April 28, 2014

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World Bank’s $8b on power, others coming for Nigeria

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HE World Bank plans to fund projects worth $8 billion (about N1.28 trillion) targeting job creation, social services and governance as part of its new country partnership strategy with Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.

The bank said Nigeria, Africa’s most populous na-

tion with about 170 million people, will receive $2 billion yearly, disbursed through the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Washington-based lender said in an e-mailed statement at the weekend.

Bloomberg quoted Indira Konjhodzic, the World

Bank’s Team Leader for New Strategy, as saying that the bulk of the financing programme will focus on increasing installed power generation and transmission capacity and improving the efficiency and governance of electricity delivery.

The fund will also boost farming and help increase access to finance for women.

EKITI 2014

Through the partnership, the World Bank is seeking to reduce extreme poverty in Nigeria, where at least seven per cent of the world’s 1.2 billion poor people live. Only two countries, India and China, are home to a greater share of poor people. The most recent poverty survey by the Nigerian statistics office showed Continued on page 2

•I’m sure of victory, says Fayemi•’Call LP to order’ •Warn your council members, Bamidele tells rulers ANDMORE ON •Oni set to dump PDP for APC, says aide •PAGES 10 &54

Women to march on Abuja over 234 abducted girls Governor’s wife, others seek action Military gets clues

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From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

OMEN are set to mount a massive protest for the release of the 234 girls abducted by Book Haram insurgents on April 15.

An all-red attired women will march on Abuja on Wednesday to press for the release of the girls kidnapped from their hostel at the Government Secondary School, Chibok.

Prof. Hauwa Abdu Biu hinted yesterday of the planned protest in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, during an emergency meeting convened by the wife of the governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima.

The meeting was on the way forward for the release of the school WHERE ARE THE 234 GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON girls.

Prof. Biu, speaking APRIL 15 AT THE GOVT SECONDARY SCHOOL, last week on behalf of

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CHIBOK, BORNO STATE?

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•TRA GIC: The scene of an accident in which four people, including an expectant woman, died on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway ...yesterday.

•TRAGIC:

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

•APC: NIGERIANS SHOULD EMULATE RESIGNATION OF SOUTH KOREAN PM P2

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

NEWS

•Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar (second left) declaring open the biggest mosque in Southwest – the Aiyepe Central Mosque.in Ijebu Aiyepe, Ogun State. With him are Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (middle); Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (second right); Chairman, Odogbolu •Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Local Government Ahmed Wale Shittu (right) and Chairman, Aiyepe Muslim Community Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso (left)... yesterday. Chukwuemeka Kalu Uche (right) during a visit to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, PHOTO: TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, in Lagos...at the weekend

Nigerians should emulate resignation of South Korean PM, says APC T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday urged government officials to hold themselves to higher standards of conduct “as a way of ensuring good governance and winning global respect for the country”.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday, the APC’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the resignation of South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hongwon, over his government’s much-criticised poor handling of the April 16 ferry disaster was instructive. Over 300 people have been declared either dead or missing in the disas-

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ter.

The APC said the PM’s exit must jolt the conscience of Nigerian officials who have been found wanting when they have found themselves in similar situations. ‘’Until our leaders hold themselves to higher standards, as it is done in other democracies around the world and take responsibility when necessary, they will continue to perpetuate impunity, celebrate mediocrity and cling to power at all cost, even when it is clear that there are not serv-

ing any other interest but theirs,’’ it said.

The APC said the resignation of the South Korean Prime Minister was the culmination of widespread public criticism of the government over the handling of the ferry disaster, especially the slow pace of recovery of the bodies of victims and the conflicting information given by the government over the tragedy.

“The Prime Minister also stepped down even though he had paid a visit to the families

From Chris Oji, Enugu and Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Onitsha

work had been stalled.

Addrerssing reporters after its emergency meeting, the National President of NUA, Sir Peter Okala, said the construction of the bridge remained a bond between Jonathan and the Southeast.

He called on the ministries of Works and Environment to put their houses in order for uninterrupted construction of the bridge, adding that anything short of that would be unac-

World Bank’s $8b on power, others coming for Nigeria Continued from page 1

of the victims, just like the President of South Korea.

“Compare this with the situation in our country, where about 20 job seekers died in a stampede that was directly caused by poor planning and execution by a government agency on March 15, 2014, and for which the supervising minister (Abba Moro) blamed the victims instead of accepting responsibility. ‘’Compare this with the aftermath of the killing of 75 citContinued on page 58

Anxiety over second Niger Bridge

HERE is anxiety in the Southeast over the Second Niger Bridge - less than two months after President Goodluck Jonathan laid its foundation.

Minister of the Environment Mrs Laurentia Mallam said work had stopped on the project because the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not conducted before the ground breaking. This sparked the suspicion that the

project may be abandoned.

The Ndigbo United Assembly (NUA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) Southeast zone at the weekend warned against any “foul play” on the project.

But the preferred bidders for the project – Julius Berger Nigeria - and the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority (NSIA) denied that

ceptable to Ndigbo and Nigeria in general.

He said: “NUA had to convoke this emergency meeting after reading on the pages of newspapers that the Federal Government has stopped work on the construction of the Second Niger Bridge because of the failure of the Federal Government to comply with the requirements of the EIA law before embarking on the project.

Continued on page 58

that 61 per cent of citizens were living on less than a dollar a day in 2010, up from 52 per cent in 2004.

The assistance programme plans to develop a “more effective mechanism for social services delivery” by ensuring access for the vulnerable to “social protection programmes, education, health and water service delivery”, said Marie Francoise MarieNelly, World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria.

The Federal Government has also made huge investments in the power sector before its privatisation to make it attractive to investors.

The process led to the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) from where 18 successor companies were created.

The companies comprise 11

Glo win three at ICT Awards

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ATIONAL telecommunications operator, Globacom, won thrice at the Beacon of ICT Awards at the weekend.

At the fourth edition of the award held at the Eko Hotel &

Women to march on Abuja over 234 abducted girls Continued from page 1

the Coalition of Borno Women, said women were ready to storm the Sambisa forest where the girls are believed to be held, to secure their freedom.

Yesterday, she told the meeting that the march, which will be tagged “Free our girls”, will involve women all over the country. She urged the wife of the governor to mobilise women to Abuja for the rally.

“The last time we were in black, but this time around, the colour for the Abuja rally is red. So we should all be prepared and mobilised for the rally,” she added.

Hajia Shettima urged wives of the service chiefs in the state and at the federal level to mount pressure on their husbands to intensify efforts towards rescuing the girls.

“I want to seek this opportunity to appeal to women of security chiefs at the national and state levels to mount pressure on your spouses to intensify effort to rescue our dear children. However, I feel it is necessary to call on all women in Borno to come up with their resolutions and harmonise them.

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distribution firms, six generation companies and one transmission firm-Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) - which is under the management of Manitoba Hydro International.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said that on or before 2015, the Federal Government would have concluded the sale of all power assets. The sale of 15 assets, including 10 distribution and five generation companies, have been concluded. The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has also concluded the process for the privatisation of its 10 power plants under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

The BPE said of the 14 successor companies handed over, $2, 525,824,534 was realised as proceeds. Of the amount, $1,256,000,000 came from the DISCOs. The GENCOs raked in $1, 269,824,534.

Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Glo was named Best Telecoms Company of the Year, Most Innovative Mobile Player of the Year and Undersea Cable Company of the Year.

Continued on page 58

Govt fighting Boko Haram, says Sambo

ICE President Namadi Sambo has assured the Nigerian community in Tanzania that the Federal Government has intensified efforts to check the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

A statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the vice president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media Malam Umar Sani, said such efforts had started yielding positive results.

Sambo gave the assurance during an audience with members of the Nigerian community in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.

The statement stated that Sambo noted with satisfaction the concerted efforts of the security agencies in the fight against the terror group in the North East zone of the country.

The vice president, according to the statement, said government was particu-

“Let us all put our differences aside, irrespective of our faith and ethnic group. Let us all join hands to rescue these girls. I know that we can do it.

Almighty Allah is with us. He knows our intention,” she said, sobbing.

The governor’s wife recalled that she received a call from First Lady Patience Jonathan two days ago and “I believe she is also with us”.

larly proud of the security agencies’ commitment to ending insurgency in the country.

He said the Federal Government was doing everything possible, including cooperating with neighbouring countries, to check the insurgents. ‘‘I want to seize this opportunity to inform you that the Federal Government is doing everything to ensure that the Boko Haram menace is addressed in Nigeria and we are getting positive results. ‘‘I must say that we are very proud of our security agencies. They have been doing very well and this issue, by God’s grace, will be a thing of the past very soon. ‘‘I want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to end this; we are cooperating with our neighbouring coun-

Other women urged the Federal Government and the security agencies to intensify efforts towards rescuing the girls.

But Mrs Aisha Wakil, a member of the defunct Lemu panel on Boko Haram and other insurgents, called for restraint.

According to her, the use of force in rescuing the girls might not achieve the objective.

tries to bring this to an end soon,’’ the statement further quoted the vice president as saying.

Sambo, who commended the good reports on Nigerians living in Tanzania, urged them to re-dedicate themselves in the true Nigerian spirit to contribute immensely to the growth of the economy of their host country.

An NGO the Every Nigerian Do DOmething (ENDS)has written to President Jonathan, requesting permission to recruit, train and arm thousands of civilian volunteers to fight Boko Haram.

“We have allowed the crisis to become more complicated. We have been too slow; we have been sleeping,” Peregrino Brimah, a social activist and public intellectual, who is the group leader, told An-

Wives of military chiefs in the state, officials of non- governmental organisations, representatives of Federation of Muslims Women Associations (FOMWAN), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other categories of women attended the meeting.

However, there were strong indications last night that troops night have gained access to a part of the Sambisa

Continued on page 58

Forest.

Also, many volunteers have been feeding the military with information on how to locate the abducted girls, according to sources.

Some of the clues confirmed intelligence report that the girls were being spread across camps and cells by the insurgents to serve as shields.

A military source said: “There is progress in the

•Borno Governor Shettima

search for the girls. The troops have been able to gain access to a part of Sambisa Forest even though it is a difficult terrain. This development will help in penetrating the forest not only for rescuing the girls but for the entire operation in Borno State.

“In the next few days, we will be able to confirm whether the girls were still holed up in the Forest or elsewhere. But so far, many informants have been assisting the military

Continued on page 58

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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NEWS

350,000 cassava f • From left: United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc Group Managing Director/CEO Phillips Oduoza, Chairman, Amb. Joe Keshi and Company Secretary Bili Odum, during the bank’s 52nd Annual General Meeting o in Lagos...at the weekend.

Over 106, 000 farmers benefitted from the scheme last year.

This year, strategies have been put in place to ensure about 350, 000 farmers benefit from the vitamin-enriched cassava stems , reports Assist. Editor Chikodi Okereocha

A •From left: Immediate past president, he Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Doyin Owolabi, former Accountant General, Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, Professor of Accounting, University of Lagos, Prof. Eddy Omolehinwa and the 49th ICAN President, Kabir Alkali Mohammed, at the institute’s Annual Dinner and Awards in Lagos...at the weekend.

•From left: Outgoing Chairman/Managing Director of ExxonMobil Upstream Affiliates, Mr. Mark Ward, Vice Chairman and General Counsel, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Ernest Nwapa and incoming Chairman/ Managing Director of ExxonMobil Upstream Affiliates, Mr. Nolan O'Neal at the send forth for Ward...at the weekend.

•From left: Co-founder, Paga Mobile Services, Jay Alabraba; Grants Manager, EFINA, Debbie Edwards; founder/CEO, Paga, Tayo Oviosu and Head, Consumer, Paga, Daniel Oparison, during the fifth year Anniversary of Paga Mobile services, held at Social Place, Siniari Daranijo, Victoria Island, Lagos…at the weekend.

PHOTO: ADEOLA SOLOMON

FARMER from Eruwa Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Bola Adeyemo, has become one of the reference points in the success of the campaign to halt the malnutrition scourge through multiplication and dissemination of vitamin A cassava variety to farmers.

Mrs Adeyemo, who has been into farming for 14 years, boasts 60 hectares of vitamin-enriched cassava farm. She started out with seven hectares in 2010, and by 2011, the size of her farm increased to about 30 hectares.

“I brought in more farmers and also spread to six villages. As we speak, I have close to 60 hectares. I have also disseminated vitamin A cassava stems to over 7, 000 households,” she told The Nation .

The interesting thing about Mrs. Adeyemo’s foray into vitamin A multiplication and dissemination is perhaps, how a combination of providence and passion for farming brought her into the programme.

She recalled her experience thus: “Each time I passed by my village that surrounds my farm I always see sick children. Most of the time I take them to the hospital, pay and later come back to ask my doctor what the problem is? The problem, according to the doctor, is always that their food is not rich with vitamin enough so the children don’t have immunity to fight opportunistic diseases and sicknesses. On my way back from the hospital I buy herbs and beans for the children.”

As fate would have it, Mrs Adeyemo said she was reading a newspaper in her office in Ibadan one day when she read that a new vitamin-enriched cassava variety was coming out at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

“So, I came to IITA where, incidentally, I met Dr. Paul Ilona who was at the time heading the Institute’s cassava unit. Dr. Ilona said it was not yet time for the new cassava variety to be on the farmers’ farm and that when it gets to that stage he would let me know. So, I came on board immediately it was time for it to be on the farmers’ farm,” she narrated.

Since then, Mrs. Adeyemo has never looked back. Today, she is one of the partners to HarvestPlus, which leads a global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing and disseminating sta-

•Mrs Adeyemo

ple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Over 106, 000 farmers received and planted vitamin A cassava stems in four target and 10 expansion states in 2013 alone, according to Dr. Ilona, who is now HarvestPlus Country Manager, Nigeria. The number, he said, will grow three fold this year exceeding 350, 000 farmers, as more partners engage in vitamin A cassava stem dissemination to vulnerable households.

Dr. Ilona, who spoke at a media work planning meeting held at HarvestPlus country office, IITA, Ibadan, April 24, with the theme, ‘Reaching Nigerians with Information on Vitamin A Cassava to Encourage Increased Production, Processing, Consumption, and Marketing in 2014,’ disclosed that by using improved agronomic practices, average stem yield on multiplication farms increased from 200 to 500 bundles on-farm and to 1, 000 onstation.

He said HarvestPlus worked with farmers, stem traders, cooperatives, government extension, and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) partners to multiply stems, and in 2013 alone, over 650 hectares of the three released vitamin A cassava varieties were multiplied in 272 villages.

Over 1, 000 hectares will be multiplied in 2014. Also, private sector engagement in the multiplication programme increased from five per cent in 2012 to 32 per cent in 2013 and is expected to account for over 70 per cent of total stem production and trade by 2018.

The delivery strategy of HarvestPlus largely account for its resounding success so far. “We are using key strategies: direct dissemination of plants to farmers. Then we encourage the farmers who received to give to other farmers. We also encourage private sector players to come on board, multiply and commercialise stems. In our roadmap, by 2017, we should have reached out to nothing less than 80 per cent of Nigerian farmers who would be able to grow vitamin A cassava,” Dr. Ilona said, adding: “If we are able to get the 106,000 farmers who received vitamin A cassava stems

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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ava farmers up for new scheme

•Products from Vitamin-enhanced cassava

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We still have some constraints liked the problem of tradition. For instance, no matter what you tell the farmers they will tell you sorry, before you were born we have been doing it this way, how do you want to remove our tradition •Dr Ilona speaking at a forum to announce the next phase of the Vitamin-enhanced cassava stems

last year to understand that the stems they got are not for them alone and that they should extend the hand of fellowship to their neighbours, it means every year the number will more than double.”

The introduction of electronic market (e-market) portal buyers and sellers meet on-line, is another portent strategy deployed by HarvestPlus. Dr. Ilona rationalised the e-portal thus: “We wants to be held accountable for whatever we say.

Our donors insist that we sure evidence for whatever impact we claim in any of our target countries.

So, when we introduced the emarket portal, on one hand it is to enable us cross check information on markets so that we are able to quote the right figures to Nigerians and to our donors. That way we become evidence-based.”

On the other hand, the cassava market in Nigeria, he said, is dominated and controlled by rural marketing strategies, which have their limitations. For instance, the traditional method may not permit markets (buying and selling) to go on when distance becomes a barrier.

“So, we are realising that demand for vitamin A cassava products go outside the immediate reach of both the supplier and the buyer and because of this having an electronic portal is seen to be a way to bridge the gap,” he stated, adding that HarvestPlus has recorded huge demands of vitamin A fufu from buyers in Abuja and only sellers in Akwa Ibom State have been able to meet that market. “This would not have been possible if we do not have an electronic way of capturing the information,” he pointed out.

He said in the near future, HarvestPlus wants to see a marketing of vitamin A cassava stem, vitamin A cassava garri, fufu, and a host of other products driven by simple market process and to achieve this, the introduction of the e-portal would help remove some of the clogs in the wheel of development.

“The e-market portal has proved a potent strategy and we shall be working with all our partners and stakeholders to make it a primary portal for marketing not just vita-

min A cassava, but a good number of other agricultural produce in the future. It is the first electronic portal that we are having for agricultural products in the world and we are happy that its coming from Nigeria. We are going to do everything possible to ensure that it is successful,” he disclosed.

For Mrs. Adeyemo, the e-market portal ‘is a laudable project’ “We need to keep track. If you look at the vitamin A cassava cuttings and normal cassava stems there is no difference and since we are getting to the point of sell of these vitaminenriched cassava we have to ensure that what an innocent farmer is buying is actually vitamin-enriched cassava stem. And having a source like this (the e-market portal) ensures that a farmer that is just coming on board gets the correct variety because the danger in agric is that if you plant it you need to wait for six months or one year before you actually know you have planted the right variety,” she explained.

Apart from the e-market portal, HarvestPlus, as part of the delivery strategy, is also working with some top-notch actors and actresses in the Nigerian film industry, otherwise known as Nollywood, to produce four movies on bio-fortification, which, according to experts, is the process of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value either through conventional selective breeding or genetic engineering. Dr. Ilona disclosed that the movies are expected to be launched in September this year, adding that HarvestPlus has a number of donors who are putting in a lot of money to ensure that fortification works.

Some of the donors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), United State Agency for International Development (USAID), African Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and Japan, among others. Dr. Ilona said that at the last Copenhagen Consensus in 2008, a number of global leaders and world donors came up with 20 areas where donors and governments should put in resources to add more value to the world.

Interestingly, five of these key areas are related to nutrition and one of them is bio-fortification. Others are food fortification, child and maternal health. This, he said, was why most donors have been channelling the bulk of their money into projects that have a lot to do with nutrition “because addressing malnutrition will provide answer to some of the crisis that we have globally.”

The Nigerian government, he said, has since keyed into the global efforts aimed at halting the malnutrition scourge using bio-fortification. As early as late 1990s, the vitamin A Food Fortification group of experts, which included officers form National Agency Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) identified three food vehicles –flour, sugar and vegetable oil – to be used for the fortification programme and established the levels for each of the nutrients. The fortification standards were launched

by SON in 2000 and mandatory fortification took effect officially in September 2002.

Since then, the Federal Government, according to Dr. Ilona, has been supportive. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been providing political and financial support for the development and dissemination of bio-fortified food crops, which are fully integrated into the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government. When the vitamin A cassava varieties were initially bred and released, the National Variety Release Committee did not waste time in releasing the new varieties. Also, at the point they were released, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, personally came down to National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike, Umuahia in Abia State where the new varieties were officially launched in 2011.

Apart from challenging HarvestPlus to multiply and disseminate the new varieties, the minister flagged off the dissemination in Akwa Ibom State. The minister has

also provided support by including bio-fortified cassava, maize, sweet potato, and pearl millet in the new Micronutrient Deficiency Control Guidelines that were approved by the National Health Council in August 2013. Today, in the national strategy to address malnutrition, the ministry of health has made it clear that bio-fortification is one of the strategies, which is why it is clearly stated in the national nutrition guideline for Nigeria.

In throwing its weight behind the initiative, government must have been encouraged by Nigeria’s comparative advantage and huge potential in cassava production, processing, consumption, and marketing.

Nigeria has a huge cassava market, producing over 54 million metric tons annually and engaging over four million farmers in production, while also providing food for over 100 million people. HarvestPlus estimates that by 2018 more than two million farming households will be planting vitamin A cassava and at least 17 million rural and urban consumers will be eating vitamin A garri and fufu in their regular diets.

Between 2013-2018, HarvestPlus estimates that a total of $10 million would be spent on cassava delivery activities.

From health perspective, experts believe that the huge investment is justified perhaps, because of the scary statistics on the health implications of micronutrient deficiencies. For instance, experts say that vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children, with more than four million pre-school aged children having visible eye damage due to vitamin A deficiency; close to 20 million pregnant women in developing countries including Nigeria, are vitamin A deficient, while about one third of them are also clinically night blind.

The health implications of iron and zinc deficiency are no less disturbing. An estimated two billion people worldwide suffer anemia due to iron deficiency, which is believed to the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world and

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a main cause of anemia, a condition in which blood contains low level of red blood cells. More than 400, 000 children also die every year due to zinc deficiency. The clearest indicator of zinc deficiency in stunting in children.

Approximately one third of the world’s population lives in countries where the risk of zinc deficiency is high.

But as Nigeria battles the scourge, there are challenges. Akinwuntan Olaposi, a business manager and importer of agro-chemicals, identified tradition as one of the major constraints. He said: “ We still have some constraints liked the problem of tradition. For instance, no matter what you tell the farmers they will tell you sorry, before you were born we have been doing it this way, how do you want to remove our tradition.” He however, expressed hope that such resistance will not stop the campaign. “We will continue to preach the gospel of fortified cassava,” he said, adding that HarvestPlus and its partners will continue to work with farmers’ associations and government agencies like extension officers who can help carry the story of the fortified cassava to the market and to the farmers.

Other challenges include the limited number of national breeders focused on cassava, increased trend in disease and pest pressures, climate change, and soil fertility degradation, among other challenges all of which may limit the supply of vitamin A cassava. There is also the issue continued consumption of nonfortified edible vegetable oil and sugar in the country, the existence of cottage industries involved in making of maize flour and the manual production of edible vegetable oil that does not have the facility to fortify their products.

Although NAFDAC is continuously making efforts to mop up smuggled non-fortified food vehicles, experts say that there is need to strengthen and continue collaboration among relevant government agencies in order to prevent the influx of these products into the country.

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

NEWS

Banks to allocate uniform numbers to customers

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EPOSIT Money Banks (DMBs) will at the end of May begin allocating uniform numbers (Bank Verification Number) that will be unique to every customer, the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria Interbank-Settlement System (NIBSS) have said.

CBN spokesman Isaac Okoroafor, who disclosed this to reporters at the weekend, said the BVN was a continuation of the $50 million biometrics project instituted by the apex bank, Bankers’ Committee, Dermalog and Charms Plc. He said the BVN has been deployed in all head offices of banks where their members of staff started enrollment since March 31.

By Collins Nweze

So far, between 42 and 48 bank offices have been covered.

Okoroafor said the use of drivers’ licence, international passport and other forms of identity cards for account opening may no longer be required once the public enrolment to the BVN commences.

The BVN, he said, enables each individual to have a single identification within the financial system and gives each customer maximum protection and security of transactions. Although he did not give enrolment deadline for the public, he said, it was compulsory for every account holder to enroll on the platform.

The CBN spokesman said

the earlier a customer enrolls the better for the banking system. He said the CBN collaborated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in the execution of the project.

“The NIMC is fully in this, but the data requirement for the project is fewer for the data requirement for NIMC. What is required is that if one registers now, and he just needs to update the data with NIMC, he simply adds additional information,” he said.

Okoroafor said there was the possibility of harmonising the BVN with NIMC identity project.

Biometric Project Manager at NIBSS, Oluseyi Adenmosun,

said although there was no perfect system, the essence of technology and safety measures was to frustrate fraudsters .

He said the BVN would make it extremely difficult for the fraud perpetrators to succeed.

“It will not completely eliminate fraud, but it will cut it to the barest minimum. The biometrics cannot be easily stolen because it is based on once and once the system captures it, because it is based on fingerprints,” he said.

Adenmosun said although the chip and pin technology is deployed in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale (PoS), they can be compromised, but the BVN makes that extremely difficult.

He explained that for corporate accounts, the account signatories’ BVNs will be captured.

“In corporate accounts, it is only the signatory to the accounts that are captured, not directors of the company. The directors are not functional users of the accounts, and will not be captured.

“The whole idea of CBN behind fraud mitigation is to provide special anti-fraud system for banks. It is going to handshake with the BVN project, so that every suspicious account is flagged off. So, we expect that every functional account will have a BVN, and if an account that is used for fraud, does not have a corresponding

BVN, then the concerned bank will face the full ambit of the law. That means the bank is allowing an account without BVN to run. That’s how we can track owners of fraudulent accounts.

“If you don’t have a BVN and the anti-fraud system throws up your account as a suspect, then that bank is also aiding and abetting you. Because the truth of it is that we can only mitigate, we can’t stop fraud completely people will try. And when they try, the account they are trying with, has already been enrolled in the BVN, we will know. And those kinds of accounts would have been stored in what we call a watch list,” he added.

Why NNPC award crude lifting contracts to indigenous firms, by minister

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From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

HE Minister of Petroleum Resources and Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Board, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has described the recent award of term contracts for crude lifting to indigenous companies as part of the Federal Government’s objective to encourage effective local participation in the oil and gas industry.

Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe made this disclosure in a statement yesterday .

According to the statement , Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated that over 60 per cent of the 2014 to 2015 annual term contracts for the lifting of Nigeria’s crude oil was decidedly awarded to local firms after a painstaking pre-qualification process.

The minister said the balance was shared among some international trading companies, refineries and to some countries with bilateral trade agreements with Nigeria.

“When we unveiled the Nigerian content law a few years back, the overriding principle was to grow indigenous capacity in an aggressive manner and I am happy to report that today, in the oil and gas sector, Nigerian content has been placed on the path of irreversible progress,” the minister said.

She noted that the award to local players is in line with the aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan for effective transformation of the petroleum industry.

•From left: Jonathan, Sambo, Dame Jonathan, the Vice-President’s wife, Amina during the president’s condolence visit to the Vice President over Capt Sambo’s death...yesterday.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN.

Jonathan, wife condole with Sambo over brother’s death

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and First Lady Dame Patience yesterday led some top government officials to condole with VicePresident Namadi Sambo over the death of his brother, Yusuf.

Yusuf, who was a pilot, died early yesterday in a ghastly motor accident on the Abuja Airport Road.

At the time of the accident, the Vice-President was away in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania representing Jonathan at the country’s golden jubilee anniversary.

He returned to Nigeria yes-

•Mark consoles VP From Augustine Ehikioya and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

terday and headed to the National Mosque where a brief funeral service was conducted in honour of the deceased.

The deceased remains were later interred at a cemetery in Abuja.

Jonathan described the circumstances of the deceased’s death as saddening. He said yesterday was one of the saddest days in Nigeria.

He said: “We are all mere mortals. All of us are from the

earth, we must all go back to the earth. We do not know the timing of this journey all of us must make. This world is a place where we come to play our different roles. He left too early. Maybe he left when the ovation is loudest. He left at a time we needed him most. But there is nothing we can do.”

Sambo said the deceased, who was his immediate younger brother, was one of the most experienced pilots in the country. He thanked the President for leading government officials to condole with

him.

Senate President, David Mark, yesterday commiserated with Vice President Namadi Sambo and his family over the untimely death of his younger brother, Captain Sabo Sambo, in a motor accident.

Mark in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja, regretted that the nation has lost one of her best pilots and officers of very high repute.

He prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the deceased eternal rest and the deceased family the fortitude to bear the loss.

APC warns against sack of Adamawa, Borno, Yobe governors

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to be stampeded into sacking Governors of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The party described the calls in some years on Dr Jonathan to dismantle the democratic structures in the three states as worrisome.

The Interim Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed told reporters at the weekend in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, that the calls were misplaced.

“What is more worrisome is the call by some people to the effect that the democratic structures in those states should be dismantled.

“We begin to understand when and how does a governor become an impediment to fighting insurgency. On the contrary, he cannot fight insurgency when the political structure is not in place. So I hope those who are trying to

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

stampede the president into sacking those governors will have a rethink because if they do, the consequences will not be in the interest of either the people you want to protect or the country.”

On the extension of the state of emergency in those states, APC spokesman said “the extension of the emergency rule will be between the president and the National Assembly. The President can not declare the emergency without securing two thirds majority of members of the National Assembly. There are certain issues to be considered by the National Assembly before they would grant the extension.”

On last week’s expanded security meeting between President Jonathan, governors and other stakeholders, Alhaji Mohammed

intoned: “We sincerely hope that the federal government, having got the assurances of all the governors would reach out to these governors. You cannot combat insurgency without the active cooperation and participation of major stakeholders.

“And the number one stakeholder in any state is the governor. So we hope after this meeting, the federal government should be less defensive and reach out more to the governor and understand that at the end of the day every security is local.”

On the letter of Governor Murtala Nyako to the president, the party’s spokesperson said as the governor of Adamawa and a leader in the north, the governor only expressed his views on the goings-on.

“I think some people are getting this thing wrong; Governor Muritala Nyako as governor of

Adamawa State and leader of the state expressed his views on what he perceives to be the goings on.

How does that become a party issue?

“On this condemnation or no condemnation, let us look at the message. What is Nyako saying? I have read the letter, he is making certain allegations and those allegations Nyako made were not on behalf of APC. He was speaking as a governor and the letter was not addressed to APC. It was addressed to Northern Governors.”

Mohammed hailed huge success of the Kwara APC congress, adding that it was borne out of consultations.

“We are happy with the outcome of the state congress. There was a lot of consultations, consensus. Given the different tendencies and different opinions and views, this is remarkable,” he said.

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Ex-THISDAY Editor Kolawole launches online newspaper

ORMER Editor of THISDAY newspaper, Mr. Simon Kolawole, will on Tuesday publicly unveil his online newspaper, TheCable (www.thecable.ng), in Lagos State, with a panel discussion on’Nigeria@100: Reflections on the Future’.

The launch will be chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state. Discussants are Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Dangote Group President Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Chris Anyanwu, Airtel CEO Segun Ogunsanya and founder and CEO of Channels TV Mr. John Momoh.

The discussion, to be moderated by the Chairman & Editorin-Chief of THISDAY Media Group and ARISE TV Networks,Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, will precede the large-screen unveiling of the website by Kolawole.

In a statement yesterday, Kolawole, who is the Founder & CEO of Cable Newspaper Ltd, said TheCable is mandated to “to deliver knowledge-driven journalism in the pursuit of Nigeria’s progress”.

Sultan to Nigerians: don’t allow politicians manipulate you

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HE Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday, advised Nigerians not to allow politicians to manipulate them by peddling hate and bigotry for their vested inter-

ests.

The Sultan, according to a statement by the Country Representative of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD), Mr Dickson Omoregie, spoke at an international symposium entitled “Promotion of World Peace Through Inter-Faith Dialogue’’ organised by the ICD in Rome.

The Sultan added that “Nigerians must not allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians who wish to use us to peddle hate and bigotry to attain their vested interests.

“Most of our ethno-religious crises in Nigeria are perpetrated by our inability to have sufficient courage to say no and say to them ‘count me out.’

“It is essential that we come together to face the challenges of building a just and equitable society.’’

Abubakar also flayed external inducement of interfaith dialogue, especially after a crisis in the country.

He said “we must build the requisite leadership that has the courage and the foresight to initiate and sustain meaningful and productive inter-faith dialogue.

“Our experience in Nigeria has been that we engage in interfaith dialogue only after a crisis.

“This dialogue is usually with the specific goal of calming tempers and trading blames. We must go beyond this symbolic level and engage in inter-faith dialogue as a strategic undertaking which shall contribute to peace-building.’’

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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NEWS Insurgency: Kalu calls for global collaboration

•Front left: General Evangelist, Christ Apostolic Church, Worldwide, Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara; Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo; Pastorin-Charge, Treasure House of God, Abeokuta, Pastor Seye Senfuye and his wife, Oluwayemisi, during a visit to the monarch's palace in Abeokuta, Ogun State...at the weekend.

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

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ORMER Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has called for international collaboration to tackle the insurgency in the Northeast.

This followed the abduction of over 200 secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State, by the Boko Haram sect.

Kalu said the Federal Government should invite the Isreali intelligence agency, MOSAD, and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to assist Nigerian military in dealing with the insurgents.

The former governor addressed reporters yesterday at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. He was on his way to the United Arab Emirates.

He urged the Nigerian military to deploy the right personnel and technology to tackle the insurgents.

Kalu said the Federal Government should use the right intelligence information to track down the insurgents.

The former governor noted that the sect was not prepared to back down on its dastardly act, as the abduction of the 234 girls had shown.

He said: "You cannot do this business without the MOSAD and the CIA. I have said this several times. The Nigerian government needs international collaboration to solve this insurgency problem.

"As a country, we need to engage the right international partners as friends. So, only when these best friends are involved will intelligence become better.

This is because these guys have gone up there. They have technology. The google earth, the one used by American military and intelligence agencies, is superior.

"We suppose to have found where the girls are being stationed and how they were abducted. Over 200 people should not a joke. We suppose to have a track, a clue, on where and how they (girls) were abducted.

It is not an easy thing to move over 200 people on the street.”

Dangote 'hasn't increased cement price'

By Toba Agboola

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ANGOTE Cement Plc has said it has not increased the price of its products.

The company also said the rebranding of its 42.5 grade cement is at no extra cost to consumers.

Dangote Cement made the clarification during a radio programme in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, following complaints that the prices of its products had gone up. Consumers urged the company to intervene.

Answering callers' questions, Dangote Cement Sales Director for Southwest, Mrs Funmi Sani, and Director of Marketing Services, Olaniyi Johnson, said the company had not and would not increase the price of cement, despite the increase in the cost of production.

Mrs Sani said the major reason for a higher price of the product in the market was excessive profiteering by some unscrupulous distributors and dealers.

She said the recent epileptic supply of gas to operate the manufacturing plants had hampered regular production and that the situation was affecting all manufacturing concerns in the country.

N10b jet probe: Minister, NNPC frustrate committee T HE Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are frustrating the efforts of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to probe the minister’s N10 billion chartered flight scandal, it was learnt yesterday.

The Solomon Olamilekan Adeola-led committee has resolved to convene an emergency meeting today, following the alleged refusal of the minister, the NNPC, the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other government agencies to respond to the committee’s queries.

Adeola said his committee might revert to the House for the next line of action on the probe because of the uncooperative stance parties.

A member of the committee, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that members were working hard to ensure that the investigation, which has been scheduled to begin tomorrow, holds as planned.

He allayed the fears in certain quarters that it would not hold.

“As I speak, we have not heard from the minister and the others. All we are hearing is that the public hearing will not hold. But I can assure you that as lawmakers, we will do our part of it, even if there is need for issuing warrants of

•Lawyers to Reps: probe missing $20m From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja and Adebisi Onanuga

arrest on those involved,” the member said.

But the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed, assured reporters that the investigation was on course.

He was confident the committee would do a good job.

But many are of the opinion that time is running out for the committee which, according to the resolution of the House, has three weeks to conduct a public hearing and bring its report to the floor.

It is almost a month since the resolution was passed and not much seems to have been done to investigate the minister’s expenses, which were allegedly borne by the NNPC. Adeola, though confirmed that his committee would meet today, did not elaborate nor express much optimism on the matter.

“All I can say for now is that our committee will meet tomorrow (today) on the matter and, thereafter, we will revert to the House for the next action,” he said.

Also, the Ikeja branch Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Mon-

day Ubani, has urged members of the House of Representatives to investigate the “missing” $20 million oil money and the N10 billion allegedly squandered on private jets by Mrs. Allison-Madueke.

Ubani addressed reporters at the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos, on the matter when he announced activities lined up for this year’s Law Week of the branch.

The Law Week activities began on Friday and will end on May 2.

The lawyer urged the House to handle the matter with the same courage the Committee on Aviation handled the allegations against former Minister of Aviation Ms Stella Oduah.

He said: “They (committee members) must let Nigerians know the truth of their findings.”

Ubani recalled that the allegation by the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) was that over $40 million was unaccounted for by the NNPC in the Federation Account.

The NBA chairman said few weeks later, Sanusi expalined that the actual missing money or unaccounted for was $20 million, after reconciliation.

The lawyer rejected NNPC’s

explanation and that of Mrs. Alison-Madueke on the missing money.

He criticised the Federal Government for handling the matter “with levity”.

Ubani noted that the government’s attitude “remains shocking, baffling and clearly incomprehensible till date”.

He added: “That money is missing is not in doubt, but how much of it has remained a riddle. That NNPC has offered explanation that appears incredulous has added another mystery to the entire dimension. They explained that $10 million was used to fix vandalised pipelines and to finance kerosene subsidy, among other expenses. More puzzling is that these expenses were not appropriated for by the National Assembly, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.

“The last time we checked, neither the officials of the NNPC nor the Minister of Petroleum Resources had been queried over these admissions of crime against the country.

“What happened thereafter was that the whistle blower, Mallam Sanusi, was swept aside from the Central Bank.

They not only suspended him, they went after his international passport, alleging that he is a financier of Boko Haram insurgency in the North. If they knew this before now, why was he not tried as a suspect?”

Fed Govt seeks states’ partnership on malaria

•Nigeria marks World Malaria Day

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HE Federal Government has urged state and local governments to join the fight against malaria through the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS).

The IRS is a strategy that targets mosquito vectors.

The government said there had been improvement in malaria control where IRS had been implemented or introduced.

Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, spoke at the weekend in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, during this year’s World Malaria Day. The minister gave the example in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State, where IRS had been in use for some time.

He said malaria cases in the area had dropped from 14,949 to 4,819, or 67.8 per cent reduction.

Chukwu said the same scenario was expected in other places where IRS was being implemented.

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‘Health Bill ‘ll remove obstacles to universal health coverage’

HE Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said the National Health Bill, which was recently passed into law by the National Assembly, will fasttrack Nigeria’s quest for universal health coverage.

The minister spoke at the weekend in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, during a meeting with the management and workers of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC).

Chukwu said the bill was awaiting President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent to make it a law and for its implementation to start.

The minister said there were some factors preventing the achievement of universal health coverage, adding that weak private From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

The minister regretted that the financial outlay for malaria intervention was limited to few states, like Lagos, Rivers, Bauchi, Jigawa, Anambra and Akwa Ibom.

He added that one of the ways the scourge could be eliminated was that state and

From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

sector health care services was a major drawback in having an effective health care delivery in the country.

He said other factors militating against universal health coverage included the inability of people to pay and key into the health insurance programme and the absence of standards to achieve universal health coverage.

Chukwu stressed that the insurance scheme was an integral part of the health care delivery system in any modern society.

The minister regretted the inability of state health authorities to set the standards needed in the sector because they lacked the capacity to do so.

local government areas join hands with the Federal Government through the usage of IRS. Declaring open the World Malaria Day celebration, Governor Theodore Orji said his administration placed priorities on the security and good health care system for the residents.

Orji said if the environment

was secured and the people had good health care system, other things would be easy for them to do.

He said: “Every year, about 500 people suffer from malaria, while over one million children die from malariarelated diseases. Therefore, there is need for everyone to join hands to fight this war.”

Poly alumni write Jonathan on ASUP strike From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

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GROUP, the Forum of Nigerian Polytechnic Alumni Association (FONPAA), has written an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan on the eightmonth strike of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP).

The group said the failure of the Federal Government to end its face-off with the polytechnic teachers indicated the government’s non-chalance to polytechnic education.

In the letter by its National Chairman Emmanuel Ojo and Secretary Olayode Omorayewa, FONPAA accused the government of only showing concern on university education.

It noted that ASUP had been pressing for its 13-point demand before members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) started their strike last year. The ASUU strike ended months ago.

FONPAA said the government did not waste much time before it resolved ASUU’s strike while it ignored the polytechnics.

The group noted that polytechnic education would enhance national development.

The letter reads: “We have on several occasions called the attention of the government to the importance of the two education systems. We again wish to reiterate that the two institutions play complementary roles in enhancing national development.

“While university education is theoretically-oriented, polytechnic education is technologically-biased. For any country to be developed, it has to be technologically determined.

“This is the more reason why polytechnic education has to be handled with all sensitivities in Nigeria. As the roles of the two education models are complimentary, the discrimination and disparity between the two certificates are unwarranted.

“Apart from the importance of polytechnic education, as indicated above, the government should also note that the lives of hundreds of thousands of polytechnic students are in jeopardy. For over eight months now, polytechnic students have been away from school. The devil finds job for the idle hands.”

The alumni forum, urged the government to resolve the dichotomy between polytechnic and university graduates.

THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

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NEWS

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ORMER Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has lauded the projects of Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun State) .

He said the projects had made impact on the socioeconomic development of the states.

Kalu said the impressive projects he saw during his tour of the Southwest convinced him that irrespective of partisan differences, the governors should be allowed to continue their good work.

He urged politicians to eschew bitterness and see politics as a process of delivering democratic dividends to the people.

Speaking yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on his way to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Kalu said: “Fayemi and Aregbesola have done very well and I say

Fayemi, Aregbesola have done well, says Kalu T •Ex-governor urges politicians on unity

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

it openly. That is the truth.

Some governors have not done well, so if you see anyone that has done well, you praise him.”

He said he did not tour the Southwest to actualise any political ambition, but to preach national unity and peace.

Kalu said: “I am working for the unity of the country. I want people to see one another as one. Our politicians are turning individuals into enemies and that is not right.

We are not enemies. We are the owners of this country and

should be friends. That we disagree politically does not mean you are my enemy. I am preaching to governors to be friendly with one another.”

The former governor endorsed the defection of some loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Ogun State from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC), describing it as “a matter of choice and civil right”.

He said: “It is a healthy thing. Anybody can go anywhere he wants to be. Defecting from one party to another is a matter of choice. A party is like a church. You can go to

any church you like. I do not want one party holding the country to ransom. Two parties are healthy for the country. If they are dissatisfied with their former party, they can move on.”

On the 2015 governorship poll in Abia, Kalu said he had not endorsed the candidature of his younger brother, Mr. Mascot Uzor Kalu, adding that the seat would be keenly vied for by candidates that the people would decide.

He said he read about the ambition of his brother, who was a former Chief of Staff to Governor Theodore Orji, on newspaper pages.

Sultan, Awujale, governors sue for peace

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O V E R N O R S Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, have prayed to God to expose the sponsors of Boko Haram.

They spoke yesterday at the opening of the biggest mosque in the Southwest – the Aiyepe Central Mosque at Ijebu-Aiyepe in Ogun State.

The Sultan said Nigerians have an history of peaceful

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co-existence, irrespective of tribe and religion.

He said Islam is a religion of peace and not violence, adding: “It is important to respect another person’s religion; you do not decide who is right or wrong. That should be left for Allah.”

Oba Adetona, who chaired the event, lamented the incessant killings by insurgents.

He prayed to Allah to bring an end to their evil actions and lead them to the right path.

Aregbesola opens 21 roads today

SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola will inaugurate 21 roads in Osogbo, the state capital, today.

They are: Station/ Fagbewesa/Odi-Olowo Junction/Ebenezer road, 0.61km; Boorepo/Abaku/Elelede Junction road, 0.47km; Elelede Junction/Oluode Market/ Gbemu Junction road, 1km; Gbodofon/Jaleyemi/Gbemu Junction/Isale Aro road, 1.79km; Ilobu/Adesina Crescent/GRA road, 1.35km; Oja Oba/Osun Grove Gate with road extension, 1.02km; Balogun Biiro/Oke Baale road, 0.85km; Alafia Street/ Church Street/Awolowo Way, 0.79km; Coca-Cola/ Alekuwodo/Capital Hotel road, 2.33km; and Oke Onitea/ Anaye Market Junction road, 0.42km.

Others are: Anaye Market/ Bisi Bankole/Alafia Street road, 0.87km; Okefia/ Alekuwodo/Olaiya Junction road, 3.83km; Tinumola Street (Opposite Capital Hotel, Wonderful road), 1.21km; Oroki

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By Tajudeen Adebanjo

LABOUR Party (LP) chieftain in Ondo State Dr. Benson Enikuomehin has described the suit filed by the party over the inconclusive Ilaje/ Ese-Odo Federal Constituency by-election as “a panic measure to run away from a supplementary poll”.

LP is urging the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare its

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Estate/Ilobu road, 0.85km; Odetoyinbo/Dupe Aina/Heritage Hotel road, 3.28km; Kola Balogun Junction/Fiwasaye Olohunosebi road, 0.83km; Osunbukola/Mercy Land/ Ajani Street (Prime Petrol Station), 0.98km; John Mackay/ Gbeja/Oke Baale road, 0.96km; Tanisi/Olorunosebi/ Keji Adigun Street road, 1.18km; Adams Street- Mercy Land road, 0.67km and Steel Rolling Camp/Labels Filling Station road, 1.015km.

In a statement yesterday, Commissioner for Information and Strategy Sunday Akere, said the roads would ease traffic, adding: “Unlike the past practice of inaugurating roads individually, the governor will drive through the 21 roads before settling down at the Lameco end of Oroki/Tinumola Estate road to do the official symbolic dedication. Lump commissioning is Aregbesola’s way of conserving resources while doing the needful.”

‘There is no house or family in the Southwest where you do not have Muslims and Christians and we live in peace.

We do not discriminate because we are brothers’ Oba Adetona said: “There is no house or family in the Southwest where you do not have Muslims and Christians and we live in peace. We do not discrimi-

nate because we are brothers.”

Amosun said the gathering, which had non-Muslims in attendance, demonstrated the peaceful co-existence among people of different faiths.

He warned the insurgents to stop the killings or face the wrath of Allah.

Aregbesola urged Nigerians to be united and peaceful.

Aiyepe Muslim Community Chairman Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso condemned the Nyanya bombing and the abduction of pupils in school, saying: “The phenomena has no semblance to the teachings of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace. It teaches respect for life and peaceful co-existence among people of various races, tribes and religions.”

Two held for ‘operating’ illegal factory

WO Chinese men have been arrested by the Ondo State’s Joint Task Force on Forestry for allegedly operating an illegal wood factory.

In 2003, the state government ordered the closure of three illegal wood factories operated by some Chinese men, but it was discovered that one of the companies, JHX Wood, was still operating.

At the weekend, Commissioner for Mineral Resources Tunde Atere led the Joint Task Force on Forestry to the company’s site at Akinfosile in Omotoso, Okitipupa Local Government Area, and arrested the suspects.

The suspects were taken to the office of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) in Akure for visa verification and would be handed over to the police.

Lagos’ monthly IGR hits N20.5b

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By Daniel Essiet

HE monthly Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Lagos State government has increased from N3.6 billion in 2006 to N20.5 billion.

The Executive Chairman of the State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Dr. Babatunde Fowler, disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s (ICAN’s) dinner and annual award in Lagos.

He said the achievement has made the state less dependent on Federal Allocation and enabled it to considerably meet the needs of its over 20 million population.

To reengineer the service for better tax delivery, Fowler said it was deploying information and modern methods of tax administration.

He urged accountants to support the service to improve tax collection to meet infrastructural demand.

ICAN President Alhaji Kabir Mohammed urged the government and Nigerians to tackle insecurity.

He said peace and security are preconditions for investment and development.

Mohammed hailed the award winners for their integrity, transparency, accountability and commitment to their profession.

Abiara urges Nigerians to pray

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HE General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Prophet Kayode Abiara, has urged Nigerians to pray fervently to stop the increasing Boko Haram insurgence and other criminal activities in the Country.

In his sermon at a prayer conference organised at the weekend by the Treasure House of God Church in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prophet Abiara said kidnapping and other related crimes were rising.

He said Nigerians needed to be more prayerful and vigilant to curb the trend.

By Adebisi Onanuga

The cleric said: “Nigeria is blessed with both human and natural resources, which could engage youths in rewarding jobs that could take their minds off vices. The government must strive to engage them positively to reduce crime.”

He urged Nigerians to shun prophecies of doom and remain steadfast in their prayers to God. The Pastor-in-Charge of the Treasure House of God Church, Pastor Seye Senfuye, said the conference was organised to pray for the country.

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (left) being welcomed by the Managing Director and Global Head of Emerging Markets, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch International, Mr. Bernard Mensah (middle) and the Senior Director/ Head of CEEMEA Corporate Credit Research and Global Research, Merrill Lynch International , Ms. Tolu Alamutu, to an interactive with emerging markets’ investors on the state’s focus areas of Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing (PATH) at the Bank of America, Merrill Lynch , King Edward Street in London...on Friday.

‘Ondo LP is afraid of supplementary poll’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

candidate, Mr. Kolade Akinjo, winner of the byelection.

Speaking at the weekend, Enikuomehin said the action showed that the LP was afraid of partaking in the supplementary poll.

He said even though about 28,000 registered voters did not vote, the result of the byelection showed that the LP

was no longer popular in the area.

The former representative of the state on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) said: “In 2010, we won the by-election into the House of Assembly because we were popular. In 2011, we won in the area and the entire Ondo South Senatorial District and in 2012, we won election in the

state because we were popular.

“But now, the party is no longer popular and this is what the people are saying with their votes. The party is running from the conclusion of the by-election for fear of being defeated because the government did not do well in the area.”

Enikuomehin advised the LP to go to the poll and test its popularity, saying: “If we

are popular, we will win; if not, let the people vote us out.”

The former NDDC commissioner urged INEC to clear itself of the allegation that it was colluding with the LP to frustrate the process of the supplementary election.

He also urged the Department of State Security (DSS) to steer clear of politics.

Enikuomehin said he was

still a member of the LP. He said nobody could accuse him of anti-party activities, adding: “If my governor has been campaigning for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja and he is a LP boss in Ondo, I have not done anything wrong by having sympathy for the PDP in Ilaje. I am simply helping Jonathan in the area. We are collaborating and helping our boss.”

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

NEWS EKITI 2014

PDP chief to APC: face issues

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•Part of the crowd of APC supporters at the rally in Ilawe Ekiti... at the weekend.

I’m sure of victory, says Fayemi

•More elders for social security scheme

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KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said he is sure of a landslide victory at the June 21 governorship election.

Fayemi, who is running on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke in Ilawe-Ekiti during his campaign tour to communities in Ekiti South West Local Government Area.

On the governor’s campaign train were his wife, Bisi, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr Adewale Omirin, Chief of Staff Mr Yemi Adaramodu and members of the state’s executive council.

Other communities visited by the governor’s campaign train include Ogotun and Ig-

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bara-Odo. The governor also visited the palaces of traditional rulers where he received royal blessings on his re-election bid.

Members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Ekiti South West Local Government Area also pledged their support for Fayemi’s re-election bid, citing his various incentives for their members, the latest being the elevation of principals to Grade Level 17.

Also, Mrs Fayemi has revealed that the government was set to increase the number of elderly citizens who benefit from the N5000 monthly social security scheme.

The wife of the governorspoke at Igimookongo community in Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area in continuation of her empowerment visit to Ekiti farmsteads at the weekend.

She said her visit to the farmsteads, which had already covered 11 of the 16 Local Governments of the state, was also used to compile a fresh list of citizens above 65 years of age.

The governor’s wife assured the enrollee that the government was poised to start paying them the N5000 monthly allowance from the end of April to make ends meet.

To date, more than 20,000 citizens above 65 years are benefitting from scheme, which Governor Kayode Fayemi inaugu-

rated in October 2011 in line with his electioneering promise.

Fayemi’s wife said: “As I move round the farmsteads we are compiling a new list of elderly citizens for inclusion in the social security scheme. They will start to receive their money by the end of this month (April).

“The government under the leadership of Dr. Kayode Fayemi is committed to putting smiles on the faces of the elderly citizens. I urge you to return him to office with your votes in the June 21 election and more benefits will follow.”

The governor’s wife cautioned politicians to eschew violence in the build up to the June 21 governorship election.

She challenged those jostling to unseat her husband from the Oke Bareke Governor’s Office to go about their electioneering without unleashing violence on their perceived opponents.

Mrs Fayemi advised the governorship candidates to go to the electorate with their manifestoes under a peaceful atmosphere and leave the people to decide who they want to govern them in the next four years.

“In 2003, Ekiti could be likened to a Toyota car that can be driven by every Tom, Dick and Harry. But through the visionary leadership of Fayemi, Ekiti is now a Rolls Royce that cannot be driven by all-comers,” she said.

Oni for APC ‘to save Ekiti from the locusts’

MAJOR loss seems set to befallen the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as former Governor Segun Oni is set to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

An aide of the former governor, Chief Taiwo Olatubosin, who disclosed this to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital in a telephone interaction at the weekend, said Oni’s decision to join APC was based on “an urgent need to save this state from a band of locusts who once plagued it (Ekiti State) and rendered hopes desolate”.

Olatunbosun, a former Information Commissioner during Oni’s administration, said arrangements had been concluded for the move “in the overall interest of the Ekiti people anywhere in the world”.

According to him, all well-

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From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

•Dr. Fayemi with some elderly citizens at Igbara-Odo... at the weekend.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

meaning Ekiti people must submit themselves for the task of ensuring that Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the candidate of the APC, win the June 21 governorship election.

He maintained that despite what he described as “the lies of the opposition parties about Fayemi’s performance” Oni was convinced of the governor’s great achievements and had decided to join the train to ensure APC’s victory.

He noted that the administration had in three and half years performed well in the administration of the state, adding: “I have no apology to anyone in saying this. Oni has felt the best service to Ekiti people today is to partner Fayemi on this coming election. He will

move with other well meaning followers into the APC camp.

We cannot politicise the achievements of Fayemi. We won’t be doing ourselves any good. He has done well. He deserves a second term of four years.”

Said he: “Segun Oni has decided to partner Fayemi regarding the coming election to salvage (save) Ekiti in this critical time of need. We all know where we were when Fayemi came into Ekiti and how the state has fared today.

“The process leading to the emergence of Fayose as PDP candidate is a tragedy and even Fayose’s candidature too is a tragedy. Asiwaju Segun Oni is too decent and refined in civility to be associated with the political gangsterism of the PDP candidate, whose track record

of violence and gangsterism is unrivaled.

“We all know Fayose has failed as a politician, and all his plan to cause crises and mayhem in this state has been exposed. He was rejected in 2011 at the senatorial elections because he lacks capability, competence and credibility to lead.

“To overlook the achievements of Fayemi in three and a half years and opt for Fayose is to risk missing an opportunity to cause lasting changes in this state. What he (Fayemi) has done for me, for every Ekiti indigene living and yet unborn is a legacy which deserves reward. This is why Oni is supporting him to come back.”

Debunking the rumour in the social media that the former governor had reconciled with Fayose “at a strategic meeting”,

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

The governorship candidate, who also visited the Arinjale of Ise-Ekiti in his palace, promised to be fair to all and build on his achievements in Ise-Ekiti when he was governor.

Also, in a show of appreciation to the people of Ajegunle community, Ise/Orun Local Government, Fayose promised to construct the 6km Ajegunle Ise junction road within the first one year of his administration,

if elected.

He urged eligible voters that were yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards to go to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to collect the cards, saying: “That is the only way you can all realise your dream of PDP winning the June 21 election.”

Also speaking at the rally, which took place in all the wards in Ise/Orun Local Government, Adeyeye said he decided to drop

his personal ambition and support Fayose because of his love and commitment for the PDP. He said: “Our detractors thought our party will disintegrate after the primary, but we have been able to prove them wrong. We have shamed them and you can all see Fayose and Adeyeye working together to ensure victory for our party.

“From what we are seeing here today, the present occupiers of the Ekiti State Government House must have seen that the

Bamidele to obas: open partisanship bad From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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•Oni

Olatubosun said: “Oni did not reconcile with Fayose. Oni felt there was nothing wrong to honour his long time friend, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, whose daughter was wedding. His attendance at the wedding in Ado-Ekiti had no undercurrent of politics.”

Fayose hails Adeyeye’s commitment to PDP

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose, has hailed former governorship aspirant of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, for his commitment to PDP’s success in the June 21 election.

He said Adeyeye’s attitude was that of a statesman.”

Fayose, who was addressing a mammoth crowd of PDP supporters at Ise-Ekiti at the weekend, promised to make sure Adeyeye gets the ministerial slot for Ekiti State.

CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Mr Lati Ajijola, has advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) he face issues. He said it was not true that Governor Kayode Fayemi was adopted as the sole candidate of the people of Ado-Ekiti.

Ajijola, in a statement yesterday, condemned what he called the campaign of calumny against the PDP governorship candidate, Mr Ayo Fayose.

He said: “I am a fullblooded son of Ado-Ekiti and from my interaction with Fayose, what Ado-Ekiti people will get from Fayose-led PDP government will be a total face-lift of the state capital, not removal of Ewi.” Ajijola, “I as a person want to say that those going around saying that Fayose will depose Kabiyesi, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, if elected are only showing that they no longer have any meaningful thing to say.

“It is my advice that they should rather tell us what new thing they want to do for Ado-Ekiti, not lazy talks of removal of Ewi, which is a lie.”

game is up. Ise/Orun Local Government is totally for PDP and Fayose and the crowd here is a pointer to that.”

Adeyeye, who also thanked PDP supporters for coming out in large numbers to welcome Fayose, added: “The interest of our party and Ekiti people is paramount and we must not allow anything to divide us.”

The rally rounded off at about 8am at Kajola village, with thousands of PDP supporters carrying local lamps to receive the campaign trail.

HE Labour Party Governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Hon Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers to caution its members against openly supporting candidates of political parties.

According to Bamidele, such a trend could desecrate traditional institutions and bring same to disrepute.

In a statement at the weekend by his Media Assistant, Ahmed Salami, Bamidele, said the warning by the Onisan, Oba Sunday Ajiboye, that any contestant, other than Fayemi, cannot campaign in Isan Ekiti, would erode the respect the people have for monarchs.

Bamidele alleged that his campaign train was prevented from entering Isan-Ekiti on Friday on the order of Oba Ajiboye.

Bamidele, who declared that he has enormous respect for all the monarchs in the state, regardless of classes, said the traditional rulers must present a level-playing ground for all the candidates to earn the respect of politicians across party divides.

Bamidele declared that all aspirants, including Fayemi and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer, Mr Ayodele Fayose, have been campaigning in his town, Iyin-Ekiti, without any molestation or harassment from the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti), Oba Ademola Ajakaye.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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NEWS ‘I didn’t abscond from National Conference’

Nyako’s memo: Fed Govt hiding something, says Ango Abdullahi

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MEMBER of the National Conference, Mrs Bola Ogunrinade, has said she did not leave the conference without authorisatrion.

In a statement yesterday, Mrs Ogunrinade said: “My attention has been drawn to the publication on the Chairmanship of the Civil Society, Labour, Youths and Sports Committee in the Punch of Thursday, April 24, 2014 on page 9.

“I wish to correct the erroneous impression that I took leave without permission. I had written to the Chairman of the Conference for permission to travel to sort out urgent domestic matters from April 16 to 23, 2014. The permission was granted. I returned to join the Committee on Thursday, April 24, 2014 and I have since taken active part in the discussions relating to Youths’ Empowerment and Leadership Training.

“It is not true that I was persistently absent from the Conference. I am a product of the University of Ibadan (UI), the London School of Economics and the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru. I have a positive orientation to work, having served in public and private sectors in senior management positions. I am given to social and community work and I am keenly involved in youths’ re-orientation and development.

“Lastly, I should like to correct the spelling of my surname. It is OGUNRINADE and not OGUNRIMADE. I remain committed to the Nigerian Project.”

I’m fit for governor, says Abaribe

By Emmanuel Oladesu Group Political Editor

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ENATE spokesman Enyinnaya Abaribe has said he is qualified to succeed Governor Theodore Orji next year.

He noted the agitation for power shift to Abia South, especially UkwaNgwa zone, in the interest of justice, but said the state deserved a better governor, irrespective of zone.

The former deputy governor said no aspirant was more qualified than him.

He spoke in Ohafia at a meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders from Abia North.

Abaribe said: “What Abia needs is a qualified governor, no matter where he comes from. It is good to do justice. I am happy that my party and the people want an Abia South or Ukwa Ngwa person as governor.

“I happen to come from that zone. But, it is not for somebody who will come in to learn on the job, that is not what the state needs now. Abia State cannot afford to have a pupil-governor, whose lot is to learn onthe-job.’’

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

•President of South Sudan, Dr. Silva Kirr (middle) greeting Ribadu at the summit... yesterday. with them is President of Republic of Sudan Omar Hassan alBashir

Ribadu was poisoned, says Obasanjo

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ORMER Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was once poisoned in order to get rid of him as an anti-corruption czar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said yesterday.

He said a strong political will at the highest level is required to wage war against corruption He also said Ribadu’s commitment to anti-graft war created enemies for him.

Obasanjo broke the news on the attempt to kill Ribadu after a presentation on “Illicit Financial Flow and Governance of Natural Resources” by Mallam Ribadu at the 3rd Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa in Badir Dar, Ethiopia.

A statement by Ribadu Network, on submissions at the forum said: “Talking of vested interests in the anticorruption crusade, Obasanjo told a story for the first time of how Ribadu was once poisoned which he said was a very serious case that was “a matter of life and death”.

“Obasanjo said the activities of Ribadu created enemies for him because of the ruthlessness with which the latter went about his assign-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

ment to address the scourge of corruption in Nigeria.

“I made it clear to Ribadu that there should be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. The EFCC then investigated him and other people close to me, including my late wife.

“He also narrated a story of how a serving minister, who was his senior in secondary school, was indicted and prosecuted by the EFCC. “When the minister was found wanting, “there was no issue of senior again”, he said.

Although, the ex-President admitted that fighting corruption attracts a lot of enemies, he said he had no fear of corrupt persons who are still alive in Nigeria.

“It is rather them that fear me”, he said.

The former president, who is also the chairperson of the Tana Forum, supported Ribadu’s submission that at the “centre of anti-corruption fight there is the need for willing political leadership at the highest level.

“He however, added that the leader also needs relevant legislations to work with, narrating his ex-

‘

I made it clear to Ribadu that there should be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption

’

perience with the bill establishing ICPC which, he said, was whittled down by lawmakers who felt they could be victims of the law.”

Obasanjo also unfolded the mission of the forum on its crusade against Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).

He said: “What we are trying to do is get decisionmakers in politics and diplomacy, in the private sector, academia and civil society to realise that this is a pernicious evil that requires effective action to curb.

“The Forum will be focusing on the convergence between security and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). The impact of IFFs on Africa’s development is also a priority issue for the African Union and its member

states, as evidenced by its establishment of a HighLevel Panel chaired by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki to report on the issue.“ In his remarks, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, said Ribadu “highlighted many good things about Nigeria different from what is portrayed in the media”.

In his presentation, Ribadu suggested measures that African countries can follow to tackle illicit financial flow and repatriate money already illegally taken out of the African countries.

He said “what Africa needs is honest and committed leaders who will set examples with themselves by eschewing corruption and close in avenues of illicit financial flow.

“It is the seriousness and commitment showed by the political leadership that will convince other foreign countries to work with them towards recovering looted monies stashed abroad.

“There is the need for concerted effort among countries and synergy between law enforcement agencies so that looters would have no hiding place.”

Anambra APC vows to ‘dethrone’ APGA govt

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) new state executive in Anambra State has vowed to remove the present All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government.

In his acceptance speech yesterday, APC Chairman Emeka Denison Ibe said he would conclude the integration process and reposition the state.

One-time Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ibe polled 1994 votes as the only candidate.

Ibe was flanked by Chuma Agupugo, state secretary; Onyinye Okongwu, treasurer and Okelo Madukaife publicity secretary.

•Ibe emerges state chairman Thirty five persons were elected in the congress conducted by a five-man committee, headed by Mr Ogbuehi Ezennaya.

The congress was monitored by national and state officials of the Independent National Electoral Commision as well as security agencies.

Other officials are: Peter Ebom (deputy chairman); Cyril Nwadinobi (vice chairman Anambra Central); Nze Austin Agbasi (vice chairman Anambra North); Onochie Ubili (vice chairman Anambra North); Calista Nwachukwu (woman leader).

Also elected are: Augustine Muomaife (youth leader); Paul Ogudo (organising secretary); Emma Nnodu (financial secretary); Theo Nnorom (welfare secretary); Joe Obidike (auditor).

Emma Chikelo (legal adviser); Emeka Osegbo (asst secretary); Nonso Chinwuba (asst publicity secretary); Patrick Okika (asst youth leader); Nkechi Nnoli asst woman leader); Ify Nsofor (asst organising secretary).

Francis Arinze (asst financial secretary); Okwudili Oguejiofor (asst welfare sec-

retary); Cyprain Udenwa (asst legal adviser); Okey Okoye (asst auditor); Christian Umerie (asst senatorial youth leader Anambra Central); Patrick Dara (senatorial youth leader Anambra North).

Chuma Igbonwelundu (senatorial youth leader Anambra South); Ngozi Ezenekwe (senatorial woman leader Anambra Central); Ogo Obika (senatorial woman leader Anambra North); Christy Ikedife (senatorial woman leader Anambra South) Richard Anyichie (ex- officio); Ralph Chigbata (ex-officio); Pastor C C Nnodi (exofficio) and Emma Ezenwoye (ex-officio).

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FORMER Presidential Adviser on Food Security and spokesman of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Prof.

Ango Abdullahi, has said Federal Government’s condemnation of Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako’s memorandum to President Goodluck Jonathan shows the government has something to hide.

Prof. Abdullahi told reporters yesterday in Kaduna that rather than castigate Nyako for his memo, the government ought to investigate the content of the letter and address the issues raised in it.

He said: “Just condemning the governor’s memo without probing the allegations raised in it goes to show that the Federal Government probably has something to hide. If not, they should come out and say the facts as they are.

“To me, as the governor of Adamawa State, Nyako is in a position to have some privileged information that could have made him to make such a statement. But rather than address the serious allegation that the governor has raised, they have resorted to abusing and condemning him. This shows that maybe they have something to hide.

If not, they should come out and say the facts as they are.

“For a governor like Nyako to have raised the alarm, the reaction should not be one of condemnation or criticism.

The serious thing to do is to investigate the allegations he has made and not to abuse or criticise him. Those who want to criticise him should come out with evidence against him.

He cannot be dreaming.”

On the call by the Northern Elders’ Council (NEC) on the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to distance itself from partisan politics, the former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said he doubted if the elders’ council had any alliance with anybody or could dictate to anyone.

He said: “That’s an opinion, and they have a right to express their opinions. But they cannot dictate what others should say or how others would exercise their powers.

They cannot dictate. If they are in alliance with the ACF, then perhaps they can call the attention of the forum. But I doubt very much if they have an alliance with anything except themselves.”

Meanwhile, Northern Delegates to the ongoing National Conference welcome the resolve of the government to keep aside politics and address head on the current insecurity in the country.

•Nyako

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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CITYBEATS

Award for council chief

THE Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Lagos State, Comrade Ayodele Adewale, was last Saturday honoured with an Ambassador of Integrity award for his community development efforts and good governance in his domain.

The Integrity International Magazine presented the award to him during its Eighth International Leadership Conference and annual awards ceremony in Accra. Ghana.

The ceremony, which took place at the exquisite new Golden Tulip in Accra, was graced by top dignitaries including the Publisher, Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu; Professor Wale Omole, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Benin Republic, Dr. Lawrence Olufemi Obisakin, among others.

Responding, Adewale, who was represented by his Media Relations Officer, Comrade Irikefe Evwibovwe, noted: “This is a reward for hard work and it will spur him (Adewale) to do more.”

Lawmaker angry over abducted pupils From Jeremiah Oke, Abeokuta

THE Chief Whip of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. AdigunAbiodun Hammed, has berated the federal government for its weak approach to the search of the abducted school girls in Borno State.

The lawmaker, who spoke with The Nation yesterday, said it is an indication that the government of the day has failed the people in all its approach.

Adigun decried the rate of insurgency in the country, saying it is a result of bad governance and leadership incompetence.

He maintained that Nigerians must rise to fight the cause of the missing children to save the future of the nation. “If one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s children is missing, will such a weak approach be adopted,” he queried.

“The incompetence and lack of interest on the part of the current administration in handling these epic crises is worrisome. The current reality demands the response and active action of the people before all hope is lost along with the lives and limbs being blown away,” he said.

SON seals phone warehouse

IN a bid to bring sanity to the mobile phones industry in Nigeria and ensure that Nigerian consumers get value for their money, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has sealed a Chinese warehouse stocked with suspected substandard and fake phones in the country.

The Head of Inspectorate and Compliance, SON, Bede Obayi, an engineer, said the move was to restate its mandate of ensuring that only goods that meet the minimum requirements of the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) are paraded in Nigerian markets.

Obayi, during an enforcement exercise to the warehouse located at Flat 17, Ogunmodede Street, Alade Village Ikeja, said the warehouse had, mobile phones that were not registered with SON and without registered manufacturer or importer, thereby making traceability impossible should the phone defaults.

“We have said that after January 1, any phone we see in Nigeria that we cannot trace the manufacturers and importers or which is not registered, would be seized.

Phone manufacturers and importers must register their products with us to help us know if these products qualify to parade our markets,” he said.

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

‘We can’t watch her die’ •Hole-in-the-heart girl needs N2.5m for surgery

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HE took a pitiable look at the emaciated baby, shook her head and sank into the seat behind her. She heaved a thunderous sigh in apparent hopelessness as her eyes suddenly turned reddish.

“It is well,” a neighbour said, obviously trying to calm her frayed nerves, but that meant nothing to the woman. She burst into tears even as she kept praying for God’s intervention.

It was a period when Mrs Funmilola Ogwude and her husband, Lawrence, should still be hosting friends in celebration of the first-year birthday of their only child, Ngozichukwu. But no; a hole in the tender heart of the innocent child has remained a major headache for her parents.

After a swell Christmas festivity last year, like every other family, the couple was already looking forward to a “happier new year,” when – on December 31 – Ngozichukwu suddenly took ill, thus cutting short her parents’ joy.

To the Ogwudes, however, there was virtually no cause for apprehension as, according to them, the mother got all necessary ante-natal medical attention during pregnancy and gave the baby all vital immunisations after birth. But then, they opted not to take

By Basirat Braimah

her case with levity.

“We got worried and took her to the hospital immediately we noticed that she was running temperature. We had suspected malaria; three days after, we went for a check-up as instructed by a doctor. We were told she had problem with her heart,” Funmilola said.

Barely two weeks after, the baby’s temperature assumed an unusual dimension. Then, it dawned on her parents that they had a big problem in their hands. “We were in Ibadan (Oyo State capital) when her temperature wasn’t alright; so, we took her to University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, where a chest x-ray revealed she had what is known in medical parlance as Fallot’s Tetralogy. Her pulmonary arteries were also detected to be small. I could not believe my daughter was going through such pains,” said Funmilola.

Dr. O. O Ogunkunle, a Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at the UCH, in a report, said Ngozichukwu’s defects required an open-heart surgery for correction. Sadly, however, the facilities needed are not available for children in Nigeria. And the report said the surgery must be done within

Police rescue sick babies used for begging

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HE Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a syndicate that specialises in using sick babies to beg for alms in order to enrich themselves in the metropolis.

Although the leader of the group is at large, the command has arrested six of the suspects.

Explaining their mode of operation, the state police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspects specialise in going to remote villages where they look out for children who has serious ailments.

“What they do is that they convince the parents of these babies with fake promises, pledging to give them medical aid in the cities. When they eventually bring the babies to the cities, they use them to beg for money in the streets and enrich themselves without rendering the medical aid as promised. The woman here and her child is a victim. Her baby was diagnosed of cancer of the eye. ”They brought them from Okija, Anambra State, promising to take them to the hospital since August last year. They have been using this two-

six months.

The baby cut a pathetic picture last Thursday when The Nation visited the family’s Berger, Lagos home.

She appeared lean as she stayed rooted on the spot. “She clocks one year today. Instead of celebrating, we are looking desperately for money to ensure that she lives,” Lawrence • Ngozichukwu said amid sobs.

His wife further said: “At one, if striving to make ends meet. Ours is a she is not walking, she should be struggling family that has been surcrawling at least, but she can’t do any viving through God’s special grace; because she does not eat except when and Ngozi must not die.” she is breastfed. She runs temperaThe family is, therefore, appealing ture and rarely sleeps. We too no to kind-hearted Nigerians, governlonger sleep because she should be mental and non-governmental the source of our joy. Her pain is now organisation to help the helpless baby ours. with their widow’s mite. “This is a “The day I was told that she would birthday gift that my fellowmen can need surgery to be well again, I was assist me to give her as she clocks sad because of the pains she would one year. And she needs it now bego through at her age and most imcause tomorrow may be too late,” portantly, the cost of the exercise. We Funmilola pleaded. The baby’s prowere told she would be taken to Inspective benefactors, she said, could dia for the surgery which would cost offer their lending hands through a us N2.5million. The question now is: Sterling Bank account opened in her What shall we sell to get the money? name: Ngozichukwu Ogwude, numHer father is self-employed and is ber: 0025340649.

By Jude Isiguzo

year-old baby to make money since then without taking her to the hospital as promised. They put the mother of the baby in a hotel and they would carry the baby to the market place to beg for alms from unsuspecting Nigerians,” Braide said.

The police image-maker said the suspects would be charged for child trafficking and other related charges.

The suspects said their principal, who is now on the run, was the brain behind it. The leader of the group, Chukwuka Eze, 24, who hails from Ebonyi State, said he abandoned his cart-pushing business at Mile 12, Lagos for the new one, which he said, had been lucrative.

He said: “After my secondary education, I started pushing cart in Mile 12, Lagos. When I was doing the business I earned lesser than what I earned now. One Mr. Samuel Ependu, who is our director, introduced me into this business. He called to tell me that there was a child who had cancer and that her parents had no money to give her

• Mrs Anako and her baby

world-class treatment. I joined him in the business and I usually led the group any time went out for work.

We usually took Chinasa to market areas, bus stops and traffic snarls to beg for money and Nigerians wouldn’t hesitate to give us money generously. ”My boss lodged us in a hotel.

We went out every day to make money for him. Sometimes, we made N32, 000 and other times if the business was too bad, we made N19, 000. After making the money, we usually remitted them to my boss.

Chinasa’s mother, Mrs. Victoria Anako, told The Nation: ”I was in the village when the people came and met my husband. He agreed that I

should go with them. Since August when we left, I have been remitting money into my husband’s account and he used the money to buy motorcycle and completed his abandoned building. I did not know that they were bringing us to Lagos for the purpose of money making.

“Immediately we left Okija last year, we were taken to Aba where they used my baby to beg. From Aba, we moved to Uyo, then Umuhia and Calabar. We left Calabar for Abakaliliki and later, Lagos, where the police eventually caught us.

Mrs. Jessinta Nwakaego Nwaolie of the ‘Hands That Care Foundation,’ a non-governmental organisation handed the suspects to the police.

Group tackles unemployment in Lagos community

By Babatunde Sulaiman

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LAGOS-based non-governmental organisation, The Genuine Redemption of Underprivileged People, otherwise called The GROUP, has held a fiveday entrepreneurship programme for residents of Ojo Local Government Area.

No fewer than 1,600 people - male and female - enjoyed the empowerment programme aimed at eradicating poverty in the society.

The group’s chairman, Hon. Rasaq Sijuade Adam, said: “This programme was organised due to the high unemployment rates in Nigeria. We believe government alone cannot do it; we all need to contribute our quotas. “ He disclosed that the group would assist the participants with interestfree soft loans on completion of their training to enable them start their

•Members of the group with some of the beneficiaries

own businesses.

“They are expected to use the loans judiciously for a period of six months.

They will, however, refund the loans within three months,” he added.

The participants were trained in making liquid soap and insecticides,

events decoration, beads, jewelry and perfume, among others.

A participant, Olatunde Atunwa, who expressed gratitude to the group, said: “The trainers really took their time to explain everything to us . We were also allowed to practise

what we were taught during the training.”

The group was established in 2008 to empower the underprivileged.

Out of the 20 local governments in the state, the training programme had been organised in 11.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

K/M 6, IKWERRE ROAD RUMUEME P.M.B. 5039, PORT HARCOURT. 2014/2015 ADMISSIONS APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED FROM SUITABLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNDERLISTED COURSES OF THE RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, FOR THE 2014/2015 ACADEMIC SESSION 1. SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH i.

Environmental Health Technology (HND) 4 years Entry Requirement: Five (5) O’ Level credits in GCE/WASC/SSCE/NECO which must include, English Language, Biology/Health Science, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Holders of Environmental Health Technician Diploma with HND requirement shall be admitted directly to second year ND Environmental Health. Candidates who have successfully completed the Board’s recognized PreNational Diploma (Science and Technology) courses may be admitted into the programme. Such candidates must possess the above entry requirement. ii.

Environmental Health Technician Course (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Four (4) credits and two passes in GCE/WAEC/NECO examination. The Credits must be in any of the following subjects: English Language, Biology/Health Science, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Agricultural Science, Technical Drawing and any other subject. A pass in Mathematics is an added advantage. Holders of Environmental Health Assistant Certificate with two years post qualification experience may be admitted at 200 level of Environmental Health Technician Programme provided they fulfill the entry requirement above. iii. Pest Management (Diploma) 2 Years Entry Requirement : Four (4) O’Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in English Language, Biology/Health Science, Economics/Commerce/Chemistry and pass in Mathematics at not more than two sittings.

2. i.

ii. iii.

• • • • • • iv. i.

SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY HEALTH Community Health Extension Workers Course (Diploma) 3 Years Entry Requirement: Five (5) O’ Level credits at WASC/NECO/GCE at not more than two sittings, 3 credits in the following subjects: Mathematics, Biology, English Language, and any other (2) two credits from Chemistry, Agric Science and Social Sciences such as Economics, Literature, Commerce, Christian Religious Knowledge etc.

Direct Entry (CHEW in-Service) 2 Years Professional Diploma Entry Requirement: Holders of JCHEW Certificate in addition to entry requirements above.

Emergency Medical Technician (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, Physics, Biology/Health Science, Chemistry/Physics and a pass in English Language at not more than two (2) sittings.

Candidate must be physically fit and able to lift weight Must be free from uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, epilepsy, active respiratory infection (i.e Tuberculosis) Must have current immunization for Hepatitis B,C, Tetanus, Meningitis Must not have a criminal record Free from substance abuse Should have a verifiable residential address.

Optometry Technician (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry/ Physics and a pass in English Language at not more than two (2) sittings.

3. i.

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK Medical Social Work (Technician) 3 Years Entry Requirement: Five (5) O’ Level credits in WASC/GCE or NECO which must include English Language, Mathematics and three (3) others, one subject chosen from each of the subject combination: (Government/History, Christian Religious/ Islamic Knowledge), (Health Science/Biology/Nutrition), (Economics Commerce/ Geography) at not more than 2 sittings.

4. i.

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY TECHNICIAN Pharmacy Technician Course (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Five (5) O’ Level credits in WASC/GCE or NECO which must include Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Physics and English Language at not more than two (2) sittings.

5. i.

SCHOOL OF DENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE Dental Surgery Technician/Dental Health Technician Course (Diploma) 3 Years Entry Requirement: Four (4) credits in WASC/GCE or NECO which must include Biology, Chemistry/ Physics, English Language and Mathematics Anaesthetic Technician Course (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, Physics, Biology/Chemistry and a pass in English Language at not more than two (2) sittings.

ii.

6. i.

ii. iii.

7. i.

ii.

8. i.

ii.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Health Records Technician Course (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Five (5) credits in WASC/GCE or NECO examinations at not more than two sittings. The credits must be in Mathematics, English Language, Biology/Health Science, and any two credits from any other subjects: Chemistry, Economics or Social Sciences.

Health Records Technician (In-Service) 1 Year Entry Requirement: National Certificate in Information Management (NCIM) in addition to possession of entry requirement above.

Hospital/Health Administration (Diploma) 2 Years Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, English Language, Economics/ Government and Biology at not more than two (2) sittings.

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE Medical Laboratory Technician Course (3 Years) Entry Requirement: Five (5) credits at WASC/GCE or NECO which must include: Biology, Chemistry, English Language, Physics and Mathematics at not more than two sittings and must be obtained within a space of 5 years prior to enrollment.

Medical Laboratory Technician Course (Conversion) 2 Years Entry Requirement: Holders of Medical Laboratory Assistant Certificate in addition to the above requirements.

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING Public Health Nursing (HND) 2 Years Entry Requirement: Five (5) O’ level credits in WASC/GCE/NECO, which must include English Language, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and a pass in Mathematics. In addition, candidates must possess any of the under listed: Nigerian Registered Nurse Certificate Nigerian Registered Midwifery Certificate Psychiatric Nurse Certificate (or Accident and Emergency Certificate etc (for males) plus one year post qualification experience.

ABRIDGEMENT (REFRESHER) PROGRAMME (HND) 2 years Entry Requirement: National Diploma in Public Health Nursing; in addition to five credits in English Language, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and a pass in Mathematics in WASC/NECO/GCE

9.

SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Biomedical Engineering Technician Course (Diploma) 3 Years Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in English Language, Mathematics, Biology and one (1) subject chosen from Physics, Chemistry.

10. i.

SCHOOLS OF MEDICAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY Haemo-dialysis (Diploma) 2 Years Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, Physics, Biology/Chemistry and a pass in English Language at not more than two (2) sittings.

Electrocardiogram (Diploma) 2 Years Entry Requirement; Four (4) O’ Level Credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics, Physics, Biology/Chemistry and a pass in English Language at not more than two (2) sittings

ii.

11. i.

SCHOOLS OF GENERAL AND REMEDIAL STUDIES Computer Studies (Diploma) 2 Years Entry Requirement: Four (4) O’ Level credits in WASC/GCE/SSCE in Mathematics/ Statistics, English Language, Commerce/Economics and Physics.

APPLICANTS MUST BE 16 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER BY SEPTEMBER 2014 REGISTRATION PERIOD 23RD APRIL 2014-3RD JULY, 2014 METHOD OF APPLICATION Application Fee: Seven Thousand Naira (N7,000) payable at the under listed banks both situated within the College Campus: (1) Eco Bank Plc (ii) Fidelity Bank Plc. • Application is online • Applicants are to log on to the College Website: www.rschst.edu.ng with the help of thescratch card provided for the purpose • Candidates Identification Slip bearing examination number, examination time and venue will be generated on-line.

Shortlisted applicants will be subjected to an entrance examination.

ENTANCE EXAMINATION DATE: 5TH JULY, 2014 For more information , please contact the College Admission Officer or any of these GSM Nos: 07066608462, 07032223481, 08132781116, 08097856315, 08055407433 or visit the College website- www.rschst.edu.ng

SIGNED: REGISTRAR

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

17

NATION SPORT BRAZIL 2014 WORLD CUP

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NNF ELECTION:

Agary drums up support for Maigari

Adequate preparations’ll help A Africa win, says Oliseh

ORMER Nigeria international, Sunday Oliseh has predicted that an African country will eventually win the FIFA World Cup if the right things like preparation and execution of plans are right.

Speaking on Cable News Network (CNN’s) Human to Hero series, the 39-year-old ex midfielder, said Wednesday night that poor and late preparations for the football showpiece has always been problems of teams from the continent.

“I think an African country will eventually win the World Cup. What is lacking now, it’s simple to say … what is wrong is that we don’t plan well. We leave the planning ’til late,” Oliseh said.

Oliseh insisted that for his prediction to come true, “Africans need to learn how to start pressurizing the opponents. Football has changed now. It’s no longer football where you pick individuals and expect them to do well.

“Now it’s more about team work, team dynamics, team schemes, things that are planned out like how to look at the opponent, how to

bring about antidotes to the opponent’s playing star.

“When it comes to physical strength and bursts of speed, you can’t beat an African. But what is lacking now is just that technical and tactical knowhow. Then we’ll get it,” observed the former Cologne and Borussia Dortmund player.

Oliseh who is a member of FIFA’s Study Group, believes

that the Nigerian senior national team, the Super Eagles will do well at Brazil 2014 although would not be drawn into predicting if the team led by former teammate, Stephen Keshi, will win the cup.

He admitted that his 1994 Super Eagles generation was blessed with so many individually talented stars.

Oliseh’s World Cup days may be long past after retir-

ing from the game in 2006, but come June and July he will be watching events in Brazil with avid interest.

“If I was to live without football now, I think I would die — even my kids sometimes are bored because Papa is always watching games,” joked the former Super Eagles star whose goal against Spain earned Nigeria first victory at France ’98.

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•Okoro

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja that we have tried and see what they have been able to achieve with these few years to continue in other for them to consolidate.

"You see the hurried way we chased out Sani Lulu from office, the same with Ibrahim Galadima and others before them. Infact the Nigeria Football Federation has the record that no president or board has ever returned, this is not a good record at all and we should stop it with this regime,” Ben Agary said.

Ben Agary stressed that his support for the return of the Aminu Maigari-led board should not be misunderstood to mean that they never had their flaws, “yes, they do have their flaws and you know I really criticised them and even went as far as resigning as a member of the organising and disciplinary committee to demonstrate my anger then, but the fact is that criticism is not meant to destroy the house but for them to take correction in those areas you felt they are not doing well.

"But on the ground of achievement the Aminu Maigari-led NFF has done well and they can be ranked among the best Nigeria Football House board that has ever existed,” Agari declared.

Baraje commends Heartland despite loss

Hard work earned me national call —Okoro

ONFLUENCE Queens FC left-back Okoro Rosemary has described her call to the Nigeria U-20 Women team, The Falconets as a reward for discipline and hard work with the Lokoja base Nigeria Women Premier side.

Okoro who has been handed a trial with the Nigeria Falconets believes she deserves a place in the coach Peter Dedevbo's team this time following her previous trial with the Falconets in 2012 under Edwin Okon.

She said "I came to so close in 2012 under Edwin Okon but believes I was not lucky then but this time I want to fight for my position in the team, i know I have what it takes to make the team""I know it will be not be an easy task as everybody will be fighting to make the cut but with hard work and divine luck, I would make the cut," said Okoro.

The 19-year old Delta born also went further to reveal her desire to help Confluence Queens achieve their target this season.

"My target is to continue to work hard and commit more to my team, because my National call today was as a result of good work with the Wada Queens, I will never relent on my efforts to contribute my quota to the team.

We have a target, and the target is to end well at the end. The government has tried a lot for us, all we need as players is to repose that support with better performance and good results."

All invited players to the nation's Under-20 Women team are expected to resume camp in Abuja on 1st of May 2014.

former chairman of the FCT football Association, Ben Agary has advised that for continuity sake, the board should be allowed to continue.

Speaking with sports journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Agary a strong critics of the Aminu Maigari-led board declared that he has also realised that they achieved so much in their first tenure despite all the distractions that came their way.

He argued that the greatest problem that has bedevilled the growth of football in Nigeria is the idea of not actually allowing the administrator enough time to implement all the ideas they have learnt in the cause of doing the job.

“My argument is that let us give them enough time to be rooted in the job so that they can fully implement all that they learnt in the cause of doing the job. If we chase them away after one tenure, and then we bring in someone else who will now begin to learn the process of managing the football all over again, it will definitely take some time them to learn the rope.

Let us draw example from CAF, FIFA, UEFA and all the several international sporting bodies, they do not uproot them after just one tenure the way we do here.

“So, let us allow these ones

•Super Eagles players with AFCON trophy won in South Africa last year.

DSTV PREMIER BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Dodan Warriors beat Kwara Falcons 64-76 in Ilorin

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ORMER champions, Dodan Warriors became the only basketball team that secured an away win at the weekend after defeating Kwara Falcons, 64-76 points in the Atlantic Conference of the DSTV Premier Basketball League Week 8 game played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Kwara State Stadium.

After their proprietor Rt. Col. Sam Ahmedu gave a vote of confidence on the backroom staff in spite of their loss to Customs and their unimpressive win against Police Baton, the Warriors went to Ilorin full of confidence and were able to survive the onslaught of the home team.

Coach Ayinla Johnson returned to the sideline to guide Union Bank to a 72-60 points victory over Customs at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos.

The Stallion Boys won all the four quarters 16-11, 36-26, 5142, 72-60, but in a chat with NationSport after the game, Ayinla said there was a lot to be done on the team despite the fact that they dominated the game.

“I’ve not really sat down to check the stats but I’m surprised that we won all the quarters because I thought most of the time we shot ourselves on the foot. most of the time we let them back into the game. I think we still don’t have that killer instinct yet.

We allow people to come

•Pillars, Plateau Peaks win big

By Akeem Lawal back into the game. So we have work to do. I want guys that when you have people down, you bury them. You don’t have people down and still allow them to get back into the game,” said Ayinla.

After suffering their second loss of the season to Union Bank in Week 7 game, Atlantic conference table-toppers Lagos Islanders got back to winning ways defeating bottom of the log Police Baton 65-51.

In-form Oluyole Warriors defeated Royal Hoopers 75-70 points at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan to revenge their narrow defeat to the financially troubled former champions in Port Harcourt in week 2.

In the Savanna Conference, High flying Kano Pillars continued their imperious form that has seen them go unbeaten in the league this season defeating Immigration with wide margin 90-56 points at the Sanni Abacha Stadium. The Premier league's defending champions are now record 8 wins in 8 matches.

Plateau Peaks got their playoffs dreams back to life when they defeated relegation threatened Niger Potters 63-40 points.

Having failed to honour their week 7 fixture in Gombe, Potters could not avoid their seventh loss in eight games

this season in Jos. WEEK 8 RESULTS

Atlantic Conference Islanders 65-51 Police Baton Union Bank 72-60 Customs Oluyole Warriors 75-70 Hoopers Falcons 64-76 Dodan Warriors Savannah Conference Kano Pillars 90-56 Immigration Kada Stars 76-55 Bauchi Nets Plateau Peaks 63-40 Niger Potters Gombe Bulls 61-57 Mark Mentors

NYIMBA’S Manager, Zachary Baraje has described his side’s encounter with Heartland FC in Owerri as living up to its prematch hype and declared that the Naze Millionaires deserved the three points they snatched in a last minute effort.

Togolese import, Saibou Badarou made hay for Heartland with just about a minute left to play to send their fans to ecstatic jubilation for their first win in three seasons against the former champions.

Baraje told lmc-ng.org after the encounter that he was impressed by the offering from both sides and said fans had value for their time and money.

“It was a good game and I am sure the fans enjoyed how the two teams went about the game today”, Baraje said.

Enyimba have slumped a notch down on the log, placing ninth from eight games and eleven points. Baraje

didn’t go hard on his players for the late goal that meant they made the short trip back to Aba empty handed and Baraje would not blame his players for the loss but chose rather to dwell on the healthy rivalry between the two sides.

“We know Heartland and they also know us, so it is normal to expect a close game as we have had in this fixture. I cannot blame the players for the loss although I think we deserved something from this game. But then that is football for you. It is never over until the Referee blows off the game. I congratulate Heartland for this win and for us, it shows we still have a lot to do”, remarked Baraje who last season led El-Kanemi Warriors to a surprise fourth place finish.

Enyimba will next receive Crown FC at Aba in a Match Day 10 fixture though they still have an outstanding game on hand on the road against Bayelsa United.

AFN GOLDEN LEAGUE

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Junior athletes take Podium

ORMER junior athletes took over the podium at the just concluded second leg of the 2014 AFN Golden League at the University of Ilorin mini stadium with brilliant performances in their events.

Former junior athletes now competing in the senior ranks namely Divine Odududru, Ese Brume, Deborah Odeyemi and Akerele Omeza won their indictable events.Over 300 athletes competed in the classic, promotional and golden league proper in the one day event as a few elite athletes were away in the USA competing in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia which also ended at the weekend.

Competing in the senior category for the first time after quitting the junior ranks, Delta state born Divine Oduduru produced one of his best forms beating others in the men 200m with a time of 21.14secs, a victory which he describe as the

beginning of good things ahead.

The second and third positions went to Odele Tega (21.23secs) and Briggs Tamunotonye (21.58secs) respectively.One of the highlight of the competition was Amaka Ogoegbunam's trilling performance in the women 400m huddles where she ran an improved time of 57.

31secs to win the race.

Nwaogu Ann was second with 59.24secs while Aminat Odeyemi came third in 59.82secs. In her post race comment, Ogoegbunam's described her race as an encouragement having been distracted by injuries in the past adding that her aim is to make the Commonwealth Games team by improving her performance in a meet she will attend in France very soon."The race was challenging and my performance was good but not my best but I hope to improve more so I can qualify for the commonwealth games

which means cutting down on my present time to at least 56 low."In the AFN promotional event, Olatunji Olawale Samuel produced another outstanding throw in the Discus event throwing 51.50m, while Ekanem Godknows was second with 44.82m and Damah Simeonthird with 43.15m.

In the women long jump event, former junior athlete, Ese Brume won with a leap of 6.40m beating her senior cantapart Chinazom Amadi (6.31m) to the second position while PreciousOkoronkwo came third with 6.00m. Other results includes the 400m men where Akerele Omeza (47.33), Fasasi Adekunle 47.36) and Ifiok Andrew (47.63) were the firstthree while in the women category, Margaret Etim (53.93), Oladoye Funke (54.41) and Ali Eleojo (54.82secs) came first,second and third respectively.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

18

NATION SPORT Ronaldo targets 10th CL title

Evra: ‘Giggs inspires United players’

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ANCHESTER United defender Patrice Evra has insisted that Ryan Giggs will have no problem getting the best out of the players in the closing stages of the season.

The Welshman has taken control of the team on a temporary basis following the departure of David Moyes earlier in the week, and Evra believes that the 40-year-old has already earned the respect of the dressing room.

“Giggs is a natural,” the French defender told the club’s official website. “Players like him and Paul Scholes inspire the young players, and the senior players too. This is why they will fight to make sure that Ryan picks them for the team.

“As a person and a player, he instantly gets that respect which is why it wasn’t weird to see Ryan Giggs as manager.”

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RISTIANO Ronaldo has revealed that he is ‘obsessed’ with firing Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League title.

The nine-time European champions have been frustrated in their attempts win the elusive 10th title - la Decima - having gone 12 years without adding to their record haul.

However, the Blancos take a onegoal lead to Bavaria on Tuesday for their second-leg semi-final clash with holders Bayern Munich, and Ronaldo says that nothing is more important to him than helping the club reach the milestone this season - not even the World Cup. He told reporters: “La Decima has become an obsession, but a good obsession.

“The World Cup won’t influence anything in the remainder of the season; I’m fully focused on the league and Champions League.

“We won the [Copa del Rey] and we want to win the league and the Champions League. The latter is the most difficult trophy to win.”

Next week’s clash at the Allianz Arena will kick off at 7.45pm.

•Jose Mourinho plays the pantomime villain by trying to prevent Liverpool players from retrieving the ball in the first half.

Mourinho: We have nothing to celebrate

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OSE Mourinho continued to rule Chelsea out of the Premier League title race despite their 20 win at Liverpool on Sunday.

A slip from Steven Gerrard allowed Demba Ba to race away and open the scoring late in the first half at Anfield, before substitute Willian wrapped up the three points with a late tap-in.

The result leaves Chelsea two points behind table-toppers Liverpool, but manager Mourinho •Ronaldo

Guardiola sad over Tito Vilanova death

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AYERN MUNICH boss Pep Guardiola has claimed that he will mourn the death of friend and former colleague Tito Vilanova for the rest of his life.

Vilanova passed away on Friday at the age of 45 following a lengthy battle with throat cancer, prompting the football world to react with their own tributes for the coach.

He spent four years working alongside Guardiola as his assistant at Barcelona in an era which saw the Catalan giants dominate the continental game by claiming two Champions League titles and eight domestic trophies.

Speaking to reporters following his side’s 5-2 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday, the Spaniard described Vilanova as “more than a friend” and claimed that he will never fully get over his passing.

“It was difficult for me to follow the match today,” he said. “Tito was more than a friend. The sadness I feel will accompany me for the rest of my life. We were young, we wanted to beat the world, and we did.”

Barcelona have announced that the funeral will take place on Monday.

•Guardiola

insists his charges will not win the title this season.

“Now we can say we won both matches against the champions,” he told Sky Sports.

“If it’s Liverpool, we won both. If it’s (third-placed Manchester) City, we won both.

“With these three points we need one point to finish third. It was a good season for us and an evolution in many aspects of this team.

“The champions will be City or

Liverpool so we have nothing to celebrate.

“Obviously many people would be expecting us to come here and lose 3-0 or 5-0 like others. Many people think it was impossible to get this result.

“But the boys had an amazing performance so I’m so happy for them and for the fans. This is the spirit we always want at Chelsea Football Club.”

ranks, and afterwards Rodgers poured scorn on Mourinho’s approach.

“We just couldn’t find the breakthrough - there were probably two buses parked today, never mind one,” he told reporters.

“Jose has got his result today, credit to [Chelsea]. Its the opposite of how we want to play. It’s not difficult to coach, 10 players in the 18-yard box.”

Mourinho, however, remained bullish about his team’s performance, insisting they deserved to win and challenging the assertion that his tactics were defensive.

“The best team won,” he told reporters. “The team that deserved to win won.

“Defensive display? I am confused what the media thinks about defensive displays. When a team defends well you call it defensive.”

The Chelsea boss also brushed off criticism that his team looked to waste time and break up Liverpool’s attacking rhythm throughout the game.

“Time-wasting? What is that?,” he added. “We never spoke about this when we played lots of matches this season. Now we’re speaking about it.”

Guardiola said: “We went through a lot together, we lost together, we won together. It is a difficult situation. This tragedy will stay with me forever.”

The Spanish press also paid tribute to Vilanova on Saturday, with his smiling face adorning the front pages of all the major sporting and general newspapers.

Pro-Real Madrid daily Marca published a 12-page supplement

featuring a full-length portrait of him on its front page with the headline: “Goodbye, Tito, your struggle was a lesson to us.”

They hailed Vilanova as “a symbol of valour, courage, hard work, responsibility and simplicity.”

The main article from Barcelona sports daily El Mundo Deportivo led with: “Today children and grown-ups, friends and rivals, coach and players around the world, Spaniards and Catalans all cry for him.”

The other major Barcelona football daily Sport lamented Vilanova’s loss at such a young age.

“It is unjust that a person of just 45, a sportsman, full of life and plans, had to leave his loved ones this way,” Sport said.

Several newspapers, including Spain’s biggest-selling general newspaper El Pais, highlighted Barcelona’s best Spanish league performance ever, came during Vilanova’s only season in charge of the club.

The 2012 - 2013 Barcelona side scored 100 points, netting 115 league goals en route to the 22nd league title in the club’s history.

Brendan Rodgers: Chelsea parked ‘two buses’

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RENDAN Rodgers accused Jose Mourinho of parking “two buses” after seeing his Liverpool side frustrated by a trademark display of defensive resilience from Chelsea at Anfield.

Demba Ba capitalised on Steven Gerrard’s slip on the stroke of halftime to give the visitors the lead, while Fernando Torres raced through to set up Willian for an easy second late on to seal a famous victory.

Much of the match was defined by Liverpool’s inability to break through Chelsea’s massed defensive

Vilanova’s funeral holds today in Barcelona Cathedral

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UNERAL for the late former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova will take place evening in Barcelona cathedral.

On Sunday his former squad Barcelona attended a memorial space at the Nou Camp to pay him their last rest.

The players were accompanied by the coaching staff, led by Gerardo Martino, who succeeded Vilanova, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.

After signing a condolence book, the group held a minute’s silence in front of a portrait of Vilanova in a space in the main stand which has been opened for supporters to pay their respects over the next two days.

Vilanova stepped down as Barcelona boss last July after just one season in charge, lost his battle with throat cancer on Friday at the age of 45.

Vilanova spent four years as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Nou Camp before taking the top job and Guardiola’s Bayern Munich team wore black armbands during Saturday’s Bundesliga match at home to Werder Bremen, which they won 5-2.

•Vilanova

•Evra

Suarez wins PFA Player of the Year award

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IVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez has won the PFA Player of the Year award, according to a report.

The Uruguayan has reportedly picked up the prize following his excellent season for the Reds, as his 30 goals in the Premier League have put them on the brink of the title.

Suarez has bounced back after being banned for 10 games at the end of last season for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, which caused him to miss time early in the campaign.

However, he has excelled for Brendan Rodgers’s side since September, scoring a goal a game which earned him the award voted by his colleagues across the country, reports The People.

The 27-year-old will be action later today when Liverpool will look to take a major step towards their first title in 24 years when they face Chelsea.

•Suarez

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Harsh lesson

An atrocious UTME result further exposes the state of Nigerian education

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VEN by the dubious standards of contemporary Nigerian education, the recently-announced results of the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) were abysmal. Out of 1,015,504 candidates who sat for the Paper and Pencil Test (PPT) and the Dual-Based Test (DBT) on April 12, only 47 of them scored 250 and above. This figure represents 0.0046 per cent of the total.

Appalling as they are, the results constitute only the tip of the iceberg. Only 109, 836 candidates obtained scores of 200 and above, representing 10.82 per cent of the total. Nearly 90 per cent of those who sat for the examinations were unable to attain scores equivalent to 50 per cent of total obtainable scores.

The implications of the 2014 UTME results are sobering in their enormity. The

‘This terrible performance suggests that governments, non-governmental agencies and the educational institutions themselves may need to take a very hard look at their current strategies. Could it be that current pedagogical practices are too closely attuned to passing examinations, and are consequently not wide-ranging enough? Has the cancer of examination malpractice so engulfed the country’s educational system that it has comprehensively crippled candidates’ ability to perform well without it?’

UTME is a so-called “gateway” examination. This means that it is taken by candidates from all socio-economic backgrounds, educational attainment and ethnic groups. It is therefore a reliable yardstick of general educational performance.

The implication of these results is that, in spite of all the educational reforms in several states of the federation, despite the increase in the number of expensive private schools, and notwithstanding the intrinsic intelligence and determination of many Nigerian youths, very little has changed for the better.

This terrible performance suggests that governments, non-governmental agencies and the educational institutions themselves may need to take a very hard look at their current strategies. Could it be that current pedagogical practices are too closely attuned to passing examinations, and are consequently not wide-ranging enough? Has the cancer of examination malpractice so engulfed the country’s educational system that it has comprehensively crippled candidates’ ability to perform well without it? Is there a disconnect between resource input and expected outcomes?

A change of attitude at the leadership level is crucial to reversing this unhappy trend. In more serious countries, a performance like this would be considered nothing less than a disaster, and in addressing it, correspondingly serious measures would be taken. Unfortunately, Nigeria is a country where failure is rarely identified for what it is, to say nothing of sanctioning those who are culpable.

States like Ekiti and Edo, which have cou-

rageously tried to address fundamental issues like that of teacher competence, find themselves thwarted at every turn.

If the situation is to change, there will have to be a comprehensive reform of the nation’s educational system. Systems of financing education, especially at the primary and secondary school levels, must be clearly identified and ring-fenced. An accessible reporting system should be developed to enable all schools to be monitored closely. Measurable teacher and student performance yardsticks must be established to enable educational institutions to be objectively assessed. Promotions and increments of teachers should be tied to improvements in the reading and numerical ability of students, as well as their performance in public examinations. Where corruption, incompetence or delinquency is detected, sanctions must be prompt and severe.

General social attitudes must change as well. As long as Nigeria continues to be a nation where wealth rather than intellectual achievement is prized, for so long will education continue to be seen as a necessary evil rather than a social good.

A distracting diet of football, reality shows, music and other forms of lowbrow entertainment has so suffused the consciousness of the youth that scholarship means little or nothing to them. Parents, politicians and community leaders must do more to uphold the virtues of scholarship and ensure that education regains its pride of place.

For a nation which claims to have rejected the anti-educational outrages perpetrated by Boko Haram, it would be ironic if it is unable to live up to its precepts.

Ayoka, Osunbor, et al

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•AGF must act on NHRC’s report on alleged election offenders

HE National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is on the right path in the exercise of its mandate, with its findings and recommendations on human rights abuses in the country. The commission, in a report to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF) recommended various alleged election offenders for prosecution. Among the 41 indicted persons and institutions are a former Governor of Edo State, Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor, a former Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Clarence Olafemi, a former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti State, Mrs Ayooka Adebayo, and an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Christopher Oloyede. Also indicted were INEC, the police and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Some of the offences for which the named persons and institutions were indicted are forgery, perjury and breach of trust. The commission, in its report to the AGF, said the report is “in exercise of its mandate under section 5 which empowers it to refer any matter of human rights violations requiring prosecution to the AGF or of a state”. Accordingly, the list forwarded to the AGF contains names of “persons and institutions indicted for various offences committed under the Electoral Act 2006”. The report also quoted judgments of electoral tribunals and courts which indicted some of the persons named in their report.

We earnestly ask the AGF to make

haste to prosecute all the persons and institutions indicted in the report, as a warning signal to potential electoral offenders during the 2015 elections. We also enjoin civil rights organisations to ensure that the AGF is not allowed to sleep on this matter. Indeed, Nigerians who desire free and fair elections must join hands to pressure the AGF to discharge his constitutional obligations in the overall interest of our fledgling democracy. For, until electoral offenders are made to face the consequences of their crime, it will remain attractive for desperate politicians and political parties to use all means to take over or retain power, in the name of elections.

We also unequivocally condemn the actions of the indicted institutions, particularly INEC, the police and the party that has controlled power at the centre since 1999, the PDP. The indictment is telling on how the PDP has been able to hold on to power, even when available evidence shows that the party has failed to perform. While the party should hide its head in shame, we encourage it not to hamstring the AGF from performing his constitutional role of bringing those indicted to justice. For, while the alleged electoral offences are already a slur on our democracy, we want the party to note that failure to prosecute the offenders is a greater indictment of our country as a lawless country.

It is also important that the prosecution should commence with the very notable persons indicted by the commission.

Such an act will send signals to those who may be planning to rig the up-coming elections in Ekiti and Osun states, and more significantly, the 2015 general elections. It is also important that INEC should take immediate steps to weed from its fold those with the potential to further bring the commission to disrepute. The commission owes Nigerians the responsibility to cooperate with the AGF and civil rights groups to ensure a successful prosecution of the indicted individuals and institutions. After all, the alleged offences were primarily committed under its watch.

Also, the police and other sister security agencies must see the indictment as a wake-up call. They need institutional discipline, and an understanding that their mandate does not extend to helping the party in power win any election at all cost.

‘It is also important that the prosecution should commence with the very notable persons indicted by the commission. Such an act will send signals to those who may be planning to rig the up-coming elections in Ekiti and Osun states, and more significantly, the 2015 general elections’

A Questionable Decision on Egypt

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MERICAN policy toward Egypt continued on its tortured, confusing path this week when the Obama administration resumed some aid to what has become an increasingly repressive state. No matter how American officials try to spin it, the decision will come across as a vote of confidence in a military-dominated government with an authoritarian agenda and a track record of violent crackdowns on dissenters and political opponents.

After Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was overthrown in July, President Obama waited several months before suspending some of the military aid that most benefits the generals who staged the coup.

The weaponry put on hold included Apache helicopters, Harpoon missiles, M1-A1 tank kits and F-16 warplanes.

The decision, which was announced on Tuesday, authorizes the delivery of 10 Apaches. Secretary of State John Kerry cleared the way for the transfer by certifying that Egypt was upholding its obligations under the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

When the aid suspension was first announced, American officials said future decisions on releasing weapons would rest on Egypt’s progress toward a “sustainable, inclusive, nonviolent transition to democracy.” Fortunately, the administration is still withholding most of the promised weapons, and Mr. Kerry did not make the mistake of arguing that Egypt has shown any serious signs of democratic reform.

A Pentagon spokesman said the helicopters would help Egypt fight Islamist militants in Sinai who have been attacking government security forces and destabilizing a territory that abuts Israel. That argument is puzzling; a Pentagon official told Congress in October that the hold on the Apaches was “not affecting” Egyptian operations in Sinai, and, on Thursday, the Egyptian military itself said it had gained “complete control over the situation.” The Americans seem to be unconcerned about the use of the Apaches in indiscriminate destruction of civilian homes in Sinai, which could fuel more antigovernment extremism.

As for the state of Egyptian democracy, since the coup, some 16,000 people have been locked up, mostly for peacefully exercising their right to free speech and assembly, and more than 1,000 people have been killed at the hands of government security forces, according to Human Rights Watch. As Egypt plans to vote for a new president in May, the favorite is AbdulFattah el-Sisi, the former general and defense minister who led the overthrow of Mr. Morsi and the crushing of his Muslim Brotherhood allies.

America is under pressure from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Congress to improve ties with Egypt, and it has its own interests in ensuring that Egypt honors the peace treaty with Israel, cooperates on counterterrorism and allows ships to transit the Suez Canal. But the Obama administration has refused to even call the coup a coup and moved too gingerly to protest the military’s excesses. It has to be more honest about the unsavory choices it is making, including whether any support for a repressive army will ever bring stability and democracy.

- New York Times

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20

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: With barely 10 months to 2015 general elections, the quest for replacement of Niger State governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu under the People Democratic Party (PDP) is already in top gear. In recent days, the news of who succeeds him has been dominating the airwaves. The governor was quoted in the media on April 7, “that those who are outside his cabinet nursing the ambition to succeed him would likely not have his support, as his wish is to have a successor from his cabinet”.

Two weeks later, he came up with another tale while receiving turbaned community chiefs in Minna on April 23, “that the deputy governor of the state, Hon Ahmed Musa Ibeto and the state commissioner of works, Alhaji Mohammed Muazu Bawa have told him about their intention to contest for the governorship position of the state but he has not given his support to anybody”.

The story of how Babangida Aliyu emerged as the flag bearer of PDP in 2007 will be told someday by the actors. His transition from public service to PDP and election as governor did not take up to 120 days. He did not even participate in the primary election.

Late Senator Idris Kuta of blessed memory once reminded Governor Kure then that Niger State is too big for an individual to single handedly impose his successor.

Kure ignored his words and went ahead to give all necessary support to late Alhassan Guna in 2006. The

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Niger 2015: Candidates’ imposition won’t work

consequence was not only mass exodus of PDP members to All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), but the loss of the loyalty of the party men across the state. Now that Governor Aliyu is heading to the same direction as his predecessor, the forces to outsmart him are far too large for anyone to imagine.

Why will the governor aver that someone from his cabinet will only have his support? Is it because he did not deliver some of his campaign promises to the state? Is he interested in imposing a puppet so that he continues to rule by proxy?

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Is he advising the other hopefuls outside his cabinet but of the same party to seek their mandate in another party?

Is he fair to Nigerlites by saying that he’s asking God to give him (not the masses) choice of a good successor? Is chief servant not aware that Nigerlites are conscious of his body language? Is he not trying to mete the same injustice Governor Kure did to Nigerlites while trying to impose late Bala Guna, which he the chief servant ended up as beneficiary? Is the chief servant telling Nigerlites that those

gubernatorial hopefuls in PDP outside his cabinet are not capable of leading the state?

We don’t need to educate ourselves that electorates are going to vote wisely in 2015 as many anointed aspirants will not only be rejected in general election, but will be turned down by the voters.

Many sitting governors have tried that in the past and failed. The most spectacular case is that of Governor Isa Yuguda and his predecessor, the incumbent PDP national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu in 2007 gubernatorial election. The

victims are further traumatised, psychologically and otherwise.

The perpetrators cut across tribe, class and religious orientation. It occurs more with those who are closely related with the victims than with strangers. No doubt, the present legal framework (Criminal Code and Penal) is so obsolete and grossly inadequate to protect the victims of rape in the country or deter potential rapists.

One of the best options of bring-

ing this ugly trend to its barest minimum is by strengthening our legislation and bringing them in tandem with the present realities.

And there appears to be no better approach to this than the quick passage of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Bill into law. The Bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on March 15, 2013 and has just gone through the First Reading in the Senate on March 18, inter alia, ex-

Senate should join House to pass rape law

IR: There is no gain saying the fact that the menace of rape has assumed an alarming proportion in Nigeria in the recent time. The Nigeria media are awash with stories of rape cases, especially, involving minors. And one sad thing about some these cases is that they often result in unwanted pregnancies, and because the country’s legal jurisdiction does not permit termination of pregnancy, the

Ekiti, Osun 2014: The war Sambo would want

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IR: Vice-President of Nigeria, Architect Namadi Sambo, was quoted as saying:”We are going to war front and (to) bring back our stolen mandate; everybody knows that Ekiti belongs to PDP; they used all instruments to take it away from us…. Osun is PDP. Osun was stolen from us. The end of stealing has come.”

Although Vice- President Sambo went further to restate the federal government’s commitment to free and fair election, his earlier war threat had taken away the wind from the sail of his seemingly patriotic but reluctant words which could only sound, at best, as an after-thought or mere window-dress-

anointed candidate was not only routed by Yuguda of ANPP at the poll, but the sitting governor was defeated at the senatorial contest.

Malam Ibrahim Shekarau did the same thing in Kano by trying to foist his anointed successor on the people, but failed woefully as his anointed successor was defeated by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Former Governors Mahmud Shinkafi and Ali Modu Sherrif both were sitting governors. While Shinkafi was rejected in his second term bid as governor in 2011, Ali Sherrif as sitting governor, was rejected in his bid to return to the Senatorial seat he left.

This time around, Nigerlites are ready to liberate themselves from the hand of oligarchs who believes in the politics of allegiance and imposition which they have capitalized on to turn the state into their personal estate.

•Ibrahim Muye Yahaya Muye, Niger State

ing.

What was loud and clear in his speech, as PDP’S campaign committee chairman, was a declaration of Ekiti and Osun states as war-fronts rather than a theatre for free and fair election; and his listeners /readers from the two states should, by now, perhaps, count themselves lucky not to have been caught unawares.

In response, the APC candidate in Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, has described his declaration of war as “unbecoming of a Vice-President” but he should have added: “even as a campaign committee chairman “because preparing the voters’ minds for war in Ekiti and Osun was

not only outrageous but inciting and counter-productive to the spirit and intents of democracy.

Moreover, by claiming that Osun and Ekiti states had always been PDP states, Sambo was only unsuccessfully trying to twist the facts while he succeeded largely in reminding the people of the two states of the sheer nauseating brigandage which had seen the past PDP governors into office in the traditionally progressive South-west.

Snatching of ballot boxes with the aid of shameless armed policemen, stuffing of such ballot boxes with thumb-printed ballot papers right in the confines of the police stations only for the obvious re-

sult to be announced to astounded, robbed voters; such were the methods of electoral conquests then and such was what the judiciary eventually reversed with its judgments in Ekiti and Osun states.

Could it be the same kind of war that Sambo had intended to wage again in Osun and Ekiti states this year, going by his words which had been spoken from the abundance of his heart? If so, would INEC, the Ekitis and Osuns be expected to simply fold their arms and allow the PDP to come and rough-ride again, using the police?

• Jide Oguntoye, Oye-Ekiti

pands the definition of rape to include both men and women. The Bill equally makes provision for the compensation of victims and recognition of their rights, which is a huge improvement on the present legislation where the victims are practically not recognised.

There are other violence against persons which the Bill outlaws. For instance, it makes provisions for the prohibition of female genital mutilation and political violence by “state actors”. Under the Bill, it is an offence to abandon one’s spouse, children and dependants without meaningful sustenance. There is no doubt that the Bill, when passed into law, will reduce maternal mortality rate in Nigeria, as it seeks to enhance the reproductive health rights of our women.

While the House of Representatives deserve commendation, our Senators should show more concern by working assidiously towards the passage of the Bill before they commence their break for the 2015 election. Nigerians, civil society groups and other stakeholders need to mount pressures on the Senate to pass this Bill now.

• Barrister Okoro Gabriel, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

COMMENTS

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stalled 1,000 Close Circuit Television (cameras) apart from covering limited areas of the city had never worked while most of them had been vandalised and their parts stolen.”

Moreover, according to the report, “It was learnt that the installed cameras covered only areas inhabited by influential Nigerians and districts where important facilities and institutions were located like the Central Business District, Asokoro, Maitama and major roads and junctions in the city.” The clear meaning of this latter finding is that places like Nyanya will always be vulnerable, even if the security system worked, because it was not planned to work in their interest nor in their favour.

Not surprisingly, Jonathan’s Easter message to Nigerians referred to “evil machinations of terrorists, criminals and their collaborators,” boasting that despite the negative activities of such instruments of evil, “our administration remains ardently focused on efforts to successfully execute the Federal Government’s Agenda for National Transformation and achieve sustained development.”

However, the president needs to understand that the terror war will not be won with bromides. He should appreciate that Shekau’s latest statement may make matters worse, considering the government’s dilatory approach to counterinsurgency. Particularly at this time when the subject of a possible further extension of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states is burning on the front burner, and school girls are increasingly endangered by terrorism, the administration will profit from an awakening.

ROM all indications, it may not be out of place for the Jonathan presidency to introduce preemptive emergency rule in the federal capital, Abuja, particularly in the light of the reported declaration of territorial presence by the commander-in-chief of the Islamist militia Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau. “We are in your city,” the rebel lord was quoted as saying by way of conscious self-indictment, ostensibly addressing President Goodluck Jonathan, following the outrageous April 14 bombing of Nyanya Motor Park in the city which consumed at least 75 lives, with 164 people injured. Similarly offensive was the group’s nextday abduction of over 200 students at the Girls Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, which represented a defiant statement reinforcing its reality in the state already under one-year-long emergency conditions along with Adamawa and Yobe states in the country’s northeastern region.

Although the Abuja bus terminal blast extended the chain of violently destructive behaviour by the group, it is noteworthy that the attack was perhaps its most devastating in the capital city since 2009 when the insurgency gathered momentum in the northeast. Ironically, Shekau, who claimed responsibility on behalf of the group, reportedly referred to the carnage as “a tiny incident,” suggesting that it was a tip of the iceberg and more monstrous tragedies lay ahead. By serving this foretaste, it is reasonable to expect that the rebels will follow up as Shekau probably implied.

His reappearance was itself ominous, considering the controversy over his supposed end, which now sounds more like a wish than a report of actuality. Even more foreboding was his martial manifestation as he allegedly announced to the world, “We are the ones that carried out the attack in Abuja.” Reports said he was “seated with a Kalashnikov resting on his shoulder and dressed in military uniform,” and “spoke in both Arabic and the Hausa language that is dominant in northern Nigeria.” It is enlightening that he sought to maximise his reemergence by taking advantage of the power and influence of an international medium. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) which reported his comeback, Shekau made the claim in a 28-minute video it received from the insurgents through familiar sources. The issue of believability was, therefore, out of the question.

For an individual who has been tagged as a terrorist by the United States (US) with the promise of $7m bounty for his capture or assistance in his capture, Shekau’s materialisation after a lengthy lull that generated claims and counter-claims about whether he was still alive or dead can be interpreted not only as an audacious assertion of his existence but also a loud and clear signal of danger.

The thrust of Shekau’s statement, “We are in your city”, cannot be that his group was hitherto unrepresented in Abuja, the seat of federal power with its boisterous actors and actresses in the drama of representative government. Such misinterpretation is highly improbable, particularly given the fact that even Jonathan, perhaps in a rare moment of insight accompanied by paradoxical perplexity, hinted at

the possibility that the central administration had been infiltrated by Boko Haram.

More likely, the grave implication and import of his announcement may be that the insurgency is about to relocate to the federal capital, or more precisely, that the militia has reviewed its operational strategy with greater concentration on the city. Either way, it is bad news for Abuja. It is thought-provoking that such positional clarity is coming from the group at this time, with the approach of the decisive 2015 general elections which continues to engender fissiparous contention in the polity.

Against this grim background, Abuja, the playground of the prosperous and powerful, well-known for its paradisiacal features, ought to pay greater attention to fundamental security, and this must not be in an insular manner that discriminates against the underprivileged humanity living in the suburbs.

Indeed, it is catastrophic enough that Boko Haram penetrated the city; but even more tragic is its noticeable defencelessness, which may not be divorced from official corruption. It is scandalous that, according to reports, the $470m (about N76bn) National Public Security Communications System (NPSC) project completed two years ago in Abuja has turned out to be an embarrassing failure. The job, handled by a Chinese company, ZTE Corporation, was designed to provide “voice, video and data using the Code Division Multiple Access technology to enable security agencies to combat terrorism and other violent crimes in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and other cities across the nation.”

An investigative media report said, “the security agencies had been unable to deploy the system in checking terrorism, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country.” It also stated: “Checks showed that the Video Surveillance Cameras Monitor and the Video Conference Terminal at the Force Headquarters, Abuja Main Switch Centre, had been largely dormant due to lack of video feed from installed cameras, most of which are not functional.” In addition, it said, “Further findings showed that many of the in-

P

Reflections on unemployment in Nigeria

ERHAPS the most serious problem today in Nigeria is unemployment. The mammoth crowd at each of the venues of the ill-fated interview organized by the Nigerian Immigration Service on Saturday March 15, which claimed nineteen lives and wounded many more tell the story better.

Though no exact figure is known, unemployment is believed to be high in Nigeria: over 40 million people are believed to be unemployed in the country (Nigerian Bureau of Statistics).The youths are mostly affected. Not long ago, a major company reported the incident of PhD holders applying for a driving job.

It is a good measure of how rough the unemployment weather is today. According to the Third National Development Rolling plan, graduate unemployment is on the increase. The manpower board studies show that only 10% of school graduates get employed annually. There are families with 3-4 graduates unemployed in the country. According to newspaper reports there is association of registered unemployed with a membership of 43 million people. This is truly a time bomb.

Unemployment is not a new problem in the country. Writers such as Basil Davidson identified it as serious problem of the 1940s in colonial Africa. The trouble is that It has been getting nastier by the day ever since. The policy response has been ineffectual. Thus by 1980s, it started to bite harder on the educated Nigerian.

Large scale unemployment in Nigeria is traceable to unhelpful ideas of development from the west as repackaged in the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Ronald Reagan of the USA to the effect that the state should not participate in economic activities. Related here is the emergence of a group of elites-Nigerian apostles of the market economy who took the country on the wrong ideological road. They resurrected the ghost of Adam Smith often regarded as the father of Classical Economics to make a case for free trade as the basis of ‘the wealth of nations’ and the exclusion of the state from economic activities. They spearheaded the idea of excluding the state from economic activities in favour of ‘minimal government’. The western media sold it across the globe and buyers in Nigeria-the false prophets of development – readily bought it.

The argument over the role of the state is as old as the idea of nation –building and I have no problem with both Margaret Thatcher and Reagan’s position for they were trying to find solution to problems of their countries and not Nigeria’s and if their approach worked for them it does not mean that it must work for us. It suffices to note that given the severe nature of unemployment in, Nigeria it was irrational to preach and accept the exclusion of the state from economic activities. Unfortunately at the end of the day, Reagan was not able to actually reduce the scale of government’s role in economic affairs, nor was privatization policy able to bring about greater efficiency in service delivery in Britain. Nor did the need for state intervention abate.

As one expert notes it would appear that the more we cried about the horror of big government, the more the need for state intervention increases.

Bad news for Abuja

By John I Abhuere The problem with the Nigerian elites was their uncritical acceptance of the western ideas without regard to their appropriateness to the Nigerian situation. Nigeria needed the presence of the state to forge development more than either the USA or UK at the time because of the differences in their stages of development. And they seem to forget too that the ideas of development are never constant but ever shifting. Two western leaders later emerged to show that the state and the market can work hand in hand for the good of the society. In America, President Bill Clinton webbed socialist values into capitalism to produce a mix that kept creating jobs upon jobs till he left office. And in Britain, Tony Blair took the best of the market values into socialism to create a rainbow of policies that saw rapid growth in the economy and created more employment opportunities. But in Nigeria, instead of such creative use of development ideas through ‘cross dressing’, the false prophets took side with Thatcher and Reagan to impose an unhelpful and inappropriate model of development on the country.

The most visible step taken in the 1980s to tackle unemployment and other development problems was the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) with its emphasis on sales of public enterprise. It was a poor policy response that continued even in times of democracy. But the approach which effectively put the nation on the wrong ideological path made no dent on unemployment because it was inappropriate. In fact unemployment worsened so much that by 2004, Obasanjo had to admit that it was the number one problem of the nation.

Unemployment like poverty can be significantly reduced or even banished through a number of measures based on creative thinking and deduction from history. It requires frontal attack through multi-dimensional activities led by the state. For instance the effective exploitation of our mineral resources would promote employment and reduce poverty immensely. While the capacity to do this and to add some value to them is not beyond us, extant policy disfavour state participation in economic affairs. The elites seem to lack the imagination and will to do the correct thing. This is one of the reasons we are worried about the continued importation of petroleum products because it promotes employment abroad and denies same at home.

The crippling inability to explore, add value to products and manage our abundant resources well is a serious bane to employment in Nigeria. Some writers refer to this as the ‘paradox of plenty’, or ‘resource curse’.

The present moment requires proper focus on employment as a way of promoting accelerated national development. The high rate of unemployment today must be traced to the mistake of 1999 of not doing away with SAP and associated values imposed

‘More likely, the grave implication and import of his announcement may be that the insurgency is about to relocate to the federal capital, or more precisely, that the militia has reviewed its operational strategy with greater concentration on the city. Either way, it is bad news for Abuja. It is thought-provoking that such positional clarity is coming from the group at this time, with the approach of the decisive 2015 general elections which continues to engender fissiparous contention in the polity’

on the country by the military. What was needed in 1999 were reflationary measures against deflation, creation of more jobs and engagement of more hands as opposed to sacking of workers, expansion of the economy especially the productive base rather than contraction and inclusion of all willing and able and not exclusion of the state which the policy of privatization represents.

Contrary to belief of the false prophets, the basic assumption of privatization that the sales of public enterprises would result in expanded economy, greater efficiency of operation and more jobs was wrong. The private sector was not ripe to lead economic development or play the role of chief promoter of employment in the country. Privatization which was about the sale of public enterprises was in some way alien, immoral and violation of some of cultural values of the people of Nigeria and so could not help in the promotion of employment in the country.

It could be argued that privatization has worked elsewhere but our argument is that it is inappropriate to the Nigerian situation and has worsened the unemployment problem. Apart from the huge corruption that characterized the privatization process in Nigeria some of the companies sold did not improve even after sacking workers. Those who subscribe to privatization of everything today should visit Durbar Hotel in Kaduna, Volkswagen complex in Lagos and NITEL to appreciate the ruin we have visited upon ourselves through wrong policy. At least NITEL was paying its staff before it was sold. Today it is in ruins with the workers jobless.

The problem with Nigeria’s public enterprises in 1999 was poor management. Nigerian elites cherish the appointment of wrong people to high positions of responsibility. Instead of the best, she goes for the worst and entrusts the management of high profile companies to crooks and novice. Merit and consequence management have no place. A manager runs aground an enterprise and he is allowed to go unpunished and even to be celebrated by associates. In the process the jobs disappear.

For a non-industrialized country like Nigeria, the Keynesian approach is the best. It was applied in the 1930s to deal with the great depression in the USA and post world war 11 Europe’s reconstruction efforts via the Marshal Plan. In 2008 when the financial system came crashing to awaken the world once more to the cold reality of the irrational model spear-headed in Nigeria by the false prophets. The state which had been relegated to the background was cashiered to the rescue through a series of bail –out measures. Reason triumphed but the question remains: is it only in crisis we should do the needful and reasonable by allowing the state to intervene?

• Abhuere, PhD, FNIM, is of Centre for Child Care and Youth Development, Abuja.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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COMMENTS

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N a previous outing in this column titled ‘ominous signals’, we had drawn copious attention to the huge cloud hanging over the Nigerian political space. That damning conclusion was drawn from the utterances, actions or inaction of the political class and their body language at a time some sections were threatening dire repercussions should Jonathan run or blackmailed not to run for the presidency come 2015.

We had then cautioned against a situation where “Any and every issue sacrosanct for the overall survival of this country is unduly politicized, trivialized and sabotaged”. The central theme of that presentation was that if the trend was not checked, we may be heading for a self-fulfilling prophesy given the predictions that Nigeria will self-destruct in 2015.

The concerns raised then are now being given further impetus in a most dangerous manner by events of the past couple of days. Otherwise, how do we explain the scandalous allegations by the Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako on the motive behind the killings and general insecurity in the north-east zone that has kept this country on its knees for some years now?

In a memo he sent to northern governors, Nyako alleged among others that the federal government under President Goodluck Jonathan was promoting genocide in the north and its fight against the Boko Haram insurgency was aimed at depopulating the north.

Accusing the federal government of organizing the killings, Nyako wrote “cases of mass murder by its bloody minded killers and cutthroats are well known but it attributes the killings to so-called Boko Haram”.

According to him, militia backed by the federal government were responsible for the ram-

‘It is a huge disappointment for a man who was sometime ago, the overall head of this country’s navy to now go public with the allegation that deployments in the armed forces are made according to sectional preferences.

This is most unpatriotic’

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Emeka OMEIHE 08112662675 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Averting the looming danger pant kidnappings in the north and virtually all the soldiers killed in the operation against the insurgents were of northern extraction.

These are very sensitive and weighty allegations. This is more so as they are not only loaded with the frightening prospects of negating all efforts at taming the insurgency in the north but the unity and progress of the country. Not unexpectedly, there have been sharp criticisms and condemnations against the sweeping allegations by the governor who once served as the Chief of Naval Staff of this country. Most of those who spoke queried the motive of the public allegations especially given what we know about the origin, motivation and modus operandi of the Boko Haram insurgents. It is not surprising that political motive is being suspected as the raison d’etre for those allegations. In it, the desire to pitch the north against the south has featured very prominently. Thus, when Nyako spoke of systematic plans to depopulate the north, his target was to whip up sectional sentiments against the Jonathan regime. The same sectional agenda featured in the claim that most of the soldiers who lost their lives while fighting the insurgents were of northern extraction.

Sectional predilection was very palpable from that memo even as the medium through which he sought to convey that message equally spoke volumes along the same direction.

Again, it is difficult to fathom how the allegations will be of help in taming the senseless killing of innocent people in that part of the country in the name of some weird ideology.

More worrisome is the realization that the governor whose state is home to the unbridled insurgency that has kept this nation prostrate these past years can wake up with tendentious and

BIA surges ahead! The state is navigating through a turbulence of siege mentality expropriated by the deposed taskmasters. The sort of turbulence that normally herald a cruising swagger on the airspace. Expectably, the victorious march elicits excitement and anxiety alike. But the shouts of freedom reverberate louder in the air. Abia situation is akin to the transition from the biblical Egypt to the promise land Canaan. The relocation to Canaan, though a land flowing with milk and honey, was a grueling journey - sleepless nights, hostile weather, scarcity of basic necessities of life, and the risk of carnivorous animals - yet the game was worth the candle.

Those who felt that their empire has decapitated are not sleeping. They want to pull the roof down on all of us. They are leaving no stone unturned in order to reverse the hand of the clock. But Abians have vowed not to return to Egypt. Sadly for them, the era of royal hand-pickings after demonic oath-taking in altars of principalities are gone for good. The era of celebrating illiteracy and glorification of mediocrity has expired. The chief architect of modern Abia and the champion of the liberation struggle, Governor T.A. Orji is not also losing steam in cleaning up the Augean stables.

Governor Orji has institutionalized a sustainable peace among the stakeholders which has never been witnessed since the creation of the state. If he is a dictator or averse to alternative view points, as advanced by a section of the media, he couldn’t have continued to strike healthy collaboration from Abia leaders. Not even pecuniary consideration could make virtually all of them to sacrifice their pedigree and hard-earned reputation, if not that things are working out well in Abia. Indeed, Governor Orji is a rare consensus-builder.

He battled the den of kidnappers and stamped out violent crimes from Abia domain. The state received accolades from far and near for squaring up with the challenge of arresting the menace. Businesses picked up once more. Investors regained confidence in Abia’s friendly business climate. Laying a solid foundation for the state became the flagship of Orji’s administration. Monumental structures for conduct of government business are built. New office complexes for the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government which previous administrations treated with ignominy are erected in the state capital, Umuahia. Umuahia has been transformed from a glorified village to a sprawling 21st century city. Markets that used to occupy the heart of the town had been relocated to the suburbs and the hinterland. Network of new roads, that criss-cross the state capital - opened up new areas for investments and property development. Many Local Government Areas have also benefited from the aggressive rehabilitation and reconstruction of rural roads infrastructure.

Governor Orji’s poverty eradication strategy has become a benchmark for other public officers. He started with a monthly stipend of N15,000 each to over 4500 indigent youths across the

scandalous allegations without any account of the role of his government to stem the tide.

As the chief security officer of one of the states that has been under a partial state of emergency on account of the blunders of the insurgents, it is not enough for Nyako to fold his hands and lay the blame on the shoulders of the federal government. Security is the collective responsibility of both the federal, state and local governments. It is yet to be seen what roles Nyako has played to aid the federal government fight the insurgents. Instead of building a synergy that will lead to the stamping out of the terrorists, Nyako has by his actions and utterances encouraged the terrorists in their dastardly acts. That is the implication of imputing ethnic motives into the daunting sacrifices of the soldiers who daily lose their lives in this senseless war.

It is a huge disappointment for a man who was sometime ago, the overall head of this country’s navy to now go public with the allegation that deployments in the armed forces are made according to sectional preferences.

This is most unpatriotic. For, it has the prospects of pitching the soldiers against each other. Its outcome could be very disastrous for the delicate war against terrorism.

Good a thing, the expanded National Security Council meeting has in very unambiguous terms condemned Nyako’s memo as a worthless piece of paper because he cannot substantiate them even as they are capable of causing incalculable harm to the unity and progress of the country. It is very instructive that none of those at the meeting saw any iota of truth in those sectional allegations.

The resolutions of the council also spoke

volumes on how the actions or inaction of a governor could aid and abet insurgency. That is my reading of the resolve to exploit antipoverty strategies, media capacity among others to end the insurgency. No doubt, this is a sufficient indictment on Nyako as it recognizes that Boko Haram has its roots in the squalid conditions in which the ordinary people of the affected states have found themselves overtime.

It is not the creation of the federal government.

Neither is the overall objective of the war to depopulate the north. Boko Haram uprising is deeply rooted in the mismanagement of the economies of that part of the country by its leaders. That has been the real issue and reason why the northern political elite have been advocating approaches other than the force of arms.

Perhaps also, it could have served the nation better if Nyako was taken to task to produce credible evidence to substantiate his claims. It is not enough to end the matter with mere condemnations.

But for the immunity he enjoys, the appropriate thing would have been to charge him to court. It is on account of this quick resort to abuse of power that the immunity enjoyed by governors has attracted its most virulent criticisms.

Nyako’s reaction has shown very clearly that the war against terrorism is not receiving the overall support of some of the governors in the affected states. Yet he is supposed to be working in concert with the local governments and the traditional institutions to provide the necessary information that will lead to the defeat of these merchants of death. Little wonder the partial state of emergency declared in those states has not been successful in stemming the tide. How could it succeed with the disposition and posturing of the Nyakos?

No doubt, Jonathan has been at the receiving end for not doing enough to end the insurgency.

The recurring escapades of the insurgents and the bombing at the Nyanya motor park in Abuja have been some of the sore points of the battle. Jonathan is now being urged to do all within his powers including a full-scale declaration of state of emergency to end the battle.

Those who make these suggestions are encouraged by the reluctance of some northern elite to do the needful in the fight against terrorism.

Even as reservations have been expressed on the propriety of full-scale state of emergency, the sabotage and irredentist posturing of the likes of Nyako may garner huge support for any legitimate action that can stem the tide now.

Quiet revolution in Abia

By Jasper Uche 17 LGAs. The package was largely for students and those in apprenticeship, and the confessions of the beneficiaries indicated that it was a veritable stop-gap measure. It indeed acted like an economic soothing balm, in a country where there is no welfare anchor or social security package, for the weak and the less-privileged. At the last count, over 700 youths are beneficiaries of Governor Orji’s free distribution of buses and taxis under the state youth empowerment programme. No strings attached!

It has boosted intra and inter-city transportation and created jobs in the transport sector. Hitherto, what was presented as empowerment packages were wheel barrows, machetes, hoes, and hire-purchase tokunbo motorcycles but today there is a quantum leap to reflect the present economic realities. Youths are no longer impoverished with tools that confine them to perpetual menial jobbers. Most of the beneficiaries are working towards boosting their transport businesses with a fleet of cars and buses in the near future. That is the reward of vision and human face disposition to governance.

Of all the Governor Orji’s legacy projects, the modern dialysis centre at the newly constructed Abia State Specialist & Diagnostic Hospital marks an uncommon radical approach in health service delivery in Nigeria. It has considerably helped to curb medical tourism to medically-advanced countries.

The classy International Conference Centre that is almost completed marks yet another giant stride of Governor Orji. Repositioning the state to host topflight events is an awesome idea.

With an inviting façade, the centre houses four conference hallsthe main hall, the banquet hall and two other halls with VIP Lounge and gallery. The main hall has 5000 sitting capacity while other halls can accommodate about 4000 other persons. The International Conference Centre is digitalized with a full complement of latest information technology facility that is seen in all modern centres for conferences, conventions and business cocktails. It has an in-house IT and audio-visual facilities. Activities there can be streamed live on television stations and various social media platforms.

In the education sector, which is the bedrock of every developed society, it is no longer news that Abia State came second in the overall best result of schools in Nigeria in the just released results of the May/June 2013 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination Certificate (WASSEC). According to WAEC, “the breakdown of the results show that 12 states in Nigeria recorded percentage that were above national average in the following order: Anambra State (67.85 per cent), Abia State (65.17

per cent), Rivers State (58.56 per cent), Lagos State (56.03), Cross River State (53.34 per cent), Bayelsa State (51.66 per cent), Enugu State (50.22 per cent), Delta State (46.49 per cent), Imo State (46.03per cent), Abuja (43.9 per cent), Ogun (39.92 per cent), and Kaduna (39.47 per cent)”. Abia students have continued to sustain the winning streak because of Governor Orji’s robust transformation in the education sector. The State Universal Basic Education Board that is primarily charged with the rebuilding and rehabilitation of classroom blocks and maintenance of standards in primary schools was recently adjudged the best-managed board in the South-east by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Abuja. Besides, the students that represented Abia State in the Grand Finale of the 10th edition of NNPC Annual National Quiz Competition held last year in Abuja came first and the winners are automatic recipients of scholarships to any tertiary institution of their choice in Nigeria. The scholarships will cover the duration of their course of study.

In agriculture, the Ochendo Liberation Farms- a farm settlement scheme in the three senatorial zones of the state has rebound agriculture to the front burner for food security and job creation. At Okeikpe, Ukwa West LGA, the State has a fourhectare plantain plantation. Already, it has provided employment opportunities to over 100 youths and young-adult rural dwellers in that domain while people have been encouraged to develop personal farms to eke a living. At Lodu, Umuahia North LGA, there is also a four-hectare plantain plantation; and another five hectares of land was designated for massive production of special varieties of cassava. The Isiala Amaba in Isuikwuato LGA of the State, has equally earmarked a fourhectare land for plantain plantation. These are meant to encourage people to build careers in the sub-sector. So far, over 200 farmers in the state have benefited from the suckers freely distributed. Abia has also been allocated 10,000 suckers of exportable improved variety of banana in the 275,000 stems of banana suckers procured by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, the Golden Guinea Breweries Ltd Umuahia that was moribund before the governor assumed office is being revisited with aggressive rehabilitation to enable it to take off again. The news and the sight alone have rekindled hopes of new things and robust economic activities that would come alive in the state capital. And with the two new power plants almost completed in Ala Oji and Osisioma, which Governor Orji boosted with the provision of security, road network and tax waivers, the state is poised for a fresh golden era in all facets of human life.

•Uche lives in Umuahia

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

BUSINESS

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

JOBS

We want a SONCAP programme that would serve its purpose; a programme that would be dynamic, where all the identified loopholes would be effectively plugged thereby making it difficult for the plaque of substandard products to continue to dominate the Nigerian business space.

-Dr Joseph Odumodu, DG, SON

THE CEO

Wanted: Insurance agents - P. 37

Lack of infrastructure hampering economic growth - P. 32

News Briefing

Microsoft eyes stake in $50b devices market

FBN Capital eyes $4b oil, gas financing FBN Capital would be involved in oil and gas projects financing deals worth $4 billion this year alone, with a chunk of the funds going into assets divested by the international oil companies (IOCs), which are being acquired by the firms, it was learnt.

–Page 26

• Acquires Nokia devices, services business

By Lucas Ajanaku

U

Govt adopts credit scheme for rice millers THE Federal Government has designed a credit scheme for 10 initially prequalified firms to set up 17 model rice processing mills in the country.

–Page 26

Customs okays new vehicle clearing method at borders

THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has introduced a new vehicle transit regime for automobiles being imported into the country from neighbouring countries like Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic beginning with Benin Republic and Seme Border as area of pilot implementation.

–Page 26

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil

-$117.4/barrel

Cocoa

-$2,686.35/metric ton

Coffee

- ¢132.70/pound

Cotton

- ¢95.17pound

Gold

-$1,396.9/troy

Sugar

-$163/lb MARKET

CAPITALISATIONS NSE

-N11.4 trillion

JSE

-Z5.112trillion

NYSE

-$10.84 trillion

LSE

-£61.67 trillion RATES

Inflation -8% Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -1% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $45b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

• From left: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Bank Limited, Mallam Ahmed Kuru, the bank’s Board Chairman, Dr. Ogala Osoka and Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Mrs. Olufunke Olakunri, during the 2 nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank in Lagos ... at the weekend.

SEC cancels ‘black market’ for shares, bonds S ECURITIES and Ex change Commission (SEC) has concluded arrangements to proscribe underhand trading in the shares of unlisted public limited liability companies (Plcs).

Anyone or institution that henceforth facilitates or engages in underhand trading on securities of unlisted public limited liability company shall be liable to monetary fine and sanction by SEC, according to a new regulation, being reviewed by the apex capital market regulator.

A management source at SEC said the new rule is meant to protect investors and enhance the integrity of the over-the-counter market.

The new rule effectively cancels ‘black market’ trading on the shares of several unlisted Plcs, including companies, such as Fan Milk Plc, Friesland Campina

I

By Taofik Salako

WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI), Food Concepts Plc and BGL Plc,s among others.

According to the new rule, all securities of public unlisted companies shall be bought, sold or transferred only by means of a system approved by SEC and under such terms and conditions as the Commission may prescribe from time to time.

The new rule prohibits anyone from buying, selling or engaging in transfer of securities of a public unlisted company except through the platform of a registered a securities exchange established for the purpose of facilitating over-the-counter (OTC) trading of securities.

“Any public unlisted company, director, company sec-

retary, registrar, broker, dealer or such other persons who facilitate the buying, selling or transfers of the securities of a public unlisted company otherwise than through the platform of a duly registered securities exchange, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than N100, 000 in the first instance and not more than N5, 000 for every day of default,” the rule stated.

The rule concentrates trading on the shares and other securities of unlisted Plcs unto the only registered OTC platform, the NASD Plc. Formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, NASD Plc is a registered OTC trading platform for unquoted securities including equities and bonds. NASD is owned by several investment and fi-

nancial institutions as well as strategic investors. It is registered by SEC as an organised trading platform for unlisted securities.

NASD started trading on unlisted securities in July 2013.

All investment instruments approved by SEC could be traded on the NASD including shares of unlisted multinational companies. After the initial formative period, the NASD plans to trade on commercial papers and then other complex instruments like derivatives and options.

As an OTC market, NASD does not have a trading floor like the traditional exchange but trades through the internet and a hosted platform leased from the NSE. To facilitate its trading, the company had developed an integrated market system made up of the Central Securities Clearing System, six settlement banks and some registrars to ensure smooth operations.

technical partners to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company would bring in meters in May 2014. The meters are going to be costeffective and better, and would be given to as many consumers as possible. This is our own way of stopping estimated billing and further makes consumers to pay the right price.’’

According to her, the movement from the stateowned electricity corporation to privately run power institutions ensures that good, efficient and cheaper services are provided to consumers to gain their confidence. ‘’Before, contractors are

supplying meters on behalf of the government. But now, there is a paradigm shift from government to private companies’ electricity management system. Based on this, consumers must be treated fairly to encourage the industry’s growth,” she added.

She said the new power investors are not happy with the developments in the sector, urging consumers to be patient with them.

Power, she said, would improve as Ministry of Power, NERC, Chief Executive officers of the power firms and other stakeholders are meeting to proffer solution to the lingering power problems.

Power firms move to stop estimated billing

N line with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) directive to power firms to provide metering plans and further reduce charges imposed on consumers, the management of the 11 power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) are fashioning out modalities to stop estimated billings and further ensure that consumers pay fair prices.

The General Manager, Customer Services, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies (IKEDC), Ms Olubukola Ojuronpe, said the firms have, as part of their growth plans, want estimated bills to be

By Akinola Ajibade

stopped soon.

Ojuronpe said each of the firms have expressed displeasure at the poor metering system in the country, and are ready to put a stop to huge charges.

She said: “The new owners are angry with estimated billing. They do not want to see anything estimated billing again. They frown at the development, and want to put a stop to it to enable consumers have confidence in the system.

They also share in the pains experienced by consumers at all levels.

“KEPCO, the Korea-based

NITED States technol ogy giants, Microsoft Corporation at the weekend, said it has completed the acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business, targeting the affordable mobile devices market valued at $50 billion annually.

The acquisition has been approved by Nokia shareholders and by governmental regulatory agencies around the world. The completion of the acquisition marks the first step in bringing these two organisations together as one team.

Speaking on the development, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, said: “Today, we welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business to our family. The mobile capabilities and assets they bring will advance our transformation. Together with our partners, we remain focused on delivering innovation more rapidly in our mobile-first, cloud-first world.”

Reporting to Nadella is former Nokia President/ CEO Stephen Elop, who will serve as executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group, overseeing an expanded devices business that includes Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Xbox hardware, Surface, Perceptive Pixel (PPI) products and accessories.

Microsoft welcomes personnel with deep industry experience in more than 130 sites across 50 countries worldwide, including several factories that design, develop, manufacture, market and sell a broad portfolio of innovative smart devices, mobile phones and services. As part of the transaction, Microsoft will honor all existing Nokia customer warranties for existing devices.

Windows Phone is the fastest-growing ecosystem in the smartphone market, and its portfolio of award-winning devices continues to expand. In the fourth quarter of 2013, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), Windows Phone reinforced its position as a top three smartphone operating system and was the fastestgrowing platform among the leading operating systems with 91 per cent year-over-year gain.

Furthermore, with the Nokia mobile phone business, Microsoft will target the affordable mobile devices market, a $50 billion annual opportunity, delivering the first mobile experience to the next billion people while introducing Microsoft services to new customers around the world.

26

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

BUSINESS NEWS

Flight Schedule

Dangote donates N40m relief materials to Benue

MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1.

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LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

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LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40 08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30 1.

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LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

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LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

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LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik 1. Dana

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

08.00 18.00

LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30

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• From left: Benue State Governor, Dr. Gabriel Suswam; Head, Special Duties, Dangote Plant, Gboko Plant, Dr. Bem Melladu; Special Adviser to the President, Dangote Group, Joseph Makoju and Dangote Cement Company Secretary, Mr. Ityo Yila Ukpi, during the presentation of relief materials to Benue State government by Dangote Group in Makurdi ... over the weekend.

FBN Capital eyes $4b oil, gas financing

F

BN Capital would be involved in oil and gas projects financ ing deals worth $4 billion this year alone, with a chunk of the funds going into assets divested by the international oil companies (IOCs), which are being acquired by the firms, it was learnt.

Firms, including Aiteo, Taleveras, Transcorp, Nestoil, and Dangote, are said to be jostling for the acquisition oil mining leases (OMLs) 18, 24, 25, and 29, divested by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), and because some of the oil blocks’ reserves are high, the price tags are also high, requiring huge facility sourcing from banks by the bidders.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FBN Capital Limited, Kayode Akinkugbe, told The Nation that advancement of loans to the firms by financial institutions is increasing unlike in the past when banks shied away from financing projects in the industry, adding that

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

this year, the company would be involved in some of the divestments that are being done by the IOCs. “We will be fulfilling our role to arrange financing particularly for indigenous oil and gas companies and also the international ones,” he added.

Though he didn’t disclose the oil firms that would benefit from the arrangement, Akinkugbe noted that firms, such as Oando, Sahara Group and Forte Oil, have benefited from FBN Capital’s project financing deals. About a week ago, Accugas signed a $170 million acquisition deal with some banks, which FBN Capital was the lead arranger.

Akinkugbe said: “We have done transactions for Oando, Accugas, Sahara Group, Forte Oil just to name a few, just last year in the oil gas space

alone. It is an area that is strategically important to Nigeria and I think any financial institution that operates in this environment must also have strong capability in that sector.

So we made concerted effort to develop our knowledge and expertise of the oil and gas sector so we can support some of these companies that I mentioned.”

Previously indigenous oil and gas operators complain that banks don’t finance their projects but that situation has changed, which Akinkugbe confirmed noting reasons for change.

He said: “I think they (banks) are developing their own expertise to be able to better access the risks in the oil and gas sector. The banks themselves are developing as the industry is developing. To do a successful deal, you need a counterparty that also is well prepared and that also understands the nature of financing required.”

Fed Govt adopts credit scheme for rice millers

T

HE Federal Government has designed a credit scheme for 10 initially pre-qualified firms to set up 17 model rice processing mills in the country.

Investigations revealed that estimated cost of each mill is N1.4 billion and would be financed by 40 per cent by the Federal Government’s rice fund credit and 60 per cent by the beneficiary firms and commercial banks.

Sources said the credit facility, which is mainly to finance plant and machinery and associated costs, would be for a tenor of 20 years with five years moratorium at an interest rate of four per cent per year. Six out of the 10 applications that were able to meet the Federal Government /BoI requirements have been approved by BoI for

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

N5.040 billion To create room for more entrepreneurs in the sector, the Federal Government came up with a new initiative in the industry by setting up 100 rice mills billed to be located in the 36 states where interested entrepreneurs and investors will be encouraged to take over these mills in a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

BoI’s Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, said rice millers, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and BoI are also supporting the establishment of Abakaliki Power Plant Limited in Ebonyi State in order to use rice husks from three rice milling clusters in the state for

bio-fuel production.

Others are long term loans to be obtained through UBA under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Intervention Fund and business model and technology that has been tested in Asia.

The idea, according to him, said is to transform the nation’s agroeconomic sector from primary to manufactured products, traditional technologies to modern technologies and innovation. He hinted that the bank plans to tap into where the nation has comparative advantage and competitiveness.

He pledged the government’s commitment to providing an enabling business environment with strategic infrastructure, technical assistance and financial services.

‘Aiteo has technical capacity to play in REFERRED bidder for one of equal opportunity, so it is unnecupstream’ Shell’s divested four oil essary, unfair and irresponsible

P

blocks, oil mining lease (OML) 29, Aiteo, has said it has the technical capacity to compete in the upstream sector.

An official of the firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said winning the oil block was an opportunity to place another indigenous integrated energy company on the global scene, especially as Shell said the bids were fair and transparent.

Shell and its partners, Total and Eni concluded bids for the divested 45 per cent equities (OMLs) 18, 24, 25, and 29, where Shell owned 30 per cent while Total and Eni owned 10 per cent and five per cent interest.

Aiteo won bid for OML 29.

According to data, Aiteo has been playing in the downstream sector since 1999 when it started as Sigmund Company before changing its brand name to what it is.

Over the past 15 years, the company has proved to be one of the fastest growing energy companies in the country and has track record that showed its capacity in the oil and gas sector operation.

Therefore, to question its managerial capacity is indirectly saying that indigenous companies are incompetent to play globally, especially as all the bidders were given

for people to cast aspersion on the capability and experience of Aiteo, the operators said.

They said since every firm strives to diversify and grow, Aiteo having harnessed and mastered the downstream business, it is strategically moving to the upstream sector to consolidate its hold on the energy sector, it should be encouraged as Shell’s primary objective for the divestment is to empower local players and support local content initiative of the Federal Government.

Aiteo has a competent technical partner for the project.

ANGOTE Group has do nated 12 trailer-load of re lief materials worth N40 million to the Benue State Government.

The relief materials, according to the Group, are to support the state government in bringing succour to the victims of the recent crisis that affected some parts of the state.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said: “ We have a very cordial relationship with our host communities in Benue and it is only natural we identify with them at a time like this. What has happened is unfortunate and we empathise with all the affected people.”

Dangote, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Joseph Makoju, said it was unfortunate that the crisis happened and that the insurgency was diversionary to the government effort at bringing the dividend of democracy to the people of the state.

He said: “Governor Gabriel Suswam administration has done a lot to improve the wellbeing of the good people of Benue State through massive upgrade of infrastructure, empowerment of rural farmers and funding of the educational sector.

The infrastructural development in Benue state has been significant and his love for his people is unparallel.”

He said the relief materials were part of his company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in the state that covers: Health, education, women and youth empowerment and disaster relief.

He said in Gboko, the Dangote Group has over the years built blocks of classrooms, constructed water boreholes and provide electricity in communities around the Dangote Cement plant.

He added that the company gives a yearly scholarship grants running into millions of Naira to the people of Gboko communities.

Customs okays new vehicle clearing method at borders

T

By Oluwakemi Dauda

HE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has introduced a new vehicle transit regime for imported automobiles through neighbouring countries, such as Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic, beginning with Benin Republic and Seme Border for the pilot implementation.

The new scheme will promote regional security, facilitate genuine trade and improve the existing synergies between the NCS and other Customs administrations sharing common borders with the country, the Custooms said.

The initiative will also facilitate interstate effort in the fight against smuggling and boost the revenue being generated from imported vehicles The new policy, which is a fall out of last month meeting of Directors General of Customs of the five proximate countries held in Abuja, and in line with the Transit Code,would see all Nigerian-bound vehicles imported from these countries being handed over to the NCS by officers of the neighbouring countries after clearing the vehicles from their ports.

The scheme will create room for accountability, transparency and easy personal evaluation and monitoring.

The names of officers responsible for transfers and receipts of manifests/vehicles from both countries would also be documented.

Sources also said the document will indicate location of formal handing and taking over of imported vehicles coming to the country on transit.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

27

THE CEO

•Gbededo

Worldwide, the manufacturing sector has driven change and impacted the prosperity of more companies, nations and people. It has been a key driver of higher-value job creation and a rising standard of living for the growing middle class. But the case of Nigeria is that of dismal performance. In this interview, Group Managing Director/CEO, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Mr. Paul Gbededo discusses the challenges of managing a manufacturing outfit, in an environment lacking in infrastructure

Lack of infrastructure hampering economic growth Profile S UCCESSIVE governments have failed to reinvest in the existing infrastructure, leading to loss in competitive advantage. In this regard, Nigerians are clamouring for some strategies to reverse the decline of its manufacturing industry. What is your take?

I think Nigeria has left it for too long. If you recall in the late 1950s, when countries in Africa, especially West Africa, were clamouring for independence, there were a lot of energies in the leaders at that time. One of them, who comes to mind, is President Felix HouphouetBoigny of Ivory Coast. When he was inaugurated as President, he promised his people two basic things - I will get you power. I will give you roads. You sort the rest.

Basically, that is what he did. Throughout the 1960s and 1980s, Ivory Coast (Cote D’Ivoire) became known for these two things. In fact, it became the Paris (France) of West Africa because of the level of development the leadership had accomplished.

In this light, developing the power sector and general infrastructure is key to industrialisation. We must be able to fix our power sector and the transportation sector as a whole. Our infrastructure level must be dynamic and functional to move goods around and help people create wealth. That is very important.

The manufacturing industry requires urgent

Institutions attended

Polytechnic of North London, UK; Loughborough University of Technology, Uk.

Qualifications

MSc (Polymer Technology)

Previous positions

Fertiliser Operations Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.

Present position

GMD/Chief Executive Officer Flour Mills of Nigeria.

Experience

30 years

revamping. There is need to improve and maintain basic amenities and infrastructure, particularly the road network to aid distribution and delivery of raw materials and finished products respectively.

I think the government needs to do that because infrastructural development is key to us achieving industrial revolution.

What is your outlook for the economy?

Nigeria has fallen in terms of low level of electricity supply.The level of industrialisation is affected. Demand for electric power is accelerating rapidly, without a corresponding increase in power supply. Capacity utilisation is

so low because the raw material for production doesn’t get there in time for companies to carry out their production activities. The raw material come in through the ports and then through the roads to the mill locations. Whereas a trailer can only carry 30 tonnes of consignments at a go, a set of wagons on railway can move 1000 tonnes at once. So, how many trailers will move such quantity in one go? It is important that we look at this critical sector, providing infrastructure for our industry to be able to produce. Otherwise, we will forever remain non-competitive in the global market place.

What does it take to make our manufacturing industry globally competitive and eventually lead to an improved employment ratio and investment?

To make the manufacturing industry globally competitive and the environment favourable, it is pertinent to improve electricity, maintain good road networks in addition to other basic amenities.

Generally, global business expansion are evident in areas where the required infrastructure and energy services are available and which are linked to transport and highway corridors. In this regard, I think we need to look at those countries that are ahead of us. They have the solar, wind, all form of new and renewable forms of energy that are environmentally friendly.

But have they neglected the core areas, producing power from coal, waste and petroleum gas energies? No. Some have gone on to develop power from nuclear. Today, major industrial countries get power from different sources.

How can these new forms of power technologies impact on the country’s power consumption requirement?

Perhaps, we still need to look at the coal sources. For instance, we have hydroelectric •Continued on page 28

28

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

THE CEO

Lack of infrastructure hampering economic growth •Continued from page 27

power in this country. Why have we abandoned it? Because of lack of maintenance .We are going into thermal power generation based on our petroleum gas reserves that we are richly endowed with.

But have we thought of the framework to do that? Is the gas sector fixed? Do we have the gas sector in the hands of those who can better handle it? Those are issues we have to look at and be sure we have the framework for the industrial revolution that we want. Not just going downstream and not fixing the upstream.

As part of efforts to expand power supply, government should diversify the power mix in order to secure continued access to primary energies.

Think of any industry today in Nigeria. Think of any company in Nigeria. It is like a city on its own. The company fixes its water supply system, access road, electricity and all that.

As a company you are responsible virtually for everything you have-infrastructure is not just available. These add to the cost of doing business and production.

For us to be competitive in the global market there is a need for power.

Economic expansion places greater demands on the power generation.

We can ensure continued economic growth by guaranteeing adequate supplies of power.

We need infrastructure to support competitive industrial activities.

Look at what have been done to our roads. The Government has been trying to fix roads. But because of heavy duty vehicles traffic on the roads, they get bad so quickly. This is because we have neglected railways transportation. So we need to fix that aspect of our transport system. Happily the government is addressing it. We transport raw materials from the port area to the North. You need railway transportation to really do that.

How has rising inflation affected sales in the food processing industry?

In our sector, we have not increased the prices of our products in the last 18 months because of falling consumers spending /purchasing power.

On the whole, one needs to be strategic in this environment. You need to be creative. You need to impoverise so that you don’t incur excessively high cost of production so that your products are not priced beyond the reach of consumers. With that you first of think of economics of scale.

What are your views on wheat bread?

Let us be clear that full importation of wheat to Nigeria is not sustainable because the population is growing and also the import bill will be growing. What the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development is saying that we should have some kind of import substitution makes sense. The way to do that is by cassava intrusion into bread. If we can succeed in ensuring that we do it right and get the consumers to like cassava bread, get the bakers to be able to bake cassava bread properly for consumers that will be it for Nigerians.

That is why I am thinking that there must be a kind of national reorientation on inclusion of cassava flour into bread.We need to start changing the thinking of Nigerians by letting them know that it is for our own good that we start putting cassava flour into bread.It has to be a composite bread. It is for our own good. It will create more jobs for the country. It will help to be proudly ‘Nigerian’. It is true we have been used to wheat bread for so long. Why can we not have up to five per cent cassava flour inside or even 10 per cent

cassava flour that would have saved us 10 per cent in foreign exchange.

But also, industries like ours should be encouraged to cultivate other crops in addition to cassava. We can explore other industrial uses of these crops. I think of Thailand. They don’t eat cassava in Thailand.

They don’t put cassava flour in their bread in Thailand.They don’t eat it.

The fact is that thy think about other countries and what they need from cassava as a raw material. Therefore they convert their cassava to things which are exported to Europe and other parts of the world.

While it is true that we are pursuing our programme of compostite bread, we should think of other uses of cassava especially now that are cultivating cassava for export.

As a major producer of cassava, we can look at other places we can export cassava to. We can look at other countries doing well in cassava exports and see whether we can duplicate their success stories.

How would you describe the current food adulteration menace in the country?

The efforts of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as the regulatory agency in this regard is noteworthy; the agency is doing a wonderful job in tackling the problem of fake and adulterated products.

They set very high standards to protect the consumers and ensure that most key food products are registered or pass through due registration process; are certified fit for consumption before going into the market. It is worthy of note that NAFDAC does not allow unregistered,uncertified food products as it is mandatory for every food products to carry a NAFDAC registered number and expiry date.

Everyone speaks now about supporting small farmers to achieve food security. What measures have you taken in this direction?

It is important we support small and medium scale farmers. The government needs to assist by subsidising the cost of clearing input, enlightenment on the proper application of fertiliser, logistics, getting the right kind of seedlings, improving yield and provision of soft loans and grants. However, to achieve rapid food production and improve the state of farming, we need corporate bodies and individuals to undertake large scale merchandised farming.

Some farmers are complaining that it is difficult to get young people to go into farming. Is it something you are looking at?

Yes, we employ youths in all our farms and we encourage them to have their farms as part of outgrowers scheme.We have also employed 10 graduate trainees with agriculture background in our agro-allied division so that skills and expertise could be transferred from expatriate farmers to Nigerian farmers.

Even though our farms are highly mechanised,we still engage a lot of youths and women to participate as regular, adhoc or temporary staff particularly during planting and harvesting seasons.

All the youths in villages surrounding Kaboji are engaged espe-

•Gbededo

cially during planting and harvesting.We engage them.Yet we are mechanised but not to the extent of not allowing the villagers and youths to be involved in value creation within their communities.

Women in particular are engaged in the harvest process.

Young men are given opportunities to own their own farm plots near to our own hectares.They benefit by learning agricultural techniques of seeds from reliable suppliers and the fact that they are part of an uptake market.

We purchase the grains from them as well as for our farms.So ,we have created a zone in Kaboji that is bringing wealth to the people.We don’t find the kind of restiveness that you find in other places in Kaboji area,because the youths are fully engaged. I think this need to be replicated in other places in the country.

How do you perceive the sugar situation in Nigeria?

Nigeria currently consumes 1.6 million metric tonnes of sugar annually. Out of this,98 per cent is imported into the country. This is not sustainable. That is why the national sugar master plan dictates that the three refineries must be able to go back to the farm.

They must have backward integration; by the year 2020,Nigeria should be able to have 70 per cent of its sugar needs produced locally.I think it is achievable though it is a very tall order,but it is achievable provided all the measures that have been put in place can be sustained. We are doing our plantation but it is no even enough,We need to do more to see that we become self-sufficient in sugar production. Sugar cultivation employs a large number of farmers and that is very important.We do it locally. We have other refineries doing a great job of sugar cane cultivation.if all the three refineries in the country practically implement the master plan and follow laid down guidelines, we

should be able to achieve it by 2020 with at least 70 per cent of our raw material being sourced locally.

What efforts are you as a Company putting in place to make this target a reality?

We have a 17,000 Sunti farm estate.

We are developing 10,000 of that into sugar cane. In the next two or three years , we would have planted the whole sugar cane segment of the farm. It will be producing about 100,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar.Our sugar cane crushing mill will be in place. We are developing another 5000 hectares few kilometres to Sunti. Within the estate farm , we will produce raw sugar from the farm, and then refine it at the refinery for table and industrial use. That is another value chain.

What opportunities exist for investors to come and partner with Flour Mills?

We need partners in cultivation.

The more land that are made available by the government within the sugar cane belt,the better. You cannot imagine the level of land that is required for the 100,000 metric tonnes that we are producing; it is covering 10,000 hectares. So if you are thinking of 1.5 metric tonnes, you are looking for 150,000 hectares of land to be able to be self-sufficient.There is still room for investors to come in and cultivate sugar cane locally.

I am glad to read that Kaduna State government is tryng to encourage sugar cane cultivation .But remember we are talking about industrial sugar cane cultivation not sugar cane for people to eat raw.

How would you evaluate the impact of Flour Mills Plc on food security?

The impact of our business on the economy is profound. Our achievements in our agro allied business are resounding! These include Kaboji farm which is one of the largest commercial farms in Nigeria with farmland comprising 10,000 hectares near Kontagora, Niger State. This season witnessed cultivation of 2,000 hectares

‘Capacity utilisation is so low because the raw materials for production do not get there in time for companies to carry out their production. The raw materials come in through the ports and then through the roads to the mill locations. Whereas a trailer can only carry over 30 tonnes of consignments at a go, a set of wagons on railway can move 1000 tonnes at once’

of maize, 1,000 hectares of soybean, 1000 hectares of cassava and trail of 50 hectares of sorghum.We have the oil palm plantation in Edo State. The plantation produces fresh palm fruits.We are crushing that and extracting fresh palm fruits. We have crude palm oil from there. We have the table oil refinery in Ibadan-Rom oil that converts the crude palm oil into vegetable oil for the kitchen.

We going beyond that to produce margarine and butter.The plant will be commissioned at the end of this year. So you can see that another value chain is being created. We are driving this value chain and creating jobs and wealth for communities, why would the Nigerian public not take notice of us as we are really moving in space and have become the biggest food and agro allied industry in the country.

Everyone knows the story of Flour Mills. The company has been around for over 50 years. The strategy of flour mills is to ensure food security for the country, ensure that jobs and wealth are created. But over the years, we have been importing our raw materials for our food business. We are the biggest food milling industry in the country. This is increasing as the population is increasing.So importing raw materials would not be sustainable.

So, many years back,10 years back, we started thinking about what we can do locally.That is what developed into our agroallied business.

Today, we have become the biggest agro allied business with farms all over Nigeria. We have farms that are producing sugar cane,coans, soyabeans,cassava,rice and oil palm.

So with these different value chain, we have continued to develop, it is not just cultivation now but also processing the produce from these farms.That is the value chains that we are developing.

For instance, we have kaboji producing corn.We turn corns into animal feeds. And therefore we have the biggest animal feed company in sub-Saharan Africa.We have an animal feed company in Ibadan,Oyo State.We produce 350,000 metric tonnes of animal feeds per annum.We have just commissioned a new one in Calabar,Cross River State. We are producing 350,000 tonnes per annum.

We need raw materials for these industries ,that is why we have to go back to the land, cultivate corns and get all the farmers producing corn to supply to it to our businesses. That is the entire value chain.

29

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

MONEYLINK

UBA creates African Directorates to drive growth

U

NITED Bank for Nigeria (UBA) Plc at the weekend announced a major shift in its business model and strategy meant to improve its earnings in Nigeria and African subsidiaries.

The Group Managing Director/ CEO, UBA Plc, Phillips Oduoza who briefed journalists on the development said the Group has split its operations into two broad directorates, UBA Africa and UBA Nigeria, both under UBA Plc. The changes, he said, would take effect from May 1.

He disclosed that Kennedy Uzoka, Deputy Managing Director, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer, UBA Africa while Emeke Iweriebor, an Executive Director, has been appointed UBA Africa Deputy CEO, Retail Bank.

Otti gets Diamond Bank’s tenure enlongation

T

HE Board of Directors of Dia mond Bank Plc has extended the tenure of its Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Alex Otti, for another three years with effect from March, this year.

It also announced the appointment of Caroline Anyanwu and Uzoma Dozie, who are both Executive Directors at the bank, as Deputy Managing Directors.

The bank said it is the first time it is appointing Deputy Managing Directors since it was established about 23 years ago.

In addition, the bank promoted 473 other members of staff across the bank to higher positions following the conclusion of staff performance evaluation for last year.

•Targets 50% earnings from subsidiaries Stories by Collins Nweze

Also, Oliver Alawuba is now UBA Africa Deputy CEO, Wholesale Bank.

Also, the new UBA Nigeria Division of the Group will be managed

by Mr. Apollos Ikpobe, Deputy Managing Director, DMD, Domestic Bank, will consolidate all of UBA’s Nigerian businesses into a single division and will comprise all the Regional Banks in Nigeria, Corporate Bank, Energy Bank, and UBA Pensions.

The Nigeria division will intensify the bank’s focus on the Nigerian market, with the aim of expanding its market share, while deepening the lender’s wallet share

F

economic renaissance.

According to him, the UBA Africa Division will be made up of the 18 African country subsidiaries of the UBA Group outside Nigeria. He said the UBA Africa will have a CEO supported by two Deputies along the bank’s two core product lines: Wholesale Banking (comprising, Corporate Bank, Institutional Bank and Public Sector) and Retail Banking (comprising, Personal Banking and Small and Medium Enterprises Banking).

Oduoza said “the newly created UBA Africa Division will grow and deepen the bank’s presence in member countries, optimise the synergies within the network, deepen service delivery excellence, and promote cultural integration and a high level of motivation among its

of existing businesses.

Oduoza said both the Nigeria and Africa directorates are expected to generate 50 per cent each of the bank’s total revenue target. He said African subsidiaries contributed 20 per cent of the banks profit before tax in 2013 against 11 per cent in 2012. He said that the target of 50 per cent earnings for both directorates will be achieved in the next three years.

He said the plan is in line with the lender’s ‘Project Alpha’ initiative, a three-year road map of key transformation initiatives, designed to reinforce the Group’s strategic positioning and leverage its huge Africa presence to fully exploit the opportunities in Africa ’s

ployment to people, adding to our GDP and repositioning the national economy for sustained growth,” she said.

She said SMEConnect is FirstBank’s value proposition geared towards building the capacity of SMEs to deliver to business goals and contribute even more significantly to national development.

In November 2013, the lender hosted the maiden edition of its SME Conference themed, “SMEs at the heart of National Development: Creativity, Capacity and Capital”.

The FirstBank SMEConnect value proposition goes beyond an SME product or suite of products to a robust engagement programme designed in every way to help SMEs succeed.

on capacity building, business plan writing, marketing products and services as well as accessing bank loans and documentation.

The bank’s Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney said SMEs are at the heart of national development, contributing greatly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. She explained that it was on this premise that the lender introduced the Open Seminars to be conducted in partnership with the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University. “As Nigeria’s leading SME bank, we are focused on empowering SMEs and entrepreneurs towards capacity building and devel-

DATA BANK

FGN BONDS Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF

OBB Rate

Price Loss 2754.67

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

GAINERS AS AT 6-3-14

SYMBOL LIVERSTOCK ABCTRANS COURTVILLE NEIMETH COSTAIN OASISNS IKEJAHOTEL MANSARD PRESTIGE SKYBANK

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

3.15 0.87 0.67 0.14 1.26 1.51 0.56 2.31 0.58 3.60

3.30 0.91 0.70 0.19 1.31 0.53 0.58 2.39 0.60 3.70

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR 212.4997 NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) 149.7450 (S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

CHANGE 4.76 4.60 4.68 4.39 3.97 3.92 3.57 3.46 3.45 2.78

DISCOUNT WINDOWx Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00%

LOSERS AS AT 6-3-14

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

REDSTAREX ZENITHBANK ACCESS AFRIPRUD CAP INTENEGINS OKOMUOIL NEM FIDELITY CORNEREST

4.47 23.50 8.87 3.08 42.00 0.55 36.33 0.78 2.00 0.51

C/PRICE 4.25 22.35 8.44 2.94 40.26 0.53 35.03 0.76 1.95 0.50

A

CCESS Bank has been adjudged the best Nigerian company in Corporate Citizenship in the first-ever competitive index on corporate social responsibility in Nigeria by CSR-in-Action.

In the Corporate Citizenship Index (3C-index) released at the weekend, a total of 117 private sector companies raked in the report were assessed using six ranking pillars: Human Right, Anti-Corruption, Community Investment, Economic, Labour and Reporting which reflect how companies are functioning in these areas of development.

In a statement, the bank said it had on a scale of 100 per cent, scored 83.3 per cent on Millennium Development Goals focus areas to emerge as the best Nigerian organisation in Corporate Citizenship. To emerge the best company, Access Bank outperformed Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Exxon Mobil, GT Bank and Procter and Gamble (P&G) in the top five categories.

CSR-in-Action noted that it is no surprise that Access Bank scored in the highest in targeted community investment, especially on MDG focus areas with a score of 83.3 per cent, a comment which is a tacit acknowledgement of the Bank’s pioneering role in Sustainability on the African continent.

Speaking on the Bank’s performance, its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe said: “At Access Bank, we have set for ourselves the ambitious target of becoming the world’s most respected African Bank.”

FirstBank’s SMEConnect boosts capacity for opment to contribute to the growth SMEs IRSTBANK has installed an of our economy in providing em-

SMEConnect platform to enhance its support for the sustained development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sectors in the economy.

In a statement, the bank said it has through its SMEConnect platform created open seminars which will take place in various parts of the country with kick off edition in Port Harcourt, Rivers State early next month.

The seminar series with an overriding theme of “We can help with that” is a one-day workshop also scheduled to take place in Kaduna, Abuja, Enugu, Ibadan, Kano, Jos and Lagos in subsequent months.

It is designed to provide practical help on relevant challenges faced by small businesses and will focus

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

Group praises Access Bank on CSR

CHANGE -4.92 -4.89 -4.85 -4.55 -4.14 -3.64 -3.58 -2.56 -2.50 -1.96

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX

NSE

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name Offer Price AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 156.83 ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH 9.17 BGL NUBIAN FUND 1.06 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.17 CANARY GROWTH FUND 0.71 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CORAL INCOME FUND 1,634.72 FBN FIXED INCOME FUND 1,067.71 FBN FIXED INCOME FUND 1,068.61 FBN HERITAGE FUND 115.77 FBN MONEY MARKET FUND 1,087.30 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND 1.05 KAKAWA GUARANTE ED INCOME FUND 143.11 LEGACY FUND 0.78 NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND 1,916.66 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 12.66

Bid Price 155.96 9.08 1.05 1.17 0.71 1.33 1,631.91 1,061.43 1,068.33 114.99 1,087.00 1.62 1.03 142.62 0.76 2.44 12.34

• UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

1.2543 1.3132 0.9098 1.1597

Movement

1.2655 1.3132 0.9270 1.1597

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

30

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 6-4-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 6-4-14

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

31

EQUITIES

Fed Govt, Stockbrokers mull new funding for power firms

T

HE Federal Government and stockbrokers at the weekend reached consensus on the need to collaborate on a viable mechanism to provide long-term capital to support recently privatized power companies.

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Power, and Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the self-regulatory body that regulates the stockbroking practice, at the 3rd annual national workshop of the CIS expressed willingness to work together to address the financial challenges of the power firms.

The Federal Government had in

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

2013 sold the unbundled power companies from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to private investors. Ten electricity distribution companies (discos) and five generation companies (gencos) were privatized and sold to new core investors.

However, funding has remained a lingering challenge as the new investors struggle to raise huge funds required to rehabilitate the power companies and stabilize power supply to the populace.

Worried by the funding challenge,

Minister of Power, Professor Chinedo Nebo, at the weekend said the ministry was ready to work with the CIS to provide amenable funding for the discos and gencos.

According to him, government is willing to work with the stockbroking community and other stakeholders in the capital market to overcome the funding challenge facing the power companies.

President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Ariyo Olushekun, said stockbrokers would work with the government to create innovative financial solutions for the power companies not-

ing that the Nigerian capital market has the capacity to meet the financing needs of the power companies.

Nebo, who spoke through his senior special adviser, Mr. Frank Edozien, reiterated that government was committed to the delivery of steady power supply to the nation in a not too distant future and was doing everything possible to realise that aspiration.

“The ministry of power is determined to deliver on the power agenda and we are willing to collaborate with CIS and the entire capital market community in that re-

gard,” Nebo said.

Olushekun commended the efforts of the Minister aimed at ensuring that the country enjoys steady power supply pointing out that power is very vital for economic development of the country.

He noted that stockbrokers decided to focus on power and other key sectors because of their importance to the revitalization of the economy.

“We are determined to keep generating new ideas and strategies, which hopefully, our policy makers will consider and incorporate into the planning process,” Olushekun said.

UBA assures on returns as shareholders laud N16.5b dividend

U

NITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc at the weekend reassured its shareholders that it would improve on its performance and enhance returns in the years ahead as shareholders lauded the distribution of about N16.5 billion as cash dividends for the 2013 business year.

At the annual general meeting in Lagos, chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Ambassador Joe Keshi, told shareholders that the financial services group was poised to deliver better results in the current business year.

According to him, the fundamentals of the bank have continued to improve with growths in incomes and underlying indices.

“We believe the bank is poised to deliver better performance in 2014 as the underlying momentum of the group’s business continues to be robust,” Keshi said.

He said the bank has been able to consistently deliver value to shareholders due to its resilient business model, in spite of unanticipated domestic and global headwinds faced by the industry.

In his remarks, group managing director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza said the bank’s African subsidiaries have continued to show greater contribution to the group’s performance noting that overall revenue of the African subsidiaries grew by 22 per cent in 2013 to N49.9 billion as against N41.5 billion in 2012.

He outlined that the bank’s key strategic imperatives remain as defined in 2013 under the bank’s “Project Alpha” adding that the bank will leverage on the viable

platform established in 2013 to further consolidate on the current growth momentum.

According to him, as a proactive bank, UBA has adequately resourced and re- aligned its structures to optimise emerging opportunities arising across all the regional blocs, while also adopting appropriate risk management frameworks to mitigate likely exposures in its operations both within the local and global environment.

“We will adopt a very aggressive approach to market and ensure focused implementation of our strategic priorities, to drive achievement of our corporate targets,” Oduoza added.

Shareholders roundly commended the performance of the bank during the year ended December 31, 2013. They unanimously endorsed the audited financial statements and report as well as a gross dividend of N16.5 billion. Shareholders will receive a dividend per share of 50 kobo.

They commended the board and management for sustaining the bank’s profitability, despite the challenging operating environment.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu said directors of the bank deserve commendation for several initiatives taken to mitigate operating challenges.

“The board and management should be commended for the way they handled last year’s operations of the bank, they have done well and we look forward to a better dividend next year,” Nwosu said.

Learn Africa restates commitment to shareholders’ value

L

EARN Africa Plc is committed to ensuring responsible corporate governance standards that will safeguard shareholders’ value as it seeks to grow its business.

Managing director, Learn Africa Plc, Mr Segun Oladipo, yesterday at a press briefing on recent development in the company in Lagos reiterated the commitment of the directors to responsible corporate growth.

According to him, the management remained committed to ensuring a more judicious management of the company’s resources in order to enhance shareholders’ value.

“We recognise that corporate governance standards and practices must be balanced to protect the interests of the shareholders and of the company. The board is mindful of its obligations under the Code of

Lead Securities lists benefits of new online trading portal

A

NEW online trading product by Lead Securities & Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Lead Capital Plc, known as LeadTrader will enable investors to execute their trades through laptops, desktops, tablets and other mobile devices online, real time on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Speaking during a demonstration of the new product, managing director, Lead Capital Plc, Wale Adewumi, said the LeadTrader was designed to conform with global best solutions for on-line, real-time trading of securities being utilized by retail and institutional investors in the advanced economies.

According to him, the new product provides a secure and efficient electronic channel of buying and selling stocks on the NSE in a transparent manner, which will give investors full control over their mandates.

He noted that the ATM cards to be used to execute transactions on the platform are configured to forestall any act of money laundering and other fraudulent practices.

He said the company has effective real time linkage that enables

the entire processes of trading and payment to be executed electronically, without the need for manual intervention.

“We are starting our roll out plan.

We want to bring in more investors to become active participants.

Nigeria has the biggest in Africa and we hope that in the next few years, our GDP will grow in terms of size because we would develop the retail market in such a way that investors can trade and control their investments in the capital market. This will enhance transparency, attract more market participant and boost the economy,”

U

NION Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc paid about N11 billion as restructuring costs in 2013, according to the audited report and accounts of the bank.

The report underlined efforts to reposition the bank and key successes in the year. While the top-line recorded a modest increase of four per cent, the bank braced against decline in its core-banking interest income to increase pre and post tax profits by 31 per cent and 217 per cent re-

Adewumi said.

He explained that orders submitted through LeadTrader will pass through a FIX compatibles Order Management System where appropriate compliance checks are in place to prevent erroneous orders going into the NSE’s trading platform.

He added that the new portal is integrated with a payment switch that allows investors to add funds to their brokerage account through credit and debit cards while investors can also get real-time market data to make informed real-time trading decisions.

Corporate Governance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Code of Corporate Governance and the Post- Listing Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange,” Oladipo said.

He outline that the company had successfully introduced new titles into the Nigerian market as replacements for some of the Pearson Education titles that were withdrawn from its list while the company has carried out a thorough revision of some of its publications to align them with the new curriculum requirements and sustain their market acceptance.

“We have originated 96 new titles and produced over 20 million copies of our various publications. Without any doubt, we have been able to broaden the range of our product portfolio in order to meet the increasingly growing and dynamic needs of our customers,” Oladipo said.

According to him, the company was able to achieve an exponential growth in open market sales from N800 million in 2011 to N1.4 billion in 2013 as its team of experienced and committed sales professionals succeeded in entrenching recent titles in the market.

He noted that the company was able to deliver book supply contracts received from Universal Basic Education Commission through the indenting of its new titles worth over N2 billion in the last two years alone, thus making the its new series the fastest moving new titles in the Nigerian book market today.

Oladipo said that following the decision to broaden the coverage area, the company expanded its sales team

from 61 before Pearson’s divestment to 137 highly motivated sales persons within one year adding that the company has concluded the restructuring of the entire sales and marketing department for optimum utilisation and efficiency to enable it to meet the current challenges of contemporary book business.

He pointed out that as part of continuous efforts to ensure that customers have easy access to its products; Learn Africa has established new depots across the country while the company has continued to improve its warehousing and distribution activities regularly with a view to ensuring that customers’ orders are serviced promptly.

“This company recognises that management, professionals, and technical experts are its major assets, and investments in their future and development are given top priority. Our expanding skill base has been extended by a range of trainings provided to employees whose opportunities for career development within the company have thus been enhanced. Training is carried out through both in-house and external courses. Incentives and welfare schemes designed to meet the circumstances of each individual employee are implemented wherever applicable and some of these include performance bonuses,” Oladipo said.

He commended shareholders, employees and other stakeholders of the company noting that it has been able to forge ahead in spite of the divestment of Pearson education due to the unflinching support of these stakeholders.

Union Bank pays N11b restructuring costs spectively.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that group gross earnings closed 2013 at N121 billion as against N117 billion in 2012. Interest income however declined from N85 billion in 2012 to N81 billion in 2013. Net interest income also dropped from N63 billion in 2012 to N57 billion in 2013.

Union Bank however reduced operating expenses by 18 per cent from N73 billion to N60 billion. With restructuring costs of N10.7 billion, the bank increased pre-tax profit to N3.8 billion in 2013 as against N2.9 billion in 2013. Profit after tax jumped from N1.2 billion to N3.8 billion.

Group managing director, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, explained that the restructuring costs were due

to a number of “critical internal and external restructuring initiatives” taken in 2013.

According to him, the bank focused on two key priorities in 2013-immediately improving its operations by addressing critical challenges in service delivery to its clients; and developing a roadmap to establish the bank firmly as a leading player within the Nigerian banking industry.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

32

ISSUES Despite the Federal Government’s initiatives, such as the Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), the Youths Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) and others, designed to tackle unemployment, the problem persists. If steps are not taken to urgently tackle the monster, it may pose danger to the country, writes TOBA AGBOOLA.

•NYSC members waiting to join the list

Tackling the unemployment scourge

T

HE content of the report was disturbing. It painted a bleak picture of unemployment in the world.

The Global Employment Trends for Youth released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported that an estimated 73.4 million youngsters worldwide are out of work.

According to ILO, the figure represents 12.6 per cent, close to the levels reached at the peak of the economic crisis in 2009 and an alarming increase of 3.5 million between 2007 and last year.

The report warned that the long-term impact of youth employment could be felt for decades, creating a generation at risk of suffering decent work deficits throughout their lives.

With this report, the growing youth unemployment in Nigeria should be a source of worry for the government.

The report noted that two-thirds of the working age population in the country are either unemployed or trapped in low-quality jobs.

In a country where accurate figures are hard to come by, it is feared that the youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is far more than what is published.

According to industry watchers, over 60 per cent of young people are either unemployed, working but in low quality, irregular, low wage jobs, often in the informal sectors of the economy, or not in the labour force.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) warns that the rising youth unemployment is undermining the country’s sta-

bility.

Its President, Abdulwahed Omar, called for a decisive intervention to tackle the problem. He warned that if left unchecked, the unemployment crisis could undermine peace and security.

Omar said: “Official statistics put the national unemployment rate at approximately 24 per cent. About 35 per cent works but in low quality, irregular, low wage jobs, often in the informal economy. As high as this rate is, it, nevertheless, camouflages the enormity of the unemployment crisis in the country. If unemployment and disguised unemployment were to be added to the figure, the crisis will • Continued on page 33

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

33

ISSUES

•Oshinowo • Continued from page 32

become more glaring.

“With an estimated 80 million youths in the population, between 30 and 40 million unemployed youths constitute a veritable army of the hungry, disillusioned and angry. This set of people can undermine the stability, security and peace of any nation if left unattended to. There is an urgent need for decisive intervention to rein in the unemployment problem. The signal of strife and insecurity today are warning banners we cannot afford to ignore.”

Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Mr Segun Oshinowo said the government and private sector should be blamed for the problem.

He said: “Nigerian youths have to do more in their quest to fight unemployment.

Youth unemployment has persisted because many, including those with several degrees and qualifications, have failed to take advantage of the peculiarity of what the nation economy offers.”

According to him, over the years, particularly, since the past decade, the issue of youth unemployment and the dangers it portends for nations and economies has become a major challenge for governments at states and national levels. Experts and professionals have consistently proffered different types of solutions to combat the problem. It was time, he added, that the nation’s youths latched on to one or more of these initiatives to combat their unemployment situation.

Toeing the same line with him, the Director General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Prof Longmas Wapmuk said many youths have not bothered to improve their skills and improve their success chances through learning, networking and engaging in creative ventures that would make them become self-reliant without being dependent on paid employment that may never come.

He said self-employment remains the only solution to the high unemployment rate among youths in the country and maintained that youth unemployment has persisted because the youth have refused to adopt measure that will see them becoming self-reliant.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) believes youth unemployment has continued to grow because youths have failed to explore the various options available to them to get engaged in both the medium and long term jobs.

Its Director-General, Mr Muda Yusuf insisted that the country’s youths could end the scourge of unemployment if they could only look at how to improve their inherent skills with the aim of being the best in whatever they do.

According to him, there is a huge untapped market in the agriculture sector, particularly in Cassava growing.

He said: “There should not be any reason why any intelligent youth should complain of unemployment or remain in poverty. The agro-allied sub sector alone, can effectively tackle a large part of the unemployment challenge, if youths decide to key

•Omar

•Wapmuk

•Muda-Yusuf

Tackling the unemployment scourge

‘ Change of attitude by the youths is crucial. Only self-edu-

cation can make them successful. You can only earn a living with education; but with self-education, you can earn a fortune. They must pursue their passion vigorously and that will open doors for them into it.”

An expert in human resources management, Sunny Agboju, said entrepreneurial concepts have been identified as the most formidable factor for combating the unemployment scourge.

Agboju, Recruiter and Managing Director, Prot Consulting Limited, lamented that youths have not shown enough determination in the battle against unemployment, arguing that many of them are lazy.

According to him, many of them, in spite of parading several certificates, lack the ability to write and speak properly at certain levels. Many jobless youths complain about the challenges that come with turning concept into reality without being ready to face the challenges associated with it.

Recently, the Joint Action Front (JAF) began a nationwide rally in solidarity with all categories of unemployed Nigerians , as well as working and oppressed people in the country.

JAF said this is part of its continuous exercise to demand the rights to jobs opportunities for all Nigerians irrespective of sex, ethnic or religious background Speaking at the mass rally, its Chair, Dr. Oladipo Fashina declared that the rally continuous exercise would take place in the six geo-political zones of the country with Lagos as the starting point.

He said: “As we kick off this nationwide mass rally at the Nigeria Civil Service Union Alausa-Ikeja, Lagos, we appeal to all Nigerians that this is a continuous exercise that would take place in the six geo-political zones in the country with Lagos as the starting point.”

“We, therefore, call on our labour partners, the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), the unemployed and all pro-oppressed and working people groups across the country to join our rallies effective to all the institutions of governments at all levels, including the Houses of Assembly to demand decent jobs with living wages for all unemployed Nigerians.”

He noted that the kick off is clarion call to Nigerians to arise to the challenge of system change, which to JAF means the socialist transformation of the polity.

Also, JAF’s Secretary, Comrade Abiodun Aremu, said: “Our position in JAF on the

’

tragic incident of the death of scores of applicants during the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) job recruitment exercises of March 15, this year is that, governments at all levels, the federal, states and local governments, irrespective of political parties, are culpable because they failed to provide decent jobs and enabling opportunities for gainful employments.”

The way forward

On the way forward, Omar said: “To overcome the problem of unemployment, Nigeria must promote strong industrial policies that recognise manufacturing as a key engine of growth and decent mass employment for the national economy. The Federal Government must urgently initiate a range of measures to revive and project labour-intensive industries like textiles, food and beverages, construction, iron and steel sectors, and others”.

Wapmuk said the panacea to ending youth unemployment in the country, includes amongst others, youths re-orientating themselves and positioning their inherent skills for value change.

He said: “Change of attitude by the youths is crucial. Only self-education can make them successful. You can only earn a living with education; but with self-education, you can earn a fortune. They must pursue their passion vigorously and that will open doors for them.

“There are opportunities in the reforms that the government is doing in different sectors. It is expected that youths look out for the smallest in value chain in the reformed sector, including in areas where they don’t need to approach a bank to get big loans. They must be aware, go through the Internet and maximise the knowledge deposit in it.”

Oshinowo said every policy action and decision of government should be judged on the basis of its impact on job creation.

He said: “We cannot, of course, ignore the factor of good governance, as aptly exemplified by the Lagos State success story, which has created the most basic of skills.”

“All the aforementioned policy options should be underpinned by a sincere constitutional amendment that will enthrone true federalism and resource control. We should

aim for a political structure where federating units will contribute to the centre, thereby assuming the status of multiple centers of productive economic activities and development. This, surely will spin off jobs in their millions and create sustainable employment.”

He urged the country’s youths to take their destinies in their hands and cease blaming the government and private sector operators for their unemployment woes.

ILO report urged governments to take immediate and targeted action to tackle the youth unemployment crisis. It further called for concerted efforts by employers’ organisations and trade unions across the globe.

The ILO urged policy makers to work together with social partners to address this alarming situation. The 2013/14 edition of the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth report analyses a number of key policies and action that can be taken.

Coordinator of the ILO Youth Employment Programme and co-author of the Report, Gianni Rosas, called for a strong focus on growth and jobs, including through a more coordinated macro-economic response at national and global levels.

The report stressed that there is no “onesize-fits all” solution, adding that the key policy areas, identified in the ILO’s June 2012 call for Action is a global framework, which can be adapted to national and local circumstances.

The report also called for fostering proemployment growth and decent job creation through macroeconomic policies, employability, labour market policies, youth entrepreneurship and rights to tackle the social consequences of the crisis, while ensuring financial and fiscal sustainability.

It stated that comprehensive measures targeting disadvantaged young people in advanced economies with high numbers of unemployed youth should be put in place.

These include education, training, work experience support and recruitment incentives for potential employers.

It further called for integrated employment and livelihood strategies and programmes in developing countries, including training in literacy, occupational and entrepreneurial skills and business.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

34

THE NATION

BUSINESS INSURANCE

Mansad Insurance records 92 % drop in trade receivables M

ANSAD Insurance Plc has witnessed a 92 per cent drop in its trade receivables from N2.04 billion recorded in the 2012 financial year end to N166 million in 2013.

The drop in trade receivable, is coming on the heels of the recent enforcement of ‘No premium, no cover’ policy by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) meant to stem the growth of outstanding premiumsin the insurance industry.

The company, however, rannounced that its Profit After Tax grew fromN1.6billion in 2012 to N2.1 billion in the period under review, while its Net Premiums grew to N7.54billion from N7.11billion in 2012. PAT rose 31 per cent from N2.1billion in 2013.

Its gross premium also grew by nine per cent in 2013 to N13.59billion from N12.44

billion in 2012, while its Net Premiums grew by six per cent growth in 2013 to N7.54billion from N7.11billion in 2012.

The Chairman, Victor Osibodu, who made this known at the 22nd Annual General Meeting of the underwriting firm held in Lagos, said it will explore new and exciting opportunities to actualise its expanding ambitions and exceed its stakeholder’s expectation.

He said in April 2013, Mansard Insurance added a Health Insurance subsidiary to the group.

He said: ‘’Mansard Health Limited is fully functional with a full complement of staff and is leveraging optimally on the technology and distribution platforms of Mansard Insurance. The HMO is currently signed on to 400 hospitals across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

Mansard Investments Limited continued its business of managing the company’s investments and those of third parties.

“The company restructured its team to serve along private and institutional lines, and has commenced the process of opening up internal products to public subscription. It closed the year with funds under management of N23.2billion, and a Profit before Tax of N108.45million compared to N114.5million in 2012.

“As a result of this performance, the company’s board has proposed a final dividend of 4k for the year ended December 2013 having previously paid 4k to the shareholders during the year as an interim dividend, bringing the total dividend to 8k.”

•Managing Director, Mansad Insurance, Yetunde Ilori

Aon: airline insurance premiums decline

‘Sector’s risk intermediate’

I

NDUSTRY and country risk for the South African life insurance sector has been found to be intermediate, Standard & Poor’s, a ratings agency has said.

The agency said the overall assessment was that South Africa’s risk level was at the same level as several other developing and developed life markets, including Thailand, China, Japan and Germany.

“Our assessment of country risk as moderate, incorporates our view of South Africa’s low economic growth, stable political institutions, modest financial system risk, and acceptable rule of law,” the agency said.

On country risk, it said South Africa’s economy continued to face fundamental supply shortages such as infrastructure bottlenecks, ongoing labour relations issues and skills shortages, as well as slower growth in Europe, which continued to constrain potential growth.

“Popular dissatisfaction, particularly among the youth, had longterm policy ramifications for addressing imbalances and might weaken ANC’s position,” it said.

A

•From left: President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Ariyo Olushekun; Managing Director, BGL Group Plc, Mr. Albert Okumagba and Chairman, Honeywell Group Plc, Dr Oba Otudeko, during the 3rd Annual National Workshop of the institute in Abuja ... at the weekend.

100 Lagos farmers receive claims over loss, says NAIC

A

BOUT 100 rice farmers in Lagos State have been compensated for crop losses on over 120, 000 hectares of rice field, the Managing Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Bode Opadokun, has said.

The NAIC boss, who made this known to journalists in Lagos said the loss of crop by the farmers was occasioned by drought in September 2013, adding that the state government has commended the Corporation for the prompt payment.

According to him, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Lagos State, represented by Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya, lauded NAIC for the prompt investigation and payment of the claims which had ameliorated the pain of the losses suffered by the small holder farmers.

The ministry appreciated the due diligence and prompt payment of the claims by NAIC and believe the rice farmers are encouraged and convinced of the critical importance of

crop insurance in sustainable agricultural development., he said.

Opadokun urged both large and small scale farmers in the country to embrace agricultural insurance to cover attendant risks in agricultural practices.

He said in the event of any disaster, NAIC would be readily available to settle all verifiable claims, stating that NAIC has several insurance covers which all categories of agro-allied business operators could take.

He explained that losses and disas-

ters do not affect local farmers alone, but equally affect the whole agricultural value chain, including the suppliers of inputs as well as the consumers.

He however decried the poor awareness and response of farmers towards agric insurance policies, explaining that the Corporation primarily exists to indemnify all categories of farmers against unforeseen natural disasters, with a view to keeping the farmers in business at all levels of the agric value chain.

STI hosts second edition of Golf tournament in Ibadan

S •Onaolapo

OVEREIGN Trust Insurance Plc is set for the second edition of its Open Golf Tournament in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The event is scheduled to hold from April 25 – 27, 2014, at the Ibadan Golf Club, Onireke Reservation Area, Ibadan, Oyo State. The 3-day tournament is expected to bring together some of the country’s top golfers both at the Amateur and Professional levels for both male and female in all the categories.

The Captain of Ibadan Golf Club, Prince BayoAdeleke, said STI has consistently led insurance companies in promoting sporting activities at all levels, and urged more participation from other corporate organisations in advancing the game of golf and other sports in order to further enhance the human capacity in the burgeoning sports industry in the country.

According to him, the intervention of STI in sports development in Ni-

geria and beyond cannot be undermined.

He expressed appreciation to the Management of STI for staying true to its promise of sponsoring the tournament on an annual basis.

He said he is optimistic that this year’s tournament will be exciting than the last edition. He enjoined all golf enthusiasts across the country to make the ancient city the converging point during the three-day tournament.

ON’s latest report found that global lead hull and liability premiums for 2013 to 2014 reached $1.4 billion, (N224 billion), but this was exceeded by the value of claims, which stood at $1.5 billion, (N240 billion).

The factors driving falling premium prices included strong underwriting competition, a small number of claims and record low fatality levels, Aon said.

Its report stated: “The difference between premium and claims was minimal, and the fact that it was driven by a relatively low number of large losses means that not all underwriters will have a negative result on their books. This means that while there is unlikely to be an instant hardening, there is likely to be increased scrutiny.”

Despite this imbalance, however, the report suggests that insurance premiums could continue to fall in the short term, given that 2013 saw the lowest numbers of both airline incidents and fatalities since 1995.

Aon said that the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8, carried more passengers (227) than the total global number of airline fatalities in 2013, highlighting the potential for catastrophic loss that the airline sector would always present.

“At this early stage of the year, we believe it is unlikely that this incident will be a catalyst for a shift in current market conditions, however should there be another large loss or a string of losses this could change,” noted the firm.

Aon expects competition to remain healthily for 2014/15 insurance programmes.

The space practice leader Mike Smith said: “While it may seem like a contradiction that exposures are rising at the same time as insurance prices are falling, the introduction of the new generation aircraft a couple of years ago means that airlines of all sizes now have access to relatively modern fleet replacement options.

“These aircraft are more expensive but represent a risk reduction because they are safer and prices in the insurance market reflect this. At the same time, the aviation industry continues to improve technology and working practices, again driving down the price of risk.’

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

BUSINESS MOTORING

Refreshed for 2014 model year, the new Hyundai Elantra receives numerous changes, including slight cosmetic modifications inside and out, a new Sport trim level with a more powerful engine, upgraded infotainment features and a quieter cabin, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

•The Elantra

New Elantra: comfortable, sportier

U

NLESS you know what to look for, you might not think much has been transformed in the 2014 Hyundai Elantra, which appears to be the same sleekly styled Sedan that has been out since 2011.

But a more cautious look at the 2014 Hyundai Elantra would reveal a lot of relevant updates that bring about some noticeable improvements to an affordable compact car that was already worth your consideration.The new Hyundai Elantra sedan has never been this brilliant.

In the modified Elantra, there is a new and more refined engine as well as a sport-tuned suspension that gives the car a level of driver engagement comparable to rivals.

Hyundai has also succeeded in minimising road and engine noise that made its way into the cabin with the aid of apposite sound insulation to deliver a quieter ride.

This salient feature could cause competitions such as Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Mazda 3 to lose sleep.

The Elantra could also make its way ahead of arch rivals with distinctive qualities like Hyundai’s latest infotainment features inside the cabin, including new touch-screen displays, generous equipment list, a comfortable ride, an accommodating trunk, and sharp styling - all at a reasonable price.

The new Elantra is available in the Nigerian market with a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that provides adequate power.

World-class test drivers were recently quoted as saying: “Hyundai Elantra’s 1.8litre new engine churning out 145hp has more punch than Toyota Corolla’s 132hp and Honda Civic’s 143hp and Chevrolet Cruize’s 138hp.”

And with a six-speed automatic transmission, drivers can savour the pleasure of smooth and quiet ride, regardless of road traffic conditions.

Further tests has similarly revealed the Elantra sedan with an automatic transmission gets an estimated 28/38 mpg (city/ highway), which is good for the class and the car handles athletically around curves.

Elantra’s cabin is a mix of quality softtouch materials and hard plastics, which is typical in this class with excellent cargo space and plenty of legroom at both rear and front seat.

Other standard amenities like a sixspeaker audio system, an auxiliary jack, USB port and satellite radio distinguish the 2014 Elantra from its predecessor, while features like Bluetooth, sunroof, touch-screen audio display and a rear-view camera are optional.

A technology package adds unfathomable Hyundai security, keyless entry with immobiliser, larger touch-screen display, a premium audio system and push-button start with easy-to-locate dashboard controls which cut down on driver distraction.

Body styles The 2014 Hyundai Elantra sedan is available in two trims of 1.6 A/T (automatic transmission) Executive with fabric seat; 1.8 A/T Elegance fabric seat and 1.8 A/T Elite in leather seat - all fitted to 16 inch alloy rims as standard.

Other standard features include heated mirrors, full power accessories, air-conditioning, cruise control, a trip computer, a tilt-telescoping steering wheel, 60/40-split folding rear seats and a six-speaker sound system with a CD player, satellite radio and USB/iPod interface, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity with voice controls,.

These trim levels also add fog-lights, LED accent and taillight with integrated turn signal repeaters on the mirrors, an auto-

•Interior of the car

matic transmission, leather upholstery (Elite model only) and a six-way power driver seat (with power lumbar).

Powertrains Powering the Elantra models is a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 145 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque. A sixspeed automatic transmission is however standard in the two trims.

You can expect Hyundai Elantra to accelerate to 60 mph in the mid-9-second range, and the EPA estimates fuel economy for the automatic transmission version is 32 mpg combined (28 city/38 highway).

Safety Standard safety features for all the new Elantra sedans include four-wheel antilock disc brakes, hill-start assist, stability and traction control, with driver and passenger airbags.

The Blue Link emergency telematics system provides services such as remote access, emergency assistance, theft recovery and geo-fencing (allowing parents to set limits for teenage drivers).

Interior design The interior features of the 2014 Hyundai Elantra is a modern organic approach to design, donning a swooping centre stack that integrates well with the numerous other curves throughout the cabin.

There is however no doubt that the Elantra offers a lot more space than one would expect from a compact car.

The headroom up front is plentiful for 6footers and the steering wheel is a bit smaller in diameter than usual, which enhances the sense of space in the first row while the backseat is fine for kids and even tall adults.

Above all, the Elantra sedan features a large trunk with 14.8 cubic feet of cargo room, a generous number for this segment and the 60/40-split pass-through is also quite large.

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

MOTORING

Globe Motors to assemble 22,000 Higer buses yearly

F

RONTLINE auto company, Globe Motors Holdings Nigeria Limited, has entered into partnership with Higer Bus Company Limited, to assemble Higer range of vehicles in Nigeria.

A statement by the Managing Director of Globe Motors Holdings Nigeria Limited, Mr Victor Oguamalam, said his company has signed a technical agreement with Higer Bus Company Limited of China to assemble their Higer range of buses and other Higer vehicles locally.

Globe Motors Holdings Nigeria Limited has acquired over 12 hectares of land in Lagos State for this purpose and it is about developing an assembly plant with its technical partners, Higer.

The assembly plant at full capacity will produce over 22,000 vehicles annually. Its initial annual take-off capacity is 6,000. Oguamalam, who made this known said the plant would come on stream within 18 months, further explained that though plans to set up an assembly plant have for some time now been on the table, these plans have had

Stories by Tajudeen Adebanjo

an added impetus due to the new Auto Policy announced by the government.

“After painstaking efforts and evaluation of different auto manufacturing companies, we decided to settle for Higer because of the quality of their products and the wide range of models,” he said.

He said arrangements are at advanced stages with two other international automobile manufacturers, for assembly of their brands and products at the new Globe Motors assembly plant.

Shedding more light on this, Oguamalam said the new Globe Motors assembly plant will also introduce a completely new brand, designed, branded and manufactured to the best international standards of automobile design and engineering.

This, he said, will give the brand a Nigerian and indigenous identity.

The first phase of the assembly plant project, according to Oguamalam, is projected to gulp about $120million on completion.

•Higer bus

Higer Bus Company Limited, known as “HIGER”, was established in 1998, and is one of the fastest developing bus manufacturers in China.

Higer has over 50 series and more than 300 models covering coaches,

city buses, new energy buses, mini buses, school buses, bus rapid transit buses (BRT), all ranging from 5m to 18m; pick-ups, SUV’s among others.

Oguamalam stated that the partnership with Higer will ensure qual-

ity and affordable buses and vehicles for Nigerians.

“The buses are built to very high quality with modern features for discerning customers, and the setting up of the plant will create jobs for Nigerian youths,” he said.

Lagos Motor Show begins Thursday … Over 100 firms confirmed for participation

T •Kingo bus

K

ING Long Buses are making headway into the commercial bus market where competition appears to be getting more interesting by the day. Positioned as the “Affordable Luxury” brand, the King Long Buses serve in three categories; Kingo Hummer (newly introduced), Kingwin standard and Ambulance.

With King Long, the motto is “Luxury as Standard” and this has been proven with the Kingwin standard which has carved a niche for itself in its segment. King Long puts passenger comfort and driver convenience at the forefront of all its designs to ensure comfortable trip for both passengers and drivers alike.

The Kingo Hummer recently introduced model of the King Long brand into the Market boasts of next generation engines with better power, torque and mileage. It comes

Kingo set to ruffle feathers in 2.4Ltr and 2.7Ltr engine capacity with a captivating design and generous interior space and offers unprecedented fuel efficiency, Luxurious reclining leather seats, Xenon dip beams, Low Set Fog Lamps and easily accessible rear lamps.

CFAO CICA Nigeria Limited, the sole distributor of the King Long brand in Nigeria is reinforcing its commitment, to win more share in the commercial bus segment with the delivery of the New Kingo Hummer as disclosed by its Commercial Manager, Idris Siyaka and has put in place all necessary in terms of After -Sales.

Highlighting Kingo’s unique selling points as price advantage, ruggedness, durability, fuel efficiency,

comfort and economy.

According to Siyaka, the company has put together many incentives aimed at encouraging customers to acquire their buses, including flexible payment plans.

“We at CFAO are at the fore-front of the campaign for accident reduction in the country. People who buy old buses can add little amount and acquire brand new Kingo Hummer that can last a very long time,” he said.

He said the buses were built for Nigerian roads. He, however, added that with an ultra modern workshop in Lagos and mobile workshops, the company responds quickly to customer demands within 24 hours.

HE Ninth Lagos Motor Fair and Third Auto parts Expo Nigeria will begin on Thursday with over 100 firms confirmed participation.

Chairman Organising Committee and Managing Director, BKG Exhibitions, Mr Ifeanyi Agwu, said more than 40 indigenous firms have confirmed their participation while about 70 foreign are storming the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, venue of the event with different world-class products and services from their stables. .

Agwu said: “Virtually all the major brands of automobiles, spare parts, accessories, lubricants, banking, insurance, regulatory and policy making agencies and bodies are taking part.

“Some of the companies and agencies that will showcase at the event are: Stallion Motors, CFAO Group, Toyota Nigeria Limited, C & I Motors, CC Auto FZE, Dana Motors, Basco Nigeria Limited, Concept auto, ATC, and CIG. “Others are Mobil, MRS Oil Nig Ltd, Forte Oil, Honeywell Oil, Ascon Oil, Eterna Oil, Techno Oil, Vigold, Hammerstone, Garu Technologies, Performance Enhancing Products Ltd (PEPCO), Car-parts.com, Authentic Auto Parts, Ana-safe Nig Ltd, Tramigo, the National Automotive council (NAC) and other allied firms.”

Agwu said that firms from Turkey, China, South Korea, Germany and Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa are also participating.

The Managing Director further noted that the growing number of

exhibitors confirmed for this event can be attributed to the importance attached to it by the participants.

“We cannot but attribute the increasing number of participants for the show to the strategic importance attached to it by all the stakeholders in the industry who have been hardworking and consistent with us.

It has been a collective effort and all hands have continually been on deck, starting from the private sector to the various agencies of government both at the state and federal level,” he said.

He said the campaign slogan, One Venue; All Brands; Different Offers the organising committee has chosen is to articulate the strategic platform provided by this expo aimed at bringing the relevant stakeholders to a point where we can all forge a future for the growing sector.

According to him, “The second and third components of the slogan which are ‘All Brands and Different Offers’, shows that all the brands in the automobile, lubricant, auto parts, accessories, security gadget and other allied sectors are all coming to rub shoulders with different mouthwatering offers for the visitors, customers, clients and prospective target audience. So, in this case, the over 10,000 expected visitors will definitely be treated as the king which they are by these exhibitors as they jostle for a rewarding business lead, friendship, partnership and increased sales.”

SAFE DRIVING

Ridicule of job creation and road safety management (2)

M

ONITORING and evaluation of the Decade of Action for Road Safety -

Through: •Monitoring of indicators; •Tracking milestones linked to the decade; and •Mid - term and end - term evaluation of the decade.

It is expected that each country will develop and publish national reports and organise events to discuss progress and adapt plans.

In Nigeria, the attention is so much on revenue generation and unhealthy rivalry among state

governments, State Vehicle Inspection Officers, Nigeria Police and the Federal Road Safety Commission among others instead of focusing on accomplishing the Pillars of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety for which Nigeria is a party.

The manifestations in Nigeria include: •The rivalry between the Federal Road Safety Commission and the Nigeria Police over who has the right to do the Biometric Central Motor Registration (BCMR).

•The rivalry between the Federal Road Safety Commission, the State Vehicle Inspection Officers and State

drivers Institute over who has the right to regulate Driving Schools.

•The push by the Federal Road Safety Commission of the obtention of the new plate numbers by vehicle owners.

All the above are part of the focus of those responsible for the promotion of safety on Nigerian roads, a case of gross distraction while irreparable lives and valuable properties are perishing on Nigeria roads daily as a result of the increasing rate of road accidents.

Unless the Federal and State Governments, Federal Road Safety Commission and other Stakehold-

ers get more unbiasely and unselfishly committed to the accomplishment of the goals of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and take result - oriented proactive actions, it will be excuse galore by the year 2020 just as we are full of excuses to justify our failure in the accomplishment of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The increasing rate of unemployment and road accidents are time bombs which will not do all classes of people (the rich, the poor, the old and the young) and the image of Nigeria any good.

Jide Owatunmise Registrar / Chief Executive, Professional Driving and Safety Academy

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS JOBS

•Job seekers

Wanted: Insurance agents I

N the face of dire unemployment, becoming an insurance agent could be a great idea for job seekers. The products marketed by insurance agents include vehicles, health, home and life insurance. Commercial insurance agents sell property damage and liability policies, employee and executive coverage and product liability.

Within the financial services industry, only a few careers match the opportunity for a fast and large paycheck as insurance agency. A hard-working agent can earn over N10 million in his or her first year.

But, success as an insurance agent does not come cheap.

Insurance agents hear “no” far more than they hear “yes”.

Many hold insurance agents in low regard, with some equating them to glorified con men. For those who can stomach the potential rejection, the paycheck and flexibility are worth the while.

In the industry, there are auto insurance and fast insurance, among others but where the money is an life insurance. Agents focusing on this end of the insurance market help families, businesses, employers, and other parties to protect them against a financial loss that occurs when someone dies.

Agents selling this type of insurance are either captive agents, which means they only sell insurance from one company, or non-captive, meaning they represent multiple insurance carriers. Either way, the typical insurance agent will spend much of his or her time in marketing to identify those in need of new or additional insurance coverage, providing them with quotes and persuading them to sign the new insurance contract.

A life insurance agent receives between 30 and 90 per

For job seekers, here is good news. They can become insurance agents in an industry set to increase its premium income from N300 million to N1 trillion, reports OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO. cent of the amount paid also known as premium by the client in the first year. In later years, the agent may receive between three and 10 per cent of each year’s premium, also known as “renewals” or “trailing commissions”.

For instance, an insurance agent, who sells a client a policy that covers her for life, will get commission in based on the term of contract as long as the customer pay the premium. If the insurance company pays a 90/five per cent commission on life policies, the agent will get 90 per cent of the first year premium and five per cent of future renewals.

The policy costs the client N17,000 per month, or N204,000 per year. Thus, in the first year, the agent will make N183,600 commission (N204,000 x 90 per cent). In subsequent years, the agent will make N10, 200 in renewals as long as the client continues to pay the premium (N204, 000 x 5 per cent).

An agent selling one or two policies per week at this level could make N8.5 million to N17 million in his or her first

‘Within the financial services industry, only a few careers match the opportunity for as fast and large paycheck as insurance agency. A hard-working agent can earn over N10 million in his or her first year ’

year.

Life insurance is not a profession for the thin-skinned or faint-at-heart. Life insurance agents must possess a fighting spirit. They must be people who love the thrill of the hunt, the rush of a sale and see rejection as a stepping-stone to eventual success. A life insurance sales career is not ideal for the introverted, soft-spoken, the conflict shy.

For many life insurance companies there are no formal education requirements for becoming an agent. While many prefer college graduates, this general rule is overlooked in favour of the right candidates. Previous experience in the industry is not required because most medium and large insurance carriers have internal programmes for the training of their salespeople.

Insurance agency was rejuvenated by the administration of Mr. Fola Daniel, the Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), who introduced the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).

The Commissioner urged insurers to employ more agents because he believes they can drive insurance at the grassroots.

He also encouraged the Association of Registered Insurance Agents (ARIAN) to grow its membership and ensure professionalism.

ARIAN President Gbadebo Olamerun said the association is pushing massive recruitment, insurance companies to generate more premiums.

According to him, the groups intend to increase membership from 3,700 to 20,000 at the end of this year in order to achieve its target.

•Continued on page 38

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

JOBS

Wanted: Insurance agents •Continued from page 37

He said from research and statistics, it was discovered that the more the number of agents in the insurance workforce, the more the premium that will be generated.

Olamerun said: “Analysis has shown that for 40 million Nigerians to be reached out of the 170 million, we will require about 200,000 agents. This means an agent will have to insure about 100 Nigerians every year which is about eight persons per month. This is very achievable because we already have 50 million unemployed Nigerian youths to deliver this goal.

“If 40 million out of 170 million Nigerians were insured by paying N5,000 every month this will amount to N60,000 annually. If you multiply this by 40 million persons, we will generate N240 billion annually for the insurance industry”.

He said an agent does not need all the qualification in this world to be

successful, but the will power to succeed as an entrepreneur is required.

Olamerun said he started his career with OND, adding that in the course of the job, “I have acquired an MBA along with other professional qualifications but I am also aware of some of my colleagues that their entry certificate is a B. Sc. with good grades to show for it.”

He said: “In my experience as an agent, I have colleagues that their background is not related to insurance field; in fact, fortunately, the retrenched staff in the banking industry are making a lot of impact in the insurance agency business as we speak.

“The drive of ARIAN on agency network can be correlated to an entrepreneurial initiative where every one agent employed, is been trained as an entrepreneur to close the unemployed gap in Nigeria.

“The opportunity of becoming an

•Daniel

•Olamerun

insurance agent in Nigeria is extremely enormous, we make people do the impossible, think out of the box, add value to their clients and in-tune make a good living out of it because the market of transacting insurance retail business is massive.”

To succeed as an insurance agent, requires determination, hard work and focus driven analysis that will lead an agent to the right client.

Olamerun explains that a prospective agent can apply to companies or ARIAN through their website or visiting their office.

He said: “The requirement to become a professional agent is easy. You must be licensed by our regulatory body, NAICOM. You will be required to pay N1000 as NAICOM fee and N2,000 as ARIAN membership fee. You will also be required to get a proficiency Test

•Adeduro

certificate from the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), a letter from an insurance company and proof of tax payment.”

Managing Director, Anchor Insurance, Limited MayowaAdeduro said agents were significant to insurance growth.

He said agents generated N200 million premiums for his company in last year adding that they contributed more than 10 per cent of the company’s income.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

T

HE Board of Directors of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group Plc has appointed Oluwatoyin Ashiru and Gregory Omosigho Ero as non-Executive Directors.

In a statement, the bank described Ashiru is an accomplished Materials and Metallurgical Engineer with over 30 years of professional experience in the academia, entrepreneurship, management engineering, technologies invention, and consulting for the enhancement of productivity in major industries across the world.

Ashiru is also highly skilled in strategic planning, budget controls and problem solving with exten-

FCMB appoints non-executive directors sive international experience in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, the Far East and Asia. He has served on Joint Venture and Consortium Executive Committees and has participated directly in claims negotiations and settlement agreements in excess of $100 million.

His wealth of experience also includes membership on several Governing Boards responsible for strategic and operational decisions.

He has served worldwide on various governmental multi-discipli-

nary task forces and technical committees.

Prof Ashiru holds the USA, British, European, Brazilian, and other international patents for products and systems that he invented. He is also a recipient of many merit awards both locally and internationally.

Gregory Omosigho Ero, a Petroleum Engineer, is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and Imperial College, London. He studied in Ivy League colleges, including University of Oxford in the UK, Univer-

sity of Columbia, New York and the Institute of Management Development, Lausanne Switzerland.

He began his career as a Petroleum Engineer in the Lagos Office of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, where he was later posted to Warri, Delta State as Head, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. He spent much of his career in the Public Service, where he served in many capacities spanning three decades in the petroleum industry at Nigeria Na-

tional Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He also served on the Boards of many Federal Government parastatals.

Dr. Ero has been widely recognised for his sterling professional qualities, one of which was from the former US Secretary of State, George Schultz, for his outstanding work as Managing Director of NETCO, an NNPC Joint Venture with Bechtel of the US. He was honoured by the Nigerian Petroleum Golden Jubilee Board in recognition of his excellent leadership qualities, meritorious service and contributions to the development of the oil and gas Industry.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

Fishing out your dream job: You need a game plan (IV)

W

E considered cold-calling strategy of uncovering hidden job opening. We ‘hanged-on’ on how to I jump – start or activate this strategy: We looked at these parts of the cold-calling process: • Make a list of potential employers • Get your pitch down pat.

• Practice makes perfect.

• Prepare your cold call toolkit.

We now proceed to discuss the other parts in detail:

Practice getting past gatekeepers

One of the hardest parts of the process is reaching the person who does the hiring. Secretaries or operators are there to screen calls for busy individuals. So, a few methods are beneficial in bypassing these gatekeepers. One of them is to take advantage of automated “dial the extension of the person you want” features.

If you do not know what it is, connect at random and courteously ask if they can connect you to the person you’re after. It may take several calls before you compile enough information to find the right person. Remember, this won’t work unless you’re pleasant and nice to the other person, who may be busy too. So use this technique carefully.

How to break the ice

Be genuine. Try to avoid reading

By Olu Oyeniran

a script like most telemarketing people do, and open the conversation with intelligent points. Knowledge of company projects underway and intended areas of expansion and development is crucial to breaking the ice with an employer.

For example: “I remember reading recently that the company was bringing out a new product to the market. I must say, after reading the specifications on this product (try naming the product if you know what it’s called) I am really looking forward to its launch. I we worked in the field of marketing in this industry and I know the potential of this product. I want to be a part of the team to work on this product and I know that I can contribute a great deal of expertise towards the marketing campaign. Is your company looking at expanding its Product Marketing team for this upcoming launch?”

When the going gets tough…

“Why should we hire you?’ “How will your experience help my team’ “What proof can you give me that you can generate revenue for this company?” Reading off a Resume won’t help you answer these tough questions. You have to anticipate them and know how to respond in a relevant manner.

Don’t let it get to you

Be prepared for negative responses but don’t let ‘No’ be the end

of your conversation if you believe that you have a future with this company. Never argue. Practice sidestepping objections by presenting alternative ways to fill a need with your skills. By preparing for common objections, you stand a better chance of swaying negative attitudes to place you candidacy in a better light. Should the end of the discussion be a dead end despite your efforts, use this experience to prepare for your next cold call. You have a thick skin you know.

When to hang up

Be true to your mission - an appointment for an interview or application details and don’t hang up until you’ve either achieved the goal or exhausted all possibilities.

Wind down by following up

If ever there was a time to be true to your word, this is it. Make sure you follow up with that email or call, email that response, send in those documents or call back at a better time. This is a representation of your respect for the company and contact, and a measure of your professionalism.

Cold calling may not he the easiest route to a job, but it has proven robe effective and advantageous to anyone on the trail to career nirvana. Whichever way the cold call turns out, you can only win - a new ion, new inside contacts, or valuable information on hiring cycles or practices.

You can create your own job

This is another strategy you can use, or better still create! Have you ever thought about how new positions axe created? As a business grows, it discovers that more people are needed to perform all of the duties that need to be done. If you could only know that the situation would be present, you could submit your resume and beat your competition and secure employment. It is very possible to do just that but you must look for growth opportunities!

Everyday we encounter growth opportunities. We see those opportunities on the television, hear about them on the radio, and read about them in the newspaper. The factors to stimulate job growth would be company growth, expansion, reorganisation or relocation.

Examples of company growth would be contract awards, growth in earnings, issuance of IPOs, moving to a larger facility. Examples of expansion would be introduction of a new product or venturing into a new market. Reorganisation would be promotion of an executive. Many new executives are more comfortable hiring new staff and relocation of a company would mean new jobs created.

When learning of a growth opportunity, think about how your skills, experience, and background could benefit that organisation.

Tailor your cover letter demonstrating ways you might be of “serv-

ice” to that company. Sometimes companies in “distress” can be a growth opportunity, especially if you can demonstrate an action plan for a business turn around plan of some sort.

Consider how you can help a company? What experiences and skills do you possess that a company in a growth mode may benefit from?

Write a paragraph describing how you could help a company. Next, review the business section of your newspaper or a local business journal, and over a one-week span, identify 5 companies that could use your help.

The crux in creating a job is organizational need. In other words, what do you provide that an organisation can benefit from? As you review the newspapers or trade journals, keep that thought in mind.

Here’s an example. You read about a company losing money in the last quarter. Why did they lose money?

Was it market conditions or more related to an internal problem, procedure, etc? You may discover after a little investigation that an opportunity exists for you to create a job that will assist them in their business turnaround.

•Oyeniran is Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates. He can be reached on Jobsearchhow.com.ng Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

Taxation

T

Assessment procedure (1)

HE overriding objective of assessment function is to ensure that all taxpayers, within a defined tax jurisdiction, are brought into the tax net and assessed correctly in order to plug all possible leakages. Generally, taxpayers are categorised according to the legal status of their businesses which includes the following: • Individuals/Enterprises, usually sole proprietorship or self-employed • Partnership, association of two or more persons coming together in business with a view to making profit.

• Corporate entities/Public companies, usually limited by shares • Non-Governmental Organisations, usually unlimited or limited by guarantee.

A brief description of each of the above business entities will help in the understanding of their respective duties and obligation under the tax laws.

Individual/Enterprises: This is a taxable person who is chargeable to tax in his own name or in the name of a receiver, or his agent. Usually, the tax affairs of this category of taxpayers are to be handled by the State Internal Revenue Service (SIRS), where the taxable person domiciled or resides. Individuals are assessed to tax under the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA).

Partnership: This category of businesses is assessed to tax under the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) in the same manner as individuals/enterprise. In Nigeria, Partners are assessed in their individual names, based on the share of partnership profits allocated to them.

Non-Governmental Organisations: These are non-profit making organisations which are qualified for income tax exemption under Section 23(1)(i) of CITA C21 LFN, 2004).

They are often unlimited or at best limited by guarantee.

These types of organisations have duty to apply for exemption. The form in which NGOs are registered determines which Tax Authority will handle their tax affairs.

Corporate Entities/Public Companies: These are limited liability companies or public companies registered with profit – motive in mind. Their tax affairs are being handled by the Federal Taxing Authority.

Assessment function in an Integrated Tax System is agreed to include filing and assessment duties with respect to all taxes being collected by that office among which are: PPT, CIT, VAT, WHT, CGT etc.

Classes of Assessment

Assessments are normally raised on the Income or Profit of companies or corporation raising from trade or business carried on in Nigeria. Assessment is to be imposed on the ‘‘Profit’’ of an enterprise in relation to an accounting period.

There are two (2) principal classes of assessments, namely; Self-Assessment: This assessment scheme aims at shifting the duty of raising of assessment to the taxpayers themselves. Under this system, the taxpayer is expected to accompany its tax returns with self-assessment notice and an evidence of payment to the FIRS through appropriate designated collecting bank.

Government Assessment:: This is an assessment raised on behalf of the Government by the Tax Authorities, examples of which are: • Assessment raised in accordance with audited accounts and computations filed by the taxpayers.

• Administrative assessment based on physical assessment of the company or profit perceived to be fair and reasonable.

• Protective/jeopardy assessment.

• Amended/additional assessment.

Types of Assessment Assessments Based on Taxpayers’ Returns

These are assessments based on the information contained in the taxpayer’s returns. The tax computations together with the capital allowances computations are enclosed along with the audited accounts and such assessment could either be self-assessment or government assessment.

Minimum Tax

Minimum Tax is payable by every company in Nigeria when the total profits of the company from all sources have produced on tax, or tax payable which is less than the minimum tax specified by the law. However, the followings are exempted from the payment of minimum tax:

• Companies engaged in agricultural trade or business.

• Companies with at least 25 per cent imported equity capital.

• Any company for the first four years of its commencement of business.

The rates applicable to companies which are liable to minimum tax is the highest of any of the following: • 0.5 per cent of Gross Profit • 0.5 per cent of Net Assets • 0.25 per cent of Paid-up Share Capital • 0.25 per cent of Turnover of up to N500, 000.

If however the turnover is higher than N500, 000, the minimum tax payable will be the highest of the above plus 0.125 per cent of the excess of the turnover above N500, 000.

Treatment of Capital Allowances when Minimum tax is applicable

It is important to note that in any year of assessment when minimum tax is chargeable, the capital allowance due in that tax year must be adjusted against the profit of that year along with the unabsorbed balances brought forward. This treatment is adopted to ensure that the charging of minimum tax does not preclude the deduction from assessable profit and the utilisation of capital allowances for that year.

The position of the law is that capital allowances should be deducted as far as possible, from the assessable profit of that year and the unabsorbed portion, if any, shall be carried forward.

Minimum Tax on Dormant Cases Minimum Tax is justified on the theoretical premise that every asset should generate an income and it is applied as an anti-tax avoidance measure. This tax is sometimes referred to as asset tax. Already, it is being applied in that manner during periods of dormancy in the sense that minimum tax is computed and charged on net asset or share capital, whichever is the higher of the two. The aim of this clarification is to ensure uniformity in the application of the law on minimum tax with respect to dormant cases. Minimum tax should be computed although the assessment may be raised when the business eventually recommences.

Best of Judgment Assessment

This is raised where audited accounts and other relevant returns are not submitted within the stipulated time in line with the tax law. It is usually based on “fair and reasonable’’ estimate of income/profit of the preceding year’s results reported by the company.

Amended/Revised Assessment

Where accounts are submitted and the basis of the assessment is faulted, the original assessment earlier made is revised or amended in line with the new information as disclosed in the tax computations.

Additional Assessment

The Board is empowered to examine the returns submitted by taxpayers in order to ensure that the presentation of the accounting details conform with provisions of the Income Tax Act. Unapproved claims and allowances discovered are disallowed and added back to profit. This, in addition to other information will form the basis for additional assessment. All rules and regulations governing other assessments also apply to additional assessments.

Jeopardy/Protective Assessment

These assessments are raised on the ground of expediency.

If the relevant tax authority is of the opinion that such assessments are necessary for any reason of urgency, which may include the following: • Where a case referred to the Board for ruling is yet to be determined.

• Imminent liquidation of a company or an intention to dispose of its valuable assets, the result of which may cripple its operation.

• Imminent sale or transfer of trade/business of the company to another.

• Intended remittances to foreign partners.

• Payment being made to a taxpayer who had hither to been evading tax.

• Acting Executive Chairman, FIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mohammed

Mashi

• Imminent escape by a taxpayer to foreign counties.

• in all other cases of emergency.

Assessment on Turnover

Under Section 30(1) (a) and (b) of CITA C21 LFN, 2004, the Board is empowered to assess on the turnover of the taxpayer’s business. Where it appears that the trade or business produces no assessable profits or declare turnover that is less than might be expected to arise from such trade or business. Such an assessment is made by assuming a fair percentage of turnover as assessable or adjusted profit for the year to which capital allowances and other deductions are charged before arriving at total profit, And then applying the current rate of tax to determine tax due for the year.

Assessment Levied on Dividend Provision where no Tax is Computed or Payable Section 19 of CITA empowers the Board to raise assessment on amount of dividend paid to shareholders as if such dividend declared is the total profit of the company for the year of assessment to which the accounts relates. Such a situation may arise where a company declares dividend to its shareholders when it has no tax payable reported as a result of: • No total profits; or • Total profits which are less than the amount of dividend paid.

In all case where dividend is declared, officers should always compare the total profits to the amount of dividend declared.

Other assessments/Levies There are other levies or imposition usually encountered in the course of assessment duties, among which are:

Penalty for late returns:

Penalty is normally imposed when a taxpayer’s audited accounts and tax computations are submitted late to the Revenue Authority. The amount of penalty at present is N25,000 for the first month in which the failure occurs and N5000 for each subsequent month of failure. It is a form of assessment raised whenever the returns are submitted late. The amount is subject to review from time to time at the discretion of Government.

Pre-Operational Levy:

This is levy imposed on companies which fail to commence business within six months after their incorporation.

The levy is N20, 000 in the first instance and N5000 for any other year, if it still has not commenced business.

It is to be levied when the taxpayer applies for current Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC). Pre-operational levy should not be imposed for any previous years when the Company did not apply for TCC; neither should it be raised in arrears to cover earlier years.

Education Tax Levy:

This is a levy being imposed on all taxable companies in Nigeria to assist Government in the development of education in Nigeria. It is charged at the rate of two per cent of the assessable profit and should be assessed alongside the normal tax assessment for each year. Pioneer Companies are usually not assessed to Education Tax in view of the income exemption status from tax payment that they enjoy during the pioneer period.

BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

R

RBS plan for 200% bonuses blocked by Treasury body

OYAL Bank of Scotland has abandoned attempts to pay bonuses twice the size of salaries after being told the move would not be approved.

UKFI, the body that manages the Treasury’s 81 per cent stake in the bank, told RBS it would veto plans for a 2:1 bonus ratio at the next shareholder meeting.

“There will be no rise” while RBS is “still in recovery,” the Treasury said.

New EU rules mean the bank has to ask its shareholders for approval of annual bonuses above 100 per cent of base salaries.

“The new team at RBS have done a huge amount to repair what went so badly wrong in that bank, but there’s still a long way to go,” chancellor George Osborne told the British Broafcasting Corporation (BBC).

“We made it clear that in the circumstances it was not right to increase the bonus cap. I’m glad that RBS have agreed with that,” Mr Osborne added.

The BBC has learned that UKFI initially approached the Treasury to approve a raised 2:1 ceiling for bonuses compared with base salaries for RBS, but that the Treasury decided to cap bonuses at 1:1.

Mr Osborne told the BBC that there was no

ministerial pressure put on UKFI, and that the Treasury had worked as a team with the organisation.

RBS is the only major United Kingdom bank that has so far been denied 200 per cent bonuses by its shareholders.

The government will support 200 per cent bonuses at Lloyds, in which it holds less than 25 per cent of shares, because that bank has “largely completed its restructuring,” the Treasury spokesman said.

“We want to retain competitiveness in the banking market, but at the same time we

want the industry to show restraint,” the spokesman added.

Labour accused George Osborne of having a confused approach to bonuses for bankers.

In September, the Treasury launched a legal challenge against European Union (EU) plans to cap bankers’ bonuses.

“George Osborne is in a terrible muddle over bankers’ bonuses. He is spending taxpayer’s money on a legal fight in Brussels against the bonus cap and yet imposing the minimum cap at RBS,” said Labour’s shadow Treasury minister Cathy Jamieson.

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

POLITICS

43

MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

BENUE POLITICS Governor Gabriel Suswam and Senator Barnabas Gemade are the leading Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)senatorial aspirants in Benue Northeast Zone. Their ambitions have polarised the district. Who gets the ticket? Correspondent UJA EMMANUEL examines the struggles of the gladiators for the ticket.

Can Suswam displace Gemade in Benue Northeast?

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ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam and Senator Barnabas Gemade are foremost Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the Northcentral state. For seven and half year, Suswam, a lawyer, has been in the saddle as the governor. Before he became the governor, he was a member of the House of Representatives for eight years.

Gemade is also a household name in Benue. The former minister was the second National Chairman of the PDP. He and the governor hail from the Northeast District, which he represents in the Senate. The elder statesman was elected as a senator in 2011.

He is interested in a second term.

Since the governor is also interested in the same ticket, there is conflict between the two leaders arisen. The clash of ambition is now a source of worry to the PDP family in the zone.

A year ago, the former National Chairman unfolded his ambition for another term in the Senate. Many people supported his decision, saying that the party elder deserved the seat. However, Suswam’s supporters kicked against the move, saying that the old man should vacate the seat for a new blood.

However, certain developments in the state may have affected the 2015 calculations of the governor. The TivFulani crisis, has changed the perception of many people about Suswam.

Many lives have been lost and property and crops destroyed.

Critics have alleged that, owing to the poor handling of the crisis by the government, the Tiv, who are predominantly peasant farmers, have been severely affected by the tragedy. They also alleged that the governor was aloof to the plight of the victims, until his convoy was shot by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Guma Local Government Area. But, his intervention, according to critics, came too late as the victims had been displaced from their homes. In fact, the invaders had occupied their settlement and set many houses ablaze.

APD chieftain Hon. Thomas Anajav, who is Gemade’s legislative aide, recalled that, in that moment of anxiety when Benue farmers were killed, government was helpless. He said Gemade rose to the occasion as a leader, adding that his intervention prevented more damage.

Another politician, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “Senator Gemade approached the Presidency for troop deployment to Benue State. The Presidency asked Governor Gabriel Suswam to come with Gemade as the Chief Security Officer(CSO), but Suswam, for political reason, abandoned Gemade in the Presidency and refused to appear, after giving an assurance that he was coming. This annoyed many people”.

Anajav said that, although the President initially refused to accede to the senator’s request, unless the governor was in attendance at the meeting in Aso Villa, Gemade did not give up. He later sponsored a motion in the Senate, which led to the setting up of a Joint Fact-finding Committee to Benue. The committee was led

by Senator Mamman Magoro.

Anajav pointed out that Gemade’s

‘The governor wants to be relevant beyond 2015.

To remain relevant, he has his eyes on the Senate. The contest between him and Gemade cannot be a walk over. His supporters relish calling him the civilian General who always overcome difficulties. But, Gemade is also described as the rising star of the Tiv in his old age. Will the civilian General dim the star? Who wins the contest? Time will tell’ • Suswam

intervention in the Tiv/Fulani crisis has endeared him to the people of Benue Northeast, adding that they have resolved to return him to the Senate.

“The Senate is for mature mind. As a founding father of the PDP, member of the BOT and former Chairman of the party, Gemade’s experience cannot be ignored”, he added.

Also, crisis is brewing between the governor and teachers over welfare.

Sources said that primary school teachers have vowed to used their numerical strength to abort his senatorial ambition next year. The teacher are protesting over the irregular payment of salaries.

Suswam’s kinsmen in Tombo Ward, Logo local Government Area, also have an axe to grid with him over the handling of the Fulani’s attack on Ayilamo, the administrative

• Gemade

headquarters of Tombo. Ayilamo is five minutes drive from Anyiin, birthplace of the governor. The people alleged that he abandoned them, although he protected his home town by ensuring that a troop the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) of the Police paraded the town. Thus, when the invaders overran Ayilamo and adjoining settlements, including Tse Dzungwe, Anyibe,Tse Ibwar, Gbeleve, Adzege, Mbazaar, Tse Getim, Ikyungwa, and Uzer, the governor’s home town, Anyiin, was at peace.

Before the invasion, there was tension between indigenes and settlers in the area. Therefore, the people of Tombo perceived the exclusive protection of Ayiin within the framework of the imaginary plan by Mbagesa (Suswam kinsmen) to exterminate Tombow ward because

the people there perceived as settlers.

When Gemade hosted dignitaries for the burial of his mother, the governor was absent. This infuriated many party chieftains in the zone.

Few days to the ceremony, Suswam announced on the radio that he was embarking on his annual leave. Before then, he had always gone on without announcement. Critics read different meanings to the unusual announcement. Some said that he did it to discourage some governors and other prominent Nigerians from attending the event.

However, President Jonathan was represented by his Vice-President Namadi Sambo. Some ministers, former governors and PDP leaders, including Chief Tony Anenih, the BOT Charman, and secretary, Prof.

Jerry Gana, also witnessed the occa-

sion.

The ceremony was like a carnival.

A source said that it was at the ceremony that the decision to endorse Gemade as the candidate was taken.

“The party leaders, who appreciate Gemade’s contributions, vowed not to disgrace the former national chairman, when the time comes. For Suswan to defeat Gemade is like the camel passing through the eye of the needle”, added the source.

Since 1999, Suswam has not lost any election. Thus, he has earned the appellation of a civilian General in Benue. Will 2015 be different?

Between 1999 and 2003, he represented Logo-Ukum-Katsina Ala Constituency in the House of Representatives. Even, when his victory was disputed and he was dragged before the tribunal, he survived the barrier.

In 2007, when he contested the PDP governorship primaries, he failed to get the two-third majority of the delegates from 23 councils. But, another aspirant stepped down for him to enable him get the ticket.

He won the governorship election in 2007. He was dragged to the election tribunal by the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Professor Daniel Saror. The case was later withdrawn.

In 2011, Suswam defeated the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Professor Steven Ugba, during the governorship election. But, the victory is still being contested in the court.

The governor wants to be relevant beyond 2015. To remain relevant, he has his eyes on the Senate. The contest between him and Gemade cannot be a walk over. His supporters relish calling him the civilian General who always overcome difficulties. But, Gemade is also described as the rising star of the Tiv in his old age.

Will the civilian General dim the star? Who wins the contest? Time will tell.

• Front Row: Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Senator representing Kwara Central, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and Deputy Governor Elder Peter Kisra casting their votes during the Kwara State APC Congress in Ilorin on Saturday.

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

POLITICS ‘No imposition in Lagos APC’

Hon. Daniel Akpan represents Etinan Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State, in the House of Representatives. He spoke with DELE ANOFI on the seeming frosty relationship between the Presidency and the House, the gale of defections in the National Assembly and the 2015 elections.

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‘PDP governors can’t promote internal democracy’

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HE feeling is that the defections in the House of Representatives have affected unity in the Lower Chamber. What is your view?

The House is still united. When it has to do with the nation, the House takes a common position.

It is when it comes to politics that you would see members taking partisan positions ...

You can understand this better from our handling of the Appropriation Bill. We have been united on that. We are objectively looking at the budget; we will address every issue properly and we will pass the budget at the right time.

Why is the House always at loggerheads with the Executive?

I laugh when I hear people talk like that. There is nothing strange about our relationship with the President. We have lawmakers who are members of diff e re n t p o l i t i c al p a r t i es ; t h e y sometimes project the interest of their parties. It is a normal thing all over the world for the legislature to engage the executive to ensure good governance. What we perceive as fighting Mr. President is actually not what it is. We have a duty to ensure that the executive does the right thing for the general interest of our nation. Any day we gloss over the law of the land and allow the executive to do whatever it likes, our nation would be in trouble.

Would you say the attacks on President Jonathan over the 2015 election are justified?

I don’t think people should argue much about President Jonathan contesting election in 2015. The reason for saying that is that the President has performed creditably. He has been fair to every part of Nigeria. He has done a lot in transforming critical sectors, like education, health, roads etc. The practice the world over is that if a President has done well, people would repay him with a re-election.

Jonathan’s case is not an exception.

I want to call the attention of those criticising him to what was in place before he came into office. The country had problems on all fronts. He has fixed most of those problems and has registered an outstanding achievements. Any leader that is concerned about the welfare of his people more than that of himself deserves to be supported and re-elected by the electorate.

To the best of my knowledge, Jonathan has demonstrated that he loves Nigerians passionately; he has shown that the interest and welfare of the people are paramount to him.

Many Nigerians believe that the country has witnessed unprecedented crises during his tenure? What do you think?

It is an unfair assessment of the Jonathan Administration by anybody. He didn’t manufacture these crises; they were there when he came. The crises, I must tell you, are fallouts of many years of injustice, many years of bad governance by past leaders.

We ought to be grateful to him that he has managed these problems adroitly. He has shown that he is a unique leader.

Governance is not a tea party, it is fraught with challenges, with; problems. The issue is not whether a leader will, in the course of his administration witness crises, but how well he can manage and handle those crises.

With what all of us have seen so far, he has done well in managing these crises. There is no country in the world that is crisis-free today. Go to America, Germany, Britain, Russia, Japan, China etc; they have their own crises, which their leaders are managing. The crises were not manufactured by their leaders.

Life is all about recurring challenges. President Jonathan, like I said, met some crises when he took over power, he has been managing them- both the old and new ones. Anybody who will come after him will also be confronted with similar crises and he or she will also be expected to address these crises.

APC is waxing stronger. Some governors and lawmakers have defected from the PDP to the opposition party. Do you think Dr. Jonathan can win the 2015 election?

That has nothing to do with him. It is the people of Nigeria that would elect him. He has performed creditably and Nigerians love him. They are the ones who would decide if he deserves another term or not.

Sometimes we blow events in the party out of proportion.

There is no party that does not have one issue or the other that it is dealing with at one point or the other. The APC you are talking about has its own crisis.

What we call PDP crisis is nothing but an internal disagreement within the party. When members disagree, they also resolve their differences. This would not have any impact on Jonathan’s re-election.

Some PDP state chapters are accusing their governors of jettisoning internal democracy. In your view, how would this situation impact on Jonathan’s reelection in 2015?

Thank you for this question. I think we need to look at it objec-

‘In virtually all the states, governors on their last term have one person or the other who they want to impose on the people. They are not interested in providing a level playing field for every member of the party who wants to vie for the office’

• Akpan

tively. With the coming of the new PDP chairman, hopes and confidence of members have been renewed. He has promised to address some of the challenges. Sincerely, I think it is one problem that the leadership of the party must address as soon as possible. In virtually all the states, governors on their last term have one person or the other who they want to impose on the people. They are not interested in providing a level playing field for every member of the party who wants to vie for the office. That is not democracy.

It has got to a point where in some states, because these governors openly have people they are backi n g, yo u s e e e v e r yb o d y t al ki n g about the governor’s candidate and things like that.

I don’t think it is in the PDP constitution that governors should impose their lackeys on the party. I want to believe that the chairman of the party is concerned about what is happening and would swiftly address this problem in all the states.

Right now, there is so much tension in most states because of this undemocratic plot to impose candidates. I don’t know if such is happening in states where other parties are in charge. But in the case of our party, it is a big challenge.

The matter is made worse by the fact that PDP governors in some states have relocated party offices to their compound to enable them control delegates and other things. This is the time the National Chairman needs to work closely with all the state chapters, so as to enthrone genuine peace in the party. If this is not done, PDP may have problem in the next election, it may cost it some states. People are likely to reject some of the people being imposed by out-going governors. We must do everything to encourage a level playing field for every member.

When that is done, the party would certainly win the 2015 general election. Everything must be done to discourage imposition. We must pay attention to the calibre and popularity of aspirants. We must call our governors to order .

What is your take on the recent statement by Northern elders that Jonathan would not be re-elected?

To the best of my knowledge, it is not everybody in the North that is opposed to Jonathan’s re-election.

Some people are kicking against Jonathan while others want him to continue. Anybody who wants to contest an election would always have some people who are opposed to his aspiration. What matters is the number of people that are in support.

What would determine whether Jonathan will be re-elected or not is his scorecard. Fortunately, many Nigerians are happy with the improvements in power supply, in the health sector, in education, road infrastructure, as well as in the socio-economic well being of the masses. He has tackled major problems. The ordinary Nigerian is not interested in where the president comes from; he only wants an improvement in his standard of living.

HE New Justice Forum (NJF) has condemned the recent allegation by a faceless group that the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was planning to impose a governorship candidate on Lagos State.

In a statement by Mr. Taiwo Ayedun and Mr. Folami Olatunji on behalf of NJF, the group noted that the emergence of some faceless groups is not beyond expectation in this period of electioneering.

The group said that those peddling falsehood against Tinubu are desperate politicians, who lack popularity at the grassroots.

It added: “Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu is a true democrat and visionary leader.

The decision for the zoning of the governorship to Lagos East was agreed upon by all stakeholders in the party. We challenge those alleging that Bola Tinubu is planning to impose a governorship candidate to provide evidence. Asiwaju has said on several occasions that the voters will decide who they want as the governor when they go out to the polls.”

NJF however warned those planning to destabilise the party’s steady progress in Lagos to desist from the act, stressing that nothing good can come out of political gangsterism.

The group said: “Lagosians and true party members will decide what is right for Lagos, not a group like this one will decide for them.”

NJF commended Tinubu for building the party to an enviable level. It said that those peddling rumours have realised that they have no future in the party because they are lazy politicians.

NJF added: “We want to recognise the tireless effort of Tinubu and his leadership roles in Lagos and Nigeria. His clarity of mind and singleness of purpose is commendable. Asiwaju is currently pre-occupied with national assignments on the change agenda of the party and it is unfair to embark on activities that are capable of distracting him.

Aregbesola reiterates service

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said that his priority is to serve and leave behind a worthy legacy.

He said his administration will not relent in spreading the dividends of democracy across the 30 local governments in the state.

The governor spoke after receiving the ‘Living Legend of the Century Award’ from a group, the O’odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), in Lagos.

ONAC is a coalition of pan-Yoruba groups from eight Yoruba states of Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta.

The group also presented the O’odua Women Leadership Award to the 75year old Itsekiri leader, Chief Rita Lori Ogbebor, for nurturing the enduring bridge between Yoruba and Itsekiri.

Presenting the awards, the Aare Latoosa of Ibadanland, Chief Mabinuori Adegboyega, said Aregbesola has become a factor in the political and cultural development of Yorubaland. An Ijesa chief, Obanla Ogedengbe, who also witnessed the ceremony at the Centre for Management Development (CMD), Shangisha, Lagos, described the governor as a true Yoruba patriot and lover of his people.

Representatives of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Abubakar Kudu and the United Middle Belt Youth Congress,(UMBYC), Abukar Onalor, called for unity among the diverse tribes of Nigeria.

Aregbesola thanked the organisation and vowed to serve the people better. He said: ‘This centenary award is appreciated by me. Every opportunity given to man by God and the people must be used to serve. Failure to do this is disloyalty to God. I’m happy that our efforts in Osun are being appreciated beyond Osun State. There is no home in Osun that does not have a feel of our governance.

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Youths back Fayemi

GROUP, Ekiti Youth League (ELM), has kicked off a door-to-door campaign in Ekiti State for the All Progressives Congress (APC) can didate, Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The leader of the group, Mr. Smart Akin Oyeyemi, told reporters in AdoEkiti, the state capital, that its members are emotionally attached to the second term aspiration of the governor because he has served with diligence.

Ekiti Youth League is an umbrella association of youths associations in the state. At its recent meeting at Skelly Hotels and Suits, Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State, the group endorsed the governor and pledged to mobilise for his victory at the poll.

Oyeyemi described Fayemi as the best candidate, urging the people to vote wisely. He said: “We recognise the achievements of the governor across the sectors. We know that he made some promises to the state, which he has fulfilled. The impact of this administration is felt in our various communities. Governor Fayemi has not failed in his rescue mission. He has transformed the state and run a transparent and accountable government”.

Urging the people to vote for continuity, he said Ekiti has a unique opportunity on June 21 to secure its future by voting for the progressive governor.

Oyeyemi added: “My appeal to the stakeholders is that they should see the election as a project for the renewal of Fayemi’s mandate because he has performed. His performance is even recognised by the opposition.”

Ohaneze Ndigbo crisis deepens

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By Emeka Ugwuanyi

HE crisis in the apex Igbo socio-political group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, has escalated, following the alleged imposition of the executive committee on its youth wing.

The Igbo Youth Congress (IYC) has challenged the election that brought Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro as the new leader of Ohaneze Youth Council, claiming that the due process was not followed.

IYC National President Comrade Bright Ezeocha warned that Isiguzoro would not enjoy the backing of Igbo youths because they did not elect him as their leader. He alleged that certain Ndigbo leaders were behind the unpopular process that threw him up as the leader, urging them to retrace their steps.

Ezeocha said: “We reject the process because it lacked due process and therefore it is null and void. If the entire Ohaneze Ndigbo should stand tall as a true body representing the interest of Ndigbo, then the leadership should imbibe the culture of fair representation through transparent democratic process.

“I want to totally disagree with the statement credited to Isiguzoro that Igbo youths should be included in the amnesty programme as a way to end kidnapping in the region. I have always said that Ibos are very industrious and, if there is security problem in the region involving the youths, the solution is not amnesty.

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NEWS

‘Why banks should fund power projects’ Sterling Bank Plc is passionate about funding power projects and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The bank, which plans to raise $200 million to support lending to the sub-sector, is also preparing the youths to become entrepreneurs and better employees. The bank’s Chief Finance Officer, Abubakar Suleiman, says power crisis in the country can never be resolved unless there is adequate funding. He speaks with COLLINS NWEZE.

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TERLING Bank is trying to raise $200 million through bonds. What is the essence of

that?

We are one of the fastest growing banks in Sub Saharan Africa today.

We are talking about a bank that has just under 200 branches today and over 3,000 employees. Only few banks are growing as we are doing.

We need to continue to fund this growth and optimise our businesses. And to become a major player in Nigerian banking as we aspire to be, we need to improve our capital base. We are also optimising our capital base by raising not just core equity, which is tier one, we raised N12.1 billion last year, but also we want to mix it with tier two capitals to optimise our returns. It is our desire to continue to deliver 20 per cent return on equity for 2014 and going forward. And to do that, we need to optimise our capital.

But again, you also see growth in lending to sectors like power, oil and gas sectors, which we intend to do in US dollars.We are therefore raising tier two capital in dollars to fund these significant sectors that are transforming the Nigerian economy.

Let us look at the power sector where your bank is playing a major role. What is the justification for funding power sector given that the feed-back from that sector has not really been positive especially with current poor output. Does it make sense for banks to keep pumping funds into that sector?

We have the chicken and egg scenario when it comes to power. People want to see power that is working before investing. And power can never be resolved unless there is financing. So, at some point, somebody has to be courageous to make the right decision.

And a lot of work has been done.

And if you look at the current structure of the power sector, the parties are actually protected. The chance of losing money is almost none existent because we have significant protection for the lenders in terms of the structure and policy reforms.

We have to lend to the power sector, we have to transform that sector. We are ready to play that role, it is what banks exist to do and we will keep doing it.

What kind of protection are banks getting and where is it coming from?

The way we see the power sector is that the reform that has happened allows us to breakdown what used to be a very complex process to a more manageable processes. For instance, if you are in Lagos and you have the Ikeja Disco or the Eko Disco or Island Disco that’s a very manageable process. You know exactly what you are doing. You are going to buy and sell power from a source.

You need to transport power to places where it is to be used.

So, it is easy for a lender to sit and analyze this. It is important that we don’t rely too heavily on the Central Bank or government in financing this, although there would be some assistance from the regulator that would help in kick starting the process. It has to be private sector led otherwise it will not be sustainable.

So, what you are saying is that the way power sector is structured makes it easier to finance the sector?

Correct. You can pick a particular segment of the process that you are comfortable with and then, finance that.

Some of the banks have been complaining about tough regulation on the part of the Central Bank as reasons for poor result. What is the position in your bank?

I do not agree that the banks have performed poorly. If you look around, most banks in Sub Saharan Africa do not do better than 15 per cent Return on Equity (RoE). Nigerian banks are averaging 20 per cent RoE. So, that is not poor performance. Also, it is at a time that the sector is also growing. Is it true that the headwinds exist? Yes. The cost of resolution for the crisis of 2009 is something that will be with us for a while. But that does not stop you as a bank from aspiring to deliver good returns. These are difficult times. A time when government and regulatory authorities are trying to stabilise prices, including exchange rates and interest rates, and the choices available to them are limited.

Some of those choices include monetary policy, particularly, reserve requirement and monetary policy rate. There are not necessarily going to be in a direction that you will like in a short term, from the profitability perspective, but it will be in a direction that is in the best interest of the country.

And again, these are not policies that will be there forever. They will be applied in the best interest of the country, and when things stabilise, we expect some of these policies to be reversed and profitability will improve for the banks.

So, if you are in it for the long run, don’t worry too much about policy changes, quarter-on-quarter, you recognise that the best decision will be made for the country, and therefore for the various parts of the country, including the banking sector. I don’t worry a lot. Even if I have two quarters that are less than excellent performance, you cannot run an institution, where you achieve all your objectives in every quarter. As long as at the end of the year, or five years, you can look back and say, you have achieved the strategic objective for the institution, then you have done well.

At the Last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for private sector deposits by 300 basis points. That was like cutting banks on both sides given that the CRR on public sector deposits is already at 75 per cent?

If you sit down and focus purely on your return to shareholders, which is just one of the constituent stakeholders in the sector, maybe you will be a bit worried. Instead of 20 per cent RoE; you end up at 16 or 18, and that worries you. But if you take the entire picture, look at the need of the country, and the various issues that the government is dealing with, you understand there are

no options to this.

You cannot allow a certain level of liquidity in the system when you have pressure from the exchange rate. And even the banks themselves are not better off if liquidity is allowed in the system because what they gain, in terms of interest income, they may end up losing it if there is significant devaluation or devaluation that is not managed properly. In our view, it is something that must happen, and is not going to prevent any serious minded bank from returning decent ROE. Could exploring the SMEs sector be a solution to that?

The SMEs is a critical sector for us as a country, but it is not a formal sector to a large extent. Lending in banking is a bit difficult where the sector is not well structured. The first part of our job is to help SMEs begin to keep records, have respect for contracts, have basic accounts and start registering for taxes.

It is only when you do that that you will basically lend to SMEs. It is part of what we are doing. In the Meet the Executives, those potential SMEs we encounter, we begin to show them the way forward like the benefits of keeping proper records, and complying with the regulatory requirements.

Those that made it to the top 50 were sent for a training to enable them have proper structure before building a business. This will enable them have access to finance. The SMEs help, but it is important not to expect credit to the SMEs to increase significantly in a very short period of time. It is something that will happen gradually and over a long period of time.

Outside the SMEs and oil and gas financing, are there other areas banks should look into to bridge the revenue drop in their earnings?

As a bank, we doubled credit to the agriculture sector in 2013. It is because we believe in that. As a bank, we have been putting structures in place to enable us begin to lend to the educational sector. If you see the amount of money that is spent on education, year-in-year-out you know there is an opportunity there.

Financing will make that opportunity even more interesting because the institution can begin to expand and acquire the infrastructure they need to begin to provide high quality education. So, we think that lending to education will take time, but it is something that is going to pick up. We are also seeing increase in lending to the real estate and construction sectors especially, the residential real estate because of the huge gap.

So, working hand-in-hand with government, we need to see lending to real estate increase. The setting up of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (MRC) is playing a significant role in that direction. It is helping to make mortgage more affordable. Also, the current level of interest rate is high for

• Suleiman

many aspiring home owners to pay.

But if we work with the MRC that interest will be reduced to make it more affordable to people.

What was the most striking thing in your 2013 result?

We achieved our objective, and the target that was set for the year despite the difficult operating environment. Most importantly, we also reduced our cost to income ratio, and we are a more efficient bank today than we were before. We also achieved a 40 per cent growth in our risk assets, and 22 per cent growth in total assets. So, it is an encouraging performance that we are very proud of and intend to repeat in 2014.

Is the bank planning to acquire other lenders to grow its position in the market?

Sterling Bank is a product of mergers and acquisitions. If you know the story of Sterling, we are always excited about the possibility of partnering with existing institutions, through an acquisition, or proper merger where the bank is significant.

The reason for this is that by scaling up, we are actually reducing our cost of doing business making it easier to provide services to our customers at a lower price. That is the reason. Are we thinking of Mergers and acquisition? Certainly we are.

Have we reached a point where we can make an announcement and say, we are acquiring this? No we are not at that point yet.

But I am assuring you that at Sterling, we are very good at integrating banks. We integrated five banks in 2006, and acquired Equitorial Trust Bank which consisted of two different banking franchise and we were able to integrate them in record time. I think we are probably the best team today for integrating banks. And we will take advantage of that when the opportunity arises.

There are a good number of corporate social responsibil-ity (CSR)

‘The cost of resolution for the crisis of 2009 is something that will be with us for a while. But that does not stop you as a bank from aspiring to deliver good returns. These are difficult times. A time when government and regulatory authorities are trying to stabilise prices, including exchange rates and interest rates, and the choices available to them are limited’

works being championed by Sterling Bank. The projects (Get Ready for Work, quarterly cleaning exercise, publication of books on financial literacy for children, Meet the Executive among others look so creative, what is driving the bank to this direction?

Yes it does qualify as CSR especially the Get-Ready for Work. But you don’t do this because it is CSR; you have to believe deeply that you can change the society for better.

You don’t do it because it looks nice otherwise you won’t engage in the projects or invest the kind of money we are investing.

Our objective is to play an important role in rebuilding our society, in making it better. And like everybody else who has been paying close attention to Nigeria, we are very concerned about the number of people who are unemployed.

The thinking that government will have to create employment for everybody does not make sense. The private sector has to create employment.

And when we say that private sector has to create employment, it is not large corporations that will create employment for 10 or 20 million people.

It is the small-scale investors, the Small and Medium Enterprises. It is young people starting businesses for themselves and becoming gainfully employed. We have to help them achieve that. We have to give them the tools they require.

We have to help change their perspectives. We have to give them the tools they require. Which is why we started the Get Ready for Work concert. And also why we started projects like Meet the Executive for people who desire to start businesses but do not have the resources to do so. So, why are we doing it? We are doing this because as the significant player in Nigeria, we can, and we should do something about making the place better.

The Meet the Executive Campaign was exciting too. Have you concluded that?

It is something we want to stage frequently. The last campaign ended with the winners getting a contribution towards their equity in starting a business. The first three people are getting a significant amount to start their business which is not a loan, but they have to subject themselves to mentorship. We intend to continue to support them through the process of building their businesses.

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N EWS

Indian exports to West Africa records high growth

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NDIA’S exports to West Africa for the period April 2013 to February 2014 totalled around $6 billion, recording a 22.55 percent growth over the past year, a foreign trade performance analysis by the department of commerce under India’s ministry of commerce and industry has revealed.

Nigeria topped the list with Rs.14,526.49crore as against Rs.13,416.91 crore over the previous period and registered a growth of 8.27 percent. Ghana followed with Rs.4,651.73crore as against Rs.3,591.09 and registered a 29.54 percent growth.

Benin registered Rs.4,384.08crore as against Rs.2,276.32 crore and recorded a growth of 92.60 percent over the period. Exports to Togo

were worth Rs.2,524.91crore, a growth of 67.25 per cent of the previous year’s figure of Rs.1,509.68.

Senegal recorded a 0.64 percent growth over the previous year’s figure of Rs.1,964.35crore to Rs2,396.30 crore for the period from April 2013 to February 2014.

Exports to Cote d’Ivoire did not fare well as it registered a minus 13.14 percent fall from Rs.1,964.35crore to Rs.1,706.30 crore.

Cameroon showed a slight increase from Rs.1,235.49crore to Rs.1,470.65 crore. Liberia performed better registering a growth of 149.59 percent which saw exports rising from Rs.580.92 crore to Rs.1,449.91crore.

Guinea also saw a slight increase

of 14.19 percent recording Rs.1,124.07crore from a previous figure of Rs.984.40 crore. Similarly, Mali also registered an improvement over the previous year recording a 70.92 per cent growth from Rs.350.38 crore to Rs.598.86 crore.

Burkina Faso recorded a growth of 38.82 percent moving from Rs.406.18 crore to Rs.563.86, whilst Sierra Leone recorded a negative 40.26 growth by registering Rs.512.87 crore as against a previous figure of Rs.858.44 crore.

Niger registered a 73.97 percent growth increasing its Indian imports from Rs.287.42 crore to Rs.458.85 crore whilst Gambia recorded an increase from Rs.266.27

crore to Rs.458.85 crore. Guinea Bissau recorded a 210 percent growth with a figure of Rs109.85 crore from Rs.35.44 crore in the corresponding time last year.

The total Indian exports, including re-exports, up to March 2014 were valued $9.57 billion (Rs.180,469.82crore) which was 3.15 percent lower in dollar terms (8.61 percent higher in rupee terms) than the level of $30.54 billion (Rs.166,159.46 crore) during March 2013. Cumulative value of exports for the period April 2013 to March 2014 was $312,355.45 million (Rs.1,892,892.23 crore) as against $300,400.69 million (Rs.1,634,318.84 crore) registering a growth of 3.98 percent in dollar terms and growth

of 15.82 percent in rupee terms over the same period last year.

Overall imports for the same period were valued at $40.08 billion (Rs.244,579.27crore) representing a negative growth of 2.11 percent in dollar terms and growth of 9.79 percent in rupee terms over the level of imports valued at $40.94 billion (Rs.222,774.70 crore) in March, 2013.

Cumulative value of imports for the period April 2013 to March 2014 was $450.9 billion (Rs.2,719,206.15 crore) as against $449.07 billion (Rs.2,669,161.96 crore) registering a negative growth of 8.11 percent in dollar terms and growth of 1.87 percent in rupee terms over the same period last year.

Qatar buys helicopters, missiles in $23-billion deals

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ATAR announced contracts worth about $23-billion (U.S.) on Thursday to buy attack helicopters, guided missiles, tankers and other weapons from Boeing Co., Airbus SAS and other arms makers as the Gulf state accelerates its military build-up.

The world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter announced deals with about 20 global companies, including firms from the United States which were awarded deals worth 27.5 billion riyals ($7.6billion), said a spokeswoman for a Doha defense conference where the announcements were made.

Ukraine has won a $27-billion international financial lifeline, rushed through in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. As Joanna Partridge reports it comes as Moscow’s economy minister outlines the cost to Russia of the military action.

EU foreign ministers agree travel bans and asset freezes on 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, in response to Moscow’s seizure of Crimea and the region’s attempt to break from Ukraine and join Russia. But as Ivor Bennett reports, the sanctions could end up harming the EU just as much.

Qatar, and other Gulf Arab and Middle Eastern countries are looking to acquire new high-tech military equipment to protect themselves from neighbouring Iran and internal threats after the Arab Spring uprising.

Boeing confirmed that the announcement included a contract to buy 24 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and three Boeing 737 Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

The deal for the helicopters was valued at 8.9 billion riyals, said the spokeswoman for the conference.

In Paris, France’s Defense Ministry said Qatar had agreed to buy 22 NH90 military helicopters from a unit of European aerospace group Airbus worth •2-billion ($2.76-billion) and two Airbus-made refuelling tankers.

HIndustries is 62.5 per cent owned by Airbus’ Eurocopter helicopter unit, 32 per cent owned by AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy Finmeccanica’s and 5.5 per cent by Stork Fokker.

Qatar also committed to buy a Patriot missile defence system built

by Raytheon equipped with PAC-3 missiles made by Lockheed; advanced daytime, high-definition sensors and radars for Apache helicopters; and Javelin missiles built by a Lockheed-Raytheon joint venture, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Raytheon had told analysts in January that it expected to finalize an order with Qatar in the first half of 2014 for more than $2-billion in Patriot missile defence system equipment.

The Pentagon approved the sale to Qatar of $9.9-billion worth of Patriot fire units, radars, and various Raytheon and Lockheed missiles in November 2012.

The Defense Security Co-operation Agency, the U.S. body which oversees foreign arms sales, had notified lawmakers in July 2012 of a possible sale of Apache helicopters to Qatar.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. agency had no immediate comment.

Washington has been keen to deepen its co-operation with Gulf nations, which have been longstanding allies, on missile defence and increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

The Apache helicopters are built

by Boeing and used by the U.S. Army, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

•Sixth Chairman, Ikeja District Society, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Tunde Fagbulu, (middle) being decorated by representative of Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Mrs Elemanya Ebila and Secretary of the District, Tunde Onanuga at Fagbulu’s investiture in Lagos.

Barrick hopes to score with new measures in Tanzania

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N the midst of a drastic cost-cutting campaign at its three Tanzanian mines, African Barrick Gold PLC paused to make room for a new priority: a soccer match.

The subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corp. has been slashing costs and reducing jobs from top to bottom.

But it made an exception in three areas: public relations, community relations and government relations. Those are the only departments where it is adding staff.

Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk announced plans to step down from the company’s board Mr. Munk is perhaps best known for Barrick Gold Corp., a mining firm he founded in 1983. What started with a small stake in a Northern Ontario mine has evolved into the world’s largest gold producer.

The new priorities are an admission of African Barrick’s need to rehabilitate its brand in Tanzania after years of protests and clashes between local villagers and police at its North Mara gold mine. Dozens of villagers have been killed

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or injured in clashes at the site in recent years, including another incident last month in which a man was killed and a policeman was injured.

The soccer match between the company’s managers and local community leaders is an example of the company’s new strategy. “It would never have happened a couple of years ago,” Brad Gordon, the company’s new chief executive officer, said at the annual Mining Indaba conference of African mining investors on Tuesday.

Mr. Gordon insisted that the company is “starting to get on top” of community issues at North Mara, where thousands of villagers routinely invade the mining site to grab pieces of waste rock where tiny bits of gold can be extracted.

He said the company is developing an underground mine at North Mara, instead of expanding its pits.

This could ease tensions by reducing the amount of land that the company needs to acquire from the local community, where 70,000 people live in close proximity to

the mine.

But the company’s biggest priority remains its cost-cutting drive.

Its parent company, Barrick Gold, has cut or deferred billions of dollars in capital spending over the past year. African Barrick says it has identified $185-million (U.S.) in potential savings and was able to achieve about $100-million in cost reductions last year.

Mr. Gordon said the company has cut its expatriate staff to about 300 from 550 and will keep cutting in the next two years. It is also scaling back its administrative offices, recruiting contractors who are “more efficient,” and even eliminating the position of chief operating officer to save money.

African Barrick dominates the gold industry in Tanzania, producing more than 3 per cent of gross domestic product. With about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in its mines, it is the country’s biggest private employer. But its costs have weighed heavily on Barrick Gold’s balance sheets in the past.

Its biggest asset, the Bulyanhulu

mine, is a world-class deposit that should be profitable, but is hampered by outdated facilities, Mr. Gordon said. “The first time I walked into Bulyanhulu, I thought it had been built in the 1960s, but it’s actually quite new.”

He said the company is retaining psychologists and “cultural transformation” experts to improve its corporate leadership and employee relations at Bulyanhulu, and it will introduce a digital dispatch system to monitor its employees and underground activities.

Mr. Gordon is not the only mining executive to be preoccupied with modernizing mines and rescuing reputations. Anglo American PLC, the huge London-based multinational that remains the biggest miner in southern Africa, has candidly admitted the challenges.”We continually feel under siege,” KhanyisileKweyama, the company’s executive director for South Africa, said in a speech to the mining conference. “We have to do far better at eliminating the things we do that damage our reputation.”

Eskom defends proposed upgrades to head office

SKOM has defended its proposed upgrades to Megawatt Park, its head office in Johannesburg, as a necessity despite the utility being under financial constraints.

“These are essential, they are not lavish upgrades,” said spokesperson Andrew Etzinger.

He said the upgrades were necessary for the health and safety of the staff, data security and the improvement of energy efficiency.

The Sunday Times reported that the upgrades would cost the power utility R500 million.

Etzinger, however, could not confirm the costs. He said there was no trade-off between the health and wellness of staff and investments.

“Various components are in the process of going to tender but we cannot pre-empt the costs,” he said.

The Sunday Times reported that R3 million was earmarked for a VIP entrance and offices, plus R608 000 for curtaining. Landscaping would cost R1.4 million.

The upgrades would also include an emergency generator installed at a cost of R8.5 million and an un-

interrupted power supply systems for R6.7 million.

Another R81 million would be spent on air conditioning, heating and ventilation, the paper reported.

Etzinger said the proposed upgrades were to bring the building in line with energy consumption standards in the country.The focus of Eskom executives should be in preventing rolling blackouts instead of seeking to maximise creature comforts .

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it would write to the chair-

person on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, ThembaGodi, demanding Eskom executives urgently be summoned to Parliament over the proposed upgrade.

DA spokesperson Natasha Michaels said the DA could not stand by while the South African public was forced to foot the bill for the “mother of all extreme make-overs”.

“To add insult to injury, it is the South African public who will feel the brunt of load-shedding in the winter months ahead,” she said in a statement.

OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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NEWS (SHOWBIZ)

Emmanuel Ikubese now Mr Nigeria

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MMANUEL Ikubese’s profile got a boost on Saturday when he emerged the winner of the 2014 edition of Mr. Nigeria contest at the Eko Hotel and Suite, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Ikusebe, who played the role of Femi in the HIV awareness TV campaign series, Shuga, had beaten 19 other contestants to clinch the coveted prize.

The runners-up in the contest are Amilo Michael, Ohaegbu Chibuzor Tyrone, Asinobi Steve Nnadozie and Austine Igwilo.

As the new Mr. Nigeria, Ikubese went home with N1million, a brand new car and a trip to London to compete for the Mr. World pageant. He also got a one- year contract with an international modelling agency.

Ikubese, an actor, model and singer, hails from Delta

Linda Ikeji denies dating Jude Okoye

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OPULAR blogger, Linda Ikeji, has described as untrue the reports that she is dating P-Square’s manager and video director, Jude Okoye.

In an attempt to clear the air, she wrote, via her blog, that she had never had any romantic affair with Jude Okoye.

According to her, “Where did all this (that I dated Jude Okoye) come from? I saw all the comments in the previous post (his engagement) and I was like...what? I’m sure he’s a great guy; I’m not into celeb men. I’m an Igbo girl, so that one na bad market. I gossip for a living. So, imagine if I were dating any Naija celeb guy, I won’t be able to write about his colleagues. They will be reporting me to him every day. I stay far away from them. I’ve only met Jude and his brothers twice in my life, briefly, at events,” she stated.

The popular blogger further reiterated her resolve not to have sex until she gets married. She said: “No sex for this lady anymore until he puts a ring on it. I made that promise a few years ago and I’m sticking to it...until maybe I meet a guy so hot my jaw drops. For now, I’m fine!”

•Okoye

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By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

State. He is a graduate of International Relations from the United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya. He started modelling while in the university and later ventured into music and acting. He has also done a couple of movies and TV shows in Kenya and Nigeria.

EFCC shuts down Laide No plans to release an album this year, says Chuddy K Bakare’s boutique P T HIS is certainly not the best of times for popular Yoruba actress, Laide Bakare, as she seems to have been caught in the web of the faceoff, involving her husband, Alhaji Atanda Orilowo and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

For the actress, things became worse over the weekend when the EFCC reportedly obtained a forfeiture order on all known properties of her husband, following an alleged fraud.

Consequently, he will be required to give up his choice properties, including the new boutique he

By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

opened for the actress.

It was also learnt that copies of the court orders had been displayed at Orilowo’s two filling stations.

His ordeal began after he was alleged to have been involved in a N2.5bn scam for the construction of a Y’ellow Estate in Okun Ajah, Lagos A few weeks back, Orilowo had denied that he was on the run and that the EFCC did not follow due process before declaring him wanted.

He, therefore, threatened to go to court to “put a stop to the intimidation by EFCC and settle all the issues once and for all.”

•Lamorde

OPULAR Hip hop singer, Ken Aghali, aka Chuddy K, has disclosed that he will not release any album this year, even as he prepares for his first tour of Europe tagged “Gaga Crazy Tour 2014.”

The tour, which will run between May and July, is packaged and sponsored by America Entertainment and Ruling House of Music.

His tour manager, Alex Ozone, who confirmed the trip, said the response to the tour from Europe-based promoters had been impressive.

The singer, who expressed his joy over the development in his career, said: “I am looking forward to seeing crowds at my show. I know that Gaga Crazy and Brazilian Hair are very big in Europe. I am aware that my latest songs, Rambo

and Immabong, have been well received by my European fans too.”

“I am looking forward to shooting two music videos in Europe. I am also planning a US tour in August. I have no plans to release any album year, except more singles and videos.”

•Chuddy K

Breakup rumour: P-square makes public appearance

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ENSATIONAL twin singers, Peter and Paul Okoye, on Saturday, April 26, made their first public appearance together at the Ibiza House Party at Piccolo Mondo hosted by top model, Sarah Ofili.

This came a week after speculations that they were considering going their separate ways.

It was gathered that Peter Okoye and his brother cum manager, Jude Okoye, had arrived at the party before Paul Okoye and his wife strolled into the V.I.P section a few minutes after.

By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

Others in attendance were Don Flex, their choreographer; Tony Okoye, their brother and Cynthia Morgan, a fast-rising dancehall act. Phyno also came to the party with the singing duo who partied for a couple of hours before leaving.

For the better part of last week, the music group was said to be on the verge of collapse, following disagreement that reportedly threatened their brand endorsement deal with the telecommunication company, Globacom.

•P-Square

New release date for Half of a Yellow Sun WING to delay in obtaining the required certification from the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), the distributors of multimillion dollar flick, Half of a Yellow Sun, have now rescheduled its release date.

Against this backdrop, the movie will now be released on Friday, May 2, as against the earlier anticipated April 25.

Shareman Media, the Ni-

•Ikubese

gerian producers, and FilmOne Distribution, the Nigerian distributors of the feature film, made the following announcement to that effect: “The highly anticipated release of Half of a Yellow Sun in Nigeria has been postponed due to delay in obtaining certification from the National Film and Video Censors Board for the public release of the film. Subject to obtaining the certification of the Board, the film is now re-

scheduled for release on May 2, 2014.”

Over the weekend, there were heightened feelings in the Nigerian cyber space when it was rumoured that the movie was banned from showing at cinemas by the NFVCB. According to reports, the film, an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel by the same title, was not approved by the board because of some scenes that were considered to whip up

tribal sentiments, especially as it relates to the Nigerian civil war.

Half of a Yellow Sun is a 2013 Nigerian drama film directed by Biyi Bandele. The film is a love story that follows two sisters who are caught up in the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war.

It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Genevieve Nnaji, Onyeka Onwenu, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, OC Ukeje, and John Boyega, among others.

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014

NEWS

Kumuyi, UN hail Uduaghan THE United Nations and the General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, have lauded Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s developmental strides.

UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria Daouda Toure praised the state for being the first to submit its performance in key sectors: health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation for assessment.

Toure, who was represented by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Representative, Ms Louise Sethswaelo, said: “The UN System commends Uduaghan for signing up his state for the assessment of key sectors of agriculture, water and sanitation, education and health.

“This assessment is an indication of the state’s commitment to the broad ideals of good governance, democracy, peace and security, among others.”

Kumuyi said: “I thank the Lord for the great strides of development that I see in the state. As I passed through, I noticed that everything has changed.

“I believe that as we move on with selfless efforts to be a blessing to the people, this state will become a model state in the country.”

Protest in Delta Polytechnic From Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt

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ROPERTIES worth millions of naira were destroyed at the weekend by rampaging students of the Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe Oghara.

The students, it was gathered, were protesting the decision of the management to stop those who had not paid their school fees from writing examinations.

The atmosphere on campus changed when the protest broke down into a riot, with participants closing entrances into the school, destroying properties, disrupting exams in the Faculty of Engineering and setting bonfires in various parts.

Expert charges insurance brokers on public building awareness From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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N insurance expert, Mr Segun Olaniran has called on insurance brokers in the country to create more awareness on the benefit associated with the public building insurance policy, for effective patronage.

He stated that Insurance education is the key to promote insurance policy in the country.

Olaniran spoke yesterday at the broker’s day/investiture of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Ibadan chapter, held at JOGOR Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

“This product is not new to the western world, however why it is made compulsory in Nigeria is to make cover for third parties, which is the users of public buildings. The insurance brokers are the major marketers to the grassroot and they need to go out to educate the potential buyers of the product” he said.

Olaniran said the public building insurance covers hazards such as building collapse, fire, earthquake and storms, noting that compensation are provided for bodily injury, death and property.

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HE Inspector-General of Police and the Director of State Security Service (SSS) have been urged to call members of the Labour Party (LP) in Ekiti State to order following the alleged violence they perpetrated in Itaji-Ekiti at the weekend.

In a statement, The Sixth Pillar, a socio-cultural group of Itaji and Oloje sons and daughters, said irrespective of political standing, status or indigeneship, the people of Itaji would not stand criminals who pose as politicians.

The group, which said one of its members was in Itaji to see a relation on Friday and witnessed the war declared on Itaji by the LP on Friday, wondered why their people should be subjected to such a display of terror because of someone’s governorship ambition.

The statement reads: “One of our members was conversing with some people outside the house of one late Mrs. Adeyeye, popularly known as Ajepe, when the Labour Party gang of criminals drove by. The LP thugs looked in their direction and shouted

Groups to IG, SSS: call Ekiti LP to order

•The scene of violence in Itaji-Ekiti...at the weekend From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

‘Labour Party!’. Their refusal to respond drew gunshots from the thugs. They operated unchecked for three hours like.

“According to those who were peeping from where they were hiding from the bullets , the criminals had a bus-load of ammunition to draw from. While

some were firing shots into houses, others with cutlasses were smashing and hacking down anything within reach.

Two natives of Itaji, Kupolusi Sunday and Dele Ishola, were hacked by the LP thugs. While Kupolusi was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Ido, Dele Ishola, was admitted at the Ayede General Hospital. As of yesterday night, Kupolusi

Sunday was breathing with the aid of an oxygen tube. These are the imprints of violence’’.

The Sixth Pillar said cars were also vandalised.

The group said it had good evidence to sue the Labour Party as it identified those who were pointing out APC members in the community to the LP criminals.

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GROUP, the Yoruba Ronu leadership Forum (YCF) has called for the stoppage of the national conference to show the sincerity of Nigerians in looking for the kidnapped 234 school girls In a statement, the group, General Secretary, Akin Malaolu, said Nigerians ought to show more concern in finding the girls.

He said: “It is an obvious fact that the nation’s leaders together with the COMRADES and ACTIVISTS lack human milk of kindness in them regarding the trauma and torture the kidnapped school girls and their parents are subjected.

Today, parents and guardians of these children alone have shown the sagacity expected in the search for them, while those whose duty it is to protect them are busy at their desks lamenting and rejoicing at the same time.

Olubolade assures Fayose of victory

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ORMER Police Affairs Minister Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade (rtd) has assured the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the June 21 election in Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose, of victory.

In what was believed to be a reconciliation meeting yesterday in Ipoti Ekiti, Olubolade’s town, the former min-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

ister, alongside other leaders said he would do everything to ensure the success of the PDP candidate at the polls.

According to Olubolade, ‘prostitute’ politicians have everything to lose, including reputation and achievement, saying he was not a fair weath-

er politician and that he would stand by the decision of the party.

Said he: “For those asking why I have kept quiet all this while, I say there is no time limit to speaking. I am not a politician who goes in search of greener pastures here and there.

“I am a disciplined party

man and would always abide with the decisions of party leaders and I am not the type who would betray his leader.

I have my followers.

“They will vote for you.

You will get there. I will work for you. You are a grassroots man. My main assignment is for Fayose to win and he will see the effect of my work. APC

The Nation is Bayelsa’s best daily

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Group seeks better action on abducted school girls

IBB: Oshiomhole has transformed Edo From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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HE Nation has been voted by Bayelsa State people as their best national

daily.

The paper clinched the award organised by the Bayelsa Media Award (BMA) at the weekend after beating Punch, Vanguard, The Sun and National Mirror.

The ceremony, which was held at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre in Yenagoa, was witnessed by media executives and veterans in journalism.

This newspaper’s award was received by the Bayelsa State Senior Correspondent, Mike Odiegwu.

The Nation has been adequately covering the state, reporting events and incidents, especially in its newly introduced magazine, The Niger Delta Report, which is published every Friday.

The President, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Udens Eradiri, described the award as “a well-deserved award”.

A broadcaster, Tariere Abali, was voted the best rising star on radio; David Amiebor, best rising star on television and Reflector won the best local newspaper.

Royal Football Fiesta is best sports programme on radio; Dentei Emmanuel best reporter on radio; Crystal Sports, best sports programme on television and Traffic Yarns emerged the best Pidgin programme on radio.

Ovieteme George of the African Independent Television (AIT) won the best reporter on

is running a government of deceit and it must be booted out. Ekiti must be rescued and only Fayose can do that,” he said.

Olubolade also disclosed that the All Progressives Congress offered him an invitation to join the party, noting “they were only chasing shadows”.

•Odiegwu (left) and Binaware at the event From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

television; Alaere Pinadiri, best newscaster television; Nelson Oweifaghaware; best newscaster, radio while M.C Aproko became the best comedian.

Others are best television

programme, Optimum Sounds; best radio programme “The Clinic”; best voice radio, Flyboi Michael; best television presenter, Teddy Branbaifa; best radio presenter, Tari Olali; best television station Niger Delta Television (NDTV) and

best radio station, Glory FM97.1.

One of the organisers, Victor Binaware, said: “The awards are aimed at encouraging individuals and organisations which have distinguished themselves in the media profession and society development.”

ORMER military president Gen Ibrahim Babangida has extolled the virtues of Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

He said the transformation in the state was consistent with the governor’s antecedents.

Babangida spoke at Igueben, at the weekend, where he was chairman at the 70th birthday party of Chief Tom Ikimi, a former minister of Foreign Affairs.

He said: “I want to pay special homage to my comrade governor, who has been doing so much to transform Edo State.

“As a regular visitor to the state, I could feel the impact of good governance not only on the faces of the people but also on infrastructure. I saw several red roof schools on my way here.

“I saw well cultivated lawns, walkways and beautiful road networks. I saw expansions on roads that were hitherto narrow. In fact, the feeling of a transformed Edo State is palpable.

“I am not surprised that all these are happening in Edo State given the antecedents of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

“With courage and strong political will coupled with the support of political leaders such as Ikimi, it is understandable why the infrastructural architecture of Edo State has assumed this enviable height.”

Babangida was not alone in his analysis; former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu also praised Oshiomhole for concentrating on development.

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NEWS

Five killed in Nasarawa crisis Military happy with operations in Borno, says spokesman T T

HE Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said yesterday that the military was satisfied with its ongoing operations in Borno.

Olukolade said this in an interview on the sideline of media tour of military operations in Maiduguri.

He said the troops had been able to sustain momentum in terms of the offensive against the terrorists.

“The bases we visited were part of the responses to the terrorist offensive and that is an achievement; the military had moved

close to where the insurgents are. It shows that the military had taken over the land. “ The defence spokesman said the morale of the soldiers was high, adding that ‘’we are expecting to see more successes from the troops’’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a group of reporters visited military camps in and around Maiduguri.

The group visited 7 Divi-

sion Headquarters, 7 Division Garrison, military check points in and around Maiduguri, amongst others.

At the camp on the outskirts of Bulanbuli, the soldiers were seen carrying out their duties.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maj-Gen. Ahmed Mohammed, told the troops that the Federal Government was happy with their operations.

“That is why we are here

to say a big thank you and to convey the nation’s appreciation.

“I wish to thank you for your courage and dedication.”

The reporters were also taken on patrols, which lasted from 9pm till 12.30am, around Maiduguri and its environs.

The essence of the tour, according to Olukolade, is to have a first-hand information on the operations of the troops.

Pro-Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Prof.

Wale Omole (left) presenting an award to the representative of the Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Lagos State, Irikefe Evwibovwe during the 8th Annual Global Leaders of Integrity Merit Awards in Accra, Ghana...at the weekend. With them is Publisher, Ovation, Chief Dele Momodu.

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Don’t judge me by your standard, Kwankwaso tells Jonathan

ANO State Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso has described as baseless the claim made by President Goodluck Jonathan that the government cannot account for the money received from the Federation Account.

The governor said all the money collected by the state were judiciously spent and properly recorded.

He said this at a meeting with the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders at the Government House yesterday.

Kwankwaso said the President was trying to judge everybody by his standard.

The governor maintained that people are satisfied with the way the money is being spent on life-changing

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

projects that will stand the test of time, adding that the projects embarked upon by the government are genuine, extensive and verifiable.

Kwankwaso said he has been looking for people who steal government’s money to punish as his administration has not and will never tolerate or encourage corruption.

“I challenge anyone, including the President, if he finds anybody who siphoned local or state government’s money to report to me and see what action my administration would take against the offender.”

The governor said he is not under the President, but under the people who voted him into office.

“They are the ones who have the right to query me not President Jonathan, who is known to punish whistleblowers like our respected son, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

“In Kano we welcome whistleblowers and commend them for joining hands with government to fight corruption.”

Kwankwaso, who lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for organising a jamboree in the name of unity rally in Kano, said the gathering, which

was graced by the President, was attended by outsiders, adding that even its socalled stakeholders shunned the venue.

“These new associates of the President in Kano are not credible people, and do not have any supporters, therefore, they would only contribute to his failure and pave way for the APC to win the 2015 general elections.”

The governor expressed satisfaction with the APC ward and local government elections, describing it “as a step towards capturing the 44 local government areas of the state in the forthcoming elections.”

Wamakko: APC’ll liberate Nigeria

S

OKOTO State Governor Aliyu Wamakko has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has an agenda to liberate the country from misdirection, weak and incompetent leadership.

He said the party was striving to win the presidential elections in 2015.

Wamakko, who spoke at the weekend after the APC congress, said the party was focused and determined to salvage the country from ruins.

He assured that APC would not toy with Nigerians’ interest or intimidate them.

The governor said the

From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

party would ensure good governance, transparency and accountability across the country.

“APC is willing to transform Nigeria by ensuring the desired change in the polity.

“By the grace of God, APC will win the presidential election in 2015 and establish a federal government that will lead to the attainment of the Nigeria of our dreams and a government that will not intimidate the people.

“I am confident that we will win in 2015 and I am

appealing to all Nigerians to join in the crusade of liberating Nigeria from weak and incompetent leadership.”

“I wish to commend the state interim caretaker committee for doing a good job and I say congratulations to the new executive members and urge them to carry all along to ensure the party’s victory in 2015.”

The Chairman, Bala Abubakar, thanked party members for giving him the mandate to serve.

Abubakar pledged to work with all members, promising to justify the confidence reposed in him.

HE police in Nasarawa State confirmed yesterday that five persons died in a renewed communal crisis.

Police spokesman Umar Ismaila said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.

He said the crisis broke out between the Eggon and Gwandara ethnic groups over a farm land at Igga in Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area.

Umar, however, said normalcy had been restored in the area, following the prompt response of the police.

The police spokesman said investigation had commenced and urged residents to avoid taking laws into their hands.

Gaidam blasts Fed Govt

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OBE State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam lambasted the Federal Government yesterday for “abandoning” the Federal University, Gashua.

He said the Vice Chancellor has been operating from Abuja.

Gaidam, who spoke during the All Progressives Congress (APC) state congress in Damaturu, said he was disappointed by the lack of federal presence in the state.

“Yes, they have given us a Federal University at Gashua. We have provided everything for them. Enough land but nothing has been done.

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

Up to this moment, the Vice Chancellor has been operating from Abuja instead of his base at Gashua. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Gaidam lamented that Nollywood was given a grant of N3billion by the Federal Government whereas Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states only got about N400 million.

The Federal University Gashua is one of the six federal universities approved by the Federal Government last year. Academic activities are yet to take off at the institution.

Dangote Group donates relief materials

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ANGOTE Group has donated 12 trailer-loads of relief materials worth N40 million to the Benue State Government.

The materials, according to the Group, is meant to support the effort of the government to bring succour to the victims of the recent crisis in some parts of the state.

Speaking at the formal handover in Makurdi, the President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said: “ We have a very cordial relationship with our host communities and it is only natural we identify with them at a time like this. What has happened is unfortunate and we empathise with all the affected people.”

Dangote, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Joseph Makoju, said: “The Gabriel Suswam administration has done a lot to improve the wellbeing of the people. The infrastructural development in Benue State has been significant and his love for his people is unparallel.”

He said the donation was part of his company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

Governor Suswam said he was overwhelmed by the donation. " Dangote Group's donation today has been overwhelming. We remain grateful. Benue people are happy with the oganisation's activities and I am using this opportunity to urge other corporate bodies to also give back and make the people their priorities."

Kaduna gets $141m from IDB

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HE Kaduna State government has launched a $141.45 million partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for the provision of infrastructure in health, education and water supply.

Under the partnership, the IDB is providing $141 million for the building of Transmission Mains and Service Reservoirs at the Zaria Regional Water Supply Project, modern equipment at the 300 bed-space Specialist Hospital at the Millennium City and four new science secondary

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

schools.

Speaking at the start-up project launching of the IDB funded projects yesterday, Governor Ramalan Yero reiterated his administration’s commitment to completing all projects it inherited.

“We will not allow Kaduna State to be thrown into anarchy, every citizen must respect the law and we have to be steadfast in ensuring that we don’t allow outsiders to create confusion and then run away and leave us in trouble.”

Five filling stations shut in Kwara

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•Wamakko

He said: "We are indeed grateful for the confidence reposed in us to steer the affairs of the party and we assure you that by the grace of God, we will not fail.

HE Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Kwara State sealed off yesterday five filling stations for diversion of petroleum products, over pricing, illegal operations and adulteration.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that DPR State Controller Amos Jokodola ordered the closure during an unscheduled visit to the stations.

Bollyma Petrol station on llorin-Jebba road was sealed off for suspected diversion of 22,000 litres of petrol, Olutola petrol station on

Ajase-Ipo road shut for suspected diversion of 33, 000 litres of petrol and AB Lawal Petroleum Station on Erin-Iie-Offa road sanctioned for selling at N120 per litre.

Others were Kareinat Petrol on Ira-Offa road for operating without DPR Licence and Rafmore Petroleum on Erin-IIe-Offa road for suspected product adulteration.

Jokodola also directed Tade Petrol station on ErinIIe-Offa road and Okin Oloja Petrol station on old Jebba road to adjust their pump price to N97 per litre.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

56

FOREIGN NEWS

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Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russian gunmen show seized monitors

RO-RUSSIAN gunmen in eastern Ukraine have shown seized European military observers to the media, amid attempts to secure their immediate release.

One of the observers presented in the city of Sloviansk said that none of the group had been harmed.

A team from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is hoping to begin negotiations.

The gunmen continue to occupy official buildings in a dozen eastern cities, defying the government in Kiev.

US President Barack Obama said the Kremlin had “not lifted a finger” to implement last week’s deal in Geneva aimed at easing the crisis.

The self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, has previously asked for Russian troops EU diplomats are expected to meet today to discuss fresh sanctions against Russia.

The Kremlin denies supporting the militia in eastern Ukraine.

The monitors - who were captured in the flashpoint town on Friday - were led into the building by masked gunmen.

“All the European officers are in good health and no-one is sick,” said German monitor Col Axel Schneider.

Earlier in the day, an OSCE source told the BBC that the

group’s negotiating team had been sent to Sloviansk to try to secure the monitors’ release.

The source declined to say how many negotiators were heading to the flashpoint eastern town.

Meanwhile, Sloviansk’s selfdeclared mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov said there was the possibility of exchanging the monitors for militia members held by the Kiev government.

Russia, an OSCE member, earlier pledged that it would “take all possible steps” to secure the release of the observers.

Meanwhile, Kiev accused the militia of using the Europeans as a “human shield”.

The West is accusing Moscow of leading a secessionist revolt in eastern Ukraine after it an-

E

nexed Crimea last month. Moscow denies the claim.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine must end military operations in the east of the country as part of urgent measures to defuse the crisis.

Ukrainian troops have carried out a number of raids to try to regain control of official buildings.

The crisis began when protesters toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February and has since plunged East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War. Russia has tens of thousands of troops deployed along its side of the border with Ukraine and has said it will act if its interests

are threatened.

On Saturday, the G7 praised Ukraine for acting with restraint in dealing with the “armed bands” that had occupied government buildings.

But the group, which comprises the US, UK, Germany, Japan, France, Canada and Italy, condemned Russia’s “increasingly concerning rhetoric and ongoing threatening military manoeuvres.”

The G7 said it was committed to intensifying sanctions on Russia, ahead of Ukrainian presidential elections next month.

The US and EU already have asset freezes and travel bans in place targeting a number of Russian individuals and firms accused of playing a part in the annexation of Crimea.

El Salvador corruption: ‘New evidence’ against ex-president

L Salvador President Mauricio Funes has said there is new incriminating evidence against former President Florencio Flores, who is facing corruption allegations.

Mr Funes said prosecutors in Costa Rica found bank accounts in the name of Mr Flores.

The former president had denied under oath having any accounts abroad.

The government accuses Mr Flores, who governed between 1999 and 2004, of misusing funds donated by Taiwan.

Mr Flores told a congressional panel in January that he had received cheques worth $10m (£6.5m) from Taiwan during the last two years

of his presidency.

But Mr Flores denied the funds were for his personal use. He said Taiwan donated the money to El Salvador.

“I would like to say that I have never deposited a cheque from Taiwan’s government in any account; that is key for me, to make clear that I have never deposited a cheque from Taiwan’s government in any account,” Mr Flores told the congressional panel set up to trace the money.

But Mr Funes said that Costa Rica “will send the documents of the Flores case” this week.

Obama defends Malaysia rights stance

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NITED STATES President Barack Obama has defended his decision not to meet Malaysia’s jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim during his trip to Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Obama said the decision did not indicate a lack of concern, and said that he and Prime Minister Najib Razak had spoken about human rights.

The US had condemned Mr Anwar’s sodomy conviction as politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the two leaders have agreed to upgrade diplomatic ties to a “comprehensive partnership”.

Mr Najib said this would entail greater collaboration on the economy, security, education, science and technology.

Mr Obama, the first serving US president to visit Malaysia for nearly 50 years, said the two countries are at the start of a “new era of partnership”.

The president was asked during a news conference with Mr Najib why he had not made any comment about Mr Anwar’s case.

He said: “The fact that I haven’t met with Mr Anwar is not indicative of a lack of concern.”

Instead, he stressed that both the US and Malaysia still had work to do on civil liberties and political reform.

Mr Obama, who spent some of his childhood in neighbouring Indonesia, said he had shared with Mr Najib his “core

•President Obama

belief” that societies that respect civil rights will be more successful in the 21st Century.

America’s national security adviser Susan Rice is due to visit Mr Anwar later in the week.

Mr Obama arrived in Malaysia on Saturday following stops in Japan and South Korea and ahead of a visit to the Philippines.

Yesterday morning - in hot and muggy weather - he visited the National Mosque of Malaysia in black socks, removing his shoes in keeping with protocol.

He stopped for a few moments in a prayer room with his head bowed.

Mr Obama will end his visit by speaking to young people from around South East Asia at a town hall meeting.

His visit to the region comes at a tense time as China’s assertive stance in territorial disputes has its smaller neighbours on edge.

Ahead of his visit, Malaysia’s government-controlled newspapers printed the US flag on their front pages, along with the words “Welcome, Mr President”.

FOREIGN MUSINGS

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Ukraine: The drums of war

S rightly predicted last week in this column, the quartet’s Geneva agreement signed between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine; United States ‘Secretary of State and the European Union Operations Chief is a document dead on arrival.

The ink had not dried on it when the first breach occurred with the killing of a pro-Russian supremacist in Eastern Ukraine thereby setting the stage for domino spiral to start cascading.

The past week saw swift actions and reactions of fatal consequences. Five more pro-Russians nationalists were shot and killed in the same region; one Ukraine chopper was shot down with a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) and the pilot narrowly escaping albeit with serious injuries.

The European monitoring team under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe along with five Ukrainian soldiers were abducted and now still being held at government buildings by pro-Russia paramilitary forces. Russsia has promised to intervene in helping to secure their release but the theory making rounds is that they will be used as exchange pawns for detained pro-Russian operatives in Kiev.

The diplomatic front was loaded with actions from all fronts from Washington to Geneva and London as new set of sanctions were put in place by the G7 group covering another set of Russian officials connected directly to the whole sordid affair.

President Putin not to be left behind is threatening fire and brimstone against those who commit crime against humanity. At least, for once Moscow is checking its political lexicon to teach us a thing or two about human rights abuse. How timely and how convenient. We are watching.

In the Far East, U.S President Barack Obama began a four-nation tour of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.

As expected, every stop has been marred by one controversy or the other. The first port of call was Japan which has been locked with China in a territorial dispute over the Sekaku Islands. These are tiny islands which are products of the 1953 war between China and Japan upon which China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi warned that his country has indisputable “claim and over which it has established a security zone. This of course is routinely ignored by its neighbours. President Obama’s assertion that the islands covers part of America’s security pact with Japan under Article Five of their agreement was a moral booster for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but might have fallen short of the non-completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnerships (TPP) agreement which is the ultimate goal of the meet.

Obama moved to a sombre and grieving South Korea, where the nation is mourning the death of scores of passengers ;mostly students on a capsized ferry over a week ago. At the last count 187 dead, 117 missing and search and rescue mostly hindered by harsh weather conditions.

In a rare show of remorse and demonstration that the buck stops at his desk, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won promptly take re-

sponsibility and resigned from office even while the investigation has not indicted him personally. What a test of character and magnanimity.

Obama described as the greatest threat in the region as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and its irascible and defiant dictator leader Kim Jong-Un, who according to reports might be preparing another test of its nuclear reactor. South Korea, therefore needs all America’s support in containing this menace in the-subregion..

He moved to Malaysia Saturday and reception was a mixed bag.

The last time an American official was in Kualar Lumpur was in 1988 when then Vice President Al Gore visited under a different and harsher political dispensation. Things area little better now though human challenges still do exist in the land. President Obama was criticized for not meeting with the jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is serving time on a sodomy charge which even the US had condemned as politically motivated.

In a largely Muslim country, America’s Middle East policy is viewed with scorn; especially the stalled Israeli-Palestinian situation and the invasion of Iraq. Also Obama managed to defend the Malaysian government’s efforts at locating the missing plane MH370 with its 239 passengers which had not been traced with all the multinational efforts and resources deployed, saying that the government has been transparent and eager to seek for assistance.

He will be rounding off at the Philippines today where the last time an American president visited was 50 years ago.

The main thrust of the Manila leg is a 10-year military Alliance, which President Obama defended as within the ambit of its security alliance with Manila. Sceptics have been quick to point out that all the security and military alliances with these small Southeast Asian countries are designed to spite or checkmate China. This has been vociferously denied by Washington.

In Afghanistan, word is none of the presidential candidates had secured the required 50percent plus one vote needed for outright victory at the just concluded elections which be finally tallied by May 14. Therefore the two leading contenders former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who is the front runner with 44.9 per cent of the vote and the runner-up Dr.Ashraf GhaniAhmadzai with 31.5

‘

In a rare show of remorse and demonstration that the buck stops at his desk, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won promptly take responsibility and resigned from office even while the investigation has not indicted him personally. What a test of character and magnanimity

’

Global Focus DAYO FAKUADE, Foreign Editor sms 08134230367

daborgu@gmail.com percent will be heading for a run-off on June 7 for a final show down. Final valid votes xcounted stands at 6.6million with about a quarter of a million disqualified for irregularities and other electoral infractions. This is the first election to produce a successor to President Hamid Kazai who is ineligible to contest after his second term.

In our continent, Libya says enough is enough. 271 illegal African immigrants are set to be deported to their countries in continuation at sanitising and riding the country of undesirable elements who might pose security risk to its shaky new beginnings. They are mostly from, Chad, Niger, Eriteria, Ghana, Sudan and of course, yours truly Nigeria leading the pack. How time changes! Remember Ghana must go? Welcome to the show, Nigeria must come.

To the south, we learnt a rift is brewing among the rank and file of the only viable opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change-MDCC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been suspended accused aof anti-party activities, cult of personality, breeding violence and other sundry charges. So sad to see the opposition self-destruct as you can remember he surely gave Robert Mugabe a run for his stolen wealth at the last presidential election. Under a free and fair election, he would have performed better but here he was dealing with a brutal dictator who is hell bent to die at the presidential palace.

In, India the far flung electoral process continues, while Syria is also planning an election while bombing the very people who are supposed to line up to vote. The last count was an early morning blast at a market place which killed dozens and heavily wounded many.

It seems our Northern African brothers and sisters are unstoppable in their quest for better future across the Mediterranean in these dangerous forays in rickety boats amid fiery winds.

Another group of these immigrants were rescued off the Spanish coast last week numbering 1,149 within a 48hour period. It is pathetic to watch the video foot of the rescue operation, seeing an aged woman of almost80 years plus.

It remains a damning indictment of our African leaders when people decided to vote with their feet and risk it all to escape abject poverty, misery and neglect at home. The Europeans are are also struggling. They have their own economic problems ad definitely the grass is not always greener on the other side. That will do it for us this week, as usual let’s keep our globe more liveable by living green. Plant a tree today and do an act of random kindness.

See you next week.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

57

FOREIGN NEWS

Vatican declares two popes Saints

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OPE Francis has declared Popes John Paul II and John XXIII saints, in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands at St Peters’ Square yesterday..

He praised his two predecessors as “men of courage” at the Vatican service, the first time in history that two popes have been canonised at the same time.

The Mass was attended by Pope Emeritus Benedict, who quit as pope last year, and roughly 100 foreign delegations.

Analysts say Francis is trying to balance the conservative legacy of John Paul with the reforming zeal of John.

The ancient rite of canonisation unfolded under grey skies in a packed St Peter’s Square. In keeping with tradition, Pope Francis, was approached and

requested to add his two predecessors to the long list of Catholic saints. And at the third time of asking, he granted that request.

Then ornate, silver containers holding holy relics of new saints were shown: a trace of blood from John Paul II, and sliver of skin taken from the body of John XXlll. Both men were hugely influential figures in the story of modern Catholicism.

The Italian Pontiff, John XXlll, is seen very much as a liberal, reforming figure. The Polish Pope, John Paul, on the other hand, was much more conservative. And their elevation to the sainthood on the same day is being seen as an attempt to draw together the liberal and the more traditional wings of the Church.

At the climax of the service, Pope Francis said in Latin: “We declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II to be saints and we enrol them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church.”

Relics of each man - a container of blood from John Paul and a piece of skin from John - were placed near the altar.

Pope Francis paid tribute to the two new saints as “priests, bishops and popes of the 20th Century”.

“They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful,” he said.

The Vatican estimated some 800,000 pilgrims had poured into Rome to see the two-hour

P •The late Pope John Paul II

ceremony first-hand.

For those unable to make it into St Peter’s Square, giant screens were set up in nearby streets and elsewhere in the city.

The Vatican confirmed on Saturday that 87-year-old Benedict XVI - now officially titled Pope Emeritus - would make a rare public appearance alongside his successor.

Palestinine: Abbas ‘still seeks’ Israel peace talks

ALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is still ready to extend peace talks with Israel, despite a recent breakdown in the process.

He said a new unity government with militant Hamas group would recognise Israel and renounce violence.

But a Hamas spokesman said the group “will not give any cover for any negotiations with the enemy”.

Israel this week suspended the talks, demanding the annulment of the deal between rival Palestinian factions.

Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, rejects Israel’s right to exist and is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the US, EU and other countries.

Mr Abbas’s Fatah and Hamas say they aim to form a unity government within weeks.

Addressing a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Mr Abbas said the

new government would follow his principles of recognising Israel and international commitments and rejecting violence.

Palestinians in Gaza City celebrated the announcement of the unity deal on Wednesday evening Mr Abbas said the cabinet would only deal with domestic affairs and that any peace talks would remain the responsibility of the PLO, which does not include Hamas.

However, he stressed that Israel should meet several key demands before the process could resume, in particular the freeing of 30 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel cancelled the inmates’ release, scheduled for March, accusing the Palestinians of reneging on a pledge not to seek further international recognition.

Mr Abbas also stressed that the Palestinians and Israel must agree on the borders of the future state of Palestine.

Egypt court jails Morsi’s supporters

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•Pilgrims attend the event at the vatican...yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

Pentagon staff ‘to leave Ecuador’

Zimbabwe’s MDC suspends Tsvangirai

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IMBABWE’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change says it is suspending its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, amid deepening divisions in its ranks.

A statement issued by the party after a meeting in Harare accused him of a “remarkable failure of leadership”.

It also said he had deviated from the party’s democratic founding principles.

Mr Tsvangirai lost a third election challenge to veteran President Robert Mugabe in 2013 and defied calls to stand down after this defeat.

The MDC leadership is reported to have been riven with in-fighting for months since then.

A BBC reporter in Zimbabwe says the MDC appears to be heading for a split that will only strengthen Mr Mugabe’s hold on power.

Several other senior party figures were also reported to have been suspended at Saturday’s meeting, and some suspended members to have been reinstated.

The MDC statement said the party had been “transformed into a fiefdom of the leader” under Mr Tsvangirai. It also accused him of sponsoring a culture of violence against MDC members not aligned with him.

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti, who spoke to journalists after the meeting, said Mr

Tsvangirai and some other senior officials had “betrayed” the MDC’s struggle, AFP reported.

The party transformed into a fiefdom of the leader, where decision making, policy direction or lack thereof, have been monopolised and privatised” But an MDC spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora, maintained that Mr Tsvangirai remained the MDC’s legitimate leader.

David Coltart, a founding member of the MDC, told the BBC that Mr Tsvangirai’s suspension - although not unexpected - was a bad thing for democracy in Zimbabwe.

“I’m not surprised this has happened because tensions

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COURT in Egypt has sentenced 11 supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi to prison terms ranging from five to 88 years for rioting.

The defendants were arrested during a wave of protests that followed the ousting of Mr Morsi last year.

In March more than 500 Morsi supporters were sentenced to death in the same court in Minya, south of Cairo.

The case comes amid a continuing crackdown against Islamists by Egypt’s military-backed government.

Five of the 11 people sentenced on Saturday were tried in absentia.

The charges against all of the defendants were linked to demonstrations in the town of Samallout triggered by the violent crackdown on pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo.

Hundreds of people died and thousands were wounded in the operation by security forces.

All those convicted on Saturday are able to appeal against the verdicts.

Mr Morsi was ousted by the military last July following mass street protests against his government. He is facing four separate trials.

There has since been a severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, as well as on other activists seen as hostile to the military-backed government.

The Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organisation and authorities have punished any public show of support for it.

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have been brewing for quite a long time.

“But I am concerned about this. What we need in the opposition is consolidation, not further splitting.

“Morgan Tsvangirai, for whatever can be levelled against him, remains a very popular figure and we really do need him as part of the overall democratic forces,” Mr Coltart said.

From 2009-2013 Mr Tsvangirai served as prime minister in a fragile power-sharing government, with Mr Mugabe remaining Zimbabwe’s president.

That unity government ended with the elections in July 2013.

Mr Mugabe’s party won a huge majority in the vote, which Mr Tsvangirai dismissed as fraudulent.

His defeat was a major setback for a man who for many years posed the only credible challenge to President Mugabe.

HE United States says about 20 of its military personnel will leave Ecuador by the end of April, to comply with an order from the government.

Earlier this month, President Rafael Correa told the US Department of Defense to leave amid concerns of meddling in Ecuador’s internal affairs.

The order does not affect the US military attache in Ecuador.

A US spokesman in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, said the US regretted Mr Correa’s decision.

“Our close military cooperation over the past four decades has produced major advances in the fight against drug traf-

Yahya Abdi survived lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures on a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii Ms Abdullahi said that both her brother and father who live in Europe had phoned to tell her about her son Yahya’s lucky escape.

I want to hear the voice of my children, I want to see them, please help me” “My father watched the news from the TV and saw the pictures of my son, and then he called me and told me that he had seen my son on news channels,” she told the BBC

Somali service.

“Thank God, now he is safe and in a good condition.”

Talking on the phone from a refugee camp in Sheed Dheer where she has lived since 2008, Ms Abdullahi said she was shocked that her son could have put himself in such danger.

BBC Somali’s Abdifitah Ibrahim Cagayare says in the middle of the interview Ms Abdullahi broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

She said that since her two sons and daughter went to the US in 2008 with her ex-hus-

band she had been desperately trying to get in touch with them.

“We are divorced… I called him [her ex-husband] several times through his relatives and he refused to talk to me,” she said.

“I want to hear the voice of my children, I want to see them, please help me and guide me to that, please,” the mother wept.

A famine in Somalia in 2011 led many people to go to neighbouring Ethiopia in search of food After Yahya Abdi was

•Tsvangirai

ficking, human trafficking, terrorism and other transnational crimes,” Jeffrey Weinshenker, spokesman for the US Embassy, told BBC Mundo.

He said that the US respected the “sovereign decision of the government of Ecuador”, adding it could affect bilateral relations.

The expulsions make good on a months-old threat by Mr Correa to drastically reduce the number of Pentagon personnel in his country.

Last December, the left-wing president complained that the US had “a very high number” of military officers in Ecuador.

Relations between Quito and Washington have been strained ever since Mr Correa came to office in 2007.

Somali mother’s shock over ‘lost’ plane stowaway

HE mother of a Somali teenager who survived a US flight in a wheel well has told the BBC of her shock and relief to discover he is alive.

Ubah Mohamed Abdullahi, who lives in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, says it was the first news she had heard about her “lost son” for six years.

Divorced from his father, she has not been in contact with the family since they moved to the US in 2008.

The boy’s father said the 16year-old had been trying to return to Somalia.

found disorientated on the runway in Maui on Sunday, he reportedly told investigators he had been in an argument at home and then went to the airport, choosing the aircraft nearest to the fence.

In an interview with US broadcaster Voice of America, the boy’s father, Abdilahi Yusuf Abdi, said “Allah had saved” his son.

He said his son was “always talking about going back to Africa” and since the family came to the US, the boy had been bothered by “education problems”.

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NEWS Nigerians should emulate resignation of South Korean PM, says APC Continued from page 2

izens and wounding of over 200 in a bombing at a bus station in Nyanya, Abuja after which the President quickly embarked on an illegal campaign rally in Kano during which he was dancing ‘Skelewu’ on the graves of the victims, or his trip to Ibadan for a birthday party. ‘’Compare this with business-as-usual posture of the Federal Government and the playing up of the controversy surrounding Tuesday’s political rally by the PDP in Adamawa State, even as over 200 school girls have continued to languish in the den of the insurgents in the Sambisa Forest. ‘’Till date, President Jonathan has not visited the families of the abducted school children to offer them support and succour, neither has he visited the families of the students

who were brutally murdered in Yobe in February. We cannot continue like this if we really want our country to be seen as a worthy member of the comity of nations,’’ the party said.

The party urged President Jonathan, who has been disingenuously portrayed as Nigeria’s equivalent of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and other great leaders of our time, to lead the way in showing that Nigeria is indeed a part of the civilised world, where every human life is considered worthy and sacrosanct. ‘’Politics must not stand in the way of decency and human sensibilities. Re-election campaign must not take precedence over the welfare and security of Nigerians. It is time for President Jonathan to show

leadership,’’ the APC said.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned yesterday saying the “cries of the families of those missing still keep me up at night”.

He will however remain at his post until the disaster is under control.

The Sewol ferry with 476 people aboard - most of them students and teachers - sank off South Korea. Officials have confirmed 187 died, but scores are missing, presumed drowned.

On behalf of the government, I apologise for many problems from the prevention of the accident to the early handling of the disaster,” he said.

Furious relatives have repeatedly criticised what they see as the slowness of the recovery operation.

“The right thing for me to do is to take responsibility and resign as a person who is in charge of the cabinet,” Mr Chung said in a brief televised statement.

“On behalf of the government, I apologise for many problems from the prevention of the accident to the early handling of the disaster.”

He added: “There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong. I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again.”

President Park Geun-hye accepted her prime minister’s resignation but did not set a last day in office. The PM would leave his post once the ferry disaster was under control, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Govt on course, says Sambo

Continued from page 2

adolu Agency.

In the letter, dated April 26, the ENDS told the president that nearly 25,000 Nigerians – including retired soldiers and policemen - had volunteered to take the battle against Boko Haram to the insurgents’ hideouts provided they are allowed to carry arms.

“This commitment will require funding, it will require training and it will require collaboration and cooperation with the security services,” read the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AA. “We hereby request that you

give approval and direct the corresponding arms of government to act necessarily,” it added.

Boasting of massive support from Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, ENDS said it was not asking the government to fund the initiative.

“We...are capable and ready to arm this civilian force and sponsor all logistics of the operation,” it added.

Brimah said they are seeking the president’s approval to carry arms so that government troops would not kill their volunteers and advertise them as Boko Haram fighters.

“The civilian force will be

documented biometrically and all weapons and equipment will be registered for use during the duration of the force majeure,” the letter read in part.

ENDS said it was already working in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), which has been helping the government fight Boko Haram in the restive Borno State.

“ENDS has been in regular communication with the Civilian JTF whom we have supported with equipment and advice,” it added.

“We have understood and

•Sambo

appreciated their ability and determination to seek out and crush Boko Haram once and for all,” it said.

Women to march on Abuja over 234 abducted school girls Continued from page 2

with clues.

“We are taking advantage of the clues to coordinate operations in the area and movement of troops.”

Defence Information Director Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said “the search for the girls is still ongoing.”

Also yesterday, The Nation learnt that the ongoing probe into the Nyanya, Abuja bomb explosion, has led to the recovery of some vital components of the Improvised Explosive Devices used by the suicide members.

Another source added: “The investigative team briefed some security chiefs on Friday.

They have been able to recover some items used for the IEDs. “These items are being analysed to find out if they have bearing with the types being used by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, the Taliban or AlSabab. It will also assist the government if these items were locally assembled.

“The outcome of the forensic analysis can provide clues on how to trace the perpetrators whether they are in clusters or just individuals.”

Also yesterday, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State vowed to support the military to end terrorism and bring back peace to the state.

Two members of the youth vigilance group made the promise on Sunday in Maiduguri in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Mr Abubakar Mamuda, the

Anxiety over second Niger Bridge Continued from page 2

‘’Ndigbo is taking a stand that the both ministries should go home and do everything within their reach to settle the problem, get the EIA law in place and make sure we don’t hear this type of discouraging comments from the Federal Government again because the construction of the bridge is a great bond between Ndigbo and President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and we wouldn’t want the Federal Government through agents or whosoever to push Ndigbo to the wall.”

Okechukwu insisted that “now that the second Niger Bridge has been suspended, we call for international competitive bidding and due process to govern the award of the contract.”

Okechukwu maintained that sooner or later, Ndigbo would discover to their dismay that voting further for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on sentiment and ancient stereotypes would lead us to no-

where.

However, in a statement yesterday, the Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority, Uche Orji, and his counterpart in Julius Berger, Wolfgang Goetsch, said the reports suggesting that work on the bridge had been suspended due to non-compliance of environmental laws represent inaccurate and misconstrued information.

“Contrary to recent reports, work on the Second River Niger Bridge Project continues to progress according to schedule, to ensure timely completion of the Bridge, which is set to be executed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for a concessional period of 25 years through the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model, “ the statement said, adding that the nominated EPC contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, had commenced full mobilisation to site and timely execution of all scheduled activities is anticipated.”

chairman of the group in Gomari-Airport Area of Maiduguri, said they were compelled to join the military to fight the insurgents because Borno was their state.

He said they decided to support the security agencies to ensure Borno was safe for their parents and relations since they had no other place to call their own.

“We are trying to protect our heritage and our state since we have no other place to call our own.

“Nobody forced us, we just volunteered to do it, we started some months ago and people ran away and left us hoping that members of Boko Haram will kill us.

“Members of the group that started the operation were few because the people were scared of Boko Haram; there is a lot of improvement now and we are happy,’’ he said.

Mamuda praised the Federal Government for deploying the military to Borno, adding that the group had gained a lot of experience working with the military.

Another member, Mallam Hassan Mohammed, said the group was doing the job because it desired that peace should return to Borno.

“We want peace to return to Borno as our parents, brothers and sisters live here in Maiduguri and we are not happy as we were being killed unjustly.

“So, we decided to assist the security agencies to curb the security challenges,” Mohammed said.

Glo win three at ICT Awards Continued from page 2

Organizers of the award and technology news publication, Communications Week, said Globacom emerged tops in the award categories in an online poll conducted from December last year to March 30, 2014, in which over 250,000 respondents participated.

The national operator was voted the Best Telecoms Company of the Year because of its revolutionary role in the industry.

Organisers noted that the company had continued to ensure that Nigerians benefitted from technological advances by pioneering revolutionary products and crashing telecom service tariffs.

On the Most Innovative Mobile Player, Glo was chosen for continuing to distinguish itself as a leader in introducing innovative voice and data services in the industry.

In voting Glo Undersea Cable Company of the Year, Beacon of ICT Awards organizers said respondents took into account the emergence of Glo 1 as a major bandwidth provider in the West Africa sub-region. They noted that Glo 1 had become the first choice service provider for several companies across different sectors including telecoms, oil and gas, construction, banking and manufacturing.

Other winners at the event included First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Vodacom Business, Dataflex, DHL Unified Payments, Phase 3 Telecoms and Interconnect Clearing House.

The Beacon of ICT Awards was instituted to reward the vision and enterprise of individuals and companies that have contributed to the growth of the ICT industry. Communication Week said the objectives of the awards were to evaluate and recognize standards of excellence in the country’s quest for growth and development in the use of ICT.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014

62 USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorsed the useful phone numbers submitted by the agents for easy access in case of any emergency on the metropolitan Roads. The public may easily contact KAROTA for breakdown of vehicle(s), traffic congestion, accidents, and illegal/wrong parking on – 08091626747. Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, and 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can also be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888 and Street Light Committee 08037037131 to report fault.

146TH KANO STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING PREPARED BY COUNCIL AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT HOUSE, KANO. Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE presided over the one hundred and forty-sixth (146th) sitting of the Kano State Executive Council today Saturday 26th April, 2014 (26th Jumada Akhir, 1435 A H). This was to compensate for the scheduled meeting, which was to be held on Wednesday 23rd April, 2014 but could not due to the absence of the Chairman on official duty in India and Malaysia where he visited Kano State Indigenous Students sponsored for studies in the two (2) Countries under the 501 Sponsorship Scheme.

Welcoming the Chairman back from the immensely responsible trip to India and Malaysia, the Kano State Executive Council embarked on its 146th Sitting. However, as usual, Council reviewed the 145th deliberations and approval before tabling the memoranda submitted for the 146th sitting. At the 145th sitting, Council deliberated on an appreciable number of sixty-four (64) memoranda submitted from ten (10) MDAs of which forty-four (44) were approved for execution with an expenditure of Two Billion, One Hundred and Forty Nine Million, Five Hundred and Ninety Thousand, Six Hundred and Seven Naira, Sixty Kobo (N2,149,590,607.60) covering forty (40) projects. The remaining four (4) were informative.

After the deliberations on the 145th sitting, Council faced the business of the day, i.e. the 146th meeting. Nine (9) MDAs submitted twenty-eight (28) memoranda for deliberation of which sixteen (16) were approved for execution with an expenditure of One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty-Four Million, One Hundred and Fifty Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty Five Naira, Thirty Four Kobo (N1,624,150,135.34) covering sixteen (16) projects as follows: 1.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH The three (3) memoranda submitted for deliberation by Council from the Ministry of Health were approved for execution as follows: a) Presentation of Request for Approval to Employ Thirty Nine (39) Junior Workers for the Kwankwaso Cottage Hospital:The present administration resolved to transform the entire Health Sector in Kano State positively. The available healthcare delivery facilities, equipment, materials and personnel are continually improved to befitting standards.

Likewise, policies and programmes of relevance to the upgrading of the quality of health of the citizenry in Kano State are implemented. The newly improved Kwankwaso Cottage Hospital is among such efforts by the present administration under the leadership of the second (2nd) incumbency of Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE. Prominently, the junior staff cadre required to work at the fully established Kwankwaso Cottage Hospital were screened, as directed, by the Ministry of Health and presented to Council for consideration.

The screened persons comprise thirty-nine (39) junior cadre staff of two (2) categories. Thus: •

Health Attendants (HA) = 35

•

Security Personnel = 04

The details presented were considered as appropriate by Council, which approved as requested. b) Request for Funds to Enable the Construction of Additional Structures Required for the Accreditation of the New School of Health Technology Bebeji:The Hon. Commissioner for Health commended the approvals granted to his Ministry for construction works and procurement of equipment and furniture for the establishment of the new School of Health Technology Bebeji at the total cost of N102,152,166.8 (phase I and II).

The Ministry of Health informed Council, through the contents of this memorandum that, the construction works

and procurement of equipment and furniture were completed satisfactorily.

Nevertheless, an advisory visit to the School, embarked upon by a team from the Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria (CHPRB), instigated the submission of observations and recommendations for the successful accreditation of the School.

Specifically, seven (7) items costing the sum of N54,011,899.89 were presented to Council for consideration. The sum will cover the construction of blocks Consulting rooms, Pharmacy, ANC, Card room, Pediatric, female wards, labor room, Nurses station, etc. Council noted, considered and approved the release of the requested aggregate sum of N54,011,899.89 to the Ministry of Health for the stated purpose. c) Request for Funds to Enable the Upgrading of the Marmara Maternity/Child Health Center to a Maternity Hospital Status:The cited request was submitted for consideration by Council cognizant of the resolve by the present administration to transform the entire Health Sector positively. Upgrading the Center to the status of a Maternity Hospital will certainly decongest and generally augment the Healthcare Delivery Services provided by the existing Sabo Bakin Zuwo Maternity Hospital in the area.

Rabi’u Musa Kwankawaso b) Request for Funds to Enable the Training of 530 GSM Repairers:The laudable empowerment policy of the present administration was recalled by the Hon. Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Tourism.

Cognizant to the achievements made so far, the cited request was presented to Council for consideration. The content of the memorandum is a request for the training of 530 unemployed youths in GSM repairs. This is a follow up to the earlier training of 1000 youths, which was successfully executed.

The trained youths are now self-employed thereby reducing the number of unemployed youths and improving economic activities in the state. This training as the previous one will be conducted by the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD). The sum of N19,610,000.00 was requested for the training of the 530 youths.

Details presented were summarized as follows:

Details on the eleven (11) items required cost the aggregate sum of N81,833,610.66, which was requested for release were presented to Council for consideration.

SN DESCRIPTION

COST (N)

i.

Consultancy (at N6,000.00 x 530)

3,180,000.00

Resolve to provide healthcare to the teeming population by the present administrationprompted Council to approve the release of the sum of N81,833,610.66 to the Ministry of Health to enable the upgrading of the Marmara Maternity/Child Health Center to a Maternity Hospital status so as to decongest and augment the Healthcare Delivery Services offered by the existing Sabo Bakin Zuwo Maternity Hospital in the area.

ii.

Tools/uniforms/etc.

11,130,000.00

2.

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, INTERNAL AFFAIRS, YOUTHS, SPORTS AND CULTURE Request for Financial Assistance to Nationwide Football Clubs Representing Kano State in the 2013/2014 Football Season:Kano State presently occupies an enviable position of good performance in sporting outings especially on football in which the Kano Pillars Football Club performs wonderfully at National and International levels.

Notably, eight (8) teams and seven (7) teams are representing Kano at Divisions II and III respectivelyof the nationwide football league competition in the Country.

The fifteen (15) teams need financial assistance to the tune of N12,900,000.00 as Government contribution and provision of two (2) 18 – Seater Toyota Hiace Buses under the Sports Council to be used by the Clubs on rotational basis.

The details presented were considered as Council approved the release of the sum of N7,500,000.00 to be disbursed at rate of N500,000.00 to each of the fifteen (15) Clubs according to the details presented.

3.

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, COOPERATIVES AND TOURISM This Ministry submitted six (6) memoranda for deliberation

by Council. Two (2) were approved for execution as follows: a) Request for Funds to Enable the Procurement of Working Materials for the Commencement of Registration of Trade Associations Under the Trade Bill:The Kano State Government has signed the Kano State Trade Bill. Details on the genesis and significance of such act was presented to Council for consideration along with the request for the release of the sum of N4,289,000.00 for the procurement of working materials for commencement of the registration of prospective traders. The request was considered relevant as Council approved release of the requested sum of N4,289,000.00.

iii. Empowerment package (at N10,000.00 x 530)

5,300,000.00

TOTAL

N19,610,000.00.

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the aggregate sum of N19,610,000.00 to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Tourism for the stated purpose.

4. MINISTRY PLANNING

OF

LAND

AND

PHYSICAL

Only one (1) of the four (4) memoranda submitted for deliberation from the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning was approved for execution. Thus: Presentation of Recommendation on the Issuance of Certificate of Occupancy on 4,498 Parcel of Land to Messrs. SKAN Investment Ltd.:The issue in question is long standing and resolved as recommendations were proffered to Council for consideration and granting of approval to the State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning to issue the required Certificate of Occupancy stated.

The recommendations proffered were considered as appropriate by Council which approved as recommended.

5. MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT Five (5) of the eight (8) memoranda submitted from the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport for deliberation by Council were approved for execution as follows: a) Request for Funds to Enable the Provision/ Installation of New 350 KVA Electricity Generating Set at the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR):The Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) was identified among the prominent Government establishments bedevilled by frequent electric power outages and general epileptic supply from PHCN. The existing standby electricity generator was found to be obsolete and beyond repairs.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014 As such, the Task force Committee on Installation/ Repairs/Reactivation of Street and Traffic Control Lights assessed the requirements for the installation of a brand new 350 KVA electricity generating at BIR to the tune of N9,870,000.00 which was requested for release by Council for the purpose. Council approved the request. b) Request for Funds to Enable the Payment of 30% Mobilization fees to M. B. S. Engineering Nig. Ltd. – The Project Consultant on the Tiga and Challawa Independent Hydroelectricity Project:The Hon. Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport reminded Council, through the contents of this memorandum that, the Consultant for the two (2) projects cited was to be paid a total Consulting fee of N209,676,116.53.

This memorandum requested the release of 30% mobilization fees for the Consultancy Services, which stands at the sum of N62,902,834.95. Council approved as requested based on the authenticity of the presentation. c) Request for Funds to Enable the Construction of Juma’at Mosque, Wall Fence and Police Outpost at Gobirawa Quarters in Dala LGCA:Gobirawa Quarters is undoubtedly among the most closely settled or high density population areas in Kano State for which the cited request was considered expedient by the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport.

Details on the requirements were presented to Council for consideration along with the request for the release of the sum of N96,574,725.55. Congruence of the request with the resolve to provide befitting infrastructure for use by citizenry in Kano State prompted Council to approve the request.

63 Igbinedion University, Okada, Delta State:Sponsorship for the 250 Kano State Indigenous Students to study at Igbinedion University, Okada, Delta State was already granted. Details were presented to Council as reminder. The aggregate sum of N40,000,000.00 was requested for release by Council for the following purposes in respect of the 250 Students now studying at the University under the State Scholarship. i)

Feeding allowances for six (6) months at N10,000.00 x 6 x 250 = N15,000,000.00.

ii)

Laptop Computer

= 250 at N100,000.00 = N25,000,000.00.

Total

= N40,000,000.00.

Agreement of the request with the empowerment policy of the present administration prompted Council to approve the release of the sum of N40,000,000.00 to the Ministry of Higher Education for the stated purpose. b) Request for Funds to Enable the Payment of Six (6) Months Feeding and Upkeep Allowances to 179 Kano State Indigenous Students Sponsored for Studies at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State:The Kano State Scholarship Board notified Council, through the contents of this memorandum that 179 Kano State Indigenous Students were approved for sponsorship to study at the Crescent University Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Each of the 179 Students is entitled to N10,000.00 feeding and upkeep allowances per month, which totaled up to N60,000.00 each for six (6) months. This totaled up to N60,000.00 x 179 = N10,740,000.00, which was requested for release by Council.

The empowerment policy of the present administration prompted Council to approve as requested.

d) Presentation of Request for Funds to Enable the General Renovation of Gwauron Dutse Remand Home, Kano State:The Hon. Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport reminded Council, through the contents of this memorandum that, the Ministry was directed to complete the renovation works at the Remand Home Gwauron Dutse.

8. MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT

The Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport visited and assessed the extent of works required to the tune of N42,464,547.88, which was requested for release.

To ensure the completion of the work already started, Council approved the release of the requested sum of N42,464,547.88.

So far, 1,200 participants benefitted from the modern bee keeping training conducted by the Kano State Afforestation Programme.

e) Request for Funds for the Renovation of Gyadi – Gyadi Women Development Center, Kano:The cited request was submitted earlier by the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport vetted the details presented and discovered several omissions.

In essence, the sum of N22,217,664.41 was requested for release by Council for the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable the execution of the project.

The details presented were considered as relevant by Council which approved as requested.

6. MINISTRY OF RURAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Two (2) memoranda were submitted for deliberation

by Council from this Ministry. One (1) was approved for execution as follows: Request for Funds for the Purchase and Installation of 350 KVA, 11/0.415 KV and 500 KVA, 11/0415 KV Electricity Transformers at the Institute of Horticulture, Bagauda and Bachirawa Quarters, respectively:The cited request was compelled by the need to improve the supply of electricity from PHCN at the stated locations. The details presented to Council for consideration included the request for the release of the aggregate sum of N17,519,388.00 to the Ministry of Rural and Community Development to enable the State Rural Electrification Board execute the project.

Approval was granted by Council as requested in view of the relevance of the project.

7. MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION Both memoranda submitted for deliberation by Council from the Ministry of Higher Education were approved for execution as follows: a) Request for Funds in Respect of 250 Kano State Indigenous Students Sponsored for Studies at

Request for Funds to Facilitate the Training of 600 Participants for the 2014 Modern Bee Keeping:Bee keeping was identified as a worthy skill capable of yielding returns with comparable little effort especially when undertaken in modern way.

The Ministry of Environment summarized and presented the requirements for the training of 600 participants on the acquisition of skill required in modern bee keeping.

Details were summarized thus: SN REQUIREMENTS

COST (N)

i.

Bee keeping materials

7,200,000.00

ii.

Workshop materials

380,000.00

iii. Provision for resource persons

1,580,000.00

iv.

846,000.00

Document production TOTAL

N10,000,000.00

Agreement of the request with the empowerment policy of the present administration prompted Council to approve the release of the aggregate sum of N10,000,000.00 to the Ministry of Environment to enable the Kano Afforestation Programme conduct the stated training.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR/HON. 9.

COMMISSIONER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS One memorandum was submitted by the office of the Deputy Governor, which was approved for execution.

Presentation of interim reports on the 44 Local Government Areas 5KM Road Projects The content of this memorandum drew the attention of the Council on the progress so far made on the construction of the 5KM road projects in the 44 Local Governments. The content explained that as other complex projects, this project is affected by some technical and environmental challenges that hinder its smooth execution.

This led to the numerous meetings of the stakeholders with a view to resolving identified challenges such as change of scope, relocation of utilities/services and removal and payment of structures/properties affected by the projects.

The Government, therefore, has to set up a committee to visit all sites for physical assessment of works done and identified list of people’s properties affected by the projects for compensation. Initially, the sum of N4,640,000,000.00 was the total sum earmarked for compensation for 22 Local Government Areas.

However, with the change in scope of most of the projects and prudent assessment the sum of N1,043,828,764.00 is now required as the amount to compensate for the properties/structures/land affected.

Thus, a saving of the sum of N3,596,171,236.00 was made.

Council deliberated on the submission and approved the release of the new sum (N1,043,828,764.00).

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES OF THE 146TH EXCO SITTING 1.

INAUGURATION OF KANO CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL

STATE

Council witnessed the successful inauguration of the State Consumer Protection Council under the Chairmanship of Alh. Aliyu Abubakar Tudun Wada and Alh. Nuhu Bello as Secretary with members representing the business community, Ministries of Environment, Health, Justice, Local Governments and Women Affairs.

2.

INAUGURATION OF ABUBAKAR RIMI MARKET KANO STATE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Council witnessed the successful inauguration of the Abubakar Rimi Market Management Committee under the Chairmanship of Alh. Dayyabu Ahmad Maiturare with Wada Sinkin, Hussaini A.U., Zainab Magashi, Abdulqadir Bala Madigawa as members and Babangida Sule Garo as the Managing Director.

3. SIGNING OF AN MOU BETWEEN THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND KOFAR WAMBAI MARKET ASSOCIATIONS Council witnessed the successful signing of an MOU between the State Government and Kofar Wambai Market Associations on a three (3) year ownership arrangement of the newly established Kano State Common Facility Center.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS TO 4.

GOVERNOR ENGR. RABI’U MUSA KWANKWASO, FNSE DURING HIS OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA AND MALAYSIA Council delightfully acknowledged the recent official trip of the Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE and his entourage to India and Malaysia where he met the State sponsored students.

During the visit various Universities presented awards of excellence to the Governor. Two Universities planned to honor him with Doctorate Degrees for his efforts in the educational development of the State.

5.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS

i.

An Award of Excellence to Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE as the ICON of Africa by Mothers of the Earth Foundation, which is associated with United Nations and NEPAD On Wednesday 9thApril, 2014. ii.

An award of Excellence to Governor Engr.

Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE at the 100 centenary years of Nigeria for his good leadership style and the development of Kano State iii.

An Award of Excellence to Governor Engr.

Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE by the GSM Sellers and Repairs Association located at Farm Center Kano.

SIGNED: HON. COMMISSIONER, INFORMATION, INTERNAL AFFAIRS, YOUTH, SPORTS & CULTURE, KANO STATE

MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL 9 NO 2,832

TODAY IN THE NATION ‘More likely, the grave implication and import of his announcement may be that the insurgency is about to relocate to the federal capital, or more precisely, that the militia has reviewed its operational strategy with greater concentration on the city’ FEMI MACAULAY

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

T

HE parents who prowled the Sambisa forest left nothing to an impotent state.

They prowled the woods for the souls from their souls, blood from their blood, those for whom they had invented a future at birth, as toddlers, at puberty, as nubile beauties.

They did not envision bigoted goons, redblooded and hooded, hounding and carting them away into a forest, defying the law and a state of emergency.

But that is the desperation of the Nigeria of today. What the beastly boys of Boko Haram did reflects a society not just of self-help or of impunity. It is a mirror of a return to feudal savagery. The sort of life that these boys evinced is already at play in all aspects of our lives. The powerful invade the weak and take away their valuable assets. We are back to the modern version of pre-capitalist society. They are the new kidnappers.

The feudal system prospered on the logic of a few with military and economic might. They took over the society and made the laws. The men worked for them, the women were their wives, sex slaves and sometimes glorified whores and the children grew into the servile roles of their parents.

They owned all the land and that was why some of them were called landed nobility. The wives were property.

The feudal lords, who then were the kings and Obas as well as the chiefs and other feudal elites, could corral anyone’s wife, or accost her at a village intersection or bush path and avail themselves of instant pleasure and move on.

That is the context of the Boko Haram boys and their brutish rights to entitlement. They have created their alternative society since the days of Mohammed Yusuf, their founder, and they are their own lords.

They are a shadow of the larger society that has lost its capitalist mooring. The business elite, weaned on the colonial masters, understood the value of productivity. When they left power to the Nigerian elite, the principle persisted for barely two decades.

We had businessmen who turned out wealth from almost nothing. They were the capitalists, like the Fajemirokuns, Rewanes, Odutolas, etc.

They knew how to eke money out of sweat and resources. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who bred technocratic elite, showcased men like Simeon Adebo. In the centre, we boasted geniuses like Asiodu, Udoji, Ayida and Agodo.

They understood that wealth derived from ideas and industry. That explained the rise and glory of the middle class and the high standard of education from primary to university levels.

Standards were vehicles to success.

But with the rise in oil revenue after the civil war, we began to witness a decline. Yet the standards still glowed. Parents did not dream “miracle centres” and products from our education system still preened against their British and American counterparts.

But the military punctured our pride. It started with Gowon, who allowed indulgence with oil money. Our oil wealth made its debut with scandal. Murtala wanted to instill disciple, but his reign was a soap bubble. The Obasanjo and Shagari eras resumed our fascination with materialism fueled by opportunism. In fact,

RIPPLES PDP REMAINS PARTY TO BEAT, SAYS JONATHAN

Yes… in RIGGING

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchnation@gmail.com 08054501081(sms only) Twitter: @samomatseye

The new kidnappers

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•Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala opportunism subsumed opportunity.

The Buhari regime saw the lapse but it did not have the cunning to address the drift, as it was also caught in its own moral sleight of hand, especially with the 53 suitcases saga. The Babangida era let loose the Freudian id of greed and, from then, the society saw a free fall. That has led to the new feudalism of today.

What is important is not the ability for rapidity of success, but connection for concession from the mighty. That has meant the decline, not only of values, but of value for talent. Our society makes billionaires of the lazy, like the jet set titans of subsidies. They are like stock broker Jordan Belfort, the American wolf of Wall Street, who lived a life of false glamour and extravagance on the misery of others. He was a baboon dey chop. His book, The Wolf of Wall Street, depicts such a contract with Beelzebub, like a hyena crying gloatingly on bleeding flesh.

The new invasion begins in politics. They rig elections. But the larger society frowned at it in the first republic and, hence, we often

E

VEN as they enjoy their honeymoon, President Goodluck Jonathan's daughter, Faith Sakwe, and her husband Godswill Osim, who wedded on April 12 must still be in a daze, considering the overwhelmingly spectacular show that the nuptial ceremony turned out to be, despite apparent tension in the political environment.

Apart from the cream of political players, particularly those associated with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose predictable attendance added colour to the event, there was the captivating presence of high-profile spiritual leaders, which spoke volumes about the overpowering influence of the secular world.

If matrimonial success could be guaranteed by the sheer involvement of eminent clerics in the solemnisation of the marriage, it may be envisaged that this particular couple will live happily ever after. According to reports, top on the list of prominent men of God who officiated during the wedding service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, were Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners' Chapel, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh of the Anglican

Just as our lazy jet set – politicians, business elite, clerics, etc - sees the society as free booty, so the BH goons see the girls and food and other valuables as their share. Society created the crime.

They committed it

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welcomed the messianic adventures of soldiers. Now, the military pool also became poisoned.

The political elite invade power. While in old feudal societies, the militarily powerful worked with a few others, today, the new feudal elites are the politicians. Rigging is their version of invasion of political power. They kidnap power. Then they work with bureaucrats, bankers and contractors from the civil society. The rout is complete. Now, the lawyers and judges, media barons and a few others become accomplices.

In this setting, they kidnap power, business, law and information.

The nation’s pot is the prime abduction. We don’t need to produce, but to consume. Oil provides the wealth. They are a consuming elite and we a consumptive society. They rig to office, get the judges to legitimate them, they plunder and bankers formalise their fraud, pastors canonise their rule and a section

HARDBALL

After the wedding Communion and John Cardinal Onayeikan of the Abuja Diocese of the Catholic Church. This eclectic composition suggested that the organisers of the wedding were determined to achieve comprehensive spiritual cover, perhaps believing that the more high-powered priests at the event, the greater the possibility of a harmonious relationship between husband and wife.

However, although the organisers can be excused for thinking like flesh and blood, it is food for thought that these respected clergymen seemed to betray such superficiality that is at odds with their spiritual calling. What was the purpose of the overload? Was it necessary? The fact that they cooperated with the organisers could be interpreted to mean that they did not give sufficient thought to the possible negative perception of their collective presence and the likely reading of it as sycophantic by members of the public. Or, perhaps, such reflections just didn't matter to them.

of the media elite burnishes their image. Ours is a kidnapped society.

The results are the impotence of the civil society and the whittling away of the middle class. It leaves two classes: the very rich and very poor. The middle class afforded loans to build their homes, educated their children, bought cars on higher purchase, had decent medical care and had the pride of life. These attributes only belong to the rich today. We cannot make businessmen who rely on their sweat and resourcefulness anymore. They get contracts from belonging to the ambience of power. At independence, we had a false start with meritocracy. Now we have mediocrity from the top. We buy degrees, wives, contracts, pastors, Imams as we buy political offices. While the BH boys kidnap with raw weapons, our elite kidnaps with law, guns and money.

When they plunder our resources, they live large, fly jets for N10 billion, dance when others die in bomb blasts, accuse others of genocide without evidence, call elections war without apology, move from campaigns in Kano to champagnes at Ibadan when girls are abducted, the lazy lap billions, the smart ones smart from lack of jobs and die searching. Ngozi OkonjoIweala is cited by Time Magazine as one of the world’s influential persons even though she cannot add simple numbers. When we earned less than $105 a barrel, we could pay all the states their entitlements. Now we earn more, we pay 60 percent of their allocations.

Nothing explains this era of moneychangers more than the recent discovery that when we rebased our economy into African preeminence, we also became one of the poorest in the world.

Pastors cannot caution them because they have no moral authority. Rather, they anoint them and welcome them to their churches with front row seats and benedictions. Jesus would not have welcomed leaders who stole the people’s money. Rather, he would have rebuked them in the fashion he did to the Pharisees.

In the United States, President Obama has embarked on a campaign against inequality and that is because the United States is witnessing a big gulf between the rich and poor. The top 85 richest men in the world are richer than 3.5 billion people on earth.

Now a new book, Capital in the Twenty First Century, by French economist Thomas Picketty has caused a storm in Europe and the U.S. by making the case that western society is going back to the pre-World War 1 era when wealth was based on inheritance and family pedigree, rather than merit. In this book seen as modern Das Kapital, income and hard work have suffered a divorce. And those with capital keep making more capital, and the so-called theory that skilled labour determines wealth has lost face.

In our society, it is primitive acquisition. Ours is worse than the west because the rule of law, unlike here, can redress it. Their rich did not steal from the government.

Just as our lazy jet set – politicians, business elite, clerics, etc - sees the society as free booty, so the BH goons see the girls and food and other valuables as their share. Society created the crime. They committed it.

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above Interestingly, this episode again demonstrated the tendency of the politically powerful to be selective in their application of the essence of religion. It would appear that to this class religion is useful, for instance, as a means of cementing marital relationships or for providing spiritual protection, or for attracting divine blessings. What about its implied influence as a promoter of decency? Perhaps, not surprisingly, the ceremony and connected happenings generated controversy about the limits of propriety.

It is worth mentioning that following public accusations of extravagance and insensitive exhibition of opulence at the wedding, reflected particularly in the reported gifts of multiple posh cars for the couple and the amazing scale of souvenirs available, including customised iPads, the president's defenders said the public purse had nothing to do with the splash.

"Actually, a lot of the things you saw on the day of the wedding as gifts and souvenirs were donated by well-wishers from different parts of the world," a member of the first family, Chief Esther Gbonkumo, was quoted as saying.

Just two questions for her: Can we have an idea of what President Jonathan himself spent on the celebration of love, and where did the money come from, please?

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