The Nation June 30, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

Senator: Buhari’s pace is calculated NEWS Page 7

•Shehu Sani defends President

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 10, NO. 3261 TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

Ogun varsity students vandalise factory NEWS

Page 9

•13 trucks destroyed in protest over deaths •www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

•INSIDE: NEW BOSS FOR DPR P11 GOVT PROMISES ACTION ON POWER PROJECTS P5

Four-man panel to probe how NNPC blew N3.8tr DMO: Nigeria's debt is $9.4bn

Excess crude cash depleted by $2.1m Buhari: revenues must for treasury

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IGERIA's external debt stock profile stood at 9.4 billion dollars on March 31, the Debt Management Office (DMO) says.

The information is on DMO’s website, showing the country’s debt stock profile.

The figure shows a decrease of about 300 million

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

H

OW did the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spend N3.8 trillion in three years?

This is the puzzle a four-man committee has been asked to resolve.

The four “wise men” are: Governors Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna).

Oshiomhole yesterday broke the news to State House correspondents after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired

by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He was accompanied by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, Kaduna State

Business Page 11

INSIDE

•An eight-page E-Business pullout •Pages 13-16 &49-52

NFF fires Falcons coach Okon

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Continued on page 4

HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has kicked out Super Falcons head coach Edwin Okon. It appointed Christopher Danjuma as head coach in acting capacity.

Chairman,

FACTS AND FIGURES

N8.1tr N3.8tr

•Oil revenue generated by NNPC in 3 years

$4.1b $2.0b

•Cash in Execess Crude Account as at November 2014

•What NNPC failed to remit to Federation Account

•Cash in Execess Crude Account

•Oshiomhole •Dankwambo •Emmanuel, •El-Rufai are probe committee members

•The suspects in the killing of ex-Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) Vice Chancellor Prof. Albert Ilemobade and the car stolen from the deceased...yesterday.

‘We strangled ex-FUTA VC’

•P9

NFF Technical and Development Committee, Felix AyansiAgwu praised the efforts of the former technical crew headed by Okon...

Sport Page 18

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WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS EVER RETURN?

Lawan group faults Saraki over principal officers •STORY ON PAGE 4

Unity Forum senators write APC Chairman Oyegun

Tunisia tragedy: Family worried

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HE last time family members heard from John Stocker and his wife, Janet, the couple raved about their beach holiday in Tunisia.

“They were having a lovely time,” said Stocker’s son, Mark.

Foreign Page 60

•RUSH AT BANKS TO BEAT BVN DEADLINE P55 THREE FIDELITY BANK EDS RETIRE P55

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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Envoy: it’ll make

•Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (middle) receiving an award from the Chairman, Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Law Week Dinner, Mr. Ebun Sofunde (second left) at a dinner organised by the NBA Lagos Branch in honour of Fashola's excellent performance in office at City Hall, Lagos. With them are: Mr. Wole Olanipekun (left); Chairman, NBA Lagos Branch 2015 Law Week Committee, Mrs. Tolani Edu-Adeola and Chairman, Lagos NBA Branch, Mr. Alex Muoka.

Jeffrey Hawkins will next month bow out of Nigeria as the United States (U.S.) Consul-General. Hawkins, who was appointed in 2012, is on the way to the Central African Republic (CAR), subject to U.S. Senate’s approval. In this interview with OLUKOREDE YISHAU, he speaks on the leadership crisis in the National Assembly, Boko Haram, possible visit of President Barack Obama to Nigeria, visa administration and the Nigerian political class.

A

RE you happy you are escaping from Nigeria?

(Laughs) I am not escaping from Nigeria. I have been kicking and screaming from Nigeria. I am not happy I am leaving. I am certainly happy I have a new assignment, a new challenge to accomplish. I am happy I have a new challenge. Did I want to leave here or was I looking forward to a departure? Absolutely not! This has been a wonderful place •From left: Managing Director, Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi; Chairman, Lafferty Group, United Kingdom, Mr for me. In my 25-year career, it has Michael Lafferty; President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mrs. Debola Osibogun; former been without doubt my favourite Commonwealth Secretary-General,Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, place to have served and the most Mr. Segun Ogunsanya at the CIBN’s annual lecture in Lagos. rewarding professionally.

What were the challenges you faced?

Essentially, the challenges are multiple and they are challenges any diplomat anywhere will face. I think the most important questions are the op•Heirs portunities, the advantages we have.

Holdings Most important, there has been a conChairman gruence of Nigerian and American Tony O. interest. On some levels that I have Elumelu (left) and not been able to put my fingers on, Mali’s there are some things Nigerians and President Americans have in common and they Ibrahim get along well. Nigerians that move Boubacar to the United States tend to do very Keita when well and Americans here have chalElumelu lenges and issues… but diplomats visited the who have served here tend to have a President in Mali...yesterday. good memory. So, there were challenges but there were a lot going on that made this work very rewarding.

President Buhari is visiting the U.S. Is there any plan for President Obama to come to Nigeria?

I don’t think there is anything on the table right now. I am going to guess that that is something they may talk about when President Buhari is in Washington. I will hope that the President will come here because it is such an important country and it is such an important partner for us.

It will make good sense.

What do you make of the happenings at the National Assembly?

I think it is early days yet. Obviously, the National Assembly is a sovereign legislative body, the Senate and the House of Representatives have the right to make their own choices about who they want for their own leadership…Even though the House of Representatives and the Senate are controlled by the President’s party, it does not mean they must do everything the President wants.

The U.S. has always raised the concern about the need to fight insurgency with utmost respect for human rights. How possible is this?

It is a hard thing, but it is a balance the United States is struggling with.

We’ve been involved in conflict resolution in Afghanistan and I think what is important to keep in mind is that you can’t win war against insur•From left: Principal, Kenna Partners, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu; Prince Yemisi Shyllon; Pro-Chancellor, Pan-Atlantic University, Mr. Pascal Dozie; Vice Chancellor, Pan Atlantic University, Prof Juan Elegido when the university signed an agreement gency if you do not bring the people with Shyllon on the preservation of Nigeria’s literary heritage in Lagos.

along with you, particularly in a place like Nigeria where the military is fighting to protect the civilian population. So, if there is a sense that the human rights have not been respected by the security forces, that gets in the way of proper success in the fight against insurgency and this will be morally wrong and legally wrong.

So, it is something that you have to look at very carefully and I think President Buhari has responded well to the concerns of international NGOs. ..That is the proper approach.

What do you make of Nigerian politicians?

Like Nigeria itself, Nigerian political class is very diverse and I have met Nigerian politicians that I have deeply admired and impressed with their concern for the people and their desire to do things with creative ideas.

I have also met Nigerian politicians who were less impressive. .. I do hope that the Nigerian people tend to lavish their attention and votes on the former category, not the latter.

Do you think political parties in Nigeria are driven by principles or just power?

I think the party system should have more emphasis on ideologies, policies and approaches to solving problems and less emphasis on individuals. This idea of switching parties back and forth because you couldn’t get one job you want, I don’t think that is in Nigeria’s interest and flies in the face of democracy tenets.

How much benefit has Nigeria got from AGOA? Not very much so far. Obviously, the oil sector has a lot of benefits from it. United States has worked very hard in co-ordination with Nigeria to encourage Nigeria to diversify its export to the United States and that will very much be to the interest of Nigeria and I hope the Buhari administration will look into this. The whole idea of that Act is to improve trade relations...If Nigeria is not benefitting from that, that is too bad.

During the collation of the results of the last presidential election, the ambassador visited the collation centre and some people have described this as interference in our domestic affair. What is your take on this?

The people who feel that way obviously do not understand the role of international observers. The ambassador was accredited as an observer like the rest of us and we have the right and really the responsibility to ensure the electoral process across the board is being conducted in a transparent way. Part of that is being at the polling centres when the people are voting and being at the collation centre after the election has taken place. It is a huge part of the process and it is something that international

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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e good sense for Obama to visit Nigeria

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I don’t think there is anything on the table right now (for Obama to visit). I am going to guess that that is something they may talk about when President Buhari is in Washington. I will hope that the President will come here because it is such an important country and it is such an important partner for us. It will make good sense •Hawkins

and domestic observers should be able to observe because it is part of the democratic system.

Currently, Nigerians can get UK visa valid for 10 years. When will

that happen for American visa?

Generally speaking, the United States approach to visa is on reciprocal basis. So, whatever the other country does, we do. Currently, Nigeria

gives only two years visa to United States citizens travelling to Nigeria. So, we are more or less obliged to do the same. Do we want Nigeria to expand that? That will be something we will

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quickly look at, because obviously, a longer visa period means less visa interviews for our staff and less work. We will love that, but our people need to benefit from same.

How much help can Nigeria get from the U.S. to recover stolen funds?

Working through legal process, through law enforcement agencies and Nigeria will get as much help as other countries. Obviously, the wider goal of fighting corruption is one that the United States shares with many of its partners and will love to work with Nigeria.

Let’s talk about Kashamu Buruji.

Why does the U.S. want him so badly?

I am not going to discuss an ongoing legal matter.

Lessons learnt from your stay in Nigeria…

The lessons learnt are really basic and they are that Nigeria is absolutely essential actor on the African stage and on the wider global stage and it is quite important for the United States to be engaged with Nigeria. We have been working and cooperating with Nigeria because this is a country with an important present and a much more important future. We need to be here and we are here.

What changed from the Nigeria you have lived in for three years and the Nigeria you heard of before you came here in 2012?

I heard a lot from people, particularly in the policy world, about the investment opportunities here. There were also a lot about 419 and corruption and the rest. Also there was a growing awareness about Boko Haram as I was coming here in 2012 and so concerns about security. Those are facets of a bigger reality. It doesn’t define our relationship and it doesn’t define Nigeria.

Were there things you planned to do and couldn’t do in three years?

One of the things is not travelling more in the North. I took a one-day trip to Kaduna from Abuja. I would have loved to see the horsemen in Kano and go up to Sokoto.

What will you miss about Nigeria?

The people obviously and the work, the work has been really wonderful.

Joda panel to Buhari: Sack Jonathan’s last-minute appointees

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HE Ahmed Joda transition committee has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately terminate “all dubious appointments” made by former President Goodluck Jonathan in his last nine months in office.

It also recommended a review of all contracts awarded by the administration in its last 18 months, the Premium Times reported yesterday.

The Joda committee reviewed the hand over notes it received from the Jonathan government and made recommendations for the take off of the Buhari government.

The recommendations are part of what it urged the Buhari administration to do within three months of assumption of power to save cost and “enhance liquidity.”

The Joda panel wrote an 800-page report from the over 8,000 pages submitted by the Jonathan government.

According to the Premium Times which claimed to have written from the report, a list of prompt, medium and long-term decisions Mr. Buhari must take, or authorise, within 30, 45, 60 and 90 days of taking office, to create immediate impact, reduce government liability, increase revenue and stabilise the polity, was made.

To deal with the persistent fuel crisis and backlog of unpaid salaries by states and the Federal Government, the committee advised Buhari to “borrow immediately or use CBN (Central Bank) advances” for salaries and fuel subsidies to “avoid chaos”.

For contracts, it urged the administration to “review all contracts signed in the last 18 months by FGN”.

“Non-strategic contracts that have not commenced or where no payments have been made can be cancelled,” the committee said, while

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That move will “save expenditure on nonstrategic projects, and can free up cash flows for other vital initiatives

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•President Buhari

also urging Mr. Buhari to negotiate exits for projects where mobilisation payments have been made but work not commenced.

That move will “save expenditure on nonstrategic projects, and can free up cash flows for other vital initiatives”, the committee said.

•Dr. Jonathan

The decision on contract is to be taken within 90 days from May 29, and should be handled by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The committee said the president should

review all appointments made by Mr. Jonathan in the last nine months, and “for strategic agencies requiring professional leadership, the government should terminate all appointments not based on merit”.

The Joda panel said such move will save costs associated with poor decision making by an incompetent management team, and must be delivered within 45 days of the new government.

That recommendation appears to take into consideration the last-minute appointments by the former President after he lost the March 28 election.

Further measures to check waste, increase efficiency and accountability, the committee urged the government to quickly implement a single bank account, to be called Treasury Single Account, and to commence full implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act within 60 days, and chase up any outstanding funds from all government offices.

This will curtail the “excesses carried forward from previous administration”, it noted.

The committee also advised the government to fully implement the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and Integrated Government Integrated Financial Management Information System across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) within 60 days.

The two facilities were used by the past government to check thousands of “ghost workers”, who drew billions of naira in salaries that ended in the pocket of fraudulent officials.

But, more than other proposals in that unit of the report, the committee paid greater attention to government contracts and urged President Buhari to be decisive in reviewing the deals.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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Lawan group faults Saraki over principal officers

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OR the second time in three weeks, the Unity Forum backing Sen. Ahmed Lawan yesterday wrote All Progressives Congress( APC) National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun, faulting Senate President Bukola Saraki’s excuse for appointing the principal officers of the Senate.

The Forum said Saraki was incorrect in claiming that Zonal Caucuses had taken decisions on the choice of principal officers before the President of the Senate received the list of candidates favoured by APC from Odigie-Oyegun.

The group also said the APC’s letter got to the Office of the Senate President a day before the zonal meeting was said to have been arranged It also stated that the Zonal Caucuses do not exist in the Standing Orders of the Senate.

The Forum, which made its

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

position known in a June 29 letter to the APC National Chairman, said” “Our attention has been drawn to the letter written by the President of the Senate to our party, the APC, which was published in some newspapers on Saturday the 27th of June 2015 in response to the nomination of principal officers earlier forwarded by the party to the Senate President and we wish to state the facts of the matter as follows: ” In the said letter the Senate President alleged that: “The said letter was received after various APC zonal caucuses had taken their decisions to nominate candidates as principal officers of the Senate - in line with parliamentary convention and extant provisions of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended (Chapter VI:

Rules 28,29 & 31 refers). This was a follow-up of the prior APC Senate caucus meeting held on 23rd June 2015.” ”We wish to state that it is not true that the so-called zonal caucuses, which do not exist in the Standing Orders of the Senate, acted before the letter from the party was received by Senator Bukola Saraki .

“This is so, as Senator Suleiman Nazif announced during a meeting of all APC senators on Tuesday 23rd of June 2015 that the party had already forwarded the names of those who are to lead the APC caucus to the Office of the Senate President.

“Thus, the letter got to the Office of the Senate President a day before the so-called zonal meeting was said to have been arranged. To the best of our knowledge no such meetings of the zonal caucuses ever

took place but probably a meeting of a clique of the supporters of the Senate President.”

The Forum explained that attempts by Sen. Gbenga Ashafa to draw the attention of the President of the Senate to the procedural error was overruled. ”It is to be noted that Senator Gbenga Ashafa on Wednesday the 24th of June 2015 raised a point of order in the Senate Chamber, asking the Senate President to announce the names of the APC Principal Officers of the Senate as submitted by the party.

Senator Bukola Saraki overruled,” the Forum added.

The Forum alleged abuse and misinterpretation of the Standing Orders of the Senate by the President of the Senate.

It insisted that it was the prerogative of the APC, not zonal caucuses, to nominate the prin-

•President Muhammadu Buhari (left) greeting Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode during the Inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the Aso Villa, Abuja...yesterday. Waiting to greet the President (from right) are: Governors Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) (backing the camera), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Simon Lalong (Plateau)

cipal officers in line with Rules 28, 29 and 31 of the Senate.

It added: “It is a fact that Democratic Convention conferred on the party to appoint those who are to lead its Caucus in any parliament, as they are those that shall lead and galvanise members of such party in the parliament towards the actualisation of the manifesto of the party.

“Hence, Chapter VI: Rules 28,29 and 31 of the Senate Standing Orders referred to by the Senate President do not confer on the so-called zonal caucuses the right to appoint the APC principal officers as they state as follows: *Order 28: There shall be a Majority Leader of the Senate.

The Majority Leader shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of Senators. *Order 29: There shall be a Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. The Majority Leader shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of seats in the Senate. *Order 31: There shall be a Chief Whip of the Senate. The Chief Whip shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of seats in the Senate.

The Forum also said the nomination of Sen. Ali Ndume and others as principal officers contravened Order 3 Rule 2 of the Senate because ranking was not followed.

The aggrieved senators added: “We want to draw the attention of the party that the names of those announced by the Senate President to lead the APC Caucus in the Senate is in contravention of Order 3 Rule 2 of the Senate Standing Rules which stipulates as follows : “Nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointment of principal officers and other officers of the Senate or on any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators.

•Lawan

“In determining ranking, the following order shall apply: (i) Senators returning based on number of times re-elected; (ii) Senators who have been members of House of Representatives; and (iii) Senators elected as Senators for the first time. ”It is important to note that those nominated by the party are not only the highest ranked in their respective zones but the entire APC caucus:1. Majority Leader: Senator Ahmed Lawan (Two- term member of the House of Representatives and serving third term in the Senate) North-East; against Senator Ali Ndume who was announced by the Senate President that did two terms in the House of Representatives and is currently a second term senator.

2. Chief Whip: Senator Adesola Adeyeye (One-term member of the House of Representatives and second term Senator) South-West.

3. Deputy Majority Leader: Senator George Akume (3rd term in the Senate) North-Central 4. Deputy Chief Whip: Senator Abu Ibrahim (3rd term in the Senate) North-West, as against Senator Bala Ibn Na Allah, who was announced by the Senate President who did two terms in the House of Representatives and is a first term senator. ”We strongly believe that the nominees of the party were arrived at in accordance with the provisions of the Senate standing orders.”

Four-man panel to probe how NNPC blew N3.8tr Continued from page 1

El-Rufai and Emmanuel.

According to him, from the reports presented to NEC by NNPC and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Monday, N8.1 trillion generated from oil sales during the period ought to have been remitted to the Federation account.

Only N4.3 trillion was remitted to the Federation Account

by NNPC, Oshiomhole said.

He also disclosed that former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spent $2.1 billion from the Excess Crude Account without approval between November last year and May 2015.

His words: “This is the first time we had a National Economic Council meeting in which under the instructions of the President, NNPC and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation were compelled to provide information in black and white on issues as they relate to the total sales of Nigeria crude from 2012 to May 2015. This has never happened before and for us this is profound.

“What we saw from those numbers, which I believe Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned about

‘NNPC, CBN, Customs, NPA must remit incomes into Federation Account’

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RESIDENT Muhamadu Buhari has directed all revenue generating agencies of the government to remit all incomes into the Federation Account in line with the constitutional requirement.

He spoke yesterday against the practice during former President Goodluck Jonathan administration when some of the agencies held back some of the generated income.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday, Buhari said: “All Revenue Generating Agencies, such as Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Customs Services (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), among others, shall comply with stipulated Financial Regulations and Administrative Instructions in their remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.”

He promised that the Federal Government will ensure more accountability,

N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the Federation Account between 2012 and May 2015 was N4.3 trillion and NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 trillion.

“We are talking about transparency, we are talking about change. And what we saw from those numbers - I believe that Nigerians are entitled to

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

transparency and integrity in the distribution of the Federation Account as it will abide by the provisions of Sections 80 and 162 of the Constitution.

The President advised governors to seek efficient ways to pay workers’ salaries in their states.

Many of the state governments, hit by a cash crunch, are owing workers.

Inaugurating the National Economic Council (NEC) headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari also asked all levels of governments to be more prudent in the management of their resources.

He urged governors to look inwards to boost their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to supplement their incomes from the Federation Account.

He said: “Your Excellencies, it is evident that the task of ensuring growth, job creation and equity is quite enormous. Consequently, we must kick-start this process by cultivating a culture of prudent management of resources at all levels of Gov-

know - is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the federation acount from 2012 to May 2015 was N4.3 trillion.”

“What it means is that NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 trillion. The major revelation here is that the entire federation — the federal gov-

ernment.

“This will entail looking inwards to secure sustainable ways of increasing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and harnessing growth potentials of each state to supplement the Federation Account allocation to states.”

“I, therefore, urge Council members to consider, as a matter of urgency, exploring efficient means of gradually liquidating all unpaid salaries of staff, which have brought untold hardship to thousands of families.”

The President also advised governors to embark on projects that will meet immediate needs of the people within available resources.

He solicited for neighboring states’ cooperation on projects, such as interstate and feeder roads, soil erosion, desertification and other developmental programmes.

He said efforts should be made to seperate politics from development programmes.

“Our country is one and we who have

ernment, the states and all the 774 local governments— the amount the NNPC paid into the federation account for distribution to these three tiers of government came to N4.3 trillion and NNPC alone took and spent N3.8 trillion.”

He added: “Which means the cost of running NNPC is much more than the cost of

Continued on page 61

running the Federal Government. That tells you how much is missing, what is mismanaged, what is stolen; these are huge figures.

“We need to earn and spend; it is basic law of accounting that even if you run a cigarette shop where you sell ThreeRings, you don’t sell and spend. You sell, take to your

bank account, and you budget for your procurement including cost of running your business.

“There is no enterprise manager who goes to the market and sells and just begins to spend, otherwise nobody needs to budget. And because you are running a democracy and you are running three tiers of government, and the resources involved belong to these three tiers of government, the only lawful way decreed by the constitution, this is not an administrative regulation; it is not a policy derivable from a circular; this is from the express letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution as amended that for example if NNPC needs to spend money, it is obliged to prepare its budget’ like every other business enterprise, that budget will be scrutinised by the executive and forwarded to the National Assembly and the National Assembly will accordingly appropriate it.”

He faulted the NNPC for spending without appropriation.

Continued on page 61

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Panic in Saraki camp over President’s snub

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HERE is panic in the camp of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s silence on the protracted crises in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) triggered by the controversial election of the National Assembly principal officers.

Presidency sources said the President, after reviewing the events that culminated into the controversial steps taken

by APC senators, expressed concern about the implications of the crisis for the ruling party and his government.

Also, reconciliation has not commenced in the party, contrary to reports that it has taken off. A party official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity yesterday, said the APC national caucus meeting slated for today, had been put off because “anger is still raging.” The source also said that the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) also scheduled for this week was put on hold. However, the National

•Reconciliation yet to start in APC

By Emmanuel Oladesu

Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party will hold on Friday, although the crisis may not be one of the items on the agenda.

President Buhari has not officially received Dr. Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers since their elections, which violated party directives. The President, said the source, was particularly unhappy about the emergence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Ike Ekweremadu, as the deputy Senate president.

“The President is yet to commence official dealings with the National Assembly.

He may not have anything to do with them, until the imbroglio is resolved. That may have informed his decision to postpone ministerial nominations,” said the source.

President Buhari, the source said, was appalled by the rejection of the directive

of the party leadership during the election of principal officers. Although the party had endorsed Senator Ahmad Lawan for the position of the Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as the House Speaker, following the pre-inauguration mock election conducted by the party, Saraki allegedly mobilised his camp to team up with the PDP Senate caucus to undermine the party’s directive.

Ahead of the election, a deal was allegedly worked out with the PDP members to swing the votes towards Saraki, with a promise to reward the PDP with the position of the deputy Speaker.

The result was the emergence of a bi-partisan leadership in the National Assembly.

Also, the senators and House members also rejected the directive of the party on the selection of other principal officers-Majority Leaders, Deputy Majority Leaders, Chief Whips and Deputy Chief Whips. In fact, the Senate President and Speaker re-

fused to read the letter of the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, on the matter on the floor of the House. APC had endorsed Senator George Akume and Femi Gbajabiamila for the positions of Majority leaders, the directive was turned down.

Instead, Saraki named Senator Ali Udume as the Senate leader.

According to the source, the President felt betrayed by some party leaders, who allegedly fuelled the festering crisis by supporting the senators who rejected the party’s directive. “This has led to some forms of mutual suspicion, mistrust, distrust and confidence. In fact, I suspect that the crisis is an eye opener for the President. These events may shape the next critical steps he will take, especially on appointments and the anti-corruption war.”

On reconciliation, the party chieftain said: “Difficult days lay ahead for the APC, the Senate and the House of Rep-

resentatives,” adding that “the past must be revisited before navigating into the future.”

The National Assembly has adjourned sittings till next month. During the three week-break, the Senate President and Speaker are expected to reach out to aggrieved leaders and stakeholders who were taken aback by the affront on the party leadership. Another source said: “The plan is to send powerful emissaries to the President and other aggrieved leaders so that they can put the past behind them.

The fear is that, having ignored the party’s directive on the selection of the National Assembly principal officers, they may be excluded from making contributions to ministerial nominations. The Senate President and the Speaker will promise to give concessions to the Lawan/Akume and Gbajabiamila/Mongono camps during the composition of National Assembly committees. But, the problem is that trust has been eroded.”

The source added: “The bipartisanship leadership of

•From left: Police Public Relation Officer, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu; General Manager, Corporate Organisation, Nigeria Postal Service, Mr Taye Olaniyi; I-G Solomon Arase; Former DirectorGeneral of NTA, Dr Tonnie Iredia; DIG Hilary Opara And Some Police Public Relation Officers, during a workshop in Abuja ... yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Name your alleged abductors, Marafa urges Saraki

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POKESPERSON of the Senate Unity Forum, Senator Kabiru Marafa, yesterday challenged the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to name those he claimed planned to abduct him on June 9 before his emergence as Senate President.

Senator Marafa, who represents Zamfara Central, in a

text message to reporters in Abuja, said Saraki should be prevailed upon to name those who wanted to abduct him as a plot to prevent him from entering the National Assembly Complex on June 9.

Saraki had at an interview with reporters at the weekend claimed that before the inauguration of the Eighth Senate on Tuesday, June 9,

2015, there were plans by unnamed persons to abduct him as a way of preventing him from attending the inauguration and personally accepting his nomination as Senate President.

The Senate President said he arrived at the National Assembly Complex as early as 6am and hid incommunicado at the car park for over

four hours.

Saraki said he only went to the Senate chamber around 10am when he was told that the clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, was already in the chamber for the inauguration of the Eighth Senate.

But, Marafa, who was one of the Senators opposed to Saraki’s emergence as Senate

President said Nigerians should ask Saraki to name those who attempted to abduct him.

Marafa asked, “Who wanted to abduct him and why.”

The Zamfara lawmaker said he would react fully to the allegation when the names of the alleged abductors are disclosed.

Nigeria‘ll never approve gay marriage, says cleric

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AME-SEX marriage will never be legalised in Nigeria, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. James Odedeji, has assured.

Reacting to America’s Supreme Court pronouncement that declared same-sex marriage legal last week, Odedeji said those expecting the same latitude in Nigeria would be disappointed.

He said legalisation of gay marriage in America would ruin the nation and further erode its Christian heritage.

Speaking with reporters on Sunday shortly after the Trinity ordination of the Diocese, Odedeji said: “Gay marriage

is barbaric, unchristian and not scriptural. It is not of God. “If gay marriage is approved somewhere else, it cannot be approved here because we know it is not true.

Whoever approves gay marriage is a man or woman of darkness.”

The cleric expressed confidence that government officials will never back gay marriage.

He stated: “It is a wrong practice and God will not allow it to happen in Nigeria.

“I believe that the government of Nigeria will not allow it to happen because it will ruin us as a nation.”

He took a swipe at Americans for embracing same-sex

marriage, declaring that it was worrisome that the world power was drifting from its Christian values.

“What is happening is that they are too comfortable.

What the United States of America is doing now is a path to destruction which will not last.

“It is unfortunate that we are expecting more from them which we are not getting and I assure you that God will not allow that to happen in Nigeria,” he stressed.

He faulted the huge wardrobe allowances for federal lawmakers, saying many of them should not draw such money because they are not poor.

Odedeji called for a downward review of the allowances in line with the economic realities.

“A lot of people in the country do not have food on their table. Parents are unable to send their children to schools and those who are voted by the same masses are being paid outrageous allowances.

“It is unfortunate and I want to assure you that majority of political office holders are living above average before being elected. They can afford living large without being paid these huge allowances,” Odedeji stated.

On the free-for-all at the House of Representatives last week, the cleric declared it as

unacceptable, lamenting that the lawmakers were simply fighting over their pockets.

He said: “Fighting and creating unpalatable scenario among members of House of Representatives has become their usual practice.

“It is about their personal interest, about naira and kobo and majority of them are there for their selfish interests and stomachs.

“This attitude is inappropriate. It is unfortunate that if they have not thrown chairs and tables in their sittings they have not started. These are men and women that are supposed to be of worthy character and their conduct is very shameful.”

•Saraki

the National Assembly has implications for the APC. The deputy Senate president is from the minority party. In the absence of the Speaker, someone from the minority party will preside. Automatically, the Senate President is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. He is the representative of the National Assembly in the ECOWAS Parliament. He receives the budget on behalf of the Senate from the President. This is the greatest problem for the ruling party now.”

Buhari promises action on hydro-power projects From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Monday reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to give the highest possible priority to the rapid improvement of power supply across Nigeria.

He gave the promise while speaking with officials of CGGC, the Chinese Construction Company working on the Mambilla Power Project, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said it was quite regrettable that power generation in Nigeria had failed to keep pace with national needs over the years.

He said his administration would therefore ensure that the Mambilla project and other unfinished hydropower projects in the country are completed expeditiously to boost power supply.

He said: “I am very much interested in Mambilla and other hydro-power projects, not only for the improvement of power but also for irrigation as both power and irrigation projects will help to improve the lives of Nigerians.

“I am going to ask for details of the Mambilla Hydro-Power Project and others. Very soon, we will get together and redefine the project agreements for faster results,’’ he said.

The Managing Director of CGGC, Mr. Zhang Heng, who led his company’s delegation, told the President that work on the Mambilla project was being delayed by the failure of previous administrations to provide the counterpart funding specified in the agreement with the Chinese government.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

NEWS

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HE Accountant General of the Federal (AGF), Alhaji Amed Idris, has said corruption cannot thrive without the support of finance managers.

Idris spoke in Abuja yesterday.

He warned his workers that he would not tolerate corruption.

Amed Idris said this yesterday as he formally assumed office at the Treasury House.

The AGF assured workers of the OAGF that he would operate an open-door policy while being fair and just to everyone.

The AGF thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for

J

Corruption can’t occur without finance managers, says AGF From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor, Abuja

considering him “worthy of the appointment and pledged to commit totally to transparency and accountability, and probity in the management of the public purse.”

According to Amed Idris, “this is a trust from the almighty and I pledge to discharge my duties sincerely to the best of my ability within

sury is entrusted with public funds and therefore the responsibility of providing adequate accounting system and controls with best practices to ensure revenues accruing to government are fully collected and accounted for and authorized payments are used for purposes meant; and that assets and liabilities are fully recorded and financial statements are rendered timely.”

The former acting AGF, Mr. Mohammad Dikwa ,solicited support for the AGF stressing that “the ultimate target of the current reforms in the treasury was to allow for zero tolerance for corruption.”

Gombe State Government Hassan Dakwambo, who was also former AGF, appealed to candidates who lost out in their bid to lead the treasury office, to support Idris.

Court remands ex-FCT minister’s aide, others in prison for alleged N192m fraud

USTICE Abubakar Talba of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja yesterday ordered that Yau Mohammed Gital, the Chief of Staff to the immediate past FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed and two others be remanded in prison.

The judge’s order followed their arraignment on a 10-

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretence, conspiracy and forgery involving about N192,000,000.

Also arraigned with Gital, who was said to be a member of the Land Allocation

Atiku hails Jega Abuja

ORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has hailed the outgoing Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, ProfAttahiru Jega.

Atiku noted that the INEC boss whose tenure expires today has set an enviable record.

The former vice president added that the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections with the introduction of Card Reader and Permanent Voters Card (PVC) had tremendously boosted Jega’s reputation and earned him the respect of Nigerians and the international community.

A statement signed by Mazi Paul Ibe and released by the Atiku Media Office (AMO) in Abuja yesterday quoted the former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as saying Jega disarmed even the worst pessimists.

Atiku said Jega had made a huge difference in the conduct of credible elections, and that he left no one in doubt that he deserved the appointment in the first place.

He explained that he was impressed by Jega’s remarkable comportment, patience, calmness and presence of mind under very tense situations.

The former Vice President noted that Jega had set a standard that would require his successor to work twice as hard to maintain his record and build on it.

He said it was not how many years an official spent in office that matters, but how he was able to make an impact within the scope of the opportunity he had to serve his country.

Atiku said: “Prof Jega didn’t disappoint Nigerians, and that history will write a favourable verdict on his impressive record.”

Committee, Federal Capital Territory Administration, include his former Special Assistant, with Shuaibu Yakubu and the Managing Director, Jibmir Ventures Nigeria Limited, Jibril M. Tahir.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

(EFCC) stated in the charge that the three accused persons to obtained money from various unsuspecting persons under the false pretence that the money was for processing and facilitation of land allocation by the Federal Capital Development Authority.

The three pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them, following which their lawyer, Nura Imam applied to the court to grant them bail pending their trial.

The judge adjourned to July 2 for ruling on the bail application and ordered that the accused persons be held in prison before the next date.

NEXIM loans exporters N107.48b in 24 Years

From Vincent Ikuomola,

F

the ambit of the law and extent regulation.”

He noted that “corruption as a national challenge cannot occur without active collaboration and connivance of finance managers. Officers with corrupt tendencies must be prepared to purge themselves of it as the treasury under my watch would maintain zero tolerance for corruption” he said.

The AGF noted that the “trea-

T

HE Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) says it has extended N107.48 billion to exporters in 24 years and helped create 64,096 direct jobs.

The Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Mr Robert Orya, gave the facts when he received Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom in his office in Abuja.

Orya said the bank facilitated foreign exchange generation to the tune of $32.64 billion in 24 years.

NEXIM Bank’s interventions , Orya said, are targeted

From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor, Abuja

at four major sectors of the economy with huge developmental impact, namely manufacturing, agro processing, solid minerals and services.

Since he assumed office in August 2009, Orya said, NEXIM has disbursed/guaranteed N47.18 billion to exporters. This amount, he said, “has been able to facilitate the creation of 27,917 direct jobs thus generating foreign exchange of $378.51 mil-

lion annually within the period”.

In Benue State, Orya said, the bank was ready to support the state towards industrialisation giving the huge raw materials there.

“NEXIM has supported various projects in Benue State with total disbursement of N4.14bn. Of this amount, N3.12bn or 78 per cent was disbursed between 2009 and 2015,” he added.

Ortom said he was at NEXIM to ask the bank’s assistance to industrialise the

state “owing to the fact that government alone does not have the needed funding to achieve that objective”.

Ortom said: “Since the allocations from the Federal Government had been dwindling, there is need to look for other sources of funding projects that would create jobs and reduce the level of poverty among the people.

“To create jobs and wealth for our people, we need to take advantage of agriculture and solid minerals and NEXIM bank’s role is vital in all of these.”

Buhari restores Deutsche Welle’s accreditation From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday restored the Villa Press Pass of the Radio/TV Deutsche Welle State House Correspondent, Mr. Ubale Musa.

The tag was withdrawn by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration on May 11 when Musa asked the visiting Chadian President questions perceived embarrassing to the government.

Presenting the re-issued Press Pass to the correspondent at the Presidential Villa, the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Mr. Femi Adesina, said Musa’s reaccreditation as a State House correspondent was in keeping with Buhari’s commitment to correct the wrongs of the past.

He said: “Part of the change promised by President Buhari is correcting things that were wrongly done before. Mr. Ubale Musa’s accreditation was wrongly withdrawn.

“To redress the wrong done to him by the withdrawal, we have returned his Villa Press Pass to him so that he can continue his work without hindrance.”

Musa thanked President Buhari and his media team for restoring his accreditation.

He promised that he would continue to do his work as a State House Correspondent objectively, professionally and with due regard for the ethics of journalism.

Kingibe, Jiga, Imam eye SGF

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Group Political Editor

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•From left: Retired Methodist Bishop of Owo Diocese, Right Reverend Babafemi Olaniyan, elder son of the late Reverend Amos Solarin, Mr. Seun Solarin, Methodist Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese and Bishop of Lagos, The Most Reverend Joseph Ajayi and eldest daughter of the late Reverend Solarin and first female Registrar, University of Lagos, Mrs. Folashade Olumide at an evening of popular Methodist Hymns and Songs to mark the 50th remembrance of the late Reverend Solarin in Lagos.

PHOTO: BOLA OMILABU

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HE lawmaker representing Oyo federal constituency, Prince Akeem Adeyemi, has said members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the National Assembly must abide by party supremacy to aid development.

According to the Oyo prince, who spoke in Oyo town after a stakeholders’ meeting, added that the party’s interest must supercede any other interest, except in few cases.

Why lawmakers should respect party supremacy, by Rep He said: “The ugly incident at the National Assembly is unfortunate. Why would ambition divide us at a time we are supposed to be seen as change agents? We all contested under the platform of the party and by doing so, we have indirectly pledged to abide by all its directives.

Without discipline, the party

will crash.

“However, it has happened. What we need now is to move forward. It must not be allowed to fester because we have suffered for long as a nation. Nigerians would be at the receiving end except we reconcile ourselves. But to prevent future occurrence, every stakeholders must be

called to a stakeholders meeting where all the lingering issues would be ironed out.”

Adeyemi urged major stakeholders in the party to sheath their sword and move forward in the interest of the nation, reminding them of the sacrifices they made before the merger became fruitful.

ORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, Ambassador Baba Jiga, Alhaji Kashim Imam and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu are among those eyeing SGF in the Buhari Administration, it was learnt yesterday.

A party source said these eminent Nigerians were leaving no stone unturned to get the position, which is considered a key appointment.

However, it was learnt that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership wants a candidate from the South. According to the source, the agitation for the zoning of the position to either the Southeast or Southsouth gathered momentum, following the emergence of the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate Leader from the North.

Kingibe, seasoned diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jiga and Imam are from Borno State. Onu, a former university teacher and Third Republic governor of Abia State, is from Abia State.

The source said: “The three politicians are eminently qualified for the position.

They have experience. But, the President and the party will brainstorm on the appointment and the President will make the right choice.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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NEWS

Buhari’s anti-corruption drive unsettles PDP

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be uncomfortable with President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to recover public funds allegedly stolen by government officials in the last administration.

Apparently worried by the decision, the PDP has expressed fears that the exercise might become a witch-hunt aimed at discrediting and undermining the opposition.

A statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, cautioned the President against politicising corruption.

The PDP said: “While we expect the present administration to be serious about the fight against corruption, probe and prosecute those involved, irrespective of their party lean-

•Party warns against witch-hunting

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

ings, we restate that these must be done within the ambits of the law and must not be used as a witch-hunt ostensibly to discredit and undermine the opposition.

“We, therefore, caution against the current drama of politicising the issue of corruption in the country.”

The party said no amount of intimidation, blackmail and propaganda by the Presidency would stop it from standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians in demanding that the President kick-start his government and commence implementation of his campaign

promises.

The statement described as “lame and diversionary” claims by the Presidency that the financial mess created by the last PDP led administration was still being cleared.

Buhari had stated that he met a near empty treasury and huge debts at the time he assumed the Presidency on May 29, a situation which, he said, was one of the reasons for the delay in appointing his ministers.

But the PDP said the delay was creating loopholes through which some persons claiming closeness to the President have infiltrated executive bodies, arm-twisting and conniving with unscrupulous elements in the bureaucracy to siphon the

nation’s resources in the last 30 days.

The statement added that the PDP would not in any way be cowed by threats and wild allegations by the Presidency into abdicating its responsibility of speaking out as an opposition party where the system is derailing.

“The PDP and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians were appalled by the response from the Presidency regarding our call for prayers to enable President Buhari-led APC administration locate its bearing, compose a government and halt the prevailing stagnation with its huge negative impact on the system.

“Instead of addressing the

issues raised, the Presidency descended to insults, abuses and innuendos, a stance which not only bears out the case made by the PDP, but also raises questions about the capacity of this administration to shoulder the enormous responsibility of governance.

“Furthermore, the analogy of the Augean stable is completely baffling to us at this level as it goes to a great length to question the capacity and the sincerity of those around the President.

“In Greek mythology, Hercules in his ingenuity took the task and efficiently cleared the Augean’ stable in a day for which he demanded a reward of a tenth of fine cattle belonging to the king.

“Nigerians would not want to believe that in the so-called clearing of the Augean stable, although not delivering in one day; President Buhari wants to play Hercules in his demand, this time, by wanting to run the government alone without the statutory components of the executive as enshrined in the constitution.

“We ask, is the so-called clearing of mess responsible for his inability after 90 days of winning an election to make up his mind on rudimentary appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff and his demand for 15 special advisers as approved by the PDP controlled Seventh Assembly since June 5, 2015?”

Saraki, Dogara deny link with oil barons

MDCAN faults resident doctors’ strike

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T

ENATE President Abubakar Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara yesterday denied any link with discredited oil barons.

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, said it was false and a calculated mischief to suggest that his emergence as Senate President was facilitated by oil barons.

He described the allegation as a case of calling a dog a bad name to hang it.

The Senate President added that since he was elected unopposed on June 9, the claim that he was sponsored by oil barons cannot hold.

Saraki had earlier made the same denial when the story first broke.

The statement reads in part: “One of such desperate attempts to justify this blackmail and others was the story published in newspapers of Monday June 29, as contained in a statement issued by the former Interim National Chairman of APC,

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor, Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

Chief Bisi Akande.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.

“We make bold to state that in the 7th Assembly, Senator Bukola Saraki was Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee, which exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

“Until Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.

“Therefore, surely, Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President.”

Dogara, who also described the allegation as baseless and lacking in substance, called on Nigerians to disregard them.

A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Adamu Hassan, described Akande’s allegation as “unfortunate and uncharitable”.

The statement said Dogara’s “antecedence, capacity, experience, being a team player, incorruptibility and his progressive mind and activities are the qualities that endeared him to his colleagues”.

It added: “We challenge Chief Akande to name the socalled oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the Speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Speaker was to investigate the

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

•Saraki

allegation of fraud in the oilswap contract awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

“A resolution instituting investigation into the allegation was passed with a resolve to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC, as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

How then can the House under the leadership of Mr. Speaker order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored his election?”

•Sani (left) inspecting the library with the Chief Librarian, Mr. Muhammad Ndagi, during his visit.

HE Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has faulted the ongoing strike by resident doctors in the Federal medical facilities.

The strike, according to MDCAN President, Dr. Steven Oluwole, did not have the backing of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

NMA had directed all medical centres on strike to suspend it.

Oluwole, who briefed reporters yesterday in Abuja, noted that the cycles of strikes and counter-strikes that have bedeviled tertiary hospitals over sundry issues have weakened the health services.

He added that incessant strike actions have only shown maximum disrespect for human lives and jettisoned the established order of humanity to care for the sick.

Oluwole said MDCAN, which met at the weekend to review the state of healthcare delivery in the country, was not happy that several tertiary hospitals were not functioning optimally or not rendering services due to industrial actions initiated by resident doctors.

He added that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of MDCAN urged the striking doctors to abide by their oath and respect the directive from their parent body, NMA.

Lam Adesina’s son apologises for National Assembly crisis From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE lawmaker representing Ibadan North East/South East , Adedapo Lam-Adesina, has apologised to the citizenry following the disruption of legislative activities last week in the House of Representatives.

Augments over leadership positions led to a free-for-all in the House.

Lam-Adesina spoke when he met with the Community Development Council (CDC) of his constituency.

The lawmaker described the crisis as part of the teething problems of a new party in government after the amalgamation of different political forces, which culminated in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We shall surely overcome this crisis and sooner put smiles on the faces of Nigerians by enacting laws that will address all the mirage of problems confronting us as a nation,” he said.

He appealed to the Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Deputy Speaker Lasun Yussuf to interact with the party’s national leaders to bring about a quick resolution to the logjam.

Institute plans fair for job seekers, employers

PHOTO: NAN

T Buhari’s pace is calculated, says Shehu Sani

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HE Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has alleged plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rush President Muhammadu Buhari into the traps and landmines left behind by the former administration.

Sani, who spoke yesterday following PDP’s criticism of Buhari on appointments, said the President’s pace was calculated.

The senator noted that the former ruling government had destroyed Nigeria and its

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

economy as well as impoverished the citizens in the last 16 years.

He said this while addressing reporters shortly after his visit to the National Library in Kaduna.

The senator added: “President Muhammadu Buhari’s pace is not deliberate, but a calculated and deliberate acts to ensure that the steps he take are in the best interest of Nigeria and in the best interest of our people.

“The Jonathan administration had laid a lot of landmines, snares and traps. You can’t rush President Buhari into such landmines, snares and traps. His critics want him to fall into such traps.

“Those who are criticising Mr. President are the agents of the past. But, despite the challenges of APC, Nigeria cannot go back to the PDP. PDP represent evil and we are paying the price of allowing the PDP to rule Nigeria for 16 years.

“It is only people that are shameless that will be critical

of the APC and President Buhari, after piling such enormous debt for our country, after looting the treasury of our country, after allowing blood to flow in all parts of Nigeria.

And now, you are talking about government being slow, I think they are very unfair.

“We as a party will definitely overcome our differences and wax stronger, and no matter what it is, Nigerians will not go back to the past, because the past represents darkness and darkness is represented by the PDP.”

HE Institute for Professional Excellence has concluded plans to hold a two-day career fair starting from July 11 and 12 in Ikeja, Lagos to stem the tide of unemployment in the coun-

try.

The expo, which is the first of its kind, is expected to be a platform for job seekers and employers of labour to meet. It will also be an avenue through which those who want to switch jobs can do so.

Giving an insight into the fair, the lead consultant of the institute, Mr. Joel Omeike, told reporters at a news conference “that organisations are looking for extra qualifications from would-be employees. Unfortunately many job seekers don’t have the idea of what organisations, want in specific terms. This expo will help to bridge that gap.”

He said the expo would enable people to build their career, adding that every industry is peculiar. “We are going to help organisations to find talent. The platform will create a forum where people can be taught and sensitised on how to build their career and how to tap opportunities in the industry.”

The industries that will come to exhibit at the fair, according to him, include oil and gas, telecoms and IT, financial, manufacturing, service and entertainment industry.

The fair, which will hold in three locations, Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, on different dates starting from Lagos, will also create opportunity for applicants to be educated on how they can get jobs and how to write applications and proposals that will catch the eye of employers of labour.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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NEWS

How we killed ex- FUTA VC , by suspects

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HE suspected killers of the former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Albert Ilemobade, yesterday narrated how they strangled him to death.

The suspects, who were his domestic workers Daniel Ita (guard) from Cross River State and his sacked driver, Olayemi Bamitale from Ekiti State, as well as the late Ilemobade’s red Toyota Rav 4, were paraded by the police in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The duo were arrested by the police in Ogun State before they were transferred to Ondo State.

Family members, members of the Archbishop Vining College of Theology, Akure, where the deceased was a member and representatives of Imade College, Owo Old Students Association, led by Yinka Akinola, besieged the police headquarters yesterday.

They were there to catch a glimpse of the two suspects, who killed the 78-year-old man.

Last Monday, it was reported that the don was abducted by unknown gunmen. His decomposing remains were discovered at an isolated store in his house on Sunday.

Bamitale (36) was said to have been sacked in April

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

when he allegedly stole the deceased’s Toyota RAV4. It was gathered that the vehicle was with him for four days before he returned it, when he could not get a buyer.

Bamitale was said to have been detained by the police before sympathisers appealed to the deceased to allow his bail.

It was gathered that despite his sack, the suspect was always in contact with Daniel on how they would steal the car.

He said: “Baba was nice to Daniel and me. Daniel called me one day and said he had contacted his herbalist on how to steal the car without any trouble.

“Daniel asked me to come to the House at Ijapo Estate on Sunday by 9pm. When I got to the place, he told me that he had met his herbalist who told him that if we want to take the car we must kill Baba and take some sand from the house so that there won’t be any problem.

“I asked him how we are going to lure Prof outside.

Daniel said he would lure Baba to the security room and from there we will strangle him to death. And from there we will go to his room and take whatever we want since

Mama, his wife, is in another room.

“He went to Baba’s sitting room and called him, that there was a power surge.

Baba passed through the kitchen to the security room.

It was there that we grabbed his neck, until he stopped breathing.

“We took his body to a store beside the car park. We put a picture on his chest so that if the body is found, they will think that his murderers dropped the picture.

“When we entered his room, we took the car key, N7000, laptop and two phones. Daniel locked the gate from outside and we went away with the vehicle.

“At the estate gate, the guards allowed us to go when they saw Daniel and that was around 11pm.

“We slept at Alagbaka because Daniel’s brother, who lived at Arakale in Akure, refused to pick up his phone.

The following morning, Daniel asked us to take the car to Calabar but I told him that the N7,000 with us is not enough to buy fuel to take us to Calabar.

“We agreed to take the vehicle to Lagos. But when I explained the circumstances to my contacts in Lagos, they all said they couldn’t buy it. “ On our way, officials of the Federal Road Safety

•The late Prof. Ilemobade

Commission (FRSC) detained us for incomplete documents.

“They took the car to a nearby police station where we were directed to pay N3000 at First Bank. There was no money on us again. The following day, we took the laptop and two phones to Epe to sell.

“When we moved round, we were told that the phones have security codes and unless we flash them, we couldn’t sell them. But we were told of the dangers of flashing the phones.

“Daniel saw one of his kinsmen, who agreed to buy the phones and he gave us N3000.

I went to the bank to pay the money and we took the tell-

OOU students vandalise factory

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UNDREDS of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) students yesterday besieged a plastic factory on the Lagos - Ore Expressway, damaging products and 13 trucks.

The angry students vandalised the reception area, threatening a repeat assault next week, if the government did not bring to book the truck driver, who reportedly caused the accident in which 12 of their colleagues died last Friday.

The factory, said to belong to some Indians, owns the truck carrying a 20 - feet container, which fell atop a passenger bus conveying the students.

For the better part of yesterday, vehicular movement came to a halt on both sides of the dual carriage way.

Travellers turned back.

There was gridlock as motorists struggled to make a detour.

•13 trucks destroyed From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

The students, wearing black T-shirts and jeans, arrived in four buses, including two luxury buses. They were in tears as they converged to pray on the accident scene.

For over an hour, they sang dirges for the victims and prayed for the repose of their souls.

A pastor, Tobi Adesanya, from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) prayed for the Christians.

Oresanya Adewale, a 300 Level Business Administration (Education) student, prayed for the Muslims.

The prayers soon morphed into yelling and cursing of the driver and his company.

Policemen, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps

(FRSC) and operatives of the Ogun State Traffic Agency (TRACE) tried to calm down the students but they refused to be consoled.

For over three hours, the students seized both lanes of the expressway on the Ikenne - Ilisan stretch and later marched on the factory.

Armed policemen stationed at the gate laboured to prevent the students from advancing but following pressure from the students, the steel gate gave way.

The placard-carrying students surged into the factory in their hundreds and vandalised products and over a dozen trucks parked within the premises.

Some of the placards read: “We demand justice for the lost souls”; “OOU mourns, OOU weeps, OOU cries”; “A future lawyer is gone”;

“Fresh graduate gone” ; “We’ve lost our scientists”; “OOUITES are not chickens.

Stop giving us phobia”; “Police, FRSC, TRACE must be probed.

The Student Union President, Adegbesan Adenola, told reporters that the students were demanding N10million for each of the dead students.

Adenola said the money should be paid to the each of the victims’ families within seven days .

The students demanded that the policemen, FRSC and TRACE operatives, who were on duty last Friday, be prosecuted for negligence and dereliction of duty.

The angry students were, however, placated by some of the lecturers, including the OOU branch chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr Deji Agboola.

Ondo warns PLWHAs against spread of AIDS

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HE Ondo State government yesterday warned People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) against the spread of the disease, vowing that anybody caught would be jailed.

The government said the decision was in line with the HIV’AIDS Anti-stigma law, which prescribed a 10-year jail term, fine of N500, 000 or both for any person who by whatever means transmits HIV/AIDS to another person.

Explaining details of the law, which was signed last year, the Secretary to the State Government and Chairman, State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OSACA), Dr. Aderotimi Adelola, said the stigmatisation and discrimination discouraged individuals infected with the HIV virus.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

Besides, he said anybody who discriminates against PLWHAs commits an offence and is liable to a fine of N100, 000.00 or imprisonment of six months or both.

Dr Adelola, who spoke at a sensitisation programme or-

ganised by OSACA in Akure, said: “Most times the rights of PLWHAs are violated, causing them to suffer both the burden of the disease and the consequential loss of other rights.

“Stigmatisation and discrimination may obstruct their access to treatment and

affect their employment, housing and other rights.”

Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade said Ondo is the first state to have a law which addresses many aspects of HIV/AIDS. He said the law would help reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS transmission.

Ogun begins rehabilitation of roads

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HE Ogun State government has begun the rehabilitation of the 20km Ago – Ika - Adatan Road in Abeokuta North Local Government Area.

It has also started the clearing of drainages in Ijebu –Ode. The road, which is being rehabilitated by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, was built 20 years ago.

Speaking with reporters after inspecting the road, the Permanent Secretary, Kayode Ademolake ,said ministry officials would also begin repair of the main entrance at the

Sagamu-Benin Road after the completion of the drainage clearing in Ijebu-Ode. He said his ministry would equally rehabilitate the Ajegunle township road in Sagamu.

“What we are doing on these roads is what I can call permanent restoration; it is not going to be palliative. The materials that are being deposited at these roads are such that cannot be moved by water and you will realise that the drainages are being simultaneously cleared."

•The son of the late don, Seni (right) and the Vicar of the Archbishop of Vining College of Theology, Akure, Ven. Adedeji Fagbemi...yesterday

er to the FRSC office. We were given a letter which we took to the police station and they released the car to us.

“We returned to Ijebu-Ode and the person I contacted at Ilotin in Ijebu-Ode reported us to the police and we were arrested.”

But Daniel blamed Bamitale for luring him to the evil business. The guard said the herbalist was treating him for hernia and that the don gave him N5000 recently for the treatment.

Commissioner of Police Isaac Eke said they received

information from the Ogun State Police Command that the late Ilemobade’s guard and former driver had been arrested with the deceased’s vehicle.

Eke described the incident as traumatic and sad, noting that because the suspects dropped the don’s slippers and watch, the police and family believed that he was kidnapped.

“I want to appeal to people to always carry out background checks before employing domestic workers,” Eke said.

Panel probes Ado Poly crisis

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MINISTERIAL factfinding committee to investigate the causes of the crisis rocking the Federal Polytechnic, AdoEkiti, Ekiti State, yesterday began work.

The Rector, Dr. Theresa Akande, has been at loggerheads with the unions, which accused her of corruption, financial reckless and nepotism.

This has led to the long closure of the institution and disruption of its academic calendar.

The committee raised by the Ministry of Education, which is led by Olu Nipede, visited the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, with the Polytechnic management.

Oba Adejugbe urged the panel to do everything hu-

T

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti

manly possible to ensure the return of peace to the institution.

The monarch said the community had appointed Dr. Ibikunle Ogundipe to represent its interest on the committee.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Association of Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have called on the panel to do its job dispassionately.

Acting under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), the unions expressed optimism that the probe panel would be fair in its assignment, uncover the “rot” in the system and chart a new course for the institution.

Ekiti Assembly to screen 10

HE Ekiti State House of Assembly yesterday directed the 10 commissioner-nominees nominated by Governor Ayo Fayose to appear for screening.

A statement by the Clerk of the House, Mr Tola Esan, gave the names as Bisi Kolawole, Lanre Ogunsuyi, Kehinde Odebunmi, Kolapo Kolade and Ojo Olurotimi.

Others are Adesua Samuel, Victor Egunjobi, Mrs. Olubunmi Olayinka, Otitoju Taelolu and Olugbenga Olajide.

The statement enjoined all nominees to attend the screening at the Assembly Complex in Ado-Ekiti at 11 a.m.

Committee on council administration

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HE Lagos State government has inaugurated a 19-member committee on local government reformation.

Head of Service Mrs. Folashade Jaji said the development was to ensure that residents feel the impact of local governments.

Mrs. Jaji described the inauguration as a demonstration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s commitment to the repositioning of the Public Service.

The Head of Service said the committee would examine the structure and current practice of local government

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

administration, examine the factors affecting optimum performance and quality service delivery by local governments.

“They are to also examine the modalities for instituting inter-service exchange of staff, knowledge and skills between the State and Local Government Services; examine the modalities for the establishment of an institutionalised human resource capacity development and management policy for local government in Lagos State.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

10

NEWS Delta Poly students protest high fees

Wike hails corps members for role in last polls

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IVERS State Governor Nyesom Wike has hailed National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for their role in the success of the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The governor said their courage in face of daunting security challenges deepened the nation’s democracy.

Wike spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, when he hosted the state’s team of the NYSC. He said: “I want to commend corps members for their role during the 2015 general elections.

“The sacrifice made by the corps members contributed to the success of the general elections.”

Wike noted that despite the post-election violence in 2011, corps members were not deterred.

The governor said they performed their duties well across the country.

He assured that his administration would always support the NYSC to deliver on its mandate.

Wike approved the release of a monthly subvention to the State NYSC to enable the scheme function effectively.

The governor said the state would consider paying corps members monthly allowances, in line with the prevailing economic realities.

He noted that postings should be guided by relevance and not the consideration of monetary gains.

Wike said the state government would assist the families of eight corps members who died during their service year in the state.

The State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Ngozi Nwatarali urged the governor to support the scheme to deliver on its mandate.

She said the NYSC had served the state diligently, especially in rural and coastal communities, where it had added value in critical areas.

‘The sacrifice made by the corps members contributed to the success of the general elections’

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

• Wike (right) exchanging pleasantries with Mrs Nwatarali, during the visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt...yesterday

S

Stray bullets kill two mothers at funeral in Edo

TRAY bullets from a policeman’s gun at the weekend killed two nursing mothers at the funeral of an indigene, Mr Itu Joseph, at Ivhiokhile Quarters of Fugar, headquarters of Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State.

The policeman and his colleagues were said to have accompanied a traditional ruler in Uzaire clan, Imonike Omogbai, to the event.

But one of them, whose identity could not be ascertained, reportedly started “shooting” without reason.

A two-month-old baby strapped to the back of one

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

of the victims, Mrs Sandra Imhaku, was almost hit. The bullet that hit its mother on the neck was few inches from the baby.

The late Mrs Imhaku was said to have lost her husband last year when she was expecting the baby.

She was rushed to Irrua Specialist Hospital, where she died on Sunday morning.

The other victim, simply

identified as Mrs. Saliu, an indigene of Fugar, reportedly came from Warri, Delta State, with her husband to attend the funeral of her inlaw, Mr. Joseph.

She was said to have collapsed and died instantly, following the gunshot.

It was learnt that the policeman held a rifle with one hand and attempted to open the car door for the monarch with the other hand.

His gun was said to have started firing; the innocent

women were hit, as guests were leaving the venue.

A source said the policemen were almost lynched by the mob.

A cousin of one of the victims, Mike Imhaku, said the incident had been reported at the Auchi Police Division.

Police Commissioner Samuel Adegbuyi, who confirmed the incident, said a case of accidental discharge in which two women were killed, was reported to him on Saturday.

He said the police officer had been arrested, adding that investigation into the incident had begun.

Police kill three suspected hoodlums in Rivers

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HE Rivers State Police Command has killed three suspected hoodlums in one week.

It said over 100 suspected criminals, including kidnappers and robbers were also arrested within the period.

In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, police spokesman Ahmed Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the operation took place at Abuloma and Borikiri, both in Port Harcourt Local Government Area; Rumuekini in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and Akpajo, in Eleme Local Government Area between June 19 and 25.

Mohammed listed the items recovered from them as: AK-47 rifle and magazine, live ammunitions, vehicles and cooking utensils, suspects to have been stolen, among others.

The spokesman attributed the command’s success at busting crimes to cooperation from the public.

He said the command was committed to ridding the state

•100 suspects arrested in one week •Guns, vehicles, kitchen wares recovered From Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt

of hoodlums and their nefarious activities as long as the public continued to provide useful information.

Mohammed said: “Our sustained onslaught against violent criminals and recovery of firearms in illegal hands ...has continued to yield some significant triumphs. Our vow to dislodge criminals from their havens is not a bluff but a reality that has come to stay until their activities are brought to an end.

“On June 19, at noon at Abuloma in Port Harcourt, our joint teams of policemen raided a waterfront, which was suspected to be the hideout of a notorious and wanted suspected kidnapper/cultist.

Items recovered from the enclave include two AK-47 rifles, five AK-47 magazines, 152 rounds of 7.62 live ammuni-

tions and assorted household items suspected to have been stolen.

“On June 21, at 5:40am, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit stormed the Rumuekini Forest and arrested 69 suspected cultists/robbers; two of them were fatally wounded. Items recovered from them include two pump action guns, nine live cartridges, a Toyota Camry car and assorted household items suspected to have been stolen.

“On June 21, at 10:45am at Akpajo Special Check Point in Port Harcourt, a Mazda car with some occupants, who appeared suspicious, refused to stop for a check. The policemen chased the car. When the occupants of the car sensed that our men would catch up with them, they fled, abandoning the vehicle.

Items recovered from the car include two AK-47 rifles and 20 rounds of 7.62 live ammunitions.”

The spokesman added: “On June 22, at 2pm at Borikiri Sand Fill, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit tracked down six suspects who specialised in car snatching. The gang, few days ago, snatched at gun point a Toyota Camry with registration number KFS657CN. The car, with three other suspected stolen vehicles of various models, were recovered from the gang’s hideout.

“On June 25, at 4:10pm at Ogale-Nchia, the Eleme AntiRobbery Unit of Eleme Division, which responded to a distress call, engaged suspected robbers in a shootout. One of the two suspected robbers wearing military camouflage trousers, got fatally wounded.

Items recovered from them include one pump action gun, one locally-made pistol, 15 live cartridges, one red mask and assorted charms.

“There are other successes recorded, besides the aforementioned ones. The continued support of the patriotic public, by divulging credible information to the police, is hereby appreciated. We look for more cooperation.”

Suspected ritualists behead Okada rider in Ekpoma

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USPECTED ritualists have beheaded a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada rider, at Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The incident took away the head of their victim.

The incident was said to have occurred at 8pm on a lonely street adjacent to the Ambrose Alli University College of Medi-

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

cine.

The body was left in a pool of blood with splashes of blood on the scene.

It was learnt that the hoodlums boarded the motorcycle, pretending to be passengers.

The hoodlums were said to have attacked the Okada rider on the street.

A resident said he heard a loud shout for help, accompanied with heavy bangs on the gates of some houses on the street.

The ritualists reportedly overpowered the hapless motorcyclist and took away his head.

The source said the residents met the headless body the following morning in a pool of blood.

They alerted the police, who removed the body.

The residents are said to have become used to retreating indoors early, following constant robbery attacks on the street.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Esan West Local Government, Mr. A. A. Shaibu, confirmed the incident.

He said the matter had been transferred to the

command’s headquarters in Benin, the state capital, for further investigation.

A police source said some suspects, including the younger brother of the deceased, were being investigated.

“The younger brother is being interrogated as the last person that called the deceased’s mobile phone before the killing,” the source said.

S

TUDENTS of the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, yesterday fumed at their Higher National Diploma (HND) II project supervisors for allegedly demanding between N20,000 and N50,000 to supervise their projects.

An HND II student, who spoke in confidence, said one of their supervisors and Head of Department (HOD), demanded N30,000 for each project, besides the initial N5,000 charged each student for approving their projects.

The student said: “We are five in a group, and each of us has paid N30,000 to the man who owns a business centre where our projects are being typed. This is on the directive of the project supervisor.

“We have already paid N30,000, but he left an instruction with the business centre typing our projects that it should not start work on them until four persons have completed payments. Now, the other two persons are yet to pay and there is a circular from the Rector’s Office that all projects be completed by June 30.

“Our anger is that these lecturers are not helping issues. I don’t know if they want us to go and steal to pay them in these hard times; it’s bad they are asking us to pay such huge ‘illegal’ amount. We are tired.

This confirms that they want to drag us back while other schools are graduating.”

A female student, who did not want to be named, said students were being forced to buy textbooks at exorbitant prices, even when such textbooks were irrelevant to their studies.

Edo JUSUN denies suspending strike From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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HE Edo State chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has denied suspending its seven-month-old strike.

In a letter to the Executive Director of African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, the union had promised to suspend the action, after its congress.

But a statement yesterday in Benin, the state capital, by JUSUN’s State Secretary, Comrade Ekhator Hope, said the letter to Ugolor was personal and not for the public.

Hope urged the striking workers to shun the publication, saying it was misleading and at variance with the union’s position.

The union leader said JUSUN planned to severe relationship with Rev Ugolor on any discussion about the strike.

He added that the union would only continue direct discussions with Chief D. U. Edebiri, the Esogban of Benin Kingdom; The Catholic Archbishop of Benin Metropolitan See, Rev. A. O. Akubeze and The Anglican Bishop of Benin Diocese, Rev. P. O. J. Imasuen.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

‘We must explore the off-grid system.

Power generated mustn’t go to Osogbo before it gets distributed. We lose 37% of generated power anytime we do this. Why don’t we remove Egbin and Afam power plants from the national grid and let them serve Lagos or Southwest and Southeast respectively? If this is done, there will be great improvement’ - MD/CEO, Mayok Engineering Works Limited, Chief Abayomi Awodipe

Fed Govt appoints Ladan to oversee DPR

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•Bank customers in last minute rush to beat the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deadline for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration in Abuja...yesterday.

‘Nigeria’s external debt hits $9.4b’

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IGERIA’S external debt stock profile stood at $9.4 billion on March 31, this year, the Debt Management Office (DMO), information posted on DMO said yesterday.

The figure showed a decrease of about $300 million from the $9.7 billion that the country owed at December 31 last year.

According to information on DPR website, the high-

est debt is owed the World Bank Group. International Development Association $5.6billion and International Fund for Agricultural Development, $89.4million It further stated that Nigeria owes African Development Bank (AfDB) $200 million and the African Development Fund (ADF), $513.7 million. The ADF debt was incurred through

the AfDB Group.

Nigeria also owes Arab Bank Economic Development for Africa $4.4 million, while its debts to European Development Fund and Islamic Development Bank are $75.1 million and $19.6 million respectively.

The record also showed that the country’s indebtedness through bilateral agreement to Exim Bank of China and French Devel-

Ondo earmarks $500m cash to boost power

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HE Ondo State govern ment and a Korean firm, Kingline Development Limited, have struck a deal on the construction of the state’s 550 mega watts (Mw) power plant valued at $500Million.

The project, named Kingline Ondo IPP Project, is to be situated at the Ondo State International Industrial Park, Omotoso. The power project is to be operated using the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) module and aims to generate about 550 Mw in the first phase using simple-cycle with combined-cycle option.

Chief Business Development Officer at Kingline Development Ltd, Akinnola Fola, who spoke with reporters in Abuja at the weekend, noted that the project would transform the state and make it an industrial hub in the region.

“The output now is $500million for 550Mw. This is the phase one of the project. At the second phase, we would do another 550Mw to bring it to

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

1100Mw. “Also the land for the project has been secured as a contribution from Ondo State government. The total area for the project is 250 acres. Also the EPC contractor’s name will be announced shortly after concluding the competitive bidding exercise currently ongoing to select the best contractor among the offers received.”

Fola said the project was progressing well, as approval for evacuation had been secured from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). The evacuation study is one of the key documents that ensures that generated power can be evacuated and taken on the national grid.

He spoke on other preparations towards the project.

He said: “NBET had already shared the draft PPA with us for reviewing and the necessary documentations for signing the PPA are being put to-

gether at the moment. Due diligence exercise is ongoing with the Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN) while licensing documentation after approval to generate power under unsolicited condition on the strength of our partnership with Ondo State is under preparation. It will be submitted shortly.

“On the equity contribution, we are 100 per cent equity funded. Our debt raising is ongoing with Global Investment Bank, the leading fund raiser. Environmental Impact Assessment is ongoing, while discussion with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, for political risk has commenced as well. These are the status of the various approvals from the agencies. Kingline Development Limited aims to become one of the leading power plant developers in Nigeria.”

Total urges communities to maintain facilities

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OMMUNITIES in Riv ers State have been urged to maintain the facilities provided for them by oil companies.

The Manager, Community Affairs of Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG), Mr Okechukwu Obara gave the advice yesterday during

From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

the hand-over of 10 stalls donated to Elele-Alimini Community in Emohua Local Government Area and 10 boreholes donated to EleleOkinali Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

Obara, who advised them to always nominate projects that would have direct impact on people’s lives, said the gesture was in line with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the company and its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its host communities.

opment Agency are $1.2 billion and $140.2 million respectively.

It further stated that Nigeria’s external debt stock through government’s issuance of Eurobond stood is $1.5 billion.

HE Federal Govern ment yesterday ap pointed Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan to oversee the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The appointment, according to the zonal spokesman Mohammed B. Saidu, followed the expiration of Mr George Osahon’s two-year term on June 19.

Ladan, a Petrochemist, joined the then NNPC Inspectorate, now DPR on November 23, 1987 as a Senior Analytical Chemist and was deployed to the Safety & Environment Branch under the then Technical Services Division. He rose to occupy various key positions within the organisation, including Zonal Operations Controller, DPR Kaduna.

“Having attained the rank of Deputy Director, he was appointed Head, Downstream Monitoring & Regulation Division October 2005 to June 2013.

“Thereafter, he was appointed Head, Gas Moni-

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

toring & Regulation Division June 2013 – May 2014.

And then Head, Safety, Health & Environment Division May 2014 until his recent appointment.

“Mr. Ladan is highly accomplished both professionally and academically; Fulbright Scholar (Hubert H. Humphrey, NorthSouth Fellow) where he bagged a Certificate in Environmental & Regulatory Policy/Public Affairs June 1991.

“M.Sc. Petrochemicals & Hydrocarbon Chemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, United Kingdom March 1986.

“B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria July 1982, West African School Certificate – Federal Government College, Kano June 1978. He was born on the 24th of June 1957 and is married with children,” the statement read in part.

12

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

THE NATION

BUSINESS TRANSPORTATION

E-mail: ynotaderibigbe@gmail.com

Drivers, FRSC partner to reduce tanker accidents T

HE Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), an arm of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), has said it is committed to partnering with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to reduce tanker accidents.

Rising from its quarterly National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Sokoto State, the union restated its zero tolerance for night driving by its members, adding that no driver would, henceforth, drive trucks not properly maintained by the owners.

It also resolved to accord priority to the training and retraining of its members on road habits, and to equip its leaders with requisite skills to meet the changing techniques of haulage business.

PTD’s National Public Relations Officer Comrade Atanda Adebayo, in a statement, said the NEC meeting which was also attended by the Sokoto State Governor, Mr. Aminu Waziri Tambuwwal, and the FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, praised the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for the

• A burning tanker

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

regular rehabilitation of all roads • across the country. It called for

more positive action on roads that are still in poor state, highlighting among such roads the IlorinOloru Jebba Road, where motor-

ists spend up to 72 hours (three days) for a one hour journey.

The union called on the Federal Government to deliver safer in-

ter-state roads, adding that bad roads are identified as major causes of accidents.

PTD national chairman Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, praised the FRSC for the just concluded summit on haulage operations, where stakeholders brainstormed on the challenges facing haulage business.

He said the union would henceforth be organising awareness campaign for tanker drivers at strategic locations across the country on the need for them to always observe rest to prevent fatigue and loss of concentration and accident.

Oladiti said the union would continue its zero tolerance to night driving and insist that no driver henceforth drive any trucks not properly and regularly maintained by the owners.

It would be recalled that searchlight was beamed on the activities of petroleum tanker drivers earlier in the month with a string of tanker accidents and explosions than spanned four states, left no fewer than 80 dead and millions of naira worth of property destroyed.

Churches donate vehicles for safety patrol

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HE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has begun the use of radar guns and alcoholisers to arrest reckless driving.

The FRSC Lagos and Ogun Zonal Commander, Nse-Obong Charles Akpabio, disclosed this at the Deeper Christian Life Bible Ministry’s Camp Ground in Mowe, Ogun State, last Wednesday.

This, he said, is to test-run the tools ahead of the enforcement of the speed limiter device which begins on September 1.

While the radar guns will enable his men to detect excess speeding by any driver, the alcoholisers, according to Akpabio, will help to detect any driver driving under the influence of alcohol.

Akpabio spoke when he led other top-ranking officers of the Corps to receive a Toyota Hilux Patrol Van donated to the agency by the Deeper Life church.

The gift, according to the Ministry’s General Superintendent, Pastor William F. Kumuyi, was borne out of the desire to boost the Corps’ capacity to respond to increased crashes on the roads.

By Olalekan Ayeni

Pastor Kumuyi, represented by Pastor John Akinwale, said the car would boost the activities of the FRSC, especially on the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway.

He urged motorists and other road users to be patient and respect traffic laws while on the road. According to the man of God, obedience to the road’s traffic regulations, guarantees everyone’s safety on the road.

He prayed to God to touch road users’ hearts while on the wheels so that the power of crashes can be conquered and eliminated.

Receiving the gift, Akpabio, thanked the Deeper Life Church and the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) for their support to the command. He said their support had gone a long way to lift the initiative, even as he called for better relationship between the Corps and other stakeholders. Akpabio said lack of infrastructures has been the bane of the command’s smooth operations on the corridor.

He added that ambulance, tow-

•Akpabio (third right) receiving the patrol van’s key from Pastor David Enabulele (right) at the event. With them are Ogun State Sector Commander FRSC, Mr Adegoke Adetunji (CC) (second right), Pastor Akinwale (centre), Ogunjobi (second left) and the Mowe Unit’s Head of Operations Mr Azeez Omotoso

ing vehicles, patrol vans and motorbikes have been hindering the Corps smooth operations within the area.

He added that all the tools required to curb road accidents can-

not be achieved without the support of stakeholders.

Describing as worrisome, the high level of crashes which occur daily on the road, Akpabio said FRSC not less than 1.2million people are

Apapa residents seek removal of trailers, tankers

By Musa Odoshimokhe

•Ambode

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PAPA residents have urged the Lagos State government to restrict the movement of tankers and trailers into the area.

The restriction, they argue, is to prevent further damage to the roads and abate the health hazards the trucks constitute to residents.

At a stakeholders’ summit held at the Apapa Local Government

Secretariat, residents said it had become urgent to relocate these trucks to Ogun State, where land is available for parking.

The Executive Secretary of Apapa Local Government Area, Mrs Bolaji Dada, said residents were facing many challenges as a result of the menace constituted by the traffic snarl, caused by these heavy duty vehicles.

She said the consequences of the gridlock on the people's health and economic power could only be imagined, noting that except something is urgently done, Apapa would become a nightmare and a no-go area to people who have one business or the other to transact there.

She added that the inability of the private oil tank farm operators, and the major oil marketers to provide parking spaces for their vehicles have been identified as a major constraint,

stressing that the situation led the tankers and trailers to move to the roads that would have been used by other motorists. ''All the available spaces at the Port have been concessioned, so there is no space for the vehicles to park.

These vehicles park along the road, causing traffic slow down. They have become a burden on the council.

Every now and then; I receive calls from people on the bad situation. But we in government are not magicians; everybody must contribute his quota to make Apapa traffic better again,'' she said.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Honey Flour Mills, Rotimi Fadipe, urged law enforcement agents to ensure motorists comply with traffic rules. "Apapa has become a death-trap, everyday you travel on the road, your life is at risk. The tankers constitute danger to the lives of motorists and pedestrians alike. ''Terminal operators have no

facilities to accommodate the number of vehicles that come do business with them. There are no data to back up the programming of vehicles. We believe some of these tankers can be kept in places like Ogun State, which has sufficient land and be called to come in batches to the port to load, instead of the present situation in which every vehicle comes in at the same time, and spend days or weeks without accessing the ports.''

He explained that efforts should be speeded up to complete the parking space meant for the vehicles, adding that the park has capacity to accommodate about 500 vehicles. ''We believe that trailers or tankers that do not have entry permit should not be allowed into Apapa, there should be collaboration between the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and the Ministry of Work and Transportation to ease the traffic problem.''

killed on the road every year while over two million sustain injuries.

According to him, global statistics showed that over a million crashes were recorded between 1960 and December 2012, and one person is killed every 25 second.

To reverse the ugly trend, the FRSC chief said road safety must be a shared responsibility between the agency and the society and this requires more involvement of all stakeholders.

He said campaigns aimed at correcting road attitudes would do more in reducing the rate of accidents on the roads than arresting traffic offenders.

He appealed for more partnership with all stakeholders to enable the Corps achieve its goal of reducing road crashes across the country.

The Mowe Unit Commander Oludare Ogunjobi, thanked the Deeper Life for the patrol van and the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) for the patrol bike donated to the command.

He pledged that the command would ensure the vehicles are used for their purposes.

Ogunjobi urged the churches to engage more in the safety campaigns among its members, noting that the Bible advocates safety.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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e-Business THE NATION

Tel: 08023335695

lukajanaku02@gmail.com

Increasingly, WiFi hotspots are gaining traction in Nigeria, especially in major cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where people with smartphones, iPad and other connectable devices just plug into the wireless internet gateway. Experts warn that connecting to every free Wi-Fi network one finds to save some money allows hackers to steal people's private information which are used to launch attack, reports LUCAS AJANAKU.

Free WiFi? Watch out for cyber crooks ‘Fed Govt’s policies hindering broadband deployment’ Page 15

‘Why Africans don’t invest in technology firms’ Page 49

Lenovo: Nigeria is strategic to our business Page 50

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

e-Business Increasingly, WiFi hotspots are gaining traction in Nigeria, especially in major cities, such as Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where people with smartphones, iPad and other connectable devices just plug into the wireless internet gateway. Experts warn that connecting to every free Wi-Fi network one finds to save some money allows hackers to steal people's private information, which are used to launch attack, reports LUCAS AJANAKU.

How free WiFi exposes you to cyber crooks ECHNOLOGY has made life easy. A smartphone which has its WiFi icon activated requires no further prompting. Anywhere there is WiFi connection, the smartphone alerts the user and all available connections would pop up, some free, others secured.

Secured WiFi connections are those that require would-be users to log in via a pass word while the unsecured are those ones that are free of charge. In local parlance, it is often said that awoof dey run belle (meaning be wary of too free gifts as they might just be Greek gifts).

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, says: "Wi-Fi (or WiFi) is a local area wireless computer networking technology that allows electronic devices to network, mainly using the 2.5 gigahertz (12 cm) UHF and 5 gigahertz (6 cm) SHF ISM radio bands.

"The Wi-Fi Alliance defines WiFi as any "wireless local area network" (WLAN) product based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards". However, the term "Wi-Fi" is used in general English as a synonym for "WLAN" since most modern WLANs are based on these standards. "Wi-Fi" is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. The "Wi-Fi Certified" trademark can only be used by Wi-Fi products that successfully complete Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability certification testing.

"Many devices can use Wi-Fi, e.g. personal computers, videogame consoles, smartphones, digital cameras, tablet computers and digital audio players. These can connect to a network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point.

Such an access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 meters (66 feet) indoors and a greater range outdoors. Hotspot coverage can be as small as a single room with walls that block radio waves, or as large as many square kilometres achieved by using multiple overlapping access points."

An information technology (IT) firm that specialises in hacking, building and training, SensePost warns that connecting to a public WiFi hotspot, whether secured or not is not a wise thing to do.

Its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dominic White said connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, whether open or secured by a password, leaves you open to snooping and hacking.

SensePost which has offices in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa and London, said even when you are connected to a passworded hotspot there are risks, and users must take note of how not to be compromised on a secure hotspot.

According to an online platform mybroadband, White said although hotspots that require passwords to connect to are more secure than those that don't, warning that it is only so within certain criteria.

A coffee shop that has a daily Wi-Fi password written on a board, for example, would still let an attacker sniff traffic about as easily as the network was open.

ception to get the "juicy stuff" off the unsuspecting would-be victim.

White also warned that hotspots that require you to log in after you've connected via a captive portal web page are not any more secure than an open Wi-Fi network.

"This is all about the provider trying to charge or identify you, and nothing to do with security," he averred.

In fact, since the network is unencrypted an attacker could just 'sniff' your authentication information and impersonate you to log into the network.

Secured hotspots encrypt the traffic sent over them, but in the case of WPA/2 networks with shared passwords (like those at coffee shops or restaurants), attackers can sniff traffic in almost the same way as on an open network.

Wikipedia says WWi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) are two security protocols and security certification programmes developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks. The Alliance defined these in response to serious weaknesses researchers had found in the previous system, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).

"It does require that they see the device connected to the network to get enough of the cryptographic input to decrypt the packets," explained White.

Forcing a disconnect (and reconnect) is easily achieved via "deauth frames" with no noticeable impact to the user, he said.

Wi-Fi networks that require a username and password (802.1x extensive authentication protocol or EAP) are more secure than those with a shared password, but are still vulnerable to attacks.

"Mostly users don't validate the certificate from the network (because it is difficult), which means it's possible to man in the middle an EAP authentication and crack the challenge response sent over it," said White.

For clients who validate the certificate, 802.1x with a decent Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is about as good as it gets these days.

T

What about your home Wi-Fi?

•Base transmission station

White said there are ways WiFi can be made more secure, lamenting that no authentication scheme currently available is perfect.

Fortunately many sites use encryption nowadays, making it difficult for hackers to see your usernames and passwords.

However, there is still a lot of information someone can learn about you from just watching your network traffic, such as the bank you operate, your Facebook

ID, the company you work for, and the applications (apps) that you are currently running.

Below is a summary of which data an attacker might see depending on whether they are "just looking", or executing an active attack according to mybroadband.

How Wi-Fi attacks work Open Wi-Fi networks such as those run by internet service

providers (ISPs) (AlwaysOn, Mobile Guest) do not encrypt any packets which heightens vulnerability.

"This makes it possible to just watch the packets to see what people are doing," said White.

As the adoption of universal encryption increases, this kind of "sniffing" is increasingly less useful, but it can still yield a lot of data about someone.

This information can then be employed in a more active inter-

‘Open Wi-Fi networks such as those run by internet service providers (ISPs) (AlwaysOn, Mobile Guest) do not encrypt any packets which heightens vulnerability. This makes it possible to just watch the packets to see what people are doing’

White said home Wi-Fi networks are no safer than others, especially since it is less likely to use 802.1x with proper EAP, and pre-shared keys are handed out to everyone who visits.

"That said, home Wi-Fi is much less likely to be attacked to go after users than say, a coffee shop frequented by hackers.

"Personally, my home network regularly changes ESSID, BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier), and 64 character WPA2 key. It's not perfect, and people get angry at a key that long, but it gets the job done," White said in the report.

SensePost recently released an updated version of its MANA Toolkit, an evilAP toolkit for rogue access point attacks.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

e-Business

‘Fed Govt’s policies hindering Phase 3 Telecom upgrades network W broadband deployment’

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BSENCE of a more equitable distribution of value in the telecoms industry, lack of active network sharing, failure to refarm the 800megahertz (MHz) spectrum have been identified as some of the impediments on the way of broadband deployment in Nigeria.

Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat, Mathew Willsher made the observation in Abuja during the Commonwealth Broadband Forum 2015.

He lamented that the non-release of the digital dividend spectrum for use by the telecoms industry and tightening the noose around access to foreign exchange by operators are also some of the challenges confronting the industry.

He said there was need for critical policy and regulatory actions to change the situation in the country.

He lamented that ‘the inability of a majority of operators in the industry to achieve the scale necessary to support broadband deployment is perhaps, the most critical challenge affecting broadband growth in the country.

Willsher urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure a more equitable distribution of value in the telecommunications industry, introduction of active network sharing, refarming of the 800MHz spectrum, release of the digital dividend spectrum for use by the telecoms industry and easing up of access to foreign exchange by opera-

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

tors, adding that these are some of the critical policy and regulatory actions required to improve broadband accessibility and affordability in Nigeria.

He said: “Broadband deployment involves considerable amounts of fixed cost and struggling operators who are unable to attract the volume of reasonably priced, long-term funding required to deploy and operate broadband infrastructure profitably, are leaving a major broadband investment deficit. The resultant shortfall is underlined by Nigeria’s ICT investment as a percentage of GDP ratio of 2.6 per cent while the average for peer countries is 5.5 per cent.”

He argued that more works needed to be done to drive broadband development in Nigeria by the regulator and its supervising ministry, the Communications Technology Minsitry. ‘’Notwithstanding the appreciable progress in broadband deployment in Nigeria, considerable effort is still required to move Nigeria towards its broadband targets.

When benchmarked against peer countries, it is clear that there is a considerable gap between where we are and where we should be, given the size of our industry and economy.

“Nigeria’s mobile broadband penetration stands at 10.1 per cent while the average for peer countries in Af-

rica is 30 per cent. Peer countries have an average Smartphone penetration of 26 per cent while Nigeria’s Smartphone penetration averages 12 per cent. In terms of mobile broadband affordability, measured by the percentage of average GDP per capita required for broadband access, the Internet Society estimates that Nigerians spend 9.8 per cent of their average GDP per capita to access broadband while the average for peer countries is 4.3per cent,” Wilsher said.

He said addressing the current challenges affecting broadband development in the country will attract more investment with the resultant increase in broadband coverage and affordability, adding that in spite of these challenges, Etisalat had invested considerable resources in ’rolling out fiber across the country and in its pervasive 3G coverage of Nigeria’. He promised that Etisalat will continue to invest in broadband development as it sees broadband not only as an alternative source of revenue but a critical economic enabler with the potential to help meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He called on all stakeholders to take necessary action towards improving broadband availability and affordability in Nigeria, citing studies which show that broadband has the potential to drive GDP growth for Nigeria in excess of N400b between 2014 and 2018.

EST Africa’s largest independent fibre optic infrastructure and telecommunications services provider, Phase3 Telecom, has embarked on the upgrade of its network to enhance optimal performance.

In a statement, an official of the tech firm, Morayo Nwabufo, explained that the upgrade was an addition to previous investments made to ensure optimal performance of 4G internet service provider (ISP), Smile Communications’ network.

Chief Executive Officer, Phase 3 Telecoms, Mr Stanley Jegede, said the firm will not rest on its oars but would keep upgrading the network to make it more resilient.

He said: “As Smile’s choice telecoms infrastructure provider; we will continue to ensure the company enjoys high and exceptional service quality. We are unflinching in our commitment to a dedicated network reach that delivers winning solutions to boost our client’s experience as well as business objectives and goals for the region.”

Jegede said the firm has a clear understanding of the value its services should bring to clients, adding that the firm will continue to ensure that existing and potential clients across West Africa leverage the investments it has made on its aerial fibre network for a secure, reliable and scalable infrastructure that provide affordable and flexible opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive regardless of location.

The firm added that the focus of

Jegede

the constant network upgrade is to amplify its service quality, broadband internet access and other communications offerings via channel upgrade. This upgrade further expands the scope of ongoing relationship between the two companies as Phase3 continues to serve as Smile’s telecoms infrastructure provider in the region.

“Smile, as one of Africa’s top communications services company is now able to take greater advantage of Phase3’s robust infrastructure, capacity, resilience and coverage to enhance its broadband service and product offerings. Connectivity over a dedicated link is better assured as Phase3 offers its services in several locations in the country.

This development will reaffirm Smile’s mission to ensure its customers ‘fully benefit from the internet world,” the firm said.

Airtel unveils name tune service, ring back tunes

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From left: District Sales Manager, Print & Personal System (PPS) Africa, Hewlett-Packard (HP),Mr. Jean PancPinto; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Lagos State, Mrs. Nike Animashaun; Commercial Channels Director, Middle East and Mediterranean Africa, HP David Rozzio at the opening of the HP Technology Tour 2015 in Lagos.

BVN, TIN not substitute for NIN, says NIMC chief T HE National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said ongoing Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) are no substitutes for the National Identification Number (NIN).

Its General Manager, Information Technology/Identity Database, Mr. Chuks Onyepunuka, who spoke in Abuja, said functional identities established pursuant to various organisations’ databases such as the BVN, TIN and others are not substitute for the NIN, adding that all Nigerians must ensure that they are enrolled into the National Identity Database (NIDB) by September 1, this year, the effective date of commencement of the mandatory use of NIN, “Clearly, most people are unable to appreciate the shift in paradigm from ‘card issuance’, their familiar turf, to ‘Identity Management’, the current global trend, which explains the reason why they insist on getting the physical card even after they have been enrolled and issued their NIN.

“NIMC is focused on establishing ‘Foundation Identity’ (who you are) as the issuing authority for Nigeria, all other institutions, including banks and INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) are focused on ‘Functional Identity’ (whether you are eligible for a specific service).

“Functional Identities established pursuant to various organisations’ databases such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN), the Taxpayer Identification Number and others are not substitute for the NIN. Therefore, citizens must ensure that they are enrolled into the NIDB by September 1, the effective date of commencement of the mandatory use of NIN.” Speaking on the issue, its General Manager, Inspectorate, Regulatory & Compliance Services, Mrs. Hadiza Dagabana said: “Any government agency/institution, bank, insurance company and all other institutions offering services and/or involved in transactions requiring the identity of an

individual must first demand for the NIN. Any individual, institutions/body who fails to comply with the above has committed an offence punishable under section 28 of the NIMC Act.” NIMC stated that the use of NIN shall become mandatory as from September 1 for all transactions offered by applicable government institutions, adding that the transactions, pursuant to Section 27 (1) and (2) of the NIMC Act, 2007 include: application for, and issuance of an International Passport; opening of individual and/or group bank accounts, all consumer credits; purchase of insurance policies; the purchase, transfer and registration of land by any individual; National Health Insurance Scheme, such transactions that have social security implications, registration of voters, payment of taxes, and pensions and others.

Its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Abdulhamid Umar, enjoined all Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunity of enrolment into the NIDB and be issued a NIN, which is the version of truth and the foundation identity.

IRTEL Nigeria has brought excitement to the telecoms landscape with the launch of two innovative smart services; Airtel Name Tune and the Caller Ring Back Tunes.

The Name Tune will avail subscribers the opportunity for their phone calls to be formatted as though picked up by one of Airtel’s Smart Icons. While with the second service, the Ring Back Tune allows subscribers to download ring back tunes from a plethora of the body of work of any of the Airtel Smart Icons in a more easily accessible interface.

Unveiling these smart services, Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Commercial Officer, Maurice Newa, explained that the new package reiterates the telcos’s commitment to provide a wide spectrum of products and services for their subscribers that meet their networking needs and at the same time keep them happy.

He said: “With the union of theSmart Network and ourSmart Icons, it has become imperative to provide smart services. The

Name Tune and the Caller Ring Back Tunes are designed to delight our esteemed subcribers by providing them with these exciting services to bring joy to the world of communication”.

Explaining further about the smart services, Newa highlighted that Airtel Nigeria with the unveiling of the five Smart Icons: TuFace Idibia, Ik Osakioduwa, Phyno, Patoranking and Akpororo; there is now a wider range of options of usability and subscriber satisfaction.

He noted that the Name Tune once activated by dialing *792# from an Airtel line and following the instructions, gives the subscriber access into a bank of names that will use their actual names or nicknames as a customized tune in the voice of any of the Smart Icons. On the other hand, the Ring Back Tune service, he added that the entire of the body of music of the Smart Icons and Vocal expressions of the others downloaded by dialing any from 79122 to 79166 special codesand used as dial back tunes.

Sony appoints LMD distributor for Android devices

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ONY Mobile Communica tions has announced its new sole distributor for the Nigerian market in Let Me Distribute (LMD).

The firm signed a contract last year with LMD as its only authorised distributors for Sony Mobile Xperia range of smartphones and tablets and “Ensure Services” will be responsible for all after-sales services for all Xperia products.

Country Manager Nigeria, Mr Younes Cherkaoui, said: “We are very happy to partner with LMD as our only authorised partner for the very vast Nigerian market and we are confident that they have what it takes to the service needs of all our customers across the Nigerian market. LMD have a very good knowl-

edge of the Nigerian market and have the capacity to cover the whole market.”

He further promised to make the firm’s latest Xperia models and technology to the Nigerian customers, very soon.

Sony Mobile Communications is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation, a leading global innovator of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for both the consumer and professional markets.

Through its Xperia™ smartphone portfolio, Sony Mobile Communications delivers the best of Sony technology, premium content and services, and easy connectivity to Sony’s world of networked entertainment experiences.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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e-Business

Why we partnered NCC, by Cameroonian telecom regulator

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HE Director-General, Telecommunication Regulatory Board (TRB) of Cameroun, Monsieur Jean Louis Beh Mengue has said his country partnered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to tap from its wealth of experience in effective telecoms industry regulation.

Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo explained that speaking after the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the NCC at its Corporate Headquarters, Abuja, the Director-General of TRB, described the ceremony as “a defining moment for us as regulators” adding that the partnership would strengthen TRB’s regulatory functions.

Mengue said: “The signing of the MoU comes to formalise and concretise the ties that have characterised our relations. .It opens yet another av-

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

enue in the long and brotherly relations in a new area where we acknowledge the NCC has more experience where TRB can tap and benefit from its rich experience in areas such as the control of Quality of Service, Number Portability, Consumer Protection and passive infrastructure regulation just to name a few. I am equally sure that the NCC will also benefit from our experience in different areas too.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah said the NCC has distinguished itself as a foremost regulator in the world.

He said: “Over the last two decades, the NCC has emerged as the most efficient government agency oversee-

ing the telecommunications industry, the fastest growing in Nigeria. The NCC has achieved this through extensive and thoroughly laid out regulations, rules and policy directions that have guided the market conducts while ensuring sustainable competition in the industry.

“NCC’s continuous, active participation and consistent involvements in the global and regional activities buttress our unrelenting commitment towards building a regulatory environment that is comparable to any regulatory institution anywhere in the world.” The NCC boss told the visitors that the astronomical growth in teledensity and subscriber base contributing to increase in direct and indirect employment opportunities have been achieved through ensuring a level playing field,

transparent and participatory regulations and extensive stakeholders consultative process. Juwah was represented on the occasion by Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Dr. Okechukwu Itanyi.

Juwah said the partnership would allow NCC and TRB “to compare notes and share our wealth of experience in telecommunications regulation. We assure TRB of our optimum cooperation as we pledge our continued support and open access to our enormous knowledge base resources in licensing, legal, spectrum, and numbering administration, competition and economic regulations.

With the implementation of the MoU, we believe that both parties will take advantage of the opportunities that shall continue to unfold now and in the future.”

• From left: Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CWG Plc and Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, Chief Executive Officer, Associated Discount House Limited at a congratulatory meeting to celebrate ADH’s successful migration to Finacle 10 banking application, in Lagos.

EMC sees data driving future technology

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HERE are strong indications that the world is moving toward an era in which nearly every element of life will be data-driven.

Individuals and corporations will sell, donate and trade information on open exchanges.

Inanimate objects will spring to life all around us, becoming more aware, responsive and connected. Decision-making will be enhanced by artificial intelligence in ways never seen before, a new study by EMC has revealed.

The study also showed that information will be communicated and absorbed through multiple human senses and that customers will be able to better control their own privacy through new tools. In this new world order, value will shift from products and services to the information they generate.

With The Information Generation: Transforming The Future, Today, as its title, the study was conducted by Institute for the Future and Vanson Bourne on behalf of EMC. It explored the impact of a growing global community of digital citizens.

These individuals are always connected and engaged

online, and have the world’s information at their fingertips.

They also view the world very differently. Based on input from 3,600 Director-to-C-Suite business leaders across 18 countries, the study showed new expectations of these individuals and identified the fundamental business attributes critical for organisations to successfully compete and thrive in the new landscape.

The study further revealed that 96 per cent of business leader surveyed believe new technologies have forever changed the rules of business.

In addition, 93 per cent reported that recent technology advancements are resetting customer expectations, and nearly all say this will accelerate over the next decade. The top reported customer expectations are faster access to services, 24/7 and “everywhere” access and connectivity, access on more devices, and a more unique personalized experience.

The polled business leaders agreed that essential requirements for any business in this information driven era in-

clude: Predictively spot new opportunities in markets, demonstrate transparency and trust, innovate in agile ways, deliver unique and personalised experiences, operate in real time.

At the same time, the sampled population agreed that very few have thoroughly embodied them. Specifically, when asked whether they address these attributes both very well and company-wide, only 12 per cent said they can predictively spot new opportunities, nine per cent innovate in agile ways, 14 per cent demonstrate transparency and trust, 11percent deliver personalised experience, and 12 per cent operate in real-time.

Commenting on the study, Chief Executive Officer, EMC Information Infrastructure Businesses, David Goulden, said: “The Information Generation is demanding more from the organisations they interact with,” ‘born of the cloud’ are driving this shift in expectations, and mature businesses must redefine themselves to adapt and remain relevant.”

Also, the study found that by

2020 more than seven billion people on at least 30 billion devices will have created 44 zettabytes of data (or 44 trillion gigabytes), according to Gartner and IDC respectively.

This is rapidly leading to a world in which nearly every element of life will be datadriven. While businesses know they can get value from this data, 49 per cent admit to not knowing how to turn all of their data into actionable information.

Goulden said it’s critical that organisation systematically explore the longer-term implications of an age in which information is at the centre of “everything we do, continual lyre-conditioning us in ways we still have yet to imagine.

The world’s most information-savvy organisations – if they ready themselves – will lead one of the most significant transformations in history,” he said.

Research Director at Institute for the Future, Rachel Maguire, said: “Our mission is to provide practical foresight for a world undergoing rapid change – and to help turn insights into action.”

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Rescuing the naira •CBN’s exclusion of some importers from official forex sale is long overdue

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HE free fall of the nation’s currency, the naira, to the American dollar, and the wanton deployment of the latter for frivolous pursuits demand serious approach from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

So, we are not astonished at the latest measure by the apex bank to salvage the naira and prevent waste in the foreign exchange market, so that local industries can regain their rhythm. As a matter of fact, the measure ought to have come earlier than now.

The concern of the CBN to curb unnecessary deployment of the dollar was the thrust of a circular signed

by Olakanmi Gbadamosi, its director, trade and exchange, dated June 23, 2015. The CBN in it declared: “In the continuing efforts to sustain the stability of the forex market and ensure efficient utilisation of forex

‘Stoppage of forex sales to importers of the listed items that can be produced locally is good but we doubt whether there will not be a relapse in enforcement somewhere along the line. Without attempting to be an incurable pessimist, given our experience, we are compelled to ask; how effective will this idea be in the long run?’

and the derivation of optimum benefits from goods and services imported into the country, it has become imperative to exclude importers of some goods and services from accessing foreign exchange at the Nigerian forex markets in order to encourage local production of these items.’’

The circular gave a list of items whose importation, though not banned, would henceforth be denied access to forex utilisation at the official level to include: rice, private jets, textiles, cement, tomato paste, margarine, palm kernel, vegetable oil, poultry products like chicken, eggs and turkey; Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce (Geisha, sardines), cold rolled steel sheets, galvanised steel, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans, metal boxes and containers, and enamelware. Others are steel drum, steel pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, wire rods, security wire, wood particle and board, wood fibre boards and panel, plywood board and panel, wooden doors, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles and wooden fabrics, plastic and rubber products, and soap and cosmetics.

What is of great concern now is that the country’s external reserve, in the face of dwindling oil price, is being eroded at an alarming rate. Apart from the items listed above on which the country spends a lot of hard-earned foreign exchange, the quantum of hard currency expended on mostly unverifiable fuel imports and presi-

dential waivers on inconsequential things over the years are too much for a healthy foreign reserve or for the naira’s value to be kept reasonably high. This is compounded by the conspicuous consumption of public office holders, especially the governors across the federation, who mostly take delight in buying private jets that not only have negative effects on the public till but also leaves the foreign reserves greatly eroded.

The CBN should try everything to arrest the free fall of the naira so as to save local industries by boosting local production, thereby generating employment. It is an open fact that the discouragement of importation of the avoidable will bring down the escalating price of dollar; and a satisfactory realisation of this goal can also drastically mitigate the recurring balance of payment deficit being faced by the country.

Stoppage of forex sales to importers of the listed items that can be produced locally is good but we doubt whether there will not be a relapse in enforcement somewhere along the line. Without attempting to be an incurable pessimist, given our experience, we are compelled to ask; how effective will this idea be in the long run?

Well, we can only hope this latest initiative from the CBN will not be just one of those policy initiatives that will go with the wind.

Hate killings in the U.S. •Another reminder that America must check access to assault weapons

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NTRIGUINGLY, while science professes insignificant differences in the make-up of races, man rather prefers to promote huge differences between races. The result sometimes is insipient hatred; the type that apparently led Dylann Roof, a 21-year old white American man, to shoot to death, nine black-Americans who were holding a prayer meeting at Emmanuel African-American Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America. The murderer who walked into the church and stayed for about an hour at the back seat, spewed words of hate, before using his semi-automatic gun to kill his victims at close range.

Our heart goes out to the families of the victims, and to the American people, as they grieve over these senseless killings. We identify with the mournful admonition of President Barak Obama when he said: “There is something particularly heartbreaking about death in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace, in a place of worship”. That Mr Roof could carry his hate against fellow human beings, just because of the colour of their skin, into the house of their common creator, without appreciating the irony, shows the level of his depravity.

But there is the need for the United States to do a soul searching, as to why its society provides opportunity for such mass murders. On this score, the observation of President Obama is important when he said, “Once again inno-

cent people were killed because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hand on gun”.

A similar killing of nine persons at a place of worship, also took place at the Wat Promkumaram temple near Phoenix in 1991. There are several other mass killings by individuals who can be better described as mentally deranged. But whether for any reason or none, what is shocking is the easy access to assault weapons, by American citizens.

That is the point President Obama was making in his speech after the tragic shooting. For us and we guess many others, it is unacceptable that the American society, despite its boast about sophistication, has been unable to bring the debate on gun control to a positive closure. Over the years, despite the significant abuses to which guns have been put by private citizens, American lawmakers have continually shied away from reining in one of the gravest consequences of the American version of liberty. The reason for such incapacity is bribery and corruption, which they euphemistically call gunlobby.

Mr Roof who has been charged to court for the Charleston shooting, is a high school dropout from Eastover South Carolina, and the church established in 1816 is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is why it is called Mother Emmanuel. The shooter, according to his social media account, wore a dress bearing patches

of the flag of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa, and according to reports, was hoping to ignite a race war by his nefarious conduct. Significantly, the relations of the victims, at the first court hearing against Roof, offered words of love and forgiveness, in exchange for the miserable taunts of the racist.

Of note, the culprit was apprehended less than 15 hours after the shooting, in North Carolina. He has also been taken to court and charged for his offences, without the kind of delay and laxity that we witness in our clime.

Significantly, the American justice system is swiftly moving to rein in the dastardly conduct of the killer. Nevertheless, we join others to admonish the United States, that acts like that of Mr Roof should have no place in a civilised society.

‘Of note, the culprit was apprehended less than 15 hours after the shooting, in North Carolina. He has also been taken to court and charged for his offences, without the kind of delay and laxity that we witness in our clime.

Significantly, the American justice system is swiftly moving to rein in the dastardly conduct of the killer’

Neglect of Kabba-Ekiti federal highway

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IR: Sometime ago, I took a risk – a big risk it was! I plied the quasi-busy AdoIfaki-Omuo-Kabba Federal Highway going to Abuja, the federal capital. I had thought that the pot-hole free state road from Ado-Ifaki in Ekiti State gets to Kogi linking Lokoja-Abuja highway. However, I was caught in the web of fallacy of hasty conclusion. I left Ado-Ekiti without a dint of sadness. It was a smooth take off.

However, the troubles surfaced on getting to the boundary of Ekiti and Kogi states. Bad roads I saw! The roads were, and are still bad as I write. The road from the boundary of Omuo-Ekiti and Iyamoye, the boundary town between Ekiti and Kogi states to Kabba is an eyesore. It is very abysmal to say the least.

Welcoming commuters into Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State were some able-bodied men in their early 30’s digging and filling the pothole-riddled Omuo-Kabba road. They litter the road at every one kilometre till one get to Kabba. These men were however not carrying out the service on the platter of gold. It was not a social responsibility. They, though with due respect and courtesy, collect money from all vehicles passing through the road. I was amazed that such still exists in 21st century. The last time I witnessed such a scenario on Federal Highway was in early 2000. It was an eyesore!

Before now, from Iyamoye in Ijumu local government to Okene doesn’t take more than 30 minutes of one’s precious time. But now, it takes over 70 minutes. The roads are bad and the commuters are wailing and bowling in agony. The road from Iyara to Iffe-Ijumu is the most-awful and shameful followed by the route from Ikoyi-Ijumu to Kabba. They are in a state of disrepair.

I was shocked and I kept asking myself – what did Senator Smart Adeyemi achieve for his people for the eight years he spent in National Assembly? As a Senator, he could have lobbied the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA to fix this road or use his influence to compel the Federal Ministry of Works to include the road in their annual budget. What was the point in Smart Adeyemi’s outspokenness, power of oratory, brilliant and fearless presentations on the floor of the senate if he could not deliver his people from neglect and abandonment?

Now, Adeyemi is out. Another radical and out-spoken character Dino Melaye has replaced him as senator Amongst the ultimate infrastructural needs of the people in every society are good road! In actual fact, any community without good roads in the 21st century should say bye-bye to social, economic and educational transformation.

I beseech Senator Dino Melaye and his colleagues in Kogi State to be alive to their responsibilities. He should remember that he’ll be measured by the degree of physical development he is able to attract to his district and not that of radical display on the floor of the parliament.

• Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye, Magodo, Lagos.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: I read with keen interest the publication in The Nation of May 13 captioned “Jonathan: Indiscipline rampant under Sulaiman Abba”. It was categorically stated that Sulaiman Abba was sacked because of indiscipline in the rank and file of the force.

I wish to state here that it was not the indiscipline in the rank and file that made the president to sack Sulaiman Abba. Rather, it was simply because President Jonathan did not win the presidency. If President Jonathan had won, the IG and all the rank and file would have been regarded as the best in the world.

The rank and file constitutes about 70% of the force and they are the tools doing the real police work and making the Nigeria Police very relevant in the society in terms of crime fighting under sordid working conditions.

The unsavoury treatment meted out to the members of the rank and file by the former regime is pathetic.

In the first place, the former IGP MD Abubakar once announced that President Jonathan approved fifty thousand naira (N50,000) minimum basic salary for the least constable.

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GEJ used police rank and file as scapegoat However, till this present moment, the said salary increase is still a mirage. Rather, N11,000.00 was deducted from the salary of rank and file in the name of ‘shares’ by IG Abubakar without any cogent reason.

It is very disheartening to note that the rank and file and inspectors are now buying all police accoutrements and uniforms with their meagre salary. A camouflage uniform is sold at the rate of N17,000.00. the boot is sold at the rate of N10,000.00 to mention a few; despite the fact that the then IG Abukar said that President Jonathan approved N1.5 billion for the purchase of the uniform for the police during his tenure.

A visit to all the police stations in Nigeria shows that in the past six

years, if not the provision of vehicle and armoured personnel carriers by the various state governments, the Federal Government has not provided a single patrol/armoured vehicle to any police station. It was the approach of 2015 general election that made the Federal Government to provide paltry 206 patrol vehicles for the police. Let all Nigerian ask them if there were no allocation for police on these issues for the past six years.

How can one explain a situation in the Nigeria Police Force where thousands of policemen enlisted as constable and have spent 30 years and above in the force without blemish are still in the Inspector cadre simply because they have no godfather or money to pay their way through as far as promotion

up to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of police (ASP) in concerned?

Most of the rank and file are made to acquire only three stages of promotion – Corporal, Sergeant and Inspector in their entire 35 years of service.

Again, the rank and file and Inspectors often use their personal money to fuel and maintain the available patrol vehicles in the stations. The rank and file have had more than enough; they should be treated well as they too are Nigerians. They should have a future in the police and not to be subjected to unnecessary scapegoatism.

• Justus Abu, Alakuko, Lagos.

NASS: House divided against itself IR: There’s an idiom, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. As it stands, the All Progressive Congress (APC), the party Nigerians entrusted with power to rescue this nation from bad leadership has been thrown into pandemonium. The divisiveness rocking the camp of APC is appalling and Nigerians are dismayed at the inevitable choice they made during the last general elections.

There seems to be no end in sight to the house leadership tussle bedeveiling the camp of APC at both chambers of the National Assembly following the controversial

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elections that produced its principal officers on June 9.

It is an irony that the two legislative chambers of the national Assembly have been turned to theatres of internecine wars and its paraphernalia used as weapons in the legislative blitzkrieg.

This is not the best of times for our democracy and certainly not for the ruling party (APC) as there is no end in sight to the horse trading and permutations going on at both chambers of the National Assembly.

One won’t be wrong to say the legislative rascality exhibited is an indication the merger that led to

the formation of APC before the general is an unholy wedlock between and amongst strange bedfellows.

So far, President Muhammadu Buhari has remained silent over the lingering issues. The president’s indifference is not helping matters but rather worsening the crisis. President Buhari maybe keeping to his inaugural promise of not interfering in the affairs of the National Assembly but there’s a great difference between interference and intervention. Without the president’s intervention, the executive arm of government may never get it right in the act of governance. The best

our president could do is to intervene and rescue the APC from the ongoing legislative embarrassment.

Let’s not forget; Nigerians didn’t just vote for APC as an alternative choice, we voted for APC as a credible choice. APC is the ruling party with majority members at both chambers and shouldn’t be dictated on what to do. If this government fails, APC will be held responsible so party directives should be respected and adhered to in the choice of candidates for the remaining principal positions at both chambers.

• Joe Onwukeme unjoeratedjoe@gmail.com

Ogbomoso needs traffic wardens

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IR: The role of traffic wardens in the ever busy and congested areas especially juntions in the country is essential as many lives have been saved by the deployment of these officials to the affected places. Every government is there to protect lives and property of its citizens.

It is my humble opinion that traffic wardens should be deployed to the crossroads in Califonia/Idioro area of Ogbomoso metropolis which is ever busy with human and vehicular movements. Motor accidents have claimed many lives of pedestrians while attempting to cross the major road. Students, traders and other workers converge on the area from 5 am to 8am to catch the early morning motorcycles and commercial vehicles to their various destinations. The gridlock caused by the insistence of motorcyclists and vehicle drivers to outwit one another is usually made worse by the many articulated vehicles,fuel tankers and other heavy duty vehicles plying the Ibadan/Ogbomoso/Ilorin federal highway which the cross roads join on both sides. Human and vehicular traffic become heavier in the evening between 5 pm and 7.30 pm when the aforementioned people are returning home with loads of personal belongings and goods bought for sale.

We commend the Divisional Police Officer, Nigeria Police,Ogbomoso South LGA for deploying traffic wardens to the similar crossroads in Akande market/Waskia axis of Caretaker, Ogbomoso. We urge him to do same for Califonia area to obviate dangers of loss of lives.

• Adelani Olawuyi, Odooba-Ogbomoso

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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COMMENTS

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embattled Saraki has denied N “Between APC and SDP” (June Ekweremadu’s election was a 16), Ripples noted the tactical error logical quip-pro-quo (which of trying to keep at bay, the Newsounds disingenuous, to say Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) bloc the truth), the charge of of the ruling All Progressives Congress treachery and perfidy is not (APC). helped by the grim prospect That sparked the Bukola Saraki-led that when Saraki is not around, parliamentary coup of June 9.

Ekweremadu bosses But with the turn of events, and the proceedings. nPDP elements now attempting to Olakunle Ekweremadu can be counted impose their own image on the upon to stall the APC lordbeek1@gmail.com, 08054504169 (Sms only, please) Abimbola National Assembly, has it transformed agenda. Besides, by further into a strategic blunder that could, in defying their party and due course, nullify rejecting its preferred the Change Nigerians voted for on candidates for other APC March 28?

National Assembly principal That chilling question is imperative officers, outside senate president and deputy, the Saraki bloc because two grim dramas are unfolding from the APC crisis: Realpolitik, his friends would coo: whatever lobby for would further split the party. the fierce struggle for the party’s soul (the subject of “Between influence that availed Ahmad Lawan his party’s backing also Saraki would, therefore, find it hard to throw off the charge APC and SDP”); and the emergence, from inside the ruling availed Saraki the push for support, inside and outside his of playing an alleged Judas out to halt the APC momentum party, of two different blocs: the Legacy bloc (most likely to own party. of change; and haul Nigerians’ future right into the dark past drive Change) and the Careerists (most likely to, allTreachery and perfidy, his foes would roar: even the best of of careerists and soulless power adventurists. movement-no-motion wise, leave things as they are). individual intents should be subjugated to the collective good; That, in Nigeria’s troubled political history, would dovetail Gunning for the soul of APC, that boasts at best an and party discipline. into the decision of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua faction of the ideological bric-a-brac, is neither unexpected nor illegitimate; That thrust-and-fence would perhaps do, particularly in a defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) to trade off the late and one dare says, the internal business of the varied value-neuter milieu, where the vilest of conducts and the tendencies in the party.

MKO Abiola’s presidential mandate of 12 June 1993, for a noblest of behaviours, on a single cause, are just two sides of But whichever faction ascends is the business of the polity; sterile Interim National Government (ING) — with disastrous a bloody controversy.

If in doubt, recall how the clear crime for Nigeria would rise or sink by it. consequences, which the birthing of the current 4th Republic of annulling the free election of 12 June 1993 became the holy If the pro-Change bloc wins, and radically pushes policies was programmed to correct. banner of anti-June 12 elements. that would deliver a legacy of change for the better, Nigerians Other conspiracy theorists have even claimed Senator Saraki With the media itself ever ready and willing (for whatever would have won with their March 28 heroics, that powered is only the visible face of an alleged northern irredentist bloc, motive) to spin even the most abhorrent of conducts, the Muhammadu Buhari to the presidency. trying to push yet again an alleged “born-to-rule” project. society’s value-blindness and deafness become even more But if the Careerists win — careerists that jostle for selfRipples would find this claim rather implausible though, alarming. political offices, without a corresponding improvement in given the trouble June 12 (which tried to push this calamitous Still, beyond contrived controversies, Saraki’s emergence the collective welfare — it would be much of the old doctrine) caused the country; and the historic North-South as senate president; and his bloc’s spurning of rapprochement same. The March 28 mandate would then have been in vain; West political entente that delivered the famous March 28 in the filling of other principal officers — winner-takes-all and millions of longsuffering Nigerians would, yet again, APC presidential win, to save the country from ruin. fashion — throw up troubling questions. have lost.

But whatever the facts or fiction, Senator Saraki, by his Needless to say, the attempt by Saraki’s confederates in the Given the vengeance and passion, with which Nigerians somewhat legal but hardly legitimate emergence as senate House of Representatives, which Speaker Yakubu Dogara voted in March and April for change, that would be highly president, finds himself at the cusp of a cruel historical pigeonleads, to replicate a similar ploy, led to the June 25 uproar in risky, if not outright fatal, for Nigeria — both for the hole — the man that arrested change, when change was the lower house. entrenched establishment, and the distraught rabble. imperative for a sinking Nigeria!

If APC’s nPDP bloc pressed their legitimate right to land Because Nigeria perches at a delicate historical juncture, That is why he must accommodate efforts at fair balancing vital positions in the new government (as reward for their that is the correct prism to view the high-voltage drama from by his party, in filling the remaining Senate principal electoral labour), why might they block the party’s bid for the APC front — and not necessarily from the relative loss or offices. On this score, the claim about stalling to avoid legitimate balancing, particularly after a sharp dispute, for win of the individuals involved in the combat. cohabiting with his “enemies” is balderdash. Balancing the sake of peace founded on equity and fairness?

That, of course, throws the discourse right back to the senate principal offices is no ancestral feud.

That has exposed them to a not altogether illegitimate web dramatis personae.

But history and judgements are in the long, long run. Right of conspiracy theories, which clearly conflicts with President By rebelling against his party, and having bulk PDP votes now, there is a government to run; and our people to bail Buhari’s clear mandate for change. with a smattering of his own APC’s elect him as senate out.

For starters, Saraki’s real blunder in the June 9 president, what was Saraki guilty of?

That is why President Buhari must step out and resolve this parliamentary coup was less in rebelling against his own logjam — not necessarily for his feuding party, but for party (as dire as that was for party discipline; in a new party ‘The president should weigh in on the elected on the mandate of urgent change in awful times); but Nigerians who gave him a clear mandate for change.

After due diligence, the president should weigh in on the in selling out his party to PDP elements — PDP, with side of the forces of legacy, against the more side of the forces of legacy, against the careerists. That is his clear motives to block that change; and ensure APC’s utter careerists. That is his covenant with failure. covenant with Nigerians; and that is what he should do.

To do that, however, he might have to take the case directly A fall-out of that sell-out was the emergence, as senate Nigerians’ to Nigerians, away from the feuding parliamentarians. deputy president, of PDP’s Ike Ekweremadu. Though an

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epublican ipples

NASS: Between legacy and careerists

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BOUT two months ago, a female retiree of the Osun State public service called to complain about unpaid workers’ salaries, and wanted this writer to wade in, as an advocate of the masses. After another caller came up with the same issue, it became imperative to find out what was going on in Osun State. Osun State truly owes about six months’ salary backlog, and the workers have become restive as a result.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, attributes the unpaid salaries to Osun State’s dwindling revenue. For instance, he revealed, revenue from all sources in 2012, including the Federation Account; internally generated revenue; and other accruals, like Value Added Tax from the Federal Government, yielded N28.4 billion, whereas total wage bill only was N31.6 billion, leaving a deficit of N3.2 billion. The same scenario was repeated in 2013, with a deficit of N10.4 billion.

It turned out also that dwindling oil revenue has made it difficult for the Federal Government, and 24 (some say 28)of Nigeria’s 36 states, to pay staff salaries. The initial cause of the palaver was the increase of minimum wage to N18,000, unilaterally entered into by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration with the labour unions. It became a kerfuffle when the price of crude oil plummeted, and reduced the revenue that accrued to the nation.

The Nigerian Governors’ Forum, led by former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, alleged that another cause of the problem was the Federal Government’s squandering of funds due to the states from the Excess Crude Account. But former Minister of Finance, and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, countered that the money was actually paid to states. She asked governors who are in doubt to ask their commissioners for finance for the whereabouts of their allocation.

Things have gotten so bad, as the traditional source of money got compromised, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is unable to meet $2 billion cash call obligations to its joint-venture international oil corporations partners. Indeed an IOC source alleges that the Federal Government totally mismanaged available crude oil revenue, and misappropriated money meant to execute projects and activities that were not included in budgets approved by the National Assembly.

The All Progressives Congress Progressive Governors’ Forum, led by Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, recently called on President Muhammadu Buhari to say that, “As it stands today, most states of the federation have not been able to pay (outstanding) salaries,” and expected that Buhari “will do everything humanly possible to bring about a bailout.”

Some argue that some Nigerian governments embarked on ambitious projects. The governments, they argued, had thought that the higher revenue that accompanied increased demand for crude oil by China and other countries would continue forever. Most states, they added, became complacent, and failed to explore alternative sources for revenue.

Osun; metaphor for unpaid salaries

By Bolanle Oke But you see, government is about providing services to the people—and paying some cadres of the citizenry to perform it.

And there are some services that the people didn’t ask for, but must be provided nonetheless: You don’t ask for the military or police forces to protect you, before government provides them anyway.

The same goes for social services, like hospitals, schools, and traffic control that will have adverse effect on society if not discharged. You will have a hard time faulting an Osun State Government that fulfills its electoral promisesby feeding about 254,000 pupils daily, and providing jobs for about 3,000 cooks, and giving farming and agribusiness a shot in the arm, through the ‘O’ MEALS Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme. Neither can you really fight a plan to refurbish the old Osogbo Aerodrome, to provide a hub to freight agricultural cargo from Osun and adjoining states. The airport comes with a repairs hanger where military, private operators and commercial airlines can repair their aircrafts. The network of roads around the airport also makes for easy fight connections for passengers and farming cargoes.

But the sudden drop of oil revenue scuppered the whole thing, bringing unpaid wages in its wake. Because the problem of unpaid wages of government workers is a universal phenomenon in Nigeria, many suggest down-sizing of staff.

That fails to recognize that employment of workers is also a legitimate social service expected of every government.

That explains why the salaries of civil servants are usually lower than those of private sector employees; and that the guarantee of tenure, gratuity and pension, are their compensations for accepting lower wages. It’s the same reason that it takes a longer time and more rigorous procedure to fire civil servants.

This then brings up the argument that is making the rounds; namely, that states governments must be allowed to independently negotiate minimum wages with the labour unions. If the Federal Government will not pay the salary bills of states, it should not negotiate wages on their behalf. Allowing each state the autonomy to negotiate its minimum wage with labour goes by the name, ‘fiscal federalism.’

But really the Federal Government is too big, to the detriment of states and (especially) local governments. The real interface

between the state and the citizens is more at the local government level. Shouldn’t the revenue allocation formula be restructured to the advantage of local government councils?

Indeed, the day for the argument for fiscal federalism is here.

It is imperative for the Nigerian state to recognize that those who provide the resources must be first partakers in its yield.

That must explain why the NigerDelta, whose soil provides the oil and gas that has provided the major source of revenue for the country, complainabout being schemed out of the returns from the petroleum resources.

“Conscious of the fact that (the Niger Delta region) remains the most valuable physical resource for (national) development,” a recent summit of the Ijaw nation notes that “Ijaw… communities suffer the deleterious effects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation,” and regrets that the Nigerian state is unable “to address the concomitant negative impacts on the health, economy, culture, and environment of the Ijaw people.”

The Ijaw have therefore expressed a desire for selfdetermination, having noted that the treaty of 1914, between the Ijaw and the British colonial powers, lapsed in 2014. They consequently empowered the summit ‘to initiate the process of renegotiating the basis of (Ijaw) coexistence with other ethnic nationalities (in Nigeria).”

Fair-minded Nigerian patriots must not ignore this heart cry of the Ijaw—or other nationalities for that matter. All people of goodwill must strive to achieve a more honest interpretation, and implementation, of the protocols of democratic and federal governance in Nigeria.

But more to the point: State governments that owe salaries must certainly demonstrate the will to pay. They could restructure payment schedules (the way bankers do), and then seek to renegotiate more realistic minimum wage regime with labour.

This way, accrued wage bills are settled, and a future without financial booby-traps charted.

And yes, it is not enough to simply blame the governments for unpaid salaries, and leave it at that. The Federal Government may have to immediately initiate a rescue plan to pay the salary arrears, to stem the human sufferings, before asking the state governments to go and sin no more.

‘State governments that owe salaries must certainly demonstrate the will to pay. They could restructure payment schedules (the way bankers do), and then seek to renegotiate more realistic minimum wage regime with labour. This way, accrued wage bills are settled, and a future without financial booby-traps charted’

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

COMMENTS

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HE hallmark transition of Nigeria from one democratically elected administration to another is a thing worth celebrating but this celebration of “CHANGE” has been tainted by the salary palaver. For, regardless of the rising democratic profile of our great country which has earned her no mean admiration from the rest of the world, her economic prospect at the moment are probably at its lowest ebb in the history of her existence.

Last count, arrears of unpaid wage bills across the 36 states of the federation plus the federal government itself was reportedly put at over N150 billion while the construction industry alone is being owed over N600 billion for jobs already completed. A tale of getting and spending gone wrong?

If we must refresh our memory, the global economic meltdown between 2008 and 2010 had an adverse effect on our economy. The demand for our crude oil, our main source of foreign exchange till date fell. The price of crude in the international market also fell as low as US$38 per barrel. This meant that states were receiving less money from the federal allocation.

Between 2011 to 2014 however, Nigeria entered into another cycle of oil boom like we had between 1970 - 77. The price of crude within this period averaged US$105 per barrel. On sighting the oil boom, many of our political leaders at the state level started doubling the size of their government houses, town halls and conference centres. Some commenced the building of general hospitals in every electoral ward. Cost-centred projects along highways sprang up like mushroom.

The organized labour took it from there and commenced the usual struggle leading to massive increase in salary of workers across

‘There is something we cannot run away from: The arrears of salaries owed civil servants across the states must not only be paid but also measures put in place to make non-payment of salaries a thing of the past’

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URING his thanksgiving church service in Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State, on June 21, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara was quoted widely, as having poured encomium on persons and institutions that he claimed had been instrumental to his victory at the controversial June 9 election at the House which pitched him against the preferred candidate of his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC). Prominent among those who he claimed were instrumental to his victory over Hon Femi Gbajabiamila was the respected Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III. The linkage of the Sultan’s name to that controversial election which raised dusts that are yet to settle, has raised eyebrows across the country. This is mainly because of the respect and acclaim that he has gained across the religious and ethnic divides in the country due to the way he has comported himself with grace and dignity, by keeping himself and his exalted office above the murky waters of partisan politics.

Having followed the activities of the sultan, since his early days on his exalted throne, it is not hard to chart his involvement in areas that are far-removed from partisan politics. Many who first encountered him through his activities as the co-chair of the Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) note his transparent and manifest passion for inter-religious dialogue and understanding which stood out and did a lot to bridge the gaps of religious and ethnic understanding, which were being created through the bigotry of some politicians and religious leaders, across the board.

In concert with Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja as well as the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Sultan Abubakar’s roles in the promotion of peace and unity of the country was very evident. The mileage gained in inter-religious understanding for the country through the cooperative efforts of the two men and the groups they led became deep and real.

The trust that had started to build was so real that the Sultan became the first-ever Muslim leader to participate directly in a major Christian activity at the highest level.

On April 20, 2010, the Sultan delivered a keynote address at the National Executive workshop of CAN in Abuja. The paper entitled, “You and Your Muslim Neighbour” sought to wipe

Salary palaver: Nigerians, what happened?

By Ikedi Ohakim the country.

Today, none of the states is able to pay salary of workers. So, what happened? The answer is simple; we mismanaged the boom that was witnessed between 2011 and 2014.

We forgot Keynes’s central dictum which admonishes us that: “The boom, not the slump, is the time for austerity”. We failed to save during that period. Instead, we went on spending spree on mostly populist projects without economic value in order to earn “groundless applause” from the people. To put it in a more familiar parlance, nobody thought of the rainy day. For example, most of the states that cannot pay salaries today were only a few months ago showcasing their numerous “achievements” on national TV. Now the bubble has burst.

In addition to non-payment of salaries, contractors are not being paid, leading to the ongoing layoff of more than 60% of construction industry workers. A polity that has more than 50% of its youths unemployed but with their parents now without salary is not only a time bomb; it is also a harmattan fire. When it starts, it spares no one. It destroys everything it casts its glance on.

It is a fact that cannot be over-laboured that most state treasuries are lean due to reasons we need not go into here. Some stakeholders have chosen to characterize the situation with the phrase “empty treasury”. But my view is that we should downplay that ascription because both in content and form, the phrase “empty treasury” does not portray a true understanding of fiscal practice in a democracy.

Even where an outgoing administration leaves behind some money, it does not amount to free money to be spent because ideally, such funds are already committed to ongoing projects. And the moment the new administration puts such funds into something else, there is a big problem.

Let me illustrate this with a personal experience. My administration as governor of Imo State, for example, left the sum of over N26.6 billion by the time we handed over in May 29, 2011. Of this amount, N13.3 billion was the balance from Imo Development Bond which was earmarked for projects that were ongoing by the time we left office. Unfortunately, the new administration saw the N26.6 billion as money that was there for spending and went on a binge: it embarked mostly on cost-centred projects such as first lady’s office complex, new multi-purpose hall, new exco chambers, new international conference centre, over 80 road projects, 27 brand new general hospitals and the building of squares and roundabouts, etc while abandoning the uncompleted projects left by us. The result today is that in most cases, neither the new projects nor the old ones for which those funds were initially earmarked have been completed.

It is this penchant for mismatching funds that has led to non-payment of salaries and abandonment of projects which has become the rule rather than the exception. In my view, it is high time we took deliberate steps to tackle the issue of abandonment of projects started by previous administrations by new ones. It is evil and it is a major root cause of our economic calamity. It leads to nothing but wasting of resources.

Abandoning projects started by a preceding administration is a product of the “what did you achieve mentality”. This mentality makes it almost impossible for a new administration to think rationally. Instead of completing projects that will have huge multiplier effects, new administrations merely go for quick wins by duplicating mini road, electricity, water projects, brick and mortar structures etc which it can quickly complete in order to earn immediate applause from the people who are not in position to understand the tragedy of such idiosyncrasies. According to Talmud: “It is not up to you to finish

the work. But you are not free to desist from it”.

If we do not act fast, non-payment of salaries may assume the status of official policy.

It is something that we must stand up against in Nigeria. It leads to economic and social calamity. I call on the legislature to come up with a bill stipulating that salaries not paid as at when due should attract interest on prevailing bank rate until paid. Salaries should be a first line charge for both the federal, state and local governments.

Quite often, you would hear some state governors pride themselves for not borrowing money from banks, even while they owe their civil servants several months of arrears of salaries in addition to non-payment to contractors for jobs duly done. By not paying workers and contractors, the government is indirectly borrowing from them without paying interest.

This notwithstanding, I do not agree with the view that only the state governments are responsible for the current crisis. Let me also state that it is not also true that state governors merely cart away the funds into their private pockets. Such a blanket view is dangerous because it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for us to look at the issue through the proper political prism.

There are suggestions to the effect that government should embark on austerity measures and even sack workers. This is dangerous. On the contrary, what we need is more spending that would arise from a well-articulated economic stimulus package for the states and local governments. But since the federal governments itself is also in a financial distress, it means that the country should source for funds externally once the necessary caution is applied. The funds so sourced will then be directed at stimulating economic activities through increase spending.

Now is the time for the government to spend more, not less, until such a time that the private sector will be in the position to stimulate the economy. On the whole, there is something we cannot run away from: The arrears of salaries owed civil servants across the states must not only be paid but also measures put in place to make non-payment of salaries a thing of the past. It is evil and it needs no emphasis to state that non-payment of salaries poses the biggest threat to our democracy.

Dogara’s claim of Sultan’s support

By Marvin Ekeh out, by explaining any remaining vestiges of misunderstanding between the two major groups in the country. That sterling gesture was later reciprocated when Bishop Idowu Fearon, a top Christian leader also participated in and delivered a paper at a meeting of Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in Kaduna.

Even when these efforts by the Sultan seemed to have suffered a setback as Pastor Ayo Oritesjafor, who lacked the type of chemistry that existed between the Sultan and Onaiyekan, became the CAN leader, the Sultan was not fazed. Even when it became obvious that the gains of religious entente recorded by NIREC were being slowed down, or even derailed, the Sultan refused to be diverted from the path of search for religious and ethnic harmony which he had fervently committed himself to.

Onaiyekan continued to give their attention to other aspects of NIREC initiatives that had great impact of the lives of Nigerians, irrespective of their tongues and creed.

In 2008 the Sultan and Archbishop Onaiyekan, as NIREC co-chairmen, had founded the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association (NIFAA), with funding support from the Nigerian government, the World Bank, the Centre for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty (CIFA), and other international funders, with the aim of joining the raging battle against malaria. NIFAA was an instant and resounding success, such that it was able to train up to 300,000 Christian and Muslim missionaries in malarial control activities that included the distribution of treated mosquito nets right to the remotest parts of the country.

Tony Blair, former British prime minister, was among the many leaders that took direct interest in the project, having participated in NIFAA training initiatives in Nigeria in 2010.

Today NIFAA’s activities which are being coordinated by Bishop Sunday Onuoha from Abia State have become so institutionalized that they are being copied by some African countries, like Liberia.

If NIFAA has not become a household word in the Nigerian media, it is because both Sul-

tan Abubakar III and Cardinal Onaiyekan are self-effacing leaders who do not court publicity for self-aggrandisement. Nevertheless, the international community had taken adequate notice of these phenomenal contributions by the two selfless Nigerian leaders, as they were co-nominated for Nobel Prize for Peace, in 2012. In fact, they were placed at the fourth position in the nomination list that had more than 100 nominees. Significantly, it was after that the Catholic Church elevated the erstwhile Archbishop John Onaiyekan to the position of a Cardinal.

If one has gone to this length, it is to show that the Sultan of Sokoto who had placed himself and activities over and above the limits of local partisan politics and had rather, in addition to his traditional and these adopted activities for peace of harmony in his Sokoto Caliphate and beyond, has had a timetable fully logged with premium intellectual and humanitarian activities at home and abroad.

His intellectual and leadership qualities have been recognized far and wide, such that his views and ideas have been in high demand at the most important portals at home, but particularly abroad.

Since the incidence of the Boko Haram insurgency, the Sultan has had his plate full with efforts to stem the tide. He has also had to contend with the frustrations of failed promises and multi-speaks of officials of government. But all the same, he has kept his eyes on the ball and has not failed to contribute his bit, covertly and in secret, to the many efforts to end the Boko Haram scourge. There is no doubt that he will continue to play such roles in the current dispensation.

It stands to reason that because the Sultan has had his own loaded national and international agenda cut out for him, it is doubtful if he would have had time for partisan politics.

Added to the fact that he cannot find the time for that, the Sultan who has been exposed to all manners of training in leadership and strategic planning is aware that in order continue to enjoy the respect and acclaim of all, he must be impartial and make himself available to all. That must have been why he has left his door open to members and leaders of all the parties, religions and ethnic groups.

It was, therefore, a big surprise to many observers of the Sultanate that the same man was alleged by the Speaker to have helped him achieve victory in a partisan contest. It would not be hard to deduce that the Sultan would not be pleased to be dragged into the vortex of partisan politics after his manifest and honest efforts to stay far and above it. Hence, keen watchers are imagining that Hon Yakubu Dogara must have misrepresented the roles of the Sultan, if there was any.

The Sultan of Sokoto is one of the few leaders in Nigeria today that have kept their heads high, over and above the fray of partisan and primordial politics of the country. That is why the Sokoto Caliphate has – and would for a long time continue to – remain relevant and enjoy the respect of all and sundry, because the likes of the current 20th Sultan has, through good and sound education and upbringing, come to appreciate the need to preserve the timeless legacies that were laid down by their great forebear, Sheikh Uthman dan Fodio.

Sultan Abubakar III knows that the best way to preserve the institution is to keep it and himself away from partisan politics. He has done that very well to the admiration of all and sundry. It would be too late in the day for him to depart from that path now.

From the foregoing, it is very doubtful that the Sultan would have had anything to do with Dogara’s fortunes. It was, therefore, wrong for the Speaker to have dropped his name so cavalierly in the manner he did.

• Ekeh, writer and political scientist, wrote from Abuja

‘It is very doubtful that the Sultan would have had anything to do with Dogara’s fortunes. It was, therefore, wrong for the Speaker to have dropped his name so cavalierly in the manner he did’

23

TUESDAY JUNE 30, 2015

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, will complete his five–year tenure today. He has made history as the only electoral umpire that supervised a transition where an elected president lost power to the opposition. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the ups and downs that characterised his tenure.

Jega bows out of INEC in style A

FTER serving his five-year tenure meritoriously, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, is bowing out on a blaze of glory. An erudite scholar, highly principled, wellfocused and an accomplished academia, Jega was put to the acid test of integrity in the last five years when he waded through the murky waters of Nigerian politics and came out unscathed. For the above reason, Jega has been described as a patriot and a gentleman.

Jega, who is leaving INEC with six national commissioners whose tenure has equally expired, fought the greatest battle of his life, to preserve his good name, in conducting the 2015 general elections. When former President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Jega as the Chairman of INEC in June, 2010, it was borne out of the conviction that he was found worthy of a position that had a history of lacking in men that live up to the creed such an office demands— unimpeachable integrity and being a consistent stickler for truth.

The Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for electoral Reform (CODER), Mr. Ayo Opadokun said said the outgoing INEC chairman would be in high demand for consultancy in enthroning a credible electoral process all over the world, because he did a good job. A statement from the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, however, said Jega would be returning to the classroom after leaving office. He was the Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano, before his appointment as INEC Chairman in 2010.

Opadokun, a lawyer and the founding Secretary-General of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), gave Jega kudos because he complied substantially with the rules and regulation guiding the recent general elections. Jega became a man of history because he was able to take steps during the final preparations for the last general elections to ensure that there was a level-playing field for all contestants.

He said: “He went ahead to insist that the right thing was done.

For instance, he introduced the Card Reader had been in use in two or three other African countries. Those who usually manipulate the figures were very much unhappy with him and tried to blackmail him into jettisoning the idea, but he stuck to his gun.”

Jega could have easily secured tenure, but he has said expressly that he is not interested in staying on at the commission. He had said in an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation after the March 28 poll that it was time another person was given chance to contribute his own quota, having played his role in the political space for five years. He acknowledged that the task of leading INEC was a difficult one.

He added: “I am grateful to God. I was asked to come and contribute my own quota to the national development and I have done my bit to the best of my ability. Whatever assignment one will do for five years – just like this difficult one, to me if one is able to successfully accomplish the task, someone else should be given the opportunity, because for me I am not interested and if I am requested to serve again, I will not do it,

by God’s grace.”

He acknowledged that the introduction of the Card Reader device in the general elections had significantly helped to make the presidential election transparent.

He replaced Prof. Maurice Iwu, who was eased out ingloriously after superintending over the 2007 electoral disaster, which ushered in the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. That was one election in which the beneficiary of the contest, the late Yar’Adua, publicly acknowledged to be lacking in credibility.

After his appointment in June 30, 2010, he quickly settled down and gave the nation a semblance of credible election the following year. That was the election that witnessed the emergence of Jonathan as an elected President. Though he had little time to prepare for the 2011 general elections, it was generally believed to be a remarkable improvement on past elections.

Based on the relative success of the 2011 election and the elaborate preparation that preceded the much-talked about 2015 contest, expectations were high that Prof. Jega should be able to deliver a more credible one in 2015. Against the background of the irregularities that characterised previous elections before 2011, Jega and his team took off on sounding footing with a clear policy direction hinged on improving the country’s electoral system. The outgoing INEC chairman’s tenure had its ups and downs, but the commission under his stewardship witnessed some innovations and improvements, with regards to the conduct of elections.

Thanks to Prof. Jega, the dynamics of politics is believed to have changed. Between 2011 and 2015, INEC has also moved a notch higher in its preparations with the introduction of innovations such as the Permanent Voters Card (PVC), the Card Reader, counting of votes and announcement of results at the polling units, among other things that made rigging a near

•Jega

‘

President Muhammadu Buhari should go ahead and ensure that all the recommendations of the Uwais panel are implemented. One of the key recommendations was that the government in power should no longer appoint the chairman of the electoral commission

’

impossibility. That was perhaps why the then ruling party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) tried to oppose the introduction of the Card Reader. But, the attempt failed.

Besides, it was clear from the body language of the PDP that the party never wanted the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), to become a reality. The then ruling party was reported to have made several moves through proxies to thwart the merger. But, Jega allowed it, by remaining cool, calm, calculated and focused on the overall objective the period. That singular incident was perhaps the first signal from the Jega-led INEC that 2015 general elections were not going to be business as usual.

The campaign for the 2015 general elections that brought the APC to power was hate-filled. But, in conceding victory, despite his party’s strong opposition to Jega’s supervision of the 2015 election, former President Jonathan has reaffirmed his confidence in the choice of the Professor of Political Economy as the right man for the job of charting the path of credible electoral process in Nigeria about five years ago.

The outgoing electoral umpire has broken the record by being the first INEC chairman to conduct two general elections; 2011 and 2015. It was also under his tenure that a ruling party would lose elections for first time in the country’s political history.

Controversy, criticisms and commendations trailed the conduct of Prof. Jega and his team prior to the last general elections. Aside from the PVC and the Card Reader, controversy also dogged the attempt to introduce an additional 30,000 polling units. The move was strongly rebuffed by Nigerians, especially from the Southern part of the country. They saw it as a move to favour a particular section of the country. After days of insistence and explanation, the Commission dropped the move, but that did not spare Jega from attack and allegation

ahead of the polls. Several allegations of bias and corrupt practices were leveled against him by both the PDP and the APC. But, in the face of all these allegations and provocations, Jega remained undaunted.

Jega’s appointment was favourably received five years ago

by Nigerians from all walks of life because he was a member of the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, which made recommendations for organising free, fair and credible election. But, Opadokun was one of those Nigerians that criticised the appointment. He said that was one of the reasons why he had opposed the appointment of Prof. Jega five years ago. “As a member of the Uwais panel that made the above lofty recommendation, I felt that as a gentleman Jega ought to have rejected that appointment,” he said. Besides, the CODER chieftain said he was also against the composition of INEC put in place by Prof. Jega, where seven or eight departments out of the 10 in the commission were headed by people from the part of the country where the chairman hailed from.

Opadokun said CODER remains resolute on the full recommendations of the Uwais panel report. He said: “We should not be looking for angels; what we should do is to build and rely on institutions, no matter who comes there, he would be subject to the rules and regulations. Contrary to the recommendation of the Uwais panel that an electoral offences tribunal should be set to try electoral offenders, no one has been tried and sentenced for electoral offences. The import of this is that the tribunal would not require the approval of the attorney-general to try electoral offences.

“President Muhammadu Buhari should go ahead and ensure that all the recommendations of the Uwais panel are implemented.” One of the key recommendations was that the government in power should no longer appoint the chairman of the electoral commission. According to Opadokun, it is like a football final between team A and team B, where the former is allowed to appoint the match officials. He said: “The panel recommended that anyone who wanted to the chairman of the electoral commission should apply to the National Judicial Council (NJC), which would collate the applications and send them to the National Council of State. The Council of State is expected to consider the applications and nominate one person, by sending it to the Senate for ratification. This would make the umpire impartial because he was not appointed by the government of the day and he would be under no obligation to favour the party in government.”

Jega was born on 11 January 1957 in Jega, Kebbi State. He attended Sabon Gari Town Primary School, Jega between 1963 • Continued on page 24

24

THE NATION TUESDAY JUNE 30, 2015

In the last two months it was talking about 40 per cent salary before the ‘state NLC revolted. The state is stagnated; we are not moving ’

POLITICS Aliyu Zakari-jiya, a pharmacist, is governorship aspirant. He spoke with correspondent JOHN OFIKHENUA on why former Governor Abubakar Audu and other leaders should sponsor a younger politician against Governor Idris Wada during the exercise.

‘Power should shift to younger generation in kogi’

W

HY do you want to be the Kogi State governor?

I see myself as a worthy candidate because I believe that I have the capacity. I have the competence. I have the character, and I have what it takes to govern a state like Kogi State. Today, what Kogi needs is somebody who has a vision to translate the abundant natural and human resources in Kogi State to benefit of the people. Kogi State needs somebody who has the character just like President Muhammadu Buhari has. Kogi State needs somebody who has the competence, somebody, who is a wealth creator, not just somebody who waits for Abuja to bring allocation before sharing. What if Abuja says we don’t have money to give to you, what happens?

Does it mean that the civil servants will not get their salary. Does it mean Kogi State has to die? So you need somebody who can see beyond the present moment, somebody who has the ability to turn around the state. The state is stagnated but all this I have mentioned to you I believe I have them. I have been mentored in the art of wealth creation. Educationally, I have acquired skills both in business and politics and in other areas. I am a pharmacist, with a postgraduate diploma, a masters in Business Administration, as well as a masters in Health Management. So you need somebody who can manage the resources of Kogi State and make people feel better instead of somebody who will just sit down remove salary, remove overhead, security vote, and nothing is left at the end of the day. As it is now, the Internally Generated Revenue of Lagos State is about N23billion every month. Thanks to the duo of our leaders Tinubu and Fashola. Other states are now emulating that. Look at Kano State, Kwankwaso increased the internally generated revenue not depending on the statutory allocation from the Federation Account. So, you need somebody who thinks along that line to be able to revive Kogi State.

The former governor of Kogi State, Abubarkar Audu is eyeing the seat. How do you hope to compete with such a political heavyweight ?

Prince Abubakar Audu, our leader in the State. He is the leader of APC. He contested first in 1991 under NRC, and he won, in 1999 under APP and he won. In 2003 under ANPP, he couldn’t win. In 2007 under ANPP, he couldn’t win, and in 2011 under ACN, he couldn’t win. Like I told you he is our leader.

We want to believe that the problem of this generation should be solved by this generation. He has done his best with the available resources when he was governor of the state. There is no

doubt, and you cannot take that away from him.

But like we always say if you are successful and you don’t plan for succession you have also failed. We are saying that we the younger generation should be given the opportunity to showcase what we have. Rotimi Amaechi is just 50 years. So you can imagine that he was governor when he was 42 years old. Look at His Excellency Bukola Saraki, he is just 52 or 53.

So you can imagine how old he was when he was governor. Look at Orji Kalu, look at Suswan, look at Fashola. If Fashola was not given that opportunity nobody would know his skill and competence. But today Fashola has showcased who he is because he was given the opportunity that is why we are asking that we too be given the opportunity to show Kogites and Nigerians the skills we have. Things keep changing. Change is the first law of life. Even our system changes, cells in our body change.

We are not stagnant so we have to change. We cannot keep shouting change and keep recycling old hands. The education of the 60s and 70s is not the same thing as the education of today . I once told somebody that when I was in secondary school and university, there was nothing like the social media. But, today,there is social media and there is Internet and it assists children in the school. That is is why we are saying that the elders should stay as elders . We appreciate them a lot. We thank them for what they have done in our lives. We thank them for what they have done for Kogi State, but they should allow us to grow. They should breed leaders so that Kogi State should be the envy of other states eventually.

What are you going there to do that the current PDP governor is not doing ?

The governor cannot even pay salaries. The infrastructure have decayed. The present PDP government cannot even pay salaries. In the last two months it was talking about 40 per cent salary before the state NLC revolted. The state is stagnated; we are not moving. There is nothing moving in Kogi as it is today. When I hear people say everything is moving, I tell them to go to other states and see how things are moving. That is how you will know that things are not moving in Kogi State. We need to change that state for our children. For our own future, we cannot allow the state to rot. If you go to Kogi State, especially the State capital you will know that

•Jiya

there is no road. Some local governments don’t have general hospitals after creation in 1991. You have to take healthcare close to the people. Teachers are on strike. As we sit here with you now the healthcare workers in Idah general hospital have been on strike for past one year. So what are we talking about ? Is that leadership. Is that governance? Our people are suffering, there is no job for the youths. Today now Kogi has been turned to the headquarter of kidnapping. You must have read on the news that a commissioner was kidnapped from his farm. A judge was kidnapped, a NEPA manager of Ajaokuta was kidnapped. A reverend sister was kidnapped. Is that the kind of state you want to live in ? Is that what you call progress? Pipe borne water is not available. So what we want to do is a sharp contrast from what is happening right now. We want the state to develop. We want the state to have progress, and that is why we are coming on board. And that is why we are asking the people to support us.

To unseat an incumbent governor requires popularity. How popular are you in the three senatorial districts? Or is your popularity just in Igala land ?

I am very popular in the three senatorial districts of Kogi State. I didn’t just come up to contest this year. I am a founding member of MRD, MDD, I was the first secretary of ACD as well as Action Congress before we went into ACN . I contested under ACN in 2011 but the party asked me to step down for Prince Abubakar Audu, which I did. So, I am not just

Kogi State needs somebody who has the competence, somebody, who is a wealth creator, not just somebody who waits for Abuja to bring allocation before sharing

Delta 2015: APC, others floor PDP in round one

A

In a suit instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the candidature of Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, the All Progressives congress (APC) governorship candidate in Delta State and other APC candidates in the 2015 general elections in the state, the presiding judge has ruled to dismiss and strike out the case describing the PDP Justice C.M.O. OlatoregunIsola authorities behind the case as busy bodies.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Olatoregun-Isola noted that the PDP did not show sufficient evidence to prove that their rights were transgressed by the opposition parties or why the defendants’ candidature should be nullified. According to the judge, it was a matter that should be decided at the Election Petition Tribunal and therefore it

was struck out.

Justice Olatoregun-Isola ruled that the PDP’s case against the governorship candidates of the APC, the Labour Party (LP), and the Accord Party (AP) had insufficient evidence and has to be taken to the Election Petition Tribunal. During the April 11, 2015 governorship election the PDP claimed that all the opposition candidates were not valid to be placed on the ballot.

The Delta State chapter of the PDP and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa instituted the legal action to challenge the eligibility of all the candidates of the APC, the AP and the LP in the elections. The case originated from the chambers of Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) and filed in March 2015 on behalf of the PDP at the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba.

The list of defendants in the suit include: the Independent National

coming up. We have structures in the 239 wards in the state. We have been going round for sensitization and consultation in the last one month. So the popularity is there, especially the youths and women because they need change. They are desirous of this change.

And they have resolved that they will effect this change come the next governorship election.

Who is queuing behind you? Are the youths asking you to effect the change for them?

The youths are queuing behind me . In fact, the youths are one of the reasons why we are out campaigning because they said the future is in quagmire, their future is bleak. They don’t know where they are heading to. They cannot continue to be thugs. Some of them are not willing to go into social vices. Some of them are graduates but after four years of postgraduate the are still riding Okada. Some don’t even have money to buy Okada. Some are just roaming about but now they have said they cannot continue. They need somebody that will emancipate them from the shackles of misgovernment, hunger, impoverishment , squalor and poverty. And that is why they are queuing behind me and saying look, go, we are right behind you.

Which challenge do you foresee in this contest?

The basic challenge we encounter is that Kogi State as it is today has been bastardized with money politics. PDP has brought in so much money politics to play so that when you are talking to people what they are thinking and looking after is money. But it is not the majority. Most people actually want this change.

They are looking for somebody who is very good. The second issue is disunity in the state.

Our previous leaders have sown seeds of discords among us. We look at ourselves with mutual suspicion and mistrust. The Igala ,and, the Okun man, and the Ebira man no longer look at themselves as Kogites. You are looked upon based on tribe, ethnicity and religion. So we intend to reunite Kogi State because our strength lies in our diversity. If you don’t unite you can never have peace and development.

God did not make mistake for bringing us together. Our destiny is tied together as a people that must live together and grow together.

What is your agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari ?

Nigeria is coming back on track with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. We know that he has a very sound agenda for Nigeria. You can see, he just said yesterday that he is going to recover all the looted money. Secondly, he is to begin to fight corruption because corruption is one of our biggest problem in this country. And somebody is going to unify this country because at a time the unity of this country was at the lowest ebb. So President Muhammadu Buhari has come with a very robust blueprint to revive the Nigerian nation. Nigeria will eventually become a country which we will be proud to call our own.

...Jega bows out • Continued from page 23

•Emerhor

Electoral Commission (INEC); the APC governorship flagbearer; the Accord Party senatorial candidate for Delta North, Mr. Victor Ochei and 96 others.

and 1969 and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Birnin Kebbi and then was admitted into The Ahmadu Bello University Zaria’s Bayero University College, Kano in 1974, graduating in 1979 with a Second Class Upper Division BSc degree in Political Science. He worked as a teaching assistant at Bayero University. Thereafter, he won a fellowship at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in the United States (1981 to 1984) where he earned a PhD in Political Sciences.

He returned to the Political Science Department in Bayero University in 1984 as a lecturer.

Other appointments included visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos (March 1992 to March 1993), visiting Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Stockholm, Sweden (1994), Deputy Vice-chancellor (Academic),

Bayero University (1995 to 1996) and Director, Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Bayero University (2000 to 2004). Jega was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University in 2005.

He is a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and was an opponent of the Babangida military government in the early 1990s. Politically leaning towards the left, as ASUU President he was closely associated with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and continued that connection throughout his career. On April 29, 2010 he was guest lecturer for the NLC May Day celebration where he presented a paper on “50 Years of Nationhood: Challenges of Good Democratic Governance, Credible Election and the Working Class”. He is widely seen as an astute intellectual with a strong sense of ethics and morality.

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

25 It is a criminal irresponsibility for the system to ’demonstrate capacity when a poor man or woman is involved and fails to do same when a heavy pocket individual is alleged to have committed even a more heinous crime that affects the system

’

E-mail:- law@thenationonlineng.net

See page 26

The fight against corruption in the judiciary did not start today; yet it has not abated. Last week, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mahmud Mohammed shocked the nation when he said no fewer than 64 of the 1020 superior court judges had been sanctioned in the past five years. How can corrupt judges be stopped? ADEBISI ONANUGA sought lawyers’ views.

Weeding out corrupt judges T

HE figure is startling - 64 of the 1,020 superior court judges have been sanctioned in the past five years for corruption. Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Mahmud Mohammed, who broke the news at a gathering in Abuja last week, looked everything but happy. He spoke with a heavy heart as he mused over the judiciary, which is commonly referred to as the last hope of the common man.

Speaking at a conference with the theme: The fight against corruption: the way forward, organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Anti-corruption Commission, the CJN said efforts were being made to rid the judiciary of bad eggs.

The CJN said petitions were immediately investigated through internal procedures established by the National Judicial Council (NJC). Those found culpable, he said, were disciplined in accordance with established procedures, including being relieved of their jobs.

He, however, lamented that much as the judiciary was doing its best to eliminate bad eggs, the public, which has been criticising the institution, seemed to be encouraging corruption.

Justice Mohammed argues that corruption persists because public officials and other persons who benefit from it are never investigated and prosecuted, when the judiciary disciplines its own.

How NJC treats petitions

Upon receiving a petition against any judge, such a judge is informed about the petition and asked to respond. If the NJC finds the judge’s response unsatisfactory, a fact-finding committee is constituted to probe issues raised in the petition. During such investigation, parties, accompanied by their lawyers, appear before the committee to state their cases.

At the end, the committee submits its report to the NJC. The Council takes its decision based on the committee’s findings.

If the judge is absolved of the allegations, he/she is informed. If culpable, the information will also be passed to the affected judge, along with the penalty.

If it is a minor offence, the judge gets a warning. The NJC recommends that a judge is either dismissed or compulsorily retired where the offence is grave. Such recommendation is directed to either the governor (in the case of a state court’s judge) or the President (where the judicial officer involved is of the federal courts.).

Such a judge is suspended from office pending when either the governor or President accedes to NJC’s request.

Any affected judicial officer, who is unhappy with the NJC’s final decision, can approach the Federal High Court to challenge the decision. Appeals in such cases end at the Supreme Court.

Judges sanctioned or queried

INSIDE:

Olotu: On February 26, last year, the NJC announced the compulsory retirement of Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court. In a statement, its Acting Director, Information, Soji Oye, said Justice Olotu breached judicial procedure by delivering a judgment in a case with Suit No. FHC/UY/250/2003, 18 months after the final address by all the counsel in the suit, contrary to the constitutional provisions that judgment should be delivered within a period of 90 days.

“The judge admitted before the Fact-Finding Committee of the Council that investigated the allegations, that she forgot she had a pending ruling to deliver in an application for Joinder, and the Judge entertained a post Judgment matter in Suit No. FHC/UY/CS/250/2003 in Port Harcourt, after delivering judgment, which made her functus-officio.

That in another case: Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/505/2012, Hon. Justice Olotu failed to deliver judgment twice,” NJC said.

Inyang: Also, last year, the NJC recommended the compulsory retirement of Justice U. A. Inyang of the High Court

How to conduct election petitions, by judge -Page 28

• Justice Mohammed

an originating summons that had no written address of the parties and without hearing both parties in the originating summons after he had earlier on overruled the preliminary objection.

Naron: NJC, in February 2013, recommended the compulsory retirement of Justice Thomas D. Naron, then of High Court of Justice, Plateau State following its findings that there were constant and regular voice calls and exchange of text messages between the judge and one of the lead counsel for one of the parties to the suit in the Osun State Gubernatorial Election Tribunal, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers in Section 292 (1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.

Ex-Abia Acting CJ, Nwanosike: The NJC in July 2013 announced the compulsory retirement of the Acting Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Shadrack O. E. Nwanosike over alleged falsification of his date of birth.

NJC said it found that Nwanosike falsified his date of birth, which invariably affected his retirement age. It directed him to proceed on compulsory retirement.

Justice Musa Anka: In 2011, NJC ordered an immediate sack of Justice Musa Ibrahim Anka, of the Zamfara State High Court, having found him guilty of gross misconduct (bribery and corruption). It found that the judge received bribe from one Zubairu Abdulmalik in order to deliver judgment in his favour.

Anka before then had been on suspension by the council since July 2010, following a petition written against him

by Zamfara State Directorate of State Security Service (DSS), alleging that he received bribe from one Zubairu Abdulmalik in order to deliver judgment in his favour.

Agumagu: On March 26, 2014, the NJC rose from its general meeting with a decision to suspend President of the Rivers Customary Court of Appeal Justice Peter Agumagu for allowing himself to be sworn-into office as the state’s substantive Chief Judge.

The NJC refused to recognise him as the CJ on the ground that the normal procedure for the appointment of a CJ was not complied with. He challenged the decision at the Supreme Court, but three appeals he filed were dismissed.

NJC suspended him after saying it did not recommend him to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi for appointment as the Chief Judge. Agumagu was, however, dissatisfied with his suspension. He consequently filed an application for a judicial review of the NJC’s directive suspending him.

NJC warns judges

of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for misconduct.

Inyang was found to have “included in his judgment, references to the garnishee proceedings, which came after judgment had been delivered on December 20, 2011. His Lordship also included the name of the counsel to Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru (SAN) who came into the matter after the judgment of December 20, 2011 was delivered.

“That the Judge recklessly signed a writ of execution, a day after delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, the same day a notice of appeal and motion on notice for stay of execution were filed.

“That the Judge continued with the garnishee proceedings despite application for stay of execution; and that before delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, Justice Inyang ignored a properly filed Motion on Notice for leave to file additional witness statement on oath,” NJC said.

Achibong: In February 2013, the NJC recommended the compulsory retirement of Justice Charles E. Archibong, who was then serving at the Federal High Court, Lagos, following investigations conducted by the Council on series of petitions levelled against him.

Some of the allegations were that he dismissed a grievious charge against an accused without taking his plea and refused to release the Certified True Copy of his Ruling to lawyers.

He was also accused of issuing bench warrant on some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) officials for contempt even when the counsel who was directed by the Court to serve them filed an affidavit that he had not been able to serve the contempt application.Archibong was said to have also made unfounded and caustic remarks on professional competence of some Senior Advocates of Nigeria and exhibited glaring procedural irregularities which showed that he did not have a full grasp of the Law and Court procedure.

Another allegation was that he granted the leave sought in

On February 26, the NJC issued warning letters to the Presiding Justice of Court of Appeal Kaduna Division, Justice Dalhatu Adamu, Justice A. A. Adeleye of High Court of Ekiti State and Justice D. O. Amaechina of High Court of Anambra State.

Justice Adamu was reprimanded after it was found that he deliberately absented himself from duty, an action the NJC said amounted to gross misconduct contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct of Judicial Officers.

The NJC said it found Justices Adeleye and Amaechina “culpable of very low performance. It issued them warning letters for ‘decline in their productivity’.”

Talba: Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja resumed on May 2, 2014 after serving 12 months’ suspension.

The NJC had on April 26, 2013 suspended him because he did not exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously with regard to the sentences he passed on one of the accused persons, John Yakubu Yusuf in the Police pension case of FRN Vs Esai Dangabar and five others. NJC also warned Justice Talba “to desist from unreasonable exercise of judicial discretion in all matters brought before him”.

The judge had given Yusuf, who admitted to the stealing of about N27.2billion pensioners’ funds, two years’ imprisonment with an option of N750,000 fine, which the convict promptly paid. The decision attracted public criticism.

The fight continues

In spite of efforts taken by its leadership to sanitise the judiciary, which is regarded as the last hope of the common man, it has remained in the sport light of public scrutiny, not for any other reason but for the level of cor•Continued on page 26

SAN to NBA: Save law from exploiters -Page 37

Governors and the Unoka syndrome -Page 39

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

26

LAW COVER CONT’D •Continued from page 25

ruption that has pervaded and brought it to disrepute.

Observers believed that the war against corruption in the judiciary has thrown up some challenges for the legal profession in terms of respect and credibility and they see politicians as being majorly responsible for this.

They also noted that politicians have succeeded in dragging the judiciary into the centre stage of the electoral process because of its relative weaknesses which are being made worse by corruption.

They are equally concerned about how this trend can be stopped within the polity.

The CJN, through the NJC, has already taken the bull by the horn by initiating steps to enact new guidelines leading to a more transparent process that would ensure that only persons that are intellectually sound and have integrity are appointed judicial officers. Acknowledging that the bench is also a by-product of the bar, Justice Mohammed has also urged the bench to expunge from its ranks, persons whose conduct may be unfit, improper, dishonest and otherwise from its ranks and file.

An ex-judge’s view

A former Ogun State High Court Judge, Justice Babasola Ogunade, believes judges indicted for corruption should be tried.

“Look at what happens in other climes. You do anything that people believe is scandalous, or is criminal, you get arrested. Investigations will be done.

“If they find that you’re culpable, you’re prosecuted. If they’re able to prove their case, you go to jail – just as it happens to politicians and the rest of them. Nobody is above the law as far as I know,” he said.

He also urged judges to be diligent while being content with what they have. He said: “My advice simply is this: Always remember your judicial oath. Be industrious. There is no need for you to sit late. Your training at the Law School enjoins you to be prompt. If you’re a practitioner and you’re late in going to court, your client one day will go and look for another lawyer. Sit on time; do your best when you’re there; always remember your judicial oath. Minimise your social outings because the work is so demanding.

“You’re not going to look at the case of one side; you’re going to look at the two cases, and on your own, look at similar cases that had happened in the past that could assist you in what you’re doing. So, really, the time for socialisation is so little. Take it that you’re handling something that is sacred. If the remuneration is not as high as you expected, God is your paymaster, he will pay you.

“Since I retired 14 years ago, I’ve not looked over my shoulder. God has always provided for me. I’m not stupendously rich, but I’m not poor. If I want to eat, I have money to buy food. I have a car in which I ride. And if I need to satisfy family needs, I’m able to do it within my income. Live within your income.

“Don’t let people look at you and your status and say ‘Ah, how will they say he’s a judge and he cannot do this?’

If you’re unable to do it, you’re unable to do it. That’s the way I look at it. So, the temptation of having to add a little bit unjustly to what you’re earning may not be there,” he said.

The way out, by lawyers

Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Yinka Farounbi, said for the judiciary help rid the country of corruption, it must be insulated from that corruption and like Caesar’s wife be above board.

Sadly, however, that is not the case, Farounbi lamented, adding that some of the judicial officers had forgotten the constitutional oath to dispense justice without fear or favour.

“When viewed vis a vis the importance of the institution, then one will reasonably conclude that the corruption in the Judiciary is alarming and

Weeding out corrupt judges

• Justice Ogunade (rtd)

• Farounbi

• Ubani

‘Look at what happens in other climes. You do anything that people believe is scandalous, or is criminal, you get arrested. Investigations will be done. If they find that you’re culpable, you’re prosecuted. If they’re able to prove their case, you go to jail just as it happens to politicians and the rest of them. Nobody is above the law as far as I know’ • Omoyinmi

unmanageable and something drastic has to be done,” he said.

While admitting that the punishment against erring judicial officers, no doubt, will help in serving as deterrent to others, he stressed that what should be done is to examine areas of the appointment of the judicial officers, particularly at the High Court level.

“Even though appointment of Judicial Officers could be made directly to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, but in most cases it is always by elevation from the High Court to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court. The question then is: what is the integrity of the appointed Judges of the various High Courts who will one day be elevated to the higher Bench?

“Some of these judges were politically appointed on the doctrine of ‘man know man’ rather than pure merit.

Some of them were not even practising lawyers, whether privately or in the Ministry of Justice at the time of appointment.

“In fact, some are into menial jobs overseas when appointed as a result of the connections of the parents or some godfathers. Such appointments are done without thorough examination of the characters of the applicants which ought to be very key in such appointments,” Farounbi said.

He also suggested that the unbiased opinions of the various Bar Associations in the jurisdictions where these Judges are meant to be appointed should be highly respected.

According to him, “where the recommendation is yes let it yes and where it is no let the no be. It is the Bars in these areas that can best assess the candidates. To put the Bar itself on alert, it must be queried on its recommendations if the recommended applicant or applicants are later found to be corrupt. He said there must be a “designed form of

enquiry” where all questions fundamental to Judicial appointments would be asked and firmly answered.

“After appointment, the local Bar should annually be contacted on the performance and general character of the judicial officers. A questionnaire form is equally recommended.

A judicial officer who knows there will be a yearly report on him and that the report could be a basis for his sanction will think twice before accepting a bribe, even from an angel.

“And more importantly, there must be a conducive atmosphere for these judicial officers to work. There must be security of tenure in the real sense of it. Apart from good salaries, all other things must be put in place to aid them in effectively discharging their constitutional duties.

The popular saying is that “it takes two to tango”. Invariably there could be no receiver without a giver.

My recommendation will be that both the giver and the receiver should be treated alike. It will not be enough to discipline them, they must be prosecuted. If a man collects, say triple of what his salaries would have been for “200 years” and you just retired him, he will still enjoy the loot, but if prosecuted successfully the spoil will be a waste,” he stressed.

Immediate past NBA Ikeja Branch Chairman Onyekachi Ubani believes the judiciary is peopled by human beings who are Nigerians, and that corruption permeates every sector and so none is sacrosanct, including our judiciary.

“The conclusion, therefore, is that corruption in Nigeria and in the judiciary is systemic and so any effort to tackle it must start from the root.

One is a bit relieved when the New Chief Justice of the Federation announced recently that the system

• Nwadioke

has put in place measures for the recruitment of future judges that will ensure that the best, the most competent and those with integrity are recruited. That is indeed cheering news.

“In addition to ensuring that honest and competent hands are recruited into the judiciary, the issue of their welfare should be well addressed to ensure that a judge or magistrate has no reason to take bribe and corrupt the stream of justice. In addition, the monitoring mechanism and punishment for erring personnel should be intensified to ensure that the stream of justice remains pure, clean and undiluted.

With these measures in place, one can safely assume that even if not eliminated, corruption in the judiciary will be reduced minimally.

“We insist that our institutions that are empowered by law to investigate and punish crime must not spare anyone in the country who colludes, abets and aids corruption in the system. We condemn in totality the present system where our institutions appear very weak and demonstrates demonic incapacity to prosecute people who appear big in their eyes and who aid and abet corruption in every system including the judiciary.

“It is a criminal irresponsibility for the system to demonstrate capacity when a poor man or woman is involved and fails to do same when a heavy pocket individual is alleged to have committed even a more heinous crime that affects the system.

“Corruption in the country and in the judiciary must be tackled seriously as it has developed cancerous dimension against the progress of the nation. The new government of President Muhammed Buhari promised to deal with corruption which is the main reason why majority of Nigerians voted for him, therefore the

time is ripe for him to start by dismantling the structures in the country that encourage corruption and for those who fail to turn a new leaf the system must descend on them heavily to act as a deterence to prospective corrupt individuals in the country. That is the way to go and I am advising “let us go there,” Ubani said.

A member of the Ogun State Judicial Commission Abayomi Omoyinmi said unbending consideration should be accorded the process by which judges are appointed.

“Those persons in the society that also benefit from corrupting judicial officers if investigated and found culpable should be made to face heavy wrath of the law,” he said.

Lagos lawyer Emeka Nwadioke said there is no alternative to vigorous prosecution of erring judges. According to him, corruption in the judiciary is a most egregious state of affairs.

“I was tempted to say that 64 out of 1020 judges or 6.27 per cent of judges is a negligible number until I recalled the words of Henry Ward Beecher thus: ‘Take all the robes of all the good judges that have ever lived on the face of the earth, and they would not be large enough to cover the iniquity of one corrupt judge.’ We can they see the menace that even one corrupt judge constitutes to the entire society, and why everything must be done to weed out all corrupt judges from the system.

“It is noteworthy that in recent years especially, the leadership of the judiciary has been doing a lot to curb this menace. It must not relent. There is no alternative to vigorous investigation and punishment where suspects are found culpable. Indeed, the tragedy of the situation can be gleaned from the use of ‘suspects’ to qualify judges, ordinarily the most noble of all.

“All institutions connected with sanitising the judiciary must also be above board. If judges know they cannot wriggle out of the tight mesh woven by the NJC through ‘connection’ and the like, everyone is bound to sit up. However, the remuneration of judges must be adequate to dissuade them from corrupting influences,” Nwadioke said.

To him, the judiciary cannot be corrupt if the society does not tolerate it.

“As to the larger society, it was the inimitable William Shakespeare who said that ‘Thieves for their robbery have authority when judges steal themselves.’ This notwithstanding, there has been a seeming decline in the zeal to combat corruption. The government has in recent years been accused of lacking the political will to combat corruption.

“It is, however, refreshing that the current administration rode to power on the back of an anti-corruption programme. It has no choice but to combat corruption through frenzied and diligent prosecution of suspects.

Rigorous implementation of the new rules on trial of corruption cases is encouraged to obviate the delays that have regrettably attended such cases.

“It is also troubling that, as noted by the CJN, the Bar is not immune from the hazards of corruption. Some senior lawyers have even been severally accused of being conduits for these wayward judges. Again, prompt investigation and prosecution of suspects must be encouraged.

“The NBA must rise to the occasion by assisting institutions saddled with this duty. It is worrisome that NBA’s electoral processes have been alleged to be subject to manipulation; this is corruption of very unacceptable proportion.

“To ensure that the NBA is not found wanting in its high duty to combat corruption within its ranks, it must urgently reform its electoral processes to ensure that its leadership truly and always reflects the will of all lawyers.

Perhaps the time has come to revisit the clamour for universal suffrage at the Bar through electronic voting.

Other professional associations in Nigeria have utilised electronic voting with great success,” Nwadioke added.

27

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

NATIONAL BAR

•Chairman EBF Igwenyi (fifth left), with members at the seminar.

How to conduct election petitions, by judge J

USTICE Biobele Abraham Georgewill of the Court of Ap peal has called on the Bar and Bench to observe international best legal practices in the conduct of election petitions.

He was delivering a keynote address at the Annual Seminar of the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the Multipurpose Hall of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice, Uyo Speaking on The Bar and Bench in Nigeria: the imperatives of ethical revolution in the legal profession, Justice Georgewill said the Bar and the Bench must collaborate.

“The relationship between the Bar and the Bench is a very unique one, they share a common bond and a symbolic connection whereby one cannot exist without the other.

“Indeed, the Bench is the product of the Bar. There cannot be the Bench without the Bar, the Bar is the life giving source of the Bench and they both make up the legal profession in Nigeria,” he said.

He urged the profession to do its best to remain above board so as to protect its aura.

His words: “When you see them garbed in their black gown and white wig, they are the envy of others and they belong to the pres-

• Lamorde

A

FORMER registrar, Oluronke Rosulu, has denied aiding Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua to defraud former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi of $330,000.

Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Vincent Ubi, also told the court he never saw Rosulu, who was Ikeja High Court Registrar, visit the prison while he was there. Ubi was Deputy Controller of Kirikiri Maximum Prison in 2004.

By John Austin Unachukwu Legal Editor

tigious club of the legal profession.

“As members of this club, they are entrusted with the duty to act as a gauge or a barometer and as watch-dog of the society to ensure that the fundamental rights and liberties of the citizenry are respected and protected so that no man is oppressed.

“They are to ensure through the instrumentality of the law that rights of citizens who may not be capable of protecting themselves from the oppression of the powerful and mighty are not trampled upon without due legal redress.

“The legal profession, the Bar and Bench, also carries the sacred duty of ensuring that there is justice, equity and fairness in the land.

The Bar does this by championing good causes in the justice, equity and fairness in the land.

“The Bar does this by championing good causes in the system and using its good knowledge of the law to defend the oppressed. The Bar continues to fight the good fight for justice to ensure that our society is changed for the better and governed by just laws for a just society.

“The Bench, on its part, carries out its responsibility by ensuring

that justice is rendered to all that are brought or come before it with integrity and without fear or favour, ill will or affection “The legal profession prides itself as the learned profession and its members as learned men, learned a little in almost everything and learned most in the law.

They are a special breed of professionals, to whom much respect and honour is given and therefore from whom much more is expected by the society. The question is whether the Legal profession in Nigeria is living up to its billing by the society? Is it a thing of bride to belong to the Legal profession in Nigeria today?

We shall soon find out.”

Justice Georgewill said the legal profession encompasses the length and breadth of the administration of law and justice systems in Nigeria and those involved in it, including the courts and the practitioners of the law.

According to him, the societal expectations are as essential as the very fabrics necessary for the country’s survival and growth.

“We must carry out our duties with integrity, honour, commitment to excellence and adopt the best practices in the post election

litigations. We must collectively strive to attain justice so that only the true wishes of the peoples of Nigeria in their various states as expressed by their votes is respected.

“The Bar and the Bench must shun all acts or perceived acts of corruption and undue influence in all its ramifications so that our country will march on into glory with integrity and justice as our watch word even in the post election era litigations.

“The Bar and Bench must work assiduously to regain the obviously lost confidence of the Nigerian people, who in the past had wondered aloud, and justifiably so, over the unsavoury happenings and the usefulness of post election litigations in this country bedeviled with lack of transparency and integrity.

“This perception of the Nigerian people against the Bar/Bench must be changed through our conscious efforts to turn things around for good and justice in this year’s post election litigation so as to reduce to nil or the barest minimum all such perceptions of corruption in the judicial process in the post election era,” he said.

Chairman of the Governing Council of EBF, Chief Ogbonna

Igwenyi, explained why the seminar was organised.

“Since 2012, the EBF has always organised a seminar on topical issues of the day with a view to keeping members and the entire society abreast with developments on contemporary issues affecting everybody in the society,” he said.

He praised his predecessor, theBayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Kemasuode Wodu for his legacies in the forum including nurturing the annual seminar and Dinner.

Igwenyi thanked Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha for his support to the forum especially, his donation of a piece of land for the construction of the EBF headquarters.

He also praised the forum’s founding fathers for their continued assistance to the association.

Former President of the NBA, Okey Wali (SAN), former General Secretary of the association, M. Emeka JP Obegolu and Mr. Chidi Anyaegbu, Chief Executive Officer of Chisco Transport were honoured at the occasion for their contributions to the development of the NBA and socio-economic development of the country.

Ex-Court registrar denies aiding Ajudua to defraud Bamaiyi Rosulu was alleged to have collected $330,000 from Gen. Bamaiyi while in detention at Kirikiri Prison by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

At the resumed hearing of the matter before Justice Lateef LawalAkapo, Rosulu denied all the allegations levelled against her by the commission before the court.

Led in evidence by her counsel, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, Rosulu said she started working with the judiciary in 1981 but that she also sells housewares to augment her salary.

She admitted that she was a registrar in Justice Oyewole’s court while Bamaiyi was standing trial in the same court and that that was when she knew the complainant (Bamaiyi).

According to her, General Bamaiyi was then standing trial before Justice Oyewole.

“I was the senior registrar in that court before I was posted out sometime in March 2006 and that was the last time I saw Bamaiyi until I was invited to EFCC’s office in 2013.

“I never met ACP Abdullahi Garba before. I don’t know Fred Ajudua personally but I knew him as an accused standing trial. I did not collect money from anybody

By Adebisi Onanuga

and I don’t know Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) one on one and I never work in his chambers,”she said.

Rosulu also denied the claim of by the commission that she visited the prison three times to meet with Ajudua.

“I was surprised on December 19, 2013 when Bamaiyi confronted me at EFCC’s office that he gave me money for Chief Afe Babalola and for Justice Oyewole.

“In the same room at EFCC’s office, ACP Garba was brought in and introduced himself to me and confronted me that I came to Kirikiri and I saw him with a Ghana Must Go bag and I told him there that I don’t know him. Garba and Bamaiyi were speaking Hausa language.”

She said the EFCC detained her for 18 days at the commission office, and her statement was taken.

She in addition told the court that the EFCC officials went to her house, search and took her cheque book, phones and receipt of the land she bought which was paid for by instalments.

When unnder cross examination by the EFCC counsel, Seidu Atteh, defendant maintained that she never met Bamaiyi until he was

brought to stand trial in Oyewole’s court.

According her, three of them serve as court registrars in Justice Oyewole’s court and emphasised that she does not work on Saturdays.

Rosulu also contended that she does not work in Chief Afe Chambers and has never visited his chamber.

Earlier at the proceedings, former DCP of Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Vincent Ubi in his testimony said Garba and ACP Tajudeen Kehinde were subordinate staff to him and that they share same office.

He however clarified that Garba was on general duty.

Ubi, who was led in evidence by Ogundele, the defence witness, Ubi said there were rules on how money could be admitted into prison for the inmates.

“In the day to day performance of their duty, I was not with them because I have a different office. I may not know what happen in their office. There are rules of bringing money to prison then, any money belong to detainee will go to record and kept for them.

“Anybody that need the money will apply and I will approve and the inmate must give reason. Most of time they apply simply to pay their lawyers.”

He further told court that he met Bamaiyi as one of the detainees in Kirikiri prison.

Asked if Bamaiyi applied to collect dollars to pay his lawyer, Ubi told the court that the Prison authority don’t accept dollar and that there was never a time that approval was granted him to do that.

“When application is made, staff don’t bring the person to me, I only approve the application. I don’t know the defendant (Rosulu). I was not aware of the $330,000 the complainant said he brought to the prison.

Gen. Bamaiyi had in his testimony told the court that Rosulu allegedly aided Ajudua to defraud him of $330,000.

According to him, the money was meant to be part payment for professional fees allegedly charged by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to handle his trial for attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian, Mr. Alex Ibru and two others.

Bamaiyi had explained that he met Ajudua and Alumile Adedeji a.k.a. Ade Bendel at Kirikiri maximum prison, while on remand at Kirikiri Prisons.

According to him, the alleged fraud took place between November 2004 and June 2005 while he was on remand alongside Ajudua in Kirikiri Maximum Prison.

THE N

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

LAW & SOCIETY LEGAL TRIBUTE Chief Judge of Enugu State Justice Innocent Azubike Umezulike, in this tribute, describes the late Prof M. I. Jegede (SAN) as a “patron” of property law in Nigeria.

Jegede:PropertyLawlosesitspatron

I

T is not common knowledge in the legal profession that Property Law is made up of two crucial components. They are (1) Land Law and Convey ancing and (2) TRUSTS. In Land Law and Conveyancing we contend mainly with the vicissitudes of Black-Acre among others while in the subject of Trusts we grapple with decoding the dizzying maze of concepts woven around FEOFMENT. It is in this very difficult field of Trusts that Prof Michael Iyiola Jegede (SAN) held sway, control and dominance in the past five decades to the exclusion of any other Nigerian living or dead. Consequently in all the Faculties oF Law in Nigerian Universities where the subject of Trusts is properly taught, the name Prof. Jegede rang a bell, is appreciated and revered. Jegede and the Late Prof.

J. A. Omotola (SAN) were indisputable icons of Property Law in Nigeria, nay Africa.

Founder of Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan

• Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) (middle) displaying his award from NBA Lagos branch.

With him are (from left) former NBA President Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN); Mr. Ebun Sofunde (SAN); NBA Lagos Law Week Chair Mrs. Tolani Edu-Adeola, and NBA Lagos Branch Chairman Mr. Alex Muoka.

SAN to NBA: Save law from exploiters

T

HE Nigerian Bar Associa tion (NBA) has been urged to devise policies that would aid the welfare of young lawyers and better position the legal profession for the future.

Speaking at the NBA Lagos Branch Law Week held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) said the profession’s future would depend on how well lawyers equip themselves.

He decried the profession’s exploitation, noting that juicy briefs were being given to foreign firms especially in the petroleum industry due to non-compliance with the Local Content Act by many International Oil Companies (IOCs). He urged the NBA to intervene so as to make more work available to lawyers.

Ajogwu, who spoke on The future of the legal profession: Protection from exploitation, urged senior lawyers and law firms to shore up their remuneration packages for their employees especially junior lawyers.

He said it was in the interest of such firms, otherwise they would become mere “training ground” and targets for others who appreciate the younger lawyers’ value.

Ajogwu urged young lawyers to invest in their future by acquiring requisite skills, adding that the reward system in the industry is both instantaneous and deferred.

The presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Justice Amina Augie urged lawyers to always abide by the ethics of the profession.

In an impassioned speech which earned her a standing ovation, Justice Augie who traced her career trajectory,

By Joseph Jibueze

warned lawyers to avoid cutting corners as this would ultimately detract from their individual standing and the nobility of the profession. She also stressed the need for wayward lawyers to retrace their steps by embracing honesty and integrity, adding that the profession would be the better for it.

Former NBA President, Chief Wole Olanipekun decried the abandonment of the profession and the Bar by some lawyers.

His words: “They are only known or remembered as lawyers through the prefix of ‘Barrister’ or ‘Lawyer’, without making any contribution whatsoever to the growth of the profession, whether contextually or tangentially.”+ Speaking on “Virtue of service to the Bar” at the Elders’ Night/ Awards held at Ikoyi, Lagos as part of the Law Week programme, Olanipekun warned that ‘contribution’ to the Bar must not be construed as merely financial donations “but also incorporates mentoring of young lawyers and shouldering leadership responsibilities. It also dovetails into knowledge sharing, including participation and attendance at a forum like this. Senior members of the Bar should inspire the juniors to make it in the profession and also climb to its Mount Everest.”

The programme was rounded off with a high-profile Dinner and Award Night at City Hall, Lagos to celebrate the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN).

The Law Week Committee Chairman, Mrs. Tolani EduAdeola said the choice of Fashola for this year’s award

was “unanimous,” adding that he was “head and shoulders above other potential honorees” for changing the face of governance in Nigeria.

This sentiment was echoed by the outgoing NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Mr. Alex Muoka in his speech. Mr. Geroge Etomi, a National Productivity Order of Merit laureate, gave the Dinner Speech titled “The legal profession in an emerging economy” while Mr. Ebun Sofunde (SAN) was chairman in an occasion witnessed by the cream of Nigeria’s legal profession.

The break-out sessions dealt with several practice areas including Labour Law, Medical Law, Media/Sport Law, Insolvency Law, Capital Market Law, Tax Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution simulation.

It also included the traditionally frank and heated Bar Bench Forum.

Speakers included former Lagos State Attorney General, Mr. Ade Ipaye; Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN; Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN; Prof. Chioma Agomo, former Dean of Law, University of Lagos; Mr. Osaro Eghobamien, SAN; Mrs. Titi Akinlawon, SAN; Dr. B. A. M. Ajibade, SAN; Prof. Bankole Sodipo, Dean of Law, Babcock University; Dr. Onuobia also of Babcock University; medical practice expert, Mr. Laolu Osanyin; former NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Mr. Chijioke Okoli; Mr. Seyi Akinwunmi, NFF Vice-President; Mr. V. Uche Obi, President of Capital Market Solicitors Association; Dr. Dapo Olanipekun; Chief Samuel Alabi, Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Eko Hotels, and Barrister (Mrs.) Vera Chinwuba of NTA Lagos, among others.

The late Prof Jegede set up the faculty of Law, University of Ibadan in 1982.

He established the broad policy that entailed that to enrol for the LL.B programme of the University of Ibadan, a student must have acquired a strong first degree in Social Science, or Arts or Humanities. This freshivating programme produced great legal minds, such as Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), Niyi Akintola (SAN), Wale Akoni (SAN), Tunji Oyeyipo (SAN), Kunle Oyesanya (SAN), Justice Uche Onyemenan, JCA (Justice of the Court of Appeal), Kunle Omotola (President Real Estate Practitioners of Nigeria), among others.

Prof Jegede was a university teacher par excellence. He taught Equity Trusts with uncommon and ingenuous clarity. He was a role model in academic leadership and a great motivator of young lecturers and subordinates in the faculty. Every lecturer felt at home with him. He ran the faculty without geographical or tribal cleavages. In fact, nobody came close to Prof Jegede (SAN) without loving him. He was clearly lovable. His tenure at the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan was marked by what American Constitutional lawyers refer to as power of example rather than example of power. The students and academic staff loved him dearly because, among others he led by example.

His cook and colleague

Prof Jegede facilitated my employment as Lecturer Grade Two at the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan in March 1983. When I resumed duty, the Estate Department could not provide me accommodation. Prof Jegede invited me to share his professorial residence at No. 6 Parry Road, with him. He asked me to make use of all the rooms except the master bedroom which he used any time he came from Lagos. He stayed in Ibadan every Monday, Thursday and Friday. For the days he stayed at Ibadan, we lived together at No. 6 Parry Road, University of Ibadan – his professorial residence. I prepared the meals which both of us shared, polished his shoes and kept his room very tidy.

Sometimes as we reflected over lunch and dinner, I would wonder if it was the same Prof Jegede who, as my Dean of Faculty during my undergraduate years at the Faculty of Law University of Lagos, was so distant and awesome.

I use the word “distant” because during my undergraduate years, the student’s problems were solved at the office of the Faculty Officer. We rarely saw the Dean except at the lecture hall. At Ibadan, he was humble and disarmingly human.

When he eventually resigned from the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, because the Senate and Council tried to disturb his enviable vision for the faculty, I felt seriously deprived and deflated. I began to count my days at that prestigious and highly revered premier university.

His legal practice

He returned to his lucrative legal practice in Lagos. The late Prof Jegede practised law with extraordinary strength, grace, resourcefulness, decorum, dignity, intelligence and elegance. He paid his juniors and interns very well and demanded fidelity and hard work from them. He showed great respects to the courts and judges even where the judges were his former students.

Numerous successful lawyers in Nigeria and Cameroun had their post-call training at his posh office at Yaba, Lagos.

He was one of the greatest Brief-Makers in the legal profession. My friends at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court bear tribute that his appellate briefs were second to none in Nigeria. The briefs bred intimacy between him and the appellate courts and conveyed some hidden appeal.They were marked by orderly progression of premises and organisation seldom seen elsewhere.

They narrowed issues to their tiniest edge and provided legal authority for every point.

It was said that he once turned down appointment to the Supreme Court of Nigeria because of his priced personal freedom and his feeling that there was no higher professional calling than teaching the law in our classrooms and espousing the law in high and appellate courts.

Le-ultimo vagio

Libel: Court awards N10m to ex-council chair

A

N Ikeja High Court in Lagos has awarded N10 million damages against Paradigm Communications Limited, publishers of National Daily, for libelling a former council chairman Afeez Ipesa-Balogun.

Justice Lateef Abisola Okunnu held that the publication was libellous.

“There had, indeed, been a false, libelous publication made by the first defendant to defame the claimant in the estimation of rightthinking members of the public,”

By Emmanuel Udodinma

she held.

Ipesa-Balogun, in December 2010, sued over the story published on November 27 and 28, 2010, with the headline: Incredible! Chairman Milks LG Dry, How He Blows Billions on Private Assets, Houses…in Nigeria, U...

Allegation is Self-Deceiving – Council Boss ... EFCC Probe Imminent’’ The claimant complained that the publication was false and libelous and had defamed him in the estima-

tion of right-thinking members of the public.

The judge consequently ordered that Paradigm Communications pays N10 million as damages to the former council Chairman for the wrong done to him by the publication.

He made a perpetual order of injunction restraining it from further publishing the offending article and a further N250,000 award against it to Ipesa-Balogun to defray the cost of legal services incurred by him in prosecuting the case.

• The late Jegede

Death came to Prof Jegede so unexpectedly at 81 in circumstances in which medical negligence could be surmised. He energetically walked into a hospital for routine check-up and had to be carried out stone cold dead.

As he begins his ultimate journey to mother-earth on July 10, he does so with an outpouring of our unchanging sentiments of deep love and nostalgia. We shall miss his good nature, strategic piece of advice, his comforting presence, his unremitting ability to render assistance in times of need and his equanimity in moments of crisis. We shall also miss his infectious smiles that might mistakenly portray him as shy.

Adieu, my mentor, my boss and my friend. May the Good Lord receive your beautiful soul in that beautiful city of gold.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON NORTHERN STATES

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

PAGE 29

INSIDE N270m lifeline for Kwara transport firm

PAGE 30

Kogi under siege

PAGE 31 •The suspects

One after another, police dragnet is pulling in suspected criminals as long-suffering residents applaud, reports YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU

S

OME now in police custody are thought to be armed robbers, some rapists, murderers, and there are more.

How did Plateau State, once loved for its serenity, scenic beauty and temperate weather, end up a haven for felons? It is a question residents often ask without getting any answers.

In broad daylight as well as night, car owners are conscious that their vehicles could be snatched by guntoting thieves, and their fears often come true. At home, power generators are also stolen. That is not all.

Rapists, murders and a variety of other rogues are also about, making residents jumpy most of the time.

There is also the ubiquitous pres-

Relief in Plateau as police haul in suspects ence of military personnel, not really for these crimes, but for such more alarming cases as terrorism and communal clashes. Yet, the other lesser criminals find enough room to strike.

The good news is that security agencies seem to have figured out how to keep the felons out of business. A good number of the suspects have been arrested and are being questioned by police. When they were paraded, and what a large hurl, the people expressed their joy and relief by applauding the law enforcement agents.

The state police commissioner, Nasiru Oki was celebrated for the catch, even though nothing is certain yet regarding the guilt of the accused, as they have not been charged to court.

The criminals paraded by the police commissioner at the command headquarters at Joseph Gomwalk Way Jos, were up to 30. But the interesting aspect of the event was not the number of the suspects but the nature of the crime they were thought to have committed.

One of the suspects was a 75-year-old grandfather who reportedly raped his own granddaughters and their friends.

‘In broad daylight as well as night, car owners are conscious that their vehicles could be snatched by gun-toting thieves, and their fears often come true. At home, power generators are also stolen. That is not all. Rapists, murders and a variety of other rogues are also about, making residents jumpy most of the time’ The old man was said to be having an affair with his two granddaughters, a development that was said to have lasted without other members of the family knowing about it. He accused was also said to have deflowered the two girls.

The police gave the name of the old man as Mr Umoru Choji who lived in Zawan village in Jos South Local Government Area of the state. He was discovered when the some teenagers from the other families reported the affair to

the girls’ parents. The parents in turn reported it to ‘B’ Division Police Station in Bukuru and he was promptly picked up by the police.

The man reportedly owned up to the crime. One of the two granddaughters he allegedly deflowered is 11 years old, the other 14.

Another man, Monday Pam, also paraded by the police, was alleged to have killed another man over a girl•Continued on page 30

Residents celebrate end of fuel scarcity

PAGE 33

Buhari breaks a jinx

PAGE 36

30

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

THE NORTH REPORT

Relief in Plateau as police haul in suspects

•Continued from page 29

friend. The girlfriend, Magdalene Fidelis, a widow, was dating the two men at the same time. Pam rented an apartment for her where she lived with her three children. But another she loved was also coming to spend some time with her in the apartment.

Pam said, “The woman is my girlfriend, but I know another man was also dating [her], so I warned the man several times but [he] ignored my warnings. So the last time we met in the house of my girlfriend, I challenged him and it resulted in a fight; the man wanted to kill me, so I pulled out my knife and stabbed him.”

The widow at the centre of the conflict, said, “I am a widow with three children; this man Monday Pam is my boyfriend, he even rented the house for me, so when he came across this man in my house, they started fighting and I drove them [out of] my house, so they went to the road and fought that night. I did not know that my boyfriend killed the other man until the police came and arrest me.”

Pam, who is in police custody alongside the widow, has a wife and children. The police gave the name of the dead lover as Christopher Vincent. Both Monday Pam and his girlfriend Magdalene Fidelis will be charged to court for conspiracy and culpable homicide, the police said.

In a similar case, three young men in Josho Daho village of Bokkos Local Government, Plateau state, went to a night party. One of them, Mr. Anjum Morem noticed his wife Asabe Anjum in a passionate romance with another man. Mr. Moren quickly elected his other two friends of the situation and three of them engage the man romancing his wifeliness a fit-scuff. In the fight that ensued, the man said to be romancing Mr. Morgen’ wife, Yakubu Patrick was stabbed to death right there. Mr.

‘The woman is my girlfriend, but I know another man was also dating [her], so I warned the man several times but [he] ignored my warnings.

So the last time we met in the house of my girlfriend, I challenged him and it resulted in a fight; the man wanted to kill me, so I pulled out my knife and stabbed him’ More claimed he had several times warned the deceased Yakubu Patric to steer clear of his wife. The three young men are already in police net for the crime and they are about to be charged to court for conspiracy and culpable homicide.

Another interesting aspect of the criminals on parade is the case of a young man who ride on commercial motorcycle in Jos metropolise with a machete stripped to his back. The purpose of the machete was to attack any security agency that tried to arrest them knowing fully well that commercial motorcycle has been outlawn in a Jos city since 2012.

According to the police commissioner, “These boys knows they are committing crime against the state for ridding commercial motorcycle. So they armed to attack any any law enforcement officer that tried to arrested them. They have done that to several police men. But this one was not lucky, as he tried to pull the machete from his shirt as usual, he was over powered by

the police and was arrested” the police boss said they are still looking out to arrest these gang of criminals and very soon, we will get some others if they continued to break the laws.

There is also a case of witchcraft, in this case, an elderly man called Yakubu Kwon Sanga, poured some quantity of Kerosine on one Nancy Dauda, an eight year old girl on the suspicion that the girl was a witch. He lured the girl into his room and tried to interrogate the little girl. But all of a sudden, the man poured kerosine on the girl, got a matches and set the girl on fire, or course, the girl was severely burnt and eventually died. The suspect was eventually arrested by the police.

The regular crime in the state is that of armed robbery. In Old Legislative Quaters in Jos city, one Stephen Musa went with a gun to rub at the residence of one Tokumbo Adewoye in the middle of the night. The suspect forced himself into the apartment and demanded for money at gun point. But the owner of the house was bold

•He is accused of concealing a machete enough to grab the suspect while pretending to handover to the robber some money, Mr Adewoye overpowered the robber and alerted his neighbors. The suspect was immediately handed over to the police patrol team.

In Quan Pan local government of the state, two suspected armed robbers attacked Mr. Wilfred Mankut in his house while he was sleeping, he was robbed of his cash and other valuable items.

The robbers esced with their lots, but the police continued to trail him through diligent investigation and eventually apprehended him.

It was a miracle for another woman who was attacked by armed robber at her residence along Bukuru express in Jos city. The suspects robber who is now in police net came to the house in a broad day light and told the woman

N270m lifeline for Kwara transport firm

T

HE 30-year-old Kwara State Transport Corporation, Kwara Express, has been turned around, ditching its old name and acquiring a new one, Harmony Transport Service.

It is also under a new management, the aim being to make it efficient and effective.

The new owners are Harmony Holdings Limited, supervisors of the state business entities.

Before its takeover in 2012, the then Kwara Express was foundering.

Little wonder, with the support of Sterling and Infrastructure banks, Harmony Holdings Ltd recently injected 42 new buses at the cost of N270.6 million into the company’s fleet.

At the commissioning of the buses in Ilorin, the state capital, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said that “establishing Harmony Transport Services Limited reflects how we intend to run government business henceforth: Through innovative approaches, prudent management, and targeted diversification.”

He added that the commissioning was therefore a strong pointer to the better future that awaits Kwarans through better management of public resources.

Said he: “The acquisition of these buses is indicative of Harmony Holdings’ capacity to steer the transport company towards growth and profitability. It is

•Governor Ahmed cuts the tape at the inauguration of Harmony Transport Services in Ilorin. With him are chiefs of the transport firm, as well as others From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

worthy of note that while unveiling Harmony Holdings Limited in March 2013, I charged its management to turn around the fortunes of troubled entities established by successive administrations in the State.

These companies were struggling to turn a profit and instead constituted a drainpipe on the state government’s resources.

“As you are all aware, these changes have generated concerns in certain quarters. Understandably, the

dissolution of Kwara State Transport Corporation, for example, has created apprehension about the fate of its staff. Let me state clearly that no staff of the defunct corporation will lose their job on account of its takeover.

“You have a choice to remain in Harmony Transport Services Limited or seek redeployment back to the core civil service. Either way, your jobs are safe.

It is also imperative to put our decision to abrogate the company in perspective by recalling the events preceding it.

“When Kwara Express was established, government envisioned an efficient transport corporation that guarantees excellent services to customers and profits for its owners Regrettably, more than 30 years later, the corporation was struggling to realise its huge potential in terms of service and profits. While it had substantially delivered in certain areas (especially safety), its overall performance remained poor.

“By the time Harmony Holdings Limited took over its management in 2012, the Corporation was nearly comatose. As a result, Harmony

that her husband directed him to come and carry out some electrical work on the house. But the woman suspected the electrician and refused the electrician to carry out any work in the house. The fake electrician then requested for a water to drink. As the woman headed towards the kitchen to bring the water, the fake electrician followed the woman up and pulled out a gun, he immediately ordered the woman to surrender all her money, handsets and other valuables.

But instead of responding to the demands made on her at gunpoint, the woman pounced on the robber and eventually dispossessed the robber of the gun, she screamed heavily and neighbors came to her help to apprehend the robber and handed her over to the police.

‘Let me therefore commend Harmony Holdings Limited for the resilience exhibited in the face of daunting challenges encountered in the process of rescuing Kwara Express and other government concerns’ Holdings Limited re-engineered the corporation, made it profitable and refocused its operations, culminating in today’s event.

“Let me therefore commend Harmony Holdings Limited for the resilience exhibited in the face of daunting challenges encountered in the process of rescuing Kwara Express and other government concerns.

“To the management and staff of Harmony Transport Services Limited, I ask you to see the acquisition of these buses as a passport to Continued on page 31

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

31

THE NORTH REPORT N270m lifeline for Kwara transport firm •Continued from page 30 a new beginning.

Be advised that the era of impunity, and careless usage of Government properties is over. These new buses and the old ones in the fleet should be deployed efficiently and professionally to ensure their optimal use.

“However, the Kwara State of our dream still requires hard work and sacrifice by every one of us. We must seize the current economic situation as an opportunity to diversify our economy and eliminate wastage.

“In doing so, we will better fund our development by reforming the revenue generation and collection process. This will reduce our reliance on federally allocated revenue. In line with this reality, we will also streamline ministries and appointments to reduce the cost of governance.

“Some of you may find the reforms we are implementing difficult. I admit that change is often hard to accept and challenging to achieve. But I assure you: Kwara State will come out better and stronger.”

Painting a sordid picture of the transport company before the acquisition, Group Managing Director of Harmony Holdings Ltd, Tope Daramola “said that apart from the critical issue of ageing vehicles which dominated the fleet, the Infrastructure Bank (formerly known as Urban Development Bank)-creditors to the company, was about recalling operational vehicles acquired under a lease arrangement from the bank.

This was due to accumulated backlog of unpaid rentals. The company was four months in arrears than.”

Mr. Daramola added that “morale among staff of the company was at its lowest ebb due to salaries owed by preceding management. There was the issue of accumulated unpaid leave allowances and cooperative contributions dating back to 2008.

“Administratively, internal control structures were weak, compromised or non-existence, thus leading to incapacity to identify evaluate and resolve control breaches. Performance monitoring and management processes were nil. The ticketing processes were manual and prone to errors and fraud.”

Daramola said given this unsavoury picture, the entity had recorded massive operational losses for several years back.

He said that procurement of the buses being commissioned was the culmination of preparatory steps which the supervising company implemented.

He listed those steps as paying of outstanding debt owed to Infrastructure Bank, Diamond Bank and debts due to partners by the Kwara Express in the region of N169.8 million; payment of the arrears of salaries, leave bonuses and cooperative contribution of staff to the tune of N17.5 million owed by past management; implementation of the minimum wage policy in staff salary from July 2013; institutionalisation of sound corporate governance principles which has led to an improvement in staff productivity and performance; automation of the ticketing process at the company with the attendant result of minimising incidence of fraud and improved accountability and activation of the fuel pump which was abandoned since 2008.

Red Cross feeds IDPs in Yobe O

N Monday when 5500 Internally Displaced Persons or IDPs got relief materials in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, everyone in the city knew that something remarkable was happening.

An unusual traffic gridlock built up around the central Roundabout area of the town. Commercial tricycle operators made brisk business ferrying food items meant for the IDPs. The food items were distributed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The 300-meter gridlock at the Ministry Integrated Rural Development area caused a nightmare for motor-

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

ists in the town. After the first day of the distribution, word got out to others, which was why the entire section of the road swarmed with IDPs queuing up day after day to collect the relief materials.

Not everyone who came got the relief items materials as the Red Cross and the ICRC had already registered a total of 8500 displaced people in the State.

As part of its considered objective of responding to the consequences of armed violence, ICRC through its

humanitarian initiatives provides displaced persons with basic household necessities, such as cooking utensils, hygiene items, bedding and mosquito nets. They also provide and distribute shelter materials, food and clothing to help them cope during the most vulnerable period of their displacement.

A field official of the ICRS who provided some information about the distribution in the state but asked not to be quoted informed that a total of 8500 displaced families will benefit from the scheme. Out of the number, 5500 are from Damaturu, 3000 from Potiskum.

Each beneficiary, according to him, will go home with three bags of rice; three bags of beans; two packs of salt and bottles of oil as the food materials while the nonfood relief materials include soap; mats; sanitary towel; blanket; mosquito nets; bucket; kitchen sets and tarpaulin.

The officer further explained that his organization had initially embarked on a comprehensive and coordinated process before arriving at the figure.

Continued on page 32

•Governor Wada and his police chiefs

Kidnappers are on the prowl in Kogi State but the state police command says it has the upper hand. JAMES AZANIA reports

N

OT too long ago, the media was awash with the presumed kidnap of Kogi State police commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi. The command promptly issued a statement denying the rumour. But the police statement did concede that the state Commissioner for Land and Housing, Mr Stephen Mayaki, and some others were abducted but were released following police intervention.

The statement issued from the police public relations office, advised residents to always clarify information with the PPRO. The police was a pointer to the precarious security situation in the confluence state. The situation became so worrisome the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase recently deployed a 350 Special Team from Abuja, aside the release of 30 Hilux vans to the Kogi State Police Command, to help fight the kidnappers and other criminal elements who have laid siege on Kogi.

In March, 87-year-old American missionary Revd Phyllis Sortor was kidnapped at her school in Emiworo, Ajaokuta Local Government Area. She regained freedom two weeks later. Her release, said an analyst, was due to the concerted effort

Kogi under siege of the Americans and not the power of the Kogi State Police Command.

Before Sortor’s abduction, countless others, including seven Chinese nationals, had fallen into kidnappers hands. Many of the cases remain unresolved, or where the victims regained freedom, family members met the abductors’ demand for ransom.

In the Kogi Central and Kogi East senatorial districts kidnapping is rampant. The Kogi West senatorial axis that appeared free from such dastardly acts has also picked up in the activity.

Since 2013 when kidnapping began to rear its ugly head in Kogi, it has continued unabated, surpassing records from neighbouring Edo State. Like past commissioners of police in the state, Mr. Ogunjemilusi talked tough on arrival, warning the men of the underworld to relocate from the state.

“I have zero tolerance for criminals,” he had said.

Such threats appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Apprehension grows in the state, as no one knows who would be the next victim, just as wellmeaning or rich individuals live in fear as they and their family members are the target of the kidnappers.

Eighty per cent of kidnappings in the state have been of high profile individuals. Though the victims’ families always claim not to have paid ransom for the release of their loved ones, cases of kidnapping remain on the increase, bringing to question the claims of no ransom payment for previously freed vic-

‘Eighty per cent of kidnappings in the state have been of high profile individuals. Though the victims’ families always claim not to have paid ransom for the release of their loved ones, cases of kidnapping remain on the increase, bringing to question the claims of no ransom payment for previously freed victims’ tims.

Between June 2013 and June 2014, close to 15 kidnap cases were recorded officially, with several other cases dealt with quietly. The development to some pundits must have worked against the government’s efforts to woo investors into the state.

It has also affected some of its infrastructural development programmes, with the Chinese nationals who are behind many of such projects leaving in droves.

The first reported case of kidnapping in 2013 was of one Mustapha who was abducted from his home at Ihima in Okehi Local Government Area. His remains were later discovered buried inside a forest around the area some weeks after. Sometime in August of the same year, the younger brother of a former governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu, was kidnapped by gunmen at his Aloma home in Ofu Local Government Area. He was freed after two weeks, with the arrest of a sus-

pect whose bank account was used for the initial demand of N30,000, ‘for the upkeep of the victim’.

Hardly had the dust of Audu’s brother’s kidnap settled when the bursar of the Federal Polytechnic Idah was kidnapped while his younger brother who was on the scene was killed by the abductors.

The bursar was released three weeks after, following the payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom.

In 2014, the kidnappers commenced their business early in February when the wife and daughter of the former Chairman of Adavi Local Government, Salihu Adaviruku was kidnapped from her house. The woman and her daughter spent over three weeks in captivity before their release, and after undisclosed amount of money was paid to the kidnappers.

Barely a month after the release Continued on page 32

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

32

THE NORTH REPORT Continued from page 31 “We initially embarked on what we call map-out, then the registration of the IDPs. After that, we take a need assessment of the displaced people [who] we then issue a permit card for each of the persons accredited or screened in the family.

“Without this process, you cannot benefit from what we are giving out unfortunately even if you are genuinely a displaced person.

You have to be captured through this process,” the source explained.

With the distribution coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan and more than half of the population of the state fasting as Yobe being a predominantly Muslim state, the number of the displaced people kept on swelling as many that were not registered also evaded the distribution that lasted for one week.

Those who got the materials were however full of praises to Red Cross. Throughout the town, commendations have been pouring on the organisation even from nonbeneficiaries.

“Anybody that has seen these materials that Red Cross has provided for these displaced people will know that our government (both state and Federal) are only paying lips service to the care of the IDPs in the state,” a civil servant in the

Red Cross feeds IDPs in Yobe state who does not want his name mentioned, said.

Lawan Gudusu, a 60-year-old displaced blind man from Goniri in Gujba Local Government area of Yobe State, married to three wives and has 12 children, was happy when a Red Cross volunteer told him the list of items he collected.

“Haba, they gave us all those items? That will take care of us for a long time. This is the best thing that has happened to my family during this fasting. We have been surviving on very little ration that I normally go out and get from public-spirited people through begging.

“It has not been easy but with what we have now from these people (ICRC); it can take us through the fasting period. Whoever decided to provide this for us will see Aljanna (heaven),” Gudusu said.

Lubabatu Sani, 35, who has seven children, said she has not seen this kind of help from anywhere since they were displaced from their hometown in Goniri and relocated to Damaturu where they have been taking refuge for the past one year.

“To say the truth, since the problem of Boko Haram started, different people and individuals have been giving us help but I cannot compare

‘To say the truth, since the problem of Boko Haram started, different people and individuals have been giving us help but I cannot compare this particular one to any of those. This help is truly coming from people with a good heart and intentions and Allah will reward them abundantly’ this particular one to any of those.

This help is truly coming from people with a good heart and intentions and Allah will reward them abundantly,” she said.

Like Lawan Gudusu, Bintu Molima a widow with 9 children has been barely surviving during the fasting period. Her husband was brutally murdered in front of her house in the presence of four of their children at Katarko. According to her, the relief materials she got are just “timely and Allah’s design”.

“This help I can say is designed from Allah to save people like us that have no hope. I lost my husband to Boko Haram when they slaughtered

him like a goat in my presence with four of my children watching. It has not been easy (she broke down into tears)”.

Information available indicate that what is been provided for the displaced people is only for a ration of one month and that the ICRC will still be back to carry out what it refers to as Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) to determine the impact of the materials on the IDPs and also see the need of subtracting items not need or adding those that may desire their dire need.

Our correspondent observed that apart from the food and non food materials that the ICRC has provided, it

has also provided job opportunities for some of the able displaced youths working in the distribution unit of the program with some Daily Wage allowances.

Commercial tricyclists are also feasting on the available market being provided at the venue of the distribution. It was gathered that some of the tricyclists normally come out around 4.00am to queue up so as to make money.

One of the tricyclists informed that they normally collect not less than N1000 per drop depending on which part of the town the beneficial would be going to.

“This is good business for us. The least that we do collect from one person is N1000. Some people pay more than that depending on which direction you are going to. It is good business for us because one drop is N50 and before you get N1000, you must have burnt so much petrol so it’s better to queue up here,” he said.

Our correspondent also observed that security is very tight at the distribution centre. While the soldiers and police battle with screening the tricycle operators before the gain entrance into the venue, the main venue is saturated with sniffer dogs and bomb detective experts that continually combs as a proactive measure of averting any unforeseen danger.

Kogi under siege Continued from page 31 of the politician’s wife and daughter, the two sons of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Momoh-Jimoh Lawal were kidnapped at his resident in Okene, Okene local government. They lads, the oldest being seven years old at the time of their abduction, remained in captivity for over two months as a result of the inability of the Speaker to come up with the N200 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

Though the police arraigned five women in court in connection with the Speaker’s children’s abduction, the case has continued to linger.

While the people of Kogi Central were still contending with the kidnap of the Speaker’s sons, Hajia Hawawu Bello, the mother of the Managing Director, Fair Plus Transport, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, was abducted on May 28, 2014, at her Nagazi resident in Adavi Local government.

The menace headed East, as the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Idah, Mathew Akpata became the next victim. Luck however smiled on him when the vehicle in which his abductors were conveying him to their hideout got involved in an accident and the rector abandoned inside the boot of the car.

On May 31, 2014, the Registrar of same higher institution, Idah Poly, Abu Kazim was abducted from his house at the school premises.

Two days after Revd Sortor’s abduction, the Director of Adavi Local government, Abdulazeez Ohere, who had earlier been kidnapped, was rescued by the police.

Kidnapping in Kogi had mostly been limited to the Central senatorial district, until the Chinese firm, CGC, arrived at the capital, Lokoja.

By November 2013 when a Chinese worker was kidnapped in Ganaja village, a suburb of the metropolis, the rate had surged.

Police advice to the Chinese firm not to pay the ransom demand was allegedly rebuffed as the firm did not wait for the security operatives to handle the matter. The Chinese, apparently unsure of the ability of the police to handle the situation, hurriedly danced to the kidnapper’s tune and paid the ran-

•The men IG sent to Kogi

som. That, according to pundits, was their undoing.

Within the next 30 days, seven other Chinese workers were abducted, and ransom secretly paid for their release.

The state government only got wind of it when the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Gu Xiaojie visited the state last December and informed the state government of the ordeal his citizens suffered in the hands of kidnappers while working along Ajaokuta Road. Since then, it would appear that the kidnappers have gotten serious with the ‘business’ in view of the ease in getting ransom.

A source who pleaded anonymity said kidnapping continues unabated in the state because some police officers are also part of the kidnap cartel. He alleged that some unscrupulous officers feed the kidnappers with information as to the movement of prospective targets and offer themselves as go-between in times of negotiation for ransom payment.

Recently, the kidnappers struck once again, this time around kidnapping a High Court Judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi of Ebogogo High Court in Adavi Local Government Area.

Obayomi had recently survived a motor accident and only resumed duty after three months on hospital admission.

The gunmen who seized the

‘The gunmen ordered the judge and his aides to lie face down. We all complied but the hoodlums perhaps saw the armed orderly as a threat and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot’ learned judge while he was on his way to the office around 8.45am, shot his orderly Corporal Usman Musa who died on the spot. The operation was said to have lasted about five minutes.

The driver, Mr. Ajayi Kolawole gave an insight into what happened, saying that the heavily armed gunmen numbering three wore no mask, only dark glasses, and stopped their vehicle in front of Executive Guest Villa, Government Reservation Area (GRA), Okene.

“The gunmen ordered the judge and his aides to lie face down. We all complied but the hoodlums perhaps saw the armed orderly as a threat and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot,” he said.

Area Commander of the Okene

Area Command, Mr. Kehinde Kolawole who confirmed the story said the police had arrested the driver to help in their investigation, adding that the driver being an eyewitness, was likely to give them adequate information.

The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Nasir Ajanah who later visited the family of the kidnapped judge said every effort would be made to ensure the release of their breadwinner.

Barely one week after Obayomi’s travail, the State Commissioner for Land and Survey, Engr. Stephen Mayaki was seized by unknown gunmen.

The commissioner was kidnapped at gunpoint in his farm located in Osara, in Adavi, the same LG were

•Kogi CP, Ogunjemilusi

the High Court Judge was kidnapped.

Sources said the gunmen numbering about five and driving in a Prado Jeep traced the commissioner to his farm.

The commissioner was said to have been abducted along with four of his aides who were later released, with the instruction that they go and source for fund for his release.

Website: http://www.thenationonlineng.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

Page 33

A huge sigh of relief coursed through the capital city following the ease of fuel scarcity and the long queues at filling stations, some even suggesting it is the Buhari touch. AYORINDE HOPE reports

•The fuel queues have disappered

Residents celebrate end of fuel scarcity F

OR months on end, the people suffered and hoped.

Fuel scarcity upset homes and the order and rhythm of life at the nation’s capital. Power supply dropped, worsened by the fact that there was no petrol to run generators. Businesses suffered, some folded up. Going to work was herculean. Prices of foodstuff went up. Those who were initially hopeful that the dark cloud would soon blow over had reason to despair as weeks turned to months with no hope in sight.

The precious liquid is available and the long-winding queues have disappeared. Nigerians especially those in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) can now heave a huge sigh of relief. Residents can hardly contain their joy. Some reckoned that the scarcity was going to be the longest trying time for the country’s sover-

eignty.

The fuel scarcity overran all sectors of the economy, crippling businesses, shutting down power and testing the courage and strength of Nigerians.

The social media could not help but further set agenda on the issue, although one wouldn’t have expected less. Nigerians posted hilarious pictures and statuses while hoping that the change they had envisaged would finally arrive, and not just arriving but also sweeping the ills and vices left in Nigeria away so that democracy would start to pay its dividends.

The transport sector was the hardest hit, of course. Vehicles were on long queues for days. This was not because of their love for queues nor the lack of money to purchase fuel.

No. The lingering scarcity was a shadow that just would not disappear.

‘I thank God that fuel is now available; I transport meat from Suleja to Kubwa here.

Transportation cost during the period of fuel scarcity was so high.

Normally it shouldn’t be more than N2,500 but it went as high as N5000 which also made us sell meat at a high price’ A visit to the federal capital city a few weeks ago, would present a city whose streets, roads and other places crawled with fuel merchants who sold fuel at exorbitant prices, a 10-liter jerry can selling

for N2,500. Motorists stopped by the roadside to patronise them.

The lingering shadows have now vanished, and Nigerians have now found respite from their travails.

You no longer find cars waiting in

Pupils restate rights on Day of African Child

I

F those who massacred schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 sought to silence them or belittle their rights, they failed.

Pupils from elementary to primary and secondary schools have continued to raise their voices every year, demanding that they are entitled to the best of education.

So it was at the anniversary

From Gbenga Adanikin

of that mid-year tragedy in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) when the kids said education is their right, never a privilege.

The pupils were affirmative.

They insisted that good and qualitative education should be the right of every Nigerian child es-

pecially the girl-child.

The students made their position known while commemorating the Day of the African Child in the nation’s capital. They demanded government should revisit the education sector and ensure every child in the territory is given special attention. Alongside their teachers, they sought the opportunity to showcase the future they so much craved.

It was at an event organised by international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

They include A World at School, Global Youth Ambassador, Connected Development (CODE), DRPC, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All and Save the Children. The pupils are majorly from LEA Primary •Continued on page 35

long queues at the petrol station.

Bus fares have gone back to normal and the economy is back on track.

This week, Abuja Review met with some residents of Abuja who described how they were adjusting to life in the absence of fuel scarcity, some believe it was the long awaited change and the president that was instrumental to its disappearance others believe it is still affecting them in one way or the other.

Mr. Saheed Adelakun said that during the scarcity of fuel he experienced difficulty in transporting his merchandise from Suleja to Kubwa, but he is happy to say that things have gone back to normal.

“I thank God that fuel is now available; I transport meat from Suleja to Kubwa here. Transportation cost during the period of fuel scarcity was so high. Normally it shouldn’t be more than N2,500 but it went as high as N5000 which also made us sell meat at a high price. Government should always consider the masses before allowing things to go out of normal,” he said.

Mr. Zakaria Bahago had a different view to the whole matter.

According to him the issue of fuel scarcity affected him both personally and business-wise. He said, “It affected me personally and in my business. I paid a high price •Continued on page 34

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

34

ABUJA REVIEW

Residents celebrate end of fuel scarcity •Continued from page 33 for transportation to my place of work every day for weeks; you can imagine summing up the amount you paid every day for transportation and comparing it to your salary for the month, it was a hard time for us all”.

He added that the availability of fuel has brought relief to him and his family.

While reacting to whether the coming of the new president was responsible for eliminating fuel scarcity, Mr. Bahago said, “We the masses usually say that if the president wants it to work, it will, so we can say it was his [President Buhari’s] coming and we can thank God because we are seeing the change we envisaged; our businesses are moving fine and power supply is getting better”.

Another resieent simply known as Mama Kuburat said that the scarcity so affected her business that she sold off her foodstuff on credit to customers because they were unable to pay her immediately.

“Business is moving fine unlike before when the fuel was scarce. I sold on credit to customers because I could understand the situation even though the prices of foodstuff increased but I thank God I was able to manage to feed my family and the prices of foodstuff have returned to normal,” she said.

The end of the fuel scarcity of course, has however shown the commitment of the government in meeting the needs of the masses. It has also shown that the government should put in place proactive means of maintaining the availability of fuel.

•Where are the queues?

Scholarships for 135 students on Widows Day A

S part of activities marking the 2015 International Widows Day, the Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation (RAEF) has given scholarship to 85 primary school pupils and 50 secondary schools students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The gesture, according to the Founder and Executive Director of the RAEF, Ignatius Newman Ezeigbo, is aimed at providing succour to the mothers of the 135 students who are widows.

Speaking at an event marking the 2015 International Widows Day in Abuja, Ezeigbo said his foundation have also trained 95 widows for bakery, 105 for soap making while a sum of N4, 800,000 have also been set aside to equip the women with all the materials needed for the initial take off in their businesses.

“The Foundation have so far spent N70 million on about 3000 widows since 2012, about ten elderly ones here will get grinding machine value at about N40,000 while 1200 bags of rice and also wrappers will also be shared to the widows today” Speaking on the future plans of the foundation that have been assisting widows in the last five years, Ezeigbo said it has concluded arrangements to embark on a

•Adamawa State G o v e r n o r Muhammadu Bindo inaugurating the 201km rural roads at Lavondo in Girei Local Government Area

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

programme tagged, “Vegetable for life” where lands have been procured in various locations in its branches to be leased to beneficiaries and crops supplied to them for planting.

“Additionally, boreholes are to be provided in various locations to make for an all year round farming since somevegetables are grown all seasons”he said Ezeigbo called on Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the International Widows Day to start helping widows around them no matter how little, saying they need assistance.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Ezekiel Oyemomi in his goodwill message at the session said the Federal Government has launched a widows empowerment scheme in collaboration with the MTN Foundation with a strong commitment to address the plight of widows in Nigeria and to ensure their integration into the National transformation processes.

“In addition, the Ministry in continuation of its drive to promote the economic empowerment of women is proposing to train about 100 widows in basic skills and also give them start off grants and tools “I wish to call on all stakeholders to support these empowerment schemes as a sure way to ensure that widows vulnerability issues and concerns are positively addressed and be encuraged to participate in economic and other activities geared towards improving their status and ensurinh full integration into National Development”he said Some widows, who spoke at the event, like Sisister Faith Owoicho from Benue State and Rosemary Joseph from Cross River State, said they encountered hardship after the death of their husbands but with the help of the foundation, they now adequately feed their children, pay their school fees and started a trade of their own.

They urged people to extend helping hands to widows.

Other activities that formed part of the celebration includes free medical screening as well as distribution of drugs to the sick persons.

T

HE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Chukwu has given the directive for all revenue accruable in the Administration to be properly paid into designated banks.

He stated that all bank accounts records of the administration would be verified at all times for transparency and accountability and added that all infractions against service financial and administrative due processes; rules and regulations would attract strict sanctions and possible prosecution.

This was made known in a press statement sent by Deputy Director/ Chief Press Secretary FCT Muhammad Sule, who stated that Engr Chukwu made the revelation in Abuja, at the commissioning of the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) ICT Training Centre.

It stated, “All revenues generated should be properly accounted for, and paid to only approved bank accounts as records would be verified.

“Engr. Chukwu also instructed that all officers and men of the FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services should adhere to the change man-

FCT to imbibe financial transparency in all agencies From Gbenga Omokhunu and Grace Obike

tra of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Thus, the Permanent Secretary implored the management and staff of the DRTS, to intensify efforts to continue to enforce the regulations on the ban of motorcycle, restriction of tricycles, un-painted taxes, illegal mechanic workshops and illegal car marts.

“He admonished the motoring public in the Federal Capital Territory to always obey traffic rules and regulations. Engr. Chukwu however assured the resident of the Territory of the FCT Administration’s continued commitment to ensure efficient and excellent service delivery.

Catholic men thrill in altar boys role T HERE was a thrilling role reversal as altar boys stood aside and watched their parents serving mass.

The worshippers who took over the boys roles were the Catholic Men’s Organisation (CMO) of St. Monica Catholic Church, ByazhinKubwa of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The men did the duties in the humble altar boys uniform.

Besides, about six parishioners said the prayer of the faithful in their different languages for the benefit of the language communities in the church.

Speaking with The Nation, a parishioner that hails from Agenebode, Edo State, Mrs. Victoria Wayas said, “I was somehow carried away by some other side attraction like the men who served the mass when I heard a voice saying the prayer of the faithful in my Weppa-Wanno dialect of Edo language. I thought I was in a trance until I saw the parishioner on the front stage.

The mass however led to the discovery of the strengths and weaknesses of some of the men since the church identified the hidden talents among them. On the other hand, St. Monica took delight in the hu-

From John Ofikhenua

morous manner the CMO choir rendered the hymns for fun.

The CMO Chairman, Mr. Oyefeso Akinyemi, said it was very delightful to watch men work as mass servers, a role that is mostly performed by children and youths.

His words: “It was very delightful because in the spirit of change and innovation because some of the fathers growing up were mass servers . This year we decided that we will make it unique. We find ourselves both as choir members, as church wardens and even serving at the altar. And that was what we did.”

He explained that the father day celebration is to remind the men of their spiritual obligation to their families.

He added that it is to demonstrate how to take care of the family in a proper Catholic way.

The chairman recalled that there was a seminar in the church last Saturday when the men came with their wives to listen to lectures on what it takes to be a responsible Catholic father.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

35

ABUJA REVIEW

•The school

Rotary donates borehole, toilets T

HE Rotary Club of Abuja District 9125 has donated a borehole and seven units of ultra-modern water system toilets to the LEA Primary School, TundunMaje.

The club made the donation during a visit to the institution as part of its 2014/2015 rotary year achievement at the school premises in Abuja.

Rotary club is an international organisation of different professionals such as engineers, medical doctors, pharmacist among •Continued from page 33 School, Kado Estate; Community Secondary School, Gwarinpa as well as students from a make-shift school for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Area 1.

The day was set aside by the African Union (AU) to remember a tragedy- the massacre of hundreds of children in Soweto, South Africa who were demonstrating for basic right to a decent education.

The incident has ever since showcased African child to global spectacle on educational right.

So, students from the FCT schools wanted government to assist low income earning parents to support their wards; most especially in the area of free education as practiced in selected states in the country.

They expressed fury over situations where their colleagues get to school late due to reasons that they would need to street hawk early in the morning before proceeding to school. Some of these are among list of circumstances they detest and urged government to address.

Miss Judith Solomon, Primary 5 Pupil of LEA, Kado said as part of the participants, she was at the event to make her statements to the celebration of the Day for the African child. “I want the world to know that there is goodness in girl child education. I want the world to know that I am proud of myself and that I have right to edu-

From Olugbenga Adanikin

other groups whose passion is to render humanitarian services.

Rotary District Governor, Tolu Omatsola said, during the donation that the effort was in alignment with the year Water and Sanitation, Disease Prevention and Treatment Resolution for the year.

Omatsola disclosed that with the facilities, staff of the school, teachers and pupils can live healthier life with the advantage

of keeping their hands clean.

“Students and teachers now have the privilege of easing themselves in the comfort of their school premises. We have donated drugs to hospitals and supported widows.

“We provided full health insurance for 1, 600 urban poor and indigent persons in Lugbe community, FCT including pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under the age of 5, elders and orphan,” he said.

The Rotarian added that the

projects were solely funded by members of the club in Abuja without government intervention.

He urged management of the school to take ownership of the two projects and ensure they are adequately put to use.

President, Rotary District, Abuja, Bar. Ezenwa Anummu commended donors for their supports.

He urged teachers to intensify their efforts to educating the pu•Continued on page 36

•The borehole

Pupils restate rights on Day of African Child cation.”

The 10-year old pupil emphasised that as Nigerian child, “We will stand for our right to get this education.”

“I want government to develop my school by bringing more staff and providing more facilities necessary for the school.” Among other requests, relevant government authorities were tasked to perform their mandate and ensure every child gets access to good education.

“Government should also ensure that all children in Nigeria have access to education. It is our right and not out privilege” “Government should ensure they provide whatever is possible for the children to get what they wanted and education is what we want,” Solomon, who aspired to be a medical doctor, said.

As for Mohammed Garba, a student in one of the IDP camps in the territory, life without education is worthless. Garba, just like every other pupil in the IDP camps sacrificed his pains, despite previous encounter subjected to terrors of the Islamic sect. He strove to undergo some basic learning even barefooted with much struggle with hunger.

“I am here to talk about my education. I just want to be in school.

All I want is education. I want to

‘I am here to talk about my education. I just want to be in school. All I want is education.

I want to become a doctor, so government should build school for us and give us good teachers’ become a doctor, so government should build school for us and give us good teachers,” Garba admonished.

Community volunteered teacher who is also a victim of the Boko Haram attack in Maiduguri, Borno State, Abdul Tashiu pleaded with the government to come to the rescue of internally displaced children, especially in the area of feeding and education.

Tashiu explained he chose to sacrifice his time for the children because when you educate a child, it is believed you have educated the society. He was able to voluntarily teach about 132 pupils in basic classes such as after their stay at the camp, they could continue their education.

“I decided to become a volunteer in the society because there is low

acceptance of education in the north which leads to early marriage.

Children lack access to schools in IDP camps. Some of them even come from rural areas where they have no school around. So I decided to intervene providing three classrooms for the 132 pupils.”

But he lamented over paucity of funds which he said had discouraged about four other teachers who joined him in the humanitarian work to suspend work. “The children come in mufti, barefoot. They need teachers and the environment is so poor so they need teaching aids such as desk, writing materials and are very hungry.

“When the children come to school, they complain of hunger.

So these children need to have breakfast before they go into their

classrooms.”

Maimuna Sidiham, an SS2 student of Community Secondary School, Asokoro advocated for every child to be in school. As for her, it is inhuman for parents or guardian to give young girls out for marriage.

Describing the child marriage as worst thing that could happen to any girl child, the 16 year old student queried rationale why some children will be in school while others are on the street hawking to either feed themselves or guardian.

The programme, according to her would enlighten them of their rights as a girl child and the essence of educating a female child.

“I wonder why they will stop a child from school to get married in some states. Such action is so wrong.”

“When you go to Karu, Nyanya, you will see young girls hawking when they are meant to be in school. Sometimes, it could be that the government cannot afford to take them to school but government could help,” she said.

“I am not trying to discriminate here but the Muslims believe it is important for girls to get married early and not be in school be in their husbands house,” she added.

She urged the organisers to do more of public enlightenment to change orientation of the parents.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

36

ABUJA REVIEW

O

NE of the first groups President Muhammadu Buhari met face to face when he resumed at the Presidential Villa on Monday was journalists covering the State House.

This was a sharp departure from what happened under the administration of the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan.

Apart from the fact that Jonathan and his handlers never saw the need for him to meet journalists when he assumed office as Vice President and later President, it became a taboo for Jonathan to directly meet journalists covering the Presidential Villa during the eight years he spent at the seat of power.

The only exception was when selected journalists covering the Villa, numbering about six, were invited to interview Jonathan in his office towards the end of last year.

But to date, it is still unclear whether the questions during that session freely came from the journalists or it was teleguided just to push out what the government wanted to pass out to the public.

Whatever the case may be, that was the only face to face interview or meeting Jonathan had with State House correspondents in the Villa.

Also only journalists from outside the State House were often invited to take part in the occasional Presidential Media Chat held by the immediate past President.

But the doors are often open to State House correspondents to cover some of the official functions attended by former President Jonathan in the State House.

Attempt in the ‘From the Villa’ write up of 23rd September, 2014 to encourage the last administration to change the trend and effectively engage State House correspondents in line with happenings in the developed world fell on deaf ears.

But on his very first working day in the Presidential Villa, last week Monday, Buhari met with State House correspondents.

During the meeting, Buhari defended his decision to appoint Femi Adesina as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to liaise with members of the State House Press Corps.

Jokingly, he also said that he came to thank the journalists in advance for ýthe good or ill reports they will write about him.

Buhari, who spent a total of twenty five minutes with the State House correspondents, took time to shake hands and posed for photograph with each of the over 80 journalists in the hall.

By the time each journalist approached him and introduced himself or herself and the media house represented, Buhari exhibited an excellent knowledge of most of the media houses.

When the Leadership newspaper

Buhari breaks a jinx reporter introduced himself to him, Buhari jokingly told him: “Tell your cartoonist my neck is fatter.”

For the New Telegraph newspaper reporter, Buhari told him: “Okay, Orji Kalu, you guys are quite new.”

He told the Tribune newspaper reporter: “You people have been consistent.”

To the Daily Trust newspaper reporter, he said: “You are our own.”

When one of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) reporter introduced himself, Buhari said to him: “Hope you people will be giving me good coverage now.”

To African Independent Television (AIT) reporter, he said: “AIT, Great people.”

Changing defence mode President Muhammadu Buhari, who was a general in the Army, is bringing his professional touch to bear in the fight against the terrorists group, Boko Haram.

Like what a grand master in the game of Chess will do, Buhari is now changing the strategy against the terrorist group from defence status to massive attack.

In the game of Chess, the best strategy to conquer the enemy is by marshaling out your troops and weapons in attacks rather than sitting at home to defend.

To this end, every good Chess player will embrace the theory: ‘Attack is the best form of defence’, in order to capture the enemy.

From the Villa

By Augustine Ehikioya This is exactly what Buhari aims to achieve by ordering last week Monday for immediate dismantling of non necessary military check points put in place in many points across the country under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in response to the onslaught by Boko Haram.

In attempt to take the war to the enemy, Buhari is freeing more men and weapons for massive attacks on Boko Haram’s enclave, Sambisa forest and their other strongholds within Nigeria’s territory.

Even though some Nigerians have expressed reservations on the possibility of winning the war through only military operations, the high number of soldiers and weapons freed from the many dismantled military check points across the coun-

Rotary donates borehole, toilets •Continued from page 35

pils.

Earlier, LEA Head Teacher, Mrs. Ugwuanyi Christiana said the club, on 28th May, 2014 had donated 100 pupils’ furniture including a renovated block of two classrooms.

She commended the Rotary club for supporting the school with additional water and modern toilet facilities.

“We are here today to praise and glorify rotary club of Abuja for its achievement in the 2013/2014 rotary year, but for its current feat and achievements in the 2014/2015 rotary year. Apart from the sinking of a standard borehole to provide portable drinking for pupils and staff of the primary school, it had also constructed a set of seven units of modern water system toilet which is being commissioned today,” she said.

According to her, Rotary Club which assists any government in power is rare in the country.

She urged other humanitarian organisations to imbibe the generous gesture.

•The water system toilets

try, in addition to the troops already fighting the war, will go a long way in subduing Boko Haram.

Sambisa forest and other stronghold of the enemy will definitely be soon flooded with Nigerian soldiers.

If this step had been taking long time ago, there might not be need for calls for help from outside the country to defeat Boko Haram.

Salary arrears drama in Villa Despite the fact that the current inability of many states to settle their huge workers’ salary arrears has been a serious issue, the matter became a source of drama that made many state governors and President Mohammadu Buhari to smile and laugh in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

The drama ensued when it was

time for President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to pose for photographs with the 36 state governors who attended the meeting towards resolving the cash crunch hitting the country.

The 36 state governors, who came out from the meeting venue first, left space for Buhari and Osinbajo in the middle of the front row as they prepared themselves for the photograph.

As Buhari and Osinbajo approached them and took their space for the photograph, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, wearing his trademark long cap, cracked jokes concerning the workers’ salaries arrears.

Before the photographers could take their shots, Amosun, who was standing directly behind the President, drew the attention of Buhari, who then turned back to listen to him.

Amosun jokingly told him if it will not be better for the 36 state governors to be re- arranged for the photograph in a way that the states not owing salaries will stay in the front rows while others will be on the back rows depending on how much salaries they are owing their workers. Those owing more, he said, should stay at the back row.

Buhari and other governors smiled and laughed at the joke.

The President then tuned forward to pose for the group photograph.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

37

LEGAL OPINION LAW AND PUBLIC POWER

Lagos family sues Ikeja DISCO over ‘crazy’ bill

T

HE Akinlolu Omoyinmi family of Lagos has filed a suit at a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja against the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (Ikeja DISCO) over an estimated electricity bill of N436,000 served on the family house at 42/44 Ajakaiye Street, Onipetesi, Ikeja for March, last year.

The suit number ID/643/GCMW/ 15 was filed through a Writ of Summon by Abayomi Akin Omoyinmi and Dr. Akinkunmi Akin Omoyinmi and on behalf of Akinlolu Omoyinmi family as claimants.

The claimants are praying the court for two prayers, including a declaration that the total estimation of N436,000, which represented electricity bill to be paid for March, last year and any subsequent bills on their properties, same being estimated bills is unlawful, illegal, null and void.

They asked the court to grant them an injunction restraining the defendant, his servants, agents and officials whomsoever and howsoever, from taking any step by way of disconnecting the claimants electricity at their properties at 42/44 Ajakaiye Street, Onipetesi, Ikeja, Lagos.

The writ of summon was supported with a 27-paragraph statement of claims and 26 paragraph written address. In spite of the service of the process and claim for injunction against the defendants for disconnection, the defendants visited the premises and disconnected it from the grid.

The claimants averred that they are owners in possession of the properties situated at Ajakaiye Street, Onipetesi as an estate of inheritance under Yoruba native law and custom.

They averred that sometimes in March 2011, the defendant brought bills for an empty flat and another flat occupied by the first claimant following which a letter dated March 23, 2011 was written to the former com-

with

By Adebisi Onanuga

pany, PHCN to lodge complaints about the bill but that the defendant never and failed to respond to the letter.

They averred that various subsequent letters of complaints and protests written on the bills and disconnection for lines to claimants properties, though acknowledged but were never responded to.

The claimants stated that they noticed that since 2011, the defendant never read meters belonging to them but tend to choose to produce estimated bills in order to inflate the bills and figures and that as a result of the fraudulent estimation of bills since 2011, which is continuing and disconnection of electricity, the first claimant through his law firm wrote a letter dated February 21, 2013 to Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Related Offences (ICPC) and copied the defunct PHCN. On receipt of the copy of the letter

by PHCN, the first claimant said he received a call on line 08023108518 on which the caller identified himself as Mr. Adelakun and a Senior Marketing Manager of the defendant.

The claimants averred that Adelakun later visited the first claimant’s office along with four other senior officials, including one Mr. Eboh, a marker of the defendant at PHCN office at Onipetesi at about 12.10 p.m. and left two hours after having promised to look into the discrepancies surrounding billings at the claimants properties, especially the issue of non-reading of meters, and gave assurance to rectify the bills allocated to claimants properties but that nothing was done thereafter.

They averred that the defendant company who took over from PHCN continued in the illegal manner of estimated billings rather than meter read-

gabriel AMALU email:gabrielamalu1@yahoo.com For comments: 08033054939 (sms only)

• MD Ikeja DISCO Abiodun Ajifowobaje

ing.

They further averred that sometime last December, the transformers serving Ajakaiye Street, where the claimants properties are situated caught fire and distribution of light was disrupted from December 16, 2014 till when power was first restored in January 28, last year.

Notwithstanding the power failure between December 2014 and January 2015, they averred that the defendant presented them bills totalling N51,000, including N16,000 for the first claimant’s office, despite that one duplex referred to in paragraph 8 of their statement of claim had pre-paid meter.

The claimants contended that the illegal estimated billing to their properties is still continuing and unless stopped by the court, the extortion by the defendant will never be checked as it was not practicable for the defendant to determine the estimate of usage electricity without reading the meter.

They, therefore, averred that the total estimates bill is unreasonable, illegal, unlawful as the defendant has failed in its duty to ascertain the exact figure through meter reading and hence the duty to pay a reasonable sum is that of customer (the claimants) and not that of defendants.

The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the suit.

• From left: Keynote Speaker, Prof. Festus Ebiri; Dr. Damilola Olawuyi and Prof. Yemi Akinseye-Gearge, (SAN) at the 48 th Conference of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) in Ibadan.

Lagos CJ assures workers of improved welfare

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HIEF Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, has said she is committed to improving the health status and welfare of workers in the judiciary in the state.

The Chief judge gave this assurance last week while inaugurating a new staff restaurant at the Roseline Omotoso new court building at the old Secretariat, Ikeja GRA. She said the opening of the restaurant, also marked the opening of similar ones in Epe, Ogba, Ikorodu and Ajegunle courts.

Justice Atilade said that the establishment of the restaurant was in line with the promises she made during her swearing in about a year ago that the welfare of judiciary workers would be

By Adebisi Onanuga

paramount to her.

According to her, the new eatery would provide workers with good food prepared under good hygienic conditions adding that the eatery would not only served judges but also lawyers and other judicial workers, especially those who might not be opportuned to have breakfast before coming to the courts.

Justice Atilade said the caterer was chosen to ensure that quality food were served compared to what is served at bukaterias said to be of low quality.

In her remarks, Head of the Family Courts, Justice Yetunde Idowu who recalled that the Chief Judge re-

cently inaugurated a restaurant in State High Court, Igbosere, said all the restaurants established by the state judiciary ranked among the best in town and assured workers that they would provide them with good edibles.

Justice Idowu thanked the Chief Judge for her commitment to the improvement of staff health conditions and welfare.

Other judges of the state High Court on the occasion include Justices Lateef Lawal-Akapo, Olaide Olayinka, Omolara Kayode-Ogunmekan, Lateefat Folami, Sedoten Ogunsanya, Ganiyu Safari, the Chief Registrar, Emmanuel Ogundara and other principal officers of the judiciary.

Governors and the Unoka syndrome

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UR nation is awash with public debtors. They include the Federal Government, state and local governments.

The creditors are also many. Topping the list of individual creditors, you have civil servants, retired and serving. The debtors like the famous Unoka of Things Fall Apart has lost any sense of shame. Some owe two, some five, some 11 months. The list of the debtors keep growing by the day, and the debtors instead of being ashamed, have become emboldened, andnow, theymerely look their creditors in the face, and remind them, that they are several other creditorslike them.

Owing workers have become trendy, with the governors indifferently comparing notes, as to who is owing morethan the other. Some have even declared that they have no idea how they can get out of their indebtedness, reminding their creditors to be patient, as they would give priority to those who have shown understanding, when they decide to pay their debts. The state governors, as part of their defence, remind theirworkers that even the federal government is also owing workers, so why should they be ashamed. They put a bold face to their insolvency, as they remind their creditors that if they must pay, they will first pay those that have not taken up arms against them.

The debtor-governors behave like Unoka. Unoka was the father of Okonkwo of The Things Fall Apart, the literary classic by Chinua Achebe.

According to Achebe, Unoka “was lazy and improvident and was incapable of thinking about tomorrow. If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbours and made merry. He always said whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one’s lifetime. Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbour some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts”.

Many of our governors, serving and erstwhile, are no different from Unoka, the character depicted by Achebe in his famous novel.

Many of them when ‘money came their way’ went into a spending spree. Some bought private jets, without any thought about cost of maintenance. Many spent the state money cruising the world; others engaged in one fancy project or another. Nearly all of them spared no thought about saving the freebies, which oil money is. Their happiest moment is when the oil money is rolling in. Like them, Unoka’s “happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments, hung above the fireplace. Unoka would play with them, his face beaming with blessedness and peace”. With the free money gone, many of the governors like Unoka, have lost their peace and composure.

With the creditors at the gates, harassing and haranguing the governors for their salaries, theyput a bold face to their insolvency.

Again, according to Achebe, when a neighbour, Okoye, whom Unoka owed, came calling for his money, the drama that played out is similar to what the governors are acting. There, as soon as Unoka understood, Okoye’s mission, he burst out laughing. He said to Okoye: “Look at that wall. Look at those lines of chalk; and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk. There were five groups, and the smallest group had 10 lines. Unoka had a sense of the dramatic and so he allowed a pause, in which he took a pinch of snuff and sneezed noisily.”

Continuing, Unoka said: “Each group there represents a debt to someone, and each stroke is 100 cowries. You see, I owe that man 1,000 cowries. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. I shall pay you, but not today. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. I shall pay my big debts first. And he took another pinch of snuff, as if that was paying the big debts first”. According to Achebe, the creditor merely rolled up his goatskin and departed, just like the civil servants and the pensioners across the debtor states.

There is another respect, in which many of the governors and their other public-compatriots-in-debts have exhibited the Unoka syndrome. It is the story of Unoka’s encounter with the Oracle of Hills and Caves. Unoka had gone to consult the oracle as to why he had a miserable harvest. Not long ago, the governors had gone to consult President Muhammadu Buhari, at Aso Rock, with tales of why they are unable to pay their workers’ salary. Many of them went with varieties of salacious tales of sacrifice, but of course, none was ready to accept culpability for their woes.

According to Achebe, many years ago, Unoka had gone to consult Agbala, whose priestess was Chika. He (Unoka) said to her: “Every year, before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to Ani, the owner of land…. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen….

Hold your peace screamed the priestess…. You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. You, Unoka, are known in all the clan for the weakness of your matchet and your hoe. When your neighbours go out with their axe to cut down virgin forest... you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. Go home and work like a man”.Our governors, please go and work.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

e-Business

‘Why Africans don’t invest in tech firms’ A FRICAN investors do not stake their resources on tech firms because they are generally considered high-risk ventures. The investors rather prefer to stake put their funds in ventures where they get quick returns on investment, a tech launch pad for start-ups, eDevelopment Resource Centre, has said.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Harry Hare, lamented that in the past few years of Demo Africa’s existence “we have noticed that Africa-based investors are yet to come to the table when it comes to investing in technology startups”. eDevelopment Resource Centre is the franchise owner of Demo Africa, a technology launch pad for startups across the continent.

According to Hare, most local venture capitalists were used to investing in brick and mortar businesses which they understand.

“They (African investors) find technology start-ups high risk and therefore keep them at bay,” he lamented.

However, he said the situation is changing with the advent of angel networks springing up across the continent.

Hare said since the angel inves-

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

tor network emerged, Demo Africa has witnessed encouraging feedback with the recent $ 1.7 million acquisition of Weza Tele, a Kenyan-based DEMO Africa alumnus and the investment of over a million dollars in three start-ups just months after launching at the DEMO Africa stage.

“Investors, whether in Africa or Europe, are still investors. So we really don’t choose. We try to reach out to any investor who is interested in investing in our startups. Investment funds are used for different purposes depending on the maturity of the start-ups and its products. Some start-ups will use these funds for expansion; others will use the funds for a go-tomarket strategy,” he said.

Others, according to him, would apply the funds to refine their products and services further before releasing the products to the markets. According to him, aside from this, investment is fundamental to the startups because “it takes the entrepreneurs from where they are to where they want to be”.

Hare recalled Demo Africa held in Nigeria last year and said of the 40 start-ups launched; about 16 got investment of some kind, adding that aside this, many of these startups have acquired customers whom they are servicing. Nigeria had the highest number of startups and the highest attendance during Demo Africa.

“If you look at the investment made, over $4million was shared among six start-ups in 2014. This is less than a year after launch. In terms of business acquisition, take a case in point of SpacePointe that have registered thousands of merchants in Nigeria and is enabling e-commerce for SMEs. These startups have not only generated business value but have also created employment opportunities as well across Nigeria,” he said.

Hare added that Demo Africa offered a platform for start-ups to showcase their technology solutions to investors who would invest in them. These investors included venture capitalists, angel investors and chief information officers (CIO) who may purchase the solutions. “Different start-ups attend DEMO with different requirements that fit in the three broad categories,” he said.

GADGET REVIEW

BlackBerry Leap

B

ACK in 2013, BlackBerry tried to reinvent itself with its new touch-optimised operating system, BBOS 10. It came alongside the first all-touch phone since the Storm the Z10. But sadly, since then, it’s still the devices equipped with the physical keyboards that are selling which makes the company’s decision to launch the Leap quite intriguing. At $275/£199 it’s priced like a low/midrange phone. But is it worth buying?

Design Unlike every other current BlackBerry, the Leap looks like a standard smartphone. It’s a rectangular device with nothing but screen on the front. Just a straight, no-frills, flat glass panel accompanied by a front facing camera, earpiece and LED notification light.

At 9.5mm thick, it’s not the thinnest smartphone in the world, but it’s far from being too thick. What’s more, the slightly curved back - near the edges and the grippy, dimpled rubber on the back make it comfortable and pleasant to hold.

Although this finish doesn’t exactly make the device seem luxurious or high-end, I still like it. Instead of being delicate or pretentious, it says “let’s get to work”. Like it wants to be picked up and used. Not left on a surface or held out in full view to be admired. It’s a work phone. Not a poser’s phone. It feels pretty solid too, despite being made primarily from plastic.

The only buttons are the usual, volume up and down buttons separated by BlackBerry’s special quick-access key which launches BlackBerry Assistant as default. Just like the Classic and Passport, the Leap has a non-removable battery. This means external entry ports for your Micro SIM and Micro SD card, placed - rather unimaginatively - behind a flimsy plastic flap on the left edge.

Saying that I appreciated its overall build quality and pocket-ability. And while its bezels a necessarily large to cater for the built-in touch sensors, it’s not a bad looking device either.

Display

• Globacom's National Sales Coordinator, Northwest, Mr. Sam Edoho (middle) receiving the Telecoms Network of the Year Award from the Managing Director of Daily Independent Newspapers Limited, Mr. Ted Iwere (left). With them is Chairman of the newspaper, Alhaji Gambo Lawan in Abuja.

Why we invested in education, by MTN CEO

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HIEF Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Michael Ikpoki has restated the telco’s strong commitment in playing pivotal role in the education of the youth, adding that it is a major source of lasting happiness and economic development.

The CEO, who spoke during the closing ceremony of the telco’s workers’ annual volunteerism programme tagged: 21 Days of Y’ello Care, in Lagos, said the fact that this year’s programme had Investing in Education for All,as its theme underscored the importance the telco attached to education, adding that the last 21 days were quite eventful and focused on providing conducive environment for learning in schools.

He said: “Seventeen digital libraries were set up in primary and secondary schools across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.

Training and empowerment seminars were conducted for 100 teachers of the Lagos State Ministry of Education and a book reading session was organised for students to

imbibe the reading habit in them.”

Ikpoki expressed gratitude to stakeholders that partnered the ctelco to ensure the success of the programme including the State Ministry of Education and all the schools that opened their doors to the telco, “Your efforts have no doubt enriched our projects and enhanced their impact”, he said.

A major highlight of the closing ceremony was a keenly contested quiz competition among seven schools, which was eventually won

by Gbaja Girls Secondary School and New Era Girls Secondary School, both located in Surulere, Lagos. Each school received Laptops loaded with MTN’s educational bundle.

Other activities included the visit to nine orphanages and motherless babies home in the six geopolitical zones of the country, donating household and food items such as nutritional drinks, foodstuff, and mosquito nets among other things. MTNers also provided the children with basic amenities to not only sustain

them in the homes, but to keep them happy and catered for. Other educational materials were donated while the senior management staff of the centres also encouraged and mentored the students on their desired career paths.

MTN through the programme, contributed its quota towards improving educational standards, providing an enabling environment for learning and instilling the pivotal role of education in the development of the nation. This year, specific activities included empowering teachers, book reading sessions for students and establishment of digital libraries in select secondary/primary schools across the country to promote a healthy, voluntary study habit among students.

The annual programme initiated by the MTN Group in 2007 encourages MTN staff in all its 21 operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to volunteer their resources, time and skills to assist others and the communities they live and work in.

In today’s competitive mid-range market, it’s commonplace to see 1080p screens being used at the $250-$300 price point. Think of devices like the OneTouch Idol 3 or OnePlus One. Both with big, full HD displays. That’s why it’s a little disappointing to see a 720x1280 resolution 5-inch LCD panel on the front of the BlackBerry. At 294ppi it’s still plenty sharp enough, but you’d expect more for this price nowadays.

Content on screen is generally sharp and clear at arm’s length, but bring it closer to your eyes, and you start to notice flaws. Fine text looks jagged, as do the “rounded” corners of app icons.

Granted this is nit-picking, but in today’s market, I think that’s perfectly acceptable.

This screen has its qualities. Colors seem natural enough and contrast levels are respectable for an LCD panel.

In fact, it’s nowhere near as washed out as I’d expect. Still, the overall tone is a little cool for my liking. Overall imagery has a blueish tint. It’s only very slight, but I noticed it.

I was also surprised by just how bright it could be. I barely needed it above 60% to meet my needs. Sadly though, its daylight visibility isn’t the strongest. But, being 5-inches diagonally, it’s plenty big enough (and more importantly - the right shape) to enjoy media. For the BlackBerry loyalists who want a great moviewatching or gaming experience, this is really the only option out right now and is easily the best for that. Square screens really don’t lend themselves to multimedia consumption.

Performance, battery Those of you familiar with

BlackBerry OS 10 will know that it’s designed to be quick and snappy.

Getting to your home screen is one swipe away virtually regardless of where you are in the phone’s interface.

The hub where all your notifications sit is a swipe from left to right. It doesn’t matter where you want to go, you’re almost never more than two swipes away. For iOS and Android users, it could take a little time getting used to, but once you do, you’ll realize exactly how fast it can be and how intuitive it is. Not to mention, you’ll probably spend less time in between apps and screens, and more time being productive. What’s more, BlackBerry’s software keyboard is one of the fastest around - again - once you get used to its method of predicting words.

As you’d expect from a BlackBerry device, it handles its operating system with ease. There’s no noticeable lag when moving in between layers of the UI, or scrolling up and down through lists and messages. All the important stuff is swift and painless. When you consider that it’s only using a DualCore 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, that’s pretty impressive. That said, there is noticeable sluggishness when loading games. At least, during the actual initial loading stage. Once your game gets started - I used Asphalt 8 to test - the Leap handles it surprisingly well. I didn’t notice any severe framedropping, stuttering or freezing.

Things get even better when switching to the discussion on battery life. The 2,800mAh battery inside the Leap is fantastic. In fact, I’d almost go as far as saying it’ll give you similar performance to the Passport.

On a full charge, I regularly got to the end of a second day’s usage without even trying. If you’re a heavy user you should be confident of getting to the end of your workday without needing to top it up later on in the afternoon.

Some might complain that you can’t remove it, but when performance is this good, you really don’t need to.

Camera The camera, like the display and design, isn’t particularly noteworthy.

As things go, the 8MP shooter is good enough for taking shots in good daylight to share on social media.

Unless all your friends are particularly judgmental and overly critical photographers, you’ll be fine. Colors are good, and sharpness to and it has just the right amount of options to ensure you can get a decent shot. It even suggests when you should switch HDR on if it detects appropriate lighting contrast.

That said, there’s a flip-side. Using the camera can be a frustrating experience. Getting it to focus where you want can be a challenge and takes more than one go, particularly if - like me - you love shooting up close and personal. If you love macro, you’ll hate this.

Summary As an overall package, it’s hard to recommend the Leap at this price.

Unless you’re an absolute BlackBerry diehard fan who won’t buy any other manufacturer’s products, it’s hard to see the value in the Leap. Its display and camera are poorer than a handful of great Android smartphones like the Idol 3 or OnePlus One, and with it running on BlackBerry, you’re limited by the number of apps that run well.

For me, BlackBerry’s strength has always been creating devices that inspire productivity and don’t distract you. With the Leap, the company has succeeded with that. But I can’t help but feel they could have included a better display and camera to give regular consumers a reason to buy it.

Right now, the only people I’d imagine buying a Leap are BlackBerry lovers who - somehow - hate physical keyboards. And I’m not sure those exist.

Courtesy: phondog.com

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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e-Business Executive Director, Mobile Business Group, Lenovo Technologies for Middle East and Africa, Mr. Shashank Sharma, says Nigeria is central to its business operations in Africa. He says management of electronic waste in the company’s host communities remains an important part of its corporate social responsibility strategy. He speaks about the industry and other issues with LUCAS AJANAKU.

‘Nigeria is strategic to our business’ E

LECTRONIC waste is a global challenge. What is Lenovo doing about this?

You are right. We have a lot of initiative on environmental responsibility as well as social corporate responsibility. I don’t want to speak much about that now because details are sketchy. Let me assure you that we are addressing the issue region by region.

How is grey import affecting your business in the country?

Grey market is something which happens when people outside your official channels try to import your products and the challenge with that is that the goods might not be properly taken to the consumers as they will be buying them without the right warranty and service facilities. Again, the credibility of those devices is very difficult to ascertain. So we work closely with our local partners to make sure that we don’t allow such things to happen and partner community under retailers to try and ensure that they don’t sell products that are not coming from the official channel.

What is the level of acceptability of your products?

The acceptability of our smartphones has improved tremendously to the extent that we are thinking of raising the game. We have only four people on ground and we want to double that number in the next couple of months. That shows the confidence we have in the kind of response we got. I’am very confident about Nigerian consumers appreciating the value this organisation is giving to them the innovation, the scale and the quality promise we have Are your products region-specific or universal?

We are a global company; it is a global scale and products of innovation. So our products are of global in nature so we try to design products for different people across the globe but then you also keep in mind the local customer in some countries. So there are countries such as Nigeria, India which their requirements are slightly different from other countries such as the United States (U.S) or Europe. You need to have a global scale but you also need to keep in specific local requirements so that the customers are fulfilled.

What are your expectations in the short, medium and long term?

See for any organisation especially as large as Lenovo, one has to look at responsibilities and survey carefully and be committed towards to their responsibility towards shareholders, your employers, your partners and your customers and your responsibility towards the ecosystem you operate. This is socio-economic environmental. Though I may not be able to answer you right now on Nigeria specifically but I will be very happy to give you the details on CSR activities which we do all over the world right now as Lenovo, the kind of projects we have taken which are helping the local communities we work in What is your global market share?

Our global market share in PCs is about 20 per cent; in Tablets, it is about 40.9 per cent and in phones we are number three I don’t remember our share right now .

What percentage of the market are you looking at for smartphones?

For the first two to four quarters, we want to be between 10 and 15 per cent market shares for smartphones.

Lenovo is globally rated as the number one PC maker.

What is your strategy to replicate this success with smartphones, especially in emerging markets?

Yes Lenovo is the number one PC manufacturer in the world. We currently have 20 per cent market share and we are leading in that space, a position that we are very proud of. We are also one of the leading players in the smartphone segment, especially with our acquisition of Motorola. To lead in the smartphone segment, it requires innovation and efficiency, and Lenovo has a great balance of these qualities.

We possess the global scale that is required to compete and win in the smartphone segment. That, combined with the global supply chain, allows me to say that Lenovo is going to be a strong contender for the top spot in the world’s smartphone market. It is important to understand the market that one operates in. At Lenovo, we are coming up with products that have designs that are appealing to Nigerian consumers,as well as smartphones which have features that are required and used by Nigerians. We are making products with functionalities that are much in demand by Nigerian consumers, including flash and long battery life.

Lenovo introduced three sets of smartphones into the market. What should customers expect from these devices in terms of quality?

Recently, we launched three sets of quality phones from Lenovo, which include Lenovo S90, S70 and S 60.

The Lenovo S90 is a product that we are very proud of. It is a very slim and stylish device. The S90 is a great phone for people who love taking selfies. It has an eight-megapixel front camera that is perfect for taking selfies, and I think this is an expression that will resonate with many people. The S90 also comes with Lenovo’s standard suite of applications including SHAREit, which allows users to share files and videos with others without an internet connection. The SECUREit also allows users to keep their data safe.

• Sharma

The Lenovo P70 is a very lovely device for people who need to use their phone for extended periods of time. The battery of the device can last for up to three days. This is great for people who have a routine that does not allow them to charge their smartphone often. Also, in spite of the P70 smartphone having a 4,000mAh battery, it is not a heavy phone at all. It is slim and very light – much slimmer than smartphones with the same battery size. We are positive that our Nigerian consumers will really like this phone because a lot of people have this kind of requirement.

Another unique feature of the P70 is that it can be used to charge other mobile phones. The S60 is a much slimmer device with an eye-catching form. It is easy to hold, lightweight and packed with features that showcase users’ fun and social sides.

Wearable tech is the vogue. Any plans in this direction?

Lenovo has been monitoring developments in the wearable technology segment very closely. We will be launching wearable bands this year. The devices will be able to track health and fitness parameters, among others. But the wearable technology segment is still evolving. There are innovations that we will see in the segment in the coming years but I believe that it is still in its nascent stage. We are yet to see the true dimensions of wearable technology.

How do you intend to compete with established original equipment manufacturers?

In every smartphone market, you will find other organisations that are already present and own percentages of market share. This has been our experience since we started expanding outside China in the last two years. We have gone

‘The experience has been very good.

We are happy with the response that our products have received till date in Nigeria, and based on the success we have had, we have actually invested more in this market. We now have more people on ground. We have strengthened our service network even more by investing in resources.

The response we have received has been very good and we believe that Nigeria is right now in a good position to embrace the Lenovo brand even more, especially with the new products that we are coming out with’

into other markets with other brands already on ground so it is something that we are ready for and we believe that we are well equipped to compete and get mindshare and market share by providing Nigerians with products with the right kind of design, features and functionalities.

In terms of sales, how has Lenovo performed in Nigeria since it began operations in the country last year?

Without going into numbers, I would say that our targets and objectives for Nigeria in the last one year have been met and from this quarter onwards, we are already seeing exponential growth in demand for our products.

What has the experience been like for Lenovo across African markets, especially here in Nigeria?

The experience has been very good. We are happy with the response that our products have received till date in Nigeria, and based on the success we have had, we have actually invested more in this market. We now have more people on ground. We have strengthened our service network even more by investing in resources. The response we have received has been very good and we believe that Nigeria is right now in a good position to embrace the Lenovo brand even more, especially with the new products that we are coming out with.

How will the recent acquisition of Motorola by Lenovo affect your smartphone business?

Lenovo has always been a strong player in the global smartphone market, even before the acquisition of Motorola.

With the acquisition, it has become even stronger. Motorola gives us a strong brand name, it gives us presence in major markets, it gives us a strong Information Technology (IT) portfolio and access to a huge pool of innovation engineers and researchers. For us, it is a great acquisition in every sense. With the help of Motorola, we are able to expand and have presence in markets where Lenovo products are not being sold today. In addition, our range of products for the customer, including wearables, have grown even bigger as a result of the acquisition How will you ensure that every mobile user group enjoy a great smartphone experience from Lenovo?

There is a breadth of customers that are looking for suitable products in the smartphone segment. You will see that the products that we are coming out with in our ‘A’ series of smartphones, cater to individuals looking for devices that are affordable. We also have our ‘S’ series and premium vibe series smartphones that come with more features and more functionalities. We have a wide range of products at different price points that cater to the majority of users. Each product comes with its own unique functionality and the ability to deliver value while exceeding customer expectation.

How affordable are your brand of smartphones?

We consider affordability while designing new products for manufacturing, even though we do not compromise quality with pricing. Our products have high qualities and at the same time affordable.

In terms of smartphone market share, where do you see Lenovo Nigeria in the next one year?

I believe that we will have captured between 10 and 15 per cent market share in the next one year. We have the right team, the right partners and the right kind of products to achieve this.

What important factors that a buyer should consider when investing in smartphone?

The smartphone buyer will always consider a reliable brand with a global scale that can protect the customers’ interest. This comes as a first point for me, and the second factor is the consideration of the kind of service that the brand is able to provide the consumer with and the third would be the features of the device, including display and battery life.

Lenovo, as a major player in smartphone manufacturing and sales, always put these factors into consideration, when designing smartphones.

What key trends do you see defining the mobile segment in 2016?

The future is always difficult to predict, but I think that display technology will see some changes. We are already seeing a lot of innovation in this area and I expect that we will have more in the coming year. Also, we will see finger print security getting more acceptability. I think that we will see interesting things happening in these areas next year.

Despite the ubiquity of smartphones, most consumers do not make optimal use of their mobile devices. Reports indicate that feature’s utilisation is at 30 per cent for the average consumer. What do you think can be done to help users integrate their smartphones more into their daily lives?

Since the advent of smartphones, we have had increasing access to services that we did not have previously, from social media engagement to communication. People are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social websites to interact and communicate with one another. But there are a lot of areas where devices remain unexplored. I think it is just a matter of time before most people get exposed to what they can do with their phone and start utilising it in more facets of their lives than they do today.

Do you still see the survival of feature phones across the world as smartphones take over?

All over the world, we are seeing the migration from feature phones to smartphones where customers feel they can get more value in terms of what they want from their mobile device. That trend began in Nigeria in the last couple of years and is now accelerated. There would be a small number of feature phones around in the next two to three years in Africa, but majority of feature phone users are going to migrate to smartphones within this period

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e-Business How to identify substandard phones

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HE liberalisation of the telecoms space over a decade ago has opened up new opportunities for telecom subscribers as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). With active subscriber figures put at about 140million, the growth in Nigeria’s telecoms sector has been phenomenal.

This growth has also opened up a flood gate for the entry of all manners of mobile phones into the market. While some of these devices enter the market lawfully through approved channels, others do not as they come through grey importation.

With all these have also come the challenges of differentiating a fake phone from an original one. This could sometimes be a daunting task as most of the phones look alike. It is now common in local parlance to refer to mobile phones as Palasa, Chinko and the use of other derogatory words to humiliate what are perceived as Chinese phones.

Customers so often get misled by this description because virtually all the major names in the mobile devices space own factories in China. Techno and Nokia are good examples. The former has somehow shown that it could raise its head among emerging OEMs as it is currently giving known names a good run for their money in the Nigerian market.

The regulator of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says its duty ends at the point of type-approval while the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) do not have explanation for the presence of substandard/fake mobile phones in the market.

You could however save yourself money and embarrassment by taking the following steps.

Patronise authorised dealers

• Base transmission station

MTN urges inclusive society for persons with disability

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HE corporate social investment vehicle of MTN, MTN Foundation, has called for an inclusive society to benefit people living with disabilities.

Its Executive Secretary, Nonny Ugboma, who made the appeal during the opening ceremony of the first International Conference on Disabilities, at the Civic Centre, Lagos, said the foundation has embarked on a journey to have an inclusive society, adding that there was also the need to ensure inclusion of people with disabilities in national planning.

“MTN’s philosophy of an inclusive society is borne out of the realisation that our social responsibility agenda cannot be complete without including persons with disabilities. We recognise this and have incorporated this philosophy into every initiative to benefit the affected people. We believe in education and empowerment of people with disabilities,” she added.

According to her, MTN’s effort towards ensuring inclusion is a

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

three-pronged approach: public awareness and advocacy, through road shows and seminars; strategic partnerships with critical government stakeholders in the disability space and implementation of high-impact sustainable projects to support people with disabilities.

Its Corporate Services Executive, Akinwale Goodluck, said the telco will continue to create avenues for people with disability to excel.

“Disability is of the mind and in MTN, we believe that there is ability in disability, which is why we have put in place all these projects to empower persons with disability. We will continue to partner with government and other relevant stakeholders to improve the quality of lives of persons with disabilities across the country,” he said.

The forum was to draw attention to the plight of people living with disabilities and the need to foster social and developmental inclusion in the society with Creating an

Inclusive Society for All as its theme.

Speaking on the occasion, its Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Ani Charles Bassey-Eyo, expressed gratitude to stakeholders for their roles in developing the disability sector. He said the conference was the first of its kind in Africa, adding that the aim is to infuse private sector experience to support people with disability as well as foster endearing relationships with the business community through dissemination of information and awareness interventions.

The opening plenary discussed Towards an Inclusive Society, Improving Access and Building Capacity and was moderated by Bassey-Eyo. Governor of Nassarawa State, Umaru Al-Makura, fomer Governor, Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ugboma, President, Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind, Bashir Danlami, Dr. Hatim Omar and Secretary to Lagos State Government, Tunji Bello made up the panel of discussants during the plenary.

Smile Communications, Ericsson seal deal

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ECH giant, Ericsson has been selected to manage operations and maintenance for Smile Communications in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo A statement from Ericsson said the five-year contract includes network operation, network performance and optimisation, field services, and spare parts management, adding that it will also enable Smile to focus on continued provision of superior customer experience Under the terms of a five-year multi-country managed services agreement, will manage Smile Communications’ 4G/LTE networks across all operations. This is the first 4G/LTE managed services contract signed in sub-Saharan Africa, the statement added.

Ericsson will provide a fully managed end-to-end service that includes network operations, performance, optimisation, field support and maintenance for Smile’s LTE networks in Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and – later – in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Commenting on the agreement, Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Smile Communications Tom Allen, said: “We regard Ericsson as more than a vendor, we are long term partners focused on delivering on the Smile promise to be the broadband provider of choice in Africa and to ensure that our customers fully benefit from the internet world.”

This managed services contract extends Ericsson’s relationship with Smile in Nigeria, where Ericsson is Smile’s sole vendor for 4G networks. The agreement also leverages Ericsson’s more than 15 years of experience in managing multi-vendor, multi-technology networks in Tanzania, Uganda and the DRC. President Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa, Fredrik Jejdling, said the contract will allow Smile to focus more on the core business of delivering superior services to its customers.

He said: “We are excited to be

delivering this service to Smile as it further extends our partnership with the operator in the region.

Bringing with us our expertise as global HSPA and LTE leaders, this partnership enables Smile Communications to focus even more on the core business of delivering superior products and services that cater to the needs of its subscribers, whilst at the same time improving operational cost efficiency.”

Ericsson is the global leader in telecoms managed services, managing networks for multiple operators worldwide via a combination of global and local network operations centers. Ericsson employs 66,000 service professionals in 180 countries, and provides managed services for networks that serve more than 1 billion subscribers. In addition, Ericsson is present today in all high-traffic LTE markets including US, Japan, and South Korea, and is ranked first for handling the most global LTE traffic. Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks.

One way to stave off fraudulent phones is to buy from an authorised d e a l e r .

Authorised dealers are all over the place with stickers of the OEMs they represent appended to their shops. In some of these dealer shops, it is not uncommon to find t r a i n e d personnel of the OEMs on standby to attend to initial problems such as configuring the device and others.

Do not patronise road side p h o n e merchants. They are everywhere along the Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja and inside Otigba Market popularly called Computer Village. The fraudsters who allegedly work hand-in-hand with policemen attached to the market, even tuck Fu-Fu, a local Igbo cassava delicacy, into empty casing of mobile phones and sell to unsuspecting customers.

Beware of cheap phones When the prices are too cheap, you must beware because it may just be an ape of the OEM. Before setting out to buy any mobile phone, you could cross check the price form your friends and relations that use same brand. You could also visit authorised dealers to find out how much its costs. In Nigeria, there is no law banning window-shopping. In this connection, visit major malls and get abreast with the prices. Low price is one of the baits used by shylock to lure unsuspecting people to patronise them.

Shine your eyes on logo, brand name One of the easiest ways of identifying a fake mobile phone is through its logo and brand name which is usually engrained on the device. You must open your eyes and be sure that the brand name is spelt exactly the way it is spelt. Be sure of what you are buying is Samsung not Samsvng, Nokia not Nola and Blackberry not Blakberry. OEMs can never make mistakes about the spelling of their brand name. So, any time you see variation in the spelling, just walk away because what you may be buying is the counterfeit of what you wanted to buy.

Features Every mobile phone comes with features. Some may have flashlight, radio and even television. Since this is the age of smartphones, internet connectivity is now taken for granted but you must do a little background check. You could visit the internet and Google, the global search engine, will be so pleased to feed you with the salient features of the phone of your choice.

Do not get carried away with sweet talks of the mobile phone vendor and fall victim of counterfeits.

Physical appearance/weight The packaging of mobile phones is another way you could detect whether it is fake or not. For instance, OEMs always provide seal that will sometimes be ripped open with the use of sharp objects such as razor.

Counterfeiters do not have the luxury of such niceties. So when go out there to buy a mobile phone and it is not properly packaged or its weight is too light or too heavy, be suspicious and walk away because you may be on your way to acquiring a fake mobile device.

International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) Does your phone have an International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI)?

This question is answered by dialling *#06#. Also ensure that the number is 15.

How to find IMEI or MEID number on a mobile phone The IMEI or Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) number for your mobile phone acts as a unique identifier for that device. No two devices will have the same IMEI or MEID, which makes it a very useful tool for tracking lost or stolen cell phones. You can quickly retrieve and record your phone’s IMEI or MEID number in a variety of different ways, depending on your device Dial the IMEI code. You can retrieve the IMEI/MEID number on virtually any phone by dialing in the universal code. Dial *#06#. You typically will not need to press the Call or Send button, as the IMEI/MEID number will appear as soon as you finish dialing the code.

•Additional reports from Jovago

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

e-Business Diamond Bank’s CEO named Best Digital Banker of the Year

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IAMOND Bank Plc’s CEO, Uzoma Dozie, has won

the Best Digital Banker of the Year award of the American Banker, Bank Technology News, in recognition of the bank’s value addition to mobile banking and for leading the digital revolution in providing efficient and costeffective services in the financial industry using the mobile phone.

According to American Banker, the nomination is a testament of Uzoma’s increasing leading role in driving the development and digitization of the financial industry by “creating apps and sites that are engaging, relevant and personalised”.

Working with a team with digital focus, Uzoma has pushed up Diamond Bank as the leading bank with the most digital innovations in Nigeria. Diamond Bank is the first bank in Africa to launch the fingerprint recognition feature on its Diamond Mobile App, a fingerprint reader that allows users of the app an easy and seamless login to their accounts by simply recognising and identifying their individual fingerprints - a technology very few banks in the world have adopted and implemented. The lender is also the first to introduce the Magic Cash, an app that works with the mobile phone; it is a no-cheque, nowithdrawal slip and no-debit card financial transaction that gives customers easy access to draw cash from any of the bank’s automated teller machines (ATMs) anytime.

The bank also is the first to introduce the Diamond Y’ello account, in partnership with the mobile telecommunications giant, MTN. It is a fully mobile hybrid account that offers the over 55 million subscribers on MTN Nigeria network a fusion of financial services and telecoms incentives.

It also released an updated mobile app for iOS, Android, and Blackberry that supports bill payments, bank transactions, and even helps purchase movie and airline tickets.

Other nominees include Citigroups Heather Cox for championing application programming interfaces; the CEO of USAA for introducing voice activated banking; Jamie Armistead of Bank of the West for Design-first mentality and Tom Ormseth, CEO of Wintrust Financial for championing cardless cash, real time transactions.

Accenture advises CIOs on new tech trends adoption

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LOBAL technology solutions provider and consulting firm, Accenture, has identified social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) as the new technology trends in the business environment, urging Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to take advantage of the trends, especially in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.

Country Managing Director (Accenture Nigeria), Mr. Niyi Yusuf, who spoke to CIOs from the FMCG sector during Accenture CIOs forum at the Sofitel Lagos Moor House, Ikoyi, Lagos urged them to combine legacy technology with latest innovation, as well as mobility, cloud services and big data analytics.

He said if the CIOs leverage on SMAC, they will witness better productivity and business growth.

He said: “We are the second largest country in the world where people access Internet on their mobile phones and what does that portend for a company in the FMCG sector, it boosts interest and it is also an opportunity.

“If you have a workforce that is mobile, also consumers that are mobile, you need to be mobile, to be where your customers are, as lots of Nigerians are on Yahoo, Google, Facebook and other social

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

media platform, and if a consumer has bad experience about a product he can post it on the social media and it would spread wide. So it is an opportunity for FMCG companies to be social and also be able to respond, and another advantage is that lot of companies would be able to sell their goods and services on the social media.”

According to him, having done that, it is also an opportunity for those companies to have information about their goods and services, an opportunity for them to track their goods, which stock keeping unit (SKU) is moving, and that it is real time information online which is data analytics. “So analytics enables them to know which consumers buy and do not, and then they can track online, and because most of the consumers are mobile and sales are online, they will be able to know the location where sales is high and low, and the products that are purchased,” he said.

The Accenture boss however affirmed that the forum enables the CIOs to note these trends and to respond to them. Also that the social media and technological platforms would help them increase the revenue of the FMCG companies, as well as reduce their cost of op-

eration. He explained that Accenture helps them to think through what they need to do and assist them on how to implement the technologies.

Digital Transformation Lead, Products, Mr. Shyam Ranchod, and Senior Manager, Mobility Services Lead, Tielman Botha, both of Accenture South Africa, who spoke during the online presentation on how FMCG companies can adopt technology in a digital era. Botha said that in Africa, internet access is all about mobile and that if companies place emphasis on it, they can easily connect with their customers Ranchod said this year, it is no longer enough to see companies adopt technology, but should look at it in a local way to suit their operating environment, to meet customers’ needs. He stated that in the digital era, businesses are required to extend their boundaries in order to survive, by leveraging on key concepts such as the Internet of me, the use of big data analytic; outcome economy which is the use of machine to machine (M2M); platform (r) evolution which is related with open source and Internet of things (IoT); and intelligence enterprise which is the use of machine intelligence in both software and hardware.

•V-Sat

• Chairman, Glo, Dr Mike Adenuga

Glo gets OAAN's award

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HE Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) has recognised Globacom for producing excellent outdoor advertising which has set new benchmarks for outdoor advertising in Nigeria.

The OAAN, at the 9th Exhibition and Poster Awards also praised the company for its revolutionary role in the telecoms industry.

The agency went ahead to recognise Globacom with an award of excellence, noting that the company has continued to invest in new and bold initiatives in advertising.

Organisers of the awards said that Globacom was recognised for the award on the basis of its consistency OAAN's President, Mr Charles Chijide explained that Globacom had since pioneering per second billing remained a beacon and pride of Nigeria in the telecoms industry. He added that the poster awards were for brands that had the most creative billboard messages for the year under review.

He disclosed that the awards had become the advertising industry's platform to reward as well as promote creative excellence among the operators from the different sectors of the economy who regularly use the OAAN platform to connect with their audiences.

"It is our way to appreciate them for their patronage over the years and to also encourage their creative agencies to always deploy their best from their creative arsenal at all times", he added.

While emphasising that the place of outdoor advertising to the success of all marketing communications efforts has continued to be on the increase, Chijide opined that this is attributable to the dynamic nature of the practice.

He further said that outdoor advertising has helped to light up and beautify the environment as well as make the skyline of most cities more appealing to behold.

Other winners at the event included Conoil, Sterling Bank and, Nigerian Breweries.

Airtel acquires minority stake in satellite firm OneWeb

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HARTI Airtel has acquired a minority stake in OneWeb, which plans to offer communication services using satellites by 2019. OneWeb has received $500 million for the project from its investors and plans to launch services by 2019.

OneWeb, founded in 2012, is building a communication network with an initial constellation of 648 low earth orbit satellites. Investors in the company include Qualcomm Inc, Virgin Group, Airbus Group and Coca-Cola Company. Airtel did not share investment details in OneWeb but said it will be able to leverage the investment by becoming a preferred distributor of these services across its operations in 20 countries in Asia and Africa.

“Access to affordable high speed Internet is a powerful tool for economic development and empowerment of populations, particularly in emerging economies. OneWeb, an innovative system backed by leading global corporations, will complement the efforts of governments and telecom operators across

the globe to take internet to the masses,” Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal was quoted to have said by PTI in a statement.

The OneWeb mission is like the Facebook-led Internet.org initiative which states that it aims to bring five billion people online in partnership with tech giants like Samsung and Qualcomm. OneWeb satellites will provide high speed connectivity to a small user terminal which transmits broadband access via WiFi, LTE, 3G and 2G to surrounding area. Users will be able to access Internet through these terminals.

With massive 64GB of Internal Memory OneWeb said its terminals will connect to devices either on unlicensed frequencies, or using their partner operators’ frequencies to provide coverage. The terminals can be placed on any home or business and a cable can be run into the house to connect to a small device similar to a cable modem. At the same time, the terminal would, if necessary, provide the local wire-

less coverage.

“In India, which is on the cusp of a massive data revolution, hundreds millions of consumers in rural areas will benefit from this initiative and it will boost Government’s Digital India programme and its vision of broadband access for all,” Mittal said.

Seven global corporations, including Qualcomm Inc, Virgin Group, Airbus Group, Bharti Enterprises, The Coca-Cola Company, Grupo Salinas, and Intelsat, have joined the communications initiative. Following the announcement of its joint venture with Airbus Space and Defence to build the highest volume satellite production factory in the world, OneWeb today also announced the largest commercial rocket acquisition ever of more than 65 rockets from Arianespace and Virgin Galactic.

OneWeb said Arianespace will be providing 21 Soyuz rockets from three separate launch pads on a firm schedule, 5 Soyuz options and 3 Ariane 6 options. Virgin Galactic will be providing 39 separate launches. Founder of OneWeb Greg

Wyler said the company is committed to solving one of the world’s biggest problems – enabling affordable broadband Internet access for everyone.

Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders said: “Whether at some remote place on earth or flying high on an Airbus aircraft, you’ll be connected: a grand proposition for mankind and a sound business opportunity for us! We are committed to giving our full industrial and space expertise to this mission.”

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Company said the project will help spur local economic development where people are in the greatest need, while also helping its business by improving real-time access to some of the world’s most remote areas.

“Our vision is to make the Internet affordable for everyone...We believe that OneWeb, together with Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne satellite launch system, has the capability to make this a reality,” said Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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BUSINESS AVIATION

Sale of airline tickets by commercial banks irks agents T HE National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) to direct commercial banks to stop the sale of tickets to the public.

Its National President, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, who made the plea last week, said the association has concluded plans to take appropriate steps to ensure that the banking regulator prevail on the lenders to desist from selling air tickets, adding that the banks’ action, constitute an infraction on the operations of travel agencies He said it was wrong for commercial banks to veer off their core business into the sale of airline tickets.

He said travel agencies are the only recognised bodies to sell tickets for airlines, noting that if the CBN fails to call the banks to order, it could push over 1,020 travel agencies and their 7,129 employees out of business.

Agoha said if the banks must sell airline tickets, they should set up travel agency outfits and undergo relevant industry certification before going ahead with the business .

He lamented that travel agencies are facing challenges, including zero per cent commission from foreign carriers, failure of airlines to get into the billing settlement plan, as well as failure on the part of airlines to close all ticket sales points outside the airport.

He said there is need for government to protect the interest of travel agents who contributed over $2.3 billion to the country’ Gross Domestic Product last year alone from

ticket sales and tour packages.

He said: “ One of the burning issues is the sale of airline tickets by Nigerian banks. Banks in Nigeria have become “Jack of all trades” and are gradually and consistently encroaching on all businesses, including specialised areas such as ours,” wondering whether banks are licensed to act as airline agents?

He said Travel agents undergo a rigorous accreditation process before they are allowed to sell airline tickets.

“Why are airlines colluding with banks to sell tickets by offering banks commission and offering agents none? he queried.

He said banks are running series of adverts making ridiculous offers to the general public for the purchase of air tickets from such banks, warning that the trend portends a dangerous trend as banks have abandoned their core business and veered into a domain that they are not licensed to perform.

He also berated some airlines for their refusal to join the billing settlement plan, adding that their refusal has created distortion in the market.

He said: “With the implementation of the Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) in Nigeria, it was expected that all airlines would operate on the BSP as it is done worldwide. Seven years after its

full implementation however, some airlines have refused to join the BSP thereby distorting the market. We wish that all airlines operating in Nigeria be compelled to conform to the system that has been fully embraced by the Nigerian market.

“Similarly, some airlines have also not joined the BSP; rather, their management has subjected travel agencies to buying tickets on a cashand-carry basis from their offices.

Furthermore, some airline’s ticketing offices are run by non indigenous companies who earn between 12 per cent and 20 per cent commission on ticket sales, yet deny travel agents their entitled commission. We wish that all airlines are compelled to conform to the BSP in the Nigerian market.”

He also berated foreign carriers for offering higher fares on Nigerian routes compared to what is obtainable in other West African countries

.

Agoha said: “We do not understand the great disparity in fares between what the airlines offer to the Nigerian market and what they offer elsewhere in the world.

“The disparity in fares is alarming and we wonder why Nigeria should be singled out for this rip-off. We see no reason a flight ticket from Accra, Ghana to Europe or USA on some airlines would be cheaper than from Lagos to the same destinations on the same airline. For instance, a first class ticket to Las Vegas from Lagos is N1.8 million more than a first class ticket to the same destination from Accra.

Nigerian travelers are now developing Ghanaian economy.Their travel agencies are making huge sales from the Nigerian travelers while most of our Nigerian agencies are folding up.

“From our records, travel agencies posted $1,306,304,373 revenue for the

year ended December, 2014. There is an increased influx of foreign airlines into the Nigerian market. Ordinarily, this should depict great revenue potential for Nigerian travel agents.

“This is however not the case. These airlines are coming to Nigeria to rip us off. First of all, their base fares are higher than what prevails for the same flight time for journeys originating from elsewhere in the world. Even when they offer promotional fares, the added taxes charged are so huge.

“The new trend is for airlines operating in Nigeria to offer lower fares which reduces the amount of commission agents receive and to charge exorbitantly.”

He lamented the parlous state of airport facilities in Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt, describing them as unacceptable.

He said: “NANTA is very worried about the current state of most of our airports, particularly the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.”

FAAN to enhance revenue

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N a bold move to improve the revenue base of airports for greater productivity, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Saleh Dunoma, has established a special task force on revenue enhancement.

Dunoma, who is expected to head the outfit, urged Regional and Airports Managers at a meeting last week to recover revenue at the point of collection, stating that defaulters should be sanctioned where necessary.

The airport managers were also mandated to step up efforts in recovering debts and initiating nonaeronautical revenue streams in order to meet up with revenue targets based on the authority’s 2015 approved budget.

Dunoma reiterated the authority’s commitment to delivering services at international standards quality, in line with its mission statement.

Speaking further, the Managing Director charged the Managers to promote a healthy relationship between the Aviation Security Services and other government agencies at the

airports, to discourage misunderstandings between various agencies at our airports.

Meanwhile,Nigerian Institute of Business Development has praised the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for its cooperation and collaboration in advancing the course of the institute.

In recognition of this effort, the body has concluded plans to honour Dunoma, with the honorary Fellow of the Institute during its International Business Development Week/ Summit in July, 2015 at Ikeja.

The Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the institute, Mr. Paul Ikele,expressed the Institute’s readiness to continue to collaborate with the authority in an effort to establish best business ethics in the country.

Saleh, while accepting the award, thanked the institute for the gesture and promised to sustain the good relationship FAAN has established with the institute. He expressed the hope that the partnership between the two bodies would ensure international business best practices in the aviation industry.

‘Arik Air ‘ll collaborate with police’

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HE Managing Director of Arik Air, Chris Ndulue, has pledged to work with the new Commissioner of Police, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to improve security in its operations.

Ndulue made this known last week when the Airport Police Command Commissioner, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, paid a courtesy visit to the airline’s headquarters in Lagos.

He urged the police to sustain and improve security at the airport to prevent unwanted persons at the restricted areas and those who sneak into the airport and enter the wheel-well of air-

craft as stowaways.

Ndulue also noted that police should have access to every part of the airport and should not be prevented from working at the restricted areas, remarking that in other parts of the world, police have unfettered access to all parts of the airport in order to effectively maintain peace and ensure the protection of passengers and other airport users.

He said that Arik Air has welltrained aviation security personnel which would always collaborate with the Nigeria police for maximum protection and prevention of any kind of crises.

•From left: National Publicity Secretary, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies ( NANTA ), Mrs Ngozi Ngoka, National President, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, First National Vice President and Chairman Board of Trustees, Mrs Tinuke Nwakohu, at a briefing in Lagos.

NCAA designs emergency plan for airports

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HE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) has designed a national aviation public emergency preparedness plan for airports.

Its Director-General, Captain Usman Mukhtar, said the document was produced to handle issues arising from medical emergencies at the airports.

Mukhtar said the document was drawn mainly from the template provided by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO).

It would serve as a guiding material for aviation stakeholders in the handling of the suspected cases of communicable diseases within the Nigeria airspace.

He disclosed this last week, during the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA) Assistance visit to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos by members of ICAO and the World Health Organisation ( WHO).

He described the visit by the two bodies as part of efforts to checkmate the spread of communicable diseases through air travel .

He said aviation stakeholders last year rose to the challenge of containing the Ebola Virus Disease, praising stakeholders for playing the pivotal role in the containment of the virus.

Mukhtar said: "I want to appreciate stakeholders in the Nigeria aviation for the professionalism and containment of Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in 2014.

"Some of you risked your lives and that of your families for the general good of the country.

"This inter-agencies collaboration, coordination, cooperation and communication displayed during the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, must be sustained to enable us effectively handle any suspected case of communicable disease in our airports.

Dr Morenike Alex-Okoh, Director, Airport Health and Medical Services, Federal Ministry of Health, sued for sustained inter-agency cooperation

in the implementation of the aviation act point of entry in Nigeria.

She said the ministry was delighted with the visit given the fact that such previous visits had contributed in no small measure to the successful implementation of public heath emergencies at Nigeria's points of entry.

According to her, the successful containment of Ebola in Nigeria was achieved through collaboration at the global, national and state levels.

Mr Michiel Vreedenburgh, who is Programme Global Coordinator, ICAO headquarters in charge of collaborative arrangement for the prevention and management of public health events in civil aviation ( CAPSCA ) said the visit to Nigeria was to assess the preparedness of the aviation sector, taking into account the priorities established by the WHO in containing outbreak of communicable diseases.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

54

THE NATION

BUSINESS MARITIME

e-mail: maritime@thenationonlineng.net

Customs to sue rice importers over N20b duty T HE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may go to court to recover the N20 billion duty owed the Federal Government by rice importers, it has been learnt.

It opted for legal action to deter other defaulters, sources said.

Customs spokesman Wale Adeniyi said the agency had the government’s backing to recover the money, following the importers’ failure to meet the payment deadline.

He said: “We are taking them to court very soon to ensure that the duty is fully paid.

“We have briefed our lawyers and they are ready to take all the steps necessary to ensure that they are prosecuted. We are going to do everything necessary to compel them to pay. We may block them from our system so that they would not be able to process their papers or seal off their premises if we like.”

The suit, it was learnt, may be filed next week at the Federal High

Stories by Oluwakemi Dauda MaritimeCorrespondent

Court in Abuja.

The importers are: Olam, Stallion/Popular Foods, Bua, Millan Nigeria Limited, Ebony Agro, Atafi Rice Industries Limited and Arewa Rice Mill.

A source at the Federal Ministry of Finance said Customs’ Comptroller-General Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi directed the legal unit to work with some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to file the suit.

Abdullahi also directed his officers to track down those involved in rice smuggling and other prohibited items.

The directive followed last week’s decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop the sale of foreign exchange to importers of rice, poultry products, textile, tomato paste and other items.

“Customs has vowed that it will no longer condone any form of duty evasion and rice smuggling across the country’s borders, irre-

spective of quantity and purpose of the carrier. New process and system reforms have been put in place by the management of the service to prevent the same duty evasion from happening again in the future. Customs is not just thinking about how to recover the unpaid duty but also how to prevent this from happening in the future.

“Preventing duty evasion and smuggling in the future is not just a matter of justice but also a matter of economics and national interest.

That is why Alhaji Dikko has created a single information technology (IT) platform to see to the full implementation of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) for all transactions at the ports and border stations across the country,” the official said.

Adeniyi described as “welcome” CBN’s decision to stop forex sales to importers of rice and agricultural items that can be produced locally.

He berated importers who spend trillions of naira yearly to import

rice and other items that can be produced locally and still refuse to pay Customs duty.

“Many of our youths are jobless and that is why Customs is in full support of the CBN’s decision to stop sales of forex to rice importers. The money they are using in importing rice can be used to develop the local rice industry. Although, it will affect our revenue generation, the overall interest of the country and its people supersede the amount we are going to generate,” Adeniyi said.

The implementation of the policy, he said, would help to conserve foreign reserves, revive moribund industries and create employment.

On the possibility of smugglers raising their game, Adeniyi said the service is battle ready for them.

“Based on the decision of the CBN to stop sales of forex to rice importers, my Comptroller-General has directed an increase in the current patrols on land and sea and ordered our commands across the country to fortify all approved check points and other areas where operational vehicles could not access with highly committed officers.

“Our officers and men have been mandated to find out all the new hide-out of smugglers who specialise in bringing into the country all prohibited items through the land, sea and the swampy areas. The CGC has also instructed them to beam their searchlight on towns and villages around the border areas where smugglers might want to use to bring in rice in large and small quantity,” Adeniyi said.

Nigeria to domesticate IMO laws

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HE Nigerian Maritime Administrator and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said the country has taken steps in the direction of domesticating five International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulatory instruments, with the submission of the instruments of their assent to IMO’s London headquarters.

NIMASA said it was able to achieve this feat as a result of its collaborative efforts with the Federal Ministry of Transport.

Nigerian High Commissioner and Permanent Representative to the IMO, Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, who presented the instruments to the IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu on behalf of the Federal Government, listed the instruments to include the Safety of Lives at Sea Protocol 1988 (as amended) and the Marine Pollution MARPOL Protocol of 1997.

Others are the Protocol of 2005 on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) Convention 1988, Protocol of 1988 on the SUA Convention Against Fixed Platforms on the Continental Shelf, and the Proto-

col of 1988 on the International Convention on Load Lines.

“This submission is borne out of the desire of the Nigerian Government to curb the menace of piracy and promote shipping activities in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea in line with international best practices,’’ he said.

Sekimizu expressed IMO’s pleasure on the submission of these core instruments, particularly three of which border on Ships Standard, SUA Convention and SUA Protocol, which are significant in tackling the menace of piracy.

Sekimizu urged the government to continue the war against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi who was represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development Capt. Bala Agaba, said with the deposition of the instruments of assent, the agency was obliged to enforce the provisions of the conventions to the letter, not only on Flag Ships but also Port State Administration.

APM set to invest N70b in Lagos terminal • NAGAFF President Eugene Elochukwu (left) and ANLCA President Shittu at stakeholders forum organised by PHOTO: OLUWAKEMI DAUDA the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos, last week.

CRFFN to make N2b yearly from practising fees • As ANLCA kicks against sharing formula

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HE Council for the Regula tion of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) may make N2 billion yearly at the ports and land borders from collecting the Practitioners Operating Fees (POF).

The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), is against the equal sharing of POF among the five associations registered by CRFFN. Former Minister of Transport Senator Idris Umar granted CRFFN approval to collect the fees.

The fees include N1.20 per kilogramme of air freight, N1,000 per 20-foot container, N2,000 per 40foot container, N500 per car/jeep, N1,000 per 1x20 truck, N2,000 per 1x40 truck, N3.50 per tonne of general cargo and N1 per tonne of dry bulk cargo while the rate on wet cargo was negotiable.

CRFFN is empowered to collect POF nationwide and to take 60 per cent of the total amount collected.

The council is to give 35 per cent of the amount collected to ANLCA, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), National Council of Managing Directors of Licenced

Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Association of Registered Freight Forwarders (AREFF) and the National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC). The remaining five per cent would be shared among registered freight forwarders.

But the ANLCA President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu told The Nation that his association was against equal sharing of the 35 per cent among the associations , because of its position, its population and the amount his members would contribute to the fund.

“It was wrong for the CRFFN to keep mute on how the 35 per cent would be shared by the associations. The fact is that majority of the POF would be collected from our members and they want us to go and share the money equally with associations that are going to contribute little or nothing to the fund because of their number.

“What stops CRFFN from collecting the money from the fees for the remaining four associations and let us see the amount? Even in the Animal Farm, some are more equal than the other.

“The money has to be shared based on the contribution of each association to the fund. If association A contributed 20 per cent to the fund and the Association B contributed five per cent, let A take 20 per cent in the sharing formula and association B take five per cent. That is justice. You cannot reap where you don’t sow and that is the position of my association.

“But my fear is that if we fail to follow this transparent method, the government may wake up one day, and hijack the project, and that would be the end of the matter,” Shittu said.

But speaking on behalf of his group, NAGAFF’s founder, Dr Bonifface Aniebonam, said the only alternative left for ANLCA is to go to court if they are opposed to the collection of the fees.

“ANLCA is an organisation and they are at liberty to state their own position. ANLCA is one of the smallest groups, NAGAFF is bigger. The only unfortunate thing is that that President of ANLCA was part of the whole process up to the approval time. As for me, the CRFFN is an arm of the government and it has spoken. The only alternative they have is to go to court,” he said.

• To link Kano by rail

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HE management of APM Terminals (APMT), Apapa, said it has invested about N70 billion in upgrading the facilities at its terminal.

The operator also said it would soon commence evacuation of cargoes from Apapa port to Kano by rail as part of efforts to boost quick cargo clearance from the port.

Its Chief Financial Officer, Sunil Bansal, who spoke when the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello visited the terminal, said the terminal remains the only terminal in Lagos connected to the rail line through to the hinterlands.

He noted that when the rail tracks which will move cargoes from Lagos to Kano becomes fully operational, importers whose cargoes are destined for the hinterlands will no longer have to come to Lagos to clear their consignments.

“We are ahead in the process of connecting Kano which is another business hub to Lagos by train. We expect to start operation very soon.

We are having some little challenges but we are almost set to start.

This is the only terminal in Lagos which is connected to rail through to the hinterland.

“We have two lanes inside and two trains can come simultaneously and with this. Importers don’t need to come to Lagos to clear

their cargo, it can be cleared at their doorstep. Those are the kind of investment and processing that we are coming with,” Bansal said.

He said the company has so far invested about N70 billion in modernising and upgrading its terminal.

“When we started the terminal nine years back, the dream was to make it a world class facility and we are happy to say the terminal is equivalent to any other terminal in Europe in terms of infrastructure and processes,” he said.

The NSC boss lauded APM Terminals’ commitment to the development of the port especially in the areas of infrastructural development and acquisition of modern cargo handling equipment which he said has brought about efficiency and increased tonnage at the port.

“We are happy and appreciate the continued investment you have made in the operations of your terminal.When the port was concessioned to the private sector, it shows that the private sector is the engine room of development.

We have also seen growth of increase in the tonnage which shows there is some efficiency,” Bello said.

Bello said for terminals to achieve a sustainable increase in productivity, there is need for collaboration with relevant government agencies.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

MONEYLINK

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Bank customers rush to beat BVN deadline

ODAY is the last day for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bankers’ Committee have refused to shift the deadline. Expectedly, long queues were yesterday seen in many banks’ branches as customers made last minute effort to beat the registration deadline.

CBN Spokesman Ibrahim Mu’azu told The Nation that those yet to enrol, will not be able to carry out complex transactions like online payment, cheque issuance, among others until they regularise their accounts.

However, Mu’azu said accounts opened this year are not affected. He said the

• No extension says CBN Stories by Collins Nweze

excerise is for the overall security of customers’ accounts and the banking system.

But many customers have painful tales of the BVN exercise. Many of the customers who spoke with The Nation said they wanted to deadline extend by at least six months. Moses Abiola, a customer of one of the new generation bank said all bank customers should be allowed to register.

He said customers should not be punished because there are many challenges that made it difficult for them

to register. “I visited my bank several times to register but they complained of poor network. I know that many other customers had similar experience,” he said.

Maurice Okafor, a business woman base in Lagos also said there was no nearby registration centre for her to register.

She said bank should increase the number of registration centre to capture more customers. “I think the place where people can register are very few. Maybe, if there more registration centre, more people will register,” she said.

Another customer, James Chukwu said he filed to regis-

Three Fidelity Bank EDs retire

F

IDELITY Bank Plc has announced the retirement of three of its Executive Directors (EDs). The retiring EDs are IK Mbagwu, Executive Director, Lagos & West Directorate; Onome Olaolu, Executive Director, Risk Management and John Obi, Executive Director, Corporate Banking.

The retirement of Mrs. Olaolu and Mr. Obi takes effect from June 30, 2015, while Mr. Mbagwu proceeds on July 31, 2015. The retirements are in accordance with the bank’s Human Capital Policy and predicated on attainment of retirement age.

Mr. IK Mbagwu rejoined Fidelity Bank as the Executive Director, Operations, Technology & Shared Services in 2006. He

started his career as a tax senior in Arthur Andersen. He moved on to Nigerian American Bank Limited (Bank of Boston) before joining the then Fidelity Union Merchant Bank Limited in 1993, rising to the position of General Manager.

Mrs. Onome Olaolu was appointed to the Board as the Executive Director, Risk Management in July 2009. She had worked at Texaco Nigeria Plc. from where she moved to the then Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Limited (1990).

Mr. John Obi was appointed to the Board as the Executive Director, Corporate Banking in April 2012. He joined the

Bank in 2000 and has over 28 years industry experience having served in various capacities in Corporate Banking, Investment Banking and the Public Sector. He was the General Manager, Corporate Banking and the pioneer Managing Director of Fidelity Pension Managers Limited (FPML), a former subsidiary of Fidelity Bank.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo described them as distinguished members of the Fidelity family and praised them for working assiduously hard to develop the Bank from its merchant banking origin to a respected commercial banking brand.

ter because the process was too tedious. “What of all the data I provided in the course of registration. Why can’t the bank rely on those detail? he asked. He said the bank should make things easier for their customers by asking only relevant documents that have not been supplied earlier.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Right Awareness Advancement and Advocacy (CRAAAI) had urged Nigerians to go and register for their Bank Verification Numbers.

Registration deadline is June 30.

The Chairman of the

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ries over the government’s finances and the continued slide in the naira have hit markets.

The naira traded at N226 to the dollar on the parallel market, down 2.7 per cent since Wednesday when the apex bank introduced rules to stop importers from sourcing dollars on the interbank market to buy a range of items.

“The fact that the forex controls introduced by the central bank have contributed to a wider gap between the official and parallel exchange markets is not surprising and should add upward pressure on inflation moving forward,” Cobus de Hart at South Africa’s NKC African Economics told Reuters.

On the interbank market,

S

KYE Bank Plc has redeemed the N1 million cash prizes to the five winners of its just concluded ‘Skye Rainbow essay competition’ organized for children who own and operate the bank’s Rainbow account.

The bank recently instituted a yearly essay competition for children between ages seven and 12 years as a way of encouraging their intellectual development as well as rewarding them for embracing the savings culture early. The topic of this year’s essay competition was “The Importance of an early savings habit”.

According to a statement issued by the bank, each of the five winners won N200,000 in what is a novel intellectual competition for

the currency, which is pegged to the central bank’s rate of N196.90, was at N198.90.

The most liquid five-year bond yield rose 12 basis points to 14.71 per cent, up from 14.31 per cent the day before the bank unveiled the currency rules but below 15.5 percent on the eve of the presidential election in March.

Wema Bank opens two new branches

W •Wema Bank CEO Segun Oloketuyi

EMA Bank Plc has opened two new branches in Lagos. In a statement, the lender explained that the move was part of efforts to take business opportunities closer to the door steps of customers and achieve part of the planned growth for the 2015 financial year.

The new branches are Opebi branch and Oniru branch located at Ikeja

and Lekki respectively.

“This development is underpinned by its aggressive business expansion strategy, which will increase its market share and deepen market penetration.

The new branches have the full bouquet of the bank’s products which are tailormade to meet the peculiar needs of its various customers, varying from corporate to retail products.

Customers can also walk in to inquire about the bank’s electronic banking solutions,” the bank said.

The bank, which recently marked its 70th year has continued to improve on its operations through innovative, customerbased products and superior world-class technology geared at delivering a delightful customer experience, it added.

Southern Sun, NBCC discuss investment opportunities

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OUTHERN Sun Hotel and the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) have held a networking conference where both institutions discussed ways of attracting and increasing bilateral investment opportunities between Nigerian established businesses and the British Chamber of Commerce.

The event, which attracted other top business executives, kicked off with a short lecture on ‘Life in the 21st Century’ delivered by eminent speaker and Deputy

President of the NBCC, Prince Dapo Adelegan. He urged Nigerian businesses to develop multiple streams of competences to enable them survive in today’s fast paced world.

He stressed the need for a reformation in Nigeria’s educational sector to ensure a more robust curriculum, which will equip students with vocational skills and training needed for their growth and sustenance.

The networking session also attracted representa-

tives of small and medium sized enterprises, large scale multinational businesses and government agencies also offered marketing intelligence tips on bilateral trading.

General Manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi, Mark Loxley said: “as an established platform, we value our clients and as such, we take on every real opportunity to build new and to strengthen our existing relationships”.

He noted that by sponsoring the networking session for the NBCC members, it has reaffirms its commitment

• Emefiele

gent following the increasing incidents of compromise on conventional security systems like password and Personal Identification Number (PIN) of bank customers which has led to loss of funds.

Skye Bank redeems N1m prize to essay winners

Bond yields rise, naira falls on new forex policy

HE cost of borrowing for Nigeria rose yesterday and the naira weakened again in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) new foreign exchange rules to conserve scarce reserves, traders said.

Investors had hoped for a sustained rally after smooth elections in March eased uncertainties about political risk in the country. But wor-

CRAAAI, Mr. Moses Igbrude, who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum on identity management in the economy, organised to enlighten Nigeria, said identity management is a broad administrative area that deals with identifying individuals in a particular system.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele explained that the biometric technology involves the process of recording a person’s unique physical traits such as fingerprints and facial features. This record, he said, can then be used to correctly identify the person afterwards.

He said the BVN became exi-

at ensuring a visible platform for local businesses to conduct their businesses, make valuable connections locally and internationally with other business professionals and inspire each other.

NBCC Director-General, Joyce Akpata praised the hotel management for its continued support adding that it’s conducive environment and professional business services added a unique touch of elegance to the evening’s networking event.

children in that age bracket.

The five winners are Adedeji Adesida, Feyifoluwa Oriolowo, and Praise Sagbama, all based in Lagos.

Others are Abasiodiong Aniefiok of Uyo and Olukayode Sobande, a student based in Ibadan.

Skye Bank’s Head of Retail Banking Group, Nkolika Okoli said the bank chose to stand out from the others this year by putting in place a special programme for the children to celebrate them.

She said apart from the five winners who won N200,000 each, other consolation prizes would also be presented to other participants who did well in the competition.

Okoli further explained

that the competition would act as a customer reward programme as well as promote savings among children very early in their lives to enable them imbibe the culture of financial discipline.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

56

NEWS

RAMADAN KAREEM

Ramadan 13, 1436AH

•Participant at the event in Gombe

Don seeks better eating habit

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HE Chief Imam of Gombe State University, Dr Tahir Inuwa, has emphasised living a healthy lifestyle.

Inuwa spoke at the Ramadan lecture Organise by Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) Gombe State chapter on Health consequences of modern day lifestyle in the state.

He said eating of Date fruit, especially fresh ones, to break the fast, was ideal, as it had a lot of minerals needed by the body.

IMAN Gombe State Chairman Malam Danladi said diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and ulcer, among others, mostly emanate from bad eating habits and lack of exercise.

Danladi urged people to take precautionary measures and monitor what they eat.

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

Neighbours’ right

Emulate Prophetic lifestyle, Muslims told

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USLIMS have been urged to live by the principles outlined

by Prophet Muhammad in the last sermon he delivered at Mount Arafat during his last hajj.

A former representative of Ajeromi-Ifelodun constituency II at the Lagos state House of Assembly, Hon. Abdoulbaq Ladi Balogun said this during the 6th edition of the Ramadan lecture he organised for the community.

The lecture was titled, The last sermon of Prophet Mohammed and the reality of the world today.

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ENERALLY, neighbours are neighbours, Ramadan or no Ramadan. Neighbours are the people with whom one interacts on a daily basis in the same vicinity. Neighbours are co-inhabitants in the same residence, area, office or market. Some of them are permanent. Others are temporary.

In Islam, neighbours are as important as the next of kin.

And, Islam attaches so much respect to them. According to Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was reported to have sworn by Allah three times saying: “he does not believe in Allah! He does not believe in Allah! He does not believe in Allah! And when asked who? The Prophet said whoever creates fear in his neighbours” In another Hadith also reported by Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet was quoted as saying that “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should treat his neighbours well and respect his guests” In the month of Ramadan a good Muslim is expected to wear a new toga of sobriety and repentance. He should double his good deeds to his neighbours, extend generosity to them and cultivate a new atmosphere of friendliness and trust with them. He should genuinely give them as much impression of love and brotherhood as he does with his consanguine relatives.

It does not matter whether the neighbours are Muslims or non-Muslims. Neither does it matter whether they are tribesmen or non-natives. The Prophet did not discriminate in his Hadith when he was admonishing on neighbours.

And that is the inalienable position of Islam on neighbours.

Whoever, had quarrelled with his neighbours, therefore, let him go and settle the quarrel.

Besides abstaining from foods, drinks and intercourse, during the days in the month of Ramadan, a good Muslim must mind his relationship with people around him including neighbours. Fasting in the month of Ramadan cannot be taken in half measure. Whoever wants to receive full rewards for his religious activities in Ramadan must treat his neighbours well. And, when Ramadan is over, the good deeds must be kept on.

By Oziegbe Okoeki

Reacting to the lecture, Balogun said, “Prophet Muhammad delivered the sermon in the last hajj he performed, but a lot of our people, particularly the leaders have forgotten what he said on the Mount Arafat when he delivered the message.

“It is imperative that we bring it back to the fore so that the people will appreciate the importance of the message which talks about every aspect our lives. If we are guided by that last sermon, I don’t think we will have all the ills

bedevilling the country and humanity all over the world today. It is because we have separated ourselves from the message that is why we have crisis in the world today”, Balogun said.

He urged adherents and the entire humanity to adhere to the principles in the lecture which are: to continue to be their brother’s keeper, ensure unity and brotherliness, being good neighbours to everybody around them, be kind, assist the needy, to lead and provide good examples to followers.

“We should continue to ensure that we have a good

home so that we can build a very good society for all, we should know that if we follow the part laid down by Prophet Muhammad, there would be no need for us to cheat our neighbours because Allah can sustain everybody,” he said.

He also used the opportunity to call for effective resolution of the crisis in the National Assembly saying he was sure that his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has enough sound minds to quickly resolve the crisis, stressing that it is the pursuit of self and personal interest that is responsible for the crisis.

Kebbi distributes N14m materials

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HE Kebbi State Government is distributing food items and other materials worth N14 million to the less privileged to support them during the Ramadan period.

Wife of the Deputy Governor Hajiya Halima Yombe, flagged off the distribution yesterday in Birnin Kebbi.

The beneficiaries included women, widows, children and people living with disability.

The materials included 100 bags of rice, provisions, textile materials cooking oil, sugar and millet for women

and children.

The distribution will be extended to all the local government areas.

Hajiya Yombe said the food items and materials were to cushion the hardship faced by beneficiaries during the fasting period.

She urged them to ensure prudent utilisation of the materials.

She called on beneficiaries to remain peaceful, prayerful and to extend the goodwill of Ramadan to their neighbours.

The Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Women Affairs, Hajiya Rafa’atu Noma Hammani, said the Ramadan

‘O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole heartedly, and follow not the footsteps of the evil one, for he is to one, for he is to you an avowed enemy.’

Qu’ran 2 vs 208 Sponsored by ALHAJI KHAMIS TUNDE BADMUS Asiwaju Musulumi of the Yorubaland

support to women, widows, children and less privileged was part of the social welfare scheme of the government.

She called on individuals,

groups and corporate bodies to complement the effort of the government by assisting the destitute and the needy.

Cleric to politicians: desist from illicit acts

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HE Chief Imam of Offa in Kwara State Sheikh Muhydeen Hussain Salmon Al-Adabiyy, has warned politicians to desist from actions that could incur the wrath of God on the nation.

He enjoined them to take a cue from other nations that had witnessed massive natural disaster.

According to him, except the people change their ways, they cannot escape God’s punishment.

He enjoined people to desist from identifying Boko Haram insurgents with Islam.

He asked how Islamic it was for people to bomb places of worship in the name of the same religion that preaches peaceful coexistence and love for one another.

He attributed youth waywardness to inability of religious leaders to preach pristine Islam.

According to him, “it is not uncommon to see clergymen who, rather than preach the message and bring people to God, now engage in worshipping money. These clergymen have stooped so low to the extent of campaigning for politicians and even going about helping them to paste posters during campaigns.”

He warned politicians to be wary of the Day of Reckoning, saying that God would hold them responsible for unfulfilled promises made during campaigns.

“How many of you do even remember the masses after elections?” he asked.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

57

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 09091178827

Five injured as inferno guts paints factory

•The police vehicle... yesterday

•Ajih, one of the officers... yesterday

•The bus under repair after the incident... yesterday

•Olatunji after the incident...yesterday

•The bullet-riddled tyre of the bus... yesterday

Policemen detained for shooting at bus T

HERE was panic in Ilupeju, Lagos yesterday as policemen shot at a passenger-laden commercial bus.

The policemen are being detained at Ilupeju Police Station on the order of Lagos Command spokesman Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP).

Nwosu told our reporter last night that what the policemen did was wrong.

The policemen pursued the bus from Ikorodu Road into Adegboyega Street in Ilupeju, shooting, with passersby and residents running for cover.

They fired at the Oyingbo-bound vehicle, with number-plate KRD 516 XF when the driver allegedly refused to stop as ordered. The bullets hit the front tyre which got burst while the bus was on motion.

ESIDENTS of Labora Owode in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, yesterday urged the Lagos State House of Assembly, to save them from hoodlums who have “forcefully taken over” their land despite a court injunction.

Led by Mr Babatunde Olumegbon, Moshood Lanrewaju Rasaq, Chief Najeem Fatai, Ismaila Asimu Fatai, Molikiu Ganiyu and Ademola Samuel, among others, they displayed placards, condemning the

R

By Wale Ajetunmobi

The incident happened at 9am on the one-lane Coker Road in Ilupeju in Odi Olowo-Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA). The bus was carrying traders who went to buy food stuff at Mile 12 Market in Ketu.

When the driver eventually stopped in front of a church on Adegboyega Street, four policemen, riding in a pick-up marked, “Police Ilupeju Division” with number-plate MUS 04 AW, descended on the driver and his conductor, with the butts of their rifles.

The passengers fled the scene to avoid being beaten by the policemen, who also used the sharp ends of their guns to deflate the bus remaining tyres. It took the residents’ intervention to rescue

the driver from the policemen.

Tempers rose when the residents demanded to know the offence of the driver, who was identified as Fatai Olatunji. The policemen tried to whisk him away, but residents resisted the move. The officers were also prevented from towing the bus to their station.

Hot arguments ensued between the residents and the policemen, which almost led to confrontation.

Afraid of being attacked by the mob, one of officers, Adams Ajih with Force Number 358918, called their station, claiming that the driver attempted to kill them.

Speaking to our reporter, Ajih said: “The commercial bus driver took the wrong lane and faced the police vehicle. We tried to stop him but he fled. This is why we chased the bus. But, it is not true that we fired shots at the vehicle.

Rather, the driver attempted to kill us by driving on our lane.”

When our reporter told the policemen that Coker Road is onelane, Ajih insisted that the driver was driving on “one-way road”.

Olatunji denied taking one-way, alleging that the policemen attempted to extort money from him.

Olatunji said: “I was coming from Ketu and passed through Ilupeju to avoid the traffic gridlock on Ikorodu Road. As I drove on Coker Road, I discovered a vehicle had broken down on the road. I moved to negotiate to the opposite lane to avoid the faulty vehicle and rejoin the lane in the front; then, I saw the police pickup coming from the opposite direction. I moved back a bit to allow the policemen go, since they have the right of way. But,

they asked me to stop. I asked what my offence was, but they could not mention anything.

“One of them came down and broke my side mirror. Another officer also shot at the vehicle, which made me to drive away from the scene. The policemen made a turn and ran after my bus.

I later found out the front tyre had burst after being hit by bullets.”

A passenger, who gave his name as Taofeek, said the passengers were terrified by the policemen’s action.

As the mob grew, the policemen left, saying they were going to get a towing-vehicle to remove the bus from the road. They did not return.

Another officer in the police vehicle is Monday with Force Number 362282.

Residents protest ‘forceful acquisition’ of their land

By Oziegbe Okoeki

hoodlums.

According to them, the hoodlums stormed the community with well over 10,000 settlers in January, wielding cutlasses and other lethal weapons.

Addressing reporters Rasaq, who is their lawyer and also a member of Agbon Busari Royal

Family, said the matter was reported at Elemoro Police Station.

He said the over 200 hoodlums had almost completed the fencing of the area they forcefully took over in defiance of a court order.

“We reported the matter at Elemoro Police Station, we have written petitions to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and others.

We have been to court, we have sued them. There is a court injunction restraining them. They have not stopped working.

“It would be unwholesome if we don’t do something. That is why we are here to call on the House to save us and save our land which was handed over to us by our progenitors from being taken over from us,” he said.

Rasaq, who said the hoodlums were unknown added: “We don’t know them. In court, we have sued unknown people.”

Also speaking, the community’s Chief Imam, Hameed Habeeb, said the invaders refused to obey a court injunction, and had almost completed the fencing the land they forcefully took over.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

58

NEWS

Ghanaian jailed 17 years for illicit drug

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USTICE Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced a Ghanaian, Patrick Mensah (29), to 17 years imprisonment for dealing in a banned narcotic without lawful authority.

The convict had pleaded guilty to dealing in 27.6 kilogrammes of “vegetable leaves” which proved to be canabis sativa when tested.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) preferred a onecount charge against him on April 2.

By Joseph Jibueze

The prosecution counsel Mr. Orji Kalu said the offence contravened Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Justice Abang said: “I am satisfied that the accused person committed the offence and he is hereby convicted as charged.”

The judge described Mensah as an ungrateful foreigner for paying back a country which has been accommodating since 2010 with evil.

He said the sentence would help discourage crime in the society.

“A decision of the court of law in a criminal matter like this should serve as deterrence to other Nigerian youths.

“The convict unlawfully dealt in 27.6kg of canabis sativa. The seed of wrong doing is to face the wrath of the law.

“I hereby sentence the convict to 17 years of imprisonment with effect from today (yesterday). The exhibit shall be destroyed by the

NDLEA,” the judge held.

The prosecution said the convict was caught by NDLEA operatives at Ebule Egba in Lagos, in possession of the outlawed substance.

NDLEA tendered various exhibits before the court including the bulk of the marijuana seized from Mensah and the confessional statement that he allegedly made.

Kalu said: “My Lord, in view of the guilty plea of the accused person and all the evidence tendered by the prosecution in this matter, we pray Your Lordship to

convict the accused person as charged, in line with Sections 218 and 285(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act.” His lawyer G.U. Okaka, in an allocutus (plea for mercy), urged the court not to give him the maximum sentence.

Okaka urged the court to be lenient with Mensah as he was a first offender, “with no previous record of conviction and for having pleaded guilty to the offence at the first instance”.

The defence lawyer also urged the court to consider the fact that his client had been in the prison custody for almost a year and had lost touch with his family in Gha-

na.

“My Lord, he is deeply remorseful for the offence he committed and has promised to go back to Ghana at the end of his punishment.

“He has been in detention for the past one year; he has gone through trauma and has lost touch with his family in Ghana as a result of his one year of incarceration.

“My Lord, I most passionately urge the court to temper justice with mercy and give him a second chance as he is still a young man,” Okaka pleaded.

But Justice Okon refused the plea, saying the sentence would serve as a warning to others.

‘Consider Southeast in appointments’

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•Business Manager, South, New Heights Pharma Felix Anyanwu; Country Manager (ASM) for Nigeria Olugbenga Abiodun, Marketing Manager, Diagnostics, Olayinka Ebenezer, and Business Manager, Lagos/West, Abdul Abiola during a press briefing PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES to mark World Hypertension Day in Lagos...yesterday.

Nigeria‘ll never approve gay marriage, says Odedeji

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AME-SEX marriage will never be legalised in Nigeria, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. James Odedeji, has said.

Reacting to the United States’ Supreme Court pronouncement that declared same-sex marriage legal last week, Odedeji said those expecting the same latitude in Nigeria will be disappointed.

He said legalisation of gay marriage in America will ruin the nation and further erode its Christian heritage.

Speaking with reporters on Sunday shortly after the Trinity ordination of the Diocese, Odedeji said: “Gay marriage is barbaric and unscriptural.

It is not of God. “If gay marriage is approved somewhere else, it cannot be approved here be-

By Sunday Oguntola

cause we know it is not true.

Whoever approves gay marriage is a man or woman of darkness.”

The cleric expressed confidence that government officials will never back gay marriage.

He stated: “It is a wrong practice and God will not allow it to happen in Nigeria.

“I believe that the Federal Government will not allow it to happen because it will ruin us as a nation.”

He took a swipe at Americans for embracing same-sex marriage, declaring that it was worrisome that the world power was drifting from its Christian values.

“What is happening is that they are too comfortable.

What the United States of America is doing now is a path to destruction which will not

last.

“It is unfortunate that we are expecting more from them which we are not getting and I assure you that God will not allow that to happen in Nigeria,” he stressed.

He faulted the huge wardrobe allowances for federal lawmakers, saying many of them should not draw such money because they are not poor.

Odedeji called for downward review of the allowances in line with current economic realities.

“A lot of people in the country do not have food on their table. Parents are unable to send their children to schools and those who are voted by the same masses are being paid outrageous allowances.

“It is unfortunate and I want to assure you that majority of political office holders are living above average before

been elected. They can afford living large without being paid these huge allowances,” Odedeji stated.

On the free-for-all at the House of Representatives last week, the cleric declared it as unacceptable, lamenting that the lawmakers were simply fighting for their pockets.

He said: “Fighting and creating unpalatable scenario among the members of House of Representatives have become their usual practice.

“It is about their personal interest and majority of them are there for their selfish interests and bellies.

“This attitude is inappropriate. It is unfortunate that if they have not thrown chairs and tables at their sittings they have not started. These are men and women who are supposed to be of worthy character and their conduct is very shameful.”

GROUP, under the aegis of Izu Ndigbo has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to consider Southeast in the appointment of key officials.

The group said since the inception of the new administration, the zone had not produced any key official.

In a statement by the group’s National Coordinator and Secretary, Sir Paschal Ahizih and Benjamin Anyanwu, the group said the southeast lost the post of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Court of Appeal, Accountant General of

From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

the Federation and other key positions.

The statement reads: “Call it Federal Character, balance of power, being your brother’s keeper, equality among the federating units or no victor no vanquish, all is aimed at trusting each other through fair allocation of engagement and allocation of means of governance and administration in the Nigerian nationstate”.

The group urged the Buhari-led administration to consider its request by considering the zone for subsequent appointments.

Madam Tolonisede is dead

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HE Tolonisede family of Supare Akoko in Akoko South West council of Ondo State has announced the death of their mother Madam Esther Tolonisede.

She died on June 17 at 83.

She is survived by children including Mr. Tayo Tolonisede of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), grand-children and great-grand-children.

Fashola: Facebook scammers using my name

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ORMER Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday dissociated himself from a Facebook scam, whereby some unscrupulous persons use his photographs and ascribe fictitious statements to him on fake Facebook accounts.

A statement by Fashola’s Special Adviser on Media, Hakeem Bello, said the con men have, through Facebook, been urging unsuspecting people to apply for some government facilities or utilities meant to benefit the public but to which some agencies of government have been given the responsibility to manage.

One of such information titled: “Disbursement of Subsidy Dividend (SURE-P)” purported to have been issued by the former governor is informing “citizens that subsidy proceed is available for agro and commercial business”, and asking them to “apply for soft loan with no collateral, zero percent interest rate and flexible terms”.

While advising the public to always clarify with the appropriate agencies before engaging in any dealings with people purportedly working for them, the statement urged people to report to law enforcement agencies so that those involved in the nefarious act can be arrested.

Ikorodu robbery: Strengthen waterways security, says Assembly

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AGOS State House of Assembly has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Nigerian Navy and other relevant agencies to provide adequate security on waterways in the metropolis following last week’s Ikorodu bank robbery.

Moving a motion on the incident that occurred at Ipakodo, Ikorodu, where two banks were robbed by bandits, who escaped through the waterways, Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade also urged Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to strengthen the Waterways Guard Corps.

By Oziegbe Okoeki

He said the corps should be supported to discharge its functions as enshrined in the Lagos State Waterways Agency Law 2008, adding that the two helicopters bought for LASWA should be utilised.

Agunbiade urged all commercial banks and structures near jetties to strengthen their security by installing high density cameras on their premises.

“The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) should extend its operations from the roads to waterways. The Federal Government, through the National As-

sembly, should approve the formation of state police by the 36 states in the country,” he said.

Olumuyiwa Jimoh from Apapa Constituency 2 said the Maritime Police should be involved in securing the waterways.

Lanre Ogunyemi from Ojo Constituency 2, observed that armed robbers were trying to put the state under siege, adding that the Ikorodu incident was similar to that of Lekki which occured about two months ago.

“The armed robbers operated commando-like unchallenged and with highly sophis-

ticated equipment and highly experienced individuals. We should wake up to strengthen the control and security of our waterways. We should work with the communities along the waterways for intelligence purposes. We need more Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in Lagos,” he said.

Sikiru Oshinowo from Kosofe Constituency 1, however, suggested that it was better to license all boats for the government to know the number of boats operating in the state and for easy recognition of anyone used for robbery.

Yinka Ogundimu from Agege 2 Constituency said se-

curity should be taken seriously, adding that it would be difficult for RRS to operate on the waterways.

Rotimi Olowo from Shomolu Constituency 1 accused the Nigerian Navy of focusing on dredgers and miners rather than tackling robbery despite the incentives given them for such task.

He advised banks and other financial institutions to invest in Information Technology to help security men perform their duties.

Olufunmilayo Tejuosho from Mushin Constituency 1 said: “The Federal Government needs to strengthen the

Navy and the Police. We also need to know the challenges facing the waterways and the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF). Authorities at the LSSTF should be invited to the House. We need to amend the law of LSSTF 2008 and make their corps more effective.

Moshood Oshun from Mainland Constituency 2 said waterway robbery was a national problem, noting that banks are not on waterways, but on the streets.

He said he witnessed the Lekki robbery, which he described as “scary”, adding that the robbers go to the banks with explosives.

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

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NEWS Tarzor v Ortom: Tribunal holds inaugural sitting From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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HE Benue State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Makurdi held its inaugural sitting yesterday.

The Chairman of the allfemale tribunal, Justice Elizabeth Karatu from Kebbi State, urged litigants to avoid delay tactics.

She advised reporters to cross-check facts before going to press.

Justice Karatu said members of the panel are not from Benue State and would not be biased.

She solicited cooperation from everybody to make their job easy.

The counsel representing Governor Samuel Ortom, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN); the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sebastine Hon (SAN) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tony Ijoho (SAN), raised a preliminary objection, saying the same matter against Governor Ortom was brought before a Federal High Court in Makurdi, but it was dismissed.

The lawyers argued that the same relief was sought before the court. They described the petition as an abuse of court process and argued that it should be struck out.

Counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Joy Adesina from Afe Babalola Chamber, enjoined the tribunal to disregard the respondents, “because since they raised the issue in their reply, they cannot bring an application but rely on their reply.”

The tribunal adjourned till today.

I’ll deliver Kogi to APC, says aspirant From James Azania, Lokoja

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GOVERNORSHIP aspirant in the October 2015 election in Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has vowed to deliver the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC), if given the ticket.

He said he was in the race to win.

Bello said: “I’m in the contest to win. I want to deliver Kogi State to our great party, the APC. Our people are fed up with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the hardship it has caused.

“If elected, there is a lot I will do to improve my people’s condition. As a businessman, I will use my experience to revive the state’s economy and rescue it from social and economic backwardness. I will turn around the economy in the interest of our people.”

The aspirant said he would achieve these through infrastructural development, fiscal discipline and an enabling environment that would attract investors.

He said the state would not depend on the monthly federal allocation.

Police arrest six suspected robbers

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HE Kwara State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of six persons suspected to be ‘one chance’ robbers.

They were said to be specialised in dispossessing passengers of their belongings in Ilorin, the state capital.

The suspects, who were arrested on Sunday, are Taye Babatunde, Suleiman Shehu, Toyin Folorunsho, Dare Alawo, Raheem Kareem and Adisa Ismaila.

Police spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi said the suspected robbers were arrested by a police patrol team at the

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

General Hospital roundabout while trying to dispossess a woman of her personal effects.

It was learnt that the suspects had been operating with two cabs registered as KEY313XA and DDU296SA. Their latest victim, Aisha Raji, alleged that the hoodlums stole her N78,750. She said she boarded a taxi heading for Tanke in the evening and met three men in the cab.

Aisha went on: “I never suspected that they were

robbers. I flagged down a cab and boarded it. The next thing that happened was that they started struggling with me to collect my bag, which they succeeded in doing. But the police later arrested them.”

The Nation gathered that the command had recovered 13 stolen vehicles from April to June.

Twenty-two vehicles were declared stolen in the Ilorin metropolis at the 14 police divisions.

It was learnt that five of the recovered cars were released to their owners, while nine of the stolen ve-

hicles are yet to be recovered.

A breakdown of the vehicles and where they were stolen showed that three vehicles were stolen at ‘F’ division, two at ‘G’ division, five at ‘B’ division, eight at ‘D’ division and four at ‘A’ division.

The recovered vehicles are KIA Optimal registered as FIRE1, Nissan Quest with number plate Lagos CP 127LSD, Audi A6 marked Abuja BWR 599 AA (ash colour), Honda Ridge line with registration number Lagos JJ 77 DH and Mazda MPU registered as FUF 754 AA (ash colour).

•The university... yesterday

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ENUE State University (BSU), Makurdi has been shut by the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (SSANU) and the NonAcademic Staff Union (NASU).

They are protesting the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

Unions shut Benue varsity •Seek earned allowances From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

The agreement provides for earned allowance and the unions are demanding six years ar-

rears.

When The Nation visited the two campuses of the university on Makurdi-Gboko Road, the gates were locked and workers

were turned back.

The unionists said they would lock the institution until their entitlements were paid.

None of the university’s principal officers was available for comment.

Lawmaker queries N1.8b water project

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HE lawmaker representing Lokoja 2 Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr. Idris Obahemi Ndako (PDP), has decried the N1.8billion water reticulation project awarded by the government.

It is to make available

From James Azania, Lokoja

potable water in the Lokoja metropolis.

The legislator, during a visit to the Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Oshanibi, said despite the contract, the

constituents were yet to feel the impact.

He said: “Recently, we were told that the government has awarded contract for the extension of the Lokoja Greater Water scheme to Felele and Crusher, but no action has been taken.

“What is the problem,

the situation of the contract awarded and the solution?”

The commissioner said the contractor was ready to start work.

He thanked the lawmaker for the visit, urging him to support the ministry through advice and other means.

NBTE bans engineering courses at Idah poly

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HE National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has placed a temporary ban on engineering courses at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah (Idah Poly), in Kogi State.

The ban, conveyed in a letter to the rector, dated June 26 and signed by the Executive Secretary of the board, Dr. Masa’udu Adamu Kazaure, followed an investigation by the board that there was low

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

practical learning in engineering due to the high population of students in lecture rooms.

A statement by the board, signed by its Public Relations Officer, Suleiman Sa’ad Gwarzo in Kaduna yesterday, said: “Investigation reveals that at the National Diploma (ND) level, the number of

students enrolled was between 300 and 400, which violates the approved carrying capacity for the courses.

“In a petition to the board by ND 1 and ND 2 students, it was reported that there was no practical learning in the School of Engineering, as workshops and laboratories were locked and between 300 and 500 students were enrolled.

“Based on the above observations and to ensure that standards are maintained, the board has directed that the institution should stop admissions into the engineering programmes pending when the deficiencies observed are remedied.

“The board has advised the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to stop processes of admission.”

Chairman suspended for ‘misappropriation’ •’I remain the council boss’ From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

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HE legislative council of Shendam Local Government in Plateau State has suspended the Chairman, Mr. Nicholas Kemi Nshe.

The suspension notice was delivered to him after the sitting of the members.

Thirteen of the 20 councillors, who make up the legislative council, signed the letter. A copy of it was made available to The Nation in Jos yesterday.

The letter reads: “That the Chairman of Shendam Local Government, Nicholas Kemi Nshe, is guilty of gross misconduct and financial misappropriation.

“That you, the Deputy Chairman of Shendam Local Government, Noel Nkup, in your capacity as the supervisory councillor for works, is guilty of gross misconduct and financial misappropriation.

“The punishment of the allegation is indefinite suspension, pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The notice, which also contains details of the allegation, indicates that the suspended officers have committed offences bordering on transparency and accountability in their handling of capital projects.

With the suspension of the chairman and his deputy, the third most senior officer, Chrisantus Maigida, is to take over as the council boss in acting capacity.

He represents Derteng ward.

Nshe said the councillors have no power to suspend him, adding that their action is null and void.

His words: “As far as I’m concerned, I remain the council chairman.”

Funeral for Lady Fadesere THE funeral programme for the late Lady Grace Modupeola Fadesere, who died on June 9, has been announced by the family.

A Christian wake holds on July 9 at 1, Fadesere Street, Aiyetoro, Osogbo, Osun State at 5pm. A requiem mass holds on July 10 at St. Benedict Catholic Cathedral, Osogbo at 10am. Reception follows at Wocdif Event Centre, West Bye Pass, Ring Road, Osogbo.

The deceased was the Iya Ijo of St. Benedict Catholic Cathedral, Osogbo and the Yeye Oba of Iludun Ekiti in Ekiti State.

She is survived by children and grandchildren, among who is Dele Fadesere, a lawyer and former chairman, Ikeja Plaza Tenants Association.

•The late Lady Fadesere

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

FOREIGN NEWS Australian IS militant 'may still be alive'

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HE Australian government had been trying to confirm reports Sharrouf and fellow Australian Mohamed Elomar were killed in the Middle East.

It is now believed Elomar died in an air strike, but convicted terrorist Sharrouf may have survived.

The two men came to public attention last year after they posted pictures of severed heads in Syria on social media.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last week the government was close to verifying Elomar's death.

However, on Sunday she said security and intelligence agencies were working to verify reports that Sharrouf had survived the coalition air strike "which is believed to have killed Mohamed Elomar", reported Nine News.

The two Australian men had travelled to Syria and then Iraq in 2013 to fight with IS.

Local media on Monday reported Elomar was recently killed by a drone strike but his friend was not killed.

Members of Sharrouf's family in Sydney also said Elomar had been killed.

Sharrouf's mother-in-law Karen says her daughter wants to come back to Australia Security officials are now checking the possibility Sharrouf faked his death in a bid to get his family back to Australia, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

His wife, Tara Nettleton, and their five young children, joined him in Syria, where his then 13year-old daughter married Elomar.

Sharrouf was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009 for his role in a terror plot involving targets in Sydney and Melbourne.

He was arrested with several others in 2005 in what was then the largest antiterror raid in Australian history.

North Korean soldier walks across border to defect

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North Korean soldier yesterday defected to South Korea across the heavily fortified border that separates the two countries, South Korean authorities said.

The soldier crossed the Military Demarcation Line on foot from the eastern North Korean province of Gangwon, said a South Korean Defense Ministry official, who declined to be identified.

Further details on the circumstances of the defection weren't immediately available. There was no reaction to the news on North Korean state media.

The border between North and South Korea is considered to be the most heavily militarized in the world. The two countries technically remain at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armed truce and not a peace treaty.

North Korean soldiers have

occasionally made it across the highly sensitive zone in the past.

In 2012, one managed to cross the border unnoticed and knock on the door of a South Korean barracks, embarrassing the South Korean military and prompting a public apology from the defense minister at the time for the security lapse.

But defections directly across the border from North to South Korea are rare.

Most people attempt to flee the impoverished, oppressively ruled North by crossing the more open border into China and then trying to make their way to South Korea through other countries.

More than 26,000 refugees from the North have reached the South since the end of the Korean War, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul.

The vast majority of them arrived during the past 15 years.

Greece debt talks: EU chief feels 'betrayed'

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HE European Commission chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, has said he feels "betrayed" by the "egotism" shown by Greece in failed debt talks.

He said Greek proposals were "delayed" or "deliberately altered" but added the door was still open to talks.

Along with several other European leaders, he has urged a yes vote in the snap referendum called for Sunday.

Global stock markets saw big falls on Monday after the weekend's events which saw Greek banks close for a week.

Mr Juncker said the talks had been broken "unilaterally" by the announcement from the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that he was calling a referendum.

The Greek government responded to Mr Juncker's comments by saying: "An essential element in indicating good faith and reliability in

negotiations is sincerity."

Despite the public war of words a Greek official said Mr Tsipras had spoken to Mr Juncker on Friday and asked him to extend Greece's bailout until the referendum.

A critical deadline looms on Tuesday, when Greece is due to pay back •1.6bn to the International Monetary Fund - the same day the bailout expires. There are fears of a default and a possible exit from euro.

Mr Juncker said that he still believed a Greek exit from the euro was not an option and insisted that the creditors' latest proposal meant more social fairness.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed those comments on Monday, saying Greece had received a "generous offer" but adding she would not be opposed to further talks with Greece after Sunday's vote.

Tunisia : Family still awaiting news of missing relations

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HE last time family members heard from John Stocker and his wife, Janet, the couple raved about their beach holiday in Tunisia.

“They were having a lovely time,” said Stocker’s son, Mark, “The weather was great, just relaxing.”

That was the day before Friday’s terrorist attack in which a gunman stormed the resort where they were staying, the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, killing at least 38 people and injuring dozens more.

Three days later, Mark Stocker and the rest of the family back in Morden, southeast England, are still desperately waiting for news about their relatives.

“It’s like they disappeared,” he told CNN over the weekend.

In an effort to track down his father and stepmother, he has phoned the hotel to ask

employees to check on them.

Their luggage, passports and money were still in their room, but the couple weren’t there.

Mark Stocker has called every hospital in the area of Sousse, the town where the attack took place, but without finding any trace of his relatives.

“Where can they be? It does lead you to one conclusion, but it’s not the conclusion that you want to hear or believe,” he said.

The family has launched a social media campaign, using the hashtag #findjohnandjanetstocker, to try to garner information on what happened to them “There are a significant number of victims who have not been positively identified at this time and it is highly likely that a significant

proportion of them will be British,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Sunday, according to the Press Association.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said the majority of the dead were British, followed by German and French citizens.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is unclear if the Islamist group, whose headquarters are in Syria, had any direct role in it.

People injured in the shooting have described the terrifying scene as the gunman stalked through the resort, taking aim at bewildered tourists with his assault rifle.

Hammond said Sunday that the delay in identifying some of the victims was because they were “dressed for the

beach, not carrying ID physically on them.”

Thousands of tourists have been fleeing Sousse since the attack, but some vacationers are staying put at the hotel at the heart of the killing spree.

On Sunday, a spokeswoman for Riu hotels said around 40 tourists remained at the Imperial Marhaba and that the company intended to keep the hotel open.

Some guests lay in the sun in areas still riddled with bullet marks.

Many of those left were on a tour when the attack happened. But Folker Schumacher, a tax inspector from Stuttgart, Germany, was in the sea. He said he and his wife ran as gunfire kicked up the sand nearby. e-sex marriage is legal nationwide, religious conservatives are focusing on preserving their right to object.

Pope 'plans to chew coca leaves during Bolivia visit'

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OCA plants have been grown for medicinal use but are also the raw ingredient for cocaine Pope Francis has requested to chew coca leaves during his forthcoming visit to Bolivia, according to Bolivian Culture Minister Marko Machicao.

Coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, has been used in the Andes for thousands of years to combat altitude sickness and as a mild stimulant.

Mr Machicao said the government offered the Pope coca tea and the pontiff had "specifically requested" to chew coca.

The Vatican has not yet commented. The Pope travels to Bolivia on 8 July.

Coca leaves were declared an illegal substance under the 1961 UN convention on narcotic drugs.

But the growing of coca leaves for religious and medicinal purposes is legal and licensed in Bolivia.

• Coca leaves

Chewing of coca leaves is a centuries-old tradition in the Andes, where it is used to combat altitude sickness Many indigenous Bolivians consider the coca bush a sacred plant and chewing its leaves or brewing them into a tea is very popular.

Bolivia's 2009 constitution

Insect: Pope Francis

even declared the coca leaf "a cultural patrimony".

President Evo Morales, who used to be a coca grower, has long campaigned to decriminalise the consumption of coca leaves.

If the Pope were to chew coca leaves during his visit to the Andean country it

would provide strong backing for Mr Morales's campaign.

"We will be awaiting the Holy Father with the sacred coca leaf," Mr Machicao said.

The Pope's visit to Bolivia is part of a larger tour of Latin American countries which will also take him to Ecuador and Paraguay.

Car bomb in Cairo kills Egypt's top prosecutor

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car bomb yesterday killed Egypt's top prosecutor ripping through his convoy in a Cairo neighborhood, in the first assassination of a top official in the country in a quarter century, marking an apparent escalation by Islamic militants in their campaign of revenge attacks for a 2-year-old crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hisham Barakat led the widescale prosecution against figures from the Brotherhood and other Islamists, including former President Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the

military in July 2013. The crackdown against the group has seen the courts handing down mass death sentences against Morsi and other Islamists.

Militants who for years had been fighting in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, widened their insurgency after the military's ouster of Morsi, which was prompted by massive protests against his rule. Egyptian authorities accuse the Brotherhood of involvement in the violence and have branded it a terror group, a claim the group denies.

Militant attacks have

focused on police and the military, but in recent months have turned to target the judiciary, with the killings of several judges in Sinai earlier this year.

The killing also recalled one of Egypt's darkest chapters in 1990s when Islamic militant groups and state security apparatus were engaged in score-settling killings for nearly a decade. In 1990, militants gunned down thenparliament speaker Rifaat elMahgoub in downtown Cairo, the last time a senior official was assassinated, though they made multiple subsequent attempts against

other ministers until the insurgency was crushed in the late 1990s.

Monday's attack took place around 10:00 a.m. when a car laden with large amount of explosives was detonated by a remote control as Barakat's car and his entourage passed through the eastern Cairo district of Heliopolis.

The 65-year-old Barakat received multiple shrapnel wounds to the shoulder, chest and liver, according to a medical official at the nearby Nozha hospital. His two guards and five other people were also wounded by the explosion, officials said.

Kuwait says mosque suicide bomber was Saudi national

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HE man who blew himself up at a mosque in Kuwait on Friday, killing at least 27 people, had just flown in from Saudi Arabia, officials said Monday.

Kuwaiti officials had previously identified the bomber as a Saudi citizen.

Authorities in Bahrain said the bomber flew through Bahrain and arrived in Kuwait on

Friday.

"The person responsible for the terrorist blast in Kuwait arrived at Bahrain International Airport from Riyadh on June 25 on Gulf Air flight 170 at 10:40 pm.," Bahrain's Ministry of Information said.

"He remained in Bahrain transit area until he left for Kuwait on Gulf Air flight 211 at 1:10 on

Friday June 26."

Also, on social media, the terrorist group ISIS posted what it said was an audio message from the bomber, whom it called Abu Suleiman al-Muwahid -- presumably the man's nom de guerre. In the message, which the bomber called his "will to my brothers and to my enemies," he waned that "what comes next will be

worse and more bitter."

The bomb ripped through Al-Sadiq mosque during Friday prayers -- a time when, more than any other, mosques are packed with worshipers.

Emergency workers pull stretchers past security forces outside the Shiite Al-Sadiq mosque after a suicide bombing during Friday prayers in Kuwait City.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

NEWS Four-man panel to probe how NNPC blew N3.8tr Continued from page 4

He said: “If the Federal Government cannot spend without appropriation, why should any agency spend without appropriation? NIMASA, for example, whatever they earned they are supposed to pay into the federation account and also present the budget of their requirement.

“This is what the constitution provides for. And this is what President Buhari has promised to do that henceforth all monies must go to the Federation Account. What you need, you budget for. Nigeria cannot continue with youearn-the-money-and-spend it.

Where is transparency? Where is the role of the National Assembly?”

“So, if you were doing that you won’t have a situation where the NNPC alone will spend N3.8 trillion and remit to the federal, states and local governments N4.3 trillion which means NNPC is taking about 47 per cent and that explains all the leakages you are talking about.”

Oshiomhole went on: “Let us also be clear; nobody says that parastatals should not spend money but they must return to budgetting. There is no major player, there is no major registered private company that will spend money without a budget. Even a private company you will have your board of directors looking at your revenue, total sales, your turnover, your personnel cost, running cost, visible and invisible and you have the budget for the year that is how every sensible business runs.

“That is the way it was when President Buhari was Minister of Petroleum, so we are not reinventing the wheel; that is the way it used to be and that is the way the constitution says it should be.”

On the money spent by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala from the Excess Crude Account, Oshiomhole said that the Accountant General’s Office reported to NEC that the balance in the account as at the end of May was $2.1 billion instead of $4.1 billion left in the account in November, 2014.

He said: “We looked at the

‘Okonjo-Iweala spent $2.1b without authority’ numbers for the Excess Crude Account, the last time the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy reported to the Council and it is in the minutes, she reported

by November 2014, that we had $4.1 billion but today the Accountant General Office reported we have $2.0 billion, which means the Honourable Minister spent $2.1billion without authority of the NEC. “And that money was not distributed to states it was not paid to the three tiers of government.

This is why the NEC has set up a panel to look at what accrued, what it was spent on, when and by whom, so that Nigerians will have the full picture of all the transactions as regards the much talked about excess crude.”

Yari said NEC constituted a four-man panel to examine the accounts.

He said: “The 58th NEC? received the briefing from the director of funds where the state of the economy has been discussed thoroughly. We have gotten the report from the excess crude; what is there and what is not there. And also the Council got the briefing on the unremitted funds by NNPC. On that line, a four-man committee - Edo, Gombe, Kaduna Akwa Ibom - was constituted to go through the books of NNPC and Excess Crude as well as the Federation Account.”

“The four-man committee will check the books of NNPC, most especially the issue of excess crude and what is not remitted into the Federation Account.”

“The Federal Government, in conjunction with the CBN, will look inwards to see how to support, how much they will give to states especially in the issue of outstanding salaries owed by the states and even the Federal Government.” he said El-Rufai disclosed that the Excess Crude Account was started by former President Olusegun Obasanjo around 2004-2005 as an administrative arrangement to save for the rainy day.

He said: “And it was meant

to have very clear accountability, such that every state and local government, in a particular state, knows their balance in the Excess Crude Account, though you can’t spend it but you know how much of it is yours.

That was the arrangement.

“And in those days, before we spend any money from the Excess Crude Account, the federal and states governments will meet and agree. That is how we agreed to build the seven power stations which is NIPP today; it was from Excess Crude Account. And also met and agreed to build the Lagos Kano Standard Guage Rail Line from the Excess Crude Account.

“But what we have seen, in the last few months or years is that the Excess Crude Account was operated unilaterally by the federal government; drawings were made unilaterally without consulting those that actually own the money because the Excess Crude Account is 52 percent owned by the Federal Government and 48 by the states and Local Governments.

“So the decision of the NEC is to set up this committee of four to look at the operations of the Excess Crude Account and make recommendation to council on its future.

“The other thing the committee will do is to look at the operations of the Federation Account, particularly the shortfall and again come back to council with very clear recommendations as to what to do.”

“We have not been given a time-frame but as you can imagine state governments are under pressure. Many of our state governments are unable to pay salaries on time without recourse to borrowing, so this is very important to us. This is an allgovernors committee, we wear the shoes we know where it pinches. So, we are are going to do this as quickly as possible.

“The next meeting of the council is on July 23rd, we hope to complete our work and be in position to report to council on that day. So, within the next one month we will be done by God’s grace,” El-Rufai said.

Buhari: NNPC, CBN, Customs, NPA must remit revenue into Federation Account Continued from page 4

the responsibility to run it, lead by example. As far as is possible, there should be a distance between politics and development programmes,” he said.

On insurgency, Buhari said the Armed Forces had shown renewed commitment and made steady progress in the fight against Boko Haram.

The President said: “I am also happy to reiterate that following my invitation to Germany early this month by the G7 Nations who have shown concern about the insurgency and promised to intervene to restore the destroyed infrastructure, schools and hospitals, amongst others. I have directed the front line states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to articulate realistic assessments, costs, locations on local-government-by-localgovernment of affected facilities for submission to the President of the G7 for further verification.

“In addition, the requirements of the military have been prepared by the Service Chiefs for the consideration of the G7 Nations.”

Buhari said that his administration was fully committed to embarking on sustainable vi-

sionary initiatives and programmes that will restructure and transform the economy.

He said: “We are also committed to ensuring collaboration and facilitation of the international efforts to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), financial crimes, cyber crimes, climate change; the spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.

“I urge you all to ensure that we surmount these enormous challenges facing us as a country by working to support economic policies, which the government will soon unveil to grow our economy and finance our external promises.

“This process must be geared up substantially, especially in the difficult times that we have now found ourselves. The National Planning Commission must continue to work to arrive at workable consensus on government policies among the various tiers of government, which is a prerequisite for sustained growth and development.”

Buhari reiterated the high expectations of NEC as a veritable source of articulating pol-

icies and programmes that are people-centred and capable of driving the expected growth and development of the country and providing enabling environment for progress.

Stressing that NEC was established by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended, Third Schedule, Part I, Section 153: Sub section (18 & 19), he said that NEC, as one of the Federal Executive bodies, has the mandate to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the co-ordination of the economic planning and programmes of the various governments of the Federation.

According to him, the regular meetings of the NEC have remained the official economic platform for dialogue among the 36 state governors, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other co-opted members, chaired by the Vice President.

The meeting, he said, is to discuss issues and challenges facing the development of the country at national and sub-national levels, with a view to develop and harmonise common strategies for addressing them.

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THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015

63

TODAY IN THE NATION

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘The president should weigh in on the side of the forces of legacy, against the careerists.

That is his covenant with Nigerians’ VOL.10

NO. 3261

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

“L

OOKING for work,” I wrote on this page some six years ago, “has become one of the most dangerous occupations in Nigeria – a risky venture that is likely to cause harm or injury, even death.”

In that piece (August 19, 2008), I had employed the term “occupation” not in a flippant or cynical sense, but to reflect what had become the painful reality for millions of our young men and women for whom looking for a job had become a full-time occupation in itself As they pounded the streets and scoured the corporate offices and factories and farms and construction sites in search of work, I remarked, they were more likely to be swindled, mugged, kidnapped, sexually assaulted or exploited and abused in every conceivable manner by persons masquerading as prospective employers.

I was reacting to reports in the July 14, 2008, editions of the national newspapers that dozens had died the preceding weekend at various centres across Nigeria in recruitment exercises conducted by the Immigration Service and the Prisons Department.

For 43 of the 195, 000 applicants jostling for 3,000 vacancies, the race proved a fatal regimen, a journey of no return. A good many of them were trampled underfoot in the frenzied rush to gain a vantage position at the start; others died from sheer exhaustion. Hundreds sought hospital treatment for the injuries they suffered from the race.

This grisly scenario, slightly modified, was reenacted in March 2014 at various locations across where the same agency was scheduled to administer written tests to some 520, 000 applicants chasing 4, 556 openings...

The 2008 fitness test of a 2.5 km run was replaced with an obstacle race requiring thousands of applicants who had converged on various locations several hours ahead of schedule to bulldoze, squeeze, elbow, claw, fight or otherwise find their way to the event through a single entrance.

At least 19 persons, four of them pregnant women, were killed in the resulting stampedes. Hundreds suffered injuries.

In a sane society, the responsible political official would have handed in his resignation even if the fiasco had not been compounded by so wanton a grim harvest. Elementary decency demands nothing less.

But Abba Moro, the Minister of the Interior, who supervised this carnage, kept his job right up to the end of the Jonathan Administration, and would doubtless have continued to serve in the cabinet if Dr Jonathan had not lost his re-election bid.

RIPPLES

NORTH MOVES TO TAKE OVER NNPC...may head seven departments – A Nigerian newspaper

JUNK, JUNK, JUNK JOURNALISM

OLATUNJI DARE

AT HOME ABROAD olatunji.dare@thenationonlineng.net

Banking and Mrs Warren’s Principle

And Dr Jonathan roused himself to sympathise with the relations of the victims long after the carnage, handing them token compensation only as part of his cynical election strategy.

The dangers to which job seekers are exposed are not always physical, however.

Women job seekers in particular, are constantly exposed to moral danger, and sexual abuse, particularly in the banking industry.

But that is nothing new.

It goes back to the time of former military president Ibrahim Babangida, who was barely three years into his misbegotten rule when his palace intellectuals declared that Nigeria’s history would have to be divided

into two neat periods: the era before Babangida (BB), when all was darkness, and the era that began with him (AB) when everything magically turned into sweetness and light.

The more desperate revisionists among them even insisted that Nigeria’s history actually began with Babangida’s coming. Before then, according to them, Nigeria had nothing worth calling a history.

As evidence, they pointed to the wonders that structural adjustment had wrought all over the land –cocoa farmers fling to their plantations in their personal helicopters, entrepreneurs, freed from the shackles of deregulation, establishing flourishing businesses that created more jobs than there were people to fill, and banking institutions sprouting up in every neighbourhood like mushrooms after the first rains, glittering symbols of the boom.

It was an ensnaring boom. You made a substantial deposit for a fixed period and collected your interest upfront, sometimes to the tune of 20 per cent. But this conservative approach was employed only by banks that operated from known addresses. The “wonder” banks that operated from one-room shacks, with bundles of bank notes piled from floor to ceiling and where records, if any, were kept in notebooks or even loose sheets, offered much higher returns.

Many indeed were the patrons who rushed in, usually with other people’s money to cash in on what looked like a sure path to wealth and the good life it can buy. I recall a paymaster for the army who deposited the funds for the salary of soldiers in one of the wonder banks in the hope of turning it around within the month with a quick kill under his belt

HARDBALL

S

ENATOR Bukola Saraki, the embattled Senate president, is trying to explain away the vile controversy surrounding his election.

In combat term, Saraki’s is tantamount to winning the war and losing the peace — for why shed blood in battle, when you cannot secure the peace?

That explains the no-war-no-peace situation in the Senate — indeed, in the two chambers of the National Assembly. Though the Yakubu Dogara House of Representatives too appears a whirl of discontent, Saraki, that showed more desperation at his own election, would appear more on the spot.

He feels obliged to tell his own side of the story.

On that score, the trading off, to Peoples Democratic Party’s Ike Ekweremadu, of the Senate deputy presidency, would appear Saraki’s first apparition, not unlike the three witches of Macbeth that baited, with a series of apparitions, the tragic hero of that Shakespeare play, first to commit regicide; and finally to doom himself.

On the allegation of selling his party’s Senate patrimony to the PDP, in exchange for personal gain, Saraki has pleaded innocence. In a well reported engagement with the media, omo Baba Oloye claims he was not to blame; but his co-APC members that mys-

Saraki and Apparition Ekweremadu teriously kept off the venue of the election.

In a rather disingenuous alibi, he claimed that but for the arrival of APC House of Representatives members, from the botched meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari (to which, by the way, nobody invited the innocent Saraki), PDP would well have grossed the House deputy speakership, where it was in a roaring minority!

What is more? Saraki, “uninvited” to the presidential palaver, had intelligence he would be kidnapped and kept off the election venue. That was why, he claimed, he arrived the National Assembly precincts early (around 6am) and sat in a non-descript car until 10 minutes to 10 am, the time the Senate presidential election was to kick off!

Well, the Senate president can tell that to the marines! Yes, Saraki has a right to defend himself and shed light on events to explain his case. But this yarn would just not wash!

All too soon, the senator is realising — hopefully not too late — that the Ekweremadu deal, which looked like a simple but telling trade-off that landed him the coveted seat, has turned into an apparition that just

OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA

He never got his deposit back. Neither did most of those who had rushed to cash in on the scheme.

That was when the banks that operated from licensed premises and apparently in compliance with industry regulations hit upon the idea of hiring attractive young women for the most part. Entry salaries were so attractive that a job in the banks became the dream of most of our young school leavers.

Their remit: to canvass for deposits. It was not explicitly stated, but the underlying assumption, to put the matter delicately, that the women among them will not hesitate to use what they have to get the deposits they need just to keep their jobs.

This is the ideology of Mrs Warren’s profession in George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same title writ small.

The targets were impossibly high. Just how high is indicted in a letter I have before me at this writing: “Dear Ms X: “You will recall that upon assumption of duty, your commitment to drive a liability target of N180,000,000 (not a misprint) and a risk asset target of N63,000,000 (again not a misprint) within a period of six months.”

Even if she had a private mint, she would have found it hard to meet these targets, due to the scarcity of processing material, not forgetting the epileptic power supply After six months, she had achieved only 2 per cent of her risk asset target of N63 million.

“Management is extremely displeased with this abysmal level of performance and absolute destruction of value,” the letter under reference states in severe reproach.

“Please note that you have up to 31st January, 2015 to achieve significant improvement (60%) growth; otherwise your employment with the bank will be reviewed.”

The new target is no more attainable than the earlier one, but there you have it.

I have heard of canvassers offering would-be depositors a higher return than the going rate at the bank and making up the difference from their own earnings – in other words, subsidising their employers just so that they keep their jobs.

There has always been a seamy side to banking. Putting young women in the way of moral harm and sexual exploitation, placing them in a position where they feel obliged to follow Mrs Warren’s footsteps to keep their jobs, makes it seamier still.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above would not vanish.

Besides, that it took Saraki no less than two weeks to rebut the widely reported story, which The Nation even broke on the eve of the June 9 election, that Saraki had sold his party to gain the Senate presidency, speaks volume about his so-called alibi.

Well, the embattled senator can kid himself with his latter-day yarn. Hardball wonders if he even believes himself.

Senator Saraki may well be right in his claim that the so-called meeting with the president, which explained the absence of most APC legislators from his election, was a manoeuvre by his intra-party opponents to tweak his colleagues and truncate his putative success. That might be; for you cannot afford to trust politicians, who can go to any length to tilt things their way.

But, as Saraki is finding out, there is a gulf between intra-party manoeuvring and alleged treachery and perfidy against own party and colleagues.

That is why Apparition Ekweremadu would haunt the senator until the end of his political career, no matter how long or short.

Not all the waters of Kwara (Niger) and Benue could wash it off his mind, any more than all the waters of Arabia could wash King Duncan’s blood off Lady Macbeth’s evil hands!

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