Wednesday, september 14, 2016

Jonathan spent N65bn on travels in one year –FG Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

T

he Federal Government has disclosed that the admin-

istration of President Goodluck Jonathan spent N65 billion on travels in one year whereas it spent only N18 billion on roads across the country in the same period.

The administration, it was further alleged, also left N67 billion debt on fertilizer procurement alone for its successor.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who made the allegations yesterday during a session

with newsmen at his Oro residence in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, also lamented that Nigeria has, so far,

Arik suspends operations over insurance renewal }2

lost about $1 billion to the new wave of insurgency in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Mohammed said it was such revelations that fuelled the war against CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Sanctity Of Truth

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS /newtelegraph /newtelegraph

Vol. 3 No. 938

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

NDLEA recovers N31m drug from S'Africa-based Nigerian }8

IG moves 215 SARS operatives out of Lagos }6

LUTH workers gear up for another strike

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com @newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

N150

80-year-old dies in Lagos fire }8

No policy yet to end recession – Saraki Idris

}5

Adewole

Scene of the fire

}2

‘

‘

Banjo

In all the years I have been in politics, I have not seen this type of suffering

Says incompetent ministers must go Senate to summon Buhari’s economic team

Militants blow up NPDC pipeline }4

Kachikwu

Say more critical assets to go down Police detectives arrest 54 militants in Edo

L-R: Presiding Pastor, Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Dr. Tunde Bakare; Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and President Muhammadu Buhari, in Daura, Katsina State…yesterday.

Biafra: MASSOB’s anniversary turns bloody … four killed in Onitsha, 1,000 arrested in Enugu lBuhari to youths: Forget Biafra agitation

}5 & 41

Stress reduces chances of conception –Study }7

2

NEWS

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

No policy yet to end recession – Saraki

Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

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resident of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday said that he was yet to see the right policies being put in place to end the recession Nigeria is experiencing.

He said that the Economic Team of the President would be held accountable for the recession.

Saraki said the Senate would summon the Presidential Economic Team on resumption next week for full briefing.

At that session, he vowed to ensure that Ni-

gerians are told the truth about the economy, adding that the federal legislators would advise President Muhammad Buhari ‘accordingly’ on any member of the Economic Team that is perceived as not doing well.

The Senate President noted that since his involvement in politics in

1999, he has never seen the type of suffering that Nigerians are going through at the moment.

Saraki served as a Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Economic Matters in 2000, elected governor in 2003 and served till 2011 when he was elected to the Senate.

President Muhammadu Buhari (middle), with members of National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), during their visit to the president in Daura, Katsina State…yesterday

Two little girls resting at the Teacher's Village Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri… yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Saraki, who spoke with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, after observing the Eid-elKabir prayers, expressed concern that the current economic recession is biting people across party, religious and socio-economic classes.

He told Buhari that there is need to create a broader and bolder economic plan with input from both legislative and executive arms of government, the private sector and professional groups.

All the groups, he said, must work together to put in place interventions that will create more jobs, strengthen the naira, bring more investment into the country and attain fiscal responsibility.

He said the major preoccupation of the Senate, upon resumption on September 20, would be on finding solutions to the economic recession.

“We are going to have an exhaustive and comprehensive debate on fixing the country’s economy when we resume next week. Already, all the economic priority bills are being analysed and collated so that we can hit the ground running when we resume. We understand the pains that Nigerians are feeling and we do not take this for granted.

“Additionally, the Senate intends to invite everybody involved in the management of the economy to address the Nigerian people through the parliament on the steps that are being taken to get us out of this mess. We fully intend to hold all those involved in the economic management of the country accountable. However, we will do so in a manner that is transparent and

Arik suspends operations over insurance renewal Wole Shadare

N

igeria’s flag carrier airline, Arik Air, said it had alerted all air travellers of a temporary disruption to its operations, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal.

The airline said that it was working round the clock to resolve the necessary documentation, which has been a challenge due to the long holidays.

The management of the airline said all flights of the airline had been cancelled for Tuesday, September 13, adding that the airline would be getting in touch with passengers to provide an

update on rescheduling their flights.

The Communications Manager of the airline, Mr. Ola Adebanji, said that the disruption was temporary, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal.

The airline said: “The situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such a time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.

“All customers are kindly advised to contact Arik Air’s Call Centre (012799999), airport or city ticket offices or visit the airline’s Website (www. arikair.com) for further

updates. Passengers are also advised to check with the airline regarding the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport.

“Arik Air’s Group CEO, Dr. Michael ArumemiIkhide, wishes to advise and assure the public, its customers, stakeholders and partners that we are fully committed to returning to our normal operations and minimise any unfortunate inconvenience to our passengers.

Where flights have been cancelled, the airline will notify passengers through SMS and, in such cases, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative flight as soon as normal flight operations resume.”

The Group CEO apolo-

gised and appealed (on behalf of the airline) for the understanding of passengers while it works diligently to resume normal operations at the earliest time.

Meanwhile, scores of passengers across the country and from New York, Johannesburg and London booked on Nigerian Arik Air were left stranded following the inability of the airline to airlift them to their destinations.

Idowu Showunmi, who called New Telegraph from London, expressed his frustration, saying they were left stranded.

Many others called from Accra, New York and across West Africa, saying they had been at their various airports

since 7a.m.with no flight in sight to take them to their destinations.

Another passenger, who spoke from Abuja, expressed anger over the situation.

Before the announcement yesterday, none of the airline’s aircraft operated to any destination.

€40.8m

The estimated transfer value of Roberto Firmino of Liverpool in 2016.

Source: 101greatgoals.com

2

The number of refugees and people in refugee-like situation assisted by UNHCR in Montenegro at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

beneficial to the country as a whole,” he said.

Saraki said the Senate would advise the president to do away with some of his cabinet members perceived to be incompetent.

He said: “I can assure Nigerians that we in the Senate are not going to cover anybody up; Nigerians would know the truth and we would ensure that solutions are going to come and where people are not capable of delivering, we will advise the president accordingly on what needs to be done.

“This matter has gone beyond what they call ‘man knows man’; this matter affects everyone and nobody is too large or big to be sacrificed in this process. People are truly suffering and I think for the period that I have been in politics I have not seen this type of suffering.”

When asked if it would be possible to give Nigerians a time frame to exit the recession, Saraki said any such promises would be insincere.

His words: “I am not going to join anybody in saying that the thing will be over by tomorrow, one month or so. No, I am not going to do that because I am not convinced yet that we have put the right policies in or the right laws or the right solution. All I am concerned about right now is let us find the solution, let us agree on those solutions and let us hold those who are responsible for implementing those solutions accountable.

“Once we have agreed on the solution, then I will be able to say yes, with those solutions, then we are going to get out. Like I said, we have a serious financial deficit in our budget; we are banking on external borrowing, almost $3 billion, but I don’t think one dollar has come in. So, if one dollar has not come in, how are you going to finance the budget?

So when you start giving a timeframe, I don’t think we are being sincere. It is as we implement the solutions that we can now say this is the possible time frame. But for now, the solutions, in my own view, have not been put in place.

“And one of those indices is what I called confidence; there is a lack of confidence, whether you want to accept it or not.

People are not investing in our economy and with that, we are going to have challenges. We believe these are the areas we as Senate will be focusing on, to have a robust debate.

We are going to bring in people who are resourceful to come and tell us the way out.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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NEWS

Militants blow up NPDC pipeline

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

lSay more critical assets to go down lPolice detectives arrest 54 militants in Edo Dominic Adewole, Cajetan Mmuta and Ola James

T

he Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate yesterday blew up the AfiesereIwhrenene major delivery line in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

The pipeline leads to the UPS/UQCC being operated by Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) shorelines.

NPDC is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The militant group, which disowned foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, three weeks ago, as the middleman in the ongoing negotiation between the militants and Federal Government, bombed the delivery line at about 1a.m. yesterday.

The spokesperson of the militant group, Aldo Agbalaja, who claimed responsibility for the attack, in a signed statement, said the militants would continue to bomb oil and gas installations until the Niger Delta questions are answered.

The militants warned residents living around major oil pipelines in the upland region of the state to immediately vacate the areas or face the consequences.

"As a mark of our faith to totally ground the Nigerian oil economy, the gallant "OPUDO" strike forces brought down the Afiesere- Iwhrenene major delivery line in Ughelli

North, leading to the UPS/ UQCC operated by NPDC/ Shorelines at about 1a.m. today, (Tuesday) September 13, 2016.

"The Niger Delta is not a conquered territory and our people have never succumbed to intimidation before, rather, we match force with the oppressor's brutality. The Nigerian government should know that the people of this part are not fools, who will not be able to see when they are being treated with disdain.

"The High Command of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, once again, says to the deceptive and untrustworthy Nigerian government and its cowardly armed forces that our people shall not deal with you on your terms, but on mutual terms," the militants stated in a statement.

The group threatened that more delivery lines would soon go down and its 'Operation Crocodile Tears' would persist, unless the Federal Government dropped its deceptive, master-servant and divideand-rule strategy against the people of the region.

The group lamented that major oil and gas facilities, which should have been destroyed, were still functioning and wondered why indigenes and residents of the oil bearing communities turned deaf ears to their warnings to vacate to safer places.

"Our patience is running out on our people living close to major oil and gas facilities in the upland

No policy yet to end recession – Saraki CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

The Senate President said it was equally important to begin to formulate and actualise both legislative frameworks and executive policies to minimise the effects of the recession on Nigerians, stating that it was also important for the parliament to start asking questions that will lead to plausible solutions.

According to him, “We need to ascertain our actual level of borrowing and what effect the devaluation of the naira has had on our economy. Doing this will help us to understand where we are, so that we can determine where exactly we want to go from here.

“In every crisis, there is always an opportunity for positive reforms. In this regard, in order to solve this crisis, all hands must be on deck. Ideas should be

sourced from all quarters.

All arms of government, people of different political beliefs, from all socioeconomic backgrounds and every part of Nigeria must work together at this time.”

He called on political leaders across the country to shelve their differences in order to get the economy back on track.

“What we all need to understand is that this recession is not only an All Progressives Congress (APC) problem or a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) problem. This recession does not identify with any party. Hence, we need to tap into the expertise of our best economic minds – wherever they are around the world – to come up with plans that both the executive and the legislature can evaluate and implement,” Saraki stated.

areas of our region, the more critical assets of the oil sector are still alive because we are being careful not to hurt our people,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 54 militants from the riverine communities of the Niger Delta have been arrested by a crack team of policemen deployed from Force Headquarters, Abuja, to different locations in the last three days.

It will be recalled that three former militant leaders were arrested last weekend with two AK47 assault rifles in Edo State.

The militants were said to have invaded the state

through the riverine communities in the state.

They were arrested in a popular hotel in Benin, the state capital, and Okada town in Ovia South West council area even as top chiefs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempted to secure their release, but it was resisted by security agents.

It was gathered that during the clampdown on the armed group in the oil-rich states, several dangerous weapons, including AK47 and pump actions guns and about N9 million were recovered from the militants.

Members of the militia group were said to have in-

vaded Edo State from the neighbouring states with a view to causing trouble during the postponed September 10 governorship election.

One of our correspondents learnt that the ongoing covert operation of the police crack team was at the instance of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

This followed covert plot uncovered by security operatives that hoodlums from the Niger Delta had planned to unleash terror on Edo State, which led to the sudden postponement of the governorship election last week.

Besides, the police detectives were being assisted by the intelligence unit of the Nigerian Army and the Department of the State Services (DSS).

New Telegraph’s findings showed that 13 of the suspected militants have been listed for arraignment before a high court in Benin today.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole had earlier raised the alarm alleging the registration of more than 8,000 militants by governors of states in the region and the invasion of the state by the militants also on the invitation of the PDP leaders in the state.

The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Henry Idahagbon, who confirmed the arrest, said “some of the suspected militants will be charged to court today.”

L-R: Deputy Director (Foreign Liaison), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Commodore Aliyu Hassan; Defence Advisor, Col. Michael Shatamuka; Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Mr. Ubale Maska and Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, during a visit by members of the DIA to the NCC head office in Abuja… recently.

Jonathan spent N65bn on travels in one year –FG CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

corruption in the country.

He noted that the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s efforts to correct the misdeeds of the past government could not be felt immediately because the rots in the system were too colossal for short term solutions.

The minister said that the Federal Government should not be castigated for its anti-corruption crusade being perceived as against members of the opposition, pointing out that the probe at present is about those linked with the diversion of funds meant for procurement of arms.

His words: “People say we should not talk about what happened yesterday, but it is pertinent to learn, understand and move away from past mistakes.

In the whole of 2014, the government then expended about N18 billion on roads, but spent N65 billion on travels. This year alone, we have spent N70 billion on roads.

“People say why are these steps not being felt immediately; it is because the last government refused to pay contractors

between 2012 and 2015 even when crude was selling at $100 per barrel. Out of the N70 billion being owed Julius Berger, we have paid N14 billion. If government was not owing Julius Berger in the past and we paid N14 billion to them, you would have seen them busy on the roads.”

According to the minister, about $2.1 billion, which was allegedly embezzled, did not only allow the insurgents to be in control of 14 out of 20 local governments in Borno State, but led to the incalculable loss of lives of many innocent Nigerians and degraded the nation's armed forces.

On the $34.1 million frozen in the accounts linked to former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the minister stated that the probe was not initiated by the government.

According to him, "Those being prosecuted today are being prosecuted for what reason? The answer is obvious; it is about what happened to the funds allocated to fight Boko Haram. As at that time, 14 out of 20 LGAs were under the control of the insurgents.

"We were all wondering what could be happening to our gallant military men who had excelled outside the country helping others, but could not defend our territorial boundaries. In the process, the Pandora box was opened. So, it is only the budget voted for defence that is being investigated.

So it is not about going out to investigate members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or Mrs. Patience Jonathan. In her case, she was the one who came out when her aides or those of her husband were being investigated.”

He said the current hardship would have been ameliorated if there had been a conscious investment in infrastructure.

He blamed successive governments for allegedly ignoring the needs for massive investments in infrastructure and reserves as he urged the populace to bear with the current administration that has decided to do things right.

His words: "We salute the courage and perseverance of Nigerians. We know what they are going through. It is not about trading blames; it is about

those who used this or that. We had for long the economy centred around one commodity. Our dependence on oil formed over 60 per cent of our Gross Domestic Products (GDP). When the oil price crashed, we had no reserves to cushion the effects. We did not invest in infrastructure.

"Although people said we should stop talking about the past, we believe that proper accounts must be made. We are hampered by the Niger Delta instability and we have, in the process, lost about $1 billion. But despite all these, major state capitals will be linked with effective rail system very soon.

"The kind of leadership we have in Nigeria today is by example. No minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for instance, can today fly in First Class even if he has the wherewithal to do so. He must fly in the economic class. So we must all sacrifice. Do you know that a pharmacist who sells fake drug is worse than a Permanent Secretary who embezzled?

The said pharmacist can send you to your early graves."

NEWS

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

5

Biafra: MASSOB’s anniversary turns bloody

Okegwo Kenechukwu and Charles Onyekwere

A

t least four persons were allegedly shot dead yesterday by a combined team of the army, police, civil defence and drug law enforcement agents along Onitsha/Owerri Road as members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) marked her 17th year of agitation for self-determination in Anambra State.

Our correspondent, who monitored the anniversary celebration in Onitsha, reports that the group marched through Obodoukwu Road, near Ogbo-Efere Market to Owerri

Road towards Gaius Eze Street, Awada and while approaching Enamel Ware Industry, was accosted by a contingent of the joint task force who were fully armed.

The leader of the group alleged that the security operatives fired sporadically in the air to disperse the over 20,000 crowd of MASSOB members, who were marching peacefully along the road.

While MASSOB members on procession were scampering for safety, four people were shot dead while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries and bullet wounds.

Briefing newsmen shortly after the incident, MASSOB spokesman,

Mazi Chris Mocha, said that the security operatives swooped on the Biafran youths who were celebrating the anniversary of the Biafran agitation, which began 17 years ago.

According to him, the task force was coming from different locations firing as they were coming.

He said as at the press time, four people who were gunned down during the first attack were immediately carried away by the joint task force while others injured, who could not escape again, were arrested and thrown into open vans and taken to unknown destination.

According to him, a number of undisclosed persons, running into hun-

dred, were also arrested.

But when contacted, the Police Public Relation Officer, Mrs. Nkiru Nwode, confirmed the arrest of 14 people, who she alleged conducted themselves in a manner that would cause breach of peace.

She, however, denied that four persons were shot dead. She said: “We did not kill anybody. We effected arrest of 14 persons who conducted themselves in a manner that will likely cause breach of peace. We did not kill anybody. I beg you,” the PPRO stated.

However, Religious Administrator of MASSOB, Rev. Apostle Ezichukwu, claimed that more than 50 members were arrested with 20 missing.

Members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) celebrating the 17th anniversary of the movement in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State... yesterday.

Ezichukwu, who said that the procession was peaceful, wondered why the police arrested members of the group.

He alleged that security personnel from the Army, Police, Navy and NSCDC were detaining MASSOB members at the Army Barracks, Onitsha, police headquarters, Awka and other police stations.

Also speaking, the Anambra North Zonal Leader of MASSOB, Mr. Benjamin Omenka, appealed for the release of those arrested and urged members of the group to be patient.

Business and vehicular movement were disrupted for several hours in Onitsha and its environs as visitors from within and outside the state were scampering for safety following sporadic gunshots from various directions by anti-riot team of the joint task force.

The security operatives yesterday patrolled the commercial town from Bridge Head to Nkpor, from Nkpor to Main Market, from Main Market to Awka Road and from Owerri Road to Upper Iweka.

In Enugu, at least 1,000 members of MASSOB and the Biafra Independent Movement (BIM) were arrested in Nsukka area of Enugu State by security agents.

The members, who wore Biafra uniforms and caps, and marched towards Nsukka town to celebrate

the 17th anniversary of the movement, were intercepted at Ede-Oballa, about two kilometres to Nsukka town by combined team of security personnel.

The group, comprising men, women, the aged and the young were later released and directed to go home after negotiation between security and leaders of the movement.

Addressing journalists, the Zonal Leader of MASSOB in Enugu, Mr. James Omeke, stated that the movement was celebrating its 17th years since the movement came into existence through Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.

Omeke said that when they reached Ede-Oballa, they were stopped by combined team of army and police who collected their caps, flags and ordered them to go home after keeping them for three hours.

“When they stopped us, our members, numbering about 1,000 were searched and no arms or any dangerous weapon was found from anybody.

“We stayed there for about three hours before they told us to go home knowing that the march was non-violent and peaceful,” he said.

The zonal leader said the movement anticipated that the celebration would be interrupted by security agencies, adding they were not afraid because the movement had been non-violent since it started 17 ago years

by Uwazuruike.

‘No work, no pay’: LUTH workers Buhari to youths: Forget Biafra agitation gear up for another strike Anule Emmanuel Abuja

Appolonia Adeyemi

B

arely two months after health workers at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) called off their industrial action over some disagreements with the government, another major strike appears to be brewing over the hospital management’s decision to implement Federal Government’s ‘No work no pay’ policy.

Those privy to the development alleged that the forceful collection of workers’ signature by the management was a ploy to implement the policy and tactically scheme some of the workers out of the payroll.

According to the leader of one of the unions, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the very crude method of forcefully collecting the signatures of thousands of LUTH staff demonstrates the desperation of the management to implement the ‘No work no pay’ policy in LUTH.” Following the delivery of the circular from the office of the Secretary to the Gov-

ernment of the Federation (SGF), LUTH management was said to have devised its own method to bring it to the notice of its staff by collecting their signatures, a development that has, however, pitched some staff against the management of the hospital.

Once the collection of signature commenced, the union leader said only workers that were loyal to the management appended their signatures, with majority dissenting.

The moment it became clear that many workers were no longer signing, those collecting the signature were said to have passed an empty notebook, directing the LUTH employees to append their signatures.

The source said: “When the exercise books passed round for the signature became filled up with signatures of some staff, those that signed were then told that they just signed as having seen the ‘No work No pay’ circular.”

Another source wondered why LUTH management was desperate to make staff sign to have seen

the circular, saying that the circular was similarly delivered to other federal hospitals, which so far have not forced their own staff for such signatures.

According to the source, although the management is expected to look into several demands by various staff before it, it has failed to do so. It has, however, prioritised the implementation of the ‘No work no pay’ policy.

It will be recalled that nurses, under the auspices of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), were on seven-week strike that was called off only recently.

They went on strike over non-promotion of their members, poor working conditions, among other factors.

A reliable source also informed New Telegraph that the union leaders are currently investigating why some nurses are yet to be paid their salaries.

0.14%

The percentage of individuals using the internet of Angola in 2001.

Source: Itu.int

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has asked restive youth calling for the disintegration of Nigeria under the aegis of Biafra to forget it.

The president stated this yesterday in Daura, his hometown, where he marked the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

Buhari, who received 100 members of the National Youth Corps (NYSC) serving in Katsina State, said there was no point preaching issues of discord, but working on things that would unite the country.

He commended the NYSC scheme, which, according to him, has contributed immensely to uniting youths around the country.

The president said the scheme has creditably promoted national unity and cohesion by exposing young people to the uniqueness and cultural diversity of Nigeria.

3,000

The total surface area (in sq. km) of Micronesia in 2012.

Source: Un.org

In a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Buhari specifically told the corps members from the South-Eastern states: "Tell your colleagues who want Biafra to forget about it.”

He urged them to remain focused in life, pursue their dreams and reject those fanning embers of discord and disintegration of Nigeria.

The president, who specially recognised corps members from the Niger Delta and South-Eastern states serving in Daura, praised the vision of former President Yakubu Gowon in setting up the scheme in 1973.

He said: "As a military commander, I walked from Degem, a border town between the north and the east, to the border between Cameroon and Nigeria.”

Buhari called on youths to make Nigeria great again through pursuit of knowledge, patriotism and commitment to values that promote national unity.

"I asked for those from the other extreme of Nigeria because I very much appreciate the NYSC scheme and whenever I see General Gowon, I always thank him

for that.

“I walked on my foot for most of the 30 months that we fought the NigeriaBiafra civil war, in which at least two million Nigerians were killed.

“We were made by our leaders to go and fight Biafra not because of money or oil, because oil was not critical factor then, but because of one Nigeria," the president added.

He noted further: "So, if leaderships at various levels failed, it was not the fault of the rest of Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another.

“So please tell your colleagues that we must be together to build this country.

It is big enough for us and potentially big enough in terms of resources. ''Those who work hard will earn a respectable living. I have seen this country, I fought for this country and I will continue to work for the unity of this country,” the president said.

In his remarks, Mr. Egbewumi Adebolu, the Corps Liaison Officer in Daura, thanked the president for his personal gifts of cows, bags of rice and cash to corps members in the community for Salah celebration.

6

News|NATIONAL

Shakeup in SARS: IGP moves 215 operatives out of Lagos …Kaduna, Abuja commands affected

Juliana Francis

T

he InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the immediate transfer of over 215 policemen attached to the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Adeniji Adele, Lagos.

The policemen were said to have received the news through their colleagues at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The complete list of policemen transferred was sent via internet to the affected officers.

The police signal showed names of affected policemen and where they had been transferred to. The signal was dated September 9, 2016 and signed by Commissioner of Police, in charge of welfare. The

signal is expected to reach Lagos today.

The transfer and posting, which came while many of them, who are Muslims were celebrating Sallah festival, was greeted with mix feelings.

It was gathered that the same mass transfer and posting is being replicated at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) Annex, Adeniji Adele, Lagos State, where over 50 FSARS were transferred. The number of those affected in Lagos Command is over 165.

The 50 operatives from FSARS were all moved to OndoStatePoliceCommand.

Other commands affected in the mass transfer of SARS operatives are Abuja and Kaduna.

The SARS operatives are expected to start leaving in batches to their new places of posting.

A police source said that all the affected policemen are between the

ranks of corporals, sergeants and inspectors.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni said he was not aware of the mass transfer.

The IGP, Idris didn’t pick his call or reply text message of our correspondent. The Force Image maker, Don Awunah, also didn’t pick his calls.

A police source revealed that senior police officers (SPO) might be the next policemen that would be moved.

It was further gathered that none of them was posted to SARS department in their new stations.

The source said: “They were all removed from SARS. They were moved to other departments and duties.”

One of the policemen described the move as a total clean up of SARS operatives in the Lagos State Command.

Another alleged that only 20 SARS operatives were left behind, awaiting arrival of new SARS operatives, from other states.

Some of the policemen were transferred to Plateau, Ekiti, Kogi, Ebonyi and other states.

The reason for the mass transfer is not known but an operative, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said: “They said SARS operatives were no longer working and appeared to have downed tools.

They also accused us of hobnobbing with armed robbers.”

While some of the SARS operatives were said to have been demoralized by the forthcoming announcement, others said it was good riddance to Lagos State Police Command.

One said: “They say we don’t fight armed robbers, but we do. This is despite the fact that we don’t have equipment to work with.

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun (middle), among children, during the 2016 Eid-el-Kabir Kiddies Party at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta... yesterday

40%

The percentage of the population of Cote d’Ivoire under 15 years in 2012.

Source: Un.org

2,927

The number of deaths (per 100,000) due to Alzheimer’s Disease in District of Illinois State in 2010.

Source: Alz.org

44.26%

The percentage of expatriates’ football players in Germany in 2012-2013 season.

Source: Football-observatory.com

Jonathan meets IBB, Abdulsalami in Minna Dan Atori MINNA

F

ormer President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday paid an unscheduled visit to former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar at their Hilltop residences in Minna.

It was gathered that Jonathan arrived first at the residence of Babangida at about 11am and

spent about one hour before going to the residence of Abubakar opposite IBB’s house.

Jonathan was accompanied by former Minister of State, Finance, Bashar Yuguda from Zamfara State and former Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadome from Edo State.

IBB received former President Jonathan upstairs at his private living room as against the common area down stairs where he usually received visitors.

The detail of the dis-

cussion between the former leaders was not made known but IBB and Jonathan, it was gathered held a closed door talk for about 40 minutes upstairs as Yuguda and Oghiadome waited at the living room down stairs.

Sources hinted that despite the fact that the detail of the meeting with IBB was not disclosed, the discussion may not be unconnected with the postponed Edo governorship election as well as the 2019 general elections and the state of affairs in the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was also learnt that the duo of IBB and Abdulsalami in their separate meetings with Jonathan raised concerns over the spate of bombings going on in the Niger Delta region by the Niger Delta Avengers and the need to curb the situation.

It was observed that all the time the former President was with the former Nigeria Military leaders, no visitors were allowed into the houses, as he left Minna about 1pm.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria leads audit team on River Niger depletion Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

F

ollowing threat of an imminent dry up of River Niger, member countries of the River Niger Basin have constituted a body, known as Cooperative Environmental Audit Project on River Niger to be headed

by Nigeria’s Office of Auditor General of Federation (OAGF). The project is aimed at investigating and proffering a possible solution to the problem.

Other members of the river basin are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’ Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Niger.

Confirming the constitution of the committee in Abuja yesterday at the opening of the 6th African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions Working Group on Environmental Auditing (AFROSAI-WGEA), the

Acting Auditor General of the Federation, Mrs. Florence Anyanwu, said that the water level depletion was noticeable at the Onitsha end of the river.

Anyanwu said: “Right now, if you have been towards the Onitsha area of the Niger River, you will realise that the river is drying up gradually. In some countries, it has actually dried up. And that is about the longest river and Nigeria represents the largest coastal area of the river.

“The river represents a lot of economic activities; a whole lot of prospective provision of electricity. There are a lot of navigation activities.

So, it is very relevant and very important. Even in terms of agriculture.

So, we looked at it and said that we don’t want to stay back, wait and watch what happened to Lake Chad also happen to River Niger.”

NCC discovers 41 illegal Internet Service Providers

T

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has discovered 41 fake and unlicenced service providers operating in the country’s telecommunications landscape.

The regulatory body made this known in its ”2016 Q1 Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Reports”, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

It said there was compliance monitoring regarding the engagement of unlicenced service providers, providing internet/data access in Nigeria.

The NCC said that fol-

lowing the commissions’ surveillance and intelligence gathering, it discovered that some financial institutions engaged the illegal providers for their internet and data services.

According to the report, in line with the commission’s compliance processes, these banks were requested to provide the names and details of their service providers.

“Arising from this compliance check, the commission has discovered that 41 companies engaged were operating without the requisite authorization.

Masari directs security agents to stop illegal food export Ahmed Sani KATSINA

K

atsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, has accused the Customs and other security agents of aiding illegal exportation of food items from the state through KatsinaNiger Republic borders.

Masari made the accusation yesterday while receiving the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, during the annual courtesy, ‘Hauwan Bariki’ at Government House, Katsina.

He said illegal exportation of food items had created artificial increase of prices of food items and its scarcity in

the state.

Masari said that if security agents at border areas would stop illegal importation of rice, there is no reason to allow exportation of food items from the state.

“It is on record that smugglers of rice are killed daily but no record shows of arrest of those perpetrating illegal exportation of food items.”

The governor said those behind illegal exportation of food items should be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.

Masari, who reviewed security situation of the state, further directed security agents to rise towards addressing problem of miscreants popularly known as ‘Kauraye’.

7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Resident doctors to FG: Implement pending health issues before Sept 30 Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

T

he National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) yesterday gave federal and state governments till September 30 to implement all pending issues affecting the doctors.

This was as the association chided governments at all levels over the poor state of healthcare in the country, describing the situation as pitiable.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the association’s 26th Annual General Meeting in Enugu, newly elected President

of the association, Dr. John Ugochukwu Onyebueze, said the resident doctors were obsessed with the infrastructural condition of the hospitals as well as the penchant of many chief medical directors of teaching hospitals to disorganise the structure of the residency programme.

Onyebueze, flanked by the General Secretary, Dr. Aneke Emmanuel, Treasurer, Dr. Aloysius Ifedinso Ugwuoke, the Public Relations Officer, Dr. Asinobi Ugoeze, as well as the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital chapter Chairman of NARD, Dr. Chukwuma Oraegbunam, declared that the association ‘can-

not guarantee industrial harmony in the health sector if this persists beyond the payment of September salaries.’

He outlined the burning issues to include improvement in infrastructure, urgent action against poliomyelitis and Lassa fever as well as immediate release and implementation of the report on the Residency Training Programme.

He said: “Are you talking about the rickety beds in the accident and emergency wards? We do not even have gloves and emergency tools. We do not have pens to write and make prescriptions.

We are saying that this thing must not contin-

ue.”

He added that “the Federal Government should expedite action on the release of the bailout funds for state tertiary health institutions as agreed earlier.

“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, ensure the migration of all our members to the IPPIS platform.

“Centres that are not deducting pension contributions from our members should immediately commence such, while all centres should ensure full remittance of deducted contributions of our members to the Pension Fund Administrators.

“In line with extant labour laws, we reject in its entirety, the ‘no work, no pay’ rule as currently being applied by the Federal Ministry of Health.”

He also decried the unjust sacking of doctors, the poor remunerations of resident doctors in State Tertiary Health Institutions (STHIs) with most having to endure many months without salaries, while others have been confined to irregular emoluments of varying percentages even in the present arduous economic conditions.

“Prominent among them are LAUTECH Ogbomosho, LTH Osogbo, NDUTH Okolobiri, ABSUTH Aba,

IMSUTH Orlu, KSSH Lokoja, ESUTH Enugu, EKSUTH Ado-Ekiti”, he said, calling on the ‘erring managements of the above hospitals to immediately and unconditionally reinstate all unjustly sacked doctors.’

He lamented that ‘our members in FMC Owerri, are yet to receive their December 2015 salaries despite several assurances by all parties that it would be paid.’

NARD, however, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for their continuous intervention towards bringing stability to the health sector.

$34.1m: CACOL demands Jonathan’s prosecution Temitope Ogunbanke

T

he Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has asked Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, to explain how she came about $34.1million in her account as well as the ownership of a luxurious hotel worth N10 billion as a civil servant without holding any government position.

CACOL in a statement issued yesterday by its Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other antigraft agencies to investigate and prosecute the former First Lady.

“How did she get the mon-

The traditional way of roasting the sacrificial rams in Sokoto, Called ‘’ Tarenni’’ … yesterday PHOTO: NAN

Stress reduces chances of conception – Study Appolonia Adeyemi

D

etermined to tackle infertility in women, scientists have confirmed that stress in women reduces their probability of conception.

This was the finding of a study recently published in the journal, ‘Annals of Epidemiology.’

University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences epidemiologist, Kira Taylor and her UofL and Emory University colleagues, found that women who reported feeling more stressed during their ovulatory window, were approximately 40 per cent less likely to conceive during that month than other less stressful months.

Similarly, women who reported feeling more stressed than other women, were about 45 per cent less likely to conceive.

Taylor said: “I hope

the results of this study serve a wake-up call for both physicians and the general public that psychological health and wellbeing is just as important as other more commonly accepted risk factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or obesity when trying to conceive.”

Conception is the initiation of pregnancy, or when an egg and sperm form a union. It normally occurs in the ampulla of the uterine tube. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which conception occurs outside the body.

According to Taylor; “These findings add more evidence to a very limited body of research investigating whether perceived stress can affect fertility.

“The results imply that women who wish to conceive may increase their chances by taking active steps towards stress reduction such as exercis-

ing, enrolling in a stress management programme or talking to a health professional.”

The study also found that women, who did conceive, experienced an increase in stress at the end of the month in which they became pregnant.

A report in the sciencedaily, an online website said by Taylor’s hypothesizes, this could be the result of two factors; women became stressed after taking a home pregnancy test and learning they were pregnant, and/or most likely the increased stress was the result of changes in hormone levels caused by pregnancy itself.

“Some individuals are skeptical that emotional and psychological attributes may be instrumental in affecting fertility,” Taylor added.

In the study, 400 women, 40-years-old and younger, who were sexu-

ally active, recorded their daily stress levels measured on a scale from one to four (low to high). The diaries also contained information regarding menstruation, intercourse, contraception, alcohol, caffeine and smoking.

Urine samples were also collected throughout the study, and women were followed until they became pregnant or until the study ended, for an average of eight menstrual cycles.

Researchers calculated mean stress levels during each phase of the menstrual cycle, with day 14 as the estimated time of ovulation. They found the negative effect of stress on fertility was only observed during the ovulatory window, and was true after adjustments for other factors like age, body mass index, alcohol use and frequency of intercourse.

ey and even the ones stacked in her account? That is what Nigerians want to know. As far as we can understand, she didn’t hold any government position. She is just a civil servant, so as a civil servant, how did she manage to acquire such a luxurious property that is worth that amount?

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies has been conferred with the jurisdiction and also empowered to probe any past or current public officials living a life above their legitimate earnings; hence it would be negligence on the part of the EFCC if it wastes time in commencing the prosecution of the former first lady.

FG inaugurates steering committee for eHealth Ebere Ameh

T

he Minster of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has inaugurated a steering committee to champion health and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) implementation in the country.

At the inauguration ceremony in Abuja last week, the minister said Nigeria’s health sector faces daunting challenges, which he said range from data collection and management, through to human resources and issues of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

He, however, said that government has intervened to address the challenges through various approaches despite limited resources, pointing out that ICT has the potential to mitigate some of the challenges when appropriately applied.

“The National eHealth

strategy provides an overarching guide to harmonising and focusing ICT interventions - in health - along government priorities and towards the achievement of these priorities. However, we must note that the eHealth strategy in itself is not the culmination of the work; but the inception of a new chapter in the process, which will now involve rallying resources towards unified implementation of this strategic plan,” the minister said.

In his speech, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu said: “The National eHealth Strategic Framework provides a vision and guide for alignment of current investments in technology within the health sector towards a digitalised health system that will help Nigeria achieve UHC by 2020.”

8

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO

ABIODUN BELLO abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

80-year-old man dies in Lagos house fire

Muritala Ayinla

A

n octogenarian, Godwin Oyia, yesterday died when fire gutted a storey building at 5, Aborishade Close, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos.

The fire, it was learnt, was caused by a heater popularly called ‘boiling ring’ which was left unattended to.

The inferno, which reportedly started in Oyia’s room, destroyed property and household items said to worth millions of naira.

The entire top floor of the building was completely burnt while the ground floor was saved by the combined efforts of the emergency responders.

The Director of Lagos Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, and the General Manager, Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Michael Akindele, said that it was only the 80-year-old man who died in the fire outbreak.

“The agency (LASEMA) received a distress call about 10:40a.m. today (yesterday) regarding a fire incident at No 5,

Aborishade Close, Lawanson, Surulere. This prompted the immediate activation of the agency’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) to the scene of the incident,” Akindele said.

The general manager said investigation carried out by the ERT at the scene of the incident revealed that ‘boiling ring’ was being used in the last room on the top floor led to the outbreak of fire which engulfed the whole building.

He said: “Unfortunately, a man, aged 80 years old, identified as Godwin Oyia, lost his life to the inferno as he was burnt in the room where the fire started from.”

Akindele said the ERT, the Nigeria Red Cross as well as the Isolo, Alausa and Ilupeju divisions of the Lagos State Fire Service helped in the rescue mission.

He added that the body was recovered by the ERT and handed over to the police.

The LASEMA boss promised that proper investigation would be conducted on the incident.

He urged Lagos residents to ensure safety by switching off all electrical appliances when not in use at home or in the office.

Emergency responders at the scene of the fire

N31m drugs recovered from South Africa-based Nigerian Juliana Francis

O

fficials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recovered parcels of methamphetamine valued at N31 million from a South Africa-based Nigerian.

The Head, Media and Publicity of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said that the suspect, Abiodun Banjo, 45, was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA).

The arrest took place during the outward screening of passengers on a South African Airline flight to South Africa.

“The parcels of drug tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed 3.435kgs with a street value of N31 million in Nigeria,” Ofoyeju said.

The suspect, a graduate of Technical College, Ijebu-Ode, has been living in South Africa since 2012. He hails from Osun State.

Banjo, who works in South Africa, said the bags were given to him by a friend in South Africa.

He said: “I work in Pretoria.

My friend in South Africa called

Banjo

me that his brother would give me two bags containing foodstuff to take to him. He also promised to give me $2,000. I opened the bags and checked thoroughly, but couldn’t find anything incriminating. That was how I accepted to take the bags. I was surprised when the drug was detected under the bags. I feel very sad that my friend implicated me.”

NDLEA Commander at the MMIA, Ahmadu Garba, described how the drug was dis-

covered.

He said: “The drug was detected during routine check on passengers on South Africa Airline flight to South Africa. Two bags belonging to Abiodun Israel Banjo were found to contain parcels of methamphetamine. Inside the bags, were food ingredients and clothes, but underneath was a thin parcel of narcotics carefully concealed. He was immediately arrested and investigation is ongoing.”

The NDLEA Chairman, Muhammad Abdallah, called on members of the public to be aware of tricks employed by drug trafficking cartels.

He said: “Drug traffickers recruit mules by enticing them with money. They are very clever in concealing drugs as drugs have been detected in bags, electronics, foodstuff and clothes, among others. We strongly advise that all passengers should endeavour to pack their bags themselves and avoid taking bags for others.”

The NDLEA boss added that ignorance was no excuse in drug trafficking.

Ogun lawmaker’s car kills two Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

T

wo people were killed yesterday while nine others were critically injured in an accident on the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu Expressway.

The crash occurred about 11:35a.m. near Onipepeye village in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

It was learnt that the accident involved a Toyota Picnic car with registration Lagos KSF 957 BB and a Nissan Serena space bus marked 25 OGHA. The second vehicle, believed to belong to one of the Ogun State House of Assembly members, rammed into the former.

It was learnt that the Toyota Picnic vehicle had loaded passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and was headed to Sango-Ota but had a punctured tyre at Onipepeye village.

The driver of the vehicle attempted to change the tyre but

the space-bus rammed into it in the process.

The driver and one of the passengers of the Toyota Picnic vehicle, whose identities have not been yet ascertained, were killed.

The Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Adegoke Adetunji, who confirmed the accident, said it involved 17 people, although two of them lost their lives.

Adetunji added that only nine people were injured in the crash.

He said those injured were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, while the two bodies were deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.

Also, the Public Relations Officer of the state Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed that the driver was discovered to have been drunk.

He told our correspondent that the police had already arrested the ‘drunk driver’.

METRO

WednESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari’s policies pushed us into robbery –Suspects

Pamela Eboh Awka

S

uspected armed robbers, Mr. Uche Ezeugo and Somadina, yesterday said that they were forced into robbery because of hardship experienced in the country in the recent times.

Ezeugo and Somadina are being detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Anambra State.

Ezeugo said he needed money to give his late father a befitting burial, while Somadina also blamed his action on hunger and starvation.

The suspects, who are both indigenes of Agulezechukwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, were arrested at Nanka in Orumba North Local Government Area for alleg-

Buhari

edly stealing some laptops.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ezeugo, who is in his 20s, denied being a natural thief.

He said: “The hard condition caused by President Muham-

madu Buhari’s economic policies led me into this temptation.”

The two suspects, who pleaded for leniency, confessed to committing the crime for the first time.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sam Okaula, who commended DSS for the arrest, said the collaboration between the police and other security agencies had helped in reducing crime and criminality in the state.

He said the stolen laptops had already been disposed of by the suspects before they were nabbed.

Okaula added that the suspects would soon be charged to court.

The commissioner noted that two pump action guns and one locally-made rifle were recovered from the suspects.

190 benefit from corps members’ free medical treatment

A

bout 190 residents of Amaekpu community in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State have benefitted from free medical services offered by corps members serving in the area.

The one-day medical treatment was organised by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Medical and Health Community Development Service Group (CDS) in junction with the Nigeria Red Cross Society, Ohafia Local Government Zone.

The CDS President, Mr. Michael Olusegun Obe, said registered nurses and two medical doctors participated in the medical outreach.

He said: “It was in furtherance of efforts to bring health care services closer to the less-privileged in Amaekpu community.”

According to him, the outreach provided free medical tests and drugs worth about N70,000 for the residents of the community.

Obe added that the CDS also got free drugs from the Health

order to have a safer environment to live in.”

Obe, however, called on the Federal Government to support expansion of the scope of the service across the country, particular in the area of funding.

Expressing appreciation over the Beneficiaries being screened during the medical outreach medical outreach, a beneficiary, Madam Centre, Goodluck Ebele Jona- Ndidi, asked for more of such than Barracks, Ohafia. programme.

“The people were tested for She said: “I really appreciate ailments such as diabetes, high the corpers (corps members). I blood pressure, arthritis, ulcer did not only benefit but my children also benefitted. I want such among others,” he added.

He said: “Approximately 190 programme to be carried out inhabitants of Amaekpu, cutting regularly.” across women, children and elAnother beneficiary, who gave derly, participated in the medical his name simply as Mr. Chibuzor, outreach. said the medical treatment had “We wish to carry out more helped a lot of people in the comprojects whereby we would be munity. able to reach out and educate the “This is indeed great. Corpers, community on health issues in thank you very much,” he said.

Bello

I’m unrepentant thief, says suspect Juliana Francis

A

suspect, who confessed to have stolen over 20 motorcycles across the states of the South-West, has described himself as an unrepentant thief.

The 26-year-old suspect, Jamiu Bello, was arrested by officials of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State at the weekend.

Bello was arrested after he stole a motorcycle marked KTU 388 QG, belonging to Israel Ikyav, a commercial rider, at Ijora Olopa area of the metropolis.

He said: “I have stolen no fewer than 20 motorcycles across South-West. If I go to other states, apart from Lagos to operate, I would ride the motorcycle down to Lagos to sell here. I have two receivers of these stolen motorcycles. One of them lives at Alamutu in Mushin, while the other is in Ijora.

“I can sell a motorcycle for N40,000, depending on how clean it looks. All these scars on my body were inflicted on me by mob actions anytime I was caught stealing motorcycles.

I’m just an unrepentant thief because I was supposed to have changed my way of life.”

The victim, Ikyav, said he

City Briefs

Man, 25, kills three-year-old stepbrother Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

A

25-year-old man, Ogobuchi Ogbonna, has reportedly killed his three-year-old stepbrother, Wisdom Ogbonna, at Ndebor Nchoko village, Igbeagu community in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Ogobuchi allegedly tied Wisdom to a big stone and threw him inside the stream in the area. The incident occurred on Sunday while the boy’s body was found inside

the stream yesterday.

Wisdom got missing on Sunday afternoon, forcing his parents and villagers to raise the alarm.

A search party was organised by the villagers but to no avail. But on Sunday evening, Ogobuchi confessed to the family that he was responsible for Wisdom’s disappearance.

Wisdom’s father, Amegu Ogbonna, who was shocked about the confession, alerted the villagers.

He said: “Ogobuchi told us that he is the one that killed Wisdom. He asked us to follow

him to show us where he kept the body. We went with him to the stream where he threw the boy into.

“We asked him why he killed his brother and he said a spirit directed him to do that, telling him that he will be a messiah in the world.

We have reported the matter to the police and they have arrested Ogobuchi.”

Amegu said that the suspect had no mental problem.

On his part, the Village Head, Chief Nwamage Uche, said Amegu reported to him that his three-year-old child

9

was missing and he mobilised the villagers for a search party which led to the revelation by the suspect that he was responsible for the disappearance of the boy.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP George Okafor, confirmed the incident.

Okafor said the matter was first reported to the Iboko Police Division in the area.

He said: “The matter is to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) for further investigation.”

went into a cafeteria to eat and parked his motorcycle beside the shop.

He was just about to eat his food when a colleague dashed into the shop to tell him that someone had stolen his motorcycle.

Ikyav abandoned his plate of food and ran out. Together with other people, they chased Bello, but couldn’t catch him.

He said: “We knew that we couldn’t catch up with him because he was too far ahead of us with the motorcycle already.

I quickly alerted the RRS riders, who were patrolling the area.

The RRS riders used their motorcycle to block him. At that point, the thief abandoned the motorcycle and tried to escape with another motorcyclist before he was arrested.”

Bello, a father of three, said that he started stealing motorcycles two years ago.

He said: “There were two of us and we operated in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states. My accomplice, whose name is Ibijuwon, is currently in Kirikiri Prison.”

The suspect said that his partner in crime was arrested on Lagos Island when they went for operation.

Oroye dies at 79

Oroye

A

Fellow of Chartered Institute of Accountant, Mr Joseph Dediare Oroye, has died at the age of 79 years. Oroye, a devoted Christian, died on Friday in Lagos.

The deceased, according to a statement, was an old boy of Igbobi College, Lagos.

10

POLITICS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Esan elders slam Oshiomhole over roles in poll shift ...indict security agencies for postponement

Stories by Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

E

san elders and leaders, under the aegis of Esan Elders' Forum, rose from a meeting over the weekend, where they reviewed the events that culminated in the postponement of Edo governorship election, with a resolution condemning the State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, for portraying the state as a safe haven for terrorists and militants.

In their communique, signed by the Forum's Director of Publicity, Mr Law Odiase, they said that "the deliberate efforts to portray Edo State as a safe haven for terrorists and militants by Governor Oshiomhole on Channels Television on Thursday, September 8, is condemnable and considered as the height of hypocrisy by a man who is supposed to be the Chief Security Officer of the State."

The meeting said that the postponement of the election from Saturday, September 10 to

Wednesday, September 28 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), acting on a trumped-up security advice by the Police and the Department of State Service (DSS) was not in the best interest of the generality of Edo people, pointing out that the shift to a weekday was capable of disenfranchising registered voters in the State.

According to them, "the security report which formed the basis of the postponement despite the dispatch of 25,000 strong team of the Nigerian Police Force, military and paramilitary forces is an indictment on the security agencies in Nigeria, which cannot guarantee security for a state election.

"Edo State remains one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria and must not be labeled a militant or terrorist state because of governorship election by overzealous and ridiculous politicians."

They declared that politics is not war and condemned the "violent and organised assassination attempts on High Chief

confirmation / Change of Name Ayibateke

This is to confirm that Ayibateke Dianmine Billion is the same person as Ayibateke Dianmine which appears on my WAEC/SSCE 2013 result. Henceforth I wish to be known and addressed as Ayibateke Dianmine Billion.

All former documents remain valid. Federal University Otuoke and general public take note.

Ikinaedeh

I formerly known and addressed as Ele Blessing Ibrahim now wish to be known and addressed as Blessing Mark Ikinaedeh. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

Garba

I formerly known and addressed as Sani Garba now wish to be known and addressed as Surajo Sani Garba. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ANTAI

I formerly known and addressed as Asukwo Edet Antai now wish to be known and addressed as Prodigy Edet Antai. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Omolade

I, formerly known and addressed as Sogunwa Titilola Omolade now wish to be known and addressed as Olagoke Titilola Omolade. All former documents remain valid. Grooming Center for Better Livelihood and the general public should please take note.

Ekuma

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Igwe Joy Nkechi now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ekuma Joy Nkechi. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Ajayi

I formerly known and addressed as Victoria Eniafe Usman now wish to be known and addressed as Victoria Eniafe Ajayi. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Akande

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Quadri Gbemisola Wasilat now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akande Gbemisola Wasilat. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF FAVOURED LADIES CLUB OF NIGERIA

REDEEMED ROAD, ELIKPOKWU-ODU, RUKPOKWU PORT HARCOURT. TEL: 07052954983

NOTICE is hereby given that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration as an Incorporated Trustee under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2004.

The Trustees are: 1. CHUKWUMA FAVOUR 3. OPARA ESTHER 2. OPURUM JOY 4. MODESTUS ROSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE APPLICANT BODY 1. To promote gender equality among ladies.

2. To instill and promote virtuousness among women.

3. To make women models both at home and in society.

4. To care for widows and take care of their needs.

Anybody who has any reason why this organization should not be registered shall contact the Corporate Affairs Commission Headquarters Abuja, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: ENDWELL WORUKA ESQ. (SOLICITOR)

Edo DECIDES

Raymond Dokpesi, Hon. Pius Odubu and, recently, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu," saying these acts "portend

Obaseki

greater danger for our democracy."

They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to be a true statesman, play less partisan politics and allow the people of Edo State to elect the candidate of their choice as governor.

According to them, "The problems of the lingering economic recession and its crushing effects on the people of Nigeria, irrespective of party affiliations, should

Oshiomhole

be the focus of the Federal Government, as Nigerians are now desperate for the desirable change promised."

They urged Edo people not to vote for a surrogate candidate but "a governorship candidate who is articulate and able to grapple with the present reality, able to present himself and his party’s manifesto; a candidate who can rescue us from the multiple tax regimes in Edo State."

Besides, the Esan elders and leaders appealed

to Esan people to remain united behind their true leaders, notably Chief Anthony Anenih CFR (The Iyasele of Esan Land) and vote wisely for the PDP in the rescheduled governorship election on September 28.

"Esan people should not be deceived again. Don’t sell your votes today and suffer tomorrow," they pleaded, reminding them to rally round their son, Hon John Yakubu, who is the deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)."

Ize-Iyamu

Igbafe is a political jobber – Edo APC Woman leader

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) Woman Leader in Edo State, Mrs. Aisosa Amadasun, yesterday lashed out at the former Executive Director of Poverty Alleviation Agency and Women Mobilization in the state, Mrs. Evelyn Igbafe-Omokhodion, who is also a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing her as a "political jobber" who cannot be taken seriously in the politics of the state.

Amadasun, who spoke against the backdrop of comments credited to Igbafe, that Mrs Betsy Obaseki, the wife of APC

governorship candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, allegedly referred to Edo women as prostitutes, challenged the PDP chieftain to read the interview granted by Mrs. Obaseki properly rather than trying to misinform and discredit the name “of our coming first lady”.

According to Mrs. Amadasun, "what Mrs Obaseki said was the true situation that the PDP administration due to bad governance forced Edo women into prostitution in Europe. Igbafe, who is talking about prostitution when she has been a political prostitute. Igbafe in the past six

years has decamped three times, from PDP to APC, from APC back to PDP, she came back to APC and she has no morality to talk about people."

The APC woman leader explained that, “What Mrs. Obaseki said in that interview was that the failed PDP governments in the state forced our girls abroad and she stressed it that since the coming of Oshiomhole who now provided the infrastructures needed for our girls to be busy here and that today the situation has changed. There was no where she referred to Edo women as prostitutes."

She maintained fur-

ther that, “Our joy as APC women is that any party she belongs does not win election. Even when she came back to APC the second time that was why APC women rose up and asked her to go back to where she came from and we are happy she has gone back to PDP. She is a bad omen and we are happy she has gone back to the losing party, which is PDP." “She is a political jobber.

Edo women are too smart to believe the lies she is trying to tell the people. She claimed she is a woman leader but she has no single woman with her just looking for money. "

Edo's real revolution begins on September 28 – Obaseki

T

he candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, yesterday described the forthcoming election as the beginning of real revolution which started in the state by Governor Adams Oshiomhole eight years ago.

Obaseki stated this during an interactive session with over 2,000 support groups in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Obaseki who disclosed the resolve of his government to create a platform for the entire people of the

state to meet and complain directly to government about social problems as it affects them with imminent solutions, said it is disheartening that opposition parties have chosen to peddle lies rather than their manifesto.

He said the achievements of Governor Oshiomhole in the last eight years were insights to what he described as transforming the state to an ideal state where virtually all previously crippled sectors by the opposition are made to work to create employment and wealth for the state.

According to Obaseki,

“For me, September 28 is the beginning of our real revolution that we started eight years ago when Oshiomhole became the governor against all odds.

When Oshiomhole came, there was a revolution but we are bringing real revolution in consolidation of that revolution which was initiated by Oshiomhole.

“We have campaigned enough, Wednesday 28 is the decision day and they know it that after that day, they will be history in this state."

Obaseki added that, “When I come in as governor, we would continue because we know the

roads that we have done, we know the roads that is left that we have to build.

We have done it over eight years, it is not something we will start to learn. So, for me the only way we can have progress is to continue what we have been doing.

“Oshiomhole has done part one, from November 12 this year, the part two will start and they are afraid. In Edo that I now know, there is nothing that we consume that we can’t produce but when you have bad people in government and they keep us down those things will not be possible."

11

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Power play APC, PDP playing politics with recession

Politics Onyekachi Eze writes on the dust over the recent claim of ownership of $31.4 million by the immediate First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, in a case on which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) issued a no debit/ freezing order

Interview We didn’t fight military to be in govt – Agbeyegbe

Patience Jonathan: In the eye of the storm

F

ormer First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is an interesting character.

Though there were first ladies before her, there is no doubt that none captured national attention like she did while her spouse, Goodluck, held sway as president.

Popularly referred to ‘Mama Peace,’ Dame Jonathan may not be the most glamorous of Nigeria’s first ladies but definitely she was the most outspoken, who easily caught public attention. She was so influential in the immediate past government that she towered among those who defined the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.

A strong willed and sometimes controversial personality, the former first had a larger than life image while her reign lasted. This, however, earned her the fury of many, who decried the privileges accorded to the office of the First Lady, which was not provided for in the country’s constitution.

The Okrika, Rivers State born former first lady did not caught media attention during the nearly three years her husband served as vice president but her real personality was brought to fore after Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election. For her supporters and those who share her belief, certain circumstances may have made her what she later became.

Then President Jonathan had just become an object of attack, and she saw it as her duty to come to his defence. Her first clash was with then governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi. As then chairman of Nigeria Governors'

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Jonathan

Forum (NGF), Amaechi was Jonathan's most known critic, despite the fact that both hail from the same geo-political zone.

Dame Jonathan clashed with Amaechi while on a visit to Rivers State over planned demolition of squatters’ settlement at Okrika waterfront. After the incident, she did not spare anybody who dared attacked her husband. The height of it was during the abduction of over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State in 2014.

The then first lady invited the principal of the school and representatives of Chibok community. Her conduct at the meeting attracted some criticisms. It was alleged that she order the arrest and detention of one the leaders, Naomi Mutah by the police.

At a point during the 2015 presidential campaign, the former first lady took over the campaign and went round the country. Despite the criticisms over her actions, Dame Jonathan was not deterred.

She believed in herself and the cause she stood for and fought with all she had to ensure a second term for her spouse though it did not materialize.

Having left the Villa after her spouse lost the 2015 presidential election, the former first lady retired to private life but the controversy surrounding the ownership of a sum of $31.4 million in a case on which the Economic and Finan-

Outrage has trailed her bid to reclaim the said money even as some Nigerians have demanded her prosecution

cial Crimes Commission (EFCC) issued a no debit/freezing order has brought her to limelight again.

Though it was the former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamowei Dudafa, who was initially in the picture over the matter, Dame Jonathan surprisingly came out to claim ownership of the money.

The former first lady, through Gboyega Oduwole, her counsel, claimed ownership of the money in an application filed at the Lagos Federal High court on September 6, with FHC/L/C5/1233/16 marked as the case file.

The former first lady is asking the court to make an order for the enforcement of her fundamental rights by naming EFCC and Skye Bank Plc as defendants.

She also asked the court to make a declaration that the fund standing to the credit of four of the companies named in the case and an account in her name in Skye Bank belonged to her.

She further prayed the court to declare that the placing of a freezing order on the said accounts without any order of a court or prior notice to her is a breach of her fundamental rights as contained in the 1999 Nigeria’s constitution as amended.

No doubt, the former first lady has the right to challenge any breach to her rights, but outrage has trailed her bid to reclaim the

12 14

said money even as some Nigerians have demanded her prosecution over the matter.

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), the chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACC), while reacting to the issue told New Telegraph that Jonathan’s wife must explain how she acquired the money.

According to him, “the issue at hand is a very simple one. In a situation where somebody claims or appears to have such enormous assets, which are ways beyond the means of living of that person, in other words, way beyond what the person can appear to earn legitimately, the EFCC or ICPC are entitled to apply for freezing such funds. And then the court can order that person to explain how he or she acquired that type of fortune. In the absence of ability to establish that you are the owners of the fortune by showing how you earned such a huge sum, then it will be forfeited.”

Anti-corruption crusader, General Ishola Williams (rtd), also said the ex-first lady must prove the ownership of the money. “What is interesting in the present case is that the former first lady had come out to claim the money in question. That is what I call braggadocio and I can’t really believe it. By doing this, she has set a trap for herself. So, we should allow the court to decide why the money should be seized or otherwise.

She must prove documentarily how she came about the money. It is a very, very interesting case and I am so happy that she did that,” Williams said.

Chief Chekwas Okorie, the national chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), said the law should take its course on the matter. His words: “It is unfortunate that such amount of money could be traced to her because it is clear to everyone that she had no means either before or after office from which such huge sum could have been generated. What tax was she paying if she had such amount?

“So, let the law take its full course and she should prove how she generated the money. Nobody should be above the law. If there are incontrovertible evidence that he dipped his hand into the public treasury; he should face the law because nobody should be above the law.”

The outrage, over Mrs. Jonathan’s action notwithstanding, the former first lady in her usual dogged character, is unlikely to be deterred as she fights what she sees as an infringement on her right.

12

POLITICS PLATFORM

Land grabbers'll face tough times in Lagos – Braimoh Hon. Tunde Braimoh, the Chairman of Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information and Strategy, speaks on the state's Land Grabbing Law. WALE ELEGBEDE reports Governor Akinwunmi Ambode recently signed the Land Grabbing Bill into Law, how would you react to this?

The law is not a decoration; it has to be obeyed, I have no doubt in my mind that the law would be obeyed by the people of the state. The law was not made by fiat of the assembly; we had public hearing on it, where we got the input of the people. I would appeal to the people not to misuse their liberty.

We cannot continue to allow the issue of land grabbing to continue the way it was in Lagos State. There is need to intervene on the issue of land in Lagos because so many ridiculous things are happening in that sector. At times, you see some people claiming money at every stage of development of a building and they even collect money when people deposit materials on their land.

The law is to regulate land so that we don't turn ourselves to Thomas Horbes kind of society, where everybody does what he or she likes. We cannot allow that.

How can the law deal with some powerful people who are behind land grabbing as well as ensuring that judiciary perform their duties on land matters as expected?

Equity does not suffer any wrong remedy, everybody should be vigilant. People should not sleep on their rights. The law is that if Braimoh you are in an undisputed or undisturbed piece of land for a period of 20 years, then you are the owner of the land. Of course, if there is a disturbance or litigation; that means something is going on about the land. If there is no disturbance or litigation, it means there is no problem. But if anyone has issues about land in the state, he has to go through a task force or the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state or office of Land Bureau to claim the land. You don't just go there personally; it would be tantamount to violence. No court would execute judgment without the other arms of government such as the Land Bureau, Attorney General of the State and others, who would look at the propriety of the judgment.

There is a general economic hardship in the country, what is your take on this?

It is a general problem that the economy is biting hard. Of course, you know we operate a monolithic econo-

5 Questions

my, we depend solely on oil. This is the first time that the source of financing our budget is divided into three; one is from oil sector, the second from non-oil sector, while the third is from borrowing. In the past, it used to be entirely from oil. When the price of crude oil crashed in the international market, we all knew that there would be problem in the country.

What do you think is the way out of Nigeria’s economy problem?

The way out is that we have to reduce our dependent on foreign spending. We are earning 30 or 20 from outside, but we spend as much as 100 outside, so the simple economics is that the lower the supply the higher the demand and the higher the demand, the lower the supply. We must reach equilibrium, where the demand does not exceed supply. We must try and see that supply exceeds demand. If our supply of dollars exceeds demand, it would be better. In a situation, where people send their children abroad and they go there for healthcare, what do you think would happen? Look at what our state Governor did at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), we have state of the arts facilities there. They have laboratory equipment, beddings and others. But people don't want to use them; they prefer to go to a mushroom hospital in India, whenever they are sick. They import all sorts of things from overseas with dollars.

Don’t you think it is high time for Nigerians to stop excessive crave for foreign products and focus on local products to boast our economy?

When we were growing up, we used to have motor plants in Nigeria that were producing Volkswagen and Peugeot cars. Then, it was compulsory that civil servants must drive either Volkswagen or Peugeot products, but what is happening now, they drive the most exotic cars in Nigeria This show of affluence and flamboyance must stop, and we must change our orientation. We must stop our excessive crave for foreign products. There is no way we can get out of this economic problem unless we have enough oil to sell. Even if we have enough, the regulatory agency, the Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) is there to control our supply. We have multi-faceted problems and the dollars we earn is so low and there is no magic to it. We cannot manufacture dollars.

We should change our orientation. We should reduce our travelling abroad unless it is very necessary. If we want to train about 10 people, why can't we bring the resource persons here for the training?

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

For many Nigerians, the announcement that the country is in recession was a major setback for the nation's economy. But for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it's a time to settle political scores. WALE ELEGBEDE reports

APC, PDP

T

he recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that confirmed that the nation’s economy is in recession was a damning verdict, especially to average Nigerians.

According to the NBS, the Nigerian economy has gone into full recession after posting negative growth in the first two quarters of 2016. The Bureau also stated that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 per cent.

According to the report: “During the reference period, the number of unemployed in the labour force increased by 1,158,700 persons, resulting in an increase in the national unemployment rate to 13.3 per cent in Q2 (second quarter) 2016 from 12.1 in Q1 (first quarter) 2016; 10.4 per cent in Q4 2015 from 9.9 per cent in Q3 2015 and from 8.2 per cent in Q2 2015.

"In view of this, there were a total of 26.06 million persons in the Nigerian labour force in Q2 2016 that were either unemployed or under-employed compared to 24.5 million in Q1 2016 and 22.6 million in Q4 2015.

“The pace of the increase in the headline index was however weighed upon by a slower increase in three divisions, namely health, transport, and recreation and culture divisions.”

Although some analysts have long averred that the nation’s economy was already in recession, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had, however, in July, said the country was only in “technical recession.”

Regardless of the economics semantics, the plunge in revenue occasioned by the low prices of oil which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, the activities of Niger Delta Avengers blowing up oil installations and facilities thereby reducing the volume of the country’s crude sale, the tumbling of Naira to foreign currencies, have given many Nigerians a harrowing experience.

Adeosun

Aside the NBS report, the gloomy picture of the nation’s external reserves was also painted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its recent report. According to the apex bank, the nation’s external reserves fell by 2.86 per cent to $25.45billion on August 29, 2016.

Making a detour from her initial stance of technical recession, Adeosun, while aligning with the NBS figures, admitted that the nation is in recession but noted that “we can come out of a recession as soon as possible by sticking to the prescription which is, we must be disciplined in our expenditure.”

Also reacting to the report, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Adeyemi Dipeolu, said: “The just recently released data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Gross Domestic Product declined by -2.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year basis.

“A close look at the data shows that this outcome was mostly due to a sharp contraction in the oil sector, due to huge losses of crude oil production as a result of vandalisation and sabotage.

“However, the rest of the Q2 data is beginning to tell a different story.

There was growth in the agricultural and solid minerals sectors, which are the areas in which the Federal Government has placed particular priority.”

With the report on the downward state of the economy, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), decided to use the economic outlook to continue brickbats.

The PDP, in a statement signed by

CROSSFIRE I want Nigerians to realise that what this government inherited after 16 years of the PDP government was no savings, no infrastructure, no power, no rail, no road and no security -Muhammadu Buhari

His lamentation won’t solve the problem he ought to solve.

He should be reminded also that we built power stations and also revolutionalised the industrial sector -Dayo Adeyeye

POLITICS PLATFORM

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

playing politics with recession

John Odigie-Oyegun, APC Chairman

Ahmed Makarfi, PDP Chairman

the spokesman of it National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said the APC government should face the challenge of putting the economy in a good shape instead of “crying like a helpless baby.”

While stating that the PDP had noticed that some governors of the APC are blaming the former ruling party and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for the current hardship in the country, the former minister specifically mentioned the governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, as one of those he was referring to.

Adeyeye said: “It is really disappointing that a notable personality as highly-placed as a state governor could be drawn into making idle and pedestrian claims without the benefit of facts. It is either he does not realise the obligation of speaking responsibly in that position or he is grossly ill-informed. In which case, we could only try to put the facts before him, and hoping he would recognise them.

“In the first place, this blame is misplaced because our elementary understanding of economics

The major cause of recession is inflation and poor handling of the economy

teaches us that the major cause of recession is inflation and poor handling of the economy given that the higher the rate of inflation, the more impoverished people become, industrial production and GDP decline resulting in massive job losses.

“Perhaps, we should quote those who should know and tell Governor Badaru that wrong economic policies of the APC-led government caused the current stagnation and recession in the country. However, beyond that, we make bold to tell Governor Badaru that Jonathan and the PDP government saw this coming since 2011, and wanted to deregulate the sale of hydrocarbons in 2012, but Badaru and his co-travellers who are now in the APC frustrated the effort.”

While calling on the APC-led government to look inward and stop the blame game, Adeyeye advised the Federal Government to invite economic experts irrespective of their political leaning to join hands with the administration at these trying times.

“They should be reminded that great leaders take over

countries either in recession or war and still succeed in turning them around; quite unlike the prevailing situation where a ruling party plunges the economy into an avoidable recession, only to turn round and begin to whine helplessly like a baby,” he said.

Not ready to have any of PDP’s sermon, the APC, expectedly, said in a statement by its National Secretary, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, that the former ruling party lacks the moral basis and credibility to comment or condemn the government on the economy after the mess it left behind, stating that instead of lecturing it, the PDP must apologize to Nigerians.

His words: “The statement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the latest in the party’s insensitive plot to deflect attention from the voodoo economics and reckless fiscal policies the country was subjected to during its 16-year rule.

“The warning signs were glaring to the immediate-past administration but it chose the path of economic sabotage by looking the other way and squandering the country’s commonwealth – a reckless decision that has brought the country to its knees.

“Nigerians will recall that even the immediate-past finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, confessed that the zero political will to save under the immediate-past administration is responsible for the challenges facing the country.”

Buni further noted that “happily, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has embarked on well- thought economic agendas, policy actions, appropriate fiscal, governance, and socio-political reforms to revamp the economy and tackle the nation’s current challenges in the short to long term.

“Under the new flexible foreign exchange policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June 2016, we now have a single market-determined exchange rate which enables suppliers of foreign currencies to bring in their money and take the same out at market-determined rates. The new foreign exchange CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

POLITRICKS Redefining stomach infrastructure Obaseki’s humility at the airport

S

tomach infrastructure is not a new thing in Nigerian politics but one man that has redefined it is Senator Buruji Kashamu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District.

Kashamu in the last few years have not hidden his love for the poor and less privileged in different parts of the country, especially in his home town, Ijebu-Igbo and senatorial district since he joined partisan politics.

On Monday, the lawmaker in the spirit of the Sallah festivity,

donated lots of items, including rice and cash to the aged, less privileged and members of his constituency. Kashamu’s Ijebu-Igbo’s mansion was flooded by a massive crowd who came to collect their own ‘Sallah gift’ from the senator.

Kashamu’s gesture coming during Eid-elKabir celebration and at a period many Nigerians are battling to survive economically is timely. The Ijebu-Igbo politician without any iota of doubt has put smile on the faces of many people in his senatorial district and citizens of Gateway State in general.

I

n Nigeria, many politicians are known to be lords because of the way they conduct themselves in the public especially when surrounded by aides, who usually assist them in carrying out domestic activities privately and publicly.

But one man that seems to have proved to be humble is the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

Last Friday, Politricks saw Obaseki, who was dressed in

brown attire with a black customised campaign cap, on the queue in the midst of some passengers boarding at the Benin Airport for an Arik flight from Benin to Lagos. One unique thing about him was that despite having some of his aides around him, he didn’t allow any of them to carry his luggage.

The APC governorship candidate carried his luggage by himself from the airport lounge to the aircraft without any assistance from his friends, aides or airport officials, who tried to assist him.

13

POLITICAL NOTES

Godfathers and their anointed

T

he undue advantage which power confers on its wielders, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, explains why most leaders do not toy with the issue of succession, which has in turn led to politics of betrayal and backstabbing.

While democracy grants the people the liberty to choose their leaders through periodic elections, the concept exists mostly on paper as leaders at the various levels of governance have always had hands in the emergence of their successors.

This practice was not prominent in the first and second republics, but it has become synonymous with the present dispensation. Consequently, the Fourth Republic, which took off in 1999, with the country’s return to civil rule in 1999 after long years of military rule, has produced hundreds of political godfathers, who sit in the comfort of their homes to determine who gets what, how and when.

In most cases, the beneficiaries of decisions by these “powers that be” have always been their cronies, associates, business partners and even family members. The reason for this is not farfetched. Most public office holders are more disposed to those who will cover their tracks as their successors.

But politics, being a game of the possible, the cozy relationships between the godfathers and their anointed ones hardly last. In most cases, these anointed successors hardly settle in office before the “political romance turns sour.”

Most times, the bubble burst when the anointed successors try to do things on their own although there have been instances, where the heirs had tried to destroy their benefactors even when they had tried as much as possible not to interfere in the running of government.

Recent political developments across the country, which see godfathers and their anointed ones locked up in supremacy battles have no doubt justified the popular axiom that politicians are like the bones of a horse’s foreshoulder which has no straight bone.

From the south to the north, the political landscape is dotted with supremacy battles between godfathers and their anointed ones. In some instances, the once humbled political godsons have succeded in running their benefactors out of town, making them refugees in states the hitherto called the shots.

The most recent of this battle is ongoing in Kano where former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso (now senator) is battling his political son of several years and incumbent governor, Abdullahi Ganduje for political survival.

FELIX NWANERI

14

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

We didn’t fight military to be Fred Agbeyegbe is a legal practitioner, playwright, and prodemocracy activist. In this interview, the celebrated octogenarian dramatist shares his views on the state of the nation, the change mantra of the present government and his encounter with the military, among other issues. TONY OKUYEME reports

You were at the forefront of the struggle for the return to democratic rule as a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).

Can you share your experience?

Well, those were tough times but we had a good number of Nigerians who were dogged enough in their belief, and who were prepared to stand up at the risk of their lives, to say our people cannot take any more of this, because up till that time, they (the military) trampled on the rights of every Nigerian, and it was as if you don’t keep your mouth shut, you would be shot. But that group of people, of which I am very privileged and happy to have been part of, came out to say ‘no, this is not done.’ A good number of us were thrown into jail; a good number of people were killed, yet NADECO people stood on. The Ajasins of this world, the Enahoros of this world, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Frank Kokori of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Bola Tinubu and others. They also stood up to say ‘this is not good.’ Also, Ayo Opadokun, who was the Secretary General of NADECO; he was locked up for so long. And in fact, among them, I would say he was the luckiest to have survived because all the guns were pointed at him because of his position in NADECO. Well, people have blamed us that we fought for freedom but when freedom came we abandoned it and allowed the other people to take over. But we were not fighting because we wanted be in government; we were fighting to remind people that there was a standard in this country and that standard you can’t just put them under the carpet just because you want to call yourself head of state.

What is the standard?

There is international minimum standard; there are expectations of any given human being created by God. That is why we all every thing in common – two eyes, nostrils, legs,

Agbeyegbe

ears. There is not one human being that God specially created different from the other. We may have status in life though we may have different levels of involvement either in government, economic affairs and what have you.

Are you satisfied with the current fight against corruption?

There seems to me some discrimination in this so called crusade against corruption because government is supposed to be a continuous thing, one goes and another one comes. And corruption is not something that falls from heaven; it happens within the context of the governance that is ongoing. If you compare Jonathan’s period with that of all the heads of state before him, can you really say that all the others were angelic times and Jonathan’s period was the only devilish time? If you can’t say that, why is it his own period alone that was fingered out for this crusade? Is this the first time we are hearing about fraud, moneys being stolen? How come all those periods have been left alone, and it is only Jonathan’s period that you are probing?

Well, before they say it is because I come from the lower Niger or the South-South that is why I am talking like this; I have never met Jonathan; I have only seen him, like most Nigerians on television. I can identify him but we have nothing in common, and I don’t belong to his political party.

Struggles for power are usually ventured into with attempts to make things better

But I think that his regime has been singled out discriminately for the ongoing probes. President Muhammadu Buhari would have shown us his real character by taking it right down the line even to his own time in governance to show us that he means what he is saying. He wants to prove that he is above corruption himself; and he wants to nail all those people whom they have reasons to suspect, that not only their government were corrupt but that they themselves took part in and or created the atmosphere for corruption to thrive. That all they are talking about is Jonathan’s period, for me, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

What is your perception to the usual struggle for power by politicians?

Struggles for power are usually ventured into with attempts to make things better, but in Nigeria, there is a lot more struggle for power than anywhere else in the world. It may be more subtle but at the end of the day, you don’t see the reason for the struggle because they become personalised and our leaders put themselves up in a manner in which Nigeria becomes a second fiddle as it were to the person who is actually the so-called leader of the country.

You will remember, in Ibrahim Babangida times, you can offend him (Babangida) without offending the state because Babangida was the state. And I can’t think of any other president of head of state since Babangida, except maybe Goodluck Jonathan, in which it has not been so. You offend Olusegun Obasanjo, you offend Nigeria. When Jonathan came to power, people were able

to say whatever they liked, but some people want to believe that it is because he is a politician.

But Obasanjo was military leader and he became a politician but he didn’t change. So, I think it is correct to say that Jonathan was the one who was different among all of them.

Now, what are these things that have continued in this country, which I am talking about? There has been no change in the political development of Nigeria; there has been no change in the economic development of Nigeria.

If anything, those two things are going down the drain. That brings to question the issue of change; the Change mantra which has become like a song. Assuming Jonathan’s period was rotten or that he failed terribly in doing anything and everything, we’ve had over a year of a new regime brought about by change; what changes are there that we can be proud of ? What change is there that we can say is better than Jonathan’s time? Is it the fight against corruption, which we are yet to see its result?

Your play, “Budiso”, was written when Buhari was head of state, and it raises questions about how the judiciary was treated. What really inspired “Budiso”?

Yes, I wrote a play called “Budiso.” It was commissioned by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the time. My peers wanted something to celebrate legal practice in Nigeria for 100 years in 1986. At the time, Buhari was the head of state, Brig. General Tunde Idiagbon was the second in command, and Sowemimo was the Chief Justice of Nigeria

POLITICS \ INTERVIEW

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

in govt – Agbeyegbe

ria, that he is the only one who is good enough to be in Nigeria and everybody else, he condemns. So, he wants the international community to behave that it is Buhari who drives you from the airport to where you are going; it is Buhari who makes the brick to build all the houses in Nigeria, it is only Buhari who can do anything that is good.

Does that encourage people to come and invest in any given country? I don’t think so. And he has said it himself that he will surprise everybody; that he will not behave like he behaved at that time when he was military head of state. The idea being of course is that we should be intelligent enough to know that as a military head of state, he has a mandate to do whatever he likes, but he promised us that it is not going to be like that, and that he would not do those things again. But I don’t think there is any doubt that now.

In the name of democracy, we are seeing similar things that he did in the name of military government. So, posterity is there to judge all of us.

Agbeyegbe

(CJN). It so happened that there was a national bar conference at that time in Port Harcourt, and George Sowemimo was retiring as Chief Justice of Nigeria. Coincidentally, I moved a motion at that conference that Sowemimo, unlike other pending retirees from his position, should not be honoured by the Nigerian Bar Association. That is, he should not be given the usual farewell, goodbye handshake like the Nigerian Bar Association used to give to chief justices of the federation, and that motion was carried.

What informed such motion against someone who occupied such an exalted position?

Well, I had my own reasons. I thought that he had played to the gallery of the military boys who were in power because at that time, the rights of the citizenry were abolished in so many ways and the Chief Justice was there. The populace did not feel that the Ministry of Justice or that the arm of government was for the common man.

So, I wrote the play called “Budiso” but I want to disclaim the end result that people thought it was Buhari, Idiagbon and Sowemimo.

That is for the interpreter; that is for the critic to take.

What had happened at the

If you compare Jonathan’s period with that of all the heads of state before him, can you really say that all the others were angelic times?

Photos: godwin irekhe

time was that our present head of state had taking over government illegally – by coup – because whichever way you look at it and however bad, I am one of those people who say that the 1999 Constitution is bad, and our constitution before then had not been anything better than bad except the one with which the British gave us at independence, which had been scattered and changed to a military government. The outcome of Buhari’s takeover of government was what the book (Budiso) reflected; things he did, how he backdated laws, how he did not allow people to express themselves, how even the truth was an offence if it is told against his government.

Now, as we speak, yes we are in a democracy and we are changing from Jonathan’s period to this period, I think that his first media chat and subsequent pronouncements are a shame outside the borders of Nigeria. I say this because I would except that when our head of state is abroad, he should be talking about how thing should be in our country only in limited manner but what we hear and see is that our president tells the foreigners from whom we even want investments that he is the only honest person in Nige-

Many of your plays deal largely on leadership and struggle for power.

What inspired these plays, especially “Budiso” and “The king must dance naked”?

I would like to differentiate between what people outside see in the play and what is actually in the play. People should know that there are interpretations that are put on whatever one writes. Some of the time, yes, but not always like that, that the view point of the person reading or looking at a work of art like painting, and the person who puts it out would coincide. The writer, I believe, writes, sometimes without even knowing that there are some innermost factors controlling what he is putting up. I have been intrigued to know that all the plays that you have mentioned for example, in fact, for that matter, each and every play of mine that have been read in Nigeria, will always bring out some particular interpretations. But of course, I suppose it is natural because it is what they see in the society that they see that the plays are reflecting.

Whether the writer would agree with them or not is another matter because as you know, a work of art is as good as the number of people who identify with it, and if 10 people identify with a particular work of art even though all 10 of them are saying different things, in my view the artist has succeeded because he is writing for people to see, to appreciate and to interpret. But often times, he is called upon either to confirm or deny whether the reviewer really got what he tried to write. It is a game I don’t particularly indulge in but I can say that over time, very little has changed in Nigeria; everything has taken the same pattern that it has become very boring, particularly on the political and economic front.

I cannot say that anyone of them is understandable but it is boringly so.

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APC, PDP playing politics with recession C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

policy being implemented will ensure our economy recovers in the medium to long term.

“As contained in the assented 2016 National Budget, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is aggressively formulating and implementing policies aimed at diversifying Nigeria’s economy from oil to other sectors such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

“The administration is also proactively tackling increased attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta region which has led to disruptions in crude production.

“The President’s shuttle diplomacy has yielded positive effects on the country’s economic policies. As a result, several agreements concluded during the visits are positively impacting on key sectors of the Nigerian economy including power, solid minerals, agriculture, housing and rail transportation.

“The fight against corruption remains a top priority for the President Buhari APC-led administration. In spite of desperate attempts by some partisans to discredit anti-corruption efforts in some quarters, the war against corruption is being won and has been well-received and supported. The generality of Nigerians agree that the days of impunity are over.

“Through the full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the President Muhammadu Buhari APC-led administration, revenue leakages have been greatly plugged.

“The new petroleum products supply and pricing framework which eliminated corruption-tainted subsidy payments has among others greatly solved fuel scarcities by ensuring availability of products at all locations in the country; reduced hoarding, smuggling and diversion substantially and stabilise price at the actual product price; encouraged investments in both Refineries and Retails; provided Government more revenue to address social and infrastructural needs of the country.

“In line with the critical infrastructural focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, an unprecedented 30 per cent of 2016 budgetary provision has been committed to capital projects.

“As the administration works assiduously to build a new solid foundation, credible image and pull the country out of the present hardships, the APC appeals for patience and cooperation from Nigerians.”

As the economic situation continues to deteriorate, many Nigerians appear not interested in the political angle of recession and the blame game between the APC and PDP, but their concern is to see the economy rebound.

16

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion Edo’s election debacle TREASURES BOLA BOLAWOLE turnpot@gmail.com 0807-552-5533 (sms only)

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hat goes round comes around is a popular saying that played truth before our very eyes last week with the postponement of the Edo state governorship election a few hours before the D-Day. That, exactly, was what happened last year with the presidential election which the Independent National Electoral Commission postponed on grounds of security. he same security reasons have been advanced for truncating the Edo election; the only slight difference is that whereas the Army had a hand in the 2015 postponement debacle, this time, it is the Police and the Department of State Security that have been the reported instigators.

DSS has been especially notorious under the Muhammadu Buhari administration since the change of guard there; and the Police, too, have given many goose pimples under its new leadership. When security organisations operate as an arm of government, or of a political party to be more exact, instead of an independent body meant to serve the interests of all citizens, then, there is a problem.

Everyone knew that security was a ruse for a postponement that had the imprints of everything political. The election was postponed because the ruling party in Edo as well as at the Centre, the All Progressives Congress, were frightened by likely unfavourable outcome of the election. To be more exact, they most likely had defeat staring them in the face. Security reports, discreet opinion polls as well as feelers from the party faithful on the field must have alerted APC to the fact that it was not in any comfortable position

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to win the election and retain Edo state had the election been held last Saturday. So the postponement must have been instigated by the party so it can buy some more time to put things right before going to face its opponents. That exactly was what happened last year when all indices indicated that President Goodluck Jonathan was going to lose the presidential election. Under the ruse of security threats, the election was postponed by weeks, giving the then government-in-power the life-line it required to make spirited efforts to make amends and turn the tide.

It did not work then; it is doubtful if it will work now. Jonathan still went ahead to lose the election although many pundits said the margin of loss suffered would have been greater had the elections been held at the earlier date. Much of the staggering, indeed illegal, expenditure wasted on that election happened after the postponement. Are we set for an encore? APC, then the opposition party, cried itself hoarse over the postponement but the government-in-power still had its way.

The tides have turned and now it is the PDP being given a dose of its own bitter medicine.

The Law of Karma has come home to roost with PDP. In this, as it was then, INEC is the fall guy but what can it do if those meant to provide security throw their hands up in the air for whatever reasons? Even if INEC suspects foul play, it is helpless and is left with no choice in the circumstance than to accept the fait accompli.

The electors are also helpless; taken into consideration the do-or-die nature of our politics, some semblance of security must be put in place or else most voters would be too scared to venture near any polling booth.

The security agencies therefore hold what looks like a veto power over the conduct of elections in this country. They can truncate elections at will. All they need do is flash the “all is not safe” signal before INEC and that is all. This is potent danger to our renascent democracy.

Dubious election postponements call the

Dubious election postponements call the independence and, thus, integrity of INEC into question

independence and, thus, integrity of INEC into question. There is the likelihood for people to see INEC as a willing tool in the hands of the government-that-be; and where the reliability of the electoral umpire is called to question, the sanctity of the entire process as well as the results of elections will be called to question.

Where this is the case, the people will lose interest in democracy. As we have seen, even the most forthright INEC can be held hostage by the government-of-the-day using security issues as a ruse and playing its hands hiding behind the security agencies. As our democracy matures, we must find a way around this mountain. Then there is the issue of time that is wasted, logistics that have to be replicated again and costs that have to be borne by all those involved: Political parties and their candidates have to search for funds to block the added weeks since political activities must continue to be upbeat. INEC, too, loses money and must necessarily recourse to government for supplementary budget. To think that this is the same government that has gone a borrowing to pay workers’ salaries! And in an economy that it is recession, where government is running from pillar to post begging for loans to finance the budget, this is one wastage too many.

The question has often been asked: If we cannot muster all the resources at our disposal to run elections in a single state, how can we assure anyone that we can satisfactorily run elections all over the country? This is a legitimate cause for worry, although INEC’s response, to wit, that sole elections pose more challenges because all attention and energy is focused there by political parties, is germane.

Something has got to be done about this before it becomes the norm. But a more potent question is: How do we break the emerging vice-like grip of the security agencies over elections?

The veto power they are surreptitiously wielding now is not known to law and is, therefore, illegal. A way must be found around it. Ultimately, voters must continually teach “smart” politicians that they can postpone but not avert Doom Day. Ask Jonathan!

Pyramid, the network and multi-level fraud Jones Onwuasoanya

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any people believe that the loudest fad of the moment is Bet9ja or other sports betting brands, which a lot of our youths and even the elderly have embraced with hope of getting some quick money to escape the very harsh economy we are presently facing, but that doesn’t seem to be true.

There are more people indulging in worse gambles than soccer betting. From young students who are tricked into parting with their pocket monies, to their parents whose life savings may have been taken away from them on the pretence of making life better for them, and making it possible for them to work from home and make thousands of Dollars.

The promoters of this attractive business could not have a better swell time than now, when more than five million Nigerians who were previously employed are now back to the labour market, and confused about what to do with their lives. Unfortunately, some of these people who have been laid off either by some commercial banks, oil com-

panies, travel agencies, and many other companies that have packed up in the last one year, when Nigeria’s economy has continued on a downward slide, may end up throwing away the little savings they may have put together and with which they may have been able to sustain their families for some time as they try to invest in one network marketing venture or the other. The proliferation of these network marketing companies in Nigeria is mostly as a result of the dire economic situation.

It is important to make it clear that I do not think nor will want to lead any of my readers into believing that EVERY network marketing or more aptly, Multi Level Marketing idea is fraudulent, unprofitable or unsustainable. In truth, there are several successful brands that have been sustained over the years through the Multi-Level Marketing ideology.

No matter what term you choose for this type of marketing, the main gist about it all is that the companies who make these products, design a business plan that makes it possible for them not to just hire their salespersons, rather they lure these salespersons into a form of partnership whereby these salespersons see them-

selves as partners of the business organization or distributors who do not only sell these companies’ products but also canvass for more people to join the company under the same arrangement. These companies in turn make them pay for their products ahead of time and pay them commission based not just on the sales they make, but also on the number of people they have been able to convince to join the business organization and sell their products. While, many of these companies have packed up, with more than eighty percent of those who invested their monies having their hopes crash before them like pack of cards, some products have remained afloat in the market, but not with half of the number of people who flocked the business at its inception in Nigeria. A good number of those who subscribed to the business are today regretting that decision.

Network marketing or multi-level marketing outfits are springing up in different molds every other day.

Different ideas, different selling patterns and different mouth-watering incentives by these outfits, yet, more of these companies will still come into the country or be grown by

Nigerians and more Nigerians will still go ahead to register with them.

Unfortunately, even those who had experienced failure in an earlier experiment with network marketing will still go ahead to invest in any new one that comes up. This is because; 1. These companies promise incentives that will be too difficult to turn down. 2. It takes very little money to enroll in most of these companies. 3. There are evidences that some people actually benefit from the scheme. 4. Jobs are scarce and there are few people who have the kind of money required to set up their private businesses in today’s Nigeria, but it is easier for many of them to get Five Thousand Naira or a little less to subscribe into a business that may give them millions of Naira, a car, and even build them houses.

The fact that there are people whose lives are turned around for good by some earlier network marketing experiments make it impossible for many people to understand how risky and mostly ill-advised it is to invest your hard-earned money in these businesses.

•Onwuasoanya wrote in from Owerri

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Between Mahmoud and EFCC

he renewed war against corruption in the last 15 months of the Buhari administration is heating up the polity in such a way that it will take only saints to survive the intrigues emanating from the push. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission[EFCC] ,Ibrahim Magu, must be feeling the smoke more than many envisaged.

The heat on Magu is not all about the All Progressives Congress [APC] slogan of Corruption Fighting Back. Those who looted Nigeria’s treasury will not sit aside and allow themselves to be thrown into the stinking jailhouses which are populated majorly by compatriots who were forced into crime by their maladministration.

The EFCC boss is in for a long drawn battle with members of the Nigeria Bar Association [NBA] following a press statement from the agency in response to the Inaugural speech of the new President of the NBA, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud.

Mahmoud said: “ I strongly recommend that the EFCC be limited to investigation… while prosecution should be handled by an independent resource prosecution agency.” That was at the end of the 56th Annual Conference of the NBA which took place in Port Harcourt.

The EFCC replied in less than 48 hours. In a statement, the agency said: “Mahmoud’s suggestions

appear perfectly in sync with a cleverly disguised campaign by powerful forces that are uncomfortable with the reinvigorated anti-graft campaign of the EFCC and are hell- bent on emasculating the agency by stripping it of powers to prosecute with the lame excuse that an agency that investigates cannot also prosecute.”

The statement went far in ridiculing members of the legal profession. “A Bar populated or directed by people perceived to be rogues and vultures cannot play the role of

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financial crimes. We must also be mindful of the fact that an accused is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. Even criminals are entitled to legal representation.

It is therefore constitutional for lawyers to defend their clients.

We believe that such blanket comments should not come from the high office of the EFCC Chairman. He has lawyers working for

There are those who feel that it is not a fair war

priests in the temple of justice’’, it added.

Lawyers across the country have come out in full force against Magu and are demanding an unreserved apology from him.

While the constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to free speech, we believe public officers should not make unguarded statements. Magu as boss of the EFCC is expected to talk less and work more behind the scene. It is not part of the training he received even as police officer to trade words in the course of investigation or any other assignment.

There is no doubt that some lawyers have entered the bad books of Nigerians for their roles in defending some of those who have sabotaged this country through

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

the Agency and those harsh words also mean that the learned men under his nose are “perceived to be rogues and

vultures.” That will tantamount to one poking fingers in his own eyes.

The EFCC may see the reinvigorated anti-graft campaign from their own perspective. There are those who feel that it is not a fair war. There are questions about probing the campaign finances of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] while leaving out the source of fund for the ruling APC during the drive to chase PDP away from the Presidency.

The same script that seems to be playing out today under him remind many of the days of pioneer Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, whose job was to harass opponents of then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The moment Magu frees himself from the perception that only those who are not in President

Muhammadu Buhari’s party are fit for investigation, his perceived detractors will hide their faces in shame.

Nigeria needs strong institutions, not leaders. Magu should learn from the Ribadu experience. While in office, Ribadu had every opportunity to stand tall on the podium of excellence. That was not to be as the EFCC became Ribadu, personalized, instead of an anti-graft agency.

Magu has a bright future and the accolades are pouring.

One came from an American, Diberg McRailey. According to him: “We are immeasurably impressed by the performance of Mr. Ibrahim Magu- the head of the Nigerian anti-graft agency. We’re pleased that he has improved upon the feats of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu. He is a good choice by President Muhammadu Buhari. We’ll like to see him here, encourage President Muhammadu Buhari to bring in more Magus into the Nigerian anti-graft crusade. With Magu in charge at the EFCC, Nigeria is sure to put corruption behind her as a matter of necessity.”

We urge Magu to do more in the fight against corruption by restricting himself to the job and distancing the agency from the politics of politicians in government. Let his work speak for him, there should be no room for grandstanding. Magu’s profile is tall enough to keep his head high.

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POLITICS

John Mayaki

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – home and abroad is confronting a daunting electoral map, survival and significant intra-party disadvantages even as we approach the zero-hour to the September 28 governorship election. From Edo South to Central to Edo North Owan West and Owan East down to Akoko-Edo and still counting there are tell-tales, handwritings on the walls signaling time-up for PDP – the more so, in the three local government areas that make up the Etsako Federal Constituency.

The Governor Adams Oshiomhole dancing steps and gesticulations – giving hope to the people – is enough intimidation for the PDP – they are already complaining that the Comrade has taken campaigns to another height and it’s becoming difficult for them to comprehend.

I think we need more of it – never mind if it runs their belly – so far the purpose is achieved.

Talking very seriously, the PDP candidate – Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has less than fifteen days to cobble together the remains of his party before challenging Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s All Progressives Congress (APC) magniloquence campaign necessary to win the Osadebey Avenue race.

Fifteen days from this publication is a lot of time in life, but not much in a governorship campaign of the PDP – the PDP that we see today.

The most precious asset any governorship candidate has is time. Mr. Ize-Iyamu’s must be wisely invested in local governments and wards that are on the bubble, especially ones he may be able to take from the APC column – if there are.

Start from senatorial districts – Ize-Iyamu shouldn’t go near Edo North and if at all, maybe to refuel while on transit. He shouldn’t waste his time there – at least, he saw how the people of Akoko-Edo heralded Godwin and Shaibu when they visited – in the similitude of the triumphant entry. You saw enthusiastic old men and women jockeying for space – you saw people struggling to be counted and to crown it all, the Oshiomhole style!

Although, there are a handful of octogenarian PDPs such as Col. Tunde Akogun, Chief Johnson Emasealu, among others unfortunately, they no longer can eat a cow in the time it took them to brush their teeth when Mr. Fix it had teeth to bite.

Here, you talk of the Domingos, the Akpatasons, the Adjotos, the Emilos, the Jemitolas, among other political generalissimos who will corner the substantive votes needed for the sail. In this local government, Oshiomhole’s achievements will speak for him just as the role unity in the party will play – all these, the PDP does not enjoy. It’s a no-go-area for the PDP and the votes will bear me witness come September 28. In all sincerity, the PDP is sure going to pick up some crumbs!

Let’s not discuss the three Etsakos – West, East and Central – it’s one-way-block-votes. Here, you have Mr. Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the Distinguished Senator, Francis Alimikhina. Here too, you have the running mate to the APC candidate, Godwin Obaseki - Comrade Philip Shaibu, among other personalities and factors not necessary for this discussion.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu's chances in Edo North, Central

Obaseki

Like I said earlier, he can refuel his car here, since there is a federal road that leads from Benin City to Abuja – for Pastor to expect votes here, is to waste his time. Remember, time is not his friend – the carnival in Jatau the other day is a pointer!

In Owan West and Owan East, Professor Julius Ihonvbere is a household name – “na im bi dis” – he will bring his political pressure to bear. Don’t forget, House of Representatives man, Mr. Pally Iriase - the ‘political iroko’ is here. I am sure you know former Deputy Governor, Rev. Peter Obadan, Comrade Abdul Oroh, Abolagba, Ogedengbe, Asiens, Victoria Amu, Obasuke among others.

All these among other political foot soldiers of the Comrade Governor will stand to bear their father’s name – and the crumbs will go to the Pastor, nobody can deny him of this too.

In aggregate, the crumbs from Akoko-Edo and the fragments from Owan West and Owan East without a snifter from Etsako is the expectation of the PDP in Edo North – to be fair, 25 per cent of the total vote cast.

However, the PDP is preparing to fall back to Edo Central votes with the bulk of her time – five local government areas to sweep her way to Osadebey Avenue – after the red card in Edo North.

But, there’s over there, a blockade! Their calculations have been untied by the ravaging APC and the bubble busted – thoroughly smashed. Today, in Edo Central – from Ewu to Irua, Ubiaja to Ekpoma, Uromi and beyond, it’s all endorsements galore for Obaseki and Shaibu – not the ‘arrangee’ and micro-managed outing of the PDP. For instance, hear how the Onojie of Uromi with his counterpart from Opoji, Ubiaja and Ekpoma nailed the PDP’s coffin, “I do not trust Pastor Ize-Iyamu enough to become a Governor. My people want Godwin Obaseki. I am not a politician but a business man. Politics is not about sentiment but development”, these highly respected custodians of our customs and tradition revealed.

They didn’t stop there. Hear this, “I supported him (Oshiomhole) before and he has been nice to the

Ize-Iyamu

Fifteen days from this publication is a lot of time in life, but not much in a governorship campaign

people of Uromi so we have no fear in the candidacy of the All Progressive Congress, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy.

“I will pray and the ancestors of this land will support them to make sure that they fulfil their dreams" Onojie of Uromi poured his sincere heartfelt support.

Won’t you ‘dust your sandals’ and take to your heels from such a place - assuming you are Pastor - as reality dawn?

But hear this – on that their visit, they needlessly bribed the traditional rulers and trust, the Royal Highnesses turned it down – food meant for idols! And, just as they were leaving, the fearless Opoji Royal Father took to the microphone in the market-square and announced the ‘fake’ – no wonder, he was threatened. It’s a daunting task!

The following factors will further crash the PDP’s hope here – Oshiomhole’s achievements, Obaseki’s family tie with the Esans, APC menof-timbers-and-calibers, the role of Rt. Hon. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Justin Okonoboh and other political appointees like Commissioner Didi Adodo who is ever ready to crush anything that smells PDP. I hear his colleague commissioners from Esan are hatching a plan to give the PDP a bloody nose on Election Day. Or, where will they pass when Mr. Victor Eboigbe is right over there non-sleeping? Did you see Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor over there in Iruekpen? What about those die-hard Edo N’ Safe Hands loyalists? This group, so formidably built by the Director General of the Obaseki Campaign Organisation, Hon. Osarodion Ogie and Comrade Hon. Philip Shaibu is said to be ready to crack anything crackable from the PDP. Over there, you see Comrade Peter Esele – he will deploy his labour union tactics of mobilisation, engagement and prowess – his campaign structure is already being oiled on a daily basis and would be rolled in on the PDP. But, wait, there is the man, Chief Francis Inegbeneki – the Ozoya – he doesn’t play the away matches but home. He’s right there waiting for them let alone, the indefatigable State party Chairman – a three-

time-Commissioner, Barr. Anselm Ojezua. Where are the Shaka Momodus among others? Leave Mr. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Justine Okonoboh - he will bare his fangs!

Esan people are grateful lots – they have a rich cultural value of never compensating failure but hardwork - appreciation for good things when they notice any and that’s the more reason Edo Central will prefer Obaseki to continue from where Comrade Oshiomhole stopped.Haven’t you noticed that Ize-Iyamu and PDP are campaigning bare-handedly – no nothing – “I will do this”. “I will do that”. “I will probe Oshiomhole” and “I will build a castle in the air for the people”. “I will construct an overhead bridge from Ring Road in Benin to Auchi” - day-dreamers!

This divisive campaign messages will further alienate the voters and swing the votes against the PDP – unfortunately, Ize-Iyamu’s most plausible senatorial district.

The APC intensive campaign here, makes it a must-win coupled with that threat on traditional rulers.

But, Obaseki is campaigning thus: We have done Isua-Uzunema Road, Irrua-Usugbenu-UgbegunUjogba Road, Ewohimi-EwattoOhordua-Emu-Okhuesan Road, Amedokhian-Ugboha Road, Igueben-Ewohimi-Ewatto-OhorduaEmu-Okhuesan Road, Igueben-Udo Road, Ugbegun-Ujogba-Ebudin Road, Ewohimi - Agadagba Road, and flagged off the construction of 7.5km dual-carriage intra-city roads in Ekpoma – this is apart from hospitals and schools. And, we will do more – continuity.

Juxtapose both campaigns and see who the good people of Esan would vote for – I mean between Ize-Iyamu’s “I will” and Obaseki’s “We have and we’ll continue to” campaigns.

And so, the votes to be counted

by Ize-Iyamu in Edo Central remained narrow – and may have grown even more precarious. It now looks exceedingly difficult for him to assemble even the barest swing wards – like Arue ward – where the godfather lives in Uromi. He sure will have that polling unit, with that of Ugbesias. Chief Tom Ikimi is not known to have won his polling unit neither Chief Tony Omoaghe among others.

Obaseki will surely carry the day in this local government area – I can place a bet on this – though betting is unchristlike. Ize-Iyamu can ‘run-away’ with the fragment of less than 35 per cent total votes cast - he should console himself No venture, no success! No harm in trying.

In all fairness, the PDP should be kind to herself by looking at the mirror. Compare and contrast both the pictorial evidence at the campaigns – the sea of people – still pictures and electronic footages – then spot the difference! If, peradventure, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is asked to conduct a mock election in this Senatorial District today, I am sure Ize-Iyamu knows he would go home shedding tears. Don’t Waste Your Time, Pastor!

•Mayaki writes from Benin City, Edo State.

19

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Life in the city Making money from rats

The Mega City

Life in Mega City Oil exploration: Making Lagos different

...EXCLUSIVE LAGOS MAGAZINE

21 22

Here comes new Alade Market The main gate of the new alade market

For more than 20 years, the history of the over 35-year-old Alade market at Allen Avenue has been meshed in controversy of relocation. Not too long ago, the market was relocated to a location not too far from the old market, though not without opposition from the traders. EZURIKE UGOCHUKWU visited the new Alade Market and reports

M OLUWATOSIN OMONIYI CITY Editor

tosin.omoniyi@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

odupe Adelaja lives in the Agege area of Lagos. For 10 years that she has lived in the area, all her purchases of lace and other fabrics have been from the famous Alade market. Since buying of one form of uniform material or the other has been a regular ritual in Lagos, she visits the market at least, thrice a month for her purchases.

As a public worker in the Ikeja, the issue of proximity is issue. More so, she has her regular customer whom she buys from.

Friday, August 22, she went

The shops are expensive. How do we make up the money?

to the market from her work place in the afternoon to make a fast purchase. On getting to the market, the market has been cordoned off with zinc sheets and the roofs of the market stores removed. She was immediately informed by one of the bureau de change agents who usually stand along the road, that the market has finally been relocated to the back of the old market near the canal, off Afolabi Aina Street.

The market, with a bold signboard; ‘welcome to the New Alade market ‘beside the canal, is in a serene atmosphere.

However, when Modupe entered the market, she tried to locate her customer in the market but she couldn’t. According to most of the traders’ statement, there were possibilities that Modupe’s customer may not return because most of the traders at the old market complained they are not able to pay the new store price in the market going by the recent economic reality in the country.

They said that many of them

(traders) may have relocated out of Lagos or have looked for cheaper shops outside the area.

The above situation is one in a thousand of realities Lagosians are facing whenever their places of businesses are marked for demolition and subsequent rebuilding.

However, the situation of Alade market is novel in the history of market relocation and demolition in Lagos.

This appears to be the only market traders were relocated before demolition was carried out.

Festus Ogunke, a trader in the market, has relocated his boutique business from the old market to the new market. While trying to settle down in the new market, he expressed unhappiness that they (traders) were forced out almost at the same time schools were about to resume, coupled with low business patronage that is experienced virtually in all businesses across CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 LIFE/MEGA CITY

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Some of the shops at the new Alade Market, Ikeja CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

the country.

“You can see this place is scanty even though we have more number of shops than we had at the former site. Our members appear reluctant to come to this place that looks like back yard, even as some groups are in court with the concessionaire and government. But as you can see, the two sections of the market are linked with wooden pedestrian bridges. There is no access road to this second section of the market. As it is today, the paved walls built at the canal are falling. If nothing is done to rebuild the watercourse here, we may be sacked by flood one day.” He said.

A lady who deals on children wears and toys popularly called ‘babies’ who wouldn’t want her name mentioned, expressed her displeasure over the suffering people are subjected to in the ongoing recession of the country. According to her, the wage people receive is not in any way a living wage.

“Some of our husbands in the bid for their wives to be busy spend money on shops yearly without business growth. And after some time, they wind up the business; that is the type of situation we found ourselves now. The shops are expensive.

How long will it take us to make up the money? N600, 000 is it easy to raise in Nigeria of today. God help us.”

A technician, who stays along the road , Shina Idowu, said at the moment, the market environment is quiet. A situation according to him may not be solely based on relocation but on the present economic situation that has affected virtually every other business.

“You can count the number of people that come to the market daily since June that they relocated to this place. I think it’s the economy that is affecting them. After all, they have customers that are supposed to follow them to the new site.

It’s not as if they have ever been out of business as a result of this relocation or that they moved far away from their

Here comes new Alade Market

Some of the shops yet to be put into use at the new Alade market

former location. Many thanks to technological advancement, phone communication is supposed to help them maintain link with their customers.”

Mrs. Olajimoke Idowu, secretary, Alade Market Women and Men Traders Association, said though the market is becoming livelier by the day, they (traders) are adjusting to the new environment with its inherent challenges. “When you relocate, even from your residential home, obviously, you will lose some of your friends and gain some new ones. This place is more spacious and with a reasonable parking space.

The former place provided no space for our customers to park their cars. The little space then was only for shop owner to park their cars. As such, our customers were regularly at daggers drawn with LASTMA

The government and the traders have been at each other’s throat

on wrong parking. Here, we have much space for ourselves and our customers. This environment is airy; there is security. It’s neatly kept and there are social amenities like toilet and water supply.”

She explained that the difference as the former location had about 300 lockup shops but the new location has over 500 shops, implying that it could more take new traders.

Idowu called on all traders to close ranks with the government of the day to make life meaningful for them.

She said plans are on the way to build the needed bridge in the market. She added that the market has for sale variety of goods, ranging from textiles, foodstuffs, household equipment, boutiques and back to school. And that security is well beefed up in the market.

Presently, it appears the sec-

tion of the old Alade market that accommodates the Bureau De change operators is not part of the old Alade market to be relocated, as activities are still going on in that area.

To that effect, the Special Assistant to the Ikeja Local Government Area, Chairman on Media and Communication, Olisaemeka Obi, said the area is part of the market that some grey areas are being tidied up. He also said the area that is being cordon off with zinc sheets at the moment has legal issues being sorted out also.

Some traders in the market went to court and that is why the concessionaire has suspended work in the whole area proposed for an ultra-modern shopping mall. “Business has taken off in the new place fully since July 18th and most of the traders like the new place. This is the first time government anywhere relocated traders before demolition. The original shop owners who were 299 in number paid N150, 000 to get the shops. That was the agreement between the government and the concessionaire but as for the remaining shops, whatever rate the concessionaire places the cost, it’s not within our control of the price.

That could amount to the reason you may have disparity in prices of shops. The other people that are not among the original shop owners. It’s between them and the concessionaire. Whatever the bargain between them stands,” he said.

The government and the traders have been at each other’s throat since August, 2010. The concession between the Ikeja Local Government and the developer, Messer Masters Reality International Concepts Ltd, signed the agreement for the company to invest N6.9 billion for a 30-year project on a Build, Own, and Transfer (BOT) basis.

Today, the new Alade market comprises of 504 lock up shops, 200 open stores, boreholes, completely paved interlocking stones type floor and over 50 cars Capacity Park still at the Allen avenue.

LIFE/IN THE CITY 21

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Making money from rats As part of efforts to wipe out rats from Lagos state and prevent outbreak of Lassa fever and other diseases, a bounty has been placed on rat hunting in the state.

LADESOPE LADELOKUN reports

R

ecently,news broke that a non- governmental organisation, Phosguard fumigant Ltd, in partnership with the Lagos State government had perfected plans to declare war on rats through a kill-rats-and-make money campaign. That is part of efforts to prevent another outbreak of Lassa fever in Lagos State.

Mr. Oluwasegun Benson, Chief Executive officer, CEO, of Phosguard Fumigant Ltd, said that a more serious strategy to prevent rat from infecting humans needed to be applied. ‘‘As part of efforts to de-rat the state and prevent epidemic from Lassa fever and other diseases, a bounty has been placed on the rats in the state. We will buy off at least 20 rats for a yet- to- be determined amount in Lagos. Now it is operation kill rats and make money,” he said.

Benson explained that a rat has 28 days gestation period and in the past years, there has not been any solid structure on ground to curb them from infecting humans with diseases.

He stated that Lagos is already approaching an epidemic level which can lead to a pandemic height with Lassa fever. “We must be proactive and launch a more co-ordinated approach to controlling them. It is war against rodents and pests in Lagos,’’ he said.

Reacting to the development, Kenneth Damilola, an accountant with an insurance company, said everything must be done to prevent another case of Lassa fever in Lagos. To him, the partnership between Lagos State government and the NGO in question is commendable.

Kenneth said, “I think a project like this is a great one. The last outbreak of Lassa fever affected many people. I think it was even worse in the north because I was serving then in Niger State. Lassa fever is terrible.

But I won’t hunt rat for anything.

What’s that? Are they Boko Haram?”

Another Lagos resident, Bolanle Shittu, said she was not aware of such a project. But Bola believes it is commendable development.“I am not aware of any move to de-rat Lagos.

But anything to get rid of rats for me is okay. I hate rats. It’s really strange to me that one can get paid for killing rats. I’ve not heard of it anywhere,” she said.

For Engineer Kolade Adebayo, he can’t wait for the project to kick off. According to him, it shows some people are thinking in the right direction.

4,400 rats killed in six markets in Lagos

Rat-poison in high demand following the outbreak of Lassa fever

Rat trap

“In this part of the world, we wait for tragedy to strike before we put on our thinking caps. I do not pray for another outbreak of Lassa fever. So, I totally support any initiative to get rid of rats.

It is a good one. You get paid for saving yourself from a disease.

It is really interesting. I think it shouldn’t be limited to Lagos alone, “Kolade said.

Apparently, apart from the

health benefits that come with this laudable move, it’s an initiative that would create jobs for hundreds of youths within the Lagos metropolis when it finally comes on stream.

A rat poison vendor in the Berger area of Lagos, Ben Isaac, believes it’s another season of boom for his business.

He said: ‘‘ I remember the last time Lassa Fever struck in the country. I made a lot of money.

I know it’s another time for me to make a lot of money. If they want 30 to 50 rats, it’s not a problem for me. I’m ready for business.’’

But another rat poison vendor, Taiwo Oluwatimilehin, who plies his trade between Ogba and Agege axis of Lagos, said there’s nothing to be excited about. “I don’t see any big deal in it. Before the announcement, I was making money. I’ ve been in this business for almost 10 years. But since it concerns the safety of Lagos residents, it’s okay ,’’ he said.

Efforts to get the Director of Public Affairs in the state’s Ministry of Health to speak on the matter proved abortive as she declined to make comments on the issue.

But it would be recalled that the Lagos State government had earlier in the year began the battle to exterminate rats in the state which saw 4,400 rats killed in different parts of the state following the outbreak of Lassa fever across the country.

Lagos recorded no fewer than 14 suspected cases with at least one reported death case.

22 LIFE/MEGA CITY

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Oil exploration: Making Lagos different Elizabeth Ogunbamowo

‘M

an commits suicide, leaves suicide note for Buhari’. This and many other odd stories are what constitute news for the national dailies. At a time when economic recession is the order of the day, people’s complaints and groans are banging the ear drums of those in power. While the Federal Government is trying to do everything possible to ensure that things are put into proper shape; discovering a new means of income is therefore a soothing relief.

Oil has always been a major source of income for Nigeria. Its discovery and exploration in any state of the federation is a blessing to the federation as a whole. However, the possibility of that discovery being a curse to the particular area where it was discovered is a reality, bearing in mind the current crises going on in Niger Delta.

Now that oil has been discovered in Lagos State, residents of the state are reacting to this with mixed feelings. While they are expectant that it would definitely benefit the state in the long run, they are still apprehensive over the ugly trends that come with oil exploration.

In a chat with New Telegraph, some residents voiced their feelings on the issue.

'Govt should carry community along'

T

he most important thing is to carry the community along. If they want to start the exploration, the government, the oil major, that is multi-national companies that would do the exploration and the host communities must come together and agree on issues regarding oil spillage, vandalisation, installation and government transfer. What would be the role of government in terms of community development? What would be the role of the community itself in protecting those installations and what would be the role of the oil majors. If they were able to sit down and trash out these issues, I am very sure, we won’t have this issue of environmental problem whereby the community is crying about neg-

ligence and marginalisation.

There are lots of benefits for Lagos State. First of all, there would be increase in revenue base of the state. When they start the exploration and start exporting the product, Lagos State would now be benefitting from the 13 per cent derivation fund and the revenue allocation for Lagos State from federal allocation account would definitely increase. Also, as the oil companies come, there’s going to be job creation, a lot of things would just follow. You know things that follow a new investment especially in a place like Badagry. So, one can be rest assured that Badagry would develop more and faster'.

Mr. Osaze Omoragbon, Economist

Biodun: There'll be mass employment “T

he main problem is that we are too dependent on oil alone. We only depend on oil as the major source of income and that is the reason why the things happening in Niger Delta are really affecting us. It is a good discovery though, they should look into other areas because in this Lagos State, ‘omo oniles’ (land grabbers) charge people over ordinary land, not to talk of the one that has oil. If care is not taken, these miscreants would just dominate the whole thing

and they would want to mess it up. When we have various things that do bring in money, not many people would be interested in the oil that much.

To avoid vandalization and the so called militancy, government should gather the youths of that area, make them part of it. You know the major problem that turns these youths to miscreants is unemployment. Government should get them engaged, for both those who are skilled and those who are semi-skilled.

They can provide a platform

where those who are semiskilled can learn some skills.

Just get them engaged. The government has to sensitize them, re-orientate them. That would make them responsible and they would not constitute nuisance to that project. The state would benefit from it. There would be employment opportunities; also Lagos would also have a greater share since the oil is coming from here'.

Miss Abam Biodun, Chemist

No to militancy – Christian 'Lagosians will benefit' “N

'ow, we have militants here in Lagos. The other day , the Oba of Iba town was kidnapped, though he was later released. So, what government should do is that government should stamp out militancy from Lagos. There’s something called justice for all. If you are exploring oil in a particular community, you make sure that members of that community get well taken care of. When they are not well taken care of, that’s when they start picking up arms. Once there is a mineral deposit in a place, automatically that land belongs to the Federal Government. So, that means that when government comes with their equipment to start exploration, they take over that property, and if that is done without compensation, people would start picking up arms. If Lagos State government does not want that to happen, the youths of that community where the oil was found should be taken care of. This could be in form of Scholarships, aids, grants and whatever. The government should also make sure that the compensation in form of money that they would be giving to the Community should

be properly utilized. They must ensure that the money gets into the hands of the youths especially and not some elders who would use it for their personal interests, because it is the youths that would pick up the arms in future but if they are getting compensation, they would not do that'.

Mr. Emewulu Christian, Lawyer

T

he gover nment needs to really focus on the people living in that community where the oil was found because exploration of oil comes with a lot of plant degradation and exploring oil has to be in a swampy area; it would therefore affect the rivers there. Farming would also be affected; therefore, government should provide agricultural aids for the people living there. As they are exploring, they should put in measures to control environmental pollution and they should not neglect the people there. The area should be well developed and shouldn’t be lacking in terms of industrialization, infrastructure, accessible roads etc. However, no amount of environmental controls they want to put up would be enough. The exploration would still affect the people’s lives because exploration of oil comes with burning of carbon, air pollution and it even affects the health of residents.

Therefore, government should build

hospitals, schools etc.

Those things that happened in the past in Niger Delta should not be repeated again.

Lagos State would benefit from the discovery. The truth is that even without oil, Lagos State is one of the states that earn the highest IGR (internally generated revenue).

States that produce oil gets 13 per cent derivation fund and now that oil has been discovered here, that means more income for Lagos. Therefore, there would be more infrastructural development in Lagos, good roads, good water supply to remote areas, good schools etc. Badagry would also open up. Oil exploration would help to develop the place because oil companies would want to find their way there. The place would also be on world map and eventually, the place would become well recognised'.

Mr. Abijo Oluwatobi, Medical Doctor

LIFE/IN THE CITY 23

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lay-by at Iyana-Oworonshoki, Car Wash Bus-Stop

Tackling Lagos gridlock with lay-bys Last week, the Lagos State government unveiled another lay-by at Car Wash near Oworonshoki area of Lagos to ensure free traffic flow along the Third Mainland Bridge. But the question is, won’t the activities of touts rubbish the gains of the lay-bys?

Muritala Ayinla reports Elegushi Commissioning the Car Wash lay-by

T

here is no doubt about the fact that the Lagos State Government under the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is taking a holistic approach to solving traffic issue across the state with infrastructural development such as provision of lay-bys, pedestrian bridges and fly-over bridges among many others.

While the impact of the innovations is felt in some areas with remarkable reduction in the travel time and sudden disappearance of street hawkers, other commuters and motorist especially in the areas where the fly-over bridges are under construction, are groaning over persistent traffic snarl.

Motorists plying Third Mainland Bridge or those driving towards popular Berger Bridge are commending the Ambode-led administration for the massive infrastructural develop-

ment that has not only changed the landscape and beauty of the place but also greatly made driving experience along the axis enjoyable with near absence of gridlock.

Speaking while commissioning the new lay-bys at IyanaOworoshonki by Car Wash bus -stop along Third Mainland Bridge, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Prince Nofiu Elegushi,described the construction of lay-bys in the traffic prone areas as strategic approach of his administration to solving the recurring traffic snarl in the state, especially along the Third Mainland Bridge axis.

Elegushi described the laybys as part of the state government's continued efforts at keeping traffic moving with pride, honour and dignity, adding that

Construction of the lay-bys has so far created orderliness

the state government remains committed to driving the state's economy through efficient transportation.

The Special Adviser added that the construction of the lay-bys has so far created orderliness in the state's transportation system, noting that the government has also provided other road infrastructures which according to him are to holistically address the traffic and the route.

New Telegraph gathered that the lay-bys which have the capacity to accommodate 20 buses simultaneously, also have features such as perimeter fences, perimeter height, Teflon bus shelter among others.

"Transportation as we all know is regarded as the life wire of every economy and oil that runs the wheel of every business. The volume of goods and service that are

exchanged per time, the ease and speed at which it is done translate into a value chain of productivity, employment, wealth creation and prosperity.

"The position of Lagos today as the foremost economic industrial, commercial and urban cosmopolitan in West cannot be over emphasised."

The Special Adviser, however warned that the lay-bys should not be used as loading bays by commercial drivers, adding that the state government would set up a committee to monitor the facility with a view to ensuring that they are not converted to mechanic village and other illegal activities. "I implore you to cooperate and support the state government in ensuring that this infrastructures and other that have been provided are properly made use of in order to ensure that sanity reigns on our roads. The facility is neither meant to be used as loading bays, nor for union activities, mechanic garage for repairing broken vehicles, and other illegal activities."

Barely few hours after the Special Adviser commissioned the lay-bys, about three members of the drivers union and touts were seen at the lay-bys running after commercial buses also known as "Danfo" to demand fees.

This, New Telegraph, gathered were some of the touts activities going on by these lay-bys and if not urgently checked could rubbish the gains so far recorded by the construction of the lay-bys.

24 LIFE/MEGA CITY

WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

“T

At war with LAWMA

Arumien.

According to Arumien: “It appears LAWMA has declared war on the people of Ago-Okota.

It was by coincidence that I saw the summons served on my inlaw’s premises on the floor by the gutter side to appear at the Magistrate Court 18 at Samuel Ilori Court House in Ogba-Ashaye, when I visited them on a week day. On alerting my in-law on the criminal summons notice which I found by the gutter side in front of their premises, and

they pleaded with me to follow up on their behalf.”

Attending the court sitting, he said he observed that all the tenants/landlords of the houses mentioned at that sitting were not present at the hearing in the court. He said he was aghast and wondered what really was going on between the PSP, LAWMA and the Lagos State government.

“From my observation, it is clear that those people whose cases were mentioned and not in the court were not properly served with the criminal summons, which the sitting Judge rightly observed and asked the lady prosecutor if these people were properly served?” From what I have observed so far, I hereby appeal to the state government to approach this issue with the fear of God and not to allow Lagosians to pay for services not rendered to them.”

Narrating their own experiences in the hands of LAWMA, Simi Odeku, Gbiro Akele, Charles Odibo, Titi Kunle and Justine Ogbebor, all shop owners along Egbeda road appealed to the state government to intervene in the way and manner the PSP and LAWMA are operating and causing pains and grief to them over non payments of refuse bills which LAWMA did not evacuate.

According to Titi Kunle, “We are all new tenants here.

We have just spent barely four months and within these four months, we have not seen any LAWMA truck come to collect garbage but to our chagrin, they just came and sealed our shops on the excuse that we have not paid our bills. You know what that means. They are depriving us of our livelihood.”

QUOTE

OF THE WEEK

"Lagos has done very well.

If I have money to invest, I will invest it in Lagos, because it is attracting investment. Lagos has realised a long time ago that government cannot fund all its needs. And I just love what Lagos has done.The Lagos story is a story of what Nigeria can do with itself-transparency,consistency, regulations...," Emir of Kano,Muhammadu Sanusi at the 15th meeting of the Joint Planning Board and National Council on Development in Kano State

IN NUMBERS

The Federal Government has set aside N567.4 billion ($1.68 billion) for the upgrade and modernisation of the Kano-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line

SE PT .

he Lagos State government wants to make money at all cost by using Private Support Partnership (PSP) initiative through her agency, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to rip Lagosians off their hard earned money in the name of unpaid refuse disposal bills,” said Alabi Alimi, who spoke with New Telegraph.

According to Alimi: “I can’t imagine how one will be subjected to pay a bill of N190,000 for services not rendered. Since I moved into this house and in this street in 2010, I have never seen a PSP vehicle come to pick garbage. It was in 2013 they started entering the street to distribute bills to all the houses to pay bill for services not rendered.”

He said further that,“when I visited the office of SARUBOL Nig. Ltd., the PSP in charge of my area Heap of refuse at Coconut bus stop on Oshodi-Apapa expressway in Ago-Palace way and met with an official to complain that I just moved into the house and they have not carried my garbage for once and yet want me to pay, he said to me and I quote, “Oga, there is nothing I can do about it. You have to go and pay whatever bill you are served, because the state government has a share from the money and the amount your premises was billed has been recorded.”

On whether the issue has been resolved, Alimi said, “Not at all, our house gate has been padlocked

by LAWMA. We have no access into our compound. However, we have gone to meet with the PSP in charge to seek ways of settling the matter.”

At Bakare Estate, Igando, Akande Ola, who was also affected, told New Telegraph that for the past four days, the gate of his house LAWMA truck clearing the waste by the road side has been under lock by LAWMA. This, according to him, is too bad see any solution because they “because I did not receive any no- are insisting that we should go tification or intention to seal my and pay the sum of N160,000 premises. I travelled for the week- just like that?” end and from there went to work.

At another location at AjiWhen I returned from work on a bola Aluko Street in Ago-Okota Monday, I discovered another pad- area, New Telegraph gathered It appears LAWMA lock had been used to lock my gate. from some residents that LAWAs a result, I could not have access MA has been harassing them in has declared war to my house. I thank God my family that area with criminal court on the people of is on holiday. Otherwise, it would summons over unpaid refuse have been very devastating. Mean- bin collection bills for which Ago-Okota while, someone gave me a contact they did not evacuate. “Going at LAWMA and I have been there by the new development, in the to report the matter which they weeks ahead, most houses may are attending to. But I don’t fore- likely be sealed,” said Patience

25

WEDNESDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Money

Business

CBN intensifies moves to lure foreign investors

Investor Stable currency key to stock market recovery

28 30

What's new Three consumer goods firms’ profit drop by N7.7bn p.26

FMBN mulls approval, payment of pending loan applications

L-R: Managing Director, Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company, Prof. Charles Inyangete; Chairman, African Union for Housing Financing (AUHF), Mr Oscar Mgaya; Executive Director, Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa, Secretariat to the AUHF, Kecia Rust and Executive Director, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, at a news conference on the forthcoming AUHF and Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company Conference and 32nd AGM in Abuja.

PHOTO: NAN

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE July 2016 ...............................17.1 % June 2016 ..............................16.5% May 2016...............................15.6%

p.26

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

EXCHANGE RATE

EXCHANGE RATE

(Parallel Market as at August 26)

(Interbank as at August 26)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N423 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N564 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N470

l Foreign Reserves – $49.29bn as at 8/9/2016

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N306 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N408 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N345

Source: CBN

Recession threatens CBN’s efforts to stabilise naira CONCERN The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Capital importation fell by 75.73% in Q215

Deputy Editor (Business)

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Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa Finance Editor

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Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

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Asst Production Editor

Tony Chukwunyem

T

he grim numbers recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing that the country had slipped into recession could undermine efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to bolster the naira, analysts have said.

NBS’ data showed that the economy contracted 2.06 per cent in the three months to the end of June, worse than analysts expected, while inflation hit an 11-year high of 17.1 per cent, underlining the depth of the country’s crisis.

NBS also reported a “record” decline in capital importation, stating that the $647.1 million worth of capital imported into the country in the second quarter represented

a “fall of 75.73 per cent” compared to 2015.

“This provisional figure would be the lowest level of capital imported into the economy on record and would also represent the largest year-on-year decrease,” said NBS.” Interestingly, the agency further stated: “There was considerable uncertainty surrounding future exchange rate policy, which may have deterred investors.”

CBN launched a liberalised foreign exchange market on June 20, resulting in an over 40 per cent devaluation of naira. The move was a key condition given by foreign investors for their re-entry into Nigeria, having left the country last year due to foreign exchange controls introduced by the regulator.

But three months after the liberalised foreign exchange market took off, the lukewarm attitude shown by foreign investors has triggered liquidity issues in the market, causing naira to weaken on the parallel market.

In a bid to lure back the foreign investors the CBN, has taken several steps such as increasing the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from

$270 million Being the inflow from Citibank offshore clients for T-Bill’s purchase

12 per cent to 14 per cent and selling treasury bills/ bonds at high yields.

According to financial analysts, however, the reluctance of foreign investors to re-enter the Nigerian market in large numbers is due to concerns over the country’s economy.

“It’s really, really grim,” Africa Economist at research firm Capital Economics, John Ashbourne, told AFP. He said: “I think people underestimated the degree to which the oil sector would contract. Investors want to see some direction from Buhari, there is a sense that the policies they have implemented so far aren’t working. Nigeria is very dependent on foreign investment to improve the infrastructure and get the economy back on track, we need investor confidence.

“People are staying away because they don’t have any faith that things are turning around,” he added.

A senior analyst at Delta Investments, Mr. Dafe Edeki, said the CBN’s chances of luring foreign investors would depend, to a great CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

26

WEDNESDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS |news

Three consumer goods firms’ profit drop by N7.7bn WEAK EARNINGS Manufacturers’ profits are under pressure from a fall in crude prices, a weak naira and rising input costs

Chris Ugwu

F

ollowing macro-economic challenges, three top consumer goods companies quoted on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have reported N7.739 billion declines in profit after tax.

According to data gathered

by New Telegraph, the recent financial statements released to the Exchange showed that the three firms, which include Guinness Nigeria Plc, PZ Cussons Plc and Seven Up Bottling Company Plc reported a profit of N4.005 billion as against N11.744 billion.

The results, which stemmed from general weak gross earnings, showed a decline of 7.739 billion.

Further investigations revealed that Guinness Nigeria

currently occupies the third position in terms of share price in the sub-sector with N100 per share, led the top three league with a decline of 83.43 per cent or N4.352 billion in profit after tax for the Q3 2016 ended March 31, 2016.

The brewer, in a filing with the Exchange, said its net earnings dropped to N864.178 million during the third quarter of the year as against N5.216 billion posted a year earlier, accounting for 83.43 per cent decrease.

The company also reported 83.12 per cent drop in Q3 pretax profit to N1.204 billion compared with N7.134 billion posted the same period last year.

Revenue equally was down to N69.618 billion during the period under review from N84.750 billion a year earlier, representing a 17.85 per cent decrease.

PZ Cussons Plc with N18.65 per share price posted a 53.4 per cent or N2.441 billion de-

cline in profit after tax for the full year ended May, 2016.

The unaudited consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the period ended showed profit after tax of N2.129 billion as against N4.570 billion recorded in 2015, accounting for a drop of 53.4 per cent.

Profit before tax equally was down by 51.1 per cent from N6.651 billion posted the previous year in contrast to N3.249 billion recorded during the period under review.

The company’s revenue declined by 4.9 per cent to N69.527 billion as against N73.126 billion in 2015 Soft drink producer, SevenUp Bottling Company Plc, ended the first quarter of 2016 in the red, posting a 48.31 per cent or N946 million drop in profit after tax for the Q1 ended June 30, 2016.

The company’s post-tax profit fell to N1.012 billion during the period under review as against N1.958 billion recorded

the previous year, representing a decrease of 48.31 per cent.

Profit before tax stood at N1.265 billion as against N2.447 billion posted the previous year, indicating for a dip of 48.30 per cent.

Manufacturers in the country are finding profits under pressure from a fall in crude prices, a weak naira and rising input costs.

The fall in oil prices from 2014 that cut government revenue prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to peg naira at 197-199 to the dollar for 15 months in a bid to conserve reserves and cap price increases. The move, which caused a scarcity of dollars, crippled imports and increased costs for industries. It also led to the exit of foreign investors who are yet to return, almost three months after authorities allowed the naira to trade freely.

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 2.1 per cent in the three months through June from a

L-R: Customer Care Officer, Air France KLM, Judith Abu; Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe; Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro and Sale Assistant Officer, Air France KLM, Maria Owolabani, at the 2016 BusinessDay Banking Award in Lagos.

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Recession threatens CBN’s efforts to stabilise naira CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

extent, on the type of decisions that it takes at its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this month.

He said: “The grim figures released by NBS have led to widespread calls for CBN to cut interest rate. But CBN knows that if it heeds this call, its quest to attract foreign investors would be made more difficult.”

Just last week, in a note, FBNQuest provided data showing that foreign investors were yet to bring in significant inflows since the take-off of the liberalised forex market in June.

The firm stated: “The success of the new regime hinges upon sizeable autonomous inflows to supplement the CBN’s. The Financial Markets Dealers Quotation (FMDQ) website shows open futures contracts of $2.9 billion through to August 2017.

The portfolio community has shown its hand, although Nigerian corporates have probably been the larger players.”

It also noted that the widely reported sale by Citibank of $270 million on August 29 for the purchase of longer tenor Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) by its offshore clients has not triggered the re-entry of offshore investors in large numbers.

year earlier, while inflation accelerated to 17.1 per cent in July, the highest rate since October 2005.

Expectations that dollars would become available to manufacturers after the central bank abandoned its peg have been dashed, Paul Gbededo, the Flour Mill’s managing director, said last week at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). “The aspiration is that once you devalue, the people will bring in their dollars; that we are not seeing yet,” he said. “Nigeria is badly hit with foreign-exchange earnings, thereby not being able to fulfil its import bill.”

Nigerian companies will need to increase prices to remain profitable, according to Gbededo. “For those who are import-dependent, you have to see an increase in price, tracking the foreign exchange issues,” he said.

As at September 8, 2016, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $25.157 billion.

FMBN mulls approval, payment of pending loan applications CHEERING FMBN recorded surplus of N424 million from a total income of N5.8 billion

Dayo Ayeyemi

T

he Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is currently focusing on approval and disbursement of pending loan applications to retiring contributors, New Telegraph has learnt.

Group Head, Finance and Control Group of the apex mortgage bank, Mrs. Oby Nwokedi, who confirmed this during the bank’s Business Performance Review in Abuja, said contributors must have provided their bank details and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to benefit from initiative.

She said this is a paradigm shift towards sustainable profitability and the delivery of quality services to National Housing

Fund (NHF) contributors and mortgagors.

Nwokedi said that FMBN recorded surplus of N424 million from a total income of N5.8 billion.

This performance of the bank, she said, represented a turnaround from a loss-making entity in decades to a profitable organisation in 2016.

She stressed the need to identify critical factors affecting operational performance in the bank such as sound corporate governance principles in its continuous engagement with the government and stakeholders.

According to her, the bank must adequately strategise in all facets of its operations in order to redefine its role in the housing/mortgage finance market with a view to being operationally efficient and profitable like its international peer institutions.

Besides, she said: “Finally, periodic performance review sessions will be sustained to entrench the culture of performance and accountability

in the bank.”

Meanwhile the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called on FMBN to entrench the culture of accountability and profitability in its systems and periodically review its portfolio, with a view to optimising its assets to drive mortgage lending and profitability.

Represented by the ministry’s Deputy Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Emmanuel Otu, he urged the staff of the mortgage bank to take advantage of the forum to highlight issues hampering performances in their respective offices so as to improve efficiency and the image of the bank.

Acting Managing Director of FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin, said the business performance review, which was the first of its kind in the history of the bank was imperative in order to successfully chart a new course.

According to him, the bank must focus on creating a performance driven culture at all

levels of its operations by embracing its four pillars namely; corporate governance compliance, bank profitability, operational effectiveness and debt recovery.

He said the bank is also collaborating with other organisations to promote reinvention and stimulate competition for the overall growth of the housing sector.

To increase the volume of cash flow to the National Housing Fund (NHF), the acting managing director has canvassed for 7.5 per cent increase in contribution rate as against 2.5 per cent.

The increment, compared to 7.5 per cent minimum pension contribution, he said, would help to boost resources of NHF, stressing the need for compliance with the NHF Act on contributions.

He said there was need for total compliance with mandatory deductions and investment respectively by employers, banks and insurance companies to increase the resources of NHF.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

fct business watch

Buhari

T

he inclusion of Social Protection Programme (SPP) as a campaign item by the All Peoples Congress (APC) in the build up to the 2015 elections was one of the party’s strong selling points. It received instant endorsement of most electorates, regardless of party affiliations.

Amidst the euphoria generated by the economic policy, a vital aspect of it, which requires proper policy diagnosis, was lost on both camps that campaigned for the prime office.

With the election won and lost, the new government, in its 2016 budget, appropriated the sum of N500 billion for the funding of the Social Protection Programmes.

Programmes under SPP Some empowerment programmes under the SPP were outlined to be funded from the N500 billion appropriated in 2016 budget. About one million extremely poor Nigerians were to be direct beneficiaries of the N5,000 monthly cash transfer, making a total of N60 billion for the year; provision of one meal a day to school pupils in some selected states; creation of 500,000 direct jobs, which will see unemployed graduates being trained and deployed as volunteer teachers in their communities while still prospecting for jobs in their chosen professions. Also included is a youth employment plan, which will see the training of 370,000 non-graduates youths in different skills and vocational programmes and recruitment of beneficiaries into the volunteer teaching jobs and the skill acquisition training scheme for non-graduates would be done on state basis, including the FCT and opened to all Nigerians of different shades.

Other schemes in the line up are, introduction of micro credit scheme where one mil-

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun

27

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu

SPP: Novel initiative crippled by dearth of fund President Muhammadu Buhari’s Social Protection Programme (SPP) seeks to feed school pupils and enforce direct cash transfer of N5,000 monthly stipend to the vulnerable poor. But funding is its biggest challenge. Abdulwahab Isa reports lion Nigerians, mostly small scale traders, artisans and market women, would get a one-time soft loan of N60,000 each through the Bank of Industry (BOI) and free education plan for students of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), where government will pay tuition for 100,000 students.

SPP in limbo months after Nine months into 2016 fiscal year, most programmes under SPP are policy on paper. Apart from Kaduna State government that made feeble attempt at feeding distraught school pupils in a few schools, the government at the centre appears to be in a fix on implementation of the programme.

Part of the reason is lack of fund for SPP implementation.

With the dwindling revenue flow from oil and gas sector accounting for about 85 per cent source of funding the budget, the government is handicapped pushing through the SPP implementation.

Speaking last week in Abuja at the Civil Society Information Dissemination on monitoring Federal Government Social Protection Programme on SDGs, Special Adviser to President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, explained that, in view of the present economic challenge, government has taken a decision to scale down funding for the SPP. She informed members

Clearly, government is not getting the revenue it expects to get

of CSOs, led by Action Aid, that government was scaling down N500 billion poverty alleviation fund.

She did not disclose the exact amount. She said that the exact amount will be determined by the Ministry of Finance.

Uwais said: “We have budgetary constrain, so we have to scale down the fund and this depends on what the Ministry of Finance gives us, but clearly, government is not getting the revenue it expects to get. Although money was yet to be released for the programme, we have been developing framework for the implementation of the project. The cash transfer programme was about to start in nine states of the federation as they are about compiling the register of poor people in the states.

“Therefore, we will have to scale down because there are disbursement, it depends on the Ministry of Finance.

Whatever they give us is what we will use, but clearly, government is not getting the revenue it expected to get.”

Uwais explained that the special intervention project was designed for delivery under five defined programmes.

The programmes include NPower, Home Grown School Feeding, Cash transfers, Enterprise and Empowerment, and Stem Bursary Programmes.

She maintained that the

school feeding programme has kicked-off, but will engage Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, for effective monitoring of the programme.

“We are developing a comprehensive register of vulnerable people in the society so we want to engage the CSOs to ensure that the register is authentic and realisable.

“Nigerians are different, we were worried about our programme being politicised.

So we want to make sure that our programme reach every Nigerian irrespective of political admiration or irrespective of ethnicity or culture,” she added.

However, while the SSA to the president said fund for intervention programmes will be scaled down, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had, the same week in a different forum in Abuja, at the kick off of the Nutrition week, announced that government would appropriate same N500 billion in 2017 for implementation of SPP. Conclusion The SPP, no doubt, is a novel poverty reduction and empowerment programme. Lack of fund remains the biggest challenge thwarting the programes realisation. Until government finances improve in next budget, social intervention programes will remain mere policy on paper.

28

BUSINESS |MONEY

CBN intensifies moves to lure foreign investors With the amount of foreign inflows into the country yet to hit the level it was targeting when it liberalised the foreign exchange market nearly three months ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is stepping up measures to boost it. TONY CHUKWUNYEM writes

F

ollowing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s launch of the liberalised interbank forex market on June 20, expectations were high in financial circles that by attracting foreign inflows, the move would boost liquidity in the market. After all, the liberalisation of the market had been a key demand by foreign investors for their return to Nigeria since they fled the country due to foreign exchange controls introduced by the banking watchdog in early 2015.

For instance, reacting to the introduction of the new forex policy on CNBC Africa, Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Bukar Kyari, said: “… liquidity is going to be there for the market; people who have been holding off are now going to appear. I do see that this is the right move; there will be transparency because there were people who were talking about allocations and what is the basis of the allocations; all those discussions will be mute now.”

Similarly, Macroeconomics and Fixed Incomes analyst at FBNQuest, Chinwe Egwim, said: “We expect the FX policy will provide liquidity to the market…this is a bold move by the CBN. It seems this will allow the interbank market come back properly.”

Foreign investors stay away However, in a note obtained by New Telegraph recently, FBNQuest provided data showing that foreign investors were yet to bring in significant inflows since the take off of the liberalised forex market in June.

The firm stated: “The success of the new regime hinges upon sizeable autonomous inflows to supplement the CBN’s. The Financial Markets Dealers Quotation (FMDQ) website shows open futures contracts of $2.9 billion through to August 2017. The portfolio community has shown its hand although Nigerian corporates have probably been the larger players.”

It also noted that the widely reported sale by Citibank of $270 million on 29 August for the purchase of longer tenor Nigerian Treasury

CBN building

Bills (NTBs) by its offshore clients has not triggered the re-entry of offshore investors in large numbers.

Analysts point out that the lack of liquidity in the market has worsened the forex shortage in the system and resulted in the naira weakening on the parallel market.

In fact, with FBN Quest also providing data showing that the CBN’s gross official external reserves declined by $790million in August on a 30-day moving average basis to $25.4billion, the consensus among analysts is that unless liquidity improved, the local currency is likely to suffer further depreciation.

Attracting portfolio investments It is clearly in a bid to prevent this from happening that CBN has lately introduced additional measures to boost liquidity in the market.

In a circular it issued a fortnight ago, entitled: “Portfolio investment in Nigeria-Re: Amendment of Memorandum 21 of the Foreign Exchange Manual” CBN said Nigerians and foreigners who bring in funds through authorised dealers could invest such funds in money market instruments, bonds and equities.

According to the circular: “…

The provision of memorandum 21 of the foreign exchange manual on the subject is hereby amended as follows: A resident/non-resident Nigerian national and/or entities and foreign national or entity may invest in Nigeria by way of purchase of money market instruments such as Commercial Papers, Negotiable Certificates of Deposits, Bankers’ Acceptances, Treasury Bills, etc.”

The apex bank, however, said the investment must meet some documentation requirements including a SWIFT message evidence of the remittance of funds, board resolution of the local beneficiary authorising the investment (in the case of a company) and the stated purpose of the capital importation.

CBN’s chances of luring foreign investors would depend, to a great extent, on the type of decisions that it takes at the end of its MPC meeting this month

It also stated that prospective investors must appoint a local bank or broker as an agent to purchase the instruments, adding that the funds must be transferred electronically to a designated bank.

Furthermore, the CBN emphasized : “For the avoidance of doubt, only funds inflowed through the authorised dealer by resident/ non-resident Nigerian nationals and companies specifically for purpose of investment shall be eligible.

Consequently, balances on exports domiciliary and ordinary domiciliary accounts shall not be eligible for the investment.”

MPR hike Indeed, prior to the release of this circular, CBN had taken critical steps to attract foreign investors.

One of these measures was the decision by the banking wathdog’s rate setting body, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hike the benchmark interest rate- Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)- by 200 basis points to 14 per cent at its last meeting in July.

The apex bank made this move defying predictions by analysts that the poor state of the economy would make the MPC rate unchanged.

As CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, explained to newsmen at the end of the meeting, apart from the need to tackle rising inflation, members of the MPC also believed that a cut in interest rate would not help the liberalised foreign exchange market, as foreign investors would not bring in new capital under the circumstance.

He said the decision to raise interest rate would improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market and ensure the market’s self-sustainability.

He further stated that MPC members were of the opinion that the liquidity of the foreign exchange market would boost manufacturing and industrial output, thereby stimulating the much-needed growth.

Emefiele stated: “The MPC was

WEDNESDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

further concerned that while the situation called for obvious tightening of the monetary policy stance, the technical recession confronting the economy and the prospects of negative growth to year-end needed to be factored into the policy parameters.”

Significantly, reacting to the rate hike, respected economist and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, stated that while the decision would lead to increase in borrowing costs for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) and worsen the country’s economic situation in the short term, it was necessary move to attract the much-needed foreign capital into the economy.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer, Renaissance Capital, Mr. Temi Popoola, said the firm welcomed the decision, as it would help the CBN to solve the key problem of attracting dollars into the economy.

He said then: “Today, it appears the biggest challenge before the CBN is how to attract dollars into the economy; and we feel that the decision by the MPC is a good step in that direction.”

In addition, for most of last month, the CBN offered treasury bills at higher yields to lure foreign investors, leading to a 23 per cent rise in lending rate at some point during the period.

Concerns over struggling economy According to financial analysts, the reluctance of foreign investors to re-enter the Nigerian market in large numbers is due to concerns over the country’s economy.

Latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the economy contracted 2.06 per cent in the three months to the end of June, worse than analysts expected, while inflation hit an 11year high of 17.1 per cent, underlining the depth of the country’s crisis.

Commenting on the NBS data, Africa Economist at Capital Economics, John Ashbourne, said: “What strikes me is the breadth of sectors where things have gone terribly wrong. Across the board, it is popping up red. This is a wake-up sign that a lot of the non-oil sector policies, like foreign exchange controls, have not worked.”

Significantly, in her reaction to the introduction of the liberalised forex market, Managing Director and Chief Economist Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, had stated: “Our projection is for Nigeria’s Current Account (C/A) deficit to widen further near-term.

Falling oil output will be a key source of stress on C/A receipts.

Even with currency flexibility, this is unlikely to be fully compensated for by other inflows, at least in the near term. Nigerian FX reserves will likely remain pressured. More will be needed to boost confidence in the new FX regime, ensuring its workability.”

Conclusion Financial analysts, however, believe that the CBN’s chances of luring foreign investors would depend to a great extent on the type of decisions that it takes at the end of its MPC meeting this month.

An analyst saidn, “The grim figures released by the NBS have led to widespread calls for the CBN to cut interest rate. But the CBN knows that if it heeds this call its quest to attract foreign investors would be made more difficult.”

BUSINESS |MONEY

WEDNESDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

RELIEF Price increases abate

Tony Chukwunyem

W

ith the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) expected to release August inflation data this week, analysts at Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited have declared that inflation does not pose a potential threat to economic stability and growth even though they are forecasting that last month’s figure will rise to 17 .5 per cent.

They stated this in a presentation the firm made at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Executive Breakfast meeting.

According to the analysts, the increase in the inflation rate from 16.5 per cent in June to 17.1 per cent in July: “Is the result of the base year effect” and the month-on-month inflation of 0.6 per cent shows that inflation is slowing down from 0.8 per cent in June.

Noting that the annualised rate of inflation is 7.4 per cent, the analysts concluded : “Inflation does not pose a potent threat to stability and growth.”

It will be recalled that in a note obtained by New Telegraph, experts at FSDH, predicted that August 2016 inflation rate (year-on-year) will increase further to 17.71per cent from 17.13per cent recorded in the month of July 2016.

“We expect the increase to come from the increase in the prices of food items and other non-food items as a result of the continued pressure on the value of the naira”, the analysts stated.

Meanwhile, analysts at FBN

29

Analysts: Inflation not threat to stability, growth Quest have predicted that continuing exchange rate volatility is likely to push inflation to 18 per cent by the end of the year.

In a note made available to this newspaper, the analysts said: “Until the exchange rate stabilises, inflation is likely to trend higher. We see inflation accelerating to 18.0per cent y/y at end- year.”

Besides, they stated: “The Fx sourcing challenges have been the primary driver behind the surge in inflation this year and outweighed the impact of squeezed household consumption, which would normally have led to a moderation in inflation.”

However, in another report made available to this newspa-

per, international financial advisory firm, Renaissance Capital (RenCap) stated that most Nigerian companies were planning to increase the prices of their products to counteract the impact of naira devaluation on cost of goods and higher inflation.

The firm said that from meetings with listed and unlisted companies, product price checks and 1H16 results, it found that most of them were still having problems accessing forex despite the liberalisation of the interbank forex market in June.

The firm stated: “Most companies said they intend to increase product prices by 10-20per cent in 2H16 to offset the impact of naira devaluation on imported Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

and higher inflation. They have not seen an improvement in FX availability in the interbank market since the devaluation in June 2016, which has resulted in capex deferral and rising FXrelated trade payables.”

The firm said: “We do not think this (price hike) will be enough to offset the negative impact of the naira devaluation on imported costs and generally higher inflation; however, management feedback is that this is likely the maximum range consumers can absorb without a significant negative impact on volumes.”

COGS are the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by a company.

This amount includes the cost

of the materials used in creating the good along with the direct labour costs used to produce the good.

RenCap further disclosed that its meetings with the companies also revealed that access to FX in the interbank market has become: “More challenging since the devaluation of the naira in June 2016 although some companies have increased the number of banks they use or ramped up exports in order to diversify sources of FX. Companies are therefore taking longer to pay international suppliers, as evidenced by higher trade payables days (including to offshore parent companies), and deferring capex other than stay-in-business capex.”

L-R: Principal Manager, Banking and Payments System Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Aisha Isa Olatinu; Chairman, Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), Babajide Komolafe; CBN Director, Banking and Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun and Principal Manager, Banking and Payments System Department, Apan Nseobong during the FICAN Bi-Monthly Forum hosted by the CBN in Lagos…at the weekend.

World Bank, Bricks sign MoU to boost partnership

IDB, JBIC partner to promote devt in Africa

I

T

nfrastructure projects around the world have received a financial boost following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the World Bank Group and Brics’s New Development Bank (NDB).

The memorandum, aimed at strengthening co-operation in addressing global infrastructure needs, was signed last Friday by World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim and New Development Bank (NDB) president KV Kamath.

It paves the way for the two institutions to explore country-level cooperation.

“Signing this agreement enables our institutions to strengthen our collaboration. When the world’s multilateral banks work closely together, and support development that promotes inclusive growth in low-and middle-income countries, the poor and the vulnerable benefit the most,” Kim said.

Infrastructure such as electricity and sanitation services are expected to benefit most from the co-operation between the two banks.

About 1.2 billion people around

the world lack access to electricity while 2.4 billion others do not have basic sanitation services. In the fiscal year ending June 30 the World Bank Group invested $25 billion in infrastructure.

Co-operation will also include the co-financing of projects; facilitation of knowledge exchange regarding their operations in accordance with their respective policies and procedures; exploring and pursuing opportunities for advisory services; and facilitating secondments and staff exchanges.

“We greatly appreciate timely support offered by the World Bank Group throughout our establishment process, and look forward to advancing and deepening our co-operation,” Kamath said. “We at the NDB will listen, learn and collaborate to promote sustainable infrastructure development in our member countries.”

The NDB, an initiative of the member countries of Brics, pools financial resources together so member countries can lend to one another and other emerging markets, to bridge infrastructure gaps. The bank became fully operational in February 2016.

he Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing the strategic partnership between the two institutions to promote development in IDB’s African member countries.

IDB Vice President for Sector Operations, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, and JBIC Governor, Mr. Akira Kondoh, signed the MoU. The key focus of the MoU is to work on areas of mutual interest between the two organisations.

The partnership will focus on project finance and Islamic finance, participation in longterm syndications, and risksharing arrangements for nonsovereign transactions. It will provide coverage by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) to finance facilities provided by JBIC. Other areas of mutual interest include organising seminars and training on

project finance and Islamic finance, and sharing knowledge about IDB and JBIC financing programmes and information related to foreign investments.

“IDB sees strategic partnerships with other bilateral and multilateral development partners as an important tool to help create jobs and reduce poverty,” said Dr. Muhtar. “Development cooperation and collaboration with partners in Africa is a top priority for IDB. By signing this MoU, both IDB and JBIC are confirming that we are working together for a more secure future for people in Africa.”

“IDB and JBIC are very pleased to renew the long lasting cooperative relationship between the two institutions, initiated through the signing of the first MoU in September 2007,” said Mr. Kondoh. “By renewing this MoU, JBIC will extend its collaboration with the other services and products offered by IDB to further enhance effective development intervention in Africa for the well-being of the African people.”

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WEDNESDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Investor

Stable currency key to stock market recovery

Instability in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has put the Country’s currency under pressure and dampened investors’ appetite in the stock market, CHRIS UGWU writes

A

gainst the backdrop of current situation where foreign investors still held sway in the nation’s local bourse, market watchers are worried that if domestic investors are not expanded, the local bourse might face similar situation it witnessed during the global financial meltdown of 2007 and 2008.

The aftermath of the meltdown saw nation’s capital market lose huge funds, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) All-Share Index fell from a height of 66,000 basis points in March 2008 to less than 22,000 points by January 2009.

Also, over N8 trillion or 70 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the Exchange was wiped out during this period. Analysts noted that one of the major causes of the crash in the Nigerian capital market in 2008 was the massive exodus of foreign investors from the equities market.

Market watchers believed that the dominance of foreign was one of the major reasons why they keep dictating the tune in the Nigerian market.

Hence, anytime they start buying, the bulls return and when they stop buying and take their profit, the bears take over again. This is one of the reasons for the back and forth movements in the market.

Currently, the market is witnessing a similar scenario, as foreign investors have sold off significant Nigerian stocks following the drop in the oil price and the local naira currency, instability in the forex market as well as insecurity due to Boko Haram attacks and militants activities.

Data from the Exchange showed that foreign and domestic investors intensified their exits from the market since the last quarter of 2014, selling out of the relatively liquid banking, consumer and oil sectors as the price of Brent crude, the bench mark against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, dropped.

The plunge in the oil price has put Nigeria’s currency under pressure and dampened appetite for assets in Africa’s biggest economy and chief oil exporter, prompting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intervene repeatedly to try to prop up the local currency.

Current situation Following the low sentiment that had pervaded the nation’s bourse, total transactions decreased by 42.13 per cent from N155.85 billion recorded in June 2016 to N90.19 billion (about $0.29 billion) in July 2016.

Also, total transactions from January to July 2016 decreased by 44.38 per cent from N1,284.82 billion recorded within the same period in 2015 to N714.60 billion in 2016.

Domestic investors slightly outperformed their foreign counterparts by about 1.8 per cent. Domestic transactions decreased by 39.66 per cent from N76.08 billion in June 2016 to N45.91 billion in July 2016.

On a monthly basis, the NSE polls trading fig ures from major custodians and market operators on their foreign portfolio investments (FPI).

FPI transactions decreased by 44.48 per cent from N79.76 billion in June 2016 to N44.28 billion in July 2016.

Ac c or d i n g to r ep or t s, mont h ly foreig n i n f lows slightly outpaced outf lows, as foreign inf lows decreased by 44.82 per cent from N42.46 billion in June to N23.43 billion in July 2016. Foreign outf lows also decreased by 44.10 per cent from N37.30 billion to N20.85 billion within the same period.

In comparison to the same period in 2015, total FPI transactions decreased by 54.99 per cent from N696.46 billion to N313.49, whilst the total domestic transactions decreased by 31.83 per cent from N588.36 billion to N401.10 billion.

Highlights of the domestic composition of transactions on the Exchange between January and July 2016 showed that the institutional composition of the domestic market decreased by 36.09 per cent from N39.04 billion in June to N24.95 billion. The retail composition decreased by 43.41 per cent from N37.04 billion in June to N20.96 billion. Institutional investors marginally outperformed their retail counterparts in the period under review.

In 2013, there was a major rebound in the domestic component, which led to an almost equal split in foreign vs. domestic transactions.

This dropped in 2014 where FPI outperformed domestic transactions.

In 2015, FPI dropped compared to 2014. However, it slightly outperformed domestic transactions in the same period.

Forex as impediment The Director of Investment Banking, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Ayo Fashina attributed the drop in foreign portfolio investment in the country to volatility in foreign exchange.

He said: “Unless we fix the exchange rate issues, we cannot expect the foreign inves-

Trading floor

Unless we fix the exchange rate issues, we cannot expect the foreign investors to come to the country

tors to come to the country.

“The Nigerian economy is driven by the capital market and if you look at our market, traditionally it is 50/50 per cent for both local and foreign investors. But the market is now copping with only the 50 per cent of local while the other 50 per cent foreign investors have taken f light for safety because of uncertainty of foreign exchange rate.

Fashina urged the Federal Government to take more steps to increase the supply of forex in the country.

Apart from the instability in forex, speaking on the low sentiment on the part of domestic investors, the Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chuckwu, said due to the dominance of foreign investors and other factors, the equity market has faced a lot of headwind unlike in other climes.

He noted that retail investors are hobbled by a number of factors from investing in the equities market.

“One factor is the relatively weak confidence in the market as a result of the 2008 market crash, which many retail investors have yet to recover from. There is also the issue of wrong investment time horizon as most Nigerians expect their investment to generate returns within three months and cannot relate with the fact that investment in the capital market is of long-term nature.

“Other factors include the near complete lack of credit for investment in the capital market and the recent bear run, which has further scared the few retail investors, who were planning of returning to the market. Finally, there is also the issue of returns on fixed income instruments being more attractive than returns on equity instruments,” he said.

Need for investors’ education Since education helps in improving financial literacy of investors, the most effec-

tive investor protection starts with a well-informed and educated investor.

Ma rket a n a lyst s h ave called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Exchange to collaborate with market operators for a better-structured public awareness campaign about the stock market.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Crane Securities Limited, Mr. Mike Eze, said that public apprehension of the capital market would substantially be allayed with a better structured public awareness campaign to be jointly anchored by NSE, SEC and market operators for the education of shareholders and the protection of their interests, especially the small stock holders.

He said the average Nigerian investor suffered considerably, with many losers being first-time investors, essentially unaware of the workings of the market and relying on rising share prices, hunches and herds syndrome for their share-buying decisions.

“While considerable efforts have been made by NSE and SEC to educate shareholders and address some of their complaints, I believe the public apprehension of the capital market will substantially be allayed with a better structured public awareness campaign to be jointly anchored

by NSE, SEC and market operators for the education of shareholders and the protection of their interests, especially the small stock holders,” he said.

Conclusion In the light of the lessons learned from the most recent stock market collapse, there is a need to strengthen the Exchange’s investor education/awareness function, especially for retail investors and also by extension the foreign investors, to enable them adequate knowledge of the nation’s capital market.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

31

maritime

Abandoned floating dock at Apapa dockyard, Lagos

Nigerian ship owners now take their vessels to Ghana for repairs and dry docking following the breakdown of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s $6million floating dock since 2010. BAYO AKOMOALFE reports

A

6,000-ton floating dock that could provide no fewer than 2,000 jobs is currently rotting away at the backyard of Continental Shipyard Limited, a subsidiary of NPA in Apapa.

The floating dock 1V belonging to NPA was built in 1985 and grounded on June 10, 2010.

Since then, it was learnt that a lot of money had been spent by the past management of the authority on the faulty dock, but up till now no ship has been dry docked at the yard.

The management of the authority identified the major problem of the facility as faulty pump and valve malfunction.

It said that the floating dock could not pass the routine test of submersion and emerging.

The dock The NPA’s Floating Dock V is a watertight structure designed to submerge sufficiently by admission of water into its pontoon tanks to admit a vessel.

It is usually joined to the shore with a ramp that rests upon the dock on rollers and held in place by verti-

Why NPA abandoned 6,000-ton floating dock cal poles embedded in the soil under the water or by anchored cables.

Trouble started recently when the Managing Director of the authority, Hadiza Usman, stumbled on the abandoned facility during the tour of ports in Lagos.

Other abandoned equipment are the slipway and pilot cutters.

It was learnt that the dock could offer 2,000 jobs, while the slipway and the other facilities are capable of providing about 2,500 jobs.

An official at the shipyard, who spoke anonymously with New Telegraph, explained

A huge amount of money had been spent on the dock since 2010

that it was discovered that one of dock’s securing pins to the mooring dolphin had snapped off when an attempt was made to repair it.

He said: “The dock generated momentum under the influence of hydro dynamic pressure caused by flood tides. This in turn caused the second pin to snap and the dock drifted under tidal influence and went to beach opposite Waziri Jetty, Apapa.’’

repairs but was brought back secretly.

There are about four ship repair yards in Nigeria. They are Naval Dockyard in Lagos, Starz Maritime Services in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Niger Dock on Snake Island and Continental Shipyard Limited.

However, it was learnt that they are not enough to service the type of ships operating in the country.

Past efforts The official alleged that a huge amount of money had been spent on the dock since 2010. He noted that there was a time the dock was taken to Ghana for

Conclusion There is need for NPA to buy a new floating dock and scrap the faulty one. This will generate revenue and provide jobs for the youths.

NIMASA okays stevedoring guideline sensitisation at port

T

he Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has approved a comprehensive stevedoring guideline sensitisation to boost efficient service delivery at ports.

Director General of the agency, Dr, Dakuku Peterside, disclosed this when the National Association of Stevedoring Companies led by its President, Mr. Bolaji Sunmola, visited his office in Lagos.

In a statement, he said that the agency was capable of carrying out its regulatory functions and would not abdicate its mandate to anybody.

Peterside said that the agency would consult and address the challenges faced by stevedoring companies and terminal operators at the ports.

He stressed the importance

of stevedoring companies to include facilitating economic growth, ensuring industrial harmony and a security shield in the ports.

The director general gave assurance to the delegation of the agency’s commitment to develop human capacity.

Peterside stressed that NIMASA would not abdicate its regulatory responsibility, as it affects the operations of stevedoring companies and how it relates with terminal and jetty operators.

He said that nobody had the powers to eject stevedoring companies approved by the government to operate in their facilities.

Peterside added: “It is NIMASA’s responsibility to oversee stevedoring functions in our ports, terminals and jet-

ties and we will not abdicate that function to anybody.

“In the exercise of this function, we will inter-phase with terminal operators and the National Association of Stevedoring Companies to ensure that maritime operations are not hampered.”

Earlier, Sunmola called on the agency to come to their rescue in respect of their negotiations with terminal operators, noting that it had become a norm for jetties and offshore/onshore operators to refuse the Federal Government appointed stevedoring contractors to operate in their premises.

He added that the appointment of stevedoring companies to the facilities was a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government to avoid security

breaches.

The president appealed to the agency to activate the 2014 NIMASA stevedoring regulations in resolving the issues with the terminal operators.

Meanwhile, Peterside has said that the agency would continue to partner with the Nigerian Navy for the security of Nigerian water ways and the optimum exploration of the nation’s marine resources.

He disclosed this when Naval Cadets of the 66 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) visited the agency on a study visit.

Peterside gave assurance to the cadets that the symbiotic relationship that exists between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy was inseparable because of the functions of both agencies.

32

business \ maritime

Customs to address issues affecting revenue

N

igeria Customs Service (NCS) has said that it will frontally address issues militating against generation of maximum revenue in Tincan Island Port.

In a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Uche Ejesieme, the Controller Tincan Island Port Command, Comptroller Bashar Yusuf, said that contrary to what was published in the newspapers, his command had no penchant for harbouring nefarious activities including flying of containers at Tincan Port.

He noted that the various reforms being instituted had the tendency of checking all manner of sharp practices in the port.

Bashar said: “It is therefore imperative to disabuse the minds of the general public to that very erroneous insinuation, which from all intent and purpose cannot stand empirical test and objectivity.

“It is just a figment of the writer’s imagination and no wonder he stated that his information was from a report he read in an online publication.

“The allegation and publication are therefore misleading and fraught with falsehood intended to denigrate the laudable achievement being recorded in the command in terms of improved revenue and other innovations.

The controller said that various steps and modalities had been put in place to check infractions, beyond the automated process, which had helped in regulating the activities of importers and their agents.

The area controller, however, expressed appreciation with the attitudinal change of stakeholders, whose honest declarations had led to the improvement recorded by the command in its revenue drive.

He added: “We have not gotten to our expected level of operational efficiency; there are serious indications that the reform agenda of the Customs Comptroller General,Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), and his management was taking serious root in all the ports and border stations, in terms of service delivery and general efficiency.

“This is a new order and a new dispensation, whereby the service cannot afford to renege on its statutory responsibilities irrespective of circumstance. The issue of compromise in whatever form cannot be contemplated.”

The controller promised to take the command to an enviable height worthy of commendation in line with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) standard.

He also gave assurance that no stone would be left unturned in his attempt to reposition the command for greater efficiency.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Creditors seize ships laden with $14bn cargoes DEBTS

Nigeria-bound cargoes have been trapped on the sea as shipping line goes bankrupt

Bayo Akomolafe

T

he financial woes of one of the world’s biggest shipping

lines, Hanjin Shipping Company, has thrown ports and importers in Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ghana and other parts of the world into confusion, as $14 billion worth of cargoes are currently stranded at sea.

Its creditors have seized some of the company’s ships.

The shipping firm has about $546.47 million in unpaid obligations such as charter fees and terminal use fees as of end-August,

before a South Korean court approved its court receivership.

It was learnt that the South Korean shipping line had gone into bankruptcy.

Also, it remains unclear if the company can afford to pay the army of workers needed to unload the ships whenever the ships are released.

Dozens of the ships were said to be carrying more than half a million cargo containers but they have been

denied access to ports around the world because of uncertainty about who would pay docking fees, containerstorage and unloading bills.

Though company accounts for only about 3.2per cent of global container capacity, the disruption, which comes as retailers prepare to stock their shelves for the holiday season, is expected to be costly, as companies scramble to book their goods on other carriers.

Maersk discharging containers at the Lagos Port, Apapa

Unilag introduces maritime platform for students

T

he University of Lagos has instituted an annual maritime forum, which will serve as a platform for students interested in the maritime industry.

The annual event, which is tagged: Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime (TAAM) conference, according to a statement, is supported

by SIFAX Group to honour Dr Taiwo Afolabi, who was appointed as the grand patron of the forum.

It was conceptualised as an avenue to stimulate intellectual discussions on topical and contemporary issues among the top stakeholders in the industry.

Also, the conference was established to promote the knowledge of the industry as a viable

tool for economic development among Nigerian undergraduates.

In his keynote address at the forum, the Executive Vice Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, who was represented by the company’s Director, Human Resources and Administration, Mrs Fola Rogers, said that the conference was designed to promote knowledge and deepen insights among members of the university community.

He added that it would provide the plethora of benefits inherent in the maritime industry in its defining character as a catalyst for growth for propelling economic development and national prosperity.

He said: “To me, it

even comes as a double privilege seeing that the conference is organized in my honour as the grand patron of the Maritime Forum, University of Lagos.

“It gladdens my heart that my humble contributions to the country’s maritime industry is being recognised, especially by the upcoming generation who, I know, will take the industry to the next level.

“It is an honour that is capable of galvanising the growth of greater passion in me to commit a greater percentage of my time, talent and limited resources to the development of this vital sector of the national economy in the larger interest of maritime Nigeria.”

Afolabi noted that the

striking relevance and aptness of the choice of this year’s theme: “Africa’s Maritime Capital: Nigeria and her Potentials” was unique.

He said that the theme was relevant to the realities of Nigeria’s present economic condition where the twin problems of the prevailing sharp decline in crude oil earnings in the international market and the cataclysmic plunge of the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar had brought the national economy to an alltime low.

The executive vice chairman explained that the economic situation of the country had compelled the need for an inclusive search for an alternative route to national revival and rebirth, forcing upon us a movement away from

decades of fixation on the traditional black gold to the maritime, -the emerging glittering “blue gold’.”

He listed the range of business opportunities in the sector to include port and terminal operation, shipping, stevedoring, ship brokerage services, marine insurance, ship supply and ship chandelling.

Others are warehouse facility management, haulage and logistics, maritime law consultancy services (admiralty), advertising and marketing, security and safety services, etc.

He added that the stimulating interest in the multiplicity of entrepreneurial opportunities available in the maritime industry had provided the ultimate justification for the relevance of the conference.

business \ maritime

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

33

NPA to position Calabar Port for trade in Gulf of Guinea TRADE More ship traffic to the port will boost trade for the country

L-R: Managing Director/ CEO of STARZ Group, Engr. Greg Ogbeifun; Executive Director, Human Resources and Administration, SIFAX Group, Dr. Fola RogersSaliu; Managing Director, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesimi; Executive Director, SIFAX Haulage, Major Henry Ajetunmobi (rtd) and former President, Women International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA Nigeria), Mrs. Jean Chaizor Anishere, at the 1st Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference held at the University of Lagos.

Bayo Akomolafe

T

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has started resolving the issues of dredging contracts with the Calabar Channel Management Company.

This is aimed at recommencing the controversial dredging of the 84-kilometre Calabar Port channel.

The move is to enable the authority position the port as a trade hub in the Gulf of Guinea.

The authority’s Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, said these at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos.

She said that the management would ensure speedy access to utilisation of the Calabar Port.

According to her, NPA is looking to trade route within the Gulf of Guinea in order to make the port fully utilised.

She said that NPA was coming up with innovations to expand on its modes of traffic by prioritising agricultural produce and solid minerals for export.

Usman added: “We are diversifying on our various

modes of traffic. We are looking to prioritise the export of agric produce in our respective terminals and we would work on the soild minerals prioritising that in our terminals.

“We believe that there is a need for NPA to look towards attracting more customers and clientele to the port.”

The managing director said that billions of naira had been sunk into the dredging of Calabar Port.

She explained that the contract had been riddled by allegations of unwillingness of the mother company to release funds amidst litigations that has brought the contract to its

knees.

Usman added: “Considering the important location of the port in the Gulf of Guinea, the management has begun resolution of the issues deterring the dredging contract and is looking at expanding the trade route within the Gulf of Guinea to make the Calabar Port fully utilised.

“During my visit to Calabar Port, I had explained that one of the problems with the port is shallow depth of which we are already attending to by resolving the issue with the Calabar Channel Management Company and the dredging will proceed and we will have increased

Ship owners task FG on oil freight policy

S

hip Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has urged the Federal Government to shift its terms of trade policy on oil freight from the Free on Board (FOB) to Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF).

The President of the association, Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, explained that the shift in terms of trade would enable the proposed national fleet to have oil cargoes to lift from government to buyers.

Ogbeifun, who is the chief executive of Starz Marine Services and a member of the

committee for developing modalities for the establishment of the Nigerian fleet, said that the government would need to assist the shipping line with critical incentives such as friendly tax policy.

He said: “I think what the government can do to help the emergence of the Nigerian fleet is to look at the critical incentives, to look at tax policies that we have; to look at what it takes to make the operation of a fleet easier than how it has been.

“For example, at the mo-

ment, if you look at the policy for the freighting of Nigerian crude, it is on the free on board (FOB) policy.

“Now we are all suggesting and rightly so that the government should look at reviewing that policy to make it cost insurance and freight (CIF) because that is the only way a Nigerian fleet can be engaged to participate in the carriage of Nigerian crude to the buyers.

“That is one major area the government can look at to help the emergence of a Nigerian tanker fleet for example.”

‘Suspected smuggler resists arrest, attempts to disarm Customs’

T

he anti- smuggling unit of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operation Unit, Zone A, has said that an attempt by suspected smuggler to resist lawful arrest had left him wounded.

The service explained that the suspect grabbed an officer’s riffle in order to disarm but failed and the riffle discharged and hit his right shoulder.

A statement by its Public Relations Officer, Jerry Attah, said that the other armed operatives fired shots in the air to disperse the raging mob, while the other officers seized the bus laden

with contraband.

Attah noted that the wounded suspect was rushed to Ikeja General Hospital for treatment.

He said: “These facts clearly contradict the media report that he was abandoned in pains. As a responsible organisation, we appreciate and thank God that no life was lost.

“But it is obvious that Mr. Sunday Umaru deliberately embarked on a very dangerous mission of attempting to disarm an officer by grabbing a loaded riffle.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the fact that a smuggler has evaded scrutiny

either by following unapproved route or compromising any operative does not guarantee that the smuggled item would not be seized anywhere by patrol officers, whose duty is to ensure compliance.

Attah said that the Controller of the unit, Comptroller Umar Mohammed Dairu, while lamenting the misleading report, urged media practitioners to verify their facts before rushing to the press.

Attah said that the service did not abandon Umaru, whose vehicle was conveying smuggled rice, in pains.

depth.”

She also stressed that NPA had begun discussions with the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to improve on security in the port and the channels.

Usman added that NPA

would procure more patrol boats to provide security within the nation’s waters, noting that this would be included in the authority’s 2017 budget.

“We have some procurement of patrol boats within 2016 and we are ensuring that these platforms are procured,” she added.

Terminal expansion: Nigeria, others meet in Ghana

N

igeria and other West African port authorities have met in Accra, Ghana, to discuss port expansion.

The two-day forum, according to a statement, was designed to provide West African governments, terminal operators, port authorities and service providers up to date information on port expansion and development plans in West Africa.

Also, the forum was convened to provide critical insight into doing business in the region’s ports as well as highlighting the opportunities from oil and gas sectors.

At the forum were the representatives of Nigerian Ports Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority, Institute of Freight Forwarders, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Port Authority of Cotonou, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Department of Maritime Management Technology and Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigeria.

Also included are Port Autonome Conakry, Port Autonome de Douala, Port Autonome San Pedro, Port of Djibouti, Ghana Ministry of Transport, Takoradi Port, Tema Port, Nigerian Institute of Shipping and Amaris Terminal Limited, Others are Ghana Maritime Authority and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce, Ghana Police Services and Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke at the forum, explained that technology was critical in the maritime industry to facilitate information sharing among stakeholders.

He urged the port authorities to introduce competitiveness in the industry to enhance effective trade facilitation.

The minister said that West African countries needed integration through connectivity of ports to promote economic development in the various countries.

Also, Amaechi called on the participants to deliberate on improvement of port development to facilitate effective trade relations.

He said that the governments in the sub-region were waiting for the outcome of the forum as a road map to developing the maritime industry.

At the forum, the Port Director of Tema Ports, Mr Jacob Adorkor, said that a $1.5 billion port expansion would commence in October 2016 in Ghana.

He said that the project would have a new container terminal, food and fruit terminal, transit and trans-shipment terminal, passenger terminal, oil service terminal and break, dry and liquid bulk terminal.

According to him, this will enhance the port’s competitiveness and position it as a leading maritime hub in West African region.

The port director noted that Tema Port had introduced scanning of equipment regime to facilitate trade and had also invested heavily in security systems for safety purposes.

He said that the management of Tema Port had forged collaboration with Ghana High Authority and other partners to improve on transportation to the port.

34

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Literature

Arts

Breaking boundaries of knowledge through curiosity

36

Junks as authentic medium for artistic expression

Agwu Enekwachi

R

ecently, the Abuja art community welcomed Humphery Umezurike, a.k.a “Dilomprizulikethe Junkman from Africa”, to a two-week workshop and exhibition. His mission was to spread his passion for wastes as an authentic medium for artistic expression.

Working with non-traditional methods which are invented, discovered or repurposed to execute varied artistic ideas, Umezurike is well known across the world for using wastes to create sculptures.

His repertoire is replete with inexhaustible potentials for new media.

Umezurike’s artistic journey of working with waste spans over two decades ago, culminating with a studio and museum which he created with junks in Lagos, before migrating to BerlinGermany, where he replicated his signature museum from junks that also doubles as a dwelling.

He was listed among the 50 most influential African artists by the British Independent. His creations tell stories and weave narratives that mirror the societies in both his cultural and adopted environments.

Joined by Ifesinachi Nwanyanwu and over 25 Abuja-based young Nigerian artists interested in working with wastes, Umezurike conducted a successful workshop themed, “World Environment: Make the best out of Junks”, and capped it with an exhibition.

The exhibition was held recently at the Thoughts Pyramid Art Centre, Wuse, Abuja. It was organised by the German Embassy in partnership with Environmental Art Collective Foundation (ENACOF) TPAC and the Czech Embassy.

At the exhibition opening, the ambassador of the Republic of Germany, His Excellency, Micheal Reiner noted that the “project is a part of his country’s (and partners) concern for the environment as the exhibition seeks to

TONY OKUYEME ARTS EDITOR

tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Dilomprizulike at the exhibition

Some of the works

challenge environmental questions which are something close to our hearts.” Art aficionados were in their good numbers to explore the Junks in Abuja turned into works of art.

As one appreciates the varied works of art displayed on the walls and pedestals of the well-lit gallery space, there was more than cursory interest in the aesthetics generated by wastes creatively manipulated to make art. The body of work produced at the end of the workshop is also a veritable mode of drawing attention to the environment. The artists sculpted different forms and created collages.

On the use of waste for creative expression, Umezurike says, “every people have their junk like their culture specificities such as character and language. Junks reflect their society of origin; the junk of Berlin for example remains Berlin and carry traces of the city’s identity just like the junks of Abuja have its identity.”

Many of the participating artists have been working along the line of repurposing wastes into art. Ifesinachi, though a graduate

There is a great degree of aesthetic values that can be tapped from junks

of Agricultural science had always created art from his childhood. After his education, he preoccupied himself fully with art and environmental concerns in the city of Abuja. This, he has done by applying talent and self-taught skills to utilize part of the abundant junks generated in the mega city to the benefit of the city’s environment. Thus his non-governmental organisation uses art in a way that focuses on the health of the environment.

Other participants are working with wastes for the first time. At the end of the workshop themed, “World Environment: Make the best out of Junks”, participants had keyed into creating beauty out of trash.

The over 30 untitled pieces in the gallery gave the audience latitude to interpret and make postulations about them. For the artists, it is clear they have made the junks beneficial to society by not only creating valid works of art but most importantly, by using it to draw attention to the environment.

Accentuated by the sparkling white ceilings and walls of the gallery, the salvaged junks have become spectacles. “The wastes were dead but have been resurrected,” says Umezurike. He also talks about the traces of identity embedded in and reflected by junks even in their seeming uselessness. “When I studied Anthropolog y and philosophy, I discovered that actually, a people’s junk can reveal traces of their life patter ns,

character and behavior. You can’t hide it. You see all the attitude of use, abandonment, financial status, world views and the way people use things.

“There is a great degree of aesthetic values that can be tapped from junks in terms of Colours, contours, textures, in addition to contents and contexts. These generate necessary commentaries for the interrogation of contemporary issues,” he added.

A centre piece measuring 5ft x 4ft x 4ft is a statement on modernity and consumerism.

A bespectacled, obese woman sits on an expansive bed like couch, surrounds herself with the paraphernalia of modern leaving. She is dressed in heavy makeup while reading a newspaper. By her right hand side is a collection of remote controls for electronic gadgets while on her left-hand side is what looks like packs of coockies and drinks.

The figure’s left leg is amputated and bandaged; a pointer to the paradox of consumerism-excessive enjoyment could result to sickness.

The images and forms are based on the currency of mixed traditional and contemporary existence.

Umezurike’s masquerade and robot like forms are easily distinguishable. This shade in his work is perhaps a telling influence of the two worlds: Nigeria representing his cultural roots and Berlin, representing the highly technological nation where he has made his abode for many years.

Chinelo Chikelu’s piece draws attention to the politics of the female covering. The “Veil” is a headgear fashioned out of fabrics and metal strings. Despite the fact that veils are used in the two major world religions (Christianity and Islam) in various degrees, yet it has recently become an object of controversy and intense debate.

According to Umezurike, a major success of the project is “working with participants to change mindsets and break the barriers to unleashing creative energies.”

Making the best out of Junks is a dialogue on environmental sustainability, environmental issues and an avenue for proffering solutions on how we can tackle some of these issues and bring them to the front burner so that people can begin to talk about recycling, reusing, reducing carbon and all that.

Enekwachi, art teacher and sculptor, wrote from Abuja

ART

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

35

NEWS Rousing outing for The Wedding Party at TIFF

‘T

he Wedding Party’, a film

by Elfike Film Collective, opened the Spotlight City to City programme at the Toronto International Film Festival with a star-studded, sold out premiere that brought Africa’s best known names including Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sola Sobowale, Alibaba, Iretiola Doyle, Banky W, and Adesua Etomi. Other special guests included Selma’s David Oyeowo and Toronto Raptors President, Masai Urjiri.

A conniving Mother-in-law, a jealous ex-girlfriend, a best man missing in action, are some of the hilarious characters over 1400 attendees met at the sold out world premiere of Kemi Adetiba’s The Wedding Party on the 8th September 2016.

Sprinkled with Nigerian jokes and classic double entendres that had the audience in stiches, The Wedding Party, set in Lagos, Nigeria, is the story of Dunni Coker (Adesua Etomi), a 24-year-old art gallery owner and only daughter of her parents about to marry the love of her life, IT entrepreneur Dozie (Banky W). The couple took a vow of chastity and is looking forward to a ground-breaking first night together as a married couple.

“The popularity of Nigerian film has been on a steady incline over the last few years,” comments Executive Producer, Mo Abudu. “More and more global audiences are recognizing the quality of film that comes from the third largest film industry in the world. It was a true honour to have Nigerian film spotlighted in the festival programme and I am truly thrilled to hear such positive feedback from the TIFF global audience.” And positive feedback from the TIFF global audience it was. The over 1400 guests of the premiere laughed, sang and applauded the film during its air. Cast members were greeted with thunderous applause during the credits.

German rapper, Megaloh, live in concert

M

egaloh, Berlin-based rapper with Nigerian-Dutch roots, is set to perform live in concert at the City Hall Rooftop, Lagos. The concert will also feature performances

by POE and DJ Afrologic.

This event is organised by the German Consulate General in Lagos, and Goethe-Institut Nigeria. Entry is free.

Megaloh combines the classic sound of Hip Hop´s golden era with lyrics of the here and now. He is a talented MC, proving himself especially Live on Stage. With his music, the Berlin rapper has turned into a kind of rainmaker himself, as he “brings hope for a new era in German hip-hop”.

His album “Endlich Unendlich” (2013) already entered the ‘Top 10’ of the national album charts. He played loads of concerts, being cheered to at the festivals, went on a Unplugged concert tour with his mentor, rapperturned-songwriter-and-popstar Max Herre. “Endlich Unendlich” changed lives: His own and those of many listeners. With his last album “Regenmacher” (VÖ: 04.03.2016), he lived up to the huge expectations — and went directly to number two on the German charts.

Arogbotimi (middle) and others in performance

Ajibode: Dancers are purveyors of cultural heritage Tairu Ajibola Ajibode is a professional dancer, actor, choreographer, and the Artistic Director and founder of Shelter Performing Arts Company based in Lagos. In this interview, he notes that talented dancers abound in Nigeria and some are doing well abroad. He called on government to provide enabling environment.

TONY OKUYEME reports

I

f Ajibode Tairu Ajibola has his way, Nigerian dancers and indeed, artiste and the arts and culture sector would be given a pride of place in the country. A graduate of Theatre Arts, Lagos State University (LASU), the prolific dancer, composer and director, who is a former member of the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), believes that dancers have significant roles to play in sociocultural and economic development of the country.

According to him, some members of his troupe who are now based in U.S are doing well and making the nation proud. These dancers include Timi Boro, Chukwudi Arogbotimi, Oduonla Musili Boro Oyedele, Mathew Oluwasegun, Nssien Edet Okon, Edward Mbong Aniete and Chinyere Ndukwu.

“They have performed brilliantly for their States, for the nation, and of course, for themselves. They are good at what they do, and they have travelled far and wide, to countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Ghana, among others. They have represented Nigeria through the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture and have participated in festivals.

They participated in the maiden edition of Abuja Carnival in 2005.

I was there,” he said.

Shelter Performing Arts Company, he explained, is a professional Theatre Arts company that was borne out of creative curiosity in 1993 by professionals who are committed to propagating the norms and values of the cultural heritage of Nigeria and indeed Africa at large.

“We have been able to achieve some of these over the years through cultural exchange programs, symposia, seminars and workshops organized in this regards. That is why we keep growing both as individuals and as a company.”

Continuing, Ajibode noted that dance is a universal language and that dancers are promoters of the nation’s arts and culture. “It’s fortunate that government failed to understand or to realized that we dancers, we keep the heritage of the nation. Dance and dancers, they transcend beyond borders; the language is universal.

“What I am trying to say, is that our government should come to the rescue of dancers in Nigeria. Government can exploit the fact that there are many vibrant talented dancers that could be moved out of the street, or realize that we have people that are professional dancers.”

Chukwudi Arogbotimi began his theatre career in 1985 with a Lagosbased troupe called Summer Festival Theatre Group. He also trained with one of the first traditional dance troupes in Lagos Nigeria called African Heritage, and was the assistant lead drummer, and also played lead rolls in most of the stage plays. He was also with Abilogu Heritage Troupe where he

Ajibode

was a co-founder of the troupe and the assistant director for two years.

“In 1991, he formed his own troupe called Camba Performing Troupe, and later became an honorary member of Shelter Performing Arts Company.”

He was a member of the Lagos State Council for Arts and culture Arogbotimi was the co-founder and director of an African precaution band named Kokoma Ambassadors Band, with a hit album titled ‘Alam Don Blow’.

Timi Boroh started his career as a drummer with CYO Association at St Mary Catholic Church, in 1990, and later joined Ivory Cultural Ambassadors in 1993, a year later, he became the lead drummer.

He was also a member Lagos State Council for Arts culture .

Mathew Shatim, who, like his colleagues, is not only an artiste, drummer, singer, but also a traditional drum and flute repairer, started his artistic experience far back in the secondary school days with Surulere Theatrical Troupe, and later joined Gond Beat Art, before joined Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture.

For Odunola Musili Boroh-Oyedele the journey as a teen dancer started in school, and later joined a group called Okin Performing Troupe led by Mr. Yemi Remi, in 1997, before joining Shelter Performing Arts Company and became one of the most successful dance artistes.

Describing himself as total theatre person, dancer, actor, drumming, Edward Mbong Anietie stated that he started dance his carrier with Nka Ima in 1986. Later I moved to Eket Culture Troupe 1991 (my local government dance troupe). In 1992, I moved to Akwas Culture Troupe. I later moved to Lagos State Council for Art and Culture, from 1997 to 2001.

“I joined Shelter Performing Arts Company and also joined World Culture Link in 2001 to 2005.

Same year I joined Royal Talking Drummer 2002 to 2005. Later Ibom Stars Cultural Troupe. I was called back by Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture in 2008 till I come down to the state.”

36

LITERATURE

Breaking boundaries of knowledge through curiosity

“T

he greatest invention in the world”, notes American inventor and businessman, Thomas Edison, “is the mind of a child and every mind is born with the instinct of curiosity.”

Also, renowned German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, notes that “Curiosity has its own reason for existing. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

This is the focus of book written

by Stephen Erutor-Pat and curiously titled In the Curious City. This 72-page book published under the Motivated & Driven Series, the author notes, “is a summer when every young mind should explore the world”, stressing that …“In the Curious City… wisdom begins in Wonder.”

He however added that “Answers only change the world when the right questions are asked.” Divided into six chapters with an introduction, this ‘larger than its frame’ work is a must read for anyone eager to explore or question everything for the advancement of knowledge and discovery.

In the introduction, the author presents his thoughts, and tells of the inspiring power of a girl who is trapped in her father’s house, situated in the middle of a thick forest and was firmly secured every night with a heavy stone, such that no one could neither come in nor go out. But curious leads her to know new things, to meet great people, and opened her to exciting world of opportunities.

Chapter one titled “The Curious Cat”, the author provides different definitions of ‘Curiosity. Quoting from Wikipedia, he states: “Curiosity is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in human and many animal species…”

On his part, he defines curiosity as “the quest for new ideas and information, a strong desire to question things until understood. It is a hunger to explore and delight in discovery.” According to him, “when we are curious, we approach the world with a child-like habit of poking and prodding and asking questions. We are attracted to new experiences.

Rather than pursuing an agenda or a desired set of answers, we follow our question where they lead.

“And the exciting thing is that you do not need all the answers at once, you just need to get one answer after another, satisfy one curiosity after another and you are well on your way to fascinating discoveries.”

In this 21st century…, Africa, he says, is in dire need of deep thinkers, people who will go after knowledge with a club, stressing that “power goes to the continent or country that has greater knowledge. This is also

Book Title: In the Curious City Author: Stephen Erutor-Pat Pagination: 72 Publisher: CoachInFocus Resource Planet Year of publication: 2016 Reviewer:

Tony Okuyeme

true of individuals. This is why countries like America, Japan, China, India, the UK, and so many others are powerful.”

Chapter two, as the title suggests, focuses on “What Curiosity Does To You”.

According to the author, curiosity promotes intelligence, awakens the mind to new ideas, perspectives, as well as makes one more positive among other things.

In Chapter three, the author urges the reader “Explore: Question Everything”, and never quit until you have satisfied your curiosity. In this chapter, the author also writes on the power of observation, highlighting the contributions the contributions of the Wright Brothers, Isaac

Book stand

Newton to science and knowledge.

Chapter four is titled “Discovering Your Spark; Burn Up Some Curiosity”. Here he opens with a quotes by James Stephens and Dorothy Parker, which states respectively that: “Curiosity will conquer far more than bravery will”; and that “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

He however notes that you must believe in yourself, stressing that “until you are successful inside, you cannot be successful on the outside.

And that is why wealth is not defined by what a man has physically but by the quality of his thoughts. This is why this book is written, to help you see yourself and the world differently.

In this chapter, the author also offers insight into how to develop a questioning mind. These include acknowledge that you don’t know; seek to clarify thoughts; learn how to listen; and mingle with those who know more than you.

“The Lead of Curiosity: What Education Really Is” is the title of chapter five, while the “Epilogue: Impression is never the goal is the focus of chapter six. How to develop your curiosity; replace fear of the unknown with curiosity; write, put your thoughts and ideas on paper; be tolerant and admit when you are wrong; become an expert in something; learn to learn and do; and don’t take things for granted are some the areas the ways to develop your curiosity, according to the author.

How the author has managed to say so much in this small book is no doubt, ‘curious’. This is a compelling and inspiring book.

Stephen Erutor-Pat is the founder and president of SoarSTARS Club, an NGO with a mission to bring out the best in every young star.

He is a passionate motivational speaker, a writer and a strong believer in the Great New Nigeria. He strongly believes in change and that Nigeria will lead the world if her youths (her future) can but rise up, sharpen their skills, develop their talents and pursue knowledge with a club.

What we are reading

POETRIP THE SAME SONG Oladipo Kehinde The book, Global Nollywood, edited by Prof. Onokome Okome and Prof. Matthias Krings, essentially talks about the popularity of Nollywood in both Diaspora and also in the Western world. The essays that actually permeate the entire book cut across works that were done from the year 2006 and up till date. I think what these crop of writers were trying to do with these essays was not just to draw our attention to not just the popularity of Nollywood but how Nollywood film productions have been able to influence others countries that found some of these text very significant, Book reading is very essential.

War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. I am a great fan of Tolstoy; I have read a lot of his novels, and I think War and Peace is one powerful book that I really feel is evergreen and fits that description or portrait of a classic – although we tend to use that word, classic very loosely. It’s book that in the 19th century and it is still very fresh, very relevant to us; you see the characters as if they are your neighbours.

I must say that reading is magical really.

To someone like me I just get carried away and find myself in another world when I am reading

TONY OKUYEME ARTS EDITOR

tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Tunde Onikoyi

Folu Agoi

Are we united by the same song?

Many for the few and few for the many Love resides in the heart My hands reach out to the upland sun I behold the vision in the sun’s eye The tree wears its leaves to house the birds The grasses grow when the legs Of the rain touches the earth Are we united by the same song?

How can many share few?

How can few share many?

Are we united by the same song?

The song of the sun illuminates my hope.

The stars are united by the song of the moon.

Many for the few and few for the many Are we united by the same song?

wedneSDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Money Line

37

IMF: Interest rate controls hinder access to finance GUIDANCE

Growing pressure on CBN to slash rates

Tony Chukwunyem

A

gainst the background of suggestions in some quarters that the Federal Government could take over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) role in fixing interest rates, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that interest rate controls may reduce access to the banking system for small borrowers—

such as farmers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and consumers.

The IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, stated this in his speech to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Central Bank of Kenya in Nairobi, yesterday.

Furusawa, whose speech was entitled: “Monetary Policy and the Future of Central Banking: Implications for Africa”, noted that many central banks in SubSaharan Africa were facing serious obstacles in their design and implementation of effective monetary policies due to a combination of external and domestic challenges.

The IMF DMD cited the collapse in commodity prices,

which, according to him, has led to slowing growth and rising inflation occasioned by exchange rate depreciation in many African countries. He also noted that the persistence of very high spreads between the interest rates offered on deposits and those charged on loans, has resulted in frustration among borrowers about the cost of credit, and triggered calls for interest rate controls.

He, however, stated: “The politicization of monetary policy bears well-known risks—for the soundness of the financial system and for credit access, notably higher-risk borrowers.

International experience suggests that, in many cases, interest rate controls may actually

CIBN to FG: Emulate Indonesia, others’ MSMEs

T

he Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged the Federal Government to emulate countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India and South Korea in boosting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Professor Segun Ajibola, stated this in his address at the Institute’s 10th Annual Banking and Finance Conference held in Abuja.

He said that with the economy now in recession, it was imperative for the financial services sector to: “play some

catalystic roles to redirect the economy to the path of recovery, growth and development.”

Stressing that MSMEs are key to driving economic growth, he noted that the country had experimented with several policies and programmes aimed at supporting the sub sector but with little results.

According to him: “Perhaps, one way of entrenching a lasting initiative is to benchmark the models already successfully implemented in countries such as India, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia where the contribution of micro businesses to Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) hovers around 75 per cent. South Korea for example recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 through SMEs. In 1999, SMEs accounted for 81.9 per cent of industrial employments and 74.3 per cent of total manufacturing in the country.

“We should also be prepared to accept the truism that the promotion of this segment of the economy can succeed if only the various institutions and agencies provide their complementary roles of providing the enabling environment, infrastructural base and funding support,” he added.

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

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 17.1

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 July, 2016

14 10.77 US$49.29 US$25,157,243,447

26/07/2016 Mar 2015 24/9/2016 8/9/2016 Source:CBN

FGN Bonds

TTM

Price 104.65 114.59 111.96 120.58 109.60 100.54 83.82 97.56

1.07 3.24 3.87 5.82 7.95 9.81 14.31 18.29

NIBOR

Rate (%) 4.4583 9.1071 11.0102 12.3790

Bid Yield 10.38 10.55 11.60 11.44 12.27 12.40 12.44 12.49

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

Spot($/N)

Offer 199.24

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

Price 104.80 114.89 112.26 120.88 109.90 100.84 84.12 97.86

Tenor (Months)

Offer Yield 10.24 10.45 11.51 11.38 12.22 12.34 12.39 12.44

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

NITTY

Rate (%) 6.9949 7.2368 8.0819 9.2061 9.5872 10.5042

1 2 3 6 9 12

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

Money Market

Change (%) 0.57 ▲

NIFEX

Spot($/N)

Bid 199.0000

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

196.00

197.00

Banks may face 10% Basel 3 capital burden increase

B

anks may face an increase of about 10per cent in their capital requirements as a result of the overhaul of risk-assessment rules under way at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, says Societe Generale, Chief Financial Officer, Philippe Heimlip.

Group of 20 nations and the Basel committee’s oversight body “want to concretely deliver reform improving the comparability of risk-weighted assets, but with no significant capital increase”, Heim said on Monday at a conference in New York.

“The whole debate is all about what it means: no significant capital increase. We begin to hear that it should be an inflation of around plus 10per cent.”

The oversight body, led by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, met on September 11 and reiterated its instruction to the regulator to “focus on not significantly increasing overall capital requirements” as it wraps up work on the framework known as Basel 3. That promise, first made in January,

T

Treasury Bills

FX

rates to the central bank’s policy rate may compromise the independence of the central bank, and hamper its ability to enact monetary policy towards achieving its main objectives— that is to maintain price and financial stability and to support the economy.”

left open the possibility that individual countries or banks could face a marked increase.

The Basel Committee is racing to finish work on the postcrisis capital framework by the end of the year. After the meeting of the oversight body, known as the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision, the committee will convene a two-day meeting on September 14.

Banks warn that proposed changes in how they assess credit, market and operational risks would send capital requirements spiraling. Credit Agricole CEO Philippe Brassac said last week the Basel Committee should freeze plans to overhaul capital rules for five years to avoid a “drastic” reduction in lending by European banks.

“What we understand is that all market participants will have full clarity on this, we hope, touch wood, beginning of January,” Heim said. “The past months have been pretty intensive in terms of exchange with all the stakeholders.”

Supervisor of fraud at Wells Fargo exits with $125m bonus

Maturity Date Discount Bid Yield Change (%) Discount Offer Yield Change (%) Rate (%) 7.67 7.82 -0.51 ▼ Open-Buy-Back (OBB) 3.83 30-Jun-16 7.92 8.08 -0.51 ▼ 6-Oct-16 8.59 8.34 8.71 -0.31 ▼ Overnight (O/N) 4.33 8.99 -0.31 ▼ 16-Mar-17 9.36 10.28 -0.07 ▼ 9.11 9.98 -0.07 ▼ Bid 199.14

end up reducing access to the banking system for small borrowers—such as farmers, SMEs and consumers—and may also revive informal lending at much higher cost for borrowers.”

Furusawa also noted that the linkage of: “deposit and lending

0.00 ↔

Offer 199.1000

Change (%) -1.75 ▼ -2.08 ▼

Change (%) 0.00 ↔

he Wells Fargo executive who oversaw a unit that created almost 2 million unauthorised customer accounts is set to retire from the company with a nearly $125 million payday, and reports say the bank isn’t likely to cut the strings on her golden parachute as she walks out the door.

Carrie Tolstedt announced her retirement in July, effective at the end of the year, and is set to receive $124.6 million via stock, options and restricted shares accrued during her 27 years at Wells Fargo, Fortune reported Monday.

Tolstedt headed the infamous community banking unit where employees created unauthorized deposit accounts and credit accounts in an effort to meet sales goals. The dummy accounts charged individual customers up to $50 in fines for a service they never requested, The New York Daily News reported.

“There are two possibilities: Customer abuse was part of business model, in which lots of high-ranking people need to go to prison,” Bart Naylor, a financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, told The Washington

Post. “Or the bank is too big to manage, and folks high up don’t even know that laws are being broken a few levels down.”

It’s unclear when Tolstedt became aware of the scam and she was not named in any Consumer Financial Protection Bureau paperwork. The fallout from the scandal resulted in the firing of 5,300 employees and a massive $185 million fine levied by various regulators.

“Those issues should have been caught sooner and dealt with more forcefully,” Mike Mayo, an analyst at CLSA Ltd., wrote Monday in a client note obtained by Bloomberg.

But Tolstedt not only escaped getting axed, she was praised for her tenure at the company. In a July statement about her retirement, CEO John Stumpf hailed Tolstedt as “a standard-bearer of our culture” and “a champion for our customers,” The New York Post reported. Her decision to retire was “personal,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson said.

Had Tolstedt been fired instead of allowed to retire, Wells Fargo could have recouped at least $45 million of the jackpot she’s set to receive, Fortune reported.

38

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

wedneSDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

wedneSDAY, september 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

SETBACK

The major factor responsible for the persistent lull in the market was government’s inability to come up with a clear blue print on the stock market Stories Chris Ugwu Lagos

F

ollowing commitment of regulators to maintain zero tolerance for infraction, some shareholders in the market have called for more regulatory attention for investors, adding that this will boost confidence in the nation’s capital market.

They noted that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other stakeholders need to do more to encourage domestic portfolio investment as against strong presence of foreign investors in the market.

The shareholders in a chat with New Telegraph expressed

BUSINESS |Financial Market News

Investor confidence: Shareholders seek more regulatory attention concern that giving more attention to local investors by way of uptick in investors’ education will help to boost confidence in the market.

President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie, urged the NSE, SEC and the Ministry of Finance to woo the investors back to the market since it had survived beyond the holocaust days of 2008, which was characterised by the economic meltdown.

He said that the current reforms being undertaken by the regulators could not restore lost confidence in the nation’s capital market, but a coordinated enlightenment and people-friendly economic policies would do.

“The market we are seeing today on a rally point happened on its own and not because of a specific reform by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),’’ he said.

Okezie said that it was necessary for Nigerians to find out whether the government’s appointees had made any effort to embrace and woo the investors, who left, back to the stock market.

“They need to talk to these investors and explain to them the reason why the market is functioning the way it is,” he added. According to him, there is also the need for the regulators to address the issues that led to the loss.

The PSAN president said that asking multinationals to enlist on the market was not the way to go, as it was still on a downward trend with no guarantee of a steady appreciation.

Besides, he said that the nonchallant attitude of regulators toward investors is a major cause of their dismal confidence in the market.

Similarly, National President, Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Shehu Mallam

UK stocks jump most since June

B

ritish equities jumped the most since June in a rally that lifted almost all FTSE 100 Index shares after a US jobs report showed the labour market is holding steady.

According to Bloomberg News, the benchmark gauge of large UK companies climbed 2.2 per cent, with 90 of its shares up. That took its weekly advance to 0.8 per cent, snapping two weeks of declines.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc advanced 5.2 per cent, rebounding from its lowest price since April and leading gains among drug makers. Consumer companies also climbed, with Imperial Brands Plc and Unilever up more 3.8 per cent, while energy producers jumped from a one-month low.

Among stocks moving on corporate news, Go-Ahead Group Plc jumped 10 per cent after reporting revenue that beat estimates. Segro Plc fell 1.9 per cent after the industrial property owner said it would sell new shares. Carnival Plc declined 4.1 per cent after Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on the cruise operator to the equivalent of a sell.

The FTSE 250 Index of midcap shares added 0.9 per cent, while the FTSE Small Capitalisation Index Ex Investment Trusts gained 0.4 per cent. The regional Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 2 per cent.

“We hope these efforts make it a little more likely that Secretary Clinton is able to pursue the agenda she’s outlined, and serve as a signal to the Republican Party that

by running this kind of campaign - one built on fear and hostility - and supporting this kind of candidate, they compel people to act in response,” Moskovitz said, also in a post on Medium.

In July, over 100 technology leaders signed a letter naming Trump a “disaster for innovation.” Twitter Inc. co-founder Ev Williams, Box Inc. Chief Executive Officer Aaron Levie and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla were among those endorsing the letter, which said Trump’s views on immigration, Internet security and government investment would stifle the technology industry and divide the nation.

Facebook board member Peter Thiel is one of the few Silicon Valley leaders to have publicly supported Trump so far.

Mikail, bemoaned the current state of the market.

He explained that the major factor responsible for the persistent lull in the market was the government’s inability to come up with a clear blue print that would serve as a guide to both existing and prospective investors.

He argued that without a clear policy from the government stating the direction of

39

the economy in the next four years, all efforts by the regulators to stimulate activities and boost investors’ confidence in the market would remain a mirage.

He said: “I pray that God will come to our rescue and heed to the cry of commoners.

The people we put in position are not thinking of the generation unborn; talk more of the ageing ones like us.

Insurance firm reports N828m H1 2016 loss

I

nternational Energy Insurance (IEI) Plc has reported N828.611 million losses after tax for the half-year ended June 30, 2016.

The company in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said it reported a loss of 828.611 million as against a loss of N78.566 million posted in 2015, accounting for a percentage change of 955.

Loss before tax equally stood at N828.611million for the second quarter, against a loss of N78.566 million reported a year earlier.

However, the group’s revenue dropped by 51 per cent from N2.611 billion in 2015 to N1.290 billion during the review period.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) recently directed the interim management of the International Energy Insurance to suspend the proposed sale of the company’s major equity stake in IEI Anchor Pensions Limited.

According to reports, the interim management had proposed to sell IEI’s investment in IEI Anchor Pensions Limited, citing the operational guideline of the NAICOM that prohibits investment of greater than 25 per cent of proceeds from a private placement or public offer in

a non-insurance asset.

However, the Commission was said to have directed the interim management, which it appointed after sacking the previous management of IEI, to stand down the disposal process.

NAICOM had in 2015 intervened in the governance of IEI and appointed an interim management board (IMB) effective May 18, 2015.The IMB is chaired

by Mr. Muhammad Ahmad, founding director general of National Pension Commission (Pencom) and it included Ms. Daisy Ekineh and Mrs. Bridget Akintola The management of IEI confirmed the suspension of the divestment process.

IEI had struggled from one crisis to another and remained under the danger of compulsory delisting at the NSE. IEI’s share price has fallen to its nominal value of 50 kobo, underlining the steep decline since its share restructuring in 2013.

In 2013, IEI had restructured its previous outstanding shares of 6.42 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 1.284 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

The post-consolidation shares were listed at N2.50 per share, making IEI the then highestpriced stock in the insurance sector.

40

NEWS News|SOUTH-WEST

Anxiety as Lagos begins demolition of illegal structures

Muritala Ayinla

P

alpable fear and confusion yesterday took over Ikoyi, Lekki, and Victoria Island of Lagos State as the state is set to embark on ‘operation clean-up of illegal structures, shanties, abandoned buildings erected in violation of the Building and Planning law as well as master plan of the areas today.

New Telegraph reliably gathered that today’s enforcement of the law and demolition exercise was sequel to a 14day ultimatum already issued by the state gov-

ernment which lapsed on September 11 as it coincided with the Eidel-Kabir festival.

Piqued by the growing rate of illegal structure and development of buildings in violation of master plan of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki axis, the Lagos State government had inaugurated special cleanup Committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello to ensure the area was rid of structure attracting criminals, illegal migrants and prostitutes.

Other structure earmarked for demolition by the government in the ‘massive’ clean up

exercise were shanties, structure built without approval and those erected in clear violation or not conform with the master plan of Ikoyi, VI and Lekki areas.

Also likely to be pulled down are abandoned structure housing criminals, prostitutes and aliens.

Impeccable sources in Governor’s Office told New Telegraph that the committee newly inaugurated by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode would unfailingly commence the enforcement of the Environmental Sanitation and Town Planning laws in the affected areas today.

According to the

sources, the government was ready to get rid of illegal structure, abandoned buildings now harbouring prostitutes, shanties, street hawkers and those who had converted walkways into trading points and food courts in the affected areas.

“After the government has given them the ultimatum to the owners of such illegal structure to dismantle them voluntarily, the mass demolition exercise takes place tomorrow (today) with the combined force of the men of task force and officials of the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

60m Nigerians living with mental disorder, says commissioner Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

N

o fewer than 60 million Nigerians have various degrees of mental disorder, the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye has said.

Ipaye, who made the revelation in Abeokuta, urged people to always go for regular psychotherapy check-up to detect and manage mental challenges.

Nigeria’s population is estimated at about 180 million.

In a statement made available to reporters, the health commissioner was quoted as saying that about 80 per cent of

Osun ALGON chairman canvasses social reorientation for youths

O

sun state Association of Local Governments of Nigeria’s chairman (ALGON), Mr Soji Ajayi, has canvassed social reorientation for the youths, stressing that there was the need to make youths more responsible and productive.

He however said it was imperative considering the enormous responsibility of nation-building before them as many of

Managing Director/ CEO, Maevis Nigeria Ltd, Mr & Mrs Tunde Fagbemi (right); Osun State Governor, Raufu Aregbesola and Celebrant & his wife, Dr Wale Bolorunduro & Oladayo Bolorunduro, during the 50th birthday of Wale Bolorunduro … recently

40%

2,927

The number of deaths (per 100,000) due to Alzheimer’s Disease in District of Illinois State in 2010.

Source: Alz.org

44.26%

The percentage of expatriates’ football players in Germany in 2012-2013 season.

Source: Football-observatory.com

APC panel to submit report on Ondo primary Abuja

O

ne week after it commenced sittings on allegations trailing the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) governorship primary election in Ondo state, the party’s governorship Appeal Panel Committee has said its report on the matter would be released this week.

The Committee’s report which would have been ready before now, started its sitting last week Tuesday shortly after the governorship primary that produced Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN amidst alleged rigging.

the youths who preferred easy route to success and wealth were not ready to take up responsibility, saying only hard work and perseverance would make youth a very successful person without adverse consequence.

Ajayi called for patience on the part of the citizens in the face of present economic crunch, saying the situation required spirit of collectivism to succeed.

Eid-el-Kabir: LAWMA embarks on waste evacuation he Lagos State Waste “We in LAWMA have T Management Au- put in place logistics to thority (LAWMA) yes- ensure a waste-free cel-

The percentage of the population of Cote d’Ivoire under 15 years in 2012.

Source: Un.org

Johnchuks Onuanyim

people move about with mental disorder without knowing or seeking help.

According to him, between 20 and 25 per cent of Nigerians live with a full-blown mental disorder across the country.

Ipaye explained that cases of mental challenges ranged from minor mood disorder to extreme mental accreditation, adding that one out of every five Nigerians had an extreme mental disorder.

He identified marital pressure as well as educational and economic pressure as factors that could trigger minor mood disorder that eventually lead to mental illness.

Some of the aspirants that contested the governorship ticket of the APC are asking that the Appeal Panel Committee led by Mrs. Helen Bendega should cancel the result of the primary.

Those that sent petitions to the Panel alleging irregularities in the primary are Chief Olusola Oke, Senator Ajayi Borofice and Engr. Segun Abraham.

While Abraham came second in the primary election, Oke came third and Borofice took fourth position in the election contested by 24 aspirants.

The national leadership of the APC has not

canceled any of its primaries in the past, but investigation emerged that there were pressure on the party’s leadership to annul the primary election.

One of the strong points raised by the aggrieved aspirants was alleged irregularities in the delegates’ list submitted by the National Working Committee of APC. Some of the aspirants had expressed opinions that the party decided to rig the primary in favour of the winner by presenting conflicting delegates’ lists.

But the National Organizing Secretary of APC, Senator Osita Izunaso has said that it would be wrong for the party to

make any statement when the Appeal Panel had not submitted its report.

According to him, any statement made by the national leadership of the party while awaiting the report of the committee may jeopardize the outcome of the Committee’s sitting.

The Committee members who spoke in the condition of anonymity confirmed that the committee received only three petitions just as it considered the petitions as contained in the report that would be submitted this week.

They however declined to comment on the nature of the allegations raised in the petitions by the petitioners.

terday assured residents of prompt evacuation of wastes generated during the ongoing Eid-elKabir.

Mr Muyiwa Adejokun, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the authority, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Adejokun said officials of the authority had been directed to work throughout the two-day holiday declared by the Federal Government to mark the ceremony.

ebration.

“Our men with their trucks have been directed to operate on a 12-hour basis, as well as go on a round-tripping that is doubling their trips on waste evacuation.

“This arrangement will help to reduce any form of delays or excuses for non-evacuation of wastes.

“Our various supervisors are also on duty to ensure prompt picking of refuse generated from different parts of the state.

Ambode approves retreat for civil servants on service delivery Muritala Ayinla

L

agos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has approved a 3-day retreat that would facilitate evolution of standards on Human Resource Policies in the State Public Service.

The State Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, who disclosed this, explained that the retreat would es-

tablish uniform templates for the implementation of common policies on Human Resource Management in Service Commissions and Boards in the State Public Service.

According to the Head of Service, the three-day retreat is for Chairmen, Members and Principal Officers of Commissions, Boards and other Human Resource (HR) Management agencies in the State Public Service.

News|SOUTH-EAST

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Biafra’ll become reality soon – MASSOB Steve Uzoechi, Uchenna Inya, Clement James and Dominic Adewole

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ovement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has said that the quest to actualise Biafra Republic will soon become a reality notwithstanding the position of the federal government of Nigeria. The leadership of the group stated this yesterday, in an elaborate ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of MASSOB. The group used the occasion to reflect on what they described as their long walk to freedom, and countless episodes of

66.1m

brutality visited on them by the Nigerian government.

Addressing members, MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu recalled the harassment, arrests, detention, imprisonment and killings of their non-violent members.

He said: “Today, we also remember the traumatic torture, massacre of unarmed MASSOB members at Umulolo, Okigwe on 29th March, 2003. Today, we remember the uncelebrated deaths of our fallen heroes, not forgetting the traumatic deaths of the parents of our members who died because of shock. MASSOB can never forget the death of the first two proBiafra martyrs, Gabriel

The estimated total population of Western Asia in 1960.

Source: Un.org

Ogu and Joseph Okereke.

They willingly gave their lives in defence of the Biafran flag at Faulks Road, Aba on 22 May, 2000 when MASSOB first hoisted the Biafran flag.”

In another statement signed by Mazi Lotachukwu Ikeogu (Imo State Coordinator) and Comrade Sebastine Muonso (Imo State Secretary), the group said: “We also remember our members who are still in detention because of their belief in Biafra, but as we commemorate our 17th year anniversary, we urge Ndigbo to device local and community based means of protecting themselves.”

The statement noted further that if Ndigbo had realised potency of

187,155

The total number of active fixed wired/wireless lines of Nigeria in December 2015.

their enemy and the hatedriven policies targeted at them, they will stop lamenting about the federal government’s inability to protect them against the marauding Fulani herdsmen.

“MASSOB warns that Ndigbo should hold their governors responsible for any invasion of our land by foreigners. That Buhari’s sudden and pressured directive against Fulani’s herdsmen is half-hearted and political.

MASSOB foresees more military-styled attacks which shall continue to be veiled as executed by Fulani’s herdsmen but the real men behind these pogroms are known as the Islamic Arewa Army (ISAA) established to conquer and actualise an

0.54%

The capital importation percentage share of Trading of Nigeria in 2008.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

ethno-religious agenda,” it stated.

Also, the Ralph Uwazurike faction of MASSOB, which gathered on Tuesday at Ikom township stadium in central Cross River State to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the movement, maintained that it was reaching out to countries in the western world to support its course and that soon, Biafra will gain its freedom from Nigeria.

The Zonal leader of the group, Samuel Okah, who led members on a peaceful march through streets in the commercial town of the state chanting victory songs and the Biafran anthem before converging at the stadium, encouraged members to keep faith with the move-

Steve Uzoechi

A

Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

n Owerri High Court has ordered the management of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) and its host community to steer clear of a large expanse of land measuring about 3500 hectares which is subject of litigation, until the substantive suit is determined.

The order which was contained in Suit No/772/2013 also affected the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, his proxies and any agent of government from en-

W

orried that what the people of UkpabiNimbo and Attakwu, Akegbe suffered in the hands of Fulani herdsmen might befall them, another Enugu Community, Aku in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State has raised the alarm that they could be attacked by the belligerent herdsmen.

The fear of a possible invasion of the community was hinged on a statement credited to one Alhaji Sadiq on September 8, that some Aku youths

Enugu community raises the alarm over herdsmen’s attack attacked their camp near Aku town, robbed the herdsmen of N10,000.00, butchered 10 cows and stole 300 them.

The said Sadiq was also quoted as saying that after the alleged attack one of the herdsmen was attacked and injured while three others are missing.

The allegation has gone viral on social media, print and electronic media, that Aku youths attacked Fulani herdsmen.

Worried about this development, the commu-

nity held a meeting on September 12, and came up with an 11-point communique dissociating Aku youths from such alleged attack.

To show that they were serious that they were not aware of any attacks their youths were being accused of, Aku town union leaders as well as the traditional rulers signed the communique. They are Mr. Felix Ezikeanyi, chairman, Aku General Assembly; Ezinne

Chinyere Idike, Chairperson, Ndiomu Aku and Chief Cajetan Agu, Aku Welfare Association Federated (AWAF). Others include HRH Igwe V. O Attah, chairman, Aku traditional rulers council, the Diogwu I of Akutara Ani-Aku; Igwe C. O Ochi, Ihekwu-Ani Aku; Igwe C.E.O Okwor, Ihekwu-Enu Aku; Igwe James Aleamu, AkutaraEnu Aku, Igwe Bum Anekwe, Oshigo, Aku and Igwe A. Ugodi, Ugwunoda, Aku.

ment as the leadership was doing everything to ensure a peacefull disengage from Nigeria.

Okah, who also said Chief Uwazurike has asked him to assure members of the possibility of freedom, noted that the struggle had assumed a different dimension and that the federal government would soon get tired of arresting and intimidating members of the group.

“We have continued to ask for a peaceful departure from Nigeria because we do not want take up arms again. In the last seventeen years, the struggle has gained momentum and the federal government might soon be tired of arm-twisting us to remain in unequalled country,” Okah stated.

Court bars FUTO, communities from disputed land OWERRI

A cross-section of MASSOB-BIM, during their rally to mark its 17th year anniversary in Umuahia, Abia State…yesterday

croaching into the land.

The land dispute has lingered on for over a decade, and the host communities were compelled to drag FUTO and Governor Rochas Okorocha to court owing to the sudden conceding of a land already ceded to the host communities to FUTO. However, the recent order became necessary following the activities of the some alleged land speculators who, without waiting for the pronouncement of court, were already clearing, partitioning and selling the disputed land with the impression that they had the backing of the governor.

Ugwuanyi launches platform for good governance

G

ov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has launched an interactive internet online platform to engender people-oriented social engagement needed for inclusive and responsive governance.

The new interactive online platform is www. mystewardship.ng.

Addressing newsmen in Enugu yesterday, Ugwuanyi said the digital ecosystem had become a veritable tool for good governance and citizen participation in government affairs.

“We are in the age of ideas and the world of internet has provided a criti-

cal enabler for citizens to express themselves freely and willingly on issues of state resource management and value allocation.

“As a government, it has increasingly become clear to us that we need to engage the people much more robustly to ensure we filter the best of ideas, views and opinions.

“That is why I have decided to launch this twoway social communication platform,” he said.

Ugwuanyi said his government would to reach out more to the people to enable them understand better on how the state was managed.

Expert wants huge investment in agriculture as Nigeria meets 35% of fish needs

Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

L

ivestock consultant, Mr. Chijoke Uchegbu, has called for huge invest-

ment in the development of the agricultural valuechains especially in livestock to enable Nigeria come out of economic recession.

Uchegbu, an agro-en-

trepreneur, made the call yesterday in Owerri, saying Nigeria could reduce capital flight by investing in animal feed milling and food processing facilities. He noted that

several billions of naira was being spent yearly on importation of animal feed and processed food.

According to him, massive investment in the livestock sector was

41

capable of resuscitating the already sick Nigerian economy as agriculture has the capacity to employ millions of jobless youths and put food on the tables of many.

“To develop the livestock value-chain, I mean establishing cold rooms, smoking ovens, and farm villages where produce from the farms are bought off to check glut,” he noted.

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News|SOUTH-SOUTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Dickson harps on development as panacea for N’Delta peace INC alleges plot to weaken Ijaw unity Chris Ejim Yenagoa

B

ayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, yesterday harped on maps to development in the Niger Delta region.

He said dialogue and a clear road-map for development was key to achieving lasting peace, security, law and order in the region.

The governor spoke during a courtesy call on him by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), LieutenantGeneral Tukur Buratai in Bayelsa State.

At the event, Gover-

nor Dickson stressed the importance of peace and security to the overall development in the state and region, noting that the state government had been working in collaboration with security agencies to ensure the security of lives and property of the people as well as the protection of critical national assets.

He commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for its efficient and effective disposition, acting as the bastion and ultimate guarantor of the nation’s constitutional democracy. He said the officers and men had discharged their responsibility of defending

the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the country.

Governor Dickson also called for the continued support and understanding of the people and the communities in the ongoing military exercise in the state, pointing out that, it was intended to protect law abiding citizens and critical national infrastructure.

He said peace and security in Bayelsa State was critical to the stability of the Niger Delta, pointing out that, the state had remained the epicentre of all the issues and challenges of development facing the

region.

“Security can only be achieved when you have an effective and robust collaboration. This state understands the role of security, which is the cornerstone of any meaningful and lasting development and that is what we are doing, working with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, mobilising our community leaders at all levels.

“We have drawn up at all levels, a dynamic synergy between all to ensure that our state and our region remain safe.

If you are talking about security and stability in the Niger Delta.

Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

T

he Ijaw National Congress (INC), the umbrella body of the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by some people to weaken the unity and strength of the Ijaw nation and create crisis in the region, instead of working for genuine peace and development.

President of the congress, Boma Obouforibo, who made the allegation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said some prominent Ijaw people, who formerly held leadership positions in the INC, had been promoting disunity in a bid to balkanise the body because of what they stand to profit in an atmosphere of crisis.

He, however, said that the INC under his watch, wanted an end to the crisis in the region, especially the attacks on oil installations, which he said had led to the deployment of troops in the region, adding that no amount of distractions would make the INC change its course.

According to Obuoforibo, part of the strategy to cause disaffection among the Ijaw was the sudden emergence of another INC president, Alatubo Charles Harry, who he said was never elected, but parading himself as president.

He said the INC had obtained a court injunction stopping the conduct of any election after the National Executive Council of the INC had gone to court seeking to stop him from completing his tenure as president.

Textile union lauds Ayade on garment factory T

he National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has lauded Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, for his foresight in the establishment of the Calabar Garment Factory, describing it as a landmark achievement in the nation’s quest to diversify its economy.

The commendation, which was contained in a letter signed by the National Secretary of the association, Issa Aremu, said the factory, when fully operational, has the potential of transforming the economic landscape of the state and

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, with former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, during Jonathan’s visit to Minna, Niger State … yesterday

Agip oil spill pollutes Bayelsa community Chris Ejim Yenagoa

T

he people of Kalaba community in Bayelsa State, yesterday bemoaned impact of an oil leak from an oil field operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) that had ravaged the area.

The leak, according to residents of the community, was discovered in the area in August and currently spilling crude to swamps and forests in the area, threatening the ecosystem.

Members of the community, located in Yenagoa

Dominic Adewole ASABA

T

he celebration of Eid-elKabir in Delta State has disrupted the proposed indefinite strike by the Delta State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

The State Working Committee (SWC) of the union became angry last week

Local Government Area of the state, lamented that over a month after the spill occurred, it was yet to be contained and the environment had not been remediated.

They appealed to the government and relevant authorities to prevail on NAOC to halt the spill and carry out remediation on the site.

The paramount ruler of the community, Chief Roman Orukali, said though officials of the company had visited the area, the spill was yet to be put under control.

“Agip officials came to the site on August 5, though they were yet to get to the

area because of the volume of water, but up till now the spill is still bubbling and is heading towards the swamp.

“That is one of the fishing swamps we have and if not cleaned up in time, it will affect us adversely.

“They don’t attend to spill on time, so I am appealing to the Federal Government to prevail on the company to return to the spill site on time and make the necessary clean up and remediation,” he said.

The youth leader in the community, Mr. Samuel Opuro, said aquatic and farming activities were worst hit by the spill.

the country at large.

Aremu, who is also the Deputy National President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said “we congratulate Prof. Ben Ayade on the successful establishment of what is regarded as a world class garment factory in Calabar.

“The factory, which is one of the signature projects of your administration, was aimed at creating mass and decent jobs for the good people of Cross River State. It was also reckoned to be the biggest in Africa with the capacity to employ more than 3,000 workers, largely women.”

Shaibu blasts lawmaker over attack on Oshiomhole Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

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lawmaker representing Etsako federal constituency in Edo State and running mate to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 28 election, Mr. Philip Shaibu, yesterday berated his counterpart representing Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency in Delta State, Hon. Oyemachi Mrakpor, over her attack on Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

Shaibu described as ‘childish and sad,’ the

remarks by Mrakpor against Oshiomhole, who had accused Governors Ifeanyi Okowa and Nyesom Wike of Delta State and Rivers State respectively, accusing them of sponsoring thugs into Edo State for the purpose of disrupting the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

He said the action smacked of ‘lack of what it takes to represent her people in the House of Representatives.’

Shaibu, who reacted to the outburst by the lawmaker said “Governor Oshiomhole pays the state workers’ salaries as at when due and pension-

ers already captured by the state government from 1998 to 2014 were being paid. Unlike his governor that cannot pay workers’ salaries and arrears, but has money to sponsor militants and also contribute billions to PDP governorship candidate in Edo at the detriment of the Delta people.”

According to him, “I am shocked at Mrakpor, who should be worried that the money meant to pay salaries of members of her constituency and Delta State people were being diverted to Edo to support their factional PDP governorship candidate.”

Anger as Eid-el-Kabir disrupts teachers’ strike in Delta during its enlarged meeting over the predicament of teachers and their four months’ unpaid salaries.

The union was also aggrieved after it reviewed an 11-point grouse concerning workers’ welfare and stagnant promotion in the last three years.

The strike action, which was planned for Monday, September 12, the resumption date for a new school session, failed to hold because the Federal Government declared a two-day public holiday.

Disturbed that the strike was rescheduled to hold

today and that it may spell doom for his five-prong SMART agenda, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa swiftly directed his Special Adviser on Labour and Productivity, Mike Okeme, to negotiate the implementation of the issues raised.

Chairman of the union

in the state, Jonathan Jemirieyigbe, supported by his executives at the state secretariat yesterday, lamented the plight of his members in four council areas over the unpaid salaries.

Okeme said his boss had acceded to the yearnings of

the teachers, maintaining that “from today, the teachers will start receiving credit alert. The SWC of the union will join SUBEB and PPEB to monitor the implementation of their 11-point grouse, which includes 2014, 2015 and 2016 promotions and salaries.”

News|NORTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nine Borno mega schools to gulp N1.6bn

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he Borno State Government had awarded N1.6 billion contract for the construction of nine mega primary schools in the state, as part of efforts to overhaul its educational system.

Governor Kashim Shettima that the gesture was aimed at providing access to education for over the 49,000 children orphaned by the Boko Haram crises in the state.

£870m

He said: “We have awarded contracts for the construction of nine mega primary schools across the state. We are also building a mega school in Maiduguri deliberately for the children orphaned by the Boko Haram crisis.”

Shettima said that the schools would have accommodation, kitchen and sporting facilities, even as he explained that the action was part of govern-

The total amount spent by Premier League clubs on transfer in the summer of 2015.

Source: Bbc.com

ment post insurgency plan to safeguard the future of children orphaned by the outbreak of the insurgency.

He said: “It is gratifying to note that peace has started returning to this part of the world. But as we win the war against Boko Haram insurgents, we are yet to commence the much bigger war of trying to meet the aspiration of about 49,000 children orphaned by the crisis in Maiduguri alone.”

N152

The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) of Abia State in July 2016.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

He lamented that thousands of women had become widows after losing their husbands to the crisis which erupted in 2009, saying that there was no yet a concrete data on the number of children orphaned or women who lost their husbands in the crisis.

According to him, “nobody can give the exact number of people affected or women who lost their bread winners

$40m

The total amount of salary/winnings of Sebastian Vettel (Racing) for 2016.

Source: Forbes.com

but there are thousands of them. It is in our own self-interest as a government to rekindle the hope of these people by educating the orphans and empowering the widows in order to make them have stake in the 21st Century.”

Shettima pointed out that government would secure the future of the children and the widows for posterity sake, saying “if we fail to secure their future, they will turn to

monsters that will hunt us in the nearest future.

And indeed, we are determined to invest in the education of the children and that is why we are building the schools.”

The governor said that his administration was determined to rebuild the state and ensure the welfare of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the various camps despite government’s limited resources.

Agency to sue national press centre over alleged defamation Muhammad Ahmad KANO

T

he Chairman Usmaniyya Global Agency, Abdullahi Usman, has given the Director of the National Press Centre, Mrs. O.K Abegunde, two weeks to retract a statement allegedly issued by the centre castigating the agency as fraudulent or risk a court action.

Abegunde was said to have issued a statement that “the Federal Government had warned Nigerians against using the services of the Usmaniyya Agency, more specifi-

Bauchi State Governor, Muhammed Abubukar (right), with the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Bauchi…yesterday PHOTO: NAN

43

cally on taking students to China for studies because the outfit was not a recognised body.

A statement written by the Chairman of the agency and made available to newsmen in Kano, the state capital, on Monday, said some few weeks ago, Mrs. Abegunde, a Director of the National Press Centre issued a statement saying “that the Federal Government had warned Nigerians to be wary of alleged fraudulent activities of Usmaniyya Global Agency Limited claiming to be admission agents in Nigeria.

Buhari happy with Why Dogara, senators moved against Abubakar troops’ efforts – CAS Philip Nyam Abuja

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former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tuggar has said the Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar’s alleged misrule and impunity was responsible for selfinflicted protest against him by the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in the state including the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the three Senators from the state and the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

Tuggar, the Chairman of the Committee on Public Procurements of the House and 2011 gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the state, accused the governor of abandoning the people and embarking on questionable projects and actions since his assumption of office.

Dogara, three Senators and 12 members of the House of Representatives recently visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Villa to protest the alleged corruption and high-handedness of the governor.

Speaking in an interview in Abuja, Tuggar, who spoke on behalf of the APC leaders, explained: “First and foremost, I will say it is really unfortunate, having all come from the same political party with Governor Abubakar including the Hon. Yakubu Dogara, three Senators representing the state, 12 members of the House of Representatives, Minister of Education and myself to complain about the governor’s policies.

“We have to speak against the policies of Governor Abubakar and the divisive politics that

he has been practising and the threat posed by his style of governance to our dear state. This is why as leaders and stakeholders we could not look the other way while our state is being destroyed by one individual and his praise singers.”

Tuggar accused the governor of awarding questionable contracts and not adhering to the public procurement act, even as he said that in spite of the economic recession, the governor was living an ostentatious lifestyle at the expense of the state workers and pensioners.

Northern CAN tasks Muslims, leaders on peace Musa Pam Jos

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he Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Reverend Yakubu Pam, has challenged Muslim leaders and faithful from the North to always exhibit love, sacrifice and to be their brothers keepers, as they marked this year’s EidEl-Kabir celebration.

The CAN Chairman in a press statement issued

in Jos, the capital of Plateau State on Monday and made available to journalists, said Muslim leaders and their Christian counterparts in the country have one common task of using occasions such as this to preach the message of love and peace to their followers.

This was as he said it is in a bid to create conducive atmosphere in the Northern part of the country for peace, mutual respect for one another and to build a region that is devoid of crises, kill-

ings and destruction of properties that peaceloving people laboured for over the years.

According to him, the region is blessed with abundant natural resources that if well harnessed or tapped by the people and the government would lead to the development of the geopolitical zone and other parts of the country.

While saying that the underdevelopment in the north would soon be a thing of the past if all hands are on deck to

build the zone states for the overall benefit of all, he called on the religious extremists in the North, especially the Boko Haram extremists ravaging the North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

He said this had become necessary to allow the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in various camps in the region to return to their homes which they were forced to abandon.

Ibrahim Abdul Yola

T

he Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed delight over the efforts of men and women of the Nigerian Air Force in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North Eastern part of the country.

Abubakar disclosed this during the Eid-ElKabir celebration lunch with Air Force troops at the Yola Air Force Base, where he was represented

by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Air Vice-Marshal James Gbum.

While lauding the gallantry efforts of the troops, the Air Force Chief, who said President Buhari commended the troop, however, urged them to sustain the tempo and efforts at bringing peace to the North East and the country in particular.

He said: “The good work you are doing is appreciated by the Commander-In-Chief (President Buhari) and he is sending his greetings to you at this festive period.

Adamawa LG election: Tribunal commences sitting Ibrahim Abdul Yola

T

he Adamawa State Local Government Council election petitions tribunal has commenced sitting in Yola, the Secretary of the tribunal, Mr. Jimmy Ferdinand has said.

This he disclosed in Yola that the tribunal had received no fewer than eight petitions, of which the secretary said comprised two petitions for chairmanship and six for councillorship.

“The two chairman-

ship petitions are from the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Council and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in Lamurde Local Government Area, challenging the victory of APC candidates in the election.

Ferdinand explained that four of the councillorship petitions were from Mayo-Belwa Local Government filed by PDP candidates in Bajam, Gorobi, Gengle and Ribadu wards.

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WORLD \ NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fearless young Zimbabweans challenge Mugabe

Z

imbabwe has known only one leader since independence. First as prime minister, then president, there has only been Robert Mugabe at the top for the last 36 years.

There have been challenges, opposition and violence, but the 92-year-old leader has always known

how to deal with dissent and stay in power, frequently using brutal tactics. But now, there are protesters, young and leaderless, united by social media. Erstwhile confidants of Mug abe, themselves liberation war heroes, are emerging to challenge him for political leadership.

And members of the security forces, so key to maintaining order, are no longer unquestioningly loyal. Are all of the ingredients finally in place for a change in Zimbabwe.

"OUR FUTURE IS BEING DESTROYED" That's what the activists would have you believe.

They are a new breed for Zimbabwe, growing up under Mugabe, and they seem fearless and ready to be counted.

"Let them see us," says Hardlife Mzingu of the Tajamuka campaign. Translated, the movement's name means 'we are fed up'. Unlike previous opposition

movements, they don't have a single leader to depend on, who could disappear or be discredited; instead they have social media to reach and unite thousands. "We have a future that is being destroyed in this country.

And it is our role in this country to rebuild that future," says Mzingu.

Zuma denies power struggle with Finance Minister

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outh African leader Jacob Zuma attempted yesterday to brush aside market fears of a power struggle with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, declaring: "There is no war between the Presidency and the Treasury."

Zuma twice repeated the phrase in response to a question in parliament. "I am clarifying that point. It must be as clear as anything," he told lawmakers.

An elite police unit is investigating Gordhan over a socalled "rogue spy" unit at the tax agency, set up when he was at its helm. Some analysts say Zuma's allies are driving the probe in a bid to oust Gordhan, something the president denied. The affair has rattled markets in Africa's

most industrialized economy, which faces the risk of ratings downgrades later this year. Divisions within the African National Congress have widened since the ruling party suffered its worst-ever local election results last month, with analysts blaming the rifts on a conflict between Zuma and Gordhan.

Gordhan declined last month to obey a police summons linked to the inquiry into whether he had used a tax service unit to spy on politicians, including Zuma. He said he had done nothing wrong, and the opposition has called the investigation a witch hunt. Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas earlier said that the probe into Gordhan was causing economic uncertainty.

Riots in India as states argue over water

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dispute over water in India's Silicon Valley has claimed its first victim: a demonstrator shot by police who opened fire amid violent protests. State ministers held emergency meetings yesterday after demonstrators vandalized shops and set fire to more than 100 cars, buses and trucks in Bangalore, Karnataka, after days of tension following a Supreme Court order to release water from the state's reservoirs to neighboring state Tamil Nadu.

One protester died and two others were injured after police opened fire to disperse the

crowd. Thousands of police have been deployed in the city in an attempt to regain control, while authorities have banned large gatherings and imposed a curfew in several areas.

"Injustice has been done to us, but I request all to protest peacefully," Karnataka's home minister G Parameshwara appealed to protestors in a press conference Monday. "Until now we have detained nearly 200 people involved in the violent protests," the state home minister said.

In a statement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "personally pained at the developments."

Somalia hosts first summit of African leaders

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omalia hosted regional African heads of state yesterday for a summit that was the first of its kind in the Somali capital since the Horn of Africa nation plunged into conflict in 1991.

Streets were shut down to traffic in Mogadishu, which regularly faces attacks from the Islamist al Shabaab militants, for the one day meeting of IGAD, a grouping that includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia.

The regional leaders were due to discuss Somalia's upcoming vote for a new parliament and president, as well the situation in South Sudan, where fighting in July has further destabilized the five year old nation.The presidents of Kenya and Djibouti, and the

prime minister of Ethiopia, were in Mogadishu for the summit, officials said. Uganda was represented by a minister at the meeting of IGAD, or the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

"It symbolizes the reconstruction of Somalia and Somalia coming back to the (family of) nations," Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer told Reuters as heads of state flew in. "It signifies that we are defeating international terrorism."

Somalia has hosted visits of individual heads of state. But Omer said this was the first summit gathering for about four decades, since the rule of President Siad Barre, whose toppling in 1991 was followed by two decades of conflict.

We' re not afraid of what will come says Anti-Mugabe activist Hardlife Mzingu

US bombers fly over South Korea in show of force after nuclear test

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wo US B-1 bombers flew over South Korea yesterday in a show of force and solidarity with its ally after North Korea's nuclear test last week, while a US envoy called for a swift and strong response to Pyongyang from the United Nations.

Speaking in the South Korean capital yesterday, Sung Kim, the US envoy on North Korea, added that the United States remained open to meaningful dialogue with Pyongyang on ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"Our intention is to secure the strongest possible (UN Security Council) resolution that includes new sanctions as quickly as possible," Kim told a news briefing after meeting his South Korean counterpart. He said the United States would work with China, North Korea's major diplomatic ally, to close loopholes

in existing resolutions, which were tightened with Beijing's backing in March. "China has been very clear that they understand the need for a new UN Security Council resolution in response to the latest North Korean nuclear test," Kim said.

However, China and Russia, which strongly oppose a recent decision by the United States and South Korea to deploy an advanced anti-missile system in the South to counter the North's missile threat, have shown reluctance to back further sanctions. "Both sides think that North Korea's nuclear test is not beneficial to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," China's official People's Daily newspaper said on Tuesday following a high-level ChinaRussia security meeting in Beijing. "At present, we must work hard to prevent the situation on the peninsula continuing to es-

calate, and put the issue of the nuclearization of the peninsula back on the track of dialogue and consultation," it said.

The pair of US supersonic B-1B Lancer strategic bombers took off from their base in Guam and flew with two Japan Air Self Defense Force aircraft before a "hand-off" to South Korean fighters, according to the US military.

The B-1Bs were then escorted by South Korean and U.S. fighter jets in a low-altitude flight over Osan Air Base, which is 77 km (48 miles) from the Demilitarised Zone border with the North and about 40 km (25 miles) from the South's capital Seoul.

"These flights demonstrate the solidarity between South Korea, the United States, and Japan to defend against North Korea's provocative and destabilizing actions," said Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command.

Brazil's ex-Speaker expelled from Congress

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he powerful former speaker of the lower house of the Brazilian Congress, Eduardo Cunha, has lost his seat after an overwhelming vote by fellow members of Congress to eject him.

Mr. Cunha had denied having millions of dollars hidden in Swiss bank accounts - said to be the proceeds of corruption.

But information from Swiss authorities proved the existence of the accounts.

Mr. Cunha - seen as the architect of former president Dilma Rousseff's impeachment - could now face arrest.

Ms. Rousseff was removed

last month for moving funds between government budgets, which is illegal under Brazilian law. During a bitter debate Monday, Mr Cunha accused her supporters of seeking revenge against him.

The vote was seen as critical for the credibility of Congress and all eyes will now be on what Mr Cunha does next, the BBC's Wyre Davies in Brazil says.

He is also known as the "keeper of secrets" in Congress, where dozens of other politicians are also accused of fraud and has suggested he may cooperate with investi-

gators into a wide ranging corruption scandal.

Mr. Cunha is also being investigated by the Supreme Court for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts with state oil giant, Petrobras. Petrobras is at the centre of a massive kickbacks scandal which cost the company $2bn (ÂŁ1.5bn) and has led to the arrest of dozens of lawmakers and top businessmen.

At least three businessmen have said under interrogation that they paid bribes to Mr Cunha, which they deposited in his overseas accounts.

45

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport News

Did you know?

Sport

Owolabi: Nigerian football needs transformation

That Kevin de Bruyne has been directly involved in 32 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions for Man City (17 goals, 15 assists)

International Playing Sporting a privilege – Ronaldo

46 47

Ex-internationals should manage clubs, not national teams – Ikpeba Charles Ogundiya

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or mer international, Victor Ikpeba, has frowned at the trend of hiring only exinternationals for the national teams’ coaching jobs.

The 1997 African Player of the Year said that the coaching jobs should be thrown open, so that other coaches, not necessarily only ex-internationals, could also have the opportunity of managing the national sides.

Ikpeba advised that ex-players should also apply to coach local clubs, rather than wait for what he described as ‘national cake’.

“It’s not every exinternational that must be a coach of a national team,” he said.

“There are other coaches who are equally good; if they have the quality to manage the Eagles, why not? Did (Amodu) Shaibu play for the Eagles? In the 80s we had national team coaches who were not footballers but they did good jobs.

“Some of those that played the game especially my ex-teammates should go and coach

local clubs; it’s like everybody is waiting to manage the national team. How many of the ex-internationals are coaching in the Nigerian league? Their experience is needed there too.

“In Europe, ex-players want to coach clubs but here everyone is after the national cake and they start causing problems everywhere. They need to learn and attend courses abroad.

“What I’m saying is that other people should be given a chance. It cannot be the same people all the time. If we see a coach who is not an ex-footballer doing the right thing, we should encourage him to manage any of the national teams.”

He described the continuous recycling of coaches as a big problem as he advised that the job of managing various categories of the national teams should be thrown open.

The member of the

Musa Mohammed (left) in action against Tanzania

Nigeria Football Federation’s Technical Committee also blamed ex-internationals-turned coaches for not properly developing the players.

He added, “The problem is that our coaches are not really developing our players and educating them on how to behave and become better people in life.

“Now we have a situation where U-17 players are fighting for bonuses; everybody is fighting for money.

This trend has to stop because it’s not helping our players.”

Robbers almost killed my dad, says Onazi

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

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uper Eagles midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has heaved a sigh of relief after armed robbers who attacked his Jos, Plateau State home left without killing his aged father despite threatening to do so.

Four armed robbers on Monday attacked the Jos home of the Nigerian international carting away valuables including a Toyota Highlander car and cash.

However, the damage they caused was limited to material things as they took no life although they physically assaulted the father of

the midfielder.

Speaking from his base in Turkey, Onazi wh o w a s o bv i o u s l y

Onazi

shaken by the incident, disclosed that the band i t s p re t e n d e d t o b e courier men with a letter to be delivered to his father.

“Those robbers came, pretending they were there to deliver a letter to my dad at about 1.40pm on Monday, as soon as he collected their fake letter and asked where it was coming from, they swooped on him, tied his hands, beat and inflicted machete cuts on him in the process,” he recounted.

“They told him this was the first in a series of attacks that they would unleash on our house and that I( Onazi) will be their

target the next time.”

“They took their time to take some valuable materials including a car and some cash but I am thankful to God they didn’t do more than that,” Onazi added.

Already, the brothers of the Super Eagles star and other family members have reported the incident to the police who promised to bring the hoodlums to book and also help with the recovery of the stolen items.

Onazi’s dad has also been discharged from hospital where he was treated for the injuries inflicted on him during the ordeal.

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SPORT NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Owolabi: Nigerian football needs transformation Ifeanyi Anyaka

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x-international, Felix Owolabi, has said football in Nigeria needs total transformation to enable the country achieve desired results in competitions.

Owolabi urged the Nigerian Football Federation to be sincere in its dealings and also work hard so that the game could change for the better in the country, with fans becoming passionate about the sport like it used to be in the past.

“The NFF needs to bring in change into the country’s football.

Nobody is working against Nigeria, but the fact that we are not

Super Eagles defender, Leon Balogun (middle)

Lagos Governor’s Cup

Foreign players seek wildcards Ajibade Olusesan

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he increase in the prize money of the Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship is having bearing on the qualification of players to play in the main draws of the International Tennis Federation- approved competition.

There is no doubt that players will be fighting to win the sum of $100,000, the total prize money packaged for the two- legged competition scheduled to take place at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan from October 8-22. Winners in both men and women

categories will go gome with $50,000 each Before now, the men winners were earning $30,000, while their female counterparts went home with $50,000. However, with the increase in the prize money for the men from this year’s edition, the competition’s standard has improved and will continue to attract quality players than the previous editions, which will definitely make it impossible for players with lower ranks to feature in the tourney.

To this end, some players who are willing to come to Lagos, but may

not be able to feature in the main draws are asking for wildcards from the organisers. Some of them have written to the Local Organising Committee asking for the waiver.

Tournament Director, Prince Wale Oladunjoye, noted that “I’m not sur prised that the prize money we jacked up from this year will enhance the quality and standard of the competition.

We will be glad to have more high ranked players coming to Lagos to play in the Governor’s Cup. This is a good development.”

S

hooting Stars’ fight against relegation suffered a setback on Tuesday after the players embarked on strike to press for their outstanding salaries.

The players are also calling on the management of the club to provide copies of the contracts they signed at the beginning of the season as they claimed to have been short-changed.

“They refused to train today (Tuesday) because they want their outstanding salaries and also demanded to see the contracts they signed with ‘The Oluyole Warriors’,” a top source informed.

Shooting Stars shelved an earlier plan to go on strike before their home game against traditional rivals Enugu Rangers after they were paid a month’s salary before the tie.

They are now owed five months’ salaries and 10 match bonuses.

A top member of the management who spoke on condition of anonymity however revealed to New Telegraph that nobody should blame the players for their action while also laying the blame at the doorstep of the state government who has refused to pay salary.

He said: “The season is about to

eration to be sincere with the under age categories with developmental project the main objectives rather than win at all cost every time.

The former Shooting Stars of Ibadan star added that the appointment of a foreign coach, Gernot Rohr, was not bad for the national team, stating that the Eagles could become successful with the arrival of the German.

He said: “The foreign coach will be better at this time of crisis and also recent failure of not qualifying for tournaments.

“I am of the opinion that he will bring desired results since our local coaches could not deliver.”

Rohr: I didn’t reject my accommodation Emmanuel Tobi

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uper Eagles’ manager, Gernot Rohr, has debunked insinuation that he rejected the accommodation given to him by the Nigeria Football Federation for his stay in the country.

According to a statement released by the NFF’s Assistant Media Director Demola Olajire on Tuesday, Rohr expressed displeasure at the way people were using his openness and easy accessibility to quote him out of context

and attempt to derail him from the core assignment he has at hand.

“I never rejected any apartment,” the coach was quoted in the press release. “I might have spoken to a few people

Rohr

who I believed to be genuinely interested in me, saying that the apartment was very big and I joked that I might get lost inside it when I start to live there, but I never rejected it.

“When the federation engaged me, and told me I had to live in Nigeria, I agreed to it because I believed that my base has to be in the country where I work. I did the same in Niger, Burkina Faso and Gabon, and I do not see it any differently in Nigeria.”

Nigeria wins third match at cricket W/Cup qualifiers Adeolu Johnson ABUJA

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Shooting Stars begin pay strike Charles Ogundiya

sincere, contributed greatly to the problem affecting us,” he said.

“We are not sincere with ourselves. If we look at some of the players of our U-17, U-20 and Super Eagles teams during the competitions, you will find out that some of them are over aged and that’s why we didn’t have the quality that could help us qualify for some tournaments.

“Honestly, we have to stop cheating if we want to make it again.

If we use a real 20-year-old player for U-20 team, we will get the best, we will get result. But when the reverse is the case, then it means there is something wrong with our football.”

He advised the fed-

he Nigeria U-19 junior team recorded its third victory at the World Division II underage qualifiers by beating her West African rivals Sierra Leone by 49 runs. The Junior Yellow Green as they are fondly called had earlier beaten Zambia and Rwanda.

Okpe Sylvester produced a captain’s performance of 88 runs out to hand Nigeria an

end and the players can’t help it again than to stop playing and maybe this can make the state Governor to pay their money.

“For months now they have been playing on empty stomach, we have been appealing to them all this while but there is little we can do again. The Governor should do something about it as soon as possible.”

Shooting Stars are 14th on the table with 44 points from 33 matches.

impressive 209 runs all out in 48.3 overs.

Sirrea Leone could only manage 160 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs.

Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat first with the regular opening pair for Nigeria Olaleye Elijah and Runsewe Sulaiman, walking into the middle but unfortunately an early wicket saw Elijah depart for just four runs with Sulaiman scoring 25 runs.

Mohammed Taiwo, Mohammed Moshood, and Isaac also recorded double figures to boost the run rate all out in 48.3 overs.

In the second innings, Sierra-Leone responded with a spirited performance racing to 32 runs for the loss of just one wicket before lunch.

Nigeria will rest for the next 2 days with their next game against Botswana on the September 15th.

Quote me right, Dalung urges journalists

M

Ogunbote

inister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung has said that a recent report credited to him in a national daily (not NewTelegraph) and a radio station that athletes didn’t need training to win medals but a winning mentality was false and with intent to create mischief.

Speaking from Rio, Barrister Dalung said he did not grant a one-on-one interview with Brilla and challenged the writers to quote him right.

“The last interview I granted was at the flag-off of the NCC Tennis league at the Abuja National Stadium,” Dalung began “ I was asked to compare the performance

of Nigerian athletes at the just-concluded Olympics and the on-going Paralympics and I said that the performance of Nigerian athletes at the Paralympic Games had established the fact that apart from the right training there was also need for the determination to excel.

“I said that they all trained under the same conditions like the Olympic athletes.

That, apart from not having adequate preparations, what then can we attribute to the performance of the Paralympic athletes who have done so well at the Games .

That, if their argument was lack of good training, the Paralympics athletes went through the same thing.”

INTERNATIONAL

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Playing Sporting a privilege – Ronaldo

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fter his goalscoring La Liga return against Osasuna, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke of his excitement at facing Sporting, the club where he began his professional career on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old has never failed to score against a former club in Europe and it is clear he is looking forward to the club’s visit.

“It’s a special match, it’s a special team,” he told UEFA. com. “I wanted to draw Sporting again, because I think they have a good team, they have a good coach, and it will be another special moment in my life.

“To play Sporting again is a

privilege for me.’”

After winning the ‘Undecima’ last season, Ronaldo has his sights set on Real becoming the first club to retain the Champions League since the new format was launched in 1992.

“It’s a challenge, it’s a great challenge, and I think at Real Madrid we have a chance to win it again,” he added.

“We know it’s a very difficult competition, but nothing is easy so we’ll try.

“We’ll take it match by match, and first think about the group stage, as in my opinion it’s a strong group.

“We’ll see how the competition unfolds. But think positive – that it’s possible to win it again.”

Sevilla eye upset at Juve S

evilla president Jose Castro has stated that the club are targeting a win in their Champions League opener away to Juventus.

“Yes, a draw in Turin would be a good result but we are only thinking about winning,” the president told reporters as his club landed in Italy.

“If you look at what happened to Barcelona against Alaves, there is no reason why we should not think we can win any game.

“We will aim to make things difficult for them and hopefully we can take our chances when they arrive.

“Just as last year, our group is very tough but we will try to go one step further and progress to the next round.”

Castro also referenced Juve’s 90 million euros summer signing of Gonzalo Higuain as sportingly and economically an important factor in the group.

UPDC squash tourney for Sept. 16

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he maiden edition of UACN Property Development Company squash series jointly organised by UPDC and OTrafford Squash Club takes place on September 16 and 17 in Lagos.

The tournament sponsored by UPDC and aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle among players and developing the game in Nigeria, will serve off at the prestigious Golden Tulip Festac, Lagos, which has two world standard ASB squash courts.

The series is divided into ‘UPDC Invitational Closed Squash Championship’, which is open to members of the invited clubs and the ‘UPDC National Closed Championship’ that is for top 16 ranked male and top 8 ranked female national players.

Seven invited clubs are participating and they are: Ikoyi Club, Lagos Country Club, Apapa Club, Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Eagle Club, Festac Club and of course OTrafford Squash Club, one of the organisers.

The ‘UPDC National Closed Championship’ serves off on Friday at 12noon prompt with the opening ceremony slated for the following day being Saturday.

Larry E. Ettah, GMD, CEO UAC Nigeria Plc

The games in the ‘UPDC Invitational Closed Squash Championship’ commences immediately afterwards with the finals of both championships to be played later in the evening preceding the closing ceremony.

With the birth of this squash series, UPDC is promoting the age-old adage: “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body), which tallies particularly with today’s fast-paced lifestyles.

Comprehensive technical study has proven that active sports men and women generally live healthier lives and the game of squash in particular is arguably the healthiest sport as has been attested to

by Forbes Magazine after a case study.

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Ferdinand warns Leicester

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io Ferdinand has urged Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri to alter his bold approach ahead of their Champions League bow on Wednesday.

The Premier League champions have struggled in the opening games of the new campaign with their more possession-based style of play failing to pay off.

The Foxes travel to Belgian outfit Club Brugge in their first group stage match in a competition that they have never competed in.

And Manchester United legend Ferdinand believes it would be wise to employ more conservative tactics on the European stage.

“They have been a bit more expansive this season and it has cost them,” the former defender wrote in the Evening Standard.

“Perhaps they will go back to the more reserved game-plan of sitting deep and hitting on the counter which worked so well last season.

“I know how the players will be feeling. It is 15 years since I made my Champions League debut with Leeds and they will have mixed emotions.

“Leicester have had a difficult start to the Premier League so Europe might be a good distraction. However, if they struggle and start losing regularly, it could be a hindrance.”

UCL FIXTURES Leverkusen

vs CSKA

7:45pm

Tottenham

vs Monaco 7:45pm

Legia Warszawa vs Dortmund 7:45pm Real Madrid

vs Sporting 7:45pm

Brugge

vs Leicester 7:45pm

Porto

vs Koebenhavn 7:45pm

Juventus

vs Sevilla

Lyon

vs D’ Zagreb 7:45pm

7:45pm Ronaldo

Sharapova to learn appeal outcome next month T

he Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed that the decision regarding Maria Sharapova’s appeal against a two-year ban will be announced in the first week of October.

The five-time Grand Slam champion lodged an appeal in June, just days after the International Tennis Federation imposed a lengthy ban.

The Russian sportswoman announced in March that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova tested positive for meldonium - a drug that she claimed was used for health reasons - after failing to spot that it had been added to

the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances on January 1, 2016.

With regards to the tennis star’s appeal, CAS released a statement, which read: “In her appeal to the CAS, Ms Sharapova seeks a reduction of the tribunal’s decision to sanction her with a two-year period of ineligibility further to an anti-doping rule violation.

“The final award will be published on the CAS website together with a media release.”

Sharapova’s last official match was her quarter-final defeat to Serena Williams at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova

Terry out for 10 days

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Terry

helsea have confirmed that John Terry suffered “strained ligaments in his foot” against Swansea City at the weekend and as a result, the centre-back will be out of action for “approximately 10 days”.

The 35-year-old turned his ankle in the latter stages of the 2-2 draw against the Welsh outfit, where Chelsea led 1-0 before coming from behind to secure a point courtesy of Diego Costa’s second goal of the match.

Terry was seen leaving the Liberty Stadium on crutches

and scans have revealed that the defender has suffered ligament damage, which will rule him out of Friday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

“John Terry’s injury suffered in Sunday’s game at Swansea is strained ligaments in his foot. He will be out for approximately 10 days,” read a statement on Chelsea’s official website.

Terry’s absence against Liverpool could allow deadline-day signing David Luiz to make his second debut for Chelsea.

On Marble

The magistrates are the ministers for the laws, the judges their interpreters, the rest of us are servants of the law, that we all may be free.

Sanctity of Truth

Bola Bolawole Edo’s election debacle

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

–Marcus Tulius Cicero

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

}16

N150

Edo governorship election and 2019

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he postponement of the Edo Governorship election from the 10th to the 28th of September 2016 has grave implications for our democracy and the electoral process. Although we have previously passed through the road and valley of postponement and inconclusiveness, the manner of this particular postponement or cancellation and the way we handled it leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

The postponement, the reasons for the postponement and the contemptuous manner the security agencies the security agencies treated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its leadership forebodes danger for the 2019 elections and it is appropriate for all the key stakeholders to begin to interrogate the security issues and emerging security issues in the 2019 elections and the impact they may likely have in the conduct of the said election.

The Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) had on the 7th day of September 2016 advised the INEC to postpone the election on grounds of the likelihood of terrorist attack of soft targets during the period. They stated that “credible intelligence availed the agencies indicate plans by insurgent/extremist elements to attack vulnerable communities and soft targets with high population during the forthcoming Sallah celebrations between the 12th and 13th September, 2016”. They also insisted that they could not deploy over 25,000 security personnel needed for the elections and still provide adequate security for the Sallah celebrations.

The INEC on the other hand, said the security agencies never took the Commission into confidence in the security report that led to the postponement while the security agencies insist that the Commission was privy to the postponement and only requested an official advisory.

Of course, most Nigerians knew that it was next to impossibility for the electoral management body to go on with the elections after the statement issued by the Police and the DSS. Not only that, the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) insisted that he will not authorize the deployment of Youth Corp members except their security was guaranteed.

So, INEC did not have personnel to deploy and could not guarantee the security of its “other” personnel and materials.

The anger in the postponement of the September 10, 2016 Edo Governorship elections has nothing to do with the power of INEC to postpone and election.

To the contrary, section 26 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) gives the electoral management body the power to postpone an election if they anticipate that there might be security challenges if the election is proceeded with. The law also gives them the power to postpone an election if there are other disasters or emergencies that make postponement imperative. The only caveat is that such emergencies must be cogent and verifi-

Hard Choices FESTUS OKOYE festokoye2003@yahoo.com 0805-448-0565 (sms only)

Godwin Obaseki, APC governorship candidate

able.

The anger of the people lies in the intrigues that attended the postponement and the off handed manner the security agencies made their request for postponement. It also lies in our penchant to treat security issues with levity until they get out of hand. It also lies in our squandering task payers money on issues and situations that are avoidable.

I concede that security is fundamental to the success of any election and electoral process. I agree that the people of Edo State will be very reluctant to come out and exercise their democratic franchise if the security agencies are unable to guarantee their security. I agree that the electoral personnel will not be confident to perform their duties if they are not assured of their security and the security of their materials.

Therefore, guaranteeing and securing the environment for the conduct of elections is crucial to the conduct of credible elections.

Ordinarily, the security agencies ought to have minimal role in the management and conduct of elections. However, given the character of our electoral process, the managers of the political parties and the caliber of our political elite, it will be a one way ticket to breakdown of law and order to ask the security agencies to play little or no role in the elections.

The history of our elections is littered with the criminal acts of those that have held the electoral process hostage. Some of the politicians kill and maim in the

Osagie Ize-iyamu, PDP governorship candidate

name of elections. Some of them unleash violence on hapless voters whose only crime is that they want to exercise their democratic franchise. Few of the politicians hijack ballot boxes and ballot papers. Many of them snatch result sheets and return false results. Some of them corrupt some of the Judges hearing election petitions and assist them to pervert justice. It is therefore next to impossibility to leave the environment of election to these electoral buccaneers.

A secure environment is in our peculiar circumstances crucial to the success of any election.

There are other issues in the postponement of the Governorship elections in Edo State. The Nigerian people, the security agencies and INEC knew that in accordance with the dictates of section 178(2) of the Constitution, the Edo Governorship election shall be held “on a date not earlier than one hundred and fifty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office”. The implication is that we had four years to plan for the election we aborted. Not only that, the Sallah that we just celebrated has some level of certainty attached to it. Most of the Calendars in use in 2016 projected that the celebration will fall between the 11th and 14th day of September 2016. Is it that we refused to pay attention to these dates or that we prefer to act in a matter that brings us to disrepute? Then when you add the issues of examinations and the fact that we urged students to go to other States to write

their WAEC examinations on account of the elections, it becomes clear that we are a nation that has scant or no regards for data and planning.

More concretely, INEC conducts security threat assessment of each State before the elections and I am sure that they would have raised an alarm if the indices and threats envisaged were very high. More fundamentally, there is in place an Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security. Maybe, the Committee is just a fanciful creation with little or no input in the way security issues around elections are handled.

I say this because, the cost incurred in the aborted election in this period of recession is mind boggling. All the civil society groups and organisations had deployed before the postponement.

They had incurred travelling expenses by air, land and by sea. Most of them had checked into and paid hotel bills.

Most of them have paid their Observers.

Most of them had hired and paid for vehicles for observation. Most of them had printed materials that would aid their observation. That is at the level of civil society groups and organisations.

At the level of the electoral management body, the cost implication can hardly be quantified. They must now place fresh order for sensitive materials that had been configured specifically for the Edo Governorship election and for the September 10, 2016 date. In other words, all the sensitive materials procured and distributed for the September 10, 2016 period have become useless. They must also do fresh mobilization. Political parties also incurred enormous expenses in campaigning and deploying personnel and materials for the elections.

I think that the people must begin at this point to analyze the role and place of the security agencies in the 2019 elections. The security agencies have encircled the electoral process in Nigeria and we must at the earliest possible date, debate and interrogate the challenge they pose to the electoral process.

HIGH CHIEF

HARDSHIP'LL SOON BE OVER –Buhari

- Can I hear a loud AMEEEN?!

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