The Nation December 02, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Tambuwal urges CJ to reassign suit •Court okays PDP’s plan

NEWS

Page 4

News Lagos APC clears 12 for governor P8 Sports Enyeama loses African award P63 Business Brent crude price drops below $70 P11

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 3050 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

•INSIDE: COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF APC WORKERS P6 GOVT STOPS U.S. TRAINING OF TROOPS P4

14 reasons why Jonathan must go now, by senators Lawmakers to give Mark impeachment request

S

ENATORS have levelled 14 impeachable allegations against President Goodluck Jonathan.

The lawmakers are expected to harmonise their allegations with members of the House of Representatives’ before sending an impeachment request to Senate President David Mark.

The pro-impeachment

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Senators and Representatives may meet before the end of the week to agree on when to present the request to Mark, in line with Section 143 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

Top on the list of the allegations is the President’s refusal to sign 120 bills into law.

The Nation stumbled on a Continued on page 4

THE ALLEGATIONS • Failure to curtail Boko Haram insurgency panels/ committees • Reduction of Presidency to international rid- • Setting up of nebulous groups such as icule with the abduction of 200 Chibok girls TAN for re-election campaign outside the • Unduly politicising the security situation Electoral Act • Failure to act as de facto President • Failure to establish the Nigeria Police • Refusal to sign 120 bills Council • No accountability on missing $10.8billion • Illegal deployment of Armed Forces missing from the Federation Account; squan- • Sowing seed of hatred and turning one dering of N10b on private jets part of the country against the other • Sloppiness/ failed governance • Award of non-appropriated Oil Facility • Violation of the constitution/ Oath of Office Protection Contract worth N3.6b to a pri• Failure to implement recommendations of vate firm

Gunmen attack Ado-Ekiti prison •Officer killed •49 freed From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti and Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

A

DO-EKITI, the Ekiti State capital, was yesterday thrown into panic, following the invasion of the prison on the outskirts of the town by unknown gunmen.

The gunmen, in scores, stormed the facility at about 10.30 pm and operated unhindered till about 1. 45 am yesterday.

The gunmen detonated a bomb and launched an orgy of shootings that lasted for about 45 minutes.

By the time the smoke cleared, 49 inmates had disappeared. A prison official lay dead.

Seven sniffer dogs also died.

But Governor Ayodele Fayose told reporters during his visit to the premises that over 300 inmates escaped.

The governor said he suspected collusion from “within” with the assailants.

The gunmen arrived in Hilux vans, shouting “Allahu Akbar”, “Allahu Akbar”, “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and shooting .

Dynamites and Rocket-Propelled Launchers were believed to have been used to blow Continued on page 4

?

WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15 EVER RETURN?

•A GONY •AGONY GONY:: A woman believed to have lost her husband in the attack being led away by sympathisers…yesterday.

PHOTO: ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA

Confusion as Boko Haram bombs two state capitals

STORY ON PAGES 2&3

Yobe imposes 24-hr curfew Women bombers kill five Sambo in Kano

•TRANSPORTATION P14 •POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P24 •ENERGY P50 •PROPERTY P52 •FOREIGN P58

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

2

NEWS

Damaturu • Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (middle), signing the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency into Law at the Lagos State House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. With him are: Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye (right) and Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Works and Infrastructure Mr. Rotimi Olowo...yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

•A boy injured in the twin suicide blast at Kano Central Mosque on arrival at the Accident and Emergency Ward of the Nassarawa Specialist Hospital on November 28.

AFP PHOTO

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (middle), Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Screening Committee for governorship aspirants (Southwest), Senator Danjuma Goje (right) and the committee's secretary, Mr Ismail Ahmed, after the presentation of the screening certificate to the governor in Lagos...yesterday.

•Women suicide bombers hit Maiduguri market again

M

• From left: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Wiebe Boer, Director of the foundation Parminder Vir obe; the founder Mr. Tony Elumelu and Managing Director and CEO, Rimson Strategy, New York, United States (US), Angelle PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA B. Kwemo at the World Press Conference by Tony Elumelu Foundation at Ikoyi, Lagos

•From left: Immediate Past President,Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Ariyo Olushekunm, presenting the Leadership Award in Construction to Company Secretary, Julius Berger Nigeria, Cecilia Madueke and Commercial Manager of the company,Peter Haak while Mrs Nike Akande looks on at the 2014 Pearl Awards in Lagos.....

PHOTO BOLA OMILABU

EMBERS of the dreaded Boko Haram sect yesterday went on the rampage in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital and Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

They struck at about 5.30am in Damaturu.

The military repelled the attack on Damaturu and the Yobe State Government clamped a 24-hour curfew on the state.

“The curfew will remain in force until the security situation in the state improves,” the government said in a statement last night.

In the dawn invasion from the Gujba axis, Southeast of the town, the insurgents shot sporadically and detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The Nation Correspondent in the State, who like other residents fled his house in New Jerusalem, heard more than five explosions with deafening sounds.

Residents of New Jerusalem, Malari, Bye pass along Gujba Road have all deserted their homes.

Those who spoke to our correspondent said that they hid in their houses and prayed to God to save them even as they prepared for the worse.

Security sources confirmed that many of the insurgents who broke into the Yobe State Government House were killed by security operatives who launched a counter attack to repel them.

A man, who identified himself as Abdullahi Isa, claimed he saw the insurgents through the window of his hotel room as they tried to gain access to the Government House from the rear.

“From my Hotel room, I saw many of the insurgents scaling the fence of the Government House, Damaturu.

Many of them gained access to the house,” Isa said.

The Yobe State University, owned by the government, was reported to be under attack. The administrative

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

block of the institution had been razed, according to eye-witness accounts.

Heavy bombardments by a fighter jet belonging to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) were on in Damaturu yesterday.

The panic-stricken residents remained indoors for fear of being caught up in the cross-fire between government troops and the insurgents.

Also yesterday, two female suicide bombers detonated the IEDs they hid on their bodies near the Monday Market in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The explosions came barely a week after two women suicide bombers detonated IEDs near a crowded market in Maiduguri.

The explosions, which erupted at about 11:20am, reportedly claimed the lives of five people and left scores injured.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gideon Jubrin, confirmed the incident but said it was too early to make casualty assessment He said: “We all heard the explosions in town but it will be too early now to say what actually happened and what damage was caused by the explosion until much later.”

There was a report that two doctors were killed in the staff quarters by the insurgents, who bombed the Police Area Command; mobile base; State CID; Administrative Block, off the Yobe State University and the state Broadcasting Cooperation.

It was also learnt that they attempted to attack the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) complex in the state.

Abba Aliyu, one of the security guards at the Government hospital near the market, said the thunderous blasts caused serious panic among traders.

“Presently, we can see people run-

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

3

NEWS

u under siege by Boko Haram

•Internally displaced children shortly after collecting meals at the Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State...on Sunday.

PHOTO: NAN

ning for their lives, so cannot confirm to you the extent of damage, but the two blasts we just heard were too loud that it could cause more damage than the ones of last week,” Aliyu said.

A trader, Adamu Gaskiya, who spoke to journalists on the telephone said: “The security and other aid workers are busy evacuating the dead and injured persons from the scene of the explosion...I can’t say how many were killed or injured but I have seen very many victims dripping with blood, others with parts of their bodies dismembered by the blasts.”

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, who was on official assignment to Abuja was yesterday briefed on the situation by heads of law enforcement agencies, who were in Damaturu.

Army takes over Wuse Market

A

FTER yesterday’s multiple explosions near the Monday Market in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the Nigerian army yesterday deployed its men in the popular Wuse Market in Abuja.

Security sources said the deployment was the military’s immediate response to threats by the insurgence to replicate the Maiduguri bombing in Abuja.

Most vehicles either going into the market or passing by were stopped and searched.

The source said: “We are all aware of the Maiduguri In a statement by Special Adviser on Press Affairs and Information, Abdullahi Bego, the governor condemned the attack as heinous and barbaric.

He, however, expressed apprecia-

From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

bombing and the Army is not leaving any stone unturned. There was information that the suicide bombers want to replicate such in Abuja.

“Any serious government with its security operatives will act fact to prevent such. Other markets too are under security watch.”

Meanwhile traders at the Wuse Market have applauded the swift response of the army and urged that such action should be on a daily basis.

tion to the security forces who worked very hard on the ground and from the air to repel the attack and force many of the attackers to beat a retreat.

The statement said “Damaturu re-

mains firmly under government control.”

It reads: “His Excellency the governor has also been told that the security effort is still ongoing. Security agents will continue to track and pur-

sue any remnants of the attackers who might still be hiding in town.

“The governor urges people in Damaturu and all across our State to continue to remain vigilant and pray to Almighty Allah for His intervention. His Excellency has noted that the prayers people have been offering have been significant to the success that the security forces recorded today.

“While commending the security forces for their work in repelling the attack, the governor also calls on them to remain at their highest alert level and to carry the good work to its logical conclusion.

“The governor has directed hospital authorities to provide adequate support to innocent victims of the attack who visit hospital for medical attention.”

Identify, dialogue with sect leaders, ACF, NEF tell Federal Government

T

HE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) – the mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria yesterday called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency identify the real leaders of the Boko Haram sect and dialogue with them as a way of end the killing of innocent Nigerians.

The forum spoke on a day the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) expressed the frustration of the North and said the people were frustrated and angry with the President Jonathan-led government over its inability to protect their lives and property.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, the ACF lamented the invasion of the Yobe State capital despite the presence of security agents.

The group concluded that the level of insecurity in the Northeast was beyond the capacity of the military.

It, however, called on the Federal Government to stop the killings in the areas by all means, arguing that, the recent attacks on Kano, Borno and Yobe were clear indications that Nigeria is under siege.

The statement reads: “We at ACF

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

feel saddened and really disturbed with the invasion of Damaturu by Boko Haram insurgents resulting into killing of innocent people and destruction of property.

“ACF noted that Nigeria is gradually sliding into anarchy with territories being seized and taken over by insurgents without any serious counter resistance from our military.This situation clearly demonstrate that our security are poorly equipped to contain the spread of insurgency.

“ACF will continue to call upon the government to discharge its responsibility of providing security and good governance.

“Government must as a matter of urgency identify the real leaders of Boko Haram and enter into a real dialogue with them, with a view to bringing an end to this bloodletting.

“ACF also sympathizes with people and government of Borno and Yobe States over this unfortunate invasion and bomb blast that have killed many people and left scores injured.”

On its part, the NEF at a press con-

ference addressed by Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, drew the attention of President Jonathan to the dangerous level of anger and frustration among northerners over the failure of his administration to protect them.

Ahmed said: ”President Goodluck Jonathan is been surrounded by security chiefs who are not doing their job because if they are doing their job it should have advised him that law abiding Northerners are on the verge of disregarding all appeal for restrain and respect and order in the face of the appearance of total absence of any evidence that government is concerned over their security.

“The Forum calls on all Nigerians to exert all lawful pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop the carnage against Nigerians in the North.

“The Kano mosque massacre and the invasion of Damaturu today (yesterday) stand out as one episode that has high-lightened the degree to which citizens in Northern Nigeria lives at the mercy of terror.

“More shocking than the massacre and the continuous occupation

of the Nigerian territory is the silence of leaders from the North particularly former heads of states and those who hold political positions today.

“By their silence, people of the North are beginning to treat them as complicity in the apparent conspiracy to break the spirit, economy and political capacity of the people of the north.

“No other explanation makes sense for the indifference and collaboration of most Northern leaders and political office holders, other than the one that also suggest that they have also abandoned their own people.”

The local chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Kaduna State also, condemned the triple bomb blast that hit the Kano Central Mosque claiming the lives of many and leaving scores with several degrees of injury.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Mohammed S. Ibrahim and Secretary, Dr. Shehu Abdulrahman respectively, the association commiserated with the victims of the dastard act of bomb blast.

They said: “The Kaduna State

branch also wishes to commend the Kano State branch of the association and all doctors in Kano for rising to the occasion and providing the much-needed medical care and support to the victims in various hospitals in the state, despite the absence of other health workers (nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists among others) in the federal health facilities who have embarked on a selfish nationwide strike since the November 14.

“We also wish to commend members of the public in Kano for promptly responding to the call for voluntary donation of blood in appreciable numbers. Their sacrifice has in no small measure made the efforts of the doctors worthwhile.

“We wish to remind members of the general public that all Hospitals in Nigeria are open and doctors are available to provide them with medical care and support despite the ongoing non-doctors’ strike. We call on the Federal Government to quickly resolve the impasse with other health workers without distorting the agreements reached with the Nigerian Medical Association, to avoid recurrent service disruption in the health sector.”

4

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

NEWS Nigeria terminates U.S training of soldiers

T

HE United State (U.S.) Embassy said yesterday that Nigeria has asked the U.S. to stop training a battalion of its soldiers, the latest sign of troubled relations between the two countries.

An embassy statement yesterday said they “regret the termination of this training” to help Nigeria’s army fight an Islamic uprising.

Nigeria has accused the United States of not doing enough to help it confront the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. The disagreement apparently revolves around a U.S. refusal to sell Nigeria helicopter gunships.

Nigerian soldiers are accused of human rights abuses under a state of emergency in the north•Youths Friendly Centre, University of Ibadan, during an awareness walk, to mark World AIDS Day in Ibadan…yesterday.

Court grants PDP permission to move against Tambuwal

A

FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has given permission to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to apply for a mandatory order compelling either the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare vacant the Kebbe/Tambuwal seat being held by Speaker Aminu Tambuwal as a result of his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in an ex-parte ruling yesterday, granted the PDP “leave to apply, by way of judicial review, for an order of mandamus compelling” the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives “to give effect to the provisions of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution by declaring the Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency seat vacant.”

The ruling was on one of two ex-parte motions filed by the PDP pursuant to order 34 Rule 3 of the Federal High Court (Civil procedure) Rules 2009. By the leave granted it, the PDP is now required to file a formal suit to achieve its aim.

Named as respondents in the motion are the Speaker and Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha.

Yesterday, PDP’s lawyer, Mike Ahamba (SAN), while

Tambuwal urges CJ to reassign suit

H

OUSE of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, in protest against a move by the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sack him from office through an ex-parte application.

He urged the Chief Judge to reassign a new case filed by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Isiaq Akinlade, who is seeking an ex-parte order to declare his seat vacant, to a neutral judge.

He said the trial judge, Justice ESJ Chukwu, cannot sit on appeal over his own decision.

He also said Justice Chukwu has an “iron cast judicial position or opinion” in respect of the new suit on him, which has just been assigned to the judge.

Tambuwal, in a November 30, 2014 petition to the Chief Judge, said there are five pending suits on a similar application by Akinlade.

The petition reads in part: “My attention has been drawn to the above suit, which has been assigned to Court 8, presided over by Justice ESJ Chukwu and we wish to make the following observations: “Sometime in 2013, the said Presiding Judge, JusFrom Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

moving the motion for leave to apply for an order of mandamus, said by its action, his client only wanted whoever occupies the seat of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House to perform his/her responsibility under the Constitution.

“Section 68(2) renders Section 68(1)(g) non-self-operating.

Where a person defects from his

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja tice ESJ Chukwu presided over the case of Peoples Democratic Party & 12 Ors VS. INEC & 4 Ors, wherein he made a judicial pronouncement, which has been interpreted by some , to the effect that there was no division in Peoples Democratic Party.

“The above decision of Justice Chukwu, ESJ was heavily relied upon and cited severally in the case of Peoples Democratic Party VS. (1) House of Representatives; (2) the Speaker of the House of Representatives & 52 Ors, Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/4/2014.

“Consequently, Justice A.F.A Ademola, relying on the said judgment of his brother Justice Chukwu, ESJ, even though the said suit before him had nothing to do with defection, ruled that there was no division within the Peoples Democratic Party.

“And as such, the Defendants in that case, who are members of the House of Representatives, who have similar cases as mine, currently pending in the Federal High Court Abuja, were not protected by proviso to Section 68(1)(g) of the Continued on page 59

party, the person can defiantly stay in the House and maintain his seat until either the Speaker or the Senate President performs his responsibilities under Section 68(2).

“We are asking the Speaker to declare the seat of Kebbe/Tambuwal Constituency vacant in view of the defection of the 2nd respondent (Tambuwal),” Ahamba said.

He said the PDP will also apply for “an order of injunction restraining the 2nd defendant (Tambuwal) from performing or continuing to perform the functions of the 1strespondent in the House of Reps or sitting or continuing to sit in the House of Reps as a member consequent upon the order of mandamus.”

Continued on page 59

Continued on page 59

Gunmen attack Ado-Ekiti prisons Continued from page 1

up the prisons.

Sources at the state command of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) said the gunmen also set scores of inmates serving various jail terms and those on remand free. Some of them were re-arrested.

Spokesman of the NPS Ope Fatinikun said about 100 men

at about 10pm on Sunday invaded the prison. He said one Prison officer was shot dead.

He said 49 inmates out of the 435 in the prison facility were set free by the assailants.

Fatinikun said the prison officer was shot dead by the vigilante who mistook him for one of the invaders.

Three other officers, according to him, sustained injuries and have been taken to an undisclosed hospital.

Fatinikun said the incident had been reported to the police and efforts were on to recapture the inmates still on the run He added that seven dogs were killed and three others wounded.

“I want to plea with people living in that area not to worry, as efforts are on to deal with the invaders and recapture the escaped prisoners” A woman believed to be the wife of the slain officer was wail-

ing uncontrollably yesterday as she was being led away from the scene.

The impact of the bombing on the facility which is located on Afao Road was felt in places, such as Adebayo, Oke-Ila, Fajuyi, Okesa and the Ekiti State University (EKSU) campus.

Reporters who learnt of the incident were denied entry into the facility.

The State Comptroller of Prisons, Mr. Kehinde Fadipe, described the incident as “both bombing and shooting”.

He dismissed insinuations in some quarters that members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) carried out the attack in a bid to free their leader, Niyi Adedipe, who is on remand at the prison for alleged murder.

Fadipe said Adedipe was still inside the prison yard and did not make any attempt to escape.

A “breaking news” relayed on the state radio during a Yoruba newspaper review programme, “Lati Inu Aka”, alleged that the prison was attacked by All Progressives Congress (APC) thugs who wanted to set Adedipe free.

Adedipe is being held on remand in connection with the murder of a former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Omolafe Aderiye.

Continued on page 59

14 reasons why Jonathan must go, by senators Continued from page 1

copy of the allegations and signatures.

The President is expected to explain why he could not cur-

tail the Boko Haram insurgency; and non-release of the abducted 219 Chibok girls.

Other issues are undule politicising of the security situation; failure to act as de facto President; $10.8billion missing from the Federation Account; squandering of N10billion private jets; and sloppiness/ failure in governance.

Some of the allegations also include alleged violation of the constitution/ Oath of Office; failure to implement recommendations of panels/ committees; setting up of ill-conceived, “nebulous” groups like TAN for reelection campaign outside the Electoral Act; failure to establish and inaugurate the Nigeria Police Council; illegal deployment of Armed Forces and sowing seed of hatred and turning one part of the country against the other.”

Though the list of signatories was obtained by our correspondent, the senators pleaded against its publication until what they described as “auspicious time”.

Although 63 senators were re-

ported to have backed the impeachment move, the document shows that 16 signed.

A principal officer in the Senate, who pleaded not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter, said: “We are embarking on signatures drive as I am talking to you. Senators are vetting the allegations before appending signatures.

“We have secured the consent of more than 63 senators who are expected to sign up in the next few days. And the senators are from both the PDP and the APC.” The “weighty” allegations have forced some PDP senators to regroup against pro-impeachment ones.

The allegations read in part: “The President as the Head of government has worked to undermine the effective performance of other arms of government, especially the legislature, by constantly frustrating peaceful and harmonious co-existence among other arms of government. In performing their constitutional responsibility of lawmaking, the legislature passes bills to be assented to by the President before they become laws of the federation.

“The President has consistently and consciously failed to sign bills and motions passed on to

him by the parliament, thereby making the position of the legislative arm of government untenable. At the last count, the President has refused to assent to about 120 bills passed by the current National Assembly. He has not sent any communication as to their rejection as stipulated in Section 58 (1) (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Motions and other legislative instruments have suffered similar, if not worse, fate.

The senators have also decided to hold the President liable for allegedly not doing enough to address the Boko Haram insurgency and communal conflicts.

The Notice of Impeachment states: “The President, as Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and Chief Security Officer of the nation, has failed to ensure the protection of lives and properties. Mindless carnage by the Boko Haram insurgents, especially in the Northeast, recurrent violence in states like Taraba, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa etc are manifest examples of how the President has failed to exert the enormous powers inherent in his office.

“This total failure of leadership has not only served to threaten the corporate existence of the country, it has taken an untoward toll on the develop-

ment and progress of the nation.

“The President has in an unprecedented manner reduced the Office of the President to an object of ridicule both locally and in the eyes of the international community, thereby reducing both the country and our hitherto respected Armed Forces into laughing stock.

“As we speak, over 200 of our female children have been abducted for over five months while some parts of our territorial space had been overtaken by the unrelenting insurgents. Yet, the President and CommanderIn-Chief of the Armed Forces has displayed acute sense of cluelessness on how to tackle the security challenges.

“The general impression out there is that the President is thoroughly overwhelmed and, therefore, incapable of inspiring our gallant men and women of the Armed Forces who are daily killed and maimed owing largely to the incompetence of their Commander-In-Chief.

“Just recently, a large number of our troops ran to safety in neighbouring Cameroon in the face of massive onslaught from the insurgents. The fact that our renowned military had to find succour with our little brother next door is the greatest indictment yet on the capability of the

Commander-In-Chief to rally his men and boost their morale.

“For unduly politicising the security situation, the President has shown beyond all measure of doubt that he has neither the courage nor the sense of judgement to tackle the issue headlong. Evidence abounds to show that the President and his handlers by living in denial as to the abduction of Chibok girls, gave the insurgents more than three weeks head start They accused Jonathan of abdicating his responsibility through the concession of waterways security and protection of oil installations to a private firm.

“The President, in his capacity as Head of State has woefully abdicated state responsibilities and severely undermined the capacity of our security agencies by passing a “vote of no confidence” on the Nigeria Police and Armed Forces to protect our strategic and vital infrastructures, like the pipelines.

“A case of this failure was the award of non-appropriated Oil Facility Protection Contract worth N3.6b to a private firm (Oil Facilities Surveillance Limited) controlled by ex militants,” the document claimed.

The senators also alleged that the President had failed to address corruption.

The senators added: “The President as the Head of State is under obligation to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power as envisaged by Section 15 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Since his assumption of office, corruption in Nigeria has assumed frightening proportion. For the first time in our history, corruption is almost elevated to a state craft where known corrupt Nigerians are either friends or employees of the government headed by the President. “ From Stella Oduah (Minister of Aviation) to AbdulRasheed Maina of the pension scam, to how the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, has refused to account for $10.8billion missing from the Federation Account or how she allegedly squandered N10billion to fly private jets in two years or even how the NNPC under her watch managed to pay subsidy monies to kerosene marketers for three years without appropriation, thereby contravening Section 80 Continued on page 59

ADVERT HOTLINES 08023006969, 08052592524

THE NATION TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

5

NEWS

World’s AIDS Day: NACA urges Jonathan to sign Anti-stigma Bill

N

IGERIA joined the rest of the international community in marking the World’s AIDS Day yesterday with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to give his assent to Anti-stigma Bill.

By signing the bill into law, NACA said it would enhance ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Its Director-General, Prof. John Idoko, stated this in his a message during the commemoration of the day with the theme: “Close the Gap: No to stigma and discrimination.”

He said: “Nigeria is rallying against stigma and discrimination on the 2014 World AIDS Day by urging Nigerians to stop stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. “Both the House of Representative and the Senate have passed the Anti-stigma Bill. The elimination of stigma and discrimination will make ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 possible through increased access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support

From Vincent Ikuomola, Bukola Amusan, Abuja, Johnny Danjuma, Lafia, Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi and Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

services and ensure that no one is left behind by Nigeria’s HIV response.

“The anticipated signing of the Anti-stigma Bill by the president is a much welcome action in the country’s AIDS response. It will help more Nigerians to seek testing, treatment and care services without fear of facing stigma and discrimination.”

The UNAIDS Country Director for Nigeria and UNAIDS Focal Point for ECOWAS, Dr. Bilali Camara, said: “The signing of the antistigma bill into law is a landmark in the efforts to end the AIDS epidemic.

“It is a symbol of renewed hope that Nigeria shall be able to achieve the ambitious 90-90-90 treatment targets meant to ensure, by 2020, 90 per cent of people living with HIV know their status; 90 per cent

HIGHLIGHTS •Reps panel: donor funds disappearing •Sambo’s wife, NOA caution youth •600,000 people with HIV/AIDS in Kaduna •Bauchi records 34,961 new cases Edo has 4, 586 persons with HIV/AIDS who are HIV positive are placed on treatment; and 90 per cent of those on treatment manage to suppress the virus.”

The World’s AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show their support for people living with HIV and remember those who have died.

As early as 83:3 am yesterday, scores of stakeholders involved in the fight against the scourge converged on NACA Headquarters, drumming and singing solidarity songs.

Other major activities held to mark the day included a symposium, as well as HIV counseling and testing cam-

paign flag-off at Mambila Barracks, Abuja.

Also, the Vice President’s wife, Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, has urged youths to abstain from “a moment pleasure of casual sex” that could prevent them “from attaining their desired goals in life.”

She spoke at a programme to commemorate the day for secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with Medical and Educational Foundation for Rural Mothers (MEDFORM).

Mrs. Sambo, who was rep-

resented by Hajiya Nafisat Abubakar, lamented that young people constituted about 40 per cent of new infection of the virus, urging parents to teach their children on the effects of HIV/AIDS. The Director General, NOA, Mike Omeri, said the day was set aside to reinforce behavioural change of people on the dreaded disease.

It was alleged yesterday that donor funds meant for the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country was fast disappearing into private pockets.

It was also claimed that new cases of infections, especially from mother to child, was on the increase with over 700,000 cases being recorded yearly.

The member representing Lafia/Obi Federal Constituency and House Committee Chairman on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leprosy, Haruna Kigbu, made this known yesterday in Lafia.

The lawmaker warned that more needed to be done to fight the scourge.

Kaduna State Chapter of Net-

Experts warn against destruction of wildlife

Gunmen kill Michael Anyiam-Osigwe

By Precious Igbonwelundu

•The late Anyiam-Osigwe

T

THE Coordinator, Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, Michael Anyiam-Osigwe, is dead, following gun injuries he sustained from unknown gunmen in Edo State at the weekend.

Michael, as he was called, was reportedly shot by “armed robbers” around

2:30pm, along the Ore-Benin Expressway, near Okada, while he was on his way to attend a family function.

It was gathered that the gunmen overpowered the deceased’s security escort and shot him.

After the encounter with the gunmen, The Nation learnt that the family rushed him to a high profile hospital and left nothing to chance towards saving him. But it was to no avail.

A statement by one of the Anyiam-Osigwe brothers, Charles Anyiam-Osigwe, confirmed Michael’s demise.

The statement reads: “With grief and deep sense of sorrow, but with total submission to the will of the Almighty God, who gives and

recalls, the Anyiam-Osigwe family announce the untimely passing to Eternal Glory of Nze Michael Anyiam-Osigwe.

“Michael was demised at the hands of armed robbers, who operated along the OreBenin Road, near the Okada Junction in the afternoon of November 29, 2014 at about 2.30pm.

“Until his shocking and painful demise, Nze Michael Anyiam-Osigwe was the coordinator general of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation and a member of its Board of Trustees.

“He was also a director of the Africa Institute for Leadership Research and Development, South Africa as well as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Malawi to Nigeria.

Jonathan’s eligibility: Judge urged to refer suit to Appeal Court

T

HE battle over President Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility for next year’s election will soon shift to the Court of Appeal.

This is because the Federal High Court has been asked to transfer a suit seeking to, among others, prevent Jonathan from seeking reelection to the appellate court.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) told Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday that his clients want the case moved to the appellate court and have filed an application to that effect.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

The suit was filed by two politicians - Adejumo Ajagbe and Olatoye Wahab.

He said his clients were seeking the referral of the case to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the suit involves “a substantial question of law”, which the Court of Appeal has to make pronouncement on “as soon as possible”.

They argued, in a supporting affidavit, “that a substantial issue of constitutional law has been raised on the effect of sections 135(2)(a) and (b) and 137(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)

and whether a person sworn into the office of the President on two previous terms is deemed to have been elected to that office at two previous elections.

They also argued, among others, “that the matter is of general public importance and interest and it is in the interest of justice to have the appellate court pronounce on same as soon as possible to enable this honourable court dispose of the case in accordance with the decision of the appellate court.”

Hearing of the application for referral has been adjourned to December 15.

IoD inducts 110 new members

T

HE President/Chairman in Council, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, Chief (Mrs.) Eniola Fadayomi, has reiterated the vision of IoD to institutionalise the tenets of sound corporate governance and best practices in the country’s business environment.

She stated this at the “New Members Evening and Induction” ceremony into the IoD in Lagos.

Mrs. Fadayomi said IoD, which is a league of directors and business leaders, has maintained cordial relation-

By Chikodi Okereocha

ship with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and companies in both the public and private sectors of the economy.

She disclosed that the institute, in a bid to increase its national and international visibility, has joined the African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Also, through the IoD Centre for Corporate Governance, it has partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers

(PwC) to establish a Register for Independent Corporate Governance Network.

IoD Nigeria, she added, has established a Register for Independent Directors in Nigeria that would serve as a pool from which organisations and agencies in need of high level directors could assess.

It has together with the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) collaborated to train directors of companies listed on the exchange.

About 110 new members were inducted at the event.

“He was also the Executive Director within the Anyiam-Osigwe Consortium of Companies.

“He is survived by his mother, Chief Dorothy Anyiam-Osigwe (OON); his wife, Okiemute Anyiam-Osigwe; five lovely children; six brothers and a sister; nieces and nephews and a host of other relations.

“In due course, his rights of passage would be announced by the Family.?”

work of People Living with HIV/ AIDS has berated the state government over what it referred to as its nonchalant attitude towards the welfare of its members.

It said the state has a prevalence of 9.2 per cent from initial 4.2 per cent, indicating that over 600,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS, quoting NACA 2012 reports.

Bauchi State said yesterday that of its over 5,632,093 people, 34,961 persons were HIV/AIDS positives.

About 16,431 were receiving anti-retroviral drugs (ART), according to the state’s Executive Chairman of the Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (BACATMA), Dr. Abdulazeez Manga.

In Edo State, over 4,586 persons were said to be living with the disease.

A breakdown of the figure showed that 2,942 of this number were female while male stood at 1,544, according to available data released by the state Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (EDOSACA).

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

T

HE Zoological Society of Nigeria has warned on the danger of continuous destruction and disruption of wildlife, saying such practices affect the echo-system.

Its president, Prof. Sonnie Oniye, who spoke at the opening of the society’s Ninth Annual Conference at the University of Ibadan, said abuse of wildlife would signal more trouble for human beings.

He said: “The management of our environment is appalling.

Drive round most of the state capitals, towns and villages in Nigeria; you will be shocked at the quality of life and squalor.

“We all know our wildlife has been decimated. We are in an era of threatening zoonotic diseases, a good example of which is Ebola.”

THE NATION TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

6

NEWS

Court orders release of APC’s data centre’s workers

A

FEDERAL High Court in Lagos has ordered the release of five detained workers of All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) data centre.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa restrained yesterday the Department of State Security Services (DSS) from further arresting Chinedu Atuche, Fayemi Olaposi, Chika Augustine Onochukwu, Ebun Ilori and Esther Enemuwe, who have been held since the DSS raided the centre on November 22.

The court ordered the DSS to open the data office/warehouse at 10, Bola Ajibola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

But APC’s lawyer, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), said the DSS was yet to obey the order.

The agency’s counsel, Clifford Osagie, said it was not true that the place was still under DSS seal.

Justice Yunusa held that the defendants had been detained beyond the two days allowed in law.

He said the DSS did so without a valid warrant. Besides, he added that the matter before him was a fundamental rights enforcement suit and not a criminal case.

He, therefore, held that the applicants could not be arrested and detained while the DSS conducted its investigations.

The judge faulted the detention warrant acted upon by the DSS, saying it was obtained outside jurisdiction and therefore it was illegal.

“No enforcement agency has the power to arrest without a warrant,” he said, adding that Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution provides that any person arrested on the suspicion of any

‘Tell Nigerians what you found at data centre’ THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Department of State Security Services (DSS) to tell Nigerians the result of its investigation into the alleged Permanent Voter Cards’ ( PVCs) cloning, which led to the unlawful invasion of the party’s offices in Lagos.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said if no evidence of PVC cloning was found, the DSS should apologise to Nigerians for acting on the basis of faulty intelligence.

The party said any further delay in telling Nigerians the outcome of the investigations, after almost 10 days, could mean that the DSS was trying to manufacture evidence to support its faulty intelligence.

The statement reads: ‘Without carrying out any investigation and with no shred of evidence, the DSS gleefully announced to the world that they stormed our data centre because they got information that PVCs were being cloned there. ‘’On the basis of this uncorroborated announcement, the PDP categorically accused the APC of cloning PVCs. It is now over a

week since the DSS carted away materials and computer servers after ransacking our offices for over two hours. The agency’s experts must have analysed the information in the materials and on the servers. ‘’Therefore, we are now asking them to immediately announce their findings to the world. After all, it took them only a few hours after their Gestapo-like invasion of our offices before they issued their baseless allegation of PVC cloning to justify their action.”

The party said while it had gone to court to seek redress, the DSS needed to tell Nigerians if indeed no evidence of card cloning was found.

It advised the DSS to always act professionally and fairly in carrying out its duties, rather than taking beer parlour gossips as useful intelligence, adding: ‘’It is this type of faulty intelligence that has been stifling the efforts to deconstruct Boko Haram and facilitate the battle to end the insurgency that is daily killing and maiming innocent Nigerians.

•Judge slams DSS for detaining without valid warrant

By Joseph Jibueze

crime must be brought to court within a reasonable time.

He said even if the remand order was genuine, it could not be the basis for detaining the applicants endlessly.

“A remand order is not issued indefinitely,” he said, adding that the DSS should have applied to a High Court within jurisdiction for a “review” of the remand order.

“There is no indication that the respondents have filed an application seeking a review of the remand order,” Justice Yunusa held.

He said the remand order exhibited by DSS “has exceeded the reasonable time in the constitution,” and that “every person has a right to his or her liberty.”

The judge said the law did not allow arresting and keeping a person in detention while an investigation was ongoing.

“The arrest and detention of a person with a view to getting information is a violation of Section 35 of the Constitution, which provides that such a person shall be brought promptly before a court,” he held.

To him, the applicants were not brought to court within a reasonable time and therefore they deserved to enjoy their freedom.

The judge, therefore, ordered the APC workers’ release from detention. But he directed them not to travel out of the country without the court’s permission.

Justice Yunusa retrained the DSS and the police from further arresting and detaining the ap-

plicants until their motion on notice was heard and determined.

“The point should be clear that there is no criminal matter before me,” the judge added after the bench ruling.

Before the ruling, Osinbajo said the DSS did not only detain the workers, it denied them access to their relatives, even when there was no criminal charge against them.

He said even if there was a charge, it was still no basis to justify the applicants’ detention for more than a week.

“The continued violation of their rights should not be allowed to continue,” Osinbajo prayed.

But Osagie asked the court not to release the workers, saying that freeing them could jeopardise DSS investigation

into the alleged crime being committed by APC in the data centre.

“We acknowledge their right to personal liberty. But the right is not absolute,” he said, adding that rights can be curtailed where there is strong suspicion of a crime being committed.

Besides, he said the DSS obtained a warrant, which empowered them to detain the applicants based on allegations of “forgery and electoral offences” against them.

“The applicants are in proper custody of the second respondent (DSS),” he said, adding that the remand order allows them to keep the workers “pending the conclusion of the criminal investigation.”

“This court is enjoined to enable the second defendant

perform its duties,” Osagie said, while denying that the applicants were barred from seeing their relatives.

Replying on points of law, Osinbajo said the remand order DSS claimed it obtained was issued by an unknown court in Kaduna State.

“It does not say where this magistrate court is. And such an order must be made by a court that has jurisdiction. You cannot have remand order from a court outside jurisdiction.

“Besides, the Supreme Court has held that you cannot detain a Nigerian citizen pending investigation. It’s unlawful to arrest first and then carry out investigation,” Osinbajo argued.

The former Lagos attorneygeneral also pointed out that the remand order did not bear the name of the court which gave it, and that it bore DSS’ stamp dated November 24.

“It means the applicants were in illegal detention on November 22 and 23,” he said.

After ordering their release, Justice Yunusa said he did not want to believe that APC’s data centre was still shut.

Osinbajo insisted that Osagie should say before the judge that the place had been opened.

Osagie said the place was not still sealed as claimed by Osinbajo.

The workers were produced in court yesterday in line with the judge’s order made last Wednesday.

After they were released, the joyous workers hugged themselves in tears before being taken away.

Justice Yunusa adjourned till January 19, for hearing of their motion on notice.

Governors are toothless bulldogs, says Aliyu

N

IGER State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has described governors as “toothless bulldogs” for their lack of constitutional power to direct security men to fight the country’s increasing insurgency.

He spoke yesterday while reacting to the deadly explosions at a Kano mosque at a Jumat prayer last Friday.

The governor lamented that governors, who ought to be chief security officers, had been rendered powerless by the nature of Nigeria’s federalism.

His words: “We (governors) need some respect. The federating units are now toothless bulldogs; many commissioners of Police are not taking directive from their governors. Directors of Directorate of Security Service (DSS) will write a different report for their governors and send another report to their director general in Abuja.

“We need a proper federalism. The Federal Government is stronger than the federating units. And as it is today, the federating units are toothless bulldogs.”

The governor, who is also the chairman, Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), said the increasing spate of insecurity in many parts of the North has made it imperative that state police should be allowed.

• Chairman of the occasion, Mrs Chika Balogun with Prof. Jega, at the lecture...yesterday.

Gowon praises NNPC for revenue generation

PHOTO: NAN

INEC worried over electoral code’s violation

I

NDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega is worried over next year’s general elections.

Jega attributed the worry to how the commission would ensure that politicians respect the code of conduct they signed.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the Ninth Public Lecture of The Electoral Institute (TEI) and INEC with the theme: “Youth and electoral violence in Africa: Lesson for Nigeria.”

He noted that hate messages promote violence, emphasising the need to keep to the rules of the game to promote peace.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

According to Jega, “the challenge is mediating among politicians to respect the code of conduct that they have signed.”

As part of the efforts to reduce hate messages, Jega said the commission would be meeting with traditional rulers to assist in disseminating its messages of peace.

He said the commission would improve on its voter education programme.

The guest speaker and Director, African Leadership Centre (ALC), Kings College, University of London, Dr. Funmi Olonisakin, warned against deployment of security operatives

during elections without training them properly on electoral process.

She said: “As much as possible, security personnel should not be deployed unless INEC has certified that they have received electoral security training.”

She explained that electoral security training was different from standard operating procedures of the police.

On youth involvement in electoral violence, Dr. Olonisakin said: “The competition among the political elite for services of youth and their cooperation for manipulation can and should be mediated by other credible stakeholders in the

society.”

Besides, she said political messages around the youth should be changed from that of “youth as a risk to society” to the potential they offer and the resources they bring to the society.

The speaker, who denied link between unemployed youths and electoral violence, said: “There is a predominance of a law enforcement approach, rather than a political approach that seeks to address the root causes of violence.”

Dr. Olonisakin warned that “the level of prosecution in electoral violence is low despite the law enforcement approach.”

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

F

ORMER Head of State General Yakubu Gowon has praised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for generating most of the country’s revenue.

The elder statesman spoke in Abuja at the weekend at an event organised to induct him into the Living Legends Hall of Fame.

He explained that the Nigerian National Oil Company (as the corporation was known at inception) was established by his administration after the civil war to help generate revenue for the government from the oil and gas sector.

The corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement yesterday, quoted Gowon as saying: “Certainly, the NNPC has done very well and it should be appreciated as the leading organisation that generates most of the money for the government.”

He expressed gratitude to the corporation for sponsoring what he described as a “memorable event in which professional artists from the universities and other tertiary institutions in the country were invited to carry out live drawing of my portrait as a living legend.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

7

NEWS

•From left: Secretary, Zoological Society of Nigeria(ZSN), Dr Olajumoke Morunkeji; President, Prof. Sonnie Oniye; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka and Chairperson, Organising Committee, Prof. Adiaha Ugwumba, at ZSN annual conference in Ibadan…yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Court threatens to arrest Bankole, Daniel

J

USTICE Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday said he would order the arrest of former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, if he failed to appear before him on December 15.

He said he would also compel former House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole to attend court should he be absent that day.

Both are among alleged contemnors in a contempt proceedings by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) executive committee members in Ogun State, led by Adebayo Dayo.

Other alleged contemnors in the proceedings are the PDP, Dave Salako and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Ogun executives initiated the contempt proceedings against them after they allegedly disobeyed court orders.

The plaintiffs alleged that

By Joseph Jibueze

the respondents had been attempting to remove them from office, despite two Federal High Court judgments affirming the legality of their positions.

Yesterday, Justice Abang warned that he would not tolerate any disobedience of his orders by anybody.

“I have jurisdiction to enforce the judgment of this court. It’s up to them to be here on the next adjourned date.

“If they’re not here on December 15, I will compel their attendance,” the judge held.

He said it was wrong for anyone to disobey a court order and give the impression that the court was powerless.

“The court should bark, bite, and where the situation demands, break bones,” the judge warned.

Justice Abang said he would also not consider any application filed by the al-

leged contemnors, if they do not appear in court.

“The alleged contemnors are not in court, but they ought to be in court. It is mandatory that they have to be here. They cannot be in the comfort of their homes.

They must be in court before any application filed by them can be taken.

“The second (Bankole), third (Daniel) and fourth (Salako) respondents have no reason for being absent in court today and no reason has been offered for their absence. It’s not a civil matter. This is a quasi-criminal matter,” the judge said.

He described such behaviour as “reprehensible to the extreme”, adding: “I will not be a party to this type of unwholesome development.”

The judge granted an exparte application by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, allowing them to serve the alleged contemnors with the motion

on notice for committal outside Lagos.

The judge also restrained the PDP National Working Committee from recognising any primaries except the ones conducted by the Adebayoled executive.

The court restrained INEC from accepting as valid any such primaries or publishing any list other than the Ad Hoc Ward delegate list prepared by the applicants.

Justice Abang directed PDP and INEC to ensure that the primaries in Ogun State scheduled to hold on December 6, 7 and 8 are conducted only with the Ad Hoc Ward delegates’ list.

The judge warned that if the alleged contemnors failed to report in court, including INEC’s principal officer, he would strike out any of their motions before him.

“If they’re not in court, I will strike out any motion filed by them.”

He adjourned till December 15.

Ex-council chairmen challenge removal in court

F

ORMER caretaker chairmen of the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 19 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Ekiti State are challenging their removal from office by Governor Ayo Fayose.

The ex-council officials, who were sworn in on August 8 by former Governor Kayode Fayemi, were removed from office on October 17 through an announcement on the state radio and television.

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti

A suit was filed at an Ado-Ekiti High Court by Gbenga Omole and 34 others by their counsel, Ibrahim Olanrewaju.

The plaintiffs are claiming that their tenure would expire on February 7.

The defendants are the governor, attorney general, speaker of the House of Assembly and the Assembly.

Among reliefs sought by the plaintiffs include a dec-

laration that their appointment and swearing in was legal and lawful and that their appointment for six months was statutory.

They are also seeking a declaration that the dissolution of the transition committees by the first defendant was illegal and unlawful and another order restraining the defendants from constituting new transition committees, until the expiration of their tenure on February 7.

The plaintiffs also prayed the court to reinstate them and restore to them all the rights, perquisites and entitlements of their offices and the payment of their total remunerations and other allowances due to them until the expiration of their tenure.

The plaintiffs also approached the court for further orders the court may deem fit to make.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

Police rescue four kidnapped women in Ekiti

T

HE police in Ekiti State have rescued four women, who were kidnapped on the Ifaki-Ido Road at the weekend.

The victims, who are workers at the General Hospital, Ifaki, were kidnapped at the weekend on their way to Ido-Ekiti after the close of work.

The four women were taken away in the private vehicle they were travelling in.

The source identified the driver as Mrs. Titlayo Ajiboye who was joined by the other passengers for the journey to Ido after

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti

the close of work.

The other passengers, it was gathered, were on their way to Igogo-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area.

Two men were also kidnapped at the weekend.

They are believed to have been kidnapped by the same gang.

The victims were said to be coming from an event at Ewu-Ekiti in Ilejemeje Local Government Area.

Police spokesman Victor Babayemi said

yesterday that the four kidnapped women had been rescued unhurt.

He said they were rescued by local hunters in collaboration with the police.

The Director of Administration, Ado-Ekiti Local Government, Tayo Olawuyi, who was kidnapped last week, is yet to be released by his captors.

His abduction has caused anxiety in the council and Odo-Ado Quarters, where he lives.

This is the second time in three years that Olawuyi would be

kidnapped.

Kidnappers swooped on him at the gate of his house; he was forced into a waiting Toyota Camry and taken to an unknown destination.

Olawuyi could not be reached on his phone which had been switched off; his abductors were yet to contact his family.

Babayemi said investigation into Olawuyi’s abduction was on.

He said the police were on the trail of Olawuyi’s kidnappers, and hoped that there would be a breakthrough soon.

8

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

NEWS ‘We want your support’ From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

T

HE police in Oyo State have sought the residents’ support in providing security at the general elections.

Commissioner of Police Kola Sodipo made the call at a meeting with community leaders in Ibadan, the state capital, yesterday.

Addressing members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) at the state police headquarters, Sodipo said the command needed stakeholders’ support to prevent violence before, during and after the election.

“We need your collaboration. We need you to give us information. You know criminals better than we do. I am not saying you are criminals but criminals live in your communities and you know many of them. The criminals are your children.

“Give us information. I assure you that we are ready to listen, protect you and act on information you give us. . We are here to protect you and not fight you. “

Ogun, firm sign MoU From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

O

GUN State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has said he will continue to rebuild the state and transform it.

The governor spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UBA Construction Company.

The MUO is to enable the company build a modern town called Mitros City at Isheri, a boundary town, on a concession basis.

The project, which is expected to be delivered by the concessionaires on or before 2021, sits on a 2000- hectare of land, including the areas covering the Kala cattle market, Isheri on the Lagos - Ibadan Expressway.

Amosun, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, said the project was delayed, following measures being taken to first relocate persons who stand to be affected by it.

‘I’ve the experience to rule Lagos’

A

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governor ship aspirant in Lagos State, Tokunbo Kamson, has said he has the experience to rule Lagos.

The aspirant spoke at the formal declaration of his ambition in Lagos.

He said: “I believe that my national and international experience is what Lagos needs as a vibrant and sprawling megapolis with urgent infrastructural challenges because as an engineer I am used to building and fixing things.

“As a technocrat who has had dealings with international institutions, I understand the language of international finance needed for development.”

Kamson was Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica with concurrent accreditation to Haiti, Belize and Dominican Republic.

•Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (third left) acknowledging cheers from workers when he resumed work after his inauguration . With him are his Deputy Governor Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (second left); Head of Service Olayinka Owoeye (left) and others...yesterday

Omisore’s witness discredits own statement

A

WITNESS of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Moshood Adejare, discredited his written statement at the Election Petition Tribunal yesterday.

He admitted that there were errors in the statement.

Adejare, who was the PDP supervisor for Kuye ward 2 of Ede South Local Government, had alleged in his written statement on oath that there was over-voting in his ward.

But he retracted his claim while giving evidence and said there was no over-voting in the result of the election, which has been tendered as evidence.

He said: “I can’t see any over-voting in the result

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

sheet. There were a lot of errors in my written statement, because I didn’t intend to say over voting in it.”

Still under cross-examination, the witness’ attention was drawn to his statement where he claimed that he was from Ede North, as against what he told the court that he was a ward supervisor in Ede South and the witness admitted that it was another error.

The witness, who had stated in his deposition that the registered voters in some polling units in his ward exceeded 750, also retracted the claim.

He said there were no units in his ward which had more than 750 registered voters.

Adejare also claimed in

his deposition that there was super-imposition of results in his ward.

He, again, retracted the statement and confirmed that there was no super-imposition of the result.

Another witness, Oluwaseun Fapohunda, who claimed to be the PDP Collation Agent in Oriade Local Government, denied that he said Governor Rauf Aregbesola voted in his unit 14, ward 5 of the council.

Aregbesola is from Ilesa East Local Government.

The witness was cross-examined by Aregbesola’s counsel Akin Olujimi; All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel Kunle Adegoke and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) counsel Ayotunde Ogunleye.

In the course of giving evi-

dence, Fapohunda, who had told the court that the governor voted in his unit subsequently said, “When did I say that? He didn’t vote in my unit.”

When the tribunal chairman read to him what he had earlier said that Aregbesola voted in his (witness) unit, the witness was dumbfounded.

The witness also told the court that he voted on the election day and the PDP agents at the polling units and ward collation agents signed the result form appropriately.

Other witnesses, Opaleye Taofeek from Ward 4 Boripe Local Government and Habeeb Tirimisiyu from ward 4, Ayedaade Local Government told the tribunal that they voted and PDP agents in each of the units signed the result form.

APC screening committee clears Amosun, Ajimobi

T

HE National Screening Committee for governorship aspirants (Southwest) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cleared Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and his Oyo State counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi, as the party’s candidates in next year’s governorship election.

Chairman of the Committee and former Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje said only Ogun has one

T

candidate in the Southwest.

“We have just concluded screening and sale of forms.

Governor Amosun is the only candidate from Ogun State.

“I want to praise him for the good works he is doing for our party, the people and his various strides since he assumed office.

God will help our party to effect the needed change in this country,” he said.

Amosun said his administration was committed to

the party’s programme, including employment generation, urban renewal, qualitative education, among others.

“APC will truly make the difference in Nigeria and will be victorious in the presidential election,” he added.

Ajimobi said his administration, in the next dispensation, would focus more on the people’s welfare.

“We will focus more on the welfare of the people. We will not relent in ensuring that our people feel the im-

pact of our administration positively to ensure that they have opportunity to be the best they can be,” he said.

He lauded the effort of the committee members, saying “it gives me joy that we have a party that does things democratically.

Though, I have other aspirants contending with me, I am very optimistic that I will become the APC candidate and will win the election,” he said.

12 Lagos APC aspirants cleared for primaries

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State yesterday cleared 12 aspirants intending to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola in 2015.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Obafemi Hamzat abruptly cancelled the formal declaration of his governorship ambition slated to hold today at The Haven, Ikeja.

A source said Hamzat cancelled his declaration due to the party primaries, which were rescheduled to begin today.

The aspirants were certi-

fied in Ikoyi for the primaries, which had been rescheduled to Thursday, following the release of the party’s guidelines.

At the Ikoyi meeting, the party cleared Hamzat, the Senate Minority Whip, Ganiyu Solomon, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, former Accountant-General Akinwunmi Ambode and former Commissioner for Health Leke Pitan.

Other aspirants are Tayo Ayinde, former AttorneyGeneral Olasupo Shasore, former Commissioner for

Special Duties Tola Kasali and Adetokunbo Wahab, among others.

The clearance has ruled out the possibility of presenting a consensus candidate.

The source said the governor “has been supporting Shasore’s governorship aspiration. Shasore has been Fashola’s original candidate from the beginning. But his aspiration has violated the party’s zoning rule, which has been in force since 1999.

The same rule was applied in 2007".

“The party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola

Tinubu came to power in 1999 from Lagos West and Fashola in 2007 from Lagos Central.

“It is now the turn of Lagos East senatorial district. It is ironic that Fashola is supporting an aspirant outside the party’s zoning calculation.”

The source said Ambode remained the frontrunner among the aspirants, noting that he had built strong grassroots support base; connected with various professional groups and elicited massive support from youths, tradesmen and artisans.

Blame Fayose for jailbreak, says APC HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has said Governor Ayodele Fayose should be blamed for the upsurge in crimes in the state.

It said his conduct and body language created conditions for crimes to flourish.

Reacting to yesterday’s attack on the prisons in Ado-Ekiti, where one prison official was killed and all inmates escaped, APC Publicity Secretary Taiwo Olatubosun said Fayose had deliberately created conditions for crimes to thrive.

He listed reduction in the funding of security agencies that are responsible for keeping peace and security.

This, he said, had lowered the morale among the security agents.

“We cried out about the dangers of reducing security votes.

The governor increased his personal security vote from N100million to N200 million while he slashed security votes to security agencies by 50 per cent.

“The governor has proved that he is above the law. The message he sent to criminals during the attack on the judiciary is clear.

“The belief among criminals is that they have a backer .

Fayose once said on a radio programme during the curfew period that okada riders should disobey the curfew and asked them to call him if they were arrested.

“Since then, criminals have hidden under that kind of open support to use okadas to commit crimes.

“No wonder it was reported that the gunmen came with motorcycles and escaped with them. All criminal activities never experienced during Governor Kayode Fayemi have crept to the state. We now live in fear.

“Since Fayose assumed power, we have recorded five robberies, thuggery, arson, murder and kidnapping.

“During Fayemi’s administration when kidnappers from Delta State came to Ekiti State for operation, the wellequipped and highly motivated security agents in the state frustrated them and got them arrested. Since then, nothing of such happened until a crimefriendly administration came on board.”

T

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

9

NEWS Assembly primaries: Anxiety over plot to doctor Adamawa results

T

HERE was anxiety yesterday in Abuja over an alleged plot to doctor the results of the House of Assembly primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party in Adamawa State.

Some stakeholders and governorship aspirants were said to be unhappy with the results after a botched attempt to hijack and tinker with the delegates’ list.

Although the Chairman of the Adamawa Assembly Primary Election Committee, Tim Eyemba read the results to the stakeholders in Yola on Monday, some forces in Abuja vowed to upturn the outcome.

The development forced most stakeholders to follow Eyemba to Abuja to ensure that the results were submitted to the national secretariat of the party.

But rather than going to the secretariat, Eyemba relocated to his chalet in Bayelsa Guest House in Abuja.

Still undone, the stakeholders decided to remain at the guest house until the right results were presented to the party’s national leadership.

According to findings by our correspondent, the Eyemba Committee conducted the primaries under tight security with the delegates’ list approved by all stakeholders.

It was learnt that two members of the Board of Trustees

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

of the PDP, Air Cmdr. Dan Suleiman and ex-Governor Wilberforce Juta supervised the primaries.

But contrary to the permutations of some chieftains of the PDP, nine of the 13 members of the House of Assembly, who sought re-election, succeeded in securing second term tickets.

It was learnt that the outcome of the primaries shocked some bigwigs in the party who vowed to alter it.

A source said: “There is pressure on Eyemba Committee to doctor the results but what we are doing is to keep tabs on every movement of the members of the panel.

“We all landed with the results at the airport in Abuja only for the committee chairman and secretary to relocate to Bayelsa Guest House in the city to write their report.

“We queried the rationale of writing their report again in Abuja after they had briefed and presented same to the stakeholders in Yola.

“We appeal to members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure that the right results were upheld.”

Another source said: “I think some forces in the Presidency were concerned that most delegates voted for change instead of imposition.

“And we thank God that

Governor Bala Ngilari and most stakeholders insisted that all votes must count.

“If the results are doctored in Abuja, PDP is doomed in Adamawa State in 2015. The party’s leadership should let the will of the people prevail.”

A third source said: “It is really a battle of wits among all the governorship aspirants in the state. This is why the issue of delegates and outcome of primaries have become a do-or-die affair.

“Governor Bala Ngilari from the Northern Senatorial District is pitched against crack aspirants from Adamawa Central and the race is getting hotter.

“The only favour PDP NWC can do the PDP in Adamawa is not to alter the results of the primaries.”

The other governorship aspirants from Adamawa Central are ex-Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; a former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Marcus Gundiri; a former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Auwalu Tukur, who is one of the sons of the former National Chairman of PDP, Alh. Bamanga Tukur; ex-Speaker James Barka and Gen. Aliyu Kama (rtd).

Jude, how could you leave us so soon?

By Olalekan Adetayo

•The late Isiguzo

S

HORTLY after I woke up in the morning of Saturday, November 29, 2014, my phone beeped. I checked and discovered it was a BBM message. I saw that the message was from one of my contacts who goes by the display name Queen Esther (Nwa Chinemere).

Her real name is Gwen Isiguzo. She is the wife (still finding it difficult to refer to her as a widow) of my good friend, Jude Isiguzo.

I take friends who are very close to me as my brothers, therefore, apart from my friendship with them, I also establish cordial relationship with their immediate families, especially their wives. I have their wives’ contacts. We talk on the phone and chat via BBM and WhatsApp as regularly as possible.

The last time I chatted with Mrs. Isiguzo was on November 8, the day she and her husband returned from their vacation trip abroad. She told me they just landed at the Lagos Air-

APC disqualifies Adamawa governorship aspirant

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Screening Committee for the Northeast, headed by former Anambra State Governor, Senator Chris Ngige, has disqualified a woman governorship aspirant in Adamawa State for failure to present a tax clearance certificate.

Ngige told reporters at the end of the screening in Abuja that the aspirant, whose name he refused to give, also

•Panel clears Borno, Yobe governors From Tony Akowe, Abuja

failed to provide the mandatory number of nominators to contest the governorship primaries.

The chairman said at the end of the two-day screening, his committee cleared 20 aspirants, including Borno and Yobe Governors Kashim Shettima and Ibrahim Gaidam, to contest the party’s

primaries.

He said two other aspirants were given provisional clearance and asked to provide outstanding documents within 48 hours to avoid being disqualified.

Ngige said: “As we speak, we have granted successful clearance to 20 persons. We have disqualified one person because the person could not produce the required nomi-

Ganduje scales screening in Kano governorship race

K

ANO State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus governorship candidate, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday scaled through the party’s screening committee in Kaduna.

He got the party’s approval to fly its governorship flag in Kano in the 2015 election.

Ganduje told reporters, after his return to Kano, that he would consolidate on the achievements of Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

The APC candidate said his ambition was to ensure that development got to the nooks and crannies of the state.

Ganduje was screened by APC committee, led by former Kwara State Governor Muhammad Shaba Lafiyagi.

The APC candidate promised to run an issue-based campaign where the needs of Kano residents would be paramount.

He hailed Kwankwaso for his role in the consensus arrangement.

Ganduje also promised to consolidate the legacies of Kwankwaso administration, adding that he would uphold the philosophy of the Kwankwasiyya Movement when he got to the Kano Government House in 2015.

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

The consensus candidate, who displayed his nomination and expression of interest forms, which APC members bought for him, described the gesture as historic for APC and the people of Kano.

He said: “This is a historic occasion. Today, we have purchased the forms and we hope to retain power in 2015.

Our party, especially the Kwankwasiyya Movement, is

highly disciplined, well informed and works with facts and figures. We have adequate planning, and this explains why we are where we are today.

“Our leader, the supreme commander of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, made extensive consultations, permutations and political arithmetic to ensure that the best is done for the party. This is because he cannot afford to undermine the legacies we have collectively built...”

nators and could not submit a valid tax clearance and some of the certificates tendered to us were doubtful because the originals were not there.

“The other two persons have provisional clearance.

What we mean by provisional clearance is that they have been cleared but we did not give them certificates of clearance. We will not give them because their clearance is pending on certain factors.

“One of them is supposed to give us documents, such as his tax clearance. But what he gave us is an internal payee system paper to show that he pays tax in his last place of work.”

The panel chairman said the screening was a success.

Ngige said his committee worked on Sunday, adding that the final report would be presented to the national leadership today.

port. “Una welcome o,” I wrote, and she replied: “Thanks, egbon mi.” She calls me “egbon mi” (my older brother).

That Saturday morning, her message confused me. “Your friend is gone. Your friend, Jude Isiguzo, is gone,” she simply wrote. Jude did not tell me he was travelling again. The last time we spoke, he said he wanted to come to Abuja to spend the remaining few days of his vacation and use the opportunity to replace his wife’s missing wedding ring at the Wuse Market where traders sell gold.

So, not aware of the trauma she was passing through at that time, I replied to Mrs. Isiguzo’s message: “Gone to where?” Her response pierced straight into my heart: “Egbon mi, to heaven.” That was at 10.33am.

To heaven ke? Where do they call heaven? Was he sent by his editors to cover an event there?

I was shaking, my head was aching and my heart pounding at the same time. This is beyond chatting. I had to quickly dial Mrs. Isiguzo’s number, and she confirmed that my good friend and brother died that morning in a private hospital in FESTAC Town. She managed to tell me he fell ill on Tuesday. I was short of words; I told her I would call back. I am yet to summon enough courage to call her back.

I called a few mutual friends and colleagues of ours in Lagos.

They were to join his wife at the hospital to see things for themselves. I was eagerly waiting to hear from them that Jude truly went into a coma but had been revived. That news did not come. The news that came was

that Jude had indeed left this world!

Our paths crossed when we were reporting crime for our different employers. He was with the then The Comet, and later The Nation while I work for The Punch. We were so close that some of our colleagues openly wondered why and how a Yoruba man would be so close to an Igbo man. He called me “my brother from another mother”. We discussed very personal issues and offered each other advice.

In November 2011, I was one of his friends in his hometown in Abia State to bury his father, Pa Hillary Nmerengwa Isiguzo, who died at the age of 83. Exactly three years after, in November 2014, we are set to bury young Jude, who was no where near his father’s age.

Jude was a jolly good fellow, a very amiable person. The way he talked was even amusing. If you were not ready to laugh your heart out, you should not go near him.

In Jude I have lost a great friend and a brother across the Niger.

I share in the grief of his young wife. Tears dropped freely from my eyes when she changed her personal message on BBM to “How could you leave me ALONE?” I join this young widow to ask Jude: How could you leave us, your friends and colleagues alone? How could you? How could you? Jude, how could you?

May your soul continue to rest in peace and may the good Lord console your widow.

Adieu, Jude Isiguzo.

•Adetayo, a friend of the deceased, wrote from Abuja.

Lagos police mourn The Nation correspondent Isiguzo

T

HE Lagos State Police Command has expressed shock at the death of the Crime Correspondent of The Nation, Mr Jude Isiguzo, who died on Saturday, after a brief illness.

In a condolence letter by Police Commissioner Kayode Aderanti, the command said news on Isiguzo’s death hit them like a thunderbolt.

The second part of the two-

paragraph statement reads: “Within the short time I have spent as Commissioner of Police for Lagos State Command, I found Jude to be a pleasant person with a knack of professionalism.

“I was already enjoying his opinions on issues until this sad news filtered out on Saturday.

We extend our condolences to his family and your staff.”

Dare condoles with The Nation

T

HE Nation Editorial Adviser Dr Olatunji Dare yesterday paid tributes to the late Isiguzo.

In a letter of condolence, Dr. Dare said: “Please accept, and help pass on to management, my sincere condolences on the passing of our ace crime re-

porter Jude Isiguzo.

I followed his reports closely and was for the most part impressed with his careful workmanship, his wide range of contacts, and his commitment to getting the story right.

“May his soul rest in peace.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

10

CITYBEATS Fashola opens register for sex offenders

L

AGOS State Governor, Babatunde Fashola signed yesterday an executive bill to officially establish a register for all sex offenders.

At the ceremony at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja, he said the executive order establishing the register makes it mandatory for such offences to be reported irrespective of the offender and the way the issue is settled.

The register, according to him, is expected to complement the existing crime data register to make it easier for law-enforcement agents to prosecute sexual offences, such as harassment, defilement of children and rape.

The prevailing security challenges, he said, had pushed sexual offences against vulnerable members of the society to the background.

The governor added that policies including the postpartum depression defence, six-month maternity leave and the domestic violence and child abuse laws were put in place to protect women and children.

According to him, the successful implementation of the order requires the cooperation of all stakeholders.

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

He advised women to speak up against acts which may compromise their rights in the work place, warning that it will no longer be business as usual for those fond of harassing vulnerable members of the society.

Fashola said it was no longer fashionable for victims of rape and other sexual abuses to keep quiet, noting that the government had carried out necessary legal reforms to address such issues.

Introducing the bill, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Ade Ipaye said measures had been put in place for the order’s successful implementation.

According to Ipaye, a Domestic Violence and Sexual Response team, comprising policemen, officials of the Office of the Public Defenders, Directorate for Citizens’ Rights, medical personnel and others had been constituted.

He said sexual offences were prominent in Alimoso, Kosofe, Agege and Oshodi-Isolo local government areas, adding that over 100 cases of such offences were being tried in the state’s high courts.

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

‘My father, villagers pushed me into robbery’

T

WO robbery suspects may have reached the end of the road following their arrest by the police.

The suspects, who specialised in snatching Toyota cars, have been singing like birds since their arrest.

They are Titus An thony (28) and Felix Airouhodion (23), who are being held in Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) cell in Lagos.

Anthony, claimed that his discomfort with his father’s polygamous lifestyle and witch-hunting by other villagers forced him to take to armed robbery.

Anthony told The Nation: “I stayed at Sakponba in Eredo Local Government Area of Edo State. I met David and later, Uche. It was David that brought the idea of car snatching.

“Our first operation was in the Mafoluku Oshodi area of Lagos. We were trekking and looking for where to rob and get money. As we were going, we saw a Toyota Corolla car parked in the area. Its door was not locked. David entered when he saw that the door was opened and connected the ignition wires.

“The car’s engine started and Uche took over the steering. We drove to Oja Ifo in

‘

I am a responsible armed robber.

Though I have not paid the official bride price, I will do it when this case is over. I have not married my wife officially, but I give her every respect a married woman deserves

’

By Ebele Boniface

Ogun State where we sold it to our buyer called Alhaji. He paid us N180,000 cash. The Alhaji usually sent Uche to collect the cars from us. When Uche got to Ifo, we invited him to Sango where we drove the vehicle to. My share was N55,000. Uche and David got same each, while the balance was given to Aye boys around Bolade area of Oshodi. These are the boys who know us as armed robbers and we normally give them small money to enjoy.”

The boys, the suspect said, always helped them to monitor the police, especially any time they finished operations.

During another operation, Anthony said they removed a car from where it was parked in the Maryland area of Lagos at 9 pm.

“I was the one that opened the car with umbrella wire.

We were five on that fateful day - Uche, Felix, David (aka Rice) and I. They were stand-

•The suspects...yesterday

ing by the road-side waiting for me to start the car.

“I have a wife and a fouryear-old son. I am a responsible armed robber. Though I have not paid the official bride price, I will do it when this case is over. I have not married my wife officially, but I give her every respect a married woman deserves”.

Recounting their third operation on Airport Road near Mafoluku, Oshodi, he said: “We saw a man near a bank wanting to withdraw cash with his ATM card.”

The suspect added: “As we were contemplating on how to strike and thinking whether or not he was the owner of the car, the man noticed us, became afraid, dropped the car’s key and ran away. We took the car to Alhaji, who is a car dealer at Ifo, but runs a car showroom in the Seme area.

Saying that he learnt fashion design and bricklaying, Anthony claimed that it was frustration that pushed him into armed robbery.

He said: “My father has three wives. He is from Edo State, but my mother is from Enugu State. The other wives

of my father are from Edo State. They discriminate against us because my mother is not from Edo State.”

On why they preferred Toyota vehicles, he said: “They move in the market.

We sell them easily. Moreover, when buyers want to sponsor any operation, they always ask us to go for Toyota products.”

Airouhodion, Edo State, and lives on Arowojobe Street, Oshodi with his wife and two children said: “Titus is my master in armed robbery. He was the one who recruited me. I met him at a spot in Bolade where we smoke Indian hemp. There, I met Titus who asked me why I was suffering; I told him that I had no money to feed my family since I was sacked by my former employer.”

“I am a member of Celestial Church of Christ; that is why I am wearing white garment. I was arrested on my way to the church for a service. I am ashamed of myself. I don’t know why I fell into this big temptation. It is frustration that pushed me into armed robbery. If I’m set free, I won’t rob again,” Felix said.

•Some of the promoted officers

Manko to new officers: fight crime

A

SSISTANT InspectorGeneral (AIG) of Police in charge of Zone Two Umaru Manko yesterday urged newly promoted officers to be more diligent.

He gave the charge while decorating the officers at the Zone’s Headquarters of the police in Onikan, Lagos.

Manko advised the 20 Chief Superintendents of Police (CSPs) that were promoted to Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) and the ACPs promoted to Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) to be more alive to

By Ebele Boniface

their duties.

The police chief urged them to be polite to the public, fight crime with passion and be prepared to face new challenges.

The DCP, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti in Yaba, Lagos Mainland, Olugbenga Adeyanju, told them not to demolish the existing structures in their new postings.

The DCPs are: Bello Yahaya, Kurawa Abdullahi Sarki, Onaade Samson Awon-

iyi and Audu Adamu Madaki.

The ACPs are: Adegoke Fayoade, Ochogwu Abbas Ogbeh, Sule Garba Tunduwada, Kayode Mustapha, Mohammed Raji Kamal, Chukwudi Chris Ariekere, Usman Ndanbobo, Omolara Oloruntola, Ayuba Usman, Amaechi Oliver, Onyeugo Victor, Obinna Ikegwuonu, Folashade C. Adams, Fidelis Okafor, Philip Eze, Joseph Nnadozie Ibekwe, Azuka Jude, Basil Idegwu, Muazu Usman Mohammed, Adamu Isa Ngojin and Olusokan Adekunle.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

There is nothing wrong in having a robust renewable energy programme in the country. In fact, government has taken a step in that direction by introducing the: ‘Light Up Nigeria’ scheme.

- Director-General, National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, Rueben Okeke

Oil price drops below $70

NLTF signs $3.70m pact

N

IGERIA currency, the naira yesterday fell to record low against the dollar as it depreciated 2.9 per cent to N184.5 to $1 after crashing to N184.51 due to sliding oil prices.

Russian currency, the Rouble too suffered its biggest one-day decline since 1998 as oil prices continued to fall, escalating fears about the its economy.

Rouble slid almost nine per cent against the dollar before rallying after suspected central bank intervention.

Russia, like Nigeria, is heavily dependent on revenues from oil exports, making its currency vulnerable to falling prices.

Brent crude hit $67.53 a barrel, the lowest it has been since October 2009, before regaining some ground.

It was just above $70 in late trading yesterday, while United State (U.S) crude was at $66.34 a barrel, having hit an intraday low of $63.72 - the lowest since July 2009.

Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, with oil and gas accounting for 70 per cent of its exports and half of government revenues.

Nigeria, Africa’s second highest producer, depended on oil for more than 90 per cent of its revenue.

Oil prices have fallen by more than a third since the summer, while the rouble is down nearly 40 per cent against the dollar since January.

Elumelu Foundation launches $100m scheme

By Joseph Eshanokpe

T

HE Tony Elumelu Foundation has launched a $100million Entrepreneurship Programme for Africa in Lagos.

Speaking yesterday at a briefing to announce the multi-million dollar scheme, its Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu, said the programme is unique because apart from offering access to cash, it will enable beneficiaries with good business ideas to enjoy mentorship and support to build bankable business plans.

Elumelu, who described himself as an African made business mogul, said one of the reasons he made it in business was because he benefited from the mentorship of Chief Ebitimi Emmanuel Banigo of the defunct All States Bank. He added that with the training he received from Banigo, he and his team were able to take over and revive a failing bank.

He said the future belongs to entrepreneurs, who he said, would not need to look for jobs, but would rather create some. He said it was for this that entrepreneurs should be assisted to make it in business.

From Olugbenga Adanikin and Faith Yahaya, Abuja

T

• From left: Chief Executive Officer, World PR, Tayo Afolabi; Publisher of Exquisite Magazine, Tewa Onasanya; Head of Spirits, Marketing & Ready-to-Drink (RTD) for Diageo Brands Nigeria, Liz Ashdown; Brand Manager, Baileys, Ufuoma Udjoh and Supply Finance Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Iqbal Mohammad at the ELOY Award sponsored by Baileys in Lagos ...yesterday.

Miners seek inclusion in N220b CBN’s SMEs fund T HE Miners Association of Nigeria yesterday called on the Federal Government to capture the Artsinal and Small Scale Miners (ASMs) as part of the beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) intervention fund for the Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs).

Its President, Alhaji Sani Shehu, who spoke with The Nation on the economic implications of the declining oil prices, urged the government to “use oil money to develop other options such as the solid minerals”.

He urged the government to fund the Solid Minerals Development Fund to perform its statutory functions effectively.

The group said the government should strengthen the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development with a review

• Urge govt to develop minerals as oil prices drop From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

of its yearly budget.

Shehu regretted that “every year, the budget is being reduced. The ministry should be strengthened to face the impact of falling oil prices”.

The miners chief urged the government to draw a work plan for the provision of infrastructure that connects minefields with railway facility for easy haulage linkage with the mines, sea ports and industrial areas.

He said for the government to demonstrate its seriousness about the development

of the mineral sector, the presidency should capture it in its Transformation Agenda as it is in the case of agriculture, textile, automobile, and entertainment industries.

According to him, whenever a government promotes a sector, the sector becomes better.

Shehu asked government to encourage financial institutions and development banks to lend to miners at single digit interest rate, stressing that it should also continue the gathering of geological data to include re-

serve estimate in the mines sector.

He said:“Following the volatility in the prices of oil, government should draw strategies for the promotion of the development of solid minerals because it has the potential to create massive jobs for Nigerians and provide huge Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).”

Shehu requested the government to encourage foreign investors and partners to enhance transfer of technology and FDI into the mining sector.

He urged the government to take diversification of the economy from oil to mining serious, noting that the United States (U.S) that was the prime importer of Nigerian crude was last week about the largest producer of the shale oil.

NERC probes DISCOs’ load allocation rejection

T

HE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commis sion (NERC) has commenced investigation into why some Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) are rejecting electricity load allocated to them.

Its Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, who spoke with The Nation in Abuja, yesterday insisted that the DISCOs were not supposed to turn down the allocation offer.

He however said some of the firms might have rejected their allocations due to network and capacity constraints.

• To deduct opening balance, VAT at source From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

The chairman added that some of the firms might be afraid of paying the excess charge of accepting load allocation that is beyond their capacity.

He said: “The companies might be rejecting load allocation because in some cases due to network constraint, some DISCOs may genuinely have distribution network and therefore they cannot take what is allocated to them.

“Or in negative sense, when they are afraid of paying the excess charges when they have exceeded their capacity and they are given extra load they have to pay for.

“So, we are investigating; we have asked our people to find out whether the DISCOs have genuine reasons. May be they are afraid of taking more than what they can sell.”

Amadi also commented on his October 8 letter that mandated the the firms to

pay their opening balance to the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) and outstanding Value Added Tax (VAT) to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

In the letter, the commission requested the DISCOs the fund to NELCOM and FIRS or face the fine of paying N10,000 per hour from October 17.

The chairman recalled that the DISCOs appealed that they had paid but it was discovered that they were wrong.

Coca-Cola, NBC query prosecutor’s mandate

C

OCA-COLA Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited and their Managing Directors, Adeola Adetunji and Ben Laganty, have queried the authority given to former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bayo Ojo (SAN), to prosecute them for alleged violation of the Consumers Protection Council (CPC) Act.

• Judge insists on presence firms’ chiefs in court From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Ojo had told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was issued a fiat by the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF) to prosecute the charges filed against Coca Cola, NBL and their bosses by the CPC for allegedly breaching the CPC Act. The firms and their chief

executives have filed notices of preliminary objection, challenging the competence of the charge and the jurisdiction of the court to try them.

Yesterday, the trial judge, Justice Elvis Chukwu, insisted that the accused persons must appear in court before he would hear the objections. The judge stood

his ground despite efforts by Gbolahan Elias (SAN) and Oluseye Opasanya (SAN) – lawyers to the accused persons – to make the judge hear their objections in the absence of their clients.

Elias and Opasanya had argued that their clients needed not be in court since they were challenging the prosecutor’s mandate, the court’s jurisdiction and the competence of the charge.

HE National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) has signed a $3.70 million agreement with Chinese and Turkish firms to procure branded sport equipment for the country.

The management of the Fund signed a $2,788,386.76 pact with Messrs China Sports International Co. Limited (CSIC) and a $914,967.10 procurement agreement with Messrs CAAN Sports Organisations Limited of Turkey in Abuja.

The contract involved the supply of equipment covering nine different sports solely for the development of sports in 1,000 primary schools across the nation.

The sports include athletics, volley ball, football, handball, badminton, table tennis, basketball, judo and taekwondo.

About nine primary schools from each senatorial district across the six geo-political zones are expected to benefit from the programme.

NLTF Executive Secretary, Habu Gumel said the fund was sourced from the 20 per cent statutory cash accrued from the NLRC proceeds.

He said the intervention programme was to promote grassroots sport development across the country.

According to him, objective of the programme includes enhancing the NLTF’s capacity to grow and expand the nation’s talent-base by securing interest and involvement of children in primary school in sporting activities.

‘Korea imports $2b goods from Nigeria’ From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

B

ETWEEN January and the third quarter of this year, Republic of Korea imported goods valued at over $2 billion from Nigeria while it exported goods worth over $800 million to the country.

Korean Commercial Attache to the country, Mr. Bohyun Pyun, who spoke during a courtesy visit to the Ibadan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said in spite of this, the trade balance was in favour of Nigeria.

He said the Korea Business Centre (KBC) would continue to play a pivotal role in expanding trade relationship between the two countries.

According to him, Korean firms are eager to explore and find trading and joint venture partners in various business line, stating that the country has been in Nigeria since 1966, long before diplomatic relationship was established in 1980.

He said the chamber is better positioned as a business partner, adding that it could do this by collaborating with Korean investors in the mining and agricultural sectors because of the huge solid mineral deposits in the state.

12

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

13

14

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS TRANSPORTATION

E-mail: ynotaderibigbe@gmail.com

Jonathan pledges to link 36 states by rail

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has promised to link the 36 states by rail.

Speaking at the 17th Honorary International Investment Council (HIIC) meeting in London, Jonathan said the rail network would boost the economy and reduce the pressure on roads and highways.

He acknowledged that no meaningful development can take place without addressing the challenges in the rail sector.

According to him, with adequate rail coverage, the roads and highways will be better maintained.

He said: “If we do not link state capitals by rail, our roads will not last.’’

On upgrade and expansion of the roads, Jonathan said: “We cannot mould the economy without good roads.

“Quite a number of companies still construct roads to their sites. This is not supposed to be so. We are committed to addressing this, we have been working hard and we have improved our road networks significantly.’’

He assured that all federal roads will be resurfaced within the next three years.

“We intend to construct new ones that we consider as very critical, especially one that would link Port Harcourt and Bonny, the major gas exporting terminal of our country,” Jonathan said.

He restated the government’s commitment to securing the air space and improving airport terminal buildings.

Jonathan assured that the government was determined to end the security challenges facing the country.

The HIIC Coordinator, Baroness Lynda Chalker, said the

organisation, since inception, has focused on various sectors of the economy.

“This 17th meeting will focus on rail transportation given its critical role to the economy,” she said.

She said positive news about Nigeria was over-shadowed by what is happening now.

“We must work together to project Nigeria’s positive news and achievements because it is not in anybody’s interest to run Nigeria down,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN ) l i s t e d o t h e r t o p i c s discussed at the forum to in-

clude opportunities and reforms in the power and construction sectors.

The Ministers of Transportation, Power, Works, Aviation, Finance, National Planning, Trade and Investment and Defence also made presentations.

The HIIC, comprising prominent investors around the world, advises governments on economic development.

The areas of the HIIC’s partnership with Nigeria include reduction of corruption, attracting foreign direct investment and promoting private sector driven economy.

‘Don’t Drink and Drive’rally ends

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

T

HE Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has held the last of its 2014 ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ rallies at Agege Motor Park in Lagos.

The campaign, which focused on responsible consumption of alcohol, was held in Makurdi (Benue State) Onitsha, (Anambra State) and Port Harcourt (Rivers State).

The Agege rally attracted the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), Customs, Police, Nigerian Army, the National Youth Service Corps and non-governmental organisations.

Welcoming participants, the Lagos State Sector Commander, FRSC, Hyginus Omeje, reiterated the importance of driving alcohol-free.

“Alcohol and driving do not go together because alcohol causes loss of attention and driving requires a lot of concentration due to the lives at stake,” he said.

The NB Plc’s Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Manager, Mrs Emete Tonukari, said the ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ Campaign was an important part of the company’s Brewing a Better World sustainability journey.

“We are here to enlighten drivers on the benefits of observing traffic rules and regulations and also for them not to consume any alcoholic product before driving.” They are to ensure that their vehicles are in good working condition and to rest adequately before embarking on a journey. Safety is very important to us and we all have to be safety conscious as we ply the roads.

The guest speaker, Dr. Oluchi Kanma-Okafor, spoke on the effects of alcohol on driving, adding that for safety on the roads, drivers must not drink alcohol while on duty.

The Vice Chairman of Agege Motor Park, Alhaji Fatai Alimi and representative of the Comptroller of Customs, Federal Operations, Ikeja, CSC Piyapdat Nicholas also spoke at the rally.

Highpoints of the campaign included a drama presentation on the adverse effects of drink driving by members of the National Youth Service Corps. Participants also had a free check on their blood pressure as part of the exercise.

It would be recalled that Nigerian Breweries signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Road Safety Corps to formalise their terms of engagement on the Don’t Drink and Drive campaign. The campaign which started in 2008 is in its seventh year and has gone round 31 major cities across Nigeria.

•From left: Representative of Commander, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Capt. A. Adesagba, Dr. Kanma-Okafor, Commander Omeje, Mrs. Tonukari, and Assistant Corps Commander (ACC) Issac Awe, during the Don’t Drink and Drive rally at Agege, Lagos.

Agency to reduce accidents

‘Drive with fake licence, go to jail’

T

HE Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) has warned motorists to stop obtaining drivers licence through proxy or risk going to jail.

The National Chairman, Conference of Directors of VIOs of the federation, Mr. Bayo Otuyemi, sounded the note of warning in his office in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Otuyemi, the Commander of Ogun State Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), said VIOs must ensure that drivers obtained genuine licence to ensure the creation of a reliable data base.

He said this has been impossible in the past because many motorists obtained licence through proxies.

He said some of the fatal crashes on the roads have been attributed to lack of driving skills, poor road signage knowledge and poor driving attitude all of which showed that they never went through driving school.

He said: “Some drivers when arrested as a result of their inadequate knowledge of driving have been found in possession of fake licences, while many have no driving licence at all. They lacked in-depth knowledge of the practical and theoretical aspects of driving which they ought to have known before being given a driver’s licence that qualifies them to drive. Due to these shortcomings some of them lacked what it takes to drive on the high-

By Olalekan Ayeni

ways because they knew nothing about traffic rules and regulations.”

He urged motorists to attend professional driving schools to acquire the proper training to drive on the highways and follow the due process of obtaining driver’s licence. He said henceforth, whoever is caught driving without the original driver’s licence will not only be fined but risk a jail term.

The process of obtaining drivers’ licence, according to him, has been linked with three agencies, State Board of Internal Revenue, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Department of Vehicle Inspections Office.

He said applicants for driving licence must obtain provisional driving licence and will be issued a full driving licence on successful completion of the test and practical driving examination by the Vehicle Inspection Office.

“Anyone who obtained a driver’s licence by proxy from any state or FRSC without being tested and certified competent to drive on Nigeria roads by a qualified vehi cle inspection officer, may have been issued a fake driving licence and would be prosecuted in the court for driving with fake documents,” he added.

The VIO boss, strongly advised applicants for driving licence to visit the nearest FRSC’s office, Ve-

By Bisi Onanuga

T •Otuyemi

hicle Inspection Office (VIO) or the State Board of Internal Revenue, for better advice in the processing of obtaining drivers’ licence instead of patronising touts.

Alternatively, applicants can submit an online application and must be both practically and theoretically tested and certified competent by a testing officer before they are issued drivers’ licence.

He also appealed to both federal and states’ owned road traffic management agencies to continue improving on enforcement capacity, technologies and public education/enlightenment campaign.

Otuyemi also urged corporate body/organisations and commercial transport unions to join in the campaign against lawless driving which has led to wanton destruction of lives and property.

He also appealed to motorists to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition before embarking on any journey.

HE Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) is committed to reducing fatal road crashes this December, the Corps’ Commander, Ayo Sangofadeji, has said.

He spoke with reporters on this year’s accident-free day at the Corps’ headquarters in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Sangofadeji said the corps would intensify efforts on its public enlightenment programmes especially at motor parks across the state and bring erring motorists to book.

“Our goal this year is to ensure reduction in road traffic accident compared to 2013. We will intensify efforts by way of enlightenment and strong enforcement,” he said.

The Corps, he said, is determined to prove a point to members of the public that ‘Ember’ month does not kill. He noted that what kills is poor driving attitude which needed to be addressed by ensuring total compliance to safety rules and regulations.

Speaking on the role of passengers, the TRACE chief, advised them to be at alert at all times, watch drivers’ attitude, and manner of driving and report any behaviour contrary to safety of lives to the appropriate authority.

He said: “We have one driver to many passengers in a vehicle; one person should not be allowed to negatively dictate where the journey of the others would end.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

15

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

16

THE NATION

BUSINESS AVIATION

Why domestic airlines fail, by operator A

N operator has explained the rationale behind the failure of some domestic airlines.

Mr Babatunde Babalola, Chairman, Discovery Air, said operators fail to break even and become grounded because of the underutilisation of their aircraft.

Underutilisation is when the airplane is kept more on the ground than in the sky due to limited use.

Babalola said proper understanding of how to deploy available airplanes in many routes according to flight schedules is key to ensuring profit.

Most carriers in Europe and America, he said, keep their operations afloat because the managers robust utilisation plans for the aircraft in their fleet , such that the planes are not tied down.

Babalola said it would be unprofitable to acquire a brand new aircraft for about $100 million,

Stories by Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

only to use it for limited flights, as many indigenous operators do.

He said the high operating cost regime was unprofitable for any airline, noting that an aircraft is acquired at a huge cost.

Babalola told The Nation that most carriers collapse owing from improper utilisation of the airplanes in their fleet, adding that an operator needs many aircraft in its fleet to match the scale of its operations.

He said if proper planning of fleet was done by owners, many carriers that closed shop a few years ago would have remained in operations.

What is important is to have enough aircraft that match the scale of your operations.

How many aircraft did the defunct Air Nigeria have when they were flying to all routes?

They had about 12 airplanes and they were all over the place.

NCAT Act for amendment

T

HE Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, Kaduna State, is set to amend its enabling act to make it independent of the Ministry of Aviation, its Rectors Captain Samuel Caulcrick, has said.

He said the amendment of the enabling Act had become imperative, because the college needs to reposition itself as the foremost aviation training college in West Africa after 50 years of its existence.

He said preparations were in top gear to celebrate the insttution’s 50th anniversary this month.

The document, intended to facilitate the amendment of the college's Act, he said was in the Ministry of Justice undergoing processing.

Caulcrick said: “We are trying to change the Enabling Act. Don't forget that the existing Act is one of the oldest in the aviation industry today. It is 50 years, it needs to be amended. We are in the process of achieving that.”

He also said the document to achieve the amendment of the Act had been sent to the office of the

Attorney-General of the Federation.

“All we are waiting for is a directive from the Federal Executive Council before it is sent to the National Assembly,” he said.

He regretted that the Act had positioned the college as an arm of the Ministry of Aviation with its limitations.

“This is part of the constraints we have,” he added.

On efforts to move the college forward, the Rector noted that NCAT had secured temporary accreditation from the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) to start Diploma courses.

He said the entry requirements for some professional courses in the college has been upgraded to first degree.

“But we are not sure where we are, whether we are going to make the entry for all our courses, first degree, particularly flying because we need to capture them early. That is why in the past we take them after the School Certificate Examination, but now, we have over a million of Nigerians who are willing to go into aviation and have acquired their first degree at 22. That is still okay for us because we have a limit.’’

Agents blame FAAN for ‘poor ’ terminal security

T

HE National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAF), Murtala Muhammed Airport’s chapter, has blamed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the porous security at the airport cargo section. FAAN, it claimed, is unable to restrict access into the facility.

The Chairman of the Lagos airport chapter of the association, Segun Musa, said the failure of the airport authority to control movement of persons into and out of the terminal led to regular infraction of airport security.

He spoke against the background of the clash between licensed Customs Agents and officials of Nigerian Customs Service, which led to the closure of the cargo-shed.

The NAGAF chairman accused

FAAN of not doing enough to ensure adequate access control measures at the cargo terminal’s entrance.

He said inadequate control over access is responsible for the porous arrangement around the terminal, which has made cargo clearing an all comers affairs.

Musa said: “We hereby call on FAAN to put in place adequate access control measures at the gate into the cargo terminal to correct the observed abnormalities. ‘’The security committee of the airport is not doing enough. If it were doing enough, there should be a data bank that will provide biometric identification for operators to access parts of the airport that are not restricted.

“The airport needs a data bank to identify people who could access the shed ."

It indicated that somebody somewhere was planning the fleet utilisation properly.

"At the moment, we have only two aircraft, but what we are planning is to maximise the usage of the aircraft.

“We are planning to take delivery of the third and fourth aircraft to complement our expansion plans.

“By civil aviation regulations we are allowed to use each aircraft for six landings within the speculated number of hours that each crew sector should work without infringing on the civil aviation regulation.

“This is because the regulation says a pilot and the cabin crew should not fly for more than certain hours in a month.”

Babalola said most Nigerian airports operate only day flights, a situation, which affects the utilisation of the aircraft below the global standard.

He said: "Because of inadequate air navigation facilities at Nigerian airports, the aircraft could

only do limited flights during the day .

“Because there are no night domestic flights, the aircraft is left on the ground for about twelve hours. Aircraft are meant to fly not to be on the ground.”

He said the airline was putting in place plans for the proper utilisation of its fleet.

Part of the plans, he said, was the expansion of flight operations into regional routes in West Africa.

Babalola said: “So, what we are doing at Discovery Air is to maximise the usage of our aircraft .

We will use our normal 12 hours in the country during the day and use the other 12 hours at night on regional routes. This way, the aircraft is fully utilised.”

He informed that in the next couple of weeks, the airline would commence direct flights between Lagos and Dakar, Bangui, Libreville, Brazzaville and Malabo.

He said operators could source cheaper aircraft abroad to reduce operating costs, as the current price

of acquiring a brand new airplane for over $100 million cannot sustain a profitable operation He said: "What I have seen in aviation is that there is no way the Nigerian operator can buy an brand new aircraft of $100million, and expect to make profit with the air fares we are charging. With the airfares, if you bought a brand new aircraft you cannot sustain profitable operations.

“I didn't buy a brand new aircraft and that is why our own strategy is quite different.

"Our aircraft are in the neighbourhood of $7million to $8million. So, I'm not competing with the likes of Arik and other carriers.”

In the last five months that the airline started operations, it has airlifed over 85,000 passengers.

He said Discovery Air had also opened new routes. They include Lagos-Uyo and Lagos- Port Harcourt and Lagos-Abuja routes.

He canvassed collaboration or alliance among the indigenous carriers.

• Chief Executive Officer, Overland Airways, Captain Edward Boyo, addressing some passengers at the Ilorin Airport after one of its aircraft skidded off the runway on landing at the airport.

Improve navigational facilities, women urge govt

A

GROUP of women professionals in the aviation sector, Women in Aviation, has urged the government to upgrade navigational facilities at airports nationwide to improve operational safety.

They said the upgrade of the facilities would boost operations and enhance their travellers’ confidence The women gave the charge at their yearly seminar in Lagos.

The President of the group, Mrs Rejoice Ndudinachi, said women have contributed to the growth and development of aviation.

She said the group holds seminars and conferences to build capacity for women professionals, who have made huge contributions to aviation.

She said the group this year honoured female pilots to demonstrate the role women play in the aviation sector.

Some women said the cooperation of various units in the sector would promote growth, safety and security.

A woman pilot, who craved not to be named, said the government should improve on provision of navi-

gational facilities, including installation of instrument landing system to facilitate safe flights She noted that when these navigational facilities were in place, air transportation could be facilitated in moving people from one place to the other.

She said: “Well I believe that government can improve on airport facilities so that they can be available for airlines to use for landing and all of that. I think that most of the airports in Nigeria now are in Category One yet some of them don't have Instrument Landing System (ILS).”

She noted that passengers traffic has not improved beyond the current figures because of the high taxes levied domestic operators .

The high taxes, she said, accounted for the high air fares, which is distracting more Nigerians from travelling by air.

On multiple entry by foreign airlines into the country, the woman pilot said the situation was quite different in Europe as the practice in Nigeria is killing domestic airlines.

She said: “Local carriers should be encouraged to enjoy the privileges foreign carriers are granted . They fly into major points from their hubs.

“In Nigeria we can see almost all the foreign airlines flying into Lagos, flying into Abuja then you have taken away the Lagos - Abuja market from the local operators, this is not how it should be.”

Senior Supervisor, Tic keting and Reservation Department of Dana Airline, Mrs. Patience Umunnaehila, urged the government to embark on the expansion of the tarmac and the boarding area of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT).

She said the terminal needs expansion to accommodate more passengers.

Umunnaehila said: “The tarmac is not big enough so we need expansion of the tarmac and the boarding area because these places at the airport are choked up so we still believe that the government will come to our rescue and do something about it."

TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

17

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

NEWSMAKER All Progressives Congress (APC) National Legal Adviser Dr. Muiz Banire is leading the agitation for primaries for aspirants for elective positions in Lagos State. But, criticisms by party members are trailing his style and approach to party reforms, reports EMMANUEL OLADESU.

F

Banire: Fork-tongued crusader

OR 12 years, Muiz Banire, lawyer, former university don and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Legal Adviser, served as commissioner in Lagos State. But, he now has an axe to grind with the platform. Outside power, he has now embraced a new pastime. Adorning the cap of an anti-imposition crusader, he has challenged the party leadership to a duel. He said the party is an undemocratic entity, owing to his aversion for democratic selection process.

Put succinctly, Banire said the APC has become a personality cult, adding that “all roads lead to one leader or the other.” He warned that the platform may be heading for doom, if the imposition of candidates is permitted, instead of democratic primaries.

At the national level, Banire is the APC Legal Adviser. But, in Lagos State, he is now rolling up his sleeves as an internal opposition power canvassing ‘party reforms.’

However, many party chieftains, who were taken aback by the excommissioner’s style and approach, have described him as another brilliant rascal trying to equate showmanship with statesmanship. The rebellion, in their view, has its root in the scramble for power in the Centre of Excellence by the disciples of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the participation crisis unleashed by the bitter competition and political antagonism.

Men of the old order in the Lagos APC nevertheless, are in sober reflection. What is worrisome to them is the perfidy of the new breed, who have cleverly devised a populist means of trampling on the fading doctrine of party discipline and inadvertently promoting a disregard for supremacy under the guise of agitating for reforms. To others, it is akin to doing away with the ladder they have climbed to stardom.

At a victory lecture in honour of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, titled: ‘Osun Election: A Pathway to Nigeria’s Democratic Growth’, Banire pontificated on internal democracy, alleging that the culture of imposition has led to the emergence of unpopular candidates who have reduced the prospects of victory at elections.

Although the scholar is not particularly endowed with the gift of oratory, he appeared combative on the podium as he uncritically confused “consensus” with “imposition.”

After firing salvos at the party, especially the Lagos chapter and its “controlling leadership”, some thought that Banire would resign in protest as a matter of principle.

Others also felt that the legal scholar would have forwarded a written advice to the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on how to hold democratic primaries to prevent the doom he has predicted for the chapter in next year’s election.

It was a torrent of missiles from a privileged man who has unfettered access to the party leadership, of

‘The only difference in Banire’s case, as observers have pointed out, is that he fired missiles from outside, thereby whipping up sentiments against his leader.

Many people are not happy because he is trying to pull down the man who made him in life’ • Banire

which he is a member.

Opinion is divided on the views canvassed by the legal adviser.

Some people pointed out that the young man, who has learned at Asiwaju’s feet, has spoken the truth to power, reminiscent of the Awolowo days when the late Chief Bola Ige and the late Prof. Samuel Aluko would disagree with the late sage on partisan issues. The only difference in Banire’s case, as observers have pointed out, is that he fired missiles from outside, thereby whipping up sentiments against his leader. Many people are not happy because he is trying to pull down the man who made him in life.

However, others have said that the elements of internal democracy are beyond the comprehension of the lawyer. They argued that internal democracy does not mean that the platform should not be protected to avoid hijack by hawks opposed to its ideological leaning. On May 22, 2011, the Chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, had reflected on the tension between internal democracy and party supremacy. He said primaries and consensus are good options, stressing that the party is at liberty to choose an option best suited for a particular circumstance.

The former Osun State governor said: “Primaries have negative impact on party strength and unity be-

cause they deny the party vital nomination functions and cannot ensure that candidates appearing on a party’s ticket are in fact loyal to the party’s programmes. It is for this reason that most democracies, apart from the United States, use party nomination system, instead of primaries. This is the democratic trend in emerging democracies that require party cohesion, discipline and loyalty to party programmes and policies.”

It was not the first time Banire will openly disagree with the parlty’s leadership. Following his return from a medical trip abroad last year, Tinubu the APC National Leader, urged the progressive bloc to exercise caution when its members were invited to participate at the national conference. He described it as decoy, stressing that President Goodluck Jonathan was trying to divert attention from his poor performance.

Banire disagreed. He said the conference was in order, adding that it will enable Nigerians to brainstorm on the way forward. At the end, Tinubu was vindicated as nothing concrete has come out of the jamboree. To that extent, many party elders have berated Banire for a shortfall in foresight.

Banire rose to prominence in 1999 when he was appointed as a special adviser and later, commissioner, by Tinubu. At that time, there was no evidence that he had any electoral value. He was 33. In his book: ‘Re-

flections of a Public Man’, the eminent politician and Second Republic Commissioner for Transport, Oba Olatunji Hamzat, who described him as a man of honour and integrity, narrated his the story of how he became a member of the State Executive Council by luck.

Hamzat, the Leader of Justice Forum, had wanted to become a commissioner. But, Tinubu rejected his request, saying that he could not order the old man around because he is his leader. When he was asked to nominate a replacement during that moment of “consensus and compromise”, he nominated Banire, the Masters Degree holder in Law and University of Lagos teacher, who has been assisting him to write minutes of Justice Forum meeting.

Hamzat wrote: “Almost without reflection, I mentioned the name of Muiz Banire, the young man who had associated with me politically for close to 15 years. The governor never heard of him. Tinubu never met him, never recalled the name or connected such name, even in the remoteness of any political association or linkage. He squinted his face, removed his glasses and glared at me in quixoically unspoken declaration: who is that?

“The governor did not know Banire and was naturally curious about my choice...Tinubu, in his typical straight-faced confrontation, told Banire he did not know him from

Adam and that the sole privilege of what he was being offered totally resided in the recommendation made by me. That was all as he bided Banire to uphold the weighty honour reposed in him.”

Indeed, the young commissioner justified the confidence reposed in him. In the two ministries-Transport and Environment, he was a star commissioner. Soon, he became a member of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet. His qualification was loyalty, which, to many, is now doubtful.

During the eight years, he was also in the comfort zone. Gradually, he became a power broker in Mushin.

As a dependable ally, he wielded influence in the cabinet and the party. Banire assisted scores of followers to also climb the political ladder. Many of his supporters became councillors, council chairmen and legislators during that period he has now castigated as the era of imposition.

In 2011, Tinubu bowed out of office after completing two terms. Some of his commissioners were not interested in vacating the cabinet.

Therefore, they came up with the idea that they would serve as the bridge between his administration and that of Fashola. Thus, Banire also became a beneficiary of elongated commissionership until the relationship between him and Fashola turned sour, ahead of 2011 polls. A source said that a quarrel has ensued between him and the governor during a council meeting.

Banire wanted to resign, but, Tinubu prevailed on him to stay till the end of Fashola’s first term to avoid the impression of a crack on the wall.

Outside power, the former commissioner was not left in the cold.

Already, he was handling legal briefs for the party. When APC came on board, he emerged as the National Legal Adviser. In 12 years, Banire has become influential, courtesy of Tinubu, who showed him the way. He has built social networks, although success has not attended his dream of a political structure.

Until few weeks ago, Banire was a governorship aspirant. But, he left the race quietly, following a realistic self-assessment. He lacks a formidable structure. Yet, he is not attractive to his leader’s structure. In fact, when one of the party leaders forwarded a list of competent aspirants, his name was omitted. The former commissioner was said to have protested the omission, claiming that it was in bad faith.

When Banire opted out of the race, reality dawned on him that, in postFashola era, he may only have to contend with old glory. He reasoned that it is possible for him to bounce back to relevance in Lagos politics through his membership of the Mandate Group, if its candidate survives the heat at the primaries and becomes the next governor. But, the obstacles are formidable. The odds stare the members of the group in the face.

18

THE NATION TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

‘

The senatorial district representation has been monopolised by the Ikeja Division since 1999, leaving out Badagry division

RACE TO 2015 All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant in Lagos West District Hon. Kamal Bayewu has promised to fight for social security for the elders, youth empowerment and social security for women , if he is elected. He spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN.

‘

Lagos PDP aspirant unfolds agenda

‘My plan for Lagos West’ F W

HY are you in politics?

I ventured into politics to better the lot of my people. I have the passion to serve them; I am close to my people; I want the best for them. I want to bridge the gap between the layers in the society. I know their problems and I will do my best to improve their life.

What are your political beliefs and philosophy?

My belief is that whatever you are doing, there must be trust between you and the people. That is to say, as a leader, you must always strive to do your best to improve their lot. You must be able to know their problems and what their needs are. A leader should listen to the people and be ready to serve them at all times. A leader should know that a law that does not have a human face is not a law.

Why do you want to go to Senate?

When I came into government as Chairman of Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government, I saw a lot of gaps from what is coming from the Federal Government. One of the less-privileged people in the Nigerian society is the elders who have invested so much in the development of the country. How many of them are pensionable? They are not more than five per cent. I want to champion the issue of social security for the elders at the national level.

We started it at Ajegunle/Ifelodun Local Government. I like to be the voice of the elders. I’d like to see the Ministry of Elders created. Look at our youths, after going to university or polytechnic, what next? There are no jobs for them and there is no social security too the unemployed. We should see them as leaders of today, not leaders of tomorrow. See our women; there is no deliberate policy to uplift them, particularly the widows and the aged among them. There should be policies that will dignify the less-privileged in our midst.

I have a special agenda to pursue for Lagos at the Senate. All over the world, former federal capitals enjoy special status. Sixty per cent of economic activities in Nigeria take place in Lagos. Whenever there is problem in any part of the country, people relocate to Lagos and this puts pressure on social infrastructure. There should be special funds to take care of the infrastructure. Again, erosion is wreaking havoc in some parts of Lagos State like Ejigbo and Agbado areas. Why can’t Lagos benefit from the Ecological Fund like Anambra State? Is it because we are in opposition?

With strong contenders jostling for Lagos West ticket, how do you intend to emerge?

I have confidence that I will emerge as the APC senatorial candidate. How many of the aspirants are close to the grassroots? How many of them have passion for the people? People see me as symbol of the grassroots. I have been to every part of the senatorial district.

I started as a youth activist in the community. Given my closeness to the people and my performance in office, people believe I am the best among the aspirants. My closeness to the people gives me an edge over other aspirants.

Are you disturbed by the speculation making the rounds that the Lagos West ticket has been reserved for Governor Fashola?

I am not aware of that. If that is the case, the party will tell us. If it is truly reserved, the party will not allow as-

•Bayewu

‘I will compliment what the state government is doing with Federal Government’s assistance.

I will set up three constituency offices in the district’ pirants to collect forms. Even if it is reserved for our amiable governor, there is nothing wrong in it. He has done well. He is qualified to be a Senator.

What are your plans for Lagos West Senatorial District?

I will organise a feedback system to interact with the people, to report back to them, my efforts to attract developmental projects from the federal level to the district. As a senator representing them, I should be able to bring back democratic dividends to the people. The problems in the senatorial district such as erosion and shortage of amenities will be tackled.

I will compliment what the state government is doing with Federal Government’s assistance. I will set up three constituency offices in the district. They would be cited in Alimosho, Ikeja and Ojo. Lagos West is the largest senatorial district in Nigeria. It’s made up of 10 out of the old 20 local governments in Lagos State.

They are: Alimosho, Ajeromi/ Ifelodun, Badagry, Ojo, Mushin, Ifako/Ijaiye, Agege, Oshodi/Isolo, Ikeja and Amuwo-Odofin. The more you are able to talk to the people, the more you will be able to serve them well.

What are your chances at the primary?

My chances are very bright. I have been reaching out to party leaders, officials and delegates in all divisions.

I have covered all local governments, except Amuwo and Alimosho. I have met Lagos West caucus in the House of Assembly, the APC State Executive Council, women and youth leaders and all the ward chairmen in the senatorial district.

The senatorial district representation has been monopolised by the Ikeja Division since 1999, leaving out Badagry division. Even though the party has not deliberately come up with a zoning system, the party leaders and traditional rulers in Badagry Division are appealing to the leaders of the party in the state to allow

Badagry Division to produce the next senator, just like the governorship ticket has been zoned to Lagos East.

Who are your mentors in politics?

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is number one.

When I was coming back to politics, he told me he needs professionals like me in politics. He said one must struggle for power and that one must always find a way to take power for the benefit of the people and be able to serve them well.

That is benevolent politics. Tinubu is a man of ideas. He told me you don’t know what your son will do with power until he gets it. One thing that I appreciate in him is that he is a leader that has been replicating himself. All those who came out in 2007 and 2011 are products of Asiwaju’s school of thought.

I appreciate Chief Dele Fayemi, twotime member House of Representatives (Badagry Constituency) in the Second Republic. He is a very strong-willed politician; very brilliant and strategic. I learn more of the past from him. He is well versed in the politics of Badagry Division and Lagos State.

What are your antecedents in politics?

I started as a youth vanguard with the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in 1979 in Olowogbowo area of Lagos Island. I was a financial member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Even though I was still working in the bank then, I was financing people to make sure AD was well grounded in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area. I was the campaign manager of Rahaman Eshinlokun councillorship election. Unfortuntely, Eshinlokun died before the result of the election was released. The circumstance of his death made us to run away from politics that time. I contested for the House of Representatives ticket in 2003 and 2006.

I won the primary, but I was asked to step down for the incumbent.

Do you have the financial resources to prosecute your campaign?

I don’t, but I have the goodwill that will see me through in my political ambition.

Do you believe the APC has what it takes to win presidential and governorship elections next year?

Yes, I do because the APC has the best acclaimed leaders in Nigeria. When you put APC and PDP controlled states sideby-side, the difference is obvious. The APC states give priority to human resources and capital development. Look at the youth and educational development programmes of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State that earned him global award. Look at the developmental projects going on in Ogun and Oyo States, compare them with when they were under the PDP; there is tremendous improvement in those states today.

It has to do with good leadership.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a cerebral leader.

In 2003, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) was left with only Lagos State. But, for Tinubu’s perseverance, the ACN in 2011 succeeded in reclaiming all the Southwest states, except Ondo. In less than one year when the ACN and other opposition merged to form the APC, the party now controls about 16 states. Tinubu is the man that Nigeria needs to bring development.

He has come up with alternatives to oil price fall. A leader should always come up with solutions and that is what Tinubu has done.

Since Mallam Nasir El-Rufai left as Federal Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), none of his successors have done better than him. Look at Governor Babatunde Fashola who has become a reference point in governance. What about Governor Rotimi Amaechi whose has proved to be a leader, in spite of the Federal Government’s intimidation and frustration?

ORMER Chairman of Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) in Lagos State and governorship aspirant, Mr. Akintoye Branco–Rhodes, has rolled out a five-point agenda to better the lots of Lagosians, if elected as governor.

The five-point agenda includes qualitative education, affordable housing, qualitative healthcare, better mass transit and more stable electricity.

Branco-Rhodes also promised to compensate and re-absorb all sacked Lagos State University (LASU) students, as one of his priorities on assumption of office.

Branco-Rhodes, who was the governorship candidate of the National Advance Party (NAP) in the 2003 election, expressed optimisim that the PDP would clinch the governorship.

According to him, “it is time to free Lagos from the slavery of the APC; its time to free Lagos of unnecessary imposition of multiples taxes and levies on our market women, trades and artisans.

“It is time to free Lagos from harassment by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), local government staff and many other government agents involved in demolition of structures and heavy land charges imposed on Lagos landlords”.

Apart from providing dynamic leadership for Lagosians, Mr. Branco–Rhodes has promised to give priority attention to low cost and affordable housing programme that would enable an average Lagos residents own their houses, pointing out that the state has the financial capability to execute the housing project without problem.

Branco-Rhodes, son of the late Lagos socialite, Chief Yinka Rhodes of Board Members fame, and who had been in politics since the past 25 years, accused the APC of running a tyrannical and oppressive government since the era of Bola Tinubu to Fashola’s regime.

He explained that one of the projects to bring relief to Lagosians is power generation.

“How do you describe a government that imposes multiple taxation on the people? How do you describe a government that harasses petty traders and use KAI to extort money from hapless citizens? Apart from few urban centres where cosmetic projects were undertaken, most parts of Lagos State are in a state of decay. Bad roads, dilapidating structures that serve as schools and health centres dot most of the rural and urban areas in the state. Houses that were constructed which they described as low cost houses are sold for millions of naira which is not affordable to the masses. APC has disappointed Lagosians, there is need for a change of government,’ he declared.

Niger governor meets women aspirant From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

N

O fewer than 14 women are vying for the tickets of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State for various elective offices in next year’s election.

This issue was highlighted recently when the female aspirants visited Governor Mu’azu Babanagida Aliyu in Minna, the state capital.

They are contesting for legislative offices at the national and state assemblies.

In response, the governor commended the bravery of the women for seeking for elective offices in the face of all odds.

Aliyu who was happy at the turn out of women for elective offices in the next general elections stressed that the involvement of more women in politics and governance would help to promote girl child education, ensure gender balance and reduce negative impression against women in the society generally.

He noted that women have done very well in his administration since 2007 and that those who have served as ministers since he assumed office as governor have made the state proud.

He also lauded the achievements of women in his cabinet.

The governor then expressed optimism that the 14 women will compete favourably well in the primaries and at the polls, saying they are qualified academically and administratively to occupy elective positions of their choice.

The leader of the female aspirants, Hajiya Hauwa Usman thanked the governor for assisting women in the state actualize their ambitions.

She said the present administration has recorded the highest number of women in sensitive positions since the state was created.

PDP clears Agbaje to contest primaries

A

GOVERNORSHIP aspirant in Lagos State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has collected his Clearance Certificate from the party’s Screening Committee in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. Agbaje, who was screened alongside other aspirants from Lagos, has collected the document that clears him to compete in the PDP primaries.

Speaking about this positive development to his ambition, Agbaje said in a statement signed by his Director of Media and Publicity, Felix Oboagwina: “Securing clearance is the least of my problems. I am more concerned about the general elections.”

Agbaje also shrugged off rumours making the rounds that he may have been barred by the PDP Screening Committee.

He retorted: “That I was disqualified or that I failed screening is news to me, although I also got a few people calling me to say that they heard the rumours too. But no problem, I have collected my Clearance Certificate. I have been cleared.”

He added: “The screening exercise began on Saturday. But most of us from Lagos were screened on Sunday. Today (Monday), the certificate was handed over to us at the PDP Secretariat in Ibadan, which served as venue for the exercise.”

It was learnt that documents that the panel asked the aspirants to present included relevant certificates backing the educational qualifications. They claimed: NYSC Discharge Certificate, PDP membership card and voter’s card.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Golden counsel •The Federal Government will do well to seriously address LCCI’s reservations about its just announced austerity measures HE call by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), for further review of the items in the austerity measures outlined by the Federal Government, deserves attention. The Chamber had come out with a detailed critique of the outlined plan, describing it as skewed against the poor.

As captains of industry who know where the shoe would pinch, we support the patriotic call and draw the attention of the civil society, and the general public, to the proposed review. In general terms, the Chamber demanded that the government should be more transparent in managing the economy.

It also drew attention to the fact that 60 per cent of the national wealth is cornered by a mere 10 per cent of the population; and requested progressive taxation that would make the rich support the poor. This fact cannot be lost on keen watchers of social inequality in the country. While the rich continue to flaunt their wealth, the poor are hit by abject poverty and squalor; with the various governments doing very little to curb the effects.

For the avoidance of doubts, the measure released by the Minister of Finance and

T

‘This is another opportunity to review the structure and foundation of the economy and public fund management. A good starting point is accommodating the suggestions of the LCCI’

Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and spelt out in the Medium Term Framework, include reduction in the Oil Benchmark from $78 to $73, reduction in international travels and training, and upward review in revenue targets set for agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

The government has also served notice that tax on luxury items would be reviewed upwards.

While LCCI did not pick holes with the measure, it said the luxury items should be defined. The Chamber pointed out that the very large allocation to Consolidated Revenue charges deserves further breakdown, as no detail was given. It also called attention to the huge allocations to the presidential amnesty programme, capital supplementation and service-wide votes.

The Chamber noted that the votes for refreshment meals, foodstuffs and catering luxury items; and sitting allowances and welfare packages, do not reflect a nation being squeezed by economic crisis, thus necessitating belt tightening.

Most importantly, we support the Chamber’s observation that management of the economy has been opaque. All measures proposed by the Nuhu Ribadu Committee, set up by the same Federal Government to institute wide reforms in the petroleum market, have so far been brushed aside.

So have the recommendations of the Idika Kalu Committee on establishment of new refineries.

The Nigerian economy has remained largely vulnerable and dependent on the

vagaries of the international oil market because governments over the years have refused to review the structure of the economy and diversify sources of national wealth. This has been identified by successive governments as dangerous.

Yet, they have done nothing to wean the country from the deleterious effects.

Corruption in the public space has caused our inability to respond effectively to shocks as we are experiencing now.

Rather than call on the citizens to further tighten an already tight belt, government should seriously curb the luxurious taste of public officials and bring culprits to book. The inability of government to diligently prosecute accused officials of state, and get them appropriately punished, has failed to rein in current holders of public offices.

If the loopholes are plugged, those aspiring to occupy high profile positions would realize that the day of reckoning would come some day. But, now, governors alleged to have stolen public funds and answering to charges in court easily use the same looted funds to make their ways to the Senate. Others are given offices in the Federal Executive Council. Former ministers are shielded from the long arms of the law and the cycle remains unbroken.

This is another opportunity to review the structure and foundation of the economy and public fund management. Unless this is done, it would be impossible for the government to mobilize the citizenry to make sacrifices for national development.

President Jonathan and his cabinet should make the due sacrifice first if the people are to willingly support his measure. A good starting point is accommodating the suggestions of the LCCI.

Law trumps impunity •Triumph of due process as Danladi regains his office as Taraba deputy governor

T

HE immediate compliance by relevant organs of government, to the judgment of the Supreme Court, with respect to the unlawful impeachment of Alhaji Sanni Danladi, is commendable.

This is in contrast to some recent executive lawlessness and abuse of the constitution by the Federal Government and the Government of Ekiti State.

So, we commend the swift execution of the judgment, in obedience to the rule of law. To tarry or demure, as the Federal Government sometimes does, especially when the decision of a court is unfavourable, is to invite the reign of anarchy.

The judgment of the Supreme Court is also a lesson to both the executive and legislative arms of government: impunity does not pay. We recall that when Governor Suntai’s hirelings initiated the discountenanced impeachment in 2012, the reinstated deputy governor, and now acting governor, had approached the High Court for redress, on the complaint that the panel, as constituted, would not be impartial.

But in complete disregard to the pendency of the suit, the panel went ahead to unlawfully sit, and sack the deputy governor. Now the Supreme Court has adjudged the panel as “a kangaroo panel”, to the shame of its members, if they have any.

In striking down the impeachment, the Supreme Court appropriately held that the panel violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing; which is a fundamental constitutional right. Unfortunately, Governor Suntai who backed that lawless enterprise then, shortly after the impeachment, had

an accident, and ever since then, has been incapacitated to resume the functions of his office.

The state assembly which set up the kangaroo panel should also be ashamed of their conduct, in the entire saga. Even more regrettable, Garba Umar, who was selected to replace Alhaji Sani Danladi as deputy governor after the impeachment, immediately got embroiled in several self-serving fights; while forces backing the ailing Suntai did everything in their power to frustrate the acting governor.

Another fall out of the judgment is the conduct of the High Court of the state, which the Supreme Court condemned.

According to Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, there appears to be a conspiracy between the High Court and the kangaroo panel, all in their effort to frustrate the now reinstated deputy governor.

In arriving at its decision, the Supreme Court had to shoot down the concurrent judgments of the state High Court and the Court of Appeal, which happens only in exceptional circumstances. Considering the tone of the lead judgment, the Supreme Court was clearly piqued by the decisions of the two lower courts.

Again, the import of the acting Governor Danladi’s long walk to justice is that Garba Umar was gifted with two years of unconstitutional privileges and material benefits. Yet, as now held by the apex court, his tenure was a constitutional aberration, unfortunately at the expense of the tax payers, the sanctity of our democratic institutions, and the sanity of the people of Taraba State.

Our hope is that other undemocratic actors across the country, whether at the federal or state level, would learn some lessons from this development, and starve off actions that seek to imperil our democracy.

One glaring case of such disgustful violation of the constitution is what is going on in Ekiti state. There, Governor Ayo Fayose and the seven members of the Peoples Democratic Party, in the state assembly, are carrying on, as if they are law unto themselves, in complete denigration of the constitution, upon which our democracy stands. That is absolutely unacceptable, as the rule of law is the pivot of democracy.

Since impunity appeared to have trumped the law in Taraba, it had been sheer uncertainty: Suntai was incapacitated; and Garba Umar had a running battle with Suntai loyalists — a war of attrition that left the Taraba citizen virtually breathless.

However, we hope the judgment of the Supreme Court will now restore sanity; even as all political players must realize that, other things being equal, impunity is sheer futility in a democracy.

‘We hope the judgment of the Supreme Court will now restore sanity. Other things being equal, impunity is sheer futility in a democracy’

The recent violence in Ibadan

S

IR: For those of us living outside Oyo State, one particular thing that has been our joy in the last three and half years is the peace and tranquility that has been reigning supreme in the state since the inauguration of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

Before the advent of the administration, most of us who are Oyo State indigenes used to bury our heads in shame anytime the issue of the state was being discussed. This was because of the fact that the state, which used to set the pace among the comity of states in Nigeria, had retrogressed in all aspects of development. It had been turned into a theatre of war where lives were no more than a piece of tissue paper. Ibadan, the state capital, was held by the jugular by hoodlums most of whom were members of the transport union, aided by the governments of the day.

The attendant consequence was the disappearance of Oyo State on the radar of development, while it was largely being treated like a pariah.

All these have disappeared and we are now raising our heads anywhere we find ourselves as proud indigenes of Oyo State.

Thanks to Governor Ajimobi whose efforts have resulted in the peace that the state is now enjoying.

This is why I was so saddened with the ugly events of the past one week when the city of Ibadan was visited again with violence by the agents of darkness who were bent on returning Oyo State to its inglorious past. It is on record that so many properties were lost to the mayhem which occurred at Oke Ado and Born Photo-Popoyemoja-Idi Arere axis of the Ibadan metropolis. What an unfortunate incident!

There is no gainsaying the fact that the mayhem was masterminded by politicians who are bent on truncating the existing peace in Oyo State, in a bid to realize their selfish ambition. It will, therefore, be a sad reminder of the ugly past if these people are allowed to have their field day and continue to unleash terror on Oyo State, a state that has reveled peace in the last three and a half years.

Security agencies should, therefore, launch a thorough investigation into the Ibadan fracas and fish out the perpetrators and their sponsors. The state security outfit, Operation Burst, should also intensify its patrol operations, both within and outside Ibadan metropolis. Nothing should be left undone to guide the existing peace and stop the hoodlums from holding the state to ransom.

I also like to appeal to Governor Abiola Ajimobi not to allow the incident to distract him from the good works that he is doing in Oyo State for which all of us, indigenes outside the state and in the Diaspora, are very proud.

• Kolawole Akilapa, Diobu, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

• Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •General Manager (Abuja Press) Kehinde Olowu •AGM (PH Press) Tunde Olasogba

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness •Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) •Press Manager Yomi Odunuga Udensi Chikaodi •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Legal Counsel John Unachukwu •Group Business Editor Simeon Ebulu • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye •Group Sports Editor Ade Ojeikere •Acting Manager (sales) •Editorial Page Editor Olaribigbe Bello Sanya Oni

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

20

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: On the face of it, the reported stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan by a vanguard of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife students is incredible stuff. As an idea, it has a feasibility that can be estimated at a degree shy of impossible. This is because the President enjoys the protection of an elite security force. Alert and nimble, their trained reflex answers any detectable attempt to harm the President: this typically constitutes a disincentive to plot. But pictures and eyewitness accounts confirm that the irreverent students defied the prohibitive risk.

What did Jonathan do to deserve the hail of stones that is reserved for the devil in Mecca? The answer can be traced back to the day President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a modern Stone Age.

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

OAU Davids and Goliath President On February 3, 2012, President Jonathan mounted the soapbox of Seriake Dickson’s gubernatorial campaign rally in Yenagoa and regaled the teeming crowd with a reprehensible story. He told them of how he relished the spectacle of impudent miscreants stoning Timipre Sylva, then incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State. The stoning had occurred during the President’s homeboy visit and bore the decipherable signs of his tacit im-

primatur.

President Jonathan said, ‘’Dickson, you brought the people from Abuja to present the flag; the only thing I want to do is to tell you that some time ago I was in Bayelsa and the people stoned the Governor. I was here and you must work hard for Bayelsa not to stone you.

The day they stone you, I will join to stone you’’.

At the time, President Jonathan had imagined that his perch on the top of the totem pole exempted him

Nigerians must rise beyond divisions

S

IR: It is unfortunate that despite many years of self rule, oil boom, and economic prosperity, corruption, and long years of military dictatorship has brought about a situation in which Nigerians have no sense of patriotism or nationalism. Tribal and regional inclinations have been dividing Nigerians for a very long time. Instead of Nigerians to unite against their common problems, they choose to remain divided. The political class are enjoying this division to take advantage of Nigerians. For example, the consistent power (electricity) failure is as common in the north as it is in south. The Igbos, Yorubas, Hausa-Fulani and even Jonathan kinsmen, the Ijaws are suffering from it. Instead of Nigerians to unite and pressure the government, the Ijaw’s will say Jonathan is their kinsman and they will not join other Nigerians in pressuring him.

On the alleged missing $20 billion, is the money stolen against northerners alone? It belongs to all Nigerians. Likewise the current insurgency in the north-east. The money budgeted is for all Nigerians not just for people of the north-

east. Nigerians should unite against it. If one argues that northerners are against President Jonathan and that is why the bombings are going on, then why will they kill them selves? Why will there be a bomb blast in a mosque?

Why will they do it in their own land?

The Nigerian masses are at the receiving end. They are at the mercy of those evil, devil-nurtured, renegades, traitors and satanic politicians. They have enslaved us.

They steal our money, we work for them for peanuts, our parents as their drivers, our mothers as their nannies.

Is that how Nigerians want to continue to live? Why don’t we join hands to fight corruption, and to demand a better life? Our predecessors lived that way, we are living it, do we want our children to inherit this rot? Woe unto Nigerians.

The 2015 general election is by the corner. Nigerians are still divided. What sort of people are we?

Nigerians are becoming dumb, unlearned, and the most unwise people in the world.

With the killings going on, is

Nigerian problem one of Muslimmuslim ticket? What’s wrong with a Buhari-Fashola ticket? If Jonathan runs with David Mark, and they are deemed competent why should Nigerians go for them? The current government has failed and Jonathan should be blamed. This man is incompetent and incapable. Nigerians must rise above this nonsense and irrational inclination and choose leaders based on competence and ability to deliver. Buhari has said that nobody can Islamanize Nigeria. Let me also say that nobody can Christianize Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all and not to group.

Nigerians should stay battle ready for 2015. Elections must be free, fair and credible. Elections must hold throughout the country including Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Elections must hold in Gwoza.

Nigerians must emancipate themselves by voting the right leaders in 2015.

•Comrade Abdulbaqi Aliyu Jari, Katsina

from similar disgrace. But he misjudged: he actually scheduled his own baptism of stones with that cruel public endorsement. Two years later, the spatial distance between Yenagoa and Ile-Ife was literally bridged to a stone’s throw.

So the daredevils who cast stones at President Jonathan may have been furnished with good breeding; very unlikely prospects for such despicable stunt. But it seems that Karma, the triumphal payback principle of the universe, momentarily commandeered their volition and drove them to serve President Jonathan a dose of his own medicine.

President Jonathan supervised the stoning assault on the then vulnerable Governor Sylva. Jonathan was content to recline and watch the absurdity run its full course, like some morbid voyeur. He declined to affect indignation that such barbarity could be executed in his presence.

He even opined that the incident offered the next governor a didactic nugget. Jonathan, a PhD, thought he sounded sensible when he decriminalized lynching, proclaim-

ing that any group that thought the governor had been substantially slothful was free to empty their stone quiver. And he threatened, to dramatic effect, that if such Stone Age mob emerged, he would join, lugging Aso Rock itself. The President made these scandalous declarations without a blush.

Thankfully, the students adopted the President’s recommendation and chose to test its value on him – it was a passable empirical experiment. The OAU lynch mob had apparently determined that Jonathan, the stoning exponent, has now qualified as a stoning target. Has he not been largely idling away like ‘Governor Sylva’? Has he not been a C-in-C in hibernation mode, with Boko Haram sacking entire villages and expanding borders of the territory under their Caliphate?

The takeaway from this Karma return on President Jonathan’s woeful investment is that all of us, at some point, would be compelled to reap the reincarnation of our actions. And the rebound often comes to initiate the offender into the embarrassment the sufferer has already recovered from. In the ironical role reversal, we see Speaker Tambuwal watching as his oppressor duck stone hits.

One stone could have scored the David point. And Goliath could have fallen flat.

• Emmanuel Uchenna Ugwu @emmaugwutheman

SOS to Ekiti Ministry of Environment

S

IR: I wish to call the attention of Ekiti State Ministry of Environment to the plight of the people living around St Michael Primary School, after Polytechnic Junction in the state capital. For some time now, a pile refuse has been steadily building up there. The refuse continues to increase every day with people from different streets trooping there to drop refuse there. The real problem is that no evacuation activity has taken place hence the pile of refuse that cur-

rently liter everywhere.

Suffice to say that the foul odour from the dump is now unbearable; it is extremely difficult to get a breath of fresh air and this is dangerous to public health.

We plead with the authorities in charge to please help us pack and dispose the mountain of refuse to save us from further discomfort.

•Clem Alade Ado Ekiti

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

21

COMMENTS ration and one per cent inspiN the present morass, Prof. Niyi ration”.

Osundare winning the 2014 NigeHe worked hard at his trade, rian National Order of Merit and from Song of the Marketplace, (NNOM) is a breath of fresh air. to The Eye of the Earth, to Still, a breath of fresh air evokes an ironic Moonsongs, to Song of the Seadéjà vu. son, to Waiting Laughters, to A few months before the 2011 presiMidlife, to The Word is an Egg, to dential election, there was a contrived Early Birds, to Not My Business, air of great expectations. to Tender Moments: Love Poems, Olakunle Mobile adverts, particularly on the among others, the Ikere-Ekiti panel of Danfo commercial minibuses, lordbeek1@gmail.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola “rural-born and peasant-bred” spoke of the imminence of “A breath of toughly nurtured his genius, to fresh air”, a pan-Nigeria new deal that produce a happy concert of inwould, perhaps, eclipse the globally acspiration and perspiration! claimed New Deal of US President Not for him, cloistered but Franklin Delano Roosevelt. conspiratorial silence when FDR’s New Deal (mainly, 1933-1936) stale. Public institutions, proud slaves of private whims: with things go awry. was well and truly phenomenal, with the Police sacking Parliament; and an unfazed IGP Suleiman At Ekiti’s fatal embrace of Fayose’s toxic “stomach infraits 3Rs — Relief for the unemployed and poor; Recovery of the Abba, in an eager and merry dance to Hades. A once proud structure”, he composed a dirge for his native land: pained economy to normal levels; and Reform of the financial system and secure state has turned captive, pliant and prostrate, to lamentation of a devastated troubadour, for his doomed lady. to prevent a repeat depression — lifting America from the blood-thirsty anarchists.

“The People Voted their Stomach — Blues for an Arrested Great Depression. The Depression started in August 1929, hit Moral? It is Jonathan’s age of unbridled paralysis, stupid!

Renaissance” went viral: for its arresting content and its enthe trough with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, and But from this sooty pot of national paralysis has emerged the chanting form. triggered a global economic meltdown. immaculately white pap of welcome sanity: Niyi Osundare, Less than three months later, the Ekiti blues is real!

Nigeria’s answer to FDR was Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. sole NNOM winner for 2014.

When Fayose’s barbarians sacked the courts, battered judges The Nigerian equivalent of the American dream was a once So, a near-irredeemably damaged state can still throw up and ripped court records, the poet’s rebuke came in biting shoeless southern creek boy, from the poorest of the dirt-poor, uncompromising quality? Perhaps some redemption is afoot! riposte: “They slap Court Judges ‘In the Land of Honour’ “, the from the minority of minorities — and, to boot, a charming But the ultra-sweet bonus: Osundare triumphs even as Hurri- pristine voice of noble Ekiti scolded the present barbarity that name of Goodluck, and the record: first Nigerian president to cane Jona is busy blowing Nigeria to the cliff; and Typhoon Fayosh would pass; and rued how “Impunity mates Immunity/And boast a PhD! — rising to the acme of Nigerian political power, is busy smashing everything of common sense in Osundare’s the union begat Imuniti” (devastating pun for “immunity” and despite the country’s bully and domineering majorities. native Ekiti, where Governor Ayo Fayose sits as unbridled literally, Yoruba for beyond arrest; or executive lawlessness).

And GEJ’s answer to FDR’s New Deal was a Transformation cave-master, with zero tolerance for anything lawful, anything Less than three months later, Fayose’s pact with the past — Agenda, which mesmerising core was to pump the breath of noble, and anything decent: in stark contrast, to echo Osundare while others make a dash for the future — is all but cemented! fresh air, after which Lugard’s musty contraption would never himself, to the “arrested renaissance” of the Kayode Fayemi be the same again! Moral? GEJ’s age of merit and quality Unlike the infamous hee-haw of some Ekiti elders, over the years, in a race-against-time into the Stone Age. beckons!

Still, Prof. Osundare is no short burst to success. On the governor’s galloping illegalities: the latest being the Ekiti AsFour years later and a few months to another presidential contrary, his is the Old School long and arduous trek to excel- sembly 7 sacking 19 (a triumphant improvement on Jonathan’s election, however, that promise has vanished, leaving the air Nigeria Governors Forum novelty of 16 greater than 19), the lence. toxic, rancid and pungent — almost in all spheres of national Way back at the University of Ibadan in the early to mid- man has not died in the poet (to paraphrase our own WS). In life. An anticipated era of Plato’s philosophical kings has be1980s, he mentored a crop of students in his highly interactive the face of glaring lawlessness, he has refused to be silent. gotten the exact opposite: an unrepentant rule of the executive That this poisoned atmosphere, in Nigeria as a whole and in creative writing class: Kongi — no, not the inimitable WS but rabble.

Sesan Ajayi of blessed memory, who nevertheless patterned his native Ekiti, still produced Prof. Osundare as sole NNOM Whereas pre-Jonathan Nigeria was a venal redoubt where, his poetry after WS’s; Remi Raji, now a professor of English at laureate for 2014 is well and truly remarkable. It is simply the to parody the England of the poet Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), UI, Babatunde Ajayi, Jr, Afam Akeh, the political science major inevitability of excellence — particularly that hue that comPhilistines (the garish nouveau riches) routinely trumped the who had his soul yoked to euphonic poetry, Nduka Otiono bines brilliance with conscience — for any nation desirous of Greeks (the deep and cultured), Jonathan’s Nigeria has slid into attaining its manifest destiny. and, of course, yours truly, to mention a few. sheer political barbarism, where about nothing is sacred.

So, when on December 4 the President meets the Poet to As he always warned that the Nigerian Ivory Tower was Transformation has turned deformation. Hope turned miturning grey, he honed his students’ poetry skills as he fired deliver the award, it would be a meeting between mere tinsel rage. Merit turned unbridled mediocrity. Freshness turned their humanity; beseeching them to protect their inherent no- and solid gold.

Perhaps Nigerians, on the virtual eve of another election, bility, and avoid leaving school to “join them”, no matter the ‘Osundare triumphs, even as Hurricane Jona will gravely ponder: why do we settle for tinsel (or even worse) odds.

But of course, the laureate’s staying power was that, in what- when we have and can get solid gold? is busy blowing Nigeria to the cliff; and TyOsundare’s win is tribute to the sane segment of troubled ever he did, he walked his talk. phoon Fayosh is busy smashing everything To start with, he was — and still is — a consummate aca- contemporary Nigeria. These times would pass, if the deep of common sense in Ekiti’ demic that always told you creativity was “99 per cent perspi- don’t surrender their sanity to the galloping barbarians.

I

R

epublican ipples

Osundare: A breath of fresh air

J

UST as one would imagine, Nigerians have since taken to the overdrive in the wake of the crisis of falling oil prices.

For a crisis that took nearly a decade to berth, it is a revelation of how pretty little has changed that the debate has dwelt largely on short-term, mitigating measures. We saw this in the knee-jerk response by the federal government when it announced a rash of barely well-thought out measures to usher in a season of austerity penultimate week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has since complemented these with equal but no less lethal dose of measures: devaluation and a hike in interest rates, both of which have the overriding effects of further shrinking an economy in dire need of muscle to lift it. Now, the expectation is that the measures would somehow help douse the fires stoked by falling crude oil prices. Such an illusion!

Of course, it’s merely a return to the ancien regime of unworkable therapies; solutions tailor-made to deliver to maximum pain all in the guise of treating an ancient ailment. It’s the old pathway – of adjustment, belt-tightening and austerity – which speaks to nothing else than the need to balance government’s consumptive books.

The question of whether any lessons have been learnt from previous experience would seem entirely superfluous, at least at this time. The nation, after all, is supposed to be in crisis of such a nature that could be rightly termed global, forces over which the managers of Nigeria’s economy have little or no control. However, for an economy that’s probably the most dissected in the entire universe, the missed opportunities of the past decade and the criminal mismanagement which attenuated it should ordinarily provide enough to chew upon at least to the extent these have berthed in the current socalled crisis.

As it is, there is really no use crying over split milk. One thing that is clear however that there can be no running away from the gross misunderstanding, if not the wrong assumptions that underlie the current therapies as proposed by the government and its banker.

In this regard, I found myself reflecting on a statement made by the Country Director of the World Bank in Nigeria, Omo Ruhl, some years ago. According to the World Bank chief, “Nigeria is not a mono-product economy, it is a monorevenue economy and a mono-export economy because in the other sectors there are no exports, very low fiscal revenues, that is where your challenge is but oil is only 17 per cent of your GDP, 83 per cent is everything else taken together”.

To the above, he would add: “Oil is actually the fourth largest sector of the Nigerian economy, the largest sector is agriculture, the second largest sector is wholesale and retail and services is the third largest. So what Nigeria should do is focus on propelling these other sectors forward so that they can also export, so that you are less dependent on oil and

Policy Sanya Oni sanyaoni@yahoo.co.uk 08051101841

Transformers at work finding ways of generating revenues for the government for legitimate investment in infrastructure, health and education”.

That statement would seem no less true in Nigeria’s postrebased economy as it was three years ago when it was made.

My quick check actually revealed that the share of the oil economy to the GDP shrank to 14.40 percent in 2013 although petroleum exports revenue still accounts for over 90 per cent of total exports revenue.

The implication of the above should not be lost. The contribution of the non-oil segment of the economy has been grossly understated. Here, we are talking of a sector that accounts for more than 85 percent of the GDP. Even at normal times, one would have expected that the segment would constitute the pivot around which the economy is expected to spin. Under an emergency, that segment naturally assumes the status of the proverbial golden hen deserving of extraordinary protection from the fiscal and monetary authorities.

But what do we get? Policies so surreal, so utterly skewed towards speculation that they may have been conceived in the virtual Island of Ashtabula!

Let me be clear here: some of the measures such as the cleaning up of government finances as proposed by Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala have some merit. The problem is that we have been on that road for more than 10 years with little to show for it in practical terms. Have we not lived with the pension scam, the subsidy-gate and all manners of industrial scale thefts that have reduced the science of public finance to a sham? What about the menace of ghost workers known to rob the treasury of billions annually? A case of one being less toxic than the other?

So much about the so-called luxury tax; what’s the big deal

about the tax on goods consumed by Nigeria’s idle rich when a single waiver by a highly connected individual can actually fetch the equivalent of 10 years luxury tax bill? And how come nobody has ever thought about the line of revenue before now despite the deficit holes in successive cycle of budgets?

I must admit that the option of devaluation, the hike in Monetary Policy Rate and the raise in Cash Reserve Ratio for private sector funds is the textbook stuff. Devaluation isn’t only a way to conserve foreign exchange; it has the dual advantage of boosting exports. Classic textbook stuff! Yes, it all makes sense: oil has run into troubled times in the global marketplace hence the need to curb the pressure on the foreign reserve. Time to encourage local producers to take to export to earn more foreign exchange. A win-win? Bad news. Nothing aside crude oil and raw cassava, to export. Both share the same fate of declining global prices!

Left however to the CBN, the real source of headache is the activities of the band of speculators swarming on the foreign reserves. Now that is supposed to be news in an economy where just about any soldier of fortune who calls himself foreign investor can make a run on our reserves! Of course, the question of tracking the shadowy group whose activities constitute, in the reasoning of the apex bank, economic sabotage would seem academic in the circumstance.

So what to do? Let everyone bite the bullet. Devalue the currency; get everyone in a non-discriminatory way to pay more for their forex requirements. It does not matter whether you are bringing in industrial inputs, finished goods or doing capital flight. Second, raise the lending rates to deter borrowing and hence reduce so-called liquidity even at the risk of sounding the death knell for the real sector already starved of its vital juice. With more money available to the federal and state governments to spend, and with money to be made from arbitrage, everyone, except the odd segment producing the 85 percent of the GDP, should be happy.

How about that as transformation; their transformation.

‘Even at normal times, one would have expected that the segment would constitute the pivot around which the economy is expected to spin. Under an emergency, that segment naturally assumes the status of the proverbial golden hen deserving of extraordinary protection from the fiscal and monetary authorities’

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

22

COMMENTS “

I

NDEED, a new sociology of the Ekiti people may have evolved. However, the task of understanding how the outcome of this election has defined us as a people will be that of scholars. For us as an administration and a cadre of political leaders in Ekiti State, we have fought a good fight. We have kept the faith.” – Kayode Fayemi in a speech to the people of Ekiti State after the June 21stgovernorship election.

“What is Daddy talking about? We’re saying this man would suddenly show up in our garage (Motor Park), sit down with us and order some beer and drink with us and when he’s leaving, would drop about N100,000 for us to share, promising to visit us again. What is my business with his stealing N1.2 billion? I never saw Fayemi since he became governor. He would always roll up his glass (windows) whenever he’s passing through.” – A taxi driver’s response in AdoEkiti when asked if he ever thought of Fayose’s poultry scam before he voted for him.

“If you have been defeated in all the 16 local government areas and you now want to come through the window, it won’t be like ice cream party to APC. I would not be too cheap like Segun Oni. I am not going to be cheap at all because I am elected by the people…The strategy of APC will not work.

Nobody, no matter how highly placed, will remove me cheaply.”

—Ayo Fayose, then governor-elect, in his reaction to the attack on the Ekiti State High Court

‘The most disturbing, if not troubling, of these tendencies is the one exemplified by the new chief of state who had demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate that the rule of law as that veritable and indispensable instrument that society’s growth and development can only be assured has absolutely no place in his worldview’

D

Ekiti: Symptom of sick and dying country

By Femi Odere and its Judge.

It has been about five months since the governorship election in Ekiti State in which Ayodele Fayose was declared the winner. It was an election that confounded Nigerians, even including Fayemi’s political enemies, probably with the exception of those in the “control room” and their “support staff” on the field on that fateful day who knew exactly what they did to secure victory for Governor Fayose. In normal, sane, sociopolitically organized climes, probably more than a dozen books would have been on bookstores by now, attempting to not only educate society about an election that rubbished performance as a factor in electoral choice. These books also would have been somewhat therapeutic for some people who may have been significantly traumatized by the election outcome if only to assist us in finding meaning, if not closure,to an utterly meaningless electoral adventure in a society in which we must live.

For me, a day hardly goes by without reflecting on that election not because I am from the state, or was I part of the Fayemi administration or a government contractor.

But because I saw a man who was trying to ‘re-engineer’ his own small corner into modernity under a very excruciating financial condition in a country that is far behind in all indicators of development. I could not stop wondering how a people could be so wrong in choosing between Fayemi and Fayose, more so when the latter gave them nothing but shame and reproach in his first outing. Baffled I was. But also intriguing was the election for me, for it made me to realize the striking contradictions of human complexity that, even as the most intelligent being on this earth, yet possesses the capacity to self-destruct at the same time. I could not but wonder how a people process, de-

URING the recently concluded National Conference, the Committee on Social Sector recommended among other things, for the federal character provision in 1999 Constitution to include gender considerations. The committee equally recommended for gender mainstreaming of all laws, policies and programmes of government, passage of Equal Opportunity Act/Laws at states level and an amendment of Section 223 (b) of the 1999 Constitution to include the term “Federal Character of Nigeria and gender”.

They did not stop at that but also recommended for the constitution to be amended to read that state at all levels put in place 35% affirmative action to ensure that women, minorities, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups participate and are represented in governance and other spheres of life.

The National Council of Women Society (NCWS) also submitted a proposal on the floor of the conference requesting for 50% equal representation of women in implementation of National Agriculture Policy. NCWS motion went down like a pack of cards by a boom of the loudest ‘nay’ ever recorded in the history of opposed motions in Nigeria. It appeared that majority of delegates were in consensus on the impropriety of the motion. One wonders what may have been running through the minds of distinguished delegates when they unanimously voted against this motion. Perhaps conference delegates felt that the 35% quota for elective and appointive positions as recommended by the National Gender Policy 2006, was still underutilized; making it premature for an upward review of the quota in any shape or form. Whether the motion survived or not, the need for greater involvement of women in the processes of governance was at least re-echoed.

February 2015 general elections are round the corner and political activities are on the increase across the federation.

No day passes without some news about party defection, demand for political seat vacation or subtle election campaigns cloaked as rallies or grand reception for defecting party members. Just as expected, President Goodluck Jonathan has finally declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2015 elections. Politicians are up to their old tricks again. They have started expressing their intent to curry favour and citizens’ votes with air-filled promises that are fast forgotten after elections are over. Voters are getting wiser on the antics of this game and should vote wisely in February 2015 general elections. I often wonder how well our votes will be protected during the elections; especially considering voters’ history of voting wisely only for politicians to shortchange the process with ghost votes. This is more so with nation’s political culture that continuously recycles same old faces from one elective position to another. Political positions in contemporary Nigeria has become about retaining old sour palm-wine in old urn. There appears to be no room for unknown names in this field and no opportunity for grooming young people who have no connection to party stalwarts, financiers and political godfathers. One wonders if young and gifted Nigerians leaving the shores of this country in droves are simply wary of politics or frustrated with exclusionary nature

termine and store which information they deem important to their well-being. I wonder why Fayemi’s accomplishments, based mostly on what the electorates said they value, did not resonate.

In understanding the “new sociology (and maybe psychology) of the Ekiti people (which) may have evolved,” a task that Fayemi had squarely placed – and rightly so – on the laps of scholars, the epigraphs above should be seen as pointers to how three people that represents different socio-political tendencies (the intellectual elite, the masses, and a cross between the blue-collar and the mob), ensconced in the same geographical space with seemingly monolithic values are so far apart in their world-views concerning how their society should grow.

In a Nigerian society where might is the only right and whoever dies with the most ‘toys’ wins. In a society where logic is derived from illogic and everything senselessare the norms. In an environment where the system frowns at order, organization and methodical approach to anything, I could not stop wondering why Fayemi accepted an election in which the cards were deliberately and fraudulently stacked against him, ab initio, with equanimity. I wonder why he has to cling so tenaciously to those ideals and values that the rest of his society’s stakeholders had concluded to be dinosaurs.

I had thought that the election turned awry in Ikole (where I volunteered to monitor it) because the people in the state’s northern fringe are probably too poor and uninformed to understand the new developmental paradigm of the Fayemi administration.

So, I hurried to Ado-Ekiti where I thought the people would advance intelligent reasons why the election nosedived for Fayemi because they’re more enlightened. But the feedback I received from the state capital was shocking.

2015 and politics of affirmative action

By Nkechi Jane-Frances Odinukwe of our political class who has not provided an enabling space for the young to use their God-given talents to benefit the country.

What about women? Where lies their role in 2015 elections?

A look at the number of women indicating interest to vie for political positions across Nigeria shows that Nigerian women will not be left out in the struggle for political offices in 2015.

Of interest is the gubernatorial ambition of a certain female senator from the South-east. Gubernatorial positions are male dominated but the said senator may be considered one out of few Nigerian women with enough mettle to take on the demands of such a position going by her past achievements in the National Assembly. Another example is the Anambra North Senatorial seat which is likely to be an all women contest during PDP primaries. Observers of Nigerian politics have however stressed that it will take much more than impressive political pedigree for these few women to win their party primaries.

Oftentimes, winning elections in Nigeria has nothing to do with who is best qualified to govern but who has cavernous cash pocket, influential godfather, presidential blessing, strong political party backing or is lucky enough to bear a politically familiar surname. For women in politics, it becomes more difficult as the little space provided for women is often filled without regard to who is most eligible to promote the interest of women at decision making forums. Even with the insignificant number of women currently showing interest in elective positions, critical reflection on intending female candidates is urgently needed as it appears Nigerian women are yet to break out of the nuances of politically motivated gender- based affirmative action.

It may be said that the Jonathan’s administration has tried to make good on its 2011 Jos Township Stadium political promise to give women 35% ministerial and ambassadorial positions but what about political parties, state and local government structures? Why would they not borrow a leaf from the federal government’s initiative? How do we handle the politicization of 35% involvement of women in governance processes especially considering the little space men have grudgingly accepted to offer women,? I do not know whether Nigerians are paying attention but it has become the norm for female

that I wondered at some point if I was the one who didn’t get it. For instance, why did the driver think that stealing N1.2b by one man was not his business? Why did he not see a correlation between the absence of that huge amount in his society and his station in life? Why did he not see how many lives that amount could positively change forever, including that of his children and other loved ones? What makes sitting with his governor and drinking beer in the public so important to him than someone who would rather be pre-occupied with the problems of the society in which he lives—-and finding solutions? Why does he prefer to be given fish than to be taught how to fish? These are some of the questions that perplexed me.

Perhaps, the most disturbing, if not troubling, of these tendencies is the one exemplified by the new chief of state who had demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate that the rule of law as that veritable and indispensable instrument that society’s growth and development can only be assured has absolutely no place in his worldview. He had appealed to the electorates as a candidate to forgive his past indiscretions and his egregiousness as he had become a changed man. They probably didn’t know that what he meant by being a “changed man” was carefully coded to mean that while he went after individual stakeholders in his first outing, his gaze in his second coming was going to be fixed on subverting state institutions. And any individual who is foolish enough to stand in his way may well consider him/herself as collateral damage in his new round of chaos and anarchy. Aside from his desecration of state institutions, which has started in earnest, the elites must brace themselves for a rabidly anti-intellectual dispensation. A people that chose chicken and rice as their new paradigm for societal development do not deserve any sympathy. They cannot eat your chicken and have it. And since the new chief of state has promised them more of this delicacy in abundance, procured with their own money, and legitimately this time around, a poultry-industrial complex in Ekiti just might be what the economist ordered for job creation.

•Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com

political party members to be restricted to ‘soft’ political positions as women leaders even when a significant level of grassroots mobilization of the electorate is carried out by women. How can women effectively challenge the culture that still keeps men in decision making positions invisibly when politicians at all levels wittingly sponsor voiceless female aspirants who merely add to affirmative action statistics?

Does the positioning of women who do not have any commitment to promoting the cause of women in legislative and decision making positions speak to or against 35% representation of women in decision making positions?

Considering the temporary nature of affirmative action policies, should affirmative action be about counting the number of women seen to be in elective and appointive positions or more about providing a level playing field for qualified persons through elimination of preferences enjoyed by virtue of race, ethnicity, gender, wealth or filial relations? If a woman is simply selected by influential party chiefs to contest and possibly win an elective position, will she have the willpower to freely canvass ideas that may be contrary to her benefactor’s agenda - would not her loyalty lie with whoever selected her to win party primary ticket or general election?

Most women are simply selected into structures even at the community level just to play out the politics of gender balance without so much as contributing to decision making… that is the politics of gender-based affirmative action in Nigeria.

Since it has been said that equitable participation of women in politics and government is essential to building and sustaining democracy, Nigerian women must keep asking questions that speak to quality of equitable participation needed from our female representatives. Equitable participation here should not be about mere increase in number of women in elective and appointive positions alone but must include complimentary decision making leverage. Women in politics and appointive positions must see the need to frequently mentor young and capable female Nigerians into councillorship and state-level positions and also facilitate policies/bills that uplift Nigerian women. As 2015 election approaches, female aspirants must know that Nigerian women will be watching to see the quality of representation they provide when elected.

• Odinukwe is a Legal Practitioner and Gender Activist based in Abuja.

‘Nigerian women must keep asking questions that speak to quality of equitable participation needed from our female representatives. Equitable participation here should not be about mere increase in number of women in elective and appointive positions alone but must include complimentary decision making leverage’

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

23

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

26

LAW COVER CONT’D

A

LTHOUGH he is a lawyer, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, has shown no regard for the courts since he assumed office. He has the appearance of a gentleman officer, but all he cares about is doing the bidding of those who appointed him. He has turned himself into a court of law.

He first bared his fangs when he withdrew the security aides of House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, declaring that he was no longer the Speaker having joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He interpreted the Constitution, even though he is not a court.

Last week, Abba showed up before the House Committee on Police Affairs to shed light on the November 20 invasion of the National Assembly when Tambuwal and other members were tear-gassed.

The meeting, however, ended abruptly because Abba refused to acknowledge Tambuwal as Speaker in his speech, drawing the ire of the committee members.

He described the lawmakers who climbed the gate to enter the complex as “suspected hoodlums” and blamed the security beef-up at the National Assembly on the Salvation Rally by the APC a day before.

Abba said because of the “suspected hoodlums” who followed “Alhaji Tambuwal” into the complex, a tear gas canister “exploded” and the incident “is being investigated”.

He said the security arrangement was going well “until when that was disrupted at the arrival of Alhaji Tambuwal”.

Members were angry when the IGP continuously referred to the Speaker as “Alhaji Tambuwal”, expressing disdain at the manner the IGP was disrespecting the Speaker.

Since he was appointed Acting IGP, Abba has made controversial decisions. Granted, he is playing out the script of the government controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the manner he goes about it leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Many had thought that having served as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command before he moved to the Force Headquarters as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), he would bring his gentlemanly mien to bear on the job.

Having also served as Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to Maryam Abacha, wife of former military ruler Sani Abacha who died in 1998 before being promoted to Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7 on February 22, 2012, it was expected that Abba would consolidate on the good works of his predecessor.

But, despite his academic background, including a first degree in History, and another degree in Law, in addition to attending the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) in Kuru near Jos, the Plateau State capital, many are disappointed by Abba’s disregard for the law.

He was promoted IGP on August 1 ahead of no fewer than eight superiors and many expected him to perform his duties with a sense of humility and professionalism which youth brings. Instead, he turned himself to a court of court.

Announcing the withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security, he said: “In view of the recent defection by the Right Hon. Aminu Waziri Tanbuwal, CFR, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress and having regard to the clear provision of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the Nigeria Police Force, has redeployed its personnel attached to his office.”

The section states: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if - (g) being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected; Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”

Abba ignored Tambuwal’s argument that there was a division in the PDP, resulting in a factional ‘New PDP’, which eventually merged with the APC. After his security aides were withdrawn,

•Alegeh

•Oguntade

•Agbakoba

Abba: The strongarm police chief Tambuwal went to court to challenge the Federal Government’s action executed through Abba. The Speaker is seeking an order of mandamus against the IGP reinstating his security aides.

Tambuwal is also praying for a perpetual injunction restraining the PDP and its National Chairman, Adamu Muazu; the House of Representatives; the Deputy Speaker of the House; the acting IGP; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) from taking steps to remove him as Speaker before the expiration of his tenure on June 5, next year.

Instead of waiting for the suit to be determined, Abba stuck to his gun, insisting that Tambuwal was no longer speaker by not recognising him as such.

Abba did not take into consideration Tambuwal’s averment before the court: “I know as a fact that all efforts to harmonise the factions of the PDP in my home state in Sokoto has failed as there are still factions in the state.

“I informed the members of the 3rd defendant (House) whilst announcing my decision to join the New PDP faction, which merged with the 2nd plaintiff (APC) that my membership of the 2nd plaintiff was based on the circumstances in my home state.”

IGP also ignored two different court decisions that the seats of other former members of the New PDP, who are now members of the APC cannot be declared vacant.

Tambuwal had cited the case of the PDP and other vs. Honourable Rasak Atunwa and 20 others, in suit No: FHC/IL/CS/6/2014 delivered on June 26; as well as the case of Ibrahim Magaji Gusau and two others vs Honourable Lawal Mohammed Zyyana and 20 others, in suit No: FHC/S/CS/4/2014 delivered on July 3.

The APC has condemned Abba’s refusal to reognise Tambuwal as Speaker. In a statement in Osogbo by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said by refusing to recognise a Speaker elected by 360 members of the House of Representatives, and a Speaker who had neither been impeached by those who elected him nor removed by a court, the police boss had thumbed his nose at the constitution.

“As the Speaker, Tambuwal is the symbol of authority of the House and our country’s number four citizen. By saying he does not recognise him as the Speaker, the IG has also indicated he does not recognise the House of Representatives. For a man who was not elected by anybody to make this impertinent assertion about elected representatives of the people is tantamount to treason. Mr. Abba has shunned all pretences to neutrality, professionalism and decency and he is no longer fit to occupy the important office of the IG,” it said.

The party said Abba could have been helpless, as not obeying his employers could

‘

mean losing his job.

“The truth is that he is dancing to a drum of perfidy being beaten by his masters at the Aso Rock Villa. In the process, he has acted in contravention of his oath of office.”

A coalition of civil rights organisations under the aegis of the “Nigerians for Survival of Democracy” expressed reservations about free and fair election next year because of the partisan role of the police and the Department of State Security (DSS), which it said “have become private security of the ruling party.”

Tambuwal files contempt charge Tambuwal wants Abba committed to prison for failing to recognise him as Speaker.

He filed a motion to this effect at the Federal High Court, Abuja last Thursday.

According to the Speaker, Abba’s refusal to recognise his office when he appeared before the House Committee on November 26 was a violation of the order made by the court on November 7.

The court had directed parties in the suit to maintain the status quo.

Tambuwal, therefore, wants the court to direct Abba to appear “in person and show cause why he should not be committed to prison for contempt of the order of this court ordering maintenance of status quo on November 7, 2014 and/or for acting in manners and ways which showed disrespect to the court.”

After Tambuwal’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), leading eight Senior Advocates and 69 other lawyers, moved the motion before Justice Ahmed Mohammed, the judge directed that it was fair that Abba be heard on the issue raised in the motion.

He said even President Jonathan has continued to recognise and address Tambuwal in official correspondence as “Honourable Speaker,” in obedience to the court’s order of November 7. He displayed copies of such letters from the President.

Justice Mohammed said since Abba was represented by a lawyer in the substantive case, it was fair that he should be put on notice in relation to the allegation that he disobeyed a subsisting order of the court.

The judge, relying on the provision of Order 26 Rule 10 of the court’s Civil Procedure Rules 2009, ordered that Tambuwal should convert the ex-parte application to motion on notice and directed that Abba be served with it.

Tambuwal hinged his fresh motion on 15 grounds, including that Abba acted in ways that showed that he had no regard for the court. He stated that despite Abba’s lawyer’s undertaking that his client would not do anything to tamper with the res (subject of litigation) in the main suit, the IGP, who is also a lawyer, has refused to obey the court’s order.

The Speaker cited other instances where the IGP allegedly violated the court’s order, such as when he sent some armed policemen to

The truth is that he is dancing to a drum of perfidy being beaten by his masters at the Aso Rock Villa. In the process, he has acted in contravention of his oath of office

‘

‘

IGP also ignored two different court decisions that the seats of other former members of the New PDP, who are now members of the APC cannot be declared vacant

‘

barricade the entrance of the National Assembly, thereby denying him access to his office.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was among several groups and individuals who have condemned the IGP’s actions. Its President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN) said Abba lacked the competence to determine whether or not a provision of the Constitution has been violated.

“That is a function reserved for the courts of law exclusively. We must state that the mere fact that Tambuwal defected from one party to the other whilst being the Speaker of the House of Representatives does not automatically strip him of his position as Speaker and the attendant protection by the Police,” NBA said.

Former NBA President, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) said Abba’s action was unconstitutional. “It is the duty of the court to interpret the Constitution, not the police,” he said.

Lagos-based lawyer, George Oguntade (SAN) said: “It is important to restate that the police institution should detach itself from any involvement in partisan politics.

Its constitutional role and functions are clearly delineated.”

A former NBA General Secretary, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, said: “The action of the IGP is unconstitutional, undemocratic, autocratic as he lacks not only the constitutional powers, but also the ability and capability to determine the vacancy or otherwise of the seat of the Speaker.”

Former Lagos State House of Assembly member Babatunde Ogala said: “It is for the House members to determine that Tambuwal would no longer be their Speaker by removing him. Neither the presidency nor the police have such powers in law.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

27

LAW & SOCIETY Former Lagos State Solicitor-General, Fola Arthur-Worrey marked his 60th birthday with the presentation of his latest book, reports PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

Braithwaite’s suit: Court to rule Dec. 18

Arthur-Worrey marks 60th birthday with book on Lagos

S

INCE 1980 when he was called to Bar, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Fola Arthur-Worrey, has remained committed to making the society better. He rose through the ranks in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to become the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 1996, and between 1998 and 2006, he was the Solicitor-General.

As part of activities to mark his 60th birthday, he presented a special photobook on Lagos titled: Aerial Lagos–A Bird’s View of African’s Largest Metropolis, depicting the state’s beautiful landscape and aquatic splendour. The book is history in pictures.

“I was inspired when I flew in a helicopter and marvelled at the beauties and the splendour of this great city. I imagined how wonderful it would be if one could depict such aesthetics in a photobook. Really, what is missing about the society is the paucity or lack of narratives,” he said.

Arthur-Worrey said the book is his way of adding value to the society. “It is important that you ask yourself what value you add to the society. This is important because it is through the value to the society you’ll be remembered for.

“Bill Gates will probably not be forgotten anytime he joins his maker. In spite of his enormous wealth, he would always be re-

membered for his invention of Microsoft. You’re not likely to be remembered for the number of mansions you built, but by the value you add to the society, while you are alive.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, represented by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, described the celebrator as a man of impeccable integrity.

He said Arthur-Worrey was always willing to provide solutions to the society’s problems through selfless service.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, represented by Dr. Adeleke Ipaye, said Arhur-Worrey was a dependable friend even in bad times, recalling his contribution to the long struggle to reclaim the governor’s stolen mandate.

“He is steadfast, trust-worthy, intelligent and a man of immense intellectual capacity,” Aregbesola said.

LSSTF Chairman, Mr. Remi Mankanjuola, described the ‘birthday boy’ as “a fantastic guy, dogged, astute and excellent in service”.

Former Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire said the author is a very contended person concerned about improving his society.

Prof Ade Elebute, who chaired the event, said the author brought his immense intellectual capacity

to bear on the book.

For the Erelu of Lagos, Abiola Dosumu, Nigeria needs the likes of Arthur-Worrey. “I look forward to seeing such a man in higher position of authority because that is what the society needs,” she said.

Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Chief Executive Officer, Ola Oresanya described the author as a mentor, adding that the book “is a working tool for us at LAWMA.” Arthur-Worrey said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of goodwill messages while paying glowing tributes to his mother who was with him at the occasion.

He said whatever contribution he has made to the society must be viewed from the quality upbringing and discipline he received as a child. “It is occasion like this that makes one feel truly valued,” he said.

At the event were Lagos Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed, who represented Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN); the Obanikoro of Lagos, Chief Adesoji Ajayi; Mrs Esther Olufunke; a former Lagos Attorney-General Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); a former Aviation Minister Odein Ajumogobia (SAN); former Lagos Commissioner for Information Dele Alake; Mr Ebun Sofunde (SAN), and Mr Deji Sasegbon (SAN), among others.

•From left: Dr Ahmed, Mrs Olufunke, Mr Arthur-Worrey, Prof Elebute, Erelu Dosumu and Chief Ajayi at the event.

Top 100 lawyers: Olanipekun, Adoke, Adegbonmire, others unveiled

A

list of the first-ever nation wide ranking of pre-emi nent lawyers has been unveiled in a book, Nigeria’s Top 100 Lawyers listing.

The full list of the 100 top lawyers features leading litigators, transactional lawyers and lawyers in the academia who have shaped the legal industry over the years.

They include acclaimed litigators Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), AttorneyGeneral & Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and ‘new kid on the block,’ Mr. Adeniyi Adegbonmire.

The ‘old guard’ was represented

by Nigeria’s oldest surviving Senior Advocate, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), Prof. Ben

By Adebisi Onanuga

Nwabueze (SAN), Prof. Alfred Bandele Kasunmu (SAN), Chief F. O. Akinrele (SAN) and Chief George Uwechue (SAN) among others.

From the human rights community are notably Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), even as women lawyers held down some positions through renowned arbitrators such as Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), Mrs. Dorothy Ufot (SAN), and Mrs. Adedoyin RhodesVivour.

While the list is perhaps expectedly dominated by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, several nonSANs muzzled their way into the listing, a clear indication that le-

gal excellence can be found anywhere. Among the non-SANs who also made the list are respected solicitors such as Messrs Asue Igbodalo, Lawrence Fubara Anga and Bankole Sodipo.

According to Emeka Nwadioke, editor of the compendium designed to celebrate the selectees, the ranking – to be published every year –”follows months of research and nationwide peer survey by our editorial team.”

Nwadioke said the all-gloss compendium highlighting the career paths and accomplishments of the selectees will be released this month. The foreword to the over 100-page compendium was written by renowned Justice Emeritus of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice George A. Oguntade (CFR).

By Adebisi Onanuga

•Braithwaite

A

LAGOS High Court sitting in Ikeja, has fixed December 18, for ruling on whether or not to allow an Environmental Impact Assessment expert, Prof. Olaniyi Okedele, to be cross-examined in a suit filed by the elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite against a Lagos based bank.

Justice Doris Okuwobi, who announced the decision after hearing the arguments of both the defendant and the applicant in the matter, said the court would determine whether Prof. Okedele, who is one of the principal witnesses of the claimant (Dr. Braithwaite), can be examined on the Environmental Impact Assessment report he co-authored or not.

Dr. Braithwaite is challenging Standard Chartered Bank over the construction of a 14-storey building with a multi-level car park opposite his residence in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The claimant had insisted that the

witness should be examined based on the fact that he co-authored the document with the first witness.

He submitted to the court that such examination would enable him shed more light on a document he coauthored.

But the defense counsel, Adeniyi Adegbomire, objected to the Prof.

Okedele’s cross-examination by Dr. Braithwaite.

Adegbonmire had submitted that the environmental expert cannot be examined on the document, notwithstanding its being marked as exhibit 17 by the court.

This, he claimed, was because the document was not included in the statement on oath before the court.

The judge subsequently adjourned the matter in order to rule on whether the witness can be examined or not.

Earlier, Dr Briathwaite had stated that the outcome of matter will either have a salutary effect or not on the judiciary.

Dr. Braithwaite is seeking an order declaring as illegal the erection of a 14-storey commercial building and multi-level car park by the bank in an otherwise residential area in Victoria Island, Lagos.

He claimed that he is uncomfortable with the bank’s installation of giant industrial generators directly opposite his house, saying that the generator would create fumes and noise capable of shattering the air and the serenity of the environment.

Ex-judge sues NJC

A

RETIRED Federal High Court, judge, Justice Charles Achibong, has sued the National Judicial Commission (NJC) for denying him access to his record of service to defend himself in petitions written against him and the report of the council’s investigation.

In a suit he filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/837/2014, the judge, who last served in the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, said he had earlier last month, applied to the commission, under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, for access to his service records, among others, but was denied.

He argued in a supporting affidavit, that the NJC, being a public institution, has the obligation to avail him all he requested for in line with the provision of the FOI Act. He said he needed the information to defend himself against media publications that he was compulsorily retired on corruption grounds.

Justice Achibong, in the suit before Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati, is seeking among others, an order of Mandamus directing the NJC and its agents to provide him with “a comprehensive and detailed information demanded concerning his service records, judicial activities, clearances, warnings and certified records of proceedings of the defendants that resulted in its recommendation to the president the be compulsorily retired.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Other reliefs sought by the plaintiff include: “A declaration that the refusal, failure and/or neglect by the defendant to release the information requested by the plaintiff concerning his service records, judicial activities including all petitions against him amounts to violation of Section 7(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 and is therefore wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional; *A declaration that the refusal, failure and/or neglect by the defendant to release the information requested by the plaintiff is a violation of the provisions of Section 4(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011; *A declaration that by a true interpretation and construction of Section 4(a) of the FOI Act, 2011, the defendant as a public institution, within the meaning of Section 7 and 31 of the Act, is under obligation to furnish him with the information he, and that NJC’s refusal to provide what he requested for “amounts to a violation of Section 7(1) of the FOI Act, 2011 and is therefore, wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional”.

The judge also sought a declaration that the refusal by the defendant to release the information he requested constituted a breach of the duty of care owed to him at Common Law. He also sought N1million for general damages and N500,000 from the defendant for wrongfully denying him the information.

LEGAL DIARY NBA holds Law week, Seminar and Luncheon The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Badagry branch holds her 2014 Law week, Seminar and Launcheon.

Date: December 5, 2014 Time: 10. Am Theme for the law week is terrorism: Threat to Human Rights, the Nigerian experience Venue: RockView Hotel, 23 Road, FESTAC Town, Lagos.

Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State will be the Special Guest of Honour while the guest speaker is Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN)

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

28

LAW & SOCIETY

Firm hosts clients

S

TERLING Partnership, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms, has held an end of year networking sesion for its clients.

Acting British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Mike Purves hosted the event at the British House in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The private sector, representatives of government, and members of diplomatic missions attended the event.

There were leading executives in the banking, oil and gas, energy, automotive, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, entertainment and other sectors of the Nigerian economy in attendance.

Also present were Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and a representative of Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji (SAN).

By John Austin Unachukwu

Highlights of the evening were a brief congratulatory message from the Managing Partner, Sterling Partnership, Mr. Israel Aye, to the firm’s founding partner Ms. Boma Ozobia, who was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

Sterling Partnership is one of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms with specialties in energy, real estate and infrastructure, finance and capital markets, technology and communications, transportation, public private partnerships, public law, intellectual property and entertainment.

Sterling Partnership is solicitor the Centenary City project.

•From left: President, British Nigerian Forum, Peter Muir, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and former President, Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) Boma Ozobia.

•From left: General Counsel Microsoft, Helen Anatogu, Managing Partner Sterling Partnership, Isreal Aye and General Counsel Seplat, Dr. Miriam K. Kachikwu

•From left: Mia Essien (SAN), her husband Charles and Ola Ifezuluike.

•From left: Olayinka Wasiu, Lerea Abina, Jenifer Onah, Constance Udensi and Dr. Chris Onuoha

•From left: Tunde Arogunmati, Ebi Timitimi, Nobert Chukwura, Olaseni Oduwole and Tola Osunkeyei

•From left: John Iwelumo, Laura P. Alakija and Andrew Iwelumo

•From left: Bisi Dere, Dr. Nechi Ezeako, Ben Ofodile and Bayor Opadere.

•Nella-Andem Rabana (SAN) (left) and her daughter, Nella, after her call to the Bar.

Bulkachuwa, Abdullahi urge workers on dedication to duty

T

HE President of the Court of Appeal, (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa and one of her predecessors, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, have urged judicial workers to be more dedicated to duty, saying their dedication and commitment were necessary for the effective operations of the court.

They spoke in Abuja at the inaugural award presentation ceremony for 25 ex-workers of the court, who retired between 2012 and 2014. They were presented with certificates of meritorious service and gifts.

Justice Bulkachuwa, who noted that it was the first time such event would hold since the court’s establishment in 1976, assured that her administration will reward handwork.

Justice Abdullahi praised the PCA for the initiative, which he said was capable of ensuring unity and cooperation among staff, as well

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

as restoring the dignity of the court.

The Executive Secretary, Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), Hajiya Bilkysu Abdulmalik Basheer, commended the court’s management for the initiative to honour retired workers.

She said the decision to honour those who had committed their time and energy to the service of the court, was sufficient to motivate those in service to give their best.

The court’s Chief Registrar, Aliyu Ibrahim, who was represented by his Deputy, Hafizu Isah, assured the retirees that plans are on to ensure that their entitlements are processed promptly.

Replying on behalf of the retirees, former Head of Audit Department, Nwanchukwu Ndujiuba, thanked the court’s management for honouring them.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON NORTHERN STATES

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

PAGE 29

Youths hail Gaidam’s jobs effort •PAGE 30

Amnesty for 547 inmates in Kaduna •PAGE 31

•The dispaced people at the Kano camp

T

HE agony has been coming in incremental doses. First the insurgents attacked public facilities and officers; occasionally, they threw improvised explosive devices or IEDs at gatherings, even pubs. Soon, they set their sights on bigger targets, including the police national headquarters and military facilities. They have since scaled up their operations, grooming and deploying suicide bombers (women among them) and kidnappers, with their fighters overrunning towns and hoisting the black Boko Haram flag.

The nation has paid dearly for the violent appetite of the insurgents but nowhere is the horror in such bold relief as the Northeast. As they sack one town after another, survivors have been fleeing to other parts of the region considered safer. It has been at a huge cost not only to their hosts and government agencies but also the internally displaced people or IDPs themselves. Whether directly under the Boko Haram fire or not, the North has been considerably shaken up by the sect’s violence.

In Plateau State alone, there are 35,000 IDPs fleeing from Gwoza in Borno State as well as Mubi and Michika in Adamawa. But there are others from Taraba and Nasarawa states running away from ethnic conflicts.

In Kano State, there are 261 IDPs being looked after by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) but everyone knows that camp life presents its own anguish.

Plateau Information Officer of NEMA, Central Zone, Audu Yohana, said, of the Plateau situation: “A compre-

A region dislocated Boko Haram has not run over the Northeast but one thing is clear: the entire region has not been the same since the insurgency. Apart from the huge loss of life and property particularly in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, other states in the North have been grappling with the influx of people fleeing from the rampaging sect. YUSUFU AMINU-IDEGU and KOLA ADEYEMI report

‘In this camp, I am living with my children as if we are in an orphanage home. No food, nowhere to sleep; we have escaped from crisis but we don’t know how to escape from hunger. Hunger will soon kill my children; government should come to our aid, please.

There are about 10,000 displaced persons, most of whom women and children in the camp’ hensive assessment by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicates that the IDPs are camping in different locations across five local government areas of Plateau State, such as Wase, Kanam, Shendam and Mikang local government areas.

“Eleven thousand Internally Dis-

placed Persons from Taraba State are camping in different locations across the four local government areas.

From Adamawa State, 24,000…are presently camping in different locations across Jos North and Jos South local government areas of the state.

“The North Central Zonal Office of the National Emergency Manage-

ment Agency (NEMA) has concluded the needs assessment of the IDPs and had sent its report to the Director General of the Agency for immediate release of relief materials to ameliorate the situation of the IDPs. The IDPs who are mostly women and children fled the troubled States as a result of the insecurity of their lives and properties in those states”.

While the agency is waiting for relief materials from its headquarters, thousands of IDPs are passing through hell. Most of them said they cannot believe they could be refugees in their own land.

The displaced persons from Lafia camping in Aningo village in Namu district of Quan-Pan Local Government Area of the state said they have been there for about two months without any relief from any government. They scavenge for food everyday.

A mother of four, Mrs Asabe Abel, said, “In this camp, I am living with my children as if we are in an orphanage home. No food, nowhere to •Continued on page 30

Bridges for waste •PAGE 33

‘1,000 environmental offenders prosecuted ’

•PAGE 34

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

30

THE NORTH REPORT

Youths hail Gaidam’s jobs effort Y OBE State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam’s effort to create jobs has won him friends. Youths, impressed with his commitment to the needy, have praised him, topping it up with an award.

Gaidam was also honoured with the title of the Garkuwan Matasa (Protector of the Youth) in the state.

Twenty-nine awards were also given to individuals, organisations and ministries in the state for excellence.

The award was presented to Gaidam at the occasion of the presentation of Yobe State merit and productivity award, a maiden edition of the programme.

Mauzu Bawa who spoke on behalf of the over 6,000 youths who benefitted from the governor’s jobs scheme, praised him for his commitment to the state’s teeming

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

youths.

From the testimony of Muazu Bawa, what the youth empowerment has done to the teaming youth in the state is more than the monitory value of what the beneficiaries collect as stipends every month.

He said: “This programme has changed our lives more than we expected. There are some beneficiaries that are proud owners of business and families. Some beneficiaries have used these stipends to further their education. Some are are currently sponsoring their siblings •Continued on page 31

•Governor Gaidam displays his prize, with Muazu Bawa, a youth leader in Damaturu

A region dislocated •Continued from page 29 sleep, we have escaped from crisis but we don’t know how to escape from hunger. Hunger will soon kill my children; government should come to our aid, please”.

The Aningo camp, according to findings, is sheltering about 10,000 displaced persons, most of whom women and children. They came from villages like Akuni, Gidan Gambo, Galo, Assakio, Amawa, etc.

They comprise Plateau natives living in Nasarawa State and those indigenous to Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Most of the IDPs are peasant farmers who lost their grains to the attackers’ cattle. One of the victims, Huseini Baba-Musa said, “The people who attacked us did not only set our houses ablaze; they used their cattle to eat up our grains which we stocked in our barns. In my compound they destroyed four barns of food consisting of Soya bean, Guinea corn, maize and yam. These are the food I stored for the survival of my family”.

A visit to the IDPs camp in Aningo village revealed that they live as though in the wild, sleeping in what looks like nests.

Because there were not enough houses in the village to accommodate them, the IDPs simply gathered grass and sticks. They fixed the sticks to the ground in a circular shape and thatched the grass on the sticks.

The village head of Aningo, Baba Muhammadu Ashaleku, said, “We were able to cater for the needs of the displaced people who ran to our place initially when they were few.

But when the numbers of their num-

•Wives and relatives of Mallam Yunusa Nuhu at the camp bers continued to grow, it was difficult for us to cope with feeding them.

We have been expecting government to come in but up till now, no government came.

The living condition of the IDPs poses serious health risk to them as their crowded spaces exposes them to epidemic. Investigations revealed that only the Justice Development and Peace Caritas, a faith-based NGO has shown concern about the plight of the IDPs in Aningo. The NGO said the number of displaced persons from Nasarawa State trooping to the camp increases on daily bases due to recent conflicts in the that state.

Apart from the IDPs in Quan-Pan local government of Plateau State, there are thousands of others who are also camping in Jos, the state capital. About 1000 of them are camped at the hostels of Zang Commercial College, Bukuru, Jos, hosted by Stepfanos Foundation, a non-governmental organisation. The camp

•The home of the displaced in Plateau State

consists of 145 families who escaped from Gwoza, Yola, Mubi, Michika, Madagali, etc. Programme Coordinator of the NGO, Mr. Mark Lipdo said it has no capacity to cater for the IDPs for long.

“I have merely provided a place for them to sleep pending when government will come to their aid with relief material and subsequent return to their homes when government would have secured the areas. Many of the IDPs have horrifying experiences of how they managed to escape from their homes and farms.

They had to escape from their farms without the privilege of returning home when they learnt their towns had been taken over by insurgents.

A few women gave birth in the bush while looking for ways to escape the horror. A lot of them are beginning to ask if government still regards them as Nigerians especially as the federal government is quick to respond to conflicts in other countries

but is seemingly unable to curb the insurgency in few states within its domain.”

While calling on government to heed the cry of these victims of Boko Haram attacks as security and welfare of citizens is the primary responsibilities of government, he said “We appeal to relevant authorities, agencies, individuals and organisations to reach out to these victims for help in their bid to resettle and start life afresh”.

Similarly, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria popularly known as EYN is also housing some of the IDPs. One of the church leaders who addressed reporters at the church in Jos, Rev Dr Samuel Dali, said, “It is with a heavy heart and traumatised soul and spirit I address you this day on behalf of the displaced Christians and people from Northern Nigeria.

It is obvious or apparent that the Federal Government of Nigeria lacks the political will to protect and defend our people in Northern Nigeria from the Boko Haram insurgency and attack from the Fulani militia. The Federal Government seems to be toying with the lives and limbs of the Christians in Northern Nigeria for political gains. While Boko Haram and the Fulani militia and their sponsors are killing innocent Nigerian citizens especial the Christians, the government seems to not care and has abdicated from its responsibility to protecting lives. There have been protracted attacks by Fulani and other ethnic militia in Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau and many other states in the North, the government seems not to care talk more of employ lasting solution”.

Rev. Dali said further that in all these attacks, Christians and their churches are mostly affected. At least 700,000 members of the church, mostly women and children, have been displaced and now scattered in places like Jos, Abuja, Kaduna and Yola. Over 8,000 members have been murdered or killed by the Boko Haram insurgents and 270 churches have been destroyed completely by

‘Village Head of Aningo, Baba Muhammadu Ashaleku: we were able to cater for the needs of the displaced people who ran to our place initially when they were few. But when the numbers of their numbers continued to grow, it was difficult for us to cope with feeding them. We have been expecting government to come in but up till now, no government came’ the insurgents, while 45 out of the 50 District Church Councils (DCC) have been affected. There is no explanation the government can give as to why the Federal troops will run away from the towns prior to the attack on such towns by Boko Haram without putting any resistance, it seems government does not care about its citizens in that zone. The United Nations (UN) must intervene and declare the Northeast a UN territory with immediate effect and send in peacekeeping troops to secure the remaining traumatised people”.

Kano For over a week, Malam Yunusa Nuhu, 67, has been yearning for a return to Mubi, his home town in Adamawa State from where he came to Dawakin Kudu in Kano State with 113 family members.

For them and the others, freedom is denied and their fate lies in the hands of NEMA officials who are looking after them.

At the Dawakin Kudu IDPs camp, our correspondent recorded gory tales from many of the 261 refugees.

Malam Nuhu who was a bicycle repairer and Islamic teacher, said: “We are from Mubi in Adamawa State where Boko Haram has forced me and my family numbering about 113 out from our homes and legitimate earnings. We have practically become dependent on the government.

I came with my wives, sons, daughters and grandchildren. In any case, I count myself lucky because none of us lost our lives to the insurgents’ onslaught. We all came here hale and hearty and by the grace of Allah, we are well taken care of by NEMA. •Continued on page 32

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

31

THE NORTH REPORT

Amnesty for 547 inmates in Kaduna O

VER 34,000 out of the estimated 48,000 prison inmates in the country are awaiting trial, said Minister of Interior, Abba Moro. This is unfair and unhealthy. So, what to do? Free up some awaiting trial detainees sand give them a reason to make good.

That was what Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero did.

He has decongested the prisons in the state by releasing 547 inmates.

Among the pardoned inmates was one sentenced to life imprisonment whose release the governor ordered on health grounds.

The Nation gathered that high rate of awaiting trial inmates in various prisons within Kaduna State alone poses security challenges to the government and society. Government sources said that considering the serious the issue is, the government discussed the issue if decongesting the prisons at several security council meetings.

At one of such meetings, Governor Yero was said to have directed the Attorney-General of the state to work out modalities to solve the menace of the high number of awaiting trial inmates. The government also set a committee to fasttrack the process with the AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Garba Uba Shehu as chairman, while state Controller of Prisons, Alhaji Abubakar Garba, Justice D-H Khobo, ASP Bawa as members while the Solicitor-General of the state Daris Bayero serves as Secretary.

Between January and September, the committee visited all prisons across the state and released 547 awaiting trials inmates with minor offences, while over 600 cases were terminated including those who were granted bail but who by nature of their cases ought not to be in the prisons in the first place.

As for those serving capital punishment, the Attorney-General sought and obtained the approval of the governor to engage the services of private legal Practitioners to defend them when their case are taken to court.

This, according to him, will enable the accused persons to have access to lawyers which ordinarily they would not have and will have the cases against them expeditiously tried and their fate determined. Apart from that, the committee liaised with police to have a comprehensive list of those to benefit from the government largesse

•Kaduna prison

‘All the inmates who were freed by the governor were cautioned against committing any offence that may bring them back to prison. The amnesty beneficiaries looked happy walking out of prison having spent years there with no hope of being freed’

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

and were selected according to the severity of their offences and character of evidence.

The commissioner said that in compliance with Section 212 (1) and after due consultation with state committee on prerogative of mercy, the governor granted amnesty to four inmates who were convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment and above with six months recently. Some of those whose release was ordered having attained the age of 60 years and above, and whose conduct was found to have changed for the better are Nuhu Yusuf, Danjuma Adamu, Hardo Barau, Abdullahi Adamu, Aliyu Muhammad, Muntari Hassana, Ali Hassan, Lawal Alhaji Bature and Salisu Ya’u.

While Abdullahi Ibrahim and Chukwuma Eze who were convicted and sentenced to 21 years and has served 12 years and 12 years, seven months respectively regained their freedom for good conduct, Usman Salahuddeen who was sentenced to death by hanging had

•Governor Yero his sentence reduced to life imprisonment. Nine inmates were released on account of age while one, Aminu Adamu, who was serving life sentence was freed on health grounds.

All the inmates who were freed

by the governor were cautioned against committing any offence that may bring them back to prison. The amnesty beneficiaries looked happy walking out of prison having spent years there with no hope of being freed.

Government at all levels were however called upon to rise up to the challenge by not only decon-

gesting the prisons but also to reconstruct them to international standards so that they serve the purpose they were built and not to serve as centre for breeding criminals.

Justice dispensation system must also be looked into with a view to minimise the ever increasing number of awaiting trial inmates.

Youths hail Gaidam’s jobs effort •Continued from page 30

•Youths at the event

to schools today at all level of schools. The list goes on. This programme had made many of us here today to learn how to fish, instead of distributing sfish to beneficiaries of SEP.” Mauza said.

He thanks Governor Ibrahim Gaidam for making them to be part of the great history of Yobe State through his poverty alleviation scheme which they are beneficiaries.

There could never be a better time in the history of this state to be associated with like your time His Excellency Ibrahim Gaidam. We are proud to be part of your transformation agenda of making Yobe a better place for us the youth and the generation yet unborn,” Muazu inform.

He promised to mobilize all the youth all other youths in the state to vote for governor Gaidam in the 2015 general elections.

The Nation findings revealed that Yobe state government has engaged, 6, 674 youths with the employment

of 800 youths in 2015.

I his response to the award, Gov. Ibrahim Gadam promised that he will not disappoint the youth of the state, saying; “In exercising the responsibilities of being conferred with this award of Garkuwan Matasa, I will formulate policies and programmes for youths that could develop and excel them in this state. i will strive to do more and i would never disappoint you,” Gaidam promised.

In his address at the event, the Head of Service, Alhaji Dauda Yahaya said the Federal Government established National Productivity Centre (NPC) in 184 on order to inculcate productivity consciousness in the country.

His words: “We in Yobe state are drawing inspiration from the federal government initiative by ensuring the observance of our own home grown Productivity Day. It is therefore significant that the Yobe State Government has added yet another milestone in its effort to stimulate productivity consciousness by introducing State Merit and Productivity Awards to 29 individuals, organizations and ministries in the state.

32

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NORTH REPORT

A region dislocated •Continued from page 30 “However, I must tell you that we are not happy because our freedom is restricted and we no longer enjoy our privacy. My children’s education has been halted and their future now remains bleak and their ambitions have also been distorted. Ours seem like a hopeless situation because as we hear from the radio everyday, the killings continue in our home town and we cannot tell when it will end.”

Nuhu said that their escape from the troubled Mubi town was a miracle. “Many Nigerians may not understand what we are passing through. As I am speaking to you, two of my wives are here with me, while the third one is currently hibernating in Cameroon with other children. It is very difficult for us. It is indeed traumatising as we wake up every day hoping and praying that this tragedy will end. Nigerians should help us appeal to the government to do everything possible to ensure that this terrible experience is ended.

“A month ago, at about 9 a.m. we heard gunshots and after that, we saw helicopters bombing our town. At that time, I was teaching my Quranic students. Everybody ran helterskelter as the situation became alarming. I was worried and apprehensive.

I started searching for my family members. I got in touch with about 10 of them on the phone. I immediately instructed them to move towards the bush where we slept. The next morning, I was able to get in contact with 17 others who also met us in the bush and from there we set out on foot through the bush and got to a town by name Gude by 9 a.m. the next morning with no food, no water. We remained in the mercy of Allah. We stayed in Gude for about five days. We left Mubi without a pin from the house. From Gude, I phoned other members of the family and that was when my third wife told me that they have arrived Cameroon.”

He further narrated that, “the rest of the family numbering 111 met us in Gude, inside the thick forest. There and then, we managed to mobilize 27 motor bikes that conveyed us to Maiha village, about 10 kilometers from Mubi. They collected N2500 each amounting to about N60, 000.

From Miaha, we hired two big trucks

Mohammadu Amadora from Michika town in Adamawa state said that they escaped death by Whiskas from Michika town through the bush with a family of 20 and three wives.

“It was a miraculous escape,” he said while thanking God for sparing their lives. Amadora told our Correspon-

dent ithat one of his wives delivered a bouncing baby boy in the camp about a week ago, “ and I named him Muhammadu Sanusi in honour of the Emir of Kano in whose kingdom we have been taken refuge. Ii lost one of my brothers to the insurgents.

Chinto was a nice person to me and his death has been very painful.”

An orphan, Bashir Mustapha (12) narrated how he lost his parents to the bullets of Boko Haram. “They killed my parents before my eyes in Baga town in Borno state, a border town with Chad. They were merciless. They shot at my parents severally and I saw their blood flowing freely. They killed too many people that very day. IO am alive today through the grace of Allah but each minute that passes, I am confronted with the gory sight of my parents’ death. It is indelible in my memory and that trauma has refused to desert me. I am alone in this whole world— it is indeed a cruel world. I have no mother, no father, no brother and sister. I have no future. I cry every day because I am now a wonderer.’

Dejected Mustapha who narrated how he got to Kano said, “immediately the incident happened, I ran into the bush crying for help as our house was set ablaze by the insurgents. I was lucky as I ran towards the road.

At about 7 p.m., after Magrid prayer, a motorist came to my rescue and asked me where I was going, I told him to take me to anywhere, at the end, I arrived Kano and was handed over to the Hisbah Board. They took me to a woman by name Umma who assisted me and brought me to Dawakin Kudu refugee camp.”

Aisha Buba, an 18-year-old widow who got married nine months ago, is pregnant. She said Boko Haram slaughtered her husband before her in Gomboru Ngala town in Borno State, a border town with Cameroon.

“The Boko Haram terrorists invaded Gomboru town and shot indiscriminately. They also slaughtered a lot of people with knives. My husband was slaughtered and the body caught into pieces as if he was a ram. As I was about escaping with him, one of them dragged my husband and told me to stand by. He pulled out a knife and slaughtered my husband before my very eyes and told me to find my way—that was how I ran to Kano. I am a young girl, now abandoned and dejected. I am from a poor background. We are suffering in the hands of Boko Haram.

We appeal to the government to take urgent steps to stop this barbaric act because this is man’s inhumanity to man. We are longing to go back home if our safety can be guaranteed.”

treated at Federal Medical Centre Azare, and discharged two days after, the others, among them with critical cases remained at the intensive care unit.

Besides the destruction of lives, permanent disability, the loss of wares at the phone market which is the second largest and busiest after Bauchi, the state capital, the surviving victims are traumatised for life.

Some of them may never be able to

repay the loans they took to start their business.

The first blast in Azare in October was at the ever-busy motor park. The explosion killed 15, all males, according to eye. Over 30 were injured.

The second bomb attack came barely two weeks in between and took away, officially 14 males and a lady with over 28 wounded. This occurred at the Azare branch of First Bank Plc. Automated Teller Machine ATM spot.

•Mallam Yunusa Nuhu, pose with some of the family members in the camp

‘As I was about escaping with him, one of them dragged my husband and told me to stand by.

He pulled out a knife and slaughtered my husband before my very eyes and told me to find my way—that was how I ran to Kano. I am a young girl, now abandoned and dejected. I am from a poor background. We are suffering in the hands of Boko Haram’ •Relief items for the IDPs which conveyed us to Yola at the cost of N30,000. We spent five days in Yola. In Yola, we heard that the insurgents are moving towards the state capital where we were. We got jittery and fear and panic enveloped us. At that point, we hired two vehicles to Kano at the cost of N50, 000.

We arrived Kano at about 2 a.m. in

the night an d the driver took us to Yankaba where we were haboured for two weeks. From there, the Mai Angwar now directed us to the Hisbah Board who conveyed us to Dawaklin Kudu campo where we are today.”

Also narrating his ordeal, Alhaji

Azare: Traumatised after blast

T

HE woman suicide bomber has left Azare, Bauchi State’s second-largest and most populous town, shattered, some of her surviving victims nursing physical and mental injuries.

The attacker slipped into a busy mobile phone market and detonated an explosive device, killing many and injuring more.

Residents of the proposed capital of Katagum State have not come to terms with what hit them especially since terrorists seem to have cultivated an eerie fondness for their town. Scarcely more than a week earlier, Azare had come under attack.

When the reporter visited the community, a resident captured its mood.

“Normally, I would not object to your talking to one or all of the survivors of the explosion here in Azare, but the victims are so traumatised that when one of them was greeted, he sat up and asked, ‘Did you say I should get up and go?’ The other one there (pointing to a severely wounded patient) was told to take the drugs given to him, and he asked, “Is this not meant for sick persons?

“I can tell you know it will take some time before some of them regain their senses due to what they

From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

have gone through. So I am appealing to you to come back at a later date for your interview. You can see for yourself the condition they are in, pains and confusion, trauma and all that”.

Azare doubles as the Katagum local government council and Katagum Emirate Council headquarters. It is also a major link between Kano, Jigawa, and Yobe and Borno states.

In the past, many saw Azare as having more business prospects than Bauchi, but the past 36 months have changed all that as the “bustling town has become a target for attack by the Islamist militia.”

The vibrant town is fast becoming a no-go area for visitors; even residents are moving out to safer places.

Before it became the target of attack by insurgents who have found both Yobe and Kano fertile grounds, it was a haven for armed robbers, a development that brought out the best in Alhaji Ali Mohammed, popularly known as Ali Kwara, the armed robber hunter, renowned for easily arresting even hardened rogues.

Since October, not less than three

•Patients and victims of the attack bombs have exploded in the town, claiming not less than 50 lives and leaving no fewer than 140 permanently disabled. Properties worth several millions of naira have also been lost.

In the most recent attack, in the evening, the woman bomber took everyone by surprise. The explosion killed 18 people. She also died in the attack which also injured 64 others.

Though, 32 of the injured were

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

Website: http://www.thenationonlineng.com

Page 33

T

HE pedestrian bridges are gradually becoming a source of mockery for the authorities and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Once, they were not there, and many residents were hit and killed or injured by motorists while dashing across the highway. Many cried foul, calling on the authorities to build bridges across the roads.

Eventually, the bridges were contructed, and good ones at that, but what happened afterwards?

Residents, it was discovered, still seemed to prefer making the dash to safely taking the bridge steps.

Now, there is a new worry: not only are the bridges sparingly used, they are steadily becoming refuse dumpsites.

Maintaining the structures seems to be a problem. Many now say that soon after the administration completes a bridge, it looks the other way, not caring what happens to it.

The major streets and roads in the city centre actually look relatively clean until you climb some of the bridges.

Most of them look like a place that refuse retires. It is not that the bridges are unusable as a result of heaps of waste. Sometimes they are swept, but the sweepers do not do a good job and are far from committed to their duties. It looks as if they come to work once or twice a month.

For instance, a little tour on the Papei Bridge can be quite irritating for someone with a light stomach. The bridge is so dirty. Because of the rains, refuse seems to decompose much faster on the bridges and stick to its floor like a second skin and the fact that it is not always swept makes it so irritating.

Many people rather run across the highway than take the irritating steps.

The Second Gate/NNPC Junction Bridge in Kubwa is another untidy sight. Residents of Kubwa have become accustomed to the dirt especially since the bridge is the busiest overhead bridge in the whole of Kubwa but recently, a popular beggar on the bridge has taken it upon himself to sweep it daily.

This beggar who is crippled and can only navigate on a small board with wheels, sweeps the whole bridge every morning before settling down to his usual spot to beg for alms. Residents mostly appreciate the gestures and can be seen giving him money as they walk past every morning.

Even though he refused giving The Nation his name, he said, “I don’t like being in a dirty environ-

•One of the bridges

Waste on the bridges From Grace Obike

ment, since they are not ready to sweep it and this is where I stay, I decided to always sweep it every

morning before settling for the days business.”

Mrs Sarah, a resident of Kubwa and ardent user of the bridge said, “what he does is really impressive, I used

•Cordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) transit camp for Internally Displaced Persons, Mr Sa’ad Bello (right) presenting relief materials to a representative of the village head, Alhaji Idris Lawan at the camp in Daware, Fufure-Iga in Adamawa State

to be really apprehensive about taking the bridge because I hate dirt, especially those that have been around for a while, in fact, sometimes back, someone excreted on the bridge, just next to the stairs, so that

‘Not only are the bridges sparingly used, they are steadily becoming refuse dumpsites.

Maintaining the structures seems to be a problem.

Many now say that soon after the administration completes a bridge, it looks the other way, not caring what happens to it’

you see it and will have to avoid matching it as you climb the bridge.

“You will not believe that thing stayed there and took weeks until it dried up and disappear on its own because no one bothered to sweep it away. I like that he is keeping the bridge clean and I often give him the little change i have when i walk by as a reward for his foresight and hardwork, especially knowing how difficult it must be for him being handicapped.”

The Gwarimpa Bridge is another example of the dirtiest bridges. It is a known and popular alternative market on the Kubwa express and always busy with people buying and selling and pedestrians trying to cross to the other side of the road.

The traders sweep refuse aside and recently this traders have devised a way of packing the refuse into sacks and hanging it on the rail, so it dangles at a slight platform on the bridge that could tilt dangerously and even fall onto oncoming vehicles.

As it is typical with most Nigerians, the traders try to keep the position where they sell clean so you find them sweeping refuse from the part of the bridge that they are using and dumping it on the stair•Continued on page 34

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

34

ABUJA REVIEW •Continued from page 33 cases as well, sometimes it can get so messy that passerby’s will have to carefully pick their ways through the refuse to avoid falling down.

When asked, one of the traders explains, “This is where we sell our market and get money to eat so we try to keep it as clean as possible; the government does not always care about sweeping the bridge so everybody sweeps in front of his place and we dump it on the stairs and when they get ready and feel like sweeping it, they come and sweep it.”

These days unfortunately most of the pedestrian users will observe that the bridge is no longer just a means of crossing the road but has turned into a market that can sometimes get annoying with the way buyers and sellers sometimes block the road without a care, this is common around the Banex, Nicon, Gwarimpa, Galadima and as far as the Dei-Dei junctions with people not only having to contend with the market at the Dei-Dei junction but the ever presents thugs and drugs users always hanging around.

Another common scene on the Abuja bridges are the sites for beggars who can sometimes get pushy or aggressive with people who fail

Waste on the bridges ‘The most difficult bridge to climb in Abuja is the Banex bridge, it was steps are constructed in a way that as a person climbs, the person will have to bend is body slightly and probably hold unto the rail to keep from falling backwards’ to give them money. It is even worst at the Maraba Bridge although technically Maraba is not in Abuja. Here, the female beggars who cluster on the steps cannot not only touch people in the process of begging but also grab.

One might say that those bridges are a bit outside the city centre and might be expected to be neglected but even those in the centre like Banex and Nicon junctions for in-

stance are not always kept clean, they are not left out in the mess even though it is not always as messy as those outside the city centre.

The Nicon and Banex bridges are amongst the latest over head bridges recently constructed but to be honest, that of Banex for instance looks like it is a thousand years old mostly because even an amateur or architectural illiterate will know that it was done poorly, it honestly looks

like the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) gave the job out to someone that was not in the mood of doing a good job.

The most difficult bridge to climb in Abuja is the Banex bridge, it was steps are constructed in a way that as a person climbs, the person will have to bend is body slightly and probably hold unto the rail to keep from falling backwards. The floor of the bridge from day one after it was ready for use looked like a bridge that its floor was never plastered and when climbing the bridge and observant person will be able to detect holes and cracks when the bridge is actually less than 6 months old.

So climbing the bridge is so tasking and stressful that most residents only take it because of the barricades constructed to avoid people running across the road and some stubborn residents still find a way to run across the road with all the barricades.

Rhoda Daniel, a resident of Kubwa who spoke on the state of the Banex bridge said, “I honestly don’t know what they did on this bridge to claim that they have worked, if you check, you will probably realise that they

will claim to have used so much money to construct this bridge that looks like it might crumble any day, sometimes it is so disgusting walking on this bridge. “they do not send their people to check on it and the beggar that sits on the stairs sometimes makes her daughter defecate down the stairs, not even inside the bush but you will see the child clearly defecating by the stairs where if someone is not watchful when trying to climb the bridge, he might match it.

“If she knows that she can get severely punished for it, i am sure that the beggar will not allow her daughter do it but she does not care because it seems like no one else cares.”

So the truth is that when residents curse and abuse pedestrians for not taking the bridges, this can be seen as a reason for the failure of most people preferring to run across the road even though this excuses or reasons may honestly not be enough for residents to risk their lives since the bridges are not places in which they are expected to sit and relax but dash across to their more important business.

Authorities of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) could not be reached for comments on the state of the bridges as at when contacted and an SMS to them was not replied as well.

‘1,000 environmental offenders prosecuted ’ Stories from Gbenga Omokhunu

•Senator Mohammed

T

HE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has revealed that a total of 1,186 street traders and hawkers have been arrested.

No fewer than 1,105 of them, Mohammed said, were prosecuted and convicted, 177 of them sentenced to various jail terms.

He said 172 beggars and desti-

tute persons alongside 48 minors were arrested by the FCT Administration between September and October.

FCT Administration, the minister said, is committed to keeping the Abuja environment clean and healthy as it evacuates 57,609.2 tons of solid waste to designated disposal sites between the months of September and October 2014.

Mohammed disclosed this in Abuja on an official visit.

His words: “A total of 57,609.2 tons of solid waste was collected and disposed at the designated disposal sites between the months of September and October 2014”.

He disclosed that the FCT Administration has established temporal dumpsite at Bwari to ease pressure on existing but, inaccessible dumpsites at Gossa and Ajata.

According to a statement issued by the Asstant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minis-

‘A total of 57,609.2 tons of solid waste was collected and disposed at the designated disposal sites between the months of September and October 2014’ ter, Muhammad Sule: “The implementation of the policy on selfserving of housing estates by respective owners/Resident Associations has commenced after three successful stakeholders meetings.”

The Minister said that his Administration is more than ever determined to continuously keep the Abuja sanitary condition on the high pedestal, as that would proactively contribute to well be-

•Children, with their food at the National Emergency Management Agency Internally Displaced Persons transit camp at Girei, Yola in Adamawa State

ing of the residents of the Federal Capital Territory.

Mohammed insisted that the

sound health and the well being of the residents of the Territory couldn’t be compromised because it is of paramount importance to his Administration and the way of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

He disclosed that the FCT Administration has put on ground an effective machinery to report any environmental nuisance, which is usually cleared within 72 hours of such reports.

The Minister noted that vegetation control along Bill Clinton Drive, Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airoport, Exit/Entrance Highways and Ring Road 2(RR2) were recently addressed.

‘FCT health system based on quality’

T

HE Secretary, Health and Human Service Secretariat (HHSS) has reaffirmed the commitment of the FCT Administration to continue providing qualitative health care services that is based on quality, equality and sustainability.

Dr. Onakomaiya disclosed this when he received the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development, Canadian High Commission (DFATD) who paid him a visit in his office.

He said that FCT health sector witnessed a radical change even with ever decreasing budgetary allocation with the provision of additional infrastructure in all it’s hospitals, additional hospital equipment as well as expansion of services.

According to a statement issued

by Head, Public Relations Unit of HHSS, Badaru Yakasai, the Secretary added that the FCT health has also improved health indices with decrease in maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate, increase in immunization coverage and family planning and also massive reduction in polio outbreak.

He further added that the FCT Administration has already awarded the building and equipping of three 60 bedded cottage hospitals in Gwagwalad, Karshi and shere with the aim of decongesting the city hospitals, and are

all at various level of completion.

In her speech, the leader of the delegation Emily Alexander said the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development of the Canadian High Commission through the UNH4+ (United Nations Health 4) project has supported the FCT implementing activities through WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNAIDS and World Bank that are delivering maternal and child health program as one.

She said the team came to conduct monitoring visit to facilities they support in the FCT and also monitor the activities of the maternal newborn and child health week which is presently on going in the territory.

Dr. Andrew Mbere from World Health Organization said the World Health Organization indicated areas UNH4+ support FCT and other states which includes the review of policies that have bearing on health, development of training materials, distribution of commodities, public awareness of key household practices, capacity building and support of the maternal newborn and child health week.

He added that the UNH4+ project is founded by the Canadian Government and is a catalytic fund to support stats with strategic planning and also look at the areas of human development challenges. In addition help with health financing and analysis.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

35

ABUJA REVIEW

•From left: Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; FCT Minister Senator Bala Mohammed and Minister of Steel Development Mohammed Sada during the Federal Executive Council Meeting at the State House Abuja.

•From left: Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, John Kennedy; National President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; State House Chaplain Venerable Obioma Onwuzurumba and Vice President Namadi Sambo at the two-day meeting with Special Advisers on Religious Affairs from the 36 states of the Federation at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

•Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (in helmet); Emir of Suleja, Awwal Ibrahim (right); Commissioner of Agriculture, Mohammed Yahaya Kuta and others during the flag•From left: Minister of State, FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide; Supervising Minister of Informa- off of the construction and rehabilitation of 198km rural roads at Izom, Niger State tion, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke at a meeting in Abuja.

•Fro left: Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda; Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Nuhu Bajoga and Vice President Namadi Sambo during the Presidential Task force meeting on Polio Eradication at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

•Minister for State for Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide (left); PDP governorship aspirant in Niger State, Mr. Umaru Nasko; and Secretary, North Central Zonal PDP, Alhaji Johnson Kombote during the aspirant collection of clearance certificate at the PDP Secretariat in Abuja PHOTOS: AKIN OLADOKUN

•Students of Government Secondary School (GSS) Garki Abuja displaying their backpacks •Minster of Information, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed (left); Minister of Power. Prof Chinedu during the Literacy Campaign Initiative and distribution of school materials to the students Nebo and Minister of State, Power, Hon Mohammed Wakil at the Ministerial Platform in

by Julius Berger in Abuja Abuja PHOTOS: ABAYOMI FAYESE

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

36

ABUJA REVIEW

T

HE arena and settings to host the Abuja Carnival 2014 Command Performance and dinner at the State House, Abuja, last Wednesday, were promising to those who saw the elaborate preparations before the programme kicked off.

The carnival, which involves the 36 states, the FCT and foreign countries, is packaged by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, headed by Edem Duke, while the FCT is to provide all necessary facilities and welfare for the state contingents.

At the dinner, 74 round tables, with ten chairs surrounding each table, were well decorated for the occasion billed to hold for four hours from 6.30 pm to 10.30pm.

Apart from the tables decorated with new green super print wrappers and assorted drinks and water on them, the white curtains on the wall surrounding the hall was intermittently decorated with the same green super print wrappers and orangecoloured version of the wrapper from the ceiling to the floor.

Besides the drinks on the table, there were several drinks’ service points by the walls surrounding the hall. There were also eight service points for assorted local and continental dishes.

Signs that the elaborate occasion may not be well attended started showing when the hall was barely half-filled by 7.30p.m.

According to the programme for the occasion, guests were expected to be seated by 6.30p.m., special guests to arrive by 7.00p.m, while the National Anthem was supposed to be rendered when the President arrives by 8.00 p.m.

Probably because of the poor turnout at the occasion or the hectic week for President Goodluck Jonathan who returned from London last week Sunday after attending Honorary International Investors Council (HIIC) meeting, went to Chad on Monday, was in Kebbi State on Tuesday, and went for screening at the PDP secretariat on Wednesday afternoon, the President’s podium and security details were withdrawn from the arena few minutes to 7p.m.

Those who noticed the withdrawal of the podium and security details still kept hope alive that the event will be attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

But the hope was dashed when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, was ushered into the scanty hall as the President’s representative by 7.40p.m.

To make the hall a bit presentable, guests who were scattered round the 74 tables, planned to seat 740 guests, were made to move to unoccupied seats between them and the specialguests’ high-table.

After the scattered guests have been moved forward to sit together, the unoccupied tables in the hall were 35 in number, which would have sat 350 guests.

Analysing of the guests seated in the hall also showed that almost half

A sour carnival dinner of them are foreigners.

Interestingly, out of the over 30 ministers in the present cabinet, only three ministers were present at the event including Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, and Supervising Minister of Health, Khaliru Alhassan.

The Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed and the Minister of State, Akinjide Olajumoke, who are the host for the carnival and whose pictures were in the event programme, also did not attend the function.

The Director-General of an agency under the ministry, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Sally Nbanefo, who came in around 8.40p.m after the event started for about one hour, stayed only for about ten minutes at the occasion.

She completely stayed away from the high-table as she sat among the guests in the middle of the hall before leaving.

The few dignitaries and guests at the occasion, no doubt, had a splendid time as there was food and drinks in abundance. Some of them helped themselves to double ration of the food. Some artistes and cultural dancers from Nigeria and outside the country also performed at the occasion.

When the stewards noticed movement of some of the guests to the unoccupied tables, including ladies wearing dresses that expose their cleavage, breasts and barely cover

From the Villa

By Augustine Ehikioya their backside, to take away the can drinks in their bags, the stewards started removing all the drinks on the unoccupied tables.

But there was more than enough to eat and drink in the hall.

The poor turnout at the event could be partly attributed to the seemingly disarray in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which has been weighed down by fraudulent allegations and counter-allegations.

Unending clashes of the titans There seems to be no end in sight for the frequent clashes between the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan.

In the past, such clashes were underground and most times discarded as rumor and figment of the imagi-

nation of bad-wishers.

To confuse Nigerians then, the two leaders were often seen together after such report of rift between them with the former President paying visit to Aso Rock or attending one official function or the other at the seat of power..

Such was the situation until Obasanjo released a letter on the 2nd of December last year raising weighty allegations against Jonathan.

Among the allegations was that Jonathan was training snipers and keeping over 1000 Nigerians on watch list towards the 2015 elections.

Jonathan, through a statement issued on 22 of December last year by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, replied Obasanjo accusing his administration of carrying out many irregularities

during his tenure.

Jonathan then accused Obasanjo of granting questionable signature bonuses waivers, and lack of carrot and stick approach in the invasion of Odi. Jonathan then also declared that Obasanjo’s letter was a threat to National security as he ordered the probe of Obasanjo’s allegations.

Almost a year after that clash, the result of the probe has not been made public as many Nigerians believed that the two leaders have finally reconciled. They have even been seen together several times since then.

But surprising the hostilities between them came to the fore again with the former President raising fresh allegations against Jonathan twice in the past ten days.

Obasanjo on Friday 21st November, 2014 during an encounter with book writers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, scored Jonathan’s administration low when asked of his view on Jonathan’s performance.

Jonathan replied through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, claiming that Obasanjo’s comments were untrue, misleading and that his achievement is better than any administration since 1960.

Obasanjo fired back on Wednesday 26th of November Obasanjo, insisting that the economy “is in the doldrums, if not in reverse” The earlier these issues are addressed and laid to rest the better for Nigerians as they are not only heating up the polity but increasing the apprehension of the citizens towards the 2015 elections.

Man remanded for defiling minor

A

KUJE Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has remanded a 24-year-old Mason, Mukailu Ajibe, for impregnating a 15-year-old student.

Ajibe who resides at Anguwan Gade in Kuje is facing two-count charges for abduction and adultery.The presiding judge, Mr Azubike Okeagwu, remanded Ajibe after he pleaded guilty to the offence and adjourned hearing till Dec.12 for sentence.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Niyiom Ishaya, told the court that the report was lodged at the Kuje Police Station on Oct. 16, by one Mr. Ismaila Jezhi, who resides at Local Education Authority (L.E.A) in Kuje.

From Gbenga Omokhunu

Ishaya said that on the same date the complaint was filed, the complainant reported that his daughter was missing for a week did not know her whereabouts.

When the complainants’ daughter returned home she said she was with Ajibe at Anguwan Gade Area.

After several questioning it was discovered that she was pregnant and she said that Ajibe was responsible for her pregnancy.

The prosecutor said that during police interrogation, Mukail admitted that he was responsible for the pregnancy.

Ishaya also said the offence contravenes the provision of sections 272 and 387 of the penal code.

•From left: Gwagwalada Area Superintendent, Pastor Fadipe; Sokoto Area, Pastor Onyeike; Osogbo Area Superintendent, Pastor Usman; Kano Area Superintendent, Pastor Olotu and Representative of National President of The Apostolic Church and LAWNA Administrative Secretary, Pastor Isaac Fakunle during the Abuja Area Convention of The Apostolic Church

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

37

LAW & SOCIETY Text of a paper presented by Chief Joseph-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) at a Lawyers in the Media (LIM) forum of the Nigerian Bar Associaition (NBA) event.

Media, law and good governance

T

HIS topic could not have been any more apt than it is now, given the recent na tional and global happenings as it provides an opportunity for all of us, lawyers, journalists, public officials and other professionals, to dispassionately assess the pivotal role played by the media not only today, but in the development of Nigeria from the Colonial days to the First, Second and Third Republic, naturally with the sporadic Military interventions in-between (one of which lasted for 13 unbroken years), and finally, the advent of our current nascent (one must never fail to use that word) democracy.

Throughout these aforementioned periods, our ‘gentlemen of the media’ were there.

Some of them were detained for donkey years without trial and it looked as though they would never again see the light of day; others disappeared mysteriously and were never heard of again. Still some others were battered and bruised but despite these obstacles, the media has always performed its primary duty; informing Nigerians.

I would, therefore, be stating the obvious if I stressed the importance of the Media to the world at large. Without information dissemination through the media, whether through radio, television, social or print, the entire society would no doubt be in the dark and members of such a society would be deformed for not being informed. Our world’s age is so mass media-oriented that we learn almost everything we know today through some media of mass communication -radio, television, newspapers, social media, magazines, community media, traditional media, books, films and so on and so forth, among a host of other media of communication1.

Imagine a country without information; a country where you are pathetically oblivious of all that happens around you and where you travel to the next state not knowing that people have been told to stay off the road in that other state because there has been massive flooding for the past 3 days. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that one would not survive for very long in an environment without information.The media is certainly a lot more developed than it was 100 years ago. We now have a high number of outlets; the internet has of late, become a very strong media tool and news spreads much faster.

In the past, you had to wait for the papers, watch the news on television or tune in to a radio station. Now, a status message on a person’s Blackberry Messenger Page, shared in ignorance, spreads faster than wild fire and may send half the nation into a panic induced frenzy within minutes.

In assessing the development and impact of our media in the last century, I have taken a look at its history as well as the long journey towards press freedom in Nigeria (By press freedom, I refer not only to the press

but to all those who have retained their right to publicly express their opinion). Some of the pertinent questions to ask are these; After 100 years, can we say the Nigerian media is better off? Can we say that this is what we fought for? Are we satisfied with what we have? If not, how can we improve it? If we can find answers to these questions, then we will be able to say that we have successfully assessed the journey of the Nigerian media after 100 years.We would naturally refer every now and then, to Law, which is an instrument of social engineering, and which has authorised the operation of the media in Nigeria. Freedom of expression and the press which has been made one of the Fundamental Human Rights in our Constitution2 is a clear manifestation in this regard. The recently passed Freedom of Information Act 2011 is another giant step in this direction.

It would not be out of place to state that the law hadin the past, been found to serve as a two edged sword for and against the media in the struggle to influence governance positively in Nigeria. The “law”, during the colonial era and more predominantly during the military era was used to checkmate, whittle down, or cripple the smooth running of the media at one point or the other. This, no doubt accounts for the late emergence of privately owned Radio and Television outfits in Nigeria. As we celebrate the Nigerian media at 100 therefore, we would do well to remember some of these incidents which are deeply steeped in our history.

Once again, I must express my profound gratitude to the Lawyers in Media Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association for affording me this very rare opportunity to assess one of the strongest and most important components of the Nigerian State. It is my belief that our media will only improve after this.

Conceptual definitions (a)Mass Media: The Mass media is a term that will be used often in this paper. It may be used interchangeably (albeit loosely) with the “Media” and the “Press” but it is far larger than both as it comprises all means of communication to wit; the Press, Entertainment (Magazines ,Comics, Television and Cinema) and other means of communication which reach large heterogeneous audiences and in which there is an impersonal medium between the sender and receiver3.It basically describes a situation in which information is sent to a large audience at roughly the same time.

Comics and magazines are sold en masse and News is beamed live and to billions of people globally for example.It is also possible for one to influence people’s attitude and thinking through the mass media. An anti-semitic blog for instance would generally whip up sentiments against Jews on a large scale due to the sheer number of innocent people who

•Gadzama read what is posted daily. (b) Journalist The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines a journalist as a person whose job is to collect and write news stories for newspapers, magazines, radio or television4. In carrying out his job, he disseminates information on a grand scale. (c) The Press The name encompasses the editors, the news reporters, paparazzi (who are also the photographers), the media hounds and the members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm.

They aptly epitomize the old saying that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. Saddled with the task of reporting the daily news, interview people, take pictures, make video recordings and write reports.

They are also referred to as the Fourth Estate of the Realm.

1. Brief history of the media in Nigeria Under this discussion, we shall look at the history of Nigerian media under the colonial era which is the period marked by the British colonialism and the post-independence era comprising both the military and the democratic governments in Nigeria. In 1859, the first newspaper in Nigeria, “IWE IROHIN” was established published by Reverend Henry Townsend who reportedly stated “my object is to get the people to read; and

get them to inculcate the habit of reading”55The Media and the Democratic Process in Nigeria (1)

By Professor Sam Oyovbaire culled from The Guardian Online - http:// www.ngrguardiannews.com , .It was written in the Yoruba language of the South Western part of the country.

IweIrohin was published by missionaries who had at least two objectives namely; to influence the traditional government they found in Egbaland whose mode of operation did not conform to their idea of “good” governance; and to further educate their Nigerian converts who had been taught to read and write as a means of promoting the assimilation of religious information6.

Other newspapers followed IweIrohin not only in Yoruba, but also in English Language; and their locations were mainly in Abeokuta and Ibadan areas.

The newspapers of the period, however were short lived as most of them lasted between six months and two years only.

The important point however, is that between the 1850s and the late 1920s, the Christian press acquired some status of not only discharging the responsibilities of proselytising religion but also questioning the emergent colonialism and its multiple oppressive practices in Nigeria.

•To be continued nextweek

Lawyer fetes friends at son’s call-to-Bar

L

AGOS-based lawyer, Chief Richard Oma Ahonaruogho and his family treated close friends and associates to a sumptuous dinner last Tuesday in Abuja in celebration of the Call-to-Bar of their first child and son, Etahre.

Etahre was one of the 3433 Law graduates, called to the Nigerian Bar last week on passing the August 2014 Bar final examinations of the Nigerian Law School (NLS).

An elated Chief Ahonaruogho, hardly sat for a moment throughout the duration of the event held in a classy restaurant and bar, tucked in the heart of Utako. He moved from one end of the hall to the other, welcoming quests on arrival, and ensuring that those already seated were promptly and well attended to.

Old tunes played on the background, while guests chatted as they ate and drank. It was not a night of speech making, but of wining, dining and much of photography.

Almost everyone present, including past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu (SAN) had one or two photo opportunities with Chief Ahonaruogho, his wife and the new lawyer –

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Etahre, who, like his father, was clad in the traditional Bar dress - black suit, white shirt and a black tie.

Etahre said he was happy and thanked his parents for organising the event. He promised to positively impact the society with his Law knowledge. His father was filled with joy over his son’s achievement. He prayed the child surpass his achievements.

Chief Ahonaruogho said: “It is every parent’s joy to see a child pass in vital examinations like the Bar final exams. For my wife, Mojisola and I, who were in the Law School together between 1986 and 1987, seeing our son graduate and pass the Bar exams, is a thing of joy.

“We give God all the glory. We thank families and friends that have been very supportive. We pray that he will excel and exceed all that we, his mother and I have been able to achieve. He is our first son and first child.

On controversies created by the mass failure recorded in the last Bar final exams, he said DG having explained what happened,

•From left: Chief Ahonaruogho, Etahre and his mother Mojisola at the Call to Bar event.

those who failed should work hard and ensure they pass at the next attempt.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of in failing professional exams. It doesn’t mean that

you are not brilliant. It is just that you were not good enough this time. With hard work, you will make it next time,” Chief Ahonaruogho said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

38

LAW & SOCIETY

O

Firm marks 10th anniversary

NE of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms, AELEX Law firm, last week at the Continental Hotel, in Lagos marked its 10th anniversary with an exclusive dinner at the prestigious Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was attended by the who-is-who in the legal profession, the firm’s clients, partners, colleagues and friends.

It was organised to commemorate the formation of the partnership borne out of a merger of four leading law firms with diversified practice areas in July 2004.

The firm organises an annual lecture series to discuss very topical issues relating to law, economic development and the state of the nation. This year, it held two events to mark the occasion - a seminar and an anniversary dinner.

The seminar, held in partnership with the International Project Finance Association (IPFA) with the focus on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), touched on Urban Infrastructure – Public Private Partnership from Asia for Nigeria and Africa. Participants at the event addressed issues arising from PPPs and direct means of overcoming the snags faced in the provision of urban infrastructural services via the PPP model.

As with all past lectures of the firm, the seminar was aimed at providing attendees with invaluable insights from legal, financial and regulatory experts with particular focus on structuring PPP deals in Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking at the dinner on the success of the partnership, üLEX Partner, ‘Funke Adekoya, SAN, said the success of such a large partnership was not without challenges, but was quick to celebrate the firm’s successes against the odds.

“Having been consistent as a team for 10 years, with a track record for good legal service and being recognised as one of Nigeria’s leading firms, we truly believe that we have a lot to be thankful for and much more to

By John Austin Unachukwu

celebrate. Today, we celebrate hard work and consistency,” she said.

According to Adedapo Tunde-Olowu, another Partner of the firm, the significant difference between the firm’s starting point and its current place in the legal industry is worth commemorating.

“It has not been a walk in the park at all.

Looking back at where we were at the beginning and our place now in the industry shows the tremendous success the firm has recorded. Within 10 years, the firm has won several awards and has twice been acclaimed as the best law firm in Nigeria by international ratings and rankings,” he said gladly.

The firm in the last nine years has also played host to some of the world’s greatest intellectuals and change makers in a bid to address burning issues and challenges to Nigeria’s development. The first of the annual series commenced in 2005, with the theme “The Regulator in a Deregulated Economy”- (2005). Followed by, “Competition Policy as an Engine for Economic Growth”-(2006). “Corporate Governance: Who profits?” - (2007); “Freedom of information: Balancing the Public’s right to know against the individual’s right to privacy”(2008); “How Ghana Kept the Lights On” (2009); “Taxation without Representation” (2010); Corruption, the Thief in Broad Daylight”-(2011); and “This House Must Not Fall: Constitutional Reform and the People’s Will” -(2012).

In 2013, Associate Director and Scholar in Residence of the Religious Freedom Project, Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Professor Timothy Samuel Shah was in Nigeria to tackle Politics, Religion and Economic Development, at the firm’s ninth lecture in Lagos.

These events have been a significant part of the üLEX brand and an integral component of the firm’s social responsibility.

•From left: Fubara Anga, Theophillus Emuwa, Funke Adekoya; Dapo Tunde-Olowu; Soji Awogbade, and Sina Sipasi, all partners, Aelex, cutting the 10th anniversary cake.

•From left: Teju Babyface, former Chairman NBA Section on Business Law (SBL), George Etomi and his wife Efe.

NBA honours Akinjide (SAN) ,Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), Babalakin others

T

HE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ibadan branch will today confer Lifetime Achievement Award on Chief R.O. A Akinjide, (SAN), Aare AfeBabalola (SAN) Chief FolakeSolanke SAN, OFR; Hon. Justice Bola Babalakin, (JSC) (Rtd.); Justice P. O. Aderemi, (JSC) (Rtd.); Chief Bandele Aiku, (SAN) Justice D. E. A. Oguntoye (Rtd.); Chief Akin Delano (SAN), Chief S. P. A. Ajibade Chief M.L. Lagunju, Chief Emmanuel Abiodun, Justice Omotayo Onalaja, JCA (Rtd); Chief (Mrs) P.C. Ajayi-Obe, (SAN) and Justice Olayinka Ayoola (Rtd) e.t.c. as part of the event marking its 60 th year anniversary.

The venue is the High Court of Justice Complex, Ring Road Ibadan and time is 1.30pm This will be followed by the turning of the sword of the legend’s library The programmes marking the law week will begin this morning with the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Augustin Alegeh (SAN) as the chief host while Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State will be the Special Guest of honour Venue: Aare Afe Babalola Iyaganku, Iyaganku, Ibadan Time: 9 a.m The programme continues tomorrow Wednesday, with a Seminar: ‘From Ibadan to the uttermost parts…. developing expertise In emerging sectors’ Venue: Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Iyaganku Ibadan.

Time: 9a.m Participants include: Pioneer chairman of the NBA Section on Business Law (SBL) Mr George Etomi, Current chairman of SBL Mr. Asue Ighodalo, AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice Ogun State, Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, Chairman, Bi- Courtney Group and CEO Rise respectively, Dr Wale Babalaki and Toyosi Akerele.

Event two will witness the great debate: “Compulsory pupillage for new

wigs: how desirable?”

Venue: Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

Time: I p.m.

Participants include the former President of the NBA, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN (Chairman) Ibadan and Ilorin Branches (For) Osogbo and Lagos Branches (Against) Thursday, December 4, will witness: Health Walk & Prison Visitation/ Free Health Assessment Assembly point for health walk: House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan Assemble Time: 8.30 a.m.

Assemble at House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan Start Walk from House of Chiefs through to UCH 2nd gate to Total Garden and turn left and walk to Agodi Junction, make U-Turn back towards Total Garden walk back to NMA Secretariat near Total Garden for the free health check Dress Code: Anniversary T-Shirt and cap (Available for sale at N2,000.00 Commencement of Free health check at Oyo State Secretariat of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Opposite Newcastle Inn, Total Garden, Ibadan: Immediately after the Health Walk.

Prison visitation by Exco with the Chief Judge of Oyo State for the commemoration of the toilets constructed for the Agodi Prisons and exercise of Prerogative of Mercy by the Chief Judge.

There will be a football match and other games on Thursday evening Venue: Olubadan Stadium, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

Time: 4 p.m.

Chairperson: H.E. Chief (Mrs) Florence Ajimobi, First Lady of Oyo State There will be a Mock Arbitration ‘The Failed Edifice’ on Friday Venue: Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan Time: 9.00 a.m.

Chief Folake Solanke, SAN (Chairman)

•Mike Igbokwe SAN (left) and Pat Utomi.

•From left: Chairman NBA Lagos, Alex Muoka, Senator Udo Udoma and Chidi Ilogu (SAN).

•From left: Uchenna Adebayo, Temitayo Adegoke and Mrs. Biola Baruwa.

39

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

LEGAL OPINION

Adoke loses bid to try Trade Fair staff T HE Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and Minis ter of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), has lost his bid to stop the trial of five former employees of the Lagos Trade Fair Complex accused of stealing N247, 746, 097.31.

Justice Kudirat Jose of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, last week, dismissed an application by the AGF, seeking to stop the court in the trial of the five former employees of the Lagos Trade Fair.

The defendants in the matter are Bassey Eyamba; Francis Dajilak; Lazarus Okocha; Barnabas Kolo and Eunice Okafor.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the suspects before the court for stealing over N247 million belonging Professor Chika Nick Eze. They were in late 2013 arraigned by the EFCC over charges bordering on conspiracy and stealing.

They were said to have committed the offences on various dates between 2009 and 2012 The EFCC had alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained various sums of money from tenants by renting and selling some plots of land owned by the Trade Fair complex.

The victim of the fraud, Professor Chika Nick Eze, who petitioned the EFCC, had narrated to the court how the alleged crime was perpetuated by the defen-

By Adebisi Onanuga

dants.

Prof. Eze insisted that the defendants kept collecting rents even after the complex has been given to his company, Pulic Nigeria Limited, a real estate management and development company, to manage.

The offences, the EFCC said, contravened Sections 390 (6) and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.

However, the AGF, through its counsel, Mr D.E. Kaswe, had at the last hearing of the matter, filed a nolle proseque (notice of discontinuance) before the court.

Kaswe, a Senior Counsel, said he had instructions to withdraw the matter from the court.

Citing Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kaswe had told Justice Kudirat Jose of Lagos High Court, Ikeja, that his chambers had filed a notice of discontinuance before the court.

According to him, “in the exercise of his powers the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation has entered a nolle proseque in this matter. I, therefore, urge Your Lordship to deem the notice as proper and the court should discontinue the suit.”

Kaswe said the AGF had, therefore, exercised his power in accordance with Section 174 of the Constitution and urged the court to discontinue the case.

Opposing the application, the EFCC counsel, Mr Anslem Ozioko, argued that the AGF had no power to discontinue a case filed under state laws.

In her ruling, Justice Jose upheld EFCC’s argument.

The judge noted that the powers of the AGF and the AG of a state were distinctly spelt out in the Constitution.

She said: “Section 211 (a) of the 1999 Constitution is clear with respect to this matter. It is only the Lagos AG and not the AGF that can enter a nolle proseque with respect to this suit. The EFCC has the fiat of Lagos State Attorney General to prosecute this matter and that fiat has not been withdrawn.”

Justice Jose adjourned the matter till February 16, next year for trial.

Counsel to the petitioner, Victor Opara described the ruling as “a landmark decision, intellectually sound and judicially unassailable. The ruling has shown that the AGF and AG of states has limited scope of operation and constitutionally stipulated area of operation regarding the exercise of power of discontinuous of criminal proceedings.”

•Former National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) president Mr. Ini Ememobong flanked by his mother, Mrs. Rosemary Ememobong (left) and wife, Chinonyerem at his call to Bar in Abuja.

Class 89 plans e-platform for Law School

L

AWYERS, who graduated from the Nigerian Law School in 1989, otherwise known as (Class 89), have unveiled plans to build and maintain an online platform for interactions among old and current students of the school.

Its Chairman, Emeka Robert, said the platform will serve as a meeting point for both old and current students for the purposes of social and formal interactions, including mentoring of students by experienced legal practitioners with expertise in different areas of legal practice.

He added that the platform will also include a membership portal, where the alumni of the school (over 100,000 since its inception in 1963) could register as members.

Robert, who spoke in Abuja at the Class 89’s 25th anniversary lecture titled: “The future of legal

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

practice in the 21st Century: Practice models in a globalised regime”, said the project was to aid the school in its quest to improve the quality of lawyers it produces.

He said the project, if accepted by the school authorities, will take the Bar practical training to another level and put an end to the era of lawyers passing out with much ignorance and lack of confidence.

The e-mentoring platform would enable legal experts and students to interact as they upload contents in video, audio and text format for the students to remotely access/download at their convenience.

Roberts explained that alumni membership platform also comes with an e-donation module through which old students could make donations directly to the school to support its numerous

programmes.

Delivering the anniversary lecture, former Chairman, Section on Business Law (SBL) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), George Etomi (SAN), noted that the profession was in crisis in view of the low level of adherence to ethical regulations and poor quality training.

He said modern reality requires that Nigerian lawyers must learn to play internationally and help ensure that the country was transaction friendly. He urged regulatory agencies to ensure functional regulations capable of regulating every player in the nation’s business environment.

“Globalisation is real. But the challenge is how to ensure a winwin situation for everyone. We must ensure that those, who are willing to practice here, must be subjected to local rules of practice,” he said.

LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

with gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com For comments: 08033054939 (sms only)

Police invasion of National Assembly

I

N Garba v F.C.S.C (1988) 1 N.W.L.R. (Pt.) 449, SCN, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held inter alia: “Under our constitution we have opted for separation of powers among the three arms of government – The Executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary. It is contrary to the letters and spirit of the Constitution that any of the three arms should interfere with the other in the performance of its functions. If that is allowed to happen, it will lead to chaos, lawlessness and destruction of the Constitution” (emphasis mine). In my view, such interference is worst, when those who bear arms to protect the constitution, use it, to shoot at it.

The invasion and barricade of the National Assembly by the Police, an arm of the executive, about a fortnight ago, is one such interference, which should be deprecated by all. The head of the police who triggerred the flagrant resort to self-help by some legislators, the IGP Alhaji Suleiman Abba, tried to justify the barricade, on the lame excuse that the police wanted to prevent the protesting members of the All Progressive Congress (APC), from gaining access to the National Assembly, as they had allegedly threatened.

But he has not explained why some of the legislators from the ruling party had free passage, when their colleagues from the opposition party, were locked out.

The IGP Abba also tried to justify his action, on the ground that Honourable Aminu Tambuwall, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has lost his mandate, on the ground that the courts had held that there was no division in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to justify his decampment to the APC, under section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. Appearing before the House committee on Police Affairs, the IGP who recognised that the dispute is subjudice, however refused to recognise Tambuwall as Speaker, despite an order of a Federal High Court, that status quo ante, should be maintained. Just like his unilateral withdrawal of Tambuwall’s security, these conducts amount to self-help. As many have correctly argued, President Goodluck Jonathan bears responsibility for the actions of the police, including the IGP. Unfortunately, in reaction to the unlawful barricade of the gates of the National Assembly, which appeared to have been targeted primarily at preventing the Honourable Speaker, Aminu Tambuwall, from gaining access to the House, some notable opposition lawmakers, clambered over the gates of the national assembly, to forcefully gain access to the chambers. Without gainsaying, such conduct is disgraceful, and also a resort to self-help. As things stand, two principal arms of the democratic tripod, the legislature and the executive, seems to have resolved that self-help, is the surest way to gain an upper hand, in their desperate contest for power.

This is a recipe for constitutional breakdown.

As held by the Supreme Court, per Justice Obaseki (rtd), in Governor of Lagos state v Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR Pt. 312, at p. 636: “In the area where rule of law operates, the rule of self-help by force is abandoned. Nigeria being one of the countries in the world, even in the third world, which proclaims loudly to follow the rule of law, there is no room for the rule of self-help by force to operate”. Again in Agbai v Okagbue (1991) 7 NMLR Pt 204 at p. 417, Nwokedi JSC (rtd) held: “Self-help by itself, in circumstances such as this, is a prmitive remedy capable of causing a breach of the peace. If the respondent had resisted the invasion of the defendants or himself applied self-help … there must probably have been a breach of the peace, the magnitude of which no one may conjecture”.

For the avoidance of doubt, the combatants and those sympathetic to their unlawful conducts, should examine the adroit comments of learned Justice Godwin Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, in a paper titled, “The Relevance of the Judiciary in the Polity in Historical Perspective”, quoted by Ese Malami, learned author, in his book “The Constitutional Law” at page 27; that: “A constitution is incontestably a legal document and it is the fons et erigo of all rights within the polity… By its very nature and composition, this country will prefer a written constitution which will spell out the suitable political, economic and legal arrangment for its peole. Such a document will constitute the fons et origo of the exercise of powers, the enjoyments of rights, discharge of obligations … The powers of government in a democratic state governed under a written constitution are entirely expressed in the constitution. Similarly expressed are their rights and duties and the limitations of the organs of government…. The purpose is to subject the government to the laws under the constitution.

Constituional government is government by law”.

Unfortunately IGP Suleiman Abba, precides over a police, whose reputation as an unbiased national institution, is in tatters, as far as a significant portion of the Nigerian public, is concerned. Regrettably also, Speaker Aminu Tambuwall presides over a House of Representatives, whose reputation as diligent law makers, is assailed by unpatriotic compromises and corruption, in the eyes of a significant portion of the public. In essence, the abuse and unbridled context for influence and power, between the legislature and the executive, is somewhat akin to a context between brigands, as far as a critical segment of the Nigeria public, is concerned.

The recent tirade by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which this writer substantially agree with, impugning the intergrity of the national leadership, particulalry the national assembly with respect to the unconstituional constituency project, is a further confirmation of the abuse of power by public officials, across the board. Such acts of brigandry in the exercise of public power, becomes even more dangerous, when there is resort to self-help, by critical state actors.

40

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

LAW REPORT

An impeachment without fair hearing is invalid in law IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA HOLDEN AT ABUJA ON FRIDAY THE 21ST DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2014 BEFORE THEIR LORDSHIPS WALTER SAMUEL NKANU ONNOGHEN, J.S.C. SULEIMAN GALADIMA, J.S.C. NWALI SYLVESTER NGWUTA, J.S.C. KUMAI BAYANG AKA’AHS, J.S.C. KUDIRAT M.O. KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C. JOHN INYANG OKORO, J.S.C. SC.416/2013 (2014) LPELR-24020(SC) BETWEEN ALHAJI SANI ABUBAKAR DANLADI …..………..…………….………..….… APPELLANT AND BARR. NASIRU AUDU DANGIRI & ORS ….……….…….………….... RESPONDENTS LEAD JUDGMENT DELIVERED BY NWALI SYLVESTER NGWUTA, J.S.C.

T

HIS appeal was against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Yola Division on appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Taraba State which struck out Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi (Appellant)’s Originating Summons seeking to set aside his impeachment by the Taraba State House of Assembly. The Appellant was serving his second term as Deputy Governor of Taraba State. On the 4th of September, 2012 members of the Taraba State House of Assembly laid before the Speaker of the said House, a notice of complaint of gross misconduct against the Appellant. On the said 4th September, the complaint was served on the Appellant for his reaction. The Appellant duly prepared and forwarded his reply to the charges laid against him. On 18th September, 2012 the House passed a Motion, pursuant to Section 188(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Re-

public of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against the Appellant. Consequent upon the resolution of the House to investigate the allegations against Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly requested the Acting Chief Judge of the State to constitute a 7-member panel to investigate the allegations pursuant to Section 188(5) of the Constitution.

The Appellant agitated by the happenings filed an Originating Summons and a motion restraining the Panel from investigating the allegations against him. The Appellant alleged that in spite of his motion, the panel went ahead with the investigation, at the conclusion of which it submitted its report to the House. Appellant filed an amended Originating Summons to incorpo-

Solanke, others get corporate governance fellowship

I

N recognition of her proven integrity in the discharge of their duties, the Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria (SCGN) last week conferred premiere female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Folake Solanke a honorary felllowship.

Also honoured by the body of distinguished professionals were first Nigeria chair of Unilever Plc, Dr. Micheal Omolayole and renowned solicitor, Tijani Borodoý.

The event which held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, according to SCGN’s President, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, was an annual dinner, in which the group singles out persons with impeccable integrity in the society, worthy to be role models.

He said the society, which is none for profit, was committed to best practices and the development of corporate governance in the country, as a yardstick for formulation and enforcement of good standards.

Osunkeye said the society pride itself in leadership, accountability, diversity and integrity of character, which are the basis for admission of members as well as the conferment of honours.

While expressing profound gratitude to the group for recognising her, Solanke said she accepted their offer without enquiring the accompanying responsibilities because of the calibre of people iin the group.

While decrying the level of decay and impunity in the society, she appealed to judges

By Precious Igbonwelundu

to endeavour to live up to the word ‘honour’.

She congratulated the organisers for being gender-friendly, just as she noted that of about 40 new inductees to the SCGN, there were more females.

“Nigeria is going through difficult times.

So much impunity in the land. We all have to be very careful with our actions. Despite the difficulties, I believe there is hope for Nigeria.

“At 82, I am not worried about my age. It is not about me but about what I have done with the time God has given me. We must use our time well,” she said.

In his remark, Omolayole decried the spate of corruption in the corporate world, noting that it now appears impossible for business people to be totally straightforward.

He said: “I have seen a lot of the private sector in my over 50 years in that sector. I can tell you that it is not easy being totally straightforward if you are in business.

“But know that you do not have to bribe anyone. It is a policy that I stood for all through my years. It is difficult but any organisation must be willing to incure loss if it means that.

“Most times, I wonder if it is the same Nigeria where all through my years, I did not give anybody a kobo as bribe in order to elicit a favour or contract,” he said.

rate new issues relating to denial of fair hearing in the proceedings of the Panel. At the trial, learned Counsel for the panel called five witnesses and closed his case. Appellant’s learned Counsel called one witness and asked for four days adjournment on health grounds to enable the Appellant call two more witnesses and testify on his behalf. He alleged that the application was denied and the Appellant’s case was closed by the Panel. The Panel submitted its report which was adopted by the House and based on same; the House removed the Appellant from office. The Appellant continued to prosecute his Originating Summons to which the Respondents had raised a preliminary objection challenging the procedure in the commencement of the suit. The learned trial judge sustained the objection and struck out the case. Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi was not satisfied with the judgment. He appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed the appeal. Thoroughly aggrieved by that decision, the Appellant (Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi) further appealed to the Supreme Court on eleven grounds.

Arguing issue one in his brief, learned Senior Counsel for the Appellant contended that the Court below having held that the Court of Appeal was wrong to have struck out the Suit as incompetent, was wrong to have dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit. In issue 2, learned counsel impugned the order made suo motu striking out reliefs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Appellant’s Amended Originating Summons without giving the parties an opportunity to be heard. He maintained that reliefs 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the Amended Originating Summons did not in any way affect either the Taraba State House of Assembly or the Acting Chief Judge of the said State. In issue 3, learned Counsel submitted that neither the Taraba State House of Assembly nor the Acting Chief Judge of Taraba State could be said to be a necessary party to the claims and declarations sought. In issue 4, learned Counsel argued that it was an error for the Court of Appeal to have agreed with the Appellant that the trial Court ought not to have struck out the case but proceeded to dismiss the case. In issue 5, it was argued for the Appellant that the trial Court was wrong to have held that the panel was right to have proceeded with its investigation after it was served the Motion for Interlocutory Injunction on 5/9/2012 and that the Court of Appeal should have voided the proceedings. He relied on Vaswani Trading Company v.

Savalakh & Company (1972) NSCC (Vol. 7) 692 at pages 694-699; Military Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu & Anor (1980) NSCC (Pt.1) 304 at pages 309-310, 313-341, among others.

In determining the appeal, the Court noted that the issues clearly show that issue 4 is very crucial to the determination of this appeal. This issue the Court noted is all about whether the Court of Appeal was right in dismissing the entire suit when relief 3 of the Amended Originating Summons of the Appellant was still a live issue before the Court and not having been struck out along with reliefs 1, 2, 4 and 5 and also for the fact that the same Court rather than strike out the Appellant’s suit the trial court ought to have ordered pleadings. The question calling for resolution in this appeal according to the Court is whether or not the Court of determined the question of denial of fair hearing and if it did, did it arrive at the correct conclusion? The position of the Court

•Edited by LawPavilion LawPavilion Citation: (2014) LPELR24020(SC)

Unpaid benefits: Falana writes firm

T

•From left: Director, SCGN, Dr Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), Chief Osunkeye; Chief Solanke and Borodo at the event.

of Appeal was that the allegation of denial of fair hearing could not be determined based on the incomplete and edited record of proceedings of the panel, Exhibit HAG 25, upon which the Appellant relied. Exhibit “HAG 25” was the incomplete and edited record of the panel prepared by the Respondents which they submitted to the House of Assembly. It is based on this document which was submitted to the House of Assembly the Appellant was removed. The Court held that in absence of the complete record of the Panel, neither the trial Court, the Court of Appeal nor the Supreme Court can determine that the Appellant was not denied fair hearing. See Ediekpo & 2 Ors v.

Osia & 3 Ors (2007) 3 SC (Pt.1) page 1. The Court further held that there is no way the Court of Appeal, composed of human beings, could have determined without the complete record, what transpired in the Court below or in the Panel.

The Court held further that on the undisputed facts the Appellant was denied the opportunity to prepare his defence or present his case before the panel composed of the Respondents.

The Court stated that “It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. The reverse is equally disturbing. Justice rushed is a travesty of justice and a threat to the fabric that binds civilized society together. As if the rushed justice was not bad enough, the panel presented to the Taraba House of Assembly an incomplete and edited report upon which the Appellant was removed on the 4th October, 2012, the day following the submission of the report. At least, the Respondents did not disclaim the incomplete and edited report. From the undisputed facts of this case, one has the inevitable but disturbing impression that the Panel composed of the Respondents was a mere sham and that the removal of the Appellant from office was a done deal as it were. In my view, the Respondents, in their purported investigation of the allegation made against the Appellant, merely played out a script previously prepared and handed over to the panel.”

In conclusion, the Court held that based on the undisputed facts in the affidavits of the Appellant the Court of Appeal ought to have resolved the issue of denial of fair hearing against the Respondents and in favour of the Appellant. That the Court of Appeal ought to have declared the entire proceedings of the panel made up of the Respondent null and void and of no legal or factual effect whatsoever. In consequence, the Court allowed the appeal and vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeal. The Court ordered that the entire proceedings of the Panel that purported, at the instance of the Taraba State House of Assembly, to investigate the allegation of gross misconduct made by the House against the Appellant, the Deputy Governor of Taraba State, up to and including the incomplete and edited report relied on in removing the Appellant by the House, be, and was thereby, declared null and void and of no legal or factual consequence whatsoever. The Court held that at all material times, the Appellant, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi remained and still remains the Deputy Governor of Taraba State and he was to resume his interrupted duties of his office forthwith.

HE law firm of Falana & Falana’s Cham bers has threatened to drag the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Emmanuel Chinda, the chairman of SIAT Mr. Pierre Vandebeeck and the Sole administrator of Risonpalm Limited to the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

The law firm, which recently entered into the lingering crisis as solicitors to the claimants, gave the defendants 21 days ultimatum to settle the defunct Risonpalm sacked workers or be reported to the commission.

It would be recalled that claimants numbering more than 1,000 were disengaged abruptly from the service of the Risonpalm Limited with effect from 1st January 2012 by an internal memo dated 9th December, 2011.

Mr. Oludare Falana who signed on behalf of the solicitors in a letter which was directed to the Rivers State Attorney –General and Commissioner for justice said money meant for the sacked workers was fraudu-

From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

lently converted to personal use.

The letter reads: “We are solicitors to the disengaged workers of Risonpalm Limited and since their abrupt disengagement from service their entitlement which includes gratuity, pension, benefit, NSITF/NPF and contributory pension has not been paid in spite of several demands. ”Our clients as an organized group has approved the management of SIAT Nigeria Limited which took over the affairs of Risonpalm Limited pursuant to an agreement which purportedly took effect from 1st of January 2012. ”With this letter, if the defendants fail to accede to our clients’ demand within 21 days inclusive of the date of receipt of this letter, we shall be left with no other option than to report the management of Risonpalm Limited, Ministry of Agriculture and SIAT to EFCC.”

42

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

43

44

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

45

HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

Prostate cancer is a common ailment among men, but urologists say screening for it is not common. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes on the need for more awareness about the ailment.

How to fight prostate cancer, by experts • ‘More awareness, screening needed’

M

EN are prone to prostate cancer, but many of them do not know much about the ailment. So, the need to make screening for prostate cancer easily accessible to men has become imperative in order to guarantee long life, stable health and better economy.

Many notable Nigerians, including Alhaji Abdul-Azeez ArisekolaAlao, Mr May Nzeribe, Mr Alexander Uruemu Ibru and Mr John Wash Pan died of different types of cancers.

According to the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr Femi Olaleye, prostate cancer forms in the tissues of the prostate.

“Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in Nigerian men.

In most men with prostate cancer, the disease grows very slowly. The majority of men with low-grade, early prostate cancer (which means that cancer cells have been found only in the prostate gland) live a long time after their diagnosis.

Even without treatment, many of these men will not die of the prostate cancer, but rather will live with it until they eventually die of some other, unrelated cause.”

Nigeria does not have reliable statistics on prostate cancer due to the absence of a properly-instituted cancer registry. However, data from major referral centres across the country put prostate cancer as the number one cancer afflicting men.

Citing a study to justify this, Olaleye said in 1997, a team of urologists, comprising Stephen Odunayo Ikuerowo; Olufunmilade Omisanjo, Muftau Bioku, Victor Mordi, Julius Esho, all of the Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, and Michael Ajala of State Pathology Services, General Hospital, Lagos, carried out a study in a community-based prostate cancer awareness programme in 13 local government areas of Lagos.

The study revealed that of the 341 men who underwent biopsy, histopathological examination showed that benign nodular hyperplasia (BPH) was found in 242 (71.0 percent), BPH with inflammation in 40 (11.7 percent), and normal prostate in 16 (4.7 percent) men.

Histopathological diagnosis of prostate cancer was made in 43 (12.6 percent) men. Therefore, the estimated prevalence rate of prostate cancer in the entire cohort of men was 1.046 percent or 1, 046 per 100,000 men.

Olaleye said: “All of them had adenocarcinoma (a type of cancer) of the prostate. This study has demonstrated that there is a high prevalence of prostate cancer in the community in Lagos, much higher than the previously known. The majority of the men already have advanced and high grade disease and have not even sought for medical treatment.”

The causes of prostate cancer are largely unknown. It is clear that the chances of developing prostate cancer increase in men over 40.

Finding prostate cancer at its early stages can save lives. Men between 50 and 70 with no family history of prostate cancer; men between 40 and 70 with a family history of prostate cancer and AfricanAmerican men between 40 and 70 all need to go for screening.

“Recent World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics showed that in Nigeria within a period of four years, there is increase in death rate among men as a result of prostate cancer. WHO noted that 26 men die daily. This indicates that a rapid response is needed for the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of Prostate cancer. Awareness about prostate cancer is poor. Majority of our patients therefore usually present in the hospital with the disease in the advanced stage.”

According to him, prostate cancer, just like cervical cancer, need not kill the sufferer.

Olaleye said: “Lack of awareness, inadequate infrastructure and manpower for cancer prevention and treatment are issues the country has to deal with before it can successfully address prostate cancer for positive results. To improve prostate cancer, survivorship, it is important for every man to know his risk of prostate cancer as well as the signs and symptoms.

We cannot prevent the cancer but we can prevent men from dying from the cancer through early detection and prompt treatment. A good example is the recent announcement that Prof Wole Soyinka is a survivor and this is simply due to the fact that the disease was detected very early through screening, rather than waiting for symptoms to develop.

“Just as late Nelson Mandela was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer at the age of 83. He underwent seven weeks of out-patient radiotherapy and made a full recovery. He lived until the age of 95, and was cancer-free till he died.”

According to a consultant in Urology, at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Dr Habeeb Tijani, is important that men, especially of African origin, know their Prostatespecific antigen (PSA) level once they hit 40 years: “PSA is a protein produced exclusively by prostate cells. There is a simple blood test to measure your PSA level and this may help to detect early prostate cancer.

“The chance of having prostate cancer goes up as your PSA level increases. Small amount can also be found in the blood of healthy men as doctors have not yet determined what a ‘normal’ level is. If you do not know your PSA level or prefer not to have a test at this time we can assess your risk by using Risk Calculator 1 which takes into account your age, fam-

•Causes, defined-symptoms and risk-factors of prostate-cancer

•Dr Olaleye

ily history and any urinary symptoms. Or we can use Risk Calculator 2 to assess your risk if you know your PSA level. However, if your PSA is above three or four ng/ml your doctor may want to do a biopsy. This would involve taking one or more samples from your prostate gland to give them a clearer picture.

“We know Cancer describes a set of diseases in which normal cells in the body, through a series of genetic changes, become abnormal and lose the ability to control their growth. As cancers, also known as

“malignancies”, grow, they invade the tissues around them (local invasion). They may also spread to other locations in the body via the blood vessels or lymphatic channels where they may implant and grow (metastases). That is why one has to screen and if any detection is made, such can be treated, before it spreads.”

Dr Olaleye added that no man should wait to observe the symptoms, but go for screening for proper diagnosis.

“Prostate cancer is commonly diagnosed through analysing patient’s symptoms and clinically, through elevated PSA levels in the blood, prostate scans histology of the prostate biopsy. Symptoms are usually related to a disturbance of the urinary flow of the man. However a lot of men with urinary symptoms do not necessarily have prostate cancer. It is important to note that majority of men with prostate cancer may not even have symptoms. Only 15 percent shall develop difficulty in passing urine and five percent will develop passing blood with urine (haematuria).

“Staging of the disease is done to determine the extent of the cancer and its spread outside the prostate gland. This is done to determine the appropriate treatment plan for the patient and to determine extent

of long-term care needed. We do not have robust published figures for survival rates in Nigeria but through observation and anecdotal reports, one can say that due to the fact that we do not screen our men, most present with the disease at late stage and the survival rates are generally poor with late stage cancers.”

He said Prostate cancer is treated through the surgical approach which is either a partial prostatectomy or total prostatectomy depending on the size and location of the cancer. “This is followed by the use of drugs that are designed to kill cancerous cells in the body (Chemotherapy). Treatment for prostate cancer depends on the stage of the disease and the grade of the tumor (how fast the cells are likely to grow or spread to other organs). Other important factors in planning treatment are the man’s age and general health and his feelings about the treatments and their possible side effects. The causes of prostate cancer are not yet understood. Researchers are looking at factors that may increase the risk of this disease. The more they can learn about these risk factors, the better the chance of finding ways to prevent and treat prostate cancer,” he said.

Lagos leads in family planning

L

AGOS has topped the list of those that accepted modern family planning, which includes birth control, assisted reproductive technology and others.

This is part of the report released by the Global Program to Enhance Reproductive Health Commodity Security (GPRHCS) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), while disseminating the 2013 GPRHCS Survey Report.

According to the Head; Lagos Liaison Office/Reproductive Health Program Specialist, UNFPA Nigeria Country Office, Dr. Omolaso Omosehin, every year, since 2001, the United Nations Population Fund supports the Federal Ministry of Health to assess facilities throughout the country on repro-

By Dorcas Imah

ductive health commodities.

The assessment, among other things helps to show an overall picture of the availability and level of stock-outs of modern contraceptive methods and essential life-saving maternal/Reproductive Health medicines at health facilities nationwide.

The report has it that: “Some findings of 2013 survey revealed that some methods of contraceptives (especially the long acting methods) were not available in most of the primary centres; 84 per cent of the facilities sampled offers at least three modern methods of contraceptives (90 per cent for Lagos); 51 percent of facilities had stock out on the day of visit; 49.5 percent had

stock out for three months preceding the visit (74.2 percent for Lagos) and 69 percent of the facilities offers at least seven of the life-saving maternal medicines (79.3 percent for Lagos). The survey parameters for last year include 84 percent of the facilities sampled were privately owned; 51 percent are primary centres, 45 percent are secondary (general hospitals) and four percent are teaching hospitals”, he stated.

The 2013 GPRHCS Survey Report recommended general improvement in the supply at primary warehouses for re-supply; strengthen the capacity of health providers and facilities in providing longer-term/ permanent contraceptive methods and to address barriers and bottlenecks in the supply chain.

46

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

HEALTH

LUTH carries out more kidney transplants U

CHENDU Azubuike, 44, and Mrs Fadule Abdullahi, 39, have some things in common. They had near-death experiences when their kidneys failed.

They underwent dialysis at different times in and outside the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in Idi Araba. But the good news is that they now have a chance to live healthy again. They had kidney transplants. The kidneys were donated to them by their cousins.

They could not hide their joy at the success of the transplants that gave them a new lease of life. They owe their lives to their dononors.

Now that they are back on their feet, they have two wishes: Let the Federal Government make provision for affordable after-transplant drugs and that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should include kidney care; dialysis and transplants in its coverage.

According to Azubuike, who managed to talk to The Nation, because he must not remove the mouth cover on him, “it was God alone who helped him to overcome the experience of having bad kidneys. I know the hospital has built our post transplant drugs for some months into the subsidised bills, but the thereafter is overwhelming. I know those drugs are really expensive. Government must do something for citizens with renal problems in this country, sincerely it should.”

He continued: “For me to have waded through the weekly dialyses; found a kidney donor in the person of my cousin, a devout Christian and undergone the kidney transplant surgery successfully, is a huge miracle.”

Pastor Clifford Umeh, who donated one of his kidneys said: “I donated my kidney to Azubuike knowing that I have two good kidneys. And I can live on one after donating one to him. I made to demonstrate through my act the Biblical principle of practical Christianity, which is love. There is nothing ritualistic or barbaric in having a kidney bank or even donating to a hapless end stage kidney patient. “ The pastor appealed to the government to do more enlightenment on renal health in Nigeria, “This is because the rate at which the cases are on the increase is alarming. Youth are drinking all sorts and engaging in renal hazardous activities. I don’t know what led to my cousin coming down with end stage renal failure, but then things like that happen;

•From left: LUTH Consultant Nephrologists Dr. Bello Babawale and Dr. Toyin Amira; Acting Director of Administration, Mr. Babajide Grillo; Acting Chief Medical Director, Prof Bode Chris and Consultant Urologist Dr. Tijani Habeeb during the briefing on kidney transplant.

•Azubuike and Mrs Abdullahi with some of the hospital staff when they were discharged.

PHOTOS: SOLOMON ADEOLA

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

it is good if massive enlightenment is done on what the disease is, causes and options in its care and management.”

In the same vein, Mrs Abdullahi said it is destiny that brought her out of the ordeal. She said: “I started experiencing some difficulty in my health early February, last year. I went to Randle General Hospital and was referred to LUTH. The weekly dialyses were a drain financially; the government should do something urgently to address that. You see, if LUTH is on strike, I go to do the dialysis at a private facility, especially on the Ogba/Berger axis. A session there costs between

N70,000 to N50,000. I do like twice or thrice in a week. But in LUTH it is between N25, 000 to N27,000; or N30, 000 maximum.”

Mrs Abdullahi said: “I will enjoin the government to reach out quickly to citizens with kidney problems, in different parts of the country by formulating a policy that will both reduce the cost of dialyses, and drugs after the transplant is done. If it cannot totally give free immune suppressants for post transplants, it should at least subsidised. They should also be sold in hospital settings not in open pharmacies. Dialysis should be totally free. Many are dying because they cannot afford to pay for the required sessions. Many are on waiting list at the LUTH dialysis centre,

yet they don’t know where the money to pay will come from.

“I am happy I pulled out of the surgery successfully. I now believe more in my country. LUTH doctors and nurses are fantastic. They took good care of me. This has proven that Medical tourism may be a needless venture by Nigerians because we have experts who are skillful here, with equipment and facility that are up to date. LUTH has subsidised its surgery for us and we are grateful. My message is that as many that want to travel out for kidney transplant should come and do it at LUTH. It is affordable than waiting for the money to travel abroad” The relative that donated his kidney was reluctant to recount his experiences or share them with The

Nation. But other relations who are avid readers of this newspaper especially an elderly man, expressed their joy that Mrs Abdullah pulled through.

The arrow head of the team that performed the feat, the second in the hospital, Consultant Urologist, Dr. Habeeb Tijani, said: “These feats performed at different times have indicated that indeed kidney transplants are now a routine procedure in Nigeria, especially at LUTH. This is a wake-up call on Nigerians seeking kidney transplants and are embarking on medical tourism should tune in to this new development. It will save them money involved in foreign exchange, stress of travelling; accommodation for the person that accompanied and other issues.”

Dr. Tijani said: “It is true that the hospital built in a three-month supply for post renal drugs for these patients because we know that the first three months post transplant are crucial. The body needs those drugs, especially suppressants and antibiotics. This is to prevent complications and other issues such as rejection.

“After the three months, the body would have accepted the new organ and the drugs would reduce.

But then to be honest with you, post transplant drugs are too expensive.

It is cheaper in places like India because the country does a huge load of transplants and the hospitals order the drugs in bulk and the cost is crashed for them. Unlike what obtains here in the country, whereby we order in-between based on availability of patients. If more Nigerians with renal problems that need transplants believe in the system and patronise places like LUTH, then the cost of the drugs may also come down. It is cheaper in India because of the volume of the drugs required.

“Government can also include in NHIS, just as it can carry out sensitisation through its agencies like National Orientation (NOA) and Ministry of Information that renal transplant can be done now in Nigerian hospitals. Of course, we know that LUTH has joined the league of hospitals which carry out renal transplantation since. We are strengthening the hospital to be able to offer these services to Nigerians so that the reason for medical tourism outside Nigeria will now reduce.”

The Nation gathered that there was a visiting team of foreign specialists to ensure effective transfer of technology and safety of patients, which was principally a supervisory role.

Drugs’ price may rise, manufacturers warn

T

HE Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) has warned that there would be over 100 per cent increase in the cost of drugs produced in the country if pharmaceutical raw materials and packagings are not exempted from the new foreign exchange guide.

At a briefing in Lagos, its Chairman, Okey Akpa, appealed to the Federal Government to revise its new policy on foreign exchange for finished goods, as it affects the pharmaceutical sector, as the reversal step would make medicines more affordable and available to Nigerians. He said many interventions are urgently required to ensure regular supply of essential medicines in Nigeria. Most critical is review of CBN’s new guidelines whereby foreign exchange for finished products should be accessed from the Inter Bank source. Akpa said such would impact negatively

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

on the production of drugs.

He said: “Some materials are categorised as finished goods by the CBN, but to manufacturers, those are materials we work with and as such we see them as raw materials. For instance, bottles and caps may be regarded as finished products, but to pharmaceutical manufacturers, these are just raw materials we use in the manufacturing process.”

Akpa said: “It is gladdening that the pharmaceutical sector is heading forward going by the World Health Organisation (WHO) prequalification of four Nigerian pharmaceutical companies and improvements in the quality of manufacturer’s processing, this totaled a cumulative investments topping N70b in the last four years.

The Nigeria Pharmaceutical industry has installed capacity to meet 70 per cent of Nigerian medicine

•From left: PMG-MAN Publicity Secretary Prince Segun Agboade of Orfema Pharmaceutical Industry Limited; MD/CEO, May and Baker, Nnamdi Okafor; Fidson’s Director of Operations Biola Adebayo and Akpa at the event.

PHOTO: OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA.

need in line with the national drug policy and improve access to treatment in general.

He said: “This is the time for critical intervention in the nation’s pharmaceutical sector, as it obtains in other ECOWAS countries that enjoy special tariff protection.

There is the need for support for

local manufacturing in designating Pharmaceutical Manufacturing as a priority sector; preferential patronage of local manufacturers by the Implementation of Domestic preference of the public procurement Act of 2007. Special incentives for processing international certifications and WHO prequalification and ex-

emption of pharmaceutical raw materials and packaging from the CBN policy on Foreign Exchange.”

To this end, the group put up a forum for the discussion of germane issues for last week at Abuja, the theme was: “Production of Medicines in Nigeria-time for critical interventions.”

THE NATION TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

47

‘

RACE TO 2015 Youths back Jonathanfor second term From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

Y

OUNG business entrepreneurs who were assisted with funding and training under the Federal Government’s youth empowerment pro gramme has formed a lobby group to campaign for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The youths under the auspices of the Nigerian Young Entrepreneurs said over 5,400 have been empowered by the Federal Government under the YouWin Programme. The youths promised to secure over 2.5 million votes to return President Goodluck Jonathan to power.

Speaking in Abuja, the group’s Director of Media, Mr. Bello Muritala, listed some of the employment-generation programmes being implemented by President Jonathan to include: the launching of Venture Capital Fund and the provision of N220 billion to support small and medium scale businesses.

Other government interventions include the launching of Nangrooreneur to empower about 750,000 Nigerians in self employment, launching of new Automobile policy and the disbursement of special intervention fund through the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria Agriculture Intervention Fund.

Bello also credited President Jonathan for taking giant strides in promoting the entertainment industry, through the Project Advancing Creativity and Technology (PACT) in collaboration with Nollywood. According to Muritala through the synergy with Nigerian entertainment industry, the sector has been provided with a N3 billion grant to further help the development of the sector.

In the same vein, Bello said the government has thought the implementation of the Sure-P scheme, been able to engage 320,000 youth’s useful activities.

He said they are not a political group but are interested in collaborating with the government to make life better for the people.

Muritala’s words: “Out of the system that is good, there are still curtains things that are good that needs to be encouraged. We believe the president has done something good and will need to be supported to do more.

“After considering all the achievements and the need for continuity to avoid policy somersaults the coordinating committee and over 400,000 of the Nigerian Young Entrepreneurs across the country hereby declare support for the re-election of President Jonathan.

•Dr Jonathan

NANS warns against thuggery From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

A

HEAD of the general elections, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has warned politicians to desist from hiring students as thugs. It said students could be meaningful engaged in the planning and implementation of campaign manifestos and programmes.

The student body threatened to expose politicians involved in conscripting students and other youths to execute violence during elections.

In a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union Government, Imo State Polytechnic, Ezekiel Nwankwo, NANS also condemned the recent killing of “harmless” students of the Government Science School in Potiskum. It added. “We state that nothing could be more dastardly and wicked and we condemn it in its entirety”.

The statement added further that, “our bond of unity and brotherhood should be made stronger by this act rather than weakened. Boko Haram should look into the future and see the futility of their fight against the unity of Nigeria”.

The students however, praised the gallantry of the security agencies in combating the insurgency, despite obvious poor service conditions, assuring that NANS will continue to support the military in its effort to end the killing of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram insurgents.

Group wants more slots for women

A

GROUP, Development in Practice (DIP), has called on stakeholders and political parties to accommodate more women in politics.

The call was made at the Udoka Housing Estate, Awka, where it held its women s forum.

The event was presided over declared open by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs. Ojobo Atuluku.

Atuluku charged participants to make use of political opportunities and pass the advocacy messages to the public to enable more women participate in the political process in future.

She called on governments to address the low capacity of poor and marginalized citizens, especially, rural adolescents and women.

The legal luminary noted that the aim of the programe was to achieve improved social, economic and political well being and better quality services across Anambra state.

Atuluku said: “The progress ratio is to address the urgent need to meet the high level of marginalization and poverty which persists in Nigeria due to poor governance and ineffective services”.

“The sustainable improvements can be achieved by both governments and community’s capacity to act by addressing factors that drive on-going state governments’ accountability and responsiveness.”

Today, Rivers State is actually the number one manufacturer of syringes in Africa

‘

Jonathan Elendu, a social critic, spoke with BUKOLA AMUSAN on the succession battle in Rivers State and issues that will shape next year’s general elections.

‘Amaechi ‘ll hand over to competent succesor’ W

HAT are the qualities you expect from Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s successor?

We need a qualified, competent person and somebody who or understands Amaechi’s vision. In all of these, you mention Dr. Sampson Parker, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health.

Is he the only competent aspirants?

Rivers State is endowed with talented men and women. But, if you look at the history of the Amaechi Administration, Dr. Sampson Parker is about the only one who has been with him from the beginning.

When he sent other people out to Abuja, he insisted on Dr. Parker being with him. Its for a reason that he did that. The reason being that, he knows that Parker understands his vision. He knows that Parker shares his vision for the state. He also trusts him; he knows that Parker is trust worthy and he knows that Parker has the requisite intellectual acumen to manage a complex state like Rivers State.

You mean Governor Amaechi was actually grooming Dr. Parker to take over from him?

I don’t know, if he was grooming him. I would rather say he saw the talents in him. He saw his intellectual sagacity, his trustworthiness and his ability to understand his programmes.

Is he the anointed candidate?

I don’t know that the governor has an anointed candidate. From what we have heard now, the governor is thinking of zoning it somewhere that would not favour Dr. Parker. But, if you love Rivers State like some of us do, you will understand that zoning governorship to any part is a big mistake because at the this time and stage of our development, elective offices should not be about geography, it should be about quality. Quality of individual, quality of vision, quality of intellect, it shouldn’t be about geography.

In the event that the zoning does not favour Dr. Parker, what’s the next option?

All power belongs to God and Dr. Parker being a highly prayerful person knows that all power belongs to God. In fact, it is one of his favorite quotes when you discuss politics and power with him.

If he becomes the governor, what do you think he will do differently?

He is going to bring his experience to bear. If you look at Rivers State, in terms of performance. He has a track record of performance, a track record of achievements, not for himself, but for the people.

When he was sworn in as Commissioner for Health in Rivers state, the health system was described by the Governor as comatose. Today, Rivers state has a vibrant health system. Dr. Parker adopted the primary health care system for Rivers. Again, in furtherance of the dream of the Governor for health centers not to be farther than 30 minutes walking distance from any citizen of Rivers State there are over 150 health centers built all over Rivers state equipped with all the modern equipment and staffed with doctors, nurses, pharmacists and technicians. It is only in Rivers State you have that.

You have ambulances all over the state, including Marine ambulances.

Do you know any other state where they have hospitals on ships that are

•Elendu

operational?

It is only in Rivers State you have that and you cannot but give kudos to Dr. Parker for that. You look at the latest epidemic, Ebola; people from other countries are coming to Rivers State to ask how they did it. Who did this? Dr. Parker was the one who put together the team, who managed the team and ensured that Rivers state was Ebola free in one month. It is a feat that you give all credits to God but human beings are what God used; that’s Gov. Amaechi using Dr. Parker and his team. Yes, the governor gave him the full support and you can’t take it away from the Governor. He supported him by giving him all he asked for but men and the materials without the requisite managerial acumen would mean disaster any day.

Given the volatile nature of Rivers State, do you think he has the managerial skills and political will to govern such a sensitive state?

You know he has this demeanour about him that when you see him you easily look at him as a quiet unassuming person. Yes, he is in prayer all the time, even when you are talking with him. But, when you look at the at health care sector in Rivers State which he has taken from comatose to being very vibrant. It is now recognised all over the world. You look at other things he has done. His coming in led to hiring of over 400 doctors. He has not only built up primary health care, he also built up secondary health care and even gone tertiary. Today, doctors are trained in a specialist hospital in Rivers state, not in University of Portharcourt Teaching Hospital but another institution. That’s the making of Dr. Parker.

‘The governor is thinking of zoning it somewhere that would not favour Dr. Parker. But, if you love Rivers State like some of us do, you will understand that zoning governorship to any part is a big mistake at the this stage of our development’

Today, Rivers state is actually the number one manufacturer of syringes in Africa. That didn’t exist before he came. So you see that he is proving that academically he is sound, he has proven that managerially he is sound and even as a businessman. He has taken a company that hitherto was dead and moved it to the point where it is number one syringes manufacturer in Africa and number two in the world. That tells you that this young man has everything he takes. You look at somebody who has a track record of achievements.

Do you think Dr. Parker, who is an APC member, can survive the big wigs in the PDP if eventually he gets ticket?

I’m poised to be one of the fittest people in the world. Where am I today. The reality is that this is where I am. What I’m trying to say is this, we all have dreams: right. The reality is that, the dynamics of Rivers politics is different. Rivers people don’t vote for parties; they vote for individuals.

And we look at the stark difference.

The so-called front runner in the PDP is somebody who has no record of gainful employment before he got into political office and he is noted to be stupendously wealthy and he is throwing his money and weight about intimidating and harassing people.

Here is another gentle man who you can trace from the day he left medical school, where he did his youth service, where he’s worked until this moment. He has spent his entire youth, his entire life in public service and he has a record of achievement. If you were a Rivers person, who would you vote for? Someone who has worked for you all along, understands you, knows what pains you, knows the pains you go through when you can’t meet your bills, pay school fees or rent and then somebody who from nowhere is so rich that even the drink he takes in his house would take your two years, three years salaries as a graduate. Who would you vote for, somebody who has a record of achievements or somebody who just comes from somewhere and says I’m a rich man, vote for me? I can hire as many thugs as possible, vote for me.

I believe that, when the chips are down, it would not matter the political party Dr. Parker or whoever belongs to, what would matter is their record. As of today given everybody in the field, Sampson Parker has the best record.

You can also not rule out the First Lady factor in Rivers State. Do you think Dr. Parker would align or get her blessing?

The First Lady; Rivers people are proud that their daughter is the First Lady of Nigeria. In her own right, she has earned their respect and love but with all due respect she has only one vote.

She is from Okirika like Dr. Parker.

As a matter of fact, they are blood relatives. But, I’m sure Dr. Parker’s gubernatorial ambition, which he has not expressed to anybody though is not based on just one vote. It is based on what he has done, the works of his hands like the Bible would say. That’s what its based on. We appreciate the First Lady, we hope she would get involved in this election circle.

48

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

49

THE NATION

BUSINESS MARITIME

e-mail: maritime@thenationonlineng.net

NIMASA raises the alarm over ‘false’ pirates’ reports

T

HE Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has raised the alarm over what it calls false international reports on pirates’activities on the nation’s territorial waters.

Based on the reports, vessels carrying the Nigerian flag, the agency said, were incurring “unnecessary” losses by paying money to foreign marine insurance companies.

NIMASA’s Director-General, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, told The Nation in Lagos that some foreign insurance firms otherwise known as Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs were sabotaging

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda Maritime Correspondent

the economy and painting the country black because of the reports.

The reports, he said, were aimed at making Nigerians to pay more for imported goods.

The NIMASA boss said the P&I clubs had made money from the country and other African countries, urging more Nigerians to venture into marine insurance to create wealth and provide jobs for the youth.

He said: “Virtually all the major insurances in this sector are done outside the country and this is a huge capital flight. The country

has a robust population and in sub-Saharan Africa, almost 70 per cent of the cargo traffic is from Nigeria. So, we have marine insurance. Why is our insurance companies not tapping into the lucrative business?

“Sometimes you hear of piracy attacks, but most reported cases of piracy are untrue. They raise the false alarm because the insurance companies intend to make mone; and if they don’t raise the red flag, how will they make the money? So, that is why they paint our image as bad as possible to get those insurance money.”

Akpobolokemi said the motive of those responsible for the false

alarm was political and a form of economic sabotage, urging Nigerians to join hands against the alarmists.

“If we cannot do it alone, all subSaharan African countries should be able to come together to form a vibrant insurance company,” he insisted.

He said since the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) was liquidated many years ago, it had made Nigerian flagged ships attractive for business.

He pledged that the agency would resuscitate the national carrier so that it would be involved in the transportation of the nation’s crude oil.

Akpobolokemi wondered why the country still carried its oil on Freight on Board (FOB) policy which he said is a major blow to the economy especially in the area of providing jobs for the youth.

Former director- general of the defunct Nigeria Maritime Authority (NMA), Mr Patrick Egesi, has urged NIMASA on the need to seek input from experts before the acquisition of new ships for the national carrier.

Egesi, who lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for reappointing Akpobolokemi, said his reappointment would give confidence to local and foreign operators.

He said: “In the process of revamping our shipping line, I foresee a situation whereby some Nigerians will want to float briefcase shipping companies in order to benefit from the scheme, but I will advise the DG to be careful in that regard.

“In the line of revamping the national carrier, I will advice the DG of NIMASA to have an eye on what happened as regards to the defunct of NNSL.”

Monitor wreck-removal, Fed Govt urged

T

• Customs Area Controller,Tincan Port,Comptroller Zakari Jubrin (left) and National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos.

PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA

High seas becoming unsafe, says expert A LEADING United Kingdom (UK) private maritime security firm, Maritime Asset Security and Training Limited (MAST), has said the government cannot guarantee safetyon the high seas.

Speaking at the Port Security Summit Conference in London, MAST’s senior ship and yacht contingency response negotiator, Peter Astbury, said: “They are sullen seas and they are becoming less secure for the people who sail them.

“Although the Indian Ocean is relatively quiet at the moment, the overall political direction of Somalia is far from settled. Things could change very quickly and with very little notice. The prevalence of piracy, cargo theft and crew kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea is well reported and it seems to be re-emerging east of Malacca.”

He said in the Mediterranean, few people realised the scale of the people displacement caused by the civil war in Syria and its spill over into the wider region. The numbers of people affected ran into

millions and are adding significantly to the numbers of migrants entering Europe by boat from Libya – itself in the throes of a chaotic and violent aftermath of the demise of the Gadhafi regime.

Astbury said: “More than 190,000 people have been trafficked this year alone through Libya into mainly Italy and Malta. With the cost of a passage estimated at up to $1000 per person this implies a flow of funds into to criminal networks of almost $200 million over the same period. Experience in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere has indicated a close connection between people trafficking, piracy and the trafficking of guns and drugs.”

Astbury explained that the superconnectedness of today’s world sometimes places limits on the extent to which the international community can always act robustly to preserve law and order on the high seas because the policy

priority will always be stability and the winning of hearts and minds on land. Sending in the gunboats can sometimes antagonise fractured local communities and throw the internationally recognised political strategy off course.

He added: “The use of armed guards on ships in exceptional circumstances is likely to ebb and flow but will not disappear.

“Port authorities have a critical role to play in helping responsible ship owners protect their crews and in support of wider initiatives to curtail illegal gun trafficking – in particular by ensuring that they have transparent, predictable and commercially practical procedures in place to facilitate the embarkation and disembarkation of lawful firearms handled by properly certified private security teams.

“These procedures should be dovetailed with the existing obligations and procedures as required by the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS).’’

HE Federal Govern ment has been urged to monitor the contractors removing wrecks and abandoned vessels from its territorial waters.

The Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Shipping and Marine Services Ltd, Mr Alex Egenti, said the project required proper monitoring after the government had sunk “huge’’money into it.

He claimed that in the past, the contracts were awarded but in most cases, the wrecks were never removed even after the government had paid.

“If you remove the wreck, the government will pay for it; if you don’t remove the wreck, the government will not pay you,’’ he said.

Egenti said the industry would experience remarkable improvement if monitoring was replicated in other areas of the sub-

sector.

“Nigeria, being a huge maritime nation, can only maintain a hub status when projects are handled professionally to meet the needs they are designed for,’’ he said.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in 2009, got the Federal Government’s approval to remove wrecks from the waters for N3.4 billion.

Twenty-four of the wrecks were said to be obstructive to navigation around waters.

Surveys in the Lagos waters before the commencement of the project, showed that more than 100 wrecks were lying in various locations on the channel.

Of the 31 wrecks considered very critical to navigation, NIMASA is working on seven.

Navy acquires three vessels to fight piracy

T

HE Nigerian Navy has acquired three new vessels to fight piracy.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Command, Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade, said the vessels would also assist the Navy to position itself well on the sea and curb criminalities.

He said: “We have two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) coming from China, that is Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Centenary and also one of them, that is to be completed next year.

“We also have NNS Opabaran, which is the sister ship to NNS Thunder and we have taken delivery of that in the United States, already.

“This vessel is going to join the fleet that we have shortly.

“So, with these vessels joining

the Nigerian fleet, we continue to do the things we do at sea, which is, taking absolute charge and control of our waters.”

Alade said the essence of the sea exercise was to give him an idea of the state of affairs of the vessels at sea, particularly the operational state of the ships.

“We thank God that we have gone and come back and in my own estimation, the exercise has been very successful.

“This goes to show you the operational readiness of the Nigerian Navy in particular.

“For this exercise, we put to sea five vessels and they all performed excellently,” he said.

Alade said the exercise was an opportunity for Naval personnel to train, emphasising that training at sea was paramount.

50

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS ENERGY

E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net

Content Board advises firms on workers’ motivation

Why does Ogoni experience frequent oil spill?

I T’ S because of widespread theft and illegal refining of crude oil, sabotage of infrastructure and

lack of cooperation by residents of the oil polluted communities, says the Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SDPC).

In a report titled: ‘Oil theft, sabotage and spills,’ made available to The Nation, Shell said oil spill would have stopped in Ogoniland if not for oil theft, among other untoward practices in the region.

The report said: “SPDC withdrew from Ogoniland in 1993, following a rise in violence, threats to staff/ contractors and attacks on facilities, and has not produced oil in the area since then. The company has taken action on all the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recommendations directed specifically to it.

SPDC has undertaken a range of activities related to the UNEP’s report in advance of the government where it was able to do so. This included increasing the communities’ access to potable water in Ogoniland in part-

By Akinola Ajibade

nership with the Rivers State Government, among other initiatives.”

SPDC said 167 sites in need of remediation were identified in 2013, noting that 85 per cent of the sites have been cleaned before the end of that year. It said efforts to clean up the remaining sites have been stalled by the affected communities.

“Access to clean up the remaining sites remains a problem. The cooperation of communities in granting safe access has been and will remain a key factor in making progress in the clean-up and remediation of impacted areas. When communities grant access, SPDC cleans up and remediates oil spills from its areas operation, irrespective of the cause,” the report added.

According to the company, the Federal Government had in July

2012, set up Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) with a mandate to implement the recommendations outlined by UNEP, stressing that the project is fraught with challenges.

It said that government’s roles in the implementation of UNEP’s report cannot be under-emphasised, if meaningful progress would be achieved in that regard.

Meanwhile, the Bodo communities in Ogoniland have said that Shell was not committed to solving problems in the area. The communities Chairman, Council of Chiefs, Mene Sylvester Kogbara said the level of hydrocarbon pollution in the area is still high. Kogbara said the waters, farmlands and other sources of livelihood of his people have been damaged and urged the Federal Government, Shell, and other stakeholders to help in fast-tracking the implementation of HYPREP.

•From left: Managing Director, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, Paul Obelley; General Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, NCDMB, Chijioke Okorie; and Managing Director, Wellmann Group, Chris Iyovwaye at Wellmann's long service awards in Warri, Delta State.

Nigerdock completes Chevron’s gas compression platforms

N

IGERDOCK Nigeria Plc has completed the fabrication of the platforms that will be used to produce Sonam and Meren fields owned by Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC/CNL) Joint Venture.

The platforms are meant primarily to gather natural gas for domestic use, hence the project is named Domestic Supply Obligation (DSO). Nigerdock handled the fabrication of the Meren field’s Gas Gathering and Compression Platform (GGCP) jacket, piles and bridges, the entire Sonam field’s Non-associated Gas Wellhead Projects (NWP) and associated structures at its fabrication yard located at the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos as a subcontractor to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea, the main contractor.

The GGCP and NWP are expected to deliver 120 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) and 300mmcf/d of gas respectively to the Escravos Gas Pipeline (EGP) for domestic use.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the load-out of the fabricated platforms, which held at Snake Island

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

in Lagos, the chairman of Jagal Group – owners of Nigerdock, Mr. Anwar Jarmakani who was represented by Jagal’s Executive Director, Mr. Manssour Jarmakani, described the success of the fabrication work as part of the accomplishments of the Local Content Policy, which both the government and Nigerians should be proud of.

He stated the project was a milestone for Nigeria as such projects were done overseas before the Local Content Act came into effect, adding that project was hundred per cent completed in-country, on schedule and within budget, and created jobs for hundreds of Nigerians.

Jarmakani stated that the general scope of work undertaken by Nigerdock for Chevron covers the fabrication of the jacket, piles and bridges for the Meren GGCP and also the entire structures for the Sonam NWP. He said that on completion, the GGCP and NWP are expected to deliver a combined 420 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/ d) of natural gas to Chevron’s Escravos Gas Project (EGP).

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian2 Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Ernest

Nwapa, hailed Nigerdock’s successful completion of the fabrication of the platforms. He described the fabrication works as a milestone in the quest towards achieving increased local content in the nation’s oil and gas sector. He called for increased patronage of local companies by the international oil companies (IOCs) in the execution of their major projects, noting that Nigerdock has demonstrated the ability of Nigerians to provide facilities and skilled manpower required for the execution and delivery of major projects.

The Managing Director, Nigerdock, Mr. Lloyd Crisp, said the projects were completed within schedule and budget agreed with Chevron/NNPC in order to meet the offshore installation windows, adding that various load-outs are planned for December 2014 and January 2015.

He stated that the work performed so far by Nigerdock on the Meren GGCP and Sonam NWP projects include the fabrication of over 7,000 tons of steel over the last three years. Besides, he noted that Meren and Sonam jackets are the largest fabricated incountry, each of them weighing well over 1,000 tons.

T

HE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has urged indigenous service companies to explore creative strategies for motivating their workers.

NCDMB Executive Secretary, Ernest Nwapa, gave the advice at the long service award organised in Warri, Delta State, by Wellmann Group, an indigenous oil service firm with expertise in heavy lifting and marine transportation, which offered stakes in the company to four of its long serving staff to reward and motivate them.

Other recipients of the awards were the company’s strategic partners and clients, such as Nigerdock, Shell, Chevron, Subsea 7, and Total, among others.

Nwapa, represented by the Board’s General Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, Chijioke Okorie, said retaining quality staff within service companies was fundamental to developing Nigerian Content as it would help firms develop institutional, technological and infrastructural capacities to deliver on projects.

Okorie described the achievements of Wellmann as a confirmation that the Board’s implementation strategies were working and yielding results. He said: “There were a number of jobs that some operating companies tried to give out to international service companies. The board intervened and the jobs were placed with Wellmann. That helped to build the company’s capacity and infrastructure over the years. Wellmann is a good representative of Nigerian Content and the Board is proud of its growth.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Wellmann Group, Mr. Chris Iyovwaye stated that the benefitting employees had worked devotedly in the establishment for over 10 years and had become stakeholders of the company. He noted that they joined when the company was barely able to pay

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

meagre salaries, hence they deserve to receive a percentage of profit declared at the end of every financial year.

Iyovwaye praised the NCDMB for its implementation of the Nigerian Content Act, crediting the policy for the growth of the company, especially in an area that was dominated by foreign players.

“Wellmann is just one of the many success stories scattered all over Nigeria, doing well because of the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act. With determination and focus, we have grown from a company that hires equipment whenever it wanted to work, to a company owns every type of equipment whenever it goes to work,” he added.

Iyovwaye listed some of the company’s equipment to include selfpropelled modular trailers with capacity to lift and transport over 4000 tons of structures at a single lift; modular jacking and weighing systems; offshore barges; ballast and mooring equipment and cranes.

He further attributed the success of the company to the ploughing back of resources generated from the business and expressed readiness to invest further in barging and tugboat business, which according to him was still dominated by foreign companies, thus contributing to huge capital flight.

The Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), Paul Obelley, extolled NCDMB for creating a climate that has encouraged Nigerians companies to thrive. He said: “No matter how much Nigeria is rich in crude oil, if our people do not get involved in the service end of the industry, we would remain poor and unable to create jobs.” The Nigerian Content Act is good initiative for unlocking the wealth of the economy for Nigerians, he added.

FMC Technologies inaugurates Bonga Northwest subsea equipment

F

MC Technologies, multinational technology solutions provider for the energy industry, said it has inauguated its first subsea production tree built in Nigeria.

The equipment manufactured for Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo’s) Bonga Northwest project, marks the company’s first subsea equipment engineered, manufactured, tested, installed and serviced entirely in the country.

Oil production from the first well at the Bonga Northwest deepwater development offshore Nigeria began on August 5, 2014.

Four oil producing wells and two water injection wells in the Bonga Northwest Phase 1 development will be connected to the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel from where oil is loaded onto tankers for shipping to any part of the world. FMC Technologies is providing the subsea production sys-

tems to support SNEPCo’s asset development Speaking in Lagos on the achievement, the Area Manager of FMC Technologies, Africa Region Subsea, Shelagh Daley, said: “We have been working with SNEPCo to supply subsea systems for the Bonga Northwest development since 2010. This local manufacturing of equipment marks a significant milestone for the company and for the country’s energy industry.

FMC Technologies is contributing to the development of the Nigerian economy not only in harnessing and utilising the country’s natural resources, but also by employing and developing skilled local professionals. FMC Technologies’ operations in Nigeria are responsible for more than 2,000 jobs in Nigeria.”

FMC Technologies began its operations in Nigeria in 1999 and has provided equipment for a number of major subsea projects including Okono, Agbami, Bonga and Egina fields.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

51

ENERGY

‘Local oil firms anticipated I naira devaluation’ A

NDIGENOUS oil operators will not feel the impact of the devaluation of the naira because they were prepared for it.

The Managing Director, Royal Niger Emerging Technologies, Anthony Okeke, the Secretary, International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), Nigerian Chapter, Tokunbo Akinnuli, and the President, International Association of Energy Economies (IAEC), Nigerian Chapter, Prof Adeola Akinnisiju said the devaluation would not affect the operators because they had adopted measures to mitigate the effect of such policies.

Okeke said going by the developments in the nation’s macroeconomic environment, domestic operators have envisaged further devaluation of naira and prepared for it. He said: “Prudential local operators have looked into their balance sheets, examined, and adjusted them to accommodate the effects of any decision made by the government. Many operators saw devaluation coming, and we have put in place measures to accommodate extra cost incurred in the course of buying dollars at a much higher rate to import tech-

By Akinola Ajibade

nologies needed for their operations.”

On interest rate, Okeke said increase in interest means little or nothing to some domestic operators in the petroleum industry since they hardly get facilities from banks. He explained that banks have refused lending to operators, adding that they prefer giving loans to bigger and foreign firms that have capacity to handle big-ticket transactions.

“Nigerian banks are not providing locals with capital, therefore, the issue of possible effects of surge in lending rates on local petroleum and gas companies does not arise,” he added.

Okeke, however, stated there will be a lull in activities of small oil companies as a result of the devaluation but noted that companies with capacity to handle big transactions would not feel it because they can access funds overseas.

Akinnisiju said naira devalua-

tion will affect local oil and gas operators in part but stated that the development will have less impact on the firms that engage in construction and laying of pipeline much.

He said: “While the exchange rate is not to affect businesses since Nigerian companies depend largely on importation of materials for survival, the interdependent or domestic oil firms would benefit in the long run. The reason is because they would be forced to produce technologies hitherto imported into the country to reduce operational cost.

The government is going to benefit through revenue, and operators who want to maintain a competitive advantage by producing some equipment locally.”

Akinnisuji said devaluation would bring about increase in cost of technologies used in the downstream and upstream segment of the industry adding that it would help indigenous operators to improve capacity.

Accenture offers metering solution for power sector

CCENTURE, technology management, outsourcing and consulting firm, has said the usage of smart metering solutions will help achieve effective result in power supply.

The Managing Director, Resources Operating Group (Energy, Utilities and Natural Resources), Accenture Nigeria, Mrs. Abayomi Olarinmoye, who spoke at the West African Power Industry Convention in Lagos, stated that Accenture engages in systems integration work with other vendors in the technology industry to ensure that the systems deployed work effectively.

She said the solutions that Accenture offers help distribution companies in the power sector achieve high performance and also ensure profitability. She stated that smart metering solution brings lots of benefits to both consumers and distribution companies, noting that the company’s solution through its partners, delivers integrated technology, resources and processes to support companies to transform to information driven, conservationconscious, customer-centric smart utility.

“Accenture defines smart customer operations as a utility, operating full meter-to-cash customer processes to support functional, two-way smart meter capabilities with advanced communication channels and demand side management pricing and products,” Olarinmoye stated.

Olarinmoye stated that a recent survey conducted by Accenture has shown that over 400 million smart meters will have been installed globally by 2015, and one billion are expected by 2020. The global deployment status is highly variable and dependent on many social, economic and political factors.

The survey showed that North

America has deployed over 50 million smart meters, Latin America about one million, South Africa about 300,000, Australia 2.2 million, Western Europe 44.9 million, South East Asia 171.8 million plus, Italy, 34 million, while the United States has deployed 43 million and looking at another 90 million in the near future.

According to her, smart metering deployment drivers include operating cost reduction, revenue protection and customer service as well as energy usage reduction. While trying to reduce cost of operations, the utilities prolong the life of aging infrastructure/equipment, drive reliability and promote process efficiency (remote disconnect/ reconnect, outage communications).

And by protecting revenue and customer service, the solution enables the utilities to implement a varied combination of smart metering and demand management products and services to create a differentiated customer experience whilst managing energy theft. On the other hand, it enables the utilities to achieve sustained end consumer consumption reductions.

She stated that smart metering is a major driver for service quality and customer satisfaction improvement as it leads to accurate billing process, improved network management/efficiency, cash flow management, operational efficiency, consumer energy management, and political concerns by facilitating future demand side management initiatives and also eliminates need for separate and research samples.

Olarinmoye said that Nigeria is ripe for such innovative metering solution taking into consideration that it’s the way to go and the benefits associated with it, adding that the nation has to move ahead with modern technology.

Schneider Electric trains 30 Nigerians

S

• From left: Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Run Gas Limited, Lanre Runsewe and Technology Manager, Kautex Maschinenbau of Germany, Siegfried Eckert, when the two firms signed an agreement on manufacturing of composite cylinders in Lagos.

Expert warns of jobs loss in oil and gas

J

OB loss in oil and gas is imminent, if unchecked, the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN) President,Austin Nweze has said.

He said many workers would lose their jobs in the next two months, if the unstable socioeconomic climate persists. He said a research titled: “Challenges in the oil and gas industry” conducted by the association shows that both multinational and local oil companies have lost substantially to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and other untoward practices and are not ready to incur more losses.

The companies, he said, were are disposed to keeping certain workers, as part of efforts of mitigating losses. He said engineers and clerical workers, among others, will be mostly affected because they do not contribute much to their employers now.

According to him, from the research, oil and gas firms are ready to keep security and main-

By Akinola Ajibade

tenance officers who supervise and watch over their equipment.

These are contract staff, which the oil companies outsourced. To oil and gas firms, their services are much needed in view of the unstable socio-economic environment in Nigeria. It is expensive to maintain expatriate workers. Their salaries are in foreign currencies, and it would affect the operational costs of the companies if such workers are kept for long. Now, the industry’s problems have rendered them redundant.

Nweze said: “Maintenance of security officials is important to the oil and gas servicing firms.

The firms spend a lot of money in providing pipelines, building tanks, deploying exploration equipment to oil wells, and they would not be happy losing those things suddenly. Though the Joint Task Force set up by the Federal Government to patrol and safeguard oil wells are trying their best, oil firms believe

in providing their security to compliment whatever the government has done.”

He stated that if contract staffers such as securities, drivers, and other worker in the lower cadre lose their jobs, they would get new ones.

Nweke said companies provide security and other contract staff for local and international oil companies (IOCs), arguing that their jobs are always needed in the industry. “This category of workers collect small salaries when compared to engineers, geologists, and other senior workers whom circumstances currently have prevented from rendering services to their employers,” he said.

It would be recalled that Petroleum and Natural Gas Employees of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) alleged that oil majors have sacked many workers in view of the problems in the industry. Its Public Relation Officer, said thousands of jobs have been lost to crude oil theft and other problems affecting multinational oil companies.

CHNEIDER Electric has trained 30 Nigerian students who just graduated from its Isaac Boro Energy Training College (IBETC) in Grenoble, France.

The graduating students were the first batch of beneficiaries of the training programme which is a multilateral partnership between the Nigerian government, the French Education Ministry and Schneider Electric, designed to address the dearth of trained engineers in electrical and energy fields, especially in emerging economies like Nigeria. The 30 trainees flew to France in November 2013, where they had intensive 12-month programme in electrical installations and equipment, medium and low voltage and renewable energies.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, stated that Nigeria needed more companies such as Schneider Electric to drive the development of indigenous capacity. “This is a proven commitment towards manpower skill enhancement in Nigeria’s energy sector and we call on other companies to do same,” Kuku said.

With their Certificate of Professional Competencies for Electrical Networks and Installations, specialising in Design and Operation, the technicians have become part of the much sought after skilled workforce that industries lookout for, to carry out implementation tasks, commissioning and maintenance of electrical installations and equipments up to international standards.

Officials, trainers and professionals in France were all impressed with the level of accomplishments

achieved by the trainees in one year.

The Director of Schneider Electric France Energy Training, Mr. Francois Milioni said: “This has been a very successful year. Students have made outstanding progress and have shown great enthusiasm to learn and reinforce their technical skills. They have demonstrated exemplary behaviour throughout the course and will be valuable assets for any organisation.”

The Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, also expressed satisfaction at the competence and expertise demonstrated by the graduating students.

He said: “Our goal is to overcome the shortage of skilled manpower in the sector and this is why we are constantly identifying partnerships that aim to improve the skill sets of personnel in the sector and improve emerging economies.”

Master Ojoye, on behalf of the graduating students, : “This training has placed me and my colleagues on a higher pedestal of productivity and professional competence and we are grateful for the opportunity provided by Schneider Electric, Nigerian government and the French Education Ministry to acquire skill in energy management.”

Throughout their course, the technicians benefitted from a high level of exposure to various professional and training environments, state-of- art equipment and personalised training in a dedicated centre, with a focus on practical experience. They have come back to Nigeria eager to make a difference and will undoubtedly contribute to the success of the organisations taking them on board, the company said.

‘This is a proven commitment towards manpower skill enhancement in Nigeria’s energy sector and we call on other companies to do same’

52

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION

* The Environment * Mortgage * Apartments * Security * Homes * Real Estate

BUSINESS PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com 08062722507

property@thenationonlineng.net muyiwalucas2002@yahoo.com

In the past 50 years, the average global temperature may have increased at the fastest rate in history, provoking fears that unless emissions causing climate change are curbed, the temperature could be about nine degrees higher by the end of this century.

At an event in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, experts concluded that the problem impact on the construction sector, writes MUYIWA LUCAS. LOBAL climate keeps changing. Some of the changes take place over millions of years. For instance, the slow passage of ice-age to ice-age. This steady rise in global temperature is known as Global warming (GW).

According to experts, the global temperature change is attributed to some factors, but most recently is the increasing atmospheric concentration of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (NH4), Nitrous oxide (NO2) and Chloroflucarbons (CFCs).

The rapid warming since the 1980s has culminated in the hottest six months worldwide with a record in 1998; this has fuelled fears and debates that human emissions of carbon dioxide and other Greenhouse gases are warming the global climate in an uncontrolled and catastrophic manner.

Now, the consequences of GW are manifesting much faster and higher than predicted, which has made GW a major environmental threat facing the world today. The peril of global warming is recognised and described as the greatest problem the world faces and as a weapon of mass destruction of human and its environment. These fears are buoyed by the 2001 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which warned that if actions are not taken, global temperature may rise by as high as one to three per cent by 2100.

This development has triggered the call for practitioners and stakeholders in the construction industry and indeed all stakeholders in the built environment, to understand the process of GW and its implications for sustainable environment. This is moreso when international agreements are being forged in an attempt to control emissions and

G

•Construction industry... threatened by global warming

How global warming affects built environment limit the long-term human induced warming under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

With the construction industry tied to most sectors that are the focus of GW initiatives, including transportation, power generation, residential and commercial building, manufacturing, mining, forestry, and waste management, experts maintain that knowledge about short-term weather and long-term climate variability are essential to adequately design and successfully manage construction projects. This is especially so in developing countries, including Nigeria, which are said to be vulnerable to this situation because their economies are dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources, but are yet, less able to cope with the impact.

These and more were the submissions of Dr. Faith Ekong of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while presenting a paper titled: “An overview of Global Warming, environmental sustainability and their impacts on construction activities” during the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) workshop.

According to Ekong, the industry is one of the world’s largest industries that are important to the

economy as it contributes to its the development. For instance, he observed that the cement manufacturing sector alone account for five per cent of global man-made carbon dioxide (Co2) emissions.

Ekong warned that decisions made about building design, especially about infrastructure have repercussions far into the future. Climate change, he explained, affects the built environment by increasing wear on technical infrastructure and the external walls of buildings and by increasing the risk of flooding in certain areas. This, he reckoned, may also make built environments less attractive to residents at times.

“The effects of climate change need to be taken into consideration in all aspects of construction, from land use planning to the positioning, construction, and life-cycle management of buildings. Clever infrastructure planning can counteract some of the negative effects of climate change and create attractive built environments. This is the tenets of environmental sustainability,” Ekong said.

Although he said on-site construction of buildings has a relatively low-impact emission, it is influenced by choice of building materials, construction techniques and modes/distance of transportation of materials deployed.

Also, this effect is further felt during maintenance of building due to significant energy use, especially heating and lightning.

Ekong revealed that GW has also impacted on the cost of construction and repair of buildings. For instance, he said a British study of possible effects of climate changes on buildings and construction showed that an increase in average wind speed of six per cent could damage about a million buildings in Great Britain alone, with repairs of such properties costing about two billion British pounds sterling.

“Global warming is likely to increase the challenges of property development and the need for property maintenance than to decrease them especially external surfaces of buildings are likely to suffer increasingly from wet and winding conditions as a result of Climate Change. The external surfaces will deteriorate faster requiring more regular maintenance in the future.

Extreme weather conditions will increase erosion and the cost of control,” he warned.

To militate against this, the don recommends that lower clinker content be used in the process since about 50 per cent of Co2 emissions in the construction industry occur during the process of producing an intermediate product called clinker.

This can be reduced by diluting the clinker content and grinding the cement finer to maintain 28 days.

Also, it is recommended that increasing risk of floods need to be controlled by identifying areas that

are most vulnerable to flooding and discouraging property development in those areas, by imposing regulations on planning in high risk areas, and by specifying and enforcing development setbacks for buildings, especially along water bodies area liable to flooding and for all wetlands. Green Construction- a sustainable design and construction to use resources more efficiently while creating healthier and more efficient homes, should also be encouraged. The aim here is to leave a lighter footprint on the environment through conservation resources, while balancing energy-efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance products. Green construction involves finding the delicate balance between construction and sustainable environment.

Ekong also advised engineers on the selection of materials for construction, as most construction now uses rigid and blown foamed insulation made of plastics. The use plastic in construction, he explained, often uses less greenhouse gas per application than traditional materials like cement.

He advised engineers on the need for proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for every project, especially those projects that are likely to impact the environment negatively.

The essence of EIA is to determine the likely effects such projects might have on the immediate and remote environment, as this will ensure that the overall environment is not adversely affected.

Nigerite shows off its refurbished reception

N

•Mr Frank Le Bris, MD, Nigerite

IGERITE has unveiled its refurbished reception made through dry construction.

The firm’s Head of Dry Construction Business Unit, Mr. Wale Ogungbe, said the launch was to showcase the application of Kalsi products in dry construction, especially as it applies to building and construction.

Besides, he said the refurbished reception office would serve as a testimony

to stakeholders, and create more awareness for the Kalsi brand as well as demonstrate that Kalsi can be used to compliment, build and remodel already existing buildings and open area offices.

Nigerite’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Abayomi Lawal, said: “Dry construction initiative is an on-going initiative which has already been introduced but is only being launched. It is part of fulfilling a long term vision to be seen as a

solutions provider to enable consumers build the whole or different building components in the most modern way.”

He also said so far, Nigerite has trained distributors, carpenters and technicians on the use of dry construction especially in combination with the traditional building construction methods.

Also, distributors were promised a new point of sales to display the new product.

The company, he added, has organised similar campaigns to explain the advantages of Kalsi dry construction.

Kalsi Floors are cement boards used for sub-floor applications in houses, apartments and lightweight commercial buildings. They are also suitable solutions for false-floor applications to conceal services in buildings. It can be finished with marble, granite, ceramic, or any other finishing material of choice.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

53

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

54

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 01-12-14

DAILY SUMMARY SUMMARY AS AS AT AT 01--12-14 25-07-14 DAILY

Lawmaker explains why Nigerians must own part of major companies

T

HE Federal Government must put in place mechanism to ensure that major companies operating in Nigeria are partly owned by Nigerians to ensure that Nigerians partake in the nation’s wealth creation and collective assets.

Vice Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market, Chris Azubougu, who has sponsored a bill that would ensure major companies operating in Nigeria are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said that Nigerians must be allowed to partake in the distribution of wealth.

According to him, the interest of Nigerians must be protected in the ownership of major companies operating in the country as well as in the disposal of national assets through privatization.

He noted that any company that is rendering national

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

service should be owned partly by Nigerians since such company is a public-interest company and it provides public service.

He added that any company that wants to dispose its assets should capitalise such assets and allocate certain percentage to be owned by local investors.

He pointed out that where Nigerians are allowed to own part of major companies in the vital sectors of the economy, it would reduce sabotage and instill more confidence in the economy.

According to him, Nigerians have been complaining of being marginalized in the sale of oil and power assets.

And currently, the telecommunication sector is witnessing the sale of towers by some operators without any

indication of allowing Nigerians to benefit from the sale of those assets.

“When companies doing business in Nigerian are being sold, the entire assets should not be handed over totally to foreign companies.

This is part of local content we are talking about. Because of national security and interest of Nigerians such assets must not be handed over totally. Because of the development of local content and to avoid national sabotage, we need to make such that we insist that such big companies should not be owned wholly by foreigners.

They should be structured in way that Nigerians can buy into it and give them sense of belonging. Sabotage will reduce once Nigerians see that they are part owner of such a company,” Azubuogu said.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

55

MONEYLINK Naira drops N184 to dollar as bond yields rise

Mobile money transactions hit N430b, says CBN

M

OBILE money transactions has hit N430 billion since the programme was inaugurated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2012, CBN Deputy Governor, Research and International Relations, Kingsley Nwaigwe has said.

The CBN chief who spoke at the 2014 Nigeria Deposit Insurance Annual Conference held in Katsina State, said mobile payment system involved money transfer through portable electronic devices such as cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistant among others.

He said the project started with the initial licencing of 11 operators, adding that there are currently about 24 licenced operators of mobile money in the country.

He said operators identified two models: bank-led where a bank and or its consortium act as lead and the non-bank led where a corporate organisation licenced by the

CBN act as lead initiator.

Nwaigwe said there are four main participants in the Nigerian mobile payment scheme namely, mobile money operator, payment agent, banks and subscribers.

The mobile money operator, he said, appoints the payment agent who receives or pays money at various locations on its behalf. Also, a customer identification process has been simplified and graduated into three tiers to correspond with transaction volume.

Mobile money specifically excludes telecom operators from providing mobile payments services, limiting their role to the provision of the channel (infrastructure) through which other service providers can be offered.

Those earlier given provisional licence by CBN include FirstBank/ FirstMonie, Fortis Mobile Money,

IGERIA has not been substantially tested by weaker oil earnings since the global financial crisis, hence, ongoing decline in oil prices and forex earnings are of concern to businesses, Managing Director, Head, Africa Macro Global Research Razia Khan has said.

In an emailed report obtained by The Nation, she explained that the rebasing of Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) earlier this year revealed a much more diversified economy, with services accounting for just over half of GDP. However, she said oil still contributes 70 per cent of consolidated government revenue and 96 per cent of Nigeria’s forex earnings.

Moreover, Nigeria is targeting a GDP of about $900 billion by 2020 to enable it realise its vision of being among the top world’s 20 economies.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited Bismark Rewane said the objective was to enhance the economy. In a report titled: “Rebasing Nigeria’s economy and implications For FSS 2020", the economist said GDP measures the size and activities in a country at a particular point.

He said the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) recommended that countries rebase their GDP every five years, adding that Nigeria has been using 1990 base

T

Stories by Collins Nweze

•CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele UBA/Afripay, GTBank Mobile Money, Pagatech, eTranzact, Monetise, Eartholeum, Paycom, FET, Ecobank and Kudi.

The operating licence allows the companies to provide products such as electronic payments through mobile phones.

HE naira, yesterday weakened to a record against the dollar as the yield on Eurobonds rose to an eight-month high. Bloomberg report attributed the slide to a slump in oil prices which dimmed the outlook for the country.

The currency depreciated 2.9 per cent to N184.05 to a dollar after falling to N184.51 to dollar. Yields on dollar July 2023 bond climbed 36 basis points to 6.11 per cent, the highest on a closing basis since March 25.

The yield rose above similar-maturity debt for lower-rated Kenya, an oil importer, for the first time since the Nairobi-based government issued its bonds in June.

Surging supplies in the U.S. amid limited demand growth has created

Ecobank gives DELSU N75m facilities

E ‘Forex uncertainty tops businesses’ list of concerns’ N

Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W. A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGE FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND

152.19 9.17 1.12 1.19 2,237.65 1.39 1,710.65 1,092.63 115.26 121.16 1,117.51 1.2147 1.2858 0.7802 1.0972

• UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

O/PRICE 3.15 43.50 1.01 28.80 0.85 0.93 0.95 2.45 0.79 157.47 3.63

C/PRICE 3.41 45.67 1.06 30.20 0.89 0.97 0.99 2.55 0.82 162.00 3.73

CSR initiative graciously forfeited the outstanding balance and injected additional N10 million to renovate the hostel before today’s handover to the school.”

Umadia reiterated that the bank has been involved in various intervention measures in the education and other sectors of the economy.

DELSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eric Arubayi, commended Ecobank for handing over the hostel to the school, despite the fact that it was yet to collect half of the funds it spent to complete the abandoned hostel complex under BOT agreement, assuring that it would be put to good use.

He said: “We are greatly touched by this massive CSR project from Ecobank. The decision of the bank to forfeit about N65 million and further injecting N10 million to renovate the hostel before the handover is highly commendable.”

DATA BANK RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS) Transaction Dates 17/11/2014 10/11/2014 06/11/2014

1,116.70 1.2072 1.2858 0.7666 1.0972

CHANGE 0.26 2.17 0.05 1.40 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.10 0.03 4.53 0.10

LOSERS AS AT 01-12-14

SYMBOL O/PRICE C/PRICE OANDO 20.76 18.80 UBA 5.13 4.81 SEPLAT 420.00 395.00 UBCAP 1.80 1.71 DANGSUGAR 6.97 6.63 FCMB 3.30 3.14 NEM 0.64 0.61 FBNH 9.95 9.50 GUINNESS 158.00 151.01 OKOMUOIL 30.00 29.00 DIAMONDBNK 6.20 6.00 FIDELITYBK 1.60 1.55

COBANK Nigeria has handed over a multi-million naira hostel complex to the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

Speaking at the event, its Executive Director, Southsouth and Southeast, Kingsley Umadia, said the bank wants to give back to the communities where it operates.

He explained that the abandoned 166 room four - wing female hostel was completed and made habitable by the lender with the sum of N118 million under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement entered into by both institutions in 2007.

He explained that the university recently approached the lender to take over the management of the hostel and pay the bank the outstanding balance of N64.36 million. He said: “But the bank in a

Bid Price

GAINERS AS AT 01-12-14

SYMBOL MANSARD CADBURY COSTAIN PRESCO RTBRISCOE CONTINSURE ACADEMY LIVESTOCK AIICO TOTAL IKEJAHOTEL

year until the April 6, this year’s rebasing that took the economy size to nearly $510 billion.

Rewane said the attention the rebasing attracted suggested a need for a more structured argument for the exercise, adding that investment is necessary for capital accumulation and economic growth.

“In April 2014, Nigeria rebased its GDP and changed its base year to 2010 from 1990. As a result, Nigeria is now regarded as a medium income economy. The rebasing exercise helped incorporate the informal sector into the national accounts and this showed a great increase in activities of the service sector of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

a glut, helping send crude prices down 37 per cent this year. Nigeria relies on oil for 70 per cent of government revenue and over 90 per cent of export earnings.

“The momentum in the market is quite negative. If you talk to international investors, they are concerned about the exchange rate outlook because of weaker oil prices and fiscal issues,” Samir Gadio, head of African strategy at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in London, explained.

Brent crude weakened 0.1 per cent to $70.05 a barrel after earlier falling to a five-year low of $67.53. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Nigeria, kept output targets unchanged last week even as price of crude heads for its worst year since 2008.

CHANGE -1.96 -0.32 -25.00 -0.09 -0.34 -0.16 -0.03 -0.45 -6.99 -1.00 -0.20 -0.05

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation: October

8.1%

Monetary Policy Rate

13.0%

Foreign Reserves

$79.98

Money Supply (M2)

N16.42 trillion.

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

N17.2 trillion

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

Amount Sold in ($) 499.93m 399.97m 349.96m

CBN EXCHANGE RATES December 1, 2014

$37b

Oil Price (Bonny Light/b)

Amount Offered in ($) 500m 400m 350m

16.5%

Currency

Buying (N)

Selling (N)

US Dollar

164

165

Pounds Sterling

258.2344

259.809

Euro

204.2948

205.5405

Swiss Franc

169.8074

170.8428

Yen

1.3924

1.4009

CFA

0.2868

0.3068

235.4875

236.9234

Yuan/Renminbi

26.7114

26.8752

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

WAUA Tenor

11-11-14 Rate (%)

Rate (%) 12-11-14

Overnight (O/N)

10.54

11.17

Riyal

43.7054

43.9719

1M

11.94

12.18

SDR

240.1288

241.593

3M

13.08

13.33

6M

14.03

14.17

FOREX RATES

R-DAS ($/N)

165.29

165.29

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

Parallel ($/N)

185.50

185.50

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Dec. 1, 2014

Rates

T-bills - 91

9.85

T-bills - 182

9.98

T-bills - 364

10

Bond - 3yrs

12.61

Bond - 5yrs

12.77

Bond - 7yrs

12.73

56

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

SHOWBIZ Big Brother Hotshots enters last lap •As Sheillah, Trezagah, Ellah, Goitse leave

By Victor Akande

T

• Cross River State Deputy Governor Mr. Efiok Cobham supported by other dignitaries to switch on the symbolic Calabar Festival Christmas tree, to kick-start the annual 32 days event in Calabar, Sunday.

Glitz as Cross River kicks off 15th Calabar Festival

T

HE streets of Calabar came alive, Sunday night, with the traditional Tree Lighting ceremony that kicked off the much-anticipated Calabar Festival.

It was a spectacular sight, as flickering Christmas lights shot through the air, adding colours to a night that showcased beautiful girls in shimmering costumes.

There were other exciting performances on the night, including comic session by standup comedian, Last Prophet, as well as music, dance and drama sketch that chronicled the genesis of the 15-year-old festival.

The short ceremony, which held at the Millennium Park, was prelude to the month-long activities in the state which was followed, Monday, December 1, by the HIV/AIDS Walk, in commemora-

By Victor Akande

tion of the World AIDS Day. Speaking at the Tree Lighting ceremony, Governor Liyel Imoke who was represented by his Deputy, Mr. Efiok Cobham, noted that this year’s event is significant, because it is the last to be organised by the present administration.

“We will do our best in ensuring that we give you the most memorable event,” he said, adding that “Never before have you had what we have packaged for you this year.”

According to the Governor, the event also serves as a veritable platform to discover more budding artistes who will eventually become world beaters in the entertainment industry. He urged the youth to avail themselves of the memorable event to actualise their dreams.

While commending a major sponsor of the event, First Bank Plc. for the confidence it has on the brand since its entrance seven years ago, the governor stressed that, the attending benefits of the partnership cannot be overemphasized, especially on youth development and economic growth of the state.

Special Adviser, Tourism Development, Mr. Wilfred Usani averred that the state government has sustained the vision to stage the festival as a contemporary culture that showcases the talents and abilities of the young people.

“This year,” he added, “we intend to improve on what we have been doing for many years, with better innovations because it is the high point of our tourism branding that will help to stimulate the desired economy gains.”

Also speaking, Executive Director South, First Bank Plc., Mr. U E Uke, who was represented by Mr. John Iyoha, attested that, “As a partner, anyone who visits this beautiful city cannot but feel at home even as they spontaneously “fall in Love” with the city and its people.”

He expressed satisfaction for his company’s partnership with the festival, pointing out that it is part of First Bank’s long term corporate responsibility and sustainability programme.

HE dream of Sheillah, Trezagah, Ellah and Goitse, to clinch the USD300, 000 prize money in the ongoing Big Brother Hotshots reality show was dashed on Sunday, as the four were shown the door.

Eight housemates had been put up for eviction last week, including Nigeria’s Tayo Faniran, but reports show that the recent evictee had the lowest votes from participating countries and the rest of Africa.

This Sunday will be the deciding moment, as one housemate, out of the eight currently in the house, will win the coveted prize.

The last contenders are, Butterphly from Zimbabwe; Idris from Tanzania; JJ from Zimbabwe; M’am Bea from Ghana; Macky2 from Zambia; Nhlanhla from South Africa; Sipe from Malawi and Tayo from Nigeria.

Macky2 revealed his Head of House ‘add’ decision to the housemates, with Ellah declaring “I knew it” as he explained that he had based his decision on who he felt was a strong competitor. The Ugandan was spared - in the first round of evictions, at least as IK revealed that Sheillah and Trezagah had been evicted.

Joining him on stage, the Motswana said that she had known ‘something was up’ when she wasn’t nervous for the first time, this week. She described her romance with Nhlanhla as “very complicated”, saying it wasn’t “a relationship”.

Trezagah said he felt “so bad” at falling so close to the final and explained that he had moved during the ‘freeze task’ – the only reason he was up for eviction in the first place – because he thought the task was over, and that he was being pranked again.

IK went back into the house and revealed that someone else was going to be evicted. He read out two more names – Ellah and Goitse – taking the number of evictees to four.

The Ugandan could consider herself particularly unlucky to be sitting on the stage with IK, rather than sipping celebratory champagne inside the house with the finalists, as she never received a single nomination on Monday and was only up for eviction because Macky2 had added her to the list. She showed her annoyance when she told IK that she just wanted to punch Macky2 – though she also said she was proud of him for making a bold decision. Goitse said she was feeling “super awesome” and that she was looking forward to using her newfound fame to help her explore dancing, acting, writing, poetry, presenting “and everything”.

• Ella, BBA Uganda

• Goitse, Botswana

Five housemates were tied on one country vote apiece after Africa voted this week, so the tie-breaker rule came into effect, sending the four contestants with the lowest percentage vote for all countries, home.

Since JJ picked up a higher percentage vote, he was spared and sent into the final. Conversely, Tayo picked up the most country votes (4), followed

by Idris (3) and Sipe (2).

Sipe, also won the StarMeter prize this week on the back of the question: “Which of the Big Brother Hotshots housemates do you think has what it takes to win?”

Big Brother celebrated the work done by the Friends of the Global Fund Africa this week, naming them as winners of the USD 100 000 ONE Africa Award – in keeping with the housemates’ theme for the past week Ugandan Reggae & Ragga star Bebe Cool performed ‘Love You Everyday’ and Fally Ipupa almost brought the house down with ‘Original’.

Why Jonathan was absent at Creative Industry Night

L

AST Friday, the desire of entertainers under the aegis of Nigerian Creative Industry to dine with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, was distorted, as their show, An Evening with President Goodluck Jonathan, took place without the president in attendance.

It was meant to be a model of a rendezvous which held in 2011, prior to the president’s first term in office. While the entertainers intimated the president of their achievement and the potential to do more if supported by government, the occasion also provided the president the opportunity to seek support for his political aspiration with the promise to do more for the creative industry.

But the Friday event could not achieve all it set out for, including the personal interaction with the number one man, who could not make the show because of the Kano Central Mosque bomb blast in which several people were killed.

Although the president was already in Lagos for the event, it became pertinent for him to honour victims of the attack by staying back from the ceremony.

Reports say celebrities at the event started off by observing a minute silence in honour

By Victor Akande

of the victims.

The star-studded event, put together by Dare Art Alade’s company, featured a series of documentaries, 100 Years of Nigerian Music, by Kunle Afolayan’s Golden Effects company which features legendary music artistes and their social and political impacts; The Creative Influence, which showcased the emergence of the Nigerian contemporary art and Forward Nigeria, a Tunde Kelani’s documentary detailing how the industry has fared in the face of challenges.

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, who represented the president at the event, assured the gathering of Jonathan’s continued support for the creative industry, while urging the practitioners to continue to support the present administration.

Performances at the event were opened with King Sunny Ade’s advocacy theme song, Nigeria Yi Ti Gbogbo Wa, which has backed by artistes such as Segun Arinze, Rita Dominic, Waje, Sani Danja and Kate Henshaw among others.

Other performers are: Timi Dakola, Asa, Lara George, Omawumi, Cobhams Asuquo, Sunny Neji, D’banj and Onyeka Onwenu.

THE NATION TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2014

57

NEWS ‘Ekweremadu medical outreach has experts’ From: Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

N Enugu pressure group, the Enugu Rescue Group (ERG), yesterday disagreed with the Administrator of Ezeagu North Development Area, Mr. Okwudili Onuorah, on his claim that Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s Ikeoha Foundation Free Eye Treatment Project was disrupted in Ezeagu because of unlawful assembly and absence of eye specialists.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Martin Okenwa, in Abuja, the group described Onuorah’s claims as a “fallacious attempt to justify the unjustifiable.”

ERG said: “Our findings showed that there is no truth in the claims by the administrator of Ezeagu North Development Area. Our findings also showed that there was an attack by thugs on the philanthropic gesture, which left many people injured and equipment and medications worth millions of Naira destroyed.

“First, the medical outreach by the Ikeoha Foundation was in conjunction with the Community Eye Savers, a registered non-government organisation with qualified and certified medical professionals, who did not need any approval from the Ministry of Health to carry out their professional and organisational duties.

“The team comprised five doctors of Optometry (OD) and three nurses, including Dr. Uzowuru O.B, OD; Dr. Davidson Woko, OD; Dr. Chidinma Ugwa, OD; Dr. Godswill Ofoegbu, OD; and Dr. Uchenna Efughi, OD”.

The body faulted the claim by Mr. Okwudili that security reports available to him “showed that supporters of Senator Ekweremadu converged on the premises of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Oghe in Ezeagu North Development Centre, for an unlawful assembly.”

A

Club urges parents on girl-child education

Four killed as police foil robbery

F

OUR suspected armed robbers were yesterday killed by the policemen attached to the Eagle Eye Police Patrol Team at the Nekede Polytechnic junction in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State during a robbery.

The police said the fiveman gang, which operated in a Toyota Corolla registered as YC-755-JJA, was responsible for kidnapping,

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

robbery and other crimes in the state.

Parading a member of the gang, Lucky Amaechi (33), with other suspected criminals, the Commissioner of Police, Abdumajid Ali, said they had been trailing the suspected criminals for a while until yesterday when they were alerted that they were operating at Nekede

about 9:30 pm.

He said they swooped on them, adding: “On sighting the police patrol team, the robbers engaged them in a shootout. During the battle, four of the robbers were injured. They were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, where they were confirmed dead. A member of the gang was arrested unhurt and is helping the police in investigation.”

Ali, who solicited the as-

sistance of the public, assured residents that the command would curb crimes during the Yuletide.

He warned politicians, who sponsor youths to foment trouble to desist from doing so.

Also paraded were two students of the Imo State University (IMSU), Ifeakachukwu Nwafor (23) and Chinemerem Obielu, who were caught in possession of firearms.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (right), receiving his certificate after screening/ clearance from chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Screening Committee for Governorship Aspirants (Southwest), Senator Danjuma Goje in Lagos...yesterday.

With them is Secretary Ismaila Ahmed

•From left: Ms Eucheria Chieke, Fr Henry Omonitsaye, Parish Priest Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, Ms Ifeyinwa Mgbekwue, Manager, Colonades Hotel, and John Onyeka, Manager Colonades Hotel, at the Job Fair organised by Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Lagos.

Ariaria market coalition backs Otti AHEAD of the general elections, goodwill and endorsements have continued to come the way of Abia State All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship aspirant, Dr. Alex Otti.

A coalition of stakeholders of Ariaria International Market and Ward 9, Aba North Local Government, last week joined other groups to support the first class economist.

This is coming on the heels of a recent merit award given to him by members of the National Association of Southeast Students, for his contributions to the development of education.

The Ariaria market group, which visited Otti at Umuru in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government last Tuesday, said its decision to endorse him was based on the conviction that he would provide good leadership and address the development challenges in Abia State if elected.

Matriarch dies HE death has occurred of Lady Victoria Nnonyem Erokwu. She died on November 6 in Onitsha.

She was 92.

The deceased played an active role in the Catholic Church. She was a Papal medallist, a Lady of St. John’s International and a leader of the Catholic Women’s Organisation in Aba and Onitsha for many years.

She is survived by seven children, 23 grandchildren and three great grandchildren, among whom are Mrs. Chinwe Agbakoba, (ex-director, Information Resource Centre, United States Consulate-General, Lagos), Pat Agusiobo, a lawyer (formerly of NNPC), Mrs. Chio Enwonwu and Mr. Emma Erokwu.

A statement by Mrs. Agbakoba said interment would hold on January 6 in Onitsha.

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

T

HE Zontal International Club of Ibadan, Oyo State, a women’s social club, has urged parents to take the girlchild education serious to achieve gender equality.

The club President, Prof.

Olufunke Egunjobi, who spoke when delivering an address, said it was no longer debatable that girls were not only denied education, they were also made to work to raise funds to educate their brothers.

Prof. Egunjobi said girls were not only denied education, but also inheritance, as they neither inherited their fathers’ nor their husbands’ belongings, adding: “Even when they are educated, they are denied jobs for one reason or the other and are not well paid as their male counterparts if employed.”

She said it was because of this discrimination that the club was founded in the United States on November 8, 1919 as a non-profit making organisation to serve the less privileged, among who women constituted the majority.

•The late Madam Erokwu

Madam Obareki dies at 82

•Director, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr Patrick Korwama (left); chairman, MPG-MAN/ Managing Director, SKG Pharma, Okey Akpa, a pharmacist; Minister of Health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan and Director, National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Bola Yusuf, a pharmacist at the PMGMAN 2014 Forum at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja

Akpabio, Orji, Fayose to mediate in Ebonyi PDP crisis

T

HE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drafted Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) into the congress crisis in Ebonyi State.

The crisis, which was triggered by last Saturday’s House of Assembly primaries, has pitted Governor Martin Elechi against his predecessor, Dr.

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

Sam Egwu, and other party chieftains.

Elechi is insisting that the primaries did not hold. The Egwu faction says the exercise was free, fair and transparent.

A statement on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, said the national leadership of the party, in response to cer-

tain developments in four states, postponed the primary election.

Elechi regretted that despite the party’s position, disgruntled politicians continued the deliberate act of misinformation and falsehood to blackmail the party and sow the seed of discord.

He said Ebonyi, Adamawa, Taraba and Ondo states were affected by the postponement,

regretting that “desperate politicians and agents of falsehood went to media houses to announce that the primaries would hold as part of a premediated plan to cook up a fictitious list of candidates as the outcome of such exercise.”

But the national leadership of the party said it had received the results of the disputed primaries. It advised members to disregard the governor’s statement.

THE death has occurred of Madam Mary Obareki-Anidi.

She was 82.

The family said funeral programme would begin on Thursday with a service of songs at the First Baptist Church, Mission Road, Okere Road in Warri, Delta State, adding that funeral service would hold the next day.

She is survived by children, grandchildren and great grand children.

•The late Madam Obareki

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

58

NEWS

Final-year poly student drowns in Delta

A

FINAL-YEAR student of the Delta State Polytechnic at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, Victor Onyeka, at the weekend drowned when he was running from a gang of robbers.

His death sparked a violent reaction from the students.

The protesters were angry that the town lacked effective security, especially for

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

students living off campus.

Onyeka was said to be a Higher National Diploma (HND) 11 student of the Department of Computer Science.

An eyewitness said the student visited his course mate at 8pm and begged him to accompany him home.

The eyewitness said: “It was around 8pm when he

asked his friend to accompany him home so that he could warm the soup he cooked in the morning. It was on their way, somewhere around the interior part of Agidiase Quarters, where a gang of robbers on a motorcycle accosted Onyeka, his friend and two other girls they met on the way. The hoodlums robbed the girls at gun point. It was at that point Onyeka ran into a building.”

It was learnt that Onyeka, who waited in the dark for the robbery to end, later came out.

But he fell into a well beside the building.

When his friends waited in vain for him to come out of hiding, they began to search for him.

They were said to have found him inside the well.

It was learnt that a 10-year old girl had also fallen into that same well.

The owner of the well, an octogenarian, was arrested but released due to his ailing health.

The police could not be reached last night for their comments on the incident.

‘Nigeria was losing 2.4m barrels monthly’

T

HE Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) of the Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Obiora Charles Mediani, has said Nigeria was losing 2.4 million barrels of crude oil monthly from theft until the Navy stepped in.

He said the theft had reduced to 800,000 barrels per month with the Navy’s intensified surveillance.

The FOC said the Navy would sustain its collaboration with its fleet to combat crime on the high seas to ensure that crude oil theft was eliminated.

From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

Obiora spoke yesterday in Bonny, Rivers State, during a sea inspection to evaluate the efficiency of the Eastern Naval fleet, marksmanship and combatant skill of the naval personnel.

The FOC hailed the Navy for its crime control efficiency.

He said the sea inspection was meant to warn pirates and other illegal operators to vacate the nation’s seas.

According to him, it was dangerous to continue using old ships operating below

standard.

Obiora said the government should buy modern ships and provide other logistics to train and retrain naval officers.

He said: “In a bid to sustain the Nigerian economy, we decided to embark on sea inspection to evaluate the readiness of the Eastern Naval fleet and the combatant skill of naval officers. This event will send warning signals to sea pirates and all illegal encroachment to Nigerian sea territories.

“It is to be noted that before the inception of the

present Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, Nigeria was losing 2.4 million barrels of crude oil monthly. But with the strong commitment of the present administration, it has reduced to 800,000 barrels per month.

“The Navy is in control of the sea territorial environment. We need to be encouraged by ensuring the replacement of the old ship with a modern ship. If the government looks into our demand, the Eastern Naval fleet will fight oil theft to zero.”

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) (middle); Deputy Governor Mrs Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire (left) signing and Managing Partnership for Justice Murabe Centre, Mrs Itoro Eze Anaba, at the signing of Executive Order Establishing a Sex Offender Register at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos ... yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Ijaw youths urge Bayelsa politicians to obey zoning

I

JAW youths, under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, yesterday supported Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson.

They urged federal lawmakers and other politicians in the state to obey zoning.

IYC President Udens Eradiri said it was wrong for federal lawmakers to say that zoning was formulated by the Dickson administration to deny them re-election.

Eradiri noted that incumbent lawmakers “rode on the back of zoning” to the National Assembly while the arrangement had led to the even distribution of political offices in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The youth leader said zoning was meant to promote peace, equity and fairness.

He x-rayed the performance of federal lawmakers, adding that they had disappointed their constituencies,

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

despite serving many years in the National Assembly.

According to him, the senators had not attracted any developmental projects to their various constituencies.

Eradiri advised them to return home and allow their constituencies to try fresh hands.

He said: “We have seen senators who went to the National Assembly and did not discuss anything con-

cerning Bayelsa State in the two terms they served.

“All the budgets they passed for eight years had nothing about Bayelsa. So, what are they going there to do again? All of them benefited from zoning. Why is it that now, after they have tasted the sweetness, they don’t want to leave?”

The IYC leader said the group would resist any form of imposition of candidates on the people to ensure that peace prevailed.

He said: “If these politicians love Bayelsa State, they should have discussed the Oporomo, the Nembe/Brass road in the National Assembly, to ensure that it was reflected in the budget.

“For us, we are supporting the zoning arrangement so that those other zones, including Kolokuma, which has not benefited, should produce the senator this time.

Otherwise, it would be an injustice to the people of Kolokuma.”

Tension in Bayelsa as Brass insists on PDP Rep’s ticket

T

HERE was confusion yesterday among Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

They insisted on producing the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency’ candidate in the National Assembly primaries.

It was learnt that their agitation for the party’s ticket created panic among other PDP stakeholders in the Bayelsa East Senatorial District.

The senatorial district comprises Nembe, Brass and Ogbia local government areas.

But the stakeholders, under the aegis of Peoples Front for Good Governance (PFGG), said they had been marginalised in the distribution of political offices.

According to them, they would no longer allow the dominance of the Nembe.

The President of the stakeholders, Ebiegberi Edwards, argued that the Nembe Bassambiri had held the

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

House of Representatives slot for 12 years.

He said a charter of equity among members of PDP in the district stipulated that the political position should rotate among Twon Brass and Ogbolomabiri Nembe; Akassa, Okpoama, Okoroma/Tereke; Odioama and Oluasiri Minikesi.

The spokesman said the position had somewhat become “the birthright” of the people of Nembe Bassambiri.

Edwards said the occupant of the seat, Fonigha Jephthah, who hails from Nembe, should allow their candidate, Ateki Joseph, from Brass.

The spokesman said Joseph had promised to bring articulate, focused, competent and intelligent representation to the people.

He said: “The selfish interest of individual members of the party is about to destroy the good work of Governor Dickson in the federal constituency.”

Delta commissioner hails PDP Assembly primaries

D

ELTA State Commissioner for Information, Mr Chike Ogeah, has hailed the weekend’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries into the House of Assembly.

In a statement, he said: “A common feature in all the local government areas is the peace, transparency and camaraderie that characterised the exercise.

“We commend the maturity and discipline displayed by all the contestants and the

diligence of officials of the PDP that conducted the primaries. The peaceful conduct and outcome show that PDP in Delta State is one disciplined party.

“The fact that it was totally rancour-free even with the large number of contestants in every constituency underscores the sterling leadership qualities of Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, who painstakingly ensured that there was a level-playing field for all contestants.”

I’ll transform Rivers, says Wike

A

RIVERS State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has promised to transform the state and improve the living conditions of the people, if he wins next year’s election.

The former Minister of State for Education spoke yesterday in Bonny when he met PDP delegates, inaugurated the New Rivers Vision office and addressed party stakeholders at an open forum.

He promised to redefine

development in the state by the diligently ensuring infrastructural development of the 23 local government areas, by pursuing human capital development and enhancing mass participation in governance.

Wike urged Bonny residents to demand accountability from their children serving in the present administration.

He said: “We must begin to ask those serving with the present administration what they have done with the enormous resources at their disposal.”

FRSC arrests 97 motorists

T

HE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bayelsa State Command, has nabbed 97 motorists for possessing fake number plates and driver’s licences.

It was learnt that 55 motorists were arrested for illegally acquiring number plates while 42 were rounded up for fake driver’s licences.

They were apprehended during an exercise, ‘Operation Blast’, carried out by the corps in Yenagoa metropolis

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

on Monday in partnership with the state Board of Internal Revenue.

FRSC’s State Commandant Vincent Jack said despite public campaigns and enlightenment programmes, many motorists were still falling to the antics of quacks and fraudsters.

He said the command observed a common practice by 30 tricyclists, who duplicate and use one driver’s licence.

Yuletide: Security agencies battle to keep Warri crime-free

S

ECURITY agents in Delta State are battling to reduce the activities of criminals in Warri.

The criminals have been making life unbearable for the citizens.

Crime rates usually escalated around the end of the year, especially in the weeks

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

leading to Christmas and the New Year festivals.

There have been reports of criminal activities in Warri.

They range from house-tohouse robbery to snatching of cars, mobile phones and bank robbery.

According to a source, who gave his name as Aregue, armed youths, suspected to be cultists had taken over Agbarho community in Ughelli North council area of the state, according to him, the armed persons had been terrorising residents of the

community since last week Wednesday, robbing from house to house.

Another source, who preferred anonymity, said armed youths, also suspected to be cultists invaded a street on Okumagba Avenue last week Thursday, threatening people in the area and caus-

ing panic.

There have also been reports of pick-pockets invading bus stops, mixing up with crowds waiting to board vehicles and stealing from unsuspecting passenger, whose attention might have been taken away by the rush to get a vehicle.

59

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

NEWS 14 reasons why Jonathan must go, by senators Continued from page 4

(1)-(4) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it has been a season of unbridled corruption.

“All of the names mentioned above are close friends and supporters of the government and have been seen hobnobbing with the President in public even when facing charges of abuse of office and corruption.”

They also accused Jonathan of allegedly sowing the seed of hatred and turning one part of the country against the other.

The document said: “As the de facto President, instead of working to unite the country by advocating true nationalism and patriotism, the President has sought to take advantage of our religious and ethnic differences through divisive and sectarian policies and politics. By continually, through his innuendos and body language, suggesting that a particular section or group of people of a particular faith or ethnicity is an enemy of the country, the President has consciously sowed the seed of hatred and turned one part of the country against the other.

“For threatening the fragile peace and unity of the nation by

his unprecedented clannishness and cronyism, the President has acted in ways unbecoming of a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Failing to foster a sense of belonging and involvement among the various people of the federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties, the President has violated Sections 15 (2), (3) (a) and (b) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“For failing to establish and inaugurate the Nigeria Police Council as envisaged by the Constitution, the President swore on oath to uphold and defend, he has breached/violated the extant provisions of Section 153 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Section 217 (2) (c) of the Constitution said, ‘the Federation shall, subject to an Act of the National Assembly made in that behalf, equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective for the purpose of – suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the

National Assembly. Therefore the powers vested on the President by virtue of the combined effects of Sections 217 (2) (c) and 218 (1) to determine the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation, are not absolute and in fact subject to the supervising authority of the National Assembly as expressly stipulated by the Constitution. Section 218 (4) clearly states that, ‘the National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the regulations of – (a) the powers exercisable by the President as Commander –inChief of the Armed Forces of the Federation; and (b) the appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of members of the armed forces of the Federation.’

A senator, who is a die-hard loyalist of the President, said: “There is nothing like the impeachment process against President Goodluck Jonathan. Some senators are just playing to the gallery.

“Even if they attempt to serve a notice of impeachment, they cannot get the required one-third of members of the National Assembly to push it through. Those of us in PDP will never allow the tyranny of the minority to take place in the National Assembly.”

Tambuwal urges CJ to reassign suit Continued from page 4

1999 Constitution. He rested his decision on that earlier judgment of Justice Chukwu aforementioned.

“The said judgment of Justice A.F.A Ademola, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/4/2014 is subject of four pending Appeals at the Court of Appeal Abuja Judicial Division viz Appeal No. CA/A/ 343/2014 and Appeal No. CA/A/ 343A/2014 and CA/A/343B/2014 and Appeal No. CA/A/343D/ 2014.”

He listed five similar suits be-

fore the Federal High Court which had not been decided.

He added: My Lord, similar suits were variously instituted by various parties and are pending before the Federal High Court No. 7, presided over by Justice A.R Mohammed, in Suits No. FHC/ABJ/CS/621/ 2013; Between Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo & 78 Ors VS. Alh. Bamanga Tukur & 4 Ors and are at various stages of proceeding pending before Court 7, presided over by Justice A.R Mohammed, some of these cases are:

•Peoples Democratic Party vs the House of Representatives & 53 Ors – Suit FHC/CS/ABJ/4/ 2014.

•Peoples Democratic Party VS. the House of Representatives – Suit FHC/CS/ABJ/57/ 2014 • Peoples Democratic Party VS the President of the Senate – Suit FHC/CS/ABJ/65/2014.

•Nnamdi Nwokocha Ahaiwe VS. the Senate President & Ors – FHC/ABJ/CS/79/2014 •AG Federation VS. the House of Representatives– FHC/ABJ/CS/317/2014.

Gunmen attack Ado-Ekiti prisons Continued from page 4

The allegation enraged the opposition camp in the state who described it as another ploy by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration to tarnish the name of the APC. The state APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, in a telephone chat, denied the involvement of his party in the attack on prison, wondering what his party would gain in attacking the prison.

“What shall we gain for doing that ? We cannot do such things.

It is not in our character to do such things.

“Very soon the PDP and the governor will have to accuse God for running a clueless government and for their shortcoming.”

This is a figment of imagination of a clueless government and I want to ask, is it the APC

that is in charge of the prison or the security of the state?

“It is the figment of their imagination that the APC is connected with the breaking of the prison. We don’t know anything about it.”

Fayose condemned the attack, saying those who perpetrated it will not know peace.

The governor spoke during the swearing-in of the Head of Service, Mr. Gbenga Faseluka and five Permanent Secretaries.

The permanent secretaries sworn in are Mr. Ademiloye Fasiku, Mr. Ayodeji Ajiboye, Mrs. Olabisi Akindele, Mr. Lawrence Babatope and Mr. Sunday Komolafe.

The immediate past Head of Service, Mr. Bunmi Famosaya, was sworn in as Special Adviser in the Office of the Governor.

Fayose described the gunmen who blew up the prisons as “evil people”, regretting the escape

of some prisoners.

He said, “We regret the jailbreak perpetrated by the evil people, which led to the escape of many inmates.

“I want you to know that I have the grace of God on me and whoever plans against us shall be destroyed. My prayer is that they will not know peace”.

The police said they were collaborating with the authorities of the prisons to arrest inmates who escaped.

Spokesman Victor Babayemi told reporters that Commissioner of Police Taiwo Lakanu personally led officers and men to the scene of the incident on learning about the attack.

Babayemi said the vicinity of the prison had been cordoned off while security in and around the place had been tightened.

He added that some of the escapees were re-arrested while others still at large are being trailed.

Nigeria terminates U.S training of soldiers Continued from page 4

east.

The United States laws prohibit the sales of certain lethal weapons to countries whose military are accused of consistent gross human rights violations.

The training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills, with the goal of helping the Nigerian army build capacity to counter Boko Haram.

The U.S. government however said it will continue other aspects of the extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programmes.

The statement said: “At the request of the Nigerian government, the United States will discontinue its training of a Nigerian Army battalion. ”The first two phases of training were conducted between

April and August 2014, and had provided previously untrained civilian personnel with basic soldiering skills. Based on mutual assessment of the Nigerian Army and U.S. trainers, a third iteration of training was agreed upon with the intent of developing the battalion into a unit with advanced infantry skills.

“We regret premature termi-

nation of this training, as it was to be the first in a larger planned project that would have trained additional units with the goal of helping the Nigerian Army build capacity to counter Boko Haram. The U.S. government will continue other aspects of the extensive bilateral security relationship, as well as all other assistance programmes.”

Court okays PDP’s plan Continued from page 4

The PDP argued, in a supporting affidavit, that unless compelled by an order of mandamus, the Speaker will not perform his official duty as provided under Section 68(2) of the Constitution, “an office he has clung tenaciously to in spite of his full knowledge of the consequence of a change of party membership”.

After listening to Ahamba’s

two motions, Justice Mohammed granted the PDP leave to apply for an order of mandamus. He also ordered the party to serve the order he made and copies of the originating processes on the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

He adjourned the hearing till December 12. The judge also ordered that hearing notices be issued on the respondents.

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

60

FOREIGN NEWS Putin in Turkey amid Syria differences

T

HE leaders of Russia and Turkey met yesterday amid striking differences over the crises in Syria and Ukraine, but the two presidents were expected to focus instead on their countries’ booming economic and trade ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkey accompanied by a large delegation, including 10 ministers, for discussions officials say will concentrate on trade, including a Turkish demand

for a price reduction on natural gas purchases from Russia.

The two countries, who are major trading partners, have set an aim of increasing their two-way trade volume from $33 billion to $100 billion by 2020.

Russia provides the bulk of Turkey’s gas and is set to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. Turkish construction firms are active in Russia while millions of Russian tourists travel to Turkey each year.

Ebola crisis: WHO upbeat on targets

T

HE World Health Organization (WHO) says the 60day goals it set itself for tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa have largely been met.

The WHO set a target of isolating and treating 70% of patients and of safely burying 70% of victims in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea by 1 December.

The WHO’s Dr Bruce Aylward said only the treatment figure in Sierra Leone had fallen below the mark.

He warned much work was still needed to get to “zero cases”.

The WHO’s latest report put the death toll from the Ebola outbreak at 6,928 in the three hardest-hit West African countries. However, Dr Aylward said about 1,000 deaths reported at the weekend from Liberia were “actually non-Ebola deaths... and we will be taking them off”.

Dr Aylward, the assistant director general in charge of Ebola response for the WHO, said the “yawning gap” between disease levels and the capacity to cope had narrowed significantly.

This was a “very very different place than 60 days ago”, he said.

“We now believe that two of the three countries - Liberia and Guinea - are currently treating more than 70% of the reported cases and in Sierra Leone they’re probably achieving that in most of the country.”

Dr Aylward praised changes made by communities in the three countries, and the “strong national government leadership” they had shown.

HK protesters warned not to return to streets

H

ONG Kong Chief Executive CY Leung has warned pro-democracy activists not to return to the streets following the latest outbreak of violence.

His comments come after some of the worst clashes between protesters and police since the pro-democracy demonstrations began two months ago.

Police armed with pepper spray, batons and water hoses cleared activists from Lung Wo Road in the Admiralty district.

Government offices were briefly shut yesterday.

In a move which prompted fears of further violence, an injunction was granted on Monday to clear an area just west of the main protest site in Admiralty.

In another development, prominent student leader

•Police rushed at protesters on Lung Wo Road tunnel...yesterday

Joshua Wong announced he was beginning a hunger strike to demand renewed talks with the Hong Kong government.

Protesters want the people of Hong Kong to be allowed to choose their leaders in the 2017 elections without intervention from Beijing.

The Chinese government has said it will allow direct elections, but candidates for the post of chief executive will be screened first.

The unrest flared late on Sunday, after student protest

leaders called on supporters to converge on the offices of Mr Leung on Lung Wo Road.

The road is a short distance away from Connaught Road in Admiralty, the major road protesters have been occupying for two months.

The court injunction calls for the dismantling of barricades in part of Connaught Road and Harcourt Road, just west of the main Admiralty protest camp.

Protesters, many wearing hard hats and carrying um-

The dissatisfied or excluded members bid their time. They gathered their numbers, lobbied the club executive and at a general meeting gathered enough majority to turn the tables against us.

They changed the RULES without bringing down the house.

The majority of members voted for first come, first to play. The club coach was mandated to get a register and people recorded their arrival numerically and by time.

Many of us “the Stars” as we considered ourselves, felt hard done by. We came late as was our old habit (and they die hard) only to see that the early birds had started the game. You could not register by proxy.

Why is all this relevant you might wonder?

It is about RULES. Every human endeavour is governed by RULES. Written and unwritten.

Those who thrive in life are those who make it their business to know these RULES and how to ‘use’ them to their advantage without physically damaging the process.

I have used the football metaphor, because football is life. Every game of football has many of life’s challenges and experiences embedded in it.

Passion, from fans and players, contest and competition from them, errors by players and officials, injustice by officials,

M

RS MadikizelaMandela grew apart from Nelson

Mandela during his many years in prison South Africa’s government has opposed a legal bid

by Winnie Madikizela-Man-

dela to claim ownership of her ex-husband Nelson Mandela’s rural home, in an ongoing dispute over his estate.

In court papers, Mrs Madikizela-Mandela said that South Africa’s first black president had unlawfully registered the property in his

name, reports say.

Mr Mandela died nearly a year ago, and left his ex-wife out of his will.

His estate was provisionally valued at 46 million rand ($4.3m; £2.5m).

The thrice-married Mr

Democracy Gate: My takeaway joy, pain, disappointment, victory, defeat and many more are all human experiences that are embedded into each football game of 90 minutes, or more.

You will see tears and laughter as well on a football field. Tragically deaths have also occurred. Ask Bebeto how he felt when Kanu scored that wonder goal.

Romance and love have existed in and around football if you ask David Beckham and Gerard Pique.

Drugs and gambling are present from time to time, and so is violence, if you ask Zidane and Cantona.

There is a lot of drama too, if you ask referee Festus Bolaji Okubule.

Football has endured because all the stakeholders have chosen to live by the RULES, sometimes very unfairly.

We have seen faked fouls where officials are deceived to award undeserving penalties, erroneous red cards and sending offs, that alter the course of the game.

But that is why football is LIFE. We play on, in spite of these, because there is a next game, and what goes around comes around. If only we could manage our politics like football. How really pleasant this would be.

And this is the reason for my takeway on Democracygate, as I choose to call the assault on the National Assembly by the

brellas - the symbol of their movement - moved into Lung Wo Road on Sunday, throwing bottles, helmets and umbrellas towards police.

Police ordered them to retreat, then charged at protesters, eventually forcing them out of the area. Police said that 40 people were arrested and a number of officers were injured.

Yesterday morning government offices were shut and staff were told to stay at home, but government employees were back at work by the afternoon.

South Africa govt opposes bid for Mandela’s home

OPEN FORUM •Continued from Back Page

PHOTO: REUTERS

Executive.

Yes, the Executive, because the police is an agency under the direct control and supervision of the Executive and the buck on this matter must stop at the desk of the Chief Executive.

The genesis of that event is all too well-known.

Since 1999, the party in power has had the run of things. Governors and legislators had left other political parties in droves to join them.

From 1999, when that party had only 21 Governors, it grew in size by fair and foul means to almost 30 Governors at one time.

For 16 (Sixteen) years, it had a commanding majority in both chambers of parliament. Senators and House of Representatives members elected on other party platforms deserted their platforms to join the party in power.

It did not matter whether there was a faction or not within the party, they left.

The parties they left went to court but those cases often expired because the tenures of the parliamentarians often ended before the courts could decide.

The party in power enjoyed their spoils. In spite of the clear Constitutional provisions they turned a blind eye. These were the RULES as they wanted them.

The ‘losers’ did not did lock down parliament. They did

not try to take the Mace. They sharpened their skills to play this game on the RULES defined by the party in power.

If you like, they were like a Manchester United of the Premier League in the 1990s.

They could buy any player, they had more money, at least until a Roman Abramovich came to Chelsea and Etihad came to Manchester City.

Obviously the party in power did not see this day; when 5 (FIVE) of its governors would leave, and when a principal officer and indeed the head of one chamber of parliament it controls would also leave. Or did they ignore the signs?

It is my takeaway that they must live by the RULES they invented until the courts can determine the matter.

They cannot be allowed to invent new RULES; such as shutting down the parliament. It is nothing short of treason.

Parliament is the greatest expression of the will of the people in a democracy. If you aggregate the number of votes that elected each and every Member of Parliament, I would like to think that they will exceed the votes that elected the Executive.

If democracy is about the majority, the Executive is in the minority here. It cannot have its way.

As Charles Umeh put it recently in the Guardian

Newspaper quoting Wael Ghonim “the power of the people is greater than the people in power.”

I find it incomprehensible and indefensible that the Executive could have attempted to subvert parliamentary independence and the will of the people.

We have seen some parliamentary brinkmanship even in the more developed democracies. But their Executives have not resorted to the type of impunity that we were assailed with back home.

Can you imagine the Capitol Hill or the House of Commons being taken over by policemen?

The matter is compounded by an attempt to change the story and talk about people jumping the fence or climbing the gate.

That may well be wrong, but we must never forget that events in life are a series of “causes” and “effects.”

But jumping the fence or the gate does not subvert the will of the people. It is an illegal taking over of parliament that is an assault on Nigeria.

Parliament is the stadium where politics is played. The rule book is the Constitution, the laws and rules made under it, and the conventions that have evolved.

Any assault on it is an assault on the people. You cannot do that. It is unconstitutional. Let us play by the RULES. We will be better for it.

Mandela divorced Mrs Madikizela-Mandela in 1996.

The two were South Africa’s most celebrated political couple until their marriage collapsed after 38 years.

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela launched court action in October, saying she had “customary rights” to the rural home they once shared in Qunu village.

Mr Mandela married Graca Machel on his 80th birthday in 1998 Mr Zuma, Mrs Machel and Mrs Madikizela-Mandela were united in mourning Mr Mandela’s death last year Lawyers want Mr Zuma and the Department of Rural Development to produce official records proving the property belonged to Mr Mandela, including the validity of the title deed, local media reports say.

South Korean trawler sinks off Russia’s coast

O

NE person has died and at least 52 are missing after a South Korean fishing boat sank off Russia’s far eastern Chukotka peninsula, officials say.

The trawler Oryong 501 became stranded in the Bering Sea at around 05:20 GMT, the South Korean government said.

The 60-strong crew comprised 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and a Russian inspector.

Russian media said seven people had been saved, but weather and water conditions were hampering the search.

The boat sent no distress signal before the incident, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing law enforcement officials.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap said the 1,590tonne Oryong 501 was built about 40 years ago and was operated by Sajo Industries.

61

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

SPORT EXTRA 2015 SECONDARY SCHOOLS SPORTS FESTIVAL

ACCW:

Lagos inaugurates MOC, Sub Committees

First Bank beats Sfaxien for first win

T

HE Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Enitan Oshodi has inaugurated the Main Organising Committee (MOC) and the various SubCommittees for the Lagos State Secondary Schools Sports Festival (IBILE 2015).

The Secondary Schools Sports Festival, which is slated to hold from January 26 to February 6, 2015 according to the Commissioner, who is also the Chairman of the MOC, is in line with the developmental focus of Governor

Babatunde Fashola (SAN)’s administration on Grassroots Sports Development.

The Festival will also help the state to prepare better for the National School Sports Festival (NSSF) which is an annual event.

Over 500 secondary schools from the public and private schools in Lagos State that include Lagos State Government schools, Federal Government schools, military schools and missionary schools and more will participate in 21 sports. The sports are Ath-

letics, Chess, Gymnastics, Scrabble, Swimming, Weightlifting, Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo. Wrestling.

Others are Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Fives, Basketball, Cricket, Handball, Volleyball and Hockey, while Deaf Sports Athletics and Table Tennis will also feature.

The venues for the games are Teslim Balogun Stadium, Rowe Park, National Stadium, Agege Stadium, Unilag, Tafawa Balewa Square (Cricket Pitch) and Jubril Martins Secondary

F

IRST Bank Basketball Club beat host, CS Sfaxien 77-66 to record it first win at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women in Sfax, Tunisia yesterday.

The Nigerian champions had the upper hand throughout the game, leading with 25 points in the third quarter of the game. It was also a revenge for First Bank who lost to Sfaxien in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in 2012.

BBC AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR 2014.

Brahimi beats Enyeama

T

HE 24-year-old midfielder becomes the first Algerian to win the award, which is decided by football fans around the world.

Porto winger Brahimi told BBC Sport: “It’s a big honour for me to receive this wonderful trophy. I owe it to my country, Algeria, and to all the people who voted for me.

“It’s also a trophy for the whole of Africa, because it rewards an African player.

So I am really very happy.”

After a record number of votes were submitted from fans in 207 Fifa-registered countries, Brahimi came out on top ahead of Nigerian Vincent Enyeama, Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ivorian pair Gervinho and Yaya Toure.

And he is thrilled to have been acclaimed as the best player on the continent for the past year.

School.

In a related development and prelude to the sports festival, Lagos State Sports Forum with the Theme “School Sports; The Way Forward” will come up on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at the Molade Okoya- Thomas Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Expected participants is 600 games masters from public and private schools in Lagos State, chairmen and technical directors of 36 sports associations in Lagos State and representatives from Ministry of Education.

From Adeyinka Adedipe, Sfax, Tunisia The Nigerians raced to a 12-0 lead in the early minutes of the first quarter eventaually winning the quarter 27-13. The Tunisian came back strong but still trailed First Bank 39-31 at the end of the first half. At the resumption of the third quarter, the Nigerian extended the lead and won the third quarter 60-44.

Sani Abacha Stadium ready soon •Brahimi

T

HE contractor handling the renovation of the Kano Pillars home ground, the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano, has promised the arena will be ready for use in two weeks.

Pillars retained their Nigeria league championship title last month after they hosted their home games in the Sabongari Township Sta-

dium in Kano as the Sani Abacha Stadium was having a face-lift.

Contractor Peters Oche said at a meeting with officials of the NFF, Kano FA and Pillars he will complete his work in a fortnight.

He also said he plans to stage a four-nation tournament at the stadium in test run the facilities.

62

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE NATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

63

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.9

NO. 3050

TODAY IN THE NATION ‘Even at normal times, one would have expected that the segment would constitute the pivot around which the economy is expected to spin. Under an emergency, that segment naturally assumes the status of the proverbial golden hen deserving of extraordinary protection from the fiscal and monetary authorities’ SANYA ONI

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

T

HESE Mainstreamers – they never give up.

They have been at this game since the First Republic, canvassing that the way for the Yoruba nation to achieve self-actualization under the Nigerian sun is to eschew the diversity undergirded by the federal arrangement and insert itself in a political mainstream, the better to secure a bigger allocation of the country’s resources and political appointments.

In one breath, and with admirable highmindedness, they proclaim that the Yoruba cannot all subscribe to the same political tendency. In the very next breath, they seek to corral the Yoruba into what they regard as Nigeria’s political mainstream The group appears in many guises and disguises but the goal is always the same: to deliver their kinfolk from their addiction to opposition politics and thus rescue them from the marginalisation the group claims has been their unhappy lot of the Yoruba since independence.

They returned briefly to the spotlight last week, this time as Concerned Yoruba Leaders, under the aegis of the Yoruba Unity Summit, which is at bottom PDP in the Southwest, plus the usual professional mainstreamers and “monarchs” who command little allegiance and even less authority in their domains but nevertheless bask in the delusion that they represent and speak for their “subjects” – a delusion that those courting them are only too willing to cultivate and nurture with blandishments.

This latest outing was staged in Ile Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba, in the Oduduwa Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University, an institution dedicated to learning and culture.

There, gathered for common purpose under the beatific shadow of The Great Progenitor, were his legatees and his children, that purpose being to cajole President Goodluck Jonathan into granting the Yoruba a bigger slice of the spoils and preferment of national office in return for their block support for his re-election.

Or maybe it was the other way round: The Mainstreamers would deliver the block vote of the Yoruba Southwest to ensure Dr. Jonathan’s re-election, and he in turn will, as he phrased it, “take care of the Yoruba.”

The one was offering what it does not possess to secure what the other cannot provide.

The rump of the participants comprised “monarchs” from Ekiti, formerly Fountain of Knowledge and Land of Honour, now Land of Stomach Infrastructure, bused to the venue by the great apostle and promoter of Yoruba unity, Governor Ayodele Fayose.

And the conference was treated to a rivetWATCHED dumbfounded, probably like many other Nigerians, and perhaps as many foreigners on global television, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his colleagues locked outside the National Assembly. Many thoughts came flooding through my mind.

But the most important for me of those thoughts was simple yet profound. I asked myself when we will live by the RULES that we make.

As I pondered that question, my mind also went back to about 41 years ago, when my mother bought me my first rubber football. I had never played competitive football beyond kicking the ball around in our yard. I think it was my 10th birthday and I had done everything to get what I wanted – A football.

So off to the playground I went with my ball. To my surprise, all those I met there were bigger, older and more talented.

They took my ball and did not allow me to play. It hurt. I protested. At a time, they stopped the game, asked me to take my ball and never come back.

If I wanted to play, they said, I had to learn I had to earn my right to play, and owning the ball did not give me that right.

Those, were the RULES of engagement. It was skill, talent and hard work. Not who got to the field first or who owned the ball. Indeed, some people were selected in absentia, while we who got there first, had to wait, to see if we would get the unlikely chance to play. It

I

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

Mainstreamers at work, again

•Babatope

ing disquisition on Mainstreaming by no less an authority than Ebenezer Babatope, who has been espousing the subject with the same zeal with which he used to espouse socialism and Awoism before he saw the light.

Dr. Jonathan, trust him, rose magnificently to the occasion. He told his hosts how, almost four years later, he was still in shock that his efforts to ensure that a member of the House of Representatives from the Southwest was anointed Speaker – fourth in the national hierarchy- — was sabotaged by politicians from the self-same Southwest who cared more about ideology than the progress of their own people.

I cannot vouch that this is the kind of progress the Mainstreamers had in mind.

After all, the previous Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, is better remembered for threatening to unleash the military— as distinct from ordinary riot police — on the people of Ekiti to mainstream them under the canopy of the PDP, and for accumulating great personal

wealth under cloudy circumstance, than for anything he did for the Yoruba nation, for Ogun State, or for that matter his hometown, Abeokuta.

As Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro is remembered only for mobilising armed soldiers to terrorise contractors and crew working on projects being executed for the public by the APC-controlled Lagos State Government, claiming without fear and without research that the sites belonged to the Federal Government.

God help Lagos State and its residents if he succeeds in his gubernatorial bid.

It may well be that the fault was with Bankole and Obanikoro, not with Dr. Jonathan. In whatever case, the man does not to nuance.

To return to the Yoruba Unity Summit: They could have staged the conference with overarching symbolism in the expansive quarters of the Ife monarch, guardian of the O’dua flame and a key participant at the Summit. They could have staged it with no great loss of symbolism in any of the event centres in the ancient city. Instead they chose the faded but still fetching campus of the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Niyi Osundare, NNOM

T

HE 2014 Nigeria National Order of Merit could not have gone to a worthier recipient than Niyi Osundare, globally acclaimed and much-garlanded poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist, distinguished teacher and public intellectual of the first rank, a man of great moral stature who leads by personal example rather than by precept.

In Osundare, we find consummate literary craftsmanship, social vision, and a passion for justice and human freedom distilled into a voice of reasoned engagement that is all the more powerful for being modest. In a lofty cause, you could not wish for a more formidable ally. In an ignoble venture you could not have a more uncompromising adversary.

Amidst the gloom that has encircled and now threatens to choke Nigeria, this award has largely being spared the corruption that rules the land. It is a reassuring testament that Nigeria can still be true to its highest ideals.

Akoyejo (or “gatherer of prizes,” loosely translated from the Yoruba): The Nobel, next.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

OPEN FORUM By

BABATUNDE FASHOLA

Democracy Gate: My takeaway never happened. At least not soon enough.

I made my decision. I would play by their RULES. On the first day as I said, I did not get a game.

To add salt to my personal injury of disappointment, the ball (made of rubber) hit a sharp object, promptly got deflated and destroyed.

I left without a game, with a deflated ego and a deflated and permanently damaged ball.

But my resolve was strong. I went back many times without getting a game. I made myself busy as a spectator. One day, the regular goalkeeper did not come. They needed one. I had no goalkeeping skills but offered to be in goal.

It was the only way to get in the game.

Surprisingly they agreed. I threw my feet,

The university has never been a citadel of the cant and humbug that were being peddled at the Summit. The Mainstreamers could not have swooped on the campus or invited Dr. Jonathan along without the knowledge and consent of the university authorities, who should have known that the suffocating security presence that usually went with such conferences would create tension and disrupt campus life.

Apparently, the authorities did not care, and neither did the Mainstreamers.

Where students at the Obafemi Awolowo University saw wanton provocation, not a few of the summiteers saw an opportunity for reinforcing their stomach infrastructure, a goal rendered all the more urgent by the collapse of the Naira.

And many indeed were the summiteers who returned home with the tensile strength of that part of their anatomy greatly enhanced, I gather.

The horrific carnage at the Kano Central Mosque that claimed more than 100 lives and left more than twice as many injured occurred on the same day that Dr. Jonathan landed in Ile-Ife in a military helicopter to woo the Mainstreamers for his re-election bid, and barely a week after he declared in London that it was a sure sign Nigeria had Boko Haram on the ropes when that nihilist group had not overrun another town in one week.

Even so, he responded to the carnage with characteristic swiftness, ordering the security services “to launch a full-scale investigation and to leave no stone unturned until all agents of terror undermining the right of every citizen to life and dignity are tracked down and brought to justice.”

If the security services had the capacity to do that, would the carnage have occurred in the first instance?

But again, not even Dr. Jonathan’s most implacable critics have ever accused him of giving a damn about nuance.

my body and anything I could move at the ball.

I prevented many goals without knowing how. Somehow, they were making a discovery. They thought I was a great goalkeeper.

From that day, my story changed. My reputation in the neighbourhood went ahead of me. They called me all sorts of nicknames after famous goalkeepers and I even started getting picked while still at home and games were delayed for me to arrive.

After a length of time in goal, our star striker suddenly travelled, I asked if I could try to play outfield. Luckily another boy, Idris, was showing promise as a goalkeeper.

My movement outfield gave him a chance.

He seized it as I seized mine.

I scored in that game and my ordeal in the

goal ended forever, while Idris relished his position in the goal. The place he favoured most.

We survived by following these unwritten RULES of street side football in Lagos and I am sure these RULES still prevail.

Nobody locked the field, removed the goal posts (often made of all types of materials) or stopped us from playing.

Many members of my generation who grew up in Lagos in the 1970s will remember these RULES. It was not first come first served. It was survival of the fittest. At least in terms of footballing skills, and also lobbying your friends who had the skills and had earned their stripes to pick you.

It was not a matter of my way or the highway.

That was why I did not walk away with my ball, which incidentally was the only ball available on that first day.

Many years later, as a member of a veterans football club, the All Stars International Football Club in Surulere, that RULE remained applicable.

We had by then become men; husbands, fathers, and business leaders. We had a club Constitution but the RULES applicable on the field of play was not the Constitution. It was talent and ability, lobbying and friendship, not who got to the field first.

It worked injustice as far as some less endowed members were concerned. But those were the RULES. •Continued on page 60

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025,Oshodi, Lagos.

Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361. Editor Daily:08099365644, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14 Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790 WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO