4th February 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,429

THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Supreme Court retainsAbia, Akwa Ibom for PDP —P7

Nigerian Tribune

I never made reference to OBJ in my comments —Saraki

@nigeriantribune

Benin explosion not terror attack —Army

Nigerian Tribune

N150

Court orders police to arrest ex-Ekiti PDP secretary for perjury

EFCC recovers $14m unpaid crude oil royalty —P7

—P38

—P42

•Escrow account opened for recovered loot —Presidency •Ex-CDS, Badeh, appears at EFCC, to return Monday —Pp2,6 •Ikimi sighted at anti-graft agency office Nigeria soldiers extra-judicially killed 8,200 —Amnesty International —P39

People rescued by the Nigerian Army from suspected Boko Haram terrorist enclave, after an operation in Borno, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN

FIRS must generate N4.9trn to stabilise economy —Minister —P10

11 persons survive helicopter crash in Lagos —P37

How lawyer stabbed 2 husband —P to death in Ibadan The husband after he was stabbed the first time

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EFCC recovers $14m unpaid crude oil royalty •Ex-CDS, Badeh, appears at EFCC, to return Monday •Ikimi sighted at EFCC office •Magu tightens noose around money launderers, visits UAE envoy Saliu Gbadamosi - Abuja

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HE immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshal Alex Badeh, on Wednesday, honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following a presidential directive to further investigate the ex-CDS and 16 other retired and serving military chiefs and 21 companies.

As widely reported on Wednesday, the former CDS reported at the Abuja office of EFCC, but a source informed the Nigerian Tribune that Badeh was not quizzed by the commission’s operatives, but was rather asked to come back on Monday, when it is expected that he would be quizzed on his roles in the procurement scandal.

Badeh spent about 30 minutes with the anti-graft agency before he was told to return on Monday.

The commission is currently questioning some of the indicted officers in the arms procurement scandal, including a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu.

In another development, Nigerian Tribune learnt on Wednesday that about $14 million (about N4,380,295,866) crude oil royalty had been recovered by the EFCC into the coffers of the Federal Government.

A source informed that the royalty was supposed to have been paid between 2011 and 2012 by an oil and gas company operating in the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil industry.

According to the source, the amount was paid into the Federal Government’s account with JP Morgan Chase on January 29, adding that the money was paid after the anti-corruption agency got involved forcefully into the matter of recovering taxes due to the Federal Government.

The commission, it was further gathered, was investigating tax defaulters in the country’s oil and gas industry, with a view to getting what was due to the government was paid to it, while defaulters who failed to pay would not only be arrested but be prosecuted for tax fraud in the court of law.

Meanwhile, a former chairman of the defunct National Republic Convention (NRC) and a chieftain of the defunct Action Congress of

Nigeria (ACN), Chief Tom Ikimi, was sighted at EFCC’s office on Wednesday afternoon, though it was unclear what he came to do at the commission’s office.

Ikimi was sighted entering the office some minutes past 3.00 p.m., in company with two other persons.

A source, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that the Edo State-born politician might be under investigation or came for a routine visit to the commission.

In another development, barely two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari signed a mutual legal assistance agreement with the United Arab Emirate (UAE) on the repatriation of stolen funds and extradition of indicted officials, EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, on Wednesday, met with the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Mahmud Muhammad Al- Mahmud, in his office in Maitama, Abuja.

Speaking during the meet-

ing, Magu called for the strengthening of the existing relationship between Nigeria and UAE, with a view to effectively tackling corruption within the African continent.

According to the EFCC boss, the fight against corruption required the collaborative support of every stakeholder, including the international community.

According to a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune by the head,

Media and Publicity of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, Magu stated that the present administration in the country was poised to recover the nation’s commonwealth looted and laundered in foreign countries by corrupt elements.

The anti-graft czar said the EFCC had intelligence that the UAE was considered a safe haven by corrupt politically exposed persons in Nigeria, adding that his visit was meant to seek the sup-

port and cooperation of UAE. “I have come to seek your support and cooperation just as we had in the case of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, James Ibori, among others, to get the mission accomplished,” Magu stated.

In his remark, the UAE Ambassador, Al- Mahmud, pledged the support of his country to Nigeria’s antigraft war, saying “no country can be an island on its own without the support of others.”

How lawyer stabbed husband to death in Ibadan

By Tunde Ogunesan TRAGEDY struck in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, as a lawyer, Yewande Oyediran, allegedly stabbed her husband to death with knife, around Akobo area, after an argument on Monday night.

The victim, Lowo, in his late 30s, was said to be living in Grenoble, France, but had been coming home for some time since he married Yewande.

Sources informed the Nigerian Tribune that Lowo was into property de-

velopment, revealing that Lowo returned to the country in December to execute a project.

Revealing how he was killed, the senior brother of the deceased, Adelani Ajanaku, a Lagos-based businessman and a former Special Adviser to the former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, at the police station, on Wednesday, said, “Lowo, a native of Gbongan in Ayedaade Local Government of Osun State and an holder of French citizen-

ship, was brutally stabbed to death early Tuesday morning at their Akobo estate residence in Ibadan by his wife, Yewande Oyediran, nee Fatoki.

“He was first stabbed in the armpit and back by the wife around 12 midnight and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. He came back from the hospital after he was treated and the landlord settled the quarrel for them till about 3.00 a.m. and they went to sleep. But by 6.00 a.m., she went to stab him on the neck while

asleep.

“The wife is a lawyer and a Staff of Directorate of Public Prosecution at the Ministry of Justice, Ibadan.”

However, another report had it that it was a case of fighting between two parties, as the duo had earlier engaged in serious fighting with the woman said to have accused the deceased of infidelity.

The duo, it was gathered, had been married for three years without a child, but a source said the husband had impregnated another wom-

an and had a child outside wedlock.

The wife was reported to have sustained serious injury on her head, including a displaced shoulder and was on admission at an undisclosed hospital.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the state Commissioner of Police “has directed that the murder case be taken over immediately by the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Iyaganku, for investigation.”

Senate summons Accountant General over NDDC funds Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja THE Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has summoned the Accountant-General of the Federation to appear before it, over non-remittances of some Federal Government agencies’ contributions to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The summon was sequel to the directive given by the committee chairman, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, during the appearance of the management of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and Ecological Fund Office (EFO) before the committee.

The two agencies appeared before the committee to explain reasons they did not remit funds due to the NDDC in the past.

The committee chairman said funds due to the NDDC from the NLNG and the EFO had largely been withheld in the past.

He disclosed that the committee was conducting an holistic investigation into the activities of the NDDC, especially why they were not performing well despite the huge resources

at their disposal.

According to him “what we want to do is to find out first, the claims in some quota that colossal amount had been given to the people of Niger Delta region

through the NDDC. We want to know how much the agency had received so far from 2000 to date and the projects it had executed with the money.”

Speaking before the com-

mittee, Mr Mohammed Abass, the permanent secretary, Ecological Fund Office, said the NDDC was supposed to receive its funding from the states and local governments share of the fund.

“There was no time that the NDDC has come to us to ask for funding. The fund we handle is used by the Federal Government to carry out intervention in states,” he said.

EFCC hqtrs should be completed this year —Reps Saliu Gbadamosi - Abuja THE House of Representatives, on Wednesday, stated that there should not be any reason the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, currently under construction, should not be completed this year.

This was stated by the chairman, House Committee on Financial Crimes, Honourable Kayode Oladele, when he led other members of the committe to the site of the headquarters complex project, on Airport road, Abuja, which had been under construction since 2012.

The headquarters complex consist of a 10-storey office building, two separate cell buildings for male and female, as well as car park.

In order to achieve this, the committee pledged its

support for the anti-corruption agency, with a view to completing the building project as well as to save the commission of N200 million in annual rent.

“Right now, we are discussing 2016 appropriation and part of what we will be discussing in our committee is funding for EFCC. “In the past, EFCC has been bedeviled by paucity of

funds which has affected its operation and effectiveness.

“But thank God we have a president who has the political will to fight corruption. Why we are fully behind this project is that it is about 70 or 80 per cent complete; and if we are not paying lip service about assisting the EFCC, it should be one of the priorities of this administration to make

sure we complete this project this year,” the chairman declared.

Honourable Oladele added that the National Assembly would also ensure that EFCC staff were provided with life insurance in the budget, saying that the bill seeking an amendment to the EFCC Act had passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

James Ibori released from UK prison, re-arrested He’s yet to be released —Media office FORMER governor of Delta State, James Ibori, has completed his prison terms in the United Kingdom (UK), but the embattled politician is yet to regain freedom as he was immediately re-arrested.

Ibori was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in April 2012 by a Southwark

Crown Court in London.

He was said to have been released on January 22, having completed his jail term.

It was learnt that Ibori was re-arrested to face another charge, which borders on the confiscation of his ill-gotten assets, estimated to be about £250

million pounds.

But the media office of Ibori denied the story, saying he was yet to be released.

“Please disregard the story making the round about Ibori’s release or re-arrest.

He has not been released so he could not have been arrested.”

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Buhari opens escrow account for recovered loot —Presidency

Regrets criticism over ‘unkept promises’ Leon Usigbe - Abuja

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HE Presidency, on Wednesday, disclosed that the Muhammadu Buhariled administration has opened an Escrow Account into which funds recovered from those suspected to have looted the treasury will be paid.

Senior Special Assistant to the president, Garba Shehu, who disclosed it in a statement made available to the State House correspondents in Abuja, also regretted criticisms targeted at the president for not fulfilling promises that the spokesman said he never made.

Speaking on the strides made by the president so far, especially on corruption, the statement said: “He is making good strides towards improving governance, by tackling corruption. Till date, a good number of persons believed to have collectively stolen billions from the taxpayers have been arrested and are facing the courts; we are working with our allies across the world – from Britain and America to France and Germany to China and UAE to source, locate and repatriate misappropriated funds. So far, an escrow account has been opened for money that is

being returned.

“This is only the start; the return of stolen funds is important, but it is just as critical to ensure those who seek to steal realise that no longer will there be such impunity in Nigeria. Only by ending belief in such licence we can we fully institute the rule of law.”

The statement specifically addressed criticism contained in an article by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDS), which it said was peddling misleading information about Buhari’s promises that were not fulfilled after seven months in office.

It advised the group to “rise above petty partisanship and stop misleading Nigerians with blatantly false propaganda and misinformation to serve ulterior motives.”

The Presidency said it was very mischievous to attribute to the president promises he did not make during the campaign and held him accountable for them.

According to Shehu, any honest advocacy for democracy should not include distortion of facts and a misrepresentation of what President Buhari had promised to deal with during the campaigns.

He explained that it was

misleading to invent issues to suit one’s political bias and prejudice and blame the president for not attending to those issues within one’s mischievous and chimerical deadline in order to play down the significant aspects of what the president had accomplished within those seven tough months.

Malam Shehu said the CDD leaders cannot objectively serve the cause of democracy if they were primarily preoccupied with negativity and cynicism, constantly looking for something to condemn rather than appreciating the areas of progress made by the president within those

N1trn failed rail contracts: Reps order NRC to produce contractors As MD denies alleged withdrawal of N2bn pension funds Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja THE House of Representatives ad hoc committee on over N1 trillion failed rail contracts, on Wednesday, directed the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), headed

by Mr Seyi Sijuwade, to produce all the contractors that handled rail construction/ rehabilitation projects of the corporation between 2010

and 2014.

The committee, chaired by Honourable Ehoizuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, gave the directive on Wednesday, on the resumed hearing into the investigation which still continued with the management of the NRC. The committee complained that it could not get letters of invitation to the companies even with the addresses provided by the

corporation, except one of them that honoured its invitation.

However, attempt by the committee to prove a connection between the NRC and a request for return of N2 billion pension fund on the management of the corporation by the committee failed, as the Managing Director (MD) and his team defended the allegation.

Trouble began when the

committee, acting on documents before it, asked the MD to explain all he knew and reason behind his request to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for a return of N2 billion of the 20 per cent of the corporation’s pension funds to the corporation sometime December, 2014.

Responding to the question, Sijuwade, who was reminded of being on oath,

Buhari at EU parliament: Govt will not rest until Chibok girls are rescued From Leon Usigbe and Isaac Shobayo with Agency Report PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, reiterated the commitment of his government towards securing the release of the female students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, who were abducted

by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014.

Addressing the European Union parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday, he said his administration was doing its best to protect the fundamental human rights of persons in the theatre of operations against Boko Haram.

Buhari said his government shared the European Union (EU)’s commitment to peace and security, respect for human rights, democracy and good governance, equality and tolerance, as ways of developing prosperous and strong societies.

“It may interest you to know that in a recent meeting I had with parents of the Chibok girls, I assured them that government would not

rest until all the Chibok girls are rescued alive. I remain committed to this pledge.

“We have updated our rules of engagement in fighting terrorism and paid very close attention during operations to the treatment of captured terrorists, civilians caught up in the conflict and in general, safeguarding property.

“Our aim is to use minimum force necessary in our fight against terrorists,” he said.

He also spoke of Nigeria’s concerns about the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), collectively endorsed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said Nigeria was yet to sign the agreement because pertinent technical issues raised by the Federal Government had not been satisfactorily addressed.

“Giving due consideration to the mismatch of the two regions (Europe-ECOWAS) in terms of technology and manufacturing experience, the Manufacturers Associa-

tion of Nigeria and Associated Trade Unions raised concerns over the negative impact of the agreement on Nigeria’s industrialisation programme.

“Nigeria is working towards addressing her own side of the issues and I, therefore, urge our EU partners to also address our own concerns to allow for an Economic Partnership Agreement that is mutually beneficial and can contribute to the prosperity of our people, in the context of our shared values and interest at promoting cordial bilateral trade relations,” he said.

He also sought greater support from the EU for Nigeria’s efforts to curb the theft of its crude oil and corruption in its oil and gas sector.

“Nigeria is facing the challenges of oil theft and illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta, as well as recovery of illicit funds.

“In this regard, Nigeria solicits the cooperation of the European Parliament to support the efforts aimed at stemming these vices.

“Our attempt to restore security, curb corruption

and fight crime will result, not only in improving social stability in Nigeria, but will reopen the doors for full economic relations with Europe and the rest of the world.

“Those who wish to invest in our country have immense opportunities and we intend to guarantee the security of people and investments brought to Nigeria,” he said.

He assured the parliament that Nigeria would collaborate with the EU to address illegal migration to Europe.

“We are also making efforts to diversify the economy, giving impetus to agriculture and solid minerals exploitation, to create wealth and employments.

“Nigeria welcomes the outcome of the Valletta EU-Africa Summit on Migration, including the launching of 1.8 billion Euros Emergency Trust Fund to address the root causes of migration from Africa to Europe.

“Nigeria will work with the countries of the Sahel and Central Africa, to submit to the Board of the Emergency Trust Fund, our identified projects for funding in due course.”

denied making such request to either the AGF or Minister of Finance to return any pension money to NRC. According to him, “I never, at any time, make any request to the AGF to return N2 billion pension fund to the corporation.”

Determined to get to the root of the matter, the committee asked the Director of Finance, Felix Njoku, to take an oath, in order to take questions regarding the issue.

Njoku did and replied affirmatively, that there was never any correspondence from his office to the AGF on return of the said pension money.

Not satisfied, the committee veered into what the organisation did with N2 billion that was in the corporations coffers around the period under review.

The Finance Director explained that the money was not related to pension and was used to fund ongoing contracts at the time.

He was asked to list the contracts, which he said was impossible at that point, but that all transactions were duly documented and promised to make available all the records to the committee.

The committee also faulted the award of rail contract to Costain Construction company, claiming that it had no competence in railway projects.

The MD replied that Costain went through due process and was found competent by the approving authority Federal Executive Council (FEC), adding that being a reliable company, it had successfully completed its project and had since been commissioned.

seven months.

He further noted that anybody or any group that focused on negativity at the expense of objectivity, would never see any good in the appreciable and significant progress made by the president.

The Senior Special Assistant explained that no sincere and fair-minded Nigerian would refuse to recognise the courage of the president to take on corruption in a country, where impunity was once celebrated.

According to him, within seven months, President Buhari had successfully blocked the leakages for corruption, saying as a result of these efforts, the Nigerian Customs Service had quadrupled its revenue base to incredible level within seven months, something they did not achieve in years.

On the economy, the presidential aide said it was wrong to blame Buhari for the falling oil prices in the world market, a challenge which has made the president lay greater emphasis and priority on economic diversification.

He recalled that President Barack Obama of the United States had inherited an economy in crisis, “something he didn’t bargain for and that it would be unfair to blame him for not fixing it in seven months.”

Shehu explained that Buhari’s experience was “a double whammy because he inherited an economy in crisis on account of declining oil revenues and an economy also ravaged by incredible and large-scale corruption.”

He added: “As the Italian Prime Minister said a few days ago at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, President Buhari’s war against corruption and terrorism has become a template for Africa and the rest of the world.

“It is amazing to see here at home, some individuals are not prepared to give these successes the recognition they deserve.

“The latest CDD episode is a shocking reminder to their failed attempt to hold the president to “one hundred promises in one hundred days” which disastrously crashed on the head of the proponent.

“The elevation of the act to a new high of 220 promises is a knee-jerk reaction that seeks to play to the galleries and score cheap points against the president.

“This is a clear case of solution looking for problem.”

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My comments not targeted at OBJ —Saraki Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

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ENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, said his comments indicating that all politicians have erred since 1999 was not targeted at former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Saraki, in a statement by his media office, made available on Wednesday, said the comments made by Saraki on Tuesday at the National

Assembly were not targeted at Obasanjo.

Saraki denied replying the claims contained in a letter written by former President Obasanjo to the National Assembly, in which he accused the lawmakers of corruption.

The statement indicated that during the inauguration of the press centre, he was asked only two questions, both of which he said centered on the 2016 budget.

It disclosed that one of the

questions was on how realistic the budget proposal under consideration is, in view of dwindling oil price and the other on whether the details of the Senate budget would be made open, particularly in view of the letter

by Obasanjo.

“The Senate President’s answer on the first question was that the success of the 2016 will depend less on oil price but more on the nonoil and independent revenue and that that is why the Senate will lay emphasis on

the scrutiny of these areas as well as ensure that leakages are blocked, so that the budget can be realised without any hitch.

“On the second question, he reiterated his earlier position that the Senate budget will no longer be a oneline item. He said details of the budget of the National Assembly will be provided for all to see what goes to what budget head. He urged all Nigerians to realise that mistakes have been made by

Supreme Court retains Abia, Akwa Ibom for PDP Sunday Ejike - Abuja AT 9.50 p.m. on Tuesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the judgment, the apex court upturned the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier annulled the election of Emmanuel.

The Supreme Court, in the ruling, said Mr Emmanuel won the lawfully cast votes, setting aside the earlier ruling of the two lower courts.

The apex court also upheld Mr Emmanuel’s appeal challenging the cancellation of the results of the elections held in 13 local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.

The appeal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging the cancellation of the election results in some local government areas was also upheld.

The court said reasons for the verdict would be given on February 15.

Also, the court set aside the decision of the Appeal Court and affirmed the

election of the Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

The appellate court had upturned the election of Ikpeazu, declaring the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr Alex Otti, as validly elected.

Ikpeazu, the candidate of the PDP, then proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

FG plans to abduct me —Kashamu •Petitions Senate ethics committee Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja THE senator representing Ogun East senatorial district in the red chamber has petitioned the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, alleging that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) plans to abduct

him for onward extradition to the United States.

Kashamu, while appearing before a sitting of the Senator Samuel Anyanwuled committee, alongside his lawyer, Messrs Ajibola Oluyede, alleged that the plan was to abduct him and fly him out of Nigeria with the active connivance of the National Drug Law Enforce-

AGF’s request stalls hearing of charges against Borishade, others over N5.2bn aviation scam Sunday Ejike - Abuja THE request by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for brief on the charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Minister of Aviation, Babalola Borishade and four others before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday stalled further hearing in the matter.

Though both parties were present in court, the trial Judge, Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar informed them that the matter could not go on as planned as the AGF requested for a brief on the case by the EFCC. The matter had been in court for about seven years.

A letter dated February 2, 2016 from the AGF had requested for an adjournment

in the case and the records of court proceedings so far on the matter.

Counsel to EFCC, Chile Okoroma told the court that, his hands were tied with regards to continuing the proceeding as the AGF being the Chief Law Officer, has power over him.

Okoroma said, “under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and Section 174 of the Constitution, the AGF has the power to take over, continue or discontinue a case.”

Counsel to the first defendant, Kehinde Ogunwumiju and Regina Okotie- Eboh representing the 4th and 5th defendants, who had initially sought for a dismissal of the case which was earlier slated for ruling when the matter came up yesterday could not have their applications taken as a result of the letter from the AGF.

ment Agency (NDLEA) officials.

Senator Anyanwu, in his comments, said the NDLEA should maintain status quo on the issue, pending the outcome of investigation of his panel.

“It is obvious that when we make our investigation, we will put down our report to the entire Senate.

We have to invite the parties involved and not in representative capacity to answer to the allegations,” he said.

He said the allegation was against the former chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, adding that he was equally going to be affected by whatever decision the Senate would arrive at, hence the need to also hear

from him.

“This matter is before the Senate and we think status quo should remain until we look at the issues in the petition and come up with a position,” he said.

Anyanwu also told his colleagues that the Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA sent a representative, who submitted that since the matter was in the Appeal Court, should be excused from the matter.

He also said that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice had requested to appear before the committee between February 9 and 12, while Giade asked for more time to prepare and submit 12 copies of the written presentation before the committee.

all stakeholders in the past and that we should all move forward by ensuring those mistakes are not repeated.

“In fact, his position that mistakes have been made by all of us in the past was a reference to all stakeholders, like political office holders, the media, civil society, professional and business groups, among others.

“Dr Saraki will like to maintain his earlier position that he will only write a formal letter to President Obasanjo to explain all the efforts the eighth Senate is making to address some of the issues the former president raised in his letter to him. The Senate President will not use any public event or the media to give any direct or indirect response to

the legitimate points raised by the elder statesman and father of the nation.

“The Senate president further urged the media to refrain from sensationalism which leads to twisting and misrepresentation of the position of public officers and, therefore, further create unnecessary tension in the polity,” the statement read.

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Rebuilding North-East will cost over N2trn —Danjuma

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HE Chairman, Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, has said that over two trillion naira will be required in the short-term to rebuild areas devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Danjuma made the statement at the opening of a two-day security seminar, organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College, in Abuja,

on Wednesday.

“Conservative estimates put the cost of the shortterm intervention of the reconstruction of the region at over two trillion naira,” he said.

He said the rebuilding of the region would require the cooperation of all, considering the magnitude of destruction, which he said was beyond the means of the federal or state government.

Danjuma said rebuilding the zone would demand

maximum cooperation and resources, especially in the most affected states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

“Rebuilding the NorthEast is one of the biggest and most complex challenges that Nigeria is facing today.

“To hold government or any one agency alone responsible for this task is to underestimate the enormity of the problem.

“The task would involve massive reconstruction

of physical infrastructure, much of which have been totally destroyed and, of course, the more challenging one, which is the rebuilding of peace and social cohesion,” he said.

Danjuma called on Nigerians and friends of Nigeria to support the initiative of the Federal Government to rebuild the region.

He gave an assurance that the various platforms established by government for the reconstruction of the region would be care-

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar el-Kanemi (left), discussing with the special guest of honour, General T. Y. Danjuma, at the sixth edition of the national security seminar, in Abuja, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN.

We’ll introduce stun guns to replace firearms —IGP Chris Agbambu – Abuja

AS part of efforts to reduce the number of casualties associated with accidental discharges by police officers on duty, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has hinted the Force’s desire to introduce the use of stun gun to demobilise criminals.

The IGP also disclosed that the police management is considering swapping officers who stay more than three months in the NorthEast theatre of operation as a way to avoid health deterioration.

The IGP disclosed this yesterday in Abuja when he met with Zonal AIGs and state Command CPs at the Force Headquarters, to brainstorm on the roadmap for 2016.

According to Arase, the meeting was to focus on the rate of kidnapping nationwide, deployment of personnel and logistics towards the restoration of civil authority in areas liberated from terror elements in the North-East, cattle rustling and armed robbery and other highly organised crimes.

On the introduction of stun guns, the IG said: “Right now, what we are

trying to do is to discourage issuing firearms to police officers on metro patrol and that is why we are thinking of introducing stun guns this year.

“Stun guns can incapacitate you, demobilise you but they will not kill you.

So, in case there is a mistake, then we will be able to ensure that the fatality is not such that will result in death.

“We have internal mechanism for dealing with people who engage in mis-

use of firearms and I must tell you that a lot of them have been dismissed but it is not every day you will see it on the pages of the newspaper that they have been dismissed.”

Arase, at the meeting, also admitted that the increasing rate of kidnapping is a challenge to the Force.

According to him, “We have serious challenges with kidnapping in some areas in the country. It is not all over the country and once these things happen, the way they

are publicised give the impression that there is a near state of anomie but this is not true.”

The police boss also explained that the armed robbers in Lagos have taken to kidnapping.

He said: “We have a new challenge now in Lagos because after we have been able to mop up the bank robbers that come from the waterways, it looks as if they have found a new vocation in kidnapping especially in Festac and Amuwo Odofin.”

fully managed to check embezzlement of resources.

Danjuma said the various initiatives under his chairmanship would deploy the best strategies in ensuring that the expectations of the victims of the insurgency and donors were met.

“The rebuilding of the North-East requires considerable planning and coordination.

“It is largely in response to this that the president has set up the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative to, among other things, oversight and harmonise the functions of the various entities engaged in the North-East.

“This task, we must discharge transparently and accountably so that our country is not embarrassed by fresh allegations of corruption in the management of the North-East reconstruction,” he said.

Danjuma, however, warned that the war against Boko Haram was not yet over, stressing that a lot was still required to prevent the spate of suicide bombings in the country.

Earlier, the Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General Mansur Dan-Ali (retd), described the destruction caused by the insurgency as monumental and one that required the attention and intervention of all Nigerians.

He said the ministry was concerned about the plight of displaced persons as well as the conduct and welfare of troops in the area.

Dan-Ali blamed the present state of the war against insurgency and the resulting effect on displaced persons to the endemic corruption that plagued the procurement of the necessary equipment to prosecute the war.

He expressed hope that the present initiative by President Muhammadu Buhari, aimed at reconstructing the region, would yield the needed results.

Don’t return IDPs to unsafe territories, Anglican Church advises FG Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

THE Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Revd Nicholas Okoh, on Wednesday, called on the Federal Government to exercise caution in its efforts to return the Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) home by the first quarter of this year as promised.

The cleric, while commending the efforts of the military and government in fighting insurgents, however, urged the government and the Nigerian military

not to relent in efforts as the terrorists might spring surprise to instil fear in the populace.

The Primate, who was speaking at the opening of the standing committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), held in Kubwa, Abuja, told government to ensure adequate security in those recaptured territories before sending IDPs back to their places to avoid causalities.

According to him, “We want to reiterate that fighting terrorism is not a 100m dash but a long cross coun-

try race. The government should continue to bear in mind that Boko Haram has the capacity to spring surprises.

“Government has said that the IDPs will return home in the first quarters of 2016. To ensure that they are not returning to their death, adequate security should be provided before they are taken back home to avoid greater embarrassment for the government.”

He said that with the way the issue of kidnapping was going in the country, government needs to declare a

state of emergency on kidnapping before it goes out of hands.

Okoh further stated that several people, clergymen and traditional rulers had been kidnapped in different locations, adding that “we should not wait until people in government are being kidnapped before we react.”

Commenting on the state of the economy, the Primate who insisted on the diversification of the economy noted that the leaders must do away with fake life style to provide good governance for their people.

Nigerian Tribune

Troops arrest village head, 42 others in Borno James Bwala - Maiduguri

TROOPS along DamboaChibok axis have arrested 43 persons, said to be unknown vigilantes with Ak47 riffles, during an ongoing operations in the area.

According to Operation Lafiya Dole Media Coordinator, Colonel Mustapha Anka, those arrested included one who claimed to be the Village Head of Kopchi.

According to Anka, they claimed to be operating around Madagali General Area, but were carrying six AK-47 riffles and 15 Magazines.

“When accosted, the suspects claimed they were in Damboa to identify a suspected Boko Haram terrorist in Kaya village. They were seen with Ak-47 riffles. They were suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists trying to disguise and were arrested. They are currently in custody undergoing interrogation,” Colonel Anka said.

In another development, Troops of 25 Task Force, on routine operations to clear Ajigin, killed some insurgents and recovered 50 motorcycles and three vehicles.

... rescue elderly woman, children from terrorists James Bwala - Maiduguri

TROOPS of the 103 Battalion, on clearance operations along Kawuri, in Maimiari Village, intercepted 17 Boko Haram terrorists and rescued an elderly woman and children held hostage by the terrorists.

Nigerian Tribune gathered on Wednesday that during the clearance operations at Chukun Gudu Village, troops engaged Boko Haram terrorists. They killed one of the terrorists while several others were captured with gunshot wounds.

Items recovered from the terrorists included two double barrel guns, 4x9mm rounds, one solar panel and mechanic tools.

In a similar operation, troops of 151 Task Force Battalion, on fighting patrol of Banki Junction to Ngurosoye and Bulamanjari villages, destroyed telecoms mast hoisted with Boko Haram flag.

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Lagosmetro 11-year-old Bariga accident victim loses speech, hearing •Father appeals to government

Olalekan Olabulo

T

HE father of two of the injured victims of the last weekend accident at Bariga, Obi Onu has raised the alarm that one of his sons was going deaf and dumb.

Onu’s two sons, nineyear-old Ebuka and eleven-year-old Akachukwu were among the severely injured victims of the accident, which happened in Ilaje area of Bariga when a lady lost control of her SUV, crushing eight people.

They are both admitted at the Accident and Emergency Ward of Gbagada General Hospital, where one of them is said to be on the danger list.

The father of the two children claimed that “my two children nine-yearold Ebuka and 11-year-old

Akachukwu were returning from an errand on that fateful night when the vehicle crushed the two of them, the younger sustained serious injuries as he hit his head on the floor, blood was also gushing out from his ears.

“As I speak with you now, my son cannot speak and hear very well due to the

injury he sustained, while other parts of his bodies were seriously injured. Before I got to the scene they had been rushed to the hospital by the policemen from Bariga Police Division.

“Since Saturday, my children have been abandoned by the family of the woman who drove the vehicle, with-

out making any provision on how my children would be taken care of.

“I have spent about N50, 000 on them, personally but on Tuesday when some of the driver’s family members came, they gave my wife N16, 000 telling her that is the only way they can assist my children.

“As a bricklayer, where do they expect me to get the money that the hospital management will be demanding from me?”

Onu also appealed to the Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode to come to the aid of his children and other victims of the accident.

Goat seller remanded in prison over hemp trafficking A 28-year-old man, Ishyaku Abdullahi, was on Wednesday in Lagos remanded at Ikoyi Prisons after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.

A Federal High Court said the accused should be kept behind bars pending review of facts and sentence.

The accused, a goat seller, was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for drug trafficking.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abdullahi, who had no legal representation, had entered a guilty plea.

Following an application for remand by the prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, of NDLEA, Justice Jude Dagat, ordered that the accused should be remanded at Ikoyi Prisons.

The case has been adjourned to February 19.

The accused was arrested on November 14, 2015 at Alaba-Rago in Ojo on Lagos-Badagry Expressway with about 8.4 kilogrammes of hemp (Cannabis Sativa), which he sold to touts at the market.

The offence contravened the provisions of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, Laws

Makeshift houses at Iponri. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Rehabilitation work begins on Abesan roads Bola Badmus BARELY two weeks after Governor Akinwunmi Ambode inspected Ajasa-Command and Abesan roads to assess the state of the road, work has commenced on the rehabilitation of the stretch of road linking Church Road to Abesan.

Investigations show that contractors have moved to Church Road leading to Abesan through Giwa Street, while many shop owners on the road from Agbelekale Junction are already removing them from the road and that work has also commenced in the Command axis of the road.

This was just as residents of the area commended Governor Ambode for keeping the promise he made to the people barely two weeks back.

It would be recalled that during the inspection tour, Governor Ambode had expressed displeasure on the state of Ajasa-Command and

Abesan roads, and assured residents of the area that work would commence on the rehabilitation of the roads within the next two weeks.

A resident and chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Alhaja Fatimo Ba-

logun (Faaji), while speaking on the development, commended the governor for fulfilling the promise he made to the people barely within two weeks.

She said the development was a confirmation of the fact that the welfare of the people was very paramount

to him.

“For a governor to come to this area, make promise to the people that the road will be fixed in two weeks as well as street light and drainage systems, and work has already commenced as promised, it is a thing of joy to us,” she said.

Miscreants attack task force with petrol bomb •Over 155 arrested in Oyingbo, Idumota Bola Badmus LAGOS State Environmental and Special Offences (Task Force) said it has arrested more than 155 miscreants terrorising Oyingbo and Idumota residents as well as impounded 150 motorcycles in Iddo, Lagos, disclosing that all these were accomplished in an overnight operations carried out by the operatives of the agency.

However, one para-military officer of the agency, Mr Samuel Ogunjimi, was shot

at by the miscreants while a petrol bomb was thrown at one of the Agency’s officer, Corporal Friday Adama.

This was contained in a statement made available on Wednesday to Lagos Metro by the Public Affairs Officer of the Task Force, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, saying that the operation was carried out as a result of series of petitions received by the agency that on daily basis, miscreants who lived and has turned under bridges at Iddo towards Idumota river side to their den

robbed innocent citizens of their valuables, especially at night.

According to the statement, the miscreants arrested, not only rob under Iddo bridges, but constitute other environmental nuisances such as engaging in smoking Indian hemp and rape innocent girls.

Dangerous weapons recovered from these miscreants include two locally-made pistols, one English pump action gun and seven rounds of ammunitions.

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Govt bans parking on Opebi-Allen road Bola Badmus LAGOS State government has said that as from February 8, 2016, it will not allow any on-street parking on both sides of the road from Opebi to Allen roundabout in Ikeja, just as it tasked all business premises and visitors to the area to endeavour to park their vehicles within their premises or on side streets along the stretch.

Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Dayo Mobereola, issued the directive on Wednesday in a statement made available to Lagos Metro, warning that any violation of the order would be appropriately sanctioned by the various law enforcement agencies charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with this order.

“In line with the provisions of the Lagos State Traffic Law 2012 all vehicles (tricycles and Okada) restricted from the road must also observe the restriction,” he said.

N3, 000 lands suspect in detention Gbemi Solaja A 24-year-old man, Femi Oladipupo who attempted to rob a pedestrian has been arrested.

According to the police, Oladipupo and others, now at large, committed the alleged offence at Onipanu Bus stop, Shomolu.

Oladipupo and two of his accomplices allegedly assaulted one Williams Akinniyi with the intent to steal his cell phone and the sum of N3, 000. He faces a twocount charge of felony and stealing before a Yaba Magistrate Court.

His offences contravene and are punishable under section 173 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

He however pleaded not guilty and the presiding Magistrate A.F Adeeyo, however, adjourned the case till March 30 for trial, while Femi was remanded in prison.

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businessnews

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

FIRS must generates N4.957trn to stabilise economy —Minister Gbola Subair-Abuja

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HE Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun told the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Wednesday that there will not be room for failure over FIRS’s N4.957 trillion tax target for 2016.

“There is really no room for failure. Please ensure you deliver. The nation will depend on FIRS to fund the budget. We need the money to stabilise the economy.

“In addition to your professional pride, and the satisfaction you may derive from working for FIRS as a professional, please note that you are also building the nation by realising the target and by being professional, honest and dedicated in the way you do your work. This is what the nation needs now.

“This is not a joke. We need everybody to do his/ her bit to ensure that everybody contributes to the achievement of the target.

I look forward to the excel-

MTN hires former US attorney general to help on fine MTN Group has hired a former top U.S. law enforcement official to help challenge a $3.9 billion fine imposed by Nigeria for failing to disconnect unregistered users, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the newspaper said former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder pleaded with Nigerian officials last month on behalf of the telecoms company.

Africa’s largest mobile phone company was handed a $5.2 billion penalty in October, prompting weeks of lobbying that led to a 25 percent reduction to $3.9 billion.

MTN, however, was still not prepared to pay the fine and launched a court challenge in December, saying the Nigerian telecoms regulator had no legal grounds to order the penalty.

A judge in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, last month gave MTN until March 18 to try to reach a settlement over the fine, which equates to more than twice MTN’s annual average capital spending over the past five years.

lent ideas that will improve revenue generation as you proceed in this retreat,” she said.

Adeosun, who spoke in Abuja at the second day of the 2016 Annual Corporate Strategy Retreat of the FIRS, acknowledged the strides the service had made in the past and the successes it had attained since its new Chairman, Tunde Fowler resumed.

“I know your chairman

as an achiever. He did very well in Lagos. Work with him. He will do well here.

He is one person who has the welfare of staff on his mind,” she added.

When the retreat opened on Tuesday, FIRS Executive Chairman, Tunde Fowler announced FIRS’ 2016 target of N4.957 trillion, saying tax agency hoped to earn N3.87 trillion from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Companies In-

come Tax (CITS) this year.

The N3.87 trillion from VAT and CIT will be 78.42 per cent of the N4.957 trillion tax revenue targeted for 2016.

“The above target is clearly unacceptable and not a reflection of our capacity. I am particularly not pleased with the very poor VAT collection, which based on my previous experience at the state level in the administration of a

tax similar to VAT, should be a high yield and easy to collect tax.

“Even the relatively good performance for CIT is buoyed by the fact that an initiative directly overseen by my office in the last three months of 2015 accounted for a collection of over N122 billion, without which the performance for CIT would have been less than 85 per cent,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

Access Bank partners Airtel to promote savings culture Chima Nwokoji-lagos

AS part of its ongoing efforts to deepen financial access in Nigeria, Access Bank in partnership with Airtel Nigeria has commenced a campaign called ‘Smart Savers initiative.’

The initiative enables Airtel customers open bank accounts directly from their mobile phones without going to the banking hall.

According to Access Bank, the campaign, which kicked off January 25th, 2016 will provide all Airtel subscribers the opportunity to open a savings account for customers who sign up.

In pursuit of financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a partnership between Access Bank Nigeria Plc and Airtel Nigeria in 2014 gave birth to a mobile money service tagged ‘Access Money.’

New app for international calls designed Biola Azeez-Ilorin

Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki (right), in a chat with the Managing Director, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Mr Babs Omotowa during a courtesy visit by the management of the NLNG to the Senate President in Abuj, on Wednesday.

Saraki to NLNG: End gas flaring Ayodele Adesanmi-Abuja

THE Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday challenged the management of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to put an end to gas flaring in the country.

According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, Saraki, who stated this when the Management of the NLNG, led by its Managing Director, Babs Omotowa, visited him in Abuja, said it was high time the gas being flared was converted to something more productive as well as ensure the use of cleaner energy in the country.

He also called on the NLNG to invest in gas infrastructure to facilitate the distribution of cooking gas across the country and to eliminate the use of kerosene as cooking energy.

“Up till today, the area of concern is still the issue of gas flaring. What can we do by way of laws to try and see how we can completely eliminate gas flaring and provide more opportunities for more investors in

that sector so that they can convert gas into something more productive.

“That also talks about the issue of cooking gas and I believe you can still do more there. I believe you are doing your best within the confines of your responsibilities. I think you all know that this is an important area for all of us as a country - the infrastructure, which I know is not your direct responsibility, “I believe that you can think out of the box and

come up with some ideas where you can use your deeper pockets to come up with some infrastructure solutions where so as to take the lead. Government would find ways of providing the incentives because without the infrastructure we will not be able to push more of the cooking gas.

“And nobody is in a better position than yourself to really drive that area of cleaner energy for us and help us reduce the use of

kerosene. So I am going to challenge you on that area that you come up with something and the National Assembly will be ready to support whatever you come up with,” he said.

Saraki also said the NLNG represents a success story of the collaboration between the private sector and government and how it can work given the right law to provide the enabling environment and also given the right management and structure.

Oil posts strong rebound as dollar falls back NEW YORK U.S. and European stocks came off their lows on Wednesday, helped by rebounding oil prices, while a soft report on the U.S. services sector weighed on the dollar by making future rate hikes appear less likely.

The U.S. dollar hit its lowest level against the euro since October and wiped out recent gains against the yen. A top Federal Reserve official said the weakening outlook for the global economy and any further strengthening of the dol-

lar could have “significant consequences” for the U.S. economy.

The U.S. economy’s service sector expanded in January at a slower pace than the previous month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Investors had been encouraged earlier in the session by data from a payrolls processor that found U.S. private employers added 205,000 jobs in January, above economists’ expectations.

“There is ongoing concern reflected in the mar-

ket today, and maybe yesterday, about the slowdown in the manufacturing sector spreading to the consumer side of the economy,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 25.2 points, or 0.16 percent, to 16,178.74, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.91 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,897.12 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 34.63 points, or 0.77 percent, to 4,482.32.

A new tele-communication application (AfriMobile App) has been designed to solve problems associated with making international calls.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday, the digital marketing manager of a telecom company, Intercontinental Communication, Gary Swaby said that AfriMobile App was evolved to solve problems that come with obligatory international calls.

“Staying connected comes with its problems such as the hassle of carrying multiple phones in order to make international calls, or paying expensive rates and roaming charges when abroad. The AfriMobile app, however, means you don’t need a phone dedicated solely to international calls, and it reduces costs too.

“The app allows users to make calls to countries across the world, particularly African destinations, at much cheaper rates. The AfriMobile app offers free, great quality, app to app voice and video calls, instant messaging with additional features such as free voice note-sharing, airtime transfer and more,” he said.

The digital marketing manager, who said that phone calls were not only useful, but necessary, in many different situations.

11

businessnews

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Oil subsidy claims: FG saved $2.7bn in 5 years Tola Adenubi-Lagos

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HE Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has said the agency, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) saved for the Federal Government, a total of $2.7 billion from the oil subsidy claims made by importers of wet cargoes in the last five years.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, said this while briefing the members of the House Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways when they visited the agency, on Tuesday.

Explaining further on the amount saved, the Director, Commercial Shipping of the Shippers Council, Dabney Shall Holma, said the council was able to save such amount through vetting and confirmation of each request for foreign

exchange to be paid by the CBN. She disclosed that in vetting the claims for payment by the major oil marketers, it was discovered that there were incidences of overcharging, exaggeration of freight as well as payment for services not rendered.

“We confirm the lodgement of each cheque. So, each time there is a request for FOREX or foreign ex-

change to be paid, it comes to us, we check it and it was during the cause of checking them that we discovered that there were incidences of overcharging, exaggeration of freight, and there were incidences of freight that were paid for services not rendered. That was what gave us that figure in five years.

“It is not a recovery; it is saving to the economy, which means we were

blocking the leakages. We were blocking wastages and we were determining a lower rate higher than what we expected.

“So, you have to first of all understand the principle. I am a shipper, I want to import wet cargo and it was strictly on oil, and I import the wet cargo but the rate I am quoting for that particular import is too high.

Why? Because, if I bring with a high import, then

my subsidy will be higher because of the total sum of the product plus the cost of carriage on which I am being paid subsidy. So, if you look at the entire subsidy saga, that is when this was going on.

“So, there were certain imports that were made but no import at all and we were able to block that. So, this is the entire savings to the nation in five years,” she said.

NSE: Market dips 0.9% as Seplat tops gainers Kehinde Akinseinde-JayeobaLagos

TRANSACTIONS on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), on Wednesday, returned negative on investors’ low appetite for stocks with the benchmark indices declining by 0.9 per cent amid massive sell off.

The market capitalisation shed N8 billion or 0.9 per cent to close at N8.11 trillion as against N8.19 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index lost 228.98 points or 0.9 per cent to close lower at 23,605.89 compared with 23,834.87 achieved the preceding day.

An analysis of the price movement table indicated that Nigerian Breweries Plc led the losers’ pack with a loss of N4.25 or 4.27 per cent to close at N95.25 per share.

Unilever Plc followed with N1.67 or 4.99 per cent to close at N31.81 per share, while Guaranty Trust Bank Plc trailed with a loss of 84 kobo or 5.13 per cent to close at N15.54 per share.

Zenith Bank Plc declined by 71 kobo or 5.22 per cent to close at N12.90, while UACN Plc dipped by 70 kobo or 3.50 per cent to close at N19.30 per share.

On the other hand, Seplat Plc led the gainers’ table for the third consecutive time in the week, increasing by N21.94 or 10.25 per cent to close at N236.09 per share.

From left: Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo; and Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, during a visit to the Vice President at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja.

Elumelu applauds US congress on passage of Electrify Africa Act

By Ruth Olurounbi

CHAIRMAN, Heirs Holdings, UBA Plc and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, has applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for the passage of the “Electrify Africa Act,” which took nearly three years trying to get the measure through both chambers of congress.

It will be recalled that Elumelu, who through

his investment company, Heirs Holdings, had been in the forefront of promoting Africa’s power initiatives, made a commitment of $2.5 billion investment in the power sector to generate 2,000 megawatts of power, about 20 per cent of the initial Power Africa target in 2013.

Elumelu, reacting on the passage of the act, on his Twitter timeline, said “today is a great day for U.S.-

Africa partnership.”

According to him, “power is a cross-cutting issue that impacts job creation, education, healthcare delivery, food security, communications and virtually every other sector of commercial activity,” describing the passage of the bill which now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature as “a landmark decision which will help to transform the lives of mil-

FirstBank renews commitment to export financing Chima Nwokoji-lagos

FIRST Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has thrown its weight behind the development of trade financing in Nigeria and beyond. This informs the collaborative effort with FBN Bank (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of FirstBank to sponsor the 7th Annual West Africa Trade & Export Finance two-day conference which kicked off yesterday February 3rd, 2016 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event which is organised by Exporta Publishing & Events Limited brings together delegates from the market’s leading corporate, banking and financial services organisations to discuss key market issues within agribusiness, hard commodities, risk mitigation and infrastructural development. In addition to a speaker line-up of the market’s primary decision-makers and trade finance specialists, the event also features a number of dedicated networking sessions, allowing attendees to establish new working

relationships and re-acquaint themselves with old contacts, all with the prospect of developing business across West Africa.

In a statement by Ini Ebong, Group Executive, Treasury and Financial Institutions, FirstBank, the Bank would continue to create and support initiatives that will create business opportunities and investments in Nigeria and the African continent.

“We will continue to grow our mileages in developing trade and commodity finance across the continent”, he said.

lions of Africans who cannot wait for power.”

The Electrify Africa Act creates a framework for a major public-private partnership between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries to help millions of people gain access to affordable and reliable electricity. It also codifies access to electricity in Africa as a U.S foreign policy priority, thereby preserving President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative for years to come. Launched in 2013, Power Africa is an innovative partnership to double access to electricity in subSaharan Africa where more than 600 million people currently lack access.

Last week, while speaking at the “Powering Africa Summit” in Washington D.C., Elumelu, had urged the US Congress to pass the critical legislation as soon as possible, saying Africa must win the energy challenge if it seeks to become an industrial power in the 21st century. According to him: “Power outages on the continent must spark power outrage. The kind of outrage that ignites the activist in us.”

Nigerian Tribune

Skye Bank, COPE Foundation unveil cancer book Chima Nwokoji-lagos

IN commemoration of this year’s World Cancer Day, Skye Bank Plc and a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), COPE Foundation,have concluded plans to unveil a book on cancer as well as create screening centres where members of the public can be screened of the disease.

The book titled ‘Breast Cancer Facts’, was written to enlighten and educate members of the public about the disease, its treatment and management with a view to reducing the incidence of the scourge.

According to a press statement issued by the Bank, breast cancer screening was also carried out on Wednesday to provide opportunity for women to know their status and take appropriate steps to prevent it or treat it.

The statement said the collaboration between the two organisations over the years has resulted in significant breast cancer awareness and screening opportunity for many women, including those who ordinarily would not have been able to afford the cost of screening.

The partnership has also been responsible for the monthly breast cancer screening for women

by COPE Foundation for many years.

It would be recalled that Skye Bank donated two modern cancer screening machines to the foundation to enable it carry out its mandate of providing opportunity to reduce breast cancer incidence and provide information and education to the groups that are prone to it.

The Bank explained that the two organisations were working to provide opportunity for mobile screening for those who are far away from where the Foundation’s operations are conducted.

Last year, the Bank sponsored a 10 kilometre walk in two locations in Lagos in which over 2000 people took part to further create awareness about the disease and encourage people to exercise as a means of preventing it.

news We’ll implement campaign promises immediately budget becomes law —Buhari 12

Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration will commence implementation of its campaign promises immediately the 2016 budget is passed to law.

The assurance was given by the President through his vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, during the inauguration of Ota township roads in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area in commemora-

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

tion of the 40th anniversary of the state on Wednesday.

Osinbajo said the Federal Government had provided for the unemployed youths, artisans, market men and women in the budget.

He noted that the cornerstone of this administration is unemployment and job creation for the teeming youths.

The vice-president added that government would train 500,000 volunteer teachers to boost educational development in the country.

He said, “Our administra-

tion will fulfil its campaign promises with massive employment generation as the cornerstone.

“These promises would commence as soon as the 2016 budget is passed to law.

We will train 500,000 volunteer teachers to boost the nation’s educational system.

“We also have plans for our women, youths and artisans.

Government will establish skill acquisition training for graduates to equip them for gainful employment while market women will be given soft loans to boost their busi-

nesses.”

Governor Ibikunle Amosun in his remarks said his administration would rehabilitate federal roads in the state for all round development.

The governor said, “Our government will not relent in its rebuilding mission by extending its all round development to all federal roads in the state, as well as fixing all dilapidated roads.

Earlier, the vice-president had inaugurated Ayetoro township roads in Yewa North local government area

of the state.

The VP also said that the Federal Government would not spare any Nigerian found guilty in any form of corrupt practices.

He submitted that corruption had made it impossible for government at all levels to provide infrastructure to cater for the needs of the people.

Osinbajo who spoke in local dialect said the development of the country should be of priority to any resposible government.

“The development of our country should be of utmost importance to all of us. We should continue to proclaim it loud that corruption should not be tolerated. We have to keep saying it everywhere that no corrupt person would go scot-free. Whoever is involved and whatever his status is, he must answer for such wrongs done. We have to keep proclaiming that everywhere.”

Mass protests begin in A\Ibom LGAs over non-payment of salaries Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, addressing All Progressives Congress faithful, after the affirmation of his victory by the Supreme Court, at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, on Wednesday.

Oyo finally freed from distractions —Ajimobi

Says Adetunji’s emergence as Olubadan-designate an act of God OYO State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has said his victory at the Supreme Court, affirming him winner of the April 23, 2015 governorship election has finally freed the state from what he called ill-advised distractions, represented by the petition of the Accord Party.

The governor dedicated the chain of victory across the courts to God and the people of the state, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, on Wednesday.

Ajimobi said he was able to trounce the candidate of the Accord Party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, on three different occasions, from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal and finally at the Supreme Court, because his petition, which challenged his victory, had no substance.

He said: “Although all men and women of goodwill pleaded with the Ladoja camp to accept defeat and cooperate with the winner in the onerous task of rebuilding the legacies of our heroes past, they bluntly refused.

“Although contestants

from other parties quickly conceded defeat and, indeed, proceeded to congratulate the winner, having seen the trend of the results, Senator Ladoja and his party refused to play the gallant losers, preferring instead to fight to the finish.

“But we were never for once bothered, knowing full well that the people had spoken so clearly and unmistakably on that historic April day, by returning a vote of confidence in the candidate in whom they were well pleased.

“Now that their fight is exhausted and their wind vanes broken, we hope Senator Ladoja and his band will, henceforth, turn their energies to better and more productive ends in the interest of our dear state and its development.”

The governor said the victory had afforded him another opportunity to thank God for standing by him, just as he expressed profound gratitude to the people of the state for their steadfastness to the collective vision of a renewed and sustainable state.

Ajimobi similarly appreci-

ated members of the country’s judiciary for what he said was their sustained efforts at offering hope to all citizens and justice to all, without let or hindrance.

He added: “Now that the distractions are out of the way, the good works will continue in earnest. I thank the people of the state for their support and resilience over the years and I promise to redouble my efforts at taking the state to greater height.

“I’m using this opportunity to call on my brother, Senator Ladoja and others still in the opposition, to join hands with us to take our state to another level that will be different from a village. I thank the people of Oyo State for their steadfastness. It’s victory for all of us.

“Thank God Senator Ladoja is moving closer to the Olubadan throne now. Let them make him Olubadan so that he will stop all these political fights. God has destined me to spend eight years as the governor of Oyo State by the popular mandate of the people.”

The emergence of High Chief Saliu Akanmu Adetun-

ji as Olubadan-designate is a divine arrangement that no one can change.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State stated this today at his Ring Road, Oluyole Estate, Ibadan residence on Wednesday when the Olubadan-designate paid him a private visit.

Said he; “When recently, Baba (Adetunji) came to discuss with me his promotion to the post of Balogun following the death of High Chief Sule Omiyale, nobody could have thought that so soon after his promotion to the exalted seat of Balogun, he would be celebrating his imminence to the exalted throne of Olubadan of Ibadan land. But, this is the way of God. When God turns to you, then it is your turn.”

The Governor the pledge his support and co-operation towards the installation and coronation of the Olubadan of Ibadan land.

Earlier, the Olubadandesignate had expressed his deep appreciation to the Ajimobi-led Administration for his support to the traditional and chieftaincy institution in the state.

Iniobong Ekponta - Uyo THE Akwa Ibom chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has concluded plans to call out its members on mass protest across the 31 local government areas, beginning from today, Thursday, February 4, 2016, it was learnt yesterday.

Speaking in an interview in Uyo, the state capital, the President of NULGE in Akwa Ibom, Comrade Martins Effiong, explained that the protests became necessary following government refusal to honour the agreement it reached with the union to settle all outstanding issues bothering on salaries and emoluments of serving and retired council workers.

According to him, arrears of salaries running into 12 months in Uyo Local Government, over four months in Ikot Ekpene, over two months in Abak, and one month staggering across Ini, Ikono, Uruefong Oruko, Ika and Itu Local Government Areas.

Other grey areas in the dispute include non implementation of promotion arrears, leave grants, pension and gratuities for retired workers for three months and other outstanding arrears since 2012.

Nigerian Tribune

Abandoned baby THIS is to inform the general public that a baby girl of about three (03) day old was rescued at Bola Ige Road, Liberty, Ibadan, on December 28, 2015 Anybody with useful information should please contact the Principal, Social Welfare Officer, Ibadan/Ibarapa Zonal, Social Welfare Office, Iyanganku, Ibadan or the nearest police station.

500 students benefit from legislator’s scholarship scheme Sylvanus Viashima - Jalingo DR Aminu Malle, a member representing Jalingo, Yorro and Zing Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, has paid the National Examination Council (NECO) registration fee of 250 students and also cleared the UTME registration for 200 students in his constituency.

Malle, while presenting the fees to the students at a brief ceremony on Wednesday, in Jalingo, noted that it had become imperative to assist the less privileged parents to guarantee the future of the children.

The lawmaker, urged well meaning citizens of the state to support the less privileged students so that issues of school dropout would be reduced across the state.

“This is the second phase of the exercise by Dr Aminu Malle Foundation; in the first phase was the payment of Joint Admissions and Matriculations Examinations (JAMB) registration for 200 students in the three local councils that make up the constituency.

“We have put up the strategy to sustain the programme as our way of giving back to the society,” he said.

Malle further decried the deplorable state of secondary schools in the state, noting that it was miraculous that students pass through such institutions and are able to write and pass the relevant examinations.

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

16 news Restructuring: 7,000 admission seekers demand refund from Osun tertiary institutions Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

T

HE controversy over the plan to carry out restructuring of Osun State tertiary institutions by the state government took a new dimension on Wednesday, when over 7,000 prospective students, who were seeking admission into the institutions demanded for a refund of money paid to obtain admission forms.

This is coming against the backdrop of the government’s 2015 decision to cancel admission process for 2015/2016 academic year after the applicants had paid millions of naira for admission forms of the institutions, namely; Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree; Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun; College of Education, Ilesa and College of Technology, EsaOke. Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration had attributed the cancellation of admission in the affected higher institutions to the need to restructure their courses, with a view

to shore up qualitative educational programmes.

But, in an open letter addressed to the managements of the state-owned tertiary institutions and Osun State government, the spokesperson, admission seekers under the aegis of Concerned Applicants (CA), Biola Oyeniyi demanded the immediate

refund of money paid by applicants, saying failure to pay would result in court litigation.

Oyeniyi, who condemned in its entirety, the decision of the state government and the school authorities to stop their admission after collecting the money, threatened to seek legal option to recover it.

Workers end strike in Kogi, as ALGON lauds Bello Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja LIFE again returned to various government offices in Kogi State, on Wednesday, as workers returned to their duty posts following the directive from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), to end the strike embarked upon by workers in the state The Nigerian Tribune, however, observed that majority of the government offices were scanty as many of the workers were yet to comply with the resumption directive.

This is just as the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), commended the state state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello,

on the successful resolution of the dispute between labour and government.

In a statement by the chairman of ALGON in the state, Aloysius Okino, lauded the governor for making the welfare of workers in the state a priority.

He noted that the action taken by the governor and his team showed that the government is focused and determined to turn the fortunes of the state around for good.

The statement also commended the labour in the state for calling off the four months old strike, asking them to continue to have faith in the new government based on the antecedents of the governor.

Wednesday, 3 February, 2016 Thursday, 4 February, 2016 Wednesday, 3 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016 With Tommy Adegbite 0811 695 4631 tommyabijo@yahoo.com

From left, Senior Special Assistant (Government House) to the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Adeyemi; Political Officer, Embassy of the United States of America, Marlin Hardinger; Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and the Senior Special Assistant, Investment, Mr Yomi Ogunsola, during Marlin’s visit to the governor, in Abuja, last week.

Bride’s father, Chief Kayode Bankole; former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, the new couple, Lekan and Damilola, former governor of Lagos State, General Raji Rasaki and the bride’s mother, Deaconess Jumoke Bankole, at the engagement ceremony held recently in Lagos.

From left, former Pro Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde; the Olubadan-designate, High Chief Saliu Adetunji and Olori Rasidat Adetunji, when Ayorinde visited the Olubadan-designate at his Popoyemoja residence.

From left, Mr and Mrs Bamidele Akinola (bride’s parents), Mr and Mrs Olufunso Ero-phillips (the couple) and Mr and Mrs Olatunji Ero-Phillips (groom’s parents), after the formal joining of the couple at All Souls Anglican Church, Osogbo, Osun State.

From left, Chairman/CEO, AB Hotel and Events Centre, Mr Adunmo Sunday; his wife, Joan; Vicar, All Saints Anglican Church, Ado-Ekiti, Reverend Olubunmi Daramola; Archbishop Emeritus, Ondo Province and Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Samuel Abe and the Coordinating Minister, Victory Zonal Headquarters Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Idi-Ishin, Jericho, Ibadan, Pastor Olugbenro Elegbeleye, during the inauguration of AB Hotels, in Ado-Ekiti, recently.

From right, former Minister of Sports and Special Duties, Professor Taoheed Adedoja; Balogun of Ibadanland and the Olubadan-designate, High Chief Saliu Adetunji and Mr Sulaiman Niyi Ajewole, during their visit to the Olubadan-designate, at the weekend.

Area Commander, Ogbomoso Police Division, Mr Chinedu Sylvester and former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, decorating Tanko Kadiri with his rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police, at the Opadoyin Akala Lodge, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, recently.

From left, former Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Honourable Adejare Bello; Honourable Folarin Fafowora (winner), Mr Tony Akpan (first runner-up) and the club’s president, Engr Samuel Oguntunde, during the award ceremony of Osogbo Tennis Club, held at GRA, Osogbo, recently.

From left, General Secretary, Mrs Oluyemisi Dada, Vice-President, Prince Adesanya Oduala and the Welfare Officer, Mrs Temiloluwa Yusuf, at the inauguration ceremony of new executive of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Ogun State chapter, recently.

Forbookings, bookings,contact contact’Laolu ’LaoluAfolabi Afolabion on08054681741 08054681741 or or Tommy TommyAdegbite Adegbiteon on08116954631 08116954631 For

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

yournews

SEND YOUR SHORT MESSAGES TO: 08054005323, 08055001746

•UNIVERSITY OF BAD? PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

Let’s stigmatise corruption NIGERIA will never develop unless we stigmatise corruption. As it is now, most Nigerians who occupy political offices, or those who have access to government fund see such as opportunity to enrich themselves.

The government alone, however, cannot fight corruption without the support of the people. Everyone must know that occupying any office is not an opportunity to enrich oneself, but an opportunity to serve.

Nigerians must learn to start demonising those who steal public wealth.

We should be able to castigate them, and shame their families at the community and religious levels.

We should also start teaching our primary and secondary school students why they should shun corruption if they find themselves in public offices in the future.

•Mohammed Bagudu, 0703943575

Gov Bello, probe past administrations KOGI State, since its creation in 1991, has not experienced much development in all sectors like its counterparts created in the same year. It is unfortunate that our state is an example of how not a state should be. This is due to the past administrations that had failed the people.

Now that we have a new governor, in the person of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, I want to urge him to seize the bull by the horn, by probing past administrations in the state.

Those who had administered the state should be called upon to come and explain how they spent the allocations from the federation account, Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) and other remittances meant for the development of the state.

Our people are aware of how monies meant for the development of the state were diverted into private pockets.

Alhaji Bello should, therefore, take a cue from President Muhammadu Buhari and initiate the

probe of his predecessors in office.

The probe panel must audit the accounts of all the ministries, departments and government agen-

cies so as to ensure that all those who tampered with our monies are made to return them.

The governor should also work hard to bring in the

much-needed development to the state.

Finally, I want to congratulate the governor for the opportunity to serve his people, and he should

not disappoint. I pray he will succeed in this important assignment.

•Bala Nayashi, 08033559403

FG should focus on education WHENEVER a politician wants to give back to members of his constituency, he buys motorcycles, grinding machines, stoves, among others.

Most of our politicians are so uninnovative. They should look at policies that will empower the people for years to come. Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s free education policy is a good example.

Politicians should make lasting impression on the lives of the people, and this can only happen through education.

Again, we are having the problem of insurgency; this can be eradicated if adequate attention is given to education.

Education has a way of liberating people, and this

is what our politicians can give us, not Okada or grinding machines.

What can we do with Okada and grinding machines? The gains from these petty items will not last, but a qualitative education has a way of bring-

ing people out of poverty.

As a result of this, I want President Muhammadu Buhari to give the necessary attention to education.

This will help us solve a lot of problems that we are facing at the moment. I,

particularly, want public schools to be rehabilitated, and teachers adequately compensated. Education should also receive the lion share of the budget for the next four years.

•Stanley Umoh, 08029518875

Attention, Gov Ambode PERMIT me to use your widely-read newspaper to call on the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, to come to the aid of people living in Odogbolu street, Ojota mainly China town and The Apostolic Church axis, by constructing a pedestrian bridge for them. This call is made solely because of the risk to the people crossing the

ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway, particularly members of The Apostolic Church Nigeria Headquarters during most of their services.

This pedestrian bridge will help in avoiding loss of lives, as well as in reducing traffic logjam during the church’s activities. The road, without a pedestrian bridge, exposes people to

danger of road accidents.

I, therefore, call on the governor to look into the issue and quickly approve the construction of the bridge in order to save lives and properties.

As a listening governor, I know something will be done on this as soon as possible.

•Oloyo Toyin 09058130870

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editorial

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Psychiatric test for police personnel?

N a moment of lucid, unabashed candour, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, recently confronted the issue of extra-judicial killings in the force at a validation meeting on the Nigeria Police Force Health Policy draft at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Said he: “Sometimes I get very worried when police officers shoot innocent civilians and I keep thinking something can be done. Now we are thinking of taking our officers through psychiatric and psychological tests before we recruit them.

Even those who are already with us, we are going to make it an annual thing.”

Without doubt, the incidence of extra judicial killings has reached an intolerably high level in the polity not only in the police but virtually in all the security agencies whose men and officers have been less than professional in their conduct, especially in civic relationships. It is easy to surmise from the IGP’s statement that hitherto, recruitment into the police had been less than thorough, devoid of a comprehensive medical check up to ascertain the mental health of the recruits. However, it is instructive that most of the extra-judicial killings in which the police have been implicated have had to do with bribes and the refusal of the civilians to part thereof. Besides, many of the police personnel have been operating under the influence of alcohol and narcotics which largely impair their sense of judgment.

In past comments on the aggression of the force and its unpleasant fallouts, we had always recommended a change in the orientation of the police whose training upon recruitment endorses a systematic dehumanisation of the recruits to the point of losing their self esteem and dignity.

It is virtually impossible for any of these recruits to still retain any civility and be helpful to the general society after receiving this skewed training. The Nigeria Police has not lived down the colonialist raison d’être for establishing it as a security agency to suppress and pacify all forms of dissent in the colonies and the hangover is still potent. The cliché that the police are your friend remains a sarcasm of some sort given their hostile and bellicose relationship with the citizens, except when some form of extortion is in the offing.

Of course, there are some exceptions to this unpleasant experience of a few officers and men who are in the main gentlemen but they are too few and far between to have any

impact on the remaining lot. Although one bad apple can ruin a whole basket as it regularly does with the reputation of the police, it is not likely that one wholesome apple can make a basket of rotten apples wholesome. In this context, therefore, the IGP’s proposal of psychiatric test for the officers and men of the police force may turn to be water off the duck’s back if the fundamental problems are not addressed. For instance, it is a remote possibility that a psychiatric test will detect that a candidate has been perpetually under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, simply because the tests will only be conducted at his sober moment.

Significantly, however, the problem of extra-judicial killings is too common with the uniformed services to be restricted to the police. Only recently, the Chief of Naval Staff. Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, complained that a whopping N1 billion was expended by the Navy in offsetting fines for offences committed by his officers and men. A few years ago, one of the officers allegedly shot a commercial motorcycle rider who had brushed his car on the side.

Incidentally, the orderly room trials to which the offenders are subjected are beyond the civilians who are the victims and nothing is ever heard of whatever comeuppance they eventually suffer. But the December 2015 sentencing of a trigger happy Divisional Police Officer of Pen Cinema police station in Lagos, Mr Segun Fabunmi, to fifteen years’ imprisonment for shooting to death a protester during the January 2012 fuel subsidy crisis while severely wounding three others, may serve as deterrent to other officers who are similarly inclined. We believe, however, that more profitable results will be obtained if extra-judicial killings are treated as murder.

While Arase’s deep commitment to halting police lawlessness is commendable, there is as yet no indication that extra-judicial killings in the police are caused by mental ill health. The presumption that mentally certified police personnel might not engage in extrajudicial killings is therefore mistaken. The proposal for psychiatric test, considered in isolation of other germane issues, sounds like a feeble and faint whistle call to hell bent miscreants in uniforms who are stoned high most of the time. A more scrupulous self-cleansing framework to expunge the rotten apples in the force might just be the correct antidote.

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opinion

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Why Kachikwu must dare the oil cabals

By Nkechi Odoma

I

T is usually tough explaining the intricacies of the business and politics of oil to everyday folks. For instance, people outside some major cities still have to buy petrol above the N87 belt announced by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu. The expectation had been that the years of maladministration in the sector will miraculously revert to perfection on account that a new minister is in charge. Those who hold such views do so without reckoning with the cabals that can only be dismantled over the course of time.

It is however obvious that machineries and strategies being put in place by the minister are beginning to yield results towards freeing the nation from these oil cabals and bringing normalcy to the oil industry. But these people behind the nightmarish scenarios Nigerians had lived through over the past one decade are not ready to go down without a fight. The dubious ways of doing business preferred by them bankroll their private jets, yachts, exotic getaways and out-of-this world lifestyles with spoilt mistresses and toy boys. It does not matter that they get these things at the expense of our own tears and blood.

Prior to the coming of Kachikwu, the reformer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the oil cabals ran riot all over the place. They decided whether there was fuel or not. They decided the price at which we buy outside of Abuja and Lagos. They decided how long we stayed on fuel queues. In addition to these holds they had on our daily lives, the cabals made us pay the interest for the bank loans they took for business; we paid or demurrage on imported products and also paid for when they stored products at tank farms – all these after they had collected subsidies and continued to hold the Federal Government to ransom over the same subsidy.

Kachikwu’s coming burst their bubble. We exiting the subsidy regime without the apocalyptic outcome they had always paid people to chorus around. Unlike in the past when they were able to browbeat the system, the Minister of State for Petroleum took the wind out of their sails with the concept of price modulation. Consequently, Nigerians

have, for the first time in a long while, live through almost a month without the spectre of subsidy payment hanging over them. Prospecting in petroleum products by hoarders no longer hold promises of high return on investment as there is no more incentive for panic buying.

The stability, in part, can be attributed to the fact that the nation’s refineries, which were once described as mothball, are back to contributing products to meeting part of the daily national demand. These were the same facilities that were earlier unable to refine products despite the several billions of naira spent on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM). From the assurances the minister has given to Nigerians, it is only a matter of time before these refineries are able to scale up their daily output and further reduce the nation’s dependency on imported petrol and diesel – the largest leverage of the rent seeking subsidy predators. This will have implication for not just the consumers but also for the economy since the pressure of sourcing dollars to finance imported products contributed to wiping out the value of the naira. Our currency will thus be able to make significant recovery once Kachikwu’s reforms in the oil sector take further hold.

In the private sector, the confidence engendered by Kachikwu’s approach to managing the oil sector has seen the private refineries being built by the Dangote Group making progress. The opacity in the running of the NNPC and the oil sector in general had once been an obstacle for investors with interest in building refineries. Within the

shortest time, however, it is glaring that the new refinery project is picking speed, which could also be on account of the reassurances that can only come from a competent and focused leadership.

It could be described as unfortunate that Kachikwu came on board at a time when crude looks like it is headed for the $20 mark down from over $105 just a few months ago. What is to be commended, no doubt, is the way he has been able to manage the affairs of the sector in such a way that there is no panic that could have stampeded the industry into destruction. He recently told Bloomberg TV that Nigeria will still make profit even if oil were to trade at $20 since the production amount is less than that. Such optimism, openness and transparency was not the case in the past. What would have happened was for the cabals to cash in on the situation and further loot the country blind citing global falling prices.

Another first for Kachikwu was the firmness with which he has addressed the other franchise of the cabals, saboteurs that vandalise pipelines to steal petrol and other products. These economic criminals had in the past had a free reign as they enrich themselves by destroying national infrastructure to steal products. Such was their reign in the past that they kill security operatives and government officials and tend to get away with it. Their activities have been linked with the huge cost of transporting products and some instances of fuel scarcity. The approach to this clear brigandage in the past was to treat the vandals, collaborators and accessories with kids’ gloves – there was that government’s indifference to the fact that vandals and host communities for the facilities were in cahoots.

There is no way they can operate freely if the host communities do not give them cover or refuse to alert security and other relevant agencies of crimes in progress.

Today, everything has changed, but the cabals will, however, update and modify their strategies to retain their stranglehold on the oil sector at all cost. Kachikwu must accept this as a reality such that he must never succumb to the blackmail of this band of cutthroats.

•Lady Odoma, Chairperson of Africa Arise for Change Network, lives in Abuja.

Using education to tackle insecurity

By Ogwiji Ehi-Kowochio Blessing SHORTLY, “no place like home” will become an invalid maxim to Nigerians owing to the fact that the incessant security lapses have rendered northern Nigeria almost uninhabitable. And as they say, when a finger is soiled with palm oil, the cleanliness of other fingers is not guaranteed. Hence, patriotic citizens dare not stand aloof.

They must desist from using their fists or jungle justice in conflict resolution as the two hold a reputation for blowing the ambers of violence.

Insecurity issues are familiar headlines in the media.

Vulnerability is constantly represented either by cases of kidnap, armed robbery and the recent Boko Haram insurgency. Certainly, the activity of the sect leaves the military with aching heads and the masses with aching hearts. The rapid expansion of their territory of terrorism is worrisome. It is not an overstatement to note that President Muhammadu Buhari’s triumph was hinged on his vehemence to wipe out the sect in a few months into his tenure.

No doubt, it gives great concern to his administration.

Hence the reason for transferring the military headquarters to Borno State few days after assuming office. This is a commendable effort but definitely not enough as there is yet another potent weapon in our armoury which has been abandoned at the mercy of rusts. This underutilised weapon is basic education. A recent report from World Bank highlights the fact that majority of northerners are illiterates. They have not been exposed to basic education; neither in informal nor formal settings (primary to junior secondary school education) We cannot undermine the fact that the present state of insecurity is an offshoot of a myriad of problems (in the likes of poverty, unemployment and corruption) of which illiteracy is chief. And having seen that Boko Haram found a haven of rest in the north is a clear indication that violence blossoms in an atmosphere of illiteracy. In most parts of the North, little attention is paid to education; it

is ranked low on their priorities and scale of preference.

This lackadaisical behaviour accounts for the seemingly smooth recruitment of members by the Boko Haram sect.

A symptom which lays bare the prevalent blindness in the North, as education; the eye opener that instills in an individual the ability to rationally evaluate arguments and to take decisions is lacking.

Loosing several hands from the security agencies, suggests the ripeness of time for the educational sector to take the baton. Since the literal interpretation of Boko Haram is “Western education is sin”, it confirms that the insecurity challenge is an anti-educational movement.

For this reason, all educationists must put their best foot forward in active combat, seeing that we do not have enough in our treasury to foot the exorbitant cost of illiteracy and ignorance. Teachers and educators have an indispensable role to play as their office affords them the opportunity to enforce the catch-them-young tactic. This way, youths will rather employ other conflict resolution methods than buy the violence recipe propagated by terrorists. They will also imbibe patriotism and kick against terrorism in the future.

Only little can be done with our sickly educational standard just as a rusted sword does no good in fierce battles.

There is, therefore, an urgent need for a holistic reformation of our educational system. The declining standard of education has been catalyzed by poor funding. The issue of funding has given birth to a host of plagues which seem to constantly eat into the fabrics of our educational sec-

tor with public schools students paying dearly by studying in dilapidating structures and other makeshift tatty structures.

The teachers are not left out; they expend so much energy partly due to the unavailability of teaching aids, basic infrastructures and the unfavourable conditions environment of their place of work. After scaling these hurdles in a bid to impact knowledge, their salaries are not paid for months, and sometimes a year. For this reason, their countless strikes and protests have come to stay. Incentives do not find place in their painstaking jobs and respect from the society declines drastically with every passing day. As we all seem to hastily conclude: “the teachers’ reward is in heaven.”

Nevertheless, this is aimed at suggesting practical ways to improve the standard of education in the country. According to Professor Peter Okebukola, Nigerians are enjoined to “draw on the potent and positive power of education to counter the jihadist messages of the insurgents.” The present government must note that it is unwise to throw the positive uncompleted projects of the past government into the garbage bin. We must take advantage of projects like the Almajiri schools. While other states are not left unattended to, the Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS) should be the focal point. More funds should be allocated to the educational sector while seeing to the elimination of moneymongers and the hazardous elements of corruption.

The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, a body saddled with curriculum development must ensure that learning becomes more of fun than a burden. The government and well-meaning Nigerians must work at renovating the dilapidated structures in study environs. No doubt, this will create a child-friendly learning environment and ease teachers of the stringent working conditions.

•Ogwiji is of the University of Ibadan.

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016 Femi Olukunle Co-ordinating Editor 08158610216

maka nd’igbo

War against HIV/AIDS in Igboland difficult without SURE-P Jude Ossai - Enugu

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ONDAY, February 1, 2016 was obviously the beginning of any other working day of the week, but to many people in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, especially

to the people living with HIV/AIDS, it was an eventful moment for their lives.

Maka Ndigbo observed that it was a

day the Head of Corporate Communication Unit, Project Implementation Unit of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS/

Day gov's wife, bishop admonished women of faith in Enugu Jude Ossai - Enugu IT was a great delight, last Saturday, to be at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Enugu where the wife of the Enugu State governor, Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi, broke the social barriers and danced with rural women who gathered at the Cathedral during a four-day retreat for women in Enugu Province of the Anglican Communion.

Apart from dancing with the women, she also read the second lesson of the service and preached to the women, admonishing them to have absolute faith in God who continued pg22

From left, Abia State Commissioner for Health, Dr John Ahukana;Director of Public Health, Chief Franklin Orji and Head of Corporate Communication Unit of NACA project implementation unit, Mrs Stella Agbim, during a fund advocacy awareness media tour of NACA/SURE-P HIV/AIDS facilities in Abia State.

Monarch raises alarm over oil spillage in his community —pg22

Day Mrs Obiano doled out houses to widows —pg22 in Anambra

HIV (NACA), Stella Agbim, visited some institutions in Abia State to inspect some of the agency's facilities in the state.

It was a day Aghim set aside to meet health workers, government officials and stakeholders at the capital of the “God’s Own State” to discuss issues affecting people living with HIV/AIDS with a view to charting a new way forward.

Indeed, the opinion of many of the speakers, including some of the persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV/AIDS) was that it had become imperative for the states and Federal Government to evolve alternative means of funding the activities of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA)in the country.

They spoke against the backdrop of the scrapping of SURE-P, a Federal Government's agency that was responsible for the funding of NACA activities.

For instance, the Abia State Commissioner for Health, Dr John Ahukanna, said that the scrapping of SURE-P posed serious challenge for the various tiers of government to explore alternative sources of funding the agency.

Dr Ahukanna said that with the winding down of SURE-P, it was incumbent on the government to seek support from international funding agencies in order to sustain the subsidisation of the treatment for the PLHIV/AIDS. According to him, the state would continue to partner NACA in catering for the needs of the PLW HIV/AIDS in the state "whether SURE-P is there or not, adding that the state government would make some financial adjustments to be able to accommodate the activities of the agency in the state.

Dr Ahukanna expressed the fear that the HIV prevalence rate in the country would worsen "if we fail to sustain the funding of the activities of NACA".

"If we do not sustain the programme, it means that Nigeria is going back to square one and nobody wants that because the prevalence and death rates would increase," he said.

Speaking in the same vein, Dr Roland Nwanke, the NACA support programme coordinator at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, further expressed the importance of sustaining the funding of NACA activities to prevent an increase in the prevalence and death rates resulting from the scourge.

Dr Nwanke said that the facility was receiving between 50 and 60 new cases of HIV patients, saying that the implication "is that the scourge is spreading fast."

He, however, said that the death rate had dropped with the sustained treatment of those living with the virus.

Earlier in her speech, Agbim said that she was in the state to sensitise the government and other stakeholders on the need to explore other alternative sources of funding the agency's HIV/AIDS programmes.

CREW Jude Ossai-Enugu-South East Bureau Chief 08052817955 Joe Nwachukwu- Owerri 08033271227 Suzy Oruya- Onitsha 08063653735

22 makand’igbo

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Monarch raises alarm over oil spillage in his community Joe Nwachukwu - Owerri

W

ORRIED by the constant vadanlisation of oil pipes and oil spillage in the Delta Region, a traditional ruler of Umuokanne Autonomous Community, in the Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of Imo State, Eze Dr Cyriacus M. Nwokoma, has raised the alarm over the unbridled environment degradation of the area by the oil companies operating in the community.

The American trained System Scientist and Educational Psychologist regretted that ceaseless, uncleared oil spillage, degradation and water pollution in the oil and natural gas rich community emanating from oil exploration had become a serious impediment to agriculture which the community is traditionally famous for.

Nwokoma, who is the Okaa-Omee III of Umuokanne, stated this at a one-day sensitisation workshop on Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Right in Ohaji organised by a non-governmental organization (NGO), Cleen Foundation” “The degradation in our community is rather unimaginable and Ohaji, which is endowed with abundant human and material resources, is being threatened by oil exploration and a lot of people

are running away from agriculture to oil business,” he lamented.

The monarch, however, cautioned indigenes of the community from taking the laws into their hands, stressing that violent confrontation, militancy and aggression against the oil companies in the area were not the solution to the problem.

He rather advised them to embrace regular dialogues, consultations and compromises in a peaceful extractive manner saying “Awara is almost a police community, but violent acts, such as killing, kidnapping and shooting, cannot be the solution to our problem, rather we should cooperate with the oil giants in our midst to get what we want” The Programme Officer of the foundation, Mr Ifeanyi Anyanwu, in an address, explained that the foundation, established over a decade ago with branch offices in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri, partnered with the government and other civil society organisations to enhance relations with stakeholders in the extractive sector.

Mr Anyanwu, who similarly sued for sustained peace and mutual understanding between the oil companies and their host communities, advised indigenes of the community to embrace community policing and to report human rights abuses perpetrated by security agents

attached to the companies, stressing that the foundation was keen on reducing the cancer of Human Rights Abuses.

He listed potential benefits of the Voluntary Principles to include: promotion of respect for Human Rights, encouraging communities’ participation in security arrangement of companies and host communities, bridging the gap in the relationship between members of the host communities and security agents as well as promoting Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) through regular consultations with the host communities.

Adding his voice, the Central Coordinator, Niger Delta Anti-Corruption Network (NIDAN), Dr Jude Ohanele, in a lecture on “Creating a Healthy Environment for the Development of Ohaji Egbema LGA - The Role of Ohaji Egbema People” reminded them that development did not thrive in an atmosphere of insecurity.

A cross section of participants at the event.

Day Mrs Obiano doled out houses to widows in Anambra Suzy Oruya - Onitsha THE wife of the Anambra State governor, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano may have opened a new vista in humanising governance in Nigeria as she handed keys of three functional bungalows to three widows.

The gesture forms a part of the central thrust of Chief Mrs Obiano’s NGO, the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE), which the wife of the governor established as an interventionist organ that makes critical interventions in the lives of society’s vulnerable members like widows, women, children, the mentally and physically challenged and the destitute.

Handing the houses over to indigent widows in Alor, Agulu and Nri communities in Idemili South and Anaocha Local Government Areas respectively, Chief Mrs Obiano said that the houses were the fulfillment of a dream nurtured by faith.

Hear her; “This is the fulfillment of a promise I made after I observed the living conditions of some of the widows before my husband became governor. His mission is to serve Ndi Anambra; mine is to support his efforts through the programmes of my NGO, CAFÉ.”

According to her, it has always been clear to her that little drops of charity can change the fortunes of the vulnerable members of the society and that explains why her CAFÉ Housing initiative came on stream to improve the living conditions of beneficiaries who hitherto lived in dilapidated mud houses with thatched roofs.

Offering more insight into the many objectives of CAFÉ, Chief Mrs Obiano explained that the group was also set up to act as a beacon of hope for indigent widows by undertaking various empowerment skills acquisition programmes to help them. “We also ensure that our women and youths are meaningfully engaged in order to surmount the pressures that

may derail them from a morally upright path. CAFE Housing for Indigent Widows is one such intervention,” she explained.

Speaking further, she said: “I almost shed tears when I saw the transformation

from the mud houses to what they have now. We cannot afford to allow the challenges of the lack of basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter to dictate the lives of the less privileged amongst us in

Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano, handing over the keys of one-bedroom/palour bungalow in Nri donated by CAFÉ Housing for indigent widows to Mrs Helen Okafor at the commissioning in Nri, while Igwe of Agulu, Elochukwu Obodoaku, watches.

this 21st Century.”

To buttress her call to assist the needy, Mrs. Obiano quoted passages from the Book of Isaiah 58:7, ” Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless….” and reminded the people that “this is Anambra! We are blessed with men and women of means whose success is known across the world. Let us spare a thought for the needy; let us join hands and make a difference in the lives of the widows.”

The wife of the governor also stated that as an NGO, CAFE did not receive any subvention from the government, but was able to embark on projects with donations from corporate organisations and individuals. She explained that the three commissioned houses for Mrs Rebecca Ekezie of Okebunoye Village Alor; Mrs. Helen Okafor of Amatutu Village, Agulu; and Mrs. Catherine Ibekwe of Obeagu village, Nri are part of the phase one of the CAFÉ housing for widows spread across three Senatorial districts of the state.

Day gov, wife, bishop admonished women of faith in Enugu continued from pg21

would never fail them.

The Arch Bishop of the diocese, Reverend Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma and the wife, Dr Joyce Chuwkuma, were so excited, saying that this was the first time the state governor’s wife was attending such women’s annual retreat since their assumption of office in the diocese of Enugu.

According to the Arch Bishop’s wife, “I can now confidently go and boast before the other bishops’ wives from other states that after-all, we have a mama in Enugu State.”

During the service, Mrs Ugwuanyi read the second/new testament reading while the Bishop’s wife read the old/first lesson.

In her address, Mrs Ugwuanyi encour-

aged the women, especially those from the rural areas to always command the morning every day they wake up from their sleep.

She assured them that God answers prayers and that none of them would borrow or beg for bread this year as the mighty God would surely meet all their needs.

It was learnt that the annual programme brings all the women from the rural side of the diocese, especially the rural part of Nkanulike, Akpugo, Amagunze, Ugbawka, Nara, Nkerefi.

Maka Ndigbo observed that the women could not hide their excitement when the Bishop asked them to come and dance for Governor’s wife. It was a drama when the first lady quickly led in the dance.

Earlier in his sermon on the theme of the convention, “Dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High God”, the Arch Bishop of Anglican Communion, Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma noted that for them to dwell in the secret place of God, they must be ready to obey God’s instructions and possess certain qualities that would enable them to see God on the last day which included, a holy life, putting on decent wears, loving one another and being elevated in praise of God Almighty.

Bishop Chukwuma maintained that when one dwelled in the secret place of the Most High God, the expectation was that one must enjoy progress and protection from God.

23

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

education No success is possible without

God

—ABU Best graduating student

Editor: Laolu Harolds 08111845016 tribune.education@yahoo.com

Reps to FG: Stop

With a CGPA of 4.59, 21-yearold BabangidaJamilu of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, emerged the Best Graduating Student at the 38th convocation ceremony of the university on Saturday.

MUHAMMAD SABIU had a brief interview with him.

Excerpts

CONGRATULATIONS. How do you feel emerging the best?

I feel happy. I also have a sense of fulfillment.

alise that First Class was within your reach?

At 300 Level when my grades rose. I then realised that if I put in more effort, I would make it.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am 21 years old from Gwale Local Government area of Kano State. I’m the third among five children in my family. I stay in Lagos with my parents and siblings.

What would you say was the secret of your success?

Commitment to reading and prayers played a major role to my success. I realised that nothing good can be achieved without the blessings of Allah. So, I sought His guidance and blessings. The other factor is that I lived peacefully with my fellow colleagues. This also helped me.

When you started, did you focus on obtaining First Class?

No. I never knew that I would make First Class. I came to the university to earn a degree, but I ended up with a First Class degree in Economics. That’s life.

One has to follow his destiny.

At what point did you re-

What do you plan to do next?

I still want to further my studies. I hope one day, I will also like to teach in the university.

But I also want to offer myself to humanity and see what I can do to improve their lives.

sack of varsity staff school teachers Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to halt the ongoing mass retrenchment of teachers and workers of university staff primary and secondary schools across the states of the federation and Abuja.

It also directed its Committee on Tertiary Education to meet with the Minister of Education “to throw light on the policy somersault and hasty decision of government to throw out thousands of workers from gainful employment.”

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Babatunde Gabriel Kolawole under Matters of Urgent National Importance, urging the members to intervene in the matter as the elected representatives of the people.

While moving the motion, Hon Kolawole noted that teachers and workers of university staff secondary and primary schools “are employees of the government of the federation through the universities that engaged their services.

“These teachers and general workers have long been engaged and have put in many years in the service of their fatherland, ranging between 10 and 30 years or more in the case of some of them.

“The recent government olicy of divesting itself from the University staff secondary and primary schools funding with the attendant implication of laying off all the teachers and general workers of these schools.’

“The economic reality of the moment and the general economic hardship people are going through today in Nigeria as a result of lack of gainful employment and underemployment, which will be worsened by the decision of the government to close all these schools”,he stated.

The House in its resolution also urged the Federal Government to make efforts to absorb teachers and workers already affected into the mainstream university staff pool.

FRSC partners Elizade Varsity on road safety education THE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is set to partner Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State on road safety education for staff and students, orientation for university drivers and issuance of genuine driving licence for members of the university community.

Speaking during his courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Kunle Oloyede in his office, the Sector Commander, FRSC, Ondo State, Corps Commander Edward Zamber, said he was attracted to the university by the “wonderful modern facilities” and the “architectural masterpiece” he saw during the visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the university recently.

Zamber, who reiterated the importance of adherence to driving rules, emphasised the need to preach the message of safety to the consciousness of road users.

On issuance of driving licence, he cautioned members of the university community and the general public against patronising unauthorised people for is-

suance of driving licence, warning that fake driving licence would not be recognised by officers of the corps.

He commended the management of the university for its control of students’ movement.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kunle Oloyede, lauded the efforts of the corps at ensuring safety of road users. He, however, called for a comprehensive sociological study of the road users so as to know the suitable medium for the communication of safety messages to them.

Professor Oloyede advocated the use of technological devices in ensuring safety on Nigerian roads. He suggested installation of Bluetooth in vehicles produced for Nigeria, arguing that it would provide safe means of receiving phone calls for the young Nigerians who could not do without their phones even while driving.

He also made case for the production of Road Safety App for young drivers, and expressed the readiness of the university to assist the commission on the technical aspect of its duties.

Professor Oloyede (right) with Zamber

24

education

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Buhari bemoans state of Nigerian schools Isaac Shobayo- Jos

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has called for a concerted effort of stakeholders to save the nation’s education sector, saying only robust education system can launch Nigeria to be among the top economies of the world.

Buhari made the remarks at the combined 19th to 22nd convocation ceremonies of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.

He expressed particular worry that no Nigerian university is among the top 100 in the world.

Represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, the president identified strikes as one of the major bottlenecks to progress of the university system, and assured university lecturers that his administration would listen to their grievances.

"No doubt, most of the teachers’ demands are very germane, but the strike actions usually retard the smooth running of academic activities.

Let me assure university teachers that this administration is a listening one.

All grievances must come to the table for discussion.

“Our intention to address the decay in our education system is not in doubt, just as our collective resolve as a government and a people must be unwavering. We shall expect you to come to us with meaningful suggestions as to the way forward. It is my belief that exchange of views and

ideas will assist in arriving at mutually acceptable solutions to most of our today's problems in the educational sector,” he said.

On the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy reintroduced by the Federal Government, Buhari said it is aimed at entrenching accountability, transparency and improving rev-

of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, urged the federal government to expand the capacity of the universities in order to accommodate more students.

He said, “On our campuses, we have an increasing growth in number of students. Every year, we admit less than the total

From left, Registrar, Mr. Omololu Adegbenro; Vice Chancellor, Professor Kunle Oloyede; founder, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo; his wife, Mrs. Taiwo Ade-Ojo, and the University Librarian, Mrs. Olufunke Oke, at a thanksgiving dinner recently organised to celebrate the NUC’s full accreditation of the university’s programmes.

FUTA student for internship at Boeing A final year student of Transport Management Technology at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Oladunni Ogunnubi, has been selected by the Boeing Company International, manufacturers of the Boeing range of aircraft, to partic-

ipate in its 2016 internship programme in the United States of America.

Ogunnubi was selected based on the strength of her academic results and her sterling performance during the electronically conducted oral interview with the selection board of

EKSU VC canvasses varsity-community security committee THE Vice Chancellor, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Professor Isaac U. Asuzu, has made a case for the establishment of a University/Community Security Committee to engender continued peace between the university and its host communities.

While receiving the Executive Chairman, Oye Local Government Area, Hon. Omotayo Ogundare in his office, the vice chancellor noted that for a university with a population of about 4,000 staff and students interspersed within two communities of Oye and Ikole, there was an urgent need to inaugurate such a committee which would nurture existing peaceful coexistence between the two communities and provide proactive steps to nip threats in the bud.

Oye Bandele noted that due to inadequate hostel accommodation in the university, students have had to rent apartments and live

enue.

The seeming challenges accompanying the implementation of the policy by MDAs, especially tertiary institutions, should be seen as a teething problem that will gradually vanish as the policy takes root, he added.

In his address, the Chancellor of ATBU and Ewi

with the host communities. This, he said, has had its down side, as there have been occasional friction, and reports of students beaten up and even some female students sexually harassed.

He then called on the local government chairman to use his office to facilitate this committee for the good of all.

Speaking earlier, the Executive Chairman disclosed he had just assumed office and considered it appropriate to familiarize himself with his immediate environment.

He called on the university to partner with the council to curb minor demeanors prevalent in the community, as the state government would hold the council chairman responsible for any breach of the peace in his local area.

Hon. Ogundare also solicited for a robust relationship with the university

that could lead to mutually beneficial partnerships, pledging the willingness of the council to assist the university in anyway it can.

Professor Oye Bandele informed his guest that the establishment of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Development and Support Services (CEDSS) was one of the ways the university was planning to positively impact the town and make it feel the presence of the gown.

Meanwhile, stakeholders and security agencies have been urged to support the ongoing reform in EKSU. The vice chancellor made the plea at a different fora to the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Mr. Etom John James; the State Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Commander Raji Ibrahim Adedoyin, and the Head, Directorate of State Security Services, Mr. Duke Fubara.

Boeing. She will spend between six and 12 months in the company’s headquarters in Seattle Washington.

The programme is designed by the aircraft manufacturers to offer opportunities to emerging leaders in the commercial aviation industry and position them for greater responsibilities in the future.

Selected undergraduates are exposed to the field of transport engineering and management through an all-round experience in Boeing Aircraft Industry. It is also meant to serve as a veritable source of providing international job engagement for outstanding students.

The highly competitive internship programme draws applications from different parts of the World. Apart from being responsible for the return ticket, Ogunnubi and other interns from Kenya, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Togo, Trinidad and Morocco will

get hourly stipend while undergoing the internship scheduled to begin in May 2016.

The Vice Chancellor of FUTA, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, while reacting to the development, described it as another testimony to the excellent quality of students of the institution.

Ogunnubi

number of applicants who qualified. The admission capacity for all our universities is far below the quantum of youth passing their entry examinations.

“Very few parents can afford to send their children to private universities; hence the abundant talents who find themselves unable to attain university education. I therefore urge stakeholders to urgently find both short and long-term solutions to this growing problem.”

Oba Adejugbe lamented unavailability of jobs in the country, and enjoined the graduands to look inwards and become self-reliant in order to contribute to the technological and economic development of Nigeria.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Saminu Abdulrahman Ibrahim, in his address commended the administration of President Buhari for its commitment to the education sector.

“We are especially appreciative of your administration’s clear commitment towards salvaging the education sector. This year’s budget is clear testimony to this fact. We are very optimistic because we are confident the country is safe in your hands, and we assure you that you and your administration will find in us total support and cooperation in the collective drive to move the education sector forward,” he said.

A total of 8,127 partook in the exercise, made up of 845 for diploma, 5,577 for first degrees, 1,620 for postgraduate diploma and masters, and 85 for doctorate.

Out of the 5,577 first degree graduands, 32 obtained First Class honnours, 1,203 got Second Class (Upper Division), 2,702 obtained Second Class (Lower Division) while 1,481 got Third Class, and 136 obtained pass.

TASUED VC warns students against cultism THE Vice Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State, Professor Oluyemisi Obilade, has warned students of the institution against cultism and other vices that could endanger their careers on the campus.

Professor Obilade gave the warning recently dur-

ing the 11th matriculation ceremony for 5,000 fresh students admitted into various programmes in the university.

She stated that the university has zero tolerance for all forms of indiscipline, and advised students to focus more attention on their studies.

“Keep the torch of peace, progress, responsibility and faithfulness to the course of TASUED burning. The torch is being passed today. You are therefore encouraged to have a positive attitude towards academic activities.

Be diligent, obedient and focused,” she added.

Thursday, 4 February, 2016 25 education Mimiko charges new AAUA pro-chancellor on IGR, academic excellence ATBU lecturer

G

O V E R N O R O l u s e g u n Mimiko of Ondo State and Visitor to the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, has tasked the new ProChancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr. Solomon Ayodele Oladunni, to enhance the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the university and to deepen its academic excellence.

The governor gave the charge last Wednesday in Akure while inaugurating Dr. Oladunni as the new pro-chancellor.

Oladunni’s emergence was occasioned by the voluntary resignation of his immediate predecessor, Ambassador Oladele Akadiri.

Mimiko said: “This prestigious institution that has been adjudged as the nation’s best state university by several bodies, including the United States Transparency International Standard (USTIS), is a big stake. I hereby encourage the new pro-chancellor to provide a leadership that we help drive and deepen the internally generated revenue of the university and her academic excellence.

“It is equally imperative for the chairman of council to lead a team of council members that will continue to pursue bold development vision and be relentless in seeking realistic ways and means of enhancing its competitiveness.”

He also charged the university management and members of council

to support the new prochancellor in his new assignment.

In his remark, the new

pro-chancellor thanked God for his grace over the state, and the governor for finding him worthy of

the office. He pledged to do his best to move the university beyond being the nation’s best state

university to becoming the best university in Nigeria and one of the best in Africa.

From left, Professor Idowu Awopetu; his wife, Chinelo; vice chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Bamitale Omole; former ASUU president, Professor Asisi Asobie; representative of the ASUU president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi; guest lecturer, Professor Samson Olatunde Oduleye, and the chairman, OAU ASUU, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, during the special congress organised to celebrate the 70th birthday of Professor Awopetu last Thursday. PHOTO: LAOLU HAROLDS

OAU ASUU celebrates Awopetu at 70

By Laolu Harolds SPEAKER after speaker last Thursday spoke of the virtues of the former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife branch, Professor Idowu Awopetu, at a special congress organised to celebrate his 70th birthday.

The local chapter of the union also scheduled the laying of foundation of its ultra-modern secretariat to coincide with the birthday celebration, in his honour.

Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony, the current chairman of the OAU ASUU, Dr Caleb

Aborisade, described the septuagenarian professor as “an irrepressible campaigner and tireless defender of fundamental freedoms and civil liberties, and a defender of the rights of the oppressed in the society.”

He recalled the serial intimidation, harassment and incarceration that Awopetu suffered during the regimes of former military president Ibrahim Babangida and his successor, General Sani Abacha – which he noted never stopped his relentless pursuit of academic excellence and fight for social justice and freedom.

In his tribute during the congress, a former president of ASUU, Professor

Asisi Asobie described Awopetu as a man with a big dose of patriotism, social commitment and ideological clarity.

Asobie commended Awopetu’s incredible foresight. He recalled how two times in the past he (Awopetu) had advised members of ASUU University of Nigeria, Nsukka, against being “too close to the management”, how his advice was turned down and how it was regretted – twice.

Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, who represented the ASUU president, Professor Nasir Issa Fagge, thanked Awopetu for being one of those who laid the foundation for the modern ASUU.

He also called on members of the union to be ready to sacrifice and leave their comfort zone to fight for a better society.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Bamitale Omole, in his tribute described Awopetu as a man who goes about with a “big capital of integrity”; a man that is fairminded and very truthful.

“In Professor Awopetu, I learnt that humility is strength. If people say I’ve done well today, I owe it partly to you,” he said.

A lecture entitled ‘A Chronicle of Principles and Activities of Idowu Awopetu: An ASUU Icon’ was delivered by Professor Samson Olatunde Oduleye.

invents machine for fish farming Isaac Shobayo- Jos

A lecturer and system engineer with the Department of Mechatronics, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Faisal Sani Bala, has invented a prototype Recirculatory Automatic System Machine for fish farming.

Sani Bala told Tribune Education at ATBU’s 19th, 20th, 21st and 22th combined convocation exhibition ground in Bauchi that the system, codenamed ‘Sarkin Ruwa Automatic Recirculatory System’ is a designed closed look system for easy fish farming.

The capacity of the machine, according to him, is strong and highly profitable and mostly used in developed countries for fish farming and other related activities. He said the system has the highest stocking density.

Bala said, “The system also works for the whole 12 months of the year irrespective of seasons.

It eases the suffering of fish farmers during winter season. With this type of system, you will have normal metabolism and stock like four times a year because under optimal conditions, you have the best yield and the best growth of fish. The system is automated to monitor minimal human involvement because it is computerised. In terms of changing the water, you only feed the fish.

‘At Acorns and Oaks Academy, our pupils imbibe road safety culture’ Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt CONCERNS have been raised by stakeholders about thousands of lives and valuables being lost to accidents on Nigerian roads, almost on daily basis. These avoidable losses have been attributed to varied factors, including human, technical and mechanical errors.

Often identified among the human errors are reckless driving, over-speeding and drunkenness.

However, young children have also been identified as a major cause of some of these accidents. It is not uncommon, nowadays, to see children stick their heads out of the windows while their parents are driving through traffic. Some parents put their underage children in the passenger seat, while some of them stand in the moving car, causing distractions. Worse still, many parents often carry their toddlers on their laps while

driving!

These attitudes often cause distraction that may prove fatal.

The appropriate authorities, especially the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), have been seeking to promote safe driving and motoring, quite often seen along the major roads monitoring the excesses of motorists. Series of seminars, workshops and trainings are also held at regular intervals, aimed at promoting safe and responsible driving culture.

In all these efforts, the targeted audience has been the adults, leaving the little gifts from God out. This is largely due to the fact that the adults, being the main actors, are the principal agents that could help to reduce the increasing carnage on the roads.

However, the management of Acorns and Oaks Academy, a nursery and primary school based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, believe that the task

of safety awareness cuts across all ages. It believes there is a need to inculcate in the young children road safety culture, even at a very tender age.

Therefore, the school has among its co-curricula activities what it called the ‘Safety Day’, an annual event aimed at instilling safety awareness and culture in its pupils.

On January 20, 2016, Acorns and Oaks held the 2016 edition of the ‘Safety

Day’. The FRSC in Rivers State was invited to the event to teach the children the essence and importance of imbibing safety consciousness. The pupils were taught the basic and practical rudiments of safety and traffic rules, among many others.

Speaking with the Tribune Education, Head of Administration of the school, Mrs Roselyn Igbinosa, said the ‘Safety Day’ was conceptualised with the

children as the main focus.

“That is why we are here at Acorns and Oaks and the reason they are here is for them to learn, in accordance with the Mission Statement of the school: ‘Fostering a Love for Learning.”

“You will notice these days that you see a car on the road and you will see children standing or sticking their heads out of the windows or doing things that they should not be do-

ing in the car. You see the mummy trying to concentrate on the road and, at the same time, she is being distracted by the children.

“We have had several activities before this last one.

But in respect of the last one, we felt we need to make a difference; to make our children to always remember what they were told on safety days. We spoke with the FRSC in Rivers State and surprisingly, they were very happy to be here and we told them what we wanted. They came and they taught our pupils, and even the teachers and other members of staff, safety on the road; what they should do.

“In fact, there was ‘road drill’. We do it a lot, but we did not know it was called road drill – you look left, look right and look left again before crossing. They said there was a name for it and everybody was like, ‘what is the name for it?’

We were told that it is called ‘road drill’.

education FG commits over N100bn to ICT devt in varsities – Bogoro

26

Clement Idoko

O

VER N100 billion has been committed to building of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions across the country in the last two years.

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Professor Suleiman Bogoro, who disclosed in Abuja, said this was to boost teaching and learning as well as encourage cutting age research by the institutions.

He spoke during a brief ceremony for the conferment of CISCO Systems, Strategic Partnership Award on TETFund by the management of the world leading IT firm.

Bogoro explained that the fund was part of the agency’s intervention approved by the federal government for public tertiary institutions in Nigeria, and that the over N100 billion was used for construction of some virtual libraries, ICT centres and other related IT infrastructure in the institutions.

He said the federal government attaches great importance to use of ICT in improving the quality of teaching and learning in

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

tertiary institutions.

The CISCO Systems Regional Corporate Affairs Manager for Africa, Mr Alfie Hamid, who presented

the award to TETFund, said the partnership with TETFund had enabled the company to take its Networking Academy pro-

gramme to 11 tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

He added that about 5,000 students were expected to benefit from the

Principal, Mr Christopher Ogundare (extreme right), teachers and students of Strong Tower College, Beside Olubadan’s palace, Monatan, Ibadan, during an excursion to the Tribune House, Imalefalafia Stret, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, recently.

No room for cultists here, Veritas VC tells new students Clement Idoko - Abuja THE Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja, Professor Michael Kwanahie, has warned the newly admitted students against cultism and other social vices that could jeopardise their academic pursuit at the university.

Kwanashie gave this warning in his address at the 8th matriculation of the university held at its main campus in Bwari, Abuja, where 452 students were matriculated for the 2016/2017 academic session.

Veritas, one of the eight privately owned universities in Nigeria that were

fully licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on 13th August, 2015, is a Roman Catholic University of Nigeria, founded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in 2007.

The vice chancellor told the new students that the university maintains zero tolerance to examination

Nigeria Police honour AAUA VC THE Vice Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, has been honoured by the Nigeria Police for his outstanding contributions to policing activities.

The vice chancellor was honoured with the award of the Friend of Police during the annual thanksgiving service and award giving ceremony organised by the Nigeria Police, Zone XI Command Headquarters, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria, recently.

The award came barely a week after he was so honoured with the rank of a Fellow of the International Chartered World Learned Society (ICWLS).

The Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police in charge of the zone, AIG Kalatife Hellen Adeyemi, while presenting the award, described Professor Ajibefun as one who has contributed immensely to the operations of the Nigeria Police

ICT Networking Academy programme annually.

The Cisco Networking Academy Programe is a comprehensive e-learning

in the zone and particularly to community policing.

The AIG said: “The vice chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University is one man who has been significantly supporting the Nigeria Police and who has contributed immensely

to policing. He is one exemplar of the type of support the police deserves to effectively serve the public.”

The vice chancellor, who expressed gratitude for the recognition, thanked the Nigeria police and

friends of Adekunle Ajasin University around the globe for noting the humble contributions that God has enabled him and the university to do in ensuring that policing is considerably enhanced in Nigeria.

malpractices and other social vices commonly associated with students in tertiary institutions, adding that anyone found to be involved in those vices would face outright expulsion.

He dispelled claims that the social life in the school is boring and urged students to be of good conduct and create their own social life within the campus.

Speaking further on the employability of graduates from the institution, Kwanashie said that in line with the mandatory entrepreneurship policy of the federal government for all universities, Veritas University ensures that no student graduates without proper training in entrepreneurship.

‘Grace and Glory College committed to raising leaders’ THE proprietress of the Grace and Glory College, Osogbo, Osun State, Mrs Omowumi Adeniran, says the school, as well as its nursery and primary arms are committed to raising tomorrow’s leaders who will serve their fatherland with the love and fear of God. Mrs Adeniran made the remarks recently during an interactive session held with the parents, teachers and students of the schools.

While emphasising that anyone who walks uprightly with God will not be denied every good thing of life, she explained that the vision of the school is to produce leaders with moral distinction.

“The mindset of ‘if you

can’t beat them’ join them’ is not part of the core values of the school. We train our students in the way of the Lord and influence them by godly disciples in form of good teachers, who are their role models.

“This is in tandem with the anti-corruption mantra of this present dispensation. It is not until you join cults, bad gangs or go into prostitution or engage in diabolical practices before you can make it in life. Our covenant with God in this school is that any child that gains admission into this school will have a fulfilled destiny and fulfilled life as a result of the godly background and foundation that are being

set for the them,” she submitted.

According to her, children in the school are trained to be computercompliant, and are trained to shun examination malpractices.

“This is to inculcate righteousness into their young impressionable minds.

The school is one of the best and cheapest private schools in the state, complementing the efforts of the state government in providing qualitative, affordable and accessible education for Nigerian children,” she said.

She said the teachers in the school all take their jobs as their ministry and contribution to help hu-

manity.

She encouraged students to always speak positive words to increase and improve on their self-confidence, self-esteem, and selfworth.

The Executive Manager and Principal of the school, Mr Oluwadara Adeniran, also gave a graphic account of the school’s brilliant outing in 2015, adding that the school was the only secondary school in the state invited to feature at a special Christmas Carol organised

by Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC), which had the Deputy Governor, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, and other state functionaries in attendance.

programme that provides students with the Internet technology skills essential in a global economy. The Networking Academy delivers web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support, and preparation for industry standard certifications.

Launched in October 1997, the Networking Academy has spread to more than 150 countries.

Since its inception, over 1.6 million students have enrolled at more than 10,000 academies located in high schools, technical schools, colleges, universities, and community-based organisations.

Edexcel University Engineering faculty accredited

By Taiwo Olanrewaju THE Engineering and Management Faculty of the Edexcel University, Ifagni, Benin Republic, has secured full accreditation.

This was conveyed to the Chancellor of the institution, Professor Emmanuel Ode, via a letter dated January 7, 2016 and signed by that country’s Minister of Education, Professor Francis Adebayo Abiola.

The accreditation, according to Professor Ode, followed the ministry’s visit to the school in December, “when it was discovered that we measured up to their standard and that we have all necessary facilities in place.”

Ode said that of the 60 schools in the area, only 15 were accredited, and Edexcel is the only university among them. He urged students to seize the opportunity and study in the university.

“It costs only N1,200 to get there from Nigeria. Don’t waste time any longer. All our programmes are fully accredited and our certificate can be used to work for further studies and promotion,” he added.

Meanwhile, the university has appointed new officers.

The newly appointed officers are Dr Babarinde Oye Ademola (acting vice chancellor), Mrs Mojisola Rufai (acting Registrar), Miss Omotoso Abiola (Bursar), Dr James Bamikefa (Dean, Academic Affairs), Mr Ogbu David (Librarian) and Dr J. Ayedero (Students’ Affairs Officer).

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju

aviation

m:08055001708 e:lanresulaimon@yahoo.com t:@lanresulaimon

anchor Shola Adekola

m:0803 365 4818 e:sholanig@yahoo.com

Ethiopian Aviation Academy graduates 143 Ethiopian, Rwandese aviation professionals

Catering facilities worth millions of naira to be built in Lagos airport Stories By Shola Adekola - Lagos

C

ATERING facilities worth several millions of naira is to be constructed by an in-flight catering outfit in the country to take care of foreign airlines coming into the country.

The Chief Executive Officer, Things Remembered, Mrs Adeola Omikunle, who dropped this hint at the launch of the first Hennessey bar in Nigeria, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Ikeja, said 60 to 70 per cent of foreign airlines operating into the country will be adequately taken care of when it begins operations.

Omikunle noted that Things Remembered partnered Hennessey to open the Hennessey bar at the MMIA, as a result of the high consumption of the product by Nigerians.

According to her, “it was part of Things Remembered ‘s contribution in adding value to the facilities at the airport.”

Omikunle who has eateries at the general aviation terminal, Lagos MMA2, Abuja terminals and Lagos international airport, also supplies domestic airlines with in flight ca-

tering services.

Omikunle said it was also part of her quota to rebrand Nigeria, adding that the growing traffic at the Lagos airport has attracted a lot of investors, hence the need to harness.

“Our motivation is to add value to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. We are trying to rebrand Nigeria and this is the way that I am contributing my own quota to Nigeria. We are in Abuja airport, GAT, MMA2, and then the MMIA. And for your information, we are also doing air flight schedules.

“We are trying to build a big facility, at GAT, worth millions of dollars facility that will cater for airlines coming into Nigeria.

You know Nigeria is a hub for Africa, and we want to build a facility that will take 60-70 percent of the market in Nigeria.

“With the current drive by the government for foreign direct investment, we have quite a lot of foreign investors coming into the country and trying to make some investments.”

Also speaking, the general manager Nigeria, Hennessey, Lere Awokoya said, it was

a way of showing appreciation to Nigerians for identifying with the product adding that the consumption of Hennessey drink has been on the increase in the country .

“Hennessy is one of the most serious brands to Nigerians. It is just one of the reasons we are showing it to the market and Nigerians. We just marked our 250 anniversary.

“What we can say is the few things of the many things that we are doing, just to show and mark our foot prints in Nigeria. There are so many things that you can experience many things that we are doing in this bar.”

“We are very happy and proud to partner with Things to Remember, it was also a project that was launched in 2015, it was the year Hennessy celebrated its 250 anniversary.

“So it was a way for us to show our appreciations to Nigerian consumers. You may not know but Hennessy is number one loved spirit in Nigeria. We are told that we need to displace it in the best environment and showcase what the brand stands for.”

Air Cote d’Ivoire takes delivery of new Q400 aircraft IN a bid to further grow passenger traffic out of its hub in Abidjan, Air Cote d’Ivoire has celebrated the arrival of its third DASH 8-Q400 NextGen aircraft.

The new equipment joins the airline’s fleet of brand new aircraft bringing the number to seven comprising three A319s, one A320 and three Q400s.

The Minister of Transport, Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Gaoussou Toure at the event, praised the airline for its performance and remarkable achievement within its short time of existence.

“This is the year of emergence for Air Cote d’Ivoire and to do this, we need more aircraft to fly to more destinations and this

new aircraft will help the airline to achieve its goals. “The presence of Air Cote d’Ivoire has helped to create both direct and indirect employment opportunities for the citizens and I congratulate you for the remarkable work you have done.”

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Air Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Rene Decurey said “The Q400 allows us to operate into different routes including the domestic routes. It is a comfortable and fast aircraft comparable to a jet and allows us to offer a lot of frequencies. We are a promising airline that is making remarkable progress.”

He remarked that in 2013, the carrier airlifted 244,183 passengers which rose to

398,761 and 604,170 in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

“Our perspective for 2016 is to grow our passenger numbers over 2015 figures by 17 per cent to 701,777 and the arrival of the Q400 is the first step in achieving it,” he said.

The Bombardier Chief Operating Officer, Alain Dugas congratulated Air Cote d’Ivoire for its choice and delivery of the brand new aircraft; “I am happy to be here today to herald the arrival of the third Q400 to Air Cote d’Ivoire. The Q400 is becoming very popular on the African continent and it is good for opening new markets. I congratulate Air Cote d’Ivoire.”

THE Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy (EAAA), a full ICAO TRAINAIR Plus member and IATA authorised global training center, has graduated 14 pilots, 53 Aviation Technicians, 38 marketing agents and 38 cabin crew at a ceremony held at Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

This round of graduates according to the airline included nine trainee pilots from Rwanda, three of which are females.

Speaking, Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian said “Ethiopian Airlines believes in the potential of African Aviation and is strategically positioning itself to train the African youth in the latest Aviation technology and latest aviation skills to own, manage and operate their own indigenous home grown African Airlines to lead safe, secure, economical and reliable aviation industry with global standards.

In line with this strategic thought, we are very happy to make the Ethiopian Aviation Academy a center of excellence in the continent with adequate capacity to train more than 4,000 African aviation professionals every single year. Today, we have amongst us, nine pilots from Rwanda standing together with their Ethiopian brothers and sisters in the graduation ceremony.”

The Ethiopian Aviation Academy (EAA) is well on its way to becoming one of the seven profit centers of Ethiopian as outlined in its Vision 2025.

The EAAA is already the leading aviation training center in Africa and aims to expand its acceptance capacity to 4000 trainees annually.

Historically, the academy has kept a reasonable percentage of its capacity for trainees from other African countries contributing to the growth of the aviation industry in the continent.

The Ethiopian Aviation Academy has finished constructing several new buildings as part of its expansion program. The new buildings are a cafeteria, a commercial and cabin crew training school, an auditorium, an aviation maintenance training school and a pilot training school.

The academy also bought new cabin crew door trainers for all aircraft types in the Ethiopian fleet and a full motion cabin emergency evacuation trainer combined with a standard swimming pool for safety and emergency procedures.

From L-R: Group head of Operations, Greater Washington logistics, Mr. Oludele Babatunde; Co-founder Emfrica, Mr Babajide Akin-Thomas; Managing Director, Greater Washington logistics, Mrs. Adenike Brown; Assistant General Manager, Corporate Services and Admin, Mr. Bright Aghogban during the cargo seminar held at the conference hall of the Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.

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aviation

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Airline operators to meet government to request scrapping of charges

crucial moment With Shola Adekola

0803 365 4818

Why President Buhari should review air transport agreements

JUST last week, the Chairman of domestic airlines, Captain Noggie Megisson cried out for the umpteenth time the need for the President Muhammadu Buhari led-government to urgently review the over 78 Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), Nigeria signed with different countries across the world.

According to Megisson who spoke on behalf of the airlines, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the need to urgently review the agreements is not far from the obvious fact that the agreements were to the disadvantage of the country.

Apart from the fact that the agreements were not reciprocated by Nigeria due to various controversial reasons, most of the countries have seen Nigeria as a conduit pipe through where they cover up their inefficiencies on other routes they operate to.

“The Federal Government must review all BASAs. We need to sit down and look inward as far as BASA is concerned. We cannot continue to feed other people’s children when our own children are suffering from malnutrition. The Federal Government must review them to make them mutually beneficial.”

Prior to this time, many key players had condemned the lopsided agreements which they said did not favour the country.

It is however unfortunate that despite the several calls for the review of the agreements. the past governments had turned deaf ears, while the foreign carriers continued to tap from the largess.

While the foreign countries cannot be blamed for the illegality, the entire blame goes to the Ministry of Aviation’s officials who failed to protect the interest of the country, while such agreements were negotiated.

It is on record that many of the ministry’s officials concerned because of their personal selfishness colluded with foreign officials to sign off their birthrights and that of the generality of Nigerians.

Many of the foreign airline officials often boast that they can get whatever they want from the ministry due to the high level of indiscipline amongst such officials.

It is painful that the various international routes have been turned to free meal where every country including even smaller African countries scramble to grab their own.

It is at this juncture that Crucial Moment is supporting the latest call by the AON chairman for the immediate review of the BASAs. There is no point for Nigeria to continue to play the ‘big brother’ while its own domestic airlines are being faced with challenges, most of which are created by this type of hostile policies which rather than encourage domestic airlines, only favour the foreign airlines.

There is therefore, the need for the Minister of Transport, Mr Chibuike Amaechi and Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika to prevail on the presidency to review the lopsided agreements.

There is no point for the country to continue to work against its own indigenous carriers while pampering the foreign carriers whose home countries can never work against.

It is very sad that despite all the efforts made by genuine professionals to convince the past governments to review the agreements, some people who have being benefitting from this have continued to misinform the governments.

The time has come for the government of President Buhari to heed the clarion call and stop this injustice by reviewing the lopsided BASAs.

Nigerian Tribune

From left, The Group head of Operations, Greater Washington logistics, Mr Oludele Babatunde; Co-founder Emfrica, Mr Babajide AkinThomas; Managing Director, Greater Washington logistics, Mrs Adenike Brown; Assistant General Manager, Corporate Services and Admin, Mr Bright Aghogban during the cargo seminar held at the conference hall of the Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.

Airport limousine operators raise alarm over fake operators Stories By Shola Adekola - Lagos IRPORT limousine operators in Lagos have have raised concern over the dangerous activities of illegal cab operators along the Murtala Muhammed Airport routes.

The Secretary of the Airport Limousine Bus Operators, Lookmon Oladipupo said illegal cab operators have taken over the airport routes, duping and robbing unsuspecting travelers of their valuables.

Oladipupo who explained that military men and some police officers were involved in the act of using unpainted cabs to operate on the airport roads, alleged that members of the limousine task force were beaten up in an attempt to stop the illegal operators from plying the route.

He lamented how the activities of these illegal operators have battered the image of

A

the limousine operators at the airport, adding that these operators were fast becoming security threat to the registered operators.

Oladipupo explained that the illegal cab operators posed as genuine operators to rob unsuspecting passengers, adding that 15 unpainted cab operators were apprehended early January, by the union.

While appealing to passengers to always board the blue painted airport vehicles to avoid being duped, Oladipupo urged the military airport commandant and the airport police commissioner to come to their aid, by cautioning their men from operating illegal cabs on the airport routes.

He equally appealed to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to look into the renewal and inspections of their vehicles to two years in order to enable them meet up with the hire purchase agreement reached with owners of their vehicles.

AIRLINE Operators of Nigeria (AON) said it has concluded plans to meet government to request the scrapping of some airport charges to reduce operating costs.

Its chairman, Captain Nogie Meggison said the request has become imperative to enable airlines sustain their operations in the face of harsh economic realities.

Speaking in an interview in Lagos yesterday, he said if some of the existing charges are retained many domestic airlines may close shop.

He said the AON has alerted government that domestic airline operation may be grounded unless the operators are given lifeline through review and elimination of charges.

Meggison, said the Naira value has gone down by 70 percent and 80 per cent with huge negative impact on the cost of airline operations which is done with foreign exchange.

He listed such operations to include importation of aircraft parts, pilot simulator training, aircraft maintenance and others.

He said the economic downturn has reduced the number of people that travel by air and this is made worse by the fact that some airports in the country do not have landing aids which means flights cannot operate to such airports.

He said some airports were closed recently because of low visibility due to lack of landing aids.

“We want to meet with government to demand for the waiver of some of these charges because the high exchange rate is affecting the airlines as 80 per cent of airline operation is directly affected by foreign exchange from aviation fuel which is imported to spare parts, simulator training. Cost of parts of these services is high. We have to meet the government to see how it can come to our help.”

Emirates offers Nigerian customers more payment solutions EMIRATES’ customers in Nigeria can now enjoy multiple payment options when booking flights across various sales points in the country.

The new payment options, powered by Interswitch were launched last week and will offer customers greater convenience and choice as well as make the payment process more efficient.

In the new dispensation, “Emirates customers now have the ability to book on Emirates website, obtain a payment reference and pay using any of these channels: Pay direct platform at any bank branch across the country , at any ATM machines, Quickteller website https://www.quickteller.com/emirates) and Quickteller mobile applications. Additionally, customers can pay by using their debit or prepaid cards directly on Emirates website (www.emirates.com/ng).”

By introducing these new payment options, Emirates said it will enable its customers in Nigeria to pay for their tickets using all types of local and international credit, debit and prepaid cards.

“By integrating to the Interswitch network and adopting their payment solutions & channels, Emirates is adopting a multiple payment platform. This new feature will make it much easier for travellers to book their itinerary and pay for their flights whether through Emirates website www. emirates.com/ng or at any Emirates offices.

“Choice has always been, and remains, an important part of the Emirates proposition.

We are committed to providing our cus-

tomers with the greatest level of customer service, and introducing multiple payment channels via the Interswitch network is yet another aspect of our service offering,” said Manoj Nair, Emirates’ Regional Manager West Africa.

Speaking further on the development, the Divisional CEO, Industry Vertical Markets, Interswitch, Mrs Chinyere Don-Okhuofu said “Interswitch takes pride in deploying world class solutions taking into consideration global standards whilst applying local market knowledge and realities.

“This has propelled our relationship with Emirates and has now successfully facilitated the processing of Emirates’ transactions on the Interswitch network. We have

worked diligently to ensure Emirates’ customers benefit from the array of payment channels and solutions Interswitch offers,” she said.

In addition to providing multiple payment options, the newly implemented system features a host of added value including short online transaction cycles as the tickets are auto generated as soon as the payment is made and wider reach as payments can be made at any bank in Nigeria.

Emirates’ website and online booking system offers a host of pre-travel features starting from online check-in, the ability to pre-select the seat, UAE visa application (for eligible nationalities), special meal requests for specific dietary requirements.

Valentine: Virgin Atlantic offers Nigerians special fares to London THE British flag carrier, Virgin Atlantic has urged the Nigerian travellers to treat themselves and their loved ones this Valentine’s Day with special sale fares available on its flights, in celebration of this year’s valentine, which comes up on February 14th, 2016.

The airline, which operates daily flights between Lagos Murtala Mohammed International and London Heathrow, is offering two discounted fares to help connect ‘the hopelessly romantic’.

According to the airline: “If you are separated from your loved one by land or sea, fly to them in style from USD1, 316. This special rate offers a 15 per ccent discount and is available when buying one return ticket to

London in Premium Economy class.

“Alternatively, spoil your loved one with a 50 per cent discount on the second ticket when you buy two Premium Economy class return tickets to London. The total cost of the two tickets combined is from USD2, 320 leaving enough for a romantic dinner for two during your romantic break away.

According to the airline’s Country Manager in West Africa, Adrian Bird, “While some say distance makes the heart grow fonder, actually being and spending quality time with the object of your desire is always so much better. Connecting people is our business and that’s why we’ve put together these special Valentine’s offers.

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Nigerian Tribune

anchor

maritime

Tola Adenubi

m:07068476673 e:adenubiadetola@yahoo.com

Trade facilitation:

Single window saves Nigeria $25m daily —Valentina Mintah

The maiden African Maritime Journalists Conference debuted in Accra, Ghana with the theme: ‘Building Effective Communication Infrastructure for Africa’s Blue Economy.’ On the sideline of the programme, the Chief Executive Officer/MD, West Blue Consulting, Valentina Mintah, the firm responsible for the building of the Single Window Trade platforms for both the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, spoke with selected newsmen on the challenges faced while designing the projects. TOLA ADENUBI was there. Excerpts:

T

ell us about West Blue Consulting We are primarily an IT firm that works on automating processes.

We are generalists, but we tend to have specialism in Customs and trade facilitation arena, and that is what we have been known for.

So generally, we are an IT company looking at automating processes. We differentiate ourselves from others because we don’t believe IT is the end result; it is only an enabler. So we try to understand everything else before we bring IT into it.

We always adopt the four Ps in our processes; we look at the People first. We ask ourselves, who is going to use the system?

How do they think? What are they looking for? What is their current challenges? Being African, we understand our own people; we understand our challenges and we understand our strength and weaknesses.

That is why we excel in our operations.

We try to understand how people work so that we don’t change it completely but benchmark it on international standards.

We also look at what other people think of the operators; we find what they don’t like about the system, and then we look for solutions.

We also look at Processes; how are things being done currently? Could they be done in a better way? Could they be done the same way but in a faster way?

Or does the system need a radical change from the way it is being done? We do that in consultation with the owners of the processes and the beneficiaries of the processes.

We also look at the Platforms, what system are we using to deliver those processes for those people? You cannot go to the United States or Azerbaijan and think their IT system will work in places like Sweden or Ghana or Nigeria.

In implementing our systems, we also look at the Policy. We ask ourselves, what is the legal framework? What are the bottlenecks? We don’t want to put up a system that will compromise the very users

that we are trying to support. So we look at the mandate of everybody; if they have Digital Signature Act? Cyber crime Act or Data protection? We look at all this because you can’t just put things on the web without there being a legal framework.

Similarly, we look at the platforms, what are the cyber security issues in terms of hacking? What system do you put in place to make sure the system is not compromised? We are very much particular about our physical security.

This are all what we look at before we begin to put up our IT system.

Who are your clients?

We work with the government a lot and it is changing the status quo. Government is beginning to understand that they are providing a service to the citizenry and to the private sector. So that is the whole change management of the status quo.

Looking at our domain area where we are known for, the Pre-Arrival regime which is a risk management tool in the trade supply chain and then the National Single Window in general, these two systems capture everything that is needed to be known if somebody wants to import goods or export goods, or even have a

From the Customs to veterinary services, food and drug handling agencies etc, everybody has a role to play in the international trade supply chain.

Mintah transit of cargoes. When you look at this system, you can imagine how many agencies of government that are involved in the cargo clearance or export system. In most countries, it is about 20 government agencies in total. From the Customs, to veterinary services, food and drug handling agencies etc, everybody has a role to play in the international trade supply chain. But that they do have a role to play, does not mean they should hinder the movement of the goods.

If for example, I am a poultry farmer and I am looking at going into international trade which cuts across borders, I need to understand my country’s regulation for moving goods across into another country. I need to understand my partner country’s regulation for accepting goods. I need to now compete with not just the local eggs producers but with the international eggs producers. I need to get these perishable fragile items to my clients quickly and profitably in order to remain relevant in the market because as a business owner, all I am interested in is making profit. That is the whole essence of the National Single Window; to reduce the time and cost of doing business across borders. Importers and exporters are the main drivers to economic growth.

Again, if you have somebody looking at import and export destinations, they have to consider your entire environment to decide if they will put their investment in Apapa, Nigeria or Benin, Cotonou or any other place. Thus, this system also encourages Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

If you look at international trade supply chain, it comes with four main components: there is the commercial side which is business to business. This involves the exchange of trade contracts, invoices etc. There is the financial side; letters of credit, payment, insurance. These tend to be a private sector responsibility with the banks leading most of the transactions.

Then you have the regulatory area where you have the Customs, foods and drugs agency, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) etc. They provide a right regulatory environment to ensure importers bring in safe goods that are rightly valued and rightly classified. Then finally, we have the transport and logistics which involves the ports, the container management, the shipping line, and the freight forwarders.

So there is a whole myriad of people who have to come together just to facilitate trade from one place to another place.

Were there challenges?

In Nigeria, the will at the operational level, from Customs and other individuals was excellent. However, we did not have the political will from the top. The lack of political will from the top tend to breed undesirable elements who opposed the single window concept.

At a point, there was some sabotage. It was either people did not understand the concept or deliberately kicked against it.

At the institutional level, it was well accepted. But after the project, Nigeria became a point of reference at the World Customs Organisation (WCO).

The WCO asked other Customs administration to emulate Nigeria. That was really a high point for us back then. In two years, revenue collection went up by 20 per cent.

Government saved $25 million a month from fees that were hitherto being paid to the Destination Inspection (DI) companies who were handling the Risk Assessment Report for Customs.

So despite those challenges, these were significant results that trailed the single window project. In Ghana, it was a personal attack on my person. At a point, those kicking against it in Nigeria joined those kicking against it in Ghana. For me being an African, it was such a painful experience. However, we soldiered on because we knew the result will speak for us.

maritime Automation: Customs bemoans lack of collaboration from stakeholders at seaport 30

StoriesbyTolaAdenubi-Lagos

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he Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has bemoaned the lack of collaboration from other agencies and operators as regards the Single Window Trade platform introduced to enhance trade facilitation at the ports.

This is even as the Service lamented that despite the introduction of the Single Window almost four years ago, it has only stepped up a notch along the index of the Single Window platform.

Speaking at the Africa Maritime Journalist Conference held in Accra, Ghana over the weekend, the NCS image maker, Wale Adeniyi, stated that without the collaboration of every stakeholders in the trade facilitation trade, the NCS cannot do it all on their own.

According to him, “when the Executive Secretary/Ceo of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) made his presentation, he acknowledged the great feat the Customs has made in ICT innovation at the ports.

“However, from the benefit of hindsight, when we started the ICT journey four years ago and up till now, we have only been able to move one notch up the ladder of the index. This does not necessary mean we at the Nigerian Customs Service are not doing enough.

“It simply means one person cannot dam a moving river. No agency of government can make all the development in ICT for one sector alone. If all the other critical stakeholders in that

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

sector are lagging behind, there won’t be any progress.

“All the agencies in that maritime industry, from the Shippers Council, Customs, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the terminal operators, and the financial institutions, there is need for us to find a structure and

a platform for us to work together and collaborate much more than we are doing before.

“We can all make individual progresses in our organisation, but all that will amount to nothing if we do not exploit the possibility of creating platform for all

Service is the leading force in automation at Nigeria’s seaports. Automation is the only way to wipe out corruption in the ports. Once you set up a system that are transparent and cannot be compromised, you will see a lot of improvement and efficiency,” he said.

...Detains ship at Nigerdock over alleged N2.5bn duty evasion

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has detained a ship, MV Drago J., for allegedly sneaking into the expansive Free Trade Zone at the Nigerdock Snake Island located inside the Tin Can Island Port to discharge its cargoes.

This is even as findings revealed that the vessel, by that singular action, allegedly evaded N2.5 billion duty payable into the coffers of the Federal Government.

Impeccable sources within the Tin Can Command of the Nigeria Cus-

Senate urges maritime agencies to support FG’s anti-corruption war The Senate Committee on Marine Transport has urged government agencies in the maritime industry to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in eradicating corruption in the industry.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, made the plea during the committee’s visits to maritime agencies in Lagos.

Yerima said, “The issue of corruption should be eradicated from the maritime industry. There is need to revive the National Shipping Line because is very important to the country.

“What efforts need to be put in place; please let us know to enable trained seafarers to engage in sea time training.”

He also stressed the need

of us to work together and make progress.”

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Hassan Bello, lauded the Customs for their leading role in automation at the ports.

“The Nigerian Customs

to establish transit truck parks to aid port operation even as he solicited the cooperation of the agencies whenever the committee requests for any information.

The committee’s chairman said that all the agencies should operate strictly within the rules and regulations governing them, adding that all the agencies should execute their budgets effectively.

Responding, the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Hassan Bello, said the council was established in 1978 to promote the interest of shippers.

“Our mission is to stabilise shipping charges and we also moderate shipping charges. We coordinate both the importers and exporters and we also give

advisory and advocacy services to the shippers,” Bello said.

He said the Cargo Defend Fund of the council, last week, won a case for a shipper who traded in stockfish.

Bello said the council was able to collect N6 million back through the court for the Nigerian shipper, who was duped by someone outside the country.

He said that the council was working on a transit park in some states to enable truck drivers to relax while embarking on long journey.

Bello said that the council was also working on Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Kano, Ibadan and some other states, adding that the Kaduna ICD was ready for operations.

toms Service confirmed to newsmen recently that the vessel was supposed to berth at one of the conventional ports at the Tin Can Island for Customs officers and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) officials, as well as other government agencies to perform their statutory functions on it.

However, the vessel upon arrival proceeded to berth directly at the Free Trade Zone.

It was learnt that the general cargo ship had arrived the facilities of Nigerdock on 20 January, 2016, at about 3:00 p.m. It allegedly hitherto had a “no port calls recorded during the past three days” ascribed to her.

Our correspondent confirmed that, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Alli (rtd), consequently ordered that the vessel be detained and its content not discharged.

Apparently worried about the imminent revenue loss, our source disclosed that, “If customs had boarded that vessel to perform all formalities, the revenue accruable is N2.5 billion.

So we on our side have

written to management to temper justice with mercy so that we at the command can collect that revenue.”

When contacted, the Tin Can Customs Command Spokesman, Chris Osunkwo confirmed that the vessel is still being detained. He said that the revenue accruable from the ship had not been collected and that the command had been exchanging correspondences with the Customs headquarters on the issue.

“For now, the vessel has not been released. Customs will not board the vessel because it is under contention. it is only when there is order for its release that we can allow it to go in. I know the vessel is carrying fabrication materials. It is not a container vessel, the ship contains fabrication materials,” Osunkwo stated.

Our correspondent gathered that Nigerdock Limited has also written series of appeal letters to the Customs management, begging it to allow Customs officials to board the vessel, so that it’s content could be discharged.

Nigerian Tribune

Shippers’ Council, CRFFN train freight forwarders on ICT The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, has urged Nigerian freight forwarders to operate in line with international best practices.

Hassan made the plea in Lagos during a one-day training programme on ICT, organised for freight forwarders by NSC and the Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).

Hassan, who was represented by the Director, Commercial Shipping Service of NSC, Mrs Dabney Shall-Holma, said the training was meant to facilitate online operation of the freight forwarders.

“If freight forwarders are properly trained, it would minimise unethical practices. It is in this light that the NSC as part of its regulatory mandate is striving to bring service improvement to the ports.

“In spite of the immense contributions of freight forwarding to the socio-economic development of Nigeria, the standard of practice has been poorly rated. This is because the profession has become an all comers’ affair, which is inimical to smooth and efficient clearance of goods in Nigerian Ports,” Bello stated The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Alhaji Olayiwola Shittu, also used the occasion to urge the resource firm, Vestracter International Logistics and Freight Management Software, to make its charges affordable for Nigerians to patronise them.

According to Shittu, the N26,000 monthly subscription proposed by the firm is on the high side. The ANLCA chief said that the charges by the firm should be reduced to enable many members access the service.

“We are large in number because the number of freight forwarders in Nigeria cannot be compared with that of any country in Africa. So the price in Nigeria should be cheaper, going by our numerical strength, so that our members can patronise your services,” he said.

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

With Adewale Oshodi tribunearts@yahoo.com 08054005323

‘Why conspiracy crime thrillers will thrive in Nigeria’

research. I read the Holy Quran several times. I got a gift of the Hadith from a friend, who also helped in the research.

I read books on terror provided by my father. I also got help from other people in Nigeria, Egypt and someone in UAE. They were in regular interaction with me.

And about the security issues too, I had to befriend some guys at the Department of State Security in Nigeria, who helped with names of guns and models, the security situations in Nigeria etcetera. At some point, I had to research on how to make Improvised Explosive Devices. It wasn’t easy. My editor, Jazzmine Breary, is also an extraordinarily talented person. A lot of research went into writing the book, without which we would have published it earlier than we did. But we had to be sure of what we were doing.

Obinna Udenwe specialises in writing conspiracy crime thrillers. In this interview, he speaks on his style of writing, and why it will thrive in Nigeria. EXCERPTS:

W

HO or what influenced you to write a conspiracy crime thriller?

I can’t really say exactly because Satans and Shaitans took me a very long time to write. It metamorphosed from a romance story to crime thriller, then to a conspiracy crime thriller. I started writing Satans and Shaitans in 2007 and completed it in 2013. So it took a long time and the story, during these years, took a path of its own, took its own shape and became what it desired for itself.

Did you get any inspiration from bestselling conspiracy novels like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code?

To some extent, yes. I believe that everything you read must have some influence on what you do or write. But I started writing Satans and Shaitans long before I read any of Dan Brown’s work.

My dad gave me a copy of Da Vinci Code in 2009, I think. I’ve since read all his work. Da Vinci Code is actually not my favorite. I love The Lost Symbol so dearly, perhaps, because it’s about the Freemason. But there is also Luis Miguel Rocha, another writer I admire.

One thing conspiracy writers have in common is their effort to portray a

•Obinna Udenwe group or people as strongly influencing what happens around them. I believe so much in this because I come from a family where my father and his friends exert a lot of influence on what happens around where I live.

Your writing on Islamic teachings and culture is impressively detailed. How much research did you have to do?

It was a particularly difficult part of

writing the book. You can’t be a good conspiracy or crime writer without research. Everything you postulate, no matter how fictitious, must be made to appear real, so you have to research and research. In this case, I delved into very sensitive areas: terror, jihad and Islam. I had to ensure that the premise of the story was within the confines of the teachings of Islam, and realistic in the world we find ourselves as regards terror and jihad. So there was a lot of

Royals discuss Queen Elizabeth in 90th birthday documentary THE Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be among the royals paying tribute to the Queen in a TV documentary for her 90th birthday.

The ITV said the film would screen in the spring, and also announced plans for The Queen’s 90th birthday celebration.

The event in Windsor Castle’s grounds will feature some 900 horses.

The BBC also announced its plans, including a “landmark documentary” and three days of live events in June.

The ITV documentary has the working title The Queen At Ninety, and marks the Duchess of Cambridge’s first solo television interview.

Nick Kent, an executive producer on the two-hour programme, said: “We’ve been fortunate to have the participation of so many members of the Royal Family to mark this historic milestone in the life of the Queen.

“It’s a remarkable story of an extraordinary life which in so many ways reflects the changing face of the nation.”

The Queen’s 90th will be marked with a weekend of national celebrations around the time of her official birthday in

•Queen Elizabeth June, following events earlier in the year to mark the day she was born - 21 April 1926.

BBC One’s coverage of three days of live events starts on Friday 10 June with a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.

That will be followed on the Saturday by the Trooping the Colour cer-

emony, with the weekend celebrations coming to a close on Sunday with the Patron’s Lunch on The Mall, where 10,000 people will gather to celebrate the Queen’s patronage of more than 600 charities and organisations.

“This is a significant moment for the nation,” one of the organisers said.

Do you care that some readers might interpret your novel too literally and think you’re suggesting that Boko Haram is tied to a global political illuminati?

This is what has continued to generate discussions. But I want you to agree with me that nothing is ever the way it appears. What is said to be blue could really be red after all. You see, the pastor in your church in Nigeria could even be one of the sponsors of Boko Haram.

Your wealthy friend who lives in Nairobi could be one of the sponsors of ISIS. That is the world for you. Never doubt or underestimate what people could conceive in their minds or do. Never. Again, having observed Nigeria for a long time, there is a lot that go on that is controlled and influenced by clandestine groups, some of them dark and occult.

Satans and Shaitans is a vast and intricate web of intrigues—everyone is trying to outwit their friends and exploit their enemies. How did you manage to keep all the moving parts together?

I was able to keep them together through patience. The story is fast paced as you can see, but I was patient. It took a long time, a lot of thought, sleepless nights, thinking about how to weave this and that, how to connect this to that. I observe people a lot too. I come from a family of storytellers. My dad and uncles are master story weavers. That was helpful. But most importantly, I tried to study almost all the lead characters separately and thought of ways to connect them strongly to the plot, make them thick or vulnerable, make them wicked or kind.

What did you find most challenging about writing the novel?

The challenge wasn’t really with working out the story itself. Aside from the long years of research, the greatest challenge was with my environment. Incessant power failure in Nigeria is a very big challenge to some like me who doesn’t know how to write with pen and paper.

32

arts&review

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Educare quiz: Prof Awe stresses importance of eloquence

F

OREMOST Professor of Sociology, Professor Bolanle Awe, has stressed the need for the upcoming generation to develop the skill of public speaking, saying they would need it for leadership positions in the future.

Professor Awe stated this last week during this year’s Emeritus Professor Olumuyiwa Awe Quiz Nigerianna final contest among secondary schools in Ibadan, organised by the Educare Trust.

The retired professor of Sociology charged the young students to develop their communication skills in readiness for leadership positions in the nearest future.

“Our public office holders are holding the positions they are occupying because they are eloquent; they are able to convince their fellow citizens to vote for them in order to advance their cause.

“As a result of this, I want you to

•Mrs Funso Adegbola (left) presenting Master Dimike Trust, who won the Most Valuable Student award during the competition, with a cheque of N13,000. also develop yourselves in this aspect so that your parents can be proud of you when you address large gathering of people,” Professor Awe said,

while thanking the Educare Trust for honouring her late husband with this year’s quiz competition.

Also at the event was Mrs Funso Ad-

Slave drama scoop Sundance double THE Birth of a Nation, a drama about a 19th Century slave revolt in Virginia, has scooped two top awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The film — written, produced and directed by its star, Nate Parker — won the US dramatic jury prize and the US dramatic audience prize on last week.

Its success is well-timed, arriving amid the controversy over diversity at the Academy Awards.

Other Sundance winners included Weiner, which won the documentary award.

Jim: The James Foley Story took the audience award in the same category.

•A scene in the movie Parker’s film highlighting the harsh issue of inequality will have struck a chord at a time of debate and anger

about the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominations and the Academy itself.

SYNW to celebrate Oyo at 40 with poetry /art contest THE Society for Young Nigerian Writers, in collaboration with the Ibadan Book Club, is set to celebrate Oyo State at 40 with poetry. As a re-

sult of this, the organization is calling According to the President of the for entries in poetry and artworks for Society for Young Nigerian Writers, Mr the forthcoming anthology in celebra- Wole Adedoyin, the event is being organtion of the Pace Setter State. ised to stimulate national development.

egbola, who was impressed with the performance of the students.

“With what I have seen, I see hope for Nigeria; I run a private secondary school, and most times, those in the private schools look down on those in public schools, but today, I want to commend the teachers in public schools for the good work they are doing.

“With the quiz, I have been able to learn a lot of things from the participants, and I hope they will continue like this,” Mrs Adegbola said.

At the end of the quiz competition, Cheshire High School, Sango, Ibadan came first, while St Louis Grammar School came second. Methodist Grammar School, Bodija and Emmanuel College High School came third and fourth respectively. All the four finalists had earlier won the competition in their respective zones.

There was also a special speech making session when the students talked on the late Professor Muyiwa Awe. St Louis Grammar School won this session.

Educare Trust then paid the N13,000 WAEC fees of the Most Valuable Student (MVS), Dimike Trust of Cheshire High School.

In appreciating the Educare Trust for the gesture, Master Dimike Trust said he was so elated with the award.

“Now, I wouldn’t have to bother my parents for the payment of my WAEC fees.

“It will also make them proud of what I was able to achieve at the quiz competition,” Master Trust said.

One of the attendees at the quiz competition, Mr Yomi Adigun, charged well-to-do individuals and corporate organisation to support the Educare Trust in its efforts towards developing the minds of the young ones.

“Everything should not be about dancing and entertainment; corporate organisations should learn to support creative and intellectual programmes like the Educare Trust quiz competition.

“With this, we can start nurturing future leaders from now,” Mr Adigun said.

Author documents steps to make local governments more efficient Book Review A review of Jacobs Aristotle Isaac’s book, Local Government Administration in Nigeria: From Grace to Grass by ADEGBEMI ADENIYI JOSEPH. JACOBS Aristotle Isaac’s 12-chapter book is an archival material, rich in authoritative sources in local government creation, transformation, and futuristic projection in the sense that the author raises suggestions and posers as to having a better, people-impacting and accountable local governments administration in Nigeria, with emphasis on

administrative and financial autonomy for an effective third-tier of governance.

The book has a microscopic analysis of the colonial local council administration and post- independence structure of grassroots governance.

The book sheds a lot of light on the peculiar nature of the Niger Delta region’s challenges which are attributed to misgovernance by past administrations and concepts of improvement are as well stated.

The author’s elucidating style with reference to authorities on the subject makes it a vital contribution to intellectual exercise and an ideal material for students of Government, Political Science, politicians and the general reading public.

There is a glossary for abbreviations used in the book, of the names of institutions, Latin words or phrases like et al, ab initio, ibidem; and others. Acronyms of names of governmental agencies are

explained too, all for an accurate understanding of the text by the readers.

Theories of local government administration in Nigeria are stated and developed; theories such as: decentralisation, democratic-participatory, efficiency service school, developmental school, holistic-intergrationists school; and others. The author does not leave out criticisms of the theories as well.

The author’s experience as a trained conflicts resolution expert and public policy analyst puts him in good stead to write a book as educative and informative as this.

He systematically paints the glorious inception of local government administration in Nigeria and moves on to present a factual ‘not-too-desirable’ disorganisation and emasculated local governments, partly for their dependence on the state governments to survive as far

as finance is concerned and he does not leave out internally-caused inefficiency of the local governments citing corruption, misappropriation of funds, ineptitude, politicisation of employment by overstaffing as examples; among others.

The culminative part of the book is focused on the peculiar environmental challenges of the Niger Delta region; this cannot be over-emphasised because of the pivotal role that part of the country plays in national revenue generation.

The crude oil exploration turns to a curse so to say in these parts of the country. However, he proffers solutions after giving the reasons for the failure of local governments and offers advice to multinational oil companies as regards corporate social responsibility expected of them.

The book is a must read and apart from editing lapses of incorrect spellings and omissions; the print is of standard quality.

33

Thursday, 4 February, 2016 Editor:

health YOU&EYE

Sade Oguntola sadeboguntola@yahoo.com 0805 506 9260

SEX,SEXUALITY&YOUR HEALTH

Do vitamins and other supplements live up to their promises?

INSIDE

Why good health evades Nigerians —Ipaje, Ogun Health Commissioner

Page 36

By Sade Oguntola

D Treatment expenses still jeopardising PLHIV’s Page 35

Cancer: Preparing for the unexpected Page 34

HEALTH QUOTE

NATURALHEALTH

IETARY supplements, including those with herbal constituents, are wildly popular. Many Nigerians take at least one supplement everyday because they want to optimise their health and well-being.

Despite their popularity, there is no evidence that multivitamins enhance health or prevent illness. It is not true either that using supplements will help to treat specific conditions that have already developed.

In fact, both the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and a National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference concluded that multivitamins do not offer protection against heart disease or cancer.

In contrast, experts said there are no evidences that many supplements and multivitamins enhance health or prevent illness.

Also, Mr James Ajao, chairman, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Oyo State, branch said supplements are good but not all supplements can be taken by everybody.

According to him, “There are some that have been tested and found to be okay. For instance, the ginseng in some supplements is found to help reduce tension.”

Many people now go around public building, including market places, to recommend that people take different supplements. However, he advised “if you have a

problem, go for a medical check up and the appropriate medicines, including supplements, would be prescribed if it is necessary.

“Supplements must be taken only when there is a need for it. Rather than follow the craze for taking supplements, the best is to take fruits and vegetables. They are rich in antioxidants which mop up the free radicals in the body and can help to boost body immunity against diseases. And if we must use supplements, see people that are knowledgeable about it such as a pharmacist for guidance on the right ones to use rather than just follow the band wagon.”

“Even if you take supplements, be sure to eat well, exercise regularly, and work with your doctor to keep your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar in good control.”

Scientific evidence shows that some dietary supplements are beneficial for overall health and for managing some health conditions. For example, calcium and vitamin D are important for keeping bones strong and reducing bone loss; folic acid decreases the risk of certain birth defects; and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils might help some people with heart disease.

But many supplements can also contain active ingredients that can have strong effects in the body, causing side effects or harm when people take them instead of prescribed medicines or when people take many supplements in combination.

Some supplements, for instance, can increase the risk of bleeding or, if a person takes them before or after surgery, they can affect the person’s response to anesthesia.

Dietary supplements can also interact with certain prescription drugs in ways that might cause problems. For instance, Vitamin K can reduce the ability of the blood thinner to prevent blood from clotting.

Also, St. John’s wort can speed the breakdown of many drugs, including antidepressants and birth control pills, and thereby reduce these drugs’ effectiveness.

Antioxidant supplements, like vitamins C and E, might reduce the effectiveness of some types of cancer chemotherapy.

It is always good to balance scientific reports with the simple, hopeful promises of well-marketed vitamins and supplements.

But experts offer some tips for doing this: •Watch for extravagant claims. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually isn’t true.

•Take testimonials and endorsements with a grain of salt, especially those from celebrities. Even the most sincere, well-intended recommendations offered by friends without financial incentives can’t establish a product’s safety or efficacy.

•Beware of meaningless terms. The list includes “all-natural,” “antioxidant-rich,” “clinically proven,” “anti-aging,” and other vague but seductive claims that a product can work wonders.

•Don’t take supplements in place of, or in combination with, prescribed medications without your health care provider’s approval.

•Check with your health care provider about the supplements to take when scheduled to have any type of surgical procedure.

•The term “natural” doesn’t always mean safe. A supplement’s safety depends on many things, such as its chemical makeup, how it works in the body, how it is prepared, and the dose used. Certain herbs can harm the liver.

•The best way to use supplements safely is to avoid supplements you don’t need. Use supplements only if you have reliable information that the ingredient(s) will benefit you.

Select supplements with only the ingredient(s) that you need. If you need vitamin D then select a supplement that only contains vitamin D. •Avoid supplements with more than one herbal ingredient. It is very difficult to determine the effect that multiple herbs will have on your health.

•If you take prescription medications or have health conditions, ask your physician if the supplement you are considering is safe for you.

•Avoid supplements that are sold to treat an illness, for example supplements sold to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. These supplements are more likely to be contaminated with prescription medications.

•Avoid supplements that claim to help to lose weight or improve sexual or athletic performance. These supplements may not only be contaminated with prescription medicines but also with dangerous analogs.

•If you experience a side effect from a supplement: Stop using the supplement, inform your physician.

“By cleansing your body on a regular basis and eliminating as many toxins as possible from your environment, your body can begin to heal itself, prevent disease, and become stronger and more resilient than you ever dreamed possible!” —Dr. Edward Group III

34

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Dr. Ben Ajayi 0805 400 5447

you-and-eye@gmail.com

Cancer – Preparing for the unexpected

A

bout a week ago, my article under the title, “Cancer Diagnosis is a death sentence in today’s Nigeria,” was published.

I had asked readers a provocative question, “What would you do IF and WHEN it is your turn?” I could hear someone say quietly under his breath, “I reject it,” and went on to do some other tasks.

Nevertheless, there were numerous responses. A few shared their personal experiences; others related the hell they went through when they had to cope with family members or friends who had suffered or were suffering from various forms of cancers.

There were pathetic stories which buttressed the point that, virtually every feeling person in the world will in some way, at some point in time, be touched by cancer. The question, however, remains, “What would you do IF and WHEN your time comes? To be able to answer this question, you need to know some facts about cancer.

Your first task is to work against the development of cancer in your body. That is to try and “reject it” early in life by doing things that can prevent cancer. The de-

velopment of any cancer depends on you (the host) and an interplay between you and your environment (inside and outside your body). You may have a lifestyle that is unwittingly courting cancer by making your inside environment (physiology and biochemistry) conducive for cancer cells to grow.

The internal environment can be easily influenced by your lifestyle. The term lifestyle (or way of life) refers to the choices you make - your eating, drinking and exercise habits; the herbs and alcoholic beverages you consume; smoking of cigarettes and tobacco; exposure to dangerous chemicals and harmful radiations and so many other things we do consciously and unconsciously.

The external environment can be influenced by the location of your dwelling house or work place; the nature of your work; the type of factories located around you, general environmental hazards and climatic changes. Both internal and external environmental changes can affect your immune system and increase your susceptibility to infections, especially viral one’s. Viruses cause cancers by disrupting cell behaviour in several different ways.

There is an alarming increase in the number of cancers arising from infections related to human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), human papilloma viruses (HPV) and hepatitis B (HBV) hepatitis C (HCV) and aflatoxin.

Recent advances in the care of HIV will not diminish the health concerns associated with cancers in survivors! If you obey simple rules of hygiene and maintain a healthy lifestyle, it may be possible to avoid such infections and perhaps, the associated cancers.

Now, if you are able to keep a good lifestyle and obey all the rules healthy living, would you be free from cancer? This question reminds me of the Biblical story (Mark 10: 17-19) when a rich ran up to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus reminded him of the Ten Commandments and the man replied that he kept them all.

When Jesus now told him to sell all he had and follow him, he must have thought to himself, “Haba, this is too much!” The man simply vamoosed! The answer to my question likewise is “No.” “Why?” There is a powerful genetic factor which predetermines those cells that would develop

cancer. Cancer is fundamentally a disease of the genome waiting for a conducive environment to manifest itself.

Are you disappointed and like the rich man ready to stop reading? Don’t stop reading yet. That is all the bad news. The good news is that we are beginning to identify the abnormal genes and proteins that confer the risk of developing cancer.

Identifying and analysing these abnormalities help to define how we diagnose cancer. Therapies targeted at these abnormal cells are now being developed to treat cancer and shape the strategies to prevent cancer.

Some of these are being tested and will be in the market soon. It is also possible to replace the gene that causes cancer with a healthier one. But one word of caution!

It is possible to divert the course of a river, but the consequences of the diversion may be much more far-reaching than the intended benefits. New diseases will arise and there will be greater challenges ahead.

In the interim, what can we do for those suffering from cancer and on the border of life and death? Watch out for the answer next week.

Dr Abayomi Ajayi

ivf &you

info@nordicalagos.org

0700 6673422

Management of Male Infertility: Past, Present and Future Continued from last week

Traditionally, the simple sperm analysis was enough investigation for male infertility. Presently hormonal assays, anti-sperm antibodies/immunological test, scrotal ultrasounds, DNA analysis and so on are sometimes done in a bid to find possible causes that may impact on treatment. However, some authorities feel such tests may not necessarily impact on the treatment and may be a waste of time and scarce resources.

The standard sperm analysis, which measures sperm count, motility and morphology has been around for more than 100 years. Though today, we rely on the computer to define these parameters for us much more accurately and reliably, what has not changed is that while an overtly abnormal sperm analysis (regardless of how it is performed) allows for the diagnosis of male infertility, intermediate values are often difficult to interpret. More frustrating is the fact that some men having perfectly normal standard sperm.

Assisted reproductive techniques remain an option for patients with idiopathic male infertility; however, they are expensive and treat the female partner for a male problem. Multiple gestations and other complications are not infrequent.

In the recent past, the major stumbling block to treatment of infertile couples was the infertile male. With the exception of obstructive azoospermia (which could be

treated with microsurgery) there had been, until ICSI, no treatment for male infertility that was uncontroversially regarded as effective.

With the development of ICSI, we have now completely reversed the way we look at male infertility. With a few exceptions (i.e., when no sperm whatsoever can be located in the azoospermic man’s testicle), the only limitation to treatment of male infertility may, in truth, be the female, and most specifically, the age of the female.

With ICSI, the presence of only a few very weak, barely twitching spermatozoa in the semen specimen (even if there is 100 per cent abnormal morphology) is all that

With the ability to preserve sperms retrieved, sperms can be kept for future use, saving the man from repeated sperm retrieval procedures.

you need for normal fertilisation and pregnancy.

More so, there have been significant improvement in methods of sperm retrieval from the testes and even small islands of sperms can be assessed and usable sperms retrieved. Blind needle aspiration of sperm cells is not currently advocated by some, as it is traumatic, painful and can result in complications along with a poor viable sperm recovery rate.

With the ability to preserve sperms retrieved, sperms can be kept for future use, saving the man from repeated sperm retrieval procedures.

Intracytoplasmic Morphologically selected Sperm Injection (IMSI) IMSI is a relatively new technique still considered experimental by some, which is a modification of ICSI by magnifying the sperm cells several thousand times to aid the selection of normal sperms. It has shown promising results in improving results in men with severe oligoasthenozoospermia.

Physiologic Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (PICSI) This selects sperms that have the capacity to properly fertilise a sperm by selecting only those who bind the hyaluronan in a special dish.

Hyaluronan occurs naturally in the cervical mucous and cumulus oophorus cells surrounding the egg and naturally sperms have to penetrate it to reach and fertilise the egg.

35 healthnews

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Treatment expenses still jeopardising PLHIV’s welfare —Study

By Sade Oguntola

P

eople living with HIV still incur catastrophic health expenditures within ‘free’ treatment programmes, a study has said.

In this study, experts found that treatment expenditures were quite high, inequitable and catastrophic in some instances, hence further jeopardising the welfare of the households and the People Living with HIV. It very often discourages people from using services or causes them to postpone health checks The study found that the average cost incurred by patients per out-patient visit for HIV/AIDS treatment was about N1850 (US$6.1), with variations across socioeconomic status and urbanrural residence.

More than 95 per cent of the surveyed households spent money on transportation to a treatment facility and over 70 per cent spent money on food for outpatient visit. For medical expenditures, the urbanites paid more than rural dwellers.

In addition, many patients incurred catastrophic health expenditure during outpatient and inpatient visits.

Compared to urban dwellers, rural dwellers incurred more catastrophic health expenditure for outpatient and inpatient visits.

Catastrophic health expenditure occurs when out-of-pocket payments for healthcare exceed the estimated threshold share of household expenditure, over which a household is forced to sacrifice other basic needs, sell assets, incur debt or be impoverished.

The study, which collected data from a minimum of 1200 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in rural and urban areas, was carried out between June and September 2013.

It considered the medical and non-medical expenditures that patients incurred to treat HIV/AIDS in their last treatment episode within three months in three states, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom and Anambra, from the South-East, North-East and South-South zones of Nigeria, respectively. It was in the February, 2016 edition of the Journal of the International AIDS Society.

The researchers, however, suggested that strategically locating fully functional treatment centres to make

them more accessible to PLHIV will largely reduce expenditures for travel and the need for food during visits.

Additionally, they urged that financial risk-protection mechanisms such as treatment vouchers, reimbursement and health insurance that will significant-

ly reduce the expenditures borne by PLHIV and their households in seeking ART, should be implemented.

An estimated 3.1 million people are living with HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria, and the epidemiological distribution indicates significant diversity across the country’s

geographic settings.

In Nigeria, ARV drugs are free of charge to patients at designated health facilities, and the provision of free drugs has apparently improved access to ARVs across the country. However, because HIV/AIDS increases vulnerability to

other illnesses, patients often incur other expenditures, including payments for opportunistic infections and non-ARV drugs as well as non-routine tests, medical consultations, transportation, food and hospital stays, that are seldom covered by any risk-pooling

mechanism or government programme.

Non-ARV drugs include antibiotics, antivirals, blood tonics, and drugs for other opportunistic infections.

Non-routine tests include xrays, haemoglobin level and ultrasound.

By Sade Oguntola

Alert” promo that is to run for one year.

At a media briefing to make the announcement, Astymin’s Product manager, Mr Femi Ajala, declared that N100,000 will be won daily by 10 winners

and one person will also win N100,000 every month through a raffle draw, all aimed at marking the product’s 15th year anniversary.

Ajala said that any buyer of the Fidson’s multivitamin product at any pharmacy

shop in Nigeria is legible to win once they scratch off the label in the product and text the code to 1393.

Aside this helping to authenticate that the product bought is genuine, he said instructions on how to enter

the promo would be given.

Confirmation is also sent to the users after they had submitted their details.

Ajala also named educational activities in over 60 primary schools in Nigeria, football gainer as well as the annual conference of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria as some of the activities the brand had promoted over the years.

The brand manager said the multivitamin had received huge acceptance in Nigeria because it had filled the gap for essential amino acid for mental and healthy development in children and coping with stressful situations, over the years.

General Manager, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr Ola Ijimakin, who remarked that these essential amino acids were those the body cannot produce, but must be taken, assured that the company’s adoption of the 1393 text code was to make this authenticating code bound to the mind of Nigerians.

According to Ijimakin, “evidence says that less than two in 10 authentication scratch panel. People assume that once the medicine pack carries an authentication scratch panel, it is genuine. But there is faking of some of these scratch panels.

“We have also discussed with NAFDAC on finding a way to bound this number unto people’s minds.

Some will say send to 1395, instead of 1393. Despite having no feedback after 15 minutes, they still go on to take the medicine. So we want people to know the 1393 text code.”

Fidson rewards buyers of its multivitamin brand with N50m Fidson Healthcare Plc, Lagos in rewarding its customers for buying Astymin, its brand of multivitamin, is to give out N50 million through a “Astymin Get

From left: School Programme Coordinator, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Lagos, Yetunde Adesola; Marketing Manager, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Friday Enaholo; General Manager, Marketing, Mr Ola Ijimakin; Product Manager, Astymin, Mr Femi Ajala and Manger, Corporate services, Mr Oladimeji Oduyebo, at the media presentation recently, in Lagos.

Promoting family planning saves money, lives, Oyo govt told Oyo State government has been urged to create a separate budget line for family planning and ensure its prompt release for family planning activities to help promote the state’s economic development and save lives of mothers and children.

Chairman, Advocacy Network of Nigeria, Shaikh Salahudden Busairi gave the charge at a feedback meeting on family planning advocacy activities in Oyo State in Ibadan.

Busairi, drawing attention

to the relevance of family planning in the realisation of the United Nation’s Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), said one of the key barriers to access to family planning for women in Oyo State is the lack of public sector funding for its commodities and programmes.

“If Oyo State increases its contraceptive prevalence from 43.6 per cent to 63.7 per cent by 2018, Busairi said this would ensure that 670,000 unintended pregnancies and more than 10, 000 unsafe abortions

were averted; as well as save nearly N738million in healthcare costs.”

He added, “One in eight children in Nigeria do not live to see his or her birthday. Increasing the uptake of family planning, in line with Nigeria’s Family Planning blueprint, could save an additional 3,659 children.

“By 2018, every N200 spent on family planning would save nearly N700 in near-term health costs.

There is no need to wait; the benefits of establishing

and funding a budget line for family planning far outweigh the costs.”

Earlier, the group’s Monitoring and Evaluation officer, Mr Abiodun Akande said the group in the last six months had paid advocacy visits to different government representatives such as Oyo State Ministry of Health, the State’s Director of Planning and Speaker, Oyo State House of assembly to sensitise them on the need to create a budget line for family planning at both the state and local government council levels.

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Thursday, 4 February, 2016

healthpeople Why good health evades Nigerians

—Ipaje, Ogun Health Commissioner Dr Babatunde Ipaye, Ogun State Commissioner for Health in this interview with Sade Oguntola, recounts why Nigeria’s health indices is poor, stressing the need for a functional primary healthcare system and community health insurance to ensure health for all. Excerpts:

I

ncreased budgetary constraints given decreasing crude oil price are a challenge. Despite this, what is being done to ensure affordable and quality health in Ogun State?

Let’s project the picture of the country, vis-a-vis health financing as supported by the current national data. Of course, the falling oil prices has been a major setback for all sectors in Nigeria because what we could not do when crude oil was selling at 100 dollars and above, we are not likely to do now that it is selling for below 30 dollars.

As far back as 2013, when crude oil was selling for 110 to 120 dollars per barrel, if you look at the national health account which describes the health investment of a country, Nigeria spent about 119billion dollars on health. Only 25 per cent of that came from government at all levels. About 73 per cent of health sector investment came from households as out of pocket spending. So what that really means is that the bulk of healthcare financing is out-of-pocket spending, it is Nigerians paying for their health.

If you look at health sector broadly, how much does Nigeria as a country spend on the health of an average Nigerian and the total investment from private pockets? Putting everything together and based on our population, as at 2013, it is about 109 dollars per capital investment into health.

So when you talk about funds that are available for health as a country, we do not have enough. Let me tell you what shows that we do not have enough. We sometimes compare our health indices with that of other country. Per capital investment for an average South African is 493 dollars, meaning that South Africa is spending five times more on the health of its citizen than Nigeria. Now, do you expect the health indices to be the same? Their health indices would be better off.

For United Kingdom and the USA, the per capital investment per person is 3980 dollars per person and 9,000 dollars per person respectively. So if a country is spending 109 dollars per capital investment per person, even at the peak of our oil boom, we do not have enough investment for health.

Moreover, it is not a case of the government not spending enough on health; it is also that as individuals, we do not spend enough on our health.

Investment on health should start from prevention; how much investment do we have in preventing illnesses? How many times, have you gone in the last 10 years to do medical check-up? These are part of investments in health. If you are able to invest

wisely in the preventive side. Then, you are able to cut your requirement for curative side of health.

However as Ogun State, the investment on health care is enormous. We put premium on investing in health workers, particularly in terms of enumeration, and getting the qualified people.

Retaining quality health workers to provide healthcare is the first step in ensuring good health care services. Also, Ogun State is looking at innovative approaches to funding health. Even if we put even the entire Ogun State budget on health, it will not be enough.

So, we are engaging the corporate entities to see health as an important corporate social responsibility. Engaging the private sector gives a good opportunity to look at private sector resources that we could harness.

We are also prioritising community based health insurance to take advantage of the fact that on the average, 73 per cent of health sector investment for Nigeria is outof-pocket spending.

Ogun State’s community based health insurance scheme, tagged Araya was launched in seven local governments as a pilot phase. This phase had 3,000 people registered and 2,000 persons who are committed to paying the required premium.

Lessons learnt from it will be used to scale up to the 20 other local governments in the state.

Are there also PPP initiatives that Ogun State is involved in to better health services?

Ogun State consider PPP investments in key service areas. We have done an excellent PPP facility at the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital on radio diagnosis. It offers services such as CT scan, a fluoroscope and a four-dimensional ultrasound scan.

These are high capital intensive invest-

It is not a case of the government not spending enough on health; it is also that as individuals, we do not spend enough on our health.

ments.

The second phase of interventions includes a PPP initiative in Ijaye General Hospital, Abeokuta, on laboratory services. This is supported also by an independent power project whose installation is ongoing in the hospital to provide 24-hour electricity.

Discussions are on to have a PPP arrangement on surgical interventions at the General hospitals in Ota and Ijebu Ode. When people are able to make radio diagnosis, the next step will be an appropriate surgical intervention.

What were the innovations being planned to revamp and combat health Care issues when you became the State’s health commissioner?

Being a community health specialist with years of experience working with agencies as World Bank, DFID and WHO, what we need most is Primary Health Care (PHC).

Primary health care is quite simple, it is basic.

However, the PHC must be supported by an efficient secondary and tertiary healthcare level. The primary healthcare solves between 70 and 80 per cent of healthcare need of the people and when supported by a good referral system, it will link people with the secondary and tertiary healthcare levels.

At the specialist or tertiary health care level, the cost of delivering health care is huge.

In addition, Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s 2016 speech specifically stated that at least 20 primary health care centres in each local government will enjoy infrastrutural upgrade, this is aside institutionalising performance based financing .

Performance-based financing is a system of healthcare that gives some relative autonomy to that facility. It is incentive and performance driven.

For instance, if a nurse is able to take 20 deliveries in a month and another is able to take five, they are both compensated based on their performances. It is to spur them to do more work. It becomes a win-win thing.

In countries, where they have supported that, they have seen like a quadruple in their productivity.

Your office asked all privatelyowned health facilities to get registered. It also promised CMEs to update their skills. Why is it the case?

What we communicated was that they need to revalidate their private health facilities. There is a difference between registration and revalidation. Intelligence has shown that there are a sizeable number without official registration. So the process of revalidation gives us an opportunity to do a verification of those that are duly registered and those who have not registered.

The other level of re-validation would include regulatory bodies like the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria authenticating their owner’s documents.

Continuous CMEs was mentioned because as a ministry, we must be able to coordinate them and ensure the CMEs are fit for purpose. If CMEs does not align with the healthcare needs of the state, we need to redirect it.

If President Muhammadu Buhari was to ask what should be done to ensure health for all, what will be your suggestion?

Two things, the 80 per cent of federal health budget must provide for primary health care. The Federal Ministry of Health should be dismembered and taken to their communities to offer services so that they will reduce the burden of complicated cases that will go to tertiary institutions.

Second, community-based insurance should be the fulcrum on which the insurance mechanism in Nigeria is based. It should target principally women and children and the vulnerable populations. When you have a poor community that is healthy, then the broader community are likely to be healthy.

news Tragedy averted as pilot ditches ill-fated helicopter

37

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

•Saves all passengers on board From Shola Adekola, Jacob Segun Olatunji And Kolawole Daniel

W

HAT was supposed to be the first disaster in the new year was averted when all the 11 people on board a Bristow Helicopter, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos, were all rescued alive.

The helicopter, registered 5N-BQJ, was operating along Port HarcourtLagos route when the incident occurred 70 nautical miles to Lagos.

This is just as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has commenced investigations into the cause of the incident.

The pilot of the helicopter, on discovering there was problem, was said to have used the professional controlled ditch method to land the machine in the ocean, which made it easy for the rescue team to save the nine passengers and two crew on board from the lagoon.

Controlled ditching is a controlled emergency landing of an helicopter on water. It is prompted by a sudden on-set emergency, where continued safe flight to the nearest adequate landing location of even suitable landing is not ascertained.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed the safety of people on board the illfated copter, however, said he could not give the actual status of the rescue passengers.

Confirming the incident, the head, public affairs, in AIB, Tunji Oketumbi, said the development occurred at 10:20 a.m local time on Wednesday.

His words: “A S76 C++ helicopter marked 5NBQJ belonging to Bristow Helicopters, which departed ERHA Platform enroute Lagos was ditched into the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles into destination at about 10:20a.m local time.

“All the 11 souls on board, including two crew members, were rescued alive.

Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has commenced investigation into the occurrence. Details will be communicated to you later.”

The ill-fated copter was said to be coming from the offshore platform with oil workers on board when the accident occurred.

Yesterday’s crash came barely six months after

its Sikorsky S-76C with registration number 5N – BDG – 760540 crashed at Oworoshoki of Lagos Lagoon.

Meanwhile, Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited

•How RRS choppers located crashed helicopter

has confirmed that one of its helicopters, was involved in a water landing near Lagos, at about 10.25 a.m. local time on return from an offshore platform.

According to a statement from the airline, “The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C++, had departed on a routine crew transfer flight offshore with nine passengers

and a crew of two. All persons onboard are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation. The company is in the process of collecting pertinent in-

From left, Sokoto State deputy governor, Ahmed Aliyu; Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Deputy Speaker, state House of Assembly, Honourable Abubakar Magaji and the Speaker, Salihu Maidaji, during the signing of the 2016 Appropriation Act into law, in Sokoto, on Wednesday.

New electricity tariff: NLC, TUC to picket Discos offices Monday Soji-Eze Fagbemi-Abuja

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) will lead Nigerian electricity consumers to picket all the Distribution Companies (Discos) offices across all the states of the federation to show their rejection of the increased electricity tariff.

A stakeholders’ meeting, comprising the NLC, the TUC, the Electricity Consumers Protection Forum and some Human Rights activists held last Thurs-

day, at the Lagos Airport Hotel in Lagos, has rejected the newly-introduced tariff and warned against its proposed commencement on Monday.

But the new electricity tariff commenced on Monday as planned and the Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola said there was no going back.

But as of Wednesday, the organised labour and their civil society allies have concluded plans to picket all state offices of Discos nationwide, and hold rallies

to protest the anti-people policies.

In Abuja, the rally will commence from the Labour to the Disco headquarters in Zone 4, the headquarters of Naional Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and end at the National Assembly where labour will demand for legislation against the policy.

NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, told the Nigerian Tribune that the workers had been effectively mobilised and

Join hands with FRSC, Boboye charges stakeholders THE Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, has called on stakeholders to join hands with the Corps in order to address the logistics challenges faced by the organisation.

The Corps Marshal made the remarks on Wednesday, in Owo, Ondo State, during the commissioning of a 10-room office building donated by Prince Rotimi Ibidapo, the chairman of Rotimi Ibidapo Foundation to the FRSC. Oyeyemi, who was represented by Deputy Corps Marshal in charge of Operations, Adei Abu, said the timely donation was a demonstration of the positive

response to the call by the FRSC for all stakeholders to join hands in the campaign for a safer road environment, adding that the gesture would go a long way to address the logistics challenges, which hampered effective service delivery.

He admonished members of the public to take issues of road safety as a shared responsibility, saying every patriotic citizen should participate actively in the campaign to tackle the menace of road traffic crashes in the country.

The FRSC boss commended Prince Ibidapo for the donation and urged other public-spirited individuals, communities,

corporate organisations to emulate the donor by rallying round the Corps in the provision of infrastructural facilities.

would storm the street to protest the introduction of the new tariff,.

Also, in a letter sent to all their affiliate unions, state chapters and all National Administrative Councils (NAC), the TUC Secretary General, Comrade Musa Lawal, said Monday had been chosen as a day of action against Discos.

Lawal stated that the action was to drive home the fact that the unilateral and unlawful hike in electricity tariff would be resisted by consumers ably led by the TUC, NLC and Civil Society allies.

The letter read: “You are, therefore, requested, in furtherance of the above position, to mobilise workers in your councils to massively picket all offices of Discos in our state, on Monday, February 8, 2016.

formation and will release more details as soon as it is available.”

In a related development, the scheduled meeting of the nation’s Aviation Operators and the Federal Ministry of Aviation with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, scheduled for 10.00a.m on Wednesday was cancelled.

The committee had to cancel the session when information filtered into the venue at the National Assembly about the crash that occurred at the lagoon in the Oworonsoki end of the state while the helicopter was on its way to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos to Abuja.

The passengers were said to have survived because they all wore their live jackets.

However, the three helicopters of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) purchased by the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday, aided in the location and rescue of a Bristow Group helicopter with registration number N5BQJ, which crashed while heading to Lagos from Port Harcourt.

The RRS helicopters were part of the security equipment purchased at a cost of N4.7billion by the Ambode-led administration with the aim of beefing up security, as well as aiding in emergency rescue operations.

Commander of the RRS, Olatunji Disu, disclosed this in a statement, saying immediately the command was alerted of the crash on Wednesday morning, the three helicopters were immediately deployed to commence a search for its possible location.

“We knew they just took off at the airport.

Everybody thought the helicopter crashed in their air field. But we immediately deployed the three RRS helicopters into the air and started the search,” he said.

I have been battling with lung, heart diseases for 2 years —Olumide Bakare

By Rotimi Ige And Doyin Adeoye

VETERAN Yoruba and Nollywood actor, Olumide Bakare, has said he is battling with lung and heart diseases.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in a phone conversation, the actor confirmed that he was critically sick, adding that he had been battling with lung and heart diseases since 2013.

“The situation has been ongoing since 2013 and

we have been managing it over time. However, in the last few weeks, the condition has been so critical, but the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has been able to control it to some extent,” Mr Bakare said.

Admitted at the UCH, Ibadan, the actor, however, needs financial assistance to further aid his medical treatment.

“We are looking at about

N7 million, because the sickness has to do with the heart and lungs. It is a continuous thing that involves a lot of financial implications, and even as at now, we are hitting very serious financial strain and we definitely need assistance from people,” he said.

Goodwill Nigerians who are ready to assist can pay into the account, with account details: 3872003592, Olumide Bakare, Ecobank.

38

news

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Ondo strategic to FG’s plan to diversify economy— Awolowo

C

HIEF Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo, said Ondo State is strategic to the Federal Government’s initiative of achieving zero oil programme in its bid towards diversifying the nation’s economy.

Awolowo, who led the management team of the NEPC on a courtesy visit to the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, in his office in Akure, on Wednesday, assured that the council would partner the Ondo State government in a bid to boost cocoa and oil palm production which the state has relative advantage.

The NEPC boss explained that his inspection tour of the Oda Cocoa Plantation at the outskirts of Akure, which the Mimiko administration had revamped, showed the high level of commitment of the administration to boosting cocoa production and adding value to the lives of the farmers.

He noted that the nation’s overdependence on oil and its decline globally has been causing a major setback to the economy of the country, hence, the need to maximise other areas of comparative advantage for its survival.

“Ondo State accounts for over 40 per cent of all cocoa export in Nigeria. We are here to exchange ideas with the governor on how to scale up production of cocoa because we need to

set a target under our zero oil initiative so that we can meet the international demand of millions of metric tonnes. Nigeria used to boom in cocoa but now we are producing around 240,000 metric tonnes, Ivory Coast on 1.7m metric tonnes and Ghana 750,000 metric tonnes.

“But when you look at these countries, when you

map them, you ‘ll see that Nigeria has expanse of arable land more than they have. We are ready to work with Ondo State, which is one of our targets even in the oil palm production,” the NEPC boss noted.

Responding, Governor Mimiko commended the initiative of diversifying the nation’s economy, calling on President Muhammadu Bu-

hari to spearhead the marketing of Nigeria before the international community.

He assured that his administration would partner the NEPC to boost cocoa production for export and other products which the state has relative advantage.

The Governor stated that the state government was ready for investors in the

Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, congratulating Mr Kassim Afegbua, after being sworn in as the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, in Benin City, Edo State.

N2.1bn Pension scam: I’m not on Interpol wanted list— Maina Collins Nnabuife-Abuja

FORMER chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, on Wednesday, said he is not on the wanted list or red notice of the International Police (INTERPOL) over alle-

interest .

The members of the state Assembly in their separate remarks, were unanimous that Senator Mark remains the choice for Benue South and vowed to defend their votes no matter the gang up by external forces.

The state law makers at the meeting were Anthony Ogbu ( Ado), Adoga Onah (Oju 1), Ire Mathew ( Oju 2), Joe Ojobo ( Ogbadibo), Chris Adaji (Ohimini), Baba Henry Otache ( Apa), Sule Audu ( Agatu) and Johnson Ahubi ( Otukpo Akpa).

Honourables Samson Okwu ( Obi/ Oju), Ezekiel Adaji ( Otukpo/ Ohimini), Hassan Saleh (Ogbadibo/ Ado/ Okpokwu) and Adamu Entonu ( Apa/Agatu) all of the House of Representatives Benue State, had last week, endorsed Senator Mark for the rerun.

Senator Mark, according to the lawmakers, has provided purposeful leader-

friends of Maina to ignore the stories, adding that the write-ups were the handiwork of the people he claimed he had been waging a war on corruption.

“My fellow friends, kindly ignore the stories planted by enemies of the

ship and quality representation which the people are proud of, being the reason the people overwhelmingly voted for him in the last election and are still prepared to vote for him again.

The Benue elite under the aegis of Prosperity Group disclosed that they had embarked on sensitisation, especially at the grass roots to vote for Sen-

ator Mark as the authentic choice with the capacity to protect and defend the interest of the Idoma people.

In his response, Senator Mark noted that in spite of the conspiracy against him, “I am comfortable that my people are with me. I am confident that only the people of Benue South would determine who wins the election through the ballot box.”

suggesting that I have issues with INTERPOL. “The stories were planted to smear my name and set people and system against me. They are afraid I would expose them. They stole so much money from Nigeria. The Almighty will in his infinity mercy expose them, Amen.”

It will be recalled that some national dailies had, on Tuesday, quoted the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Head of Media, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, as saying in a statement that Maina was wanted for his alleged role in the biometric contracts, through which he and some other persons should account for over N2.1 billion.

es with two people injured, leading to apprehension that it was a terrorist attack.

Residents of the area, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune, attributed the explosion to explosives kept inside an abandoned thrash can outside the compound, pointing out that the explosives got heated up and exploded when an occupant was burning them.

Speaking when he visited the scene of the explosion, on Wednesday morning,

the Commandant of 4 Brigade, Benin, BrigadierGeneral Farouk Yahaya, said there was no way the incident could be linked to a terrorists’ attack.

“By my assessment and that of others, it is obvious that it is not a terrorist attack. It is not an attack on this place and the people around here can bear witness to that. Perhaps, it was something that was buried in the ground that exploded.

Benin explosion not terrorists’ attack—Army Banji Aluko- Benin City

THE Nigerian Army has clarified that the explosion that occurred at a house in Benin, on Tuesday, was not a terrorist attack, advising residents of the city and Edo State, to go about their businesses without any fear of terrorists’ attack.

An explosion on Tuesday afternoon, at 40, Zomi Zomi Street, off Upper Sakponba Road in Benin, affected at least, four hous-

Group rejects PDP candidate in Owo AHEAD of the local government election in Ondo State, a group from Owo in Owo Local Government Area of the state, under the aegis of Owo Concerned Youths and Citizens, on Wednesday, called on the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, not to impose candidate on the people of the area.

The group stated that it rejected the alleged imposition of a chairmanship candidate, Olumide Folahami as the chairmanship candidate for the PDP in Owo Local Government Area, saying he is not the choice of the people.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the coordinator of the group, Johnson Olupona, who said the warning becomes imperative in order not to lose the area to the opposition in the forthcoming election.

Olupona said Folahami’s candidacy could have been more acceptable if he had passed through the primaries, warning that any attempt to field the imposed candidate might spell doom for the party in the area.

CHRICED decries cases of maternal Nigerian people in some mortality in Kano papers and online media

gation of the N2.1 billion pension scam that rocked the task team while he held sway until 2013.

While debunking media reports in a statement issued in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of Legislative Watch, Ngozika Ihouma, urged

Benue South rerun: Mark gets endorsements CHANCES of victory for former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, in the forthcoming February 20, 2016 rerun for Benue South, further brightens on Wednesday, as some members of Benue State Assembly and scores of elite gave him emphatic endorsement.

The rerun is between the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and the All Progressives Congress ( APC) following the nullification of the initial election by the Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State in November last year.

Some members of the state Assembly and elite of the Idoma and Igede extraction of the state, however, had told Senator Mark in his Otukpo country home that their resolve to vote for him again, is predicated on his years of meritorious services to the people, and also being a defender of their common

agro-business sector, noting that Akure Commodity Exchange was being put in place to add values to the system, and also to put smiles on the faces of the farmers.

Governor Mimiko explained that the Agro business cities in Auga, Ore and Epe were all targeted at unemployed graduates, with a view to empowering them.

Ondo LG Election:

KOLA OYELERE Kano

THE Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on Kano State government and the people of the state, to tackle the rising cases of maternal mortality in the state, so as to avert untimely deaths of innocent souls.

Executive Director of the Centre, Comrade Ibrahim Zikirullahi made the appeal at the weekend, during formal launch of a special project on “Fostering Local Governance Development with Focus on Maternal Health in Kano State.”

Gwale and Kumbotso local government areas were selected as the pilot for the project which Zikirullahi said would soon be extended to other parts of the state.

According to him, the huge population of Nigeria comes with some harsh and disturbing realities including the fact that Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

He added that beyond the worrisome statistics that have over the years mirrored the terrible state of affairs on maternal mortality, there is a plethora of touching personal stories, which point to the need for concerted effort towards creative, and people-centered solutions to this problem.

39 news

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

Nigeria loses N1trn annually to crude production cost •Insists FG must borrow to finance deficit —Lawmaker Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja

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HAIRMAN, House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Wednesday, declared that Nigeria has continued to lose an average of N1trillion every year as production cost in the exploration of crude oil, despite the dwindling price of oil in the international market which had fallen below $30 per barrel.

Honourable Jibrin stated this on Wednesday, in Abuja, while fielding questions with newsmen in Abuja, on 2016 budget in the face of falling oil price and the nation’s huge debts profile.

According to the lawmaker, “there is a production cost for which we pay an average of N1trillion annually in the exploration of crude.”

Honourable Jibrin, who assured that the budget would be passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on February 25, stressed the need for fiscal discipline among ministries and parastatals of government with regard to personnel costs and returns, especially the revenue generating ones.

According to him, “at least the integrated personnel programme of the government should be able to drastically reduce personnel cost. You also have a situation where the MDAs put billions of naira in the budget for the purchase of cars year in, year out.”

Speaking on the realisability of the $38 per barrel benchmark on 2.2million barrel per day production quota, he hinted that all the House committees had been directed to stick to the framework adopted to ensure that the implemetation became practicable.

He said: “A benchmark of $38 a barrel has been pegged and oil has gone down below that. However, we would see what we can do to re-peg it on what looks more practicable. Also, if you look at the budget, we must do things in a more disciplined manner, so as to keep in line with current realities.

“In terms of the exchange rate, we will leave it as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recommended to the National Assembly.

Then the question of deficit would be discussed with the executive, to see how it would be financed and I can tell you it can’t be done

without borrowing, because provision for borrowing is in the MTEF we passed,” he said.

On the issue of zero-based budgeting, the lawmaker said “traditionally, money has never been enough for any agency. However, we have advised the committees handling the processes to stick to their envelopes submitted. So, I don’t see why we will have a situation where the budget would be overbloated.”

Jibrin further stated that the projection was for the zero system to take off this year, saying “of course, you

may not see much of the future right now, but it’s our hope that the executive evolve it and we are working with them to train and build capacity to bring that about.”

On why he had been quiet on the budget controversy, though being the chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Honourable Jibrin said: “I don’t completely agree with you that we have been quiet. We have been doing our work. As you are aware, the budget came to the National Assembly, we have debated and passed it for second reading very

quickly and we have also agreed that by 25th of February, we would have passed the budget.”

According to him, “both the Speaker and the Senate President have agreed to that timeline and the relevant committees have been made mindful of that task.

So, by the time we come back from break, we would have gone far and by February 24, all things been equal, we would be laying our report.”

Jibrin, however, advised the executive to look away from oil in financing the budget whilst advocating

aggressive diversification for which he said the House would do the needful to allocate funds appropriately.

He said: “I completely agree with the idea of looking toward the direction of non-oil revenue with regard to the activities of the MDAs, who have been acting above convention by not bringing their budget to us for appropriation. So, we need to have them reverse that trend and open up their activities to legislative procedures.”

While speaking on alleged padding of figures in the budget as recently uncovered by the Senate, he

said “the committees have enough brains to know where and when padding has taken place and block such from going through.

“It is insulting for anybody to think that the legislature will be a party to such absurdity, in every budgeting period, it is normal to see human errors cropping up in the document. So, what we do is to look out for such issues as the committees have been instructed to deal with the issues as identified.

We will not pad neither are we going to encourage that in the National Assembly,” he stated.

Nigerian soldiers extrajudicially killed 8,200 people —Amnesty International Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin - Lagos AMNESTY International, a human rights watchdog, has urged David Cameron to caution President Muhammadu Buhari to stop side-stepping justice and start independent investigations into war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by the Nigerian military.

Amnesty International’s call came a day ahead of President Buhari’s visit to the United Kingdom (UK), to attend the ‘Supporting Syria Conference’ in London.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Amnesty International also reiterated its call on the UK government to ensure any military assistance provided to Nigeria was keeping in line with human rights standards and not provided to units accused of crimes under international law and other serious violations of human rights.

“We have documented crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations committed by the Nigerian military in its fight against the armed group, Boko Haram.

“Since 2012, Nigeria’s soldiers have extrajudicially executed more than 1,200 men and boys; since 2011, more than 7,000 men and boys died in military detention as a result of starvation, torture, extreme overcrowding and denial of medical assistance, and more than 20,000 people have been arrested in the course of security operations in north-east Nigeria since 2009.

“Amnesty International has also named nine top-ranking officials who

should be investigated for potential individual or command responsibility for the war crimes,” the statement read in part.

The body also raised concerns over the reinstatement of Major-General Ahmadu Mohammed, one of senior commanders named in Amnesty International’s 2015 report, who was the commander of operations when soldiers reportedly killed more than 640 un-

armed recaptured detainees, following a Boko Haram attack on the detention centre in Giwa barracks on March 14, 2014.

Amnesty International also alleged that video footage and witness testimony revealed soldiers shot or cut the throats of the detainees and then threw them into mass graves.

“Charges of the worst possible crimes have been levelled against the Nigerian

military. Just days after taking office, President Buhari stated that he would leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law and that he would look into our findings.

“It is bitterly disappointing then, that nearly one year on from taking office, Buhari had done nothing to independently investigate these egregious crimes.

“David Cameron must

raise these issues with President Buhari when they meet this week,” Amnesty International UK Director, Kate Allen, said.

“This is no time for a diplomatic tap-dance around matters of mass unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and deaths in detention.

Cameron must use this opportunity to help bring justice to the families of the victims of these horrendous abuses,” she added.

Zika not sexually transmitted —Expert

By Sade Oguntola DESPITE the report that first Zika virus case in United States was sexually transmitted, a virologist, Professor David Olaleye has allayed the fears that Zika virus could be contracted through sex, saying it does not fall into the class of established diseases that can be sexually transmitted.

Olaleye, of the Department of Virology, University of Ibadan, said the possibility of the virus being present in the body fluids such as semen was only demonstrated, rather than showing that the virus is actually transmitted from one person to another through sex.

According to him, “Zika virus belongs to a group of microorganisms that can be present in high viral levels in the blood when ill from the infection. So, it is possible like anything else to be secreted in body fluids like the semen, but that does not say that the virus is transmittable by sex. It is only a possibility. As far as today, it is difficult to say that it is sexually transmissible.”

The virologist, who remarked that Zika virus had been isolated several times in Department of Virology, the first being in 1968 from

children with fever, declared that the virus was not new in Nigeria.

He declared: “A study published in 1979 by Professor Ademola Fagbami, in Ibadan, found that at least 30 per cent of Nigerians tested, had antibody to Zika virus.

Also, other viruses found to be co-circulating with Zika virus included Dengue fever virus, Yellow Fever virus, West Nile virus and Uganda head virus. These viruses co-circulating with Zika virus also protect the antibody from one another.”

Olaleye, however, declared that given Nigerians’ high level of herd immunity against the co-circulating viruses, Nigerians need not fear its outbreak.

“The importance of these viruses co-circulating with Zika virus is that they also co-protect from one another.

So, because the viruses are endemic in nature, the level of herd immunity to these viruses among Nigerians is high and, therefore, we do not envisage any serious outbreak even if and when introduced into Nigeria.”

The expert, who declared that tests on the mosquito that spread Zika virus and humans in Nigeria in 2014 and 2015 were negative, however said that surveil-

lance had commenced again at the department for Zika virus after it was reported again in America.

Olaleye, remarking that Nigerians should not entertain any fear on Zika virus, said “what we need to do is to monitor the introduction of this new strain of Zika from South America to Nigeria. This is a virus that does not change so much to cause wild spread epidemic.

Monitoring of mosquitoes and its control will not only help control the spread of Zika virus, but other infections such as malaria.”

Meanwhile, The American Red Cross on Tuesday asked prospective donors to hold off giving blood for at least 28 days if they’ve travelled to areas with Zika outbreaks

amid growing concerns about the virus’ spread.

“Self-deferral” for blood donors should apply to anyone who has visited Mexico, the Caribbean or Central or South America during the past four weeks,” the organisation said in a statement.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It was not believed to cause any serious effect until last year; about 80 per cent of infected people never experienced symptoms.

The common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week. Symptoms usually start two days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

Osinbajo commissions HID Awolowo Model School Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta VICE President Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, inaugurated Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo Model School, in Ikenne, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The model school was one of the 28 others constructed

by the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Osinbajo, who represented his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, inaugurated some legacy projects initiated by the Amosun government in celebration of the 40th celebration.

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Rural electrification will engender national development —Adebutu Olayinka Olukoya-Abeokuta

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunication, Honourable Saheed Akinade Fijabi (right), the eldest child of the late Olubadan of Ibadanland, Prince Femi Odulana and another member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Diri Douye, during their condolence visit to the family of the late monarch at their residence in Monatan.

THE Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rural Development, Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, has said that rural electrification will engender national development if given priority.

Adebutu representing Sagamu/Ikenne and Remo North Federal Constituency in Ogun State, spoke with newsmen shortly after the commissioning of the transformers he gave to some communities in Sagamu.

The lawmaker disclosed that about 42 per cent of the nation’s population are rural dwellers, submitting that such move would reduce rural-urban migration.

Olukere/Ogoga traditional stool: Ikere chiefs warn Olukere Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

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HE controversy over Ikere-Ekiti traditional stool has taken a new dimension as the chiefs of the town have thrown their weight behind the Ogoga, saying that they knew no other king in the town.

The chiefs were reacting to the Olukere, who addressed the press recently in reaction to a statement by the state government that there was only one monarch in the community.

The chiefs in a statement signed by the Sao of Ikere, Chief J.K.M Omotosho, insisted that “there’s only one monarch in IkereEkiti, Oba Samuel Adejimi Adu Alagbado, the Ogoga of Ikere, the paramount ruler and prescribed authority in Ikere kingdom.”

They claimed that “all chiefs in Ikere owe their allegiance to the Ogoga of Ikere without exception,” adding that “our loyalty to the Ogoga is total.”

Reacting to the claim by the Olukere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin that he was already in the town before the arrival of the Ogoga in Ikere, and that as the aborigine, the government was wrong to have declared that there’s only one monarch in Ikere, the Ogoga chiefs alleged that “the Olukere lineage has no history or pedigree in Ikere monarchial heritage since the foundation of the world.”

They added that “no gov-

ernment or constituted authority has accorded the Olukere lineage such respect or recognition as pertains to a king in the history of Yoruba race.”

They also claimed that in the community, the “Olukere as a priest from time past to now has no single chief,” and added that “he does not confer any title on anyone and no single Ikere chief responds to him.”

The chiefs aligned with the state government in its recent pronouncement that triggered the controversy, saying that “the state government pronouncement that Ogoga is the only monarch as far as the issue of Obaship is concerned in Ikere is in tandem with the tradition of the town.”

The chiefs said the reaction of Oba Obasoyin to the pronouncement of the Ekiti State government

through the deputy governor of the state, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, who is an indigene of the town, was out of place because according to them, “the respect past holders of that priesthood position enjoyed is derived from the spirituality Ikere attaches to Olosunta and approval of the Ogoga the prescribed authority.”

The chiefs warned the Olukere on his utterances and actions, saying

such action as “arrogating to himself a non-existent obaship title without the approval of the state executive council is contrary to our law.”

They charged the general public to ignore what they said was “a call for war” by the Olukere, urging the law enforcement agents and the government to do the needful in order “to sustain the peace we currently enjoy in Ikere.”

“With rural electrification, which we have a very good budget for this year, we can improve the quality of life. When you improve the quality of life, it has a multiplier effect on everything in the rural area and urban centres.

“The thinking is that when there’s electricity, we have the hope of generating jobs which will lead to prosperity because people will be able to carry out their businesses. Hair dressers, barbers and other artisans will be able to do business. The quality of life will be better.

“When we do that in rural areas, you will find out that people will no longer desire to move to the cities.

We must stop rural- urban drift”, he said.

The lawmaker had earlier facilitated the training of 60 constituents on business vision conceptualisation, book recording, writing of business plans among others.

The training was jointly carried out by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and a private firm, Mesach Nigeria limited.

The lawmaker promised to boost the constituents’ businesses with a start up sum of N50,000,adding that the training would soon be done in the remaining senatorial districts in the state.

Insecurity: Group seeks support of traditional rulers in Rivers Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

WORRIED by the rising wave of insecurity in Rivers State, the National Risk Assessment Team (NRAT) has called for synergy with traditional rulers to combat the menace in the state.

The team made the call during its recent advocacy visit to the Eze of Oha Apara, His Royal Majesty Eze Gift Johnson, at Rumuigbo in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, as part of the ongoing assessment of the threat and effect of insecurity on the country.

The risk assessment team decried the deteriorating level of security in the state, saying whatever affects Rivers State would have a negative impact on the country as a whole.

Leader of the team,

Roselyn Izuagba, said the assessment was a recommendation of international agencies and inaugurated by the Attorney-General of the Federation to inquire about the security challenges facing Rivers State.

“The committee was inaugurated by the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation to carry out this assessment.

“In doing this assessment, there are several models. The Federal Government chose that of the World Bank and other international bodies who will also look at our report and then rate it.

“The economic gains of this country depend on Rivers State. The power of this country and whatever thing we enjoy comes from this part of Nigeria. This is where we have our oil

reserves. That is why we came to Rivers State.

“We do not want anything to happen to our commonwealth.

Rivers State is very important to the development of the country. That is why we need to come and join hands with our traditional rulers to pass the message of non-violence to the people,” she said.

In his response, Eze Johnson identified youth restiveness and marginalisation as the major causes of increasing insecurity in Rivers State.

“Most of the issues we have in this region are as a result of marginalisation.

The people of Niger-Delta have been marginalised for a long time.

“I don’t think people at the grass-roots level can be aware of the programmes of government. If our peo-

ple at the helm of affairs remember to meet the needs of the masses, maybe insecurity would not have been the problem.

“As a matter of fact, government has a lot to do to bring development to the people. The Federal Government should also try and re-integrate those who were shut out of the amnesty programme.

“We will continue to play our roles as custodians of tradition in Rivers State and make our people, especially our youths. know that the Federal Government has plans for them, he said.

The traditional ruler urged the Federal Government to go beyond reorganising the Niger-Delta amnesty programme and appreciated the risk assessment team for bringing the message of evils

of insecurity to the grassroots level.

Also, the Deputy Registrar, University of Port Harcourt, Dr William Wordi, said security in the state had been compromised.

He wondered why the limited security operatives meant to protect residents, communities and assets of the state were dispatched to serve as aides to rich people in the state.

Opinion leaders from Apara Kingdom, who attended the event, appealed to the Federal Gvernment to implement the resolutions of the visiting team.

Representatives of the EFCC, the DSS, the Nigerian Army and an official from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) were present during the visit.

41 news Fake Navy captain arrested in Rivers Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

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HE Nigerian Navy has declared that it has arrested one Kenneth Mamawa, who had been parading himself as a captain in the Navy, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The suspect was also said to have variously claimed to be a member of the state House of Assembly and a medical doctor, allegedly with intent to defraud unsuspecting individuals and companies.

Executive Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Navy Captain Olusegun

Soyemi, said this while parading the suspect before newsmen in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

“Following intelligence report on January 29, 2016, we detailed our naval intelligence team who tracked, trailed and monitored Mr Kenneth Mamawa’s movement until he was eventually arrested.

“Mamawa, who claims he hails from Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, was arrested while pretending to be an officer of the Nigerian Navy.

“Mamawa was arrested impersonating the rank of Navy Captain (equivalent to army colonel), with in-

tent to deceive and dupe members of the public.

“The suspect is a fraudster who specialises on duping and swindling unsuspecting citizens of their money,” Navy Captain Soyemi said.

He said the suspect was known to some security agencies with several criminal cases pending with the Nigerian Police, Anti-robbery and Homicide Division.

He advised anyone with intent to impersonate or currently impersonating the Nigerian Navy for criminal activities to desist from such illegal act.

“This is because our intelligence team are working

covertly round the clock to bring these criminals to justice,” he added, urging the public to offer useful

Thurssday, 4 February, 2016

information on criminals and their hideouts.

The suspect was later handed over to operatives

of the Department of State Security (DSS) for further investigation and possible arraignment in court.

Oyerinde emerges NURTW zonal chairman THE Oyo State chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde (Fele), on Wednesday, emerged the chairman of Zone 2, comprising Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, Ondo and Ekiti state councils, at the NURTW zonal delegates conference, held in Osogbo, Osun State.

Other elected officers

are Comrade Olalekan Folorunsho, deputy zonal chairman; Alhaji Akeem Adeosun of Ogun State council, zonal treasurer; Comrade Folajinmi Akinnifesi, zonal financial secretary and Chief Olusope Bode from Lagos State, elected as the zonal auditor Comrade Adekola Clement was elected as Trustee I and Chief Michael Olawale Odungunle, also from

Lagos State council, was elected as Trustee II. Speaking at the event, President of the union, Alhaji Nojeem Yasin, who was represented by Ambassador Adegboyega Tomori, Vice-President, appealed to members of the union in the zone to always embrace peace and shun thuggery and any act that could dent the image of the union.

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foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

Obama in first visit to US mosque, promises to defend right to worship

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RESIDENT Barack Obama is visiting a United States mosque for the first time in his presidency, meeting on Wednesday with MuslimAmericans at the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB).

“This is an opportunity to send a clear signal to the Muslim-American community that the president of the United States is going to firmly defend your right in this country to worship God consistent with your tradition and your heritage,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

The White House spokesman says Obama is taking part in a roundtable with Muslim-American leaders to hear their concerns and “what’s on their minds” before speaking to a broader audience at the Baltimore mosque.

“It will be an opportunity to do a couple of things. The first is to affirm the important role that Muslim-Americans play in our society and to affirm our conviction in the principle of religious liberty,” Earnest noted.

Obama has previously visited mosques overseas, VOA said.

Obama’s first visit to a U.S. mosque comes during a presidential campaign in which Republican candidate Donald Trump called for a Muslim database and a temporary ban against any new Muslim immigrants entering the United States follow-

U.S. President Barack Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with members of the Muslim community while visiting the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in Windsor Mill, Maryland, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP ing the December 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California.

While many prominent Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John McCain and

fellow presidential candidate Jeb Bush, condemned Trump’s call for a Muslim

US officials confirm Zika virus transmitted through sex A county in the southwestern state of Texas reported what appears to be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact.

According to VOA, officials in Dallas County said the patient was infected with Zika after having sexual contact with a sick individual who returned from a country where the virus is present.

The county later reported on Twitter that the infected person had recently traveled to Venezuela.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the top federal public health agency has confirmed the Texas case initially reported.

Dr. Tom Frieden, head of

the CDC, confirmed via Twitter message Tuesday that the reported case was transmitted to the infected person’s sexual partner, who had not left the United States.

And in an email to VOA, the CDC said it “confirmed

through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental United States.”

It said that in this case, there was no risk to a developing fetus.

Blood samples from pregnant women are analysed for the presence of the Zika virus, at Guatemalan Social Security maternity hospital in Guatemala City. PHOTO: AP

otherNEWS

US Senator Rand Paul ends Republican presidential bid

Republican presidential candidate, Senator Rand Paul, stands with his wife, Kelley, during a recent caucus night victory party at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa. PHOTO: AP.

REPUBLICAN United States Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian who often opposed American military intervention in overseas conflicts, dropped his bid on Wednesday for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

Paul, a practicing ophthal-

mologist, won little support in the crowded Republican campaign, which currently is dominated by billionaire real estate mogul, Donald Trump, and two conservative senators, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, VOA said.

Paul finished fifth in this

week’s voting in the farm state of Iowa, collecting just 4.5 per cent of the vote in statewide party caucuses.

Paul now faces a tough re-election fight this year in the mid-South state of Kentucky to keep his Senate seat for another six-year term.

South Africa: Zuma offers to foot part of home improvements bill

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma

ban, candidate Ben Carson noted last year that someone who belongs to the Islamic faith is unfit to serve as U.S. president.

“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” Carson said in a September 2015 interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Obama has not addressed the candidates’ anti-Muslim remarks directly, but has spoken broadly against such rhetoric on several occasions, most recently and most forcefully during his final State of the Union address last month.

South African President Jacob Zuma proposed footing part of the bill for statefunded improvements to his rural home, some of which anti-graft authorities said benefited him personally in a report that triggered a political scandal.

Zuma, who previously said he did not owe the state a

refund, according to Reuters, said he would allow the country’s auditor general and finance minister to decide how much of the 250 million rand ($15 million) refurbishment he should pay back.

The 2013 security upgrade, which included a cattle enclosure and amphitheatre,

has been heavily criticised by the opposition and news media.

It also risks damaging Zuma’s governing African National Congress’ showing in municipal elections expected after May, though the party has comfortably won every election since toppling white apartheid rule in 1994.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told lawmakers Tuesday her government will spare no expense in fighting the mosquito that experts say carries the virus and poses the greatest danger to pregnant women.

“My entire government is working on fighting this emergency. There will be no lack of funding and I’m certain that I will be able to count on the Congress’ support,” she said in a speech.

“We will partner up with the U.S. government, with President Obama with whom we have spoken, to establish our capacity and improve it in order to develop as quickly as possible a vaccine for the Zika virus.”

UN urges communities to mobilise to stop Zika spread UNITED Nations agencies are mobilising communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to stop the spread of the Zika virus, which has infected tens of thousands of people in about 25 countries, VOA reported.

The Zika virus in itself is not much of a threat. Its symptoms are mild and not life threatening. But, the virus is suspected of causing birth defects in newborn babies.

More than 4,000 cases of microcephaly, a condition that causes abnormally small brains in babies, have been found in Brazil.

The explosive surge of this disease has prompted the World Health Organisation to declare the Zika virus a global public health emergency.

No vaccine is available to protect pregnant women against the virus. So, WHO is urging communities to do battle against the disease to protect pregnant women from being bitten by the Aedes mosquito, which transmits the virus.

WHO Maternal Health Director Anthony Costello says communities must remove all stagnant pools where the mosquitoes flourish.

He says mass community engagement and mobilization of women’s groups can do a lot to provide women and pregnant mothers with the information they need to protect themselves and their babies.

Pakistan arrests suspect in deadly university raid AUTHORITIES in Pakistan have arrested the suspected main facilitator of last month’s attack on a university that killed at least 21 people, mostly students.

Intelligence sources confirmed to VOA on Wednesday that security operatives detained the suspect from an area not far from the northwestern town of Charsadda, where four heavily armed militants stormed the Bacha

Khan University on January 20 and carried out the massacre. All of the assailants were killed in a four-hour gun battle with security forces inside the university.

The English-language DAWN newspaper has identified the suspect as Waheed Ali, alias Arshad, saying his arrest took place last week in Nowshera, a city near Charsadda, while he was attempting to flee to Afghanistan.

A Pakistani security official poses as a militant during a security drill Feb. 2 at the Islamia College in Peshawar. PHOTO: AP.

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Nigerian Tribune

Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Brazil wants Neymar for Rio Olympics

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RAZIL hopes its captain, Neymar will compete at two international tournaments this summer, according to the Brazilian football confederation (CBF) technical coordinator, Gilmar Rinaldi.

The Selecao will be in USA from June 3 to 26 for an extended version of the Copa America to mark the tournament’s centenary, before competing at the Rio Olympics between August 4 and 26.

Coach Dunga will lead his side in both tournaments but may have to do without his captain for one of them.

“At first, yes (the idea was to use him in both competitions), but let’s talk to the players and the clubs,” Gilmar told Globo.

“In the coming days Dunga will give me names of the three over-age players he proposes for the Olympics.

“After the qualifiers in March, against Uruguay and Paraguay, we will talk personally with those players.”

NANPF begs clubs to offset players’ debts

Football clubs are under no obligation to release players for the Olympic Games and FC Barcelona is keen not to risk Neymar burning out prior to the start of the European season.

Argentina coach, Gerardo Martino said this week his Olympic squad will not include Lionel Messi, who was previously granted leave by Barcelona for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Neymar has repeatedly expressed his desire to compete in both competitions, but is believed to be prioritising the Olympic games in a bid to lead the five-time world champions to the only remaining major title they are yet to win.

“The player really wants to play in the Olympics, which take place when he’s on holiday [at the end of the season],” added Gilmar.

A tournament for players U-23, each team is allowed to select three over-age players.

Neymar

Access Bank Lagos City Marathon: 50 Elite athletes arrive today

By Niyi Alebiosu FIFTY elite athletes who are part of the star-cast for this weekend’s Access Bank Lagos City Marathon would arrive in Nigeria today, officials have confirmed.

The General Manager for the race, Yussuf Alli revealed that most of the expected athletes will be coming from Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Bahrain, Cameroon and Rwanda.

Alli, a two-time Olympian stated that the guest athletes will drive straight to the Expo Centre at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, to collect their race bibs and numbers.

The athletes will also be warmly received by the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission and head of the Organising Committee for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Deji Tinubu.

“We are expecting the bulk of our elite athletes on Thursday (today) from their respective bases, they are all eager to be here for the Lagos City Marathon,” Alli, a former Team Nigeria captain said.

Top on the list of those expected in Lagos today is Kenya’s Josphat Kifanni Too who has a personal best time of 2.08.23secs.

Peter Kiplagat who won the 2015 Geneva Marathon is also expected from Kenya as well as his compatriot, Sammy Kibet; winner of the 2011 Warsaw Mar-

athon.

Abebe Negewo winner of the Rome 2012 Marathon is also expected from Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, organisers have also confirmed that as much as 150 Nigerian elites; mostly from Jos will also be arriving in Lagos today.

Over 20,000 runners are expected to feature in the February 6 Marathon which is the first of its kind in over three decades.

About N92 million is also up for grabs at the 42.195km race to be flagged off at the National Stadium, Surulere and terminate at Eko Atlantic City.

THE National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) has called for the cooperation of all football stakeholders to ensure that indebted clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League, Nigeria National League and the Women League offset their debts to the affected players and coaches before the new soccer season kicks off later this month.

The union lauded the efforts of the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Sanusi Muhammed and the Chairman of the League Management Company, Alhaji Shehu Dikko in ensuring that clubs honour their contractual obligations to their players and coaches by complying with the decisions of the NFF Players Status and Arbitration Committee.

NANPF observed with great delight the letters of enforcement of the 18th September 2015 decisions of the NFF Players status and Arbitration Committee sanctioned by the General Secretary to all affected clubs and the relevant leagues to offset their debts to players and coaches or face the prospect of being banned from transfer of players.

The union in a statement by its executive secretary, Comrade Austin Popo, also commended the LMC following personal meetings with union officials to find solutions to the clubs’ indebtedness to the players and coaches.

... As Lagos restricts movement on major highways THE Lagos State government on Wednesday announced restriction of movement in some of the major highways to be used for the February 6, Lagos City International Marathon scheduled to start by 7am at National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The Lagos International Marathon, which was last held in 1983, is billed to be attended by over 20,000 athletes, including over 20 world-class marathoners.

Speaking during a press conference at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi disclosed

that the Marathon will start from the National Stadium and terminate at Eko Atlantic City.

Elegushi, said the restriction of traffic will however, start from 6:30am and end at 1pm, adding that adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure that security operatives and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) barricade access to the dual carriage way to be affected by the event.

According to him, all traffic flow and access from Alaka and Alhaji Masha to the National Stadium towards Ojuelegba and along Western Avenue terminating at Anthony Bus stop would be blocked, while the

whole stretch of the Anthony Oke to Gbagada unto Third mainland Bride along with accesses at New Garage, Adeniji Adele interchange; Sura/Simpson and Obalende would equally be blocked.

He added that all access from Dolphin Estate towards Osborne terminating at Falomo Round About would be blocked for the event, while access to Falomo Roundabout from Alfred Rewane (Kingsway Road), Awolowo Road and traffic from Victoria Island would also be affected.

According to Elegushi, other areas to be affected include all access/link roads along Bourdillon up to Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge

Roundabout and the Link Bridge, while there would also be blockade of traffic on Admiralty Way from the bridge outlet inward Lekki-Epe Expressway inward Ozumba Mbadiwe to Akin Adesola, Bishop Oluwole and Bar Beach (Atlantic City).

He, however, called on all Lagosians “to see the event not only as a sporting event but for its tourism content. As a people who are naturally friendly, we should put on display, our positive attitude to visitors.”

He said governor (Mr Akinwunmi Ambode) will not hesitate to lift the restriction if and when it is perceived as necessary to bring about free flow of traffic.

45

Thursday, 4 February, 2016

46

tribunepools

DR. JK POOLS – 07039275802

(23XX 24) 02, 08, 17, 22, 32.

Last week I advised the readers of my weekly column in the Nigerian Tribune to pick two draws from the five games.

Really two games drew. On numers 19 and 41. Please stop demanding for free games. I have now discovered that most stakers like free games without showing appreciation.

I now bet that I am now for those who have already enrolled with N5000. The enrollement fee is only N5, 000 now payable through Zenith Bank to Ekhumu John.

A/C No – 2085795936. Before the increment as from march 2016.

Fee gift for week 31 inadvance.

Bank – 33x 33 plus 2 others. Now stakers pick two draws from 2 – 8 – 17 – 22 – 33 and add to the above brack games. Goodluck says Dr J.K Pools.

20XXX 23 LUCKYMAN TIPS (08054352685)

IT’S N40,000 WHEN YOU WIN. 3 sure draws plus the above pair cost N1,000 or N40,000 when you win. Far away fans will send MTN card. No cause for alarm. You are a big winner this wk 30 perm with 20XXX 23.

37 MUST 38 THE LILIES (08086944309)

All our last week callers to call again for 3 unpacking jackpot that will make you smile to your bank on Monday. Big jackpot awaits all our fans. Call now and hit big jackpot on Pools 37 NAP 38.

30 PAIR 2 SIR-BRAKA (08078052128)

3 napable draws for all our fans to brag. Send N1,000 glo card for 3 napable draws to pay you out of all your financial problems.

MISTER-DRAW (08030415683) (37 CBK)

Accrington Stanley to hold Carlisle United plus 2 certain super draws cost N2,000 MTN card.

You must get out of problem. 37x 37x 37x 37x.

SUNDERLAND SYSTEM 25. 26.

09038460009= 5 NAP 8

4. Special draws N6, 000 Wk 26 F.A. CUp No 4x 10x 13x 31x = 4/4 N6,000 4. Special draws N6, 000 Wk 29 F.A. CUP No CUP CUP CUP CUP = N6,000 4. Special draws N6, 000 Wk 26 NO 4X 10X 13X 31X with 28X 27X WK 28 2F 34X 35X 37X 34X 33F 26X Two Bankers N3000 WK 26 CUP 3 NO 31X 33F PAIR 10X 13X 27X Two Bankers N3000 WK 30 a week after CUP NO CUP CUP PAIR CUP CUP Two Bankers N3000 Wk 26 NO 31X 33F PAIR 10X 13X 27X WK 28 NO 2F 34X PAIR 26X 35X 37X Time to win pool this wk 30 Sunderland system 4 special draws this wk 30 play 4/4 correct hurry to get your copy today two Bankers cost N3000 wk 30 NO X X PAIR X X. 4 Bankers wk 24 12X 13X 32X 35X WK 26 NO 4X 10X 13X 31X with 13X 27X. Send WK 28 NO 2F 33F 34X 37X 25X 35X 36X wk 30 No NAp NAp NAP NAp= 4/4.

BIG BROSS–(11 OR 27) 07053681965

With other 2 bank and alt. That must give us 3/3 or 4/5. Cost N10, 000. Dont miss this New Year winning opportunity. Goodluck.

KAMARK SUPER

WEEK 30 8X9X11X12X22X

I give the above games to all against week 31, 3 over 5 sure win.

Controlled KEY— Swansea vs Crystal P meeting together first draw is number 9xx check your record in week 33, 2014. When is to drew at number 9xx is going to give 3 direct draws and permutation. The prize of the games 3 Nap direct is N20, 000 while permutation is N10,000.

If you are interested, send to the IBTC Bank number 0001361916 Acct Name Mr. S.B Odesola.

MADAM EMILIA (08068523407) THE WINNER CHOICE OF POOLS STAKERS

Week 30, Brighton No 13 Home, the opponent to draw in the next appearance on No 13 Home, plus two others draws as (3) weeks operation with (3) Nap draws and a pair and each week cost N1,500.00. For more information contact me, Good luck.

FOCUS UNBEATABLE

OFFER 2X 8X (08079171744)

For wks 30, 31, 32 unbeatable 3/3 Nap. I welcome you all to month of February. You will win my Nap correctly. Do not miss it.

MIGHTY INT. NAP

(08032300297) 40 HOT 44 Congratulations!!! to all out fans and customers who reached us on phone. We now implored those who have not taste winning before should call us for the second released. No much grammar this week as our Nap must clicked.

Cost N20,000. Good luck.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE POOLS PAGE

THE WINNERS CHOICE GET A COPY AND WIN

M.B.A EXPERT (08104694618) PAIR 36XX 37?

Readers of MBA Expert column, no apology over week 29 games. This will certainly be a lesson for seekers of free draw numbers at the expence of compilers who labour endlessly to create fortune for others.

However, Wk 30 being the 7th Blue colour coupon pools fixtures, wks.

31, 32 and 33. Jackport operation GET-UP remains on cource of N45, 000 each ever or N120, 000 payment for the 3 weeks combined.

Week 30 computation emerges from years 2013/2014 draw sequences which remain relevant and as a carry over to 2016 which has cruised into the 2nd month. The first was good but this second will be super good for stakers but more laugher for pools promoters. This is a vow that must be sustained week 30 paves the way with N15, 000 only. Goodluck greetings from the stable of M.B.A/De Maikel Associates.

MR. SOLUTION (SILENT LEADER) 08072974729.

4TH ROUND WEEK 29 WIN= 11XX 32X 42XXX

PORTVALE! PORTVALE!! PORTVALE!!!

PORTVALE HOME 30 – BLUE and RED Coloured. Coupon, with Refrence to weeks 6 and 7 and now 30 and 31. Promotes another 2 weeks winning solution NAPs. Week 6 – 7x 22x 39xxx – 29x 30 Week 7 – 02x 25x 37xxx – 29 – 30x= 11drs.

Congrats in another 2 weeks sure Win Week 30 – X X X – 29x 30 Week 31 - X X X – 29x 30 We have solution to your no winning menace. He who feels it knows it.

Join the solution resort mission team on special 2 weeks Naps. (30 and 31) N50, 000 – now and N250, 000= Goodluck.

OBINYAN PROMISES TO GLADDEN STAKERS

The wizard of 1.2X and chairman /managing Director of king and George group of forecast papers. Prince Willy Ehi Obinyan has assured stakers that he was up to the task of dishing out draws. He also assured stakers of more rewarding harvest of draws this season. Africa’s number one bookmaker in pools compilation and computation has enjoined stakers to weekly buy his papers and rely effectively on the late News of his papers for regular winning. The papers are Pools telegraph, Zetters, Pools Guild, Shoot pointer, Murphy sports, the NEW DREAM and Final result.

TRIPLE SPICE ON THE PANELIST ACTION WITH 7-27 (08035324990)

The Legendary 1966 World Cup England Goal Keeper, Gordon Banks and his colleague in that World Cup, Roger Hunt, sat with Scotland former International.

Tony Green on the Pools Panel to decide on the six postponed matches from which only Nos 29 & 41 were adjudged as draws last weekend.

Panel or no panel, No 7 and 27 will give Pools lovers a draw this weekend.

Add the pair to our 1BK at only N1,500.00 and 3 draws cost N15,000.00 on 08035324490. Best of luck!

OLA-CITY SURE OF 3 DRAWS THIS WEEK 30 AND WEEK 31 PAIR 12XX 15XX MUST. 08140575314, 08085005634.

The compiler of Ola-City International and Sir Waddy Naps of N2/21, Arowolo’s House, Oke Are, Ibadan assures stakers of his 3 fixed draws for this week 30 and week 31 cost N10,000 cash each week which will gladden the hearts of all stakers/participants in the release. Pay to First Bank Plc in the name of Olafenwa R. Ola-City, Acct No: 3033318854 and collect the draws on phone after confirmation of your payment.

AKIN MR AKIN THE NEWEST HAPPENING IN POOLS HISTORY= 07067202291 (29 SURE 30).

WESTHAM – WESTBROM – WELLING – WORKING PROMOTERS EBB. Annual week 30 from 2013 – 2016.

Week 30 – 2013 – 05x 21x 37xxx – 30x Week 30 – 2014 – 07x 19x 42xx – 29x Week 30 – 2015 – 10x 13x 44xx – 29x Our recent successes is given to God, last week W.W.W.W. on Westham, Wesbrom, Welling and Working put Promoters in a crossway despite the 8 Killers draws played. Winning is sure on Authentic winning directives/instruction. Stictly on Experts guardian. N100, 000 – Goodluck= (2 clients).

HOPE NAP & CO (08107128448) BANK ON NO 9X 11 MUST FOR WINNING.

There is time for every thing in life. Hope do assures fans and stakers of other in weeks 30 and 31 winning. Weeks believe it is real. Call Hope Naps & Co and pay to First Bank Plc on acct number 3088328923 in person of Mr. Gbadebo Stephen A. It is must. You must win each week cost just N10,000 while the week release will be sent to you when your payment is confirmed. Please, try and see, you willnot fail in week 390 & 31, O yes! You must win Bank on No 9x No 11 must on Saturday. God bless. Bye.

NEW CURRENT INTERNATIONAL KEY NO 8XXBK 09038633666=08166222529. EVERTON No 8xx

WK 30 A wk after CUP N10,000 two bankers cost N5,000 Wk 30 Blue 4 special draws N10,000 two bankers cost N5,000 Key:-Every week 10, 20, 30, 40 bank EVERTON to draw at away. Wk 30 No 8.8.8. plus 3 others cost N10,000. Two bankers cost N5,000.

WK 10 BLUE EVERTON No 8x 19x 20x 38x with 36x 37x N10,000 wk 20 PURPLE EVERTON no 2x 29x 30x 46x with 13x 14x N10,000 wk 30 BLUE EVERTON No 8 Nap Nap Nap with Nap Nap N10,000.

Check your Niger Current System. Send MTN card to 09038633666= 08166222529. Agent. Lagos Bigwin Office No 237 Agege Motor Road Mushin Lagos Ibadan. Agents Opposite Cocoa House, Beside Dental Clinic, Dugbe, Ibadan.

BEST BARGIAN INTERNATIONAL 08092621480 WK 30=05CBK, 17CBK

I said it last week that based on the information released to me by the Bookmakers and the Pools Panel, there would be shock draws and it was what happened. Only those of us with the authentic information were able to dish out the draws. This week, based on the information released to me by the Bookmakres and Pools Panel, coupon Nos 05 and 17 must draw this week with other fixed draws. The key is Chelsea vs Man United on coupon.

As usual, I want everybody to win with this game, especially those who have not received their salaries for months and those who need money urgently.

You can call me on 08092621480 for us to discuss on the token amount you will have to send to me to get the game. Good luck to everybody.

THE CYRIL REMAINS UNBEATABLE 08154836338 (16XX 40)

BRIGHTON HOME 13 – KEY CHARLTON HOME 16 – KEY Newport must Charlton= and NAP Week 25 – 04x 18x 44xxx – 16x 40x Week 28 – 09x 22x 34xxx – 16x 40x Week 30 – X X X - 16x 40x We enriched many stakers. Our new winning contact made our success a REALITY. Chesterfield on Crewe at home on numbers 25 and 26.

The unbreakable Cyrils is your pay point for week 30 winning assurance.

N35, 000= 5/5 winning must.

ATTENTION ALL COMPILERS, OUR POLICY ON NO ADVERT NO WRITE UP STILL IN PLACE —MANAGEMENT.

Thursday, Feb. 4 - 10, 2016 VICTORIOUS VICTOR — 08126994034 15X 16X 29X 31X 34.

Get Victorius in weeks 31, 32 and 33.

Starting free win above to boost your chance of good win. Assured winning on 15x 16x 29x 31 and 34.

FREE STARTING of our New Contact 3 weeks streched NAPS. Week 30 – FREE, Wk 31 = N50,000 Week 32 – N150,000 and Wk 33 – N500,000. Join the wise stakers and win to week 31.

NB: 3 direct Naps from the above games cost N10,000.

SHADOW 3 PAIR 5 (08087670776)

No more losing on Pool staking, its time to gain all you have lost to Pool Promoters. With the master of all Pool forecasters 3 Nap draws and 1 hot pair, you will laugh with member of your family on Saturday.

Just send to me N1,500 MTN recharge card and be expecting good result on Saturday.

FORTUNE DONOR DONATES 7-15-27 — 29/39

Your hardworking and selfless Fortune Donor International has pleasure in presenting Nos 7-1527— 29/39. for punters delight this weekend as they are scheduled to give a very happy retunrns of not less than 4/5. Punters are always advised not to judge teams by their current positions in the League Table as that may ne deceptive. Forms and sequences are far better.

Same set sells for N30,000.00 only wait week. Start calling on 08099111828 from Monday. Good luck!

MAC-ANTHONY CONGRATULATE.

WINNERS WK 29 DREW 15X 32X 42X 18F 19X = 4/5 G.S.M. 0806-904-8857. (07X FACE 47X) I want to use this medium to invite pool stakers generally to join my weekly operations that will enrich all participants. Weekly Nap cost N15,000 cash pay @ UBA to Engr. Michael Akam. Acct.

No: 2029382770. Congrats inn advance as you join. Good luck & God bless.

AKANDE WEEK 30 3 DRAWS READY PAIR 19XX 39XX 08025572554.

It was a credible pair in week 29 with 18F 19x last week. We will not relent in our effort to win Pool another 2 bankers with reliable after this week 30 and week 31 while week 32 CUP of 3 draws come up in the 5th CUP. Our 3 draws release start from Wednesday week 30. Can call Akande’s number to negotiate on the 2 draws. You are winning and happy Saturday with this reliable pair to alterate.

ISRAEL BAIL OUT NAPS = 09085712800 WINNING – CONTACT= 09085712800. STAKERS BAILOUT Congratulations we come on Tribune Pools page to add value to all readers and stakers lifes.

Week 28, 2016 and week 13 – 2008 was a replical but on different winning sequence on COLCESTER AWAY 31.

1st AWAY ALPHABET 3WKS – 13, 14, 15. NAPS Week 13 2008 – COLCHESTER (C)= 3= 2x 3x 4x Naps Week 14 2008 – LYTON O (L)= 12= 11x 12x 13xx NAP Week 15 2008 – NORTHAMPTON (N)= 14= 13x 14x 15xx NAP COLCESTER AWAY 31 & OTHER SETTINGS STARTED IN WEEK 28, 29 & 30, 2016. PLUS 3 CODED WIN. Week 28 – 22X 26X 30XXX COST N50,000 TO Week 29 – 11X 15X 19XXX 1MILLION Week 30 – X X X

HON. EMMANUEL NEW CONTACT ENRICHES MANY. MR AKIN OGA, YOU ARE TOO GOOD IN 8 DRS. JOHN ABA

DR. EKONDO NAP (08034483290) CBK 30XXXBK DRAW

Congratulation to those who patronized Dr. Eknodo last week with 29xxbk 38xx 41xx which resulted 3 over 3. Glory be to God, Amen.

Truly is the master, but remember is 3 weeks operation as I said, each week is N10,000 cash and this second week is operation no mercy. Stay and be connected with special discussion. Good luck.

JOHN SUPER TIPS BANK 5CBK

Readers, I have no Gold or Silver to give, but draws is my food, take coupon No 5CBK plus 2, others our 3 draws. This week 30 cost N10,000 cash. Call 08160052969.

SAM AYO (20XX 22) 08109152433

Congrats your Ever green Sam is back on stage to fulfill his earlier promised on 3 undisputed draws in weeks 30, 31 & 32. Cal for details.

PETER NAP

11XX CBK 08076546261

All is set for all our customers to win very well this week, check every BLUE SHEFF wed must be at away to draws together with two others making 3/3. My weekly release this week cost just N25,000.

Pay to saving acct no: 3023114822 First Bank in person of Mr. Onaolapo Peter A. And call on 08076546261. Meanwhile bank on no 11 to draw this week. And to promote another 3/3 next week.

WEEK 30 STATUS EKO – 05 VOID — 13 LKO – 47 SUNDAY – 02 – 03 – 23 – 27, 30, 48 AND 49

DRAW COMMANDER TWO BANKERS N3,000 VOL I WK 30 VOL I NAP NAP PAIR X05X X06X

WK 31 NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP

WK 32 NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP

BEST ENGLISH MAGIC TWO BANKERS N3,000 VOL I WK 30 VOL I NAP NAP PAIR X08X X09X

WK 31 NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP

WK 32 NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP

3 WEEKS OPERATIONS. WEEKS 30, 31, 32 = 4 SPECIAL DRAWS N25,000 WEEK 30 VOL I N25,000. SEND MTN CARD TO 08095602590.

MAGIC KINGDOM – 08056753098 / 07085060512

NAP= 3X 4X 28XXX PAIR 2 & 6 Free winning for week 30 – (Sure Win).

The above starting games is to enrich you to our other 3 weeks Naps cost N25, 000 per week. Payment to Balogun Adesina Kamoru F.C.M Bank no 0279550010, Wema Bank no 020695116 or G.T. Bank no – 0115505082 or call 08056753098/0708506002. Please don’t be a doubting Thomas.

(No-regret).

MR. SOLUTION (SILENT LEADER) 08072974729.

4TH ROUND WEEK 29 WIN= 11XX 32X 42XXX

PORTVALE! PORTVALE!! PORTVALE!!!

PORTVALE HOME 30 – BLUE and RED Coloured. Coupon, with Refrence to weeks 6 and 7 and now 30 and 31. Promotes another 2 weeks winning solution NAPs. Week 6 – 7x 22x 39xxx – 29x 30 Week 7 – 02x 25x 37xxx – 29 – 30x= 11drs.

Congrats in another 2 weeks sure Win Week 30 – X X X – 29x 30 Week 31 - X X X – 29x 30 We have solution to your no winning menace. He who feels it knows it.

Join the solution resort mission team on special 2 weeks Naps. (30 and 31) N50, 000 – now and N250, 000= Goodluck.

TRIBUNE POOLS — THE FORTUNE PAGE.

47

tribunepools

EMIRATES FLY – 08087104491 16 MUST 31.

CHESTERFIELD ON CREWE at Home 25 and 26 and BRISTOL R. Home 35 under the BAR. Week 6 – 08x 17x 39xxx – 16x 31 Week 25 – 04x 14x 40xxx – 16x 31 Week 28 – 07x 15x 44xxx – 16x 16 Week 30 – X X X - 31x 16 Congratulations all my esteem clients, the above illustration is to serve as a remember to all old and new clients N35,00 Fly to your promised land.

INNOCENT NAP (08095602590) 11XX 13XX

4 Special Draws wk 30 cost N6, 000 Wk 28 No 9X 10X 26X 35X WK 30 NO CUP CUP CUP CUP WK 26. CUP 3 NO 4X 10X 13X 35X WK 30 NO CUP CUP CUP CUP = 4/4 N6,000.

One Bankers N2000 Wk 23 No 27x wk 24 No 32x wk 25 No 14X WK 26 NO 10X. WK 27 9X WK 28 NO 10X WK 30 CUP NO CUCP CUP PAIR CUP CUP 2 Special draws wk 23 No 10x 20x Pair 15x 21x Wk 24 No 12x 13x Pair 32x 33f= wk 25 No NAP 3X 40X PAIR 31X 32F WK 26 NO 10X 13X PAIR 4X 2F WK 30 NO NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP Time for winners try to get INNOCENT NAP 4 Special draws this week 30 N6, 000 cash, 2 special draws cost N4, 000 and 1 bankers for N2, 000. 4 bankers wk 28 9x 10x 26x 35x with 35x 36x. Wk 30 No NAP NAP NAP NAP 08095602590 for your booking.

DR B4 DR ARRIVES – 08062748396 (16X 29)

OLDHAM HOME 29 WINNING SEQUENCE. WIN WIN WIN WEEK 25 – 4X 31X 49XXX 29X WEEK 28 – 7X 26X 44XXX 16X WEEK 30 – X X X = 16X 29 At New Dr B4 Dr. place our week 30 New Era 2016 winning sequence has no equal despite its overhead and the Naira value in exchange market. Yet we are set to grant a bail out for all stakers with unpaid wages/salaries.

Finance is wealth, welcome to the new Doctors winning place where all our clients welfare is our pride.

SHORT-GUN (17 HOT 36)

08050614477/08168241902 Our a week after CUP series is perfectly set this week with the current key that has been playing since CUP 1. The above pair must play this week with other fixed draws. The game costs N25,000.

This is your chance to win.

HERITAGE NAP

08032428168 17 MUST 34

Our winning streak which starting in Week 26 continues this week with the pair above which must supply with other gazetted draws. Pay N25,000 and get the game that will change your life on Monday. You must not miss this opportunity.

022 CODE (1 PAIR 2) 08059580326

Truly speaking, draws are fixed, but the only Pool Compiler that can give you fixed draws is 022 Code.

This week 30 is a week of 3 fixed draws and a pair by 022 Code, therefore, don’t be left out of good thing that is going to happen this week 30.

The 3 fixed draws and a pair cost N10,000 cash. Call me on my hot line above for my bank account number for payment. You are a winner if you do.

LAWRENCE NAP 2X 14X 43X

Readers bank coupon Nos 2x 14x 42x for your 3 draws Napping against next week release 3 draws and a pair cost N10,000 cash. Call 09050512097.

SIR MICHAEL NAP 1 PAIR 3 (08130011263)

Winning this week is not negotiable, as all is set for another winning this week. My weekly release cost just N10,000. Call for acct no or mode of payment.

PROFESSOR (37 NAP 38)ONE BANKER= 08055230300= WK 17

CUP 1 N7500= 3 BANKERS NO 10X 11X 12X PAIR 2X 3X WK 21 CUP 2 N7500= 3 Bankers No 10x 26x 27x Pair 46x 47f Wk 26 CUP 3 N7500= 3 Bankers No 10x 13x 31x Wk 27 A WK AFTER CUP No 9x 29x 36x wk 28 a wk to cup no 34X 35X 36X =3/3 Wk 29 F.A. cup 4 No 11x 9x 29x = 3/3. Wk 30 No Nap Nap Nap Two Bankers N5000 wk 17 cup 1 No 10x 12x Pair 2x 3x Two Bankers N5000 wk 21 cup 2 No 26x 27x Pair 4x 6x Two Bankers N5000 wk 26 cup 3 No 10x 13x PAIR 20x 31x Wk 27 NO 9x 29x PAIR NAP 1X 3X WK 28 NO 34X 36X PAIR 35X 36X. Wk 29 NO 19x 29x pair 11x 12x. Wk 30 N Nap Nap Nap pair Nap Nap.

PLEIAD DE MAXWELL — 09099968585 TWO HAMS = OLDHAM BIRMINGHAM = 29XX 11

Premiership team are favoured with plenty formed draws when many top teams slugged it out for supremacy. Man Utd visit to Stamford this weekend could have been the star match in the Elite division but what is your comment in the match between Man City and Leicester a win in bitter side will place the winner on top of the Premiership table never unestimate or call Bournmouth as underdog, Wenger men visit to Bournmouth won’t be an easy win for the Wenger side team like Bournmouth are points spoiler.

So Arsenal should beware, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke and Swasea are also likely for draws.

Oldham to Sheff Utd and Newport, NottscSo are draws potential.

Finally, the 3 inclusive German teams on numbers 47x 48x 49x — are sure.

Contact DE Maxwell draw clinic where draws is discharged after surgery.

TOKEN MANAGER.

HON. EMMANUEL EXCELL ON 8 DRAWS. 08102874949. 3 weeks 19/20/21 and 29/30/31.

Again we are not going back on our mission to enrich stakers at the expense of PROMOTERS. Promoters seeking dialogue but ‘NO GOING BACK’. Now this is stakers harvest time. Our winning sequence is gave an outstanding winning account, controlled by W.W.Y = What else are you waiting for? Lets fetch water when its raining’.

Week 19 — B/B- Burnley/Barnet and Wolves/Wycombe

11x 32x and 13x 31x = 4/4 Week 20 — C/C - Cardiff/Coventry and Sheff Wed/Sheff Utd

13x 24x and 11x 20x = 4/4 Week 21 — S/S - Southampton/Sheff Wed and Derby/Dundee

6x 22x and 22x 26x = 3/3 NAP. Week 29 - H/H - Halifax/Hearts and M/M = Milwall/Motherwell

32x 41 and 19x 42 = 4/4 Week 30 - X X and X X = 4/4 Week 31 - X X and X = 3/3 NAP Be honoured with Hon. Emmanuel guaranteed NAPs – N50,000= Winners N250,000. Good luck.

NAZAR MASTER GETS STAKERS NOD

The leading pools company in Oyo state and environs Nazar Master Pools company Limited Ibadan continued to receive commendation from stakers and other stakeholders in the pools industry for paying winnings on time without delay.

The pools company made this know in a statement made available to TRINBUNE POOLS during the week.

According to Nazar Master we have been overwhelmed by the words of encouragement we receive daily from stakers and other stakeholders.

We have no choice than continue to maintain the standard and even do more by paying bigger dividends on our Trebble chance odd and pay winning on fixed odd as and when due.

MADAM DE MADAM—08023329191 29 MUST 11

OLDHAM- PORTVALE–SCUNTHROPE at home on numbers 29, 30, 31.

Confirmed 3 draws as KEY or POINTER. Week 25 = 4x 18x 40xxx 31x = 4/4 Week 28 = 7x 22x 44xxx 30x = 4/4 Week 30 = X X X — 29 Madams welcome Nap is scheduled for 3 draws starting from this week on the above case study as reference. Madam Nap is now in partnership with reputable Panel director/draw gazett chairman. Women are not set to rule the Pools world as new ordained Women Pool Proprietorship away in Havad. So, our 3 week slated fixed matches is given to compliment both our old and new clients. Starting fee —N30,000 flat. Congrats.

MANCITY SYSTEM F.A. CUP SYSTEM C 08135888720= 5 NAP 6

Wk 30 a wk after CUP = 4 Special draws cost N6,000 two bankers cost N3,000 Two Bankers N3000 WK 26 CUP NO 10X 27X PAIR 13X 35X Two Bankers N3000 WK 29 CUP NO CUP CUP PAIR CUP CUP 4 Special Draws N6, 000 Wk 26 cup No 9.10x 27x 31x with 13x 35x 4 Special Draws N6, 000 Wk 30 a wk after CUP NO CUP CUP CUCP CUP WITH CUP CUP Stakers try to get MANCITY. 4 SPECIAL Draws this Wk 30 a wk after CUP N6, 000 two Bankers Wk 30 N3000 we set for 4 wks operations wk 26 CUP No 9.10x 27x 31. 4 Bankers WK 30 NO CUP CUP CUP CUP WITH CUP CUP = 4/4. Send MTN card to 09038633666= 08135888720.

WISDOM NAPS—07088103080 (09XX 11)

CONGRATULATIONS! Hurry your winning is sure again with NORWICH away NUMBER ONE. Are you now in Pools staking business if yes, this applies to you we have 4 colours in coupon history RED, PURPLE, BROWN and BLUE. In week 19 NORWICH away No 1 — (RED) In week 30 NORWICH away No 1 — (BLUE) In week 33 NORWICH away No 1 — (BROWN) In week 40 NORWICH away No 1 — (PURPLE) Week 19 — 13x 29x 32xxx — NAP = 11 drs Week 30 — X X X — NAP = Week 33 — X X X — NAP .

All our week 19 winners congrats once again, other intending winners re all welcomed N50,000= Wisdom Win= Welcome & Good luck.

IKECHUKWU & BROS-08168157259 (16 FREE 11). (READ & WIN)

Congratulations to all our clients both-old and New. We are glad to inform you that we are now in partnership with other senior compilers (colleagues) on fixed matches winning informations.

‘Success is sweet’ welcome to our winners world of success.

Our week 30, sure Nap is sure with 3 draws and the above free pair on Birmingham and Bristol. C. Free refrence in week 25 ‘2015.

Week 25 – 3x 14x 40xxx 16xx 11.

Week 30 – X X X 16xx 11. Subsidised fee N30,000=now! Goodluck.

FAITHFUL INTERVENTION–07082899957

THE TRUST MAN NAPS= 21 SURE 22 10 – 10 WEEKS OF ZERO SCHEDULED/FIXED MATCHES= DRAW IS DRAW Week 10 – 3x 15x 17xx – 19x 20 Week 20 – 9x 13x 29xx – 20x 21 Week 30 – X X X - 22x 23 Congratulations to all our faithful clients at our winning intervention place you FAITH is your winning passport. We operates on fixed matches on our foreign Experts advice. JOIN THE WINNERS – N50, 000= Panel or No panel draw is DRAW.

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Fact – Chelsea meet Man Utd. In every year league but in pools record they were fixed for 2/2years winning records.

2212 – 2014 – 2016. RECORDS WEEK 13’ 2012 – 09X 15X 27XXX – 11X 05 WEEK 27’ 2014 – 12X 20X 32XXX – 11X 04.

WEEK 30’ 2016 – X X X - 11X 03 Ascending order pair for our week’s nap is as good as a blank signed cheque. Resume on a winning track and celebrate to Valentine. N50, 000= recovery fee. Goodluck.

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Week 24, 27 and 30.

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Good luck.

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WEEK 29 XRAY Promoters week of 8 undaunted

draws on score card with some home and away teams fixed as draws. That is pool for you.

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Congratulations, last week result prompted a emergency meeting with our compilers on way forward to enrich our clients.

They tagged weeks 30, 31 and 32 as (PAY BACK WEEKS) so I hereby congratulate you once again as they promised to unveiled draws for your winning pleasure to pay all outstandings rent, school fees, Utilities etc. Please, Embrace and appreciate them, your winning is guaranteed with them. Goodluck.

WEEK 30 STATUS EKO – 05 LKO – 47 VOID — 13 SUNDAY – 02 – 03 – 23 – 27, 30, 48 AND 49

EDITOR’S PLACE 4 0- 4 4

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CONGRATULATIONS! FOUR WEEKS OPERATION...

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WK 31 NAP NAP PAIR X11X X13X

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NJOROGE ME ASSURANCE — 08177474535 16 ASSURES 29

BRISTOL R AND BLACKPOOL AT AWAY Records as it in yester years, Charlton and Oldham matches always ended on a state. So, they were known as stalemate. The 2 teams are now on song to control a pair at home or........ and 3 fixed draws.

At Njoroge is no longer news telling you that your winning is our PRIDE when our trade mark said it all. ‘ASSURANCE MANAGER’ Outstanding Assurance Director. Welcome & Congratulations N25,000.

TRIBUNE POOLS— THE FORTUNE PAGE.

SIDELINES

NO 16, 429

N150

THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY, 2016

“The poor remuneration paid to junior lawyers by senior lawyers have contributed to the problems encountered in the administration of justice.”

A

few days ago, President Buhari while on a visit to Kenya, again identified the judiciary as a major source of headache for him in the fight against corruption. Prior to this latest comment, I had already stated just how this perception of lawyers and Judges is wrong.

Happily since thisrecent remarks made by Mr President in Kenya, more Nigerians including prominent lawyers and even the Nigerian bar Association have risen in defence of the bench. However as I stated two weeks ago, I do not want to be mistaken as insisting that lawyers are saints and have not contributed in one way or the other to the problems encountered in the administration of justice in Nigeria. There are however other underlying problems such as the quality of education received by lawyers and the poor remuneration paid to junior lawyers by senior lawyers. While lawyers may not have played any role in the former, they have contributed to the problems encountered in the administration of justice IMPROVEMENT OF LL.B CURRICULUM It cannot be disputed that there is a connection between quality of education received by lawyers and the effectiveness they will display in the practice of the profession.

Regrettably, the LL.B curriculum in Nigerian Universities requires serious overhaul.

Legal education involves learning: (i) the whole body of substantive and procedural laws and related aspects of social control of human behaviour, (ii) fundamental skills including problem solving, legal analysis and reasoning, legal research and writing, investigation and marshalling of facts, communication, negotiation and counselling, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, and capacity to organize and manage legal work in different situations (iii) the fundamental profession values and ethics such as integrity, fairness, and freedom from bias; and finally (iv) the right attitudes conducive to the dignity of the profession and the majesty of law and justice.

I believe that all these should be reflected in the curriculum. Law being a tool for social engineering and social control, it should be studied in the social context. This means integrating law subjects with social and behavioural sciences. This would en-

OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D, D.Litt

The footage of a female cadet in the Nigerian Army profusely slapping a male civilian went viral on Wednesday. What was the civilian’s offence? He had allegedly complimented the cadet’s good looks by saying she was ‘beautiful’. Hmmm, we also blame the civilian for erroneously referring to an obviously ‘ugly’ woman as being beautiful.

afeonthursday

aareafe@gmail.com

Justice: Loss of public confidence Lawyers alone not to blame (5) able the lawyer to solve problems in socially acceptable ways and assist in developing public policies appropriate to social needs.

In short, whether it is the issue of poverty alleviation or gender justice, environmental protection or juvenile justice, human rights, development of scientific technology, or the fight against corruption modern law has to play a balancing role between stability and change, human rights and social justice. The plea in curriculum development, therefore, should be to expand the law curriculum to include a fair amount of sociology, political science, history, economics, philosophy, and psychology in legal education.

IMPROVED TEACHING METHODS There is also the issue of teaching methods adopted in Nigerian Universities. In most cases, some teachers make use of lecture notes passed on to these lecturers by their own tutors in their undergraduate days.

Many lecture notes of our undergraduates are replete with archaic judicial precedents on legal points even though recent decisions of our courts including those of the Supreme Court of Nigeria abound on these points. As a result, many students are unable to locate decided authorities cited to them by their lecturers. A teaching method which has been adopted by most foreign Law schools but which is yet to fully find its way into the consciousness of our Law teachers is the Socratic Dialogue or Case Method. Prof. (Dr.) N. R. Madhana Mevon described the case method thus: “Another teaching method is the Socratic dialogue more known as the case method employed to develop capacities for analytical reasoning and persuasive argumentation in law classes. In preparing for class-students are given a reading list of laws and cases and asked to identify material facts, list the legal issues, analyse applicable law and precedents, and give a reasoned decision. The students understanding of the materials read is tested through a dialogue

where the teacher asks a series of questions that not only require the students to recount what was read but also to apply the law to similar new situation.

This system of teaching is clearly strange to most of our teachers and students in our institutions of higher learning. I am however aware that the Council of Legal Education has at the Nigerian Law School recently adopted a style of teaching similar to that stated above called the frontloading system. Students at the law school are now required to read ahead of class and are often called upon to address the full class on the outcome of their research. Laudable as the innovation of the Council of Legal Education is, the full effect of same will not be felt until the various faculties of law adopt the same or a similar system. It is also advisable that private legal practitioners with extensive experience particularly in the area of litigation be encouraged to act as parttime lecturers in our various faculties of law.

This is the practice in England and other advanced countries. There are some salient points in the practice of law which cannot be found in any textbook. In the words of Mark McComark in his book “The Terrible Truth About Lawyers” most legal practitioners will find after graduation that 80% of the things they would require in active practice were not taught at the law school and that 80% of the things they were taught would not be required in active practice of law.” These private practitioners by virtue of their experience are better placed to teach students the intricacies of the practice of the profession.

REMUNERATION After qualification young lawyer is naturally expected to earn reasonable wages sufficient to meet his needs. However, experience in Nigeria shows that most senior lawyers do not pay their juniors well. Under the guise that the juniors are still learning, some seniors subject their juniors to har-

rowing conditions of service which should have no place in modern times. Instances therefore abound in which lawyers several years after their qualification are unable to afford the most basic needs, inclusive of a car, which as far as legal practice is concerned, is a tool of the trade rather than a luxury item.

Some lawyers even ride motorcycles popularly referred to as `Okadas` to court.

The effect of this is that after a year or two, most young practitioners decide to open their own offices without any thought to the fact that they, in all probability are not yet equipped, experience wise, to practice on their own. They end up opening one-man firms which after reality sets in, remain just that; one-man firms. This has a ripple effect on the general practice of law in the country and stunts its development in many ways, one of which may be in the form referred to by many as the complicity of lawyers in the delay in justice delivery. In most developed countries in Europe and even in South-Africa there are firms with thousands of lawyers and hundreds of Partners. These firms afford lawyers excellent working conditions and environment within which to grow professionally. Lawyers benefit from discussing fine legal points with their colleagues.

A man practicing on his own has no such edge. In such firms remuneration is based on a merits system in which lawyers are paid their monthly salaries and even bonuses based on their performance. This ensures that lawyers stay for decades in the employment of just one firm in which they are assured professional and job satisfaction.

While some firms inclusive of mine have long bought into this idea, the fact remains that there is still a long way to go in this respect. If the practice of law must grow in Nigeria, measures must be put in place to guarantee reasonable working conditions for young lawyers.

To be continued…

I’m not a bad influence—Adebayor

By Ganiyu Salman TOGO international, Emmanuel Adebayor has said he is not a bad influence to his team-mates as many believed.

Adebayor made the remarks after his debut with Crystal Palace on Tuesday night ended in a 1-2 loss to Bournemouth in the English Premier League.

“There are a lot of things said and written about Adebayor, but if you ask every manager I have worked under – except maybe one or two – they will tell you I am a good influence in the dressing

room. Things haven’t always gone right for me in football. But I came here because I just want to step on that pitch and have happy moments again. I want to play for this club and do my best for them. We are better than the results in the last five games,” he told theguardian.com.

The former Arsenal star stated that he is more experienced than many players in the EPL. “I haven’t played many games in this country recently, but I have played more games than all of these guys in the Premier League [in my career],” he said.

“I don’t think they have had anyone who

has played in both La Liga and Ligue 1 [with Real Madrid and Monaco], so I am here for some of the players to learn from. It’s about being a leader. It means coming into training on time and doing my job professionally. That’s what I have done in my whole career and that is what I will keep doing,” said the lanky striker who was eased out of Tottenham Hotspur last September.

Adebayor who joined the Eagles in a January transfer window, said he was impressed with the spirit in the dressing room of his new team.

“Wilf is a fantastic player and performing at a very high level,” Adebayor said. “I’ve seen Bolasie play for Congo and I can’t wait for him to get fit again. But this is a good squad at Palace. I can tell you the atmosphere in the dressing room is one of the best I have ever experienced. We all come into training happy and laughing. I now have a big smile on my face, and you know me, I smile louder than anybody else. For me, there has not been a club that has been easier to settle in at. They have made it so easy for me to feel comfortable here. The lads make life so easy for me.”

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 4/2/2016.