Monday, june 15, 2015 2 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

Sanctity Of Truth

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Monday, June 15, 2015

Vol. 2 No. 481

/newtelegraph

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

12 pages of international new york times NEW TELEGR

Fuel subsidy rises to N2.064bn daily Adeola Yusuf

he Expected Open Market Price (EOMP) of petrol, as calculated by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulating Agency (PPPRA),

has hit N138.61 per litre, pushing daily subsidy on fuel to N2.0644 billion. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, relies on importation for most of its fuel needs due to the inefficiency

of its four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna. The OMP, which according to the PPPRA is the landing cost and the margins, has N51.61 difference (subsidy) between it and the regulated

price of N87 per litre. The PPPRA template, last updated on June 11 on the agency’s website, was based on the landing cost of N123.12 per litre.

}23

APH MONDAY , JUNE 15, 2015

Money Line

CBN to banks:

Float fraud

desks

Stock Watc

May & Baker: Expans investors' confide ion spurs nce

Insurance

Experts to Buhari : Invest more insurance, in pension

Business

Interview

CBN’s shippin g policy harmfu Nigeria's econom l to y

42-43

What's neW s

Why MTN may discard Visaf acquisition one –Investigation

Plans by MTN Nigeria to acquire Visafone Commu nications Limited may rocks as one be heading for the of the attracti the Code Division ons to (CDMA) operato Multiple Access forthcoming, r appears not New Telegra learnt. ph has

p.22

Insurance industry's total assets hit N793.6bn The total assets of the insurance sector have Nigerian increased to N793.6 billion in 2015 N711.4 billion from in 2014.

L-R: Corpora te Finance Manager, Fidson tor, Fidson Healthcare Healthcare Plc, Mr. Abiola Plc, Mr. Imokha Adebayo and General Manage Ayebae; Senior Vice Presiden r, Sales, Mr. Abayomi Alli-Balo t, Global Sales, Frost & Sullivan gun, during an award present , Mr. John Ruggles ; Operations ation in London, United KingdomDirec.

Nigeria re ens crude exports coop ntracts wit h US

}21 12 pages of incisive Business N p.36

The Business

Desk

ayodele aminu

Deputy Editor

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

N150

(Business)

Bayo akomola

fe Asst. Editor (Maritime ) sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insuranc

tony Chukwu

CESSATION The shale oil boom is grinding to a halt

est fuel export er and brough $3 gasolin t e pumps is back to America’s to a halt before you grinding open “There is to a halt. An indust high possib a talk. According ility for to the month newspaper ry source told this the US to source for marke ly oil the Federa at the weekend that means and we wantalternative tion t report of the Organ of Petrole l Gover nment grade our crude already deploy um Expor isaCountries has tive,” to be their ready alterna ting ed expert (OPEC), the source engage the - crude s to Nigeri , which is US officia igeria has privy May oil production output a’s ls on the to the new negotia begun talks possibility of the increa for Also, Nigeri tion, said. to reopen new Over 40 million contracts. rels per day sed by 230,900 barcrude exa had corded a ports contra (bpd), barrel crude grades steady crude also reSpecifically tion in May from Nigeri s of producthe United cts with loiteri , the and a produc ng are (US), the this in the intern States it imperative tion output country’s has made erstwhile ational consumer markets looking of over 1 hunt for morefor the country to direct communicat, based on million crude “Refineries for buyers. from 1.650 ion, rose buyers. daily from barrels in million the barrel day in April Telegraph the country, New States have prefer United has learnt. to 1.881 millions per sweet crude ence in May. This is comin bpd grades from for g on the heels geria because Niof the immin Nigeria’s ent increas phur conten of their low sulTotal volume tion output crude oil produc US crude e in the of shale deman a market andt. Already, we have oil output expect increased for April had earlier The shale d. you don’t by 19,000 it becom ed to oil boom wait till bpd, while the figure decline per turned the based on day US into world’s that edge that es a common knowl secondary sources, put after droppin in July, larg- produc shale exploration g 86,000 at 1.886 bpd the rise in April and tion have barrels in June been ground from 1.867 corded in ed bpd reMarch. INFLATION RATE May 2015..... CONTIN UED Rates Da .......................... ON PAGE shboard LENDING 22 ..9% April 2015..... InterBank Rate..... RATE .......................... .8.7% March 2015..... EXCHANGE Prime Lending ...............12.57% RATE ........................8 Rate...........17.93 (BDC .5% EXCHANGE Maximum Lending % USD . . . . . . as at Jun 12) RATE .. Rate...26.83% (Interbank Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N217 as at Jun 12) .. USD . . . . . . Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .N332 .. l Foreig ........... Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N200 n Reserv . . . . .N240 es – $29.127 .. Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .N307 bn as at 11/06/2015 ........... . . . .N223 Source:

Adeola Yusuf

Oyegun in trouble over Saraki, Dogara Asst. Editor (Moneynyem Market)

Dele alao

Industry & Agric

Editor

Dayo ayeyemi Property Editor

adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market

Editor

abdulwahab

Isa

Finance Editor

Kunle azeez

Senior Correspon

dent

Chuks Onuanyi Energy

nnamdi amadi Reporter

Johnson adebayo

Asst Productio

n Editor

105,000 bar rels

CBN

lAtiku, Akande battle for BoT chair }3&6 lGbajabiamila set to become House leader

L-R: Wife of the Vice-President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari; wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki and wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hajiya Gimbia Dogara, at a dinner in Abuja…at the weekend.

Don't mislead my husband, Buhari's wife cautions APC chiefs, associates lReveals how Tinubu convinced her to join campaign

Quick Read

Editorial

Beyond conversion of colleges }19

Boko Haram attacks Yobe }3 LG }49

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Congratulations!

His Excellency, Darius Ishaku, Executive Governor, Taraba State

My family and I wish to congratulate Your Excellency Darius Ishaku on your election as the Executive Governor of Taraba State. Your ability to take Taraba State to the next level has never been in doubt. We wish you a successful tenure in office. Signed

Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, MON Chairman,

Slok Shipping

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Oyegun in trouble over Saraki, Dogara Ayodele Ojo and Donald Ojogo

crisis in the All Pro g ressives Congress (APC) over its loss of the National Assembly leadership positions is set to worsen as party leaders are spoiling for a war with the National Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun, on the matter. Odigie-Oyegun, in what amounted to a volteface by the APC had, last Friday, said the party had accepted the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate president and

Hon. Yakubu Dogara as House of Representatives speaker. The duo had, in defiance of the APC, ran against the party's official candidates for the positions, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. While Lawan had no chance of running against Saraki who was elected unopposed as APC senators, majorly his supporters, were at the International Conference Centre, Abuja for a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Gbajabiamila lost by a slim margin to Dogara. An enraged governing

party had rejected their elections and vowed to punish them. Last Thursday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said the party would soon set up a disciplinary committee to probe the involvement of members involved in the victories of Saraki and Dogara. But fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja a day after Mohammed's statement, the national chairman had described the election of Saraki as the Senate president as legitimate and that the party

had accepted its fate. “Of course, he has been duly elected by his colleagues. End of story. We have a reality and we must live with it,” he said. The party’s NWC had met on Wednesday and agreed to sanction Saraki and other erring lawmakers. But New Telegraph learnt yesterday that Odigie-Oyegun's statement that the party had accepted the emergence of Saraki and Dogara, was made without consultations. Besides, he was accused of conniving with the duo to undermine APC and

bring the party to ridicule. New Telegraph learnt that most members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were planning to move against the party’s national chairman for taking unilateral position that is at variance with the APC leadership on the matter. Some of the NWC members said they were unhappy with the national chairman and they might pass a vote of no confidence on him when next they meet. “Oyegun has lost the moral compass to lead the APC. His decision cannot override that of the entire

nubu who talked me into it before I decided to join the train. I have never been in purdah since I got married to my husband. “My husband is a very gender sensitive man with many daughters. He even allowed me to go to school and to cut the long matter short, he is the pillar of my success,” she added. Mrs. Buhari expressed concerns about the “drastic reduction” in the number of elected women in governance, saying that national and state assemblies are the worst hit. “This is not fair; we are not asking for equal representation, but fair representation in governance,” she said. The president's wife also made a case for better treatment of women in the North. "As you are all aware,

NWC. He has to explain to us where he derives his power from to override the decision of the entire body. “I can tell you that most of us in the APC NWC are not happy with the national chairman. If he has dealings with Saraki, he should let the world know. The general feeling is that Oyegun cannot genuinely lead us going by his partisanship stance,” a member of the NWC said yesterday. “Oyegun should tell us why he took the position against that of the party. Is he above the party? We met and agreed that the erring lawmakers should be sanctioned to instill discipline in the party. So why must he go against the NWC decision? Did we meet to reverse our initial position? So why the volteface?” another NWC member asked. Some of the NWC members also accused OdigieOyegun of holding a secret meeting with former VicePresident Atiku Abubakar and Saraki in Abuja last Thursday. An impeccable source said Odigie-Oyegun met with Atiku and Saraki on how to take over the party from former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu. Some chieftains of the party are also calling for the removal of OdigieOyegun over his failure to provide an effective leadership for the party. Efforts to get OdigieOyegun's response proved abortive as he failed to pick calls to his phone and had not responded to text message sent to him as at 9.30pm yesterday. Also, Mohammed could not be reached to shed more light on the crisis of confidence among party chiefs on the emergence of Saraki and Dogara. Meanwhile, the quest for the control of the party is causing disquiet among leaders of the APC. The leadership of the party is embroiled in a suppressed cold war over the chairmanship of its Board of Trustees (BoT). “Our adversaries thought we will be broken, but here we are; even the next battle about the issue of BoT that is coming, we will overcome,” a chieftain of the party told New Telegraph at the weekend. There are two contending groups – one led by Tinubu who is pushing for the party’s former Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and the other is the camp of Atiku. Curiously, both had played key roles in the race for the National Assembly leadership until last week.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

L-R: Pioneer President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr. Christopher Edordu; President, Afreximbank, Mr. Jean-Louis Ekra; Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc., Mr. Tony Elumelu and incoming President, Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, during the bank’s 22nd Annual General Meeting in Lusaka, Zambia...at the weekend.

Don't mislead my husband, Buhari's wife cautions APC chiefs, associates

Anule Emmanuel Abuja

ife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, at the weekend cautioned politicians and associates of her husband not to derail his vision on how to rebuild Nigeria. Mrs. Buhari, at a dinner in Abuja to thank the All Progressives Congress (APC) women and youths for their support in the last general elections, however, urged them to ensure that they only come forward with ideas to promote nation building instead of pushing for parochial interests. She said the government of Buhari would not condone deceit and actions that could derail the focus of the administration to deliver the dividends of

democracy to the people. According to her, the Buhari administration will not condone the situation under the previous government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan where some group of persons were allegedly parading themselves as personal aides and collecting huge sums of money as bribes to facilitate contacts with the presidency. Mrs. Buhari said her husband, in the last 12 years, toiled to get to power with the good intention to provide quality leadership and so could not afford to accommodate persons with questionable characters. She said: "We are praying and hoping that people around him should know that it took him 12 years to get to that position and they must know that they are coming to serve the

masses, not General Buhari in person. "It is the people that are around him that will determine the political health of our state. "I will like to inform you that in the past regime, whether it is true or false, only God knows; some people were going round and parading themselves as PAs (personal assistants). If you wanted to see the First Lady, you will pay $30,000, $50,000 and if you are seeing the president, you will pay all that you have gathered in your lifetime. "This will not happen in our regime. Whoever asks you to give a single penny in the name of coming to see the president or his wife is not our staff. He is not an APC member; it is a lie. Don't be deceived." The president's wife also revealed at the gather-

ing how a national leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, convinced her into joining the Buhari's campaign train ahead of the March 28 presidential election. She was absent at Buhari’s campaign rallies until January 13, when she was unveiled at an APC rally in Abeokuta. She told the guests that she was focusing on running her home until Tinubu persuaded her into joining the campaign. She also denied speculations that her husband kept her in purdah (Islamic seclusion) during the campaign. “It was my personal decision not to come out for campaign because I needed to take care of the home front while my husband was in the field campaigning. “It was Asiwaju Bola Ti-

Travel Advisory

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

International Flight Schedule Air France

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

Flight No. AF 513 AF 3822 AF514 AF513 AF514 AF3849

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

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

Amsterdam-Lagos Lagos-Amsterdam

KL587 KL588

13:15hrs 23:05hrs

20:00hrs 05:50hrs

KLM

ARIK AIRLINES

Lagos-London London-Lagos Lagos-New York

W3 101 W3 102 W3 107 (Mon, Wed , Fri) New York-Lagos W3 108 (Tues,Thurs, Fri) Lagos-Johannesburg W3 103 Johannesburg-Lagos W3 104 Lagos-Douala - (Tues, Wed ,Thur) Douala-Lagos - (Tues, Wed, Thur) Lagos-Accra Accra-Lagos

Abuja-Accra Accra-Abuja Lagos-Freetown Freetown-Lagos Lagos-Banjul Banjul-Lagos Lagos-Dakar Dakar-Lagos

-(Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun) -(Mon, Wed, Fri) -(Daily) - (Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Wed, Fri, Sun) -(Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri,Sat) -(Tue,Wed, Fri,Sat,Sun)

BRITISH AIRWAYS

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

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

Lagos-Cairo Cairo-Lagos

MS 876 MS 875

14:25hrs 08:30hrs

22:20hrs 13:30hrs

EGYPT AIR

KENYA AIRWAYS

16:00hrs

Lagos-Kigali

11:15hrs

16:45hrs

10:45hrs 09:35hrs 11:10hrs 13:25hrs 07:20hrs 17:00hrs 08:05hrs 13:35hrs 18:00hrs

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

AWB 201 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) AWB 202 (Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun)

14:00hrs

17:30hrs

22:35hrs 15:10hrs

06:00hrs 21:20hrs

17:00hrs 06:00hrs 08:00hrs 17:00hrs 08:00hrs 15:20hrs 21:00hrs

hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs

01:00hrs

hrs

3:00hrs 14:00hrs

8:00hrs 19:00hrs

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

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

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

Lagos-Doha Flight Doha-Lagos Flight

QR 1414 (daily) QR 1415

14:55hrs 07:20hrs

23:45hrs 13:35hrs

Lagos-Atlanta Atlanta-Lagos

DL053 DL 054

22:15hrs 5:15hrs

05:32hrs 16:15hrs

Lagos-Houston Houston-Lagos

UA 143 UA 142

10:10hrs 19:10hrs

6:05hrs 15.15hrs

Lagos - Addis Ababa ET900 Addis Ababa - Lagos ET901 Abuja - Addis Ababa ET910 Addis Ababa - Abuja ET911 Enugu - Addis Ababa ET930 Addis Ababa - Enugu ET931 Kano - Addis Ababa ET930 Addis Ababa - Kano ET931

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

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

Lagos-Madrid Madrid-Lagos

IB 3337 IB 3336

22:55hrs 16:00hrs

5:25+1hrs 20:20hrs

Lagos-Casablanca Casablanca-Lagos

AT738 AT 737

06:25hrs 02:15hrs

09:55hrs 6:00hrs

air maroc

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

12:30hrs

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

IBERIA

Abu Dhabi-Lagos

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

19:35hrs 23:45hrs

MEA 571 MEA 572

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Lagos- Abu Dhabi

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

12:30hrs 18:00hrs

to Lagos)

UNITED AIRLINES

17:00hrs 4:40hrs

KQ 533 KQ 534

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

DELTA AIRLINES

11:00hrs 22:40hrs

Lagos-Nairobi Nairobi-Lagos

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

QATAR AIRWAYS

VS 652 VS 651

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

BA075 BA074 BA 082 BA 083

EMIRATES AIRLINES

Lagos-London London-Lagos

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

Middle East Airlines (Two flights weekly (Tues & Friday)

Lebanon-Lagos Lagos-Lebanon

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

RwandAir

Kigali-Lagos

Turkish Airlines

Lagos-Istanbul Nairobi-Lagos

332 333

Air Côte d'Ivoire Lagos to Abidjan Abidjan to Lagos

HF 851 (Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sun) HF 852 (Mon,Wed, Thurs, Sat)

ASKY AIRLINES

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

10:10hrs

10:50hrs

19:20hrs

21.50hrs

Flight No. KP 032 (Tue-Fri) KP 032 ( Tue-Fri)

Departure Arrival 14:00hrs 15:55hrs 16:30hrs 18:15hrs

KP 033 (Wed-Sat) KP O33 (Wed-Sat) KP O40 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP 040 (Sun-Sat) KP041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP 041 (Tue-Sat) KP O44 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP 044 (Tue-Fri) KP O45 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat) KP 045 (Wed-Sat)

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

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

Local FLIGHT SCHEDULE ARIK AIR

LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:00; 09:00; 11:00 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00; 20:00 (SAT) 07:00; 09:00; 11:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 (SUN) 09:00; 13:00; 15:00; 17:00; 19:00 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 07:00; 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 (SAT) 07:00; 11:00; 15:00 (SUN) 09:30; 11:00; 13:30; 15:00; 17:30 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 09:00; 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 (SAT) 07:30; 11:30; 09:00; 13:00; 17:00 (SUN) 11:30; 13:00; 15:30; 17:00 ABUJA-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30; 16:50 (SAT/SUN) 06:45; 10:10; 13:30 PORT-HARCOURT-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10; 18:30 (SAT/SUN) 08:30; 11:50; 15:10

AZMAN FLIGHT SCHEDULE

WEEKLY SCHEDULE Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 12:40pm

Lagos-Abuja/Kano 4:00pm Abuja-Kano 5:45pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kan 10:10am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 12:40pm Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm WEEKEND SCHEDULE SATURDAY Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Abuja 10:30am Abuja-Lagos 1:00pm Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Kaduna-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 4:00pm Sunday Kano-Lagos 8:00am Lagos-Kano 10:30am Kano-Abuja/Lagos 1:20pm Abuja-Lagos 2:40pm Lagos-Kaduna 5:00pm

FIRST NATION AIRWAYS

LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06.50; 09:30; 11:45; 16:00 (SAT) 06:50; 11:45 (SUN) 11:45; 16:00 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 11:30; 13:40;18:30 (SAT) 09:00; 13:40 (SUN) 13:40; 18:30 LAGOS-PORT-HARCOURT (MON-FRI) 14:45

(SAT) 16:15 (SUN) 14:45 PORT-HARCOURT-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:50 (SAT) 18:20 (SUN) 16:50

AEROCONTRACTORS

LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 06:50; 13:30; 16:30; 19:45 (SAT/SUN) 12:30; 16:45 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 07:30; 13:00; 19:00 (SAT) 12:30 (SUN) 15:30

MEDVIEW AIRLINES

LAGOS-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 07:00; 08:50; 12:00; 15:30 (SAT) 10:00; 15:00 (SUN) 17:30; 18:30 ABUJA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 09:00; 14:00, 15:00; 18:30

OVERLAND AIRWAYS LAGOS-ILORIN (MON-FRI) 07:15 LAGOS-IBADAN (MON-FRI) 7:00 IBADAN-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:00 IBADAN-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 16:30 ILORIN –ABUJA (MON-FRI) 08:30 ILORIN –LAGOS (MON-FRI) 17:00 ABUJA-ASABA (MON-FRI) 10:00 ASABA-ABUJA (MON-FRI) 14:15 ASABA-LAGOS (MON-FRI) 11:30 LAGOS-ASABA (MON-FRI) 13:00 ABUJA-ILORIN 16:00 ABUJA-IBADAN 15:00

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Buhari orders release of $21m to MNJTF Anule Emmanuel Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari has directed the release of $21 million (N4.515 billion) to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) within the next one week. The amount is part of the pledge of $100 million (N21.5 billion) which Nigeria made to the MNJTF to boost its operations in tackling the insurgency in the North-East and other criminality within the regions of member countries. Buhari disclosed this while chairing the African Union (AU), Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting at the ongoing 25th AU Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The president said that he gave the directive based on the decision of the recent extraordinary summit of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin that $30 million should be immediately made available to the MNJTF. The MNJTF is saddled with the responsibility of fighting the Boko Haram terrorist sect. The president said although, the Boko Haram sect had extended its menace to Nigeria’s neighbours, its activities were not limited to them as terrorism is a global phenomenon.

He said the global nature of terror required all countries to act in brotherhood and partnership and wage war against agents of evil. He said: “I am pleased to note that Cameroon, Chad and Niger are already showing this attribute by fighting alongside Nigeria under the umbrella of Multinational Joint Task Force to defeat Boko Haram. “In this regard, the member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin met re-

cently where far-reaching decisions were taken to immediately put into operations the Multinational Joint Task Force. “To this end, the summit approved the immediate provision of $30 million for the Multinational Joint Task Force. “Consequently, out of the pledge of $100 million, which Nigeria made to the Multinational Joint Task Force, I have directed that $21 million be released within the next one week.” He regretted that the

continent was inundated with conflicts of diverse forms, including the crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan, and more recently in Burundi. Speaking on the crisis in South Sudan and Burundi during the summit, Buhari regretted that the people were suffering while their political leaders were busy bickering. He stressed the need for leaders to always place the interest of their countries above narrow and personal

interests. The president expressed hope that the PSC would come out with a united message to call on all parties to act in the interest of their people and the entire continent. Calling for a change of the face of Africa, Buhari said leaders must deliver a continent “that is at peace with itself, prosperous, a global partner and a democratic showcase.” He expressed doubts about the possibility of achieving the desired peace

by 2020 as earlier planned by African leaders. “As you are aware in 2013, during the 50th anniversary celebration of our union, we, as African leaders, committed ourselves to the objective of silencing the local guns in Africa by 2020. “With just five years remaining, the prospect of realising this objective looks doubtful with pockets of violence in individual countries and the continent as a whole,” the president noted.

L-R: Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike; his wife, Suzzette; their daughter; Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court; and former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, during the service of songs in honour of Mrs. Odili's mother, the late Lady Ugoeze Bernadette Nzenwa, at Mbaise, Imo State...at the weekend.

Atiku, Akande battle for APC BoT chair CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

While Tinubu preferred Lawan as Senate president and Gbajabiamila as House speaker, Atiku had backed Saraki and Dogara for same positions. Atiku’s official residence was the first point of call of Saraki, shortly after he emerged as Senate president. According to an APC leader, who is a member of the party’s National Caucus, prior to the emergence of Saraki and Dogara, it was assumed that Atiku was merely going to be endorsed as Tinubu had already given him support for the position. “We don’t see what is happening as new in politics; as soon as the election of the National Assembly leadership took place Tuesday last week, it got to a point that some of our leaders even received anonymous text messages and calls taunting them that that was the end. “Our adversaries thought we will be broken, but here we are; we have been able to navigate and as military men would

say, manoeuvre around the situation and see what the national chairman has said; has it not put paid to the issue? “That is the spirit of the APC, the same spirit that bounded us together to this level will continue as far as some of us are concerned; and it is only one major battle for space that we are expecting and that is battle about the issue of BoT that is coming. “We already know the various tendencies; we know that some who do not wish us well are already preparing for the ugly side of the contest to fill the position of the BoT; but we shall overcome as soon as it comes just like that of the Senate president and House speaker that just passed away now,” the source said. New Telegraph gathered that Tinubu’s sudden change of mind on supporting Atiku for the chairmanship of the BoT was as a result of the former vice-president’s suspected role in Saraki and Dogara’s emergence. “I think what might

have influenced his fresh thinking is perhaps the role played by the Turaki Adamawa (as Atiku is fondly called) last week to install the leadership of the National Assembly. “The man wanted the thing for him, he had even supported him on the ground that both the national chairman and BoT chairmanship should not come from the same region; but with the two leaders of the parliament from the same part of the country, he is now pushing for Chief Akande who piloted the affairs of the party to fruition,” he said. Tinubu’s media aide, Sunday Dare, could not be reached on phone as his mobile line was switched off when our correspondent tried to get his reaction. A text message sent to him was yet to be responded to as at the time of this report. However, the former vice-president who spoke through the Head of the Atiku Media Office, Mr. Paul Ibe, said although he was unaware that the

party has thrown the BoT race open, he has the qualities to occupy the slot. “We are not aware that the APC has thrown open the race for the chairmanship of the party's BoT. But if in the wisdom of the party, it elects to appoint Abubakar as the Chairman of its BoT, the Turaki Adamawa will be amenable and well disposed to it because he is eminently qualified to offer his services to the party at that level. “However, since we are unaware about the BoT Chairmanship race of the APC being thrown up, that presupposes that we cannot be aware of any forces being opposed to it,” Ibe said in a reply to an email from our correspondent. It was gathered that already, the former vicepresident has been meeting stakeholders to ensure that the position is zoned to the North-East. A member of the NWC told New Telegraph that they would block Atiku from becoming the BoT chairman. He said for fairness, the

position should go to the South so that the party won’t be accused of turning the party into “Northern party”. “We will definitely prevent Atiku from becoming the party’s BoT chair. Mr. President is from the North. So also the Senate president (Bukola Saraki) and Speaker of the House of Representatives (Yakubu Dogara). Does it mean the other parts of the country don’t have a stake in the party? “The speaker is from the North-East, the same as Atiku. There is no way he can emerge as the BoT chair. That is the argument of the party leadership. Don’t forget that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had accused us of being a northern party, so allowing Atiku to get the BoT seat is confirming the accusation of the opposition party,” the source said. National publicity secretary of the APC referred New Telegraph to OdigieOyegun for comments on the brewing crisis over the BoT chairmanship. “I can’t talk to you on

that, please talk to the national chairman on that issue,” he said. However, it was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari, Saraki and Dogara as well as the APC NWC were likely to meet within the week to further find a way on how to douse tension in the party over the National Assembly leadership crisis. Our correspondent could not confirm if other party leaders would be in attendance at the meeting tentatively fixed for either Wednesday or Thursday. Although the reasons for the planned meeting could not be independently confirmed, it is expected that the meeting, the first of such since the emergence of the National Assembly leaders, might discuss the fallout of the elections of Saraki and Dogara. Among such issues to be discussed according to findings was the need to properly integrate the Senator Lawan-led Unity Group in the Senate in the distribution of committees in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

News

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Gbajabiamila set to become House Leader lDogara attributes victory to God Philip Nyam Abuja

s part of efforts to appease various interests created by the election of presiding officers, former Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila may be named the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives by Speaker Yakubu Dogara as soon as they reconvene next week, New Telegraph has learnt. Gbajabiamila is top on the list of candidates being considered for House leader to placate his camp. In the run to the election, the North-West and North-East caucuses loyal to Gbajabiamila had adopted Hon. Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano) as House Leader should Gbajabiamila wins. But with the turn of events, Gbajabiamila being the highest ranking APC lawmaker and having being minority leader for eight years is favoured by both camps to emerge. A ranking member in the Gbajabiamila camp told New Telegraph that "Mr. Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, has said he will be

magnanimous in victory and our leader has also congratulated him and assured him of his readiness to work with him. And we are certain that he will emerge as leader in the interest of peace and true democratic practice." According to our source, "Gbajabiamila's competence and excellence cannot be wished away and you must also know that Dogara cannot afford to disregard the party twice. So in order to appease the party, Gbajabiamila has to be accommodated. "He fought for the party and has been faithful. At least nobody can claim to be oblivious of Gbajabiamila's contribution to the success of the party and democracy at large. He deserves to be our leader and I can assure he will emerge." Our findings further revealed that Hon. Ado Doguwa and Hon. Mohammed Garba Datti (APC, Kaduna) are all angling for the position of Deputy House Leader. Both are

from the North-West. However, a lawmaker close to Dogara told New Telegraph at the weekend that Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba (APC, Kaduna) who was a key member of the Dogara campaign team is also being positioned for deputy leader or chief whip's position. Jagaba was the chairman of the House Committee on Anti-corruption in the 7th Assembly and was in the House between 1999 and 2003 and then 2011 to 2015. The lawmaker disclosed that the North contributed immensely in the victory of APC and would have to be considered. "If not for the fact that Gbajabiamila was defeated in the election, the position of Leader should have been for the North-West. "But with the reality on ground now, we have to make some concessions and that is why we are saying deputy majority leader should come from the region. Right now there are two candidates; one from Kano and another from

Kaduna, but that will soon be sorted out," he said. Hon. Pally Iriase (APC, Edo) may emerge Chief Whip of the House. Our correspondent gathered that this however depends on the decision of the party. "Hon. Iriase may be chief whip or deputy whip, although the South-South did not fare well in the election, they need to be given a sense of belonging and since he had to sacrifice his ambition for Gbajabiamila, we are also pushing for his emergence," another lawmaker told New Telegraph. Meanwhile, Dogara has said that if not for divine intervention, he would not have been elected as Speaker last week. The speaker disclosed this during a thanksgiving service at Living Faith Church Goshen City, Karu Nasarawa State yesterday. He said but for the teachings he has been receiving in the church in the last 27 years, he wouldn’t have been the Speaker. "I have been a member

of this church since 1988 even before I went to the university. The teaching I receive here have defined my life. If it were not for the teachings we receive on this altar, may be this victory may not have come. We had Goliaths in the run to the election, there were Tobias and Sambalats. We had Balams who were asked to curse us but God is with us. "The end of a matter is better than the beginning thereof. It was Machiavelli who said you should not conquer territories you cannot keep. We have to keep this through prayers. “We are coming as leaders when there is global crisis, the economy is bad, there is collapse of government and the rise of evil to power in different parts of the world. Even family values are being redefined. “We plead for your prayers because we must confront these challenges. As leaders, we are responsible for what we allow. We need your prayers.” he said.

Speaking, Bishop David Abioye described Dogara as a true ambassador of the church, saying "when the righteous rein, the people rejoice." In another development, Dogara has promised to run a non-partisan House where every member will be treated fairly and equally irrespective of party affiliation. Dogara disclosed this at the weekend while playing host to Taraba and Anambra state caucuses in the House. He said: "We wouldn't want partisanship. In this House, we have always coalesce on issues that bother on Nigeria’s unity and we will not sacrifice that on the altar of partisanship. "We need a viable, robust and independent House to begin to canvass for those ideals that we have always stood for. It's not going to be a winner takes all era. We will be fair to all. It's going to be one House and we'll do everything possible to keep it one," he assured.

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

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L-R: Chairman of Steering Committee, Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP, Nigeria), Prof. Pat Utomi; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule and former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade, during the Banquet of Stars Against Cancer to mark Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s 52nd birthday in Lagos…yesterday

Buhari's wife reveals how Tinubu convinced her to join campaign CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

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they (women) are the major voters; we constitute more than 50 per cent and, in the end, we found out that the number of female legislators that we used to have declined. I do not think this is fair for women. We feel we are not represented. We should now make it as a mission in the next four years to fight for fair representation of women in both leadership and decision-making bodies." The president's wife

added that other problems like high rate of divorce in the North remain a major setback for Northern Nigeria which urgent step must be taken to also address. While calling for a clear guideline on divorce in the region, she said: "In the next four years, if you are divorced in the North, you can have what is called alimony. Whichever way our people may like to operate: whether based on religion or customarily, something has to be done on divorce in Northern Nigeria and

the widowhood right in South." She also thanked women for their contributions to the success of the APC and her husband. "I simply cannot thank you enough for the love, contributions and sacrifices during this journey. Many have lost their lives and many found themselves in difficult situations, particularly victims of insurgency. "It is with heavy heart that I recall their sufferings during this period.

Yet, many of them were determined to cast their votes in anticipation of a change in their lives. "I want to thank all Nigerian women and youths for the crucial roles you played towards the success of the last election. I am very much aware of your steadfastness during the campaigns up till the elections proper," Mrs. Buhari stated. While acknowledging the huge task ahead of Buhari, his wife said the country was facing some

challenges in the areas of security, unemployment and corruption and all Nigerians must come together and support government to tackle them. "We cannot fold our hands or close our eyes to leave government alone to carry these heavy responsibilities. I sincerely believe that collectively and individually we can come up with practical solutions that will facilitate our answers to these ills affecting our society, especially women issues," she said.

News

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Osinbajo, Ambode vow to fight cancer Muritala Ayinla

ice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday vowed to support the fight against cancer to save more lives. Speaking at the Banquet of Stars Against Cancer, an awareness programme organised in commemoration of Ambode’s 52nd birthday, Osinbajo stressed that cancer is a deadly affliction that could affect anyone Osinbajo, who was represented by former Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, expressed appreciation to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) for the good works. The vice president said he would be ready to support the worthy cause at any time, including in his private capacity because the fight against the cancer scourge requires the support of everyone. Represented by his Deputy, Dr (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule, Governor Ambode gave an assurance that he would continue to support initiatives geared towards saving the lives of the people especially against

cancer. He said: "The war against cancer is for everyone to fight, as hardly can one find someone who is not related directly or indirectly with at least one cancer victim. Lot of lives are lost globally every day to this scourge. On our part, we shall continue to support initiatives geared towards saving the lives of our people especially against cancer.” According to the governor, it is in recognition of the need for everyone to get involved in this fight that he made a passionate appeal to all members of his family and friends to channel whatever gifts they wanted to give him on his birthday towards the cause. “I will like to encourage all Nigerians including corporate organisations to contribute to this effort especially in the area of raising awareness on the importance of early detection through regular screening and funding research to find better treatment to manage this disease. These are the key areas where we need to invest efforts and resources as late detection makes cancer very difficult to be successfully managed,” he said.

He commended the efforts of the CECP as well as the contributions of all artists and well-meaning Nigerians who have supported the cause. The governor pledged that the state will support the cause. Speaking earlier, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade, said the CECP is engaged to fight cancer because the body realises what disease can do to human lives. He said with the level of support demonstrated by the public to the cause, they are assured that every Nigerian would be able to have access to a means of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer. A foremost economist, Dr. Pat Utomi, who stood in for the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Fola Adeola, said the CECP is passionate about ensuring that mobile testing centres are provided for every Nigerian because early detection is key to the survival of cancer. He said Lagos State Government should lead the way in the provision of the mobile cancer testing centres as the CEPC intends to ensure that 37 of such are provided nationwide

Fuel subsidy rises to N2.064bn daily CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Therefore, the subsidy to be paid by the Federal Government has risen to N51.61 per litre, up from N2.84 as of January 21, 2015. According to the PPPRA, the EOMP of petrol is N138.61 per litre as of June 11. Figures from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) revealed that daily petrol consumption in Nigeria is 40 million litres. Based on this, the total subsidy cost on the product as at last Friday, amounted to N2.0644 billion at N 51.61 per litre. Checks by New Telegraph revealed that the figure was N1.73 billion, at N43.25 per litre, as at May 1. The EOMP petrol was N128.96 per litre as of April 24, while subsidy was N41.96 per litre, according to the PPPRA. The PPPRA had, on January 21, 2015, put

petrol subsidy at N2.84 per litre three days after the Federal Government reduced the pump price of petrol to N87 per litre, from N97 per litre, following the plunge in global benchmark of Brent crude. With the price of Brent crude, against which Nigeria’s oil is benchmarked, rising to $65.55 on April 24, 2015, the amount payable by the government to oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) went above the N40 per litre mark. On January 18, 2015, the government had announced the reduction in the pump price of petrol from N97 to N87 per litre, attributing this to the decline in global crude oil prices. However, this has not solved the fuel crisis in the country. The subsidy regime in the country has led to banks' gradual with-

drawal from financing fuel importation. Group Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, who gave reasons why lenders have refused to finance fuel imports, told reporters at the bank’s pre-AGM briefing in Lagos that lack of a policy statement from the government on financing fuel importation business discouraged the banks from going into the business. Oil marketers have been at loggerheads with the Federal Gover nment following government’s delay in defraying about N200 billion debts owed them. The marketers had stopped fuel importation on the excuse that government’s delay in paying the debt had made them unable to meet their financial obligations to banks that have stopped opening letters of credit for fuel importation.

NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS DIRECTORATE HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA

ADDENDUM Further to our earlier advertisement (Invitation for tender for the production and supply of NYSC Kit Items For 2015 Batch ‘B’ corps members) which appeared in the Nigeria Pilot, New Telegraph and the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday 1st June, 2015, interested Bidders are to note the following: (a) that the following lots were omitted in the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday 1st June, 2015. NORTH EAST Lot 38. Supply of NYSC Khaki Suits Lot 39. Supply of NYSC Jungle Boots Lot 40. Supply of NYSC White Canvas Lot 41. Supply of NYSC Crested Vest Lot 42. Supply of White Plain Vest Lot 43. Supply of White P.E. Shorts Lot 44. Supply of NYSC Stockings (b) that paragraph 3.0 (collection of tenders documents) was also omitted in the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday 1st June, 2015 and contains the following information:

“Interested companies can obtain the tender documents from the Tenders Board Secretariat, Procurement Department, 3rd Floor, Wing ‘B’ Room 317, NYSC Directorate Headquarters, Yakubu Gowon House, Maitama-Abuja between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm upon presentation of a non-refundable fee of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.00) in form of a Certified Bank draft payable to the National Youth Service Corps”.

(c) that under paragraph 4.0 Technical Requirement, (iii, v and vi) now read: (iii) Evidence of Company’s current tax clearance Certificate for the last three (3) years (2012, 2013 and 2014) (v) Evidence of Compliance Certificate with the provision of Section 6(1)(3) of the amended Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Act No.19 of 2011. (vi) Evidence of Current Pension Certificate from PENCOM. (d) that evidence of registration on the Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers in line with provisions of section 5(h) of the PPA, 2007 which was not captured in the earlier publication form part of the technical requirement. (e) Please note that paragraph 4 (vii) – Evidence of Compliance with Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria (where applicable) - is not a necessary requirement and is therefore expunged. (f) that the closing date of submission and opening of tenders remain 11.00 am of 13th July, 2015 as published by the two national dailies, Nigeria Pilot, New Telegraph and the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday 1st June, 2015. Signed Management 15th June, 2015.

News

PDP Governors' Forum meets this week Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

overnors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will hold their first post-inauguration meeting this week. The governors, who will meet under the aegis of PDP Governors' Forum are expected to consider other critical issues affecting the party, including the election of a new chairman of the forum as well as the fate of the remaining members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, is said to have been adopted by nine out of the 13 PDP governors to succeed former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, who is now a serving senator. When the forum met sometime in April, it called for the resignation of the NWC members "for leading the party to disastrous general elections." Majority of the Forum members have since completed their second term in office and had handed over to new set of governors. It is expected that this week's meeting will revisit the issue.

Adeola Yusuf

ITEO has decided to terminate business relationship, including crude oil swap/ Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA) with Duke Oil. The company said this in a statement by its spokesperson, Miss Aiki Odikwa. It added that in fulfillment of its outstanding obligation on the Duke Oil SWAP and contracts, it had decided to nominate two cargo deliveries to fully liquidate any outstanding deliveries due to Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

Abuja

enator Sonni Ogbuoji, representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial District has said that the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Eight Senate was based on merit and not on what he described as biased anti-people sentiments of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Ogbuoji, who made this statement while expressing his views on the Senate Presidency saga

in an interview with New Telegraph in Abuja, also said that the parochial interest of the APC actually attracted sympathy for Saraki and made him more popular amongst his colleagues. He also disclosed that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, resolved to vote for Saraki as a way of asserting and entrenching the independence of the legislature, noting that, from the history of the Senate, any imposed candidate never lasted and the Eight Senate was not ready to drift backward.

Lawyer asks EFCC to probe Akpabio Tunde Oyesina Abuja

lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former Akwa-Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio, for allegedly mismanaging N3 trillion belonging to the state. Ekpenyong, in the five

Aiteo ends crude swap, OPA contracts with Duke Oil

“The Board of AITEO has taken the decision to wind down this Duke Oil SWAP and OPA contract promptly and bring its business relationship with Duke Oil to a closure,” the statement read. While denying allegation of fraud in some publications, AITEO declared that it had engaged its Nigerian Solicitors and global legal counsel to examine all publications against the company with

a view of determining appropriate legal action. The statement read: “Executive Management of AITEO makes reference to online publications and a publication in ThisDay Newspaper of June 7th 2015 [Oil Traders, NNPC Officials Interrogated, watch-listed in Major Investigations] in which spurious allegations were made about the company and one of our founders, Mr. Benedict Pe-

ters. Without prejudice to any legitimate fact-find process lawfully authorised by Nigerian authorities, as a corporate entity whose success has been as a result of dynamism, foresightedness and fortitude, it is pertinent that clarification is made to the general public on the position of AITEO. “AITEO in collaboration with Duke Oil participated in both the SWAP crude oil-for-refined-products-

L-R: Director, University of Benin (UNIBEN) Centre of Excellence in Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering, Dr. Kenny Ladipo; Vice-Chancellor, UNIBEN, Prof. Osasere Orumwense and Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, at the donation of equipment to the centre by Schlumberger in Benin... recently

PDP's support for Saraki was based on merit, says Ogbuoji Chukwu David

monday, june 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

national

page petition obtained on Friday, dated June 8, 2015 and addressed to EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, also copied President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase. The petitioner alleged that Akwa-Ibom received statutory allocations amounting to over N3 trillion during the eight years that Akpabio was in power.

Oshiomhole, Ambode hail Amuka Pemu at 80 Cajetan Mmuta Benin

do State Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his Lagos State counterpart, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, have congratulated the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Sam Amuka on his 80th birthday. Oshiomhole described him as the authentic “Uncle” of the Nigerian media industry. Oshiomhole in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, said Amuka's “attainment of 80 in today’s Nigeria, where life expectancy is below 50, is a testament of God’s grace upon" his "life and the prayers of the hundreds of lives and families you have touched since the existence of the Vanguard newspapers. He said: “As a young “Uncle Sam, at 80, you remain an exemplar in humility and industry and I pray God to grant you many more years in active service to humanity.”

Also, Ambode paid tribute to Amuka-Pemu, who turned 80 on Saturday. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, the Governor conveyed warm felicitations saying that Amuka-Pemu has contributed largely to the upliftment of the profession of journalism in the country. Ambode said his strides towards the growth of the Nigerian press are not only evident in how he has spearheaded his newspaper to enviable heights, but also his stance on political stability, accountability and the rule of law. The Governor said, “Nigeria has benefitted immensely by the presence of Uncle Sam Amuka in the media both as a journalist and columnist from the days of the Daily Times group, of which he served as Editor of the Sunday Times”. “His then column, ‘SadSam’, stood tall amongst equals as he continuously kept his readers glued to his satirical and literary styled articles, a model he has maintained over the years”.

exchange programme and Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA)." , which are both governed by robust legally binding agreements with provisions for strict commercial considerations backed by the necessary financial instruments to mitigate and manage potential risks of transactions of this nature. AITEO’s participation in the programmes was premised upon AITEO having fulfilled all requirements precedent to being nominated and gaining the objective confidence of the Management of NNPC on its strong competence and ability to deliver on the said contracts as and when due. Never at any point has AITEO unfairly exploited its commercial relationship with NNPC under the SWAP or OPA contracts. “Further allegations by Sahara Reporters that by late March, AITEO was more than 20 cargoes in arrears on the new deal are completely false. In fulfilment of our outstanding obligation on the Duke Oil SWAP and contracts, we have decided to nominate two cargo deliveries to fully liquidate any outstanding deliveries due to PPMC.”

Politicians, businessmen desert FCDA Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

wo weeks after the change of leadership in the country, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) secretariat at Area 11, Abuja has become a shadow of itself. Findings by our correspondent revealed that the once lovely secretariat which houses the office of the FCT Minister and the Minister of State has since been deserted by politicians and businessmen who used to daily

throng the place when there were Ministers. The main entrance to the Minister's office which used to witness heavy human traffic on a daily basis is only manned now by security operatives who also look forlorn as tips from visitors were no longer coming. The absence of the Ministers, however, did not affect activities of land racketeers who hang around the secretariat and Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) transacting land deals.

Abuja traders sue AEPB over imposed charges Tunde Oyesina Abuja

undreds of traders occupying Commerce Plaza in Durumi District of Abuja have dragged the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) before an Abuja High Court seeking an order stopping the board from imposing an arbitrary

N120 million charges on them. The traders, through their counsel, Mohammed Ahmed, is asking the court to declare the charges illegal, adding that the charges were not in accordance with extant regulations. They further asked the court to order the AEPB to withdraw the charges and to set aside same.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, june 15, 2015

Wrong choice of ministers will kill President’s dream — Cleric Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

cleric, who is also the Pastor in charge of Christ Apostolic Church, Canaan Land, Erio-Ekiti, Prophet Hezekiah Oladeji, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to make any mistake in the choice of his ministers for his administration to be successful, or risk an abortion of his lofty dream for the country. He also advised Buhari to put those that share his dream in his cabinet, failing which his dream would be shattered and the ability to bring the needed change to Nigeria turning to a mirage. He spoke in Erio-Ekiti on Saturday during a press conference to herald the annual week-long programme tagged ‘Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola Power Explosion 2015’. He said the programme, which would feature prayers for the Buhari government, would attract over three million people across the world to Erio-Ekiti Prayer Mountain. The cleric, who branded Buhari as a strongwilled leader, said the problems of the country were so daunting and multi-faceted to the extent that the President could not singlehandedly solve them, saying Buhari would need the services of like-minded people to restore

PDP gives Ambode 14 days to declare assets Wale Elegbede

he Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to declare his assets publicly, adding that the governor should also make open the details of the handover notes and state’s assets of the immediate past Governor Raji Fashola. In a statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, the PDP stated that that it would give the governor

President Buhari urges African leaders to be selfless, placing country above self

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged African leaders to place the interests of their countries above narrow personal interests. He gave the charge while chairing the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting at the on-going AU summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The President noted

up till the 29th of June to do so or risk entering into a moral challenge with residents. The statement reads, "If the governor fails to take up this moral challenge, he will thereafter be labelled 'Governor Pretender' throughout his tenure. The deliberate neglect will however compel us and other well meaning Lagosians to explore the relevance of the FOI Act on the matter.” The PDP stressed that the necessity for Ambode to make public his assets before taking over was more ignited by the

huge foreign and local debts left behind by the immediate past governor. "Mr Ambode is under compelling moral duty to tell Lagosians what he presently has as assets. This is a spice to the requirement of asset declaration before the Code of Conduct Bureau. He must also not conceal the assets declaration of his predecessor. All these facts should be laid bare in the public for the governor to gain the respect and confidence of Lagosians as a genuine servant and not a pretender servant.

“The 14 days ultimatum is to allow the governor voluntarily take up this challenge. If he fails to meet up, we will join hands with other well meaning Lagosians to confer the title of 'Pretender Governor' on him throughout his tenure. “The party also enjoined individuals, civil society groups and every true democrat and lovers of the state to participate in this demand for the governor to declare his Asset and also make public the post service assets declared by the immediate past governor.”

L-R: National Sales Manager, Boulos Enterprises Limited, Mr. Christian Deeb; Chairman, Ndubueze Ugbaja and General Manager, Julian Hardy, at the Outboard Motors Dealers conference in Lagos.

Place country above self, Buhari tells African leaders selflessness

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that as the meeting of PSC focused on the situations of South Sudan and Burundi, it required the leaders to put the situations in both countries in proper context. “The people of these countries are suffering while their political leaders are bickering among themselves. “I believe that is incumbent upon us as leaders to always place the interest of our countries above narrow and personal interests. “It is therefore my expectation that at the end of this summit, the PSC will come out with a united message to call on all parties to act in the interest of their people and the entire continent,’’ Buhari charged.

Ex-Jonathan's aide warns Buhari against APC leaders Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

ormer Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Professor Rufa'i Ahmed Alkali, yesterday said the greatest obstacle to the Muhammadu Buhari administration will come from some ambitious leaders of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC). Alkali, who spoke to journalists, noted that some leaders of the party believed that they have invested so much in Buhari's election and therefore could " not wait a day longer to collect returns from their investments." "I have observed with keen interest the scenario in the National Assembly that resulted in the election of Sen. Bukola Saraki and Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara and other leaders of NASS

and what attracted my attention more, though not surprising, were the incoherent and contradictory responses from the leaders of the APC, especially the faction led by the former governor of Lagos, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu who out rightly rejected the outcome of the election and without decorum blamed President Muhammadu Buhari as being responsible for the debacle in the National Assembly. "This is indeed a clear confirmation of my earlier warning to the APC to plan more and talk less. Undoubtedly, things have started falling apart in the APC," Professor Alkali added. He recalled his earlier assertion that the APC was not prepared to govern a complex nation like Nigeria which, he said, manifested during the election of presiding officers of the National Assembly.

DPR alerts public on fraudsters

he Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has cautioned filling station owners and other oil marketers against activities of fake DPR officials defrauding unsuspecting businessmen. The DPR spokesman, Mr Mohammed Saidu, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on yesterday in Abuja. According to him, there is a desperate attempt by some fraudsters to extort oil marketers and tarnish the integrity of the department. Saidu said some fraudulent persons had capitalised on the fuel scarcity situation to defraud some unsuspecting marketers, adding that this caused overpricing of fuel in some areas. “The outcome of this scarcity has caused us a lot where people now parade themselves and go to filing stations extorting money from marketers in the name of DPR.” He said the fraudsters were going around filling stations to deceive the marketers that they could sell at any amount they wanted as long as they settled them. “That is why we are still having this problem of over pricing in some of the suburb areas within the Federal Capital Territory.” Saidu called on marketers to be wary of fraudsters that claimed to be DPR officials who go to filling stations to extort money.

Group berates EFCC over fresh suit on Sylva Wale Elegbede

pro-democracy organisation, Open Democracy Network Nigeria, has described as embarrassing the decision of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to press new fraud charges against the former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, based on a case that had been dismissed by the court. In a release on yesterday in Abuja, the group accused EFCC of reactivating a frivolous litigation that merely embarrassed the country and the legal system. EFCC had in a fresh 50-count suit filed on Friday accused Sylva, alongside Francis Okukoro, Gbenga Balogun and Samuel Ogbuku, of using three companies – Marlin

Maritime Limited, Eat Catering Services Limited, and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Limited to move about N19.2 billion from Bayelsa State coffers between 2009-2012, on the pretext of using the money to supplement the salaries of the state government’s workers. The new suit bordered on a 42-count criminal charge that Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on June 10 dismissed and accused EFCC of abuse of court process. Justice Evoh Chukwu, also of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had earlier struck out another EFCC suit against Sylva involving a N2.5 billion charge, which centred on the same set of transactions as the N19.2 billion.

MONDAY,JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Metro TRAGEDY

A mother delivers the fourth baby at the hospital while her first three children die in inferno Muritala Ayinla

hree children of the same parents, aged three, seven and nine years, died yesterday when fire gutted their house at Alowonjo, Egbeda area of the Lagos metropolis. It was learnt that their parents left the children at home with a burning candle which eventually caused the fire outbreak. The mother of the kids was said to have delivered the fourth child at the hospital on Saturday night while the father was with her at the hospital. But by midnight, fire broke out and killed the children – two girls and a boy. The fire incident, which occurred at number 20, Fakoya Street, Vulcanizer Bus Stop, Egbeda, also spread to other buildings. It was learnt that none of the residents thought the children were at home when the fire broke out, instead, they were trying to run into safety while others were making efforts to evacuate their belongings. The Director of Lagos Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, ‎who confirmed the incident, frowned at the rate infants die needlessly owing to carelessness on the part of their parents. Fadipe advised residents to stop the use of candles at home, saying it was safer and healthier to buy rechargeable lamps. He said: “Unfortunately, three kids were involved: Ufoma, 9, Emeka, 7, (a boy) and Udoma, 3.

Three kids die in house fire

The burnt house

They were all sleeping when their father left them at home to attend to the needs of their mother, who just delivered (a baby) at the hospital. “The mother was said to have given birth at the hospital. The father went to the hospital to join

the woman. He lit the candle stick and left the children at home. “The remains of the children have been handed over to the police.” The director appealed to the residents to embrace the use of rechargeable lamps.

Fadipe also advised the people to begin to show interest in what goes on in their neighbour’s house for safety reasons. He said: “People should stop the use of candle. Secondly, people should be interested in what happens in their neighbours’ homes.

30 shops burnt in Lagos market inferno Muritala Ayinla

illions of naira worth of goods and property were destroyed yesterday when fire razed

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

30 shops at the popular Ajah Market in Lagos. At press time, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained. It was, however, alleged that the fire was caused by someone who was cooking in the market. Many shop owners rushed to the scene of the fire, but they could do little to save their goods from the raging fire. Stationeries, textile materials and generators, among others, are

sold in the burnt shops located at the rear of the market. The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, said it was not clear what caused the fire outbreak. He said: “We were not too sure of the cause of the fire but we learnt that somebody was cooking in the market which led to the inferno.” Fadipe advised market leaders to always ensure they have fire

extinguishers in the market and water reservoirs for unforeseen circumstances. He added: “Market leaders must ensure that there is fire extinguisher and water reservoir that the fire service can connect to if there is fire incident in their market. “We deployed water trucks from Lekki Phase II and Onikan Fire Stations and chemical foam was also moved to scene to combat the fire.”

Fadipe

They must also show concern on what their neighbours use for illumination in their households for safety reason. They must also be alert to call the emergency numbers should they notice any emergency case in their neighbourhood.”

Metro 11

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY,JUNE 15, 2015

Cult members kill man Taiwo Jimoh

uspected cult members broke the skull of a 30-year-old man, Sodiq Shittu, with a sledge hammer at Fadeyi area of Lagos metropolis. The cult members were said to have waylaid the victim who had gone to the mosque to observe the Friday prayer. They pounced on him immediately he walked into their trap and smashed his head with a sledge hammer outside the mosque. The incident, which occurred about 3:30pm on Lawani Street on Friday, forced many traders selling Plaster of Paris (POP) in the area to hurriedly lock their shops. A witness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the incident was a gory sight. He said: “I was in front of my shop when the deceased greeted me as he was returning from the mosque. After a few minutes later I heard gunshots and ran into my shop for safety. “After the dust had settled, my co-traders and I went outside and saw the skull of the victim which had been smashed with a sledge hammer by the cult group on Ikorodu Road.” Shittu’s friend, identified as

Ibrahim Ololade, who tried to rescue the victim, was shot in the leg. He was rushed to the hospital by the residents. A resident, who identified himself simply as Joseph, said after the cult members killed Shittu, they were shouting that they were now the Boko Haram of Lagos. He said: “After the victim’s skull was broken with a sledge hammer, one of the cult members brought out his gun and shot Shittu in the eyes.” When our correspondent visited the scene, the body had been taken away by policemen attached to Alakara Police Division. Another resident said his younger brother was also killed by the same cult group in 2013. He said: “My younger brother, Gbenga Ajiboye, was slaughtered by the same cult group and his body was dumped inside a canal, while I was also shot in the leg. “The group also killed Tunde Ibikunle and Lawal Jimoh in 2013. Both bodies were mutilated by the cult members. “The killings on Lawani Street have become unbearable. We want the Lagos State Government to curb the menace of cult groups in the state.”

National Daily news editor loses dad P

a James Omodara Otokiti is dead. He is the father of the News Editor of National Daily newspaper, Mr Segun Otokiti. Pa Otokiti died at the age 80 years on May 29. He was a supervisory senior pharmacy technician with Ido/ Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State before he retired some years ago. His career took him across many states in the South-West and Edo State. A Christian wake-keep and lying-in-state would hold on July 16 at his residence at number 69, Ayetoro Street, Ijare, Ondo State. His remains would be laid to rest on July 17 at his residence after a funeral service at St. Michael Anglican Church, Ayetoro

The late Otokiti

Street, Ijare. The deceased is survived by wives, children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and many other relations. Entertainment of guests follows immediately after burial at Anglican Grammar School’s open field in Ijare.

Makurdi

n 11-year-old boy, Adolphus Akua, was at the weekend killed by an explosive device suspected to be a grenade at Nyor Igyungu village, near the new Makurdi International Market, Benue State. It was gathered that the victim, a primary four

pupil, was clearing their home when he found a grenade in one of his late father’s bags. His father was a police officer. A source in the neighbourhood said that not knowing what the substance was, the boy, who was an orphan, took it outside where he and other children were playing with it within the compound.

Three appear before ‘elders’ over cassava theft Dominic Adewole Asaba

The late Shittu

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kenneth Nwosu, said the police were on the trail of the cult members. He said: “Efforts are on to

apprehend the masterminds of the heinous act. We also encourage members of the neighbourhood to avail us of information that could aid speedy investigation.”

30 held for cult clashes in Ogun Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

olice in Ogun State have arrested about 30 suspects in connection with cult-related violence that has rocked IjebuOde and its environs in the past few weeks. The arrest followed the deployment of more than 10 police teams, including Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS), AntiRobbery of the Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Mobile Police Force and State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in Ijebu axis to contain the spate of cult clashes. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement yesterday that the suspected cult members were nabbed within one week at various locations. Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, also disclosed that several arms and ammunition were recovered from the suspects. According to him, the police teams on special operation in Ijebu-Ode raided many black spots and hideouts, including Fidipote Street, Ogbogbo village, Ita Alapo, Imeweje and some hotels in the area which led to the arrest of the prime suspects or

ring leaders allegedly involved in a series of killings. The PPRO added that the operation was led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Shina Olukolu. He said: “Some of the suspected cult members arrested by the police include Gbenga Banjo aka Solution, Akeem Kareem aka Obalufon, Dammy, Jawando (real names yet unknown), Kazeem Akeem aka Obalofin, Oluwatimileyin Akintunde aka Majek, Olootu Lukman aka Eba, Neyo (not real name) and Oladele Oluniga. “Some of the suspects have been arraigned in court in Ijebu-Ode.” Adejobi said the Police Commissioner, Val Ntomchukwu, had ordered thorough investigation of the other suspects and more of the incidents recorded in Ijebu area of the state. He added: “The command will not allow any individual or group of hoodlums to truncate the existing security arrangement in the state or embarrass the command. The police boss vowed to take the fight against cultism and other vices to the door steps of the hoodlums.

Grenade kills 11-year-old orphan Cephas Iorhemen

City Briefs

While playing, the boy pulled off the pin on the grenade. It exploded and killed him instantly while a young girl, Torkwase Anza, who was with him at the time, sustained serious injuries. The source said the girl was rushed to a public hospital for treatment, while the remains of the boy were buried immediately.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Austin Ezeani, confirmed the incident. He said the Police Bomb Squad, which was deployed to the scene, combed the area and the home of the late police officer to evacuate explosive materials that were not returned to the command before his death.

Grenades

he traditional court at OgwashiUku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State will on June 18 adjudicate on the case of cassava theft preferred against three persons in the kingdom. The matter was adjourned till Thursday by the Council of Elders when the elders met at the OgwaDiakpa of Ikelike Ogwashi-Uku. One Ifeanyi Akpu and Vincent Dibia had taken the trio of Okolie Esedume, Joseph Kachikwu and Elizabeth Ossai to the traditional court for their involvement in the theft. The complainants had alleged that Esedume sold a portion of the farm belonging to Kachikwu to Ossai just as they also wanted the Council of Elders to determine whether the first accused (Esedume) had the right to sell the portion which he knew did not belong to him.

‘Moving command centre to Maiduguri risky’

resident Muhammadu Buhari has been advised not to move the Military Command Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, Borno State capital. A one-time Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) war Chief Cameraman, Pa Ganiyu Davies, who gave the advice in Lagos yesterday at a media parley, urged the president to instead appoint three general officers commanding (GOCs) to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. Davies said that the move showed the Federal Government’s seriousness to tackle the insurgency headlong, but it should not solve one problem and create another. According to him, moving the military command centre to Maiduguri portends another security danger for the country if the decision is not quickly reverted. He suggested that the GOCs should be posted to North-East, North-West and North Central with capable commanders who would be briefing the President through the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on their daily activities. In addition, he also suggested the appointment of a special envoy who would be liaising with Nigeria and other countries regarding information from the Boko Haram war zone. Davies, now in his 80s, was in warfront with GOCs – the late Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, General Shua, Benjamin Adekunle and later former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the 30-month Nigeria-Biafra Civil War.

12 News

monday, june 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

national

Oil spilage: Ijaw lament Shell's insincerity Yekeen Nurudeen ABUJA

he lingering crisis between the Ijaw community of Bayelsa state and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over damages caused by oil spillage from Shell's oil well is getting worse as the leadership of Ijaw people in the state has accused the company of insincerity in handling the compensation due to the victims of the spillage. A leader of the Ijaw community in Bayelsa

l To petition NJC over role of justices state, Chief Pere Ajuwa, who has been brokering peace between the people and the oil company, accused Shell of conniving with some judges of the Federal High Court in subverting justice in the case involving them and the oil company. Speaking in Abuja over the weekend at a press conference, Chief Ajuwa, a former presidential candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD), alleged that Shell has been frustrating all

efforts to get compensation for the 1,247 Ijaw people who have died due to oil pollution. He lamented that the sum of 1.5billion dollars awarded by the National Assembly as compensation to the people of Bayelsa after a Commission of Inquiry established that the oil spillage led to the death of those 1,247 Ijaw people has been a bone of contention. While noting that his people have been thrown overboard illegally in the

matter by those he called agents of federal government and those of Shell, Chief Ajuwa alleged that four judges of the Court of Appeal were given bribe of 10million dollars each by Shell to rule in favour of the oil company. He said that the 145 Ijaw communities which he represents have written a petition to be submitted to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) to investigate the roles of the four judges in the ruling of Court of

Apeal, Port Harcourt that held that there was an abuse of court process in the case filed by the Ijaw people at the Federal High Court. Describing them as bad eggs in the nation's Judicial system who must be removed, Ajuwa, who addressed the press on a wheel chair, said by now “his people are entitled to 40billion dollar, noting that Nigeria has taken a lot from the Ijaw people. His words: “We have been in a battle with Shell

Development Petroleum Company of Nigeria. When the traditional rulers council of Bayelsa state invited me to handle the case, I gave them my conditions which included nonviolence from any Ijaw group. I remember that a Commission of Inquiry was formed in 2003. From that time till now we have been in this battle. There has been no single violence all this while. The Bayelsa, Ijaw people abided by the agreement, that there would be no violence. But in this process we have been undermined, thrown overboard illegally both by agents of government and agents of Shell.

Saraki’s emergence shows APC’s political recklessness, says UPP chair Dominic Adewole ASABA

T L-R: Wife of Akwa Ibom State governor, Martha; Governor Udom Emmanuel; Senator Godswill Akpabio, his wife, Unoma, at a thanksgiving mass organised by the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene in honour of Akpabio at St Anne's Cathedral, Ifuho, Ikot Ekpene LGA…yesterday

Group condemns attack on Lai Mohammed

group, Kwara Concerned Citizens, has stoutly defended the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, over the statement he issued on behalf of his party shortly after the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives respectively. The group, in a statement signed by Shaaba Lafiaji and Hezekiah Oyedepo, also condemned a statement credited to a group in Kwara threatening to deal with Mohammed for "for carrying out his duties diligently, as he has always done, by articulating the position of his party". It said the position of the anti- Mohammed group does not reflect that of the majority of the Kwara people, who are proud of Mohammed for being a good ambassador of the state.

Perjury: Rep petitions IG to prosecute opponent Philip Nyam ABUJA

member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, Hon. Hassan Saleh has called on the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase to prosecute his opponent Mr Christian Abbah for alleged forgery and perjury. Saleh, who made the call in Abuja at the week-

end, also asked the Benue State Commissioner of Police to prosecute Mr Abbah for alleged threat to life and destruction of property in Otukpa, Ogbadibo LGA of Benue State by some youths allegedly sponsored by Abbah. Saleh disclosed that after a judgement order in suit number: FHC/ Abj/CS/08/2014 issued by Justice Adeniyi Ademola which invalidated Mr. Abbah’s election and declared him as duly elected member from the Constituency.

CBAAC DG elected president of Pan African Cultural Congress Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

Nigerian, Chief Ferdinand Anikwe has been elected President of Bureau of Pan African Cultural Congress for a period of three years. Chief Anikwe, who is the Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), was elected to head the body at the 4th

Pan African Cultural Congress (PACC4) held last month in South Africa. The event was organised by the African Union Commission in Collaboration with the Government of South African. Chief Anikwe's paper on "Multiculturalism: A Critical Perspective," which was presented at the conference, was acknowledged as beneficial to the member states.

Centre petitions ICPC over appointment of NEXIM Bank Director Yekeen Nurudeen ABUJA

civil rights group, Centre for Social Justice, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to investigate the appointment and activities of the Nigeria Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank's Executive Director for Business Development, which it claims was undeserving. In a petition addressed to the ICPC, signed by the Coordinator of the Center, Comrade Ikpa Isaac for the group, dated June 5, 2015, the Centre argued that the appointment of the Executive Director of the bank, Mrs. Folake Itohan Oke Salami did not follow due process, noting that she was not qualified to be appointed into that position. The petition reads in part: "We have carried out private investigations on the credentials of the said Mrs. Folake Itohan

Oke Salami and discovered that she committed fraud and told huge lies on oath in order to occupy the aforesaid position." The Center further alleged that Mrs Salami had falsified her experience status in the banking sector to influence her appointment into that position, stating that her claim of working in a multipurpose cooperative society did not fit the bill as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Addressing a press briefing in Abuja, Comrade Isaac claimed the said Executive Director had used her claim as owning a multipurpose cooperative society to influence her appointment. It called on the ICPC to commence full-fledged investigation into the records of Mrs. Salami to ascertain whether or not she is qualified ab initio to be considered and appointed as Executive Director Business Development of Nigerian Export-Import Bank.

he former Delta State Chairman of the United Peoples Party (UPP), Johnfreeman Chiadikabia, yesterday described the roles played by the chieftains of the All Progressive Congress (APC) before, during and after the emergence of former Governor of Kwara state, Bukola Saraki, as the Senate President as political recklessness. The UPP stalwart maintained that the unruliness of the party started from the absurdity that surrounded the formation of the Unity Forum in the Senate House, which teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties to deliver Saraki. Speaking in Asaba yesterday, the former UPP helmsman said the fraternity between Saraki and the deputy Senator President, Ike Ekweremadu, points to the fact that the Assembly election would topple APC. According to him, the initial logjam between the ruling APC and President Muhammadu Buhari on the Assembly leadership had heralded victory for Saraki. “APC, which abandoned its lawmaking responsibility to be at an inauguration ceremony of a conference, is not prepared to govern Nigeria and its people and that before 2019, APC shall give way for another strong opposition party to emerge and take over the governance of Nigeria,” he said.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Interview

Nigerian governors are bad managers – Utomi

14, 15

Politics The optimism that the new governors, who took oath of office on May 29, will immediately hit the ground running is turning a dream as tales of huge debts, backlog of unpaid salaries and empty treasuries left by their predecessors rock the polity. FELIX NWANERI reports

Burden of debts

Ambode

Ganduje

el-Rufai

Umahi

Ayade

Lalong

here is no disputing the fact that the pleasure of governing any of Nigeria’s 36 states is exquisite given the vast number always eager to be concerned with it. This was justified by the array of personalities, who contested the governorship poll in the last general elections. The election, which saw the defeat of some incumbents and emergence of 20 new persons as chief executives in the 29 states where the poll held, had nine others return for their second term. The “new kids on the block” are Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom), Ben Ayade (Cross River), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Abubakar Bello (Niger). Others are Simon Lalong (Plateau), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Muhammad Abubakar (Jigawa), Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Aminu Ma-

AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY Editor, POLITICS ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

sari (Katsina), Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba). While the dust over the elections has settled and the pomp that characterised the swearingin of the new helmsmen in the states over, the reality of power is gradually dawning on the new governors, especially those in their first term. This is despite the fact that most of them were anointed by their predecessors and have expected a smooth start. Already, there are claims of huge debts; backlog of unpaid salaries; empty treasuries and even looting of government property among others by most of the new helmsmen in some of the states across the country. The states include Bauchi, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa and Cross River. The huge debt burden is the

States

Debt Profile

Lagos

N418bn

Kano

N379bn

Bauchi

N128bn

Cross River N123bn Plateau

N104bn

Benue

N90bn

Kebbi

N83bn

Niger

N56bn

Ebonyi

N50bn

Adamawa

N40.5bn

Jigawa

N14bn

same in states where incumbents returned to power for the second term as well as the seven states where the governorship election did not hold – Ekiti, Anambra, Edo, Ondo, Osun, Kogi and Bayelsa. The second term governors are Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe), Umaru al-Makura (Nasarawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara). Okorocha has a burden of unpaid salaries ranging from three to 15 months. Recently, academic staff of Imo State University, Owerri, went on strike for about three months over unpaid salaries and allowances. Also recently, staff of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) protested to the Government House, Owerri,

over the same salary issue. The situation is the same in Osun State, where Aregbesola holds sway. The state is groaning under crushing economic hardship caused by unpaid salaries of over six months. Apart from unpaid salaries, the state is ranked ninth in the list of the most indebted states in the country. The states are not alone on this issue. A recent report released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that the Federal Government has an external debt stock of $6.445 billion and another N7.9 trillion domestic debt totalling N9.19 trillion, as of December 31, 2014. The debts are currently being serviced with N700 billion every year. The DMO’s external debt report further listed Nigeria’s most indebted states. The debt figures CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Politics

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigerian governors are bad managers – Utomi As an economist, what is your take on the huge debts of the states? It is evidence we need to reschool our people in public management. There are many reasons why we have a huge debt burden and one of it is that oil prices dropped last year and the failure to have prudence in the way we structure spending, which took away from us any decent savings. It means that once the revenues flowing into the states from the federation account, which had increased because of high oil prices dropped, the states have no fall back, no planning and most of them were vulnerable. But you will see a remarkable difference in a state like Kastina and some other places where they still managed significant surpluses facing the same condition as the other states. So, obviously the culture of greater prudence existed in some states relative to others. The second point is lack of discipline in some areas of public life in our country. The cost of governance has been very high, unreasonable high in many places. There are some states governors that had more than 1,000 Special Assistants and surely most of them won’t have anything they are doing. It is just a way of dolling out government money to some people the governors wanted to do favour. It is tragic; we can do more things that are productive. For some people, government is the only way out and they obliged by being appointed to political offices. So, the cost of governance was too high and goals of many of these states did not show prioritisation; focusing on the most important activities of the state. But more importantly, I think it shows a complete reversal from the situation between the national government and the sub-national government. In the 1960s, most of the wealth created in this country was created at the regional level; today that is completely the opposite of the reality. So, it is a wake-up call to state governors and people who are aspiring to be state governors that it is not just a jolly ride. In your own view, how did we really get to the level that states cannot pay salaries? It is indiscipline, lack of prudence and lack of planning. In those states, they are not paying salaries, governors were chartering aircraft to go to Abuja. During the meetings of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) that took place at a point in 2013 and last year, it was like almost every week they were in Abuja and those fellows chartered planes every time they went to Abuja. If you fly regularly like me in commercial aircraft in Nigeria, you will know something happened. Because four, five, eight years ago, every time you get on the plane, the pilot will welcome His Excellency but I hardly in one occasion ran into any governor in the last two years. It was so unique that I have to tweet about it. “Liyel

Prof. Pat Utomi is a renowned economist and former Presidential Adviser in the Second Republic. In this interview with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE, he speaks on the debt burden in the states, National Assembly leadership, and cost of governance, among other issues. Excerpts: Imoke came on a flight I was on to Abuja.” So most of the governors anytime they are going to Abuja chartered plane and if they were going for Governors’ Forum meeting for about two or three times in a week at a point, you will find out that the amount of money the governors spent chartering planes is enough to pay significant salaries. So, most of the state governors are bad managers and terrible leaders. Why are they bad managers and terrible leaders? Of course that is not something you dispute. They were bad managers, terrible leaders. There is a difference between a leader and a manager. A manager is somebody who deals with resources judiciously. So, you can get a good manager who deals with resources judiciously but he might not be able to shape culture and inspire a new way of creating growth and progress for the people. So, he would have been effective when money came to him. But the leader who is a good manager can then ensure that prudent use of resources takes place and he can inspire new possibilities; create new visions, new ways of doing things and entrepreneurial approach to solving problems. Some states with huge debts have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to bail them out but the president has not yielded to the request. How do you see the development? I think most states on their own don’t have gravitas to attract bridge finance to overcome their challenges. They have already overborrowed and over-leveraged. The previous administration in spite of the effort of the Finance Minister to make an effort, which I think could have been done to prevent many of the states from borrowing more and going to market raising bonds; like fiscal responsibility, laws limiting states such that you can’t borrow more than X percentage of the anticipated revenues in next year and all that. But many of them have contravened the rules, getting the presidency to put pressure on the Ministry of Finance to approve for them to borrow more and they became very indebted such that their successors cannot even turn to the markets to get bridging finance. Even in the ordinary course of doing business, you don’t borrow to pay salaries. You borrow to invest in things that would create future tax, revenue or infrastructure. But when you are borrowing to pay salaries; it is a very dangerous track. However, salaries need to be paid because people need to survive and the money they spend can stimulate

economic activities and lead to expansion in the economy. So, I think the Federal Government should step in because it has more gravitas and possibility of security to borrow. So, it can then lend but must put some stringent conditions that can really caution the administrators of the states. What are the stringent conditions the Federal Government can apply? The states must trim their workforce to suit the actual demands. They must create enabling environment to attract investments and expand their tax base. I think

What we call fuel subsidy is a scam; it is not really a subsidy. It is a scam that has made many people rich from doing nothing

Utomi

if they show such evidence, then on the basis of that, they can be protected by the Federal Government in a bridge finance to overcome the immediate pressures of not paying salaries. Would you support the agitation for reduction in the cost of governance? I believe there is a massive need for reduction in the cost of governance. When you say reduction in the cost of governance, people will think you want to lay people off. No; it is not about laying people off. There are so many leakages in government than to think of lay-

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ing people off. There are many leakages and when you block those leakages, you will see tremendous amount of savings and you can save government so much. There can also be reduction in the cost of maintenance of public service. You don’t have to sack them; you can take them to other functions that are not staffed. You move them to local government and strengthen local government administration. In reducing the cost of governance, you can also reduce the amount spent by governors running up and down and reduce frivolous projects. You can trim the cost of governance without doing too much damage. Would you say the decision of some governors to cut salaries and reduce the number of commissioners and aides are in order? It is a useful signal. But let us be frank with ourselves, if you cut your salary by 50 per cent and the security vote is so big, what have you done? You are just deceiving people but it is a good signal. One of the things we also need to do is to carry out oversight function on security votes. I am not saying that there shouldn’t be anything like that for security purposes but let there be a House Committee that sits over what the government

uses security votes for. They do it in America. You are part of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Transition Committee; what are the findings of the committee and the policy direction of the new administration? It is not in my place to talk about the committee’s work. I was coopted into the committee to help with something and that has been done; it is the person who received the report that is at liberty to talk about the report. It would be inappropriate for me to talk about such a thing. From your findings, do you think the Federal Government is financially buoyant? How can it be financially buoyant? It cannot be financially buoyant, but it can be creative in finding solutions. There are many ways Federal Government can creatively try to bridge the huge financing gap that is before it. It can do it through strategic partnership with countries that have significant capital surplus. If you go to Ethiopia, you will see infrastructures that are developing in the country. Ethiopia does not have near the Nigerian resources base, yet you will see all kinds of highways coming up, train services, urban mass transit

Of course that is not something you dispute. They were bad managers, terrible leaders

and so on. It is because they have been able to negotiate certain arrangement with the Chinese. We could do that with the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese; we could even invite Australian banks that are big in infrastructures financing; use public-private partnership to bridge the huge infrastructure deficit that is holding back expansion and growth of the economy. Those are the few ways we can bridge the financing gap. What is your take on the issue of fuel subsidy? One of the reasons you need a good village square; a good market place of ideas is because half knowledge is a very dangerous thing and there is so much conversation base on limited knowledge relative to certain kinds of issues in Nigeria. One of them is the emotive arena called fuel subsidy. Sometimes, I will just be flabbergasted by how people come to positions and how they hold on to their positions even when it is hurting them. When the fuel subsidy issue came up in January 2012, I was one of those who demonstrated. I was very active during the ‘Occupy Falomo’ and I said consistently during that crisis that I am not demonstrating because of the removal of fuel subsidy. What we call fuel subsidy is a scam; it is not really a subsidy. It is a scam that has made many people rich from doing nothing. I will like to joke about a very senior executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who was on a flight with me once and as we are passing the fleet of private jets, he said to me; ‘Prof, that is kerosene subsidy sitting on our tarmac.’ The bills are so huge that intelligent people should want to remove things that give people opportunity to abuse the commonwealth. Obviously there is a trust deficit between the people of Nigeria and the government. This is so because government has been untruthful to Nigerian people for a long time. That does not mean that we should shoot ourselves in the foot and continue on that basis. We should try and put those who are more trustworthy in power, hold them accountable and monitor them closely. The fuel subsidy matter is significant on two fronts; significant on one front in the cost of crude oil. When the price of crude goes very high like it was before and we are not refining locally, importing from the international markets at certain prices obviously means that the price would be significantly high and then lead to higher regime of subsidies. There are people who feel that the problem is not subsidy; the problem is that we have refused to fix our refineries. So, let us fix our refineries first before we talk of subsidy. On the face of it; that is correct. It is a logical statement; if we refine at home, we won’t have the big gaps. So, if we refine at home and then we remove subsidy, what people would pay would be marginal difference from what they are paying. But we know that people who have a vested interest would prevent the refineries from ever working. They have managed to do that since 1992. So, what do you want to do? They said until government can catch them and hold them, we won’t do anything. I think we should take the window, especially when crude oil prices

are lower and we have people who we can at least give the benefit of doubt to remove it and let competition release prices. How would you react to the emergence of the National Assembly leadership? I found it very sad indeed and to me, it is not about who won or who lost. Personally, I don’t believe in politics of personality; anyone of the candidates can be good for Nigeria. The problem that I have and I saw it coming and warned; we must not send a signal to the people that the elites do not have a consensus around something that Nigerian people voted for; change. If you get into a brawl over positions and power that show lack of discipline in the party, Nigerians will begin to say, maybe these people were not ready for the mandate we gave them, which is for change. And that is why I felt very sad about what happened. Self-interest seems to have gripped the system. What will happen now is that there would be a big fight for every policy and legislation going forward. That has already sabotaged the change programme. What would be your advice in resolving the issue? We need a lot of fence mending and a lot of meetings, trying to get people to focus more on the purposes rather than on power. To focus on why we are in power, which is to improve the quality of life of the average Nigerians who live in a misery index. Nigerians are waiting anxiously for President Buhari to name his cabinet members and there are reports that factors such as party supremacy, ethnicity and zoning are responsible for the delay. What is your take on this? The idea of appointing people base on groups; whether they are ethnic or minority groups or regional groups is not new in public life. It is not particular to Nigeria. In fact, I keep reminding people that one of the books I have read on this subject was published in 1948 by a guy called Thomas Quealy and the book is titled ‘Representative bureaucracy.’ The argument is made clearly that the more people who are appointed represent the breadth of the population; it is more likely that the population will own the policies they are shaping and will be collaborative with government. However, people intend to misuse or abuse that provision to appoint cronies because from many places where you see incompetent cronies, you really can find very competent people. That has been the problem in applying affirmative action, which in our case is called federal character. Having said that, I think we should not be held hostage due to certain federal character arrangement but we must make the effort to present people. I think he should trim the cabinet. He could still meet constitutional provision by having appointees from all the states. In the United States of America, the core cabinet members are not more than 12 to 14 people. But an Ambassador to the United Nations is cabinet ranking; he can attend cabinet meetings. That is what we should do; not creating more ministries just to make every state believe that it has a ministry. He can appoint heads of parastatals that can be cabinet ranking.

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(without adding domestic debts) show Lagos as Nigeria’s most indebted state with $1.17 billion debt. It is followed by Kaduna with $234 million debt, Cross River ($142 million), Edo ($123 million), Ogun ($109 million), Bauchi ($88 million), Katsina ($79 million), Osun ($74 million), Oyo ($72 million) and Enugu ($69 million). The states that are least indebted are: Taraba (N4.56 billion), Borno (N4.61 billion), Delta (N4.85 billion), Plateau (N6.19 billion), Yobe (N6.25 billion), Benue (N6.62 billion), Abia (N6.76 billion), Zamfara (N7.11 billion) and Kogi (N7.16 billion). Most of the highly indebted states accumulated the debts through issuance of bonds and the immediate past Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, at a time described the situation as scary. His words: “The domestic debt profiles of some states are scary. The states are so much in debt that only a small amount of their allocations get to them at the end of the day because most times, money for debt servicing is removed from source.” And while many had expected that the APC-led Federal Government will come to the rescue of the indebted states (at least to clear backlog of salaries) as most of them are controlled by the party, President Muhammadu Buhari told APC governors during their visit before his inauguration that a bailout is not in the offing. Feelers from the meeting revealed that Buhari told the governors that those of them in their second term in office cannot complain about the state of the economy, having collected all their allocations to date from the Federal Government. The President’s position therefore leaves the governors at the mercy of the situation on ground. Bauchi: N125bn domestic debt The new Bauchi governor, Mohammed Abubakar, shortly after his inauguration, accused his predecessor, Isa Yugauda, who piloted the affairs of the state between 2007 and 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of leaving a huge debt and an empty treasury. Abubakar said his administration has discovered a cumulative external and domestic debt to the tune of N125 billion incurred by the Yuguda administration despite the fact that N864 billion, excluding ecological funds accrued to the state during the eight years of Yuguda’s tenure According to the new governor, debt emanating from domestic loans stands at N47.7 billion, foreign loan N18.9 billion while contract liabilities is N41.5 billion. He added that presently, the state has next to nothing of accessible funds and described as disturbing, the myriads of challenges inherited from the last administration. He expressed concern on how to source for funds to pay the outstanding salaries of workers for the months of April and May, which he puts at N5.2 billion. Civil servants in the state have not been paid April and May salaries, which amount to N5.2 billion, while state and local government pensioners were owed about N12

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States groan under debt burden billion pension arrears by the outgone Yuguda government. Besides empty treasury, Abubakar, who emerged governor on the platform of the APC, also accused Yuguda of destroying the state. He therefore appealed to the people of the state to be patient with him as the change they expect would not be rapid. “It was for 16 years that the state went through destruction but now, God has brought us out of it. The massive destruction requires a lot of work. We inherited an empty treasury from the past administration. It will be a very difficult task for us but I will want Bauchi people to be patient with us as we rebuild the state and fulfil our promises. We will do everything possible to bring Bauchi State out of the dungeon it is in now,” Abubakar said. Kano: N379bn liability In Kano State, where the change of baton was between leaders of the same political party – APC, it is tale of huge debt. The Transition Committee set up by the new governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had disclosed before the inauguration that the outgone governor, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, not only left an empty treasury but additional liability of N379 billion. But as expected, Ganduje has come out to defend his predecessor and former boss, declaring that the huge liabilities he inherited was not a crime. The new governor, who was former deputy to Kwankwaso, in his defence, said the price of crude oil at the moment is differ-

ent from what it was when the Kwankwaso-led Kwankwassiyya Political Movement commenced its transformation of the ancient commercial city in 2011. His words: “I am part and parcel of the Kwankwaso’s administration and whatever must have happened; we all should take the responsibility. It is correct that we have huge liabilities, but that does not mean that it is a crime, we planned everything together but unfortunately, what we envisaged did not work as the price of oil came down.”

There are claims of huge debts; backlog of unpaid salaries; empty treasuries and even looting...

Lagos: N418.2bn debt In Lagos, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode inherited a debt burden of N418.2 billion accumulated by the immediate past government of Babatunde Fashola. The debt, which leaves Lagos as Nigeria’s highest indebted state has a repayment plan of over 40 years, and is an astronomical increase from the N15 billion Fashola inherited from his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 2007. A breakdown showed a domestic debt of N69.666 billion, obtained from borrowing from banks; N225 billion from bond issuance and N207.499 billion external loan from foreign bodies. While Ambode is yet to comment on the issue, Fashola, in replying his critics, urged them to forget about debt and focus on his “good works.” His words: “It seems people just dwell on debt but in the context of debt, let us look at the assets too. I am leaving behind hundreds of kilometres of roads, bridges,

schools, hospitals, courtrooms, social services, skill centres, streetlights and traffic lights. I am leaving behind also people who now have jobs, who did not have jobs seven years ago. I am leaving behind a stronger security force; a stronger LASTMA, a stronger KAI. That is where the money went. I am leaving behind a rail system. I am leaving behind so many assets for the continuity of life. I am also leaving behind a bigger workforce – a better equipped workforce. I think we should talk less about debt and more about development.” The Lagos State Government also rose to the former governor’s defence, saying its debt profile is sustainable. Commissioner for Finance in the Fashola administration, Ayo Gbeleyi, said government’s huge debts were sustainable, as it would not constitute a burden to the incoming government. Rivers: Claims of vandalism In Rivers State, the new helmsman, Nyesom Wike, accused former Governor Chibuike Amaechi of stripping bare the State House. Wike, who has sworn to probe Amaechi’s eight-year rule, explained that the damage done to the Rivers Government House and Governor’s Lodge by Amaechi and his aides, is the reason he would not move into the State House too soon, preferring instead to operate from his home. “Everything has been vandalised. I will not enter the Government House in the next two or three months. There is no vehicle

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in Government House, not even one. Yet the former governor talks about corruption,” Wike said. But, in a swift reaction, Amaechi asked: “Did Wike know what was in my former bedroom before now, to conclude that the bedroom was looted? Did he speak with or review with the Permanent Secretary of Government House, who is the chief accounting officer before jumping into such hasty and misguided conclusion?” Kaduna: State in shambles It is another tale of financial crisis in Kaduna State, where Governor Nasil el-Rufai told a huge crowd at the Murtala Square during his inauguration that the state he inherited is tragically backward. Kaduna has $234 million external debt. His words: “Kaduna State is in a difficult situation. As soon as we have all the facts in coming weeks, we shall lay bare to you just how deep a hole we have dug ourselves in the past several years. “Our finances are in shambles. Kaduna is the second most indebted state in our country. Our state is staggering under the weight of billions of naira in debt and other liabilities. As we all know, merely by walking the streets or seeing our neighbours everyday; the state of our Kaduna State is abysmal. Our schools and hospitals, our roads and bridges, our villages, towns and cities, all are markers of backwardness. “Too many of our children are hungry and in rags and in the street. Our society is divided along religious and ethnic lines. Worse still, our state cannot stand on its own feet. We have become a state of beggars, a condition of dependency that is an affront to

our dignity and our humanity.” The new Kaduna governor had before assuming office petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged attempt by his predecessor, Mukhtar Yero, of the PDP to misappropriate the sum of N2.7 billion SURE-P funds belonging to the state’s 23 local government areas. Plateau: Empty treasury and N104bn debt In Plateau State, Governor Simon Lalong of the APC disclosed that the immediate past administration of Jonah Jang (PDP) left N104 billion debt in its handover note to him. According to Lalong, he found no kobo in the state treasury as Jang left him a total debt of N104 billion, including the non-payment of seven-month workers’ salaries, as well as pensions. “The past administration left N104 billion documented in the handing over note to me and there is also no kobo left in the treasury of the state, and we will have to battle again with the seven months unpaid salaries of workers, including pensioners in the state,” he stated. In his reaction, Jang, through an aide, said “the real debt with the bank is N18 billion; the rest are unpaid salaries and monies needed to be paid to contractors for the ongoing projects that are not yet completed.” Benue: N90bn debt and empty treasury Besides claim of empty treasury, the new Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom (APC), added that he inherited a debt burden of N90 billion made up of huge salary arrears, allowances, pensions, retirement benefits, bonds as well

Our finances are in shambles. Kaduna is the second most indebted state in our country

as obligations to contractors. He said: “As we speak, the state treasury is empty, there is nothing in the treasury. I am not witch hunting anybody but the truth must be told.” Ortom listed the debts as N50 billion for ongoing contracts, N18 billion for certified ones, N12 billion for salary arrears and about N10 billion for bonds and bank loans. He added that the state government has concluded arrangements to borrow funds to pay one month s salary across board and also ensure the take off of both the executive and legislative arms of government. Against this backdrop, he vowed that all projects, programmes and policies of the Gabriel Suswam-led administration would be reviewed. Kebbi: N83bn liability In Kebbi State, Governor Atiku Bagudu said he inherited N83 billion debt from his predecessor, Saidu Dakingari. According to Bagudu, Dakingari’s hand over notes showed outstanding liabilities of N83 billion made up of N21 billion debts, N47 billion commitments on ongoing projects and N15 billion on projects approved but which had not yet commenced. But unlike in other states where his colleagues claimed they met empty treasuries, Bagudu admitted that Dakingari left N300 million in the state’s coffers. The new governor said he has set up a committee to study and verify the claims of assets and liabilities contained in the handing over notes presented by the outgone administration. Niger: N56bn debt It was the same claim of huge debt in Niger State, where the

self-acclaimed Chief Servant, Babangida Aliyu (PDP), handed over power to Abubakar Bello (APC) as the transition committee set up by the new governor discovered that the outgone administration left behind a N56 billion debt. Chairman of the committee and deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Mohammed Ketso, who disclosed this when he presented its report before the May 29 inauguration, said the committee reviewed the debt profile of the Aliyu government and discovered that the debt profile it submitted indicates N56 billion. “After the committee met, it verified and ascertained financial dealings in the five sub-sectors, namely; Political and Governance, Finance, Economics, Social and Infrastructure. We made observations and consolidated the report submitted by the subcommittees and made it a single report which was sent to the PDP transition committee, for them to go through and then give us the clean copy,” he said. Jigawa: N14bn debt In Jigawa, the immediate past governor, Sule Lamido (PDP), personally revealed the N14 billion debt he left behind for his successor, Muhammad Abubakar (APC). Lamido made the disclosure during a news conference after handing over to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdu Babura on May 21, before jetting out to Saudi Arabia. Lamido had earlier said that he would not hand over to his successor, because his predecessor did not hand over to him. The figure was arrived at after a joint sitting of the two transition committees in the state. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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Opinion Inside President Buhari’s mind Dominik Umosen

he opportunity to get inside the mind of President Muhammadu Buhari, now, is a strong lure. To do so would be to decode his undiluted reaction to the self-inflicted humiliation suffered by the All Progressives Party, following its sensational failure to stop Senator Bukola Saraki from becoming senate president. The former governor of Kwara State defied his party’s directive to step down for Ahmed Lawan, a third-term senator from Borno State. The ensuing rebellion ripped open a festering disaffection for the party’s preference for Lawan. Every move to stop Saraki from realising his dream, including the meeting to which 51 senators from the party went while the plotters were perfecting their coup in the senate chambers, failed sensationally. Nostradamus need not recommend that the number one citizen must be struggling to suppress a guffaw over the sudden twist. As we all remember, the president has a genuine scar to flaunt as evidence of a failed attempt by the party to teleguide him regarding the composition of his cabinet. Informed sources blame similar interference for his embarrassing inability to name his cabinet. The country, they say, cruises on auto-pilot basically because of the insistence of some self-appointed overlords to have their way regarding its composition I am certain that more than a quirky sense of mischief informed the president’s decision to shun

the meeting called by the party at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, to reconcile members to support the aborted attempt to impose a candidate. Most likely bemused, the president shunned the meeting which was attended by the National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun and the National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, who temporarily re-located from Lagos for this purpose. But by the time the APC senators returned to the national assembly chambers after the meeting that never was, his driving ambition to improve upon his late father’s record as Majority Leader in the second Republic also drove Saraki to perfect a coup which left the APC looking like ordinary boys scouts pitched against battle-tested soldiers. The rump of APC senators teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to spite their party by electing Saraki. This translates to humiliation and sweet revenge over the outcome of the general elections. The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as president of the 8th senate has re-focussed attention on the perils of trying to play God. By promoting the intoxicating arrogance of trying to impose principal officers on adults in the national assembly, the APC was suckered by the same vice that consumed the PDP. Like the latter, it also developed the weaknesses of arrogance and detachment from reality. Driven by an all-consuming passion, Saraki threw his all into the race and ignored attempts by his party to deny him his dream. Obviously, what the APC ignored is the legitimate possibility of solidarity from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from which Saraki decamped originally.

Most intriguing, in all this, perhaps, is the fact that the new ruling party refused, so soon, to learn from the mistakes from which the PDP is still smarting. Perhaps even more tragic is the fact the APC, which often boasts of being more perceptive, most unreasonably, refused to recognise the intensity of Saraki’s desperation. Even if others failed to recognise this, the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who hilariously vowed that the party does not recognise the new leadership of the National Assembly and also hails from the same state as the new senate President, ought to have provided his colleagues in the party the benefit of this experience. Who can forget the sensational political battle Saraki, as governor, had with his late father over the details of political control in the state? Father and son squared up in their epic political battle. The son refused to back down for the father who was the undisputed strongman of politics in Kwara. Like two boxers before a fight, the general expectation was that in the African tradition, son would demur to the father. That was not to be! The senate president successfully stared his late father down and eventually had the upper hand. By the time the older Saraki died, he confided in associates that if someone had suggested that his son would defy him to that extent, he might have dismissed the suggestion The stunning humiliation is a warning to those hiding under party supremacy to promote dictatorship. But for the president, the collateral advantage is leveraging on this to assert his independence which is threatened.

Nigeria, now with an answer Saliah O. O. A. Adenowo-Rajee

ne man was brown, the other man black. One is Muhammad Buhari (MB) elected executive president, Federal Republic of Nigeria in April, 2015 after the fourth attempts, what a determination and focus? The other is Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the co-contender and sitting Executive President of five years (one and half terms) before now, he came to political limelight as Deputy Governor and Governor of Bayelsa State and later as Vice President. It was over which period the seeds of hate, bitterness and absolute corruption were sown absolutely at high level with impunity around the earth of the country known as Nigeria, all of which germinated to the highest proportion. For quite long Muhammad Buhari (MB) has since found the fire of an answer to the hatred, bitterness and all corrupt tendencies caused by the few number of the ruling class who have always displayed selfishness, greedwith impunity and superiority that are all responsible for the uncountable number of violence, destructions, tragedies and kidnappings not to undermine the Boko-Harram insurgencies. Thus the situational historical records of any country without an ideology as self-satisfied and dead like what we have witnessed in the past few years call for intervention by some concerned citizens. Materialism is a false ideology even though it is argued to be an ideology that can only be met with moral and spiritual weapons, but the magnitude of problems caused by both the out-going and out-gone past leaders of the country

calls for concrete ideological battle to cut across board as therein lies the decisive tasks of our new president elect (Muhammad Buhari (MB)) and all of us though, it may take some time, but it must be faced head-on and won with MB taking the lead by setting the pace. Because now is the time to put all hands on deck with our best eleven who are sound morally and spiritually to work more strongly than ever for unity and progress of the country through the theory of Moral Re-Armament (MRA) in order to produce prosperity contrary to the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) of 1983 and 1985. The theory is now essential and is to involve and carry everyone along in the battle of full renaissance of and in the special interest of our dear country. Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was the theory applied for the renaissance and liberation of the western-world soon after the Second World War; it started in the U.S before cutting across to Europe and was pioneered by Frank Buchman. Irene Laure once said “today France and Germany have each other, a common ideology did for our countries what sentimentality never did between the wars”. As Nigerians we need to see in the creation of a new Nigeria, we then have to start with ourselves which means a revolutionary transformation of our living and thinking. We need to put things right in our family, in the mind and with all those that are affected by our wrong perceptions and motives. With this kind of experiment we shall see very quickly that this ideology will work miracle for us as it would be based on solid foundation, when if I can change, you can change will be the reality for each and every

one of us in the country. As former Major General Muhammad Buhari and Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon gave Nigerians new hope in 1983 when they carried along majority of Nigerians which would have been continue shoulder to shoulder with us except for the stoppage, the fight today leaves neither victor nor vanquished as they say “he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day”. Neither hatred nor bitterness or with dissatisfaction of knowing that we all have a major part to play together in the scheme of things to rebuild a new Nigeria befitting a new world, with the unfinished job of creating a new type of man, free from corrupt tendencies of greed and selfishness that is fit to carry humanity forward into the dangers and vast opportunities of the atomic age…… Part of the unfinished job is the creation of a new type of man for the thought change in socio-economic conditions – economic change, social change and political change as all are necessary and none by itself frees a man from selfishness, hate and greed. Is there a new way out? Yes there is, human beings can be changed through finding an ideology that unites everyone above class, above tribe, and above religion. Muslims or Christians feel there was no ideology above the class of whom they are, they are both wrong as long as I can change, you can change, and we all can change to play the game according to the rule. The heavy work that we all have ahead of us no difficulties can prevent a willing force from those known to be the best, leaders that are to champion the cause should treat each and every one as a royal soul and at the same time treat everyone as a

man who through change can rise on merit to greatestness. The word ideology has to be defined for the ordinary man “as when you stop doing a number of things that you have been doing and start doing what you should have been all the time and do them twenty-four seven for the rest of your life”. Nigeria is presently like a dead knight in armour with many weapons but needed only righteous spirits and wills to prevail. The writer born a decade before Nigeria’s independence and raised with the question of who will salvage the country, is it with the then late Chief Obafemi Awolowo of his firm belief (kaka kadobale fun Gambari) or the military starting from Aguiyi Ironsi to Abubakar Abdusalam. All we got as result was inefficiency even some bordered on disaster for the country till recently when resources were pulled together for the CHANGE Nigerians longed for; it reminds me of the elements of change through Moral Re-Armament (MRA) as the answer to those great wounds of the past. To me and us it means to be honest about our past, clarify our motives and strike out with no thought of personal gain or ambition with total love for the country, and will come when we surrender wholeheartedly our will to be wholly committed to the power, and plan of God. The next question to ask ourselves and bring the answer to the fore is: how can we help to make positive out of the situation which has turned into one of the least attractive aspects of democracy? We are a country that survived civil war out of selfcenteredness and greed. •Adenowo-Rajee wrote in from Lagos.

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Beyond conversion of colleges

he announcement, few weeks ago, of the conversion of four colleges of education to universities of education, at the twilight of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, has been greeted with mixedfeelings. To some stakeholders, the action of the former President was a welcome development, while to others it is another height of policy somersault, calculated by the outgone administration to further rubbish the sector, and possibly create ‘strategic’ problems in the system for the incoming government. Those, who expressed concern over the conversion at the eleventh hour of the administration, have described the policy, as a mere subterfuge of a ‘failed government in education delivery’, and another act of official recklessness witnessed by the education sector in the last four years. In spite the clamour for the upgrading of the nation’s polytechnics and colleges of education to degree awarding institutions, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which described that action as lacking in deep thought and legal backing, however, wondered why President Jonathan in all intent and purpose should have to wait so long to implement the conversion, which had earlier been announced in 2010, when the then Education Minister, Professor Ruqayyat Rufa’I announced the upgrading of six institutions, comprising two federal polytechnics (Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Poly) and four federal colleges of education (Adeyemi College of Education; Alvan Ikoku College of Education; Federal College of Education, Kano and Federal College of Education,

Zaria) to universities. Prior to that, another shot at converting the institutions to full-fledged universities, was taken in 2006, when the Federal Government announced the conversion of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) and Kaduna Polytechnic to City University of Lagos and City University of Kaduna respectively, and other federal polytechnics and colleges of education were to become campuses of “proximate and contiguous universities.” Unfortunately, all the earlier attempts failed to see the light of the day due to government’s lack of the right political will and direction to marshal any formidable strategy to implement such policies. But, beyond the rhetoric of pronouncement, it is instructive that the same government had failed to remove the clogs that stood on the way of former policies, which has to do with amending the laws establishing the institutions for them to perform in their new status. Though, conscious of the bottleneck and bureaucracy that impeded the earlier policies, the former Minister, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, while announcing the latest conversion of the colleges to universities, had said that the Ministry of Justice would prepare amendment to the laws establishing the colleges. But as laudable as that might sound, the government’s action is like putting the cart before the horse, when of course the reverse should have been the case for a government that actually knows its onions, ready to do things right. Explaining the basis for its action, the Federal Government

said: “We must therefore seek to expand access without proliferation of universities so that we can increase our carrying capacity while still maintaining academic excellence.” The fact remains that there is the urgent need to rejig the education sector, which has continued to slide abysmally in quality and quantity, if the country is to be alive in its quest for excellence in education, technological advancement and industrialization. Teacher education, no doubt, is pivotal to the realization of the above objectives and goals since no education could rise above the quality of its teachers. It is also a fact that over the years, the standard of our education system has been scaled down considerably due to the quality of the teachers, which should be raised without further delay. And, one way of actualising this is to upgrade the curriculum and reposition the colleges for efficiency and for the country to get its education priority right. In other climes, for instance in British higher education system, where we borrowed the concept from, colleges of education and polytechnics no longer exist, as they have been upgraded to degree awarding institutions. At a particular time, when Britain was at similar crossroad with their colleges and polytechnic system neglected by students in preference for university education, they took the bold steps to re-organise the system in line with its aspirations. Taking a cue from British experience, it is believed that with the upgrading of the colleges, teacher education will not only be made more attractive to stu-

dents who will be readily willing and showing interest in the system, it will also reduce the preference for other courses, and as well enhance the quality of the products, which will in turn rub off on the quality of our primary and secondary schools. What the latest development portends for the colleges of education sub-sector and teacher education generally, is that it would engender competition, leaving the students with a zero option to subscribe to study education. But, whether or not the new government will retain the policy and go on with the conversion process, might remain a conjecture, however one fact should be sacrosanct and that is the adequate funding of the four colleges. The N500 million hurriedly announced to be released to each of the four colleges by the former administration for their take-off is grossly inadequate to meet the news challenges posed by their new status. For the colleges to transmute smoothly, the government should not shy away from the fact that they require adequate financial intervention to engage teaching staff and professors, consistent with the guidelines for the quality of academic staff in Nigerian universities as benchmarked by the National Universities Commission (NUC), upgrade their curricula in line with the type of programmes to run at degree and non-degree level, as well as set proper machinery in motion to examine the enabling laws and necessary amendment, and look into the rationalization of the staff, among others.

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Politics

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

The former governor, however, revealed that the Federal Government owes Jigawa N12 billion expended on the airport project executed by the state government. Cross River: Claim of failed state The situation in Cross River State is a pathetic story of dream gone sour. Besides a debt burden of about N123 billion and unpaid salaries left by the Liyel Imoke administration, the new governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, is said to have inherited a “failed state.” The Inter-Party Advi-

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

States groan under huge debts sory Council (IPAC) in the state, which made the claim, described the Imoke administration as a cabal that worked assiduously at placing the state in the topmost bracket of the league of bankrupt states in Nigeria. Workers in the state are being owed for three months. The state government also has backlog of pensions and gratuities of retired workers from the state and local government services to clear. The state chairman

of IPAC, Mr. Goodie Akpama, in statement, said: “The Imoke regime has left behind a failed state and an utterly hopeless people which he had the rare privilege of leading for eight uninterrupted years. “The N123 billion debt burden the Imoke-led administration claimed it left behind is a far cry from actual reality about the debt profile of Cross River State that Imokeled administration left behind. Those who are

very much abreast with the debt situation of the state have put it at over N400 billion.” The body, however, said despite the problems inherited by the new administration, Ayade deserves no sympathy because he knows the weight of financial burden and mess that has been foisted on him by the former administration in the state. Ebonyi: N50bn debt Like his colleagues,

the new Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, described as disturbing, the N50 billion debt including the N10.5 billion unpaid contract certificate bequeathed him by the immediate past administration of Chief Martin Elechi. “We made so many promises during our campaigns and the people of Ebonyi voted for us with great expectations. We are not going to disappoint them at all. We are aware of the dwindling

state of the national income, the high level of corruption in our society, high debt profile in the state especially from loans and on-going projects which is over N50 billion to date,” Umahi said. The governor said he was startled when he was informed about the unpaid contract certificate vis-à-vis the lean federal allocation accruable to the state. “I just got the total certificates of contracts that are ready for payment to be N10.5 billion and that is very disturbing and that excludes civil servants salary arrears in the state and what comes from the Federal Government as allocation is N1.4 billion. So to move forward requires courage and prayers,” he said. The governor urged Permanent Secretaries of ministries and directors of various departments to avail his administration of graphic details of all contracts embarked upon by the immediate past administration for investigation even as he added that some projects devoid of immediate relevance to the people of Ebonyi State will be put on hold after critical evaluation. Adamawa: N40.5bn debt Governor of Adamawa State, Jibrilla Bindowo, on his part revealed that his administration inherited a debt profile of N40.5 billion from the administration of former governor, Bala Ngillari. Lamenting that his government is seriously hamstrung by the huge debt profile, he urged the people to persevere a little before his administration stabilises. While claims and counter-claims on huge debts and empty treasuries across the states are expected to continue in the days ahead, some analysts are of the view that the new governors must not allow old variables to bug them down though a majority of the immediate past states chief executives cannot be absolved of the allegations. According to members of this political school, the new helmsmen must realise that leadership is not a tea-party, and should therefore initiate programmes that will see them improve on IGR of their respective states as well as cut cost of governance if they are to fulfil their campaign promises in the face of dwindling earnings of the Federal Government.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

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Experts to Buhari: Invest more in insurance, pension

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Business What's news

Why MTN may discard Visafone acquisition –Investigation Plans by MTN Nigeria to acquire Visafone Communications Limited may be heading for the rocks as one of the attractions to the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator appears not forthcoming, New Telegraph has learnt.

p.22

Insurance industry's total assets hit N793.6bn The total assets of the Nigerian insurance sector have increased to N793.6 billion in 2015 from N711.4 billion in 2014.

p.36

L-R: Corporate Finance Manager, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Imokha Ayebae; Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Frost & Sullivan, Mr. John Ruggles; Operations Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Abiola Adebayo and General Manager, Sales, Mr. Abayomi Alli-Balogun, during an award presentation in London, United Kingdom.

Nigeria reopens crude exports contracts with US CESSATION

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

The shale oil boom is grinding to a halt

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Adeola Yusuf

igeria has begun talks to reopen crude exports contracts with the United States (US), the erstwhile consumer of over 1 million crude barrels daily from the country, New Telegraph has learnt. This is coming on the heels of the imminent increase in the US crude demand. The shale oil boom that turned the US into world’s larg-

Finance Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

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est fuel exporter and brought $3 gasoline back to America’s pumps is grinding to a halt. An industry source told this newspaper at the weekend that the Federal Government has already deployed experts to engage the US officials on the possibility of the new contracts. Over 40 million barrels of crude grades from Nigeria are loitering in the international markets looking for buyers. “Refineries in the United States have preference for sweet crude grades from Nigeria because of their low sulphur content. Already, we have a market and you don’t wait till it becomes a common knowledge that shale exploration and production have been grounded

to a halt before you open a talk. “There is high possibility for the US to source for alternative means and we want our crude grade to be their ready alternative,” the source, which is privy to the new negotiation, said. Also, Nigeria had also recorded a steady crude production in May and this has made it imperative for the country to hunt for more buyers.

105,000 barrels Total volume of shale oil output expected to decline per day in July, after dropping 86,000 barrels in June

According to the monthly oil market report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s crude oil production output for May increased by 230,900 barrels per day (bpd), Specifically, the country’s production output, based on direct communication, rose from 1.650 million barrels per day in April to 1.881 million bpd in May. Nigeria’s crude oil production output for April had earlier increased by 19,000 bpd, while the figure based on secondary sources, put the rise in April at 1.886 bpd from 1.867 bpd recorded in March. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE May 2015.................................9% April 2015................................8.7% March 2015.............................8.5%

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

EXCHANGE RATE (BDC as at Jun 12)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N217 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N332 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N240

l Foreign Reserves – $29.127bn as at 11/06/2015

Source: CBN

EXCHANGE RATE (Interbank as at Jun 12)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N200 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N307 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N223

Business | News

REVERSAL The telco has to change its decision, as the centre of attraction in Visafone seems uncommunicative Kunle Azeez

lans by MTN Nigeria to acquire Visafone Communications Limited may be heading for the rocks as one of the attractions to the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator appears not forthcoming, New Telegraph has learnt. According to findings, one of the attractions to MTN Nigeria was the 900Mhz digital dividend spectrum expected to be acquired by the CDMA network. The 900Mhz spectrum, which was acquired by Visafone Chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) for his wholly- owned Internet Service Provider (ISP), Cyberspace Networks Limited, was purportedly meant to be ceded to the

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Why MTN may discard Visafone acquisition –Investigation CDMA network. MTN, sources say, became interested in Visafone because of the impending acquisition of the 900Mhz spectrum. However, with the return of the contentious spectrum to the NCC and Ovia’s demand for a refund of close to N3 billion he paid to acquire the spectrum, MTN may have jettisoned its plan to acquire Visafone. New Telegraph had,

on April 10, 2015, reported that the end of players in the CDMA market in Nigeria might be imminent, as MTN Group was set to acquire Visafone, citing a Bloomberg report of April 9. MTN was said to have started the process of buying closely held Visafone, founded by Zenith Bank Plc. as it seeks to expand its largest market in Africa. Sources, which earlier spoke on the impending

acquisition, however, did not state the value of the transaction. Industry analysts had said that MTN’s move to acquire Visafone might have been borne out of its desire to be able to compete favourably in the data space with the likes of Globacom, as competition in the broadband era heats up in Nigeria. Nigeria’s National Carrier, Globacom, acquired the 700 MHz licence from

the NCC, which gives it the capability to deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE) data service that is obviously the next big area, thereby laying the foundation for reality on the broadband. Globacom is the only operator that has the licence on the 700 MHz spectrums with plans to launch its LTE services by June. According to analysts, sensing this scenario,

MTN, not wanting to be beaten to the second place in the LTE offering, wants the Visafone licences, which are the 800 MHz and the 700 MHz. The latter, which is LTE-compliant, will enable MTN to also quickly latch on the spectrum and begin offering LTE in Nigeria at a time when voice service is nearing saturation. Since its entry into the Nigerian telecoms market, MTN has engaged in series of acquisitions as a deliberate move to expand its service offerings. In 2006, MTN Nigeria bought VGC Communications Limited (VGCCL), a private telephone operator for $70 million (N9.3 billion).

Nigeria reopens crude exports contracts with US CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Meanwhile, crude output from the US prolific tight-rock formations such as North Dakota’s Bakken and Texas’s Eagle Ford shale will shrink 1.3 percent to 5.58 million barrels a day this month, based on Energy Information Administration estimates. It will drop further in July to 5.49 million, the lowest level since January, the agency said. With the OPEC maintaining its own oil production, US shale is coming under pressure to rebalance a global supply glut. EOG Resources Inc., the country’s biggest shaleoil producer, hedge fund manager, Andrew J. Hall and banks including Standard Chartered Plc, have forecast declines in US output, following last year’s plunge in crude prices. The nation was still pumping the most in four decades in March. “Production has to come down because rigs drilling for oil are down 57 per cent this year,” James Williams, President of Energy Consultancy WTRG Economics, told Bloomberg in a telephone conversation from London, Arkansas. Shale oil output will deCONTINUED ON PAGE 36

L-R: Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, Kwara State University, Dr. Hakeem Ajonbadi; Regional Business Executive, South West 2, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi; an award winner, Miss. Arinola Alagbe and Accountant General, Kwara State, Alhaji Sulaiman Ishola, at the presentation of awards to winners of the Business Plan Competition organised by Sterling Bank Plc in Kwara State.

SUBSTITUTE Some fish traders deserted Nigeria to explore alternative markets Bayo Akomolafe

s five vessels jostle for space this week at ENL Consortium terminal of the Lagos Port Complex to discharge 11,900 metric tons of fish valued at N2.86 billion ($14,280,000), fish import quotas introduced by the Federal Government last year has hit the United Kingdom and Uruguay fish importers hard. The two countries’ pelagic fish exports to Nigeria have decreased. Pelagic fish is specie such as herring, mackerel, pelagic, blue whiting and horse mackerel. According to an information obtained from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping position, MVGreen Freezer, will berth this week with 2,500 metric tons of fish. Also jostling for space with fish are MVGreen Maveric - 4,700 metric tons; MV Frio Pacific - 2,000 metric tons;

UK, Uruguay’s exports fall on Nigeria’s fish quota

As ships offload N2.86bn worth at port MV Green Maloy -1,000 metric tons and MV Silver Horn - 1,700 metric tons. While Uruguay’s fish exports have decreased considerably, around 20 per cent in volume, a United Kingdombased company, Apexpost, which relies on the trade of frozen pelagic fish in Nigeria, Benin and Ghana for 71 per cent, is facing a sharp drop in its trade in the last one year. Information gathered from the Uruguay’s Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Ministry revealed that Uruguayan fish exporters could not operate in Nigeria due to the import quotas. Besides, some traders were said to be exporting to alternative markets such as other African countries and Bangladesh. Also, Apexpost’s 2014 financial report was not favour-

able as the company posted a 52.8per cent drop in turnover to N9.09 billion (£29.4 million). Similarly, it’s net profit was down by 81.8 per cent year-onyear, although the firm did not enter into red territory despite the adverse political conditions in Nigeria, the company’s Financial Director, Mr. Mike Punjabi, said. He noted that last year’s results had predominately to do with Nigeria’s import quota. “In November 2014, the restrictions were lifted. These restrictions were not sustainable in the long run and, indeed, this has been proved to be the case," Apexpost said. It added: "Whilst uncertainty still prevails as to whether some sort of quota system will be re-imposed, particularly after the recent change of democratically

elected ruling party, the major importers have taken the opportunity in the interim to carry on with the business at levels similar to those before the import restrictions were imposed." It was learnt that in late 2014, an important additional import quota was handed down to the Nigerian importers by government, so a lot of quantity was shipped out at the time, resulting in a jump in trade to Nigeria. The quota issued last November was about 750,000 metric tons. By contrast, only 150,000 tons in quotas were reportedly allocated for Nigerian fish imports for the first half of 2014. Such low quotas were not unexpected as government had said that there were plans to reduce imports by 25 per cent last year.

INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

In collaboration with

Sanctity of Truth

Russia Is Sowing Disunity By PETER BAKER and STEVEN ERLANGER

MONEY SHARMA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES; BELOW, ALTAF QADRI/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Battle for Breath in India As Son Fought Asthma, Man Struggled With Staying in Delhi For weeks the breathing of my 8-year-old son, Bram, had become more labored, his medicinal inhaler increasingly vital. And then, one terrifying night nine months after we moved to New Delhi, Bram’s inhaler stopped working and his gasping became panicked. We headed to a ESSAY private hospital kilometers away, undertaking one of the most frightening journeys of our lives. My wife sat in the back seat cradling Bram’s head as we made our way through some of the world’s most chaotic traffic. When we arrived, doctors infused him with steroids. A week later, Bram returned home. When I became a South Asia correspondent for The New York Times three years ago, my wife and I were both excited and prepared for difficulties — insistent beggars, endemic dengue and summertime temperatures that reach 50 degrees. But we had little inkling just how dangerous this city would be for our two boys. We gradually learned that Delhi’s true menace came from its air, water, food and flies. These perils sicken, disable and kill millions in India annually, making for one of the worst public health disasters in the world. Delhi, we discovered, is quietly suffering from a dire pediatric respiratory crisis, with a recent study showing that nearly half of the city’s 4.4 mil-

GARDINER HARRIS

WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine that has pitted Russia against the West is being waged not just with tanks, artillery and troops. Increasingly, Moscow is leveraging its economic power, financing European political parties and movements, and spreading alternative accounts of the Ukraine conflict, according to American and European officials. The Kremlin’s goal seems to be to sow division and possibly fracture what until now has been a relatively unified, if sometimes fragile, consensus against Russian aggression. If Russia can split off a single member of the European Union, it could prevent the renewal later this month of economic sanctions. Britain’s government is wise to Mr. Putin’s strategy. “On the question of Russian money, yes, of course we are concerned about what is clearly a Kremlin strategy of trying to pick off, shall we say, the brethren who may be less committed or more vulnerable in the run-up to the June decision,” the British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said. “It will not have escaped the Kremlin’s notice that this is a unanimity process and they only need one.” American and European officials said they were confident the sanctions would be renewed at a European Union summit in Brussels on June 25 and 26. Germany supports extending sanctions until next January, and smaller nations may be loath to defy Berlin. But there is no appetite for adding more sanctions. Russia’s efforts to influence the West have taken on different forms. It uses its status as an energy supplier to sway customers in Europe, and it is now pressing countries in southeast-

Continued on Page 26

Nearly half of Delhi’s 4.4 million schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the polluted air, a recent study showed. lion schoolchildren have irreversible lung damage from the poisonous air. For most Indians, these are inescapable horrors. But there are thousands of others who have chosen to live there, including some trying to save the world, others hoping to describe it and still others intent on getting their own small piece of it. It is an eclectic community of expatriates and millionaires, including car executives from Detroit, tech geeks from the San Francisco area, cancer researchers from Maryland and diplomats from Dublin. Over the last

year, often over chai and samosas at local dhabas or whiskey and chicken tikka at glittering embassy parties, we obsessively discussed whether we were pursuing our careers at our children’s expense. Foreigners have lived in Delhi for centuries, of course, but the air and the mounting research into its effects have become so frightening that some feel it is unethical for those who have a choice to willingly raise children there. Similar discussions are

Continued on Page 26

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Marine Le Pen of France’s National Front in Moscow in May. Her party has taken money from a bank tied to the Kremlin.

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Europe’s political center is under siege. PAGE 24

Out of North Korea, and the closet. PAGE 25

Liquid meals cater to busy techies. PAGE 30

The mystery of a mass die-off. PAGE 32

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O P I N I O N & C O M M E N TA RY

EDITORI A LS OF THE TI ME S

Tunisia Faces Its Past As part of its remarkable journey toward democracy, Tunisia has embarked on a painful reckoning with its past. Since last year, its Truth and Dignity Commission, created by constitutional mandate in 2013, has been collecting harrowing accounts of torture suffered by thousands of Tunisians over nearly six decades, primarily under the regimes of the dictators Habib Bourguiba and Zine elAbidine Ben Ali. The testimony by women has been particularly brave and disturbing. In a culture where women’s virtue is often seen as the embodiment of family honor, the accounts have made it clear that shaming through rape, sexual humiliation and brutal physical torture were routinely used. This month, the commission begins public hearings. The challenge will be ensuring that they lead to justice for victims and accountability for the guilty. Many members of Tunisia’s business and political elite during the years of dictatorship remain in positions of influence and power. President Barack Obama announced last month that he would designate Tunisia a major non-NATO ally, a vote of confidence in the progress the country has made since the overthrow of the Ben Ali regime in 2011. It would be a setback if President Beji Caid Essebsi, who held senior positions in both dictatorships, proceeded with his proposal for amendments to weaken the law that created the commission. Instead, he should ensure that there are no more delays in government financing for the commission and that the police allow the commission access to government archives. As Mr. Essebsi himself has said: “If we want what we have achieved not to be threatened, we must keep going forward.” Making sure that the Truth and Dignity Commission’s work proceeds unimpeded and that accountability and justice prevail is the best way for his government to secure Tunisia’s future.

INTELLIGENCE/ERHARD STACKL

United in Fighting the Centrists Vienna Millions of European voters are turning away from the political parties of the center. In countries such as Spain and Poland, populist groups from the far left and the far right are serious contenders in parliamentary elections scheduled for this year. Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice Party won the largely ceremonial office of president in a recent election, and it promises to follow the example of Hungary, where the increasingly nationalist and autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban has enraged his European partners. Echoing Mr. Orban’s policies, the Polish rightists want new taxes on foreign-owned banks and supermarkets, and promise to protect the national interest against interference from Western Europe, which is seen as decadent. Meanwhile, Spain’s Podemos party is following in the footsteps of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece and his far-left Syriza Party. The Greeks are challenging the demands of the German-led phalanx of creditors for more budget cuts and greater economic liberalization. As Europe’s financial crisis settles into its seventh year, ideoErhard Stackl is the former managing editor of Der Standard in Vienna. His new book, “Atención,” is an anthology of literary journalism. Send comments to intelligence@ nytimes.com.

At Google’s annual meeting on June 3, a shareholder named John M. Simpson stood up to question the company’s top executives about its self-driving car program. Simpson, 67, works for a nonprofit called Consumer Watchdog. In recent years, he has focused largely on Google, which, he told me, he hopes to prod into “being more respectful of people’s privacy when they do business.” Owning Google stock allows him to ask questions at the annual meeting. In the run-up to the meeting, Simpson issued a string of press releases critical of Google’s self-driving vehicles. He feared that Google would collect data from car owners. He noted that Google’s “autonomous cars,” as they’re called, have been involved in 11 accidents (two recent fender-benders bring it up to 13). He listed what he said were the technology’s flaws: for instance,

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logically diverse populist groups have found one common adversary: the centrist governments that stick to the policies of austerity. While mainstream politicians are insisting that the European economy is recovering, the populists give voice to those who are left behind, mainly the young. In April, 4.75 million people under 25 were unemployed in the 28 member states of the European Union, according to Eurostat. In Spain and Greece, about 50 percent of the young are jobless. Many young voters no longer trust the traditional parties, which are seen as elitist, out of touch with the problems of real people and increasingly corrupt. “Populism is a reaction to the way the E.U. has behaved in the face of the crisis — badly, very badly,” said Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian foreign minister. Mr. Gentiloni belongs to Italy’s center-left Democratic Party, one of the few ruling groups that still has strong support. The Italians are asking for new initiatives to spur economic growth, but Europe “responded with the dictatorship of regulations,” he said. The Greens are voicing similar demands. In just a few years the ecology movement that was once described as chaotic by centrist adversaries has matured and joined the European mainstream. The Greens are now seen as a force against corruption, in favor of grass-roots democracy and sustainable development. “We have been criticizing aus-

terity for a long time,” Ulrike Lunacek, a vice president of the European Parliament and member of the Greens, told me. “We reminded people of the 1930s in the U.S., when President Roosevelt’s New Deal was struck. We demand something like a green new deal.” The Greens have won seats in the national parliaments of 20 European countries, and there are 38 members of the Greens in the European Parliament. “Introducing new technologies to fight climate change and the dependency on fossil fuel would create lots of new jobs,” Ms. Lunacek said. More than a third of the 751 members of the European Parliament are regarded as “Euroskeptics.” While rightists like the French National Front of Marine Le Pen want to destroy the European Union, radicals on the left are pro-E.U., at least in theory. In practice, the leftist parties like Syriza and Podemos want to overthrow capitalism for an alternative economic system. Not all of Europe’s problems can be traced to the sluggish economy. “There are wars going on in the Ukraine and in Syria, in our vicinity,” Ms. Lunacek said. Thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa are thumping on Europe’s doors. Ms. Lunacek said she is disappointed that Europe has been slow to admit refugees, and is especially troubled that xenophobic movements are gaining strength in the

JOE NOCERA

Look, Ma, No Hands! that it can’t make out hand signals from a driver in another car. Finally, Simpson noted that Google — and Google alone — envisions cars that have no steering wheels or brakes, cars where everyone is a passenger. Simpson views this as hubris, pointing out that other car companies view self-driving technology as a complement, not replacement, for the driver. “We think there always needs to be the ability of a human to take over if need be,” he told me. Having looked into it, I’ve come to the opposite conclusion. Google’s effort to build a self-driving car is part of the division called Google X, led by a scientist with the too perfect name of Astro Teller. The goal of Google X is to attempt “moonshots” — efforts that require a radical solution that, if they succeed, would solve a huge problem. The big problem self-driving cars could help solve, Teller said in a recent speech, is the “1.2 million people who die every year in car accidents.” During the six years Google has been working on self-driv-

ing technology, its cars have been taught to understand how to traverse the roads. With their combination of robotics, sensors and computing power, they know how to stop at a stop sign, look for oncoming pedestrians, change lanes, get on the freeway and anticipate all the various problems that drivers face. Using retrofitted Lexuses, Google has driven 1.6 million kilometers autonomously. More recently, it has built several dozen small cars without steering wheels and brakes and is ready to test them in the streets of Mountain View, California (though the State of California is insisting that Google add a steering wheel and brakes to the cars it sends out for this experiment). Unlike its new cars, Google’s retrofitted Lexuses also allow for human driving. Google realized that when people had the ability to drive autonomously, they paid less attention to what they were doing. “People don’t even pay attention to driving when they are driving,” Teller said. The cars, which have 360-de-

richer regions of the E.U. In well-to-do Denmark, for instance, where parliamentary elections are scheduled for Thursday, the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party could be a decisive force in the formation of a new government. But the populist champions of the dissatisfied — either right or left — have made it to the top in only Greece. Syriza has tried to convince creditors that it cannot go on trimming the pension system or increasing taxes. For months, the creditors have refused to release the final $8 billion installment of bailout funds, while Mr. Tsipras insists on better repayment terms. If he succeeds, Syriza may serve as a role model for other countries, like Spain. But it is not just about the economy. Greece and Spain, as well as Hungary and Poland, are members of NATO. And the elephant in the room is President Vladimir Putin of Russia. While Poland’s right-wing populists hate Moscow more than they hate Brussels, Mr. Tsipras and Mr. Orban could be tempted to play the Russian card. Even as Europe decides on renewing sanctions against Russia because of its interference in Ukraine, Mr. Tsipras is discussing business cooperation with Mr. Putin. Greece could gain billions of dollars from Russia if it allowed its territory to be used for a new gas pipeline. Given the circumstances, this could be an offer Mr. Tsipras cannot refuse.

gree vision and can “see” much farther ahead than humans, were at their safest when people didn’t have the option of taking the controls. Alain Kornhauser, a self-driving car expert at Princeton University in New Jersey, pointed out to me that when the auto companies install autonomous features to aid drivers, it won’t be the humans who escape accidents by taking over from the technology — which is what Simpson assumes. Rather, the technology will step in to override human error. Google notes that in every accident its cars have been involved in, all of them minor, the self-driving cars have never been at fault — except on the one occasion when a Google driver took the controls. And all the “flaws” Simpson notes are things that Google has either solved or is in the process of solving. Simpson and other consumer advocates are right to press Google — and all the big tech companies — on privacy issues. The profligate use of our data has become a big concern for many people. But on the question of whether Google should be promoting completely autonomous cars, he couldn’t be more wrong. The sooner they are a reality, the safer we’ll all be.

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MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

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A North Korean Defector Discovers That Gays Exist By CHOE SANG-HUN

SEOUL, South Korea — When the North Korean defector Jang Yeong-jin arrived in South Korea in 1997, officials debriefed him for five months but still hesitated to release him. They had one question: Why did Mr. Jang decide to risk crossing the heavily armed border between the two Koreas? “I was too embarrassed to confess that I came here because I felt no sexual attraction to my wife,” Mr. Jang said. “I couldn’t explain what it was that bothered me so much, made my life so miserable in North Korea because I didn’t know until after I arrived here that I was a gay, or even what homosexuality was.” Mr. Jang, 55, is the only known openly gay defector from North Korea living in the South. In April, he published an autobiographical novel, “A Mark of Red Honor.” In the book and during a recent interview, he described his experiences as a gay man growing up in the North, where the government

JEAN CHUNG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

“I didn’t know until after I arrived here that I was a gay, or even what homosexuality was.” JANG YEONG-JIN

a gay defector to the South maintains that homosexuality does not exist because people there have a “sound mentality and good morals.” His struggle continued in the capitalist South, where he said he felt like a “double alien”: a North Korean refugee who was also gay. “In North Korea, no ordinary people conceptually understand what homosexuality is,” said Joo Sung-ha, who attended the elite Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, in the 1990s and now works as a reporter for the mass-circulation South Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo. “In my university, only half the students may have heard of the word. Even then, it was always treated as some strange, vague mental illness afflicting subhumans, only found in the depraved West.” Mr. Jang said he never heard of homosexuality while growing up in Chongjin on the eastern coast of North Korea, even when he developed a crush on a boy named Seon-cheol. They

continued their friendship after moving to Pyongyang, where they attended different colleges. “When the subway was crowded, I sat on Seon-cheol’s lap, and he would hug me from behind,” Mr. Jang said. “People didn’t care, thinking we were childhood friends.” The two were separated in 1976, when they joined the military. Mr. Jang was discharged in 1982 after contracting tuberculosis. In 1987, he wed a teacher in an arranged marriage. “Most gay men in the North end up marrying whether they like it or not, because that’s the only way they know,” Mr. Jang said. “On the first night of my marriage, I thought of Seon-cheol and could not lay a finger on my wife.” After years of childless marriage, the couple heeded relatives’ pleas and saw a doctor to make sure there were no physical problems. There were none. He filed for divorce but was denied one. His wife also appealed to him to stay, fearful of losing her teaching job. Mr. Jang re-established ties with Seon-cheol, who returned from the military, married a nurse and had two children. The two friends occasionally visited each other, and their wives let them sleep together, thinking it was a habit from their childhood. One night, Mr. Jang slipped out of the blanket he shared with his wife and crawled to Seon-cheol’s. But he said his friend did not respond and kept snoring. “It was then that I realized that my life was a prison and I had no hope,” he said. In the winter of 1996, he swam across an icy river into China. After looking in vain for 13 months for a passage to the South, he slipped back into the North. In 1997, he managed to crawl across the border into the South. He was one of only a handful to make it across the mine-strewn frontier. In South Korea, officials eventually released him after he spoke of his troubled marriage. But Mr. Jang still did not fully understand his sexual orientation until he read an article about gay rights in 1998. It showed pictures of a same-sex couple kissing and two naked men in bed, and it reported that there were gay bars in Seoul. “It was as if lights go on in my world,” he said. But Mr. Jang’s transition to life in South Korea has been rough. In 2004, a man who promised to be his partner stole all his savings. Around this time, he also learned that three brothers and a sister had died after the family was banished from their village following his defection. Mr. Jang makes a living cleaning a building in downtown Seoul from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Not an easy life, he admits, but far preferable to his life in the North. “There are many homosexuals in North Korea who live a miserable life without even knowing why,” he said. “What a tragedy it is to live a life without knowing who you are.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILL SWANSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Bilan Abdi, 9, was a student of Violet Muranga, who was killed by the Shabab in November.

In Kenya’s Schools, a Crisis of Fear By ISMA’IL KUSHKUSH

MANDERA, Kenya — In a small classroom at Mandera Academy, a private school, posters with numbers, letters, and geometric shapes hung on the walls as dozens of students crammed together on desks. Bilan Abdi, 9, stood up and spoke about her teacher, Violet Muranga, who was shot dead last year as she was dragged out of a bus while traveling to visit her family. “We learned a lot from her,” Bilan said softly. “Songs like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ ” Kenya has suffered mightily at the hands of the Shabab, a Somali Islamist extremist group. Many of the 28 people killed on the bus were teachers heading home for Christmas break. Their deaths came around the same time as an attack at a mine in this northern corner of the country, where dozens of workers were separated by religion, forced to lie face down and shot dead. Farther south, nearly 150 people, most of them students, were killed in April when militants stormed a university in the town of Garissa. The shock, fear and continued sense of insecurity have caused dozens of schools to close. More than 1,000 teachers from other parts of Kenya have refused to return to teach in areas where they fear terrorist attacks, according to the Kenyan National Union of Teachers, igniting an education crisis in those regions. “Yes, I am concerned,” the cabinet secretary for education, Jacob Kaimenyi, recently told reporters in Nairobi, the capital. “Why are the children in those areas not learning? It is because of conflict. It is because of insecurity.” Many of the qualified teachers come from other parts of Kenya. “We have advised teachers not to go back,” said Wilson Sossion, secretary general of the Kenyan National Union of Teachers. “They are subject to attacks.” At the Mandera Secondary School for Boys, almost half of the 32 nonlocal teachers refused

Mandera County has a shortage of 600 teachers, as many have fled the area. Police officers guarding a teacher meeting. to come back. Ibrahim Hassan, the head teacher, explained that the school was able to fill the gap by bringing back “some of the bright boys from last year” to teach. But he added, “We are worried.” Keeping school doors open can be hard enough, but there is a bigger challenge: preparing students for the national exam that determines a student’s eligibility for a university education. Here in Mandera County

As the Shabab kills teachers, a region’s students struggle. alone, there is a shortage of 600 teachers, in a region that already historically suffered from poor educational facilities. Only 10 percent to 15 percent of secondary students in this area qualify for a spot at a public university, according to local officials. “You might not have a physics teacher in four years” but still have to take a physics exam for college, said Ismail Barrow, the Mandera County acting director

of education. Teachers say they are sensitive to the needs of their students, but many now fear for their lives. “We choose life,” said Johnes Osoro of the North Eastern Down Kenya Teachers Association. “Many teachers are traumatized.” Nyagaha Nicholas, 44, is the head teacher at Mandera Academy, which lost five teachers in the bus attack. “Other teachers want to leave, but I am not likely to go,” he said. “I’ve been here long. You can die anywhere.” Some parents are sending their children hundreds of kilometers away to the capital to continue their education. But not everyone has that luxury. “What are we telling the people in those areas?” Mr. Kaimenyi asked. “Are we telling them that your children should not learn? That is why it is important to work together to ensure that children in all parts of the country are able to learn.” Suada Farhan, a 16-year-old student at Mandera Academy, was taught by three of the teachers who were killed in the bus attack. “I cried,” she said. Now, she said, the insecurity caused by Shabab attacks in the area is threatening something else as well. She said, “They are destroying our future.”

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Russia Spends to Sow Disunity in the West Continued from Page 23 ern Europe, including Greece, to support a new natural gas pipeline project with promises of economic benefits. For several years, Russia has paid for a government-sponsored insert in newspapers and websites in 26 countries (including in The New York Times). More recently, it has proposed expanding RT, its television service, which broadcasts in English and three other languages and points out the foibles of the West. American and European officials have accused Moscow of financing green movements in Europe to encourage protests against hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to defend Russia’s gas industry. Since long before the Ukraine crisis, money has been a means for Mr. Putin to try to shape events in the West. After Chancellor Gerhard Schröder stepped down in Germany, he was given a lucrative position with Gazprom, the Russian state energy giant. When President George W. Bush was in office, Mr. Putin asked “would it help you” if Donald L. Evans, Mr. Bush’s close friend and former commerce secretary, were

Moscow keeps leftist allies while reaching out to right wingers. given a high-paying Russian corporate job. (Mr. Bush rejected the idea.) Russia appears to be getting results lately in countries like Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic and even Italy and France. Not only is it aligning itself with the leftists traditionally affiliated with Moscow since the Cold War, but it is making common cause with far-right forces rebelling against the rise of the European Union that are sympathetic to Mr. Putin’s attack on what he calls the West’s moral decline. The most prominent example has been the National Front in France, which under Marine Le Pen has confirmed taking an $11.7 million loan from the First Czech-Russian Bank in Moscow, which has been tied to the Kremlin. She has denied a news report that the money was just the first installment of an eventual $50 million in loans to help her party through a presidential election in 2017. Austria’s far-right Freedom Party denied charges of dependency on the Kremlin, allegations made by its left-wing rival, the Social Democratic Party after the Freedom leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, posted pictures of himself and other party leaders at a confer-

ence in Moscow. The German tabloid Bild reported that the anti-euro Alternative for Germany Party had benefited from cheap gold sales from Russia, which the party denied. There have been investigations into some members of Hungary’s far-right Jobbik Party for any financial ties to Russia. And there have been similar accusations and inquiries in Bulgaria, with its far-right Attack Party; in Slovakia, with its People’s Party; and in the Baltic States, especially with Latvia’s pro-Russian party. Far-right parties seen as aligned with Moscow vote against resolutions in the European Parliament critical of Russia and have sent observers to referendums and elections in separatist-held regions of Ukraine like Crimea and Donetsk, alongside members of some far-left parties like Die Linke in Germany and KKE in Greece. The Political Capital Institute, a research organization in Budapest, listed 15 far-right European parties as “committed” to Russia. “Russian influence in the affairs of the far right is a phenomenon seen all over Europe as a key risk for Euro-Atlantic integration,” it said. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, said the trend was a major concern for Europe. It is “very clear that the Kremlin has every interest in fracturing Europe in whatever ways possible,” he said by email. “And it actively seeks to play on every division that it sees.” General Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, has expressed similar worries about what he calls Russia’s “ability to employ other instruments of power” besides armed force. “President Putin considers NATO to be a threat and will look for opportunities to discredit and eventually undermine the alliance,” he said in an email. “Putin’s ultimate objective is to fracture NATO.” But Fiona Hill, a former national intelligence officer on Russia and now a scholar at the Brookings Institution, said that with the exception of Ms. Le Pen’s party in France, the assertions about Russia financing European parties seemed based more on speculation than facts. David Kramer, a former assistant secretary of state under President George W. Bush and now a scholar at the McCain Institute for International Leadership in Washington, said any Russian financing of European parties could backfire by alienating the governing elite in Europe. “It is a big concern,” he said, “but I wonder if at the end of the day they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot and waste this money.”

SOHRAB HURA/MAGNUM FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Winter fires are common in India, leading to dangerous levels of fine particles in the air.

Battle for Breath Where Air Kills Continued from Page 23 doubtless underway in Beijing and other Asian megacities, but it is in Delhi — among the most populous, polluted, unsanitary and bacterially unsafe cities on earth — where the new calculus seems most urgent. The city’s air is more than twice as polluted as Beijing’s, according to the World Health Organization. (India, in fact, has 13 of the world’s 25 most polluted cities, while Lanzhou is the only Chinese city among the worst 50; Beijing ranks 79th.) We nearly left two years ago, after Bram was first hospitalized. Even after his breathing stabilized, tests showed he had lost half his lung function. On our doctor’s advice, w e placed him on routine steroid therapy and decided that as long as his breathing did not worsen, we could stay. Or at least I decided that. My wife seriously considered leaving, and at the end of a visit to the United States with the kids months later, she sobbed for hours on the return flight to Delhi. But after our second year, Bram seemed fine. His earlier difficulties, though, led me to call some experts. The conversations were sobering. “Knowing that I was putting my kids in a place that compromised their health for their lifetimes would be very difficult given all of the scientific evidence,” said W. James Gauderman, a professor of preventive medicine at of the University of Southern California. Even children who move to less polluted places never seem to entirely recover from earlier high pollution exposures, another study found. Sarath Guttikunda, one of India’s top pollution researchers, who moved to Goa, on the west coast of India, to protect his two young children, was unequivocal: “If you have the option to live elsewhere, you should not raise children in Delhi.” The experts told me that reduced lung capacity in adults is a highly accurate predictor of early death and disability— per-

haps more than elevated blood pressure or cholesterol. So by permanently damaging their lungs in Delhi, our children may not live as long. And then there are nascent areas of research suggesting that pollution can lower children’s I.Q., hurt their test scores and increase the risks of autism, epilepsy, diabetes and even adult-onset diseases like multiple sclerosis. It’s not just the air that inflicts harm. At least 600 million Indians, half the total population, defecate outdoors, and most of the effluent, even from toilets, is dumped untreated into rivers. About six months after we moved into our four-year-old apartment building — which my wife chose because its relatively new windows could help shut out Delhi’s appalling nighttime air — a neighbor reported that her tap water suddenly smelled

The thrill of living in an exotic place gives way to fear. like sewage. Then the smell hit another neighbor and another. It turned out that the developer had dug open channels for sewage that had gradually seeped into each apartment’s buried water tank. When we pulled up the floor tiles on the ground floor, sludge seemed to be everywhere. I was in the shower when this sewage mixture arrived in our apartment. Sounds horrible, but I shrugged and toweled off because that smell is such a frequent presence there. For much of the year, the Yamuna River would have almost no flow through Delhi if not for raw sewage. Add in the packs of stray dogs, monkeys and cattle even in urban areas, and fresh excretions are nearly ubiquitous. Insects alight on these excretions and then on people or their food, sickening them.

Most piped water is contaminated. Poor sanitation may be a crucial reason nearly half of India’s children are stunted. The list of health threats sounds harrowing, but life goes on and can be quite nice. Travel in the region is terrific, and many expatriates are far more influential than they would be in their home countries. Yet one afternoon this spring, someone in our neighborhood burned something toxic, and an astringent cloud spread around our block. My wife, out for a walk, bolted home and found Bram gasping again, for the first time in two years. In some places in Delhi, the levels of fine particles that cause the most lung damage routinely exceed dangerous levels in winter in part because small trash and other fires are so common. In Beijing, PM2.5 levels that exceed 500 make international headlines; here, levels twice that high are largely ignored. But Bram notices. He spent the next five days at home, with my wife giving him heavy doses of inhaled steroids through a mask. Before coming to Delhi, Bram had had a couple of breathing episodes that doctors assured us he would most likely outgrow. Now he has full-blown asthma. Would he have developed asthma if we had stayed in the United States? Pediatric asthma is far more likely to start and worsen in polluted locales. The sidelines at kids’ soccer games here are littered with inhalers. There is a growing expatriate literature describing the horrors of air pollution, the dangers to children and the desperate measures taken for protection. These accounts mostly end with the writers deciding to remain. Not this one. We have just moved back to Washington. The boys are excited. Aden, 12, wants a skateboard and bicycle, accouterments of freedom in a place he is allowed to wander by himself. His younger brother’s wish may be harder to realize. “My asthma will go away,” Bram said recently. “I hope so, anyway.”

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Czech Show Makes Game of Life Under Nazi Rule By RICK LYMAN

PRAGUE — If you thought reality television had reached the boundaries of imagination and good taste, a show that went on the air in the Czech Republic this month has opened a new frontier. In “Holiday in the Protectorate,” an eight-part series from Czech public television, three generations of a real-life family are sent “back in time” to a remote farm in 1939, when German invaders transformed the country into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. There, they must not only survive the rigors of rustic life with dated appliances and outdoor plumbing, but navigate life under Nazi rule. German troops (played by actors) kick down their doors. Local villagers betray them to the Gestapo. Food is scarce. If they survive through eight episodes they stand to win as much as $40,000, depending on how well they perform the weekly tasks assigned to them, like learning to milk a cow. While the concept has drawn a substantial audience by Czech public television standards — about 500,000 viewers for the first episode, half of what a hit show on commercial television would draw — it has also stirred intense reactions about mixing such a dark period into an entertainment format more often associated with the Kardashians. “I expected some attention,” said Zora Cejnkova, the series’ director. “After all, that’s why we do a program. But this has been rather extraordinary.” The show has been denounced by historians and critics across the globe. A columnist for The Times of Israel wrote, “Fortunately, for the family, they will

A scene from ‘‘Holiday in the Protectorate,’’ in which a modern family lives as if under Nazi rule.

not be treated like the 82,309 Jews who lived in the protectorate” and were deported to concentration camps. This criticism, the show’s creators say, is based on an emotional reaction to the idea rather than a viewing of the actual result. “This is a topic that is kind of controversial, a little bit,” said Petr Dvorak, the chief executive of Czech Television. “But even such a serious subject can be perceived in a new way.” While criticism of the program has muted somewhat since it began to be broadcast, many historians and others in the Czech Republic remain skeptical of the whole idea. “It has nothing to do with history or telling the stories of that time,” said Mikulas Kroupa, director of Post Bellum, a Prague-based nonprofit organi-

zation that records the memories of those who lived through the war. “It is just a game.” Ms. Cejnkova said the problem may have been referring to the program as reality television in the first place. It implies a more frivolous approach, she said. A better term might be “situation drama.” True, she said, there are real people who perform tasks to win prizes. And the show is certainly meant to be entertaining. But it is also intended to educate Czech viewers about life during those harsh times. The idea for the program began, Ms. Cejnkova said, when she was thinking about her grandmother’s memories of Nazi occupation. “Everything was watched, monitored, supervised,” she said.

At the same time, Mr. Dvorak had been thinking of introducing a format known as “living history” — pioneered on British television, but since copied in other countries — in which people are put into simulations of historical periods. And the network was looking for a way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. So “Holiday in the Protectorate” was born. More than 600 families applied to be contestants on the show. They were not told in exactly which time period the show would take place. The series was shot over two months last summer at a remote farmstead in the Beskydy Mountains of eastern Moravia. Stanislav Kokoska, an expert on the protectorate, said that the producers might have been wise

Finding Bits of Joy In Life’s Clutter The backlash against the anti-clutter movement, spurred by the publication in October of Marie Kondo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The JapaLENS nese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” has come on fast and strong. It seems that a lot of people don’t want to change their lives, and they actually like their stuff. Call them the pro-clutter crowd. We should not give in to the guilt and anxiety all the magazine articles and books say we should feel about accumulating all those things, Dominique Browning wrote in The Times. That’s what people do: “We admire. We desire. We collect. We display. And over the course of a lifetime, we forage, root and rummage around in our stuff, For comments, write to nytweekly@nytimes.com.

Discarding stuff is hard, and to some unnecessary. because that is part of what it means to be human. We treasure,” she wrote. “Why on earth would we get rid of our wonderful things?” she asked. “It’s time to celebrate the gentle art of clutter.” To resist the charm of our stuff is futile, she suggests, because no matter how many books, photographs, paintings and tchotchkes we give away, there will be others to take their place. If we move to a smaller space and are forced to divest of stuff, we will miss that stuff and other stuff will find its way into our new home. “The stuff we accumulate works the same way our body weight does,” Ms. Browning wrote. “Each of us has a set point to which we invariably return.

BENJAMIN NORMAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘‘Why on earth would we get rid of our wonderful things?’’ asks Dominique Browning, in defense of accumulations. “Each of us has been allotted a certain tolerance, if not a need, for stuff,” she added. “Some of us, rare breeds, tend toward the minimalist; some tip into a disorder of hoarding. Most of us live in the middle range. How marvelous it is to simply accept that, and celebrate it.” Heidi Julavits admitted in The Times that she “had a keeping problem.” She kept all her pocket trash, museum tickets stubs, airplane boarding passes, A.T.M. receipts, etc., and shoved them into her desk. Now the desk was full.

She thought she needed to read Ms. Kondo’s book to learn how to get rid of all this detritus, so, you know, she could use the desk as a desk. “But discarding is hard,” Ms. Julavits wrote. “The desk’s contents, as I sorted through it, reminded me of many meaningless or mostly meaningless days I had forgotten, until re-encountering this visitor pass or that concert bracelet. My mind is the equivalent of my desk before I cleaned it — no more taxi receipts can fit inside.” Still, if she were to follow one

to choose a different time period. “The memories of people who perished during this period are considered sacred,” he said. And the idea that it showed how contemporary people would actually react to such a situation was preposterous, Mr. Kokoska said. “They know they will not be killed,” he said. “So they can play a part and cast themselves as the hero.” There are moments in the show when the family talks back to the Gestapo officers, something, the historians say, that would rarely have happened. “It’s true, you can’t recreate the fear for your life,” Ms. Cejnkova said. “And, of course, we didn’t want to. It would have been beyond the edge of ethics.” The family is contractually forbidden from speaking to the news media until the series has finished its run. But Petr Klimes, who plays the Gestapo chief, was happy to speak in support of the show. “I was concerned that it be a good show, otherwise I would not have taken part in it,” he said. “And I think I can verify, from the reactions of my own children, that it really works. They are learning from it.”

of Ms. Kondo’s primary dictums — “Does this spark joy?” — some of the trash would have to be tossed, especially if it did not evoke a response when it was held close to the body, as the tidying guru recommends. But Ms. Julavits had another little problem. “Other people’s trash sparks lots of joy in me,” she wrote. “My eBay habit could be broadly categorized as ‘joy in other people’s trash.’ ” This tendency to collect things is not just for the eBay addict. Matthew Maddy has designed many stylish restaurants in the hipper precincts of Brooklyn, and The Times described the interiors as “eclectic and detail-rich.” Mr. Maddy’s home in Brooklyn reflects his aesthetic, as his duplex brownstone is packed with objects that carry personal histories, which is remarkable, The Times noted, because he and his wife just recently moved in. The bedroom wall looks like a scrapbook, with photos, drawings and notes pinned all over. Paintings and prints by Mr. Maddy’s mother, the artist Barbara Chapman, hang in almost every room. “I just love clutter and imagery,” Mr. Maddy said. TOM BRADY

Sanctity of Truth

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WORLD TRENDS

Sunnis Fleeing ISIS in Iraq Find Doors Closed By TIM ARANGO

AMIRIYAT FALLUJA, Iraq — On one side of a bridge over a stretch of the Euphrates River were families on the run from Islamic State forces, hoping to escape Anbar Province and reach safety in Baghdad. On the other side were Iraqi Army officers and Shiite militiamen, under orders to keep the bridge closed because of fears that militants could slip in among the displaced civilians. “It’s like the other side is Europe and this is Asia,” said Ehab Talib, 27, who was waiting to meet relatives from Anbar, the Sunni-dominated region whose capital, Ramadi, recently fell to the Islamic State. With new waves of civilians fleeing violence in Anbar there are now more displaced Iraqis, nearly three million, than there were at the height of the fighting that followed the American invasion, when millions of Iraqis Omar Al-Jawoshy and Falih Hassan contributed reporting.

fled to Syria. That door is closed because of that country’s civil war. And now doors in Iraq are closing, too, as the Shiite authorities restrict where fleeing Sunnis can go. The violence unleashed by the Sunni militants of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has hit Sunnis disproportionately. Nearly 85 percent of the Iraqis on the run are Sunnis, and they often find themselves seeking safety in Shiite-dominated areas, including Baghdad, where they are frequently treated as security threats. Rather than seizing on the crisis as an opportunity to win Sunnis, a minority in Iraq, to the government side, the Shiite authorities in Baghdad have acted in a manner, critics say, that has worsened the country’s sectarian divide, risking the alienation of young Sunni men in particular by restricting their movements within the country. On days that the bridge is open, for instance, not everyone can

reach safe areas. To get to Baghdad, Anbar civilians need to have a sponsor in the capital who can escort them into the city, as Mr. Talib was trying to do. Some Baghdad residents have exploited this system, selling sponsorship to the displaced for as much as $700, according to the International Rescue Committee, an aid

A sectarian divide widens over war refugees’ handling. organization. The group warned that the strict security checks and chokeholds at checkpoints near Baghdad are forcing people to return to areas where fighting is raging. Even in the northern Kurdish region, long a haven for civilians fleeing Iraq’s turmoil, the author-

In Gaza, Despair Deepens

capital’s largest Sunni mosque, where about 900 people from Anbar are living. The Iraqi authorities, he said, “have done nothing to help the people of Anbar.” If the authorities took a different approach, he said, “they would gain the support of all the Sunni people.” One man living in the mosque, Khamis Jassim, 45, said he had fought for months against the Islamic State in Ramadi. Many of his neighbors stayed, he said, rather than seek safety in Shiite-dominated areas. “They told me that if I went to Baghdad maybe I would be killed,” he said. At the bridge here on a recent afternoon, dozens of residents of Baghdad, clutching identification papers, waited for passage to open so they could bring relatives and friends to the capital. Omar Mansour, who had come to the bridge as an escort, looked across the river and said, “There are families over there and they are scared from both sides — ISIS and the Iraqi Army.”

BUCKFAST JOURNAL

Wine’s Critics Bypass Question of Taste By STEPHEN CASTLE

By DIAA HADID and MAJD AL WAHEIDI

GAZA CITY — On a street here crammed with glittery clothing and electronic shops, Mahmoud Matar flipped through the receipt book for his appliance store: His lone sale that day was a $7 kettle. It was clear whom he blamed for his poor sales: Gaza’s Islamist Hamas government. “They should close up shop and go home,” Mr. Matar, a chain-smoking 31-year-old, said angrily. “They shouldn’t call themselves a government.” Hopes that global powers would intervene to rebuild the battered coastal enclave after the 50-day summer war between Gaza’s Hamas government and Israel have faded. Hamas’s claim that it won simply by surviving is forgotten in the struggle to stay afloat, as living standards for its 1.8 million residents worsen. Most recently, Hamas initiated new import fees in an effort to cover the salaries of about 40,000 employees who have not been paid for months, raising prices in already-depressed markets. Gazans are growing increasingly frustrated with the standoff between Hamas and its rival Fatah party, led by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. In the rubble of Shejaiya, a neighborhood of Gaza City, a man swung his mallet to show how he pulverized concrete chunks into rubble that he sold to mix with black-market cement, earning him $15 a day. Some residents have returned to living in wrecked homes, despairing of having them repaired. Others have received

ities are reluctant to accept large numbers of Arabs, worsening the country’s ethnic divisions and adding to the sense that the very cohesion of Iraq is at risk. The situation has also further complicated the challenge of reconciling Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq amid efforts to defeat ISIS. Government officials in Iraq have said that concerns over a security threat from internally displaced people are legitimate because the Islamic State is deeply entrenched in Anbar and counts on some support from local citizens. Some officials have even blamed displaced Anbar residents for a recent round of car bomb attacks. In Baghdad, thousands of Sunni civilians who fled violence in Anbar are living in 32 mosques scattered around the city, where they are essentially quarantined. “The government, if they see any identification from Anbar, they will ask them, ‘What are you doing?’ ” said Imad Jassim of the Umm al-Qura mosque, the

WISSAM NASSAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ruined structures remain from Gaza’s war with Israel last summer. Residents are losing hope that they will be rebuilt. small amounts of donated cement for repairs. A few thousand homeless people still live in United Nations-run schools. Many of the newly unemployed are former construction laborers who are desperate to find work. On a recent day at the Gaza port, men pushed children in toy cars decked with glitter, charging 50 cents a ride. Boys work, too, making up for absent, sick or dead fathers. Mohammad al-Ahl, 13, sells polka-dot balloons for 25 cents each. Israel places severe restrictions on the import of building materials, saying they have been used to build tunnels to conduct attacks on Israel. The Egyptian government has taken extraordinary steps to shut down the tunnels that were the lifeblood of the Gaza economy. Egypt has opened its border only five times this year, part of a broader policy to punish Hamas, which aligned itself with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s former ruling party. The tunnels were Hamas’s chief source of revenue. Many children still carry the trauma inflicted during the conflict. Hamada Zaim, 4, has already lived through two short wars, in 2012 and 2014. He wets his bed and wakes up screaming at night, said his mother, Reem.

Between wars, he went bald and his head began swelling. Before Egypt tightened movement across the border, his mother took him there to see specialists. They could not give her a diagnosis, and they told her to return, but now it is nearly impossible. While Gaza’s unemployment rate has risen to 44 percent, the highest in the world, according to the World Bank, and many Gazan workers go unpaid, tens of thousands of employees who were hired by Mr. Abbas’s government when it controlled the territory are paid to stay home rather than work for Hamas. “It’s not logical at all,” said Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry. “The one sitting at home is paid, but if he has a problem, he goes to a hospital to be treated by a doctor who hasn’t taken a salary.” In the postwar malaise, some young men appear zombielike. Some are addicted to powerful painkillers that promise hours of hazy escape from a place they cannot flee. “It’s the unemployment, the lack of security, the pressure, the blockade. Imagine waiting for months to leave Gaza,” said a 24-year-old former user, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Imagine waiting and waiting.”

BUCKFAST, England — Sticky, sweet and flavored like spiced wine, with a hint of violet and a jolt of caffeine, the alcoholic drink produced here for the last century by Benedictine monks is the heart of a thriving enterprise. Buckfast Abbey, where the tonic wine is blended, employs scores of people, donates money to worthy causes and has undergone a huge renovation. But the popularity of the drink — especially hundreds of kilometers north in Scotland, where its sweetness and a high caffeine content have made it a favorite of young drinkers — has put the abbey into the midst of a debate over who bears responsibility for alcohol abuse. Concerned about reports that such drinks create “wideawake drunks” who are linked to crimes, including drunken driving and sexual assaults, the Scottish Parliament is weighing legislation that could ban Buckfast unless its recipe is changed. Buckfast tonic wine was created by the Benedictine monks from France who arrived here in the Devon region in the 1880s. Soon they were importing wine from Continental Europe, fortifying the sweet drink originally sold as a tonic or medicine. “It is a perfectly good drink if consumed modestly as a tonic wine,” said Richard Simpson, a lawmaker in the Scottish Parliament and architect of the proposed law. “It is a pity that it has become what it has become.” Critics cite the combination of alcohol and caffeine rather

than the 15 percent alcohol content. In Scotland, there is heightened concern about the demand from younger drinkers, some of whom seem to use Buckfast as a convenient alternative to mixing alcohol with energy drinks and caffeinated soft drinks. Under Mr. Simpson’s bill, the caffeine would be capped at 150 milligrams per liter of alcoholic drinks, the limit in Denmark. Buckfast contains more than double that level, or the caffeine equivalent of about three cups of coffee. Critics cite a 2009 report for the Scottish prison service, which found that the brand was

A sweet drink that appeals to the young faces a ban. consumed by 43.3 percent of the respondents before they committed a crime. In 2010, the police in Strathclyde, Scotland, said Buckfast wine was mentioned in 5,638 crime reports from 2006 to 2009. Stewart Wilson, sales manager for Buckfast’s distributor, J Chandler & Company, called the police statistics out of date, and said they unfairly singled out Buckfast wine. “At the end of the day it’s not different from any other alcohol,” said Katie Coates, a member of the Buckfastleigh Town Council and its former mayor. “In Scotland, they make whisky; it’s all about responsibility.”

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THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

Sanctity of Truth

MONEY & BUSINESS

Android Dominates, But Future Is Unclear By FARHAD MANJOO

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM DEAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

China Mixing Up Its Rubber Farms By BECKY DAVIS

JINGHONG, China — In the farming village of Tuanjie, in the hills above Jinghong, in southwest Yunnan Province, nearly every family lives in a two- or three-story concrete house, testament to a prosperity built during the boom years for natural rubber production. Sitting in a new kitchen larger than the hut that once stood on the same spot, Wang Guiying, 51, recalled hunting animals to survive and growing cotton to make her own clothes in the days before her family became the first in the village to plant rubber trees, in 1983. “Our lives then just got better and better,” she said. By 2011, the Wangs were earning nearly $13,000 a year from their 1.6-hectare farm. Family members built their two-story home, bought a car and a flat screen television and went on group tours to distant Beijing and nearby Vietnam. This year, because of the drop in oil prices, which set the price for natural as well as synthetic rubber, they predict they will make $1,600. “We don’t know why the price went down, but we have nothing else to depend on,” said Ms. Wang’s son-in-law, Jie Er, 32. Recognizing that, environmental officials just outside Jinghong have been testing a plantation model that they hope will become the blueprint for a more sustainable and economically stable rubber industry. On about 70 hectares, workers have interspersed the rubber trees with cacao, coffee and macadamia trees, as well as high-value timber species. The mix, promoted as “environmentally friendly rubber,” is intended to reduce erosion, improve water quality and increase biodiversity. Rubber plantations first appeared in this tropical region in the mid-1950s as state farms run by the centrally planned economy. The uniform rows of rubber trees fan out across the valleys where Asian elephants and white-cheeked gibbons once roamed. From afar, they meld into an unnaturally even carpet of single-shade green, a stark

Villagers collecting the timber of unproductive rubber trees near Tuanjie; top, harvesting rubber at a plantation. contrast to patches of remaining natural forest. The transition to a free-market economy combined with rising rubber prices led to the rapid expansion of plantations beginning in the late 1990s. These days, over a fifth of all land in the Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan Province is devoted to rubber production, an area of cultivation that tripled in size between 2002 and 2010. Natural forest coverage, in turn, has fallen to less than 50 percent in 2003 from nearly 70 percent in the late 1970s, snuffing out wildlife in a

Encouraging better use of farmland to boost the economy. corner of China renowned as one of its most biologically diverse. Li Qingyou, director of the Bio-Industrial Crops Office, the governmental body seeking to convert nearly a fourth of the region’s rubber-growing areas to this new more eco-friendly model by 2020, stood next to his Jeep facing a view of new high-rises and the Mekong River beyond. “We used to be so focused on developing the economy that we planted rubber and ignored the environmental impact,” he said,

“but now we realize that this isn’t good for us, and it isn’t good for the economy either.” Last year, the prefecture-level government spent $1.6 million to convert nearly 8,700 hectares of existing rubber plantations into environmentally balanced ones. With farmers panicked over sinking incomes, officials say they have a rare opportunity to promote their ideas. The program includes the distribution of free seedlings and the discouragement of planting rubber trees on steep slopes or in areas over 792 meters in elevation, where environmental damage is much worse and yields are lower. Tea, cacao, coffee and some Chinese medicinal plants can grow even in the midst of a rubber forest, as can valuable, slow-growing trees like teak. Critics of the rubber program say it lacks clear environmental standards as well as incentives that could get farmers to participate. And the majority of rubber plantations belong to small holders who own long-term rights to use the land and make their own economic decisions. Chen Jin, of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Research Center, said the government has “no way to stop villagers with no idea of what it means to be environmentally friendly from doing whatever they want.” Educating them, he said, would be slow, “like brewing tea with cold water.”

In 2005, Google bought a tiny mobile software company named Android, and almost nobody in the technology industry saw its potential — not even Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and then chief executive. “One day Larry and Sergey bought Android, and I didn’t even notice,” Mr. Schmidt told reporters in 2009, referring to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s founders. It was a joke. Android reportedly cost at least $50 million, a big enough sum for the chief to get involved. But the joke suggests how little regard even Google’s executives held for Android, the software that runs smartphones, tablets and other machines. But in an era ruled by portable computers, Android has become essential to Google’s future. It is the globe’s most popular smartphone operating system. More than a billion Android devices were sold in 2014, according to the research firm Gartner. About one of every two computers sold today is running Android. Yet Google may be losing its hold over the operating system. Android faces increasing competition from hungry rivals, including upstart smartphone makers in developing countries that are pushing their own heavily modified take on the software. There are also threats from Apple, which has said that its recent record number of iPhone sales came, in part, thanks to people switching from Android. Despite surging sales, profits in the Android smartphone business declined 44 percent in 2014, according to the independent analyst Chetan Sharma. Over the holidays last year, according to the research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple took in nearly 90 percent of the profits in the smartphone business. Google faces several major Android-related headaches. First, while Google makes most of its revenue from advertising, Android has so far been unsuccessful compared with Apple’s iOS, whose users tend to have more money and spend more time on their phones (and are, thus, more valuable to advertisers). Because Google pays billions to Apple to make its search engine the default search provider for iOS devices, the company collects much more from ads placed on Apple devices than from ads on Android devices. A recent analysis by Goldman Sachs estimated that Google collected about $11.8 bil-

lion on mobile search ads in 2014, with about 75 percent coming from ads on iPhones and iPads. A brighter spot for Google is the revenue it collects from sales via Android’s app store, called Google Play. In 2014, Google Play sold about $10 billion in apps, of which Google kept about $3 billion (the rest was paid to developers). Sales from Apple’s App Store exceeded $14 billion in 2014. Google’s app revenue is growing, and it is investing heavily to ensure that continues. Purnima Kochikar, business development director for Google Play, said her team supporting Android app makers grew “by 15 times” in the last two and a half years. Google’s strategy of giving Android to phone makers free has led to a surge of new entrants in the phone business, several of which sell high-quality phones for reduced prices. Because these start-ups don’t make much profit selling phones, they’re looking to make money in apps offering services, like mail and messaging, that compete with Google’s own

Google’s strategy of giving away its software backfires. moneymaking apps. The situation is especially painful for Google in China, where Google’s apps are blocked. Even in the rest of Asia, where many low-cost phone manufacturers do include Google’s apps on their phones, there’s growing interest in finding an alternative to Google’s version of Android. To address this problem, last year the company began a program, Android One, to get its services on high-quality, low-priced phones in the developing world. The final threat for Google’s Android may be the most pernicious: People who adopted Android as their first smartphone move on to something else. In the long run, the rise of Android switching sets up a terrible path for Google — losing the high-end of the smartphone market to the iPhone, while the low end is under greater threat from noncooperative Android players. Android has always been a tricky strategy; now, after finding huge success, it seems only to be getting even trickier.

STUART GOLDENBERG

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Sanctity of Truth

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

MONEY & BUSINESS NEWS ANALYSIS

American Innovation Masks Research Slip By EDUARDO PORTER

sales in 1980. The share of businesses holding patents increased to just less than 30 percent from 20 percent during the period. Yet the share of companies whose researchers published in scientific journals shrank. Researchers dream of the halcyon days of Bell Labs and its eight Nobel Prize winners, who brought us the transistor and Unix. Others reminisce about Xerox PARC, which came up with the graphical user interface that propelled the personal computer into everyday life. Today, laments Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution, innovation has been squeezed by skimpy government budgets and a corporate R&D effort focused on the very short term. The researchers at Duke and East Anglia note that corporate investment in basic research is waning in Europe, too. They doubt that science has somehow become less valuable. Citations of recent scientific research are as common in corporate patents today as they were in the 1980s. But the stock market places a lower valuation on original research than it did three decades ago. Corporate executives, their compensation tied to short-term gains in market value, may be responding accordingly. Science has always been risky. Xerox was not the main beneficiary of the graphical user interface. Apple and Microsoft were. Bell Labs may not have poured much money into discovering cosmic microwave background radiaASSOCIATED PRESS tion if it were not backed by Charles A. Haas, an engineer, a telephone monopoly. Harassed by internainspecting a model of the Telstar tional competition in our experimental communications more cutthroat era, comsatellite in 1962. panies have less incentive to create knowledge that may or may not be profitable. earlier and look likely to shrink Instead, they are encouraged to further. patent more intensely, to protect American corporations, conwhat profitable knowledge they stantly pressured to increase the already have. next quarter’s profits in the face Can innovation survive this of powerful foreign competition, realignment? are walking away from basic sciAs large companies have cut ence, too. their research budgets, small, “Companies’ R&D,” said Ashscience-driven businesses have ish Arora of Duke University in stepped in, spawned by a 1980 law North Carolina, “is moving away that encouraged scientists and from the R toward the D.” universities to commercialize the The number of American government-funded discoveries patent applications keeps rising. they made. Rather than invest in Yet, increasingly divorced from their own science, big companies the scientific advances on which may now more easily buy innovatechnological progress ultimately rests, this patenting rush looks tive start-ups and develop their less and less like fundamental most promising discoveries into innovation. profitable technology. A research paper by Professor But this system is vulnerable, Arora and Sharon Belenzon reliant on a dwindling pot of pubfrom Fuqua School of Business lic money that underwrites most at Duke, and Andrea Patacconi university-based research. of the Norwich Business School “The buy-up strategy would at the University of East Anglia, be fine if we had confidence that tracks American corporations’ the university system and startloss of interest in scientific reups were picking up the slack,” Professor Arora said. “But we search. still don’t understand how this diThe R&D of publicly held companies increased to 2 percent of vision of innovative labor would sales in 2007 from 1 percent of work.” An iPhone has more computing power than the Voyager spacecraft that left the solar system two years ago. High-tech cancer drugs are being approved every month. It’s easy to be excited about the prowess of American companies. But the edifice of American innovation rests on an increasingly rickety foundation. Investment in research and development has been flat over the last several years as a share of the economy, stabilizing at about 2.9 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2012, according to the National Science Foundation. Other countries are now leaving the United States behind. And even more critically, investment in basic research — the building block for innovation and economic advancement — steadily shrank as a share of the economy in the decade to 2012. Government budgets for basic research fell in 2013 to substantially below the level of 10 years

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER EARL McCOLLOUGH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

For Busy Techies, A Meal In a Glass By BRIAN X. CHEN

SAN FRANCISCO — Every night, Aaron Melocik, a software developer, follows a precise food routine. He blends together about 2 liters of water, 50 milliliters of macadamia nut oil and a 450-gram bag of powder called Schmoylent. Then he pours the beige beverage into jars and chills them before bringing the containers to work the next day at Metrodigi, a technology start-up. From 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., he sips from one jar for breakfast, and another for lunch. “It just removes food completely from my morning equation up until about 7 p.m.,” said Mr. Melocik, 34. Boom times in Silicon Valley call for hard work, and hard work — at least in technology land — means that coders, engineers and venture capitalists are turning to liquid meals with names like Schmoylent, Soylent, Schmilk and People Chow. The protein-packed products that come in powder form are inexpensive and quick and easy to make — just shake with water, or in the case of Schmilk, milk. While athletes and dieters have been drinking their dinner for years, Silicon Valley’s workers are now increasingly chugging their meals, too, so they can more quickly get back to their computer work. Demand for some of the powdered drinks, which typically mix nutrients like magnesium, zinc and vitamins, is so high that some engineers report being put on waiting lists of one to six months to receive their first orders. And the drinks are taking off across techie social circles.Venture capitalists have

The protein-packed liquid meals typically include nutrients like magnesium, zinc and vitamins. Making Soylent; top, Pulak Mittal, a software engineer, drinking some of it. also poured money into the companies that offer the meal replacements, and investors including Alexis Ohanian, a founder of Reddit, an online forum, count themselves as fans of the drinks. “My dream in an ideal scenario would be if I could just pick up some at the airport, premade in the refrigerator section,” said Mr. Ohanian, who invested in Soylent and treats the drink as a fallback meal. The entrepreneur, who frequently flies between New York and

Drink mixes for lunch and dinner, saving people time. San Francisco for work, says he will whip up a batch of Soylent and sip it throughout the day when he is too lazy to make something to eat. The rise of the meal replacements mirrors Silicon Valley’s start-up froth — and includes a dose of confidence. The makers said their drinks were better than the powders that had been around for years, because those tended to have lots of sugar and overemphasized the use of protein. Rob Rhinehart, a software

engineer, said he came up with the idea for Soylent in 2013 while working long hours at a wireless communications company and realizing he was eating poorly. So he founded Soylent, based in Los Angeles, that year and gained more than $3 million in funding from the crowdsourcing site Tilt. Orders took off quickly. The company said it had shipped more than the equivalent of six million “meals” across the United States. Mr. Rhinehart declined to share financial details but said his company was shipping “at the kiloton scale” each quarter and had attracted $24.5 million in financing. Soylent, Schmilk and some others typically taste like bland, gritty pancake batter. But while a meal generally costs upward of $50 at Silicon Valley-area restaurants, a week’s worth of Soylent or Schmoylent totals $85. When Pulak Mittal started working at the tech start-up Clever this year, the company let his colleagues know he was an avid Soylent user. Soon after, Mr. Mittal said, some co-workers approached him to ask whether they could try some. Still, the new drinks are acquired tastes. “I am getting sick of the taste,” Dan Sparks, a co-worker, recently told Mr. Mittal. “I am thinking I’ll have to start flavoring it.”

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

A View Into Medicine’s Roots Through an Ancient Text By MARK SCHROPE

The first time Grigory Kessel held the ancient manuscript, which has animal-hide pages more than 1,000 years old, it seemed oddly familiar. A Syriac scholar at Philipps University in Marburg, Germany, Dr. Kessel was sitting in the library of the manuscript’s owner, a wealthy collector in Baltimore. Dr. Kessel realized that just three weeks earlier, in a library at Harvard University, he had seen a single orphaned page that was similar to these pages. The manuscript he held contained a hidden translation of an ancient, influential medical text by Galen of Pergamon, a Gre-

A centuries-old translation of a doctor’s treatise. co-Roman physician and philosopher who died in 200 A.D. It was missing pages, and Dr. Kessel was suddenly convinced one of them was in Boston. Dr. Kessel’s realization in February 2013 marked the beginning of a global hunt for the other lost leaves, a search that culminated in May with the digitization of the final rediscovered page in Paris. Scholars are just beginning to pore over the text, the oldest known copy of Galen’s “On the Mixtures and Powers of Simple Drugs.” It may well provide new insights into medicine’s roots and into the spread of this new

science across the ancient world. The manuscript is a palimpsest: older text covered up by newer writing. It was a common practice centuries ago, a medieval form of recycling. In this case, 11th-century Syrian scribes had scraped away Galen’s medical text and had overwritten hymns on the parchment. For centuries, Galen’s “Simple Drugs” was required reading for aspiring physicians, the summation of ancient knowledge about medicine, patient care and pharmaceutical plants. Galen described a root that cures “roughness of the throat” and recommended hemp as an earache remedy that “does not produce flatulence” (though it “dries out the semen”). Much of “Simple Drugs” was eventually translated into Syriac, a form of Aramaic used by Middle Eastern Christian communities. The text of the manuscript in Baltimore, most likely from the ninth century A.D., is a copy of the first Syriac translation, itself painstakingly completed in the sixth century A.D. by Sergius of Reshaina, a Syriac physician and priest. “Simple Drugs” was a n 11-book treatise. Sergius’s translations were copied and recopied for centuries. Little is known of the history of the Baltimore manuscript, formally

Little is known of the trail of a manuscript called the Syriac Galen Palimpsest.

known as the Syriac Galen Palimpsest, from its recycling in the 11th century until the 1920s, when it was sold to a collector in Germany. The manuscript fell again from public view until 2002, when it was bought by another collector. He has not been identified. In 2009, the Galen Palimpsest was lent to the Walters Art Museum for spectral imaging that would reveal the erased Galen text. Each page is photographed digitally at extremely high resolution with varying colors and configurations of light, which in various ways illuminate the inks, grooves from writing and parchment itself. Computer algorithms exploit these varia-

Fears of a Robot Takeover Are Likely Premature

Robots in ‘‘Ex Machina’’ and, below, ‘‘Terminator Genisys’’ mimic humans.

By JOHN MARKOFF

In glossy sci-fi movies like “Ex Machina” and “Chappie,” robots move with impressive — and frequently malevolent — dexterity. They appear to confirm the worst fears of prominent technologists and scientists like Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates, who have voiced alarm over the possible emergence of self-aware machines out to do harm to the human race. Mr. Hawking told the BBC that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Not so fast. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a United States Pentagon research arm, recently held its Robotics Challenge in Pomona, California, with a $2 million prize for the robot that performs best in a series of tasks. A preview of their work suggests that nobody needs to worry about a Terminator creating havoc anytime soon. The robots have an hour to complete eight tasks that would take a human less than 10 min-

Tasks that humans find simple can stymie robots. utes, like opening a door and entering a room. “The extraordinary thing that has happened in the last five years is that we have seemed to make extraordinary progress in machine perception,” said Gill Pratt, the Darpa program manager in charge of the Robotics Challenge. Advances in pattern recognition hardware and software has made it possible for computers to make dramatic progress in computer vision and understanding speech, he said. In contrast, Dr. Pratt said, little headway has been made in “cognition,” the higher-level humanlike processes required for true autonomy. As a result, both in the Darpa contest and in the field of robotics more broadly, there has been

“Simple Drugs” might be hidden in the Galen Palimpsest. The only other known Syriac copy resides at the British Library in London and includes only Books 6 to 8. The full text of “Simple Drugs” is known to scholars, but only from more recent translations in languages other than Syriac. As texts went through multiple rounds of copying, they underwent significant changes. The Galen PalimpCOURTESY sest could offer insights OF THE OWNER into how the ancient Greeks treated the ill. Little of Galen’s advice tions to maximize the visibility would stand up to modern of the undertext. scrutiny. Like other a nThe resulting images went online to be studied by scholars cient physicians, he believed like Dr. Kessel, who eventually health was controlled by four arranged to see the Galen Pa“humors” in the body. “The Galenic system is comlimpsest firsthand. The Harvard leaf did fill one pletely bonkers,” said Siam of the gaps in the Galen PalimpBhayro, a specialist in early Jewish studies at the Universisest. Six more were missing. He found one in a catalog from the ty of Exeter in England. Still, it St. Catherine’s monastery in the was the best thinking available Sinai Desert in Egypt, which has in an era in which the very idea the world’s oldest continuousof medical science was relatively new. ly operating library. Another “It’s likely to be a central text leaf turned up at the National once it’s fully deciphered,” said Library of France in Paris. At Peter Pormann, a Graeco-Arthe Vatican’s library in Rome, he found three other leaves. The abic expert at the University of seventh missing page is believed Manchester in England. “We to have been blank. might discover things we really No one knew how much of can’t dream of yet.”

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS; TOP, LIAM DANIEL/A24

a re-emphasis on the idea of human-machine partnerships. “It is extremely important to remember that the Darpa Robotics Challenge is about a team of humans and machines working together,” Dr. Pratt said. “Without the person, these machines could hardly do anything at all.” In fact, the steep challenge in making progress toward mobile robots that can mimic human ca-

pabilities is causing robotics researchers worldwide to rethink their goals. Instead of trying to build autonomous robots, many researchers have begun to think of creating ensembles of humans and robots. Ken Goldberg, a University of California, Berkeley, roboticist, has called on the computing world to drop its obsession with singularity, the notion that computers will surpass their human designers. He proposes a concept he calls “multiplicity,” with diverse groups of humans and machines solving problems through collaboration. Artificial-intelligence researchers have long noted that the simplest tasks for humans are the most challenging for machines. “The intuitive idea is that the more money you spend on a robot, the more autonomy you will be able to design into it,” said Rodney Brooks, a Massachu-

setts Institute of Technology roboticist and co-founder of iRobot and Rethink Robotics. “The fact is actually the opposite is true: The cheaper the robot, the more autonomy it has.” For example, iRobot’s Roomba robot is autonomous, but the vacuuming task it performs is extremely simple. By contrast, the company’s Packbot is more expensive, designed for defusing bombs, and must be controlled wirelessly by people. The first Darpa challenge in 2004 of robotic vehicles helped spark greater interest in artificial intelligence. And in the 2005 challenge, a $2 million prize was claimed by a group of artificial-intelligence researchers from Stanford University in California, whose vehicle defeated another in a tight race. The contest led to Google’s decision to begin a self-driving-car project. “We had a relatively easy task,” said Sebastian Thrun, who led the Stanford team in 2005 and later started the Google self-driving-car project. “Today they’re doing the hard stuff.” His view about the relationship between humans and robots has been shaped by the contests. “I’m a big believer that technology progresses by complementing people rather than replacing them,” he said.

Sanctity of Truth

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MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

A Mystery Disease Kills Saigas on the Steppes By CARL ZIMMER

Before the end of the last Ice Age, saigas roamed by the millions from England to Siberia. Eventually they moved to the steppes of Central Asia, where they continued to thrive — until the 20th century, when these strange-looking antelopes began flirting with extinction. Hunted for its horns, 95 percent of the population disappeared, and the saiga was declared critically endangered. After strict antipoaching measures were imposed, the population recovered, from a low of 50,000 to about 250,000 last year. “It was a big success story,” said Eleanor J. Milner-Gulland, the chairwoman of the Saiga Conservation Alliance. Now that success is in jeopardy. In May, a mysterious disease swept through the remaining saiga herds, littering the steppes with carcasses. The die-off

A disease with ‘100 percent mortality’ astonishes scientists. claimed more than half of the world’s population in just weeks. “To lose 120,000 animals in two or three weeks is a phenomenal thing,” said Joel Berger, a senior scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. An international team of wildlife biologists is examining tissues from dead saigas, hoping to figure out what killed them. In the spring, saigas migrate across the steppes by the thousands, the females pausing just long enough to give birth, usually to twin calves. Saigas can travel more than 80 kilometers a day, and can run about 60 kilometers per hour. Naturalists are quick to note their enormous noses somewhat resembling like elephant trunks. “In the rutting season, the male’s nose swells even more, and then they shake their heads and it makes a squishy sound,”

said Aline Kühl-Stenzel, the terrestrial species coordinator of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Females may be attracted to the fleshy noses of males. But scientists also suspect the noses protect saigas from dust rising up from the dry ground. “To some extent, the nose is a filter,” she said. “But it probably also cools the air in the summer, and in winter, it probably heats the air, as well.” From time to time, saigas have faced die-offs. In 2010, 12,000 animals died. The causes are still uncertain. On May 13, Dr. Kühl-Stenzel started receiving reports from government officials in Kazakhstan that another die-off was beginning. The die-off is now 10 times bigger than the 2010 event. And because the saiga population was at a precariously low level, the die-off has claimed an astronomical proportion of the species, from one-third to perhaps a half. Richard A. Kock, an expert on wildlife disease at the Royal Veterinary College in London, was astonished by the deadliness of the disease. Once it struck a herd, every animal died. “It is an extraordinary thing to get 100 percent mortality,” Dr. Kock said. He and his colleagues found that the saigas were infected with two species of deadly bacteria, Pasteurella and Clostridium. But Dr. Kock says he suspects that the infections became deadly only after something else had crippled the animals. So what is killing the saigas? One possibility is that an unknown virus has swept through the herds. Changes in the environment also may have contributed. This year’s heavy rainfalls may have led to a growth of plant species that make saigas dangerously bloated, for example. Central Asia has also had heavy chemical pollution over the decades from factories and farms. “We have to do the science and let the evidence speak,” Dr. Kock said.

REUTERS

In May, more than 100,000 saigas died in Central Asia. Scientists are studying dead animal’s tissue to find the cause.

JOHN SEATON CALLAHAN/GETTY IMAGEHS

Crossbreeding rice resistant to flooding helped improve crop yields in Southeast Asia.

Shifting Strategy Over G.M.O.s By GINA KOLATA

What’s in a name? A lot, if the name is genetically modified organism, or G.M.O., which many people are vehemently against. But what if scientists used the precise techniques of today’s molecular biology to give back to plants genes that had long ago been bred out of them? And what if that process were called “rewilding?” A group at the University of Copenhagen is proposing the name for the process that would result if scientists took a gene or two from an ancient plant variety and melded it with more modern species to promote greater resistance to drought, for example. “I consider this something worth discussing,” said Michael B. Palmgren, a plant biologist at the Danish university who headed a group, including scientists, ethicists and lawyers, that is funded by the university and the Danish National Research Foundation. They published their proposal recently in the journal Trends in Plant Science. The best way to improve plants, they say, is with “precision breeding,” using wellknown modern methods for inserting and deleting genes in cells. The researchers wrote that in the United States and Canada, non-G.M.O. foods are prohibited from having genes that could not have occurred in nature in that plant. So adding a fish gene to a plant, for example, is forbidden, but adding a gene from an ancient variety of the same plant using precision breeding would be allowed. In Europe, however, the methods of genetic engineering are actually banned, even if the gene that is added is from the same plant. That means “rewilded” foods created with precision breeding could be labeled non-G.M.O. in the United States, but not in Europe, they conclude. Brise Tencer, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation in

JOSH HANER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Santa Cruz, California, said she doubts that proponents of G.M.O.-free foods would accept precision breeding. “They take a term that sounds really wonderful, but genetic engineering is genetic engineering is genetic engineering,” Ms. Tencer said. “It is not something farmers want. It is not something consumers want. I don’t think it is a very viable concept.” The idea of restoring longlost genes to plants is not new, said Julian I. Schroeder, a plant researcher at the University of California, Davis. But, wary of

Ancient plant genes are mixed with modern species. the taint of genetic engineering, scientists have used traditional methods to cross modern plants with ancient ones until they have the gene they want in a crop plant that needs it. The tedious process inevitably drags other genes along with the one that is targeted. But the older process is “natural,” Dr. Schroeder said. For example, in 2006, scientists discovered an ancient variety of rice that produces meager yields but resists flooding. Scientists found the gene that makes the rice resistant to flooding; after a couple of years of crossbreeding, researchers were able to grow rice plants

Researchers say precision breeding could help plants thrive in poor conditions. Wheat outside Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.

with the flood resistance gene of the ancient rice. Now, Dr. Schroeder says, flood-resistant rice is grown by more than four million farmers in Southeast Asia. Many of the plants grown today by both conventional and organic farmers were created with imprecise methods, scientists said. Researchers deliberately mutated plants with chemicals and radiation, altering thousands of genes at once, and then searched the resulting plants to find ones with traits they wanted. Though the plants were created using unnatural methods, they can be grown using organic farming techniques. Nina Fedoroff, a plant researcher at Pennsylvania State University, said it seems nonsensical to say a plant is natural when it is mutated by chemicals and radiation, but not when a gene from an ancient variety of the same plant is added with methods of molecular biology. With the flood-resistant rice plants, researchers crossbred and did not use precision breeding to alter the plants. Asked why not, Dr. Schroeder had a simple answer — a complex maze of regulations governing genetically engineered crops. With crossbreeding, he said, “the first varieties hit the fields in a couple of years.” And if the researchers had used precision breeding to get the gene into the rice? “They would still be stuck in the regulatory process,” Dr. Schroeder said.

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

A Mystery Disease Kills Saigas on the Steppes By CARL ZIMMER

REUTERS

In May, more than 100,000 saigas died in Central Asia. Scientists are studying dead animal’s tissue to find the cause.

JOHN SEATON CALLAHAN/GETTY IMAGEHS

Crossbreeding rice resistant to flooding helped improve crop yields in Southeast Asia.

Shifting Strategy Over G.M.O.s By GINA KOLATA

JOSH HANER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Researchers say precision breeding could help plants thrive in poor conditions. Wheat outside Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Sanctity of Truth

T R AV E L 20 KILOMETERS

Juigalpa

Managua

Masaya

Bluefields

Granada

NICARAGUA

Nueva Guinea

PA C

Puerto Morrito

Proposed reservoir

Las Salinas Tola

Potosí San Jorge

Monte Cristo

ISLA DE OMETEPE

Rivas

R E S E R V A N AT U R A L P U N TA G O R D A

San Miguelito

La Virgen

Punta Gorda

CARIBBEAN SEA

LAKE NICARAGUA

El Tule

Brito Morillo

San Juan Del Sur

The 270-kilometer canal would run from Brito, through Lake Nicaragua, to the Caribbean Sea.

Colón

San Carlos

COSTA RICA

El Castillo

RESERVA BIOLÓGICA INDIO MAÍZ

The Panama Canal is about 400 kilometers southeast.

A Paradise Lost, Perhaps, to a Canal As the “Che Guevara” ferry lurched across Lake Nicaragua, making its way to Isla de Ometepe, it was difficult to decide where to train your eye. On one end of the island is Volcán Concepción, an active stratovolcano whose frequent ESSAY eruptions leave in their wake streams of ash that, when the wind is right, resemble the detritus of a giant smokestack. On the other is Volcán Maderas, Concepción’s smaller, lusher cousin. Regardless, the $3 ferry ticket is a bargain, considering the staggering view: a span of deep blue water bookended by two formidable summits, shrouded in swirling mist. Once you make landfall, the views go from dazzling to engrossing. The countryside at

ELIZABETH ZACH

A planned shipping lane would imperil Nicaragua’s jewels. the foot of the volcanoes is blanketed by thickets of bougainvillea, poinsettia and hibiscus, palms and banana trees. The volcanoes dominate the roughly 260-square-kilometer island, home to 30,000 mostly agrarian residents, and a million tourists visit each year. Islanders ride horseback across grassy fields or herd goats, and young European tourists whiz by on mopeds. Ometepe sits amid the largest freshwater lake in Central America. The beauty of Ometepe and the vast waters of Lake Nicaragua are two immutable constants. That is bound to change, however, if Wang Jing, a Chinese billionaire, has his way. A consortium he led won approval last year from the Nicaraguan government to build a canal across the country. The plan, which

would connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and shave about 800 kilometers off the shipping route from New York to Los Angeles, is the realization of a centuries-old dream that has outlasted the construction of the Panama Canal, about 725 kilometers south of the proposed route. In late December, workers began building access roads for the $50 billion canal. It sparked protests, and the future of the project remains in question, not the least because of Lake Nicaragua itself. If the canal is completed, 88 kilometers of it would cut across the freshwater Lake Nicaragua, transforming its bed and local rivers, but could make the country’s main source of drinking water no longer potable. The Nicaraguan government has yet to commission an environmental impact assessment on the canal plans. The company behind the canal, HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, or HKND, paid a private British firm, ERM, to do so. Manuel Coronel Kautz, president of Nicaragua’s canal authority, said the country’s leaders have confidence in the reports that have been done, “and the Nicaraguan government has no concerns about the project,” he told me. With this in mind, I wanted to make my own assessment of what could be lost to tourists. Like most visitors, I first saw Lake Nicaragua while traveling through Granada, which sits on its northwest shore. After a jarring ride from Managua — packed with passengers and crates of crowing roosters — I walked to the lakeshore, where gentle waves lapped at the wooden docks, then continued to the desolate Centro Turistico, a lakefront park. There, I was introduced to Lorenzo, a young man from Las Isletas, an archipelago of more than 300 tiny tropical islands scattered about the northwest edge of the lake. We kayaked across the choppy lake, finally reaching the quiet channels and lagoons of Las Isletas. Lorenzo pointed out

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MERIDITH KOHUT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; TOP, THE NEW YORK TIMES

A proposed canal crossing could threaten the waters of Lake Nicaragua, above, with Concepción volcano in the background. Left, hikers on the trail of another nearby volcano.

kingfishers and warblers swooping into the waters, swallows perched on lily pads and egrets traversing marshes. He grew excited at the yellow-chested oropendolas, with their ballshaped nests dangling from tree branches, and then, barely visible in another tree, an iguana glaring down at us. “If it’s built,” Lorenzo said of the canal, “the waters will go up and they will go down. But either way, we don’t know if we will be able to fish here like we do now.” The government maintains that the canal would provide an economic boost to a country sorely in need of one, where many earn $1 a day. The canal is expected to provide 25,000 jobs for Nicaraguans, HKND has said, and the Nicaraguan government projects that revenues could lift

400,000 people out of poverty. The cost, however, is “staggering environmental devastation,” according to Axel Meyer, a professor of zoology and evolutionary biology at the University of Konstanz in Germany who has conducted ecological research in Nicaragua for 30 years. In a commentary written for the journal Nature last year, he and a colleague noted that the canal plans include rights to build and operate industrial centers, airports, oil pipelines and a rail system. One of the habitats standing to lose much is Ometepe, which relies on the lake for irrigation. It is home, Mr. Meyer said, to its own unique flora and fauna, including a lungless salamander and Tomocichla tuba, a relatively rare cichlid fish.

My guide on Ometepe was Enoc, who first took me to the coffee plantation at Finca Magdalena, leading me later on a hike among the coffee trees that cover the higher slopes of Volcán Maderas. Descending the trail, I could hear shrieking. “Monkeys,” Enoc said. “But if you want to see them, we’ll have to go off trail.” I followed him through the brush and under barbed-wire fences until we reached a shaded grove, where Enoc pointed upward at a family of white-faced Capuchin monkeys clinging to the highest branches. Afterward, Enoc drove me to the Reserva Charco Verde, where we took the short hiking trail around the lagoon and watched butterflies swerve about. As we sat at lunch later at the water’s edge,Enoc told me that he was building huts on nearby forestland, which he hopes to rent to tourists. The prospect of Nicaragua’s canal perhaps provides the best reason to visit the country now, adding drama to what might otherwise be a pretty postcard tour of the tropics. I think of this when I recall my lunch with Enoc on Ometepe, when he pointed to the lake and at the Isla de Quiste, and beyond, two ferries shuttling between the island and the mainland. I took a long moment to absorb the dreamlike view, noticing the particularly tranquil waters stretching toward the horizon.

Sanctity of Truth

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

ARTS & DESIGN

Dark Film: Prostitution In Morocco By AIDA ALAMI

PA R IS — A prostitution-themed film from Morocco that had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May has set off a furor there: After six minutes of excerpts appeared online, the government banned the movie from theaters, the female stars received death threats and a male actor was attacked with a knife. The film, “Much Loved,” by the Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch, includes scenes of prostitutes in Marrakesh partying, speaking raunchy Arabic and servicing Saudi clients. Within a few days after the premiere, the clips had received more than two million views on YouTube. Conservative Muslims view “Much Loved” as scandalous. Moderate Moroccans are offended that the film’s dark portrayal of their country was shown at a prestigious international film festival. The communications minister, Mustapha Khalfi, a member of the Justice and Development Party, said in a statement, “The film undermines the moral values and dignity of Moroccan women as well as all the image of Morocco.” Mr. Ayouch, 46, said in an interview that he “was expecting a debate, a polemic, some sort of confrontation because it is a sensitive topic,” then added: “But I am not feeling good about this controversy. I make films because I want Moroccans to see them.” “Much Loved” tells the story of four women trying to survive by selling their bodies. After excerpts were leaked online, an actor who played a Saudi client was stabbed by a stranger who the actor said accused him of tarnishing Morocco’s image. Death threats were also made against the film’s actresses, including Loubna Abidar. Appearing on a local radio show, Ms. Abidar said she was merely playing a role. “If I would have played the role of a killer, would that have made me a killer?” Ms. Abidar added. “There are thousands of prostitutes in Morocco. You need to watch the movie to understand that there is much more to it.” Morocco markets itself as a liberal Muslim country, but the government says Islamic principles should regulate society. Some analysts say reaction to the film reflects a sensitivity to prostitution rather than the rise of Islamic conservatism. Meriam Cheikh, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Brussels who is writing her thesis on sex labor in Morocco, said the film accurately portrayed what she found while living for two years among sex workers in Tangiers. “They are the first victims of unemployment,” she said. “Many of them failed their studies, cannot find jobs and engaged in paid sexual relationships while hoping to find a husband and get out of the business.” Petitions seeking to lift the ban on “Much Loved” are circulating. “I researched the topic for a year and a half,” Mr. Ayouch said, “and the stories of hundreds of broken lives shook me.”

MATT EDGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; BELOW, DISNEY/PIXAR

Amy Poehler is the voice of Joy in “Inside Out.” Left, Pete Docter, the director, with colored walls representing the film’s emotions.

Pinning Hopes on a Little Girl’s Emotions By BROOKS BARNES

EMERYVILLE, California — John Lasseter, a notepad in hand, settled into his seat in a screening room at Pixar headquarters here in July 2012. Mr. Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, was there to evaluate progress on “Inside Out,” a new film set inside an 11-year-old girl’s mind. It did not take long for the air to frost over. “We got up and said, ‘We’re not going to show you a screening because the film is not working,’ ” recalled Pete Docter, who turned to “Inside Out” after his Oscar-winning “Up.” The movie had already been in the works for more than two years at that point. “I saw John do this,” Mr. Docter said, scowling. “It was scary. Not happy.” Solving creative puzzles is a Pixar hallmark, and the studio may have done it again. In its finished form, “Inside Out,” which is being released worlwide starting this month, is expected to become Pixar’s 15th consecutive blockbuster. But a triumphant “Inside Out” would mean more to Disney-owned Pixar than money and trophies. Last year, for the first time in nine years, Pixar did

not release a film. And the rival DreamWorks Animation has struggled, leading to chatter that the genre is in a funk. “The pressure on ‘Inside Out’ is tremendous,” said Maija Burnett, the director of the character animation program at California Institute of the Arts. “Audiences now have extra-high expectations of computer animation as an art form.” “Inside Out” is Pixar’s first original film to come to fruition almost entirely without Steve Jobs, a Pixar founder who was a powerful presence at the studio until his death in 2011. Success would prove that the little studio’s soul is undeniably intact. “Inside Out” tells the story of Joy, Fear, Disgust, Anger and Sadness. They run a girl named Riley from a control center in her mind, stepping in to keep her safe or make her feel happy or stand up for what’s right — all except lethargic, lumpy Sadness. Nobody knows why she is there. Then, just as Riley’s family moves to a new city, Sadness and Joy (voiced by Phyllis Smith of “The Office” and Amy Poehler) get lost in the far reaches of Riley’s mind. Fear, Disgust and An-

ger (Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black) remain in charge. Stand back: The result is a petulant, prepubescent Riley. “Inside Out” seeks to both entertain and leave viewers with a deeper understanding. With his first film in 2001, “Monsters, Inc.,” Mr. Docter set out to answer a question: What if the creatures under your bed were really nice guys? “Up” made tying balloons to a house and floating off into the South American jungle believable. To understand how “Inside Out” came about, it helps to start with Mr. Docter’s childhood. When he was in the fifth grade in Minnesota, his parents, both teachers, moved the family to Denmark for a year. “That was the most difficult time of my life,” said Mr. Docter, now 46. “Suddenly, bam, your idyllic boyhood bubble is popped, and you’re aware that everything you do and everything you wear and everything you say is being judged by everyone else.” In 2009, Mr. Docter noticed his pre-teenage daughter, Elie, experiencing a similar transition. “She started getting more quiet and reserved, and that, frankly,

Old-School Spy Plies His Tradecraft, in Print By CHARLES McGRATH

Jason Matthews is a retired spy but doesn’t look like one. He resembles a high school principal: calm, patient, a little bland. The only clues to his former occupation — 33 years with the C.I.A. — are his uncanny peripheral vision and his occasional use of terms like “ops” and “intel.” Mr. Matthews, 63, is also a novelist, one of the long line of real-life spies who have also written spy thrillers. The tradition goes back at least to Erskine Childers, the Irish nationalist and gun smuggler who wrote the 1903 thriller “The Riddle of the Sands,” and includes Ian Fleming, John le Carré, Stella Rimington, Charles McCarry and E. Howard Hunt. All reaped fictional dividends from the Cold War. Mr. Matthews’s new book, “Palace of Treason,” is a sequel to his best-selling “Red Sparrow.” It’s set in contemporary Russia, where Vladimir V. Putin even turns up, but like the earlier

novel, it’s old school. While there are a couple of James Bondian touches, the main characters — Dominika Egorova, a Russian agent secretly working for the United States, and Nate Nash, her C.I.A. lover and handler — depend mostly on traditional tradecraft. They spend a lot of time trying to avoid being followed. Escaping surveillance is what Mr. Matthews used to do for a living. Officially he was a diplomat, in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, but his real job was recruiting and managing foreign agents. “There were a lot of mind games going on,” he recalled. “You wake up in the morning, and there’s a cigarette stubbed out in the ashtray. An entry team has come in the house at night and left the butt to let you know they were there.” The way that surveillance and avoiding it are depicted in the movies — people darting into the subway and diving into taxicabs — are all wrong, Mr.

triggered a lot of my own insecurities and fears,” he said. “And it also made me wonder what was going on. What happens in our heads during these moments?” Mr. Docter and his team started to research how the mind operates. The movie aims to make scientific sense. For instance, scientists believe short-term memories are transferred to longer-term space during sleep; when Riley goes to bed, her memories get processed through a series of chutes and ramps. The big story problem involved Fear and Sadness. For a long time, the movie had Joy and Fear getting lost together. “It seemed like the funniest choice,” he said. But the pairing felt wrong. Mr. Docter said he started to think about his friends at Pixar. “I’ve gone through sadness with these people, especially when we lost Steve,” he said. He continued: “At that moment, I realized that Sadness was the key. We were trying to push her to the side. But she needed to be the one going on the journey. Joy needed to understand that it’s O.K. for Sadness to be included at the controls once in a while.”

Jason Matthews bases his characters on people he met when he was a C.I.A. agent.

NICOLE BENGIVENO/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Matthews said. In “Palace of Treason,” a C.I.A. recruit walks for 13 hours to ensure she’s not being followed. Colin Harrison, Mr. Matthews’s editor at Scribner, said he had never paid much attention to spy novels until the manuscript of “Red Sparrow” turned up on his desk. “All those years he spent observing and talking to people — if you think about it, it’s pretty good training for a novelist.” Mr. Matthews said he got into novel writing as “therapy.” “Being in the Agency is a very experiential career, like being a policeman or a fireman or a jet pilot, and when it stops, it really stops,” he said. “There are retiree groups that get together,

mostly in Washington, and sit around and swap war stories, but I was living in California, and it was either write something or go fishing.” He was not a trained writer, he said, but he went to journalism school before being hired by the C.I.A., and a lot of his work there consisted of writing cables and reports. He added: “A lot of new thrillers are written by people who have not lived the life, and a lot of them seem to be about a bipolar Agency guy, helped by his bipolar girlfriend, trying to chase a bipolar terrorist who has a briefcase nuke, and there’s 12 hours left to go. My book is all fiction, but it’s an amalgam of people I’ve known, of things I’ve done, of stuff I’ve lived.” Talking about the tradecraft in “Palace of Treason,” he said, “I guess it’s a reflection of my age and my generation in the Agency, and a reaffirmation that in spite of all the gadgets, it’s still about two people. It’s called humint for a reason — it’s human intelligence — and the only thing that can do humint is humans.”

Business | Money Line

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

CBN to banks: Float fraud desks

SANCTIONS Banking watchdog to penalise lenders that do not comply

to establish dedicated fraud desks in their respective organisations. In a circular posted on its website, the apex bank stated that the decision to ensure that financial sector operators set up such desks was taken after consultations with the Nigerian Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF), DMBs and electronic payments service providers. The regulator warned

Tony Chukwunyem

s part of efforts aimed at tackling fraud within the banking industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) switches and payment providers,

that failure to comply with provisions of the circular, which takes effect from July 1st2015, would attract sanctions. According to the circular signed by the Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, the fraud desk should be manned by personnel that have requisite training on emerging fraud trends on various electronic pay-

ments channels. The circular further stated that the desk should operate at a minimum offer services such as “provide support to customers on electronic frauds with a minimum of 10 dedicated phone lines manned and available to customers at all times; make available the option for calls to contact centre in respect of fraud alerts or complaints, to be

Sterling Bank Director advises SMEs operators on Risk Mgt

xecutive Director, Finance & Strategy, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, has called on operators of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country to ensure proper risk identification, assessment and analysis with a view to minimising revenue loss for continued business survival. Suleiman, who spoke at the 10th Annual CEOs Forum organised by LEAP Africa at the Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, also, in a statement, commended the organisers for focusing on the SMEs “as the national economic development prospects of any country is hinged on the entrepreneurial energy of vibrant SMEs.” The theme of the forum was: “Staying Ahead: Maximising profit and

mitigating risk.” The Sterling Bank Director, who advised SME operators to ensure that their risk profile is adequately assessed, also advised that they (the SME operators) must improve on their reporting standards and the day-to-day management of their organisations to ensure the growth of their business. Besides, he also encouraged economic awareness to fully mitigate risks associated with foreign exchange fluctuations. Suleiman informed the participants drawn mainly from the SME segment about the bank’s support for SMEs by constantly educating them through

workshops and seminars on capacity building training. He noted that the bank organised a capacity training programme in 2014 aimed at enhancing the managerial and entrepreneurial qualities of SME operators with a view to building sustainable businesses in view of the critical roles they play in the development of an economy. The Sterling Bank Director, who stated that the workshop achieved the desired objective, assured that the lender would continue to support SMEs in the country as they constitute over 90 percent of businesses in the country. His words: “We are

totally focused on the growth of SMEs in the country and we will continue to assist in taking their businesses to another level. The process for transforming SMEs to become bigger players and a key part of national development does not start and end with finance. A huge part of it starts with education.” He was also of the opinion that the type of education provided for SMEs needs to be improved. “Nigeria still has a lot to do and a long way to go when it comes to our legal environment, the process of securing approvals and setting up businesses,” he explained.

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 9 13 10.77 US$64.03 US$29,127,899,016

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 May, 2015 4/6/2015 Mar 2015 12/6/2015 11/6/2015

Source:CBN

Description 13.05 16-AUG-2016 15.10 27-APR-2017 16.00 29-JUN-2019 16.39 27-JAN-2022 14.20 14-MAR-2024 10.00 23-JUL-2030 12.1493 18-JUL-2034

TTM

Price

1.18 1.88 4.05 6.63 8.75 15.11 19.10

FGN Bonds 98.12 101.82 106.00 110.24 101.43 68.00 86.86

NIBOR

Tenor (Days) Call 30 90 180

Rate (%) 10.6667 15.1771 16.5804 17.2323

Bid Yield

14.79 13.94 14.00 13.96 13.90 15.55 14.15

Change (%) -2.38 ▼ -0.24 ▼ 0.03 ▲ -0.23▼

Change (%) 0.86 ▲ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.04 ▲ 0.02 ▲ 0.00 ↔ 0.07 ▲

Price 98.27 101.97 106.30 110.54 101.73 68.30 87.16

Tenor (Months)

Offer Yield 14.65 13.84 13.90 13.89 13.84 15.48 14.10

NITTY

1 2 3 6 9 12

Treasury Bills

Rate (%) 10.6316 11.9666 12.2217 12.3432 14.0951 14.5665

Spot ($/N)

Offer 198.84

Change (%) 0.86▲ -0.08 ▼ -0.03 ▼ 0.04 ▲ 0.02 ▲ 0.00 ↔ 0.06 ▲ Change (%) 0.01 ▲ 0.33 ▲ 0.30 ▲ 0.32 ▲ 0.09 ▲ 0.15 ▲

Money Market

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 10.90 11.20 0.00 Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 9.42 10-Sep-15 11.15 11.47 0.00 10.82 11.45 -0.22▼ Overnight (O/N) 10.00 17-Dec-15 11.07 11.73 -0.22▼ 12.21 13.85 -0.35▼ 02-Jun-16 12.46 14.18 -0.35▼ Bid 198.74

Change (%) 0.21 ▲

NIFEX

Bid Spot ($/N) 198.9000

Offer 199.0000

Change (%) -1.92 ▼ -1.75 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

CBN Clearing Rates of June 12, 2015 Spot ($/N)

195.90

196.90

-0.03 Source: FMDQ

redirected to fraud desk; block and/or place no debit restrictions on accounts upon receipt of fraud complaints; receive customers’ stop-transaction instructions to block their accounts through short codes service provided to customers by the banks and log all customer fraud alerts and/or complain and escalate in line with internally predefined escalation path.” Other services that the desk is expected to provide, according to the

circular, include: “Submit reports to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc on fraud information logged by the fraud desk; honour “hold’’ instructions from Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) with respect to fraud matters and grant NIBSS per mission to view details on logged transactions; sensitise customers on e-fraud and fraud desk services; manage/resolve all intra-bank fraud issues leveraging on enterprise fraud.

...Disburses N7bn to power firms Tony Chukwunyem

s part of its effort to boost power supply in the country and in continuation of funds disbursement to the beneficiaries of the N 213 billion Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), last Friday, disbursed a total of N6.9 billion to gas suppliers, representing legacy debts owed them by power distribution companies (DisCos). Speaking at the event, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that the payments made by the regulator represented debts by the power sector in proportion to the obligations to repay the facility by five DisCos that have so far signed up to the facility. The DisCos involved are Eko, Ibadan, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu. Describing the disbursement to the gas

suppliers as a milestone that had to be achieved, Emefiele said that the move was an important step in revitalising Nigeria’s energy sector. According to him, what the CBN, in partnership with the banking sector, had done was to ensure the commercial viability of gas. He said that this was particularly so given that the gas sector had little incentive to make the necessary investments in gas exploration and infrastructure to keep up with the growth in power generation. The CBN governor recalled that the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in August 2014, approved a commercially viable benchmark price of $2.50/ mcf (one thousand cubic feet) for gas supply and 80 cents/mcf as transportation costs for new capacity, in order to encourage existing and prospective gas suppliers ramp up their investments.

Unity Bank obtains ISO security mgt warranty

nity Bank has been awarded the ISO27001:2013 standard certification for Information Security Management system. According to a statement issued by the lender, it was awarded the certificate following a rigorous audit process conducted by British Standard Institute (BSI), adding that with this certification, it has transited from ISO 27001: 2005 to ISO 27001: 2013. The bank was, in 2012, certified to ISO 27001:2005, maintaining the international standard and successfully carried out a surveillance audit in 2013 and in 2014 respectively, demonstrating a high level of data management and security process. ISO 27001:2013 is the latest version of ISO27001,

which is an information security standard that specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving information security management across systems, people and processes. It also includes requirements for the assessment and treatment of information security risks specifically tailored to the needs of an organisation. Among the benefits of the ISO27001:2013 certification include identifying risks and putting controls in place to manage or reduce the risks; flexibility in adapting controls to all or selected areas of the business; gaining stakeholder and customer trust via data protection; demonstrating compliance and gaining status as a preferred institution.

Business | News

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Insurance industry's total assets hit N793.6bn 26 CLEARED The regulator has cleared only 26 out of the 40 insurance firms Sunday Ojeme

he total assets of the Nigerian insurance sector have increased to N793.6 billion in 2015 from N711.4 billion in 2014. Details of the statistics released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) also revealed that the total liabilities grew from N422.7 billion

Nigeria reopens crude exports contracts with US CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

cline by 105,000 barrels a day in July after dropping 86,000 barrels in June, according to the Londonbased bank. EOG Resources Chief Executive Officer, Bill Thomas, said at a conference last month, that US production would drop through the end of the year. The EIA’s forecasts for US oil production cover the yield from major plays that together accounted for 95 per cent of domestic output growth from 2011 to 2013. The EIA’s oil-production forecasts are based on the number of rigs drilling in each plays and estimates on how productive they are. US drillers are retreating from oil fields as OPEC, which accounts for over a third of the world’s oil, continues to resist calls to curb its own supply. The 12-nation group decided, last week, to instead maintain a combined daily crudeproduction target of 30 million barrels. Output from the group has exceeded that level for each of the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The EIA expects production from the shale plays to fall in July by 93,000 barrels a day, the largest drop since the boom began. The steepening decline provides some validation to OPEC members who decided to preserve their market share and let falling prices force others to cut back, said Bill O’Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis.

to N444.4 billion within the same period. However, while shareholders’ funds dropped from N352.5 billion to N343.4 billion, the insurance funds grew from N334.856 billion to N347.9 billion. Meanwhile, the gross premium written at the end of 2014 stood at N302.105 billion, while that of the first quarter of 2015 was N97.017 billion. The net claims income fell from N90.393 billion to N23.738 billion. Also, the management

expenses declined from N61.736 billion to N18.605 billion. The regression also affected the underwriting expenses and underwriting results, as they moved down from N56.852 billion to N15.160 billion and N66.976 billion to N24.311 billion respectively. The investment income and the net profit also witnessed some decline, as the former recorded a drop from N34.255 billion to N9.520 billion and N28.430 billion to N15.430 billion

respectively. Speaking on the figures, the Director, Supervision, NAICOM, Mr. Nicholas Opara, said that overtime, the industry had improved in the area of statistics, stressing that the feat was achieved due to the focused leadership of the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel. He also revealed that so far, 40 insurance companies had submitted their accounts to the commission out of which 26 had gotten approval.

He said that 13 others with minimal adjustments had been sent back to the companies for necessary corrections while only one is currently being reviewed. Opara said: “It is now clear that we have improved in our statistics. Before now, it would have just been three of four accounts submitted. There is a tremendous progress being made. Before the end of June we would have gotten all the accounts approved for publication.”

He observed that insurance business regulation under NAICOM had witnessed a tremendous turn around for good as amplified by growth in industry gross premium written of less than N100 billion in 2007 to over N300 billion in 2014. He added that given all the projects and initiatives in place for effective insurance business regulation in Nigeria, it was very certain that the industry would sustain the established trend of growth and prosperity.

Business |Stock Watch

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

PROMISING

Share price movement of May & Baker

Challenges associated with the building and depreciation of PharmaCentre is gradually being taken care of

2014

Chris Ugwu

espite the fact that the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria is still being seen as a weaker competitor in the economy when compared with her foreign counterparts, some local drug firms have been contributing their own quota to the Nigerian economy. Some of these companies are making strides on the back of the Federal Government’s commitment towards making the sector self-sufficient and improving the overall well-being of Nigerians. Government's commitment is being demonstrated through the reinforcing of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). NAFDAC has made concerted efforts at stemming the prevalence of counterfeit and substandard drugs, recording huge successes in the process. This strategy has also helped reduce the level of corruption within the system and improved the overall quality of products produced internally and externally. For example, the agency had introduced the Mobile Authentication Service, which helps consumer to scratch the product upon purchase to determine its authenticity. But experts believe that more is needed to be done in order to totally curb the problem of counterfeiting. Individual companies must also be able to come up with technological innovations that will help counter the activities of counterfeiters. May & Baker Plc is one of the indigenous companies in the pharmaceutical industry that has recorded modest growth. Hence, market sentiments for the shares of the company has remained firm, as it has begun to overcome the challenges associated with building and depreciating its world class pharmaceutical plant by way of increased profitability and revenue growth. The dividend of five kobo paid to shareholders during the 2014 financial year was also a boost to the company, given the fact that shareholders had had no return on their investments for two years due to upgrading of the company’s facilities and the construction of a World Health Organisation (WHO)certified factory at Ota, Ogun State. Market watchers believed that the shareholders' wait for the dividend has paid off as they have begun to eat from their collective perseverance. Stockbrokers also attributed investors’ sustained confidence in the stock to continuing sales; marketing and distribution efforts as well as the company’s strong presence across Nige-

Jul 31

N1.65

Aug 31

N1.37

Sept 30

N1.77

Oct 31

N1.81

Nov 30

N1.70

Dec 31

N1.58

2015

MD, May & Baker, Nnamdi Okafor

May & Baker: Expansion spurs investors' confidence ria, which has consistently enhanced the bottom-line. The company’s share price, which closed at N1.65 per share on July 31, 2014, has continued to record appreciable growth among its competitors despite the sell pressure that had pervaded the stock market. At the close of business last Friday, the company’s share price stood at N1.75, an increase of 10 kobo or 6.06 per cent year-to-date. Financials Results for the financial year 2014 shows that the company recorded a 990 per cent growth in profit. From a pre-tax loss position of N11.4 million in 2013, the group recorded a pre-tax profit of N101.1 million. Similarly, after tax profit rose by 161 per cent from a negative of N103 million in 2013, to a positive of N63 million in 2014. This was achieved on a group turnover of N7 billion, as against N6.3 billion in 2013, representing a growth of 10.2 per cent. Cost containment and efficient resource utilisation were responsible for the positive signals by way of reduced financing charges, distribution, sales and marketing expenses - all which combined to deliver healthier bottom-line. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of May & Baker Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2014, made available by the Nigerian Stock

Shareholders' wait for the dividend has paid off

Exchange (NSE), showed a growth of 10.2 per cent in sales for the group. The company boosted its operational profitability with 16.2 per cent increase, while sales and marketing expenses dropped by three per cent. However, finance cost, which still remains a challenge to the company, fell by 4.2 per cent. The company had come under pressure from financing charges and depreciation allowances as a result of its new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, which was financed largely by loans during the 20082009 capital market recessions. Finance costs rose by 34.3 per cent to N630.71 million in 2013, compared with N469.63 million in 2012, while the company provided about N240 million annually in 2013 and 2014 out of its gross profit for the depreciation of the new pharmaceutical facility with monthly depreciation average of N19.8 million. Depreciation on the new plant started in second quarter of 2012. Profit drivers May & Baker had raised her capacity to produce more products with the construction of the world-class pharmaceutical centre known as the PharmaCentre, located in Ota, Ogun State. The facility has raised the company’s production capacity by over 60 per cent. The PharmaCentre is a

Jan 31

N1.44

Feb 28

N1.65

Mar 31

N1.52

Apr 30

N1.63

May 8

N1.62

June 12

N1.75

mega investment in the pharmaceutical sector targeted at making Nigeria one of the leading producers of quality medicines in the world. It is one of the few Nigerian pharmaceutical facilities that were recently certified by the WHO on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Chairman of the company, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), addressing shareholders at the Annual General Meetings (AGM) recently, said that the company was able to break the trend on non-payment of dividend because of the improvements recorded in the 2014 financial year. His words: "Despite the harsh operating environment, our company, May& Baker Nigeria Plc, posted an impressive result for the year 2014. The challenges associated with the building and depreciation of Pharmacentre is gradually being taken care of and our company has bounced back to profitability.” Looking ahead Going forward, Danjuma said that the company’s outlook remains bright and the signs are already manifesting with the return to profitability and dividend payment. “I am optimistic that as soon as soon as we are able to recapitalize the business, we shall take down the high financing cost, which is currently taking substantial earnings off the company. This will put us in a stronger position to fully leverage our installed capacity, aggressively promote our existing brands, launch the new products and businesses in our pipeline and deliver better profits,” he said. Conclusion In as much as it is hoped that the consolidation of all pharmaceutical manufacturing operations of the company at its PharmaCentre in Ota would help to improve operational efficiency and capacity utilisation while curtailing excess overhead costs, efforts should be made by the management to fashion out more strategies that will enable the firm sustain revenue growth through aggressive marketing, product development initiatives, better management of working capital and aggressive reduction in overhead costs.

GRAFT President should ensure total war against corruption

Sunday Ojeme

he President, National Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Mr Foluso Fasoto, has advised the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to boost the resources of the insurance and pension sectors. He also urged him to embark on immediate implementation of its key programmes, explaining that insurance and pension sectors still contributed less than one per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. He said that though the value of pension was put at N3.8 trillion as at October 2013, there is every tendency that the fund might experience a down turn because of outdated regulations governing the operations of the country’s Pension Fund Administrators. He urged President Buhari to swing into action immediately and charged him to ensure total eradication of corruption in

Insurance

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Experts to Buhari: Invest more in insurance, pension the nation’s public life. Fasoto said: “If there is any issue in which Nigerians have a consensus, it is the notion that corruption must be eliminated from our system. “The battle must be on all fronts and executed

with courage and unflagging commitment, otherwise the much-trumpeted war on corruption would just end up like the previous wars. “To get the battle off the ground, we need to strengthen all our demo-

cratic institutions including the police and the court to work in synergy. “There must not be any sacred cow in this mortal battle to save the nation.” The president also noted that the country’s National Tax Policy (NTP)

was yet to be implemented although it had been adopted by both National Executive Council and National Economic Council. He said: “This document would move the entire tax system away from its current position

to an enviable level as is the case of developed economy. “Some of positive effects is movement from Direct Taxation to Indirect Taxation thereby reducing issues relating to tax evasion and the elimination of multiple taxes among others.” Fasoto also called for the refocusing of the nation’s education curriculum aimed at imparting more on knowledge and technical skill acquisition.

L-R: Managing Solicitor, Tayo Tiwo and Co., Mr. Tayo Tiwo; Director, Lands Services Directorate, Lagos State, Mr. Tunde Oyegbola and Chief Executive Officer, SOFUNIX Investment and Communications Limited, Mr. Sola Oni, during a workshop on “Perfection of Titles in Nigeria: Issues and Resolutions” in Lagos.

overeign Trust Insurance Plc has pledged to join hands with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) to advance the patronage of insurance by the public. The underwriting firm has also advocated for strict compliance on compulsory insurances that are backed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in increasing the revenue generation drive of the industry. These assertions were made at the just-concluded Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) retreat of the NCRIB, held in Benin City, Edo State. The three-day retreat according to a statement, brought together the Chief Executive Officers and major decision makers of all the registered insurance brokers from all over the country to discuss pertinent issues bordering on advancing the cause of their business as middlemen in the broking of insurance businesses in the country. As part of its support to the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc sponsored the event, which many of the participants have described as very successful in terms of the

STI partners NCRIB on insurance patronage content and organisation of the retreat, the statement said. The President of the NCRIB Ayodapo Shoderu, extended the Council’s appreciation to the Management of the underwriting company for finding it worthy to partner with the broking community especially as it concerns issues bordering on the development and growth of the entire insurance industry. He said that Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has indeed demonstrated that it is a very professional organisation that has over the years stayed true to its obligation as a formidable insurance company. He equally mentioned the fact that the Council is committed to being partners-inprogress with STI and urged all member companies of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers in the country to give the much needed support they can to the company. The President stated that the broking community is an

integral part of the insurance industry and as such, there must be a lot of cooperation and synergy between member companies of the Council and the underwriting organisations in the country. The Managing Director/ CEO of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Wale Onaolapo, who was represented at the event by the firm's Executive Director/COO, Samuel Ogbodu, thanked the Executive members of NCRIB for granting the company the singular privilege as the Corporate Host of the CEOs Retreat. He said: "We are indeed delighted by this show of fellowship and wish to convey our deep appreciation to all members and Executives of NCRIB for considering us worthy of the invitation to sponsor the CEOs Retreat, which we are very glad to have honoured. We are extremely pleased to be associated with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers and what it represents in the larger society.”

Pensioners lament colleague's death over unpaid stipend ARREARS Retirees owed over five months pension arrears

he Chairman, Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Osun State chapter, Dr. J.A. Olunlade, has appealed to the state government to pay his members their arrears of pensions, saying that non-availability of funds for the aged retirees has resulted in the death of many. Olunlade, who made the appeal during a protest by the pensioners in a statement, said his colleagues died because they lacked money to buy food and drugs. He said, “Till the time of this demonstration, pensioners in Osun State are yet to be paid seven month pensions, from November 2014 to May 2015. “Empty promises and

insensitivity of the government to the plight of pensioners have led to the untimely death of many and inability of many to meet their financial obligations.” Some of the pensioners said that they were sick and could not raise money for treatment. During the protest, a supporter of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who wore a dress with the governor’s portrait, escaped being attacked as the retirees fumed at his presence in the regalia. The Deputy Chief Whip, Mr. Taiwo Adeyemi, who addressed the pensioners, said the Assembly understood their plight. He said the state government was working hard to ensure that the backlog of salaries was paid. Adeyemi appealed to them to exercise more patience while promising that the lawmakers would still hold a meeting with the governor on the issue.

Business | Insurance

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Barclays Africa acquires Kenyan insurer

arclays Africa has reached a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Kenya’s First Assurance Limited. The Bank said it will pay about $29 million for a majority shareholding in the Kenyan insurer. Lanz Zulu, Barclays Africa’s managing executive for Wealth Management and Insurance business, said the intended acquisition was “a good strategic fit” for the bank. In April this year, Barclays Africa entered a joint ventures deal with Kenyan businessmen Ayisi Makatiani, founder and chief executive at private equity firm Fanisi Capital, and Darshan Chandaria, of Chandaria Industries, to form a life insurance firm know as Barclays Life Assurance Kenya. “Barclays Africa wants to extend its footprint of holistic financial products and services across the continent in the most convenient, accessible and affordable way possible to meet the evolving needs of customers,” Willie Lategan, the CEO of Wealth Management and Insurance business at Barclays Africa, said during the launch. Lategan said Barclays Life Assurance Kenya will target 500,000 customers through its sister company Barclays Bank of Kenya in the bancassurance model, which allows lenders to sell insurance products as agents.

FEAT Underwriting sector moved from fifth to second position in a few years Sunday Ojeme

he Commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel has said that the Nigerian insurance sector has all it takes to be the first in Africa, as it will displace South Africa from that position in the next five years. Speaking at the 2015 Seminar For Insurance Correspondents at Ilorin, Kwara state, he said awareness about

‘Nigeria to displace S'Africa by 2020, says Daniel’ insurance among Nigerians had also improved, stressing that the industry has recorded tremendous achievements to bring it to number two in the continent from the fifth position. He also commended the fact that the industry had the highest number of companies at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) when compared with the manufacturing, oil and gas and banking industries.

Firm fortifying workforce to drive operations

HE Chairman, Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc, Mrs. Adenike Adeniran , has revealed that the underwriting firm recorded 21 per cent increase in its gross premium income for the 2014 financial year. Speaking at the company’s 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, she said the GPI increased to N4.16 billion in 2014 from N3.44 billion in 2013 while the company’s shareholders’ value also rose from N4.17 billion to N4.18 billion. The underwriting profit stood at N1.03 billion in the period under review. Adeniran, who disclosed that the company was fortifying its workforce to move

“At the Exchange, we have about three dozens of companies listed, apart from that, the growth and awareness is growing though we have not reached our zenith, the outgoing commissioner said. He also applauded the Buhari administration for giving insurance a priority position, saying that in the last three to five years, insurance was not recognised by government as it is to-

day. He pointed out that the last insurance conference was actually initiated by Ngozi OkonjoIweala after government realised the rising profile of the sector. He added that the outcome of the conference formed the campaign strategy of one of the political parties because it was clear the sector could be used to create jobs and wealth. Daniel also recalled that since the advent

of democracy, and transition that occurred from Obasanjo regime to Yar’Adua no transitional structure had demanded the imput of the sector except the present administration. “The present administration sought for our roadmap and this clearly shows the sector will be given its rightful position to contribute to the overall development of the economy” Daniel noted.

L-R: Head, Retail Banking Group, Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika Okoli; Regional Director, South-West, Ayo Abina; Head, Retail Banking Group, Executive Director, South-South/ South-East, Retail, Ibiye Ekong and Head, Small Business Group, Ayo Olojede, at the third edition of the bank’s Business Seminar Series in Ibadan.

Law Union records 21% gross premium rise COMMITMENT

the firm to the next level, said the future outlook of the insurance industry was bright and the company was determined not to be left behind in the scheme of things. “We are fortifying our workforce by attracting good hands and through training and retraining, making them perform at peak levels,” she said. She said the board had the confidence that the new managing director and his team have the potential to take the company to the next level, adding that the focus of the board had been handed over to the management team to improve the top line while minimising the cost of doing business. She said the regulatory system within the insurance industry had witnessed tremendous progress and this was expected to yield the desired result in ensuring that the insurance sector became stronger and better.

Security personnel insurance: Brokers praise Lagos

he Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has commended the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, on the approval for upward review of the Group Life Insurance scheme for officers of the Nigeria Police in the state. The NCRIB’s President, Ayodapo Shoderu, described the governor’s initiative as the right step in a right direction, stressing that the move would encourage crime control and make the state safe for habitation and business growth. Shoderu noted that the initiative was an indication that the governor values the importance of the service of security personnel, including the police. He said that the governor should not relent, but extend the same gesture to other employees of the state and back it up with prompt payment of premium.

According to him, the scheme which was introduced by the state government 16 years ago to complement the Federal Government’s contributory scheme, to cover death and permanent disability of the police would ensure that their dependants live normal life in the event of death or permanent disability of their breadwinners. He, however, enjoined other state governors to emulate Lagos State by paying more attention to the insurance of public properties as well as undertake life assurance for security personnel serving in their states. Shoderu said that Lagos State has become a pace setter in terms of social security. It will be recalled that Governor Ambode had recently announced that in fulfillment of his promise to sustain, improve and consolidate on past attainment, announced the upward review of the com-

pensation value of Senior Police officers to N5 million; Inspectors to N3 million while rank and File was hiked to N2 million respectively. Meanwhile, given the spate of fire incidents at various market places and of recent, petrol tankers accidents across the nation, Shoderu enjoined the Governors to urgently review the law relating to general public insurance, stressing that the spate of fire incidents have continued to deplete the hard earned wealth of the nation. Making reference to the recent Idimu fire, which occurred in the wee hours of penultimate Saturday at an intersection where about 34 buildings, 70 shops, one tricycle and one truck were consumed by the fire ignited by a fallen petrol-laden tanker, Shoderu enjoined the Governor to also consider adequate insurance policy to cover such incidences.

Business | Financial Market News

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

12-Jun-15

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

Bonds FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

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

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

581.39 476.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 193.73 600.00 573.14 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 299.50

16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

1.18 1.88 2.12 2.22 2.97 4.05 4.36 4.67 6.63 8.75 13.46 13.94 14.44 15.11 19.10

14.79 13.94 13.96 13.96 13.99 14.00 14.01 14.01 13.96 13.90 16.90 17.37 17.90 15.55 14.15

14.65 13.84 13.87 13.88 13.92 13.90 13.90 13.92 13.89 13.84 16.84 17.29 17.81 15.48 14.10

98.12 101.82 92.63 91.41 92.23 106.00 77.65 105.08 110.24 101.43 90.00 74.65 51.87 68.00 86.86

98.27 101.97 92.78 91.56 92.38 106.30 77.95 105.38 110.54 101.73 90.30 74.95 52.17 68.30 87.16

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,746.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,400.47

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

2.40 112.22 116.70 66.49

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.93 1.49 1.85 2.07

2.27 1.00 2.67 2.85

15.85 15.48 16.79 16.81

101.23 100.66 101.92 98.43

Agency Bonds FMBN ***LCRM

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

297.82

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

299.79

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.22

4.44

15.95

99.16

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.30

3.23

14.88

99.39

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

0.57

4.46

16.49

98.69

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.57

3.48

15.52

99.96

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.85

1.00

15.12

91.95

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.12

1.00

15.02

98.76

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.55

1.79

15.76

96.39

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.93

1.80

15.83

97.09

Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

1.95

1.00

15.02

98.31

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018

09-Dec-11

14.50

12.40

09-Dec-18

2.13

1.00

14.96

Bb-/Agusto

*NIGER

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018

12-Dec-13

14.00

10.20

12-Dec-18

2.43

4.78

18.75

91.41

15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019

14-Feb-12

15.50

27.00

14-Feb-19

2.12

1.00

14.96

100.85

02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12

15.50 14.50 14.75

15.09 80.00 25.70

02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19

2.55 4.45 2.77

2.02 1.00 1.00

15.99 15.01 14.98

98.95 98.36 99.51 97.58

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR

*ONDO

99.20

BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

*GOMBE LAGOS

15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019

BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019

BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

10-Oct-13

14.75

10.78

10-Oct-20

3.06

1.82

15.81

Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020

27-Nov-13

13.50

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.46

1.00

14.99

94.57

A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro

KOGI

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020

31-Dec-13

15.00

5.00

31-Dec-20

5.55

1.00

14.98

100.04

‡ /Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI *NASARAWA

14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021

31-Dec-13

14.50

4.55

31-Dec-20

3.21

1.44

15.43

97.80

06-Jan-14

15.00

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.24

1.00

14.99

99.98

99.55

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

451.56 437.10

Corporate Bonds BBB+/Agusto BBB-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

10.00

2.50

17-Aug-15

0.18

1.00

12.36

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

9.38

09-Dec-15

0.49

1.00

12.72

99.67

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.32

2.63

14.29

99.94

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.30

1.00

15.24

97.39

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.37

1.34

15.67

98.25

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.30

1.00

14.97

96.23

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.56

30-Nov-17

1.53

1.88

16.34

102.88

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

5.40

09-Apr-18

1.58

3.84

18.25

97.07

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.54

09-Sep-18

1.74

1.00

15.23

103.87

101.02

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.70

09-Sep-18

1.74

1.00

15.23

A+/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

30-Sep-18

3.30

3.00

17.00

92.59

BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.10

18-Oct-18

1.85

2.29

16.41

98.93

BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

17-Feb-12

18.00

0.36

17-Feb-19

1.93

6.11

20.14

96.85

Nil

*DANA#{r}

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.55

2.16

16.13

99.66

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.43

2.76

16.75

94.76

BBB/GCR

FCMB

14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021

20-Nov-14

14.25

26.00

20-Nov-21

6.44

1.80

15.76

93.99

A/GCR

UBA

16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021

30-Dec-14

16.45

30.50

30-Dec-21

6.55

2.63

16.59

99.43

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

16.29

0.10

30-Sep-24

9.30

1.00

15.13

105.62

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

13.25

15.44

30-Sep-24

9.30

1.00

15.13

90.72

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

178.07

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

170.84

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

2.67

1.00

14.98

89.77

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

4.75

1.00

15.00

84.32

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24.95 21.69

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.96

5.76

103.72

104.66

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.97

4.64

100.42

101.38

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

6.18

6.03

101.24

102.18

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,526.88

Corporate Eurobonds B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

6.32

4.01

101.04

103.13

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.50

99.50

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

10.78

9.36

90.49

93.80

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

7.51

7.09

95.53

96.75

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.38

96.25

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

10.09

9.63

95.71

97.15

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

9.30 10.32 9.74

9.30 10.20 9.74

95.25 95.64 91.50

95.25 96.18 91.50

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.28

9.86

92.49

94.29

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

3,650.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,490.98

**Treasury Bills^ DTM 13 20 27 34 41 48 55 62

FIXINGS Maturity 25-Jun-15 2-Jul-15 9-Jul-15 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15

Bid Discount (%) 13.22 12.80 10.60 10.47 11.06 12.37 11.84 12.13

Offer Discount (%) 12.97 12.55 10.35 10.22 10.81 12.12 11.59 11.88

Bid Yield (%) 13.28 12.89 10.68 10.57 11.20 12.57 12.05 12.38

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 10.6667 15.1771 16.5804 17.2323

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

9.42

O/N Tenor Call 1M

10.00

REPO

Rate (%) 10.50 10.75

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

198.74 201.81 202.13 202.87 204.24 205.60

198.84 201.93 202.28 203.37 205.31 207.21

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

PROGRESS

13.05 15.10 9.85 9.35 10.70 16.00 7.00 15.54 16.39 14.20 15.00 12.49 8.50 10.00 12.1493

(N'bn) 581.39 476.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 193.73 600.00 573.14 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 299.50

Rating/Agency

Issuer

FMBN ***LCRM

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

16-Aug-16 27-Apr-17 27-Jul-17 31-Aug-17 30-May-18 29-Jun-19 23-Oct-19 13-Feb-20 27-Jan-22 14-Mar-24 28-Nov-28 22-May-29 20-Nov-29 23-Jul-30 18-Jul-34

1.18 1.88 2.12 2.22 2.97 4.05 4.36 4.67 6.63 8.75 13.46 13.94 14.44 15.11 19.10

14.79 13.94 13.96 13.96 13.99 14.00 14.01 14.01 13.96 13.90 16.90 17.37 17.90 15.55 14.15

(%) 14.65 13.84 13.87 13.88 13.92 13.90 13.90 13.92 13.89 13.84 16.84 17.29 17.81 15.48 14.10

Bid Price

Offer Price

98.12 101.82 92.63 91.41 92.23 106.00 77.65 105.08 110.24 101.43 90.00 74.65 51.87 68.00 86.86

98.27 101.97 92.78 91.56 92.38 106.30 77.95 105.38 110.54 101.73 90.30 74.95 52.17 68.30 87.16

Business | Financial Market News

Financial market infrastructure: Appraisal reports out Description

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

2.40 112.22 116.70 66.49

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.93 1.49 1.85 2.07

299.79

Stories byBonds Chris Ugwu Sub-National A/Agusto

KADUNA

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

*BENUE he Committee on Pay*IMO ments and Market InA+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR LAGOS ‡ /Agusto *BAYELSA frastructures (CPMI) ‡ /Agusto EDO and the International ‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR NIGER Organisation of Securities ‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR† *EKITI Bb-/Agusto *NIGER have Commissions (IOSCO) ‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR published the second*ONDO update to BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR LAGOSof imthe Level 1 assessments BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *OSUN plementation monitoring BBB-/Agusto *OSUN of the Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR LAGOS Principles for financial market A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro KOGI infrastructures (PFMIs). ‡ /Agusto *EKITI A-/GCR *NASARAWA Level 1 assessments are TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE based on self-assessments by TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION individual jurisdictions on how Corporate Bonds they have adopted, within their BBB+/Agusto *UPDC BBB-/Agusto regulatory and oversight frame*FLOURMILLS BBB+/Agusto ‡ /Agusto

works,12.50 theKADUNA PFMIs’ 24 Principles 31-AUG-2015 for FMIs four of the five Re13.00and EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016 sponsibilities for authorities. 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 In a10.00 statement obtained from LAGOS 19-APR-2017 13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 IOSCO’s website, the initial 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 Level 14.00 1 assessments DELTA 30-SEP-2018were conII 4-OCT-2018 ducted14.00 in NIGER mid-2013 and a report 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 14.00 NIGER IIIin 12-DEC-2018 was published August 2013. 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 IOSCO noted that the current 15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 report14.50 was the second update 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 to the 14.75 Level 1IIassessments and OSUN 10-OCT-2020 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 shows13.50 that good progress had 15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020 been made byII 31-DEC-2020 the 28 participat14.50 EKITI 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 ing jurisdictions since the previous update in May 2014. “In particular, the gap in the progress on implementation 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 measures applicable to central

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

securities depositories12.50 and se31-Aug-10 curities 30-Sep-10 settlement systems 13.00 vis30-Jun-11 14.00 a-vis other types of FMI has 30-Jun-09 15.50 now closed. The next update 19-Apr-10 10.00 30-Jun-10 13.75 of the Level 1 assessments will 30-Dec-10 14.00 30-Sep-11 in 2016. 14.00 be conducted 04-Oct-11 14.00 Alongside the second up09-Dec-11 14.50 date to12-Dec-13 the Level 1 14.00 assess14-Feb-12 15.50 ments, CPMI and IOSCO are 02-Oct-12 15.50 22-Nov-12 14.50 continuing to monitor juris12-Dec-12 14.75 dictions’10-Oct-13 progress at Levels 2 14.75 27-Nov-13 13.50evaland 3. The first detailed 31-Dec-13 15.00 uations31-Dec-13 of the completeness 14.50 06-Jan-14 15.00 and consistency of jurisdictions’ implementation measures for the Principles (Level 2) were published in February 17-Aug-10 10.00 2015 for09-Dec-10 CCPs and TRs12.00 in the 06-Jan-11

14.00

29-Sep-11

13.00

14-Aug-14

8.75

he poor performance 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 25-Oct-13 14.25 FSDH 13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017 30-Sep-10 13.00 UBA of stock market has 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 BBB-/GCR 30-Nov-12 18.00 *C & I LEASING been driven mainly MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018 09-Apr-11 16.00 Nil *DANA MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 09-Sep-11 18.00 A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR *TOWER by negative sentiment on MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 09-Sep-11 16.00 AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR *TOWER earnings than on inflation, 14.00 UBA II 30-SEP-2018 A+/Agusto; A/GCR 30-Sep-11 14.00 UBA 15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR 18-Oct-13 15.75 *LA CASERA Chief Executive Officer, MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019 17-Feb-12 18.00 BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR *CHELLARAMS Financial Derivatives ComCapitalisation depreciated traded in 9,877 deals; thus 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 01-Apr-14 16.00 Nil *DANA 15.25cent NAHCO to II 14-NOV-2020 A+/Agusto; A-/GCR 14-Nov-13per cent 15.25 NAHCO close at contributing 59.88 panies (FDC) Limited, Mr. by 0.13 per 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 20-Nov-14 14.25 BBB/GCR FCMB and 39.41 per cent to the to- 16.45 Bismark Rewane, has 33,621.7516.45 and UBAN11.477 I 30-DEC-2021trilA/GCR 30-Dec-14 UBAsaid. 182D T.bills+1.20 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 volume 16.29 STANBIC IBTC lion respectively tal equity turnover The expert, who dis. STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 A/GCR 30-Sep-14 13.25 STANBIC IBTC closed this in Lagos, said Similarly, five Indices and value respectively. The TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE an increase in the rate of finished lower during the Natural Resources Industry TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION inflation is unlikely to be a week, while the NSE Con- followed with a turnover Supranational Bond catalyst for a correction in sumer Goods, Oil/Gas, of 129.851 million 10.20 IFCNSE 11-FEB-2018 AAA/S&P IFC 11-Feb-13 shares 10.20 11.25 1-FEB-2021 Aaa/Moody's; AfDB the nearAAA/S&P term. NSE Lotus IIAFDB Indices closed worth N64.98610-Jul-14 million in 43 11.25 TOTAL He OUTSTANDING noted that VALUE investors higher by 0.93 per cent, 0.62 deals. The Consumer Goods TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION are likely to be indifferent per cent, and 0.38 per cent Industry occupied the third to theRating/Agency news of an inflation Issuerrespectively. place with 124.814 Description Issue Date million Coupon (%) increase. A turnover of 1.552 bil- shares worth N6.858 billion FGN Eurobonds Rewane had recently lion shares worth N17.532 in 2,991 deals. 6.75 JAN 28, 2021 BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P Trading in 07-Oct-11 the top three 6.75 noted that that the current billion in 17,785 deals were BB-/Fitch; JULthe 12, 2018 equities namely 12-Jul-13 downturn in the nation’s FGNtraded by investors5.13on – United 5.13 BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; capital market might be floor of the Exchange in2023 Bank for Africa Plc, Multi- 6.38 6.38 JUL 12, 12-Jul-13 BB-/S&P sustained, addingVALUE that this contrast to a total of 1.221 verse Plc and Cornerstone TOTAL OUTSTANDING became necessary following billion shares valued at Insurance Company Plc., TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION challenging economic out- N16.964 billion that ex- (measured by volume) acCorporate Eurobonds look, which has continued changed hands the previ- counted for 586.164 million 7.50 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC I 19-May-11 to fuel negative sentiment ous week in 19,847 deals. 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 shares worth N1.950 B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC 25-Jul-12 billion 7.25 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 in 719 deals, 09-May-13 B/Fitch; FIDELITY BANK PLC The Financial Services on theB/S&P capital market given contributing 6.88 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC 08-Nov-13 the huge drop in oil prices. 37.77 per cent and 11.12 6.00 Industry (measured by vol6.25 APR 22, 2019 B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC 22-Apr-14 6.25 ume) led the activity chart At the close of trading per cent to the total 8.75 May 21, 2019 B/Fitch; B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC 21-May-14 equity 8.75 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC 07-Aug-13 shares turnover volume last week, the NSE All- with 929.317 million and value 8.25 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II 24-Jun-14 9.25 Share Index and Market valued at N6.909 billion respectively . 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD 23-Jul-14 8.00

Negative sentiment drives stock performance –FDC

A-/Agusto

A/GCR

#{r}

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

The DQL contains **Treasury Bills^

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

2.27 1.00

15.85 15.48

101.23 100.66

12-Dec-19

2.77

1.00

14.98

99.51

10.78

10-Oct-20

3.06

1.82

15.81

97.58

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.46

1.00

14.99

94.57

5.00

31-Dec-20

14.98

100.04

4.55

31-Dec-20

3.21

1.44

15.43

97.80

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.24

1.00

14.99

99.98

17-Aug-15

0.18

1.00

12.36

99.55

14-Aug-21

10.28

9.86

92.49

94.29

CIS takes investment training to military schools 5.55

1.00

451.56 437.10

T 2.50

09-Dec-15 he Chartered Institute0.49 of 06-Jan-16 0.32 Stockbrokers (CIS) has 15.00 29-Sep-16 1.30 its on-going 5.53 extended 25-Oct-16 1.37 20.00 30-Sep-17 2.30 membership drive to military 0.56 30-Nov-17 1.53 schools in order to attract staff 5.40 09-Apr-18 1.58 2.54 09-Sep-18 1.74 and students 09-Sep-18 into the capital 0.70 1.74 market community . 35.00 30-Sep-18 3.30 2.10 18-Oct-18 1.85 Besides, the Institute has 0.36 17-Feb-19 1.93 become a beehive of visits2.55 by 4.50 01-Apr-19 2.05 14-Nov-20 students across the country5.43 in 26.00 20-Nov-21 6.44 their have first-hand 30.50 desire to30-Dec-21 6.55 0.10 knowledge of 30-Sep-24 the workings9.30 of 15.44 30-Sep-24 9.30 the institute and general over178.07 view of the opportunities in the 170.84 Capital Market. Addressing the staff and 12.00 11-Feb-18 2.67 12.95 01-Feb-21 School 4.75 students of Army of 24.95 Finance, in Apapa, Lagos, the 21.69 institute's head, Research and Outstanding Value Technical, Mr. Arinze Nwobu, Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) ($mm) enjoined them to take advantage of diverse opportunities 28-Jan-21 5.96 in500.00 the Capital Market. 500.00 12-Jul-18 Nwobu noted that the 4.97 institute professional 500.00 is the only 12-Jul-23 6.18 body responsible for training 1,500.00 and regulatingthe practice 1,526.88 and conduct of stockbroking in500.00 Nigeria. 19-May-16 6.32 He explained that the Insti350.00 25-Jul-17 7.50 300.00 02-May-18 10.78 tute also conducts examination 08-Nov-18 7.51 for400.00 prospective professional 500.00 22-Apr-19 7.38 students who are interested in 200.00 21-May-19 10.09 300.00 07-Aug-20 9.30 practising in the securities and 400.00 24-Jun-21 10.32 investment industry 450.00 23-Jul-21 . 9.74 9.38

0.42

250.00

1.00 12.72 According to him, the99.67 Capi2.63 14.29 99.94 tal market is a segment of the 1.00 15.24 97.39 financial system, deals 1.34 15.67 which98.25 14.97 96.23 with1.00 medium to long-term 1.88 16.34 102.88 funds. The funds are chan3.84 18.25 97.07 1.00 15.23 103.87 nelled from the surplus end 1.00 15.23 101.02 to deficit end17.00 for productive 3.00 92.59 2.29 16.41 98.93 purpose, project expansion 6.11 20.14 96.85 and2.16 development. 16.13 99.66 2.76said that 16.75 94.76 He the capital mar1.80 15.76 93.99 ket is to the99.43 devel2.63very critical 16.59 1.00 105.62 opment of the15.13 nation and that 1.00 15.13 90.72 research has shown that any country or nation, which does not maximise the instrumentality capital market, 1.00 of the 14.98 89.77 15.00 optimally 84.32 will1.00 not develop . He noted that most developed nations have effectively the economy Offer Yieldmanaged (%) Bid Price Offer Price through the use of the mechPrices & Yields anism of the capital market, 5.76 104.66 especially the103.72 bond market. 4.64 100.42 101.38 Nwobu acknowledged that the 6.03 Nigerian101.24 capital market 102.18 has come a long way even though it is still emerging. He expressed optimism that4.01all stakeholders would 101.04 103.13 continue to work hard 99.50 to see 7.50 99.50 90.49 93.80 so that9.36“we really emerge 95.53 96.75 that7.09 the capital market will 7.38 96.25 96.25 be contributing more mean9.63 95.71 97.15 9.30 95.25 ingfully to the95.25 development of 10.20 95.64 96.18 the economy .” 9.74 91.50 91.50

3,650.00

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

European Union, Japan and 8.50 31-Aug-15 0.22 the2.16United States. 30-Sep-15 0.30 4.86 30-Jun-16 0.57 A second round of Level 2 5.73 30-Jun-16 0.57 assessments for the principles 57.00 19-Apr-17 1.85 30-Jun-17 1.12 is 25.73 now beginning, along with 25.00 31-Dec-17 2.55 30.81 round of 30-Sep-18 1.93 a first Level 3 assess9.00 04-Oct-18 1.95 ments for the Principles. The 12.40 09-Dec-18 2.13 10.20 12-Dec-18 2.43 results from these assessments 27.00 14-Feb-19 2.12 are expected to be published in 15.09 02-Oct-19 2.55 80.00 22-Nov-19 4.45 2015-2016. 25.70

# Risk Premium (%)

CPMI and IOSCO have also 2.67 16.79 101.92 2.85 16.81 recently undertaken an 98.43 assessment of the completeness and consistency of frameworks and4.44 outcomes15.95 (combined99.16 Level 2 and arising from 3.23 Level 3)14.88 99.39 ju4.46 16.49 98.69 risdictions’ implementation of 3.48 15.52 99.96 the 1.00 responsibilities for authori15.12 91.95 15.02 98.76 ties 1.00 included in the PFMIs. This 1.79 15.76 96.39 1.80 15.83 97.09and exercise is well under way 1.00 15.02 98.31 a report presenting the results 1.00 14.96 99.20 4.78 18.75 91.41 is expected to be published later 1.00 14.96 100.85 this2.02 year,” the international reg15.99 98.95 1.00 said. 15.01 98.36 ulator

297.82

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

B-/S&P

Maturity Date

4,400.47

Level 1 appraisals show Agency Bonds that progress had been made

Coupon (%)

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

4,746.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Issue Date

^13.05 16-AUG-2016 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.35 31-AUG-2017 10.70 30-MAY-2018 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 7.00 23-OCT-2019 15.54 13-FEB-2020 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 15.00 28-NOV-2028 12.49 22-MAY-2029 8.50 20-NOV-2029 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034

12-Jun-15

3,490.98

data relating to, amongst other things, market and model prices, rates of foreign exchange products, fixed income securities and instruments in the financial (the “Information”). The Information does not constitute FIXINGS Moneymarket Market Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) professional,DTM financial or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; theBidInformation is provided “AS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE”Tenor basis and mayRate not(%) be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee Maturity Bid Discount (%) Offer Discounthowever, (%) Yield (%) NIBOR 13 25-Jun-15 13.22 12.97 13.28 the accuracy,20timeliness, completeness,2-Jul-15 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 Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) OBB 9.42 of the Information. Tenor 12.80 12.55 12.89 Tenor Rate (%) 27 34 41 48 55 62 76 Rating/Agency 83 90 104 111 125 139 153 167 174 188 209 216 NA 223 230 237 244 251 258 265 279

9-Jul-15 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15 Issuer 3-Sep-15 10-Sep-15 24-Sep-15 1-Oct-15 15-Oct-15 29-Oct-15 12-Nov-15 26-Nov-15 3-Dec-15 17-Dec-15 7-Jan-16 14-Jan-16 NA 21-Jan-16 28-Jan-16 4-Feb-16 11-Feb-16 18-Feb-16 25-Feb-16 3-Mar-16 17-Mar-16

286

24-Mar-16

FGN Bonds

300

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE 314

7-Apr-16

10.60 10.47 11.06 12.37 11.84 12.13 10.93 Description 11.96 11.15 ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 12.21 13.11 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 13.56 9.85 27-JUL-2017 13.48 9.35 31-AUG-2017 13.32 13.66 10.70 30-MAY-2018 11.85 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 11.07 7.00 23-OCT-2019 12.04 13.58 15.54 13-FEB-2020 13.19 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 13.47 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 12.98 13.44 15.00 28-NOV-2028 13.39 12.49 22-MAY-2029 13.42 8.50 20-NOV-2029 13.21 12.89 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030

13.00 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 13.05

10.35 10.22 10.81 12.12 11.59 11.88 10.68Date Issue 11.71 10.90 16-Aug-13 11.96 12.86 27-Apr-12 13.31 27-Jul-07 13.23 31-Aug-07 13.07 13.41 30-May-08 11.60 29-Jun-12 10.82 23-Oct-09 11.79 13.33 13-Feb-15 12.94 27-Jan-12 13.22 14-Mar-14 12.73 13.19 28-Nov-08 13.14 22-May-09 13.17 20-Nov-09 12.96 12.64 23-Jul-10 12.75 18-Jul-14 12.80

Bonds

10.68 10.57 11.20 12.57 12.05 12.38 11.18 (%) Coupon 12.29 11.47 13.05 12.65 13.65 15.10 14.21 9.85 14.20 9.35 14.11 14.57 10.70 12.56 16.00 11.73 7.00 12.93 14.77 15.54 14.34 16.39 14.72 14.20 14.17 14.76 15.00 14.75 12.49 14.83 8.50 14.61 14.29 10.00 14.47 12.1493 14.62

21-Apr-16

12.99

12.74

14.62

5-May-16

12.47

12.22

14.04

2-Jun-16 12.46 *for the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration

12.21

14.18

328

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 356

O/N 1M 3M 6M

10.6667 15.1771 16.5804 17.2323

O/N Tenor Call 1M 3M (Yrs) TTM 6M

Outstanding Value Maturity Date (N'bn) NITTY Tenor 581.39 1M 2M 476.80 3M 20.00 6M 100.00 9M 12M 300.00

10.00

REPO

Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 10.6316 11.9666 27-Apr-17 12.2217 27-Jul-17 12.3432 31-Aug-17 14.0951 14.5665 30-May-18

351.30 29-Jun-19 233.90 23-Oct-19 NIFEX 193.73 13-Feb-20 Current Price ($/N) 600.00 27-Jan-22 BID($/N) 198.9000 573.14 14-Mar-24 OFFER ($/N) 199.0000 75.00 28-Nov-28 150.00 22-May-29 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 299.50 18-Jul-34

Rate (%) 10.50 10.75 Bid11.00 Yield 11.25

(%)

1.18 14.79 14.65 1.88 13.94 13.84 :Benchmarks 2.12 13.96 13.87 * :Amortising Bond 2.22Bond 13.96 13.88 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria 2.97 13.99 13.92 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 4.05 14.00 13.90 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 4.36 Finance Corporation 14.01 13.90 IFC: International LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables Management 4.67 14.01 13.92 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 6.63 13.96 13.89 O/N: Overnight 8.75 13.90Company 13.84 UPDC: UAC Property Development WAPCO:West 13.46Africa Portland Cement 16.90 Company16.84 13.94 17.37 17.29 14.44 17.90 17.81 15.11 15.55 15.48 19.10 14.15 14.10

NOTE:

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Modified Duration ***LCRM Buckets

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

<3 3<5 >5 Market

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 Total Outstanding Porfolio Market Value(Bn) 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 Volume(Bn) 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

98.12 101.82

98.27 101.97

106.00

106.30

110.24

110.54

74.65 51.87 68.00 86.86

74.95 52.17 68.30 87.16

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

NA :Not 92.63 Applicable 92.78 ^ : Market Prices 91.41 91.56 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred 92.23coupon bonds 92.38

‡ : Bond rating under review 77.95 †: Bond 77.65 rating expired N/A :Not105.08 Available 105.38 {r} :Issuer in receivership

101.43 101.73 NGC: Nigeria-German Company UBA: United 90.00Bank for Africa 90.30

4,400.47

Agency Bonds FMBN

198.74 198.84 201.81 201.93 202.13 202.28 Price 203.37 202.87 204.24 205.31 205.60 207.21 206.28 213.47Price Bid Price Offer 220.29 226.27

4,746.32

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

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M Yield Offer 6M (%) 1Y

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11

Weighting by 20-Apr-12 Outstanding Vol

06-Jul-12

40.58

17.25 0.00/16.00

Weighting by Mkt 0.00/16.50 Value

0.00/16.50

1,428.28

1,409.48

42.85

1,242.74

1,173.14

33.77

37.28

662.41

891.07

25.65

19.87

3,333.43

3,473.69

100.00

2.40 112.22 Bucket 116.70 Weighting 66.49

0.41

Maturity Date

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16

% Exposure_ 19-Apr-17 Mod_Duration

06-Jul-17

297.820.34

18.25

299.790.26 1.00

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

0.93 1.49 Implied Yield 1.85 2.07

# Risk Premium (%)

2.27 1.00

Implied 2.67 Portfolio Price

2.85

15.85 15.48 INDEX 16.79 16.81

1,185.52

101.23 100.66

YTD Return 101.92 (%)

98.43

14.17

105.8127

39.56

13.93

110.9037

1,106.61

7.0110

42.19

14.97

78.6697

1,105.71

9.8005

100.00

14.41

100.5693

1,136.43

7.6993

9.2869

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.22

4.44

15.95

99.16

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.30

3.23

14.88

99.39

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

0.57

4.46

16.49

98.69

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.57

3.48

15.52

99.96

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.85

1.00

15.12

91.95

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.12

1.00

15.02

98.76

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.55

1.79

15.76

96.39

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.93

1.80

15.83

97.09

42 Business | Interview

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

CBN’s shipping policy harmful to Nigeria's economy –Umar The acting President, Nigerian Shipowners’ Association (NISA), Mr. Aminu Umar, has said that 95 per cent of vessels carrying refined vessels meant for Nigeria from abroad discharge the products in Lome, Togo and Cotonou, Benin Republic ports. He also explained that no ship owner knows the status of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund in the Custody of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). In this interview with BAYO AKOMOLAFE, he speaks on challenges in the maritime industry and sundry issues. What government policy has been hindering indigenous shipping? There is a policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has made some indigenous shipping companies lose so many jobs in the maritime industry. The policy states that for oil marketers to access the CBN funds and open a Letter of Credit (LoC), they must discharge the refined petroleum being imported into Nigeria in another country. For the CBN, that is the only way the fuel can be considered as an import. Now, the problem is that 95 per cent of the vessels that go to Lome or Cotonou port to discharge cargo are vessels that were originally headed for Nigeria. There are other micro industries that are associated with the discharge of petroleum products from super tankers, husbandry agents who

Umar

Oil marketers now discharge products in Lome or Cotonou at the expense of Nigeria

bring a change of crew, ship suppliers, ship agents, ship to ship transfer equipment providers, boat hire and so on. Many of these businesses, which were previously in existence in Nigeria, are dead because the oil marketers now discharge products at Lome or Cotonou at the expense of Nigeria. The few companies that exist have to move their operations to Lome and Cotonou and they employ people in those countries where they are based. They are

creating jobs in other countries, but they are Nigerian companies. What are the implications of this policy on the nation’s economy? It is a negative policy. There are many types of businesses that could have come up due to discharging operations, but they are dead. The movement of these vessels, super tankers and tankers in Lome or Cotonou has caused the economies of these countries to flourish while ours

suffer. We want the support of NIMASA in convincing the CBN that this policy is harmful to Nigeria. We intend to discuss with the CBN so that those vessels that stay at Lome or Cotonou should come over and do their operations in Lagos. This has been on for over four years now, but it wasn’t always like this in the past. Why do we develop other countries when we have Nigerians who are starving? Why should the discharging of these vessels not take place in Lagos?

42 Business | Interview

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Umar

Oil marketers now discharge products in Lome or Cotonou at the expense of Nigeria

Business | Interview

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

partnership. As a ship owner, when you take a seafarer, you subject him to training, because being trained in school alone does not make him efficient enough to come on board a ship and start the work. The seafarers need some sea time experience. Some ship owners have no option than to bring expatriate at a very high cost, because the manpower that we have cannot do the jobs on some of the modern ships that have sophisticated equipment. Some ships need people with special skills to handle them.

Sea transport service Nig. Limited Founded 2006 Assets under managment Audited turnover in 2012 N310 million Membership Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA)

I know that my predecessors, at a time, met with the CBN and NIMASA over this, but nothing has been done. We also have problems with the development and training of seafarers in the industry. Our seafarers are not adequately trained. What are the expectations of the shipowners from this new government? There are areas we will like this new administration to give some attention when the president may have settled down. The previous administrations had neglected some areas in the maritime industry. One of them is the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) meant for funding ship operators. It is in the custody of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency. So far, no Nigerian ship owner has been assisted through the CVFF fund. Some of us don’t even know the guidelines and other applicable process to access it. Financing is a problem for us because shipping is a capital intensive, long-term business. It takes a minimum of five to 10 years to get returns if there is no turbulence in the industry. Not all banks are ready to fund such business. That is where the CVFF and the ship building acquisition fund come in. This is different from the CVFF, which is for vessels operating within the coastal waters. The ship building fund is levied on import and export vessels. We are aware that NIMASA collects a three per cent levy on all freight, of which one per cent is meant for the ship building and finance. Just like the CVFF, we do not know the status of that fund. The fund is supposed to assist in the long-term financing of indigenous shipping operations. But, so far, this has not worked. These funds should not be restrictive; they should be accessible by those whom it is meant for and the process must be transparent. Why is it difficult for ship owners who applied for the fund a few years ago to access it? I understand that about seven companies were shortlisted from those who applied for the fund. From the seven companies, only about two or three are players in the industry; the rest, no one knows them. To be honest, this fund is not meant for six companies. It is meant for all Nigerian shipping companies that are willing to participate in shipping. For now, I do not think that there is any NISA member that has been able to access the fund. Since we took over the NISA executive, we have not engaged NIMASA on

Umar

the CVFFF, but our predecessors did several times.

Financing is a problem for us because shipping is a capital intensive, long-term business

How much is in the custody of the agency now? To be honest, I don’t know how much has accrued to the account and whether NIMASA is ready to disburse it. A year ago, I saw some companies that were shortlisted, about six or seven companies and I have followed up to see whether they have been given the money and I gathered that they have not, so, to be honest, I don’t know the processes of doing it. To my knowledge, there is no conspiracy; the fact is, we are just starting as an executive and it is something we will discuss with NIMASA to understand the position of the funds so far. I know that these are funds that are being contributed by ship owners and has been accumulated for years. I feel we will look at it together with NIMASA to see the guidelines and processes to access the funds. Do you support the training of seafarers abroad by NIMASA when there is an academy and College of

Fisheries in Nigeria? One of the problems we are having in the industry today is the dearth of seafarers. Capacity building is like giving first hand training to people who are trained, though it is good to have scholarship for people to have education and come back, but there is need for them to improve the capacity of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron and School of Oceanography and Fisheries. I know that there is another university being built in Warri. I think there is one aspect they did not do well, which is partnering with ship owners because seafarers training do not end in classrooms. After going to the class room, there is the need to have sea time training. So, after classroom training, there is need for sea training. This is why the agency is supposed to partner with ship owners. They should sit with us to discuss certain number of trainings, certain number of incentives that we can work out together. We intend to come up with a proposal to the management of NIMASA and discuss

Why do shipowners have two presidents in one association? By virtue of the constitution of NISA, I am now the acting president. The executive committee of the association met and decided to tell our elected president, Capt. Niyi Labinjo, to step aside pending when he cleared his name with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and I believe that everyone knows about the event that led to that decision. By our constitution, there is a provision and there is a clause that says that the executive committee has the authority to ask any member to step aside, if he or she has done something that is believed inimical to the name or image of the association and based on that fact, we decide to tell him to step aside because firstly he is a member before becoming the president. So, if we tell him as a member to step aside until he clears his name, I think he should accept that and step aside. Unfortunately, his refusal to step down is already bringing bad publicity and image to NISA, because NISA is being seen as if one side of the executive committee is against the expresident - as if we are fighting him because that is the impression he is giving, but our sole purpose is to protect the integrity of NISA. We have nothing personal against the president. We respected him and we have been in the executive committee together with him, but now that there is an issue, we felt there is need for him to solve his issue and then come back so that his own personal issue does not drag the association backward. CV

Born Nil Education Training from Cambridge Academy of shipping/ Transport Career Acting President, NISA; Former Vice President NISA, Managing Director, Sea transport service Nig. Ltd (Commercial Manager of vessels). Total pay

Nil

Training Local and international training in ship husbandary and management

Business | Capital Market

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015

Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at June 12, 2015 Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Bonds)

Activity Summary on Board DEBT Federal

Bond Name 14.20% FGN MAR 2024 Federal Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol FG112024S1

DEBT Board Totals

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 103.20

Bond Activity Totals

Quantity Traded 500 500

Value Traded 534,136.87 534,136.87

500

534,136.87

500

FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

534,136.87

Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Fishing/Hunting/Trapping Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 ELLAH LAKES PLC. Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

No. of Deals 53 24 77

Current Price 34.90 34.50

Quantity Traded 3,007,528 67,400 3,074,928

Value Traded 103,961,308.38 2,217,189.46 106,178,497.84

Symbol ELLAHLAKES

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 4.26

Quantity Traded 100 100

Value Traded 405.00 405.00

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 23 23

Current Price 2.40

Quantity Traded 306,247 306,247

Value Traded 725,720.60 725,720.60

3,381,275

106,904,623.44

Daily Summary (Equities)

101

Symbol TRANSCORP UACN

No. of Deals 160 58 218

CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals

Current Price 2.75 41.50

218

16,322,547

114,148,384.70

Current Price 0.96

Quantity Traded 531,850 531,850

Value Traded 510,576.00 510,576.00

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 16 16

Current Price 52.39

Quantity Traded 93,644 93,644

Value Traded 4,899,784.98 4,899,784.98

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 6 6

Current Price 10.00

Quantity Traded 50,843 50,843

Value Traded 521,028.10 521,028.10

676,337

5,931,389.08

Quantity Traded 178,624 8,393,660 7,500

Value Traded 1,152,146.87 1,376,515,880.73 142,575.00

Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

31 Symbol Daily Summary CHAMPION GUINNESS INTBREW

No. of Deals (Equities) 21 47 1

Current Price 6.42 168.00 20.01

Page

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

No. of Deals 57 126

Current Price 150.25

Quantity Traded 3,019,445 11,599,229

Value Traded 455,926,565.85 1,833,737,168.45

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 178.10

Quantity Traded 7,895 7,895

Value Traded 1,437,776.61 1,437,776.61

Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC Food Products Totals

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON

No. of Deals 48 52 43 14 30 187

Current Price 4.20 6.65 34.94 3.98 7.99

Quantity Traded 716,765 10,152,303 271,664 185,261 1,374,949 12,700,942

Value Traded 2,970,620.55 67,192,700.76 9,473,193.78 729,251.25 10,957,997.30 91,323,763.64

No. of Deals 19 75 94

Current Price 39.90 850.07

Quantity Traded 50,492 789,075 839,567

Value Traded 1,915,228.62 670,940,228.92 672,855,457.54

Symbol No. of Deals VITAFOAM 82 VONO 1 Daily Summary (Equities) 83

Current Price 5.35 1.67

Quantity Traded 6,771,705 2,000 6,773,705

Value Traded 35,294,784.63 3,180.00 35,297,964.63

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 23 27 50

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 Banking Totals Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC

Current Price 35.00 45.00

552

Value Traded 6,120,940.00 11,204,950.64 17,325,890.64

32,353,921

2,651,978,021.51

Symbol ACCESS DIAMONDBNK ETI FIDELITYBK GUARANTY SKYEBANK STERLNBANK UBA UBN UNITYBNK WEMABANK ZENITHBANK

No. of Deals 151 23 35 67 285 46 18 87 29 19 22 441 1,223

Current Price 6.08 4.20 21.99 1.76 26.85 2.50 2.05 5.17 10.00 2.53 1.04 20.02

Quantity Traded 5,100,887 193,101 302,848 3,778,427 8,417,198 1,752,372 157,233 2,255,616 60,003 553,763 524,490 7,860,198 30,956,136

Value Traded 30,724,588.62 812,751.16 6,629,267.67 6,769,653.07 227,823,420.14 4,380,693.50 323,926.20 11,700,154.48 593,471.01 1,395,301.25 527,179.11 158,649,631.92 450,330,038.13

Symbol AIICO

No. of Deals 12 11

Current Price 0.94 1.03

Quantity Traded 872,471 147,713

Value Traded 821,355.06 149,527.00

CONTINSURE Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 Activity Summary on Board EQTY FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC

Page

Quantity Traded 184,032 248,551 432,583

Page

Packaging/Containers Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 BETA 15:30:20.020 GLASS CO PLC. Printed 12/06/2015 Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol

No. of Deals 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 10,000

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

No. of Deals 1 2 19 1 21 1 1 45 115

Current Price 0.50 0.50 2.83 0.50 0.82 0.50 0.50 0.51

Symbol UNHOMES

No. of Deals 1 1

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS DEAPCAP FBNH FCMB ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 87 14 1 261 37 1 37 58 496

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRSNigerian OIL NIGERIA PLC. Published by The Stock Exchange © TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals

Quantity Traded 10 2,213 2,223

Value Traded 39.70 23,170.11 23,209.81

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 10 10

Value Traded 5.00 5.00

Daily Summary (Equities)

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN DANGCEM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 8 9 12 31 21 7 34 122

Current Price 21.50 11.36 41.00 10.55 176.99 4.18 99.10

Quantity Traded 52,750 62,800 34,210 1,588,868 48,382 61,210 88,408 1,936,628

Value Traded 1,110,867.60 678,240.00 1,332,479.50 16,719,167.93 8,574,030.20 247,365.80 8,720,514.55 37,382,665.58

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 1.75

Quantity Traded 12,000 12,000

Value Traded 20,930.00 20,930.00

Symbol BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 13 13

Current Price 39.90

Quantity Traded 53,639 53,639

Value Traded 2,050,812.96 2,050,812.96

2,002,267

39,454,408.54

Symbol BOCGAS

No. of Deals 2

Current Price 5.11

Quantity Traded 210

Value Traded 1,020.60

Symbol

No. of Deals 2

Current Price

Page Quantity Traded 210

13 8 of Value Traded 1,020.60

Symbol MULTIVERSE

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.50

4,010

2,920.60

Symbol JAPAULOIL

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 234,031 234,031

Value Traded 117,015.50 117,015.50

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 125 125

Current Price 16.95

Quantity Traded 3,645,113 3,645,113

Value Traded 61,868,191.64 61,868,191.64

Symbol BECOPETRO

No. of Deals 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 9,511,361

Value Traded 4,755,680.50

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 36 12 41 26 3 25 144

Current Price 40.00 2.53 173.00 148.00 50.54 159.99

Quantity Traded 449,202 176,426 75,101 61,816 1,825 Page 64,550 10,340,281

Value Traded 18,429,999.21 448,934.36 12,992,218.98 8,977,505.87 87,636.50 13 9 of 10,323,022.56 56,014,997.98

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 28 28

Current Price 338.00

Quantity Traded 27,072 27,072

Value Traded 8,862,717.02 8,862,717.02

14,246,497

126,862,922.14

Daily Summary (Equities)

Value Traded 103,626.76 103,626.76

Symbol REDSTAREX

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 5.09

Quantity Traded 99,750 99,750

Value Traded 507,727.50 507,727.50

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 41

Current Price 0.66

Quantity Traded 9,496,271

Value Traded 6,274,281.36

Symbol

No. of Deals 41

Current Price

Page Quantity Traded 9,496,271

Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC Hospitality Totals

Symbol TANTALIZER

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 109,000 109,000

Value Traded 54,500.00 54,500.00

Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals

Symbol CAPHOTEL IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 2 5 7

Current Price 4.07 3.60

Quantity Traded 120 54,000 54,120

Value Traded 464.40 203,820.00 204,284.40

Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals

Symbol LEARNAFRCA UPL

No. of Deals 3 27 30

Current Price 1.15 6.05

Quantity Traded 11,309 598,553 609,862

Value Traded 13,455.60 3,423,122.11 3,436,577.71

Road Transportation

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 0.56

Quantity Traded 20,000 20,000

Value Traded 11,200.00 11,200.00

Symbol

No. of Deals 5 32 37

Current Price 2.23 5.25

Quantity Traded 12,500 636,859 649,359

Value Traded 28,890.00 3,345,048.79 3,373,938.79

Daily Summary (Equities)

Employment Solutions Totals

Quantity Traded 2,542,402 2,593,745 140,000 19,934,515Page 609,686 3,000 286,801 3,572,520 29,682,669

Value Traded 1,900.00 1,900.00

Quantity Traded 136,351 136,351

SERVICES

Current Price 2.85 4.00 0.64 8.95 3.07 0.50 27.00 1.46

Quantity Traded 3,800 3,800

Current Price 0.76

Value Traded 608.00 608.00

744,686,240.81 of 13

No. of Deals 13 13

Employment Solutions C &Summary I LEASINGon PLC. Activity Board EQTY

Quantity Traded 100 100

89,328,285 Page

Symbol RTBRISCOE

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Current Price 6.40

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Totals Activity Summary onServices Board EQTY

AIRSERVICE Daily Summary (Equities) NAHCO

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 3 3

SERVICES Totals

EQTY Board Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 3.60

Quantity Traded Page 3,007 3,007

13 10 of Value Traded 6,274,281.36

Value Traded 13 of 10,285.20 10,285.20

146

11,177,720

13,976,421.72

3,410

238,289,734

3,780,798,766.73

Quantity Traded 5,021,400 5,021,400

Value Traded 7,158,202.00 7,158,202.00

Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals

Symbol MCNICHOLS

Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 CONSUMER GOODS Totals

No. of Deals 4 4

ASeM Board Totals

Value Traded 7,272,719.28 10,366,845.75 89,600.00 5 of 13 178,335,219.57 1,853,549.17 1,500.00 7,825,708.24 5,183,161.94 210,928,303.95 of

Current Price 3.98 11.02

302

Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020

Value Traded 25,000.00 72,000.00 1,105,491.38 2,500.00 1,337,291.70 21,125.00 1,000.00 1,556,220.95 5,096,511.09

No. of Deals 1 3 4

OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015

Quantity Traded 50,000 144,000 385,409 5,000 1,623,510 42,250 2,000 3,053,243 6,335,596

Page

Symbol CWG NCR

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Daily Summary as Equipment of 12/06/2015 Energy and Services Totals Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

SERVICES Support and Logistics

Symbol GUINEAINS LINKASSURE MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM PRESTIGE STDINSURE WAPIC

Value Traded 44,663,026.00 44,663,026.00

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MANSARD INSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Quantity Traded 89,326,052 89,326,052

139

Mining Services MULTIVERSE PLC Mining Services Totals

Value Traded 5,000.00

10,497,973.02

Daily Summary (Equities)

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASESon PLC. Activity Summary Board EQTY

Road Transportation Totals

GNI Summary (Equities) Daily

1,822,374 Current Price 0.50

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

Value Traded 1,712,229.28 6,873,059.13 1,685,271.25 220,802.36 6,611.00 10,497,973.02

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Quantity Traded 519,537 154,933 962,055 184,749 1,100 1,822,374

No. of Deals 1 1

Symbol CHAMS

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Current Price 3.35 44.26 1.75 1.19 6.32

666,355,461.17

Symbol OMATEK

Symbol NB

Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 Food Products--Diversified Totals

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

No. of Deals 9 9

CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC.

No. of Deals 11 24 29 9 2 75

66,974,501

ICT Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC Computers and Peripherals Totals Daily Summary as of 12/06/2015 IT Services Printed 12/06/2015 15:30:20.020 COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. IT Services Totals

13 of Value Traded 40,864,049.87 73,284,334.83 114,148,384.70

Page Quantity Traded 14,557,308 1,765,239 16,322,547

Symbol COSTAIN

Daily Summary as Development of 12/06/2015 Real Estate Totals

Symbol FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH NIG-GERMAN

HEALTHCARE Totals Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

AGRICULTURE Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY PublishedCONGLOMERATES by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Diversified Industries TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

1,835

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

Equity Activity Totals

Daily Summary (ETP)

Exchange Traded Fund

Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF

VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

(ETF)

Symbol LOTUSHAL15 NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

Current Price 1.43

5,021,400

7,158,202.00

5,021,400

7,158,202.00

3,414

243,311,134

3,787,956,968.73

No. of Deals 1 1 1 3

Current Price 10.67 2,271.00 15.46

Quantity Traded 10 Page 19 10 39

Value Traded 106.70 12 43,149.00 of 13 154.60 43,410.30

ETF Board Totals

43,410.30

ETP Activity Totals

43,410.30

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Photo | News

L-R: Chief of Dadiya, Gombe State, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Galadima; Deputy Governor, Mr. Charles Iliya and Chairman, Balanga Local Government Council, Alhaji Garba Tallase, at the first annual cultural festival of Dadiya community in Balanga, Gombe State.

L-R: Chief of Staff to Osun State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; Controller, Oyo and Osun states’ Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Suleiman Bawa; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi-laoye Tomori, during Bawa’s visit to the governor in Osogbo.

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Nigerian-German Business Association, Jennifer Anoyika, member, Robert Bosch GmbH, Uwe Raschke; Deputy Consul-General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joerg Steckhan; General Manager, Robert Bosch, Nigeria, Ghislain Noumbessy and President, Region Africa Robert Bosch, Dr. Markus Thill, at the inauguration ceremony of the Bosch Nigeria office in Lagos.

L-R: Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano; Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh and Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo at the memorial service of the late wife of the Chairman of Fidelity Bank in Anambra State.

L-R: Director, State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Mike Ojiafor; Director-General, Federal Institute of International Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr. Gloria Elemo and Mr. Larry Ofulue, at the Ubulu-uku Development Union’s Youth Day, in Lagos. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Member, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Ms. Rifkatu Danna (middle), with women and children during the lawmaker’s 45th birthday party in Bauchi. PHOTO: NAN

Pupils reciting from the Qur’an during the 2014/2015 graduation of Garba Ibrahim Memorial Islamic Academy, Dougirei in Jimeta-Yola. PHOTO: NAN

L-R: Assistant Head Teacher, Local Government Primary School, Mrs. Elizabeth Akapo; two pupils of the school reading books from the newly commissioned library; Managing Director, Nielsen West Africa, Mr. Lampe Omoyele and Social Mobilisation Officer, Public Private Partnership, Ikeja LG, Mrs. Aina Lanre, at the commissioning of the school library donated by the Nielsen Nigeria to mark Nielsen Global Impact Day (NGID) in Lagos.

News

MONDAY,JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-WEST

PDP calls for Aregbesola’s resignation

lFayose deceiving workers- APC Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State yesterday engaged in bickering over the non-payment of workers’ salaries in Osun and Ekiti States. Firing the first salvo, the PDP advised the Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to resign from his position as the governor, since he had been

unable to pay workers’ salaries in the past seven months. The PDP, which spoke through its Publicity Secretary in Ekiti State, Jackson Adebayo, said the basic function of a government was to pay salaries of workers and by not doing that, the governor had no moral right to continue in office. ‘’Aregbesola has admitted that the situation in Osun State is beyond his control. That is an admittance of failure. He has agreed that he lacks the capacity to lead the state

and should not, therefore, hold the people of the state to ransom. “He should just tender his resignation letter to the state House of Assembly with a very strong worded apology to the people of Osun State for deliberately throwing them into this unpalatable situation because of greed and imported fraudulent policies which have drained the purse of the state. “Aregbesola of Osun is not different from former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, both of them are products of the APC. We

booted them out in Ekiti State, with the help of teachers, civil servants, okada riders and the masses because Ekiti people suffered a lot under the Fayemi-led administration to the extent that workers’ deductions were even stolen and its whereabouts unknown till today,” he said. In a related development, the Ekiti chapter of the APC has asked Governor Ayo Fayose, to stop deceiving state workers over failed promises to pay their salaries, saying endless workers verification exercise was a wicked tactic to secure workers’ cooperation.

The party’s Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, in a statement accused the governor of deliberate falsehood on the state’s financial status, saying the governor had no excuse to owe workers’ salaries. Olatubosun noted that Fayemi, carried out verification exercise only once through biometric auditing that brought sanity to wage payment system, wondering why did after Fayose conducted verification exercise three times within seven months. They accused the governor was still subjecting workers to unnecessary verification contraptions.

Osun monarch urges support for Buhari Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

hairman, Supreme Council Of Owu Obas and Olowu of Kuta, Oba Hameed Adekunle Makama Oyelude (Tegbosun (111), at the weekend appealed to traditional rulers in the country to support president Mohammadu Buhari, in his effort to make the country great again. The monarch stated that their role as custodians of traditions and culture, as well as advisers to government, would go a long way in re-shaping and transforming the nation positively. The royal father who is also a permanent member of Osun State Council Of Obas in an interview with newsmen in his country home, Kuta in Ayedire local government area of the state, described the roles of traditional rulers in any given society as second to none, charging the Buhari’s administration to involve the monarchs in the scheme of things for the advancement of the country. Speaking on importance of women in king’s palaces, Oyelude, warned traditional rulers against marrying only one wife, saying, whosoever does that among them, may wipe off royalty from his lineage. He argued that, traditional palaces are bigger than one wife and charged them to marry as many as they could saying, the traditional institution gives room for it. The monarch added that, women were part of royalty and affirmed that the idea of kings marrying many wives would lead to giving birth to male children that would ascend their thrones after their transition.

L-R: Vice-Chancellor, Crescent University, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila, Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Proprietor, Crescent University, Justice Bola Ajibola, at the 10th Anniversary Lecture of the university, in Abeokuta, Ogun State…at the weekend

Ondo APC leaders defend Alasoadura’s vote for Saraki Babatope Okeowo Akure

eaders of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ondo Central senatorial district of Ondo State, yesterday threw their weight behind the decision of Senator Tayo Alasoadura, to vote Dr. Bukola Saraki, as the Senate President. The leaders led by the chairmen of the local governments, constituting the central senatorial district which Alasoadura represents in the

National Assembly, said they gave their consent to the senator support for Saraki. They said it would be wrong to see the decision of Alasoadura, in voting for Saraki as anti-party as he consulted widely before taking the decision. Alasoadura who is a member of the APC represents Ondo central senatorial district at the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly and was the only senator in the South-West geo-political zone that vot-

ed for Saraki. Some leaders of the party in the state had accused the Senator for defying the APC directive against voting for Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, were elected to lead the senate instead of Senator Ahmed Lawan The leaders of the senatorial district in a communique signed by Chief Eleti Joshua, the Chairman of Akure North APC , his Secretary, Mr Tunde Adesunloro, Women leader, Mrs. Joke Oluwafemi

and Tayo Afolayin among others said the allegation against Alasoadura, was of no effect. The communiqué read in part, “ Having gone through our party (APC) constitution and Federal Republic of Nigeria constitution, there is no where it is written that you cannot support any candidate of your choice and interest. Therefore, senator Donald Tayo Alasoadura, has not in any way violated the APC constitution as well as that of the Federal Republic of Nigerial”.

Cleric urges Nigerians to work for country’s glory igerians have been Seraphim Worldwide gave headquarters in Ondo, Ondo Quoting Jeremiah 17:5, the cleric said that NigeriN told that were told that the advice yesterday during State. the country’s old glory will a special sermon to mark Speaking at the Restora- ans, for decades, had put be restored if they believe in God “and work hard to ensure that selfish interest is substituted for national interest”. Senior Superintendent Gabriel F. Akinadewo (Omo Jesu II) of Motailatu Church Cherubim and

the church’s 51st founder’s anniversary. The church founded by Archbishop (Dr.) Isaiah M. Akinadewo on June 14, 1964, celebrated its anniversary with special thanksgiving in all parishes of the church, including the international

tion Parish of the church in Akute, Ogun State, Akinadewo said: “nothing is too hard for the Lord, the God of all flesh to do. If and when Nigerians change from their evil ways, Nigeria will, once again, become the darling of all in the comity of nations”.

their hope in human beings “and they have been disappointed. For this country to grow financially, spiritually, economically, politically and industrially, we must start to put our hope in God and, at the same time, do the right thing.

‘Living Faith, RCCG distribute food, money to Osun workers’ ...Aregbesola has sound dream for Osun – govt

Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

any civil servants in Osun State worshipped yesterday at the Living Faith Church aka Winner’s Chapel in the State following the announcement by the church authorities that the church would take care of their interest to cushion the effect of the non-payment of their salaries Their hopes were not dashed as the State Pastor of the church, Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, ordered them to wait after the service to collect items including food, money and provision for their consumption. Announcing the church’s gesture to the congregation, Emmanuel said “the food items and money is available and anybody that is interested should wait after the service for collection”. After the service, some food items and stipends were shared to the workers. Meanwhile, the welfare committee for the wings schools Central Mosque, Iwo, in the state has distributed 40 bags of gaari, to both teachers and retirees in the local government to meet their needs in terms of food items before their salaries would be paid by the state government. Speaking at the event yesterday, the chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Adiatu Yekeen Atanda, said they took the decision to alleviate sufferings of their people and appealed to the state government to speedily pay their salaries, saying, many homes have been shattered because of the non-payment of workers’ salaries. Similarly, the Reedemed Christain Church Of God, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo and other churches in the state had distributed food items like rice, beans, gaari and other valuable things to civil servants in their churches to reduce their sufferings. Speaking with NewTelegraph on the items distributed by the church, a member of the church who identified himself as Opakunle, said that items worth thousands of naira were given out to the civil servants to lessen their burdens. But yesterday, the state government said that it has not derailed from its dream of making the state better.

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Workers’ unions want financial allegation against FMC boss probed Steve Uzoech OWERRI

ollowing the meeting of all unions in the Federal Medical Centre ( FMC ), Owerri, with the management at the weekend over the lingering industrial action in the hospital, the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals ( NUAHP )

and Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MAHWUN) declared that the allegations of financial impropriety and maladministration against the Medical Director of the Centre Dr. Angela Uwakwem, must be investigated. In a communiqué signed by NUAHP, MAHWUN and JOHESU representatives and read by the National President of

NUAHP, Comrade O. C. Ogbonna, the unions maintained that for purposes of justice, Uwakwem, should be suspended according to extant rules and be investigated immediately. The unions demanded that workers at the FMC Owerri, who were unjustly sacked, demoted or whose salaries were unjustly stopped by the MD, be immediately reverted .

They expressed reservations over the stance of the Federal Ministry of Health over intimidation of workers fighting a just cause which they described as clearly at variance with the agreement between the unions and the Federal Ministry of Health. Condemning the media propaganda by the ministry, seeking to portray

workers as ‘destructive’, the union recalled that the board of FMC Owerri, had earlier recommended the suspension of the MD while enquiries were made into the allegations against her. They expressed regrets

Abia owes me N425m, says former deputy gov Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (right), receiving a souvenir from the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Gregory University, Prof. Charles Okoroafor, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Umuahia

that the Federal Ministry of Health was yet to take any action to address the allegations of fraud and maladministration leveled against Uwakwem, which has crippled activities at the medical centre for upwards of six weeks.

ormer Deputy Governor of Abia State Comrade Chris Akomas, has said that the state government was still owing him to the tune of N425 million. Akomas said the amount accrued through his unpaid allowances and disengagement entitlements since 2011. The former Deputy Governor to former Governor Theodore Orji, who spoke on the sideline of the declaration of the former senator for Abia Central senatorial district, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu in Umuahia, for the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, expressed hope that the

money would be paid to him. “At the time of leaving the service, Abia State Government owed me N425million and I know that the money will be paid because I worked for Abia people. If I don’t get it today, I will get it someday,” he said. Akomas fell apart with his former boss in 2011, when Orji dumped the Progressives People Alliance (PPA) for APGA and latter for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He contested the 2011 election on the platform of the PPA against his former boss, Theodore Orji. He revealed that the withholding of all his entitlements by the state government under Orji, was being challenged in court.

Ebonyi quizzes perm sec over N160m Don predicts Ugwuanyi’s great feat for Enugu unused tractors T Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

bonyi State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, at the weekend queried the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Steve Orogwu, over the N160million tractors procured by the past administration of Chief Martin Elechi, in 2013 which were currently rotting away without usage. Igwe and some government officials, including the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service and Chief of Staff who paid unscheduled visit to various ministries in the state, including the Ministry of Agriculture, described the procurement of the tractors by the past government as a waste of scare resources and public funds. He said, ‘’it is terrible that a state government can waste a whooping sum of N160 million in the procurement of tractors they do not have plans to use

which are already rotting away and can never be used again. ‘’We are talking of waste and this is one of it. I think as a Permanent Secretary, you would have guided government on the procurement if at all there was need to procure the tractors as can be seen here, because they have been laying here and have all rotten and that shows there was no need for the procurement.

Ebonyi State, he said was regarded as one of the states that is ridden with poverty, lamenting that government can’t afford to throw away N160million on unused tractors. The governor also explained that the present government will create the Ministry of Planning, Evaluation and Strategy to take care of issues pertaining to wasting government resources.

Youths advocate commitment to agric development Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

he Abia State Director of Youth for Agriculture in Nigeria, a non-governmental organization, Mr. Obinna Ibiam, has called on President Mohammadu Buhari and the 36 state governors to pay more attention to agricultural development as a way of tackling unemployment and creating wealth for

the nation. Ibiam, who was the immediate past Senior Special Assistant on Youth Employment in Agricultural Programme to the Abia State Governor, made the call at the weekend while handing over 2,400 completed forms of trainees of the programme to the Permanent Secretary of the Abia State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Dike Nzenwa.

he Vice Chancellor of Bishop Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, Prof. Christian Anike, has predicted that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, will be one of the greatest governors to lead the state. The priest who made the declaration yesterday during a thanksgiving mass in honour of the governor by St. Thomas

Aquinas Catholic Chaplaincy, Federal Government College, Enugu, noted that Ugwuanyi will certainly achieve the feat because of his closeness to God and prayers the people of the state have been offering for his success. He enjoined the people of the state to continue their supplication to God to assist the governor in

Ebonyi deputy gov orders cleaning of govt premises Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

eputy Governor of Ebonyi State Dr. Kelechi Igwe, hasordered that the government premises in the state overgrown by weeds should be cleared without any further delay, The governor gave the directive during his visit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in the company of some aides during which he lamented that various weeks have almost covered the entire government facilities in the area. Speaking with the Permanent Secretary of the

ministry, Mr. Steve Orogwu, who was on hand to receive him, Igwe gave the directive that the weeds should be cleared within four days. He noted that the present government of Chief Dave Umahi, has declared a state of emergency in the environmental sector and enjoined the Permanent Sectary to ensure that the area was kept clean. Responding, Orogwu, attributed the situation to lack of fund, saying that since November last year, the ministry has not received any kobo from the government for the running of the ministry.

achieving the onerous task of leading the state to greatness, saying that he was ordained by God to govern Enugu State. The VC equally urged the people to support the Ugwuanyi’s administration to overcome the economic challenges facing the state by keying into his well-thought-out economic programmes aimed at developing the state. Earlier in a sermon delivered by Rev. Fr. John Ekwueme of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, the priest described Ugwuanyi as a humble and godly man who prayed day and night “in this altar” for God to give him the opportunity to serve his people as their governor, adding that the church gathered yesterday to celebrate his success, humility and kindness to the less privileged in the society. He revealed that Governor Ugwuanyi’s emergence was symbolic in the Christian family as it followed the mysteries of Easter celebration, the Pentecost and the holy trinity which signify that God has a hand in his victory.

News

Navy rues dearth of patrol boats Clement James Calabar

he Nigerian Navy has appealed to the Federal Government to assist in acquiring more patrol boats for effective coverage of the nation’s waterways. The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Henry Babalola, made the appeal at the weekend at the end of a 10-kilometre routine walk exercise of the navy in Calabar. He said the navy has

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84, 000 square nautical miles to patrol, hence the need for adequate boats and operational equipment to be deployed to the command. Babalola, who said the road walk was meant to ensure the physical and mental fitness and alertness of personnel under its command, however, noted that notwithstanding the dearth of patrol boats, the command has been able to curb sea piracy, oil theft as well as kidnapping along the waterways. “We are appealing to the Federal Government to donate more patrol

boats to the command to help us in effectively policing the waterways,” the FOC said. According to him, his command has been able to drastically reduce crude oil theft due to the effective patrol of navy personnel along the maritime domain. “There has been considerable reduction of crude oil theft from the data from the oil companies. We have 84, 000 square nautical miles to patrol, and I think we are doing our best in sea policing,” Babalola maintained. He added; “When

you compare the assets available for operation, I think the navy has done well. When you also check the data from oil majors like Chevron, Mobil, Shell, Total and NNPC, I think in the last five years, there has been a drastic reduction in crude oil theft. “Due to effective patrol, we have destroyed illegal refineries and arrested ships in our area of operation,” he said. He urged his men and officers to be alert to their duties and to be ready to undertake any assignment given to them.

Okowa extols Amuka at 80 Dominic Adewole ASABA

he Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday hailed the publisher of Vanguard newspaper, Dr. Sam Amuka-Pemu, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The governor noted that the publisher, fondly called “Uncle Sam,” by his admirers, is an icon of journalism in Nigeria with his impeccable credentials as a columnist, editor and publisher, spanning over four decades. Governor Okowa, who spoke in Asaba, recalled how Amuka-Pemu’s (Sad Sam) column in the Daily Times in the 60s and early 70s was a must read and contributed immensely to the library of thought and information on public

policy and national development. The governor, in a statement routed through his Communications Manager, Jackson Ekwugum, described Dr. Amuka-Pemu as a trail blazer, whose strides in the pen profession continued when he co-founded The Punch with the late Olu Aboderin in 1973, delighted his numerous readers. He said: “The advent of Vanguard, the “refreshingly different” newspaper in 1984 greatly shaped the course of the journalism profession with its emphasis on racy news, balanced reporting and incisive commentary. His Excellency is delighted that the Vanguard has continued in this tradition, and is thus a significant force in the socio-political evolution of Nigeria.”

JUSUN strike in Edo may linger Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

L-R: Special Adviser to Rivers State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Opunabo Inko-Tariah; Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Emma Okah; Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Onimim Jack; Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Fred Kpakol; Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Emma Aguma; Chief of Staff, Mr. Emeka Woke and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Kenneth Kobani, taking the oath of office in Port Harcourt…on Friday

South-South leaders want Igini as Jega’s replacement Cajetan Mmuta Benin

he leaders of the South-South geo-political zone have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint the out-going Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo State, Mr. Mike Igini, as a replacement for the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega. Jega’s tenure as INEC chairman will end at the

end of this month. This was the position of the former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Rowland Owie, Edo State chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anslem Ojezua and Chief Dan Orbih, Niger Delta activist, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo and members of the civil society respectively. They made the call at the weekend during an occasion organised in honour of Igini in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Owie described Igini as impeccable since he assumed office as INEC commissioner in the last five years, saying that the outgoing REC “has made the South-South proud due to his incorruptible stand, his genuine belief in free, fair and credible elections and his pursuit for the truth. As a man of character himself and one who believes in our electoral process, we should not waste the talent of this young man. He should be given a chance to head INEC so that Nigerians will benefit from

his wealth of experience.” The APC chairman in the state, Ojezua, noted that “Igini has provided leadership in Edo INEC that is very obvious. The outcome of the elections in the state is the reason why you have fewer numbers of persons going to tribunals. If you look at other states in the state South-South and South-East, the RECs in those states connived with the PDP to manufacture results both in the presidential and National Assembly elections but in Edo State, you did not do that.

‘Why N10bn Opume-Okoroba road project was delayed’

he management of Bayelsa-based road construction giant, Kakatar Ce Limited, at the weekend, gave reasons why the 9.7kilometre Opume-Okoroba road project awarded at the cost of N10 billion by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2012, was delayed. According to the company, formerly known as

Mangrovetech, though the company had since July 2012 mobilised to site with clearing and cutting of trees along the road corridors and attaining the 9.6km total length done with earthworks involving dredging and haulage of sand to over 2km, the company also claimed that the allegation that it abandoned the project was

untrue and that it is a campaign of calumny sponsored against the company. Angry indigenes of Okoroba community in Nembe Local Government Area had last year protested against the abandonment of the road project by the Federal Government and claimed that the abandonment was on the ground of alleged dis-

agreement over compensation and non- availability of sand. But the company’s Brand Manager, Mr. Austine Ekeinde, said the delay in the take-off of the project was due to the deficiencies inherent in the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) handed to the company by the NDDC.

ndication emerged at the weekend that the ongoing strike by members of the Edo State Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) may not end soon. This followed the allegation that some senior judges, magistrates and senior court officials in the state’s judiciary are secretly involved in the protracted six-month-old strike and are also benefiting from the crisis. It was gathered that the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole may wield the big stick if the erring senior court officials are uncovered and found to be involved in the

crisis. The judiciary workers under the auspices of JUSUN have been at home for six months over the controversy on the implementation of the verdict of the Federal High Court on the autonomy for the judiciary. Investigations revealed that some of the senior judges and magistrates working secretly with key leaders of JUSUN are bent on ensuring that the state government bows to the workers by acceding to their demand for autonomy in the state judiciary. The judges and magistrates, apart from allegedly lending their support for the strike, are also said to be benefiting from the strike as their monthly salaries are paid without delay by the government.

Buhari can’t save you, Bayelsa group tells APC Chris Ejim Yenagoa

he agitation for the political control of Bayelsa State in 2016 thickened at the weekend with a socio-political organisation, the Bayelsa Democratic Forum (BDF), saying the belief by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that President Muhammadu Buhari will unleash his federal might on the state is a deception. The organisation said the opposition has been desperate to take over power, through the back door, with a view to perpetrating fraud by conniving with ghost workers thereby having a bloated wage bill to the tune of N6 billion. The BDF in a statement entitled; “Bayelsa’s

Squalid Nuisance,” issued from Yenagoa and signed by its Chairman, Tari Wellington and Secretary-General, Ekpai Okurus, accused the Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly (BPCA) and their collaborators of ‘blackmail and threatening to let all hell loose unless their insatiable demands are met.’ “A combination of the harsh economic realities as well as the recent loss of the Presidency by the PDP has opened up new opportunities for political adventurism by these persons, who believe that President Muhammadu Buhari will unleash the federal might against the former President’s home state of Bayelsa. Such is their puny mentality and the narrowness of their thinking,” the group said.

NEW TELEGRAPH monday, june 15, 2015

sos

Reps member alerts FG on threat to territorial borders Dahiru Suleiman Dutse

t least 10 people were said to have lost their lives while 56 farmlands were seized by traditional rulers, and officials of Niger Republic, in a border dispute involving some communities in Jigawa State and Niger Republic. According to a spokesman for the communities, Alhaji Abdullahi Jobe, the disputed

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10 die, 56 farmlands seized in border disputes with Niger Republic border land is in Jobe, Maigatari Local Government Area of the state. In a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the Federal Government, the member representing Gumel, Gagarawa, Sule-Tankarkar and Maigatari Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sani Zorro, said the dispute started when

the communities were barred from farming on their ‘inherited’ farms and were also denied compensation for the farmlands seized. He called on the Federal Government to intervene on behalf of the communities to ensure that the people of the area are not denied of their rights. He said: “For quite of-

ten, our people were attacked severally, killed, and most of our belongings were confiscated for unknown reasons.” According to Jobe, “We took several measures to resolve this crisis among us and Niger Republic officials and their traditional leaders, but to no avail, hence our resolve to call on the Federal Government to

intervene through our representative in the National Assembly, Hon. Sani Zorro. New Telegraph reliably gathered that the traditional rulers and Niger Republic officials were unconcerned about the plight of the people in the Nigerian communities, because they see it as a violation of their territorial integrity that

Boko Haram attacks Yobe LG

oko Haram militants yesterday invaded Babangida Gida in Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State, burning government buildings. Reports said Babangida town, the headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government in Yobe State, is currently under attack by suspected Borno Haram militants. Sources told our correspondent that youths suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents, attacked Babangida town around 6am yesterday. Our correspondent also gathered that the attackers stormed the town around 6am, shooting sporadically and burning government property. Ba’aji, who narrowly escaped from the attack, told newsmen, said that the attackers came through the eastern part of the town in a convoy and started shooting sporadically as we scampered ito safety,” he said.

L-R: Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Saheed Koozechi; former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Saminu Turaki and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, during the ambassador’s visit to Birnin-Kebbi …yesterday. PHOTO-NAN

Kwara community protests police brutality, killing Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

ndigenes of Oro-Ago, a community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, yesterday protested the killing of a woman alleg-

Customs donate relief materials to Borno IDPs Amadi Nnamdi Maiduguri

s part of efforts to contribute their quota to the alleviation of the sufferings of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State, officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), at the weekend, donated three truckloads of relief materials to the state IDPs in Maiduguri. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in

bans inheritance, and that's what prompted the confiscation of the 56 inherited farmlands. Another reason, according to Jobe, was the non-payment of compensation to those whose farmlands were seized as most of them were said to have bought the parcels of land for farming purposes to earn a living, but were barred from farming, thereby jeorpadising their means of livelihood, leaving them jobless. Speaking on the issue, Zorro assured the people that he would forward their grievances to the appropriate authority, stressing that “we at our end, being people’s representatives, we shall make use of all avenues in our efforts to resolve this communal clashes.” New Telegraph also observed that all is now calm in the area as people are only awaiting the outcome of the SOS sent to the Federal Government through the National Assembly. It was also gathered that the area has suffered neglect in the last 15 years due to frequent skirmishes ranging from land dispute, cattle rustling, farmers and nomads feud, among other social crisis, bedeviling the border town.

charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Tahir Musa, while making the presentation to the state government, said the NCS feels the pain of the IDPs, hence their gesture to assist the government in managing the welfare of the victims of insurgency. While reiterating the readiness of the NCS to cooperate and assist the government, he beckoned on all well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to lend a helping hand in alleviating the poor condition of the IDPs.

edly by a team of policemen, who it was claimed, stormed the community from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The policemen were said to have also injured some other members of the community. Reports said the police-

men were in the town on a mission purportedly to probe a recent clash between indigenes of the town and some herdsmen, in which some lives were lost. But the indigenes, under the auspices of OroAgo Development Union

Reinstated Benue monarch drums support for Ortom Cephas Iorhemen

Makurdi

reinstated paramount ruler in Benue State, Chief Daniel Abomtse, at the weekend, appealed to political and traditional elites in the state to bury their differences and come together to support the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom, to move the state to enviable heights. It will be recalled that Abomtse was dethroned in the twilight

of the Gabriel Suswam administration over alleged ‘gross misconduct and embarrassment to the Tiv Area Traditional Council.’ A letter which conveyed his deposition was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Asen Sambe, on behalf of the then Special Adviser to the Gover nor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the bureau, Mr. Solomon Wombo.

(ODU), accused the police high command of taking sides with the Fulani herdsmen to allegedly attack its members and destroy their farmlands. The deceased, whose name was given as Bolatito Balogun, was said to have been shot by the police

while women in the community were protesting the arrests of their men. When contacted, spokesperson for police in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed that the case is being investigated by the police headquarters, Abuja.

'We’ll complete Zaria water project' Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

aduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has promised to complete the Zaria water project and break the jinx of what has been stalling the project’s completion for years, even after gulping several billions of naira. A statement issued by Mr. Samuel Aruwan, El Rufai’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the governor made this known when he paid an unscheduled visit to the project site in Zaria. The non-completion

of the project is bringing untold hardship to the people of Zaria and the neighbouring seven local government areas of Kaduna State. The project was conceived by the Ahmed Makarfi administration and has been ongoing for a decade. According to the governor, “We are here to see things for ourselves. The Zaria water project has been on for years without producing a single drop of water. We must work hard to see its successful conclusion.” He directed the contractors to present to him a comprehensive detail of the project.

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MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

South African judge orders Sudan's president detained

South African judge yesterday ordered authorities to prevent Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is in South Africa for an African Union summit, from leaving the country because of an international order for his arrest, human rights activists said. Al-Bashir appeared for a group photo with other Afri-

can leaders at the summit in Johannesburg yesterday, wearing a blue three-piece suit, a tie and a smile as cameras flashed. A South African judge ordered authorities to prevent al-Bashir from leaving South Africa because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court, human rights activists said yesterday. "President

Omar al-Bashir is prohibited from leaving the Republic of South Africa until a final order is made in this application," Judge Hans Fabricius said, according to local media reports. The judge ordered the South African government to ensure that officials at all border posts enforce the court's decision, according to Caroline James, a lawyer with the Southern Af-

rica Litigation Centre, a rights group. The court is expected to rule on Monday if al-Bashir should be handed over to the International Criminal Court to face charges of alleged genocide and human rights abuses. Kamal Ismail, the Sudanese state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters in Khartoum that alBashir had received assurances from the South African govern-

ment prior to his visit that he would be welcome and was expected to return to Sudan on schedule. He said the court order preventing al-Bashir from leaving South Africa "has nothing to do with the reality on the ground there," adding that "until now things are normal and there is no threat to the life of the president of the Republic."

Thousands rally against Japan PM's security bills

housands of Japanese rallied yesterday in protest at plans by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to bolster the role and scope of the pacifist nation's military. The protest which surrounded the parliament building was held as the nationalist premier tries to force through parliament a set of controversial bills making the changes. The bills are a pet project of Abe, who says Japan can no longer shy away from its responsibility to help safeguard regional stability, and must step out from under

the security umbrella provided by the United States. The draft legislation would broaden the remit of Japan's well-equipped and well-trained armed forces. It would allow them to go into battle to protect allies so-called "collective defence" something which is banned by a strict reading of Japan's pacifist constitution. Opponents of the bills accuse Abe of trying to move the country away from pacifism, while three scholars summoned to parliament testified this month that the bills are unconstitutional.

Hong Kong braces for democracy showdown

housands of people, many holding yellow umbrellas, marched in Hong Kong yesterday to urge lawmakers to vote down Beijing-backed election reforms that sparked huge street protests last year, although the turnout was lower than organizers had expected. With a crucial vote on the southern Chinese financial hub's political future days away, pro-democracy supporters marched to city government headquarters to rally support for a veto of the government's electoral reform package. At issue is how Hong Kongers will choose their top leader, who's currently hand-picked by a panel of Beijing-friendly elites. Under

the reforms to be put before lawmakers starting Wednesday, the government proposal would allow direct elections for the first time but also require screening of candidates by the panel. Pro-democracy activists who caught the world's attention last autumn by occupying parts of the city for 11 weeks to demand greater electoral freedom, turning umbrellas and the color yellow into symbols of their movement, have blasted the proposals as "sham democracy" and called for genuine universal suffrage. The organizers of the protest, including the Civil Human Rights Front, student groups and prodemocracy political parties, estimated that 3,500 people took part, far less than the 50,000 expected.

Israel accuses world powers of yielding to Iran for nuclear deal

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused world powers yesterday of stepping up concessions to Iran to enable a deal by June 30 on curbing its nuclear program even as Tehran balks at demands for heightened U.N inspections. Netanyahu has argued that the agreement in the works would not deny Iran - which says its nuclear projects are peaceful - the means of making a bomb, while granting it sanctions relief that could help bankroll its guerrilla allies in the region. "To our regret, the reports that are coming in

from the world powers attest to an acceleration of concessions by them in the face of Iranian stubbornness," Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks on Sunday. He did not offer further details. Netanyahu's point-man on the Iranian talks, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, said it appeared that world powers were prepared to accommodate Tehran's resistance to expanded, short-order U.N nuclear inspections and demand to continue research and development of uranium centrifuges that make nuclear fuel.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, right standing with other African leaders during a photo op at the AU summit in Johannesburg yesterday.

Syrians flee into Turkey amid intense fighting

housands of Syrians cut through a border fence and crossed over into Turkey yesterday, fleeing intense fighting in northern Syria between Kurdish fighters and jihadist. The flow of refugees came as Syrian Kurdish fighters closed in on the outskirts of a strategic Islamic State-held town on the Turkish border, Kurdish officials and an activist group said, potentially cutting off a key supply line for the extremists' nearby

de facto capital. Taking Tal Abyad, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, would deprive the militant group of a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies. The Kurdish advance, coming under the cover of intense US-led coalition airstrikes in the area, would also link their two fronts and put even more pressure on Raqqa. In this Turkish border village, the refugees took by surprise

the Turkish troops stationed there, who were overwhelmed by the large number of people crowding the crossing. Thousands of people had been gathering for more than a day on the Syrian side of the Akcakale border crossing before they broke through Sunday afternoon. People threw their belongings over the fence while others passed infants into Turkey over barbed wires before following through a several-meter wide opening in the border fence.

Burundi to take centre stage as African leaders meet

eaders meet in Johannesburg yesterday for an African Union summit which was mostly dominated by the political unrest in Burundi and the migration crisis in the continent. Burundi has been plunged into a period of instability sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's push to run for a third five-year term. Violent protests have left around 40 people dead and 100,000 people have fled the country, raising peace and security concerns in the region. Other crises like the threat posed by Islamist militant groups are also on the agenda in Johannesburg. "The situation in Burundi is still unresolved and Nigeria,

which is supposed to be an important player, still has challenges around Boko Haram," said Tjiurimo Hengari, research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs. "I see the next two years being very challenging, especially in light of a new threat that is emerging on the horizon -- the issue of constitutional revisions to allow sitting heads of state third terms and fourth terms." But the summit, which often fails to grapple with thorny issues, is likely to be overshadowed by the expected presence of Sudan's President Omar alBashir. Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over war crimes charges,

faces arrest if he lands on South African soil, and has not visited the country since his indictment by the court in 2009 and 2010. As a signatory to the Rome Statute which established the ICC, South Africa is obliged to arrest the Sudanese leader. AU spokesman Molalet Tsedeke told AFP Saturday that he had been informed that Bashir was expected to attend the meeting. "He is coming," said Tsedeke. African leaders remain divided on the ICC statute, with AU chairman Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe urging African leaders in January to pull out of the treaty. Mugabe and South African President Jacob Zuma are among those scheduled to speak yesterday.

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

News

International Sport

Women’s World Cup

U-20 World Cup

Mikel waits for Chelsea in Al Ain deal

Okobi: We need to fortify our midfield against the USA

Report: Blatter wants to renege on resignation pledge

Sport

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Emmanuel Tobi Live from

Canada

Hayatou wants support for Mali, Senegal

Did you know? That 2381 goals have been scored in the COPA America since inception 99 years ago

Eagles can do better, says Keshi Adekunle Salami

uper Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, on Saturday admitted that the performance of his boys in the 2-0 win against Chad was not the best. The Eagles struggled all through the first half and it was the brilliance of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama that prevented the visitors from scoring. Gbolahan Salami opened scoring with a great shot and Odion Ighalo got the second from the penalty spot. Keshi said the team was a relatively new one since the Chad game was only the second one for the current bunch of players. “The first game for this team was the friendly against Kaduna United and now this competitive match. We could have done better but I am happy with the result. If we played well and failed to score it would have been a disaster,” he said. He stressed that the target of the team was to win all games in the 2017 Nations Cup qualifying series. “It is not an easy group. We have started with a win and we want to maintain that to be on the safe side and forget the results of other teams,” he noted.

Three players -Kingsley Madu, Williams TroostEkong and Anderson Esiti -made their full international debut for Nigeria with Salami of Warri Wolves as the only homebased player.

“We are going to continue this way till we get the right blend. It is not easy. Between last year and now, some players have dropped in form and others are on the rise and we have to respond to all of this with the

selection,”Keshi said. The coach however did not blame Ogenyi Onazi for the red card he bagged in the second half. “”It was the spur of the moment reaction. It can happen to anybody. The

player hit him with an elbow and he retaliated. We have to look inward and deal with that in future matches but I cannot blame him because I could have done worse,” the coach stated.

Aaron Samuel (left) in action against Chad

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Nadal wins first grass title since 2010 R

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Editor, Sport

Ifeanyi Ibeh Sport Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

Nadal

afael Nadal has won his first title on grass since 2010 by beating Viktor Troicki in the Mercedes Cup final. The Spaniard, who was well beaten in the French Open quarterfinal by Novak Djokovic earlier this month, won 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in Stuttgart. Nadal 29 hit 11 aces in his victory over the Serb and now has 66 career titles, four on

grass. He also won in Stuttgart in 2005 and 2007 when the tournament was held on clay. Victory will boost Nadal’s world ranking after the 14-time Grand Slam winner slumped to a 10-year low of 10th earlier in the month. He is now scheduled to play at Queen’s - he has been drawn against Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round

Australia more tactical against Nigeria, says Simon

- before Wimbledon begins on June 29. In the Topshelf Open, Italy’s 23-year-old Camila Giorgi claimed her maiden title by beating Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 7-5 6-3 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. France’s Nicholas Mahut beat David Goffin of Belgium 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 in the men’s event after entering the competition as a qualifier.

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52 Sport

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Mikel waits for Chelsea in Al Ain deal • Agrees personal terms with Dubai club

Ifeanyi Ibeh

igerian defender David Oniya collapsed on the pitch and died after playing just a few minutes of a local friendly in Malaysia at the weekend, reports said. Oniya, 30, went down about three minutes into the game for T-Team and was pronounced dead at hospital around half-an-hour later, the club’s chief executive told The Star newspaper. CEO Syahrizan Mohd Zain said Oniya, who was in his first season with second-tier T-Team, had barely touched the ball in the friendly with Super League side Kelantan in Kota Bharu. “There was no hard running and it was a slow tempo match. It’s only a friendly game,” Syahrizan was quoted as saying. “The match was called off in the 60th minute when we received a call from the hospital that Oniya had died.” The centre back had played football for more than 10 years as a professional. Prior to his Malaysian stint, the Nigerian had also played in leagues in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Charles Ogundiya

uper Eagles midfielder, Mikel Obi, is waiting for Chelsea to agree on transfer fee with United Arab Emirates club, Al Ain. According to AfricanFootball.com, Mikel was in Dubai to discuss contract terms with Al Ain last week. With the latest development, the midfielder is a step closer to leaving the English Premier League Champions, after agreeing personal terms with Al Ain. “Mikel has agreed personal terms with Al Ain and it is now left for Chelsea and the Dubai club to agree on a transfer fee,” Mikel’s representative Babawo Mohammed said “He has returned to England to communicate the development to Chelsea. “We just have to wait and see what Chelsea will say in this regard.” Mikel still has a contract till June 2016 with the English Premier League champions, but in the past two seasons, he had become mainly a bit part player with ‘The Blues’.

Mikel Obi (left) in action for Chelsea

Chukwumerije launches Team CCSF in Abuja Charles Ogundiya

o fulfill his dream of grooming educated taekwondo champions, three-time Olympian, Chika Chukwumerije, will on Monday (today) inside the Government Secondary School, Garki, Abuja, launch Team Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation. According to the 2008 Beijing Olympics medalist, the launching will be attended by the Director General, National Sports Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, as well as officials of FCT Education Board. “TEAM CCSF [Taekwondo] is a youth-oriented team whose objective is to Produce National, Continental and Olympic

Champions in its ranks,” Chukwumerije said “It also aims to engage its members in extra-curricular learning activities i.e. language courses, event management courses, networking forums and to enhance their out-of-school learning experience. “The launch is a culmination of a year-long recruitment and engagement of young Nigerians, with the host school, G.S.S, at the heart of this exercise and executed totally free of charge. “It is therefore with pleasure that we expect your company at the launch to celebrate your youthful generation whose development so far in the sport is as a result of our collective engagement.”

Ajayi scores brace as Shooting whip Lobi Charles Ogundiya

hooting Stars striker, Junior Ajayi, was the star attraction in Ibadan after scoring a brace in his team’s 3-0 defeat of Lobi Stars on Sunday. Former Sunshine Stars of Akure striker, Ajani Ibrahim, gave the Ibadan side the lead in the third minute of the game before Ajayi double secured first win for Coach Gbenga Ogunbote, who joined the team recently. Speaking after the game, Ogunbote said the

Nigerian player dies in Malaysia

victory was a collective effort while also giving kudos to his players. “The victory was a collective responsibility,” the former Sharks of Port Harcourt coach said. “The players gave good account of themselves and I am happy with the result. “The technical crew are still working and we are looking at strengthening up the team with five or six players when the transfer window opens in mid-season, but we will have to make do with what we have now.”

‘Only Iheanacho, Success, Awoniyi will make U 23 list’ Adeolu Johnson Abuja

nly three members of the Flying Eagles team will make the country’s squad for the Nigeria versus Congo All Africa Games qualifier billed for July 18. The three players according close confidants of the U-23 chief coach, Samson Siasia, are: Taiwo Awoniyi, Isaac

Success and Kelechi Iheanacho. Our source said Musa Yahaya and one other Under 23 player might still be considered for the final squad for the All Africa Games proper in Congo next September. “We need only three or five players for the All Africa Games. We have quality players in all department and as such require only few additional players,” our

Team Nigeria finishes second at ITTF WJC Ajibade Olusesan

igeria’s representative at the recently concluded ITTF World Junior Circuit in Egypt, ended the competition in second position. With four gold and three bronze medals, Nigeria finished second behind hosts – Egypt, who finished ahead of others with seven gold medals while Slovenia won three gold medals to settle for third spot on the medals table. Over 15 countries from Africa, Europe and Asia took part in the one-week

Oribamise

championship held at the 6th October Hall in Cairo. Nigeria made the second spot on the final day of the championship with Esther Oribamise, Abayomi Animasahun and Amadi Omeh claiming gold in the cadet and mini cadet events. An elated Animasahun praised his coaches for his outstanding performance in his first international appearance. “I listened to my coaches and followed their instructions which is one of the reasons I was able to win medals in Egypt,” he said.

source said. He disclosed that the Dream team mission to the next Olympics Games was to repeat the 1996 Atlanta feat by producing another set of world-class players. The Dream Team will be rounding off their training sessions with series of warm up matches in the country against teams like Ebonyi United and Rangers International of Enugu.

Iheanacho

Glo commends Super Eagles ….urges Falcons to beat the USA

he Super Eagles have been commended for recording an important home win against Chad in the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifying match played at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna on Saturday. In a press statement released in Lagos on Sunday, national telecoms company, Globacom gave kudos to the Super Eagles for recording the first win in the group which has taken the team to the top of group G, pending when the Egypt-Tanzania match will be decided. “With this victory, the Super Eagles have moved to a commanding position in group G and the coaching crew should perfect a strategy to ensure that the team qualifies for the 2017 AFCON in Gabon. Nigeria cannot afford to be missing in action

again from the most important tournament in continental football”, the statement stated. Meanwhile, Globacom has called on the Super Falcons to work towards beating the USA in their next group match of the on-going 2015 Women World Cup in Canada to ensure that the team end up with four points which can facilitate their qualification for the next round. “We urge the Falcons camp to remain focused on the task ahead. We believe that victory is achievable and we stand by you as ever, believing fervently that you will do Nigeria proud,” the statement concluded. Globacom is the official telecommunications partner of the Nigerian Football Federation and the major sponsor of the Nigerian national teams.

International Sport 53

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Report: Blatter wants to renege on resignation pledge

D Blatter

espite offering his resignation earlier this month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is reportedly considering remaining at the head of soccer’s international governing body, according to Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag. Michael Hershman, FIFA’s former governance adviser, hinted earlier this month that Blatter could reconsider, telling ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that he wasn’t sure Blatter would actually step down.

In its story on Saturday, the Swiss paper reported that a source close to Blatter said the embattled president had gotten “messages of support from African and Asian football associations” that requested he re-evaluate the decision to leave office. The 79-year-old announced his resignation after a series of surprising indictments and were handed down by US courts against a number of current and former officials in connection to a $150 million bribery scheme related to FIFA’s

finances and the awarding of tournaments, including World Cups, to member nations and organisations. Many of them were arrested in late May. Blatter himself was not named in any of the indictments. He was elected to a fifth term just two days after the charges and arrests were made. Meanwhile, Blatter was warned from within FIFA on Sunday not to attempt to backtrack on his pledge to quit as president. Domenico Scala, who is overseeing the presidential election,

said that a leadership change is an essential component of the far-reaching reforms required to overhaul FIFA amid deepening criminal investigations into football corruption. “For me, the reforms are the central topic,” Scala said in a statement. “That is why I think it is clearly indispensable to follow through with the initiated process of leadership change as it has been announced.” The FIFA executive committee will meet in Zurich on July 20 to set the election date.

De Gea is not irreplaceable – Van der Sar

ormer Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar believes David De Gea is not irreplaceable at Old Trafford. The Spaniard has told the Red Devils that he wishes to join Real Madrid after failing to agree a new contract with Louis van Gaal’s side. And Van Der Sar, who spent six seasons with United before retiring in 2011, believes the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper would have agreed a new

deal by now if he wanted to stay with the 20-time English champions. “He had some difficulties in his first year and in his second year he came on well and in the third and fourth he really progressed immensely,” he told reporters. “Of course, I don’t know the candidates to replace him if he’s going to leave the club. There’s been a lot of talk lately, and if he wanted to stay, he probably would have signed a new contract by now.

“At the start of the season you start with 11 players. Some things work out and other things you get a different type, so nobody is irreplaceable, that’s always the case. “I’m sure United, if David is going to leave, are going to find a good successor.” One man tipped to replace De Gea should he leave the club is Ajax’s Jasper Cillesen, who worked with Van Gaal during the veteran coach’s time with De Gea the Netherlands.

Leboeuf slams ‘unprofessional’ France

ormer France defender Frank Leboeuf was scathing in his evaluation of his country’s 1-0 loss in Albania on Saturday, blasting Les Bleus for being unprofessional. Didier Deschamps’s side crashed to their third defeat in five games when Ergys Kace netted the winner from a free kick before half-time, piling the pressure on the Euro 2016 hosts after they al-

lowed Belgium to race into a two-goal lead before eventually losing 4-3 penultimate Sunday. The latest loss prompted ex-Chelsea and France player Leboeuf, currently pursuing an acting career, to lash out at the players for a lacklustre approach to games and for not fighting hard enough for their country. “We have the right to be wrong but we must at least be profession-

al,” the 47-year-old told Telefoot. “The worst thing was the lack of professionalism. There is no such thing as a friendly match for France. “Oliver Giroud did not play well [against Albania] but he was not the only one out there.” The Euro 2016 hosts face Portugal and Serbia next in another set of warmup friendlies for next summer’s tournament.

Bolt ‘unhappy’ with Diamond League time

Falcao (middle) in action for Man United during the just concluded season

Falcao close to Chelsea move –Report

helsea’s deal to sign Radamel Falcao is ’90 per cent’ done, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The Blues are now on the verge of completing a deal to sign the former Manchester United loan striker from Monaco, a source told the newspaper. Like United, the English champions are ex-

pected to bring Falcao in on a season-long loan with an option to convert the loan into a permanent deal. But the agreed fee will be well below the £43m United would have paid this summer. Talks have been on going for the past two weeks, with the delay apparently down to Chelsea’s insistence that Falcao take a

pay-cut. The Colombia international’s impending arrival could lead to the sale of former Queens Park Rangers forward Loic Remy. Veteran Didier Drogba has already left the club. Falcao, aged 29, is currently in Chile to represent his nation at Copa America.

Bolt

lympic champion Usain Bolt has claimed that he is unhappy with his winning time in the 200m at the New York Diamond League meeting. The 28-year-old claimed victory with a time of 20.29 seconds to finish just ahead of Zharnel Hughes in the meeting at Randall’s Island at the weekend. “I wasn’t too happy with the time but training has been going well and I am looking forward to what the rest of the season has to bring,” Bolt told the Diamond League’s official website. Bolt’s time of 19.19 seconds in the 200m at the 2009 World Championships is the current world record.

Sport

MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Women’s world cup

Emmanuel Tobi Live from

Gibraltar 0 – 7 Germany Armenia 2 – 3 Portugal Denmark 2 – 0 Serbia Kazakhstan 0 - 1 Turkey

top official of the NFF given instructions on the players to change.

Iceland 2 – 1 Czech Republic Latvia 0 – 2 Netherlands

Falcons shun sporting media

Wales 1 – 0 Belgium Croatia 1 – 1 Italy

The 2-0 loss to Australia on Friday contributed to the poor image the sporting press had about the Super Falcons in Winipeg as they were practically forced to speak to the media after their match.

NPFL Kwara Utd 3-1 Rangers Shooting 3-0 Lobi Abia Warriors 3-2 Sunshine Giwa 2-0 Ifeanyiubah

Aussie more tactical against Nigeria –Simon

corer of the two goals that consigned the Super Falcons of Nigeria to defeat against Australia at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, Kyah Simon, has said the Matildas were more tactical against Nigeria. Australia beat Nigeria 2-0 courtesy of Simon’s brace, which gave the Matildas three valuable points in their quest to reach the Round of 16. “We watched the Nigerian team couple of times and realised we could beat them,” Simon said.

El-Kanemi 2-1 Taraba Nasarawa Utd 1-0 Akwa Utd Heartland 4-1 Bayelsa Utd

“We knew that if we didn’t allow them to dictate the pattern of play, we stood a chance of winning the game. “We watched several of their videos and the information from their 3-3 draw against Sweden was helpful. “We had a superior tactical approach which made Nigeria look very predictable. We also took our chances and kept their strikers at bay.” Australia will be up against Sweden in their last group game while Nigeria will be take on the USA for a place in the next round.

Simon (left) in action for Nigeria

Nigeria’s midfielder Halimatu Ayinde (L) vies for the ball with Australia’s defender Teresa Polias during their Group D match of the Women’s World Cup

Okobi: We need to fortify our midfield against the USA

uper Falcons midfielder, Ngozi Okobi, has said there is need to shore up the midfield ahead of the crucial last group game against the USA on Tuesday. The Nigerian side needs a win against the US to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup currently going on in Canada. Speaking with New Telegraph, Okobi said the team’s inability to

control the midfield in the last game contributed to the 2-0 loss against Australia. “The truth is that, we lost the game against Australia from our midfield,” Okobi who won the MVP in the first game against Sweden said. “The Australians took over our midfield and dictated the pace of the game with their tactics. “They slowed down the game and destabilised our pace and power but we are determined to

make amends before our last match against USA. “Our midfield must be fortified to avoid a repeat of the same result when we play against the USA.” The Super Falcons need an outright win against the Americans to stand a chance of qualifying for the Round of 16. The team has one point from possible six after drawing and losing one game against Sweden and Australia respectively.

AF President, Issa Hayatou, has called on all football-loving Africans to rally behind the Eaglets of Mali and the Lions of Senegal as they remain the only African

17, Senegal will lock horns with Brazil in the first of the semi-finals, while Mali clash with Serbia in the second. Hayatou who is currently in Canada for the FIFA Women’s World Cup further stated: “Already, it was unusual to see Africa’s four representatives in this Under-20 World Cup, that is, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Mali, quali-

AFCON 2017 QUALIFIERS Nigeria 2 – 0 Chad Egypt 3-0 Tanzania Cameroon 1 – 0 Mauritania Ghana 7 – 1 Mauritius Tunisia 8 – 1 Djibouti Ethiopia 2 – 1 Lesotho Sudan 1 - 0 Sierra Leone Mozambique 0 – 1 Rwanda Congo 1 – 1 Kenya Togo 2 – 1 Liberia Angola 4 – 0 CAR Niger 1 – 0 Namibia DR Congo 2 – 1 Madagascar Mali 2 – 0 South Sudan Equatorial Guinea 1 – 1 Benin Uganda 2 – 0 Botswana Burkina Faso 2 – 0 Comoros Zambia 0 – 0 Guinea-Bissau Morocco 1 – 0 Libya Cape Verde 7 – 1 Sao Tome

Guinea 1 – 2 Swaziland

• As Mali, Senegal stop Germany, Uzbekistan tical, technical, and mental abilities to get themselves to this level of the competition,” Hayatou said. “Beyond just their countries, they are a plus to the continent as a whole. I equally congratulate the coaches of both teams who once more are showcasing the know-how of local technicians. On Wednesday, June

Dolphins 1 - 1 Sharks

Senegal 3 – 1 Burundi

Hayatou wants support for African teams representative at the ongoing FIFA Under 20 World Cup in New Zealand. Mali and Senegal on Sunday defeated Germany and Uzbekistan to qualify for the semifinal, a feat Hayatou described as heartwarming. “First and foremost, I want to congratulate the players who displayed physical, tac-

Wikki 0-0 Enyimba

Algeria 4 – 0 Seychelles

FIFA U-20 World Cup

Charles Ogundiya

Russia 0 – 1 Austria Ukraine 3 – 0 Luxembourg

SNIPPETS from Canada Fresh facts have emerged that the presence of some Nigeria Football Federation officials destabilised the Falcons technical crew as they were seen passing out instructions to the coaches who seem to lack the idea to curtail the Australians. The wide screen in the stadium also showed a

EURO 2016 - Qualifiers Slovenia 2 – 3 England

Canada NFF officials destabilise Falcons coaches

RESULTS

fy for the second round. “We are confident of the potential of the young Senegalese and Malians, and encourage them to make it to the end. “These re s u l t s confirm our crusade against age racketeering in young categories and the intensification of the various capacity building programs for African coaches.”

Malawi 1 – 2 Zimbabwe South Africa 0 – 0 Gambia COPA AMERICA Argentina 2 – 2 Paraguay Mexico 0 – 0 Bolivia Uruguay 1 – 0 Jamaica Chile 2 – 0 Ecuador U-20 WORLD CUP Brazil 0 – 0 Portugal (Pen. 3-1) Mali 1 – 1 Germany (Pen. 4-3) USA 0 – 0 Serbia (Pen. 5-6) Uzbekistan 0 – 1 Senegal

Tribute 55

NEW TELEGRAPH MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2015

Kunle Amuwo: When death offends Tunji Olaopa

e can never really get used to death and dying. And that is despite the fact that we have grown used to its inevitability. Death will always have a way of throwing us off balance, of mocking our long term friendship and solid relationships. The sting of death is not reduced whether we are lamenting the death of friends, neighbours, relatives or family; we do not grieve less even if the person is not connected by blood. All that matters is that the person whose finitude has been untimely abbreviated is a human person, and that such a person matters to us in some intimate or profound ways. Alfred Tennyson was a great poet, but he was very wrong about death: And a day less or more At sea or ashore, We die—does it matter when? Of course we die, but it matters when and it matters who. It matters so much to me that Prof. Joseph Kayode (JK) Ogunmoyela of Ifon, Ondo State and of FUTA just died, as it does to me and much more to a woman and her children right now that Professor Adekunle Amuwo is no more; it matters to me that death should have happened to JK and Amuwo at this material time; it matters to the study of political science that one of its leading lights in Africa (Amuwo) would cease from his earnest scholarship; and it matters to Nigeria that death chose this most unconscionable time to silence one of her most critical interlocutors. Kunle Amuwo was not just a mere person; he was a brother, a friend and a fellow labourer in the intellectual struggle for the reformation of Nigeria. Professor Amuwo, to all intents and purposes, was simply an intellectual institution. His death is all the more frightening and annoying because there wasn’t any hint of mortality about a month ago when we met at the Covenant University Town and Gown Seminar organised by the Faculty of the Social Sciences. I was not even aware all this while that he was the dean at Covenant University, or that he was instrumental to my invitation to give the lecture. My memory of his very large heart and warm spirit dates back to my undergraduate days at the Department of Political Science of the University of Ibadan as well as his intervention in, and contribution to, my doctoral ambition. As an undergraduate, it was easy to flock to his rich library which formed part of my introduction to the deeper nuances of political science discourses. In those days, the Faculty of the Social Sciences was the hotbed of a prodigious crossfertilization of ideas and policies. The researches of Professors Aboyade (Economics), Bill Dudley (Political Science), and Mabogunje (Geography) reverberate with their very presence in government policies and in our classrooms! Amuwo was part of the new generation carrying the burden and the baton of practical theorisation and conscientious teaching. As is now obvious to all—he didn’t falter. Sometime in 2003, we had a most momentous interaction at the University of Ibadan bookshop where we bumped into each other. I sadly told him then I might abandon my doctoral research again; for the third time. He would have none of that intellectual resignation! He literally begged me to rethink my decision. ‘Tunji,’ he said, ‘I know

Amuwo

you have what it takes to pursue this programme; you have the requisite materials and the intellect to put them together into a solid understanding of the civil service. Sustain the endurance trek, complete the doctorate and if you like, dedicate it to the department of political science here at UI.’ That encounter became a solid reminder every time I felt the research was becoming too demanding within the context of my civil service responsibilities. I had since been sucked deep into the complexities of civil service reforms and wasn’t fully apprised of Prof. Amuwo’s intellectual development after I left the University of Ibadan. But I kept tab as best as I could. I cannot therefore claim to be familiar with the substance of Prof. Amuwo’s scholarly contributions as I had left mainstream political science for public administration when his scholarship reached its maturation. What follows is therefore bound to be sketchy. Suffice it to say that over a long and illustrious career, Prof. Amuwo managed quite effortlessly to build an unimpeachable reputation as a concerned scholar for whom political science was the most conscientious disciplinary avenue for confronting our collective predicament as a nation. His scholarship, if I am to attempt a violent summary of the rich and multifaceted corpus, is a deep search for a framework that enables us re-theorize Africa’s uncomfortable position in the global order of things. That

Amuwo was always and constantly interrogating Africa’s colonial misadventure and the multiple consequences

Eliot

requires bringing the best analytical tools of political science and social science methodologies to bear on diverse issues like security, electoral policies, policy formulation, crisis management, political economy and even pan-Africanism. Amuwo was always and constantly interrogating Africa’s colonial misadventure and the multiple consequences this has generated for our postcolonial political progress (or the lack of it). For instance, Prof. Amuwo‘s critical scrutiny could not understand the continental adulation that has been poured on the NEPAD initiative in Africa. This socioeconomic action plan, in his reckoning, fails to adequately countenance the two major factors in Africa’s developmental impasse—the colonial intervention and the postcolonial leadership crisis in Africa. What is needed, according to him, is a more continent-friendly and non-extroverted framework that would cater for Africa’s peculiar predicament without ever assuming a delinking of Africa from global processes and flows. There is no critique of Africa’s postcolonial and governance palaver that would not recognise the immediate significance of theorizing the evolution of developmental states in Africa. And Prof. Amuwo’s sharp intellect saw how such an institutional framework could serve as one of the very means by which mal-development and bad governance could be arrested. The idea of the developmental state was therefore his entry point into the critical analysis of the evolution and performance of the Nigerian state and its venal elite configurations and practices. Amuwo’s major theoretical framework for confronting the Nigerian situation derives from the historical dichotomy between the society and the state. For him, the relationship between the state and the society presents a serious dilemma: In the first place, it is the evolution of a democratic developmental state that possesses the capacity to improve the lives of the citizens in real time; yet, state elites are assiduously ensuring that such a developmental state does not evolve. The consequence is that as long as the Nigerian state is not adequately capacitated, the Nigerian citizenry would continue to suffer the pangs of development. I share one fundamental passion with Professor Adekunle Amuwo: the urgency of reforming the Nigerian state. With the best of the social science

methodologies and framework, he had been concerned with the evolution of a strong reform programme that will initiate the birth of strong institutions around which the state can be enabled and possibly enforced to serve the people and the society. On the other hand, I have been minded from the beginning to inquire into the conditions for the possibility of one of those fundamental institutions of state—the Nigerian Civil Service. I have theorised in the firm belief that if the civil service fails as an institution that integrates the social contract, then we are confronted with the end of the Nigerian state as we know it. The successful reform of the civil service system in Nigeria is the beginning of realising Prof. Amuwo’s theoretical desire for the transformation of Nigeria into a developmental state. And yet that same man is gone into the ‘nothingness’ of death. Death offends our longing for immortality. When death steals into our homes and relationships, we see the end of everything; we see nothingness. But the nothingness of death should not translate into a nothing. For T. S. Eliot, ‘And to make an end is to make a beginning/The end is where we start from.’ What then does the end of Professor Kunle Amuwo’s sojourn in this realm of existence portend for political science scholarship in Nigeria? What does his demise say to the critical analysis of the Nigerian state? When delivering what would turn out to be his last major theoretical assignment—Covenant University’s 39th Public Lecture— Professor Amuwo signalled the significance of the ballot over the violence of the bullet. The Nigerian state has failed to become a public agency that could unite the people around itself through good governance. For him, Nigeria requires the intervention of the ballot to maintain its national sanity, and that has proven to be somewhat prophetic. Nigeria is transiting, and Professor Kunle Amuwo will not be there to witness the full fruition of our collective hope. But then his end ought to be where we start from; and that constitutes a fundamental challenge to political science scholarship in Nigeria: Can our policy and political reflections animate the new wave and dynamics that is defining political trajectory in Nigeria? •Olaopa (tunji.olaopa@commtech.gov.ng, tolaopa2003@ gmail.com) is Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Abuja.

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APC and the illusion of power

he events that played out in the National Assembly on 9th June, is a strong indication that our democracy is deepening and a political culture is gradually evolving. The attempt by the PDP in 2011 to interfere in the emergence of the leadership of the House of Representatives was rebuffed by majority of the members leading to the emergence of Aminu Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha as Speaker and deputy speaker respectively. The result was an independent House which acted as a critical check on the executive arm in the absence of a strong opposition then. In every political system, there are norms and conventions which define the political culture. These norms may not be part of the written constitution but are critical to giving effect to the letters of the constitution. Britain has no written constitution. It operates under norms and conventions which evolved over the years through the interpretation and practice of its laws, rules and regulations. Under the presidential system of government adapted by the 1999 constitution (as amended), there are ample provisions that entrench the doctrine of separation of powers. In practice, since 1999, the political elite has done everything in its power to streamline and concentrate power in a manner adverse to the intendment of the provisions of the constitution and the practice of democracy. The motive behind this power grab is to ensure that the Commonwealth is cornered and concentrated in the hands of a few. These few individuals cynically manipulate and game the system in such a way that the practice of democracy and the operation of its institutions become a sham. For instance, in 1998 a few individuals decided that the country was ripe for the Presidency of General Olusegun Obasanjo. Once the decision was taken, they mobilized the machinery for the manipulation of the electoral process to achieve the desired outcome. Thus, at the PDP Jos convention to elect the party’s flag bearer for the 1999 general elections, Nigerians were denied the opportunity of free and fair presidential primaries. The PDP political intelligentsia who had founded the party on lofty progressive principles were shoved aside to pave way for the establishment’s anointed candidate. The brilliant and well educated Dr. Alex I. Ekwueme lost the election to General Obasanjo. It was Nigeria’s waterloo. Emerging from many years of clueless military dictatorship, Nigeria would have had the benefit of a fresh beginning with an American style liberal democracy headed by an urbane and articulate president. A good foundation for democracy would have been properly laid. However General Obasanjo came and unleashed on the country a vengeance only an ex-death row inmate is capable of. His pardon became our albatross. Soon it was the turn of Nigerians and those who installed him

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Buhari

to ask for his pardon in any way they have offended him. Elected governors were treated like military administrators. One was kidnapped, crated and taken away by a political thug acting on the behest of the presidency. Some were impeached by a handful of members of their Houses of Assembly. The anti-graft agency EFCC turned into a modern era Gestapo. Political enemies were targeted while those considered loyal and friendly were spared. I spent one month in EFCC cell in Lagos, as a low-level state official, in Abia State, a collateral damage in Obasanjo’s feud with the former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. Double standard, political intimidations and assassinations thrived. Many fled and the populace was cowed into praise singing. By the time he was done with his legitimate eight year term, Obasanjo sought to extend his tenure in a most cynical and brazen manner but God delivered Nigeria from him. However, he had become so powerful that he didn’t need those “powerful” individuals who installed him to install his successor. He did that single handedly. This is the consequence of allowing a few individuals manipulate a system. Some would argue that political influence is part and parcel of the democratic culture. Yes that is true but not in the way it is practiced in our country. The practice is highly regulated in all functional democracies essentially to prevent the above scenario and to secure and serve the general good. It quickly turns into a crime when those involved are found to benefit materially or financially from such influence. Here the material gratifi-

cation is the main reason for seeking such influence and power. A situation where an individual’s claim to fame and stupendous fortune is his ability to manipulate and game the system for his benefit is grossly obscene and has no place in the practice of modern day democracy. It reduces the elected officials to mere puppets. This should be resisted by all democrats irrespective of party affiliation in the interest of our democracy. Under the presidential system of government, the legislature acts as the watch dog over the activities of the executive branch. How can the leadership of “the watchdog” be determined by those to be watched? And when the legislature acquices to this unholy alliance, is it not democracy and the constitution that is subverted? I think it is more like match-fixing which is a serious crime. Hiding under the veil of supremacy of party to subvert the will of the people expressed through their elected representatives is unacceptable and does not in any event, change the ultimate beneficiaries of the subversion. It is this desire to foreclose outcomes of political contests by a few individuals that has eroded the credibility of other critical institutions of state like the INEC and the justice system. How can President Muhammadu Buhari condone such an arrangement which short changes the masses? The election of the presiding officers of the National Assembly which took place on 9th June was scheduled for 10am and all those involved were aware of the time and venue. Some chose to attend a party event which is within their right. A quorum was formed and the exercise took place. Does their absence in any way invalidate the exercise? I do not think so. The president has rightly accepted the exercise as a constitutional process but expressed his preference for the

party candidates. This is the beauty of democracy. The president should go a step further to compel his party to accept the outcome as well. Their threat against high ranking officials of state is detrimental to the robust growth of our democracy and a slight on the office of the President. In the aftermath of the elections, the APC released a statement which read inter-alia “APC decried a situation in which some people based on nothing but inordinate ambition and lack of discipline and loyalty will enter into an unholy alliance with the same people whom the party and indeed the entire country worked hard to replace and sell out the hard won victory of the party”. Well the entire country did not work hard to replace its current elected representatives who took part in the election of their presiding officers on 9th June. The APC no doubt worked hard to replace them but their constituencies rejected the APC candidates in those constituencies just as the PDP candidates were rejected in some constituencies. That is the nature of politics. What should be of concern to the APC now is how to foster unity and create bi-partisan co-operation in the National Assembly. This is critical to the legislative agenda of the President since from experience, not all members of APC will share the party’s position on every national issue that needs legislative approval. This bi-partisan cooperation cannot thrive in the kind of atmosphere the APC wants to create in the National Assembly and will not serve our national interest. The APC should come out of its victory mode and embrace the hard part of this enterprise which is governance. I have argued elsewhere that the APC victory is good for our country and I still maintain that position. One thing the leaders of the party must bear in mind is that Nigerians have gained a lot of experience and traction in the last sixteen years and will not lower the banner of vigilance for anybody or party. There is a saying in my village that the cane deployed in correcting the errant traveler is usually kept handy for the next errant traveler.

Here’s to my lovely wife, Adaku. . .

n 1st December 1990, nearly 25 years ago, I took her to the altar after some eight years of friendship. On 21st June 2015, she turns 50! She has spent 33 years of her life with me as a friend and wife. These are the best years of my life. We both come from strong Catholic background. Her late father, Chief Vincent Nwakibu was a devout Christian and a Papal Knight. My own father, Sir T.S Odom, is a Knight of St. John. But as you all know, it takes a woman to plant God firmly in the home. She has done this creditably, ensuring that the

family does not miss the morning prayers no matter what time or part of the world we are. For these and numerous other blessings, the family in a rare departure from our policy of “no loud celebrations” to mark family landmarks, decided to roll out the drums to mark her 50th birthday. So on 4th July 2015, we shall drink and dance in celebration of this extraordinary woman at the International Conference Centre Abuja. As you read this I am certain you have already received your invites. See you there!

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