Friday, september 23, 2016 by Newtelegraphonline

Reps probe NNPC over $17bn undeclared crude oil cargo Philip Nyam Abuja

he House of Representatives has resolved to investigate alleged fraud of over $17

billion arising from undeclared crude oil and liquefied natural gas export to global destinations. The resolution followed

a motion under matters of urgent national importance by Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma (PDP, Edo) seeking the probe of a re-

port of an investigation commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013. Leading debate on the

motion, Agbonayinma said that the past administration, in 2013, held a meeting with all the major oil companies to proffer solution to the embarrassing challenge of crude oil

How states, LGs, FG shared N2.53trn in 7 months }6

theft, adding that the former president, his vice, governors of Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, ministers and Service Chiefs were all in attendance. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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NLC, TUC vow to resist sale of national assets Buhari

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Senate to Buhari: Your policies hurting economy }4 & 5 Governors endorse FG’s measures, back Udoma, Adeosun Nigerians in search of jobs

Some job seekers waiting for placement at the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in Lagos …yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

NEWS

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

igeria’s labour movement has kicked against the planned sales of the share holdings in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and other national assets by the Federal Government as part of measures to exit from the current economic recession. The two key labour unions, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) yesterday vowed to resist any attempt by the Federal Government to sell the national assets. The Labour expressed reservations over the calls by business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for the sale of national assets. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma had, at a cabinet retreat hosted in Abuja last week, disclosed plan to sell government’s shares in Joint Ventures (JVCs) and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to raise $15 billion to rescue the country out of economic recession. The national assets to be sold include the four refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt, as well as some aircraft in the presidential fleet.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

NLC, TUC vow to resist sale of national assets

Udoma, in a document entitled “Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity: the Economy and the 2017 Budget,” obtained by New Telegraph, explained that the sale of government assets, Advance Payment for License renewals, infrastructure concessioning and use of recovered funds from corrupt officials were part of strategies put in place by government to bridge the huge funding gap. But NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in a statement titled "We say no to the sale of national investment assets," said such calls were unacceptable to the Congress. “On our part, we are ready, in partnership with other progressive and nationalist forces in our country, to resist the further attempt to plunder our common patrimony," Wabba said. On its part, TUC said it would work with other like-minded progressives to resist the sales. “The Congress will mobilise and resist any further sale or concession of our national assets under whatever guise," TUC said. NLC said such proposals would further weaken the revenue capacity of government in the future and weaken the economic base of the nation.

The NLC President called on Nigerians to resist what he described as new scheming by those waiting and wishing to lap up "these lucrative national assets.” According to him, "we need to preserve these assets for our children and future generations." Wabba said: "While we recognise that there is need to take urgent steps to stem the dwindling fortunes of the national economy, we are convinced that the proposals in question will further weaken the revenue capacity of government in the future and weaken the economic base of the nation. “These calls are more worrisome when one considers the history of sovereign assets divestiture in the past. Where are the proceeds from sales of the assets in the power sector for instance? With the benefit of hindsight, it is obvious that these assets were distributed to favoured individuals and surrogates of the ruling elite without any appreciable benefits to Nigerians. “For example, it was the accrued dividend payments from NLNG shares that provided the resources for the first bail-out to states when many states could not pay salaries under this present regime. It

is on record that dividends, in excess of $1 billion, have accrued annually to the national coffers from the gas company over the past 12 years. “There are lessons to be learnt from some other OPEC countries which invested their oil revenues heavily in the acquisition of sovereign assets, both domestically and internationally. Such countries, today, are deriving a steady stream of earnings from those assets and are, therefore, less vulnerable to the fiscal crisis occasioned by failing oil revenues. "What we need is to leverage on the stream of potential earnings from these investments in seeking to turn around the economy.” The TUC, in a statement issued by its President and acting General Secretary, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama and Barrister Simeso Amachree respectively, warned those calling for the sale of national shareholdings in NLNG and concessioning of the country’s airports to drop the idea if they do not want to incur the wrath of workers. It said those suggestions were disgraceful. The labour union portrays those in support of the sales as enemies of the state. In the statement titled "We say no to sale of national assets," TUC said the

two sectors – aviation and oil and gas – drive economies all over the world, except in Nigeria. According to TUC, "Aviation is Ethiopia’s cash cow. Likewise so in countries blessed with oil and gas. Nigerian Textile Mill (NTM), Nigerian News Print, Oko Buku, Daily Times Newspaper, Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria Ltd., Ikot Abasi, etc. were sold, yet they have not been functioning well till date. We expect the advocates of sale of our other assets to know better. “In addition, these are critical assets which, expectedly, should be bequeathed to generations unborn. It is our thinking that if those clamouring for the sales pay their appropriate taxes, there would be enough money to bring the country out of the woods without sacrificing our national assets. “Truly, we appreciate the concern of some sincere people in government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari who is working tirelessly to fix the economy. But we get worried when people suggest we sell investments like NLNG, which provided the money for the bailout of states when they could not pay salaries and concession our airports.

“And on what grounds? Just because the toilets and air-conditioners are not functioning well? Would these people sell off their houses simply because the toilets and airconditioners are faulty? If they would not, why are they pushing for sale of the few national assets we have left?” The Labour union lamented that the country has witnessed job losses against creation of employment promised by the present government. “In case those canvassing for the sale have forgotten, it is imperative that they realise that this administration promised to create a minimum of three million jobs yearly. Unfortunately, instead of generation of more jobs, no less than four million jobs have been lost in the last one and half years, a development that has led to serious security issues. “All over the world, the oil and gas and aviation industries are viable ventures if well managed. While we urge government to ignore these calls from the “enemies of the state,” we demand that ministers and lawmakers should justify the humongous sums of money they earn by making pro-people policies and proffer ways out of the recession," TUC said.

NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Senate to Buhari: Your policies hurting economy

lPresident's anti-corruption war scares investors –Bruce lSenators oppose sale of national assets

he Senate, yesterday, concluded debate on the state of the economy with senators calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse some of his policies that indirectly helped to plunge the economy into recession. Some of the senators, who spoke on the way out of the economic recession, observed that some of the policies of President Buhari were negative, as they created fears in Nigerians and investors from within and outside the country. More senators also urged the president to revisit the Treasury Single

Account (TSA) policy, where most of the country's revenues are lodged, lamenting that it made it impossible for money to circulate for investors to access funds to invest. Also, senators joined the opposition to the proposal by the Federal Government and even the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, that some of the national assets should be sold to generate funds to finance the economy and also boost the foreign reserves. Senator Ben MurrayBruce, in his contribution, said that Buhari’s anti-corruption policy was harsh and crumbling the

economy by threatening Nigerians and creating fears in potential investors. He said: "Buhari’s approach to anti-corruption is wrong. Let us forget the foreign investors; what about the local investors? Nobody is investing anything anymore because nobody is buying anything; everybody is terrified to spend money. "If people are afraid, they will not invest; fear will not be a policy to grow the economy. Money is a coward; it only goes to places where there is peace and tranquility. I have a friend who told me that he did business and was paid le-

gitimate N50 million in his account and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came and picked him up; a legitimate transaction. "We cannot be afraid to be Nigerians; we cannot be afraid to live in our country. Obasanjo fought corruption and got some money back, but nobody was terrified; I support Buhari’s policy, but let us change the approach. If we do not want to invest in our country, foreigners will not invest in our country." Senator Bala Na’Allah, in his submission, said that Buhari had good intentions in the implementation of

L-R: Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; President Muhammadu Buhari; Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Legal Affairs, United Nations, Mr. Stephen Mathias and Chief of the Treaty Section, OLA, United Nations, Mr. Santiago Villalpando, during the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in New York … yesterday

ABUJA

he Nigeria Police yesterday clashed with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) as the group marched into Abuja. The protesters, who are members of the Shiite sect, were demanding the release of their spiritual leader, Sheik Ibrahim ElZakzaky who has been in detention since December 2015. The protesters, numbering over 500 men and women, were marching on the busy Shehu Shagari Way en-route the Federal Secretariat and Eagle Square, when armed policemen stationed at the road intersection by the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Justice, stopped the seemingly peaceful march. The protesters, who brandished placards and photographs of their detained leader, chanted songs in Hausa, demanding his immediate release. They were, however, forced to flee in different directions as policemen shot several canisters of tear gas to disperse them. Some of them who defied the warning shots were promptly arrested and

without alternative policy to redistribute money into the system for businessmen to access funds to run their business. So, government must find a way to redistribute the money in TSA so that genuine businessmen can access funds for their business. "Again, I believe that CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

-17.48%

The growth rate of Oil sector of Nigeria’s GDP in Q2 2016. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

$20.2m

The total amount of salary/ winnings of Justin Verlander (Baseball) for 2015. Source: Forbes.com

Reps probe NNPC over $17bn undeclared crude oil cargo CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

El-Zakzaky: Police, Shiite protesters clash in Abuja Onwuka Nzeshi

the TSA policy, but regretted that it was done without providing alternative policy to redistribute money into the system, resulting in unemployment and hunger in the country. He pointed out that there were 15 other countries facing recession as Nigeria, but never faced hunger and starvation as Nigerians were currently undergoing at the moment. The lawmaker also expressed concern that although the president meant well for the country, he was surrounded by ministers and advisers who did not have the interest of the country at heart. "Government should reconsider its TSA policy because it was put in place

taken away in police patrol vans. President, Media Forum of the IMN, Mallam Ibrahim Musa, described the action of the police as an illegal attack by security. Musa stressed that the Free Zakzaky march was to protest the continued illegal detention of their leader. Zakzaky's incarceration, he said, was unjustifiable because he was being held without charges and access to appropriate medical care. He urged the international community to mount pressure on the Federal Government to speedily release Zakzaky for urgent medical attention. In a statement sent to journalists after the protest, Musa expressed disappointment that security men stopped what he described as a peaceful protest even after the assurance given by the police hierarchy some weeks ago that the constitutional rights of Nigerians to peaceful protest would be guaranteed at all times. He lamented that the protesters had difficulties entering Abuja for the protest because the Nigerian Army had mounted roadblocks on the way to

prevent people from entering the capital city for the protest march. "About a hundred arrests were made, including women and children and taken to military barracks. The thousands, who had managed to enter Abuja for the peaceful march, were crudely attacked by the Nigerian Police, who physically attempted to prevent the march for no just cause. They fired tear gas and live bullets as well to disrupt the peaceful march. Consequently, scores were injured and many more were arrested and are being detained. "Our rights to freely move is inalienable and we wish to remind the Nigerian security agents of the fundamental rights of people to assemble peacefully and demonstrate without any official harassment. If at all they are in doubt or have forgotten, they should consult their lawyers since Nigerian courts have upheld this position. “Certainly, in a democracy, it is the right of citizens to conduct peaceful processions, rallies or demonstrations without seeking and obtaining permission from anybody. It is a right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution as amended and any law that

attempts to curtail such rights is null and void and of no consequence," he said. The group urged the Federal Government to restrain the police and other security agencies from further harassing or intimidating Free Zakzaky protests, adding that democracy allows alternative views, dissent, protest, marches, rallies and demonstrations. A bloody confrontation had, on December 12, 2015, ensued between the military and members of the Shiite movement, resulting in the deaths of some members of the sect, while hundreds got injured in the process. According to the sect, the group’s leader, El-Zakzaky, who dresses like an ayatollah, suffered four bullet wounds, and is among scores detained. The Nigerian Army had alleged assassination attempt on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, when his convoy was passing through Zaria in Kaduna State. El-Zakzaky has been in the custody since the incident. His followers have been protesting the continued detention.

"Following the resolve of the meeting at the behest of the president, Molecular Power System Limited was engaged to provide technical data (records of crude oil and liquefied natural gas lifting in Nigeria as obtained from NNPC and landing certificates at global destinations) to verify possibilities of nondeclaration to the Federal Government by multinational companies. "The data gathering of shipment to the United States for the period of 2011 to December 2014 through critical NNPC data and the Central Bank’s preshipment inspection report shows an undeclared crude oil shortfall of 57,830,000 metric tonnes on Nigerian crude oil, translating to well over $12 billion export to the US, also over $3 billion to China and $839,522,600 to Norway. "These were conclusively ascertained by buyers, bill of laden, arrival dates, destination ports, quantity of crude oil and other documented information. This job has been done in 51 countries where Nigerian crude oil has been exported to with the report of the United States being the largest receiver of crude oil and that of other countries made available to the former president, the office of the Attorney General and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).” He noted that "as at today, the country has to its credit over $17 billion of recoverable shortfalls from undeclared crude oil exports to global destinations." The lawmaker stressed that the money that belongs to Nigeria is in the hands of a few individuals.

Agbonayinma further disclosed that the Federal Government had initiated a policy of loading crude oil from Nigeria under the joint supervision of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Navy, the Customs, Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), expressing dismay how and why the policy was crippled over the years till date. He also revealed that the agencies have also lost the capacity to go to offshore locations to witness loading as the machines that monitor loading into vessels were bought, owned, calibrated and operated by the international oil companies without monitoring. Information, according to the lawmaker, revealed that a total of 727,460 metric tons of liquefied natural gas, estimated at about $461.44 million, was firmly established as a shortfall from shipment to seven countries, adding that this revenue loss was traced to cargoes at each destination’s port of entry and have been established as undeclared cargoes. Collaborating the motion, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said: "I remember the crux of your motion when you discussed it with me and you said that the past government hired a consultant and paid $5 million. It has since turned in its report and it's a basic idea of spending $5 million to investigate a crime with a report that has indicted many people and organisations and up till now, no recovery has been made." The motion was unanimously approved via a voice vote after it was put to question by the Speaker.

NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Governors endorse FG’s measures, back Udoma, Adeosun Anule Emmanuel Abuja

overnors of the 36 states of the federation have expressed confidence over steps being taken by the Economic Management Team (EMT) of President Muhammadu Buhari to get the economy out of recession. The governors specifically singled out the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, and the Minister of Finance, Mrs.

Kemi Adeosun, for their initiatives and policies tailored towards reflating the economy. The governors, who are members of the National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja where they deliberated on the state of the economy. The endorsement of Udoma and Adeosun is coming barely a day after the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, called for the redeployment

of the duo because of their incompetence to manage the economy. Briefing State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting, Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu expressed support for the plans and proposals of the Federal Government to steer the country out of recession. "Council members expressed confidence in and unanimously commended the EMT and both the Budget and National Planning and Finance Ministers for the presentations to the

How states, LGs, FG shared N2.53trn in 7 months

he federal, states and local governments have shared N2.53 trillion as proceeds of revenues from the Federation Account from January to July. The figures, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), were derived from documents obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance, showing that the total revenue generated for the months under review was N2.73 trillion. However, deductions were made for cost of collection to Nigeria Customs Service (seven per cent); Federal Inland Revenue Service (four per cent) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (four per cent). The revenue is usually shared in arrears; for example, revenue generated in January is shared in February; thus, the revenue shared between January and July was actually generated between December 2015 and June 2016. In the months under review, the Federal Government alone received a total of N1.1 trillion; states got N727.5 billion and the local governments got N544.9 billion. This was shared based on the formula of the Federal Government receiving 52.68 per cent of the amount generated, states, 26.72 per cent and local governments, 20.6 per cent. Also, oil-producing states shared an additional N148.1 billion based on the 13 percent derivation. The revenue shared was the mineral earnings from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) and DPR and non-mineral revenue from Customs and FIRS. Additional revenue came from Petroleum Profit Tax, Import Duty, Exchange gains and NNPC refunds. Also, in the month of May, the sum of N1.5 billion, being excess bank charges, was recovered into the Federation Account and shared among the three tiers.

To break it down, in January, N417.1 was shared and the Federal Government received N180.3 billion; states, N113.5 billion and local governments, N85.4 billion while N208.2 was shared as derivation revenue. In February, N370.3 billion was shared and Federal Government received N155.4 billion, states N104 billion and local governments N77.8 billion. N345.1 billion was shared in March with the Federal Government taking N144.5 billion, states N96.4 billion and local governments, N72.1 billion. Oil-producing states also got an additional N23.2 billion. In April, N306 billion was shared and the Federal Government received N126 billion; states, N86.9 billion and local governments, N64.7 billion, while N20.1 was shared to oil-producing states as derivation fund. May recorded low revenue as only N289.4 billion was shared. The Federal Government got N118.9 billion; states, N83.7 billion and local governments, N62.2 billion. Also, N16 billion was shared as derivation revenue to oil-producing states. In June, N311.5 billion was generated and Federal Government took N129.7 billion, states received N89.1 and local governments made N66.4 billion and as usual, 13 per cent derivation revenue of N17 billion was shared to oilrich states. Based on the data, N691.7 billion was shared in July. This has been the highest amount generated in a month since the beginning of the year. From the amount, Federal Government received N255.6 billion, states, N153.9 billion and local governments, N116.3 billion. The sum of N20.9 billion was shared among oil-producing states. N150 billion has also been given in the last three months to state governments under the Fiscal

Sustainability Plan of the Federal Government to enable them to pay salaries. However, not all states are benefitting from it as some have decided not to participate due to their buoyancy.

Council, praising their efforts, competence and capabilities," he said. Bagudu, who was joined by the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, during the briefing, blamed the current economy on the country's dependence on single commodity, crude oil. The governors expressed concern that the collapse of oil price to less than $30 per barrel in Q1 2016 with no hope of increase is another reason for the recession. Highlights of the meeting, which was later made available to reporters by the Vice President's media office, indicate that the governors agreed that the economic challenge provided an opportunity to restructure and reset the economy. The statement said that the EMT was working on a plan to generate immediate larger injection of funds

into the economy through asset sales, advance payment of license renewals, infrastructure concessioning and use of recovered funds to reduce funding gaps in the budget. The government, as indicated, is to implement Fiscal Stimulus/Budget Priorities and fast-track procedures through legislation and implementation of Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of the budget. NEC was also briefed on the balance in Excess Crude Account (ECA) now $2.453 billion as at September 20. Other deliberations at the meeting include government's target of N1 billion fund to operate Public Private Partnership (PPP) of N500 billion initial to create a blended pool of long-term funds to intervene in housing development finance and

mortgage provision. The funds are expected to deliver family housing priced from as low as N2.5 million up to N18 million delivered in a ready to occupy condition with essential services (water and power connected). The delivery target is 400,000 to 500,000 housing units per annum. The minister of finance reported to Council that N50 billion has so far been disbursed to state governments, and the facility is ongoing.

$1.16m

The capital importation of the IT Services sector of Nigeria in Q1 2013. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

9.46m

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of Argentina in 2006. Source: Itu.int

L-R: Controller (Kano Zonal Office), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Alhaji Adamu Amshi; Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, Femi Atoyebi; Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr. Philip Eretan and Head, Administration, NCC, Mr. Kehinde Oladipo, at the 78th edition of the NCC Consumer Outreach Programme (COP) in Kano, yesterday.

Senate to Buhari: Your policies hurting economy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

the president has good intentions, but has people working with him who are not thinking correctly. I recalled when I complained when the CBN stopped operation of domiciliary accounts within and outside Nigeria and many people pulled out. So, these two decisions must be revisited and redirected to ensure that there is a platform for redistribution of income," he said. Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, however, opined that the economic recession was a blessing in disguise for the country because it had now propelled the government and Nigerians to start thinking on how to do things differently in order to enjoy a better future. On how to tackle the problem, Ogbuoji stressed that the issue of restructuring the nation's federalism must be given serious attention, particularly with a view to strengthening the states and local governments to be productive and work towards financial au-

tonomy. He also kicked against the sale of national assets. He said: "Those who are canvassing that we should sell our assets are getting it wrong; we have sold some of them, yet we are still here.” Ogbuoji noted that the only way to get out of the present economic woes was by drastically tackling the endemic corruption in the system. "If we do not cure the systemic corruption, we would not go anywhere, but we should not be portrayed as thieves. Corruption is not peculiar to Nigeria. In fact, it was imported into Nigeria, there is corruption everywhere in the world, they only manage their corruption," he said. Senators Andy Uba and Ovie Omo-Agege also expressed opposition to the idea of selling some national assets, stressing that it was not the solution to the problem and that the nation would have nothing remaining for the future if sold now.

On his part, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Olusola Adeyeye insisted that one pragmatic means of addressing the current problem was to cut cost of governance and also reduce estacode for public office holders. He said: "We must reduce the cost of governance. Nigeria’s estacode is the highest in the world and we must cut it. Obafemi Awolowo tried to reduce it in 1978, but now it has risen by five times. "All of you with houses in Maitama and Asokoro and you don’t pay tenement rates, you are part of the problem. We should restructure the nation and the state should not be coming to Abuja to collect handouts," he said. Also, Senators Jonah Jang, Clifford Ordia and Barau Jibrin harped on the need for President Buhari to release the money in the TSA into the economy so that the hunger and unemployment would be addressed in the short run, while long-term strategies

were being put in place. Senator Ahmad Lawan urged the Federal Government to emulate the former President of the United States who approached the US Congress to pass the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, to tackle recession, suggesting that the Senate should engage the executive in a roundtable discussion in order proffer lasting solution to the problem. At the end of the debate, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, commended his colleagues for taking the debate seriously and suppressing partisanship in their contributions. He then set up a six-man adhoc committee to articulate the various recommendations of the senators and come up with a report to be adopted by Tuesday during plenary. The committee is headed by Senator Abdullahi Yahaya from kebbi State. The members of the committee include Jibrin, Murray-Bruce, Rafiu Ibrahim, Mohammed Hassan, and John Enoh.

national | news

friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

I didn’t sponsor Boko Haram, Ihejirika tells court Tunde Oyesina Abuja

former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Onyeabo Ihejirika, yesterday, denied allegations that he was sponsoring the Boko Haram Sect in office. Ihejerika made the submission in a suit he filed before an Abuja High Court against the publisher of Thisday newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, Leaders and Company Limited and Stephen Davis, an Australian, who claimed to be a hostage negotiator working for the release of Nigerian women taken hostage by the Boko Haram sect at Chibok, Borno State in 2014. In the suit, the plaintiff is claiming N100billion in damages from the defendants for defamation in an interview granted by Davis to Arise TV and published in ThisDay newspaper. He also asked for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further defamatory

comments concerning him. Ihejirika wants the defendants to publish a full retraction and apology in the front page of ThisDay newspaper for the said false and libelous publication. Ihejirika, who was cross examined by counsel for the defendants, Frank Chude, said that Boko Haram were terrorists and the Nigerian Army was fighting the group. On whether his duties as a General was of public consumption, Ihejirika said he was a public figure and issues related to him were for public consumption. The former COAS said he did not have personal issues with Boko Haram but fought them as terrorists. He, however, admitted that he had heard the tape of the interview and that his name was not mentioned. But Ihejirika said he was the only Chief of Army Staff that retired in January 2014 as mentioned in the tape.

He also said he had never granted ThisDay newspaper any interview but had read the said publication when his attention was drawn to it. Plaintiff counsel, A.B. Anachebe (SAN), had raised objection that his client would not answer the question by the defence if the story published in ThisDay newspaper about Ihejirika was true.

Chibok girls: Buhari wants UN to serve as negotiator Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari has urged the United Nations (UN) to serve as an intermediary for negotiation with members of the Boko Haram insurgents to rescue over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago in Borno State. The president told UN

Dariye defects to APC Chukwu David Abuja

enator Joshua Dariye, yesterday defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby reducing the strength of the PDP to 43 senators and increasing the APC to 59. Labour Party (LP) has one member. Saraki read Dariye's letter, notifying the Senate of his decision immediately after a six-hour debate on the economy. Dariye hinged his deci-

sion of the division in the PDP, saying that he had widely consulted with his constituents before making up his mind. He said: "After due consultation with my constituency, I write to notify you of my intention to cross over from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC. My decision is informed by the protracted division at the national level of the PDP that led to the massive movement of my supporters to APC. Arising from this, I therefore write to formerly inform you of my decision to go along with my supporters."

L-R: Elder statesmen, Otunba Olasubomi Balogun; Chief Olanihun Ajayi; Ooni of Ife,Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi and Alhaji Lateef Okunu, at 2016 Olojo Festival Corporate Forum and Oonirisa sitting with Yoruba elder statesmen in Lagos…yesterday.

Secretary General, Ban Kimoon, that Nigeria would welcome intermediaries from the global body to negotiate release of the abducted girls. Buhari explained that this step is to demonstrate his government's commitment to swapping the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok with Boko Haram fighters in custody. Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe at the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York, Buhari said his government was willing to bend over backwards, to get the Chibok girls released from captivity. He said the challenge was getting credible and bona fide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with. The president said that the split in the insurgent group was also not helping matters. "Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in,” he said. The president noted that the teachings of Boko Haram were far from being Islamic, as neither Islam nor any other reli-

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) yesterday said global airlines are expected to post record profits of almost $40 billion this year. It, however, warned that the sector faced threats from terrorism, a sharp rise in oil prices

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Alleged brutality: Police accuse AI of hidden agenda Presidency sets up task force on Emmanuel Onani crisis in N’East Abuja

he Police have described as mischievous, Amnesty International's (AI's) latest report, saying it was a "calculated attempt to promote a campaign of calumny and hidden agenda of suppressing growth and development in countries like Nigeria." In a report released on Wednesday, the global human rights watchdog had alleged brutality and torture on the part of the Nigeria Police. In the report entitled, "You have signed your death warrant", AI specifically fingered the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), as subjecting

gion advocates hurting the weak and innocent. “The fact that they kill men, women, children, and other people wantonly, and shout Allahu Akbar (God is great) shows that they do not know Allah at all. If they did, they would not shed innocent blood,” Buhari said. He thanked Ban Kimoon for the moral and material support given to Nigeria, which has enabled the country to surmount many of the challenges facing her. In his response, the UN Secretary General congratulated Buhari on the anti-corruption war, declaring: “You are highly respected by world leaders, including myself. Your persona has given your country a positive image.” He said the UN recognised the achievements of the Buhari administration against Boko Haram, urging that human rights be upheld always, to prevent a repeat of the scenario being witnessed in Syria. Ban Ki-moon also thanked the Nigerian leader for his commitment to issues on climate change, adding that the government should “own the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” for the good of its citizens.

Airlines to post record $40bn profit in 2016 –IATA Wole Shadare

suspects to horrific experiences, including alleged hanging, shootings and other dehumanising tendencies. "Our research has uncovered a pattern of ruthless human rights violations where victims are arrested and tortured until they either make a 'confession' or pay officers a bribe to be released," the report read in part. But the Police yesterday urged the public and the international community, to discountenance the report, saying it was "a clear demonstration of mischief". The police's position was conveyed in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr. Don Awunah, a Deputy

Commissioner of Police (DCP). In an attempt to establish a seeming case of bias against AI, Awunah said: "It is on record that upon written request for a visit to SARS facilities in Abuja, Anambra and Enugu States by Amnesty International, the Inspector General of Police approved the following dates. SARS Abattoir (an area in Abuja) Abuja-14th June, 2016, SARS Awkuzu, Anambra State – 16th June, 2016, SARS Enugu, Enugu State – 17th June, 2016.

3.3m

The total population of Melanesia in 1970. Source: Un.org

Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari has approved the setting up of an Inter-ministerial Task Force to coordinate humanitarian crisis arising from the management of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in North East and other parts of the country. The task force is expected to work with other humanitarian agencies to support the governments and other structures in affected states. A statement by the Vice President’s media office yesterday said

President Buhari in this regard approved a change in the management of the situation, with Cabinet Ministers to now take direct charge of sectoral coordination. The statement said that before now, sectoral coordination of the humanitarian situations were managed by director-cadre ministry officials. Under the new arrangement of the Multisectoral Task Force, each sector would now be led by a Minister while the entire Task Force would be led by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning Udoma Udo Udoma.

and protectionism. IATA’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexandre de Juniac, who took the reins at the International Air Transport Association on September 1, also called on Southeast Asian nations to invest in infrastructure to cope with surging demand for air travel in the fast-growing region. Despite this positive outlook, it is not clear that Nigerian airlines would be part of this largesse considering that the country’s airlines are in dire straits with some of them just bouncing back from suspension of flights. Only two airlines, Arik and Medview, currently operate international flights, controlling just a fraction of the market. The former Air FranceKLM chief executive told the group’s symposium in Singapore that collective net profit for the airline industry worldwide would hit $39.4 billion, up from $35.3 billion in 2015. Speaking at his first international keynote address since taking over from Tony Tyler, de Juniac said carriers had benefited from a sharp fall in the price of oil.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO Camillus Nnaji and Taiwo Jimoh

hildren of one of the landlords, Mr. Kennedy, abducted at Isheri community on the fringe of Lagos and Ogun states have stopped going to school and relocated to their village. This came as the AssistantInspector-General of Police (AIG), in charge of Zone II, Onikan, Lagos State, Mr. Abdulmajid Ali, yesterday said that police detectives were already closing in on those behind the Isheri and Epe abductions. A resident at one Isheri, said Kennedy was the only one taking care of his children and guardian to his late sister’s children. He said: “Mr Kennedy’s wife died two years ago, while his sister died last year. Kennedy’s children and his sister’s children are all living with him. None of them is up to six years. He has been managing to cope with life. Since he was abducted, none of those children has gone to school. One of their relatives from the village came this morning to take them to the village. Even if you sell his house and properties, you will not get the N50 million ransom the kidnappers are demanding. “We have started praying for God’s intervention. Even the Federal Government cannot bring out such amount of money. May God touch the kidnappers’ hearts! Just because someone has built a house, doesn’t mean the person is wealthy. Some of these landlords are managing; some converted part of their building into offices in order to be able to fend for their families.” Meanwhile, the AIG, Ali, said

ABIODUN BELLO abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Abducted landlord’s kids abandon school lWe’re closing in on Isheri, Epe kidnappers –AIG

Oshorun Estate gate Enterance of Oshorun

plans were on to build additional police station in Isheri to fight criminals and check militants’ operations. He said: “On security situation in border towns between Lagos and Ogun states, we are making efforts to police the areas adequately and build more police stations to complement those we have on ground before. We are not looking at issue of boundary before we carry out our duty between the two com-

mands. Ours is to police that axis.” The AIG said this during the decoration of two newly promoted officers to the rank of Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP). He added: “We are closing in on the kidnappers, that abducted three landlords and their aerobics instructor at the Oshorun Estate, a boundary community between Lagos and Ogun State.” Ali also vowed to do everything within his power to rescue the two women, a farm worker and

six-month-old baby who were abducted at Igbodu-Isiwo, Epe, Lagos State, on Friday. The AIG, who also reacted to allegations that the police used to torture suspects and extort them, said that was police of old. He said: “On the allegation made by Amnesty International that police torture suspects and extort them, we can only say that the present NPF doesn’t do that. Such things are in the past. Today, we policing according to interna-

tional standard.” Addressing the newly promoted policemen, Ali told them to see their promotion as work which comes with a lot of responsibilities. The AIG urged them to live up to the responsibilities of their new ranks. He said: “Today, we are witnessing promotion, which is a motivating factor for a job well-done. I want to remind those promoted that this is additional responsibility. You must abide by the rule of law and add value to whatever you do. Try to display courage in whatever you do, because the Inspector-General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, wants every officer to live above board in performance.” The newly promoted officers are Shola Okediji and Mr Titilayo Kayode. Kayode is now the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), in charge of Operations, Lagos Police Command, while Okediji is DCP in charge of training and Inspectorate, Force Headquarters, Abuja. Okediji is said to be secondary schoolmate of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni. Kayode said that he spent about seven and half years as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) before his promotion.

City Brief

We usually defraud those looking for quick money –Fraudster Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

suspected fraudster, Haruna Moshood, yesterday told journalists that they usually defraud greedy people looking for quick money. Moshood was arrested when police busted a suspected fraudsters’ shrine at Pokuku village in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State. The 34-year-old suspect said he joined the syndicate in 2015. According to him, one of the suspects would hide inside one of the rooms in the mud house and would be talking as an “oracle” to deceive unsuspecting victims. He said: “We always play

on the greed of the victims, because they are looking for quick money. “Again, we also study how wealthy they are by telling them to bring a certain amount of money. Assuming we ask a victim to go and bring N100,000 and he succeeds in bringing it, that shows he could bring a higher amount of money. That is how we operate.” The police also recovered fake foreign and local currencies, effigies and fetish objects, among other exhibits, from the suspects, who operated from an old two-bedroom mud house. The state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, said the den was nicknamed “Pokuku Shrine”. Iliyasu said that all forms of

criminal activities were committed at the place. He added that intelligence report exposed the suspects. The police boss said men of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) raided the den and nabbed the alleged ring leader identified as Haruna Moshood. He said three other members of Moshood’s gang escaped from the scene, but police had launched manhunt for them. Iliyasu disclosed that many unsuspecting Nigerians had been duped by the suspects, who also engaged in kidnapping. He said: “This is a house of horror where different kinds of criminal activities are taking place.

“Following diligent and intelligent information of our special operatives, FSARS stormed this horror house and we discovered that it is a receiving end of kidnapped victims. “It is also a place where the suspected kidnappers dispose

Moshood

properties of their victims. And we were able to recover different denominations such as fake dollars and naira notes. “By the time we arrived there, we did not see the victims and some of the suspected kidnappers escaped but we were able to arrest one of the suspects identified as Haruna Moshood.”

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Divorce court

My son and I make N5,000 daily, says beggar

My husband asked me Muritala Ayinla to terminate A six-month pregnancy A

40-year-old housewife, Amudalat Afolabi., yesterday told an Ilorin Area Court that her husband, Tajudeen, sent her packing because she refused to terminate a six-month pregnancy. Amudalat made this known when she testified in a divorce petition filed against her by Tajudeen in Ilorin. She said: “My husband sent me away from our matrimonial home because I refused to terminate the six-month pregnancy I was carrying.” Amadalat did not oppose the dissolution of the 20-year-old marriage, but described Tajudeen as “an irresponsible man”. The respondent, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said she was tired of being enslaved by “a useless man”. Tajudeen (50), a residence of Edun area, Ilorin, had prayed the court to dissolve the marriage because of his wife’s alleged infidelity and amorous behaviour. He said the marriage was contacted in 1996 and had produced five children, Monsurat (18), Ibrahim (16), Mohammed (12), Lateefat (10), Fatimoh (eight), and they were all living with him because their mother had left the matrimonial home. He said: “I am fed up with her waywardness. She is not stable and always frames excuses for her actions. I pray the court to put an end to this union because my wife can kill me as she moves around town like a dog.” Tajudeen, therefore, urged the court to dissolve the marriage and award him custody of the children. The judge, Mr. AbdulQudri Ibrahim, dissolved the marriage between the two parties and issued the certificate of divorce to the complainant.

‘Our last child doesn’t belong to me’ Malcolm Enefe

driver, Mr. Aniefiok Adams, yesterday told an Agege Customary Court, Lagos, that he was not sure he was the father of his child as his wife, Peace, had not been faithful to him. Adams said Peace was not submissive and had been going out with other men because he lost his job. According to him, the respondent is always fighting with him and also returns home very late at night. Adams said this while testifying in a divorce petition he filed against Peace. He said: “She did not inform me that she was pregnant until after six months of the pregnancy. So, I am not even sure I am the father of our one-year-old daughter.” Responding, Peace said she was fed up with the marriage. She said Adams did not allow her to work to support the house, and he could not even meet the demands of the family. President of the court, Mr. P. A. Williams, thereafter dissolved the marriage. He said: “The court has mediated and tried in resolving the differences between both parties for the past months, but since both parties consented to the dissolution of their marriage, this court has no choice than to dissolve it.”

beggar, Mrs. Chinagoro Uwenke, yesterday told officials of the Lagos State Task Force on Special Offences and Environment said she ventured into begging

Uwenke and her son

when she realised that it was a lucrative business. Uwenke, who was arrested with her 11-year-old son, withdrew the boy from school and bandaged his leg and poured Gentian Violet (GV) on the leg. She would then ask the boy to lie down on this street helplessly to deceive passers-by and motorists by soliciting for financial assistance daily. Uwenke, who hails from Abia State, said she made N3,500 to N5,000 on a daily basis. She said: “I brought my son, Sunny Uwenke, 11 years old, to Lagos five years ago to beg for alms while the remaining five children are at Ata town in Abia State with their father.” Uwenke added that she and her son were staying at Olokodana near Ijora-

METRO

Olopa area at Oyingbo. She said that when she found out that begging was lucrative, she stopped her son, a JSS II student of Oworebiri Secondary School at Ata town in Abia State for street begging. She said that she made much money from alms at Oshodi than any other area of Lagos because of high influx of people. She, however, pleaded with government not to charge her to court. The woman promised to go back to her town and re-unite with her family voluntarily. But the task force Chairman, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, said the agency was collaborating with relevant government ministries, agencies and departments to rid Lagos of the beggars. He said there were many fake beggars pretending and deceiving innocent members of the public with different illnesses and diseases. Egbeyemi said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, had directed that the suspect be immediately charged to court.

The son’s bandaged leg

20-year-old girl needs N1.5m for cancer surgery Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

20-year-old cancer patient, Nancy Ukaha, is in desperate need of N1.5 million for Cranofacial Fibrous Dysplasia surgery at the University College Hospital (UCH). Nancy, who has been battling with cancer for 12 years, is presently on admission at the UCH. Nancy, according to her distraught parents, Mr Donald and Mrs Rose Ukaha, had earlier in 2014 undergone a major surgical operation at an Abuja hospital only for the small protrusion that initially emerged on her fore-cheek below her left eye to grow amorphously, degenerating into her present condition. According to the diagnosis by the doctor who attended to her, Nancy has features of “tearing of the eyes, bleeding of the gum and teeth”. After the Abuja surgery, Nancy told our correspondent at the South West 1 Ward of UCH that there was a mild improvement which later escalated, necessitating her referral to the premier hospital last week. She said that she had the seemingly non-malignant infection when she was eight years old, but as years rolled by, the small protrusion started growing bigger and became cancerous, thus affecting her entire face and the buccal cavity. Narrating her ordeal in a muffled speech, Nancy said: “I am 20 years old. I hail from Makurdi in Benue State. I did not go to school. This problem started 12 years ago while I was living with my Anty at Egbeda in Lagos State. This thing started with a small protrusion below my left eye. But it gradually aggravated to the extent that a major surgical operation had to be performed on me at an Abuja hospital in 2014. “There was a mild improvement

after the surgery, but later it started getting worse. I came to this hospital once last year on appointment and went back later. On September 15, we had to come back to this hospital and I was placed on admission.” Her 40-year-old mother said she and her husband were farmers. Rose said her husband was not in Ibadan but she was struggling to save their daughter from the jaws of death. She said: “The doctors here are ready to perform another operation on my daughter, but what we will need for the surgery is N1.5 million. We are poor farmers and we don’t have any money

Nancy

to foot the bill. “We appeal to the good people of Nigeria to help us out so that my daughter will not die. We have suffered a great deal for many years and we have spent all our earnings on this ailment. “We urge all kind-hearted people to assist us to raise this money so that the operation can be performed very soon. My prayer is that God will replenish the treasury of whoever is touched to assist us in this difficult period.” Account Name: Miss Nancy Donald Ukaha Account No.:6238623858, Fidelity Bank Phone No.: 09072711700

NEWS | national

friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Reps demand review of CBN Cigarette smokers risk DNA damage monetary policies S Appolonia Adeyemi

Philip Nyam Abuja

he House of Representatives yesterday urged the Federal Government to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission to review the existing monetary policy with a view to developing sustainable lending rates. The resolution was taken following the unanimous adoption of a motion on the urgent need to address the economic downturn in Nigeria sponsored by Hon. Mukaila Kazim. Meanwhile, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Media

and Public Affairs, Hon.Abdulrazak Namdas, has said that the House would follow its Rules in its investigation into allegations of breach of privilege and misconduct preferred against former appropriation committee chairman, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin. Moving the motion, the lawmaker said that a review of the country’s monetary policy will foster real sector growth and enhance economic development. He tasked the Federal Government to take urgent steps to resuscitate the comatose public owned utilities in order to create employment, provide raw materials for local producers and preserve scarce foreign exchange. He said that the fall in

CONFIRMATION/change OF NAME

Malami

I, formerly know and address as Ahmed Shehu now wish to be called as Ahmed Shehu Malami. All former document remain valid. General public should take note.

Akpan

I, formerly know and address as Blessing Joshua Ekpo now wish to be called as Blessing Joshua Akpan. All former document remain valid. General public should take note.

valid

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Amadi

Sidi

I, formerly Know as Nafisat Ahmad now wish to be called and address as Nafisat Ahmed Sidi. All former document remain valid, general public should take place.

Kalu

This is to confirm that Okwun Ikpo Kalu and Ikpo Kalu refer to one and the same person. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as Okwun Ikpo Kalu. All former documents remain valid. Diamond bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Enogela Nathaniel Rachael now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Moses Rachael Idache. All former documents remain valid. First bank Plc, Authorities concerned and the general public please take note.

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Ugochukwu

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nneoma Gladys Okafor now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nneoma Gladys Umeobi. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

This is to confirm that Ugo Linus Umenduka with which my UBA/BVN was registered is the same person as Ume Nduka Linus on my First bank account. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as Ugochukwu Linus Umenduka. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc, First bank Plc, Access bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Awala

Saliu

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I, formerly known and addressed as Alli Samuel Dauda now wish to be known and addressed as Alli Emmanuel Oluwadamilare. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and the general public should take note.

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Boyso

This is to confirm that Arumuna Ibrahim Ineri Boyso is the same person as Arumuna Ibraham Ineri, Arumuna Ibrahim Ineri and Arumuna Boyso with which I registered my BVN. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as Arumuna Ibrahim Ineri Boyso. All former documents remain valid. Corporate Affairs Commission and the general public take note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as Urama Messi now wish to be known and addressed as Onyeka Urame. Also, my date of birth was wrongly written as December 4, 1987 instead of December 18, 1987 which is the correct date. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Akanbi

This is to confirm that Sanni Daud Olalekan is the same person as Sanni Dauda Akanbi. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as Sanni Dauda Akanbi. Also, my date of birth was mistakenly written as July 23, 1985 in my National ID card instead of May 26, 1985 which is the correct date. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

crude oil prices from over $120 to about $45 per barrel has impacted negatively on revenues available to the government to finance its expenditure. Commenting on the current lending rate of 14 per cent by banks, the House member asserted that the high lending rate was discouraging borrowers, especially the Medium, Small and Micro-Enterprises from making any meaningful economic growth.

moking, which has long been known to be damaging to health, has again come under scrutiny with scientists saying it causes changes to a person's genetic code. According to the new lung cancer study, smokers experience one mutation to their DNA for every 15 cigarettes they smoke. These are results of the study published in two papers recently in the journal 'Nature'.

Senate to probe MTN, minister over alleged $12bn scam Chukwu David Abuja

he Senate will on Tuesday take a substantive motion, to discuss the alleged illegal repatriation of foreign currency to the tune of $12 billion from Nigeria by the South African telecommunication company, MTN. This is sequel to a point of order, raised by Senator Dino Melaye, during plenary, seeking the indulgence of the Senate to have the matter properly discussed on the floor of the Chamber. According to him, the South African company paid a stipend to get an operating license

in Nigeria, but has been taking huge sums of money out of the country illegally with the connivance of some yet to be named banks and a highly placed government official, whom he said, is a serving minister now. Melaye said that he would reveal the identity of the minister, the banks and the methodology adopted in carrying out the criminal act during plenary next Tuesday. He said: "Mr President, I seek the indulgence of this house to move that after this short presentation this matter be allowed to be taken on the next legislative day.

PUBLIC NOTICE

ANCIENT ROCK EVANGEL MISSION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part 'C' of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Degree No. 1 of 1990. The Trustees are: 1. Rev. Sunday Sambo Amah 2. Evang. (Mrs). Rose Sunday Amah 3. Evang.(Engr) Philip Ekpe 4. Deacon Uduak Sambo Amah 5. Evang. Enyeneabasi Sunday Amah 6. Head/Sister Grace Philip Ekpe 7. Pastor Kenneth Okechukwu 8. Elder Tortor Harrison

- President. - Vice President. - General Secretary. - Treasurer. - Member. - Financial Secretary. - Member. - Member.

AIM/OBJECTIVE ARE: 1. To Preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. SIGNED: REV. SUNDAY SAMBO AMAH (PRESIDENT)

PUBLIC NOTICE

ORANMIYAN HUNTERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004. The Trustees are: 1. Akintayo Langbasa 2. Adegbite Kunbi 3. Ekamusa Moshood Rotimi

- President - Secretary - Treasurer

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To Protect interest of their member 2. To provide necessary information to the security agency about the criminals living in the community 3. Assist the needy among their members. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

The mailonline reported that British researchers led the massive international project, which identified 23,000 mutations that bore the expected signs of damage caused by chemicals in tobacco smoke. All cancers are caused by mistakes in the genetic code - mutations in DNA that can be triggered by environmental agents. The scientists that mapped out the genetic blueprint of a lung cancer patient, hope the results would help them understand the causes of cancer and to develop new treatments. They found the genetic defects ranged from singleletter changes in the person's code to deletions or rearrangements of hundreds of thousands of letters. No single mutation stood out as being the primary cause of the disease. Instead, most were 'passenger' mutations that appeared to influence the development of cancer only in combination. Reacting to the development, the Study Leader, Dr. Peter Campbell, from the

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridgeshire said: 'The knowledge we extract over the next few years will have major implications for treatment. "By identifying all the cancer genes, we will be able to develop new drugs that target the specific mutated genes and work out which patients will benefit from these novel treatments." Similarly, Dr. Andy Futreal, also from the Wellcome Trust, said: 'Cancers occur when control of cell behaviour is lost - cells grow how, when and where they shouldn't. ''Mutations in DNA caused by, for example, cigarette smoke are passed on to every subsequent generation of daughter cells, a permanent record of the damage done. "Like an archaeologist, we can begin to reconstruct the history of the cancer clone - revealing a record of past exposure and accumulated damage in the genome.' Patients could get specially tailored drugs after UK scientists decode damage to DNA.

It's time to send Buhari, APC packing , says NLC, Adegboruwa, others Mojeed Alabi

n the face of the wobbling national economy and other socio-political challenges facing the nation, the leadership of the country's labour union- Nigeria Labour congress, has said neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) nor the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the capacity to address the nation's problems. That was even as other prominent political activists, including Ebunolu Adegboruwa, Femi Abori-

sade, among others, have demanded for the exit of President Mohammadu Buhari from Presidency over allegations of incompetence, dictatorship, and bad leadership. Speaking yesterday at the annual late Chief Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship Awards, the Vice President of NLC, Comrade Amechi Asugwuni, said the realities have shown that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration lacked the required wherewithal to take Nigeria out of the woods.

AFREXIMBANK approves funds for $17bn Dangote Refinery Adeola Yusuf

he African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) yesterday declared approval of funds for the Dangote Group to ease foreign exchange difficulty and funding of the group's $17 billion refinery project. President, AFREXIMBANK, Dr Okey Oramah, who disclosed this during a tour of the refinery, maintained that the project would aid the country with about $7.5 billion Forex savings on import substitution; generate $5 billion Forex earnings from savings and another $5.5 billion export earnings. The refinery is projected to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The bank's board members, according to Oramah, decided to visit Dangote group which is a leading African conglomerate business in West Africa and provides funding support to its ongoing refinery projects. He said that Dangote is making tremendous impacts across the continent which includes Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Zambia, Niger and most part of African in changing lives. "We are supporting them in what they are doing in those countries. So, we are equally supporting them in this ongoing projects. So, it is important for the Board of Directors of AFREXIMBANK to pay a courtesy visit to the site."

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Interview Formation of a new party not the best option – Egwu

Politics

True federalism Echoes of restructuring at Braithwaite symposium

12 16

Recession: PDP puts Buhari to task The constant blame on the past administration by President Muhammed Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the country's present economic woes is fast turning a sour grape in the mouth, writes ONYEKACHI EZE

fter over 15 months in the reins of power, the usual rhythm of the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled Federal Government of blaming the immediate past administration for the nation's present economic woes, is perhaps no longer plausible to many Nigerians. When he assumed office on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, which had ruled the country for the past 16 years, had plundered the economy. He followed it up with the arrest and detention of past government officials and chieftains of the erstwhile ruling party on corruption related charges. With the mind blowing revelations of graft that trailed those investigated and prosecuted, Nigerians agreed with the president’s move, and even applauded his action. But more than one year after he has been saddled with the responsibility of turning the economy around, President Buhari and his party are still blaming the PDP for the nation's economic problems. Speaking to journalists in his home town Daura, Katsina State, where he went to celebrate this year's Eid-el-Kabir festival, Buhari stated that he inherited "no savings, no infrastructure, no power, no rail, no road and no security," after 16 years of PDP government. Though the President, sometime in July this year commissioned the Abuja-Kaduna rail

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@newtelegraphonline.com

Buhari

project, he admitted that the project was "initiated by the previous administration but was completed by his government." According to Buhari, the $1.457 million project "was conceived by a previous administration, started by the last government and I am pleased to complete and commission it. “It is on record that between 1963 and early ‘80s, Nigeria had a vibrant rail system which conveyed agricultural produce, livestock and solid mineral resources to Lagos and Port Harcourt sea ports from where they were exported to other parts of the world.” PDP was the government in power within the period the President conceded the construction of the standard gauge track started. Many, however, infer that, perhaps, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, Mallam Garba Shehu, did not read through Buhari's speech before issuing the Eid-elKabir statement. Shehu also said in the statement that the administration inherited no power supply. But Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, said at the Electricity Market Summit in Abuja in August 2015 that power generation in the country was between 3, 000 and 3,500 megawatts when the Buhari administration came on board.

Buhari and his party were elected to further better the lots of Nigerians, and not to dish out constant complaints

"But in the past two months, electricity generation has continued to stay above 4,500MW," Alhaji Mohammed said while admitting that “I say it anywhere I go that even though we have not added one single megawatt to power, there has been improvement." He attributed the increase in megawatt and steady power supply on President Buhari's "integrity." Again, this statement contradicted the claim of the President’s aide. PDP also contradicted the claim by the Presidency that there was no security in the country when the Buhari administration took over power. Before now, PDP had accused the APC-led Federal Government of appropriating some of its achievements. The party mentioned the turn-around and resuscitation of some of the nation's oil refineries without reference to the past administration that initiated and executed the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the facilities years back, which dividend the nation now enjoys and which is expected to boost steady supply of petroleum products. the party added: "Similarly, informed Nigerians note with dismay how the APC administration has been celebrating the certification of Nigeria as polio-free in the last one year by the World Health Organisation (WHO) without giving credit to the PDP-led government under whose watch the feat was achieved." Buhari's administration is also blaming the current economic recession in the country on the previous government. Buhari in his Sallah message said: "The present recession is as a result of cumulative effects of worldwide economic downturn and failure in the past to plan and save for difficult times." His constant claim that he inherited an empty treasury forced former President Goodluck Jonathan to take time off his interview with Bloomberg Television in London, to reply him. Though the former president said he would still prefer to be silent so as not to distract the government, he, however, dispelled the claim of an empty treasury. "There's no way he would have inherited an empty treasury and at the same time give bailout to the states. It’s not possible," he said. Jonathan added that Nigeria was a fairly robust economy when he left office but regretted that "sometimes, we over politicise some issues and make it look so bad. It was not that bad. Some people ask questions like I was the president of Nigeria since independence; I was the president for five years.”

The constant blame on the immediate past government is becoming like a sour grape in the mouth and the PDP also took on the current on the current administration, reminding President Buhari and the APC that world history is full of many examples where genuine leaders take over countries whose economies are stagnated and move them to positive growth. "They should be reminded that great leaders take over countries either in recession or war and still succeed in turning them around; quite unlike the prevailing situation where a ruling party plunges the economy into an avoidable recession, only to turn round and begin to whine helplessly like a baby," the party said in statement by the spokesperson of the National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye. It cited the case of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who ruled the United States of America (USA) during the time of world economic depression and war, and who, it noted, introduced an ambitious programme, "The Great Deal", to offer relief to the Americans and helped the economy to recover. "In his first hundred days in office in 1933, Roosevelt was reputed to have renewed the American spirit and optimism by immediately addressing the effects of the depression. "Through the Great Deal, he introduced a variety of programmes targeted at getting Americans back to work, provide relief for the vulnerable, get industry and agriculture back on their feet, and engender accelerated recovery and economic growth. "Or, how about the recent change of government in the United Kingdom where the new Prime Minister, Theresa May formed her cabinet within hours to ensure that the doubts arising from the uncertainty of Brexit vote do not get the better of her citizens?" PDP added. The party said Buhari and his party were elected "to further better the lots of Nigerians, and not to dish out constant complaints on the situation which they mindlessly created not minding the attendant consequences of their actions on our collective destinies. "It is, therefore, high time they stopped this unnecessary grumbling and concentrate on how to redeem our economy by providing good governance to the people." Clearly, as the saying goes, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown but the APC government may have to stop looking at the past as it pilots the affairs of Nigeria. Until this is done, the blame game will not take the country anywhere.

POLITICS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Operatives arrest 9 suspected militants, wanted soldier Stories by Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

ecurity operatives have arrested nine persons suspected to be militants and a soldier on Absent without Leave (AWOL). It was learnt that the suspects, who are currently in the custody of the Department of State

Security (DSS) were arrested by a joint operation of men of the Nigerian Army, DSS and the Police. They were nabbed on Wednesday night during a raid at a hotel in Benin the state capital. They were said to have claimed to be journalists in the state to cover the September 28 governorship election. New Telegraph gathered that the suspects were arrested after a tip

Obaseki’ll drive devt – Imasuen

ormer Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Imasuen, yesterday, described the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Godwin Obaseki as an economy driver that the state and its people need for its overall development. Imasuen stated this when members of the state chapter of Pool Promoters and Agents endorsed Obaseki for the forthcoming election in the state. He said what the state needed given the present economic recession is an Obaseki, with his wealth of experience as an investment expert and the chairman of the state economic team, to effectively drive the ship of the state for its viability and growth. He added that Obaseki, having been part of Oshiomhole’s government in the past eight years, already knows what needs to be done to take the state

to the next level. He noted that Governor Adams Oshiomhole has done the basic things for the growth of the state, adding that what is left is for the APC governorship candidate, who has been part of the government, is to build on the foundation for the state to move on. Imasuen expressed the confidence that when Obaseki becomes the next governor of the State, the ship cannot capsize but would be on a smooth sail. “The ship must not be disturbed or changed. It is only Obaseki that can handle the economy of the state. Edo needs a governor who is an economic expert, particularly now that the Nigeria Economy is going through trials. A driver who has driven well and has served the state with all sincerity of purpose, as good spirited citizens of Edo, we need continuity of a government with the track record of performance.”

PDP women to Buhari: Edo election, a litmus test for APC

women group rooting for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo state governorship election has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure a free, fair and credible poll. They also called on the President to see the election as a litmus test for the sincerity of his administration. The women, under the aegis of the Forum of Uncommon Women of Edo (FUWE), at the end of their meeting in Benin to review unfolding political developments in parts of the state, reminded other stakeholders that the world is watching to see how the process would go. Director-General of FUWE, Mrs. Philomena Ihenyen, said: "The Edo election is a litmus test for the sincerity of the Buhari administration. Let it be said for the deaf to hear that Edo people are ready to defend their mandate and will not allow subversion or corruption of our collective will." She condemned what

she described as unprovoked verbal and physical attacks at women as they campaigned across the state, while calling on the Nigerian Police to be firm in its bid to stem political violence before, during and after the election. According to her, the most disturbing was this week's attack on the campaign train of Dr Idia IzeIyamu, wife of the PDP governorship candidate in Edo North senatorial district of the state. She said: "Although the wife of the candidate was unhurt several women in her entourage sustained various degrees of injuries with one or two cars damaged. We condemn these attacks and consider it an affront on the entire womenfolk. "The Nigerian Police must be firm in its bid to stem crime and political violence during the election. It must protect all no matter their political affiliations. We are all equal stakeholders in the Edo project in spite of your political leanings."

off that the men who posed as journalists were in the state to perpetrate mayhem during the election scheduled for Wednesday next week. It was further learnt that the military officer among the suspects has been on the wanted list of the Army in the past one year for a yet to be ascertained offence. He was said to have been arrested with different types of identification cards including military ID cards. It was further gathered that some politicians who were alerted about the arrest of the suspects were

Obaseki

Edo DECIDES

said to have raced to the scene to effect their bail, claiming that the suspects were journalists meant to cover the election. Our reporter also learnt that security operatives have insisted

Oshiomhole

the suspects were never journalists since none of them has been able to provide any evidence that they were journalists nor contacted by their head offices. The Director of Media of the National governorship campaign of the APC, Senator Domingo Obende, in a reaction said: “This has further exposed The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) plot to unleash mayhem in this state ahead the election. We have been raising this alarm that the PDP never wanted election they only wants violence but they

thought we were raising false alarm. “We are happy that our security agents have been up and doing and we appeal to them to ensure that they mop up all the militants they brought into the state so we can have a hitch free election. “We have said it severally, All Progressives Congress (APC) is ready for this election but they must not come and kill our people. PDP must not see this election as a do or die affair because if it’s losing, they have lost the election already. So they should not kill anybody.”

Ize-Iyamu

DMO has vindicated us on Oshiomhole’s huge debt, says Ize-Iyamu

he Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu Campaign Organisation has urged Edo people to vote out the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 28 governorship election, saying a vote for the party would amount to endorsement of unending suffering created in almost eight years of the Adams Oshiomhole government. The campaign organisation also stated that the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) recent report on debts owed by the various states of the federation has settled what it described as Oshiomhole’s many lies that he never took foreign loans. “The Debt Manage-

ment Office has just stated that Edo State, with a total of $179.52 million as at June 30 this year, holds 4.91 per cent of the nation’s sub-national foreign debts. And we know this is outside over N800 billion debt that Oshiomhole has created for Edo State,” the organisation said. Reacting to recent media reports credited to Oshiomhole that he would not hand over to the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate, the campaign organisation said that the good people of Edo State would compel the governor to hand over to Ize-Iyamu. The campaign body maintained that the project on who becomes the

next governor of the state is no longer that of Ize Iyamu, saying the good people of the state who are desirous to change the 'change' that had brought misery, suffering, hike in fuel, food prices, obnoxious taxes and levies, and worst of all, deceitfulness, had taken over the political battle to rescue their state. The organisation advised Oshiomhole and his party’s candidate, Godwin Obaseki, who doubles as head of his Economic Team, to explain how the squandered the state’s funds, which has resulted to the state’s inability to pay local government workers’ for 18 months. The PDP governor-

ship campaign organisation, which also accused Oshiomhole and Obaseki of allegedly diverting the state’s funds for their personal businesses, also asked the APC government to explain to the people of Edo how he squandered over N1.9 trillion Federal Allocations and Internal Generated Revenue they had collected in the past seven and a half years. “It a shame that Governor Oshiomhole and his puppet candidate, Godwin Obaseki still talk about corruption, accusing innocent people of corruption, when their government stinks of corruption,” it said.

Wives of traditional rulers back Oshiomhole on continuity

ives of Enigies in Edo South senatorial district under the aegis of Enigies Wives Forum in Benin Kingdom have given their blessings and offered prayers for the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in the state. They also prayed for the continuity and sustenance of the infrastructural development of Benin the state capital and other parts of the state recorded in the past eight years of the Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s administration. The Enigies’ wives who lauded Governor Oshiomhole for putting Benin City

on the same pedestal as other modern state capitals in the country further prayed for the blessings of their ancestor on the governor. Mrs. Stella Aigbe, who led other members of the forum on a courtesy visit to Governor Oshiomhole at the Government House, Benin, to formally introduce the body to him, said their visit was also to appreciate the governor for his “developmental strides in Edo State especially in Benin Kingdom.” She said: “During your tenure thus far, I say without fear of contradiction,

that all the sectors of human endeavour have greatly been improved upon from roads to schools, hospitals, transport, markets, sports tourism, the list is endless. “The government today has made it possible for businessmen to invest in facilities that promote tourism. It is a common sight in Benin City today to see exotic hotels and parks. The Benin night has been given a rebirth because of the secured lighted environment. This generation and indeed the future generation will remain grateful to you for this improve-

ment on our dear state.” Responding, Governor Oshiomhole thanked the Enigies wives for appreciating his developmental strides. He said: “May the Edo project never suffer a reverse! And that is why my party has adopted one of us who chaired our economic team because how you manage your finances nobody knows it more than women. Godwin Obaseki who we have nominated as our candidate, as chairman of our economic team, has been part and parcel of all the things that we have accomplished.”

Politics

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Former Ebonyi State governor, Dr. Sam Egwu, is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce and Industry. He speaks in this interview with UCHENNA INYA on the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and calls in some quarters for the formation of a new party The economic recession is really affecting the nation. How did we get to this level and what is the way out of the quagmire? What we are seeing now is a result of our recklessness and our activities before now in terms of economic management. I can blame the government and part of the blame also goes to the people. We are not producing as a country, we depend on imported goods and it has become a practice that anything that is not imported or foreign is not regarded. Manufacturers started losing when the costs of their goods became higher than the imported ones. It got to a point where we now depended on our foreign reserve because we cannot import with naira. The cost of oil also went down, so these are cumulative effects to the extent that we can no longer produce and get the money we were getting before and what we are getting when it is depleted. It is really unfortunate. The government has a part to play in this economic recession. I know they met a very terrible situation on ground but they must do something urgently. The past administration was able to manage the situation but if you are managing and not doing something tangible to fix it, a time will come when it will collapse and even if a new government comes in, it will find it difficult to be able to adjust. This is the situation and I sympathize with the government on the situation we have found ourselves, which was caused by some activities of government and our individual lifestyles. We want good things to start coming to us immediately with working for it, even fresh graduates are not ready to work but they want quick money. The President has asked for emergency powers to tackle the problem and there have been some disagreements over the request. What is your take on that? I don’t know much about the President’s proposal, the little I read about it is power on vehement on the issue of procurement and as former Minister of Education, I am aware that the process of procurement takes lot of time. There is no reason why in trying to embark on project, you spent three months trying to process it, you must go through a number of processes and at the end of the day the project is suffering. So, that aspect has to be fixed and when the President approaches the National Assembly on the emergency powers to tackle this, I will support him because I like to look at things objectively. Another serious issue confronting this nation at present is the resurgent

Formation of a new party not the best option – Egwu Actually, most of us in this country believe that Nigeria needs to be restructured. Restructuring does not mean we are going to break up, restructuring does not mean that we are no longer going to love ourselves. In fact, I would want a situation where Nigeria will remain one so that at the end of the day, we will all benefit.

Egwu

of militancy in the Niger Delta and it appears that the Federal Government is not handling the matter the way it should. What kind of solution will you proffer if you are to advise the government? I will proffer a solution enunciate and executed by late President Umaru Yar’Adua. That is engaging the militants, listen to them and try to address those issues that needed to be addressed. It is unfortunate in this country that almost every part of the country wants to make trouble because they believe that the moment they make trouble, government will listen to them. It is almost becoming an accepted norm; if you don’t make trouble, nobody will listen to you. But I believe that for every crisis, problem or agitation, you should look at the situation and know the problem. If you are a father, you have children and when one of them becomes too stubborn, don’t dismiss him; just call and say what is the problem? If you are able to convince him to listen to you, you will have a better idea of his/ her problem. As a President, Muhammadu Buhari should be able to weigh the two sides; listen and know where to apply force. Will you proffer similar solution to resolve agitations by pro-Biafra groups? Most of these agitators didn’t fight the war. I was a young man when the Biafran war broke out, I just finished my primary school and was about to enter secondary school when the war started. Incidentally, my father being an ex-service man took us to the hinterland. We lost some prominent personalities during the war. The Biafran agitators may have their reason and listening to them does not mean granting their request; you have to dialogue with them, which most of us are doing. You need to integrate and pacify them.

I don’t think a new party is the best approach. Though it may be expedient now, because of the situation

Talking about PDP, the party is passing through trying moment. What is the cause of the leadership crisis in the party? The situation in the party is really unfortunate. Actually, I am not at the centre of what is happening in our great party, PDP. The PDP is driven more by governors and if you have watched what has happened, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was approached by the governors of the PDP to become the chairman of the party and along the line, he was replaced. For me, I felt that while you may blame Sheriff on the leadership crisis for refusing to give way when people who brought him asked him to give way, you have to also check if he was properly approached. Was that issue of dropping him done in a way that looks dignified? So, that is the issue. He has his reason why he is dragging although some people will approach it differently. For me, the way I will approach it may be different from the way he will approach it. So, the leadership crisis has gone the level of ego, level of status ego where one is saying why do you treat me like this? I have been a governor; I have been a senator why do you want to push me aside like this? The crisis is very unfortunate and I hope we will come out of it. In as much as the governors are the leaders at the state level, they should be able to do more consultations before they take decisions on the party. I don’t belong to Sheriff’s faction but I believe that he was not treated well and I also felt that the governors who are the main drivers of the party did not do consultations before making him chairman. I will want a situation where the governors will do more consultations; they should listen to the elders of the party. Yes, the governors are the leaders of the party but there are people in the party who have good ideas like the members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and other elders and these are people that are well respected. The bottom line of my argument is that PDP has come to stay and it is difficult to push it aside by any party. It was difficult to defeat the party by the opposition even when they came together. Opposition defeated PDP in the last general election not because some parties came together but because of Buhari which it presented as its candidate. APC won because of Buhari’s past antecedents and his person as an individual but it is worthy to note that Nigerians have not experienced any change promised by the All progressives Congress (APC). So, should the governors continue dictating the pace in the PDP? He who pays the piper, dictates the tune. The governors have all it takes financially to distribute patronages;

political patronage, contract and what have you. People enter party to produce governors who distribute these patronages. Even members of BoT are appointed courtesy of the governors and that is the truth of the matter. So, everything revolve around them but like I said before, it is for the governors to recognise that even though they are governors, there are leaders of the party who have been there before them, there are people who are very experienced in their states and the governors must make sure they carry them along. We have elders and the BoT, there should be consultation. You don’t just say you are a governor and you take decision unilaterally. That does not augur well for the country. I know that in advanced countries, party structure is supreme and it is the party that determines the executive; the party can discipline the executive no matter your level but here it doesn’t happen. Some people are calling for the formation of new party following the lingering crisis in the PDP. Do you share such view? Some people are of the view that a new party should be formed because of the lingering crisis but one thing I believe is that in as much as I know that forming a new party may be good option because the situation we have found ourselves in our party may be difficult to come out of in the near future, a new party may not be the best option. Let me tell you, this agitation for formation of new party is not only in the PDP, it is also in the APC where some leaders are not happy the way they are being treated. They are also clamouring for that, that they want a new party, where those who are aggrieved in PDP and those who are aggrieved in APC will come together. So, a lot of theories are going on, but in some PDP states like Ebonyi and others, if you form another party, it will be difficult to convince the masses. PDP has been in government in Ebonyi State for 17 years, so you need to convince the villagers here that there is another party. PDP has become a religion here, that is why it would be difficult to convince the people and many people will be angry for going into another party. For stability of our democracy, I don’t think a new party is the best approach though it may be expedient now because of the situation. The report of the last National Conference in which you headed Ebonyi delegation is generally believed to have proffered solutions to the nation’s problems but it appears that it has been dumped by the present administration. What do you make of the development? If you have listened to my contributions in the Senate, I have made that observation that we should go back to those recommendations. I am totally in support of full implementations of the confab recommendations. Those recommendations were drawn after very long debates and as a government; I would prefer a situation where they will look at it because they are the ones that will take us out of this present situation we have found ourselves.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion Rangers: Arranging antelopes' anthem Emissary EMEKA OBASI emobas2003@yahoo.com 0809-445-7557 (sms only)

ootball did mean a lot to me in the early 1970s simply because there was a team called Enugu Rangers. The Flying Antelopes were like out of this world. I started following them in 1971 during the Challenge Cup finals thanks to my dad whose transistor radio helped monitor the game. Skipper Godwin Achebe lost a penalty kick , no thanks to WNDC goalie, Amusa Adisa. Before that miss, my dad told me that Achebe could not miss from the spot. Adisa proved him wrong. I picked names like Captain Dejo Fayemi, Niyi Akande and I guess, Niyi Omowon, from the Ibadan side. For the Coal City Boys, the names stuck: Cyril Okosieme [Flying cat], Dominic Nwobodo [Alhaji], Shedrack Ajaero, Mathias Obianika [Woder Boy], Chukwuma Igweonwu[It’s a goal], Ernest Ufele, Luke Okpala [Jazzman Bucana], Keneth Abana [Youngest], John ‘Wheeler’ Nwosu, Godwin Adimachukwu, Teddy Aniputa[ Aji obi], Nwabueze Nwankwo [Bulldozer]. By 1974, a new generation led by Dominic Ezeani had taken over. Emmanuel Oguejiofor Okala [Tallest,OAU], was number one goalkeeper. Christian Chukwuemeka Chukwu stepped into Achebe’s cleats. There were two highly ‘inflammable’ wingers: James Ogidinma Ibeabuchi and Emeka [Owusu] Onyedika. Hitman was Keneth Ilodigwe [Kendo], the ex- St. Theresa’s Nsukka school boy who with Godwin Ogbueze and Chukwu formed part of the Nigerian Academicals that beat Ghana in Accra, in 1972. We shall come back to History. Presently, Rangers are in a good position to clinch the Premier League title which is two matches away. I watched them on TV last Sunday as they beat Sunshine Stars , Akure 2-0 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu. I was a die –hard Rangers fan. The last time they won the league title was 1984, I mean, 32 years ago. You all must know why I could die for Rangers.

I have no apologies. At the end of the war, the Igbo were really treated like Second Class citizens. They had nothing, apart from the 20 pounds the Federal Government gave to each family even if your parents were millionaires before the crisis. Chief Jerry Enyeazu, the first Director of the National Sports Commission [ NSC], used soccer to make Ndigbo forget the pains of the Civil War. He founded Enugu Rangers, so named after a Biafran reconnaissance formation. If Biafra could not win the war in the battle field, Rangers won the war in the football field. Before 1971, Challenge Cup champions represented Nigeria in the African Cup of Champion Clubs [ today’s CAF Champion’s League]. Stores did in 1968 and 1969 respectively. In 1970, ECN lifted the Challenge Cup and were presented to CAF as the country’s 1971 flag bearers. The continental body refused, insisting that the competition was for League champions. The NFA hurriedly organized a league which was known as the Amachree cup. Rangers won and flew Nigeria’s flag in the continental competition. In their debut, the Flying Antelopes remained unbeaten after eliminating Secteur 6, Niger Republic and Kaloum Stars of Guinea in the early rounds. However , they lost home and away to Ivorian side, ASEC Mimosas in the quarter finals. In one memorable international friendly, Rangers made a statement by defeating Dundee United of Scotland 2-0 in Enugu. By 1974, the Flying Antelopes had established themselves as the best team in the country. They won the Challenge Cup, their very first. Losers were Ismaila Mabo’s Mighty Jets of Jos who fell 0-2. Scorers were Ogidi and Ilodigwe. They also became double champions after winning the league. The first to be so crowned in Nigeria. And this story must be told again . In 1972, the NFA decided to organize a formal league. There was drama, and daylight robbery at the end. With one game to go, Rangers and Jets were tied on points but the Flying Antelopes had a superior goals difference of + 7. Rangers, last match was against Army team, Octopus of Port Harcourt in Enugu. They had beaten the soldiers 5-1 the Garden City. Jets would face Bauchi Wunti, in Bauchi. Wunti had never lost a match at home. In a bizarre scene, Octopus refused to honour the match in Enugu. In Bauchi, half time

The Flying Antelopes went to Africa in 1975, burning with determination

scores stood at 1-1. Then in the second half, Jets manufactured seven goals to win 8-1. Rangers still had a chance since at that time, FIFA had come out with the rule of two points and two goals against any team that failed to play a scheduled match. The NFA , led by Commander Edwin Kentebbe and Oyo Orok Oyo as Secretary General, held a full council meeting in Benin where they decided to award the game to Rangers but without the two goals. Jets were therefore declared winners of the 1972 league. It was a big fraud and the Jos team crashed out in the first round of the continental competition in 1973. Beating Jets in the 1974 Challenge Cup final was sweet revenge for Rangers who also avenged the 1971 slip to Shooting Stars when Abana’s lone goal sealed victory in the 1975 final. Rangers became double champions again in 1975, without losing a match. In 1976, the Challenge Cup remained in Enugu. The first and so far, only time , a team would win three times consecutively. The Flying Antelopes went to Africa in 1975, burning with determination. In the first round, they stopped Ghana’s Great Olympics, home and away. At the end , they grabbed Christian Madu, the Igbo player who dribbled hell out of the Nigerians. This trend continued in 1976 when after Chimezie ‘Watch me’ Ngadi’s two goals earned them victory over Alyusufsalam Rocks of Ilorin[ ten of the players led by Owura Agyei] were Ghanaians], Rangers snatched the lone Nigerian, Humphrey Okechukwu. Rangers got to the continental finals but lost to Hafia, Guinea coached by Rumanian Pietr Mondolviane. Some of the players had also won the cup in 1972. They included Papa Camara, Petit Sory, Alioune ‘Njo Lea’ Keita, Jacob Bangoura and Souleymane Cherif. That was the day I chose not to die for any club. Now Rangers make me happy. Should they win the league again, I will gate crash into Government House Enugu with my salary to beg Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to make these Rangers great again. This is a new Rangers, not Igbo Rangers and that is the way it should be: one Nigeria. Bobby Clement, Osas Okoro, oh... there is a Ghanaian, Nana Bonsu. That’s a story. Zik brought Collins Gardener, the first Ghanaian , to play for a Nigerian club, Zik Athletic Club [ZAC] Bombers in 1940. Today goalie Bonsu’s home ground is Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

GSM Tax: Buhari pushing his luck too far Adekoya Boladale

recent investigative report by Economic Confidential puts the total annual remuneration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet at 2.295billion Naira. In the extensive report, President Buhari and his vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo enjoy a hardship allowance pegged at 50 percent of their annual basic salaries. This is less the 250 percent Constituency, accommodation, furniture, domestic staff, personal assistants, utilities, newspapers, vehicles, entertainment, maintenance and estacode allowances enjoyed by the duo. The remunerations and other perks enjoyed by ministers and cabinet members are sour stories best told another day.

If not that life is brutish, nasty, and unfair, who truly deserves the hardship allowance between citizens who toil day and night to make ends meet; buy food at exorbitant prices and still have to provide water, electricity, security and road to move on and elected officials whose cars are fueled from state purse, free food budgeted in abundance, given the highest level of security and move around the world at will with luxurious fleets? Before you breathe that in, the recently launched 'Change Begins With Me' campaign according to reports, has already gulped a whopping 3.4 billion Naira within one week of its inauguration. According to the news report, the government paid civil society groups (whatever their importance is to the campaign) 700 million naira to help promote the campaign. Celebrities across the country got 100million naira as faces of the change campaign. 1.7billion naira went into artworks, logo and jingles while the remaining balance simply, as they put in political parlance 'went to the boys' These are coming at a time when Nige-

rians are being fed daily with excuses of dwindling revenue as the hindrance against government performance most especially the so much "Maggitized", "Thymed" and "Curryed" Change. While it is crystal clear that the administration ushered into office last year has compromised not just the standard it portrayed while seeking office, the indoctrination of outright nepotism into the Aso Villa and rechristening of the Presidency to 'Buhari, Daura and Co Limited' backstabs every criticism we had against the Peoples Democratic Party led government. As if the present distasteful condition of the economy and unending hardship is not enough, the Presidency woke up after one of the usual sound sleep on the Water-Mattress with blazing air-conditioning and our taxpowered-24-hour diesel generator light only to decide that the most befitting gift to the millions of people it betrayed, lied to, and deceived to get into power is to propose a GSM tax- a new tax regime that empowers the government to demand 10 percent tax on phone calls, text messages, data and more.

If not for 'Ai feni p'eni, ai f'eniyan p'eniyan, to mu ara oko san bante wo lu' (an arbitrary insult) the Presidency armed with 10 excessive Presidential Jets, which does not see the need to cut down its luxurious expenses and unwarranted allowances decided to make our already hardened life more rocky. While I accept the possibility that our inability to protest the recent hike in fuel pump price may have given the President and his advisers the nerve to throw any ridiculous and highly anti-masses regulations at us, posterity demands that Mr. President at least pretend that there is still a little part of him with empathy. If the government is truly serious about sourcing for alternative revenue (though this is doubtful with the continuous pumping of acclaimed scarce resources to oil exploration in Chad Basins, a feat similar to finding Godot(apologies to Samuel Beckett), it should focus on creating a separate platform. •Boladale (Twitter @adekoyabee) is based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a public affairs analyst and political commentator.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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Still on Zuckerberg's visit

ome weeks ago, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, came calling. He was in Lagos to meet with some techpreneurs and pay a visit to venture startup, Andela. He also came to feel the pulse of Nigerians and decided to take a walk on the streets of Yaba in Lagos, where the $24 million venture in which he and his wife, Chan, have substantial interest is located. He met with some players in the Nigerian ICT space where they exchanged ideas on how to expand the nation's digital sector. Zuckerber took out time for meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as well as some senior government officials in Abuja. He also attended the Aso Villa Demo Day. A significant takeaway from the visit was the release of photos of Zuckerberg walking on a Yaba street and jogging on the Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge. No less interesting were series with Buhari. These resonated with Nigerians and generated considerable buzz on the internet. It was quite significant that the world's seventh richest individual could brush aside all the trappings of wealth usually associated with this clime and take a walk on a street clogged with stagnant puddles of water.

observed. That he could also take out time to give people talks to Nigerian developers and affirm his commitment to supporting the growth of its ICT sector is encouraging. It is instructive to note that Zuckerberg and his wife through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative inspired the bid round that raised the venture capital. Quartz Africa, an authoritative journal on affairs on the continent, said in a recent edition that it was CZI's first major investment and first time leading a financial round since it was set up in December 2015. Andela was founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (a Nigerian) and Jeremy Johnson and is backed by solid venture capital seed

For him to have found time to jog on a public bridge without overzealous bodyguard was am experience in humility, as many commentators on social media

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Zuckerberg in comments after his meeting with Buhari underscored the new thinking of the international community about Nigeria. His words: "I was highly impressed by the talent of the youths in the Co-creation Hub in Yaba. I was blown away by their talent and the level of energy that I saw." Such encouraging words coming from someone who has enjoyed the benefits that an advanced society can offer is something for Nigerian leaders to consider in the search for solutions to the biting recession. The Buhari ad-

ministration has a big challenge to develop policies that would stimulate the nation's digital It explains that Andela is poised economy. It therefore has to take another look at restrictive policies to link African developers with the new global economy, given the short- and tariffs that inhibit the ICT sector in Nigeria if it truly wants age of developers in Silicon Valley to real immense benefits from the and high youth employment rate in unfolding revolution. There must African countries like Nigeria.  The be a deliberate effort to redress new global economy provides a wide those obstacles that place Nigeria array of opportunities for Nigerians on negative rankings in the World to showcase their abundant energy, Bank's Ease of Doing Business for enterprise and vision. It presents 2016. Government also needs to deal with Nigeria's poor standing opportunities for Nigerians to play

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as equal partners with nationals of other countries on the global stage.

The new global economy provides a wide array of opportunities for Nigerians to showcase their abundant energy

backers, Quartz Africa says, and acts like an outsourcing firm for developers.

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in ICT issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts must also be made to encourage the growth of Nigerian ICT startups to absorb the growing number of youths getting into the sector. Government must view ICT as a key aspect of its economic policy direction and diversification programme. Nigeria cannot afford to continue to lag behind in the keen global competition to maximise opportunities in the digital economy. Buhari's comments while receiving Zuckerberg at the State House on September 2, 2016 demonstrated his appreciation of the Facebook founder's visit and its potential for Nigeria.  Aboyeji, who co-founded Andela, is currently making waves in other areas of the ICT sector. Nigerian youths must also rise to the occasion and seek out ways of competing favourably with their peers in other climes. The fixation with paid employment should be discarded for self-drive innovations. There are many good examples like Aboyeji that Nigerian youths can follow. There is also Chinedu Echeruo, who sold his HopStop. com firm for over $1bn to Apple. Many more of such trailblazers exist in Nigeria. You can find them among the 18 million Nigerians on Facebook. It will take serious effort to search them out and nurture them to global recognition. That's a challenge that must be accomplished from Zuckerberg's 2016 visit to Nigeria.

POLITICS

Clamour for restructuring, good governance and public-oriented policies dominated discussions at the recent Tunji Braithwaite symposium in Lagos, Temitope Ogunbanke reports

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Echoes of restructuring at Braithwaite symposium

he memory of late founder of Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) and social crusader, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, came alive last Friday as elder statesmen, politicians, leaders of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), legal practitioners, students, among others converged on Lagos for the second edition of the Tunji Braithwaite symposium. The symposium titled: “Nigeria in crisis: The imperative of a new socio-economic order,” gave opportunity to various speakers, especially politicians and members of civil society groups to express their views on the need for good governance, restructuring and people oriented policies to make Nigeria comfortable for her citizens. The symposium brought back memories of the remarkable roles and interventions of Braithwaite, especially the several roles he played in Nigerian politics as founder, national chairman and presidential candidate of NAP, as well as his protests against antipeople policies and violation of human rights. The chairman of the occasion and a professor of Political Economy, Prof. Pat Utomi; the keynote speaker and Director-General, Electoral Institute of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Abubakar Momoh; Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife; founding National Secretary of National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr. Femi Aborishade; environmental activist, Ms Anniko Briggs and other speakers attributed Nigeria’s problems to bad leadership, poor economic policies and corruption. They also reiterated the call for restructuring and implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference, noting that Nigeria would not progress without investment in education, good leadership, restructuring of the country and constitutional amendment. Utomi in his address said a ‘class of 1966,’ comprising military officers have literarily held Nigeria captive since 1966 and therefore called on eminent Nigerians to speak out to save the country. He also noted that that Nigeria’s present economic crisis is self-inflicted and policy-induced recession, adding that Nigeria has become more divided in the last one year than the time of the civil war because of bad leadership and poor economic policies. His words: “The economic crisis and conflict we are facing in the country were completely self-inflicted; a policy-induced recession and yet people are not raising their voices on the matter and challenge of now because they don’t want to be for or against the government; and they want to watch our coun-

L-R: Aborisade, Momoh, Kuti, Adebanjo, Mrs. Braithwaite, Ezeife and Kalu at the event.

try dying. The time is now to wake up and speak truth to power from across the breadth of this land. “We need to think about the subject of state capture; the capture of Nigerian state by a group of people. The subject of state capture is defined by the class of 1966; a group of young military officers, who have held Nigeria literarily into a state of capture since 1966. The elements within this class have defined a little bit where our country should be going.” Prof. Momoh in his key note address said the struggle of the 21st Century is waged along political and economy knowledge and therefore urged government to invest in education for development. The professor of Political Economy also attributed Nigeria’s economic crisis to poor policy and foreign ideologies imbibed by past leaders of the country, adding that the ideology and the direction of the economy had not changed from 1986 because some of those at the helms of affairs were lazy and not thinking on how to lead the country on the right path. He said: “Unless we go back to invest in knowledge, and knowledge conversation in education, we are yet to prepare for the battle and the journey of the 21st century. Change has to be human and people should be catered for, driven and focused and anything short of this cannot be change.” Adebanjo on his part, said there is leadership crisis in Nigeria because many people in leadership positions don’t know how to implements ideas that can move the country forward. He insisted that the solutions to Nigeria’s problem are restructuring and constitutional change. “Restructuring is for those who want Nigeria to be in peace. We must compel our leaders to know that unless we solve the national question, there won’t be a way forward,” he said. Ezeife said the military ruined

Unless we solve the national question, there won’t be a way forward

the country through religion, ethnicity and tribalism and therefore called for restructuring of the country to resolve all the problems militating against its growth and development. The former governor maintained that the idea of Nigeria as a country has become very difficult because what is currently in operation is a creation of the military adding that the various crises rocking the country are true reflections of the kind of leaders the people have. “We must all agree that the civil war is over. The states created to win the war can no longer form the basis that can sustain our economy, The Nigerian military ruled and ruined the country; today, there is a total failure of the system. “As long as we continue the way we are going, we will get to nowhere. I am suggesting that we do what is necessary for the country to take its rightful place. Nigeria can become a superpower. The needed indices for an economic boost include power, water, transportation and ecological problems,” he said. He also noted that the solution to Nigeria’s problems lies in having a genuine federation where regions would exist. According to him, since the old regional government has been destroyed, the country can make do with the six geo-political zones. Briggs urged Nigerians leaders to work towards the implementation of the 2014 National Conference, which according to her addressed the basic problems of Nigeria for the ethnic nationalities in the country to live in peace. The environmental activist painted a picture of the sufferings in the Niger Delta and advised the Federal Government against use of force in resolving militancy and various agitations in the oil-rich region. Also speaking, the founding National Secretary of National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr.

Aborishade, urged all Nigerians to rise up and defend the country’s democracy. The former NCP scribe also warned that the dollar may exchange for N1,000 before end of the year if urgent steps are not taken by the government to solve the economic crisis in the country. His words: “A lot is wrong with Nigeria. The present democracy is not what the people fought for. As far as restructuring is concerned, I am not opposed to it but I maintain that restructuring is the fundamental problem of Nigeria. Even if Nigeria is restructured and we continue the catalyst system, the masses of Nigeria will continue in agony. I believe that restructuring as a programme is an elitist’s programme. “Instead of restructuring, which is an elitist’s programme and which will benefit the politicians more than the ordinary people, I will propose a programme of re-distribution of income and reverse of all the privatisations that had taken place in Nigeria. In Nigeria, privatisation is nothing but the looting of our common patrimony. We must also fight corruption holistically.” National Chairman of NAP, Rev. Ike Ezechukwu, in his presentation called for restructuring of Nigeria on the basis of true fiscal federalism, devolution of power and principle of resource control. Among dignitaries who graced the event were late Braithwaite’s wife, Grace; his daughter and member Board of Trustees, Tunji Braithwaite Foundation, Laolu Branco-Rhode; former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu; human rights activist, Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, former President of Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), Ayo Obe; chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Comrade Debo Adeniran, former Provost of the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, Very Rev. Yinka Omololu, among others.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Arts

From Ubong, fresh blast in Jazz

CULTURE

Tony Okuyeme

igerian artist Ernest Nkwocha is set to fete the art to array of sculptures in his solo exhibition which opens this September 24, at Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos. Known for his creative use of discarded materials, especially tyres, to beautiful and engaging art works, in this exhibition titled Me and My Environment, “conceived on assumption that worn out tyres could be useful for aesthetics and utility purposes in figurative sculptures, furniture, and more ways that are challenging.” Nkwocha, who has a Higher National Diploma (HND) Sculpture, Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria, notes that he loves junk sculpture and converting wastes to make people appreciate it in an artistic manner. His preferred medium, he added, is recycled material; tyres. “Art has been a part of me since I was born. As I grew, I realised the potential to develop and expand on this talent. At university I studied sculpture and I am constantly seeking innovative ways to express my art through sculpture,” Nkwocha stated. The show which is supported by the Society of Nigerian Artist (SNA), Lagos State chapter, Triad Studios, among other organisations, features ‘Encroach’ent’, ‘United’, ‘False Prophet’, ‘Na You Sabi’, Beast of no nation 1 and 2 among others. The show is already generating strong interest among artists, art collectors, art aficionados. In the forward on the exhibition, Momoh Issin Ibrahim, chief lecturer, Department of Sculpture, School of Art and Design, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, notes: “Anything can be art now or in the future if it works, artists today are free as never before to use the materials they like, even trash, using something we are so connected with seems obvious to this sculptor, Mr. Ernest Nkwocha an avid proponent of repurposed materials, that in this exhibition he challenges viewers of his work

TONY OKUYEME Arts Editor tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

Na you sabi

False Prophet

Me and My Environment: Turning discarded tyres to sculptures Encroachment

to consider thrown away, tyres as objects that can be reused meaningfully to recreate art works to which we can all relate. “In this sense therefore this artist has sufficiently modified used discarded tyres to fit a new use in sculpture; a tyre is most commonly used in the construction of vehicles. Nevertheless, just as humans can have many talents, a tyre can have many uses, no doubt, there is brilliance in taking one thing and using it for another.” According to him, this exhibition is therefore conceived on assumption that worn out tyres could be useful for aesthetics and utility purposes in figurative sculptures, furniture, and more ways that are challenging. “Often

This artist has sufficiently modified used discarded tyres to fit a new use in sculpture

times, most materials that are used for sculpture today, are already made materials that are meant for other purposes. Inferably all materials that are being used, as medium in sculpture today are adapted materials, such as metal, wood, cement, plaster of Paris, bronze, silicon, wax etcetera, are materials made ready for other purposes, but through researches sculptors have been able to manipulate them for their own creative use. “In the same manner, this exhibition is more an exploration to find out how used tyres can be converted to sculpture forms for us to admire them once more as work of art of various types and styles with a view of expanding the frontiers of known methods and materials of sculpture.” He also noted that the works exhibited on this platform have

evidently and effectively “evaluated the material properties of used tyres, repurposed them and reuse them for sculpture, it has created an awareness towards the reduction in the amount of discarded tyres and no doubt creates also awareness of environmental waste issues and behavioral change on those issues. It propagates the use of this tyre medium as a relatively new medium for sculptures and will definitely go a long way to encourage artists to make economic use of discarded tyres to resuse and recycle them for designing and production of series of sculptures in response to, and embodying this medium of tyre by making small, medium, large as well as installation of one or more site specific tyre sculptures.”

ART

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

tuk Ubong is a young, soft spoken, very talented and hardworking musician who doesn’t immediately cut the part of a Jazz musician. But looks can be deceptive, as he is one of the fast rising Jazz trumpeters steadily climbing to international fame from his home country Nigeria, and the world has started taking note! Gwen Ansell, acclaimed South Africa music industry writer, trainer and researcher who writes for Businessday SA and BDLIVE SA notes in her review: “Ubong’s playing approach offers irresistible reminders of Miles Davis in the late ‘50s quartet recordings: a velvet tone and quiet inventiveness rather than brash grandstanding, but underpinned by quick fingers and an even quicker mind...But there’s clearly more, and more that’s intriguing, to Ubong’s music...when the trumpet begins, the note sequence is distinctively Nigerian, not American, and it’s further in that African direction that Ubong’s intelligent improvisation takes it.” Ibibio by birth but born and raised in Lagos in 1992, the Akwa-Ibom indigene is a trumpeter and flugelhorn player who started playing music at the age of 14 and has put the decade since then to very good use. Etuk started his music tuition under the tutelage of Etop Adolphors and Victor Ademofe, after which he moved on to study jazz at the Peter King College of Music, and classical music at the MUSON School of Music in Lagos. Currently he is enrolled for jazz studies at the University of Cape Town’s South African College of Music having also completed the Berklee Online Specialist Certificate in Improvisation. He has certificates from Trinity College London and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Apart from his formal studies, Ubong has gained invaluable experience by playing with worldrenowned musicians like Victor Olaiya, Femi Kuti, the Gangbé Brass Band, Pat Harbison, Nduduzo Makhathini and many others. In 2012, Ubong’s former teacher, top Nigerian trumpeter Victor Ademofe, invited him to play with him at the Lagos Jazz Series. Following that collaboration and aged just 21, Ubong was handpicked by Femi Kuti to join his band, and played regularly for the next two years with Kuti at the

Ubong quartet at expresso show SABC South Africa

From Ubong, fresh blast in Jazz African Shrine as well at festivals and venues around Nigeria and touring to Ghana. The highlight was meeting SA jazz legend Hugh Masekela at the Bayelsa International Jazz Festival produced by Inspiro productions in 2013. Moving on from Kuti’s band, Ubong then played with the Gangbé Brass Band, touring with them for a while to Benin, the Art Ensemble of Lagos and then he played with various local ensembles and bands in Nigeria. In 2015, Ubong played with his Nigerian Quartet, made up of Ita Samson on bass, Timothy Ogunbiyi on piano/keyboards and Tombrapade Robert on drums, at the Lagos International Jazz Festival, the Abuja Jazz Festival and the MUSON Jazz Festival. British vocalist Cleveland Watkiss was so impressed by the band that he invited Ubong’s Quartet to play with him at the Satchmo Jazz Festival, where he was a headline act. As a member of the International Trumpet Guild, the young Turk

represented Nigeria and Africa at its conference in Ohio, USA in August 2015 and rounded off the year playing in the On Mass project headed by Jamie Cullum as part of the London Jazz Festival. In 2016, Ubong relocated to South Africa to further his jazz studies at the University of Cape Town. A smart move which saw him rapidly starting to make a name for himself in the local jazz scene, having formed a South African Etuk Ubong Quartet with three rising talents: Ludwe Danxa on piano, Shakeel Cullis on double bass and Keno Carelse on drums. The Quartet have performed at top live jazz venues in SA like The Orbit Jazz Club, African Freedom Station, The Crypt Jazz club, SophiaTown Heritage Centre, The Piano Bar, Straight No chaser Jazz club and also the Artscape Youth Jazz Festival and are developing a name with jazz lovers and the media alike. Ubong has also

performed with various other musicians and bands by invitation and in SA has played with Nduduzo Makhathini, Benjamin Jephta, Justin Bellairs and Ayanda Sikade amongst others, and was featured as soloist in the Artscape Youth Jazz Festival 2016. Ubong recorded his debut EP, “Miracle”, with his Nigerian quartet in March 2016, and released the album in June. It features original jazz compositions that reflect his Nigerian heritage as well as life philosophy of goodwill, peace and love to humanity. His current and upcoming performances in SA and Nigeria are focused on promoting the EP and include: in SA - the Jazz in the Native Yards Heritage Festival with the SA and in Nigeria - headlining the Abuja Jazz festival and the Satchmo Jazz Festival both with the Nigerian Quartet. Engagements are underway for touring in 2017, to the USA and Europe.

More stars to emerge as Project Fame ends

ine years ago Project Fame by MTN was brought to local screens across West Africa, and since then it continued to delight everybody as it seeks to discover raw talented musical hopefuls who are groomed for success in an intense Academy. As the season 9 of Project Fame by MTN come to its climax tomorrow, it is evident the six finalists Winner, Okiemute, Kitay, Pere, Elizabeth and Dapo are working harder than ever before to ensure that they finish strong. The contestants unleashed their creativity as they performed their signature versions of evergreen

songs. They also merged their talents into a magnificent piece of music when they sang together in twos. On their last outing the six contestants were paired to perform duets of some all-time best Nigerian songs. Two vocal power houses - Winner and Okiemute - did justice to ‘Possibility’ by P-Square featuring Tubaba. Pere and Kitay brought their vocal prowess to the fore more than ever before as they sang ‘Good or bad’ by J Martins, P-Square and Timaya while Dapo and Elizabeth brought a loveydovey spice into the mix as they performed ‘Romantic’ by Korede Bello featuring Tiwa Savage.

The contestants then went on to serenade the audience as they performed covers of evergreen songs, tactically moving from one genre to another. The night’s set of performances was capped with Mike Anyasodo (aka iMike, Season 2 winner) performance. Known for his exceptional stage presence and energetic moves, he entertained everyone with one of his latest music releases. It is very evident that the finalists are working harder than ever before to ensure that they finish strong; hence, it is now left to viewers to complement their efforts with their votes.

Some of the finalists during their group performance

FRIday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fortherecord

African Taiwan: Nnewi and the industrialisation of Nigeria

Prof. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu Moghalu, former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a Professor of International Business and Public Policy, Tufts University, USA writes on the place of Nnewi, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State

am a proud indigene of Nnewi, an ancient town in Anambra State populated by industrious and resourceful men, women and children, with a hereditary monarchy dating back over five centuries. Is a town that has produced many of Nigeria’s most illustrious sons and daughters, men and women who have made sterling contributions to Nigeria’s economic and political development. These giants, several of whom are now deceased, include Sir Louis Phillip Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the wealthiest Nigerian businessman of his era and the founding President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; his world-famous son Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria and Head of State of the Republic of Biafra, and Dr. A.A. Nwafor Orizu, the Senate President of Nigeria in the First Republic. Other Nnewi-born men and women of rare distinction include Francis Chuka Nwokedi, the first indigenous Nigerian to be appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary in the Nigerian colonial civil service in 1956 (Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour) and who later served as Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence in the First Republic; Dr. Chu S.P. Okongwu, who served variously as Federal Minister of National Planning, Finance, and Petroleum Resources; Dame Virgy Etiaba, the first female State Governor in Nigeria, and Engr. Ebele Okeke, the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. But this town of nearly half a million people is most noteworthy for its historical dominance of the automobile spare parts trade and its record and potential as an industrial hub in Nigeria.

This hub of real-economy economic production can become a theatre for the industrialization and economic diversification of the Nigerian economy. Perhaps the greatest secret in Nigeria today is how, against all odds, Nnewi deployed a spectacular feat of backward integration to become a strong domestic industrial manufacturer of automobile and motorcycle spare parts and other products. Today, Innoson Motors locally manufactures vehicles of different types and is one of several Nnewi based or Nnewi indigene-owned companies in the vanguard of Nigeria’s nascent industrial revolution.

Why Manufacturing Matters Successive governments in Nigeria have expressed the imperative of diversifying the Nigerian economy away from dependence on oil revenues. But we have not yet achieved this objective. Indeed, I would say that, generally speaking, we are still some distance away from doing so in reality. It is only a structural transformation of Nigeria’s economy based on industrial manufacturing that can lead to Nigeria’s longterm economic rebirth. Not lowproductivity agriculture devoid of agro-allied industrial manufacturing in which we add value to agricultural products and export these products. Not the mining and export of raw solid minerals, however attractive that prospect might appear in the short term. There is no path to real, durable prosperity for Nigeria as a country that can avoid building an industrial economy based on the development of manufacturing and the ancillary structures essential for industrial success. The secret of the wealth of the industrialized nations lies in their industrial productive capacity, which is what generates superior, sustainable output growth. This is what is called economic complexity – the manufacture and export of complex products with value, knowledge and competitive advantage embedded in such products. Economic complexity also includes an applied understanding of what is known as the “product space”, the network of connecting products that are likely to be co-exported and can be used to predict the evolution of a country’s export structure. All of this requires productive knowledge and skills. You can, therefore, ignore anyone who tells

Moghalu

Nnewi, an urban town of 72 square kilometers, was already a major commercial center by the 1920s

you that a very populous country such as Nigeria, with large domestic markets and other potential economies of scale, can achieve economic transformation on the back of a strictly services-based economy in which we use technology to “leapfrog”, by-passing manufacturing and moves into a “postindustrial” economy. My answer to this perspective, which I have heard suggested –and have countered --in several forums around the world, is that you cannot become a post-industrial society, as some believe the industrialized western world is now becoming, without being first an industrial one. Nigeria’s efforts at diversifying its economy must therefore focus on infrastructure, skills, and manufacturing. There are a number of very important reasons why manufacturing, even in an older technology form, matters greatly for economic transformation. The first is that economic transformation as a concept is defined as a move away from subsistence agriculture or natural resource dependency to machine based, value-addition production that is mechanized. Mechanized production produces more with less, and value-added goods have higher economic value and are not subject to the cyclical vagaries of markets for raw commodities.

Second, a manufacturingbased strategy of economic growth is labor-intensive and so can absorb large quantities of even unskilled labor in the economy. This means that manufacturing creates jobs. Third, a manufacturing based growth strategy thus has a far higher chance of creating inclusive growth because it can make economic use of individuals from a broad array of social classes and across a wide range of sectors. Moreover, manufacturing has the advantage of establishing what economists call “unconditional convergence”. That is to say, it inevitably ramps up the levels of productivity and increases the rate of productivity growth. This is a core factor in creating inclusive economic growth. Nnewi: “African Taiwan”. Nnewi is unique in Nigeria because the businessmen and women of this community have gone beyond the song and dance of platitudes about diversification and industrialization to do the deed in reality. Nnewi business people have walked the walk, not just talked the talk of industrialization. They started industrialization on their own initiative CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 fortherecord CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

as astute businesspeople. They did not wait for the government. But, as we will see as we progress in this discussion, the role of the government in industrializing an economy matters greatly. If Nigeria is truly seeking to industrialize its economy, why not build on what already exists in Nnewi? Nnewi, an urban town of 72 square kilometers, was already a major commercial center by the 1920s. It began its journey to becoming an industrial hub in the period after World War II, when it became more competitive to trade by automobile transport between Nnewi/Onitsha and Port Harcourt than by river transport. In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, several Nnewi businessmen became transportation magnates. The first generation of these included D.D. Onyemelukwe and J.C. Ulasi who operated from Aba, Sir. L.P. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was based in Lagos, and F.E. Okonkwo (“Okonkwo Kano”), who was based in Kano. The second generation of transport companies and their magnates appeared on the scene in the 1950s and 1960s. They included Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport founded by Chief A.E. Ilodibe, Izuchukwu Transport owned by Chief Ubajiaka, and Chidi Ebere Transport owned by Chief Lawrence Amazu. Later entrants included Ekesons Transport owned by Chief Eugene Ojukwu. As a result of a combination of a high level of business acumen and political risk factors, chiefly the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 which caused a forced return to Nnewi of Nnewi-indigene traders previously located in all parts of Nigeria back to their hometown, Nnewi itself boomed as a spare parts market after the civil war. This trading phase was dominant for the next decade after the civil war ended. Nnewi auto spare parts traders were importing parts from Japan in the 1950s and the 1960s. By the 70s and 80s, Taiwan displaced Japan as the main foreign partner for Nnewi businessmen because Taiwanese manufacturers, to be competitive against Japanese products, offered lower prices and more flexible credit arrangements. As foreign exchange problems hit the Nigerian economy in the early 1980s and importation became increasingly expensive, Nnewi businessmen migrated into local industrial production of auto spare parts and other products, initially with technological support from Taiwanese partners, onward to motorcycle assembly, and finally to full-scale manufacturing. Between 1980 and 1995 several new manufacturing industries were established in Nnewi by indigenes of the town. Incidentally, many of these industries were not auto spare parts or related products. These industries include Cutix Plc and Adswitch Plc, founded by Engr. Ajulu Uzodike, which manufacture electric cables and electric switchgears, several industries established by Chief Cletus Ibeto (manufacturing products ranging from synthetic marble to batteries, brake pads and linings) Armak (rice and maize processing), In-

FRIday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nnewi and the industrialisation of Nigeria

Obiano

tercontinental Feed Mills (animal feed), Chicason Industries, Ngobros Industries, and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) which manufactures complete automobile vehicles with up to 70 per cent local content. While many of Nnewi’s industries have survived, without government support or patronage but only owing to their resilience, some have not. There are several reasons for this including self-inflicted injuries such as suboptimal management practices in what is mainly a family and kinship based business culture. Today, industries and industrialists in Nnewi are stressed by severe macroeconomic headwinds in Nigeria, and several industrialists have reverted once again to importation, now mainly from China, in order to stay afloat. This trend is truly unfortunate and must be reversed. The Odds against Industrialization in Nnewi Industrialization in Nnewi has stalled as a result of several challenges that need to be addressed, each in a specific and targeted manner. These challenges include: Infrastructure – roads, river/ seaports, power, water, telecommunications Critical economic infrastructure in the country, particularly in the South-East Region, is in very bad shape. The few federal highways connecting to artery roads which should in turn link manufacturing firms are all in disrepair. There is no proximal seaport; the river port at Onitsha is shallow and dredging work is slow. I need not recount the effect of poor power supply on our industries. Pipe-borne water for industrial use is hardly available anywhere around. There have been marked improvements in telecommunication coverage but the user costs almost eclipse the benefits. Finance – adequacy and cost Financial capital is highly rationed in Nigeria, leaving those who can access it to do so at exorbitant costs. Presently, the Monetary Policy rate is 14 per cent, average short term interest rates swing between 21 per cent per annum for prime financial insti-

Different governments in Nigeria come up with different polices

tution customers to 28 per cent p. The Path to Industrial Rebirth in a. for others. Very few endeavours Nnewi We know the problems. But it would generate sufficient returns is important to think hard about to cover such costs of funds. what the solutions might be. In Multiple taxation that context, there are two types It is not uncommon to see agents of approaches. One is what the of the federal, state and local tax state (the government) should do. authorities swoop on business The other is self-help by Nnewi residents to demand the same tax, industrialists and their commulevy or the other fees. Production nities. The former includes strucactivities are often disrupted for tural reform of the economy, and long hours while the premises are macroeconomic reforms, both of sealed off, with huge losses. which no entity other than the government can achieve. The d. Foreign exchange – availability and latter includes finance (which rates requires a combination of govIn the wake of the recent ef- ernment and self-help actions), fective devaluation of the naira foreign investment, innovation by about 50 per cent in the inter- for competitiveness, an embrace bank market, let alone by about of modern management prac100 per cent in the parallel mar- tices, and political bargaining ket, many factories have closed to influence public policy. and laid off staff as they can no longer keep pace with competi- Structural Reform and Industrial tion from foreign firms. The con- Policy The most important step that tinuing difficulties in accessing foreign exchange from the official will restore Nnewi’s industrial and autonomous markets pose a glory is the execution of strucserious challenge to industries in tural reforms and a robust indusNnewi. Prospective new manufac- trial policy by the Nigerian govturers require foreign exchange ernment, mainly at the federal to import machinery while the level given the reality of the curexisting enterprises require for- rent constitutional structure, but eign exchange for raw materials also at the state level given that importation and this is not readily Nnewi industrial require feeder roads that are the responsibility available. of state governments. Technology Structural reforms involve The technology required to ac- repositioning the Nigerian tively compete in today’s market economy in a very fundamental place is in short supply in most manner. This means new policy industrial areas of endeavour. thinking that (a) emphasizes inYou will often find small cottage dustrial manufacturing to turn industries with obsolete facilities. Nigeria into a truly productive The rapid rate of technological ad- economy, based on the arguvancement globally appears not to ments I advanced earlier about be marched in Nnewi, resulting in why manufacturing matters, and stunted industrialization. (b) creating the physical infrastructure to support industrial Management deficiency manufacturing. As businesses grow beyond All infrastructure matters, the scope of management by fam- but power supply and transport ily members, they make serious infrastructure are obviously the demands on the management ca- most important. The need for pacities of the promoters. Less manufacturers to supply their conservative promoters expand own energy needs adds up to the length and breadth of man- 40 per cent to the cost of doagement of the firms and bring in ing business, and so industrial strategic alliances that assist in the clusters such as Nnewi must day to day operation of the com- become the number one priorpany. As the business grows, the ity in the federal government’s company may even consider list- power strategy. Ethiopia has ing in the capital market as Cutix successfully prioritized built Plc in August 1987 and today is one infrastructure for industrial of the biggest electric wire manu- areas as part of its industrial facturing companies in Africa. strategy that has seen that country making quantum leaps Policy inconsistency in manufacturing and economDifferent governments in Ni- ic growth at 11 per cent a year. geria come up with different po- This kind of prioritization and lices, with many of such policies disciplined execution is yet to being significant departures from happen in Nigeria. those of preceding governments. More broadly, Nigeria has atThis makes planning very difficult tempted an industrial policy in and stifles the sustainable growth recent times, in the form of the of industries in Nnewi and else- Nigerian Industrial Revolution where. Plan (NIRP) commenced by the Goodluck Jonathan administraInadequate institutional support tion in 2013. Prior to this, apart The plethora of agencies with from an emphasis on industrithe responsibility of ensuring the alization in the pre-Structural sustainable development of small Adjustment Program (SAP) and medium enterprises which era in the 1960s, early 1970s Nnewi industries mainly com- and the early 80s, Nigeria has prise, have not lived up to expecta- not articulated and followed a tion. As a people, we need to forge consistent policy of industrialstrategies to ensure that agencies ization. The SAP placed unballike SMEDAN and Bank of Indus- anced emphasis on capital as try have their most vibrant offic- a factor of production, at the es in industrial hubs like Nnewi expense of labor. and partner closely with targeted stakeholders. TO BE CONTINUED

friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Did Angelina Jolie fire nanny caught crushing on Brad Pitt?

Entertainment God brought Stella Damasus into my life –Ademinokan

Jennifer Aniston gets last laugh after ‘Brangelina’ split

LANRE ODUKOYA COORDINATOR

lanreodukoya@gmail.com

Why Justin Bieber quit summer romance with Sofia Richie

boniface: Village Headmaster was rested after coup script

Buhari lauds KSA @ 70

Yinka Quadri’s daughter set to marry

Famous Yoruba actor, Ibrahim Chatta’s third marriage underway

Can you tell us more about who you are? My name is Asuquo Ukwak, I am from Asnaj Enionj Odufani Local Government Area in Cross River state. I attended Ikorugwo Primary School, Akwa Ibom State, and Salvation Army Secondary School in Akai Eket, Cross State. I did not complete my Secondary School and this was before the Nigeria civil war. I came to Lagos in 1961. I was employed in the Ministry of Works and Housing in 1965. I started as a Clerk and rose to become an Executive Cadre until I retired in the year 2000 after I had put in 35 years in the service. When did you join the Village Headmaster? Comish Ekiye was my friend and he knew I love acting. He was always coming around to watch me performing in the drama group. That time, he was acting the role of Chief Odunuga in the Village Headmaster. So, he invited me to attend one of their rehearsals and that was in 1970. I was auditioned and was asked to play a minor role in that

series. I featured in different series playing minor roles. I continued to feature until they established the role Boniface, a store keeper attendant to Bassey Okon. Then how did your career in acting began? I came to Lagos in 1961. I joined different drama groups performing in an open space; where people will be watching us, sometimes we were invited to perform live before the audience. Among all the drama groups, I can only remember the Nigerian Play House in Lagos. Any fright on set when you first came in contact with the camera? My experience with different drama groups helped me a lot; the rehearsals were almost the same. Before they rolled the camera, the director would have perfected the rehearsal, so even when I had to feature in the first series of the Village Headmaster, I did not experience any camera fright. What was expected of the character Boniface? The character Boniface

Mr. Asuquo Ukwak was popularly known as Boniface, his role in the rested television drama series, The Village Headmaster. In this interview with FLORA ONWUDIWE, he recalls his experience, among other things. Excerpts is supposed to be an honest person, a humble store keeper. It is a symbolic character, for anyone who aspires to serve his master must be honest, God fearing. In fact when they gave me the role of an Efik , I told them the type of costume for the role of Boniface, that people will identify as an Efik culture, wrapper and a longsleeve shirt; that is how the men dressed to portray Efik culture. The role of Boniface represents the two states, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states. Life after retirement, how has it been? I have been taking part in some movie productions; I was not satisfied with the peanuts they were paying me. I had stop acting, I only take part in production that the producer will appreciate what is expected of me. What were your memorable moments or experiences in Village Headmaster while it lasted?

I could remember a particular script that was given to us, but I cannot remember the title of that series. The idea was that the character Prince Dagbolu wanted to overthrow Kabiyesi, and Kabiyesi eventually overthrew him. The roles portrayed the Gideon Orkar Coup. We were invited by the State Security Service who interrogated us. I don’t want to mention the name of the person that was the head of Nigeria at time. He warned that it should not be transmitted on air anymore. The then Director General of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was summoned by the-powersthat-be. The script writer said that it was based on inspiration, he wrote the script, but the story before it was scripted was a true life situation. It was all about coup d’etat where some officers in the military wanted to topple the people in power at that time. The actors said that the script was given CO N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 2

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friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Yinka Quadri gives daughter’s hand in marriage

eteran actor, Yinka Quadri, is one of the most proficient actors in Yoruba movie industry and he keeps doing his best to remain on top of his game. His first daughter, Yewande Quadri, is set to get married, and the family introduction ceremony was carried out few days ago. Report has it that, the actor would soon be a grandpa as Yewande is pregnant. The ebony-hued expectant mother is in her early 20s and would be marrying into Ibikunle’s family. Although the set date for the wedding is yet unknown, tale bearers said that it would be rushed due to Yewande’s current situation.

Quadri

Famous Yoruba actor, Ibrahim Chatta’s third marriage underway

Chatta (right) with Salamotu

t’s been two years since that the marriage of prolific actor, Ibrahim Chatta, to the daughter of the former governor of Kwara State Shaaba Lafiaji, Salamatu packed up. His marriage to Salamatu was his second marriage, and indications are rife that the actor is getting married again for the third time. His first wife, Olayinka Solomon, had allegedly accused the actor of physical assault, which was reported to be the main reason the marriage hit the rock. Unlike the first, for his second wife, status was the problem. Inside sources insist she couldn’t cope with the low state of living provided by the actor. And he’d be taking the third shot at marriage on October 1, with the lady who is said to be carrying his baby already. The pregnancy well explains why he hastened the marriage procedures. The lucky lady is his fellow constituent, an actress, according to impeccable sources.

‘Why Village Headmaster was stopped’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Headmaster was rested.

to us and we acted our roles based on our scripts just exactly the way it was written.

How did you combine your work in the civil service with the acting in Village Headmaster? We usually go for rehearsals during the weekend and we record at midnight. It did not affect my work.

Was that all you could remember? There was also another script where I played a lead role, and was supposed to marry because I was of age to settle down with a wife but from another tribe. Of course as an Efik man, I dressed in Efik attire. There was a preparation for the marriage, some personalities were in attendance seated for the arrival of my bride. Everybody was dressed up for the marriage ceremony. They presented her and unveiled her; I discovered that she was too small for me to marry. She was a 12 years old girl. I ran away. The guests asked why I was running away, and I told them that the girl they brought for marriage is 12 years old, that I can’t marry her because she was too small for me. The next day there were many telephone calls; the groom is from Cross River State, we did not mention any tribe in the script, and while playing the role, the message we were trying to put across was that if you know that you can’t marry 12 year old girl then put an end to it. The aim of the Village Headmaster was to bring out the societal ills which we try to correct through the so called make belief. That was how the Village

How much were you paid? I was paid N400 till it was rested in 1990. In 1997 the Ministry transferred me to Abuja. Who were the producers you worked with? The producers and directors that I worked with included Mr. Sanya Dosumu,

David Orere, Segun Akinbola , Tunde Oloyede, Olu Obaseki and Bayo Awala. The name Boniface cannot be linked to the tribe that you said the role portrays? In fact when they gave me the role of an Efik, I told them the type of costume for the role of Boniface, that people will identify as an Efik culture. The wrapper and a long sleeve shirt that is how the men dressed to portray Efik culture. The role Boniface represents the two states , Cross River and Akwa Ibom states. Any regret? When the ministry sent me to Jos in 1999 for official meeting for three days, I came back I did not see my eldest son. When I asked his younger brother, he told me that he went out; and that was the last I heard of my son. It was reported in the newspapers and on the Network news of NTA. Even the State Security Service (SSS) searched for him and they did not see him. I know that God has a purpose for everything and I cannot do anything contrary to God’s wish, as a Christian I look up to Him , He is the one that gave him to me and He has taken it back. Why did you choose to be an actor? First of all it is the passion. I love acting and acting was inherent in me; and people discovered that and they said I only need training for me to improve my talent. And immediately I came to Lagos, I joined drama groups. And If I hadn’t become an actor I would have loved to be a chorister doing it for God. I am a tenor singer. I attend Presbyterian Church Wuse, the state of Abuja Parish.

Boniface

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friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

God brought Stella Damasus into my life –Ademinokan A ctress, Doris Simeon, had shrugged off the messy tale about how a colleague, Stella Damasus, snatched her husband, Daniel Ademinokan, some years back. Since then Stella and Daniel, who couldn’t cope with the salvos from within and outside the entertainment industry, fled to U.S. to curtail if not end the seemingly endless criticisms. But in the U.S., the pair takes to evangelism through music. They are now both gospel ministers. While Stella remains the lead vocal, Daniel is saddled with strumming the guitar and together, they were able to put up a show tagged ‘Kingdom Generals’ which supposedly recorded a huge turnout of people to worship

God. Utterly excited Daniel echoed his emotion about having Stella in his life. He etched these words online: “It’s such an honor to do ministry with this woman! The things I experienced this weekend, words alone cannot describe. Heaven literarily touched the earth at KG 2016. Stella Damasus, I stand boldly to say that our partnership is divine and orchestrated by God on many levels. Such an honor to experience Life & God with you.” If karma is truly a bitch as they say, this special couple (who shares similar tale with Jenifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt) may have been immuned against all dreadful backlashes because they’re now in Christ.

Ademinokan and Damasus

Tale of Globacom’s sanction on PSquare resurfaces

he indiscretion of the leading pop duo, Peter and Paul Okoye of PSquare fame may finally be costing them a fortune as their hope to retain N64million annual deal as brand ambassadors to the telecoms giant dims. Though the brothers had gone public with their reunion, many had lost faith in their career together despite their new single entitled ‘Bank Alert’ for which a star-studded video

Paul and Peter

was release a recently. There are fresh indications that the brothers are fighting tooth and nail to retain their place as the most rewarded ambassadors with the company that may not be renewing their contracts. Meanwhile, insiders at Globacom have declined comments on the saga. Psquare got signed to Globacom in 2010 on a four-year contract which was later renewed in 2014.

Buhari lauds KSA @ 70

resident Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated music legend, King Sunny Ade, on his 70th birthday, which is on Sept. 22. Information on the felicitation is contained in a statement issued by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja. Adesina stated that President Buhari joins friends, family and fans of the multitalented instrumentalist, songwriter and dancer in celebrating his remarkable life. The President noted with delight that Sunny Ade had been honoured with numerous awards for outstanding performances, including nominations for the Grammy. Buhari added that the Septuagenarian had over the decades brought pride to his country by mastering his art against all odds, taking the African musical genre to the global stage. He, therefore, commended him for not only bringing joy to many hearts and homes through his music, but for serving as an inspiration and a mentor to upcoming artistes. The President saluted “King

Sunny Ade’s love for humanity, especially the less privileged, by setting up a foundation that caters for the needs of others.” He prayed that almighty God grants, “the versatile entertainer longer life, good health and more strength.” Born on Sept. 22, 1946 in Osogbo, Sunday Adeniyi, the King of Juju who is popularly called ‘the minister of enjoyment’, had been actively in music since 1960s. His father was a Church organist, while his mother was a trader. Adé left grammar school in Ondo under the pretence of going to University of Lagos but there in Lagos, his mercurial musical career started. Sunny Adé’s musical sound evolved from the early days. His career begun with Moses Olaiya’s Federal Rhythm Dandies, a highlife band, but he left to form a new band, The Green Spots in 1967. Over the years, Sunny Adé’s band changed its name several times, first to African Beats and then to Golden Mercury, for various reasons ranging from changes in his music

Sunny Ade

to business concerns. In the 1970s and 1980s, King Sunny Adé embarked on a tour of America and Europe. His stage act was characterised by dexterous dancing steps and mastery of the guitar, which he played beautifully well to the admiration of the Americans and Europeans. His music albums earned him many awards, including his first Grammy Award nomination in the folk/ethnic music category.

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friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Did Angelina Jolie fire nanny caught crushing on Brad Pitt?

id a nanny who had her sights set on Brad Pitt end up getting fired by a jealous Angelina Jolie? More interesting revelations are surfacing daily after Jolie filed for divorce. Apparently Angelina Jolie‘s six kids had a nanny that was a little too fond of their papa, Brad Pitt, 52, and they immediately let their mom know. In a shocking new report in the Daily Mail, a source said of their massive parental help staff that, “One got fired – the kids told Angie she was crushing on Brad, and that was the end of it.” That kind of thing Angelina doesn’t mess around with! But the same report went on to claim that, “The nannies had it hard,” and that the kids would make up stories to get them in trouble, so they could have been making up the flirting story to get the woman fired. The incident happened while Angelina was in Cambodia and was directing her film, First They Killed My Father in winter 2016. The site claims that Angelina would let her brood run wild on the set there, giving them very little if no discipline, a totally different style of parenting from Brad’s more structured style. Angelina’s jealousy has been coming under scrutiny ever since it was revealed she filed for divorce from the actor on Sept. 15. Hollywoodlife had exclusively published stories about how she had been insanely jealous when it comes to Brad’s constant flirting with his gorgeous co-stars over the years. Since that drove her absolutely crazy, she probably was pretty quick to believe that a nanny was able to work her charms on Angie’s man.

Why Justin Bieber quit summer romance with Sofia Richie

ustin Bieber and Sofia Richie’s summer romance has fizzled out, and now, we’re left with nothing but tormenting questions as to why the ‘Sorry’ singer let her go. “Justin Bieber, 22, loves dating, and occasionally a girl will grab his eye for a brief moment, but then he finds himself missing the benefits of bachelorhood,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com “One thing that was different with Sofia Richie, 18, is that Justin thought she was really cool.” The answer is just so simple, and it’s been staring us in the face! We’ve been keeping up with the singer’s dating history for quite some time now, so it’s not a big shocker that he enjoys spoiling more than one girl at a time. The word “exclusive” might not be in Justin’s dictionary. Justin has been jumping ship from

‘hotties’ like Kourtney Kardashian and Bronte Blampeid for years now, but we were hoping the former Brandy Melville model was that someone special for the “Love Yourself” crooner. “It was super-hot and heavy, and because Justin doesn’t want a relationship right now, he wanted to cool things down,” a source reaffirms to E!, noting that the former lovebirds never officially came out as boyfriend and girlfriend. In fact, their relationship has reportedly been on the decline for WEEKS now as they gradually lost touch with each other. Justin and Sofia were only together for about six weeks before calling it quits, but in a place like Hollywood, that can feel like a lifetime. They’re both young, so what’s the rush in settling down and getting serious? Sticking true to his pattern, Justin is reportedly already hanging out with ex Hailey Baldwin again, as they’re staying in the same hotel in Paris. Meanwhile, Sofia has been cuddling up to someone new, as well a brand new puppy hat she adopted on September 19.

Justin and Sofia

Jolie and her husband, Pitt

Jennifer Aniston gets last laugh after ‘Brangelina’ split D

epending on how you feel about the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce news, you could either find this ‘NY Post’ cover about their split hilarious, or incredibly insensitive. On Sept. 20, the New York Post tweeted the cover of the Sept. 21 issue of the paper, w h i c h features a photo of Brad Pitt‘s ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, 47, laughing hysterically with the words, “Brangelina 20042016” in the upperleft hand corner.

Ouch! Major, major burn to Brad, 52, and Angelina Jolie, 41, on the day the news broke that Angie had filed for a divorce. The outlet captioned the pic, “Brangelina were the last great Hollywood couple.” As most people will remember, Brad left Jennifer for Angelina back in 2004; and the split wasn’t a pretty one. The ‘Allied’ actor allegedly cheated on Jenifer with Angelina when they were filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And after he chose Angie over his wife, the world went nuts. Suddenly fans swarmed Team Jen or Team Angelina. So many people felt horrible for Jen, and so many people felt like Brad and Angelina were destined to be together. But now that they are over, it looks like many internet users, and the New York Post, are taking advantage of the opportunity to poke fun at the bad karma that must be hitting Brad right now. After all, some could say that Jen got the last laugh if Angelina is leaving Brad. It’s like the tables have turned. But, as HollywoodLife. com previously reported, that doesn’t seem to be how the Friends star sees things. “Jennifer Aniston learned the news about Brad’s divorce at her Bel Air home with her husband Justin by her side. Her phone has been blowing up all day with friends wanting to trash Brad, but she is taking it all in stride,” a source told HollywoodLife. com

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Agric Cassava: FG targets $5bn revenue yearly by 2021

Business INTERVENTION Poorly performing insurance firms have had to be closely supervised by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) as part of strategies to halt bankruptcy

Sunday Ojeme

perators in the nation’s insurance sector are currently battling losses and declines, as they make public their half year reports to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Figures emanating from the firms in the last few weeks reveal unending traces of drop in performance, including those with once robust profit margins. Those in the chart so far include Mutual Benefits, International Energy Insurance and Equity Assurance, among others. According to the breakdown, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc’s profit dropped by 85 per cent in its report released a week ago as it posted a profit after tax of N387.630 million for the half year ended June 30, 2016, contrary to the over N2.661 billion recorded during the same period in 2015. Its profit before tax also stood at N493.865 million in 2016 as against N2.747 billion reported a year earlier, accounting for a decline of 82.02 per cent. Again, the gross premium written also dropped to N6.373 billion in 2016 as against N10.087 billion recorded a year earlier, indicating a drop of 36.82 per cent.

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dayo Ayeyemi

Environment Investment in fossil fuel declines – Report

28 30

Recession: Losses trail insurers’ half-year financials L-R: General Manager, DStv Media Sales, Nigeria, Kholeka Maringa; Chief Commercial Officer, DStv Media Sales, Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee; Chief Executive Office, APCON, Alhaji Bello Kankarofi and Director, DStv Media Sales, Africa, Cheryl Van-Rensburg, during the DStv Media Sales Primary Research Information and DStv viewership pattern in Lagos.

The firm posted a pre-tax profit of N1.195 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2015. While the pre-tax profit fell by 81 per cent with N4.980 billion recorded during the same period of 2014, the profit after tax stood at N812.048 million in 2015 as against N4.980 billion reported a year earlier, representing a decline of 76 per cent. Equity Assurance Plc also recorded a loss of N1.51 billion for the half year ended June 2016, higher than the N200.8 million recorded a year ago. It also reported a net premium income of N1.86 billion when compared to N1.66 billion recorded a year ago. Also hit by the on-going recession was the profit profile of International Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc. The company recorded N828.611 million losses after tax for the half-year ended June 30,

2016, as against a loss of N78.566 million posted in 2015, accounting for a percentage change of 955. The loss before tax equally stood at N828.611 million for the second quarter against a loss of N78.566 million reported a year earlier. However, the group’s revenue dropped by 51 per cent from N2.611 billion in 2015 to N1.290 billion during the review period. IEI had struggled from one crisis to another and remained under the danger of compulsory delisting at the NSE. Its share price still remains at its nominal value of 50 kobo, underlining the steep decline since its share restructuring in 2013. In 2013, IEI had restructured its previous outstanding shares of 6.42 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 1.284 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. The post-consolidation shares were listed at N2.50 per share, making IEI the then highest

N350 billion Being the gross premium income (GPI) recorded by the industry in 2015

priced stock in the insurance sector. Despite the gloomy look of the sector, Aiico Insurance, Custodian and AXA Mansard posted positive half-year results. According to the details, Aiico Insurance’s after-tax profit rose 78 per cent to N1.4 billon, from N779.9 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. The increase in profit derived from an increase in the company’s net premium income, which rose to N10.4 billion in H1 2016. It was N6.9 billion in the same period last year - a 48 per cent increase. In the same vein, Custodian and Allied (CAP) posted positive growth in earnings for the half-year ended June 30. After-tax profit rose 10.3 per cent to N2.9 billion compared with N2.6 billion in the same period last year. The company’s profit outperformed analysts’ estimates of N2.2 billion, according to CardinalStone Partners, a Lagos-based investment advisory firm. CAP’s profit was boosted by a stronCONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE August 2016 ..........................17.61 % July 2016.................................17.1% June 2016 ..............................16.5%

LENDING RATE Interbank Rate....................12.57% Prime Lending Rate...........17.93% Maximum Lending Rate...26.83%

Finance Editor

Taiwo Hassan Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

WHAT'S NEW

EXCHANGE RATE

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N423 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N550 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N470

l Foreign Reserves – $24.83bn as at 19/9/2016

Industry, Agric & Brands Editor

Chuks Onuanyin

EXCHANGE RATE (Parallel Market as at September 16)

(Interbank as at September 16)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N305 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N406 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N344

Source: CBN

OPS kicks as more firms close shops

Stagnation: Office rent drops by 6% to $810 per sqm

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BUSINESS |NEWS

CHALLENGE Current economic hardship has taken drastic toll on manufacturing sectors’ operational capacities

Taiwo Hassan

igh energy cost, foreign scarcity of exchange and raw materials have forced the organised private sector (OPS) to close their retail outlets and branches across the country. Group Managing Director, Flour Mills Nigeria (FMN) Plc, Paul Gbededo, confirmed this development last week at the 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company in Lagos. He described the current economic hardship facing manufacturing firms as “perfect storm,” which has impacted operations. Similarly, Director- General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, said the stifling socioeconomic challenge had impacted on all the sectors of the economy, especially the manufacturing. The LCCI boss said he was worried with the high rate at which its members were shutting down their operations, a situation that was fuelled by government’s policy summersaults and other economic challenges in the country. He noted that some companies, which still rely hugely on imported raw materials for their production, were now closing down their retail outlets and reducing branch networks for

Recession: Losses trail insurers’ half-year financials CO NTINUED FRO M PAG E 25

ger-than-expected increase in gross premium income, which rose 26.8 per cent year-on-year to N13.5 billion. Not left out is AXA Mansard, the local subsidiary of French insurance giant, AXA. Its aftertax profit rose 110 per cent to N2.3 billion in H1 from N1.1 billion in the corresponding period last year. The growth in AXA Mansard’s profit resulted from the impact of the naira devaluation on the company’s foreign currency denominated assets. AXA Mansard said foreign exchange gains rose to N2.3 billion as against a forex loss of N237.3 million in the same period of 2015. From the general outlook, the industry may end the year recording less than the 19 per cent increase in gross premium for the out gone financial year. A total premium of N350 billion was recorded in 2015, against N294 billion it recorded in 2014, representing 19 per cent increase.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

OPS kicks as more firms close shops

lack of production stocks. Consequently, this has raised the unemployment rate in the country. Yusuf said that the harsh operating environment had affected operations severely, especially in the area of high energy cost, which has led to many of them to rejigging their business operations and productivity. He said: “No doubt, this harsh operating environment is affecting the OPS seriously, first from the point of cost of energy because most of them complained of high cost of gas, which is their major energy usage, as they now buy gas in dollars and this was caused by the challenges in the Niger Delta region. “The non-availability of gas has affected many of their production projections.

“Many of them now have to shift to the use of LPFO, which is more expensive than gas. That is why you are seeing companies like Dangote Cement trying to review its prices. Many of these big blue chip companies have been forced to look inward now in their operations.” On the effect of forex scarcity, Yusuf said: “Many of them still import a lot of raw materials, so, if you don’t have raw materials, you cannot produce goods, because everything you need for production must be imported. That is why there is rush for forex at the banks but, whichever way, do we really have the dollars in the banks.” Also, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Udemba Jacobs, said he might not be able to ascertain if more manufactur-

ers had closed shops unless he verified from the association’s secretariats. “None of our members have confirmed closure of their shops, but I do know that some of them are going out of business because they cannot source raw materials due to scarcity of forex in the country. “Some are closing shops and their operations completely due to the foreign exchange challenges, but in terms of closing branches, I cannot comment on that.” On his part, the President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Tony Ejinkeonye, admitted that some of its members in Abuja were truly facing harsh operating environment, which has affected their productivity levels and forced them to apply precaution-

ary measures. He said: “The scarcity of forex and raw materials is still a big issue confronting us, especially the manufacturers in Nigeria, in recent time. “Several members of the Chamber have complained bitterly over the difficulties in accessing foreign exchange to procure raw materials. “The non-availability of raw materials has thus impeded their productivity. In fact, some have either closed shop or reduced capacity drastically to remain in business. “It is important to note that our members are suffering, not just from the scarcity of foreign exchange and raw materials, but also from the harsh business environment in Abuja as regards multiple taxation and poor infrastructure.”

L-R: Minister of Mines and Steel, Kayode Fayemi; President Muhammadu Buhari; US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Sue Pritzer and Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, shortly before President Buhari addressed Heads of Government and CEOs at the US Africa Business Forum in New York.

Stagnation: Office rent drops by 6% to $810 per sqm BOTTLENECKS REDAN seeks review of real estate and mortgagerelated laws

Dayo Ayeyemi

he on-going recession is taking its toll on the property market, especially in high-end areas of Lekki and Victoria Island in Lagos, as prime office rent has dropped by six per cent to $810 per square metre a year. Besides, landlords in these locations have reduced rents, while some of them now collect one year rent advance. The drop in Lekki rent is hinged on high vacancy factor in the axis compared to other locations. According to Mr. Bismarck Rewane–led Financial Derivatives Company’s report, Lekki

had the highest vacancy rate at 65 per cent in August 2016, noting that residential index rose by 6.8 per cent quarteron-quarter (q-o-q), while commercial index remained flat at 148. Rewane noted that vacancy rates are trending upwards in prime areas, adding that the recession meant high vacancy rates. Meanwhile, the Federal Government and legislators in the National Assembly have been urged to step up action on the review of real estate and mortgage related laws, which have been before them since 2006. According to President of Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Rev. Ugochukwu Chime, if these laws have been reviewed and passed into laws as expected, they would have created the desired atmosphere for both local and foreign investments in the sector. He said: “The laws, if reviewed, will create the de-

sired atmosphere for investment. We therefore call on government (Executive/legislature) and business community to step up advocacy in this respect. This will attract foreign investment into the sector.” On plausible ways out of housing affordability challenges, the REDAN boss urged government to provide concessions, incentives, insurance and tax holiday to encourage private developers and institution investors to build low-cost housing. He said: “In order to provide prospective low and medium income-earners in Nigeria with relatively low-cost housing units, the following should be given as incentives for the delivery of affordable housing units on a sustainable basis. “The cost of registering mortgage instruments, stamp duties, registration fees, deeds registrations by state land registries and Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), which seldom consti-

tuted up to 10 per cent of cost of property must be waived.” Chime pointed out that current landholding practice and conflicting regulations guiding the process of Land Use Act would not support real estate development, canvassing for comprehensive and well managed supply and demand side financial and non-financial subsidies. To ease bottlenecks associated with land acquisition, the REDAN president stated that the association has come up with a bill to be presented to the National Assembly for an Act for the Regulation and Development of Real Estate “with specific reference to housing.” He said: “A key object of this would be to ease the process of land acquisition, planning, development, sale and transfer of real estate, which should pave the way for proper control and regulation of the sector. A sectoral meeting to set the pace for this will be convened in November,” he said.

FRIDAY, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

RELOCATION The affected persons, who were dislodged as a result of the attacks by insurgents, are gradually being resettled in their various communities

labour

FG begins skills training for IDPs’ reintegration

Sunday Ojeme

s part of measures to properly reintegrate them into the society, the Federal Government has commenced skills and vocational training for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri Borno State. The move, which is to be supervised by Industrial Training Fund (ITF), is expected to fast-track the reintegration, re-skilling and empowerment of thousands of the IDPs, particularly women and youths that have been displaced by years of conflict in the North East zone of the country. The initiative is in line with efforts to empower the people and rebuild the economy of the zone. President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to resettle millions of IDPs back to their communities, in order for them to be empowered with skills that will assist in urgently reintegrating them into their various communities. Flagging off the programme, which forms part of the 5th Phase of the National Indus-

Minister of Labour and Environment, Dr. Chris Ngige

trial Skills Development Programme, (NISDP), Director General of ITF, Mr Dickson Onouha, said the NISDP was the technical and vocational skills training component of the National Enterprise Development Programme, (NEDEP), a scheme set up by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to fast rack the re-

Onuohaa

alisation of the National Industrial Revolution Programme (NIRP). He said the scheme, which has produced thousands of skilled Nigerians, would expose the IDPs to intensive technical and vocational skills training for three months in different trade areas. Onouha said ITF increased

the number of trainees from the IDPs in Borno, making it the state with the highest number of trainees for this phase of the programme. “This increased figures clearly demonstrates the commitment of the Federal Government to equip young Nigerians, especially IDPs with livelihood skills for self-sustenance and

Labour kicks as governor mulls salary slash T he Kano State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned the state government over plans to slash workers’ salaries. It also warned against plans to redeploy some workers in the state as revealed in a circular issued by the government through the state Head of Service, Auwalu Naiya, and Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba. In a statement by the state Chairman, NLC, Kabiru Minjibir, and Secretary, Auwalu Yakasai, the move by the government would lead to animosity between civil servants and the state government. The union said: “Our attention has been drawn to a letter written to the governor by the Commissioner for Information advising the government to review the salary of workers in health sector and tertiary institutions in the name of curtailing government expenditure and improving revenue generation. “We are concerned that such anti-labour proposal, which we view as fire from friendly quarters, is uncalled for at this critical time of eco-

nomic recession, which has resulted in already reducing salary of workers by half by market forces.” It noted that the policy did not take into account the current hardship being experienced by workers and pensioners. “We wonder how the sponsors of this ill-advised concept failed to realise that the salary being paid to the targeted group of workers is enshrined by various laws establishing the boards and institutions in which they

were employed to work. “We equally wonder why innocent workers would be victimised unnecessarily all in the name of generating revenue.” The NLC appealed to the governor to reverse the policy so as to avoid animosity and conflict between the government and workers in the state. Reacting to NLC’s position, the HoS, however, said that the new policy only deployed those affected to their rightful places, stressing that an approval had been granted to

deploy the workers to MDAs where their cadres belong for proper human resource data records. He said this was necessary to ensure transparency and equity, and also in line with reforms in salary administration in the state. He added that those affected were administrative officers, executive officers, confidential secretaries, computer assistants and data processing assistants who were deployed from health sector to his office.

‘Workers need stable milieu to be productive’

irector General, National Productivity Centre (NPC), Kashim Akor, has said that a stable environment is a necessary factor for enhanced workers’ productivity. Akor, who stated this in Kaduna at a three-day national workshop on productivity improvement techniques and workplace safety, stressed that safe and decent work environment were vital ingredients for productivity enhancement of workers. He pointed out that safety

was key in promoting organisational effectiveness, saying occupational health and safety practices should, therefore, be given a pride of place by all employers. A communique issued at the end of the workshop stressed the need to encouraged team building in all organisations while they also move with modern trends in all areas of ergonomics. It recommended that occupational health and safety should be given its due position as only a safe workplace

can guaranty productivity. The workshop also provided opportunity to teach participants the concept and application of productivity; basic productivity improvement techniques; basic knowledge of workplace risks and implications on health; strategies for preventing workplace accidents and injuries; developing a mindset of supporting the management in the promotion of preventive safety and health culture as well as develop implementable work plan/performance chart.

also quicken their rehabilitation and integration,” the ITF DG said. Onouha said to achieve the set objective, the fund in conjunction with relevant arms of the state government had identified and selected suitable centers in Maiduguri to provide trainings in tailoring and fashion design, poultry farming and cosmetology amongst others. He said the trade areas were carefully selected based on their anticipated value addition to the citizens of the state, and the potential to provide opportunities for the establishment of micro, small and medium scale enterprises, as well as being a sure means for sustainable livelihood. Calling for the support of all stakeholders, he said it was pertinent to note that the objective of the programme could not be achieved without the support, synergy and collaboration of all stakeholders. He commended the state Governor, Hon. Kasheem Shetima, for the support, pointing out that the training was bound to be a success, due to the encouragement of IDPs by the state government.

GIS boss tasks leaders on harnessing youth potential

roject Director, Graduate Internship Scheme, Mr. Dennis Chukwu, has called on leaders in the country to adequately harness the overflowing youth potential for development. Chukwu in a statement said that 41,161 graduates had benefitted from the Federal Government’s career development and entrepreneurial training through the GIS. According to the statement signed by the spokesperson of the scheme in Ondo State, Tewogbade Latona, the GIS scheme is being monitored by the Federal Ministry of Finance. So far, 41,161 graduates have benefitted from the scheme with 68 per cent of the graduates being male. The statement said: “The objectives of the training include enabling graduate interns to utilise the period of the training to develop useful skills and positive work ethics. It is also aimed at exposing participants to opportunities for life after internship. “Also, the training provides participants with the opportunity to share experiences and contribute to service delivery.”

FRIDAY, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

agric

Cassava: FG targets $5bn revenue yearly by 2021 Stories Taiwo Hassan

igeria is set to earn over $5 billion annually from cassava production in the next five years. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this in Abuja at the National Cassava Summit. Ogbeh, who spoke on “Toward $5 billion per Annum Cassava in the next five years,” said that the country had neglected agriculture in the last 30 years. He said that the industry has the potential to employ more youths and improve foreign exchange earning.

The minister, however, expressed concern over the low number of farmers accessing credit facilities in the country. He said that the Federal Government would enhance and strengthen the Bank of Agriculture to allow farmers access to credit facilities at 5 to 6 per cent interest rate. Ogbeh noted: “Most of the commercial banks give loan to farmers at 28 to 30 per cent interest rate. How do farmers grow with such a high interest rate and make profit? “We have to intensify efforts to address this problem in order to meet our target because earnings in cassava industry is so high.

“Rural roads need to be rehabilitated for easy transportation of our farm products to the market. Our budget is small. We cannot at the ministry level promise of construction of all rural roads. But something has to be done fast.” Ogbeh, however, urged research institutes like the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to include vitamins in cassava in the next research work to balance its nutritional content and better consumption. Prof. Lateef Sani of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in a paper, said the industry has the potential to create million of jobs across the country through its Value

FG policy flips hindering wheat self-sufficiency – AFAN

he rising demand for wheat-based food as against local wheat production has shown that the enormous potentials in wheat production are yet to be tapped in the country. “However, policy somersault, lack of political will, lean government commitment towards the development of agriculture in Nigeria have tremendously contributed to the daunting challenges facing wheat production and which is making the commodity insufficient in the country.” These were the opinions of a top member of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Lagos State chapter and Chairman, Faniz Group of Companies, Uchechukwu Aniezechukwu, during a chat in Lagos recently. He noted that looking at the fact that Nigeria was blessed with fertile land for wheat

farming it is shocking to reveal that the country still spends N650 billion annually importing the product into the country through the various gateways. Aniezechukwu said one of the problems facing wheat production in Nigeria is lack of government’s support to provide inputs such as hybrid seeds, fertilizer, poor funding and mechanised tools for wheat farmers. The expert explained that based on the population of Nigerians who consume wheat as food on daily basis and the number of conglomerates that turn raw wheat into finished products, it is estimated that both the government and farmers can rake in about N3 trillion annually in the next three years if the potentials of the commodity is properly harnessed and given priority by the three tiers of the government.

“Statistically, the total amount of wheat consumed in Nigeria is put at around 4.5 million tons per annum and the local production is only about 120,000 tonnes per annum, leaving a huge gap to be covered by importation. Nigeria is regarded as one of the greatest importers of US wheat and the market continues to grow in an unprecedented rate,” Aniezechukwu said. He said that if the country could commit one per cent of the money spent on importation to wheat value chain in the next two years, Nigeria would be self-sufficient in wheat production and export to neighbouring countries just like India. Reports have it that India no longer imports wheat from United States because it is now self- sufficient in wheat production through the adoption of the Green Revolution Policy.

Cassava

Chain. Sani said: “By 2021, Nigeria cassava industry will represent over $5 billion, spur rural industrial development, generate millions of new jobs and create wealth for over 45 million people. “Cassava peels, grits, chips are viable as animal and fish feeds. “Given the large amount of aquaculture and livestock done in the country, this can be an interesting prospective market.” Alfred Dixon of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in a keynote address said that Nigeria was confronted with a growing population and rising urbanisation with high demand for food and feeds for livestock. Dixon noted: “Cassava is an appropriate commodity to feature in Nigeria’s economic de-

velopment. “Nigeria’s cassava production account for 20 per cent of the total global output, but less than one per cent is being exported.” The National President, Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria, Adewumi Segun, said that the association has acquired 15,000 hectares of land in Ekiti for cassava programme. Adewumi lamented that most of the destroyed farmlands were set up with huge loans from banks collected by some members of the association. He said those loans are due for repayment but the farms, which were supposed to yield returns for the offset of the loans have been destroyed by herdsmen. The national president said the association had written to NAIC for compensation, but had yet to receive positive reply. He said: “We insured our farms across the nation with NAIC. We wrote to NAIC and presented those who were affected by the clash, but they wrote to us and told us that the insurance does not cover malicious damages. “So we are on our own and then the banks are expecting the repayment of the loans.” He said that flooding is also one of the major setbacks being experienced by some cassava growers across the country. Adewumi noted the association was yet to enumerate the level of damage caused by flood to their farms in 2016. The national president appealed to Federal Government to urgently tackle the issue to encourage more yields. It would be recalled that Federal Government had projected that it could save about N127 billion each year from increasing the use of cassava in the baking processing industry.

Nigeria drops in int’l cocoa rating

he Cocoa Association of Nigeria confirmed that Nigeria had dropped to the world’s seventh top producer of the crop after its projected output for the 2015-2016 season dropped to 190,000 metric tons. The International Cocoa Organisation previously ranked Nigeria as the world’s fourth biggest cocoa producer. The downgrade was attributed to the “country’s exchange rate policy, lack of reliable data, low synergy between the public and private sectors etc,” Sayina Riman, president of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said in a chat from his base in the South Eastern cocoa hub of Ikom. The ICCO had initially projected Nigeria would produce 270,000 metric tons of cocoa in the cur-

rent season, according to Riman. Responding to confirm the country’s new position, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, linked this to the government’s neglect as a reason for Nigeria’s dwindling cocoa production in the past 30 years. “Official records of actual production and exports are difficult to trace” as proper records of production are not kept,” Ogbeh continued, “Most of Nigeria’s exports aren’t being recorded as exporters seek to bypass official channels to benefit from the exchange rate differential between the official and parallel markets.” The Cocoa Association of Nigeria is the umbrella body of the country’s cocoa farmers, processors, traders and exporters.

businesS \ agric

FRIDAY, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FG set to boost Bayelsa farmers’ forex potential CULTIVATION FG distributes 800 seedlings to Bayelsa farmers to improved yams and cassava stems Caleb Onwe Abuja

he non-oil economy drive of the Federal government is gradually gaining root and momentum at states’ levels as the Bayelsa farmers are set to enjoy collaborations with the present administration in boosting their foreign exchange potentials. The collaboration that will enable the farmers begin to export their farm produce will also empower the private sector that has agribusiness interest in the state and ensure wealth Lokpobiri creation and job placement for the youths. rewrite the history of the state The Minister of State for from what it has been known Agriculture and Rural Develop- wrongly for – militancy. ment, Senator Heineken LokpoSpecifically, he noted that biri said these when he visited Bayelsa is a huge revenue gensome farms in Bayelsa State erating state that is blessed where he inspected an exhibi- by God with the necessary tion of farm produce. and rich human and natural He gave assurance to Bayelsa resources –available land for farmers that the Federal Gov- farming and aquaculture. ernment was determined to colLokpobiri urged the farmlaborate with them in tapping ers who are doing very well the resources of Bayelsa for the not to be distracted but to benefits of state. strongly believe in this presThe minister, who also held a ent administration that is town hall meeting with farmers committed to assisting them. in the state, stressed the need to He said more of govern-

he Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it is funding six agricultural commodities value chains with emphasis on rice and yam production to ensure food sufficient in Nigeria. (CBN)’s Senior Programme Officer, Agriculture in the West African Office of the Foundation, Dr Audu Grema, disclosed this in Abuja. He listed some agricultural projects of the foundation to include CARI-Project (rice), which was aimed at improving rice production, pest control and variety enhancement. Grema expressed optimism that Nigeria would soon be self sufficient in rice production. He said the rice project by the Foundation was currently

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson

ment’s presence shall be visible in the state, in form of capacity building and increased technology-based farming with improved seedlings, which will definitely ensure high yield and great harvest. The minister also emphasised that agricultural business is the best and right way to go. “The new Bayelsa State with a vast arable land of about eighty-four million hectres is massive enough to engage the youths from vices.” He urged the youths to

Bill Gates Foundation to fund agric being implemented in Cross River, Niger, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano, Plateau Edo and Ebonyi states. The programme officer, however, said that the Cassava Value Addition Project (CAVA) was based in Abeokuta at the University of Agriculture. He said: “We also have a big yam project where we are working with private farms around Abuja, Kaduna, Niger, Ibadan, Abeokuta and Akure to enhance yam propagation technology through seeds. “We have a huge portfolio of agricultural investments in Nigeria. We are workig on maize, rice, yam, cassava and crop-live-

stock interface. We have four strategic cassava investments that we think are critical that we are funding across Nigeria. “In agriculture, we do not approve projects except if it has a small holder connection. “Anything we fund must have a connection with enhancing the status of small scale farmers.” Grema explained that the foundation was also working in public health, integrated vaccine delivery, routine immunisation revival across many states. On the reports that Gates was a major propagator of Genetically Modified Organisms

Oshiomhole: High imports breeds poverty

overnor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State said that importation of food items that could be produced in country had promoted poverty in the Nigeria. Oshiomhole stated this in Benin at the launch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers’ programme. The governor said that production of local rice in the country had declined because of the cheap imported rice. He said: “With the high cost of the imported rice, the patronage on the local rice has surged. “This trend has encouraged farmers in the country to re-

desist from social vices, and rather embrace farming, which is the next quick alternative to oil and gas. Lokpobiri visited some farms including, Zada farms and investment company, Eresere, Frefa Investment Company with a modern up to date technology where over four thousand day old checks are managed technologically till maturity. He also visited Chief Ebikiri Akpolus’s farm and rounded off with Achiever’s farm where there was an ex-

turn to mass production of the commodity. “People are now thinking about past agricultural times in the country and returning to eating our local foods.” He also said that consumption pattern would be rearranged with the process. The governor assured that with funding and technical knowhow provided and the process sustained, wealth would return to rural areas. He advised the sponsor of the scheme to ensure its success. The governor said that cheques for farmers captured in the programme would be dis-

tributed before the end of the tenure of his administration. He expressed optimism on the success of the programme. Earlier, Mr Osha Elijah, Head, Development Finance, CBN, said the bank would spend N30 billion nationwide to fund the programme. Elijah, however, said that the programme in Edo would focus on the production of cassava, maize, oil palm fruits, rice and livestock production. He also said that the loan would be on nine per cent interest rate with no collateral, but beneficiaries would cross guaranty themselves.

(GMOs), the programme officer refuted the assertion, saying that the Bill Gates had no connection with GMOs. He said:” Bill Gates has no interest to promote agribusiness, so we are denying that we did not bring GMOs into Nigeria. “Bill and Melinda Gates are not farmers; they are not into agricultural services; so, to think they will promote GMOs just to promote their businesses interest is very wrong. “I will be in complete denial that we have nothing to do with these big commercial agricultural farms that have been cited in some of the articles in Nigeria. “The foundation does not have anything to do with GMOs even in Nigeria and abroad. “No connection with the big industrial agricultural concerns, which people are alluding to. People making such assertions are morally wrong.” Grema commended the `Green Alternative’ currently launched by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He said the agricultural initiative was a step toward fighting poverty and food security in Nigeria. The programme officer assured that the foundation would align its programmes with that of the Federal Government to enable the country achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

hibition of farm produce and town hall meeting. The Minister opined that agriculture is the best potential to take youths from every vice. He said once the farmers can produce, all their excess crops would automatically have a value chain circle, where they will be bought over, because there is an already waiting market to clear them, no matter their output. The Federal Government, the minister said, has organisations that are willing to assist all farmers, agencies such as National Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) and the Federal Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness. Bayelsa traditionally is an agro-allied state, made up of upland and riverine areas. Before now, the upland is known for cultivating cassava, plantain, rice, palm tree, cocoa and rubbers , among others, while the riverine areas are known for fishing and sea foods. Presently, Bayelsa has the potentials to produce agro-allied products, which the state was not traditionally known for. Examples of these crops are cucumber, water melon, onions, carrot, ginger, garden egg, garlic and tomatoes. This is as a result of information, contact, interaction and relationship. In a welcome address, the chairman of Bayelsa State chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr. Suoyo Amaran, thanked the minister for the visit and believed it will open a new page for farmers. He, however, enumerated some of their constraints to include access to funds, issue of collateral and high interest rate, availability of relevant equipment, lack of training and retraining of farmers and lack of government support. He, therefore, requested the minister to assist them with fish trawlers, cold rooms to preserve giant aquatic produce, rice mill, palm mill and a cartilage of their needs. Consequently, the minister gave assurances of government’s commitment to come to their aid. Also in a show of appreciation, the minister presented 800 seedlings of improved yams and cassava stems to the farmers. The Chief Executive of Achiever’s Farm high Chief Lionel Jonathan Omo, said the appointment of Lokpobiri as Minister of State for Agriculture was a blessing that will showcase the new Bayelsa in a positive way. He said that if given the necessary and conducive financial environment and support, Bayelsa State can feed the nation and beyond, earning foreign exchange that will boost and rebound our economy.

Environment Watch

FRIDAY, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Scene of environmental pollution in Niger-Delta, Nigeria

Investment in fossil fuel declines – Report WORRISOME $60 billion was invested in coal projects in 2015

Stories Dayo Ayeyemi

lobal investment patterns in the energy sector are showing a spectacular shift, with energy produced rising by over 30 per cent, while investments in oil and gas has declined by 25 per cent as at 2015. In what looks like a revolution, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr. Fatih Birol, at the London launch of its first ever report into world energy investment, said that he has never seen such a decline in oil and gas investment. “Our findings carry a very important message for climate change and for the Paris Agreement. Anyone who does not understand what is going on – governments, companies, markets – is not in the right place.” According to report from Climate news Network, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energies is seen as vital in the battle against climate change. The IEA, which focuses on issues of energy security, stated that overall investment in the global energy sector declined by 8 per cent in 2015 to $1.8 trillion. In part, the decline in investments in oil and gas was due to the lower costs of crude oil and other products of the fossil fuels industry. Although investment in renewables has been more or less the same in each of the last four years, increased efficiencies and lower capital costs resulted in a third more electricity being produced from these technologies in 2015. “A major shift in invest-

ment towards low carbon sources of power generation is under way,” the IEA report said. “Fossil fuels continue to dominate energy supply, but the composition of investment flows points to a reordering of the system.” An IEA renewables expert, Lazlo Varro, said that the sector needed less and less in

government subsidies as costs come down, adding that over the last five years, the price of solar energy dropped by 80 per cent, while wind power’s costs fell by a third overall. Varro added that offshore wind power was becoming more price-competitive as turbine sizes increase and more efficient construction methods

are used. “Low interest rates were also encouraging more investment in renewables,” he said. The IEA said that the drop in the price of renewables has not been reflected in the nuclear sector – rather, the reverse, adding that there have been continued worries about nuclear safety and disposal of nuclear

Nigeria may sign Paris Agreement

resident Mohammadu Buhari is expected to sign the historic Paris Agreement during the 71st United Nations General Assembly taking place in New York. This is coming weeks after the United States of America and China signed the agreement. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, with the signing of the agreement, Nigeria will join other world countries that would have signed the treaty. Onyeama said that top on Nigerian UN agenda during the General Assembly was to engage African Union and other countries to work towards the reform of the United Nations, adding that leaders would also be engaged to be more democratic and responsive to the needs of the world. He stated that Nigeria will like to propose to the UN body to create an agency dedicated for the youth, assuring the in-

ternational community that his country would support a new UN Secretary-General that would be development and Africa-friendly as well as sympathetic to the course of nation. He disclosed that the Federal Government had established various security mechanisms to create attractive investment environment for would-be inves-

tors in power and security. As one of the activities lined up for the programme, he said that Nigeria would host a high level side event on Climate Change to showcase its efforts in the Ogoni clean-up. United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, had early this month invited leaders to a high-level meeting on September 21 to facili-

tate an early entry into force of the Paris Agreement when more nations ratify it. Already, 195 countries had adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal at the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015. The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C. The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.

French waste firm to assist Lagos

elegation from Veolia, a French waste management company, in conjunction with ABC Sanitation Solutions Limited , has stated the desire to contribute to the existing effort of the Lagos State government in improving refuse and waste disposal management across the state. Chief Executive Officer,

ABC Sanitation, Fatima Mohammed, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Commissioner Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, in Lagos. In a statement, he said its firm is also seeking to provide landfill services to the state government. He lauded the state government’s recognition of the need for world class

GEF, others unveil investments for oceans protection lobal Environment Facility (GEF) has announced new investments in issues ranging from coastal fisheries and conservation funds to combating plastic pollution and expanding marine protected areas. Chief Executive Officer of GEF and Chairperson, Naoko, alongside fellow environment and conservation leaders, dis-

materials. For those hoping for a bright new dawn of carbon-free energy, the IEA report has some sobering news, saying that there have been large-scale investments in coal – the most polluting of fuels as more than $60 billion was invested in coal projects last year, most of it in Asia and in Australia.

closed this at the ‘Our Ocean’ conference in Washington DC, United States of America. They stressed the need to match political commitments with financial support for the world’s oceans. The Wildlife Conservation Society, Waitt Foundation, Blue Moon Fund, and GEF announced a $48 million commitment to expand and protect

the world’s marine protected areas (MPAs). President and CEO of WCS, Joining Cristián Samper, announced GEF’s contribution, saying:, “I am pleased to announce the GEF’s new commitment of $33 million dollars to create, expand and improve the effectiveness of over seven million hectares of marine protected areas.

solutions in tackling its environmental challenges Adejare, while disclosing the significant strides achieved by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in solid waste management since inception and the current pressing need to improve the systems in line with international best practice, confirmed receipt of the firm’s proposal. With an estimated 25 billion euro in annual revenues and over 173,000 employees spanning 33 countries, Veolia is considered world leaders in water, waste management and energy services. Operating a design, build and operate system, Veolia according to the statement, is committed to implementing its expertise for the service of the environment and its security.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

AutoBeat

See 2016 Ford Explorer and die!

Paul Ogbuokiri

he new 2016 Explorer is outfitted to elevate your getaways. It’s more aerodynamic, more luxurious and even easier to park than its predecessor. Get going with your choice of 3 engines: the standard 3.5L Ti-VCT V6, the powerful and efficient new 2.3L EcoBoost®1 or the spirited 365-hp2 3.5L EcoBoost, which is standard on Sport. Substantially more powerful than the engine it replaces, the new turbocharged, direct-injection 2.3L EcoBoost gives Explorer 280 hp2 and 310 lb.-ft. of torque.2 Just the get-up-and-go you need. You can tow up to 2,268 kg3 when you equip Explorer with the Class III Trailer Tow Package (standard on Sport) and either its 3.5L Ti-VCT or 3.5L EcoBoost engine. You can also pair the new Class II Trailer Tow Package with the 2.3L EcoBoost1 for up

2016 Ford Explorer

to 1,361 kg3 of towing capability. You can shift gears for yourself with the sport inspired paddle shifters on the standard 6-speed SelectShift® automatic transmission. Or leave it to Explorer. Captivating inside and out Relax in supportive, leather-

trimmed, 10-way power, cooled front seats. Enjoy the dualpanel moonroof as it fills the cabin with light. Stretch out with expansive 3rd-row leg room and 2nd-row head room. And entertain everyone with the well-balanced, 12-speaker audio system from Sony.

Voice-activated Ford SYNC®1,2 delivers handsfree calls, music and more in response to simple voice commands. Once paired, it downloads your contacts and plays music from your phone, MP3, USB or iPod. Hands-free foot-activated

Mercedes-Benz leads auto segment

ercedes-Benz in the first half of 2016 has overtaken other luxury car segments in the number of vehicles sold, approaching its goal to beat competitors on annual sales for the first time in 11 years, Bloomberg reports. Mercedes’ sales for the first six months of 2016 increased by 12 per cent, amounting to just over 1 million vehicles. Much of the Mercedes’ sales success is attributed to the newer lineup of vehicles in the Mercedes showroom, including the X3-rivalling GLC mid-size SUV, the new C- and E-Class models as well as their subsequent variants. “We began the second quarter with double-digit sales growth”, said Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “In the course of the year, we plan to keep that momentum going with a stream of new products, including four new or revised

SUVs”, he adds Another major milestone is the fact that Mercedes-Benz delivered more than 156,000 vehicles to customers in August – an increase of 11.8 per cent. The main contribution towards this increase came from the strong rise in unit sales of SUVs of approximately 40 per cent. Mercedes-Benz was able to surpass its strongest August to date in the previous year due to double-digit growth in the AsiaPacific region and in the domestic market. Two sales milestones were also passed last month. More than four million SUVs and15, 000 MercedesMaybach SClass vehicles have been sold since their m a r k e t

launches. “We are delighted about this advancement and will continue to display relentless effort in offering the best sales and after sales services to customers at all

Mercedes Benz CLA 250

designated workshops and dealerships.” -Mirko Plath, MD/CEO, Weststar Associates Limited, sole distributors of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria.

liftgate1 makes loading cargo into Explorer easier than ever. Standard AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control™)3 helps keep things stable, particularly in inclement weather. Pack up to 2,314 liters of gear in back when you fold the 2ndand 3rd-row seats flat. Or stow up to 595 liters4 of cargo behind the 3rd row when all seats are occupied. Explorer easily adjusts as your adventures evolve. Keep your vehicle in optimum operating condition with scheduled maintenance service. Ford Dealership technicians know your vehicle inside and out. They are continuously trained by Ford Motor Company and the parts they use are specifically designed for your vehicle. See your dealer for limited warranty information on Ford Original Accessories. Ford Licensed Accessories (FLA) are warranted by the accessory manufacturer’s warranty. FLA are designed and developed by the accessory manufacturer and have not been designed or tested to Ford Motor Company engineering requirements.

FRIDAY, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

EXHORTATION

Islam UNDERSTAND YOUR FAITH

Hijrah in Islam QUESTION

What is the place of Hijrah in Islam?

ANSWER

Praise be to Allaah. When the persecution of the people of Makkah against the Muslims grew intense, Allaah commanded them to migrate so that they could establish the religion of Allaah in a land where they could worship Him. Allaah chose Madeenah as the land of hijrah (migration for the sake of Allaah). The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw in a dream that he was migrating to that city. It was narrated from Abu Moosa that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I saw in a dream that I was migrating from Makkah to a land in which there are date-palms, and I thought that it was al-Yamaamah or Hajar, but it turned out to be alMadeenah, Yathrib…” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3352; Muslim, 4217. Al-Bukhaari (3906) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to the Muslims, “I have been shown the land to which you will migrate: it has palm trees between the two lava fields, the two stony tracts.” So, some people migrated to Madeenah, and most of those people who had previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Madeenah. Al-Haafiz said: The harrah (stony tract) is land whose stones are black. This dream was different from the dream mentioned above in the hadeeth of Abu Moosa in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not sure where that land was. Ibn al-Teen said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was shown the land of migration in a way that could apply to Madeenah and to other places, then he was shown the feature that is unique to Madeenah so it became clear which land that was. With regard to the first companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to migrate: CONTINUE Next WEEK

“On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the

good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil.”

(Quran 3:30)

13 Dhul Qadah, 1437 ah

Imbibe virtues of Hajj, Imam tasks pilgrims STATISTICS 1,325,372 foreign and 537,537 domestic pilgrims performed Hajj, amounting to a total of 1,862,909 pilgrims this year Adeola Yusuf

hief Imam of leading Islamic organisation, Young Muslim Brothers and Sisters (YOUMBASS), Sheikh Najeemdeen Adesina Yusuf Aduralongba, has tasked returning pilgrims from holy land to imbibe virtues of Hajj. Aduralongba who doubles as the Misssionary of the group in Ogun State and Republic of Benin, enjoined the returnee pilgrims, in a chat with New Telegraph, to continue to pray for the nation and its leadership because the country needs such prayers. He commended the returnee pilgrims for being good ambassadors of the country while at the Holy Land. “Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, a heed to the call of Allah through his noble prophet Ibraheem and whoever that is fortunate in his life time to have embarked on this divine journey should know that it is imperative for him or her to live a life full of piety,” he said. “I pray for safe return of our brothers and sisters from this year’s pilgrimage to the holy land and I enjoin them to imbibe the virtues of Hajj,” Sheikh Aduralongba added. Meanwhile, families of pilgrims have become anxious as their relatives return in batches from Makkah/Madinah.

The first batch of Muslim pilgrims from the Federal Capital Territory contingent to the 2016 Hajj operation in Saudi Arabia has, for instance, returned to Abuja from the Holy Land. The returnee pilgrims were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello. About 424 pilgrims comprising 201 male and 222 female make up the first batch of returnees who landed at the airport out of the 2,975 that participated in the 2016 Hajj Operation in Makkah/Madinah. According to a final data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat), this year has 54.6 percent male and 45.4 percent female foreign pilgrims performed Hajj. Most of the foreign pilgrims arrived by flights (94 percent), while 5 percent came through land border crossings, and only

1 percent came by sea. The number of foreign and domestic pilgrims has come down during the past 10 years. In 2007, more than 1.7 million foreign and 746,511 domestic pilgrims performed Hajj, making a total of more than 2.4 million Hajj pilgrims. However this year, 1,325,372 foreign and 537,537 domestic pilgrims performed Hajj, making a total of 1,862,909 pilgrims. This is the least number of pilgrims in the last 10 years. In 2012, more than 3 million pilgrims performed Hajj, the highest in the last 10 years. This year, Egyptian domestic pilgrims outnumbered other nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia. They were followed by Pakistanis and Indians. The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) this year developed and improved its data collection mechanism by using portable devices which help in

collecting accurate and faster data on pilgrims. The data on pilgrims is classified according to their nationalities, arrival centers, and arrival times, said a GaStat statement. To collect data, GaStat deputes its staff at six centers located on the entry points to Makkah. There are also supporting centers in Jeddah, Taif, and Madinah. The counting process starts from Dhul Hijjah 1 till the evening of Dhul Hijjah 9. For the data on foreign pilgrims, GaStat depends on the General Directorate of Passports. Given the importance of Haj statistics in planning and services provided to pilgrims, GaStat implements Hajj statistics on an annual basis. It publishes an annual bulletin containing all the data on number of pilgrims classified by sex, nationality and date of arrival.

Some muslim pilgrims to the Holy-land, on their arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Controversy lingers as Lagos appeals judgement on Hijab

ontroversy has continued trail the Lagos state government appeal of the judgment of the Court of Appeal granting the right to willing Muslim students to wear hijab in public schools. Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit (MSSN Lagos) has accused the Lagos State Government of misinforming the general public about the appeal. The Amir (president) of the MSSN Lagos, Saheed Ashafa, said this while reacting to a statement credited to the Lagos State Attorney-General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem. The AG had in a statement issued on Tuesday stated that “it was misleading and an attempt to misrepresent the general public that the right to wear hijab

has been granted in Lagos Stateowned public schools when the appeal process has not been exhausted”. But Ashafa explained that the position of the AG was not only misinforming but also lacked substance. Ashafa also accused the LASG AG of wilful invalidation of the position of the Court of Appeal, stating that “no counter judgement is available yet”. Recall that Court of Appeal in its judgment of 21st July, 2016 upturned the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State by granting the use of hijab. The leader of Muslim students in Lagos State said, “The statement by the AG is a misrepresentation of the Court of Appeal judgment. It is manipulative and contains falsehood, and it (the statement) is an obvious attempt

to mislead the general public. “The current judgement is that students can put on hijab in Lagos State public schools. In the absence of any other judgement setting aside the current one which grants the right to wear hijab, the Lagos State AG has no right to pronounce the most current judgement invalid for any reason. “We don’t expect him to be banking on the Lagos State High Court judgement when a higher court (the Court of Appeal) already gave a counter verdict. Doing so is a deliberate action to confuse the general public. “However, it is shocking to confirm that the Lagos State Government is playing politics with a case that concerns the fundamental human right of its citizens and tax payers. If not, why is the government giving its own verdict against a reputable

court of justice. Ashafa subsequently called on stakeholders in Lagos State to advise the government and its agents from crisis-brewing statements. He added, “Those who are colovers of peace like us should caution , with strong voice, the Lagos State Government not to attempt any manipulation, misinformation or cause confusion. “When the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja granted the LASG a favourable judgment, we neither denounced it nor incited our members but we simply complied and went on appeal. But since we got the Court of Appeal judgment, the agents and officials of LASG have been harassing, intimidating, beating our members. Instead of the AG to caution the officials he is misrepresenting the judgment.”

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Cybercrime

Crime

Don’t treat me as criminal, says Internet fraud suspect

Horror ‘I killed my brother to become second Jesus Christ’

Scam N40m scam: China-based Nigerian drags lady to police

35 36

I depend on God, not charms – 'Born again' robbery suspect

•‘We ate, watched TV in victim’s house before robbery’ Emeka Maduabuchi

wenty-seven-yearold Akin Ayotunde is one of those robbery suspects, who used to dispossess people of their valuables at gun point, but earnestly believes in God. In other words, he could be described as a 'born again' Christian armed robber. According to him, it was because of his fervent belief in God that he doesn’t patronise herbalists or use charms during robbery operations like his colleagues. He said that God has never failed to assist and help him out of difficult situations. Ayotunde, who was arrested by detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command, said he was quite sure; God would aid his release this time again. His words: “I was caught by police because I don’t believe in using charms during robbery operations. The fact is that I believe in God. I believe God can save me.” The police said that Ayotunde, together with his gang members, attacked and robbed an apartment at Igbogbo, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, where they allegedly killed the head of the family. The suspects said that they raided the freezer of the victim, found food, ate and watched television before beginning their operation. Ayotunde, while insisting they didn’t touch the victim, explained that they forced him to sit down on a chair and watch them, while his wife and chil-

JULIANA FRANCIS CRIME Editor

juliana.francis@newtelegraphonline.com

Ayotunde

dren were ordered to lie facedown. He said that after they were through with the operation, they discovered that the man had fallen asleep. When they attempted to wake him, they discovered he was stiff and cold. His words: “We wanted to lock the man in the room with his wife before we left, so that he wouldn’t be able to call for help. When we tried to get him to stand, we noticed he was stiff. I placed my ear to his heart and discovered it wasn’t beating. We never robbed him with the intention of causing

I was caught by police because I don’t believe in using charms during robbery operations

his death. I had no reason to kill him. I had, already gotten all I wanted from him.” The four-man-gang’s waterloo, however, started after the gang robbed the home of one Bello Hakeem, residing at Igbe area, Ikorodu, Lagos. Hakeem’s house was attacked by the gang just days after the gang members robbed the house where a victim died. Ayotunde said that the gang operated for six hours without distraction in Hakeem’s home. They carted away a lot of valuables from the victim’s house, including his Toyota Corolla car. Ayotunde was at-

tempting to sell the car when he was arrested. Ayotunde, who lives in Ikorodu, was alleged by investigators to have once been arrested for robbery. Police said: “He was once arrested for robbery. He used to gain access into people’s compound by scaling fences. Once he’s inside, he would switch off the generator and wait for someone to step out, to check why the generator went off. Once the person steps out, he and his gang members would attack and rob the person.” Singing like a bird, Ayotunde confessed to have robbed three houses within a year. But detectives believe he has robbed more houses than what he claimed. He said that he used to work as a construction worker, earning N1,300 daily, before the attraction to crime. Ayotunde added: “I went into robbery to raise enough money to start a legitimate business. There was no plan in my heart to make robbery a permanent job. I was arrested last month at Ojota, Lagos State, after my gang members and I robbed a man of his Toyota Corolla car. We also took some of the valuables in his house. After the robbery, we went to meet our friend, Eyinejo. “Eyinejo used to sell stolen cars for us. I gave Eyinejo the man’s car key. He promised to assist in selling the car. He said the sharing formula would be 50-50 after the sale, I agreed. Before nightfall, Eyinejo called and told me to come and pick the car. He said that one of the persons that wanted to buy the car said he knew the real owner of the car.” The following day, the same buyer called again. According to the buyer, he wasn’t sure he recognised the car as he previously stated. The buyer accepted to buy the car. He paid N700, 000. Ayotunde said: “Eyinejo called to tell me that he sold the car for N700,000. He said I should come to Ojota, to collect my share of the money. I hailed a motorbike and raced to meet CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

CRIME

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Suspected fraudsters

Endurance Evulukwu

etectives attached to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos State, had a good laugh, after a young man walked into the police station and claimed that his friend was a kidnapper and fraudster. The laughter, however, started after police discovered that the complainant was also a fraudster, whose friend duped of money defrauded from an American. The complainant, Henry Simon, 38, wanted the police to arrest his partner, Kenneth Okogba 31, alias Biggie, for disappearing with the money conned from the American via the Internet. His complaint led to the smashing of the syndicate, arrest of seven suspects, including Simon. It became clear he didn’t think his plan through. Angry over his arrest, Simon insisted that defrauding people via the Internet was not a crime. He spat: “Yahoo-yahoo is just a creative means of making money. Police should release me; I’m not a criminal. I shouldn’t be treated as one!” Simon took the crazy steps to the police station, after he conned $7090, equivalent of N2,2546,20, from an American named Mr. Sesebegude via Internet. He told Okogba to go to the bank and pick the money. The money was to be shared 70-30, between Simon and Okogba. Simon, who is the ‘catcher,’ would collect 70 percent, Okogba, the picker, would sail home with 30 percent. The deal, however, went awry after Okogba got greedy. Okogba picked the money and bolted. After several frustrating attempts to get his share of the money failed, Simon went to the SCID, to lodge a complaint against Okogba,

Don’t treat me as criminal, says Internet fraud suspect l$7,090 scam: Fraudster arrested after reporting partner forgetting he too was culpable. Okogba, 31, confessed to have duped people through Facebook, by promoting none existing lotto. Okogba, who hails from Delta State, said he was an ex-convict. He said: “I was arrested by detectives attached to Ajah Police Station for defrauding an European through Facebook lotto. People call it 'Yahooyahoo'.” Okogba initially said he was falsely accused by the police, but changed the lyrics of his song after he noticed other members of the syndicate singing like birds. The waterloo of the syndicate started after Okogba and Simon had a fall out. Simon, a graduate from Ebonyi State University, said he and Okogba have been friends since undergraduate days. Simon, who hails from Delta State and resides in Ajah area of Lagos, said he ventured into cybercrime (yahooyahoo), after he moved to Lagos in 2006. Simon added: “I have been in this business since 2006. This is the only way I fend for my family. It’s better than to engage in crimes like stealing or kidnapping. Since I started, I have been getting few coins like $100 or $200, which I have been using to cloth myself. But this particular money, which I got from my client, Mr. Sesebegude, an American citizen, was my

ultimate breakthrough. The money was $7090, equivalent of N2, 2546, 20. “Biggie was the picker; that’s the person who gets the money from the bank. But since he picked the money, he has not given me my share, which was 70 percent of the total money. I met Biggie several times to give me my share, but he always threatened me. I got frustrated and reported him to the police at SCID, Panti. I went with a copy of the payment slip, which affirmed that Biggie received the money." Simon said that he also needed to lie, in order to get police to act fast in arresting Okogba, so he told police that his friend was also a kidnapper. His words: “I told the police that Biggie was a kidnapper, so that they would arrest him as soon as possible. I knew I told a lie, but Biggie is an ex-convict. He has served his jail term. I don’t know the crime he committed that made him to go to jail.” Simon went further to say that prior to Okogba’s arrest; five other suspected fraudsters were arrested in Okogba's apartment. The police also recovered 1000 unused SIM cards, three laptops, wraps of Indian hemp and mobile phones. Two laptops were recovered from Simon's house, which he claimed were used by him and his brother, Anthony. Another suspect, Chris Mgbako, 39, a farmer at Delta State, described

himself as a friend to Okogba. He said he came to Lagos, to deliver foodstuffs to his family and decided to visit his friend, Okogba. He was arrested in Okogba’s house. Mgbako said: "I knew Biggie through my friend, Steven. We are childhood friends. We started our friendship right from Asaba. I came to Lagos to give my sisters foodstuffs and to celebrate the fact that I just got a new phone. I got the phone from my younger sister last month. She lives overseas. I was to stay in Lagos for two weeks before going back to Asaba. I decided to visit Biggie since I would soon be going back. I’m not familiar with Lagos roads. I was given directions. When I met Biggie, he gave me one of his laptops and asked me to chat with somebody. I told him I wasn’t used to all this Internet applications.” Mgbako went further to reveal how Okogba operated the cybercrime. He narrated: “When I told Biggie I had no idea how to carry out the operation, he said it was easy. He said one just needed to get a new SIM card, which has not been registered and insert it into a phone, which has no Internet facility. He said that Facebook would send a code to the phone; the code would be used to open a Facebook account, where one could chat with Europeans. I never for once tried this. I was arrested while waiting to CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

CRIME

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘I killed my brother to become second Jesus Christ’ Uchenna Inya Abakaliki

ost men, who marry two wives, often become used to their wives quarreling and fighting on a daily

basis. Sometimes, children of these wives are caught up in emotional dilemma, unsure whether to take side with their mum or step mum. Many of them inevitably take side with their mum. The kids, most times, grow up hating one another. Such a home is often fraught with cold war, tension and hate. The husbands often pray for divine wisdom on how to manage such tension-filled homes. But the family of Ogbonna Amegu, of Ndebor Nchoko village, Igbeagu community, Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has never experienced such traumatic situations. Indeed, Amegu, who married two wives, said he, his wives and 18 children, from both women, have enjoyed a peaceful home and co-existence. Amegu said: “The love in my family, and between my two wives, is the envy of our neighbours. My wives are so close, that my second wife named one of her children after my first wife.” The peaceful coexistence and love in the family was torn to shreds after an unfathomable incident visited the family on September 9, 2016. One of Amegu’s sons, identified as Ogobuchi Ogbonna Amegu, 25, from his first wife, drowned his three-yearold- stepbrother, Wisdom Ogbonna Amegu. The action of Ogobuchi stunned his family and community members. The action of Ogobuchi was even more shocking, since he was the closest among all the family members to little Wisdom. It was gathered that Wisdom used to tag along with Ogobuchi, whenever the latter was going out. People tried to make sense of the murder of the three-year-old boy by his elder brother, but failed. People even wondered if perhaps Ogobuchi smoked Indian hemp, but close examinations and questions, showed that he was in his right senses. While being questioned by members of the community and later the police, Ogobuchi said that a voice repeatedly told him to kill one of his stepbrothers if he wanted to be the second Jesus Christ on earth, a messiah of the world and famous. Why he chose little Wisdom, described as his ‘best friend and pet,’ is yet unknown. There’s, however, no doubt that the murder of his brother, made him instantly famous. Ogobuchi said: “I was relaxing in our house when I heard the voice, telling me that I would become the second Jesus Christ on earth; that I would be a messiah if I killed one of my stepbrothers. The voice said that if I refused to do it, I would regret it.” On that fateful day, Ogobuchi lured Wisdom to a nearby river, picked a big stone and rope, tied the three-year-old to the stone and calmly pushed him

into the river. The boy sank like lead. Ogobuchi returned home, to continue with his normal daily activities, like nothing happened. When it was evening time, the family became worried over Wisdom’s long absence from home. Friends, relatives and neighbours said he wasn’t in their homes. The family members started searching for him, including Ogobuchi. Soon, the family alerted every community member. Several search parties were organised. Each party went to different directions, but all returned with stories of failure. By the following day, the mother of the boy was slowly going crazy and Amegu was almost at his wits end, unsure of the next step to take. They were in this worried state when Ogobuchi called the family together and dropped his bombshell. Without mincing words, he told his family members that he was responsible for the disappearance of Wisdom. He told them that he drowned Wisdom and promised to take them to the scene of the crime. The family was stunned into silence. They initially thought Ogobuchi was playing game with such a crazy confession and sharply rebuked him, but he stuck to his story. Amegu ran out, screaming for community members to gather and listen to the narration of his son, Ogobuchi. Every time Ogobuchi spewed out his confession; gasps of shock, unbelief and outraged greeted it. The community members immediately ordered Ogobuchi to lead them to where he ‘kept’ Wisdom. The boy’s corpse was later dragged out from the river by divers. Further confessing to members of the community, Ogobuchi said he heard a loud voice, ordering him to do stuffs. He added: “The voice said that I shouldn’t waste time in carrying out the instructions. I looked around and saw Wisdom; I asked him to follow me, so that we could bath in the river. He followed me. When I got to the river,

Ogobuchi

I looked around and saw a stone; I picked the stone and with the rope, tied him to the stone and pushed him into the river.” A devastated Amegu, said: “I married two wives and have 18 children. My two wives have been living peacefully and have never quarrelled or fought since I married them. My children emulated their mothers. They never had any misunderstanding. So, I’m shocked over this type of thing, especially since Wisdom was the closest to Ogobuchi among all my children. Devil has entered my family. I’m not happy at all.” When the enormity of his crime dawned on him, Ogobuchi tried to feign being mentally unbalanced, but Amegu, knocked off the idea. Amegu said: “Ogobuchi is not mentally sick; he is a healthy person. I wondered what made him to do this type of thing. This has never happened in the history of this community. This is very strange.” The head of the community, Chief Nwamage Uche, said that when Amegu reported to him that his threeyear-old son was missing, he quickly

mobilised members of the community. He said search parties were drafted. They later heard about the dastardly action of Ogobuchi. The Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. George Okafor confirmed the incident. He said the matter was first reported at the Iboko Police Station. Okafor said: “The matter will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) for consolidation of the case.” It was further gathered that autopsy has since been conducted on the deceased while his remains have been interred. During the burial last Wednesday of little Wisdom, members of the community broke down and wept uncontrollably. Ogobuchi was, last Wednesday, remanded by an Abakaliki Magistrate's Court. He was arraigned on one count charge of murder. The charge reads; “that you Ogobuchi Ogonna Amegu, on September 9, 2016, at Ndiebor Nchoko, Igbeagu CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

‘I depend on God, not charms' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

him at a restaurant in Ojota. While we were discussing, I noticed his eyes were bloodshot. I should have become alert, but I didn’t dwell on it. We were still discussing when three policemen walked into the restaurant, pointed a gun at me and took me to their station.” He said he was still battling to extricate himself from the robbery charges, when the widow of the man, who died at Igbogbo, while Ayotunde’s gang was operating in their home, came to the police station and identified him. Ayotunde admitted robbing the widow’s home, but vehemently denied killing her husband. His words: “We didn’t kill the

man! All I can say is that the man was either already sick or died of shock. A man named Paul Oriyii took us to the man’s house at Igbogbo, Ikorodu. We entered his home by scaling the fence. We entered the compound around 10pm and left at about 3am. We didn’t go with any gun, just machetes, which we used in threatening the man. We threatened to kill him, but we didn’t mean it. “When we entered, the man’s wife and three children were in the parlour, watching a movie. We ordered them to lie on the ground. We later marched them into their rooms. The man stayed in the parlour with us. We didn’t rape the woman or her daughters.”

Ayotunde further recalled: “We took some food from the fridge, ate and started watching television. During that period, the man started snoring. When it was time to leave, we ransacked the house in search of things we could sell like Plasma television and jewelry. The jewelry was given to us by the man’s wife. We also took an ATM card, money and other valuables. We loaded the items into the man’s 4Runner Jeep. We later discovered the man was dead and left him.” After the gang gathered everything it could, the members decided to wait until dawn in order to avoid running into the police or local vigilantes. It was another successful operation.

CRIME

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

N40m scam: China-based Nigerian drags lady to police Taiwo Jimoh

etectives attached to Area J Police Command, Ajah/Lekki, Lagos State, are trying to unravel the cause of the friction between a China-based Nigerian businessman and a lady, who claimed to be his lover. The man, Friday Ede, 40, has accused the lady, Amaka Igene, 32, of fraudulently collecting N40million from him, under the guise of trying to buy property for him. The lady however retorted that she didn’t and never duped him. According to Amaka, she used the money Ede sent to her to buy property. Ede denied being Amaka's lover, stressing that there was only business between them. He said that there was never any time he proposed marriage to her. While Amaka insisted that Ede paid her flight to China to spend a romantic two weeks’ vacation with him, Ede said that Amaka came to China with another guy, whom he presumed was her lover. Ede was so angry over the alleged fraud that he flew in from China and went to Area J Police Command to lodge a complaint against Amaka. Ede accused Amaka of diverting money given to her to acquire property for him. Apparently not satisfied with Amaka’s explanation, Ede returned to Nigeria. According to his calculation, the woman fleeced him N40 million. Recollecting the genesis of his relationship with Amaka, Ede said that Amaka’s elder brother, Kingsmate Igene, was introduced to him by a friend based in Holland. His Holland friend told him that Kingsmate had property in Nigeria. When Ede was finally linked up with Kingsmate, the latter told him that his sister, Amaka, living in Nigeria, was an estate agent and could get good property for him. Ede narrated: “A friend of mine, who is based in Holland introduced Kingsmate to me. He said that Kingsmate had landed property, which he wanted to sell in Lagos, Nigeria. My friend in Holland said he would have bought the property, but he didn’t have money. He persuaded me to buy it. He later introduced me to Kingsmate.” He said that after he was persuaded to buy the land, he contacted his friend Chika in Lagos, Nigeria and begged him to assist him by going over to inspect the said property. Chika later called to say the property was genuine. Ede immediately paid N6 million into Amaka’s account, through Kingsmate. Ede said: “After seeing the receipt of the first property, I was satisfied. But crisis started between us after they duped me through another property, which I bought for another purpose. After the first transaction, Kingsmate told me that if I needed another property, I should contact Amaka. I immediately told him that I didn’t know her. I told him I couldn’t do business with her.” Ede said that a month after the conversation with Kingsmate, his phone rang one day and the caller was Amaka. She said she could assist him to get another property, somewhere better than the last site, where the first prop-

erty he bought from her brother was sited. She told him that the property he bought from her brother was not close to the road. Ede remembered: “Thereafter, we settled the issue and moved on. I asked Amaka to get me another property so I could start another building. She later called me that she got a better place for N12.5m. She said the property was located at Idi-Agbon area of Ajah. I paid the money; but to my greatest surprise, what I saw on the receipt she showed me was N11m. She collected money for lawyer, consultation and Omo onile. “But before the second transaction, Amaka did not give me the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the property I bought from his brother. All she showed me was the receipt of payment for the property.” According to Ede, whenever he demanded for the C of O, Amaka would parry the question. He said that Amaka told him that to get C of O, has become difficult since Muhammadu Buhari became president of Nigeria. “She said she was unable to process the C of O at Alausa, Ikeja. On each land she bought for me, I paid about N2.5m for survey plan,” said Ede. He continued: “Amaka and her brother, Kingsmate, were able to dupe me because I believed in them. We’re from the same Ebonyi State. The total money they collected from me was 40m. This money is my sweat. I don’t know where to start from now.” Stating her own side of the story, Amaka said: “Sometimes last year, my brother Kingsmate, who is based in Holland, called me. He said that he needed money for a business. He said that the only way to raise the money was to dispose his property, which was at Abidjan community of Ajah. “My brother later called me that one of his friends, based in China, would send someone in Nigeria to inspect the property for him. Later, the person, Chika, called me.” She said that after Chika inspected the property, he told her that his friend, Ede, would like to marry her. She said she was shocked. She said: “After Chika introduced me to Ede, we started chatting. Ede then proposed to me. He asked me to send my pictures to him. It was through our conversation that he told me he has a property he was working on in Ebonyi State. I used to assist him in paying the workers until the building was completed.” Amaka further added: “After assisting him to complete his house in Ebonyi State, he asked me to get him a property, where he could build a school. I consulted a lawyer, who got four plots of land at Molete area of Ajah for N16m. When I bought the land, which was meant for the school, I sent pictures of the land to him. But before then, we were already planning to wed in December. Ede later called me; he said that I should look for a land where we could build, so that after our wedding, we would have somewhere to live.” Amaka said that she bought the land for N11m. She also took pictures of the land and sent to Ede for confirmation. She said that it was in appreciation of all she did for him, that he

Amaka

asked her to come over to China. Ede allegedly paid for all the travel expenses. She said: “I spent two weeks in his

house before returning to Nigeria. I didn’t dupe him. All the money he claimed he gave to me, I used judiciously! I’m not a fraudster.”

'Don’t treat me as criminal' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

receive alert from my family. I’m the eldest son in my family and in charge of eight shops in Asaba. I was waiting to receive a bank alert, so I could return home, when police arrested me. The police came to Biggie's house and arrested me along with Steven. I’m the secretary to the People’s Democratic Party's (PDP) ward, back home. I’m supposed to be at home by now." Another suspect, Mr. Steven Owuamakunam, a primary school teacher, also from Delta State, said he was innocent of any crime. He said his only crime, was being friends with Okogba. He said he and Okogba have been friends since childhood. According to him, he came to spend the holiday with Okogba and was already preparing to go back to Asaba, since school was resuming, when he was arrested.

He said: “I didn’t know Biggie used to engage in cybercrime. He had never discussed such with me or even asked me to join. I have already packed my bags, ready to leave on Sunday, when police came. I don't know what transpired between Biggie and Simon. When I saw Simon, I begged him to tell the police that I was innocent, but Simon said he would implicate me because I ate food in Biggie’s house.” Michael Eze, 35 and Anthony Eze, younger brothers to Simon, claimed to be innocent too. Like others, they were arrested in Okogba’s home. Okogba said: “The people I defraud are usually Europeans who are in need of money. What I do is to upload a lotto site and Europeans would play in order to win some money. They have to deposit an amount in other to win the grand price. Some pay $800 in order to win $1000 and so on.”

‘I killed my brother'

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

Izzi in the Abakaliki Magisterial District did unlawfully cause the death of one Wisdom Ogonna Amegu and thereby Committed an offence Punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 33: Vol. 1. Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria 2009.” After the charge was read to Ogobuchi, the presiding Magis-

trate, Nnachi Olughu, ordered that the suspect be remanded in prison custody till November 18, 2016. The case file was transferred to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), for comments. Olughu said: "The accused person has no counsel to represent him to enable him take his pleas. This court hereby orders that he be remanded in prison custody till November 18, 2016.”

BUSINESS | MONEY LINE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Naira slumps to N436/$ on parallel market

DEPRECIATION Forex scarcity worsens

The development comes amidst declining external reserves and 48 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The reserves stood at $24.76 billion by September 21, down 3.4 per cent from a month ago, to its lowest level in more than 11-years. Analysts attributed the reserves decline to the Apex Bank’s frequent sale of dollars on the interbank market to support the nai-

Tony Chukwunyem

he naira fell sharply to N436 against the dollar on the parallel market yesterday, as dollar shortages on the interbank foreign exchange market persisted, pushing importers to the unofficial market, traders told New Telegraph.

ra. The lack of liquidity in the market has resulted in the weakening of the naira on the parallel market. Although the local currency has closed at N305.50 per dollar on the official market for the past one month, it fell to N313.07 against the greenback on the FMDQ platform yesterday. A Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator, Mr. Martin Okechukwu, said the dollar shortage in the system was worsening. He said: “There are

no dollars in the system. Only one or two banks are selling dollars to BDCs so everybody is going to the parallel market. The situation is really serious and my concern is that if nothing is done about it, it will be difficult to bring down the rates.” He pointed out that the CBN left interest rates unchanged despite the call by the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun for the rates to be cut because it did not want to discourage foreign investors from

FIRS to generate N5.2trn in 2017, says Fowler

he Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Tunde Fowler, has said that the agency expects to generate N5.2 trillion in 2017.

In a rare interview with Reuters, the tax chief said a new unit created at the start of the year had deployed inspectors armed with laptops to update databases, registering businesses and individuals who are then tracked to check whether they have paid taxes. He also revealed that the agency had hunted down 700,000 firms that have never paid taxes, adding that he expected 10 million individuals to be discovered by December and made to pay taxes for the first time. “We have been able to add about 700,000 companies and we

expect to add about 10 million individuals across the nation (by December),” said Fowler, adding that this would bring the total of registered individuals to 20 million. The Federal Government, struggling to fund a record N6.06 trillion 2016 budget that aims to stimulate growth by tripling capital expenditure, set FIRS a target of raising N4.95 trillion in taxes, up from 3.73 trillion last year. FIRS does not appear to be on track to meet its target for tax collection so far this year, but experts believe it can do better in future. “We collected a little over 2.3 trillion, so far - from January to 31 August. It is almost at par with last year but take into consideration that the economy is going through a little slow-

down,” said Fowler. He said revenue from ValueAdded Tax (VAT) had increased by 25 per cent year-on-year and corporate income tax held steady over the same period but petroleum profit tax was expected to have halved, mainly due to low oil prices. Africa analyst at Capital Economics, John Ashbourne, said Fowler’s target of doubling the number of tax payers was “ambitious” and would be hard to achieve in a country where “paperwork is often lacking”. But he said the projections for 2017 were “quite achievable”. “Revenue will almost certainly be much, much higher next year, but this is primarily due to the devaluation of the naira, which has boosted the local-terms value of each oil barrel that is exported,” he said.

Economic Indicators As at M2* CPS* INF MPR 91-day NTB Bonny Light Ext Res**

Description 15.10 27-APR-2017 16.00 29-JUN-2019 15.54 13-FEB-2020 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 12.50 22-JAN-2026 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 17.61

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 August, 2016

14 10.77 US$46.82 US$24,759,561,464

26/07/2016 Mar 2015 22/9/2016 21/9/2016 Source: CBN

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.65 114.59 111.96 120.58 109.60 100.54 83.82 97.56

1.07 3.24 3.87 5.82 7.95 9.81 14.31 18.29

NIBOR

Rate (%) 4.4583 9.1071 11.0102 12.3790

Bid Yield 10.38 10.55 11.60 11.44 12.27 12.40 12.44 12.49

Change (%) -2.50 ▼ -0.74 ▼ -0.65 ▼ -0.68 ▼

Change (%) -0.02 ▼ -0.01 ▼ 0.00 ↔ 0.00 ↔ -0.07 ▼ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.02 ▲

Price 104.80 114.89 112.26 120.88 109.90 100.84 84.12 97.86

Tenor (Months)

Change (%) -0.02 ▼ -0.01 ▼ 0.00 ↔ 0.00 ↔ -0.07 ▼ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.02 ▲

NITTY

Rate (%) 6.9949 7.2368 8.0819 9.2061 9.5872 10.5042

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Offer Yield 10.24 10.45 11.51 11.38 12.22 12.34 12.39 12.44

Change (%) 1.12 ▲ -0.27 ▼ -0.17 ▼ -0.11 ▼ 0.03 ▲ 0.42 ▲

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 30-Jun-16 7.92 7.67 7.82 -0.51 ▼ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 3.83 8.08 -0.51 ▼ 6-Oct-16 8.59 8.34 8.71 -0.31 ▼ Overnight (O/N) 4.33 8.99 -0.31 ▼ 16-Mar-17 9.36 10.28 -0.07 ▼ 9.11 9.98 -0.07 ▼

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.14

Offer 199.24

Change (%) 0.57 ▲

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

CBN Clearing Rates of January 7, 2016 Spot($/N)

196.00

197.00

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) -1.75 ▼ -2.08 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

bringing in inflows. He, however, stated that traders were expecting the forex scarcity to ease in the coming days, as Travelex, a licensed Forex dealer was expected to commence the sale of dollars to BDCs. The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told journalists recently that with Travelex taking over the sale of dollars to BDCs from banks, the supply of

dollars in the system would significantly improve. Gwadabe said that the licensed forex dealer would enhance transparency in the distribution network, adding that most ABCON members would be able to access forex unlike the situation when the banks were the sole supplier of forex to BDCs. He noted that Travelex had the technology to sell forex to about a 1,000 BDCs within a couple of hours, which is a major advantage.

CBN raises N141bn in treasury bills at lower yields

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold N140.88 billion worth of shortdated treasury bills at an auction last Wednesday, attracting lower yields across the board, except on the 3-month debt, which was flat, data from the apex bank showed yesterday. The CBN sold N28.12 billion of the 3-month paper at 14 per cent, the same as at the last auction on September 14. It sold N23.68 billion of 6-month

debt at 17.27 per cent against 17.77 per cent previously. It sold N89.08 billion of 1-year bills at 18.30 per cent compared with 18.48 per cent at the previous auction. Traders said yields on local debt are expected to gradually trade lower after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retained its benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent at its last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last Tuesday.

Dangote: Nigeria needs $15bn to revive economy

igeria needs $15 billion from asset sales and borrowing to revive a slumping economy and boost foreign reserves, according to the President Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote. “Through sales of assets, through loans from Bank of China or wherever, we need something like $15 billion,” Dangote, Africa’s richest man, said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York. “We’re having a problem as the reserves are low. The banks, entrepreneurs, everybody is speculating on the currency.” Nigeria’s economy, battered by low oil prices and a dearth

of foreign investment, is set to shrink in 2016 for the first time in 25 years, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which forecasts a 1.8 per cent contraction. The country’s foreign reserves have fallen by more than a third since the end of September 2014 to a more than 10-year low of $24.8 billion. The naira has fallen almost 40 per cent against the dollar this year. President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is trying to spend a record budget of N6.1 trillion to stimulate growth. The country plans to raise about $4.5 billion of concessional loans and Eurobonds this year to help pay for its spending plans.

CBN, others set for E-PPAN’s eGovt Summit Kunle Azeez

op officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government with thoughts leaders, executives and players in the electronic payment industry, are currently set for the 5th E-Government Summit holding in Abuja next week. Already, organisers of the event, the Electronic Payment Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), in a statement, has announced its readiness to play host to over 150 delegates made up of strategist, policy-makers and leaders’ at the two-day event starting

from Tuesday next week. The E-Government Summit is an annual event that provides a pedestal for the public and private sector to dialogue with each other on a topical issues revolving around developments in electronic payment space with bias for public sector. The 2016 Summit with the theme: “Attaining Increased Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR), Efficiency and Accountability through Smart Innovations,” provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to dialogue and share ideas on how to leverage and harness smart technologies with positive strides to increasing the nations’ IGR.

BUSINESS |FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

22-Sep-16

The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute professional, financial or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept liability for the results of any action taken on the basis of the Information.

Bonds

FGN Bonds Issuer

Rating/Agency

Description 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 ^15.54 13-FEB-2020 14.50 15-JUL-2021 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036

Price

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 13-Feb-15 13-Jul-16 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 22-Jan-16 28-Nov-08 22-May-09 20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14 18-Mar-16

15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 14.50 16.39 14.20 12.50 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.15 12.4000

480.13 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 606.43 210.59 605.31 719.99 421.02 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 310.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6,451.16

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

5,900.62

Rating/Agency

Agency Bonds Nil

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Description

Issuer

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 15-Jul-21 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 22-Jan-26 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

0.59 0.84 0.94 1.68 2.77 3.08 3.39 4.81 5.35 7.47 9.33 12.18 12.66 13.16 13.83 17.82 19.48

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

18.27 19.37 19.78 17.84 14.40 14.43 14.46 14.57 14.61 14.72 14.92 14.84 14.82 14.81 14.79 14.68 14.93

17.99 19.15 19.59 17.73 14.34 14.29 14.35 14.48 14.53 14.65 14.85 14.78 14.76 14.73 14.72 14.62 14.88

98.23 92.85 91.41 89.92 103.47 81.99 102.77 99.71 106.39 97.69 87.99 100.85 86.79 63.87 72.08 84.11 84.05

98.38 93.00 91.56 90.07 103.62 82.29 103.07 100.01 106.69 97.99 88.29 101.15 87.09 64.17 72.38 84.41 84.35

6406.155565

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

17.25

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

0.60

03-Apr-17

0.36

2.94

19.96

99.06

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 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21 09-Dec-21 16-Feb-22 27-Feb-22 30-Mar-22 31-Mar-22 27-May-22

0.57 0.53 1.27 1.09 1.10 1.28 1.29 1.47 1.68 3.16 1.85 4.18 4.27 2.50 2.53 3.08 3.29 3.32 3.26 6.46 3.41

1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02 2.01 1.00 1.30 3.76 2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

19.17 23.68 21.55 20.75 20.72 22.96 22.68 22.36 19.90 16.45 18.33 15.82 18.29 17.78 16.21 15.95 18.46 15.45 16.97 16.41 17.50

95.20 95.27 91.88 93.94 93.91 91.27 90.99 91.98 94.25 95.27 94.68 93.04 90.45 93.82 97.61 98.91 95.49 102.49 101.20 102.09 98.74

0.60

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

0.59

Sub-National Bonds 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 BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR† Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto‡ A-/GCR A-/Agusto A-/Agusto Bbb-/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto A-/GCR

LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA *NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA *BAUCHI *OYO *BENUE *PLATEAU KOGI *CROSS RIVER

19-Apr-10 30-Jun-10 31-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 27-Nov-13 31-Dec-13 31-Dec-13 06-Jan-14 09-Dec-14 17-Feb-15 27-Feb-15 30-Mar-15 01-Apr-15 27-May-15

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 13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 15.50 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 16.50 OYO 16-FEB-2022 16.50 BENUE 27-FEB-2022 17.50 PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 17.00 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 17.00 CROSS RIVER 27-MAY-2022

10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.50 16.50 17.50 17.00 17.00

57.00 11.33 25.00 23.44 4.22 9.45 7.01 18.70 12.55 80.00 19.40 87.50 5.00 3.74 3.76 14.37 4.17 4.30 27.10 3.00 7.34

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

428.37 406.06

Corporate Bonds A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR Nil Nil Nil A/GCR BBB-/GCR Nil A-/DataPro†; CCC/GCR AAA/DataPro†; B/GCR A+/Agusto; A/GCR Bbb+/Agusto†; BBB+/GCR† BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR Nil A-/GCR A+/Agusto; A-/GCR Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR BBB/GCR A/GCR BBB/GCR Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR A/GCR A/GCR AAA/GCR

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

NAHCO FSDH ***LCRM UBA *C & I LEASING *DANA#{r} #

*TOWER *TOWER#

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

0.02

1.00

19.30

99.86

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

25-Oct-13 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12 30-Sep-10

14.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50 13.00

5.53 112.22 116.70 66.49 20.00

25-Oct-16 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17 30-Sep-17

0.09 0.21 0.57 0.79 1.02

1.34 1.00 3.55 5.25 1.88

19.06 17.74 21.72 24.36 21.85

99.48 99.48 97.27 94.54 92.25

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.36

30-Nov-17

0.70

1.88

20.60

99.10

09-Apr-11

16.00

3.60

09-Apr-18

0.80

3.15

22.29

95.75

09-Sep-11

18.00

1.45

09-Sep-18

1.21

6.35

25.72

92.59

09-Sep-11 30-Sep-11

16.00 14.00

0.40 35.00

09-Sep-18 30-Sep-18

1.21 2.02

1.00 1.17

20.37 17.95

95.62 93.53

18-Oct-13

15.75

1.50

18-Oct-18

1.07

4.42

24.23

92.68

15.00 FCMB 6-NOV-2020 15.75 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

17-Feb-12 01-Apr-14

18.00 16.00

0.23 4.50

17-Feb-19 01-Apr-19

1.41 1.27

6.11 3.28

24.85 22.44

92.42 93.53

06-Nov-15

15.00

20.87

06-Nov-20

2.12

4.47

20.92

90.79

15.50 TRANSCORP 4-DEC-2020

14-Nov-13

15.75

2.05

14-Nov-20

4.14

1.00

15.52

100.63

04-Dec-15 20-Nov-14 30-Dec-14 13-May-15

15.50 14.25 16.45 16.48

9.76 26.00 30.50 30.00

04-Dec-20 20-Nov-21 30-Dec-21 13-May-22

2.64 5.16 5.27 5.64

3.55 2.51 1.00 1.00

18.56 17.10 15.60 15.62

93.95 90.40 102.90 103.07

26-Oct-15 30-Sep-14

16.00 16.29

10.00 0.10

26-Oct-22 30-Sep-24

3.81 8.02

2.77 1.00

17.26 15.78

96.69 102.28

30-Sep-14 29-Jul-15

13.25 14.90

15.44 7.82

30-Sep-24 29-Jul-30

8.02 9.24

1.00 1.00

15.78 15.90

88.72 95.52

10-Oct-20

2.26

3.37

19.37

92.09

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 30-SEP-2018 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

UBA *LA CASERA

*CHELLARAMS# *DANA#{r} *FCMB NAHCO *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC *FCMB UBA

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021 16.48 FIDELITY 13-MAY-2022

FIDELITY *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC STANBIC IBTC STANBIC IBTC *NMRC

16.00 TRANSCORP 26-OCT-2022 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 14.90 NMRC 29-JUL-2030

535.52

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

517.94

Sukuk *OSUN

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

10-Oct-13

AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

1.39

1.00

17.17

91.68

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

*AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

2.61

1.00

13.88

94.49

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

BBB-/Agusto

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

14.75

9.02

9.02 8.31

Supranational Bond

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

24.95 23.24 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Outstanding Value ($’mm)

Coupon (%)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

FGN

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

6.28

6.04

101.75

102.66

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.42

3.96

101.20

101.99

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.42

6.26

99.75

100.59

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,513.51

Corporate Eurobonds B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

6.48

100.60

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

19.83

18.05

82.76

84.88

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

6.46

99.10

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.33

97.50

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

22.14

74.13

B-/Fitch; B/S&P B-/Fitch; B/S&P B-/Fitch; B/S&P

FIRST BANK PLC ACCESS BANK PLC II FIRST BANK LTD

8.25 AUG 07, 2020 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

07-Aug-13 24-Jun-14 23-Jul-14

8.25 9.25 8.00

300.00 400.00 450.00

07-Aug-20 24-Jun-21 23-Jul-21

13.35 14.24 15.90

12.96 13.80 15.90

84.50 82.74 73.50

85.55 84.09 73.50

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

12.23

11.76

84.88

86.63

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

DTM

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Discount Rate (%)

16.80

18-Oct-16

2.03

19.90

19.63

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

3,150.00 2,759.95 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Yield @ Issue (%)

18-Apr-16

11.00

Commercial Papers A-/Agusto

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC

UPDC CP 18-OCT-16

16.80

**TREASURY BILLS^ DTM 14 21 28 35 42 56 70 77

FIXINGS Maturity 6-Oct-16 13-Oct-16 20-Oct-16 27-Oct-16 3-Nov-16 17-Nov-16 1-Dec-16 8-Dec-16

Bid Discount (%) 16.94 17.02 16.97 17.09 16.98 16.90 17.15 14.65

Offer Discount (%) 16.69 16.77 16.72 16.84 16.73 16.65 16.90 14.40

Bid Yield (%) 17.05 17.19 17.19 17.37 17.32 17.35 17.74 15.12

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 12.0833 19.1300 19.8975 22.2162

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards)

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

16.83

Tenor

Closing Rate ($/N)

O/N

18.08

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

313.07 314.87 316.24 318.66 322.07 325.73

Tenor Call 1M

REPO

Rate (%) 15.67 16.50

8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036

20-Nov-09 23-Jul-10 18-Jul-14 18-Mar-16

8.50 10.00 12.15 12.4000

200.00 591.57 1075.92 310.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6,451.16

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

5,900.62

Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

Agency Bonds Nil

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

03-Apr-12

17.25

BEARISH Sell pressure dominated market activities, as bargain hunters retreat

LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA *NIGER *EKITI *NIGER *ONDO *GOMBE LAGOS *OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA *BAUCHI *OYO *BENUE *PLATEAU KOGI *CROSS RIVER

Stories: Chris Ugwu

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday resumed profit TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE taking after it halted TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION two-day gaining streak that Corporate Bonds was buoyed by theNAHCO Central A+/Agusto; A-/GCR A-/Agusto; A-/GCR FSDH Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Nil Nil decision to keep its***LCRM interest Nil rates stable at 14 per cent to A/GCR UBA BBB-/GCR *C inflows & I LEASING encourage capital Nil *DANA into the economy, which reA-/DataPro†; CCC/GCR *TOWER #{r}

AAA/DataPro†; B/GCR A+/Agusto; A/GCR

*TOWER#

Bbb+/Agusto†; BBB+/GCR†

*LA CASERA

Nil

L A-/GCR

A-/Agusto

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

63.87 72.08 84.11 84.05

64.17 72.38 84.41 84.35

6406.155565

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

0.60

03-Apr-17

0.36

2.94

19.96

99.06

Stock market down by N16bn on profit taking 10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.50 16.50 17.50 17.00 17.00

LAGOS 19-APR-2017 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 EDO 31-DEC-2017 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 OYO 16-FEB-2022 BENUE 27-FEB-2022 PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 CROSS RIVER 27-MAY-2022

cently slipped into recession. The overall performance measures, NSE ASI and market capitalisation, fell by 0.17 per cent. This was due to profit taking by bargain hunters in the wake of cautious optimism that had pervaded the market following upset in the financial sector. Consequently, the All13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 Share Index shed 48.15 ba0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 sis points or 0.17 per cent 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 to close at 28,166.42 index 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 points as against 28,214.57 MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 recorded the9-SEP-2018 previous day, MPR+7.00 TOWER MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

10.00 13.75 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.50 14.00 15.50 15.50 14.50 14.75 13.50 15.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.50 16.50 17.50 17.00 17.00

09-Sep-11 30-Sep-11

16.00 14.00

18-Oct-13

15.75

17-Feb-12

18.00

01-Apr-14

16.00

06-Nov-15

15.00

14-Nov-13

15.75

while market capitalisation of equities depreciated by N16 billion or 0.16 per cent to close lower. Meanwhile, a turnover of 410.1 million shares in 4,179 deals was recorded in the day’s trading. The banking sub-sector of the financial services sector was the most active (measured by turnover volume) 29-Sep-11 13.00 25-Oct-13 14.25exwith 245.8 million shares 09-Dec-11 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 changed by20-Apr-12 investors in 1,087 06-Jul-12 0.00/16.50 deals. 30-Sep-10 13.00 30-Nov-12 18.00 Volume in the sub-sector 09-Apr-11 16.00 was largely09-Sep-11 driven by activi18.00

14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018

UBA

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

*CHELLARAMS #{r}

*DANA

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

15.00 FCMB 6-NOV-2020 15.75 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

*FCMB

57.00 11.33 25.00 23.44 4.22 9.45 7.01 18.70 12.55 80.00 19.40 87.50 5.00 3.74 3.76 14.37 4.17 4.30 27.10 3.00 7.34

0.57 0.53 1.27 1.09 1.10 1.28 1.29 1.47 1.68 3.16 1.85 4.18 4.27 2.50 2.53 3.08 3.29 3.32 3.26 6.46 3.41

1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02 2.01 1.00 1.30 3.76 2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

19.17 23.68 21.55 20.75 20.72 22.96 22.68 22.36 19.90 16.45 18.33 15.82 18.29 17.78 16.21 15.95 18.46 15.45 16.97 16.41 17.50

95.20 95.27 91.88 93.94 93.91 91.27 90.99 91.98 94.25 95.27 94.68 93.04 90.45 93.82 97.61 98.91 95.49 102.49 101.20 102.09 98.74

0.40 35.00

09-Sep-18 30-Sep-18

1.21 2.02

1.00 1.17

20.37 17.95

95.62 93.53

1.50 0.23 4.50

18-Oct-18

1.07

4.42

24.23

92.68

17-Feb-19

1.41

6.11

24.85

92.42

01-Apr-19

1.27

3.28

22.44

20.87

06-Nov-20

2.12

4.47

20.92

90.79

2.05

14-Nov-20

4.14

1.00

15.52

100.63

3.55

18.56

2.51

17.10

ties in the shares of Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc. Also, premium sub-sector, boosted by the activities in the shares of Zenith Bank and FBNH Plc trailed with a turnover of 66.2 million shares in 859 deals. 428.37 The number of gainers 406.06 at the close of trading session was 18, while 15.00 29-Sep-16 decliners 0.02 5.53 at 22. 25-Oct-16 0.09 closed 112.22 08-Dec-16 0.21 116.70 19-Apr-17 Further analysis of 0.57the 66.49 06-Jul-17 0.79 day’s trading showed that 20.00 30-Sep-17 1.02 0.36 30-Nov-17 0.70 Oando Plc topped the gain3.60 09-Apr-18 0.80 ers’1.45table with 7.14 per 1.21 cent 09-Sep-18

NAHCO

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC

UPDC CP 18-OCT-16

18-Apr-16

11.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

to close at N6.00 per share, while Zenith Bank Plc followed with 5.22 per cent to close at N15.79 per share. Total Oil Nigeria Plc gained five per cent to close at N283.50 per share. On the flip side, Calverton Plc led the losers’ chart with a drop of 9.09 per cent to close at N1.10 per share. Continental Insurance Plc 1.00 19.30 99.86 1.34 19.06 99.48 followed with a loss of 4.95 1.00 17.74 99.48 3.55 cent to 21.72 close at 96 97.27 kobo per 5.25 24.36 94.54 per share, while Nacho Plc 1.88 21.85 92.25 1.88 20.60 99.10 dropped by 4.60 per cent to 3.15 22.29 95.75 close at N3.32 per share. 6.35 25.72 92.59

Stocks, Bonds climb as Fed buttresses cheap money era

afarge Africa said yes- economy hit by chronic regime, and the naira’s down- 15.50 15.50 TRANSCORP 4-DEC-2020dollar Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR 04-Dec-15 9.76 04-Dec-20 2.64 *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 BBB/GCRterday that it had 20-Nov-14 from 14.25 26.00 20-Nov-21 5.16 raised shortages caused by a slump ward move to N282.5 *FCMB 16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021 A/GCR 30-Dec-14 16.45 30.50 30-Dec-21 5.27 UBA N60 billion ($184 million) in oil prices. N197 previously , Lafarge had tocks, bonds and commodi16.48 FIDELITY 13-MAY-2022 BBB/GCR 13-May-15 16.48 30.00 13-May-22 5.64 FIDELITY 16.00 TRANSCORP 26-OCT-2022 Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR 26-Oct-15 16.00 10.00 26-Oct-22 3.81 by issuing three and five-year Lafarge Africa closed the issued a profit warning, which ties rallied as the Federal *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 16.29 0.10 30-Sep-24 8.02 STANBIC IBTC bonds through book building. half year ended June 30, 2016 stated that it expected Q2 2016 Reserve’s long-term outlook 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 13.25 15.44 30-Sep-24 8.02 STANBIC IBTC 14.90 NMRC 29-JUL-2030 AAA/GCR 29-Jul-15 7.82 speculation 29-Jul-30 *NMRC According to Reuters News, with a loss after tax of N30.246 earnings to be materially im- 14.90 added to that the9.24 era TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 535.52 the local unit of the world’s billion as against profit after pacted by a N28.0 billion unreof cheap money has further to TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 517.94 biggest cement maker, La- tax N27.316 billion during the alised foreign exchange loss. run. fargeHolcim, issued a three- comparable period of June “The losses arise from fx According to Bloomberg News, Sukuk 10-Oct-13 9.02 climbed10-Oct-20 2.26 BBB-/Agusto year bond at 14.25 per*OSUN cent to 2015. 14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 denominated loans consist- 14.75 equities the most since TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 9.02 raise N26.38 billion and sold a Lafarge also reported a ing of shareholder loans of June and euro-region bonds had TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 8.31 five-year bond at 14.75 per cent loss before tax of N30.184 bil- US$310 million and external their best day since Brexit after Supranational Bondbillion, it said in to fetch N33.62 lion from a profit before tax of loans of US$85 million. While the Fed’s decision to cut projec10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018 11-Feb-13 12.00 11-Feb-18 1.39 IFC aAAA/S&P statement. N30.84711.25 in AFDB 2015. Lafarge was able to refinance 10.20 tions for future rate hikes soothed 1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P 10-Jul-14 11.25 12.95 01-Feb-21 2.61 *AfDB TOTAL TheOUTSTANDING cement VALUE and clinker Revenue was down by 29.44 most of its naira debt via its market worries that global central 24.95 TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION mixer said last April that it per cent to N107.364 billion dur- N60 billion bond issue, it has banks23.24 would taper stimulus efwas marketing the bond to ing the period under review not been able to refinance the forts. That also Maturity gaveDate freshBid impeOutstanding Value Description Rating/Agency Issuer Issue Date Coupon (%) Yield (%) ($’mm) refinance some dollar-de- from N152.178 billion in 2015. fx component.” tus to emerging markets as Russia FGN Eurobonds nominated debt at subsidiary Analysts at FBNQuest ReBesides, the expert noted: joined Argentina in announcing a 6.75 JAN 28, 2021 07-Oct-11 500.00 28-Jan-21 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P 6.28 United Company of Nigeria search said that the pre-tax loss “Management also disclosed 6.75 debt sale, while high-yielding curBB-/Fitch; FGN reported in Q2 makes 5.13 it JUL the 12, 2018 that it also brought 12-Jul-13 5.13 500.00 12-Jul-18 4.42 (UNICEM), which it bought in some rencies surged. A gauge of comBB-/S&P aBB-/Fitch; year ago. The refinancing third consecutive quarter of2023 fx loans of UNICEM into the 6.38 modities for a sixth 6.42 day 6.38 JUL 12, 12-Jul-13 500.00increased 12-Jul-23 BB-/S&P would include aVALUE $300 million negative earnings for Lafarge. Lafarge books. At this time, as US1,500.00 oil topped $46 a barrel. TOTAL OUTSTANDING TOTAL from MARKET Lafarge CAPITALISATION 1,513.51 increased their bets loan Africa’s “Compared with our fore- we estimate that Lafarge has Traders parent company . casts, sales missed by -22 per close to US$600 million in fx that major central banks are Corporate Eurobonds 7.25 JUL the 25, 2017 denominated loans 25-Jul-12 350.00 Lafarge Africa hasACCESS saidBANK it PLCcent. We had also expected and its 7.25 converging once25-Jul-17 more and will B+/S&P 6.48 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 09-May-13 6.88 300.00 02-May-18 B/Fitch; B/S&P FIDELITY BANK PLC 19.83 wanted to refinance some of company to turn a profit in debt-to equity ratio is now up remain accommodative as they 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 08-Nov-13 6.00 400.00 08-Nov-18 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC 6.46 its debt to cut interest ZENITH ratesBANK onPLC the quarter (prior to the 0.9x previ- 6.25 seek to boost growth 6.25 profit APR 22, 2019 to around 1.6x from 22-Apr-14 500.00 22-Apr-19 and push B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P 7.33 8.75 May 21, 2019 21-May-14 8.75 200.00 21-May-19 B/Fitch; B/S&P its domestic loans by DIAMOND aboutBANK 4 PLC warning, which was triggered ously. up inflation. The Fed held 22.14 fire 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 07-Aug-13 8.25 300.00 07-Aug-20 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC 13.35 to 5 percentage points. Shortcom- JUN 24, “Excluding the exchange 9.25 Wednesday and 24-Jun-21 scaled back14.24 its 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 2021 24-Jun-14 400.00 B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLCby II the naira devaluation) USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 23-Jul-14 8.00 450.00 23-Jul-21 B-/Fitch; B/S&P BANK LTD 15.90 term bank rates have FIRST risen in pared with the8.00/2Y pre-tax and rate loss, we note that core tightening plans for 2017 and 8.75 AUG 14, 2021 14-Aug-14 8.75 250.00 14-Aug-21 B-/S&P ECOBANK NIG. LTD 12.23 Nigeria, as the Central Bank after-tax losses posted by the operations and volume disbeyond. Hours earlier, Japanese TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 3,150.00 TOTAL MARKET(CBN) CAPITALISATION 2,759.95 of Nigeria mopped up company,” they said. patches were also hampered policy makers shifted the focus naira liquidity to shore up The analysts noted that fol- by gas supply disruptions folof their stimulus programme to Outstanding Description DTM Rating/Agency Issuerlowing the CBN’s adoption Issue Yield @ Issue (%) Maturity Date industry treasury bill yields and try to of lowing vandalism toDate gas supprop up(₦’bn) the financial . Value lure foreign investors into an a more flexible exchange rate ply infrastructure.” Meanwhile, the European Central Commercial Papers A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

14.73 14.72 14.62 14.88

BUSINESS |FINANCIAL MARKET NEWS

Lafarge Africa raises N60bn in bond issues BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

14.81 14.79 14.68 14.93

0.59

Sub-National Bonds

Coupon (%)

13.16 13.83 17.82 19.48

0.60

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION NEW TELEGRAPH 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 BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR† Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto‡ A-/GCR A-/Agusto A-/Agusto Bbb-/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto A-/GCR

Issue Date

20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34 18-Mar-36

16.80

18-Oct-16

93.53

93.95 90.40

Bank is still keeping its ultra-easy 1.00 15.62 103.07 2.77 17.26 96.69 settings. 1.00 15.78 102.28 “It’s a bit of a relief88.72rally,” 1.00 15.78 1.00Chris Gaffney 15.90 95.52 said , the president of EverBank World Markets in St. Louis. “Central banks, their mantra is ‘do no wrong’ right now. 3.37 really delivered 19.37 92.09 what They exactly markets expected.” With the Fed moving off center stage for now, investors will 1.00 17.17 91.68 turn their attention to economic 1.00 13.88 94.49 data, and another earnings season that gets underway in about three weeks. Data Wednesday showed Offer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer Price filings for unemployment benPrices & Yields efits dropped last week to match 101.75 102.66 the6.04 lowest level since April, while 3.96 of previously 101.20 101.99 sales owned US homes unexpectedly declined in 99.75 6.26 100.59 August. MSCI’s gauge of global equities climbed 1.1 per cent in New York, led6.48by commodity companies. 100.60 100.60 18.05 82.76 84.88 Emerging-market shares headed 6.46 99.10 99.10 toward their biggest gain 7.33 97.50 97.50 since 22.14 74.13 74.13 July . 12.96 84.50 85.55 The S&P82.74 500 Index added 0.5 13.80 84.09 15.90 73.50 73.50 per cent to 2,174.82, rising back 11.76 84.88 86.63 above its average price during the past 50 days for the first time in almost two weeks. The Nasdaq Risk Valuation Discount Premium Composite Index was set Rate for (%) anYield (%) (%) other record. 1.00

15.60

2.03

19.90

102.90

19.63

22-Sep-16

16.80

The DQL contains data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial market (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute professional, financial or **TREASURY BILLS^ FIXINGS investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up to date.Money We doMarket not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) DTM Maturity Discount Discount (%) Bid Yield (%)on the basis of the Information. Tenor Rate (%) performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information,Bid neither do (%) we accept liabilityOffer for the results of any action taken NIBOR

14 21 28 35 42 56 Rating/Agency 70 77 84 98 105 119 133 147 154 161 168 175 182 189 196 203 210 224 231 245 252 266 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 280 287 TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 294 301 308 Rating/Agency 315 322 Agency Bonds329 336 FMBN Nil 343

FGN Bonds

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6-Oct-16 13-Oct-16 20-Oct-16 27-Oct-16 3-Nov-16 17-Nov-16 Issuer 1-Dec-16 8-Dec-16 15-Dec-16 29-Dec-16 5-Jan-17 19-Jan-17 2-Feb-17 16-Feb-17 23-Feb-17 2-Mar-17 9-Mar-17 16-Mar-17 23-Mar-17 30-Mar-17 6-Apr-17 13-Apr-17 20-Apr-17 4-May-17 11-May-17 25-May-17 1-Jun-17 15-Jun-17 29-Jun-17 6-Jul-17 13-Jul-17 20-Jul-17 27-Jul-17 Issuer 3-Aug-17 10-Aug-17 17-Aug-17 24-Aug-17 31-Aug-17

16.94 17.02 16.97 17.09 16.98 16.90 Description 17.15 14.65 15.10 27-APR-2017 15.01 9.85 27-JUL-2017 15.32 9.35 31-AUG-2017 16.85 10.70 30-MAY-201817.23 17.61 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 17.12 7.00 23-OCT-2019 17.34 ^15.54 13-FEB-202017.72 14.50 15-JUL-2021 17.51 ^16.39 27-JAN-202217.23 16.39 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 17.15 ^12.50 22-JAN-2026 17.67 15.00 28-NOV-202816.27 12.49 22-MAY-202914.88 8.50 20-NOV-2029 17.72 ^10.00 23-JUL-203016.36 17.74 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 17.81 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036 17.72 17.62 17.93 17.61 17.50 17.66 17.82 17.64 17.55 17.77 17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 17.62

Description

*for the Amortising the average life is calculated and not the TTM TOTAL MARKETbonds, CAPITALISATION #

Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills

16.69 16.77 16.72 16.84 16.73 16.65 Issue Date 16.90 14.40 27-Apr-12 14.76 15.07 27-Jul-07 16.60 31-Aug-07 16.98 30-May-08 17.36 29-Jun-12 16.87 23-Oct-09 17.09 13-Feb-15 17.47 17.26 13-Jul-16 16.98 27-Jan-12 16.14 14-Mar-14 16.90 22-Jan-16 17.42 28-Nov-08 16.02 22-May-09 14.63 17.47 20-Nov-09 16.11 23-Jul-10 17.49 18-Jul-14 17.56 18-Mar-16 17.47 17.37 17.68 17.36 17.25 17.41 17.57 17.39 17.30 17.52 17.37

17.05

17.19 Bonds 17.19

17.37 17.32 17.35 Coupon 17.74 (%) 15.12 15.10 15.54 15.98 9.85 17.71 9.35 18.25 10.70 18.81 16.00 18.39 7.00 18.71 15.54 19.22 19.04 14.50 18.78 16.39 17.85 14.20 18.82 12.50 19.52 15.00 17.89 12.49 16.27 19.89 8.50 18.25 10.00 20.14 12.15 20.31 12.4000 20.34 20.37 20.87 20.52 20.45 20.75 Issue Date 21.06 20.90 20.84 21.25 03-Apr-12 21.12

Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M Outstanding

Value (₦’bn)

Rate (%) 12.0833 19.1300 19.8975 22.2162

Maturity Date

480.13 27-Apr-17 NITTY 20.00 27-Jul-17 Tenor Rate (%) 100.00 31-Aug-17 1M 17.2159 300.00 30-May-18 2M 17.5001 351.30 29-Jun-19 3M 17.7218 233.90 23-Oct-19 6M 18.4334 606.43 13-Feb-20 9M 20.1757 12M 21.3841 210.59 15-Jul-21 605.31 27-Jan-22 719.99 14-Mar-24 NIFEX 421.02 22-Jan-26 75.00Current Price ($/N) 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 NIFEX Rate 326.2500 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 1075.92 18-Jul-34 310.00 18-Mar-36

OBB

16.83

Tenor

O/N

18.08

Spot 7D 14D Offer1M Yield 2M (%) 3M 17.99 6M 1Y 19.15

Tenor

REPO

TTMCall (Yrs) 1M 0.59 3M 6M 0.84

Rate (%)

Bid Yield 15.67 (%) 16.50 18.27 17.00 17.50 19.37

0.94 19.78 19.59 17.84 17.73 NOTE: 1.68 2.77 14.40 14.34 :Benchmarks 3.08 Bond 14.43 14.29 * :Amortising 3.39 Bond 14.46 14.35 µ :Convertible 14.48 AMCON: 4.81 Asset Management14.57 Corporation of Nigeria FGN: Federal Nigeria 5.35 Government of14.61 14.53 FMBN: Federal of Nigeria 7.47 Mortgage Bank 14.72 14.65 IFC: International Finance Corporation 9.33 14.92 14.85 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 14.84 Company14.78 NAHCO: 12.18 Nigerian Aviation Handling 12.66 14.82 14.76 O/N: Overnight UPDC: UAC Property Development 13.16 14.81 Company 14.73 WAPCO:West Cement Company 13.83 Africa Portland 14.79 14.72 17.82 14.68 14.62 19.48 14.93 14.88

6,451.16

Closing Rate ($/N)

Bid Price

313.07 Price 314.87 316.24 318.66 322.07Offer Price 325.73 334.71 98.38 351.60 93.00

98.23 92.85 91.41 91.56 89.92 90.07 103.47 103.62 NA :Not Applicable 81.99Prices 82.29 ^ : Market 102.77Rate Bond 103.07 # : Floating ***: Deferred 99.71 coupon bonds 100.01 DTM: 106.39 Days-To-Maturity 106.69 TTM: Term-To-Maturity 97.69 97.99 ‡ : Bond rating under review 87.99 88.29 †: Bond rating expired 100.85 101.15 N/A :Not Available 86.79in receivership 87.09 {r} :Issuer NGC: Nigeria-German Company 63.87 64.17 UBA: United 72.08 Bank for Africa 72.38 84.11 84.41 84.05 84.35

6406.155565

5,900.62 Coupon (%)

17.25

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

0.60

03-Apr-17

0.36

2.94

19.96

99.06

0.57 0.53 1.27 1.09 Implied Yield 1.10 1.28 15.22 1.29 14.67 1.47 14.71 1.68 14.76 3.16

1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 Implied Portfolio 1.00Price 3.82 135.2067 3.56 149.2183 3.82 110.7277 2.02 129.5748 2.01 1.00 1.30 3.76 2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

0.60 0.59

Sub-National Bonds

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 BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR† Aa-/Agusto; AA-/GCR Bbb+/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro A/Agusto‡ A-/GCR A-/Agusto A-/Agusto Bbb-/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto Bbb+/Agusto A-/GCR

LAGOS *BAYELSA EDO *DELTA Modified Duration Buckets *NIGER *EKITI <3 *NIGER 3<5 *ONDO >5 *GOMBE Market LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 Porfolio Market Value (₦’bn) 14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 968.16 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 1,347.40 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 1,331.34 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 3,646.91 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019

*OSUN LAGOS KOGI *EKITI *NASARAWA *BAUCHI *OYO *BENUE *PLATEAU KOGI *CROSS RIVER

14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 15.50 BAUCHI 9-DEC-2021 16.50 OYO 16-FEB-2022 16.50 BENUE 27-FEB-2022 17.50 PLATEAU 30-MAR-2022 17.00 KOGI II 31-MAR-2022 17.00 CROSS RIVER 27-MAY-2022

19-Apr-10 10.00 57.00 FMDQ FGN 13.75 BOND INDEX 11.33 30-Jun-10 31-Dec-10 14.00 25.00 30-Sep-11 14.00by Mkt 23.44 Total Outstanding Volume Weighting by Weighting Bucket Weighting (₦’bn) Outstanding Volume Value 04-Oct-11 14.00 4.22 09-Dec-11 14.50 9.45 957.73 24.24 26.55 0.24 12-Dec-13 14.00 7.01 1,325.30 33.55 36.95 0.34 14-Feb-12 15.50 18.70 1,667.49 42.21 36.51 0.42 02-Oct-12 15.50 12.55 3,950.52 100.00 22-Nov-12 14.50100.00 80.00 1.00 12-Dec-12 14.75 19.40 27-Nov-13 13.50 87.50 31-Dec-13 15.00 5.00 31-Dec-13 14.50 3.74 06-Jan-14 15.00 3.76 09-Dec-14 15.50 14.37 17-Feb-15 16.50 4.17 27-Feb-15 16.50 4.30 30-Mar-15 17.50 27.10 01-Apr-15 17.00 3.00 27-May-15 17.00 7.34

19-Apr-17 30-Jun-17 31-Dec-17 %30-Sep-18 Exposure_ Mod_Duration 04-Oct-18 09-Dec-18 12.65 12-Dec-18 29.46 14-Feb-19 57.89 02-Oct-19 100.00 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19 27-Nov-20 31-Dec-20 31-Dec-20 06-Jan-21 09-Dec-21 16-Feb-22 27-Feb-22 30-Mar-22 31-Mar-22 27-May-22

1.85 4.18 4.27 2.50 2.53 3.08 3.29 3.32 3.26 6.46 3.41

19.17 23.68 21.55 20.75 INDEX 20.72 22.96 1,230.07 22.68 1,293.63 22.36 1,334.93 19.90 1,233.89 16.45 18.33 15.82 18.29 17.78 16.21 15.95 18.46 15.45 16.97 16.41 17.50

95.20 95.27 91.88 YTD93.94 Return (%) 93.91 91.27 11.0321 90.99 27.7572 91.98 32.5635 94.25 95.27 16.9361 94.68 93.04 90.45 93.82 97.61 98.91 95.49 102.49 101.20 102.09 98.74

NEWS News|SOUTH-WEST

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

APC submits Akeredolu’s name to INEC

Johnchuks Onuanyim and Babatope Okeowo

midst controversy, the National Leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday submitted the name of Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as its candidate for the November 20 governorship election

in Ondo State. The candidature of Akeredolu, who won the party’s primaries conducted on September 3 is being contested by some other aspirants who participated in the primaries. The aspirants, and some APC members from Ondo State had petitioned the APC Appeal Primary Committee, alleging irregularities as result of fake delegates’ list. In its report, the three

N27.89bn The total value of payment channels made by Mobile payments of Nigeria in February 2015. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

man Appeal Committee recommended the cancellation of the primaries based on the findings of fake delegates’ list. The Appeal Primary committee also suggested a fresh primaries within a space of time to meet up with INEC date. But, a National Working Committee member told New Telegraph that the party had submitted the name of Akeredolu to INEC.

The number of refugees and people in refugee-like situation assisted by UNHCR in Tanzania at the beginning of 2010. Source: Blatantworld.com

The NWC member stated that the party based its judgment on the advice given by the National Legal Adviser, Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN. Banire, in his letter addressed to the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had advised the party not cancel the primaries as the recommendations of the Appeal Panel lacks merits. The advice of Banire

N155

The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) of Nasarawa State in July 2016. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

read in part: “On the allegation of fake delegates voting, apart from the oral evidence of the so-called delegates, is there any other credible evidence unequivocally showing that such fake delegates actually participated in the primary election? Did the committee verify the names of such fake delegates on the Register? How did they get the accreditation cards? How did they get into the venue? How did they get the ballot papers? All these queries require answers that the commit-

Ambode: Lagos needs N10trn to fix infrastructural deficit Muritala Ayinla

L-R: Head, Lagos Liaison Office of the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Omolaso Omosehin; Ondo State Representative on the board of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Akinola Fatiregun; Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, at the meeting between the governor and members of the task force on polio eradication and routine immunization in Akure, …on Wednesday

Diarrhorea outbreak kills 6, 45 others on danger list in Lagos Appolonia Adeyemi and Muritala Ayinla

agos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris yesterday raised the alarm over an outbreak of diarhhoea in the state, saying that six people have been killed in some communities in Isolo Local Council Development Area of the state while 45 cases were line-listed by the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health. According to him,”six deaths were recorded among the 45 cases. Majority of the cases did not present with the classical rice-

water stool, rather they presented with a typical diarrhoea and vomiting. “Ano-rectal swabs were collected from 15 cases and taken to the Central Public Health Laboratory, Yaba. “Initially, there were no growths, however continuous culture yielded Vibriocholerae from seven of the 15 samples. The Vibrio cholera was later confirmed to be Ogawa strain.” “Some domestic Wells within the communities are also suspected. Samples of the Abacha salad and well water were collected and sent to the Lagos State Drug Quality Control Labo-

ratory for analysis. “The report of the analysis revealed the presence of Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella species and E.coli in abacha and one of the two Well water samples. “Cholera is an acute diarrhoea disease with or without vomiting caused by bacteria referred to as Vibrocholerae and it is transmitted through ingestion of food or water contaminated with infective faeces. Food or water contamination is usually due to poor sanitation and the source of contamination is usually other cholera cases when their infective watery

stool gets into food or drinking water supplies. “Prevention of cholera can be achieved through basic water sanitation, such as boiling water of unclean sources. Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated.” The Commissioner added that about 75 percent of people infected with V. cholera do not develop any symptoms, though the bacteria are present in their faeces for seven to fourteen 14 days after infection and are shed back into the environment and potentially infect other people.

My 51-year-old marriage with late wife free of quarrel – Abiara

Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

ounder of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Prophet Samuel Abiara, yesterday said that his marriage with his late wife, Prophetess Christiana Aduke, never recorded any quarrel for 51 years of their living together as a couple. The Prophet said this

while speaking with New Telegraph at his Idi Ishin, Ibadan residence, stressing that what kept them going without any rancour was their tenacious hold on to the commandments of God regarding marriage and the fact that they both loved each other genuinely. Disclosing that the deceased was the only child of her mother, Prophet Abiara said that “she used to call me ‘Baba mi (My fa-

ther) and because of that genuine respect, I loved her so much.” He went on: “I missed my wife so much that when she passed on, all the systems in my body broke down and so they advised me to go and rest at the UCH. I thank God for her life of dedication to God and her family. I loved her so much because she was my very able confidant. I got married to her

in 1965, and since then till September 3, 2016 when she passed on, we never had any quarrel. This was possible because we read the word of God in toto. We ate it, chewed it and swallowed it. That is what we depended on. “Achieving this type of feat is difficult for those who are not in Christ. She loved me and never argued with me. If I had not eaten, she would insist I ate.

tee’s report did not answer. “It is also important to determine the source of the delegates’ list. Who or which organ of the party is appropriate to issue delegates’ list for an election of this nature? It is incontrovertible that it is the NWC of the party. If the list emanated from the NWC, it is authentic except if it is proved that the list emanated from some other source or sources which is not the case. The Appeal Committee did not bother to verify or confirm from the NWC the source of the delegates’ list.

agos Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday said that the state government will need about N10trillion if it must fix and sustain infrastructural shortfall for ten years. The governor, who assured residents that he was committed to bridging some identified infrastructural gaps in the state, said that the newly completed 114 road projects in all the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Area were executed to ease transportation in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

Speaking while Commissioning Kalejaiye Road and the late Abibatu Mongaji Legislative Building in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, Governor Ambode, who was represented by Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ganiyu Johnson, an engineer, said N10 trillion will be needed for the next 10 years to build a mega city of his dream with infrastructure. He said: “On the average, I am being modest; we need nothing less than N10trn for the next 10 years to fix the infrastructural deficit, an average of N1trn in a year to just bridge the gap.

Professionals flay CBN’s refusal to cut interest rate Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he Association of Professionals for Promotion of Civic Values (APPOCV), yesterday charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to jump start the nation’s economy with special loans for critical sectors. The group, comprising professionals in various fields said the special loans must be provided for agriculture, manufacturing, housing and exports in order to quickly fix the nation’s economy. In a statement jointly signed by Dr. Kunle Ashi-

mi and Ayo Murtala, President and Secretary respectively, APPOCV decried the state of the economy and enjoined the apex bank to desist from increasing the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). It however pointed out that in view of Nigeria’s inflation, which currently stood at 17.1 per cent, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele should reduce the MPR by 200 basis points, saying that the recession had already caused consumer price index, dwindling foreign reserves and gross domestic product as well as poor standard of living.

Ondo varsity alumni intervenes in varsity, govt impasse Babatope Okeowo Akure

ormer students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA) have expressed deep concern over an, indefinite strike embarked upon by the institution’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for over two months, grounding academic activities. They however pleaded for

truce in the interest of the students and the university community. The Alumni Association, having made various efforts to mediate between the Ondo State Government and the ASUU with a view to ending the ongoing industrial action following the inability of the state to pay salaries spanning five months, urged the two parties to find a way around the situation.

News|SOUTH-EAST

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Biafra: Tension in South-East over sit-at-home order

Rights group: Communities must enact law against child abuse

Charles Onyekwere, Victor Mba and Okegwo Kenechukwu

Uchenna Inya

ension gripped the South-East yesterday over the sit-athome order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the detention of its leaders, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, since October last year. While security has been beefed up in most states of the South East, many residents are also worried about the possible outcome of the protest today. Also, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has backed the protest. Residenets of the com-

mercial city of Onitsha and its environs are living in fear over the rumour making the rounds that all the markets, schools and other activities would be shut down today by IPOB. Most people in the commercial city, who spoke with our correspondents said they will not come out. Meanwhile various markets were very busy as people bought food stuffs to stock for the day. But the police in Onitsha told our correspondent that even though they were aware of the rumour, there was no cause for alarm. The Area Commander of Onitsha Command, Alhaji Abubakar Yarhaya, who spoke with our reporter,

called on the resident of the commercial city to go about their normal businesses, warning that the police authority and other security agencies in the state have also put machinery in place to maintain adequate security in the state. “We are aware of the rumour but there is no cause for alarm. Everybody should go about his or her normal business without fear. The police are on top of the situation, but we cannot reveal our plans until the DDay”. “What I want to assure you is that the police and other security agencies from the top to the rank and file are aware of the situation but the state is not for charlatans.

However, the President of the South East Traders Association, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, told our reporter on the telephone that the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, has issued an order that people should go about their businesses. He said they had a meeting with the governor, but will not disclose what they discussed. “All I know is that I did not order for the closure of the markets. I don’t want to say anything more them this,” he said. When our reporter visited Ose Okwudu Market, the president of the market, Mr. Nnabuike, told our reporter that the market will be opened as early as seven o’clock in the morning.

President, Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (Anpa), Dr Charmaine EmelifeUkabam (third, left) in a handshake with representative of the Holy Child Motherless Babies Home, Rev. Sis. Mary Uzokwe during the donation of a water storage tank to the home by Anpa in Enugu … yesterday.. With her are other members of the association. PHOTO: NAN

Enugu Assembly orders fresh recruitment exercise Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

he plan by the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ESUBEB) to recruit 2,000 teachers to fill up vacancies in its primary education system yesterday suffered a setback, as the state House of Assembly cancelled the exercise and ordered a fresh one. Members of the House of Assembly, who called for the cancellation of the exercise, said it was not conducted in a fool-proof manner which resulted in

complaints from various quarters that there were shoddy deals noticed during the exercise. Not satisfied with the manner the teachers were selected, the House last Tuesday summoned the Chairman of ENSUBEB, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rose Chiama, to appear before it to tell them why the exercise should not be cancelled following the outcry that trailed it. Also not satisfied with their explanations, and the criterion followed in the recruitment, they resolved that the exercise be

cancelled outright and a fresh one embarked upon. The House reached the conclusion following the position of the ENSUBEB Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Chiama that she knew nothing about the exercise and that even the board was not in the know. She said they were not carried along. Asogwa’s explanation that the exercise was well conducted as the governor and even some members of the House of Assembly were privy to the exercise, fell on deaf ears as he gave the impression that the would-be teachers came short of expectation and

failed woefully the interview exams given to them. The ENSUBEB boss, in his defence even explained the good things his board had in mind for the improvement of education at the primary school level, like their plan to provide 13,000 tables and chairs, 1,700 desks and over 70,000 books for the pupils but this could not convince the lawmakers. The House members were furious that the exercise where 21,000 people applied took place just within a week to conclude both exams and interview for those shortlisted.

Collapse of veterinary services responsible for herdsmen attacks –Vet Doctors Kenneth Ofoma

ENUGU

igerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) has attributed the increasing cases of face-offs between farmers and herdsmen, which has resulted in several deaths and destruction of property across the country, to the collapse of

public veterinary services in the country. The veterinary doctors regretted that the failure of government and the general public to understand the need and value of veterinarians was the major challenge facing the practice and responsible for the rising cases of killings by herdsmen. According to them, vet-

erinary doctors in the past serve as the closest people to herdsmen and earned their trust and confidence over the years, but regretted that the dearth of veterinary doctors and collapse of veterinary services have denied them the opportunity to serve as a bridge between the herdsmen and government as well as between herdsmen and farmers.

The association made this known yesterday while briefing journalists on the coming 6th African Veterinary Association (AVA)/53rd Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) Joint Congress tagged “Coal City 2016” slated for Monday October 31, to Friday, November 4, 2016 in Enugu.

ABAKALIKI

human rights group in Ebonyi State, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Centre (HRCRC) yesterday called on communities in the country to develop bye-laws to prevent sexual abuse and violence against children in the state. It also urged relevant ministries and agencies to create awareness on the Child Rights Act enacted in 2010. In a communiqué issued in Abakaliki after its twoday workshop with traditional rulers, community leaders and other relevant stakeholders, the group regretted sexual abuse and violence against children, describing it as unacceptable. It urged the government to authorize health centres

in the state to provide free services to victims of sexual abuses and violence. “Government of the state should appoint more medical doctors and health officers to certify rape cases and victims as required by law for prosecution, especially at local government health facilities, since they are closer to grassroots. “The Ministry ofJustice through the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) should expedite action on cases of sexual abuses and violence against children. “Considering that the abuses against a child is a crime against the state, humanity and an abuse of right of a child, every person who conceals, aids or abets, should be punished,” the communiqué stated. It urged police to expedite action in investigation and arraignment of suspects on cases of child sexual abuse and violence.

Army calls for collaboration with other agencies Pamela Eboh AWKA

he General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday harped on the importance of synergy among the various security agencies in the country in order to effectively combat the myriad of security challenges facing the nation. He made the call in his address at a training put together by the Headquatres of 44 Division Engineers for officers and senior noncommissioned officers at the military Cantonment in Onitsha. While speaking on the theme, “Enhancing Capacity for Asymetric Warfare”, Attahiru, who was represented at the event by BrigGen. Olufemi Akinjobi, said that the synergy if adopted will encourage innovations in tackling the challenges of

asymmetric warfare adopted by militants, insurgents, kidnappers and armed robbers. He noted that the training would rejuvenate personal professional standards to confront contemporary security challenge of asymmetric warfare. The GOC further explained that similar training had resulted in the optimal performance of the “Dragon Engineers” during the “Exercise Crocodile Smile” recently. On his part, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and Operations, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Col. Chris Ataki, said that Nigeria Army is still faced with some asymmetric warfare challenges as well as other challenges which include manpower constraints, inadequate plans and equipment, inadequate capacity, weak research, development base and inadequate intelligence.

Don urges FG to rescind decision to sell refineries, LNLG shares Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

university don, Professor Aloysius Okolie, has urged the Federal Government to rescind its decision to sell some critical assets of the nation’s oil sector. Okolie, a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) stated that in spite the efforts by Federal Government to diversify the country’s economy, oil still remains the main-stay of Nigeria

economy, and selling refineries and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) shares to private hands will amount to mortgaging the future of the country. The university don, who revealed this yesterday in Nsukka while speaking to newsmen, said if government insist that those critical assets in the oil sector must be sold, it should ensure that government retains at least 40% equity share to enable government know how those who bought them would run it.

NEWS | south-south

Military begins manhunt for militants

...As protesting women barricade East-West Road Ola James Warri

he Nigerian Army yesterday began a manhunt for militants in Niger Delta. That was even as scores of women from Iwhre-Nene community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, blocked a part of the East-West road in protest against an alleged intimidation and arrest of indigenes of the community by soldiers.

Security Operatives from 122 Battalion, Nigerian Army, AgbarhaOtor in Ughelli, have been combing communities in Ughelli since Monday, when the militant group claimed it breached the Afiesere-Ekiugbo delivery trunk line operated by NPDC/Shoreline under its Operation Crocodile Tears. Further security sources told New Telegraph that soldiers had succeeded in effecting some arrests that would

lead to the apprehension of the masterminds of the series of attacks on oil pipelines in the area. But as the security agents intensified efforts to pick the perpetrators of the act yesterday, several women trooped to the East-West road leading to Bayelsa and Rivers states in protest against what was described as intimidation and indiscriminate arrests of the men by the soldiers. The protesters carried placard with inscriptions

like; “Nigeria Army and NPDC know who vandalised their pipeline,” “Do not drag our President General and our community’s image into the mud” and “Our President General is not the Chief Security Officer for oil pipelines.” As early as 8am, they stormed the road and disrupted vehicular movement for less than an hour thereby causing a gridlock for road users heading towards Bayelsa and Rivers states from Warri.

A Pupil crossing a swamp off Etete Lane, GwegweObele 'Street' through a wooden foot bridge to School as 2016/2017 Academic Session begins, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State… yesterday.

unmen yesterday attacked the country home of Hon. Chidi Lloyd, a former House Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly during the governorship of Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, from 2007 to 2015. The gunmen, who were dressed in military camouflages, ac-

Port Harcourt

he Rivers State government yesterday said it has appealed to the National Assembly to invite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain why elections into the National Assembly in the state had remained inconclusive more than a year after the lawmakers resumed duty. Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Ipalibo Harry Banigo, who made the appeal, stressed

Warri

member of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), who specialised in killing innocent people and bombing pipelines in Delta creeks and waterways have been arrested by the Nigerian Navy in Warri. Addressing newsmen yesterday, the Commander, NNS Delta, Warri Naval Base, Commodore Joseph Dzunve, said the suspect, Abraham Julius Suru, among others, have been the brain behind the bombings and vandalisation of oil pipelines in the area since 2011. Dzunve said the suspect was arrested on September 20 within Sapele area during an operation by his men, stressing that effort would be intensified to make the area crime free. “It was gratifying to note that crude oil theft and all forms of illegalities hitherto being practiced in the creeks have reduced

Abuja

cording to sources, stormed Lloyd's house in Akpabor community in Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State, on motorbikes and started firing into his compound until the buildings caught fire. The gunmen were said to have driven out of the area the moment the buildings caught fire, leaving those living in the area trapped in the buildings.

Dominic Adewole ASABA

gainst the planned protest of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Delta State Police Command yesterday warned members of the group to stay clear of the state. The command said intelligence report at its disposal says that ‘members of the out-lawed’ group had

Rerun poll: Rivers urges NASS to invite INEC Emmanuel Masha

Ola James

Tunde Oyesina

Gunmen attack house of former Planned protest: Police warn Rivers Assembly leader IPOB to steer clear of Delta Port Harcourt

Navy arrests NDA member in Delta

drastically. We will leave no stone unturned to halt the scourge that is capable of affecting the nation’s economy,” Dzunve further said, insisting that combing the creeks and waterways will be intensified. Fielding questions from newsmen on the next line of action against the suspects, the naval boss declared; “we don’t prosecute suspects, rather we hand them over to the appropriate authorities after carrying out preliminary investigations.” But the suspect, who hails from Ondo State, said he was introduced into the illegal business by late Gafar Polo years back, adding that together, they had taken part in a series of illegal business as well as killing and maiming of people. “We have wreaked havoc on a lot of pipelines and killed a lot of people in the process. I regret my action but I must say that I am not alone in the illegal business,” said the suspected Niger Delta Avengers member.

Bayelsa guber tussle: Appeal Court upholds Dickson's election

PHOTO: NAN

Emmanuel Masha

friday, september 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

the need for the lawmakers to prevail on INEC to come out with a definite date and clean blueprint for the conduct of a free and fair rerun election in the state. She accused INEC of victimizing the state with its delay in conducting the rerun polls, which has now been fixed for October, noting that INEC has demonstrated incompetence and an action that works against the democratic process. Harry-Banigo, who spoke in a statement said: “It is sad, provocative and a constitutional

breach for INEC to relish in lackadaisical disposition and statements that portrays it as being unserious, inept and overwhelmed in conducting elections in Rivers State." She added that only one opposition party out of 30 registered political parties in the state was not complaining about the endless and ‘teleguided postponement,’ just as she regretted that under the current leadership of INEC, the country now boasts of inconclusive and needless postponement of elections.

mobilised to protest in Asaba, the state capital, today. The warning came minutes after a member of the group, popularly known as 'Agu Biafra,' said the rally would feature a clarion call on the United Nations (UN) to assert its charter on the prevailing issue of Biafra. During the group's ‘Free Nnamdi Kanu’ protest early this year, a policeman was killed, another was thrown into the River Niger and one sustained injuries even as some members of the group were reportedly killed in Onitsha, Anambra State by the military. A statement from the state Commissioner of Police, Zanna M. Ibrahim, signed by his Public Relations Officer, Celestina Kalu, said the command would deal ruthlessly with anyone that breached the law. "Intelligence report reaching the Delta State police command says that members of the out lawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are planning to embark on a protest on Friday, September 23, 2016."

he Court of Appeal, Abuja Division yesterday upheld the election of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Timipriye Sylva, had approached the court to challenge the decision of the governorship election tribunal which dismissed his petition. The full panel of the court in a unanimous decision resolved all the five issues raised by Sylva and the APC in favour of Dickson and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The presiding judge, Justice Jinmi Bada, who delivered the lead judgement held that Sylva and his party had failed to prove the allegations of corruption, non-compliance, gross violation of the electoral act and other malpractices in the conduct of the election. The court further held that the foundation of the ground upon which the appellants based his case that the December 6, 2015 election was unilaterally cancelled by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was eroded having participated actively in the rescheduled election of January 9, 2016, adding that it was established be-

yond doubt that the decision in shifting December 6, 2015 election to January 9, 2016 was taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and stakeholders. The court also held that the burden of proof rest on the appellant who will lose if no adequate evidence was not placed before the court to prove his allegations of the election that brought Dickson to power. "The contention of the appellant has no merit. They were expected to leave evidence to prove their claim that the election was marred by irregularities, electoral malpractices, allocation of votes and gross violation of electoral act. These allegations were not proved by the appellants. "I am in total agreement with the judgement of the lower tribunal because its decision was based on the evidence placed before it," the court held. Justice Bada further held that the tribunal was right in reaching its conclusion. The court later dismissed the petition in its entirety for lacking in merit. Sylva and APC had challenged the election of Dickson at the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on the grounds that the governor was not lawfully returned through majority votes by INEC.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ibrahim Abdul Yola

he immediate past Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala Ngilari, arraigned before the Yola High Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been granted bail. Ngillari was granted bail along with

News|NORTH

Court grants ex-Adamawa governor bail the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Sanda Lamurde, who served under his administration. Ngilari, Welye and Lamurde were arraigned before the court on a 17-count charge of criminal conspiracy contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 97 of

$0.17m

The capital importation of the Marketing sector of Nigeria in Q3 2013. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

the same code. The accused persons were alleged to have processing contract while in office in 2015 for the purchased of 25 unit of cars valued at N167 million without following due process. But, the accused persons had pleaded not guilty to all the count charge.

$20.7m

The total pay (including salary/winnings & endorsements) of Justin Verlander (Baseball) for 2015. Source: Forbes.com

In his ruling on the bail applications, Justice Nathan Musa, said the prosecutor had not provided enough reasons why the two accused persons should not be granted bail, and hence granted the bail application. Musa noted that the crime committed by the Ngilari and

446,300

The total area (in sq. km) of land of Morocco. Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

Lamurde was bailable and that their release on bail would not affect the EFCC investigations as the commission had already concluded investigations on the matter. Ngilari was granted bail in the sum of N100 million with a surety in like sum, who must be man of repute and

Abubakar Abdul Birnin Kebbi

urses and midwives at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Birnin Kebbi, are at loggerheads with the management of the centre over an implementation of “no work, no pay” rule allegedly introduced by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital. In a communique issued after an emergency meeting of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Kebbi State chapter, held at the Conference Hall of the hospital and signed by the Secretary of the association, Comrade Mohammed Usman, the union accused

Taraba communal conflicts displace 46,000 people Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

o fewer than 46,000 people were said to have been displaced from their communities in Taraba State by ethno-religious and communal conflicts, which occurred in the state in recent years. The United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNCHR) dis-

closed this yesterday in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, during a workshop, organised for community stakeholders by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in partnership with the UNHCR. The Head, UNHCR Taraba Office, Mr. Daniel Bisu, who disclosed this, said currently there were 46,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

across the state, who fled their communities as a result of the ethnoreligious and communal crises in the state. He said the IDPs were scattered across various Local Government Areas in the state, adding that thousands of them were taking refuge at some specific IDP camps opened for them in the state. Speaking at the workshop, the Permanent

Secretary of Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Bello Yero, said the state governor, Darius Ishaku had been providing the IDPs with relief materials and other needs. According to him, the governor had restored peace in the state and is working towards the safe and smooth return of the IDPs to their communities and homes.

Buhari dragged to court over Buratai to criminals: Get ministerial appointment out of Benue Muhammed Bashir Lokoja

lawyer has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before a Federal High Court, sitting in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, over his alleged failure to appoint a minister from the state to replace the former Minister of State for Labour, the late James Ocholi in his cabinet. The lawyer, Daniel Makolo, said the undue delay over the appointment of a minister from Kogi state by President Buhari to replace the late minister, was deny Kogi State representation in the federal

cabinet. In a motion on notice filed before the court yesterday in Lokoja, pursuant to Order 34 Rule (1) and Order 5 Rule (1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, Makolo queried the absence of Kogi representative in the Federal Executive Council meeting since March. In the Suit Number FHC\L\CS\44\2016, the lawyer particularly faulted the failure of the President to appoint a replacement for the late Ocholi (SAN) former Minister of State for Labour who died in a ghastly auto crash on March 6 along his wife and son.

Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

he Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has ordered criminal elements and hoodlums parading themselves as herdsmen to leave Benue State before the army launched another attack against them. Buratai, who gave the order on the occasion of a cocktail party and command performance, held in his honour at the new Banquet Hall of the Government House, Makurdi, the state capital, yesterday said the next military action against the criminal elements would be

devastating. He said the army would not relent until total peace was restored in Benue State, even as the Army Chief said that a Commander had been deployed to head the new Brigade in the state. He explained that the Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME); Commander of the 72 Special Forces Battalion; the Provost of the Naval School of Logistics and the Brigade Commander would all coordinate the provision of security in the state, while reiterating that criminals would no longer have a hiding place in the state.

means with landed property in Yola metropolis and swear to an affidavit before the court. Lamurde was granted bail in the sum of N50 million with surety in like sum, who must also be a man of repute and means with landed property in Yola and swear to an affidavit before the court. The case was adjourned to October 10 for further hearing.

Kebbi: FMC nurses, midwives at loggerheads with management

A cross-section of women among 500 newly recruited locals as members of the Civilian JTF being commissioned by Governor Kashim Shettima in Bama to help the military against female Boko Haram fighters… on Wednesday

the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Abdullahi Ibrahim for surcharging and denying members of the association several entitlements including uniform and teaching allowances. The health workers’ union also accused the Medical Director of slashing a considerable percentage of their salaries for participating in the last nationwide strike by the union. It further explained that the CMD ordered that the finance department of the hospital should deduct seven days salary from their July salary of the striking nurses and midwives unmindful of the fact that the strike was called by the national body of the union.

Kano market leaders petition EFCC over N700m scam

Muhammad Kabir KANO

he Board of Trustees of the Kano Traders’ Union has petitions the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N700 million fraud belonging to the union, said to have been misappropriated by the sacked leadership of the Kano Textile Market Association. In fact, the board of trustees has already dissolved the leadership of the association, led by Alhaji Liti Kulkul for several offences including their refusal to vacate office after the expiration of their

tenure since 2015 and an alleged selling of the association’s plots of land and other valuables. Similarly, the board of trustees under the leadership of Alhaji Bature AbdulAziz has obtained a court order restraining the Kulkul dissolved leadership from tampering with the assets, finances and property of Kantin Kwari Textile Market pending the determination of a motion on notice. The court order also restrained the sacked executive members from further disposing of the property of the association pending the hearing of the motion on notice.

Kogi rural areas to witness speedy development – ALGON Zacchaeus Ozovehe Lokoja

he Kogi State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has disclosed that there would be no viable excuse for underdevelopment of their areas under the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello. Speaking to journalists shortly after the Supreme Court verdict upholding the electoral victory of Governor Bello yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital,

the ALGON Chairman, Alhaji Taufiq Isa said with the “New Direction Blueprint” of the Bello’s administration, which has successfully blocked the financial loopholes, the 21 Local Government Areas of the state is poised for speedy infrastructural revamping. The ALGON chair, who described journalists as partners in the wheel of progress and development of any society, challenged them on the need to objectively reflect the programmes of the government.

NEWS

WORLD \ NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FG spends N150bn in nine Afghanistan signs deal with years on MDGs projects militant Hekmatyar Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

he Federal Gover nment has disclosed that it has spent N150.8 billion on various education projects across the country under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) between 2006 to 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Programme Coordinator in the Federal Ministry of Education, Hajia Khadijat Liman, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a pre-

sentation at a task team implementation meeting on SDGs. The coordinator listed the various interventions on education under the MDGs, which transited to SDGs in December 2015, to include training of teachers, the release of N1 billion to tackle mass illiteracy, construction of toilets and bore holes in unity schools, among others as projects executed during those years. In a keynote address, Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said the meeting was convened to review the

implementation of SDGs in line with identified objectives. The Minister warned that the Federal Government would no longer condone any form of irregularities in the implemention of SDGs projects, adding that the current economic realities in the nation demand judicious use of available resources. He said:"Consequently, all projects executed by the Federal Ministry of Education will henceforth be subjected to rigorous monitoring at different stages.

he Afghan government has signed a peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami, the country's second largest militant group. Representatives of the movement and Afghan officials signed the accord in a ceremony shown live on TV. The deal grants impunity to the group's leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Islamist warlord accused of numerous atrocities. He was not present at the signing, which is intended

to pave the way for him to return from hiding to Kabul. Mohammad Amin Karim, head of the insurgent delegation, was present at the ceremony. He said: "This is not just a peace deal between Hezbe-Islami and the government of Afghanistan, it is a beginning of a new era of peace all around the country." Under the terms of the deal, Mr Hekmatyar agrees to accept the constitution and abandon violence. He must still sign the accord

with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for it to come into force. The two sides have still to agree when and where that will happen. Mr. Hekmatyar is a former Afghan prime minister, warlord and one of the most controversial figures in the country's modern history. He was one of seven anti-Soviet faction chiefs who led a large number of mujahideen fighters in the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

NERC asks electricity workers to be partners Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

he Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has charged the Performance managers of operating companies in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to see themselves as crucial to solving the country’s electricity challenges.  The Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, gave the charge at the opening session of a two-day training organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for performance managers of licensed com-

panies in NESI.  The Acting Chairman, who was represented by the General Manager, Legal, Licensing and Enforcement, Mrs. Olufunke Dinneh, said: “You should no longer count yourselves among Nigerians who are lamenting the challenges in the power sector but you should brace up to fix the sector.” Akah, in a statement from the Head, Public Affairs Department, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi, in Abuja, told the participants at the training held at the Commission’s headquarters, Abuja, that some Nigerians had expressed

reservations over possible outcome of the privatisation but that the Federal Government in mitigating such fears created the Commission to formulate operating standards and codes.  Other measures according to him were the mandate given operating companies to have performance managers to monitor performance agreements signed with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) when the companies were being privatised as well as adhere to key performance indicators (KPI) with the Commission.

Condition of service: Union gives SAHCOL 14 days ultimatum Wole Shadre

he National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, yesterday issued the management of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, SAHCOL, 14-day ultimatum over its refusal to review condition of service of staff. The union warned that if the management refused to discuss with it with 14 days, it would ground the handling ac-

tivities nationwide. A petition addressed to the Managing Director of the ground handling company with the reference numberNUATE.GS/ MD.SAHCOL/ENP/0042016, dated September 19, 2016, and signed by its General Secretary, Olayinka Abioye, accused the management of avoiding the issue. The union also copied the State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour and Empowerment, Na-

tional Officer and SAHCOL NUATE members nationwide. The petition said, “Given the mandate of the National Executive Council, NEC, at a meeting in Ilorin and matters arising therefrom, notice is hereby given your management that a 14day ultimatum be given your window to convoke a meeting towards the commencement of the review of staff conditions of service.

Reps urge FG to revive ailing companies Philip Nyam

Abuja

he House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Industry to liaise with relevant Ministries,Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government towards revitalising all ailing industrial core projects across the country.  This was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored under

matters of urgent public importance by Hon. Chris Emeka Azubogu (PDP,Anambra).   In his debate on the motion, Azubogu noted that in the quest for the industrialization of Nigeria, past governments from Independence had made several policies expected to bring about rapid economic growth and development.  The lawmaker also noted that policies made by past administrations have not turned the nation's economy into an

industrial/manufacturing economy due to its inconsistencies.  He expressed worries that these policies as propagated by governments instead of increasing the nation's industrial capacity had rather turned it into an import dependent and consumer nation.   He expressed further worries that many agricultural produce, solid minerals, gaseous minerals are exported as primary raw materials with no additional value by the government.

The signing ceremony was carried live on television

UN rights chief raps Congo over protesters' deaths

he UN human rights chief strongly condemned this week's fatal shooting of antigovernment protesters in Democratic Republic of Congo and urged the government yesterday to seek dialogue with the opposition. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said the death toll from clashes between protesters and security forces in the capital Kinshasa on Monday had risen to at least 50. The government has said 32 people died. Congolese authorities

have said elections due in November cannot be held until at least next year due to logistical problems. President Joseph Kabila denies opponents' charges of trying to cling to power beyond a two-term limit in the vast central African country, a producer of gold, diamonds and copper. "The writing is on the wall and the authorities need to pull back from their extremely confrontational position and build bridges with the opposition," Zeid said in a statement. "Some ci-

vilians were killed by gunshots to the head or chest and I strongly condemn the clearly excessive use of force by defense and security forces against demonstrators in the capital," he said in Geneva. Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende criticized French President Francois Hollande for comments in New York Tuesday in which he blamed authorities for the deaths and urged them not to delay the election.

Syrian conflict: Warplanes set rebel-held Aleppo ablaze

ebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo saw the heaviest air strikes in months overnight, activists say, as a week-old truce collapsed. An AFP news agency journalist reported that his entire street in the Bustan al-Qasr district was left burning after warplanes dropped incendiary bombs. At least 13 people, including women and children, are believed to have died. Fighting also erupted in the southern

district, where rebels are attempting to break a siege by government forces. Aleppo, once Syria's commercial and industrial hub, has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with the government controlling the west and rebels the east. Two million people are caught up in the battle for the city, and getting aid to them had been a key part of the cessation of hostilities deal brokered by the United States and Russia. However, no deliveries have taken place so far.

A deadly attack on an aid convoy and Syrian Arab Red Crescent warehouse outside Aleppo on Monday, for which Washington and Moscow have blamed each other, prompted the UN to temporarily suspend deliveries across the country. But following the pause a convoy yesterday entered Muadhamiya, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, where some 40,000 people are living under siege, the UN tweeted. A spokesman hoped the UN could reach Aleppo "in the near future".

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport News Dangote sets 4-year target

Did you know?

Sport

That the last two London derby matches between Arsenal and Chelsea produced three red cards, all to Arsenal players.

International Messi out for 3 weeks

46 47

ZAMBIA CLASH

Ighalo out, Omeruo, Iwobi return Rohr extends invitation to Success, Esiti Mikel, Musa, Iheanacho lead Eagles

Emmanuel Tobi

drawn criticism was reportedly ommitted from the squad that will face Zambia because he will attend his father’s burial in Nigeria on Saturday, October 8 . He has been excused. Injured KAA Gent of Belgium striker Moses Simon is listed after assuring Coach Rohr that he has started treatment and would be fully healed well ahead of the encounter. All invited players are expected to start arriving in Abuja as from Sunday, October 2.

uper Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr, has dropped Watford striker Odion Ighalo from the squad that will face Zambia’s Chipolopolo in the next month’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier billed for the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. The German, on Thursday, invited Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi, Manchester City youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho, and 21 other players for the tie. The team is dominated by the players that defeated Invited Players Tanzania 1-0 in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Goalkeepqualifying match in ers: Carl Ikeme Uyo on September ( Wo l v e r h a m p 3 with Mikel, assiston Wanderers, tant skipper Ahmed England); EmMusa, goalkeeper manuel Daniel Carl Ikeme, defender (Enugu RangElderson Echiejile ers); Ikechukand midfielder Ogewu Ezenwa (FC nyi Onazi leading the IfeanyiUbah) pack. Defenders: Leon There is also the incluBalogun (FSV Mainz Rohr sion of Alanyaspor of Tur05, Germany); William key defender Kenneth Omeruo, Paul Ekong (Haugesund FC, Belgium –based midfielder Ander- Norway); Kenneth Omeruo (Alanson Esiti and English Premiership yaspor FC, Turkey); Jamiu Alimi duo Isaac Success and Alex Iwobi. (Kano Pillars); Abdullahi Shehu The Watford striker whose (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus); performance for the Eagles have Musa Muhammed (Istanbul Basak-

sehir, Turkey); Elderson Echiejile (Standard Liege, Belgium), Kingsley Madu (SV Zulte Waregem, Belgium) Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Chelsea FC, England); Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (KRC Genk, Belgium); Nosa Igiebor (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel); Anderson Esiti (KAA Gent, Belgium) Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Leicester City, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City, England); Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium); Victor Moses (Chelsea FC, England); Isaac Success (Watford FC, England); Brown Ideye (Olympiacos FC, Greece); Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC, England)

Mikel

Iheanacho

Iwobi

Moses

Esiti

Ighalo (left)

Success

LMC petitions IG over illegal use of officers

T The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

he League Management Company on Thursday insisted that its officers were never declared wanted by the police and can therefore not be on the run because there are laid out and well known procedures the Security operatives adopt in declaring a person wanted. The LMC made the declaration in the aftermath of a raid by some policemen at its office in Abuja purportedly seeking to arrest and imprison its Chairman, Shehu Dikko, and Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar, on the orders of Justice I.I Kunda of the Jos Division of the Plateau State High Court. The LMC said it was aware of a court order

from the said judge but added that it had appealed the order and filed a motion for stay of execution. A statement from the company yesterday clarified that in addition to filing a formal protest to the Office of the Inspector General Of Police, it had verified from the police command that at no time did it declare the LMC officials wanted. The LMC said: “For the avoidance of doubt, there are spelt out procedures for declaring a person wanted by the Police. Courts do not declare persons wanted but if a court wishes to compel the appearance of a person before it, it issues a bench warrant directing the police to arrest and produce the person before it on a

given date. “The police or other law enforcement agencies can declare a person wanted if they find reasons to do so, particularly if the person is a suspect in the commission of a crime and is on the run. In other words, the assistance of the public at large is being sought to ap-

Dikko

prehend such a person. “Such declaration will be made by formal public pronouncement by the police and not a handful of people.”. In the petition filed by LMC Lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) noted that, “although there was no direction by the court to the Inspector General of Police to arrest our clients and take them to prison, we still felt it is necessary to make the position of the law on the point clear so that some operatives of the force are not misled by the applicant in the suit to do anything which may conflict with the settled principles of law as stated above.” The LMC said it would continue to carry on its lawful business and operations in spite of the desperate efforts by some to intimidate it and bend it’s will against the Framework and Rules of the NPFL.

SPORT NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ugwuanyi to Rangers: It’s trophy or nothing Charles Ogundiya

nugu State governor, Lawrence Ugwuanyi, has charged players and officials of Rangers International to win the Nigeria Professional Football League title. With two matches to go, Rangers are toping the league with 57 points and will be taking on relegated Ikorodu United in Abeokuta this weekend. According to a report, the team will be arriving Lagos enroute Abeokuta on Friday (today), aboard Airpeace ahead of the must-win match. The governor also motivated the players by giving them double allowance for the trip and as well promised to pay double match bonus if they eventually beat Ikorodu United. Ugwuanyi recently set up a committee ahead of the last two matches as he said nothing but the trophy would make him happy. Commissioner of Youth and Sports, Charles Ndukwe, is the chairman of the committee with the likes of acting chairman of the club, Barrister Oruru, three local government chairmen and other dignitaries as members.

LMC boosts Women League with N10m T

he League Management Company has offered the sum of N10million to boost the Nigeria Women Football League. The provision of the money, according to thenff.com, is to ensure a smooth run of the NWFL second round of the season as there have been hitches,with match officials being owed, as well as some clubs expelled from the league due to their failure to honour three matches, which was as a result of inadequate financial support. Chairman of the ad-hoc committee of the NWFL, Babagana Kalli, has expressed his gratitude to the LMC and the NFF as regards the development. “We are happy for this lifeline from the League Management Company. This gesture has come as part of the NFF’s promise to take the Women’s League, and the entire women football sector, to a new level”, he said. “We want to commend the NFF and the LMC for this, and I can assure you that the second round of the season will commence this weekend, with all the teams that started the term”. In addition, all the teams earlier expelled have now been recalled to the league by the ad-hoc committee of the NWFL. The teams are Nasarawa Amazons, Tokas Queens and Capital City Doves (Premier League) and Cerezo Queens and State House Queens (Pro League).

Dangote sets 4-year target ss

Arsenal striker, Alex Iwobi

Adeolu Johnson

frica’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is plotting to takeover Arsenal Football Club in the next four years with a vision to turn the club to the best in the world. Dangote, according to Daily Mail, said: “It’s not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual. “It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I’ve run a successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team. “Right now, with what

Plots Arsenal takeover

we’re facing, over £15billion of projects, I cannot do both.” Dangote attempted to buy shares in Arsenal six years ago. The Nigerian tried to take over the 15 per cent owned by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who eventually sold her stake to Stan Kroenke. If Dangote did manage to purchase Arsenal he would become the first African owner of an English Premier League team, but he may have to wait a little longer than four years to fulfil his ambition of owning the Gunners. Dangote lost £3.4billion last year due to the depreciation of Nigeria’s currency,

versity of Ilorin, Kwara State. Athletes started arriving on Monday to conclude registration for the one-week event. The Director Grassroots Sports and Assistant Director of the Local Organizing Committee, Dr Ademola Areh, said that 33 states were registered during the delegation registration meeting while Katsina and Edo states were yet to register for the games. 1,600 athletes will take part in the one-week youth games which is aimed at discovering new talents. There will be competitions in 13 sports including athletics, badminton, tennis, table tennis, scrabble, cricket, para table tennis, para athletics, karate, wrestling, judo, taekwondo and chess. There will be demonstration sports in rowing and yatching as well as roller skating. The opening ceremony takes place on Saturday at the University of Ilorin Sports complex.

while Dangote Cement’s stock is down by nearly five per cent this year. The 59-year-old, who is believed to be worth around £8.3billion, has spoken of his interest to take over Arsenal on a number of occasions but said that he needed to overcome ‘challenging headwinds’ in his other business ventures before focusing on buying the Gunners. “Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we Emmanuel Tobi have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out he 10th edition of the the way first and start having Aspire Football Dreams tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on Top 50 camp on Wednesday this.” Dangote said. kicked off at the Legacy pitch, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos with players battling to impress the foreign scouts on ground to make the final selection. Ugochi Akwueze According to the coordinator of the Academy in ssistant coach of the Super Nigeria, Colonel Sam AhFalcons, Ann Chiejinne, medu, the scouts are in the has said that Nigeria’s team is country to pick the best legs more experienced than their that would join the academy group contenders, hence, has in Doha and other centers an edge in the upcoming Africa across the globe. Women’s Nations Cup. Ahmedu revealed that the The former Falcons’ goalie Aspire Football Dreams has said she was happy with the facilitated a working relationgroup and is certain that they ship with the Nigeria Football will come out of the prelimiFederation, saying Nigerian nary stage and defend the title, teams have camped at the Asgiven the array of players that pire Academy prior to interhave been invited for the tournational championships. nament. “So far over 30 youngsters “I thank God for the group, I from Nigeria have benefitted believe we’ll be able to progress from this project since its infrom the first round, because of ception and some have gone where we are, we are nine times to play for the Golden Eaglets African champions,” she told and Flying Eagles at various New Telegraph. times. Notwithstanding, Chiejine “Players such as John said the Falcons would not Felagha, Samson Jegede, underrate any of the teams as Francis Uzoho and Funsho preparations are seriously beBamgboye, who assisted Niing made to ensure the Falcons geria win the U-17 World Cup retain their title. in Chile in 2015. “None of the teams is a “The NFF has remained pushover as we have Ghana our backbone with additional one of the strongest. We also support from the Ministry of have Kenya and Mali they are Youth and Sports based on also very good. So we do not the support they have continhave to relax, we have to be ued to give this project every careful,” she said year,” he noted.

Chiejinne: Ghana, Mali no threat to Falcons A

Super Falcons striker, Desire Oparanozie

National Youths Games start Saturday in Ilorin he National Youth Games T will start on Saturday at the sports complex of the Uni-

Aspire Top 50 camp kicks off in Lagos T

News 47 INTERNATIONAL SPORT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, JANUARY 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, 29, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Schmeichel doubtful for Leicester

Mourinho hits out at Man United’s critics

ose Mourinho has hit out at ‘football Einsteins’ following criticism of Manchester United’s recent poor form. The Portuguese saw his side lose consecutive games against rivals Manchester City, Europa League opponents Feyenoord and Watford before returning to winning ways with the midweek EFL Cup success at Northampton. Mourinho, a Champions League winner with Porto and Inter Milan told MUTV: “We had a bad week. I know that some football Einsteins, they tried to delete 16 years of my career and delete an unbelievable history of Manchester United Football Club and focus on a bad week and three bad results. “But that’s the new football - it’s full of Einsteins.” Mourinho, who began his Old Trafford career with four wins in a row, hopes to put the sticky spell behind him when he leads his team into three successive home games, starting with the Premier League clash against champions Leicester in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Schmeichel

eicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has suffered an injury scare and is a doubt for the Foxes’ trip to Manchester United. The 29-year-old has a muscle strain after missing the last two games with concussion and was forced out

of training on Thursday. Ron-Robert Zieler has deputised for the Denmark international in their 3-0 Premier League win over Burnley and Tuesday’s 4-2 extra-time EFL Cup defeat to Chelsea. “I’ve supported United for as long as I can re-

member. My uncle and my friends were Reds and I followed them” - Danny Simpson Boss Claudio Ranieri said: “Today he made some (of the) training session but he felt a little pain to a muscle so tomorrow I will check.

“I don’t know now (exactly what the issue is). He said to me ‘I feel something’ and I said ‘OK “I am not a doctor but the concussion is OK. Let me check (on him) tomorrow. If it is nothing serious then he will come and play, if not he will stay at home.”

Messi out for 3 weeks

ionel Messi will be out for three weeks after suffering a groin strain as he limped off in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid. The five-time World Player of the Year missed Argentina’s World Cup qualifier with Venezuela earlier this month due to the problem and only started Barca’s shock 2-1 defeat to

Mourinho

Federer leads Forbes’ list in endorsements R

oger Federer’s commercial appeal is without equal. The Swiss star leads all professional athletes with $60 million earned in off-court endorsements according to The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2016 list compiled by Forbes. The 35 year old is No. 4 in total 2016 earnings on the Forbes list with $67.8 million, trailing only footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and NBA star LeBron James. Federer is joined by four other ATP World Tour players in the Top 100. Novak Djokovic is No. 6 ($55.8M), Rafael Nadal is No. 21 ($37.5M), Kei Nishikori is No. 29 ($33.5M) and Andy Murray is No. 74 ($23M). Federer’s commercial appeal endures despite an injury-marred season. The Basel native compiled a 21-7 record at tour-level in 2016, but missed over two months due to knee surgery following the Australian Open and was forced to cut his year short after Wimbledon.

Federer

Messi (left)

Alaves 10 days ago on the bench as coach Luis Enrique bedded him back into action gently. After an innocuous tussle with Atletico’s Diego Godin in the second half of Wednesday night’s La Liga clash at the Nou Camp, the 29-year-old went down holding his groin, and was eventually brought off looking distraught. Messi was withdrawn in the 59th minute at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night Barcelona confirmed on their Twitter account after the game that the Argentine will be out for three weeks with a groin strain in his right leg. “To lose Messi means that football loses,” Enrique said after the draw. “With Messi we are stronger, but we will continue being strong” Messi’s absence had an immediate impact as Angel Correa scored for Atletico just a minute after his international teammate went off to level the scores at 1-1.

Chamberlain: We must control temper against Chelsea A

lex Oxlade-Chamberlain has stressed Arsenal cannot afford to have anyone sent off against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has urged his teammates to keep their emotions in check when they face Chelsea at the weekend. The Gunners had Ga-

briel and Santi Cazorla sent off when they were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last term, while Per Mertesacker received his marching orders in the 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium. Oxlade-Chamberlain has acknowledged it will be a “big clash” but is adamant Arsenal cannot afford to have someone sent off again.

“It would be nice to keep 11 men on the pitch against Chelsea this time round,” Oxlade-Chamberlain told Arsenal Player. “I know it sounds funny but generally speaking in the last few games against them, it is always a big clash with a lot of emotions and maybe some mind games.

Bojan

Bojan Krkic: FIFA denies Serbia nationality switch

IFA has rejected a request from Serbia’s football association to allow Stoke striker Bojan Krkic to switch nationality and play for them instead of Spain. Catalonia-born Bojan has only represented Spain for 25 minutes, earning a solitary cap in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia in 2008 - but this was enough to make him ineligible for the country of his father’s birth. Fifa only allows for the transferring of national allegiance in cases where a player has not participated in an A-grade competitive game for the first country. The 26-year-old is unlikely ever to pull on a Spain shirt again and it was hoped FIFA might make an exemption in this case, given Bojan’s limited playing time with La Roja. The closest FIFA has come to compromising it’s fairly rigidly enforced policy on switching nationality is the case of Thiago Motta - once of Brazil, now of Italy.

Sanctity of Truth

On Marble

You can't buy the love you want, you can't sell your love. Love is given by those who deserve it. —Jayson Engay

Emeka Obasi

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

N150

Rangers: Arranging antelopes' anthem

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That’s how heartaches are made They told me I was such a fool to love you They say You are the kind who’d never be true That soon the day would come And I’d be the sorry one But I said I was not afraid… That’s how heartaches are made.

emember the above lyrics? I heard it again from my collection of old blues and it sounded just perfect for what I want to write today. I have often wondered at certain relationships and marriages. I have found out that a lot of times a hitherto sensible woman loses her senses and starts an affair with a man whom you’d never have imagined her touching with a 10-foot pole. Not only does she start an affair, she starts getting serious with a man who obviously doesn’t think she’s anything special. More than once I ‘ve seen nice girls from good homes in relationships that are obviously not going anywhere. I ‘ve seen a 32-year-old successful career girl dating a man who beats her, believing that he’d change after marriage. I told her a man is capable of only changing for the worst after leaving the altar. Of course, women change too. But it’s dumb to state your happiness on the whims of a man. Maybe a psychologist or psychiatrist can explain it, but I know for sure something is wrong with the mind of some women – women who consciously look for trouble and pain, the type of a pain only a man can inflict. If a man is a thief, why should a woman think a few words exchanged in the name of marriage vows will make him change his strictly-fingered ways? If a man will sleep with any woman available, sane or mad, I don’t see how a gold wedding band will change him. Look at Whitney Houston, with all her great looks, talents and upbringing, the best she could do for herself was Bobby Brown. She made more money than him. She had more talent. She had better looks. Her future even once looked brighter than Bobby’s. Yet she put her good sense in storage and married a man who christened his child from another woman only weeks before their wedding. Did Whitney think an expensive wedding would make an honest man of Bobby? She even named a poor innocent baby after Bobby! Men like Bobby should be left to women who can deal with them. There are so many women here and abroad who are like Whitney. They pick the wrong men and subject their own lives to pain, pain and more pain in the hands of men who don’t deserve them in the first place. And if all that starts well ends badly. It’s only logical that all that starts badly will end badly. There is no magic that can make a man known for his lack of decency and decorum change. Teni and her husband, Ben, had been married only two years when they went their separate ways. Of course, all through their turbulent courtship, Teni’s friends declared Ben was way beyond mending. Only a woman whose head needed to be examined would marry him. As far as they were concerned, Teni was just having some kind of queer fun. It wasn’t that she needed Ben’s money, not that Ben made

Adam’s Apple

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Hey babe, he's as free as a He-goat PHOTO: WWW. hershykiss.files.wordpress.com

much anyway but the guy is one great looker. Ben is one of those guys you see and you say to yourself “no man has a right to be this good looking”. He has a great shape and height, with all the muscles rippling in the right places. And what’s more, Ben is very much aware of his good looks. Maybe, that is why he lives the kind of life he lives. He just can’t resist the bevy of ladies who flock around him.

He is like a man who finds himself in such a huge fortune and goes crazy over it all. He doesn’t even seem to have special preferences. From a 15-year-old schoolgirl to a 40-year-old married woman, every skirt is game for Ben. So it was all a kind of wonder when Tina fell for and started dating Ben. Tina, the ever-sensible, serious minded girl. The girl who stuck to her books when her friends were worrying about their

looks. She even graduated from Medical School at the age of 21. Tina was the dream of many parents until she met Ben. In spite of Tina’s serious disposition to the relationship, Ben did not go off his girls. He didn’t make any secret of his philandering ways. It didn’t matter to him, whether Tina’s friend saw him with his sugar mummies or her sisters saw him with his teeny-boppers girlfriends. He even went as far as going to see Tina in the hospital where she worked, with his girlfriends under one lie or the other. And each time Tina made her feelings known to Ben over his loose ways, there was always an almighty row, with Tina hoping that would be the end of it all. But they always mended fences and resumed the affair. Even then, nobody ever thought Tina would go as far as marrying Ben. Maybe she thought marriage would change Ben’s wild ways. Whoever heard of a leopard changing its spots! Tina and Ben got married, amidst fun fare. Anybody who didn’t know where the couple was coming from envied them that day. Ben was the perfect groom whispering, kissing and cuddling his bride. But then, he is a practiced hand and knew more than less wayward husbands how to make even the most sensible woman become putty in his hands. The first few months Tina tried as much as possible to play the good wife. She really tried not to complain about the stream of girls that Ben led into their home. But she went berserk the afternoon she came home unexpectedly and found Ben in bed, their matrimonial bed, with their neighbour’s niece. She raised hell and created a horrible scene, holding on to the towel Ben had hastily tied round his waist! Up till today, people are still wondering where Tina got the power to hold Ben down in such vice-like grip. Maybe because Ben was shocked. He never thought Tina had it in her to create a scene like that, shouting like a fishwife. And that was the end of the marriage. If the good Lord intervenes of course, the rate of divorce will decrease considerably if women go into marriages with their eyes open, senses intact and alarm system working, instead of relying on their hearts.

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