown exponentially from an area of 390 hectares in 1866 to 357,790 hectares in 2013 and that it is still expanding.

According to him, in order to address the population explosion, Lagos State government prepared a Regional Master Plan in 1980, which expired in 2000 and was revised in 2002.

He explained that the plan identified 35 urban districts, which include Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Surulere, Ikeja, Obalende, Ikorodu, Ipaja and Alimosho, among others.

These urban districts, Ayinde said, were not properly planned and implemented, adding that the impacts of the neglect have been far reaching, stating that this was why former Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, initiated policies aimed at rebuilding the mega city through a conscious

approach of re-planning the urban districts and rebranding same as Model Cities and Master Plans.

Speaking earlier, a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Oluwatoyin Ajayi, an architect, said that Ikoyi-Victoria Model City Plan was the first in the series of these plans to be prepared by the ministry in 2005.

According to her, the success recorded with Ikoyi-VI Model City Plan had encouraged the preparation of subsequent long term plans across the state.

She explained that the presentation of the revised IkoyiVI plan (2013 – 2033) marked another turning point, adding that gone were the days when operative physical plans were left to either gather dust on shelves or revised until it is both obsolete and irrelevant.

She told the audience: “Our mission of creating a sustainable physical planning and urban development that will provide an enabling environment for socio-economic activities will be enhanced by your sincere contributions at this gathering.”

Stakeholders’ comments Some of the stakeholders, while commending the initiatives of Lagos Sate government, picked holes in the final draft report on revised Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City Plan, with the hope that government would go back and make necC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 4

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property & ENVIRONMENT

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

It’s difficult to build mass houses with conventional method – Omeife

Chucks Omeife, a fellow and immediate past president of the Nigeria Institute of Builders (NIOB), in this interview with Dayo Ayeyemi, canvasses adoption of modern building and construction technologies to bridge accommodation deficit in the country

How will you react to the need for the adoption of alternative building construction methods in Nigeria’s housing sector?

There have been innovations of various systems of building construction since the end of the Second World War. This has revolutionized the global building industry in an attempt to reduce to the barest minimum the duration of time for housing delivery necessitated by the immediate need for housing after the destruction caused by the war in various countries that participated, especially the western world. It was the urgent need to provide shelter for their citizens that gave rise to the innovation of various forms of building systems. The initial consideration for using these various systems for building construction was based on quick delivery of houses for immediate habitation without compromising quality and functionality.

This can be described as the beginning of the introduction of industrial/manufacturing process into the building industry where various building components were fabricated off-site and brought to site for assembling.

This, no doubt, will reduce time, since various components would have been standardized. The various systems include dry construction, wet/dry in a particular ratio, hydro-foam system, steel building system and the South African Moladi system. All these encourage modular form of construction. This also involves the combinations of major construction materials like concrete and steel and also various finishing materials like wood panels, lightweight sand crete panels and plastic panels, among others.

up. The cost of the set-up of the various equipment for each process is enormous, though economical on a long term basis. When considered using economics of large scale production, it will produce cheaper and affordable houses and at a faster rate. The challenge is in the area of continuous engagement for continuous production.

Do we need any legislation to make this happen?

The system has been deployed here in Nigeria, though in a limited area and can still be used here without any legislation. The major challenge is the initial capital outlay and guarantee of continuous business if the plant is put in place. These are the major fears of would-be investors. This is the only way the housing deficit in the country can be bridged quickly within a very short time. With the industrialized system, 100,000 housing units can be delivered in six months once the various plants for building component manufacturing is in place. One of the major advantages of the new building system is the reduction in the unit cost of building overtime, hence can provide affordable houses for different strata of the society.

Are there any disadvantage?

The major disadvantage of the various systems of building apart from initial capital outlay is the issue of maintenance and a total re-orientation in the building industry in terms of skill, knowledge and mind set. Both the professionals and the artisans/ craftsmen in the building industry will have to be retrained in the light of new building concept, design, technology and materials.

Omeife

Can these technologies work in Nigeria?

Yes, it is true that with high volume of housing deficit in the country, it will be difficult to bridge the housing need using conventional method of construction which is block, cement and mortar. However, a major consideration in the use of industrialized building system is the initial capital outlay and maybe our cultural perception. This is due to the fact that majority of the building components that will be incorporated in such process must be prefabricated to a specific dimension and standard in a chain of production which must be set

New Ikoyi-Victoria Island model city plan C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

essary amendments.

Blazing the trail, Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Lagos, Leke Oduwaye, criticised the proponent of the revised plan for underestimating the potential of Lagos in term of land value, pointing out that the proposed land use which specifies 20 floors maximum was too low.

He said: “We are underestimating the potential of Lagos city in term of land value. In terms of land value, the proposed land use is too low.”

The Professor warned government to be careful and do serious simulation on 30 per cent increase of the building height, saying that “this is one of the dynamics of the factor shaping cities.”

He also enjoined the ministry to jerk up the competence of staff in the area of building approval as regard the area that will require green wall.

Besides, he wants the ministry to also educate the public on what government is doing. He noted that they should be carry along for better understanding of the fact that the state is competing with other global cities, hence the need to grow vertical.

“There is the need to brain-

storm with residents’ association to reach consensus about the provisions of the revised Model City Plan,” Oduwaye said.

General Secretary of VIIRA who identified himself simply as Alhaji Muse, said that the residents have not really harmonised their views on the revised blueprint, asking for more time so that they can make their observations known.

He expressed the fear over the major access to Eko Atlantic City project from Ahmadu Way and Akin Adesola Road in Victoria Island, insisting that there would be serious traffic jam there if the roads are not expanded.

Lagos-based Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Mr Dipo Onabanjo, observed that the revised development plan did not earmark any area for open spaces, urging on the need to make adequate provision for this in the final document. Considering the proposed height for buildings in the plan, he argued that the sizes of plots in Victoria Island were too small to accommodate development of 20 to 25 storey buildings.

Chairman of Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Mr Ladipo Lewis, also argued about the plot sizes as related to the proposed building height. He enjoined government on the need to in-

tegrate parting walls for high rise buildings in Lagos. He also spoke about the need for parking, which he said was critical, suggesting that there should be designated locations for parking to discourage traffic jam.

He also wants government to take a critical look at the issue of multi-level parking, adding that bus-stops should be introduced on major roads.

A staff of Leadway Assurance who identified himself simply as Kunle, said that the plan should be more adventurous, pointing out the need to go up more. He based his argument on the exorbitant cost of land in VI, adding that if a plot of land is sold form over N250 million, “there is the need to make profit by developing 50 storey building in location such as Ozumba Nmbadiwe Road in Victoria Island.

One Mrs Adebule canvassed the inclusion of more fire stations, security posts, upgraded roads, walkways and solar power system instead of generators with the attendant damage to the human health and environment.

Another landlord in Victoria Island who identified himself as Dr Lawal said that the revised plan should discourage sand-filling along the natural drainage channels.

What are the ways out of this quagmire?

I personally think that in an attempt to bridge the gap in housing deficit in the country, a gradual combination of the conventional and the new building system will be a good start. The conventional building system can also be used to deliver houses quickly if all resources are available especially fund. It is the nonavailability of fund that makes it look as if it is taking a long time. With adequate planning, it can be used to deliver houses, but not at the same rate compared with industrialized system.

‘Risky US homeownership for many African-Americans'

ew study from sociologists at NUniversity Rice University and Cornell says there are fresh

signs that emerging types of racial inequality are making homeownership an increasingly risky investment for African-American home seekers.

Despite the fact that the historical barriers that excluded Black America from the homeowner market for decades have crumbled, the new study says the situations seem to be reemerging The reason, according to report from World Property Channel, is the fact that African-Americans are now 45 per cent more likely than whites to switch from owning their homes to renting them.

The study, “Emerging Forms of Racial Inequality in Homeownership Exit, 1968-2009,” examines racial inequality in transitions out of homeownership over the last four decades.

The authors used longitudinal household data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the period 1968 to 2009, with a study sample of 6,994 non-Hispanic whites and 3,158 black homeowners.

The research revealed that despite modest gains in attain-

ing homeownership over time, the racial gap in the likelihood of changing from ownership to renting began to widen in the 1990s. During the next two decades, African-American homebuyers were consistently over 45 per cent more likely than whites to transition out of homeownership. The authors claim that their findings point to a historical shift in racial stratification in American housing markets, from a system of overt market exclusion to, more recently, one of market exploitation.

“The 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act outlawed housing market discrimination based on race,” said Gregory Sharp, a postdoctoral fellow in Rice’s Department of Sociology and the study’s lead author. “African-American homeowners who purchased their homes in the late 1960s or 1970s were no more or less likely to become renters than were white owners. However, emerging racial disparities over the next three decades resulted in black owners who bought their homes in the 2000s being 50 per cent more likely to lose their homeowner status than similar white owners,” the study revealed.

property & ENVIRONMENT

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

EXCLUSIVE The least price for a plot of land is N300 million Stories by Dayo Ayeyemi

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ight security, serene environment, limited land space and glittering infrastructural facilities have been listed among factors why the superrich jostle for plots of land in Banana Island in Ikoyi, Lagos, despite the high cost.

For the affluent who can afford the comfort that comes with living in such an exclusive neighbourhood, owning a plot of land in Banana Island for just N300,000 per square metre is not a big deal. This implies that a plot of land measuring 100 square metres costs about N300 million in the enclave.

Luxury homes with architectural master-piece adorning the major road leading to the estate are testimonies to the uniqueness of the estate.

Speaking with New Telegraph in his office, Lagos-based real estate practitioner, Chief Kola Akomolede, said that two factors were responsible for high land value in Banana Island: namely perceived tight security of the estate and the law of demand and supply.

According to him, more demand for limited land resource in Banana Island meant more price as a few people have continued to jostle for land in the area.

Akomolede said that in terms of security, only one road leads to Banana Island. This, according to him, has made the estate exclusive from other adjoining communities that have entrance roads that put security of residents in doubt.

Currently, he stated that lagoon is being sand filled to create more land for people to

Why the rich jostle for land in Banana Island, by experts build their dream houses in the area.

He listed oil workers, managing directors of banks, telecoms executives and politicians as major residents of the estate.

Also justifying the high land value in Banana Island, another real estate practitioner based in Ikoyi, Mr Mutiu Balogun, said that the estate is adorned with modern infrastructure such as good road, drainage, electricity and planned layout, among others.

According to him, all electric and telecoms cables in the estate were laid underground.

He pointed out that people rush to get land in Banana Island due to lapses discovered with Old Ikoyi area, adding that majority of residents of the island relocated from Old Ikoyi because their security could no longer be guaranteed due to influx of people.

Balogun said that most of the houses in old Ikoyi have been converted to commercial apartments and offices, saying that all these triggered traffic congestion, noise pollution and degradation of the environment in the area.

He added that people that could not cope have no option

than to relocate to Banana Island.

He said: “The price of land in Babana Island goes up due to limited land availability, while more people are still demanding to have their dream home there. Also the old Ikoyi is too porous and unsecured as Banana Island. This estate has one entrance gate. There is serenity, it has the best infrastructure and it is well planned.”

Banana Island, an exclusive quarter on the Lagos Waterfront in Ikoyi, has suddenly become an enclave of the rich as price of land has continued to rise without justification.

Bellavista Estate, Banana Island, Ikoyi-Lagos

Port-Harcourt’s Rainbow Town project ready by 2015

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here are plans to complete the first phase of the Port Harcourt Rainbow Town housing scheme in the third quarter of 2015, its developer, Mr Chima Ucheya, has said.

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

Located not too far from Trans-Amadi business industrial corridor, the N82 billion project will definitely increase the housing stock in the region.

It consists of 1,181 tastefully designed residential units creatively distributed as terraces, detached homes and 25 high rise condominium towers.

The project, according to Ucheya, is a joint effort between the River State government and First Bank Plc, a Public Private Partnership venture coming through a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2007.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) known as Rainbow Town Development Limited (RTDL) was registered in 2008 with a mandate to manage a re-development of the project.

While unveiling the Rainbow World Estate in Port Harcourt, Ucheya explained that substantial work in the three distinct residential building types has been achieved, adding that a consortium of real estate agents and RTDL marketing groups can now be approached by prospective buyers. A mortgage scheme has also been dedicated for access by investors and prospective

buyers.

Ucheya said that the housing units are designed to address various lifestyles and family sizes such as two bedroom condos, four bedroom terraces and five bedroom detached duplexes, all en-suite and with domestic aid quarters.

It will be recalled that in year 2000, Rivers State government, acting under the Land Use Act, had reclaimed Rainbow Town, which was originally constructed in 1964 by the former Eastern Nigeria Housing Corporation.

The town went through several use transformations including, for a sustained period of time, serving as a military barrack.

This was also followed by a protracted development lull, progressive degeneration of completed community assets and advent of associated social vices.

At a point, Rainbow Town became a drain, a regional citation for urban decay and poverty, thus, the decision of Rivers State government to reclaim it and transform it into a breath-taking estate.

35

‘Access to land made easy in Ogun' gun State government has OOperation acquired Continuously Reference Sys-

tem (CORS) station network through the Bureau of Lands and Survey, in order to monitor lands in the state.

This is in order to ensure easy land administration network, access to lands in the state and to meet the acceptable global standards.

When this comes into operation, it is expected to end the activities of fraudsters and land speculators popularly calledOmo onile.

Special Adviser/Director General of the Bureau, Mr Adewale Oshinowo, disclosed this in Abeokuta, the state capital.

He said that the state has successfully acquired very high resolution satellite imagery which has been installed on high development areas of the state.

Oshinowo added that equipment like 3D Stereo and 50 Cm Imagery have been installed along Lagos-Ogun border areas. Also benefitting from the schemes are Abeokuta, Ifo, Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro-Ofada areas and Sagamu.

He noted that this would allow surveyors, government agencies and the general public to have access to data through Radio Satellites, Direct Global Positioning System (DGPS) and the internet system at their comfort.

Osinowo said: “This would produce high accuracy maps of the state and Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation projects,” adding that the development of the CORS Station network was a process and would be commissioned

by November.

The director general said that CORS stations are already built in Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode and Agbara while others would be completed during the second phase of the project so as to ensure 100 per cent coverage of the state.

He said that the ultra-high resolution ortho-rectified satellite imagery in towns would boost the economic interest of investors who intend to acquire land for businesses, pointing out that regular acquisitions of satellite imagery of aerial photo using Unattended Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to update the state base map would be guaranteed.

The DG also said that database backup and disaster recovery systems would ensure that business processes are not severely impacted and resume in the minimum time possible in the event of any disaster.

He stated that the network of three CORS stations for higher precision and faster surveys was first of its kind in the country, assuring investors not to panic over their investment in the state and the lands being acquired by the present government.

36 property & ENVIRONMENT

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Lagos decries abuse of road infrastructure MISUSE This is limiting speedy completion of on-going road projects state-wide Dayo Ayeyemi

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etween May 2011 and March 2014, Lagos State government under the leadership of Governor Babatunde Fashola had completed over 161 roads, measuring 147,347 kilometres across the state, while about 211 roads measuring 211.339 kilometres are on-going.

Some of the on-going road projects are the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Lekki-Epe Road, Wemco Road, Ijegun-Isheri Osun Isolo Road, Burma, Bombay and Randle

roads in Apapa, among others.

Although the state government has reiterated its commitment towards the completion of these roads, but one of the biggest challenges confronting the authority, apart from paucity of fund, is the abuse of road infrastructure by residents.

In as much as the authority wants to move fast to ensure speedy completion of these projects, abuse in the usage of completed and on-going schemes is giving the state government concerns.

Government, at the weekend, said that except this attitude stops, it will slow down the completion of the projects.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, listed the abuses to include indiscriminate parking of trucks on roads, illegal cutting of roads, discharge of

refuse into public drains, difficulty in securing right of way, blockage of drains, citing of mechanic and car wash workshops on road alignments and street trading.

He pointed out that abuse of infrastructure has been the biggest problem in the metropolis, noting that Nigeria is the only country where petroleum products are being conveyed by trucks.

The axle loads of these trucks plying Lagos roads, the commissioner noted, have weighed down on the road, thereby limiting their life span of between 15 and 25 years. He added that if the roads were not abused, the life span could be increased.

Hamzat emphasised that over 90 per cent of containers in Nigeria come to Lagos, saying this has become a major

challenge to sustainability of road infrastructure in the state.

Bemoaning the indiscriminate manner in which these trucks are parked along major roads, especially Apapa Road, Hamzat explained that this has made it impossible for contractors working on seven road projects in the axis to move materials to sites.

He cited Adisa-Ajibulu Road project in Mafoluku area of Oshodi, saying that abuse of the road by tankers from NAHCO has turned the place into parking bay and slowed down the project.

According to him, it took several weeks before the state government could secure order to evacuate the trucks.

He said: “As we build roads in Lagos, we do not only consider the traffic but how to move

Gridlock on Oshodi- Apapa Road

APPREHENSION Investors are cautious of crisis that may emanate from the forthcoming general elections

A

part from rains and high cost of building materials, real estate activities may slow in the second half of 2014 as investors are cautious, experts have said.

They attribute the current lull in the sector to many factors not limited to financial difficulties.

According to them, the volatile political environment and spate of attacks on cities by Boko Haram insurgency have triggered the latest pause in real estate activities as investors and banks are watching the unfolding events with caution.

In one or two locations where construction of housing estates are taking place in these other states, such activities are been driven by the state government.

To make the matter worse, the recent governorship election in Ekiti state, where there was large detachment of armed policemen and soldiers for a ‘com-

water through the construction of drains. In trying to construct a road, if road A does not discharge water into road B but road C, we look at the outflow and see where to channel it.

This process is systemic as we do this in sequential order.”

On Maidan –Agiliti Road project, the commissioner said that illegal trading on the road has made it impossible for contractors to move to site. This, he said, was compounded by illegal parking by commercial bikes operators.

On the way out, he said: “We now have a team going round, clearing the mess. The challenge is that we are spending a lot of man-hour trying to clear various abuses by people on our roads. We are looking at how to complete these roads, build more roads and bridges to impact the life of citizens.”

He also condemned the way people vandalise some of the infrastructure, especially manhole covers, recalling that over 660 covers have been stolen.

On the Okota-Ago Palace Road project, the commissioner blamed prolonging court case instituted by a resident for the delay.

“For five months and due to court case, we were unable to do anything there. Also, we are doing the redesign of the road, already trying to hold stakeholders’ meeting for alignment of forces and others before the road can be re-awarded,” he said.

He said that Lagos would require $97 billion to fix infrastructure according to World Bank, stating that Public Private Partnership becomes imperative since the state cannot really fund infrastructure from its balance sheet.

Experts lament low activities in real estate mon’ governorship election was an eye openers to many local and foreign investors as what they should expect during the next month’s election in Osun State and the general election in 2015.

The power play between the two political parties struggling for power in the Ekiti state before the election day where politicians loyal to a particular political party were denied access to the state even four days before the election was a litmus test of the coming elections.

Also, despite the acceptance of defeat during the election by the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his political Party, All Progressive Party (APC) has gone to court to challenge the results of the election, confirming the fear of investors over real estate investment at this particular period.

Describing the situation, housing expert and Lagos based estate surveying practitioner, Mr. Akin Olawore, said it is dicey for the country now, adding that people, especially foreign investors have been watching as events unfolded.

He said: “I had discussion

and plan with some of foreign investors recently, they told me that they want to watch the election before they put down their money. With what happened in Ekiti State and with Boko Haram insurgency, investors want to stay back and watch.”

On what exactly happened in Ekiti that has never occurred before now, Olawore stated: “It looked as if it was militarized at that time, and this is due to the fact that government thought there would be problem during the election and there was need to nib it in the bud by sending military and policemen there.

That means, there may be prob-

lem in other states.”

The effect of these happenings, the real estate analyst said has been creating a lot of lull in term of real investment in Nigeria.

In term of day to day issues, Olawore lamented that the local cashflow is getting tightening, saying, “ we are not seen money the way we should have seen it ordinarily during election year.”

He blamed the book Haram insurgency for cash squeeze in the economy, pointing out that money that would have gone for real estate investment is being concentrated on security issues.

“How stable will the econo-

One of the emerging estates in Agbara, Ogun State

my be when there is insurgency? Most of the money will go into defense and when this happens, other areas of the economy will suffer. At government level, concentration is toward fighting the insurgency. It is almost like state of emergencylike war situation,” he said.

In his July report on the outlook of real estate sector during the second half of the year, analysts at the Financial Derivative Company Limited, stated that real estate activities might while investors might want to be reluctant to invest their monies due to the volatile political environment

Recent plane crashes puts aviation safety p–38 on the spot

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

BUSINESS 37

An aircraft on approach on a runway of an airport

One week, three crashes: Airline fatalities worst since 2010 Not a few believe that commercial aviation is in the middle of its deadliest year since 2010, with the recent spate of air disasters, taking a temporary break from three straight years of decline in airplane fatalities, writes Aviation Editor, WOLE SHADARE

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hree accidents in one week and four air crashes in recent months, all involving Asian and African airlines, have cast a shadow on the industry following a record year for air safety in an industry that has invested heavily on crew training and modern equipment.

Commercial aviation is in the middle of its deadliest year since 2010, with the recent spate of air disasters making an abrupt break from three straight years of decline in airplane fatalities.

This is a reminder that, while many see aviation or air travel as the safest means of transportation, these crashes and many others that have occurred in Nigeria and other places could make many to lose confidence in the industry.

Erosion of confidence In Nigeria, this erosion of confidence, the serious issues affecting air safety regulations and the relatively high cost of air travel may have contributed to the low patronage of airlines in the country.

It is not yet uhuru for the industry in Nigeria and many other places. Nigeria has had its fair share of accidents in recent past. No year has gone without the sector recording catastrophy, as the country had since 2005 when Bellview airline’s B737 plane crashed in Lisa, Ogun State, killing all passengers onboard on October 22 and Sosoliso’s crash in December of same year, had recorded more incidents.

Except for the two or three years grace between 2008 and 2011 when a former DirectorGeneral of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) worked tirelessly to reform the industry, it has been a case of prayer almost on a yearly basis for God not to allow accidents happen rather than putting in place all safety requirements.

Even where all measures are put in place to guarantee safer skies, human errors play significant roles in plane crashes. 70 per cent of accidents are attributed to human or pilot error.

A former Assistant Secretary-General of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mohammed Tukur said that aviation industry all over the world is having lots of challenges. He noted that weather

has to be taken into consideration during flight operations.

According to him: “Nigeria needs to be careful on weather.

We need to put in place more safety measures, especially with the airlines, to guarantee safety.”

Counting the losses The loss of two Malaysian Airlines wide-body jets, combined with Wednesday’s crash of a turboprop plane in Taiwan and the crash of Air Algerie in Mali, has left over 600 people dead, already above the average over the prior five years. With the addition of 18 deaths from a commuter-plane crash in Nepal in February, air-travel fatalities already totalled 603 this year, more than the average of 517 over the prior five years.

An Air Algerie plane, flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers with 116 people aboard crashed last Thursday. It was initially declared missing after it lost contact with control tower.

With three tragedies in such quick succession, many people will, understandably, be asking questions about aviation safety

“With three tragedies in such quick succession, many people will, understandably, be asking questions about aviation safety,” Tony Tyler, Director General of the IATA, whose members include most airlines that fly internationally, said in a statement. He sought to assure the public that “despite the events of the past seven days, flying is safe.”

Global aviation leaders will meet in Montreal this week to initiate discussions on a plan to address safety and security issues raised by the shootdown of the Malaysia Airlines jet, an aviation official said late on Thursday.

By comparison, there were 210 commercial aviation-related deaths last year globally, a 73 per cent decline from 2010, even though passenger numbers have been rising, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the clearing house for global airlines.

In 2010, the industry saw 786 deaths, IATA said. But midway into the year, the sector had already recorded over 700 aviation-related deaths, a situation that could make it the worse year in global aviation in terms of safety.

Analysts say the recent air disasters don’t necessarily reflect any major systemic problems with safety.

Last week’s downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, for instance, had nothing to do with crew training and equipment.

“No matter how well you

train your crew, they can’t prevent such an incident,” said Martin Eran-Tasker, an aviation safety expert at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

Indeed, another measure of safety, accidents involving the loss of aircraft, shows that the industry continues to improve.

One accident involving the loss of aircraft occurred for every 2.4 million flights last year, an improvement from 2009’s figure of one for every 1.3 million flights. The safest year on record was 2012, with one accident per 4.8 million flights. IATA said that air accidents have reduced so much over the years that even one incident can skew numbers.

Air transport compares favourably with other modes of travel such as automobiles or railways in terms of deaths each year. While nearly 100,000 flights make it safely to their destinations globally each day, over 30,000 people die each year on US highways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Improving safety The improvement in flight safety came even as air traffic had expanded in each of the last few years. Global passenger traffic as measured in terms of revenue passenger kilometres, an industry measure of a passenger flying one kilometre, has grown in each of the last four years. Passenger traffic is forecast to grow C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 8

BUSINESS | AVIATION

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Airline fatalities worst since 2010 AIR RAGE C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 7

Timeline of plane crashes in Nigeria • November 7, 1996, a Nigerian Aviation Development Corporation (ADC) Airline Boeing 727-231 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and nine crew members crashed on landing, plunging into the lagoon with all on-board killed.

• January 31, 1997, Sky Power Express Airways Embraer 110PIA crashed on landing in Yola, killing five.

• September 12, 1997, NAF Dornier 228-212 in Nguru, Borno State, ran into a ditch during take-off, none of the 10 occupants died.

• January 5, 2000, SkyPower Express Airways Bandeirante 110P1A crashed on landing in Abuja, killing 17.

• October 26, 2000: Dornier Aircraft plunged into a thick bush near the Niger Delta, six occupants injured.

• March 14, 2002, a helicopter belonging to the Joint Task Force (JTF) crashed in Kabong, Jos, killing all on-board including four senior police officers.

• May 4, 2002, EAS Airlines’ BAC 1-11-500 with 105 people on board crashed in a densely populated suburb of Kano, killing 76 on board and 72 on the ground bringing total casualties to 148.

• November 30, 2003, a Cargo aircraft of Hydro Cargo, Brussels, Belgium, crashlanded.

• July 26, 2004, Pan African Airlines’ helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Eacraros, Delta State, killing four persons on-board.

• December 29, 2004, a Boeing 727 of Chanchangi Airlines belly-landed at the MMA. • December 29, 2004, a Kenya

Wole Shadare

Recent plane crashes puts aviation safety on the spot

5.9 per cent this year, accelerating from last year’s 5.7 per cent growth, according to IATA. “Flying is extraordinarily safe as a result of many years of close collaboration between governments and industry,” the AAPA, which represents Asia’s main full-service carriers, said in a statement on Thursday.

Vigilance Still, industry experts call for added vigilance as new airlines, many of them low-cost carriers fuelled by demand for cheap travel, take to the skies in Asia and other parts of the world.

“The events of 2014 certainly will rewrite all books, standards and regulations of airport security and safety for aviation and, this certainly will bring about several changes which will make air travel safer and security standards stricter,” said Mark Martin, founder of Martin Consulting, a Dubaibased aviation consulting firm.

The changes may come at a cost to airlines, airports and passengers, but in the long run, they will have a very positive impact in making air travel safer, said Martin.

WITH

38

Three crashes within one week have provoked intense debate over the safety of aviation. What lessons should the crash have for aviation safety?

N Tyler

Airlines aircraft crashedlanded at the MMA due to gear fault.

• January 28, 2005, a Nigeria Air Force fighter plane crashed into a farmland in Yar Kanya, Kano State.

• February 25, 2005, ADC’s B73 aircraft had its tyre burnt while landing at Yola Airport.

• March 27, 2005, a Bellview Boeing 737’s engine caught fire.

• June 11/12, 2005, a Boeing 727-200 aircraft belonging to the domestic Chachangi Airlines overshot the runway at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, while another overshot the runway at the airport in Jos in central Nigeria a day earlier.

• June 24, 2005, a Russian aircraft belonging to Harka Air crash- landed at the MMA, all the people on board died • October 22, 2005, a twin-engine Boeing 737, belonging to Bellview Airline, crashed in Lisa Village, Ogun State, and killed all the 117 passengers on board.

• December 10, 2005, a Port Harcourt-bound Sosoliso Airlines flight 1145 crashlanded in Port Harcourt Airport, killing 109 passengers including 60 students of Jesuit Loyola College, Abuja.

• September 17, 2006, an 18-seater Dornier 228 Air Force transport plane, carrying 15 senior army officers and three crewmembers crashed in Benue State, leaving only three survivors.

• October 29, 2006, Aviation Development Corporation Airline Boeing 737 with 104 on board crashed minutes after take-off from Abuja airport. All but six perished in the disaster.

• November 10, 2006, a sixseater helicopter belonging to Odengene Air Shuttle (OAS) crashed in Delta State, killing two people.

• August 2, 2007, Bristow-

owned helicopter crashed inside ExxonMobil facility in Port Harcourt.

• March 15, 2008, Beechcraft 1900D plane marked 5NJAH, belonging to Wing Aviation crashed in Cross River State. The wreckage was not found until six months after.

All four crewmembers died.

• March 14, 2012, a helicopter conveying the newlypromoted Deputy Inspector General of Police, Haruna John, with three other senior police officers crashed in Jos. The Police helicopter was to convey the officers from Jos to Abuja and it took off from the Jos prison field.

• June 3, 2012, one of the biggest air disasters occurred as a Dana Airlines Flight 9J 992 carrying 153 passengers on board crashed into Iju-Ishaga, killing all passengers on board, • A Nigerian cargo plane, a day before, crashed inside the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, killing 10 people and injuring an unspecified number of others.

• Four months after, precisely October 25, governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Suntai and five of his aides narrowly escaped death in a Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ and piloted by Suntai. It crashed into a hill in Adamawa.

• December 15, 2012, Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser to the president, General Owoeye Azazi, died in a helicopter accident at Okoroba Village, Bayelsa State. Four persons died in the crash.

October 3, 2013, an aircraft belonging to the Associated Airlines conveying the corpse of former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Agagu, crashed minutes after take-off at the local wing of the Lagos Airport. The plane had 20 people on-board.

ervous flyers have powerful reasons to be fearful right now. Over the last eight days alone, 462 people have been killed in three different air crashes on three different continents. That grim toll - from Malaysia Airlines, TransAsia and Air Algérie came just four months after the unsettling disappearance of MH370, a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 human beings.

The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March, combined with the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine and Air Algerie crash last week, amounts to over 600 deaths, more than twice the total global airline fatalities in all of last year.

Major swaths of airspace now seem vulnerable to missiles unleashed as part of one violent conflict or another - a fact underscored by the downing of MH17 and the decision by major carriers to scrap flights into Israel.

From all parts of the world, people increasingly feel skittish about boarding planes bound for international skies.

Airport newsstands are papered with grisly photos of airplane debris and body bags.

Type “never flying again”

into Twitter and absorb this flurry of results. Overwhelming dread seems like a perfectly sane, rational response.

The aviation industry as a whole may be at its safest since the beginning of flight, but airline travel still requires a leap of faith for passengers who must trust airlines and regulators to keep them safe.

Air travel is, by many measures, the safest it has been in the history of aviation. The three deadly accidents will undoubtedly shake the confidence of would-be air travellers in the near future, but plane crash fatalities remain an exceedingly rare occurrence.

David Ropeik, a Risk Communication instructor at Harvard University, found in 2006 that the odds of dying in a plane crash are one in 11 million.

Proponents of traveling by air often note that one has a better chance of dying in a car accident than on a flight, and statistics support that assertion.

According to Ropeik, the odds of dying in a car crash are one in 5,000. To put each of those numbers into perspective, the odds of dying in a shark attack are one in 3.1 million.

But the overall trend in aviation safety has been positive: 2013 was the industry’s safest year on record.

“There isn’t much that we can do to manipulate how we fly as passengers. But we also shouldn’t worry too much,” says a travel expert who preferred anonymity.

Aviation experts say that recent crashes offer no pattern that suggests a huge gap in airline safety measures.

Dana Air rewards students ana Air recently played DBristow host to winners of the 5th Helicopters/Travel &

Business News National Travel Essay Competition (NTEC 2013/2014) and rewarded them with free tickets for their brilliant performance in the contest.

Those who received the prizes, according to a statement, were Miss Tolulope Ogunkoya of International School Lagos (ISL), in the Secondary Schools category, and Miss Janet Ayandele of the University of Lagos (Unilag) in the Tertiary Institutions category.

They were received at the DANA House by Mr Sam Ogbogoro, Head, Corporate Communications who congratulated the students for their performance and urged them to keep the flag flying as worthy ambassadors not only of their schools but also of the aviation industry. “We

believe in adding value to the lives of the youths and rewarding them in whatever way we can as a means of encouraging them to achieve even more,” Ogbogoro noted.

Founder and Coordinator of the National Travel Essay Competition (NTEC), Mr Ewos Iroro, thanked Dana Air for its continued support for the initiative since 2009 which is aimed at creating greater awareness for the air transport sector and raising future aviation professionals.

He said: “We would like to thank Dana Air for their encouragement so far and we use this opportunity to solicit their sustained and increased support.”

Also in attendance at the visit were Mr and Mrs Olayide and Abosede Ogunkoya, parents of Tolulope who expressed delight and gratitude to Dana Air for their generosity.

BUSINESS | AVIATION

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

39

Overland Airways launches on-line check-in platform

O

verland Airways has announced the introduction of online check-in service, which will enable passengers check-in online after flight booking and issuance of ticket.

Passengers are simply required to log on to: www.overland.aero on internet enabled mobile devices, laptops or desktop computers after booking and issuance of tickets to check in and choose their pre-

ferred seats.

On completion of the check-in, passengers can print their boarding pass to fly to their desired Overland destinations.

According to the Chief Operating Officer of Overland Airways, Mrs Aanu Benson, “the online check-in service creates convenience for our customers as they can now check in and select their preferred seats online.

“Our esteemed passengers will be able to conclude their travel arrangements from the comfort of their homes/offices or on-the-go and proceed to the boarding gate to fly.

“The new on-line check-in platform is part of our commitment to customers to con-

tinuously offer excellent flight experience from online flight booking and payment, to our new online seamless check-in process and flying on-board our modern aircraft, Overland Airways customers are assured of a unique pleasurable, peaceful and pleasant

travel experience,” said Mrs Aanu Benson She said that in over a decade of excellent flight services in Nigeria, Overland Airways continues to deliver safe, efficient and reliable flight services to her numerous customers.

‘Tourists increased by 14 million worldwide' T

he number of tourists is increasing in the world at a five per cent rate year on year, the World Tourism Barometer reveals.

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide grew by five percent during the first four months of the year, according to the World Tourism Barometer of the United Nations Word Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The United Nations body revealed that from January to April 2014 there were 317 million international tourists, an increase of 14 million compared to the previous year.

The UNWTO prediction is more optimistic for the period perceived as the peak season that spans May to August. According to the Organization, these four months account for 41 percent of overnight tourists registered in one year.

During this time, more than 460 million tourists are expected to travel all over the world.

“The encouraging start to 2014 and the overall positive sentiment in the sector raise high expectations for the current peak tourism season, benefiting destinations from both advanced and emerging economies,” said UNWTO SecretaryGeneral Taleb Rifai. “The 5 percent growth in the number of international tourists crossing borders in the first months of 2014 further reflects the impact of the increase in public support for the sector as well as the immense capacity of tourism companies to adapt to changing markets,” he added.

As for the whole year, UNWTO says that international tourist arrivals are expected to increase between 4 and 4.5 percent, a rate above the longterm forecast of 3.8 percent set by the UN body for the period covering 2010 to 2020.

Asia and Pacific lead Although Europe was the most visited region in the world, totaling 563.8 million visitors during the first four months of the year, it only registered an increase of 4.7 percent.

In a comparison of the different regions, the number of international visitors in Asia Pacific posted the biggest in-

crease, at 6 percent,totaling 248.7 million visitors. Americas ranked second (5.8 percent; 168.2 million visitors), followed by Africa (5.1 percent; 55.9 million visitors).

The only region the number of visitors declined was in the Middle East, where there was a drop of 3.8 percent to 50.8 million visitors.

Macau close to new record In Macau, A Portugues enclave in Hong Kong, stated that from January to April the number of tourist arrivals increased nine per cent to 10.3 million, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau.

Although the data is not comparable, as the numbers for the territory include same-day visitors, which were the majority of visitors last year (51.3 percent), there is also good news for the SAR industry in the peak season.

Since 2009, August has always been the month registering the largest number of visitor arrivals. The record for the highest number of arrivals was set in August last year with almost 2.87 million visitors entering Macau. If this trend is maintained then this year will set a new record.

“The number of tourists in Macau will continue to grow”, Glenn McCartney, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Gaming Management at the University of Macau, told Business Daily. “There are many reasons but as Macau is improving its accessibility, more people will visit the territory,” he explained.

However, for the tourism expert the growth in Macau is also backed-up by the diversification of the offer in Macau. “Macau is perceived as an attractive destination for the gaming industry, of course.

But there are more reasons behind it. It all goes back to what the region has to offer and in the last years the non-gaming offer to tourists, such as shopping, has been developing at a fast pace,” he said.

Today the Statistics and Census Bureau is expected to reveal the visitor arrivals data for the month of June.

• Source: Top on Travel

Overland Airways' ATR aircraft

Airlines profit expectations remain positive profit expectations for Aevenirline the year ahead are positive though recent improve-

ments in financial performance have paused, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s quarterly survey of airline CFOs and heads of cargo in July.

The body noted that its recent past financial performance is now in line with a year ago, after having shown improvement in previous quarters, but the outlook remains positive and suggests there will be further growth in profitability.

Respondents reported declines in yields during Q2,

but there is confidence about a rise in yields over the next 12 months, which is consistent with the positive outlook for profitability.

The outlook shows that there is confidence that air transport volumes will continue to expand over the next 12 months and support growth in yields, and that cost pressures will remain broadly stable, just as a majority of respondents expect passenger and cargo volumes to expand over the year ahead, consistent with a recent resumption in improvement in demand drivers.

According to them, “yields

are expected to increase during the year ahead, supported by the outlook for growth in air transport demand and potentially also by capacity management with views of a solid rebound in passenger yields ahead.”

Prior declines in input costs have reversed, with respondents now expecting costs to be stable during the year ahead, largely reflecting increases in oil prices over recent months due to conflict-related supply concerns.

Airline employment activity is reported to have declined during Q2 compared to a year ago, and no growth is expected for the year ahead.

5th National Travel Essay Competition ends in Lagos he grand finale of the 5th National Travel Essay TCompetition (NTEC 2013/14)

and 4th Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES) to mark the Children and Youth Day Celebrations held recently at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Headquarters Annex, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

This year’s event which had as its theme: “Finding Your Place in a Vibrant Air Transport Industry,” was declared open by the Chairman of the occasion, Captain Dele Ore, President, Aviation Round Table (ART).

In his paper titled: “Sensitizing the youths in aviation careers,” the veteran Captain noted that over the years, the National Travel Essay Competition and Youth Empowerment Seminar has been a veritable platform for sensitising and enlightening the youths about opportunities in the air transport industry as well as encouraging them to follow a career in the sector.

He took time to itemise the various careers that can be tak-

en advantage of as well as the required qualifications.

In his welcome address, the founder and coordinator of NTEC, Mr Ewos Iroro, informed that in the past five years, the contest has gradually gained acceptance among secondary schools in the country and has come of age. He, however, noted that despite the giant strides that have so far been made, a lot still needs to be done to sensitize the Nigerian youth and indeed the public about the air transport industry and its potential to transform the fortunes of the nation. To this end, he called on the private sector and wellmeaning organisations to identify with the initiative.

This year’s competition witnessed not only the Secondary Schools Category, but also saw the launch of the Tertiary Institutions Category. The topic of discussion chosen for the Secondary Schools was: “Helicopters: How important to our daily life and economy?”,while that of the Tertiary Institutions was: “Safety versus profit in airline operations: which comes first?”

In line with its corporate

goal of being an investor in people and giving back to the community as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this year’s contest was graciously supported by Bristow Helicopters as Title Sponsors in conjunction with the organisers. Hence, the contest was renamed: The 5th Bristow Helicopters/Travel & Business News National Travel Essay Competition (NTEC 2013/14).

A total of fifty (50) secondary schools were invited to take part in the competition with an average of two students from each school. Of this number, the top ten with performances ranging from 96 per cent – 72 per cent were invited to the grand finale to compete for the top prizes.

Following a keenly contested oral assessment in defence of their written works, the top three winners emerged as follows: KarimatSowemimo of Murtala Muhammed Airport Secondary School (MMASS); Tolulope Ogunkoya of International School (Unilag) Lagos (ISL); and Divine Nwachi, also of MMASS in first, second and third places respectively.

40

BUSINESS | AVIATION

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Linking Africa by air: A difficult task?

TOUGH TASK Even from West Africa, it practically becomes difficult. You may have to go to Europe or Asia Wole Shadare

I

n Africa, aviation is a deeply troubled industry. According to a report from the World Bank, the continent “has less than one per cent of the global air service market despite having over 12 per cent of the world’s population.”

Africa's land mass Africa is massive, encompassing about 11.6 million square miles or 30 million square kilometres. That’s three times larger than the United States. The vast distances between countries become quite real for those who travel regularly from one region to another and they are only compounded by poor infrastructure. Many roads are either unpaved or crumbling outside of urban areas, and rail service is scant.

The only realistic option is by flight. But that option is almost non-existent. It is very difficult to travel from one end of the continent to another.

You practically cannot do that.

Aviation expert, Michael Adetoye, who is based in London, told New Telegraph that the situation does hurt business in Africa, adding that a business man could miss out on making international deals because flights are so unaffordable, delays are typical and customer service can be very unreasonable.

Challenges Executive director of a technology-driven social development organisation called Paradigm Initiative Nigeria ‘Gbenga Sesan, agrees. “African travel has quite a number of challenges,” he said, adding that it can be “a nightmare with delays, outright cancellations, terrible customer service and more.”

A lack of direct flights is one major problem. High costs due to exorbitant fuel taxes are another. Even those passengers who do have the time and money to surmount these challenges are often scared away

by African airlines’ generally deplorable safety records.

It becomes more problematic if you want to travel from Lagos to Sao Tome and Principe for instance. There are no direct flights from Lagos, except with a chartered plane.

Even from West Africa, it practically becomes difficult. You may have to go to Europe or through airlines like Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airlines.

Same way if you want to fly from Cape Town, a South African city that sprawls from the base of Table Mountain to the

Ethiopian Airline crew inside the cabin of a Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft

fic in 2010. All of them were served by Ethiopian Airlines.

Managing Director, Ethiopian Airlines, Mr Esayas Woldemariam Hailu (left) and General Manager, Nigeria, Mr Solomon Yadeta at a press conference at MMA 11, Ikeja, Lagos recently

shores of the Atlantic, to Lagos, a hectic, high-traffic hot spot on the southern coast of Nigeria.

The two cities are major business hubs and their respective countries boast the two largest economies in Africa.

A direct flight would take a little over six hours. But as it happens, there are no direct commercial flights between Cape Town and Lagos. Economies of scale often enable Middle Eastern and European carriers to operate flights to and from Africa more cheaply than Africa’s own carriers could. But that’s not all that stops major African airports from becoming international hubs. They are also held up by a lack of cooperation among countries, and protectionism is to blame.

“The biggest culprits for stifling air connectivity, growth and development are misaligned government policies,” said Linden Birns, managing director of Plane Talking, an aviation consultancy in South Africa.

“It is a phenomenon of a soloed approach to govern-

ment, where narrow interests are protected, without any appreciation for how they might impact on other parties.”

Cross-border transportation Adopting cross-border transport agreements would liberalize market access and spur trade, but myopic policy makers have been slow to embrace such ideas simply because the increase in international competition would threaten the viability of their domestic or state-owned airlines.

Such reticence would make sense if those domestic airlines were capable of picking up the slack. But in fact, a slew of government-owned carriers - many of which were founded during the 1960s, when dozens of sub-Saharan African countries gained independence have failed to launch. Some, like Air Burkina and Air Malawi, never made it to the 1970s. Others held on for decades before they bit the dust; Uganda Airlines kept at it until 2001 while Nigeria Airways held on until 2003.

State-owned airlines have

emotional value; citizens see them as flag-bearers and points of pride.

Yamoussoukro Declaration The best attempt to address this problem on a continental scale was the Yamoussoukro Declaration in 1988, an international accord that called for fewer restrictions on crossborder travel. The declaration was strengthened to become the Yamoussoukro Decision in 1999, which was approved by state heads to make it fully binding in 2002 and then affirmed once again at a 2005 conference in South Africa.

The results of these agreements have been disappointing. Still today, most African states have failed to act on them in a comprehensive and transparent way.

One encouraging counterpoint is Ethiopia, whose stateowned Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise is leagues ahead of its continental competitors.

The World Bank notes that of the 19 bilateral routes that conform to the Yamoussoukro Declaration, only 13 had traf-

Ethiopian Airlines rescue approach Thanks in large part to its devotion to traffic liberalisation, the 67-year-old carrier is the second-largest in sub-Saharan Africa, after South African Airways. It operates 54 aircraft - including four brand-new 787 Dreamliners from Boeing and has 41 more on order. Ethiopian Airlines posted profits of about $41 million for the fiscal year that ended in July 2012, and has ambitious plans to expand passenger capacity over the next decade.

According to Plane Talking’s Birns, other countries may be gearing up to follow that lead, “partly out of envy of the examples being set by more progressive governments (such as) Ethiopia, which see the value in placing air transport and connectivity front and central in their national growth strategies.”

High Fares Once African countries open up their policies to ease air traffic, ramping up consumer demand will become paramount. As it stands, passengers have reason to avoid African carriers; the continent is home to some of the most expensive airfares on earth.

Aviation officials, including International Air Transport Association (IATA) CEO, Tony Tyler, and African Airlines Association (AFRAA) SecretaryGeneral, Elijah Chingosho, note that these problems are rooted in psychology; state officials simply don’t see aviation as a high-priority industry, perceiving it instead as a luxury.

In that context, air traffic becomes little more than an opportunity to pinch some extra revenue. African airfares are subject to excessive levies in the form of airport fees, jet fuel taxes, excise duties and more.

BUSINESS | MONEY LINE 41

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Online retailer Jumia expands to Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon America and Russia.

Global consulting firm McKinsey estimates about 16 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans, or just over 160 million people, are connected to the Internet, compared with nearly 75 per cent in Europe and 32 per cent in Asia.

A surge in mobile Internet access means that figure is expected to rise sharply in the medium term, helping African e-commerce sales reach $75 billion by 2025, McKinsey predicts.

Jumia, whose main investors are mobile operators MTN, Millicom and Sweden's Kinnevik, promises to deliver products ranging from fashion to consumer electronics in one to five days, even to remote villages.

Poignonnec said there were plenty of opportunities for synergies with MTN and Millicom as they are leading telecoms players in Jumia's three new markets: "This helps to build a stronger business," he said.

Rocket Internet has already launched less investment-intensive online businesses in the new markets it is entering such as food delivery service HelloFood, real estate market place Lamudi and taxi booking app Easytaxi.

"We start with a very deep knowledge of the market," said Poignonnec, who is also cochief executive of Africa Internet Holdings (AIH), a partnership between Rocket Internet, MTN and Millicom, which runs those groups.

AIH declined to give figures for sales or hits on its websites,

MOST VISITED In Nigeria, Jumia is the most visited online shopping site

O

nline retailer Jumia, a would-be African Amazon set up by German venture capital firm Rocket Internet, is expanding into three new markets - Uganda, Ghana and Cameroon, the company said yesterday.

Jumia, which launched in 2012, already operates in Nigeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Kenya, offering up to 100,000 different items for sale from its local warehouses.

The company recently set up local offices in Uganda after initially launching a service there last February that relied on deliveries from Kenya. The Ghana and Cameroon sites are set to open within the coming weeks, a spokesman told Reuters.

"We know we are early. We are coming to markets which are not as mature in terms of Internet penetration and Internet savviness but still there is a big appetite for this service," Jumia co-founder Sacha Poignonnec said.

Berlin-based Rocket Internet is bidding to create the largest Internet empire outside the United States and China, seeking to replicate the success of Amazon and Alibaba in markets such as Africa, Latin

but the company told Reuters in November that Jumia is growing at 20 percent per month and orders had increased from $50$100 per day to millions of dollars per month a few months after its launch.

In Nigeria, Africa's biggest market by population, Jumia is the most visited online shopping site, according to Web traffic measurement firm

Godson Ikoro

F

idelity Bank Plc said yesterday it made a Profit before Tax (PBT) of N9.43billion for the half year ended June 30, 2014.

The lender in statement, also said it was on track to achieving its 2014 financial year and medium term return on earning (ROE) target.

Commenting on the result, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said: “In the half year ended June 30, 2014, we have begun to see a gradual impact of some of the transformation initiatives we commenced at the beginning of the financial year with PBT growing by 12 per cent in the second quarter and net interest income improving by 32 per cent between June 2013 and June 2014.

“We are confident that the profit and efficiency momentum will be sustained in the

As at 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

Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

Ebere Ameh

I 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

coming quarters as we implement our newly tested lending structures to grow the loan book in the SME and retail segment while consolidating on our niche corporate banking play”.

Although the result showed a drop of 16 per cent from N11.2 billion recorded in the Half year ended June 30, 2013, Q2 PBT grew by 12 per cent to N4.97billion compared with N4.45 billion recorded in Q1 2014.

Highlights of result further showed that the gross earnings grew by 1per cent from N62.9 billion recorded in H1 2013 to N63.3 billion in H1 2014.

The net interest income also rose by 32 per cent to N24.8 billion in first half of 2014 compared with the N18.7 billion recorded in H1 2013. This according to statement was driven by a steady growth in the loan book and repricing of deposits and risk assets.

While the non-interest income declined by 14per cent to N13.0 billion from N15.1 billion recorded in H1 2013, basically driven by a reduction in foreign exchange earnings; operating expenses grew by 11per cent to

N26.3 billion in H1 2014 from N23.7 billion recorded in H1 2013.

This was driven by an increase in remuneration costs and regulatory related expenses, while the growth in the other expense lines was significantly below the inflation rate, the bank said.

“Total customer deposits also declined by 5per cent to N766 billion as at June 30, 2014 from N806 billion as at December 31, 2013 as we rebalance our deposit book on account of high cash reserve requirement on public sector deposits and continuous re-pricing of the deposit book,” the statement added.

“Furthermore, its quarterly basis deposits recorded a marginal growth in Q2 2014 while interest expense remained flat in a period of increased monetary tightening,” the statement added.

Net loans and leases grew by 3 per cent to N438 billion, as at June 30, 2014 from N426 billion as at December 31, 2013, loan growth was 19per cent from June 2013 to June 2014.

Indonesia set to boost business relations with Nigeria

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

pects the expansion to create about 100 jobs, with an initial team of about 30 people in each country responsible for customer service, packing, dispatch and delivery.

Sources have told Reuters that Rocket Internet is considering a stock market listing in Frankfurt later this year, which could value it at up to 5 billion euros.

Fidelity Bank posts N9.43bn Q2 profit

Economic Indicators M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR 91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

SimilarWeb. Overall, Jumia is the 23rd most visited site in Nigeria by desktop Internet users, ahead of rivals Amazon, Konga and Alibaba Group's (IPO-BABA.N: Quote) Group's online retail unit, AliExpress, which rank 29, 30 and 31, respectively.

Jumia, which already has more than 1,500 employees, ex-

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

ndonesian Trade Promotion Centre, with the support of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, is dedicated to boosting business relations between Indonesia and Nigeria in the non-oil and gas sector through their upcoming Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI).

Pontas Tobing, Director of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre, at a press conference in Lagos, said the forthcoming 29th Indonesian Trade Expo is billed to hold between the 8thand 12th of October 2014 at Jarkata, Indonesia.

With the theme “Towards Green Business,” he said the TEI, which is the biggest exhibition organised by the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, State Ministry of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, targets USD2million business transactions, 10,000 visitors and 2, 000 exhibitors.

Having included green economy as one of her essential pillars of national sustainable development, he said the TEI is set to highlight the country’s di-

verse eco- products to the global market.

Tobing explained: “The expo is designed to promote the very quality Indonesian-made products and services to the global market to better improve business and investment networking, and boost prospects and chances, particularly for those in search of venture and investment in Indonesian industrial sector.”

The expo will cover agricultural products and manufactured goods; home decorations and building materials; furniture; fashion, lifestyle and creative products; service and investment and export development pavilion.

“Other major programmes at the trade fair venue will also include; trade and investment forum, investment exhibition, business and investment clinic and company visit and one-onone business matching,” he added.

With the investment of over 15 Indonesian companies in Nigeria, “there is currently a trade balance of USD 2,564,263,762 and a total trade volume of USD 3,680,618,972 currently, with 26.8 per cent growth trend between the two countries,” Bona Kusuma, Deputy Director of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre, said.

42 BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

25-Jul-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to the FMDQ OTC PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

Bonds

Price

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

NA

NA

Description 9.25 28-SEP-2014 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)

28-Sep-07 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

9.25 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

100.00 535.00 515.27 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 220.15 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 35.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,479.99

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,575.44

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

Description

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 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

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

28-Sep-14 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

0.18 0.75 2.06 2.76 3.01 3.10 3.85 4.93 5.25 7.51 9.64 14.35 14.83 15.32 16.00 19.98

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

10.53 10.52 11.09 11.07 11.02 11.02 11.05 11.15 11.18 11.97 12.15 12.15 12.15 12.16 12.21 12.20

9.69 9.78 11.01 11.01 10.90 10.90 10.95 11.08 11.09 11.91 12.10 12.11 12.11 12.10 12.16 12.16

99.72 95.43 103.50 109.30 97.08 95.69 98.89 118.00 83.73 121.50 111.40 119.10 102.25 74.82 84.60 99.60

99.87 95.93 103.65 109.45 97.38 95.99 99.19 118.30 84.03 121.80 111.70 119.40 102.55 75.12 84.90 99.90

#

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

0.00 0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

978.35 24.56 3.30 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.27 0.83 1.44 2.38 2.74 2.95

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.55 13.13 12.96 12.99 12.01 12.02

97.02 89.97 105.60 100.31 98.90 96.48

05-Aug-14 15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.03 0.22 1.10 0.70 1.22 1.23 2.74 1.78 3.44 2.41 4.19 2.61 2.61 2.99 3.06 5.33 3.12 3.74 6.34 6.44 3.92 3.95

1.56 3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 4.78 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.74 1.00 1.00 1.94 1.44 1.95

12.05 13.83 14.95 13.76 15.04 14.06 16.60 11.86 12.83 12.79 12.07 12.00 15.78 12.02 12.02 12.20 13.76 12.05 12.53 13.50 12.49 13.01

100.04 99.92 97.56 100.05 99.08 101.81 85.90 103.06 103.16 102.65 106.17 105.52 96.54 105.97 108.82 108.76 102.44 107.74 104.10 106.27 105.91 105.83

1,301.62

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,266.87

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

KWARA NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA

05-Aug-09 15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

17.00 6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00 37.25 9.00 14.96 11.13 27.00 17.28 80.00 28.37 11.40 87.00 5.00 4.78 4.79

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Corporate Bonds

501.10 512.78

A+/Agusto; AA/GCR

LAFARGE WAPCO

11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014

Aa/Agusto

GTB µ NGC

17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014

Nil

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

Bbb-/Agusto A-/Agusto

*UPDC

BB+/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

*FLOURMILLS

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto

NAHCO

BBB-/GCR BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR BBB/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

FSDH

A/GCR

13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

*C & I LEASING *DANA#

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

*TOWER#

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

UBA

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

*DANA NAHCO

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

07-Oct-11

11.50

11.80

07-Oct-14

0.20

1.00

11.54

99.91

18-Dec-09

13.50

13.17

18-Dec-14

0.40

5.21

15.77

99.07

01-Apr-10

17.00

2.00

31-Dec-14

0.44

8.71

19.28

99.00

17-Aug-10

10.00

5.29

17-Aug-15

0.58

4.88

15.43

96.45

09-Dec-10

12.00

13.62

09-Dec-15

0.89

1.00

11.48

100.84

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.60

06-Jan-16

0.97

2.63

13.10

101.02

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

2.18

1.00

11.99

101.85

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

2.25

1.34

12.33

103.63

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

3.18

1.00

12.03

102.47

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.73

30-Nov-17

2.00

1.88

12.86

109.91

09-Apr-11

16.00

7.20

09-Apr-18

1.96

3.48

14.44

102.97

09-Sep-11

18.00

3.27

09-Sep-18

2.13

5.20

16.18

103.51

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.90

09-Sep-18

2.13

5.06

16.04

101.87

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

4.16

1.35

12.41

104.99

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.70

18-Oct-18

2.23

2.29

13.28

104.98

17-Feb-12

17.00

0.45

17-Feb-19

2.31

6.11

17.10

99.95

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

3.44

2.16

13.20

107.53

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

6.31

2.76

14.28

103.88

11-Feb-18

3.55

1.00

12.04

94.80

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

143.81

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

147.27

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

IFC

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

12.00 11.38 Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

4.76

4.62

111.04

111.86

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.01

3.82

104.04

104.75

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.12

5.01

108.95

109.78

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,620.16

Corporate Eurobonds B-/S&P; B/Fitch B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC I

11.50 FEB 01, 2016

01-Feb-11

11.50

450.00

01-Feb-16

3.71

2.96

111.45

112.64

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

4.73

4.04

104.72

105.95

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.02

5.80

99.92

100.75

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.03

6.41

100.59

102.30

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

8.66

8.25

94.33

95.61

10.25 APR 08, 2019

08-Apr-12

10.25

300.00

08-Apr-19

4.81

4.24

113.45

114.48

6.25 APR 22, 2019

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

B/S&P; B/Fitch

FIDELITY BANK PLC

B/Fitch B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

AFREN PLC

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

6.39

6.09

99.41

100.66

B/Fitch; B/S&P

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

8.76

8.54

99.95

100.81

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

DIAMOND BANK PLC FIRST BANK PLC

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.26

6.56

103.42

105.92

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.00

5.10

104.41

105.89

ZENITH BANK PLC

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,660.00 3,783.28

**Treasury Bills DTM 13 20 27 34 41 48 55 62 69

FIXINGS Maturity 7-Aug-14 14-Aug-14 21-Aug-14 28-Aug-14 4-Sep-14 11-Sep-14 18-Sep-14 25-Sep-14 2-Oct-14

Bid Discount (%) 10.15 10.15 10.20 10.20 10.25 10.50 10.50 10.50 10.45

Offer Discount (%) 9.90 9.90 9.95 9.95 10.00 10.25 10.25 10.25 10.20

Bid Yield (%) 10.19 10.21 10.28 10.30 10.37 10.65 10.67 10.69 10.66

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 10.4583 12.2108 13.1576 14.2074

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

11.00

Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

O/N

11.21

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M 6M

161.70 162.10 162.36 162.95 164.12 165.42 169.04

161.80 162.36 162.70 163.60 165.30 167.07 172.84

Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 11.00 12.40 12.97

Agency Bonds AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

0.00 AMCON 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) 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

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

0.00 0.00 17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

978.35 24.56 3.30 112.22 116.70 66.49

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.55 13.13 12.96 12.99 12.01 12.02

97.02 89.97 105.60 100.31 98.90 96.48

1,266.87

Sub-National Bonds Sanctity of Truth

0.27 0.83 1.44 2.38 2.74 2.95

1,301.62

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

A/Agusto Tuesday, July 29, 2014 A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR† A-/Agusto A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A/Agusto; A-/GCR A/Agusto Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto A-/GCR

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

KWARA NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA

14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

05-Aug-09 15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10 30-Sep-11 04-Oct-11 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 14-Feb-12 02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 30-Sep-13 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14

BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS 43

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00

17.00 6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00 37.25 9.00 14.96 11.13 27.00 17.28 80.00 28.37 11.40 87.00 5.00 4.78 4.79

05-Aug-14 15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 30-Sep-18 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12-Dec-18 14-Feb-19 02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 30-Sep-20 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21

0.03 0.22 1.10 0.70 1.22 1.23 2.74 1.78 3.44 2.41 4.19 2.61 2.61 2.99 3.06 5.33 3.12 3.74 6.34 6.44 3.92 3.95

1.56 3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 4.78 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.74 1.00 1.00 1.94 1.44 1.95

12.05 13.83 14.95 13.76 15.04 14.06 16.60 11.86 12.83 12.79 12.07 12.00 15.78 12.02 12.02 12.20 13.76 12.05 12.53 13.50 12.49 13.01

100.04 99.92 97.56 100.05 99.08 101.81 85.90 103.06 103.16 102.65 106.17 105.52 96.54 105.97 108.82 108.76 102.44 107.74 104.10 106.27 105.91 105.83

Private equity destination: W’Africa overtakes S’ Africa NIGERIA LEADS

Nigeria raked in the highest number of private equity deals in W’Africa

Stories by Chris Ugwu

W

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE est Africa raked TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

in more private equity Corporate Bonds deals than their SouthA+/Agusto;ern AA/GCRand Eastern LAFARGE WAPCO AfAa/Agusto GTB rica counterparts, the 2014 NGC Nil Deloitte’s East Africa Private Bbb-/Agusto *UPDC Equity Survey A-/Agusto Confidence *FLOURMILLS BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS has revealed.

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO This is happening for the A-/Agusto FSDH third time in three years and as A/GCR UBA expected, most of the Western BBB-/GCR *C & I LEASING µ

BBB+/DataPro†; BB+/GCR

African deals were in Nigeria while majority of the Southern African deals were in a South Africa.

The statistics showed that private equity deals, in 2012, reached $298.45 million in West Africa and $241.9 million in Southern Africa.

The 2013 private equity transactions were valued at $545 million for West Africa and $491 million for Southern Africa. This could corroborate the claims by Euromonitor Interna11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 tional that consumer spending 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 in17.00 sub-Saharan NGC 31-DEC-2014Africa equaled nearly $600 billion in 2010.

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 According to Ventures Af14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 rica, Mr. Nicholas Plant, who 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 heads the private the equity 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 practice for the UK & Africa at 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 Dentons, had 30-NOV-2017 the following to 18.00 C&I LEASING

*DANA#

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

*TOWER#

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

say on this topic: “I think the great sectors for private equity are those where you can back an entrepreneur or a really good management team, so, they tend to be businesses that offer services, restaurants, shops and manufacturing perhaps.”

Nigeria raked in the highest number of private equity deals in West Africa. The economy is the largest in Africa and is projected to grow at 7per cent yearly.

Plant made some remarks on 07-Oct-11 11.50 the Nigerian economy: “Manu18-Dec-09 13.50 facturing is just about 4% of the 01-Apr-10 17.00 economy here, so that’s 17-Aug-10 10.00 something09-Dec-10 that you expect12.00 to expand 14.00 as the06-Jan-11 economy becomes more 29-Sep-11 13.00 mature and that’s what private 25-Oct-13 equity is all about. 14.25 It’s about 30-Sep-10 13.00 taking a small company and 30-Nov-12 18.00

taking it to the next stage. So, for instance, if you had a chain of restaurants that just had two shops, private equity will back

Portland Paint’s H1 profit rises 114%

P

ortland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc (PPPN) has reported a growth of 501.10 113.7 per cent in profit after tax 512.78 for the second quarter ended June 2014.

11.80 0.20 According07-Oct-14 to the company’s 13.17 18-Dec-14 0.40 notice to the Nigerian Stock 2.00 31-Dec-14 0.44 Exchange (NSE), 5.29 17-Aug-15net earnings 0.58 firmed up to09-Dec-15 N125.7 million 13.62 0.89 as 0.60 06-Jan-16 0.97 against N58.85 million recorded 15.00 29-Sep-16 2.18 during the comparable period 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.25 of 2013, indicating a growth of 20.00 30-Sep-17 3.18 113.7 per cent.

0.73 30-Nov-17 2.00 grew 09-Apr-11 16.00 7.20The company’s 09-Apr-18revenue 1.96 09-Sep-11 18.00 3.276.3 per cent 09-Sep-18 2.13 by from N1.35 billion 09-Sep-11 16.00 0.90to 2013 to N1.43 09-Sep-18billion in2.13 in 2014 22-Sep-11 14.00 35.00 4.16 while the net22-Sep-18 asset increased to 18-Oct-13 15.75 2.70 18-Oct-18 2.23 be met from the internally gen- 13 per cent from N967.98 million 17-Feb-12 17.00 0.45 17-Feb-19 2.31 erated resources, to16.00 the extent to 01-Apr-14 4.50N1.09 billion.

01-Apr-19 3.44 that the company is faced had during 14-Nov-13 15.25 an op2.05The company 14-Nov-20 6.31the portunity requiring significant 143.81 2013 financial year returned to capital, the board is confident 147.27 profitability as it recorded a that shareholders will continue growth of of 148 per cent in in their steadfast support and profit after tax in 2013 from a 11-Feb-13 10.20 11-Feb-18 3.55 participate in any capital rais- 12.00 loss of N222.7 million in 2012. ing requirement. The company 12.00Operational profit grew from also has excellent relationship 11.38 a loss position of N130.8 million in 2012 with banks and other financial Outstanding Valueto N224.4 million in 2013, Issue Date Coupon (%) Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) institutions that can be relied (N'bn) while earnings per share grew on to meet capital require- from loss position of 56 kobo to ments as they arise,” he said.

27 kobo, accounting for growth 07-Oct-11 6.75 28-Jan-21 4.76 Moskofian explained that a 500.00 of 148 per cent. number of approaches were Speaking at the Compa12-Jul-13 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.01 assessed for utilising the com- ny’s Annual General Meeting 12-Jul-13 6.38 500.00 12-Jul-23 5.12 pany’s excess capital, noting (AGM) in Lagos, Chairman, that one of the options explored 1,500.00 Mr. Larry Ettah, attributed by the Board was to retain the 1,620.16 the turnaround in the fortune excess capital until such a time of the business to successful as sufficient opportunities for implementation of innovation 01-Feb-11 450.00 01-Feb-16 3.71 its deployment arise.11.50 and proactive policies 19-May-11 7.50 19-May-16 4.73 Another was that hasty 500.00“The Nigerian economy 08-Nov-13 6.00 in the 400.00 08-Nov-18 6.02 faced enormous socio-economic deployment of capital 25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 25-Jul-17 7.03 as challenges in 2013; however, absence of value enhancing 09-May-13 02-May-18 shown in this report, your8.66 comopportunities might6.88 lead to de- 300.00 08-Apr-12 10.25 300.00 08-Apr-19 4.81 pany was able to successfully struction of shareholder value.

22-Apr-14 6.25 500.00 22-Apr-19 6.39

Cadbury’s Q2 net earnings drop 50% A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR

AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR A/Agusto; A/GCR

C

Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

*TOWER#

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

UBA

CASERA adbury Nigeria*LA Plc recordBBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS ed a 50 per cent*DANA decline in BBB/GCR post-tax the half A+/Agusto; A-/GCRprofit for NAHCO TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE year ended June 30, 2014.

The company in a filing with TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION the Nigerian Stock Exchange Supranational Bond (NSR) said its half-year net AAA/S&P earnings decreasedIFC from N2.51 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE billion in 2013 to N1.26 billion, TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION accounting for a drop of 50 per cent.

Issuer Its Rating/Agency pre- tax profit equally fell toFGN N1.79 billion down 50 per cent Eurobonds from N3.58 billion in the same BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P period last year.

BB-/Fitch; In the same breath, turnover FGN BB-/S&P decreased by 12.1 per cent to BB-/Fitch; N15.32 BB-/S&P billion from N17.46 billion.

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Cadbury Nigeria had said TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION that the reason behind its capiCorporate Eurobonds tal reduction was due to the B-/S&P; B/Fitch PLC I to excess capital in itsAFREN disposal I attend to the needs GTBANK of thePLC comB+/S&P; B+/Fitch GTBANK PLC pany.

B+/S&P BANK PLC Capital reductionACCESS entails the B/S&P; B/Fitch BANK PLC reduction of the FIDELITY company‘s B/Fitch PLC share capital and AFREN share preB+/Fitch; BB-/S&P #

ZENITH BANK PLC

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

mium and the return of this MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 capital toIIthe company’s share16.00 DANA 1-APR-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 holders.

The Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emil Moskofian, stated this while addressing stock market com10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 munity at the company’s facts behind the capital reduction.

He said that the company’s projections indicated that it Description would generate sufficient capital to meet its expansionary and operational requirements.

JAN 28, 2021 Moskofian6.75noted that rather than invest the excess 5.13 JUL 12, 2018 capital on behalf of shareholders at 6.38 JUL 12, 2023 what might be sub-optimal returns, the board of directors decided to recommend the return of excess capital to shareholders who are best placed FEB 01, 2016 to take their11.50 own investment decisions. 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 board “Whilst the company’s 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 and management do not cur6.88 MAY 09, 2018 rently foresee any future capi10.25 APR 08, 2019 tal requirements, that will not 6.25 APR 22, 2019

it and take it to like 50 shops in the country where it originated and then ideally, expand it into countries.”

weather the storm and post an impressive result,” he said.

On outlook of the company, Ettah noted that the company is poised to reap the benefits of the current investments in the 1.00 11.54 99.91 business.

5.21 15.77 99.07 He said: “The company will 8.71 19.28 99.00 continue to implement its strat4.88 15.43 96.45 egies enhancement 1.00 for the11.48 100.84 of 13.10 101.02 the its2.63 service delivery through 1.00 11.99 101.85 restructuring of its operations 1.34 12.33 103.63 and, in particular, the route to 1.00 12.03 102.47 the1.88market and areas 12.86 focus on 109.91 of 3.48 its core competencies, 14.44 102.97 en5.20 103.51 and forcement of16.18 procedures 5.06 101.87 the processes in16.04 tandem with 1.35 12.41 group's policies.

“These104.99 initia2.29 13.28 104.98 tives have re-positioned our 6.11 17.10 99.95 company for sustainable growth 2.16 13.20 107.53 and performance 2.76improved 14.28 103.88 in 2014 and in the years ahead.”

He noted that as the country moved closer to the forthcoming elections in 2015, it was impera1.00 12.04 94.80 tive for political representatives and policy makers to ensure that their activities impacted positively on the business enviOffer Yield (%) Offer Price ronment. Bid Price Commenting on the econPrices & Yields omy, he said: “Although most 4.62 111.04 111.86 analysts expect foreign reserves to decline marginally , 3.82 104.04 104.75 due to CBN’s strategy of using 5.01 109.78 the external 108.95 reserve to stabilise the naira and the likelihood of modest currency depreciation, we are optimistic of the growth prospect of the economy in the 2.96 111.45 112.64 medium-term due to the likeli4.04 of continued 104.72 105.95 hood sustenance 99.92 Government’s 100.75 of 5.80 the Federal 6.41 100.59 102.30 reforms in the power, transpor8.25 94.33 95.61 tation and agriculture sectors 4.24 113.45 114.48 of 6.09 the economy .”

99.41 100.66

DIAMOND BANK PLC FIRST BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

8.76

8.54

99.95

100.81

B/S&P; B-/Fitch

8.25 AUG 07, 2020

07-Aug-13

8.25

300.00

07-Aug-20

7.26

6.56

103.42

105.92

B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

AFREN PLC

6.63 DEC 09, 2020

09-Dec-13

6.63

360.00

09-Dec-20

6.00

5.10

104.41

105.89

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,660.00 3,783.28

25-Jul-14

The FMDQ Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, fixed income securities and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report is subject to FIXINGS Money Market Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

**Treasury the FMDQBills OTC PLC

DTM Maturity Bid Discount (%) 13 7-Aug-14 10.15 20 14-Aug-14 10.15 FGN Bonds 27 21-Aug-14 10.20 34 28-Aug-14 10.20 41 4-Sep-14 10.25 Issuer Description Rating/Agency 48 11-Sep-14 10.50 55 18-Sep-14 10.50 9.25 28-SEP-2014 62 25-Sep-14 10.50 4.00 23-APR-2015 69 2-Oct-14 10.45 76 9-Oct-14 10.30 13.05 16-AUG-2016 83 16-Oct-14 10.45 15.10 27-APR-2017 90 23-Oct-14 10.15 9.85 27-JUL-2017 97 30-Oct-14 10.55 9.35 31-AUG-2017 104 6-Nov-14 10.10 10.70 30-MAY-2018 111 13-Nov-14 10.55 16.00 29-JUN-2019 118 20-Nov-14 10.30 NA NA 132 4-Dec-14 10.10 7.00 23-OCT-2019 167 8-Jan-15 9.95 16.39 27-JAN-2022 181 22-Jan-15 10.05 14.20 14-MAR-2024 195 5-Feb-15 10.15 15.00 28-NOV-2028 209 19-Feb-15 10.15 12.49 22-MAY-2029 223 5-Mar-15 10.15 8.50 20-NOV-2029 258 9-Apr-15 9.90 10.00 23-JUL-2030 272 23-Apr-15 10.05 286 7-May-15 9.70 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 *from the Amortising bonds, TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE # the average life is is acalculated Risk Premium combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums

Offer Discount (%) 9.90 9.90 9.95 9.95 10.00 Issue Date 10.25 10.25 28-Sep-07 10.25 23-Apr-10 10.20 10.05 16-Aug-13 10.20 27-Apr-12 9.90 27-Jul-07 10.30 31-Aug-07 9.85 30-May-08 10.30 29-Jun-12 10.05 9.85 23-Oct-09 9.70 27-Jan-12 9.80 14-Mar-14 9.90 28-Nov-08 9.90 22-May-09 9.90 20-Nov-09 9.65 23-Jul-10 9.80 9.45 18-Jul-14

Bid Yield (%) 10.19 10.21 10.28 10.30 10.37 Coupon (%) 10.65 10.67 9.25 10.69 4.00 10.66 10.53 13.05 10.70 15.10 10.41 9.85 10.85 9.35 10.40 10.70 10.90 16.00 10.65 10.48 7.00 10.42 16.39 10.58 14.20 10.73 15.00 10.78 12.49 10.82 8.50 10.64 10.00 10.86 10.50 12.1493

Tenor O/N 1M Outstanding 3M 6M (N'bn)

Issuer

Agency Bonds NA

AMCON Modified Duration Buckets FMBN

<3 ***LCRM 3<5 >5

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUEMarket TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

11.00

O/N

11.21

REPO TTM (Yrs) Bid Yield (%) Tenor Rate (%) Call 0.18 1M 0.75 3M 6M 2.06

11.00 10.53 12.40 10.52 12.97 13.88 11.09

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

Tenor Spot 7D Offer 14DYield 1M (%) 2M 9.69 3M 9.78 6M 1Y 11.01

2.76 11.07 11.01 3.01 11.02 10.90 3.10 11.02 10.90 :Benchmarks 3.85Bond 11.05 10.95 * :Amortising 4.93Bond 11.15 11.08 µ :Convertible 5.25 Management Corporation 11.18 11.09 AMCON: Asset of Nigeria FGN: Federal 7.51Government of Nigeria 11.97 11.91 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 9.64 12.15 12.10 IFC: International Finance Corporation 14.35 12.15 12.11 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 14.83 Aviation Handling 12.15 Company 12.11 NAHCO: Nigerian 15.32 12.16 12.10 O/N: Overnight 16.00 12.21Company 12.16 UPDC: UAC Property Development WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement Company 19.98 12.20 12.16 NOTE:

Bid ($/N) 161.70 162.10 162.36 Bid Price 162.95 164.12 99.72 165.42 95.43 169.04 176.84 103.50

Offer ($/N)

Price 161.80 162.36

162.70 Offer Price 163.60 165.30 99.87 167.07 95.93 172.84 183.83 103.65

109.30 109.45 97.08 97.38 95.69 95.99 NA :Not Applicable 98.89 99.19 # :Floating Rate Bond 118.00coupon bonds 118.30 ***: Deferred 83.73 84.03 †: Bond121.50 rating expired 121.80 111.40 111.70 119.10 119.40 102.25 102.55 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 74.82Bank for Africa 75.12 UBA: United 84.60 84.90 99.60 99.90

4,479.99 4,575.44

Description

Issue Date

0.00Porfolio AMCONMarket 31-OCT-2014 (SR.5 TR.1) Total Outstanding 0.00 FMB 24-MAY-2015 Value(Bn) Volume(Bn) 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 09-DEC-2016 1,028.22 968.07 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 20-APR-2017 1,143.53 951.30 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 745.71 811.72

2,917.46

Value

Rate (%) 10.4583 12.2108 13.1576 Maturity Date 14.2074

100.00 28-Sep-14 535.00 23-Apr-15 NITTY 515.27 16-Aug-16 Tenor Rate (%) 452.80 27-Apr-17 1M 10.2717 20.00 27-Jul-17 2M 10.5274 100.00 31-Aug-17 3M 10.5969 300.00 30-May-18 6M 10.6691 351.30 29-Jun-19 9M 10.8324 12M 10.9435 233.90 23-Oct-19 600.00 27-Jan-22 220.15 14-Mar-24 NIFEX 75.00 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 Current Price ($/N) 20-Nov-29 BID($/N) 200.00 161.9500 591.57 23-Jul-30 OFFER ($/N) 162.0500 35.00 18-Jul-34

**Exclusive of non-trading t.bills TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Rating/Agency

NIBOR

Bonds

2,731.09

FMDQ FGN

28-Dec-11 Weighting by 24-May-10 Outstanding Vol

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 35.45 20-Apr-12 34.83 06-Jul-12 29.72

100.00

Outstanding Value (N'bn) BOND INDEX

Coupon (%)

0.00 Weighting

by Mkt 0.00 Value

17.25 0.00/16.00 35.24 0.00/16.50 39.20 0.00/16.50 25.56

100.00

978.35

Bucket Weighting 24.56

3.30 112.220.35 116.700.35 66.49 0.30

1,301.62 1.00

31-Oct-14 % Exposure_ 24-May-15 Mod_Duration

03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 16.96 20-Apr-17 34.64 06-Jul-17 48.40

100.00

0.27

Implied Yield 0.83

1.44 2.38 11.08 2.74 11.71 2.95 12.20

11.84

#

Risk Premium (%) 1.00 Implied 2.63 Portfolio Price 2.27 2.00 118.1728 1.00 134.0830 1.00 100.7369

118.5325

Valuation Yield (%) 11.55

INDEX 13.13

12.96 12.99 1,122.40 12.01 1,135.36 12.02 1,175.18

1,125.93

Indicative Price 97.02 YTD Return 89.97 (%)

105.60 100.31 12.2401 98.90 13.5364 96.48 17.5177

12.5932

1,266.87

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto A-/GCR A+/Agusto A/Agusto Nil A+/Agusto A+/Agusto; A+/GCR A-/Agusto A/Agusto

KWARA NIGER KADUNA *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO

14.00 KWARA 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

05-Aug-09 15-Oct-09 31-Aug-10 30-Sep-10 30-Jun-11 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 30-Dec-10

14.00 14.00 12.50 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00

17.00 6.00 8.50 6.08 6.27 7.37 57.00 29.92 25.00

05-Aug-14 15-Oct-14 31-Aug-15 30-Sep-15 30-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17

0.03 0.22 1.10 0.70 1.22 1.23 2.74 1.78 3.44

1.56 3.29 4.44 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79

12.05 13.83 14.95 13.76 15.04 14.06 16.60 11.86 12.83

100.04 99.92 97.56 100.05 99.08 101.81 85.90 103.06 103.16

Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014

Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001

44 BUSINESS | CAPITAL MARKET

Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001

Daily Summary (Bonds)

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

No Debt Trading Activity

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at July 25, 2014 Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 32 19 51

Current Price 33.01 38.01

Quantity Traded 130,978 275,470 406,448

Value Traded 4,289,396.90 10,470,538.65 14,759,935.55

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 30 30

Current Price 3.10

Quantity Traded 920,371 920,371

Value Traded 2,853,434.10 2,853,434.10

1,326,819

17,613,369.65

Quantity Traded 193,222 48,955,544 277,897 49,426,663

Value Traded 258,969.88 264,254,908.15 17,149,780.04 281,663,658.07

49,426,663

281,663,658.07

AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Diversified Industries Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

81 Symbol AGLEVENT TRANSCORP UACN

Daily Summary

No. of Deals 4 563 64 (Equities) 631

CONGLOMERATES Totals

Current Price 1.34 5.51 62.40

631

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Computers and Peripherals Totals Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001

No. of Deals 21 6 27

Current Price 1.16 14.46

Quantity Traded 862,780Page 217 862,997

Value Traded 11,024,003.22 of 13 2,981.58 1,026,984.80

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 24 24

Current Price 63.00

Quantity Traded 125,866 125,866

Value Traded 8,050,675.25 8,050,675.25

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 31 31

Current Price 17.46

Quantity Traded 219,914 219,914

Value Traded 3,861,554.75 3,861,554.75

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals

Symbol SKYESHELT UPDCREIT

No. of Deals 1 2 3

Current Price 95.00 9.95

Quantity Traded 93 100 193

Value Traded 8,393.25 946.00 9,339.25

1,208,970

12,948,554.05

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Beverages--Brewers/Distillers

85 Symbol DUNLOP

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 840,712 840,712

Value Traded 420,356.00 420,356.00

No. of Deals 3

Current Price 9.19

Quantity Traded 100,599

Value Traded 924,504.81

Daily Summary (Equities)

CHAMPION PLC. EQTY Activity SummaryBREW. on Board Published

by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC UNION DICON SALT PLC. Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 U T C NIG. PLC. Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONSUMER GOODS Published byHousehold The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol CHAMPION

Page

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © PLC ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK

of

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

13

Current Price 197.15 28.05 178.00 0.77

Quantity Traded 407,194 313,258 1,911,728 500 2,733,279

Value Traded 80,654,226.37 8,351,415.70 339,564,255.86 400.00 429,494,802.74

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 27 27

Current Price 100.03

Quantity Traded 62,495 62,495

Value Traded 6,595,106.71 6,595,106.71

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON UNIONDICON UTC

No. of Deals 72 83 58 65 68 1 1 348

Current Price 7.61 9.20 73.98 4.25 10.59 14.11 0.50

Quantity Traded 4,838,723 2,498,279 217,815 1,670,786 2,038,397 25 50 11,264,075

Value Traded 38,882,034.71 23,038,906.08 16,116,074.20 6,906,185.47 21,054,934.78 335.25 25.00 105,998,495.49

Symbol No. of Deals CADBURY 30 Daily Summary (Equities) NESTLE 62 92

Current Price 74.25 1,120.00

Quantity Traded 61,473 75,170 136,643

Value Traded 4,359,614.80 83,525,543.37 87,885,158.17

Page Quantity Traded 412,718 412,718

3 of 13 Value Traded 1,698,064.02 1,698,064.02

No. of Deals 42 42

Current Price 4.15

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 56 62 118

Current Price 39.00 49.00

910 Symbol No. of Deals ACCESS 228 DIAMONDBNK 220 ETI 116 FIDELITYBK 124 GUARANTY 334 SKYEBANK 157 Daily Summary (Equities) STERLNBANK 80 UBA 227 UBN 88

NATURAL RESOURCES Published byPaper/Forest The Nigerian Products Stock Exchange © THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. Paper/Forest Products Totals

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

Quantity Traded 382,682 304,764 687,446

Value Traded 14,406,200.16 14,552,670.64 28,958,870.80

16,137,368

661,050,853.93 Value Traded 202,106,384.14 136,562,105.76 27,798,278.73 29,639,753.09 4,659,430,891.72 17,409,504.02 35,658,971.16 75,926,432.04 6,792,587.14

Value Traded 407,004.50 6,117,496.36 4 of 13 277,520,170.34 5,475,369,579.00

Current Price 0.81 1.13 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.55 0.54 0.82 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.90

Quantity Traded 5,043,697 4,907,667 807,433 288,000 500 450,250 1,558,306 3,853,104 1,174,650 221,110 55,000 62,337 100,000 25,000 13,532,795 32,079,849

Value Traded 4,105,017.95 5,456,083.34 403,716.50 144,000.00 250.00 1,154,111.24 838,668.62 3,123,132.44 587,325.00 114,977.20 27,500.00 31,168.50 50,000.00 12,500.00 12,166,399.80 28,214,850.59

Symbol FORTISMFB

No. of Deals 2

Current Price 5.96

Quantity Traded 200

Value Traded 1,200.00

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

No. of Deals 5 7

Current Price 1.00

Quantity Traded 201,500 201,700

Value Traded 202,795.00 203,995.00

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol INFINITY RESORTSAL UNHOMES

No. of Deals 1 1 2 4

Current Price 1.60 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded 20,000 220,000 16,218 256,218

Value Traded 33,600.00 110,000.00 8,109.00 151,709.00

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 92 41 510 114 3 190 146 1,096

Current Price 3.26 3.90 15.22 4.20 0.52 29.09 2.17

Quantity Traded 2,009,573 3,044,783 7,369,245 7,386,805 600,000 11,329,056 5,330,917 37,070,379

Value Traded 6,584,591.53 11,992,458.02 112,912,860.92 31,193,523.05 312,000.00 321,741,612.69 11,544,629.69 496,281,675.90

331,377,532

6,000,221,809.49

Quantity Traded 40,000 40,000

Value Traded 20,000.00 20,000.00

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © FINANCIAL SERVICES Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals

Page

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

3,442 Symbol UNIONDAC

No. of Deals 1 1

Exploration and Production Totals

Quantity Traded 20,356,042 20,382,667 1,692,057 14,784,464 155,222,147 5,437,327 15,697,526 9,599,673 758,934

No. of Deals 44 46 5 1 2 13 16 40 7 6 1 1 2 1 94 279

Daily Summary (Equities)

OIL AND GAS Exploration and Production Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD

Current Price 0.50

Page

5

6

of

of

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Media/Entertainment TotalsEQTY Activity Summary on Board

Quantity Traded 708,905 708,905

Value Traded 383,958.21 383,958.21

Symbol OMATEK

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 100.00 100.00

No. of Deals 2 2 Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 2.21

Quantity Traded 1,080 1,080

Value Traded 2,286.80 2,286.80

710,185

386,345.01

Symbol ETRANZACT

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol

14

No. of Deals

Page Quantity Traded

Current Price

7Value Traded of 13

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM DNMEYER PAINTCOM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 94 15 25 121 90 10 1 17 75 448

Current Price 30.27 8.60 41.00 14.17 232.00 1.20 1.47 5.22 118.95

Quantity Traded 832,838 119,231 136,106 2,961,810 87,094,842 24,369 50,000 428,140 706,037 92,353,373

Value Traded 25,013,057.08 1,025,223.55 5,418,728.25 41,471,676.90 18,715,747,670.21 29,394.18 73,500.00 2,221,357.50 83,413,822.87 18,874,414,430.54

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 1.90

Quantity Traded 446,655 446,655

Value Traded 866,819.68 866,819.68

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS VANLEER

No. of Deals 1 3 1 5

Current Price 1.69 16.30 12.08

Quantity Traded 2,811 1,361 100 4,272

Value Traded 4,778.70 23,286.71 1,148.00 29,213.41

92,804,300

18,875,310,463.63

Daily Summary (Equities)

467

Page

Symbol THOMASWY

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.79

8

Quantity Traded Page 4,050 4,050

1

of

3,078.00 3,078.00

4,050

3,078.00

No. of Deals 112 112

Current Price 0.51

Quantity Traded 9,409,406 9,409,406

Value Traded 4,804,151.26 4,804,151.26

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 665 665

Current Price 25.47

Quantity Traded 17,150,043 17,150,043

Value Traded 441,450,267.99 441,450,267.99

No. of Deals 1 37 12 74 48 (Equities) 12 39 223

Current Price 0.50 62.32 3.90 216.00 161.41 61.99 176.45

Quantity Traded 10,000 173,105 74,420 96,646 84,543 12,880 93,011 544,605

Value Traded 5,000.00 10,241,451.88 285,951.00 20,928,234.64 13,689,720.26 758,632.00 16,620,728.89 62,529,718.67

Symbol BECOPETRO CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRSSummary Daily TOTAL

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 34 34

Current Price 675.04

1,034

13

Traded 13 9Value of

Symbol JAPAULOIL

Quantity Traded Page 325,601 325,601

Value Traded 10 of 13 222,970,846.16 222,970,846.16

27,429,655

731,754,984.08

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 16 16

Current Price 1.00

Quantity Traded 228,400 228,400

Value Traded 228,865.90 228,865.90

Symbol REDSTAREX

No. of Deals 38 38

Current Price 5.00

Quantity Traded 969,710 969,710

Value Traded 4,898,206.75 4,898,206.75

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 53 53

Current Price 0.52

Quantity Traded 6,479,926 6,479,926

Value Traded 3,314,828.80 3,314,828.80

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 15 15

Current Price 0.80

Quantity Traded 1,701,300 1,701,300

Value Traded 1,292,251.00 1,292,251.00

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals Current Price

Quantity Traded 50,000 50,000

Value Traded 25,000.00 25,000.00

DAARCOMM

0.50

Symbol LEARNAFRCA STUDPRESS UPL

No. of Deals 10 1 21 32

Current Price 1.63 2.40 4.14

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 24 24

Current Price 0.87

Quantity Traded 1,255,000 1,255,000

Value Traded 1,050,250.00 1,050,250.00

Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 27 61 88

Current Price 2.19 4.90

Quantity Traded 430,565 2,169,078 2,599,643

Value Traded 944,229.10 10,846,347.53 11,790,576.63

Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 16 16

Current Price 6.85

Quantity Traded 178,576 178,576

Value Traded 1,162,529.76 1,162,529.76

283

14,379,516

26,726,048.65

EQTY Board Totals

7,048

536,869,982

26,618,591,033.33

Equity Activity Totals

7,048

536,869,982

26,618,591,033.33

SERVICES Totals Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001

Published

by The Nigerian StockFund Exchange © Exchange Traded

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

13

10,911,868.77

1 1

SERVICES Published byPrinting/Publishing The Nigerian Stock Exchange © LEARN AFRICA PLC STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

13

2,064,924 Current Price 0.54

OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

Value Traded 1,081,960.66 2,181,107.54 6,524,717.30 688,614.50 327,828.77 87,640.00 10,891,868.77

No. of Deals 11 11

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Current Price 9.72 6.70 16.90 1.98 31.00 3.20 2.26 7.90 8.91

Symbol AIICO CONTINSURE INTENEGINS LASACO LAWUNION MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS PRESTIGE REGALINS STACO STDINSURE UNIC WAPIC

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors BECO Daily Summary asPETROLEUM of 25/07/2014PRODUCT PLC CONOIL PLC Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Quantity Traded 509,212 690,907 99,127 405,241 269,437 51,000 2,024,924

Symbol COURTVILLE

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Quantity Traded 814,009 5,942,922 Page 11,081,618 261,769,386

Micro-Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC

100

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Current Price 0.50 1.06 25.23

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

BETA GLASS CO PLC. GREIF NIGERIA PLC Packaging/Containers Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

No. of Deals 16 73 393 2,056

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 Packaging/Containers Printed 25/07/2014 AVON 15:31:01.001 CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS

Current Price 2.06 3.18 68.99 1.70 1.21 1.72

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol UNITYBNK WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

Banking Totals

ICT Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC DN MEYER PLC. PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

No. of Deals 55 28 194 1 281

Symbol VITAFOAM

Processing Systems Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 Processing Systems Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Building Materials Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol GUINNESS INTBREW NB PREMBREW

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC Daily Summary as of 25/07/2014 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Printed 25/07/2014 15:31:01.001 FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY

2

No. of Deals 11 30 24 21 11 2 99

HEALTHCARE Totals

Symbol COSTAIN GCAPPA

(W A) PLC. Published byCOSTAIN The Nigerian Stock Exchange © G CAPPA PLC Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

Daily Summary (ETP) Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

Page Quantity Traded 326,799 20 590,142 916,961

Page No. of Deals 1 3 4

Current Price 2,030.00 19.35

11 of 13 Value Traded 521,258.43 45.60 2,442,235.78 2,963,539.81

12

of

Quantity Traded 12 2,525 2,537

Value Traded 24,360.00 48,706.25 73,066.25

ETF Board Totals

4

2,537

73,066.25

ETP Activity Totals

4

2,537

73,066.25

13

FEATURES

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

T

he sight of plate-carrying children, begging for alms and food is common in most states of northern Nigeria.

Statistics from the Federal Ministry of Education put the number of these children popularly called almajiris at nine million.

Worried by this development, the Federal Government introduced the Almajiri Education programme in collaboration with the state governments and development partners.

Almost all states in the North had introduced measures that would help to keep the children off the streets.

Just recently, about 20,000 pupils of Quranic schools, spread across Katsina State renounced street begging, following the introduction of free school feeding and vocational programme by the state government.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ibrahim Shema on almajiri Affairs, Malam Lawal Gambarawa, said the scheme had recorded appreciable success within seven months.

According to him, the 20,000 pupils are from the 100 Quranic schools selected for the pilot scheme across the 34 local government areas of the state.

Gambarawa explained that 38 schools were selected from Katsina Senatorial Zone, while Funtua and Daura senatorial zones had 30 and 33 schools respectively.

He said that the programme was aimed at improving the living condition of the pupils, curtail street begging, and train the affected youths on vocational skills to make them self-reliant.

Gambarawa said that government was planning to expand the number of benefiting schools to 130 to enable other schools benefit.

“In the first instance, the Katsina State Government started with 70 Quranic schools with about 15,000 Almajirai, and later increased the schools to 100 with 20,000 Almajiris benefiting.

“The Katsina State Government is considering including more Quranic schools into the programme, which will bring down the number of Almajirai begging population.’’

The senior special assistant said that the state government has constructed schools in some local government areas to train the Almajiris to secondary and tertiary levels.

He added that the menace of Almajiri and street begging would become a thing of the past in no distant time if all northern states adopt the Katsina approach.

In order to attract the children to the Almajiri schools, government feeds them every day.

According to Governor Ibrahim Shema, government spends N32 million every month for the feeding of the pupils.

He also said that government introduced mobile ambulance services to

45

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/entrepreneur

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES EDITOR

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com otuntise@yahoo.co.uk

Getting almajiris off the street The Federal Government and states are making concerted efforts to get into school street children in the North, writes CHIJIOKE OKORONKWO

Some street children in the North

Dankwambo

Shema

carter for the health care needs of the Almajiri schools across the state.

Bauchi State, like Katsina State, is unrelenting in its effort to provide qualitative education to the Almajiris.

Governor Isa Yuguda said that the government had built 620 Almajiri schools in the state between 2007 and 2009, and integrated same into the Universal Basic Education system.

The governor stated this at the inauguration of the Tsangaya Islamiya Model School (a Quranic school), in Buzaye in Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

He said his administration started integrating the Quranic schools into basic education with only three schools, adding that “now we have 620, with an enrolment of 35,531 pupils.

“All the schools have classrooms with quality facilities such as furniture, instructional materials, as well as qualified teachers.’’

Yuguda said that three Tsangaya Islamiya Model Schools were built in the

state by the Federal Government at the cost of N350 million.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who inaugurated the schools, said that the Federal Government had so far constructed 128 Almajiri schools in 28 states of the federation.

He said that out of the 128 schools, 89 were constructed by Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), while 39 were constructed by the defunct Education Trust Fund (ETF), now Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

“So far, 109 of the schools have been completed, while the remaining ones are at various stages of completion,” Sambo added.

The vice-president said available records indicated that the number of Almajiris in the country was more than nine million.

He said: “This staggering figure does not only pose a great challenge in the achievement of education for all, it also poses serious challenge to the attainment of the development agenda of

our great country.

“Any development plan that does not focus on comprehensive and all inclusive education programme will not lead Nigeria to the attainment of our desired social and economic development.

“This is what informed Federal Government’s decision to include all Nigerian children in the transformation agenda of the education sector.”

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, on his part, said that the percentage of out-of-school children in the state dropped from 78 per cent in 2011 to less than 42 per cent in 2013.

Dankwambo stated this recently in Gombe when the Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyeson Wike, visited him.

The governor recalled that the statistics of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2011 showed that 78 per cent of children in the state were out-of-school He said: “But between 2012 and 2013, the number has dropped to less than 42 per cent.

“A state of emergency was declared in the education sector, as the government built and renovated schools to decongest the existing ones, while recruiting qualified teachers.

“This has contributed effectively to the development of education in the state. We will not relent in our efforts; we will continue to invest in education because it is our number one, two and three priorities.

“If a society is well-educated, other things will follow.”

Indeed, government at all levels should continue to give priority to education, as empowerment is the greatest gift to a child.

• Okoronkwo writes for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

46 FEATURES

Sanctity of Truth

Housewives with milk of kindness

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

In their own little way, some housewives are taking steps to lift the needy in their area, writes TAIWO JIMOH

D

ifferent generations in different climes have thrown up women who have consciously worked to better the lot of womanhood, children and the downtrodden.

Recent history is replete with exploits of heroines who have stood up to be counted on the side of the poor.

The world cannot forget in a hurry the charitable works of Mother Teresa, the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

The late Madam Olufunmilayo Kuti, one of Nigeria’s heroines, was said to have chased a very powerful monarch from his palace during the fight against payment of tax by women.

At their level, some housewives with milk of kindness at Ajumobi Street, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, without prompting, are trying to lift some needy.

Moved by the need to put smile on the faces of near them, the women have donated food items, children’s toys and clothes worth thousands of naira to the less privileged in their neighbourhood.

The donation, which was first of its kind in the neighbourhood, was to bring succour to the downtrodden in the area.

The donation, according to the initiator, Mrs Maureen Okafor, is done to give hope to the hopeless.

A Second Republic Minister of Transport was quoted then as saying Nigerians had not started eating from dustbin, in response to public outrage over poverty in the land against the profligacy of those in government.

But Okafor said she was moved by the sight of young Nigerians picking disused items from the dustbin.

She said: “The idea of giving such items out to the less privileged in our neighbourhood came from seeing some young boys and girls who normally come to our premises to pick items thrown into the dustbin.

“Whenever these children come into the compound, they go straight to the dustbin and pick up whatever they find inside and go away smiling.

“There was a particular day I saw some of the boys who came into our compound again and went to the dustbin, then took a baby carrier and a schoolbag dumped there by a neighbour. Immediately one of them took those items, they all ran out of the compound in jubilation. They were dancing and singing while they were going home with the items they picked from the dustbin.

“After that I said to myself that if those boys could pick such items and still be happy, I have to make other people happy.”

Okafor said that she gathered ev-

Some of the donors and beneficiaries

The housewives

If what these housewives are doing today is emulated by everybody in the country, poverty will reduce and peace will reign erything she wanted to throw away and wrote letters to her neighbours and others in the neighbourhood to bring out their used clothes and some items they might want to dispose of.

She added that she informed her friends who also bought into it.

One of the beneficiaries, Mr Jame Agbara, said he got the information about the donation from his daughter.

Agbara said that all the items given to them were in good shape and urged other Nigerians to emulate the good gestures of the Ajumobi housewives.

He said: “If others are doing such things, there would be reduction in crime; there will be peace and love in the country.”

Another beneficiary, Ramotu Shuabu, thanked the housewives for the items given her.

She said the items, ‘weavon’, baby carrier, clothes and children’s wears, would ameliorate her suffering.

Another beneficiary of the gesture, Ayomide Peter, said it was a nice ges-

PHOTOS: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

A beneficiary

ture and it would be of immense help to them.

She said: “I live in the estate. A neighbour informed about the development. I was given ‘weavon,’ shirts, trousers and some children’s wears.

“If I go to the market for shopping, I would spend close to N10,000 to get what they gave me. But they gave it out for people like me free.”

Mrs Jane Ighosewe, one of the housewives, said it was a dream come true.

She said: “What we were trying to do before was to create a platform where housewives can lodge a complaint about the products.”

Mrs Nkechi Abbey, one of the sponsors, said she was excited with what they had done.

She said: “I’m excited with what we are doing here today. As housewives, we are touching people’s lives in our own little way.

“If we are not doing what we are doing today, these people could turn against us in the neighbourhood for not responding to their plight. People live in our midst and they see what our children are wearing, they also see what we are throwing into dustbin every day.

“When Mrs Okafor told me about the idea, I did not hesitate to key into the concept. I see what we are doing today as moral boaster and it could

also grow to something bigger than what we ever imagined.

“We thought the neighbourhood would not turn out, because it was raining heavily, but immediately after the rain, they started coming from near and far. I and my co-housewives feel appreciated and challenged to do more.”

Abbey urged wealthy Nigerians to emulate them.

“We also call on housewives in Lagos State who have used items they wanted to dispose of to bring them to us in Ajumobi Estate for propel channelization to the less privileged,” she added.

A resident of the area, Mr Desire Babawa, commended the women for what they did.

He said: “What the housewives are doing is nice concept; everything should not be left to the government alone.

“If what these housewives are doing today is emulated by everybody in the country, poverty will reduce and peace will reign. What we are experiencing today about the security challenges confronting the country would have been a thing of the past.

“How I wish everybody is doing what these women are doing. It brings peace and unity between the rich and the less privileged in the community. Such gestures are more appreciated in the sight of the Almighty God.

47

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Contractor decries Plateau govt’s demolition of property Musa Pam

Jos

roup General Manager, Gpanies, Duncan Group of ComDr. Godfrey Bawa

Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris (right) and others, during the Eid-il-Fitr prayer in Zaria, Kaduna State

226,563

The number of air travel passengers of the domestic wing of Kano airport in 2012.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

8,724

The number of refugees and people in refugee-like situation assisted by UNHCR in Republic of Congo at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

15%

The percentage of women above 60 years in Chile in 2012.

Source: Un.org

2015: INEC promises free, fair polls Dahiru Suleiman

DUTSE

T

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday assured the nation of free, fair and credible elections next year.

Giving the assurance yesterday was the Jigawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Bagobiri Mafara, while inaugurating the state chapter of the InterAgency Advisory Committee on Voter Education and Publicity in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.

INEC’s assurance on the 2015 elections came against the backdrop of the lapses recorded in previous elections in the country.

The electoral body has admitted that previous

elections were bedeviled with a high degree of apathy and an equally high number of voided votes traceably to limited knowledge of the voting process and low political awareness.

Also, INEC admitted that there were too little female participation in the electoral process as some candidates and other disadvantaged groups feel left out of the process.

The electoral body also identified malpractices such as corruption, vote buying, snatching of electoral materials, intimidation, threat, unauthorised use of force etc. as part of the problems with our electoral process, saying that there was the need to boost voter education nationwide to considerably reduce ignorance and to ensure quality participa-

tion by all.

Mafara said: “One of the major reasons for the apathy recorded in previous elections and the resultant low participation in elections can be attributed to the low level of awareness on electoral matters by citizens, hence INEC’s conviction in inaugurating this committee nationwide.”

According to him, this was the first time the commission will be engaging a wide range of agencies at a multilateral level on the task of educating, enlightening and mainstreaming voters in Jigawa State in a more formal and structured manner.

“This committee is a multilateral agency platform to develop framework and guidelines and to design materials for voter and civic educa-

tion. The committee is designed to educate people and enlighten them not only about the specifics and mechanisms of the electoral process, but to empower them on their rights and responsibilities.

“As INEC prepares for 2015 general elections, there is the need to boost voter education nationwide to considerably reduce ignorance on electoral matters and processes and to ensure quality participation of qualified citizens.”

Mafara said INEC and the government agencies represented at the forum have committed enormous resources to voter and civic education, sensitisation, mobilisation and general enlightenment of the public about the electoral process.

Prelate backs female ordination Tony Okafor

AWKA

F

ormer Dean of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), who also doubles as the Archbishop of the Niger Province and Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Reverend Maxwell Anikwenwa, has given his nod to the ordination of female priests, saying nothing in theology is against such practice.

He said: “As an Anglican prelate, I do not find any theology against

women ordination. Jesus never said a woman should not serve him. The Bible tells us that women followed Jesus all through his ministry. Why won’t they then serve him?

“So, I do not see anything wrong in ordaining women. But, I have to abide by the stand of the Church of Nigeria on the matter, because we are not on the same page with the Church of England on the issue.”

According to Anikwenwa, the Church of Nigeria has actually not taken a

census to know the number of bishops that are in support of the ordination of women, adding that what he knew was that some parishes said they were not ready for it.

The cleric also spoke on gay marriage, describing it as another Sodom and Gomorrah.

He urged Christians to follow the teachings of the Bible, noting that there was nowhere in the Bible that says men should marry men. On the involvement of some Christians on matters

concerning customs and traditions, Anikwenwa said people usually talk about culture whenever they chose to disobey God. He said further: “Those who mix Christianity with culture and tradition are the people I call pseudo-Christians, who are deceiving themselves.

They are people who fraudulently accepted Christianity. They take front seats at church services in the morning and at night they go to worship at the shrines. That is hypocrisy.”

Shitgurum Assarkawa, yesterday decried the demolition of the international inland dry port owned by the Federal Government at Heipang district in Barkin Ladi Local Government by the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB).

Assarkawa while briefing journalists yesterday in Jos, said JMBD moved into the site on Wednesday, July 23 and pulled down their facilities despite a Federal High Court, Jos injunction restraining them.

He said JMDB and the Ministry of Justice were duly served on Monday, July 21, 2014.

According to him, the gate complex, which was about 86 per cent completed and the administrative block, which was at 45 per cent completion were demolished.

Assarkawa also said over 26,000 blocks, planks and several other items, which could have completed the job were destroyed in the exercise.

The group general manager said the implication of the destruction would have a greater effect on the citizens. He said: “The Heipang ICD would have served many states in the North Central zone and some other

parts of the North-East.

Its economic benefits to Plateau State are many.

“Apart from generating revenue and creating employment for the people, it would have served as the commercial nerve centre of the state as well give it a new lease of life.”

Assarkawa pointed out that since the inception of the Jos ICD project, transactions have been between Duncan Maritime Ventures Limited and the Federal Government through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Transport and that at no point had they have any direct contact with the Plateau State Government.

He said they were surprised that without any information from either the ministry or the Nigerian Shipper’s council, the JMDB moved in to destroy the ICD. He added that the Federal Government’s idea of setting up ICDs was to bring such facilities closer to Nigerians as well as reduce the cost of clearing goods, lowering price and reduce unemployment.

He said it was also to facilitate development in the benefiting states, among others.

Assarkawa commended the effort of patriotic citizens of the state that have shown concern about these issues.

Islamic scholar charges security on Boko Haram Buhari Bello

Jos

ecurity operatives in Surged the country have been not to be intimidated by the threat of Book Haram insurgents in their duty of securing lives and property.

This encouragement was given yesterday by the National Chairman, Council of Ulama Izalatil Bid'ah Wa Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Shiekh Sani Yahaya Jingir, at the end of this year’s annual Tafsir of the Qur'an, marking the end of Ramadan, held in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

According to him, Nigerian security agents should not be intimidated by the threat posed by the insurgents, saying the security agents have the wherewithal to deal with them.

“The security agencies have no reason to be intimidated, they have the capacity to deal with the insurgents,” he said.

“All of us, Muslims, Christians and even other believers have no any other country than Nigeria.”

Shiekh Jingir added that every Nigerian is a stakeholder in the nation’s security project. “So, we should not be deterred about saying the truth, we should not be fearful of the insurgents.”

The cleric, who harped on the significance of sound knowledge and education, further tasked parents to ensure that their children are not only sent to school, but are properly educated, stressing that every parent must also see to it that his child or ward are giving entrepreneurship orientation for them to be self-employed.

Jingir prayed for the restoration of peace, harmony and sustainable development in the country.

“I pray for good, sincere and just leadership; that which would be driven by the fear of Allah for the good of the people of Nigeria. The Shiekh also prayed to Allah to strengthen the Sultan of Sokoto, His eminence, Dr. Saad Abubakar.

He reiterated his call on Nigerians, to prepare for a peaceful credible election come 2015.

Osun 2014

48 NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

LP warns contenders about August 9 poll abour Party (LP) candiLgovernorship date in the Osun State election,

A cross section of female Muslims praying during the 2014 Eid-il-Fitr celebration at the Shababul Hujjaj Society of Nigeria Central Mosque, Fagba, Lagos…yesterday

Stop blackmailing Aregbesola on religion ground, says APC

O

sun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday called on opposition parties in the state, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop blackmailing Governor Rauf Aregbesola on religious ground.

The APC said Governor Aregbesola is not an idolater as being alleged by opposition parties in the state.

The party’s Director of Publicity, Kunle Oyatomi,

in a statement in Osogbo, said the governor’s political detractors embarked on an unholy campaign against him, because of the August 9 governorship election.

Oyatomi described Aregbesola as a devout Muslim, war ning politicians to stop blackmailing him all in the name of politics and politicking.

He said: “PDP has intensified its religious campaign on Osun, but its efforts are failing

dramatically.

“The APC has reliable information that the Presidency is actively encouraging this strategy, because according to PDP sources, the stakes here are too high to ignore.”

The APC, however, told the opposition that ‘this religious campaign will become their albatross for the simple reason that Osun is predominantly Moslem and traditional religionists.”

According to Oyatomi,

a renegade Christian community is accusing Aregbesola of being ‘an idol worshiper’ and therefore ‘an anti-Christ,’ and for this reason, Christians should vote for Omisore.’

The APC reminded citizens that Aregbesola is the governor of Osun State and not the governor of any religious sect in the state.

“His programmes benefit all irrespective of their religious orientation,” ha said.

Omisore accuses Aregbesola of wanting to smear his image

O

sun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, yesterday dissociated himself from the alleged arrest and clamping down on RMS, a research and marketing firm located in Ojodu, because the company was working on an opinion poll on the forthcoming election in Osun State that was not favourable to him.

Omisore in a statement by his Director of Director, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said: “It was a calculated attempt to smear the image of Senator Omisore and

an attempt to attack the Federal Government by the Aregbesola administration, because of the defeat starring them in the face.”

We also want to urge our people to be wary of Governor Aregbesola in the days ahead as he will come up will more ridiculous and frivolous allegations to smear the image of Senator Omisore.

“We are not surprised by his latest antics, because he wasn't prepared for the election and that explains why he was asking for postponement barely two weeks to the poll.

“The security agencies should also be vigilant to nip in the bud any sinister plan by the APC and Aregbesola to circumvent the wishes of the good people of Osun state,” Odeyemi said.

Meanwhile, Senator Omisore at the weekend took on Governor Aregbesola for allegedly withdrawing the learning tablets, otherwise known as ‘Opon Imon’ hitherto distributed to some students in public high schools.

Omisore in a statement by his Director of Publicity, Diran Odeyemi, said the alleged withdrawal was

aimed at covering up the ineptitude of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of Aregbesola and the recent failure of Osun State students in the last West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE).

“The jettisoning of the 6-3-3-4 educational curriculum, which was introduced by the Federal Government for all schools in Nigeria by the state government in the uploading of subjects into the learning tablets culminated in the poor performance of Osun students in the examination.”

INEC accredits 29 observers for Osun governorship poll Onyekachi Eze

ABUJA

he Independent NaTmission tional Electoral Com(INEC) has ac-

credited 29 domestic and international observers to monitor the August 9 governorship election in Osun State.

This was as the commission said that at

least 1.4 million voters are expected to cast their votes to elect the next governor of the state from the 20 candidates cleared to contest the election.

Among the candidates are the incumbent, Rauf Aregbesola, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Iyiola Omisore, of the Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP).

Information made available by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, yesterday revealed that the European Union Delegation in Nigeria will lead the pack of other international observers to monitor the poll, which will be the second to be conducted by the

commission this year.

Other foreign observers include those from the United States Mission to Nigeria, the High Commission of Canada, the British High Commission as well as the Embassies of Switzerland, Kingdom of Netherlands, Federal Republic of Germany and France.

Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, yesterday advised other contenders and stakeholders in the election not to see the forthcoming election as a ‘do or die affair.’

Akinbade in a statement by his Media Aide, Mr. Kayode Oladeji, in Osogbo, said: “We cannot force ourselves on the people.

“Their right to choose whoever they prefer should be respected without any form of coercion. If this is allowed, then our democracy will be firmly rooted.”

He, however, appealed to supporters of parties vying for the coveted seat to give peace a chance by not taking to violence before, during and after the election.

Akinbade also

urged politicians and stakeholders to always work for the progress of the country.

The LP candidate also argued that “this could only be achieved if the import of the lessons inherent in the holy exercise is adhered to.”

While felicitating with Muslims brothers on the completion of yet another successful month of holy Ramadan, he remarked: “I want to passionately appeal to politicians and stakeholders to always work for the progress of the country.”

He admonished that violence that normally accompany the quest for power acquisition, should be done away with.

“If truly we believe in God, then we must know that it is Him alone that can install or remove a ruler.”

Debate: It’s a charade, says Akinwusi he governorship canTocratic didate of Social DemParty (SDP) in

Osun State, Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi, yesterday condemned the debate organised for governorship candidates in the August 9 election.

Akinwusi, who said in a statement in Osogbo yesterday, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola, could not withstand him in any debate, describing the last debate as a ‘kangaroo debate’ meant to favour the governor.

“The last Saturday’s live debate featuring only the state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, on the state broadcasting outfit is a charade and a mockery of Osun people.

“The debate was staged-managed as part of the “usual” propag anda stunt of Mr. Aregbesola’s government. “ We h ave 20

governorship candidates in Osun State. I am the first person to have challenged Aregbesola to a live debate to let us discuss the state of the economy, the huge debt profile of the state and his so-called achievements.

“Information had it that the socalled international community said to have organised the debate never existed and my two co-contestants from the Labour Party and the PDP were invited on phone an hour to the programme.

“For the avoidance of doubt, if Aregbesola is manly enough, he should let us sit together to debate about his governance. Who is afraid of Akinwusi that they are trying to avoid him to speak to the public about our state?” he contended.

More support for Aregebsola as governor calls for peace ore support came for M Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday in Os-

ogbo as he joined thousands of Muslim faithful at the Oke-Baale praying ground to mark the end of the 30 days Ramadan fast.

T he gover nor's convoy, which snaked through the capital city from the Government House in Oke Fia to the praying ground, created excitement as residents trooped out in a show of solidarity with the governor.

Many of the residents who displayed Aregbesola’s campaign

posters, brooms and other insignias of support for the governor, also chanted various songs, which indicated their readiness to resist any attempt to manipulate the coming election.

At various points in the state capital such as Oke Fia, Orita Olaiya, Gbeemu, Oja Oba, up until the praying ground, the residents held Are gbesola's convoy hostage as they insisted he must stop to listen to their songs and see them display their support for him.

NEWS 49

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Abia CJ unveils Multi-door court procedure rules Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

L

awyers in Umuahia have applauded the newly introduced High Court Civil and Multi-Door Court Procedure Rules which was inaugurated and presented to the public by the Abia State Chief Judge, Nnenna Otti in Umuahia.

Speaking at the presen-

18,377

tation ceremony, Justice Otti said the new rules were among other objectives, to promote quick dispensation of justice, secure simplistic procedures, administration and finance.

She also noted that they were also aimed at providing amicable resolution of disputes by the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanism. Accord-

The number of refugees in Togo at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

ing to the Abia State Chief law officer, the procedure rules came into effect on July 24, 2014.

Also in his speech, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Ume Kalu described the presentation of the new rules as a worthwhile achievement in the development of the legal industry. He charged lawyers to take advantage

396

The average passes per team in Brazil 2014 World Cup. Source: Fifa.com

of the new procedure rules to speed up cases.

In his speech, the leader of the bar, Chief Noruka Udechukwu, SAN, expressed the view that the 2014 new rules have radical advancement and improvement from the revoked 2009 court rules. He stressed the need for the practitioners to reflect the new rules in their practice in the state.

5.95m

The total men population of Chad in 2012.

Source: Un.org

Speaking on behalf of the NBA branches in the state, the Umuahia branch chairman, Chief Amara Onubuogu said lawyers within the jurisdiction of the state herald the arrival of the new rules. He observed that the new rules were in conformity with court civil procedure rules of others states especially Lagos state.

Reviewing the new rules, Chief Okey Amaechi, SAN, said the 2014 new rules were more precise

Buhari's attack: Taraba APC blames Govt Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

he Taraba State TProgressives Chairman of the All Congress

Muslims and others in a last minute rush for frozen chicken for the Eid-il-Fitr celebration in Lagos…yesterday.

Emergence of successor: Governor Shema calls for prayers Ahmed Sani Mohammed Katsina

G

over nor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina state has called for prayers from the people for the emergence of credible and honest successor ahead of the 2015 elections.

Shema in his speech during traditional Hawan Bariki at Government House yesterday said the prayers were necessary so as to sustain the tempo of development in the state.

“I pray for the emergence of credible and

affinity

Yoruba monarch in Bahia Brazil where his kinsmen dominate Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

A

laafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, has faulted the Europeans for deliberately destroy-

honest person as my successor. Katsina people should also pray for the state to sustain the level of development”, he said.

Shema said the state within the last seven years of his tenure, witnessed execution of projects that enhanced the lives of the people.

He said within the period, his administration had executed 58 road projects to connect communities and boost economic activities.

Shema further said his administration also provide free education,

ensure prompt payment of salaries to workers and recently recruited 141 fresh graduates into the state civil service.

He assured people of the state that the abandoned Lambar Rimi Wind Power electricity would be commissioned

by December this year to provide 10 megawatts of electricity.

He said the state government has entered into agreement with private investors from Germany and China for the supply of 70 megawatts of electricity to the state.

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Onah O. Onah Onitsha

s part of efforts to reAObiano’s alise Governor Willie trade and com-

merce programme of decongesting Onitsha, the state’s commercial centre, a N5billion International market will be opened in the state by December this year.

Already 1,600 shops out of a total of 20,000 shops expected to be built in the market located at Oba along Onitsha- Owerri Road in Idemili South Local Government Area of the State, have been completed.

Inspecting the market, Governor Obiano directed the chairman of the com-

(APC), Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo has blamed government over the recent attack at the leader of the party, and former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, by unknown bombers in Kaduna.

The Chairman who spoke with Journalists in Jalingo the Taraba State capital, on the occasion of this year's Eidel-Fitr celebration, said the attack was planned to eliminate Buhari as the leader of a strong opposition party in Nigeria so that the country would remain under the monopoly of one political party with no oppositions.

their own cultures and values on other peoples of the world "in order to perpetuate the relationship of inequality and inequity so at to achieve their purpose".

Speaking on the lecture entitled: "Perpetuating Sango Heritage: Continuity in Oyo and the Diaspora", the Alaafin observed that the religious foundation of the Yoruba tradition and

culture "is presently under serious threats posed by guest faiths in Africa", adding, "the parlous socio-economic conditions in Africa, a creation of neoliberal economic policies, have continued to impoverish many African States.”

His words: “The guest faiths are therefore feeding on this to preach the gospel of individual prosperity and well-be-

"If Buhari was killed, the country would have been in another civil war", said Ardo.

He further lamented on the security challenges facing the country and attributed the insecurity on the “inability of government to provide maximum outfits and other apparatus for security operatives in the country in order for them to discharge their duties effectively in the protection of lives and properties of the entire citizenry”.

He also charged politicians in the country not to play politics with bitterness, urging them to put aside their political differences and consider the interest of the country first in their politicking so that the country will reach its highest pedestal.

Anambra set to open N5b international market pany constructing the market, Alhaji Bukar Hassan, to ensure that they provide all the necessary facilities, including enough parking spaces, conveniences among others.

He commended the work so far done in the multi-billion naira market, stressing that it was an excellent project, which the state Government would support as part of its Private Partnership Programme (PPP) arrangement.

He said one of the cardinal point in his agenda was to encourage private sector-driven participation

Alaafin blasts Europeans over denigration of African cultures ing and describing other cultures, especially African culture, as hegemonic and theirs as superior in all ramifications.

The monarch in a speech delivered at the first "Brazil-Nigeria International Seminar to Preserve Shared Cultural Heritage" held at Salvador/Bahia, Brazil, alleged the Europeans of super-imposing

and elaborate. He averred that the rules have taken care of the deficiencies of the 2009 rules adding that they meet the needs of the time.

In his speech, the chairman of the occasion retired Justice I. F. Ogbuagu, charged lawyers to explore the uniqueness of the new rules to render efficient services to their clients.

The Chief presenter of the High Court new rules Dr. Uche Ogah, unveiled the document with N500, 000.

ing on earth. They have abandoned the earlier gospel of earthly denials in order to enjoy heaven.

"By their new approach, they are misleading scores and scores of Africans, encouraging them to disrespect, dishonour and abandon anything African with our religious beliefs being demonized and discarded.

in the development of the State, which the Anambra International market is one of them.

He stressed that the market when it fully takesoff will help to decongest the already congested markets in Onitsha metropolis, which the state Government is working hard to achieve.

Hassan, the Group executive chairman of BuKham Group, the developers of the market said 70 percent of the market has already been completed, assuring that 1,600 shops will be ready by the second week of December.

He said when completed, the market will have parking spaces for 1,000 cars at the same time and 1.7km dual carriageway round the market and the walk away would be interlocked.

Hassan also said they are providing water, 24hour power supply, 100 conveniences (toilets and bathrooms), police post, offices for soldiers, Anambra State Vigilant Services (AVS), all to ensure an allround and adequate security in the market in addition to banking facilities.

50 WORLD | NEWS

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Gaza: Palestine counts 1,049 dead, Israel loses 48

A

fragile truce in Gaza for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival was fraying on Monday as Israel’s prime minister said United Nations calls for a long-term ceasefire ignored his country’s security needs. Israeli forces said they were firing only when fired upon while army engineers hunted infiltrator tunnels from the Gaza Strip’s eastern frontier.

They accused Palestinians of firing 17 rockets across

the border, causing no casualties. Palestinian officials said seven people, at least five of them minors, were killed in Israeli strikes, bringing the Gaza death toll from the three-week-old conflict to 1,049, mostly civilians. Israel has lost 43 soldiers to Gaza fighting and another three civilians have been killed by Palestinian shelling.

Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists had called for a pause to the hostilities ahead of yesterday’s

festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But Israel balked, having abandoned its own offer to extend a 12-hour truce from Saturday as Palestinian rockets kept flying. Foreign pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted on Sunday, with both U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.N. Security Council urging an immediate ceasefire that would allow relief to reach Gaza’s 1.8 million Palestinians, followed by negotiations

on a more durable cessation of hostilities. Israel wants guarantees Hamas will be stripped of its tunnels and rocket stocks. It worries the Palestinian Islamists will parlay the truce talks mediated by their friends in Qatar and Turkey into an easing of an Israeli-Egypt blockade on Gaza.

Speaking to U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon yesterday, Netanyahu accused the Security Council of siding with Hamas. “The statement relates to the needs of

a murderous terrorist group that attacks Israeli civilians, and has no answer for Israel’s security needs among them a demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said.

“Israel accepted three U.N. proposals for humanitarian truces and Hamas violated them all,” his office quoted him as saying.

In New York, Ban deplored what he described as a lack of resolve among all parties in the conflict.

“It’s a matter of their political will.

Obama sees Mandela in young African leaders

A

program designed to foster a new generation of young African leaders will be renamed after former South African President Nelson Mandela.

President Barack Obama, who has said he was one of the untold millions of people around the world who were inspired

by Mandela’s life, is set to announce the name change at a town hall-style event yesterday in Washington with several hundred young leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa.

The youngsters are participating in the inaugural Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, part of the broader Young African Leaders Initiative that Obama launched in 2010 to support a new generation of leadership there. The fellowship is being renamed as a tribute to Mandela, who died last December

at age 95.

Obama announced the fellowship during a stop in South Africa last summer. It connects young African leaders to leadership training opportunities at top U.S. universities.

In remarks at yesterday’s event, Obama also was announcing new public-private partnerships to create more programmes for young African leaders, including four regional leadership centers across Africa, online classes and other resources, the White House said. Mandela spent 27 years in jail under apartheid, South Africa’s former system of white minority rule, before eventually leading his country through a difficult transition to democracy. In 1994, he became the first democratically elected leader of a post-apartheid South Africa.

Police team turns back from Ukraine crash site

H

eavy fighting raged yesterday around the Malaysia Airlines debris field, once again preventing an international police team charged with securing the site from even getting there.

Government troops have stepped up their push to win back territory from proRussian separatists in fighting that the United Nations said Monday has killed more than 1,100 people in four months. The international delegation of Australian and Dutch police and forensic experts stopped yesterday in Shakhtarsk, a town around 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the fields where the Boeing 777 was brought down. Sounds of regular shelling could be heard from Shakhtarsk and residents were seen fleeing town in cars.

The mandate of the police team is to secure the currently rebel-controlled area so that comprehensive investigations can begin and any remaining bodies can be recovered.

The second cancelled site visit over two days has strained tempers among the observation team “There is a job to be done,” said Alexander Hug, the deputy head of a monitoring team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “We are sick and tired of being interrupted by gunfights, despite the fact that we have agreed that there should be a ceasefire.”

The Defense Ministry says Ukrainian troops have entered Shakhtarsk, although checkpoints blocking the western entrance into town remain under rebel control.

Palestinians pray in the courtyard of U.N. school in Gaza city.

Foreigners flee as Libya boils

A

fire at the oil depot for the airport in Libya’s capital raged out of control yesterday after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield, the latest violence to plague the country as foreigners flee the chaos.

Libya’s interim government said in a statement posted that the fire could trigger a “humanitarian and environmental disaster” in Tripoli, appealing for “international help” to extinguish the inferno. It did not say what it specifically needed. The blaze had spread to a second depot by yesterday afternoon, the government said. It was unclear if there were any injuries from the fire.

“The government appeals to all concerned parties to immediately stop firing as the situation has become very grave,” the government said. Libyan television stations called on residents to evacuate areas within a 5-kilometer (3-mile) radius of the airport.

Many Libyan families scrambled to leave. Black smoke billowed over the Tripoli skyline.

Mohammed al-Harari, the spokesman for the Libyan Na-

tional Oil Company, said the oil depot had a capacity of 6 million liters (1.6 million gallons) and that if the fire was not brought under control, it could ignite liquid gas nearby. Fire trucks from several nearby cities and towns have been deployed to help extinguish the blaze, said a Libyan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to journalists.

The battle for control of the airport began two weeks ago when Islamist-led militias mostly from the western city of Misrata launched a surprise assault on the airport, which has been under control of a rival militia from the western mountain town of Zintan. It wasn’t clear whose fire started the oil depot blaze. The Health Ministry said Sunday that the fighting has so far killed 79 people and wounded more than 400.

More than three years after dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s downfall, Libya is witnessing one of the worst bouts of violence amid growing lawlessness in the country. Libya’s interim government, which relies on militias

filled with rebels who battled Gadhafi’s forces for security, now finds itself unable to rein them in.

The fighting has sparked many to flee the country. On Saturday, the United States evacuated its diplomats from Tripoli to neighboring Tunisia and shut its embassy. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya and the International Committee of the Red Cross have already withdrawn their staff as well. European nations are warning their citizens to immediately leave the country. German embassy staffs in Tripoli were evacuated yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli said in Berlin. They will be sent back “as soon as the security situation allows,” she said.

Meanwhile, Egyptian ambassador to Libya Mohammed Abu Bakr, who runs the embassy’s affairs from the Foreign Ministry in Cairo, denied yesterday that there were some Egyptian nationals among the 23 people killed when a rocket slammed into a house in Tripoli two days ago. Abu Bakr said he was officially informed about this by the Libyan Interior Ministry and did not elaborate.

T’Tennis: Toriola inspired me to victory – Onaolapo

f Onaolapo

ormer junior international, Ojo Onaolapo, has attributed his bronze medal-winning feat in the table tennis team event on Monday to inspiration from coach/ player, Segun Toriola.

Nigeria Top seed Aruna Quadri had drawn Nigeria level in the second game after Toriola lost the first game 3-0 against Kamal

Achanta of India.

Onaolapo partnered Toriola in the doubles to put Nigeria ahead before going head-to-head with Toriola’s conqueror in the first game.He won the tension soaked match 3-1 to clinch the bronze for the country and render the last game irrelevant.

Ranked 358th by the ITTF, the Ondo State-born Onaolapo

SPORT

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

TUESday, July 29, 2014

showed great composure and technique to defeat the Indian ranked 44th in the world.

Speaking to New Telegraph, afterwards Onaolapo said Toriola inspired him to victory against Achanta.

“I believe that I can beat anybody and so was not scared of him even though it is my first major senior championship. Before

the game and all through Toriola was giving me tips and repeatedly telling me that I would win the match. I grew in confidence and that was very vital for me,” he said.

He however dedicated the victory to his friends and teammates as he geared up for the singles events which start today (Tuesday).

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

I can match Osaze’s West Brom record – Ideye

Ideye

Osaze

Ifeanyi Ibeh

lBoard meets Thursday to decide Eagles coach

51

W

est Bromwich Albion record signing, Brown Ideye, has exclusively told New Telegraph that he believes with hard work he can match Osaze Odemwingie’s achievements at the Hawthorns.

Odemwingie grabbed an im-

pressive 15 Premier League goals for the Baggies in his debut season in the 2010-2011 campaign.

The former Lokomotiv Moscow star then went on to add another 10 Premier League goals the season after that, finishing his three-year stay at West Brom with a total of 30 goals in 67 Premier League games.

Ideye, who has an equally impressive record of 74 goals in 182 league appearances in a career that has taken him to Switzerland, France and Ukraine, is however not daunted by the achievements of his national team mate as he is confident of doing well and winning the hearts of Baggies fans, even though he insists on doing most of his talking on the pitch.

“By the grace of God, and with hard work, I believe I will do as well as he (Odemwingie) did,” said Ideye, who in his last season at Dynamo Kiev, scored 16 goals in 25 league games. “It has been my dream to play in the Premier League, so I have to give 120 per cent to make sure I do well in every game.It is all about hard work.”

“I want to do all my talking on the pitch, and I believe by the grace of God I will do very well,” added Ideye, who is not daunted by the huge amount West Brom paid to secure his services from Dynamo Kiev.

The Nigeria international told New Telegraph that he was hoping to thrive under the pressure that comes from his £10 million transfer from the Ukrainian club.

“I am not even thinking about the record fee,” said Ideye calmly, noting: “I know a lot of people are talking about that, but all I want is to do all my talking on the pitch, and to have a good relationship with my fellow players and coaches.

“I just want to focus on my game and to do well for West Brom. That is what is more important right now; not the transfer fee.”

52 SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Erraid Davies showing off her bronze medal on Sunday

The historic swim that fetched Davies bronze on Sunday

Home crowd inspired me, says amazing 13-year-old Davies Erraid Davies started swimming after developing a rare hip condition called Perthes’ disease when she was three which prevented her playing most sports.

The 13-year-old’s determination has now made her a hero after she became the youngest ever competitor from any country to win a Commonwealth Games medal after producing a storming comeback to take bronze in her 100m breaststroke race in front of a rapturous home crowd on Sunday. The Scottish youngster is two months younger than Jenny Tyrell, of Australia, who won a swimming gold at the Christchurch Games in New Zealand in 1974.

N

ew teenage swimming star Erraid Davies has praised the home crowd for spurring her on to win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.

The 13-year-old became an instant Scottish crowd favourite as she was roared on by a packed-out Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow to finish third in the para-sport 100m breaststroke final on Sunday.

The Shetland schoolgirl, Scotland’s youngest-ever team member at a Commonwealth Games, said: “I was just

really happy, I didn’t expect it. It was really, really good. It was nice to have a home crowd and you can hear them when you come up for breath which makes you want to swim faster.

“I train in a 16.6m pool and you just do a lot of turns, it’s different but you get used to it.”

Davies took a standing ovation in her stride following the medal ceremony and revealed that she had only told a couple of people back home that she would be competing at the Games.

The teenager said the attention she has received since her win was “weird” and something she never expected.

She said she probably would not wear her medal when she returns to school after the summer holidays, but would take it with her to show her classmates.

Asked what her plans were next, she said: “I will try to get into Rio 2016, but I’m not sure - I’ll just see what I get. I

...Davies (right) on the medal’s podium

just love swimming.”

Davies set a new personal best for the second time in a day as she fought her way into a medal position.

She finished strongly just behind Australian silver medallist Madeleine Scott in one minute and 21.38 seconds, with New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe taking gold.

Her proud parents, David, 59, and Joyce, 54, said watching their daughter’s bronze-winning swim was a moment they would never forget.

Mr Davies said: “She got into swimming because she developed a hip condition called Perthes’ disease when she was three and was told she was not to do any weight-bearing exercises and that the best thing for her was to swim.

“We had just moved to Shetland and she couldn’t swim, but she was soon taught and she has virtually never been out of the pool since.”

He added: “She came in to the Games not knowing what she could achieve.

At Erraid’s age, knocking a couple of seconds of your time is not difficult, but she knocked nearly five seconds off it and that’s what brought her the success.

“She deserves it, she worked really hard.”

Mrs Davies said: “It was just amazing. We were so incredibly excited. Erraid can’t remember not swimming she was only just four when she started on a fairly regular basis in the pool.

“After school swimming was just normal routine every day because she spent the day in a wheelchair in school, so she was desperate to use up some of her energy and also cope with the frustration of that disability, so it meant a lot to get into the pool and be able to move and not feel so much pain.

“Also to be really good at a sport because she couldn’t do the school sports days - she couldn’t do the running and the skipping and everything.

“Swimming is more than just a hobby, swimming’s been a lifetime activity. I just can’t imagine Erraid without swimming.”

Mrs Davies said swimming had completely transformed her daughter’s life.

“From being four until the age of eight she was in a wheelchair - so there was a lot of frustration, a lot of emotion that Erraid felt that we coped with by swimming,” she said.

“Swimming is in our life every day and Erraid coped by being able to be the best in the pool.”

Mr Davies added: “For Erraid, she went into it as just another gala and I think that was the right attitude.

“She managed to soak up some of the atmosphere because she had been at the pool every day so she knew what it was like. But when she went on the blocks, for her, it was just another swim.”

Culled from Heraldscotland.com

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nigeria winning more medals from boxing .

When Efetobore Victory dispatched his Australian opponent, Elegbeleye not only led the cheer party but appreciated the pugilist with wads of American dollars.

“We are here to support the team. They need to hear your roaring and it adds more impetus to their contest,” the DG said. ‘’Our athletes have been outstanding. And the best way to win is to win outstandingly.

That way, nobody can rob you of victory’’, he said. ‘’So far so good.

Team Nigeria is doing well. I know that there are still sports like Athletics, Wrestling. We are praying that we come out with our noses in front’’, Elegbeleye said.

South Africa player going for a try against New Zealand

South Africa beat New Zealand to rugby sevens gold

S

outh Africa beat New Zealand 17-12 in the final of therugbysevensatIbrox Stadium to end the All Blacks’ 30-match unbeaten run at the Commonwealth Games.

New Zealand had won gold at every Games since the sport made its debut in 1998.

But the Springboks had toomuchpaceandclassfor the defending champions, outscoring them by three tries to two.

Australia beat Samoa 24-0 to win the bronze medal, while Scotland, England and Wales all failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals.

With the sport making

53

Ebireguesele, Okigbazi increase Team Nigeria’s medal haul

Elegbeleye is athletes’ cheer leader D irector General of the National Sports Commission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye has shown his other side of supportership at the Commonwealth Games such that many are not missing the absence of the Dr Rafiu Ladipo and his band of Nigerian supporters.

The DG has watched virtually all the events that Nigerians are engaged in and has been very vocal with his oneman shouting and clapping for Team Nigerian athletes.

Besides the support, the DG moves on his seat depending on the sport he is watching. He punched with his fists as Nigerian boxers romped into the quarter finals thereby increasing the chances of Team

SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, the tournament in Glasgow was always going to be about more than the action on the pitch.

There was even an onpitch proposal, as well as some compelling stories provided by some of the less-established rugby nations.

The side which was expectedtoliftthetrophyafter thepartyhadstoppedwere theAllBlacks,winnerof 12 IRB World Series titles and two World Cups.

However,aSouthAfrica side full of searing pace and corresponding skill trumped them in the final, even managing to match the All Blacks physically.

lAs male athletes continue to wobble

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eightlifter, Itohan Ebireguesele, added a silver medal to Nigeria’s collection on Monday in the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, after lifting a total weight of 222kg behind Cameroon’s Marie Fegue who won the gold medal.

The 23 year old was at the verge of winning the gold medal after lifting 122kg in her third attempts in Clean and Jerk, but Fegue’s lift of 125kg in her second attempt in Clean and Jerk relegated the Nigerian to the silver medal. Fegue however lifted 132kg to finish 12kg ahead of Ebireguesele, finishing with total lift of 234kg.

A

s wrestlers prepare to take the stage at the ongoing Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation and Commonwealth wrestling gold medalist, Daniel Igali, has declared that he was looking forward to a great outing for Team Nigeria.

Igali revealed that Nigeria entered 14 athletes for the competition and he was hoping to see each of the athletes win a medal.

This is possible as he recalled that Nigerian wrestlers made close to same mark at the 2010 edition in New Delhi, India.

In para-sports events, Richard Okigbazi, added another medal in the men’s discus throw F42/44.

Okigbazi threw a distance of 39.38m to claim the bronze behind England’s Dan Greaves and Wales’ Aled Davies who won gold and silver respectively with distance of 59.21m and 46.83m.

Second Nigerian in the event, Sunday Ezeh, failed to make the podium finishing sixth with a distance of 44.89m albeit getting his personal best in the event.

Meanwhile, the second day of the athletics event of the games started on a bad note for Team Nigeria as the men continue to wobble.

Ebireguesele (right)

Igalitargetsgreatouting “I am very confident that every athlete we brought here has the capacity to win a medal and I am hoping they prove me right. After my retirement from active competition I had the privilege of leading Nigerian wrestlers to the New Delhi 2010 edition of the Games and we produced the highest result that Nigeria has ever recorded in wrestling in the Commonwealth Games. We had three gold, three silver and seven bronze medals.

Out of the fifteen athletes we took to the event, thirteen of them won medals. We are

Uduaghan to reward Delta athletes D

elta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, once again showed while Delta State has remained as the undisputed number one sports Ssate in Nigeria. His presence at the on-going Commonwealth Games in Scotland confirmed his undying love for sports in Nigeria.

Governor Uduaghan has set the pace in providing world class facilities in his state, the latest being the gym he built for weightlifting, and the lifters reaped the fruits of the gym when almost all the weightlifters who won medal for Nigeria happen to come from Delta. ‘’The important thing is that they are serving Nigeria. And I’m happy that they are from my state and all efforts in building these facilities are not in vain’’,

the amiable Governor said at the Clyde Auditorium where he came to felicitate with Delta athletes. ‘’In Delta, we appreciate and reward all our athletes who bring honour to the state. You can see the marvelous job they are doing for Nigeria and Delta. It is in our character to welcome them home as heroes and heroines’’, the Governor said as the athletes burst into loud celebration.

Uduaghan

here with fourteen athletes and I am hoping every one of them will win a medal. That is my target.”

Asked about what preparations went into the athletes to enable them achieve the ex-

pectation, Igali said it was no longer time for talk but for action. “When you are in the heat of battle you don’t talk about preparations anymore. All that is left is to give encouragement to the athletes to give their best effort and charge them to even surpass their expectations.

This is very possible with us.”

Max Whitlock claims Athletes’ Village ss “amazing”

T

eam England gymnast Max Whitlock has claimed that the Glasgow 2014 Athletes’ Village atmosphere is amazing and not too noisy as claimed by some athletes.

Athletes such as Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford have complained about the noise at the complex, but Whitlock isn’t bothered.

Whitlock, 21, told Sports Mole after the first half of the men’s artistic team final that he loves the “unbelievable” atmosphere that multi-sport events

like the Commonwealth Games offer.

“No, it’s amazing,” he said.

“I always love staying in the village. I’ve had it a couple of times at Delhi and the Olympics.

“The atmosphere is unbelievable, you know seeing different athletes from different sports and different countries.

It’s great.”

Whitlock and teammates Sam Oldham, Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Nile Wilson are favourites for the team title and currently have a lead of over six points to Scotland in second.

Transfer Updates

54 SPORT

Eagles’ transfer update Parma push for Nsofor

I

taly based sports daily, Corriere dello Sport, has reported that Parma are ready to sign Nigeria international Victor Obinna.

The player has been delared surplus to requirement at Lokomotiv Moscow after manager Leonid Kuchuk admits the player m a y not be part of his plan for next season.

Atalanta are believed to be frontrunners to secure the signature of the former Inter Milan and Chievo Verona man.

But Parma are hoping to hijack the deal from their rivals by convincing the Super Eagles forward to pitch tent at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.

Ighalo set to undergo Watford medical

N

igeria striker Odion Jude Ighalo has said he will depart Nigeria for England to undergo a medical at English Championship side Watford with a view to signing a deal.

Talks have been going on for the former Nigeria U20 skipper to sign a loan deal with Watford, who finished in 13th place in the English Championship last season.

“Everything is in order, I will leave for Watford on Tuesday for medical and other necessary things as regards the deal,” Ighalo said.

Efe linked with Burnley Ajibade Olusesan

S

uper Eagles defender, Efe Ambrose, could realise his ambition to play in the English Premier League next season as Burney move to sign him.

The former Maccabi Haifa star

has been the main stay of Celtic FC as he helped them to clinch two successive Scottish League titles.

The 25-year-old is also an important player in the Super Eagles and he played a huge role as Nigeria reached the Round of 16 at the last FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Rodgers in no rush to replace Suarez

rendan Rodgers insists Liverpool won’t Breplace be rushed into buying a new striker to Luis Suarez after Loic Remy’s

proposed move from QPR to Anfield fell through.

The details of a €10 million move had been finalised and Remy flew out to the United States to undergo a medical, but problems uncovered during the tests caused Liverpool t o abandon the deal.

Rodgers is now left with Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert as his only senior strikers, but the Northern Irishman is adamant he will not compromise his high standards in the search for Remy’s replacement.

Vertonghen plays down Barca talks

otteham defender, Jan Vertonghen, T has played down his link with a move to Barcelona,

The Belgium defender’s agent suggested several clubs were interested in the 27-year-old, including Barcelona, whose influential centre-back Carles Puyol retired this summer.

“Rumours will always be there, but I just go back to Tottenham,” Vertonghen told Belgian talk show Vive le Velo “Interest from a great club like FC Barcelona pleases me of course this is confirmation that you’re doing well.”

Napoli-Fellaini link played down

peculation that Napoli are in talks S with Manchester United over a proposed loan move for Marouane Fellaini

has been played down.

Rumours emerged suggesting that the Vesuviani were in pole position for the Belgium international, with sporting director Riccardo Bigon reported travelling to Brussels to meet with the player and his agent.

Reports through the summer have suggested that Fellaini is on his way out of Old Trafford after just the one season and indications Monday were Napoli were negotiating an initial loan deal for the 26-year-old.

Barcelona will allow Alves leave

Several clubs have been alerted following his good run in the last two years for both club and country, but reports in England suggested that Coach Sean Dyche of Burnley was set to beat other competitors which include Crystal Palace to the signature of the player.

Atletico strike Griezmann deal A

tletico Madrid have announced that they will sign Antoine Griezmann from Real Sociedad pending a medical after an agreement over a transfer fee in the region of €25 million was reached with their Primera Division rivals.

Goal had revealed that the Spanish sides had held extensive talks over the France international and, on Monday, a deal was reached with La Liga four weeks away from recommencing.

“Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of Antoine Griezmann,” a statement on the official Rojiblancos website reads.

“The young French player will undergo a medical before signing a contract with our club.”

The 23-year-old came through the ranks of the Sociedad youth academy and had developed into a key player at the Basque side since breaking into the first team in 2009-10.

B

arcelona could be willing to let Daniel Alves leave for a cut-price fee, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The newspaper, as reported by Football Espana, claims that the Catalan club is eager to relieve themselves of the 31 year-old’s hefty wages.

Last summer, David Villa, who earned a similarlysignificantincome,wassoldtoAtléticodeMadridforareported fee of just €2.1 million and it’s suggested Barça could use the same tactic to move on Alves.

Juve set sights on Savic

ormer Manchester City centre-back F Stefan Savic is being lined up for a move to Juventus, according to reports

in Italy.

Savic moved from City to Fiorentina in 2012 after a disappointing spell at the Etihad Stadium and has enjoyed two impressive seasons in Italy.

And Tuttosport claim Juventus are now preparing to offer Mauricio Isla in a straight swap for the defender.

But Fiorentina are apparently likely to want cash as well as Isla for the 23-year-old, who is interesting Juventus in part due to his ability to play in both a back four and a back three, with the Italian champions expected to use both systems next season.

United to offer €60 million for Vidal

he respite in the Arturo Vidal transfer T saga was brief indeed.

Reports emanates again that the Chil-

ean could be on his way to Manchester United, claiming that the Red Devils are offering Juventus €60 million for their star midfielder.

He would reportedly be paid around €8 million per year plus bonuses for four seasons -- more than twice his salary in Turin.

The Chilean’s agent, Fernando Felicevich, will apparently discuss the offer with Juve’s director general Giuseppe Marotta on Tuesday.

SPORT 55

Sanctity of Truth

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Premier Skills kicks off in Lagos

C’Wealth: NWF president lauds weightlifters Charles Ogundiya

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resident of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Chibudom Nwuche, has commended weightlifters for winning the first gold, silver and bronze medals for Nigeria at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

In a congratulatory message to the weightlifting team, Nwuche, while promising more medals at the games, praised the weightlifters and coaches for a job well done so far, and urged them to double their efforts to ensure that Nigeria moved up on the medals table.

The former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives said the superlative performance of the weightlifting team in Glasgow was as a result of hard work, dedication and commitment on the part of the lifters and the coaching crew.

He however, called for more support and funding for weightlifting from the government, corporate bodies and sports enthusiasts to ensure the upgrading of facilities and to guarantee greater honours for the country in future international outings.

Nigeria’s female weightlifter Chika Amalaha won the first gold medal for the nation in the 53kg on Friday at the Glasgow Games. Another female lifter, Nkechi Okpara, had earlier won the first medal - a bronze - in the female 48kg category for Nigeria last

Emmanuel Tobi

A

ston Villa manager Paul Lambert has made a move for Chelsea winger Victor Moses.

Lambert is keen to sign Moses on

IFA on Monday confirmed the extension of sanctions imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Italian Football Association (FIGC) in relation to match manipulation.

On 28 May 2014, CAS banned Maltese player Kevin Sammut from all footballrelated activities for a period of ten years following proceedings conducted by UEFA disciplinary bodies in relation to the manipulation of a qualifying match for the UEFA European Football Championship in 2007.

kelechi Iheanacho celebrating his goal against Milan, with Man City team mates on Sunday

Ajibade Olusesan

loan for the season and is waiting for a response from Jose Mourinho.

Moses, 23, will be allowed out for another season despite his struggles at Liverpool, and Lambert is keen to offer him a fresh start in the West Midlands as he bids to further strengthen his squad.

However, the Nigeria international is also a target for Everton, Newcastle United, former club Crystal Palace, West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion but the final decision will rest with Mourinho.

After his lack of opportunities at Anfield, Chelsea are determined to ensure Moses’s next move is the right one and Mourinho will assess the merits of every club.

FIFA imposes worldwide sanctions on Ghana, Malta players

F

T

Iheanacho relishes Milan goalF

Villa join Moses chase

Moses

IfeanyiIbeh

Thursday.

Also over the weekend, the duo of Ndidi Winifred and Yinka Ayenuwa won silver medals in the women’s 58kg and men’s 68kg respectively.

Also on Monday, Oluwatoyin Adesanmi won the country’s second gold medal in women’s 63kg with her compatriot Obioma Okoli winning the silver medal, while Itohan Ebireguesele on Monday won another silver medal in women’s 69kg event.

On 7 May 2014, the disciplinary committee of the FIGC banned Ghanaian player Mark Edusei from all football-related activities for three years and six months in relation to the manipulation of a match in the Italian Serie B in 2009.

lying Eagles striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, is in cloud nine after he scored his second goal for Manchester City in their 5-1 thrashing of AC Milan in an international friendly match on Sunday.

The former Golden Eaglets player scored the fourth goal for Manchester City as the English Premier League champions gave AC Milan a thorough trouncing in a pre-season friendly at Pittsburgh.

Stevan Jovetic, Scott Sinclair and Jesus Navas had earlier

scored a goal each before the Nigerian youngster made it four for the EPL Champions.

Iheanacho had scored in his first match for City senior team as they beat Sporting Kansas City FC last week, and he has expressed joy at scoring his second against a top side like AC Milan.

The player who won the MVP award at the last FIFA U-17 World Cup, said that he was ready to sustain his form.

He wrote on his Facebook wall that, “It is great scoring against AC Milan. Thanks guys, more are to come with God, all things are possible.”

NBA Basketball: Lakers, Clippers target Okafor Ifeanyi Ibeh

T

he Los Angeles Lakers have shown an interest in signing recuperating Nigerian centre, Emeka Okafor, ahead of the upcoming NBA season.

The 16-time NBA champions are not however the only side keen on adding the 31-year-old to their roster as city rivals, Los Angeles Clippers are considering the option of filling their last roster slot with Okafor, who prior to his latest injury setback

Okafor

was considered one of the best defensive players in the world’s foremost basketball league.

Okafor missed the whole of

Youth Olympic Games: IOC announces Yao Ming as Ambassador

T

he International Olympic Committee on Monday announced Yao Ming as the latest Ambassador for this summer’s 2nd Youth Olympic Games taking place in Nanjing, China.

The Chinese basketball legend will share his advice and experience of international

he immensely successful Premier Skills initiative, organised by the English Premier League, the British Council, and the Lagos State Football Association, gets underway Tuesday in Lagos.

The event, which runs until August 3, will see 26 public school teachers from selected Lagos schools undergo an intensive training programme in line with the agenda of Premier Skills, which focuses on using football to develop a brighter future for young people around the world.

All through the weeklong event, the teachers will receive expert training from qualified Premier Skills coaches, giving them the skills and support to develop their own community football projects.

The project will be led by JezWeeks,aseniorcoachand formerly Paralympic Football Competition Manager at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and he will be supported by Graham Robinson,a community coach and Head of International Football Development at Sunderland.

As of 2013, Premier Skills, which first took place in 2007, has trained 2,300 coaches and referees in 21 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas, who in turn have reached a further 500,000 young people.

competitions with the next generation of young athletes, while inspiring young people around the world to get active and embrace the Olympic values.

Ming is no stranger to the Olympic Games having competed at the 2008 Beijing Games, where he scored the first bas-

ket of the tournament in his home nation, a moment which he described as “the proudest of my career”. A popular athlete in China, Ming has also enjoyed success further afield after spending the majority of his career within the illustrious NBA.

last season as he continued his recovery from neck surgery, but played in every game for the Washington Wizards in the preceding season, averaging 9.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.

He also shot 47.7% from the field and 57.1% from the free throw line.

Okafor was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the number two overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft behind centre Dwight Howard, who was selected by the Orlando Magic.

Howard now plays for the Houston Rockets, the former team of Nigerian legend Hakeem Olajuwon.

Okafor, in his decade-long NBA career, also played for the New Orleans Pelicans when they were known as the New Orleans Hornets from 2009 to 2012, as well as the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004 to 2009.

World Record

On Marble

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sanctity of Truth

w w w. new tel eg rap ho nl i ne. co m

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha TUESday, JULY 29, 2014

Commonwealth Games: Nigerian high jumper, Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first black African to win a gold medal in 1954.

N150

Nigeria and Ebola: A challenge to development as a viral threat reemerges N igeria has faced numerous hurdles in its pathway to prosperity and strides towards greater relevance on the world stage. Indeed from here in Washington, with the exception of justifiable, televised distractions caused by the very real images of devastation from the Israel-Gaza conflict and those tragically still available in the fields of Eastern Ukraine, foreign policy attention may shift next week to the inaugural U.S.Africa Leaders Summit.

Thusly, there is a dynamic opportunity for Nigeria to refresh its perception in the mindsets of an oftenintroverted ‘Beltway’. That stated, dire threats to national stability, militaristic persisting however now viral, may keep the jewel of the ECOWAS pigeonholed undeservedly in the eyes of the west.

In Lagos on Monday, a hospital was shut down and quarantined. In it, a man had died of the deadly, incurable Ebola virus in what was deemed the first recorded case of the highly infectious disease in Africa’s most populous country.

According to a report in Reuters, Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian finance ministry, a man in his 40s, collapsed on arrival at Lagos airport on July 20 and was put in isolation at the First Consultants Hospital in Obalende; one of the more crowded areas of a city that is home to at least 21 million people.

Authorities are now monitoring approximately 60 people who were reportedly in contact with Sawyer, including grounded airport officials, this according to the Lagos state health ministry.

However, the airline that Sawyer flew in with has yet to provide a passenger-list for the flights he used.

Ultimately, the Ebola outbreak that has been growing with near-frenetic speed in West Africa has gripped intercontinental and indeed international headlines. It has killed nearly 700 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since it was first diagnosed in February of this year.

Tragically unrelenting, even those who seek to check this fatal virus have they themselves succumb to its seemingly malleable methods of infection.

Indeed last week, a 33-year-old American doctor working in Liberia for the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse tested positive for Ebola.

The group claimed he had followed

World View SAM AMSTERDAM

It has killed nearly 700 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since it was first diagnosed in February of this year

Ebola patient receiving treatment. Inset: Affected hand.

throughout “...strict safety protocols when treating patients”.

Nigeria’s airports, seaports and land borders have accordingly been placed on ‘red alert’ since last week’s finding of the disease. However, and as Reuters’ correspondents continue “...exacerbating the difficulty of containing its spread, Nigerian doctors are on strike [presently] over conditions and pay”. “...The chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Tope Ojo, was quoted by local media on Saturday as saying the strike would not be called off because of the Ebola threat”.

Unquestionably and in stark contrast, Nigeria has much to look forward to in furthering its strategically sound economic trajectory. According to a recent study held by the McKinsey Global Institute, should the nation reach its full potential, its annual, on-record GDP could exceed up to $1.6 trillion USD ahead of or at latest, by 2030. This, of course, is not taking in to consideration the

vast wealth already found within the country’s informal marketplace.

However, where human capital has long served as a blessing, the resurgence of the Ebola disease, if not properly contained and quashed, could position it as a hindrance in future. Its spread could pose a uniquely debilitating challenge to not only the safety of communities and families in and surrounding Lagos, but to rehabilitating tourism nationwide and, in the short-term, refreshing international discourse on opportunities for intrepid integration by private and public investors in perhaps the most timely of fashions; through a diversely attended, influential yet elite Summit in Washington.

Today, our thoughts and prayers remain with those suffering in the ECOWAS and indeed at First Consultants. With the eyes of the world potentially on Africa during what should be a productive week of multilateral dialogue, let us aim for a swift resolution and defeat of a truly ter-

rible disease which potentially, grows unabated.

OmoBaba

THERE ARE MORE KILLINGS NOW THAN UNDER MILITARY - Soyinka

– Yes-o, no thanks to Boko Haram!

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