30th December 2015

nigeria’s most informative newspaper no 16,403

WEDNESDAY, 30 December, 2015

Armsgate: There will be no plea bargain —AGF •Says FG still tracking Chibok girls •As BBOG demands release of convicted —P2 soldiers

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Ketu tragedy: Hotel manager on the run —Police —P8

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Media giving oxygen to Boko Haram —Minister

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Sango plank market fire: Ajimobi raises 6-member probe panel

—P2

—P14

NNPC to sell petrol at N86 from Jan 1 —P5

•Other marketers to sell at N86.50

Subsidy removal: NLC directs affiliates, state councils to begin mobilisation —P3

N1.04trn fine: NCC challenges court's jurisdiction in MTN suit —P15

Aftermath Boko Haram attacks:

Our heads are bloody but remain unbowed —Borno gov •As he visits victims —P13

Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, commiserating with a victim of Sunday's attack by Boko Haram, at the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, on Monday.

Buhari's first media chat holds today —P4

news Armsgate: There will be no plea bargain —AGF 2

Sunday Ejike - Abuja

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HERE will be no provision for plea bargain in the prosecution of public officers found to have stolen or misappropriated public funds.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami, who made the declaration on Tuesday, said it had never been the policy of the government to make compromises on terrorism and financial crimes, and that it would never be tolerated by his office.

The chief law officer made the statements when the BringBackOurGirls movement visited him in his office in Abuja, led by the convener of the group, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili.

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

He also disclosed that the Federal Government had set up a complete national prosecution team to ensure an effective and efficient prosecution of criminal matters in the country.

He said the team comprised all stakeholders in the criminal justice system, and will be responsible for carrying out effective investigation and preparation of relevant charges in accordance with the law of the land without compromise.

Malami told the BringBackOurGirls movement that government is worried with the way the past administration handled the prosecution of alleged corrupt public officers, noting that corruption cases under past administrations in the country were deliberately compromised during inves-

tigation in order to pave the way for criminal elements to escape the long arm of the law.

He, however, said that steps had been taken to audit such cases with a view to bring the culprits to justice.

The AGF said: “It is not just about having a team that will be prosecuting, but ensuring that relevant audit is taken as it relates to previous prosecution to ensure that those that are found wanting are brought to book. And then, the future of prosecution in this country is further enhanced by having in place an effective legal team that will involve legal drafters for efficient drafting of charges, efficient investigators that will ensure that adequate proofs of

evidence that will establish the required ingredients of an offence are put in place, and then competent prosecutors that will ensure that the required proofs are presented before relevant courts for the purpose of establishing guilt.”

On the issue of plea bargain as raised by Mrs Ezekwesili, the AGF expressed his abhorrence for the policy and pledged the government’s commitment not to compromise the fight against terrorism and financial crimes.

“I cannot imagine someone being responsible for monumental deaths of our citizens going scot-free, arising from plea bargain as a policy. It has never been the policy of the government to make compromises on terrorism and financial crimes. It will never

Media giving oxygen to Boko Haram —Lai Mohammed He should account for Borno, Adamawa attacks —Fayose Group hails Buhari’s sincerity, zeal to defeat Boko Haram MINISTER of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, believes the Nigerian military has largely succeeded in defeating Boko Haram because the insurgents are now “only operating from one or two local governments.”

But he urged the media to stop “giving oxygen to the terrorists,” saying the war cannot be successful without the cooperation of journalists.

“Just as I said in my meeting with the newspapers editors in Lagos, on the 21st of December, the military has largely met the deadline to defeat Boko Haram, and the military has matched the capacity of terrorists to carry out the attacks they used to,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“Of course, I also mentioned that the terrorists will continue to attack such targets as markets, motor parks, entertainment centres and houses of worship; and this is exactly what is going on.

“We know that in an insurgency, the war does not end in one day. The attack on soft targets will continue, but we also want to appeal to the media to stop giving oxygen to the Boko Haram insurgency. When we glamorise the attacks, it gives the terrorists more life and in a time of insurgency like this, the media also has a role to play, which is not to glamorise the attacks.

“What is happening is not unexpected; what is happening is what will happen in any insurgency. But the fact of the attack is that

Boko Haram has been sufficiently defeated. Boko Haram can no longer take any territory away from us. And if you look at the context, about a year ago, Boko Haram had complete control of 20 out of 37 local governments in Borno State. There were about six local governments in Yobe and about four in Adamawa. If today, Boko Haram is operating from one or two local governments in the entire country, I think the military has largely succeeded in wiping out Boko Haram.”

Lai argued that isolated bomb attacks on soft targets should not be confused with insurgency, saying such soft attacks will be very hard to eliminate.

“It is possible for insurgents to lay ambush on the road; it does not mean they are in control of that local government.

“We are not saying we are going to eliminate ambush or attacks overnight; it is never done in any insurgency. But what we are saying is that given the fact that just less than a year ago the entire North-East was almost in their complete control, and today they don’t have that kind of command, I think it is only one or two local governments in which they have way at all; and even with what the army have done in the last couple of months, we are very hopeful that before the end of the year a lot of progress would have been met. The media also need to play its role now and that is also reporting equally the progress reports.”

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has described the Sunday and Monday’s Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Adamawa states as disheartening and an indictment on the All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government.

He said that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, must explain to Nigerians how the same sect that he said had been “technically defeated” could carry out such daring and deadly attacks.

The governor, who commiserated with the government and people of Borno and Adamawa states, especially those who lost their loved ones in the attacks, said; “in other countries of the world, the government would have taken responsibility for deceiving and misleading the people and apologised.”

In a release issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose asked; “If Boko Haram had indeed been technically defeated as Lai Mohammed made Nigerians to believe, what do we call the Sunday and Monday attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State capital and Madagali, Adamawa State?

“Should we say that the ‘technically’ defeated Boko Haram insurgents ‘manually’ attacked Borno and Adamawa states, killing close to 100 Nigerians and injuring several others?

“Only Lai Mohammed who told Nigerians that Boko Haram had been technically defeated can tell

us what happened and he must explain how ‘technically defeated’ insurgents could carry out such deadly attacks.”

Governor Fayose, who urged the APC-led Federal Government to stop deceiving Nigerians, especially on the Boko Haram insurgency and its anti-corruption fight, said “This governance by deceit must stop. Nigerians deserve to know the truth concerning how they are being governed.

He challenged the Federal Government to tell Nigerians how much had been spent on security matters since June this year, saying “As it is today, they are just using the anti-corruption fight to shift the attention of Nigerians from their failure to fulfil promises made while seeking votes.

They are deceiving Nigerians while diverting security vote under the pretence of fighting Boko Haram insurgency.

“It has, therefore, become pertinent that they are told expressly to stop behaving as if they are still the opposition. They should realise that election is over and it is already seven months that they assumed office.”

In a related development, a group known as Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s sincerity, zeal and clarity of purpose have played major roles in the success of the Nigerian military in degrading and defeating Boko Haram to actualise his December 31 deadline.

Continues pg3

be tolerated by the office of the AGF,” he said.

Commenting also on the public officers who are being prosecuted over their alleged involvement in the arms purchase scam, Malami said the Federal Government would do everything possible to ensure that those involved in the scandal are prosecuted in the interest of the public.

He said no plea bargain would be entertained, saying “I personally look at plea bargain with disdain.

I object personally to plea bargain, particularly as it relates to terrorism and financial crimes.”

The Federal Government, the AGF said, would ensure that there is no compromise in the prosecution of those responsible for the diversion of the funds meant for the purchase of arms to be used to fight the Boko Haram insurgents that abducted the Chibok girls.

He said it is tormenting and psychologically traumatic for a nation to have over 200 of its secondary schoolgirls abducted and held hostage by the insurgents for over 600 days, a situation he said was a result of the inefficiency of the past administration.

“It is bad that money that was raised to buy equipment that would be used to fight the abductors of the Chibok girls and secure their freedom was not used by those responsible to buy the equipment and they also sabotaged the process,” he said and disclosed that efforts are in top gear to end Boko Haram activities in the country.

He said government, with the Freedom of Information law in place, cannot hide the report of the Presidential Task Force that investigated the abduction of the Chibok girls, saying that government is ready to secure the freedom of the girls. He then called for the collaboration of the BringBackOurGirls Movement in this direction.

Speaking earlier, the chairperson, Strategic Planning, of the movement, Hajia Aisha Yusuf, said the movement had been demanding for accountability and transparency in governance, saying that corruption and poor governance were the primary factors that led to the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State by the Boko Haram.

She said with the revelations of how monies meant to prosecute the war on terror were shared, it would not be fair to enter into plea bargain arrangements and allow the offenders go scot-free to enjoy what she called ‘blood money.’

Hajia Yusuf called on the AGF to use his office to

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charge those who partook in the sharing of the ‘blood money’ with more serious crimes like treason, instead of just financial crimes, and suggested that all those that benefited from the arms purchase deal be prosecuted.

Earlier, the group’s convener and former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, told the AGF that the inefficient governance of the immediate past government was largely responsible for the tragedy of the Chibok girls.

She recalled that since the advocacy for the Chibok girls began in April 2014, no concrete step was taken by the ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to secure the safe return of the girls.

Ezekwesili said: “In the movement, we, over time, realised that it is the failure of governance that resulted in the abduction of the Chibok girls and that corruption was the key obstacle to the rescue of the girls.

“To that effect, therefore, we believe that in recent times and the revelations that have followed, it is clear that there is a lot your office must do in order to establish a framework that will assure Nigerians that every bad behaviour that took place and facilitated the abduction of the girls and every bad behaviour that impeded their immediate release must be fully prosecuted.

“The matter of disclosure of the Presidential Taskforce report on the factfinding mission into the veracity of the abduction is key and urgent.

“This will put paid to the saying by some people that the Chibok girls’ abduction is a scam. How can the tragedy of the Chibok girls be scam when the government under which it happened instituted an inquiry into it, and there are parents who are crying that their children are not yet back?

Their children are still with terrorists and their fellow citizens dare to call their experience a scam!

“The government owes it a duty to the girls under captivity, their parents, community of Chibok, the movement and all wellmeaning Nigerians that the report be transparently disclosed in its entirety so that we will know exactly what made it possible for our Chibok girls to have been abducted.”

The BringBackOurGirls group had been championing the call on the Federal Government to secure the freedom of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls that were abducted from their school in Borno State in April 2014.

news Subsidy removal: NLC directs affiliates, state councils to begin mobilisation 3

By Soji-Eze Fagbemi and Tunde Dodondawa

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IGERIA Labour Congress (NLC), on Tuesday, issued a directive to its state councils and affiliate industrial unions across the country to commence mobilisation of workers against the plan to remove fuel subsidy through the back door by the Federal Government.

The congress warned that it would resist such removal.

In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Peters Ozo-Eson, the congress told its state councils and industrial unions not to wait till its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting earlier scheduled for the New Year, before commencing mobilisation.

Comrade Ozo-Eson said the congress had heard discordant tunes in the past few weeks, from the chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on what the future portends for the prices of petroleum products and the management of the subsidy scheme; hence the need for action.

He said: “In the meantime, we wish to restate our opposition, adopted at our Central Working Commit-

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

tee Emergency Meeting of 22nd December, to any attempt by the government to increase the price of or remove subsidy on petrol.

We reiterate our directive to our state councils and industrial unions to commence the process of mobilisation prior to a meeting of the National Executive Committee to be convened in the New Year.”

The congress, however, regretted that party chieftains who supported and encouraged the massive protests against subsidy removal in 2012, are now preaching the inevitability of subsidy removal.

The statement read: “The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum first announced that come next year the price of petrol will revert to N97 per litre and that subsidy will be phased out. Two days thereafter, he denied this and stated that what he said was that the price will operate within a band of N87 to N97 and that this did not mean removing the subsidy. The same minister now says that the price of petrol will now be N85 in January, signifying the deregulation of the sector.

“These vacillations and flip flops are, in our view, designed to confuse Nigerians and pave the way for deregulation of petrol prices

Army will sustain efforts to wipe out insurgency —Gen Umaru Isaac Shobayo - Jos

THE outgoing General Officer Commanding 3rd Armoured Division in Jos, Plateau State capital, Major General Hassan Umaru, has assured that the army will sustain its efforts to wipe out insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.

General Umaru, who made this known at the handing over ceremony to the new GOC, Brigadier General Mohammed Aliyu, said the military is not relenting in its efforts and assured Nigerians that current efforts would be sustained to rid the geo-political zone of terrorists.

He enjoined the officers to be more united in the fight against insurgents and shun any form of sentiment. He charged them to be more determined than before in bringing insurgency to an end in the country.

Umaru said “The ongoing battle against the insurgents will be won only by our collective efforts. We must continue to pray for each other and shun indiscipline in discharging our duty,” he said.

Umaru urged 3 Division officers to ensure that discipline prevails in their dealings with junior officers and make their welfare a priority. He said they deserved this because they are in the frontline.

While General Umaru is resuming in Maiduguri as the new Theatre Commander, Tactical Headquarters (Operation Lafia Dole), Brigadier Aliyu was transferred from 21 Brigade to Jos, to serve as the new GOC. Meanwhile, as part of activities marking the handing-over ceremony, General Umaru commissioned a 100KVA generator at the All Saints Military Church suited in the division.

through the back door. The fact of the matter is that as long as we continue to depend on imported refined products, deregulation and the abandonment of a subsidy scheme will unleash hardship on Nigerians.

“In any case, according to our laws, the determination of the recommended prices of petroleum products is the responsibility of the Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). By law, the board of PPPRA is made up of stakeholders. None of the contradictory prices the minister is throwing up is a product of the agency. Indeed, the board of the PPPRA has not operated for over two years, although we have made repeated demands for the convening of the board.

“We call on the government to be guided by the rule of law and constitute and convene the board of PPPRA in accordance

with the law without further delay. This will enable the agency to examine and

agree on a new pricing template based on the realities of today. Any price unilat-

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erally determined and announced by the minister is in violation of the law.”

Army/Shiite clash: Senate committee to meet el-Rufai, Emir of Zaria Taiwo Adisa - Abuja

THE Senate ad-hoc committee investigating the clash between the Army and the Shiite Islamic sect in Kaduna is set to hold talks with the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, the Emir of Zaria and other prominent leaders in the state.

The committee, led by Senator Ahmad Lawan which met behind closed doors in Abuja, on Tuesday, was said to have resolved to conduct a fact-finding probe into the clash.

Sources close to the committee said that the lawmakers met behind closed doors to review the clash that claimed hundreds of lives, adding that the committee would next week meet with the Emir of

Zaria, the Kaduna State governor and other notable stakeholders.

Though Senator Lawan did not respond to inquiries from newsmen, it was gathered that the lawmakers at the Tuesday meeting resolved to undertake a thorough probe of the violence that erupted between the Army and the Shiites.

The committee, according to sources, is scheduled to visit Kaduna on Monday next week.

But Senator Abu Ibrahim, other members of the Senate Committee told newsmen in Abuja that the committee would meet with some Shitte leaders and other prominent personalities in Kaduna over the incident next week.

He said: “Yes, we are meeting to have firsthand

information on the matter from members of the sect but the meeting will not be opened to members of the public because of its sensitive nature.”

He also stated that the Tuesday’s meeting was not the first time and that the committee had met regularly in recent times.

He said that findings of the committee would be made public.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had set up a joint committee comprising Senate Committees on Defence; Judiciary and Human Rights; National Security and Intelligence; Army; Police Affairs; Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs to unravel the cause of the clash between the Army and the Shiite Islamic sect.

‘Media giving oxygen to Boko Haram’ Continued from pg2

The group’s Coordinator, Tukur Musa Tilde and the Chief Media Strategist, Emeka Nwapa, who jointly addressed the press, in Lagos, on Tuesday, said the stage for the systematic fall of Boko Haram was set on May 29 at the Eagles Square in Abuja when President Buhari served an expiration notice to the sect to suspend activities in the North-East or face sanctions.

According to the group, the president followed up the notice with a clear directive to the military high command to move the operational command headquarters to Maiduguri, Borno State capital and the epicenter of the anti-terror war followed by a series of diplomatic shuttles, the signing of regional and bilateral anti-insurgency agreements and the immediate payment of $20 million of Nigeria’s share of the logistics to the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

“It is discernible from the practical actions of our pragmatic president that finally the nation was about to witness the beginning of the end of this war which had regrettably festered for six years owing to reasons ranging from the sublime to the absurd. This government has a-no-holdsbarred resolve to reverse this ugly trend of terror in

the land. Buhari is sincere and straight-forward. The troops can see it, Nigerians and indeed the entire world cannot deny it. His zeal and sincerity is unmistakable,” Tilde maintained.

He disclosed that the president’s excellent command experience in the 1980s as General Officer Commanding, 3 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, in Jos (overseeing the North-East zone) came very handy, resulting in his insistence on building an international and regional coalition against the insurgents.

“This important background information is necessary to remind Nigerians

where this journey started and to properly situate the spectacular contributions of the president in giving this anti-insurgency war his best shot. He has left no one in doubt about his total commitment to ridding the entire North-East of the Boko Haram scourge by a strategy that is focused, pragmatic and all-embracing,” the group said.

It further disclosed that the president’s clarity of purpose also manifested in the choice of the service chiefs all of whom were said to enjoy immense respect and goodwill among officers and men of the respective services.

The group described the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin, from the Corps of Signals as one of the best things to happen in the history of military appointments in the country.

“The president is believed to have finally zeroed in on him (CDS) because of what was said to be his preference for a highly professional, skilful, strategic and straight-forward officer with the humility and humanity to drive his team of officers in the three services to adequately respond to national security commitments,” the group said.

Kaduna APC factional chairman emerges Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna

Alhaji Shuaibu Danladi Wada has said that he is the acting chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kaduna State chapter, and not Shuaibu Idris who was allegedly imposed on the party.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, on Tuesday, the new APC factional leader alleged that “sometimes in June 2014, I contested along with other party members after payment for forms and screen-

ing. I contested the office of the state deputy chairman and I was duly elected.

“As an endorsement of the legality of being elected as the deputy chairman, others and I elected on that day were presented with the Certificate of Return by the Returning Officer, Colonel Abdullahi (retd).”

He said, “due to our political differences in the party, I was not allowed to operate or perform my duties as a member of the state executive.

“Shuaibu Idris, to the

best of my knowledge, never participated in the election that saw us emerged as party leaders.

“It is legal and logical in accordance with the party’s constitution for me to assume the position of acting chairman of the party, as the substantive chairman had resigned and contested as deputy with el-Rufai.”

He declared that “the purported claim by Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, who is parading himself as the deputy chairman, is illegal and should desist from doing so.”

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Buhari hosts maiden live media chat today Leon Usigbe-Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday, appear in his maiden live radio and television media chat, to answer questions on various national issues.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Tuesday, in the course of the programme, which will be broadcast live on the network services of the Nigerian Television Author-

ity (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), President Buhari will answer ques-

tions from a panel of journalists on a broad range of current national issues.

The Presidential media

chat will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The statement advised other television and radio stations in the country

to hook-up to NTA and FRCN to relay the programme to their viewers and listeners.

Edo PDP denies diverting Jonathan’s campaign rice Banji Aluko-Benin City

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has reacted to media report that a governorship aspirant of the party in the state diverted rice brought to the state by the campaign organisation of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

A media report (not Nigerian Tribune) on Tuesday alleged that the unnamed governorship aspirant superimposed his own picture on that of former President Goodluck Jonathan and shared the rice to his supporters as Christmas gifts.

The Edo PDP at a media briefing in Benin, on Tuesday, however, denied the report, describing it as false and malicious and targeted at breaking the resolve of the party.

The state publicity secretary of the party, Chris Nehikhare, said the allegation was false and fabricated as the matter has been investigated by the party.

He said, “we would like to confirm that we have investigated it and are pleased to tell our party members that the story is not only false, but also sponsored and fabricated.

“We wish to tell those that thrive on lies, deceit and petty rumour that there is no room for them in our party.

“We advise our party members to be wary of paid agents that are bent on destabilising our cohesive party.

“Edo PDP will not be distracted by sponsored divisive antics. We urge all our aspirants to continue the good work they are doing.”

From left, first runner-up in female dance competition, Janet Aderuagba; Glo Ambassador, Odunlade Adekola; winner of the female dance competition, eight-year old Awawu Yakub; second runner-up, Helen Akaise and the first runner-up in the male dance competition, Raymond Shoyebo, at the Glo pavilion at the One Lagos Fiesta event, held at the Agege Stadium, on Monday.

Buhari to borrow N5bn daily to fund 2016 budget —PDP Leon Usigbe And Jacob Segun Olatunji-Abuja

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has calculated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration would need to borrow at the rate of about N5 billion everyday in 2016 to fund its N6.08 trillion budget.

The party apparently arrived at the figure by dividing by 365 days the N1.84 trillion that the administration said it would borrow to fund the budget.

The opposition believe that borrowing that kind of money without a clear cut plan to pay back could put Nigeria in the position of Greece whose economy has been grounded for years.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who made the assertion, said the budget estimates was therefore a huge fraud.

He said borrowing N5 billion a day, without corresponding provision for economic production and a clear repayment plan, would jeopardise the future of the country.

He said: “Some people may be wondering why we raised an alarm about the budget. The reason is simple. When we analysed the budget, we discovered it is a misshapen attempt at a Keynesian economics of applying deficit spending to stimulate growth even when studies have proven that GDP growth rates decrease by over 50 per cent,

when debt goes from low or moderate to high. But then we know the borrowing here is to pay huge campaign debt and fund a political war chest.

“By every standard, this budget is a booby trap against the nation. When you break down the proposed N1.84 trillion borrowing, you discover that it amounts to borrowing N5 billion everyday for the 365 days in 2016. The questions are: for what specific projects are they borrowing N5 billion per day and how do they intend to pay back?

“The President should explain to Nigerians how they intend to pay back the loan. Is it by continuous borrowing to service the interests, and does he intends to accumulate colossal debt for future genera-

tions of Nigerians?

“The truth is that this administration cannot justify this proposal. There is no known economy in the world where you can justify borrowing N1.84 trillion without specific projects and precise repayment outline. This is worse still in an oil-driven, monoeconomy at a time crude oil is selling at $30 per barrel and is speculated to go down to about $20 or even lower in the next one year.

The idea can only come when you diversify the economy and boost production capacity in manufacturing and other critical sectors, a direction, which the budget clearly failed to provide.

“From all indicators, the borrowing will be negative.

They are driving us to be like Greece, and to plunge

us into unnecessary debt.

When the PDP took office in 1999, we achieved the cancellation of inherited debts. This administration, in seeking to accumulate debts, should know that there is no possibility that any country in the world will give us debt cancellation anymore.”

Metuh further said: “More importantly, we are really worried about negative economic policies of the present administration and copying of strategies that failed in other economies. Recall that we had earlier alerted on the negative consequences of the retrogressive foreign exchange controls wherein this government is making it impossible for honest Nigerians to engage in free trade and regulate their personal activities.

Dickson visits Aso Rock Leon Usigbe-Abuja

GOVERNOR Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State was on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ostensibly in connection with the January 9, 2016 supplementary gubernatorial election planned for Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the recent governorship election on the state inconclusive following the cancellation of the exercise in Southern Ijaw

council.

Dickson, however, declined to disclose his mission at the Presidential Villa when approached by reporters.

It was not immediately clear whether he met with President Muhammadu Buhari as he returned a few minutes after he walked towards the president’s office.

He, however, volunteered that he wanted to go to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

Pressed to comment on the Bayelsa inconclusive

election, he declared that it had already been won and lost.

It will be recalled that the result of the election in seven local government councils have been declared with Dickson, the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winning six including Ogbia, Sagbama, Yenagoa, Kolokuma/Opkuma, Ekeremor and Nembe.

He currently leads his All Progressives Congress (APC) opponent and former governor, Timipre Sylva by 105,748 votes to 72,594.

Abductors of Bayelsa commissioner demand N40m ransom THE abductors of the Commissioner for Local Government in Bayelsa, Mrs Serefina Otazi, have demanded N40 million as ransom, according to a family member.

Mr Endurance Frank told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Yenagoa, on Tuesday, that the abductors had contacted the family and demanded the ransom to free their victim.

He said that the family was relieved to hear from Otazi while still in the kidnappers’ den, adding that they appealed to the kidnappers to free her unconditionally.

Otazi was abducted on December 20 at gunpoint in Otuoke, on her way to Ewoi community in Ogbia Local Government Area for a funeral.

She had served as a Commissioner for Women Affairs and acting chairman of Ogbia Local Government Area.

Okowa condoles with the Omatseyes DELTA State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has condoled with the family of Omatseye on the demise of their parents Pa and Mrs Omatseye.

Governor Okowa, who was accompanied by top government functionaries also, witnessed the traditional marriage of the daughter of former Commissioner for Housing in Delta State, Dr Alex Ideh, Omasan Nicola Ideh to Mr Chiedu Michael Okoboshi at Koko, on Monday.

Governor Okowa at Ugbolokposo, Uvwie Local Government area of the state, described the deceased as a couple that lived well and deserved to be celebrated in death.

Pa Oritsetserundede Omatseye who died at the age of 102 was the oldest man (Olare-Aja) of Kolokolo Community and his wife died on November 19, three weeks after the passage of her husband.

“When you have parents, who lived so well and have children who also have grown up children and are doing well in the society, you can only celebrate their passage,” he said.

“It is time to thank God for their lives; they gave their lives to God long before their death,” Okowa added.

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Monday, 14 December, 2015 Wednesday, 30 December, 2015 2015 Monday, Monday, 14 14December, December, 2015

NNPC to sell petrol at N86 per litre from Jan 1 —FG

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HE Federal Government has said from January 1, 2016, all retail stations of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would start selling petrol at N86 per litre.

Mr Farouk Ahmed, the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), announced this at a news conference in Abuja, on Tuesday.

He also said other oil marketers would sell at N86.50 per litre.

Ahmed stated that the reduction in the price of the commodity was due to an implementation of the revised components of the Petroleum Products Pricing Template for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Kerosene.

According him, the revised template, which would be reviewed on quarterly basis, is geared towards ensuring an efficient and market-driven price that will reflect current realities.

“The template is not static, as there would be a quarterly review and if there is any major shift, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources would be expected to call for a review, either upward

or downward.

“If there is no major shift, the price would continue from January to March 2016,” he said.

Giving a breakdown of the revised template, Ahmed disclosed that trader’s margin, the amount paid to traders for bringing the commodity into Nigeria, had been eliminated, from N1.47 per litre previously.

He said “lightering” ex-

penses was reduced from N4.07 per litre to N2 per litre; NPA reduced from N0.77 to N0.36 per litre; while Jetty throughput and storage charges were reduced.

Ahmed said the ex-depot price of PMS stood at N77 per litre, compared to N77.66 per litre, while the pump price for oil marketers would be N86.50 per litre.

Nigerian Tribune

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Lagosmetro

Ketu tragedy:

Hotel manager on the run —Police T he Lagos State Police Command says it is yet to arrest any management staff of Paulson Hotel, Ketu, where twin brothers and their friend were murdered by a drunk policeman.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, Mr Abiodun Odude, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

He spoke while giving an update on the incident which occurred on Saturday on Anibaba Street, Ketu-Ikosi, Lagos.

“We have yet to arrest anybody from the hotel. The manager is on the run. We have not been able to effect arrest of any management staff.

“The Homicide Unit is investigating the case. We are looking for the manager and other management staff that run the hotel,” Odude said.

NAN reports that a drunken policeman, one Sgt. Stephen James, on Saturday shot dead three male customers at Paulson Hotel, over their refusal to buy him drinks and killed himself thereafter.

The said killer cop worked with Mopol 22, GRA Ikeja before killing the twins, their friend and himself at about 4.20 p.m. on Saturday.

NAN also reports that the deceased twin brothers were identified as Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle and their friend simply identified as Jeje.

One of the twins, Kehinde and their friend Jeje were buried in Ikorodu on Sunday and Monday respectively, while Taiwo, who was a Navy personnel was taken away by the Navy authorities for burial.

As at the time of filing this report, the hotel had been completely deserted by staff and guests as the facility was vandalised by irate youths in the area.

Sources told NAN that po-

licemen led by the Divisional Police Officer at Ketu Police Station arrived at the scene on that fateful day and removed the corpses.

When NAN visited the family of the twins, the members of their family called on the police authorities to do the right thing for the family as they could not demand for compensation.

A son in-law of the family, Mr Segun Sodunke, who is

the husband to the immediate older sister of the twins, Olufunke, made the call.

He said that “no amount of money could compensate for the lives of Kehinde and Taiwo Oyesunle”, describing their deaths as a calamity too many.

Sodunke urged the police authorities to check officers in uniform with guns who are always drunk.

He noted that in spite of the

cries by Nigerians against careless killings by the police, nothing seems to be happening to culprits.

“The Commissioner of Police in Lagos was at Ketu Police Station on Sunday where he addressed the families involved.

When a NAN correspondent visited their mother, Madam Beatrice Oyesunle, at No. 6, Ajefemi Street, Ketu, where she lives with a

family friend, family members and friends were seen consoling her.

NAN reports that the bereaved mother looked calm and even offered a seat to the NAN correspondent though she was unable to answer any question.

When NAN visited Paulson Hotel, the blood from the dead bodies, including the policeman were still visible on the road in front of the

hotel.

NAN observed that the hotel glasses were shattered, a development suspected to have been caused by irate youths in the area on the night of incident.

At Conoil filling station, Shaginsha, near Lagos old Toll Gate where Kehinde worked, NAN observed that his colleagues, including security guards had yet to overcome the shock of his death.

Forex dealer remanded for exchanging customer’s dollars with fake notes Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin

Lagos residents queuing to buy fuel at NNPC Filling Station, Ikosi Ketu. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

I stole in Ghana, sold in Nigeria —Suspect Olalekan Olabulo

A 32-year- old suspected trans-border armed robber has claimed that it was more difficult to rob in Nigeria than in Ghana.

The suspect, Wasami Dennis, who is also an exconvict, was a few days ago arrested around FESTAC area of Lagos State by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad.

Dennis stated that he had more successful operations in Ghana, where nobody tried to stop him than in Nigeria, where he could be

arrested at anytime.

The suspect narrated that “I was released from prison about a year ago. I was caught in possession of a stolen laptop from Ghana along with three machetes hidden inside the walls of the hideout”.

In his statement with the police, he said, “I was an expert at break–in and run robbery. I operated in Ghana, breaking into people’s houses and making away with their properties and personal effects like mobile phones and laptops and other personal effects.

I used to bring the stolen items to Nigeria to sell. I have a ready market for them in Lagos and Lome”.

He stated that his fourmonth imprisonment in Kirikiri opened his eyes to so many things.

The suspect stated that “My major operations were in Ghana because Ghanaians are not security conscious unlike Nigeria where security is tight. In Ghana, nobody would challenge you.

“All the items that I stole are from Ghana. I did sell some at Lome and some in

Lagos. I have a large number of people that buy the stolen goods from me in Lagos.”

Meanwhile, operatives of the police have begun a man–hunt for the suspect’s stolen goods’ buyers. The operatives are on the trail of at least three buyers mentioned by the suspects.

The image-maker in charge of the Lagos State police command, Joe Offor, confirmed the arrest of the suspect to Lagos Metro and reiterated the commitment of the police in the state to reduce crime to its barest minimum.

A 28-year-old man, Musa Makinja Bukar, has been remanded in Ikoyi Prison for allegedly stealing and presenting fake United States (US) dollars to a customer.

Bukar, a Bureau de change operator, it was gathered, allegedly stole genuine $5,000 which he replaced with fake $5,000.

According to the police, Bukar obtained genuine $5,000 valued at N1.4million from one Tony Emokpere, but exchanged it for fake $5,000 which he presented as original US currency to Emokpere.

The offences contravene and are punishable under Sections 285(7) and 327 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

Bukar, however, pleaded not guilty when he was charged before an Igbosere Magistrate Court.

Presiding Magistrate, Mr. P. A. Balogun, granted him bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in the like sum.

He was however remanded pending the fulfillment of bail conditions.

Hearing in the matter was adjourned till January 13, 2016.

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Nigerian Tribune

Edited By Lanre Adewole

08037863902 | olanreade@yahoo.com

Group petitions NCS over seized goods Olalekan Olabulo A human rights group in Nigeria, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), has petitioned the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) over an alleged illegal seizure of made-in-Nigeria

United Kingdom.

“In July 1, 2013, I was deployed by Buhler Group to Nigeria as an expatriate with the designation as an Area Sales Manager to come and set up the company in Nigeria with a salary package of $68,000 per annum,” he said.

He also claimed that he

rented an office in Lagos, hired staff and he was designated to be the Managing Director of the company.

“On 24 November 2014, I received a letter of termination of contract from two of the directors of the company, Andreas Fluckiger and Roman Sonderegger,

both Swiss nationals.

“Being a Managing Director of the company, I did not receive any notice of writing of the meeting where the decision to terminate the contract was made,” he said.

Salako, however, said that his contract was terminated wrongfully and

unlawfully. He asked the court for an order for the payment of N100 million by the defendants for service rendered as a director and a managing director.

Justice Mohammed Yinusa of a Federal High Court adjourned the matter till 10 February 2016 for hearing.

office of the Customs FOU, Zone A in Lagos after few days of seizure.

The petition also threatened to take the option of legal action against the NCS on behalf of the owner of the goods if the Comptroller-General would not resolve the illegal seizure of the goods within the reasonable time of receiving the petition.

The seized goods contained in a Steyr Truck with Registration Number: XT 270 BEN are: 660 10kgbags of rice, 100 25kg-bags of rice, eight cartoons of Kings Vegetable Oil, five cartons of Turkey Vegetable Oil and five cartons of Knorr cubes.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Customs FOU, Zone A, Uche Ejesieme described the petition as fictitious and baseless “There is no Customs officer that will ask for payment for prohibited goods.

They should tell the world which Customs officer asked them to go and pay into a Wema Bank account and they should show the world the receipt.

“If any good is prohibited, there is nothing they can do once it is seized. Nobody will ask them to pay any money into any account.

We are talking of prohibited goods here; why would we ask them to go and pay?

Pay for what? Maybe they should provide the details of the Wema Bank account which the N3m was paid into. There is no iota of truth in the petition concerning our officers being involved in the payment process. It is baseless and fictitious,” Uche stated.

A Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ogba, Lagos, has struck out a fraud charge filed against the chief executive officer of Kads Farms Limited, a livestock company, Ken Ogiamien, for lack of diligent prosecution.

Ogiamien was arraigned on charges of obtaining money by false pretence following a complaint by a policeman, Agha Tobias.

The complainant claimed he bought a plot of land at Isheri North residential scheme in 2006 through Ogiamien, who is also a real estate agent.

When he discovered that the land was waterlogged, he asked for a refund, but that Ogiamien refused to pay back the money.

But Ogiamien, who said he was already repaying the

money, added that the land was affected by flood, which was not the case when he sold the land.

“At the point of the transaction, there was no water on the land. But the land was later flooded from Ogun River. Because of the water, Tobias said he was no longer interested in the land.

He asked for a refund. We took the matter to the then

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Frank Mba. Mba said I should refund the money. Based on the agreement, I started refunding the N2million. I had paid him N1million in cash. It was collected on his behalf by the PPRO, and he was remitting the money to Tobias.

“The PPRO even told me he was ready to come and testify in court that I was

already paying back the money. But Tobias never came to court,” Ogiamien said.

After three adjournments without the complainant showing up, Ogiamien’s lawyer Mr. A. Nwaka applied that the case be struck out.

The Magistrate, Mrs A. T. Omoyele, granted the application and subsequently struck out the charge.

goods and some bags of rice belonging to one Mr. Chinedu Ekeze by Customs officials of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A. This is even as the Customs FOU, Zone A has declared the petition fictitious and baseless, stating that no Custom officer

from the unit would ask for duty payment on prohibited goods after seizure.

According to the petition dated Tuesday December 29, 2015, the owner of the seized goods was allegedly asked to make duty payment of over N3million into a Wema Bank account of the NCS on the 27th of

November, 2015 on the goods in question, and was issued receipts dated 27th of November, 2015.

The petitioner however said it has confidence in the ability of the Comptroller-General, Colonel Hammed Ali to wade into the matter by resolving it in no distant time.

The petition which was signed by the Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, demanded for the prompt release of the goods to the owner, alleging that the goods in question had since disappeared from the

An uncompleted pedestrian bridge located between Lagos State Secretariat and Magodo Phase 2 gate. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

Nigerian expatriate demands N100m for dismissal by UK firm Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin A former employee of Buhler Limited has sued the company for wrongful dismissal after working for them for thirteen years.

Rotimi Salako claimed that he was employed in the United Kingdom in 2002 as a store person by a company, Buhler-Sortex, a subsidiary of the second defendant.

Salako also claimed that he rose through the ranks over the years through promotions to the position of the Applications Specialist (grain specialist).

Salako also claimed that he has dual citizenship since he is a British and Nigerian citizen and his primary place of residence with his family is the

Court clears estate agent of fraud

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Minister, PPPRA disagree over subsidy claims OlatundeDodondawa-Lagos

t

he agency that is saddled with the responsibility of regulating prices of petroleum products, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), may have disagreed with the position of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, that the product is overpriced and that the government has stopped subsidy payment to marketers.

According to the pricing template of the agency which was last updated on December 24, the Expected Open Market Price (EOMP) of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol is N93.45 per litre. This includes the landing cost of N77.96 per litre and the distribution margin of N15.49 per litre.

The landing cost is made up of commodity plus freight (C+F) charge, N67.34; trader’s margin, N1.47; lightering expenses, N4.07; Nigerian Ports Authority charges, N0.77; financing, N0.51; jetty through put charge, N0.8; and storage charge, N3.

The distribution margin includes retailers, N4.6; transporters, N2.99; dealers, N1.75; bridging fund, N5.85; marine transport average, N0.15; and administrative charge, N0.15.

With the official pump of N87 per litre, it means the government is still paying subsidy on the products to the tune of N6.45 per litre as of Tuesday 29, December, 2015.

While addressing journalists in Kaduna on Sunday, Kachikwu had stated that the government was currently not paying subsidy on petrol.

“Today, there is no subsidy; we are selling the product at N87; in January, we will look at what the trend is, we will announce price if that is less than N87; we will announce it and if it is more than that, we will have to announce it,” he stated.

The claim had generated reactions from the labour unions and some stakeholders within the oil and gas sector.

A source within the sector who pleaded anonymity told the Nigerian Tribune that “until the pricing template is reviewed and new template is published, what is published today on the website will be used as a guide by marketers that intends to import products.

“That announcement has sent jitters to the spine of

marketers and as you can see, we are waiting for the January 1 announcement to know the direction of

government with respect to importation before we can actually commence importation in earnest.

“The minister actually told marketers separately that the PPPRA will send a circular to that effect but

as at today (Tuesday), no circular yet and by implications, it means nothing has changed.”

Nigerian Tribune

MoneyGram to facilitate remittance into bank accounts Chima Nwokoji-lagos

From left, Manager, Sponsorships, Etisalat Nigeria, Orah Egwu; Head, Events and Sponsorships, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani; Content Director, Corporate Dance World, Ibrahim Suleiman and Manager, Public Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, Chineze Amanfo, at the stage performance of the Etisalat-sponsored Avalanche - The Kings of Dance, held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos on Sunday. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

NUPENG to suspend fuel supply to Lagos govt over N224m debt The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), on Tuesday, said that the union would stop supplying petroleum products to Lagos State government over N224 million debt.

Tokunbo Korodo, South-West Chairman of the union, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the debt arose from a contract given to the union by the state government.

Korodo alleged that the N224 million was for payment for the supply of diesel and kerosene to state government for direct labour projects in Ojodu which were executed between October 2014 and May 2015.

The union chairman said the contract was financed by Skye Bank and the bank had been

asking for repayment of the loan.

“All efforts to prevail on state government to pay this money through our letter dated Dec. 2, 2015 which was acknowledged on Dec.4 proved abortive.

“Now, the union is left with no option than to stop supplying petroleum products to all parastatal agencies of Lagos State.

“From today on, if this is not effective, we may be forced to abandon Lagos as a whole to demand for this payment as Skye Bank is on our neck for this payment,” he said.

Korodo said that the union had reached out to the Governor, Deputy Governor, Secretary to the State Government and the State Commissioner for Transportation over the matter, but noth-

ing was done.

The chairman said that all unions in the oil sector would participate in the action.

“If this payment is not made on time every union under oil workers will participate because an

NSC advised to enforce operating standards at ports in 2016 The President, Shippers’ Association Lagos State, Mr Jonathan Nicol, has advised the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to enforce operating standards by port operators.

Nicol gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos while unfolding the association’s expectations for 2016.

He said the rules of imports and exports must

19 new Dangote cement millionaires emerge Some 19 persons have emerged millionaires in the ongoing Dangote Cement Mega Million Dash promo.

Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Oare Ojeikere, said the ‘Dangote Mega Millions Dash’ was part of the efforts by the management of the company to give back to her end users of the product as a way of empowering, encouraging and thanking them for their patronage.

Ojeikere noted that the company usually have interactions with her agents and distributors, stressing

that the company felt the need to go beyond her distribution value chain and reward end users mainly block makers, masons, bricklayers and builders.

Ojeikere said that N300 million is up for grabs in the Dangote Mega Millions Dash, explaining that winners emerged after they cut out and collect five tokens from the top right corner of Dangote Cement bags.

He disclosed that 42 millionaires have so far emerged and given their money while 420 others who won N50,000 have redeemed their prizes.

injury to one person of the union is injury to all members,” he said.

Officials of the state ministry of transportation were not ready to speak on the issue when contacted by a correspondent of NAN.

Also speaking at the event, the Zonal Coordinator, Consumer Protection Council, South-South, Prince Chinonye Ikegwuruka, commended the company on the initiative, adding that commission was around to monitor what the company was doing with the promo and draws.

Ikegwuruka advised the winners to always contact the agency if the company failed in its bid to fulfill her obligation, adding that for what they have seen, the promo is real and genuine.

also be obeyed.

“We believe 50 per cent of cargo lost to other African countries will find their way back to our ports.

“All practitioners should have what it takes to perform their statutory duties.

The more cargo we have in Nigeria, the better for all.

“We have set the ball rolling for the acceleration of the new port order and government is geared toward revamping Nigerian ports,’’ the shipper told NAN. Nicol said all these would create wealth for the people, provide employment and assist in revenue generation by government.

He suggested that all “unhealthy’’ import polices should be reviewed to boost cargo throughput (imports and exports) in 2016.

Nicol said that a review of the auto policy would fetch more revenue for the government.

According to him, all government agencies involved in maritime administration should reverse excessive charges like shipping costs and terminal charges.

Customers in key European countries can send money in minutes, directly to most bank accounts in Nigeria through MoneyGram.

This money transfer service, according to MoneyGram, was launched on Thursday by the company to offer customers in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain a way to send money to most personal Nigerian Naira bank accounts within minutes at competitive exchange rates.

“This is a significant milestone for us. With the addition of Nigeria, MoneyGram now offers bank account deposits through our network into five of the world’s largest remittance receive markets — Nigeria, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines,” says Herve Chomel, MoneyGram’s regional vice president for Africa. “Account deposit is a fast and secure way to send and receive funds between loved ones and we are proud to offer the service for our customers in Europe and Nigeria.”

Customers can send money to most of the personal accounts held at banks that are members of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System network, including FirstBank, UBA, Ecobank, Fidelity, and Zenith Bank from MoneyGram agent locations in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain the company said.

This marks an important innovation for the remittance industry in Nigeria.

By integrating into the Nigerian Inter-Bank Payment System, MoneyGram customers are able to send money into most bank accounts in Nigeria, almost in real time. Receivers do not have to undertake any action as the funds are automatically deposited into their accounts and can be accessed via Automated.

Teller Machines (ATM’s) or online, without the constraint of a physical overthe-counter visit.

According a statement from the company, timing of funds availability depends on destination country and is subject to banking hours and compliance with regulatory requirements.

MoneyGram International, Inc., is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services and is recognized worldwide as a financial connection to friends and family.

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015 11 businessnews Electricity 2016 budget proposal holds key to Nigeria’s sector excites economic recovery —ACCI pensioners Gbola Subair-Abuja

T

he Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has said that in spite of the bleak economic outlook and predictions for Nigeria, 2016 budget proposal holds key to the nation’s economic recovery.

Tony Ejinkeonye, President of ACCI, who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, said that faithful implementation of 2016 budget seems as a way out of the woods.

Ejinkeonye said that despite the prediction that oil price may fall as low as $20 per barrel, “there are still huge potentials for inclusive growth and sustainable development in the coming year notwithstanding the fact that about the 50 per cent revenue expected from oil receipts to fund the N6.08 trillion budget together with the projected increase from internally generated revenue.”

He said for the country to actualise its goal, “we need a measure of fiscal discipline and strict budgetary control monitoring and implementation.”

The president noted the federal government resolution to diversify the economy.

Ejinkeonye said that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his budget presentation to the National Assembly a few days ago, indicated that the focus of the budget would be on inclusive growth.

He said that this was expected to be achieved using the budget as a platform for putting Nigerians to work and having job creation as the primary focus of every aspect of the execution of the budget.

“This is to be driven by the private sector and signifies a clear understanding of what is needed in this regard as private sector and not civil service jobs have the potential of solving this quagmire that the country has presently found itself in.

“I believe that the proposal for the reduction in tax rates for smaller businesses as well as subsi-

dized funding for priority sectors such as agriculture and solid minerals are steps in the right direction,” he said.

Ejinkeonye lauded the largest capital vote going to infrastructure and that of recurrent vote to education together with the initiative to absorb about 500,000 teachers.

He said that there were

Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday closed negative as lead indicators of the Nigerian equities market further dropped by 0.40 per cent against 0.17 per cent lost previously.

The All Share Index depreciated by exactly 108 basis points to close at N26.763.24 against 46.98 basis points lost previously to close at 26,871.24 points.

Market capitalisation likewise lost N37.1 billion to close at N9.20 trillion against N16.2 billion lost in the previous trading session to close at N9.24 trillion.

The NSE Oil & Gas index led the sectoral indices for

(MSMEDF) guidelines issued by Development Finance Department of the CBN support banks and other financial institutions.

Ejinkeonye said that the revision of the MSMEDF guidelines that help business start –ups under the fund to access funds at zero interest rate and accepting collateral requirements for start up to include educa-

National President, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Mr Basil Ogbuanu, leading executive members of the association on inspection of Inter Corp Oil’s Gas Plant, which recently exploded at Nnewi, Anambra, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

Elumelu, Buhari, Jonathan, others make list of 100 most influential Africans in 2015 Tony Elumelu, Chairman, Board of Directors, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has been named among the “100 most influential Africans of 2015.” The list published by pan African magazine “New African”

presents Africa’s definitive power list and profiles the continent’s top game changers in eight different fields: Politics (22); Public Office (4); Arts and Culture (21); Business (21); Civil Society (11); Technology(9); Media

NSE ASI closes -0.40% as turnover decreases by N37.1bn KehindeAkinseinde-JayeobaLagos

indications that the spending would both stimulate the economy and the policy of funding a scheme to employ about 500,000 graduate teachers by states and local government would go a long way in reducing unemployment.

He also commended the recently revised Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development fund

the third consecutive trading session as it appreciated by 5.2 per cent due to gains sustained by Eterna and Forte Oil which gained 10 per cent respectively, while the NSE Industrial Index led the day’s sectoral losers with a 2.03 per cent loss despite a 10 per cent increase witnessed in CCNN and a 5 per cent appreciation in the share value pf Portland Paints Plc. Market breadth closed with 23 gainers against 29 losers. Top three gainers were Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc (CCNN), with an increase of 10.11 per cent or 84 kobo to close at N9.15 per share followed by Eterna Plc., which added 10.00 per cent or 18 kobo to close at N1.98 per share, while

Forte Oil Plc., gained 9.89 per cent or N28.35 to close at N315 per share.

On the flip side, GlaxoSmithKline Plc topped the losers’ chart with a decline of 5.00 per cent or N1.75 to close at N33.25 per share, Livestock Plc., which also depreciated by 5.00 per cent or 7 kobo to close at N1.33 per share, while Conoil Plc dropped 4.99 per cent or N1.30 to close at N24.74 per share.

At the end of the day’s transactions, investors on the Nigeria Stock Exchange had in 2,455 deals exchanged a total of N1.3 billion shares worth N3.6 billion in contrast to a total of 149.9 million shares worth N1.6 billion, exchanged in 3,255 deals previously.

(7); and Sports (5).

Also on the list are President Mohammadu Buhari and former President Goodluck Jonathan. Presidents Buhari and Jonathan made the list for the significant role they played in Nigeria’s 2015 elections which saw the first successful transfer of power from a ruling government to an opposition party in Nigeria. Jonathan’s humility in defeat and Buhari’s magnanimity in victory ensured that Nigeria avoided a post-election crisis.

Other Nigerians recognised include the UN Special Advisor on Post Development Planning, Amina J Mohammed, AfDB’s new President Akinwumi Adesina, and Nigerian Diasporan, UK MP and Labour Party leadership hopeful, Chuka Umunna as well as Arumah Oteh, World Bank Vice President and Treasurer.

Amina Mohammed is Nigeria’s current Minister of Environment. Before her appointment, she was Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning at the United Nations where she contributed to the shaping of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

across three years of complex negotiations and the most inclusive consultation process in the history of the United Nations, her vision and voice helping to bring people together, enlist new partners to the cause and reach global consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Akinwumi Adesina is Nigeria’s former Minister of Agricultural where he led a drive to curb corruption of the fertilizer distribution scheme and significant improvement in agricultural production that led to a sharp drop in food imports.

Chuka Umunna was recognised for the significant positive recognition he has brought Nigerians in the UK while Arumah Oteh was recognised for her elevation to one of the most significant positions at the World Bank.

Omar Ben Yedder, Group Publisher, of the New African said the list of “100 Most Influential Africans” celebrates the “men, women and organisations that have shaped our beloved continent, the trail blazers, influencers and the rising stars who are redefining Africa’s future in the various spheres in which they operate.”

Gbemi Solaja-Lagos

Amidst many pension problems that confront the old “Pay As You GO” pension scheme in the country, problems of about 20,000 electricity sector pensioners seem to be coming to an end.

The electricity pensioners under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) at the just concluded 5th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference and Election of National Officers held in Abuja could not hide their excitement after PTAD informed them of changes it is bringing to their welfare from January 2016.

PTAD is the organisation saddled with the responsibility of addressing all problems that have to do with the old scheme and manage retirees who retired before the commencement of the new scheme, the Contributory Pension Scheme, under the Pension Reform Act 2004.

Retirees under the old scheme are those who retired by June 30, 2007 while retirees under the new scheme are those who retired from July 1, 2007.

It is noteworthy to state that the Federal Government had, in 2014, approved the transfer of the management of over 20,000 Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pensioners from the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/ Gte (NELMCO) to the Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD) established under the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

The electricity pensioners had just before the privatisation of PHCN by the Federal Government been fighting for their pension entitlements.

They are being owed huge pension arrears totalling about N35 billion comprising of harmonisation, monetisation, 120 per cent increase, Year 2000 Retirees, pension arrears and electricity rebate.

They are also enmeshed with other problems ranging from non-payment and late payments of monthly pension, non-enrolment, under-payment suffered by pensioners and their next of kin (NOK).

But PTAD Director-General, Nellie Mayshak, said the directorate was bringing changes to the lives of the pensioners by eliminating the ubiquitous cases of late payments, non-enrolment, under-payment suffered by pensioners and their next of kin (NOK).

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

The Economist 2016 forecasts for Middle East and Africa The Economist, in its 2016 forecasts for Middle East and African countries, juxtaposes the implications of their political sustainability on the economic situation in the new year.

Algeria GDP growth 1.8% GDP per head $4,390 (PPP: $14,420) Inflation 4.9% Budget balance -7.6 Population 40.8m The authoritarian power structure centred on the fourth-term president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, will remain, unmolested by democratic challenge; age and failing health may be his greatest enemy.

Social tensions are rife, while a jihadist insurgency is barely suppressed. The government is dipping into reserves to offset low oil prices.

Angola GDP growth 4.4% GDP per head $4,170 (PPP: $7,400) Inflation 9.9% Budget balance -2.1 Population 25.8m José Eduardo dos Santos, president since 1979, will stand down before his constitutional term limit in 2022, but not in 2016. Instead, his Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola will work on burnishing his image, while arresting opposition figures who could pose a threat. A slight rise in oil prices will help the economy, but investment will be held back by poor business conditions.

Cameroon GDP growth 5.2% GDP per head $1,120 (PPP: $3,160) Inflation 2.1% Budget balance -4.4 Population 24.0m The octogenarian president, Paul Biya, is into his fourth decade in office and looks unassailable. Should his health fail, the lack of a clear succession plan means the order imposed by his authoritarian rule would be at risk and his party, the Rassemblement démocratique du peuple camerounais, will fret over future-proofing the regime. Citizens will remain restless, but given the regime’s capacity for repression, this will make little difference.

Egypt GDP growth 4.3% GDP per head $3,860 (PPP: $12,040) Inflation 8.9% Budget balance -9.2 Population 86.4m Elections to the new legislature in late 2015 were expected to consolidate the position of the president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with the regime tightening its control over the country. A slew of recent laws was designed to make the econ-

omy friendly to foreign and private investment, collect more revenue from those with higher incomes, and restructure the electricity sector—all likely to enhance future growth.

To watch: Zohr point. The newly discovered Zohr gasfield promises to fulfil all domestic needs, and to disrupt Israel’s plans to develop its own Leviathan field, reliant on Egyptian demand.

Ethiopia GDP growth 5.1% GDP per head $578 (PPP: $1,630) Inflation 8.5% Budget balance -3.7 Population 101.9m The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front won 100% of the seats in 2015 elections—no surprise, then, that the government will tolerate no criticism and suppresses simmering secessionist movements. The party will push on with a state-led economic model based on infrastructure investment and the protection of local industries from foreign competition.

Iran GDP growth 6.1% GDP per head $6,130 (PPP: $18,070) Inflation 14.1% Budget balance -2.5 Population 80.0m It will be a big year, as the lifting of Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme opens up the economy. A sharp increase in oil output—around 500,000 barrels a day in 2016 alone—will transform the economic outlook. Foreign investors will queue up to re-enter one of the region’s most promising markets. Elections in February to the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body, will strengthen the hands of reformists, firming up the new detente.

Iraq GDP growth 5.8% GDP per head $5,060 (PPP: $14,670) Inflation 2.5% Budget balance -9.6 Population 36.6m The campaign to quell Islamic State will grind on, aided by a tacit joint venture between Iran and America. Even where territory is regained, IS guerrillas will undermine security. Kurds in the north will face an economic squeeze from historically low oil prices, and a political one as they seek a smooth leadership transition. In the longer term, stability will require co-operation between Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups, with partition, de facto or de jure, the price of failure.

Israel GDP growth 3.6% GDP per head $37,550 (PPP: $34,500) Inflation 1.3% Budget balance -2.6 Population 8.5m Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, leads a religious/rightwing coalition that will be prone to infighting and enjoys just a oneseat majority in the legislature. It is unlikely to finish its four-year term. Relations with the Palestinians will remain raw and violent, and Israel’s hostility towards the West’s rapprochement with Iran will fester.Hopes for a boost from gas exports have been dented by the discovery of large reserves in Egypt.

Jordan GDP growth 4.0% GDP per head $4,970 (PPP: $11,130) Inflation 3.0% Budget balance -6.5 Population 7.9m King Abdullah II will pursue modest political reform to satisfy some critics, but will lean on his armed forces and loyal legislators to guarantee his authority. Sporadic protests are likely, but nothing that will threaten the regime’s survival. American aid flows are helping the country absorb 1.4m refugees from Syria.

Kenya GDP growth 5.5% GDP per head $1,360 (PPP: $3,170) Inflation 5.2% Budget balance -8.1 Population 47.3m The president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has carried out important constitutional reforms, including a shift to decentralised government that promises greater transparency but also more tussling for influence between layers of government.

Deregulation, privatisation and infrastructure upgrades are on the cards. Investment will lift the economy, helped by rising household incomes from growing urbanisation.

To watch: Terror test. A Somalia-based Islamist group, al-Shabab, will test Kenya’s security preparedness.

Lebanon GDP growth 2.3% GDP per head $9,410(PPP: $15,760) Inflation 1.2% Budget balance -7.6 Population 5.7m The war in neighbouring Syria will overshadow any domestic

issues as the country struggles with an influx of refugees and the security crisis on its borders. Rivalries will haunt the coalition government, holding up key appointments and reinforcing sectarian divisions. Foreign investment will expand, thanks in part to companies relocating from Syria.

Libya GDP growth -8.8% GDP per head $5,290 (PPP: $13,930) Inflation 13.9% Budget balance -28.3 Population 6.3m No resolution is likely in the power struggle between an unofficial Islamist government in Tripoli and an internationally recognised but precarious administration in the eastern city of Bayda. Islamic State’s jihadist insurgency will further destabilise the country. Oil will flow fitfully as the rival authorities fight to control production.

Morocco GDP growth 4.1% GDP per head $3,060 (PPP: $8,220) Inflation 1.6% Budget balance -4.8 Population 34.8m The ruling party will maintain its dominance in parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2016, but will once again need coalition supporters in a fragmented legislature. The king, Mohammed VI, will remain the ultimate decision-maker. Austerity measures required to narrow the budget deficit will spark street protests, but not on a scale to alarm the regime.

Nigeria GDP growth 3.5% GDP per head $2,750 (PPP: $6,120) Inflation 9.4% Budget balance -1.4 Population 187.0m The new president, Muhammadu Buhari, will use his political capital to address entrenched problems of corruption, insecurity and low living standards, but the patience of an electorate with high expectations will be short. Clashing interests within the ruling party will limit efforts to improve management of the oil sector. Economic growth will be uninspiring.

Saudi Arabia GDP growth 2.3% GDP per head $23,960 (PPP: $55,340) Inflation 3.5% ?

Budget balance -11.4 Population 31.1m The main job of the new king,

Salman bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, who turns 80 in late 2015, is to engineer the transition to the next generation of rulers. Regional rivalry with Iran, being played out by proxy in Yemen’s civil war, may intensify. The kingdom is locked in an oil-price war with US shale drillers, but has itself taken a deep hit from low oil prices.

To watch: Veiled vote. Municipal councils will take their seats at the start of 2016 following elections in which women were allowed both to vote and stand as candidates for the first time.

South Africa GDP growth 2.2% GDP per head $5,900 (PPP: $13,530) Inflation 5.1% Budget balance -3.5 Population 55.0m The president, Jacob Zuma, will press on with his second and final term, using fiscal stimulus and industrial policy to buoy the economy. Improving conditions among trading partners will lift growth, but a patchy electricity network and limited workforce skills will hold the economy back. Protests over joblessness and inequality will persist.

Syria GDP growth -1.3% GDP per head $1,380 (PPP: $3,910) Inflation 23.6% Budget balance -11.0 Population 17.9m Bashar al-Assad’s regime will struggle to survive the year, even with Russia’s support. There is no prospect of an end to civil strife with or without him, since his departure would bring a free-for-all among the groups seeking to replace him, compounded by the two international blocs taking sides in the conflict: Russia and Iran on the one hand, and the US, EU and gulf states on the other.

Zimbabwe GDP growth 1.8% GDP per head $199 (PPP: $208) Inflation 3.4% Budget balance -4.3 Population 13.2m With 90% of the population either unemployed or eking out a living informally, there is little love for the long-serving president, Robert Mugabe.

The economy will stabilise under an IMF programme, but only if political priorities don’t get in the way.

To watch: Power vacuum. The Kariba dam, a critical energy source, is suffering low water levels, and could see worse if El Niño causes drought in the Zambezi river basin.

13 news

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

How Buhari ensured democratic transition in Burkina Faso —Osinbajo

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ICE-PRESIDENT Yemi Osinbajo has said President Muhammadu Buhari is a key player in the civil transition in Burkina Faso, which culminated with the inauguration of a democratically-elected president in the country on Tuesday.

Professor Osinbajo made the observation while speaking with reporters after the inauguration of Rock Marc Christian Kabore as the democratic president of Burkina Faso, at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Ouaga 2000 Stadium, Ouagadougou.

The event was witnessed by several presidents from West Africa and former leaders like Nigeria’s Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ghana’s Jerry Rawlings.

Osinbajo said Buhari was categorical in criticising the coup d’etats which took place in the country before the election, adding that the position was important in ensuring enduring civil rule in the continent “President Muhammadu Buhari was at the table and was probably one of the key persons who brought about

this. As a matter of fact, the Burkinabes agreed that he played such a significant role in enabling this to happen.

“Even from the time of their elections, we aided the

electoral committee logistically and in various other ways and the president was firm about the issue of the coup.

“So our relationships will be much stronger. I think

the Burkinabes understand the role that we have played and are very appreciative,” he said.

The vice-president, who represented Buhari at the inauguration, described it

as a great occasion, noting that the ECOWAS sub region had come of age in democracy “I think it is a very great occasion. It is a wonderful day indeed for West Africa

and indeed for Africa, because after 30 years of military rule in one form or the other, we now have a transition to an authentic civil democracy which is incredible indeed,” he added.

Boko Haram attacks: Our heads are bloody but remain unbowed —Shettima James Bwala - Maiduguri BORNO State governor, Kashim Shettima, has declared that despite pains and anguish inflicted on the people of the state by Boko Haram, “our head are bloody but remain unbowed.”

The governor gave the assurance on Monday, after visiting three hospitals in Maiduguri to condole and sympathise with victims of multiple blasts and village attacks that claimed 52 lives on Sunday.

He said though pains and anguish had already been inflicted on the people, their spirits remained high.

“We will urge our people to be extra vigilant and to report all suspicious movements to the nearest military formations,” he said.

While reiterating his as-

surances to the people, Shettima said “we also believe that the worst is over and God willing, we shall strive to give hope to the hopeless and be cause of joy to the downtrodden.”

Shettima, however, said the attacks and killings would not deter the state

government and its citizenry from developmental projects, adding that it was time to continue to preach peace, dialogue, tolerance and understanding among the various ethnic and religious groups.

He declared that the days of the Boko Haram insur-

gents were numbered, as they were already “technically defeated,” according to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The over 100 surviving victims, according to the Chief Medical Directors of State Specialists Hospital, Umaru Shehu Ultra-

Modern Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, Dr Laraba Bello, Dr Salisu Kwaya Bura and Dr Abdulrahaman Tahir, respectively, are responding to various treatments for burns, gunshot wounds and traumas.

Shehu Sani will continue to criticise el-Rufai’s ‘anti-people’ policies —Aide MALAM Suleiman Ahmed, special assistant to Senator Shehu San on politics and ideology, has said nothing will deter his principal from criticising the “anti-people” policies of the state government.

Ahmed stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, on Tues-

day, while reacting to the alleged suspension of the senator by the Tudun Wada North, Ward 6 of All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party, at the ward level, had, in a letter dated December 7 and signed by its ward secretary, Malam Ahmed Abdullahi; public relations officer, Malam Auwal Anguwa and an ex-officio

member, Malam Aminu Alilan, suspended Sani for 11 months.

The letter said Sani was suspended for consistently criticising the policies of Governor Nasir el-Rufai, an act which the APC ward executives described as “anti-party.”

Reacting to the development, the aide said the suspension would only

strengthen his principal’s resolve to criticise any policy of the el-Rufai administration that he considered “antipeople.”

“This letter is not relevant; it has no value to us; this letter will energise him the more; it will strengthen his resolve to criticise the government of the state if it goes wrong,” he said.

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news

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

OBJ is leader of modern Nigeria —Ladoja

By Dare Adekanmbi

A former governor of Oyo State and national leader of Accord Party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has described a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as the greatest leader and father of modern Nigeria.

Ladoja, who spoke in Ibadan, at the weekend, during an interactive session with a team of journalists, said Obasanjo made the greatest service and contributions to the growth and development of the country.

He observed that although many might not agree with the former president on certain issues, whatever shortcoming noticed in Obasanjo could not reduce from his greatness as the greatest political leader in the country.

Analysing Obasanjo’s political trajectory, Ladoja noted how God made the Ota farmer Head of State between 1976 and 1999 by providence, rescued him from the jaws of death in 1999 and made him serve the country as president for eight more years.

“God gave to Obasanjo a position many people fought tooth and nail to attain. Not only that, after ruling the country as president for a combined period of 11 years, God has been gracious to Obasanjo to allow him install presidents

No plan to downsize workers in 2016 —Ogun govt Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta

THE Ogun State government has allayed fears that workers in its employ will not be retrenched in view of the current economic downturn the country is currently experiencing.

The words of assurance were given by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, who said government would rather evolve ways of increasing its revenue base to augment what comes from the federation account.

Adeoluwa said the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led government had been able to meet up its financial obligations to workers largely due to its fiscal discipline and unshaken commitment to their welfare.

“We have a governor who believes that everything is about the people. Our governor puts the welfare of the people at the forefront.

There can’t be downsizing of the workforce,’’ the SSG said.

in the country,” Ladoja said.

On whether he will contest in 2019 if he fails in his election petition at the Supreme Court, the former governor said the decision should be left to him and his party, adding that there is no age barrier in Nigerian

politics.

“If my party says I should contest and I tell them I don’t wish to contest again they can’t force me. And if the party says I should not contest, I can’t force myself on the party,” he said.

He stressed that he would continue to be actively in-

volved in politics until he becomes an emeritus politician giving tutelage to newcomers, disclosing that he would retire from active politics if he becomes the Olubadan of Ibadanland.

Reacting to a statement credited to the ruling All Progressives Congress

(APC) that he would be sent into political oblivion after he loses at the apex court, Ladoja said not even the alliance between Governor Abiola Ajimobi and former Governor Adebayo AlaoAkala was potent enough to send him into political irrelevance.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State (left), receiving a copy of the Holy Qur’an as gift from the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Dr Muhammed Bashir (right), during the 52nd birthday prayer for the governor, in Ilorin, on Tuesday. With them is the Makama of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye. PHOTO: NAN.

Ambode’s media aide, Habib Aruna, loses father MR Habib Aruna, the Chief Press Secretary to Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has lost his father, Alhaji Adamson Aruna, aged 85.

A statement issued by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Office of CPS, Mr Shina Odunuga, announced that Alhaji Aruna died on Monday evening, during a protracted illness.

The deceased, during his prime, worked at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, putting in 35 years of active service as staff of the UCH Maintenance Department.

He retired thereafter and became an astute business man and a respected community leader.

Until his demise, he was the Omorodion of Ivbiaroland, Auchi in Edo State.

He is survived by wives, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

According to his son, Mr Habib Aruna, Alhaji Aruna was buried yesterday (Tuesday) according to Islamic rites.

Sango plank market: Victims count losses Ajimobi raises 6-member probe panel

By Tunde Ogunesan

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ARELY 48 hours after the second fire outbreak ravaged Sango plank market, victims of the fire disaster were around on Tuesday, to vividly ascertain their actual loss, as the investigative panel visited the market.

When Nigerian Tribune visited the scene yesterday morning, some of the traders were seen trying to arrange some of the affected items salvaged from their shops.

Though, the action was forbidden by the leaders of the market who relied on directives from government not to tamper with the relics. Sources, however, informed that some of the affected traders resolved to let off some of the badly damaged roofing sheets.

Some of the victims out of fear of flouting the order preferred to speak under condition of anonymity. But two people, however, offered to speak with the Nigerian Tribune.

Elder Peter Faloni, in a revelation said he lost over N2.7million goods to the fire outbreak.

According to him, “I lost goods (woods) worth N1.2million in the disaster and machines worth N1.5million. The news of the

disaster is not new again because we just have to move on in life, but what we want is for government to come to our aid.

“We have lost all what we have to the incident. We need to feed our family, send our children to school, moreover that we will need to pay our children’s school fees any moment from now.

“Our appeal is that the state government and well wishers should come to our aid. We don’t have anything again and we must survive as parents and be responsible to our individual families,” Elder Faloni said.

He also appealed to the state government to use the opportunity to provide mini fire station and borehole facility inside the market.

Another victim, who simply wants to be identified as Elder Omitade, a pensioner, said his loss can be said to be in the region of N300, 000. He added that being a retired person, the shop had been a source of alternative income to him, adding that “all of the victims need help to be able to function again in the business.”

Meanwhile, an investigative panel set up by the Oyo State government to find out the remote and immediate causes of the outbreak visited the scene of the incident on Tuesday, after

it held a meeting with the representatives of the plank sellers.

The chairman of the panel, Mr A.W. Gbadegesin, a Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General, Ministry of Justice, Oyo State, urged the executives of the Ibadan Timber Dealers Association, Sango plank market, Ibadan, to cooperate with the panel of inquiry to fully achieve its objectives.

The representatives of the plank sellers are expected to send a letter to be addressed to the chairman of the committee, detailing the number of the victims, cost and other aspect needed to be included to the committee, not later than Thursday.

In addition, the chairman of the plank sellers association, Mr Rufus Faseyitan Oladapo, while briefing the committee during a tour of the scene of the incident disclosed that all of the causes of the fire outbreak flying around were reported information as far as the association was concerned.

He said the association was working to properly brief the committee.

Faseyitan commended the efforts of the state government for its prompt response. He also called on the state government to provide enough borehole

facilities for the use of the market and a mini fire service station.

He revealed that had it been they had the mentioned facilities in place during the outbreak, the level of damage would have been reduced drastically.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has constituted a six-member panel of inquiry to investigate the two fire incidents that gutted the Sango Igbajo Plank Market on Christmas Day and Monday, December 28, which the traders blame on sabotage.

A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government names the state’s Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Mr Wasiu Gbadegesin, as chairman of the panel; while the Director, Administration and Supplies in the Governor’s Office, Mr Paul Oyekunle, will serve as secretary.

Other members are the Permanent Secretary, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Lekan Busari; Permanent Secretary, Land, Housing & Survey, Mr Babatunde Ladipo; Acting Perm Secretary, Environment and Habitat, Mr. M. J. Akinlabi; and Director, Fire Services, Mr Kareem Oyekunle.

Alhaji Habib Aruna

Police suspends screening of officers Chris Agbambu - Abuja

THE Police Management Team and the Police Service Commission have put on hold the ongoing screening exercise of policemen who acquired Degree/HND while in service.

The decision was based on allegation of malpractices and innuendoes that characterised the exercise.

Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, made the announcement after meeting with the Police Management Team.

He disclosed that the exercise was put on hold after consultation with the Police Service Commission.

He stated that the Police High Command and Police Service Commission later decided to engage the services of independent assessor for the exercise in the interest of neutrality and free exercise, saying that when the exercise is completed, each state of the federation will have equal number of representation.

The IGP enjoined all qualified policemen to be patient and ensure they attend the oncoming screening exercise to be scheduled by the independent body.

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news

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

N1.04trn fine: NCC challenges court’s jurisdiction in MTN suit ...Seeks transfer of suit to Abuja Sunday Ejike - Abuja

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HE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has challenged the suit filed by MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and asked that the suit be dismissed.

The commission, through its team of lawyers led by Dr Wale Babalakin, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, Mr Paul Usoro, Mr Ahmed Raji, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), asked the Federal High Court in Lagos where the suit was filed by MTN to decline jurisdiction.

According to the defendants’ motion on notice, the NCC asked the Lagos court to set aside the purported service of the Originating Summons and other processes in the matter for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 143 of the Commission’s Act. The commission also asked the court to decline jurisdiction in the matter and transfer the case to the Abuja division of the court where the cause of action arose.

According to the affidavit in support of the 1st defendant’s motion on notice, deposed to by Anone Anthony Usman, a legal practitioner in the law firm of Ahmed Raji and Co, the commission said the decision of the NCC to fine the telecommunication company was taken in Abuja, on October 20, 2015 outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The defendant said the proper and convenient forum for the determination

of the case was the Abuja division of the court.

The NCC also argued that Abuja division of the court has the territorial jurisdiction to handle the case and it is also where the performance of the demand of the 1st defendant on the plaintiff (MTN) is to take place.

The MTN had dragged the NCC and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice before the court to challenge the N1.04trillion fine placed on it.

In the suit, the firm is urging the court to quash the fine which NCC had imposed on them last Oc-

tober for allegedly failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers.

The initial fine of $5.2billion was reduced by 25 per cent to $3.9billion earlier this month, with a payment deadline set for December 31.

But MTN through its team of lawyers, comprising

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola (second right), with the chairman, High Hope International Group Skyrun Corporation, Mr Xie Shao. With them is the General Manager of the Corporation, Mr Gu Xi, during a visit to the governor, at his Ikeja, Lagos residence, on Tuesday.

Mad man crushes two policemen to death in Benue JohnsonBabajide-Makurdi TRAGEDY struck on Monday evening, in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, when a mad man entered into a parked vehicle and killed two policemen on the spot.

According to the Nigerian Tribune source, the two policemen were on duty at Akpagher Mbatiav

along Gboko / Aliade road, when the mad man turned driver suddenly entered a taxi parked by the owner and switched on the ignition and rammed into them, killing both of them on the spot.

Sources said the owner of the taxi had parked his taxi and was eating at a joint, when the mad man, known as Mtomga, suddenly entered the vehicle, put on the

ignition and drove off to the highway where he crushed the two policemen to death.

Confirming the report, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses Yamu, said two policemen were crushed to death while on duty on the fateful day. But he debunked the rumour that the vehicle was driven by a mad man, saying that it

APC, Ekiti govt bicker over Fayose’s alleged Dubai trip

Fayose insensitive to workers’ plight —APC Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has decried what it said was Governor Ayodele Fayose’s Christmas Dubai trip and described the alleged trip as “a reckless insensitivity to the workers’ plight.”

The APC, in a statement, on Tuesday, by its publicity secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said it was “a height of irresponsibility by the governor to embark on private comfort abroad while state workers live in miserable conditions during festive Yuletide season.”

But the state government decried what it said was “APC’s usual ludicrous vituperations” and said Governor Fayose was “on holiday like any other worker who has worked conscientiously throughout the year.”

Olatunbosun had specifically alleged that the governor refused “to pay workers’

Chief Wole Olanipekun, Tanimola Molajo, A.B. Mahmoud, Dr Gbolahan Elias, Oladipo Okpeseyi, Prof Fabian Ajogwu, Dr Oladapo Olanipekun (all senior advocates) through an originating summons, is challenging the powers of NCC to impose such a fine on it.

salary for three months while embarking on foreign Christmas trip through over-bloated expenses costing Ekiti people N250 million.”

But the state Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, said: “The governor is on holiday like every other worker who has worked conscientiously throughout the year, it was not an official journey and it means the governor will be responsible for all the expenses, because he travelled as Mr Fayose and not as Governor Fayose.

“APC is talking, having lost all relevance. Every worker in Ekiti has been paid October salary, unless the party has a different calendar, what is outstanding is November and December salaries and the people could understand the reason behind it.

“The bailout was expended as instructed by the

CBN. It is left for the CBN through its audit mechanism to say anything in response to what the APC has said. They are campaigning to gain some relevance they have lost.

“They should send their petition to EFCC, because they are the one that has power to probe and indict,” he said.

Olatunbosun had said Governor Fayose’s Sunday trip to Dubai was “the

height of insensitivity and wickedness for a governor who always calls himself peoples’ governor,” saying “It is more worrisome that the governor prepared and collected travelling allowances for 10 aides who he claimed were to travel with him to Dubai, but only one eventually made the trip while money running into millions for the remaining nine was pocketed by the governor.”

was the owner of the taxi that actually drove the car that rammed into the policemen.

He disclosed that the driver lost control of the car after his brake failed and had also hit a motorcyclist before crushing the policemen, who were on duty, to death.

“The taxi driver had a failed brake and lost control of the car. He initially hit a motorcycle before knocking down the two policemen who were at their duty post. They died on the spot. It was not a mad man that drove the car but the owner of the taxi.”

Yamu, who noted that the remains of the deceased policemen had been deposited at the mortuary, also disclosed that the taxi driver was arrested and detained while investigation into the matter was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.

Nigeria’s total annual budget not enough for education —PTA Biola Azeez - Ilorin THE National Deputy President of the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (PTA), Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye, has decried inadequate funding and poor implementation of Nigeria’s annual education budget.

Oniye, who doubled as the Makama of Ilorin, spoke at the 2015 bursary award ceremony organised by an Ilorin indigenous association,

Klob Two-Seven, in Ilorin.

He called for more partnership in education by stakeholders and governments at all levels to improve funding of education.

“Nigeria’s total annual budget is not enough to fund education, there is need for more supports for education by parents, guardians, well meaningful Nigerians and all relevant stakeholders.

“Government alone can’t address the numerous

challenges facing education, and there is need for partnership to have better future for our children because education is a necessary tool for national development,” he said.

Asked to comment on the recent proposed 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari, Oniye said “I can’t comment on the proposed budget now until it is approved by the National Assembly and expended on education.

Nigerian Tribune

‘Lagos to become the entertainment hub of Africa’ LAGOS State Commissioner for Tourism, Mr Folarin Coker, has disclosed that the ongoing “One Lagos Fiesta” would be the backbone of making Lagos the entertainment hub of Africa.

Speaking recently with newsmen at the Bar Beach, one of the venues of the ongoing One Lagos Fiesta (OLF), Coker stated that Lagos was home to top performing artists and film producers, thereby in good stead to establish itself as the hub of the entertainment industry in Africa.

He explained that the former Lagos Countdown celebration, inherited by the present administration, was re-branded and decentralised to the five divisions as part of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s promise to Lagosians of running an all-inclusive administration when elected into office.

Coker stated that the decentralisation of the OLF has given a sense of belonging and ownership to Lagosians who had hitherto felt excluded from government and governance, adding that going by the words of the Federal Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, at the opening ceremony of OLF, he has been given a mandate to keep OLF alive in the State Culture Calendar by organising 10 such events annually.

Lawmaker calls for synergy

By Tunde Ogunesan A member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Oluwole Oke, has called for a synergy between the Federal Government and Quantity Surveyors in the country for efficiency and effective performance of their roles.

The lawmaker made this known at a public lecture organised by the Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Oyo State chapter with the theme, “Due Process in Public Procurement in an Era of Change,” held at the Conference Centre, University of Ibadan Hotels.

Speaking on the topic: “Procurement Professionals and Anti-Corruption in Public Procurement in an Era of Change,” Oke, who doubles as the chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, observed there was the need for the Quantity Surveyors in the country to be pro-active in this era of change.

news Nigeria needs expansion of existing varsities, not new ones —Okebukola

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By Femi Ibirogba

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professor of Science Education, Professor Peter Okebukola, has said that what the nation needs to cope with the challenges of the new millennium is expansion of the facilities in the existing universities and not creation of new ones.

Professor Okebukola said for the nation to achieve the desired quantity-quality requirement, its universities must keep within its carrying capacity, install a robust quality assurance directorate, institute annual ranking of faculties, and boost their cutting-edge research efforts.

Okebukola, the immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), made these submissions while delivering a lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, recently, entitled:‘Quality or Quantity: Positioning the Nigerian University System for the Challenges of Science and Technology in the New Millennium.’

He said: “Do we require 141 universities to serve the need of Nigeria in the provision of high-level human resources?

Can we not meet the same need with 60 or even 100 better-resourced and wellrun universities?

“We must embark on massive upgrading of physical facilities in existing universities to take in at least additional 1,000 students per year. This will involve more classrooms, hostels, laboratories, workshops, library and offices.

“The long and short of the story is that if we desire 10 per cent annual increase in enrolment in the nation’s 141 public and private universities, we will require N1,494.6 billion (about N1.5 trillion) in ten years. Of this sum, the 40 federal universities will require N424 billion while

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

the 40 state universities will require the same amount.

The remaining N646.6 billion will have to be sourced by private universities from their proprietors.

“Having added about one million spaces in 10 years through the expansion project of existing universities, the next step is to

add 300,000 more spaces through a gradual increase in the number of universities. A few additional universities can be licensed in the next five years by NUC, some to emerge from upgrades of selected polytechnics and colleges of education to degree-awarding institutions.”

Okebukola also called on the government and other stakeholders in the education sector to develop and promote elite corps of scientists to help Nigeria to achieve cutting-edge research and tackle the challenges of science and technology in the 21st Century.

He said, “It needs to be

From left, Pastor Omotola Adeyemi; Senior Apostle Hezekiah Akinadewo; Senior Superintendent Gabriel F. Akinadewo; former majority leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Dr Ajibayo Adeyeye and his wife, Dr Adeyeye, at the celebration of life for the Primate of Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Worldwide, His Most Eminence, Archbishop Isaiah M. Akinadewo, in Ondo town, at the weekend.

Benue South rerun: CAN endorses Mark Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

AHEAD of the Benue South senatorial district re-run election, the immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark has received an emphatic endorsement by the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The CAN led by its Benue South otherwise called Zone C chairman, Rev-

erend Father Emmanuel Odufu, during a solidarity visit to Senator Mark’s Otukpo home, on Tuesday, said the endorsement was a unanimous decision of their followers.

Reverend Father Odufu, who led the delegation, told Mark that it was the consensus of CAN, especially in Benue South, to identify and support him in the forthcoming re-run.

According to him, “for

us we are pleased and very comfortable with you, your sterling leadership qualities and record of achievements speaks for you. We stand by you and we shall be with you all through.”

The group listed various projects that Senator Mark attracted to the zone to include but not limited to the multi-purpose Otobi Water dam, the Oweto/ Loko bridge, health cen-

THE Deputy President of Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday, visited the scene of a devastating fire incident which affected Chicason Group of Companies in Nnewi, Anambra State.

Ekweremadu, according to a statement by his Media Adviser, Uche Anichukwu, also paid a sympathy visit to the chairman of the Chicason Group, Dr A. C. Okafor, at the company’s office at the Nnewi scene of the fire disaster which led to the loss of

tres, schools and more importantly, the annual scholarship awards to students.

“The Benue South Zone cannot compromise merit and integrity on the altar of sentiments. Our people are more than ever before enlightened and wise enough to know what is right. We won’t be teleguided by outside forces on what affects us,” he said.

NUT backs FG on recruitment of 500,000 teachers Clement Idoko -Abuja

NIGERIAN Union of Teachers (NUT) has lauded the Federal Government on its plan to recruit 500,000 teachers for the

nation’s basic education and secondary schools.

Secretary-General of NUT, Comrade Obong .J. Obong, in a statement on Tuesday, in Abuja, on behalf of the leadership of the union, however, warned

against using the proposed recruitment policy as a means of compensation for political patronage.

Accordingly, the NUT urged the Federal Government to ensure recruitment of professional

dole with them and to pray God to grant the souls of the deceased a peaceful repose.”

The Senator also prayed against any reoccurrence, noting that he knew Dr Okafor as a man who places premium on ethics and the safety of the business environment.

“Knowing you very well, I am sure you must have taken all kinds of precautions, but we are still human and I therefore pray that such will not happen again,” he said.

He further commended the company for taking immedi-

ate steps to reach out to the families of the victims, and called on all to rally round the families of those affected by the inferno in the spirit of the yuletide and Nigerian culture of charity.

He was quoted as telling the chairman: “I know that you feel strongly for these families as well. I understand that you are just returning from one of the families.

You have always been a man of the people; you have invested in goodwill; you have invested in businesses and human development.”

Nnewi fire: Ekweremadu visits scene, commiserates with victims Taiwo Adisa -Abuja

stressed that in spite of the desire for an upswing in the number of scientists, there is a greater need for an elite corps of such scientists that will be at the cutting edge of research such as is found in the Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA Jet Propulsion laboratories in the US.

eight lives.

The statement quoted him as saying: “We are here to sympathise with you, to sympathise with the people of Nnewi, the people of Anambra, Nnewi business community, and all the families affected by this disaster.

“For me, this is also a major setback for the business development, not only in Nnewi, but the South East and the nation. But our major concern now is the families of those who lost their loved ones. I would like to use this opportunity to con-

teachers and not quacks, to strengthen the quality educational delivery at primary and secondary schools in the country.

Obong said: “The attention of the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers has been drawn to the pronouncement of the Federal Government to recruit 500,000 teachers for the nations basic education and secondary schools.

“This intention of the Federal Government is laudable and consistent with the demand of the Nigeria Union of Teachers for the employment of more professional teachers to address the long identified problem of shortage of manpower in the nations basic education and secondary school system.”

Police arrest 4 persons for alleged murder in Enugu Jude Ossai -Enugu

THE Police in Enugu have arrested Enugu town union president and three other natives of same community for alleged involvement in the killing of the late Mr Ejimofor Ozongwu, who was murdered in his hometown Okwojo, Ngwo in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, on December 23.

The deceased, a lawyer and Executive Secretary, Enugu State Committee on Creation of Adada state, was lured from where he was attending a wedding in Enugu, ambushed and murdered in cold blood.

Confirming the story, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu (DSP), who gave the names of the suspects as Denis Ozongwu, Sebastian Offor and two others whose names were yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

The police spokesperson told our reporter on phone that the President-General of the Okwojo town union, Denis Ozongwo had claimed that he was shot at by the deceased, but dismissed the claims that investigations suggested that the wounds he sustained were inflicted on him, after the deceased had been killed.

Cleric charges world leaders on terrorism BISHOP of Ibadan Dioceses (Anglican Communion), The Most Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa has charged world leaders on the need to stem the tide of terrorism which has become a source of concern globally, just has he urged Nigerians to continue to pray fervently for the government’s bid to put an end to it.

The bishop said this at the Cathedral of St. James the Great, Oke-Bola, Ibadan, Oyo State, during the Christmas service, adding that Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, political and religious background, needed to set their minds on heavenly things rather than earthly possessions.

While urging Nigerians to get closer to God and read His word, the bishop charged Nigerians to abstain from any act that could destroy their joy, most especially at this festive period.

Bishop Akinfenwa reminded Nigerians of the uniqueness of Christmas, as it marked the birth of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated by all and sundry worldwide.

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

tribune cartoons

Adeeko Olusegun adeeko.olusegun@yahoo.com 0811 695 4638

GIANT IN THE TROPIC OF AFRICA

Atiku Abubakar (Turaki of Adamawa)

FUNOLOGY

• Born 25 November 1946 in Jada village, in what is today Adamawa State, (formerly Gongola state).

CHURCH BOY

• He is a Nigerian politician, businessman and philanthropist, who served as the second elected Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, with President Matthew Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo.

• In 1982, Atiku was awarded the chieftaincy title of the Turaki of Adamawa.

SEGELUULU

• Atiku is a cofounder of Intels, an oil servicing business with extensive operations in Nigeria and abroad. He is also the founder of Adama Beverages Limited and the American University of Nigeria (AUN), both in Yola. American University of Nigeria (AUN) is the first American-style university to be established in Sub-Saharan Africa.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

There are 10 differences in the cartoons below. the differences should be marked in b

A

B

18 LETTERS TO THE

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@tribune.com.ng or by sms to 08078891826.

It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

FG, continue Jonathan’s YouWin project

I

want to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to continue the YouWin project of the last administration.

This is a project that is matching entrepreneurs with the needed finance to set up their businesses.

In actual fact, many young Nigerians benefited from the project, and they are now employers of labour, paying the salaries of fellow Nigerians.

If the truth must be told, this project was able to

get some people to be employed, and it is, therefore, necessary that the project is continued.

If the president is not satisfied with it being YouWin again, he can order the Ministry of Finance to come up with something similar to it.

It is only small scale businesses that can provide the opportunities for millions of Nigerians to be employed. The government cannot absorb all unemployed youths into

the federal and state ministries, but a conducive atmosphere must be created for businesses to thrive.

One of the biggest impediments to starting one’s business is the lack of capital, and this was what the YouWin project tackled when it was launched by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

I know this administration is trying its best to come up with policies that will reduce unemployment in the country, but one

NOA, start preaching about unity THE National Orientation Agency (NOA) has a lot to do if we are to have a united country; in the wake of the pro-Biafra agitations, I was expecting to see messages on television listen to jingles on radios and read adverts in newspapers stating why Nigeria is better-off as a united country.

We had a terrible civil war between 1967 and 1970, and those who experienced it will never pray it happens again, and it is issues of this nature that bring about war.

Let us take a look at Yemen, Libya and Syria; the war in these countries started as mere protests, and before the citizens knew what was happening, it had turned to full scale wars. Today, I know Syrians would be regretting ever having the protests that has ruined their country.

Almost a third of the country is empty now, with life being only in the protected capital of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

We may also think that these protests are insignificant, but there are fifth columnists who are always ready to hijack peaceful protests.

Therefore, the NOA, and other agencies of government, particularly those in the South East and South South, should start projecting the need for peace in the country.

The truth of the matter is that we have a bright future ahead of us with our huge population; this is

why China and India are destinations of choice for international investors.

Nigeria should, therefore, use its huge population to serve as catalyst for its economic growth.

We have a population that can absorb any product; this is a plus for those setting up businesses in

the country.

In fact, it is better to have a 20 per cent market share in Nigeria than have a 100 per cent share in some countries of the world.

•Gbemi Kehinde, gbmi2002@yahoomail.com

of the easiest ways of doing this is supporting the ideas of business-minded youths.

I would, therefore, plead that even if government wants to start another project, it should ensure that those who have payments pending in the last project should be paid.

Some have had their first batches paid, and were waiting for the other batches before Dr Jonathan lost the election. We should not see all the projects executed by the last administration as bad because the former president really gave his best for the country. This particular YouWin project was one of the success stories of Dr Jonathan, and I hope that President Buhari will order the minister of finance to continue with it.

This government should look beyond the political fireworks that will be setoff once this happens, be-

cause I know the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will say the All Progressives Congress (APC) is using its policy to solve unemployment, but government should just look at

those that will benefit from the project.

•Vincent Odeh, Independence Layout, Enugu.

Still on the Biafra agitation THE continued detention of the Director of the Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Daniel Kanu, will only continue to build mistrust among the Igbo in the Nigerian project. Already, the court has released Kanu but he is still being held, charged with another offence-treason.

While I support the unity of the country, we should ask ourselves why the other sections still view the Igbo people with disdain? Why have we

not been able to produce a president in this country?

All these point to the fact that Igbo people are being sidelined in the country, and it is until this is addressed, we will continue to have the agitation for a separate homeland for the Igbo.

The first step to take if we are to foster unity among the ethnic groups is for Daniel Kanu and other Igbo freedom fighters to be released first, and then the Federal Government should assure the Igbo people that they are part and parcel of the Nigerian project.

This should not just be by word of mouth alone; the political hurdles in front of the South East region that has made the presidency elusive should be removed.

As things stand now, it is expected that by 2023, after President Muhammadu Buhari might have completed his two terms, then it should be the turn of the South East at having a shot at the presidency.

However, before that, I think there is the need to restructure this country in a way that makes it easy for all the tribes to have equal chance of achieving greatness, particularly politically.

Therefore, the Nigerian government should not use force to suppress the current agitation; the people protesting should be embraced and dialogued with.

They have their reasons for the protests, and the government should hear them out. Using force will only build their anger.

Finally, Kanu and others still in detention should be released so that there can be meaningful dialogue with government.

•Uche Chimezia, Ojodu-Berger,

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editorial Petrol: The price and the lingering crisis Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

In spite of the promises and assurances, the fuel crisis has persisted. There has been a lot of buck-passing between the marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). At the initial stage, the problem was attributed to non-payment of subsidy while at another time it was blamed on marketers who have always exploited the slightest problems to resort to sharp practices and maximise profits. There has also been the excuse that the crisis was caused by pipeline vandalisation and aggravated by panic buying.

Although the contentious and oft-recurring issue of subsidy has since been settled, long queues have remained at filling stations selling at N87.00 per litre while other outlets, where the product is available, have been selling above the regulated price. Fuel crisis have, in the past, served as a prelude to price hikes and this has fuelled speculations that history may be about to repeat itself.

The contradictory reports credited to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has made the present situation rather hazy.

The minister was on Monday, December 14, 2015 reported as saying that the country would need to revert to the former pump price of N97.00 for a litre of petrol while defending his ministry’s projections in the 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy at the National Assembly. According to the report, he said the country no longer had the means to sustain the current price of N87.00 and went further to tell the legislators that Nigeria could no longer afford the subsidy on petrol.

Three days later the story was different. “I did not say that PMS will sell for N97.00 per litre next year. I said that between a band of 87.00 and N97.00 we are going to be looking at prices and today we are close to N87.00. So, there is no need to change the price,” the minister was quoted as saying. And a few days after, the story attributed to Kachikwu was that petrol would sell for N85.00 per litre with effect from January 1, 2016 though that too had been denied. The signals have thus been conflicting. What remains to be seen is whether it has been a double speak or a Freudian slip.

When the market price of oil was high, successive Nigerian governments did not allow the benefits of the windfall to reflect in the quality of life of the ordinary Nigerian.

Existing infrastructure was virtually dilapidated in every

Nigerian Tribune

vital aspect of national life. Even the petroleum sector - the source of the regular inflow of petro-dollars - did not fare better. For decades, it has been a total or neartotal dependence on fuel importation to meet domestic requirements. The higher the price of crude oil, the higher has been the cost of imported fuel and the more Nigerians have been paying for fuel.

With the argument that the subsidy on imported fuel was steeply rising, the government was constantly hiking the price of refined products. The consequence of the anomalous situation is that an insignificant percentage of the population has been feeding fat on the corruptionridden process while the vast majority has been suffering in silence. Expectedly, the onset of crude price decline gave rise to the counter-argument that the pump price of petrol should also be reduced by the government.

In the face of declining revenue, the government last year succumbed to pressure and reduced the pump price of petrol from N97.00 to N87.00. The continued slide in crude price has led to agitations for further reduction despite the fact that the government is desperately looking for avenues to shore up its revenue. During the presentation of the 2016 annual budget at the National Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhari apologised to Nigerians and blamed the fuel crisis on speculators.

His Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, had earlier said the Buhari administration was paying for the sins of the government it replaced. The general expectation is that the government will come up with a decisive action as the catalogue of excuses will not solve the problem.

Although Buhari has weighed in with the promise that petrol price will remain at N87.00 for now, almost all the dealers have been selling at their own chosen prices. The reported deployment of NNPC staff to filling stations to enforce compliance with the regulated price is nothing but a superficial approach to a deep-rooted problem. Does the corporation have the personnel it can deploy to filling stations countrywide? The dealers have been saying that they cannot sell at the regulated price because they have not been buying from the jetties at the regulated price. Shouldn’t the jetties, rather than the retail outlets, be a major focus of attention? Any serious effort to bust the vicious clique in the fuel business should be directed at the epicentre and not the tail end of the entire process.

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opinion 1966 coup: Was it a handover or takeover of power?

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

By Eric Teniola

T

ime passes so swiftly. On Friday January 15, it will be fifty years since the military took over power or were handed over power (depending on one’s interpretation) in this country. During the encounter, there were casualties on that day. I am aware that the children, friends, grandchildren and supporters of those who were killed in the encounter, are making arrangements to mourn the fiftieth anniversary of the demise of their loved ones. I am aware that Kole, Gbenga and Solape, all children of Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun are making preparations to remember their late father. Likewise, the children and grandchildren of late Chief Okotie-Eboh are making arrangements in Warri to remember their dad and grandfather. Same goes for the children and grandchildren of late S.L. Akintola, who will remember him in Ogbomoso.

In Kaduna, arrangements are also being made to remember the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. Those who were murdered in the January 15, 1966 coup are: the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966); the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto (1909-1966); the Premier of Western Nigeria, Sir Samuel Ladoke Akintola(1910-1966); the former Finance Minister, Chief Festus Sam Okotie- Eboh (1912-1966); the wife of Brigadier Ademulegun, Mrs Lateefat Ademulegun; wife of the Sardauna, Hafusat Sardauna; Zarumi Sardauna; the Senior Assistant Security Officer to the then Premier, Ahmed Ben Musa and the Government Driver to the then Northern Premier, Ahmed Pategi.

There is an ongoing debate whether the military took over power or were handed over power by the President of the Senate, Dr. Nwafor Orizu, who later became Acting President in place of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Only five ministers are still alive to tell the story of what really happened on that day, January 15, 1966. And they are Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule (86), Chief Richard Osuolale Abimbola Akinjide (84), Alhaji Shettima Alli Mongunu (89),(no relation to the present Security Adviser, Major General Baba Gana Mongunu), Alhaji Abdul Ganiyu Folorunso Razak (88) and Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (91). The sixth minister, Alhaji Inua Wada died recently in Kano. He was an uncle to the former Head of State, Late General Murtala Mohammed (1938-1976). Alhaji

Shehu Shagari who later became President (1979-1983) is still insisting, even till today, that the military took over under duress. In his book, “BECKONED TO SERVE” he wrote that ”I was about to break the Ramadan fast on Sunday, 16th January, when all ministers were asked to report to the Cabinet Office at 6.30pm. The whole premises were surrounded by soldiers in battle gear such that some of us initially hesitated to enter. In the Cabinet chamber were Major General Ironsi, Bukar Dipcharima and Ibrahim Tako Galadima. There were no officials present. Major General Ironsi admitted to us that he had been unable to suppress the rebellion, which he said was getting out of hand. He stated that the mutineers were in control of Kaduna, Kano and Ibadan, and had killed two regional premiers, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Chief Akintola. They had also murdered a number of his best officers, including Brigadiers Maimalari and Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, the Commander 1st Brigade Headquarters in Kaduna. Ironsi was full of emotion and even shed some tears. When we asked him about the whereabouts of Sir Abubakar and Chief Okotie-Eboh, he said he still did not know, but averred that efforts were being made to locate them. At this stage, Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe (1917-1990) broke down and kept crying:” Please where is the Prime Minister?” When we reminded Major-General Ironsi if he needed to avail himself of

May Allah bless Chancellor Merkel of Germany

By Yushau A. Shuaib

As a Muslim who not only studied Quran at a tender age and attended Islamic institutions in my formative years, I pray to Almighty Allah to bless the great woman of our decade, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for her righteousness in accepting the influx of immigrants, especially Muslims for protection in her country.

There is this negative and erroneous image of Islam that was created due to the unwholesome activities of some leaders who promote intolerance and extremism for their personal survival selfish interest. This stereotype can easily be removed going by the noble teaching of Islam, which spreads love and tolerance among all people, whatever their race, ethnicity, religion, doctrine, language and social class.

The holy book of Islam, Quran, also teaches us that all humanity is but one great family. It states: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them countless men and women.” Quran 4 Verse 1.

While Arab leaders in mostly Muslim countries exacerbate crises and rebellions that result in mass killing and displacements of millions of their citizens, Christian countries, like Germany have become sweet homes for Muslim refugees.

Born on July 17 1954, Merkel is a German politician who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and the Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000.

It is not surprising that this conservative Christian politician was recently named Time magazine’s coveted Person of the Year for her work in the Greek debt saga and largely for her unique intervention in Europe’s migrant crises. Merkel has voted against abortion rights and believes that marriage is “the sacred union of a man and a woman.”

When immigrants from Arab and Muslims countries are threatened by senseless civil wars and terrorism, she generously opened up her country’s borders to a million refugees, providing safety and comfort.

The Time editors clearly pointed out that Merkel understands the mindset of many refugees fleeing dictatorship through her experience growing up in East Germany, behind the infamous Iron Curtain.

While announcing the award, the Editor of Time Magazine

observed that at a moment when much of the world is once more engaged in a furious debate about the balance between safety and freedom, the Chancellor is asking a great deal of the German people, and by their example, the rest of the world as well. Merkel is passionately appealing to her citizens “to be welcoming. To be unafraid. To believe that great civilisations build bridges, not walls, and that wars are won both on and off the battlefield. By viewing the refugees as victims to be rescued rather than invaders to be repelled, the woman raised behind the Iron Curtain gambled on freedom.”

A daughter of a pastor and deeply religious woman rather than atheist, Merkel recently and proudly described her faith to a young theology student that: “I believe in God, and religion is also my constant companion, and actually has been my entire life... one knows there is something higher than just human beings, and that we are also called on to shape the world in responsibility for others. This is a framework for my life, which I consider very important.”

The exodus of citizens from Arab and Muslim world are triggered by Arab leaders and collaborating Western counterparts who instigate global humanitarian crises through

the British privilege of assistance, he replied it was too late as the army was pressing him to assume power. Indeed, he confessed his personal reluctance to take over because of his ignorance of government; but insisted the boys were adamant and anxiously waiting outside. He advised it would be in our interest, and that of the country, to temporarily cede power to him to avert disaster. Accordingly, we acceded to his request since we had no better alternative. Ironsi then insisted that the understanding be written.

Surprisingly, there was no stationery to write the agreement; and all the offices were locked while no official was around. Alhaji AGF Abdulrazaq, the Minister of State for the Railways (former NPC legal adviser), managed to secure a scrap paper on which he drafted a statement, which we endorsed. That was the so-called voluntary hand-over of power by the Balewa Government to Major General Ironsi! It was agreed that the statement would be typed and Dipcharima would sign it on our behalf. We were then asked to return home and await further instructions. I only got to break my Ramadan fast around 9.30 pm.”

In his own words, Chief Richard Akinjide said the Ministers did not hand over to Ironsi. In 2000, he said “under the law, that is, the interpretation Act, as acting President, Nwazor Orizu had all the powers of the President. The GOC said he wanted to see all the cabinet ministers. And so we assembled at the cabinet office. Well, I have read in many books saying that we handed over to the military. We did not hand over.

“Ironsi told us that ‘you either hand over as gentlemen or you hand-over by force.’ Those were his words. Is that voluntary hand-over? So we did not hand over. We wanted an Acting Prime Minister to be in place, but Ironsi forced us, and I use the word advisedly, to hand over to him. He was controlling the soldiers. The acting President, Nwafor Orizu, who did not cooperate with us, cooperated with the GOC. Dr. Orizu and the GOC prepared speeches which Nwafor Orizu broadcast handing over the government of the country to the army. I here state again categorically as a member of that cabinet that we did not hand over voluntarily. It was a coup.”

A lot has happened to our country since then and a lot will still happen. As we enter the New Year, it is my hope and prayer that the best years of Nigeria, are still to come.

Teniola, a former Director at the presidency, lives in Lagos.

petty vendetta and deceits. In connivance with Arab leaders, the western power destroyed Iraq under false allegation that Saddam Hussein had stockpiled Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and they destroyed Libya on the false pretence for entrenchment of democracy. The powerful forces, are largely behind the sponsorship of rebels against legitimate governments in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

A close examination of those engineered crises, clearly show that they are not religious but rather sectional, tribal and primordial conflicts under the guise of religion. A clear case is the destruction of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen by the same forces that would rather protect undemocratic monarchy system and fuelled conflicts in other seeming democracies.

It was therefore not surprising when Sunni-Shiite debacle was introduced to justify the wanton destruction of lives and property in some countries. There is a fear that the same scenario could play out in Nigeria if the recent clash between Nigerian military and an Islamic group in Zaria is not contained and controlled.

Until after the alleged Zaria massacre of members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, headed by Sheikh Ibraheem ElZakzaky, on the day they were to celebrate Moulud (Birthday) of Prophet Mohammed (SAW), Nigerian Muslims don’t bother about dichotomy of creeds in Islam. It is therefore, unfortunate that while the country is yet to resolve the Boko Haram terrorism, the political elite seems to find ways of dividing the Muslim community along Sunni and Shiite doctrines when majority simply believe in the Quran and Hadith. It is worrisome that politicians have ways of playing politics with everything including innocent life and yet they cunningly seek for the endorsement of voters during campaigns for elections.

Meanwhile, just like the good-hearted Angela Merkel of Germany, top Nigerian Christians and their umbrella organisation, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have shown empathy, expressed sympathy and condoled families of Zaria victims who were killed like rats to be freely robbed by miscreants. Surprisingly, some Muslim leaders who should be more concerned, either keep mute or merely engage in blame-game on confused doctrines.

Shuaib sent this piece via yashuaib@yahoo.com

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

energy

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anchors Tunde Dodondawa

m:08029370304 e:mrdodondawa@yahoo.com

‘Dancing Discos and Power Sector Expectations’

The privatisation of the power sector on November 1, 2013 was described as one of the best three things to have ever happened to Nigeria. The first being the independence, the second being democracy and the third is the power sector privation. In this report, OLATUNDE DODONDAWA examines the gains and pains of the policy to Nigerians and how it could be improved upon to achieve the desired goals.

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erhaps the most orchestrated dividend of democracy desired by the average Nigerian is the provision of regular electricity. The availability of power is believed to revolve around the entire architecture of daily living and business survival, hence, its central roles in both individual and communal existence.

Little wonder that expectations reached high peak after the just concluded privatisation exercise of the power sector; a development expected to herald a new power dawn.

Nigeria, being the most populous country in Africa, ironically has been at the low ebb of global electricity generation and consumption due to near-abysmal low level of investments in the country’s electricity supply industry over the past decades.

Interestingly, the stark reality is that while Nigeria’s per capital electricity consumption has remained lowest in the world, there is a large demand-supply gap in the nation’s power sector due to lack of investments, coupled with a dearth in infrastructure.

Ironically, in the new value chain which emerged post-privatisation, distribution companies have become the weeping child of the power sector, carrying the cross of other players: the generating companies (Gencos), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and even the power plants.

Recall that the Federal Government vertically unbundled the industry into generating, transmission and distribution businesses. The Discos are at the last end of the power sector value chain as they collect the money to fund the entire value chain.

Such enormous responsibility is coming amidst apathy, hostility, ignorance and prejudice against the Discos and in view of the shortage of supply arising from disruption and shortage in the supply of gas for power. Discos, therefore, are in the hot seat as they continue to absorb the heat.

The industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) while thumpchesting for establishing a long term electricity market structure in Nigeria in which multiple operators provide services on a competitive basis to the broadest range of customers, “admitted that there were structural problems that are unyielding unless dealt with at the foundation.

So in spite of the teething problems of gas supply, we can be confident

that the future of electricity supply in Nigeria is bright because the crisis of gas-topower is being structurally resolved.”

Challenges However, as the Discos are engrossed in several problems, consumers in their various locations expect them to improve quality of supply by strengthening and upgrading the network, achieve 100 per cent customer metering to eliminate estimation, and put in place multiple payment channels to improve payment convenience.

In the aftermath of the privatisation and the threshold of the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM) in Nigeria, certain issues cropped up and worsened efforts at improving quality of electricity service regulation.

These include non-upgrading of facilities, gas supply con-

The new tariff regime is the result of a transparent, rigorous and credible rate review process. The tariffs will lead to greater reliability in the provision of electricity.

straints, consumer issues, poor collections, low load allocation, uncleared staff of defunct Power holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and high expectations of new owners.

A survey of most distribution companies also indicated that nearly all were battling with huge indebtedness by customers, most especially military, paramilitary and some high-networth (HNW) individuals who refuse to pay up their electricity bills.

The distribution industry is equally agitating for a cost-reflective tariff that is not attractive to investors, in addition to hostile communities, energy theft and vandalism.

Apart from poor transmission, distribution companies also battle with the problem of vandalism of electricity cables and theft of smart card from prepaid meters.

Another challenge is the fact that many Nigerians do not know that Discos only retain 25 per cent of the revenue they collect from power consumers, 75 per cent is used to pay for gas, power bought from the Gencos and charges by the TCN. Eradication of ‘fixed charges’ a welcome development Nigerians across the globe have been reacting to the eradication of fixed charges, a decision considered by many as a welcome development.

According to the Treasury and Tax Officer,

Global Haulage Resources Ltd, Isaac Oluwole Toyin, while commenting on the fixed charge removal, stated that in his opinion, it was a welcome development.

“I don’t know what many people may think about this, but in my own opinion, this is a welcome development. It will help curb wastage in power usage. Many people will switch on lights they are not using for several days. It will also help people to regulate what they consume and how much they spend in a month. The major issue is about the metering system. Estimated billing should be cancelled outright. Prepaid meters should be supplied to all the households in the country,” he said.

Tai Alawojolu-Alagwe of FUT Minna stated that it was a welcome development because when there was no power supply for months, it means power consumers would not have to pay anything until there is power supply.

“It is good, let them implement it but we must continue to demand change until prepaid meter is given to all customers,” she said.

On his part, Mr Badmus Akinwale stated that “the policy will allow consumers to pay for they consume. The tariff should be competitive and cost-reflective in order to encourage investment in the sector. NigeContinues pg22

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Nigerian Tribune

Discos in the midst of energy challenges Continued from pg21

rians are used to subsidy in electricity tariff since the old days of NEPA. We can afford to spend N500 on smaller generator to generate power for about six hours which translate to about N60,000 in 30 days for uninterrupted power supply. But usually, we will claim it is out of place to pay N30,000 for grid uninterrupted supply from the grid because it is from the government.

“Until we change our perception, and embrace reality supporting competitive tariff and promote investment in the sector, power situation may remain abysmal. Another good thing about this policy is that if I travel abroad for two months, it means I won’t be charged any fees. The policy will encourage consumers to control what they consume.”

Metering customers in 2 months As part of the condition for fixed charge removal from January 2016, the NERC directed the Discos to immediately begin massive metering of customers which must be completed within two months.

According to the commission, “henceforth, every disco should meter all its customers.

The metering policy will be strictly enforced.

For those willing electricity customers who paid for meters under the Cash Advance Payment Metering Initiative (CAPMI) but are yet to be metered within the allowable 60 days would no longer be billed by the electricity distribution companies under the new tariff regime.

“And the Discos will not disconnect them.

There is zero tolerance for over-billing of customers. An unmetered customer who is disputing his estimated bill would not be expected to pay the disputed bill. He would pay his last undisputed bill as the contested bill go through the dispute resolution process. This is a departure from the old practice which prescribes that customers should first settle the bill while dispute resolution is in process.”

The commission also stated that no electricity distribution company is allowed to connect new customers without metering the customer first. This is to close the wide metering gap of over 50 per cent and reduce high incidence of collection losses in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

According to the commission, “the new tariff regime is the result of a transparent, rigorous and credible rate review process.

The tariffs will lead to greater reliability in the provision of electricity. More people will progressively have access to the grid, more meters will be deployed and the need for self generation would be gradually reduced.”

The commission expects the electricity distribution companies to provide better customer service in all aspects of their operations and would hold the electricity distribution companies responsible for their service level agreements.

It stated that in addition to the cost-saving element, the new tariff regime comes with renewed commitments by the Discos to rapidly improve on the downtime and quality of electricity supply.

“These commitments are contained in service level agreements, which are based on the performance level agreements submitted by the new owners during the bid process. The tariff order also encourages the distribution companies to develop new sources of supply within their franchises to increase the amount and quality of supply to target customers on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis.

“These measures are necessary to improve electricity supply across Nigeria and ensure

that the distribution companies are working hard to increase investment that will ensure predictable and ultimately reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply in Nigeria,” it stated.

Stakeholders’ expectations from the privatised power sector Experts have contended that NERC’s Strategic Action Plan for boosting electricity supply industry should entail resolving the gas to power crisis, unleashing the capacity of Discos to procure embedded generation and clear benchmarking and monitoring of Disco’s and Genco’s performance.

However, observers believe that as the sector evolves, stakeholders in the power sector, especially the regulator, must pay attention to fragile linkages that could delay huge expectations in the long run.

High level of losses, weak distribution network, inadequate funding of TCN and wanton vandalism of gas and transmission infrastructure are issues that must be dealt with by NERC and Federal Government in ensuring improved access to electricity supply in Nigeria.

Recently, the Canvassers for Democracy and the Rule of Law in Benin held a sem-

inar on Understanding the Challenges and Problems of the Power Sector, where participants were told that Federal Government chose privatisation as the solution to the poor operational and functional performance of the sector.

The civil society organisation led by its convener, Reverend Olu Martins, told the audience that improving quality of service regulation in an emerging electricity market remains a major challenge in the power sector value chain.

According to Reverend Martins, out of a population of 160 million, only four million were electricity customers.

Consumers in Nigeria are said to only get 50 per cent of generated power, according to a former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, who told the Senate ad hoc Committee on power.

He said the nation still experienced irregular electricity supply because the regulatory agencies had failed to carry out necessary enforcement and discipline.

“Even when you have installed capacity of 12,000 Megawatts, you cannot release the same amount of megawatts to the end users.

Nigeria can generate 7,000MW and make it available for consumption should there

be no constraint in transmission where we have inefficiency in distribution,’’ Professor Nnaji was quoted as saying.

Conclusion Despite the challenges of poor gas infrastructure and inadequate transmission capacity, the distribution companies have continued to invest billions of naira in the power sector with the aim of serving the customers better.

For instance, based on the commitment of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company to ensure adequate power supply to its numerous customers, the company has invested over N1 billion on network upgrade over the past two years.

The best way to partner the distribution companies that are at the receiving end is to ensure prompt settlement of bills. The review of electricity tariff by the Federal Government is to promote cost effective tariff and more investment into the sector.

During his visit to Egbin Power Plant in Lagos recently, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, stated that Nigerians should be willing to pay more than they are paying if truly improved power supply is desirable.

Oando Marketing promotes LPG usage among students Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos As part of its efforts aimed at promoting the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) otherwise called cooking gas in Nigeria, Oando Marketing organised the 2015 cooking competition among secondary school students using cooking gas.

The annual “O-Gas Teens Can Cook” initiative sponsored by Oando Marketing was organised to develope the cooking skills of secondary school students, while they embrace and cultivate the culture of cooking with clean energy like Liquefied Petroleum Gas. The ‘Teens Can Cook Competition’ was conceptualised to cultivate culinary skills in teenagers and equally encourage the use

of LPGs in Nigerian homes. The kerosene stove that most Nigerians still use in their homes is hazardous to human health and has attendant negative impact on the environment.

Oando Marketing said it embarked on the CSR initiative, with the objective to appeal to an upcoming age group of future homemakers to create the awareness of the benefits of use of cooking gas. Some of the children come from homes where their parents use kerosene.

“Awareness campaigns have been done in schools because we know that children are the hearts of their parents. By the time they go through this competition and they see that they are cooking with less stress, not having to choke on smoke from the dirty

fuels or the long term implication on their health (eye sights & lungs), they will be encouraged to convince parents to make the switch to LPG. “With regards to creating awareness about Liquefied Petroleum Gas, the O-Gas Teens Can Cook competition has been a success as there have been a surge of enquiries from various quarters. Therefore, Oando marketing is already working at expanding it to other states and having another version targeted at universities, where some of the students still cook with kerosene stoves despite the known health and environmental hazards associated with it,” the company said in a statement.

Continues pg24

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Nigerian Tribune

Ensuring full production capacity of nations’ refineries

By Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos

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ollowing the inspection of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries on Christmas and on preceding Sunday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Ibe Kachikwu, stated that all the nation’s refineries in Warri, Portharcourt and Kaduna will be in full production capacity by March, 2016.

This came on the heels of his announcement that Nigeria would continue to import fuel in 2016 and beyond even as the nation’s refineries begin to come back fully on stream. According to him, Kaduna is already producing about 1.5 million litres a day, while Port Harcourt will commence production of about 2 million litres a day by last week of December and Warri is expected to start early next year.

Kachikwu dropped the hint while speaking during his scheduled visit to the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company.

“We are still going to be importing, even if you are in hundred per cent capacity production of about 445,000 barrels capacity for the plant you will still be doing less than 2 million litres, consumption is even at best; with all we have done it is still 50 per cent.

“So until we begin to get individuals who can co-relocate new refineries within the premises of existing refineries to expand the capacity, that’s the best way to go. And that is the only way we are going to be committed to it. We are looking for investors who have the capacity, the speed and the time to be able to accomplish on that.

But until we do that, we are going to be doing a mixture.

“Best case situation is a twenty five to forty per cent of local production and the rest being imported, worst case situation is what we have seen in the last few months of hundred percent importation.”

He also stated that a combined daily production of up to 10 million liters of petrol is expected from the four refineries by January 2016. The production, which is about 50 per cent of their maximum production capacity of 20 million litres daily and the minister was quick to say that more locally refined petrol should be expected as 2015 unwinds.

The above position is a deviation from the initial position by the Minister of State that the four refineries will be fixed by December 2015 after the 90-day window for them to be repaired.

During a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos in September 2015, Kachikwu stated that “The model we are currently working on is that I have given 90-day ultimatum for the refineries to work. We either keep them open till December because they are actually producing or shut them down if they are not working and carry out repair.

“People now say refineries are working at 60 per cent installed capacity. I keep quiet and enjoy the perception of the public. But the reality is that refineries are not working 60 at per cent installed capacity.

If we get 60 per cent performance in a week, and the next week we are down to zero per cent performance; when you take the average, you won’t be getting 60 per cent performance.

“The average performance right now of the refineries is 30 per cent based in continuity basis. And that is the fact and the reality. What we need to do in the short term is either to shut down and do proper maintenance and position them to compete. If we choose to do this, do we have

the money to do it? This is because we are in a tight fiscal environment. If we don’t we have to go and raise money externally to repair it.

“The model we are currently working on is that I have given 90-day ultimatum for the refineries to work. We either keep them open till December because they are actually producing or shut them down if they are not working and carry out repair.

I will rather go sell the products and bring in imported refined products while I’m doing the repairs to the refineries to bring them back to life. These are very hard decisions to make, but my job is to get things working.”

After the inspection of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries on December 25 and 27 respectively, the minister should have shut them and fix them once and for all.

This is because the refineries have never worked at full capacity for decades and the only new thing Kachikwu can do is to shut them and subject them to full repair so that they can begin to work at full capacity. The money he would continue to spend beyond December 2015 in an attempt to keep them running below installed capacity would mean the country would continue to waste scarce resources on them.

The minister had also admitted that keeping the refineries operational at below full capacity would imply that the country is losing quite a lot.

“Right now, we are losing quite a lot. By my last count, we are losing N10 billion on each of the refineries which is a huge loss.

That’s why we need to keep from areas of emotions to areas of business,” he had stated.

However, it seems the minister is now back in the areas of emotions rather than

business. In one week, Kachikwu earlier announced that the Federal Government was not interested in removing subsidy; followed by telling Nigerians that based on price simulation, pump price of petrol would cost N85 per liter from January 1, 2016. The latest being that the Federal Government had stopped payment of subsidy as of December 27, 2015.

Besides, it is a known fact that bureaucracy, inefficiency and political interests have always hindered government progress in terms of policy direction and implementation. This is beginning to manifest in Kachikwu policy in downstream sector.

But with the support of former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, stakeholders in the oil and gas sector like the fuel marketers and importers on fuel subsidy removal, it is a matter of time before the subsidy will be laid to rest and the sector would begin to witness efficiency and the much needed investment.

The major marketeers, independent marketers, depot owners and other stakeholders have been calling on the government to allow market forces to dictate the price and quantity of petrol to be supplied in the economy by deregulating the downstream sector, especially now that the crude is selling below $40 per barrel.

On the commercial viability of the refineries, he said that he had directed the refineries to look at the commercial view of their plants in order to use every arm of the refinery to generate profit.

“A typical refinery will look at their lubes, the petrochemical areas, will look at their power areas and see how they can probably expand the value chain and the potentials, that’s certainly what we are looking at,” Kachikwu explained.

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Nigerian Tribune

This is the time to deregulate downstream sector —IPMAN

As Nigerians continue to experience acute fuel scarcity during the Yuletide, stakeholders have been urging the Federal Government to solve the perennial challenges of fuel scarcity in Nigeria. Lending his voice to this call is the National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and CEO, Nyce Petroleum Ltd, Mike Osatuyi. In this interview with journalists, he discussed efforts of the Federal Government to address the challenges and proferred solutions. Olatunde Dodondawa was there. Excerpts:

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Already, there is an impression that the Federal Government may remove subsidy in 2016 due to non-provision for subsidy in the 2016 budget, do you have any fear that government did not provide for subsidy at all?

President Buhari said the N87 per liter is for now. This is a presidential statement and when the president has spoken, who am I to disregard or have a contrary opinion. But I’m sure the statement is loaded.

hat is your assessment of the Federal Government intervention scheme to end fuel

scarcity?

We are pleased to showcase what the Federal Government is doing in terms of petrol intervention scheme. The Federal Government brought petrol to marketers on credit to sell at official price of N87 per liter. They have brought two trucks of 40000 and 33000 liters to this filling station in two days and this is unbelievable. We have not seen anything like this before but we are seeing it now. I want the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to continue and sustain it and I will also assure them that the IPMAN is ready to partner with them now that they are ready to partner with us. We will not fail them because this is for the benefit of the masses.

We are happy to see Nigerians are buying at N87 per liter at your filling station, but it is obvious that some marketers are still selling at above N87 per liter. What is your reaction to this?

The intervention programme just commenced to cushion the effect of scarcity on the Nigerian masses. We just need to have patience and believe in the government that very soon, the challenge of selling above N87 will vanish.

Does IPMAN has the capacity to accommodate this initiative if sustained for a longer period?

We have the capacity because IPMAN controls about 84 per cent of the outlets across the country. And the association has the capacity to perhaps ensure the intervention scheme becomes successful. The market share by IPMAN is confirmed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Now that the government is ready to work with us, we are ready to work with them. Let them give us the fuel and we will sell it.

The NNPC can only supply about 22 per cent of the national needs daily, I understand that they have stepped up importation of fuel to bridge the gap created by marketers who are unwilling to import for now. I believe NNPC will sustain it and we are ready to sell on their behalf to the public. We believe the Federal Government has the capacity to sustain importation. I can confirm that there has been massive loading at the depots throughout the weekend from Lagos to other IPMAN members.

This is to confirm it is real.

This palliative measure has always been carried out whenever we are faced with this kind of challenge.

What is the way out of this problem?

The ultimate is to deregulate the downstream sector. Let the Federal Government deregulate. We are the stakeholders, we are the players. We know the job. I have been in his job for the past 20 years. The best thing for President Muhammadu Buhari to do is to deregulate the industry now. We don’t need to waste time to queue for fuel for six to 10 hours daily to get fuel. When former

Now that NNPC is bringing the product and mandated you to sell at N87 per liter, how do you make your money?

There is a margin which has been computed into the pricing templates. For instance, ex-depot price of petrol is N77.66 per liter. We have marketers with capacity to deliver. Go to MRS, it is fully automated.

It can load 300 trucks in a day. The same with CAPITAL Oil and NIPCO, these are people that the government should partner.

Give them fuel to supply to Nigerians. We don’t have to be suffering.

Osatuyi President Olusegun Obasanjo deregulated Automated Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise called diesel 14 years ago, have you heard about diesel scarcity ever since? Actually, if it is deregulated, we will have different prices. We cannot have single price across the country, but may have like 100 different prices. Some can sell N100, N101, N99 or N98.5 per liter which is normal depending on the location,

but this is the time to deregulate.

If the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) brings out its template today, you will see that it cannot be more than N97-N99 per liter under regulation. However, people are still buying at N150-N250 per liter across the country due to scarcity.

What is your concerns about the non functionality of the refineries?

The issue of the refineries has been a recurrent issue and the only solution to that is for the government to deregulate. After deregulation, refinery that survives will definitely survive while the one that will die will die. They can even sell them as scraps. Look at Dangote who is building over 600,000 barrels per day capacity refinery in Lagos in the next two years. The capacity of the refinery is far above the combined capacity of our four refineries that we are talking about.

Business is about survival. It is either you survive or you die in business. When this refinery comes on stream, you will see that it can service the whole country or choose to export because it is private.

Oando Marketing promotes LPG usage among students Continued from pg22

It stated further that “The “Teens Can Cook” competition seems to be a very successful CSR initiative by the oil and gas marketing company. The concept was primarily developed to improve the culinary skills of children in Lagos and to create awareness about LPG and its benefits over other unclean cooking fuels. LPG is currently targeted at teenagers, as they are at the time of their lives where they can be easily persuaded about adopting ecofriendly habits and lifestyles.

“The O-Gas LPG switch initiative campaign has recorded many success, it has enjoyed immense support and drive by state and federal governments. To Oando Marketing, the LPG switch campaign goes beyond just the sale of gas & cylinders; but about tackling head-on the impact of use of dirty fuels on the environment, which is of serious global concern, this is done by educating and influencing habits that can preserve the environment for future generations. Oando Marketing has invested significantly in distribution

and logistics of LPG over the last five years and plans to continue, as there is immense opportunities in the sector.”

Over 200 schools participated in the competition and 10 secondary schools got through to the Grand Finale, held at the multi-purpose hall of St. Finbarr’s College Akoka, Lagos State. After a 60 minute cooking session, Ogunbajo Joy, a sixteen-year old student of St. Timothy College, Lagos, emerged the best junior chef in Lagos state, as her local rice and ofada sauce delicacy was adjudged to be the best dish.

Balogun Barakat of Bolade Junior Secondary School, Oshodi, emerged first runner-up while Eguase Edith of Ransome Kuti College Mushin, emerged the second runner-up.

Incidentally, an elated Ogunbajo enrolled as a dancer in the dancing competition segment, before registering as a chef in the cooking segment at the last minute.

She accredited her victory to the combined efforts of her mother who taught her how to cook from an early age and her teacher who encouraged her to continuously de-

velop her skills.

The impact of the competition on Ogunbajo goes far beyond the 1st prize of a gas cooker and a 12.5kg cooking Oando O-Gas cylinder, her culinary knowledge has also been greatly enhanced with a better understanding of the numerous benefits of the LPG and its positive impact on the environment.

According to her, “There are lots of differences between using the kerosene stove and the cooking gas. The kerosene stove makes cooking stressful and dirty but with Oando O-gas you can enjoy cooking and keep your environment clean and safe.”

Besides, students were also engaged in debates on the personal and environmental benefits of cooking with LPG. “So far, out of 170 million Nigerians, less than 20 million Nigerians use LPG in their homes and Oando is determined to sustain the LPG revolution. In the last few years it has embarked on a campaign with their O-Gas product line to get more Nigerians to switch to LPG the safer, more efficient and cleaner cooking option,” it stated.

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

by Wale Ojo-Lanre 0803 349 0986 waleojolanre@gmail.com

At Mare 2015: Mimiko identifies Tourism as instrument of diversification By wale Ojo Lanre

A

s the nation continue to battle the economic setback caused by over reliance and sharp drop in the price of oil at the global market, Ondo State governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko has identified enhancement, development and promotion of tourism as a strong instrument of diversification.

Dr Mimiko who is an advocate of domestic tourism is of the view that working in this direction as a state will not only help in tackling economic crisis, but help in employment generation, wealth creation and youth empowerment due to unlimited number of opportunities that abound in the sector.

And walking the talk, the governor has not only demonstrated his understanding of tourism and promotion of cultural festivals as an instrument of economic development, he has also initiated sustainable ideas and projects that compliments the natural heritage sites and monuments in making Ondo State a preferred tourism destination in Africa.

The development of infrastructural facilities and provision of basic amenities in the state have not only helped the sector, but has also boosted the traffic into the hospitality sector with overall effect economic development in the state and the governor is poised to do more based on his personal conviction that tourism can Is not only a strong alternatives, but an avenue to take the youths off the street through job creation and talents discovery.

Speaking at the grand finale of the 7th edition of Mare Festival in Idanre on Saturday, Governor Mimiko affirmed his

total commitment to the development of tourism in the state “I want to make it absolutely clear tonight that we are committed to exploring the instrumentality of tourism as the driver of economy especially in this era of financial and economy challenges occasioned by the drop in the price of oil, there is no doubting about what we can do in domestic tourism to drive our economy. In the last few months, we have explored heritage possibilities through Mare, events, destinations tourism through the domestic tourism and we have no doubt in our mind that we are moving forward, talking about diversification of our economy and tourism is a strong instrument of that diversification”.

Away from the economic benefits of the annual event, the initiatives has also created a platform for transfer of knowledge and promotion of indigenous music and culture, and at the same time help the youth to discover and test their creative abilities in music, sport and other activities with the intention of launching them to the international market. Record from the past edition shows that some of the local mountaineers who started mountain climbing in Mare have had the opportunities of participating in other local and international competitions and excel.

In music, Mare has also created a platform for talented musicians to evolve and have their passion enhanced.

Adeola an ND 2 student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo and an upcoming rap artiste who was privileged to showcase his talents last year is gradually making way into the market, but is confident of competing with international giants in the rap world. “ After my performance

last year which was my first, I discovered that I have what it takes to compete with all other international rappers like DMX and others. I don’t use Nigerian stars as my yardstick because I know majority of them cannot stand my style. With time, I know I will get there and I will forever be grateful to Ondo State governor Dr Mimiko for creating this platform for us to discover our talents.”

The theme for this year edition “Inspiring Mare for global opportunities” is apt because of the need to blend the system with the trend in the global economy particularly at this moment when there is need to market our destinations and tourism potentials to the international community as a sustainable and reliable alternative source of income for the economic development of our country.

At the opening ceremony held at the Idanre Mountain Resorts, Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade said the choice of the theme “Inspiring Mare for global opportunities” is an attempt by the state government to further propel the advancement of tourism and cultural activities to an enviable height.“ I wish to affirm that this initiative has produced lofty development and the results of this are what we are witnessing today.

“Although tourism is capital intensive, but with the attention and priority placed on it, part of which is the Mare Festival, the trend is bound to yield tremendous benefits. Mare would continue to promote and projects the cultural and tourism potentials of the state with the festival as an annual cultural event including all other events such as sports, culture, carnival and musical performances.”

Corroborating Akinmade’s view, the new Commissioner for Culture and Tourism said Mare Festival was purposely initiated for an agenda and the focus is to showcase tourism assets of the state and promote culture and tradition of the people of the state, Ondo State is blessed and we are utilising the opportunities deposited in our land to attract the world to our state as a preferred destination in Africa”.

Adekambi also used the occasion to disclose the plan to introduce other cultural events tagged Ondo Carnival with its first edition come April 2016. “Ondo Carnival is going to be another big event in the calendar of Ondo State Tourism Ministry.

It will involve everybody in the state and prizes will be given to winners at the various competitions during the events , it’s a new dawn in tourism in Ondo State and I need your cooperation. I need people to share my view on the need to utilise what we have in the state. Mr Governor’s focus of making the state a haven of tourism is achievable and we are gradually getting there.”

The electrifying performances of some award winning Nigerian artistes Tuface Idibia, Paul Play Dairo and lady talking drummer Aralola Olumuyiwa with other local and upcoming artistes made the grand finale of the festival more profound and better than the previous editions.

Tuface Idibia and other artistes including, Javestra, Sahel, LKC, Romario, Dj Slo, Psalm 23, Salome Eketunde, Iyalode, Arukusaka and other local art were in their best form as they thrilled the crowd with their music and beat which did not only enliven the crowd, but also made Governor Mimiko and his wife, Oluwakemi and other personalities danced and clapped in appreciation of the talents display.

Tourists in their hundreds also took the opportunity of the fiesta to visit the historic community on the Idanre Hill where Idanre people first inhabited before they were moved down to their present abode, relics of buildings, monuments and other magnificent work of God and man ‘s creativity were deposited on the hill.

A tourist, Mr Adesoji, said “ I am here with my family to see rocky town of Idanre and the ancient community on the hill. It took us more than an hour to get here because this is my first time. I am from Ondo town but based in Abuja, my wife and children who are happy seeing a whole community on the hill, is an experience one can never forget.

‘The concept, of Idanre Mountain Resorts is good, my friend who came here sometimes ago told me that the basement used to be littered with human defecation, but behold, I came here to find an amazing resort with structures, though small in size compared to what obtains in a standard resort, but this is fascinating. I have been to the food stand and discovered they have varieties of local foods and drinks, I will come back.”

Considering the economic crisis and the level of performance and participation during the events, one cannot but agree with Mr Governor who described the 7th edition as a profound edition. We hope to see improvement particularly the involvement of more local and international marketing brands in the subsequent editions.

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Nigerian Tribune

tribunetourism By wale Ojo Lanre

T

he Banquet Hall of the Premier Hotel, Ibadan was filled to the brim as youths and entertainment conscious people from different parts of Oyo State gathered to witness the selection and crowning of Miss Oyo 2015 The annual beauty pageant which was organised by Silverstone Communication in conjunction with Forum 14 which comprises of 14 members of the Federal House of Assembly from Oyo State saw Miss Foyeke Akinyemi emerge as the latest beauty queen in the state.

Foyeke, a 300 level Linguistic student of Osun State University, Osogbo represented Iseyin Itesiwaju, participated alongside 13 other representatives of the Federal Constituencies in the state.

New Miss Oyo will be presented a brand new car and embark on foreign trip courtesy of the Forum Fourteen and Special Tours Travel and Tours.

Speaking on the selection of Foyeke , the chief judge of the event Chief Angela Folarin said her team members which include Wale Ojo Lanre, Travel and Tourism Editor, Nigerian Tribune and Mr Ariyo Areo, Managing Director University of Ibadan Hotel the best among the equals.

“They are all beautiful, intelligent and eminently qualified to represent the state, but the winner performed excellently than others, hence her choice as Miss Oyo 2015”.

The Executive governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi who was represented by the Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon Michael Adeyemo commended the organisers for the initiative “this is a platform that showcases talents and skills deposited in our youths and their creative ability as well as identifying the beautiful and intelligent ones among our girls.

“We have to encourage them to always make use of their beauty in the right manner and not engage in sexual promiscuity and other immoral acts. I am quite sure some of them will participate and win in other local and international competitions.”

Also, the coordinator of Forum 14 Representatives, Hon Temitope Olatoye Sugar said the group decided to partner with Silverstone Communication because of its plan to ensure a sustainable development in the entertainment industry, “We are all clamouring for diversification of economy, events like this give a platform to promote our culture and display natural talents and skills which is part of

Contestants on parrade.

Here comes Miss Oyo

Chief Executive Officer, Silverstone Communication, Mayor Isaac Brown, Mrs Angela Folarin and Miss Oyo 2015, Miss Foyeke Adeyemi at the event.

A group display. entertainment and tourism. From what has happened here, some of the artistes who performed today have what it take to perform at international concerts, so our involvement is to help in identification of talents and promotion of entertainment industry for the development of our economy”.

Chief Host, Mayor Isaac Brown in his remark said ‘the idea started 10 years ago and

The Speaker of Oyo State, Hon Michael Adesina Adeyemo, the newly crowned Miss Oyo 2015 and Mrs Alomoge. it is blossoming into something great with the support of corporate organisations and individuals and that is why we deemed it fit to honour some of them today.”

The new Miss Oyo, Foyeke said “My emergence is by the special grace of God. I owe it to His grace and the encouragement of my mother who believed that I would be a player in the world of pageant. I must also commend the organiser of this event who allowed a level playing ground for all of us.

I specially laud panel of judges who never bent the rule in favour of anybody. For, if all these have been contrary, I might not have emerged. One of the reasons is the fact that the Honourables representing my constituency were not present to boost my morale like some other contestants. I just have to thank God and the spirit of fairness and equity which was applied for the selection.”

She revealed “My pet project will be empowering youths in vocational training. The youths must be engaged no matter their profession. They must be equipped with something they can do for extra – fund”.

Dignitaries at the event include, Speaker

Honourable Temitop

of the House of Assembly, Hon Michael Adesina Adeyemo, federal and state lawmakers from Ibadan and Ibarapa, media professionals including the former Zonal Director of NTA Ibadan and Edo, the powerful delegate from MITV Lagos and Ibadan led by Mr Kayode Bamiduro, Mrs Comfort Alomoge, former Chief Executive officer of BCOS Mr Yanju Adegbite, former Com-

Speed networkin ITB Berlin 2016 is organising two Speed Dating events that will give participants an opportunity to efficiently exchange information and quickly establish numerous new leads. Whereas the ITB Speed Networking event gathers buyers and exhibitors from around the world, the ITB Blogger Speed Dating is the place where bloggers from Germany and abroad can meet representatives of the global travel industry.Both events are free of charge. In order to take part prior

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr John Kennedy Opara has charged the ground handlers and air carriers on the need for continuity in the delivery of excellent services to Nigerian pilgrims.

He gave this charge during the meeting of the NCPC management and National Assembly delegates with ground handlers and Air Carriers held at Nigeria Embasy, Tel Aviv, Israel, recently.

Mr Opara commended the ground handlers and air carriers for their services to Nigerian pilgrims over the years and urged them to do more, especially in the areas of improving the local content of pilgrimage by partnering with Nigerians in Israel to ensure that the pilgrims are catered for under the most convenient atmosphere.

He informed on the four-pilgrimage programmes the commission runs yearly: The Easter pilgrimage which avails Christians the opportunity to witness the places where Jesus lived before his death and tune their hearts to understand the sacrifices of Christ on the cross; the Youth pil-

Nigerian Tribune

ncpc boss charges ground handlers grimage which brings youths together to the Holy Land to impact them spiritually and empower them economically through skills acquisition; the family pilgrimage which provides an opportunity for families to pray together in the Holy Land as “a family that prays together stays together”; and the main pilgrimage which usually comes up between October and December.

The NCPC helmsman affirmed that the commission has a viable spirituality committee that works tirelessly to see that the spiritual content of pilgrimage is maintained.

He appreciated the ground handlers and air carriers for setting up and equipping the clinic in the embassy to meet up with the medical needs of pilgrims and save cost of receiving medical attention in other hospitals which are not usually cost effective.

The Chairman of Nigeria-Israel Cooper-

ation Group and member of the National Assembly, Honourable Gwani Gideon urged the ground handlers and their tour guides on the need to be accurate in their explanations of the holy sites during tours in order to avoid contradictions and misinformation.

He commended the NCPC boss and his team for making proper arrangements for the welfare of pilgrims in the Holy land. He affirmed that the Nigerian pilgrims are very happy with the manner of reception.

Shadia Srour, the Assistant Manager of Tabar Tours expressed her joy over the good conduct of Nigerian pilgrims in Israel. She affirmed that the Israeli government and the entire management of Tabar Tours will be delighted to serve Nigerian pilgrims always.

Among other ground handlers and air carriers present at the meeting were Scopus World Travel, Tailor Made Tours, and Air First airline.

The Juice On Crescent Bar rebrands By wale Ojo Lanre Julia Godwin, the Hospitality Lady of the year has rebranded her exotic The Juice On Crescent Bar acting according to dictates of time and necessities of offering unique and exotic service ever.

Julia, a first class tourism manager and event packaging expert has transformed TJOCB, located on 71, Oduduwa Crescent, same compound with Crescendo Lounge, GRA, Ikeja to heaven on earth and El Dorado of bliss.

Julia who lured eminent personalities and distinguished classic Nigerians for the rebranding of TJOCB, on Saturday 5, December 2015 with ram barbecue on the House, Comedy, sexy creamy Divas stunned the guests with avalanche of cool high volume, good sound, and good music with free Wi-Fi. The rebranding is paying off as ‘have been to The juice On Crescent Bar” is the vogue now.

Interestingly, Julia has made The Juice On Crescent bar juicier. You just need to be there and confirm this.

pe Olatoye displaying his award. missioner for Information in Oyo State, Mr Taiwo Otegbeye, Ms. Funmi Rotiba MD Special Tours Travel and Tours, Chief Victor Adewale, Deputy Coordinator, OPU, Europe, Mr and Mrs Jide Sarayi, Mr Tunde Okunlola, General Manager, MITV, Lagos, Mr Kunle Gbadeyanka, Mr Abass Ayodeji Alesinloye former Chairman, Oluyole Local government, among others.

Julia Godwin

ng at ITB Berlin registration is required.

Following its outstanding success at this year’s ITB Berlin the ITB Speed Networking event is going into another round. In 2016, due to high demand, there will be two one-hour networking events. Exhibitors who are looking for buyers interested in products and services available in Europe will be able to meet their target group on Thursday, 10 March. On 11 March, at the ITB Speed Networking event, exhibitors can meet

with buyers operating in non-European international markets. The events will take place on Level B in the CityCube from 9 to 10 a.m. During five-minute sessions registered exhibitors will be able to present their products and exchange contact information with buyers. Then, if desired, they can meet up later on the stand or make appointments to arrange further business for another day. As of 10 Februaryexhibitors can register for the ITB Speed Networking

event at http://www.itb-berlin.de/en/ Exhibitors/SpeedDating/ITBSpeedNetworking/. Attendance is limited and registrations will no longer be accepted after the maximum of 500 exhibitors per event has been reached.

For tour operators the real-life stories and product reviews published by bloggers from all over the globe make them vitally important opinion-formers.Due to high demand from exhibitors and bloggers, in 2016 at the ITB Blogger Speed Dating event bloggers from Germany and abroad whose main topics

include adventure trips, cuisine, luxury travel, travel for the over-65s and family trips will be meeting with members of the travel industry representing, among other sectors, destinations, hotels and PR agencies. At brief, pre-planned meetings lasting eight minutes each, both sides will be able to exchange information and outline their goals. This will allow them to establish initial contact, facilitating future cooperation or trips.

The events will take place on Level B in the CityCube from 4.30 to 6 p.m. on 10 and 11 March 2016.

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

ecoscope

anchor Doyin Adeoye

m:08058130577 e:doyinadeoye@tribuneonlineng.com t:@kreatif_ink

coke bottle or pure water bag to the kerb does not bother them.

But when you have a population of almost 20 million people, that is a lot of bottles daily, clogging up drains. I remember in the UK when I was growing up, there was a big campaign to ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ and it is that concept which we are trying to bring to Lagos, #keeplagosclean.

Mr Paul O’Callaghan is the CEO, WestAfricaENRG Limited, a company that promotes and enables the growth of West African economies through renewable energy projects.

He speaks with Doyin Adeoye on the company’s project in Nigeria, as well as other waste to wealth initiatives.

A

s part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) was commissioned earlier in the year at Alimosho. What influenced this initiative?

The Material Recovery Facility (MRF) is just the first stage in a three-phase project.

The MRF sorts the valuable fraction from the solid waste and we sell that into the Nigerian economy. It is important to us that as long as we have demand in Nigeria for our products, then we supply local, because the Nigerian economy will only grow by adding value in Nigeria and exporting the value added products.

Also, Alimosho is the largest and most populated local government in Nigeria. It is a location of four dumpsites, all really an eyesore, causing environmental harm to the local communities. The extent of that damage is much debated and I believe that there are better ways to manage that waste. So we chose Alimosho as it had the correct feedstock and would have a significant positive impact on the local community. It was an agreed location between the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and us.

WestAfricaENRG also adopted the Compassionate Orphanage in that area…

Yes, as a company and for any business, it is important to be a part of the community in which you work. The support of the Compassionate Orphanage is our way of giving back to the less fortunate members of the community. Although our business has to be commercially sustainable, we must also be sustainable within the environment we work. Without that support, we would not be commercially sustainable.

Of what use is the recycled waste at this facility?

The product we collect from the municipal waste has lots of uses. The paper for instance, is sold to make tissue paper, the PET Bottle are sold for conversion to fibre for pillow or cushion and also for synthetic cotton for clothing. The other plastics are sold for many varied products, even for making suitcases in Abia. We have fared well, our operations are continuing to improve and we expect 2016 to be better. Our operations will move to a double shift by February and we are employing 200 more people.

In terms of waste conversion to energy, how much waste is required on an average, to serve a place like Alimosho, for instance?

Waste conversion to energy can be done in many ways. Burning is one way most people are familiar with, but it is generally accepted that the emission from such

Nigerian Tribune

Do you think the waste we all create can power every home in Nigeria?

No, the Nigerian demand for energy is massive and that is part of the problem. Fossil fuels still have a very important role, but I would expect diesel and PMS to become much less a part of the energy mix, and more renewable energies and gas.

The generation of power is not difficult, even in Nigeria. The challenge for any country and particularly those in hot temperate climates is distribution; chronic underinvestment and chronic technical challenges make the national grid network very challenging in West Africa. It is my opinion that more localised grid networks are the way forward and I believe a lot of developed economies are going to move toward more local networks using renewable energy as their fuel.

Paris Agreement will be very hard for Africa, but not impossible — O’Callaghan operations are potentially hazardous, and having to deal with the ash is a problem.

But for us as a business, the conversion to energy is low, so we do not think that method is commercially viable. We prefer a process of thermochemical decomposition, which heats the waste to such high temperatures in the absence of oxygen that it generates a gas, which can then be used to run the power generators.

As a rule of thumb, 1 tonne of dry municipal solid waste will produce 1MwHr of power. Based on our feasibility study and detailed waste characterisation, we would expect to run a 16Mw IPP for the Alimosho area, that would be enough to fuel the Alimosho General Hospital, including the new nursing home for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We are convinced that you have to start with the children, get them to focus on the environment at an early age and you have a captive audience for life.

Another phase of the project is supposed to focus on production of compost. How has the facility fared in this regard?

The compost, often referred to as organic fertiliser is perfect for lawns, parklands and agricultural use. Critically, organic fertiliser is designed to arrest the impact of desertification, as the nature of the compost retains the water in the soil for longer, and is 100 per cent natural. We are yet to start this phase, but we are at the early stages of planning.

How do you sort the waste? Is the waste needed for generating energy different other wastes?

The waste is sorted in the first instance mechanically, which removes all the heavies. We then sort them manually into the valuable fractions such as plastics, paper, metals etc. The waste for generating electricity is the non-recyclable material or materials where the cost of cleaning the waste is greater than its commercial value.

Regardless of that, we remove all of this from the municipal solid waste which we receive from the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators.

How would you rate Nigerians, especially Lagosians’ attitude towards waste disposal?

Like many large cities in developing economies, Mumbai, Delhi etc, waste collection is the priority, and not the sanitised disposal of the waste. If one was to examine the Environmental Days, it is obvious that Lagosians have a very positive attitude toward waste, but throwing of the single

Although waste generation is paramount to the company’s existence, do you educate people to reduce their waste?

Yes we do. It is a paradox to us too, that as a company we do try to get people to reduce their waste generation. A part of my job which I enjoy most is the school visits.

We host schools and give them a tour of the factory and show the products the waste is converted into and educate the children in the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

We are convinced that you have to start with the children, get them to focus on the environment at an early age and you have a captive audience for life.

What strategies would you recommend to African nations to keep up with the Paris Agreement of keeping a global temperature rise at no more than 2 degrees Celsius?

The Paris Agreement is going to be very hard for Africa, but not impossible.

Although I really know most about West Africa, I think the same issues apply for Africa generally, and the challenge for Africa is the population growth, which is going to be very large over the next 30 years.

Nigeria itself is projected to be the third Continues pg29

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Thrills as Kids Clean Club celebrate Xmas

By Doyin Adeoye Aimed at teaching cleanliness and eco-friendly practices in the yuletide season through games and fun activities, the Kids Clean Club, a non-governmental and pro-human organisation, recently organised a Christmas party for its members.

With a vision to promote a cleaner and more habitable world, the Kids Clean Club instils in every child, the trait of global cleanliness, global safety and patriotism, while reaching every home, school, and religious institution through the children.

Held at the Kids Beach Garden, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, it was a colourful event with beautiful Christmas decorations made out of tyres, bottles, paints,

linen and bamboos. The children also engaged in waste collection from the shores of the beach, separated the waste at the waste collection area on the beach and handed some of the sorted waste like PET Bottles to the beach’s recycle partner, Recycle Points.

The initiator of the club, Doyinsola Ogunye, noted that “The Kid’s Beach Garden provides the platform for children to learn about ocean conservation, plant trees, beach flowers and create their own garden space.

Through this, they also have the opportunity to learn about plant life, create art work and craft from recyclables and sea shells. The garden offers children ample space to play around, enjoy the sea breeze, be creative through the

use of recyclable and earth materials in the garden,” she said.

As part of the highlights of the event, the children were taught the danger of indiscriminate disposal of waste, environmental benefit of waste sorting, personal cleanliness, various methods of environmental protection like recycling, conserving energy and reduction in the amount of fossil fuel burn.

The event played host to the first runner-up of Miss Nigeria USA 2015, Miss Wuraola Kolawole, who also charged the children on the need to protect their environment.

Full cold moon brightens up Christmas day Christmas Day was lightened up with a rare full cold moon, first time it has fallen on December 25 in 38 years, and it will be the last until 2034.

It peaked Friday morning at 6:11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The Christmas full moon historically happens every 19 years, but because of differences in the

Paris Agreement will be very hard for Africa, but not impossible

•Won’t happen again until 2034 luna cycle and the calendar, the 1996 event fell a night earlier, on Christmas Eve, Daily Mail said.

In a blog post, Nancy Neal Jones, from the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland said: “As you gaze up at the Christmas moon, take note that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a spacecraft currently orbiting Earth’s moon.”

NASA’s John Keller added: “As

we look at the moon on such an occasion, it’s worth remembering that the moon is more than just a celestial neighbour. The geologic history of the moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the moon.”

2015 has been an incredible year for lunar events, including the rare supermoon lunar eclipse in

September.

The space agency has also created a ‘Dial-A-Moon’ tool where users can type in a date to see an image of the moon’s phase on that particular day.

For instance, on Christmas Day 2016, the moon will be 252,158 miles (405,810km) from Earth, with a position angle of and a phase of 16.2 per cent, making it a waning crescent.

— O’Callaghan

Continued from pg28

most populated country on the planet, so to grow and manage an economy to support all those people and restrict environmental impact is a big task for anyone.

But I see it as a huge opportunity to the green economy and if done correctly from people within Africa, Africa can lead the way with China, India and Southern American countries on renewable energy and climate change.

The first strategy I would recommend is to take it seriously.

Climate change is happening and needs adaption methodologies to restrict the impact on the most vulnerable. The fact it is happening is not debated, only the causes of it are still proving contentious. Also, another strategy would be to act collectively. This is global problem and on the continent of Africa, it is an African problem, not this country or that country, so I would recommend a transfer of ideas and technology within the African Union.

The third strategy would be to collect data, data and more data.

African countries need to know their starting point and therefore measure the impact any action is having. Finally, African nations should be brave and solve what they can solve; they do not need to be overly ambitions, but to be brave in the projects, their thinking and facing the challenges.

Americans use more electricity for just Xmas lights than some developing countries do all year Americans use more electricity for their Christmas and holiday lights than some countries do all year, according to a new report.

The Centre for Global Development (CGD) says the amount of electricity used for holiday displays is more than developing nations, such as El Salvador, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal, or

Cambodia, use in a whole year.

The finding is based on a 2008 study which found seasonal lights account for 6.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumption every year in the United States.

But that figure amounts to just 0.2 per cent of the country’s total electricity usage.

Still, it could run 14 million

refrigerators.

According to the CGD, lights at home are the most visible use of electricity, but are actually just a tiny fraction of energy families use.

For American households, lighting alone accounts for 14 per cent of the total electricity consumption in a residence.

Culled from DailyMail

China unveils its first robot weather presenter Xiaoice is Microsoft’s latest piece of artificial intelligence.

She has a cute voice, can instantly comment on weather data and big news events, and now, she has a job on morning TV. The Chinese live programme, ‘Morning News,’ introduced the AI recently, making Xiaoice the first robot to take on a job of this kind.

Her voice sounds more like a human’s than any other AI’s to date and Xioice’s success now has people questioning the future of their careers.

Morning News has added the robot software to their live broadcast line-up, and as a ‘trainee anchor,’ she will deliver the weather forecast every day.

While Xiaoice is just making her Dragon TV debut, she gained previous popularity on interactive platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and JD.com.

Using deep learning techniques through Smart Cloud and Big Data, Xiaoice will be able to analyse weather data while giving a live broadcast.

The project is a collaboration between Microsoft Applications & Services Group East Asia and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) TV News Centre.

“Over the recent years, SMG has been constantly committed to sustainable growth of integration and transformation, with great sincerity and openness to embrace the Internet. It’s a brand new attempt for us to join hands with Microsoft in artificial intelligence,” says Jiongming Song, Director of SMG TV News Centre.

In July, Xiaoice was launched in Japan, and reached one per cent of the total population in just one week.

Now, researchers are saying this software will soon be making its way to the United States and other regions.

After her TV debut on December 22, people have begun to worry that their job may soon be lost to robots.

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politics&policy

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

Plateau: Uproar over state cabinet ISAAC SHOBAYO captures the situation within the power blocs in Plateau State, over the appointment of commissioners by the state government.

A

FTER months of suspense, Governor Simon Lalong of Platuea State has finally sworn in 17 commissioners. He had kept everybody, mostly members of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) guessing on the likely names that would make the list of his commissioners. Many were astounded, especially with the designation of the state deputy governor, Professor Sonny Tyoden as the commissioner in charge of tertiary institutions in the state.

Before the list was made public, a lot of party faithful had hoped that their candidates would be among the commissionernominees. Various interest groups in the APC had equally lobbied for their principals to make the list based on their contributions to APC at the poll and for given the party a life line on the Plateau. While the lobbyists stepped up their campaign, the governor and members of his kitchen cabinet kept other stakeholders guessing. Neither did the governor give any clue about the yardstick for the appointments. So, the list has triggered a chain of negative reactions among the stakeholders. Apart from open protests, some have sent written petitions to protest against some of the nominees prior to their being sworn in.

Some petitioners said the appointments did not reflect the yearnings and peculiarities of the state. In Jos North local government for example, there is schism against the choice of Mallam Nazif Ahmed, on the premise that his appointment negated the principle of fairness and equity. This is in view of what they consider as the prevailing political situation in the troubled council area.

The protesters alleged that the government had sidelined other ethnic communities such as Afizere, Berom, Anaguta and others in the scheme of things. They contended that the Hausa community, which Ahmed represents, had earlier produced Secretary of Jos North local government and deputy Chief of Staff to the governor.

However, a source said the three appointments from the Hausa community were in appreciation of the support of the people to the APC during 2015 presidential and gubernatorial elections. According to the source, the chunk of votes from the local government for APC came from the community. But, a prominent member of Afizere community, who craved anonymity, angrily said: “The action of the governor is not fair. Since there is no major appointment left for him to make, it means we may not have representatives in the state executive council for the next four years.”

There are those who also perceived the appointment of Ahmed as a paradigm shift. In the history of Plateau, particularly

Lalong

The action of the governor is not fair. Since there is no major appointment left for him to make, it means we may not have representatives in the state Executive Council for the next four years.

in the political dispensation, it is the first time the Hausa community will be given appointment as commissioners. It is seen in some quarters as a means of promoting peace and pacifying the community who has been craving for recognition and inclusivity. Ironically, the appointments has created a new wave of eddies among the different ethnic groups that make up the cosmopolitan city.

In Kanke local government, the appointment from the area was also received with mixed feelings. There are those who lauded the appointment of Mrs Tamwakat Weli as a commissioner from the local government. Others perceived it as externally induced, hence it is an imposition. An indigene of the area, Thomas Danladi, who is also a prominent member of APC, claimed the woman was not known in the politics of

the state or the local government. He also alleged that she did not known to have contributed to the evolution of APC as a formidable party on the Plateau.

There were protests also in Qua’Pan, Langtang North and Kanam local government areas over those appointed form the councils. But the petitions were said to lack merit.

Contrary to the insinuations in certain quarters that some of the appointments were based on mere sentiments and not in any on the basis of political patronage, the governor during the swearing in of the commissioners, said they based on merit after wide consultations. He said his administration adopted a participatory and consultative approach in the selection of representatives into the government. According to him, the government ensured the expediency of power balance across board in the selection and appointments of commissioners. He stated: “Being a human process, it can definitely not be said to be perfect, but it represents in the fairness of our judgment; the best that can be obtained, given the different interests that must be put into consideration to guarantee stability in the governance process, as we considered the board spectrum expectations of our citizens, who are by right, very critical stakeholders in the Rescue project of the APC government.”

The governor, who said the commissioners were products of wide consultation, stated that they were appointed in collaboration with all stakeholders in the rescue project in forging a platform for the delivery of the dividend of democracy and the promises made to the people of Plateau.

Lalong appealed to those whose expectations were not met in the composition of the State Executive Council not to bicker over the appointments but to pray for the success of the office holders. “As a democratic and responsible government, we assure you that as much as humanly possible, we will continue to carry all segments of the state along as we carry out remaining appointments in the life of this administration,” he said.

In spite of the controversy surrounding the appointments, some analysts said the number of the commissioners was in tune with the economic reality in the state and a far departure from the past. According to them, it is the first time in the history of the state that the number of political appointees especially, commissioners will be pegged at 17. Nonetheless, there are those who believe the new power structure may have left out some disenchanted members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state who had worked for APC during the last election with the hope of getting compensated through appointments. So, a source said the appointment was delayed for seven months to enable the authorities hold wide consultation, especially over the number of the commissioners to be appointed, coupled with the need to avert misgivings many the diverse power blocs in the state, especially in the governing APC.

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

What Buhari should do about fuel subsidy —Agbakoba A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), who had the cause to write a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on his thoughts on Nigeria, speaks on various issues of national interest, in this interview with some reporters. BOLA BADMUS brings these excerpts:

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HAT is your assessment of President Buhari’s government so far?

I have decided to use the opportunity of the end of the year to reflect back on how far our new government has settled down. We all know that there has been this state of anomie, nothing really was working in the minds of everybody.

The president, anyway, finally has set up a cabinet of basically technical people in my view, who have a strong mandate to deliver on infrastructure, the economy and preserve institutions. So what we now need to see, as they settle down into office is what will be the focus of the government, the agenda of the government, in the first quarter of 2016. There has already been a Supplementary Budget and the 2016 Budget is the highest budget ever which is oscillating between N6 and N8 trillion. The government said it will focus on primarily social- democratic issues that promote pro- poor policies. It has already got a huge chunk of issues to deal with benefits, that is giving money to the disadvantaged members of the society, the youth corps people, people who are unemployed, even though it is difficult to say how that will be aggregated, who and who are likely to be the beneficiaries of the 25million Nigerians targeted. How that will be arranged remains to be seen, but there it is.

Apart from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, this is the first time I am seeing a government based on ideology. Nigeria essentially runs a corporatist state policy, where the government favours the rich.

The departure here is that the government has identified itself as Left of Centre. So, this is the first time we have Left of Centre party, and anyone familiar with what the Left of Centre Party does will know that it delivers benefits at the bottom. And I have heard Vice President Yemi Osinbajo repeatedly say that, ‘We will legalise Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution.’

The chapter has those bundles of objectives and rights that are not enforced in court; that deal with social welfare, inflation, fighting corruption, health, and the like. It has not happened before. I think those are fantastic and lofty ideas that need to be supported.

What is your view on the war against corruption?

The war on corruption, even though, not well clarified in my view, is perhaps the most serious attempt to deal with people who have stolen public funds and even though it can still be better institutionalised. I think it represents the most farreaching and concrete attempt to tackle it (corruption). So it needs to be applauded.

In order to then shift the programme of government from Right of Centre to Left of Centre, you will have people. That is the main purpose of my concern. You will have people opposed to it. And it is not the common man that is opposed to it; it is often the elite. So, I have classified those people as the conspirators; those

Agbakoba who want business to continue as usual.

And I am here saying, I am an elite and that I suffered greatly from the impact of the tight foreign exchange restrictions.

Our law firm cannot remit funds. You can’t even believe it, we can’t even pay, we are owning like 500 pounds to pay for subscriptions. But that is a sacrifice that I am prepared to undertake because people have abused the system, and what they want is business as usual.

I am happy to have money. I am not happy to have it to the exclusion of 180 million Nigerians who are hungry. Why should I be a rich man, then everybody around me is poor? It makes no sense

What do you think the government is up to?

I think if you summarise what this government wants to do, mark you it has done it, so the jury is still out, I make no judgment as to whether the government has succeeded. I am simply making comments that if we review where we are and compare it to the government of the past, what are we likely to say? I will say without any equivocation that as a Left of Centre anyway, that has been my calling all through my public life. I am a Left of Centre person, while I am happy to have money, I am not happy to have it to the exclusion of 180 million Nigerians who are hungry. Why should I be a rich man, then everybody around me is poor?

It makes no sense. So, if there is a process of equalising our natural resources, which is what the government intends to do, then I am the first to support it. But these conspirators, you will find them in both the APC and the PDP, and I can assure you that if there is a possibility of the PDP returning to power and there is very strong likelihood that it will succeed, 70 per cent of people in APC will cross over.

That is how non-ideological our political parties are. So, when you have parties that are not driven by conviction or ideology, but by their pockets, when they then see that what this government intends to do is to shut them out from the usual largesse

and patronage and pottage and mess and the ‘chop chop’ that they have been used to, they are not going to be happy. They are the ones that are making the President look bad. That is not to say that the President couldn’t have done things better.

For instance, the delay in appointing his cabinet, he ought to have been faster, the lack of clarification of what he (President) is doing. And that is why I don’t see why you have Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu as press secretaries. I don›t know why you have two press secretaries, it doesn’t happen anywhere else. So I would rather see either Femi or Garba, one as the press secretary reporting the President’s diaries, but the other one is reporting the government activities. If the government makes us believe it has recovered a lot of loot running to about N10 trillion, why don’t we know about it? So, the government has not communicated enough; it is that failure to communicate that gives the impression that people are not clear where the President is going. But because I am informed, I do know where the President intends to go, and I have made up my mind that we need to assist him, in reminding him of the need to communicate what he wants to do in a strategic way, create alliances to overcome the conspirators.

Continues

pg 32

32

politics

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

‘My take on pro-Biafra agitation’ Continued from

tion mark. So, we should encourage him; in fact, we should hold him accountable in all the promises that he made.

I remember when the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, was saying we didn’t say all of those things. We should hold him to account to say you said it. So let us hold the President to account that you got into office making a promise to us to deliver these things and we are waiting.

That I think is the message.

The other point, I think I wrote in the first letter to the President, whether they read through the letter is another issue.

All we can do is to keep talking; that is all we can do. If people had kept quiet then, Nigeria would have run aground. If I had kept quiet when (late General Sani) Abacha was boasting that he would be the presidential aspirant of the five leprous fingers of five political parties, who knows what would have happened? I determined to say something on 29th March 1998. I got a black eye, I have no regret and that started the process of saying Abacha cannot be the man to do this without opposition.

pg 31

What is your view on fuel subsidy?

US President Barrack Obama was faced with this challenge, when the conspiracy of the Republican Party wanted to prevent him from doing something so basic, that I can’t understand who will not support it.

That is allowing 17 to 20 million Americans access to cheap, free health, why must you oppose it? It was opposed by the Pharmaceutical Lobby who wanted medical cost to remain high. They didn’t want socialised medicine.

Here we tell the President: remove fuel subsidy. Economically, it makes sense.

In the context of wastage, it makes sense because if you remove it, you are likely to stop the leakage and the waste and the stealing that has been taking place. But must you throw the baby and the birth water out? To remove subsidy, we need to have multiplier effect on the economy, there is no doubt about it. Immediately you do that, the pepper seller in the market will increase price, and the beneficiaries or the person to be affected will be the very people the President swore an oath of office to protect.

So while I with all my economic sense would say subsidy should go, with my social service sense, I will oppose it. So there is a third way, the third way is to make sure it is done well. Is it difficult for the government to say I want to give every Nigerian a subsidy on fuel of N30 and will ensure that it is actually delivered? It is easy, so the fact that there is corruption in the subsidy process is not the reason for the new liberal argument that the World Bank is proposing to say subsidy should go, rather let’s find a way. Why can’t they tell us, let’s find a way to eliminate the corruption? And I am sure we have economic egg heads that can deal with that problem because the only problem that is rife is corruption, not that it is bad. If that is the problem, why don’t we encourage the President to reform the subsidy regime in a way that makes it possible to deliver it to the people.

I know that it is not possible here to deliver benefits in the way it is done abroad.

It is so simple abroad. Hope you know how it is done abroad? There is a Benefit Office and the system there is accountable and standardised and you can pin a person to his house. For instance, in my house in the UK, I am known by the house number. I will walk into a shop, they will demand for my postcode, and I will give it to them. They will demand for my door number, it would show. So, subsidy and benefits which the West makes us think is bad is delivered by them. They do it, but they deliver them directly. Any person above 60 years will at the end of the month gets a pay cheque through the post.

Unfortunately, we can’t do that because we don’t have any postcode. Why can’t we have a postcode? Are we that lazy and stupid and dull that Nigeria cannot have a postcode, where everybody is identified?

We’ve tried to mismanage our identity, I can assure that the money spent will reveal, you can go and check. The one spent

by NIMC is there, everybody wants to do his own identity. Road safety wants to do it, Police want to do it, NIMC wants to do it, National Population Commission wants to do it, INEC wants to do it. Why can’t we have a national postcode because if we have a national postcode, we will de-

Agbakoba liver benefits directly.

So, I don’t accept the argument that the only way to go is to remove subsidy because it is full of corruption. The way to go is to say Nigerians will suffer, Nigerians who earn less than the minimum wage which is N18,000, they will suffer if you remove this subsidy. Subsidy has been given a bad name, but they do it abroad all the time. The most expensive aspect of government in the UK is the NHS. No politician can stand and tell the English person that they will remove the National Health System, he will lose the election.

So it is time that Nigerians understand that they are entitled to benefits from government, that is why they pay tax.

It is high time we understood that all these arguments of removing subsidy are put up by the conspirators who benefit from rotten system. They want subsidy to go so that they can find ways of building refineries, and there is nothing wrong with that. Is it not surprising that in a country of 180 million people, we only have one Dangote, the guy is laughing all the way to the bank. He is saying those who want should come, he is not interested in government business, he is not a politician, he simply looks for the kind of things we are all hooked on and he delivers it to you and he has a Dangote Foundation and he is paying back. What of if all these charlatans who are in politics were to become Dangotes and we have between 200 and 500 of Dangotes, things would work? So, it is important to be behind this President and whether by key ones, if he fails to deliver, that is when we will challenge him.

But if he has even started and the conspiracy of the elite is saying to him, devalue the currency, allow us to trade in Forex, let us have the things as usual, then we will all be broke.

It is clear that the outgone government, even though a lot of them are my friends, they have one very clear type of economy they were managing. I want to see how the present Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, would do. But one thing that I like that she has done so far is the fact that she has introduced an Efficiency Unit in the

Ministry of Finance. For those who don’t understand what an Efficiency Unit is, the Efficiency Office ensures that government ministers don’t just keep shouting and don’t get things done, that is what she has introduced. Even the great Okonjo Iweala never did that. I personally had called for efficiency manager, as far back as 80s.

So, I have seen a few things that excite me but I remain cautiously optimistic, I would not say that I am overtly so because governments in the Third World have tended to disappoint. Look at the case of Venezuela and Yugoslavia, and all that.

Let’s back the President. So if a President comes and tells you, I am for you, and the other one comes and tells you, I am for rich men, who are you to back? You will back the one who says I am for you, so we need as a point of engagement to understand that the President has said he is for us. We also need to understand that he has not been clear in this message as I think he ought to have been.

Why should Nigerians hold Buhari’s regime accountable?

For instance, not many people will know that actually, this is the first Leftist Government. This is the first in the history of Nigeria, this is also the first government that has said we would support poor people and they have announced it, have they done anything? That is a ques-

What of if all these charlatans who are in politics were to become Dangotes and we have between 200 and 500 of Dangotes, things would work?

What do you think is the cause of pro-Biafra agitations?

All those Biafra agitators are due to the fact that they feel excluded. There has to be a policy to include everybody in the discussion. What they are asking for is ‘show me my room in the house, show me where I will stay. That is what they are demanding for. If I am a polygamous father, with children running into over 50, there will be a fight if all of us live under one roof and there are 10 wives and 50 children.

‘Show me my room,’ that is Biafra’s agitation, no more, no less, but they are being manipulated by the conspiracy of the elite.

Anytime you see a demonstration that is well planned, somebody is behind it because I have been inside it and I know.

Anytime you see demonstration, people are wearing something, red T-shirt and so on, somebody is funding it. Who is funding the Biafra agitation and to what end? What President Buhari needs to do is exactly what the late President Umaru Yar’Adua did. I think that has been the most economical masterstroke ever in Nigerian history. It resolved the Niger- Delta crisis so easily, and it is unbelievable.

It reached out, it developed a number of confidence-building measures to Atake Tom, Boy Loaf, and all of them and they dropped their weapons and embraced peace.

That can be done to Boko Haram, it can be done with the Biafra agitation. But, it cannot be done in the context of centripetal federal system where Abuja is the only landlord and local government chairpersons wait for the governors to come from Abuja and give them their allowance or allocation, and wait for another month.

That cannot happen. You’ve got to free the system. The system is under logjam, the system is so constricted like a boa constrictor, that nothing can happen at the state level or local government level .

So we need to see a new federal system.

And in doing so, we need to have a final conclusion to this process and I have recommended in my letter that the President should propose a Bill for an Act for the Union of Peoples and Nationalities of Nigeria and style this new nation the Union of Nigeria.

33

F

politics&policy

OR residents of Bayelsa State, Christmas celebration and plans for the New Year (2016) have only dovetailed into their individual arrangements for the rerun election coming up on January 9 in Southern Ijaw Local Government area and 105 polling units in five local council areas.

The poll remains a major subject of discourse among most citizens of the state capital, Yenogoa. Leaders of the two main parties: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have also kept the issue in the front burner through accusations and counter-accusations since the December 5 governorship poll in the state was declared inconclusive.

The PDP, though leading with 33, 000 votes, is not leaving anything to chance ahead of the January 9 rerun election in Southern Ijaw and the 105 cancelled polling units in the five LGA in the state.

PDP standard bearer, incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson, shortly after returning to the state from a stakeholders and political party meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), swiftly conveyed a meeting to re-strategise towards retaoining his seat come January 9.

The governor met with traditional rulers and youths of Southern Ijaw LGA, who re-affirmed their resolve to back him during the re-scheduled election. The youths, represented by the presidents of the various communities in Southern Ijaw LGA, at an enlarged meeting, based their support for him on the sincerity of purpose and sterling leadership qualities he has demonstrated in the almost four years of his being in office. They cited his strides in security, infrastructure and human capacity development, just as he urged them to consolidate on the 33, 000 votes he is leading with by voting massively for the PDP. Dickson told them that the party’s victory is not complete until the Southern Ijaw election is won.

Similarly, the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House Assembly, Rt. Honourable Kombowei Benson said Southern Ijaw was irrevocably committed to delivering its votes for the PDP. His position was corroborated by a former Niger Delta militant, Joshua Macaiva, who described Dickson as a visionary leader, who has distinguished himself in the art of governance in his first term. Also, the coordinator of the Bayelsa Volunteer Scheme, Mr Felix Bonny Ayah, lauded the governor for fulfilling his promise to incorporate the leaders of the youth organisations into the scheme. Dickson has also met with stakeholders in Ekeremor, where election will be conducted in 44 polling units, and charged the prospective voters to wait for their votes to be counted at the polling units.

On the other hand, the APC caucus in the state has met with stakeholders in the Southern Ijaw council, and 105 polling units where elections, with a view to strategically boosting their performance. APC stakeholders in Southern Ijaw Council had for the umpteenth time said the area was their stronghold and that this would be reaffirmed on January 9. They noted that the deputy governor candidate of the party, Chief Wilberforce Igiri was carefully named as Chief Timipre Sylva’s running mate in order to pull massive votes for the APC in the area.

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

As PDP, APC step up plans for Bayelsa re-run poll AUSTIN EBIPADE writes on the frenetic moves by stakeholders on preparations for the January 9 rerun governorship poll in parts of Bayelsa State.

Dickson APC state chairman, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe boasted that if election was done in Southern Ijaw over and over again, his partywould win convincingly. Ex-militant, Paul Eris (aka) General Ogunboss and General Africanus, have assured that the APC would with majority votes because Southern Ijaw Council was an APC stronghold. Aside, they claimed that Sylva had touched the lives of the people in Southern Ijaw positively and were ready to vote him to power again.

Blame game Nonetheless, claims and counterclaims have raged between the two main camps for the poll. The PDP reiterated that Dickson should have been declared re-elected, having won in six

Sylva out of seven councils’ declared so far

by INEC, even as they debunked the erroneous impression that the 33, 000 votes he is leading with had been cancelled. The PDP, through the Bayelsa Restoration Campaign Organization (BRYCO) Director General, Honourable Jonathan Obuebite urged the people to be wary of the antics of the APC to lure them into supporting Sylva.

Meanwhile, the APC Director General on Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba said the PDP was scared of the popularity of the APC, following the defection of some of its stalwarts to APC in the state. Egba said the PDP was aware of the pending wave of change in the state hence its desperation to cling to power.

Generally, the people are expectant, and preoccupying themselves with varying postulations as the countdown to the January re-run poll begins.

INEC Activities at the state INEC had ebbed after the poll was declared inconclusive, though the premises remained heavily guarded by riot policemen. The office of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner has been under lock, as well as other sensitive offices, but a staff of the commission, who pleaded anonymity, said preparation for the January 9 election would commence on January 2, with improved strategies to ensure that the body does not record another inconclusive exercise. He claimed that the challenged posed by the Smartcard reader machines had been addressed.

Security Sequel to the violence that marred the December 5 and 6 governorship election in Southern Ijaw Council, security operatives have become a constant feature. This is in spite of the governor’s appeal to the authority to relax security in the state so as to douse further tension. Riot policemen could be seen at every 10-minute drive on the major Mbiama/ Yenagoa and Isaac Boro roads carrying out stop-and-search operation. Generally, the people are expectant and involved in numerous postulations as the countdown to the January re-run poll begins.

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Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

inside

Femi Olukunle Coordinating Editor 08158610216

nigerdelta

Arrested Somrans VII vessel on parade at the NNS Delta, Warri.

Navy arrests 21 suspects, seize two vessels in 28-day crackdown

EBENEZER ADUROKIYA takes a look at the activities of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS DELTA), under the Central Naval Command headquartered in Yenagoa between November 15 and December 13 against crude oil theft.

It will be recalled that operatives of the Nigerian Navy, on November 15, had intercepted and seized MT Camille laden with about 4, 000 metric tons of substance suspected to be crude oil.

Aboard the vessel, no fewer than 11 crew members were also arrested in the vessel that measured about 106 metre long, which was still, as of Friday last week, lying with the stolen crude oil at the jetty of

the NNS DELTA in Warri.

During the parade of the 11 suspects and inspection of the intercepted vessel, MT Camille, which had no valid papers on November 26, Rear Admiral Suleiman described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the war against oil theft and its variants in the region.

But 28 days after the big arrest and interception, a vessel, similar in size and

T

HE interception of two enormously-large, crude oil-laden vessels on November 15 and December 13 near Forcados terminal in Delta State alone shows that the penchant for stealing crude oil is on the rise in the country in spite of the dwindling price of the product in the international market.

But in some sense, it also underscores the determination and new sense of direction being charted by the new crop of leaders currently manning the Central Naval Command, Yenagoa and the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS DELTA), Warri, in the persons of Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman and Commodore Raimi Mohammed respectively to curb the menace This is because before the inception of the duo, it could be said that not so much searchlight was beamed on the activities of large crude-oil-thieving vessels in the high seas, but this has definitely changed as the cartel is counting their losses and licking their wounds after the navy intercepted two large vessels laden with over 4, 200 metric tons of crude oil in 28 days!

mode, Somtrans VII, was also intercepted at the same Forcados terminal where the former was intercepted while siphoning crude oil.

Forcados, the base of oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, is near the Atlantic Ocean, making it easy for thieves to ferry stolen crude to neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Ghana.

Somtrans VII, when she was caught, was being laden with over 670 metric tons, equivalent of about 100 trucks of substance suspected to be crude oil on December 13.

Similarly, 10 crew members, led by a captain, one John Fregene, were also arrested along the vessel, which measured 110 meters long-four metres longer than MT Camille.

Rear Admiral Suleiman, perplexed by the magnitude of their sizes, observed that the two vessels were specially designed for the siphoning of stole crude oil and diesel.

“We have arrested another replica of the boat arrested three weeks ago. The fight is real; we are going after the perpetrators and we will make sure we do not rest on our oars to achieve the zero tolerance in line with the directive of the Chief of Naval Staff.

“It’s an age-long business done with impunity. It is not easy to stop it abruptly.

But the way we are going, stage by stage, we shall reduce it to the barest minimum.

Suleiman said the vessel, at International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is called African Sky, disclosing that she was back at Forcados terminal to fill up when she was arrested.

From close observation, getting a true confession from suspects caught in the act can be likened to the proverbial carmel passing through the eye of a needle.

Captain of the 11 crew members caught aboard MT Camille was incoherent when journalists took him on questions bordering on the alleged theft.

According to him, he had made about three trips conveying crude oil or refined product from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon, but on that occasion, the vessel was leaking and had run out of bunker and victuals, and was on its way to Forcados for assistance when they were intercepted by pirates and later, arrested by the navy.

Captain of Somtrans VII, John Fregene, on his part, said he was recruited on December 4, at Liverpool in Apapa, Lagos by one Mr Robinson having been jobless for over eight months.

He said he was hired and detailed on how to sail the vessel that night of December 13 to Calabar for a routine maintenance when Mr Robinson, the manager, redirected him to head the vessel to Forcacontinues pg35

CREW

Dapo Falade -Port Harcourt 08078891924 lasep09@gamil.com

The suspects caught aboard MT Camille laden with crude oil at Forcados terminal on parade at NNS Delta, Warri

Ebenezer Adurokiya -Delta 08060113609 ebenezeradurokiya@gmail.com

Multiple pipeline spills in NACA, SURE-P target 5,000 in free Bayelsa caused by third party —Surveillance HIV screening —pg35

contractor

—pg35

Banji Aluko - Edo 08067030572 adebanjialuko@yahoo.com Alphonsus Agborh 08035838703 Austin Ebipade - Bayelsa austinebipade@gmail.com

35 insidenigerdelta

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

NACA, SURE-P taret 5,000 in free HIV screening outreach in Bayelsa •It would reduce surging prevalent rate —Health expert Austin Ebipade-Yenagoa

S

EQUEL to the surge in the prevalent rate of those infected with the dreaded HIV/AIDS pandemic in Bayelsa State, health workers in the state have applauded the intervention of NACA and SURE – P towards a four-day free HIV screening outreach to provide care, drugs and support for victims in the state.

At the BDGS Ovom, venue of the exercise, Dr John Amaebi said the intervention was timely, because after the mega three arms road walk against the HIV/AIDS in 2007, successive government had only paid lip service to action plans targeted to combat the virus in the state.

He posited that beyond the upland, the prevalence rate was also high in the coastal communities, where casual sex booms with little or no recourse to the usage of condoms.

Amaebi averred that the high rate of polygamy in the coastal communities with no formal education of healthy living and marital fidelity was also responsible for geometric increase of the virus in the rural communities.

He also noted that the campaign against the dreaded pandemic had nosedived in the coastal communities, and that it had also increased the prevalence rate of the virus amongst adolescence in post-primary schools.

Amaebi regretted that several fan clubs,

including the HIV/AIDS fan clubs in postprimary schools, had been rested, owing to lack of political will by successive governments to support the campaign and advocacy outfits in the schools.

He noted that it was time for institutions in the state to be re-invigorated to fight the pandemic, especially through proper behavioural pattern, such the abstinence from casual sex, sex with multiple partners, sharing sharp objects such as blade, clippers used by infected persons and the adherence to use of condom during intercourse.

He reiterated that owing to the sensitisation by NACA/SURE-P, public screening and test outlets that were non-functional would be re-opened in the state capital, Yenagoa and in the coastal communities in the state.

Continuing, he posited that several counselling centres had fixed dates to re-open and begin to deliver service to the public as well as other medical services to redress other ailments such as malaria, dysentery, and diabetics, amongst others.

The National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA), on Sunday, commenced a free HIV counseling, testing and medical outreach targeted at covering 5,000 beneficiaries in the state.

Addressing the combined medical team at BDGS, Ovom community in Yenagoa, Dr Rosemary Adu, Head of SURE-P unit

FOC, Central Naval Command, Yenagoa, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman and Commander, NNS Delta, Wari Naval Base, Commodore Raimi Mohammed addressing journalists on top of the arrested Somtrans VII vessel in Warri last Friday.

of NACA, said the team would render free medical services for the next four days in Yenagoa Local Government Area, and experts would step down exercise to the coastland communities in the state.

According to her, the agency was collaborating with the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme on the scheme in 30 states of the federation.

She explained that the programme was a component of the Presidential Comprehensive Response Plan to test 50 million Nigerians for HIV between 2014 and 2015.

The plan, she said, included free medical care for multiple diseases including Malaria, diabetes and hypertension as well as HIV treatment to an additional 600,000 HIV

Navy arrests 21 supsects, seize two vessels in 28-day crackdown continued from pg34

dos to load diesel.

But at Forcados, he realised that what was being loaded into the vessel was “black oil” and not diesel as earlier detailed by his boss, Robinson.

Other members of the crew gave similar confessions, all feigning ignorance of the actual name of their employer and the name of the company they were working for and knowledge of what their assignment was before they set out.

Jacob Ojugbele, the chief engineer of the vessel; Felix Okoh, the cook and Adela Sunday, a sailor, all said that they were not aware they were heading to steal crude oil in the creeks.

Speaking on the activities of his men in recent times, Commodore Mohammed disclosed that between October 28 and December 14, 4, 200 metric tons or 4.2 million litres, equivalent of about 1,000 trucks of crude oil, had been intercepted by the navy in the waterways in Delta State alone and now in the custody of the Navy.

He added that 221.1 metric tons of diesel and 7.8 metric tons of kerosene was also recovered from oil thieves between October 28 and December 14.

According to him, in line with the established instruction from the Chief of Na-

Multiple pipeline spills in Bayelsa caused by third party —Surveilllance Contractor Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri MULTIPLE oil spills have occurred along a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) at Kalaba/Ayamabele and Akumoni communities of Okordia Clan, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the ravaging multiple oil spills occurred between November 2 and 3, 2015, from about 12 ruptured points on the pipeline.

The breached points on the pipeline were said to be discharging crude oil into the environments of the communities destroying flora and fauna.

It was learnt that fear of the outbreak of spill-related epidemic had gripped the people as the impact of the incidents was spreading fast within the swampy environment aided by the current floods.

The incidents were reportedly caused by a third party interference following alleged non-payment for clean-up jobs by Agip.

A pipeline surveillance contractor and immediate past youth president of Kalaba community, Joel M. Joel, confirmed the spills and said the communities had been having challenges with the company.

“We have a lot of challenges from Agip.

And we have attempted to address so many of them, but no positive results yet.

“Last time, we received information from our surveillance guards. I am a surveillance contractor also. Our boys went to the pipeline and returned with reports that some persons from one community in Okordia who are also landlords of Agip went to the pipeline and vandalised Agip pipe up to 12 points”, he said.

Joel complained that since July this year when some surveillance contractors carried out a clean-up job in impacted area, Agip, after clamping, had not deemed it necessary to pay them.

He said: “Now, one thing of concern is that, since July, 2015 till now, Agip has not paid the surveillance contractors, especially those from Ayamabele and Kalaba; even though those of Akumoni are saying they are suffering the same fate.

“Those who caused the spills last time have gone back for a second attack on the pipeline because nothing happened when they carried out the first one in July, 2015.

“And this time around, from the information our workers brought from the field, the saboteurs have damaged about 12 points on this line again; more than the

positive patients across the country.

Adu said that NACA was working at reducing new HIV infections and combating stigmatisation of HIV infected persons.

Adu noted that some 1000 persons had so far been tested for HIV and provided medical care for other health conditions like malaria, hypertension and diabetes.

Mrs Ebi Sunday, one of the beneficiaries, commended the Federal Government for the free medical scheme and urged the organisations to sustain the exercise and make it frequent.

Also, Mr Joe Samuel, who benefitted from the medical service, said he received medications after seeing a medical doctor.

first attack, all because nothing happened to them when they attacked months ago.

“It is from this premise that we (surveillance contractors) feel that unless we take certain steps, things will get worse and Agip won’t be happy with us. So, we informed Agip about the latest development”.

Another pipeline surveillance contractor, Udoji Akumundu, who corroborated Joel, said the gun-wielding youths were still laying ambush for any ‘intruder’.

Efforts to get the reaction of the state Commissioner for Environment, Inuro

Another contaminated water from the oil spillage.

val Staff (CNS), 945 metric tons of crude oil and over 18 wooden boats, popularly called Cotonou boats, were destroyed within the period under review.

He also disclosed that no fewer than 12 flying boats, nine outboard engine of various capacities and over 40 suspects had been arrested between the time frame, adding that 11 of the suspects had been offered bail after three sponsors of the crime had been arrested and now cooling off in the cell at the naval base.

Mohammed noted that in spite of the seeming concentration on bigger oil thieves in the high sea, his command was still putting an eye on local ones engaging in illegal refineries in his area of responsibility.

“Within one and a half month, we have achieved so much that not much is taking place again in the creeks as regards illegal oil bunkering. We have not stopped destroying illegal refineries. We are still going round to raid places we had raided before,” Commodore Mohammed warned.

Given the scenario, it is obvious that security agencies, particularly the navy, should be further equipped for the job and their welfare well taken care of if they must not compromise the fight against the big cartel deeply enmeshed in the economic sabotage.

Wills, proved abortive as calls placed to his mobile phone could not connect.

Reacting to the development, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth said it was instructive to caution community youths against attacking oil facilities to avoid self-inflicted injuries.

“What is at stake whenever there is any spill incident are their environment, health and livelihood. This is in addition to loss of production and revenue to the owners of the damaged facility and government”, said Alagoa Morris, Head of ERA/FoEN in the state.

36

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Edited by: ‘Gbenga Opadotun olojaekuro@gmail.com 08037149731

Sokoto: Cattle rustlers kill 2, set houses ablaze

T

he Sokoto State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two persons by cattle rustlers in Kamarawa village, Isa Local Government Area.

The command’s spokesman, Mr El-Mustapha Sani, confirmed the deaths in an interview with newsmen in

Sokoto.

“I can authoritatively confirm the attack by the hoodlums at around 8.00 p.m. leading to the death of two persons, while two others were injured.

“The rustlers who also burnt several houses, carted away motorcycles and several livestock ranging from

cows, sheep, as well as donkeys,” he added.

The police spokesman further said that the hoodlums arrived the village on motorcycles, armed with dane -guns and other deadly locally-made weapons.

Sani also stated that the state police command had concluded arrangements to

NEMA urges LGs to evolve functional disaster management mechanism The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged states and local governments to evolve functional disaster management mechanisms in addition to ``an effective and functional emergency management agencies.”

The Director-General of the agency, Malam Muhammad Sani-Sidi, made the call at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

“We must at all levels of government have a functional arrangement or mechanism to manage disaster.

“We must have an effective and functional State Emergency Management Agency at the state level.

“An agency that is well funded, well equipped; and then you must also have a similar arrangement at the local government level, so that the coordination will be seamless.’’

According to him, disaster management is multisectoral even though NEMA has the responsibility to manage disaster in all ramifications in the country.

“We have all agencies of government that have one responsibility or the other in the management of disasters.

“We have clusters; we have sector leaders; like in education, if you have IDP children schooling in the camps, we have Ministry of Education as a lead sector.

“If you have health challenges, we have Ministry of Health leading that sector, so it is multi-sectoral.

“So, when people talk about disaster management, it is not just limited to NEMA as an agency of

government. NEMA is the coordinator,” he stated.

On climate change, he said the phenomenon was a reality, saying that the best way to handle the issue was to develop and adapt a feasible strategy.

“Every country, every region on this planet will be impacted by the effect of climate change in one way or the other.

“Therefore, it is left for us to take action to miti-

gate and to adapt to climate change challenges.

“We must do the right thing to reduce the level of emission.”

Sani-Sidi said the major challenges facing NEMA in its operations were interagency rivalry and loose coordination.

He expressed confidence that the present challenges would be surmounted, with constant engagement with relevant stakeholders.

deploy more detachments of mobile policemen to the village.

“The gesture is to complement the efforts of the various crack squads of mobile police and military men who have been routinely patrolling the troubled area,’’ he explained.

In the same vein, the acting chairman of the local government, Alhaji Nasiru Bello, commended the police for taking proactive measures which greatly helped in restoring normalcy to the area.

Bello appealed to the command to permanently station a detachment of policemen in the village.

“The menace of cattle rustling has become too frequent in the area and other surrounding villages.

“The permanent deployment of the proposed detachment of the mobile policemen would greatly help in curbing the menace,” he said.

Gov Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State

Filmmaker declares aspiration for chairmanship seat A movie entrepreneur, Aquila Njamah, has declared his intention to run for the post of Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, under the aegis of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

Unveiling his campaign posters at 207 Road, Festac Town, Njamah urged his supporters to vote for him and promised to empower them, create jobs and focus on youths, women and the elderly.

Njamah, in an interview with newsmen said that about 75 per cent of the youths in the area were jobless and had taken to the streets.

“Right now in Amuwo Odofin, about 75 per cent of the youths are jobless; most of them have taken to sports betting and lotto and other vices.

“We have talented youths that are sports lovers, but there is no room for encouragement.

“The youths, I tell you, are the engine room of every society; if you empower them

early enough, a whole lot of things will go well,’’ he said.

Njamah added that if voted into office, he would encourage and work handin-hand with the Police and other security agencies, to curtail crime in the area.

He alleged that the previous government did not make security a priority, which was why criminal activities were on the increase.

The entrepreneur told newsmen that the cardinal duty of the police was to protect lives and property in the community.

He assured the people that he would regularly convene meetings with the police and other security agencies if voted into office, to ensure that they went about their jobs unhindered.

The moviemaker stressed that he would ensure that the entire streets were properly lit, saying when that was done, more jobs and companies will spring up and resume night shifts.

Njamah said that he was coming into governance with a creative mind, which

would impact positively on the areas that the previous administration failed to touch and harness.

He also said that his reason for joining the PDP was borne out of the idea that he supported former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, which provided him the platform to enter politics.

“My support for Jonathan gave me the opportunity and open doors to nurse this ambition; it was not a decision that came from nowhere, it was brewed, he stated.

The movie producer who is also a writer, said his friends and colleagues also strengthened his resolve to run for the chairmanship seat.

He told newsmen that he would support the creative industry, if voted into office, because there were lots of talented and upcoming artistes in the country.

“I will not leave filmmaking completely because it is my passion; it will even help to create more funds for my constituency and the economy”, he added.

Six LGs to enjoy N600m MDGs’ projects in Plateau The Plateau State Coordinating Office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to spend N600 million on projects aimed at improving the living standards of rural dwellers, an official has disclosed.

A spokesman for the office, Mr Chuwang Pwajok, told newsmen in Jos that six of the state’s 17 local governments would benefit from the projects.

Pwajok listed the projects to include public health care centres, hand pump boreholes, malaria treatment centres as well as classroom blocks with office and stores.

He said that the local governments were among those that had not benefited from projects executed in 2014.

“Some of the projects are being executed in arrears; we want to be sure that no one is left out,’’ he said.

Pwajok blamed the delay in the commencement of the 2014 projects to the late payment of the Federal Government’s 50 percent coun-

terpart fund meant for the 2014 MDGs projects.

He said the delay was actually caused by the electioneering campaigns in the build up to the 2015 general elections which ``practically grounded governmental activities to a halt.’’

“With the political dust now settled and the emergence of the new administration, the counterpart fund was released and the projects just kick started belatedly,” he said.

Pwajok enjoined the benefiting communities to look after the projects in their domain “with utmost care.”

“We have always told the benefitting communities to guard them jealously; we have told them to treat them as their individual property,’’ he said.

He advised the benefiting communities to seek assistance from their respective local government councils toward effective maintenance of the structures so that they would continue to benefit from them.

37

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

Coalition forces kill ISIS leader connected to Paris attack ISIS leader Charaffe al Mouadan, who the coalition said had direct contacts with the suspected ringleader behind the terror attacks in Paris, was killed by an airstrike in Syria on December 24, coalition forces announced on Tuesday.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who, CNN reported was killed in a police raid in the Paris suburb of SaintDenis last month, had direct contacts, the coalition The photograph shows Medecins Sans Frontieres Ebola treatment centre in the grounds of Donka Hospital, Conakry, in Guinea. PHOTO: said, with al Mouadan beREUTERS. fore the attacks took place,

Guinea declared free of Ebola virus that killed over 2,500

G

uinea was declared free of Ebola transmission on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still counting down the days until the end of the epidemic, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes 42 days after the last person confirmed with Ebola tested negative for a second time.

The country now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance, the United Nations World Health Organisation said.

The world’s worst outbreak of the disease began in Gueckedou, eastern Guinea, in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia, Sierra Leone and seven other countries. In all, more than 11,300 people died.

At its height, Ebola sparked fear around the world and caused governments and businesses to take precautions.

“I commend the governments, communities and partners for their determination in confronting this epidemic,” said WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti.

“As we work towards building resilient health care systems, we need to stay vigilant to ensure that we rapidly stop any new flares that may come up in 2016,” Moeti said.

People in the capital, Conakry, greeted the declaration with mixed emotions given the deaths and the damage the virus did to the economy and the country’s health and education sectors.

“Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors,” Fanta Oulen

Closed schools provoke fear of further radicalism in African countries — UN A United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report published this month states that a million children lack education as 2,000 schools have been closed in Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad, countries that have been suffering from the Boko Haram insurgency.

The military has been encouraging children who escaped after their schools were destroyed in Far Northern Cameroon to re-

turn. Some are seeking education in safer locations, VOA said.

Kwene Ekwelle, one of the senior commanders of Cameroon troops fighting the Boko Haram insurgency, pleads with villagers of Kerawa on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria’s Borno state to send their children to school.

He said the Cameroon military is meeting the villagers to assure them of

their protection from Boko Haram fighters and encourage parents to bring their children back to schools from where ever they are hiding.

He said they are fighting Boko Haram so that every Cameroonian child should go to school, every farmer should work freely in his farm and people should go around freely. He added that the villagers should have confidence in their military.

otherNEWS

Rallies mark end of Central African Republic election campaign Noisy rallies marked the end of campaigning on Monday by candidates in Central African Republic’s elections, aimed at restoring democratic rule in a country gripped by years of violence in which thousands have died.

Reuters said three of

the main presidential candidates organised slow-moving caravans in the capital Bangui with election banners and speakers mounted on trucks tailed by long lines of motorbikes to attract crowds and create buzz for their campaigns.

Martin Ziguele, former Central African Republic”s (CAR) prime minister and now a leading opposition figure in CAR.

which killed more than 120 people.

The coalition identified al Mouadan, 27, as an ISIS leader and one of 10 highvalue targets killed by coalition forces in the past month.

The coalition said he was actively planning more international attacks.

A source close to the investigation into the Paris attacks told CNN that al Mouadan was in touch with the Paris plotters days before the attack. The source said that investigators are still determining the role, if any, he played in the attacks.

The source said that one

Abdelhamid Abaaoud

of the surviving concertgoers at the Bataclan music venue told investigators that one of the gunmen asked another of the attackers whether he was going to call an individual called “Souleymane” as the attack was ongoing.

Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres Belgium (Doctors Without Borders), told Reuters.

German court sentences man to life in Rwanda genocide case A German court sentenced a Rwandan man already behind bars for his role in a 1994 massacre to life in prison on Tuesday after finding him guilty of the more serious crime of actively participating in genocide, Reuters reported.

Onesphore Rwabukombe, who has lived in Germany since 2002, was a mayor in Rwanda at the time of the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days.

Last year a court in Frankfurt ruled that Rwabukombe, a 58-year old ethnic Hutu, had overseen and assisted in the murder of at least 450 men, women and children at the Kiziguro church compound in east Rwanda, and sentenced him to 14 years in jail.

From left, Burundi opposition members, Ndikumana Delphine, Deputy Secretary General of the United For National Progress, Rwasa Agaton and Leonce Ngendawmana both members of the National Front of Liberation party, during Burundi peace talks.

PHOTO: AP.

Burundi govt rejects group representing opposition at peace talks Burundi’s foreign minister, Alain Nyamitwe has said that his government believes the talks in Uganda’s capital among Burundian rival parties, aimed at finding solutions to the country’s crisis, went well, even though no substantive issues were discussed, VOA reported.

However, Nyamitwe said his government was not pleased with the group invited to represent all oppo-

Turkey’s Erdogan to meet Saudi king in Riyadh Turkey’s president visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet with his Saudi counterpart for talks expected to focus on Ankara’s support of Riyadh’s military, VOA reported.

With Ankara facing increasing isolation in the region, Riyadh is seen as increasingly important

ally.

The Syrian civil war is expected to be on top of the agenda of talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman.

The two countries are among the strongest backers of Syrian rebels fighting Syrian Presi- Turkish President Recep dent Bashar al-Assad. Tayyip Erdogan

sition parties in Burundi.

He said with as many as 43 political parties in the country, it is not acceptable for one group to represent everyone.

In addition, Nyamitwe said, the group, CNARED, chosen to represent all opposition parties has been involved in violence and has no popular following.

“We would have hoped to have many more groups speaking.

Unfortunately what happened was that the opposition was given only one slot, and of course we were not happy about the group which was selected, we do not believe that it is a legitimate group because it doesn’t have that many followers in the country,” said Nyamitwe.

CNARED is a coalition that claims to uphold the Arusha peace accord that brought to an end Burundi’s civil war in 2006. It accuses President Pierre Nkurunziza of violating the Arusha agreement.

38 news

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Ogun assembly slashes 2016 budget by N74m OlayinkaOlukoya-Abeokuta

T

he Ogun State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, at its plenary pruned down the N200,2 billion budget presented by Governor Ibikunle Amosun by N74 million.

Nigerian Tribune recalled that Amosun had last month, presented the proposed N200,200,453,352.00 to the Assembly for passage into law.

The new budget size is N200,274,453,352 and was passed into law by the lawmakers for assent by the executive.

The passage of the Bill was sequel to the presentation of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation chaired by Honourable Akanbi Bankole, who later moved the motion for the adoption which was seconded by Honourable Rasaq Oduntan and supported by the whole house.

The Bill was thereafter, read clause by clause before the members by the speaker, Honourable Suraju Ishola Adekunbi and was passed with an amendment in recurrent expenditure of the estimates of the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Bureau of Tertiary Education as well as Signage and Advertising Agency.

Also, the revenue targets of the State Ministry of Information and Strategy, State Environmental Protection Agency, Judicial Service Commission, Corporation, Housing Hospital Management Board, Bureau of Information Technology and the State Hospital, Ota, were slightly adjusted.

The appropriation Bill allocated N89.908billion for recurrent, N11 billion for consolidated revenue fund charges, including pensions and gratuities, while N99.291billion ,was earmarked for capital expenditure.

Passing the Bill at the plenary, through a motion for the third reading moved by the Majority

Leader, Hon.ourable Adeyinka Mafe, seconded by Honourable Victor Fasanya and supported by the Whole House, the speaker, Honorable Suraju Ishola Adekunbi, ordered that the clean copy of the Bill be

sent to the governor for his assent.

In another development, the assembly has approved the request of the Governor Amosun seeking to appoint five additional special advisers to

Seven months after assuming mantle of leadership, the Taraba State governor, Mr Dairus Ishaku, has admitted that governance is not easy and requires cooperation from all to achieve success.

Ishaku, who made the observation during a Christmas parley with correspondents in his home town of Takum, noted that

mo, as the Chairman, while Honourable Mafe would serve as the deputy chairman. Other members of the board included the Minority Leader, Wale Alausa, Honourables Akanbi Bankole, Olayiwola Ojo-

du, Adebowale Ojuri, the Clerk of the House, Deputy Clerk and the Director of Finance and Accounts as well as his Planning Research and Statistics counterpart to serve as the Secretary.

Wada presents N74.9b budget amidst tight security YinkaOladoyinbo-Lokoja Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, on Tuesday, presented a budget of N74.9 billion for the 2016 fiscal year before the state House of Assembly.

Tagged “Budget of Consolidation,” the governor said the budget was less than the revised one of last year which was N88.6 billion.

The budget was, however, presented amidst tight security in the assembly complex following leadership crisis that has been

rocking the legislative arm of government in the state.

The heavy presence of security operatives in the complex was meant to halt any possible break down of law and order because of the factionalisation of the assembly.

The crisis has led to the emergence of two speakers who are laying claim to the leadership of the house.

However, presenting the budget in the chambers of the assembly, Wada said it was divided into recurrent expenditure of N45.3 billion

Okorocha proposes N102.2bn budget Joe Nwachukwu - Owerri Imo State government has proposed a total budget of N102.2 billion for the 2016 fiscal year.

The state governor, Rochas Okorocha, presented the budget, which he tagged, “Budget of consolidation and continuity” to the State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, for consideration.

The budget, he said, is lower than that of 2015 by N41.11 billion, which according to him, translates to 28.7 per cent.

The budget consists of N44.043 billion capital expenditure, representing 43.1 per cent of the total budget and N58.165 billion recurrent expenditure, which represents N56.9 per cent of the total budget.

Okorocha said that the projected recurrent revenue is N76.074,165,612, while the capital receipts stood at N26,134,316.419.

He said that the main objective of the budget is to satisfy the desires of the people of the state in line with the Rescue Mission

Programme of his administration which is to rescue the state from poverty, deprivation and under development and to launch the state into a steady path of sustainable economic growth and development.

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Federal Government Development Agenda and my current four-year-Development Plan (2015-2019), for Imo State, will provide appropriate strategies that will guide the implementation of the 2016 budget,” he stated.

He added that the overhead cost for the proposed budget had been projected to decrease by about 17.0 per cent relative to that of the 2015 approved budget, stressing that this is as a result of stringent measure taken to cut expenditure by ministries, department and agencies (MDAs).

In summary, Okorocha said that the recurrent expenditure is expected to reduce from N63.03 billion in 2015 approved budget to N58.17 billion in 2016 proposed budget given a reduction of 7.72 per cent.

Governance not easy —Ishaku SylvanusViashima-Jalingo

the state Executive Council to further strengthen the rebuilding mission of the current administration.

The speaker also constituted the Tenders’ Board Assembly with the deputy Speaker, Olakunle Oluo-

Nigerian Tribune

journalists had a key role to play in governance and must watch against the tendency to be unduly sensational.

“Governance is not as easy as one would see it. It is only when you actually come into it that you get to know the enormous challenges of governance,” he said.

“As journalists, you have a great responsibility to make governance easy for us through constructive

criticism and objective setting of agenda for us and providing the needed awareness of our policies.”

Ishaku, however, lamented that some journalists believe in being “unnecessary sensational to the extent that they raise issues that do not even exist.”

He further called on the media men to see themselves as part of government and key partners in development agenda.

representing 60.45 per cent and capital expenditure of N29.6 billion, representing 39.55 per cent.

A breakdown of the budget showed that N7.6 billion was earmarked for road construction and development, while N3.3 billion would be spent on health sector.

The governor also said government would spend N1.1 billion on the agricultural sector, while it is expected to spend over N2.3 billion on educa-

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tion, N2.2 billion on law and justice and N2.1 on water sector.

Wada said the 2016 budget was based on “our fair, sincere and frank assessment of the amount the state can generate as well as what is expected from the federation account and other sources.”

He expressed hope that the budget would create employment generation, create comfort on the people and provide conducive atmosphere for those com-

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We

ing to invest in the state.

The speaker, Honourable Momoh-Jimoh Lawal, commended the governor for the way and manner he had managed the resources of the state, assuring that the house would speedily pass the budget after scrutiny.

He expressed happiness over the robust working relationship between the legislative and the executive arm of government, hoping that it would be sustained in the years ahead.

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39

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I, formerly Miss Olowoyeye Boluwaji Grace now MRS. AGBOOLA MOBOLUWAJI GRACE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Kolade Folashade Aminat now MRS. USEIN FOLASHADE AMINAT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mr. Fasina Gbemiga Moses now MR. JESUSINA GBEMIGA MOSES. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olaoye Bunmi Rebecca now MRS. OLASUPO BUNMI REBECCA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Idowu Oladunni Jumoke now MRS. ADEDIRAN OLADUNNI JUMOKE. All former documents remain valid.

Union Bank, UBA Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

The names Maren Macham and Maren Macham Zachariah refer to one and the same person.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MAREN MACHAM ZACHARIAH. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

UBA and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Akinwumi Khadijat Omolabake now MISS AKINWUMI OMOLABAKE OLAITAN. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olufowobi Adunni Oyindamola now MRS. BRUCE ADUNNI OYINDAMOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Folorunso Ayobami Oluwaseun now MR. OLADOSUN AYOBAMI OLUWASEUN. All former documents remain valid. Bank and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Abdul Azeezat Olamiji now MRS. OSINOWO AZEEZAT OLAMIJI. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Oweiwari Onos now GEREGHA EBIKEBENA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Brisibe Sunday now BRISIBE STANLEY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Gift Onyinyechukwu Omenuwa now GIFT ONYINYECHUKWU CHIDOZIE UKOHA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Uzondu Nwaguru now GODSPOWER CHRIS NWAGURUM. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Akin Yinka M. now AKINMOYEDE OLAYINKA MOSES. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Omole Modupe Eunice now MRS. ALIMOT MODUPE ADENIYI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Miss Olalere Oluwasayo am the same person bearing Olalere Oluwasayo Elizabeth. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as MRS. JACOB OLUWASAYO ELIZABETH. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

SUBEB, Oyo State and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oladejo Kafayat Labake now MRS. ASIMIYU KAFAYAT LABAKE. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State Government and general public take note.

I, formerly Gift Olomu now OCHUKO OTITE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Dr. (Miss) Ogundipe Anifat Boladale now DR. (MRS.) IBRAHEEM ANIFAT BOLADALE. All former documents remain valid. Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and general public take note.

I, formerly Ramoni Momoh now ABDULAI RAMON ADELEKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Christopher Ihenseken Okosun now PAUL IHENSEKEN CHRISTOPHER. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Falua Olubukola Susan now MRS. ALEGBE OLUBUKOLA SUSAN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Azubuike Chidinma Chinyere now MUOKWE CHIDINMA CHINYERE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Kamaldeen Hanifat Adetoun now MRS. YISAU HANIFAT ADETOUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Okotie Victoria Onomen now EVANGELIST (MRS.) UKO VICTORIA ONOMEN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olaniyan Fausat Nike now MRS. ADENIRAN FAUSAT NIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss John Inikpi Blessing now MRS. EGBEJIMI INIKPI BLESSING. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Doye Oke now SOTU EJOVWO JUDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Princess Adesola Ige Sofumade now MRS. KAFAYAT ADE OLAIYA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oyeleke Rasheed Akinkunmi now OYELEKE QUAZEEM OLALEKAN. All former documents remain valid. NRC and general public take note.

I, Mrs. Leah Aina am the same person as MRS. BEATRICE ABOSEDE AINA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

RECONCILIATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Alo Olawale Olukayode now JOHNSON OLAWALE OLUKAYODE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Ahmad Rabilu now HARUNA TIJJANI SALE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Oluwakemi Funmilayo Daudu now MRS. OLUWAKEMI FUNMILAYO ABODUNRIN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Odeyemi Eunice Badesola now MRS. FALADE EUNICE BADESOLA. All former documents remain valid.

Oyo SUBEB, Saki West Local Government and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Osunwusi Abimbola Dasola Rita now MRS. OLASUPO ABIMBOLA DASOLA RITA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Laide Ganiyu now YUSUF AFEEZ. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Salawu Akeem Olalekan now AKEEM OLALEKAN FIJABI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, ABIONA INIOLUWA IYANUOLUWA am the same person as ABIONA INIOLUWA ONAOPEMIPO. All documents bearing these names remain valid. First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Roseline Uruemurho Diamond now CHARITY URUEMURHO DIAMOND. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Grace Mfonobong Adele am the same person as Grace Daniel Abasiama-Deekay, Grace Mfonobong Abasiama-Deekay, Grace Daniel Adele.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as GRACE MFONOBONG ADELE. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Idebi Inspiration Oluwabusola now MRS. ADEBOWALE I N S P I R A T I O N OLUWABUSOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ogundipe Adesola now MRS. IJI ADESOLA OLUWAYEMISI CHRISTIANA. All former documents remain valid.

NSCDC and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Osabinu Omowumi Funmilayo now MRS. OLUWASHINA OMOWUMI FUNMILAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Hamzat Aminat Oladunmomi now MRS. ADESUNWON ADENIYI AMINAT. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, Moes Gwakzing am the same person bearing Moses Duoglas Gwakzing. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MOSES DOUGLAS GWAKZING. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olowojaiye Comfort now MRS. OGAR COMFORT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Adewale Taiwo Olawumi now MRS. ADEKUNLE TAIWO OLAWUMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Opeyemi Sunday Omoniyi now ODEYEMI SUNDAY OMONIYI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Dickson Ijeoma Blessing now NWAGBARA IJEOMA BLESSING. All former documents remain valid. Osun State University, NSCDC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olubode Nurat Olufunke now MRS. ADEBAYO TAIWO OLUWASEYI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Shittu Mutiu Adebayo am the same person as Shittu Mutiu Adebayo and Rafiu Mutiu Adedayo. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as SHITTU MUTIU ADEBAYO. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Odofin Oluwaseyi Koyinsola now BAKARE OLUWASEYI KOYINSOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Sanusi Akeem Rotimi now SANUSI ROTIMI DAVID. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Austine Gboguwe now GBOGUWE EJOVWO AUSTINE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mr. Akande Memud Olaleke now MR. OLATUBOSUN MAHMUD OLALEKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Bashorun Risikat Olusola now MRS. ADEBANJO RISIKAT OLUSOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ogundipe, Martha Oluwanifemi now MRS. FARAYOLA, MARTHA OLUWANIFEMI. All former documents remain valid.

NMCN, LTH Ogbomoso and general public take note.

THIS BOX IS FOR SALE

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Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Salami may dump CHAN 2016 Ighalo gets Player of the for Euro Year award today move R Ighalo

RED-HOT Nigerian international, Odion Ighalo is among the sport personalities who hailed from Edo State to be honoured today at the maiden edition of the Edo Football Association Awards.

Ighalo who has 14 goals so far in the English Premier League for Watford is to get the Player of the Year award (foreign-based).

Also, reigning FIFA U-17 World winCup ner with record 10 goals, Victor Osimhen, is listed for the Young Player of the Year award, while former Enyimba coach, Kadiri Ikhana is to be presented with the Coach of the Year award by Edo FA. The event is scheduled to hold at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre, Benin City.

Chairman of Edo FA, Frank Ilaboya, said that the ceremony is organised to celebrate Edo State indigenes who have contributed to the growth and development of football in the state and beyond.

“Ighalo is very happy with the recognition from his state and even though he won’t be able to attend the ceremony because of the ongoing EPL season, his wife will receive the award on his behalf,” Ilaboya said in a release.

Others listed for various awards include the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) boss, Mr Pinnick Amaju (Football Personality of The Year); Chris Okaeben (Administrator of The Year), Austin Eguavoen; (Football Ambassador of Edo) and Otamere Nelson (Referee of The Year).

Also, veteran coaches Alabi Aisien, Sebastian Brodericks-Imasuen and Amodu Shaibu, alongside Abel Ehigie, Faith Irabor and Larry Izamoje, among others are listed for special recognition awards.

EIGNING Glo Premier League goal king, Gbolahan Salami is likely to opt out of next month’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) so as to sign for a club in Europe.

Reason: The Warri Wolves striker is the only player yet to rejoin the Super Eagles training camp in Abuja with officials suggesting he is in the process of completing a transfer overseas.

“We have 25 players in camp now with Salami the only player yet to rejoin the camp, it’s likely he is working on a transfer abroad,” a

Salami (left) on duty for Nigeria team official disclosed on Tuesday.

Salami was top scorer of the Nigeria league this past season with 17 goals and captain of the CHAN Eagles, but he has never hidden his desire to play in Europe.

Should he sign for an overseas club he will be ineligible to feature at CHAN because the competition is reserved only for players who are playing in their home leagues.

Already early this year, a move

to Serbia collapsed after Red Star Belgrade could not pay the former Enyimba striker.

The former Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) forward has also been linked with a move to Norway.

toria, South Africa on Saturday where they are expected to camp before moving to Rwanda for the tournament.

Zikiye feels the team is poised to perform better than what it

did at the last edition in South Africa in 2013.

“I’m positive about the Eagles making a good impact in Rwanda come January. I have confidence in the squad that coach Sunday Oliseh has chosen,” he told supersport.com.

“I haven’t seen them train but I know a lot of the players personally and I must say they are a good bunch because I have played against them.

“They can stand any opposition that come their way, I’m sure of that.”

The left-back, who did not make the cut for the team, says he will be cheering the team on when the tournament starts.

“Of course every player wants to play for his country and I’m no exception,” Zikiye said when asked how he feels being left out.

“Everyone cannot play at the same time. I will wait for my time but I will also be cheering the boys to win the title.

“I’m sure they will make us proud.”

... As Zikiye tips Eagles for glory DOLPHINS FC defender, Jonathan Zikiye says he is confident the Super Eagles will excel at the fourth African Nations Championship in Rwanda next month.

Nigeria begin its CHAN 2016 campaign against the Mena of Niger on January 18 in group C that also has Tunisia and Guinea.

The Eagles will depart for Pre-

From left, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Lasun Yusuf; victorious Olaide Fijabi (Fijaborn), presenting the national welterweight champion belt to a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi on Monday, in Ibadan. PHOTO: OLAWALE OLANIYAN.

47 tribunesport

Wednesday, 30 December, 2015

Taraba players get two-month salary

Adebayor boasts luxury watches worth over N189m C ONTROVERSIAL footballer, Emmanuel Adebayor may not seem to be in a hurry to find a new club, but he has found the time to accumulate a quite stunning collection of luxury watches that are valued at over £450,000 (about N189million).

The Togolese striker left Tottenham in September, but is still picking up £100,000-a-week in wages.

And Adebayor is wasting no time spending his earnings as he showed off his luxury collection of time pieces suped-up by New Bond Street jewellers Frost of London.

The watches - in a storage box- show different times because many are automat-

ic movement pieces meaning they require the owner to wear them to wind them up.

His diamond-encrusted collection has a combined value of more than £450,000 with watches by Hubolt, Jacob & Co, Audemars Piguet, deLaCour, Cvstos and Snyper.

The most expensive time piece owned by the former Manchester City striker is the Hublot Big Bang King Power Chrono Tourbillon, with a retail price of up to £100,000.

Posting alongside the picture of 12 high-end watches the striker wrote: ‘SEA, haters are gonna hate. Imma do me no matter what. The SEA collection by @josephfrostoflondon.’

Ronaldo will retire at Real —Agent

I was anxious to make 170th EPL clean sheets —Cech

ARSENAL’S Petr Cech is hoping to provide the perfect platform for the club to win the title after the goalkeeper celebrated a record by keeping his 170th Premier League clean sheets.

The 33-year-old surpassed the 169 shut-outs recorded by former England international David James as Arsenal beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Monday to go top of the table.

Cech joined the club in the close season following a trophy-laden career at Chelsea, having kept 162 league clean sheets over 11 seasons at Stamford Bridge.

“I have to confess that I started thinking about the record. The most important thing was to win the game and once we got the 2-0

Adebayor during his romance with Spurs.

Inset is his collection of luxury watches.

TROUBLED FC Taraba players were on Tuesday paid two of their 11-month salaries by the financiers, Taraba State government.

The financiers could not muster enough cash to offset the bill as agreed with the governor last week, but asked the distraught players to come back on Tuesday for the February and March 2015 salaries.

The state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports supervised the cash payment to the players with some ministry personnel.

Also, FC Taraba Queens, were paid two months’ worth of salaries.

The players of the mainstream side slept in the open for nine days while peacefully protesting against non-payment of their salaries.

However, only players who played a full season in the justended 2014/15 Glo Premier League season were paid two months salaries as opposed to those who joined the Jalingo outfit mid-season who got just one month worth of salaries - the same as players who played the first round before seeking greener pastures elsewhere.

The players were however, not told when the outstanding salaries will be paid as they left for their respective homes.

One of the players said they were helpless in the whole situation, but happy that at least there is little cash in their hands right now.

Cech lead and it was going towards the end of the game,” Cech told reporters.

“In the last 10 minutes, I was checking the clock. I feel really proud because I believe that this is the best league in the world and one of the most difficult leagues to play for a goalkeeper, and so to have achieved such a record is a great personal achievement,” the Czech Republic international added.

“What makes me happy the most, probably, is that these clean sheets have so far brought four Premier League trophies. So, hopefully, we will add clean sheets this season and we will celebrate at the end of the season. This is far more important.”

CRISTIANO Ronaldo will snub a Premier League return and end his career at Real Madird, his agent Jorge Mendes has said.

Rumours over Ronaldo’s future at Real intensified after the three-time Ballon d’Or winner reportedly told Laurent Blanc that he would ‘love’ to play under the manager at Paris SaintGermain.

French newspaper Le Parisien claimed that he added: ‘Your team play very well,’ after Real’s 1-0 win over PSG in the Champions League in early November.

But as Mendes picked up an award at Sunday’s Globe Soccer awards gala in Dubai, he emphatically revealed that his client will remain in La Liga with Real.

“He’s the best player of alltime,” Mendes told Sky Sports.

‘And I am sure that he will play the next four, five, six, seven years at Real Madrid; he will end his career there.

“He’s happy with Los Blancos; he’ll hang up his boots when he’s 40”.

Ronaldo

SIDELINES

NO 16,403

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N150

Unemployed Emmanuel Adebayor has been smiling to the bank every week with his £100,000-per-week wages from Tottenham despite his sack in September. In Nigeria, players of a premier league side had to sleep at the Government House for nine days in protest, before they were paid two-month salary in arrears. No wonder Nigerian players always prefer to play abroad, even if the leagues are small and uninspiring.

Barca: Messi sets for 500th appearance tonight LIONEL Messi is set to make his 500th appearance for Barcelona tonight against Real Betis - and that’s the story dominating the Spanish press.

Both Mundo Deportivo and Sport lead on the Argentine as he prepares to reach the milestone when Barcelona returns to La Liga action at the Nou Camp tonight.

Mundo Deportivo describe the feat as ‘500 magic nights’ for the most prolific player in the history of the club, while also using a picture of Messi posing with a special commemorative shirt.

Messi has scored 424 goals, won La Liga seven times and the Champions League four times during his Barcelona career, so it’s no surprise to see both publications highlighting the Betis clash.

And Sport probably sum up feelings around Messi the best, simply using the heading: ‘Y que cumplas muchos mas’, which translates as ‘and lets hope there will be more.’

Messi has won 26 pieces of silverware with the Catalan club and they are in a good position to add to that tally in the coming months.

FC Barcelona sits top of the league with a game in hand over second-placed Atletico Madrid and will also be confident of beating Arsenal in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Cup glory could also come Barca way with Espanyol still to play in the Spanish cup with the last-16 clash coming up in early January.

The Spanish league takes a break over the winter, but Messi has kept that winning feeling going by scooping the ‘Best Player of the Year’ award at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai.

Adebayor on Watford radar

Messi

I can’t fight for FIFA again —Blatter

B

ANNED FIFA president, Sepp Blatter feels “abandoned” by the global soccer body and will now focus on clearing his name, the 79-year-old Swiss told German magazine, Bunte.

FIFA’s watchdog last week banned Blatter and UEFA boss, Michel Platini for eight years for ethics violations. Both men immediately denied any wrongdoing and said they would appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“I now no longer fight for FIFA,” Blatter, who led soccer’s governing body for 17 years, said according to a preview of an interview with Bunte. “They abandoned me. I am now only fighting for myself and my honour.”

Blatter had come out swinging against the ban, holding a news conference to tell reporters that he was sorry only that the president of FIFA was being treated as a “punching ball”, adding: “I will fight for me and I will fight for FIFA.” He told Bunte that he was re-energized by the “false claims” against him. “After Christ-

mas I will start to fight back,” Blatter said.

The inquiry by FIFA’s ethics committee began after the Swiss attorney general’s office opened criminal proceedings against Blatter over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.03 million) payment to Platini in 2011.

Switzerland’s prosecutor is also investigating FIFA’s award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to Russia and to Qatar, a small, wealthy desert country with no real soccer tradition.

The ethics committee said it had not found evidence that the payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, constituted a bribe, which meant the men were spared potential lifetime bans.

In the United States, prosecutors have indicted 27 current or former soccer officials over allegations that they ran bribery schemes connected to the sale of television rights for soccer competitions. These include eight former FIFA executive committee members and the current heads of both the North and South American federations.

Blatter

CLUBLESS Emmanuel Adebayor has hired a personal trainer in his bid to get fit ahead of a January move, just as he has been linked with newly-promoted English Premier League side, Watford.

According to the sportmail, the Togolese striker is on the look out for a new club after leaving Tottenham in September.

Adebayor returned to England last month ahead of a potential move to a Premier League club, primarily one in London, in time for January.

However, the former Arsenal striker returned to Africa in order to maintain his fitness.

And the 31-year-old has appointed his own trainer to ensure he is in tip-top shape when he signs for his next club.

Adebayor is completing double sessions, focusing on fitness work in the morning before moving on to ball work in the afternoon.

The striker is hoping to relaunch his Premier League career next month after four months without a club. He was close to joining Aston Villa in the summer transfer window but decided against a move to the Midlands.

Tottenham agreed a severance package for the final 10 months of his £100,000-per-week contract in September after Mauricio Pochettino made clear he had no part in his plans.

And the forward has spent much of his hiatus in Africa, but has maintained his fitness ahead of a potential move.

Meanwhile, Watford which parades Nigerian international, Odion Ighalo is understood to be keen on having Adebayor in its fold.

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 30/12/2015.