20th June 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,527

MONDAY, 20 JUNE, 2016

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Naira in 3-day recovery as new forex policy kicks off today

N150

•BDC operators seek CBN’s FXPD licence Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

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HE Nigerian Naira which opened early last week at N370.00

to a United States dollar at the parallel market, appreciated between Wednesday and Friday to N355.00/US$1.00.

This sudden recovery follows the announcement of the much await-

ed flexible foreign exchange (FX) policy guidelines, trading of which kicks off today June 20,2016.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Wednesday it would begin market-driven trading of

the naira today to reduce chronic foreign exchange shortages, but it has given few details on how.

Dealers said though the local currency had hovered around N340 to N350 at the Bureau De Change seg-

ment in some markets till Friday, market rate for the local unit is expected to be determined this week as the new FX policy framework becomes operational.

Continued from pg11

Osun hijab crisis: Serialisation of full judgment starts on page 36

Senate cries out

FG plots to send Saraki, Ekweremadu to prison •Says Nigeria's democracy in danger •Wants president to call AGF to order

—P3

Buhari returns, says, 'I'm okay'

—P2

•Ministers, govs welcome him —P

President Muhammadu Buhari being welcomed by, from right, Minister of Interior, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau; Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed; Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril and others, on his arrival from United Kingdom, at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, on Sunday.

19 die in Ogijo killings: Death toll rises, Lagos-Ibadan residents flee homes expressway •Afenifere wants perpetrators nabbed —P7 auto crash —P33 •We will arrest them —Police

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

Buhari returns, says 'I'm okay' Leon Usigbe -Abuja

A

FTER two weeks’ vacation in the United Kingdom, where he underwent medical treatment for an ear infection, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday, retuned to Abuja.

He declared himself alright in a brief chat with State House correspondents, after he inspected guard of honour mounted

by Guards Brigade on his arrival at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The president’s plane touched down at about 5.34 p.m into a reception led by the Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari.

With Yari were his Kogi State counterpart, Yahaya Bello; ministers, members of the National Assembly, service chief, among others.

After an inspection of guard of honour, President Buhari was asked about his present state of health and he responded: “You have seen me. You saw me when I was going. You can do the assessment yourself.

“I am okay. You can see me inspecting the guard of honour. You can see I am taller than you. Do you want to wrestle with me?

You can do so,” he said, before leaving for the Presidential Villa, Abuja, immediately.

Also speaking, Governor Yari thanked God for

bringing Buhari safely back to the country.

“We thank God for bringing him back to the country.

It is a good thing he went on

a break and returned to his people hale and hearty.

“Our daddy is back. He has gone to take a rest and we are happy that he is back,”

he said.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in his remark, reiterated that

Industrial crisis looms in Kogi as labour, govt disagree Yinka Oladoyinbo Lokoja ANOTHER round of industrial crisis looms in Kogi State as the organised labour has disagreed with the state government over conditions stipulated for payment of salary arrears owed workers and alleged disregard to established civil ser-

vice rules by government.

The labour movement also said government failed to implement the agreement reached with it on February 1, before the suspension of the strike embarked upon in December 2015.

This was contained in a statment jointly signed by the chairman of the Nige-

ria Labour Congress(NLC), Onuh Edoka, that of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ojo Ranti, his Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) counterpart, Aaron Akeji and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) chairman, Ndalaye Abdullahi and their secretaries.

The organised labour said

NSCDC uncovers Boko Haram's 'spiritual book` used to hypnotise victims Chris Agbambu - Abuja with Agency Report THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Borno State, on Sunday, said it has uncovered a "spiritual book" suspected to be used by Boko Haram to hypnotise their victims.

The state commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in Maiduguri, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Abdullahi said that the book, written in Arabic, was discovered during an operation by men of the command at an abandoned house in Dikwa Local Government Area of the state.

"It is sad that many inno-

cent souls had been dragged into submitting to Boko Haram through spiritual indoctrination.

"The book, named 'Guduma', was used by the insurgents as a powerful charm to indoctrinate followers into submitting to the dictates of leaders of the sect.

"Our findings revealed that the book was also used in deceiving victims and members of the sect into believing that it could make them invisible and also offer protection against bullet shots and bombs.

"The spiritual book was abandoned by ‘Boko Haram’ after the takeover of Dikwa from the insurgents, two years ago," he said.

Meanwhile, following at-

tack on Kuda community in Adamawa State by some suspected Boko Haram terrorists, the Commander, 28 Task Force Brigade, Brigadier-General Felix Omoigui, has commiserated with the families of the deceased.

The commander, who was on an assessment tour, following attack by the Boko Haram terrorists that claimed the lives of 18 people with several others wounded, also condoled with the community for the unfortunate incident.

He assured them that the military and the security agencies were there to protect them, assuring that his command would do all that was possible to track and apprehend the assailants.

Traditional ruler, subject in police net over land dispute Godwin Agwam - Lafia A traditional ruler of Kuduku community of Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Bilianu Abdullahi and one Gambo Kassimu Galadima, also of Keana town, has been dragged before the state command of the Nigeria police over alleged conspiracy by the duo to illegally confiscate some hectares of farm lands belonging to the community.

The community alleged that the said Gambo Galad-

the president was fit and would resume work today.

“Mr President is fit and will resume work on Monday,” Adesina said.

ima had made several attempts to forcefully take over the ownership of the disputed land by embarking on ‘illegal survey’ of the land with claims that he acquired the land since 1983.

The allegation was contained in a petition jointly signed by the Mr Agustine Kuza and Amos Umande, youth chairman and secretary, respectively, and made available to newsmen in Lafia, the state capital, on Sunday.

According to the petition,

which was addressed to the state Commissioner of Police, Lawal Shehu and a copy of which was made to Governor Umaru Tanko AlMakura and other security agencies in the state, the petitioners accused the duo of conspiring to take over their farm lands.

They recalled that the people of the community, being a village area in Keana Local Government Area, have coexisted peacefully with other ethnic nationalities in the locality over

the years without anyone challenging its ownership of the said portion of farm land and wondered why the sudden move by the duo to confiscate the land.

The petitioners averred that the action of the duo was a calculated attempt to deny the people of their right to farming, adding, it is their only source of livelihood .

They vowed to employ every available means within the confines of the law to resist any forceful takeover of the lands.

it opposed the arbitrary decision of the state government to compel workers in the public service to open accounts with certain banks before their salaries could be paid to them.

It noted that the policy was an infringement on the fundamental human rights of workers to personal accounts with any bank of their choice which might be dictated by some reasons personal to the workers.

The statement read, "Labour is not convinced of the reasons adduced by the governor over government's decision on the issue as it has potency of compounding the hardship already bedeviling workers in the state. Besides, most workers already have business commitments with their current banks predating this administration, implying that the policy will definitely set them against their banks with unpleasant consequences that they may suffer.

"Consequently, labour hereby demand for immediate reversal to the status quo of paying workers' salaries through their existing bank accounts that they have been using over time for their salaries".

The unions also frowned at the alleged disregard to the established civil service rules regarding appointments at local government level and the indefinite suspension of top government civil servants in the state.

The statement said: "Whereas, labour is not out to protect any officer that is found wanting, in his assignments; we take exception to a blanket suspension imposed in the affected officers without finding them guilty of any known offence."

FG to complete all ongoing projects in 3 years —Fashola MINISTER of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said the Federal Government is committed to finishing all ongoing projects within three years.

Fashola gave the assurance on Saturday evening, after inspecting work at the LokoOweto Bridge over River Benue, which connects Loko and Oweto communities in

Nasarawa State and Benue State, respectively.

He said that the Federal Government would make funds available to pay contractors as soon as they deliver completed projects.

"The Federal Government of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari, have expressed very clear commitment to finish the ongo-

ing and abandoned projects.

"We are focusing on completion of ongoing projects; this is one of the many ongoing projects.

"Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is one of them; KanoMaiduguri is one of them; Ilorin-Jebba is one of them and the Second Niger Bridge is one of them.

"All those projects now,

the contractors are moving back to sites and work is beginning. Gradually, over the next three years ,we would complete many of them’’, the minister said.

Fashola expressed the confidence that the resumption of construction activities would stimulate expansion of infrastructure, create jobs and generate commer-

cial opportunities for the people.

He said when completed, the Loko-Oweto Bridge, would boost socio-economic activities in Nasarawa State and Benue State .

"You will see those who lost their jobs; they would come back to work. You would see increased merchandising and supply of building materials.

Ibadan Poly ASUP warns members against anti-union activities

By Modupe George THE leadership of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), The Polytechnic, Ibadan, led

by Mr Kelani Ajadi, has condemned the activities of some of its members, who had, in recent times, embarked on illegal activities aimed at dragging the name and integrity of its executive members into the mud.

This was contained in a press release co-signed by its chairman, Mr Kelani Ajadi and the General Secretary, Mr Najeem Adunola.

According to the release, the caretaker committee, led by the duo of Mr Isiaka Salawu and O. T. I. Oyetunji, was not recognised by any provisions of the union’s constitution.

The release stated that there was never any attempt or move by any group to impeach the current executive of the union, as such might only exist in the figment of the imagination of those peddling the rumour and that anything which has to do with the activities of this group should be discountenanced.

“As elected representatives of the union, we are absolutely committed to the promotion of members’ welfare at all times as previously demonstrated because these and many more are what we swore to uphold while canvassing for members’ votes.”

The union, therefore, identified with and commended the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration for his peopleoriented policy, most especially, on the repositioning of the education sector.

Army to hold shooting training in Badagry THE 243 Battalion of the Nigerian Army has said it will hold a shooting training in Badagry, Lagos State, from June 20 to 24.

This was contained in a statement issued in Lagos by the Deputy Director Army Public Relations, Lt. Colonel Kingsley Samuel.

"The general public, in particular, locals and farmers around Badagry and Kankon areas ,are pleased, requested to keep off the entire exercise area.

"They are not to panic on the hearing of gun shots while the field exercises lasts,’’ the statement said.

According to the statement, the exercise is routine to keep the soldiers in shape and mentally ready.

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Senate cries out: FG plots to send Saraki, Ekweremadu to prison

Says Nigeria’s democracy in danger Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

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HE Senate, on Sunday, described the forgery case against some principal officers of the Upper Legislative Chamber of the National Assembly as a violation of principles of separation of powers and abuse of checks and balances.

The implication, it added, is that the country’s democracy was in danger.

The Senate, in a nine-paragraphed response to the case, through Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, made available to Senate Reporters read: “After reading in the national newspapers and online platforms of the planned charges of forgery and conspiracy preferred against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; immediate past Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and the Clerk of the Senate, Mr Ben Efeturi and reviewing the circumstances leading to the filing of these charges, we are compelled to alert the good people of Nigeria and the international community that our democracy is in danger.

“An attempt by the Executive Arm of the Federal Government to muzzle the legislature and criminalise legislative processes, in order to cause leadership change in the National Assembly is a return to the era of impunity and lack of respect for due process which we all fought to abolish.

“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to, please, call his Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, to order. The Senate of the Federal Republic voted freely to elect its leadership into office and continuing attempts to change that leadership through the wanton abuse of judicial processes cannot stand in the eyes of the world. It is clear that the Attorney-General and party leaders behind this action either lack the understanding of the underlining principles of constitutional democracy, the concept of Separation of Powers, checks and balances and parliamentary convention or they just simply do not care if the present democracy in the country survives or collapses, in their blinded determination to get at Saraki and Ekweremadu by all means necessary, including abuse of office and sacking the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Nigerian people have enough economic hardship at this time requiring the full attention and cooperation of the three arms of government, instead of these at-

tempts to distract and politicise governance. We are in a state of economic emergency, such that what the National Assembly needs at this time are executive bills and proposals aimed at resolving the crises of unemployment, currency depreciation, inflation, crime and insecurity. What the National Assembly needs now are executive bills to build and strengthen institutions to earn revenues, fight corruption and eliminate waste. Instead, we are getting hostile actions aimed at destabilising the National Assembly, distracting Senators from their oversight functions and ensuring good and accountable gov-

ernance.

“We must make it clear here to the individuals in the Executive arm and party leadership behind these plots not to mistake the maturity and hand of cooperation being extended to the Presidency by the legislature as a sign of weakness.

“This latest plot is directed at forcing a change of leadership in the Senate or, in the extreme case, ground the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. Or how does one interpret a move in which the two presiding officers are being set up to be remanded in Kuje Prison or incapacitated from sitting at plenary through a day-today trial on a matter that is

purely an internal affair of the Senate.

“This obviously is a dangerous case of violation of the independence of the legislature, undue and unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of the Senate and blatant abuse of the judicial process. The matter now being criminalised was brought to the plenary of the Senate-in-session over a year ago. And because it had no support, it was overruled and roundly defeated in chambers.

“To now take a matter that was resolved on the floor of the Senate to the police and then make it form subject of a criminal prosecution of freely elected legislators

beats imagination of free thinking men all over the world. The implication is that any matter that fails on the floor of the National Assembly will now be taken to the police, thereby endangering every senator and assembly member.

“This current move clearly runs contrary to the Doctrine of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances which are fundamental to the successful operation of the Presidential System of government. It runs counter to the principle outlined by the Supreme Court in the Adesanya Vs Senate case, where it was held that nobody should seek to use the courts to achieve what

From left, Chancellor,Diocese of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Justice Babasola Ogunade (retd); Bishop of Egba West, Right Reverend Samuel Ogundeji; retired Bishop of Ifo Diocese Right Reverend Akin Odejide; Bishop of Diocese of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Bishop Olushola Odedeji, his wife, Lydia; Registrar, Diocese of Lagos West, Prince Bambo Adesanya and the Bishop of Ogbomoso Diocese, Right Reverend Titus Olayinka, at the 2016 Trinity Ordination of Deacon and Priest, at St. Paul Anglican Church, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, on Sunday. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

he or she has failed to push through on the floor of the National Assembly.

“This present efforts, therefore, is clearly a coup against the legislature with the ignoble aim to undermine its independence and subject the law making institution to the whims and caprices of the executive. It is a plan to return Nigeria to the dictatorial era, which we have, as a nation, voted to reject.

It is a dangerous trend with grave implications for the survival of our democracy and the integrity of the component institutions. This rule of men as against the rule of law is also the reason the War Against Corruption, one of the cardinal objectives of the present administration, is losing credibility because people perceive it to be selective and, in most cases, aimed at settling political or partisan scores.

“We, therefore, urge all Nigerians and the international community to rise and condemn this blatant attempt to subject the legislature to the control, whims and caprices of the executive. If the Legislative arm falls, democracy fails, as there will be no other institution empowered by the constitution to check and balance the enormous powers of the Executive. We also call on the judiciary as the last hope to save our constitutional democracy and stand for the rule of law, by doing that which is right in this case.”

N1.1trn annual salaries: Buhari jettisons review of public officers’ pay Sanya Adejokun -Abuja ONE year after the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) inaugurated a committee to review the remuneration packages of public office holders, both President Muhammadu Buhari and the members of the National Assembly appear to have lost interest in the matter.

Buhari prompted the review just days after he was sworn into office by announcing a 50 per cent slash in his own salary and that of Vice President Yemi Oshinbajo.

It would be the second time in eight years that RMAFC would be setting up a committee to recommend a downward review of allowances of public office holders as late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua also directed the commission to do same in 2008, following global fall in crude oil prices without success.

A public uproar over salaries and allowances of the

lawmakers came shortly after Buhari made the decision of himself and Oshinbajo public.

In the 2007 remuneration package currently in use, annual basic salaries of the President and Vice President are N3, 514, 705.00 and 3, 031, 572.50 respectively, excluding other juicy allowances, both in cash and kind. Chief Justice of Nigeria earns N3,363,972.50 as annual basic salary, other judges earn averagely N2, 035, 749.10 annually.

According to documents obtained from RMAFC, political office holders in the executive and legislature arms, including judicial officers totalling 1,268 with the Federal Government earn a combined N173,656,335,193.60.

There are 4,418 individuals functioning in the same category in the 36 states, earning a combined N360.091 billion, while in the 774 local governments, there are 11,788 officers falling into the category earn-

ing N592.8 billion.

In totality, 17,474 political office holders function in Nigeria’s public service with annual remuneration of N1.126 trillion.

Legislators earn allowances as percentages of annual basic salaries as follows: Accommodation 200 percent; Furniture – 300 per cent once in four years; motor vehicle; 400 per cent loan; Fuelling Allowance; 50 per cent of basic salary; Personal Assistant- 25 per cent; Duty Tour Allowance and Estacode when travelling within or outside the country; domestic staff – 50 per cent; Entertainment –; Utility – 301 per cent; Recess Allowance – 10 per cent; Robe Allowance – 25 per cent; Newspapers – 15 per cent; Constituency Allowance – Senators 250 per cent, Reps – 150 per cent; Severance Gratuity – 300 per cent once after tenure; House Maintenance; Responsibility Allowance – between five and 10 per cent depending on office.

Annual total regular allowance for a senator stands at N15, 299, 320.00.

In the irregular category of allowances, the Senator earns N6, 079, 200.00 for furniture and another N6, 079, 200.00 as severance once in four years. Total irregular allowances are difficult to compute because estacode and duty tour allowances depend on how many local and international travels were conducted. The Senator also collects N8,105,600.00 as vehicle loan.

RMAFC said in the document, that in terms of percentage of pay to revenue, this translates to 10.88 per cent for Federal Government; 44.49 per cent for state governments and for local government councils, it is a whopping 95.01 per cent.

Ministers, Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) and chairmen of the federal commissions are earning annual basic salary of N2,026,400 with annual basic allowance of

N179,516,640 just as a Special Adviser to the President earn N1,942,875.00 as annual basic salaries and at least N174,333,300 annually as allowance.

Many state governments are currently unable to pay salaries of their staff for many months, with civil servants in some of those states being on strike.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has also revealed that the Federal Government borrows billions every month to be able to meet its salary obligations.

In September last year, RMAFC Public Relations Officer, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, said the report on the review of salaries and allowances for political, public and judicial office holders was almost completed and would be submitted soon after.

Efforts to speak with the acting chairman of RMAFC, Alhaji Shettima Umar Abba Gana, proved abortive, as he was said not to be in the office when Nigerian Tribune visited the commission on Friday.

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FG plotting to impeach me, Fayose cries out Jacob Segun Olatunji -Abuja

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KITI State governor, Dr Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday, raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) to impeach him and as well “destabilise the Ekiti State government, using the instrumentalities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other agencies of government.”

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, Fayose declared “that no amount of intimidation, harassment, investigation and coercion will make me stop speaking on behalf of the common man, who freely gave their mandate to the APC, who are now daily failing them.”

He stated that “it is now obvious that the current government is all out to move against and silence all voices in the opposition.

“I just want to alert all Nigerians that they are at it again, but they will not succeed and I will not surrender nor lose my voice as a result of their harassment.

“A few days ago, we got it on good authority that there was a meeting with some politicians from Ekiti State, including an Ekiti-born Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and self-professed human rights activist as well as a former senator, who is also an adviser to the vice president by agents of the Federal Government, with the agenda solely on how to bring down my administration as the governor of the state.

“Certain top functionaries of the Ekiti State government and some important members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State and some associates of mine have now been pencilled down for arrest and indefinite detention by the EFCC under the guise of investigating the funds spent by the PDP on the June 21, 2014 governorship election and the Presidential election.

“The game plan is to make those to be arrested get detained indefinitely, forced to make statements incriminating me, while at the same time feeding the public with orchestrated fake reports, using their usual media organs.

“This is coming after their failure to use the Department of State Services (DSS) to coerce members

of the state House of Assembly to buy into the impeachment plot against me with a view to silencing me being a major voice of the opposition.

“The plot to arrest and detain indefinitely my Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo and four honourable members of the state House of Assembly for treason over our protest letter on the loan from China.

“To achieve this sinister plot against the government and people of Ekiti State, we have been informed that some of their trusted allies in the EFCC have been mobilised to move to Ekiti any moment from now.

“I, however, wish to advise them to keep their gun power dry and should not be in a hurry, but rather wait till the end of my ten-

ure in 2018.

“As a man known to keeping to his words, I want to assure them that I will be available to answer any of their questions, no matter how unreasonable.

“While we are not afraid of persecution from anyone or government agency, including the EFCC and DSS, I wish to state that the level at which the Buhariled Federal Government is taking political vendetta and muzzling of opposition both in the PDP and within the APC, is dangerous to the survival of democracy in the country.

“Most importantly, Nigerians must begin to ask the EFCC what has happened to the several peti-

OAU graduate hacks mother to death in Osun Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

Newly inaugurated chairman of Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), Mr Olajide Ajeigbe, with Governor Abiola Ajimobi, during the inauguration of OYSIEC members, in Ibadan, on Friday.

Certificate forgery: Newspaper pages not alternative court, Presidency tells lawyer Leon Usigbe -Abuja THE Presidency, on Sunday, warned a private lawyer, Mr Nnamdi Nwokocha, to refrain from declaring President Muhammadu Buhari guilty in the ongoing case of alleged lack of school certificate even before the court rules on the matter.

In a reaction to an interview granted to a national daily by the lawyer, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement issued in Abuja, on Sunday, that what the lawyer did amounted to prejudicing public opinion against the president.

He observed that it was unfair for a lawyer as a litigant to a case in court to go out of his way to hijack the power of a judge by declaring the president guilty of what he was accused of.

According to Shehu, newspaper pages were not alternative courts where a lawyer could declare anybody guilty of anything when the court had not formally given a definitive judgement on an issue before it.

He said the two-page interview breached lawyer’s ethical code and “we hope that the court and the Bar Association will take notice of this.”

The presidential aide said any lawyer that sincerely

believed in judicial process and the rights of other parties to a case would not have engaged in the “inappropriate and unprofessional practice of trial by media, especially a situation, where Nwokocha openly declared the president guilty when the court didn’t make that declaration.”

According to him, gag orders emerged in the United States “on account of lawyers’ inappropriate conduct on trying and convicting people on the pages of newspapers or the court of public opinion.”

Shehu further explained that free speech was “not synonymous with recklessness and wanton abuse of

the rights of other parties to a case in court.”

He added: “The litigant’s unabashed claim that he was a card-carrying member of the opposition PDP which lost power in the last election clearly indicates a scheme that seeks power by circumventing the democratic process of elections.”

Shehu warned that if Nwokocha did not stop “his unfair and professionally inappropriate abuse of free speech, the president’s competent team of lawyers will seek the instrumentality of the law in dealing with his unethical actions.”

He declared: “You cannot be a litigant and be a judge at the same time.”

tions against APC leaders and financiers of President Buhari’s election, including former governors.

“Nigerians must, therefore, begin to ask the EFCC why it has refused to act on petitions against APC members. Why is EFCC only interested in how PDP funded its elections? Was the fund used for President Buhari’s election gotten from the spirit world? Is EFCC now for persecution of PDP members? Must everyone that is not in the APC be subject of EFCC harassment?

“It is now obvious that the current government is all out to move against and silence all voices in the opposition.”

TRAGEDY struck in Ede, Osun State, when a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, simply identified as Christian, allegedly hacked his mother to death with cutlass.

After perpetrating the bizarre act, he was said to have also sat beside the corpse for several hours.

Confirming the incident to the Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday, the acting Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Osun State police command, Mr Ajibade Egbedele said the killing occurred around Oba Laoye area of Ede town.

He stated that the police received distress call and men of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) swiftly moved to the scene and apprehend the suspect, adding that the suspect had been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), where investigation is ongoing.

However, credible sources in Oba Laoye area, where the incident occurred informed Nigerian Tribune that the suspect requested N20, 000

from his mother, while the deceased told him she did not have such amount at the time.

Enraged by his mother’s failure to give him the money, Christian was said to have sent his younger sister, called Folake, on errand and dragged his mother into one of the rooms in the house, where he murdered her.

One of the residents of Oba Laoye area, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that “Christian, after killing the poor woman, sat with her corpse in the room. Her sister became suspicious when she returned and met no one.

According to the resident, “she was the one that alerted us when she saw blood oozing out from under the door. She tried opening the door, but it was locked.

Police were later informed and when the door was forced open, Christian was found sitting next to the deceased in pool of blood.”

He further hinted that the deceased lost her husband 14 years ago and singlehandedly raised Christian, who recently completed his project and graduated from OAU, including his other two siblings.

RAMADAN MESSAGE Do not make [as equal] with Allah another deity and [thereby] become censured and forsaken. And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, “My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.”

Your Lord is most knowing of what is within yourselves.

If you should be righteous [in intention] - then indeed He is ever, to the often returning [to Him], Forgiving.

—Surat Al-Isra verses 22-25

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

Edo guber: There is no PDP for now —Oshiomhole Banji Aluko - Benin City

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DO State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has cast doubt over the participation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 10 governorship election in the state, remarking that the party has “one body and several heads.”

The governor, who spoke with journalists shortly after the conclusion of the gubernatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin, Sunday morning, said he was not bothered about the erstwhile ruling party as he was sure that Edo people would not forget the crimes of PDP, at least in the next 20 years.

He said: “There is no PDP.

Which of the factions? You have one body and several heads.

“Even when they were potent, we defeated them.

There is no PDP as far as we are concerned. There are other parties in the state; PDP will not be an issue.

“Even young boys, when you ask them who is responsible for this bad road?

They will say PDP. “Who is responsible for

this good road, they will say APC. Who built this school?

APC. We have no fear at all.

We will even do better in the election.”

Reflecting on the conduct of the APC primaries, Governor Oshiomhole said it was clear that the primaries met acceptable standard and that he was proud of the exercise.

“There is no question that the process was free and

fair. People behaved very responsibly and delegates conducted themselves very well. I don’t think a primary (election) could have been better than that.”

On the allegation that Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) of delegates were purchased before the primaries, he said the fact that no delegate missed accreditation due to inability to produce the PVC proved

that the allegation was untrue.

“The main criterion for accreditation was the PVC. Did you see any delegate who could not produce his PVC to vote?” Oshiomhole asked.

He described the Edo APC governorship aspirant, Godwin Obaseki, as the brain box of his government and intelligent person.

PDP’s survival depends on victory in Edo –Ex-minister Banji Aluko - Benin City

A former minister of National Planning, Professor Sulaiman Abubakar, has stated that the surest way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could snatch power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 was to win the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.

He said the survival of the PDP partly depends on winning the Edo election, remarking that bringing Edo State under the PDP family would open the path to true federalism in the South-South region and provide a platform to reclaim power in 2019.

The former minister, who addressed Edo PDP governorship aspirants and other stakeholders in Benin, during a session organised by an Edo PDP group, the Unity League, appealed to the governorship aspirants and their supporters to accept the outcome of today’s primary election and not cause disaffection in the party.

He said infighting among the PDP family led to the loss of states such as Oyo and Plateau, informing that only disunity could make the PDP lose the September 10 Edo State governorship election.

In his address entitled, “Edo State Election: The last Hope of the deprived”, Abubakar said, “The SouthSouth must, as a matter of strategy, be under the same political platform. This will be a challenge to the hegemony in the North-West.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matter, Senator Babafemi Ojudu (left), receiving an award of humanity on behalf of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo from former national president, Muslim Lawyer Association of Nigeria, Adekola Mustapha (right). With them is the national president of the association, Dr Kamal Dawud and the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Kano State, Honourable Shibu Lambu, during the association’s public lecture and presentation of award, in Abuja. PHOTO: SUNDAY OSUNRAYI.

Steer clear of our activities, Avengers warn Oshiomhole, Sylva, Emami, others Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

MEMBERS of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have come hard on governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; Itsekiri business man, Chief Ayiri Emami and others over their alleged meddlesomeness on activities of the group.

The group, in a statement posted on its website late Saturday night, also warned the former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, Mr Ebikabowei Ben (Boyloaf) and so-called members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), to steer clear of its activities.

“The high command of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) condemns in strong term the continuous efforts of Mr Ebikabowei Ben (Boyloaf), Ayiri Emami, Timipre Sylva, Adams Oshiomhole and their paymasters to link and catch-in our activities to promote their political MEND that has purportedly named a team to negotiate with the Federal Government.

“We are not, however,

surprised by the resurrection of the defunct MEND by these personalities because these are groups of settled ex-fighters that they have been arming, regrouping and rebranding over the years,” Avengers alleged.

The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks on oil installations in the region.

The group admonished the foursome and others to delist the NDA from their alleged criminal tendencies and plans.

“We are making the last appeal and warning to this so-called MEND to excuse the NDA from their criminal ways and gangs ups,” the group warned.

It will be recalled that

the Avengers have accused Itsekiri-born business mogul, Emami; Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu; Governor Oshiomhole and others of holding a meeting in Asaba to select and forward names of some former MEND members as ready-negotiators with the proposed dialogue with the Federal Government.

Obaseki wins APC primaries Banji Aluko - Benin City

EDO State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has proved that he is in charge of the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as his candidate, Godwin Obaseki, early Sunday morning won the gubernatorial primaries of the party.

Obaseki, who is the head of the Edo State Economic Team, polled a total of 1,608 to defeat his closest challenger and the state deputy governor, Pius Odubu, who polled 471 votes in the primaries held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.

A breakdown of the re-

sult showed that Kenneth Imansuangbon scored 247 votes, while Chris Ogiemwonyi was credited with 137 votes.

A further breakdown of the result revealed that Blessing Agbonmere scored five votes, Charles Airhiavbere 11 votes, Professor Ebegue Amadasun eight votes and Arigbe Osula polled 10 votes.

Other aspirants who participated in the primaries were Austin Emuan (seven votes), Mrs Tina Agbarha (three votes) and Professor Oserheimen Osunbor (nine votes).

Thirty-one invalid votes were recorded in the exer-

cise. 2,771 delegates were registered for the exercise out of which 2,582 were accredited to vote.

Voting started at about 5:40p.m. due to late completion of accreditation of delegates and ended at about 10:25p.m.

Sorting of votes started at 10:40p.m. and ended at about 2:15a.m. It was immediately followed by counting of votes scored by the aspirants in alphabetical order.

The primaries was not without some drama as two of the aspirants, Kenneth Imansuangbon and Chris Ogiemwonyi, stormed out of the venue while sorting of votes was ongoing.

Nigerian Tribune

Herdsmen kill siblings, one other in Ogun community OlayinkaOlukoya-Abeokuta

PEOPLE suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have allegedly killed two siblings and one other resident of Ilewo-Orile in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the herdsmen killed Amosun Ogunronbi, Owolabi Ogunronbi and another person identified as Phillip within the last two weeks.

A resident of the community who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune on condition of anonymity said the late Phillip was hacked to death last Friday.

The suspected herdsmen were reported to have accosted the deceased, snatched his motorcycle and mobile phones before killing him.

The source alleged that the community had at different times lodged complaints with the police which had not yielded any positive result.

It was learnt that the Ogunronbis’ killings happened penultimate Friday before Phillip’s incident while the killers carted away daily thrift money also known as ‘ajo’, motorcycle and mobile phone.

“Philip is an Egun man.

He went to work on Friday but didn’t return. When his wife was going to the market in Ibara-Orile on Saturday morning, she saw the dead body of her husband by the road side.

“Amosun went to collect some thrift savings in Ishaga-Orile and he asked his brother (Owolabi) to convey him there with his motorcycle. When they were coming back, Fulani herdsmen attacked them at about 8:30pm. They hacked them to death.

“Some commercial motorcyclists who passed by later saw Amosun’s lifeless body by the road side and they raised the alarm.

“When we got to the scene with vigilante men, we saw the corpse. We decided to trace his motorcycle and in the process, we discovered the remains of the younger brother in the bush,” he said.

The case was said to have been reported at the Lafenwa Police Station, Abeokuta and later at the state police headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.

It was learnt that the victim’s family requested that they be allowed to bury their dead, which the police did not object to.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, could not be reached at the time of filing this report.

7

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Lagosmetro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Chinese paid N1.4m to assassinate Nigerian partner —Police

Ogun River

It was for protective charm —suspect Olalekan Olabulo

Now

Before

Ogijo militants’ attack: Death toll rises,

residents flee homes

Militants are relocating to Ogun -CP Afenifere wants perpetrators nabbed Olayinka Olukoya and Opeyemi Owoaseye

A

NOTHER three members of Imushin community in Ogijo, attacked by suspected militants last Friday, have been reported dead.

The attack, which has sparked outrage, initially claimed 11 lives, with the new development bringing the number of victims to 14.

It was learnt that Usman and Hassan, two Hausa men shot by the invaders and another unnamed woman, who were rushed to the hospital on Friday evening, died on Sunday morning.

Their corpses had been reportedly taken away for burial.

Lagos Metro gathered that people had started fleeing their homes in the Ogun State borderline community to other safer communities.

A source who spoke to

Lagos Metro said Imushin community was no longer safe for habitation, a reason large number of residents and landlords fled their homes to places considered safer.

One of the residents, Abdulrazak, who spoke to Lagos Metro, said the government should see to the road which leads to Arepo from Itaoluwo Imushin because it is very bad and bushy, creating a hiding place for the militants.

Meanwhile, pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has demanded security agencies to immediately arrest and bring to book, killers of 14 Yoruba people at Imushin.

The group made the call on Sunday, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Yinka Odumakin, while warning hostile neighbours not to take Yoruba good nature for granted.

“While we have never been known to be aggressors in the history of the country, we have never lacked the capacity to ward off aggressors,” he said.

The Ogun State Commissioner, however, alerted that some people suspected to be militants from Niger Delta region are trying to find their way into the state.

He said the fight against these elements required a combined effort of the military, police and other security agencies.

Ali, reacting to the invasion of Imushin, said the militants could no longer stand the pressure put on them by the military and were looking for a safe place to continue their illegal business of oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

The commissioner said the militants had found an abode in the riverine areas of the state, saying that these same militants had been terrorising residents of Arepo

Egbeda rape victim relocated, suspect’s trial stalled Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin THE proposed trial of a 32-year-old man, Adewunmi Adetuyi, charged for defiling a 13-year-old girl was, on Friday, adjourned till June 30.

The trial could not go on as scheduled because the victim, who is the fourth prosecution witness in the case, was not in court.

It was gathered that the family of the girl moved her away from the environ-

ment to Badagry, in order to avoid stigmatisation and enable her to recover from the trauma.

The incident happened when the victim was sent on errand by her aunt around 9.00 p.m. on November 12, as the accused lured her into an uncompleted building where he allegedly defiled her.

Her aunt, who waited for hours for the girl to return, raised the alarm and,

while neighbours were still searching for her, the victim came home and narrated her ordeal.

She identified the alleged culprit whom she said lured her into an uncompleted building, tied her legs and hands before forcefully raping her.

The matter was reported at the Egbeda police station where the accused was arrested and charged before an Ikeja High Court.

axis on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

“It’s not true that 15 people were killed there. The DPO Ogijo was on ground; he reported that only three people were killed and their bodies have been recovered from the scene.

“The militants are finding it difficult in Niger Delta and Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

They are now moving to our side in Ogun. They are the ones involved in kidnapping

and sorts of crime,” he said.

Meanwhile, the state police command has vowed to bring to justice, people suspected to have carried out the attack.

In a statement by the state police spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, made available to Lagos Metro, the state police command was collaborating with the Lagos command and other security agencies to arrest those behind the dastardly act.

4 policemen critically injured in midnight crash Olalekan Olabulo FOUR operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State police command narrowly escaped death early Sunday, in an accident that occurred in Ogudu area of the state.

The policemen sustained injuries while on operation, when a KIA Rio car belonging to a cab operator rammed into their vehicle near Ogudu Bus Stop.

The police at RRS told Lagos Metro that the operatives were on duty on Ogudu-Alapere axis, inspecting the Light Up Lagos Project facilities when the accident occurred at about 12.06 a.m.

According to the information gathered at the scene of accident, RRS men were driving when a KIA Rio with a lone occupant on a high speed rammed into them from behind.

An eyewitness who was at

the scene of the incident and later conveyed the injured to Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, for treatment said “The RRS vehicle was going slowly on the road because they were monitoring the Light Up Lagos Project facilities when the KIA Rio on top speed from Lagos Island towards Alapere rammed into the RRS Ford car with registration number RRS 068 LA thereby bundling it and the officers into a nearby ditch.”

The four occupants of the police vehicle, including the driver, were severely injured as the vehicle was completely written off as a result of the crash.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident started the cab operation business on Saturday, after disengaging from a haulage firm.

A Chinese, names withheld, who allegedly sent hired assassins after his business partner, has been arrested by the police.

The China national, however, denied that he sent assassins after his business partner, insisting that the money that was paid to the suspected hired assassins was meant to help him prepare concoction that would protect him from being killed.

The police image maker in the state, Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest of the Chinese and added that one of the hired assassins was also arrested by the police.

She identified the hired assassins as one Eze and added that the police in the state were on the trail of other members of the gang.

The Chinese, who was arrested by detectives of the State Criminal Investigations Department, had allegedly paid N1 million to the assassins to kill a partner.

Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State police commissioner, said that the Chinese suspect and his accomplice were arrested after a tip-off on their plans to kill a Nigerian businessman.

“The contract sum of the assassination is N1.5 million out of which N1.4 million has been paid with a promise to balance up after the deed has been done.

“Both suspects have confessed to the crime with a sum of N1.4 million already recovered from them. Investigation is ongoing while police are on the trail of two other suspects now at large,” Owoseni said.

In his denial, the Chinese said “I am a dealer in footwear, the partner is my customer whom I supply shoes to. He had refused to pay his debt. He even threatened to kill me. He has been owing me the sum of N4 million.

“The money I paid to the men I hired were for them to prepare me a powerful charm so that he won’t kill me. I did not plan to assassinate him, rather, he was the one planning to kill me.”

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

10

news

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Senators’ proposal for life pension, immunity for Saraki, Dogara self-serving —SERAP Biola Azeez-Ilorin

S

OCIO-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has strongly condemned as “self-serving and despicable the demand by some senators for immunity and life pension for presiding officers of the National Assembly after their tenure in office.”

SERAP’s statement followed the proposal by the senators, at a two-day retreat on Constitution Review, organised by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review, in Lagos, on Saturday.

Among others, the proposal want presiding officers, such as the President of the Senate, Deputy President of Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives to enjoy life pension and immunity, since the executive and judiciary are enjoying same.

But SERAP in a statement, on Sunday, by its executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni said, “The retreat by the senators and representative was titled ‘Towards Ensuring Governance Accountability in Nigerian Federalism.’

It noted, however, that “their grand strategy is the calculated use of legislative

powers to alter the 1999 Constitution in their own favour, so that they can enjoy life benefits at the expense of millions of economically and socially disadvantaged Nigerians who voted them into office.”

The statement read in part: “SERAP calls on the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara to show leadership

and refocus the National Assembly to be able to perform their law-making functions in a manner that will rid the country of impunity for corruption and not embrace or tolerate it.”

Speaker, Kwara State Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad, at the weekend in Lagos, had made a submission at the final session of the retreat on Review of the 1999 Constitution, organised by the Senate

tagged: “Towards Ensuring Governance Accountability in Nigerian Federalism” that the immunity for criminal prosecution being currently enjoyed by the President and State governors should be extended to the Senate President and his Deputy, Speaker, House of Representatives and his Deputy, and the Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the state Houses of Assembly.

In his submission which was approved by the forum, the Speaker argued that currently, two of the three arms of government, heads of the executive and of the judiciary enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution until the end of their tenures.

He argued further that the immunity be either extended to presiding officers for the limited period of their tenures or be withdrawn from everybody.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi (middle), inspecting metal and steel products at the African Foundries Limited, Ogijo, during the inspection of steel companies in Ogun and Lagos states, at the weekend.

FORMER Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial aspirant in Niger State, Air Commodore Peter Gana, has announced his retirement from the party and partisan politics.

He said at a press conference in Abuja, at the weekend, that after due consultation with members of his family, it was agreed that it was time for him to leave partisan politics and play the role of a statesman henceforth.

The onetime managing director of the defunct Nigeria Airways observed that with the challenges bedeviling the economy, it was time that all hands were put on deck to steer back the ship of state on the right course.

He praised the Niger State governor, Abubakar Bello, whom he said, was returning the state to the path of progress and prosperity.

The three time Senatorial aspirant expressed regret over the way the PDP was hijacked by those he referred to as opportunists, whom he said, turned

it into the enemy of Nigerians.

He commended the ongoing probe of prominent members of the party by various security agencies into how they allegedly mismanaged the economic boom, saying the efforts

would bring sanity back into the polity.

He urged every indigene and resident of Niger State to cooperate with the present government to enable the governor to achieve his lofty objectives for the state.

“Although I did not

achieve my personal objective of occupying an elective office, I feel very satisfied.

“This is because my entry and sustained activities in partisan politics made a lot of Nigerlites and elsewhere aware that there are Nupe

people in Kotagora Emirate.

“It also gave hope to the minority Nupes, who had been marginalised and oppressed since history, the confidence and courage to now assert themselves politically and otherwise,” he said.

Chronic debts: Budget Office to deduct MDAs’ overhead funds for settlement Christian Okeke - Abuja

MINISTRIES, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government currently owing various bills are now to have their overhead funds deducted from the first line charge to settle the debts.

Already, the Budget Office had been mandated to have the overhead funds of such chronic debt-owing government institutions so deducted.

The development followed revelations that many government institutions owe huge sums to firms and other Government agencies, either for products supplied or services rendered.

Some of the firms and agencies being owed huge

THE Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has restated government’s support for steel companies in the country, to enable them meet both local demand and exportation of their products.

Fayemi disclosed this on Thursday, during facility tours of the African Foundries Limited (AFL), in Ogijo Local Government Area in Ogun State, and Western Metal Products Company Limited (WEMPCO) on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Minister said that all issues that inhibited export of steel products would be looked into with a view to subjecting them to a review that would be acceptable and beneficial to both government and investors.

“We will review all options and determine which one is more beneficial to government and the investors.” the Minister said.

He added that government was determined to create a conducive environment and provide incentives to genuine investors, as part of efforts to ensure that the sector flourish.

Army kills 3 kidnappers, rescues 3 girls in Bauchi Isaac Shobayo-Jos

Gana quits partisan politics Leon Usigbe -Abuja

FG restates support for steel products export

debts by the government institutions included Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB.) The AEPB for instance, the Nigerian Tribune gathered, is being owed about N10 billion, mainly as environmental fees by various government institutions.

The huge debt, according to a source, forced the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Musa Bello to order immediate sack of former AEPB boss, Shehu Lawan.

Despite the sack, according to the source, the minister made him chairman of a ministerial task team to recover the about N10 billion

owed the board, and which he said, happened under his watch.

The minister gave the team eight-week ultimatum to recover the owed funds; the team is currently on the fourth week.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita , last week, threatened that her office would have no option than to write the Budget Office to make deductions from first line charge of the MDAs, should the government institutions failed to defray their indebtedness to the board.

The Head of Service was quoted as having said that her office would employ

same method of deduction as it did in the efforts to settle the outstanding electricity bills owed to AEDC. According to her, the MDAs had no business owing, as according to her, the expenses ought to have been fully catered for in their annual overhead budgetary expenditures.

She was quoted as having said, “We want to convey a very strong message to all the MDAs under the office of Head of Service, that is, the ministries and various parastatals that if efforts are not made to clear these debts by the next overhead allocation, we will have no option than to ask the budget office to make deductions at first charge.”

MEN of the 33 Brigade Command of the Nigerian Army, Bauchi State, have killed three suspected kidnappers and also rescued three girls in their custody in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The Commandant Operation Flush Ningi, Major Boyi Uba, who disclosed this to newsmen in Bauchi, said the suspects were gunned down in an exchange of fire while other suspects escaped with gunshot wounds.

“After we received intelligence information from our informant around 2:00 p.m, on Saturday, we took permission from our Brigade commander, then we swung into action. But the suspects on sighting us opened fire and three of them were gunned down and other sustained inquiries,” he said.

Major Uba said no soldier died during the encounter with the gunmen, which he said, lasted several hours in the bush of Dutshen Dumbura in Ningi Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the items recovered from the suspects were two AK-47 rifles, one Pump Action, several rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, two motorcycles and two handsets.

Monday, 20 June, 2016 11 businessnews Naira in 3-day recovery as new forex policy kicks off today

•BDC operators seek CBN’s FXPD licence Continued from front page

Meanwhile, banking sources over the weekend said Nigeria’s commercial banks have asked customers to submit forex bids ahead of the start of the new trading.

The sources observed that banks asking customers to submit bids is a signal that the new forex trading platform will be driven by market forces and not dominated by internal bank trading.

After a meeting with CBN officials and bank chief executives late on Friday, banks asked their clients to send them pending letters of credit (LCs) for them to resubmit and to quote a rate at which they want to buy dollars, the source said.

Though the average rate at which the market clears the demand will become the new exchange rate, fillers have it that customers have so far submitted bids between N210 and N290 to the dollar, better than N270-N300/$ said to have been projected by bank treasurers on Friday.

This is also similar to the result of a Reuters poll which found that analysts expect that when the naira floats freely today it will trade at between N275 and N300 per dollar.

“I got a memo from my bank yesterday asking us to contact all our customers with pending LCs to resubmit their LCs and say at what rate they would want to buy the dollars,” the banking source said.

The CBN pegged the naira rate at N197 to the dollar for the past 16 months after a slump in oil revenues hammered public finances and its foreign reserves.

But the currency trades at around N355 on the parallel market.

Sources said the CBN had admitted there is a $4 billion backlog of demand in the market which could take three to four weeks to clear.

Dealers from an investment banking and securities company Afrinvest, said interbank market rate is expected to spike while parallel market rate is likely to converge towards the interbank rate on increased dollar supply.

“On a whole, we reiterate the concluding remark of the CBN governor that market participants should ‘Be calm, no need to worry, everything is fine,” he said.

The CBN finally released the much awaited flexible FX policy guidelines last week, surpassing consensus expectation. The new policy includes the adoption of a single FX market

structure via the interbank market while CBN participates through interventions.

Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPDs) will be engaged by the CBN for large sized trades while other operators such as Non-FXPDs, oil companies, oil services companies, exporters and end-users will operate as market participants.

In addition to having a strong FX trading capacity, FXPDs will be appointed on meeting at least two of three criteria which include: shareholders’ fund unimpaired by losses of N200.0 billion; minimum of N400.0 billion in total foreign currency assets and minimum liquidity ratio of 40.0 per cent. Sources on Friday said all banks have been allowed to trade

as FXPDs. The new FX policy kicking off today also includes the introduction of derivatives products, done in partnership with Financial Markets Dealers Quotes (FMDQ) as risk management tools.

According to FMDQ, the proposed Naira-settled Over the Counter (OTC) FX futures are “non-deliverable forwards.” This is

expected to help foreign investors protect their FX exposures in the Nigerian currency market.

Dealers believe that this should signal the reversal of foreign capital outflows at the peak of the FX crisis.

“Our major concern relates to the 41 items which according to the CBN would remain inadmissible for FX transactions at the interbank market,

From left: General Manager, External Relations, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Igo Weli; Managing Director SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor and Communications Manager, Sola Abulu, at the official launch and presentation of Shell Briefing Notes to energy editors in Lagos.

Capital market: Elumelu, Rewane hail Aliko Dangote for sustaining the market CHAIRMAN, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu has hailed the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, saying he has contributed enormously to the growth of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of Transcorp Hillton, spoke at a two-day stakeholders’ forum on realizing the full potential of the Nigerian economy through proactive capital

market legislation.

He said Dangote cement has helped to deepen the market and the Nigerian economy.

According to him, the private sector has the most capital to drive the country’s economy.

Elumelu, who presented a keynote paper titled: “Deepening the capital market to include privatised and systematically important entities,” re-

gretted that only few stateowned privatised enterprises were so far listed on the stock market.

He said the government must focus on providing the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismark Rewane, said if Dangote Cement were to be discounted from the Nigerian Stock Market, the market

Fidelity Bank pledges security of retirees’ investment Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

REGARDLESS of the nation’s current economic downturn, retirees’ fund and investments in Fidelity Pension Managers Limited would not only remain intact, but also yield higher dividends for their benefits, the General Manager, Business Development and Strategy of the organisation, Ibrahim Kaya has assured.

He gave this assurance at an interactive forum for retirees under the organisation in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

Kaya maintained that the essence of the interactive session was to achieve better service delivery, educate retirees on the benefits inherent in Fidelity Pension and also make research and evaluation on

how the retirees were faring after retirement.

“We are here to assure our retirees that their accounts are safe and doing well despite the present

economic crunch. We are not just managers of accounts, but managers of investments to make sure that all the funds are above inflation rates,” he said.

would have been in trouble.

Rewane presented a paper titled: The Nigerian Capital Market: ‘Becoming Africa’s Most Modern, Efficient and Internationally Competitive by 2025.’

Speaking earlier in a paper titled: Demutualising the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Chief Executive of the Exchange, Oscar Onyema, said the demutualization of the Exchange would be favourable to all stakeholders.

“Demutualization will support the economy in its ability to withstand domestic and international economic shocks, it will also support the Federal Government in driving Nigeria’s economy,” he said.

ELAN releases 2015 industry report THE Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), on Sunday, released a review of the Nigerian leasing industry for 2015.

According to the association’s Executive Secretary, Andrew Efurhievwe, who briefed journalists in Lagos, a review of the past five years, shows a steady growth of the industry even in the face of the economic meltdown.

According to him, available statistics show an impressive 27.39 per cent growth in leasing activities. The vol-

ume of outstanding leases grew from N869 billion in 2014 to N1.1 trillion in 2015, and this could be explained based on the developmental attributes of leasing, which makes it attractive whether the economy is witnessing a boom or recession, as is currently the case.

Efurhievwe said “many industries are relying on leasing as a creative financing alternative for capital assets and this has created increased investments from existing lessors and attracted new entrants into

the leasing industry to tap into the opportunities in the market.”

He further explained that analysis by sector of the leased volume records in 2015, show that even with the global fall in the price of crude oil, the oil and gas sector still has the highest volume of leased assets.

He said the volume of leased assets in the sector rose from N284 billion in 2014 to N361 billion in 2015 representing 27% growth and 33 per cent of total portfolio.

thereby creating a reason for the parallel market to thrive, especially as the Bureau De Change operators are not allowed to operate in the interbank market,” the dealers said.

Also, Samir Gadio, head of Africa strategy at Standard Chartered Bank, London in an email message said, “foreign investors will need to be convinced that the new FX regime is sustainable in the mediumterm and will likely also require higher yields before resuming the purchase of local debt.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) is calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to grant it one out of the Forex Primary Dealership (FXPD) licences to be issued by the regulator.

ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed the group’s position on Sunday, said as a major and critical stakeholder in the forex business, it will be against standard business practice to exclude bureaux de change (BDC) operators from the workings of the new CBN forex policy.

He said such licence would enable bureaux de change (BDC) operators access Diaspora remittances estimated at $21 billion annually and by extension, deepen dollar liquidity in the system.

ABCON is also asking the CBN to grant it self-regulatory status that would enable it monitor and supervise its members’ compliance with the extant regulatory requirement on the new forex regime.

Gwadabe said there are about 3,000 BDCs under the ABCON umbrella, and that granting one out of the about 10 FXPD licences to the group, would be in the interest of the financial system and economy.

The FXPDs qualified lenders are registered authorised dealers designated to deal with the CBN on large trade sizes on a twoway quote basis.

They will serve as the bulk traders dealing directly with the CBN on forex matters. Gwadabe faulted the stringent conditions for qualification as an FXPD saying it will establish a new cartel in the banking industry and place only a few banks in advantage positions. Based on banks’ 2015 and March 2016 financial results, only the Systematically Important Banks (SIBs) or tier-1 banks are going to qualify.

The appointment of these banks as FXPDs could imply they control a relatively higher proportion of forex market volumes.

12

Monday, 20 June, 2016

13

editorial

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The Eighth N/Assembly: One year on

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HE Eighth National Assembly recorded its first year on June 9, 2016. Its leadership thus provided a record of its achievements in the year. Both the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives believe that the National Assembly has performed better than previous assemblies. The two leaders, in their separate assessments of the National Assembly, based their position on productivity, specifically the quantity of bills and resolutions passed by both chambers.

According to Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Senate has passed 300 bills, including very significant ones such as the Electronic Transaction Bill 2015, Debt Recovery and Insolvency Bill 2015 and the Railway Transformation Bill, and made 162 motions. It is also working on the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund Bill and the National Road Fund. Furthermore, the Senate has, in collaboration with international partners and the private sector, researched into the ways and means of improving the business environment to attract investment. In the process, it identified 54 laws that must be brought in line with international best practices in order to open up the business environment for private investment and business. This led to 15 major economic reform bills and seven business environment bills that would help to jump-start the economy and improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

Similarly, Speaker Yakubu Dogara announced that the House received a total of 685 bills and considered over 530 motions.

He noted that the relatively high number of bills considered in the first year derived from the review of over 250 laws of the federation carried out by the House with the help of renowned jurists, lawyers, civil society advocates and other stakeholders, while 130 bills passed the First Reading on a single day in 2015.

The Speaker compared these achievements with the 591 bills introduced in the Seventh National Assembly in four years.

The Seventh Assembly passed 123 bills and considered 115 motions in four years. The Speaker thus surmised that the House had been innovative by introducing sectoral debates, carrying out a legislative needs assessment of the National Assembly, and drafting the legislative agenda of the House.

We commend the Eighth National Assembly for its performance in making motions and passing bills. We, however, remind the Assembly that its performance should not be assessed in terms of the number of bills and motions alone.

Other functions and internal development of the Assembly as an effective institution of governance and democracy are equally important. Apart from the consideration and passage of bills and motions, the National Assembly plays important representational and oversight roles. Indeed, it is in effective oversight that it can ensure value for money and positively affect the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.

So far, however, there is no evidence that the Eighth National Assembly has been effective in carrying out oversight functions.

One of the factors that has rendered the Assembly a weak oversight body is the fact that it is not transparent in its own activities, especially its budget. How can the National Assembly effectively monitor the budget being implemented by the executive when its own budget is shrouded in secrecy? The leadership of the Assembly had promised to shed light on its budget by publishing the details, but it is yet to do so one year after.

Secondly, the National Assembly is supposed to be close to its constituencies, engaging in constant interaction with them to effectively determine their aspirations and bring them to bear on governance, thereby making government responsive and responsible to the people. The Eighth National Assembly has not addressed this aspect. Besides, it is supposed to work with the executive to ensure effective governance. The relationship between the executive and the legislature has neither been cordial nor characterised by mutual respect. There were issues over the appointment of the leadership of the National Assembly, the 2016 budget, purchase of exotic cars for legislators, and the President of the Senate being on trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for alleged false assets declaration.

Concerning the development of the legislature as an institution of democratic governance, it must be noted that the committee system is the engine room of every legislature. How effective have the committees of the National Assembly been? Can the Assembly boast that its committees are properly funded?

Besides, over 70 per cent of the National Assembly members are new comers. What forms of training have they received in the past year? With an opaque budget, committee members are not likely to be aware of the budget of their committees. It is not clear what resources are available for training. The National Assembly budget seems to be the preserve of the leadership and a few in the appropriation committee. This does not augur well for institutional development and capacity building. It is no wonder that the 2016 budget was dogged by allegations and counter allegations of missing budgets, padding and omission of certain key projects between the executive and the legislature.

Members of the two chambers of the National Assembly must set aside their self-interests, especially where they contradict the national interest and the interest of their constituencies, and concentrate on the business of lawmaking, oversight and representation functions in order to achieve the goals of the parliament. They must continuously seek to develop the internal operating system of the parliament in order to be more transparent, effective and efficient. The National Assembly must open up on its budge, introduce the electronic voting system, build the capacity of its members through training, and deepen interaction with its constituencies.

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14 LETTERS TO THE

Monday, 20 June, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo.com or by sms to 08054005323. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

Nigeria needs restructuring

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RITISH nations participating in the ongoing European football competition, Euro 2016, have given ample insight into how Nigeria can also restructure politically if we are to truly develop.

In France, there are three of the four British nations participating — England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The only home nation that didn’t qualify for the championship is Scotland.

One good this about this is that all these British units are under one government, and they share the same military; however, the police, education, health, sports, among other sectors of the economy, are under the units.

This is why we can have three teams from the same ‘country’ participating in the same competition.

In the case of Nigeria, we have been talking about the need to restructure politically for many years; the current Federal system that we are practicing is

not working, since we are a multi-ethnic country.

Today, all the Federating units rely on the central government for survival, and that is why we have states not being able to pay their workers’ salaries.

Most of our states don’t bring anything to the table, since it is believed that the central government will sell crude oil, and share the proceeds at the end of the month.

Apart from crude oil, Nigeria is so blessed in mineral resources that it can survive solely on these extractive resources, and according to geological experts, Nigeria has in commercial quantities resources like gold, bitumen, iron ore, bauxite, coal, among others.

In agriculture, we used to be one of the largest producers of cocoa and oil palm in the world, but our political set-up has ruined everything for us, particularly since the discovery of crude oil. Do we even know that a larger number of Indonesian and Malaysian

billionaires made their fortune in oil palm plantations? This is just to tell us what we can achieve with agriculture alone, but let me repeat it that our present political set-up is our problem.

Instead of Federalism, which we are currently practising, we can switch to Confederalism, which will definitely bring the best out of the geo-political zones that we have now.

One thing is certain, there is no geo-political zone in the country that is not blessed, but the overreliance on crude oil has made the other non-crude oil producing regions to be lazy.

When the South South region focuses on its crude oil, the South West can focus on agriculture, as well as some extractive resources, as it is common knowledge that gold is even found in commercial quantities in Osun State.

The South East is blessed with coal, while the North Central, North West and North East are also blessed

with extractive resources; they can also develop their agricultural sector.

Now, each region will be contributing a certain percentage of their annual earnings to the central government, which will use it to service the military, police, sports, and other sectors that unite us.

One of the benefits of this political system is that it will reduce pressure on the central government, and everybody will have a sense of belonging.

The ongoing secession bids in some parts of the country will also end, as the resources in each zone will be used for the development of the zone, while only a tiny percentage is contributed to the national government.

It is high time we took the bull by the horn if we truly want a country that we can be proud of; unfortunately, one zone today feels it is not being respected enough in this country, and that is why it wants to opt out, while another feels its people are not enjoying

their God-given natural resource since the Federal Government takes all the proceeds and sends just 13 per cent to the states.

We can rewrite the history of this country if we restructure politically, and I hope the National Assembly can bring this up.

There should also be a referendum on what we truly want, if it is Federalism or Confederalism. The people should have a say in how they are governed, and

that is why I want to commend the United Kingdom government for allowing the Scottish people decide last year if they wanted to remain part of the UK. This week, the people will also be voting if they want to remain in the European Union, or they want to leave. Nigerians should also have the chance to decide how we want to be governed.

•Dr Taju Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Cashew plantation: Kudos to Ooni Ogunwusi LAST week, I read in the newspapers that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11, recently established a 100 acres of cashew plantation in his domain. With this, several Ife youths will be gainfully employed, while the economy of the ancient city will blossom.

The Ooni is someone who is so passionate about the development of Ile-Ife. I was at an event at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife recently, and the Ooni and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, were in attendance.

While giving his lecture at the event, Dr Fayemi said the Ooni was always calling him to intimate him of the natural resources in the town.

Dr Fayemi said when the

Ooni realised he would be coming for the event, he brought some resources which could be used in making floor tiles, saying it is high time we stopped importing such from China.

I am really happy that Ooni Ogunwusi is not sitting back, waiting for the government to come to the aid of his people. The 100 acres of cashew plantation will go a long way in making Ife prosperous.

As someone who is into the export of agricultural commodities, I know how much foreign countries, particularly India, demand for cashew.

Other well-to-do individuals can also emulate the Ooni by doing something to create jobs for our youths.

•Kemisola Olusesi, Surulere, Lagos.

On the new bailout for states THE Federal Government should not hand over the new N90billion bailout fund to the state governors to manage, rather, it should look at how to pay the civil servants and retirees directly.

The reason for this is not far-fetched; state governors are known to be bad managers of funds, and I wonder how most of them got to such positions in the first place.

The last bailout given to the states is a good example of what I am saying; many civil servants felt that their sufferings had come to an end when

the Federal Government released the last bailout, but after paying just a month of salary arrears out of several, the governors came out to tell workers that the bailout had been exhausted.

President Muhammadu Buhari is someone who doesn’t tolerate illegalities, so he should just appoint the Federal Ministry of Finance in all the states to manage the disbursement to the civil servants and retirees who have been suffering untold hard because of the non-payment of their entitlements.

•Wisdom Obuseh, mailwyse@gmail.com

15

opinion

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Lasisi Olagunju Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053) “Humanity has moved from unbelief to more intense unbelief,” writes a very controversial Islamic strategist.

Generations after generations in the Christian West, he says, “have walked down” the road of intense “unbelief and depravity.” The Muslim Umma, he adds, are “moving from error to more error through unbelief and moral corruption.” A poring over fundamentalist texts of both Christianity and Islam provides very alarming windows into the world of extremity where religious passions are inflamed, sustained and unleashed.

Fundamentalism, whether of Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh or even secular bent, has one colour: the inerrancy of its belief system. But the world is not a huge static unchanging mountain. It is a rotating mass with its own dynamics. It does not (normally) live in the past. There was the age of Jihads and the season of Crusades. With horror, we read their histories — but today, we live with the fear of reliving them. Around us are “depravity” and “moral corruption” recommending themselves to us as divine solutions to the problems of human existence.

From my Osun State and its contrived religious controversies, to Orlando, Florida, United States, and its mass shooting, to London, United Kingdom, where a murderer shouted “Britain First” then shot and stabbed an MP mother of two, we have seen horrifying evidences of the utter hopelessness in humanity ever being able to save itself. Across three continents, the three far-flung incidents are linked by nodes of fundamentalism. The noise from Osun State is not just finding its rhythms, it has been in the air for two years. What we are seeing now is just the denouement of an unfortunate narrative. The consequences are sure to endure beyond the present.

I am one of the one per cent who can claim to have a fair, full idea of what is playing out in that state. It is definitely not a clean-cut division along religious polarities. No. All the characters in the tragedy know. And they know that their roles in this tragic shot into the dark won’t leave history with option of kindness towards them. We have seen how dogs of war have been prowling the walkways of Osun State, seeking blood-trophies. Intensely religious WhatsApp groups have sprung up, mobilising, and, operating now at full capacity. And these are created by both Christians and Muslims. I have seen other intense social media campaigns even without any election around here.

Osun and the management of savagery

But why?

Politics is an interesting game. Some of us play a lot of it.

We enjoy the intrigues. What normally scares others about politics is what some of us savour. But I do not believe anyone should play his politics in a way that seeks to make any part of this country become the African version of the Middle East, where generations after generations know only politics of guns, bombs, blood and death. And what the selfish on both sides of the divide in Osun State and their godfathers are driving at is for us to have a full state of anomie. Unfortunately, there are no elders in that state again, or, if there are, where are they? Agba o si, ilu baje...How horrible!!!

Yes. There was a court judgement. But a judgement is the culmination of a process. What was that process like? How did that case start? Who were the initial defendants? When did the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) join the case? How long did the case take before this judgement we are talking about? Did the judge adjourn the case several times for the parties to resolve the volatile matter amicably out of court? Were there efforts at resolving it and what scuttled those efforts? Where were the elders in all these, if truly, the state has elders?

I can ask more and more questions but I shouldn’t, by so doing, become part of the problem.

There are enough difficulties on ground there already. I do not think these deadly flares of religious fire is needed by anyone. If any fire is needed at all, it should be fire to cook good food for the hungry millions there. If fires are needed in that state today, it is fire to warm the sick and the afflicted — and they liter every backyard. I call on

Muslims, Christians in that state to calm down and reassess their situation. A General told me last week that everyone loses in a war. In this particular one, everyone will come out bruised and battered. The victor won’t be either of the sides. I hope they listen.

Yorubaland does not serve fundamentalist meals.

Such meals, among my people, are food for the mad.

Only madmen fight religious wars, that is the Yoruba worldview. I am a Muslim. My father was a Muslim.

My grandfather was one of the pioneers of Islam in my community. But all my grandfather’s siblings and their descendants were/are Christians. And, we are one very large happy family. My own story is the history of every family in Yorubaland. That is why I say politicians in all camps, who think the hijab/ sutana controversy in that state would give them unearned, undeserved political capital are wrong, very wrong, and they will soon realise their folly.

I agree with Jane Cave in her poem: “Love, the Essence of Religion.” Not everyone “who cries Lord, or hear, or pray, or preach” God’s word will be saved except their lives are ruled by God’s love: What! if this sect, or that, I join, Believe my party most divine; Vain will my warmest notions prove, If absent from my heart, thy love.

So, Let bigots for the shell contend, In idle controversies spend Their precious time, whom zealous fire And notions (not thy love) inspire.

In plain prose, the poet tells the bigots, including those of Osun State, that “in idle controversies (they) spend their precious time” contending, not for the substance, but the shell. The substance if they must know, is the current state of their state and their people.

What they need now is love as they calm down and ask: This garment war, how is it going to lift the state from the embarrassing bottom of the ladder position it presently occupies in education and finance? A pissed-off friend reminded me that Benue State has declared every Friday as farming day; Ebonyi State has joined civil servants’ promotion with the size of their farms; and Osun State has decided to make everyday Day of religious war. Shame!

UTME cancellation: Justifying JAMB’s CBT

By Ikpa Isaac THE Federal Government finally affirmed the supremacy of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)conducted Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by scrapping the Post-UMTE test usually conducted by tertiary institutions.

The decision announced by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu at the June 2 meeting called by JAMB to fix cut-off points for UTME, explained that the examination body has done a lot and now has the credibility that implies that the result from its entrance examination should be acceptable to all. This development is a confirmation that JAMB’s Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, got it right all along.

Confidence in the examination body was finally restored with the level of fidelity assured by the Computer Based Test (CBT) introduced by the board. As opposed to the era of Pencil and Paper Test (PPT), when candidates were able to cheat, CBT has ruled out incidents of examination fraud.

The quality of the examination now conducted by JAMB is such that some of the institutions’ heads were already aligned with scrapping the Post-UMTE because it was an unnecessary duplication and exploitative of candidates who had already paid substantial amount to sit the unified examination. Professor Ojerinde and the management team at JAMB must, however, not be lulled by the institution’s series of success into thinking that those who benefit under the previous arrangement would not put up some form of

resistance. With more than one million candidates seeking tertiary institution admissions each year, the Post-UMTE test was an over N2billion annual business since intending students pay N2,000 each on the average. The tricks up the sleeves of those who want to continue earning this illegal revenue are many — they will resort to mudslinging and blackmail as well as try to repackage their extortion under new names and processes like UMTE result verification fee.

Since JAMB has the full backing of its parent ministry and has the mandate over admissions into tertiary institutions, Professor Ojerinde must follow up by monitoring compliance with the scrap of Post-UMTE test and ensure the extortion is not reintroduced under a new name. The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu, must, on his part, give the necessary backing to JAMB as the issue of using the now outlawed test had been a controversial one.

Parents and guardians, in addition to the candidates themselves, have roles to play too. They must appreciate the efforts that JAMB has made in their interest – many promising youths had died in road accidents in the course of traveling to write the needless test. These stakeholders must, therefore, be willing to report any school that secretly tries to conduct any kind of test for the purposes of admission.

Also of concern are vice-chancellors, rectors, provost, registrars. They attended the June 2 meeting and were reported to have endorsed the decision on the understanding and recognition of the progress that JAMB has made so far.

They must, therefore, resist the admission syndicates in their various institutions that are likely to attempt finding

new ways of fleecing prospective students. Their consenting to the end of Post-UMTE is an endorsement of CBT, which is clearly the way to go.

Their endorsement of CBT did now, however, come as a surprise, given the magnitude of efforts that the board has made in response to the teething problems encountered when it held the first all-CBT examination. Agreed, some of the hitches were blown out of proportion, ostensibly to further the interest of owners of ‘miracle’ examination centres, whose lazy clients can no longer cheat. There were, however, genuine glitches that should not reoccur in the next examination going by the assurances given by JAMB and the actions it has taken to date since the last examination.

At a time when the nation is hungry for reforms that work, JAMB has proven itself to be a benchmark that other agencies, including those outside of the education sector can emulate to deliver on the expectations of Nigerians.

Its proactive approach, like the sensitisation of 500 secondary school students on CBT is a model that government organisations seeking stakeholders’ adoption of their policy can use as it will help to identify potential problem areas and proffer solutions.

Those who think JAMB was archaic and no longer relevant must have changed their perception by now. The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board remains the leveler that ensures our best brains do not lose out on tertiary institution placement because they are not children of moneybags.

•Isaac is a public affairs analyst.

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Monday, 20 June, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

Edo 2016: Moment of decision in PDP As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State holds its governorship primaries today, BANJI ALUKO examines some issues that may sway delegates.

Many names were touted to contest the primaries of the former ruling party, the PDP, but only three eventually collected the N13 million nomination form.

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Preambles

HILE 12 aspirants contested the primary election of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be contested by only three aspirants. The contenders are a former Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, Matthew Uduoriyekemwen; a former Secretary to the Edo State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and a former governorship aspirant of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Solomon Edebiri. Many names were touted to contest the primaries of the former ruling party, the PDP, but only three names eventually collected the N13 million nomination form. One of the early aspirants, Osaro Onaiwu, opted out of the race after he flooded Benin City and other parts of the state with his campaign billboards and posters. When it was time to collect the nomination form, the director general of the PDP Governors Forum, he failed to show up. Other speculated names for the ticket included a former Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, and Senator Ehigie Uzamere.

Before now, two zones-Edo South (Benin) and Edo Central (Esan)--had been locked in succession battle across the two major political parties in the state. Edo South in Lucky Igbinedion ruled between 1999 and 2007, while the only governor produced so far in the current republic by Edo Central, Oserheimen Osunbor, had his tenure truncated after spending only 18 months in office. The third senatorial district, Edo North, will be completing eight years with Oshiomhole by November12. As far as Edo South is concerned, Edo Central has had a fair share of power and it was time power returned to Edo South.

Edo Central would, however, not have that as they continued to lobby to allow the zone produce the governorship candidates of the APC and the PDP. The hope of having an Esan governorship candidate in the PDP was, however, extinguished after their leading Esan aspirant in the race, Architect Mike Onolememen, refused to declare interest in the race. For Onolememen, who is from the Edo Central senatorial zone, the decision not to contest the primaries was a strategic one made to allow an aspirant from the Edo South senatorial zone pick the ticket of the PDP. With Onolememen out of the way, it was easy for the PDP in the state to effectively zone the governorship ticket to the Edo South and deputy to Edo Central. With a voting population put at about 58 per cent and a strong determination to produce the next governor, it appears the PDP understands that the first step to winning the election is picking a candidate from the Edo South zone.

With only three governorship aspirants, it is believed that the PDP may have less post-primary crisis to battle with unlike the APC with 12 aspirants. The successful conduct of the ad hoc delegates’ election last week meant that the status of delegates, who will elect the party governorship aspirants, is settled. There is also something that appears like unity among the governorship aspirants. They have been preaching peace and have vowed to combine forces with whoever among them picks the ticket. Last week, they were all brought together under one roof by an Edo PDP group, Unity League, to discuss how they can foster unity among the aspirants and the supporters. On that occasion, the aspirants once again gave their words to give their support to whoever wins among them.

Solomon Edebiri Edebiri was the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the last election. He won many hearts with the way he marshaled points during debates organised for the candidates. He led the Edo ANPP group into the merger with the ACN and the Congress for Progres-

Ize-Iyamu

Edebiri has never held any political office before, hence he is dubbed “Mr. Clean.” Many in Edo think that he is an ideal governor. Edebiri said he has a masterplan to develop Edo through industrialization and agriculture, pointing out that Edo State has no reason to be poor. As a businessman, he plans to run the state as a business enterprise profit and loss methodology.

He has advocated a paradigm shift from age-long imposition of candidates to a free-and-fair contest. Many who are apolitical in Edo seem to be in love with him and are yearning for him. Others, however, think that he has not built a political structure capable of winning the PDP ticket or the final election.

Matthew Iduoriyekemwen Another aspirant jostling for the PDP’s ticket is Matthew Iduoriyekemwen. The two-term member of the Edo State House of Assembly, who contested the governorship election in 2012 is back in the race again. He was a former majority leader of the Edo State House of Assembly and former commissioner in the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Youthful and energetic, he is working behind the scene to actualise his goal.

He describes himself as the only original PDP member among the aspirants as he has never left the party at any time, unlike Ize-Iyamu, who left and returned, and Edebiri, who joined the PDP in 2014. He is also quite popular in his Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, where he may have an upper hand during the primaries.

Edebiri

Iduoriyekemwen sive Change (CPC) to form the APC. He joined the PDP in 2014 after complaining that only the ACN group was running the show in the new APC. Edebiri has never occupied any political office before, hence he is seen as a “decent” politician. He, however, has the outlook of a lightweight politician, who may not be able to tackle the ruling APC.

Osagie Ize-Iyamu Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu appears to be the leading aspirant in the PDP. The ambition of the former secretary to Edo State government is being supported by many PDP leaders in Edo State such that many think that it is almost impossible for him to miss the PDP ticket. Ize-Iyamu is well grounded in the politics of Edo State and people close to him are saying that he is already looking beyond the PDP ticket.

His supporters claim he has done the needful to sweep the votes of delegates in the Edo North and Edo Central, while he is expected to share Edo South with Uduoriyekemwen and Edebiri. This, if it plays out, will effectively hand him the PDP ticket. Despite staying only two years in a party he was disconnected from in 2007, Ize-Iyamu is said to tower about the other aspirants in terms of political followership, structure and connections.

The greatest political asset attributed to Ize-Iyamu is his ability to shake the APC and bring out politicians from the party to work for his ambition and that of the PDP. This is because he was a foundation member of the precursor of the APC, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), where he became the South-South vice chairman. He demonstrated this capacity when four APC lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly joined him in defecting to the PDP in June 2014. He is about the most visible governorship aspirant in Edo State and has been reaching out to different groups galvanising support for his ambition.

He also parades an intimidating profile. He has been directly involved in the politics of Edo State since 1999, though he cut his political teeth in 1988, when he was assistant to Lucky Igbinedion, when the latter was chairman of the old Oredo Local Government Area.

17

Monday, 20 June 2016

money money

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju | 08055001708 | lanresulaimon@yahoo.com | @lanresulaimon

leadership

New forex policy:

entrepreneurship

analysis

Benefits, controversies, expectations The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 announced a new foreign exchange policy on how the naira will exchange with hard currencies going forward.

In this report, CHIMA NWOKOJI examines the benefits, controversies and stakeholders’ expectations from the policy.

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HE financial world received with open arms Nigeria’s new foreign exchange (forex) system.

The policy is expected to help with economic growth and restoration of investor confidence. Excellent as this sounds, stakeholders are asking for ‘more,’ which throws up a lot of controversies that only the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and full operationalization of the system could convince them with satisfactory answers or needed solution.

Airline operators, genuine importers and a section of manufacturers have been trying to figure out how the new system will handle a backlog of forex demand that CBN has not met up till today. Other manufacturers are also struggling to fathom why 41 items earlier excluded from CBN’s official forex window, should remain excluded even from the interbank forex market under the new system.

They argue that since the new forex policy is a way of closing the door for buying dollars at the CBN official rate where 41 items had earlier been excluded, now that the exchange rate would be determined by demand and supply (market forces), the apex bank has no reason to still dictate items that will be included or excluded from the market. These and many other issues have been brought to the fore, as the flexible exchange rate regime kicks of from today.

Benefits Stakeholders in the financial system are joyful that the immediate benefit of the new forex framework was that investors grabbed net capital gain of over N860 billion on positive sentiments as equities recorded major rallies in three days, after adding Friday’s close of N206 billion. Economists and investment bankers had said the market would continue to rally

in the days ahead as local investors take position ahead of return of foreign portfolio investors.

“We believe that investors, who have been sitting on the sidelines for fear of not being able to get dollar out of the economy, will now be more willing to commit. Overall, this greater flexibility will be positive for the economy as it will improve access to foreign exchange (albeit at a higher rate) for firms which have been struggling to buy hard currency,” analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited said.

The exchange rate of the naira in the black market, which currently strengthened to N340 on Friday from N370, is likely to weaken again initially, then possibly improve. This is because, with the official rate now more attractive, many Nigerians and foreign investors will start looking at investing in Nigeria again. Another benefit is that the secrecy behind how much oil companies and the banks exchange dollars has been removed.

Everything is now open.

Some analysts applaud the CBN for allowing all banks to be among the primary market dealers. They are of the view that if only 10 banks out of 22 had been allowed to qualify for this status, it might have led to an oligopoly that could easily spoil the market, rather than creating a perfect market characterized by easy entry and exit, many buyers and sellers, homogeneous product and no information asymmetry.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) Bismark Rewane, and the company’s team of experts believe there would be no more uncertainty surrounding the ex-change rate and exchange rate policy.

Since the rate can move in any direction at any time, the demand for forex would primarily be for immediate transactions rather than speculative trading which is

good for the naira.

Analysts at a securities and investment company, Capital Bancorp Plc, see the framework as a bold, imaginative and positive step in the right direction. They said while the forex market may experience some volatility in the short term, “we see the market becoming more stable and transparent in the medium to long term.

“Using the futures options, we expect most businesses and companies (especially the manufacturing companies) to plan properly as they will be able to access FX at a future determined date and at a pre-determined price.

This will help curb front loading and reduce excess demand in the market,” they said.

Backlog of forex demand This is perhaps where the controversy arises. Even after the CBN had released funds to pay off part of the backlog of forex demand, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was said to have revealed that some $575 million was still due to carri-

Investors who have been sitting on the sidelines for fear of not being able to get dollar out of the economy, will now be more willing to commit.

ers as of March 31, 2016. Industry sources said this amount has risen as airlines have about US$600 million stuck with the CBN. This is because of the bank’s inability to give them all the dollars they required in respect of the tickets they have sold. Based on this realization, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was quoted as having told IATA Chief Executive Officer, Tony Tyler, that airlines must agree on “a realistic and achievable payment schedule.”

At the 2016 manufacturers’ outlook held earlier in the year in Lagos, bankers and manufacturers admitted that almost every bank in the country has a minimum of $1.0 billion demand for foreign exchange from their customers but lamented that the apex bank could not meet the demands consistently for over one year now.

On the part of manufacturers and importers, it is estimated that there is a backlog of $9billion. Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa at Standard Chartered Bank, said Nigeria had boxed itself in, by leaving the devaluation too late. That, she added “had left a backlog of between $6billion-$9billionn of unsatisfied foreign exchange requirements, which would be impossible to fulfill in one go, without reducing foreign reserves to dangerous levels.”

The money represents bids submitted by importers through their various banks to CBN for foreign exchange allocation for which naira equivalent has been provided at the official rate of N197/$ and N199/$ with Letters of Credit, (LCs), opened but the apex bank has not been able to meet the demand due to scarcity of the foreign exchange resources over the last one year.

The change of heart on foreign exchange policy had, Khan said, been precipitated by a realization that something had to be done to rescue an economy that contracted in the first quarter and could be heading for a yet-steeper downturn.

41 items ‘Not Valid for Foreign Exchange’ The controversy generated by these 41 items is hinged on the fact that the CBN insists there have been heavy investments in production of most of those items over a period of time and reversing the policy will hurt such investments.

Manufacturers on the other hand want a review of the policy to give enough time for local production to be able to meet local supply before the exclusion.

Part of the new forex guideline read, “The forty-one (41) items classified as ‘Not Valid for Foreign Exchange’ as detailed in the CBN Circular Ref: TED/FEM/FPC/ GEN/01/010, remain inadmissible in the Nigerian FX market.

Applicable exchange rate for the purpose of import duty payments shall be the daily inter-bank FX closing rate as published on the CBN website.”

The Director of Research and Advocacy at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI), Vincent Nwani, said though the framework is consistent with the chamber’s aspiration, there are little concerns that require further engagement with the CBN. He said the backlog of unmet forex demand is estimated to be about $5.4billion.

“Some of these transactions have been entered into, signed, sealed Continues on pg27

18

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Kehinde Akinseyinde-Jayeoba

m: 08057336640 e: kehinde_07@yahoo.com

Equities market gains 7.40% as capitalisation hits N10trn

Stories by Kehinde Akinseinde-Jayeoba - Lagos

E

QUITIES trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) gained weight at the close of the week as new directions were given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on flexible exchange rate.

The NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation appreciated by 7.40 per cent to close the week at 29,247.27 and N10.045 trillion respectively.

Market Operators had urged the Central Bank of Bank (CBN) to urgently deploy structures that would help drive the policy of introducing flexibility in the interbank foreign exchange (Forex) market to stimulate the economy and trigger activities in the stock market.

In response to the release of the guidelines of foreign exchange policy, all Indices finished higher during the week, with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index, that declined by 0.17 per cent.

44 equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than 27 equities of the previous week. 24 equities depreciated in price, lower than 41 equities of the previous week, while 112 equities remained unchanged equal to that of the previous week.

A turnover of 2.158 billion shares worth N20.394 billion in 24,369 deals were traded by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 959.917 million shares valued at N7.871 billion that exchanged hands last week in 17,561 deals.

Trading in the Top Three Equities namely were United Bank For Africa Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Zenith International Bank Plc, (measured by volume) accounted for 1.001 billion shares worth N6.778 billion in 7,153 deals, contributing 46.37 per cent and 33.23 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Financial Services Industry, measured by vol-

From left, Bola Adeeko, Head, Corporate Services Division, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Executive Director, Capital Market, NSE; Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, NSE; Michel Puchercos, Group Managing Director/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc and Ade Bajomo, Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, NSE at the Closing Gong Ceremony at the NSE.

ume, led the activity chart with 1.939 billion shares valued at N12.393 billion traded in 16,023 deals; thus contributing 89.85 per cent and 60.77 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 77.415 million shares worth N4.747 billion in 3,489 deals. The third place was occupied by the Conglomerates Industry with a turnover of 74.437 million shares worth N412.717 million in 1,018 deals.

Also traded during the week were a total of 519,199 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N6.582 million executed in 42 deals, compared with a total of 78,666 units valued

at N866,656.30 transacted last week in 25 deals.

A total of 4,170 units of Federal Government Bonds

valued at N4.413 million were traded in three deals compared to a total of 4,725 units of Federal Gov-

ernment Bonds valued at N5.266 million transacted in the preceding week in three deals.

JAPAUL Oil and Maritime Services Plc in its unaudited first quarter result ended March 31, 2016, made N1.05 billion profit after the deduction of tax.

In a statement submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Japaul recorded a decrease in its turnover from N3.1 billion made in 2015 of the period under review, to N785.96 million in 2016.

Further analyses revealed that the company’s gross profit declined to N14.8

million in 2016 Q1 compared with N1.02 billion recorded in 2015 Q1, representing 88.39 per cent decrease in its profit.

Also, the net assets of the company decreased by 34.7 per cent as N2.3 billion was recorded for 2016 first quarter ended March 31, against N3.5 billion of the preceding year under review.

It will be recalled that management of the Company had said in 2016 it would focus on driving im-

provements in its underlying asset quality, cost efficiency, enhanced revenue generation and extracting synergies across the group.

It stressed that, already there are foreign investors that have indicated interest in the Company and are ready to inject millions of dollars as a result of the intricate value seen in the Company, more so that the Company has cleaned up its books for profitability.

Full year 2015 financial statement showed that the Company’s Revenue dropped from N10.57 billion in 2014 to N8.15 billion in 2015 operating (loss) profit stood at N3.98 billion against N897.33 million profits in 2014, administrative expenses jumped from N3.5 billion in 2014 to N6.36 billion for the year under review as a result of impairment losses of N1.62 billion and foreign exchange loss of N2.43 billion, while loss before tax stood at N7.89 billion in 2015 against the 2014 figure of N2.25 billion.

Japaul declares N1.05bn PAT in Q1 2016

SEC lifts 3yrs suspension placed on Falcon Securities Ltd THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has notified the investing public that the suspension placed on Falcon Securities Ltd and its Sponsored Individuals has been lifted.

SEC had on June 17, 2013, suspended of Falcon Securities Limited and its sponsored individuals from all capital market activities as an enforcement action for failing to respond to issues regarding the filing of its

quarterly reports with the Commission.

On the resolve to lift the suspension, SEC said it was as a result of the firm resolving all issues that led to its suspension as well as compliance with the Commission’s directives.

The company was suspended for failing to attach the company’s schedule of investments marked to market and failure to report its investments in quoted secu-

rities at market value.

Also, the company was found guilty of reporting a false and misleading financial status of the company in its 2012 annual reports, as well as complete erosion of the company’s shareholders’ funds as shown in its returns for the period ended December 31, 2012.

The suspension was hinged on the zero tolerance to malpractices as declared by the commission.

ETI declares $48.2m dividend, increases shares to 50 cent per unit ECOBANK Transnational Incorporated (ETI), has declared $48.2 million proposed dividend as resolutions are made to increase share value to 50 cent At the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a separate Extraordinary Meeting at the company’s head office in Lome, ETI declared a dividend of USD 48.2 million.

This key meeting outcome follows two years during which ETI did not declare a dividend. The general meeting approved the company’s accounts for the 2015 financial year and the appropriation of its profits, which amounted to USD 60.77 million.

A separate Extraordinary Meeting saw various other resolutions passed. With regard to the consolidation of shares, a resolution was passed authorising that the nominal value of the ordinary shares of the company be increased from 2.5 US cents per share to 50 US cents per share.

This would be done by consolidating every 20 ordinary shares held into one new ordinary share each, and issuing in replacement, new ordinary shares of 50 US cents each.

Also at the meeting, the mandate of Dr Daniel Matjila (representing Public Investment Company/ Government Employees Pension Fund), was renewed for another three years.

It also ratified the cooption of Messrs. Abdulla Al Khalifa (representing Qatar National Bank), Ade Ayeyemi (Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer) and Mfundo Nkuhlu (representing Nedbank Group Limited) as directors. Mr. Ignace Clomegah and Mrs. Catherine Ngahu were elected as directors.

The meeting approved the re-appointment of joint auditors Deloitte Nigeria, and Grant Thornton, Co^te d’Ivoire for a term of a one-year term.

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

The 60-second

business coach PAGE 24

PAGE 24

Leaders’

forum PAGE 24

Leaders and imperative of self development

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

O

NE of the best gifts a leader can give those around him is a consistent and continuous improvement of himself. This is important because people’s destinies are tied to their leaders’. Put differently, the fortune of a people is determined by their leader’s ability or lack of it. What they do, what they get and what they

become are tied to the quality of the leadership provided. Since a person cannot bequeath what he lacks, it means for the followers to get better, the leader must not be satisfied with the status quo. He must be on a journey of continuous improvement.

If a leader puts a cap on his personal improvement, he has put a ceiling on the improvement of the people who look up to him and a lid on what they can accomplish.

Continues on pg20

Emmanuel Nnorom, President/CEO, Transcorp Plc

20

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

Leaders and challenge of self development Continues from pg19

Imperative of personal development While it is true that a leader is expected to develop those who work with him, it is also incumbent upon him to develop himself. The quality of leadership provided by a leader is determined by the level of self-development the leader has subjected himself to. A well-developed leader will take great decisions that will have a great impact on his organization’s people and process.

A leader is expected to stretch his people with a view to increasing their capacities. By stretching them, the leader opens his people up to opportunities which they might have been ignorant of. But it is only a leader who has stretched himself that has the capacity to stretch others. So, a leader must first develop himself before venturing into developing others.

A leader is a change agent. But for a leader to effect the right change, Biola Alabi, CEO, Biola Alabi Media he must not be in doubt about what to change, when to change and Leadership is the ability to breathe how to change. If he does not know life into others; it is the ability to give what to change or he does not know others what they cannot give themenough about what to change, he selves; it is also the ability to show the will be unable to lead the change. people what they do not know about It is critical to any vibrant organi- themselves. Doing these requires zation that it is led by a knowledge- that the leader must have essential seeking leader because that is what information, which could be technical determines the level of success it or general, at his finger tips. can hope to attain.

Everyday throws up new challenges Then, in a fast changing environ- and new opportunities. However, it is ment, a leader must be up to date to only those who are prepared that will meet the demands of the times. It be able to tackle the challenges and is for this reason that a leader must appropriate the opportunities. This is ensure that he is well-informed so more so for those who are expected to that he can take excellent decisions provide leadership and services. Many without much ado. It is failure to of the challenges and opportunities pay attention to the requirement do not provide a playback chance. So, of the future by limiting interest to once they are missed, they are gone. the competences required for the moment that causes companies How leaders develop selves to get stuck in the markets they Leaders develop themselves through serve. A company should redefine various ways. what’s possible, rather than simply meeting pre-existing goals and Continuous learning standards. An organization should One way leaders develop themnot only be concerned about the selves is by subjecting themselves to present; it should also make plans continuous learning. A good leader for the future. But the type of never considers himself knowledgepreparations made for the future able enough; he always wants to by an organization is determined by the leadership it has because it is the leader’s responsibility to guide an organization into taking the decisions today that will grow its fortune tomorrow. But if the leader is not equipped for this, he would be found wanting and this will affect the organization’s level of preparedness for the future. So, it is vital that a leader must engage in continuous self development.

A leader is expected to show others the way. For him to effectively do that, he must know the way.

A leader does not only learn new skills; he also unlearns inhibiting information

Jason Njoku, CEO, iROKO improve on the knowledge at his disposal. For a great leader, no information is trivial, especially if it has to do with his core operation. One of the things that mark out great leaders is their appetite for knowledge. They seek new information that can be helpful to them in the discharge of their duties. A good leader does not only get information about issues that have direct bearing on what he does, he also gets information about other things. A good leader wants to be a well-rounded person, so he gets as much information as possible on as many subjects as possible. This is done by reading books, journals and attending training programmes.

A good leader should read at least two good books monthly; one should be about his core business, the other about a general issue such as leadership, management, the environment, strategy etc. The wider a leader reads, the better he becomes and the moreequipped he is to meet the challenges of his trade.

In spite of their busy schedules, outstanding leaders still find time to attend executive training programmes.

They do this because they know that it affords them the opportunity to exchange ideas with people from outside their immediate areas of engagement.

This broadens their scope and helps them to get better.

A leader unlearns A leader does not only learn new skills; he also unlearns inhibiting information. In this digital age, the rate at which knowledge becomes obsolete is high. So, a leader should not only concern himself with knowledge

Simdul Shagaya, CEO, Konga acquisition, he must also make it a point of duty to jettison old and un-useful information so that he does not base his judgment and decisions on wrong information or outmoded knowledge. By unlearning, a leader de-clutters his mind. This frees up the mind of possible misleading and dated information and enables him to absorb new knowledge that will increase his capacity to meet the demands of his office.

A leader improves his attitude The essence of knowledge acquisition is to achieve a change in behaviour. One of the

LEADERSHIP

for itself. A leader is not always able to determine what happens to the organization but he is always in the position to decide how he responds to the situation. As observed by William James, “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.”

So, with the right attitude, every target becomes achievable.

One other attitude of a leader that should be affected by his learning is being positive irrespective of the situation. Organizations are bound to have crises at one time or the other.

When these happen, the workforce looks up to the leader for direction.

The leader must face the situation with the right attitude, he must avoid allowing the situation to dictate his actions. If a leader betrays his fears or allows the fears to determine what he does, it would be a Herculean task for him to motivate the people to do what is needed to overcome the challenge because he has already sent a wrong signal to them. So, as a Kayode Akinkugbe, MD/CEO, FBN Merchant Bank matter of rule, a leader should have a positive attitude at all times. areas that should be affected by a leader’s To have the right attitude, a leader learning is his attitude because this is vital to must not be in search of 100 excuses his success. A leader should ensure that his why a thing may go wrong, he should response to a situation is not determined by be content with just a reason why it the situation but by the vision of the organimay work out well. That should be zation. It is the response that determines the sufficient to get him moving. outcome, not the situation. The situation is A leader improves his thinking constant; it has already taken place. The only Every action proceeds from a changeable variable is the response. So, the thought.

Knowing this, leaders make onus is on the leader to respond in accordance deliberate effort to improve on their with the vision of the organization so that thinking. They engage in critical what has happened does not impact negatively on the mission the organization has set thinking. Critical thinking is going beyond the obvious. A leader does

not dwell in the realm of the obvious, he views an issue from all angles and this enables him to see things from a wider perspective. With that, it is difficult for any member of the group he leads to pigeonhole him or box him into a corner.

Improved thinking helps leaders to connect the dots. What this means is that they are able to see and plan ahead. This gives them an edge over others. Therefore, improved thinking is sine qua non for a leader because oftentimes he has to take a decision on the spot. Since nobody can practise what he has not become, the quality of the decision a leader makes is determined by the quality of his thinking.

A leader also networks A good leader knows that he is as good as the people he keeps around him so he tries to network with people who have the potentiality to add value to him. A leader builds a network of people who he can learn from. He does not only surround himself with minions who see him as the most intelligible person under the sun but relates with people who can challenge his thinking, challenge the status quo, stretch his imagination and expand his worldview.

The network a leader builds is critical to the success he can record because it enables him to locate resources and information outside his routine interactions. Every contact, apart from helping the leader to improve personally, is also a door that can open him up to a world of opportunities. Right connections do give leaders a leap.

THE 60-SECOND business coach

6 qualities of wildly successful people

By Liz Ryan DO you want to be successful? If you think the way the most successful people think and adopt the same habits they have, you can be. But what makes someone a master achiever? Here are six characteristics: They are ambitious They see themselves capable of being the best. They see themselves with the capacity of being really good at what they do.

This was a really big thought for me.

It held me back for many years. When I saw people who were doing better than I was, I naturally assumed they were better than I was. And if they were better than I was, then I must be worse than them. So that would mean they were superior and I was inferior.

That’s a big problem in our society—we have feelings of inferiority, and these feelings of inferiority are often translated

into feelings of undeservedness. The word “deserve” comes from two Latin words meaning “from service.” You deserve 100 percent of everything you make and enjoy as long as you get it from serving other people. You just must see yourself capable of being the best.

They are courageous Successful people work to confront the fears that hold most people back. The two biggest enemies to our success are fear and doubt.

When you do something repeatedly, you develop a habit. Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things that scare you. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain.

So face your fear. The ability to confront your fear is the mark of the superior person. If you have high ambition and you decide to be at the top, and you can confront your fears and do the things that are holding you back, those two things alone will make you a great success.

They are committed The top people in every field are completely committed. They believe in themselves; they believe in their companies; they believe in their products and services; they believe in their customers.

They have an intense belief.

We know that there is a one-to-one relationship between the depth of your belief and what happens in your reality. And if you absolutely believe in the rightness and the goodness of what you’re doing, you become like a catalyst. You create what is called a transfer, like an electrical transfer of enthusiasm.

They are prepared Successful people review every detail in advance. They do things that the average person is not willing to do. They make sacrifices the average person is not willing to make. But the difference it makes is extraordinary.

Before you go into a meeting, do your

Quote

homework. Before you give a speech, research the information and practice your talking points. Dive in deep to review every detail of every situation before you take it on.

5. They are continuous learners.

High achievers recognize that if they’re not continually getting better, they’re getting worse. They read, they listen to CDs and they take additional training.

The professional never stops learning. So read, listen to CDs and take continuous training. Never stop learning.

They are responsible The top people in our society have an attitude of self-employment. That’s essential, because 100 percent of us are self-employed—we are presidents of our own personal services corporation.

You work for yourself, and the biggest mistake we can ever make is to think we work for anyone else. The person who signs our paycheck may change, our jobs may change, but we are always the same.

When the facts change, I change my mind — John Maynard Keynes BOOK

Maximum Achievement

By Brian Tracy ONE of the greatest books that I have ever read, and that has had the most significant impact on my life, is a book called Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy.

In fact, it is the only book that I recommend to people just starting out on their personal development journey. It is the kind of book that, if you only read one book this year, read this one.

The book is split up into 12 chapters. In each one of the 12 chapters Brian Tracy goes through the different areas of your life that you need to master in order to live a happy and fulfilled life.

The chapters are as follows: Make Your Life A Masterpiece, The Seven Laws Of Mental Mastery, The Master Program, The Master Mind, The Master Skill, The Master Power, The Master Decision, The Master Goal, Mastering Human relationships, Mastering Personal Relationships, Mastering The Art Of Parenting and Mastery: The Power Of Love Although there are a ton of great lessons spread through this book, I want to go over the main things that I highlighted while reading the book. This will give you a glimpse into the book while at the same time benefiting you. The most important thing to consider, if you want to take your life to the next level, is to work on all the aspects of your life. In order to be truly happy and fulfilled and achieve true success, you have to make sure that you keep a balance between all the areas of your life. Although success means different things to different people, these “7 ingredients”, as Brian Tracy calls them, are the same for everyone.

They are: Peace of mind, Health and energy, Loving relationships, Financial Freedom, Worthy goals and ideals, Self knowledge and self-awareness, and Personal Fulfillment.

The second thing is about the different laws that govern our universe. Brian Tracy covers all of the important laws that you have to understand and utilize if you want to achieve true success.

The laws are universal and work the same way for everyone. By understand-

ing and acknowledging them, you will be able to take your life to a whole new level. These laws are as follows: The law of control You need to be in control of your life.

The first step to achieving true success is to acknowledge that you are responsible for your life.

The law of cause and effect The law of cause and effect states, that for every effect in your life there is a cause.

The law of belief The law of belief states that whatever you believe with emotion becomes your reality.

The law of expectations What you get in life is mostly not what you want, but what you expect.

The law of attraction You attract people and situations in harmony with your inner thoughts into your life.

The law of correspondence Your outer world reflects your inner world.

The law of mental equivalency Vividly imagined thoughts become your reality.

Last but not least, Brian Tracy mentions the most crucial tools that you must utilize in order to speed up your progress towards your goals in life: visualization, affirmation, verbalization, acting the part, feeding your mind, associating with positive people and teaching others.

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leadership&management

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

TOPE POPOOLA is a Human Capital developement Consultant and Pastor. Please feel free to send questions, feedback comments on this column to

topheritage@yahoo.com or visit http//turbochargedforsuccess.blogspot.com

Leadership and the sychophancy trap — The escape

ONCE a leader is caught in the vicious web of sycophancy, no matter how strong his personality, he becomes a puppet in the hands of his serenading puppeteers who simply pull the string at will and practically goad him on to do their biddings which they project to him as his ideas. Until and unless he deliberately extricates himself from their snare, he remains their prey for as long as they desire or he remains relevant to their pecuniary cause.

How does a leader escape from the trap of sycophants? Sycophants prey primarily on the ego of the leader which they waste no time whatsoever in massaging at every turn even when the leader behaves evidently despicably. The first thing a leader therefore needs to realize is that even though life and fortune may have put him on a platform that makes him more elevated than others, he is still human and therefore not infallible. Everyone is prone to making mistakes. If the people that surround you keep telling you that every action of yours is perfect, you are in serious danger as a leader. This would usually happen if you are the kind of leader who cannot tolerate dissent and would never like anyone telling you that you goofed. Once your followers notice that, the sycophants among them simply dig in their heels and take over the terrain.

When a leader becomes comfortable in his own skin and with his own fallibility as a human being, he naturally exudes a good self-esteem. He does not need to prove any point and so is never afraid of being wrong. And when that happens, he has no qualms making amends and apologizing to all concerned. Sycophants cannot stand the presence of a leader who does not let the praise of men get into his head, especially when he does not give undue attention to those who give such unsolicited eulogies. He is as comfortable with praise as with criticism.

A leader must be willing to be unpopular but insistent on being fair. A leader can neither be liked by all nor please everyone. People rate a leader from the lens of their personal concerns. Some of the leader’s decisions will negatively affect the concerns of some while they positively affect others’. Fairness to all is the hallmark of great leadership. Fairness may generate some dislikes but it will earn the leader respect and

admiration and keep sycophancy at bay.

Another quality of great leadership that sycophants cannot stand is transparency. A transparent leader is like an open book to his followers. Their relationship with him gives some clearly predictable outcomes. Transparent leadership simply breaks the cultic cabal around leadership by exposing the cult for what it is, self-seeking. The leader must leave no one around him in doubt about what he will and will not do. He must espouse a set of known personal values and compass of conduct to which he holds himself in the open view of all.

To this end the leader, while being human should not have secrets of sordid skeletons in his cupboard. When secrets of salacious and moral somersault escapades of the leader are known to his followers, he is quickly demystified. Sycophancy then graduates to blackmail and control.

Sycophancy thrives on tale bearing. A sycophant makes his entry into the life of a leader by telling him unsubstantiated stories about some other people. Cheap gossip and blackmail are the hallmarks of sycophancy. Every leader must however understand that anyone who gossips about another to him will gossip to others about him. When talebearers know that a leader’s disposition encourages their perfidy, they learn how to embellish such stories in order to give a semblance of credibility. A leader with a poor self-esteem simply laps up these stories and soon begins to see other members of his team from the roles they allegedly play in the skewed narratives. As this tendency progresses, the leader begins to have imaginary enemies among his followers and becomes overtly suspicious of them. This confirms what the Bible says that when a leader develops ears for gossip, in time all his followers begin to appear wicked.

To overcome this, a leader must learn to confront not only the issues but the people said to be involved in the matter.

What you cannot confront you cannot change and must therefore, even to your own detriment, condone. Whatever anyone has to say about another, listen. But go a step further to ask if the reporter can say it to the face of the subject of discourse. If he cannot, dismiss him as you would a meddlesome interloper and with a stern warning of the consequences of a repeat. If he says that he can say it to the other person’s face,

waste no time in setting up a meeting between the duo with you moderating!

The forte of sycophancy is its ability to weave a web around the leader, trapping him in a vicious ring that becomes the filter of every narrative. Any leader in the stranglehold of this vortex is on dangerous grounds. Captive of his own insecurity, the leader, serenaded by the ego-soothing lullabies of parasitic sycophancy, can hardly tell the difference between fantasy and reality. African traditional leadership structures are replete with models that actually incubate this tendency.

Among the Yoruba, the word ‘Oba’ translated King actually derives from the expression “One who towers over all”. The cognomen ‘Kabiyesi’ means no one can call him to question on any action of his no matter how odious, since he is the ethereal representation of deity. This larger than life image is capped with a royal court replete with courtesans and a panoply of full time praise singers and drummers who herald his grand entrance and exit and reinforce his infallibility with punctuations of unsolicited eulogies while he holds court. A leader suffused with this perception of reality will court sycophancy. Surrounded by such display of rehearsed sycophancy, a leader cannot ever get to know the truth on any matter from any member of his “inner circle” of hangers on.

To get the truth on any matter, a leader must look beyond the loop of his so-called inner circle. Since the people closest to him are least likely to let him see reality beyond his immediate ken, the leader must develop his alternative ears to the ground.

On a final note, a leader must be able to define a collective reality to his followers in a way that easily rewards compliance and promptly sanctions deviance. In the absence of a collective ethos to which all subscribe, anything is possible.

It is an appropriate atmosphere for unbridled sycophancy to thrive. Unchecked sycophancy has led to the fall of many a leader. By the time it is over, everyone loses, both leader and followers.

Unfortunately, as soon as the leader is out of office, sycophants simply switch allegiance.

After all, no fly follows a corpse into the grave!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

“Good” isn’t sufficient these days

IT behooves me to start what I have got to pass on to you this week by saying that athletic performance, like scholastic and academic ability, is also assumed and implied to be a “numbers” game. Conventional and unadventurous wisdom says that those individuals with God-given ability to run faster, jump higher, or throw farther will be the champions. On the condition that this is so, how do we account for the myriad and heap of successful underdogs, such as the U.S. Olympic hockey team that defeated the Russians in the 1980 Winter Olympics? The Russians had all the numbers going for them—they were vastly more talented, more experienced, more skilled, as well as being stronger and faster skaters. On every empirical criterion, the U.S. players were out of their league, but they won anyway. What gave the U.S. Olympic team an edge over the Russians? This is what today’s piece of writing is all about.

It shall interest you to know that many athletes whose “numbers” would place them in the lower-Half Club have been incredibly successful in sports. Check these out: •Baseball’s Larry Bird cannot run as fast or jump as high as most NBA players •Football’s Joe Montana cannot throw as hard or as far as most NFL quarter-backs.

Bird and Montana are in the tradition of Ty Cobb, Bille Jean King, Jonny Unitas, and Chris Evert, none of whom was an exceptional natural talent. Yet, all were legendary champions. Obviously, raw natural ability alone is not the breakfast of leaders and champions. You shall need to have an unquenchable fire of desire to win in life. And you shall always need to be on fire to lead the pack in your chosen field of business and purpose. Remember, a man of passion is superior to a man—who has skills, information and experience but lacks passion.

Please, understand that I am not trying to downplay the

importance of information, skills, and experience. Infact, everyone needs to be competent at work, at school, and at home. We all need to know the nuts and bolts. On the condition that you do not know the material, have not practised and done your homework very well, you do not belong in today’s game, you certainly will not last long anyway. That is a given. And this is not debatable.

But information, skills, and competence only take you to “good.” And everyone playing the game is at least good. The bottom-line is that “good” is not good enough these days.

Passion, fire, burning commitment, and desire—these are the qualities that will take you from “good” to “outstanding.”

Buddy, do you dream to become an outstanding leader on earth today? You shall need to have passion, fire, desire and burning commitment to what you love doing. It takes more than knowledge alone to become outstanding in this century.

Passion sets knowledge on fire. Knowledge without passion is nothing. Ignorance is not the problem of many people in this century, the problem of many people in this century is knowledge without passion. What you know will not change your life, leadership and business until you become passionate about it. Over the years, I have met with a lot of people who know so much, but are not doing anything with what they know. As an effect of this error, their lives have remained unchanged. Additionally, I have also met with a lot of people who do not know so much, but they are so passionate about the little they know. Over the years, this has increased the quality of their lives. I have come to ask you this profound question today: over the years, what have you been doing with what you know? Without passion, you cannot become outstanding on earth.

Fire in your heart will give you that extra boost, making you more curious, more persistent, and more resourceful in your quest for information. Having passion for what you are

doing will prevent you from being stopped by failure and the unexpected roadblocks that are the present-day norm.

Passion will make you more motivated to take risks and give you the extra “juice” to keep growing, learning, innovating, and confronting challenges. Do not forget this: passionate people are not afraid of taking risks. And because they do take risks, this is why they are outstanding in their varied fields of life.

A few days ago, in the course of the ongoing European cup competition, the lowly rated Italian national football team did beat the highly rated Belgium national football team by two goals to nothing. According to the FIFA ranking, Belgium is occupying the 2nd in the whole world while the Italian Football team was called an underdog team, but at the end of the keenly contested match, Italy did beat Belgium convincingly.

The Italian national football team played with a burning passion to win and that gave them an edge over the Belgians. The Belgium national team was star-studded and they were highly rated by every football analyst to win the match, but they ended up losing it. Remember, passion will always give you an edge in whatever field of life you do find yourself.

What is becoming apparent is that being “good” is not “good enough.” Simply doing a “good” job will not give you the edge you need in today’s incredibly pressure-packed marketplace. “Good enough” only puts you in with the rest of the pack. You want to lead the pack in life, leadership and business? You shall need to develop into passion-driven, so you can turn out to be exceptional in life, leadership and business. If you can put into practice and carry out what is contained in today’s piece of writing, you are undoubtedly going to move from being “good” to being outstanding.

See you where great people are found!

23

Monday, 20 June 2016

Nigerian Tribune

NTREPRENEURSHIP WITH RUTH OLUROUNBI M: 0811 695 4637 E: RUTH.OLUROUNBI@TRIBUNEONLINENG.COM T: @OLUROUNBI

As Obama hosts 700 entrepreneurs for #GES2016

Here’s a look of what’s going down

By Ruth Olurounbi

A

S 700 entrepreneurs and more than 300 investors gather for the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which begins tomorrow, June 22 to end on Thursday, June 24, at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, here is preview of the agenda for the event.

It will be recalled that President Barack Obama had, in July 2015, dragged the world to Nairobi, Kenya for the same Global Entrepreneurship Summit, in which Entrepreneurship+ covered extensively.

As it was last year, President Obama will host this year’s GES, which showcases the “US government’s commitment to utilise entrepreneurship as a foundational tool to build more communities around the world that are economically prosperous, secure, and globally connected,” the seventh

annual event, at the Stanford University, California, the United States of America.

This year’s participants, which include 22 Nigerian entrepreneurs and investors, selected from more than 5,000 entrepreneurs from across the world, are “entrepreneurs who are harnessing technology to solve some of the world’s most intractable problems, innovators who are driving solutions for target populations such as adolescent girls and refugee communities, and others who are creating new markets and expanding industries like manufacturing, services, and energy in their countries. GES applicants illustrate the impressive potential to create enterprises that deliver positive solutions to consumers, communities, and countries, regardless of scope or scale,” according to a statement from the US Embassy.

Continues on p24

Obama

CBN trains 1,547 entrepreneurs in skill enhancement

The power of prayer for entrepreneurs

24

Monday, 20 June 2016

Nigerian Tribune

NTREPRE

#GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES20

chatr m the

Ruth Olurounbi

0811 695 4637 (sms only) e:ruth.olurounbi@tribune.com.ng t:@Olurounbi

The power of prayer for entrepreneurs I pray for the courage to carry forth my convictions during the battle of business and to resist temptation to a quicker monetary result when such temptation compromises these things for which I stand. I pray for continued clarity of purpose so that I may hold my vision steady and keep my focus on the needs and success of others, which in turn shall bring me my success. I pray for the courage to carry forth my convictions during

the battle of business and to resist temptation to a quicker monetary result when such temptation compromises these things for which I stand.I pray for good health and a feeling of well being, and the continued desire to improve those areas of my physical life I may be neglecting in the name of my spiritual and entrepreneurial advancement.

—Rick Beneteau, co-creator Make Every Day A Great Day

Program When was the last time you prayed?

This morning I am guessing. Or was it last night? It really doesn’t matter when last you prayed, what matters is that you prayed. But why are we talking about prayer today – especially prayer in the context of business or if you will entrepreneurship? Probably because prayer is an integral part of our daily lives as people.

700 entrepreneurs, 300 investors for #GES2016 Continued from pg 23

U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker adds that: “One of the principal goals of GES is to increase the opportunities available to promising entrepreneurs from around the world through access to capital and mentorship. By welcoming an unprecedented number of investors to this year’s GES, we are able to achieve this goal and showcase the talent, solutions, and opportunity that exist around the world directly to investors.”

Some important events that stand out for us at Entrepreneurship+ are: Women in Technology: Focus on Africa hosted by the LIONS@FRICA Partnership together with The African Technology Foundation, Ingressive, My Africa Is, and African Diaspora Network. This event showcases leading African women entrepreneurs and innovators, celebrates women in technology, and highlights key resources that connect and empower women in tech globally.

As US State Department puts it, “women entrepreneurs not only fuel economic growth, but also drive the innovations needed to address some of the most critical challenges the world faces.”

Hosted by Inter-American Development Bank, U.S. Small Business Administration, Blum Center for Developing Economies, innovators and entrepreneurs working in Latin American and the Caribbean will demonstrate how their solutions are improving lives and the power of being truly global at the event tagged Demand Solutions: Showcasing Latin American and Caribbean Innovation and Entrepreneurship that Improves Lives, on Wednesday, June 23.

Among other scheduled events are “Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence” which is hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Stanford and the “Detroit Story: Transformation through Disruptive Social, Food, and Mobility Entrepreneurship”, also hosted by the White House Detroit Federal Working Group (DFWG), the New Economy Initiative (NEI), Endeavor Detroit, and Shinola Detroit.

Andela boss, TEF CEO head for GES

I

YIN Aboyeji, co-founder Andela and Parminder Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation are among 22 Nigerians slated to participate at the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) beginning tomorrow through Thursday, June 24.

Aboyeji, along with Adeniji Lumumba Kola, Managing Director/ CEO, Niji Group; Timothy Adeoye Ajekigbe, Founder, Uplinx Techub; Cletus Junior Ajibade, Co-founder, SaferMom; Zephaniah Zaiki Balogun; Co-founder RitZeph Concepts; Habiba Eyioma Ali, CEO, SOSAI Renewable Energy; Victor Tokunbo Boyle-Komolafe, Founder/CEO,

Ojoro Kitchen; Chris Chimezirim Kwekowe, CEO, Slatecube and Christian Oluwaremilekun Medupin, Co-founder & Senior Sales Engineer, Neo Mundo Limited, is going in his capacity as an entrepreneur.

Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation, along with Eghosa Omoigui, General Partner, EchoVC Partners and Chika Umeadi, Engagement Director, TipHub will be at the event in her capacity as an investor.

Yemi Oyemi Femi Oye, CEO, Green Energy & Biofuels will go as SEED participant, along with Afolabi Abiodun, Managing Director/ CEO, SBTelecoms & Devices and Abimbola Okubena, COO, Health

Forever; while Nnenna Chioma Okoye, Founder, ResSpot will participate as GIST Tech-I Finalist along with Destiny Frederick, Founder/ CEO, EcoFuture Enterprise.

The 22 Nigerians, who are representatives of organisations benefiting Nigerian entrepreneurial development, will join more than 700 entrepreneurs from around the world along with investors, speakers, and leaders in the entrepreneurship space, the US Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement.

From an approximated 420 applications, the most from any country, for this year’s GES, these 22 innovative entrepreneurs will be joined by

25

Monday, 20 June 2016

Nigerian Tribune

ENEURSHIP

...Pioneer, entrepreneuriship, SMEs reporting in Nigerian media

016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 #GES2016 If you’re an entrepreneur in Nigeria for instance, you’d probably prayed to pay your staff at the end of the month, prayed to close a deal, prayed to raise capital, prayed for power to run your business, prayed for favourable policies. You had probably prayed that your competitors closed their shops and left you alone in the business. My point it is, you had, at one time or the other, prayed for your business or gave thanks for your continued business progress.

But beyond those desperate prayers, the thing with prayer though is that when it is habitual, it enhances your focus, as well as your discipline, daily traits required for business performance. If you noticed,

people who pray regularly are usually calm, centred and respectful in their day-to-day dealings with people. Basically because, as Kevin Daum said in his The Power of Prayer for Business, “daily prayer gives you the space to focus on what is really important and at the same time mentally and emotionally prepares you for whatever is coming your way, be it challenge or opportunity.”

Now, I know that prayer is obviously very personal and I apologise to those who think it is a taboo to have this kind of discussion in a business environment, but the truth is, it doesn’t hurt to pray. Prayer helps to be thankful, humble, hopeful, open and happy. Trust me.

Google, Kauffman, others’ roles as partners in GES 2016

Iyin Aboyeji high-level U.S. government officials, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Administrator of the Small Business Administration Maria Contreras-Sweet, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Gayle Smith, Ambassador atLarge for Global Women’s Issues Catherine Russell, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, the statement read.

SINCE May 26, 2016, the US State around the world, opening and Department had released the list of closing receptions to solidify invespartners for the Global Entrepretor and entrepreneur relationships. neurship Summit, which holds this Also, their Global Launch Lounge month at the Silicon Valley, United will encourage new commitments States of America. The partners toward global entrepreneurship include Al Jazeera Media Network, in addition to the creation of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Innovation Marketplace – the Bloomberg L.P., Dalberg Global main hub of activities, tools, and Development Advisors, Dell Inc., resources for attendees, the State Deloitte, Draper Richards Kaplan Department said.

Foundation, Microsoft, Omidyar, Stanford University, Google, Stripe, Walmart and World Bank Group, among others.

While attendees will participate in the three-day event which features interactive discussions and workshops with top Silicon Valley executives and investors from around the world, what are the roles of the partners at the global, as well as annual event?

The State Department says it is working with selected partners through the SPARK Initiative, a consortium of organisations committed to supporting greater investment in global entrepreneurship, to direct services for the entrepreneurs including connections with top mentors and investors in Silicon Valley, funding and prizes for the winning youth and women entrepreneurs of the GES+ Spark the Fire pitch competition, travel sponsorship for need-based entrepreneurs to attend, global media coverage, and programs to help entrepreneurs continue to grow and scale even after the Summit.

Victor Hwang of Kauffman Foundation, The partners are also creating member of the Steering Committee for the networking lounges, a “portals to” GES 2016. Photo 1.prweb.com project to connect entrepreneurs

1,547 entrepreneurs take part in CBN skill enhancement training Chima Nwokoji -Lagos UNDER its N3 billion Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday ended a 3-days capacity building programme for Nigerian youths.

In his opening remarks, Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Dr Mudasiru Olaitan said, the essence of the training was to deploy Nigeria’s youthful resources for full economic development through small and Medium scale Enterprise (SMEs) sector.

According to him, the initiative started about three months ago, is another effort by the apex bank to tackle the challenges of youth unemployment.

Following the launch of the programme by the CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele on March 15, 2016 and the subsequent launch of a business application portal by Heritage Bank in March this year, not less than 4,000 applications were received by Heritage Bank which conducted the screening, he revealed.

Represented by the Head, Development Finance Office, CBN, Ade Adedeji, Olaitan said “this capacity building programme, which is one of the activities scheduled to enhance the quality of applications to be funded under the Youth Development Programme.”

“This three-day capacity building programme will expose participants to the rudiments of entrepreneurship and enhance their ability to develop bankable business proposals to qualify for funding. It will be an eye opener for new entrants but also enhance the values and ideals of existing entrepreneurs,” Olaitan emphasised.

A capacity building consultant and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) Dr Olumide Abimbola Ajayi said the

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele training was important to entrepreneurship development and job creation.

He called on other financial institutions to join forces with CBN in funding the young people that have undergone the entrepreneurship development training as CBN alone cannot provide funding for all participants.

“If the banks are doing this by now, the unemployment rate would have reduced. Nigeria has great potential to take over the whole of Africa; and we will do it through entrepreneurship development,” he said.

He said the programme was an initiative of the CBN, Heritage Bank and the National Youth Service Corps to help young graduates pick entrepreneurial skills that will enable them start their own businesses and become employers of labour rather than become job seekers.

Of over 4,000 applications received, 1,547 candidates, representing the first batch of possible beneficiaries of soft loans for their business ideas, took part in the three-day business development training workshop, been conducted across CBN Enterprise Development Centres in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

To be eligible for the YIEDP funding, youths must be within the age bracket of 18 and 35 year old, serving National Youth Corps members or non-NYSC members with not more than five years postservice.

The apex bank had selected Heritage Bank as its pilot partner bank to unveil, administer and manage the laudable project, which will focus on dependable job-creating sectors, such as agricultural value chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming), cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry (tourism, arts and crafts), and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

26

Monday, 20 June, 2016 CBN Exchange Rates

Date

Currency

6/16/2016 US DOLLAR

Government Securities

Buying(NGN) Central(NGN) Selling(NGN) 196

196.5

197

POUNDS STERLING 277.1636

277.8707

278.5777

EURO

219.0104

219.5691

220.1278

SWISS FRANC

202.4166

202.933

203.4493

YEN

1.8767

1.8815

1.8863

CFA

0.3164

0.3264

0.3364

WAUA

217.9177

275.619

276.3203

YUAN/RENMINBI

29.7371

29.8134

29.8897

RIYAL

52.2583

52.3916

52.5249

DANISH KRONA

29.4453

29.5205

29.5956

SDR

275.8112

276.5148

277.2184

Auction Date 6/6/2016 Security Type OMO Tenor 206-DAY Auction No 06-06-2016 Auction OMO Maturity Date 12/29/2016 Total Subscription 107441.25 Total Successful 93180.65 Range Bid 9.5000 - 11.0000 Successful Bid Rates 9.5000 - 10.0000 Description Issue Rate 10 True Yield 10.5964 Amount Offered (mn) 50000

NITTY as @ June 16, 2016

CBN Bills

Tenor 1M

Rate (%) Change (%) 2.7289 1.44 ▲

Date of Auction

5/15/2003

2/25/2002

Security Type

CBN Certificate

CBN Certificate CBN Certificate CBN Certificate

2M

5.3000 0.34 ▲

Maturing On

91

180

11/13/2003 2/20/2003 11/21/2002 9/19/2002

3M

7.5531

6M

9.8216 0.14 ▲

9M

10.7702 -0.04 ▼

12M

12.5278 0.52 ▲

0.09 ▲

11/26/2001

9/24/2001

Tenor 180

180

Amount Offered (N mn) 82227

15000

5000

1155

Subscriptions (N mn) 37767

4161

2740

1155

Tot. Successful (N mn) Net Sales (N mn)

17019

4161

2740

Range of Bid Rates Successful Bid Rates Marginal Rate

0

20.5

20.5

19.5

True Yield

with Chima Nwokoji m:08032637535 e:chimatitus@yahoo.com

FXPD: All banks to set Naira rate in strategic trading today •Treasurers project N270-N300/$

A

LL Deposit Money Banks (DMB) in Nigeria will set the first exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar as the currency price is allowed to be determined by demand and supply today (Monday), after the central bank abandoned its dollar peg last week.

This is just as Naira which is projected to firm up to Between N270 to N300 to a dollar, gained 8per cent in value to N340/$ since Wednesday till Friday as the market prepares for the commencement of the new forex dispensation.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) doused fears of the emergence of a cartel

in the new foreign exchange (forex) market by declaring the door open to all banks to be Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPD).

It had on Wednesday rolled out guidelines for primary dealers – banks that will play directly in the market – with conditions that they must have at least N200 billion in shareholders’ funds, N400 billion worth of forex assets and 40per cent liquidity ratio, although those who meet two of the requirements will qualify.

But in a revised set of guidelines on Friday, the CBN has now thrown the door open to other banks to participate even if they do not meet the criteria for the

choice of 10.

The reviewed guidelines stated: “In order to further deepen the FX market the Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to allow any Authorised Dealer who is interested in acting as a Foreign Exchange Primary Dealer (FXPD) to apply even if the said Authorised Dealer did not meet the quantitative criteria stated in the CBN Guidelines for Primary Dealership in Foreign Exchange Products released on June 15, 2016.”

The apex bank had said it would float the national currency on Monday, but it has given few details on how the new rules will be implemented.

In their first detailed guidance, central bank officials told bank chief executives at a meeting on Friday that lenders would set the first Naira rate to the dollar based on demand without intervention from the central bank.

A central bank source said that Governor Godwin Emefiele was at the meeting and confirmed that commercial banks will determine the market rate on Monday.

The central bank officials also told the bankers it did not commit itself to clearing up a backlog of hard currency estimated at around $4 billion but will intervene if needed, the banking official said.

Fitch applauds new forex policy, worries about implementation FITCH Ratings agency has welcomed Nigeria’s planned shift to a more flexible foreign-exchange regime, saying that it could aid the country’s adjustment to lower oil prices and support growth, although implementation may present challenges.

“The change of policy is consistent with our view that the CBN would struggle to defend the naira in-

definitely. But a backlog of unmet dollar demand (estimates range from USD4bn to USD9bn) has built up and any inability to clear a significant portion of that backlog early in the transition would hinder the effectiveness of the new framework,” the agency said in a report posted on its website over the weekend.

It added that establishing

the new framework’s credibility will be key to its effectiveness in attracting portfolio flows and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to make up for lower oil export receipts.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week issued revised guidelines for a single, “market-driven” inter-bank foreign exchange (FX) market, open to authorised dealers and other

Rates to moderate on N107.46bn, FAAC inflows MONEY market rates are expected to trade on moderate levels following anticipated inflow of treasury bills worth N107.46 billion as well as Federation Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds.

Dealers said the treasury bills will fall within the tenors of 91-day bills worth N18.12 billion;182-day bills worth N39.34 billion; and 364-day bills worth N50 billion and will mature on Thursday, 23 June.

“We expect the maturities, coupled with anticipated FAAC inflows, to boost financial system liquidity and thereby moderate interbank

rates,” dealers from Cowry Assets Management Limited wrote in a note to investors.

Meanwhile, yields on Nigeria’s naira-denominated bonds rose across the board at an auction on Wednesday, where about N112 billion ($563 million) worth of paper maturing in 2036, 2026 and 2020 was sold, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said last week.

The office said it had sold N50 billion of 2036 paper at 14.98 percent at Wednesday’s auction, compared with 13.90 per cent at the previous auction last month.

It also sold N40 billion of

2026 debt at 14.40 percent, against 13.74 percent, and N22 billion of the 2020 debt at 14.20 per cent against 13.24 per cent.

Dealers said the yields reflected a rise in inflation, which hit a six-year high of 15.58 percent in May. “Many investors were pushing for higher yields at the auction to reflect the higher inflation figure released recently, which was above the prevailing interest rate in the market,” one trader said.

Investors’ bids had demanded yields ranging between 10 and 17 percent for all the debt on offer.

entities.

It recalled that the CBN’s previous policy of restricting access to the official FX market and supporting the naira, rather than risk the inflationary impact of devaluation, has been negative for Nigeria’s sovereign credit profile.

The agency said defending the naira has lowered reserves and increased external vulnerabilities, while a shortage of hard currency has weighed on the non-oil The CBN will introduce a new non-deliverable forward to try to limit exchange-rate volatility under the new system, by moving some of the dollar demand to the futures market and away from the spot market.

Even so, the CBN will probably have to deploy a large portion of its international reserves during the first week(s) of implementation.

The CBN Fitch says, also reserves the right to intervene by buying and selling FX to smooth market movements, although it has made no specific announcements about trading bands or break points that might lead to intervention.

Nigerian Tribune

Money Market Review

NIGERIAN interbank money market witnessed continued liquidity strain which led to higher costs of funds. In the just concluded week, Central Bank of Nigeria auctioned treasury bills worth N341.44 billion, viz:91-day bills worth N48.10 billion;182-day bills worth N29 billion; and 364-day bills worth N152.34 billion.

Dealers at from Cowry Assets Management observed that the respective marginal rates increased to 8per cent (from 7.99 per cent); 9.81per cent (from 9.05 per cent); and 11.99 per cent (from 11.10 per cent) respectively.

An additional N112billion was sold via primary market. The out flows were partly offset by inflows in matured treasury bills worth N314.34billion. Also, standing lending facility (SLF) increased by 173.25 per cent to N281.15 billion, as deficit units accessed the official window, while standing deposit facility (SDF) declined by 3.47 per cent to N594.75 billion. NIBOR for overnight funds and one month fell to 2.15 per cent (from4.33 per cent) and 8.06 (from 9.04 per cent) respectively.

However, three months and six months increased to 12.34 per cent (from 11.87 per cent) and 13.89 per cent (from 13.25 per cent). Meanwhile, yields on the Nigerian Interbank True Treasury Bills Yield mostly increased amid financial system liquidity strain – yields on the three months, six months and 12 months maturities increased to 8.34 per cent (from7.42 per cent), 9.82 per cent (from 9.08 per cent) and 15.23 per cent (from11.83 per cent) respectively.

Foreign Exchange Market In the just concluded week, the Nigerian Naira strengthened against the United States Dollar following the announcement of a flexible exchange rate management regime by Central Bank of Nigeria. The new policy, which adopts a single market structure through the autonomous/inter-bank market, also derecognises the CBN clearing rate and thus effectively collapses the number of forex market segments operating in the country from four to three.

At the Bureau De Change and parallel market segments, the local currency appreciated by 2.47 per cent and 1.08 per cent to N355/USD and N365/USD respectively though in some markets dealers said it might close at N340/$ as end users’ foreign exchange outlook improved.

According to dealers from Cowry Assets Management, at the derivatives market segment, foreign exchange forwards showed general appreciation in most dated contracts – the spot rate, one month, three months and six months dated contracts appreciated by 0.72 per cent, 0.36 per cent,1.52 per cent and 2.34 per cent at N197.50/ USD, N200.73/USD, N203.93/USD and N209.09/USD respectively.

“We advice a bullish adjustment of the rate around N350/USD which would allow the Naira enough headroom to appreciate instead of depreciate. An appreciation from the commencement interbank rate would help the market regain confidence faster than a more conservative opening rate that is below the equilibrium rate and subject to further depreciation,” said investment advisers from Cowry Assets Management.

Bond Market In line with analysts’ expectation, the Over the Counter (OTC) Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bond market witnessed divestment as financial system liquidity remained low, resulting in increased yields. Last week, Debt Management Office auctioned federal government bonds (all re-openings) worth N105 billion on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, viz: five-year, 15.54 per cent FGN FEB 2020 bond worth N15 billion; 10-year, 12.50 per cent FGN JAN2026 paper worth N40 billion; and 20year,12.40 per cent FGN MAR2036 debt worth N50 billion. Their respective marginal rates rose to14.20 per cent (from13.25 per cent); 14.40 per cent (from13.74 per cent); and14.98 per cent (from13.90 per cent).

Week-on-week, the 20-year,10.00 per cent FGN JUL2030 debt lost N1.99 (yield increased to14.54 per cent); the7-year,16.00 per cent FGN JUN2019 and fiveyear,15.10 per cent FGN APR 2017 paper depreciated byN1.99 (yield rose to 14.54 per cent); N1.37 (yield rose to 14.27 per cent); and N0.30 (yield rose to 11.09 per cent) respectively.

At the London Stock Exchange, traded FGN Eurobonds appreciated on sustained buy pressure–the 10year,6.75 per cent FGN JAN2021 paper; the five-year, 5.13 per cent JUL12,2018 bond and the10-year,6.38 per cent JUL 12, 2023 bond appreciated by USD0.87 (yield fell to 6.83 per cent), USD0.27 (yield declined to 5.08 per cent ) and USD1.51(yield moderated to7.03 per cent) respectively.

Nigerian Tribune Monday, 20 June, 2016 27 Job seeker, others turn millionaires in FCMB’s Season 3 promo

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job seeker resident in Abuja, Sharon Ike; a trader based in Obosi, Anambra state, Tochukwu Onwuamaegbu; another trader in Lagos, Mistura Ibrahim and a customer in Ibadan, Oyo state, Abimbola Olayinka, are the latest millionaires who emerged in the ongoing First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited reward scheme tagged, “FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 3’’.

The lucky customers emerged from the electronic draws held on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 across the country. In addition, 640 other customers of the Bank were rewarded with various exciting gift items such as LED televisions, power generating sets, decoders, tablets, smart phones and other consolation prizes.

At the Lagos regional draw which held at the Bank’s Amuwo Odofin branch, Mistura Ibrahim emerged the of N1million, while at the Abuja/North regional draw in Abuja, Sharon Ike was rewarded with the same amount.

In the same way, Tochukwu Onwuamaegbu was announced the lucky winner of N1million from the South-East/South-South draw that took place at Oko in Anambra state, just as Abimbola Olayinka is now N1million richer on account of his winning at the South-West regional draw held at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state.

The “FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 3’’ commenced in April this year and will run until November. The current season follows the successful conclusion of the Millionaire Promo Season 2, which held from August 2015 to

January 2016 and produced 12 millionaires.

The promotion which targets

all segments of the society is part of the various initiatives put in place by FCMB to reward cus-

tomers for their loyalty and patronage.

Speaking on the “FCMB Mil-

From left, Christopher Moore, Publisher & CEO, EMEA Finance; Chuma Onwuka, Associate, FBN Capital Limited; Joe Kaye,Group Head, Finance, Seven Energy International and Oladele Akinjo, Associate, FBN Capital Limited, at the United Kingdom, recently.

Sterling Bank concludes IT upgrade for quality service delivery IN line with its mandate to enrich the lives of its customers through efficient and prompt delivery of quality banking services, Sterling Bank has announced the conclusion of the upgrade of its information technology infrastructure.

About 24 months back, the Bank commenced the upgrade of its core and subsidiary systems, transiting to more robust, agile and flexible platforms that are more adaptable to the dynamic banking needs of customers and position the Bank for long term sustainable growth.

The Bank in a statement said the decision to upgrade the Bank’s IT infrastructure was informed by the need to improve

the service delivery of the onecustomer bank adding that the upgrades would see the Bank improving customer experience.

It also stated that the upgrade was in line with the Bank’s mission to enhance stakeholders’ value as a financial institution of choice, stated that the upgrade, which gained traction two weeks ago, had become necessary in view of the need to meet customers’ expectations.

The Bank stated that “Sterling Bank would continue to demonstrate its commitment to enhancing customer experience in the provision of quality banking services as evidenced by its adop-

tion of one of the best core banking software in the world”.

It added that “our decision to upgrade our IT infrastructure is in line with global best practice and this will place our institution at par with other global financial institutions. This will also enhance the Bank’s transaction processing capacity and speed”.

The Bank noted that in view of the fact that technology remains the backbone of the global banking system, the Bank, according to him, will remain committed to continuously making the necessary investments in IT infrastructure to ensure that it delivers its one-customer experience to all its customers.

lionaire Promo Season 3’’, the Senior Vice President/Divisional Head of Retail of the Bank, Mr. Olu Akanmu, said, ‘’this promo is designed to further connect with and reward our customers for their loyalty and patronage. It is in response to the clamour of our esteemed customers for more, following the success of Season 2 of the Millionaire promo and also our desire to ensure that more of them (both existing and potential) benefit from this exciting reward scheme, which has turned dreams to reality. The promo also serves as an avenue to create empowerment opportunities for our account holders to fulfil their aspirations’’.

He added that, “our customers are the reason why FCMB exists and we are committed to always delighting them. This promo is unique because it is decentralised across our various zones and regions nationwide, which increases the chances of many of our customers to win. We, therefore, encourage everyone to take advantage of the reward opportunities the FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 3 offers.”

While congratulating all the winners, Mr. Akanmu advised them to channel their winnings to productive use. He further assured that, “FCMB will continue to come up with initiatives that positively impact our customers and the society, and which clearly position us as a simple, reliable and helpful Bank committed to creating opportunities. This is because we believe that we can only succeed when our customers succeed’’.

Deconstructing benefits, expectations of new forex policy Continued from pg17

“Some of these transactions have been entered into, signed, sealed and delivered at N197 and N199 to a dollar,” he disclosed, adding that the new policy is now asking the operators to go to the market where it is not yet certain whether it will be N250 to a dollar or N300.

“If it is a market-driven exchange rate, it has to be market driven.

The rationale behind exempting the 41 items remains unclear. We think that since these items are not banned by the Nigerian Customs Service, the CBN has no reason to exclude them from the official forex market. We are saying that there are some items on the list that qualify as raw materials or intermediate products. The local supplies of these products are either insufficient or not even available.

“Keeping the 41 items out of the official forex window is just like saying that 23 per cent of operators in the Nigerian industrial sector should shut down and ask their staff to go. Of course many of them have relocated their plants out of this country,” Nwani lamented in a TV program monitored by the Nigerian Tribune in Lagos.

For example he said, the industrial sector of the Nigerian economy requires about 1.8million metric tons of palm oil per an-

num to operate, whereas the local supply is about 600 metric tons; meaning that the deficit of about 1.2 million has to be imported. He explained that it takes about five years to plant the best breed of palm tree that will help local producers supply enough palm oil.

“We have about 16 items in that list that are very important to us.

When we analyzed them, they amounted to over 700 lines of products. It is important to give manufacturers some comfort so that we don’t shut down this economy. There is need to define appropriate timeframe before excluding them from official forex window or placing absolute ban on them,” Nwani said.

But genuine as Nwani’s argument seems, the CBN appears to have no time for such arguments.

The apex bank had clarified that the bulk of the demand was speculative and it was difficult to isolate the speculative demands from the real demands, hence the several controls being imposed including selective allocation of the scarce (dollars) resources.

Director of Financial Market, CBN, Emmanuel Ukeje, affirmed the apex bank’s position, saying that the policy has been in place for a while and some people have started heavy investments in producing them over a period of time

and reversing the policy will hurt such well-meaning producers badly.

More work to be done Analysts have called the new forex policy a ‘semi-float’ since the CBN still plans on holding on to the official exchange rate for funding ‘critical transactions.’ Shifting from this, a yet another critical area which stakeholders believe needs more clarification is the issue of naira-dollar debit cards abroad. Investigations revealed that though banks purchase foreign exchange from CBN and authorized sellers like oil companies and exporters at N197 per dollar, they, however, sell the same dollars at exchange rate as high as N300 per dollar through overseas Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawal or Point of Sales (PoS) transaction made by customers via their debit MasterCard or debit Visa card.

Though speculations are rife that banks would be charging the market-determined rate under the new policy, the question being asked by most stakeholders is: at what exchange rate would the banks sell the same dollars through the naira-dollar debit cards abroad?

What to expect “We expect the single market structure to improve domestic

and foreign investors’ confidence as they will now be able to bring in and repatriate their capital at a market-determined price (this we expect to have a positive impact on the capital market which has remained lacklustre).

“We also expect this policy to narrow the gap between the interbank rate and the parallel market rate as we expect a higher percent of forex demands to be met at the interbank market,” finance experts at Cowry Assets Management stated.

According to a leading U.S. money centre bank in a note released Friday, “the naira is projected to trade between N280-N300 against the dollar, while the parallel market rate will stabilize. The supply of forex is also expected to increase.

This implies that the new exchange rate is unlikely to depreciate lower than the parallel market rate. In anticipation of Monday’s new rate, the Naira appreciated from N365/$ to N340/$ in the parallel market.

This market is a marginal and fringe segment of the total market.

It is also not a true reflection of actual demand but is influenced by speculation, uncertainty and arbitrage activities. One of the expected outcomes is that price leadership will now rest squarely within the regulated market seg-

ment. This will be influenced to a large extent by the CBN, as it supplies over 70 per cent of foreign exchange to the markets.”

Jurgen Hecker, Paris, Francebased financial expert said, “The first implication is that Nigeria’s citizens will be officially poorer.

Importers of goods and services will now also find it easier again to buy dollars to pay for those imports. Of course the official devaluation means that they will need to pay more Naira for the dollars that they need. And this will feed back into prices that Nigerian consumers have to pay for everything that is imported, which as we know is almost everything. And that is what I mean that Nigeria has become poorer,” the financial expert said in an e-mailed message to Nigerian Tribune CBN had indicated a two-level trading structure where the apex bank would deal on wholesale basis with banks. Some traders said the immediate consequence of this is that some prices of some items, especially imported items will go up. But this price rise is not expected to be significant, since the beginning of the year, the prices of many of these items have already gone up as most importers have been getting their foreign exchange from the parallel (black) market.

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

SIGTAS: Impact and benefits for taxpayers

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OLLOWING the implementation if SIGTAS solution, below are some of the impacts and benefits for taxpayers: • Single and unique TIN for taxpayers Prior to the deployment of Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS), FIRS taxpayers were being registered and assigned FIRS Tax Identification Number (TIN) different from the TIN assigned by Joint Tax Board (JTB) resulting in taxpayers having more than one TIN.With the ITAS deployment, both federal and state taxpayers will be assigned one unique TIN from the JTB system, being the organization with the mandate to enroll taxpayers.

• Centralised taxpayer registration JTB being the organization with the mandate to enroll taxpayers centrally for all tax authorities in the land serves as the centralized taxpayer registration point. The enrolment capabilities are extended technologically to the systems of the different tax authorities.

• Integrated taxpayer’s tax account status across all tax types InITAS, tax accounts are created for the different tax types for all tax transactions, payments, interest, penalties and other related transactions that affect the balance of taxpayers. The status of the taxpayer’s performance in terms of tax liabilities across the different tax types can easily be viewed from the system. These tax accounts can be compared to the soft form of k-cards and it provides an integrated view of all tax transactions.

• Redesigned tax forms The redesigned tax formsare the output of the Business Process Reengineering (BPR) project which is a sub-project in the ITAS Implementation project. One of the objectives was to redesign the ‘As Is’ (before the commencement of ITAS) form so that it will be simple both for automation,taxpayer’s usage and also to bring the forms in

line with internationalbest practices.

• Redesigned tax processes The introduction of the ITAS system will definitely affect FIRS’ tax processes positively. The adjustments made to the old process to conform to the system requirements gave rise to the redesigned processes. Tax processes were redesigned to stream-line redundant and non-value adding processes.

• Automation of tax processes This is the transformation of the simplified and updated manual process into a system based process devoid of redundancies. The machine is made to carry out some standard tasks thereby, increasing process efficiency.

• Increased automation of payment/refund administration The Project FACT introduced payment automation. The ITAS project is to leverage on that and introduce more payment platforms into the system. Tax refund is a complex process in FIRS marred by a number of manual interventions across different functions and departments of FIRS. The ITAS seeks to simplify the refund process by removing many of the manual interventions as is evident in the redesigned processes.

• Interfaces (NCS, Interswitch, CBN,OAGF, IPA, JTB) These are third party systems/agencies that will interface with the ITAS for exchange of certain taxpayer information.

ITAS will interface with NCS for import duty related transactions, Interswitch for payments, CBN for foreign tax payments and exchange rates, OAGF for MDAs tax remittance and JTB for centralized taxpayer registration.

Benefits of SIGTAS • Automatic calculation of tax and penalty Tax calculations will be done by the system and it includes actual tax, penalties, interests etc.

• Identifies taxpayer errors or omis-

Tunde Fowler, Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service sions through tax declaration processing FIRS is currently running a Self-Assessment Regime which requires taxpayers to assess themselves, file and then make payments. However, the system will raise exceptions to mathematical errors and omissions at a certain stage of the declaration process. This helps to eliminate declaration errors.

• Generate assessment notices, payment reminders and other taxpayer correspondence automatically.

The system has the capacity to generate assessment notices, reminders and other correspondence automatically.

Other Benefits include: • Automated payment posting and receipt generation

• Provides an integrated view of taxpayer affairs across all tax types • Reduced cost of compliance Cost of compliance is reduced by the system in a number of ways: 1. It will reduce declaration errors to the minimum thereby reducing audit and investigation intervention.

2. The system can automatically send letters and reminders to taxpayers thereby requiring no human effort to remind the taxpayers of their tax obligation.

3. The system can automatically compute compliance gaps and communicate to taxpayers.

For more information on ITAS implementation, please contact Itas. changemanagement@firs.gov.ng

LCCI inaugurates medical, pharmaceutical and allied services group Stories By Akin Adewakun - Lagos THE President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dr Nike Akande will, on Wednesday this week in Lagos, inaugurate the Medical, Pharmaceutical and Allied Services Group.

Expected at the event are the Chairman, Medical, Pharmaceutical & Allied Services Group, Dr. Stella. C. Okoli and the Vice President, LCCI, Mr. Verkey Verghese.

Other dignitaries expected at the event include the Chairperson LCCI Membership and Welfare Committee, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, LCCI members and other stakeholders in the health sector.

The group is inviting all players and stakeholders in the health sector to

participate in the event holding at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Alausa, Ikeja on Wednesday, June 22, 2016. The event is scheduled to begin at 11:00am.

The LCCI Director General, Muda Yusuf, in a statement made available

to newsmen in Lagos said “the idea of forming a health group is to have a more vibrant and focused advocacy on issues of health and related sectors; empower the Chamber to contribute to Government policies in the health sector from the point of view of private

Magna Carta wins African PR award REPUTATION management agency, Magna Carta has won the Africa Public Relations Consultancy of the year at the SABRE Awards in Berlin, Germany, recently.

The awards were hosted by the Holmes Report, with their editors having reviewed the performance of 400

agencies based on their Report Card research process.

The judging process was extensive, involving hundreds of submissions from the best public relations and strategic communications firms from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

BillboardWorld launches online extension IN an effort to further enhance its visibility and reach, one of the nation’s out-of-home advertising magazines, Billboard World, has announced the launch of a robust online edition.

The edition, which has already started running since, according to the publisher of the publication, Mrs Maureen Umanah,

sector players; contribute to improving health services in Nigeria such that capital flight through medical tourism will be reduced and protect indigenous businesses in the health sector from the influx of fake medical products from abroad.”

will feature regular advertising industry news, brands reporting and other favourites.

Besides, she added, the online platform will have a 24-hour real time update of news and events and offer more interactive platform on the global integrated marketing conversation.

‘The decision to go online was necessitated by the fact that BillboardWorld Magazine is poised to make greater impact on the Internet and also bring huge advertising opportunities for our esteemed readers, clients, subscribers and advertising practitioners in general,’ she stated.

Five African PR agencies were in the running for the prestigious Africa PR Agency of the Year award: Epic MSGLROUP, Atmosphere, Burson-Marsteller, Djembe Communications and Magna Carta.

“We were delighted to be amongst top agencies as finalists for Africa PR Agency of the Year and we are thrilled to be recognised by the industry and our peers,” says CEO, Magna Carta Vincent Magwenya.

With the ever-growing pan-African network of 19 countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Angola, Mozambique and, most recently, Zimbabwe, Magna Carta’s philosophy of continuous evolution remains a key driver in integrating global best practice, while keeping a finger on the pulse of local services and offerings.

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South-west news

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Monday, 20 June, 2016

19 die in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway auto crash

Olayinka Olukoya -Abeokuta

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IGHTEEN passengers and one driver lost their lives on Sunday

afternoon around Fidiwo/ Ajebo axis along LagosIbadan expressway at about 1.00p.m.

The accident, according to the Public Relations Of-

ficer of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), in Ogun State, Babatunde Akinbiyi, involved a tanker laden with fuel marked RAN 571

XA, a 18-seater passenger bus with registration number LAGOS AGL 373 XR and a cement truck marked AJG 40 XA. The TRACE PRO explained

that the fuel truck travelling towards Ibadan rammed into the cement truck while trying to overtake it at a diversion point and also had a collision with the passenger bus heading towards Lagos.

He said all the 19 occupants of the passenger bus

lost their lives on the spot, saying evacuation operation was still on-going at the time of filing this report with the combined effort of TRACE, men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Police.

Sheathe your swords in the interest of our children, Seyi Makinde tells Oyo govt, Labour

Newly wedded couple, Mr and Mrs Oluwasiji Sokoya, during their wedding at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Hand of God, Kasumu Estate, Odo Ona, Ibadan, Oyo State on Saturday.

Police/ students’ clash: 3 students shot, vehicles

destroyed in Owo Hakeem Gbadamosi -Akure

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BOUT three students of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Ondo State, were allegedly shot while several others were also injured on Sunday, during a clash between the students and men of the state police command in Owo. Also, no fewer than 10 vehicles were vandalised during the fracas which broke out between the students and the Police in the ancient town, on Sunday morning.

It was gathered that the students went on rampage after a police officer, who allegedly hit two students of the institution within the town ran away, abandoning the seriously injured students to their fate.

According to an eye witness, who explained that some of the students took the injured victims to the nearest hospital for treatment, while the students mobilised themselves and headed to the B Division of the police station at Otapete in Owo, protesting against the treatment against their colleagues by the police officer.

He, however, said the students were dispersed by the policemen on duty with teargas while three of the students were allegedly hit with bullets.

He said, “The police shot sporadically into the air and three of the students were badly hit by bullets.

This angered the students who regrouped themselves and started destroying the vehicles parked within the premises of the station after

taking the injured students to the hospital.”

The protesting students, who blocked all the major roads leading to the town, also blocked the Akure/ Owo expressway, causing traffic gridlock on the ever busy road for over three hours and threatened not to vacate the roads until the police command produce the officer who shot the three students.

The eye witness however, said it took the intervention of the policemen from the state capital, Akure, to disperse the protesting students and cleared the road to allow easy flow of traffic, saying “the police had to station their Armoured Personnel Carrier at the entrance of the school for

peace to reign in the area.”

Confirming the development, the polytechnic Information Protocol and Public Relations Unit (IPPRU), Olumide Olugosi, said some of the students were shot and injured during the clash, saying no death was recorded during the protest.

He explained that one of the injured students has been referred to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile - Ife, Osun State for treatments and confirmed that the three other students shot during the incident were receiving treatment at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Femi Joseph, however, said the students attacked the

DPO, Mr Samuel Akande and other policemen on duty, saying the DPO was attacked by the students and in a critical condition in a hospital.

Joseph explained that the students, who stormed the police station descended on all the police officers on duty saying, “They were not in the station to iron out things but to retaliate over the incident that happened earlier in the town.”

He also alleged that the students vandalised the vehicles parked inside the station despite all appeal from the DPO and said “the police vehicle that hit the students was not deliberate and the driver never abandoned the students because he immediately took the victims to the hospital.”

THE Social Democratic Party (SDP) chieftain in Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, has made passionate appeal to both Oyo State government and Labour Union Leaders in the state to close ranks and allow peace to reign in the state in the interest of our children and economic well-being of the state.

He made the appeal at his Agodi GRA palatial home when he hosted his Muslim friends and SDP chieftains to breaking of Ramadan fast at the weekend.

He explained that the crisis in the state would not do anyone any good, particularly the children who have lost over a week of their study to the strike. He reck-

Ekiti govt to residents:

Stop dumping refuse, building structures on waterways

EKITI State government has called on the residents of the state to desist from the act of dumping refuse and building structures on the waterways to avert flooding.

This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Works & Transportation, Mrs Funmi Ogun, who, following the directive of Governor Ayodele Fayose, visited flood prone areas of Adere and Omisanjana 132kv areas of Ado-Ekiti to assess the level of damage done due to flood.

Mrs Ogun said that the

29-year-old mechanic arrested for pipeline vandalism A 29-year-old generating set mechanic was at the weekend arrested in Ipara/Abe Koko along Lagos/Ibadan expressway for pipeline vandalism.

The suspect, Idowu Awoleye, from Saki, Oyo State,

was arrested at 1.30 a.m. on Saturday, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) surveillance team, where he and other members of his gang were loading fuel into jerry cans from NNPC pipeline.

The South-West Coordinator of the Surveillance Team, Chief Joshua Aminu, while speaking on the arrest of the suspect, said his men in Ipara got information that some vandals were tampering with the NNPC pipeline and

Workers’ strike: Ondo traditional rulers appeal to workers Hakeem Gbadamos -Akure

TRADITIONAL rulers in Ondo State, on Sunday, appealed to the workers’ union in the state to suspend their two weeks strike embarked upon by the workers over the non payment of their six months’ salary.

The monarchs, who made this call at the end of

their monthly meeting held at the palace of Oloba of Oba Ile, in Akure North Local Government, called on the state government to resume negotiation with the striking workers in the interest of development and the people of the state.

The traditional rulers, under the auspices of 130 Crown Club, noted the economic hardship in the country

and urged the state government to dialogue with the leadership of the workers union in the state.

Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, the Oniyere of Iyere in Owo Local Government, Oba Omotunde Alaba, expressed displeasure over the protracted strike action over the unpaid wages for civil servants.

ons that ‘ this is the time every student ought to prepare for promotion Exams.’

Mr Makinde also said for every man-hour lost to the strike, the state is losing several millions of Naira.

He said ‘as a business man, it will be difficult to say exactly how much the state has lost.’

However, he believes that the state could not afford to lose money any longer, considering the near-recession the state has found itself since drop in oil prices in international market, which is not peculiar to Oyo State alone.

He offered himself to work with other concerned individuals in order to resolve the lingering crisis in the state.

when they got there the vandals opened fire on his men.

He however, said because of the superior fire power of his men, the vandals abandoned their vehicles already loaded with jerry cans filled with fuel and ran into the bush.

He stated further that the suspect, in his attempt to also escape, was apprehended in the bush and when questioned, said he was going to his farm nearby.

According to Aminu, vehicles abandoned by the vandals included six Ford buses with registration number Lagos AAA 775 XQ, Lagos MUS 651 XP, Oyo BDJ 884 XA, Lagos AKD 585 XQ, Lagos LND 103 XF and Lagos KTU 157 XF.

state government would take urgent steps to cushion the effects of the flood and safeguard the lives of the citizens, stressing that channelisation and drainage works would soon be put in place to pave way for the free-flow of water in the affected areas.

She appealed to the people to always consult relevant authorities concerned in building residential houses and shops, saying that some of these structures, if not properly built, do hinder the free passage of water as some structures in the affected areas were built on the waterways.

The Commissioner for works also visited the construction site of the new Oja-Oba market in Ado, where she urged the contractors to ensure the use of standard materials and maintain the structural plan of the modern market edifice as approved by the state government.

Some of the residents of Adere and Omisanjana 132kv areas who spoke on the flood incident, included Mrs Aderonke Safe Adewumi and Mr Damilola Ilori, thanked the state government for the quick response and called for the expansion of the bridge at Adere, noting that the existing bridge could no longer pave-way for the free flow of water in the area whenever there was heavy rainfall.

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No order to provide debt information granted by Osun CJ —Govt

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SUN State government has described the report in some newspapers that the Chief Judge of Osun, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo, has granted an order compelling the state governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, to provide information about the debt profile of the state as totally false.

Osun government, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, charged journalists to always cross-check facts before going to the press.

Adeoti held that the fact that newspapers could go to press with such falsehood leaves much to be desired, saying it depicts the abysmal level into which journalism has sunk.

He pointed out that the order of court granted the applicant last week Wednesday, was the right to put the other party on notice which in this instance, the governor of

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the state, and not an order granting the substantive reliefs of the Applicant.

The SSG stressed that a little due diligence by journalists would have revealed to them that the process leading to the report was made “ex-parte”, which means that the other party needs not be put on notice before such application for leave is heard by the court.

He added that a simple inquiry on the proceeding from the Clerk of the court would have made this fact known to the reporters instead of rushing to the press without adequate understanding.

Statement noted, “The captioned news item in several newspapers of Thursday, June 16, 2016 wherein it was reported that the

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Chief Judge granted an Order of Mandamus compelling the state governor of Osun, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, to provide information about the debt profile of Osun State and its defrayment modality among other orders is patently false.

“The order of court granted him is the right to put the other party on notice, in this instance, the governor of Osun State. It is not an order granting the substantive reliefs of the Applicant.”

The statement added that the administration of Aregbesola was a respecter of the Judiciary and as such would not do anything to undermine the judicial process in any way or shy away from defending the acts of government at any point it was called upon to do so.

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I, formerly Miss Olajumoke Abiola Oyelowo now MRS. OLAJUMOKE ABIOLA AJIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Osuolale Funke Abosede born on 11th day of March, 1982, am the same person as Osuolale Mutiyat Oluwafunke. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as OSUOLALE FUNKE ABOSEDE. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Aliyu Rabiat Keffi now RABO RABIATU MUHAMMAD SABO. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note

Nigerian Tribune

35 CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Adebiyi Winifred Oluseyi now BADEJO WINIFRED OLUSEYI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Monday, 20 June, 2016 CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ikeku Rashidat Omoshibo now MRS OGUNLADE RASHIDAT OMOSHIBO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Temitayo Oluwafunmilayo now MRS TEMITAYO O L U WA F U N M I L A Y O FALODE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Olatayo Williams now EMMANUEL OLATAYO WILLIAMS. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Akindele Omolara Zainab Aduke now AKINDELE OMOLARA TAWAKAL. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Okediji Veronica Tayo now MRS ADENIYI VERONICA EYITAYO. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Isola Idayat Ayoke now MRS ADEBAYO TUNRAYO. All former documents remain valid.

Wema Bank Plc, First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Bolarinwa Bolanle Joseph now BOLARINWA ADENIYI. All former documents remain valid.

Union Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ulasi Henrietta Chiamaka now MRS ANANWA HENRIETTA CHIAMAKA. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

I, formerly Balogun Olukunle Gbemileke now BALOGUN BABABO. All former documents remain valid.

First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Ogunalere Orepeju Julianah now IDOWU OLOWU JULIANAH. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Rebecca Fisayo Joseph now REBECCA FISAYO ISAAC. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Alabi Adelowo am the same person bearing Alabi Adelowo Olalekan. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ALABI ADELOWO OLALEKAN. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Anisere Ololade Omolade now MRS OLOMOLA OLOLADE OMOLADE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Mamidu Olayemi Mujidat now MRS OLUDE OLAYEMI MUJIDAT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME My correct name is KOLAWOLE TAOFEEK AJIBADE not Kolawole Taofeek.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ayodabo Deborah Oluwayemisi now OLAWOLE DEBORAH OLUWAYEMISI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Oyejide Tomilola Temitayo now MRS OLAIYA TOMILOLA TEMITAYO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adefehintola Odeniyi now MRS ADEFEHINTOLA O L U WA T O B I L O B A ADEBAYO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Shittu Adenike Muibat now MRS. AJAO ADENIKE MUIBAT. All former documents remain valid. Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Kwara State Polytechnic, EcoBank Nig. Ltd and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Oyetunde Esther Oyebola now OYETUNDE ESTHER BOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Opeyemi Azeez Akinkunle now OLADOKUN AKINKUNLE WASIU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Akinrinde Ruth Mosunmola now MRS LAWAL RUTH MOSUNMOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oluwabunmi Elizabeth Alatishe now MRS ALATISHE OLUWABUNMI ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public take note.

I, Adebisi Idemija Imoleayo am the same person bearing Adebisi Celestina Imoleayo. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ADEBISI IDEMIJA IMOLEAYO CELESTINA. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

Banks and general public take note

I, formerly Miss Adeniyi Kudirat Salewa now MRS. AKOREDE KUDIRAT SALEWA. All former documents remain valid. The Nigeria Police and general public take note.

I, formerly Owoeye Sidikatu Monisola now OWOEYE SARAH MONISOLA. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State SUBEB, Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Education Authority, Ajaawaa and general public take note.

I, formerly Adesanya Kemi Yemisi now ADEBAYO KEMI YEMISI. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Kikelomo Tawakalitu Adekale now MRS KIKELOMO TAWAKALITU OLANREWAJU. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Olufemi Kenny Blessing now MRS. ADENIJI BLESSING KEHINDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Lawal Kehinde Adetoye now LAWAL KEHINDE WAKLI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Faith Bevughe now MRS. OKOLOR FAITH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Awobamise Olufemi now AWOBAMISE OLUWAFEMI OLALEKAN. All former documents remain valid. GTBank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Ojo Babafemi Tony now OJO PRINCEBABAFEMI TONY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, Miss Raheem Taiwo am the same person bearing Miss Balogun Taiwo.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS FAMORIYO ZULFAH TAIWO. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Kayode Rashidat Modupe now MRS. DURODOLA RASHIDAT MODUPE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Sotire Olufunbi Efunbo now MRS AKINYEMI OLUFUNBI EFUNBO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Aralepo Abiodun Comfort now MRS AGBEDE ABIODUN COMFORT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Ado Segun am the same person bearing Ado Olusegun Peter and Ado Segun Peter. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ADO SEGUN. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid.

First Bank Plc, FCMB Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Akomolafe Ruth Oluwatosin now MRS AJAGBE-OLADELE OLUWATOSIN RUTH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Eruzegbua Ada Agnes am the same person as Eruzegbua Agnes. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as ERUZEGBUA ADA AGNES. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Aloro Oluwatimilehin Eunice now OLABAMIYO O L U WA T I M I L E H I N EUNICE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Olatunde Funmilayo am the same person as Olatunde Funmilayo Bola.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as OLATUNDE FUNMILAYO BOLA. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

GTBank Plc, Osogbo and general public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Hussein Ismail am the same person bearing Hussein Ismail Omoniyi. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as HUSSEIN ISMAIL OMONIYI. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note

I, formerly Osaghe Veronica Amen now VERONICA A M E N A G H AW O N OSAGHAE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Sadiq Niyi Akinjobi now AKINJOBI AKINNIYI SADIQ. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Rasidi Taju now RASHEED TAJUDEEN. All former documents remain valid. IBTC Bank and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Omobolanle Moromoke Mohammed now MRS AKINTAYO O M O B O L A N L E MOROMOKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Mr Sogunro Ayomide Olamide now MR OLAYINKA AYOMIDE FOLU. All former documents remain valid. GTBank Plc, OAU, Ile-Ife and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Mormah Julie Romina now MORMAH JULIANA ROMINA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Nwabueze Oguga Florence now ISAGBA OGUGA FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Eze Nkem Mary now NKEM MARY AGUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Yinusa Omolola Deborah now MRS OLADOSU OMOLOLA DEBORAH. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Adesiyan Agboola Ademola am the same person bearing Adesiyan Agboola Theophlious. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ADESIYAN AGBOOLA ADEMOLA. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. GTBank Plc, SUBEB, CHARM and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Azeez Kola Sulemon now ANIFOWOSE AZEEZ LAWAL and my correct date of birth is 1st January, 1967 not 18th May, 1966. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Aliemeke Godfrey now ALIEMEKE GODFREY NKOYEASUA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adejare Hannah Oyepeju now MRS OYEDELE HANNAH OYEPEJU. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Abudu Keji now ABDULLAHI KEJI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ikhuoria Omozele Rita now OMOZELE RITA ZAIKI BALOGUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Okon Ndifreke Joseph now OKON NDIFREKE OKON. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Igwegbe Angela Chinwe now ELOY ANGELA CHINWE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ejoor Clement Kapo now EJOOR CLEMENT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ummi Abdullameed Mamman now UMMI MOHAMMED MAMMAN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Oyedotun Tolulope Margaret now MRS AGBOIRO TOLULOPE MARGARET. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Civil Service Commission, Osun State Hospitals Management Board and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Iyanda Shadiat Oyeranti now MRS HAKEEM SHADIAT OYERANTI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olaoye Busayo Omolara now MRS AKINOLA BUSAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Salisu Isah Salisu now SALISU ISAH ABDULRAZAK. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ayodele Oluwaseun now OGUNLEYE STEPHEN AYOWOLE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Lateef Oloko Aromokeye now LATEEF OLOKO. All former documents remain valid.

Zenith Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Rasheed Ajibola now SANUSI RASHEED AKANNI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Timi June now MICHAEL NUMA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Agala Nkechi Rita am the same person as Eke Agnes. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as AGALA NKECHI RITA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Aminu Fatimo Modupe now MRS APATA FATIMO MODUPE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

DURODOLA: I, formerly Miss Durodola Rabiat Dasola now MRS. OMIJORI RABIAT DASOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Sulaimon Afeez Kolawole now SULAIMON OLAYEMI SAMSON. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Gbolagade Oluwatola now G B O L A G A D E SINMILOLUWA FATOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Babatunde Adegbite Aderemi now BABATUNDE ADEGBITE. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Akinbola Tosin Deborah now ABIOLA OLUWATOSIN DEBORAH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Ugochukwu David Atonofudinso Amen Stanley now OKWUCHUKWU SHEBAEL ISEE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oladosu Thomas Tobi now OLADOSU THOMAS GBENGA. My correct date of birth is 2nd February, 1988 and not 2nd February, 1982. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Miss Adeyemi Adetola Elizabeth am the same person bearing Miss Adeyemi Adetola Eunice.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS AREMU ADETOLA EUNICE. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Okedina Olawumi Lateefat now MRS AKERELE OLAWUNMI LATEEFAT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Mary Odion Omenaimen now MRS MARY ODION IRABOR. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mr. Hycent Akonkwo Sunday now MR. UGWUANYI SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

36

fortherecord

Monday,20 June, 2016

Judgment given by Hon Justice S.O. Falola on use of Hijab in Osun public schools IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE, OSUN STATE OF NIGERIA, IN THE OSOGBO JUDICIAL DIVISION HOLDEN AT OSOGBO BEFORE HIS LORDSHIP HONOURABLE JUSTICE S. O. FALOLA TODAY FRIDAY THE 3RD DAY OF JUNE, 2016

- JUDGE

BETWEEN SUIT NO. HOS/M.17/2013 1.

2.

3.

4.

SHEIKH SALAUDEEN ADE OLAYIWOLA INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF OSUN STATE MUSLIM COMMUNITY INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF THE MUSLIM STUDENTS SOCIETY OF NIGERIA - APPLICANTS ALHAJI SADIQ BOLA BELLO (For and on behalf of Female Muslim Students In Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State

VS 1.

2.

3.

4.

THE GOVERNOR OF OSUN STATE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND COMMISIONER FOR JUSTICE COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION, OSUN STATE MRS. OLAGUNJU (For herself and on behalf of all Principals of Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State)

5. ALHAJA SADIAT OLADAPO (For herself and on behalf of all other Head teachers of Public Primary Schools in Osun State) 6. CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA 7. SUPERIOR EVANGELIST ALADESEYE (Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter) 8. REV. KUNLE ADEYEMO 1ST VICE CHAIRMAN (Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter) 9. REV. FATHER AJAYI Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter (For themselves and on behalf of all members, Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter)

JUDGMENT

The Applicants, by their Amended Originating Summons brought pursuant to Order 1 Rule 2 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedures) Rules 2009, as preserved by S.315 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) applied to this court for the enforcement of their rights as guaranteed under S.38 and S.42 of the Constitution.

The Originating Summons was supported with a 44 paragraph Affidavit, Statement, Written Address of Counsel and a number of exhibits, including a copy of the document titled “Guidelines on Administration And Discipline in Osun State Public Schools” published by Ministry of Education, Osogbo Osun State in 2004; which is the subject of dispute in this case.

The Applicants captured the essence of their grievances under Grounds Upon Which The Reliefs Are Brought thus: “1. The use of Hijab or head cover is compulsory in Islam on every Muslim Female Students.

2. By virtue of Section 38 of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, everybody is entitled to the right to freedom of religion, conscienc and thought.

3. The 1st – 3rd Respondents issued what it calls “Guidelines on Administration and Discipline in Public Schools in Osun State.

Article 8.2(v) of which forbids the use of Hijab in some Public Schools.

4. Pursuant to the said “Guidelines on Administration and Discipline in Public Schools in Osun State,” the 4th and 5th Respondents deny the Muslim female

- RESPONDENTS

students the use of Hijab in the Public Schools in Osun State and the Muslim female students who use Hijab in some Public Schools are beaten, embarrassed and tortured by the agents of the Respondents”.

Consequently, the Applicants are seeking the following reliefs from this Honourable Court; “1. An Order for the Applicants to enforce and secure the enforcement of the Fundamental rights of the Muslim Female Students in Public Secondary Schools in Osun State under Sections 38 and Section 42 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

2. Declaration that the use of Islamically prescribed head-cover called Hijab by the Muslim Female Students in all Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State forms part of their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, conscience and thought as contained in Section 38 of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 3. Declaration that Article 8.2(v) of the “Guidelines on Administration and Discipline in Osun State Public Schools “ issued by the Ministry of Education under the 3rd Respondent, acting on the instruction of the 1st Respondent is not only discriminatory against Muslim female students but also uncalled for, inconsistent with Section 38 of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a clear violation of the fundamental rights of Muslim female students in Public Schools in Osun State to freedom of religion and therefore null, void and of no effect whatsoever.

4. Declaration that molestation, harassment, torture, embarrassment and humiliation which Muslim female students in Osun State Public Schools are subjected to in the hands of the agents of the 1st – 3rd

Respondents especially the 4th and 5th Respondents constitute a clear infringement on the fundamental right of the said Muslim female students to religion, conscience and thought as well as their fundamental right to dignity of human person and right against torture, inhuman and degrading treatments.

5. An Order of this Honourable court restraining the Respondents, their servants, agents, privies or whatsoever called from disallowing the Muslim female students in Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State the use of Islamically prescribed Hijab in their various Schools, during and after the School hours”.

Review of Facts And Arguments of Counsel In their Counsel’s Written Address, K.B. Odedeji Esq. of Counsel donated two issues for determination, that is; 1. Whether the use of Islamically prescribed head cover called Hijab is not part of the fundamental right of the Muslim Female students in Public Schools in Osun State to the freedom of religion in view of S.38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

2. Whether in view of S.38 of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees fundamental right to freedom of religion Article 8 2(V) of the “Guideline On Administration and Discipline in Public Schools in Osun State” is not null, void and of no effect whatsoever”.

Arguing the application beginning with issue 1, Learned Counsel drew my attention to S.38 (1) Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and Chapter 24 verses 30 – 31 of the Glorious Qur’an.

Continues

tomorrow

37

Monday, 20 June, 2016

foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

Italy elections: Rome set to elect Virginia Raggi as first female mayor Rome is set to elect its first female mayor in a run-off vote in municipal elections.

Virginia Raggi, from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, is seen as the favourite against Roberto Giachetti of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

Her victory would be a blow to Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

His PD party may also lose in Italy’s financial capital, Milan, and faces tough battles in Turin and Bologna.

Ms Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer, won 35 per cent of the vote in the first round two weeks ago, against 24 per cent for Mr Giachetti.

Correspondents say a victory in Rome would give anti-globalist Five Star a platform for parliamentary elections due in 2018.

The next mayor of Rome will find a city mired in debts of more than €13bn (£10billion; $15billion) twice its annual budget.

Romans are frustrated by potholes, piles of rubbish and serious deficiencies in public transport and housing, the BBC reported from the Italian capital.

Founded by comedian Beppe Grillo in 2009, Five Star has been campaigning against the corruption that has plagued Italian politics for years.

Virginia Raggi. PHOTO: AFP

other NEWS Egyptian court hands ex-president Mursi another life sentence

Students writing an examination.

PHOTO: BBC

Algeria blocks Facebook, Twitter to stop exam cheats in secondary schools

A

L G E R I A N authorities have temporarily blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to try to stop cheats posting high school exam papers online, state media reported on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of high school students were retaking part of their baccalaureate exams after details were shared over social media.

“The cut in social media is directly related to the partial baccalaureate exams that are taking place on Sunday,” an official source told the APS state news agency.

“This is to protect students from the publication of false papers for these exams.”

Access to the internet through the 3G mobile network also appeared to be disrupted on Sunday.

Earlier this month, authorities said police arrested dozens of people, including officials working in national

education offices and printers, as part of an investigation into how

Russian lake

Russia Lake Syamozero: 11 children die after storm catches boating group At least 11 children and an adult died when a storm caught a boating party on Lake Syamozero in northern Russia’s Karelia region.

Ten children on holiday from Moscow were killed, according to the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, quoting preliminary information.

Of the group of 51, at least 36 are safe, emergency services said, with reports of survivors washing ashore.

An instructor has been arrested on suspicion of

Thousands demand US military exit from Japan’s Okinawa TENS of thousands of demonstrators have rallied on the Japanese island of Okinawa, protesting against the heavy United States military presence and violent crimes by American personnel there.

Gathered on Sunday afternoon, protesters expressed their frustrations with the US after a former Marine employed as a civilian base worker allegedly raped and murdered a 20-year-old local woman in April.

The case has intensified longstanding opposition to the military bases, a key part of the US-Japan

parts of the 2016 high school exams were leaked onto social media.

security alliance, on the island popular with tourists.

Al Jazeera, reporting from Okinawa, said the US has been acting in a sensitive manner to the current mood on the island.

“Washington quickly announced a one-month period of mourning on all their bases following the killing of the young woman,” he said.

“The US insists this death should not drive a wedge between them and the people of Okinawa. But many here believe there will always be tensions while US forces remain.”

safety violations, BBC reported.

A team of doctors and psychologists has been dispatched from Moscow, according to Mr Sobyanin.

“A great tragedy has occurred in Karelia,” he tweeted.

“According to preliminary data, 10 children from Moscow have perished on Syamozero. My condolences to their families and friends.”

Rescue services said the survivors were being evacuated - 25 survivors from an island in the lake, and 11 from a village on the shore.

They said they had received an alert at 11:15 (08:15 GMT) on Sunday that a tour group was missing on Lake Syamozero after a storm.

Emergency crews using boats and helicopters were sent to the scene.

It appears that the boating party, mostly adolescents on holiday from Moscow and aged between 12 and 15, were staying in a summer camp near the lake, a popular outdoor tourism destination.

EGYPT’S former president Mohamed Mursi was handed another life sentence, after a court found him guilty of espionage and leaking state secrets.

Mursi, leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has already been sentenced in three other cases, including the death penalty for a mass jail break during the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak and a life sentence for spying on behalf of Palestinian group Hamas.

The court on Saturday also said the death penalty had

been approved for six others accused alongside Mursi, including three journalists sentenced in absentia. Two other defendants who had worked in Mursi’s office were sentenced to life in prison.

TURKISH border guards have shot dead at least eight Syrians, including four children, who were trying to cross into Turkey, activists said.

A further eight people were injured, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based monitoring group.

It happened at a border crossing north of the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour, which is controlled by jihadist groups.

The Turkish military insists guards fired only warning shots and that the Syrians dispersed.

BBC revealed that

Turkey said it is being unjustly accused, and is under immense pressure from the European Union to stop Syrians trying to travel to Europe.

More than 2.7 million people who fled the war in Syria have taken refuge in Turkey.

Turkey closed its borders to Syrians several months ago.

The Associated Press news agency quoted a senior Turkish official as saying: “We are unable to independently verify the claims” regarding the shooting, but said authorities were investigating.

Mohamed Morsi

Turkey border guards shot Syrian children —Activists

The canal where the corpses were found.

Pregnant woman, husband tortured, shot dead after family dispute A pregnant woman and her husband were found dead in a canal with gunshot wounds to the head, a day after they were reportedly snatched by relatives following a dispute.

Police told CNN Sunday that Aqsa Shakeel, 26, and her husband, Muhammad Shakeel, 30, were visited by a group of relatives on Wednesday at their home in Thikriwala, a village in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province.

Police said a heated argument broke out between the couple and the family

members, who included Aqsa’s brother, named as Muhammad Mauvia, and her mother, Majeeda Bibi.

Aqsa’s family disapproved of the marriage, according to police, though no further details were given.

A search for the couple was initiated when the husband’s father, Muhammad Kushi, reported the couple missing later Wednesday. Their bodies were discovered in a canal near the village Thursday evening. An autopsy report revealed that they had been tortured and shot in the head.

communitynews Flood renders residents homeless in Adere community 38

Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

S

OME residents of Adere community in Ado Ekiti have been sacked by flood.

The rain, which began around 2 p.m. last Wednesday, lasted for about four hours, prompting flood to take over the road that leads to the Polytechnic roundabout and left motorists plying the road stranded.

The flood, which took over a house very close to a river, rendered many homeless while three churches located in the same compound with the house were turned into ‘a pool of water’. Properties were also destroyed.

One of the residents, Pastor Abioye Emmanuel, who spoke with Community News, expressed sadness over the extent of damage by the flood.

He explained that this is the first time they would experience such occurrence.

Pastor Emmanuel said: “The water coming from NTA, Aba-Iyamedi, Egbewa and Falegan all meet here at this particular point. This channel is too narrow for the volume of water flowing

through it. The only solution is for government to expand the channel that passes through this bridge for easy flow of water.”

Items destroyed by the flood are freezers, generators, computers, electronics,

clothes among others.

A younger brother to one of the affected pastors, who is in charge of Christ and Grace deliverance Ministry, Ayodele Adekola, lamented that the flood prevented them from observing vigil

as water took over the whole place.

“We call on government to please, as a matter of urgency, intervene in the situation. We had planned to have a vigil on Wednesday night but unfortunately, the

Monday, 20 June, 2016

flood prevented us. As you can see, everywhere is full of water, we have been trying to evacuate the water.

“Many motorists were stranded as the flood took over the roads. The Commissioner for Environment

A failed section of the Sango/Idiroko Road in Ogun State. PHOTO: OLALEKAN OLABULO

Drivers, traders call on govt to fix Idiroko Road Olaleka n Olabulo-Lagos

MOTORISTS and traders at the Sango end of Idiroko Road in Ogun State have decried the deplorable state of the road and urged the Federal Government and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency to, as a matter of urgency, fix it.

The motorists and traders also called on the Ogun State government and the council authorities in the area to patch the road, pending the time the Federal Government will properly fix the road .

They lamented the endless traffic chaos in the area due to the bad section of the road, contending that motorists might soon abandon the route.

A driver, Muraina, told Community News that “almost on a daily basis, we have vehicles breaking down at this section of the road and it causes traffic jam.

“It actually started as a small pothole, but now, it has widened and it is causing serious flooding whenever it rains. Government should repair the road as soon as possible.

“We are really suffering.

We waste our time in traffic and this is affecting our buisnesses. This is a Federal Government Road. They have not worked on this road since former President Obasanjo left office.”

Another driver, named Festus, said “it is painful that the state and local governments are waiting for the Federal Government to fix this small portion of the

road. It ought not to be so.”

Also speaking, a trader, Oluwafunmilayo, appealed to government at all levels in the area to consider the plight of residents by recon-

structing the road before flood becomes a major problem.

“The rainy season is here.

This means the bad portion of the road will keep expand-

ing.

“The state government and the local government chairman should not wait for the Federal Government before effecting repairs,” she added.

and another commissioner have visited this place to ascertain the level of damage done by the flood. We can’t even quantify the properties that got destroyed.

“Two of our generators worth N75,000 each were destroyed. Our speakers and other church equipment were damaged by the flood. We want government to take urgent steps to prevent recurrence,” he said.

A church of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and another one named Spirit Alive Bible Church were also ravaged by the flood.

Community News observed that some church members were evacuating water from the Spirit Alive Bible Church using pumping machine. Some properties belonging to the church which were all drenched with water were removed and placed outside.

“The flood destroyed our food items, including all my children’s clothes. As I am standing now, the only clothes I have are the ones on me. We had to vacate this house to sleep in a friend’s house. The flood pulled down the fence of our house.

We want government to do something about it. Government is busy constructing flyovers while residents are being ‘carried’ away by flood,” one of the residents lamented.

14,000 communities now open defecation-free in Nigeria —UNICEF THE United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said 14,000 Nigerian communities have attained open defecation free status within the eight years of its intervention via the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Programme.

Mr Kanaar Nadar, UNICEF’s Chief Officer in charge of Water Sanitation and Hygiene, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, on Thursday.

He said that Nigeria could achieve its target of meeting the National Roadmap of Ending Open Defecation by 2030, “if it puts policies in place to encourage behavioural change in sanitation and hygiene.’’

Nadar said the agency had carried out a survey in some selected communities, and observed that there was a gap between knowledge and attitude in hygiene promotion practice.

“Such situation could be reduced with proper hy-

giene promotion messages,’’ he said.

He noted that Nigeria was known for having sanitary inspectors, who carried out enforcement of hygiene practices.

“But the inspectors did not appear to have the needed encouragement; hygiene should be encouraged by all, to reduce possible outbreak of preventable diseases,’’ he said.

According to him, Nigeria needs to scale up its hygiene promotion strategies to en-

able it become a social norm.

The UNICEF official, who said that the intervention was covering 200,000 communities, stated that poor persons were 36 times more likely to defecate in the open than rich individuals ``due to the disproportionate distribution of wealth in the society.’’

He challenged stakeholders to develop simple, better and cost effective messages that would enable more Nigerians change their behaviours towards hygiene promotion.

Nadar noted that Nigeria

Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh land dispute: Panel adopts resolutions alphonsus agborh-asaba

THE Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh land dispute panel sitting in Warri, Delta State has adopted some resolutions which include the resolve that the peace accord between the two communities witnessed by the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police shall be maintained and respected.

They also include free access and movement between Ogbe-Ijoh and Alad-

ja communities as well as Aladja and Isaba communities, while the people’s farming and fishing activities within these communities shall be allowed to go on without hindrance.

All the parties also promised to cooperate with the panel in the demarcation and survey of the boundary between Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas as well as the survey and demarcation of the extent of the land in dispute between Aladja

and Ogbe-Ijoh communities.

Earlier, the Chairman of the panel, Professor Abednego Ekoko, at the inaugural sitting, assured the two communities that the panel would live up to its expectation by ensuring impartiality, fairness and firmness in its proceedings.

He, however, warned that the panel would not succumb to any acts of intimidation or subversive influence in the course of its

duties even as he reminded the feuding communities of the role of the panel in promoting peace and harmony and to finally put to an end the intractable dispute between them.

In their separate remarks, the Youth President of Aladja Community, Onatombre Wisdom and his Ogbe-Ijoh counterpart, Christmas James, assured the panel of their maximum support and cooperation during their sittings.

was a signatory to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, hence the need to deliberately remove barriers to sanitation and hygiene in the country.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment in Osun State, Mr Adewale Ojo, has said that residents of the state are more conscious of open defecation due to constant sensitisation.

Ojo told journalists in Osogbo that the major cause of open defecation in sub-Saharan Africa was absence of effective sanitary system.

“Apart from the aggressive campaign against the habit in the media, which the ministry had consistently embarked upon, there had been frantic efforts to construct toilets for public use across the state.

“An agency under this ministry, the Rural Water and Environmental Sanitation Agency (RUWESA), had built hundreds of toilets across the three senatorial districts, and had continued to sensitise the public on the need to have functional toilets,” Ojo said.

39

Monday, 20 June, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Osogbo tennis club to organise tournament for secondary schools

By Niyi Alebiosu AS part of its effort to develop tennis at the grassroots level, Osogbo Tennis Club has commenced plans to organise tennis tourney amongst schools in Osun state.

President of the club, Engineer Samuel Oguntunde in a telephone conversation with Tribunesport informed that arrangement is in top gear by the club to organise tennis competition for youth of the state in order to take the game to the grassroot, discover and nurture more talents for the state and the country at large.

Oguntunde who believed in the empowerment of the youth revealed that the tourney which will hold on a yet to be fixed date will enable them excel in their chosen career and have

Oyo SWAN congratulates new sports commissioner

brighter future.

The president, having commended the clubs’s honorary members: Senate Chief Whip;Senator Sola Adeyeye, former Minister for youth development;Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and Mr Akindele Fajemiyo for their efforts at ensuring the growth and development of tennis at the grassroot level assured that the secondary schools tennis tourney will be mailed for students as the club will not entertain any form of cheating.

“We are more concerned about youth development and the growth of tennis at Osogbo Tennis Club than the social aspect of it, hence our decision to take the game to schools by organising tournaments among schools in the state, and I can assure you that there will be no room for cheating because we are targeting real school pupils”, he said.

By Nurudeen Alimi THE Sports Writers Assocaition of Nigeria (SWAN), Oyo State chapter, has congratulated the newly-appointed commissioner for Youth and Sports in the state, Barrister Abayomi Oke. Congratulating Oke on behalf of other members, Chairman of the association, Mr Niyi Alebiosu, noted that Oke is assuming duty at a time when sports in Oyo State need rejig and urge him to put in his best to bring the state back to where it belongs in the world of sport.

Alebiosu, who commended the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, for putting the youngest of the newly-sworn-in commissioners in charge of the ministry of Youth and Sports, Pledged the support of sports journalists in the state for the ministry under Oke’s watch, while calling on the state governor to give the new commissioner adequate support in order to take Oyo State sports to enviable heights.

Andy Murray celebrates with his trophy after sealing a record fifth title at the Queen’s Club in London on Sunday. Murray endured a frustrating first set but bounced back to claim victory over Milos Raonic of Canada by beating him 6-7 6-4 6-3. PHOTO:DAILYMAIL

Rio Olympics:

Murray

Omeruo, Oboabona may replace injured Oduduwa

N

Omeruo com.

IGERIA U-23 coach Samson Siasia is mulling replacing injured Segun Oduduwa with either Super Eagles star Godfrey Oboabona or Kenneth for the Rio Olympics, According to AfricanFootball.

Oduduwa has been ruled out of the Olympics in August after he dislocated his knee in training and he will be out after surgery for as long as a year.

“The choice of a replacement for Oduduwa has narrowed to between Oboabona and Omeruo,” an official informed AfricanFootball.com “Such a replacement is allowed because Oduduwa has been certified injured.”

Turkey-based Oboabona is 25 and he will therefore feature in Rio as one of three overaged players allowed for the competition.

Omeruo, on the other hand, is 22 and so he is eligible for the football event in Brazil.

However, an earlier effort to draft the Chelsea stopper failed after Omeruo excused himself from the games on the advice of his doctor over a recurring groin injury.

There has now been a renewed bid to

Copa America: Messi equals Batistuta’s

Messi

Argentina record

LIONEL Messi scored a record-equalling 54th international goal as Argentina beat Venezuela 4-1 to reach the Copa America semi-finals.

Messi’s fourth goal of the tournament puts him level with Gabriel Batistuta.

T h e Barcelona forward, 28, also created goals for Gonzalo Higuain, who

scored twice, and Erik Lamela to set up a last-four meeting with hosts USA. Holders Chile will face Colombia in the other semifinal after inflicting a record 7-0 defeat on Mexico.

Four goals for Eduardo Vargas helped Chile top Mexico’s previous record loss at a major tournament - a 6-0 defeat by West Germany in the 1978 World Cup. Edson Puch also scored twice for the defending champions, with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez completing

the rout.

The competition’s centenary edition gives Argentina, also runners-up in the 2014 World Cup, a chance to avenge last year’s final loss and win a first trophy in 23 years.

“For us to be back in another semi-final of a big tournament like this one is a great achievement for these players,” said Messi.

“I’m happy for what it means and it’s nice to be next to ‘Batigol’ [Batistuta], but for me the most important thing is the result.”

make him rescind this decision, officials told AfricanFootball.com.

IOC backs IAAF ban on Russia THE IOC threw its support behind the decision to ban Russia’s track-and-field team from the Rio Olympics and said Saturday it plans to “further far-reaching measures” to crack down on doping ahead of the Games.

The International Olympic Committee said it “welcomes and supports” and “fully respects” Friday’s ruling by track and field’s world governing body to maintain its ban on Russia because of widespread doping.

The IOC, which has ultimate authority over the Olympics, also noted that the IAAF has control over which track and field athletes are eligible to compete at the Games.

“The eligibility of athletes in any international competition including the Olympic Games is a matter for the respective international federation,” the IOC said.

SIDELINES

NO 16, 527

MONDAY, 20 JUNE, 2016

T

ODAY I’m in the Kingdom of Solitude where the King of Solitude has hosted me. I’m in the Kingdom of Solitude where I have drunk the wine of solitude and of esoteric dogmas. I’m alone, all alone, in my abstruse world. My alert and wakeful thoughts comb everywhere they can comb for the right keys to open the perceptions and hearts of our compatriots who govern our lives as political leaders in ways and methods they ought not to govern us by. How can I lead them to the classics that have rightly been described to contain the “noblest recorded thoughts of man”?

Will they not be the good leaders we want them to be if they can be mended through the right books of the right thoughts that would inspire them to see the anguished hearts of the masses of our people they are misgoverning?

Ah! I remember Alexander the Great who was always in possession of Iliad “on his expeditions in a precious casket.” Was this treasured monument of thoughts not his most precious relic until his death-day? What is the choicest relic of President Buhari? Is it Arrow of God or Death and the King’s Horseman?

What books does Mr. President read? What books do his cohorts and lieutenants read? And our governors and their acolytes? What books are they reading? Do they really read? Do they ever read? Do they ever create time to read? If they do, will our country be what it is now?

Oh! Oh! Oh! How do we metamorphose them to make the feeblest attempt to tip-toe to a book-shelf in any library of their choice to pick one or two books per week or per month to read in the interest, at least of the masses of people their governance modus operandi has wearied primitively and primitively?

My fellow columnists, and pen-persons and all compatriots and lovers of our dear country should kindly join me to address, to appeal to our colourful and illustrious people in power to have perfect attention and affection for books in order to improve perfectly their knowledge of the heart of governance for the sake of mankind which the Nigerian masses are an enterprising part of. Our

N150

Colette Bourlier few months ago at Universite de Franche-Comte in Besancon, France completed her Ph.D programme which she started in 1983 and was awarded “high distinction” after she defended her thesis at 91. If one may ask, was Colette’s resilience not enough to earn her a distinction, even if some element of senility reflects in her thesis?

in&out with Tony Afejuku 08055213059

Solitary musings leaders must metamorphose to species and patriots of Nigerian “noveldom” in this wise. They must surprise us by changing their collective colour today.

They must re-breed their image.

Why must we quarrel needlessly? Why must we fight needlessly over Muslim hijab and Christian robes and garments to be worn and not to be worn to our schools and colleges? How low have we sunk? And how low in our rating is that judge who curiously gave the ruling she gave on hijab-wearing of our Muslim girls to school? And on what grounds did she give her ruling that could birth chaos in the land of Osun? Was our judge of a sharp legal mind bereft of legal wit and humour that she would have employed at the material time to give a ruling that would have soothed and sweetened frayed nerves? In any case, by the time your eyes espy my present words, Governor Aregbesola would have rung his gubernatorial bell to halt and quell what he must rightly halt and quell to our collective joy. May his ringing bell not stir the aggrieved to burn down everywhere in Osun land of peaceful peace.

We all are aggrieved in the land today. We all are aggrieved in our country today. We all, for this reason, are erecting walls against one another instead of us to be building bridges of oneness. We must grow hearts, we must erect hearts that are accessible to all

We all are aggrieved in the land of today. hearts. We must remember: “Though tongue(s) and tribe (s) differ, In brotherhood we stand.”

Of course, we also stand in sisterhood even though our tongues and tribes are dissimilar. Our feminists are happy with this line, O dear! O dear!

Now tell me, tell my anguished eyes, tell my burning, boiling heart, why we must not talk the Ijaw Avengers of the Niger Delta out of their curious war of unholy and unwholesome vengeance against Nigeria? Yes, the foundation of Nigeria is faulty, the foundation that is the source of our national predicament is precarious, but is there no other way of redressing justly what needs to be justly redressed to the satisfaction of our different nationalities? Must we burn down everywhere from the Niger Delta to nowhere to make our impact felt? Must we always want to solve a problem with

a problem? With collaborative wisdom we shall see the birth of liberation that is liberation. In the long run it is Niger Delta denizens and citizens who shall and who will bear the brunt of rapidly orchestrated wars. We may boast of getting this and that through rapid strides of war (that always benefit a greedy, rapacious few), but these rapid strides will ultimately not advance the Niger Delta. Mark my words, mark my lips of mystical and poetic prophecy - as I remember now the impeccable solitary prophecy Primate Theophilus Olabayo, Prophet The Great, gave me some time in the purple past. I won’t reveal it now.

Now I must leave public subjects, and enter my personal, private, solitary world of solitude. I have tasted the familiar liquor of anguish: the loss of my mother - whose preference for simple, austere living was legendary. My anguished eyes are boiling and burning for the loss of my mother who, at slightly eighty-nine, is now dancing to the arresting beat of the drummer in paradise - away from the disdainful music of our madding birthcountry. May her principled insistence on principled simple living steady her well in God’s kind Hands. I utter this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ she believed in - in her long, austere journey here. I hear a loud chorus of “AMEN!!!”

I must hurry home to do my last filial obligation to her - Mother Rebecca!

Wenger confirms Vardy’s Arsenal snub Jamie Vardy’s future has been subject to much speculation after Arsenal met his £20 million release clause.

Vardy refused to make a decision on a move to the Emirates Stadium before Euro 2016, preferring to settle matters after the tournament to allow him to focus

on his commitments with England.

And now Wenger has dampened any speculation by admitting that, to his knowledge, Vardy will remain a Leicester

CAF C/League: Enyimba lose at home to Zamalek

Vardy

VISITING Egyptian giants, Zamalek on Sunday pipped Enyimba 1-0 in a CAF Champions League Group B match played at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt.

Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa now top of the group with three points following their 2-0 win at Algeria’s Entente Setif on Saturday.

Sundowns host Enyimba on June 29 in

continuation of the competition.

Sunday’s kick-off was delayed by heavy rain in Port Harcourt.

Bassem Morsy headed Zamalek in front in the seventh minute, when his effort lobbed over goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai.

The waterlogged pitch caused by the heavy rain in Port Harcourt virtually made it impossible for both teams to string passes on the pitch for a large part of the encounter.

City player after opting against a summer exit.

“Jamie Vardy is, at the moment at Leicester,” the Arsenal boss told Tencent Sports.

NPFL RESULTS FC IfeanyiUbah

2 Rivers Utd

0

MFM

0 3SC

1

Akwa Utd

2 El-Kanemi

0

Abia Warriors

1 Heartland

0

Wikki

3 Pillars

1

Tornadoes

1 Rangers

1

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. Telephone: 08165728976; 08073598322. 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. 20/06/2016.