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Friday, June 13, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 115

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FG pools $2.6bn to boost electricity network

lShell shuts in 40,000 oil barrels per day Adeola Yusuf and James Nwabueze power sector has Nigeria’s received $2.6 billion from

financial institutions to enhance its transmission network.

This follows the approval of President Goodluck

Jonathan as recommended by the National Economic Council (NEC) to disburse $1.6 billion which would be sourced from the lega-

cy assets of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) that are currently being privatised by government.

Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, dropped the

hint yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the Bankers’ Forum.

He announced four other financial boosts that are expected for the transmission network in the coun-

try, which brought up the total to $2.555 billion.

These include $500 million from World Bank (WB), $150 million from African Development Bank CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Defect and lose seats, Jega tells politicians

lJonathan warns of bid to truncate democracy Onyekachi Eze and Anule Emmanuel ABUJA

N

ational Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Attahiru Jega, yesterday warned politicians holding elective positions that they risked losing their seats should they defect from the political party on whose platforms they get into power.

He said in Abuja at the All Nigeria Political Parties and Political Stakeholders’ Summit that INEC was proposing a bill to the National Assembly so that any elected political officeholder who joins any other political party other than the one on whose platform he was first elected into office, will lose his seat.

Also at the occasion, President Goodluck Jonathan warned of plans by CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

APC convention: Delegates to vote by zones }3

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Confab in rowdy session over June 12 Louis Achi and Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

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ational Conference delegates were sharply divided yesterday over a motion seeking to recognise June 12 as Democracy Day and the

acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief MKO Abiola as Nigeria’s hero of democracy.

The motion sponsored

by Hon. Orok Otu Duke, a

delegate from Cross River State, sought the leave of the conference to pay tributes to Abiola, his late wife, Kudirat and all those who died in the struggle to revalidate the historic June

12 election, whose results were annulled by military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

As soon as the motion was introduced, there was uproar as some delegates

who did not see its essence protested while those who felt it was appropriate hailed the motion.

A cross-section of delegates from the South supCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Sultan urges Jonathan to reconsider dialogue with Boko Haram }4

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Friday, June 13, 2014

Defect and lose your seats, Jega tells politicians CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

anti-democratic forces to truncate democracy ahead of the 2015 elections.

Jega, who spoke on the theme: “Interparty Collaboration, National Stability and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria,” described defection as “political nomadism”.

He spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing controversy over last year’s defection of five governors and 37 members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, when an elected official “defects, he is supposed to relinquish his office to allow for a fresh election.”

He said the bill being proposed by INEC, when passed into law, would correct the lacuna in the 1999 Constitution, which is being exploited by defected politicians.

Under the 1999 Constitution, only lawmakers who defected from their parties are expected to lose their seats, provided their defection was not as a result of division in their parties.

But Jega condemned politicians who defected and insisted on retaining their seats in violation of

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the constitution.

He said: “While we must respect the right of citizens to choose at will what parties to belong to, as part of their freedom of association, the negative effects of haemorrhage of party members and the rancour it generates cannot be underestimated because on one hand the legal framework is not too clear. If you are elected on the platform of a political party and you cross-carpet and change your political party, then obviously you have to relinquish the seat

and election needs to be conducted to fill that seat.

This is an important issue we should address.”

He warned politicians against engaging in acts that promote electoral violence, saying the win-at-allcosts tendency promotes religious cleavages, tribal differences and violence.

On interparty collaboration, the INEC chairman stressed the need to improve the functioning of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to ensure full commitment of all parties to the council and

code of conduct.

He also told the gathering that INEC had submitted a bill to the National Assembly for the amendment to the Electoral Act to empower it to delist parties which failed to meet the requirements for their continued existence.

In his contribution, the president warned of attempts by those he identified as anti-democratic forces to truncate the nation’s democracy.

He said the forces were prepared to exploit any lapses on the part of gov-

ernment in its bid to conduct the forthcoming polls.

“There are still very remorseless anti-democratic forces operating in the political system, ever ready to exploit lapses in the management of our political and electoral processes. Some of these forces may indeed during the forthcoming elections truncate the nation’s hardwon democratic liberty,” Jonathan added.

He urged Nigerians to support the Federal Government in ensuring such CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

FLIGHT SCHEDULE FIRST NATION AIRWAYS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06.50; 09:30; 11:45; 16:00 (SAT) 06:50; 11:45 (SUN) 11:45; 16:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 11:30; 13:40;18:30 (SAT) 09:00; 13:40 (SUN) 13:40; 18:30 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 14:45 (SAT) 16:15 (SUN) 14:45 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:50 (SAT) 18:20 (SUN) 16:50 AEROCONTRACTORS LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06:50; 13:30; 16:30; 19:45 (SAT/SUN) 12:30; 16:45 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 13:00; 19:00 (SAT) 12:30 (SUN) 15:30 MEDVIEW AIRLINES LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:50; 12:00; 15:30 (SAT) 10:00; 15:00 (SUN) 17:30; 18:30 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 14:00, 15:00; 18:30

L-R: Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; President Goodluck Jonathan; National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih at the All Political Party Summit in Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Confab in rowdy session over June 12 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ported the motion while their counterparts from the North kicked against it.

The session became rowdy as Mallam Nasser Kura, a delegate representing the civil society group, led other delegates from the North to oppose the motion.

When they felt that the sponsor of the motion was adamant, they resorted to shouting in a bid to force the mover of the motion to suspend it.

Chairman of conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, who read the mood of the conference urged Duke to continue with the motion.

In the debate, Duke urged the conference to cause the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as a watershed in the history of Nigeria and to honour the late Abiola and other heroes and heroines of the struggle.

Duke told the conference that yesterday was the 21st anniversary of June 12, 1993 presidential election, adjudged the freest and fairest ever in the

history of Nigeria.

He argued that the country could not afford to carry on as if June 12 never existed given the significance of that election and the events that culminated in the exit of the military from power.

“June 12 is a preamble as to why we are here today; it is a continuation of the unfinished business of 1993 that we are here.

Moshood Abiola paid that ultimate sacrifice and it is not something we can wish away and assume that it never happened to us; it did.

“I was an active participant, and some of the delegates here were victims of June 12. If we forget history, it will repeat itself as a tragedy. Those who fell for the sake of June 12 should be remembered today if nothing,” Duke said.

Another delegate, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, lamented that some delegates were opposed to the motion.

He said it was unfortunate that even some persons who witnessed the events of June 12 and were victims of the brutal

military regime of that era were still living in denial and treating the issue with levity.

Adebanjo said rather than vilify the mover of the motion, delegates should commend Duke for his courage and sense of history.

According to him, without June 12, there will be no May 29 as the crisis that followed the annulment of the June 12 election is the foundation of the democracy Nigerians enjoy today.

In his contribution, Chief Edwin Clark said June 12 was a significant date in the history of Nigeria and ideally should have been the Democracy Day instead of May 29 which the Federal Government had chosen to celebrate the rebirth of democracy in Nigeria.

He described those who tried to play down the significance of June 12 as being petty and economical with the truth.

“Nigerians are made to observe May 29 as Democracy Day because somebody came into office and decided to make it democ-

racy day. Really, June 12 should be democracy day in Nigeria.

“For eight years, he (Abiola) was not recognised, but when the president (Jonathan) came into power, he recognised him and even named the University of Lagos after him, but for the protest of the students and the lecturers. We must have heroes in our country. So, as far as I am concerned, we must observe such a day as an important day,” he said.

Also, Issa Aremu, a delegate, argued that the best way the country could recognise June 12 is for the politicians to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

“What we are seeing today shows we have not learnt from what happened on June 12. Elections are still becoming a do-or-die affair with a lot of unnecessary and avoidable violence. For the memory of June 12 to be significant for all of us and for us to make it worthwhile, we need to reaffirm our commitment to free and fair CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00 ARIK AIR LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:00; 09:00; 11:00 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00; 20:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 09:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 (SAT) 07:00; 11:00; 15:00 (SUN) 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 09:00; 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 (SAT) 07:30; 11:30; 09:00; 13:00; 17:00 (SUN) 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 ABUJA-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30; 16:50 (SAT/SUN) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30 PORT-HARCOURT-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10; 18:30 (SAT/SUN) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

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APC convention: Delegates to vote by zones lJaja drops out of chairmanship race *6,855 delegates storm Abuja

Yekeen Nurudeen and Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

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s delegates from the six geo-political zones of the country converge on Abuja today for the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Congress, the Chairman, Convention Planning Committee, Governor Aliyu Wamakko, yesterday disclosed that delegates would vote at the event according to their zones.

Speaking in Abuja at a pre-convention press conference, the Sokoto State Governor stated that 6,855 delegates have arrived for the convention.

But one of the contenders for the National Chair-

manship of the party, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, yesterday withdrew from the race.

Chairman, Convention Electoral Committee, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, said the tussle for the national chairmanship is among former Governor of Edo State, Chief John OdigieOyegun; former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi and former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva.

He, however, did not give reasons why Jaja stepped down from the race.

According to him, the convention would witness real time voting as against affirmation or consensus as being rumoured in some quarters.

While expressing the

readiness of the party to conduct a crisis-free convention, Wamakko who also alleged attempts by those he called unscrupulous elements to scuttle the event, said that adequate security had been put in place to ensure safety of all delegates.

He said the Federal Government had deliberately put in place stop-andsearch checkpoint at entry points of Abuja to discourage delegates from attending the convention.

“Regardless of the stumbling blocks and hiccups deliberately planted to scuttle our purposes, the first delegates convention of APC is here. Opposition have been trying their best to make sure that this

convention does not hold including the security to conduct unnecessary stop-and-search on our delegates entering Abuja.

That and many others have taken place but by the grace of God we are above that.

“By the grace of God, we are going to have the convention tomorrow. We have equally concluded arrangement with the security agencies in ensuring safety of lives and property in and around the convention ground.

“As a committee, we have worked hard and long to put in place arrangement for accreditation of delegates in six different venues according to the six geo-political zones. It is

L-R: Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi and the Director General, Budget Office, Mr. Bright Okogwu, after the National Economic Management Team meeting in Abuja...yesterday

PHOTO; TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

FG solicits N33bn loan from Germany …to establish Development Bank Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

T

he Federal Government has commenced economic bilateral discussion with the Republic of Germany as it solicits $200 million (about N33 billion) soft loan to establish the Development Bank of Nigeria.

The government said the establishment of the new Development Finance Institution would create additional lending window of affordable credit for Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a business meeting with a delegation from Germany led by German Minister of Economic Development, Gerd Mueller, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi

Okonjo-Iweala listed three priority areas Nigeria was desirous of Germany’s assistance .

“There are three things we are looking for from Germany: We admired the way Germany has been able to marry skills in its education system to industry. We just launched our industrial revolution plan. We think we need to manufacture more things in Nigeria because we got a large market and we think that Germany can be of assistance by sharing with us the knowledge on how it has been able to organise itself so that we can have the right skills for the right industry.

“The second area of assistance is manufacturing and it is very important.

We admire the way you built your development

bank. Nigeria is building a Development Bank of Nigeria. The president and the vice-president have pushed very hard for us to have long-term money in this economy. We want you to support us. We are negotiating with you about $200 million soft credit support on this.

“The last area is investment. We want your business people to invest in our manufacturing. We have a very large consumer sector and Germany manufactured high-quality things, from electronics, consumables to power. You have big opportunity to do that in Nigeria. These are the three things I want you to think about,” OkonjoIweala told the German delegation comprising of investors.

Earlier, Germany Min-

ister of Economic Development, Mueller, had requested Nigeria’s Finance Minister to enlighten the German delegation on the socio-economic developments in the country in respect of the North-East and the abduction of Chibok girls by Boko Haram.

The minister said every hand was on the deck working for the safe release of the abducted schoolgirls.

For the economy, the minister said the economy was robust and sound, a fact attested to by the outcome of a recent re-basing exercise ranking Nigeria economy the biggest in Africa. She however pointed out that the country was still faced with the twin challenge of insufficient jobs and huge inequality gap.

our desire to depart from past experience of rowdiness at the venues of such exercises,” he said.

The governor revealed that the convention delegates would ratify the amended party’s constitution and put in place the national officers to guide its affairs in the next four years.

He stated that since the

advent of APC in July last year, “leaders of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have become awakened to the cold fact of the presence of a viable alternative in respect of delivering of inspiring democratic governance within the Nigerian nation’s space.”

APC, according to him, has survived all the ‘devious intrigues’ put together by the PDP government to truncate its birth.

FG pools $2.6bn to boost electricity network CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

(AfDB), $135 million from Eurobond and $170 million from French Development Bank (FDB).

Nebo said: “You raised some concerns, and the president is addressing these concerns through us, the foot soldiers. The issue of transmission is at the heart of the matter because no matter what is generated, if it is not transmitted, it will not get to the discos (distribution companies) and even if it gets to the discos, and the discos do not have the infrastructure to distribute, it will not get to Nigerians.

“So, we are even looking beyond transmission to distribution. Already, the National Economic Council has recommended, and Mr. President has approved a whopping sum of $1.6 billion from the proceeds of the sales of the Nigerian Integrated Power Project (NIPP) just for transmission alone. In addition to that, the World Bank has brought in substantial amount of money more in loans that is coming in excess of $500 million. The Eurobond that was over-subscribed, we had about $135 million just for transmission alone and from the African Development Bank (AfDB), $150 million is already being accessed just for transmission alone. We also hope to have $170 million from the French Development Bank that is already in the pipeline... very soon, it will be accessed.”

He added that the Federal Government has received an incredible number of international parties, which want to invest in transmission, not just to give loan, but to invest in a PPP arrangement.

“Ideally, transmission should have 150 per cent of the capacity of generation. It has never been so in Nigeria, but by the grace of God, under the present administration, we hope at least to achieve a 120 per cent capacity. That way,

no matter what is generated by the IPP, we should be able to transmit. So, with this you know that the government is dead serious about the issue of transmission because that is the lifeline,” he added.

Earlier, the leader of the Bankers’ Forum and Managing Director, Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, said the banks were concerned about three key issues affecting them since the power sector was privatised.

He outlined their concerns to include the seeming poor state of the power transmission network, the recurring obstacles in the supply of gas to power plants and the lack of intervention funds for banks supporting the sector.

“We have not come here to complain, considering the giant strides which the government has recorded in the power sector, but the above concerns are what we want you to help us address,” Sekibo said.

Meanwhile, Shell yesterday shut in 40, 000 barrels of oil at its EA field offshore in Nigeria.

With the declaration of force majeure, the Federal Government and Shell will be losing $4.2 million daily pending the completion of the repair works.

The company said in a statement that it had also declared a force majeure on production from the field.

This action, the statement by the spokesperson for the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Precious Okolobo, stated, was to allow the company to complete repair works on the mooring platforms for the field.

The EA field is located South West of Warri in water depths of around 25 meters.

The force majeure declared by Shell is not the first this year. Last month, the company had announced the lift of force majeure, which it declared 52 days ago on 400, 000 barrels per day oil lifting from the Forcados Terminal in the western Niger Delta.

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Sultan urges Jonathan to reconsider dialogue with Boko Haram lUK boosts military aid to Nigeria lPresident lauds London security summit’s decisions lObasanjo: Some Chibok girls may never return

T

he Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday called on President Goodluck Jonathan to reconsider dialogue with Boko Haram.

According to him, this is necessary as no country can win the war against insurgency on the strength of military action alone.

Abubakar, who doubles as the President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), also said in Abuja at a conference organised

by Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria (MULAN), that Muslims had no plans to Islamise Nigeria.

He spoke on a day the United Kingdom offered Nigeria more military aid to combat Boko Haram.

The Sultan called on Muslim lawyers to offer free legal services to detained Boko Haram suspects so as to ensure freedom for the innocent among them.

He decried a situation where non-Muslims opposed the inclusion of Sharia in the constitution at the ongoing National Conference and urged Muslims not to oppose provisions that would be of direct benefit to non-Muslims in the constitution.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom yesterday affirmed its preparedness to

increase military and educational aid to help Nigeria tackle Boko Haram.

A report by BBC quoted UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, as saying in London on the sidelines of the ongoing summit on ending sexual violence in conflict, he co-hosted with the United Nations special envoy and actress, Angelina Jolie, that Nigeria’s army would receive extra training, especially in counter-insurgency, and a million more children would be given schooling.

This is the latest promise of Western help since Boko Haram abducted some 200 schoolgirls in April. Since then, the Islamist group has stepped up its attacks.

UK Premier, Mr. David Cameron, at a joint press conference with the United States President Barack Obama during last week’s G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium had unfolded plans by his government to offer Nigeria more help in tackling the insurgency that is ravaging the northeastern part of the country.

Although Cameron gave no details in Brussels, Hague’s disclosure yesterday offered insight to the extra step the UK, which is among countries that have given Nigeria assistance in finding and res-

Confab in rowdy session over June 12 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

elections in Nigeria,” he said.

Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) faulted the argument of those opposed to the motion. He recalled that many Nigerians paid the supreme price for the country to attain democracy.

“We should not trivialise June 12 and make it look like it is something that is not important. We should observe one-minute silence in honour of people who died during the June 12 crisis whether they be from the East, North, South or West. They are Nigerians and they paid the supreme price. We should give honour to whom honour is due. June 12 is not just important, it is the watershed of Nigeria’s democracy,” Ozekhome said.

However, another delegate, Umar Mohammed Hadejia, described the motion as irrelevant, es-

pecially when the conference was pressed for time to conclude its assignment on schedule.

“I find it difficult to understand here why, when we have no time and with little progress, some people are always and everyday unnecessarily delaying the proceedings of the conference. It is important for people to realise that we are representing Nigerians for something extremely important for this country.

“I am beginning to suspect that there are certain people who are coming up with ideas to disrupt this meeting so that we don’t perform. It is important that the chair begins to call people to order so that we can continue,” he said.

At the end of the debate, Justice Kutigi called for a minute of silence in honour of all those who died in the struggle over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections.

cuing the Chibok girls, is ready to take to curtail the insurgency in the country.

The summit in London where Hague made the disclosure followed last month’s summit in Paris where regional powers pledged to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against Boko Haram and its five-year insurgency.

Representatives from the US, the European Union, Canada and Nigeria’s neighbours Benin, Chad, Cameroun and Niger also attended.

Niger’s Foreign Minister, Mohamed Bazoum, said at the Paris summit it was decided that Chad’s

capital, N’Djamena, would be the headquarters for aircraft involved in surveillance and possibly “operations in the field”. Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, was chosen as the headquarters of the shared intelligence services.

Reacting to the security summit, President Goodluck Jonathan commended the decision of the London Ministerial Meeting on Security in Nigeria and West Africa to operationalise a Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit to enhance the generation and sharing of information that is essential to curbing terrorist activities.

Jonathan in a statement

yesterday in Abuja by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, so applauded the establishment of a multinational joint task force

by Nigeria, Chad, Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Cameroun to enforce stricter border controls and prevent terrorists from having unrestricted access to their territories.

According to him, the implementation of the important decisions taken at the London meeting, supported by necessary technical expertise from Britain, the United States and France will greatly boost his administration’s ongoing efforts to end of terrorism in Nigeria as

well as make the country a much safer place for its citizens and residents.

Also yesterday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed fear that some of the Chibok girls abducted about two months ago might never return.

“I believe that some of them will never return.

We will still be hearing about them many years from now. Some of them will give birth, but if they (Boko Haram members) cannot take care of them in the forest, they may be released,” he said in an interview with the Hausa Service of BBC, monitored in Kaduna.

L-R: House of Representives members, Zaphania Jisalo; Isah Iga Dobi; Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen; Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Ms. Olajumoke Akinjide and Vice-President Namadi Sambo, at the ground breaking ceremony of the rehabilitation and expansion of outer Southern Expressway in Abuja…yesterday.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Defect and lose your seats, Jega tells politicians CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

forces are defeated.

“With respect to the 2015 elections in particular and our journey as a nation in general, we must never allow these negative forces to prevail. Our roles should not be limited to the struggle to win elections and acquire political powers but also to handling demands of patriotism and statesmanship and restoring hope to the Nigerian people,” he said.

The president explained that yesterday’s programme was necessary to provide the platform for sharing ideas among political parties despite their ideological differences.

He urged political parties to relate with one another and conduct themselves with responsibility and statesmanship, with focus on positive input into

governance whether they are in power at present or not.

The President lamented that despite provisions to ensure cordial relationship among political parties and their members, the current inter-party collaboration is less than salutary.

“Indeed, the conduct and utterances of leading politicians at home and abroad are rapidly creating and spreading unnecessary tension in the country,” the president said.

Also speaking, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, expressed mixed feelings on the provocative attitude of opposition parties and wondered why APC chieftains would use brooms to “sweep out” the footprints of their political opponents each time they held a rally in states controlled by them.

Mu’azu also frowned on the politicisation of the security challenge facing the country and called on politicians to unite in tackling the matter.

He said: “Initially, I thought ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ were well intentioned. That was why I asked my Chief of Staff, the former FCT (Federal Capital Territory) minister, to represent us and for two days, he was there.

Little did I know it was opposition protest against the Federal Government. But I want to remind us that the war against the abduction of the girls should not be politicised.”

Also at the occasion, a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, called on politicians to stop the blame game over the insurgency in the country.

He also suggested the

adoption of a rule that would compel political parties to be responsible for the actions and inactions of their members.

Abdulsalami, who chaired the summit, said the greatest challenge facing Nigeria’s democracy were “inflammatory statements (by politicians), mutual suspicion, promotion of political violence, endless litigation and outright abuse of the electoral process”.

He stated that his analysis of political events had shown gradual descent into anarchy and charged the politicians to develop a common platform to checkmate such.

“Those in power and those in opposition have a common duty to protect our democracy both by their actions and utterances,” he added.

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

NEWS

COMMEMORATION OF JUNE 12, 1993 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

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Fashola, Sagay to Nigerians: Don’t vote on emotion CAUTION

Nigerians should imbibe June 12 spirit before voting, eminent Nigerins advise Muritala Ayinla

E

minent Nigerians, including the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola and renowned lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, yesterday urged

l As governor advocates compulsory debate for public office holders

Nigerians to reflect and imbibe the spirit of the June 12, 1993 presidential election before deciding who occupies any political office in the 2015 general election.

At a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the most credible election in the history of Nigeria, Governor Fashola called for compulsory presidential debate among candidates for the exalted office of President as a way of im-

1993 annulment, bedrock of instability, says Nwolise Sola Adeyemo IBADAN

P

olitical Science teacher and renown social commentator from the University of Ibadan, Prof. Osisioma Nwolise, has described the annulment of June 12 presidential election by retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, as the foundation of the country’s instability.

He said the annulment of that election has led to insecurity and uncertainty in the land.

Similarly, human rights activists, led by Mr. Femi Aborisade and others in the Afenifere Renewal Group, converged on the University of Ibadan yesterday, condemning the arrest, de-

tention and death on July 7, 1998, of the winner of that election and democracy symbol, Chief MKO Abiola.

Aborisade said; “MKO Abiola was murdered by the State in collaboration with the so-called international community.”

Nwolise at a Democracy Day lecture in Ibadan, urged the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as the nation’s Democracy Day instead of May 29.

The event, organised by the Gbenga Opadotun-led Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oyo state council, was to mark the 21st anniversary of the annulment of the election, which was believed to have been won by the late Moshood Abiola.

June 12 annulment, bane of current political impunity –Falae Wale Elegbede

A

former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae, yesterday described the current political impunity in the country as a spillover of the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election.

He added that until a reverse was made to the principles that characterised that election, the nation may continue in her state.

Speaking in Lagos at the 21st anniversary of the annulment of June 12, 1993 election organised by the Gani Adams-led Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), under the theme; “June 12: A solution model for 2015 electoral challenges,” the former presidential candidate Adeolu Adeyemo OSOGBO

H

undreds of people in Osun State trooped out yesterday to mark the 21st year anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief MKO Abiola.

said from the day the election was annulled, peace and integrity became history in the country.

Recalling events that trailed the annulment of the election, he said: “When the election was annulled, some of us said no and gathered at the residence of Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo for two days and deliberated on what to do.

“Finally, we decided to give a signed ultimatum to Gen. Sanni Abacha, and we gave him 30 days to restore Nigerians’ mandate. He didn’t do so and the crisis began. All the meetings were taking place in my residence in Victoria Island, and finally they came for me and for two years I was in detention at Alagbon.

proving our democratic culture.

He said there was the need for citizens to subject any aspirant vying for elective positions; especially the office of the President, to a debate to enable the electorate know the capacity and knowledge of such candidates about various sectors and issues in the country.

The programme was held at the LTV 8 Agidingbi, Ikeja, where the

15

governor said Nigerians must not be cajoled with sentiments, but be ready to scrutinise the presidential candidates before making their decisions.

Also speaking at the occasion, Prof. Sagay advised Nigerians to put sentiments aside while making voting decisions, saying election based on religious or tribal sentiments had never helped the nation in the past.

Sagay, who spoke on the theme: “June 12 and

The number of Bayern Munich players that will participate in the World Cup in 2014.

Source: Goal.com

Fourth Republic Challenges,” said there was no distinction between roads or hospitals constructed by a Muslim or a Christian, President or Governor, adding that what matters was good governance and the quality of the elected candidates.

The professor of law said: “Can we declare that our rulers since 1999 have demonstrated that they possess integrity, discipline, vision, principles and courage of convic-

6.21m

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of Colombia in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

31.5m

The total population of Iraq (representing 0.46% of world’s population) in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

L-R: Comrade Debo Adeniran; Activist, Mrs M.K.O. Irawo; Chairman, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos, Mr. Ayodele Adewale; Chief Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi; delegate representing Pro-National Conference Organisation at the on-going National Conference, Wale Okunniyi; Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji; eldest daughter of late M.K.O. Abiola, Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello; her brother, Abdul Mummuni Abiola; Prof. Akin Akintola and others, laying wreath at the grave of the late Chief MKO Abiola, during the 21st Anniversary of June 12 Democratic Movement in Lagos… yesterday.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

June 12, Nigeria’s political watershed, says Mimiko Babatope Okeowo and Adeolu Adeyemo, AKURE

O

ndo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, yesterday described the June 12, 1993 election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, as a political watershed in the annals of the country.

Mimiko, who charged the youths in the state to embrace various economic programmes of his administration, said the political history of Nigeria cannot be completed without the roles played by the winner of the election, Chief Abiola.

In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, called on the people not to allow their inalienable rights to

choose those people they want to govern them to be subverted by anti-democratic forces.

Speaking at the Nelson Mandela Park, Osogbo, Aregbesola said what the country desperately needed was true democracy, which must be nurtured for it to develop, progress and stable.

The governor said the people have come a long way in its remembrance of the callousness of the military for the annulment of the most free and fair election in the history of the country.

According to him, the annulment that presidential election dragged the nation to anarchy, which it was yet to extricate itself till today.

He cautioned Nigerians to make sure that such ominous event does not repeat itself again.

Meanwhile, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has said that the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, would have been in the All Progressives Congress (APC) if he were to be alive.

He spoke during a special prayer session to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

The event, held at the Abiola’s family house in Oke-Agbo, Abeokuta, was attended by some of the late politician’s children, relatives and well-wishers.

They included Abi-

Hundreds troop out to mark anniversary The people, who mobilised themselves in a formidable manner, marched round the state capital, Osogbo, and later went to the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park where the event was for-

tion? Are they orientated towards service and self-sacrifice? Or is the case that, with a few exceptions, the Titans were replaced by Lilliputians?

He added that Nigeria’s legislator’s pay is $1,700,000 as against $174,000 and $100,000 lawmaker's pay in the United States and United Kingdom respectfully. “Nigerian legislators pay themselves the highest salaries in the world, even though their country is least developed in the world,” Sagay concluded.

mally marked.

Speaking at the event, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, advised the electorate to vote and defend their votes in the forthcoming governorship and future elections in

the state.

“It is by so doing that the voters could guarantee the sanctity of their votes and democracy because democracy without the true representation of the peoples will

is a fallacy.

“June 12 became a heroic and special day in Nigeria’s history as a result of the fights put forward by the electorate, particularly the Yoruba, in the defence

ola’s younger brother, Mubashiru; son, Jamiu; daughter, Tundun; state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, and Iyalode of Egbaland, Chief (Mrs.) Alaba Lawson.

Amosun, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, extolled the virtues and democratic credentials of the late Abiola.

According to the governor, Abiola won the freest and fairest election in the country and further laid down his life for the democracy currently being enjoyed by all Nigerians. of June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida.

“June 12 would not have come to stay had the voters caved in to intimidation, harassment and threats from the military government and the usurpers,” he said.

6

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Anambra: Tribunal restores Agolue as Ogbaru council boss Uwakwe Abugu

Awka

he Onitsha Zone of the TGovernment Anambra state Local Chairman-

ship Elections Appeal Tribunal has set aside the judgment of the state’s local government election petitions tribunal which nullified the election of Chief Victor Agolue of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, as the duly elected chairman of Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State, and accordingly restored the mandate to him.

The election tribunal presided over by Obi Anizoba had on April 6, nullified the election of Agolue and ordered a fresh election in the

council area upon which the chairman approached the appeal panel.

The Anizoba tribunal had nullified the election sequel to a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the January 11, 2014 council election, Zeribe Ezeanuna.

Following the verdict, Agolue had gone to the appeal tribunal sitting at Onitsha High Court I, presided over by Justice Vincent Agbata.

Justice Agbata in his judgment set aside the tribunal's decision and upheld the election of Agolue, on the ground that the petition was status- barred, and that the lower tribunal erred in law by nullifying the election in the first instance.

Nigeria needs people-oriented drug control master plan, says NDLEA Biyi Adegoroye

irector-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Otunba Femi Ajayi, has called for the formulation of a “peopledriven, people-oriented and people-friendly” National Drug Control Master plan to tackle the proliferation and trafficking in illicit drugs and psychotropic substances in the country.

Ajayi said that has become necessary because drug trafficking is a national security problem.

He stated that available evidences have identified a strong link between drugs and criminality and drug and national security, and since cocaine, heroin and other substances so abused act as de-inhabitants to criminals and terrorists alike, they are propelled to even embark on massive killings without restraint.

Ajayi said only such peopled-owned master plan can realistically address the challenge of the complex, heterogeneous, highly populated

D

country with peculiar drug problems.

He said the formulation of the Master Plan for 2014-2018 has become more imperative because the country is located within narcotic drug source and drug consuming countries, with illegal international borders as well as illegal entry and exit points all around it.

He therefore challenged the committee peopled by experts in various fields like medicine, law, the military, customs, immigration and the academia to study and ensure effective analysis and utilisation of data gathered at the 11 town hall meetings covering drug abuse situation in the 36 states of the federation, and the country’s past drug master plan to produce a virile one for the nation.

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes, (UNODC) said assessments for West Africa identified Nigeria as a leading high risk country in seven of eight countries assessed for major crimes induced by consumption of illicit drugs.

Chairman, Slok Holdings, Dr. Orji Kalu (right) and Chairman, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (Nigeria) Limited, Dr. Festus Fadeyi, during Kalu's visit to the corporation's head office in Lagos…yesterday

65%

The percentage of individuals suing the internet in Bahamas in 2011.

Source: Itu.int

2.71m

The total area (in sq. km) of Kazakhstan.

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

38.2

The number of newspaper journalists per 1m inhabitants of Senegal in 2005.

Source: Blatantworld.com

Police ban political, protest marches in Rivers lAs protest rocks Port Harcourt for the second day CONTROVERSY Rivers State Police Command hugs controversy again as it bans public protest in the state Joe Ezuma

Port Harcourt

T

he Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Tunde Ogunsakin, yesterday, reinforced the ban on public demonstrations and political rallies in the state, saying in a statement, that it was aimed at preventing a breakdown of law and order.

Ban on such rallies was earlier effected by former Commissioner of Police in the state, Mbu Joseph Mbu, when he banned rallies

by Grassroots Demo-

cratic Initiative(GDI) and the Save Rivers Movement(SRM) rallies in the state.

Ogunsakin stated that as the chief security officer of the state, he has a responsibility to ensure that all gatherings for whatever reasons, whether politically motivated or otherwise are carried out within the ambits of the law to prevent an infringement on the law.

He reiterated that any political parties must apply to the Command for permission to hold politically related events, at least, five days before the event is scheduled to take place to enable the police evaluate the security implications before given security clearance to the organizers of the event.

But for the second day running, business activities were grossly grounded in the early

hours of yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital as a proJustice Daisy Okocha demonstrators took to the major streets in condemnation of the inability of the state government to install her as the state substantive chief judge.

The protest came at the heels of Wednesday’s civil disturbances, during which pro- Amaechi demonstrators from the 23 councils of the state and mostly All Progressives’ Congress (APC) supporters took to the streets of Port Harcourt in demonstration over the possible appointment of Hon. Justice Okocha, as the Acting Chief Judge by National Judicial Council (NJC).

This was shortly before the State House of Assembly, held a public hearing to amend the State High Court Law, Cap 1 of 2001, aimed at

empowering the chief registrar of the High Court to assign cases and perform other relevant administrative duties, in the absence of an acting chief judge or substantive chief judge.

The House also debated and passed the amendment, which was titled: “Rivers State High Court (Amendment) Law 2014 – Principal Law, into law.

The public hearing which held at the conference room of the ministry of justice was earlier addressed by the Chair man of the House Committee on Justice, Golden Ngozi Chioma who said that the committee received six memoranda from the public, including one from the legal assistant to the Felix Obuah-led, leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party ( PDP), Justus Awotu.

Edo Assembly's stolen mace surfaces after five years lAPC lawmakers call for police investigation

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he fifteen lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Edo state house of Assembly yesterday raised an alarm over the sudden appearance of the house’s mace, which was stolen from the house about five year ago.

The mace was seized by the 15 APC lawmakers under the leadership of Speaker Uyi Igbe. But

it was recovered from 9 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators during Wednesday’s plenary, when the suspended Deputy Speaker, Hon. Festus Ebea, stormed the chambers of the house.

Chairman of the house committee on Information, Youths and Sports, Hon. Kabiru Ajoto stated this at a press conference on the issues that led to the pandemo-

nium and invasion of the legislative complex by the four suspended lawmakers together with those of the PDP. Ajoto said the nine PDP lawmakers, in defiance of the house rules and order, had stormed the chambers at about 6:30am with the aid of over 20 armed mobile policemen whose identities are yet to be ascertained.

The lawmaker who

displayed two different maces before journalists stated that the ‘fake’ and ‘kwashiokor’ mace was discovered missing and even reported to the police when former PDP dominated house of assembly led by ex-speaker Zakawanu Garuba was impeached in February 2009 and therefore urged f the state police command to investigate the case.

He also tasked the police to unearth the true identities of over 20 armed mobile policemen that aided the embattled PDP lawmakers to gain access into the assembly before they were ordered out by the commissioner of police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo.

Ajoto frowned at the action of some security agents who were expected to be neutral in carrying

out their assigned duties but resorted to aiding and abetting the suspended lawmakers.

Speaking on the fate of the suspended four lawmakers after about 12 hours deliberations presided over by speaker Uyi Igbe on Wednesday, Ajoto explained that the house cannot comment on the suspension until the case on the restraining order in court is disposed off.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Chibok: NHRC faults FG on protest Johnchuks Onuanyim

... says abduction is a war crime

F

the #BringBackourGirls movement to channel its demands to Boko Haram rather than to government demeans our country and impoverishes our values. When a citizen suffers burglary, they report to the Police not the burglar. Similarly, we don’t tell a rape victim to channel her grievance to the rapist rather than the Police or the hospital.

"So, we must not allow it to be heard that we’re asking our citizens to channel their demands for the wellbeing of our girls to entities clearly recognized as terrorist organizations. To do so is to deny our government and its leadership the legitimacy it deserves as the institution to which we owe obedience. This is wrong. And it’s shameful.

"It is cheap slander to accuse members of BringBackOurGirls - as

ABUJA

ifty-nine days after the Government Girls Secondary School Students of Chibok community in Borno State were abducted by Boko Haram, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday condemned the Federal Government’s stance on the #BringBackOurGirls protest group.

The chairman of the commission's board, Dr. Anslem Odinkalu, condemned the disposition of the Federal Government towards the group, declaring that government had questions to answer on the missing girls.

He added that the abduction of the school girls was a war crime that should be treated as such.

In his address to the Women for Peace & Justice in Lagos, Odinkalu said: "I think that asking

0.66

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of Nigeria in 2010.

Source: Itu.int

some have done – of doing this for vainglory or political reasons. Such slander should not go unanswered. But while they lead this public service beyond the call of duty, we must spare them the indignity of having to respond to such flippancy."

According to him, besides the questions raised by the BringBackOurGirls group, government must be able to address other questions like: How many of our girls were indeed abducted?

How could the abduction of so many young women happen in an area under emergency without as much as the discharge of one bullet in their defence or honour? How could their abductors go from Chibok to their hideouts without meeting any resistance? And why did the authorities expose these girls to the hazard of un-

1m

The total number of internet users in Haiti in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

dertaking these examinations under circumstances of clearly inadequate security?

He advised that governments and politicians should go beyond the blame game to do the needful by rescuing the abducted girls.

He said, "As Nigerians, we must agree to elevate some things above partisan politics. One such thing is public safety. Another is the wellbeing of our children and our future. A third must be the defence of our hard-won democratic space.

"When a country is threatened by an existential adversary such as we confront today in North-East Nigeria, it is the function of leadership to unite civic assets against a common adversary. This problem doesn’t just threaten the North-East or its peoples.

When any part of Nigeria suffers, we all suffer."

73

The number of players from German Bundesliga that will participate in the World Cup in 2014.

Source: Goal.com

Widow of former Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Emamnuel Chukwuma Nnama, Mrs. Mercy (middle), with his children and grand children, during a night of tributes in Lagos on Wednesday.

PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Plot to remove Nyako thickens as lawmakers order arrest of commissioners Ibrahim Abdul YOLA

F

ear yesterday enveloped the political landscape of Adamawa State over the possible removal of Governor Murtala Nyako, especially because of moves by the State House of Assembly to investigate the expenditures of the state government.

In what may be a step towards the removal of the governor, members of the State House of Assembly yesterday ordered the arrest of four commissioners for fail-

ing to heed its summon to appear before the house.

It will be recalled that on Wednesday, the house had directed six commissioners, Secretary to the State Government and the Accountant General of the state to appear before it over issues bordering on the implementation.

Yesterday’s plenary, presided over by the Deputy Speaker Kwamoti Laori (PDP-Numan) directed the state Commissioner of Police, to arrest four of the affected commissioners

who failed to show up and bring them before the house on Monday by 10 am.

The affected commissioners are those of Agriculture, Mrs Lucy Ishaku; Health, Mrs Lilian Stephen; Commerce, Alhaji Ahmed Gorko and Land and Survey, Alhaji Abdulrahman Shuaibu.

The House which acknowledged receipt of a letter from the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Kobis Thimnu, over his inability to honour yesterday’s invitation said he should also appear unfailingly on

Monday.

The commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Ibrahim Vokna; his counterpart for Works, Umaru Atiku, and the state Accountant General, Mallam Nasir Mohammed, had earlier appeared before the house.

On Tuesday, May 27, the Adamawa State House of Assembly gave Governor Murtala Nyako and his government an ultimatum of three days to pay back the illegal deductions made from workers’ salaries and allowances of May 2014 in the state.

7

INEC to create 30,000 extra polling units DECONGESTION

From 120,000 polling units, INEC wants to increase to 150,000 Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

I

n a bid to decongest the existing polling units, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said additional 30,000 polling units will be created nationwide before next year’s general elections.

This will bring the total number of polling units in the country to 150, 000 (from the present 120,000).

INEC chairman, Prof.

Attahiru Jega who disclosed this yesterday at a town hall meeting in Abuja, said the commission intended that each polling unit would have a maximum of 500 voters as opposed to a situation where in some instances, some polling units have more than 3,000 voters.

Although Jega admitted that the new polling units would mean additional cost, more personnel, more cubicles and additional ballot boxes, he explained that the aim was to eliminate congestion and take care of additional settlements in the event of crises and demolitions as witnessed in Abuja and some Nigerian cities.

He added that the commission had made contingency arrangements for internally displaced persons, especially those affected by violence and natural disasters, to participate and exercise their franchise during the elections.

Said he: “The laws are clear. If you have

registered and for any reason you have moved, you don’t need to register again. All you need to do is transfer your status. Use the opportunity of transfer to apply to the Electoral Officer where you are resident. You will be issued a duplicate card but if it is a TVC (Temporary Voter Card), you will be issued with a PVC (Permanent Voter Card).”

He added that in the event of a loss of card due to a flood, fire or some other incident, the voter could apply for a replacement but cautioned against registering anew as that would amount to multiple registration which is an offence.

The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had planned to conduct Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the 2015 general elections in all states of the federation, including those under state of emergency.

Jega said INEC was working in collaboration with the security agencies which were making efforts to restore peace and create the opportunity for the CVR and the general elections to take place in states under emergency.

According to him, states under the state of emergency were put in the third phase of the distribution of PVCs and the (CVR) exercises scheduled for August this year with the hope that normalcy would have been restored in those states by then.

On INEC’s autonomy, Jega said the commission was “relatively independent and better, but we can keep on improving.”

Nigerian vessels face strict measures in U.S.

T

he U.S. Government yesterday imposed “Conditions of Entry (COE)” on vessels originating or calling from Nigerian ports.

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria in a statement said henceforth, Nigerian vessels will have to meet certain security measures before entering U.S. ports.

The statement said that only 22 Nigerian port facilities would be exempted from the COE. “The United States Government has imposed Conditions of Entry on vessels originating or calling from Nigerian ports.

“This requires these Nigerian vessels to meet certain security measures prior to entering U.S. ports.

“Twenty-two port fa-

cilities in Nigeria are however, exempted from the COE as they have been found to have adequate security measures in place,” it said.

The statement said that the 22 port facilities had demonstrated effective anti-terrorism measures and would no longer be subjected to additional security precautions.

It however, said that the COE was not meant as trade sanctions or ban on Nigerian ships from entering U.S. ports.

The statement added that COE was also to make Nigerian ships have additional security measures while non-exempt Nigerian port facilities were to be verified by the U.S. Coast Guard.

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NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

FG redeems $10m pledge for Safe School Initiative GREEN LIGHT

ing its pledge to compliment the initial $10 million put down by some stakeholdProject conceived ers in the private sector to redeem girl child led by the former British Prime Minister and United education set to roll Nations Special Envoy on Education, Mr. Gordon Brown, the Safe School iniAbdulwahab Isa tiative project conceived to Abuja address girl child education he Federal Government gap especially in the Northyesterday confirmed East, is set to roll.

Coordinating Minister releasing $10 million being counterpart fund it for the Economy and Minpledged towards successful ister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi take off of safe school initia- Okonjo-Iweala confirmed the release yesterday while tive project.

With government redeem- hosting a German delega-

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Soldiers arrest three with election materials, PDP, APC trade blame Adesina Wahab

Ado-Ekiti

S

oldiers yesterday arrested three men conveying a truck load of election materials at Itawure Junction near Efon-Alaye in Ekiti State.

Briefing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the Brigade Commander, 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, Brig.-Gen. Aliyu Momoh, said his men at a checkpoint stopped the men, who could not provide satisfactory answers to questions posed to them by the soldiers.

The arrested men are Olufemi Ose, Segun Akanbi and Biodun Erinfolami.

The men were driving a Mercedes Benz truck marked Lagos APP 952 XL, which has the inscription of Adewole F Odunayo Enterprises on its sides.

Materials found in the vehicle included ballot papers, rubber stamps, ink pads, reflective jackets bearing the Independent National Electoral Commission among others.

The rubber stamps and ink pads bore 2014, but some of the ballot papers bore 2007 election and 2009 rerun governorship election marks.

Gen. Momoh, who said

his men were not in the state to harass or molest anybody, warned against any attempt to cause trouble in the state.

"We are not here to intimidate or harass anybody, but we want to sound a note of warning that whoever thinks he can cause trouble will be dealt with severely.

"You only need to have your voter card and use your thumb to print the appropriate area on the ballot paper, whoever goes to the voting unit with any offensive weapon would be brought down," he said.

One of the arrested men, Olufemi Ose, said he was contacted by somebody in Lagos to help convey beans to Akure and that it was there that another person asked him to come over to Ado-Ekiti to come and help him convey some waste items.

"We got here yesterday and a vehicle was loaded before ours started loading in the early hours of Thursday," he explained.

Asked where his truck was loaded, Ose said it was at INEC office in Ado-Ekiti.

When contacted, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Halilu Pai, said the materials were waste items.

Confab seeks removal of immunity for public officers Louis Achi and Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

he National ConferTsolved ence yesterday rethat the immu-

nity clause protecting public office holders in the executive arm of government be scrapped from the 1999 Constitution. The implication of this resolution is that the President and Governors of the 36 states of the federation would face charges in court for both civil and criminal issues whenever they arise.

The re s o l u t i o n came as delegates

considered the report of the Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment. In passing the resolution, the conference said that the removal of the "executive shield" would minimize corruption and encourage accountability among those the managers of the economy.

The report of the committee had proposed partial removal of the immunity clause, limiting it to criminal cases only but the delegates opposed this and went for total removal of the controversial clause.

tion.

She said: “The president has approved the release of the money a couple of weeks ago, but we are actualising it today. Safe school initiative is an initiative led by Gordon Brown and President Goodluck Jonathan has given permission to work with Brown on safe schools initiative. There is a lot of international interest in trying to support the children in the North-East and particularly girls in having a safer environment at school.

“There are a number of

10m

measures that Brown and others are putting on table to strengthen the security of our schools. The private sector is donating $10 million and they hinged on government coming immediately with a matching fund.

“As at yesterday, the President approved that sum. We are opening a trust fund to deposit this money by tomorrow (today) so that the money would be lodged there. The government money is already approved.

The Director-General of Budget and Accountant-

The total population of Bolivia (representing 0.15% of world’s population) in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

General of Federation are working on the money today and tomorrow. We would be having a meeting with the private sector later today including the donors to discuss the governance structure of this funds.”

At the just-concluded World Economic Forum on Africa hosted by Nigeria in May, a coalition of Nigerian business leaders led by President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Visafone, Jim Ovia and Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, ThisDay Media Group, Nduka

78.4%

The percentage of female internet users of Australia in 2011.

Source: Itu.int

Obaigbena working with Brown voted $10 million towards making schools in Nigeria, especially in the crisis-ridden North-East, safe for learning.

The initiative, tagged “Safe Schools Initiative”, was launched on the first day of WEFA. The initiative was in response to the growing incidence of attacks on the right to education, including the abduction of over 200 girls on April 14 at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

N7.97bn

The IGR realized from direct assessment sources of Lagos State in 2011.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

The rear of the lorry showing the voting materials in Ekiti …yesterday

Taraba donates 180 motorcycles to vigilance groups

Election petitions mustn't be limited to 180 days, says Fashola

Sabiu Mustapha

Muritala Ayinla

agos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, yesterday took a critical appraisal of the nation’s electoral laws, saying the right of the complainer to seek redress must not be limited to 180 days.

The governor, who said there was an urgent need for the National Assembly to amend certain portions of the country’s electoral laws, said doing so would discourage those who has the intention of subverting the process and frustrate complainer in the court.

JALINGO

Taraba State GovernT180hement yesterday donated motorcycles to various

vigilant groups operating in the state. The donation is part of its effort in tackling security challenges.

The motorcycles will be distributed to members of the vigilant groups in the 16 local government councils of the state.

Speaking at the occasion, the state Acting Governor, Alhaji Garaba Umar, said the donation would boost the morale of the vigilant groups in complimenting the efforts

of other security agencies.

He noted that vigilant groups were critical partners in crime control, especially in the area of intelligence gathering.

Umar urged the groups to continue to cooperate with other security outfits in the discharge of their duties for peace and prosperity of the state.

Responding, the Deputy Commandant of the state vigilant group, Mr. Iliyasu Umar, commended the Acting Governor for the support.

He said their members would redouble in securing the life and properties of Taraba State People.

L

The governor, who canvassed this position, said the right of the complainants to seek redress must not be limited to 180 days as stated in the constitution.

He said; “I want to use this occasion to appeal to the National Assembly that access to complain about electoral malpractices is as important as the right to cast the vote in the first place and part of the process of securing the vote is that where it is interfered with the right of the complainer to seek redress must not be limited to 180 days.

Nigeria understudying Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism strategies – CDS Emmanuel Onani

he Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, has pledged the readiness of the Nigerian military to consider the counter- insurgency experience of the

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Sri-Lankan Military.

This, according to Badeh, is with a view to identifying and adopting areas that could be "operationally beneficial to Nigeria in its battle to defeat terrorism."

Badeh's position,

which was made when a high-powered military delegation from Sri-Lanka, held a strategic session on counter terrorism campaign with the military high command at the Defence Headquarters was contained in a state-

ment signed yesterday, by the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade.

The statement said the delegation was led by the Sri-Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Jagath Jayasuriya.

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Odukpani may sue Glo over N360m compensation Clement James CALABAR

O

dukpani community in Cross River State may have resolved to take mobile communication giants, Glo, to court over the latter’s alleged failure to pay N360 million compensation to the people.

Announcing the plan yesterday, Chairman of Odukpani Local Government, Hon. Bassey Asuquo Eyo, said the community could no longer wait for Glo.

Eyo said the community was heading to court because all efforts to get Glo pay the N360 million compensation had met a brick-wall and only the court could adjudicate on the matter.

According to him, the leadership of the council guaranteed the security of Glo’s staff and property by signing a Memorandum of Understanding before the Commissioner of Police, “but Glo has since refused to respond in spite of several appeals.”

Obiano: We'll make Anambra beautiful again Uwakwe Abugu AWKA

G

overnor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has announced that a cultural week will be observed in all the 21 local government areas in December. He said the event is part of his plan to revive the cultural heritage Anambra State.

Speaking at Ogbunike on Wednesday, after visiting the famous Ogbunike Cave, the governor also gave hints of plans to revive sites of cultural and tourist values, stating that; “We shall reintegrate aesthetics and beauty into our cities and our environment. We shall make Anambra beautiful again.”

According to him, the state is making plans to set aside one week in December for the celebration of the cultural heritage of the people in all the local

government areas, calling on Diaspora Nigerians and Anambra people in the Diaspora to come home and contribute to ongoing efforts at building a new Anambra.

Reiterating his administration’s resolve to reintroduce leisure and recreation in the state, Governor Obiano revealed that work had reached an advanced stage on the construction of Agulu Lake Hotel Resort in Anaocha Local Government as well as the three ultra-modern shopping malls that are currently being built in the state.

According to the governor, the government would in addition, revamp the ancient Igboukwu Bronze and Nka Metal Work and build modern roundabouts in the various cities and communities, depicting what each community is known for.

Ebonyi sacks coordinator Ewa Nnanna ABAKALIKI

E

bonyi State governor, Chief Martin Elechi, has sacked the Coordinator of Mbeke Development Centre, Ejike Enwu.

Also sacked was the management committee member of Echi-Aba Development Centre, Nnamaka Ogodo, all in Ebonyi Local Government. No reason was, however, given for their sack.

A press release issued by the Chief Press Secre-

tary to the Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, directed Enwu to hand over without further delay to the Administrative Officer of the Development Centre.

The statement further added that a new coordinator will soon be appointed.

It will be recalled that Governor Martin Elechi, had earlier in a similar circumstance, sacked the Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre, thereby bringing to two the number of coordinators sacked in recent time.

Imo 2015: Anyanwu, Ojinere, Nwanne kick against plot to adopt Ihedioha DISCORD

The centre may not hold in Mbaise following exercise to adopt a candidate for Douglas House Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

T

he governorship ambition of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, suffered a setback yesterday as some chieftains of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), kicked against his candidature.

At least four PDP governorship aspirants from Mbaise area of the state have alleged schemes by the Mbaise Governorship Committee to adopt Ihedioha as the area’s sole candidate for the party’s forthcoming governorship primary.

The four governorship aspirants under the platform of ‘Coalition of Mbaise PDP Governorship Aspirants,’ in a petition dated June 10, 2014, and addressed to the Chairman, Mbaise Governorship Committee, Chief Innocent D. Nwoga, the aspirants expressed their disagreement with what they described as

120,000

The number of adults and children estimated to be living with HIV in Haiti in 2007.

Source: Blatantworld.com

IBADAN

T

he Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade, has been hospitalised.

There was palpable anxiety yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, over the deteriorating health of the paramount Ibadan ruler.

Rumour mill was awash with the news that

the monarch might have joined his ancestors, but New Telegraph’s checks revealed that he was still alive as at the time of filing this report.

Investigation showed that the centenarian was ill and was conveyed to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan where surgery was said to have been carried out on him on Sunday.

Some sources said yes-

‘alleged misdirection of the committee’s assignment towards an ulterior end.’

Senator Chris Anyanwu, Senator Bright Nwanne and Emmanuel Ojinere, who endorsed the petition, observed that most members of the committee as constituted were already compromised in favour of the Deputy Speaker.

They maintained that the committee was constituted and designed to give undue advantage to him.

The aspirants, however, conceded that the assignment of the governorship committee was in the best interest of

13

The number of Barcelona FC players that will participate in the World Cup in 2014.

Source: Goal.com

the Mbaise nation, but has been hijacked and railroaded into serving the sole purpose of one aspirant.

Insisting that the process be reviewed and the governorship committee overhauled, the petition recommended that all aspirants nominate equal members in the committee and also agree on the scope of work the committee should do.

The four aspirants further decried alleged manipulations and armtwisting of other aspirants, insisting that the PDP leadership in the state should be the final arbiter in the matter.

752km3

The annual water volume used by industry in 1995.

Source: Unesco.org

L-R: Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Adedayo Fasakin; Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Senator Emmanuel Agwariavwodo and Registrar, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Dr. Modupe Ajayi, during the oversight visit of the Senate Committee on Education to the institution… recently

Former Ebonyi PDP chair joins Senate race Leo Sobechi

I

n d i c at i o n s h ave emerged that Governor Martin Elechi’s ambition to retire to the Senate in 2015, may not be smooth after all, following the declaration by former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Chief Joe Obinna

Ogba, to contest the Ebonyi Central senatorial seat.

Both Elechi and Ogba belong to the same PDP and the senatorial district, which is currently being represented

by Senator Paulinus Nwagu.

Though Senator Nwagu has indicated his interest to serve the

Anxiety mounts as Olubadan hospitalised Sola Adeyemo

9

terday that the Olubadan had passed on after he was placed on post-surgical medication at the Intensive Care Unit of the UCH. None of the close people to the monarch was however able to officially confirm the demise of the monarch.

To some, the rumour was true while to others, he was still recuperating at the private suite of the hospital.

A staff of the hospital told New Telegraph that “Papa is stable. He is in the private suite of our hospital.”

The monarch was propped on both sides by two of his sons into the St Peters Cathedral, Aremo church venue of his 100th birthday celebration on April 14, 2014, but was wheeled out mid programme when he lost consciousness.

zone for a second term, he has also noted the governor’s interest in his seat, insisting that the only way he could let go is if Elechi agrees to assist him to clinch the governorship ticket.

While the two leaders are engaged in subtle campaigns to outwit each other, the calculations changed following the coming of Ogba into the race, whose chairmanship of Ebonyi PDP ended in a squabble between him and former Legal Adviser to the party, Chief Okeagu Ogada in 2007.

Ogba had stepped aside as chairman of PDP on the build-up to the 2007 election to contest the party’s ticket for the governorship seat, thereby paving way for the emergence of Ogada as substantive chairman, only for him (Ogba) to be prevailed

upon by then Governor Sam Egwu, to step down alongside other contestants, for Elechi.

But citing the details of the deal that led to the emergence of Elechi as governor in 2007, Ogba said he has decided to contest the senatorial seat, explaining that his senatorial ticket was used to appease Senator Julius Ucha, which made him drop his governorship hope for Elechi then.

“This time around, I am determined to contest for the Ebonyi Central senatorial seat. A lot of concessions were made to allow Governor Elechi pick the governorship ticket in 2007, and I made the highest sacrifice. The senatorial ticket I won was used to make Ucha drop his ambition to run for governor,” Ogba told the New Telegraph, in a chat.

10

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

FRIday, JUNE 13, 2014

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com; otuntise@yahoo.co.uk

0802 393 8212

Two soldiers, three others arrested for bunkering THIEVES IN UNIFORM Two soldiers are among thieves arrested in connection with illegal oil bunkering Musa Pam and Chris Ejim

T

he Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested five persons for oil bunkering in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The suspects were arrested with 164 jerry cans of fuel.

Among the suspects are two soldiers attached to the 3 Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army, Rukuba.

Briefing journalists at the command’s headquarters in Jos yesterday, the state NSCDC Commandant, Vincent Bature, said the corps got the information of their illegal dealings through a tip off from members of the community, which led to their arrest.

Bature added that one of the suspects was still at large.

He said: “Among them are two military

men, serving under the 3 Armoured Division of the Nigerian Armyn Rukuba, and they have been handed over to the appropriate department in the military to discipline them.

He advised the public to always give useful information to security agencies to aid them in arresting criminals in the state.

Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State command of the NSCDC yesterday said it had secured indictment on 17 out of the 28 cases of pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering filed before the state High Courts.

The state NSCDC Commandant, Mr Desmond Agu, disclosed this while hosting the leadership of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) led by its Chairman, Chief Nengi James.

Agu said though the NSCDC was contending with the issue of quick prosecution and complaints by human rights groups on delay in the prosecution of illegal bunkering suspects, the successes it recorded in Bayelsa State were due to the support of the state government, other security agencies and the people.

The commandant said the adoption of zero tolerance to corrupt practices and reviewed security strategy had led to improved prosecution of arrested suspects of illegal bunkering and oil theft.

ZEMA diverts N40m, windstorm victims allege Mohammed Nasir

V

ictims of windstorm have accused officials of Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) of diverting N40 million relief fund released by the state government to provide succour for them.

The windstorm had earlier destroyed over 300 houses in parts of the state.

Some of the victims, who were at the ZEMA headquarters in Gusau to collect cash donation promised by the government, decried the attitude of the officials of the agency.

They alleged that the officials tempered with the list of the victims, as most of their names had been removed or replaced with the names of those not affected by

Mother and son on their hospital beds

File picture of a house damaged by storm in Zamfara

the disaster.

The victims also alleged that some of them were cajoled by officials of ZEMA to either agree to part with substantial part of the money or not get anything.

But the Special Adviser to the governor on ZEMA, Musa Kwatorkoshi, denied the allegation of diverting the funds aimed at assisting the victims.

He said the agency was working in collaboration with stakeholders in the affected areas to ensure that all affected persons got the money.

Kwatorkoshi said presently over N28 million had been disbursed to the victims in Gusau alone and that very soon all those who were verified by the agency would get the money.

Illegal refinery

Earlier in his speech, James said though the report gathered by rights activists in the state showed an improved performance by the officers and men of the NSCDC, the corps could do better by establishing the Human Rights and Mass Enlightenment desks in all its divisional commands to educate the people on the dangers of illegal bunkering.

The CLO chairman noted that the Coali-

tion of Civil Rights Activists in the state had formed a monitoring committee to check and monitor the activities of security personnel in the state to check corrupt practices, including extortion, on the streets and roads.

He said: “We have discovered that some security personnel are in the habit of subjecting the people of the state to extortion.

It is wrong and we are watching.”

Police, school owners cooperate to tackle insecurity Babatope Okeowo Akure

olice have called on school proprietors to cooperate with the security Pagents in order to tackle insecurity in

Ondo State.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Isaac Eke, who met with primary and secondary school proprietors yesterday, said the issue of security in schools should not be left to the police alone but should be seen as a joint responsibility.

Eke said the directive to hold the stakeholders’ meeting in the state came from the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, in a bid to tackle the security challenges facing the country in the recent times.

The commissioner also charged the proprietors to erect high fence around their schools so as not to give room for intruders to enter their compounds to perpetrate criminal act, especially kidnapping of the pupils.

He said: “I will urge all school proprietors to instruct their security guards not to allow anybody to enter their premises to take away any child without any concrete identification.

“The school authorities should not allow any student to be roaming about the streets during the school hours because there is tendency for students that are not in school while others are in schools to join bad gang. We have to be very vigilant on our wards.

“There is a need for the parents and teachers too to be checking the bags of these young children regularly.

“On our part, we have been trying our best in this command to ensure that cultism among the children of primary and

Mimiko, Ondo State gov

secondary schools, is reduced to the barest minimum.”

On the issue of social media, Eke also cautioned parents not to be buying phones that would expose the children to negative content of the internet for their children, so as not to corrupt them.

He also disclosed the school proprietors would be meeting with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of their areas on the issue of security while police patrol teams would be visiting the schools on a regular basis.

This, according to him, will help in checking security challenges.

The commissioner then appealed to all stakeholders to be feeding the police useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals.

METRO

Friday, June 13, 2014

11

‘Delta’s first flyover ready before 2015 elections’ Court Dominic Adewole, Asaba

T

he first flyover in Delta State will be completed before 2015 general elections.

The Project Supervisor of the contracting firm handling the project, Heithem Zeidan (an engineer), told the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Peter Carter, who visited the oil rich state, that the project would not only be ready but would be commissioned before 2015 electioneering.

The multi-billion naira project was awarded last year by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to the CCC Construction Company.

The flyover located at the popular Interbau Roundabout, on Governor Emmanuel

Uduaghan Way, in Asaba, was in addition to the multi-billion naira budding Asaba International Airport and Asaba-UghelliWarri Road extension into dual carriageway awarded by the government.

Speaking in Asaba when the Commissioner for Works, Funkekeme Solomon, was conducting the Deputy British High Commissioner round the project, Zeidan said the construction of the flyover was now 25 per cent.

The supervisor said that contrary to insinuation in some quarters, particularly outside the shores of the Nigerian states that Niger Delta is volatile, he and his team had enjoyed unprecedented peace, love and security since the inception of the project several months ago.

Operation Burst gets additional 10 patrol vehicles

Ajimobi (left) and Ayeni at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan yesterday.

Abiola Ajimobi has inauguratGforovernor ed another set of 10 new patrol vehicles the use of the Oyo State security outfit

code-named Operation Burst.

The donation of the vehicles, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo, was part of his administration’s continued efforts to provide adequate security to lives and property in the state.

Inaugurating the vehicles at the Governor’s Office Car Park, Ajimobi said the gesture was aimed at fortifying the activities of Operation Burst in combating crimes and criminality in the state.

The vehicles were purchased by the

PHOTO: OYO STATE GOVT HOUSE

state Security Trust Fund headed by Dr. Olatunde Ayeni, who is also the chairman of Skye Bank.

The governor expressed serious concern over the security situation in the country, saying there was the need for all Nigerians to be security conscious and that state governments should also give priority to security in their various states.

He said that looking at the level of unrest, violence and brigandage as well as the activities of insurgents in the country Nigerians should be watchful and cooperate with security agencies in instilling sanity.

Ajimobi charged the people of Oyo State to cooperate with his administration and

He said: “I really want to thank the people of Delta State and say that we have been happy doing business with the state government.

“The security situation here, contrary to what we used to hear, is much better now as we have not been exposed to any form of security threat from any angle. We mix up with the people comfortably and I can assure you that we have no fear doing business in Delta State.”

Earlier, Solomon had told Carter that peace and security had made the state to record meaningful development in the areas of human-capital and infrastructure.

Apparently impressed with the infrastructural development in the state, Carter lauded the government for embarking on what he called massive people-oriented projects. all security agencies by providing necessary information that would help in curbing criminal activities.

He said that buildings and vehicles that had been abandoned for a very long time, bushy areas that had not been attended for a long time, as well as crowded areas could pose security threat.

The governor noted that the decision to add more patrol vehicles to the fleet of the Operation Burst was informed by the level of insecurity in the country, stressing that all steps must be taken to protect lives and property of the people.

Ajimobi also called on the entire citizens of the state to be vigilant and report to security agents unusual movements of people around abandoned building or bushy areas.

He admonished the people to avoid street trading and unnecessary crowding to forestall the machinations of evil doers.

On his part, Ayeni said the provision of the operational vehicles would contribute immensely to the reduction of crimes in the state.

He said the trust fund, which is a public and private participation arrangement, donated the vehicles to complement government’s effort towards fortifying the state against criminal activities.

The chairman said Oyo State was now more friendly and very attractive for foreign investment due to the bold steps taken by Ajimobi on security of lives and property.

He emphasised the importance of private participation in the provision of adequate security, stressing that government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of security.

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr Segun Abolarinwa, said Operation Burst had assisted the state in reducing criminal activities.

Personnel of Operation Burst later had a parade to the admiration of the governor and members of the State Executive Council.

Present at the event were the Commander of Operation Burst, Brig.-Gen. Laz Ilo, service chiefs and members of the State Executive Council.

discharges, acquits three brothers

Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

hree brothers, Abdulkareem Shaibu, Hamza Shaibu and Zakari TShaibu, were yesterday discharged

and acquitted by the Ankpa Chief Magistrate Court in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The brothers were standing trial before the court on the allegation of obstructing the police from carrying out their official duties.

They were arrested in their house after the police allegedly killed their brother, Salihu Shaibu, whose body had been in the custody of the police for over 20 months.

According to the police charge sheet, the three men were charged for criminal conspiracy and obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their function contrary to sections 97 (1) and 148 of the Penal Code Law. It added that the trio criminally conspired to allow the deceased Salihu Shaibu escape with a locallymade pistol when the police raided their residence at Ojoku village near Ankpa sometimes on the night of October 24.

According to the charge sheet, Salihu was killed by a vigilante while trying to escape and not the police.

But counsel to the accused told the court that the deceased was not a criminal and that the police carried out an illegal raid on their residence whereby one of the policemen, who was allegedly drunk, dragged Salihu out of his room and shot him.

He said that seeing their brother in a pool of blood, the accused raised the alarm since they could not at that time ascertain the identity of those who came for the raid.

While delivering his judgement, the trial judge, Mr Mohammed Tanko, said having weighed all evidences before him, it was cleared that the police prosecutor could not prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge said the evidence given by the prosecution was riddled with contradictions and the court could not fathom the stage the police were obstructed.

He averred that the court could not rely on fantasies and contradictory evidences tabled by the prosecution and therefore ruled in favour of the accused.

Community protests neglect, grounds rubber firm Dominic Adewole Asaba

en and women, titled chiefs M and youths, chanting war songs, crippled activities at the

Rubber Estates Nigeria Limited (RENL) at Utagba-Uno in Ndowka West Local Government Area of Delta State yesterday.

The people were protesting alleged insensitivity of the company to the plight of the host community.

The protesters, comprising the seven quarters making up Utagba-Uno, laid siege to the premises of the company as early as

5.30am.

They threatened to bring down the roofs of the company if the management made any attempt to start work or failed to address issues raised by the community.

Led by Prof. Andrew Orjieh, the people, in their protest letter, wondered why the company since November 2013, had failed to deal with the community’s Board of Trustees set up by the OnotuUkus of the seven quarters of Utagba-Uno. The letter reads in part: “There should be no work today. We informed you about our coming but, your head office chose to ignore

us and sent a junior officer to receive us.

“We are not here to pally; this community is peaceful but, not docile. We have written several letters but your managing director is hiding. At the right time, we will ferret him out.”

Orjieh, who reiterated that Utagba-Uno would no longer exercise patience because it had always considered discretion as a better part of valour, said there was mounting tension and anxiety among youths and elders of the community over the company’s neglect of the community.

He said: “If RENL continues

to show unwillingness in dealing with the duly appointed representatives of the community (the Board of Trustees), Utagba-Uno may consider taking appropriate steps to reclaim its land.

“RENL has since 2013 neglected and or refused to relate with the said new Board of Trustees of 14 members and this was a big shock to Utagba-Uno community because RENL and its predecessors, who have been in Utagba-Uno for over 40 years, know that the seven Onotu-Ukus of the seven quarters of UtagbaUno are the altar-ego of UtagbaUno community and that they

have presented the new Board of Trustees to RENL on November 27, 2013 to take charge of all aspects of community relations with RENL. “Each Onotu-Uku is the administrative head of his quarters.”

The Agriculture Manager of the company, Mr Ifeanyi Onumegbu, however commended the people of Utagba-Uno community for their peaceful disposition and maturity in handling issues.

He assured them that their grievances would be properly addressed by the company’s management.

12 NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Aliyu alleges violation of Abuja master plan Dan Atori MINNA

N

iger State Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday declared that the original concept for the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja has been abused, saying the country should return to the original master plan.

Aliyu recalled that the FCT was created as an administrative headquarters but has now combined the role with that of the commercial center of the nation.

The governor, who spoke in Minna when the Minister of State for Agriculture, Hajia Asabe Asmau Ahmed, paid him a courtesy call, said what was in the master plan was that the contiguous states would serve as the commercial centres with the Federal Government assisting to develop them.

Aliyu said that Abuja had become congested as a result of the dual role

the capital is now playing while the contiguous states are suffering.

“Abuja was not supposed to be a commercial centre, we are suffering now for contributing to making Abuja (a commercial centre).

“FCT has become the only place where people want to be. We need to really decongest Abuja, we need to review the commercial nature of the FCT by making sure that contiguous states really benefit.”

The governor hinted that the state might not buy fertilizer for sale to farmers this year as a way of encouraging farmers to register under the Federal Governments farmers registration programme.

Hajia Asabe Asmau Ahmed had disclosed that the Federal Government has gotten additional funding for the FADAMA three project which life span has now been extended to 2017.

UNILORIN inducts new doctors Biodun Oyeleye ILORIN

ome 103 new medical Sversity doctors from the Uniof Ilorin were

yesterday inducted into the profession with a charge to comply with the code of ethics guiding their chosen field.

Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Abdulmumeen Ibrahim, who was represented by Dr. Victor Gbenro administered the Hippocratic Oath on the new doctors at the solemn event attended by parents and well-wishers

at the university auditorium.

Ibrahim warned the new doctors that it was illegal and criminal to practice without licence and expressed the commitment of the council to dealing with erring practitioners. He therefore urged the doctors to acquaint themselves with the code of ethics and abide by its provisions. The MDCN scribe told the new entrants to represent the country well and be good ambassadors of their school, saying the society expected a lot from them.

Dung wants more local councils Musa Pam JOS

T

he chairman of Jos Local Government Council of Plateau State, Peter Vwang Dung, has called on delegates to the National Conference to delebrate on creating more local government councils in the country

CHANGE OF NAMES

ISMAHEAL

Formerly Bolaji Adetona Ismail now wish to be known and addressed as Bolaji Tunde Ismaheal.

Former documents remain valid. GlaxoSmitklime shareholders board and general public note

OLUWATOSIN Formerly Olugbenga Olatunde Oyatobo now wish to be known and addressed as Olugbenga Olatunde Oluwatosin.

Former documents remain valid. General public note

since the third tier of government is the nearest to the grass roots.

According to him, creation of more local governments in the country would pare room for more development.

Dung spoke yesterday while swearing in the council secretary and other appointees of the local government held at The Rock Field Hotel. Jos "I call on the delegates representing the state at the National Conference to join forces with other like-minded people to champion the creation of additional local government areas in the country to ensure fair and equal representation of the grass roots," he said.

The council boss however charged the new appointees to support the council by working as a team to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate irrespective of party or religion.

Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji (right), receiving a souvenir from the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Dr. Femi Thomas, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Umuahia…yesterday

9.1bn

The projected total population of the world by 2050.

Source: Unesco.org

60%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2011.

Source: Itu.int

5.44m

The total population of Bangalore, India in 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

2015: Okorie wants Electoral Act amended to okay electronic voting Yekeen Nurudeen, SOKOTO and Leo Sobechi, ENUGU

T

he United Progressive Party (UPP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use electronic voting system in next year’s general elections.

This, according to the National Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, is the only solution to what he called voter disconnection in the nation's electoral process.

While speaking in Abuja yesterday at the All Nigeria Political Parties and Political Stakeholders Summit, Okorie lamented that lack of credibility, transparency and the manipulation of

previous elections combined to cause voter apathy in past elections.

He maintained that there could be no better time than now for the National Assembly to carry out the amendment of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria to accommodate the electronic voting system.

His words: "We posit that resorting to electronic voting system is the only solution to what has become voter disconnection with the electoral process.

“The lack of credibility, transparency and the manipulation of previous elections have combined to cause deplorable and unfortunate voter apathy that has characterized

our elections.

“It is a fact that we now have electronic voter register and permanent voter cards that are electronically generated with all the bio-data of registered voters.

“This means that the infrastructure required to transit to electronic voting system, even if it has to be in combination with manual voting, is feasible without the possibility of multiple voting by any voter or voters.”

According to him, the excuse always given by INEC is that the 2010 Electoral Act as amended has in Section 52 of the Act specifically restrained the commission from applying the electronic voting system.

He therefore urged the National Assembly to amend that portion of the act.

“All that is required to enable INEC adopt this system is to expunge Section 52 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended," he declared.

The electronic voting system, he noted, would eliminate the use of ballot boxes and papers thus saving cost.

Queuing at polling stations which scares decent and security-conscious persons from participating would also be eliminated, Okorie added.

"Excessive deployment of security operatives with its attendant abuses will be greatly reduced," he added.

Delta youths tip Olejeme as Uduaghan's successour Dominic Adewole ASABA

A

political pressure group, the Delta Youths Coalition (DYC), yesterday predicted a fall of the old political order in the state.

The group said a woman aspirant will beat her male counterparts next year to emerge as Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan successor.

The group did not only provide the requisite qualities the woman would possess to win the rat race but predicted a total collapse of the old political scheme of things in the state.

Rising from an emergency meeting of del-

egates of the group’s working committee in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area, the group, led by its National Director of Information and Orientation, Mrs. Joyce Okubor, vowed to prepare the way and make the path straight for the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Chief Mrs. Ngozi Olejeme, to emerge as the governor of the state in 2015.

According to the group, the wind of change will blow off the surprises associated with partisan politics in the state since the time of former Governor James Ibori.

Already, over 15 aspirants from Delta North Senatorial District alone have indicated interest in the governorship race.

Apart from Olejeme, the estranged former Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Victor Ochei; the immediate past Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe; current Chief of Staff to Governor Uduaghan, Dr. Festus Okunbor; President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Projects’ Monitoring and Evaluation, Prof. Sylvester Monye; the former Acting Governor of the state, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police in River state, Chief Godswill Obielum; Chief Tony

Prest, Dr. Otive Igbuzor and a host of others, are in the race.

The group described Olejeme as the best thing that can happen to the state in 2015.

“Dr. Olejeme is a thoroughbred administrator, a shining example of honesty, simplicity and humility. She appears to be the most credible person to be governor in 2015”, the group said.

Throwing further light on Olejeme’s sterling qualities, the organization said “Everybody in Delta State knows that Dr. Ngozi Olejeme is gentle, God fearing, very articulate and has the potentials that commands the respect of all.”

13

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NEW TELEGRAPH

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AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY EDITOR, POLITICS

ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

ayodeleojo@yahoo.com

SUSPENSE, INTRIGUES AS APC DECIDES TODAY

p-18

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

2015: 500 POLITICIANS TO WATCH Ibraheem Musa

I

n spite of the rain of bullets and bombs, the spate of abductions and kidnappings, politicians are aligning forces to either replace Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State or get him a second term of four years in office in the 2015 general elections.

As the February 2015 elections inch close, certain political figures are bound to determine the direction of politics in the state. These are men of “timbre and calibre” who will swing the pendulum one way or the other.

Kashim Shettima: Governor on the battlefield Before now, Borno was a serene and rustic settlement, an epitome of northern hospitality. Presently, the state is anything but quiet and hospitable. Specifically, the Home of Peace, as it is referred to, is now a theatre of war as killings, torture and abductions are common occurrences. Boko Haram, the insurgent group, has held the state captive as the bunch of urchins, miscreants and misguided zealots unleash terror on the people. The military, out gunned and dispirited, is unable to dislodge them and the sect, in spite of the emergency rule, is still on the rampage, spilling blood across the land. The state, almost always, is in the news for the wrong reasons as politics, developmental projects and dividends of democracy are given passing mention while Boko Haram dominates Borno news.

However, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, the state governor, has been building infrastructure, improving human capacity and the rekindling people’s hope in spite of the bombs and bullets. Calm, focused and level headed, Shettima has never lost his cool, talked out of turn or threw tantrums at anyone. The governor, time permitting, visits most blast scenes, joins the funeral prayers, condoles the bereaved and gives monetary assistance to the families. Sometimes, after gruesome attacks, his emotions overwhelm Shettima as the governor weeps openly as he mourns his bereavement. Significantly, instead of threatening fire and brimstone, the governor always appeals for calm, calls for dialogue and creates jobs to taper the insurgency. In addition, Shettima takes responsibility and instead of apportioning blames, accusing the opposition or concocting conspiracy theories, the man is exercising leadership in the war against terror. To this end, the governor is still the man of the people in spite of the insurgency, loss of lives and property as well as the attendant poverty.

Specifically, his projects and pacifism, to a large extent, has been hailed by even his opponents. However, not everyone is happy with him and ironically, Shettima’s benefactor, Senator Ali Modu Sherrif is vehemently opposed to the governor’s second term bid. Severally, Sherrif had provoked fight but instead of picking his gauntlet, Shettima had waved the Olive branch. Last January, things reached a head when Sherrif pushed the governor to the wall.

Borno: Battle for the Home of Peace For two years, Sherrif had not visited Borno State for his own safety and security reasons. Sherrif, according to reports, is on Boko Haram’s hit list and to save his skin, the former governor gave Borno a safe distance. In addition, security agents advised against his coming home but last January, Sherrif belled the cat. On January 1, 2014, the Emir of Shani, Alhaji Muhammad Mailafiya, passed on and Sherrif, against all odds, insisted on paying a condolence visit. The man, according to reports, landed at Gombe airport in his personal aircraft, with four House members in tow. A huge crowd had gathered at the airport and the convoy, like a political rally, moved to Shani for the condolence. Simultaneously, Alhaji Mohammed Imam, Sherrif ’s anointed candidate, had landed at the Maiduguri Airport in a presidential jet.

Like Sherrif, a huge crowd had awaited Imam’s arrival.

The governor, about that time, was heading to the airport for an inspection tour. Earlier, Boko Hram had attacked the place, bombed a few aircraft and killed several people and the airport was shut down for repairs. Upon sighting Shettima, Imam’s supporters started calling the governor names, describing him as a “traitor”. In addition, the thugs pelted the governor’s convoy with sachet water. The convoy, according to reports, pulled over and policemen cocked their guns and wanted to fire. However, the governor restrained them, appealed for calm and made his way to the airport.

Significantly, tear gas canisters were hurled at the thugs and peace was restored.

Incidentally, Sherrif and Imam arrived Shani and Maiduguri respect ive ly on Saturday.

T h e next day, after the condolence, Sherrif stormed Maiduguri in a motorcade to a rousing welcome. On Monday, January 13, the former governor had planned a rally but after visiting the Shehu of Borno, his convoy was waylaid on its way to his campaign headquarters.

Significantly, in a tit-for-tat attack, Shettima’s supporters laid ambush and also

stoned Sherrif with pebbles and sachet water. The next day, a bomb exploded and both camps started trading accusations. Specifically, from that day, the die was cast and the battle line was drawn between Shettima and Sherrif. However, the gladiators have now sheathed their swords but in politics, animosities run deep and they may rear again.

Ali Modu Sherrif: The godfather never sleeps In Borno, few politicians can match Senator Sherrif ’s record. In 1999, he sup-

ported Alhaji Mala Kachallah, his father’s friend, to become governor of the state while he went to the Senate. From Abuja, he called the shots in the state but along the line, he parted ways with Governor Kachallah. The governor, in a dumb move, dumped the All Peoples Party (APP), now defunct for the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the dominant party in the South-West. At that time, AD and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a gentleman’s agreement and the latter didn’t field a presidential candidate in 2003. The deal was intended to give President Olusegun Obasanjo, the PDP candidate, a smooth sail in his South-West geo-political zone. And he (Obasanjo), in-turn, using his powers, will rein in the PDP gubernatorial candidates in the zone and AD governors to be re-elected without real contest. Erroneously, Kachallah thought that the agreement covered him but he and the AD governors learnt a bitter lesson when CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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Shettima, Sherrif in test of might CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

PDP swept the South-West.

In Borno, using money and thugs, Sherrif chased out Kachallah and became the governor and from 2003 to 2011, reigned like an emperor. However, at the tail end, Sherrif fell out with his father, Galadima Modu Sherrif, over the choice of his successor. Specifically, the older Sherrif wanted Alhaji Mala Sherrif, the governor’s younger brother as a successor. Sheriff, however preferred Shettima, his then Commissioner for Health. Significantly, Sherrif and his father locked horns over Shettima but in the end, they settled for Alhaji Fannami Gubio as a compromise. Gubio, a cousin to Sherrif, was murdered on January 28, 2011, by unknown gunmen and momentarily, ANPP had no candidate in Borno State.

Reluctantly, Shettima’s name was sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a few days after, as Gubio’s replacement.

The rest, as it is said, is now history as Shettima won the governorship election but the electorate voted against Sherrif, blocking his return to the Senate. However, in spite of this, Governor Shettima’s respect for his predecessor never waned and at every turn, the former referred to Sherrif as his boss. Ironically, Sherrif ’s penchant for control in both politics and governance was insatiable. The governor, on some occasions, deferred to Sherrif but on sensitive and developmental matters, he stuck to his guns. With time, rumour of disagreement made the rounds but they were denied by both camps.

Right now, the governor and his godfather have papered over the cracks but the truce may be a temporary ceasefire.

In 2002, a similar rapprochement was sealed between Sherrif and Governor Kachallah. The latter, according to reports, lowered his guard and Sherrif upstaged him. However, things seem different now as Shettima’s solid achievements have made him somewhat invincible. Whether or not Sherrif will remove him as he did to Kachalla remains to be seen. Notwithstanding, the Ngala-born rotund All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain will play a big role in who becomes the next governor of Borno State.

He is also sympathetic to the cause of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mohammed Imam: Sherrif’s annointed Young, generous and outgoing, Alhaji Imam is from an illustrious family of Islamic clerics in Maiduguri. Variously, he was chairman of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC), the state chairman of former ANPP and Commissioner for Education in the Sherrif administration.

Afterwards, he wanted to succeed the governor but Sherrif anointed Shettima.

In addition, Imam attempted to marry Sherrif ’s daughter but the governor, in spite of his wife’s alleged endorsement, turned down the request. Thereafter, he felt slighted and gave Sherrif a safe distance.

However, in recent times, Sherrif had made up with him. Specifically, his quest to replace Governor Shettima, according to reports, had brought the former governor and Imam together. Imam, as Sherrif argued, can match Shettima’s popularity and both are within the same age bracket. In addition, both are from revered families and they are all within the same “Dandal enclave” in Maiduguri.

However, Imam is less articulate and visionary.

In January, Sherrif decided to test the waters and Imam became the arrowhead of this litmus test. Specifically, Sherrif

Shettima

landed at Gombe Airport, on January 25 and proceeded to Shani before entering Maiduguri to a rousing welcome. Imam, on the other hand, touched down at Maiduguri Airport and his supporters took over the whole area. Like Sherrif, he rode into town in a convoy and after the subsequent bomb blast, Imam blamed the governor and criticised his administration. However, with the reported truce between Sherrif and Shetima, Imam’s ambition may be in limbo. Or, he may be waiting in the wings as Sherriff ’s plan B, in the event that the truce is broken.

Kashim Imam: The game changer A two time gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Imam vied for PDP’s ticket the third time in 2011 but was outwitted in that bid. From the outset, he has been a top brass in the PDP. In 1999, he was Obasanjo’s Presidential Liaison Officer to the National Assembly. In addition, Imam belonged to the former president’s inner circle and between 1999 and 2007, he bankrolled the PDP in Borno State. In 2003, he ran for the governorship of the state but Senator Sherrif, the ANPP candidate, defeated him. In 2007, the same Sherrif routed him at the poll and four years later, he wanted to try again. However, within PDP, some elements revolted against him for two reasons. First, Imam and Sherrif were too close for comfort and having tried and failed twice, it was argued that Imam should give way for another candidate. Consequently, the PDP ‘rebels’ drafted Alhaji Mohammed Goni, governor in the Second Republic, to fly the party’s gubernatorial flag.

Tough, acrimonious and full of intrigues, the primaries was bitterly fought and in the end, Goni picked the ticket.

Hon. Umara Kumalia, a former House of Representatives member, came second while Imam and Ambassador Saidu Pindar came third and fourth respectively.

The result, angered Imam and cleverly, Sherrif reached out to him and struck a deal. Imam, on that basis, gave Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha’s name as Shettima’s running mate. In addition, Imam directed his supporters to vote for the ANPP but he remained in PDP. This support, from all indications, gave Shet-

Sherrif

tima the edge, as he won the gubernatorial election.

Imam has defected to the APC but it’s not clear if he is in Shettima or Sheriff ’s camp. Largely, he stays in Abuja but regularly keeps touch with the home front.

Like in 2011, Imam’s support will be necessary in the 2015 elections.

Mohammed Wakil: Likely beneficiary of power shift Since this democratic dispensation, the people of Southern Borno have never produced the governorship of the state.

In 1999, Kachalla who was from central zone became governor for four years.

Similarly, Sherrif who hails from the same zone, held sway for eight years.

Right now, Shettima is at the helm of affairs and he is from the same Borno Central. In fact, since Borno was created in 1976, no one from the south had ruled or governed it, either as a military or civilian governor. Similarly, PDP has always lost the governorship of the state.

In Hon. Wakil, the Damboa-born lawyer, former House Leader and the current Minister of State for Power, the PDP and Southern Borno have a chance to break the jinx. Easy going, gentlemanly and respectful, the lanky politician is someone to watch in the race for 2015. In 2003, he lost the gubernatorial primaries to Imam and since then, he had been off the political radar. However, two years ago, he was made acting Vice Chairman of the PDP in the North-East zone. Thereafter, Wakili’s name disappeared again from the political permutations of Borno until recently.

Last February, President Jonathan sacked four ministers, including Mrs Stella Oduah, Chief Godwill Orubebe and Captain Caleb Olubolade as well as Alhaji Yerima Ngama, Ministers of Aviation, Niger Delta and Police Affairs, as well as Police Affairs and Finance respectively. Thereafter, Wakil’s name started featuring as a ministerial nominee. Afterwards, the former lawmaker scaled his screening exercise and became minister.

Right now, with federal might at his disposal, Wakil may revive his gubernatorial ambition in 2015. Even if he doesn’t, the minister is now the leader of the PDP in Borno and will play a major

role in the party’s primaries and general elections.

Mohammed Umara Kumalia: Two time guber aspirant In 2003, when Sherrif was campaigning against Kachallah, he bandied Hon. Kumalia’s name as governor-in-waiting.

At that time, many believed Sherrif given his closeness with Kumalia. The duo became close at the National Assembly.

Sherrif represented Borno Central at the upper legislative chamber while Kumalia was at the Green Chamber. Before then, Kumalia was a staff of the National Assembly’s Legislative Drafting Department.

Significantly, his background as a lawyer and six years working experience, including his social skills, earned Kumalia the Minority Leader. For eight years, he soldiered on in the House of Representatives, but in 2007, following disagreements with Sherrif, he defected to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and contested for the governorship. Kumalia failed in the bid and moved over to the PDP. In 2011, he continued his gubernatorial quest in PDP and was poised to clinch the party’s ticket. From nowhere, some elements drafted Goni into the race. In the end, Kumalia came a close second.

A member of the ongoing National Conference, Kumalia is co-chair of the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government as well as Secretary of Northern Delegates Forum.

As at now, it is not clear whether the exlawmaker is disposed to contest the governorship in 2015. However, Kumalia will be a force to be reckoned with, within and outside PDP. Ali Ndume: Representative of the masses Representing Borno South in the Senate, Senator Ndume is the most vocal legislator from the state. Eloquent, passionate, but playing to the gallery at times, Ndume has always decried the insurgency in the state and how the Federal Government is tackling it. Incidentally, Chibok falls within his senatorial district and on the floor of the Senate, following the abduction, Ndume gave a graphic description of the military’s tepid response

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2015: 500 POLITICIANS TO WATCH

for the soul of war-torn Borno

Imam

Wakil

Kumalia

Ndume

Zanna

Lawan

to the girls’ kidnap.

A former lecturer at Ramat Polytechnic, Ndume represented Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency from 2003 to 2011 in the House of Representatives. In December 2010, he defected from ANPP to PDP, when he decided to contest for the Senate. Ndume fell out with Sherrif for annointing Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir for the position. The biggest ANPP financier in Southern Borno, Ndume had grassroots support but the then governor saw him as too independent minded for a higher position. However, PDP welcomed him with open arms, gave him its platform and gracefully, Alhaji Sanda Garba stood down for Ndume and he won despite of Sherrif ’s opposition.

Right now, Ndume has retraced his steps back to APC as Shettima, according to reports, persuaded him to ‘return home.’ In 2015, all things being equal, Ndume may seek to return to the Senate but he will be an important gateway for Shettima to Southern Borno.

Khalifa Ahmed Zanna: The giant killer Before now, little was known about Senator Ahmed Zanna beyond a narrow circle in Borno. However, by defeating Sherrif, Zanna is now a household name in political circles. Zanna, before now was an obscure politician and businessman.

Significantly, Zanna is not amongst

PDP’s first 11 but the big guns refused to contest against Sherrif. The PDP, at that time, seemed to stand no chance against ANPP, so most people saw the contest as a bad wager. However, to fulfil all righteousness, the party organised its primaries and Zanna, contrary to projections, defeated Dr. Bukar Abba, the former Secretary to Borno State Government.

In spite of this, Zanna was still regarded as a push over against Sherrif ’s ruthless election machinery. However, the people revolted against Sherrif and elected Zanna as senator of Borno Central district.

Assuming he decides to seek re-election, Zanna will have a tough fight in 2015, starting from the PDP primaries to the general elections. Notwithstanding, he is a politician to watch in the politics of 2015.

Maina Maaji Lawan: Wanted to come back In Borno, Senator Lawan has a solid political pedigree. In the Second Republic, he was in the House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983. Remarkably, between 1992 and 1993, Lawan was governor of Borno State, when the Babangida administration experimented with diarchy at the tail end of his regime. For over a year, Lawan and other civilians held sway at their respective states and the National Assembly which had limited functions.

Significantly, Abacha sent the governors, legislators and Chief Ernest

Shonekan, the head of the Interim National Government packing. From 1999 to 2003, Lawan was in the Senate when democracy returned. Since then, he has been angling to return to Government House, Maiduguri. However, he lost to Imam, the Presidential Liaison Officer, in the PDP primaries by two votes in 2003.

In anger, Lawan defected to the ANPP and four years later, he returned to the Senate on ANPP’s platform. Uptil 2010, he was still nursing gubernatorial ambition but when Sherrif anointed Shettima, it downed on him that he was out of contention.

Consequently, the senator has slowed down his mobilisation efforts and these days, Lawan is mostly in Abuja. However, in case he decides to throw his hat into the ring to slug it out with Governor Shettima, Lawan stands no chance at the primaries for obvious reasons. In addition, he will be a hard sell in Southern Borno in the general elections because of his antecedents. As governor, Lawan scrapped some tertiary schools in the state in 1991.

At that time, the southern part was worst hit by the policy and the people, including the elite, saw it as a ploy to stunt their development. Twenty three years after, the issue is still fresh in people’s memory.

Mohammed Abba Aji: Operating from Abuja Since 2011, Senator Abba Aji has been less visible in the politics of Borno. In

recent times, when the Presidency was looking for Alhaji Bamanga Tukur’s replacement as the PDP National Chairman, his name came up for consideration. Indeed, the fair skinned Bama-born politician has what it takes to wield PDP together. In addition, Abba Aji has some political weight at the national level, having been senator in 2003 and subsequently, the Special Adviser to President Umaru Yarádua on National Assembly Matters. In the Senate, Abba Aji sponsored almost 20 bills and motions and in Borno PDP, the senator is one of its financiers.

However, in November 2010, Abba Aji caught the flak over his refusal, to reports, to transmit President Yar’Adua’s letter to the National Assembly, indicating that he was on sick leave. Significantly, the Senate grilled him over the issue and afterwards, the presidential aide announced that his principal will transmit the letter. In the end, the matter led to the invocation of the Doctrine of Necessity, when the Senate declared VicePresident Good;uck Jonathan as acting president. After Yar’Adua’s death, Abba Aji became a marked man by Jonathan’s men. However, he retained his job even after the change of guard on May 6, 2010.

He tried to recover lost ground but it backfired. On March 1, 2011, he vowed CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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Imam, Ndume, Gana, Wakil, Bunu, Lawan, CO N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 5

to scuttle the Freedom of Information Bill that was passed in the House of Representatives, upbraiding the lower legislative chamber for doing so. Abba Aji said that he will lobby the Senate to throw out the bill and if he didn’t succeed, he will advise Jonathan to withhold presidential assent. Almost immediately, Mr. Imma Niboro, President Jonathan’s spokesman, disassociated government from that statement, describing it as Abba Aji’s personal opinion.

In 2011, after the election, Abba Aji lost his position as Special Adviser but a year later, when the race for PDP National Chairmanship began, he threw his hat into the ring but he lost out to Tukur.

However, when Tukur fell out of favour and Jonathan wanted to replace him, Abba Aji tried his luck again. Yet again, he lost out.

Right now, the ex-lawmaker is mostly in Abuja and has given politics a wide berth. However, Governor Shettima has a lot of respect for him and has been wooing him to cross over to APC. Although the older politician is still in PDP, he however concedes that the governor is doing a good job in Borno. Whether or not he will support Shettima’s re-election depends on who flies the PDP gubernatorial flag .

Kaka Mallam Yale: A grassroots politician In local government administration, Senator Yale was a square peg in a square hole but in the Senate, the grassroots politician was like fish out of water. Previously, Yale worked as a civil servant in different capacities in various local governments in Borno State. In 1994, he was appointed chairman of Konduga Local Government Area and five years later, Yale was elected to the same position in 1999. At Konduga, his achievements were sterling and former President Obasanjo gave him an award of excellence on that account.

In 2003, Sherrif allegedly promised both Yale and Kumalia the governorship.

However, unknown to them, Sherrif was plotting to replace Kachallah himself.

During the campaign, Yale headed the Senator Ali Sherrif Campaign Organisation, which chased out Kachallah.

Thereafter, he was made Commissioner for Education ostensibly for his contribution to bringing the government. In 2007, Sherrif railroaded him to the Senate but Yale never initiated any bill and seldom contributed to debates.

In spite of this lapse, Yale wanted to return to the upper legislative chamber but Sherrif reserved the ticket for himself. Thereafter, Yale and Sherrif parted ways and apparently, the former has pitched tent with Shettima. Significantly, Yale was the immediate past interim APC Chairman in Borno State. Before the truce, Sherrif had wanted to install someone else but Shettima outwitted him, installed Yale and all interim state officials.

Using his connections at the grassroots, his experience in campaign administration as well as the intricacies of the cloak and dagger world of politics, Yale will be an asset to Shettima in his battle for re-election.

Ibrahim Bunu: The lone ranger Like Senator Abba Aji, Arch. Bunu is also an Abuja-based politician who seldom visit his Borno constituency.

Ironically, Bunu has a long political history, dating back to 1982. In the Second Republic, he was the Minister of Housing and Environment in the Shehu Shagari government but a year later, the military struck. Thereafter, he retreated to

Aji

his architectural practise and about 17 years later, he contested for the Senate.

Specifically, Bunu and Sherrif squared up for Borno Central senatorial district but the latter won the election. However, Bunu became Minister of Federal Capital Territory in 1999 but was replaced in a curious manner.

In 2003, Bunu rewired his senatorial ambition, sensing that Sherrif, his old foe, will be gunning for governorship.

Bunu beat Abba Aji at the PDP primaries but was defeated in the election. Sherrif, according to reports, asked Abba Aji to defect to ANPP, gave him the party’s ticket and he defeated Bunu. By proxy, Sherrif had checkmated Bunu twice in this republic. Since then, the former FCT Minister had hibernated from politics but recently, his name had featured in the run up to the PDP national chairmanship contest.

However, Bunu did not make a strong showing for the top post. In addition, his political antecedents is at variance with his thin followership in Borno politics.

More or less, Bunu is a lone ranger who is not conversant with grassroots politics. Notwithstanding, Bunu plays at the national level and his relevance may be felt within and outside his party in the gubernatorial race of Borno State.

Mohammed Abba Gana: A General without troops Engr. Abba Gana, former FCT Minister, is among the rare breed of the disappearing men of integrity. Principled, down to earth and idealistic, Abba Gana started politics in 1978, joined the defunct Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) that year and became Commissioner for Works in Borno State. In 1983, he was the party’s gubernatorial candidate and afterwards, he took a French leave from politics. However, in 2001, Abba Gana returned to public life as FCT Minister under Obasanjo.

For two years, the man held forte in Abuja but after leaving office, he had no house of his own but a piece of land.

Significantly, Malam Nasir El Rufai, his successor, revoked the Certificate of Occupancy because it was laying fallow.

Thereafter, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the then Vice president, appointed him Special Adviser on Civil Society, a position he held up till 2006.

Notwithstanding his clean public service record, Abba Gana is not too well regarded in Borno politics. Moreso, his present pro-Jonathan campaigns. His insistence that the president should run again, has alienated him from his

Yale

Bunu

Gana

Daggash

few supporters. The North, according to him, has produced eight heads of government since independence, so, allowing Jonathan four more years, he argued, will not short-change the North. He also argued that the North has held power for so long but illiteracy, poverty and poor infrastructure still stalk the region. According to him, if past Northern leaders didn’t make a difference, what will four years of Jonathan’s rule do?

Reasonable as this argument sounds, Abba Gana’s stance is at variance with the dominant thinking in the North and Borno. Just as all politics is local, this view is hurting him in his constituency.

However, this position will endear him to the President’s men and Abba Gana may return as minister, if Jonathan wins the 2015 elections.

court nullified the election but at the same time, it found Hajiya Fati ineligible to stand for the contest. Consequently, she was neither declared winner nor asked to stand for the re-run election. Curiously, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) didn’t conduct another election and for this reason, Dagash served out his term in the Senate.

In 2007, he became the National Planning Minister and three years later, he moved to the Works Ministry. In 2011, Dagash planned to bounce back as minister but his scheming came to naught.

Initially, a list of Borno ministerial nominees was submitted to the party headquarters but Dagash was not on it. Ambassador Pindar, Goni’s running mate, Alhaji Mala Gadzama and Engr.

Mohammed Abba Gana were nominated from Southern Borno. Bunu, Abba Aji and Hajiya Hauwa Ahmed as well as Alhaji Baba Basharu, the PDP state chairman, made the list from the Central zone.

However, Dagash and a coterie of associates drew up another list, nominating Hajiya Inna Ciroma, ex-PDP Woman Leader and Mr. Nicholas Mshelizza from Southern Borno, Kumalia and Hajiya Saínna Baba from the Central zone. Interestingly, from his Borno North, Dagash nominated himself, Alhaji Kolo Bukar, his personal assistant and Hajiya Fant Baba Shehu, a former House member. The list, from every angle, smacked of selfishness and it was roundly condemned. In the end, Alhaji Bukar Tijani picked the ministe-

Mohammed Sanusi Daggash: Playing elitist politics Articulate and well educated, Senator Dagash is from a political dynasty in the state. Specifically, his antecedents dates back to the Abacha era, when he joined the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). Afterwards, he contested and won a House of Representatives seat, representing Marte, Monguno, Ngazai Federal Constituency in 1999. Thereafter, Dagash moved over to the Senate but his election was controversial.

Hajiya Fati Ibrahim, the ANPP candidate, had contested his victory in court but the judgement didn’t favour her. The

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Daggash, Mustapha square up in Borno

Lawan

Mustapha

Yerima

Shehuri

rial slot on a platter of gold.

Dagash, thereafter focused on his business. Before then, he was PDP’s sole biggest financier, following Kashim Imam’s cold feet. Right now, Dagash has also developed cold feet but whether the race for 2015 will rekindle his interest remains to be seen.

Like Bunu, Abba Aji and others, Mustapha’s political relevance is more in Abuja than Borno. Moreover, he has been off the political radar in recent times. However, the septuagenarian has a way of bouncing back to reckoning. Maybe, he may re-enact this feat as 2015 approaches.

Shettima Mustapha: On a downward slope Perhaps, Dr. Mustapha’s trajectory approximates the political history of modern day Nigeria. In the First Republic, reports indicated that he was a card carrying member of Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). In the Second Republic, he pitched tent with the GNPP, where he served as commissioner in the Goni administration. In 1983, his GNPP faction teamed up with the defunct Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) and in that merger, Mustapha was Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe’s running mate. When the military sacked the Second Republic, Mustapha returned to the classroom as a lecturer at the University of Maiduguri. In 1990, the Babangida regime appointed him Minister of Agriculture, a post that he held for two years.

In this dispensation, Mustapha began as the National Treasurer of PDP and from 1998 to 2001, he held the party’s purse strings. In 2008, President Yar’Adua appointed him Defence Minister but a year later, he was moved to the Interior Ministry. In 2012, Mustapha made a pitch for the PDP National Chairmanship but like most aspirants, he withdrew for Tukur.

Gambo Lawan: A guru of campaign organisations Very active in the Third Republic, Alhaji Lawan started politics during the Babangida transition programme, when he became vice chairman of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC). However, that democratic dispensation was sacked by the military, but when the whistle was blown again, Lawan and like minds formed the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM). The party, along with four others, were formed under the Abacha regime and Lawan emerged its National Chairman.

Significantly, all the four parties had nominated Abacha, without contest, to run on their platforms. At that time, Abacha wanted to transmute from military head of state to a civilian ruler and the four parties adopted him as their sole candidate. However, using GDM’s platform, Alhaji M.D Yusufu challenged the concept. Eventually, Yusufu was defeated at the primaries but Lawan was hailed for opening the party up for contest, in spite of sundry harassments. Luckily, with Abacha’s death, that guided democracy failed and a new dispensation began

in 1999.

Initially, Lawan was in the APP, however, he defected to the PDP after failing to get APP’s gubernatorial ticket. In PDP, he also took a shot at the governorship but for the second time, he didn’t cross the primaries in 2003. Imam clinched the flag and he allegedly worked against him in the election, paving way for Sherrif ’s victory.

Over the years, Lawan had played key roles in various campaign organisations, beginning from the Third Republic. At that time, he was a member of the AbiolaKingibe Presidential Campaign Organisation of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). In PDP, he was Director General of Audu Ogbe’s Unity Team when the Idoma chief was vying for the party’s chairmanship. In addition, he was on the Obasanjo-Atiku Presidential Campaign Committee. Similarly, he played a big role at the Yar’Adua-Goodluck Presidential Campaign. Lawan, in the last election campaigned for the Goodluck-Sambo ticket.

However, this experience notwithstanding, he couldn’t clinch the PDP chairmanship when it was up for grabs. In Borno, the PDP has scant regard for him but his relevance in the party, especially at national level, cannot be wished away.

Haruna Yerima: Borno’s stormy petrel Slim, ramrod and straight shooting, Dr. Yerima is the stormy petrel of Borno politics. Author, academic and former House of Representatives member, the Biu-born politician likes belling the cat.

In 1999, he was teaching at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and in a lecture, he criticised the government. Naturally, the authorities felt slighted and Yerima got the boot. The academic, rather than keep quiet, continued with his activism, delivered seminal papers and engaged in community service, especially through Biu Forum, a socio-cultural association.

In 2003, Yerima contested for Biu North Federal Constituency and won on ANPP’s platform. Significantly, at the lower chamber, Yerima crossed swords with his colleagues. In particular, he criticised the quality of debate, members’ penchant for perks. In anger, the House suspended him but Yerima stuck to his guns. However, his tenacity of purpose and activism proved useful against Third Term. Yerima, Hon. Datti Baba Ahmed and Dr. Usman Bugaje as well as several others, opposed Obasanjo’s transmutation plan.

Significantly, Yerima also took on Governor Sherrif, Borno State government and those he called docile elite. In the end, he lost re-election but Yerima returned to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, continued lecturing and contributing to national discourse. He crossed over to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) together with General Muhammadu Buhari. Right now, Yerima is in APC and his loyalty to Buhari, Governor Shettima and his political party remains unshaken.

Yerima has not signified his intention to run for public office but his opposition to Sherrif makes him Shettima’s natural ally, in case the former governor decides to return to the trenches in 2015.

Zanna Umar Mustapha: More than a spare tyre Alhaji Mustapha, Borno State deputy governor, is more than a spare tyre.

Shettima has given him more leverage than any deputy governor in the state.

Specifically, he is not just given the free hand to operate, Mustapha and his boss sometimes ride in the same car to public functions, to the chagrin of the governor’s aides. However, in spite of this leverage, Mustapha is of little political consequence in Southern Borno, his immediate constituency. In summary,

some politicians want him replaced in 2015. The deputy governor was Kashim Imam’s nominee for the post but almost three years in office, his impact is yet to be felt in Southern Borno.

Consequently, some elements want Alhaji Usman Mamman Durkwa, Commissioner for Religious Affairs, to replace him in 2015. Mustapha, according to them, is short tempered, self centred and tight fisted. Durkwa, on the other hand, is a populist politician who shares his little with so many. For this reason, youths and politicians of Southern Borno prefer Durkwa to Mustapha and this is already causing bad blood between the two politicians and their supporters.

Significantly, Mustapha has a bigger challenge apart from Durkwa, his immediate constituency and his lack of reaching out. Specifically, he is seen as Sherrif ’s ally and for this reason, Governor Shettima’s supporters want him replaced as his loyalty cannot be guaranteed. The way and manner Mustapha survives the internal feud and retains his post will test his mettle as a politician.

Adamu Yuguda Dibal: A burst spare tyre Dibal, deputy governor in Sherrif ’s administration, was like a burst spare tyre from 2003 to 2011. Marginalised, used and dumped, Dibal was virtually cut off from politics and governance of Borno. For over one year, he was relocated from his office to one of the lodges in Government House on the pretext that it was being renovated. However, after the facelift, the office was handed over to Hajiya Fatima Sherrif, the then governor’s wife. Subsequently, a new office was built for Dibal but it lacked the facilities befitting of a deputy governor’s office.

Dibal, to preoccupy himself, enrolled at the University of Maiduguri for an undergraduate programme. However, Dibal served Sherrif diligently in spite of the frustration. Significantly, he wanted to succeed his boss but Sherrif refused to endorse him. Right now, the former deputy governor has degenerated from a burst spare tyre to a thread bare and discarded tyre which has no use for the long, rough and tortuous journey to 2015. With time, may be Dibal will reinvent himself as the journey progresses.

Mustapha Baba Shehuri: First from the rear Former Chairman of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Hon. Shehuri was also in the Borno State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007. Thereafter, he crossed over to the House of Representatives and in the last general elections was the governorship flag bearer of the CPC. In that election, CPC polled 909,763 votes in the presidential election out of the 1.2 million votes cast. Curiously, in the gubernatorial election, the party trailed to third place with ANPP and PDP running neck-to-neck. PDP contested the election’s results but CPC did not.

With time, Shehuri emerged the Vice Chairman of the APC Interim State Executive and after the elected party officials took over, the former gubernatorial candidate has now slipped into oblivion.

In spite of his poor showing at the polls, Shehuri is said to be a formidable politician. This remains to be seen in 2015.

Significantly, 2015 is some months away but the crucial hurdle comes up in a few months time, when party primaries will hold. Thereafter, the electorate will decide the people’s choice. In Borno, barring any upset, the odds favour Shettima at the primaries. Thereafter, with an APC ticket in his kitty, the governor is likely to win the governorship election, but he should sleep with one eye open because politics is full of surprises.

18 POLITICS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Suspense, intrigues as APC decides today The All Progressives Congress (APC) holds it national convention today and tomorrow where national officers who will pilot the affairs of the party in the 2015 general election will emerge, YEKEEN NURUDEEN reports

F

or leadership and members of the nation’s biggest opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), today is one day they had anxiously waited for. The stage is set and the gladiators are battle ready while the spectators are already in the stand.

Expectedly, it is going to be a day of victory foretold, dashed hopes, surprises and upsets occasioned by intrigues, power play and suspense for many power brokers and their followers.

As the party faithful converge in Eagle Square, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, venue of the convention, the core business of the day would be the election of national officers of the party.

Affairs of the party have been piloted since its registration in July last year interim officers. And as the nation approaches another election year, it is only germane that substantive national officers are in charge of the party as Nigerians are eagerly waiting and watching to see who and who would fly the party’s flag come 2015.

However, despite the eagerness and enthusiasm of many Nigerians to know ahead of time who is gunning for what in the party as regards the key offices to be decided today are concerned, all seem to be in secrecy, suspense and intrigues.

Besides those being speculated to be eyeing certain positions even before the convention date was finally fixed, there was no authentic information as to who has bought nomination forms for which position.

Up till Tuesday June 10 night, the convention planning committee under the chairmanship of Governor Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto State was still meeting on the knotty issue of zoning of offices within the party.

It was even feared that the convention might be postponed again when as at Monday June 9, some party chieftains were heard complaining about the closeness of the date against the fact that the zoning formula was still undecided thereby restraining aspirants from obtaining registration forms.

Speaking separately on this, Chairman, Publicity and Media Committee of the convention, Rotimi Fashakin said nothing can be done without the zoning formula sorted out.

His words: “You cannot just discuss zoning in a hurry. When you have zoning there are bounds to be contentions.

When you zone a position to a particular zone, some other zones will contend that why not our own zones.

“We have tried to iron out some of these issues and we still continue to and we hope that we would be able to come up with a final view for everyone to see in a matter of one or two days.

“When it comes to political meeting, you have to continue to be meeting, continue to take various interests into consideration because these interests represent various blocs and you must never discountenance their desires.”

Corroborating Fashakin, Convention Secretary, Senator Chris Ngige also said: “Zoning is an arrangement. Even if we are zoning, it has to be a consensus arrangement. But we will not deprive anybody his right as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria.”

Oyegun

Ikimi

Jaja

Sylva

Fashakin also said that the party cannot afford to get it wrong for its first national convention.

According to the formula, the position of National Chairman of the party has been zoned to the South-South. With this, barring any last minute consensus, the battle for the seat is between former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi; former Edo State Governor, John OdigieOyegun; former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sam Jaja and former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva.

It is definitely going to be a test of might among these politicians. Power play and scheming as well as intense lobbying and consultations would produce the party’s national chairman which is the prime target of key party leaders.

Chief Odigie-Oyegun is said to have edge over other candidates. He is believed to be the preferred candidate of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who it was gathered would have loved Chief Bisi Akande to continue in his position but for the zoning arrangement that took the position away from the South-West where the latter is from.

But Odigie-Oyegun has a battle at hand as governors within the party are reportedly moving against Tinubu. They are said to be particularly keen at taking the party’s structures from the firm grip of the former Lagos State governor.

What counts in his favour besides Tinubu’s support is his ideological consistency. He remains the only candidate who has never associated with the PDP. He is also praised for his parsimonious lifestyle, a factor the outgoing national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, is report-

ed to have used in advancing his name for the job in the Tinubu camp. There are however fear that Oyegun, if elected may become a stooge of Tinubu.

For Chief Ikimi, it might not be an easy task to emerge APC National Chairman. He has a number of issues to contend with. Despite his political history, odds don’t look to favour him in this race. He is currently the party’s interim National Vice Chairman (SouthSouth). Some governors within the party are particularly not well disposed to his candidacy based on his role in the infamous late General Sani Abacha regime in which he was the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Though he is said to be enjoying the support of some governors and chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the defunct All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. The belief among many watchers is that Sheriff and Tinubu are opposing forces

within APC and that the former with some governors would back Ikimi to wrest the party away from Tinubu.

But the former Borno State governor came out to deny having any support for him. He was quoted as denying sponsoring Ikimi.

Again, Ikimi’s critics are also quick to point at his services for Gen. Sani Abacha and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. As returning officer for the 2003 presidential primaries of the PDP, he is negatively remembered for his Eagle Square yeoman proclamation of Obasanjo, Obasanjo, Obasanjo and Obasanjo. But he is not to be completely written off as anything can happen in politics In the case of Timipre Sylva, his major asset for the contest are his youthful age and dynamism. At 49, he is the only one of the four aspirants less than 50.

He is said to be on the radar of many governors of the party who prefer one of their own as the national chairman.

With him at the top, they believe, they have the party under their control.

Party sources said he might have reached out to General Muhammadu Buhari for support. But what seems to be a clog in his ambition is the court case against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of corruption while in office as governor.

It is against this background that some party chieftains have made frantic efforts to screen him out of the contest.

According to them, they cannot afford to give President Goodluck Jonathan the luxury of hounding the chairman of the APC to trial on allegations of corruption.

For Jaja, he is said to have been the preferred choice of Tibunu, but his albatross, it was gathered, was to have been national deputy chairman of the PDP. The outgoing interim National Chairman, Akande is reported to have described as an abomination to have a former top official of the PDP preside over the APC. Initially, he was thought to be a potent weapon that could be used to divide the camp of the governors aligned against Tinubu.

It was calculated that fielding him and with the backing of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, a number of the governors would swing to endorse him and as such sustain the mystique of Tinubu in the party.

As it stands, the battle notwithstanding other odds is between Odigie-Oyegun and Ikimi.

Feelers said Alhaji Lai Mohammed has been favoured to emerge as the substantive National Publicity Secretary of the party by all the stakeholders. Moreso, the office is zoned to the North Central where he comes from.

The APC Convention, without doubt, will definitely be another talk of the town, days, weeks and even months after it is held. Its outcome has the potential to shape the future of the party or otherwise ahead of the 2015 general elections.

ZONING POSITIONS South South 4. Deputy Women Leader 1. National Chairman 2. Deputy National Secretary North Central 3. Deputy National Legal Adviser 1. National Publicity Secretary 2. National Women Leader South West 3. Deputy Treasurer 1. National Legal Adviser 4. Deputy Welfare Secretary 2. Deputy National Chairman 3. National Financial Secretary North East 1. National Secretary South East 2. National Youth Leader 1. National Organising Secretary 3. Deputy National Auditor 2. National Auditor 3. Deputy Finance Secretary

North West 1. Welfare Secretary 2. Deputy National Chairman 3. National Treasurer 4. Deputy National Organising secretary Each of the six geo-political zones will produce the following; 1. One Zonal National Vice Chairman 2. One Zonal Women Leader 3. One Zonal Youth Leader 4. One Ex-Officio

19

EDITORIAL

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Our VISION To build a newspaper organisation anchored on the sanctity of truth.

Our MISSION To publish a newspaper of superior value, upholding the fundamental ethics of journalism: balanced reporting, fairness, accuracy and objectivity.

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

FRIday, JUNE 13, 2014

National security and messy military funding

A

blundering Chief Edwin Clark advocated recently for the suspension of all democratic structures in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States because of the insurgency, as was done in Plateau and Ekiti states during the Obasanjo administration. It is misleading, unconstitutional and will put spanners in the works of checkmating the nefarious Boko Haram insurgency.

There is nothing like partial or full state of emergency.

The Commander-In-Chief has done the right thing by retaining all democratic institutions in accordance with the constitution. Appointing military administrators would also create the impression that the President wants to gain undue advantage in the three North Eastern States as the 2015 general election beckons.

In the Democracy Day speech, the President reiterated his determination to end the insurgency: “I am determined to protect our democracy, our national unity and our political stability by waging a total war against terrorism….The unity and stability of our country and the protection of lives and property are non-negotiable”. This is indicative of the seriousness he attaches to swiftly ending the insurgency.

However, even weighty is the controversy over funding the military.

The military received N1.3 billion in three months according to the Min-

ister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi NkonjoIweala. Yet, soldiers’ allowances and salaries are not paid, basic carriers, vehicles and equipment are not provided, there is a dearth of arms and ammunition, soldiers are wantonly killed, motivation and morale are low.

The germane question is where has the N1.3billion gone to? How have the service chiefs and security agencies functioned?

The military has attributed its inability to effectively tackle the rampaging insurgents to dearth of funds. Major General Abdullahi Muraina, Nigerian Army’s Chief of Account and Budget, made a startling disclosure at the 2014 training week of Nigerian Army Finance Corps for Warrant Officer/Senior Non-Commissioned Officers in Jaji, Kaduna State.

According to him: “Currently, budgetary allocation for the military is inadequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and also cater for the welfare of the Nigerian Army….

The Nigerian Army is enmeshed in the bureaucratic bottlenecks for the funding approvals for military operations. This calls for a review as the increasing speed at which the effects of conflict appear in the operational environment will continue to challenge commanders.

“It is our humble appeal that government should evolve other means of funding and supporting military operations than the normal budgetary allocation. Such means

include, but not limited to, strategic cooperation and liaison with other civil industries for the production of uniforms and other equipment,” he added. However, it is important to note that the Federal Government had earmarked security budgets of N922 billion, N1 trillion, and N845 billion in 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively.

Muraina, however, called for a review of the template for funding of the military, due to the current security challenges. “We are not oblivious of the constraints on revenue generation and the fact that government has so many other responsibilities. For instance, the army budget for this year is just N4.8 billion. Now, to provide only one item for the troops engaged in the operation in the North-East will gulp most of the amount…

“Assuming we committed 20,000 troops, the jacket and the helmet is in the average of about $1,000, if you change that to naira, it is about N150, 000. If you now have about 20,000 troops, this means they are going to spend about $20 million and that is about N3 billion.

“N3 billion as a percentage of N4.8 billion which is the capital budget for this year is more than 50 per cent and that is just one item; we are not talking about uniforms, we are not talking about boots, we are not talking about structure where they will stay, we are not talking about training, because training is key to enhancing the capability of the force”, he explained.

The Nigerian military has been criticised locally and internationally on its handling of the Boko Haram insurgency. Within the military, junior officers have also accused their superiors of poor management leading to the death of several soldiers to the insurgents.

In May, soldiers of the Army 7 Division in Maiduguri shot at the vehicle carrying their General Officer Commanding, GOC, to protest a military order that led to the death of about 12 soldiers in a Boko Haram ambush.

The GOC has since been redeployed while the mutinous soldiers are being investigated.

If the military is saying N130 billion in three months to fund the counter insurgency and the N3 trillion spent in the last three years are inadequate, things do not add up and a comprehensive explanation of the activities of the military is necessary.

From all indications, the efforts to put an end to the menace of Boko Haram is being sabotaged. The contradictory positions of the military and the government, and the setbacks in the execution of the counter insurgency suggest that there are people who are enriching themselves to the detriment of the lives of patriotic soldiers, hapless citizens and the territorial integrity of the country. This insurgency has lingered for too long and the way forward is to start with finding out the true situation surrounding military funding and operations.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief IKE ABONYI Deputy Managing Director/DEIC FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Managing Editor, South SULEIMAN BISALLA Managing Editor, North 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 PADE OLAPOJU Production Editor TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

20

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

OPINION

Eagles in easy-peasy Brazil bracket

B

reath out folks. Nothing to lose your nerves. Super Eagles will not be easy meat in the land of samba, even if we are not strong enough to attempt the Sambisa forest.

The Mundial in Brazil could turn out to be the revolt of the little guys, apologies to Pele, who so submitted after Algeria stunned European champions Germany, at Espana ‘82.

The Eagles are in their fifth World Cup, so inexperience is out of the question. That was how Nigeria made a mark at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, their fifth, technically speaking.

Nigeria had debuted at Mexico ‘68, and were almost sure of a medal at Montreal ‘76, before we pulled out in the last second over apartheid. If you add Montreal, then you pick Atlanta as the soccer team’s fifth time out.

A fifth World Cup could possibly attract the Atlanta luck. The Eagles may drop out before the grand finale, but I can bet my glasses, Nigeria will get to the quarter finals in Brazil.

D

You do not beat Nigeria thrice and continue to get away with the humiliation. Ask Cameroun. Thrice they won the Nations Cup, at the expense of the Eagles,1984,1988 and 2000. When they met again, albeit before the final, in 2004, they were eliminated, even as defending champions.

Argentina, our perennial foes, are here again with us. They will not go home smiling, like before. With all their pedigree, playing Nigeria never guaranteed the World Cup . It always brought disgrace.

In 1994,it was the story of Diego Maradona and drugs. In 2002,they were bundled out in the first round, while England and Sweden progressed. In 2010, Germany jammed the Argies 4-0.

Now do not forget we have a man called Stephen Keshi. This is a man of history. This is his first World Cup as a coach. And there is always history out of Keshi.

Nigeria never won the WAFU cup until 1983, when Keshi’s New Nigeria Bank [NNB] Benin broke the jinx.

Eagles did not win the Nations Cup at away, until Captain Keshi lifted it at Tunisia’94. No compatriot kissed the cup as player, and as Manager. Keshi did in 2013.

The friendlies are over. I think the Eagles played safe.

The main course will be different from the appetiser.

That is not dismissing Iran and Bosnia. They will not come easy. The bigger, the better.

These same Eagles who played like minnows against

the United States, will show class in Brazil. You think blood is not thicker than water?

For every black Brazilian you see, there could be some Yoruba blood flowing in the veins. I told my colleague Adekunle Salami who is reporting live from there, that in Bahia, he would not need to look for an interpreter. There are so many Olokun worshippers to make him feel at home.

Argies do not have Brazilian quarters in their country, we do. There is Brazil in Lagos. Those names Salvador, Fernandez, da Rocha, Gomez Pinheiro did not come from Benin.

While politicians divide and deceive us, we are going to have some peace during the World Cup. And i assure all, that Boko Haram will ease fire the moment the Eagles begin to spread their wings across the Atlantic.

Yes Boko Haram are good soccer lovers. Hear this.

Two seasons ago, coach of El-Kanemi, Maiduguri was Kelechi “Caterpillar” Emeteole, an ex- Biafran army officer. Boko Haram never went to bomb Maiduguri stadium. They did not harass the man. And he took the Warriors back to the Premier League. Emeteole only left because his wife was not comfortable, but Boko Haram did not force him out.

So I think with the Eagles, Boko Haram will listen and give dialogue a chance. And if Eagles do well, we could take them to Sambisa forest to bring back our girls.

The moon never stopped at Aijalon

o you know what would happen should the driver of a luxurious bus pushing close to 200km/ hour slam the brakes?

Bedlam! Passengers and other objects would fly forward and collide at roughly 200km/hour. Luggage especially will be yanked and hurled with missile force.

The inanimate laws of physics will extort a fatal toll. The monster bus itself, notwithstanding its size, will skid and skid and tumble and tumble with horrific consequences for the passengers within.

Picture the smouldering wreckage…

Now, be brave; imagine a disaster 540 times worse…

Keep that image in a corner of your mind as you read the following: “Joshua then spoke to Yahweh, the day Yahweh delivered the Amorites to the Israelites. In the presence of Israel, Joshua said: ‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and, moon, you too, over the Vale of Aijalon!’

13. And the sun stood still, and the moon halted, until the people had taken vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Just? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting for almost a whole day.

14. There was never a day like that before or since, when Yahweh obeyed the voice of a man -- for Yahweh was fighting for Israel. (Joshua 10:12-14) The Sun and the moon stopped in their tracks? Know what it means for the Sun to “stop” in its tracks? It means our planet Earth stopped moving--- because it’s the spinning movement of our Earth on its own axis that gives us the false impression that the Sun is rising and setting--just like kids in a speeding bus think

Lighthouse

YEMI OGUNSOLA

yemiogunsola@gmail.com - 08069074718 (sms only)

trees, houses and other stationary objects are moving. Now, believe it or not, the Earth spins at a stunning 1,675km/hour (at the equator). You don’t feel the rush of air because our Earth carries along its atmosphere as it spins --- like an airtight bus.

That speed is over eight times that of that luxurious bus! So for the Earth to promptly stop that day, the ensuing disaster would have been over eight times worse. Virtually everything on the Earth would be levelled. It would be cataclysmic.

But it could even be worse. That is, if that stoppage included the Earth’s movement in its 108,000km/hour orbit round the Sun. The disaster would be over 540 times worse.

But according to the records of the Israelites, nothing of such happened that day.

So we are justified to wonder what really happened that day back in the valley of Aijalon and Gibeon where the Israelites fought the Amorites?

Fortunately, there is a clue. And it is from the preceding passages: 10. “Yahweh threw them (Amorites) into disorder at the sight of Israel, defeating them completely at Gibeon; furthermore, he pursued them by way of the Descent of Beth-Horon and harassed them as far as Azekah (and as far as Makkedah).

11. And as they fled from Israel down the Descent of Beth-Horon, Yahweh hurled huge hailstones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died under the hailstones than under the swords of the Israelites.” (Joshua 10:1011 The New Jerusalem Bible) We are told that Yahweh himself threw the Amorites into “disorder” at the mere sight of the Israelites and defeated them “completely” at Gibeon ---where the “moon” stood. Then he (Yahweh) “pursued” and “harassed” them.

All these were done by Yahweh himself, not the Israelites. Indeed, verse 14 tells us clearly: “Yahweh was fighting for Israel.”

But how?

The last verse tells us: By hurling huge

hailstones at them. And “more of them died under the hailstones than under the swords of the Israelites.” That is, Yahweh personally killed more Amorites than the Israelites did.

Huge hailstones from heaven? But when did hailstones (small balls of frozen rain---ice pellets) become so lethal as to kill warriors (not chickens o!) en masse?

What could these huge stones and hailstones be?

Canon balls and bullets!

This conclusion is reinforced by the presence on the battle field that day of two aerial objects that shone with such brilliance that the Israelites mistook them for the “sun and the moon”.

Yahweh, the alien, who adopted and played “God” to the Israelites deployed superior technology to aid the Israelites in their genocidal wars against the Amorites. What hovered overhead that day was not the Sun and the moon but two of Yahweh’s spacecraft. And they fired missiles!

That act of Joshua bawling an order at the objects to stop in their tracks was a “stunt” by Yahweh, to boost the stature of Joshua, a new leader after Moses, in the eyes of the Israelites. A man who could order the Sun and the moon to stop in the skies was a man to be feared --- and obeyed.

Oh! You did not know that Yahweh was a two-legged entity who travelled around in spacecraft?

Poor you! Okay, okay, no more space; just look at the illustration on this page, that’s one of Yahweh’s spacecraft. We shall continue later…

ARTS FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

CULTURE

21 NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/arts

TONY OKUYEME tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

okuyemeogom@yahoo.com

WITHOUT CULTURE, AND THE RELATIVE FREEDOM IT IMPLIES, SOCIETY, EVEN WHEN PERFECT, IS BUT A JUNGLE. THIS IS WHY ANY AUTHENTIC CREATION IS A GIFT TO THE FUTURE." ― ALBERT CAMUS

One of the kid contestants in performance

Great, Samuel, others dazzle at God’s Children’s Got Talent finale Tony Okuyeme

T

hat talents in the creative art, especially in the performing art, abound in Nigeria was brought to the fore recently at the grand finale of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Apapa family’s God’s Children Got Talent show held at the serene Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

God’s children’s Got talent, a program organised by RCCG Apapa family has over the past six months conducted several auditions, a quarter and semi finals in over 1000 parishes in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United states in order to get to the grand finale.

Indeed, the grand finale was an evening that saw the participants trying to outclass one another in dozens of breadth-taking and inspiring performances that drew ovations from the enthusiastic audience that included sponsors, media partners and families, and a panel of five judges. The array of performances cut across singing, dancing, playing the musical instruments, as well as drawing.

It was no doubt a difficult task for the panel of judges comprising veteran actress Joke Silva, Director of the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Sir Emeka Nwokedi, Wole Oni, Nikki Laoye and the Creative Director of the Spirit of David Dance Group, Femi.

At the end, the dancing duo, Egere Great and Ekeh Samuel on Saturday were amongst the winners of up to N22m in prize at the grand finale of

God’s Children’s Got Talent was born out of a desire to identify and nurture the diverse talents available in children across the Province the show. The duo of Great and Samule won the first position while Chinedu Prosper Uzoma (Drums) and Oseni Adedoyin (Saxophone) were 2nd, and 3rd, respectively, in the age 16-19 category of the competition.

Presenting the final prize to the dancing duo, Head of Apapa family, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade explained that the mission of the project is to provide a credible platform for the celebration of talent in God’s children. In his words; “God’s Children’s Got Talent was born out of a desire to identify and nurture the diverse talents available in children across the Province. We are delighted that multinational brands such as Cadbury, first bank, first Trustees and others have identified with this project.”

Pastor Iluyomade further said that “two major differentiators of the 2014 edition of ‘God’s Children’s Got Talent’ is scope of coverage, as season four of GCGT had other UK and US based RCCG Apapa parishes participating.

Asides the cash prizes, educational trust and talent development packages and musical equipment are also part of the prize wins.

Pastor Iluyomade,Head Apapa Family (right) and his wife, Pastor Siju Iluyomade (left) with Great and Samuel winners of the competition.

Other winners include Nelly Miracle Fejiro Erubasa who emerged 1st in Age 5-6 category for her Drawing; while Lawal Nifemi Esther (Dance) and Oluwatoni Adesanya (dance) were 2nd and 3rd, respectively. In the Age 7-9, Akinbowale Allen (Saxophone), Wisdom Chukwuemeka Orji (Drums) and Osarieme Omigie (Dancing) emerged 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Mogbeyiro Praise Emmanuel Anjolaoluwa (Recitation), Abimbola Ezekiel Iyanuoluwa Adeitan (Keyboard) and Oseni Mariam (Singing) came out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. In the Age 13-15 category,

Kpere-Daibo Sisan (Singing) emerged 1st while Stanley Gospel (Drums) was 2nd, and Ayotola Oludayo (Dancing) won the 3rd position.

The event which had ministrations from popular Gospel act Frank Edwards and singing sensation Nneka also had foremost music and media personalities as judges.

Other sponsors of the 2014 edition includes RCCG, City of David, Wise men apparel, Dove media, The Riverbank School, Digital Jewels, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management and many others.

22 ART Moses Kadiri

R

eigning music sensation and Marvin Music Record star Tiwa Savage and Davido lead the pack of nominees for this year’s Nigeria Entertainment Awards (NEA), with five nominations each in the music category with both going head to head for the Hottest Single of the Year award.

Also in the music categories, Flavour, Wizkid and Don Jazzy have four nominations apiece, while Olamide, Patroranking, Chidinma and Oritse Femi round up the top pack with three nominations apiece.

The film category is not left out in the award which has attracted global recognition over the years. The film “Accident” and “Finding Mercy” both reined with three nominations each.

“Accident” is nominated for Best Actress in Lead Role for Chioma Chukwuka, Best Picture and Best Director. Desmond Elliot bagged multiple awards as Director of Finding Mercy and for his role in the movie for Best Supporting Actor.

The nominees and other high profile personalities will converge in a colourful ceremony in the United States of America where the crème de la crème will gather in one roof at the award presentation. Organisers noted that music, comedy will be at its best.

President of Nigeria Entertainment Awards (NEA) Mr. Tope Esan has congratulated nominees gunning for different categories in comedy, film, music, in this year’s NEA awards, the ninth edition in the series.

Though over the NEA ceremony raised the bar in the Nigeria entertainment circle, Mr. Esan is assured that this year’s edition will surpass all other editions. “There will be high dose of comedy, musical performances among many others”, he said.

Disclosing other categories, Mr. Esan said that the “Music” category comprises star musicians who will be aiming to clinch the Best Album of the year, among them are “Baddest Boy Ever Liveth”, a song originally done

by Olamide, “Once Upon A Time”,

by Tiwa Savage, and “Takeover”, by Limpopo Master Kcee, “Leaving an Impact For Eternity” (L.I.F.E) - Burna Boy, “Jagz Nation”, Vol 1: “Thy Nation Come”, by Jesse Jagz, “Journey” – Sean Tizzle, and “Blessed”, by Flavour.

The “Hottest Single of the Year” category of NEA awards has songs like “Pull Over” by Kcee featuring Wizkid, “Double Wahala”, by Oritshefemi, “Aye” – Davido, “Caro” - Starboi featuring Lax and Wizkid, “Surulere” – Dr. S.I.D featuring Don Jazzy, “Eminado” - Tiwa Savage featuring Don Jazzy, “Touching Body” – J Martins featuring DJ Arafat. The nominees will be fighting to bag the award in the category.

Best New Act of the Year category also boast of notable names in the music, such as Orezi, Patoranking, Runtown, Charass,Tekno Miles, Oritshe Femi, and Skuki who will aiming to clinch the “Best new Act of the Year” award.

Other categories are “Gospel Artiste of the Year”, where Tim Godfrey, Xtreme Crew, Frank Edwards, Flo, Segun Oluwayomi, Niki Laoye, Sabina, and Proverbs will beat it out for the award in that category.

In “Indigenous Artiste of the Year”, Oritshe Femi who topping charts with his Double Whala hit song will have to fight it out with such artistes like Reminisce, Sean Tizzle, Jaywon, Flavour, Timaya, and McGalaxy to clinch the Indigenous Artiste of the Year award.

Praise Adejo (aka Praiz), who was among the 2008 finalist for the television singing talent show MTN Project Fame West Africa has be nominated

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Elliot, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, Davido, Chidinma, others top NEA nominations

Eliot

Savage

in the category for “Best Pop/R&B Artiste of the Year”. The artiste who is surely getting his own shine in the Nigerian entertainment industry is not the only act in that category; he is being joined by big names like, Tiwa Savage, Wande Coal, Ayoola, Banky W, Chidinma, HarrySong. If Praiz scaled through the hurdle where the likes of Tiwa Savage, Banky W, and Wande Coal, he will indeed praise God for coming out a winner.

Chidinma Ekile who won the 2010 MTN Project Fame West Africa will battle it out with star artistes like Tiwa Savage, Seyi Shay, Niyola, Yemi Alade, and Cynthia for the “Female Artiste of the Year”, however emerge in the category will hold her head high because lots of female artistes in the country, only few were nominated.

In the categoryof “Best Music Video of the Year (artiste and director), the song, “Jaiye Jaiye”, done by Wizkid, and directed by Sesan was nominated.

Others are P-Square – “Personally”,

There will be high dose of comedy, musical performances among many others “Rands and Naira” (Emmy Gee and Nick), “Sitting on the Throne” – Olamide and Kemi Adetiba, “Skelewu” – Davido and Moe Musa, “Eminado” – Tiwa Savage and Clearance Peters, and “Oh Baby” – Chidinmi featuring Flavour and Clearance Peters will have to slug it out for the award.

The category, African Artiste of the Year, this category is for non-Nigerian, who have made their mark in the world music scene. Among them are Sarkodie (Ghana), Mafikizolo (South Africa), Shatta Wale (Ghana), Micasa (South Africa), Fally Ipupa (Demo-

Rapper Magnito signs deal with new phone company, Tingo Mobile Tony Okuyeme

F

eel-good rapper Magnito is the newest artiste in town to get on the corporate endorsement side of things.

The rapper has signed a lucrative contract with new Nigerian phone company, Tingo Mobile, to represent it as her official ambassador. The contract is reportedly worth the whooping sum of Twenty million naira for a period of one year.

The announcement was made at the official press launch for Tingo Mobile which held at the Whitbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, on Monday.

The company which is the first and only local phone manufacturer in Nigeria, also announced that it had agreed to buy a majority stake (51%) in Mass Telecom

Innovation Nigeria Plc (MTI) for about 4 billion Naira ($25 million) to develop rural broadband in Africa’s most populous country.

Some of the unique features the company is introducing through her mobile devices include GPS tracking systems, mobile pointof-sale (POS) function, localized emoticons that uses Nigerian cultural references in the phones’ chat application, etc.

In partnership with The Place by Papas, Lekki, Tingo Mobile will host Magnito to an unveiling party in July, to be followed by a series of other activations.

In other news, the rapper a few days ago dropped a new single featuring his Big E label mate TKON. The song is Magnito titled “Chibuzor”.

Flavour

cratic Republic of the Congo), Uhuru, and R2Bees.

Actor Joseph Benjamin led the pack in the NEA Best Actor in a Lead Role with the movie, “Murder at Prime Suites”. Other stars in the category are Nkem Owoh (“Maja”), Chitewel Ejiofor in “Half of a Yellow Sun”, Kanayo O. Kanayo (“Apaye”), Tope Tedela (“A Mile from Home”).

The likes of renowned actress, Rita Dominic (Finding Mercy), Patience Ozokwor (After the Proposal), Tamara Eteimo (Desperate House Girls), Genevieve (Half of a Yellow Sun), Bikiya Graham-Douglas (Flower Girl) will battle it out in Best Supporting Actress awards.

The battle for the Funniest Comedian of Year will be a very different between Akpororo, Bovi, Bash and Helen Paul. Others such as Funny Bone, Ajebo, Chi Gurl will find it difficult to scale through given the pedigree of stand-up comedians in the category.

MEDIA 23

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Tony Okuyeme

T

he Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri has stated that culture is a strong binding factor that ties the people together and therefore provides a veritable platform for the building and sustenance of peace and unity.

Omeri stated this in a paper presentation at the 2nd National Conference on “Culture, Peace and Security: The Role of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria’s Democracy,” organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in collaboration with UNESCO, at the Banquet Hall, Arewa House, Kaduna State, stressing that culture is the sum total of a people’s way of life and the current incidences of violence, impunity, corruption and insecurity in the country are indications of the failure of critical institutions to live up to their mandate of perpetuating cherished societal values.

Represented by the Kaduna State Director of NOA, Mr. Elisha Meck Sabo, Omeri in his paper, titled, “Cultural Re-Orientation as a Panacea for Election Malpractices and Violence in Nigeria,” described the level of moral decadence in the Nigerian society as one characterised by corruption, armed robbery, kidnapping, ritual killings, public disorder, impunity, indiscipline, intolerance, homo-sexuality, communal strive and religious bigotry, among others.

Observing that elections in Nigeria have been characterised by rigging, ballot box snatching, thuggery, lack

Culture, binding factor that ties people together, says Omeri Culture enhances the values people cherish and uphold. Such cultural values are reflected in their arts, drumming, singing, dancing, dressing, norms and attitudes

Omeri

of adherence to voting rules and procedures, electioneering campaigns fuelled by primordial sentiments, money politics, imposition of candidates, multiple registration, among other malpractices, the NOA Boss expressed optimism that the current

electoral reforms in place will go a long way in reversing the ugly trend popularly referred to as, the ‘Nigerian factor,’ saying it will engender credibility, integrity and transparency in the entire process.

According to him, a cultural re-orientation that emphasises accountability and transparency in leadership, responsible and committed followership, integrity, respect for the rule of law, patriotism, war against corruption, and respect for the sanctity of life, justice and fair play will serve as a veritable platform to serve as a

panacea for electoral problems in the country.

“There is no doubt that culture plays an important role in the life of a people as it is the sum total of their way of life which includes their organization, marriage, tradition, communality and all aspects of life that make them a people. Culture enhances the values people cherish and uphold.

Such cultural values are reflected in their arts, drumming, singing, dancing, dressing, norms and attitudes.

The combination of all these in a nutshell gives the cultural outlook of a people,” he said.

Continuing, he said in view of the key role of culture in shaping the values and attitudes of people, culture is also seen as a moderating factor in the conduct of people, their relationships with other people, their disposition to life, their perception of issues and stereotypes, stressing that a culture which does not frown at disrespect for simple community rules is likely to produce a society where impunity becomes the norm, just like a culture which honours and celebrates people with questionable sources of wealth is likely to produce a society that is corrupt and lacking in moral integrity.

According to him, the much talked about culture of violence, impunity and corruption, is a clear indication of the failure of culture to keep and sustain cherished societal values, however reiterating that the whole essence of cultural re-orientation is to ensure the restoration of those cherished societal values that have been lost over the years due to negligence and globalisation.

With audacious, artistic hairstyle, Simoyan says Super Eagles must fly

T

here is so much excitement in the air, even as fans and patriots come up with different ways of expressing their support for the Super Eagles in the FIFA World Cup which kicked off yesterday in Brazil.

One such patriot is Olaboludele Simoyan, the author of a two-in-one book titled 8th Wonder of the World Made in Nigeria. She decided to show her support by wearing different bold, artistic and unusual hairstyles to support and motivate the Eagles to come back with the cup.

Speaking exclusively to New Telegraph, Simoyan said they are all are geared towards inspiring the Super Eagles to perform extraordinarily in Brazil and “bring the World cup back home.”

She caused quite a stir with her hairstyle which includes Keshi kick off right.

The hairstyle is already generating comments among fans. Ugo Queen has ‘I love the hair, I love the patriotism,’ on Simoyan’s facebook wall. “My beloved ‘Lady Wonder’ Olaboludele Simoyan.

Though we are Busy doing what we to do...Am quietly Following Your Phenomenal Efforts..., Selah!,’ another wrote.

Could this be the hairstyle ladies will consider making to spur on the Eagles at the World Cup? Simoyan has demonstrated her patriotism to her country in many audacious and courteous ways to the admiration of people. She distributes her 2-in-1 book, the Seven Wonders of the World Made in Nigeria, which is where she has prescribed the solution to Nigeria’s problem to students in secondary schools in her attempt to inculcate good morals in them and catch them young. Author of What is wrong with Nigeria? and Hundred Reasons Why I love Naija Simoyan is ready to go to any length to stir the spirit of patriotism in Nigeria.

“If we Nigerians don’t get up and do something about Nigeria, Oyibo man won’t do it for us. I had ideas and writing is not really my first love that is why I read architecture in the first place. But I wrote the book because I was pregnant with something and God gave me the ability to write it. Since then I have been

going about talking to young people in schools because I believe that if we catch them young, we can have a new Nigeria.”

Simoyan showcasing her various hairstyles

24 TOURISM

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Akwa Ibom to raise tourism bar with N40 billion Ibom Tropicana Hotel project

Ibom Tropicana

Senior Special Adviser on Media to Governor Goodwill Akpabio, Pastor Anietie Ukpeh, has declared that the on-going N40 billion Ibom Tropicana project is designed to raise the state’s tourism profile and provide economic opportunities for the people to explore the vast and rich resources of the state, writes TONY ANICHEBE

T

he mega N40 billion Ibom Tropicana project currently being undertaken by the state government has since its inception generated a lot of talking points in the state, with some observers describing it as a phantom project that may not yield the desire result for the people and may never be completed.

But speaking on the motivation for the project and its essence, the Senior Special Adviser on Media to Governor Godswill Akpabio insist that the project is purely an economic one, which is principally targeted at lifting the tourism industry of the state to a new height and providing a platform for people to explore the richness of the state.

Ukpeh described the Uyo – based Tropicana project as something that in years to come would give the state a distinct identity and recognisable symbol that would attract people of different races and backgrounds to the state because on completion the project would feature multiple amenities and sectors.

Some of these, he said, include a five star hotel and a cinemaplex and that even at its present stage, the Tropicana has become a Mecca of some sort as the people of the state and visitors have turned it into a tourist centre trooping in their numbers to view the work, especially the cinemaplex, which is the first of its kind in the state and country.

He said the hotel upon completion will be one of the finest in the country.

“It is a fantastic project; that hotel is a Five Star in its entirety. It will fulfill every criterion to be labelled a Five Star hotel. It will have facilities that will only be found in very few five star hotels in the world,” he said, adding that it has among other features, theme parks, the dome and several facilities that are the best in the and very soon Akwa Ibom State will be hosting visitors from all corners of the country and the world at the Tropicana.

“With that alone, we have several conferences coming from outside the state here. Tourism is a major income earner for countries like Israel and Kenya. Therefore, as we have people who are coming to shop and money is getting into the hands of people.”

According to Ukpeh, the 20th specialist hospital will soon be completed and several professionals who will work in the various departments are equally getting set to make the hospital a true referral one.

He said this is one hospital that will stop the increasing flight of capital by Nigerians seeking medical attention abroad and promoting medical tourism in other countries while ours suffers.

This hospital will be one of the best in the West African region and would serve as well to attract people to our country and develop our medical tourism too.

He said government has also been carrying out construction works and its pipe jacking flood control system all of which have impact on tourism. “Don’t forget that this system is deployed in segments and sections. The pipe jacking deployment is around Idoro – Itam junction axis and about 3.7 kilometers, sitting 40 meters under the earth with heavy reservoir up to its outlet and I ask you when it rain do you find any drop of water around Idoro area up to Itam junction axis?”

“You won’t find flood there, and that means it is working. The second pipe jacking system was deployed at Abak, Ikot Ekpene road all the way to the river side. That new dualised federal road that used to hold pool of water after

before now we have had administrations in the state that never bothered about the looming danger but this administration has taken a comprehensive and enduring approach to solve the problem and the governor should be commended for the job he has done in this direction.’’

Furthermore, he said that the state government is forthright about solving some of the beleaguering natural problem facing the state. ‘‘There are a lot of natural problem confronting the people and the government will not relent in tackling them, look at what is going on in Brook Street, the entire reclamation of land from gully erosion, Akwa Ibom people should applaud the governor for his big heart in spending billions of naira to avert this disaster.’’

The Senior Special Adviser on Media to Governor Goodwill Akpabio, Pastor Anietie Ukpeh

every rainfall is no more. The collaboration of underground and surface area drainage around Tropicana through the back of Champion Breweries all the way to Ibesikpo Asutan that is about 4.2 kilometers,” he said.

According to Ukpeh, when this is completed, ‘‘the entire Tropicana area, even up to IBB Avenue would have been de-flooded. The flooding problem in Uyo is very serious and crucial. Serious in the sense that Uyo lies on a flat land table land, it is difficult to marry the problem here but the governor is investing a lot of money to solve the problem,

A glance at Ibom Tropicana Conceived by Governor Godswill Akpabio and modeled after Sun City in South Africa or Disneyland in Orlando, Florida, USA, the Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre landmass of 82 hectares of land in Udo Udoma Avenue of the capital city, features among others a galleria, cineplex –housing six screen cinema halls with a capacity of 1030; shopping mall – with 59 standard shops and two bank service corridors; and a 14 storey 250-room five star hotel.

Also, it has an ultra-modern convention centre, capable of sitting about 5000 people and a theme park with various dry and wet rides/attractions.

The foundation of the breathtaking multi-billion naira project was laid in 2008 by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

‘Nigeria, a wonderful place to experience’ R ecently, a media team from South Africa visited Nigeria on a familiarisation tour with a stopover at Lagos where they were hosted by Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel and South Africa Airways. At that event, the Corporate Manager, Group Communication of Tsogo Sun, Priya Naidoo spoke to our reporter on the visit.

What informed this familiarization tour of a group of journalist from South Africa?

What we wanted was for some South African journalists to come out and experience Nigeria and of course our hotel.

So, in partnership with the South African Airways, we brought the mainstream media. They include: the Sunday Times, which is one of the largest circulating media from print perspective, the Business Day and Financial Mail, which are targeted specifically at business; the New Age Newspaper and Sawbona Magazine (SAA in-flight magazine).

Really it is about showcasing and ex-

posing Nigeria to our media and people back home. Also, our core purpose is to let South Africans know that when they come to Nigeria, we’ve got an amazing hotel, Southern Sun Ikoyi, which is really the reason why we are here.

What has been the experience of the team?

We have experienced Nigeria and it is really wonderful. We didn’t really see only the great parts of Nigeria, we also got to see the market and what is so wonderful is the Nigerian spirit which really shows that your entrepreneurship. You have amazing traders. The entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians is phenomenal.

The other reason that we are here is that we brought the largest radio station.

John Robbie is our morning breakfast show host and we brought his entire team to broadcast from Southern Sun Ikoyi. What was wonderful about that is he has a wide audience, people listen to him. He has the ability to change people’s

mindset.

When we initially arrived, we were all anxious because we did not really know what we would meet. We were so pleasantly surprised and he was also saying at this morning show how amazing it has been because he was so surprised by the Nigerian people. There were no safety issues, he just felt really great.

What was your perception of Nigeria before coming to Nigeria?

We live in Johannesburg, we suffer from the same safety concerns that you suffer in terms of perception. When people think of everything that is happening right now, you will think that it is unsafe to come to Nigeria and we’ve just proven the fact that it is not true. Since we arrived in Nigeria, we’ve had an amazing trip; we’ve had an amazing welcome by the people of Nigeria. They’ve really been wonderful. Yet, we had perceived that it was going to be dangerous but it was not.

AGE24

ENTERTAINMENT

25

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/entertainment

SONY NEME ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

sony.neme@newtelegraphonline.com 0811 181 3096

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

Lagos Jazz Festival returns with two days of fun STORIES BY SONY NEME

J

azz lovers were penultimate week treated to two days of fun by both local and international artistes on parade at the Lagos Jazz Festival. The event which had with about 50 Jazz and Jazz related music with Ayoola Sadare’s Inspiro productions, had the trapping of what Jazz festival should be.

With three stages named after late music icons like Fela Anikulapo Kuti (main stage), Steve Rhodes and Fatai Rolling Dollars, the Freedom Park, Lagos venue of this year’s festival was full to the brim as wind instruments and guitars tore through the night in celebration of creative musical talents.

Though there were two days of performance, May 29, which was Democracy Day was dedicated to master classes by the city’s leading jazz musicians that had Bright Gain teaching Bass, Daniel Bankole on Saxophone and Ini D minstrel was for keyboards.

Ray Jehovy took on drums and an extensive music business workshop by leading

Jaya and his Conciousness Group at the Steve Rhodes stage

south African bassist, Victor Masondo. The festival is modeled after The Cape Town International Jazz Festival South Africa (Africa’s Grandest Gathering) whose organizers esp Afrika are Sadare’s mentors in the business Later in the evening of same day were musical perfor-

2Face, Ibru honoured for battle against cancer

I

n app r e ciation of his support in waging war a g ainst c a n c e r, 2face and Lady, Maiden Ibru were on Sunday, June 8 honoured as Spe-

cial Philanthropies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Goodwill Ambassadors of the BIG WAR against Cancer in Nigeria.

The event was the Banquet of Stars against Cancer (BOSAC) held at Eko Hotel and Suite, Lagos, where the living legend also performed alongside Sir Emeka Nwokedi, the conductor of the Lagos City Chorale and orchestra of MUSON. CONTINUED ON PAGE26

mances at the pre-festival reception jam session. The party hosted at the prestigious 1004 estates in one of their club houses was well attended by residents who were treated to Jazz, barbecue and drinks alfresco.

True to expectations, Jazz literally blew into town with about 50 Jazz and Jazz related music bands playing on the three stages in one venue.

Freedom Park Lagos Island was transformed away from the conventional formal setting.

The stages were set, no boring seating arrangement with one main stage, rather three beautifully designed and well lit stages were placed in strategic places, and also a central DJ pit.

According to Sadare, “Perhaps, it was a deliberate effort to give the attendees a bit of everything. You can see bands playing simultaneously on

Now Muzik presents Oluwa Twale by K Slim

K

osiso Henry Onwuekwe aka K-Slim has released Oluwa Twale into the market. the new effort is coming from the stable of Now Muzik.

According to release made available to New Telegraph,

by Nowv Muzik CEO, Efe Omoregbe, “Oluwa Twale is another good music of one of our artiste. It is the first official single from the Anambra born pop artiste who won the Anambra Music Talent Show organised by the ‘gyration’ master and politician, Tony One Week.

He said, “The song produced by Yung Jun is special as K Slim uses the street slang ‘Twale’ to greet Oluwa (God in Yoruba dialect). The sound is a unique style of pop tinged with native element. The lyric on its part signifies a change in fortune from humble be-

ginnings, for the rising star”.

He also stated that visuals for the song have been shot

K Slim

and would be released shortly after the audio release. “The video was directed by UKbased Luke Biggins and it promises to blow the mind of viewers,” Omoregbe enthused.

K Slim had previously featured along with several other artist including 2Face Idibia, Rocksteady, Essence, Samini and Jo-El in Break The Silence, a song recorded to encourage peace in Nigeria and Diaspora through 2Face Idibia’s Movement for Peace Initiative.

Confident and determined to become a success, K slim is currently putting in work on his music recordings and budding career. For now fans of good music can join him to say Oluwa Twale as he breaks into the mainstream media with the release of his first single.

each stage in a well orchestrated manner not disturbing one another but causing a buzz as people moved from one to another trying to catch a glimpse of one act or the other.

The camaraderie was infectious, a high five here, a hug there, screams of excitement in the middle. That is what a Jazz festival setting should be.”

Aduke was outstanding, as Fadabasi’s got groovy with his performance, Femi Leye serenaded with his guitar and Agba Joshu beckoned with his serene love sounds in the bolojo genre. Tee Mac Iseli was

not left out as his performance pooled the crowd to the stage; Nesta and his band gave the guests Jazzy reggae tunes while Adeh held the audience intrigued with his guitar seamlessly.

Bright Gain and South African Jazz bassist Victor Masondo, on their part, displayed brilliance; Beat Kaestli delivered classic Jazz standard vocals while a host of others thrilled the audience with harmless doses of beautiful music.

A look in at DJs Ray Bola Browne and Lati from their central DJ pit also disclosed brilliance as they played a variety of sounds from classical Jazz, old skool to naija hiphop gbedu. They sure added flavour to the entire festival.

For years, plans to host the Lagos International Jazz festival had been on and off. The organizers attributed this to lack of sponsors to insufficient preparation time. The first edition with Courtney Pine, Freshly Ground and others performing, and held in 2008 at Studio 868 in Victoria Island, Lagos was a success.

So when Ayoola Sadare’s Inspiro productions announced plans for a return to an annual event from this edition, it naturally came with an exciting reception to jazz enthusiasts.

And they weren’t disappointed as Lagos was held spellbound with the second edition of the Lagos international Jazz festiC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 8

Davido, Flavour others make Nigeria proud at MAMA 2014

I

t was a good show for Nigerian music stars at the recently held MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). At the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Durban, South Africa, on Saturday, June 7th, 2014 it was Nigeria all the way as Aye crooner and rave-of-the-moment, Davido, grabbed the biggest award as the Artiste of the Year. He had earlier won the Best Male diadem, just as compatriots, Flavour, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage were winners also.

Tiwa shone like a bright star on the continental stage when she beat other African stars such as Arielle T (Gabon),Chidinma (Nigeria), DJ C’ndo (South Africa), and Efya (Ghana) to clinch the Best Female Act. The host of the well-attended CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 WITH FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Davido

26 ENTERTAINMENT

Friday, June 13, 2014

COSON warn hotels on royalties

W

eeks after a historic union with television and radio broadcasters in Nigeria, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), has sent a warning signal to hotels who are dodging the payment of copyright royalties for the music used in their establishments.

Accoding to a statement made available to New Telegraph by Mayree Uket, of New Media, “COSON, Nigeria’s sole collective management organisation for musical works and sound recordings warns that there would be heavy consequences anytime soon”.

It will be recalled that COSON entered into an industry wide agreement with Hotels and Personal Services Association of Nigeria (HOPESEA) in December 2012 resulting in negotiated music copyright rates for hotels across Nigeria.

She stated that since then, such top hotels as Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos; Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja; Sheraton Hotel & Suites, Abuja; Southern Sun

Hotel, Ikoyi; Golden Tulip Hotel, FESTAC and several top hotels across the country have been in compliance.

“Unfortunately, some hotels have continued to freely deploy in their business the works of innocent creators and investors in the music industry in defiance of the law, against the rights of these creators and against global best practice,” Ms Uket further stated.

Meanwhile, some hotels in Nigeria who are yet to comply have been given two weeks’ notice by COSON lawyers to pay their music copyright royalties or face the music. The hotels include Sheraton Hotels & Towers, Ikeja, Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Bolingo Hotels and Towers, Abuja, Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Golden Tulip, Port Harcourt, Le Meridien Ogeyi Place, Port Harcourt, Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo, Imo Concorde Hotel & Casino, Owerri, Rockview Hotel, Owerri and Nike Lake Resort, Enugu

among others.

She quoted COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji thus, “Anyone who thinks that COSON is joking about this has to be ready for the full force of COSON. We have a good relationship with the HOPESEA leadership and with the leadership of other associations like Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA). These organizations held us down to serious negotiations that lasted about two years.

Mr. Chukwuji explained that, “The leadership of HOPESEA got a rate on behalf of their members, which is the lowest rate anyone can get anywhere in the world."

But some of the hotels appear not to appreciate what their leadership has done. Anyone familiar with COSON knows that we do not say what we will not do. We are determined to take on the recalcitrant hotels full blast.

We have been very patient but now we will employ the full instruments of the law.”

L-R: Kenyan on-air personality, Chito; AFRIMA Project Director, Adenrele Niyi; AFRIMA Co-Producer/Country Director Nigeria, Kingsley James; Kenyan on-air personality, Naomi and AFRIMA Co-Producer/Regional Director East Africa, Mike Strano, after the AFRIMA team's radio interview with one of Nairobi's finest urban stations, One FM 97.1 on Tuesday, May 27, 2014

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he All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, was hosted by the media and entertainment industry in Nairobi, Kenya. It was in continuation of the awards project’s continent-wide tour on the 2014 awards. AFRIMA is a continental showpiece designed to celebrate the creativity and cultural heritage of Africans.

As part of their activities, the team showcased AFRIMA’s unique edge at the two-day Broadcast, Film and Music Africa Conference, BFMA, May 26- 27 at the AFRIMA exhibition booth. In addition, a Media/Industry Briefing for the award was held at the conference.

The 2014 AFRIMA calendar contains an exciting line up of AFRIMA Village, an open, festival-style four day concert to take place in Lagos, Nigeria from October 21 – 24, 2014. It is coming with performances from Africa’s well known music stars, music bands and some international music stars.

Another is the “On the Road to AFRIMA Stakeholders Engagement Conference”, a programme tailored to happen in specific African cities where the awards project will be interacting with the music/entertainment industry, media, government officials,

AFRIMA parleys with Nairobi’s entertainment, media industry locals and sampling the lifestyle of those cities.

“Already three of such events have held in Addis Ababa, Yaoundé, Cotonou, Lagos and Nairobi and the aim are to take it to more African cities before the award ceremony on October, 25 2014. So, look out African cities because an AFRIMA train could pull up at your country shortly”, says AFRIMA Project Director, Adenrele Niyi.

The four-day stay in Nairobi, from May 25 to 28, saw the threeman team consisting of AFRIMA Co-Producer/Regional Director East Africa, Mike Strano; Co-Producer/Country Director Nigeria, Kingsley James and Project Director, Adenrele Niyi visiting Nairobi’s top media houses. There they had oneon-one interviews with media personalities on the aims and objectives of AFRIMA, just as they made guest appearances at some important music industry events.

Some of the media houses that played host to the team included One FM 97.1, where the

AFRIMA team featured on the afternoon Drive Time show with OneFM OAPs Chito @ThisisChito_ and Naomi @neominganga. Later that evening, rave urban Nairobi station, KissTV celebrated AFRIMA featuring Mike, Kingsley and Adenrele on “AfterBurn”, a contemporary two-hour music show hosted by celebrity OAPs Kwame Bonsu@ iamkwamebonsu and Yvonne Chege @missivonna.

An evening saw AFRIMA feasting at Carnivore, one of the city’s rave culinary outfits and a Mecca for lovers of all things meaty. The entertainment continued with AFRIMA at the night life by hanging out with Kenya’s celebrities at IMAX Cinemas in downtown Nairobi. They later attended an album listening party at the upbeat Tribeka Restaurant and Lounge.

In partnership with the African Union Commission, AFRIMA is a combined effort to recognise and award, promote and preserve Africa’s rich music culture.

Chidinma, Clarence and Flavour

Davido, Flavour, others make Nigeria proud at MAMA 2014 C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 5

event, American actor and comedian, Marlon Wayans, was at his best as he ensured no dull moment all through the show. He came to the party with well researched effort that connected well with the audience. His jokes on Dr. Sid clearly stood him out.

Nigerians stood taller with a dramatic presentation of the hit-track, Surulere, by Mavins’ Don Jazzy and Dr. Sid. Bother were garbed in black traditional apparel, as Don Jazzy sat on a throne flanked by male and female aides.

They were joined by Tiwa Savage who spotted a black tee shirt with the inscription, “MRS BILLZ.” Highly talented Nigerian music video director, Clarence Peters, also made Nigeria proud winning the Best Video for Burna Boy’s “Run my Race.” Clarence thanked his mother and fans, saying, “I didn’t expect to win. I dedicate it to my mother, Clarion Chukwura; the entire Capital Hill family, and most importantly, to God and my country, Nigeria.

Contemporary Highlife act, Flavour clinched the award for Best Live Act, while, Ghanaian rapper, Sarkodie beat Nigeria’s Ice Prince and Olamide, South Africa’s AKA and Kuli Chana for the Best Hip Hop. South African group, Mafikizolo lifted the award for Best Group as Cameroon’s Stanley Enow, floored Burna Boy (Nigeria), Heavy K (South Africa), Phyno (Nigeria), Stanley Enow (Cameroon),

and Uhuru (South Africa) to emerge as the Best New Act. Davido capped his glory as he joined other performers to entertain an appreciative audience, before American rapper and Khloe Kardashian’s new boyfriend, French Montana, wrapped up what was an amazing night to remember.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS Best Male: Davido (Nigeria) Best Female: Tiwa Savage (Nigeria) Best Group: Mafikizolo (South Africa) Best New Act: Stanley Enow (Cameroon) Best Live Act: Flavour (Nigeria) Best Collaboration: “Y-tjukutja” - Uhuru Ft. Oskido, DJ Bucks, Professor and Yuri Da Cunha (South Africa/Angola) Best Hip Hop: Sarkodie (Ghana) Best Alternative: Gangs of Ballet (South Africa) Best Francophone: Toofan (Togo) Best Lusophone: Anselmo Ralph (Angola) Artist of the Year: Davido (Nigeria) Song of the Year: “Khona” - Mafikizolo ft Uhuru (South Africa) Best Video: Clarence Peters (Nigeria) Best Pop: Goldfish (South Africa) Best International: Pharrell Personality of the Year: Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya) MTV Base Leadership Award: Ashish J. Thakkar (Tanzania) Transform Today Award by Absolut: Clarence Peters (Nigeria)

2Face, Ibru honoured C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 5

2Face had to forego the star-studded MAMA held in South Africa, to perform for a cause he believed in as his dad was also diagnosed of cancer.

The multiple awards winner, through his 2face Idibia ReachOut Foundation, has dedicated a great amount of time, effort and resources towards reaching out to the needy.

According to Now Muzik, his managers, "What we do for ourselves dies with us but what we do for others remains immortal. He believes also that help is best served quietly. The Big War Against Cancer is one

we all must commit to. The statistics are really scary and the impact is close to home".

BOSAC is a benefit event, of The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP-Nigeria), to raise funds in support of the BIG WAR Against Cancer in Nigeria. it aims at taking cancer prevention to the grassroots through the use of Mobile Cancer Centres (MCC); each MCC costs N 95 million. Currently over 100,000 Nigerians are diagnosed with cancer and 80,000 die from the disease every year.

The Nigerian death ratio of 4 in 5 is the worst in the whole world.

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday, June 13, 2014

Evelle is 2014 Nigerian Idol, PEPSI excited with the success story

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Kefee

Kefee: Nigerians pray for her quick recovery

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he had collapsed after a performance in Chicago.

That is how the story goes, not even her husband has debunked or affirmed that as he enjoined Nigerians to join him in praying for his wife to regain consciousness. Expectedly Nigerians responded with a great show of love as the social media has been awash praying for her quick recovery as she remains in coma since that unfortunate incident.

Presumably six-month pregnant Kefee had embarked on a 14-hour flight to Chicago for an event but went into coma, forcing the plane to land in Los Angeles so that she could be urgently attended to.

A family source said that, “Kefee surely did not know that she had a high blood pressure before she embarked on the long trip and suddenly went into coma while airborne.

That she is pregnant has made her situation dicey, so she will need a miracle to survive, a doctor told me”, he said during a recent phone conversation.

A medical doctor in Nigeria, Dr Adeyefa, who shed more light on Kefee’s condition, re-

portedly said, “Kefee is in a precarious situation because of the six months pregnancy.

If the foetus had been nine months, the doctors would have removed the baby and saved the mother and child.

As it is now, not only will the baby not survive because the carrier is in coma, Kefee may also lose her life from further complications. The chances of the mother surviving are narrow, while the kid has a narrower chance. I urge Nigerians to pray for her for a miracle because that is what she really needs,” he added.

Media reports had it that the gospel singer remains in coma at the intensive care unit of an American hospital where she was moved to after collapsing on the Chicago-bound flight.

Meanwhile her husband, Teddy Don-Momoh, confirmed the downward turn in her health by calling for prayers for her from Nigerians.

According to a statement by Kefee’s publicist, Teddy made the plea from the United States of America where his wife is still under intensive care at a Los Angeles hospital.

fter a tumultuous six months of eliminations, thrilling performances, surprises, criticism and thorough training, the fourth edition of Nigerian Idol the TV reality show came to an enthralling end with 23-year-old Zibili Evelyn, aka Evelle declared winner.

A part-time singer at the Eko Hotel and Radisson Blu Hotels, Evelle, amidst tears, dedicated the award to her mother, who is currently in hospital, who was involved in an auto crash three weeks ago on her way to Lagos to witness her daughter’s performance.

Evelle with tears of joy said, “My mother is sick and currently in the hospital receiving treatment, I need to see her with this happy news and I am sure it will make her get better...God first, then, my mum; it has to be my mum. I know this will make her feel much better than she is feeling right now,” she said.

Evelle achieved the feat after defeating her closest rival, Odugbemi Idowu Sarah, aka Eye-D, at a spectacular grand finale on Saturday.

Evelle

Olamide and Pheelz part ways?

Olamide

is not the best piece of Twillhis news that fans of Olamide want to hear. Unconfirmed

report has it that Nigerian rap music sensation, Olamide,

fondly called ‘Badoo’, and his producer, Philip Moses, known as Pheelz, have parted ways. the source insisted that Olamide and Pheelz are not together anymore, stressing that Olamide didn’t even bother to give a birthday shout out to Pheelz who turned a year older on June 4, 2014 as expected. though Olamide denied it as rumours, while Pheelz wasn’t available for comment. For stars, Pheelz is the brain behind Olamide’s YBNL and Baddest Guy Ever Liveth album.

Tonto, Poko signs on D’Banj recoord label

bad girl, Tonto Nofollywood Dikeh is now the First Lady D’banj‘s record label – DB Records.

This a sealed the specu-

lations that the actress and singer is about to sign a deal with Bangalee’s label, which both parties kept mum to.

D’banj broke the news when he shared the cheery news via Instagram thus, “To my birthday mate and the Duchess of DB Records. Welcome to the LEE TEMPLE . Can’t wait for the world to see what we’ve been up to. I’m proud of u my daughter . #Pokolee #Tontolee #DBrecords” he said.

At last, Davido founds love…

after so many denials, there TDavido. seem no hiding place for The sensational mu-

sic artiste has sent a birthday message to the lady he claims to love. But it is not clear if the said lady is the person that makes his heart to skip a second faster, but the singer disclosed that the girl makes him happy.

Davido took to his Instagram page to post the above picture and wrote, “happy birthday boobee!! Ur a great person with such a beautiful heart!! U make me happy!!! Have a great day!!

Love you!!.”

The multiple awards winning artiste has really not been linked with a specific lady as his girlfriend, just like his rumoured rival, Wizkid, who had

Aramide is back

fter being quiet since her deAformer parture from eLDee’s label, Trybe record’s first lady and soul singer Aramide, is back with a video for the song directed by Gbemi Phillips. She revealed during a recent interview about her time out, what happened with Trybe records, and how it’s been going without a record label.

Aramide went on to state that there’s no turning back, and she’s going to work hard in creating not just soul music, but relevant music.

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LYRICS for the week

orezi Intro You garrit / 3ce It's Del B on the beat Sprisal Verse 1 Fine girl you garrit Hmmm Girl you garrit Out of the girls na you I see Hmmm Girl you garrit You say you love me no more drink garri Hmmm Girl you garrit Love you and turn you my bugatti Hmmm Girl you garrit Bridge La le ana mi o le sun, mi o le wo Mo ri alert p' awon client mi ti sanwo Won ti sanwo /2ce Like play like play Mo d'olowo Mo ti d'olowo Chorus O ya ju 'badi, Ju 'badi Girl ju 'badi, O ya ju 'badi Cause you garrit Hmmm Girl you garrit, O ya ju 'badi Ju 'badi, Girl ju 'badi O ya ju 'badi , Cause you garrit Girl, girl you garrit Verse 2 1 Million Dollar in my pocket Ha ha ha ha Baba ti se mi o ni problem Hey hey ha ha Olowo ma jaiye, iwo lo mo Emi n jaiye ko si pressure o Busy shopping at Paris Balling hard for yankee Every club na VIP The girls dey feel my P Cause too much money I gat it Sexy girls dem dem love it All my music dey garrit In the club won ligali Bridge La le ana mi o le sun, mi o le wo Mo ri alert p' awon client mi ti sanwo Won ti sanwo /2ce Like play like play Mo d'olowo Mo ti d'olowo Chorus O ya ju 'badi, Ju 'badi Girl ju 'badi, O ya ju 'badi Cause you garrit Hmmm Girl you garrit, O ya ju 'badi Ju 'badi, Girl ju 'badi O ya ju 'badi , Cause you garrit Girl, girl you garrit Verse 3 Fine girl you garrit Hmmm Girl you garrit Out of the girls na you I see Hmmm, Girl you garrit You say you love me no more drink garri Hmmm, Girl you garrit Love you and turn you my bugatti Hmmm, Girl you garrit Bridge La le ana mi o le sun, mi o le wo Mo ri alert p' awon client mi ti sanwo Won ti sanwo /2ce Like play like play Mo d'olowo Mo ti d'olowo Chorus O ya ju 'badi, Ju 'badi Girl ju 'badi, O ya ju 'badi Cause you garrit Hmmm Girl you garrit, O ya ju 'badi Ju 'badi, Girl ju 'badi O ya ju 'badi Cause you garrit Girl, girl you garrit Outro To ba r'omo to fine, to duro gboin gboin To tun duro gboi gboin She garrit, she garrit It is a ghen ghen o Han I say dey call me Orezi and I garrit, I garrit

28 ENTERTAINMENT TELEMOVIES

Friday, June 13, 2014

AGN to the rescue, Natty hails Ibinabo as saviour

…courtesy of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Benevolence fund

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marting from the rebate deals with airlines and hotels for the benefit of its members, Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, AGN, has gone further to bail out ailing members. This is through the health scheme, courtesy of President Goodluck Jonathan benevolence fund that has made possible AGN’s dream of taking care of its members that are sick.

The most recipient was Mr. Romanus Amuta, who played the character, Natty of the evergreen sitcom of the 80’s New Masquerade.

An excited Natty was full of praises for the AGN leadership after he was taken to an undisclosed hospital on Saturday after receiving the sum of N10million from the AGN President, Ibinabo Fiberesima. The sum is to assist him on his health challenges as he had been suffering paralysis.

Natty who was particularly bitter with some bloggers who had gone to town with the news of his purported death!

While speaking with Nollywood Television live in Enugu, the comic actor praised Fiberesima for coming to his rescue.

An elated natty exclaimed thus: “Ada’m, Ada di ora nma,(My daughter, a proud daughter of the world), only God will reward you for saving my life. You have showed me that there is God. Anybody that says you are not working is not well. As you have saved my life, God will continue to preserve you. You brought me to this kind of big man hospital; paid

Ibinabo with Natty of the popular New Maqurade

Amaka Igwe: RMD, Ego Boyo others at tribute night

RMD and Iretiola Doyle

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t was a rare moment as a galaxy of stars gathered at Ikeja, Lagos State to pay homage at the candle night for late Amaka Igwe. She had passed on in April 28, 2014 after an asthma attack at her country home in Enugu State.

The convergence of movie people on Monday June 9 was for the memorial service held for the Nollywood producer, writer and director who died at the age of 51. The tribute evening and service of songs held at the Haven Gardens, G.R.A. Ikeja, Lagos, had kicked off in the evening with celebriC O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 5

val at Freedom Park.

“The wait was worth it as it has been highly successful both in organization and attendance,” these were echoes by Cordelia Okpei of Metro FM, Lagos and Chucks Nwanne of The Guardian newspaper.

“Even the clouds were captivated by the almost magical sounds of cymbals, saxo-

ties that include Richard Mofe Damijo, Ireti Doyle, Nobert Young, Zik Zulku Okafor, Waje, Ego Boyo, Wunmi Obe and Waje among others.

As a foremost leading player in the Nigerian motion picture industry, Amaka Igwe may not have started shooting movies in 1992 but it is not in doubt that Amaka Igwe’s effort as a motion picture practitioner has drawn international recognition for the burgeoning Nigerian motion picture industry.

Some of her early efforts like Checkmate and Violated has largely remained a watershed in the history of soaps and movie production in Nigeria.

Born to Isaac Ene, a retired civil engineer from ObinaguUdi in Enugu State whom Amaka described as ‘very principled’, Amaka whom her father called GOC (General Officer Commanding) because of the leadership trait she exhibited as a tot, was born and bred in Enugu.Amaka described as ‘very principled’, Amaka whom her father called GOC (General Officer Commanding) because of the leadership trait she exhibited as a tot, was born and bred in Enugu.

#BringBackOurGirls#: Gen. Sammy P drops Anama

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n a bid not to be left out of the campaign to free the abducted Chibok girls , inspirational singer, Gen. Sammy Paul has released three new singles on love, peace and an end to insurgency in Nigeria in particular and across the world in general.

The three songs titled Anama, Freedom: Bring Back Our Girls and Buko Ema Ema, have again set the veteran singer apart from his contemporaries.

Anama, done in Pidgin and his Urhobo dialect, the highlife danceable piece extols the virtue of God almighty. Anama in Urhobo means showing off Gen. Sammy P calls on all to show off with Jesus. The unique thing about the song is that, it can be played in all occasions; clubs, churches and ceremonies.

“Anama is for all, everybody, anybody can enjoy the song, dance to it while taking in the deep message it is passing. That is the beauty of Anama,” the Delta born artiste said in a statement recently.

Freedom: Bring Back Our Girls on its part, is a passionate appeal with the Boko Haram dreaded sect to release the

Lagos Jazz Festival returns phones, flutes, guitars and keyboards and held back the rains for two days to listen,” Okpei enthused.

For Sadare, “This is positioned as Nigeria’s premier jazz festival, as it is designed to offer visitors in Lagos world class entertainment and

everything, still gave me and my family extra money! And you have also bought food stuff for me that doctor said I should be eating?! Only God can reward you for this kindness, you have given me hope, now I am free. I can live again” In a moment of inspiration the AGN President held hands with the family in prayer, saying, “We thank God for providing Nollywood a President such as Dr. Goodluck Jonathan that loves Nollywood and provided the benevolence fund that has made possible AGN’s dream of taking care of its members that are sick.”

Mrs. Amuta in tears, and overwhelmed by the love and kindness of Fiberesima said “You have showed me today that God is a human being, he is a woman and her name is ibinabo, madam thank you! Nollywood Television please help me to tell the world the good things this beautiful woman have done for me and my family. Anybody that speaks ill of madam will incur the wrath of God, my husband is alive and will get better.

God has used madam Ibinabo to bless me, Thank You Lord”.

President Ibinabo only comment which she managed to squeeze out through her tear clouded eyes said " It is a blessing to me that God has given me a platform through which i can show forth his goodness, i will only encourage people to come on board and join the health scheme that the guild has secured for its members.”

serves as a major event on the Nigerian Tourism calendar that will be attracting jazz and contemporary music lovers to the country.”

“The long term goal is to establish Lagos as a Jazz Tourism destination, as cities like Cape Town, Montre-

over 200 young girls it seized in Chibok area of Borno State since April. The reggae song is soul moving, just as the artiste condemned terrorism, while calling on governments help in curbing it.

His penchant for preaching love came to the fore with Buko Ema Ema. For the first time perhaps, Sammy P. displayed his mastery of the Hausa language as he rendered the love song in that dialect with a soothing effect on the listener.

According to a statement from MIM, his publicists, “Before now, Sammy P has put a series of social responsibility projects that al, Montreux, New Orleans, London and others which are significant on the global Jazz tourism circuit calendar. They attract hundreds of thousands of people each year to enjoy good music and experience their respective cities.”

He further said, “Another credible element the organisers added was to make Jazz available to all classes of

have the capacity to jolt some sense into the current errant musical trend. Leading the pack is the forthcoming album, which is nearing completion is Sammy P-Dispensing A New Order.”

It also quoted the artistes thus: “I am unrelenting in my bid to write a new script for Nigerian music. At a time when the world has lost all sense of propriety, at a time when the youths are lost in a frenzy of disturbing sexual misadventure, when the music has lost its essence and sanctity to commercialism, it is refreshing to see some cat who is not scared to bell the cat, that is who I am. people. It wasn't just another night for blue bloods. Even those who were unfamiliar with Jazzy sounds were able to identify the new Jazz sounds infused in other genres. This was jazz at its finest both as traditional, straight ahead, bebop, smooth, neo soul, afro, naija, latin, and indie to mention a few fusions that were on display.”

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday, June 13, 2014

CINEMAWATCH (Radio/TV/Events Guide)

29

MAY 13 – JUNE 19 HIGHLIGHTS

DSTV

Ask Oprah’s All Stars premieres on TLC Entertainment on Thursday 12 June at 20:00 CAT In this brand new series the experts from the Oprah Network, Dr Phil, Suze Orman and Dr Mehmet Oz will appear on one stage to answer viewers’ pressing questions about health, wealth and mental well-being. No matter what your problem is, America's top experts are ready to help, and nothing is off-limits or too embarrassing. Shot before a live studio audience, this four-part special offers unprecedented access to Oprah Winfrey’s go-to group of masters as they share their wisdom and help viewers jumpstart their best year ever.

Impractical Jokers premieres on Sony Max from Thursday 12 June at 21;00 CAT Move over, Candid Camera– here comes a whole new breed of hidden-camera gags in Impractical Jokers! This reality TV show follows the four members of the Tenderloins comedy troupe – Q, Sal, Joe and Murr – as they challenge each other to carry out outrageous dares and perform uproarious pranks in public.

Of course, hidden cameras are filming their antics – and the responses of passing strangers are generally even more entertaining than the stunts themselves!

I Didn’t Do It airs on Disney Channel from Saturday 14 June at 09:05 CAT June sees the launch of I Didn’t Do It, a comedy that tells of the hilarious twists and turns in the lives of five teenagers – ultra-competitive fraternal twins and their three best friends . Each episode begins at the end of a predicament, after an adventure has gone absurdly haywire. Twins Lindy and Logan, and friends Jasmine, Garrett and Delia try to explain, with flashbacks, exactly what happened.

Soccer Cities on BBC World News on Saturday 14 June and 15 June This special documentary focuses on some of the Brazilian cities which will host the World Cup this summer including: Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Manaus, Recife, Salvador and Sao Paulo, giving international audiences a preview of some of the host-cities ahead of the tournament. This documentary will give international audiences a preview of some of the host-cities ahead of the tournament. Saturday 14 June 21:10 CAT andSunday 15th June 15:10 CAT. The Girl with Seven Mums on BBC Lifestyle on Sunday 15 June at 20:00 CAT Some children may have seven siblings. Some may even have had seven dads. But nine year old Ellie Sharp has seven mums....Ellie’s dad, Philip, is a Messianic Jew with multiple wives. Cameras follow the family as they works through the emotional and practical problems that come with such a complex household structure.

Ellie and her siblings have al-

The Girl With Seven Mums on BBC Lifestyle in June

ways been home-schooled, but this is about to change. Follow her exciting first visit to the classroom and her meetings with new schoolmates and lessons. How will she see the outside world? And does she still want to be a polygamous wife when she grows up.

True Crime with Aphrodite Jones airs on Discovery ID on Mondays at 19:00 CAT Crime reporter and bestselling author Aphrodite Jones investigates the truth behind the most notorious crimes in recent memory. In each episode, she uses her unique instincts to expose the facts about cases that true-crime fans may have been too quick to judge during the media firestorm. Featuring interviews with people connected to the crime – including, whenever possible, those convicted – Jones attempts to get inside the minds of the killers in an effort to understand what drove them to perform such despicable acts. It airs from Monday 9 June at 19:00 CAT.

GOtv

London Boulevard on Mnet Movie Zone on 13 June at 20:45CAT. An ex-con falls in love with an actress while working as her bodyguard, but his dark past soon begins to jeopardise things. Featuring Colin Farrell, Keira Knightly and William Monahan.

Daddy Day Care on Sony Entertainment Television 14 June at 20:00CAT In this family comedy, Eddie Murphy (also famed for Beverly Hills Cop, Shrek) plays a dad who is laid off from his job. He and his best friend decide to open a daycare centre at home for kids whose parents are looking for affordable child minding. The men use unconventional ways of navigating their way around toddlers, nappies and jumping castles.

MTV MAMA Behind the Scenes on MTV Base on 14 June at at 17:30CAT Want to know what went down at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards KwaZulu-Natal

Tune in to 'Ask Oprah's All Stars' on TLC Entertainment

(MAMAs)? Tune into MTV Base to find out when GOtv brings you all the behind the scenes gossip and from the Red Carpet, after party and more.

BlackGirls Rock 2013 on BET on 15 June at 21:30CAT In the annual Black Girls Rock, women of colour who excel in different disciplines are honoured. Look out for the likes of Janelle Monae – who also performs on the night.

Girlfriends (Season 2) on Sony Entertainment Television on 16 June at 18:35 CAT. Winner of several BET Comedy Awards and Image Awards, and nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award®. This highly acclaimed and multi-awarded comedy series draws us into the lives, loves and losses of four women from very different walks of life, who navigate relationships, family, friends, careers and other universal issues with wit and insight.

The Boxer’s Adventure on Blackbelt TV on 18 June at 12:00CAT

3 Kung Fu masters from Tiger Village join the royal ministers' Captain of the Guard on his journey to raise an army.

The evil Yun Si Kai is attempting to take power in the province and he must be stopped at all costs. Along their path; danger, action, romance, and a possible traitor in their midst await our heroes.

Most Shocking on Sony Max on 19 June at 20:00 CAT As the title suggests, Most Shocking scours the world for choice clips of mind-boggling deeds to make you gasp with disbelief.

“Painkiller” is their first single released with brand new lead singer Matt Walst (New York – June 10, 2014) RCA congratulates Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE for making chart history again today scoring their 12th #1 single at Active Rock Radio with “Painkiller,” the band’s first single featuring their brand new lead singer Matt Walst.

In addition to “Painkiller,” to follow is a list of the band’s twelve #1 singles at Active Rock:”Misery Loves My Company,” “High Road” and “Chalk Outline” fromTRANSIT OF VENUS (2012); “World So Cold,” “Good Life” and “Break” from LIFE STARTS NOW (2009); “Never Too Late,” “Animal,” “Pain,” from ONE-X (2006); and “Just Like You” and “Home” from THREE DAYS GRACE (2003).

Three Days Grace continues to hold the record with most #1s at Active Rock radio with 12 now, followed by Linkin Park and Shinedown each with 9, Disturbed with 7, Seether with 6, and Godsmack with 5 during the Mediabase era (since 2001).

Three Days Grace is lead singer Matt Walst, bassist Brad Walst, drummer Neil Sanderson, and guitarist Barry Stock.

The band has been feverishly writing new songs for their new studio album, the first of which is “Painkiller,” released in April of this year. Visit http:// www.threedaysgrace.com for tour dates and more.

30 ENTERTAINMENT TELEMOVIES

Friday, June 13, 2014

COMING SOON TO THE CINEMAS Silverbird - Abuja Movie Schedule: Friday 13 Thursday 19 June

Lucy 08 Aug 2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction 27 Jun 2014 How to Train Your Dragon 2 20 Jun 2014 Dawn of the planet of the Apes 11 Jul 2014 Make A Move (Movie Of The Week) Rating:R Viewing Time - Friday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Viewing Time - Saturday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Viewing Time - Sunday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Viewing Time - Monday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM

Viewing Time - Tuesday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Viewing Time - Thursday 12.20PM, 4.10PM, 6.10PM Featured Actors Majid Michel, Tina Mba, Wale Adebayo, Beverly Naya. Music superstars 2Face Idibia and Omawumi ,Denrele Edun.

Genre Drama Running Time 120min Make A Move is tagged Healing through Art and follows the story of Ivie’s character. It is a story of self belief, doubt and a fight against an unfavoruable environment.

Blended (Movie Of The Week) Rating: PG-13 Viewing Time - Friday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Saturday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Please click Like Viewing Time - Sunday to spread the news 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Binta Goudiaby Viewing Time - Monday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM,

7.00PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 12.00PM, 2.20PM, 4.40PM, 7.00PM, 9.20PM Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews Genre Comedy Running Time 117min After a bad blind date, a man and woman find themselves stuck together at a resort for families, where their attraction grows as their respective kids benefit from the burgeoning relationship.

Vampire Academy (Rating: PG)

Viewing Time - Friday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Saturday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Sunday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Monday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Viewing Time - Thursday 1.40PM,7.20PM, 9.30PM Featured Actors Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Gabriel Byrne Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 105 min Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human-half vampire, a guardian of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discreetly within our world. Her calling is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi.

Tokarev (Rating: 18) Viewing Time - Friday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Saturday

3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Sunday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Monday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Viewing Time - Thursday 3.40PM, 7.30PM, 9.20PM Featured Actors Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 92min When the Russian mob kidnaps the daughter of a reformed criminal, he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice.

Edge of Tomorrow (Rating: PG)

Viewing Time - Friday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Sunday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Monday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Viewing Time - Thursday 11.50AM, 2.10PM, 4.20PM, 6.30PM, 8.40PM Featured Actors Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Noah Taylor, Lara Pulver Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 113 min A soldier fighting in a war with aliens finds himself caught in a time loop of his last day in the battle, though he becomes better skilled along the way.

Maleficent (Rating:PG) Viewing Time - Friday 12.50PM,

2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Saturday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Sunday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Monday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Viewing Time - Thursday 12.50PM, 2.50PM, 4.50PM, 6.50PM, 8.50PM Featured Actors Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 97 min A vindictive fairy is driven to curse an infant princess only to realize the child may be the only one who can restore peace.

Tokarev (Movie Of The Week) Rating: 18 Viewing Time - Friday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Saturday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Sunday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Monday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 7:10PM Viewing Time - Thursday 7:10PM Featured Actors Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 92min When the Russian mob kidnaps the daughter of a reformed criminal, he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice.

11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Sunday 11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Monday 11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 11:15AM,3:05PM Viewing Time - Thursday 11:15AM,3:05PM Featured Actors Lea Michele, Kelsey Grammer, Dan Aykroyd Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 92min Dorothy wakes up in posttornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and Glinda from a devious new villain, the Jester....

Reasonable Doubt (Movie Of The Week) Rating: R Viewing Time - Friday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Saturday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Sunday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Monday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Tuesday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Wednesday 3:15PM Viewing Time - Thursday 3:15PM Featured Actors Dominic Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson, Gloria Reuben Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91mins A District Attorney has his life turned upside down when he's involved in a hit and run and another man is arrested for his crime and charged with murder.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (Rating: PG) Viewing Time - Friday

The Legend of Hercules (Rating: 18) Viewing Time - Friday 11:00AM, 7:05PM Viewing Time - Saturday 11:00AM, 7:05PM Viewing Time - Sunday 11:00AM, 7:05PM Viewing Time - Monday

BUSINESS

31 NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com/business

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

WHAT'S NEWS GES scheme: FG, others fault OXFAM’s The Federal Government of Nigeria, its partners and stakeholders in agriculture, including some international development agencies, have faulted claims by OXFAM that the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme of the Federal Government is a failure.

}p-34

'Pensioners lost their manhood to electric shocks'

Months after the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was privatised, it has continued to be tales of woes for those who worked in the organisation for years before either hitting the age of retirement or forced to do so due to circumstances beyond their control.

}p-36

Tax default: Nicon officials detained Law enforcement officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have quizzed top officials of Nicon Insurance Limited and Nicon Luxury for failure to remit over N90 million outstanding tax liabilities to government.

}p-38

Ghana traders ask Nigeria, others to leave Nigerians and other foreign traders have been given quit order by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to stop operating retail trade in Ghana by the end of this month.

}p-38

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 WOLE SHADARE, Aviation Editor

ABDULWAHAB ISA, Finance Editor CHUKS ONUANYIN, Energy NNAMDI AMADI, Reporter JOHNSON ADEBAYO, Asst. Production Editor

}p-34 AYODELE AMINU, DEPUTY EDITOR, BUSINESS

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

Nigeria lags behind S’Africa in technology hubs BACKWARD Country rated lower than continental rival

Jonah Iboma

N

igeria is currently playing second fiddle to South Africa in the number of information technology innovation centres, New Telegraph has learnt.

The Lead Policy Specialist with the World Bank’s ICT sector department, Tim Kelly, said figures available from various sources showed that South Africa has 18 hubs, while Nigeria and Ghana have nine each. They are closely followed by Kenya, which has eight of such centres.

The list put together by Kelly and published on a special blog, shows that there are over 90 such facilities in the continent based on information from Kenya’s iHub Research, the World Bank and an African tech hub crowdsourcing website run by innovation space Bongohive.

Kelly added that more than half of African countries have at least one tech hub while South Africa is the first nation to hit double-digit figures.

He added that technology hubs were growing rapidly, noting that by the time the research is published, other hubs could have sprung up. The list, nevertheless, provides a rough picture of the continent’s burgeoning tech and startup scene.

“The list of hubs is growing on an almost weekly basis, and BongoHive maintains a current list based on a crowdsourcing model,” says Kelly in his blog post.

“But tech hubs also disappear, particularly those that are based on informal gatherings of developers, or hackerspaces.

A high failure rate is an inevitable consequence of innovation, and the testing of ideas,” added Kelly.

Nigeria and Kenya have witnessed a lot of innovation activ-

DELE ALAO, Brands/Marketing Editor CHRIS UGWU, Capital Market Editor

SESAME: NIGERIA AS SECOND LARGEST EXPORTER

ity in recent years, with many of them attracting investment from local and foreign groups.

Kelly noted that the “tech hubs vary a lot in their scale, objectives and business models” with some looking to be “fullyfledged ICT business incubators” while others have started their lives in universities.

He opined that many African

governments were looking to get more involved in tech hubs.

“Increasingly, governments are seeking to get directly involved in funding tech hubs, attracted in part by the jobs that can be created, particularly for young people, or the chance to create a new MPesa, Kenya’s mobile money service,” Kelly said.

“Botswana Innovation Hub is an example of a governmentdriven initiative, now transitioning to a more sustainable model, with assistance from the World Bank under a reimbursable advisory services contract aimed at promoting economic diversity and competitiveness in Botswana’s economy,” Kelly added.

L-R: Deputy Group Head, Programmes, Bincom ICT Solutions, Mr. Bade Adesemowo; Head of Strategy, Sterling Bank, Mr. Ighodalo Aimienwanu; Head of Social Media, Sterling Bank, Mr. Kelvin Steve-Igbodo; Head of Brand Management, Sterling Bank, Mr. Abiola Aloba, at the inauguration of “Social Lender” Scheme in Lagos… on Wednesday.

India-based Canara Bank expands network to Nigeria GOOD ROI Despite insecurity challenges, Nigeria still offers the best return on investments Bayo Akomolafe

I

ndia-based public sector lender, Canara Bank, has concluded plans to open branches in Nigeria.

The bank would be joining Rand Merchant, which entered the country two years ago when merchant banking was reintroduced.

Other foreign banks that have representative offices in the country are Commerzbank and Deutche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank have since spread their tentacles in the country.

Canara Bank is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka.

It was established in 1906, mak-

ing it one of the oldest banks in the country. As of February 2014, the bank had a network of 4,600 branches and over 5,500 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) spread across India.

Widely known for customer centricity, Canara Bank was founded in 1906 by Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, at Mangalore, then a small port in Karnataka. The bank was naCONTINUED ON PAGE 38

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE April 2014...............................7.9% March 2014............................7.8% Feburary 2014 ........................7.7%

LENDING RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parellel As at June 6)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N166.50 InterBank Rate . . . . . . . . . 10.50% Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N285 Prime Lending Rate. . . . . 16.93% Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N229 Maximum Lending Rate..25.83% • Foreign Reserves – $36.755bn as at 06/06/2014

EXCHANGE RATE

(Official As at June 6))

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N155.73 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N260.86 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N211.31 Source: CBN

32

B

business

efore October 16, 2010, when Governor Kayode Fayemi mounted the saddle in Ekiti State, agriculture was in a dismal state.

But with determination, good policies and strategic thinking, Fayemi was determined to turn the tide.

His mission was encapsulated thus: “Reviving cocoa plantations to make Ekiti again a world leader in cocoa production; agriculture to contribute 50 per cent of Internally Generated Revenue; 20,000 Ekiti youths trained and employed in mechanised agriculture by 2014. Make Ekiti again a world leader in cocoa production.”

In Agenda Three, the Fayemi-led administration is committed to the development of the state’s potential in agriculture. With increased regional integration, his administration sees agriculture as a sector with major revenue generating potential which sadly has not been tapped over the years.

Agriculture, to him, has the potential to significantly impact on unemployment among young people in Ekiti State by providing avenues for gainful employment.

To train those involved in agriculture, the administration set up Agricultural/Community Skill Training Centre. This involves the establishment of skill acquisition centres across the 16 local government areas of the state to train youths in various aspects of agriculture such as sericulture, poultry, fishery and production of arable crops.

Through the establishment of YCAD, about 250 youths interested in agriculture were employed. To boost the sector, government also set up cluster farming. Under this technique, 100 hectares of land are provided by each local government area to empower 20 farmers in each of the 16 local governments.

Also, the government has set machinery in motion for the establishment of six farm settlements across the state. Two farm settlements in each of the three senatorial districts, to accommodate at least 50 farmers in each centre, for agricultural production purposes.

The state government has approved the procurement of agro-chemicals to be made available to farmers at subsidised rates by government for improved cocoa production.

The development of irrigation sites at Ero, Egbe and Itapaji Dams is receiving immediate attention. Accordingly, 500 farmers would be assisted under this irrigation farming. There is also the establishment and regeneration of cocoa plantations in the cocoa producing areas of the state, while oil palm and cashew plantations are proposed for establishment throughout the state.

Efforts are in top gear for the establishment in demonstration of this administration’s commitment to the development of the sector.

Agric

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Ekiti: Setting the template for agric revolution

A beneficiary, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi (left); receiving a N1 million cheque on behalf of Ado-Ekiti Irede Cooperative Multipurpose Society, from Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, during the distribution of cheques and agricultural equipment to farmers in Ado-Ekiti

YCAD Cassava - Participant on his plantation at Gede/Ayede Tractors procured by the state government for mechanised Ekiti farming

Commercial Agric Credit Scheme (CACS) Loans are being disbursed to farmers through a commercial bank to boost food production in the state. Under the scheme, about 500 farmers are expected to benefit. There is also the payment of counterpart funds for NERICA Rice worth N17.6 million, National Programme on Food Security (NPFS) worth N40 million, FADAMA III project worth N60 million, Root and Tuber Expansion Programme worth N42 million already commenced.”

Some other achievements in revolutionising the agric sector in Ekiti under Fayemi’s administration are: Distribution of 143,781 bags of fertilizers to Ekiti farmers; proactive support to farmers through distribution of farm implements, hybrid seedlings, herbicides and pesticides; establishment of cattle grazing reserves in Irele Community in Ikole Local Government; distribution of agriculture equipment worth N57 million to rice farmers in the state; rehabilitation and construction of 829 kilometres of farm access roads; cultivation and supply of 500,000 cocoa

seedlings and 60,000 of oil palm seedlings to farmers at highly subsidized rates; free distribution of Gmelina/teak tree seedlings to farmers for planting.

Also, the government has procured 14 units of tractors, six units of boom sprayer, two units of maize planter, one unit of seed drill, smasher machine, 150 irrigation pumps, 60 new motorcycles distributed.

Through various interventions of the Fayemi administration in the sector, 20 women groups have been linked with credit agencies for empowerment; more than 360,000 cocoa seedlings, 109,560 seedlings of oil palms have been planted across the state while N600 million Ekiti senators’ constituency project in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme/ Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNDP/FAO) will make available 1,700 hectares of irrigated land.

Already, 177,000 farmers have been registered by the state government to benefit from the ADP programme.

In 2012, Ekiti State had both the largest production (yield/

Ha) and cultivation and had the largest expansion in cultivation in the country with an addition of over 1,150 Ha by YCAD programme alone while 750 Ha was cultivated under the rice expansion programme where government supported farmers with 100 per cent input for production in 2012. 3000 Ha targeted in 2013 was achieved.

The state government is making use of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) to create avenue for commercial farming to generate income and provide employment opportunities for its citizenry.

Just last week, the Ekiti State government disbursed cheques totalling N60 million as first tranche of loans to 48 cooperative societies belonging to the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) as well as various farm commodity associations.

The state governor, who handed out the cheques at the launch of the Farmers Loan Support Programme held in Ado-Ekiti, said that the intervention is in fulfilment of his promise to support cooperative farming in the state.

Fayemi said that the beneficiaries of the loans which also included the Poultry Association, Fisheries Association, Cocoa Growers Association, the Butchers and Ekiti State Farmers Congress were carefully selected on merit.

He said that farmers who still owe other previous but similar disbursements are excluded from the scheme so that this could serve as deterrent to erring farmers that hitherto had hindered others from benefiting from government support.

The governor said: “I make bold to say that my government is doing everything possible to give agriculture its pride of place. You will recall my promise to support cooperative farming in the state. I am glad to inform you that we have not reneged on our words and have been working to ensure fulfilment. Today, I can assure you that 48 AFAN cooperatives will be supported as well as individual beneficiaries drawn from various commodity associations including the Poultry Association, Fisheries Association, Cocoa Growers Association, the Butchers and Ekiti State Farmers Congress. I wish to state that a total of N60 million is being released in this first tranche.”

While hinting that the Agbeloba Agric Forum held in the state last year has proved productive, the governor said that the state’s partnership with the Bank of Agriculture has yielded a 50-50 contributory loan facility of N600 million for agricultural development.

In his remarks, the Chairman of AFAN in Ekiti State, Mr. Ademola Okeya, thanked the Fayemi government for the several aids given to resuscitate the agriculture sector in order to make the state the food basket of the South-West.

Okeya, who said that the Association of Farmers will vote for the re-election of the governor, assured that the association will put in place necessary measures for the prompt repayment of the loan.

The government has established the School of Commercial and Technical Agriculture aimed at further strengthening the intellectual and innovative abilities of upcoming and practicing commercial farmers. It has begun the construction of a broiler processing facility at Erifun in Ado-Ekiti, which is the first of its kind in the state. The facility will not only strengthen livestock value chain but also enhance the availability of hygienically prepared fresh chicken for the consumption of the citizenry.

BUSINESS | AGRIC 33

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Hard Sesame: Nigeria as Facts second largest exporter Siaka Momoh

B

ack in November 2002, Chemonics International Inc., in a report did for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that though sesame is extensively cultivated in Nigeria, it is given little attention and there are relatively a few companies involved in the trade.

According to the report, as a smallholder crop, often intercropped with others, the extent of cultivation is poorly known and there is little information on yields or productivity. It says for the most part, the surplus crop is commercialised, bulked up and exported with processing limited to drying and cleaning.

But about 12 years on, the story is different, according to our OLAM Nigeria Limited sources.

Sesame production in Nigeria probably began in the middle belt region of the country and later spread out between latitudes 6o and 10 degrees N. The seed is commonly grown by smallholder farmers. The major producing areas in order of priority are Nasarawa, Jigawa and Benue states. Other important areas of production are found in Yobe, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Gombe and Plateau States. Harvesting begins in late December and continues through July. Each producing area has only one season.

There are two types of sesame produced in Nigeria viz White/ raw (Food-grade) used in bakery industry - 98-100 per cent whitest grade seeds; Brown/ mixed (Primarily oil-grade).

The White (Food Grade) seed is grown around the towns of Keffi, Lafia/Makurdi, Doma, and in Nassarawa, Taraba, and Benue States. It is easier to sort and the Fulani/Denin people consume sesame locally.

The Brown/mixed grows in the North, in Kano State and in Jigawa State near Hadejia, and somewhat in the southern part of Katsina State. There is some local consumption of the brown grade, but not much.

The brown can be upgraded to Food Grade through bleaching.

According to OLAM, Nigeria is now the second largest exporter of sesame in the world and aims to be the largest by 2016; one metric tons of the seed exported from Nigeria benefits 19 people; one in every four households in Japan use cooking oil crushed from sesame produced in Nigeria; six households in Turkey use Tahina processed from sesame produced in Nigeria; 10 burgers in the Developed World use Sesame procured from Nigeria; Nigeria is the only African nation to export hulled premi-

Bags of sesame seed

um sesame to the US and EU; hulled sesame manufacturing facilities in Nigeria employs 1,500 people, increase value added exports from Nigeria, attracts continuous investment.

OLAM and sesame OLAM is one company in Nigeria that comes out clearly as a robust commercial farming outfit and commodity trader. Its sesame farming activity is impacting the livelihoods of over 20,000 farmers. The company’s programmes run with partnerships with state ADPs in Bauchi, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Benue, Yobe, Taraba and Kogi and partners with USAID too.

It has a special tie up with Uni Agric in Benue as technical partner for the programme.

OLAM has invested over N3.4 billion in state of art processing facilities. It has export revenues of over N15 billion and employs close to 1,000 people.

Facts about sesame • Preferential Trade Treaties - China and Ethiopia share a 10 per cent SPT (China is the largest importer of Sesame).

• Single cropping for farmer due to lack of irrigation facility and cheap electricity keeps him at disadvantage to other country peers.

• Lower than normal yields due to lack of access to cheap credit and inputs.

• Mother nature disadvantage on the crop quality compared to humera/gedaref.

• Very high processing costs, transport, lower outturns and labor cost.

• Suitcase buyers getting the same treatment as those im-

Nigeria is now the second largest exporter of Sesame in the World and aims to be the largest by 2016 pacting livelihoods Recommendations OLAM made the following recommendations: • Ensure exporters are registered and categorised by the government on various parameters like export revenues, employment generation, contribution to social infrastructure etc.

• Make significant investments in the country that drive employment and develop human capital.

• Non processed forms should attract an exports tax.

Export stimulation incentives The following export incentives, which investors in sesame seed can leverage on are available, according to Chemonics International Inc: In the area of exports, exporters enjoy a couple of government initiatives. The Federal Ministry of Finance, working with several parastatals, including the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and local commercial banks, the following export-oriented incentives: Manufacture – In- Bond Scheme The Manufacture-in-Bond

Scheme is designed to encourage manufacturers to import duty free raw material inputs and other intermediate products whether prohibited or not for the production of exportable goods, backed by a bond issued by any recognized commercial bank, merchant bank, insurance company or NEXIM. The Bond will be discharged after evidence of exportation and repatriation of foreign exchange has been produced.

Duty Drawback Scheme The Duty Drawback Scheme provides for refund of duties/ surcharges on raw materials including packing and packaging material used in the manufacture of products upon effective exportation of the final product.

Export Expansion Grant Scheme The Export Expansion Grant Scheme provides for cash inducement for exporters who have exported a minimum of N500,000 (five hundred thousand Naira) worth of processed products. Exporters of processed products initially received a 4 per cent rebate on repatriated proceeds, which, as of 2002, has been increased to 20 per cent. The scheme has in recent times be subjected to scathing criticism by stakeholders.

Due to the 6-8 month delay in payment, there is a secondary market for the Duty Credit Certificates. The Certificates are essentially cash, to be collected eventually from the Government. Usually the exporter CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

One-third of all food that is produced is thrown away without ever reaching peoples stomachs. And it’s not just the food itself that is wasted, but also precious land and water resources.

And food waste in landfills is one of the biggest contributors of gas emissions, according to the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP).

To reduce food waste-- totaling 1.3 billion tons by 50 percent by 2020, eaters and consumers can support the current campaigns that aim to increase awareness of the effects of food waste from seed to fork including; Love Food Hate Waste, DC Central Kitchen, Feeding the 5000, Food Recovery Network, and many more.

And eaters can reduce their own food-print by meal planning, storing food properly, using leftovers, buying ‘ugly’ fruits and vegetables, and encouraging restaurants to reduce their food waste.

Nearly one-third of all crop production is dedicated to feeding livestock or fueling cars, not feeding people.

At the same time, nearly one billion people go to bed hungry each night.

By 2020, 40 million hectares of land around the globe will be converted for biofuel crops.

FAO is now actively engaging with the private sector at all levels – from small farmers through global bodies – to develop shared vision and mutual commitments leading to sustainability. There remains a lot to do but open dialogue is the basis for future concrete actions.

Small and medium scale farmers are going to be an important part of Africa’s Agri-Food sector for long into the foreseeable future regardless of the policies of FAO, other developmental agencies or even African governments.

What will change for many, if not most farmers is the role they are playing. To grossly over simplify, many farmers are today both producers and retailers, selling surplus products through local markets.

Meeting household food needs and generating cash through local market sales will continue to be an important livelihood strategy for many farmers but this already has changed for a growing minority who now focus on producing specific products for well identified buyers.

More and more farmers are producing under contract and other contract-like but unwritten agreements.

As has happened everywhere else in the world, the African farmer of the future will increasingly become a supplier of raw material to the companies that will produce the food that goes to consumers.

While there will undoubtedly be disadvantages that will make it difficult for smaller and medium scale farmers to compete as suppliers to better integrated and more efficient food chains, there also are better ways for small farmers to organize and become reliable suppliers.

34

BUSINESS | AGRIC

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

GES scheme: FG, others fault OXFAM’s claims DENIAL FG, international agencies give GES pass mark; they claim OXFAM’s low score for the programme is wrong

Siaka Momoh

T

he Federal Government of Nigeria, its partners and stakeholders in agriculture, including some international development agencies, have faulted claims

by OXFAM that the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme of the Federal Government is a failure.

This reaction followed the recent claims by the Nigerian office of OXFAM that only about two per cent of Nigerian farmers had received inputs through the GES scheme.

The statement contradicts both the facts on ground and outcomes of evaluations conducted by some international civil society organisations such as FEPAR and ENABLE. Oxfam alleged in a recent press briefing that less than two per cent of Nigerian farmers had received inputs since the scheme began. This claim is at variance with figures of those implementing GES, who said that they had reached over 10 million farmers.

Dr. Kayode Oyeleye, the Media Adviser of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) says that the FMARD completely rejects the claims on OXFAM, C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

sells this certificate to importers through the banks at 10 per cent.

Export Development Fund Scheme The Export Development Fund (EDF) is a scheme developed by the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide financial assistance to private sector exporting companies to cover part of their initial expenses in respect of the following export promotion activities: • Participation in training courses, symposia, and seminars in all aspects of export promotion • Advertising and publicity campaigns abroad • Export market research • Product design and consul-

Sesame seed

stressing that 2 per cent of Nigerian farmers is less than 300,000 farmers.

“This is less than the number of farmers that received inputs through the GES in Kano (more than 400,000), Bauchi (over 500,000),” he explained, adding, “we are therefore at a loss with regards to how and where OXFAM got these redemption figures from.”

He further explained that, “We expect OXFAM to support us to continue to promote transparency in our fertilizer policy but their press release suggests that we should revert to the old corrupt fertilizer distribution system that we stopped.”

FMARD notes that GES is one of the most audited and documented programmes in the country and that data obtained from the national farmer database and e-wallet platform indicate that: 10.5 million farmers are registered for the GES scheme; in 2012, 1.65 million farmers received inputs under the scheme; in 2013, six million farmers received inputs under the scheme; loans totaling over N20 billion was accessed by seed companies and agrodealers in 2013; revenues accruable through GES to fertilizer and seed companies grew to N60 billion in 2013 with more jobs created as witnessed by the establishment of blending plants by companies such as MBS and production plants by companies such as Indorama.

The Agric Ministry argues that considering that Nigeria is estimated to have 14.5million households involved in Agricul-

ture; these figures suggest that the FGN, the 36 state governments and FCT have made a lot of progress in improving the lives of more than 60 per cent of Nigerian farmers.

Independent reports of audits conducted by international and civil society organizations such as FEPAR, ENABLE indicate that in some locations such as the FCT; as high as 94 per cent of participating farmers received their inputs through GES which has helped in increasing fertilizer access and stabilized prices.

Yemi Adeleye, a consultant to Department for International Development (DFID) on the

GES enumeration programme, remarked that the scheme recorded a significant coverage in terms of the number of farmers reached, successfully registered and who received subsidized fertilizer, especially in the Federal Capital Territory where he worked.

The GES programme, which began in May, 2012, was designed as a component of the Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government (ATA) to deliver subsidized farm inputs to small holder farms through the use of the private sector based on an authentic farmer database.

The technology partner of the scheme, Cellulant Nigeria, has said that it was disturbing that an international agency of OXFAM’s stature would make public statements without first of all doing a clear and thorough research on the subject of their public statement.

This is not consistent with the spirit, policy and practice of the international NGO charter on accountability to which OXFAM is a signatory. ‘’We did not meet with or receive any request for consultation from any researcher, staff, consultant engaged by OXFAM’’, Cellulant said, through Bolaji Akinboro, its Chief of Party.

Smallholder farmer on his farm

Nigeria is second largest exporter tancy • Participation in trade fairs, missions • Cost of collecting trade information and • Supporting the development of export oriented industries Also the Nigerian Export Promotion Council meets regularly with exporters to discuss, develop and improve new incentives.

The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) NEXIM was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria by Decree 38 of 1991 to replace the defunct Nigerian Export Credit Guarantee and Insurance Corporation with

the main objective of providing a commercially oriented and export-stimulating institution that is committed to bringing about export-led recovery as well as a culture of self-inspired and sustained exporting in Nigeria.

The bank was established to provide, among others: credit in local currency to support Nigerian exports; export credit guarantee and export credit insurance; domestic credit insurance when such a facility will help export; credit insurance in respect of external trade, transit trade and entrepot trade; and investment guarantees and investment insurance facilities.

NEXIM maintains a foreign exchange revolving fund for lending to exporters who need to import foreign inputs; raw materials and packaging materials to help export production and a trade information system to support export business.

NEXIM also buys and sells foreign exchange.

Currently, NEXIM is mainly involved in the production of financial and risk bearing services, market information export education and advisory services, to mention a few.

NEXIM has emerged as the predominant source of shortterm trade financing provided

to the export sector. The major financial facilities offered by NEXIM in support of non-oil export include: Rediscounting and Refinancing Facility (RRF) This helps banks to provide pre and post shipment finance in local currency to support non-oil exports. While the refinancing scheme provides a bank with credit of up to one year, the rediscounting scheme provides short-term pre-shipment credit up to 120 days and post-shipment credit up to 60 days. As at the time of this report, exporters were receiving a NEXIM rediscounting rate of 21 per cent (inclusive of bank charges, about 4 per cent) as compared to commercial bank rate of 35 per cent Foreign Input Facility (FIF) This provides manufacturers of export products foreign currency loans to import capital equipment, packaging and raw materials to produce finished products for export. The facility was intended to benefit small and medium sized enterprises whose assets do not exceed $6 million.

Stocking Facility This is provided in local currency and it enables manufac-

turers of exportable goods to procure adequate stocks of raw materials to keep their production at optimal levels.

NEXIM Risk Bearing Services include: • Export Credit Guarantee Facility • Export Credit Insurance Facility • Investment Guarantee and Investment Insurance Facilities • Interstate Road Transit Scheme to guarantee goods transiting Nigeria to other member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) In 2000, NEXIM was able to generate $15.90 million of foreign exchange from its Export Credit Rediscounting and Refinancing Facility (RRF), which represents an increase of 99.5 per cent over levels achieved in the previous year. The foreign exchange generated from RRF operations serves as a barometer of effectiveness of NEXIM’s export support activities. Besides these export incentives, the Federal Government still has a long way to go with bureaucratic procedures, particularly at the port and data/information management, which is unreliable and in most cases, nonexistent.

BUSINESS | AGRIC

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

IMPROVEMENT How research support for maize is improving farmers livelihood Siaka Momoh

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mproved maize germplasm developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and disseminated across Africa is improving livelihood, and the impact on the continent is greater than earlier imagined, according to the President of the International Corn Foundation, Dr Soon Kwon Kim. In a seminar organized by IITA West Africa Hub today entitled: “Promotion of IITA maize streak resistant (SR) varieties and Striga tolerant or resistant (STR) varieties to ten African countries with Korean Government Support,” Dr Kim reviewed the contribution of maize streak resistant varieties and Striga tolerant or resistant varieties across the continent.

Probably the most devastating disease that attacks maize in Africa, maize streak virus (MSV), leads to stunting, and farmers may lose 100 percent of the crop. Striga (a parasitic weed), on the other hand, attacks cereals and legumes and losses are in the neighborhood of $8bn, endangering the livelihoods of millions of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Kim who is currently also Chair-Professor, Handong Global University, Pohang, South Korea had worked at IITA at a time when MSV rav-

35

Impact of IITA’s maize germplasm in Africa higher aged maize farms in sub-Saharan Africa, and he was part of the team that developed the maize streak resistant varieties. The work earned IITA the first King Baudouin award.

The team also made remarkable breakthroughs in developing Striga tolerant / resistant maize varieties.

Dr Kim noted that after the development of those varieties, IITA with funds from the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, promoted them in Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo with the joint efforts of FAO-PASCON (Pan African Striga Control Network) and the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD) project.

But beyond these countries, several other African countries have benefited from this work.

For example, Dr Kim recalled that Kenya’s maize that was ravaged by streak virus two / three years ago, recovered after germplasm from IITA resistant to the disease was introduced.

He called on IITA to do a more in-depth study that would put into perspective the contribution of IITA improved maize varieties across the continent.

Dr Kim also shared some thoughts on the way forward for Africa’s agriculture, stress-

ing the need for sustainable intensification that would not abuse the natural resource endowment of the continent.

He lauded IITA’s research approach that integrates more than one trait in the breeding objective and also called on African governments to invest in IITA. “If we adopt and use IITA’s approach to breeding, we will solve Africa’s problems… My suggestion has always been

that IITA should be given the first consideration when it comes to funding in Africa,” he said.

Dr Sam Ajala commended Dr Kim for his work in helping the maize programme in Africa in particular and global maize research in general, stressing that most of the high yielding maize varieties grown in the continent were built on past efforts/foundation laid by Dr Kim. Though he left IITA 17 years

ago, Dr Kim has kept touch with IITA and the Nigeria’s Maize Association.

The President of the Maize Association of Nigeria, Pastor O.A. Adenola, praised Dr Kim’s efforts and passion for improved livelihoods of farmers. He said the support to research given to maize by the government was partly because of Dr Kim’s advocacy for more attention to maize especially in Nigeria.

A maize farm

Agric for business: The burden FIIRO must bear TRANSFORMATION The vital role research will play in the drive to make agriculture businessoriented and FIIRO’s mandate

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he central theme of the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) event held in the last quarter of 2013 was ‘Growing Agriculture as a Business to Diversify Nigeria’s Economy’. The summit was used as a platform to evaluate the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal Govern-

ment with the aim of ensuring that its potential translated into job creation, food security, social security and economic diversification. All the specific sectorial indicators that would crystallize the expected change were extensively considered with the following critical outcomes: Financing agribusiness to ensure a successful industry transformation Government has to put in place policies that will encourage access to funding from banks through cooperative societies. Practitioners in the industry need to develop costeffective agro-specific insurance products.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and CEO, FIIRO, Gloria Elemo, testing cassava bread

Advancing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for agriculture Government should implement projects that give incentives to operators to build networks in rural areas. There is need for government to also create an enabling environment for innovation, lower market-entry barriers and increase participation of Nigerian companies in ICT. Commodities Exchanges are considered an effective mechanism for achieving coordination and more efficient markets and as such the Abuja Commodity Exchange needs to be made more functional in addition to establishing electronic warehousing centers in the country.

Exploring opportunities provided by science, research and development The new developments around science, research and development offers an opportunity for collaboration on the effective utilisation of tropical wheat varieties. The government should put in place a proper channel for administering the Cassava Bread Fund in other to ensure that it gets to the intended beneficiaries. Public Private Partnership in R&D funding is imperative for a faster growth of the agro-allied industry in Nigeria. Government should further strengthen Intellectual Property Rights/Royalties

in order to incentivize investment in market driven research.

Implementing policies and incentives for developing the food and agribusiness industry in Nigeria Government should create visible infrastructure in agricultural communities to elicit interest in agribusiness. There is need for more venture-capital investment in agro-commodities. Government should also fast track the implementation of the staple crop processing zones.

Sustaining the Agricultural Transformation Agenda There is the need to create a demand-driven agricultural system that will give rise to a change in the current agribusiness labour composition. Encouraging investment in adaptive power alternatives. Expanding financing of agriculture to bring about new financing arrangement at low interest rates. There is need for price stabilisation, Crop Index Insurance, setting up of agro-meteorological stations and branding of agricultural products.

FIIRO’s burden The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) is expected to play a prominent role in fast-tracking the outcomes under science, research and

development. The institute is already on the right track given its prominence during the summit at which samples of bread and confectioneries made from HQCF were exhibited along with other R&D products. A good opportunity for collaboration is to partner with the Lake Chad Institute to evaluate the quality of the tropical wheat varieties developed by the institute and its adaptability for use as a substitute for imported wheat.

The current participation of FIIRO in the implementation of the Cassava Bread Fund set up by the federal government is also noteworthy. It gives the institute an opportunity to share its expertise of many years in the utilization of the fund to achieve the government’s projection of broadening the Cassava Value Chain to create jobs, increase the livelihood of cassava growers/processors and the application of science and technology for value addition and higher capacity utilisation.

The platform offered by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group for the institute to participate as co-chair on its Science and Technology Policy Commission could be well utilised to broaden FIIRO’s interaction/collaboration with the private sector particularly in ensuring that the gains from the 19th summit remain sustainable for many years to come.

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PATHETIC Most PHCN retirees now live from hand to mouth with some on routine drugs to stay alive Sunday Ojeme

Pension

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

‘Pensioners lost their manhood to electricity shocks’

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onths after the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was privatised, it has continued to be tales of woes for those who worked in the organisation for years before either hitting the age of retirement or forced to do so due to circumstances beyond their control.

With the electricity system effectively going out of the Federal Government’s control, the fate of the pensioners receiving their pension as at when due is gradually becoming as epileptic as the electricity dished out by the power companies.

In the last few months, pensioners from different states and units have embarked in one form of demonstration or another, agitating for the payment of their pension arrears. While the National Union of Pensioners (PHCN chapter) has not come out as a body to confront the Federal Government over the plight of their members, pockets of protests have, however, been carried out by some aggrieved members, who perceive some form of connivance between the leadership of the union and the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), an agency created to manage the pensioners’ welfare.

While everyone thought that the eventual sale of the organisation’s assets would provide enough fund to meet all the liabilities, feelers from the side of the pensioners show that it is either all is not well with the arrangement on ground as regards their welfare or someone or a group in a place of authority has decided to make life difficult for the retirees, some of whom are battling with life-threatening ailments that befell them in the course of performing their official duties.

Polarisation The non-chalant position of the union leaders formed part of the reasons that factionalised the union recently, leading to some members going into confrontation with the executive at the Lagos secretariat where they began an agitation for outright pay-off since their pension which amounts to nothing also delays in coming.

At the peak of the demonstration, spokesperson of the faction, Mr. Olu Ayeni, and his team, accused the executive of "conniving with the management of NELMCO led by Mr. Samuel Agbogun, to deny them due benefits because of what they derived from the Federal Government in the name of overseeing the welfare of the pensioners."

Ayeni said that there had been series of manipulation by those handling the benefits as some of the retirees who retired on the same grade level earned more than their counterparts.

In a recent encounter with New Telegraph, Ayeni said that demonstration, which almost turned riotous before men of the Nigeria Police Force were invited to caution the elderly men, had probably become the pensioners’ undoing as their stipends have been withheld for the past four months.

Although the situation affects all the pensioners, he believes that the fourmonth-old arrears coming within the same period of the demonstration could not have been a coincidence.

Protesting PHCN retiree. Inset: Ayeni

He laments that most of the pensioners with life threatening ailments who rely on routine drugs to survive have been left to their fate by those who were mandated to be in charge of their welfare.

Unfulfilled promises According to him, the Finance Minister, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the NELMCO managing director have placed PHCN staff pensioners in a state of morass and untold hardship.

He says: “It is absolutely disheartening that eight months after handover of PHCN to the investors, the issue of unpaid severance remain unresolved contrary to Federal Government’s repeated assurance that there would be no handover until resolution on the issue concerning payments were resolved. Here we are eight months after the handover, funds purported to have been released to relevant authority meant for the severance seem to have developed wings. Aside that, as we speak, to further compound the situation, PHCN staff pensioners pension has been automatically stopped four months just soon after we embarked on pay off campaign four months ago.

“Their action translates to the value they place on people’s life. Probably that is the price some of us have to pay for speaking out against injustice and inexpedient treatment even though we never envisaged nor bargained for untold hardship after the sales. Their action constitutes violation of our fundamental rights, convolution and contradicting responses is all we receive from NELMCO.” The embittered retiree, who has vowed to liberate his colleagues from the grip of those reaping from their pension, says all efforts made to reach the finance minister and the accountant-general of the federation to specifically explain the whereabouts of the funds purported to have been released for their welfare proved abortive. He describes it as a conspicuous criminal silence of those that should have done the needful.

He declares further that the case would have been different if funds meant for the payment of allowance for the lawmakers suddenly developed wings nor their salaries not paid for four months.

He says: “At the moment, I can’t figure out the number of those who have transited without getting what belongs to them due to frustration, starvation and a premeditated plan by a few in position who are well remunerated to improve the living standard of the elderly. But rather, they derive happiness inflicting pains on them. Levity and impunity now characterise official conduct of the untouchable and the relevant agencies.

Hazards “A few years ago, establishment like PHCN had 45 per cent of their workers conspicuously exposed to degree of hazards while diligently performing their routine job in their various departments, from linesmen to operators, faults men, cable jointers and other officers. Those who were assigned to operate deadly jobs known as Ring Main Unit (RMU) and gang insulators suffered vital accident as a result of indirectly being used as guinea pig as many suffered series of serious heavy explosion, many now having life-threatening electric shock from high and low tension 33, 11, and 28 KVA to be precise, leaving scores of the workers dead.

“For those that managed to survive through intensive support of competent medical personnel, many have been left

For those who had electric shock flown to their brain (some now partially deranged), many in this category are still in their forties

with their manhood no longer functioning, some partially paralysed, some with their hands amputated while others are either partially or completely blind as a result of constant and direct heavy explosion their eyes were exposed to.

“Virtually all the field workers had in the past suffered or got involved in serious accident as they had no choice most time than to work with no electricity apparatus, which left many incapacitated as their health condition systematically deteriorated. Many kept going on without knowing the consequences.”

He also laments that medical prognosis suggests that for many to stay alive a little longer, they may have to rely on routine drugs. This category of people, he says, fall between those on level 03-07, majority of whom rely on routine drugs that cost between N15,000 and N20,000 or even more.

According to him, “For those who had electric shock flown to their brain (some now partially deranged), many in this category are still in their forties. As we speak, they earn below N25,000 tentatively, which covers just one week routine drugs for many among them. In spite of this, a few, wicked, selfish and profit-seeking individuals who are insensitive to our plight decided to do otherwise with our money. With such huge health challenge, most of us were paid between N200,000 and N300,000 as gratuity for serving between 20 and 25 years. This is besides the issue of unfair gratuity.

“The second category of PHCN staff pensioners are those who were paid between N10 million and N60 million. The same category of pensioners earn between N150,000 and N300,000 and more as monthly pension even when they are already in a comfortable financial position.

“We don’t expect to find any of them among us agitating for pay-off of our peanut called pension because of our CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

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Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

INVESTMENT Wrong investment choices may lead to retirees experiencing difficulty despite large sum of money they received Sunday Ojeme

E

xcept your retirement lump sum is out of this world, an insurance and pension expert has advised that potential beneficiaries of lump sum paid under the new Pension Reform Act 2004 should imbibe the culture of well thought out investment planning and financial commitment.

In his book: “My Retirement My Paradise,” Mr. Nathaniel Ohanado, pointed out that the period of retirement should not be seen as a time to display one’s wealth by trying to impress people and proving to them that one had arrived.

Describing such a scenario as nothing short of pride that must be avoided, he made an allusion to a retiree who rather than invest his lump sum in business chose to purchase a vehicle with it, saying that as at today, the ‘car owner’ has little or nothing to show for what he received apart from driving the car all around.

According to him, “he drives the car around once in a while to let people know that he is alive when actually he is dead.

Expert frowns on living large on retirement lump sum If he had taken a good advice, by now he would have bought even a better car from the proceeds of his new business.”

He equally advised against putting the money into building a personal house in the village. He described this choice as another wrong decision to take as it has the capability of frustrating the entire life of the retiree since no income is likely to be generated from such an investment.

Ohanado maintained that even as important as paying school fees is, a retiree should endearvour to start up a small business to generate funds for his children’s school fees instead of pumping the lump sum into the payment of school fees.

In his words: “No matter how good it may seem, it is very wrong to use part of your retirement lump sum to pay school fees. If you still have children in school, you need to make some consultations to know how this can be done. Alternatively, you can do that from the proceeds from your new business.

“There are lots of businesses that will start yielding daily income the very month you start it and the profit can be used to pay school fees. For example,

when you start a business centre you are sure to start earning income even from the very first day.”

Among other factors, he also advised against getting involved in cash donations after retirement even if the individual was a philanthropist while still working. He said that while it was a good thing to give, it should, however, come from a profit and not from the lump sum.

Other things he advised against spending the lump sum on are, marrying new wife, unnecessary public relations, renting alternative but expensive accommodation for family residence, lending to friends, extravagance, gabling, new set of furniture, burial ceremonies, pumping money into other people’s business, trying to impress a spouse, taking chieftaincy title, repayment of existing loans, pilgrimage and attempting to reap where one had not sown.

In the 207-page book, the author also suggested ways an individual’s lump sum could be invested in order to enjoy a fulfilling retirement life.

He said that acquisition of new skill should be seen an essential part of the retiree’s life

Ohanado

to enable him get into a new line of business.

According to him, “acquisition of new skill is very essential for your new life and with new skills you can launch yourself into business. If for example you want to enter the pharmaceutical business, it is

normal for you to spend some months to learn the trade and be better equipped. Any money spent on such venture is welcome. Every business has a secret and you don’t lose out when you pay money to learn it. Small boys who spend money and years to serve as apprentice for a particular business always perform better than those who just come into the business with huge sums of money.”

He also advised on the need to acquire production equipment, renting a shop or office accommodation, registering a business, payment of salaries for initial staff, purchase of commercial vehicle, purchase of merchandise, working tools as well as motivational books.

NIPOST honours retirees

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igerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has honoured 14 of its retirees who served the organisation diligently.

A statement made available to New Telegraph said the ceremony which was held at NIPOST headquarters in Lagos saw the long service award recipients rewarded with various gifts items.

General Manager of Bulk Post, Dr. Michael Umo, said that the long service award was hosted to honour the staff for their loyalty, diligence, hard work and commitment.

He said: “This is a kind of phenomenon that indicates that you have a smooth relationship in the system while you are

there, inviting you is to confirm your sense of belonging and to show that you are cherished.

If you have not done what you are supposed to do when you are here, you will not be called here.”

While congratulating the award recipients, Umo enjoined other workers to take a cue from their success story from the old organisation.

The retirees honoured include, Lawal Oluwatosin, Irogbue Peter, Edu Oladapo, Abudu Bisi, Alaga Boro, Jamiu B. o.

Others are Nnadi Chris, Ndaliman Mohammed, Igbafen Victoria, Bola Mohammed, Awoyemi Adekunle, Ahmed R and Ogunmola Victor.

‘Pensioners not fairly treated' C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 6

L-R: Commercial Global Director, Nigeria and Ghana, Pfizer Global Pharmaceutical, Olayinka Subair; Prof. Olumuyiwa Odusanya of the Department of Community Health and Primary Healthcare, Lagos State University College of Medicine; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Oguntimehin Olu Kayode and Consultant, Renal Physician, Salford Royal Hospital and Clinical Director, Kayhector Consulting UK, Dr. Ibi Erekosima, during the Pfizer FirstContact Cardiovascular Disease risk management training in collaboration with Lagos State Primary Health care Board in Lagos.

Scots saving more for retirement –Widows

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he amount people are saving every month towards their retirement has more than doubled in the last seven years, according to a survey.

Scottish Widows found 55 per cent of people in Scotland are saving adequately in preparation for retiring.

It revealed Scots are now putting away £119 every month compared to £51 in 2007 - an increase of 133 per cent.

The amount people had in savings and investments rose from £25,369 per person in 2013 to £36,243 this year.

This was £2,565 more than

the UK average of £33,678.

However, experts said there were still people at risk of "slipping through the net" and "not preparing adequately for a comfortable later life".

The Scottish Widows Retirement Report examined long-term savings behaviour based on a study of more than 5,000 people.

Nationwide, it found that auto-enrolment - where workers are automatically signed up to a workplace pension scheme - was playing an important role in increasing the number of people preparing

adequately for retirement.

The number of people in Scotland who cited affordability as a reason why they did not plan to save any more over the next 12 months also continued to fall - from 65 per cent in 2013 to 61 per cent this year.

Ian Naismith, pension expert at Scottish Widows, said: "A decade of tracking retirement savings trends has shown us the impact that events such as the recession, auto-enrolment and the recent Budget announcements have had on Scotland's savings behaviour.

health challenge and financial difficulties irregular payment has placed us into. They seem not to have any life-threatening ailment that could be traced to injury sustained while they were in service. With such disparity in monthly pension, at the end of the day, it is certain they don’t have any reason to complain.”

He also argues that during an initial meeting with the union executive, the pensioners were made to understand that at the inception of this administration the union was proactive enough to make a formal presentation in a tabular form to government on how payment should be calculated to PHCN pensioners in case of any buyout.

He further laments: “Well, the buyout has come and gone and almost one year after, it is complexities that we experience. What is presented to us as privatisation is just a conspicuous sharing of public monopoly among profit seek-

ing individuals that have got connection up there.

Appeal to president “Parastatals such as Nigeria Postal Telecommunication, Nigerian Airways, and Nigerian Ports Authority, among others, were paid off and if any young worker from any of these organisations suffered the degree of accident as experienced by those from PHCN, I am quite sure they also would have been on the street doing the same thing we are doing.

“The point we are trying to clearly make is this pay-off for those in terrible health condition with life-threatening injuries and dying in their numbers, those within levels 03 and 07 who earn below N25,000. This would be seen as part of genuine effort by our president’s campaign to unequivocally bridge the gap between the poor and the affluent.

“We are calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to take a holistic look of our case.”

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BUSINESS | NEWS

ANTI-TRADE Anti-trade practices is flourishing in Ghana Bayo Akomolafe

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igerians and other foreign traders have been given quit order by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to stop operating retail trade in Ghana by the end of this month.

The other foreign nationals are from Mali, Niger, Burkina

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Currency depreciation: Ghana traders ask Nigeria, others to leave Faso, China, India and Vietnam, among others.

President of the association, Mr George Oforim, alleged that the continuous depreciation of the cedi was as a result of the influx of foreign traders in the markets.

He said that the association would flush out all foreigners in the markets if they refuse to leave the country within June 30, 2014.

Oforim explained that the influx of foreigner traders into the economy contradicted the

Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 478, which barred foreigners from engaging in the retail sector.

He stressed: “Foreign nationals from Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, China, India, Vietnam, among others, have invaded the sector reserved solely for Ghanaians.”

According to him, attempts to get foreigners out of the retail trade with legislation have proven futile.

However, the implementation of the GIPC Act 478, which is aimed at ensuring Ghanaians

are not pushed out of business by foreign nationals, has irked some Nigerians and other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nationals in the sub-region.

Recently, Nigeria, West Africa’s largest economy, threatened to severe diplomatic ties with Ghana.

But Ghana said that it was unaware of moves to severe diplomatic ties as officials maintained that Ghana had not violated the rights of foreign businesses by implementing the GIPC Act.

Tax default: Nicon Insurance, Nicon Luxury officials detained Abdulwahab Isa ABUJA

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki; Chief Client Officer, Mansard Insurance PLC, Tosin Runsewe; and Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, MTN Nigeria, Babatunde Osho, after the signing ceremony of MTN/Mansard collaboration on MTN Y’ello Life at MTN Offices, Ikoyi in Lagos…

CBN rated high in IT security compliance – British Institute Godson Ikoro

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has maintained the highest level in information Security Standard (ISO 27001) compliance since being certified in July 2013, the Surveillance Auditor of the British Standards Institute (BSI), Vikas Mulkutkar, has disclosed.

He said this during the closing ceremony of the ISO 27001 surveillance audit at the bank’s headquarters in Abuja last Tuesday.

A statement by the banking watchdog disclosed that Mulkutkar, who commended CBN staff for their work culture and commitment to the Information Security Management System, noted that the auditors checked all of the information security controls and found them to be in strict compliance and handled by very committed staff.

He further said that the 11 departments audited showed high knowledge of information systems security controls and had complied with the ISO 27001 standard, exhibiting minimal deviation. He, however, urged the management of the bank to consider upgrading from the ISO 27001: 2005 to the current version (ISO27001:2013) of the standard. He also asked the apex bank to engage other sys-

tem certifications like the Business Continuity Management (BCM) standard and Service Management Standard to ensure an all-round certification for the bank.

In his response, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, represented by the Deputy Governor (Operations), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, congratulated staff of the bank for maintaining the highest global information security standard from BSI. He attributed the feat to the high level of professionalism and commitment exhibited by the ISO Champions and entire staff of the bank.

According to him, the first surveillance audit, which was conducted in the bank between June 5 and 10, 2014, was to review the CBN Information Security Management System (ISMS) processes, procedures, documents and records.

Continuing, he said that sample departments were selected from the five Directorates of the bank, where departmental processes and business areas were checked for compliance with the standard, including improvements to the bank’s ISMS since the certification of CBN in July, 2013.

The governor, therefore, urged staff of the bank to work harder in order to achieve zero non-conformity standards.

Thereafter, the management of the Bank, according to the statement, presented awards to the ISO Champions in the various departments of the Bank and the Secretariat of Information Security Management System for the successes achieved at the end of the surveillance audit.

The CBN had in July, 2013 became the first regulatory body in Nigeria to obtain the ISO: 27001: 2005 Certificate from the British Standards Institute (BSI).

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

tionalised in 1969.

Canara also plans to open branches in Germany, Dubai, Brazil, Tanzania, Japan and Qatar in the current financial year.

Overseas business of the bank, which is at 5.72 per cent of the total business as at March 2014, is projected to increase to 10 per cent by the end of 2015 with the opening of the new branches.

Already, it has opened a new branch in New York, its seventh overseas branch after London, Leicester (UK), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bahrain and Johannesburg. In addition to the above, the bank has a representative office at Sharjah and a joint-venture bank in Moscow.

L

aw enforcement officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have quizzed top officials of Nicon Insurance Limited and Nicon Luxury for failure to remit over N90 million outstanding tax liabilities to government.

A statement by FIRS Head, Communications and Liason department, Wahab Gbadamosi, said that officials of both defaulting firms owned by business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, were being held for interrogation by officials of the FIRS Special Investigation and Enforcement Unit.

The investigation, FIRS said, was aimed at recovering arrears of taxes accruing to government from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Education Tax (EDT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and Value Added Tax (VAT).

Earlier, the Service, according to its statement, had served series of notices on the companies to pay their outstanding tax liabilities or be compelled

to do so.

However, the companies had admitted their outstanding tax liabilities when the enforcement team called at their offices.

FIRS said: “The enforcement is a warning to other organisations and individuals in the country on the need to comply with the tax laws.

“Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 provides that: “Any person who, being obliged to deduct any tax under this act or the laws listed in the First Schedule to this Act, but fails to deduct, or having deducted, fails to pay to the Service within 30 days from the date the amount was deducted or the time the duty to deduct arose, commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to pay the tax withheld or not remitted in addition to a penalty of 10 per cent of the tax withheld or not remitted per annum and interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria minimum re-discount rate and imprisonment for period of not more than three years.”

India-based Canara Bank expands network to Nigeria With the inauguration of New York branch, the bank now has presence in eight geographies - UK, USA, Hong Kong, China, Bahrain, South Africa, UAE and Russia.

At the end of 2013-14 financial year, Canara Bank had five overseas branches, which together contributed Rs 41,094 crore business, up 42.7 per cent from Rs 28,786 crore a year ago.

The bank has gone through the various phases of its growth trajectory over 100 years of its existence. Growth of Canara Bank was phenomenal, especially after nationalisation in

1969, attaining the status of a national level player in terms of geographical reach and clientele segments. Eighties was characterized by business diversification for the bank.

In June 2006, the bank completed a century of operation in the Indian banking industry.

The eventful journey of the bank has been characterized by several memorable milestones.

Today, Canara Bank occupies a premier position in the comity of Indian banks. With an unbroken record of profits since its inception, Canara Bank has several firsts to its credit.

CRIME

39

NEW TELEGRAPH

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JULIANA FRANCIS juliana.francis@newtelegraphonline.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

Rising insecurity: Security agents can’t do it alone Juliana Francis

A

s the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ mantra continues to resonates across the Nigerian federation, members of the civil society organizations in West Africa have teamed up to brainstorm on how to respond to the rising trend of violent conflicts and its attendant threats to regional security.

The training was developed to provide tools for monitoring and advocacy on governance of security for civil society groups and NGOs in West Africa.

The event was tagged: ‘A 5 day regional training on tools for monitoring and advocacy on security sector governance in West Africa.’

The event, which kicked off on May, 26, ended on 30. It was held at Ikeja, Lagos State.

The training was intended to increase participants knowledge on concepts, issues, strategies and good practices in Human Rights monitoring of security institutions, advocacy and reporting. It was also expected to enhance the depth of their knowledge in governance, security sector reform, conflict prevention and management and demilitarisation in West Africa.

It was sponsored by Altus Global Alliance and the CLEEN Foundation.

The five-day capacity building, according to Kemi Okenyodo, the Director of Altus/CLEEN Foundation, was designed for civil society activists to respond to the rising trend of violent conflicts.

Okenyodo said: “As part of efforts to increase civil society involvement, oversight and monitoring of security sector governance across the sub-region; this training is developed to provide tools for monitoring and advocacy on governance of security for civil society groups and NGOs in West Africa.”

Dr. Abdul Hussaini, the Country Director, Action Aid Nigeria and a facilitator at the event, urged the government to take civil society organizations seriously.

His words: “Civil society organisations have a role to play in the insecurity we’re experiencing today. If the country hopes to overcome the present security situation, the government will have to reform the security sector and the agencies that are responsible for security in the country must become accountable and democratic as well as provide space

Participants at the workshop

for the civil society organizations to function.”

Hussaini continues: “It’s a big opportunity lost for government not to recognize the civil society organisations would have a way of accessing alternative intelligence and issues the government can use to address the insecurity in the country. The idea of clustering everybody as opposition is unhealthy and meanwhile, opposition is legitimate. The civil society organizations cannot be ignored or clustered as opposition party and the government needs to listen to civil soci-

ety organisation especially if they want to tackle the insecurity we have found ourselves.”

Speaking on CSO and Security Governance, Hussaini said: “Security Sector Governance (SSG) refers to the structures, processes, values and attitudes that shape decisions about security and their implementation.

“Security Sector Reform (SSR) on the other hand, aims to enhance SSG through the effective and efficient delivery of security under conditions of democratic oversight and control. SSR

CRIME QUOTE As someone who has watched our country triumph over a civil war and several other crises and had the privilege of supervising our country’s return to democracy, I am troubled by the challenges that currently confront our country. However, I have no doubt in my mind that our country will overcome these transient challenges and take its rightful place in the league of prosperous nations. ­–Former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar

and SSG are important and critical steps towards a stable and secured environment necessary to promote human rights and security.

“A state may not be able to meets its security and human rights obligation to the citizenry unless its security forces can operate effectively and under democratic control. SSG ensures the development of democratic governance systems in, which people can influence, decisions that affect their lives. It creates or strengthens an efficient judiciary and promotes Rule of Law.” Hussaini further argued that SSR and SSG bring about stability and integration, adding that if SSR was efficiently implemented, it would go a long way in rebuilding trust and improving relationships between the State and its citizens and also between countries.

According to the speaker, CSOs were a good independent source for research and hub for information. He said that through research, CSOs would be able to give reliable information and coherent analysis that would improve policy and practice in SSG. CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

40 CRIME

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

West African teams up against violence

The 3rd Eye Security tips against terrorism Continued from last Friday

Mrs. Blessing Abiri Altus Regional Representative, addressing the participants CONTINUED FROM PAG E 3 9

He explained: “CSOs through recommendations from the research findings become involved in developing and conducting training on effective, transparent and democratic security sector governance. Provided that the design is such that can help bring about change, with clear goal, quantifiable and achievable at a speed with which the target groups, and society at large, can cope.”

Hussaini said that monitoring was also one of the important active and visible efforts that CSOs could undertake to ensure the security sector was democratically overseen.

“Effective oversight of CSOs on SSG depends on its ability to monitor state policies and programming in the security field.

Monitoring in this respect is a process of periodic data gathering relevant to security,” he said.

He continued: “The purpose of monitoring is to assess the conformity of state practice with a set of pre-established rules or guidelines in this case security and human rights.”

Speaking on Security Sector Reform in West Africa, Francis Langumba Keili Director, Research and Planning Office of National Security and Head of the Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone, said that SSR was the transformation of the security system which includes all the actors, their roles, responsibilities and actions, so that it was managed and operated in a manner that was more consistent with democratic norms, and sound principles of good governance and thus contribute to a well-functioning security framework.

Keili said that responsible and accountable security forces reduce the risk of conflict, provide security for citizens and create the right environment for sustainable development. “The overall objective of SSR is to contribute to a secure environment that is conducive to development,” he said.

“Nigeria had been under military rule for most of its history. Nigeria faces a long list of security challenges, including; the proliferation of political, criminal, religious, communal and religious conflict. There is also the problem of poor detection of early warning signals, poor conflict manage-

Participants receiving certificate of participation

ment, and lack of effective and accountable policing and limited parliamentary oversight of the security sector. Gaps in the provision of public security have led to the formation and consolidation of nonstate actors.”

Keili noted that SSR efforts require a sub-regional focus given the cross border nature of the security threats. A clear security policy which is transparent and participatory.

A clear policy framework within which the relationship between the security forces and the civil authorities can be both articulated and managed.

Keili further said that engaging in SSR requires long term commitment from external actors. He broke the commitment into three parts.

“Three are of particular concern. There is funding, sustainability of the reform, effective monitoring and local ownership of the reform and transformation process.

“The increasing application of the SSR concept by a range of international actors is evidence of growing awareness that SSR is an essential element in addressing a number of security and development goals.

Experience in SSR as part of post-conflict peace building effort, have demonstrated the importance of the context in shaping external intervention and optimizing opportunities for capacity building among local actors.

“SSR is part of a wider reform effort and must be linked to other elements of peace building and development processes.

It must be noted that the long term success of SSR in West Africa will depend on improvement in the overall governance environment within the sub region and improved coordination of all SSR activities, coupled with public confidence in the security sector.”

Keili also spoke on the State and Security Sector Governance in West Africa.

He maintained that over the last decade, the place of the security sector had come under intense, but legitimate scrutiny in West Africa.

According to him, during the period, national governments inter-governmental bodies and international actors had

taken onboard, the view that addressing the conflict within the sub-region required a security sector that had a more nuance understanding of security issues.

He argued that the inability of security organizations within the sub-region to provide a safe and secure environment for economic and political development arises to a large degree out of poor governance – both of the state in general and the security sector in particular.

His words: “Since the end of the cold war, the desirability of shifting from a state and elite focused view of security to one that places individuals at the center of the security equation has gained acceptance in many parts of the world. The concept of human security which combines elements of national security, economic development and basic human rights with the objective of protecting people from the fear of violence and want is particularly relevant to West Africa.”

He opined that achieving security for West African states and their populations was not a task that the military alone can accomplish by themselves.

Keili said: “Other state organizations that are mandated to ensure the safety of the state and the citizens, such as the Police, Gendamarie, civilian and military intelligence, border and coast guards, secret services, need to be part of the equation. In many West African States, Police services are only beginning to develop a culture of service to the public and an understanding of the concept of policing by the consent of the people.

“Efforts to reform police services in West Africa have led to the realisation that public safety and security is dependent on the effective and efficient functioning of the entire criminal justice system. It is therefore important to compliment effort to strengthen the democratic governance of the police service with parallel effort to transform the Judiciary and the correction institutions.

“The Judiciary has a major role in ensuring that the principles and norms of democratic governance of the security sector, as reflected in international and national legislations are adhered to”.

l Draw the attention of the Police or other security agencies to vehicles parked or abandoned by unknown persons. l Empty containers, gas cylinders, dustbins and other receptacles not in use must be properly disposed of or kept away from the reach of unauthorized persons. l Do not allow unknown persons to drop or abandon bags, boxes, fruit barrows or trolleys, articles of trade, cartons or any wrapped or sealed containers around your premises. l Legitimate sellers of chemicals such as fertilizer, ammonium products, acid, etc should be wary of persons they sell such products to. All suspicious orders should be immediately reported to the security agencies. l Always check your surroundings for suspicious, unexplained and dangerous object, and immediately inform the Police where any such object is found. l Never accept to take possession of or watch over any bag or object kept by unknown person or persons. l Be vigilant at public places as objects such as bombs can be kept by unscrupulous persons in unattended bags, packages, containers, cars, etc. l In the unforeseen circumstances of a bomb blast, stay away from the blast scene. Avoid the temptation of rushing to the scene (except you work with any of the Security or Emergency Management Agencies). Remember, terrorists often detonate secondary explosions in order to harm additional by-standers and on-lookers. l Always report suspicious persons or movements within your neighbourhood to the Police or other security agencies through available means of communication. l Terrorists are our common enemies, expose them! l Every Citizen has a role to play in the fight against terrorism. l Terrorists won’t succeed if someone reports suspicious activity-that someone is you!

Concluded

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FAMILY AFFAIRS FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014

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41

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PRINCESS ODUNAYOMI OKE

WOMAN EDITOR

odunayomitide2010@gmail.com 08082592471 (sms only)

Re: Let the fire loose

O

h my, my! As much as I tried to stifle this laughter, it keeps struggling from my within. This is, o ga ju (it is too much) indeed. The reason for my laughter? The men of course!

I thought we were in a very crucial period in our Nation, and that not many people would have time for matters of the heart again. I mean, with the Chibok school girls’ issue, which is like a boil on the nose, amongst other disturbing issues; but I was proved very wrong last week. It is really funny to see men who should be at Chibok, in the fore front of this National or is it universal warfare to dis-arm the terrorist army and bring back our girls, staging a ‘coup’ against their wives.

And just like it is written in the Bible, I now see that indeed in the last days, many would still be getting married, making babies, buying, selling and life will continue.

Maybe not exactly as usual though, but one thing is sure, some men would still remain as ready as ever; come rain, come shine.

Last week’s write-up elicited so many re-actions from the men in particular, that I feel it will be right to convey the message to the women. They complained they are not too pleased with ‘the meal’ they are being served at home, and gave that as the excuse

for their straying habits.

The first response I got was from a man who said ‘Princess, please tell them, anytime they fail to give us in full what we need at home, then they are indirectly pushing us out.’ He complained so much about how his wife would always feign headache or some other aches and pain, and use the children as an excuse anytime he made a move towards her after once in a week.

That he said had affected his mental alertness and maximum productivity at work on several occasions.

You see why I am still laughing? ‘That has affected his mental alertness.’ I mean, is it that bad? When souls are perishing out there? These men must really be interesting!

One man could not hide his worry in that area. He pulled his trousers a little bit up and said ‘see, just see, how can a man be this good; and the woman at home does not even appreciate it?’ He explained that he was that hairy from chest down to his legs, and he expected that to thrill his wife all the time. Instead, He said it was his teenage daughters who often combed and played with it.

Another man in his mid-fifties said, ‘when we get to this age, we tend to want

more from the women at home.’ I asked him why, and he said that was something he could not fully explain. But he said maybe it is because when men get to that age, they discover they cannot ‘do and undo’ like when they were younger again. So, they need their wives to help assure them they are still up to the task.

He went on to say, but unfortunately, they don’t often help the situation, as they like listen to their brain which could be telling them they are equally getting old for the show. In that case, he said lovemaking between older couples becomes just like a

One man could not hide his worry in that area. He pulled his trousers a little bit up and said ‘see, just see, how can a man be this good; and the woman at home does not even appreciate it?

ritual, and no more an exciting moment to look forward to.

A much younger man who spoke with me on the issue said, if his wife had been dry and un-interesting, but suddenly decides to pull up a show, as in last Friday’s story; then she must be ready to continue with what she has started. He said it annoys him when a woman gets an inspiration from ‘those their women stuff,’ practices it for a while, and later stops.

He argued that a man never wants to stop eating any good food he has tasted; hence he advised that wives should not just start what they might not be willing to continue. Otherwise, they will drive their husbands out, as a result of their inconsistency.

In all, my humble submission is that older family women should be encouraged by the fact that old wine tastes better.

Therefore, they should not feel old, and useless, rather; they should spice up their love lives. When a woman convinces herself that she is appealing, and still desirable, age becomes a secondary issue.

As for the men, maybe you should try to be more understanding with your wives.

Learn to lead them gently, as a donkey leads CONTINUED on PAGE 43

42 FamilY AFFAIRS | woman to woman

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

No, not with these finger nails!

Odunayomi oke

owadays, one hardly sees a fashionable babe who goes without wellmanicured fingernails.

Some go as far as matching the colours on their clothes with the ones on their nails. Like if they put on yellow and green outfit, they ensure their nails are painted in either, or both of the colours. It is therefore not new to see women (both young and old) wear black nail polish on a finger, blue on another, red on the other, and yet other colours on the other fingers. I mean it is considered a hot fashion statement among those who care for such.

Well, that is not really the issue here, because what is convenient for one, may not be so for another. Though modesty is good in all things, but how do we fix that, except that every woman should be fully persuaded in her mind about whatever she allows or dis-allows. But it becomes an issue when what one allows becomes a big concern to another.

N

If you must give your husband that treat, ensure your fingernails are clean, and most importantly; well-trimmed

L a s t week, we did a story on how to keep the flame of romance burning in matrimony, and one of the points given was that a woman should put food in her husband’s mouth once-a-while; using her fingers. That was received with mixed feelings, as some of the men I spoke with insisted the polished manicured fingernails put them off, rather than attract them.

Majority of them insisted they cannot allow their wives put those fingers into their mouths. A question then flashed through my mind, ‘who then are these women doing all that for?’ I mean, if it is not to look attractive to their spouses. That took me out to the women, and surprisingly, I got some contrary opinions from them.

Mrs Ajoke Labiran, a lecturer in a private university, argued that though she could not say she had really experimented with loud colours on her nails, because of the nature of her job, but she had tried it many times; for weekend parties. She said she observed that any time she wore those colours on her fixed nails, she felt completely dressed for any big event. But when her nails were left bare and undressed for an event, she felt incomplete.

When asked if that was all

that informs her doing her nails, she answered in the affirmative. Ajoke insisted it had nothing to do with her husband, or any other man for that matter. She said as a matter of fact, her husband never complemented her on the beauty of her polished or fixed nails. She then narrated to me a story of how she once got herself into trouble with him, over her fixed nails.

She left the false nails on her fingers for longer than necessary, because she was on study leave, away from home.

By the time she returned, and tried to remove the stuff, she discovered a reddish spot underneath one of her fingers.

That she said, later developed into an infection, and for two weeks, she could not carry out her domestic duties effectively. Her husband was not too pleased with her over that, and warned her never to wear false nails or keep long nails

again.

Queen, a nursing mother, also gave a story that corroborated what Mrs Labiran said.

She said her husband was the least person who would inspire her to dress her nails, as he always complained that it was an ‘over-do of fashion.’

So, she insisted she just liked it, and has embraced it as a fashion statement she could not do without. Funny enough she also said she had treated infection on her nails once or

twice before.

What now baffles me is why women, even a woman nursing a baby of barely two months old, should fix false nails.

Aside that it could harm the baby accidentally, it often looks like an ‘overdo of fashion’ (as Queen said her husband put it) to me. What with the smelly infection I learnt some women cover up with those false nails.

On that, I spoke with Stella, a manicurist; who said what some women call infection could actually be an inflammation of the skin underneath the finger. According to her, when that is noticed, the fingers should be left undressed, so it could be treated till a new skin comes up. That, she said many women don’t comply with, because they don’t want to be seen with chapped fingernails. So they still cover up the distressed area with false nails, which in most cases is what triggers up a kind of localised infection.

Issue now is, since the general believe is that every fashion statement a woman makes is to impress the men, and the men are saying they particularly don’t fancy that line of fashion, is it not wise

for women to apply wisdom in that area? I mean, you could dress your nail in a way that it will be both attractive, and sensual. Truth is, they don’t have to be kept long or polished, to make them appealing.

Quite many women have felt the thrills in being fed with the fingers by their husbands, but it’s a pity they are robbing their spouses of such fun. If you must give your husband that treat, ensure your fingernails are clean, and most importantly; well-trimmed. What if while you are putting a meal in his mouth with your fingers, a false nail accidentally falls into his mouth? That will be the end of that fun.

THINGS TO NOTE lTake your nails to the professionals if you must fix false nails. Don’t use super glue or any of those cheap stuffs on your nails. They leave your nail dry, chapped, and ugly looking. lDesist from forcefully removing them. That causes more damage than good. lYour nails are more sensual when they are kept clean and well-trimmed. lAvoid wearing the false nails for longer than necessary. lThe fingertip is a very sensitive part, but when you cover it up with artificial nails or keep your finger longer than necessary, it dulls out the sensual effect. l Putting food in your spouse’s mouth with naked fingers is a win-win style, as both of you will feel the sensation of the lip or the tongue; from your fingers down your spine.

odunayomitide2010@gmail.com 08082592471 (sms only)

FamilY AFFAIRS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

with

43

COUNSELLING Q & A PRINCESS ODUNAYOMI OKE

Dear Counsellor, When I told my husband in year 2010, that I was pregnant, he was furious. For close to six months of the pregnancy, he made me miserable, and said I was not careful enough. I am now 14 weeks pregnant now, but I don’t know how to tell my husband.

First and foremost, I congratulate you.

Though you did not tell us how many other children you have had before that last one, but what can anyone do about that now?

The deed had been done. If your husband was furious in 2010 that you were pregnant, then one would have expected that you guys would be more careful, so as not to have same mistake repeated. But who am I to query such, when we have had cases of babies who came out with IUD (intra uterine devise) carefully carried on their palms.

One of the reasons why a man would insist his wife should not get pregnant again; is if they already have enough children. Another is if the woman’s health is, or was at risk. So what is your own husband’s reason? Knowing that, then why did you go against it? Well, maybe you were equally shocked to see that ‘the seed refused to die in the ground.’ Whatever the case, there can

odunayomitide2010@gmail.com 08082592471 (sms only)

only be a way forward, because any way backward would amount to trying to undo what had been done.

Like they say, ‘what we say man should not hear, it is man that will sort it out.’ So brace up, and find a most convenient time to tell your husband now, before the secret leaks itself. You know that kind of secret can only be kept, but for a while. And I hope you are not planning anything funny? You better don’t, otherwise your husband will be justified to label you adulterous if he finds out you evacuated a pregnancy under his roof without his consent.

For as long as you are sure that was solely planted by him, let him know some of those things defy medical explanation, as some family planning cannot stop some babies from forming.

Meanwhile, I will advise you to stay strong, and allow the baby to develop well.

At least you owe the baby that. Then, you can get in touch with your doctor or family planning clinic as soon as the baby is delivered, so as to be placed on a surer contraceptive.

Another one is that you completely stay away from such farming. But will your husband say yes to that?

PHOTO: madamenoire.com

Nine reasons guys love giving oral sex Re: Let the fire loose

CONTINUED from Page 41

his young to the waters, knowing that we are differently wired. I mean a woman cannot be expected to be as spontaneous as a man. Reason? A woman thinks about many other things, aside that she menstruates, gets pregnant, nurses a baby, two or even three at a time, and still must take care of the home.

The beauty of it all is that, from research, a family woman or man who enjoys fulfilment in the area of sex enjoys good health, sound mind, and more interestingly, stays younger than his/her age mates. So, couples are encouraged to give their union the tonic it needs to keep the flame of romance burning.

10 FOREVER WINNING KEYS FOR HUSBANDS l Communicate well with your spouse in the day time. Just as romance, communication should not be restricted to the night season alone. Interestingly, a simple text message of ‘Just to tell you I love you, and I am thinking of you right at this moment,’ could make a woman leave her hand bag in the office, and rush home to wait for her husband. What water is to soil; is what words of endearment are to a woman. It makes a woman do the unthinkable, and damn the consequences. l Complement her look. Don’t be stingy with words of praise, let her know when she looks great, and don’t hesitate to tell her when you feel she is adding weight at the wrong places. But most importantly, ‘romance’ her with words, as that could keep her going for the whole day, or even more. Tell a 70 year old woman she looks girlish, and watch her blush. And from within, that goes to transform her look, and brings out the shine in her. l Assist with the children. Aside that children are joint responsibilities of both husband and wife; a man should take special interest in assisting with the children.

There is a saying that a woman not loved by a man, her children also cannot be loved by the man. So to convince a woman of your love for her, extend it to the children.

Don’t complain that your wife devotes all the time to the children, and then begin to get snappy at the children. l Stay with her in the kitchen once-awhile. Women like it when their husbands stay with them in the kitchen. If it is only to have a friendly chat, or assist in some little

things. Some men cannot even pick a cup from the table and drop it in the kitchen sink, not to talk of to wash same. But maybe it will interest you to know women feel it is great fun to have their husband pace the kitchen, having a good gist with them. l Watch her take a shower/dress for work in the morning. Don’t hurry out of the bathroom when she is having her bath. In short, stay there and watch as she washes, and later as she dresses. It could be a good way to start the spark. And who says there is a law against early morning fun between spouses. The beauty of it is that you go through the day feeling accomplished. l Show genuine concern to her needs.

A woman who complained of aches and pain in the day time, and you did not care about, must not be disturbed in the night.

But when a man shows real concern when his wife is not too well, he is sure to have her attention when it matters most. l Try not to sleep off immediately after being together. This is annoying to most women, because they said that makes them feel used. Also, some women complained that when their husbands feel they have ‘had it,’ is when they are just coming up. l Surprise her with a gift. A gift as little as a card, flower, perfume or lingerie; could drive a woman beyond her normal strength level. It will amaze you to know women feel love and gift cannot be separated, so when you give a woman a gift, she feels loved. But make sure you don’t show her you expect any gratification in return for the gift, just relax. A woman will definitely appreciate her husband for a gift given, the way she feels a man will prefer most. l Don’t be selfish at it, satisfy her. Men complain their wives are not great lovers, and other stuffs, forgetting that women by design are not as spontaneous as men.

So learn to carry them along, having it in mind that your pace cannot be same.

Don’t just be out to get your own satisfaction, at your own time alone, but listen to her and satisfy her when she feels horny; even when you don’t feel like it. Marital lovemaking should be give and take. l Complement her effort. Never make her feel old, encourage her; and that makes her want to do better next time. Simple comment like, ‘Oh that was beautiful, do you know you are getting better with age, or each time? (As the case may be) could bring out the girl in any woman.

I

t has come to my attention that there is a terrible rumor going around about men, that we're selfish in bed.

Hey, I'll admit, there's not a man I know who will decline oral sex from a woman he fancies. I mean, it's a blowjob! It's one of the all-time greatest discoveries, just ahead of Columbus finding America. Still, I take issue with this rumor. Because as much as men like to receive, we also love to give.

If it's not already obvious why, let me explain:

vIt extends the pleasure

The penetration part of sex generally only lasts a few minutes. I didn't make this up, there is actual research on this. So a fella's best hope for marathon sex or sex that lasts longer than a commercial break, is to dedicate a little a time to you alone.

v …And increases odds of a dual climax

our

vIt's a hell of a lot more fun than a foot rub

Believe it or not, we like making you feel good. So if you ask for a foot rub or a back massage, we'll give it to you.

But will a foot rub or back massage get you off ? Probably not! The truth is, guys love it when you orgasm, and with oral sex, the odds are in our favor.

vWe can focus on what matters

We know we have the tendency to ignore your clitoris during intercourse, and we definitely want to apologize about that, we know the C-spot is pretty crucial for orgasm. But man, that thing is tiny! It's like trying to hit a quarter-inch target while being distracted by the rest of your naked body. With oral sex, we have an unobstructed, distraction-free opportunity to make it up to you, and we're up to the task.

vIt Strengthens Our Connection

If there were a race toward orgasm, men would win every time. But it's not a race, sex is a team sport. And getting you revved up before the main event makes it a little more likely that we'll get to cross the finish line together.

Nothing is as intimate as oral sex, not even intercourse. And when you open yourself up to us like that, we feel insanely close to you, both physically and emotionally.

vThe feeling of your fingers in our hair

It's not like we expect reciprocation, we absolutely don't, but it's one of life's great truisms that the more one gives, the more one receives. So whether we get the favor returned immediately, another night, or never, we know that pleasing you is putting out good sex vibes. Plus, getting you all revved up means there's a pretty good chance something awesome is about to happen next. And who wouldn't be happy about that?

Culled from: Women’s health magazine

The sexy scalp massage we get when we're doing our thing is definitely a bonus. Our scalps are covered with nerve endings that rarely receive attention, and you're really the only person we want going to town up there. So don't be afraid to get in there, a little tugging isn't bad, either.

vWe get to slow down and appreciate your body

Every guy has his own pet spots on your body. They're the curves and angles that are fully sexualized in his mind, even though you've never given them much though. Maybe it's the sloping arch of your back, the smooth skin beneath your belly button, or the way your hip bone moves flirtatiously beneath your skin. From this vantage point, we really get to take it all in.

vOne Word: Underboob

Imagine you're in our position. Now look up. Not a bad view, right?

vBecause…Sexual Karma

Nothing is as intimate as oral sex, not even intercourse.

And when you open yourself up to us like that, we feel insanely close to you—both physically and emotionally

44

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/islam

E X HOR T A T I ON “If your Lord had so wished, He could

adeolaomoyusuf@yahoo.com 0803 438 0340 FRIDAY JUNE 13, 2014 l 14 Shaban 1435 AH

UNDERSTAND YOUR FAITH Inslamic perspective on Intercourse in dream QUESTION As-salamu ‘alaykum. Respected sir what is the teaching of Islam when someone gets a wet dream (having intercourse in dream and suddenly wake up). Also, if someone fears Allah and yet he does intercourse in dream! I am very much afraid. I am far away from these things in my life but yet do not know why it happened with me in dream. I even get a reminder of not doing it from my soul but yet I go for it. But in real life I do not go near to it but still don’t know why it happened with me in dream and why I didn’t listen to myself in dream and yet decided to go for it in dream because there was something stopping me in my dream that I had not to do it but I did it. And then after waking up I did feel that I had very weak willpower.

Am I liable to punishment after death for it? I don’t want to get any punishment from Allah and do not want to stand in front of Allah in sins.

ANSWER Wa ‘alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thank you for your question and interest to follow Islam’s teachings in all aspects of life.

Generally speaking, no one has control over wet dreams.

Therefore, you do simply need to perform ghusl to be eligible for the prayer.

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states, You don’t need to worry about these dreams as long as you did not deliberately harbor those thoughts while you were awake. This is the work of Satan, who is our sworn enemy. He is determined to lead us astray by using all kinds of methods even devious or stealthy.

Therefore, you need not to dwell on these dreams; rather you need to repel the whispering of Satan by seeking refuge in Allah.

I would urge you to get a copy of the excellent book, INVOCATION OF GOD by Ibn al-Qayyim; it discusses the devious ways of Satan and prescribes methods of repelling them. It also expounds on the benefits of dhikr and its effect in defeating Satan. So, get a copy of this excellent book; study it and practice its lessons.

You will never be disappointed.

Allah Almighty knows best.

have made mankind one people” (Qur’an 11:118)

‘Not everyone will become a Muslim, Christian’

16

days to the commencement of Ramadan, 1435.

Source: mycountdown.com

Is-haq Akintola, a Professor at the Lagos State University, is the Director, Muslim Rights Concerns (MURIC). He speaks on religion intolerance in Nigeria and many other sundry issues in this interview with New Telegraph. Excerpts

Boko Haram: OIC foreign ministers meet in Jeddah next week

What is the Islamic injunction on violence and killing in the name of God? Islam forbids the killing of innocent people for whatever reason. Life is sacred in Islam. The Glorious Qur’an says, “…Allah has made life sacred, therefore do not kill except by legal right …” (6:151) To further amplify the concept of the sacredness of life in Islam, the Glorious Qur’an compares the unjust killing of a single person to the killing of the whole of humanity. It says, “… If anyone slays a fellow human being except by legal right, it will be as if he has slain the whole of mankind; and if anyone saves the life of a single person, it will be as if he has saved all mankind …”

Furthermore, the Qur’an forbids aggression.

Muslims must not be the first to start an attack.

They are only permitted to repel attacks, “Fight those who fight you but do not transgress the limits because Allah does not love transgressors” (Qur’an 3:190-192).

The Qur’an also says “there is no compulsion in religion” (Qur’an 2:256). This means that people should not be forced to embrace any religion including Islam.

Reminding Muslims that not everyone will become a Muslim, that they should therefore tolerate people of other faiths and that they should not take extreme positions over their differences with others, Allah says: “If your Lord had so wished, He could have made mankind one people” (Qur’an 11:118).

The Qur’an urges admonition, not intimidation and it affirms that Muslims should leave those who reject the message; they should not attempt to punish them but instead they should leave them for Allah, “Give admonition, for you are one to admonish. You are not one to compel mankind. As for those who reject your admonition, (leave them alone) Allah will punish them severely” (not you, Qur’an 88: 21-24).

Religious tolerance is advocated either when non-Muslims attempt to draw Muslims to their religion or when Muslims face people of other religions in dialogue, “Say, Oh you unbelievers, I will not worship what you worship. You also will not worship what I worship. Neither will I worship what you worship. For you be your religion and for me mine” (Qur’an 109:1 – 6).

Prophet Muhammad warned against violence.

He said, “Beware of violence. You must be peaceful”. He also forbade Muslims from attacking people who are inside monasteries, churches and mosques.

What is the quality of teaching/preaching by Moslem clerics on peaceful co-existence and brotherliness and how do members understand the message?

The quality is high and it is repeated weekly but few Muslims have the opportunity of listening to it. This is because the teaching or preaching is done mainly on Fridays during the weekly Jumat service from about 1 – 2 pm. Unfortunately few Muslims are able to reach the mosque early enough to hear the sermon (khutbah) because they are in their workplaces.

Friday service in the mosque has two parts. The first part is the sermon and it lasts about 30 minutes. The second part is the salat or prayer per se.

This lasts only a few minutes, between five and seven minutes.

In reality, 90% of those who attend the Friday service arrive late. Most mosques are virtually empty at the beginning of the service because

he foreign ministers of TCouncil the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet in

Adeola Yusuf

Muslim workers are either still at work or they are on their way to the mosque.

This may be due to the distance between a Muslim’s place of work and the mosque or because permission is not given to him or her by the employer on time. Some Muslims are not even permitted at all to leave work for the mosque.

You see, Friday is not free like Sunday. Christian families go to church together on Sunday whereas Muslims do not have that luxury. Muslim families do not listen to the same sermon. The husband may be a civil servant in the ministry, the wife a teacher and the children are all in one school or the other.

They have to go to different mosques.

This has very serious implications for moral upbringing within the family. Christian families do not experience this inconvenience. This is part of the issue when the Muslims talk about marginalization. Who feels it knows it.

Colonialism brought oppression and marginalization of Muslims and until these issues are addressed, the headache will remain. I addressed this matter as early as 1993 in my book entitled The Friday Question but people thought I was one extremist from another planet. It is interesting that even some Muslims do not know the implications.

By denying the Muslims workfree Friday, Nigerians are cutting their noses to spite their faces.

How can Friday sermons on peaceful coexistence have any impact on Muslims if the same Muslims are unable to listen to the sermons simply because they are at work?

When the Muslims demanded workfree Friday, their detractors screamed blue murder. They said we wanted to Islamise Nigeria whereas they are the ones who have Christianised Nigeria and it has become institutionalized. But it has a price.

Everything has a price. If you deny people the opportunity to be educated, you will pay the price one day.

Does Islam encourage ‘forced marriage’ and human trafficking?

Islam forbids forced marriage and human trafficking. Any marriage conducted without meeting the four conditions stipulated by the Shari’ah is null and void and of no legal value. What are these four conditions?

1) Proposal and acceptance (i.e. the man must propose and the woman must accept or vice versa) 2) A dowry (mahr) must be given by the man and collected by the woman. The dowry may be in cash or kind as agreed between the two.

3) The parents must approve the marriage (parents from both sides).

4) There must be witnesses.

On the matter of human trafficking, this is alien to Islam. Qur’an 49:13 affirms that all mankind are equal. It says Allah created us so that we may help one another and not to be cruel to one another. It is the fear Allah that makes a difference.

Jeddah next week to address the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and other pressing issues in member states as well as problems faced by Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries.

This is the fifth time Saudi Arabia is hosting the foreign ministers’ conference.

So far foreign ministers of 25 member countries have confirmed their intentions to participate in the meeting. Iran will send its deputy foreign minister. Syria’s membership in the group has been suspended.

According to Director of OIC’s Information Department Maha Akeel, the core issue to be discussed at the meeting will be Palestine and Al-Quds since Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories have been increasing at “an alarming rate”.

She said “important decisions” are expected in this regard.

Speaking at a press conference in Jeddah on Tuesday, Akeel said there will be a special session on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) where Muslims have been “massively displaced and barbarically annihilated.”

An OIC mission visited displaced Muslims and refugees in the country and has prepared a report. The OIC’s independent Permanent Human Rights Commission will also present a report and recommendations to the meeting.

Muslims officially constitute 15 percent of the population in the Central African Republic. However, OIC estimates put the figure at 20 to 25 percent.

OIC envoys said Muslims in the country have been forced to move out to rural areas. Groups of Muslims were seen crossing forests to reach safety.

Many of them are living in camps that lack “water, food and healthcare.”

45

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Strike: Doctors threaten to shut down the nation MANAGER NMA gives FG ultimatum, tables grievances Obinna Odoh

Abuja

T

he Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Abuja yesterday gave the federal government a 14-days ultimatum to meet their welfare demands or face indefinite strike action from July 1.

Highlighting the 24 key issues to be addressed by the government NMA president, Dr. Laurence Kayode Obembe stated that it is quite pathetic the way and manner medical doctors are undermined and treated with contempt.

4m

Addressing a press conference in Abuja over the issues, Obembe said: “Surgeon General of the Federation must be appointed with immediate effect; hazard allowance must be at least N100,000 per month for medical doctors; Government should as a matter of urgency set up a health trust fund that will enhance the upgrading of all hospitals in Nigeria; the position of Chief Medical Director/Medical Director must continue to be occupied by a Medical Doctor as contained in the Act establishing the tertiary Hospitals. This position remains sacrosanct and untouchable.

“NMA henceforth shall not accept the continued violation of any of the terms of the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is exemplified

The number of internally displaced persons of Syrian Arab Republic by the end of 2012.

Source: Unhcr.org.uk

by the payment of Medical Physicists and Optometrists with OD (who are on CONHESS) call duty allowance using the CONMESS circular.

“Similarly, the phrase ‘Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ in the said agreement should replace “Federal Ministry of Health and other Federal Health Institutions” as contained in the 2009 CONMESS.” Responding to questions, Dr Obembe condemned a situation where Nigeria is still struggling to meet 30% in Universal Health Coverage when Geneva Summit targets 100% for all nations.

He maintained that their demands are not self-centered but submitted that if Doctor’s welfare is taken care of that

44%

The proportion of deaths due to diabetes in people under 60 years of age in Western Pacific region in 2013.

Source: Idp.com

will enable them perform their duties effectively and that will benefit the entire nation.

He however commiserated with the husband of Prof Dora Akunyili and added that Akunyili’s death was shocking and great loss to the entire nation.

He described the late Akunyili as a patriotic and hardworking Nigerian who portrayed the image of the nation in good light by the kind of exemplary selfless service she rendered.

He disclosed that if the initial medical report carried out in Nigeria was treated with seriousness, her death would have been avoided. A minute's silence was observed in honour of the late Prof Dora. The conference was attended by executives of NMA.

17.6%

The percentage of households with a computer in developing countries in 2007.

Source: Itu.int

Prison chief bewails crowded facilities Uwakwe Abugu

Awka

Superintendent of Abrachief Prisons (CSP) in Anamstate yesterday caused

a stir during the flag off of the state voter education project organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) at Awka, capital of the state when he raised the alarm over the continuous influx of detainees into prisons in the state.

The CSP, Emmanuel Akpan said it has gotten to the extent that all the facilities are filled up and that he would wish he does not work in the prison.

Akpan who represented the Controller of Prisons, Anambra state Command on the occasion, warned parents not to allow their children to get involved in the activities of political thugs which could land them in prison during the coming 2015 general elections.

Governor Willie Obiano, Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu, former governorship aspirant in the

Legal Aid Council, PRAWA tackle mental health Tunde Oyesina

ABUJA

S

L-R: Guest lecturer, Mrs. Funke Adekoya; wife of late Alao Aka-Bashorun, Mrs. Kudirat Aka-Bashorun; former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Guest Lecturer, Professor Itse Sagay; discussant, Chief Ayo Opadokun and Special Adviser, Political and Legislative Powers Bureau, Muslim Folami, during the 21st Anniversary of the Annulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections in Lagos…yesterday

Again, court dismisses suit challenging Wada's election

INEC issues 681, 131 voters' cards in Kogi

Tunde Oyesina

Muhammad Bashir

ABUJA

T

he Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday dismissed with substantial cost, a suit filed by a chieftain of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kogi State, Mohammed Jamiu Audu seeking to remove the governor of Kogi state, Idris Wada from office.

In dismissing the suit, the judge said the case was the most frivolous and abuse of court process he had ever heard.

Justice Abdul Kafarati however upheld the preliminary objection raised by Wada's counsel, Chris Uche,

SAN. The judge held that the plaintiff had no locus to institute the case since he had nothing to do with Wada's election.

Justice Kafarati further held that the subject matter of the suit was the election of Governor Wada and that a Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain such a case.

He also held that the plaintiff filed the case six months after the election was held and that made the suit a post-election matter which could only be entertained by the Kogi State Governorship Election Tribunal.

Lokoja

he Independent NaTmission tional Electoral Com(INEC), has

said 681,131 competitors in Kogi State collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), during the distribution exercise held between May 23 and May 25.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Olusegun Agbaje stated this to newsmen in Lokoja, adding that the figure represented 57 per cent of the total 1.2 million voter cards that

state, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, traditional ruler of Awka, Obi Gibson Nwosu, Ezeuzu Awka, among others lamented a pronounced voter party among the electorate in Anambra state.

Drawing attention of the audience to the influx of young men into prisons in the state and the state of dilemma into which the situation has left the authorities of the penal institutions, Akpan told the people that in Awka Prison, for instance, whereas it is built to accommodate 230 inmates, over 400 inmates are currently held there.

And he stated that some of the cases are related to election offences as he warned parents to hold down their children during elections.

Declaring the event open, Obiano, who was represented by his commissioner for special duties, Mr. Norbert Obi pointed out that it was unacceptable that out of the 1.7m voters in the state at the moment, only 300,000 to 400,000 voters are known to have come out to vote in the recent elections held in the state.

were issued for distribution during the exercise.

Agbaje also disclosed that additional 103, 143 eligible voters were registered across the 21 local government councils in the state during the continuous voter registration exercise conducted between May 28 and June 3.

According to him, the newly registered voters comprised 51, 778 females and 51, 365 males.

The INEC Commissioner stressed that all the figures obtained, were on record as at Wednesday, June 11, 2012.

takeholders in the criminal justice sector have expressed concern over what they called "nonexistent of pre-trial medical evaluation of accused persons" in the country.

This was revealed yesterday at a pre-Conference press briefing on Mental Health and Justice in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria in conjunction with Prisoners' Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), a non-governmental organisation.

Speaking at the preconference, the Chairman of the Governing Board of Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde

(SAN) said the focus of the council had been on enhancing free legal services among legal practitioners in the country.

He said: "Now we are focusing on mental health among accused persons in the criminal justice system."

Ayorinde identified three stages of the problem to include "the inability of the prosecutor to ascertain the mental status of suspects before and during their trial as well as after their conviction."

He decried the non-availability of pre-trial medical evaluation of suspects in the country.

"It is regrettable that there is no medical provision to ascertain the mental status of suspects after they are apprehended", he added.

FG begins N40bn road project in FCT Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

ederal Government yesFcommencement terday flagged off the of the

expansion and the rehabilitation of 65 kilometre Outer Southern Express way (OSEX) road project at the cost of N40 billion in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Vice President, Arch.

Namadi Sambo, who performed the ceremony in Abuja, said the event was

a testimony of the resolute commitment of the administration to launch the nation into greater height through massive investment of infrastructure to fasttrack development.

According to Sambo, the growth and development of any nation depends largely on the level of its infrastructu; as he noted that it was indeed one of the cardinal objectives of the present administration in line with the transformation agenda.

46 BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

12-Jun-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 FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

NA

NA

Description 9.20 29-JUN-2014 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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

29-Jun-07 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

9.20 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

45.00 100.00 535.00 470.27 452.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 600.00 110.00 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

AMCON FMBN

NA

Bid Price

Offer Price

0.05 0.30 0.86 2.18 2.87 3.12 3.22 3.96 5.05 5.36 7.63 9.75 14.46 14.94 15.44 16.11

7.68 11.04 10.91 11.49 11.62 11.58 11.59 11.63 11.77 11.76 12.25 12.28 12.75 12.80 12.86 12.99

4.60 10.52 10.27 11.41 11.57 11.46 11.47 11.53 11.69 11.67 12.20 12.23 12.71 12.76 12.80 12.93

100.06 99.43 94.44 102.90 108.25 95.54 94.10 97.10 115.75 81.43 120.10 110.70 114.68 97.92 71.04 80.00

100.21 99.58 94.94 103.05 108.40 95.84 94.40 97.40 116.05 81.73 120.40 111.00 114.98 98.22 71.34 80.30

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

29-Jun-14 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

4,334.84

Issuer

Agency Bonds

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

***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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue 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 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.39 0.95 1.43 2.49 2.86 3.07

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.30 13.51 13.33 13.45 12.54 12.58

95.85 88.34 105.28 97.88 96.27 93.73

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

0.15 0.34 1.22 0.82 1.12 1.12 2.85 1.68 3.55 2.52 4.31 2.72 3.03 3.11 3.18 5.45 3.39 3.85 6.46 6.55 3.86 3.89

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

10.26 13.29 15.40 14.16 15.38 14.40 17.13 12.18 13.40 13.25 12.65 12.50 16.35 12.58 12.58 12.78 14.34 12.62 12.97 13.93 13.06 13.58

100.48 100.14 96.83 99.65 98.59 101.42 84.39 102.61 101.64 101.74 104.33 104.37 94.78 104.76 107.47 106.59 101.05 106.18 102.26 104.49 115.05 114.72

07-Oct-14 18-Dec-14 31-Dec-14 17-Aug-15 09-Dec-15 06-Jan-16 29-Sep-16 25-Oct-16 30-Sep-17 30-Nov-17 09-Apr-18 09-Sep-18 09-Sep-18 22-Sep-18 18-Oct-18 17-Feb-19 01-Apr-19 14-Nov-20

0.32 0.52 0.55 0.70 1.01 0.86 2.30 2.37 3.30 2.12 2.08 2.24 2.24 4.28 2.35 2.43 3.55 6.43

1.00 5.21 8.71 4.88 1.00 2.63 1.00 1.34 1.00 1.88 3.48 5.20 5.06 1.35 2.29 6.11 2.16 2.76

10.85 16.26 19.75 15.86 11.87 13.55 12.40 12.76 12.59 13.23 14.82 16.58 16.44 13.00 13.70 17.54 13.77 14.72

100.13 98.68 98.60 96.15 100.15 100.67 101.12 102.93 101.03 109.28 102.32 102.91 101.96 103.15 104.18 99.25 106.11 102.11

11-Feb-18

3.67

1.00

12.61

93.05

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,304.32

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

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

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 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00 80.00 30.00 11.40 87.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

572.90

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; AA/GCR Aa/Agusto Nil Bbb-/Agusto A-/Agusto BB+/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto A/GCR 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

LAFARGE WAPCO GTB µ NGC *UPDC *FLOURMILLS *CHELLARAMS NAHCO FSDH UBA *C & I LEASING *DANA# *TOWER # *TOWER # UBA *LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS# *DANA NAHCO

11.50 LAFARGE WAPCO 7-OCT 2014 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

07-Oct-11 18-Dec-09 01-Apr-10 17-Aug-10 09-Dec-10 06-Jan-11 29-Sep-11 25-Oct-13 30-Sep-10 30-Nov-12 09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 09-Sep-11 22-Sep-11 18-Oct-13 17-Feb-12 01-Apr-14 14-Nov-13

11.50 13.50 17.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 13.00 14.25 13.00 18.00 16.00 18.00 16.00 14.00 15.75 17.00 16.00 15.25

11.80 13.17 2.00 15.00 37.50 1.50 15.00 5.53 20.00 0.94 8.01 3.63 1.00 35.00 3.00 0.54 4.50 2.05

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

180.17

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

12.00

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue Value ($'mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%) Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

4.92

4.78

110.20

111.03

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

18-Dec-09

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.18

3.96

103.48

104.34

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

01-Apr-10

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.31

5.19

107.60

108.49

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

Corporate Eurobonds B-/S&P; B/Fitch B+/S&P; B+/Fitch B+/S&P B/S&P; B/Fitch B/Fitch B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P 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

3.82

3.08

111.96

113.22

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

5.14

4.34

104.26

105.76

GTBANK PLC ACCESS BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC AFREN PLC ZENITH BANK PLC FIRST BANK PLC AFREN PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 10.25 APR 08, 2019 6.25 APR 22, 2019 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 6.63 DEC 09, 2020

08-Nov-13 25-Jul-12 09-May-13 08-Apr-12 22-Apr-14 07-Aug-13 09-Dec-13

6.00 7.25 6.88 10.25 6.25 8.25 6.63

400.00 350.00 300.00 300.00 500.00 300.00 360.00

08-Nov-18 25-Jul-17 02-May-18 08-Apr-19 22-Apr-19 07-Aug-20 09-Dec-20

6.21 7.25 8.55 5.04 6.44 7.04 5.95

5.95 6.82 8.11 4.32 6.23 6.63 5.64

99.19 99.99 94.54 113.58 99.23 104.26 102.60

100.18 101.17 95.94 114.94 100.06 105.77 103.87

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE **Treasury Bills DTM 7 14 21 28 35 42 49

Maturity 19-Jun-14 26-Jun-14 3-Jul-14 10-Jul-14 17-Jul-14 24-Jul-14 31-Jul-14

3,460.00 Bid Discount (%) 8.90 9.95 10.00 8.00 10.10 10.20 10.10

Offer Discount (%) 8.65 9.70 9.75 7.75 9.85 9.95 9.85

Bid Yield (%) 8.92 9.99 10.06 8.05 10.20 10.32 10.24

Money Market

FIXINGS NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 10.7417 11.7702 13.1118 14.0587

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

10.58

O/N Tenor Call

10.79

REPO

Rate (%) 10.50

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M

163.66 163.40 163.66 164.28 165.42

163.76 163.66 164.00 164.94 166.60

10.00 23-JUL-2030

23-Jul-10

10.00

591.57

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Agency Bonds

AMCON FMBN

NA

***LCRM

Sanctity of Truth

23-Jul-30

16.11

12.99

12.93

80.00

80.30

4,334.84

Friday, June 13, 2014 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Issue 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 6.00 112.22 116.70 66.49

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.39 0.95 1.43 2.49 2.86 3.07

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00

11.30 13.51 13.33 13.45 12.54 12.58

95.85 88.34 105.28 97.88 96.27 93.73

BUSINESS | FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Investors lose N137bn Sub-National Bonds

A/Agusto KWARA A-/GCR NIGER A+/Agusto KADUNA A/Agusto *EBONYI Nil *BENUE A+/Agusto *IMO A+/Agusto; A+/GCR LAGOS A-/Agusto *BAYELSA A/Agusto EDO A+/Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA A-/Agusto; A-/GCR NIGER A/Agusto; A-/GCR† *EKITI A-/Agusto *NIGER A/Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO A/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS A/Agusto; A-/GCR *OSUN A/Agusto *OSUN he Nigerian stock marAa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR LAGOS ketBBB+/DataPro degenerated from A-/Agusto; KOGI A/Agusto *EKITI as the sell offs yesterday A-/GCRbears overshadowed *NASARAWAthe

PLUMMET

The stock market nose-dives as market speculators take profits

Stories by Chris Ugwu

T

TOTALleading OUTSTANDING VALUE bulls to share decline in most blue chip companies.

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; LAFARGE WAPCO TheAA/GCR key market perforAa/Agusto measures, the GTB NSE All mance µ Nil NGC Share Index and market capiBbb-/Agusto *UPDC talisation, dropped by one per A-/Agusto *FLOURMILLS BB+/GCRas market *CHELLARAMS cent sentiments A+/Agusto;red A-/GCR NAHCO turned on the back of losses A-/Agusto FSDH recorded by Nigerian BrewerA/GCR UBA ies Plc and Dangote*CCement Plc. BBB-/GCR & I LEASING The bullsBB+/GCR had regained marBBB+/DataPro†; *DANA# # A-/DataPro†; BB-/GCR the *TOWER ket dominance previous AAA/DataPro†; A+/GCR *TOWER # posiday following investment A/Agusto; A/GCR UBA tion taken by bargain hunters Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA # on Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc and BBB-/DataPro†; BB+/GCR *CHELLARAMS BBB/GCR Dangote Cement Plc. *DANA A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO Market operators had preTOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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 dicted that the bullish trend 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 that 10.00 was LAGOSrecorded 19-APR-2017 in the past 13.75weeks BAYELSAwould 30-JUN-2017 few trigger profit 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 taking and impact negatively on 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 the stock market when specula14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50slow EKITI 09-DEC-2018 tors down to pick profits.

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 Specifically, the NSE All15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 Share Index depreciated by 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 413.9 basis22-NOV-2019 points or one per 14.50 LAGOS 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 cent to close at 41,228.65 as 14.75 OSUN II 30-SEP-2020 against 41,642.55 recorded the 13.50 LAGOS IV 27-NOV-2020 previous day.

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 The market capitalisation NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 of15.00 equities equally nose-dived

by N137 billion or one per cent to close at N13.613 trillion from 11.50 LAFARGE WAPCOrecorded 7-OCT 2014 N13.750 trillion the 13.50 GUARANTY TRUST 18-DEC-2014 previous day.

17.00 NGC 31-DEC-2014 At the close of trading, 31 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 stocks appreciated in price as 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 against 23 others that depreci13.00 in NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 ated value.

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 Conoil Nigeria Plc ad13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 vanced

by N6.13 to close at 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 N65.98 to lead the MPR+7.00per DANA share 9-APR-2018 MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 gainers’ table.

Similarly, PZ MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 Cussons added N1.56 to close at 14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018 N38.50.

Guinness Nigeria Plc 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 followed with a gain of N1.00 MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 DANA to16.00 close atII 1-APR-2019 N180.00 per share.

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 Reversing yesterday’s gains,

05-Aug-09 14.00 15-Oct-09 14.00 31-Aug-10 12.50 30-Sep-10 13.00 30-Jun-11 14.00 shares of Nigerian Brewer30-Jun-09 15.50 ies Plc depreciated

by N8.89 19-Apr-10 10.00 30-Jun-10 to close at N170.11 13.75 per share.

30-Dec-10 14.00 Dangote Cement followed with 30-Sep-11 14.00 N5.75 to close at N224.25 per 04-Oct-11 14.00 09-Dec-11 14.50 share.

Flour Mills Nigeria Plc 12-Dec-13 by N1.00 14.00 depreciated to close at 14-Feb-12 15.50 N77.00 per share. 15.50 02-Oct-12 Meanwhile, a turnover of 22-Nov-12 14.50 14.75 worth 340.512-Dec-12 million shares 30-Sep-13 14.75 N3.727-Nov-13 billion in 5,33913.50 deals was recorded in the day’s trading.

31-Dec-13 15.00 31-Dec-13 14.50 Just as in the previous day, 06-Jan-14 15.00 of the the banking sub-sector

financial services sector was the most active during (mea07-Oct-11 sured by turnover11.50 volume); 13.50 with18-Dec-09 122.5 million shares 01-Apr-10 17.00 worth N1.2 billion exchanged 17-Aug-10 10.00 by investors in 1,47312.00 deals.

09-Dec-10 06-Jan-11 in the banking 14.00 Volume sub29-Sep-11 sector was largely13.00 driven by 25-Oct-13 14.25 activity in the shares of UBA 30-Sep-10 13.00 Plc and GTB Plc. 30-Nov-12 18.00 Also, insurance 16.00 sub-sector 09-Apr-11 09-Sep-11 18.00 of the financial services sec09-Sep-11 16.00 tor, boosted by activity in the 22-Sep-11 14.00 shares of Wapic 15.75 Insurance 18-Oct-13 Plc, 17-Feb-12 followed with a17.00 turnover 01-Apr-14 16.00 of 95.3 million shares valued at 14-Nov-13 N70.3 billion in 307 15.25 deals.

Emerging Market Growth Slowing Down – IMF

17.00 05-Aug-14 0.15 6.00 15-Oct-14 0.34 8.50 31-Aug-15 1.22 16.50 30-Sep-15 0.82 13.00 30-Jun-16 1.12 18.50 30-Jun-16 1.12 he International Monetary 57.00 19-Apr-17 2.85 50.00 30-Jun-17 1.68 Fund said growth in most 25.00 31-Dec-17 3.55 emerging markets (Ems) has 50.00 30-Sep-18 2.52 been slowing down since 20109.00 04-Oct-18 4.31 20.00 2.72 11 according09-Dec-18 to its staff discus12.00 12-Dec-18 3.03 sion note titled: ‘’Emerging 27.00 14-Feb-19 3.11 Markets in Transition: Growth 20.00 02-Oct-19 3.18 Prospects and Challenges’’.

80.00 22-Nov-19 5.45 30.00The report 12-Dec-19 3.39 said after suffer11.40 30-Sep-20 3.85 ing important setbacks during 87.00 27-Nov-20 6.46 the 1980s and 1990s, starting 5.00 31-Dec-20 6.55 5.00 31-Dec-20 with the Latin American3.86 debt 5.00 crises of the06-Jan-21 early 1980s and3.89 con-

T

572.90 tinuing with the Asian crisis of

late 1990s, EMs enjoyed strong 11.80 07-Oct-14 in the 2000s.

0.32 and robust growth 13.17 18-Dec-14 0.52 The global lender said since 2.00 31-Dec-14 0.55 EMs recovery from the global 15.00 17-Aug-15 0.70 financial crisis peaked in 201037.50 09-Dec-15 1.01 1.50 06-Jan-16 0.86 11, their growth has been decel15.00 29-Sep-16 erating across since then.2.30 5.53 25-Oct-16 2.37 IMF said emerging market 20.00 30-Sep-17 3.30 growth increased by an aver0.94 30-Nov-17 2.12 age of 4¾ percent 2000 8.01 09-Apr-18between2.08 3.63 09-Sep-18 2.24 and 2012, about 1 percentage 1.00 09-Sep-18 2.24 point higher than the average 35.00 22-Sep-18 4.28 observed during the previous 3.00 18-Oct-18 2.35 two decades.17-Feb-19 0.54 2.43 4.50It said the 01-Apr-19 3.55 strong growth 2.05 14-Nov-20 6.43 performance was fairly broad-

180.17

Portland Paints returns to profitability Supranational Bond

AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

S

Issuer of Portland Paints and Products NiFGN Eurobonds geria PLC (PPPNP) have BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P the company’s lauded BB-/Fitch; turnaround from loss position FGN BB-/S&P to profitability.

BB-/Fitch; The shareholders, who exBB-/S&P tolled the company’s financial TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE performance for the year ended Corporate Eurobonds December 31, 2013, which saw B-/S&P; B/Fitch PLC I net earnings up by AFREN 148 per cent GTBANK PLC I and a return to full profitability B+/S&P; B+/Fitch GTBANK PLC by the company, were optimistic B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC that if the tempo is maintained B/S&P; B/Fitch FIDELITY BANK PLC there for the B/Fitch would be dividend AFREN PLC B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P current financial year.

ZENITH BANK PLC B/S&P; B-/Fitch B+/S&P; B+/Fitch

11-Feb-18

3.67

12.00

Rating/Agency hareholders

FIRST BANK PLC AFREN PLC

Description The company recorded a profit before tax growth of 148 per cent in 2013 from a loss of 6.75 JAN 28, 2021 N222.7 million in 2012 as profit after tax rose to N107.5 million 5.13 JUL 12, 2018 in 2013.

6.38 profit JUL 12, 2023 Operational grew from a loss position of N130.8 million in 2012 to N224.4 million in 2013, while earning per share also 01, 2016 grew from 11.50 lossFEB position of 56 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 kobo to 27 kobo, accounting for 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 a growth of 7.25 148JUL per25,cent.

2017 Speaking atMAY the 6.88 09,company’s 2018 Annual General Meeting 10.25 APR 08, 2019 (AGM) 6.25 APR, 22, 2019 in Lagos yesterday Chairman of 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 6.63 DEC 09, 2020

Issue Date (%)Ettah Issue Value ($'mm) Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) the Company , Mr.Coupon Larry business. attributed the turnaround in the “The company will continue fortune of the business to suc- to implement its strategies for 07-Oct-11 6.75 28-Jan-21of its service 4.92 cessful implementation of in- 500.00 the enhancement novation and proactive policies. delivery through the restructur18-Dec-09 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.18 “The Nigerian economy ing of its operations and, in par6.38 500.00 12-Jul-23to the market 5.31 faced01-Apr-10 enormous socio-economic ticular, the route challenges in 2013; however, as 1,500.00 and focus on areas of its core shown in this report, your com- competencies, enforcement of pany was able to successfully procedures and processes in 01-Feb-11 11.50 01-Feb-16 weather the storm and post an 450.00 tandem with the group's 3.82 poli19-May-11 7.50 500.00 5.14 impressive result,” he said. cies. “These19-May-16 initiatives have re08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 6.21 On outlook of the company , positioned our company for sus25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 25-Jul-17 7.25 Ettah noted that the6.88 company 300.00 tainable growth and improved 09-May-13 02-May-18 8.55 is poised to reap the10.25 benefits of 300.00 performance08-Apr-19 in 2014 and in the 08-Apr-12 5.04 22-Apr-14 investments 6.25 in the 500.00 22-Apr-19 6.44 the current years ahead,” he said.

07-Aug-13 09-Dec-13

8.25 6.63

300.00 360.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

47

1,304.32

07-Aug-20 09-Dec-20

7.04 5.95

1.56 10.26 100.48 3.29 13.29 100.14 4.44 15.40 96.83 3.23 14.16 99.65 4.46 15.38 98.59 3.48 14.40 101.42 based, with 60 percent of EMs 5.59 17.13 84.39 1.00 12.18growth102.61 having higher in the 1.79 13.40 101.64 2000s compared to the101.74 previ1.80 13.25 ous decade.

1.00 12.65 104.33 1.00 12.50 The IMF report said104.37 80 per4.78 16.35 cent of EMs decelerated 94.78 in 2012, 1.00 12.58 104.76 and by end-2013, EM 107.47 growth 1.00 12.58 was 1.00on average 12.781½ percentage 106.59 2.74 101.05 points lower14.34 than in 2010-11.

1.00 12.62 106.18 ‘’This synchronised slowdown 1.00 12.97 102.26 is 1.94 comparable in its breadth 13.93 104.49 1.44persistence 13.06 to earlier 115.05criand 1.95when growth 13.58 114.72 70 ses, in over

percent of EMs slowed at the same time for a period of 4-6 1.00 10.85 100.13 quarters,’’ the report said.

5.21 98.68 According16.26 to the report, the 8.71 19.75 98.60 slowdown is not due to a crisis 4.88 15.86 96.15 and 1.00 while it’s 11.87 synchronised 100.15 2.63 100.67 nature points13.55 to potential com1.00 factors,12.40 mon such as 101.12 weaker 1.34 12.76 102.93 external demand and/or the 1.00 12.59 101.03 normalisation of domestic 1.88 13.23 109.28 demand peaks, 3.48 from post-crisis 14.82 102.32 5.20persistence 16.58 suggests 102.91 ‘’its that 5.06 16.44 structural factors may 101.96 also be 1.35 13.00 103.15 at 2.29 play,’’ the IMF said. 104.18 13.70 It affirmed 6.11 17.54that there 99.25 are 2.16important 13.77 differences 106.11 in also 14.72 102.11 the2.76 magnitude of the slowdown across countries. IMF said for example, since 2010-11 China’s output growth by 2¼ 1.00 12.61slowed 93.05 percentage points (to around 7¾ in 2013), Brazil’s slowed Offer Bid Price points Offer Price byYield 2¾(%) percentage (to a mere 2¼ percent), while South Prices & Yields Africa’s deceleration has been 4.78 tamed.110.20 111.03 more To check this slowdown in 3.96 103.48 104.34 growth in the Ems, the IMF 5.19 108.49 warned that107.60 henceforth continuing income convergence will be more challenging; therefore, it suggested that given the 3.08 111.96 113.22 risks of facing a prolonged pe4.34 104.26 105.76 riod of volatility in financial 5.95 99.19 100.18 markets, policymakers in EMs 6.82 99.99 101.17 will need to strengthen their 8.11 94.54 95.94 macroeconomic 4.32 113.58 policies 114.94and 6.23 100.06 address their99.23 vulnerabilities.

6.63 5.64

3,460.00

104.26 102.60

105.77 103.87

12-Jun-14

The FMDQBills Daily Quotations List (DQL) comprises market and model prices/rates of foreign exchange ($/N) products, and instruments in the OTC market. The use of this report Money Market **Treasury FIXINGSfixed income securities Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) is subjectDTM to the FMDQ OTCMaturity PLC Terms of Use and Disclaimer Statement.

Bid Discount (%) Offer Discount (%) Bid Yield (%) Tenor Rate (%) NIBOR

7 19-Jun-14 8.90 8.65 14 26-Jun-14 9.95 9.70 21 3-Jul-14 10.00 9.75 FGN Bonds 28 10-Jul-14 8.00 7.75 35 17-Jul-14 10.10 9.85 42 24-Jul-14 10.20 9.95Date Rating/Agency Issuer Description Issue 49 31-Jul-14 10.10 9.85 56 7-Aug-14 10.30 10.05 9.20 29-JUN-2014 29-Jun-07 63 14-Aug-14 10.30 10.05 9.25 28-SEP-2014 28-Sep-07 70 21-Aug-14 10.10 9.85 4.00 23-APR-2015 23-Apr-10 77 28-Aug-14 10.30 10.05 13.05 16-AUG-2016 16-Aug-13 84 4-Sep-14 10.55 10.30 15.10 27-APR-2017 27-Apr-12 91 11-Sep-14 10.60 10.35 9.85 27-JUL-2017 27-Jul-07 98 18-Sep-14 10.60 10.35 105 25-Sep-14 10.65 10.40 9.35 31-AUG-2017 31-Aug-07 112 2-Oct-14 10.60 10.35 10.70 30-MAY-2018 30-May-08 NA NA 119 9-Oct-14 10.80 10.55 16.00 29-JUN-2019 29-Jun-12 126 16-Oct-14 10.70 10.45 7.00 23-OCT-2019 23-Oct-09 161 20-Nov-14 10.50 10.25 16.39 27-JAN-2022 27-Jan-12 175 4-Dec-14 10.50 10.25 14.20 14-MAR-2024 14-Mar-14 210 8-Jan-15 10.50 10.25 15.00 28-NOV-2028 28-Nov-08 224 22-Jan-15 10.60 10.35 12.49 22-MAY-2029 22-May-09 238 5-Feb-15 10.55 10.30 252 19-Feb-15 10.55 10.30 8.50 20-NOV-2029 20-Nov-09 266 5-Mar-15 10.50 10.25 10.00 23-JUL-2030 23-Jul-10 301 9-Apr-15 10.35 10.10 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 315 23-Apr-15 10.40 10.15 329 7-May-15 10.05 9.80 *from the Amortising # Description Rating/Agency Issuer Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

Agency Bonds NA

AMCON FMBN ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING 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

Modified Duration Buckets VALUE

<3 KWARA 3<5 NIGER >5 KADUNA Market *EBONYI *BENUE *IMO LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE

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 Porfolio Market Total Outstanding Value(Bn)

974.06 14.00 KWARA1,127.23 5-AUG-2014 14.00 NIGER 15-OCT-2014 595.02 12.50 KADUNA2,696.32 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

Volume(Bn)

923.07 951.30 701.57 2,575.94

8.92 9.99 10.06 8.05 10.20 10.32 (%) Coupon 10.24 10.47 9.20 10.49 9.25 10.30 4.00 10.53 13.05 10.81 15.10 10.89 9.85 10.91 10.99 9.35 10.96 10.70 11.19 16.00 11.11 7.00 11.01 16.39 11.06 14.20 11.18 15.00 11.34 12.49 11.33 11.38 8.50 11.37 10.00 11.32 11.43 11.05

Bonds Tenor

Rate (%) 10.7417 11.7702 13.1118 14.0587 Maturity Date

O/N 1M 3M Outstanding Value 6M

(N'bn)

45.00 100.00 NITTY 535.00 Tenor 470.27 1M 452.80 2M 20.00 3M 6M 100.00 9M 300.00 12M 351.30 233.90 600.00 NIFEX 110.00 Current75.00 Price ($/N) BID($/N)150.00 OFFER 200.00 ($/N) 591.57

29-Jun-14 28-Sep-14 23-Apr-15 Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 8.6635 27-Apr-17 10.4330 27-Jul-17 10.8996 11.0911 31-Aug-17 11.3602 30-May-18 11.4357 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 163.6175 163.7175 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30

OBB

10.58

O/N

10.79

REPO Tenor Rate (%)(%) TTM (Yrs) Bid Yield Call 1M 0.05 3M 0.30 6M

0.86 2.18

10.50 11.64 7.68 12.96 11.04 13.60

Tenor

Spot 7D 14D Offer Yield 1M (%) 2M 3M 4.60 6M 10.52 1Y

10.91 10.27 11.49 11.41 11.62 11.57 3.12 11.58 11.46 :Benchmarks * :Amortising 3.22 Bond 11.59 11.47 µ :Convertible Bond 3.96 11.63 11.53 AMCON:5.05 Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 11.77 11.69 FGN: Federal of Nigeria 5.36 Government 11.76 11.67 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 7.63 12.25 12.20 IFC: International Finance Corporation 9.75 Contractors Receivables 12.28 12.23 LCRM: Local Management 12.71 NAHCO:14.46 Nigerian Aviation 12.75 Handling Company 14.94 12.80 12.76 O/N: Overnight UPDC: UAC Company 15.44Property Development 12.86 12.80 WAPCO:West Cement Company 16.11 Africa Portland 12.99 12.93 NOTE: 2.87

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

163.66 Price 163.76 163.40 163.66 163.66 164.00 164.28 164.94 Bid Price Offer Price 165.42 166.60 166.71 168.35 100.06 100.21 169.36 173.97 99.43 99.58 178.22 185.25

94.44 94.94 102.90 103.05 108.25 108.40 95.54 NA :Not Applicable 95.84 # :Floating 94.10 Rate Bond94.40 ***: Deferred 97.10 coupon bonds 97.40 115.75 116.05 †: Bond rating expired 81.73 81.43 120.10 120.40 110.70 111.00 NGC:114.68 Nigeria-German114.98 Company 98.22 UBA: 97.92 United Bank for Africa 71.04 71.34 80.00 80.30

4,334.84 Issue Value (N'bn)

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

28-Dec-11 24-May-10 03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12by Weighting

0.00 0.00 17.25 BOND FMDQ FGN 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50 Weighting

by Mkt

Outstanding Vol

35.83 05-Aug-09 36.93 15-Oct-09 27.24 31-Aug-10 100.00 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

Value

36.13 14.00 41.81 14.00 22.07 12.50100.00 13.00 14.00 15.50 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50

978.35 24.56 6.00 INDEX 112.22 116.70 66.49

Bucket Weighting

1,304.32

0.36 17.00 0.37 6.00 0.27 8.50 1.00 16.50 13.00 18.50 57.00 50.00 25.00 50.00 9.00 20.00 12.00 27.00 20.00

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Indicative Price

31-Oct-14 24-May-15 03-Apr-17 09-Dec-16 20-Apr-17 % 06-Jul-17 Exposure_

0.39 0.95 1.43 2.49 2.86 3.07

1.00 2.63 2.27 2.00 1.00 1.00 Implied

11.30 13.51 13.33 13.45 12.54 12.58

95.85 88.34 105.28 97.88 96.27 YTD93.73 Return

Mod_Duration

18.49 05-Aug-14 37.42 15-Oct-14 44.09 31-Aug-15 100.00 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

Implied Yield

11.56 0.15 12.10 0.34 12.87 1.22 12.34 0.82 1.12 1.12 2.85 1.68 3.55 2.52 4.31 2.72 3.03 3.11 3.18

Portfolio Price

115.7326 1.56 130.3787 3.29 92.9635 4.44 114.9402 3.23 4.46 3.48 5.59 1.00 1.79 1.80 1.00 1.00 4.78 1.00 1.00

INDEX

1,099.22 10.26 1,104.00 13.29 1,084.49 15.40 1,091.81 14.16 15.38 14.40 17.13 12.18 13.40 13.25 12.65 12.50 16.35 12.58 12.58

(%)

9.9224 100.48 10.3997 100.14 8.4494 96.83 9.1809 99.65 98.59 101.42 84.39 102.61 101.64 101.74 104.33 104.37 94.78 104.76 107.47

48 BUSINESS | MONEY LINE

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

COT: CBN reads riot act to banks sible N2 per mille.

The bank in a circular titled: “Implementation of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges on Turnover,” gave all banks that have over charged customers, 30 days to make sure that they return the excess of N1 per mill, from January to the customers or face severe sanctions.

The apex bank in the circular, which was signed by its Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr. Frankline E. Ahonkhai, also frowned at the practice by some banks, charging fees, which are alien to the banking charges guide.

SANCTIONS

CBN tells banks to refund excess charges to customers within 30 days or face severe sanctions Godson Ikoro

C

entral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday read the riot act to banks that infringed on the regulation on commission on turnover (COT) for the current year (2014), by charging N3 per mille instead of the permis-

Besides, it noted that some banks offer accounts that are supposed to be COT-Free but impose as maintenance or similar fees not covered by the guide.

Citing paragraph 4 of the preface to the guide, the CBN restated that the charges on products and services are not exhaustive, saying however, that banks wishing to levy charges not covered by the guide should obtain the prior approval.

The banking watchdog said banks that have charged customers maintenance fee or any fee for that matter, that was neither covered by the guide nor has been prior – approved by it-

self were required to refund the fee to the customers not later than 30 days from the date of the circular, June 11, 2014.

The CBN, in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee had issued the Revised Guide to Bank Charges on March 27, 2013, which sought to standardise charges for various products and services offered by banks.

Section 3.1 of the guide provides that commission on turnover (COT) is negotiable subject to a maximum of N3 per mille in 2013; N2 per mille in 2014; N1 per mille in 2015; and that no COT would be charged from 2016.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

FG seeks N33bn loan from Germany to float Development Bank Abdulwahab Isa

ja at an interactive business meeting with a delegation from Germany led by German Ambassador and Minister of Economic Development, Gerd Mueller, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo –Iweala listed three priority areas Nigeria was desirous of Germany assistance.

She said: “There are three things we are looking for from Germany. We admired the way Germany has been able to marry skills in its education system to industry. We just lunched our industrial revolution plan. We think we need to manufacture more things in Nigeria because

ABUJA

T

he federal government yesterday commenced economic bilateral discussion with the republic of Germany, which would culminate in the establishment of Development Bank of Nigeria. Germany is supporting project with $200 (about N33 billion) soft loan.

The establishment of new Development Finance Institution government the Federal Government said, would create additional lending window of affordable credit for Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Speaking yesterday in Abu-

we got a large market and we think that Germany can be of assistance by sharing with us the knowledge on how it has been able to organize itself so that we can have the right skills for the right industry.

“The second area of assistance is manufacturing and is very important. We admire the way you built your development bank. Nigeria is building a Development Bank of Nigeria. The president and the vice-president have pushed very hard for us to have long-term money in this economy. We want you to support us. We are negotiating with you about $200 million soft credit support on this.

Economic Indicators As at M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR 91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8 0.0000 12 10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$42,604,781,796.6

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 2/5/2014 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

Offer Yield 13.01 13.40 13.47 13.49 13.44 13.59

Price 90.35 99.40 104.40 109.65 114.45 76.90

Tenor (Months) 1 2 3 6 9 12

Rate (%) 12.1827 12.2737 12.3744 12.8521 12.8535 13.8443

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

FX

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR,NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

NITTY

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80 Offer 163.38

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

“The last area is investment. We want your business people to invest in our manufacturing. We have a very large consumer sector and Germany manufactured high quality things, from electronics, consumables and power.

You have big opportunity to do that in Nigeria, These are the three things I want you to think about”.

Earlier, Germany Minister of Economic Development, Gerd Mueller had requested Nigeria’s Minister of finance to enlighten the German delegation on the socio-economic developments in the country in respect to North East and the Chibok girls abduction by members of Islamic militant -Boko Harram.

The minister said every hand was on the deck working for the safe release of abducted adding that, stressing that “the paramount importance is to ensure our girls are released safe and the strategy is planned around that”.

Commenting on Nigeria’s economy, the Minister said it is robust and sound, “a fact attested to by the outcome of a recent re-basing exercise ranking Nigeria economy the biggest in Africa.” She however, pointed out that the country was still faced with a twin challenge of insufficient jobs and huge inequality gap.

She said: “Nigeria recently

re-based its GDP. For 24 years we hadn’t rebased and by size, we are the biggest economy but by per capital basis, we are still on middle-income level economy. We are growing at an average rate of 7% per year for the past a decade and this is very consistent with performance because we have carried out several reforms. In terms of prospect, we are estimating this year that Nigeria will grow at about 6.7 % even after rebasing but the IMF and other international institutions like the World Bank world are projecting 7.2%. This growth rate takes into account the turbulent period and security challenge we have especially in the North East part of the country.

“We maintain a very prudent debt to GDP ratio of 11% after rebasing and fiscal deficit as low as low 1% of the new GDP; Inflation rate of 8% and reserves strong”.

Meanwhile, a member of German delegation, Christopher Kannengierbr has identified dearth of information on investment opportunities in Africa including Nigeria, as a hindrance to European investors willing to invest in Nigeria.

He therefore, extended invitation to the Minister to lead Nigeria business community to attend 89th celebration of Germany business forum on 26thJune in Germany.

NSIA gets global recognition he Nigeria Sovereign Invest- ciples.”

Tbeen ment Authority (NSIA) has The IFSWF, a voluntary admitted into the Inter- group of Sovereign Wealth national Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds – IFSWF. This, according to a statement from NSIA, was communicated by the Secretariat of the IFSWF through a letter dated June 4, 2014.

The IFSWF Chair stated: “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that your membership application has been approved by the IFSWF Board at our Board Meeting on May 28, 2014. Our assessment was based on your proven willingness to endorse, on a voluntary basis, the Santiago Prin-

Funds (SWFs), was established by the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds in April 2009. Among its major objectives is the promotion of an understanding of the Santiago Principles - a set of 24 guidelines for the operation of SWFs. NSIA, according to the statement, will be formally inducted at the next IFSWF Annual Meeting in Doha on November 19-20, 2014, where it will also sign the membership agreement and formal declaration of IFSWF membership.

BUSINESS | CAPITAL MARKET 49

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Sanctity of Truth

Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 Friday, June 13, 2014

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at June 12, 2014 Daily Summary (Bonds)

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034

No Debt Trading Activity

Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. Fishing/Hunting/Trapping Totals Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Livestock/Animal Specialties Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries Activity Summary on Board EQTY A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. CONGLOMERATES JOHN HOLT PLC. Diversified Industries S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Diversified Industries Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Symbol FTNCOCOA OKOMUOIL PRESCO

No. of Deals 2 42 12 56

Current Price 0.50 33.86 36.55

Symbol ELLAHLAKES

No. of Deals 1 1

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 24 24

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol AGLEVENT JOHNHOLT Symbol SCOA TRANSCORP UACN

Value Traded 27,500.00 11,038,401.06 2,421,531.91 13,487,432.97

Current Price 4.26

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 810.00 810.00

Current Price 3.18

Quantity Traded 462,792 462,792

Value Traded 1,440,027.78 1,440,027.78

913,025

14,928,270.75

81

No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded 7 1.38 16,406 2 1.15 1,757 No. of Deals Quantity Traded 4 Current Price 5.06 1,307 284 4.25 30,589,556 40 59.01 200,543 Page 337 30,809,569

CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

Quantity Traded 55,000 328,917 66,116 450,033

337

140,813,103.58

No. of Deals 14 14

Current Price 1.17

Quantity Traded 116,391 116,391

Value Traded 140,542.02 140,542.02

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 70.87

Quantity Traded 28,125 28,125

Value Traded 1,924,912.80 1,924,912.80

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 25 25

Current Price 17.60

Quantity Traded 546,703 546,703

Value Traded 9,590,076.36 9,590,076.36

Symbol SKYESHELT

No. of Deals 2 4 6

Current Price 95.00 10.47

Quantity Traded 100 16,049 16,149

Value Traded 9,025.00 159,687.55 168,712.55

707,368

11,824,243.73

UPDCREIT Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS

Automobiles/Auto Published by The Nigerian StockParts Exchange © DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Beverages--Brewers/Distillers GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT NIG. PLC Activity Summary on CO. Board EQTY N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. UNION DICON CONSUMER GOODSSALT PLC. U T Products C NIG. PLC. Food

Food Products Totals

Food Published by The Products--Diversified Nigerian Stock Exchange © CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC.

52 Symbol DUNLOP Symbol GUINNESS INTBREW JOSBREW NB PREMBREW Symbol 7UP Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR Daily Summary FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON NNFM UNIONDICON UTC Symbol

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.50

No. of Deals 54 21 12 142 1 230

Current Price 180.00 26.06 3.07 170.11 0.77

No. of Deals 33 33

Current Price 90.00

No. of Deals 36 55 (Equities) 43 53 79 3 1 6 No. of Deals

Current Price 8.56 9.54 77.00 4.19 11.60 20.78 14.11 0.55 Current Price

276

Quantity Traded Page 70,763 70,763

Value Traded 20,381,698.79 3,677,427.38 750,331.00 439,575,429.46 18,112.00 464,402,998.63

Quantity Traded 57,677 57,677

Value Traded 5,273,069.85 5,273,069.85

Quantity Traded 259,743 1,520,816 210,900 2,131,315 1,864,700 5,129 1,790 27,508 Quantity Traded

Value Traded 2,242,250.03 14,698,441.88 16,337,133.10 8,780,243.36 21,704,652.83 101,815.89 24,003.90 15,567.65 Value Traded

No. of Deals 46 100 146

Current Price 81.89 1,070.00

Page Quantity Traded 151,331 385,533 536,864

Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals

Symbol VITAFOAM VONO

No. of Deals 11 1 12

Current Price 4.48 1.51

Quantity Traded 112,201 2,500 114,701

Value Traded 477,976.26 3,600.00 481,576.26

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 61 46 107

Current Price 38.50 49.60

Quantity Traded 375,588 257,784 633,372

Value Traded 14,171,489.17 12,881,350.65 27,052,839.82

10,448,470

984,642,524.71

Quantity Traded 37,375,125 2,154,038 1,597,421 4,488,223 Quantity Traded

Value Traded 370,288,066.88 14,501,618.70 26,714,947.97 9,271,774.01 Value Traded

Food Products--Diversified Totals

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK Activity Summary onPLC. Board EQTY DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FINANCIAL SERVICES FIDELITY BANK PLC Banking

GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

808

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol ACCESS DIAMONDBNK ETI FIDELITYBK Symbol

GUARANTY SKYEBANK STERLNBANK UBA UBN UNITYBNK WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Symbol AIICO INSURANCE PLC. AIICO CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONTINSURE Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. CORNERST Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. EQUITYASUR GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. GUINEAINS CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC HMARKINS INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTENEGINS Daily Summary LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LASACO MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MANSARD MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE MBENEFIT Activity Summary on Board EQTY PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NEM FINANCIAL OASIS SERVICES INSURANCE PLC OASISINS PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PRESTIGE Insurance Carriers, BrokersCO. andPLC. Services Symbol

REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC

STANDARD INSURANCE PLC. Published by The Nigerian ALLIANCE Stock Exchange ©

UNIC INSURANCE PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

REGALINS STDINSURE UNIC WAPIC

No. of Deals 128 48 95 76 No. of Deals

303 97 43 332 51 6 48 246 1,473

No. of Deals 20 3 3 1 1 1 2 (Equities) 1 8 33 21 5 No. of Deals4

1 1 4 198 307

Current Price 9.83 6.72 16.76 2.08 Current Price

31.25 3.40 2.36 8.14 10.26 0.50 1.01 25.30

Current Price 0.81 1.03 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.41 0.52 0.82 0.53 0.54 Current Price

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.76

7,969,569 9,181,119 Page 8,051,434 40,469,134 362,133 26,828 3,890,269 7,010,462 122,575,755

Quantity Traded 572,975 866,010 2,021,000 1,000 1,000 200 11,624 1,000 115,000 12,450,724 4,690,333 113,200 78,783 Quantity Traded

1,567,500 1,000 Page 60,650 72,725,118 95,277,117

Value Traded 242.50 242.50

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol ASOSAVINGS INFINITY RESORTSAL

No. of Deals 1 1 1 3

Current Price 0.50 1.61 0.50

Quantity Traded 10,000 2,000 1,995,000 2,007,000

Value Traded 5,000.00 3,060.00 997,500.00 1,005,560.00

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

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 43 32 475 68 11 32 75

Current Price 3.24 3.50 15.50 4.13 0.53 25.35 2.35

Quantity Traded 1,003,706 15,707,944 11,623,463 3,461,802 224,235 181,914 3,511,740

Value Traded 3,194,577.71 55,516,955.27 180,962,642.74 14,157,827.61 116,454.95 4,677,860.45 8,268,019.69

Page

6

of

BETA GLASS CO PLC. W A GLASS IND. PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals NATURAL RESOURCES B.O.C. GASES PLC. Chemicals

Chemicals Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © NATURAL RESOURCES Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Value Traded 266,894,338.42

255,574,926

1,568,911,916.52

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH Symbol MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

No. of Deals 8 20 25 No. of Deals 19 16 3 91

Current Price 2.70 2.97 68.01 Current Price 1.76 1.20 1.57

Quantity Traded 82,000 1,787,441 1,066,082 Quantity723,536 Traded 2,166,240 55,003 5,880,302

Value Traded 211,710.00 5,209,418.88 72,504,906.81 Value Traded 1,274,156.72 2,768,152.00 86,004.36 82,054,348.77

5,880,302

82,054,348.77

91 Symbol COURTVILLE

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.60

Quantity Traded 8,000 8,000

Value Traded 4,720.00 4,720.00

Symbol CWG NCR TRIPPLEG

No. of Deals 1 5 2 8

Current Price 5.48 15.99 1.97

Quantity Traded 50 200 571 821

Value Traded 260.50 3,040.00 1,073.48 4,373.98

Page 8,821

9

Daily Summary (Equities)

7

of 13 9,093.98

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN Symbol

No. of Deals 111 18 27 41 No. of Deals

Current Price 26.99 9.00 40.00 Current 10.35 Price

Quantity Traded 2,525,933 137,917 98,558 Quantity684,938 Traded

Symbol CUTIX NIWICABLE

No. of Deals 8 2 10

Current Price 1.83 0.50

Quantity Traded 161,845 2,550 164,395

Value Traded 302,442.00 1,275.00 303,717.00

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS WAGLASS

No. of Deals 3 2 1 6

Current Price 1.77 16.59 0.63

Quantity Traded 323,543 6,500 1,000 331,043

Value Traded 572,671.11 104,065.00 660.00 677,396.11

5,358,883

252,286,560.84

DANGCEM DNMEYER FIRSTALUM IPWA PAINTCOM PORTPAINT WAPCO

35 6 1 2 2 2 62 307

Daily Summary (Equities)

224.25 1.11 0.50 0.50 1.40 4.81 110.50

514,571 48,712 Page 3,333 1,296 25,681 344,326 478,180 4,863,445

323

Value Traded 66,532,949.62 1,252,119.36 3,801,499.31 7,127,776.20 Value Traded

118,160,302.46 56,505.92 8 of 13 1,666.50 648.00 34,155.73 1,714,846.30 52,622,978.33 251,305,447.73

Symbol BOCGAS Symbol

No. of Deals

2 No. of Deals 2

6.37 Current Price

Current Price

34,525 Quantity Traded 34,525 Page 34,525

Quantity Traded

Value Traded 209,221.50 Value Traded 209,221.50 9 of 13 209,221.50

2 Symbol JAPAULOIL

No. of Deals 35 35

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 1,201,000 1,201,000

Value Traded 600,500.00 600,500.00

Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 286 286

Current Price 20.00

Quantity Traded 6,803,684 6,803,684

Value Traded 136,136,994.23 136,136,994.23

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 64 56 302 33 45 25 (Equities) 525

Current Price 65.98 4.23 250.01 131.06 48.00 170.00

Quantity Traded 454,461 6,101,831 1,031,049 90,134 151,552 52,489 7,881,516

Value Traded 29,239,869.10 25,645,438.24 233,727,682.55 11,778,448.87 7,062,081.40 8,925,501.80 316,379,021.96

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 27 27

Current Price 650.00

Quantity Traded 233,371 233,371

Value Traded 151,697,365.84 151,697,365.84

16,119,571

604,813,882.03

ETERNA PLC. Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 FORTE OIL PLC. Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production Activity Summary on Board EQTY SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD OILExploration AND GAS and Production Totals

Daily Summary

OIL AND GAS Totals

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

873

Page

10

of

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 19 19

Current Price 1.10

Quantity Traded 563,554 563,554

Value Traded 603,161.20 603,161.20

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 10 9 19

Current Price 4.60 2.35

Quantity Traded 132,700 298,799 431,499

Value Traded 605,782.30 698,857.86 1,304,640.16

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 2,264,850 2,264,850

Value Traded 1,132,425.00 1,132,425.00

Symbol TANTALIZER

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 350 350

Value Traded 175.00 175.00

Symbol

No. of Deals 5 12 1 18

Current Price 4.50 0.78 3.88

Quantity Traded 350 186,400 30 186,780

Value Traded 1,498.00 146,730.00 116.40 148,344.40

Symbol DAARCOMM

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 410,000 Page 410,000

Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Symbol ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA UPL

No. of Deals 11 8 11 30

Current Price 1.71 1.71 4.48

Quantity Traded 310,210 111,646 91,080 512,936

Value Traded 519,060.14 191,362.48 396,912.40 1,107,335.02

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.84

Quantity Traded 164,630 164,630

Value Traded 138,289.20 138,289.20

Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC

Symbol INTERLINK

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 4.90

Quantity Traded 250 250

Value Traded 1,165.00 1,165.00

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 16 58 74

Current Price 2.45 4.90

Quantity Traded 137,300 4,244,378 4,381,678

Value Traded 319,912.00 20,645,605.50 20,965,517.50

No. of Deals 64 64

Current Price 4.53

Quantity Traded 5,823,650 5,823,650

Value Traded 25,430,284.58 25,430,284.58

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Hospitality Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 TANTALIZERS PLC Hospitality Totals Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC IKEJA HOTEL PLC TOURIST COMPANY OF EQTY NIGERIA PLC. Activity Summary on Board Hotels/Lodging Totals SERVICES Media/Entertainment

DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange Media/Entertainment Totals ©

783,750.00 500.00 13 of 30,325.00 56,510,491.40 70,388,850.25

Quantity Traded 250 250

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Packaging/Containers Printed 12/06/2014 AVON15:43:34.034 CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

5

Current Price 1.02

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Quantity Traded 35,714,804

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Value Traded 466,035.48 898,650.40 1,010,500.00 500.00 500.00 100.00 5,812.00 500.00 280,170.00 6,483,494.24 3,818,230.37 58,324.20 40,967.16 Value Traded

No. of Deals 4 4

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

DANGOTE CEMENT PLC DN MEYER PLC. Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC IPWA PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. Building Materials Totals

247,295,854.05 431,357,485.86 of 13 18,835,159.30 327,991,132.53 3,703,745.72 13,414.00 3,892,197.00 176,757,529.33 1,230,622,925.35

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

IT Services COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 IT Services Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEMon PLC Activity Summary Board EQTY BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLCGOODS INDUSTRIAL CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC Building Materials

3Value Traded of 13 11,824,067.41 411,668,482.60 423,492,550.01

Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals

ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC Computer Based Systems Totals

Current Price

2,523

Daily Summary (Equities)

Published The Nigerian Stock Exchange © ICTbyTotals

63,904,108.64

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 736

HEALTHCARE Totals

2Value Traded of 13 35,381.50 35,381.50

Quantity Traded 113,305 141,052 258,900 2,477,295 22,640 3,013,192

6,021,901

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. EQTY Activity Summary on Board FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC HEALTHCARE GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. Pharmaceuticals MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

140,813,103.58

30,809,569

Symbol

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

Value Traded 22,416.18 1,932.70 Value Traded 6,286.67 128,868,878.85 11,913,589.18 1 of 13

Symbol COSTAIN

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals

FINANCIAL SERVICES Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Other Financial Institutions Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 Other Financial Institutions Totals

Specialty Totals Daily Summary as of 12/06/2014 Printed 12/06/2014 15:43:34.034 Transport-Related Services

AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals

Support and Logistics Activity SummaryOFFSHORE on Board EQTY CAVERTON SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES SERVICES Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Daily Summary (Equities) CAPHOTEL IKEJAHOTEL TOURIST

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol CAVERTON

240

14,740,177 Page

13

Value Traded 205,000.00 of 13 205,000.00

11

51,036,337.06 12 of 13

EQTY Board Totals

5,339

340,595,637

3,711,529,503.47

Equity Activity Totals

5,339

340,595,637

3,711,529,503.47

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 4 5

Current Price 2,005.00 19.11

Quantity Traded 15 403,010 403,025

Value Traded 30,075.00 7,761,861.10 7,791,936.10

ETF Board Totals

5

403,025

7,791,936.10

ETP Activity Totals

5

403,025

7,791,936.10

13

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Page

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50 WORLD | NEWS

NEWS

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Fees cut as part of emergency APC wants Ekiti violence probed passport backlog measures Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

H

ome Secretary Theresa May has announced measures to help clear the backlog in passport applications and scrapped charges for urgent renewals.

People renewing their UK passports from overseas will be given a 12 month extension to their existing passport.

Those applying for passports overseas on behalf of their children will be given emergency travel documents.

Labour said Mrs May had lost her grip and called for an apology. Mrs May was being grilled on the situation by Labour’s Yvette Cooper in the Commons two days after denying claims of a crisis.

She said the govern-

ment would do “everything it can” while maintaining security to “make sure people get their passports in time” but there was no “big bang, single solution”.

People with an “urgent need to travel” will be fast-tracked through the system free of charge, she told MPs. They are currently charged up to £128(N36,480). The Home Office has yet to respond to BBC questions about whether “urgent need” includes anyone who has a holiday booked.

She also confirmed that responsibility for dealing with applications for passports overseas was changed from consulates and embassies to an online system based in the UK in March. This change had been made

to provide better value for money and to ensure more “consistency” of service and security checks, she said.

Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson called the timing of this change - at the pre-summer peak applications season - “idiotic”.

But Mrs May and other Home Office ministers have blamed the problems on a surge in applications which they say are running at a 12 year high.

Mrs. May stressed that security would not be compromised by the changes, telling MPs that parents issued with emergency travel documents for their children would still have to “provide comprehensive proof that they are the parents before we will issue these documents”.

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the police hierarchy to immediately launch a comprehensive investigation into the violence unleashed by armed policemen on its members during a procession in Ado Ekiti last Sunday.

The party said it is with a view to unravelling the cause of the unprovoked attack.

The party in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its Interim

National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also demanded that the killer of one of the peaceful marchers be identified and brought to justice noting that no one has the right to take the life of another for whatever reason.

It said investigating the violence and punishing those responsible would send a clear signal to other trigger-happy and partisan police personnel that the force would not tolerate such acts of brigandage and impunity. ‘’It will also go a long

way in reducing the tension that has been heightened in the state by the senseless police action, ahead of the June 21st governorship election in the state,’’ APC said.

The party said several days after the clearlyunprovoked attack on defenceless citizens, who were only carrying brooms, singing and dancing, Nigerians have continued to wonder why the police, who are paid to protect citizens, would turn around to unleash violence and mayhem on them.

Catholic bishop canvasses Option A4 for polls Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

T

he Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaye, yesterday in Ado-Ekiti urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to revisit the use of Option A4 in the conduct of future elections in the country.

Under the system which was used in the 1993 general elections, the electorate stood behind the posters of the different candidates they wished

to vote for and be publicly counted and the results certified immediately.

But the result of the election, described as the freest was annulled by the then Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd).

The bishop argued that the system would reduce the cost of elections, rigging and snatching of ballot boxes, if not eliminate them totally.

The cleric, who is a delegate at the ongoing National Conference, also urged principal actors in the coming

June 21 governorship election in Ekiti and Osun states to be honourable and peaceful in nature in order to ensure credible election.

The cleric described the Ekiti and Osun elections as catalyst to subsequent elections in the country and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, politicians and as well the electorate to conduct themselves peacefully and avoid anything capable of truncating the electoral process in the two states.

Bayelsa partners US firm on power

B UK Immigration officer displaying a British passport

Jealous lover eats rival’s heart in S. Africa

A

jealous lover in South Africa stabbed a rival, cut out his heart and ate it with a knife and fork, police and media reported yesterday.

Police were called to the gruesome scene at a house in Cape Town’s Gugulethu township by frantic neighbours, spokesman Frederick van Wyk told the Cape Times.

“On the scene they found a suspect, a Zimbabwean national, busy eating the heart of a human with a knife and fork,” he said. The woman at the centre of

the love triangle told police that her former lover had visited the house where she was living with her current partner and they had chatted together before he gave her money to buy liquor and she left.

When she returned she found her partner, 62-year-old Mbuyiselo Manona, had been stabbed, Van Wyk said.

Neighbours alerted by the commotion said they had peered through the house windows to see the man cutting out Manona’s heart and eating it.

“The whole situa-

tion was crazy. We were shouting at him to stop, but he did not listen,” one neighbour said.

“Even when the police got here... the guys were scared to go in. They had to call for back-up.

“You can’t really blame them -- how do you go into a room with someone dripping another person’s blood out of his mouth?” Western Cape deputy police commissioner Sharon Jephta said the motive for the murder was “definitely a love triangle”.

The suspect was arrested and is expected to appear in court soon.

ayelsa State Governor, Hon Seriake Dickson has assured investors to the state on the safety and security of their investments, even as the state is getting ready to host the world to its first Economic and Investment Forum.

Dickson gave the assurance at a meeting with officials of a United States based company, Yeffetmesika Group at the Bayelsa House in Abuja.

Dickson, who was accompanied to the meeting by the

Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Mohammed Wakil, restated his administration’s commitment to partner and encourage serious minded investors towards fostering economic prosperity as well as expand the base of the state’s economy.

Recountingthevastinvestment opportunities in Bayelsa State to include crude oil andgas,henotedthatthestate has the highest Gross domesticProduct(GDP),inaddition to being ranked as one of the safest states in the country,

where international events are hosted annually.

“Bayelsa is naturally endowed and we have the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP)in the country and this is in addition to the investments we have made as a government in security of lives and property. We have consistently been rated as the safest state in Nigeria, so you can be rest assured of the safety of your investments and we are even doing more in this direction going forward.”

PDP bans faction in Yobe

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yobe State yesterday outlawed the activities of interest groups within its fold.

The youth leader of Yobe chapter of the party, Dr Ado Adamu Bomboy,

who gave the order, also asked members of his executive committee to distance themselves from activities of any factional group in the party.

He disclosed this during an interaction with the media in Damaturu,

the Yobe State capital.

He urged the Yobe PDP fateful to disassociate themselves from a faction who claim their leader in the state is a former Minister of Police Affairs, Alh Adamu Maina Waziri.

Iran’s starting-XI against Nigeria revealed C Ghochannejad

oach of the Iranian national team, Carlos Queiroz, has given hint of the line-up he intends to use to prosecute his side’s World Cup opener against Nigeria on Monday.

In a training session which took place at the Corinthians Training Centre, and witnessed by a number of journalists, including 40 from

Iran, Queiroz positioned players in reduced space and then closed the training session, as is usual with coaches, trying to hide secrets from the preying eyes of the press.

The goalkeeper remains the main mystery, since the three – Rahman Ahmadi, Alireza Haghighi and Daniel Davari – were tested in recent friendly

SPORT

matches. In the 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, Haghighi remained the keeper during the entire game.

As the three goalkeepers worked separately, the Portuguese coach attended to the rest of the team in a 4-4-2 formation with Pejman Montazeri, Amir Sadeghi, Jalal Hosseini and

51

Mehrdad Pooladi in defence; captain Javad Nekounam, Andranik Teymourian, Haji Safi and Ashkan Dejagah in midfield; while Heydari and Reza Goochannejad were in the attack.

The Iranians will depart for Curitiba, venue of Monday’s match, on Saturday.

NEW TELEGRAPH

newtelegraphonline.com/sports

ADEKUNLE SALAMI, DepUTY Editor, SPORTS kunle.salami@newtelegraphonline.com adekunles@yahoo.com

AUTHORITATIVE VOICE IN GLOBAL SPORT

FRIday, June 13, 2014

Keshi to dump Nigeria for Tanzania S

lMeets President Kikiwete

Eagles Coaches lifting Keshi after winning the 2013 AFCON in South Africa

uper Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has options before him if he decides to quit his job after the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

That is no news but what could be new is the revelation that Tanzania are in pole position to snatch the former Super Eagles skipper from Nigeria.

South Africa and some other countries are said to be interested in signing Keshi, but it was learnt that the Eagles head coach has had a meeting with the football authorities in Tanzania and the president of the country Jakaye Kikiwete over his movement to the country as national coach.

A football administrator and fan, Benalo Tinowa, told New Telegraph that Keshi has promised the Tanzanians that he would move to the country after the World Cup. Tinowa said, “Kehsi has promised our president and we believe he will be with us after the World Cup. He is a very good coach with great knowledge of the game on the continent.

“He did very well with Mali, Togo and now, his country Nigeria. We are excited and we want him to join us fast. We have talented players doing very well and good clubs but not yet solid

with the national team.

“We are yet to see anyone that can give us a good team at the national level and we believe Keshi is the man to develop our football and sell Tanzania to the world. With Keshi, we can win the Nations Cup and qualify for the World Cup. “In Brazil, we are praying for him to succeed with Nigeria and then join us after that in Tanzania. We have good plans for him and I am confident he will join us.”

South Africa and Tanzania are not the only countries on the radar of the Eagles head coach who had continuously deny holding talks with any team but is rather focused on the world Cup assignment with Nigeria.

“I have a big task before me now and that is the World Cup. We have to wait and see what happens after the competition. The task before me now is huge and I am focused on it together with the players,” Keshi said.

Keshi is working towards a second round berth with the Eagles as they confront Iran, Bosnia Herzegovina and Argentina in the Group F of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

Grand Prix: Nigeria Athletes to battle for $147,400 Charles Ogundiya

W

arri Township stadium tartan track will be on fire today (Friday), as athletes from across the world battle for points that will enable them qualify for the Commonwealth Games trials in Calabar next week, while at

the same time targeting a cut of the over $100,000 prize money at stake.

According to the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, as an athlete you must be able to perform to a particular standard before being considered for the final trials in Calabar with the athletes looking forward to meet up with the stan-

dard for the Grand Prix and also the Golden League final.

The breakdown of the prize money revealed that athletes competing in all the premium events will smile home with $4,000 for a gold medal, $3,000 for silver and $2,000 for bronze medal. $2,500, $2,000 and $1,000 for gold,

silver and bronze medal respectively will be won in the Classic events, while the top three in the invitational relay will be going home with $2,500, $2,000 and $1,500 respectively.

The school relay winners will be rewarded with $500 for 1st, $300 for 2nd and $200 for 3rd position.

Gbagbeke Stanley

52

SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

FIFA WORLD CUP

Oliver Kahn

10 grea t e s t goalkee pers

Here is a look at the greatest goalkeepers to have featured in the World Cup tournament.

Ricardo Zamora (Spain 1920-36) “More famous than Garbo and better looking.” That was the assessment even when Zamora was wearing a flat cap and a white polo-neck jumper. Legend has it Josef Stalin even thought he’d become president of Spain in 1934. “Ah, that goalkeeper!” he remarked, mistaking the Liberal politician Niceto Zamora for him. It’s a measure of the regard Zamora was held in that he was named the best goalkeeper of the World Cup that year despite missing the second-round replay in which Spain were knocked out by the hosts and eventual winners Italy. He was widely considered the greatest of his age and gives his name to La Liga’s Goalkeeper of the Season award.

Lev Yashin (Soviet Union 1954-70) A mythical figure. Think of Yashin and the all-black kit that Peter Shilton believed had a demoralising effect on opposing strikers comes to mind. The Soviet mystique. And the nickname: “Black Spider.” Indeed, it often felt like Yashin had more eyes, more arms, more legs than his peers. His net was his web, and he caught everything in it. Synonymous with great goalkeeping, Yashin is the benchmark by which all No. 1’s are judged. In 1963 he became the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or. Gilmar (Brazil 1953-69) If Moacyr Barbosa was the “man who made Brazil cry,” a scapegoat for the defeat to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup fi-

nal at the Maracana, Gilmar made the country smile again. Between the posts for their first triumph in the competition eight years later, his celebrity status was almost as great as Pelé’s.

It’s on his shoulder the teenager is shedding tears of joy after beating Jorge Campos Sweden in the final.

Gordon Banks (England 1963-72) “Goal!” Pelé shouted. He was certain of it. His header from Jairzinho’s cross had been perfect. But instead of settling in the back of the net, the ball was rolling behind the goal. O Rei was in a state of disbelief.

Somehow he had been denied. Banks had pulled off a save widely considered the best ever. It is one of the great World Cup moments: Banks moving across his line, then diving backwards to his right and flicking the ball up and over the bar, out of harm’s way. Magnificent.

Sepp Maier (West Germany 1966-79) Maier could have been an air steward.

Named an honorary one by Condor airlines after helping serve drinks on a flight, he had it to fall back on should goalkeeping not work out. Alas, it did. Part of the great Bayern Munich side of the early ‘70s that won the Bundesliga four times and a hat trick of European Cups, they translated their success at club level onto the international stage, winning the World Cup in front of their own fans in 1974.

Dino Zoff (Italy 1968-83) It’s often said Zoff was “born flying.”

The first baby to be delivered in the village of Mariano del Friuli in 1942, his name appeared in the local register beside the No. 1, a sign of destiny.

Forty years later Zoff became the oldest player ever to win the World Cup. His diving save to deny Oscar in the final minute of Italy’s 3-2 victory over the Brazil of Zico, Socrates and Falcao was a seminal moment.

Thomas Nkono (Cameroon 1976-1994) Unexpectedly made Cameroon’s No. 1 just hours before the kickoff of the opening game of Italia ‘90 against the holders Argentina at San Siro, Thomas NKono’s wife missed her husband’s finest hour (and a half). She had decided to go shopping instead. Mrs Nkono wasn’t the only one who didn’t anticipate him playing.

“What are you doing here?” asked Diego Maradona, who knew him a bit from their time living in Barcelona.

Jorge Campos (Mexico 1991-2004) Jorge Campos, it’s fair to say, is not in the class of the rest of these goalkeepers. Yet at USA ‘94, the Mexico No. 1 left

Dino Zoff

quite the impression. Here was an exsurfer from Acapulco who designed his own shirts -- or so the legend goes. They were remarkable. His jerseys featured zigzags of yellow, green and red. The retinas still burn. He wore his (pink) collar up even before Eric Cantona did.

Oliver Kahn (Germany 19942006) The nickname “King Kahn” or “the Gorilla” was an apt one.

Named the best ‘keeper at the 2002 World Cup, Kahn allowed only one goal -- a 92ndminute strike from Robbie Keane -- on an unexpected odyssey to the final. Unfortunately for him, his one mistake came when he could least afford to make it.

He spilled Rivaldo’s shot and presented Ronaldo with the opener in the final.

Germany lost 2-0 in Yokohama. But Kahn shouldn’t be judged on that alone. He had otherwise been outstanding.

Gigi Buffon (Italy 1997-present) If Gigi Buffon’s goalkeeper shirt were ever to rip, it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see the Superman emblem. “He has the No. 1 stamped on his skin,” explained Fabio Cannavaro, his former captain.

Runner up for the Ballon d’Or in 2006, 124 voters felt Buffon merited it ahead of his aforementioned teammate, the “Berlin Wall.” Buffon conceded just twice at the World Cup in Germany: one was a Cristian Zaccardo own goal, the other a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final.

53

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Super Eagles Focus Samba notes from Brazil Compiled by Adekunle Salami Football divides Brazil

I only know football as a unifying factor in Nigeria and in many other parts of the world. At the ongoing world Cup in Brazil, some people are not happy that the government has been spending money to build stadia and improve infrastructure. They want money to be channelled elsewhere like to those protesting for better pay like the metro line workers and other basic needs. However, some youths were singing and dancing round on Wednesday with Brazilian flag because the World Cup is here. Plenty others were also at the stadium to see the level of readiness for the opening ceremony. It is indeed a tale of a country divided. We are yet to see the protesters maybe because there is a huge presence of police all over the city. Some of the protesters left a sign post “F.. king Cup” at the bridge in front of the Sao Paulo stadium and that speaks volume.

Trekking the hills

The media centre of the Sao Paulo Stadium is not an easy place to go. You have to trek close to three kilometres to enter the place and when going you will be panting as you climb the hills. For those who entered Brazil with big bellies it is obvious they have to trim down with the level of exercise all the journalists will have to go through on a daily basis. It is tough. The competition is just beginning and we have a long way to go with the mandatory exercise.

Romantic Sao Paulo

France is said to be the most romantic city in the world, but I am in doubt because of the scenes I have seen within a short time. At the media centre, some Brazilian journalists or couples go hand in hand cuddling as they go about their jobs. At the Metroline Park near the stadium a young guy and a girl were glued to the wall kissing in daylight not bothered about the busy nature of the place. At an eatery on Wednesday evening a young couple also took over a corner lost in romance with no food on their table. At Baligo Dagama Road, there were various scenes including lesbians curdling on the road. The weather is not helping matters and so one cannot blame the proud lovers on the streets.

The weather is unusually below 10 degrees.

Expensive, problematic telecoms

Everything is expensive in Brazil. If you enter a cab, you are to pay heavily and making calls is not easy. A minute call to Nigeria on mobile attracts as high as five dollars which is about N400. And so many of us have resorted to audio calls on the Internet. So far visitors especially, journalists, have been looking for call cards and that is also not easy to get. The credit cards are also not been sold in the streets but at supermarkets and malls. The telecommunication system is so odd here. To call Nigeria one is used to +234... but it did not work here; you have to use national code and Sao Paulo code. Na real wah.

I’m fit for Iran test –Musa

S

Musa

uper Eagles midfielder, Ahmed Musa, has declared himself fit for Nigeria’s first match against Iran scheduled Curitiba on Monday.

Musa told our correspondent on Thursday that his injury was not too serious but

that doctors advised him not to aggravate it.

He said, “I was ready to play even the last friendly against the USA, but it is of no use taking such risk when the event proper was yet to start.

“I am happy to say that I have been part of full training for about a week and also trained on Wednesday. I am fit and ready for Iran.”

Speaking on the opposition, the CSKA Moscow player said the encounter would be tough since it is the first match.

“Every first match is always very dicey because the competition is just starting. We are hoping to take our chances early and control the match to bag the three points.

“We know the importance of the first two games and we are going to do our best to get the results,” he said.

Nigerian are competing for honours in group F of the global football competition along with Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Argentina.

Eagles complete accreditation, FIFA briefing lAs Campinas Mayor backs Eagles to excel

P

layers and officials of Nigeria national team on Thursday completed their accreditation process for the World Cup in the presence of top FIFA officials.

The team was also taken through drills on new goal line technology, match fixing, security, media responsibilities and general conduct in an event that lasted for about two hours.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Campinas, an outskirts of Sao Paulo, Mr

Donas Donizete, has tipped the Super Eagle to win the 2014 World Cup. Donizete visited the team’s hotel, with top government officials after dinner to felicitate with the squad.

In his address, the Campinas M ayo r, thanked Nigeria for choosing the city which is home to over one million people as their camp base. He said he foresees Nigeria going all the way but said he would be torn between his love for Nigeria and his home country Brazil

if both countries were to meet in the course of the championship.

He then presented the Nigerian side with beautiful flowers and an encased World Cup football that were received by team skipper, Joseph Yobo from a beautiful damsel that came with the Mayor, who left many players and, officials mouth agape. “Its our own way of showing you and the other country that chose Campinas as their team base (Portugal), that we love you and we hope you go all the way and do your country and Campinas proud”.

Uzoenyi returns, wishes Echiejile quick recovery

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angers International of Enugu winger, Ejike Uzoenyi, has expressed joy after reuniting with the Super Eagles on Thursday.

“The way my colleagues in the team received me was wonderful and I was short of words, my only pain is that I had to come back to the team because one of our team members was injured. It would have been sweeter if I had been chosen on merit, which I think I de-

serve. But I wish Elderson Echiejile quick recovery and hopefully he will return before the start of next season in Europe”.

Echiejile

He added that,“From the beginning Keshi has been with me, treated me like a father will his son, and I have been everywhere with him, even if he asks me to leave now I will still respect his decision but I thank God that I am back in the team and will do my best in the World Cup. Uzoenyi resumed training with the rest of the squad on Thursday evening after a rousing welcome from his mates on Wednesday evening.

Eagles’ Enemies’ Camp

Messi focused on Bosnia, not Brazil

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rgentina skipper Lionel Messi insists he and his teammates are focussing on their upcoming gme against BosniaHerzegovina, and not on the likelihood of a final against Brazil.

The only stage Argentina can meet hosts Brazil is in the final, but Messi is refusing to think about getting that far just yet, arguing that their group, including BosniaHerzegovina, Iran and Nigeria, poses threats of its own.

“We are not obliged to think as far [as the final]. “At the moment, we are only concentrating on our first-round opponents, especially on Bosnia-Herzegovina, who we will open our account against at the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

“An easy match in the World Cup? Are you kidding? Bosnia might be making their debut but we know they are a strong and disciplined European team with stars like Edin Dzeko having inspired them to qualify for Brazil.”

Expect fire, Iran coach warns Eagles

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arlos Queiroz has warned Group F opponents – Nigeria, Argentina and BosniaHerzegovina – that his Iran team will not be pushovers at the FIFA World Cup. Iran, who have qualified for their fourth finals, but in each of their three previous World Cup appearances, they have crashed out at the group stage and their only finals win to date came in France ‘98, beating United States 2-1 at Stade Gerland.

Iran rounded off their preparations for the tournament with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and

Tobago, but the Portuguese is keen to channel it into a positive performance when they open their campaign against Nigeria on Monday.

“It’s always about the next game, never about the last,” the former Manchester United coach said. “What they did last Sunday does not matter anymore. Now we will do on Monday.

“Now it’s time to believe, to no longer make excuses, explanations or giving up. It’s coming on, do the best for their country and try to win the game. The crucial thing is that we did not come here to participate.

Revealed: Why Messi vomits

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new article by Diego Torres, a sometimescontroversial but generally respected Spanish journalist, has shed light on Lionel Messi’s mind, and how it affects his vomiting problem.

It happened again in the friendly against Slovenia, worryingly for Argentina fans, with the next game no longer a friendly.

“The doctors say it’s

nothing to worry about,” Messi’s father, Jorge, told AS. “It does not just happen to him, but to other great athletes in other sports, too.

It is a bit about the stress, or a little stomach problem, but there is nothing else.

There is no need to give it too much attention.”

According to Torres, Messi is deeply troubled because he believes his father is responsible for his tax trouble.

54 SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

News Updates

Netherlands seek revenge Cameroon battle Mexico in crucial opener against Spain Eto’o

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ameroon will kick-off their seventh World Cup finals against Mexico on Friday at Estadio das Dunas in Natal in their Group A opening game.

Skipper Samuel Eto’o and his teammates will also be eager to finally turn the page on their catastrophic display in the previous edition in South Africa, where they suffered an early exit following three consecutive losses.

And their good mix of experience (Nkoulou, Makoun, Enoh, Eto’o, Webo) and talented youngsters (Matip, Salli, Choupo-Moting, Aboubakar) could see them create a few surprises within their tough Group A. But they will have to remain very cautious against a highly experience, Mexican outfit.

Despite a very disappointing qualifying campaign in their CONCACAF zone which saw them go through at the last minute with a 9-3 aggregate thrashing of New-Zealand in a play-off, Mexico have 14 World Cup appearances under their belt, reaching the knock-out stage in the last five editions.

H

olders Spain open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Friday in a repeat of the 2010 final with the Dutch out for revenge.

Andres Iniesta’s strike four minutes from the end of extra-time in the Johannesburg final crowned Spain as world champions for the first time and now, four years later, the European giants clash again at Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova in the mouth-watering opening match of Group B. Captain Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel De Jong and Dirk Kuyt are the five survivors from

the 2010 final in the current squad and the Dutch have made no secret of their desire for revenge.

“It was a big chance for us to win the World Cup and we were really close,” said Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar.

“It should always burn inside to make something right. To play against them now in the first game is a great challenge.”

Veteran midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who will win his 100th cap in the match, said the wounds of that defeat were still raw.

“It’s like a scar that hasn’t yet healed. It always gets me down when I think about it,” said the Galatasaray star.

Brazil 2014 Group Stage Fixtures

Date

Thursday June 12 A Friday June 13 A Friday June 13 B Friday June 13 B Saturday June 14 C Saturday June 14 C Saturday June 14 D Saturday June 15 D Sunday June 15 E Sunday June 15 E Sunday June 15 F Monday June 16 G Monday June 16 F Monday June 16 G Tuesday June 17 H Tuesday June 17 A Tuesday June 17 H Wed June 18 B Wed June 18 B Wed June 18 A Thursday June 19 C Thursday June 19 D Thursday June 19 C Friday June 20 D Friday June 20 E Friday June 20 E Saturday June 21 F Saturday June 21 G Saturday June 21 F Sunday June 22 H Sunday June 22 H Sunday June 22 G Monday June 23 B Monday June 23B Monday June 23A Monday June 23A Tuesday June 24 D Tuesday June 24 D Tuesday June 24 C Tuesday June 24 C Wed June 25 F Wed June 25 F Wed June 25 E Wed June 25 E Thursday June 26 G Thursday June 26 G Thursday June 26 H Thursday June 26 H

Group Teams

Brazil V Croatia

Mexico V Cameroon

Spain V Netherlands

Chile V Australia

Colombia V Greece

Uruguay V Costa Rica England V Italy

Côte d’Ivoire V Japan

Switzerland V Ecuador France V Honduras

Argentina V Bosnia & H Germany V Portugal

IRAN V NIGERIA

Ghana V USA

Belgium V Algeria

Brazil V Mexico

Russia V Korea Republic Australia V Netherlands Spain V Chile

Cameroon V Croatia Colombia V Côte d’Ivoire Uruguay V England Japan V Greece Italy V Costa Rica Switzerland V France Honduras V Ecuador Argentina B Iran Germany V Ghana NIGERIA V BOSNIA & H Belgium V Russia Korea Republic V Algeria USA V Portugal

Netherlands V Chile Australia V Spain Cameroon V Brazil Croatia V Mexico Italy V Uruguay Costa Rica V England Japan V Colombia Greece V Côte d’Ivoire Nigeria V Argentina Bosnia & H V Iran Honduras V Switzerland Ecuador V France Portugal V Ghana USA V Germany Korea Rep V Belgium Algeria V Russia

Time

9pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 2am 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 10pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 8pm 11pm 5pm 5pm 9pm 9pm 5pm 5pm 9pm 9pm 5pm 5pm 11pm 11pm 5pm 5pm 9pm 9pm

Venue Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo Estadio das Dunas, Natal Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza Arena Amazonia, Manaus Arena Pernambuco, Recife Estadio Nacional, Brasilia Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador Arena da Baixada, Curitiba Estadio das Dunas, Natal Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro Arena Amazonia, Manaus Estadio Nacional, Brasilia Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo Estadio das Dunas, Natal Arena Pernambuco, Recife Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador Arena da Baixada, Curitiba Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre Arena Amazonia, Manaus Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo Estadio Nacional, Brasilia Estadio Nacional, Brasilia Arena Pernambuco, Recife Estadio das Dunas, Natal Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador Arena Amazonia, Manaus Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro Estadio Nacional, Brasilia Arena Pernambuco, Recife Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo Arena da Baixada, Curitiba

Sneijder

Japan captain ready for Côte d’Ivoire Results

J

apan captain, Makoto Hasebe, has declared himself “ready to go” for his team’s FIFA World Cup™ Group C opener against Côte d’Ivoire in Recife at the weekend, shrugging off worries over a knee injury.

“There is no problem [with the knee] and I have been taking part in full training,” the FC Nurnberg defensive midfielder said after Wednesday’s workout at Japan’s World Cup base camp in Itu, near Sao Paulo.

“Obviously it is the coach that decides but I am ready to go,” the 30-year-old added about his

chance of making the first team for the match which kicks off at 10pm local time on Saturday, according to Kyodo News.

Japan have shown attacking flair, scoring seven goals in the Florida friendlies, but their leaky defence yielded four. Hasebe believes the Ivorians have similar problems.

“Ivory Coast are strong in attack but on the other hand they are a bit flimsy in defence,” he said. “We are both attacking teams and I think it will be the team with the highest levels of concentration that will come out on top.”

Cahill ready for tricky Chile

T

im Cahill is expecting the Chileans to try to put him off his game with some underhanded tactics at the World Cup and the Socceroos striker says to bring it on.

Cahill

The Chilean squad is the shortest at the World Cup, making Cahill’s aerial strength in the box an even more potent threat than usual in the crucial opening clash in Cuiaba on Friday (Saturday morning AEST).

“I know for a fact that they’ll have someone, or a few holding and shirt pulling and things like that to put me off my game. But that’s no different to what I’ve had in the past,” he said.

“It’s a competition where a little nudge can change the way you head a ball or the way you attack a ball or even defend a ball.

SPORT 55

Sanctity of Truth

Friday, June 13, 2014

Appearance Fee: Danagogo wades into NFF, Eagles row Jude Opara Abuja

I

n a bid to save the country from a possible embarrassment, the Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Dr. Tamuno Danagogo has waded into the disagreement between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Super Eagles players ahead of their first Group F

match against Iran on Monday.

The Super Eagles players have demanded that the NFF tell them what percentage of the $8 million allocation which FIFA gives to participating teams at the World Cup that will come to them as appearance fee.

But the football house was said not to have been favourably disposed to that development, a situation that many fear may force

the players to refuse to play their opening match against the Iranians.

To this effect, Danagogo met with the NFF president, Aminu Maigari at the Maksoud Plaza hotel on his arrival in Brazil where he expressly told him of the need to make sure that the players got all that was their due to guarantee their 100% performance at the mundial.

Ghanaian spiritualist tips Eagles for Second Round

Transfer Updates

Chelsea confirm £30m Fabregas deal

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helsea have confirmed the capture of midfielder Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £30-million. The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge and will wear the number four shirt.

“Firstly I would like to thank everyone at FC Barcelona where I enjoyed three wonderful years.

Puma to help Arsenal sign Balotelli

R

eports in Italy this week claim Puma will help Arsenal to sign Mario Balotelli from AC Milan. The striker is sponsored by Puma, who also announced a partnership with Arsenal in January.

Balotelli’s future at Milan has been thrown into doubt after President Silvio Berlusconi confessed it was still to be decided and Sky Sport Italia pundit Mario Giunta suggested.

No Napoli switch for Pato

Charles Ogundiya

A

renowned Ghanaian Muslim cleric/spiritualist, Ustarz Sham-UnaJibrel, has tipped the Super Eagles of Nigeria to make it to the second round at the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

He also predicted that an African team will likely be in the last four.

In his word; “Some of the teams Performers taking part in the that will play in the Round of 16 opening ceremony of the 2014 FIFA World Cup include: Germany, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, Cameroon, Portugal, Argentina, Nigeria and Uruguay.”

He continued his prediction with the teams that will be playing in the semi-final that will intennis is not developing. I have clude an unnamed African team.

Chimaobi Uchendu watched with sadness internationHe named hosts Brazil as the team al and local tournaments in this that will win the championship. country which would have devel“Teams that will play in the resident of Lagos Lawn Tennis oped our players but the contrary semi-finals include any of these Club, Sam Egbuchulam, is sad is the case. teams, Brazil, Holland, Italy, Arthat despite local and interna“The Governors’ Tennis tourgentina, France, Spain and one tional tennis tournaments organnament has been in existence for ised in Nigeria, local players have African country. several years now, but no Nigerian “At this stage my spiritual cal- refused to improve. has won the tournament. Foreign culation is swinging from Brazil He said there will be no need players that participate in this meeting Germany or Spain in wasting money organising these event go ahead to break into Grand the final. I finally had Germany competitions, when our players Slams all over the world”. against Brazil with Brazil lifting are not ready to learn from their “Then I begin to ask if this tourthe trophy with a 2-1 scoreline,” foreign counterparts. nament is meant to improve or imUstarz said.

“It is sad to note that Nigeria poverish our players. I know the organisers mean well for tennis development but the main actors are not serious about developing themselves,” he said.

He called on the Nigeria Tennis Federation to formulate a deliberate policy that will help discover talents at early ages, especially in primary schools to reverse this ugly trend.

“Most successful tennis players’ start early but the reverse is the case in Nigeria. I want to advocate a deliberate policy by the NTTF to L-R Mr. Fatai Amoo, Group Head, E-Business, Sterling Bank Plc, winners of Verve - Sterling catch tennis players at the right Bank Road to Brazil Promo, Mrs. Joy Brown and Mr. Nnodua Nnamdi Ndubuisi with Mrs. age because good players start Taiwo Kolawole, E-Business, Sterling Bank Plc at the presentation of flight documents to the winners in Lagos on Wednesday. playing from tender ages,” he said.

A

lexandre Pato’s agent Gilmar Veloz has moved to dismiss speculation his client is set to move to Napoli. The Brazil international spent six years in Serie A at Milan, before returning to his homeland last year with Corinthians.

“I can say immediately that it would be a very difficult situation, as it’s very unlikely Sao Paulo would release him,” he said.“The club worked so hard to get Pato and will do everything to keep hold of him even if there is interest from a European club.

“I never heard from Napoli. If the club is interested then they know who to speak to, but I can already say now it would be tough.”

Al Jazira prepare €15m bid for Sow

LLTC president decries dearth of nited Arab Emirates side Al Jazira are Upreparing a bid for Fenerbahce striker good tennis players

P

Moussa Sow, who scored 16 goals for Fenerbahce this season.

Al Jazira, who are owned by Manchester City boss, Monsour Al-Nahyan, are set to meet Fenerbahce’s valuation for the Senegalese international which is set at €15 million.

Real to move for Ramires

S

panishpublicationMarcahasclaimedthat RealMadridPresidentFlorentinoPerezwill accedetothewishesofCoachCarloAncelottiand move to sign Chelsea midfielder Ramires.

It’sclaimedthatAncelottihasidentifiedRamires a s the player he wants to bring to Santiago Bernabeu and Perez,feelinggratefultoAncelottifordeliveringtheChampionsLeague, will do his best to deliver the Brazil international.

But Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is reluctant to sell, despite Ramires being open to the offer of a move to La Liga. It would be a reunificationwithAncelotti,whowastheChelseamanagerwhenRamires left Benfica for Stamford Bridge in 2011.

Wolsburg show interest in Lukaku

W

olfsburg’s sporting director Klaus Allofs has revealed that the Bundesliga club are interested in signing Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku.

TheBelgiuminternational,currentlyawaywithhiscountryatthe World Cup in Brazil,has spent the last two seasons out on loan in the Premier League as Chelsea sought to give him regular playing time.

Lukaku impressed in both stints, scoring 17 league goals at West Brom in the 2012-13 campaign before netting a further 15 at Everton last term.

World Record

On Marble

My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.

– Socrates

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 FRIday, JUNE 13, 2014

N150

A hard road to travel I Graffiti n the past week, the Nigerian print media has faced an unrelenting ferocious clampdown. The thuggish assault by the military began on June 6 in several cities including Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Maiduguri and Ibadan, as soldiers descended on distribution hubs confiscating newspapers and distribution vehicles.

Themilitary’sexplanationthereafter,more like an after-thought in the wake of mounting criticism,wasthatithadintelligence“indicating movement of materials with grave securityimplicationsacrossthecountryusingthe channelsof newsprintrelatedconsignments.”

This vague explanation, as has been the case withthemilitary’sinformationmanagement during the current insurgency, was soon followed by another from the presidency. In one breath it denied the involvement of the presidencyintheclampdown,butatthesame time fully endorsed the action: “If the collective security of the Nigerians is at risk, those inchargeof securitymustdosomething,even if we are all at pains at the moment.”

Realisingmanywerenotfooledbythetepid explanations, the military tried another tack.

A senior military officer was reported as saying that a stop-and-search mission in Jos had discovered arms and ammunitions in two buses bearing the names of two Christian organizations,andasimilardiscoveryattheoutskirtsof Abujainasachetwaterdeliveryvan.

Of course, this sounded too convenient given it had never been mentioned in any briefing.

The crackdown attracted a firestorm of criticisms. The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Nigeria bar Association, International Press Centre, Nigeria Labour Congress and a host of civil society organisations and prominent personalities have weighed in with condemnations.

While the Socio-Economic Rights and AccountabilityProjectshaspetitionedtheUnited NationsSpecialRapporteuronthepromotion andprotectionof therighttofreedomof opinion and expression, Mr. Frank La Rue, newspapers have reacted angrily. In its scathing editorialonJune10,theNewTelegraphnoted: “Thebelatedexplanationsbyboththemilitary hierarchy and the presidency, reflect the poor reasoning that has become the hallmark of this administration. Regardless of any denial or motive of the military, the forceful seizure of vehicles and confiscation of newspapers is a flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is totallyunacceptableasitsmirksof adesperate attempt to silence the vibrant and articulate press. It is indeed a sad reminder of what happened severally under military dictatorship in Nigeria, where the military regimes hid behind obnoxious and draconian laws such as Decrees 2 and 4 of 1984 to wantonly violate

EMMAN USMAN SHEHU prohabe@hotmail.com - 08051614969 (sms only)

the freedom of the press in the country.”

Right from its birth, the Nigerian media has been a victim of serial crackdowns. This startedwiththecolonialadministrationwhich put in place obnoxious laws that are still in the statute books. The various military regimes also jackbooted the media severally, and the civilian administrations did not fare better at certain times.

The situation in the Fourth Republic must be viewed with utmost concern giving the increasing infamy. From 1999, the Obasanjo, Yar’AduaandJonathanadministrationshave shown varying degrees of intolerance for the media. When Obasanjo began his infamous third-term project which many Nigerians frowned at, his administration became glaringly hostile to the media as the 2007 election approached. Casualties included AIT, Daily Independent and Leadership newspapers.

The Yar’Adua administration took on Jonathan Elendu, a pioneer blogger, whose reports on high-profile politicians featured on his social media platform. Leadership too had a rough time as it reported insistently on Yar’Adua’s failing health.

The Jonathan administration has fared worse, showing an increasing desperation in narrowing the space for alternative views.

This fascist attitude, co-championed by the noisy Information Minister and other aides, began to be evident after the two-week nationwide Occupy Nigeria protest in January 2012, when the demand for accountability in the oil sector was made possible by the social media.

In July 2012, the Senate President called for a clampdown on social media in Nigeria. Almostayearlater,theIsraelisecurityfirmElbit Systems got a $40 million contract to monitor internet communication. Since then the administration has purchased technology to enable it snoop on the private internet activity of citizens. Meanwhile the Nigerian Communications Commission is trying to impose a surveillancelegislationthroughthebackdoor.

Within the context of citizen’s rights based on the Nigerian Constitution, these actions eveninaclimateof failingsecurity,aresources of concern because of the possibility of grave abuse. Unfolding events are proving that the issueof securityconcernisonlyacamouflage for cracking down on those the administration is uncomfortable with, including civil

The largest tug of war tournament consisted of 1,574 participants and was achieved by Phi Kappa Psi and Zeta Tau Alpha at RIT (USA) in Rochester, New York, USA, on 22 September 2012.

society organizations, media, informed vocal citizens and an opposition that is becoming formidable.

Since the #BringBackOurGirls campaign over the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls gained national and international traction, the administration has shown an even greater level of desperation. Initially it sought to change the narrative by funding a new group #ReleaseOurGirlsBokoHaram, which culminated in the latter physically assaulting the former. That provided a pretext for announcing a nationwide ban on protests by the police, butitwasretractedfollowingwidespreadcondemnation of the illegal pronouncement. Simultaneously the administration has sought to create the impression that the #BringBackOurGirls group is being sponsored by the major opposition party, only succeeding in ridiculing itself.

With both tactics failing, it is not a coincidence that what has followed is a crackdown on the media. Clearly, just as was the case with the Occupy Nigeria protest, the Jonathan administration is frightened by the accountability issues the #BringBackOurGirls campaign is raising. The longer the protest continues, the more they become an awakening for concerned Nigerians who are getting informed through the independent media of the administration’s inherent ineptitude and themind-bogglingcorruptionwhichhascompromised the efficiency of the military in the face of a raving insurgency.

As Adewale Maja-Pearce put it: “In the meantime, we know that the military is illequipped relative to the insurgents’ superior firepower–despitehugesecuritybudgets,currently at about $5.8 billion, much of which is looted at the source. Just one example! In 2006, the military bought several drones from an Israeli company, Aeronautics Defense Systems, each at an estimated cost of between $15 million and $17 million. They ought to be of use in the search for the abducted schoolgirls, except that they are all grounded for lack maintenance….Perhapseventhosewillingto take occasional work as government stooges arethemselveswakingupfromaslumberthat has gone on for far too long. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign might just signal the end of this debilitating state of affairs.”

The deep rot in the military which is be-

ing exposed through media reports of unpaid allowances, paucity of equipment, obsolete andmalfunctioningequipmentincludingdud drones, low morale, protests, unacceptable casualties, desertions, trial of alleged conspirators, and the absurd wealth profile of senior militaryofficersincludingsomewhorecently retired, reflect the massive corruption in the larger society which this administration has deliberately encouraged.

Thisisanadministrationthatshootsdown any attempt to investigate scandalous corruption cases, and has even had the temerity of declaring that stealing is a form of wealth distribution and cannot be classified as corruption.

In its desperate bid to muzzle the media so that the public will not clamour for accountability, it has sacked broadcasters and banned programmes in some stations. On May 30, the Abuja-basedVisonFMhaditspopularcurrent affairsprogramme,“IdonMikiya”suspended by the NBC. The NBC, on the same day, issued anadditionalregulationonlivepoliticalbroadcasts to all stations, demanding a 48-hour notification before the live transmission of a programme. Two days later, the military struck against the print media.

The administration has chosen a hard road to travel on towards 2015. It is exhibiting an unprecedented paranoia. The huge irony though is that it came to power through the SaveNigeriaprotest.Anyadministrationthat does not realise that the media is the nation’s lifeline, and that freedom of expression is a fundamental Constitutional provision in a democracy, is toying with its destiny. The Nigerianmediahassurvivedtyrantsof allforms who have become part of an ignoble history.

OmoBaba

30 MILLION NIGERIANS LIVE IN DARKNESS - Minister

–While over 140 million Nigerians live in TOTAL DARKNESS !

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