Mon 05 Aug 2013

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Monday, August 5, 2013

Vol. 30, No. 12,639

N150

www.ngrguardiannews.com

S’South governors lead campaign for passage of PIB From Collins Olayinka, Abuja ELIEVING that the actualiB sation of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would guarantee them more resources, governors from the oil-producing states may have begun moves to persuade lawmakers from their areas to ensure its speedy passage.

The Guardian gathered in Abuja yesterday that those who are opposed to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, on the bill are now in two folds.

They are those who are looking for ways to ease her out of office in a possible cabinet reshuffle, and those disenchanted with certain provisions in the PIB seeking to CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Co-founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), IMPaC Offshore Engineering GmbH, Wolf-Dieter Longree (left) and Founder/President, Nestoil Plc., Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi, during the handover of documents for direct acquisition of IMPaC Oil and Gas Engineering Limited (Nigeria) by Nestoil in Lagos.

PDP, APC trade words over relocation of non-indigenes from Lagos - Page 2

Family of injured Rivers’ lawmaker petitions NJC From Kelvin Ebiri and Ann Godwin, Port Harcourt ORRIED that an injured W member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Michael Okechukwu Chinda, may not get justice in court, his family has petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC).

The family specifically alleged interference of the state Chief Judge, Justice Iche Ndu, in the matter involving the House Leader, Chidi Lyold,

• Accuses state govt, CJ of shielding Lloyd, obstructing justice • Chief registrar warns against involving judiciary in politics • Stakeholders urge Wike’s arrest, gov’s camp cautions Obuah who was accused of attempting to kill Chinda.

But the Chief Registrar of the state judiciary, Mr. Leonard Adoki, has cautioned politicians against involving the

third arm of government in their political crises.

A statement in Port Harcourt by the elder brother of the lawmaker who is currently undergoing treatment in

London, Mr. Evans Chinda, noted that the family resorted to the petition against the chief judge to ensure that justice was done in the case.

The statement further al-

leged that the state government was giving the impression that his brother was at fault and deserved the violence that Lloyd meted out to him.

In the petition to the NJC, Chinda raised the alarm over what he termed as glaring irregularities in the case since Lloyd was brought to court, stressing that the develop-

Mark, others mourn journalists killed in road crash - Page 3

ment justified their fear on the matter.

According to him, “both the Chief Judge and the presiding judge, Justice Letam Nyordee, are trying to defeat justice through the back door. Lloyd was brought to court on a six-count charge of conspiracy, attempted murder and aggravated assault, among others.”

Chinda regretted that the arCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

2 NEWS

PDP, APC trade words over relocation of non-indigenes from Lagos From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh (Abuja), Tunde Akinola and Tosin Fodeke, Lagos

* New party decries alleged politicisation of issue * Reverse policy, Babatope tells Fashola, Igbo groups give ultimatum

HE People’s Democratic ParT ty (PDP) has condemned the alleged forceful relocation of

campaign, which has triggered a vicious Lagos State/Yoruba bashing, is aimed at gaining an undue advantage ahead of the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, instead of being borne out of sheer altruism.” ‘’Equally guilty of indiscretion at best and deliberate peddling of falsehood at worst are the various ‘analysts’, ‘commentators’, out-of-luck NGOs and organisations that have jumped onto the bandwagon of Lagos bashing over the issue, mischievously tagged ‘deportation’ instead of what it is (home return for proper integration), when they could have sought the truth from the Lagos State Government. ‘’Even some of the respectable Igbo socio-political organisations failed the simple test of fairness by not unearthing the truth before making pronouncements. Even if they do not trust the Lagos State Government, they could have at least inquired about what happened from their son, who is a ranking member of the cabinet of Lagos State,’’ APC said.

Babatope said: “I have read all arguments on the deportation of some Anambra State indigenes living in Lagos State by the Fashola administration. I submit that the Lagos State’s action is highly unfortunate. It is undemocratic, illegal as well as being a grand assault on the fundamental rights of the affected Nigerians under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Governor Fashola must urgently reverse this disturbing policy with apologies to the affected Nigerians. Fashola has a good record of performance in office but his present action will destroy his credibility. All well-meaning Nigerians must denounce this obnoxious policy.”

A statement by South-East Ndigbo Lagos Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwafor, stressed that the illegal deportation, repatriation, relocation, or any

some indigenes of Anambra State by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Fashola administration.

However, the APC has described as a very dangerous game that could threaten the nation’s unity Governor Peter Obi’s alleged sensationalisation of the recent “home return of 14 (not 72 as widely claimed)” Anambra indigenes from Lagos.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said instead of reaching out to his Lagos counterpart as he has done on less important issues in the past, Governor Obi fired an “over-dramatised letter” to the Presidency and leaked such to the media, thus setting off an avoidable friction between the Igbo and the Yoruba that will not augur well for Nigeria’s unity.

Meanwhile, former Minister for Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, yesterday urged Governor Babatunde Fashola to reverse the policy. Also, South-East Ndigbo Lagos, an umbrella body of all the major market associations and Igbo professionals in Lagos State threatened to take legal and economic action against the government within 21 days.

A statement issued by PDP Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, yesterday described the relocation as “inhuman, abominable and callous”, as it was a violation of their constitutionally-guaranteed rights to reside in any part of the federation. The measure showed the wickedness of the APC-led government and portrayed the party as one with the agenda to promote sectionalism and stoke the fire of division among Nigerians, it claimed, adding that it was a dehumanisation of innocent Nigerians by the state.

APC, however, maintained that Obi’s “resort to media

of such similar treatment of Ndigbo anywhere in Nigeria is totally unacceptable.

They, therefore, urged Fashola to redress the unpleasant situation or else they would have no option than to “demonstrate our sadness legally and economically after 21 days.”

“Ferrying humans overnight in trucks only brings back sad memories of the many years of slavery when Africans were packed like sardines and inhumanly shipped abroad. There is absolutely no justification for this very degrading and inhuman maltreatment of Ndigbo. Curiously, this indecent treatment came from a government which Ndigbo hold in very high esteem and had always hugely supported; a government which has unprecedentedly transformed Lagos State and respected human dignity and rights. Ndigbo therefore, find it difficult that Governor Fashola’s government should be linked with this indecent act more so when Ndigbo have lived harmoniously with the good people of Lagos,” the group stated.

APC continued: ‘’All those who consider the home return of 14 Anambra indigenes as a reflection of the Lagos State Government’s (and by extension the Yoruba’s) ill-will toward the Igbo should consider the following facts: 1. There was an exchange of correspondence dated April 9, 15, and 29, 2013 between the Lagos State Government and Anambra State Government, through its Liaison Office in Lagos, about the ‘integration’ not ‘deportation’ of the 14 people.

2. Anambra State Government did not respond to requests by Lagos State to come and validate/identify the people who claimed to have come from Anambra. Had it done so, this issue could have been better managed.

3. Lagos State itself received notice from the Government of Akwa Ibom to come, identify and pick up two Lagos indi-

genes whom they picked up in a ‘lunatic clean up’ exercise in Uyo. Lagos responded promptly without making any noise about it.

4. In December 2011, the same Anambra State Government that is now crying foul over the home return of Anambra indigenes arrested and repatriated 29 beggars to their home states in Ebonyi, another Igbo State, and Akwa Ibom.

Then it was conveniently not ‘deportation’ but ‘repatriation’ and no tribal meanings were read to such action.

5. Also in 2011, Abia State Government sacked 3,000 non-indigenes (but fellow Igbo) from her work force and asked them to go back to their respective states, yet not even a whimper was heard from all those who are now raising hell over the ‘’deportation’’ of 14 Anambra indigenes from Lagos. ‘’If Governor Obi’s logic is to be followed, then the government of Akwa Ibom, and the entire people of the state, harbour bad intentions toward Lagos State and the Yoruba by asking Lagos State to come and pick up two ‘vagrant psychotics’ identified as Lagosians who have been rehabilitated. ‘’Suffice it to say that these home returns have been going on for a long time among states, even within the same ethnic groups (as we pointed out above), and has never before elicited the kind of jaundiced interpretation that has been given to the return of 14 Anambra indigenes.’’

APC said it was also important to point out that this home returns are not limited to Nigeria. The U.S. State of Hawaii has recently offered one-way tickets to homeless persons to return to their home states within the U.S., as part of the state’s efforts to take the burden off its welfare system. It is estimated that Hawaii’s ‘’return-to-home’’ programme will affect its 17,000 homeless residents.

Family accuses govt, CJ of shielding Lloyd, obstructing justice CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 raignment of Lloyd ran into a hitch for which the court adjourned the matter to August 6, 2013 for ruling on the interlocutory argument of whether or not the police could engage a private counsel to prosecute the accused person.

He went on: “But the presiding judge and the state government unknown to the defence counsel re-fixed the case to be heard on the 31st of July, 2013 instead of the 6th of August.

“The court heard and ordered an ex-parte injunction that Hon. Lloyd be produced in court by the police, knowing full well that the short notice was inappropriate. As predicted, Lloyd was not brought to court and we went home dejected.”

He said the Chinda family were deeply tormented by the development and the role of the state government to dis-

charge Lloyd at all costs.

“It is on this ground that the family is pleading with the NJC to call the Rivers State Chief Judge and the presiding judge to order because justice is not one-way traffic. All sides to the case deserve justice and that is what our family is asking for and no more,” he added.

Adoki expressed dismay that people could make reckless allegations against the judiciary.

“How can the chief judge of the state interfere in a case he assigned? We (the judiciary) should not be drawn into the crisis between the political class. The judiciary is very independent of the executive and legislature. And it is an institution that is committed to the rule of law and administration of justice. So it is very wrong for anyone to want to draw us into the crisis in Rivers State,” he said.

According to Adoki, the chief

judge of the state does not preside over an appellate court. Each court like the one presided over by the judge handling the Lloyd’s case is independent and therefore cannot be influenced by anyone, he stressed.

“Justice Nyordee is a very respected and mature judge who cannot be influenced by anyone. Is it wrong for the chief justice to have assigned the case or is it that they don’t want him to do his work?

Each judge who presides over a court is independent and they cannot be influenced,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has cautioned the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Felix Obuah, to respect the office of the governor.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, David Iyofor, stated this in reaction to comments by Obuah that he had sum-

moned Governor Chibuike Amaechi to a meeting with the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, next weekend.

Besides, a group, Rivers Peoples Forum (RPF), has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Wike over his alleged comments in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

Wike was on Saturday at an event in Port Harcourt quoted to have said: “We will make sure they will not sleep again, as they are sleeping now. They will not sleep with their two eyes closed. One eye will be open because they know there is danger.”

In a statement by its president, Charles Bekwele, RPF described the minister’s statement as a direct threat to the people of the state that could lead to a breach of peace and security agencies must now take steps to curtail the excesses of Wike.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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News Defence, JTF deny arrest of Shekau From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri HE Military Defence Headquarters (MDHQ), Abuja and Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State yesterday denied the arrest and deposition of the Boko Haram leader, Sheikh Abubakar Shekau at Karanga village in Niger Republic on July 27, 2013.

Speaking with The Guardian in Maiduguri, yesterday, the Director of Defence Information, Brig-Gen Chris Olukolade disclosed that it was not Shekau but a top Boko Haram commander (name withheld) who was arrested by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), at Karanga village.

He said: “Yes, it is true that men of the MJTF arrested a top commander of the Boko Haram sect who was recruiting more sect members to launch attacks on some Nigerian border towns and villages. I cannot give you his full name, because it may jeopardise our investigations.

The truth of the matter is that Shekau was not arrested, as reported last week on Facebook and Twitter.

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Managing Director, Multichoice Nigeria, John Ugbe (left); winner of Multichoice Nigeria 20th Anniversary Logo Design Competition, Kanso Ogbolu; Managing Director, Zenith Bank, Godwin Emefiele and Chairman, Senate Committee on Media Publicity, Senator Eyinaya Abaribe during the unveiling of the Multichoice Nigeria 20th anniversary logo and presentation of award to the winner in Lagos at the weekend.

PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF.

Mark, others mourn journalists killed in road crash From Iyabo Lawal(Ibadan), Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Terhemba Daka (Abuja), Lawrence Njoku (Enugu), Joseph Onyekwere, Isaac Taiwo, Kenechukwu Ezeonyejiaku (Lagos), John Ogiji (Minna) with agency report ORE condolences yesterday poured in from prominent Nigerians and organisations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) over the death of their colleagues at the weekend.

Those who mourned the late journalists include, Senate President, David Mark; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; Northern Governors Forum; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; his Enugu State counterpart, Sullivan Chime; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar and the National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC) Meanwhile, succour has come the way of the two survivors of the auto crash, the Oyo NUJ Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Opadotun and National Treasurer, Alhaja Fatimah Abdulkareem, as they were yesterday moved from the Emergency Unit of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, to private suites on the orders of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

Three journalists : Mr. Adolphus Okonkwo of the Voice of Nigeria, Kafayat Odunsi; Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Lagos State as well as the Chairman, Radio, Ibadan Network Centre, Tunde Oluwanike, lost their lives in a motor accident around Ilesa, Osun State on their way back from a meeting in Abuja.

The victims, who were in a bus coming from Abuja enroute Lagos before the incident, had attended a crucial meeting at the national head-

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quarters of the NUJ in Abuja.

The tyre of the bus in which they were travelling burst on motion, which caused the vehicle to somersault several times and veered off the road into the bush.

David Mark in a condolence message to the President of NUJ, Mallam Garba Mohammed, lamented that the affected journalists were cut down in their prime.

He said: “ I received with shock and sadness the death of your colleagues through a ghastly motor accident in Ilesa, Osun State. This is unfortunate. I share in this pain and earnestly identify with you in this moment of grief. Please accept my condolence on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mume, Mark regretted that the deceased journalists departed in a very painful way when their services were most needed to help propagate and strengthen the country’s democracy.

He, however, reminded journalists and all media practitioners not to be deterred by the twist of events but to be strengthened and uphold the virtue of patriotism and commitment to the ideals of nationhood, which their late colleagues stood for.

According to Mark: “The best way to immortalise your late colleagues is to constantly uphold the sanctity of truth , fairness and objectivity in your trade and contribute towards promoting good governance , rule of law and human rights”.

He told the bereaved families to take solace in the fact that the departed journalists died in active service and left positive footprints on the sand of time.

In a statement by his Special

Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal described the victims of the auto crash as heroes who dedicated their professional lives towards the progress of their country.

He said by their sudden deaths, the nation has lost the services of vibrant and consummate professionals who gave their all for the unity and development of their union and the country at large.

The Speaker prayed to the Almighty God to give their families the fortitude to bear the loss. He equally prayed for the quick recovery of those injured in the crash.

The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) through its chairman and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, commiserated with the families of the deceased journalists, praying that God will give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

In a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo in Minna, yesterday, Aliyu said the forum is saddened by the passage of such well groomed professionals, saying the untimely death of the hardworking journalists has created a void in their media organisations and journalism profession.

Aliyu called on authorities charged with the responsibility of fixing roads to live up to their calling, just as he urged road users to always adhere strictly to safety rules and regulations in order to avoid a reoccurrence.

Fashola, in a condolence message signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, said it was regrettable that the journalists died in the course of promoting the interest of the profession.

The governor said his

thoughts and prayers were with members of the union at this difficult time and prayed for the peaceful repose of the departed journalists and the quick recovery of those injured.

Also reacting, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, described the incident as a big blow to the journalism profession.

He said it was unfortunate that “our colleagues had to suffer this fate while on union assignment.’’

Governor Chime, in a message to the NUJ by his Chief Press Secretary, Chukwudi Achife, described the demise of the officials as tragic, sad and untimely.

He added that it was more so, as the late journalists were returning from an official assignment for the Union when the incident occurred.

While praying for the repose of the souls of the deceased, Chime also extended his condolences to their families and respective media organisations, asking God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.

He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the other victims of the accident that are receiving treatment in hospitals.

The Sultan in a statement signed on his behalf by Prof.

Ishaq Oloyede, the SecretaryGeneral, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday said: “We received with deep grief and sorrow, the news of a road accident in Osun State which reportedly claimed the lives of three national officers of the Union.

“Coming at this time of our national life, such a disturbing incident only amounts to additional agony for the entire country, especially with daily reports of callous

killings in one form or another”.

The Sultan noted with concern “that such youthful professional men and a woman could lose their lives fortuitously in that manner during their dedicated service to the nation.

“The irony of life in this case is that destiny cannot be evaded by any human being, despite any level of carefulness.’’

While commiserating with the families of the deceased and the national leadership of the NUJ, the Sultan prayed the Almighty God to grant the souls of the victims eternal rest.

He also prayed to God to grant their families the fortitude to bear the loss.

A statement jointly signed by NAJUC’s Chairman and Secretary, Mr. Tunde Opeseitan and Mr. Gbenga Soyele described the incident as sad and shocking.

NAJUC, in a condolence statement yesterday , lamented the said development, and prayed God to grant the injured journalists quick recovery.

“This is indeed a difficult moment for the immediate family of the affected journalists, the media family and indeed the nation.

“We pray that God in His infinite mercy shall grant the deceased eternal rest and also grant all of us, especially the immediate families, the fortitude to bear the great loss.

“We wish the Lagos NUJ Chairman, Mr. Deji Elumoye; the Secretary, Mr. Sylva Okereke and indeed all other injured journalists quick recovery.

“Most importantly, we urge the media organisations of the affected journalists to ensure that adequate and necessary compensation are paid to the deceased,” NAJUC stressed.

Oyo ACN warns senator against destabilising party HE Chairman, Oyo South T Senatorial District of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Alhaji Bello Adeleke Oladeji, has warned a senator not to be used to play a spoiler’s role with a view to disintegrating the party.

He gave the warning in a statement he issued yesterday, in response to an interview the senator granted a national newspaper where he passed uncomplimentary remarks about the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

Oladeji also alleged that the senator was on his way out of the party for the Accord Party.

According to the district chairman, it was uncharitable for the senator to assume the role of the spokesman of his district and the state party as a whole when no one had given him any such role.

UNICEF decries detention of children in adults’ prisons From Charles Akpeji, Jalingo HE continued detention of children in conflict with the law in the same prison custodies with adult criminals in Taraba State as well as in other parts of the country has become a source of worry to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The leadership of the D-Field office of the international organisation which yesterday in Jalingo, Taraba State inaugurated the state chapter of the Child Protection Network (CPN), also decried the state government’s delay in implementing the Child Rights Law that had been passed into law by the State House of Assembly.

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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S’South govs lead campaign for passage of PIB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 delink the fiscal terms of crude oil from gas.

Meanwhile, the International Oil Companies’ (IOCs) dream of frustrating the bill in the National Assembly is fast receding because governors are said to have continued to mount pressure on their legislators to sustain the fiscal regime envisaged by the Bill.

A source said: “Governors want more money from the Federation Account. They see the PIB’s fiscal regime as a way of boosting their monthly allocation and are not buying any of the scaremongering by the IOCs.” Presidency sources say that “since stories of a suspected reshuffle surfaced, some interests have consistently included the petroleum minister’s name in sponsored stories in some publication in an attempt to hoodwink the public. Their tactics has been to focus on the crime of oil theft without acknowledging the gains recorded against the vandals in the past one year. It is a fact that a lot of the infrastructure is ageing and was built above ground thereby making it easier for criminal elements to breach pipelines and carry out illegal activities. And the report ignores the gains made in recent times against these criminals.”

It was also learnt that government is spearheading the fight against crude oil theft in imaginative ways. They include reaching out to governments across the world to treat stolen oil much the same way as are blood diamonds.

The source further wondered why a minister who is not in control of any of the security

organisations would be held responsible for security breaches.

Also, an industry source stated that the fiscal regime envisaged by the bill makes oil less of the cash cow.

The country’s gas reserves are about three times those of its crude oil. And apart from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) and the Escravos gas project, much of the gas is either flared or locked in.

Linking this move to a recent publication damning the industry regulators, the source maintained that “it’s all part of a scheme to rubbish the leadership and thereby whittle down appetite for the PIB.” Speaking recently at an industry event, the Managing Director of ExxonMobil, Mike Ward, argued that the IOCs opposition was not about profits but about viability of investments.

He said: “It is not about profit.

At the end of the day, it is about viable economic returns that any investor can make, whether it is a big investor or a small investor.”

Reminded of Shell’s increasing divestment in the shallow waters of the Niger Delta, the source said there was no cause for concern, stressing: “Once again, an attempt is made here to distort the facts. Yes there has been some divestment by some of the companies operating in Nigeria but again, this ignores the obvious fact that others are stepping in to pick up these assets and run them profitably.

“In addition, a lot of these assets are being picked up by indigenous firms thereby creating huge employment opportunities for Nigerians while giving them a stake in the industry. Some of these indigenous companies are indeed beginning to compete on equal terms with the international

District Governor, 2013-14, Rotary International, Olugbemiga Olowu (left); immediate past president, Rotary Club of Lagos, Palmgrove Estate, Suman Ramesh and newly-elected President, Rotary Club, Palmgrove-Estate, Venu Gopal Jajoo, during the decoration of Jajoo in Lagos… at the weekend.

PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF

Port concessionaire shuts operations over high cost, others

By Moses Ebosele NE of the port concessionaires, Lilypond Inland Container Depot, has announced plans to discontinue operations, citing lack of container overflow and high cost of operation.

Already, the company has notified the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) that it is no longer in a position to continue operating the Lilypond container depot at Ijora, Lagos.

Briefing journalists at the weekend, Lilypond Manager, Tristram Denyer, disclosed that during the period of its operation, the company invested $15 million and recorded a loss of $5 million over the last one year.

He described the decision to pull out of the concession scheme, which started in 2006, as a “very difficult one and followed a concerted effort by Lilypond management and members of staff to develop a viable new and sustainable long-term business model over the last eight months.” According to Denyer, the effort has been frustrated by a number of factors, including “lack of over-flow container volume available for depots generally, high cost of operating the depot and increased capacity in Nigerian marine container terminals.”

He announced that discussions with NPA over the period for transition to another operator would commence soon, adding that it is “unlikely to exceed six months.”

Denyer said the management of Lilypond would co-operate with NPA to ensure successful handover to a new concessionaire “should, as anticipat-

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ed, NPA decides to tender the Lilypond concession”. He explained that the entitlement of workers were being worked out, promising that they would be absorbed by a sister company.

The Guardian learnt that the company’s operations are being affected by ongoing expansion of terminal operator at Apapa. Specifically, terminal operator, APM Terminals, recently increased the container stacking area at its Apapa container terminal, Lagos, by an additional 300,000 square metres.

The company explained that it was also set to take delivery of five Rubber-Tyred-Gantry (RTG) cranes it ordered from Kone Cranes as part of terminal yard re-development and expansion.

The project, which is the Phase Three of the modernisation and upgrading of the facility, includes terminal yard re-development and expansion, new members of staff amenities and customer service building, acquisition of container handling equipment, implementation of new terminal operating systems and a new Customs container inspection facility.

Managing Director of APM Terminals, Apapa, Mr. Dallas Hampton, who disclosed this in his office in Lagos, said the new RTGs would be delivered by the end of August 2013.

“That is when the terminal will achieve the first impact of the ongoing development for increased capacity. The second batch of the remaining five RTGs will be delivered in November 2013”, Hampton said.

The APM Terminals, Apapa, boss said that development of about 300,000 square metres of the North Yard of APM Terminals, Apapa is in full swing.

“This area is being converted from Reach Stacker operations to RTG operations thus increasing the yard’s capacity and efficiency. As this is being done in a functioning live Terminal, the area is divided into eight phases which are progressively taken over for construction and then handed back to operations after development. The first Area 1A was handed over on April 16, 2013 and the contractor is currently working on Area 1C”, he said.

According to Hampton, yard works will continue till August 2014 and will also include enhanced lighting and a rail

NULGE threatens mass protest over council autonomy From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Head, South-West Bureau, Ado-Ekiti) HE Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) at the weekend threatened to stage a mass protest across the country, if the National Assembly throws out the amendment

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to support autonomy for local councils.

National President of the union, Ibrahim Khaleel, who spoke at the fifth Quadrennial State Delegate Conference of Ekiti State branch, lamented alleged silence of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on the matter.

Varsity ignores ASUU, holds post-UTME From John Ogiji, Minna N disregard of the threat by IStaff its branch of the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal University Technology, Minna, at the weekend conducted the postUTME with over 5,000 candidates taking part in the exercise.

The ASUU in the institution had threatened not to recognise the candidates if the authorities decides to go ahead

with the UTME. The university’s chairman of ASUU, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh, insisted that the post-UTME is an academic exercise and will therefore be against the policy of the union if its members participate in such activity when they have been warned to suspend all academic activities.

According to him, “if all academic members of staff are not on ground, who will oversee the conduct, marking and

grading of the examination as it is done in the past. How will it be done without us, and that is what we are waiting to see.”

But the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Abdullahi Bala, dismissed the threat

by ASUU, saying that the institution decided to go ahead with the post-UTME because the conduct of the examination is exclusive responsibility of the office of the vice chancellor and not that of the ASUU.

Jonathan urges leaders to work for unity From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja RESIDENT Goodluck P Jonathan has urged past and present leaders of Nigeria to promote those attributes that tend to unite the country, rather than harping on those things that would lead to disintegration.

Speaking at the 80th birthday anniversary of the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja yesterday, Jonathan lamented the behaviour of some leaders alleged to be fanning the embers of ethnic or religious differences, through their utterances, to the detriment of those values that held the country united and indivisible.

Eminent citizens who attended the event included former military leaders, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Second Republic Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Muhammed Lawal Uwais and Salihu Alfa Belgore as well as PDP governors, Godswill Akpabio, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Jonah David Jang.

Ondo farmers to benefit from USAID-supported project HOUSANDS of Ondo State T farmers will benefit from the agricultural projects currently being supported by the United States (U.S.) government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nigeria.

The Cassava Value Chain intervention will kick off tomorrow with formal mobilisation of farmers in Odigbo Local Council of Ondo State.

It’s a public-private partnership project with USAID-Markets 11, Caterina de’ Medici Africa Projects Limited, Thai Farm International Ltd., Ondo State Agricultural Development Projects (ODSADEP) and Ondo State Government as Project Promoters.

NEWS 5

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

NMA faults FG on economy, urges support for girl-child

Jigawa flood victims get agric equipment From John Akubo, Dutse FRICAN Development Bank A (AfDB), through the International Food and Agricultural Development (IFAD) project, has donated agricultural input and equipment worth N65 million to 50 Fadama community associations comprising 578 Fadama Resource User Groups (FRUGs) in 10 local councils of Jigawa State that were affected by last year’s flood disaster.

The AfDB, in partnership with the Federal Government, is disbursing agricultural intervention worth N465 million to victims in the six most affected states. National Project Coordinator of Fadama III, Mr. Tayo Adewumi, disclosed this while flagging off the distribution in J i g a w a .

Beneficiary states include Jigawa, Borno, Plateau, Katsina, Kwara and Kogi.

Adewumi said the inputs and equipment donated by AfDB included fertiliser, improved seedlings, sprayers and minipower tillers, among others.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Isa Taura, said the state government has been responding to the counterpart requirements of all externally funded projects, including the

SERAP wants Jonathan to reverse new electricity tariff Poor charge responsible for years of decay, says Amadi From Emeka Anuforo (Abuja) and Bertram Nwannekanma (Lagos)

GITATIONS against the A new electricity tariff introduced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in June last year is on the rise, as the Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to order an immediate reversal of the tariff.

Nevertheless, NERC Chairman, Sam Amadi, says that though electricity services had not improved significantly, the tariff was in the best interest of all, as it would set the tone for a more reliable and efficient sector. He told The Guardian yesterday: “For all businesses to remain in business and grow, they must cover their costs and provide a reasonable return.

“Without a cost-reflective tariff, no utility provider will enter any market, however large the market. The absence of a cost-reflective tariff is a key reason for the failure of the power sector to serve Nigerians for the past decades.”

However, an August 2, 2013 letter to the President entitled: “Re: Request to reverse the arbitrary, unfair, unjust and discriminatory new electricity tariff,” SERAP described the new tariff as “anti-people and a flagrant violation of the human rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised sector of the population.”

From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin CityRESIDENT of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Osahon Enabulele, at the weekend faulted the Federal Government’s claims that the country’s economy was on the rise when, in contrast, Nigerians were actually getting poorer by the day.

Enabulele spoke in Benin City, Edo State capital, during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of the state chapter of NMA. He also urged the Senate to revisit Section 29 (4)(b) with a view to removing the clause, which he said, could be used to abuse the girl-child.

According to him, the disasters afflicting the country are man-made “and attributable to inept leadership, negative

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President Goodluck Jonathan (right); his wife, Dame Patience; Chief Tony Anenih; his wife, Patricia and Senate President David Mark at Anenih’s 80th birthday thanksgiving church service in Abuja…yesterday PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

Govt will implement UNEP’s Report, Kukah assures From Kanayo Umeh, Abuja OPE for justice now seems close to fulfillment as the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Ogoni/Shell Reconciliation Panel and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. (Dr.) Matthew Hassan Kukah, has assured the Ogoni that the Federal Government would implement the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland.

Bishop Kukah disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja while responding to contributions made by the Ogoni under the auspices of the Ogoni Generation Next Project (an organisation of young professionals) and leaders, who paid him a courtesy visit on the crisis lingering between Shell and Ogoni people since 1993.

The report, which recommended compensations to the tune of $1 billion for the environmental degradation and pollution suffered by the people as a result of oil exploration in the area, was handed over to the Federal Government in August 2011.

Nevertheless, Kukah said: “I want to assure you that I will get your message and your anxiety over to the President, you should not construe his silence to mean lack of interest. I hope that we can get round the table with the President because if I had known that your group was up to this size, I would have seen whether it would have been possible to see the President.

“This conversation is not for me, it would have been good if the President and the Minister of Petroleum Resources were here because they are the ones that have domesticated the initiative.

“If you remember the last words in my presentation, I said to the President: Mr. President, you gave me a sick child, I have taken the child to the hospital to run some tests, the results are here. I am not the one to tell you which pharmacy to go to because I will be going beyond what my brief was.”

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Ogoni to immortalise Saro- Wiwa Therefore, he called on the ment, important as it is to the people to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the reconciliation process to collectively articulate their position for lasting peace in the area.

In his address earlier, the facilitator of Ogoni Generation Next Project, Kadilo Kabari, lamented that two years after the report was presented to President Goodluck Jonathan, nothing has been done to clean Ogoni’s “devastatingly” polluted environment.

He said: “The Ogoni environ-

survival of Ogoni nation as a people, must not be neglected to the point where the beleaguered Ogoni men, women and children would be forced to resort to self-help.”

He further disclosed that the Ogoni have decided to immortalise the late environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and other fallen heroes of the Ogini struggle, as a way of spurring the next generation of their patriots to utilise their talents in the service of their fatherland.

Also speaking earlier at the event, the Gbenemene of Tai Kingdom and Chairman, Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers, who is also the Chairman Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM, King Godwin N. K. Gininwa, who led the delegation, urged Bishop Kukah to persuade the Federal Government to implement the report.

political character and the insensate disposition of the political class, brazen and unbridled acts of corruption, poor adherence to the rule of law, and unprecedented degradation of our God-given environment.”

Consequently, there is “increased pauperisation of a vast majority of the Nigerian population, who most times are transformed into very sorry appendages of sham reformism with unmitigated socio-economic, political, cultural and flood disasters.

“To date, over 70 per cent of Nigerians still live on less than N150 a day; over 60 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to electricity; physical and financial access to quality healthcare is still a major issue confronting Nigerians, unemployment (particularly of youth) is still over 70 per cent.

“Yet, warped economic indices deceptively show that the economic fortunes of Nigeria (as shown by the GDP figures) is on the upward swing, whereas in reality, an increasing number of Nigerians now live in a state of misery and in perpetual fear of being consumed by flood and other man-made and natural disasters.”

Meanwhile, he said the NMA also condemned the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly and called on the feuding parties “to sheath the sword, peacefully reconcile their differences and adhere to the principles of democracy.”

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

NEWS

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JTF decries proliferation of illegal refineries

ANEEJ, students urge NASS’ intervention in ASUU strike

HE Joint Military Task Force T (JTF) in the Niger Delta has decried the proliferation of

From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City IGERIAN students and members of the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) have called on the National Assembly to revisit the ongoing industrial dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with a view to ending it.

The call came as the leadership of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) lauded polytechnic lecturers for returning to the classrooms after over three months of industrial action. A statement yesterday by NAPS National President, Ogbonnaya Sunday, advised government to fulfill the agreements reached with the lecturers.

Meanwhile, the students’ groups, after a roundtable meeting held at the ANEEJ Secretariat at the weekend, called on the National Assembly to intervene in the face-off between ASUU and the Federal Government.

A communiqué jointly signed by the Executive Director of ANEEJ, David Ugolor, Students’ Union heads of the University of Benin, Osasere Osifo; Ambrose Alli University, Asuenimen Joel; and National President of the National Association of Edo State Students, Festus Otono, urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue and ensure that the strike is called off.

illegal refineries in the area, describing the refineries as “flagrant waste of the nation’s resources.’’

The Media Coordinator of the JTF, code-named, “Operation Pulo Shield”, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa yesterday that only about 40 per cent of crude oil being stolen from pipelines and other sources in the area was being utilised by the illegal refineries.

According to him, operators of the illegal refineries merely convert only about 40 per cent of the crude they steal from the system into automated gas oil, otherwise known as diesel and discharge the remaining 60 per cent into the environment.

“They just throw the unused crude into the waters and it is a lot of waste, which takes a negative toll on the environment and when you see any of the illegal distillation points, the vegetation shows that the area is toxic.

“This is in addition to depriving the nation of oil revenue.

This explains why we remain resolute in our operations against oil thieves and vandals of oil facilities in the Niger Delta,” Nwachukwu said.

He explained that the swampy mangrove terrain and often inaccessible creeks had given the operators of the illicit oil business some cover “and it has continued to pose a big logistics challenge to our operations.”

New Immigration boss to tackle border porosity

By Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja HE recently appointed T Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), David Paradang, has pledged to tackle corruption in all its ramifications and ensure better management of the nation’s borders.

Paradang also promised that his management team would give much attention to the control and monitoring of foreigners who come to reside in the country.

The new Immigration helmsman, who spoke to State House Correspondents after paying a condolence visit to President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience on Saturday night at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the entire system would be cleansed by his team.

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Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser Oguzhan Silivrili (left); Consultant Gastroenterologist, LUTH, Funmi Lesi; Gastroenterologist, Ege University, School of Medicine, Izmer Turkey, Prof. Serhat Bor and Category Lead for Healthcare, Reckiser Benkiser, West Africa, Quaiser Sahind, during the Golden Faculty meeting in Lagos PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF

Doctors scrutinising health implications of flood disasters

By Chukwuma Muanya

• NMA plans maiden sports week next Jan

N their bid to ameliorate Iingthe impact of an impendflood disaster in the

tors and 100 per cent Consolidated Health Salary Scheme (CONHESS) for other health workers.

This was coming about four years after the salary structures came into place, and after several promises by the state government. The theme of the Edo NMA Conference was, “Flood disasters: Edo State Experience - Looking ahead,” with focus on “Public health implications of flood disasters” and “Mental health challenges of flood disasters the role of doctors and other stakeholders.”

According to Enabulele, “The themes are very germaine considering the immense effect of climate change and flood disasters on the health, socio-political, economic and cultural prosperity of citizens of the world, particularly human populations in developing African countries, including Nigeria.

“The impact of the unmitigated flood disaster that challenged many Nigerian communities last year is a reminder to us all to take issues of climate change and flood disaster more seriously

country, doctors, under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), have developed a plan on how to address the public and mental health implications.

The doctors, at the annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Edo State branch of NMA held at the weekend, said that among other things, it would institute a trust fund, comprehensive welfare scheme, free health checks for doctors during all NMA national activities, as well as institute a maiden NMA Doctors Games/Sports Week slated for January 20 to 28, 2014 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

NMA President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, urged the Governor Adams Oshiomhole-led Edo State government to act now in order to attract medical experts and arrest the internal brain-drain in the state’s health sector by implementing the 100 per cent Consolidated Medical Salary Scheme (CONMESS) for doc-

Youth employment critical to development, by Ubah

By Tunde Akinola USINESSMAN and aspirant on the platform of Labour Party (LP), in the forthcoming governorship polls in Anambra State, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, has emphasised the need to address unemployment among the youth.

He explained that that could be achieved through engaging youths in projects like rural roads buildings that are often given out to “faceless” contractors.

Ubah, who is the chairman of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, noted that domesticating projects like road construction could generate up to 10,500 jobs across the state’s 21 local councils if young people are

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involved in the exercise.

Speaking at an event at the weekend in Lagos, where he presented a fire-fighting vehicle to traders at Alaba International Market, Ubah lamented the low level of empowerment among the youth and women in the state, pledging that he would put them in the forefront of his agenda if elected governor.

According to him: “There is this situation whereby you don’t even know the people building the roads in your state and the government claims to be building roads.

You don’t even know how many employment opportunities have been generated. Then you ask, do we really need the

roads?

“Yes, we need the roads, but why do you have to bring a Lebanese or Chinese to build roads in the rural areas when there are indigenes of Anambra State who are up to the task? Youths can be employed to mould interlocking tiles and lay, just like is on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road on Victoria Island. These are roads that have been proven to stand the test of time”.

Ubah added that having succeeded in business, he would industrialise the state and create more employment. To him, there is no reason why Nigeria should be importing all kinds of products that could be produced in the country.

and pro-actively, especially with the prediction that 2013 may even be worse if we do not positively act, individually and collectively.

“I, therefore, commend the Edo State government and the NMA for instituting more pro-active measures, including making the issues subject of discussion at this AGM and scientific conferences.”

Enabulele lamented that disasters in the country are mainly man-made and attributable to inept leadership, negative political character and the insensate disposition of the political class, brazen and unbridled acts of corruption, poor adherence to the rule of law and the unprecedented degradation of the country’s God-given environment.

He added: “The ongoing retrogression in Nigeria, which undoubtedly are attributable to the conflicting interests of the political class that cares less for the ordinary man on the streets of Nigeria, are a testimony to the fact that if nothing is constructively and actively done individually and collectively, greater disasters lie ahead.”

On the non-implementation of doctors’ and health workers’ salaries, Enabulele said: “While we also commend the state government’s efforts to engineer infrastructure upgrade of health facilities in Edo State, we wish to fervently appeal to the comrade governor to take a critical look at the evidently low morale and sad state of the medical and health workforce in the state public health institutions.

“This state of despondency, which definitely cannot lead to any commendable level of productivity, is attributable to the non-implementation of 100 per cent CONMESS for doctors and 100 per cent CONHESS for other health workers, almost four years

after the salary structures came into place, and after several promises by the Edo State government.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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WorldReport Mugabe faces growing fallout after disputed election win ATHER than abating, interR national apprehension mounted yesterday over the reelection of Africa’s oldest leader, Robert Mugabe, in polls termed by Zimbabwe’s opposition as “stolen”.

Western powers, barred from sending full observer teams, have voiced serious doubts about the polls following concerns over irregularities.

Following the parts of its allies, Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted Germany as saying the election “casts a big shadow on the political and economic future of Zimbabwe”, while Australia called for new polls.

“Given our doubts about the results, Australia calls for a rerun of the elections based on a verified and agreed voters roll,”

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said in a statement.

United States (U.S.) Secretary of State John Kerry had on Saturday described the election as “deeply flawed” and said Washington “does not believe that the results ...today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague added his own “grave concerns” over the conduct of the vote in the former colony.

Mugabe, 89, in power since 1980, trounced his long-standing rival Morgan Tsvangirai in Wednesday’s polls with 61 per cent of the presidential vote while his party swept to a crushing parliamentary majority.

An Indonesian policeman stands guard outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta…yesterday.

Police officers stand guard outside the American Embassy in Tokyo…yesterday.

PHOTOS: AFP

Security tightened at U.S. missions over Al Qaeda’s threat OLLOWING an Al-Qaeda FUnited threat that prompted States (U.S.) to close two dozen embassies and consulates, the level of security was also raised at its missions around the Arab world and beyond yesterday.

The development also informed the convening of a meeting in the White House, which was chaired by U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice, to review Washington’s response to the threat it revealed on Friday.

The U.S. had on Friday disclosed that Al-Qaeda was planning a major attack during the month of August in the Middle East or North Africa.

However, President Barack Obama did not attend the White House meeting but he was briefed afterwards.

Meanwhile, according to

I’ve spent 21 years in the CIA, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen 22 embassies closed simultaneously.

This is very, very unusual. agency reports, security measures were particularly strict in Yemen’s capital, where Britain, France and Germany also closed their embassies following the U.S. warning which lawmakers in Washington said involved Al-Qaeda’s joint Yemeni and Saudi branch.

But the U.S. alert spread across most Arab capitals and extended further afield to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Israel, with embassies and other diplomatic missions closed yesterday – the first day of the working week in many Islamic countries.

The Interpol also on Saturday issued a global security alert after jailbreaks linked to Al-

Qaeda freed hundreds of militants.

In Sanaa, special forces with armoured personnel carriers were stationed outside the U.S. embassy and the missions of Britain, France and Germany, a report by Agence France Presse (AFP) indicated.

Police and army checkpoints were set up on all the Yemeni capital’s main throughfares.

Residents said they heard the sound of a drone flying over, which could only be American as Washington is the sole power to operate the unmanned aircraft in the region.

Washington considers Al-

Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the jihadist network’s most active and dangerous branch, and has waged an intensifying drone war against the group’s militants in Yemen.

In Jordan, authorities beefed up security around the closed U.S. mission.

“Authorities have conducted a sweep for explosives at all U.S. diplomatic locations and beefed up security measures around the U.S. embassy,” a Jordanian security official told AFP. Early last week, “the president instructed his national security team to take all appropriate steps to protect the American people in light of a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula,” a White House statement said.

Iran’s new president, Rowhani, sworn in, asks West to dialogue FTER taking the oath of A office yesterday, Iran’s new moderate president, Hassan Rowhani, has urged Western countries to interact with Iran through dialogue and not through sanctions currently slammed on the Islamic state.

Rowhani, a 64-year-old cleric, took over from hardliner, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose provocative policies in two turbulent four-year terms left Iran divided domestically, isolated internationally and struggling economically.

The new president’s call came as the West is hoping that Rowhani will take a more constructive approach in long-running talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear drive, which despite Iranian denials is suspected by world powers of having military objectives.

“The only path to interact with Iran is through negotia-

Rowhani during his swearing-in...yesterday. tions on equal grounds, reciprocal trust-building, mutual respect and reducing hostilities,” Rowhani said in a speech after being sworn in before parliament.

“If you want a proper answer, do not speak with Iran with the language of sanctions but with the language of respect,” he said, adding Iran would “not surrender to sanctions,

nor be threatened with war”.

He was referring to years of unsuccessful negotiations with the so-called P5+1 group of the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany over Iran’s nuclear activities.

Washington was quick to respond, saying Iran would find the United States a “willing partner” if Rowhani was

serious.

“Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Rowhani has revealed a cabinet lineup of experienced technocrats, aiming to deliver on his promise of saving the economy and engaging the world.

He presented the list after being sworn in before parliament as Iran’s seventh president, even though officially he had two weeks before having to nominate his ministers.

The conservative-dominated parliament has 10 days to review the nominations, but media reports stated that MPs are keen to start voting within a week or less.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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Politics Again, former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel is in the eye of the storm following his suspension from the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform he used to govern the state for eight years.

Just as he allegedly formed and funded the People’s Party of Nigeria (PPN) to scuttle the chance of the PDP in the 2011 governorship election in the state, he is again being rumoured to be moving to Labour Party (LP) to field a candidate, Sina Kawonise, his former Information Commissioner against a PDP candidate while himself is also angling to slug it out with the PDP senatorial candidate under another platform, come 2015. While Daniel has been difficult to reach, his spokesman, Kawonise was on ground to speak with ABIODUN FANORO. The encounter is revealing. Excerpts: Your boss again, is in a political comatose, his political future appears uncertain following his suspension from the PDP. HAT I know is that it is the living that takes care of the dead. It is never the other way round. It is therefore illogical and impossible for the dead to say it wants to punish the living. PDP in Ogun State is dead, the dead cannot be the one talking. If you see a dead man talking, that means something is wrong somewhere. PDP at the national level is still a force, there is no doubt about that, though I am not a member of the PDP that would not stop me from recognizing the party where it has strength. At the federal level, it has strength, but in Ogun State, the PDP is dead. Why did I say it is dead? It is because it is the people that make a party, and not a party that makes the people.

You are talking about the PDP in Ogun State; you don’t have heavy-weights like Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Senator Jubril Martins Kuye, Senator Otegbola, Alhaji Sule Onabiyi, Chief (Mrs.) Iyabo Apanpa, Chief Kola Ogunjobi, Aare Tunde Alabi, Chief Niyi Adegbenro, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi and so many others.

Without those people, there is no PDP in Ogun State. I can tell you authoritatively that all of them have left the PDP in Ogun State. So, what people are hearing which some claimed is from Ogun State PDP is just sound from a graveyard. When you begin to hear sound or cry from the burial ground, in Yoruba land, it connotes danger and ill wind.

Otunba Gbenga Daniel is the issue in Ogun State politics not in the PDP. Where was the PDP in Ogun State before he joined in 2001 and turned it into election winning machine? Since they started to joke with him, what have been the fortunes of the party in the state? It has returned to its old pre-2001 state, a broken machine.

What you are saying is that the suspension is meaningless?

It is meaningless. How can you suspend Daniel from an organization he is (no longer) not a member. Certainly, his suspension is an idle talk that carries no effect.

What you are saying is that before his suspension, Otunba Daniel was no longer in the PDP? The PDP had become dead, you (he) cannot be a member of a dead movement.

Is Daniel not displaying the character of an inconsistent politician, having moved from Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP, to forming and funding PPN and now to another one yet to be named?

I believe it is not an issue to say he is politically inconsistent, especially if we look at democracy in Nigeria and the forces propelling it, they are not only evolving, they are

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Daniel

Kawonise

‘Ogun PDP, a car in flame’ not static, they are perpetually flowing. What has happened to AD, to Action Congress (AC), to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to All People’s Congress (APC). These are features of a developing democracy. What is common is constant change. In both the US and Britain where today there are two dominant political parties, they did not start like that, it went through a lot of transformations. That is what is today playing out in Nigeria. Remember that the present democratic rule is just 14 years old, as we progress, people should expect movement back and front, left, right and centre.

That would therefore not define anybody as politically inconsistent.

Whether Daniel had left PDP before his suspension or not, isn’t the party justified to remove him judging by the manner he paid back the party which he used for eight years?

Parties are meant for men, not men for parties. What is constant is human being not party, party is a variable. If Mr. Adio is once a Moslem, but now he is a Christian, does that now mean Adio is no longer a human being.

Both circumstances and realities do change, what is constant remains constant and that is the human element. Daniel before he joined the PDP had burning vision and ambition to transform the state and better the lots of the people. The platform that was available then was the PDP, which he single-handedly transformed into a winning machine. If anybody is being paid back in bad coins, the person is Daniel, who the state PDP has been ungrateful to. It is not the other way round. Look at the example of Governor Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State. He moved from AD to the PDP and now to Labour Party, yet the people are still clapping for him.

Is that what Daniel wants to be?

Daniel wants to continue to be a progressive.

The platform is a variable, what is constant is the ideological leaning and where and what he is in the mind of the people. Tell me who was born with a political party identity; there is none, just as no one would die with one particular political party identity. Principle is what we should be talking about.

In the case of the former governor, people say what is playing out is ambition and not principle.

That is not true at all. From his first entrance into politics till today, what has been playing out in Daniel is principle and not ambition

and he has remained constant. If the platform in which he finds himself has now compromised must he stay there and die with the party. I am sure you are familiar with the wise saying that it is the stubborn fly that goes with a dead body to the grave. That is what aptly captures the situation in Ogun State PDP and Daniel.

Political parties are nothing but vehicles to reach a destination. If that vehicle catches fire on the way, won’t you jump out off it? Daniel remains the only political force in the state today. Whoever he raises his hand up and as his governorship candidate, is the one that would become the state’s next governor.

But this magic did not work in 2011 when he raised up the hand of Mr. Gbenga Isiaka of the PPN. I am not talking about 2011, I say today. In politics, they say 24 hours is too long. If you don’t reckon with Daniel in Ogun politics, then you should begin to admit your failure in Ogun State.

Are you saying he has the machine to displace incumbent Governor Ibikunle Amosun in 2015?

Amosun is gone, mark my words, we are only waiting for him to complete his term. If there is provision for mid-term election in our constitution, he won’t be there today. Governor Amosun is dead politically, nothing could revive or save him, quote me.

Wouldn’t you need magic to subdue PDP, ACN and displace Amosun in 2015?

In the 2011 election, it was a four-prong election because Labour Party also contested.

In 2015, we are not going to be face anything new. At the end of the day, one party would win, which is the Daniel political family in the state.

You are rumoured to be eyeing the state governor’s seat in 2015.What special credentials have you that could place you above others?

We were in government and we performed excellently. The people are there to compare the present administration with that of Daniel in which I was a proud member. Certainly, the difference is clear. We ran the best administration so far in the state, the record is there. I am leveraging on that, I was the spokesperson of that government. We have done it before, we would do it again. The Ministry of Information that I ran as Commissioner, the people there would tell you they never had so good as this

before, because of the way and manner I touched on the lives of everybody there.

The PPN governorship candidate Daniel sponsored in 2011 was a mis-adventure. So what has changed?

I don’t know where you got your evidence from that Daniel sponsored a particular candidate. What he did was that he endorsed (the candidate) PPN at that time because of what was going on, but he was never a member of PPN. If PPN didn’t succeed in Ogun State, it was not Gbenga Daniel’s failure.

Daniel is today facing trial on alleged corruption, people say he has no legacy surviving him, at the same time they say he is today in political isolation. In the eye of the people, he is going to be an albatross to you in your governorship quest.

My brother, there are certain things we must not even say. There are certain things that are politically blasphemous. To say that Daniel is a liability would make me to ask you whether you ever visited Ogun State during and after Daniel’s tenure?

Are you a journalist at all? I have never heard such a very derogatory statement since we left office. I don’t want to comment on cases that are in court. What is going is a grand conspiracy, a persecution of the highest order. Please don’t let us dwell on that, because those cases are in court, so let the courts determine his fate. It is however a fact that a man remains innocent until when he is pronounced guilty by a competent court. Daniel is an innocent man; the law recognizes him as an innocent man.

It is obvious from all you are saying that you are going to contest under the Labour Party whether you say it or not. But how credible is the Labour Party, which is almost not in existence in Ogun State?

If Labour Party was not credible, when credible people (like us) get into it, it would become credible, because it is the people that make the party and not the other way round. Remember that Labour Party was not credible in Ondo State, until when Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the most important political force in Ondo State at that time got into it. And what happened, the fortunes of the party changed for good.

So you and the Daniel political family are actually being driven by the Mimiko magic?

Nigerians should have patience. They should wait for the next few days when Daniel would declare the way forward for his political family.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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TheMetroSection ‘I give inmates N200 to sleep with them’ • How 21-year-old man turned deranged women into sex-mates

The suspect.

By Abdulwaheed Usamah HEN officials of the Lagos State government caught Lateef Sulaiman, 21, for allegedly scaling a 14-feet fence to gain entrance into the Lagos State Rehabilitation and Training Centre at Majidun in Iko-

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rodu, passers-by and residents could not comprehend his aim for unlawfully accessing the centre.

Wondering what mission could push a young man to scale such a high fence, they were shocked to discover he was doing so to satisfy his libido by sleeping with female inmates.

They also discovered it was not his first attempt, as he had been going all the way to the place in Ikorodu, from Bariga in Somolu where he resides, to sleep with mentally-challenged women.

In Sulaiman’s confession, he said he jumped into the centre and went straight to female dormitory around 9.30 p.m. where he had sex with a mentally-deranged woman, before he was arrested and handed over to the task force at Alausa last week.

He told interrogators that the last mission to the centre before his arrest was the fifth time he was sneaking in to have sex with deranged women, explaining that he knew where the female dormitory was because he had gone to the centre in the past to seek employment, affording him the opportunity to be familiar with the environment.

According to the young man, nightfall had always been his best time for his mission when workers in the centre would have gone home. Once stepping into the female dormitory, he eases his way with his target by offering inmates N200.

“I was under alcohol influence as at the time I jumped into the compound because I could hardly remember everything I did till day break,” he said.

His father, who spoke to The Guardian under anonymity, said he had sent Sulaiman to deliver a parcel to his sister who lives in Ikorodu.

“We live in Bariga in a rented apartment and his mother sent him to drop some herbal medicine for his pregnant sister who lives in

Ikorodu. I can’t believe that my son could be sleeping with mad women when there are lots of girls around. At least, he is just 21.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences has arraigned him at the Special Offences Court, Alausa, Ikeja on a fourcount charge for scaling the 14-feet fence of the rehabilitation home and sleeping with mentally ill inmates, thus committing an offence punishable under the laws of Lagos State.

Though he pleaded not guilty, and was granted bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties, who must be civil servants and present evidence of tax payment for five years, he could not meet the bail conditions, causing him to be detained at Badagry Prison.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, lamented that there are a lot of satanic rituals going on in the society, wondering what could have made a young man scale the fence to sleep with a mentally challenged woman.

“It is this same satanic ritual that makes a herbalist to tell a man to bring the private part of somebody to be used for rituals without killing the person in order to get rich,” he said.

He said it was senseless and baseless for a man to want to sleep with a mad woman, thinking that his fortune in life would change for the better.

According to him, the only thing such a bizarre act could do to a man was to make him contract deadly diseases.

Female journalist, Kafayat Odunsi laid to rest amid tears

By Wole Oyebade HE remains of Kafayat Odunsi, a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and correspondent with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) 10, Lagos, was yesterday laid to rest, amidst tears and grief.

Late Odunsi, 33, was one of the three journalists that perished in last Friday night’s fatal road accident on Ibadan-Ilesha Expressway, Osun State. Others were Olatunde Oluwanike of the Federal Radio Corporation Nigeria, Ibadan and Adolphous Okonkwo of the Champion newspaper.

According to sources, she had travelled with executives of Lagos and Oyo NUJ to Abuja, to explain why dues of the NTA arm of NUJ, where she was financial

T

secretary, was not remitted to the National body as at when due.

Beginning from 3:15p.m. when her body arrived at the news division of the NTA Tejuoso (where flags flew at half mast), colleagues, family and friends wept freely as the loss gradually dawned on them.

Both the young and old could not be consoled as they took the last glimpse of their beloved one, covered in white apparel, during the burial rites conducted according to Islamic tradition.

The body was interred at OkeSuna Cemetery, Lagos Island at 4:42p.m.

Among the crowd of mourners was Odunsi’s immediate younger brother, Ahmed Odunsi, for whom the deceased had been a mother since their

mum passed on some 20 years ago.

Ahmed told The Guardian that Kafayat had played out the role of “our mother and breadwinner” since she came of age, “and it was the role she played till Friday evening when she died.”

“But what can we do? God giveth and God taketh,” he said with tremor in his voice.

NTA Lagos Manager of News and Current Affairs, Funke Oga, in mourning mood, also described her exit as unfortunate and least expected.

Oga said: “Kaffy, as we often call her here, was one of the most diligent hands in this station.

She would be remembered for her exceptional handling of assignments. Her death is least expected and so unfortunate,” she said.

Kafayat Odunsi (INSET) being laid to rest yesterday in Lagos.

Mini-churches in Abuja markets create noise pollution From Lillian Chukwu, Abuja VERY mid-day at Line B34 of the Wuse Central Market in Abuja, the giant loudspeakers placed strategically at the centre of the narrow passageways into the shops, would blast out the Christian preacher’s sermon for “redemption of lost souls.”

This is one of the Wuse Market mini-churches, which has become the norm in most Abuja main markets, from Utako to Garki to Karu and even Apo Mechanic Village.

As the Pastor in striped white shirt with a yellow tie and flannel trousers continued his prayers of assured blessings for traders who “would sow seed for God’s mission and ministry to move forward,” the atmosphere charged as shouts of “Amen” was heard from traders who had abandoned their

E

shops to receive the “gift of prophesy” from the “man of God.” Nnneka Nduka, a customer to one of the praying traders, told The Guardian that once the prayers start, she would have to wait for about 40 minutes till it ends to be attended to or she would be “signaled to go and come back later.”

These mobile churches, according to a trader, Uche Ogbodo, is aimed at disarming any negative spiritual attack against the traders, mostly of Igbo origin and uplift one’s spirit.

He said the services varied, as they could be conducted twice daily everyday or three times weekly depending on agreements between the traders and the pastors.

In Utako Market, another trader, Tijani Abdul, lamented

the high level of noise pollution being constituted by these “noisy services.”

He feared that “in these times of unrest and insecurity, the propaganda of one religion in a common place of trading could trigger off an orgy of violence and misunderstanding. “Imagine, if the Moslems or other religions declare these sessions

A scene at Wuse Market...

daily too, what would become of these markets?” he queried.

The Operations Manager, Fanen Systems, managing consultants for Utako Market for Abuja Municipal Area Council, Victor Eloke, said that sanity would soon be restored in the market as the administrators would soon embark on noise control.

Odimegwu turns 60 on Wednesday NE of Nigeria’s most outO standing boardroom guru, an accomplished technocrat and current Chairman, National Population Commission Eze Festus Odimegwu will be 60 years on Wednesday, August 7.

Odimegwu holds a first class degree in Chemistry and an M.Sc in Brewing Technology from Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK. In the course of his career he attended the Graduate School of Business, Wharton, Unilever Four Acre Training Centre, HTS Training centre at Zoeterwoude, London Business School and Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

A seasoned administrator and professional manager, Odimegwu has over 28 years varied experience spanning across manufacturing and banking and Finance sectors of the economy. He is the Chair-

man of FS Group of Companies and Quintessentially Nigeria Ltd. Odimegwu was the foremost MD/CEO of the Nigerian Breweries PLC, under whose leadership the company’s stocks became the most capitalized in the Nigerian Stock Market.

In recognition of his selfless dedication to service, he was conferred with the Commander Order of the Niger (CON) and an award at the 2013 ZIK Prize for Leadership Awards.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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Business We are driving social entrepreneurship by using ‘patient’ capital to build inclusive societies

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AFC, GTBank, MESL seal $170 million financing pact for Kainji’s privatisation

By Chijioke Nelson and Sulaimon Salau HE Africa Finance T Corporation (AFC) has provided a $170 million debt financing facility, under the scheme of arrangement that has Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) underwriting the loan, for the acquisition of of Jebba Power Station and Kainji Power Station, by Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL).

On Friday, GTBank and MESL sealed about N27 billion medium term syndicated acquisition facility, for the purpose of part-financing the concession of the power stations, owned by Kainji Hydro Electric Plc. The move, which was aimed at consolidating MESL’s bid for the takeover of Kainji Hydro Electric, under the current privatization programme, would assist also in paying off the last install-

ment for the power firm, which date was approaching.

The syndication was fully underwritten by GTBank, which also acted as mandated lead arranger on the transaction, while the Africa Finance Corporation acted as co-mandated lead arranger.

Kainji Hydro Electric is one of the 18 unbundled successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc, which was awarded to MESL under the privatization

process and incorporates the right to design, construct, operate and maintain the two power plants.

Commenting on the scheme, the President and Chief Executive Officer, AFC, Andrew Alli, said: “AFC’s long term vision is to help address Africa’s infrastructure deficit and ensure sustainable economic growth for the continent. Growth of the Nigerian economy cannot be fully realised without an efficient

and functioning power sector. Power is one of AFC’s high priority sectors for investment, and arguably Africa’s most significant need.”

Alli, who was represented by the Executive Director and General Counsel, AFC, Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, added: “To this end AFC has partnered with the United States government through the United States Agency for International Development in the $7 billion “Power Africa Initiative” to accelerate investment in Africa’s power sector over the next five years and increase access to clean, geothermal, hydro, wind and solar energy. AFC’s investment in Kanji power will contribute towards reducing Nigeria’s chronic power deficit, foster economic growth and create employment.

The Chairman of MESL, Col. Sani Bello (rtd), said: “This financing represents an important milestone for the company in its bid to play a key role in the power sector reform initiative of the Federal Government.

Investors stake N148b on FGN bond in one week

By Helen Oji OR the week ended August 2, transactions in the OverThe-Counter (OTC) market for FGN bonds recorded a turnover of 146.632 million units valued at N148.095 billion, exchanged in 1,043 deals.

This amount, was however, lower than 215.032 million units worth N230.068 billion, exchanged in 1,519 deals during the preceding week ended July 26.

Similarly, a turnover of 1.364 billion shares worth of N16.168 billion in 28,322 deals were traded during the week by investors on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in contrast to 2.5 billion shares valued at N17.035 billion that changed hands during the preceding week in 28,638 deals.

Specifically, at the closed of transactions last week, the financial services sector led the activity chart in volume terms with a turnover of 990.484 million shares valued at N7.916 billion traded in 15,243 deals, contributing 72.61 per cent, 48.96 per cent and 53.82 per cent to the total equity turnover volume, value and number of deals respectively.

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Minister for Industry,Trade and Investment. Olusegun Aganga (right); Managing Director, BUA Sugar Refinery, Godwin Isibor; Executive Director, Silva Kumar; and Mohammed Ibrahim, at the facility tour of the BUA Refinery by the Minister, at the weekend.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Govt targets export market for refined sugar

By Femi Adekoya IGERIA may, by 2016, emerge a net exporter of refined sugar products, going by the pace of development on the commodity’s refineries in the country.

The development is coming barely a month after the Federal Government commenced the implementation of the Backward Integration Policy (BIP) in the sugar industry.

Indeed, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has commended the sugar refiners for the progress recorded within the time frame.

Specifically, the Minister noted that if the plan is effectively implemented, going by the pace being experienced in the industry, “Nigeria may soon begin to focus on the export market from 2016.”

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Savours pace of master plan implementation by refiners Stakeholders meet tomorrow to address allocation challenges However, the three major sugar refiners have urged the Federal Government to increase sugar allocation to them to enhance production and boost the supply chain.

To this end, representatives of the refiners, comprising Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Group, and Golden Sugar Refinery would meet with the Federal Government tomorrow, to seek panacea to the challenges encountered by the refineries in the course of implementing the backward integration policy.

Speaking during a facility tour of BUA Sugar Refinery in Lagos, at the weekend, the Minister noted that the level of success recorded by the refineries in terms of sugar production and investment

in the sector is highly commendable.

According to him, the whole idea of the backward integration plan was to reduce importation of raw sugar and eventually increase refineries’ capacity to invest in sugarcane plantation such that attention would be focused on the export market.

He said: “We have done very well since September last year when it was introduced.

We have worked with different groups and received their plans. We have to commend the refineries. We are moving to the next level of the integration plan. With the level of capacity utilisation recorded, this would aid job creation in the country.

“Today’s (Saturday) visit is to

assess the refineries’ demonstration to the BIP. We are also working with them on their sugar allocation based on their commitment to the BIP. We hope to replicate the success recorded in the cement industry in the sugar industry.”

The Group Chief Operating Officer, BUA Group, Chimaobi Madukwe, commended the government for its commitment to the sector while stressing the need for an increase in its sugar allocation in order to help the firm remain in production.

According to him, local firms have expressed commitment to supporting government’s initiative, “but to sustain the current growth

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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14 | THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

TheGuardian Conscience Nurtured by Truth

FOUNDER: ALEX U. IBRU (1945 – 2011)

Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it. Uthman dan Fodio 1754-1816

Editorial Dearth of ideas and fuel scarcity ITH the controversy raging over non-payment of monies owed fuel importers, it W is obvious that a certain dearth of ideas governs the management of the nation’s fuel import and consumption, thereby allowing a regime of monumental corruption.

The scheme has been so thoroughly corrupted by schedule officers in the relevant agencies, who added to the ranks of established and well-meaning oil marketers, flyby-night briefcase contractors who not only collect huge subsidy payments on products they did not supply but also line up fat phantom claims. The Federal Government colluded in that ignoble act in order to bloat subsidy payments and claims that would make the outlay on subsidy appear unsustainable. This is the lie Nigeria lives and which must not continue.

There exists an agreement for the relevant federal agencies to effect necessary subsidy payments 45 days after the importer delivers any consignment of petroleum products. That period of grace is enough for the government agencies to verify the genuineness and size of specific subsidy claims made by any oil marketer.

In July, only 14 per cent of the accrued subsidy claims by the major oil marketers were reportedly settled. Even then the Federal Ministry of Finance claimed that, “so far in 2013 total payments made to oil marketers stand at N240.587 billion.” The ministry should transparently account for the subsidy payments by publishing the monthly breakdown of petrol volumes delivered and trucked out and subsidy collected per oil marketer.

The failure by government to settle the oil marketers’ outstanding subsidy claims as and when due, as pointed out by a representative of the major oil marketers, jeopardizes the ability of affected marketers to continue to import petrol, undermines their hard-earned good standing with creditor banks that thereby risk being plunged into distress and unduly increases the petrol subsidy burden on the people.

Surely, if and when continued payment delays force the major oil marketers, which together currently rank next to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the largest importers of petrol, to discontinue further importation, another round of petrol scarcity will be upon Nigerians. Government should therefore not precipitate that eventuality through its clearly tendentious settlement of subsidy claims in an apparent plot to overturn the 2012 petrol price compact which it reluctantly signed with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and by extension the Nigerian people.

Such a plot will amount to courting social unrest. Government should not orchestrate seesaw fuel prices through the poorly-disguised strategy of undersupplying various petroleum products, which for years has been the lot of helpless Nigerians. The Jonathan administration should also stop labouring under the fixation and threadbare arguments that it takes only unsubsidised fuel prices to make domestic refineries work well and the economy to succeed.

As a matter of fact, cheap energy for all, which subsidising petroleum products symbolises, benefits the entire economy. It is instructive that the world’s leading economies hanker after cheap energy all the time: indeed, most developed economies rest on the strong foundation laid in the pre-OPEC era when they succeeded in keeping down energy prices. And till this day they do their utmost to lower international crude oil prices. It is therefore myopic and self-destructive for any under-developed country endowed with crude oil like Nigeria to seek to set its domestic energy prices at the ruling international crude oil prices. It is noteworthy that petrol sells for less than N10 per litre in Venezuela and yet petroleum refineries work optimally there. We are even not aware of any OPEC country where prices of refined petroleum products move one-to-one with international crude oil prices.

Need we point out that Indonesia nurtured its industries with cheap domestic petroleum prices and opted out of OPEC? Today Nigeria imports all manner of manufactured goods from far-away Indonesia!

Meanwhile, for the fiscal strain of subsidised or cheap energy policy to abate, the country’s requirements of refined petroleum products should be obtained from domestic refineries. Government should therefore breathe life into the petroleum downstream sector. And some debris must be sidelined. Firstly, the tenacious public control of the four NNPC refineries would very likely make them end up as mere relics like NITEL. Secondly, the promoters given licences to establish medium-sized refineries since 2002 would remain nonstarters. Thirdly, nothing should be expected from that investor whose antecedents are known only to the Ministry of Trade and Investment and who offered to set up six modular refineries before some deadline that is a ruse. Fourthly, the promised two Chinese refineries were predicated on government contracts and may likewise not see the light of day. Again, it is too early to know if the proposed petroleum refinery to be sited at the Olokola Free Trade Zone will break the jinx. The unedifying 55-year record of commercial petroleum production is a uniquely Nigerian disgrace.

Therefore, the federal executive and legislative arms should change tack and deal firmly with the petroleum sector. The long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill should be passed now with provisions that compel upstream companies in the petroleum industry to refine in Nigeria a specific proportion of their crude oil output within a clearly stated deadline. (There should also be stipulation for harnessing as much associated natural gas as possible for domestic use and export.) Such refineries, if need be, may be operated under the conditions granted to companies based in the export processing zones. That way, refined petroleum products for domestic consumption may be imported from Nigeria-based export refineries and subsidised as politically deemed fit.

Importantly, if and when the Federal Government adopts international best-practices to determine the naira exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, the ensuing realistic naira value will produce steadily shrinking petroleum subsidy margins. And as overall economic prospects improve, the Nigerian people, being rational, would not hesitate to pay fuel pump prices with inbuilt tax to boost government revenue.

LETTERS

Rape on democracy Those who have StheIR:watched the video clips of just ended charade in the Rivers State House of Assembly will agree with me that our politicians should be subjected to Freudian psychology of psychoanalysis.

They need clinical psychologist to examine if some of them apply reason in the legislative duties.

It is so disheartening to

watch our politicians commit impunity in the practice of democracy. What insolence! What impudent! What disrespect! How can the political class trample so brazenly on constitution? It is obvious that our legislators have turned the chambers into a theatre of the absurd disregarding the constitution.

There is tyranny in the

whole nation, tyranny in the universities, tyranny in the society. There is economic strangulation in the entire republic and nobody cares.

What baffles me is the manner with which we absorb shock, suffering and smiling, allowing few persons to enjoy and lavish wealth at the expense of the poor masses.

• Oliver Nkannebe, Lagos.

Playing the terrorist’s game The crashing of that car pictures. They did, never too are on the pages of newspaSsign,IR:against the pole of a road scared to run away. He began pers further encouraging that the brutal method they chose to enact the murder, the dragging of the corpse from the leaves-obscured wall by the sidewalk to the very centre of the road were all spectacle building.

Michael Adebolajo had been spewing his vile rants on many London streets for years, distributing extreme pamphlets but he felt no one was listening. And so he looked for a bigger stage.

Even the act of retaining his knife and meat cleaver for 20 minutes after his brutality and passing it from one hand to the other was part of his spectacle shrewdness. Then he marched down the road to the line of spectators and coopted them as his “messengers” to the whole world.

While drenched in blood, never for one moment dropping his instruments of murder, he asked them to take his

to bounce triumphantly on his feet as he turned away having being satisfied the scene he had carefully built would give his ‘message’ a high viral value.

We all fell for it.

A day after the murder, I passed through the place around 9pm. There were 11 media vans there with satellite dishes pointing skyward and miles and miles of wires from them coiling through the streets heading for many more cameras and microphones variously positioned around the grisly scene. In the first interview Mrs. Ingrid LoyauKenneth gave the day after, she said having felt the pulse of the dead soldier, she said: “I thought these people usually have a message so I said ‘what do you want?’” That opportunity to deliver their message is every terrorist’s dream. And otherwise intelligent minds

opportunity by connecting their message to Britain’s foreign policy in Muslim countries.

As the terrorists operating in Nigeria – Boko Haram – have shown, they don’t need Britain or American policies in Muslim countries before they become or continue as terrorists. Adebolajo would perhaps be happy that he who was merely hustling from street to street trying to distribute his message had now reached millions of homes. He and his bedfellows now know they don’t need to go as far as crashing planes into tall buildings or planting bombs into the underground to whip the tactless media and the government into a convulsive frenzy, ordinary knives and meat cleavers would do.

• Damola Awoyokun, London.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013 THE GUARDIAN, Monday, June 6, 2011

15

Oil & GasWeekly DOWNSTREAM NEWS Remi Aiyela, Editor-in-Chief

editor@NOGintelligence.com www.NOGintelligence.com

UPSTREAM NEWS

Shell Prepares To Sell 4 OMLs

HELL Petroleum Development Company of SMining Nigeria (SPDC) has begun talks on 4 of its Oil Leases (OML) in preparation for inviting

bids for its sale. It follows SPDC's recent announcement that it was following a strategy of "selective divestment" and "concentrating the operating footprint into a smaller, more contiguous area."

On the chopping block are onshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 and OML 16 as well as the shallow offshore blocks, OML 71 and OML 72, Reuters reports.

Talks are said to be progressing with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the 55 per cent joint venture (JV) partners in the blocks.

Total and Eni are also JV partners in the blocks with 10 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Shell owns the remaining 30 per cent interest. Total and Eni have been rather silent partners in the previous Shell divestments and they are saying nothing so far on the latest round.

The sticking point in the past divestments has been the issue of the operatorship of the block.

Investors in those divestments had assumed that the operatorship of the block would transfer neatly from Shell to them but NNPC insisted that under the terms of the JV Agreements, the operatorship would revert to it. With these new divestments, NNPC is likely to similarly insist that it will operate the assets.

The international oil company (IOC) divestments have proven to be an entrée into the upstream play for indigenous companies, something that Shell alluded to in its statement that it is "supporting the Government's policy of encouraging investment by indigenous companies in the Nigerian oil and gas industry." It remains to be seen whether the indigenous companies who are looking to make their mark as upstream operators may be deterred from bidding if NNPC insists on being the operator of the OMLs. OML 13, the easternmost of the 4 blocks is, together with its near neighbour, OML 16, in Ogoniland, an area that Shell had all but abandoned for almost 20 years. Only recently, SPDC re-entered the community, but was keen to stress that it was there to conduct an inventory of its assets in Ogoniland. At the time SPDC said its re-entry, after engagements and consultations with the Ogoni communities, was in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland under which, SPDC says, it was required to conduct a comprehensive review of its assets and develop a decommissioning plan. Commentators have suggested that indigenous companies are likely to be able to forge a better relationship with the communities in Ogoniland than SPDC ever could given all the disputes, some of which are ongoing, between the company and the local communities.

Previous moves by NNPC to resume oil production from 30 or so oil fields belonging to the SPDC Joint Venture in the area were unsuccessful in the face of opposition from the Ogoni people who were said to oppose the re-entry plan due to the Federal Government's delay in implementing the UNEP report on oil pollution in their environment.

Since 2010, Shell and its JV partners have sold their interests in eight OMLs for a total of $1.8 billion but SPDC Managing Director, Mutiu Sunmonu stresses that: "Nigeria remains an important part of Shell's portfolio, with clear growth potential, particularly in deepwater and onshore gas. This strategic review marks another step in re-focusing the SPDC portfolio."

OPEC Daily Basket Price Stood at $106.10 a Barrel Thursday, 1 August 2013

HE price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes gained T $1.13 to hit $106.10 dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with $104.97 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

Meanwhile Brent crude gained $1.18 to $108.88 a barrel and hit $109.45 Thursday, the highest since July 16. It ended July with the largest monthly per centage gain since August 2012.

U.S. crude outpaced Brent, gaining $2.43 to rise to $107.46 after hitting a 16-month peak earlier in July.

Prices are holding high on the strength of the strong economic data from China and Europe, indicating a stronger outlook for demand, especially in view of the political unrest in Libya and Iraq, which could disturb supplies. Surveys of the Euro Zone suggest that the region may pull out of recession this quarter. Analysts say the concern over output from Libya and Iraq, which could be disrupted by political unrest, as well as Nigeria, which continues to see a dropinproductionduetoepidemiclevelsofoiltheft, is underpinning price gains. The disruptions have cut OPEC output, which is now at a 4-month low.

Oando to Get Oil Tanker Tracking and Monitoring Devices

ScompanyEarthSearch,asubsidiaryofEastCoast U Diversified Corporation (ECDC), is to supply 400 oil tanker tracking and monitoring devices to its West African Regional licensee, Halogen Security based in Nigeria for delivery to its client Oando Plc. This is one of the several phases in deploying technology to the Oando fleet of oil tankers.

Halogen Security is the exclusive licensee for EarthSearch's products and services for the West African region. Commenting on the development, Kayode Aladesuyi, CEO of ECDC said: "Working with Halogen to establish presence in the West African region has been quite exciting. Halogen is a leader in the security services industry and possesses a wealth of resources that would allow it to penetrate the regional market with our products. We look forward to many more announcements such as the one today."

it has reserved for the domestic market. The company used to supply 150,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to local companies but has now increased it to 250,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) in its effort to support the effort to encourage the general population to switch to LPG. This comes just after NLNG lifted its force majeure declaration on LPG supply to the domestic market following the end of the blockade of Bonny Port by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

The General Manager, External Relations, of NLNG, Kudo Eresia-Eke, said decision was taken after a survey conducted by NLNG discovered that domestic consumption of LPG had exceeded 150,000 MTPA. This represents a 43 per cent increase in demand from 2008 when NLNG began to supply LPG for local consumption.

The increase in demand is good news for the Federal Government, which has been trying to encourage the switch to the cleaner fuel from firewood and other environmentally harmful sources. The figure is however abysmal in comparison with the population of the country, the largest producer of LPG in West Africa.

The Nigerian Liquid Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) has welcomed the move and the President of NLPGA, Dayo Adeshina told NOGintelligence: "I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to NLNG for the recent increase in the domestic LPG market from 150KT to 225500KT. This shows NLNG's long-term commitment to deepening the domestic market and we hope the Federal Government will take a cue from this and substantially reduce the distribution of kerosene and switch the teeming populace to a cleaner healthier LPG. On our part, we will continue to work round the clock to make sure LPG is distributed to the entire nation."

The increase in supply should help bring down the price of LPG after prices escalated in the middle of the NIMASA blockade. At the height of the blockade, a 12.5kg cylinder of gas, which was sold at N2,800 was being sold at between N3,500 and N4,500 and prices have not yet begun to come down even after supplies returned to normal.

NLNG, which supplies about 70 per cent of Nigeria's LPG for local consumption, is a joint venture between theNigerianNationalPetroleumCorporation(49per cent), Shell (25.6 per cent), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15 per cent) and ENI International (10.4 per cent).

Nigeria's gas reserves are estimated at around 187 tril-

REGULATORY NEWS

NLNG Lifts Force Majeure on Exports of Gas IGERIAN Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has liftN ed the force majeure on its exports of gas following the end of the blockade of Bonny Port by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). The blockade ended after NLNG finally capitulated and paid the outstanding levies of $140 million, which NIMASA claims it is owed. The payment is in settlement of levies NIMASA from October 2009 to May 2013.

General Manager, External Relations, of NLNG, Kudo Eresia-Eke said: "As at today, the 6-Train NLNG Bonny complex finally reached its normal operating capacity," adding that operations can now be fully normalised. NLNG is now supplying its customers, which include Spain's Repsol, Italy's Enel, Britain's BG Group France's GDF Suez and Portugal's Galp although the company says that after four force majeure declarations in this year alone, its customers are beginning to ask questions about their deliverability.

NLNG is continuing to pursue a judicial interpretation of the position through the courts after losing $475 million in exports. The company has said it will also continue to pay the levies that NIMASA is demanding even whilst continuing to dispute the validity of the claim. The court proceedings have been adjourned to September 29. NLNG said: "NLNG, as a law abiding corporate firm, will be guided by the outcome of the judicial process and expects that other parties will do same."

NLNG, Nigeria's largest gas exporter says it exported associated gas worth about $17 billion in 12 years.

The company said it converted about 92 billion cubic meters (bcm) of associated gas to export 968 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and 145 Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) product cargoes cumulatively from 1999 to 2011. NLNG says it contributes about 4 per cent of Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year.

NLNG Increases Volume of Cooking Gas to Domestic Market

HENigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited T has increased the quantity of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas that

NEITI Presents Audit Report for 2009-11

HE Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency T Initiative (NEITI) has presented its audit report the period 2009 to 2011 for the oil and gas sector.

In her welcome speech at the presentation of the report, Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said: "In line with the EITI new standard adopted during the recently concluded global Conference of the Organization in Sydney, Australia and the focus on impacts of EITI process, NEITI has blazed the trail by embarking on Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit. This is a new and novel audit, Nigeria is the first Country undertakes this nature of exercise."

The global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which Nigeria signed up to since 2003 requires member countries to publish on a regular basis audit reports to acquaint the citizens with current information and data on what extractive companies paid to governments in terms of royalties, taxes, levies, signature bonuses, rents etc. The payments are to be reconciled with what governments received from the companies for their business with the extractive resources. However, Nigeria supported and enforced the implementation of the process in Nigeria with the NEITI Act 2007, which requires NEITI to do even more than their obligations under the EITI global process.

The report is to meet the statutory mandate and both aspects of the Audit constitute the NEITI 20092011 Oil and Gas Audit Report.

Speaking on behalf of the National stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), Chairman of NEITI, Mr Ledum Mitee said at the presentation of the report: "I wish to make it very clear that NEITI neither generates nor manufactures either information or data.

The reports we are making public today are based on information and data mandatorily provided to NEITI through our independent auditors by both relevant government agencies as well as companies doing business in the sector for the period under review."

Key Findings and Recommendations of the NEITI Report

in association with

HE highlights of the NEITI report include the folT lowing findings: • Nigeria recorded a total crude oil production of over 2.5 billion barrels for the period, an increase of 4.8% over 2006 - 2008 period. From this production, the Federation earned total revenue of $143.5 billion from equity crude sales, royalty, signature bonuses, taxes etc.

• Flared gas reduced by 25%.

• The disparity between subsidy claims paid from the Federation account and that made by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) was N175.9 billion during the period.

• The subsidy payments made through NNPC increased from N198 billion in 2009 to N416 billion in 2010 and nearly doubled when it rose to N786 billion in 2011.

• During the same period, subsidy paid through PPPRA increased from N208 billion in 2009 to N278 billion in 2010 and also increased astronomically to N1.12 trillion in 2011.

• Over 136 million barrels, which estimated at $10.9 billion was lost to crude oil theft and sabotage as well as about 10 million barrels valued at $894 million as a result of pipeline vandalism in downstream. This amount was 7.7% of the total revenue accrued to the federation.

• Inadequate funding of JV operations was one of the reasons for the decline of government crude oil productions, crude liftings and revenues accruable to the Federation.

• All refineries are operating below their name-plate capacities The combined loss to Nigeria in the Offshore Processing, Crude and Products Exchange within the period under review was over $866 million.

• The MOUs for joint venture partners JV's, which expired in 2008 are yet to be renewed.

• There is no agreed pricing methodology between NNPC and the companies for the determination of fiscal values for royalty and PPT computations.

• Other key findings made by the audit include poor inventory management, which accounted for the difficulty in determining depot balances for imported products.

• The amount of N4.423 billion being over-recovery of subsidy payments collected from some marketers is yet to be remitted to the Federation account by PPPRA while NNPC and two other companies are yet to refund N3.715 billion.

Key recommendations The Report made far-reaching recommendations on measures to remedy the situation including: • Urgent need for Federal government's intervention to review existing agreements in the industry with the companies.

• A deliberate policy on construction of new refineries through private sector initiatives, and privatization of existing ones.

• The need for NNPC to speed up all cases of Arbitration.

• PPPRA should remit all funds amounting to N4.423 billion arising from the "over-recovery" collected to the Federation account.

• The need to install inlet-metering devices to measure production from the flow stations to the tank farms as well as measures to embrace approved standard measurement in the upstream and downstream operations in the oil and gas industry.

The Report recommended that the Federal Government should set up a committee to review and agree on a new fiscal regime and governance framework for the oil and gas industry and define a clear road map for implementation while pushing for early passage of Petroleum Industry Bill.

Execitive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said: "I also wish to call on development partners to support NEITI on remediation and automation of its audit process as well as on dissemination of the audits reports."

The reports were produced by two indigenous auditing Firms (Sada Idris & Co and Haruna Yahaya & Co) both of whom were chosen after a transparent international competitive bid process.

The full report is available to download on the NEITI website: www.neiti.org.ng

Senate To Investigate Malabu Oil Deal

Senate, has said it is to investigate the Malabu Oil deal controversy after mandating its Committees on Finance and Petroleum (Upstream) to look into the controversial $1.09 billion transaction particularly the role of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke who is said to have written to foreign environmental activist group, Global Witness, saying that the House had investigated and cleared him of all wrongdoing in relation to the transaction.

Senate President, David Mark, said it was necessary for Senate to thoroughly investigate the case with a view to unraveling the controversial circumstances surrounding the case.

The Malabu Oil deal involves Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, which was original awarded to Malabu Oil before it was revoked and re-awarded to Shell and Eni. Malabu Oil brought a lawsuit against the Federal Government and in the ensuing lawsuit, a settlement was brokered by the Federal Government. Following the settlement, Shell/Eni allegedly paid the sum of $1.3 billion to the Federal Government and were allowed to keep OPL 245. Malabu was then paid $1.09 billion out of that sum by the Federal Government.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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Televeras, Northwest Power win bid for Afam Genco, Kaduna Disco

By Roseline Okere

ALEVERAS Group has T emerged the preferred bidder for Afam Genco with an offer price of $260 million, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), has said.

The BPE said that Northwest Power Limited had the highest Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection Loss reduction (AT&C) of 29.26 per cent in respect of Kaduna Disco It said in a statement at the weekend, that the reserved bidder for Afam plant was TES Power, which had an offer price of $222.9 million.

“The ATC & C loss reduction proposal by the other bidders for Kaduna Disco are LEDA Consortium (26.71 per cent); NAHCO Consortium

(22.83 per cent); Incar Consortium (22.73 per cent); Copper belt Consortium (21.07 per cent); and Axis Power Distribution Limited (17.40 per cent).

Chairman of the Technical Committee (TC) of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Atedo Peterside, who presided over the bids opening, said the results are subject to NCP’s final approval.

The Chairman said: “For Kaduna Disco, we are seeking to establish which bidder is offering the highest aggregate technical commercial and collection loss reduction figure (ATC &C)”.

He added that the use of ATC&C method is a clear departure from NCP’s usual practice of awarding compa-

nies to the bidder who makes the highest financial offer after being technically qualified.

Peterside noted that the NCP had done its very best to ensure that the level of transparency that heralded the previous sale of 15 companies was maintained in the sale of Afam Power Plc and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company Plc. “Accordingly the NCP is confident that this process will produce the most appropriate core investors and fulfill the government objectives of rapid transformation of the electric power sector”, he

added.

The Director-General of the BPE, Benjamin Ezra Dikki, said that the event was another testimony of the success of the reforms of the power sector that began with the constitution of the Electric Power Sector Implementation Committee (EPIC) by the NCP, to undertake a comprehensive study of the electricity power industry.

“The reform initiatives resulted in the preparation of a power policy blueprint that defined government’s new direction for the electric power sector that culminat-

ed in the production of the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP) in March 2001 and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in September 2001. The reforms of the power sector were however stalled until it was reinvigorated by the Transformation Agenda of the Goodluck/Sambo administration”, he said.

The BPE boss noted that with the over 100 submissions received for the NIPP plants less than two weeks ago and the quality of the bidders, “we can beat our chests and say the power sector reforms have succeeded. Our dream

to introduce a better operating environment that is efficient, effective and well regulated and enticing to private sector participation has become a reality.

“The participation of the private sector should bring about higher generation capacities through the provision of more efficient and cost-effective power stations and improvements in the distribution sector in the areas of billing and collection, distribution networks”.

He added that with the bids opening, the preferred bidders will be given a timeline to pay and takeover the

Govt savours pace of master plan implementation by sugar refiners CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 and success story, we need to be incentivised and encouraged like it is being done in other sectors.”

Executive Director, BUA Sugar Refinery, Siva Kuma, added that the company has acquired a large expanse of arable land to aid its sugarcane production, noting that the company has recorded at least 95 per cent increase in capacity utilisation and would remain committed to investing in the nation’s economy and job creation.

Managing Director of the company, Goddie Isibor, explained: “Presently, we have been operating at 95 per cent capacity utilisation

in the last two months and production rate has been at an average of 42,000 metric tonnes per month or 640,000 metric tonnes per annum. This means that we will certainly run out of raw sugar and therefore shut operations in the last quarter of the year.

“When factories shutdown or reduce production, smuggled goods take over, workers become redundant and even funding for backward integration is affected. We hope government addressees this.”

It could be recalled that the Federal Executive Council had on October 19, 2012, approved the Nigerian National Sugar Masterplan.

Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah (left); and Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the setting up of a Regional Cyber Crime Centre in Nigeria, in Geneva.

MESL gets $170m lifeline for Kainji’s privatisation plan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 The banking sub-sector, boosted by activities in the shares of Sterling Bank Plc and UBA Plc, was the most active sub-sector on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 638.021 million shares valued at N6.093 billion, exchanged hands by

investors in 10,059 deals.

Also, the banking sub-sector accounted for 46.77 per cent and 37.69 per cent of the total sub-sector traded volume and value respectively.

Traded during the week were 80 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N165, 000 executed in two deals compared with a

total of 80 units valued at N165, 400 transacted last week in two deals.

The NSE All-Share Index appreciated by 3.44 per cent to close on Friday at 38,424.34 while the market capitalization of the listed equities on the main board also appreciated 3.44 per cent to close at N12.169 trillion.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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N-BCC decries proposed visa bond, seeks policy reversal Stories by Chijioke Nelson HE controversial £3,000 cash bond attached to the British visa for some select countries, including Nigeria, have continued to generate comments and outright criticisms, especially as it has been assessed as discriminatory and a return to petty protectionism.

The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), while baring fangs on the proposed scheme said “the move leaves a bad taste in the mouth and negates the considerable progress, which has been made, in recent time, in the trade relations between Nigeria and Britain.”

Last month, the scheme, which seemed like a hoax, was confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru, when he summoned the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, even as he

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said that the Federal Government was yet to be officially informed.

Under the “pilot” scheme of the proposed policy, which is slated for November, firsttime visitors from six nonwhite Commonwealth countries- India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, including Nigeria, will be required to deposit a cash bond of £3,000 for a British visa.

According to the British assessment, these six coun-

Prince Yemi Adefulu, N-BCC president

tries posed the “most significant risk of abuse” of visas by their citizens; hence the strategy could be a deterrent to overstaying and recovery of costs for use of public services.

But the chamber has raised alarm over what would be lost with the proposition, adding that the progress,

which had been made with the introduction of long visa regimes for the convenience of the nationals of the two countries in the past few years, might be reversed.

“As our shared experience over the past 50 years showed that populist policy somersaults of this nature only hurt trade and encour-

age our nationals to look elsewhere for their bilateral trade ties, we need a positive tradeenhancing policy which the governments of the two countries should continue to pursue and encourage.

“We welcome the assurance by the British High Commission and the various organs of the British

Government, that this bond has not become policy and was still being considered and it should not be.

“This proposal, in our humble opinion, is short-sighted and ill-considered. It can only hurt trade and cultural ties between the two countries and should be dropped entirely.”

CeBIH pledges to move e-payment scheme forward HE newly elected Chairman, T Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH), Chuks Iku, said that the committee would continue to work to move the electronic payments system in Nigeria forward.

Speaking at the election held in Lagos, Iku, who is the group head, e-Channels, Skye Bank Plc, expressed his appreciation for the confidence reposed on him, while also pledging his total commitment to moving the committee and the indus-

try forward.

He called for cooperation, stressing that a lot had to be done to promote the association and the industry in general.

But the outgoing Chairman, Chuma Ezirim, who is the group head, e-Business, FirstBank, expressed his appreciation to members of the committee for their support during his tenure, even as he attributed all the achievements recorded to the support

received from all members.

He also called for greater level of support for the in-coming executives.

The new executive to serve the group for the next one year include the Vice-Chairman, Simi Osinuga (GTBank), Secretary, Fatai Amoo (Sterling Bank), Assistant Secretary, Bob Nwojo (FirstBank), Financial Secretary, Ben. Anyalekenya (FCMB), Treasurer, Dele Adeyinka (Wema Bank), Publicity Secretary, Fatai

Baruwa (Union Bank), Assistant Publicity Secretary, Ernest Obi (Keystone Bank), Policy Review Secretary, Chioma Nkechika (Zenith Bank) and Internal Auditor, Adeleke Adekoya (Stanbic IBTC).

Established in July 2009, CeBIH comprises of all heads of e-business/e-channels and cards services of all the banks in Nigeria, with the primary objective of promoting electronic banking and serve as a forum for sharing ideas and experiences.

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

Nigeria hosts 2013 African SMEs Expo

By Helen Oji REPARATIONS are on top gear for Nigeria to host the 2013 edition of African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Expo.

The event, which is slated for October 22nd – 25th 2013 at Abuja, would have President Good luck Ebele Jonathan as chief guest of honor, while Dr. Olusegun Aganga would be the chief host.

The forum is aimed at providing an avenue for policy formulation and sharing of ideas on fostering synergy within the Africa SME growth and governments on how to increase foreign direct investment and promote accelerated development of SMEs in Africa and the world at large.

According to the Event Director, Gbenga Agboola of CB Network, the forum will offer capacity building and networking of trade in Africa for SMEs and investors was co –organise

by Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and other relevant stakeholders to create a platform for international business partnership for the emerging and start-up SMEs as well as foster importation of Ideas, exhibition of new Innovations, technology and sharing knowledge of international practice He further highlighted that African SME Expo, was created to brings together decision makers and experts, which would allow, on the one hand, for the presentation of profound validated analysis, and on the other, an examination of this analysis with a view to exploring its capability with decision making process.

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Published in association with

InvestmentWatch Understanding Mutual Fund Investing HE pooling of financial resources togethT er for investment purposes with an objective to minimise risk with varied investment options and maximise returns is the ideology that gave rise to mutual funds. A mutual fund is a fund or a collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors and invests the money in stocks, bonds, short term money market instruments, other securities or assets, or some combination of these investments. This avails small investors who ordinarily would find it quite difficult with a small amount of capital to access diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities which is professionally managed for optimal yield.

Mutual funds are operated by fund managers, who invest the fund’s capital to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s investors. Each share that makes up the fund represents an investor’s proportionate ownership of the fund’s holdings and the income those holdings generate. The combined holdings the mutual fund owns are known as its portfolio. The portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in the prospectus issued by the sponsor of the fund.

Mutual Funds also known as Unit trusts can either be Open Ended Funds or Close Ended Funds. The focus of this write-up will be mutual funds. However, it is needful to be aware that other pooled investment vehicles exist and may offer features that you desire.

Open-Ended Fund: This is a fund that has no restrictions on the amount of shares the fund will issue. If demand is high enough, the fund will continue to issue units no matter how many investors there are. Open-ended funds also buy back units when investors wish to sell. By continuously selling and buying back fund units, these funds provide investors with a very useful and convenient investing vehicle.

Close-Ended Fund: This is a publicly traded investment company that raises a fixed amount of capital through an initial public offering (IPO). The fund is then structured, listed and traded like a stock on a stock exchange. It raises a prescribed amount of capital only once through an IPO by issuing a fixed number of shares, which are purchased by investors in the close-ended fund.

Unlike regular stocks, close-ended fund stock represents an interest in a specialized portfolio of securities that is actively managed by an investment advisor and which typically concentrates on a specific industry, geographic market or sector.

Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) is one which make a one-time public offering of only a spe-

cific, fixed number of redeemable securities called “units” and which will terminate and dissolve on a date specified at the creation of the UIT. Advantages of Mutual Funds Investment Dividend/Interest Payments: Income is earned in the form of dividend payments on stocks and interest payment on bonds in the portfolio. A large proportion of this income (minus expenses) is usually distributed by the fund managers to the unit holders in the form of dividends paid out.

Capital Gains Distributions: The price of the securities a fund owns may increase. When a fund sells a security that has increased in price, the fund has a capital gain. At the end of the year, most funds distribute these capital gains (minus any capital losses) to investors.

Increased Net Asset Value (NAV): If the market value of a fund’s portfolio increases, after deduction of expenses and liabilities, then the value (NAV) of the fund and its units increases. The higher NAV reflects the higher value of your investment.

With respect to dividend payments and capital gains distributions, the fund can send you a warrant or other form of payment, and also gives you a choice to have your dividends or distributions reinvested in the fund to buy more units (often times without paying an additional sales cost).

Professional Investment Management: Selecting the best stocks by yourself may be difficult and time consuming. Allowing a professional fund manager to make decisions about stocks selection and also manage your investment saves you all the worries.

Professional money managers research, select, and monitor the performance of the securities the fund purchases Diversification: Diversification is an investing strategy that can be neatly summed up as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Spreading your investments across a wide range of companies and industry sectors can help lower your risk if a company or sector fails. Some investors find it easier to achieve diversification through ownership of mutual funds rather than through ownership of individual stocks or bonds.

Minimal transaction costs: A Mutual fund buys and sells large amounts of securities at a time, its transaction costs are lower than what an individual would pay for securities transactions. This offers the advantage of economies of scale in purchases and sales of securities.

Affordability: Some mutual funds accommodate investors who do not have a lot of money to invest by setting relatively low

amounts for initial purchases, subsequent monthly purchases, or both. Investing in a mutual fund usually does not require a large sum of money. Most funds do have minimum amounts needed to get started.

Liquidity: Just like an individual stock, a mutual fund allows you to request that your shares be converted into cash at any time. Fund investors can readily redeem their shares at the current Net Asset Value (NAV) plus any fees and charges assessed on redemption at any time.

Simplicity: Buying a mutual fund is easy!

The minimum investment is small. Most funds also have automatic purchase plans whereby as little as less than N20,000 can be invested on a monthly basis.

InvestorInformation:Shareholders receive regular reports from the mutual funds, including details of transactions on a yearto-date basis. The current net asset value of your units (the price at which you may purchase or redeem them) appears in the mutual fund price listings of daily newspapers. You can also obtain pricing and performance results for the mutual funds website or it can be obtained by phone or email from the mutual funds.

Life Cycle Planning: You can link your investment plans to future individual and family needs and make changes as your life cycles change. You can invest in growth funds for future college tuition needs, then move to income mutual funds for retirement, and adjust your investments as your needs change throughout your life. With no-load mutual funds, there are no commissions to pay when you change your investments.

Regulation: Mutual funds are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) and are subject to the provisions of the Investment and Securities Act of 2007 as amended. The Act requires that all mutual funds register with the SEC and that investors be given a prospectus, which must contain full information concerning the fund’s history, operating policies and cost structure. Additionally, all funds use a bank that serves as the custodian of all the pooled assets and have a trustee to the fund.

This safeguard means the securities in the fund are protected from theft, fraud, missinvestment and even the bankruptcy of the fund management company itself.

Predictable Price: Price movements of mutual funds are more predictable than those of individual stocks. Their extensive diversification, coupled with outstanding stock selection, makes it highly unlikely that the overall market will move up with-

out carrying almost all stocks in the mutual fund up with it.

Safe investment Vehicle: Mutual funds are required to hire an independent trust company to hold and account for all the cash and securities in the pool. The trustee has a legally binding responsibility to protect the interests of every unit holder.

Disadvantages Dilution: Although diversification reduces the amount of risk involved in investing in mutual funds, it can also be a disadvantage due to dilution. For example, if a single security held by a mutual fund doubles in value, the mutual fund itself would not double in value because that security is only one small part of the fund’s holdings. By holding a large number of different investments, mutual funds tend to do neither exceptionally well nor exceptionally poorly.

Fees and Expenses: Most mutual funds charge management and operating fees that pay for the fund’s management expenses (usually around 1.0% to 1.5% per year for actively managed funds). In addition, some mutual funds charge high sales commissions, redemption fees and some funds buy and trade shares so often that the transaction costs add up significantly. Some of these expenses are charged on an ongoing basis, unlike stock investments, for which a commission is paid only when you buy and sell.

Loss of Control: The managers of mutual funds make all of the decisions about which securities to buy and sell and when to do so. For example, the tax consequences of a decision by the manager to buy or sell an asset at a certain time might not be optimal for you.

Deposit Insurance: Mutual funds, although regulated by the government, are not insured against losses. The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) only insures against certain losses by Universal Banks, Micro-finance Banks and Primary Mortgage Institutions not mutual funds.

Trading Limitations: Although mutual funds are highly liquid in general, most mutual funds (esp. open-ended funds) cannot be bought or sold in the middle of the trading day. You can only buy and sell them at the end of the day, after the current value of their holdings have been calculated.

Mutual funds are a veritable investment vehicle that accommodates a wide variety of investors no matter your investment style and financial goals because it can offer the advantages of diversification and professional management. You can buy mutual funds by contacting fund or Asset management companies directly or through brokers, banks, financial planners, or insurance agents.

Your decision to call a professional investment adviser may just be what you need to give you a broad and comprehensive feedback on how to invest in Mutual Funds to help you achieve your investment goals and financial objectives. Please join us next week Monday on the concluding session of mutual fund investing.

Kindly let us know if you have found this article useful. Please contact us at: enquiries@investment-one.com

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Insurance NAICOM seeks compliance with building insurance law

By Joshua Nse ORRIED by the rising incidence of collapsed buildings in the country, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has advised the public to insure their building so that they can obtain compensation in the event of accident, warning, however, that non-compliance with public buildings law attracts a penalty of N100,000 or one year imprisonment or both.

The advice came following the recent collapsed buildings in Lagos and Kaduna States. In Lagos alone, over 20 lives have been reported lost in the last six months.

The commission’s Head, Corporate Affairs, Salami Rasaaq, in a statement said the commission sympathised

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with the victims and family members of those who lost their lives in the collapsed buildings, but counseled that “The Federal Government through the Insurance Act 2003, made it compulsory for all buildings used by third parties to be insured against the risks of collapse, fire, earthquakes, storm or flood such that in the event of any of these risks crystallising, adequate compensation would be paid to both victims and families of those who may lose their lives.

Specifically, under Section 65 of the Act, the Occupiers Liability Insurance Policy stipulates that all business and office premises (government, corporate, private), guesthouses, hostels and residential estates among others,

…Sympathises with victims of collapsed buildings must take this compulsory policy cover for protection of this nature.

He said: “The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) deeply sympathises with victims and family members of those that lost their lives in the recent collapsed buildings in Lagos and Kaduna States. In Lagos alone, it is reported that well over 20 lives have been lost to building collapse in the last six months.

Most painful is the fact that majority of those injured have to bear the treatment costs themselves while the families of those that lost their bread winners have no form of compensation, except maybe, the

little that the state government could provide from the scarce resources of the state.

The commission is sad with this avoidable burden on government and victims if only these buildings are adequately insured.

According to him, the Federal Government through the Insurance Act 2003, made it compulsory for all buildings used by third parties to be insured against the risks of collapse, fire, earthquake, storm or flood such that in the event of any of these risks crystallising, adequate compensation would be paid to both victims and families of those who may lose their lives.

“Members of the public are hereby reminded that noncompliance with this provision of the law attracts a penalty of N100,000 or oneyear imprisonment or both.”

“The commission equally seizes this opportunity to urge all State Governors to incept the process of enacting legislation to ensure that all buildings used by third parties within their states are adequately insured so as to give relief to victims of collapsed buildings whenever they occur.”

The managing director and CEO, LASACO Assurance Plc said insurance is a social device and the ideal alternative for Nigerians to take care of these unpredictable losses by buying insurance policy and transfer this burden to the insurers who are the professional risk bearers.

This, he said, would surely ease the burden of government since insurance is a social device providing financial compensation to cushion the effects of unexpected misfortune. Where adequate insurance policy exists for any asset, property destroyed can be reinstated with minimum delay.

The Group Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Akin Ogunbiyi, explained that compliance with the compulsory insurance products had over the years presented both opportunities and challenges to the entire insurance industry in Nigeria.

He said that a large percentage of Nigerians are not aware of these insurances the advantages and benefits that they would get from insuring their property.

What we need to do as an industry, he said, is to come up with products and services that will meet the needs of 160 million Nigerians. In Mutual, we have brought out over 50 different products in this regard.

He said: “We need to look at the products that meet the needs of the common man, create value addition for them and make it affordable. The industry must rise up to create awareness that these products are available and is for the benefit of policyholders when it is enforced in the local government areas, state governments, and when the incidence of collapsed buildings you are talking about happened, it will be taken care of by way of compensation.

Continental Re records N1. 6b profit ONTINENTAL Reinsurance C Plc, the leading composite professional reinsurance

A Nigerian insurance professional in Diaspora, Kenny Borisade (right), with Mayor Rob Ford, the Mayor of Toronto City, at an insurance function in Winnipeg, Canada recently.

SA Life unveils valuplus travel insurance policy TANDARD Alliance Life Slaunched Assurance Limited has Valuplus travel insurance policy to meet the growing demand for cover by the traveling insurance consumers.

The managing director of the company, Austin Enajemo-Isire, who unveils the product in Lagos said, it is a common knowledge that most travelers to countries that require Schengen visas often demand for a valid travel insurance to support their visa application. Also, unexpected expenses such as repatriation and other emergencies could occur. It is in response to this obvious gap that we created the valuplus travel insurance policy.

According to him, the product has a number of benefits, including medical emergency and hospitalisation expenses, repatriation cost,

repatriation expenses in case the unexpected happens, in case of accident, permanent disability and cost of recovering lost passport and luggages.

The valuplus travel policy is available, for instance, to Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and all other Schengen countries. The SA Life boss,

said “Our travel policy comes with some unique benefits, which are corporate cover with special discounts designed for their staff, free cover for children under the age of two years, medical cover up to the tune of €30,000, in-house emergency care everyday. Cover for permanent total disability up to

the tune of €1,000.

He said, however, for more adventurous travellers, we have a Valuplue Go Explore package with higher disability benefits specifically designed for them, distinct from the valuplus standard travel insurance cover. Cover for loss of passport and luggage to the tune of €100 each.

CIIN holds 2013 yearly picnic HE yearly insurance picnic T organised by Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) shall hold on Saturday August 17th, 2013 at Eleko Beach, along the Lagos / Epe Express Road.

The picnic is a yearly social event of the Institute organised for members of the Institute and their families/friends to spend a

day away from their busy official duties. This year’s picnic shall be flagged off by the CIIN President, Mr. F.K. Lawal.

This year’s picnic will feature a variety of activities such as Beach Soccer and Beach Volleyball competitions. The star attraction of the event will be the CIIN President’s tour-round of all

participating companies’ sheds.

The Chairman of the Activities Committee of the Institute, Mr. S.O. Oyefeso, in a statement urged all insurance companies and practitioners to participate at the picnic, stressing that all modalities have been put in place by the committee to ensure a hitch-free event.

company in Africa, has posted a profit before tax of N2 billion while profit after tax stood at N1.6 billion in 2012 financial period.

The firm has a strong total comprehensive net income of NGN 1.7 billion, which is a 44 per cent growth over 2011.

Gross premium income (GPI) grew by 6.4 per cent to NGN12.4 billion spurred by strong performance on the Life portfolio and more moderate growth on the non-life side constrained by tighter underwriting standards and significant negative exchange rate movements against the naira in certain key regional markets.

Retrocession premium at NGN1.6 billion reflects an increase in the retrocession ratio from 11.1 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The increase reflects firmer market conditions and higher costs incurred in purchasing extra catastrophe protection and more capacity to augment Oil and Gas underwriting capacity.

The loss ratio controlled at 46.1 per cent was slightly better than the budgeted 46.5 per cent and gross incurred claims increased by 24.9 per cent due to the impact of the occurrence of a major fire loss (Dangote Sugar Refinery) in Nigeria and the strengthening of loss reserves in conformance with a sterner risk management framework.

However, the net claims incurred increased by a much lesser margin at 7.4 per

cent as a result of retrocession recoveries.

Net underwriting expenses increased by eight per cent from NGN4.1 billion to NGN4.4 billion with the overall ratio deteriorating marginally from 40.5 per cent in 2011 to 42.4 per cent mainly due to increase in management expenses . The net acquisition costs ratio reduced to 23.5 per cent in 2012 from 26.3 per cent in 2012 while the management expenses ratio increased from 8.7 per cent to 12.0 per cent . The growth in management expenses was mainly as a result of increase in valuation of the staff gratuity plan.

Despite pressure from the above factors, the Company returned a strong overall Underwriting Profit margin of NGN 1.2 billion although the outturn for 2012 is 21 per cent down on the 2011 result of NGN 1.5 billion. The underwriting profit ratio as a percentage of GPI is 9.6 per cent compared to 2011 ratio of 13 per cent.

Investment and other income at NGN 1.4 billion is higher than last year’s by 62 per cent mainly due to seized opportunities on the back of an improved investment climate.

Total comprehensive income at NGN 1.7 billion is 44 per cent higher than that for 2011 of NGN 1.2 billion driven by a positive underwriting result and strong investment income underpinned by healthy fair value adjustment of financial assets.

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Stockwatch In association with Lead Capital

Stock Market Report for the week Friday, 26th July to Thursday 1st August, 2013 ajor equity markets around the globe moved downwards as M their various indexes lost marginal points. In our universe of sample equity markets; the S & P 500 and Dow Jones lost points by 0.01% and 0.27% while the NASDAQ, gained points by 1.31% at the end of last week. In Europe, The FTSE 100, and France CAC 40 gained points by 0.01% and 0.76% respectively, while the German Dax index lost points by 1.23%. In the Asia/Pacific region, Nikkei 225 and BSE Sensex lost points by 3.83% and 2.46% respectively, while the Hangseng gained points by 0.86%. In Brazil, the Bovespa lost point by 0.29% while Russia’s RTS INDEX lost points by 4.09%. On the local setting, NSE ASI closed at 38,292.06 recording 2.70% appreciation at the end of the week’s trading.

In the week, the total volume depreciated by 23.08% and value traded depreciated by 11.27%. A turnover of 2.20 billion units of shares valued at N15.43 billion was recorded, in contrast to a turnover of 2.86 billion units of shares worth N17.39 billion that was recorded in the previous week.

Volume this week was driven by activities in the shares of UBA, STERLNBANK, FBNH, GUARANTY, ZENITHBANK, CORNERST, UBCAP, ASHAKACEM, TRANSCORP and DIAMONDBNK.

ANNOUNCEMENT URING the period under review, fifty one (51) stocks recorded price appreciation comD pared to nineteen (19) that depreciated in the previous week, WEMABANK was first on the top gainers chart to close with 31.63%, followed by STANBIC with 29.50%, COURTVILLE with 23.33%, CHAMPION with 21.00%, IPWA with 21.00% and UBCAP with 13.27%. Other gainers in the top ten categories were LIVESTOCK with 12.83%, OKOMUOIL with 12.73%, FIDSON with 12.50% and UACPROP with 11.33%.

On the flip side, thirty (30) stocks depreciated in price last week compared to fifty nine (59) that depreciated a week ago. IHS led on the price losers’ table with 25.74%, followed by TRANSEXPR by 18.18%, ABCTRANS by 10.28%, AIRSERVICE by 10.00%, PORTPAINT by 9.67%, THOMASWY by 8.99%, IKEJAHOTEL by 7.45%, NEIMETH by 6.83%, UTC by 5.88% and NPFMCRFBK by 5.75%.

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COMPANY’S RESULT

Weekly Lead Equity Ratings (CONTINUED ON PAGE 51)

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Homes & Property Lagos families lose 117.90-hectare Aboru land to FG Litigation

By Emmanuel Badejo WO land-owning families in T Lagos State have lost their battle to reclaim their acquired landed property measuring about 117.90 hectares located at Aboru and Akinola villages in Abesan, Lagos State of Nigeria.

But the battle for the vast land may not be over yet after the judgment delivered some months ago by the Court of Appeal, Lagos. The Guardian however, could not as at press time, confirm whether the families have appealed to the Supreme Court of Nigeria or not.

In an appeal by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice against Chief Rasaki Akinde, Alhaji Sulemon Bamgbopa and Alhaji Rasaki Akinola, who stood for themselves and on behalf of Ero/Akinola families of Aboru/Akinola Villages in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, the Court of Appeal Justices including Rita Pemu, Chinwe Iyizoba, Fatima Akinbami, unanimously allowed the appeal.

Piqued by a need to reclaim the landed property, the families, who were respondents before the appellate court filed the action against the appellants in a representative capacity in respect of the land in dispute, which they claimed belonged to their forefathers.

They said the disputed land was used for farming and for building houses and that they depended on the products for their livelihood.

According to them, it was in 1976 that the appellants informed them that their land had been acquired along with

Houses built by the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC), recently

The issues were whether the residential layout or site and services scheme of the appellants did not meet the purpose of the acquisition and that the land properly acquired under the Public Lands Acquisition Act does not assume the status of a State land by virtue of section 3(2) of the Act other lands in the neighbourhood, adding that, the government did not serve any notice of acquisition before they were driven away from the land and their buildings demolished,

and after which, the appellants divided the land into plots and sold them contrary to the government’s reason for the acquisition, which was for the construction of Low Cost Housing

Estate.

They then sought three declarative reliefs including that they are the rightful owners of the land, measuring about 117.90 hectares, lying at Aboru and

Akinola villages respectively of Abesan, Lagos State of Nigeria; that the purported compulsory acquisition if any or without serving notice of acquisition was is unconstitutional, ultravires, irregular, null and void and of no effect whatsoever and that the change of use of the purported acquired land without the government’s undertaking by themselves

such developments for public purpose was unfair, irregular, ultra-vires, unconstitutional, null and void.

The families also sought a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves, their servants or agents or those claiming through them from entering

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

UNHABITAT, OFID seal pact on funding African water operators Urban Development FUND of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to lend support to nine African water operators to enhance their performance.

The new deal between OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and United Nations Human Settlement programe (UNHabitat) comes under the auspices of the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA), hosted by UN-HABITAT in Nairobi, Kenya.

The initiative is driven by an international Steering Committee and supported by a global network of partners and members. GWOPA counts amongst its supporters utility associations on all continents

A

Under the project, countries like Benin, Ghana, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia are expected to increase their performance in terms of billing and collection efficiency, leakages, and meter reading as well as develop performance improvement plans in priority areas representing thousands of water utilities, regional development banks, international financial institutions, labour unions, civil society organizations, development partners, and learning institutes.

GWOPA is ultimately contributing to the Millennium Develop Goals of halving the proportion of the world’s population that remains unserved by adequate water and sanitation services. WOPs make the greatest contribution through capacity enhancement, while

Beyond post-mortem examinations in building collapse Page 36

helping to catalyze the change required to increase access to the poor.

Consequently, UN-Habitat Executive Director Dr. Joan Clos has written to OFID Director General Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish committing to see that the venture became successful.

“I really appreciate the confidence you place in my organization, and I can assure you that we will do our utmost to make sure this project achieves its objectives,” he said.

The Alliance presented the

“Technical Assistance for Nine African Water Operators through Enhanced SouthSouth Partnerships” project to OFID in Vienna in mid-2012.

The countries set to benefit are Benin, Ghana, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia. In each of these countries, a water operator will benefit of a one year capacity building project, through Water Operators’ Partnerships or WOPs. Priority themes for capacity building have been identified, notably Non-Revenue-Water,

Cocoa, Heritage Malls redefine Ibadan, get October date Page 45

Clos Sanitation and Water Access to the Urban Poor. The total funding is 1 Million USD. Under the project, the nine African water operators are expected to increase their performance in terms of billing

and collection efficiency, leakages, meter reading etc. They will develop Performance Improvement Plans in priority areas in collaboration with mentors from the South; African operators known for their good performance.

In his letter to Mr. Al-Jerbish, Dr Clos expressed optimism of even greater collaboration between UN-Habitat and OPEC. “I also hope that this project will pave the way to further strengthen our collaboration in sustainable urban development issues in general, and I would be keen to inform you in due course of our activities in these fields,” Dr. Clos added.

Meanwhile, the United Religions Initiative (URI) -

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We have put in place measures to quicken planning approvals, says Ayinde Page 47

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Ajayi seeks new perspective in urban, regional planning in Osun Planning

By Emmanuel Badejo OR Osun State to become another haven for human settlement in the Nigerian space, the urban renewal programme embarked upon by the present administration must be implemented to the letter, former president Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Mr. Moses Olubunmi Ajayi, has said.

Ajayi made the remark in Lagos last week while launching his book, titled “Perspective on Urban and Regional Planning in Nigeria.” The book is a collection of papers and speeches he had made at different fora.

The Osun State government under the scheme is attending to no few than nine cities.

The cities are Oshogbo, Karun, Ejigbo, Iwo, Ikire, Ede, Ilesa, Ila-Orangun and Ile-Ife. Speaking on the project at the book launch, Commissioner for Lands, Rural and Urban Renewal, Muyiwa Ige, said under the scheme, 17 cities were identified but the nine currently being attended to in phase allotment, adding that population was a major consideration for the cities chosen but noted that historic and cultural centres would be preserved.

“Under this programme, we are preserving historic and cultural sites at the same time. That we are renewing does not mean that we should destroy our past and culture.”

For structure plans, Ige said Osun had signed an agreement with UN habitat last month and cities’ consulta-

F

Former President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Mr. Moses Olubunmi Ajayi, Osun State Commissioner for Lands, Rural and Urban Renewal, Muyiwa Ige and Niyi Omole at the launching his book, titled “Perspective on Urban and Regional Planning in Nigeria,” recently pages of an inaugural lecThough the Osun State Government has taken a very bold step to take on nine cities under the ture are bibliography. Why its urban renewal scheme, the project will be meaningless if the authority fails to implement can’t we have our own experience documented so that programmes to test the success of the whole exercise, according to town planners other people can now make tions had just been complet- because Ejigbo is a unique to continue to sound it in reference to it. And that is ed and the next phase was the city. The first phase is coming their ears that a situation why I made up my mind that finalization of the plan, which from our bond, which is when you plan and you don my experiences, which I have by the end of September shall about N1.7b, World Bank fund, not implement, it better you collected over the years, must be unveiled. “This is necessary which is about $50m, which is don not plan at all. So, imple- be in book form.” because by then we would around N8b and Ejigbo about mentation is where will test According to him, his book have a bankable document N8b. The quantum is about their strength.” “is more like something On the book, the author said that the entire world can now N17.7b, though where we are indigenous, something that begin to look at having going might be a little more the reference to foreign will be relevant, something authors by most academics that Nigerian professionals observed all the required cri- than that.” teria.”

Speaking on the project, Ajayi was one major factor that will read and get benefit from The entire project, Ige said it said what was most needed is influenced him to put his rather than just cramming, experiences in book form. was budgeted for, though the the ability to implement. copying things that will not “Honestly, I don’t really want work here. This is one of the state had also gotten World “I think Osun has taken a very Bank’s assistance to the tune bold step in doing what they to indict the Nigerian aca- reasons why a lot of planning of N8b. “It is budgeted for and are doing but I think the criti- demics. I would have attend- things don’t work here thankfully also, we have got cal issue is the will to imple- ed more than 30 inaugural because they do not relate to lectures and what I find is that our situation. So, since this is cooperation from the World ment the whole frame.

Bank and we are also targetLet us congratulate them so everybody is trying to quote from the Nigerian experience, ing the French agencies far, and at same time we need foreign authors. One third of it can be useful to Nigerians.”

The renowned town planner blamed his professional colleagues for the woes of the profession, some of them lack the expertise to come with functional planning.

“For your planning to be meaningful, you must understand the culture of your people, you must understand the socio-economic circumstance of your people. Look at Abuja, it was designed without consideration for public transportation, and that is why the design is not compact. Where are the bus stops in Abuja?

They are just coming now after almost 20 years. The railway is just being considered.”

Speaking on the book, President, NITP, Chief Steve Onu, the book came at a time that dependable text materials for professionals in education was being sought after, especially from indigenous author.

“We therefore appreciate our Past President, Ajayi, a Nigerian Consultant Urban Planner of International repute, whose carrier has graduated from teaching to civil service and now as a private practicing consultant.

Similarly, President of Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr. Moses Ogunleye, said: ““Going by experience of the author, I can say that the publication will be of immense values to the practice of the profession of Urban and Regional Planning.

According to him, one of the challenges faced by professionals in Nigeria and other countries of the world is ensuring workable or successful ‘marriage’ between theory and practice.

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Prime Estates RICS introduces global guidance for construction projects Projects HE Royal Institution of T Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published international guidance to promote the highest standards in construction projects across the world.

The London-based organisation’s guidance outlines a methodology for best practice, cost analysis and benchmarking in property projects and guides professionals through the process of analysing property project costs to ensure value for money, quality and the highest international standards are attained.

A cost analysis is an examination of the distribution of cost across the construction elements of a project and includes conceptually modelling the construction cost, construction duration and scope of works for a building.

Construction cost tends to be the key driver in the design development process and achieving value for money is likely to be a requirement of a brief. For this reason, construction cost is used as a benchmark for calculating project cost and value.

In order to fully calculate costs, the guidance note sets out a methodology of benchmarking costs, against historical projects and cost analysis structures.

It says that the process will ensure that one element is not unnecessarily under funded

Deputy Governor of Niger State Ahmed Musa Ibeto (left), Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development, Ms. Amah Pepple and the Chairman, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), Ayodele Sangosanya at the ESVARBON Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Workshop on "Land Management Policy and Risk Analysis in Real Estate Investment"held at the Yar'adua Centre, Abuja, recently. or under designed at the even if two buildings look The majority of differences are a new significance. RICS has new systems in new markets, expense of another element. identical it is likely that there reflected in the individual con- been at the forefront of con- to improve cost prediction The note talks property profes- will be differences between the struction programmes and struction cost data collection and project performance, sionals through how to pre- two. Such differences might, the specific locations on a and analysis for over 50 years,” around the world,” he pare a cost analysis for a pro- for example, relate to the site. ”In an age of rapid tech- said Alan Muse, RICS director explained.

He added that the guidance posal, the analysis of the pro- depth and type of foundations, nological development and of built environment.

“This global guidance note note is globally applicable and curement process and the ten- different types and thickness- the rise of big data, convendering process, and the need es of floor construction, and tional and well proven meth- consolidates best practice in if comprehensively completed it will assist in highlighting the for base data for a project. varied specifications for wall ods of international cost analy- this area and introduces the key design and cost features of Most buildings are unique; finishes. sis and benchmarking assume principles for establishing a project.

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Architects decry other professionals’ incursion into field of practice Professional Practice

By Tosin Fodeke MID calls for government A regulatory agencies to step up enforcement of building standards in the country, architects have bemoaned the increased spate of incursion by professionals from other fields of practice.

The architects who claim to play major role as overall supervisory head of construction projects called for clear definition of roles for the different professionals in the

At the Annual General Meeting of the Lagos Chapter (NIA) of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, the body lamented the use of quacks in architectural designs and blamed present predicament of collapsed building on the absence of qualified architectural professionals in building construction. built environment to advance the reputation of the sector.

Chairmen, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos Chapter, Mr. Ladipo Lewis, while speaking at the Annual General Meeting, cautioned that the architectural profession is under threat from other professionals, adding that that the present

predicament of collapsed building could be traced to the absence of qualified architectural professionals to supervise building construction.

He stated: “The profession is under threat from other professionals and quacks that have crossed over from other field to do the job of an architects. We need to take our pro-

fession back from them just as we need better enforcement of legislation by government.

“We need to do this, according to international best practices. We need to define what each person is trained to do; and when this is not done, there will be a little bit of chaos. Like the process of getting building plan approval NIA President, Ibrahim Haruna

Mundotrade unfolds pre-cast building system Building Materials OLLOWING the search for Fmass ways of developing housing schemes and ensuring Nigerians live in their own houses, Lagosbased construction solutions company, Messrs Mundostrade Limited has unveiled an innovative building technology that offers flexibility of design and cost effectiveness.

The technology known as Mundoscrete Pre-stressed T Beam and Block flooring system is suitable for use on ground and upper storey on all kinds of construction, from residential to commercial buildings. Its high points is that it is maintenance-free with high levels of sound and thermal insulation and fire resistance Gideon Ikwe,

Mundostrade’s Managing Director, told our correspondent at their factory site in Lekki, along the Lagos-Epe Expressway, that his company offers innovative and cost-effective precast and pre-stressed concrete products suitable for use in both domestic and commercial applications.

The system, he explained, is based on a successful concept originating and proven in Europe and used all over the world, including Ghana and South Africa, adding that the system has been in use for more than 50 years in those countries.

“Mundoscrete T Beam and Block flooring system provide a high quality and economic alternative to concrete floor construction. It is simple, economical and does not require any skilled labor to set

up. Furthermore, this method of construction reduces much of the site work that is evident in conventional in-situ concrete floor and roofs because no formwork or reinforcement is required on site”, he said.

According to him, Mundoscete TBeam and Blocks flooring system has many advantages over the conventional method of building some of which, he said, included fast and simple installation requiring no special skills; cheaper than traditional method; green technology needing no deforestation for formwork, and reduces the dead weight of building with its lighter decking.

He added that the system is ideal for use on sloping ground; enables a safe level ground floor platform to be quickly established; pro-

vides immediate safe working platform because as soon as the pre-cast elements are installed, the floor can safely be used.

“This is an all-weather construction method; it can be installed in adverse weather conditions; it offers flexibility of design as its high load carrying capacity allows complete freedom of room design layouts; it is a rapid solution to high quality and economical concrete floor construction”, he assured.

On its application, Ikwe explained that the system involves installation of prestressed concrete T beams with blocks in-filled between them, pointing out that it is custom designed for varying uses and comes in a standard form design that can be arranged in a variety of ways depending on loadings required.

now, we must make sure that it is streamlined and made easier.

“The easier it is to get a building plan approval, the easier the economy becomes in terms of real estate. If you find it difficult to do a particular thing, you tend to shy away from investing in that area, you probably go into something else. That is what we have discovered is happening to a lot of people. We see a lot of estates being built, but they are not related to good urban design principles, we simply build residential, there are no commercial or institutional buildings integrated into them.”

He further pointed out that the present wave of collapse building in Lagos state, have been occurring in particular locations like Ebute Metta and Lagos Island due to the non involvement of professionals as well as the practice of people wanting to cut costs.

Lewis further disclosed the chapter aims to establish a closer working relationship

with the state government with the objective of making sure government legislation concerning the housing industry and practice are firmly put in place to ensure the continuous growth of the sector and economy.

He also revealed that the Institute plans to acquire a property as its chapter secretariat and that it had identified a location in Victoria Island, which consultations are going on as to the viability of the location.

After review of the chapter’s financial statement for the 2013 accounting year, Lewis stressed the need to increase dues payment even though the chapter had done well to increase its income through other means.

He explained that dues payment were necessary for the running of the secretariat which for long had not been well funded. In reaction, members of the chapter suggested that the dues be increased, especially for longer serving members.

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Beyond post-mortem examinations in building collapse Forum EW months ago, a number of Fstarted professional engineers had to brag and suggest that incidences of building collapse in Nigeria had diminished and could very well be an obscure event in the near future. Indeed, after the hard work put into the problem in 2012 by many professionals who gathered in the national workshop on building collapse, it was expected that the incidences of collapse would subside. Evidences have however confirmed that even though the incidences of building collapse may have reduced, nonetheless it has not been completely wiped – out, which is the perfect solution that all sane minds would wish to achieve.

Unfortunately, recent incidences have proved that even though we comprehensively discussed this problem and proffered solutions, nonetheless various parties may not have pursued all the recommendations seriously. One of the immediate reasons is that State and FCT regulators, who are critical in the implementation of designed strategies to curb collapses and mitigate their effects, were never present at the conference.

GENERAL CAUSES OF BUILDING COLLAPSE Buildings, like other structures, example bridges and roads, are designed to support certain loads without failure in service terms, example excessive deformation, or catastrophically,

Collapsed building in Mushin, Lagos, recently

Proper supervision and monitoring of construction activities should be institutionalized in the nation’s policies and work culture to ensure that all buildings are constructed according to design and specifications, and within planning regulations, says PROF. DANLADI MATAWAL, an engineer and DirectorGeneral/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute. He also recommended that old buildings must be subjected to safety and planning audits especially collapse. The loads are the weights of people and objects, the weight of rain (and snow in temperate climates) and the pressure of wind (all called live loads); and the dead load of the building itself. With buildings of a few floors, strength generally accompanies sufficient rigidity, and the design is mainly that of a roof that will keep the weather out while spanning large open spaces. With tall buildings of many floors, the roof would usually be a secondary matter, and the support of the weight of the building itself is the main consideration, as well as the effect of wind, which is absolutely paramount. Like long bridges, tall buildings are subject to catastrophic collapse.

The causes of building collapse can be classified under general headings to facilitate analysis.

These headings are: Bad Design, Faulty Construction, Foundation Failure, Extraordinary Loads, Unexpected Failure Modes, and a Combination of Causes.

Bad design does not mean only errors of computation, but a failure to take into account the loads the structure will be called upon to carry, erroneous theories, reliance on inaccurate data, ignorance of the effects of repetitive(cyclic or impulsive stresses), and improper choice of materials or misunderstanding of their properties. The engineer is responsible for these failures, which are normally created in the design calculations or at the drawing board.

Faulty construction has been the most important cause of structural failure. The engineer is also at fault here, if inspection/supervision has been relaxed. This includes poor concreting, the substitution of inferior steel in place of that specified, bad riveting or even improper tightening torque of nuts, bad welds, and other practices well known to the construction worker.

Even an excellently designed and constructed structure will not stand on a Bad foundation.

Although the structure will

carry its loads, the earth beneath it may not. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a famous world example of bad foundation, but there are many others, even in Nigeria to illustrate this form of failure; though most of the catastrophes enumerated in the previous chapter could have been caused by this form of failure.

Extraordinary loadsare often natural, such as repeated impacts, bombing of buildings by terrorists in Nigeria, or the shaking of an earthquake, or the winds of a hurricane, or heavy snowfalls in other regions. A building that is intended to stand for some years should be able to meet these challenges. A flimsy flexible structure may avoid destruction in an earthquake, while a solid masonry building would be destroyed. Earthquakes may cause foundation problems when moist filled land is undergoes liquefaction behaviour.

Unexpected failuremodes are the most complex of the reasons for collapse, and every failure of this nature has its unique reasons.

Any new type of structure is subject to unexpected failure, until its properties are well understood.

Cases of Tall buildings have not yet widely presented themselves in Nigeria but are generally made with a rigid steel skeleton, sheathed in the lightest materials to keep out the weather. Alternatively, reinforced concrete, where the compressionresisting and protecting concrete surrounds the tough, tension-resisting steel, integrated into a single body, can be used.

Such structures have never failed (when properly built on good foundations), and stoutly resist demolition. When the lower supports of a steel skeleton are destroyed, the weight of the building seems to crush the lower parts and the upper parts descend slowly into the pile of debris. Monolithic reinforcedconcrete buildings are difficult to demolish in any fashion.

Cases of building collapse are ubiquitous globally, but the difference is the frequency with which they occur and the

Matawal actions that follow any collapse.

It appears, in Nigeria, that once intervention agencies, like the military, NEMA, and others, have completed rescue missions, the structure is demolished and the case is put behind the nation until the next incidence is recorded. A few of the global cases, to buttress that it is a global phenomenon, include: Indeed, collapses have occurred in China, Liberia, and other parts of the World, but the frequency and responses have been different. My impression is that in Nigeria, the incidences have always gone unchecked and consequently, there is still a degree of recklessness about the integrity of the nation’s structures.

CHECK - MATING BUILDING COLLAPSE IN NIGERIA The general causes of Building collapse were earlier outlined.

However, very specific reasons have been adduced for the Nigerian situation in the 2012 conference; and these include: i) The poor applications and use of inferior materials, especially Concrete, have been identified as the single most important cause of this catastrophe and is therefore the major causative factor for the collapse of Buildings in Nigeria, according to NBRRI Technical Reports Nos. 22 and 23. ii) Improper foundations and lack of subsoil investigations is definitely a major confirmed reason for many Nigerian failures where the terminology used (though primarily for strip footings beneath the building walls) for foundations is blinding; which is grossly misleading because it could be responsible for many of the collapses. This is because ‘Blinding’ is the process of ground preparation in order to provide an even surface upon which the actual foundation of the structure can be built. It is made of lean concrete and will

never exceed 50mm thick whereas the minimum thickness of a structural foundation (even for nominal situations below a wall) is 150mm prepared using concrete grade 25.

Many buildings do not have foundations at all and the collapse of old buildings, which is a progressive failure, can be traced to continuous timedependent foundation and subsoil related phenomena, traceable to consolidation and creep processes. iii) The Overall Design of the Structure can give rise to visible problems that precipitate many collapses of buildings in Nigeria.

The reason is that most developers will seek a measure of minimum guidance as to the size, shape and circulation (form and function) of the structure, and so will consult an architect; though most would rather stop at the draughtsman. The problem with most private developers appears to be with the structural designs which are the critical items that dictate the stability of a building. The structural framing elements that are important include, from the bottom which is the order of sequence of construction, Foundations, Columns, Beams, Slabs, Roof Members, Staircases in reinforced concrete, but there are many other items in Steel structures. iv) Site supervision on construction sites is both a professionally mandatory function as well as a regulatory role. It is very important that Site Supervision should be taken seriously on all Sites. Town Planning and/or Development Control authorities should insist that all mandatory documents necessary for the successful execution of a project are made available before the commencement of construction and that proper supervision machinery is set up on every site. In the projects that NBRRI has visited as a result of failures, there were no Project Sign Boards to state Name of Project, The Client, The Architects, The Structural Engineers, and The Quantity Surveyors. It is therefore very safe to say that there was no supervision which would have corrected anomalous designs and ensure that all design specifications are implemented on Site. My good friend, Professor Stephen P. Ejeh (of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) informed Stakeholders of NBRRI in 2011 that 70.0, 23.3 and 6.7 percent of building collapses in Nigeria belonged to Private, Public and Corporate organizations, respectively. This statistics sums up the scenario dictated by the lack of supervision because most private developers in the country including, unfortunately, some huge private individuals that can constitute corporate organization, do not set up any supervision for their buildings. Thus the very important matter of proper supervision machinery is a very critical factor that can alleviate our predicament on collapsed structures because if every structure can be properly supervised by proper professionals, not quacks, then there will be an immediate and drastic reduction in the number of collapsed structures in this country. v) The lack of qualified Artisan, Craftsmen and Construction workers has been identified as a conduit pipe for the colossal drain of Nigerian resources to neighbouring and other West African countries; as well as a primary reason for shoddy workmanship on construction sites.

TO BE CONTINUED

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

Cocoa, Heritage Malls redefine Ibadanskyline, get October date Projects

By Chinedum Uwaegbulam ITH an eye on the delivery W 14,000 square meters of lettable floor spaces, the promoters of the massive retail centre - Cocoa and Heritage Malls have completed its first phase of the project that would bring socio economic transformation in the Central Business District (CBD) of Ibadan, Oyo state capital.

The project, coming as a partnership arrangement between Odu’a Investment Company Limited and Top Services Limited, developer of Cocoa Mall, is a double dose to the residents.

Situated besides the Cocoa House Complex, Dugbe, the mall is now occupied by Shoprite, a South African brand and other notable operators.

Cocoa and Heritage malls have a hyper retail supermarket, taking up 3,600 square metres store space, other international brands have taken in excess 4,000 square metres, others by the local brands.

The malls offer a total of about 14,000 square metre lettable floor areas. The name Cocoa Mall was proposed to remind the West and Oodua Group the source of their wealth prior to shift from agriculture to oil and gas era.

Cocoa mall, which officially opens in October already has few shops open. The mall, located in cosy environment is now a beehive of activity as residents and visitors of the ancient city visit the shopping centre daily.

From Shoprite at Cocoa Mall,

shoppers are offered opportunity to move to the Heritage Mall through a link, and shop from other brands like Mr. Price, Cash ‘n’ Carry, Lifemate and later relax at the film house.

The Managing Director, Top Services Limited, Chief Tokunbo Omisore said that the strategic location of the mall linked to the Heritage Mall makes it a sort after and likewise the relatively affordable cost of acquiring spaces in the mall.

“Cocoa Mall is an international standard in terms of structure and pricing and its first of its kind in Oyo state. Pricing not just of space acquisition but also of the goods and services rendered by the occupants, which is an affordable development to the area.

“Though the mall is a huge investment, we have set reasonable time for return on investment on the project. The mall is 80 per cent allotted and paid for by prospective shop operators of repute in the growing country’s retail industry. We have multinationals and also those who are growing their businesses as occupants; these are people who are set to majorly project made-in-Nigeria goods,” he said.

Omisore, a renowned architect disclosed that “other reason behind the construction of the of Cocoa Mall is to create employment, tackle the rise of unemployment in Oyo state and bring back the good memories of days of Kingsway Stores, Leventis and UTC. “With many brands coming to be part of Cocoa Mall, its an employment opportunities for the creative minds in the

The Cocoa and Heritage Malls, Ibadan, recently state. The amount of people visiting the mall on a daily basis opens doors for business owners to gainfully employ more hands in rendering worthwhile services to consumers. In the days of the Kingsway, Leventis and UTC in Ibadan and Lagos, it’s always a fun filled day after visiting the Departmental Stores because consumers are able to purchase food, beverages and other goods of choice at affordable prices and in hygienic cosy environment.”

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

HOMES&PROPERTY

Appeal Court backs govt on acquisition of Aboru land CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 or dealing in or settling or disposing of their lands contained in Survey Plan No. OGEK 116 aC/74 of 26th August 1974.

In defence, the appellants claimed that the Federal Government of Nigeria acquired the disputed land in 1976 with acquisition notice No. 344 of 4th March 1976 and published in Gazette 13 Volume 63 of 11th March 1976. They claimed that the notice of acquisition was published in the newspapers and same circulated to various villages that were affected.

They also claimed that the respondents refused to collect compensation from them.

At the end of trial, the trial court granted some of the respondents’ reliefs and refused others.

“It is hereby declared that the plaintiffs are the owners or persons entitled to the possession and or statutory right of occupancy in respect of all that vast area of lands more particularly delineated, demarcated, and marked A & B in Survey Plan No.

OGEK 11 a-C/74” The trial court also restrained the defendants and its agents from entering in or settling or disposing of the land, while a N2 million was awarded to the land owning families as damages occasioned by the destruction of their farmlands, crops and buildings/structures on their land.

But the court did not grant the families’ reliefs two and three on the ground that they had sufficient notice of the acquisition of their lands by the defendants and that the disputed lands were initially acquired for public purpose albeit it was later abandoned for lack of resources to execute the project.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial court, both the respondents and the appellants respectively appealed and cross-appealed to the Court of Appeal.

At the Court of Appeal, the appellants contended that the residential layout or site and services scheme was a housing scheme and not a change from the original purpose of acquisi-

UNHABITAT gets funding for African water operators CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 Africa last week signed an agreement with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to become an Associate Partner of the World Urban Campaign.

The agreement was signed by UN-Habitat Executive Director and Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Regional Director of the United Religions Initiative-Africa and Representative of URI at the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Dr. Clos praised the initiative and commitment of URI–Africa in joining the World Urban Campaign to advance a positive vision of urban development, to place cities at the center of strategies for change, and to disseminate the key messages of the Campaign.

tion.

The cross-appellants, on the other hand, queried the pleadings of the appellants at the trial court wherein they submitted that the acquisition was dealt with in accordance with the State Lands Acts; and whether the acquiring authority could divert land acquired for public purpose to any other use upon failure of the purpose for which it was acquired.

They also raised the question as to whether the sale of the acquired land under the site and services scheme of the appellants met the purpose of the acquisition.

The land in dispute being now state land from the date of acquisition, the Government can grant leases of the land even if the purpose for which the land was acquired had failed or that all or any of such lands are longer required for the purpose for which they were acquired or are being used. The learned trial Judge consequently erred in ordering that the undeveloped part of the acquired land be returned to the cross-appellants on the basis of change of purpose from the original ground for the acquisition.

In the final analysis, the two issues formulated by the appellants are resolved in favour of the appellants. The appellants’ appeal succeeds and the appeal is allowed. The judgment of Olomojobi, J. of the Federal High Court, Lagos is hereby set aside. In its place, the case of the plaintiffs is dismissed.

The appellate court also dismissed the issues raised by the cross-appellants. “The crossappeal fails. It is hereby dismissed. I make no order as to costs.”

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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PropertyInterview We have put in place measures to quicken planning approvals, says Ayinde In the town planning profession,MR. OLUTOYIN ADEDAMOLA AYINDE has made his mark in a number of projects, especially master plans, urban renewal and residential estate. Two years ago, he joined the public service as Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, few days after being installed as the President, Association of Town Planning Consultants in Nigeria (ATOPCON). In this interview with The Guardian, TUNDE ALAO, Ayinde spoke about how he restored public confidence in the ability of the ministry and its agencies to deliver quality service with promptness, and decorum as well as other planning issues. Excerpts:

Urban Planning OU have just ended your tenure as President of Y Association of Town Planning Consultants in Nigeria (ATOPCON), after two years in office. What would you considered to be your achievements?

First, let me confess that what happened after my election, as president of ATOPCON was a shock to me. Reason is that when I was canvassing for votes, I was not thinking of commissionership. I was working for only one cap, which was the ATOPCON presidency. However, it happened that being the president of the association afforded me the opportunity to serve a sectional interest, the town planning consultants, whose membership was not more than 200, not even the entire town planners. But being appointed as a Commissioner afforded me the opportunity to serve the entire citizens and residents of Lagos State with a population of over 21 million.

However, I need to put it on record that nothing went wrong when I ceased to be the association’s president, because I left behind, a competent vice president.

Do you have any regret for leaving the association prematurely?

As I said earlier, I had a dream for the association and the dream is to ensure that we reduce the gap between the practitioners in the private and public sectors of the economy. Before I became a Commissioner, we had few professionals in government. Apart from that, there seemed to be strained relationship among the two, with little trust. Besides, there was no minimum standard of practice. For example, if a client say he wants a layout to be done for him, one town planner may asked him to pay N20million, while another may charge as little as N2.5 million. These are some of anomalies I wanted to correct, especially, healthy relationships between the practitioners in the private and public sectors; and also to ensure a minimum standard that would be like a benchmark.

And thankfully, when I came in as a Commissioner, the situation changed, but I had little to do with ATOPCON. But that notwithstanding, my coming ensured that private practitioners could now be our facilitators, as we are helping the consultants to maximize gains on projects they embarked upon.

Another thing is that as of today, my professional colleagues have direct access to my office. Few years ago, one of my past president said to me that the relationships between the private practitioners and their counterparts in the public service is like a relationship between a hungry and unsatisfied groups. Private professionals are hungry, while public practitioners are unsatisfied, that connotes perceive greed. So, on both sides, nobody add value to the profession. What is at stake is money. If you have a client, what matters most is money, rather than value to added into the profession.

Although, my desire is to increase the value by pumping ideas to the mind of my members, that I couldn’t do much. But we had a more regular process of registering more members.

In countries like Singapore, physical planning remains a veritable tool for effective economic growth and development. Why is Nigeria lacking in ensuring a robust physical planning programmes?

Every time we mentioned Singapore, my questions have been; what is their culture, discipline, rule of law and general ways of life? On the average, we practiced impunity as a country. It is in Nigeria that someone will drive against the traffic and want to go free. But in Singapore, such thing cannot happen without a repercussion.

Planning and discipline are embedded in the rule of law. Physical planning is like human life that must follow a due process. For example, if a six -year old child is dreaming of becoming a medical doc-

tor, there are relevant subjects he/she needs to register for, read them and pass them. But if such child is a studying subject like literature, religious studies, fine arts, then he is not serious of becoming a medical doctor. The same thing applies to physical planning.

In Nigeria, we don’t plan. But the former Chief Executive of Lagos, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, in 1980, signed the Lagos State Regional Plan and Lagos State Metropolitan Area Master Plan, excluding Badagy, Ikorodu and Epe. The metropolitan master plan identified 35 districts and cities Unfortunately, when the military came in 1983, they destroyed everything including the Technical Committee put in place by Jakande. And that was the beginning of the problem, because from 1983-1999, nobody talked about master plan anymore.

But when Bola Tinubu came to power in 1999, he decided to resurrect planning by appointed a consultant. But as a result of backlog of problem, the consultant could not do much and that was what brought about the Model City planning initiative that heralded the Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model city. The model city development brought about change in land value. Because the development brought investment to those areas, then it is for us to ensure that what is on ground are commensurate with the value of land.

However, it should be noted that the administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, expanded the initiative further in a significant measure. These include the inclusion of Lekki, Alimosho, Mainland Central Model cities, Badagry Model City Plan, Apapa Master plan that has been completed and ready to get approval, the ongoing Oshodi-Oshodi, Kosofe that just started, among others, while Ikorodu and Epe remain outstanding.

But a Singaporean based consultant has been appointed to work on another master plan that incorporated Epe and Ikorodu. Still on the question, most of what we are doing are on paper, but we have been able to put in place, ”quick wins” that people can see. These include the expansion of Lekki-Epe Expressway and Lagos-Badagry Expressway. These are quick win evidence of what government is doing to ensure that physical planning boost economic and infrastructural development of Lagos, as being done in Singapore that your question cited as example.

Q; Presently, Lagos has rolled out several policies to address planning issues, especially, in the area of planning permit, approvals and so on, yet, there are illegal structures here and there. what is government doing to address these issues?

Delay in approval? I don’t know if that statement was made in respect of what has happened before 2011. But with all sense of modesty, since I came into office, nothing of such. For example, we have been able to give approved for a 15-floor building within three months. In fact, Governor Fashola forwarded a text of commendation sent by a client praising us for quick approval for a multi-storey building recently. In time past, one may not get approval for a five-storey building in four years. It has happened to me before I became a Commissioner.

We have put in place a measure that quickens approval. This is what we called Pre-Screening Measure. If a client brings an application, we will look into it and see if there is any irrelevancies or errors, we will ask such client to go and address the identified anomalies, then bring back the application. And before you know it, the approval is given.

Another cause of delay may not necessarily come from Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, but from other agencies. Atimes, it may be from Lagos Internal Revenue office (LIR), where tax needs to be paid. But to address that

Ayinde

delay, we now have in our office, representative of the LIR, where one can quickly make the payment and other tax issues resolved, instead of going to the LIR offices.

Recently, some buildings collapsed in some parts of Lagos, leading to heavy losses. Why do we still witness this type of disaster in the state?

The law recognizes that clients need to engage the services of professionals to build for them. However, our system needs to be blamed for the way we do things. If you build a house without employing the service of qualified professionals and there is a collapse, blame the society and not government. If your building collapses as a result of using quacks, you get value for what you want.

Besides, there have been clamour against the proliferation of sub-standard building materials. The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) recently, informed the public the presence of fake cement in Nigeria. Our cements do not perform optimally, because of insufficient additives that would make it of higher quality. The same thing with iron rods and metals, the qualities of imported ones are of higher grades than locally produced ones. Another component that is often overlooked is water. In a place like Lagos, underground water is salty. Construction is science. People go to school to study building technology. They know the ratio of materials required. Having realized this fact, people should endeavour to test their materials at the Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory. Another side of collapse is the one involving buildings that have been in existence for ages. Such were the ones

that recently collapsed in Ebute Metta and Mushin, recently. One will agree that ignorance pervades the construction industry. Recently, the Governor visited Adeniji Adele; the estate was put in place in a hurry to meet the housing challenges in the 80’s. Because of the political expediency then, the ruling party in Lagos, the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), whose part of manifestoes was housing provision, quickly seized the opportunity so that the ruling party at the national level, National Party of Nigeria (NPN), would not use federal might to acquire the land. But the problem is that the terrain requires a piling that should be at least, 30 metres deep before the foundation.

So, we need to do something urgent to avert any possible disaster.

I also need to say this, the newly established building control agency is taking care of these inadequacies, but it is very difficult to cover every area.

The government’s bulldozers have pulled down some buildings adjudged to be illegal structures in some parts of the state, recently, why must officials wait for developers to complete their buildings before destroying them?

I said before that we are thriving on indiscipline.

For example, demolitions that took place along Epe-Maroko Expressway were a violation that could be averted. The church in question was refused approval abinito, because the site is included in the proposed Lekki International Airport. Similarly, the demolition that took place in Odo-Iragunsen was effected because the land had been acquired for a factory. But people were being de-

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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TheEnvironment Experts task govts on renewable energy, climate change adaptation Climate Change

By Tosin Fodeke ISTURBED by climate change’s negative impact on Nigeria and its populace, environmental experts have called on governments at all levels to adopt more green initiatives to tackle the trend The experts while speaking at of the 5th Alternative Power Exhibition tagged “Save the Earth, Power Green” noted that only few states have initiated moves in tackling the scourge of climate change and shown promise in the preservation of the earth for future generations.

President, Council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria, (CREN), Mrs. Anita Okuribido at the event organized by Folub Eletrik Servz in conjunction with Lagos State Television, called for the stoppage of imports of carbon monoxide emitting products.

She stated that measures should also be put in place to ensure standardization, quality, accessibility and affordability of renewable energy.

Earlier, former Advisor on Climate Change, African Union Commission, Dr. Victor Fodeke said that a massive usage of renewable energy and efficiency improvements would provide a lasting solution to various environmental problems caused by climate change.

According to him, unlike oil, natural gas and coal, solar energy technology which is one of the most renewable energy alternatives available today emits no carbon dioxide

D

New compact fluorescent lamps or energy bulbs will be distributed to approximately 12 million households in Nigeria

Firm brokers deal for Nigeria’s 40m energy efficient lighting scheme Climate Change

By Chinedum Uwaegbulam a novel move to enhance ItionNNigeria’s emission reductargets and earn carbon credits for the country, a leading Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM) consultant and carbon broker in Africa, Messrs Ecosur Africa has structured a transaction, which could buy 1.1 million United Nations backed offsets by the end of 2020 from a light bulb replacement programme.

The scheme is being developed as a Programme of Activities (POA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism.

The PoA validation was concluded last year and the PoA was submitted in December 31, 2012 to the CDM executive board for registration. The POA registration is ongoing and successful registration is expected on Thursday.

The Guardian gathered that the promoters see the projects as the biggest energy efficiency CDM project to be devel-

oped in Sub-Saharan Africa, which would distribute up to 40 million energy efficient lighting known as Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) to approximately 12 million households throughout Nigeria, resulting in significant energy and monetary savings to millions of grid connected residential household in the country.

Nationwide rollout of the project is planned to begin in 2014.

CFLs are energy saving lights with many times the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs and can last up to ten times longer. Furthermore, CFLs can provide the same amount and quality of light as incandescent light bulbs whilst using less than one–fifth of the electricity consumed by incandescent light bulbs.

The project developed by newcomer ICIMI, and brokered to the Dutch firm, Eneco, will feature a combination of firm and optional volume of Certified Emissions Reductions(CERs) over a seven-year period. The carbon credits that will be sold under the forward agreement will

be generated from the distribution of energy saving CFLs to households across Nigeria.

Five such programmes have been registered out of the 23 programmes approved by the U.N. so far.

“These households endure constant light outs and power outages due to limited electricity capacity in the grid,” according to ICIMI , Managing Director, Cassandra Jayesimi.

She added: “Thanks to the support of Nigerian DNA (designated national authority, or national CDM agency) and local authorities the project will help to conserve the energy that is available and manage grid capacity.”

She told The Guardian “ ICIMI is committed to bringing large-scale sustainable energy projects to Africa. In line with our Africa-focus strategy, we are also developing a largescale CDM waste to energy project in Nigeria. The project has a twin purpose of producing agricultural composts and renewable electricity from municipal solid waste.”

Eneco is listed as a participant in 15 CDM projects that have the potential to generate 6 million CERs between 2012

and 2020. ICIMI, which has offices in London and Lagos, is also listed as a participant on just one CDM project or programme, but the company said in the statement it would expand into least developed countries.

The Transaction Manager at Eneco, Edit Kiss explained the company involvement: “Africa is one of our rising focuses. We are actively developing opportunities in this region and having looked at many energy efficiency CDM projects, ICIMI’s PoA matches our strategy: the project is at an advanced stage of development and the scale of the program is particularly significant as the largest CDM energy efficiency project undertaken in Sub-Saharan Africa”.

The Chief Executive Officer, ecosur afrique, Fabrice Le Saché said: “Primary markets’ potential lies in the African continent. Quality projects such as the PoA developed by ICIMI qualify under compliance and voluntary premium schemes. High level of sustainability helps to monetize emissions reduction and to create value as it multiplies market channels and arbitra-

WaterAid hails U.N. declaration of World Toilet Day Sanitation HE United Nations (U.N.) T General Assembly has designated November 19 as World Toilet Day to spotlight the plight of 2.5 billion people who don’t have basic toilets.

According to the U.N., six billion of the world’s seven billion people have mobile phones – but only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines.

The General Assembly resolution approved by consensus Wednesday urges the U.N.’s 193 member states to promote behavioral changes and adopt policies to increase access to sanitation and end open defecation, a key cause of diarrhea.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the annual

observance of World Toilet Day “will go a long way toward raising awareness about the need for all human beings to have access to sanitation.”

The amusement and laughter likely to follow the designation of 19 November as “World Toilet Day” would all be worthwhile if people’s attention was drawn to the fact that 2.5 billion people lacked proper sanitation and 1.1 billion were forced to defecate in the open, the General Assembly heard last week.

“Ending open defecation will lead to a 35 per cent reduction in diarrhoea, which results in over 750,000 deaths of children under five years of age every year,” Singapore’s representative said as he tabled a

draft resolution on Sanitation for All, one of four adopted by consensus today. Apart from establishing World Toilet Day, the text also urged Member States and the United Nations system to encourage behavioural change, to introduce policies that would increase sanitation among the poor, and to accelerate progress towards attaining Millennium Development Goal 7.

Water Aid Nigeria has welcomed the historic decision of the United Nations General Assembly to declare November 19 as World Toilet Day to help boost efforts to bring sanitation to all and end open defecation.

Dr Michael Ojo, Country Representative, WaterAid

Nigeria, commented: “WaterAid welcomes this recognition of the global sanitation crisis, and the need for the UN and member states to take action.

This is not just the creation of yet another UN day, but another sign that governments recognise that toilets for all is essential for saving children’s lives.

“Current figures estimate that 69per cent of Nigeria’s population lacks basic sanitation; that means only 31per cent of the population has access to sanitation. Nigeria is one of the very few African countries where rates of access to sanitation are actually falling – from 37per cent in 1990 to 31per cent in 2010.”

which makes it environment friendly, adding that renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, biomass power plants, solar thermal collectors, and biofuels are rapidly gaining wider attention.

Fodeke lamented that Africa is lagging behind other continents in Clean Development Mechanism initiative put in place by the Kyoto Protocol to help countries meet binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets.

“We can solve global warming, save money, create massive job and wealth as well as eradicate poverty, Improve air and water quality without compromising our quality of life. “Strict technical standards are the only reliable way to ensure that only the most efficient transportation systems, industrial equipment, buildings, heating and cooling systems and appliances will be produced and s o l d .

Chief Executive Officer, Folub Eletrik Servz, Mr. Bode Adefolu, an engineer, also stated the campaign for the alternative sources to make environment clean and avoid burning of carbon or polluting environment cannot be over emphasized.

“As this will promote healthy living and reduce cost on the long run for Nigerian’ survival.

Just to see that many industries are in extinction due to the huge cost in providing energy source for their businesses.

Homes are on the average spending of a minimum of N1, 500 petrol to improvise for the non-availability of electricity that should have been free for all use.

FCT partners EHORECON on hygiene, sanitation Sanitation OWARDS maintaining a clean and serene environT ment, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) plans to partner with the Environmental Health Officers (EHO) on hygiene and sanitation.

This was made known last week during the visit of the Environmental Health Officers led by the Registrar of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), Mr. Augustine Ebisike to the Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide in her office in Abuja.

The Minister said it was necessary to form partnership with EHO to look at areas, such as market, general sanitation of the people working in the area of food. According to her, ‘these are one-off issues that need to be institutionalised and need a time frame in which to make them operational’.

She said the Federal Capital Territory would do everything to support the profession to achieve its laudable goals.

Akinjide however, stated that the issue of sanitary concessionaires was a legal requirement, saying ‘’We have actually made provision for sanitary concessionaires in the satellite areas and we will make sure they all register with the

Council and also make them comply with some basic standards, which are for the protection of service health workers,” she said recalled with nostalgia how the sanitary inspectors in early 50s and 80s were seen all over the place going from house to house doing what they know how to do best.

He maintained that there were no cases of collapse building in those days because sanitary inspectors were around.

On the issue of the employment of EHO, Ebisike while informing the Minister said the WHO approved figure of environmental health officers is one environmental health officer to 8,000 population but the total number of registered EHOs today is less than 7,000.

The Registrar however revealed that there were a number of eateries that are not certified to cook for the members of the public, saying when you cook food for public consumption, what is the status of the food vendor?

Some diseases like typhoid are spread by eateries, he claimed.

In his own remarks, the Permanent Secretary FCT, Mr. John Obinna Chukwu said issues of sanitation had been taken for granted in this country adding that Nigeria was not as developed in the 60s and everywhere was sparkling whereas today every mansion is surrounded by filth.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, June 6, 2011 49

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

In association with

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THE INSTITUTE FOR REAL ESTATE EXCELLENCE (IREE)

Excellence. Integrity. Professionalism

IREE 201 - Buying Off-Plan. The Pros And Cons (Part 3)

THE IREE

The IREE was inaugurated in 2012: Vision: To raise the standards in the Nigerian real estate industry through professional training and coaching to meet international standards.

Cutting Edge Real Estate News. Trends . Advice he Intelligent Real Estate Series is a bi-weekly column aimed at educating readers on matters relating to the real estate industry.

We will be discussing the various factors that affect the industry, current trends and future projections in practicing real estate in the 21st century as the industry is continuously evolving and business is no longer business as usual.

Enjoy!!!

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Continued from the last edition CONS OF BUYING OFF-PLAN DEVELOPMENTS AVING pointed out some of the benefits of off-plan purchase, we would now consider the downsides of it.

• The most likely is the possibility of delays in completing or delivery of the project. This would affect home owners who want to move in immediately • One has to commit to their purchase early on, put a non refundable deposit down, sign contracts and exchange usually within a relatively short period of time and then wait however long until the house is built.

H

Because you are buying off-plan, you cannot see what you are buying and therefore do not know what the finished product would look like in reality.

Buyers based their purchase on past record or reputation of developers, or word of mouth.

• There is tendency for developers to use sub-standard, low end materials for construction and finishing. Off-plan buyers run the risk of getting low quality products after investment.

There might also be the risk of the property not been constructed because of financial problems encountered by the developer. Problems like this tend to make the purchaser loose time and other possibilities for investment.

Many financial companies would prefer to provide funding to properties they can see visibly unlike the off-plan option, thereby reducing the financial options for buyers.

For some developments, the developers make specific arrangements with banks for exclusive mortgages, although not all developments have this option. It is always wise to exercise caution and get competitive quotes from other mortgage suppliers before simply accepting the developer’s option.

During the time until your property is built and ready to be handed over, there is a possibility of a change property market which could lead to an increase or decrease in the prices of houses.

This means that in many cases, your new home could be worth more than the price it was bought.

However there is always a chance that the property prices could crash and decrease so when the keys are handed over to you. This is not so much of a problem as the property can be kept for a while until property prices increases. However if you were looking to buy off plan properties as an investment and sell on soon after purchase, this means that you will probably not get the right price and be able to cover your costs so you may have to consider renting it out. It may not be possible to always predict whether the price of an off plan development

powered by

Intelligent Real Estate

will increase upon completion. For example although economic recessions are thought to reduce property prices, the price of Nigerian properties were on the rise despite the economic meltdown.

HOW THESE CONS CAN BE MITIGATED The cons highlighted can be mitigated by implementing the following below; 1. Potential buyers should question the number of sales being reported by the developer. There are situations whereby developers communicate a fast sales rate of their projects which is in reality far from the truth. Buyers should always ask the tough questions, get conviction as well as proof before committing funds.

2. Check that you have all the information of the developer and their track records. Ensure that the fixtures, fittings and finishings promised in the display and printed material are guaranteed.

3. Investors must seek advice from an experienced solicitor to ensure there are no loopholes or ambiguities in the sales contract. All loopholes should be brought to your attention so you are aware of what you are getting into.

REAL ESTATE TRIVIA Question.

What is the term for the legal document that is most often used to transfer title of real estate from previous to new owner?

Answer. Deed Please send your questions or comments to iree2013@gmail.com.

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5,, 2013

Follow the herd in trading the capital market INTRODUCTION ERD behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks and schools, demonstrations, riots and general strikes, sporting events, religious gatherings, episodes of mob violence and everyday decision-making, judgment and opinion-forming. Raafat, Chater and Frith proposed an integrated approach to herding, describing two key issues, the mechanisms of transmission of thoughts or behavior between individuals and the patterns of connections between them. They suggested that bringing together diverse theoretical approaches of herding behavior illuminates the applicability of the concept to many domains, ranging from cognitive neuroscience to economics.

In the financial market Herd behavior Is a special kind of irrational behavior, it refers to investors over reliance on opinion (that is, the overwhelming majority in the market of ideas), regardless of their information behaviour. Because Herd behavior Behaviors involving multiple investment main body, has a great influence on the stability and efficiency of the market, also has the close relationship with the financial crisis. Therefore, the herd behavior caused widespread concern in academic circles and government supervision departments.

Herd behavior of an animal (cattle, sheep and other livestock) moving in swarms, foraging. Later, this concept was extended to describe the phenomenon of human society, to think, and most people feel, action, and most of the people together, consistent with most people do. Later, this concept was used to describe the financial experts through a non rational behavior in financial market, investors tend to ignore their own valuable private information, and most people follow the market decision-making. Herd behavior in a certain period, the number of investors adopts the same investment strategy or for the specific asset yields the same preference.

Since the nineteen eighties, was the traditional finance that is irrational, unscientific Herd behavior (Herd Behavior) has been studied by more and more attention. Herd behavior Also known as mental, social pressure, infection, with the understanding about the nature of financial market deepening, coupled with the frequent outbreak of the financial crisis triggered by the Investor A deep reflection on the behavior, make the research on herd behavior in financial markets has become a challenging practical direction.

Asch is the first research group behavior psychologists, who in 1952 in The United States of America College students as subjects of experiment resulted in the discovery of a non rational herding behavior. He call this kind of behavior similar pressure phenomenon. He let the real subjects in a new class, and let other people in the class to answer a simple question (two line length), these people were told that deliberately gives the wrong answer, the answer is. Result With 1/3, were affected by the wrong answer. But in the independent answer problem in the case of a wrong answer, there is little chance.

From the substantial evidence in the financial markets, Hb is unfavorable to the principal part, get actively involved in herding behavior of individual investment in the market rate of return is relatively low. At the same time, a kind of positive feedback mechanism between the herd behavior degree and the fluctuation of stock price, which makes many scholars believe that the herd behavior is the result of market price fluctuation is an important factor in excessive, research for the Southeast Asian financial crisis in the herd behavior, found that foreign investors contributed to the financial crisis. Therefore, the herd behavior caused widespread concern in academic circles and government supervision departments.

Therefore, both for the individual and the whole market, non rational herding behavior is bad. In order to control the irrational behavior, it is necessary to research on the formation reason of herd behavior. After the in-depth understand only causes for herding behavior, can be an antidote against the disease, to find the corresponding control method.

Internet Bubble One of the most infamous financial events in recent memory would be the bursting of the internet bubble. However, this wasn't the first time that events like this have happened in the markets.

How could something so catastrophic be allowed to happen over and over again? The answer to this question can be found in what some people believe to be a hardwired human attribute: herd behavior, which is the tendency for individuals to mimic the actions (rational or irrational) of a larger group. Individually, however, most people would not necessarily make the same choice.

There are a couple of reasons why herd behavior happens. The first is the social pressure of conformity. You probably know from experience that this can be a powerful force. This is because most people are very sociable and have a natural desire to be accepted by a group, rather than be branded as an outcast. Therefore, following the group is an ideal way of becoming a member.

The second reason is the common rationale that it's unlikely that such a large group could be wrong. After all, even if you are convinced that a particular idea or course or action is irrational or incorrect, you might still follow the herd, believing they know something that you don't. This is especially prevalent in situations in which an individual has very little experience.

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own homework and form their own opinions.

Forecasts that diverge from those of colleagues are generally referred to as "bold," whereas those that go with the flow are indeed termed "herding forecasts." While excessive boldness can obviously be dangerous for investors and the analysts themselves, excessive herding tendencies surely make the analysis a bit pointless. After all, if analysts become part of a speculative bubble, they lose their objectivity and independence.

What Leads to Bold or Herding Forecasts?

Analysts who are more confident in their information sources, and presumably in their own abilities, tend to be bolder.

Therefore, experience should raise the level of boldness and general, rather than firm-specific experience, seems to help as well.

Working for larger brokerage houses evidently increases boldness and so does giving forecasts that are not extremely complex.

Having an established reputation as an analyst also allays fears of going out on a limb and away from the crowd.

Conversely, herding is likelier with inexperienced analysts who lack confidence, work for smaller houses and do complex work.

They will be wary of "deviating from the mean." Leader-follower effects may also prevail, such that one or more analysts become regarded as gurus and lesser "mortals" tend to follow them blindly and timidly.

"Career concerns" are another important and related factor.

Clement and Tse (2005) warn that for this reason, analysts "seek safety in forecasts that are close to the consensus." This implies that boldness may jeopardize analysts' career chances, a dangerously ironic situation. The irony is that, not surprisingly, there is evidence of boldness increasing forecast accuracy. After all, boldness reflects private information (not available to all), original thinking and a willingness to be anti-cyclical. So analysts really should be bold to maximize their effectiveness.

Various other factors can lead to herding. Interestingly, just before the big 2000 crash, John Graham drew attention to some of them. For example, it may be that many analysts receive the same information, which would inevitably lead to herding. That is, it is not clear exactly how much private information is really available and how much it is used. Analysts may also investigate companies the same way, which is really a kind of "investigative" herding rather than behavioral.

money into internet-related companies, even though most of these dotcoms did not (at the time) have financially sound business models. The driving force that seemed to compel these investors to sink their money into such an uncertain venture was the reassurance they got from seeing so many others do the same thing.

A strong herd mentality can even affect financial professionals.

The ultimate goal of a money manager is to follow an investment strategy to maximize a client's invested wealth. The problem lies in the amount of scrutiny that money managers receive from their clients whenever a new investment fad pops up. For example, a wealthy client may have heard about an investment gimmick that's gaining notoriety and inquires about whether the money manager employs a similar "strategy".

In many cases, it's tempting for a money manager to follow the herd of investment professionals. After all, if the aforementioned gimmick pans out, his clients will be happy. If it doesn't, that money Does This Imply About Analysts? manager can justify his poor decision by pointing out just how What Firstly, investors really need to know if they are using or being many others were led astray. influenced by bold or herding forecasts. This is fundamental, as the two are completely different in approach and value. Reading THE COSTS OF BEING LED ASTRAY analyst reports carefully and comparing them with others, should Herd behavior, as the dotcom bubble illustrates, is usually not a make it possible to figure out which one you are dealing with; but very profitable investment strategy. Investors that employ a herd- of course this is a time-consuming nuisance and should not be mentality investment strategy constantly buy and sell their invest- necessary. ment assets in pursuit of the newest and hottest investment trends. Secondly, there is the issue of cost and value. Are herding foreFor example, if a herd investor hears that internet stocks are the casts of any real value? This is debatable, and they are surely not best investments right now, he will free up his investment capital worth paying much (if anything) for. The views of the masses are, and then dump it on internet stocks. If biotech stocks are all the after all, out there in the mass media. rage six months later, he'll probably move his money again, perThirdly, watch out for hidden herding analysts. If you have an haps before he has even experienced significant appreciation in his actively-managed fund or portfolio with a broker or bank, they internet investments. may be influenced by such analysts. Is this what you really want?

Keep in mind that all this frequent buying and selling incurs a You certainly have a right to know, one way or the other. substantial amount of transaction costs, which can eat away at Fourthly, analysts themselves should consider their real roles available profits. Furthermore, it's extremely difficult to time trades and duties. They should bear in mind that if they are bold and get correctly to ensure that you are entering your position right when it right, they will surely be rewarded over time. If they are wrong the trend is starting. By the time a herd investor knows about the for legitimate reasons, such as an act of God or an unpredictable newest trend, most other investors have already taken advantage of market change, they, their employers and their clients should be this news, and the strategy's wealth-maximizing potential has able to live with this. probably already peaked. This means that many herd-following investors will probably be entering into the game too late and are How to Prevent Analyst Herding likely to lose money as those at the front of the pack move on to Given the factors described above, a degree of analyst herding other strategies. seems inevitable. If both private and institutional investors make it quite clear that they want original and free thinking, however, AVOIDING THE HERD MENTALITY this might encourage bolder forecasts. Likewise, employers of While it's tempting to follow the newest investment trends, an analysts must ensure that such forecasts are duly rewarded and investor is generally better off steering clear of the herd. Just that there is no censure for rational and well-researched views, because everyone is jumping on a certain investment "bandwagon" even if they ultimately prove wrong. In career terms, being bold doesn't necessarily mean the strategy is correct. Therefore, the needs to pay off for the analysts themselves, and getting ahead soundest advice is to always do your homework before following must not be fostered by conservative and consensus-driven mediany trend. Just remember that particular investments favored by ocrity. the herd can easily become overvalued because the investment's The reality of analyst services is that they are subject to herding high values are usually based on optimism and not on the underly- in a similar, but not identical, manner to private investors. This is ing fundamentals. not good news, because herding implies suspending original thinking and playing it safe, which surely runs counter to the HERDING TENDENCIES AMONG ANALYSTS whole point of analysts. The consensus opinion may be of some Investors simply emulating the masses and failing to think inde- use, but one definitely needs to know whether or not this is what pendently constitutes a well-known blunder. Less well known and one is getting. Bold is not necessarily better, but a lot of the time it in a sense more alarming, is the fact that analysts do it too. Given surely will be. The industry itself needs to encourage boldness and that both institutional and private investors rely on these people to make it more of a career winner. guide them and their money in the right direction, it is disconcerting to know that they also often go with the herd rather than with CONCLUSIONS the head.

"Benign" herding behaviors may occur frequently in everyday decisions based on learning from the information of others, as when a person on the street decides which of two restaurants to HERDING BEHAVIOR AND ANALYSTS The investment literature demonstrates quite clearly that analysts dine in. Suppose that both look appealing, but both are empty tend to converge toward the "prevailing consensus forecast." In because it is early evening; so at random, this person chooses plain English, they are inclined to avoid sticking their necks out too restaurant A. Soon a couple walks down the same street in search far, and more or less recommending the same investments as their of a place to eat. They see that restaurant A has customers while B colleagues. They probably don't get carried away with greed and is empty, and choose A on the assumption that having customers panic the way some private investors do, but all the same, going makes it the better choice. And so on with other passersby into the The Dotcom Herd Herd behavior was exhibited in the late 1990s as venture capitalists with the flow is not what analysts are there for. At worst, one could evening, with restaurant A doing more business that night than B. and private investors were frantically investing huge amounts of argue that one simply does not need analysts unless they do their This phenomenon is also referred as an information.

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BusinessInterview We are driving social entrepreneurship by using patient Dr. Godfrey Mwindaare is the Director of West Africa’s Acumen, a non-profit organisation that raises charitable donations to invest in companies in order to tackle the menace of poverty. In this interview with ROSELINE OKERE, he emphasised the need for strategic focus on agricultural development as effective tool for economic diversification. Excerpts.

What’s the operational profile of Acumen?

CUMEN is a social venture capital fund.

We provide funding for entrepreneurs who build businesses that provide goods and services to the poor. We’re focused on investing in companies, leaders, and ideas that are changing the way the world tackles poverty. Acumen was established 12 years ago, and we have about $85 million invested in 73 companies globally. We have been in West Africa for two and half years and we have $6.7 million invested in four projects in Ghana and Nigeria. As a non-profit organisation, we raise charitable donations that allow us to make equity and debt invest-

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Mwindaare

ments in early stage companies that provide reliable and affordable access to agricultural inputs, markets, quality education, clean energy, healthcare services, formal housing, and safe drinking water to low income customers.

How do you source fund for investment?

We invest what we call ‘patient capital’ in business models that deliver critical, affordable goods and services to the world’s poor. These are longer-term financial investments, backed by philanthropy that places an emphasis on both social and financial returns.

What are the criteria for choosing the compa-

ny to invest in?

When we see a project, first of all, because we are a social venture, we have to look at the social impact the project would have on the poor. We also try to test commercial viability of the project after testing the social impact of the project.

We are looking for innovative solutions that are sustainable and scalable to ensure that as the company grows a substantial number of underserved can be reached. We also check the value alignment between the entrepreneurs and us to ensure that the entrepreneurs we work with have an unwavering focus on building businesses for the

poor. It is almost like know your customers.

This is important because we do not want to support entrepreneurs who will tell us that they will do a particular thing and end up doing a different thing. We’re investing in and working with these companies for many years so shared values are critical. It is a whole journey. It is not just a one-day affair.

Do you engage commercial banks to assist in fund disbursements?

If we have a project in Nigeria and we have analysed the project and is approved by our investment committee, we go through the legal due diligence and documentation regarding the relationship. The entrepre-

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capital to build inclusive societies, says Mwindaare neurs must meet the investment criteria that we have set in order for funds to be disbursed.

How do you service the fund? Do you expect interest on the fund from the entrepreneurs?

With the debt investments we’ve made locally in West Africa, we expect the entrepreneur to pay a certain interest on the capital. We seek to recover the money that we have invested in our companies over time, but unlike say commercial banks, our patient capital approach allows us to be more patient, allowing entrepreneurs to iterate their model until they really get it right. All financial returns that we receive are recycled for new investments in enterprises serving low-income people.

There may be some cases whereby an entrepreneur may divert the fund to other activities. How to you ensure that the fund achieves its purpose?

We enter into a partnership with the companies we choose to invest in and through regular visits, reports and through building strong relationships. We don’t just give money, but also help the entrepreneurs grow through the process.

Having invested in some companies, how many people have been impacted in respect of job creation?

We have created over 50,000 jobs and impacted the lives of over 100 million people.

The fund has so far invested $85 million into companies across the globe. How much investment do you intend to make in the next three years?

I will narrow it down home because I head the West African operation. It is a young operation that is just two and half years old.

My plan is that by 2015, we should have $15 million invested in companies in the subregion. But, this is just a short-term plan.

By 2020, we intend to raise it to probably $20 million to $25 million mark. Acumen started investing in West Africa in 2011 and our investments are at the forefront of bringing access to products and services to low-income customers. Our companies span from land rights documentations for low-income homeowners, to agric-services and market access for smallholder rice farmers and more.

What do you think governments in the subregion should do to address the issue of poverty?

I think the governments in the sub-region should focus on projects that are self-sustaining. It is not just all about teaching people how to fish, but assisting them to be able to fish for life. We’re focused on building sustainable, scalable businesses that will make impact.

Do you think the growing population in West Africa has contributed to the high poverty rate?

It depends on how you look at it. The growing population can be an asset and it could also be a liability if we do not manage it well. That is why we keep supporting businesses that support the society, because we are trying to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. With access to critical goods and services, comes the opportunity to make one’s own decisions and that is critical as the population continues to grow.

Why has Acumen decided to invest only in four companies in West Africa when compared with your disposition to entrepreneurs in other climes?

If we get $6.7 million invested in two years, it means averagely, we are doing $3 million every year. We are still young and we believe that the opportunities are there for us to grow.

When should we expect the company in Nigeria?

Right now we are able to manage our portfolio in the region from our Accra office. In our total portfolio, we are looking into investing in agriculture, health care, education, water and sanitation, low cost housing

We are looking for innovative solutions that are sustainable and scalable to ensure that as the company grows, a substantial number of underserved can be reached. We also check the value alignment between the entrepreneurs and us to ensure that the entrepreneurs we work with have an unwavering focus on building businesses for the poor

With the debt investments we’ve made locally in West Africa, we expect the entrepreneurs to pay a certain interest on the capital. We seek to recover the money that we have invested in our companies over time, but unlike commercial banks, our capital approach allows us to be more patient, allowing entrepreneurs to iterate their model until they really get it right

Our entrepreneurs know that we have a zero tolerance towards corruption.

We will not continue to support entrepreneurs who are involved in corruption.

That is why I said value alignment is important. Right from the beginning, we explain to entrepreneurs what we stand for and what we do not accept and corruption is of one them

and off grid energy. One of the companies that we invested into in Nigeria is into financial inclusion. The other company is into anticounterfeiting solution, which helps the country to fight the menace of counterfeit drugs in Nigerian markets, which falls into the health related sector.

Agriculture used to be the major source of revenue generation in the sub-region prior to the discovery of crude oil. What are the implications of this on the economy?

There is a saying that a hungry man is an angry man. Agriculture will always feed the nation and I think it is in the best interest of every nation to be food sufficient so that they will have well fed people. The population is growing and we need to support the population. It is all about having the right policies in place and builds businesses that are sustainable and bringing rural farmers into the supply chain in order to bring about food sustainability in the sub-region.

There are several people who would like to delve into commercial agriculture but are often constrained by lack of fund and the commercial banks are not willing to release funds for agricultural development. How has your organisation been able to intervene on behalf of the farmers so far?

We have a greater portion of our global portfolio for agriculture. In Ghana, we have two entrepreneurs that are into rice farming and in less than two years, they are now the largest rice producers in Ghana. We understand that agriculture is important and we are putting our money where our mouth is.

Of course, for you to succeed in agriculture from my experience, you have to establish an integrated value chain. I will encourage entrepreneurs who are looking at agricultural opportunity to have a clear analysis of the whole value chain to see how best they can deal with the project by integrating the whole process into the value chain. Yes, it is a challenging industry, but one that is viable if you have the right strategy and the right business model.

How do you intend to handle the issue of corruption as you plan to expand your operation in West Africa?

Our entrepreneurs know that we have a zero tolerance towards corruption. We will not continue to support entrepreneurs who are involved in corruption. That is why I said value alignment is important. Right from the beginning, we explain to entrepreneurs what we stand for and what we do not accept and corruption is of one them.

What are you doing in the area of energy investment?

Energy is very important and that is why we are supporting the provision of electricity, most especially in the rural areas. The benefits of energy are enormous. It helps micro enterprises. We also look for opportunity that will provide good potable water to rural communities who do not have access to water. So, if an entrepreneur has a business that provides rural communities with portable water, it is something that we may look at. We have invested in a company called Water Health International and we have been able to demonstrate that the poor are willing to pay for portable water. We have seen that Water Health, which started in India, has expanded to Africa and people are paying to get quality water. Apart from the price of the water, the rural people have started to see the value of spending less time in getting water from the water provider than going to the stream to get it.

Now, specifically, what are your plans for Nigeria?

We are ready to invest in sustainable, scalable businesses that provide affordable healthcare, water, housing and energy services in Nigeria. We have growth plan for Nigeria and West Africa. We are here scouting for opportunities. Any entrepreneur who has a business model that can directly impact on the poor, should reach out to us and we will review their proposal and see if there is any opportunity for collaboration. We are here to stay.

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NigeriaCapitalMarket NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at Friday PRICE LIST OF SYMBOLS TRADED FOR 02/08/2013

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NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at 02/08/2013

PRICE GAINERS

LOSERS

Stanbic IBTC posts 115 per cent rise in half-year profit

By Chijioke Nelson TANBIC IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, has posted a profit before tax of N13.1 billion in the first half of 2013, representing a 115 per cent increase over the N6.1 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2012.

It also recorded a 104 per cent growth in profit after tax, posting N10.2 billion during the period, against N5 billion in June last year.

The bank noted that its group result for the half year ended June 30, 2013 showed significant improvement in major performance indicators, driven by the growing footprint across Nigeria, as well as increased revenue from money and capital market activities.

The Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Sola David-Borha, said the result confirmed the robustness of

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the strategy of building a sustainable business by offering end-to-end financial solutions to all the market segments in such a manner as to generate significant returns to stakeholders.

Her words: “We concluded the first half of 2013 with an impressive performance as our results show significant improvement compared to

our performance in 2012. This resilient performance supports our strategy of building a sustainable business through our offering of endto-end financial solutions to clients to generate sustainable risk adjusted returns to our shareholders.

“Despite the testing operating environment, we continued to grow our business

responsibly as evidenced by the significant growth in revenue, profitability and our balance sheet. We will continue to explore opportunities to grow our business and market share responsibly as we leverage on our growing customer relationships, enhanced by our growing delivery channels and excellent service delivery”.

Berger Paints floats N543.42m rights issue

By Helen Oji IRECTORS of Berger Paints D Nigeria Plc and professional parties to the company have completed the pre-offer arrangement for a rights issue of N543.42 million, even as the company plans to modernise its manufacturing operations.

The company is offering about 72.46 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to exist-

ing shareholders at N7.50. The rights issue was pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every three ordinary shares held as at May 31, 2013.

At the completion board meeting held in Lagos on Thursday, members of the board of directors, issuing houses to the rights issue, stockbrokers to the issue and other parties signed the final

documents of the rights issue in the presence of officials of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The completion board meeting paved the way for the opening of application list for the rights issue on August 20, 2013.

The Chairman of the company, Mr. Clement Olowokande,

Operators predict robust market activities this month

By Helen Oji APITAL market operators C have expressed optimism that the robust market activities recorded in major indicators of the Nigerian Stock Exchange for last month would be sustained in August 2013.

Specifically, they explained that the increase in the

said the net proceeds of the rights issue estimated at N521.71 million would be used to finance the modernisation of the company’s factory operations.

According to him, the modernisation was the main thrust of a strategic plan to ensure that the company continues to operate at the forefront of paint technology by replacing its aging manufacturing infrastructure.

indices would likely be driven by expected increase in activities in the banking and financial sectors as well as the consumer goods sector.

They hinged their prediction on the expected halfyear results and companies having March 31, as their year-end, adding that these companies meeting investors’ expectation will boost market performance for the month.

The market opened the month of August on a positive trend gaining 1.34 per cent for two days as at the close of trading activities on Friday, the NSE All-Share Index closed at 38,424.34 points, up from 37,914.33 points at which it opened on August 1, 2013.

Similarly, the market capitalisation appreciated by 1.34 per cent from N12 trillion on August 1st to N12.16 trillion on August 2nd.

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Opinion Being sceptical of public opinion

By Anthony Akinola UBLIC opinion” could sometimes be mis“P leading. In its ordinary interpretation, the concept of public opinion is taken to be the popular opinion of the majority. However, in the realm of political science, public opinion is the aggregate opinion of those who care to express their opinion on an issue. What counts for public opinion may quite often not be informed.

Informed opinion, as opposed to sentiments expressed by a so-called majority, is an opinion based on possession of information. Sadly, most of the people who express their opinion on pertinent issues may not have sufficient information to support the views they strongly support or reject. There could therefore be danger in subjecting every key decision of government to the dictates of so-called public opinion.

For instance, should the structure of political governance be decided on collated reports from some beer parlour or be subjected to rigorous analysis by knowledgeable individuals in the subject area? Should the issue of whether or not we adopt a rotational presidency be based on disjointed “yes” or “no” votes?

I bring in the issue of “rotational presidency”, said to have been rejected by Nigerians, because there seems to be nothing in our contemporary history to suggest proponents have not been

right all along. The National Assembly misguidedly dismissed the idea based on so-called majority opinion, but the current outburst in our society indicates they got it wrong. Every major crises in our nation since independence in 1960 have emanated from disputations over leadership position, the civil war of 1967-70 inclusive. We are being warned of an impending crisis and the pointer again is on our recurring historical nemesis.

Were ours to have been a more serious society, a patriotic and honest leader would have since sought a solution to a quite evident problem. When an American president, in his wisdom, thought there was a need to limit the tenure of presidents, the issue was not thrown to the streets for a decision. He competently instituted a commission made up of experienced and knowledgeable individuals who made recommendations that were later considered by Congress and State assemblies.

The purest form of democracy is anarchy.

However, we all know that anarchy is not good and hence democracy itself is regulated. There may be instances when a people need to be educated about what is good for them and their society based on superior knowledge. The same Nigerians who were reportedly said to have rejected rotational presidency –the Boko Haramites, the kidnappers, and the bandits in-

clusive – would be right there killing and maiming should the presidency elude their preferred candidate.

Where are the issues and the understanding of those that decide on them? Should we be basing our permutations of who wins and does not win an election based on projected outcomes in intra-communal disagreements or even estrangements between husbands and wives? There was a recent report in some newspapers about a meeting of the traditional rulers of some geo-political zones regarding the election of their “son” as president in 2015; did they ever discuss issues of employment in the meeting? The bitter truth of our politics is that issues will always take a back seat until we have found a way of cross-cutting our cleavages of religion and ethnicity. Ironically, we may not be able to do this without zoning the presidency.

Even when there may be a few Nigerians who honestly hold ideological views, ideology itself hardly polarises our nation. Even when it is welcoming to know that self-styled progressives are coalescing into an alternative political party, it is still doubtful if they will be able to hold together without borrowing from the PDP’s idea of zoning. Zoning is one inevitability that derives its legitimacy from the ethnological realities of our nation.

I have read a few reports in which our inept politicians dismiss otherwise innovative ideas because, in their eyes, they did not conform to the American approach. The question one would have loved to ask them would have been whether the founding fathers of America had Nigeria in mind when they fashioned their constitution in 1787. Maybe some of our legislators need to be reminded that Nigeria came into being in 1914! Switzerland was the first nation to borrow from the American Constitution, why did they not photocopy every aspect of it rather than adapting it to their own realities –something Nigeria should have done?

One had thought our elected politicians would by now be able to improve on the constitution with minimal intervention from outside. From the look of things, they require external intervention and possibly surrender of their sovereignty in constitution-making. Quite a number of useful ideas are dismissed out of hand; when it is not because an incumbent president is not favoured by such ideas it would be because of governors who are hoping to be elected for a second term! It is all about their selfish ambitions and not because of all of us and our collective nation.

• Akinola’s new book, Democracy in NigeriaThoughts and Selected Commentaries, is available online.

Rationale behind House’s constitution amendment (1)

By Emeka Ihedioha th

N 24 July, 2013, in a historic voting that O lasted up to 10.30pm, the House of Representatives kept faith with the decisions and wishes of the Nigerian people, which had earlier been expressed during the Peoples’ Public Sessions that took place in the 360 Federal Constituencies of Nigeria, on November 10, 2012; the House lived up to its billing as the House of the Nigerian people by voting overwhelmingly on the side of their constituents, shunning pressures mounted on them by powerful interested parties to vote otherwise.

I will highlight some of the amendments for the information of Nigerians.

The House voted overwhelmingly to give full financial, administrative, executive and legislative autonomy to Local Government Councils (LGC) in Nigeria. By this vote, the House has succeeded in making the LGC, a tier of government in Nigeria; denying undemocratically elected LGCs of any revenue allocation from the federation account or from the states and creating uniform four-year tenure for Local Government Councils.

Similarly, it created the offices of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of LGC, including their qualifications, mode of election, oath of office, method of removal; established the Local Government Executive Council to coordinate the executive arm of the LGC. It also created the offices of supervisors as the equivalent of Commissioners in the states, established the Local Government Legislative Council, as the legislative arm of the LGC, and created the position of councillors, including their qualifications for election, mode of election, tenure, oath of office and conditions for recall of a councillor.

The House also provided for the offices of Leader and Deputy Leader as Presiding Officers of the Local Government Legislative Council (LGLC), providing mode of exercising legislative power of the LGC and their remuneration to be determined by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. It abolished the “State Joint Local Government Account and replaced same with the “Local Government Council for direct payment to LGCs from the Federation Account, establishing the Local Government Service Commission to take care of the bureaucracy at the Local Government Councils.

In a consequential amendment, the House amended Section 285 (by introducing a New Section 285(2A) which established for each State of the Federation, a Local Government Election Tribunal to determine the validity of

elections at the local government level. Provision for the appointment of an Auditor-General for LGCs (Section126(1) was inserted.

The House voted 308 for, 22 against and 12 abstentions to amend or alter section 8 of the Constitution by removing ambiguities in the creation of new states, and boundary adjustments.

Section 8 (1)(b) was amended to require a referendum for creation of new states, to be approved by at least two-thirds majority of the registered voters of the Local Government Areas where the demand originated from instead of the current provision of approval by “twothird majority of the people of the area”, which is vague and subject to different interpretations.

In addition, Section 8(1)(c) was further amended to the effect that approval of the Result of the Referendum for creation of new states would now be by 2/3 of the State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria. The current provision requires a simple majority of the entire Nigerian voters and a simple majority of the whole 36 States Houses of Assembly sitting together or separately to vote.

The House voted 317 for, 6 against and 15 abstentions, to alter section 9 of the Constitution on the mode of altering provisions of the Constitution, thereby achieving the 4/5 majority required to amend the section. This amendment replaces an “Act” of the National Assembly with its legal connotation of a Presidential Assent (S.59) with a “Bill”. It further specifically dispenses with the Assent of the President as the voting of ¾ majority of National Assembly and 2 /3 of the entire House of Assembly of the Federation was deemed sufficient for the purpose of determining the will of the Nigerian people.

Section 25 was altered by a huge majority to now give married women opportunity to elect to have indigenship rights in their husband’s community or paternal community. It further gives indigenship rights to Nigerian citizens who have resided in a community continuously for not less than 10 years. Furthermore, no Nigerian citizen shall claim indigenship of more than one state at a time.

The House’s vote also endorsed alteration of Section 33 of the Constitution to redefine the use of reasonable force by law enforcement agents to now mean that only a “commensurate, proportionate or equal force can be used in self defence by Law Enforcement Agent. This provides for a more restrained method of policing to protect the fundamental rights of Nigerians.

The House voted overwhelmingly to amend sections 34(2), 35(7); 39(3); 42(3); 89(2); Section 129(2); Section 162(1); and other parts of the Con-

stitution to replace “Nigerian Police Force” with “Nigeria Police”. The rationale was to emphasis the civil nature of policing rather than celebrate “brute” force. This current progressive House also voted to amend section 42(1) to include “disability” as a condition that should not be discriminated against. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary amendments is the introduction by the House of new Subsections 45A – 45D by an overwhelming vote to move 4 items from (chapter 2 (Fundamental Objectives and Directive of Principles of State Policy) to chapter 4 (Fundamental Human Rights) and make them justiciable.

New Section 45A gives every citizen of Nigeria right to free basic education, new section 45B gives every Nigerian citizen, right to a favourable environment; new section 45C gives every citizen of Nigeria, the right to “free primary and maternal health care services”. Also, new Section 45D gives every citizen of Nigeria, Right to “basic Housing” The House vote introduced new Sections 50A and 92A by endorsing the establishment of the National Assembly Service Commission and State Houses of Assembly Service Commission by an overwhelming vote. This is a deliberate attempt to strengthen the capacity of the Legislative Institution as the Federal Judicial Service Commission and Federal Civil Service Commissions take care of the Judiciary and Executive Arms of Government respectively.

The House in support of amendment of Section 59(4) of the Constitution to require the President of the Senate to convene a Joint Session of the National Assembly within seven days to reconsider any money bill vetoed by the President thereby removing the ambiguities and lacuna in the current provision. The House voted overwhelmingly by 313 votes For, 8 against and 12 abstentions to endorse Independent Candidacy in elections in Nigeria, by amending Section 65(b); 106(d); 131(c); Section 177 and other parts of the Constitution, in order to further open up the political space.

Furthermore, to ensure that the Independent Candidacy provision is not abused, Section 228 was further amended by introducing a new Section 228(e) which states that: “The National Assembly may by law provide for procedures, guidelines and qualifications for access to the Ballot by Political parties and Independent Candidates”. Sections 80(4) and 120(4) was replaced with a new sub-section that completely captures Appropriation of any form of revenue accruing to or derived by any Fund, Agency, Entity, or department of Government of the Federation by the National Assembly or State

House of Assembly. In order to bring some form of Order to the budgetary process, the House in a near unanimous vote altered clause 81(1) and 121 [1), 81(2) and 121(2), and introduced new sections 81(3a) and Section 121(A) into the Constitution.

Section 81(1) – that allows the President to lay his Budget before the National Assembly at “anytime” in each financial year has been altered to “not later than 90 days before the end of each year financial year”. Section 81(2) amendment introduces “Other Public Fund of the Federation set up for specific purposes” as part of the estimates which the President must lay before the National Assembly for appropriation. In order words, budget of such entities as NNPC, NPA, NIMASA, Customs and Excise etc. must now be laid by the President before National Assembly for Appropriation.

The new Section 81 (3A) amendments further defines the estimate of Revenue and Expenditure to be introduced by the President to include any form of revenue received or a return on government investment by any Agency of Government. The House further amended Section 82 and Section 122 of the Constitution by limiting the period by which the Federation and States may operate without an Appropriation Act in any new financial year to three months, instead of six months.

The House similarly amended Section 84(5) and Section 124(5) of the Constitution by introducing the Presiding officers of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to join the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors as persons entitled to pensions after office, provided that they were not impeached or removed from office. This decision is to correct a historic wrong perpetuation by the military against the legislative arm of government in order to deliberately undermine it as a co-equal arm in the Administrative Structure of Governance. It is wrong to provide for the leaders of the Executive Arm of Government that have four years tenure and the leaders of the Judicial arm without providing for the Leaders of the legislative arm. It is better that all leaders of the three arms of Government are provided for jointly or none at all. This provision will help to insulate the officers concerned from financial and even political manipulations and corruption, while in office.

• To be continued tomorrow.

• Rt. Hon. Ihedioha is Deputy Speaker and Chairman House Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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Opinion Managing Nigeria’s currency effectively (1)

By Reuben Eboh UCH was said about currency restructuring and manageM ment some months back and the reason for the exercise according to the apex bank in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is the need to reduce cost, which according to the CBN is the major reason for the exercise. According to the CBN, cost reduction has been a major accomplishment in the Bank’s currency management in the last couple of years as indicated in the table below: In 2009, cost of printing and minting currency notes and coins was N47.141 billion.

In 2010, cost of printing and minting currency notes and coins was N45.507 billion.

In 2011, cost of printing and minting currency notes and coins was N32.627 billion.

From the above figures released by the CBN, one can easily see that there has been a reduction in the cost of printing and minting currency notes and coins. This figures accounted for the CBN’s plan not quite long ago to introduce the N10,000.00 notes and to introduce coins into our currency and it is the analogy that when N10,000.00 notes are in circulation, then less of N1,000.00 notes will be printed and less of N1,000.00 notes will have to be destroyed when bad.

Applying the rules of engagement which I learnt during my Masters Degree programme which are: • There is the need to be open-minded.

• There is the need to see the matter from all perspectives.

• There is the need for interaction.

• There is the need to make at least one contribution.

Applying the above stated reasons for the currency restructuring exercise by the CBN, one can say that the reason for the exercise is actually very sound as cost reduction is very important to the survival of every organisation, be it public or private. The rules of business success states that the principal reasons why business organisations fail are: • Inability to focus single-mindedly on sales and revenue generation.

• Poor control of cost and internal administration So, based on the above stated rules of business success, one can say that the reason of cost reduction given by the CBN for the currency restructuring exercise is very sound but the method of reducing the cost is what I fault and it is the method of changing paper currency notes to coins and polymer currency notes and

also introducing higher naira denominations so that less currency notes will be destroyed, thereby reducing cost. I liken this method to introducing insecticide treated mosquito nets to control the rising cases of malaria attack and its consequences of sickness that results in loss of man hours and sometimes death.

In the 60s – early 80s era in Nigeria, Sanitary Inspectors, popularly called ‘Wole wole’ moved round where human beings lived in order to check whether there were stagnant water and overgrown bushes in our environment, the reason being that stagnant water and overgrown bushes aided the breeding of mosquitoes which caused malaria. They were actually attacking the root of the problem or getting the problem removed from the very roots. This is actually the best approach and not cosmetic approach as we see today.

Relating the above analogy, there is the need to identify the root of the way our currency notes get bad easily and one principal factor is the use of the wallet. According to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, the wallet is ‘a small flat folding case made of leather or plastic used for keeping paper money and credit cards’.

There is no way one will not abuse the naira notes if that individual is not using the wallet. The wallet allows you to fold the currency notes neatly without rumpling it and then it is slid into the wallet. Being in the wallet, the naira notes will definitely not be rumpled and it will not grow dirty easily. So, it is about the campaign for the use of wallets by every Nigerian or anyone living and making use of the Nigerian naira. This is meant to be a campaign so that it has to start from the CBN itself because charity begins at home. The CBN governor has to ensure that all the staff of the CBN, starting from the deputy governors, to the directors, to the least staff of the apex bank makes use of the wallet and it becomes an offence for any staff of the CBN not to make use of the wallet anytime, whether at work or outside the work environment. Next, the campaign is taken by the CBN governor and the deputy governors to the forum of the Money Deposit Banks and the Microfinance Banks so that the management of the CBN gives directives to the CEOs of all banks under the CBN to the effect that all bank staff must make use of wallets and deviation from this or non-compliance should attract sanctions.

This directive is to be implemented at the head offices and branch offices of these banks. Not only is this directive followed to the letter by bankers, but they also pass the message to customers of the bank at the end of every transaction whether at the counter or at the desk. The man/woman that comes into the banking hall does not leave without being given this message to

go home with. The awareness about wallets gradually spreads in this way.

The CBN then takes the campaign for the use of the wallet and even POS terminals to the following groups: • The Council of State meeting of the President with all the state governors so that once the state governors buy the message of the use of the wallet, it will be passed down as directives to all state civil servants and the governors will help to ensure compliance through the various departmental and sectional heads.

• The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and it is from the meeting that the message goes down to civil servants in the ministries, parastatals, etc in form of directives that must be complied with from the ministers, special advisers, special assistants, etc.

• The members of the military i.e. Army, Navy and Air force. The CBN governor and his deputies take the wallet campaign to the forum of service chiefs and senior officers in the military. Once the message of the use of the wallet is effectively sold to the top brass in the military, the message is taken down to the least personnel in the military through directives, which is obeyed immediately.

• The Nigerian Police Force and other para-military organisations such as the customs, civil defence, immigration, etc. The message is passed down through directives that must be complied with.

• The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) led by its President and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria led by the Sultan of Sokoto. The message, once bought by the Christian and Moslem leaders will be passed down as directives to all workers in the churches and mosques who will preach it to their members.

The CBN management then takes the campaign for the use of the wallet to the court of the various groups such as the forum of all stock broking firms, with the functional regulator, the management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and all the CEOs of all stock broking firms in attendance so that once the message of the use of wallets is effectively sold to them, they pass it unto their subordinates through directives which must be complied with. The same applies to insurance companies and very importantly, the management of the two major labour unions in Nigeria: the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

• To be continued.

• Eboh, an engineer lives in Lagos.

ASUU, what do you want?

By Rufus Akinyooye Y son is a post-graduate student of Agriculture in the second oldest university in Nigeria, a hot-bed of industrial action M though, but nonetheless the most well-reported internationally.

He came home shortly before ASUU embarked on its latest industrial action to say he was no longer going to continue his Master’s programme. Why? He said he was finding it difficult to cope with his supervisor who in his opinion does not seem to have time for him. Out of naivety he moved himself to another unit only to meet with the same brick wall and the consternation of his appointed supervisor to boot. So he thought since they were all the same, he could not see any way out except to quit, even though I had paid in full for the course and he was having his pocket-money regularly. He was extremely bitter.

I could not understand the situation until a few days later when the news came out that ASUU has embarked on yet another industrial action, this time on the non-payment of “earned allowances”. According to newspaper report especially The Guardian of July 2, 2013 quoting a high ranking ASUU official “earned allowances refer to what the teachers are entitled to for supervising post-graduate students’ theses and the excess workload entailed in attending to more students than the required number, in the course of their primary duties. According to the official, the non-payment of this allowance since 2009 is the reason university lecturers had been reluctant to take on post-graduate students or accept to supervise thesis at post-graduate level.

In effect, give or take the human imperfection of my son, his observation of his supervisor’s reluctance to supervise his work may not be unconnected with the probable directive from the union to use that approach to drive home ASUU’s demand for the payment of this “earned allowance”, a subtle form of industrial action, which my son was not aware of but would be making himself a victim of by throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

What has continued to puzzle me is that parents, especially in the southern part of this country are ready to pay for the education and welfare of their children at all levels as evidenced by their acceptance of private schools and universities and the high fees they charge. Whenever there are moves by federal universities to build the cost of funding into the bill payable by parents, ASUU would say No and the students would join the chorus. So I ask ASUU what exactly do you want? Why are you not allowing whoever wants your commodity (Western style classroom education), to pay for it? In the Northern part of this country, this

type of education is “Boko” and it is “Haram” (evil) not to be touched with a ten-foot pole, while in the South here it is “mai chau” (goodness) and we are ready to pay anything to have it. In all free enterprise nations like Nigeria, parents save money for the education of their children because we believe this is the only legacy we can bequeath to them, but then it is time-sensitive because conditions do change. A parent that is able today may not be able tomorrow, ditto for the child that could be ready today but could lose interest tomorrow.

In planned economies of socialist nations, they plan for and would train only the number of engineers, doctors, lawyers, architects and all others they would need annually, and even the number by which they would allow their population to increase.

There is nothing like unemployment in those countries because the state would have made sure no one was idle even if it meant pegging the number of the children their citizens could have as being announced recently in Burma. It is not so in free enterprise economies like Nigeria. Here we can have as many wives and children as we want. We go to school because we want to not because the government compelled us to or indicated any need for it, neither would the government promise anyone a job upon graduation. I did Accountancy in my undergraduate and did not consult with any government or anyone else for that matter before I started it, neither was I expecting any job anywhere expect out of sheer luck and divine providence. What I wanted was education first and foremost and was ready and did pay for it every inch of the way by doing all the odd jobs like washing dishes in hotels, being guard, selling newspapers and driving taxi all to pay my way for my studies, while in the United States, ditto for my post-graduate. I was not doing all that because I knew I would get a job, No. No one promised me a job, and I was not sure I would get one or even be ready to work for anyone.

I wanted education to make my journey in life easier because everything on earth has been written and, to my mind if you cannot read them you are as good as dead because you would be literally blind, deaf and dumb. I look at the first degree as the primary school of education, a Master’s degree as the secondary level while the Ph.D. is the university level, the pinnacle. I tell my children that education should not be seen by them as a license to the paid-slavery status of the working class but for the independence of their minds to ease their journey through life. As a sage once said “Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave”. I believe that if I have education and decided to be selling groundnuts, the way I would sell mine would be different from the way an un-

educated person would sell his. I could even make money from my ash while he could throw his away.

Every time ASUU says the government should find solution to the problems facing the nation, I wonder if their members knew that the society looks up to the university system and its products to do just that as its think-thank. The government is made up of its products and even a former ASUU member is heading it today, having succeeded another former member during whose tenure this contentious 2009 document was signed. Was this document a trap or why are the former ASUU members now in the position to implement its content not doing so? Why is ASUU and its former members now in the government holding the nation to ransom over a document the people knew nothing about?

To my mind ASUU is a major contributor to the declining university education standard in this country because it would not allow other stakeholders to participate in the funding. It would not allow willing parents to pay for the education of their children. Let’s face the facts, the government does not benefit directly or indirectly from university education, it is the educated individual that does because he/she gets paid directly for services rendered. I worked for 27 years for a private outfit and my salary comes directly to my pocket, not to the government. I spend it the way I liked not to the government, ditto for all employed people in and outside the government. The glory of any educational achievement goes directly to the individual (like all the Nobel laureates of this world) and then to the society. No one would call on the government of a country to come and collect a prize on behalf of its citizen. The winner collects the prize and uses it any way he wanted. The praise does not go to the government either.

Like all other parents in a free enterprise nation, I did not obtain a permit from the government before I started having my children neither did I before sending them to school. I did not seek the approval or guarantee of a job before enrolling them in the universities neither did they promise me one. If all these were done out of the volition of each and every one of us why should the government be blamed for the outcome when it was not a party to the decision. Governments do not create jobs; they rely on taxes and royalties from the private sector.

I implore ASUU to please leave the government and its civil servants out of the education and welfare of our children in federal universities. Build the cost into the fees and let scholarships from both the public and private sector take care of those that can’t afford it. I pray this would be the last strike by ASUU on this issue of funding. We have had enough of it.

• Dr. Akinyooye lives in Ibadan.

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Media Why anticipating crisis is critical to effective PR engagement Adedayo Ojo, the Group Chief Executive of Caritas, an organisation specialising in strategic communication, spoke to journalists on the importance of strategic communication in public relations. Gbenga Salau was there. Excerpts: It is often said that most public relations efforts are geared towards media relations. Is it a lack of knowledge or sheer laziness on the part of practitioners that is responsible for this?

HEN you go fishing; you will catch some fish, crabs, fingerlings and all sorts. Our industry is like that, even among some professional public relations practitioners, there are some quacks. We believe that as clients engage agencies and they deliver results, clients will begin to see the difference. I think it talks to the rigour that each team or agency applies to what they do.

The approach we have decided to take is to, in each situation, do a proper diagnosis before coming up with a solution. Sadly, most people don’t do that. This is why we have been so fortunate that there is no client that has been with us since we started out in 2010 that has left us or that we have lost.

With the advent of new media, information travel fast. How do you strike a balance, considering taking action involves getting approval from management which is usually procedural?

The way to find a balance is to approach it the way we recommend to our clients. The first thing we say to client is that you have to be like Generals in the Army. And what do Generals in the Army do? In the time of peace, they plan for war. That is the best way to protect your reputation, if you understand what crisis is.

We say to clients, ‘stuff do happen when you least expect, and when bad stuff do happens, it dents reputation, affects the society and the people. The best time to plan for crisis is before it happens - have a structure, make the organisation ready for it and the people trained and ready to deal with it.

Caritas, like every other public relations agency, can help to do the media relations that is needed when crisis happen. But we do more.

We approach it from the perspective of a plan, a structure, training, practise and proactive communication. Handling crisis will be different if there is an on-going relationship with a client and he has a challenge but needs the agency for assistance.

Of course, part of that pre-planning is ensuring that, if we have a challenge today, we can take some decisions without MD’s approval in order to save the reputation of the organisation. This is because what crisis does is to eat into the reputational capital of the organisation. But, it is the amount of preparedness before the outbreak of the crisis that determines how much impact the crisis would have on reputation. So it is about planning, preparedness, it is about having structure and speed of response that matters.

Will that preparedness include making public relations a management function?

Making public relations a management function strengthens the fact that you make the head of public relations an active member of the decision making body of any organisation.

But that is also not a guarantee of success. It is also about the individual skills and competence.

Number two; it is also a function of how much authority the organisation is willing to give that individual. Today, we all sit and say

W

Ojo Nigeria’ image is not in its best state. The question is- do we have a minister for information? Yes, we have a minister with that portfolio. We have a special adviser on media to the President. We also have a special adviser on public affairs but we cannot sit here and question the competence of those individuals.

Before we question their competence, how much authority have they been given? Is there clarity about their mandate? So, it is both personal and institutional In managing the public affairs of organisations, it is easy to approach the project by just appointing media people into those positions. It is not enough to get media people into those positions, but it is good to do that. It is also good to put people that are media savvy, but they must have skills and competence suited for the role. Then they must have the authority to be able to do what is right and finally, their bosses must also have a lot of personal confidence in that individual to deliver. You must be sure before you complain about the image of Nigeria, the image of the President, that even the President is happy with the team he has.

But if you have the institutional framework ready that communication ought to be part of strategic planning, both from the point of agreeing that this is where we want to go and this is the role of communication, so that you can measure the outcome. Once you have that, you have the institutional framework, you have the right individual; then it becomes easy to measure.

So, it is a combination of a whole lot of things. Today, you find somebody, who did his NYSC in a media-house, because he could not get a job, he says he is a media consultant. And here am I too, after more than 30 years in practice, I am also a media consultant.

You have been a media practitioner and corporate practitioner, and now you run a communication agency; what is the level of PR practice in the country?

If there is a stakeholder everybody must commend in the PR strategy chain, it is the media in supporting public relations prac-

as the training modules are fit-for –purpose programmes for organisations in the public and private sectors.

In the last four years, we have worked with top global and local brands like Addax, Honeywell Group, Main One Company, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to mention a few. We have consistently facilitated spokesperson training for personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) in the past four years. Such a robust list of high-level clientele illustrates that we are professionals in our line of business.

Caritas PR Limited, which is the second arm of the Caritas Communications group, is a full -fledged public relations agency. Caritas PR provides public relations services to clients in various sectors- telecommunications, aviation, the public sector, and conglomerates.

If you look at the public sector, we have done quite a bit for organisations including the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) and the Federal Road Safety Commission, (FRSC).

We developed the strategic communication plan for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

What elements can one find in your Reputation Solutions Faculty basket?

First of all, we offer communication, media and reputation related strategy consulting.

If a new client comes in and says ‘we are a new company, this is our business plan and tice. That has been done excellently. The media this is where we want to go’. We will sit is still very relevant in this digital age where down with the client to design a communieverybody is a reporter today. cation programme that will complement The media’s ability to still keep people the client’s business plan. Some clients do informed and entertained is commendable. not have existing corporate communicaMedia is a key area for public relations practions, corporate affairs or public relations tice. plans. So, if these clients have in-house teams I think that a foremost area of success that is to drive the communication programme, we a shining example for all the other stakeholddesign training programmes to mentor and ers in public relations is the media. Because, if provide the skills for the in-house team. We we can take the skills for research to 80 perwill evaluate the kind of programmes that is cent of where we have in the media, it is going required to bring such staff up to speed with to reveal a lot more about what we can do. the skills level they would need to operate If we can take stakeholder engagement to half efficiently. That is one side of it. of where we have taken media today, it will be Another side is that we also provide execubetter for all practitioners. And the media is tive spokesperson training. For instance, if where it is today, because people keep improv- you look around Nigeria today, you will dising and focusing on what opportunities the cover that quite a number of Chief Executive technology we have can avail the profession, Officers or senior corporate communicabecause there is practically knowledge explotions practitioners, do not have the charisma sion or competence to face the media’s camera What exactly is the brief about Caritas? and still remain focused in delivering the We rolled out about four years ago under the organisation’s desired message or even manbanner of Caritas Communications Limited. age or interact effectively with the interviewThe focus was on energy, oil and gas reputaer. So we provide these kinds of trainings for tion solutions. Since then, we have evolved top-level management personnel that will into a full-blown communication and public need to interact with external publics or the relations consultancy and now have two busi- media. Our professional training modules ness units; Caritas Communications and will guide these top-level personnel on how Caritas PR. to relate and engage with their external pubCaritas Communications is a strategic comlic and the media. munications agency that focuses on energy, oil What is it that stands Caritas out from the pack? and gas opportunities. Caritas PR Limited is a full service public relations agency with focus First of all, we bring unique experience and on generic public relations opportunities understanding of how corporate instituacross sectors of the economy. tions work. We bring discipline and rigour Under the Caritas Communications umbrella, to execution. That is a major thing, and like I we have Caritas Energy, which provides repusaid, for every account that we have mantation solutions services to the energy, oil and aged or proposed to manage, we ask from gas sector. Still within that is another business the word ‘go’ how to measure our performunit, known as- The Reputation Solutions ance through terms signed by both parties.

Faculty.

The reason we started from oil and gas repThe Reputation Solutions Faculty is the train- utation solutions, which many people ing arm, which focuses on providing training believe is all we do, was that for everything and skills improvement programmes for oil we do, it is always better to start from the and gas players and generic communication known than the unknown. For instance, fiforganisations. So, we put together things like teen years of my career was spent in the media trainings. One of our core areas of com- energy, oil and gas sector. So, we know that petencies is issues and crisis management. industry very well.

And most of our programmes are tailor-made,

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

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Sports Cargolux Inter-Club squash tourney holds on August 19

Glo Nigeria Premier League

Warri Wolves beat Rangers 1-0, move to second position

HE ninth Annual Cargolux T Inter-Club Squash Tournament, one of the fore-

Wikki, Lobi, Nembe also win

By Christian Okpara from their 4-0 masFKanoRESH sacre of league leaders, Pillars, in the quarterfinal of the Federation Cup, Warri Wolves yesterday added Enugu Rangers to their list of victims in the ongoing Glo Nigeria Premier League.

Ogbene Karo got the Wolves match winner in the 26th minute to take the Warri team to the second spot on the league table on 37 points.

Kano Pillars, who did not play yesterday following an accident they had on their way back to Kano after their Federation Cup game against Wolves, still sit atop the table on 39 points.

Bayelsa United drops from second to third after losing to a late goal by Wikki Tourists in Bauchi, just as Lobi Stars moved away slightly from the drop zone following their 1-0 defeat of troubled 3SC, who now occupy the 18th position in the 20team league.

Heartland’s troubles this season continued in Kaduna where Ndubuisi Ekwuribe scored the lone goal for Kaduna United’s victory over the Naze Millionaires.

Gombe United beat Sunshine Stars 2-0 to cement their position in the midtable, while Nembe United did their survival hopes

Bayelsa United drops from second to third after losing to a late goal by Wikki Tourists in Bauchi, just as Lobi Stars moved away slightly from the drop zone following their 1-0 defeat of troubled 3SC, who now occupy the 18th position in the 20team league some good with a 1-0 defeat of Nasarawa United.

The goal, a volley by Jonathan Zikiye in the 45th minute, took the Kala Ekulema boys to the ninth position.

In Ilorin, Sharks defied all the odds to hold Kwara United to a goalless draw, a result that moved them a step forward in their quest to escape relegation.

Chijioke Ejiogu in goal for Sharks was the hero as the Gbenga Ogunbote-led team neutralised all the efforts by the home team to win the game.

Sharks now have 27 points from 23 games.

In Port Harcourt, Dolphins beat ABS FC 2-0, with Omoh Johnson (41st minute) and Emeka Atuloma (81st minute) accounting for the goals.

Countdown to Moscow 2013 World Athletics Championship

Beware of all the hype, Kalu cautions Okagbare BIA State’s former A Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu has cautioned Nigeria’s brightest hope for a medal at the Moscow 2013 World Athletics Championship, Blessing Okagbare, to ignore all the hype surrounding her recent performances and concentrate on her preparation ahead the competition.

The World Championship begins on August 10 with Nigerians expecting Okagbare to excel in the long jump, 100 metres and the 200 metres, as well as, the 100 metres relay.

And to make good her talents at the championship, Kalu believes, “what Okagbare needs now is no pressure at all.”

He said, “concentration is key. Setting new records in 100 metres and Long Jump is good, but not the end. There is still a long road to travel.”

Kalu recalled that prior to the London 2012 Olympics the speed demon had won the 100 metres in the London leg of the Diamond League, but was unable to climb the podium much later.

“She must have grown in experience now. Beating the American duo of Carmella Jetar and Tiana Madison before the Olympics and hitting a Personal Best (PB) of 10.93 seconds during the Games did not guarantee a medal last year as Shelly- Ann Fraser-Pryce went for gold,” Kalu added.

Enyimba and Nasarawa United fighting for possession during a recent Federation Cup game in Abeokuta. Nasarawa United lost 0-1 to Nembe United in the Glo Nigeria Premier League.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI.

Real Madrid’s Bale chase infuriates Villas-Boas OTTENHAM Manager, T Andre Villas-Boas has criticised Real Madrid for going public with their interest in Gareth Bale.

Real Coach, Carlo Ancelotti revealed the Spaniards were in talks over signing the 24year-old Spurs forward.

“The rumours that anything is imminent are not true,” said Villas-Boas. “We allowed ourselves conversations with Real Madrid, confirmed by their coach - I think wrongly.

“But the only thing we’ve communicated is that the player is not for sale.”

He added, “Carlo is a person I appreciate a lot and we have great respect for each other but, bearing in mind this situation, they have decided to make it public.

“Normally, situations like this in England are scruti-

nised by the Football Association with lots of care and attention. We have seen lots of people speaking about a player that is not theirs and we are due some respect.”

Villas-Boas was speaking following his side’s 5-2 defeat

by Monaco in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Wales international, Bale, did not travel with the rest of the Tottenham squad for the game in the French principality.

Former Liverpool Managing Director, Christian Purslow, who has been around the Real Madrid camp in Los Angeles this week, said he expects Bale to join the Bernabeu club.

He told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme: “The mood was very much one of

Moses, Nsofor, others yearn for Mandela Challenge action HE build up to the August T 14 Mandela Challenge prestige clash between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana has started to reach the real actors of the game, with Chelsea of England’s Victor Moses declaring that he has missed his colleagues in the national team and cannot wait for the game to reunite with them.

Super Eagles Secretary, Dayo Enebi Achor was quoted by

Media Officer, Ben Alaiya, as saying that Moses was the first player to put a call through to the team to say he will be available for the game and will be among the first players to arrive South Africa.

In consonance with renewed interest by the national team stars for the game, Obinna Nsofor has been making desperate enquiries about his return to the national team and has also promised to be early for

the game in South Africa’s warmest city of Durban.

Other players, who have been making concerted enquiries about the friendly so far include power playing Lazio of Italy midfield ace, Ogenyi Onazi, wing wizard, Ahmed Musa, and slow poison striker, Brown Ideye.

Arrival for all the players according to the NFF remains, Sunday, August 11 in South Africa for the game scheduled for Wednesday,

confidence and expectation that Bale would go.”

However, despite Bale also indicating to Spurs that he wants to speak to Real about a move, Villas-Boas insists he is planning for the 2013-14 season with Bale, who scored 26 goals last season, in his plans.

“We are looking towards the future with Gareth,” said Villas-Boas.

most events in the calendar of the Lagos Country Club Squash Section and the Nigeria’s squash circle, has been scheduled to commence on Monday, August 1 9 .

The tournament, sponsored by Cargolux Merchant Express Cargo Limited, has evolved from a three-club tournament when it started nine years ago into a championship that is reckoned with beyond the shores of the country.

According to the Managing Director, Cargolux Merchant Express Cargo Limited, Capt.

Sina Akinfenwa, the championship was conceived to engender amity and sportsmanship among the participating clubs in addition to promoting the game of squash.

Chairman of the Lagos Country Club Squash Section, Taye Ige, explained that the 2013 edition of the tournament would feature the best of squash players from 13 clubs from within and outside Nigeria, including the Squash Sections of Apapa Club, Ibadan Recreational Club, Ikoyi Club, Unilag Senior Staff Club, Cargolux Pilots, Luxemburg, Obafemi Awolowo University Squash Club, Accra Club, Ghana, Ivory Health Club, Police College, Eagle Club, O’ Trafford Club, Uyo Club and Lagos Country Club.

He said, “this year’s edition will have five categories namely Club Players (Men), Veterans, which is meant for players, who are 50 years and above, Classic, for National seeded players 1-8, National Under 19 boys and girls and National Under 16 boys and

Ogunjimi, coaches’ boss laud Mobil’s holiday camping, training for students

By Gowon Akpodonor LANS by Mobil Producing P Nigeria to camp and train secondary schools athletes in Akwa Ibom State during the forthcoming holiday period has been hailed by Professor Lucas Ogunjimi Lucas, a professor of Human Kinetics and Health Education.

Ogunjimi, who is also a specialist in Athletic Training and Health Education, is a holder of the Lecturer 1 License of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since 2007.

He describes Mobil’s plan to camp and train secondary schools athletes as the beginning of a bright future for track and field in the country.

“I have to join a lot of athletics buffs to celebrate what Mobil is about to do with secondary schools athletes in Akwa Ibom,” he said at the weekend. “If we do this regularly, through out the coun-

try, then we are soon going to be guaranteed a pool of young and talented athletes well brought up to excel.”

Ogunjimi was the first Nigerian to obtain the Area Technical Official (ATO) License of the IAAF and currently a technical officials training consultant to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

He hopes that the best coaches will be engaged and the students handled in such a way that even when they leave camp, they will be monitored continually for optimum results.

“For us to reap from this exercise, we should put together a mechanism that will continually track the athletes, especially those that will distinguish themselves during the training period,” he said.

At the moment, Ogunjimi is the only Anglophone West African on the IAAF 2012–2014 Panel of Area Technical Officials for Africa.

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THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

78 SPORTS

Insincerity, obsolete equipment bane of boxing, says Adeniji-Adele

By Adeyinka Adedipe OACH Adegboyega C Adeniji-Adele has identified poor leadership, obsolete training skills and insincerity as the bane of boxing in Nigeria.

Adeniji-Adele said the problems facing the sports must be tackled holistically if Nigeria hopes to get a lasting solution. He said that boxing has had its fair share of good results because of the availability of good coaches to handle top class boxers.

The National Institute of Sports (NIS) instructor told The Guardian that the sports was experiencing hard times, which could be put on the doorsteps of the administrators, the coaches and all other stakeholders, who have watched the sports decay.

He said that boxing had it good during the tenure of Gen. Waikuku in the 80’s and

Brai Ayonote as president in the 90’s, lamenting that the fortunes of the sports started fading in 2001.

To stem the slide, AdenijiAdele said the new coaches should be trained so that, “we can get the right peg in the right hole.” He urged the coaches to take advantage of the NIS and update their knowledge of the sports or any other countries for training.

He also stated that the qualified coaches should be selected on merit to handle the national teams, while also calling on whoever emerges as the President of the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBBF) to carry everyone along instead of being autocratic.

The coach also said that what the federation needs is a vibrant leader, who has the financial muscle to take boxing out of the woods and

take it to the next level. He also frowned at secretaries who pick coaches and athletes for international competition, saying it was the job of the technical department to do the selection.

On what is needed to get the right boxers for international competitions, AdenijiAdele said once knowledgeable and right coaches are selected, it become easy for them to pick the right boxers.

“I have said it earlier that if the coaches are good, they would select the best athletes. But because the coaches are selected at random and based on zoning, it becomes difficult for them to identify the good boxers. If the coaches train athletes on the current rules of the sports, I don’t see why we would not select good boxers for major championships,” he added.

African champion, Assar for Lagos International Table Tennis Classics HE number of quality playT ers expected to grace the first Lagos International Table Tennis Classics has began to swell as the Main Organsing Committee (MOC) confirmed the participation of African champion and one of the world’s most promising players, Egypt’s Omar Assar.

The Executive Director, Egypt Table Tennis Federation (ETTF), Hesham Abou-Hashish confirmed Assar’s participation at the weekend to the MOC. Assar, the Mediterranean Games champion is ranked 60 in the world and he is the highest ranked African player.

At the 2013 World Team Classic, Assar won crucial matches against top players like Zhe Yu Clarence Chew of Singapore and Patrick Franziska of Germany, which gave Egypt the bronze medal at the tournament.

He also displayed an outstanding performance at the 2013 World Championships held in Paris, when he beat Romania’s Adrian Crisan in the round of 32 before falling to Robert Gardos of Austria in the next round. But at the 2013 Mediterranean Games, he showed his class to win the men’s singles title.

Assar won six titles on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Junior

Assar Circuit, and in his first senior outing at the 2011 All Africa Games in Mozambique, the 22 year-old Egyptian dethroned Nigeria’s Segun Toriola to win the men’s single title.

It was also in Mozambique that he won the ticket to London 2012, where he made it to the second round of the tournament.

Tournament Director, Ranti Lajide, said the presence of Assar would add glamour and

make the tournament more competitive.

“I want to say that the presence of Omar Assar will raise the standard of the championship because this is one player that spearheads the dominance of Egypt senior team over Nigerian. He is one player from Africa capable of becoming a world champion.

He will the cynosure of all eyes at the championship,” Lajide said.

MTN Lagos Street Soccer Championship

LOC screens players in U-15 category N line with the commitment of the Local IOrganising Committee (LOC) of the season six of MTN Lagos Street Soccer Championship to eliminate age falsification in the newly introduced U-15 junior category, over 200 schools and football academies have qualified to participate, while over 50 players have been disqualified for falsification their ages.

“We want to state categorically that this new initiative is meant to unearth talents

based on players true ages and it is not a do-or-die affair.

So we want all teams to present players that are truly U-15.

We will sanction any team caught engaging in agecheat. “It is an enormous task, but we are committed to use the U – 15 category to signpost the beginning of new era in age group football competition in Nigeria” the Executive Secretary, Deji Aladegbemi stated.

For any team to be part of the junior category, Aladegbemi said: “Screening

is the key prerequisite for participation. Therefore, no team will participate in the competition if such team does not go through the age verification process.”

Meanwhile, the LOC has set aside August 12 for referees and match commissioners seminars, while the draws for the tournament will hold on Wednesday August 14 at Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The championship will kick off across the state on August 18.

THE GUARDIAN, Monday, August 5, 2013

79

TheGuardian

Monday, August 5, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Polycarp Onwubiko MAJOR landmark has been recorded in the long drawn struggle to emancipate the psyche of some Nigerians from decadent and misleading consciousness in the name of “rich cultural heritage” and fervency for its rejuvenation. The initiative of the executive and legislative arms of Lagos State government on a dress code for the staff of the House of Assembly is a civilised pace setting worthy of emulation by other states in the federation. Nigerians who have been weaned from the grip of anti-civilisation and anti-modern mode of doing things, all in the name of showcasing the so-called Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, were fascinated by the state government’s dress code for public servants.

According to a publication on July 11, 2013, shirt, tie and suit for men and a modern designed outfit for the women would “make their appearance unique and attractive and be in line with global standards in terms of legislation, decency and human development in consonance with what goes on the corporate world”.

The Lagos State government must be commended for displaying the rare courage to call a spade a spade in terms of the imperative of being conscious of the ever changing trends in civilised countries with respect to good governance and modern dressing found among public officials and international businessmen. Going by the conservative mindset of some people, the supposed “rich cultural dress code” or deep-rooted culture of Yoruba ethnic group would have been advocated and preferred.

It is the wish of this writer that the respectable and admirable dress code will be extended to the state television station to make the news casters key into the global standards with ripple effects getting to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) news casters and state governments as well as private television stations.

In the naïve notion of showcasing the supposedly “rich cultural attires of ethnic groups in Nigeria, the news casters in the NTA have been

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so-called “rich cultural attires” of the ethnic groups in Nigeria?

It is important to make a case for wearing shirt with tie or a complete suit for television newscasters. About 99 per cent of the television components are the ingenuity, science and technology of the Whiteman. It is, therefore, naïve to perceive the Whiteman’s attire Please send reactions and feedback for YOUTH SPEAK to: (suit, shirt with tie) as an abomination for the editorial@risenetworks.org and 07067976667- SMS ONLY television newscasters in the studio.

The dress code of newscasters of Igbo extraction is archaic, displeasing and uninspiring to the children and youths—all in the name of showcasing the supposedly “rich Igbo cultural dress”. These newscasters put on the dress and traditional chieftain’s attire which were fashionable in the 1930s, and also velvet clothe with lion and elephant inscription with a red cap to match which historically originated from North Africa (and other repulsive caps) which appearing in amorphous, voluptuous and were fashionable at the end of 1970s. At times, archaic dress code showcasing the discrimithey naïvely put on Hausa-Fulani caftan, nately selected three ethnic groups namely babaringa with caps peculiar to the North, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba; and faith-based Benue and River states. These make them to mode of dressing for women. look like cynical old village folks. But when you States owned television stations, without see them in shirts, tie, suit and designer wears knowing the hidden reason behind the rule, without cap while covering news at public have been impervious to suggestions by disevents, they look enlightened, elegant, handcerning and civilised-minded people who some and cute. Pray, who is that in Nigeria that abhor the content of the dress code invented does not admire lawyers, bankers, insurance

by Nigerians hundreds of years ago which staff and pastors who are always in shirt with are no longer in tune with modernity and tie or suit? creativity in dress code the world over. The Why should we meekly succumb to the subtle ludicrous impressions which the rule seeks propaganda or presumptuous posturing of to create are that shirt with tie and with or ethno-religious irredentists to swallow line, without suit are relics of colonialism and hook and sinker their value system in dress by should be abhorred as abominable. wearing caps always? The wearing of cap is not The fact is that shirt with tie or complete indigenous to any ethnic group in Nigeria; and suit is the best code in the world; it is never Igbos, being Christians, do not put on caps at archaic since the styles have been undergopublic occasions because caps are not permiting changes to reflect creativity and societal ted in the church. It is, therefore, improper to dynamics.

In international conferences, 99 per cent of Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji compel all the newscasters to put on caps and spinsters to put on the attire of married the delegates appear in modern suits.

African presidents and their senior officials, amorphous, voluptuous, archaic and ridicu- women. those from South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and lous attires, making them a butt of jokes in Onwubiko, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Zimbabwe as examples, appear in suits. It is international fora. The very relevant ques- Anambra State. only Nigerian delegates who appear in tion is: How many countries have copied the

Dress code in Lagos House of Assembly worthy of emulation

Biotechnology: A key platform for sustainable economic growth (1)

By Chizoba Aninwoya INCE the advent of biotechnology, the number of countries that cultivate genetically engineered (GE) crops continues to increase globally.

While fast-developing economies such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa have for a long while joined the global group of countries that are growing GE crops and increasing agricultural productivity, Nigeria the most populous country in Africa, is yet to begin to reap the benefits of modern biotechnology. Although the Federal Government, as part of its transformation agenda, has continued to make tremendous effort in the development of agriculture in the country, some issues such as the low crop yield and high level of losses due to pests, diseases and flooding, continue to pose serious challenges to attaining food security and sufficiency in our country.

Biotechnology, which is the most rapidly developing science around the world, has thus been strongly recommended by experts as the needed springboard for Nigeria to meet the increasing needs of its burgeoning population.

Governments of many countries through their policies, continue to create enabling environment for the development of biotechnology. The Canadian government, for instance, has as one of its main strategies for sustaining progress in biotechnology development, youth capacity building and support for youths in the biotechnology sector. The Nigerian government, I must say, has made giant strides in empowering youths and women through initiatives such as the YouWIN programme. However, much more needs to be done to encourage the youths in the area of science and technology particularly biotechnology, if Nigeria is to achieve sustainable economic development.

The pertinent question, however, would be: what is the level of awareness of the Nigerian youth about biotechnology? To enable me examine the level of awareness of the Nigerian youth on biotechnology, I embarked on a survey, which involved 108 students from two secondary schools – one private and one public, in Ikeja, the state capital of Lagos. Science students in the SS2 class were selected for the survey. This survey aimed at finding out the dream profession of each student as well as his/her level of awareness of biotechnology and understanding of the topic.

The result of the survey shows that the pupils’ choice of future career was mainly either medicine (33 per cent) or engineering (32 per cent) while the remaining 35 per cent of the pupils had

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interests scattered across various disciplines with none (0 per cent) choosing biotechnology.

About 47.2 per cent of the respondents had heard of the term “biotechnology” with greater awareness (54 per cent) amongst pupils in the private school than in the public school (39 per cent). However, only 26 per cent of the respondents were aware of any biotechnology activities in Nigeria. Only about 15 per cent of the pupils had heard about biotechnology innovations such as Golden Rice although about 35 per cent of them had heard about modern biotechnology methods such as recombinant DNA technology and tissue culture.

Several factors could be responsible for this low level of biotechnology awareness among Nigerians and the youths in particular. These include lack of commitment of the government to the development of science, technology and innovation evident in the poor infrastructure and inadequate funding for the numerous research institutes and universities in the country.

Another factor could be the negative propaganda by anti-GMO or anti-biotechnology campaigners. It is quite obvious that there is much media reportage on the dangers of biotechnology by these opponents of the technology who in most cases are not scientists and lack accurate information. These anti-biotech activists, who have been against the signing of the Biosafety bill by the President, lay much emphasis on fears about the safe application of Biotechnology some of which are genuine con-

cerns that require attention however; these activists fail to highlight the numerous benefits that will accrue from the development of Biotechnology in Nigeria.

I do not agree with those who see biotechnology as an alien technology. This is because most of our traditional methods of fermenting local foods such as ‘gari’, ‘ogi’, ‘dawadawa’ etc. involve the activities of microorganisms although not initially isolated and characterized. These old methods, which could be referred to as “traditional biotechnology” differ from “modern biotechnology” in that the latter involves the bioengineering of living organisms i.e. plant, animal or microbial cells to give products with improved qualities.

Modern biotechnology can give rise to a wide range of products such as vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, flavours, additives, antibiotics, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies, biofuels or to whole recombinant organisms such as transgenic animals and crop plants which are bacteria, insect, drought, flood or herbicide-resistant. Thus, areas of modern biotechnology application range from agriculture, food processing, medicine and pharmaceuticals; to waste management and renewable energy.

Current efforts in biotechnology development in Nigeria have largely been in the aspect of agricultural biotechnology. The aim of modern breeders which is to increase agricultural productivity is no different from that of our local farmers who for many centuries have practiced domestication through the selection and cross-

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breeding of crops and livestock with desirable characteristics to achieve superior products and higher yield. However, the process of traditional breeding is slow, laborious and expensive in terms of both time and money and has been widely replaced in many countries by sophisticated but more efficient and precise breeding methods through the application of biotechnology.

Using techniques such as genetic engineering, tissue culture, genomics and bioinformatics, agricultural biotechnology has led to crop improvements that are not possible with traditional crossing methods. Some of these genetically modified crops now commercially available include Herbicide-tolerant soybean and Insect-resistant maize grown in many countries especially USA, Canada and Argentina; Herbicide-tolerant Canola grown mainly in Canada and USA; and the BtCotton grown mainly in China, India and South Africa. South Africa is ahead of the rest of us Africans in agricultural biotech with over 0.4 million hectares cultivated with geneticallyimproved cotton, maize and soybean.

Nigerian scientists have also been involved in agricultural biotechnology research. I came across a study done in 2005, by Irefin, I.A and his colleagues to assess the nature and extent of agricultural biotech research, development and innovations in Nigeria. According to their findings, 48 Nigerian scientists were involved in agricultural biotechnology research particularly in eight of our nation’s research institutes and had made some progress with improvements in crops such as wheat, cotton, groundnut, sorghum, cassava, maize, rice, cowpea, kenaf, oil-palm, coconut, cocoa, kola, cashew, coffee and tea, pepper, tomato, okro, plantain, banana and mango. However, the study showed that about 60 per cent of these crop improvements were carried out using conventional crossbreeding techniques since only a small number of the scientists (less than 15%) were trained in recombinant DNA technology while most of the institutes lacked the necessary equipment and facilities for modern biotechnology research. Thus, the need for capacity building and adequate funding of research institutes and universities involved in biotechnology research cannot be overemphasised.

To be continued.

Aninwoya is a Masters Graduate of Biotechnology, Bioprocessing and Business Management from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; and is based in Lagos.