The Nation November 19, 2014

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

APC gets panel for presidential race NEWS

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•Fayemi, Baraje, Izunaso in committee

Uproar in Ibadan over four kids NEWS

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•Women protest alleged abduction

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VOL. 9, NO. 3037 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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Fayose seals off speaker’s office •It’s not true, says governor From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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KITI State Governor Ayodele Fayose yesterday ordered the House of Assembly Speaker’s office shut.

Speaker Adewale Omirin’s spokesman Mr. Wole Olujobi said some men, acting on the governor’s directive, came to the office about 4pm, sealed it off and seized the Speaker’s official cars’ keys from the drivers, who were told to go home.

On Monday, seven of the 26-member House sat at the chamber, without the speaker and the deputy speaker.

Protected by policemen and a band of thugs, they “approved” the governor’s three commissioner-nominees and the list of members of caretaker committees for the 16 local government councils.

The rule of the House allows a minimum of nine-member quorum. To make up, “three strange people” joined the seven lawmakers.

But the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, denied the sealing off of the Speaker’s office. He described it as “another falsehood coming from a confused speaker”.

“We all know that the governor could not have ordered the speaker’s office be sealed up (sic) because the existence of Adewale

Omirin is insignificant to us and the people of

•LET’S GO HUNTING: Local hunters assisting in the fight against Boko Haram in Adamawa State leaving Yola for an operation …yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Continued on page 4

2015: Tambuwal opts out of presidential ticket bid

Senate fails to okay emergency

Speaker likely for Sokoto governor

H

OUSE of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal spoke yesterday on his political future.

He suspended his presidential ambition as a sacrifice for the unity of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Tambuwal said the nation was in urgent need of change, which only the APC could offer.

He said he joined the APC to build

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WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15 EVER RETURN?

the party and would not want his presidential aspiration to cause disunity among members.

In the Speaker’s view, the presidential aspirants: ExHead of State Gen. Muhammadu Bu-

From Yusuf Alli, Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi Abuja

•Reps to return

hari, ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Governor Rochas Okorocha and Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah are eminently qualified to lead the nation.

There were strong indications that Tambuwal might gun for the APC ticket to contest as governor. He did not speak on this yesterday.

Tambuwal, in a statement in Abuja, said: “When upon genuine conviction I decided to commence extensive consultations towards taking a decision as to whether or not to participate in the contest for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it was not to actualise a personal ambition, but rather to actualise our dream for a new Nigeria.

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Augustine Ehikioya and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Continued on page 4

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•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun presenting the 2015 Appropriation Bill to STORY ON PAGE 55 the House of Assembly in Abeokuta...yesterday.

ENATORS failed yesterday to approve President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for further extension of emergency rule in three states – Yobe, Adamawa and Borno.

Senate President David Mark announced after over two hours closed door session that debate on Jonathan’s request would continue today.

Mark said: “The Senate, in a closed session, discussed the letter by the President for Continued on page 4

•BOKO HARAM DISPLACED PERSONS PROTEST P2 NWOBODO: DOCTOR KILLED MY SON P9

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS

Anger, sorrow as No

• From right to left: Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, the Election Commissioner of India, Mr. Harishankar Brahma, and Fashola’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, when the governor visited the election commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road , New Delhi, India...Monday.

•Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga (second right) exchanging MoU on “The Development of The National Trade And Internatonal Business Centre” with the Managing Director, Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, in Abuja. With them are: Legal Adviser, Tafawa Balawa Square Management Board, Olutoyin Bolaji (left) and Director, Lagal Services, Ministry of Industry, Trade And Investment, Mrs. Uju Aisha Hassan Baba.

•From left: Federal Road Service Corps (FRSC) Corps Marshal Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi; Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen and Chairman, Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Felix Chukwu, at the FRSC Sensitisation Forum For Implementation of Speed Limiting Device In Nigeria in Abuja... yesterday

•From left: Senior Manager, Utilities, Accenture Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Aina; Managing Director, Oil and Gas and Utilities, Accenture Nigeria, Mr. Abayomi Olarinmoye; Lead Marketing and Communication, Accenture Nigeria, Segun Olalandu at the West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC) in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states protested yesterday in Jos, Plateau State, claiming that the Federal Government had ceded the Northeast to Boko Haram. They urged the United Nations (UN) to declare the affected areas the global body’s territory and deploy peace-keeping troops to secure lives and property, YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU reports.

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HEY gathered at the Church of the Brethren, Jos, Plateau State capital, yesterday in their hundreds, looking dejected. They were women, men and children of the Christian faith, who were routed out of their ancestral homes in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by Boko Haram war machines and now taking refuge in camps and schools in the state capital. They all have sad stories to tell, but decided to address the reporters at the church through their spokesman, Rev. Dr. Samuel Dali.

The victims, before the news conference started, staged a peaceful protest at their camps. They appealed to “good citizens of Nigeria” to come to their aid to resettle them anywhere in the country, outside Boko Haramheld territories.

They said they were taking refuge in churches and schools, hoping on the United Nations (UN) to come to their aid, as they had lost confidence in the Federal Government.

The IDPs left their homes in the Northeast states to Jos, just like their other 700,000 members, since, according to them, it appeared the government had formally ceded the troubled areas to Boko Haram.

Dali, in his address to reporters, stressed that the body language of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration suggested that the states had been surrendered to the insurgents.

According to him, there were over 2,000 IDPs from the Northeast at camps and schools in Jos alone.

His words: “It is with heavy heart and traumatised soul and spirit that I am addressing you today on behalf of the displaced Christians and people from Northern Nigeria.

“It is obvious or apparent that the Federal Government lacks the political will to protect and defend our people in Northern Nigeria from the Boko Haram insurgency and attacks from the Fulani militias.

“The Federal Government seems to be toying with the lives and limbs of the Christians in Northern Nigeria for political gains. While Boko Haram and the Fulani militia and their sponsors are killing innocent Nigerian citizens, especially the Christians, the

•Some of the displaced person... yessterday.

government seems not to care and has abdicated from its responsibility to protect lives.

“There have been protracted attacks by Fulani and other ethnic militias in Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau and many other states in the North, and the government seems not to care to employ lasting solutions.

“In all these attacks, Christians and their churches are mostly affected. At least 700, 000 members of the church, mostly women and children, have been displaced and now scattered in places like Jos, Abuja, Kaduna and Yola”.

Dali added: “Over 8,000 members have been murdered or killed by the Boko Haram insurgents and 270 churches have been destroyed completely, while 45 out of the 50 District Church Councils (DCC) have been affected.

“There is no explanation the government can give as to why the Federal troops will run away from the towns prior to the attack on such towns by Boko Haram, without putting any resistance. It seems government does not care about its citizens in that zone”.

The displaced persons then declared that “since the Federal Government has not been decisive in handling the protracted crises, the Christian communities in the Northeast and Northern Nigeria have lost confidence in the government”.

The United Nation (UN), they added, must intervene and declare the “Northeastern Nigeria a UN territory with immediate effect and send in UN peace-keeping troops to secure the lives of the remaining traumatised people”.

The cleric noted: “We have to state here that the Christians in Northeastern Nigeria are disappointed with response of the international community to the pogrom by Boko Haram with the active connivance of the Federal Government against Northern Christians.

“Available reports show that 11,213 Christians have been killed by Boko Haram before Mubi, Maiha, Hong and Gombi local governments were seized by the insurgence.

“So far, 1,056,000 have been displaced by the insurgency. These are mostly children and elderly people.

“We express our disappointment with the international community

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS

as Northeast’s displaced persons protest in Jos

•Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Muhammad Sidi, with a baby girl during an assessment visit by NEMA and international agencies officials to IDPs camp at Damare, Adamawa...yesterday.

that with over 11,000 persons killed and over million displaced; the international community has refused to notice the pogrom against Northern Nigeria’s Christians. Rather, they have shifted their attention and resources only to Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Afghanistan as if those being killed in Nigeria are not human beings.”

After the news conference, the displaced persons promised to mobilise others from the Northeast to march on the Presidential Villa in Abuja, if nothing is done to return them to their homes soon.

“We have resolved that all the internally displaced persons from the Northeastern part - wherever they are - and those, who are refugees in Cameroon, to move en masse to Abuja, which is the safest place in Nigeria so far”.

But in far away Abuja, there was an uncertainty in the Senate yesterday over the state of emergency rule in the three affected states.

The upper chamber, as if listening to the cries of the Jos protesters, failed to approve President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for further extension of emergency rule in the three states.

Senate President David Mark announced after over two hours closed door session that debate on Jonathan’s request would continue

‘

Since the Federal Government has not been decisive in handling the protracted crises, the Christian communities in the Northeast and Northern Nigeria have lost confidence in the government today, after the senators were not positively disposed to the president’s request.

Jonathan, had in a letter entitled “Re: Extension of the period for the Proclamation of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States,” dated November 17, 2014, asked the Senate to endorse further extension of the period of emergency rule in the three states.

If further extension is granted, it would be the third time the National Assembly would approve President Jonathan’s request to extend the period of State of Emergency in the three states.

•A widower and his daughter from Gwoza, Borno at the church.

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APC: President insensitive to the plight of the people

But, according to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the total number of Nigerians, who are displaced as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, has risen to 650,000.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the country has witnessed thousands of deaths and 221,000 square kilometres of its territory captured by sect.

The APC described as a scorecard of failure, the claims of achievements by the Goodluck Jonathan adminis-

•Some of the displaced persons protesting... yesterday.

tration in its almost 60 months in the saddle, saying Nigerians could not wait to sweep away the government.

“Today, after the Jonathan administration has spent $32 billion on security and defence, Nigeria is not any safer, with thousands of deaths, 221,000 square kilometres of territory captured by Boko Haram, 650,000 Nigerians internally displaced and also a daily harvest of death from ethno-religious crisis, clashes between pastoralists and farmers, armed robberies and kidnapping.

“To make matters worse, our once proud and globally-acknowledged military has been brought to its knees by lack of necessary fighting equipment, even with $32 billion spent.

One wonders where the huge funds went to,” the party added.

It also accused the President of insensitivity to the plight of the people who voted him into office, as he would rather fly to Burkina Faso than visit Chibok, Buni Yadi and Potiskum, which are some of the places where dozens of youth have been killed and maimed by the Boko Haram terrorists in recent times.

“The President should not just be the Commander-in-Chief but also the Consoler-in-Chief. A President who delights in comparing himself with the likes Obama must learn to act like the U.S. President, who did not hesitate to visit his nation’s troops in Iraq

and Afghanistan despite the risks involved,” he added.

The Catholic Bishops Conference also decried the method of sharing relief materials to the displaced people.

Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with the President last week, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, urged the Federal Government to collaborate with the church, claiming it had good relief structure on ground.

He said: “We are here on behalf of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria. We came not to wish him a bad day, but to talk about our nation.

We had some concerns about the situation of security in the nation as well as political developments. So, in general terms, we shared with him in a conversation and discussion.”

The cleric, who said the bishops felt that things were not right, noted that Nigerian territory was being taken away.

He said: “The people we look after are displaced; their homes, their villages, towns are captured and they are internally displaced in their own land.

“We thought this is not right. We have families that are just stranded.

We thought that the President should know. As Catholics, we have laid a good structure for relief and taking care of such situations. We want the government to collaborate with us”.

•The fatherless and homeless from Yobe.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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HE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday inaugurated a 27-man National Convention Committee (NCC).

It will conduct primaries for all its presidential aspirants within 22 days.

He asked the committee to organise primaries which will make APC the pivot of internal democracy and transparency.

Odigie-Oyegun, who inaugurated the committee at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, asked the team to prove critics who say the party is a gathering of strange bedfellows.

He said: “ I have had the benefit of organizing and running a convention before. I am aware that I had more time to accomplish the assignment.

You have about 21 or 22 days to do this and that means the challenge before you is enormous. It means that you are leaving this inaugural ceremony to start work.

“I want to say that you have been elected after a long deliberation because the state of our party with its propagation and the need for change, we need to have people who believe in change and who will practise change by the way they organise and conduct the primaries. More so, as the entire nation is holding its breath on

•Dr. Fayemi speaking...yesterday. Listening are (from left) Chief Odigie-Oyegun, •Dr Ideh (left) Dr Abari and Mr Edun (right)...yesterday. PHOTOS: ABAYOMI FAYESE Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawan Shuaib

2015: APC raises 27-man panel for presidential primaries From Yusuf Alli and Tony Akowe, Abuja

behalf or in sympathy for the APC. Odigie-Oyegun added: “You will recall that at every stage of our existence, there have been prophets of doom, particularly coming from our opponents on the other side. “ At every stage, they have been saying that we are a collection of strange bedfellows and will not get through. When

you go out, the question they ask you is: Who is your candidate? How will you produce your candidate? Let us have it at the back of our mind that this is another challenge and I am sure that we will come out of the challenge in flying colours.”

He gave insights into how the party was meticulous in selecting members of the NCC and why aspirants were asked to nominate representatives on the committee.

He said: “We have given a deep thought to every member of this committee. We find the choice of the chairman particularly difficult. We were even looking for a retired judge at a stage, but with a flash of inspiration, it came to us that we have in our midst a leader who can be described virtually as white.

“The membership is not complete and we are going to have additional names to this list. What we are trying to do

is to assist this committee by adding an innovation, which is to ask every aspirant to nominate a representative on this committee. That is to bring out the level of transparency with which this exercise must be executed.

“We want them to be part of the process such that because they are committed, their principals will also be committed to the process. So, the challenge we are passing on to you today is to organise a process

Extension of emergency rule in order, says Borno Governor

B

ORNO State Governor Kashim Shettima yesterday said the extension of emergency in the state, Adamawa and Yobe was in order and reasonable.

He however asked the military not to lose focus because of the 2015 elections, which he said would amount to nothing if insurgents succeed over Borno and its people.

Shettima made the state’s po-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja and Duku Joel, Maiduguri

sition known in a statement through his media aide, Mallam Isa Gusau.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan meant well by seeking the extension of emergency rule in the three states for the fourth time.

The governor said: “The safety of our people and their continued existence are more para-

mount to us than being in power. I do not have doubts about the sincerity of Mr. President in seeking an extension to make it easier for our security agencies to continue their services to our father land and I think an extension is reasonable in the circumstance we have found ourselves much as it also reasonable to take stock of what previous declarations have achieved.

“No democratic government

Continued from page 1

Ekiti State having lost the honour.

“Besides that, Omirin’s driver is under the Assembly Commission, which could employ, promote, transfer or sack drivers and other staff of the legislature.

“What does the happening in the legislature or operations at

the Assembly by the commission got to do with Governor Fayose?

Omirin is totally confused and Ekiti people are fed up with their lies. His cries now is (sic) a ranting of an ant, he should be ignored totally.”

The governor had earlier ordered the freezing of the accounts of the Assembly, cutting off electricity supply to

the Speaker’s Lodge and stopping statutory votes for the Speaker’s upkeep.

The governor also sacked the Speaker’s and Deputy Speaker’s and Majority Leader’s aides.

Fayose condemned the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers for “seeking to consolidate the interests of their party rather than the general

Continued on page 57 •Tambuwal

interest of the people.”

Speaking through the Special Assistant on Information, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, Fayose alleged that the APC lawmakers were unpatriotic by trying to ‘armtwist’ him in passing the list of commissioner-nominees.

“We expect the Assembly to see themselves as representing Continued on page 57

Continued on page 57

Tambuwal quits presidential bid

would wish to have military men roaming its streets with armoured tanks. However, we are very much aware that in most guerrilla warfare, insurgents sometimes dictate the pace because they can disguise and pretend to be friends whereas the security agencies are by their systems known, so they can be identified by citizens.

Fayose seals off Ekiti speaker’s office

that will make us a pivot in this nation for internal democracy and for transparency.

“It has been agreed that Alhaji Kawu Baraje should act as Deputy Chairman of the Committee. So, the ball is in your court. The party has put in your hands, the most critical assignment in the process of producing the next President for this nation.

“It is the way you conduct this process and the way you

Continued from page 1

“ Ever since news of the possibility of my participation in the presidential contest got into the public domain, it has generated monumental interest, analyses and commentaries. I have also, both personally and through prominent leaders across party lines and beyond, consulted extensively and I must say that I

am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and interest. ”I have carefully considered the concerns expressed by some of our leaders, whom I deeply respect and whose support and counsel I enjoy, to the effect that my entry into the presidential race at this point may necessitate having to rework some equations on the political chessboard of the party.

“Having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of some elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now.

“I have done so as a sacrifice for the cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now because I do not have Continued on page 57

Senate fails to okay emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe House reconvenes tomorrow

Continued from page 1

the extension of state of emer-

gency. We had a very extensive debate on it and we will continue with the debate tomorrow (today). Is this a true reflection of what happened?”

The Senators chorused “yes”.

Jonathan had in a letter entitled “Re: Extension of the period for the Proclamation of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states”, dated 17th November, 2014, asked the Senate to endorse further extension of the period of emergency rule in the three states.

The letter read: “May I respectfully draw your attention to the State of Emergency Proclamation 2013, in respect of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, which was approved by the National Assembly and extended for a further period of six months by the National Assembly as conveyed by the Clerk of the National Assembly’s letter dated 21st May 2014.

“By virtue of the provisions of Section 305(6)© of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the Proclamation aforementioned will elapse after a period of six

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PEAKER of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal has directed the House to reconvene tomorrow.

The development followed the request

by President Goodluck Jonathan for the extension of the emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The request of the President, which was the third, since the first declaration on May 14, 2013, was debated by senators yesterday at an executive session.

In a statement yesterday with the title: “ Special session of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Notice to reconvene the House,” and signed by the Speaker, Tambuwal said: “On Tuesday, 18th November 2014, I remonths from the date of approval of the National Assembly except the period is extended by the National Assembly.

“It is important to state that despite concerted efforts by this Administration to stem the tide of terrorism and insurgency in the affected states, the security challenges that necessitated the Proclamation are yet to abate.

“Consequently, it has become imperative to request the approval of the State for extension of the period for the State of

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ceived a communication from the President, Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, requesting for the extension of the existing State of Emergency in Adamawa , Borno and Yobe States by the House of Representatives.

“Pursuant to the powers conferred on me

by Section 305 ( 2 ) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which requires me to “forthwith convene or arrange a meeting of the House” and in order to treat the extension before the expiration of the current State of Emergency in accordance with Section 305 (6) (c) of the

Emergency for a further period of six months.

“In view of the foregoing, I most respectfully request Distinguished Senators to consider and approve by resolution the extension of the Proclamation of the State of Emergency by further period of six months from the date of expiration of the current period.”

Before the Senate went into the closed session to consider the letter, some Senators attempted to block even the consideration

Constitution, I hereby reconvene the House of Representatives, currently on Recess.”

The Speaker said the Thursday resumption has a single agenda which is “Consideration of Mr.President’s request for extension of the existing State of Emergency.

Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila said recalling the House before December 3 was borne out of constitutional exigencies.

He said: “The House will reconvene as directed by the Speaker on Thursday to consider the extension.

“Though the state of emergency has yielded no positive results and I do not see a need for yet another extension, many may feel it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness in the spirit of cooperation and grant the extension.

of the letter.

The Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, had moved that the Senate should resolve into Executive Session to consider the presidential request.

What followed was a deafening “nay” when Mark put the question.

Apparently taken aback, Mark explained that all he asked was the approval of the chamber to consider the presidential letter on extension of state of emergency.

He noted that saying that the

letter should not be discussed should be out of the way since the Senate was bound to debate the letter to take a position whether to approve the request or not.

Mark noted that it was only during the consideration of the letter that Senators could make their contributions whether to endorse the request or not.

After his explanation, which seemed to have calmed frayed nerves, Mark again put the question for the Senate to consider

the letter.

The mood in the Senate changed slightly as the lawmakers gave their approval that the letter be considered.

For about 20 minutes, senators were discussing in groups. The Chief Whip laboured to restore order.

Insiders said that the debate in the closed session was “very heated” as some of the North’s lawmakers insisted that no extension of the state of emergency should be granted.

After the session, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume Borno, South Senatorial District, told reporters that his people were against any form of extension of emergency rule.

Ndume noted that emergency rule had not made any difference in the fight against insurgency.

Besides, he said that nothing in the constitution forbids the president from deploying soldiers anywhere in the country even without emergency rule.

Continued on page 57

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS ‘EFCC not keeping low profile on corruption’ Blessing Olaifa, Assistant Editor, Abuja

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HE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, has said the commission was not keeping low profile on corruption.

He spoke against the backdrop of the recent criticism of the EFCC at a workshop organised for reporters in Enugu.

Lamorde said the commission noted some of the criticism against it, adding that it was not true that the EFCC was keeping low profile on corruption, as cases were given equal attention.

NEMA: ocean surge looms in Nigeria From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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HE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged disaster response agencies to prepare to contain ocean surge, in view of rising sea levels.

NEMA Director-General, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, spoke in a message at the opening of a five-day simulation exercise on ocean surge disaster for emergency managers, held at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna.

The DG NEMA, reflecting on the catastrophic damage worth over $75 billion, caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the U.S., said: “The devastating effect of ocean surge is frightening.”

Sani-Sidi, represented by Alhaji Akande Iyiola, the deputy director (Training), warned that the activities on the shoreline called for caution and preparation to tackle any disaster.

Outgoing CJN justifies judicial reform initiatives

•Residents of Ikosi-Isheri waiting to collect their voter cards at Ikosi Senior High School Ikosi-Ketu, Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

INEC official ‘caught registering O voters’ in PDP chief’s home •Chaos, extortion mar voter registration in Lagos •Jega urged to resign if…

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N ad hoc official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), identified as Nnamdi, was yesterday allegedly caught registering prospective voters at the home of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain at Ebo community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

The PDP chieftain, identified as Austin, is the chairman of Ebo Community Development Association.

It was learnt that the official was to register prospective voters at Ovbo Primary School, in Ward 11, Ogba 111.

The bubble burst when some persons, lured to be registered, informed All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftains about the illegal registration.

APC leaders, led by the state Youth Leader, Osakpamwan Eriyo, stormed the PDP chief’s home and allegedly found two bags containing laptop, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) uniform and 58 temporary voter cards.

Osakpamwan said he was informed that some people in Ward 11 were allegedly diverting voters to another place for registration and he went there

From Osagie Otabor, Benin, Miriam Ekene-Okoro and Wale Ajetunmobi

with policemen.

He said: “When we got there, the gate of the house was locked. We didn’t know that there was another entrance at the back. We forcefully entered the compound and saw a bag containing a laptop, 58 temporary voter cards and an NYSC uniform.

“We are warning PDP that this state belongs to APC. INEC should do the right thing. We are ready for free and fair elections. APC will not allow any illegality in Edo.” An electoral officer in Oredo, who gave his name as Olawale, confirmed that Nnamdi was sent to register people in the area.

He said the police would investigate the matter and called Nnamdi on the phone, but another person picked the call.

The PDP chieftain could not be reached for comments.

The situation was chaotic yesterday at one of the polling units on the premises of Ikosi High School, Ikosi, Ketu Lagos, as residents, in a bid to beat today’s deadline for the con-

tinuous voters registration exercise, trampled on one another to be captured.

About 11 am when our reporter visited, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were overwhelmed by the large turnout of people.

Despite the presence of policemen, youths, in the guise of helping to control the situation, extorted money from residents, saying they would help them fast-track the registration.

A resident, Miss Bose Alimi, who lamented the situation, said the boys, alleged to be working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), allegedly connived with INEC officials to collect between N500 and N1,000 from people for the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) attestation form, adding that those who patronised them were allowed to complete their registration, while others waited endlessly on the queue.

Mr. Kehinde Fatoki said the exercise was a flop, adding that what it indicated was that INEC was not prepared for the coming elections.

An INEC official, Mr. Balogun Kazeem, debunked the al-

legation that money was extorted from people for registration. He said the problem experienced was because most of the people who came to register were from other local governments where the exercise had not begun.

When asked if the exercise would be extended, considering that they would not be able to attend to all the people, he said it was only his boss, who could comment on that.

INEC Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega has been urged to adopt the Option A4 to conduct the elections.

The Chairman of the Movement for Nigeria’s Total Transformation (MNTT), Chief Areoye Oyebola, gave the advice.

Oyebola, a former editor of the defunct Daily Times, in an open letter to Jega, said the Option A4 method remained the best alternative to organise free and fair elections, adding that the most-widely accepted election in the country was conducted through Option A4.

He advised the INEC chairman to resign if the Presidency and other stakeholders did not accept the Option A4 suggestion.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

UTGOING Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, has justified the reform measures she initiated during her about 28-month tenure, expressing delight about their outcome.

Justice Mukhtar, who will vacate service on November 20, said although not everyone was satisfied with her decisions and actions, she was satisfied that the majority of those who were not comfortable with her reform initiatives, “are now happy with the outcome.”

The CJN, who said she bore no grudge against anyone, noted that her decisions and actions were driven by the urge to make a difference, improve the system and ensure its effective performance.

She said not every member of the Judiciary was comfortable and happy with her decisions and actions, stressing that it was impossible to have everyone support efforts aimed at effecting a change.

Justice Mukhtar, who has spent over 47 years in service, said although it was not easy, she had always felt internal comfort because she had chosen the straight path and remained steadfast in all she did.

The CJN spoke in Abuja on Monday while receiving members of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC, Abuja).

The journalists gave her an award in recognition of her outstanding leadership.

Justice Mukhtar, who said she was pleased with the award, noted: “I know that many are not happy, and many in the past misunderstood what I stood for. But I am glad that eventually, they have understood.

“When there are reforms, there are bound to be people who are not happy at all, because there are people who do not want a change. But I defied whatever it was that might bring problem and ensured that things were properly done. That is what this is all about, for things to be done properly. That is all. It is in the interest of the institution, not for anything else.

“I don’t bear any grudge against anybody. I don’t go out of my way to victimise anybody. All I wanted was to improve what was on ground and the system. I am happy that some are appreciating even if others are not. It is natural that those, whose shoes one had stepped on would not be happy with one. But I take it in my stride, it is natural. As long as the generality of the public think that I have improved the system, that is very satisfactory to me.”

Tobi Soniyi of Thisday, who spoke on behalf of the journalists, hailed the efforts of the outgoing CJN in restoring sanity to the judiciary.

Mu’azu, PDP question court’s power to hear suit seeking to stop convention

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, have challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Abuja to hear a suit seeking to restrain them from proceeding with plans for the party’s national convention scheduled for December 10 and 11.

They argued, in an objection filed for them by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon, that the issues raised in the suit touched on the internal affairs of the party and that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi (the right to initiate the suit).

They urged the court to dismiss the suit and described it

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

as “merely academic” on the grounds that it failed to disclose any cause of action.

Mu’azu and his party argued that the plaintiff, Aliyu Gubrin, who is a House of Representatives aspirant in the party, had not pursued and exhausted the domestic remedies available to him before coming to court.

They stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the plaintiff, having failed to pay his annual subscription to the party since January 2005, was no longer a member of the party.

“His membership has elapsed since January 2006 in accordance with Section 8(15)

of the constitution of the 1st defendant,” they said.

They stated that at the resignation of the party’s immediate past Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, the National Executive Committee of the PDP appointed Mu’azu to pilot the affairs of the party, pending the conduct of election to fill the vacancy, pursuant to Section 47(6) of the party’s constitution.

“That thereafter, the 1st defendant has scheduled its National Convention for December 10 and 11 to, among others, elect its presidential candidate for the 2015 general elections and regularise the position of some of its national officers, including the national chairman, in which all mem-

bers, including the plaintiff (if he was a member), can participate.

“The plaintiff has not in his affidavit in support of the originating summons stated that he is personally interested in being the national chairman of the 1st defendant or that he supports anybody so interested.

“That the interest the plaintiff claims in bringing this suit is one which he shares with millions of other members of the 1st defendant in Nigeria and its branches/chapters abroad.

“That the plaintiff is not an aspirant on the platform of the 1st defendant and has not picked up nomination forms into any elective position, up

until the close of sale of the 1st defendant’s nomination forms.

“That the granting of the reliefs sought by the plaintiff will not confer any benefits on the plaintiff”, Mu’azu added.

Gubrin is by his suit, seeking to sack Mu’azu on the grounds that the process leading to his appointment was flawed.

It is his contention that Tukur’s resignation did not comply with the provision of Section 47(5) of the constitution of the party.

He argued that the section stipulated that Tukur must give a 30-day notice to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, indicating his in-

•Mu’azu

tention to resign.

Defendants in the suit, now before Justice Evoh Chukwu, are the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, Mu’azu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

NEWS

Prosecutors major problem with judiciary, says CJN-designate •Senate confirms Mohammed as CJN

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HE Senate confirmed yesterday the nomination of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The confirmation was in line with Section 231(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Before Mohammed was asked to “take a bow and go” as the CJN-designate, the senators drilled him in a question and answer session.

He described prosecutors as a major spoke in the wheel of judicial system.

Mohammed said contrary to insinuations, nothing in the constitution stopped President Goodluck Jonathan from appointing the CJN from any body of legal practitioners.

The CJN-designate opposed the creation of special courts to deal with special cases like corruption.

He noted that with the right frame of mind and the will to prosecute, no corruption case would last more than one week.

He insisted that the problem was not with the courts but with the personnel in the courts.

Said he: “Honestly, I do not support the creation of special courts specifically to deal with cases like corruption and so on.

It is human beings who are managing the courts. It is not the court itself. No matter who you put there, if his integrity is not in good shape, you will see that the matters will not move.

“It does not matter the name of the court, but the actual personnel in the court. This is why as far as I am concerned, all these corruption cases could be dealt with by courts, which are already in place.

“It depends on the will to

•Justice Mohammed (right) with Justice Mukthar at the National Assembly, Abuja... yesterday.

From: Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

have the cases heard expeditiously. As a magistrate, the backlog of cases I had, it is not because of the court, but the prosecutors because I was a prosecutor for many years.

“I know what it means to prosecute a case of corruption. It cannot even take a week. The problem with some of these corruption cases is some documentary evidence. You don’t need to keep coming to court.

“What is important is to prove your case. So if the court is there, the prosecutor is there and the accused is there, there is no reason why such cases will last for more than two or three months.

“That is the position and many suspects that are still languishing is because of the lack of will to prosecute and not because of the courts.”

On establishment of consti-

tutional courts, Mohammed said: “Regarding constitutional courts, honestly, it is the same situation.

“You can call it Constitutional Court, Supreme Court or Court of Appeal. What is important is the interpretation of the law.

“What does the law say of the given facts? Any justice or any officer you have on the bench, provided he is qualified, could make that interpretation without calling it a Constitutional Court, or a Supreme Court or a Court of Appeal.

“The practice in the Frenchspeaking countries where most of the constitutional courts are functioning is because of the background from their own legal training.

“But in Nigeria, as far as I am concerned, honestly, whether it is Constitutional Court, whether it is Supreme Court, let the cases be decided in good time.

“In this respect, honestly the Supreme Court, as far as I am concerned, has been discharging

this responsibility effectively, particularly having regard to the load heaped upon us by the constitution amendment asking that the governorship election petition should not terminate at the Court of Appeal.

“Well, we accepted it with full arms and we are discharging the responsibility and there has been no instance of any complaint on the discharge of that responsibility by the Supreme Court because not a case is allowed to lapse throughout this dispensation.

“So, as far as the Supreme Court is concerned, whether you call it Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court, it is discharging that responsibility and quite effectively too.”

On conflicting judgments, he said: “Honestly, these conflicting judgments are most in political cases, election tribunals and where there is a lot of interest.

“Sometimes, we ourselves are not helping matters. If I say we, I mean we lawyers.

“The problem is with us. We

WHO rates Nigeria third highest in tuberculosis •Over four million cases expected between 2015 and 2020

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worrisome picture was painted yesterday when the country launched the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis (TB) Control, 2015 to 2020 and Dissemination of the First National TB Prevalence Survey Report.

Nigeria was rated the third highest Tuberculosis (TB)-burden country in the world and number one in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Given the current 16 per cent TB cases notification rate in the latest Global survey report, the country’s TB treatment gap has also become the highest, accounting for 15 per cent of the global gap.

Also, at the current rate of transmission and development of Tuberculosis, over four million cases are expect-

From Vincent Ikuomola and Kehinde Ore, Abuja

ed to occur in the country between 2015 and the end of 2020, the report said.

According to the Global TB report, an approximated one million of the over four million cases would be co-infected with HIV, while 200,000 was expected to have multidrug resistant TB. Speaking at the launch of the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis (TB) Control, 2015 to 2020 and Dissemination of the First National TB Prevalence Survey Report, the WHO country representative to Nigeria, Mr. Rui Gama Vaz, said the survey report had been validated by WHO and other international partners.

He added that this was necessary since the survey had re-

vealed the burden of TB in the country, which was almost three times what was previously estimated.

Vaz noted that Nigeria was the 3rd highest TB burden country in the world and the 1st in Africa, adding that following the 16 per cent TB cases notification rate, the country’s TB treatment gap had also become the highest, accounting for 15 per cent of the global gap.

He said the survey also confirmed a worrisome situation with regard to MultiDrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Based on the global projections, the Supervising Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, said the country diagnosed and reported only 16 per cent of the estimated TB cases last year.

He stressed that with this very low TB case detection rate, the country accounted for 15 per cent (about 500,000) of the 3.3 million TB cases that were either not diagnosed or diagnosed but not notified last year.

According to the survey, “Nigeria is now the 13th highest MDTR-TB burden country globally and the 2nd highest in Africa: with estimated 3,700 cases per year, of which only up to 500 have ever put on treatment.”

Alhassan said until recently, the burden of TB in Nigeria was based on estimates, adding that it was heart-warming that the Federal Ministry of Health, with the support of development partners, conducted the first national TB prevalence survey in the country.

PDP, APC get 14 days to disclose spending on elections

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CIVIL society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has sent two Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), asking them to “provide information on the spending (and the sources) on the campaigns and other operations linked to the February general elec-

By Precious Igbonwelundu

tions.”

“If the information is not provided to us within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of these letters, the trustees of SERAP shall take legal actions under the FOI Act to compel you and your party to comply with our request,” the group said.

In the letters dated November 18 and addressed to

the PDP National Chairman Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu and APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the group expressed “concern about the risks of corruption during campaigns for the February elections, especially the role of money in politics and the failure to comply with national and international laws on party finance.”

The letters, signed by

SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni said: “Nigerians have a right to know about spending by their parties, especially major parties like your party with a possibility to assume government in future. People should be able to examine the financial transactions of parties and be certain that politicians are working for their voters, not their benefactors.”

PHOTO ABAYOMI FAYESE.

have a case but we don’t want it to finish quickly. We maintain it on the court list when the purpose of having it is to prosecute it successfully. If we know that we don’t have a good case we don’t tell our clients the truth.

“The conflicting judgments coming from the tribunals and the Court of Appeal is as a result of we lawyers who in fact insist that the rule of review prevail and sometimes some of our judges also make mistakes. We are not infallible because we could make mistakes.

“In fact of recent, the President of the Court of Appeal has put measures in place to deal with some of these conflicting judgments.

“Some of these appeals terminate at the Court of Appeal, they don’t come to the Supreme Court to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to correct the situation.”

On agitation for the separation of the office of the Attorney-General and the Minister of

Justice, he said: “Regarding the office of the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, whether it should be split or it should be allowed to remain as it is, honestly I have my own view because I was also an attorney-general.

“In fact, I served two opposing governments, but what it requires is honesty in the discharge of responsibilities regarding the role and how the machinery of government is run.

“The function of the attorneygeneral is not a political office, but it is an office that deals with a lot of responsibilities regarding the administration of justice generally.

“Now the office of the Minister of Justice is purely political.

You see, sometimes, political decisions have to be taken. It may not necessarily be in accordance with the law.

“That is what it is and we recognise that. To me I think there is the need honestly, to separate the two offices so as to allow each to function in accordance with the dispensation of justice because to allow one person to exercise both powers will result in a lot of complaints.”

On the appointment of the CJN, he said: “Now the issue of whether seniority should be adhered to in appointing the Chief Justice of Nigeria; as far as the constitution is concerned, there is nothing preventing the President of the country to appoint the Chief Justice of Nigeria from anywhere in the country, from any group of legal practitioners, that is what is in the constitution.

“So, there is nothing to worry about that the appointment of CJN is always based on seniority.

“It is so because of the tradition that we inherited and also because seniority is part and parcel of the legal profession.”

Anyaoku attributes insecurity to religion From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

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HE former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has said the contest for political power was the main cause of the crises in the country.

He also attributed insurgency in the North to religion.

Speaking in Abuja yesterday at the opening of a national conference on human security, Anyaoku advocated the establishment of an inclusive governance “since the nation has already been torn apart by internal conflict.”

The conference was organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

He said in a situation where such inclusive governance was absent, the task of reconciliation and healing of memories among the citizens became difficult and unrealisable.

The ex-Commonwealth secretary-general said with the emergence of the Boko Haram, religion was a factor to the spread of insurgency and conflict.

He said Nigerians should treat one another with respect and love, irrespective of religion.

Anyaoku said it was only where there were democracy, peace and unity that there could be security.

His words: “It is only where democracy, peace and unity are obtained that people can enjoy security, and it is only in such context that the government can create an enabling condition for the citizens to pursue their self-fulfilment. There is no alternative to peace, democracy and development in the pursuit of security.”

The Director-General of NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri, said insecurity necessitated the holding of the conference.

He added: “It is for this reason and in particular commitment to the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan to promote peace and security that this retreat is being organised.”

Omeri said Federal Government had initiated intervention policies and strategies to mitigate the causes of insecurity, such as unemployment, poverty, neglect, exclusion, injustice, among others.

He said the time had come for Nigerians to examine issues and components of human security and harmonise them into a coherent agenda to evolve a mechanism to deal with the issues.

The NOA director-general urged Nigerians not to be complacent on issues of national security, but should support the present administration, whose commitment to national security was clear.

He said: “As the nation prepares for the general elections, we must be on guard and step up security alertness to ensure smooth, peaceful, transparent, orderly and violencefree poll devoid of rancour and acrimony.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS How I reunited Oyo, by Alaafin From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

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HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, has said harmonisation of traditional values and modern governance will improve conflict resolution.

The monarch said this became imperative because socio-cultural norms embedded in traditional institutions had remained an integral part of the people.

Oba Adeyemi gave the advice at the inauguration of some buildings, central mosque and event centre built by the family of his predecessor, Oba Gbadegesin Ladigbolu.

He narrated how the town was polarised into two opposing camps as a result of religious and political upheavals before he ascended the throne as the first literate monarch. ‘’During this turbulent period, harmony, mutual trust and fraternity completely broke down. Violence, acts of terror and hooliganism equally took the centre stage. ‘’ After my installation in 1971, I called some men who were on the two sides of the political and religious divides. These patriotic men, some of who had died, answered my call and the turbulence not only stopped, the polarisation ceased and the town was re-united.”

Extolling the virtues of the late Oba Ladigbolu, who reigned between 1956 and 1968, Adeyemi said were it not for his predecessor’s pro-activeness, he would not have become the Alaafin.

APC to Fayose: name the 10 lawmakers

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has urged Governor Ayodele Fayose to name the 10 lawmakers who sat to ratify his commissioner-nominees and caretaker committee members on Monday.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party said: “If Governor Fayose wanted the public to believe that the 10 lawmakers formed a quorum, he should let the world have their names and their constituencies.”

The APC reiterated that only seven Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers sat and they were joined by three strange men who disguised as lawmakers to deceive the people at the gallery and the selected print

•Row over endorsement of nominees media present that they formed a quorum.

“The electronic media were prevented from covering the event so that the identities of the three men could be protected.”

The party challenged the governor to produce the video recording of Monday’s proceedings as required by House Rules, if he was sure that 10 members sat.

It said: “The fact that the self-styled minority leader for Monday’s sitting, Ajibola Samuel, representing Ekiti East II, said 10 lawmakers sat while Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary Idowu Adelusi said nine lawmakers sat showed that Fayose’s men were lying.

“We make bold to say that at the time the seven PDP lawmakers were holding their illegal sitting in Ado Ekiti, the 19 APC lawmakers, including the speaker and his deputy, were on a live programme on Adaba FM in Akure.

“There are 26 members in the House of Assembly, if 19 were on a radio programme in Akure, only seven or less should be sitting in the Assembly and if they are more than seven, it means they are rented.

“It is baffling that the police which could not provide enough security for judges to sit on the governor’s eligibility case suddenly mobilised 300 men to provide cover for

an illegal sitting. This is the gateway to fascism the end result of which could be anarchy.

“Fayose must set a good example and stop fanning the embers of discord among the other arms of government. How can a governor muscle the Judiciary and now turn the legislature to a department in his office?

“It is shameful that he has lived up to the prediction that Ekiti will move from crisis to crisis under his watch.

“We appeal to all men of conscience to reject this new tyranny as that is the only way our freedom and democracy could be guaranteed.”

A •From left: Chairman of the occasion, Odein Ajumogobia; representative of the special guest of honour, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; guest speaker, Dr Newton Jibunoh and discussant, Mrs Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, at the second Oye Williams biennial lecture in Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: NAN

•Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), Muhammad Sidi (right), Member,Special Presidential Committee on Relief Materials, Salihu Belel (second right) and other NEMA officials at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Yola, Adamawa State...yesterday PHOTO:NAN

PDP’s, Omisore’s witness: I didn’t observe rigging

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has said there was no consensus arrangement as its primaries will be free and fair.

Its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said arrangements have been made to ensure a smooth conduct of the primaries.

He, however, ruled out consensus arrangement, which many have expressed reservations that the party may adopt in place of primaries.

“The party is prepared for the smooth conduct of its primaries from the least elective position to the governorship election.

“The party has done the needful, what we are waiting for are the guidelines for the conduct of the primaries and as soon as they are released we shall begin the primaries.”

By Oziegbe Okoeki

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OLA Ajao, the first witness of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the August 9 governorship election in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, yesterday gave evidence before the Election Petition Tribunal.

Ajao, who is the PDP Secretary, told the tribunal that voters were allowed to be accredited and voted freely in the election.

He was cross-examined by counsel to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Charles Edosonwan, Yomi Aliu, and Ayotunde Ogunleye.

Ajao said his claim on the

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

I’ll be a formidable senator, says Seriki

Fayose stops running grant KITI State Governor Ayodele Fayose has stopped the payment of running grant and other allowances of political office holders, pending the payment of all outstanding salaries and allowances of public servants.

According to the Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor took the decision as a temporary measure to make fund available for workers’ salaries and allowances.”

No consensus, says Oyo APC

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

alleged rigging of the election was not witnessed by him, adding, “I was told by my party agents”.

Responding to questions from Edonsonwan, he said: “I got to my Ward 8, Unit 9 of Ifelodun Local Government at 6:30 am on the election day, accreditation started by 8am and voting started at 12:30 pm.

“I passed through the same process and I voted on that day. I did not leave my unit until after the election.

My party lost in my polling unit. My testimonies on other units that our party is challenging are based on what I was told by my agents. I was not there.

“Omisore contested for a senatorial slot in 2011, but lost along with other party candidates. We did not challenge the election in court. I don’t know the number of polling units we are challenging.”

While being cross-examined by INEC’s counsel, Ajao said he followed all the processes required from accreditation to voting, adding that after accreditations, people were allowed to vote.

In his answer to the question from APC counsel, the witness confirmed to the tribunal that the result sheets for each of the local governments in contention were signed by PDP supervisors on the

election day.

The second and third witnesses, Kolapo Sikiru and Gbadebo Adeyemo, who claimed to be PDP ward supervisors in Ward 1 and Ward 2 of Osogbo Local Government, confirmed that their polling agents signed the result forms for each of the units, except for a few.

Contrary to his claim that the result sheets of unit 2,3,4 and 5 of Ward 2 were not signed by his party agent, as deposed to in his witness statement, Gbadebo was confronted with the duplicate result for the units that were tendered by the petitioners’ counsel which bore the signature of the agents and the witness was dumbfounded.

At this point, there were altercations between counsel to the petitioners and the first respondents, as the former accused the latter of interjecting the cross-examination of the witnesses at the detriment of the 20 minutes permitted to cross-examine the witness.

The intervention of the judges brought the altercations under control.

Edosonwan and Ogunleye said the testimonies of the petitioners’ witnesses had vindicated the respondents that the petition had no merit.

They were optimistic that more of such vindication would unfold in the course of cross-examining other witnesses.

FORMER Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant and now All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Lagos West, Demola Seriki, has said he will be a formidable senator, “not by definition or by title, but through meaning”.

Seriki spoke yesterday when he visited the House of Assembly to solicit members’ support.

The former minister said there was need to strengthen the legislative institution “so as to strengthen our democracy”.

“Through the legislature, we can strengthen democracy because legislative business emanates from experience and knowledge.

“It is like a school on its own. It is an institution, which all of us must collectively build together.”

Though he is from Lagos Central, he said he was contesting from Lagos West because senatorial election was a state wide matter and should therefore not be by zone or constituency.

“I am a proponent of state wide election. Senate is supposed to be a state wide election.

“It is really myopic and it is really wrong for us to have Lagos East, Lagos West, you can’t have people going for US Senate and saying New York West, New York East, nothing like that . I am a native Lagosian, I am from Agege, I am from Badagry, I am from Isheri, I am from Island, I am from Ojokoro, I am from Arogangan, so I can claim I come from anywhere within Lagos metropolis, you cannot limit where I can come from because I am a native Lagosian, a descendant of Awori."

Describing APC as a new party, Seriki said it is a new amalgamation, “cutting across all races in Nigeria, all tribes in Nigeria and it is like a plc, a gathering of a party and we are ready to take the presidency of the country, to take over the central government.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS Ajimobi: we may enlarge Oyo Council of Chiefs From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

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•Ajimobi speaking at the meeting..yesterday

Aspirant: I’ll represent well From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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N All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives aspirant, Dhikrulai Ajibola, has promised to represent the people well, if elected in 2015.

He said this yesterday while picking his intent form at the party secretariat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

“I am planning to ensure good representation of my people and to fashion out laws that will be beneficial to them.

“I have been in politics since the days of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

“I was a youth mobiliser; I left for the United States in 1991 and came back in 2010 and contested for the same seat as an aspirant, but I lost the ticket then.

“I know what the people want. With my wealth of experience, I believe I am the best candidate for the job.

“I am not disturbed by the number of aspirants because I am not a match for them. I am a likeable person, who is not selfish.

“None of them can match my experience and grassroots political value.

“I am rest assured that the ticket will be given to me.

“I have been committed and loyal to the party and I know with all this I will secure the ticket.

“I have assisted 50 unemployed youths to get jobs in the state civil service.

“I donated N1 million worth of equipment to hospitals.

“I also offered scholarships to students in higher institutions in the state.

“I have also rendered social welfare services to many people, and I know I will do more if I get the party ticket.”

Court adjourns Arepo pipeline vandalism trial till Dec 15

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FEDERAL High Court in Lagos has adjourned till December 15, the trial of 10 men charged with vandalism of oil pipeline and murder at Arepo in Ogun State.

The accused are: Joel Inerepamu (25), Rueben Oluwole (60), John Isaiah (28), Ineye Okposa (40), Timi Gunugunu (22) and Olisa Saheed (25).

Others are Jigo Jiperende (31); Timi Koro (29); Johnbosco Igbhofose(26) and Peter Opidi (28).

Justice Mohammed Idris said the adjournment was given with reluctance because the case had dragged on for two years.

Idris, thereafter, adjourned

the case till December 15-18 for continuation of trial.

The judge said it was essential to make progress in the suit and decried the delay that had characterised the case.

When the case was called, the prosecutor, Justin Enang, informed the court of the absence of the counsel to the ninth and 10th accused.

Mrs Sarah Nwokoro, the counsel to the fifth and sixth accused, also pleaded indisposition to proceed with the trial because of the loss of relative and requested that the case be adjourned.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prosecution did not oppose the ap-

plication for adjournment.

The accused were re-arraigned on April 29, last year, on an amended seven-count charge.

They had all pleaded not guilty to the charge, but the judge had ordered their remand at the Ikoyi prisons, and ordered accelerated hearing of the case.

The prosecutor had told the court that the accused committed the offence on September 5, 2012 at 6.pm at Arepo in Ogun.

He said they had conspired to vandalise an oil pipeline in the vicinity and siphoned petrol for illegal sale.

According to him, on sighting engineers from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corpora-

tion (NNPC) assigned for routine maintenance of pipelines in the area, the accused opened fire on them.

Enang said in the process, three of the engineers were killed.

He said the offences committed contravened provisions of Sections 3(6), 7(a), 7(b), and 17(a) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

Murder contravenes the provisions of Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap C 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

NAN reports that murder attracts the death penalty upon conviction

Ekiti Speaker’s aide alleges threat to life

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PECIAL Adviser on Media to the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Wole Olujobi has alleged threats to his life.

He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in Ekiti State to spare his life.

Olujobi, in a statement, said he had been receiving calls to leave Ekiti State over reports of plans to attack him.

The aide, who said he would have ignored the calls, said he was calling the President’s attention because of reports of “strange men loitering around my home at IjanEkiti last night whose mission was not known”.

Olujobi recalled the relationship between him and government leaders in the past over the roles he played in reporting the events leading to

the assassination of his cousin, Dr. Ayodeji Daramola, on August 14, 2006.

He said his purported sack as the Special Adviser on Media to the Speaker by Governor Ayo Fayose was a reprisal for reporting and telling the police all the events that led to the death of his cousin.

Olujobi insisted that he and others purportedly sacked still remained the Speaker’s aides because the governor does not have the power to remove them.

He said the House of Assembly was an independent arm of government that enjoys autonomy from the Executive.

“The sacking of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s aides is a smokescreen. I am the target of the sack. The governor still sees me as his enemy who contributed to his impeachment.

“My problem is that I told

Nigerians and the world how my cousin was haunted to death during Fayose’s first stint as governor.

“Dr Daramola told me how he was forced to renounce his governorship ambition on the state media. His voice was heard six times a day on the state media renouncing his ambition. We have all the records till today.

“Few days ago, suspects arrested in connection with the assassination were reportedly missing in Ado-Ekiti prison where they had been held since 2006.

“Four days after my cousin’s assassination, two men visited my house demanding to see me. They claimed that they gave me money to help them publish a story.

“My co-tenant, who they met at the gate, suspected foul play and deceived them that

there was no journalist living in the house.

“I reported the incident at Ebenezer Police Station at Ojokoro, Lagos and office of the then Lagos Police Commissioner, Emmanuel Adebayo, who is now the Elemure of Emure Ekiti.

“The next day, I received a threat text message sent through an MTN line, 08068978526. Later, some suspects were arrested, including Taye Olanipekun, who my neighbour identified as one of the men, who came to my house.

“I am calling on the President to prevail on the powers-that-be in Ekiti State to save me. I also urge my colleagues to continue to push for the restoration of sanity in Ekiti State that is fast slipping into brigandage after four years of uninterrupted peace.”

Uproar in Ibadan over four kids

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HERE WAS PANIC IN YEMETU and Agodi areas of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as four school children were allegedly kidnapped by a woman.

The incident occurred at Yemetu at 9am, causing confusion in the area.

As soon as the news filtered into the community, fear gripped residents, especially mothers, who scampered to

withdraw their children from school.

The women alleged that a woman wearing hijab kidnapped four pupils in a school in the area while the proprietress went to pick other pupils in the neighbourhood.

They claimed to have seen the woman with the children before she reportedly disappeared.

Some aggrieved mothers in the area marched on the police station inside the state secretariat at 11 am.

They were dispatched by the police, who appealed to them for calm. The police also urged them to provide facts and figures.

Police spokespersonMrs Olabisi Ilobanafor said investigation has begun to arrest the kidnap suspect and rescue the

children.

“The allegation was brought to us that one woman in hijab kidnapped four children.

“We are investigating and the investigation will reveal whether or not it is true,” she said.

The police spokesperson appealed to the public to provide useful information to the command.

YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said his administration may increase the membership of the state’s Council of Obas and Chiefs.

He said this at a town hall meeting in Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan yesterday.

The governor is on a four-day tour of the 11 local governments in Ibadan.

Ajimobi said the issue of the council was a sensitive one given the calibre of its leaders, historical foundation and the crisis rocking its leadership.

He said his administration chose not to dabble into it in order to allow peace reign and also allow council members and their subjects to live together peacefully.

According to him, his administration could, however, look into the possibility of increasing membership of the council to accommodate new chiefs. He said such power lies in the government’s hands.

The Oniroko of Iroko, Abioye Olasunkanmi, who spoke on behalf of traditional chiefs in the local government, had made the request for inclusion of more chiefs, citing historical reasons.

Olasunkanmi praised Ajimobi for his achievements, saying as a retired teacher, he has not witnessed the recruitment of 5,300 teachers at once.

He said: “Without campaigning, your achievements are speaking for you.

“You have made the welfare of teachers a priority; your infrastructural development policy is unparalleled. I urge you not to rest on your oars. ”We’ll continue to pray for you to succeed because we know you are working for us.

“Your detractors will only continue to grumble because they couldn’t do all that you are doing.

“Carry on your good works. Don’t be discouraged. We’re behind you and we’ll show you how much in 2015, when we will vote.”

The governor said the idea of recruiting teachers from their localities was to stop mass transfers of teachers from one location to another due to lopsidedness in recruitment process.

Ajimobi prided himself as sustaining the rich history of the “firsts” established by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo by undertaking “first” projects in the history of the state.

He was accompanied by Deputy Governor Moses Alake-Adeyemo; Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Olalekan Ali; commissioners and All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders were received by a tumultuous crowd at the venue of the meeting.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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NEWS

Colleagues visit The Nation’s abducted reporter’s home C OLLEAGUES and friends were yesterday trooping to the Aba residence of The Nation’s Abia State correspondent Mr. Ugochukwu UgorjiEke, who was kidnapped on Sunday night by unknown gunmen.

Ugorji-Eke was abducted at about 7:30 pm as he drove into his home.

His abductors bundled him into their car and

whisked him away, leaving his car behind, according to eyewitnesses.

The abductors are demanding N20million ransom.

Ugorji-Eke’s wife and other members of his family were indoors, unaware of the scene that was on in front of their home.

Yesterday, members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Abia State Council visited his wife to give succour and to assure her that her husband would soon reunite with the family.

The journalists condemned the reporter’s abduction, urging the Abia State Government to facili-

tate Mr Ugorji-Eke’s release.

Governor Theodore Orji has already set up a task force to get the reporter out of the hands of his abductors.

Chairman of Abia State NUJ Council John Emejor and Chairman of Correspondents Chapel, Mr. Emma Ugwu, who expressed shock at The Nation man’s abduction, called for prayers so that the reporter could return safely to his family.

• Abia State Governor Theodore Orji (right) speaking during his condolence visit to former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo on the death of his son, Ifeanyi, at Amaechi community of Enugu State... yesterday

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Cash crunch: Statesdemand $2b from ECA

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TATES have sent a proposal to President Goodluck Jonathan demanding $2 billion from the foreign Excess Crude Account (ECA) to complete ongoing projects and to fund elections.

Ebonyi State Commissioner for Finance and Chair of finance commissioners’ forum Mr. Timothy Odaah who stated this last night, said security matters and the elections required large sum of money to execute and that the state governments were optimistic that President Jonathan would favourably consider the proposal.

For the fourth month in a row, the amount shared by

M From Chris Oji, Enugu

He added that the doctor, instead of taking him to the teaching hospital, which had facilities for emergency, referred his son to his private clinic.

According to Nwobodo, the injection administered on his son led to complications.

The senator spoke yesterday when Abia State Governor Theodore Orji visited him in Enugu.

Nwobodo said the doctor tried to rush his son to Niger Foundation Hospital, but he died on the way.

He said: “My son was ill for five months before I knew about it and we were planning to go to India before we

PDP sacks Adamawa, Ebonyi excos From Gbade Ogunwale and Faith Yahaya, Abuja

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S

T. Malachy’s Grammar School Old Boys Association, Sapele, Delta State, will hold its Fund-raising Dinner/ Gala Nite at 6 pm on Saturday, November 22, at the Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.

In a statement, the group’s National President, Mr Andy Siakpere, said the old boys decried the deplorable condition of their alma mater.

He said the fund would be used to build classrooms, equip science laboratory, ICT centre, library as well as hostels.

Siakpere urged all former students to attend to enable the association raise enough funds .

From Nduka Chiejina Abuja

out to tiers of government from the Federation Account shrunk. It dropped from N603 billion shared for September to N593.337 for October.

For October, the statutory distributable revenue shared by only the federal, states and local governments was N484.321 billion. N35.549 billion was distributed under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme ((SURE-P). The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) refunded N6.330 to the federal government of Nigeria while N64.137 billion was shared from Value Added Tax (VAT) proceeds.

Church warns against secret society

How doctor ‘killed’ my son, by Nwobodo ENATOR Jim Nwobodo yesterday narrated how his son, Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo jnr died following the alleged negligence of a doctor.

Nwobodo said his son was cured at the Anderson Medical Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas, United States.

He said Ifeanyichukwu was asked to stay longer in the U.S. but he wanted to return because he was feeling homesick.

The former governor of the old Anambra State said his son developed pains in the legs and he was taken to a consultant oncologist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu.

SMOBA holds dinner Saturday

HE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sacked its executive committees in Adamawa and Ebonyi states.

The National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, told reporters yesterday that the excos were sacked for conducts inimical to the party and capable of disorganising and undermining party directives.

He said: “To maintain discipline and show the supremacy of the party and in furtherance of running a lawful, orderly and responsible state organs, we have decided to dissolve the state executive committees of Adamawa and Ebonyi states.

“We urge members in those states to disregard the publications of the results of the ward congresses made by those two state executives. Our members should disregard them as not being authorised and not coming from a proper custody.”

The party’s action is coming on the heels of protest by 11 PDP governorship aspirants in Imo State calling for the cancellation of the ward congress results.

According to the aspirants, the results were concocted by a certain group even when the congress did not hold in any part of the state.

Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved aspirants at a news briefing in Abuja yesterday, one of the aspirants, Chief Mike Ahamba, urged the party to conduct fresh ward congresses in the state.

They warned that if the party failed to conduct a fresh congress, any candidate, who emerged from the flawed congress, would not enjoy their support.

Stating that it’s the turn of the Owerri zone to produce the governorship candidate, the aspirants warned that the PDP risked losing the state to the opposition just as it did in 2011.

took him to the U.S. He was given a visa for two years because the cancer was at stage four, but they treated him.

“When he came back, his leg started to swell and he thought he should see a doctor and I advised him to see the best oncologist. It took us three weeks to see the doctor. ‘’Ön Friday - I was speaking with him three times a day - and he was to see the doctor by 5pm and between 5:30 and 6pm, I called him and he said he was with the doctor, I requested to speak with the doctor but he said he was busy but instead of the doctor taking him to UNTH, he took him to his private clinic,

where he had no equipment, no facility at all. I called him again and when I didn’t hear from him I sent him text and I asked the doctor to tell me why he gave my son injection that made him unconscious, he said he was sorry and that he was trying to resuscitate him.

“I spoke with him by 6:30pm and by 7 pm he was dead.

“It is painful because this is something that would have been averted and I can’t understand why a dean of Department of Medicine should leave the hospital where he has all the equipment to go to his private clinic and I believe that is how some other people die.”

$620,000 bribe: Judge excuses herself from Lawan’s trial

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USTICE Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory High Court (FCT) in Gudu, Abuja has excused herself from the trial of former Chairman, House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, Farouk Lawan and one other.

Lawan, a serving legislator, is being tried with the committee’s former Secretary, Boniface Emenalo, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly receiving a bribe of $620,000 from businessman Femi Otedola in 2012 to exclude his companies’ names from a list of organisations found to have allegedly defrauded the country through the petroleum subsidy scam.

Justice Banjoko announced her decision to withdraw from the case during yesterday’s proceedings. She ordered the case file be returned to the court’s Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Bukar.

The judge refused to continue with proceedings in the case

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

despite the withdrawal of an application filed by Lawan, asking her to disqualify herself from the case. Lawan’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who wrote the application dated October 29, applied to withdraw it yesterday.

Justice Banjoko held that although the application had been withdrawn and the Chief Judge had cleared her of the allegation in a petition written against her by Lawan, the contents of the petition were “scandalous and a challenge” on her integrity.

“In my 17 years on the bench - six years as a magistrate and 11 years as a judge - I have never been confronted with a scandalous challenge of my integrity,” she said.

Lawan, in addition to his application, wrote a petition to the court’s chief judge, alleging that Justice Banjoko was likely to be biased based on an alleged close relationship between her and Otedola, who is a proposed witness and the complainant.

OTAILATU Cherubim and Seraphim Church Worldwide has directed its members, who belong to secret societies to renounce their membership or face punishment.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday signed by the founder, primate and supreme head, Baba Aladura Motailatu Akinadewo, the general secretary MCCSW, Elder Israel Akinadewo and Elder (Professor) Joseph Otubu, General evangelist,

the church said no member should remain in such societies.

The church said “no member should belong to any secret society; the church will not be involved in the funeral of any person found to have belonged or associated with any secret society”.

The church also warned that any member of secret societies shall not function in the church hierarchy, or be a member of any committee of the church.

God Warrior Congress holds programme

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HRIST Apostolic Church Apostle Babalola First Mountain is set to hold a three-day programme, tagged: God Warrior Congress, billed for Mountain Efon Alaye in Osun State.

The programme begins today at 9 am, with an all-night session on Friday at 10 pm. The theme is “Resist the devil’’, taking from James 4:7.

Speaking on the programme, the host, Prophet Israel A. Nasiri said attendees should resist the antics of the devil.

Those ministering include Prophet M.O. Adio (Ilorin), Evang. Ojo Ade (Lagos) Femi Adedeji (Adejesu) Ile-Ife Dr. T.T. Lawal (Lagos).

Clergy holds forum for aspirants

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HE clergy and laity of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, St. Theresa’s Cathedral, Enugu State, has given aspirants an opportunity to present their manifestos to the electorate.

Rev. Geoffrey Onah addressed a forum organised by the Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, in conjunction with the Nsukka elite and stakehold-

ers to correct anomalies of the past, tagged: “A political Consultation Document”.

Bishop Onah said the forum would ensure that only men and women of proven integrity were elected.

Aspirants for governor, Senate, House of Representatives and the House of Assembly were given five minutes to speak at the forum.

ANCO chief loses mum

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HE death has been announced of Madam Abike Mobolanle Oladapo (nee Owojori), mother of the National President, Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) and Chief Executive Officer, Bowill Group of Companies, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo.

A native of Ile Ife, Osun State, she passed on at 86 years after a brief illness at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

A foremost gold merchant

•The late Oladapo

during her life time, Mama Oladapo was also a devout Christian.

A statement by her family said burial arrangement would be made public soon.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has ordered security operatives to unravel the masterminds of the abduction of 14 reporters by armed gang on the Warri waterways of Delta State on Sunday afternoon.

The reporters, including the Regional Editors of The Nation, Vanguard and Leadership, were kidnapped by Ijaw youths and taken to Oporoza in Gbaramatu and home of former Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo).

They were returning from Ugborodo where the Itsekiri protested the cancellation of the Delta Gas City’s groundbreaking ceremony following the threat by Ijaw groups.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, at the opening ceremony of the Press Week of the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Asaba, said President Jonathan had ordered investigation into the incident.

He said: “Before we start saying anything, I think I owe it a duty and a responsibility as the chief executive of Delta

Oporoza 14: Jonathan orders probe into reporters’ kidnap

‘North’s leaders sponsoring Boko Haram’

•Jonathan has no ulterior motive over project, says Uduaghan

SOUTHSOUTH group, the Southsouth Consolidated Forum, has accused North’s leaders of allegedly sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgency to create problems for President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

A statement by its president, Dick Harry, said the Boko Haram insurgency was North’s clandestine design to undermine the Jonathan administration.

The statement said: “The present insurgency in parts of the North is the handiwork of overzealous and desperate politicians from the North. The religious aspect of the war is a mere colouration.

“On the ...faceless insurgence called Boko Haram, it is not out of place to say that the insurgents are being sponsored by some highly placed, desperate and ambitious politicians from the North, who felt that the Presidency is their birthright.

“They do this just to discredit the efforts of the Federal Government.

Unfortunately for them, their evil plans have failed and will continue to fail.

The northern leaders and elders’ forum need to tell the world the truth and rise up to the occasion to end this national genocide against innocent Nigerians.”

From Shola O’Neil, S’South Regional Editor

State to apologise to all journalists in Nigeria for the ugly incident that happened in this state in the last two days in which 14 journalists were unfortunately held hostage. I say the act itself is unfortunate; it is condemnable.

“Let me assure everyone that the Presidency and the President himself has ordered an investigation into the issue. I want to assure you that anyone who is found guilty will be handed over to the security agencies.”

The release of the tormented reporters was facilitated by men of the Nigerian Navy at the Forward Operational Base,

Escravos. They were said to be acting on a directive from the Chief of Naval Staff to ensure that the reporters were freed.

Uduaghan, however, has absolved President Jonathan of alleged partisanship and ethnic bias in the handling of the Delta Gas City project at Ogidigben.

President Jonathan’s failure to perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the project, amid threats by the Ijaw in the area, led to several protests and condemnation among the Itsekiri.

Uduaghan said: “I find it unfortunate and objectionable that the President was being accused of partisanship and asked to resign. If the Presi-

dent has no love for Delta State, he would not have visited Delta State twice this year to inaugurate two projects. It shows he loves Delta State.”

The governor stressed that the Gas City project was sited in Delta State despite several interests because of Jonathan’s love for the state.

According to him, the project was originally billed for Koko but was relocated to Ogidigben because of the community’s shallow waters at the initial location.

Uduaghan noted that if Mr. President had an ulterior motive, he could have taken it to another state.

He said: “This is a $16 billion

•From left: Director of Foods and Drugs Service, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Joyce Ugwu; Permanent Secretary, Mr. Linus Awute; President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mr. Olumide Akintayo; Deputy President, Mr. Idris Pada and Chairman, PSN, Federal Capital Territory, Mrs. Otote Bridget, at the presentation of medical equipment and drugs against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) by PSN to the ministry in Abuja

Jedy-Agba promises greater Cross River

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CROSS River State governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Goddy Jedy-Agba, has promised to create a decent, secure and prosperous state, if elected governor.

The aspirant spoke at a media briefing in Lagos through his media consultant, Mr. Phrank Shaibu.

He said: “I make this vow with a high sense of responsibility because I believe I have the qualities required to continue what our party has achieved in Cross River as well as the Transformation Agenda of Mr President.

“My vision and mission are to create a decent, secure and burgeoning environment, driven by a zesty economy, supported by quality service, equity and justice. I am running for governor because I believe I can add value to the governance of a state I love so much. My love for Cross River and its people knows no limit. I love the diversity, the can-do spirit, the communal life of neighbourhelping-neighbour of the people. I believe in what Cross River State can be. My passion to serve compels me once again to stand for what is right for all Cross River people, to make Cross River State what it can be. I offer myself as a Cross River man, who is concerned about the widespread unemployment that is destroying our society.”

•Jedy-Agba

project, which was approved

by Mr. President to be located in Delta State. Its initial place was Koko but because of the need for a deep sea port, it was relocated to Ogidigben.

“Let us join hands to ensure that the project takes off. Everybody will benefit from it, irrespective of their tribe. I want to appeal to everybody to put aside our differences and ensure that the project takes off because investors are waiting.

Let us not use our hands to drive away investors.”

The governor hailed the Delta State NUJ for promoting peace.

He advised journalists to be objective in reporting the 2015 elections.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

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Gunmen kidnap Bayelsa monarch in Delta

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HE traditional ruler of Oporomor Kingdom in Ekeremor, Bayelsa State, Augustine Ebikeme, has been kidnapped by gunmen.

The monarch was reportedly abducted at Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

He was said to have been whisked away on Sunday to an unknown place when he

•Ijaw youths threaten to storm community From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

was returning from an engagement to his kingdom.

Youths, under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, condemned the abduction and demanded the release of the monarch.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Eric Omare, IYC said

the abduction of the monarch, popularly called Pere Ekere, was an attack on the Ijaw nation.

The statement said: “We regard the kidnap of Pere Ekere, who is not just a traditional ruler but a spiritual leader of the Ijaw people, as an attack on the Ijaw nation.

“If Pere Ekere is not released by the kidnappers, Ijaw youths would be forced to storm Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State to effect his release.

“The kidnap of Pere Ekere is a joke taken too far and the IYC would not tolerate it.

“To take steps towards the release of Pere Ekere, the IYC would hold an emergency national congress at Olabrakopre community, Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri, Delta State, on Friday, November 21.

“The congress would be attended by Ijaw youths all over the nation and decisions on practical steps to release Pere Ekere are expected to be taken.”

Dickson proposes N320.6b budget for 2015

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AYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson has presented to the House of Assembly N320.6 billion as the budget proposal for 2015.

Presenting what he called the Budget of Completion, Dickson said the estimate comprised N175.8 billion (54 per cent) recurrent expenditure and N144.9 billion (45.2 per cent) capital expenditure.

He said the budget was expected to be financed from a revenue projection of N231.3 billion and capital receipts of N89.3 billion.

Explaining the sectoral breakdown of the budget, Dickson said N65.9 billion was set aside for the Works and Infrastructure sub-sector and N21 billion for Education.

The governor assured that most of the projects in the Health sector would be completed, especially the five referral hospitals under construction.

He said N7.1 billion was allocated to the Health sector to complete the Okilo Memorial Hospital and rehabilitate over

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

30 health centres across the state.

For Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dickson proposed N4.2 billion.

The governor said his administration would begin work on the new water reticulation network in Yenagoa, next year, which would be extended to the rural communities.

He directed the state-owned electricity company and the Ministry of Power to liaise with the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PEDC) to ensure improved power supply in the state.

Dickson allocated N7.6 billion to the Public Utilities sub-sector.

The governor said he was committed to the completion of the two sports academies at Asoama, in Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area, and Angalabiri, in Sagbama Local Government Area.

He allocated N4.2 billion to the Sports sub-sector.

Proposing N1.98 billion to the Information and Communications sector, Dickson said the digitalisation of the electronic media, including the stateowned radio and television stations, would be actualised through.

The governor said N2,755,240,000,000 was earmarked to the Social Development, Women and Youth Empowerment sub-sector; N990 million to Environment; N1,652,000,000 to Science and Technology and

N2,976,000,000 to the Transport sector.

Housing and Urban Development got N5.7 billion; Capital City Development Authority, got N2,464,667,700 and Tourism was allocated N1,789,000,000.

EPZ: Delta communities protest exclusion

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HE people of Sokebolou and Yokiri communities in Ogulagha Kingdom, Burutu Local government Area of Delta State have vowed to resist any attempt by the state and Federal Government to leave them out of the acquisition of land and naming of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project.

They said no acre or metre of the Sokebolou and Yokiri communities’ lands would be allowed to be used for the EPZ project without their consent.

The communities protested on Monday.

They said the protest was staged because they were left out of those invited for a dia-

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

logue at Abuja on Monday to proffer solutions to the challenges bedevilling the project.

Abanre Friday and Samuel Powoide, chairmen of Sokebolou and Yokiri communities, said: “The Sokebolou and Yokiri federated communities of Ogulagha Kingdom, with their other communities at Agbromagbene, Bomoupetepete, OloseimoEre and Adedegbene, are stakeholders, as their land are involved in the proposed land for the EPZ project.

“We want to inform the world that the officials of the Delta State Government of Itsekiri origin have failed to

perform their duties; rather, they continue to pursue an Itsekiri agenda that is capable of upturning the existing peace in our area.

“We, therefore, oppose the naming of the EPZ project after the Itsekiri without recognition of the Ijaw of Ogulagha and Gbaramatu. We, the people of Ogulagha Kingdom, are equal stakeholders and want everybody to know that any decision taken on the naming of EPZ without our input shall not be binding on us. To make the representation of the Ijaw complete, the state government should constitute an Ogulagha Interface Committee, as requested since May, 2014.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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‘I’m not running corrupt govt’

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ORNO State Governor Kashim Shettima has said he is not running a corrupt administration.

The governor was reacting yesterday to corruption allegation by a former governor of the state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

Shettima said he had fixed the state, instead of the corpsedressing development witnessed during Sheriff’s administration.

The governor warned President Goodluck Jonathan against a political romance with Sheriff.

In a statement by his media aide, Mallam Isa Gusau, Shettima denied Sheriff’s allegation, adding that the former governor lacked the moral ground to pick holes in his administration because he (Shettima) had delivered on his promises, despite the security he had been facing.

The statement said: “Those who have been following the trend of events in Borno State can attest to the fact that the administration of Governor Kashim Shettima is changing Borno for the better. If there is one governor who has an excuse not to lay a single block, it should have been Shettima, due

Saudi prince, others get ABU’s ‘doctorate’ From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

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•Shettima warns Presidency, others against romance with Sheriff From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

to security challenges.

“But out of patriotism and burning love for Borno, the governor is fixing the state in the real sense, against the corpse-dressing that his predecessor did. The strides in Borno are today being compared with what obtains in other states where insecurity was not bequeathed to the successors by the predecessors.

“Out of ego and pride, Sheriff’s major worry is that no governor should be re-elected in Borno State, like he was reelected. But like Governor Shettima has always said, it is Allah Who gives power to whoever He wishes at His appointed time. Mere mortals can only roar where they should.

“The people of Borno State have seen the difference between Sheriff and Shettima and they will be the judge.

“Governor Shettima did not lose focus in governance in the face of more serious threats and dangers when Maiduguri (the state capital) was a no-go area, when Sheriff and those with him all fled the state.

“Shettima will not lose focus

now. He believes in Allah, relies on Him and he is with the people of Borno State.”

On Jonathan’s political romance with Sheriff, the governor said: “I am only pitying those who take Sheriff seriously: from the Minister of State for power, Mohammed Wakil, to those within the Presidency, because the Sheriff we all know will dump them soon as he is through with them. Sheriff has been close to power at the centre since the days of (the late Head of State Gen. Sani) Abacha.

“The same Sheriff became close to former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the point that he was calling Obasanjo Baba. But is he with Obasanjo today? When President Umaru Yar’Adua was there, Sheriff worked his way through, as usual. But is he with the Yar’Aduas today?

“When governors, led by Senator Bukola Saraki, were moving round the National Assembly to have the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan become acting President, following the stalemate over Yar’Adua’s health, was Sheriff

•Shettima

ever there with his colleagues to save the country and assist the current President?

“The video tapes are there with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and can be verified. Today, Sheriff is trying to be more President Goodluck Jonathan than Jonathan. Those close to the President should be wise to know who they are dealing with.

“Today, he will call Governor Shettima all sorts of names and after the 2015 elections, when he will be defeated like before, Inshaa Allah, the same Sheriff will change tune; and should President Jonathan not be in position to be of help to him, it will be a different thing all together.”

Residents foil bomb attack at Gombe park

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N attempted bombing of the Gombe State Transport Service (Gombe Line) park was foiled yesterday through the vigilance of the residents and security operatives.

The same motor park was bombed on October 31 when nine people were killed and scores of others injured.

A witness said the suspected bomber, who carried a bag containing the improved explosive devices (IEDs) into the motor park, resisted attempts to search him.

The witness said the suspect dropped the bag and was walked out of the park. But a vigilant onlooker took the bag to him outside the motor park.

When the bag was searched, the explosives were found in it.

From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

It was learnt that the crowd mobbed the suspect.

In the course of beating him, another explosive was found in his dress.

The mob set the suspect ablaze with the explosive on his body going off.

Police Commissioner Kudu Abdullahi Nma confirmed the incident.

The police chief said it occurred at 1pm at the Gombe Line Park, where a bomb killed some people a few weeks ago.

He said: “What happened in about 30 or 45 minutes was a miracle that would have had a devastating effect in Gombe.

“I will rather say this would have been another dark cloud if

it had happened. It would have sent a very bad message. But I am very pleased with the security strategies put in place after the previous incident at the same motor park.”

Nma said trouble started as “the man was trying to forcefully gain entrance into the park, refusing to obey the security procedures put in place”.

He added: “But the local security and the security men at the gate insisted that the bag he was conveying must be searched. That was the beginning of the struggle and trouble.

“He was overpowered by the people who, in their desperate efforts to make him obey security procedures, pounced to ensure that his bag was searched.”

The police chief said the

Nasarawa: Govt restricts movement

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HE Nasarawa State Government has said it was restricting the movement of people in Lafia, the state capital, instead of a dusk-todawn curfew because of the security breaches in the town.

The government made the clarification yesterday against the speculation that there was curfew in the state capital.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary Yakubu Lamai said the clarification was to ensure that the public was not misinformed.

The statement urged the residents to go about their lawful businesses without fear.

•‘No curfew in Lafia’

From Johnny Danjum, Lafia

The government said it extended the ban on motorcycles, from 6pm to 6am to curtail the activities of ethnic militias who might use motorcycles to attack houses on the outskirts of the state capital.

The statement assured that the government had restored order in all parts of the state.

It said Governor Tanko AlMakura was going round the city to assess the security situations.

The statement advised the residents to avoid spreading

rumours that could threaten the peace.

The government said normalcy had returned to Lafia, adding that the movement restriction was the decision of the state security council to make the residents conduct themselves peacefully.

Also yesterday, it was learnt that the alleged killing of Baba Alakyo, who allegedly caused the death of over 100 security operatives, was a rumour.

A source, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that the famed spiritualist was alive.

Zangon Kataf elders, stakeholders back Katung

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S the National Assembly primaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) draw closer, the council of elders and stakeholders in Southern Kaduna have backed the aspiration of former Commissioner of Finance and Water Resources, Sunday Marshal Katung, for Jaba/Zangon Kataf in the House of Representatives.

The decision was reached at a stakeholders’ and elders’ meeting of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.

They agreed that the incumbent, Godfrey Ali Gaiya, from Jaba Local Government Area, had served two terms and needed to give way to somebody from Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, based on a rotational agreement between the two local governments.

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

The meeting, which was summoned by the PDP Chairman in Zangon Kataf local government, Gaiya Yunusa, was attended by the party’s Secretary Sam Basa, House of Assembly member Esther Abba, Elder J. B. Ayok, Elder Samaila Dambo, Elder Dominic Gambo Yahaya, Dr. Baba Usman, Information Commissioner Ben Bako, Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Matthew Gwaza; former Local Government Commissioner Yohanna Allahmagani, among others.

The meeting was also attended by former local government chairmen with serving and former lawmakers from the area.

The elders urged the four aspirants for the constituency to present their blueprints.

people found on the suspected bomber five improvised RPG war heads, two mortars with four heads, two improvised cylinders, five detonators and a remote control meant for detonating the bomb.

There was no other casualty besides the suspect.

FORMER Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Alhaji Shettima Ali Munguno; a Federal Permanent Secretary, Dr. Bukar Usman, and a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Talal Abdulazeez Bin Al Saud, will get Ahmadu Bello University’s (ABU’s) honorary doctorate degrees at the institution’s 37th convocation on Saturday.

Vice Chancellor Prof Abdullahi Mustapha announced the university’s decision to confer the honorary degrees on the personalities at a media briefing.

The vice chancellor said the recipients had been notified of their selection for the awards. Prof Mustapha said Munguno would be conferred with Doctor of Law; Usman would receive Doctor of Letters and the Saudi prince a Doctor of Science.

Munguno is an acclaimed educational philanthropist, who established schools to assist the less privileged, besides donating books to various schools and indigent students.

Usman, who graduated from the university in 1969, is being honoured as an accomplished administrator. He served the nation in various capacities, including as a permanent secretary.

The Saudi prince is a distinguished international philanthropist, particularly in Third World countries. He is President of the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, the Arab Network for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Arab Women Centre for Training and Research.

Tension in Calabar over PDP screening panel

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HERE has been apprehension in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, since the arrival of members of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) screening panel in the city.

The panel is expected to clear aspirants who will participate in electoral processes ahead of the 2015 elections. It is expected to start sitting today.

The fear is that the panel may have been set up with a mandate to disqualify aspirants who are not in the good books of Governor Liyel Imoke.

The state PDP recently announced the suspension of some key stakeholders, including a frontline contender, Mr Gody Jedy-Agba, and his major campaign directors. The party was at the verge of suspending Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba but shifted it to the party’s national secretariat.

There are concerns in several quarters about the panel’s members because they are either the colleagues, friends or associates of the governor.

For instance, the panel chairman, Senator Ben Birabi, served in the National Assembly with the governor.

The panel’s secretary is Liyod Ukwu and his daughter, Yetunde, works with Imoke as a personal assistant (PA). Also, the chairman’s son, Nnaku, is Imoke’s PA.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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CITYBEATS Police warn vehicle owners

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HE Lagos State Police Command and the Chairman/Operating Officer of Fow Ti Go and Automotive Services Limited, Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2, Ikeja Lagos, have warned owners of abandoned and accident vehicles parked at Ifako Gbagada, Ketu, Sabo Police stations and Ikeja Airport Terminal 2, to remove them or lose them to members of the public through auction two weeks after this publication.

The vehicles are: Mercedes Benz BH 326FKJ, Toyota Starlet AZ 756 AP, Mitsubishi AG 207KAF, Freelandar Jeep LND526AW and Toyota Corolla GR 603FK. Others are: Volkswagen Golf AG 750KTP, Mazda 626BF851 KSF, Land Rover FC 102 LND, Nissan

Quest UA54AAA, Nissan Primera LC496EKY, Dacia Logan CU577KTU, Ford Rangar HL735KJA, Nissan Primera BP306AAA, Ford F350 BL 829KSF, Mazda 626 FU966LSR, Mazda 626 KSF 895BX, Volkswagen Golf FH156AAA, KIA Cerato LSR 826 BS, Mercedez ML RQ133KJA, Suzuki Legacy unregistered , Mazda 626 AT92AAB, Mitsubishi Montero DN 644JJJ, Mazda323AH192YRE, Mazda626 BD76FKJ and Toyota Camry CG646KSF. It also include: Toyota Starlet FS664LSR, Audi 2.6E KX96KJA, Volkswagen Golf AG 750KTP, Volkswagen Vantro KSF437BJ, Volkswagen Passat EPE 606CE, Volkswagen Passat MK 139CC, Volkswagen Golf KSF651BQ and XV Volkswagen Passat XV832AKD.

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

Oil marketer held for N594m ‘fraud’

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HE Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) in Lagos has begun investigations into a N594 million fraud allegedly perpetrated by an oil marketer, Mr Dapo Abiodun, the Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum.

Spokesperson of the unit, Mrs Ngozi Agu-Isintume, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed the case yesterday.

She explained that the probe followed a petition sent to the Commissioner of Police by a civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), alleging fraud against the businessman. “We have received a petition in that regard and we will look into it,” she said.

Mr Debo Adeniran, who chairs the coalition, said: “Our group which is a communitybased non-governmental organisation with the objective of fighting corruption and corrupt persons by any means

By Jude Isiguzo

possible at all levels in Nigeria, has monitored the fuel subsidy fraud saga from 2012 till date and we have discovered that out of about 25 oil marketers indicted by the federal government, only Mr Dapo Abiodun of Heyden Petroleum has not been made to refund the N594 million he fraudulently received from government, hence the need to get the police to visit the case and unravel how he has been able to escape from the searchlight of our law-enforcement agencies.”

Praising the unit, the petitioner said: “It is particularly noteworthy that a few corrupt public officials and fraudsters who hitherto saw themselves as untouchable have not only been touched but prosecuted through the efforts of your unit. We are sure more could still be done to record more

monumental achievements if you will partner with other organisations like ours, which are committed to the same goal of ridding our society of bad eggs.”

It further said: “We draw your attention to and call for your urgent investigation of a fraud of N594 million allegedly perpetrated by Mr Dapo Abiodun who is the Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum. From the information available to us, Mr Abiodun committed the fraud under the controversial fuel subsidy regime of the present federal government.

“It is on record that the federal government, through the federal ministry of finance, indicted 25 oil-marketing firms for defrauding the government of a whopping N408 billion in fictitious subsidy claims. The indictment was contained in a statement by the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi

Okonjo-Iweala through her Senior Special Assistant (Communications), Mr Paul Nwabuikwu on August 22, 2012.

“Surprisingly, from our findings, virtually all the indicted companies have either been made to make refunds or are being prosecuted by the law-enforcement agencies, yet, no one has deemed it fit to question Mr Abiodun and his Heyden Petroleum.

“As a result, we are compelled by patriotic zeal to urge you to deploy your team of professional investigators to unravel how N594 million would have gone to an individual’s pocket and the same person is still walking the streets free despite a documented public indictment by the federal government. We are counting on you to do the needful in this regard in the interest of Nigeria’s economy and the suffering poor masses.”

‘My husband watched our son die’

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MIDDLE-aged trader, Monsurat Abdulganiu, has taken her husband, Oyewole, before the Alakuko Customary Court in Lagos, to seek the dissolution of their 22-year-old marriage.

Alleging that her husband “is adulterous and irresponsible,” she said: “Since his relations were against our marriage because I limp, I couldn’t inform his siblings about his disruptive behaviour. When our house got burnt, my husband rented an

•Man to court: ‘No, I tried to make him live’

By Basirat Braimah

apartment with another woman, leaving me with our children in a mosque. Since then, we have been separated and he stopped catering for our children. Early this year, I told him I needed some money to treat our first child who was ill, but before he sent the money, our son died.”

“It’s been nine years since

we separated. My husband has never asked after our children’s welfare. Now, he wants to take them, leaving me with none. I want my children in my custody. I have been struggling to make ends meet,” she further said.

However, 47-year-old Abdulganiu denied the allegation, saying: “Yes, I couldn’t visit our son when he was ill because I was busy at work. I was still planning to take him

to a hospital when my wife informed me about his death, but I had sent her N60, 000 for his treatment. I am responsible. I am not adulterous. I only married another woman because we were once divorced.”

The court’s President Olubode Sekoni fixed a chamber discussion for the couple and ordered them to bring four relations each. He adjourned the matter till November 24.

•Former Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, and an aspirant to the Lagos West Senatorial Seat, Chief Enoch Ajiboso (middle) speaking on his ambition at a forum organised by the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Alausa, Ikeja. With him are Lagos NUJ Chairman Mr Deji Elumoye (right) and Secretary Mrs Bimbo Oyetunde.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

Lawyer urges court to declare ‘environmental Saturdays’ illegal

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IGHTS activist Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to declare the monthly environmental sanitation exercise illegal.

He said the restriction of movement during the “cleanup” from 7am till 10am has no legal basis.

Besides, he said it grossly violates the right to freedom of movement as guaranteed in the Constitution.

The lawyer is seeking a declaration that the restriction of his movement, and that of other residents of Lagos State on the last Saturday of every month, constitutes a breach of their rights.

Adegboruwa said no law in Lagos State approves the compulsory detention of citizens at home for three hours for the purpose of observing a mandatory sanitation.

Inspector-General of Police

By Joseph Jibueze

Suleiman Abba, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and the Attorney-General Mr Ade Ipaye; Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and the ministry are the respondents.

The lawyer is praying for an order restraining the respondents either by themselves or their privies from restricting his movement and that of other Lagos residents on the last Saturday of every month He is also asking the court to direct the respondents to forthwith allow him and other residents to move freely on the last Saturday of every month, in exercise of their fundamental rights.

In a supporting affidavit, Adegboruwa said he had been restricted on several last Saturdays from going out on the grounds of an Environmental Sanitation exercise.

For instance, he said on June 28 last year, he was invited by a television station for a 9am program on a Saturday.

“The next morning of June 29, 2013, I set out from my house in Lekki to honour the said invitation. At the Ketu interchange on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, I was arrested and detained by police officers on the ground that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise was going on.

“The expressway was blocked by policemen, and officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), also used their pick up vans to block the road, to prevent access and to hinder free movement.

“I have a monthly arrangement with one of the companies licenced by Lagos State to clear refuse, and they deploy their trucks to my house regularly, to dispose of all the waste

generated by my household.

“I am aware that the sixth respondent has granted several other private firms the right to manage waste disposal in Lagos State.

“I verily believe that the restriction of human and vehicular movement constitutes a breach of the fundamental human right of freedom of movement as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter,” he said.

Justice Mohammed Idris ordered that hearing notices to be served on the respondents and adjourned till January 28 next year for hearing.

Adegboruwa had successfully sued Lagos State over toll collection on the Ikoyi bridge.

Justice Saliu Saidu, in a March 27 judgment, held there was no law backing the tolling. The state appealed against the verdict and obtained a stay of execution.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared his intention to contest next year’s election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mixed reactions have trailed the declaration. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the issues that will shape the contest.

Does Jonathan deserve second term?

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s bid for a second term is generating mixed reactions from Nigerians. There are those who believe the President has failed in the last six years to provide leadership, fight corruption, protect lives and property, reduce poverty level, and put in place the building block for genuine democracy. They also accused him of enthroning impunity. To them, another term for him may throw the country into chaos and disintegration.

But, his supporters said that he deserves a second term. They claim that the Transformation Agenda is on course.

The critics also blamed him for declaring his re-election bid a day after 37 pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum, Yobe State, were killed in a suicide bomb attack. Analysts say the President’s action betrayed the mood of the nation. They argued that such ceremonial event could have been postponed in honour of the deceased and their parents.

Even more disquieting was the statement made by the President at his declaration that he has fulfilled all his electoral promises to the electorate. In spite of the fact that his administration has come under intense criticism over its handling of the security challenges and for not doing much to arrest corruption, he told his audience that if re-elected he would do everything humanly possible to defeat Boko Haram and stamp out corruption.

Many Nigerians are however not impressed with what they described as the President’s desperation for a second term. For instance, former Senate Minority leader Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora said the President should have cancelled his declaration after school pupils were massacred in Potiskum, Yobe State. He said: “It has been the character of Mr President and his party, not minding the mood of the nation, not minding what had happened in recent time, to go about holding rallies when Nigerians are in tears. Remember, he held a rally in Kano shortly after a bomb attack that killed many people in the city”.

Mamora said President Jonathan was quoted as saying that he does not care about the incident. “Clearly the 1999 Constitution states that the security and welfare of the people are the primary responsibility of the government. Where the government fails, it is a breach of the fundamental right of the citizenry. To me, the timing of his declaration is unfortunate, inappropriate and insensitive.

Whenever there is a tragedy of that magnitude in the country, the President becomes the chief mourner,” he said.

As to whether he deserves a second term, the former Senate Minority leader is of the view that considering his performance in the past six years in office, the President should have quietly retired to his home town. He premised his argument on the fact that most of the achievements the President is claiming are not visible.

Mamora said: “The chorous boys in the system have been mouthing or talking of so many achievements, but the question here is, has Mr. President been able to secure lives and property? The answer is no. Insecurity is not about Boko Haram insurgence alone. We have rampant cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and a lot of violent crimes in the country.

“They feed us with lies on radio, television, newspapers and social media. They tell us that thousand kilometres of federal roads have been constructed across the country. You start wondering whether those roads are in Nigeria or abroad. They keep telling us the economy has been rebased and that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. What does that translate into in the life of ordinary Nigerians? Has it improved their standard of living? They claim million of jobs have been created, yet we have an army of unemployed youths roaming the streets in search of jobs

‘He has failed to reduce poverty, boost infrastructure, fight hunger, disease and insecurity with conscious effort made to diversify the economy through investment in the non-oil sector to kick-start growth and development’ • Dr Jonathan

that are not there. The health and education sectors are in crisis.

“The economy is in shambles. The United States that is the biggest buyer of Nigerian oil has turned to other sources of energy. Our earnings from oil export has declined. In spite of several warnings, government has failed to diversify the economy in anticipation of this kind of development. I am not saying that Mr. President has done nothing. He has recorded some achievements in agriculture and renovation of some airports. But, the total assessment of his performance in the past six years is below average. I will put his performance in the last six years at three and half on a scale of 10 or 35 per cent, which is not a pass mark.

“Based on that, I will say that he does not deserve a second term. We will wait for Nigerians to decide his fate. That day of reckoning will surely come in February next year, Mamora stated.

Legal luminary Emeka Ngige (SAN) believes Nigerians through their votes will decide whether Jonathan deserves a second term or not. He said: “The issue of whether the President deserves a second term is a matter for the electorates to decide. If a free and fair election is conducted in 2015, Mr. President will get the answer he deserves. I think the issue goes beyond whether he deserves a second term.

The issue is simply whether he ought to continue in office, in the interest of peace, unity and continued existence of this country. This is based on the promise he made to rule for only six years; a promise he freely gave to members of his party, particularly former President Olusegun Obasanjo and northern politicians.

“To me, there should be honour in politics; our words should be our bond and personal sacrifices can be made to promote the continued peaceful co-existence of this country. I remember in South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, the Deputy President to President Thabo Mbeki became the President, following the latter’s sudden resignation as President of the Republic of South Africa. During the election following the resignation, he ran as running mate to Jacob Zuma and when the ANC won the election he reverted to his position as Deputy President! Can such a thing happen in Nigeria? A President reverting to his previous position as Vice President, it is impossible.

“So, that is the opportunity Nigeria is missing, with the President’s insistence that he would rule for 10 years. If I were him, I will keep to the pledge and not run; I will use the present opportunity to enthrone accountability in government and fight corruption and ensure that peoples vote count in all facets of our electoral process.

Former spokesman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Anthony Sani is of the view that the Jonathan Administration has lost the fight against corruption because it has failed to bring those involved in high profile corrupt cases to book.

He said: “As long as Nigerians do not see actions taken on known cases of corruption like fuel subsidy scandal, pension scam, the bullet-proof car contract scam involving former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, Siemens contract scam, and the missing funds in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerians are bound to conclude that the government has not done much in the war against corruption.”

Sani said Nigeria has been carting home gold medals in misery indices in recent times and bringing up the rear in human development index. “Mr. President himself is aware of major security challenges and whether the government has delivered on its mandate to protect lives and property is there for all to see and pass judgment, he added.

Mamora also faulted Jonathan’s promise in his declaratory speech to fight corruption. According to him, the President is not committed to anti-graft war. He said: “What is the basis for us to believe his promise. It is the same promise he made years back and failed to fulfil.

“Corruption is endemic in the society and Mr. President has not shown demonstrable fight against it. I remember the Speaker of House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, made a statement while he was still in the PDP that Mr. President’s body language does not depict someone who wants to fight corruption. It is the greatest indictment on Mr. President. I don’t believe anything will change. Corruption would get worse under Jonathan’s second term. Nigerians should not take him serious on the issue of fighting corruption.”

Former Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, described corruption in Nigeria as unprecedented. He said: “Corruption is in every nation, but Nigeria’s own

is number one. If we are not careful, this nation will go down the drain. You can’t get assistance from people without offering bribe.”

On Jonathan ‘s second term bid, Okogie said: “If I were in his shoes, I would hide my head.

You can see from all that is going on, some people have been saying that he signed for one term. I am not a prophet, but that is what my mind is telling me.”

Civil Rights activist Comrade Moshood Erubami is very categorical that Jonathan does not deserve a second term because his six years in office has failed to impact positively on the life of Nigerians. Erubami noted that under Jonathan the whole institution of governance have collapsed as government cannot meet its primary obligation to provide for the welfare and security of the people.

Erubami said Jonathan came on board accidentally and unprepared for the challenges of governing a complex nation like Nigeria.

He said: “As a result, he did not have needed blueprint for creating the environment for sustainable human development. He has failed woefully to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty. He has remained unconcerned about the need to enthrone the rule of law, property rights, running open and accountable government and creation of access to justice to Nigerians through an independent judiciary.

“He has failed reduce poverty, boost infrastructure, fight hunger, disease and insecurity with conscious effort made to diversify the economy through investment in the nonoil sector to kick-start growth and development.

“The spate of attacks, ambushes and kidnapping that have continued in spite of the one sided ceasefire announced by the Federal Government attest to the fact that government has been lying. President Jonathan once told us that the government was closing on the insurgents in the country, only to turn round again to tell us that the insurgents were faceless. Worse still, the injustices that gave rise to the insurgency in the country are yet to abate and the masterminds are still in government showing no remorse. Yet, the government is not demonstrating any capacity to remedy the situation.

“The truth is that, under Jonathan’s presidency, the country has graduated from militancy in the Niger Delta to kidnapping in the South and to Boko Haram insurgency in parts of the North. It is believed that unemployed youths are using these avenues to seek redress for justice.”

However, Afenifere views it from a different perspective. As far as the Chairman of Afenifere, Lagos State chapter, Chief Supo Shonibare, is concerned, “if Jonathan successfully emerges from his party’s primaries, then that would be an indication that he deserves the opportunity and consideration over all other potential candidates.” Shonibare is of the view that at this stage, everyone, including President Jonathan, is entitled to seek the privilege and opportunity of managing the collective wealth and wellbeing of Nigerians.

“For those of us that are not members of the PDP or the APC (which is the other party with several state governments), the question will be which of the candidates is more likely to be effective in addressing the economic, security and national cohesion issues to ensure a stable polity and rapid development?

“That can only be determined when the process of primaries and nomination is settled and we know the leading candidates and or options. At that stage, we will consider the attributes and baggages of the leading candidates in coming to the determination of our preferred candidate and the person who deserves our support. We are still watching the development in the polity to enable us come to a decision on our choice for the Presidential elections, as we will not be sponsoring any candidate ourselves,” Shonibare added.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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RACE TO 2015 Gideon Obhakhan is an aspirant for the House of Representatives in Esan West/ Esan Central/Iguenben Constituency, Edo State on that platform of the All Progressive Congress. He recently resigned his appointment as the General Manager, MTN the aspirant. In this interview with OSAGIE OTABOR, he explains why he quit a lucrative job for politics.

‘Why I left MTN job for politics’

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HAT was the reaction of your employers when you tendered your resignation

letter?

It was mixed feelings at the end of the day. They perhaps, felt sad, considering the fact that I was a critical resource person responsible for planning and strategy in the technical area and a lot of resources was spent in training me to develop those skills, which added a lot of value and contributed immensely to positioning the MTN as a leader in the industry.

I believe they were also happy, knowing that I am going to take up a new, which will enable me touch the lives of the people in the communities where they do business. As you are aware, MTN is an organisation that spends a reasonable percentage of their annual profit on improving the lives of the people in their operating environments.

Why did you decide to abandon a lucrative job to join politics?

Working in MTN has created a lot of comfort for me. I believe that in a country where you still have a lot of people in need, it is necessary to leave my comfort zone and contribute meaningfully to the development of my locality. This is not about a job being lucrative because I am not going into politics for selfish reasons, but for selfless service to my people.

With my wealth of experience, I could continue to work in corporate organisations and keep to my private life for as long as I want. But for my kind of person, I won’t be satisfied doing that because I believe that the greatest loss to a man is not death in itself but the idea that dies in him while he is still alive. There is a need to add value to humanity in any way we can and by making the necessary sacrifices because you can never have everything easy in life. I have consistently in the past tried my best to support the less privileged in my personal capacity, but this is the time for me to take an elective position so I can contribute my quota and also be able to work with people of like minds to influence policy driven projects that will be beneficial to our people.

In what way has MTN supported your political ambition?

As far as I know, MTN is not a political organisation and it does not support political parties or aspirants.

• Obhakhan

I can give credit to MTN for providing that platform where for almost 13 years, I was able to develop myself and prepare for the future. I have heard rumours that MTN is providing financial support for my project, but I laugh each time I hear them say that and I move on because there are always more important issues to focus on that can move this country forward.

From the corporate world to politics, what are the challenges you see ahead of you?

Although these are two different worlds with different rules of engagement, I would say I am not new to the world of politics. It is not a strange environment for me. However, now that I am going deeper into it as an aspirant, there will obviously be challenges because interpersonal relationship in the corporate world for instance, is not exactly the same as that in the political landscape. But in my world, adaptation techniques are not scarce and I am confident that I will be able to handle the challenges as they come. The important thing is sincerity of purpose and genuine focus on what is important in order to ensure that we deliver the dividends of democracy to our people.

Do you think you are well prepared to swim in Nigeria’s political waters?

Of course, yes. First of all, I am a

Nigerian and I am well abreast with the political developments in the country. I know it is generally noted that the level of maturity of the political class may not be where it ought to be today, but I am confident that as more people with the right mindset continue to join to up the level of debate and contribute their quota in their own little way, we will see significant improvement across board.

I’m more interested in what I am bringing to the table than the current perception out there about politicians and the political class. I am however, mindful of the fact that a man is a product of his environment and that my ability to deliver will be largely dependent on how I choose to react to that environment. This I am prepared for and I am very hopeful that I will make a change. There are many people who have done this successfully and I don’t think it is as difficult as brain surgery.

What are your chances at the primaries?

In my humble opinion, I believe I have been able to earn the trust of my people and they are very aware politically. I have done what I think I should doin preparation for the primaries. However, it is the people that have the final say since they are the ones I am going to represent. I can only hope that our people are able to break this jinx once and for all. They need to say goodbye topeople who come once in four years to buy votes with peanuts and they sing their praises each time they come.

How would you rate Adams Oshiomhole Administration in Edo State?

Without mincing words, I will say that the comrade governor has done very well. If I compare the Edo state of today with what it was when he took over the mantle of leadership, I will say he deserves commendation.

He has touched all the sectors and you don’t need to be told about the infrastructural development in the state because they are very obvious.

Edo state is one of the states in Nigeria today that you can see significant improvement not on the pages of newspapers, but in real life. It will probably take the whole day or more if I have to list all his achievements. It will suffice for now if I just say so far, so good.

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Kebbi APC receives defectors From Khadijat Saidu Birnin Kebbi

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O fewer than 300 women in Kamba Local Government Area of Kebbi State have defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC) from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) party.

The defectors led by Hajiya Sahura Dole Kaina, who is the former PDP women leader, stormed the APC Secretariat in company of Alhaji Samaila Salihu Biu, who is running for the House of Representatives.

The women leader explained that she made a lot of sacrifices for the party, but never got anything in return.

“You know politics is all about give and take or what you stand to benefit. I challenge any PDP member in my area to tell the world what my people benefit from the PDP. The PDP is full of injustice and lies.”

She said that the PDP women office, which she single handedly opened in Kamba, will now become the APC women office. She said prominent women politician in the area, including Haj. Salamat Kamba, Haj. Luba , Haj. Halima have dumped the PDP for the APC. In his remarks, Biu lamented the security challenges in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, blaming the crises on poor leadership.

The APC Chairman, Attahiru Maccido, commended the courage of the defectors for dumping PDP for APC. He promised them justice and fair treatment in the APC, adding that detractors of the party will never succeed in their plan to destabilise it.

Aspirant writes Tinubu

By Musa Odoshimokhe

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LL Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives aspirant Solomon Akin-Aina has urged the leadership of the party to consider his ambition to represent the Ojo Federal Constituency, Lagos State.

In a letter to the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he said it is his turn serve as a federal legislator recalling that he dropped the ambition in 2011 when the party prevailed on him to do so.

He said as a loyal party man, he worked for the success of the party in past elections. Akin-Aina explained that the party did not compensate him when he stepped down.

He said: “I went through serious trial and tribulations, particularly in the hands of those favoured. I could not meet up with my responsibilities. My children were sent out of the universities over non-payment of their school fees.”

Akin-Aina added that he personally wrote the national leader on several occasions about his plight, but nothing concrete came up.

“The people, whom you said I should step down for, deprived me of my rights and privileges. They disdained me and made a mockery of me.

I sacrificed my ticket and ambition for them just for nothing. I was not remembered, but forgotten. The out-gone chairman, Yinka Durosinmi, refused to pay my entitlement. He withheld all my benefits and rights.

He said his resolve to serve the party was based on genuine interest, stressing that when he was the Chairman, Campaign and Electoral Committee, his records in office remained unassailable as a loyal party man. ‘’My committee exposed the plot against out party by some few disgruntled elements, but for the timely intervention of God who used Prof. Attahiru Jega to nullify the first election. I have tarried along this spot, it is time for you to consider me. All the leaders are ready to ensure my victory,” he stated.

Etsako councillors adopt Alimikhena for Senate

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• Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Mr Akinwumi Ambode addressing party faithful at Lagos Mainland during his visit to Yaba. With him are Hon Oladele Adekanye and Hon Jide Jimoh.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

Without mincing words, I will say that the comrade governor has done very well. If I compare the Edo state of today with what it was when he took over the mantle of leadership

HIRTY two councillors from three Etsako local government areas of Edo North have adopted Chief Francis Alimikhena for the Senate on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Alimikhena’s rivals in the senatorial race are Prof Julius Ihonvbere, the Secretary to Government, and Senator Domingo Obende. Ihonvbere is from Owan. Domingo is from Akoko Edo. Alimikhene ls from Etsako.

Alimikhene was endorsed at a dinner hosted by the councillors in SIK Hotel, Agenebode. The aspirant unfolded his agenda, saying that service and quality representation are his priority.

The motion for the adoption of the aspirant was moved by the Leader of Etsako East Council Legislative Council, Hon. Igiefameh Sunday Peter, and supported by Hon. Henry Aloye from Etsako Central. Other councillors threw their weight behind the adoption, saying that it is a right step in the right direction. The endorsement was sealed by a voice by allthe councillors.

However, the councillors advised Alimikhene to gird his loins, adding that he cannot afford to disappoint the district The aspirant assured them of his dedication and commitment, stressing that he will not let the constituents down.

He promised to articulate the interest of the district in the Senate.

Senator Victor Oyofo was the last Etsako politician to represent Edo North in the Senate. That was between 1999 and 2007. Senator Yisa Braimoh from Owan succeeded him. He was in the Senate between 2007 and 2011. In 2011, Senator Obende from Akoko Edo was elected.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

17

‘

RACE TO 2015

When a woman says she’s with you, you can really say that she is with you.

But, if a man tells you he is with you and you catch him in another meeting, he will tell you it is politics, it should not be so

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As the Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prepares for governorship primaries, ahead of the 2015 general elections, WALE AJETUNMOBI examines the chances of Senator Gbemisola Saraki in the shadow poll.

Kwara 2015: How far can Gbemi Saraki go?

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HE race for the Kwara State Government House started on the day the governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, renounced his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP faces the challenge of fielding a credible candidate against Ahmed, who the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has anointed as its standard bearer in the elections.

Senator Gbemisola Saraki, the daughter of the late Kwara political kingmaker, Dr Olusola Saraki, has again picked up the gauntlet to contest the election. It is the second time Gbemisola, who represented Kwara Central in the Senate, would be vying for the top seat, having been fielded by the defunct Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in 2011.

After a short journey in the political wilderness, Gbemisola is back in the PDP. But, the PDP ticket is not won freely. The former senator needs to first win the heart of delegates to win the ticket. She needs to battle other aspirants, including the former Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Prof Abadulraheem Oba, the Chairman of the LUBCON Group of Industries, Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, the lawmaker representing Kwara South Senatorial District, Senator Simeon Ajibola, former Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Suleiman Ajadi, the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Bio Ibrahim, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN), Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, an oil magnate, and Comrade Ben Duntoye.

What is the chance of GRS in this maledominated contest? Can she break the jinx?

Are Muslims ready to embrace a woman governor in Kwara? The answer to this question can only be located in the belly of time.

Her antecedent and track records since 1999 when she first won an elective position would be her score card to clinch the ticket. She was a member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003 on the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP). She later moved to the Senate where she spent two terms on the platform of the PDP. “Gbemisola is one of the influential woman senators ever produced by the PDP and this is a pointer to the fact that she has the political wherewithal and resources to withstand election. There is no doubt that she is a candidate to beat despite the noise from the male contenders,” a top PDP member said.

Watchers of Kwara politics believe a female aspirant can garner the grassroots sup-

• Oba

T

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that it has no anointed can didate among its 12 governorship aspirants.

The party also said it has not zoned its

• Belgore

• Senator Gbemi Saraki

port to coast to victory, if the leadership of the party allows fair primaries. The former senator, in spite of her gender limitation, floored a male opponent when elections were held into the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the PDP early this year.

Gbemisola’s loyalists emerged as the chairman, state secretary, women and youth leaders. This was also the situation throughout the 16 Local Government Areas, where her loyalists won key positions.

Therefore, the structure of the party is in her favour.

Analysts, however, doubted if she would win the support of President Goodluck Jonathan against her male counterparts?

The President has appointed the highest number of women ministers and public servants. Dame Patience Jonathan, who has been championing the cause of 35per cent affirmation for political offices, may not oppose the effort of Gbemisola Saraki.

Another question Kwarans are asking is, if the religious leaders in the state will support a female governorship candidate?

From the sermons and views of notable clerics in Ilorin, which is the biggest voting bloc, it is clear that there is no provision in the scripture that says a woman should not come out for elections.

A renowned Islamic cleric, Sheik Habibullahi Adam Al-Alory, the proprietor of the Markaz International Islamic Institute, Agege, Lagos, in a sermon delivered in Ilorin recently, posited that there was no verse, either in the Holy Quran or the Hadith of Prophet Mohammed, where women are barred from holding sensitive political post.

Instead, he said, Islam gives a lot of attention to women more than men. He said Islam preaches equality for all, irrespective of gender.

In the strong sermon, whose clip has gone viral almost immediately it was released, Al-Alory challenged Islamic clerics to bring forth any verse in the Quran that argues otherwise.

In the same vein, politicians in Ilorin are already changing their views on the ability of a woman to lead the state. A founding member of the PDP in Kwara, Dr Ibrahim Atolagbe, told reporters that Nigerians are now well informed and convinced that “ the best leader is the one provides them with all necessary infrastructure and puts foods on their table. Leadership has nothing to do with gender; it’s the political will and competence that makes a true leader.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lent

his voice to this view a few days ago when he said women are reliable in politics than their male counterparts.

Obasanjo said: “In politics, women are more reliable than men. When a woman says she’s with you, you can really say that she is with you. But, if a man tells you he is with you and you catch him in another meeting, he will tell you it is politics, it should not be so... `When a politician words cannot be believed, then, you are turning politics into another thing. A politician must be a man or woman of honour that believes in morality.”

Gbemisola, in her Letter of Intent dated October 2, declared: “I have the pleasure to inform you that, after several months of statewide consultations, I have resolved to contest for the position of the governor of Kwara State on the platform of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 general elections.

“This decision is informed, on the one hand, by calls by family members, friends and members of our party, who are convinced about my capacity to lead the state out of its present state of hopelessness and stagnation, which the ruling party has deliberately thrown it into.

“On the other hand, it is informed by the positive reactions received so far from the majority of elders and stakeholders of our party, and other members of the public during my statewide consultations.

“Thus, in obedience to their clarion calls, and a personal conviction that Kwara State can be better governed, I have decided to offer myself to the service of the good people of Kwara state.”

She said she was under no illusion that the stakes were high, adding: “But, I also know that we face an electorate that has been exhausted by broken promises, bad governance, collapse infrastructure, an ailing economy, and a host of other problems that seem to defy solutions.

“But, with God on our side, and the unalloyed support of our party, I believe I would bring my experience and connection to bear to salvage our dear state from the brink of collapse.”

Not many people know that hundreds of indigent students are yearly enrolled in school by GRS. Thousands have benefitted from her scholarship since 1999. She also sponsors many indigenes to perform Hajj, while the destitute are fed freely. Gbemisola once said: “I derive utmost joy when I have the less-privileged around me.”

However, if the speculation that PDP may resort to consensus candidate is to go by, will Gbemi emerge as consensus candidate?

‘Kwara PDP has no anointed candidate’ governorship to any of the three senatorial districts.

The party noted that controversy has trailed its delegate election, adding that the election was punctuated with ‘tolerable violence.’

The chairman of the party, Chief Iyiola Akogun, told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that the skirmishes are being resolved amicably.

Six governorship and five House of Representatives aspirants had protested the manipulation of delegates’ list in favour of a particular aspirant.

He said: “I also want to allay the fears of all contestants that there is no anointed candidate in the PDP. If we would anoint a candidate, we could not have allowed anybody to buy the form, except the anointed.

If our ticket is meant for a senatorial district, we would not have collected money from about twelve aspirants knowing fully well that they not all from the same senatorial district. Our candidate can come from any part of Kwara state.

“I want to assure that there is no zoning

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

in PDP Kwara. It is not a situation of our governor either coming from the South, Central or from the North. Our governorship candidate can come from any senatorial district of the state.

“The opposition should not see what is going on in our party as something from which they could profit as we are going to resolve the differences in the choice of the candidate amicably through fair and transparent primary.

“We feel obliged to let the press know what is happening concerning our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in respect of the delegate election.

“The delegate election was by and large hitch-free. That does not mean that we didn’t have some minor skirmishes, it didn’t result into any death. There was what we can call tolerable violence, but it was okay.

The delegate election also recorded more than 90 percent success, because out of 16 local government areas we were able to make returns from 15, only Ilorin West lo-

cal government area was abandoned. The delegate election was conducted by Senator Iyiola Omisore sent from the National Headquarters of our party, Abuja. After the conduct of the election and returns made there was this development about falsification of result or changes in the names of those that were accredited from the 16 local governments.

Akogun added. There is no iota of truth in the assertion that the delegate list has been tampered with. What we sent to the national headquarters of our party was also returned to us just as accredited here and today I am privilege to even show the authenticated list to all the local government chairmen of our party and we all see that there is no alteration in the list.

“We have minor problem, in one local government which is being resolved. If anybody is now peddling the news that the delegate list has been altered, I think that must be the work of some mischievous elements within and outside the party. We want all our aspirants to go ahead and do their campaigns in an orderly manner, believing that any of them can be pick our flag and fly.”

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

‘

RACE TO 2015

Many of our talented and able-bodied youths are venturing into Okada business because there is no job and a form of empowerment that will enhance their creative ability

‘

The National Coordinator of the Yoruba Youth Alliance (YYA), Olalekan Ojo, spoke with BISI OLANIYI in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on the national security, President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid and chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the polls.

‘Jonathan can’t defeat APC candidate’

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HO among the presidential aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will pose a challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan in next year’s poll?

Gen. Muhamadu Buhari (rtd.) is likely to emerge as the presidential candidate of the APC. Without doubt, the emergence of Buhari will pose a formidable challenge to President Jonathan at the 2015 presidential election. If Buhari could garner over 12 million votes in Northern Nigeria in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), that was barely six months in existence and had no sitting governor, unlike now that Buhari may be running on the platform of the APC with about 14 governors, who can also mobilise for Buhari in their respective states.

Buhari appears far more popular now in Nigeria than he was in 2011.

Are you saying all the APC states will vote overwhelmingly for Buhari?

No, that is not what I mean, but Buhari will get far more than the 25 per cent required by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Let me explain. Any presidential candidate that wins the Northwest and Southwest will most likely emerge the winner of the 2015 presidential election. In general terms, Buhari will win overwhelmingly in the North, because of the prevailing security and political situations in the country.

Apart from the fact that the Northerners desperately want the presidency to come back to the North, they seem to trust Buhari more than Jonathan. The Yoruba people feel marginalised by President Jonathan’s government and they will most likely transfer their grouse into protest votes against Jonathan. Many Southwest leaders in the PDP are also not happy with the marginalisation of the Yoruba in Jonathan’s government, but are simply playing along to remain relevant in the scheme of things.

On the day of election, it is the ordinary men and women and essentially our youths who have not felt the impact of the Jonathan’s administration that will come out to vote. The so-called power brokers usually lock up themselves and their families at home. The votes of the Southwest will surely play a crucial role in the 2015 presidential election. Votes from the Southwest will tilt the electoral scale in favour of whoever emerges as the winner of the presidential election.

Jonathan and Buhari will share the votes in Northcentral geo-political zone.

The APC will do well in Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and even Benue States. The spate of arranged endorsements that is currently sweeping through PDP states will also turn out to hurt the party in the coming elections. Those who feel that they have been unfairly shut out of the electoral process involving positions in state assemblies, National Assembly, governorship and the presidency will likely mobilise their supporters to vote for the APC, to vent their anger, thereby swelling the votes of the APC to the disadvantage of the PDP. Let me say something about the Southsouth, which is President Jonathan’s political zone. Jonathan will garner majority votes, but Buhari will glean up to 25 per cent of the votes in Edo, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. It may sound funny, but my political calculus is informed by the mileage that the APC has been able to cover in these states.

In the long run, the emergence of most PDP candidates through the backdoor, symptomatic of pre-arranged endorsements and group sponsorship through the collective purchase of expression of intent and nomination forms may prove costly to the PDP at the 2015 general elections. How many of those sponsoring the buying of these forms and arranging the endorsements of these candidates will vote during the elections? Even if they vote, their votes cannot be as weighty as the collective votes of those who are now disgruntled, because of the new wave of sponsored endorsements, which is indicative of the dearth of internal democracy in the political milieu.

The PDP leaders have endorsed President Jonathan as the sole candidate.

What strategy can the PDP adopt to neutralise the popularity of the APC and the clout of Buhari at the poll?

The PDP has to launder its image. The PDP has to embark on a very intensive campaign, especially for the presidential election. With the little time that is left, President Jonathan can still win public confidence by sacking members of his cabinet and political appointees under his watch that are generally perceived to be corrupt. The President should not hesitate to sack ministers and political appointees who are clearly not performing. President Jonathan should be firm and ruthless in dealing with corruption.

What benefits will the electorate derive from a political contest involving President Jonathan and Gen. Buhari?

A presidential contest between Jonathan and Buhari will elevate discourse on issues and programmes: security, economy, job creation, growth and development of small and medium scale businesses will be crucial in electing the next president. Anyone who desires to be the president of Nigeria should devise a plan on how to grow and nurture our domestic economy.

Nigerians will also be interested in who between them can create a conducive atmosphere for industries to thrive, as well as build and strengthen institutions of government, So that they can function without undue government or political interference.

The campaign by both Jonathan and Buhari will enrich the nation’s otherwise drab political milieu that is suffused with name calling and nothing • Ojo more.

• LP Secretary, Hon Hunde Oyekola, Hon. Isaac Aremu, Hon. Caleb Oyaniyi and other party stalwat, at the party secretariat.

LP ’ll govern Oyo in 2015, says aspirant

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HOUSE of Representatives aspirant in the Ogbomoso North South and Oriire Constituency on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), Hon. Isaac Aremu, has said that the party will win next year’s governorship election in Oyo State.

Aremu, who is contesting against Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the people are yearning for change.

The aspirant urged the people of his constituency to vote for him, adding that they deserve more than what they are getting from the present occupant of the seat.

“Many of our talented and ablebodied youths are venturing into Okada business because there is no job and a form of empowerment that will enhance their creative ability.

This is not too god for our society;

something drastic needs to be done and I have it as part of my agenda to initiate and finances innovations that will create jobs and better the society,” he said.

Aremu added: “With my contacts I will facilitate a youth centre that would boast of all-encompassing facilities for youth development. It will help both the youth and adult population to learn new skills. Our women too will be empowered and by the grace of God I will not let them down if elected.”

Speaking on the chances of the LP in the PDP dominated area, he expressed optimism that the party will have its way in Ogbomoso. “There is a new understanding among members of the community that we should be given a chance to proof our ability to bring about change,” he added.

He acknowledged that the contributions of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, a chieftain of the PDP, to the development of Ogbomoso cannot be overruled. “But, that would not stop us from winning as we will also give him reason to support our aspiration as his brothers from another party interested in the development of Ogbomosoland and we are sure he will support us,” he added.

The secretary of the LP in the state, Hon. Tunde Oyekola, urged supporters of the aspirant not to be engaged in any form of violence, as anyone found engaged in such activities will be expelled from the party.

He also admonished them to continue to work for the success of the party by mobilising and inviting people to join the party.

‘I ’ll clinch Kano governorship ticket’

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KANO State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, has said that he will win the contest.

Alhaji said he has introduced a fresh dimension to campaigns in Kano State. He said: I have visited and met people in not less than 360 wards of the state, out of the 484 wards and by the grace of God, I intend to complete this new all time campaign style before the end of the primaries. So, I can assure you that I am reaching out

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

to people, a lot more than any aspirant has done so far. ‘’I have visited the entire 44 Local Government level three times fold for now, I have transverse the nooks and crannies of LGAs and now embarking on the third round and it is also on record that I have been very active in the media, comprising the Electronic and Print media in an effort to reach out to people to tell them why I am seeking and contesting to

emerge as the Kano State governor.’’

The aspirant maintained that no aspirant can equal his political experience, adding that, as the National Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), he is the must experienced aspirant.

The former Commissioner for Education emphasising that he has a good grasp of how the government of the state is run.

Alhaji recalled that he was an elected member of the Constituent Assembly in 1989.

Why Oyo deserves senatorial slot, by elders

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YO community leaders have ad vised the Peoples’ Democratic Party [PDP] and the Presidency to critically study, analyse and evaluate history and peculiarities of each state before taking decisions on momination.The elders drawn from all registered political parties gave the advice in Oyo town at a press conference. .

The Chairman for the concerned Elders Forum Mr. Olumayowa Olaniyonu, said the PDP should respect internal democracy.

He faulted the decision to give automatic senatorial tickets to some senators, saying that it is in bad faith.

Olaniyonu wondered what would then be the fate of party loyalists who have to purchased nomination forms in order to realise their ambitions.

He said: ’’Having read with utter amazement and dismay the report on

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

automatic tickets for serving PDP Senators in the dailies, and taking into consideration the historical annals of Oyo Central Senatorial District, for the 15 years or thereabout, Oyo town has been relegated into the background as far as key political positions are concerned.

There has never been an occasion when an indigene of Oyo was considered good to hold the exalted positions of be it governor, deputy or even a Senator representing the district in spite of endowment of eminently qualified indigenes.’’

Olaniyonu said the attempt by sons and daughters to aspire into these positions are always thwarted and frustrated by self-centered political juggernauts, thus making it impossible for the generality of the people to benefit from the dividends of democracy.

He added: ‘’We had supported senatorial candidates from Ibadan and Ogbomoso extractions in the last aforementioned years and it is time for Oyo to receive reciprocation from these component parts of the State in the spirit of equity and fairness. We will not take anything less than the Senatorial slot and any contrary to this by whichever political parties will be counter- productive and vehemently resisted. Enough is enough. We can no longer afford to be playing the second fiddle.’’

While urging Senator Ayo Adeseun not to forget the kind gesture extended to him in 2011 and therefore reciprocate in equal term during this political dispensation, Olaniyonu also reminds the federal law maker of his resolve not to vie for Oyo Central Senatorial seat in 2015. Senator Adeseun is an indigene of Ogbomoso.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

LETTER

Lawlessness in Ekiti •Illegalities in the house of assembly are a frightening development that should not stand

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NCE again, impunity, subversion of the democratic order and brazen illegality have become the order of the day in Ekiti State since the Ayodele Fayose administration was inaugurated. It seems the “one-trouble oneday” syndrome that prevailed during the governor’s first tenure is back again.

The show of shame exhibited by a minority of the lawmakers on Monday is an indication that the way forward in the state may be paved with thorns. A few members of the House of Assembly were said to have met in cloudy circumstances to consider requests from the state executive. In order to ensure that the majority was locked out of the deliberation, scores of heavily armed riot policemen, complete with armoured vehicles were said to have been mobilised to get the job done.

How many lawmakers sat? The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) that controls majority of the seats put it at seven. This was corroborated by the Speaker, Adewale Omirin. The men who perpetrated the act said they were 10, while spokesman for the state governor, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said they were nine.

In all the accounts, the notorious fact is that a minority chose to impose its will on the majority and the state at large. Citing Order 27 of the House Rules, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers said they were empowered to elect a Speaker pro-tempore to preside over affairs in the absence of the Speaker. They also pointed out that a third forms the quorum to do legislative business. As such, they claim that the decisions taken were valid, legal and binding.

But, Mr. Omirin said they chose to give

the wrong interpretation to the constitution and the House Rules. One, it has been pointed out that while nine could, in extraordinary circumstances form a quorum, it needed the approval of the Speaker to sit.

Two, if only seven sat as alleged, then they did not even form a quorum and it would make all decisions taken null and void.

Three, the request to reconstitute the caretaker committees for the 16 local councils had earlier been rejected by the House sitting full-strength on the ground that it was sub-judice, a fact that has not been controverted by the recalcitrant lawmakers.

It is not strange to democracy that different political parties control different arms of government. At the moment, the Republicans have taken control of the United States’ Congress. When former Governor Kayode Fayemi was installed in 2010, the assembly was controlled by the PDP, yet, the two arms found a way to work harmoniously. The buck stops at the desk of the Chief Executive who is also the Chief Security Officer to ensure that the business of government is transacted smoothly at all times.

We call on Governor Fayose to retrace his steps and ensure that democracy is made to thrive in the state. A glimpse of what could be the hallmark of the administration emerged before its inauguration.

A sitting court was sacked and the judge beaten by hoodlums supposedly with the then governor-elect around. The circumstances are now being investigated by the police and the National Judicial Council (NJC).

So, the judiciary operates in an atmosphere of pervading fear, and now, the legislature has been subverted. The benefi-

ciary, even if it is Pyrrhic victory, is the executive arm of government.

On Monday, the minority PDP legislators approved three commissioners, the appointment of 12 special advisers and the reconstituted transition bodies for the local councils. The commissioners who were screened and approved within one hour have since been sworn-in and assigned portfolios. They are the attorneygeneral and commissioner for justice, as well as commissioners for finance and works.

We are bothered about the possible clash of the two factions of the legislature, the untoward and partisan use to which the police is being put and the poor quality of governance this could foist on the state.

We therefore call on Mr. Fayose and the PDP to rein in the importunate legislators in the interest of peace and good order.

‘We are bothered about the possible clash of the two factions of the legislature, the untoward and partisan use to which the police is being put and the poor quality of governance this could foist on the state. We therefore call on Mr. Fayose and the PDP to rein in the importunate legislators in the interest of peace and good order’

Wrong charge •US’ explanation on arms sale to Nigeria makes sense

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N what appears a misdirected aggression, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Adebowale Adefuye, has accused the American government of refusing to sell to Nigeria the needed weapons to deal the death knell on Boko Haram. Adefuye told members of the Council on Foreign Relations last week Monday that: “The Nigerian leadership … are not satisfied with the scope, nature and content of the United States’ support for us in our struggle against terrorists.”

He added: “We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the US presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly.” An apparently disgruntled Adefuye even went philosophical: “A friend in need is a friend indeed. The true

‘Which sane country would want to sell arms to a country where impunity reigns?

America has a right to insist on selling arms to those who can manage it responsibly because of the wider implications of having such weapons in wrong hands.

This is much more so in a country that deploys heavily armed soldiers and hooded security agents for elections’

test of friendship is in the times of adversity”.

Much as we can understand Adefuye’s frustrations over the Boko Haram insurgency, it is myopic to blame the American government for what is clearly a failure of the Nigerian government and its security agencies. Terrorism may be a matter for global concern, but it is the primary responsibility of the Nigerian government to ensure security of lives and property within its jurisdiction. Outsiders might only give a helping hand, a thing the U.S. government claimed it had been doing since the insurgents became more daring, abducting school girls and bombing schools at will. Ambassador Adefuye could wax as philosophical as he chooses to. But, he should not be talking as if the United States owes Nigeria an obligation to quell Boko Haram.

Indeed, that the U.S. government has denied his allegation further lends credence to the fact that the Nigerian government was only shopping for excuses for its incompetence in fighting Boko Haram. According to the State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, the U.S. had in the past six months provided and approved sales of military equipment to Nigeria’s armed forces. She added that America had also shared intelligence with Nigeria, started training a new army battalion and had held numerous high-level discussions with the Federal Government on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.

According to her, the only area where the U.S. had refused to cooperate with Nigeria was in the transfer of Cobra helicopters to Nigeria. And this is due to

“…concerns about Nigeria’s ability to use and maintain this type of helicopter in its effort against Boko Haram and ongoing concerns about the Nigerian military’s protection of civilians when conducting military operations.”

As a matter of fact, this was an issue Ambassador Adefuye was economical with the truth on. Apparently, the ambassador has forgotten that the world is now a global village, hence his denial that there are human rights abuses in the country; a thing he dismissed off-handedly as “rumours, hear-says and exaggerated accounts” spread by Jonathan’s rivals and human rights groups with an agenda.

Anyway, as the U.S. rightly observed, if Nigeria felt bad that it was not ready to sell to us the weapons that would give Boko Haram the “killer punch” that Adefuye talked about, what stops it from exploring other sources for its arms needs? Why the fixation with the U.S.?

Or, is America the sole producer of arms?

What the Nigerian government forgets is that the mere fact that it is trampling on rule of law with impunity is enough to want to make people distrust it with too much sophisticated weapons. Which sane country would want to sell arms to a country where impunity reigns? America has a right to insist on selling arms to those who can manage it responsibly because of the wider implications of having such weapons in wrong hands. This is much more so in a country that deploys heavily armed soldiers and hooded security agents for elections. An online commentator sarcastically sums it up: “Maybe they need the weapons to conduct a peaceful election”!

Fayose and Ekiti’s battle of wits

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IR: Shortly after he was sworn-in as governor last month, Fayose ordered the closure of a petrol station in Ado Ekiti giving a standard madein-Nigeria excuse. That filing station belongs to Adewale Omirin who happens to be the Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly. Last weekend, Omirin retaliated by promising Fayose a second dose of impeachment before Valentine’s Day, 2015. Clearly, these two are not lovers.

But the Federal government and Fayose moved in first. 24 hours later, Omirin was “impeached” by seven House members and a battalion of heavily armed police. I guess when the Peoples Democratic Party promised Ekiti voters more federal presence, they weren’t kidding.

A few days before that, the judge presiding over a lawsuit looking into Fayose’s eligibility to contest the governorship removed himself from the case. His reason? He got a couple of death threats. Ekiti seems determined to keep itself in the news – bad news.

The first time Fayose called the shots in Ekiti, the place was in a mess, the state became an object of ridicule. But his people wanted him back. He was, surprisingly, their choice as leader. Well, the people’s choice must be respected always. This is one bitter pill, one fact with which the elite and the progressives have got to come to terms – and quickly too.

Fronting for the progressives in Ekiti at the moment is a group that christened itself, E11. Immediately after Fayose’s victory in June, E11 rushed off to the Press and issued a congratulatory message, pledging to work with Fayose for the progress of the state. A few days later, the same E11 recanted. They declared that they will not accept Fayose as governor.

It was the same with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Following his defeat, ex-governor, Fayemi who led that party in Ekiti promptly announced that he accepted the people’s verdict. Fayemi was rightly hailed as a true democrat and a progressive. However, a few days afterwards, his party declared that the result of the election was unacceptable and headed to court.

I understand that E11 has been in court challenging Fayose’s eligibility to contest, prior to the election. If this was the case, then it was very strange for the same group to congratulate Fayose publicly via a press statement, only to return to court pushing their case. The whole thing is a joke, and if this is how the ‘progressives’ practice their trade in Ekiti, you can see why Fayose had an easy victory there.

The Ekiti people have spoken and have (overwhelmingly) made their choice. That’s democracy – warts and all. When Fayose drops the ball again (and he will), the same people have the choice and the mechanism to reject him. The current manoeuvrings come dangerously close to attempting to override the people’s mandate, and it makes Fayose look like a combative saint. In other words, it stinks and it’s clumsy. All their exertions now look like class warfare. For all we know, the kerfuffle in the state could be from Fayose’s camp or could be emanating from a disgusted and frustrated citizenry who sees what appears like an elite judicial coup against them. Heck, I would be upset too!

Oh, there is nothing wrong with a group of sufficiently concerned citizens coming together, wanting to do something about what they perceive to be an anomalous situation in their community. Fayose should have been stopped before the election. But once the people have spoken, that should be it. A small elite group cannot take it upon itself to overrun and overturn the people’s mandate. Today, there is one recluse in Minna called Babangida who with all the military might at his disposal tried to do the same thing back in 1993 but he was resisted. The gentleman was forced to step aside and he never recovered politically.

I don’t think Fayose is going to change in style or in substance. You heard his inauguration tirade. We already had a preview of what is to come. If Fayose stays true to type, he will be a disaster. But he will be the people’s disaster as chosen by them and that choice has got to be respected, I’m afraid. Even old governor Pilate could not overrule the people when they asked for freedom for Barabbas rather than for Jesus. Again, that’s democracy – warts and all.

• Dr. Michael Egbejumi-David d e m d e m @ h o t m a i l . c o . u k Twitter: demdemdem1

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

IR: With over 3000 deaths recorded in West Africa alone, and as the number grows daily, there is the need for all to pull the necessary resources together in the eradication and spread of Ebola. While global effort against the disease continues, we must not forget that although no viable vaccine has been fully certified by global health bodies, the disease is controllable through what Tom Frieden of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls “rapid, focused interventions”.

It is today clear that Nigeria’s effort at containing Ebola is an indi-

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EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

No letting up in fight to end polio cation that it can also deal with some of its other health challenges, most importantly polio. Polio is severe mostly because of its lasting physical disability on its victims.

These individuals face daily challenges that mostly impede them from living normal lives. Signifi-

cant progress in the global effort to eradicate the disease has however been made, with 99 per cent reduction since 1988. Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain polio endemic countries. While Pakistan recently immunised 34.2 million children or 95 per cent of all chil-

dren below five across the country, with further hope of immunisation, Nigeria’s effort has been remarkable.

According to Ted Turner in a recent article, Nigeria has so far recorded just six polio cases in two states in 2014 which is over 85 per

Re: No fourth term for Chukwumerije

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IR: On Monday, November 10, page 20, The Nation carried an opinion by Jasper Uche, captioned – No Fourth Term for Chukwumerije.

Uche Chukwumerije is not a man pursuing after popularity, fame or status. God bestowed success, fame and status to him at a much younger age than some folks may expect. Providentially, he has been

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a man of history starting from the days of struggle for self-determination by the Igbos to the military and democratic experience in Nigeria. A ranking Senator of repute, fearless and forthright in his approach to National discourse, decked with high sense of integrity laced with courage and patriotism for his people and fatherland. A man in a hurry to impact to our

Kudos to NYSC-DG

IR: This to commend the Director-General of the Nigerian Youths Service Corps (NYSC) for the brilliant job is he is doing at the NYSC. In life there are times when just the display of affection and love ignites healing and recovery. This is what the DG of NYSC has done when he chose to visit the injured corps member, Babatunde Oluwagbenga, currently receiving treatment at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital for injuries sustained in an accident on his way to orientation camp in Bayelsa State.

According to media reports, the DG directed the payment the hospital bill, gave the mother of the recuperating corps member some financial assistance from his own pocket, and granted the redeployment request of the corps member.

I commend the DG for this rare display of sympathy and empathy.

This is a lesson in responsive leadership.

Well-done Brig. Gen. Johnson Olawumi.

•Lydia Yakzum, Bukuru, Jos.

generation the core values of hard work, integrity and courage is now a subject of discourse, insult and abuse by an individual he picked from the university and made his assistant in National Assembly, Special assistant to Abia state Governor and later gave him the opportunity to serve as a Transition Chairman of Umunneochi L.G.A. A self-acclaimed born again may not know what it means to grief the Holy Spirit with lies. No congress was held in Abia State by PDP. At least, all the people that bought the delegate forms are living witnesses including the members of PDP that waited in the scorching sun from morning till evening without election. Elections are not concluded on the pages of a newspaper. The people of Abia North are waiting for the opportunity to elect their representatives. Let’s wait and hear the outcome of the election. One man’s vote is not synonymous with failure.

The people with Chukwumerije are much more than the people against him.

Chukwumerije has won elections for three terms without the barrel of a gun, and with assurances coming from the people of Abia North, he shall win again.

Great societies like USA and Britain thrive on democracy with tenets of free choice, accountability and fairness. No cabal is allowed to stay in the confines of a hotel room to determine the choice of the people.

If democracy is encouraged in our country, Chukwumerije will surely cruise to victory in his fourth term bid and so shall Senator David Mark, Senator Ike Ekweremadu etc.

Alternatively, “automatic ticket” as a doctrine of necessity, employed by the NWC of PDP in order to extricate the masses from the structural capture by state chief executives is commendable. “The party is supreme”.

• Nkem Okoro, JP, KSC Former chairman and former transition committee chairman, Arochukwu LGA, Abia State

cent reduction. The article observed that more than 75 per cent of all children have received the oral polio vaccine in eight northern Nigerian states, a proof of the significant progress made on polio.

Interestingly, the effectiveness of Nigeria’s polio initiatives and its dramatic reduction has been hinged on the support of stakeholders (traditional and religious leaders) at all levels of government. In fact, Turner’s article aptly noted that “Their commitment to ending polio…was clear, and they have delivered on [it] in the intervening years.” Turner would add that “Nigeria’s progress on polio is… fragile” and that “there is reason to be concerned about a decline in high-level oversight at the state and local government levels”.

The truth is that government at all levels, including traditional and religious leaders, cannot do it alone.

We have seen significant efforts of UN agencies like World Health Organisation and UNICEF, Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, governments in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

And as Africa’s only endemic country, few Nigerians or organisations have made polio eradication an important task. One of such Nigerian is Sir Emeka Offor through the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF). In August 2013, he cemented his commitment to the END POLIO NOW with a grand donation of $1.3 million to Rotary International in Lisbon, Portugal.

With the level of funding among other Polio related initiatives, Nigeria’s polio status will sooner end.

With 95 per cent reduction in polio cases, we are now this close to ending polio.

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• Raheem Oluwafunminiyi Lagos

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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COMMENTS

‘Our Girls’; Chibok retaken?; ‘You Do Not Know Me’: Promote your talents ‘

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UR Girls are still missing since April.

And Chibok, the home of many of their anguished parents, is under attack, capture and recapture. The Boko Tony Haram War is a war Marinho and not a skirmish and it must be won in Nigeria’s favour with humane handling of refugees and victims. The frequently used retreat to Sambisa and other forests must be cut off to prevent this back and forth battle. I am always amazed at how little I really know about those around me and how little they know about me. We all begin at the starting line of life as children offered opportunities to learn. There we imbibe and interact with the influences that will develop some talents and skills and drop others. We hone the chosen ones into professional skills. Imagine we all start with 10 equal skills. Over time some are suppressed and others are developed. An easy example is singing. Almost everyone except me can sing and sing well. I was excused from my St Gregory’s College entire school choir in 1964. Most of you readers have good voices but you only sing in the shower. That talent, the voice, is one of the most suppressed. These suppressed talents may manifest in hobbies. I am sure you can add your own particular expertise that we know little about.

Open the box and unleash those skills for pleasure and for lowering your blood pressure. Yes, you may make some money from talents. Talents may decay or remain in the drawer or cupboard only to be discovered and discarded when you are gone. Then they will just be thrown away along with other things you hold dear. Many products of such talents have been burnt in the garden fires to make space for tomorrow.

I will give you my own example, not as a boast, but as a

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IGERIA is a country richly endowed with abundant natural resources as well as quality human capital. Its population is the highest in the continent of Africa, also with the highest concentration of the Black race anywhere in the world. With this staggering and enviable statistics, one would have expected the country to make remarkable progress in terms of socio-economic development, but it is quite sad that the country is yet to find its rightful place among the comity of nations.

Of all the reasons that may have been responsible for her socio-economic stagnation, the phenomenon of corruption stands prominently in the vista. Since the independence of the country from colonial rule on October 1, 1960, political leadership and corruption have, like Siamese twins, become interwoven and inseparable in notoriety. The corrupt tendencies of the political class and its wider implication for socio-economic development in the country have remained a big challenge and a handicap for the country.

After many years of military interregnum with its attendant arbitrariness and absurdities, the introduction of democratic governance in 1999, was widely welcomed as a new dawn in the country’s political affairs. Hope was raised because, after a long period of darkness, a ray of light had appeared at the end of the tunnel. At least, that was the belief of many, if not all Nigerians.

Fifteen years down the line, it is doubtful if anything is left in the enthusiasm, hope and aspiration that greeted the dawn of democratic rule in 1999. The reasons are not farfetched. The average Nigerian has become more pauperised, more disillusioned and more alienated from the scheme of things by the political class who are preying on the vast resources of the country without

template to use to do better. ‘You do not know me!’ You think you know me. You judge me based on this column and hearsay. I also judge you, with incomplete information. It is what humans do with their tiny brains. They see, hear judge and jump to damning conclusions. The tongue is the worst weapon on earth as it starts wars requiring more tongues to end the war. The human feels the urgent need to be an authority and to be judgemental without the responsibility of logic. The human jumps to conclusions based on the incomplete world of the ‘here and now and the yesterday’. For the human the ‘I’s have it every time. ‘I am, I was, I think, I know’.

My template: Over many years I have been favoured with a cherished medical practice which has offered me a wonderful and sometimes stressful opportunity to participate in the lives of many others. In between patients, I have put down ideas as stories in several books for all ages covering poetry, novels and short stories. It has been difficult getting published and once published getting sold has been a nightmare as most publishers seem to have an anti-social policy of non-promotion of writers and another criminal policy of not paying accurate royalties which stand at just 10% of the book cover price. The writer usually writes to be read. The unread writer is dead.

To overcome a country lacking a powerful book reading culture, I have been forced under the name ‘You Do Not Know Me’ to put together programme to challenge us all to deliver our talents and hobbies to the wider world.

I have put together a Children’s Matinee at the Chamber of Commerce on Saturday November 22, at 12noon.

This is followed the same day by a short film and sketches performed by professionals based on my writings for presentation at 6pm at the Chamber of Commerce, Victoria Island on Saturday November 22. You are invited.

In addition I always have a camera when I travel particularly on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and I keep it near me at work. I have taken over 10,000 photographs of situations, flora and fauna. I have shown some to friends

to break the boredom of doing nothing mentally challenging or constructive for hours at parties. Rather than go quietly into the night, I decided to show them at a photo exhibition. I selected 70 photographs from my collection and ‘doctored’ them on the computer for a PhotoArt Exhibition at Didi Museum in Victoria Island, Lagos closing tomorrow Thursday November 19, at 6pm. You are invited.

The message above is not really about whether you come to my shows. It is to irritate you enough to outdo what I have done under the name ‘You Do Not Know Me’. Start your self-examination, re-examine, and reinvent yourself as someone arising from your hobbies. Do not allow your talents and hobbies to remain in a drawer of cupboard.

Impress your children, your office colleagues with any of a hundred other talents. Others do it. When we attend international conferences, there is an evening for all the professionals to showcase talents. It is fun to see a distinguished professor of surgery or philosophy or economics sing, recite poetry, juggle plates or play the trumpet. Nigerians spend so much time at parties it makes sense for party organisers to include an open microphone segment for guests to show their talents. Having such outlets is of personal psychological value and promotes self-esteem and may be of financial value.

‘It is fun to see a distinguished professor of surgery or philosophy or economics sing, recite poetry, juggle plates or play the trumpet. Nigerians spend so much time at parties it makes sense for party organisers to include an open microphone segment for guests to show their talents’

Nigeria’s ‘chop-I-chop’ politics even allowing the down-trodden, the hoi-polloi, access to the crumbs from the masters’ table, as it were.

In 1966, four Nigerian Army Majors led by late Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, gave a number of reasons for the first military coup in the country that took place on January 15 of that year. In his coup day broadcast, Nzeogwu, the kingpin of the putsch said: “Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds…” That coup effectively terminated the First Republic and regrettably led to the death of some major actors in the country’s political firmament at that time.

The immediate reasons for the coup, as encapsulated in Nzeogwu’s broadcast, underscored the nationwide disillusionment with corrupt and selfish politicians, as well as their inability to maintain law and order and guarantee the safety of lives and property. That was in 1966, about 48 years ago. It is quite obvious that the current prevailing atmosphere in the country is an indication that nothing has changed. In fact, Nigeria may have taken a turn for the worse as it appears that the centrifugal force is gradually tearing away and therefore, can no longer hold the periphery. In other words, the way the Boko Haram terrorists are ravaging the northern

‘The Nigeria political class has continued to foist their uncontrollable greed and selfishness on the rest of the people because what matters to them is how to feather their own nest’

parts of the country and all forms of criminals are on the prowl in other geo-political zones, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation is almost in jeopardy.

Not only this. Members of the Nigerian political class have continued to foist their uncontrollable greed and selfishness on the rest of the people because what matters to them is how to feather their own nest. In this case, the rest of the people are abandoned and made vulnerable to whatever vicissitudes of life that may come their way. Perhaps, the late S.M. Afolabi, a Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Chieftain and former Minister for Internal Affairs captured this aptly few years back, when he said to the late Bola Ige, a former Attorney-General of the Federation: “We (in the PDP) invited Ige into PDP government to come chop, as in find something to eat”. What this means, and it is so evident today in the country, is that people flock into political parties, not necessarily because of what they can contribute to move the country forward, but essentially, what they hope to corner into their pockets as well as satisfy their cronies.

Consequently, what exists in Nigeria is a political class that has the capacity to manipulate the machinery of government even from behind the scene. To that extent, corruption has become synonymous with leadership in the country. The most prominent definitions of corruption or what constitutes corrupt behaviour, share a common emphasis on the abuse of public power or position for personal aggrandizement. Furthermore, this ugly phenomenon is referred to as “an impairment of virtue and moral principles”. Therefore, political corruption, an endemic cankerworm that has eaten deep into the foundation of our nation, encompasses brazen abuses by government officials such as embezzlement and cronyism, as well as abuses linking public and private actors such as influence-ped-

dling, fraud, bribery, extortion, among others.

The political class in Nigeria is so neck-deep in these unholy practices so much that corruption has become an albatross that threatens our democratic process, good governance and as a result, stifle sustainable development of the country. And as the political class promotes corruption within its rank, it becomes more difficult for it to act positively for the benefit of the citizens and the country. In addition, the political class engages in all dirty tricks to suppress opposition, in order to secure and retain power and by so doing, maintain its stranglehold on the country. Also, in its pursuit of unfettered access to funds, good leadership is sacrificed on the altar of corruption. Indeed, the phenomenon of this cancerous political corruption has become a common thread that runs through successive military and civilian political regimes in the country. This is the unfortunate situation in which the country has been enmeshed for quite a long time.

Over the years, we have seen the development of a vast system of institutionalised political corruption most times emanating from the very top and permeating all strata of government with pervasive and debilitating destruction of the entire society. It is a fact of history that no nation can grow and enjoy steady development in all facets of its national endeavour without the enthronement and institutionalisation of selfless and good political leadership. This is so, because good governance is a sine-qua-non to qualitative development and growth. Perhaps, it is for this reason that the late Chinua Achebe, a world-renowned novelist said, the root cause of the Nigerian predicament should be laid squarely at the foot of bad leadership. “The trouble with Nigeria,” Achebe espoused, “is simply and squarely a failure of leadership... The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or in-

Dele Agekameh ability of its leaders to rise to their responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership”.

Flowing from these, therefore, a leader is expected to demonstrate such qualities as, good character, vision, tact, prudence, and ability to lead by example. This is because people basically ascribe leadership to those who they feel can enable them achieve important objectives or goals. There is no doubt that the actions and inactions of the leadership class which has been managing the wealth and affairs of Nigeria since independence, has become a pitiable hindrance to the country’s socio-economic development. The challenge now is whether we have enough patriotic, sane and clean individuals left to pilot the affairs of this country and initiate the type of leadership that can extricate the country from the woods and take it to its envisioned Eldorado. Until this is achieved, the current crop of gangsters and cheats everywhere will continue to bestride the corridors of power at all levels with their ‘chop-I-chop’ attitude to governance. This way, they will continue to milk the country, stealing the common wealth of the people, as well as, deepening poverty in the society.

Send reactions to: 08058354382 (SMS only)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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COMMENTS ‘Sir, I enjoy your piece on Oke Ogun but I believe, one day, generations coming will ask from some of our compatriots that: as minister for Agriculture (state), as senators, deputy governors etc what did you do to better the lot of your geo political division-Oke-Ogun? In a federal system, it is about how you can lobby, persuade or convince others to get your own due. Soon our children will ask: while Ibarapa with three local governments get three state academic institutions i.e. Polytechnic, college of education, and College of Agriculture when Oke Ogun leaders, with 10 local governments has a polytechnic. Surely something is wrong, thank you sir.

From Abiodun Raheem, Itesiwaju L.G.Otu’

•Fayose

For Olatunji Dare I just read your column of October 28 and I am so shocked by the ‘thoughtless’ reactions of some people. Truth is bound to elicit reactions, negative and positive. The Truth that sets men free is the truth they don’t want to hear. Deep thinkers will rather pray for the deliverance of Ekiti from this sunset in broad day light. From Temidayo Sir, there is a saying in Yoruba adage that says oni ya ni o jeyi to po. Don’t mind the Ekiti people, they would soon realise the effect of their choice. Anonymous Don’t bother yourself about the Ekiti people, Fela sang about dead body and the owner of dead body, they will hail you by this time next year. Ekitis’ act now and think later and only appreciate favours long after they have denigrated it. Just keep your cool, you will see. I am an Ekiti man too. From Adeosun Prof, “An earful from Fayose’s people” refers. Never heard of ‘Cyber warriors’? They write counter argument for their (political) masters to abuse and threaten. Anonymous The emergence of Fayose in Ekiti State is an accident of history. Those commentators only think of today like their mentor and avoid any reference to tomorrow. Again their ultimate goal is stomach infrastructure. To them, Fayose is their father whom they pray to give them their daily bread. In Ekiti, they have redefined Claude Ake’s contribution to scholarship on political economy. From Ezekiel Odunayo Esq I read your piece in The Nation Newspaper titled...an earful from Fayose’s people,and I can’t just stop crying for my people in Ekiti on their various comments. From Kunle.

Truth of the matter is that Mr Fayose has allegedly lost ideas on how to govern Ekiti State. He has nothing to offer the people of Ekiti State. Let assume Ayo Fayose has something to offer, he should have started working, rather than condemning Fayemi’s government for building Government House and other projects. From Chika Nnorom Dear Prof, l did appreciation of prose and poetry as an optional course and the analysis of the reactions are from the same person, the raw language betrays them. This is the case of not being able to give what you do not have. Anonymous Millions and millionaires cannot buy peace, Ekiti is yet to know tranquility simply because electorate since the creation of the state that pride itself as Fountain of Knowledge, land of honour has not for once elected people with divine wisdom to Ekiti Govt House. Comrade Femidada, Ibadan Sir, I apologise for all abusive comments received in respect of article Fayose 2.0: Why can Nigerians not present their dissenting views without attacking the writer? Anonymous Prof, I read the feedback from the lovers of Fayose published on Tuesday October 28.

Clearly, these are combustible people on a short fuse. And, your words hit their vulnerable underbelly, where the only infrastructure they know is anchored! I’m sure you’ll take it in your strides. These things come with your high profile and skill with words. You rattled the jagged stomachs of the “alatenuje” (for food only) lot cultivated by the misrule of Nigeria for the past 40 years. Truly, Nigeria needs more emotionally intelligent leaders, like Governor Rauf Aregbesola, not the degenerates or the aloof. Connecting with the people holds the key to a leader’s success. As Mao said, practice is the ultimate proof of truth. From Bimbo Daniyan, Osogbo Ekiti people will soon realise their mistakes for the second time in choosing Fayose as governor. I am sorry the lives of their younger

generation are at stake. Nigerians, both great and small, are deceivers. Allow them to perpetually fool themselves. From Wankar Daniel, Katsina-Ala, Benue state.

Prof. I wish to praise your write-up of today. It is quite interesting that those who are against democracy are those enjoying it today especially Senator David Mark, let them enjoy what they have not worked for, the blood of those who died in the struggle is upon them and their children. Let them have the whole wealth of Nigeria we are waiting for what will become of them. People with dead conscience. From Yemi, Ibadan Thanks for the illuminating exposition a la Mathew Effect. The ‘Comment & Debate’ column is a must read page and you guys are wonderful in your daily contributions. More grease to your elbows. Anonymous.

Matthew Effect was apt. It succinctly captured the reality of ‘advantage begets further advantage’. More power to your elbow!

Anonymous Dear Prof. Dare, thanks for that piece on Senate President David Mark. In saner societies, a character like Mark would never have smelt the corridors of power again considering his ignoble antecedents which are still very fresh in the minds of discerning Nigerians. His most heinous crime against Nigeria and its citizen’s was his role in the annulment of the result of the June 12, 1993 elections clearly won by MKO Abiola. As minister in charge of telephony, the same man said the facility was not for the poor and before his very eyes today, the poorest of the poor own telephones. Today too, we have democracy which he denied us in 1993. These speak volumes about the man’s intelligent quotient.

From Vincent Ekwurumadu, Owerri.

Sir, please try to visit Babangida soonest on his return to Nigeria. Nothing bad Insha Allah shall be fall you. Amin. Anonymous Sir.You are the only hope of Nigeria. Anonymous.

My dear former lecturer, your interesting piece of November 4, refers. The historical and clinical reconstruction of Senator David Mark’s past and present attitude towards democracy is an eye opener for those who care for the well-being of the people of this country. But the big question is: Will the vote count in the light of inordinate ambition of politicians From Mr. Jacob K. Egwame There are people that always stand handsomely favoured, however bad a given government might be or said to be. Such people equally abound even in the present administration. And these, I suspect, could be the people coming out to purchase the re-election campaign form for President Jonathan and company. That is, if the funds were not actually passed to them from behind the doors by the same government for that purpose to draw wool over our eyes. Of course, it may not be so except that nothing is impossible with Nigerian government. Whatever be the case, let there be good government in Nigeria for all we care. Though there can always be poor among us, a purposeful government, it must be said, is one that aims at closing the gap between the rich and the poor. Not the one widening it or tactically making the poor poorer in whatever guise. From Emmanuel Egwu Sir, the Federal Government should let other shipwrecks be a warning to them. The insurgents are not insisting to be active participants in the massive corruption going on in the country. Rather, they want to be ruled by sharia laws. In place of war, our ‘leaders’ should consider confederacy as alternative.

The present skewed federal system has failed.

From Adegoke O O, Ikhin, Edo State.

Our problem in the security circles is that the Nigerian army has enshrined hatred among the whole security services that we cannot act as a team against insurgency. The entire security system is divided against itself, division castrated by de army’s claim of

a non-existent superiority over order services and they seem to get the nod of all Nigerians including politicians. We are yet to see a success when it is the army that decides which service is qualified to exist. It is yet morning .From Lawal Sir, A magnificent piece in ‘Sleep-walking towards Mogadishu’ in time we might need a bloody revolution. I hope not. From A. Ajala.

Despite the huge resource invested on security, we leaders are yet to get it right, it is very unfortunate and painful, that human beings were slaughtered like animals. When are we going to get it right before the insecurity get out of hands. Who is to be blame?

Time will tell. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia.

Uncle Dare, at the end - point of “Sleep walking toward Mogadishu” you sounded so positive, as if there is hope for Nigeria, with the crop of leaders Nigeria currently parades.

Even positivism has its stretch. To be candid, however, Nigeria will soon unravel. From Wole St.Jones, Lagos.

Dear sir, Nigerian Armed Forces need to set up a War office or an Operational Headquarters to involve some experienced retired officers. There will be proper planning and insurgency will end. Anonymous Just finished reading your piece on our Federal Government that is only good at footdragging and noise making. The Jonathan administration is dragging Nigeria into a dangerous religious war that may fulfill the predictions of the US Intelligence years back that Nigeria will break up in 2015.The irritating part is that while our brothers and sisters in the North are dying, the PDP government is only interested in campaigning for a continuation of the misery of bombing, killing, corruption in all spheres of our life in 2015.What a tragedy indeed. Anonymous.

I quite appreciate your presentation in today’s The Nation Newspaper. But I humbly disagree with your submission on government of national unity after the 2015 elections.

There is no provision for that in our constitution. What we need to do as a people is to vote out this inept and visionless leadership come February 2015. If Gen Buhari is elected as president, then Boko Haram will be consumed in about three to six months. From Kajola Sunday.

Sleep-walking to mogadishu - a beatiful & straight to the point piece of write up. i dont know whether to say you hit the nail on the head or you head on the nail? Well-done sir!

From Mr. chintama, Gwagwalada .

Nigeria be ‘Sleep-walking toward Mogadishu’ ! My take is that we are on the road to Yugoslavia with a Detour to Kigali Instead of Prague. From Dotun Malomo I pray that God our source, and glory, will cause your Horn to be exalted in His favour.

His peace guaranty your safety. Blessed are you this week. Favor is youur’s. From Pastor Favour.

Your piece, ‘Sleep-Walking Toward Mogadishu’ was an interesting one. While the Nigerian super patriotic leaders such as the legendary Herbert Macaulay and the likes had sacrificed their yesterday for the betterment of our today Nigeria, Self-centered and greedy Nigerian leaders like Babangida, Abacha and associates would rather find fulfillment in resorting to the opposite, which has landed us in today’s mess. But then, Boko Haram can’t be an armed response to political grievances, whatsoever. I see the insurgence as the outgrowth of a badly laid religious foundation in the Islamic youths. Hence, the evil boy’s fights not for a better Nigerian government or society but to Islamise the entire country at all cost. Yet those who would claim not having a hand in the insurgence but had tactically done one or two things that today destabilise our military from dealing with the Boko Haram are equally as guilty as the sponsors of the insurgence. From Emmanuel Egwu.

•Jonathan

For Segun Gbadegesin ‘Sir, I enjoy your piece on Oke Ogun but I believe, one day, generations coming will ask from some of our compatriots that: as minister for Agriculture (state), as senators, deputy governors etc what did you do to better the lot of your geo political division-Oke-Ogun? In a federal system, it is about how you can lobby, persuade or convince others to get your own due. Soon our children will ask: while Ibarapa with three local governments get three state academic institutions i.e. Polytechnic, college of education, and College of Agriculture when Oke Ogun leaders, with 10 local governments has a polytechnic. Surely something is wrong, thank you sir. From Abiodun Raheem, Itesiwaju L.G.Otu’ Re-Oke-Ogun matters. I agree with you in all your write-up about Oke-Ogun. In all spheres, Oke-Ogun is too important. Unfortunately, OkeOgun had severally been used as tool for political gain by other towns and personalities. One day, I pray, your Oke-Ogun would produce a governor or/vice president, ameen. I adore you as you love your town. You did same, for OkeOgun, last Year, 2013. Well done. From Lanre Oseni.

For Gbenga Omotoso The Inspector General of Police started on a very bad note and I hope the man should have a rethink. Surprisingly the man happens to be a lawyer who supposes to know better. What an eye service. Whatever you do today will be history tomorrow. From Yemi, Ibadan Experience has shown that only Police Officers from Operations Dept can perform well as an I.G.,I don’t think Mr Sulaiman Abba is fit for the post. The roadblock that were banned by former I.G. Mohammed Abubakar are fully back in Nigeria. From Engr Mohammed Fadayiro, Ipake Town in Ogun State “Abba The first 100 days” Abba looks like a seasoned force man facially but inside him is a different police officer who lacks all essential ingredients of a fine officer. How could one explain his atrocious leadership within three months? From Niyi Olatunbosun.

Re:Abba The first 100 days. Gbenga, you excite me, hence I hardly miss your column. Anyone with the knowledge of the history of the Nigeria Police will know that the police started its journey on the path of perdition from 1975.When seasoned officers/men were prematurely retired/dismissed, some with/without benefits, the police became a shadow of its former self. Another factor that aided the decline in its performance was frustration! There were some police constables with GCE O &A L/HSC who remained on the same level, many of who spent up to 10 to 15 years without promotion.

The resultant ‘exodus’ of well-trained, experienced and tested officers from the police between 1975 and 1977 was the beginning of the end of our national pride(NPF).The military did not help matters either: they relegated the NPF to the background. To them (the military) the police was an ordinary errand boy: the police was criminally underfunded, so the multiplier effects were: standard was compromised, and is still compromised, giving room for shoddy performance and all manner of vices or criminality.

Since he who pays the piper dictates the tune, we can hardly blame Abba for displaying executive rascality. Like father, like son, as the old saying goes, same applies to Abba; he must dance to the tune dictated by his “father” the apostle and promoter of impunity. Did you know that strict recruitment procedures, (like fingerprinting of police recruits) were compromised until recently? The result: armed robbers, ex-convicts and fraudsters found their way into the hithertofine profession-the Nigeria Police Force! No wonder Abba cannot call his half-baked men on illegal roadblock to order. From Aladetohun Moyosore, Jakande Estate, Lagos.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net Stories by Taofik Salako

Access Bank launches Accelerate TV

NIGERIA’S Tier 1 Bank, Access Bank Plc has launched an innovative social interaction platform known as Accelerate TV. The platform which is targeted at young adults has an array of creative content ranging from information and entertainment articles to punchy videos, fashion trends and real time reportage of world’s latest trends.

Its Head, Inclusive Banking, Ope Wemi Jones described the platform as new, exciting and the most interactive platform for youths.

She said: “Exciting premium services are available to youths who visit the platform and also to Solo Account holders. These services include discount on movie tickets and clothing, VIP access to some of the hottest events in Nigeria, internships, scholarships and other personal development opportunities.”

To participate and enjoy premium service, she advised that interested people should go to any of Access Bank’s branch to open a solo account, then visit accelerateTV.com Speaking at the launch of the product, its Head, Strategic Brand Management, Amaechi Okobi said: “AccelerateTV is the ultra cool blog for professionals and youths interested in world trends. In fulfilment of the bank’s promise to cater for the needs of its heterogeneous customer base, we identified a gap and sought to fill it with the creation of this unique platform.”

He further stated that AccelerateTV is a digital platform with design and content that are youth friendly and predicted that soon, it will take over the cyberspace and be the number one website for information and entertainment content.

Head Digital Communication, Toyin Henry-Ajayi described it as the next best blog in Nigeria. She said that the blog is going to be the richest blog in Nigeria.

NLNG is one of the biggest success stories in our country. From what I am told, the company has invested $13 billion so far since inception, and has become a pacesetter in terms of revenue generation for the government.

-Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga

Fed Govt eyes 12,800Mw by 2016

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HE Head, Power and Energy at Ecobank, Olufunke Jones, has said the Federal Government is putting measures to generate electricity in excess of 12,800 megawatts (Mw) by 2016.

Jones who spoke with The Nation at a forum on power themed “Power Sector Reforms: Sustainable Change for Development,” held in Lagos, said what has happened in the sector for the last one year is the engagement that will finetune a framework which will bring about productivity.

She also said the multi-yeartariff-order (MYTO) will be reviewed next year to take into consideration every value chain in the power sector. This, she said is to ensure that every investment is paid over a period of time.

According to her, current generation stands at 4,200Mw,

By Emeka Ugwuanyi adding that some of the privatised Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) generation plants including Egbin, which has installed generation capacity of 1,320Mw, are going through rehabilitation.

She noted that on completion of the rehabilitation, which includes replacement of turbines, the assets alone will give an additional 3000Mw, adding that by the time it is added, it will be translate to some 7,500Mw. Also, there are some little Independent Power Projects (IPPs) that will add about 300Mw, she said.

“The National Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) will generate about 5,800Mw, so if we add that to the 4,200Mw, we will be talking about 9,000Mw adding that some other people are also working

on some power projects giving the hope that the country will have adequate power generation in the next 24 months.”

She said current framework will ensure the power sector doesn’t get reversed but could only get better. “Trying to ensure that the regulator is independent, the new owners understand the utility industry and all stakeholders are speaking with one voice.

That’s what that has happened in the last one year.

It’s been a study year for the new owners,” she said, adding that even though people might not see the impact, ‘we have taken a firm ground so that we can build structure that will last after our own generation’.

She however said the gas issue should have been addressed before the privatisation saying it has posed ma-

jor challenge to the sector.

The President, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Mansur Musa, agreed that it is still a learning curve for the new investors in the power sector even one year after but expressed the hope that with all the discussions going on, there is light at the dark end of the tunnel.

He urged continued funding of the sector by the government, adding that the private sector cannot do it alone.

He said: “Government must continue to build transmission and create enforcement because that is the only thing that can help the investors; there are a lot of issues that have to do with transmission line. If the government refuses to do the transmission line, the companies will continue to run at loss and may not be able to reduce losses.”

•From left: Managing Director/CEO, Keystone Bank and Guest Speaker at the Founder's Day and Prize Giving ceremony of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, Chairman, Board of Governors, Dowen College, Dr. O. Olumide Phillips, and Dr. (Mrs.) Toyin Phillips during the event…weekend

Chams’ chief urges youths on entrepreneurship

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HE Group Managing Director, Chams Plc, Sir ‘Demola Aladekomo, has urged Nigerian youths to take up the challenge of entrepreneurship.

He said globally, entrepreneurs drive thrive the economy and account for majority of new job creation and innovation.

Aladekomo who made spoke while delivering a paper titled The Entrepreneur as a Nation Builder at the 2nd Oladele Olashore Memorial Lecture at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State at the weekend noted that only a paradigm shift in the social consciousness of the literate

By Lucas Ajanaku

youth could stem rising youth unemployment in the country.

He lamented the inability of the youths, especially graduates, to recognise societal needs as business opportunities that could be leveraged upon to create value and an enduring wealth for themselves and the nation at large.

Dismissing the myth that entrepreneurs are born and but not made, Aladekomo described Nigeria as a land of opportunities for innovative and enterprising young people.

Aladekomo who is imme-

CBN may raise CRR for private-sector deposits - P26

diate past president, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), said: “It is ironic that we have lots of unemployed graduates when there are lots of societal needs that are not being met in the Nigerian market.”

He wondered if it was lack of ideas or a false belief in how entrepreneurs are made that has kept the youths jobless at a time when the export market for cassava is grossly underserved.

He said: “The scenario is the same across thriving sub-sectors of the national economy with an increasingly ageing workforce in which opportunities abound for energetic youth and new ideas.”

According to him, entre-

preneurs are created through education, experience and mentorship, adding that nobody was born with exceptional entrepreneurial insight, ability or skills.

He said: “With the right skills and attitude, any Nigerian youth with ambition and ideas can go far because of the existing limitless opportunities in the market.

“Nigeria represents an exceptional and extremely exciting opportunity for young and smart entrepreneurs with guts.”

While narrating his entrepreneurial journey which started informally in food supply and transportation, the Chams chief

FBN Capital allays investors’ fears over market trend - P28

urged the youths to get over the fixation for paid employment and to boldly venture into the uncharted informal sector to raise service standards.

“It is indeed delightful that Joseph Ayo Babalola University is striving to produce a new generation of youths that are self-sufficient, selfreliant, and competent,” he said.

He advised the undergraduates to emulate America’s youthful entrepreneurs’ 25.8 million small businesses that employ more than 50 per cent of the private workforce, generating more than half of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

PISI unveils app to combat insecurity

By Alvin Afadama

A

N indigenous software firm, PISI Nigeria Limited has launched a software that is designed to combat insecurity. Known as e-Alert App, the software offers free emergency security services.

Speaking at the unveiling of the app, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Omar Edewor said: “This creation could be technology’s solution to the frightening rate of criminal activity, such as robbery, terrorism and sexual harassment. It can also turn out to be a significant tool in our country’s war against kidnappers.”

He said the app is one of the most important applications people could have on their mobile phones.

The app was created last year to help tackle the problem of rising insecurityacross the world.

He noted that the app guarantees its users help, with or without credit on the cell phone. “All you need whenever you find yourself in distress or in dangerous circumstances is internet connectivity.”

Mr. Edewor added that there are many cases of kidnappings, terrorism and other dangerous infractions that Nigerians and many people in different countries face today. This is because e-Alert provides some respite for as many people that subscribes to it.

He said the app has a panic button that sends alerts within 45 seconds of activating the Grand Packet Service (GPS) location via Short Messaging Service (SMS).

“You can programme a maximum of 10 contacts to whom these alerts can be sent when you press the panic button. The ‘over-protective mother’ feature sends out alerts when you don’t check in at a particular time,” he explained.

Edewor said in all emergency situations such as kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, domestic violence, the app aims to reassure its users of their safety.

He said: “The app is free for download on iPhone and android. However the blackberry version will be released soon.”

He stressed that the app also seeks to uplift young people by engaging in corporate social responsibility as 10 per cent of profits the company makes will go to a scholarship fund, conduct social media competition for students on Vine and Twitter and winners will be beneficiaries of the scholarship fund.

A portal for jobs - P39

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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THE NATION

BUSINESS MONEY

e-mail: money@thenationonlineng.net

CBN may raise CRR for private-sector deposits T HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may raise the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) on public sector deposits at the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, FBN Capital, an investment and research firm has said.

There are indications that the MPC may meet next week.

The CRR is a portion of banks’ deposits kept with the CBN. Some of the developments in the financial market created room for such policy shift. The naira went into a tailspin losing 1.6 per cent of its value after the CBN issued new administrative measures restricting the use of CBN funds for many categories of eligible transactions.

The foreign exchange shift also spread to the stock market, drag-

Stories by Collins Nweze

ging the index down by four per cent, bringing the yearly loss to 16.53 per cent.

Analysts say the 28 per cent decline in oil prices, which remains the engine of the economy,is the genesis of the volatility. These developments, they argued, might make the MPC to make some changes to the monetary policy at its meeting.

Also, the research firm explained that the CRR on public sector deposits, which stands at 15 per cent, may be raised further.

The CBN raised CRR on public sector deposits from 12per cent to 50 per cent in July, last year. By March, this year, the ratio was further hiked to 75 per cent.

CRR on private sector deposits also rose by 300 basis points from 12 per cent to 15per cent during the MPC meeting in March. For many banks, especially those with weak deposit base, it was bad business.

These policy adjustments removed over N1.5 trillion from banks’ vaults and placed it in CBN’s custody, thereby worsening existing cash crunch faced by lenders.

Hence, when banks started releasing their last year’s results, many pundits were interested in knowing the changes in cash reserve, reduction on Commission on Turnover (COT) fees, removal of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) charges and increase in contribution to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) levy

•From left: First Vice President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Segun Ajibola; President/ Chairman of Council, Mrs. Debola Osibogun; Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad and Administrator, National Judicial Institute, Justice Rosaline Bozimo during the 14th National Seminar on Banking and Allied Matters for Judges in Abuja.

Fraud, forgery hit N20b, says KPMG report

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) report for the first half of last year has shown that there were 2,478 fraud and forgery cases involving banks valued at over N20 billion, a report by KPMG has said.

This, it said, represented an eight per cent increase over the previous year volume but a significant increase in value of over 200 per cent from 2012.

The Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey by KPMG obtained by The Nation said increasing frequency and magnitude of cybercrime incidents globally make it apparent that cybercrime is here to stay.

It said with a yearly growth rate of three per cent over the past five years and $21 billion inflow of personal remittances last year, Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver worldwide in terms of volume.

It said remittance to Nigeria accounts for 65.6 per cent of total flows into sub-Saharan Africa.

The feat, it said, presents some opportunity for banks who may want to tap into the opportunities created by this class of Nigerians who wish to transact banking business using their local bank accounts.

In an online survey of 127 Nigerians resident across 12 countries who maintain local banking relationships, convenience was the overwhelming driver of value.

According to the report, when asked for the most important fac-

tor in their banking relationships, 44 per cent of the customers selected the availability of internet banking. In particular, customers identified the ease of use of the internet banking platform as the most important factor followed closely by the quality of customer service.

Interestingly, 77 per cent of those surveyed transfer money through formal channels - banks (48 per cent) or through other money transfer agencies (29 per cent) compared to 19 per cent who said they typically send money home through less formal ways.

Also, on the effectiveness of the contact centre, the ease of complaints resolution was cited as a major area of dissatisfaction.

It said more than 50 per cent of customers who have used their bank’s contact centre have been dissatisfied with the promptness of issues resolution and quality of feedback. It cited one bank’s response to a customer facing some debit card challenges was for the customer to wait until his next visit home, for his query to be resolved.

In this year’s survey, two per cent of retail customers indicated that they had experienced a fraud incident in the last year and while this number appears small today, it may signify the start of a potentially disturbing future trend.

It said a survey by KPMG in the Netherlands showed 80 per cent of the respondents indicated that cybercrime is no hype and will continue to be a challenging topic.

The survey showed that 49 per cent of organisations have experienced some form of cybercrime activity during the past 12 months, stressing that it is not to say the rest have not experienced an attack; they may not have the proper detection measures in place.

Among the 49 per cent that have experienced an attack, 10 per cent indicated that they have been attacked more than 100 times within the past year. Inadequate detection procedures may conceal the real number of cybercrime attacks.

Only 50 per cent of the respondents were able to detect attacks and only 44 per cent of the organisations felt comfortable that they were able to respond.

It said organisations should ask themselves whether they are aware and capable of handling a cybercrime attack. The survey found that 35 per cent do not agree that their organisation is sufficiently aware of cybercrime, although the financial sector respondents score significantly lower. This would imply that financial institutions are more aware of cybercrime than other typologies.

Attacks may come by various methods heavily on and correlate with the budgets that have been made available. The damage from cybercrime attacks and budgets allocated to cybercrime defence can be substantial.It said the way cybercrime defence budgets are allocated for prevention, detection and response measures should be considered carefully.

had on lenders’ profitability.

Vetiva Capital Management analysts predicted that on an aggregate level, the banking industry gross earnings in the year would take a potential $690 million yearly

hit, assuming a 12 per cent yield on the newly sterilised CRR deposits. They said the impact would vary from bank to bank depending on how much public sector deposits on their books.

CIBN chief urges bankers on integrity, best practices

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RESIDENT, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Mrs. ‘Debola Osibogun has urged bankers to embrace integrity and best practices in their duties.

Speaking at the CIBN Graduates Induction and Prize Awards Day held at the weekend in Lagos, she said bankers should abide by the institute’s code that condemns gratification and bribery, among other unwholesome practices, in banking.

She said: “I wish to remind you of some of the things contained in the Code of Conduct in the banking industry recently approved by the Bankers’ Committee.

“You must endeavour to avoid these if only to ensure that you become the heroes and heroines of your chosen profession.You must avoid engaging in any venture of which there are clear issues of conflict of interest; abusing the trust reposed in you or your office; misusing official information in the course of your professional career; offering and or accepting gratification or bribe.”

Mrs Osibogun said the induction remains a symbolic reminder of the core mandate of the institute which is to admit student members who have passed the prescribed examinations and fulfilled all other conditions set by the Governing Council into Associateship (ACIB); and admit students into the Associateship of the Institute, among others.

She said at the induction a record high number of 993 student- members who have all completed the qualifying examinations of the institute.

“This number is the highest in the history of the institute and it com-

prises the following;162 for Associateship, nine for Chartered MBA, four for Treasurers’ Dealership Certificate, 795 for Micro-finance Certification Programme, and, 23 for Certificate in Banking,” she said.

She congratulated the bankers, describing the achievements in completing as extremely demanding, rigorous and tough professional programmes.

She said: “Not only is today, a deserved testament to your hard work, your discipline and your commitment, it also represents a major milestone in your lives. It is equally a time for celebration as you mark both the end and beginning of exciting parts of your lives and an occasion on which to look forward to the opportunities available to you as Chartered Bankers, Certified Treasury Dealers and Microfinance Certified Bankers.

“I wish you all the best as you start the next adventure of your lives and hope that this accomplishment opens many doors of opportunity and helps you to realise your personal and professional ambitions.”

“In today’s dynamic business environment achieving such professional qualifications, demonstrate commitment to professionalism which is an important differentiator in the competitive market place. As bankers, there are so much you can do to bring fresh lease of life to the banking and finance sector and businesses in both the private and public sectors. This implies that the economic potential of our country is not limited by your visions and the dreams of the future.

I therefore urge you to always “shoot for the moon, even if you miss it you will land, among the stars,” she added.

‘Quoted banks’ may miss N529b yearly profit mark’

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UOTED banks’ earnings, which stood at N529 billion last year, may not be achieved this year, analysts have predicted.

The tough regulatory policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including Commission on Turnover cut, raise in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), among others, were to blame.

A report by Financial Derivatives Company Limited said the banking sector recovery had seen profitability back to above pre-crisis levels, with profit of all banks listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), achieving a combined Profit before Tax (PBT) of N529 billion last year.

A bank is quoted if its shares can be bought or sold on the NSE. FDC Economic report obtained by The Nation said the lenders’ PBT were at N550 billion in 2012.

These feats, it said, were possible because the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) strengthened the financial sector, especially the lenders, preventing the collapse of the banks. The report said the coming of AMCON has also addressed the potential bank runs and the negative implications this would have had on the depositors.

Nigeria bank export services out-

side the country, remain market leaders in the African banking sector.

AMCON had last month, announced its operating results, with a loss of N635.88 billion – more than last year’s fiscal budgets of seven states.

It also revealed that it has run up a cumulative negative net-worth of N3.46 trillion since inception in 2010, about 69.7 per cent of the national budget.

These numbers, the report said, would make any rational investor or orthodox analyst stagger, describing it as an unprecedented financial calamity. But these numbers becloud the economic reality of economic success, the report added.

However, Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Plc, Ike Chioke, said a review of CBN’s last year’s balance sheet showed that the regulator was bugged by AMCON bonds, intervention funds and development finance loans.

He said these ‘unmarketable asset portfolios’constitute over 40 per cent of the CBN’s balance sheet.

Chioke, who spoke at the launch of the Banking Sector Report, explained that the assets are long term investments without a clear exit time frame other than the eventual performance of the loan portfolio.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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MONEY Every customer wishes to be touched in a special way. The need to meet customers’expectations prompted Access Bank Plc in partnership with Verve International to inaugurate a customised debit card tagged ‘Persona’. The product allows the bank’s customers to upload their favourite image or select any from its gallery on their debit cards, for enhance satisfaction, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

Service that touches customers T

fessional staff working in 366 branches. The lender has 1,042 ATMs, with 11,846 Point of Sale channels.

He said with a vision of becoming one of the most respected banks in Africa, Access Bank has grown to be the top five banks in Nigeria, stating that between 2002 and 2007, the bank ranked among the top 10 lenders in the country.

“That feat was triggered by its role as a dominant trade finance bank; top three foreign exchange and money market bank and model of compliance in the banking industry,” he said.

Nwosu, who spoke in company of other Senior officials of the bank, including the Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Roosevelt Ogbonna at a media briefing in Lagos, said that between 2007 and 2012, the bank emerged among the top five in the financial services group, adding that this was achieved based on its reference point of Service Delivery; leading e-business support bank; employee of choice in Africa; reference point for corporate governance; attainment of high independent credit rating and as a top five trade finance lender.

O every customer, there is a special moment or event that would be cherished forever.

The need to keep such moments close to customers’ heart prompted Access Bank Plc to unveil ‘Persona’, a customised debit card that allows cardholders to upload their favourite images on their debit cards.

Access Bank CEO speaks Speaking at the launch of the product in Lagos, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, described the product as part of the brand new future as well as a great future facing the lender.

Continuing, the bank chief said: “So, that is what we are doing. That is also what Persona is all about. It was inspired by our customers. We have several people that have been with us for so long, since 2002. Even as a wholesale commercial bank, you (customers) stood with us, even when we did not have many retail products to offer. Now, we boast of the most widely used cards, we boast of the best premium cards, we boast of cards that are extremely efficient, but what we are doing today is even much more different.

“If you ask people about Access Bank about three to five years ago, they would have said it is a wholesale commercial bank because that was what we were.

“But we have evolved over the past three years to become a large diversified bank with a strong retail presence. Now, what we are doing is not just looking at the top corporates, we are looking at what we can do with each of our stakeholders. What that means is that whether it is a small business, or an individual, we strive to meet everybody’s aspiration.”

According to him, the bank would be unveiling several products over the next couple of weeks to strengthen its presence in the marketplace. This, he pointed out would enable the lender achieve its ambition of becoming the world’s most respected African bank.

“So, for you to achieve that, it is not just by banking the large corporates which we are doing, but making sure that all the people in the retail space can truly feel the power of an institution that truly cares for them,” he said.

Wigwe said the lender believes in creating its own destiny, pushing boundaries and thriving on excellence.

Its Group Head, Channel Services, Mr. Segun Ogbonnewo said the product would be supported amongst other things by dedicated communication channels which would host dynamic information as well as publicise the bank’s loyalty and reward offerings to customers.

He said the lender is focused on building its digital banking enterprise around innovative, efficient and relevant products and services driven by cutting edge technology platforms.

“We propose to name the collective ecosystem of these non-generic products and enhanced services ‘Persona’. Because our primary inspiration in developing these products are our esteemed and increasingly technology savvy customer base. A customer base that wants to be empowered with selfservice options that enable them

• Wigwe

take charge of the way they live, work and play,” he said.

Ogbonnewo said the product entails building the value propositions for our products around the lifestyle characteristics of our target demographic segments. “We will seek to create loyalty driven by engagement, leveraging off the lifestyle attributes of the target market which drive or are closely associated with spending habits/ patterns such as travel, shopping, music, sports,” he said.

Verve CEO speaks Managing Director of Verve International, Charles Ifedi, felicitated with Access Bank Plc on the introduction of the new debit card.

He said the bank took the right decision to adopt the innovative personalised debit card.

Powered by Verve, a payment solution from Interswitch transnational, this new card called Persona, will function like every other debit card, but gives customers the opportunity to customise their debit cards with pictures of their choice.

Ifedi said: “We are excited about this new model of cards and we commend Access bank for this step.

We believe that by letting customers choose what picture should be on their debit cards, we have given them the freedom to express themselves on their debit cards and truly own these cards”.

Access Bank has also been active

Africa as economic hub

• Ifedi

in other sectors of the economy.

Loan support Access Bank Plc has granted a $250 million credit facility to Sea Truck Group an international group of companies offering offshore installation, accommodation and support services to the oil and gas industry worldwide, in continuation of its financial intermediation role, In a statement, Wigwe, said the lender has recorded commendable expansion and growth in the last decade. The feat, he said, has positioned the bank within the top five banks in the country. “With regards to our regional spread, Access Bank is currently in seven countries inclusive of the United Kingdom and now has an office in China with plans to establish presence in Dubai next year,” he said.

The bank chief described the Sea Truck Group as a company that is dear to the lender’s heart. “We will always support the company in its dealings, as we are confident that this mutually beneficial relationship will provide the backbone for future more robust dealings,” he said.

President/Chief Executive Officer, Sea Trucks Group, Jacque Roomans praised the bank chief for arranging the signing ceremony and also commended the lender for the successful close on the transaction.

“The manner with which Access

Bank handled this transaction is highly commendable. This is a demonstration of how far the bank has come overtime. Sea Truck Group is proud to associate with Access bank and will not hesitate to build on this existing relationship. I admonish other financial institutions to emulate Access Bank,” he said.

The Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Access Bank Plc, Elias Igbinakenzua in said the bank’s capacity to support big businesses is never in doubt. “In our bid to stimulate growth in the economy, we have established first class relationships with corporations and multi – nationals to position us to better support our customer’s businesses,” he said.

Eyes fresh capital Access Bank’s Deputy Group Managing Director, Obinna Nwosu said the lender will be raising N68 billion capital through Rights Issues. He advised shareholders to take up their rights when the issue begins, as the bank has proven its ability to deliver superior returns on investment.

The bank chief also listed some of the major attributes that makes Access Bank an institution of choice for investors.

Nwosu said the bank has Capital Adequacy Ratio of 21 per cent, and has seven banking subsidiaries.

The lender also employs 3,192 pro-

‘Africa still faces challenges that are not peculiar to the continent, but the changing global financial landscape has made it ever more important that Africa catch up as quickly as possible with the rest of the world or risk being left behind’

Wigwe has described Africa as a hub of international economic evolution where tremendous innovation in financial services, telecoms and natural resources have become important drivers of global growth.

Speaking at the 2014 Institute of International Finance Africa Financial Summit held in Lagos, he said the forum is part of that paradigm shift in the economic trajectory of Africa.

“A congregation of some of the best financial minds, financial sector leaders and economic policy makers from across Africa and beyond are gathered here today and I am proud to welcome you all to this important gathering,” he said.

The bank chief who spoke on ‘Mobilising Resources for Investing in Africa’ said more wealth has been created in Africa in the last decade than at any other time in history.

“Across the continent, we have seen a steady drumbeat of democratisation and political reform as governments are, with some exceptions, starting to provide the environment for businesses to thrive. They are creating greater feedback from and accountability to their citizens; ensuring that people’s needs are known and addressed,” he said.

He said from Rwanda to Nigeria, there has been a steady increase in security of title and the rule of law; investment in regulatory and physical infrastructure to ease the doing of business; and a low-debt, low-inflation macro environment.

He said: “All of these factors together help to build the first pillar of the African investment story – no longer is this the continent of coups and generals; instead it is a place of democratic as well as economic growth.”

Wigwe said despite these achievements, Africa still faces challenges that are not peculiar to the continent, but the changing global financial landscape has made it ever more important that Africa catch up as quickly as possible with the rest of the world or risk being left behind.

28

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

THE NATION INVESTORS

FBN Capital allays investors’ fears over market trend

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HE downtrend at the stock market presents valuable investment opportunities for discerning investors as quoted companies are now substantially underpriced below their intrinsic values, FBN Capital has advised.

Managing Director, FBN Capital Limited, Mr. Kayode Akinkugbe, said low stock prices should be opportunities rather than threats to Nigerian investors as the fundamentals of the quoted companies remain substantially higher than prices.

With the recent fall in oil prices which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, the drop in stock market prices and the upcoming elections

Stories by Taofik Salako

among other factors, some analysts had concluded that this paints a picture of uncertainty for Nigeria’s economy and thus an unlikely scenario for investors to pitch their tents in Nigeria.

The persistent decline in oil prices is becoming an increasing threat to the value of the Naira. This is because of its impact on Nigeria‘s revenue and the exchange rate. This threat to Nigeria‘s macro-economic stability is also exacerbated by the security challenges in the NorthEastern part of the country and the upcoming 2015 general elections, which is likely to be accompanied

by increased political spending.

“It is an opportunity, particularly if I am a domestic investor; I see this as an opportunity. For an international investor, perhaps, I’ll be a little cautious, trying to get a bit more of the senses to where is the currency going. It is likely to go in one direction; the issue is, how far.

So if I am a foreign investor with a very long term view, then actually coming into the public equity market, there are some good opportunities now. I won’t necessarily just put on the breaks, if I am a foreign or domestic investor,” Akinkugbe said.

Akinkugbe was part of the faculty of experts and policy makers that

reviewed the macroeconomic outlook at the 2014 Investor Conference hosted by FBN Capital Limited, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, last week.

According to him, while the elections have to come with their own challenges, they would not have much of negative effect for long term investors as the democratic dispensation has shown more stability over time with successive governments building on the sustainable initiatives that drive the economy.

“Yes, we have elections around the corner. Out of prudence, if you sit in a strategy session now, in any major corporate, and you are thinking of making a 10 year investment, and you have two three months to elections, you may decide to be patient and that is reasonable enough.

But should you necessarily be extra worried? In fairness, there isn’t such a strong correlation between

volatility and Nigerian elections.

So I think there are still lots of opportunities,” Akinkugbe said.

Discussions at the conference showed how the rebasing increased Nigeria’s profile highlighting the fact that Nigeria is now the largest economy in Africa which says a lot because it suddenly puts the nation on the radar of many more investors.

Looking into the coming year, it would appear that in spite of the predicted challenges that some feel would have a negative effect on the Nigerian economic landscape, there exists immense potential for sustainable growth of the economy. Already the effects can already be seen as a significant portion of Nigeria’s GDP growth in recent times has been from the non-oil sectors of the economy. With further development of infrastructure and institutions Nigeria could well be on its way to becoming one of the major economic giants on a global scale.

Oando grows Q3 net profit by 76% to N11b

O

•From Left: Mr. Henry Rowlands, member, Organising Committee of the 4th Capital Market Committee Retreat, Mrs. Toyin Sanni; Chairperson and Mr. Emeka Madubuike, Vice Chairman, during a press briefing on the forthcoming retreat in Lagos at the weekend

University Press seeks approval to raise new funds from shareholders

U

NIVERSITY Press (UP) Plc may soon launch a supplementary equity offer as the printing and publishing company is seeking regulatory approval to raise new equity funds from existing shareholders.

Investment banking sources said University Press plans to undertake a rights issue and has secured necessary endorsements from key stakeholders, especially the major individual and institutional shareholders.

The planned offer has now entered the approval stage, after which the company will have its completion board meeting and open the application list for subscription by shareholders.

Shareholders of University Press had in 2013 approved the new issue. In order to edge against uncertainties, shareholders in September 2014 approved a special resolution allowing an underwriter to underwrite the rights issue and a waiver of their preemptive rights to allow the underwriter to but unsubscribed shares.

There are indications that the foreign majority shareholder, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, which has recently increased its shareholding from 9.19 per cent to 10.61 per cent, may be interested in increasing its equity stake.

According to sources, University Press will use the net proceeds of the rights issue to finance business enhancement programme aimed at boosting its operations. The company had spent some N115 million on capital expenditure in the immediate past business year.

University Press currently has outstanding issued shares of about 431.41 million ordinary shares,

largely held by widely disperse minority retail shareholders. The company is owned by more than 11,000 shareholders with three major investors holding 23.71 per cent.

Oxford University Press holds 10.61 per cent equity stake. Cashcraft Asset Management Limited, a Nigerian investment firm, holds 7.71 per cent while Dr. Lalekan Are, who chairs the board of directors, holds the largest individual equity stake of 6.26 per cent.

University Press is one of the oldest surviving companies in Nigeria. Incorporated in 1949, it converted to a public limited liability company and listed its shares in 1978. Fundamentally, it is the leading quoted printing and publishing company.

The company recently distributed N150.99 million to shareholders as cash dividends for the immediate past year ended March 31, 2014.

Similar dividend rate was distributed for 2013, 2012 and 2011 business years. Shareholders received a dividend per share of 35 kobo for

the year ended March 31, 2014, the same amount received at least in 2013 and 2012.

However, the company's bottomline contracted further as it struggled with sluggish sales and rising costs. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of UP for the year ended March 31, 2014 showed that total sales rose marginally from N2.31 billion in 2013 to N2.44 billion in 2014. Gross profit however dropped marginally from N1.17 billion to N1.166 billion. The decline became more pronounced with pre-tax profit dropping from N393.3 million in 2013 to N348.12 million in 2014.

After taxes, net profit slipped to N233.93 million in 2014 as against profit after tax of N260.70 million in 2013. This implied earnings per share of 54.22 kobo in 2014, lower than 60.43 kobo posted in 2013.

However, total assets rose from N2.82 billion in 2013 to N2.97 billion in 2014. Shareholders' funds also increased from N2.17 billion to N2.24 billion.

ANDO Plc optimized its bottom-line performance in the third quarter as significant improvements in top and midline costs moderated decline in turnover and returned higher earnings to shareholders.

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Oando for the ninemonth period ended September 30, 2014 showed that while turnover dropped by 12.5 per cent, the group drew on improved input and marketing costs to grow gross profit and operating profit by 70.4 per cent and 97.3 per cent respectively.

Net profit after tax rose by 75.7 per cent.

Group turnover stood at N338.11 billion in third quarter 2014 compared with N386.25 billion in corresponding period of 2013. Gross profit meanwhile rose from N70.4 billion in 2013 to N79.60 billion in 2014. Operating profit also nearly doubled at N36.25 billion in 2014 as against N18.37 billion in 2013.

Profit before tax rose marginally from N9.76 billion in third quarter 2013 to N10.18 billion in third quarter 2014.

With tax gain of N523.4 million, group net profit rose to N10.70 billion in 2014 as against N6.09 billion in comparable period of 2013.

Earnings per share meanwhile improved from 93 kobo to N1.26.

Oando has, this year, recorded several milestones, including the successful acquisition of ConocoPhillips, the largest acquisition by an indigenous player in Africa; in the upstream, OML 125 production increased by 17 per cent to 651,000 bbls, while OML 56 production increased by 30 per cent to 171,000bbls compared to prior comparative period; in the midstream, Oando Gas and Power is extending its natural gas distribution network by 8.0km from Ijora to the Marina business district in Lagos state, positioning the company to benefit from the growing demand for gas and power infrastructure in the country while in the down-

Guinness Nigeria records N4.8b dividends

S

HAREHOLDERS of Guinness Nigeria Plc have approved the payment of N4.8 billion, representing a dividend per share of N3.20.

At the 64th Annual General Meeting of the company in Calabar, Cross River, chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Babatunde Savage, thanked the shareholders of the company for their unstinting support even as the brewing giant went through a challenging few years.

He said the fundamentals of the company has not changed and the directors are confident that the growth it has witnessed in the early part of the 2015

financial year will mark a return to growth in spite of the headwinds of the economic and political environment which affected performance in recent years.

During the meeting, shareholders said they were grateful that the company paid out dividends in spite of the tough operating environment.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sir Sunny Nwosu said shareholders were glad Guinness Nigeria was giving dividends to shareholders.

“Dividends are due to us shareholders and we are glad. Admittedly it has dropped from what it has been in other

years but we also have companies paying out five kobo dividends so we are happy to receive this dividend payout from Guinness Nigeria Plc,” Nwosu said.

Explaining the decision to pay out N3.20k dividends, Mr. Savage said the company wished to re-invest its profits to ensure long term profitability. “We want to reduce the cost of borrowing and financial charges and instead use our funds to grow the company. We feel this is the best decision to take for our long term growth and I trust that I can rely on our loyal shareholders to continue to support us as they have done all these years.”

stream, the completion of the Apapa Single Point Mooring (ASPM) Jetty, a first in Africa; with expected demurrage cost savings and additional income streams.

On the impact of Oando’s $1.5 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria which has transformed the company into Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil and gas producer, it is expected that there would be further improvements in the company’s performance as the acquisition is set to increase daily oil production exponentially by 600% equivalent to 45,000 boe/d, annual revenue of over US$600 million, and annual free cash flows of $150 million.

On the outlook for the company, group chief executive officer, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu has said the company’s strategic refocus on the higher margin promises to create profitable growth for the company and immense value add for its stakeholders in the near term.

“With an eye to the future, we took on our largest and most daring feat with the acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria, adding capacity to support our future growth plans. We have succeeded in repositioning ourselves within the sector, and through future acquisitions and innovative efficacy we will seek to up our market share in sub-Sahara’s upstream sector within the next five years to 100,000 boe/d in net production. We remain committed to strengthening our balance sheet and expect 2014 to be another strong year for the Company,” Tinubu said.

He noted that the company has already seen positive indications from its active strategic initiatives; upstream investments, midstream expansion and downstream optimisation.

Oando recently distributed a total of N2.4 billion as cash dividends to shareholders, consisting of a final dividend of 30 kobo per share for the 2013 business year financial year and an interim dividend of 70 Kobo per share for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, bringing total dividend per share to N1.

Chairman, Oando Plc, Oba Michael Gbadebo, said the company has already started to reap the rewards of recent strategic initiatives in the previous year.

“We have successfully cemented our leading status as Nigeria’s premier indigenous exploration and production player, whilst also growing the midstream business and refocusing the pioneer downstream business,” Gbadebo said.

According to him, the company will remain on the growth path and continue to work diligently to stay ahead of its peers while creating value for its shareholders..

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHWEST STATES

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

PAGE 29

Drawing from the plummeting supply of food stuffs from the northern part of the country as a result of insurgency, the Lagos State Government has taken steps to not only ensure food security but also to develop an agro-based economy. PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU reports

•The beneficiaries dsiplaying one of the items of empowerment

F

Empowering farmers for food security

INSIDE

OR many years, people in the Southern part of Nigeria relied on food supply from the North to meet daily needs. But as insurgency continued to ravage some geo-political zones of the region unabated, the quantity of food stuffs that come to the South from the North nose-dived.

For farmers in Lagos State, the limited supply of food stuffs from the North has become a blessing in disguise. The situation has become blessing of sorts to them as over 3,000 of them have benefitted from various empowerment programmes initiated by the state’s Ministry of Agriculture.

Farmers in the various agricultural value chains across the state beamed with excitements as seedlings, feeds, fertilisers and other equipment were provided for them by the ministry in a bid to enhance their micro-busi-

Communities’ rousing welcome for Ajimobi

PAGE 32

nesses.

Supervised by the Commissioner himself, the ministry recently visited the four distribution zones-Mowo, Badagry; Odogunyan in Ikorodu; Agege and Epe- where a total of 3, 149 people received fish and poultry feeds, outboard engines, fishing smoking kilns, cows and garri processing equipment, among others.

The beneficiaries who included fisher men, horticulturists, animal husbandry, egg producers, feed millers and coconut cultivators expressed their joy as they praised Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for bringing succour their way.

For a fish farmer, Mrs. Victoria Ofinni who received 20 bags of fish feed at the Agege zone, life has never been so good.

Dancing around with one of the freebies on her head, she said: “Today is

one of my happiest days. I thank Governor Fashola and Prince Lawal for this assistance. Now, I can increase my modest fish farm and better take care of my children. There is no way we will starve.”

Another beneficiary, Odegbami Ayodele, a 28-year-old graduate of Oyo State College of Education, Alanyande, said the pig feeds he received has relieved him of severe financial burden, adding that with the gesture, he would be able to adequately feed his pigs and thus move forward in life.

The story was not different for butchers. Their representative, Mr Abiola Olusegun received the three cows, gears and apron on behalf of his team.

Olesegun was particularly ecstatic because, he said, “this is the first time that we are being recognised and acknowledged as butchers by any government”.

According to him, the empower-

Group holds campaign on human rights PAGE 35

ment would free them from unnecessary pressure and financial difficulty, thereby providing them with capital to continue on their own after generating sales from the free cows.

An egg seller, Mrs Sanni AlimoShaddiya received 50 crates of egg; Mrs Patricia Akpezi went home with a kiln for fish processing; a fisherman, Juwon Owoade with his Ayegbami Fishermen Co-operatives members received 40 HP waterman outboard engines.

Aside those who received equipment to better their trades, others had access to loans to the tune of N90 million to actualise their dreams of producing foods in order to meet the food need of the state.

Among this group is a 30-year-old Mohammed Sakai, a member of the Diamond Agric-YES Co-operative Society. Sakai was trained under this programme. Provided a free two-bed-

room apartment inside the Lagos State Agric Training Institute in Araga, Epe and his team obtained the loan of about N90 million.

“The scheme has truly impacted positively on my life. It has given meaning to my study and a means of livelihood for my family. My group produces 200 crates of eggs daily and about three to four tons of fish monthly.

“There are about 400 settlers here, all living in their two-bedroom apartments provided by the scheme. The commissioner and the ministry have done very well, and we implore them to sustain this scheme,” Sakai said.

While expressing satisfaction for the success of the scheme, Lawal said government’s wish is to truly em-

•Continued on page 36

Aspirant donates bus to party

PAGES 35

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

30

THE SOUTHWEST REPORT

One of the intractable problems Nigerians, especially the poor, experience is lack of decent accommodation, wh cement is the major component. SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN writes that, to address the housing deficit in the c brick blocks as major alternative to cement.

Housing deficit: Red bricks as panacea

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OOD, clothing and shelter are mankind’s most basic necessities of life. While food and clothing could be somewhat common among man and the animals, shelter distinguishes him from the wild beast. Man lives in homes while animals, especially the non-domestic ones, live in bushes or burrows.

Man takes time to prepare for the home in which he will live, as it requires long-time planning. The most important aspect of the planning is the funds with which materials will be procured. Once the fund is available, he begins procurement of the necessary materials.

However, the most significant material needed for the erection of the building is cement which is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens and can bind other materials together.

Experts argue that the most important uses of cement are as a component in the production of mortar in masonry, and of concrete, a combination of cement and an aggregate to form a strong building material. There are numerous cement factories in Nigeria such as Dangote Cement in Benue State and Ikoyi, Falomo Lagos, Eastern Bulkcem Company, manufacturers of Eagle Cement, the Nigerian Cement Company Plc. (NIGERCEM) located in Nkalagu, Ebonyi State and Ibeto Cement Company Limited, among others.

Despite that some of these companies produce enough cement for domestic consumption; the product seems to be out of the reach of the common man due to high price. The vital component for residential building is so costly so much so that its least price is N1, 000; going by the latest price slash

by Dangote Cement Company.

The situation results in the inability of the poor to procure cement for building purposes; thus making the underprivileged to live in ramshackle houses, with its appalling health implications.

Those who could afford to rent decent apartments are paying through their nose as the rents are very expensive. To worsen the situation, most landlords demand payment of three years rent from their prospective tenants and subsequently request yearly payment on the anniversary of the previous rent.

This usually creates problems for most low-income earners.

This was the experience of Mr. Dada Olowolagba (pseudonym) at the anniversary of his previous rent. He had thought deeply how he will provide shelter for his family the following year if his rent expires.

Having obtained the three-bedroom apartment he once occupied at a remote section of Ajebandele area of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital in December, his landlord had insisted that he must pay the rent for the next year one month before the anniversary of the preceding rent.

That year, he could not pay the rent.

While still running from pillar to post in a bid to settle the rent that was already belated, he visited one of his friends for financial assistance. The visit literally removed the veil from his eyes as why he could not have a house of his own was revealed to him.

His friend who lives in his own house narrated to him how he was able to end incessant worries and troubles from his former landlord; how he denied himself some pleasures in order to develop a piece of land he had abandoned.

The tips seemed the fillip he needed.

Olowolagba immediately deposited some money with a block moulding industry that supplied some blocks at his undeveloped plot of land in another

‘But those who, by any calculation, end up using the mud or red blocks soon find out they have landed on a gold mine, a type of building the value of which they may never be able to assess...We are not saying cement is not good and that people should stop using it. What we are saying is, given the ever rising cost of cement, it is time people began to seek alternatives which red bricks, the production of which has lately been improved upon, provide them’ part of Ado-Ekiti.

His conclusion on the next line of action was instantaneous. He decided to build a three-bedroom apartment from the following year. He showed much commitment to the project. He succeeded. The feat raised his status as a proud house owner.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that many are of the view that individual ownership of houses would be the panacea for the current situation in which the poor live in decrepit homes.

For Apanisile Smart, a builder, having a house of one’s own makes one have a peace of mind and prevents such worries as recounted by Olowolagba, even as he said it doesn’t cost so much to erect a decent home.

“It takes a combination of tact, focus, discipline, prudence and some measure of enlightenment,” Smart said.

According to him, quite a number of those who languish in stress arising from lack of personal accommodation have not much excuses to give, given the option of mud or red bricks, the principal raw material for building houses which is readily available in all the communities. He also said it has a lot of advantages over cement.

Smart, however, added that the tendency by a large section of the populace to dub both mud and red bricks traditional or archaic rather than modern structures is a major reason this important component for building is less popular and acceptable among the people.

He said: “But those who, by any calculation, end up using the mud or red brick blocks soon find out they have landed on a gold mine, a type of building the value of which they may never be able to assess.

“We are not saying cement is not good and that people should stop us-

•Old mud houses in Ado-Ekiti

•Mr. Ajayi

ing it. What we are saying is, given the ever-rising cost of cement, it is time people began to seek alternatives which red bricks, the production of which has lately been improved upon, provide them.

“Although my personal house was made of cement blocks, not using red bricks to build it when I did was a mistake.”

However, he added, people still look down on those who use red bricks as not having sufficient money or living a life of yesteryear. “They feel those type of houses are inferior. How wrong”, he lamented.

Mud or red brick as building option

According to Smart, while mud bricks are the blocks made from raw and unprocessed mud dug up from the earth, red bricks are those that are processed through the removal of particles before compressing them into shapes.

Explaining the processes which the mud undergoes before use, Mr Smart said the old types are laid and chucked using a mixture of sand and cement, while the brick blocks are interlocking as they have been made into such shapes.

“When some quantity of cement is added to the processed mud and compressed mechanically, the result is often more compacting, stronger, smoother and more attractive than the ones without cement. The latter is currently produced by a company in Ado-Ekiti,” Smart said.

Continuing, he said: “One of the properties of mud blocks is their naturalness. It also has self compatibility. Stress wise, it bears weight better than concrete. This technically means that it has greater tensile strength than cement

•Mr. Olugbade

blocks. It also has the capacity of acting as bullet-proof because it has no hollow portion. It is cheaper, generates less heat and can be found anywhere and easy to work on.

“The inside of structures built with red bricks is always cool, which suits a country like Nigeria where electricity supply is epileptic. You cannot experience heat while inside a room built with red bricks as experienced in a house built with cement blocks.”

Corroborating Smart’s assertion, Mr. Oluwasola Ajayi, a bricklayer of 32 years experience, explained that the best material for building houses, given his experience, are mud blocks which he noted can equally be decorated to one’s taste.

“There are some houses built with mud blocks that you can never know they are mud. If you get good bricklayer, the finish will be just as smooth as houses built with cement blocks.

Most of the buildings around Okesa, Oke-Okeoriomi and other areas across the state capital were built over 60 years ago and they are still strong.

“The only thing is if someone decides to use the mud blocks rather than red bricks, he has to calculate and ensure that sthe rain did not fall on it while the house is still being constructed. But those with the cement component can be built at anytime of the season. Rain or sunshine, the bricks remain solid and sturdy,” Mr. Ajayi said.

Mr. Ayeni Stephen, who recently completed his mud bricks building, said the experience had been wonderful.

Although he confirmed the perception of inferiority attached to the use of mud blocks in building houses, he admitted he would have preferred cement blocks to bricks blocks if he had sufficient capital.

He said: “I must admit I decided to

use mud blocks because I did not have much money. However, I have realised it would have been a mistake to overstress myself sourcing money to buy cement blocks. The house is a great joy to me. I have been living there for over a year now. It is ever cool inside.”

Dele Babatunde, another resident of Ado-Ekiti said: “It is easier to build a house than even buying a car. With just N10, 000, you can build a house. Look for a burrow pit where you can dig up mud, make your blocks there and then transport them down to your site. If you have 2,500 blocks, you will set a three bedroom flat conveniently.”

Continuing, he said: “What remain for you are the roofing sheets. Palm tree logs or stems are also alternatives to plank woods. They are better than the common planks for use in roofing houses. In my area now, mud blocks are the in-thing. Let people seek knowledge. The Holy Bible says ‘my people perish for lack of knowledge.’”

Are mud bricks easily available?

While mud bricks are relatively scarce to find, especially in the urban areas, the cement-fortified red bricks are common and available. There is a company that specialised in the production of red bricks in commercial quantity.

Findings, however, showed that as yet, mainly official establishments have accepted the innovation which the red bricks offer. Government-owned schools, hospitals and office blocks built with red bricks are springing up in the state capital. A few private individuals also use the bricks to design the front of their houses.

On the red bricks not yet popular, Mr. Jacob Ibikunle Olugbade, the pro-

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

31

THE SOUTHWEST REPORT

modation, which results from high cost of building materials of which eficit in the country, government and individuals should consider red

Oyo community launches N250m development fund

T

•Ekiti State University library complex built with the red bricks

•Mr Smart

‘Any new innovation, however good and commendable, always takes time to win acceptance among the people.

With time, I believe, they will get to know the advantages of red bricks and begin to appreciate them better. If Ado were to be another Lagos, I know the experience would have been different...However good an idea is, people will examine it for sometime before accepting it...Building threebedroom flat with red bricks costs between N500, 000 and N600, 000’ prietor of Jaco De-Quincy Industry which produces the blocks in commercial quantity explained that “any new innovation, however good and commendable, always takes time to win acceptance among the people. With time, I believe they will get to know the advantages of red bricks and begin to appreciate them better. If Ado-Ekiti were to be another Lagos, I know the experience would have been different.”

He also said: “However good an idea is, people will examine it for sometime before accepting it. This is why the bricks, despite its strengths and the fact that it is the oldest type of material ever in use by man, our major patronage have been by government agencies.

According to Olugbade, building three-bedroom flat with red bricks, costs between N500, 000 and N600, 000.

“It is cheaper compared with cement blocks when you consider the fact that you don’t have to paint mud bricks houses as you would those of cement buildings which you often have to repeat after sometime.”

Aside these advantages, people also need to know that the property is also movable as the blocks can be dismembered with ease and moved from one location to another for resetting. This is because the blocks are interlocking unlike cement blocks.

“There are structures made of red bricks in Britain which had lasted over 400 years and are still standing strong.

Even in situations of fire disaster, buildings made of red bricks don’t suffer cracks as those built with cement blocks,” Olugbade said.

Need for government’s in-

tervention

As the federal and state governments struggle to make houses available for citizens, there is urgent need for their intervention in the area of popularising this cheap means of building houses, more so as the raw materials are locally sourced.

However, Mr. Akeem Ajuwon appreciated the difficulty in accessing the old type bricks as one of the factors inhibiting its acceptability among the people.

Ajuwon said: “If the raw material is readily available, people will use it.

So many people want to use it but they cannot find it. People cannot dig holes, scoop red sand as in the olden days.

“I know the mud bricks have been modernised now. We see it all over the places but my opinion is that they are still not common. If government is committed to crashing the prices of cement and support individuals to own their houses, they can do that by supporting the production of bricks blocks to make them available to the poor sat relatively cheaper cost,” he said.

Lamenting the epileptic electricity supply, Olugbade noted that his company runs basically on diesel which he said has made the cost of running the business high.

He said: “The prices of the red bricks can be brought down if electricity supply is enhanced. The company has been running on diesel-powered engines all the time, which heightens production costs.

“I remain in business not because there is much encouragement or incentives but because there is a social responsibility attached. Those working there will lose their jobs if I close down the company. Support from government is very necessary.”

HOSE indigenous to Oke-Ogun of Oyo State, in their thousands stormed Okeho for the 5th OkeOgun National Day celebration to launch N250 million development fund and to canvass for state creation.

Oke-Ogun community is made up of 10 local government areas. They include Irepo, Olorunsogo, Oorelope, Saki East, Saki West, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iwajowa, Kajola and Iseyin.

The Oke-Ogun National Day was organised by Oke-Ogun Development Council (ODC).

Among the many dignitaries that attended the programme was former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Bamidele Dada, ýwho said the zone has been marginalised by past administrations in the state, stressing that they will not give up until their demands are met.

Dadaý, who chaired the event, urged the people not to give up their demand on state creation and the establishment of a university in the area.

“Some people are mocking us and marginalising us, saying that we are nothing. We are viable economically, socially and culturally. We are endowed with arable lands, cash crops, cultural heritage and man power.

“Our population is about 1.5 million and it’s more than many states in the country. Creation of Oke-Ogun State is long overdue. I know our hope will be realised only if we do not give up in the pursuit of this course,” he said.

Also in his remarks, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerindeý noted that to actualise their dreamed state, all hands much be on deck and there must not be an adversary, as have been noticed in some areas.

The Asiwaju of Oke-Ogun land said they must be committed in the fight for the creation of their own state, which he said will ensure the development of their zone.

Commenting on the proposed OkeOgun University, he said: “We need over N250 million as a deposit to enable us to start a university. This can only be achieved if we come together and contribute towards its kick off. We must work together and speak as one entity. That is the only way govern-

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

ment and the National Assembly can consider our request. We are happy with the fully-fledged polytechnic given to us by the present administration, but we want it to be funded and not just abandoned.”

Similarly, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Nationalý Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Seyi Ige who delivered a keynote address, urged the people to be united in their demand.

He spoke on “Oke-Ogun: Journey towards Relevance in the 21st Century.”

According toý him, Oke-Ogun region is the most populous in Oyo State and blessed with arable land, even as he said the area is the food basket with a prolific capacity to produce diverse agricultural products.

Ige listed some key factors which he said must be addressed holistically in order to achieve the region’s aims and objectives. They are social order, peace and security, strategic economic emancipation and education.

“Any aspiration of Oke-Ogun that is predicated on a divided people is dead on arrival. Divisions are manmade and can be overcome.

Where there is division, investment does not flow.

“We must break the walls of division if we want to overcome poverty and ensure a credible and sustainable region. We must figure out how best to leverage every possible tool at our disposal to transform our agriculture into wealth. Once our economy begins to boom at a global level, the world will be forced to reckon with us.

“While university education is vital, the success of Oke-Ogun University will be as good as the intakes into the university. We must address primary and secondary education. Focus on critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science and English.

“If we create social order, transform our economy a step at a time anchored on world-class scale and reach, if we establish our region to attain a world scale and reach, if we establish our region to attain above national average educational standard, there is no doubt that the aspirations of several decades for a sustainable, economically viable and political relevant Oke-Ogun will be achieved,” Ige said.

‘Let’s eradicate crashes on our roads’

T

HE Corps Commander/Chief Executive Officer, Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Mr Ayo Sangofadeji, has urged Nigerians to join hands in ending the frequent crashes on our roads.

He spoke while delivering a lecture on safety at the Engineering Search and Disposal Regiment, Sappers Barracks, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.

He said crashes on our road could be minimised if commercial transport unions, companies and individuals co-operate with the traffic management agencies to embark on regular safety training/workshop for their drivers.

He said, TRACE is one of the traffic management services in Ogun State to solve the envisaged transport problems, checkmating and controlling traffic and to effectively manage the heavy traffic flow.

He said: “Accident is an unexpected, unpleasant or undesirable occurrence involving automobiles, which in any manner, must involve vehicles, human beings or other properties. Noting that accidents do just happen without any cause, he said accidents are categorised in three categories namely minor, serious and fatal.

“Minor accidents, he said, involved neither life nor injury, but vehicles or property may be damaged. Serious accidents, he revealed, do not involve loss of life but internal or external bodily harm. And in fatal accidents, there may be no scratch on the vehicle(s), yet life is lost,” he said.

He urged motorists to always consider these three factors that cause accident, human/institutional factor (driver), mechanical (vehicle) and environmental (road or weather) to ensure the safety of lives on the roads.

Other factors he highlighted that cause car crashes were poor driving culture, illiteracy, poor eye-sight, drunk driving, over-speeding, psychological, reliance on metaphysical powers, temperament and road rage, over confidence and economic factors, even as he said they also contribute immensely in car crashes.

Sangofadeji also appeal to motorists to always follow the due process of buying tyres, insisting that manufacturing and expiry dates should be considered.

He said tyres are made of chemicals whose components breakdown after a fixed period, either used or not. Noting that date of manufacture is stamped on one side of the tyre and indicated by four digit numbers.

Sangofadeji advised motorists to shun dangerous overtaking where there is mountains or valleys, sharp corners and mining areas.

The Zone II Commanding Officer, Mr Kunle Ajibade, appealed to all road users to maintain discipline on the road as Christmas is approaching.

He urged them to embark on defensive driving and shun hazard parking, overspeeding, drunk driving and highway trading to ensure crashes are eradicate on our roads.

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There were erroneous beliefs by some that the support which the All Progressives Congress (APC) enjoys in Oyo State has nose-dived. However, BISI OLADELE writes that last week’s tours by Governor Abiola Ajimobi to Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso and Oyo areas of the state showed strong signs that the governor’s profile as well as that of the party is on the rise.

Communities’ rousing welcome for Ajimobi

T

T

HOUGH Ibadan does not occupy more than a quarter of the total land mass of Oyo State, hosting the state capital and the headquarters of 11 of the 33 local government areas, 65 per cent of both government and commercial activities in the state take place in Ibadan.

With a huge population and central location, Ibadan has been the major focus for decades, thus taking the shine off other communities.

Nevertheless, last week will remain a special one in the lives of many residents of Oyo, Ogbomoso, Ibarapa and other major towns in Oke-Ogun areas of the state.

It was a week traditional rulers, community leaders, politicians, professionals, artisans, students and others had a face-to-face interaction with their governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

From Iseyin, Saki, Tede to Igbeti, Igboho, Ogbomoso and Oyo, the governor and members of his cabinet were received by surging crowds that acknowledged his impressive projects and peaceful tenure.

The governor had undertaken the tours to the areas to see things for himself and have discussion with his subjects. Governor Ajimobi went on the tour with members of the State Executive Council, other political appointees and leaders of the party.

He also used the opportunity to distribute appointment letters to newly recruited teachers in each of the local government areas. The teachers numbering 5,300 were recruited to fill the existing vacancies in the state’s school system.

Though he had severally visited most of the towns on official assignments in the past, Governor Ajimobi literally relocated seat of government to other parts of the state. The tours, which started in Oke-Ogun, were rounded off in Oyo on Thursday.

The tours began on Monday, November 3 with a visit to the 10 local government areas in OkeOgun. The visit lasted till Wednesday when he moved to Ogbomoso.

Received by huge crowds at towns such as Saki, Iseyin, Tede, Igboho, Kishi and Igbeti, the governor met with traditional rulers, community and religious leaders, party stalwarts, professional bodies, artisans and ordinary folks in the zone.

He distributed letters of appointment to the teachers just employed from Oke Ogun zone.

While distributing the letters to the newly employed 2,500 primary school teachers from the area, Ajimobi pledged to continue to use the available resources to ensure even distribution of benefits of democracy across the five zones of the state.

The programme, which was held at the Oja-Oba Market, witnessed the presence of party faithful, professional bodies and members of the public, even as the governor promised that his administration would continue to enhance the education sector in order to ensure standard.

Governor Ajimobi said the previous administrations did not recruit any teacher during its tenure while its predecessor recruited

•Governor Ajimobi being received at Iresaadu area of Ogbomosho by students of the community during his visit to the local government areas in the area to distribute letters of appointment to newly recruited teachers.

•Governor Ajimobi addressing the people of Eruwa in the Ibarapa area of the state.

•Governor Ajimobi being received into Ogbomosho by party faithful and supporters during his visit to the local governments in the area to distribute letters of appointment to newly recruited teachers.

only from Ibadan land and posted them to Oke-Ogun, pointing out that the teachers later moved to Ibadan through transfers, leaving schools in the area without teachers.

He said the decision of his administration to recruit from OkeOgun and other local government areas was to prevent mass exodus of teachers from rural to urban areas.

He, however, urged the newly recruited teachers to be dedicated to duty and work for the progress and development of Oyo State.

Governor Ajimobi also used the opportunity of the event to accept new defectors to the APC. In their separate remarks, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Busari Adebisi and his counterpart from the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Alhaji Abu Gbadamosi, said the teachers recruited in the Oke-Ogun zone would be retained in the area.

While receiving Governor Ajimobi in his palace earlier, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul Ganiyu Adekunle, Ajinase 1, praised him for his high level of political maturity and security initiatives.

He said the people of Iseyin were grateful to the state government for

‘We had never witnessed these unprecedented achievements in the history of Oyo State. I want to advise you to disregard the antics of the detractors and continue with your good works in Oyo State...We are solidly behind you. No government has done what your administration has done in Oyo State. No governor has shown love to the people of Oke-Ogun more than you have done’ transforming the Iseyin Road into a dual carriage way despite the scanty resources available to the state.

The monarch praised the efforts of the governor towards bringing development to all the areas of the state, stressing that the employment of teachers and other unemployed youths were indications of good governance.

“We had never witnessed these unprecedented achievements in the history of Oyo State. I want to advise you to disregard the antics of the detractors and continue with your good works in Oyo State,’’ he

FRSC boss warns against illegal business

said.

In other towns in the zone, residents trooped out in large number to receive the governor.

Traditional rulers in the zone pledged their unflinching support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the administration of Governor Ajimobi in order to achieve success in the 2015 general elections.

The monarchs included the Iba of Kishi, Oba Moshood Aweda Lawal; the Alamodu of Ago Amodu, Oba Adebowale Lawal; the Alago of Ago Are, Oba Olagoke Jubril; the Onitede of Tede, Oba

•Governor Ajimobi (left), his wife, Florence (right) and Oba Adeyemi during the governor’s visit to his palace.

Abdulrauf Oladoyin; the Onjo of Okeho, Oba Rafiu Osuolale; the Onigbeti of Igbeti, Oba Emmanuel Oyebisi and Oba Rasheed Adekunle, the Onibode of OnaOnibode.

They described as unparalleled Governor Ajimobi’s achievements in the past three-and-a-half years.

Indeed, the Alamodu of Ago Amodu was ecstatic as he sang several songs in his local dialect in praise of Governor Ajimobi for transforming the state.

“We have seen the difference in your style of administration. Your commitment towards providing good governance and making life worth living for the people of Oyo State is unprecedented. Violence and brigandage which used to envelope the state before your coming on board has stopped. We are now sleeping with our two eyes closed.

“We are solidly behind you. No government has done what your administration has done in Oyo State. No governor has shown love to the people of Oke-Ogun more than you have done,’’ they said, adding that the dual carriage way of Iseyin township road, the ongoing dual carriage way of Saki Township-Ilesha Ibariba Road and other road rehabilitation projects

‘The governor has not offended me in any way. He has not done anything for us to part ways. We are still together.

May God Almighty continue to guide him. If he offends me, I will tell him. If there is need for us to part ways, I would have told him, but there is no reason to warrant this’ in the Oke-Ogun zone are evidence of the love the governor has for the zone.

Responding, Governor Ajimobi assured the traditional rulers that his administration will continue to enhance the welfare of royal fathers, adding that they would be accorded due respect and honour.

While urging the monarchs to continued their support for his administration, the governor stressed the need for them, especially those in Igboho land to be more united to ensure peaceful coexistence among themselves.

In Ibarapa zone, the governor visited Eruwa, Igboora, Idere, Ayete, Tapa and Igangan and also visited the Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola and the Asigangan of Igangan and Oba of Igboora.

He also distributed letters of appointment to the teachers recruited from the zone.

The Eleruwa praised the governor for his efforts towards developing the state.

The monarch particularly acknowledged the governor’s restoration of peace and tranquillity in Oyo State as against the violence and thuggery that used to reign before he became the governor.

He pledged his support and those of other traditional rulers in Ibarapa zone for the second term ambition of the governor.

Governor Ajimobi promised to ensure equitable distribution of the benefits of democracy to all the five zones of the state.

While at Ogbomoso on Wednesday, Ajimobi visited all the five local government areas.

•Oba Salau (left), the State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Akin Oke (right) and the Caretaker Chairman of Iseyin Local Government Area, Mr Saheed Alaran, during the governor’s visit to Aseyin’s Palace.

He also visited the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III The monarch praised the governor’s passion for the development of Oyo State and pledged his continued support to his administration.

Governor Ajimobi also had fruitful discussions with party faithful, community leaders, party leaders and other stakeholders in the zone.

The governor and his team were treated to a rousing welcome by surging crowd in Oyo on Thursday.

While at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, he was received by the Oyomesi, the baales, members of the Oyo royal family and community leaders.

Oba Adeyemi debunked rumours that his relationship with the governor had been strained. He said he was solidly behind the second term aspiration of the governor.

The monarch noted that the governor had been doing well to govern the state.

“The governor has not offended me in any way. He has not done anything for us to part ways. We are still together. May God Almighty continue to guide him. If

he offends me, I will tell him. If there is need for us to part ways, I would have told him, but there is no reason to warrant this,’’ the Alaafin said.

Governor Ajimobi thanked the monarch for his rewarding pieces of advice to him the past three-anda-half years of his tenure.

He also corroborated the Aalafin’s assertion that the relationship between them is still cordial, even as he likened it to that of a father and son.

By Olalekan Ayeni

HE Zonal Commanding Officer for Lagos and Ogun states of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Assistant Corps Marshal Godwin Ogagaoghene, has urged its officers and men to continue their legitimate duties within the ambits of the law without fear or favour.

He also enjoined them to improve their regulatory and enforcement capacity during this Yuletide and beyond to enable the corps to achieve its goals this year.

Ogagaoghene spoke at Idiroko Unit Command during a familiarisation tour to the command.

He said: “All officers are expected to work harder and to play active role in order to attain the best result this Yuletide and beyond.”

He urged them to improve on road safety audit, motor vehicle administration, public communication and road use education/campaigns to reduce road crashes by 15 per cent and fatality by 25 per cent.

He further advised the officers attached to Idiroko Unit Command to be cautious while performing their duty to avoid environmental risks.

On corruption, Ogagaoghene urged them to shun illegal businesses such as smuggling, bribery and other forms of vices that are capable of tarnishing the image of the commission, even as he advised them on the relationship between them and the public which he said must be cordial.

He pledged management’s commitment to improve their welfare.

The Idiroko Unit Secretary, Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RETEAN), Comrade Egbeyemi Rotimi, thanked the FRSC for its efforts to ensure that our roads are crashfree.

Rotimi pledged support of the union to the FRSC. He said the union had appointed officers that are patrolling garages on daily basis to monitor the activities of drivers.

This, he said, aimed at ensuring that no driver is drunk before embarking on any journey and to eradicate trading of alcoholic drinks in the garages.

Present at the event were Idiroko Unit Co-ordinator, Special Marshal and Partnership, Elder Toyin Taiwo, Baale of Oko Eye, Otunba A. Abogunrin (Isepe), High Chief P. Afolabi (JP), former Interim Chairman of Ipokia Local Government Area, Hon. Adeyemi Samiu, among others.

Group celebrates New Islamic Year

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HE National Council of Muslim Youth Organisation (NACOMYO) Ogun State chapter has celebrated Hijrah 1436 A.H - the new Islamic Year at the M.K.O Abiola International Stadium.

The celebration featured a march past and lecture whose theme was Toward a Sustainable United Nation. It was delivered by the Nasrul lahi li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) National Missioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode.

Akinbode urged Muslim to be united to attain socio-economic and political development in the country.

NACOMYO State Co-ordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Oyetunde enjoined Muslims to be conscious of Allah.

This, he said, is the only way of protecting oneself against deadly diseases and evil machinations.

The state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, represented by Deputy Chief of Staff, Alhaji Shuaib Salisu urged Muslim youths not to allow themselves to be used as agents of political violence.

Amosun also enjoined youths to maintain the peaceful co-existence among the various religious bodies in the state.

High point of the occasion was special prayer offered for the nation.

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H

OW has your domain fared in terms of development?

Omido is a sleepy community that is fast catching up with development. But I can say that the most important challenge the community experiences is lack of access roads.

For instance, the Oro-OmidoArandun Road is a perfect example of the dilapidation our infrastructural facilities have relapsed into. We spend three to four hours on the road while going to another neighbouring community.

The state government rehabilitated the road in the second year after I ascended the throne.

In our days, we went to school outside the community, because there was no secondary school in the community. With the help of God and prominent people in the community, we were able to establish a secondary school.

The Kwara State Government helped to build a block of four classrooms which were equipped with desks and chairs. The administrative block where we have library, computer room, staff room and office for the two principals, was a selfhelp effort by the community. We are currently working on the football field. Also, there are plans to establish either a police or a civil defence post. Government has been supportive in our quest to develop our community.

Another problem the community has overcome is lack of potable water. We used to fetch water from the stream. Nowadays, there are boreholes all over. We have a cottage hospital established by the Federal Government. Perhaps, the greatest development is the upgrade of the Alapa of Omido to a third-class position, of which we are very grateful to the government.

We thank God for the position of Omido today.

Who are the descendants of EkuApa and how did Alapa originate?

Alapa descendants are all over the old Western Region, including Lagos. I continued from where the late Alapa, Oba Matthew Gbadeyanka Odundun Arojojoye stopped, by trying to discover our kith and kin.

Omido and Agbonda are two of the descendants of Alapa. We have others in Igosun, Erin-Ile, Ijara-isin, Apado, Omu-Aran, Arandun, Offa and Ijagbo, all in Kwara State.

In Osun State, we have them in Iba, Ara, Iragbiji, Ilobu and in IleIfe where we actually took off from to all these places. We have them in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, where the Alapa is a first-class Oba. The same thing in Badagry-West Local Government Area, Lagos State, where Oba Oyekan Ajoseposi lll, Alapa of Egun Awori Kingdom is also a firstclass king.

It is worthy to mention that the Akesan of Ora Igbomina, a secondclass Oba in Osun State, is also an Alapa descendant. We have also discovered our descendants in Moro Local Government Area of Ilorin, Kwara State and they have all been here.

How did you feel when you received the news that you would be upgraded?

We were happy. There was nothing such as Alapa of Omido before.

It used to be Alapa of Eku-Apa, a traditional stool that rotates between Omido and Agbonda.

In May, 2005, Alapa was upgraded to third-class, but along the line, there was separation that resulted in each of the communities having its own king. As a result of this, government had to withdraw the recognition. Today, we thank God that we now have two third-class kings in Eku-Apa. We also thank Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Governments have come and gone but none remembered us. We can never forget him, we are grateful to God for making it possible.

I want to implore my people that there is no place like home. They

•Alapa of Omido

•Femi Abogunrin, Asiwaju of Omido

The Alapa of Omido in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba John Adegboyega Adeyemi Ilufemiloye, Amuyunbole ll, was recently upgraded to third-class traditional ruler. He spoke with DAMISI OJO on some issues. Excerpt:

‘Traditional rulers deserve constitutional roles’ should always remember their source wherever they may be. Wherever they are, their source is here in Omido; this is where they started from. I also want to appeal to them to love one another. There can be some mistakes and there are ways to resolve them.

What is your vision for Omido in the next five years?

I leave everything to God. We are looking at the future that Alapa should be a first-class Oba. Alapa gave birth to Onigosun of Igosun, today Onigosun is in a higher grade, likewise the Akesin of Ora Igbomina.

Should traditional rulers be given constitutional role?

I am one of the advocates of assigning constitutional roles to traditional rulers. In the 80s when we had military rule in place, traditional rulers were handling the affairs in their domains then.

Democracy has stripped traditional rulers of all those powers. We are closer to the people; we know what they want and their needs. I know what is happening in each compound. We should be assigned constitutional roles, because we are the owners of our communities.

Most of our developments are through self-help (Asiwaju of Omido) The Asiwaju of Omido, Femi Abogunrin JP traces the number of

‘Omido and Agbonda are two of the descendants of Alapa. We have others in Igosun, Erin-Ile, Ijara-isin, Apado, OmuAran, Arandun, Offa and Ijagbo, all in Kwara State...In Osun State, we have them in Iba, Ara, Iragbiji, Ilobu and in Ile-Ife where we actually took off from to all these places...We have them in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, where the Alapa is a first-class Oba. The same thing in Badagry-West Local Government Area, Lagos State, where Oba Oyekan Ajoseposi lll, Alapa of Egun Awori Kingdom is also a first-class king’

Alapas that had ruled the community among other issues.

Can you recall names of previous Alapas from Omido?

During the period of rotation of the stool between Omido and Agbonda which dates back to the 17th Century possibly, we had 23 Alapas of Eku-Apa land. There are 36 communities outside Omido and Agbonda, in Eku-Apa land.

During that period, we had eight that reigned in Omido.

Our progenitor Oganogbodo Akereyaso, came from Ile-Ife and settled at Ibara Apa between Araromi and Ajengbe. He had two sons namely Awurela and Egboro Oyedun. After his death, Awurela settled in Agbonda and Egboro Oyedun settled here in Omido.

Awurela was the first Alapa from Agbonda in Eku-Apaland and after Awurela, Egboro Oyedun became Oba as the first Alapa from Omido in Eku-Apaland.

Other kings from Omido were Oba Aretuwole, Oba Oyewole Aselelewosin, Oba Okoru Awoselo, Oba Jagungbade, Oba Disu Adewole and Oba Matthew Olawuyi Gbadeyanka Odundun Arojojoye who reigned between 1986 and1999.

Which areas do you feel your people need to do more to develop Omido?

Most of our development projects are through self-help. In 1950, that was the first time a vehicle entered Omido. Our forefathers built the road that leads to Ila-Orangun through Omido in

•Olatunji Oladipo, President, Omido Progressive Un

1950. Our electricity was inaugurated in March 1983; it was carried out by the community. The primary school was built by the community, but government assisted with the secondary school.

We need a security post in this community such as police, civil defence corps or any other security outfit to ensure peace and stability in the community. We also seek more assistance in education, even as we thank the state government for its assistance so far.

We have a primary health centre that is well-equipped and manned by two nurses, but we need a doctor. We have sent series of requests to the local and the state governments in that regard.

The Federal Government said the state government should provide certain facilities such as ambulance,

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Group holds campaign on human rights

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S part of its efforts towards ensuring a society where fundamental rights of every citizen is guaranteed, the Isheri-Oshun Unit of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), has held its annual public enlightenment campaign/rally to educate people on their rights. It was held on Saturday.

The theme of this year’s programme was “Knowing Your Fundamental Rights in a Democratic Society.

Giving a brief history of the committee, the Co-ordinator of the unit, Comrade Queen Chinazo Ifechigha who doubles as the Financial Secretary of the group at the state level said: “CDHR is a non-governmental organisation that champions the cause of humanity, especially the oppressed and the downtrodden. It acts as the voice of the voiceless and defends them when their rights are trampled upon.

“It was established in 1989 to fight against the obnoxious State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984 with which the then military government used to harass, intimidate and hound Nigerians into unlawful detention across the country.”

She noted that since then, the body has transformed into a fully-fledged human rights organisation and currently has an observer status with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), even as she said its membership is open to all; regardless of political, ethnic, racial or religious affiliations.

Comrade Ifechigha reeled off the committee’s activities to include political sensitisation for youths; education of people on their fundamental rights and responsibilities to humanity, their community and country; women empowerment; community policing as well as fighting for the rights of the oppressed and the exploited in the society.

Some of the issues the group educated the public on were what their fundamental rights are and how to detect when their rights are infringed upon, what steps to take to ensure their fundamental human rights are guaranteed, equality before the law, steps to be taken to prevent an oppressor from trampling upon their rights, availing themselves of the existence of the law courts to guarantee their fun-

A

, Omido Progressive Union (OPU)

electricity generating sets, doctors, nurses and other medical staff.

So far, we have only one staff the other one is office assistance. We want the government to assist us.

We had a junior secondary school, but through our efforts, we have added the senior arm. We are struggling to have a science laboratory, computer centre, library, agricultural section and home economics Department so that we will be able to start WAEC and NECO examinations soon.

What is your reaction to the upgrade of Alapa?

The upgrade has put additional responsibility on our traditional ruler. He cannot do this alone; he needs the support of people at home and in the Diaspora. Our people should come home to develop the community.

•Members of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights sensitising the public on their rights during this year's rally

By Chinaka Okoro

damental human rights, police/public relationship, landlord/tenant relationship, what to do when arrested by any law enforcement agents, how to fight against crime and corruption, husband and wife relationship, parents/children relationship and employer/employee relationship, among others.

Secretary of the group, Comrade Joseph Nkemjeme revealed that part of the reasons for people not being mindful of their rights and enforcement of same is docility which he attributed to their fear as they have been browbeaten by the powers that be. He added that “no one wants to challenge oppression because people are unsure of what the consequence would be.

“People are not encouraged to stand on their rights no matter how highly placed the oppressor may be.”

He advised that people should be law-abiding but not to the extent of being tamed.

In a chat with our correspondent, a member of the group and Senior lecturer in the Department of Curriculum Theory, University of Lagos, Dr Chinedu Ifechigha blamed the high rate of human rights abuses in the society on ignorance.

He said: “There are still high levels of illiteracy in Nigeria so much so that many citizens are ignorant of their rights and do not even know how to protect those rights that are fundamental to them. However, with organisation such as CDHR, we hope

‘No one wants to challenge oppression because people are unsure of what the consequence would be. People are not encouraged to stand on their rights no matter how highly placed the oppressor may be...There are still high levels of illiteracy in Nigeria so much so that many citizens are ignorant of their rights and do not even know how to protect those rights that are fundamental to them. However, with organisation such as CDHR, we hope awareness is being created and the situation will improve gradually’ awareness is being created and the situation will improve gradually.”

Noting that the origin of Nigeria’s human rights organisations was in the late 1980s, Dr Ifechigha said the real struggle for democracy and good governance is linked to the students’ struggle of 1989.

Comrade Ifechigha disclosed that the first human rights organisation in Nigeria was the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) which was formed in 1987, with its mandate on the defence and expansion of human rights and civil liberties. He further revealed that the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights was formed in April, 1989 in response to the detention of Femi Aborishade, who was held under the obnoxious Decree 2 (State Security Detention of Persons)

of 1984 enacted by the then Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

He listed some of the activities of CDHR to include rendering legal aid and assistance to indigent victims of human rights abuses, human rights campaigns and education which encompasses workshops, seminars and publications.

Dr Ifechigha said the main challenges to democracy, human rights and the rule of law are deepening poverty, threats to human security, infringements of individual rights and impediments to the enjoyment of fundamental freedom, erosion of rule of law in contexts such as counter-terrorism, illegal occupation involving the use of force, the escalation of armed conflicts and unequal access to justice by disadvantaged groups.

Aspirant donates bus to party

N aspirant for Ifedore/ Idanre Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Dele Baderinwa has donated a Siena bus to the party in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The bus, he said, was donated to assist leaders of the party in their mobilisation of the electorate toward 2015 general elections.

The donor, a grassroots politician, also donated funds to all the wards in the local government area.

Speaking at the event held at Igbara-Oke, headquarter of Ifedore, Baderinwa urged the party’s leadership to present credible candidates for the forthcoming elections.

The ceremony, which was also used to receive hundreds of members of the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who defected to the APC, and witnessed by APC Ondo Central Senatorial aspirant, Chief Tayo Alasoadura, the donor lamented over the level of poverty among the people in the constituency due to lack of credible representatives.

He assured the people that if voted for, he would open constituency offices in the two local governments.

He said: “We will use our good offices to bring development to our constituency. We will empower the traders, market women and men by giving them micro-finance loan with low interest rate. We are going to be closer to the people and ensure that

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

there are job opportunities for our teeming youths.”

Alasoadura said the Ondo Central Constituency has been marginalised at the National level just because the representative has been inactive.

He also assured the people that he will be presenting his score card every three months if nominated by the party and also voted for by the electorate.

Meanwhile, an aspirant for the Akure State Constituency II in the

Ondo State House of Assembly, Olalekan Odere who is aspiring for the position on the platform of the APC, said he is very optimistic that APC would dominate the state assembly.

Odere, who spoke with reporters after submitting his nomination form at the party’s new Secretariat in Akure noted that the popularity and acceptability of the party is encouraging.

The aspirant assured the people that APC would form an Assembly

that would make the governor more responsible to the people of the state.

“The present Assembly we have in Ondo State are just rubber stamp and this is because they are handpicked by the governor and nobody among them can challenge him. He cannot boast of implementing any project since the beginning of his second term and members of the Assembly have been watching like football spectators who cannot decide over a match.”

From left: Chairman, Ifedore Local Government Area, Dare Boboye, the donor, Dele Baderinwa, his wife, Kemi, Chief Tayo Alasoadura and a party member at the event.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

36

THE SOUTHWEST REPORT

Council chief flags off road projects

‘Govt’s approach to Boko Haram insurgency deceitful’

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

W

I

N line with Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s promise to citizens of Akinyele Local Government Area that road development would be given serious attention, the chairman of the council, Ope Salami has flagged off the construction of four major roads in the council area.

The flag-off ceremony was performed by the council chief in the company of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Ambali Iyiola and the lawmaker representing Akinyele State Constituency II, Mr ýMurphy AdigunHammedý.

The roads are Omowale/Ashawale Road in Sasa Market area, Trinity OkeOla via Ojoo Express Road, Agbala Daniel Road and Apapa Oje-Imo Road.

The contractors who will handle the road projects were present at the event.

Addressing the residents, Salami said in his bid to meet the aspiration of the people on road development, Governor Ajimobi decided to go the extra mile by releasing the excess crude oil fund for the construction of the 6.5 kilometres roads.

“I am from this area and I had lived here before I became the council chairmaný. I am familiar with the nook and cranny of this area. I also know what problems my people are going through. So, we reasoned that these roads required urgent attention,” the council chief said.

Mr Salami assured the residents that the four roads would be constructed to meet the standard specified by the state government, which include the provision of walk ways for pedestrians on both sides of the roads and provision of concrete drainage to ensure free flow of water.

He further informed the people that

•From left: Mr Salami, Mr Iyiola and Mr Adigun-Hammed at the event From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

the contractors handling the road projects will complete the projects in two months. He appealed to the residents to co-operate with the contractors to enable them to deliver the job on schedule.

He also informed the residents that they are the direct beneficiaries of the road projects; even as he urged them to monitor the construction and report any lapses they observe to the

council.

He added that apart from the residents serving as supervisors of the projects, he himself and the council officials will be visiting the area from time to time.

Some of the residents expressed their appreciation to the governor for fulfilling the promise he made to them during his electioneering campaigns in 2011.

The Chairman of Landlords’ Asso-

ciation of Omowale/Ashawale community in Sasa areaý, Chief Lateef Oshowumi praised the initiative.

“We have been appealing to government for over 10 years for the road to be tarred but none of them assisted us. The present administration is a listening one,” he said.

He, however, appealed to the contractors handling the projects to ensure that they meet the required specifications.

Tinubu gets kudos on LCDA creation

A

S the Federal Government gets set to grant financial autonomy to local governments, a Lagosbased political analyst, Frank Tosin, has praised former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu for his foresight in creating local council development areas many years ago, saying it was a good step.

Recall that Tinubu created 37 LCDAs in the state about 10 years ago, a development which drew the ire of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The action led to the Federal Government’s seizure of the state’s allocation from the Federation Account.

Tosin said by his action, Tinubu directly and indirectly provided jobs for over 20,000 people, adding that he also attracted growth and development to the areas. “Some people who are councillors and local government chairmen today would have been jobless if not for Tinubu’s efforts at council creation,’’ he said.

He described Tinubu as an astute politician, a leader with foresight who knows how to get and use human resources. “He can identify a good representative of the people,’’ he said, adding that he is a good and experienced leader of the people.

On the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the state, Tosin said Tinubu should be given the privilege to make a choice. He argued that when Tinubu did so with governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), many people criticised him. However, he said Tinubu now has the last laugh as Fashola has performed very well.

“We agree that Fashola has performed,’’ he said. Tosin said the leadership qualities of the APC National Leader also shows in the work of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Alhaji Kolawole Taiwo.

•Some of the items distributed

Empowering farmers for food security •Continued from page 29 power people across the different agricultural value chains.

Lawal, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Yakub Bashorun, said the idea was to enhance the productivity of the beneficiaries and create more jobs.

“Our target is to ensure inclusive growth in the state. It is geared towards taking people out of the poverty trap. We want to reduce the number of people on the bottom of the economic pyramid. We acknowledge that any growth that is not inclusive of the grassroots may not be sustainable,” he said.

According to the Commissioner, the programme would provide a social safety net for the vulnerable, even as he noted that the multiplier effect of the gesture is far-reaching.

“This is one empowerment programme with a multiplier effect.

For example, we empower the people with inputs and at the end of their production; we buy the output from them.

“So, not only have you given people jobs, you have also created a ready market for them. In a nutshell, the programme has created jobs and markets; liberating people as well as bridging the gap between farmers and capital for inputs.

“With the capital support we give them, we have been able to demon-

strate that this government is concerned about its citizens’ welfare. Beyond this, the scheme also had tackled the challenge of egg glut for those in that value chain, provided opportunity for cassava growers to sell their produce through the Eko Cassava processing factory, aside those who got equipment or gears depending on their occupations.

“We have said it and we are serious at ensuring food self-sufficiency in the state. With two poultry estates, two fishery estates, eight farm estates, six farm settlements, two piggery farms spread across the state, this would not be difficult a target for the government of Lagos State to achieve,” Lawal said.

ORRIED by the insecurity situation in the country, a security expert, Mr Abayomi Mumuni has expressed his dissatisfaction over the way the Federal Government is handling the Boko Haram insurgency. The author of Global Terrorism and its Effects on Humanity spoke while reacting to the killings of school pupils in Potiskum by the Islamic sect.

Abayomi, who holds Postgraduate Certificate in Intelligence and Terrorism Profiling of Henley-Putnam University, SanJose California, United States (US) and Advanced Diploma in Forensic Science from Stratford Career Institute-Champlain, New York, also said government is not sincere in prosecuting the war against the insurgents.

According to him, government has allowed the once-insignificant group to become an albatross, warning that the group may become franchised to other groups or individuals if care is not taken.

“Boko Haram is a small terrorist group that can be curtailed. I am very sure they have no affiliation with Al-Qaeda, but their modus operandi is similar to that of the Taliban group. Unfortunately, we have allowed them to grow big, and if care is not taken, they will be franchised and once they go franchise, the consequences will be unbearable to everyone,” he said.

He noted that the ceasefire announced by the Federal Government was not real, insisting that it is not easy for terrorists to surrender just like that when they haven’t got what they want.

The author said the ceasefire failed because government didn’t contact the right people to negotiate with the group on its behalf.

“I still believe in negotiation.

Members of the Boko Haram sect are reachable. American government used the same approach with the Taliban; using terrorists to communicate with terrorists. They have their contacts. Government should engage the right people who know the terrorists, instead of the wrong ones, who are just after their own selfish interest,” he said.

If negotiation fails, Abayomi said, the next option should be fire for fire.

He doubted the sincerity of the government to wage total war with the group.

“Going by what Shekau said, the girls have been married off. What else are we waiting for? They have married our girls off, killed innocent people and taken over parts of Nigeria’s territory.

“It is time government used external force and put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency. But the question is: do we have the political will and sophisticated weapons to fight the war? I don’t think so.

The battle cannot be won if the government fails to hire experts and equip our soldiers with modern tools,” he said.

He called on all Nigerians to support government in the fight against Boko Haram.

“It is the responsibility of the government to provide security to its citizens. It is very important.

However, government cannot do it alone; it needs the support of the citizens, because we are Nigerians.

We know our country better than the foreigners. We should co-operate with government in bringing about peace and unity in the country. That is if government is serious. Government cannot do it alone. Boko Haram can be curtailed if government shows seriousness,” Abayomi said.

37

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

THE NATION INVESTORS

Analysts' consensus sees values in Skye Bank

T

HERE is a consensus hanging in the air; in the financial markets; that Skye Bank Plc is a bank to watch. As details unfold about the recent acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited by Skye Bank, immediate analysts' reactions and evaluations appear to be generally positive. Most wager that the acquisition is a game-changer and, if executed with the same crispness and swiftness that characterized the transaction, will create significant values for all stakeholders. Across the broad spectrum of investment pundits - Nigerian and foreign, the inference is positive for Skye Bank; the acquisition will leapfrog the bank to the first-tier level of the topmost players in the Nigerian banking industry and enhance both dividend and capital appreciation to shareholders. Already ranked, prior to the acquisition, as one of the eight systemically important banks, a euphemism for Nigeria's "too-big-to-fail" financial institutions, Skye Bank is expected to move the ladder up in all measurable indices - size, spread, strength, resistance, profitability and returns.

Skye Bank had on October 31 paid the 80 per cent balance for the full acquisition of the entire issued shares of Mainstreet Bank to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), thus making Skye Bank the new owner of Mainstreet Bank.

Confirming the depth of its balance sheet, Skye Bank paid some N100 billion to AMCON on Friday October 31 as balance for the acquisition, which was valued at some N120 billion. The deadline for the payment of the balance was November 3, 2014. It had earlier on October 9 paid the mandatory deposit of 20 per cent for the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank. The payment of the 80 per cent balance to AMCON wholly fulfilled the terms of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement earlier signed by both AMCON and Skye Bank and now put the latter in ownership of Mainstreet Bank.

Kato Mukuru, Partner and Head of Equity Research at Exotix Partners LLP, thinks the deal is a major positive step for Skye Bank.

The Mainstreet Bank's transaction was a highly competitive sale process, a transaction that was seen by many as a test not only for AMCON but also the integrity and depth of the Nigerian financial services industry. The largest of the three acquired banks by AMCON, Mainstreet Bank emerged from the rubbles of Afribank Nigeria Plc, a quoted bank that was once Nigeria's fourth largest bank. The rigorous and competitive bidding process involved 25 Nigerian and foreign bidders and was coordinated for AMCON by Barclays Africa Group Limited and Afrinvest West Africa Limited as Financial Advisers and Banwo & Ighodalo as Legal Advisers. In the end, Skye Bank Plc, Cedar One Investment Partners Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc emerged as preferred bidder, first and second reserve bidders respectively. No one has raised a finger on the transaction process, it was a transaction adjudged by many as transparent and credible.

Mukuru, who oversees equity research for Exotix, a global finance and investment firm with offices in major global financial centres and significant imprints in Africa, noted that while it may be too early to fully review the financial impact of the transaction, there is no doubt that the acquisition represented a major leap for Skye Bank.

Exotix coordinates its global operations through five major offices in London, New York, Lagos, Dubai and Nairobi.

"While we do not have enough detail on the transaction to comment on the financial impact, but I can safely say that this deal is nothing short of transformational for Skye Bank and if executed well, it could put them in a position to enter the elite group of tier 1 banks," said Mukuru in a response to email enquiry on analyst's view of the transaction.

Femi Ademola, head of research and intelligence at BGL Plc, a top Lagosbased investment firm, shared the positive sentiment citing the potential

Pundits are unanimous that the recent acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited by Skye Bank Plc holds significant positive prospects for the bank. Capital market editor, TAOFIK SALAKO reports that the consensus of most analysts can build considerable momentum for the bank as it progresses with the post-acquisition processes

• GMD, Skye Bank Plc, Timothy Oguntayo

gains in terms of spread and reach and deposit assets.

"I think the acquisition is very positive for Skye Bank Plc," Ademola said.

Sadiq Waziri, group head of Research at Lead Capital Plc; Sewa Wusu, head of Research and Investment Advisory at Sterling Capital Markets and Akinkunmi Popoola, head of Trade Execution at Securities Africa Financial Limited among others, also shared the same positive outlook.

The potential impact will be big on Skye Bank's reach and assets. The acquisition leapfrogged Skye Bank as one of the biggest and largest banks in the country in terms of branch network.

Mainstreet Bank has nine subsidiaries and a large distribution network comprising of 201 branches across 35 out of 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It equally has nine cash Centres and 205 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

"Scale is critical to banking in Nigeria and we all know that this acquisition fills a major regional gap - the North, in Skye Bank's current distribution," said Mukuru.

Skye Bank, with dominant operations in the Southwest, is also banking on Mainstreet Bank to deepen its penetration of the South-East and SouthSouth regions where it is currently less represented. Some 26 per cent or 54 branches of Mainstreet Bank's network are located in the two regions. These two regions also accounted for 28 per cent of Mainstreet Bank's over 1.9 million customers, second only to Lagos with 37 per cent.

With smooth and seamless integration, Skye Bank will be able to make valuable in-roads into these two regions without the need to incur huge expenditure while the acquisition would bring valuable concurrence and synergies from the mutual focus areas

of commercial and retail banking of the two entities in a larger Skye Bank.

Skye Bank focuses on retail and commercial banking, also the main focus areas of Mainstreet Bank.

According to Waziri, the most significant gains to Skye Bank would come in terms of the expanded branch network and the resultant increase in customers, particularly savings and current account depositors, which are the cheapest form of deposits.

"Mainstreet Bank was formally Afribank, which was established in 1959; the bank is endowed with a lot physical assets - properties in prime areas, which Skye Bank would benefit from," Waziri said.

Latest audited report and accounts of Mainstreet Bank for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that retail and commercial banking contributed 78 per cent, 36 percent, and 18 per cent of total deposits, total loans and profit before tax respectively. Also, Mainstreet Bank's savings and demand deposits accounted for 21 per cent and 43 per cent of deposit mix, which also demonstrated its focus on these two segments. A second generation leader, Mainstreet Bank has a large pool of loyal institutional and corporate customers, which in spite of its status as an AMCON-owned bank, ensures that the bank's retained almost its two million customers after the takeover.

Also, Mainstreet Bank Limited has a history of successfully managing agricultural loans, with agric loans accounting for 12.6 per cent and 16.9 per cent of its loan portfolio in 2012 and 2013, second only to 'general' sector. Analysts have said Mainstreet Bank's expertise in managing agric loans made its non-performing loan ratio to be very negligible at 0.01 per cent, where Skye Bank saw a significant opportunity to improve its expertise in

this area, and therefore raise its market share in the agriculture sector. This will position Skye Bank very strategically to partner with and participate in the Federal Government's short and medium term planned strategic investment and budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector.

Popoola pointed out that the bigger branch network would enable Skye Bank to mobilize more low cost deposits and enhance its lending capacity. This will translate to improvement in loandeposit ratio as the Bank can rely more on its own deposits to grant loans to its customers. "This is helpful at a time like this when liquidity of banks generally is threatened by the raising of Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) on public funds by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)," Popoola said.

While some analysts would like to be availed details of the transaction, which at this time the institution is still not allowed to make public by reason of restrictions under the Purchase Agreement with AMCON, there is considerable optimism that the acquisition would improve the fundamentals of the bank. Wusu said the acquisition would improve the operational performance of the bank and as such enhance direct and indirect returns to shareholders.

According to him, the acquisition is a game-changer for Skye Bank given the possible synergies and the impact on the balance sheet and profitability of the bank. The acquisition will increase the bank's market position in the banking industry and at the stock market.

"The acquisition will improve the bank's capital adequacy and liquidity ratios since most of the Mainstreet Bank's assets are invested in very liquid assets. Consequently, it is expected that the acquisition will also help to boost the bank's profitability, going forward," Ademola said.

Besides driving growth with its inorganic strategy, Skye Bank, organically, has been witnessing a notable upturn in its performance. The Bank recorded a pre-tax profit of N12.3 billion on a top-line of N97.13 billion in the third quarter. "Investors and shareholders should expect to see value creation in form of capital appreciation and improved dividend because ultimately the bigger Skye Bank should be able to post decent profit going forward. The banking sector will also benefit as the development is expected to emphasize the banking sector as the preferred sector by prospective investors," Popoola said.

The benefit, he said, will also spread to the larger Nigerian capital market in terms of trading activity and capitalisation.

The potential impact, analysts however noted, will depend on the execution strategy for the acquisition and integration. With the management of Skye Bank still holding some details to its chest pending the completion of the post-acquisition regulatory process, analysts said the degree of uncertainty on some issues could be a temporary dampener on the stock. Ademola noted that the bank needs to make public its strategy to appropriate value from the acquisition. This strategy, according to Popoola, should include cost control measures as bigger branch network is sometimes associated with increased overheads which can erode the profit.

"But how all these transform Skye Bank will depend on execution," said

‘The story of the acquisition may not now be one that is fully told, but most will wager that the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank is a masterstroke from Skye Bank; that will change the face and phase of the Nigerian banking industry’

Mukuru.

But history and experience are on the side of Skye Bank. There is a deep inhouse experience on seamless integration and post-acquisition transition of mergers and acquisitions. Skye Bank emerged from the merger and integration of five banks in 2006, following the first phase of the banking industry consolidation. It intends to harness this wealth of experience from earlier successful mergers and acquisitions to drive efficiency, increase market share and ultimately ramp up stakeholder value from the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank.

Timothy, Oguntayo, who took over in the second quarter as the Group Managing Director, has been with the bank since the 2006 consolidation and had directly anchored the consolidation exercise at the time. He is reputed as a dependable multi-skilled financier and financial strategist.

"Timothy Oguntayo has got all round competence both in commercial banking and investment banking.

He started his career in United Bank for Africa (UBA) so he has strong commercial background. He had worked at Prudent Bank. He has the thinking of an investment banker and the skills of a commercial banker and nothing can be better than that. He has sound judgement which is key for decision making," said Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, immediate past Group Managing Director of Skye Bank.

While the management of the bank has kept itself to general statement on the import of the acquisition, obviously due to regulations and ongoing postacquisition process, the acquisition dovetailed into the bank's medium and long-term growth strategy, which had earlier been made public. This corroborated mManagement's assertion that the acquisition was a deliberate strategy and it was well prepared to extract the most significant benefits from the transaction.

In 2013, the bank had outlined a threeyear short-term plan that is expected to double its balance sheet and customer deposits by the end of the plan in 2015. The bank is also expected to significantly improve its profitability in tandem with the targets for total assets and customer deposit. The bank then retooled its growth model into a more assertive and forward-looking option that sought to consolidate its historical value-based organic growth strategy with expansionary and competitive verve with a view to leapfrog and sustain the bank into a top tier bank within the medium to long term. Focused on internallydriven value creation, Skye Bank had raised comparatively lower capital and did not make any acquisition in the rush for large capital and acquisitions by several banks.

Thus, with this new growth model, while the bank is expected to drive growth largely internally through increased capitalisation and marketfacing initiatives, it would also seek to acquire value-adding commercial banking assets that could leverage its balance sheet, spread and customer base. Thus, the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank fits perfectly into Skye Bank's growth strategy.

"In 2014, the Board assures shareholders that all efforts would continue toward implementing the bank's plans in the medium term and well into the future. The quest to provide the most efficient customer service, as espoused in the service charter, remains unchanged," Olatunde Ayeni, Chairman, Skye Bank Plc, had said at the recent General Meeting of shareholders where N3.96 billion was distributed as cash dividends.

The story of the acquisition may not now be one that is fully told, but most will wager that the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank is a masterstroke from Skye Bank; that will change the face and phase of the Nigerian banking industry.

Investors and other stakeholders have so much to look forward to as the integration gathers pace and the valueadditions become increasingly evident.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

38

THE NATION

BUSINESS P ENSION

Retirement can become a nightmare if you are not paying attention now.

Adequate planning for your financial needs in retirement is key, reports, OMOBOLA TOLUKUSIMO

W

HETHER one is retiring according to the rules, or by expediency, the most important factor to consider is preparedness. Most people planning towards their retirement start late, leaving issues about their retirement until the last few years of their working life. But leaving planing for retirement till this stage is dangerous.

Most retirement educators advise that serious preparation should commence about 20 years to the time of retirement. However, from the recent developments in the labour market, it cannot be too early to start preparation for retirement from the first day of employment. Such an arrangement will certainly benefit both the employee and the employer. If the former understands that his future is assured, he is more likely to remain stable and render loyal service to the latter.

For Nigerian workers, who are especially challenged by low levels of income and savings as well as huge family and social responsibilities, retirement planning can be more complicated. Some of the social issues affecting effective retirement planning in Nigeria include the size of our families, polygamy, additional responsibilities of an extended family, and inadequate access to medical facilities.

In addition, Nigeria does not have an operable social security system that takes care of the aged, the young unemployed, and most disturbingly, the disabled, meaning that all these categories of people constitute an additional responsibility on the worker and his or her resources.

Under the Contributory Pension Scheme and with the improved law, Pension Reform Act, 2014, guiding the scheme, retirement planning has taken a new and more promising dimension. The new scheme is compulsory for Nigerian workers in the private and federal public sectors, and is being embraced by many state governments, ensuring that workers receive their benefits as at when due, and establishing a uniform administration and regulation of retirement benefits in Nigeria.

Retirement as stipulated in the Act is when an employee attains the age of 50 or the retirement age of the organisation, whichever is later. At this point, the employee is able to access 100 per cent of the balance in his or her Retirement Savings Account (RSA). This balance can be accessed either by a programmed withdrawal with your PFA or by purchasing an annuity scheme from an approved insurance company.

The Managing Director, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, Demola Sogunle said retirement planning should start while you work.

He noted that under the new contributory pension scheme, workers can actively participate in decisions regarding their retirement. From the choice of Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), to additional voluntary contributions and well planned withdrawal modes, workers can plan and ensure a safe and secure retirement.

He said other issues such as owning a home, taking life insurance policies, writing a will and setting aside towards your health care in retirement are issues that young workers should be concerned with.

He stressed that workers planning towards their retirement should also seek to monitor closely the performance and activities of their PFAs, and other financial advisors. “Workers must be aware that the choice of a PFA is a serious decision that should be made after serious consideration.

Many workers have chosen PFAs based on subjective reasons, and many others have simply followed the bandwagon, without proper enquiry.

What you should know before retiring “A proper enquiry into the PFA’s experience and track record in investment management, financial resources, quality of ownership and management as well as quality and transparency of customer service and reporting should be made before a choice is made. The law guiding the contributory pension scheme allows workers to switch PFAs at least, once in a year without any reason, meaning that people who may have made sub-optimal decisions regarding the choice of PFA can easily and conveniently change to another PFA,” he stated.

Sogunle said another issue in planning your retirement while you work revolves around changing jobs and redundancy. For the upwardly mobile worker, he said, changing employers under the new contributory scheme poses no challenges at all adding that the RSA is portable, and all that will change is that your old employer would stop contributing, and your new employer will be informed of your account details, and will continue contributing on your behalf.

He posited that taking an early retirement is also something that a lot of young workers consider today. He said people in very high energy professions like banking suffer burn outs and fatigue after years of working, and wish to retire at about 45 years or so to settle for a less demanding personal or family business. Decisions like this are becoming increasingly popular. “People should plan adequately towards an early retirement, and where they want to run a private family business, should thoroughly research it, so that it doesn’t become another high-stress activity like their previous employment,” he said.

Sogunle also stated that while an employee is still at work, there is need for him or her to establish a retirement plan. According to him, retirement planning involves all activities from your first employment, up to and after your retirement geared towards ensuring that you and your needs are well provided for in the retirement phase of your

life. In drawing up a retirement plan, it is critical to identify when you will retire, what you will do during retirement, what kind of income you will need in retirement and what kind of income you can expect in retirement.

He advised that depending on your outlook, and personal circumstances, people may choose to retire early, say before 50 years, while others will retire later, just at 60 years, or for however long their terms of employment permit.

He said: “Many factors including your state of health, desire to pursue other activities, and very importantly the level of financial resources and responsibilities will affect the timing of your retirement. For some others, however, the timing of retirement is not entirely up to them. Sometimes accidents, illhealth, and employer-distress may lead one to a premature retirement.

“During retirement, some people choose to continue in very active work, supporting their communities, participating in politics or even running a full time business. Others on the other hand, choose to limit themselves to very light activities, if any at all, and prefer to spend their retirement traveling, visiting children and grandchildren, among others. It is important to plan ahead on how you will like to spend your retirement, and prepare yourself mentally and financially for whichever route you choose to follow.

“Planning adequately for your financial needs in retirement is also very important.

It is therefore, necessary to ascertain ahead of time, how much income you will need in retirement. In planning towards this, one may have to gauge his family responsibilities, state of health, and expected life expectancy. For example, if you still have children of school age during your retirement, your financial needs will outstrip those who do not. If you already live in your own house and will not be paying rent during your retirement, then your financial needs will differ from someone who does not own a house.

He further advised that once you have as-

‘In drawing up a retirement plan, it is critical to identify when you will retire, what you will do during retirement, what kind of income you will need in retirement and what kind of income you can expect in retirement.’

certained your financial requirements in retirement, it is necessary to estimate your income streams to be available in retirement. “For someone who has planned his retirement early enough, this could consist of income from investments such as dividends, capital appreciation, rental income as well as pension and other retirement benefits. Estimating your sources of income is important to enable you plan how to meet your living requirements in retirement,” he said.

He said an employee can be retired through mandatory, voluntary or compulsory retirement and on medical grounds. He explained that compulsory retirement occurs when an employee is being disengaged or terminated from active service in accordance with the terms and conditions of service, before attaining the age of 50 years while mandatory retirement occurs when an employee disengages from active service at the retirement age or completion of the length of service based on the terms of his or her employment after attaining the age of 50 years.

“A retiree in this category will be entitled to the balance in his or her RSA and this could be disbursed either in block payment, provided the balance in the retiree’s account is less that N550,000.00 or as a combination of lump sum and programmed withdrawal payments or lump sum and annuity payments purchased from an insurance company.

“Retirement on medical grounds shall be when an employee disengages from active service based on the advice of a suitably qualified physician or medical board certifying that the employee is no longer mentally or physically capable of carrying out the functions of his/her office due to total or permanent disability either of mind or body.

An RSA holder retiring on medical grounds can access the balance in his/her RSA account. This could be disbursed either in block payment (provided the balance in the retiree’s RSA is less than N550, 000 or as a combination of lump sum and programmed withdrawal payments or annuity).

The Managing Director, Leadway Pensure Limited, Mrs. Ronke Adedeji said for public sector employees to access retirement benefits, the employee will need to attend the National Pension Commission (PenCom) verification and enrollment exercise, the year before the retiring year. This she said will ensure the remittance of accrued benefits rights.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Essiet_daniel@yahoo.com 08180714151

Many people searching for jobs find it hard to get one. This has led Temitayo to establish jobsinNigeria to provide legitimate work opportunities. DANIEL ESSIET reports. has given him a love for entrepreneurship, growing a business, helping people find jobs, and following his passions. Besides this, Olufuwa is a story of a youth who rose from grass to grace, considering his own troubling upbringing. His father left his mother and three siblings at six, leaving them in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods of Mushin, Lagos.

He grew up witnessing gruesome mob lynching, gang fights and ethnic clashes.

For Olufuwa, his childhood made him stronger. Circum-

A portal for jobs A

YOUNG Lagos-based entrepreneur,Temitayo Olufuwa, has established Jobs In Nigeria to help tackle the nation’s astronomical youth unemployment rate. Co-founder of Jin Innovations Ltd, Olufuwa said the jobs portal is designed for those with varying levels of education, skills, experience, and backgrounds looking for employment opportunities.

Olufuwa said he started the potal to assist Nigerians looking for legitimate jobs. The decision was borne out of a frustrating experience of knowing that there are job opportunities.

The other reason was the difficulties people face in finding job leads online–where legitimate jobs are buried under scams, ads, and sketchy business opportunities. To tackle this, he established the site bringing all job postings on various job sites on a mobile optimised platform.

Instead of people visiting sites that are not mobile enabled, his organisation get all the jobs on its platform so people can apply directly.

To ensure the authenticity of job postings, the company look at trusted job blogs, talk to them and crawl their job postings. According to him, the web portal has

stances that would make many western children and families crumble brought out the best in Olufuwa.

Thriving off of his obstacles, Olufuwa managed to gain a place at the Igbobi College Yaba. This eventually led to his studying software engineering at N.I.I.T. where he met his partner, Dele Bakare.

He has been able to network with other entrepreneurs, building the confidence to share his challenges and hear about theirs.

The site prides itself as being able to provide the opportunities

relevant for individuals at the lowlevel income group. It provides a platform for people to receive guidance and make employers aware of the availability of skilled Nigerians.

The major challenge is that of finding the available job opportunities which their users can benefit from. To this end, the company is ready to meet the emerging and growing needs of companies, supporting local businesses in overcoming their skills gaps. This aligns with the plan to improve the site for economic prosperity.

•Olufuwa

grown very quickly and was an amazing learning experience. But he started with N15,000.Today,the business is worth N5million.

When they launched it on June 1, 2012, they were funding the business from their little salaries.

Initially, when the business, started,he and his partner,Dele Bakare operated from their homes, meeting once a week to sort out issues. At the moment, he is operating from a rented place.

The venture has finally paid off. Some 15,000 users signed up on the platform in just two months. That number has since exploded to 200,000 thanks to support from The Tony Elumelu Foundation and African Leadership Academy.

Jobs inNigeria,according to him, gives job-seekers a way to find jobs quickly, easily. The success

•From left: Ihotu Amuta,Jide Ogunsanya,Stephen Oguntoyinbo, Fred Agbata, Samuel Isiachar and Dayo Israel (Moderator) during the maiden edition of the Nigeria digital marketing summit in Lagos.

Innovation, entrepreneurship and digital revolution will help Nigeria move forward.

There has created a new generation of young entrepreneurs with the mission to develop products of the future. They are adventurers who create solutions to daily problems most don’t even see. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Embracing the future to lead the present

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E is among emerging digital entrepreneurs. He dreams of building highgrowth company with an array of aggressively growing businesses in Nigeria and beyond.

He is Silas Okwoche,cofounder, Ideacentric Global Systems Limited. He is a serial entrepreneur to watch. Okwoche is a young tech entrepreneur taking the nation by storm. He is passionate about disruptive technologies. His contemporaries see him as one of the future hope of the nation having established himself a leader in the business intelligence space. He read Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria. A serial entrepreneur,he loves selfemployment and shown even while he was in school.

While in university, somewhere between attending lectures,he was re-selling wrist watches,doing freelance website designing and selling peanut snack products.

He just knew then that serial social entrepreneurship and problem solving were his true passions. After graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2005, he worked for a year with SOI consulting and YWAP international as lead web developer and head of business development ,before founding Ideacentric in 2007.

But Okwoche and his partner,Dimeji started Ideacentric as a web design firm in Kaduna.

Then, they did web- designs for scores of small and medium scale organisations. Soon their skill-set increased and because of oral

eferrals.

They started handling brand design and IT-projects for SME’s and some large organisations. In 2010, they moved to Abuja and consolidated their service offering under strategy, media and information technology. They provide services, such as online research and proposal writing, brand marketing, material design and productions, as well as web and mobile application design and development. One of his ideas is to make school curriculum available on mobile devices.. The company is set to manufacture its line of mobile internet tablets, called SPAKC,which will run on the Google Android.

Okwoche and his partner are

building apps, in partnership with educators and publishers that provide intuitive user-interfaces to access high quality school curriculum content. The content will be stored in the tablet’s internal memory or in their e-library.”He is optimistic the government, along with international development organisations, will be able to pay for the less-than US$100 tablet. This price is inclusive the eeducation content. This will enable every secondary school student to have a tablet for free. They have got some positive feedback from the government. Furthermore, they believe the internet ready tablets and apps will fly in the open market even without the government buy-in.He created a

mock-up and tested the idea with potential customers – and the feedback he got is good.

He has been a big fan of visionaries. For him, great ideas represent the starting point. His inspiration comes from those who have the ability to convert those ideas into a value proposition that society simply cannot dismiss. For him, ,starting a tech company is more than starting a firm or building the next best must-have device; but is predicated upon a vision that inspires.

At the moment, his organisation is looking for an underserved market to exploit or bringing one more “disruptive” technology to the masses.

His co partner, Oladimeji

•Okwoche

Obimakinde, said the journey so far had been quite humbling. His words:” Knowing that God is setting me/us to be trailblazers to many young and old Nigerians and the world has been an amazing experience and knowing that we are actually been positioned for relevance in the IT sphere for me builds fulfillment in me and a drive to “do more”.

Why women entrepreneurs need mentors

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O fewer than 30 women at the weekend held a mentoring walk in Gbagada, Lagos.

Organised by Ideas Builders Initiative, the event is held on November 16 yearly worldwide as a platform for women who are established in their careers and young women who are aspiring to make it. During the walk, the women talked on issues of empowerment and their problems.

They also discussed the importance of women’s leadership, and the impact of women leaders through mentoring.

According to the group’s Executive Director, Lucy Kanu,

By Joseph Eshanokpe

mentoring is critical to women empowerment to enable them build their potential and succeed.

She said those mentored were likely to succeed compared to those who were not.

She said: “Mentoring corresponds with strengths that are often associated with women; building personal relationships, caring and nurturing of others. It is an effective support system for meeting challenges that women face in common or that affect women in particular. For instance, the glass ceiling or the obstacles to career growth that women

commonly face in corporate and professional environments.’’

She said mentoring helps to draw the potential from women, noting that successful women could share their experiences with their younger ones and guide them into success, adding that such guidance helped to overcome any obstacle on their ways.

On the merits of mentoring, she said they include helping the mentees to reach their goals in life.

“These same mentees often become mentors, paying it forward by empowering even more women to be successful leaders,” she said.

She described mentoring as flex-

ible, adding that it is different from coaching and professional development programmes,”which often take place only in a professional setting and have a set schedule with a beginning and end; a mentoring relationship is more organic – growing and changing as a relationship progresses’’.

A guest speaker and Health Consultant to Nestle Nigeria PLC, Dr. Eno Attah, said one’s altitude determines his attitude, urging women to always aim high. She also urged women to stay fine despite the stress they face. She listed good food, healthy living, and regular exercises, among others as panacea for good living.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL Free internet: Oyo praises Smile HSBC’s private banking arm Communications accused of tax fraud by Belgium T

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UTHORITIES in Brussels have charged HSBC’s private banking arm, based in Switzerland, with helping wealthy Belgians to avoid taxes.

Prosecutors allege that hundreds of clients - including diamond dealers in Antwerp - moved money to offshore tax havens with the help of the bank.

They said it resulted in hundreds of millions of euros in lost tax revenue.

In August, HSBC warned that the penalties in relation to such allegations “could be significant”.

In a statement, Belgian authorities accused HSBC of “having knowingly eased and promoted fiscal fraud by making offshore companies available to certain privileged cli-

ents”.

These companies, which are based in Panama and the Virgin Islands, exist for the sole purpose of tax evasion, they added.

Over 1,000 taxpayers are alleged to have been involved in the fraud, which saw funds amounting to several billion dollars transferred out of Belgium since 2003.

Responding to the announcement by Belgian authorities, HSBC said it had been notified of the investigation, and of a similar investigation by French authorities, and that the bank would “continue to cooperate to the fullest extent possible”.

Banks operating in Switzerland are bound by the European Union Savings Directive to counter cross-border tax evasion, by collecting information on the savings income foreign residents

receive outside their resident state.

Belgian authorities also published emails and other correspondence between HSBC and Belgian clients, which appear to show the bank offering tax evasion services.

Prosecutor Michel Claise accused HSBC of “fraud, money laundering, criminal association and illegal exercise of the profession of financial intermediary”.

In October, Belgian police raided the homes of approximately 20 people with private bank accounts at HSBC’s Swiss subsidiary, to gather evidence against the lender.

HSBC has been subject to a series of fines for misconduct in recent years, most recently in relation the manipulation of foreign currency exchange rates.

HE Oyo State government has praised the efforts of Smile Communications Limited for donating free internet services to schools, designed to boost students and teachers’ performances.

The Commissioner for Education of the state, Prof Solomon Olaniran, gave the commendation in Ibadan, while welcoming Smile to Wesley College of Science, Elekuro in Ibadan, where Smile donated the items.

The internet connectivity, brings to 25, the number of schools connected with internet data access by Smile Communication, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

According to the commissioner, the initiative would further equip the students with educational tool for qualitative education that would

engender all round development.

He said the state had concluded arrangement to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company to install elearning facilities in selected schools of the state and also drive the process of e-learning in the schools, adding that the donation of free internet data services to schools in the state, will further boost the e-leaning initiative of the state government.

Addressing the issue of supply of laptop and desktop computers as hardware that will enable the students efficiently use the free internet data services that Smile is offering schools in Ibadan, Olaniran said, “the state government has plans to supply schools in the state with computers that will enhance teaching and learning process.”

Micro Station opens in Sango-Ota

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• From left: Industry Value Engineer, Insurance, SAP Africa, Neo Mathe; Presales Senior Specialist, BI & EPM, SAP West Africa, Aderinola Oloruntoye; Head of Business Operations, SAP West Africa, Olu Familusi; CEO, Capital Express Assurance, Mrs Odukale Adebola; Director-General,Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr Olorundare Thomas; Managing Director, Linkage Assurance, Mr Gus Wiggle; and Governance, Risks and Compliance Presales, SAP West Africa Salman Akorede; at the CEO Breakfast Roundtable for Insurance organised by SAP West Africa in Lagos.

Japan’s economy makes surprise fall into recession

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APAN’S economy unexpectedly shrank for the second consecutive quarter, leaving the world’s third largest economy in technical recession.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annualised 1.6 per cent from July to September, compared with forecasts of a 2.1 per cent rise.

That followed a revised 7.3 per cent contraction in the second quarter, which was the biggest fall since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Economists said the weak economic data could delay a sales tax rise.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is widely expected to call a snap election to seek a mandate to delay an increase in the sales tax to 10per

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cent, scheduled for 2015.

The tax increase was legislated by the previous government in 2012 to curb Japan’s huge public debt, which is the highest among developed nations.

April saw the first phase of the sales tax increase, from five per cent to eight per cent, which hit growth in the second quarter and still appears to be having an impact on the economy.

The economy shrank 0.4per cent in the third quarter from the quarter previous.

The data also showed that growth in private consumption, which accounts for about 60per cent of the

economy, was much weaker than expected.

The next tax rise had already been put in question by already weak economic indicators.

“The Japanese economy is in recession and has now contracted in three of the last four quarters,” said Glenn Levine, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“The most likely course is now a snap election in December in which voters choose, naturally enough, to delay the tax increase,” Levine added.

Speculation had been growing that the Japanese prime minister would call an election next month to gain support just two years after his election.

Carney takes aim at bankers’ pay in wake of scandals

ANK of England Governor Mark Carney has said it is time to look at clawing back the overall pay of bankers in the event of wrong-doing.

Speaking in Singapore, he said the claw-back should cover all pay, not just bonuses.

Mr Carney also said more had to be done to “help rebuild trust in financial institutions”.

It follows revelations last week about fixing foreign exchange markets. This was no different to stealing, he said.

Pay was one of the main factors that put quarter-on-quarter reward before long-term stability and ethical behaviour, the governor said in his

address.

“Standards may need to be developed to put non-bonus or fixed pay at risk.

That could potentially be achieved through payment in instruments other than cash,” Mr Carney said.

He acknowledged that there had been considerable efforts made to fix “the fault lines that caused the last crisis”, but insisted more needed to be done: “The succession of scandals mean it is simply untenable now to argue that the problem is one of a few bad apples.

The issue is with the barrels in which they are stored.”

“It is vital that our sons and daughters are taught not that financial crises are inevitable, but that they are both

avoidable and tremendously costly for jobs, growth and prosperity,” Mr Carney added.

The governor was speaking as chairman of the Financial Stability Board. The international body recently set out plans to force major global banks to hold more capital to prevent the need for more taxpayer-funded bailouts in the future.

The British Bankers’ association declined to comment on Mr Carney’s speech.

MPs, who sat on the now-disbanded parliamentary commission on banking standards, said in a report that significantly more bankers should be subject to tougher rules on pay.

ICRO Station Limited, a leading phones and telecoms trading firm in Nigeria, has opened a retail outlet at Sango-Ota in Ogun State to serve its growing customers better.

The company, in a statement, said the new outlet, is in line with its continued commitment to bringing cutting-edge IT devices and unique after-sales services closer to Nigerians.

The company has embarked on an aggressive branch network expansion, which will take it to as close as every doorstep of every individual that desires quality mobile devices at a time when Nigeria’s mobile telecoms industry is awash with fake and substandard products.

“Conspicuously and strategically located at No. 26, Idi-Iroko Road, Sango-Ota beside the Mr. Biggs Outlet, we believe that the location is accessible enough for customers

living in the area and its environs as they can go there to buy all their devices instead of having to travel several kilometers to Lagos before getting what they want,” Managing Director, Micro Station, Mrs. Tinuola Coutroupis, said in the statement.

According to her, “It is on a major road with ample parking space for our customer’s convenience. We also believe that accessibility is key and therefore, we chose an area that is easily accessible, no matter where our customers are coming from.”

Micro Station has seven of modern sales outlets with several more coming up before the end of the first half of next year.

“Our outlets in Victoria Island, Otigba Street in Computer Village, Awolowo Way in Ikeja, Oshogbo, Mushin and Ikorodu, which also has a section created for the display of cutting-edge electronic systems, all in a bid to serve our growing customers effectively.

Otudeko wins award

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HE Chairman, Honeywell Group, Dr Oba Otudeko, has been awarded winner of the 2014 Ernst &Young(EY) Lifetime Achievement Award in Lagos.

The award recognises and celebrates entrepreneurs who demonstrate success in business and committed to the communities’ growth.

The Regional Managing Partner for West Africa, Ernst &Young, Henry Egbiki, described Otudeko as a visionary entrepreneur who has achieved a lot in both local and international level.

He said: “Ernst &Young is honoured to organise the award, as part of its efforts in promoting domestic and foreign businesses. ‘’ The award was aimed at assessing business managers, by looking at the ways and manners they have created and manage wealth, and employment opportunities.’’

Otudeko had expressed her gratitude to the firm for honouring him, saying that the organisation is encouraging entrepreneurs to do more for their communities, counties and African continent in particular.

Women celebrate Entrepreneurial Day GROUP WOWe in conjunction with Access Bank’ W Community will hold the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day today, as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. It is supported by the United Nations Foundation and United States’ Department of State.

In a statement, Tori Abiola, the Nigerian Ambassador for the UNFoundation backed initiative, said: ‘I am excited to be partnering with Access Bank to provide an opportunity for women and men in Nigeria who are committed to advancing the goals of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, by providing a platform for knowledge share networking and inspiration! We look forward to many more opportunities to allow women to shine and support each other in entrepreneurship in Nigeria. We cannot underplay the importance of entrepreneurship in driving economic and social change we want in our nation, and this initiative will go a long way in addressing some our

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challenges, as well as providing us with an opportunity to celebrate.’’

Speakers expected at the event include Ope-Wemi Jones, Group Head, Inclusive Banking, Access Bank; Mo Abudu, Executive Chairman/CEO, EbonyLife TV; Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Bank Plc; Betty Irabor, CEO, Genevieve Magazine; Susan Omotosho, Director Administration Kamorass Medical Centre, Ola Orekunrin,; Medical Doctor/ Founder, The Flying Doctors, UdoOkonjo; Managing Director West Africa, Fine and Country, Tolu Adeleru; Radio Host/Presenter, Nigerian info, TariyeGbadegesin; Founder/Managing Partner, Propel Solutions, Joy Isi Bewaji; Media Entrepreneur and Author, ChichiNwoko-Udeokoro; President, What’s ON?, Amaechiokobi, Brand Communications Director, Access Bank, Folake Akindele; Founder/ Creative Director, Tiffany Amber and Chairman, Montgomery West Africa, John Adeleke.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

PLATEAU DEMOCRACY FORUM Plateau Governorship 2015: The fallacies, the truths

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e have watched in utmost consternation as the political landscape of our dear state is being gradually turned into an arena for deceit, pettiness and chicanery. This is mainly in the pursuit of the selfish political goals of a very few people who feel that they must, willy-nilly, foist their views on the people of the state no matter how distasteful.

For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state as follows: 1.

The present clamour for offices in next year’s general elections has kicked up too much controversy and created a lot of bad blood among Plateau people, especially regarding the governorship race.

2.

At the centre of these have been the contentious issues of zoning, succession and continuity. Unfortunately, these have deeply polarised the people of the state, depending on the way they view them as far as the governorship race is concerned. In the process of trying to outwit each other as these issues play out on the political turf, a whole lot of similarly divisive issues have inevitably cropped up to further compound the situation.

3.

And in an effort to make the superiority of their positions more acceptable, some of the protagonists in this struggle for power have resorted to all manner of underhand strategies contrary to the very tenets of democracy, good conscience and the overall well being of our dear state.

4.

Sensing the danger this potential descent into political anarchy portends for Plateau, it is incumbent on us as patriotic Plateau people and independent watchers of the system to intervene in the interest of our state and our fledgling democracy. This way, we sincerely believe we would be dousing tension, promoting peace and setting the records straight.

In view of the above, it is pertinent to point out that in the last few months, quite a number of groups have emerged in support of zoning the governorship position away from Plateau North because the present governor is from this area. The proponents of this idea also anchor their argument on their belief that there exists ‘a gentleman’s agreement’ on rotating the governorship of Plateau State among the three senatorial zones. That is why they were disappointed and vehemently rose up against Governor Jang when it finally became clear that Senator Gyang Pwajok was his choice of successor. The goals of these political groupings have mainly been to thwart the governor’s plan of installing this successor whom they say is unpopular and, therefore, an imposition.

On the other side of the divide has been the less vociferous group backing the governor and his choice who insist that there has never been any zoning of the governorship slot in the state. They point out that even if such an ephemeral arrangement ever existed (which they contend was never really respected anyway), all zones are now at liberty to vie since all the three zones have now had a fair share of two tenures each. To further buttress their case, they argue that Plateau State has reached a stage where sacrificing merit for zoning should be done away with which will serve the state better in the long run.

Having critically analysed the positions canvassed by these and many other schools that have emerged and the way and manner they have practicalized them on the political turf, we hereby submit as follows: 1.

If the other zones keep insisting that there is zoning of the governorship position, why did Architect Jimmy Cheto, Senator Victor Lar and a host of others who are today clamouring for zoning contest against Governor Jang in 2007? And even more recently, Dame Pauline Tallen, who is also from the same southern zone, contested against Governor Jang in 2011.

2.

And for those in the Central Zone who pontificate that they were the ones that really abided by the said zoning arrangement and so deserve to be favoured this time around, it is a well known fact that prominent sons and politicians from the area have been known to have sponsored people who also contested the governorship election with Jang in 2007.

3.

In any case, it is a measure of the insincerity and confusion over this amorphous zoning claim that the central zone has come up to dissociate itself from and condemn the self-serving plan of people from the southern zone who have now arrogated to themselves the right to zone the governorship to themselves and the deputyship to the central zone. Obviously, the proponents of zoning have now gone their separate ways! See THE NATION, November 12, 2014.

4.

If, in all honesty, and as the group, Plateau Movement for Continuity (which has been championing the cause for the deputy governor to succeed his boss to ensure the continuity of Governor Jang’s remarkable developmental strides), if continuity is one of the yardsticks for determining who succeeds Governor Jang, there is no one on the

Plateau today more eminently qualified than Senator Pwajok. This is because, unknown to many people, he has been the chief draughtsman of the cutting edge policies that have made the Jang administration the most outstanding in the annals of Plateau State. Also remarkable is the fact that he has remained the most consistent key player in the implementation and subsequent coming to fruition of such policies. Worthy of note is the fact that, even after he became a senator, he has continued to be one of the most trusted confidantes of the governor as his deep knowledge of the inner dynamics of the current winning formula are unparalleled. Now, those who say Governor Jang chose Senator Pwajok as his successor chiefly because he is a fellow Berom man must now do a rethink as continuity and merit have been key considerations here. See DAILY TRUST, August 11, 2014 and THE NATION, November 12, 2014.

5.

There has been some talk about Senator Gyang Pwajok’s ‘unpopularity’ and the grave mistake the governor has made by ‘imposing’ him on Plateau people. We see no reason whatsoever for anyone to have sleepless nights over political issues such as these. To begin with, ‘unpopular’ aspirants or candidates that have been ‘imposed’ by governors in other parts of the country in the past have been known to have failed woefully. The ballot box has a way of resolving such matters very amicably. In fact, it should be a source of joy for anyone to contest and election with an ‘unpopular’ aspirant or candidate because the beauty of democracy is that it is the ‘popular’ candidate that always wins. Since those who have given this warning have a preponderance of ‘popular’ aspirants or candidates, they should simply put them up to square up with Senator Pwajok at the polls. His ultimate defeat by a ‘popular’ candidate will also teach the governor a lesson against ‘imposing unpopular’ people upon the electorate. See THE NATION, November 12, 2014.

6.

The ward congresses of the PDP were held on November 1, 2014.

The day before, a group had written a petition to the PDP national chairman alleging that Governor Jang had made plans to make bulk purchases of delegates’ forms to be distributed to his cronies in the 17 LGAs of the state. However, the congresses were held peacefully, except for the usual problems here and there. But five days later, another group, PLATEAU STATE PDP STAKEHOLDERS FORUM, alleged that, among others, ‘’ a serving Senator bulk purchased the forms to be sold to Party members in the State in an arrangement with the State Exco, and hoarded same.’’ It also complained about the ‘’meddlesome involvement of the governor in the administration of the Party’’ in the state. Their conclusion, therefore, was that the congresses were never held in the state. Yet, as things stand today, it is apparent that the PDP national secretariat believes otherwise as the results of those congresses have been accepted. No doubt, to even begin to think that a governor, who is the leader of the Party in the state, is ‘meddling’ in the running of its affairs at that level immediately makes the case you are putting forward very suspect and lame. See THE NATION, October 31, 2014 and DAILY TRUST, November 6, 2014.

Conclusion.

From the foregoing and with the benefit of first-hand knowledge of recent happenings on the political scene, which have been overshadowed by the governorship race, there is no doubt that certain groups and individuals are bent on rocking the boat if their aspirations do not materialize. In their desperation they have made the governor and Senator Pwajok ready targets in their daily diatribes on the pages of newspapers and in high places in Abuja.

But because the governor has weathered far more treacherous storms in the past, he has taken their rabble-rousing and sabre-rattling antics in his usual equanimity and calm, worthy of a true leader and statesman. This has been his abiding advice to them: ‘’God has already anointed someone, instead of people to go round and campaign and tell the people what they can do, they are busy running to Abuja. Abuja will not come and vote in Plateau.’’ Taking a cue from the governor, that advice clearly resonates in Senator Pwajok’s solemn declaration, ‘’I am determined to continue to reach out to all the people of Plateau State in the 17 local government areas. We should not allow the issue of zoning to divide us but we must stand together to achieve a greater Plateau.’’

Lastly, it is our considered opinion that, for those who can see beyond the surface and the present, Governor Jang is so strenuously braving these odds in order to set the state on a very new and unique path of sociopolitical development in line with global best practices; where the young and vibrant generation shall apply their dynamism, skills and talents to fast-track the fortunes of their societies in order to take their rightful place in a fast developing and competitive world stage.

S I G N E D: ISA AZI President

DOGO DEMSHIN Secretary

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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INUWA ABDUL-KADIR, ESQ. (Magatakarda Babba) inuwa.abdulkadir@gmail.com 11th November, 2014 Hon. Attorney General of the Federation & Minister for Justice, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja.

THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN CONTESTING ELECTION TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OR BEING ELECTED FOR THE THIRD TERM I, very respectfully, crave your indulgence to raise a matter of urgent national interest for your consideration and possible intervention as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation.

It relates to today’s declaration of the intention of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to seek election again to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2015. This started in muted terms barely after a year or so after President Jonathan was re-elected and sworn into office. The situation became aggravated since the turn of this year in which we all have been witnessing more and more intrigues, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) setting the stage for the nomination of President Jonathan as its candidate for 2015 election.

A couple of weeks ago this drama was taken to a level unknown to any democratic principles and practice by the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party endorsing President Jonathan as its sole candidate for the 2015 presidential election in apparent disregard for the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which limits the tenure of any person occupying the office to a maximum of 8 years.

To the chagrin of many patriotic Nigerians, President Jonathan was heard gleefully welcoming his endorsement and accepting same even when he knew or ought to know that such an act would contravene the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that he had sworn to uphold, protect, preserve and defend. These and today’s declaration by President Jonathan now confirm that President Jonathan is poised to contest the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the third term.

My worries are the constitutional implications of such an act. Having regard to the provisions of sections 135(1) & (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, is President Jonathan yet qualified to contest or be elected to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the forthcoming general elections?

I am talking from the following premiseThat President Jonathan was first elected and sworn into the office of President Federal Republic of Nigeria with late Alh Umaru Musa Yar’adua on may 29, 2007 in consonance with the combined effect of the provisions of sections 135(1) & (2), 142(1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

That in the course of that term, President Jonathan by a fiat of the National Assembly was sworn in as Acting President following the prolonged absence of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua on health grounds. He acted as such for a period of about 3 months beginning from 9th February 2010 to 6th May 2010.

That upon the death of late President Yar’adua, President Jonathan was again sworn in as the substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in consonance with the provision of section 146(1) of the Constitution. This was precisely on 6th May 2010.

That term or tenure eventually expired on May 28, 2011 whereupon President Jonathan sought and was re-elected as President and sworn in for a second term on May 29th, 2011.

That the desire of President Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election is in contemplation of this term or tenure expiring on May 28, 2015.

Based on these facts, my humble view is that at the close of business on May 28, 2015 President Jonathan would have being in office for 8 years!

This is what you get when you add up the 3 years late President Yar’adua and President Jonathan were jointly in the saddle and steering the affairs of this country plus the 8 months he acted as President on the fiat granted him by the National Assembly, plus the 1 year that he occupied the office with Vice-President Namadi Sambo before the election of 2011, plus the 4 years which would be expiring 28th May, 2015.

Precedents in this country since 1979 would demonstrate abundantly that the Nigerian constitutions (both 1979 and 1999) intend and, Nigerians understand it, that at any material time the duo of President and Vice

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as Governor and Deputy Governor of a State in Nigeria enjoy a joint ticket and fate.

This is the reason why no person may be qualified for election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or Governor of a State without nominating another as his Vice President or Deputy Governor. This is also the reason why the disqualification or disability of either of the two persons occupying the office of President or Vice President or Governor or Deputy Governor automatically disqualifies or disables the other.

Section 142 (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended refers. “(1) In any election in which the foregoing provisions of this part of this chapter relates, a candidate for an election to the office of the President shall not be deemed to be validly nominated unless he nominates another candidate as his associate from the same political party for his running for the office of President, who is to occupy the office of the Vice President and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Vice President if the candidate for an election to the office of President who nominated him as such associate is duly elected as President in accordance with the provisions aforesaid.” “(2) The provisions of this part of this chapter relating to qualifications for election, tenure of office, disqualifications, declaration of assets and liabilities and oath of President shall apply in relation to the office of Vice President as if references to President were references to Vice President.”

To demonstrate this fact, may I recount the following political development/history in Nigeria since the so called second republic to date: (i) in 1979 Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Rimi and Alhaji Bibbi Faruk were elected as Governor and Deputy Governor of Kano State under the platform of the Peoples Redemption Part (PRP). Later in 1981 Alhaji Bibbi Farouk was impeached and one Alhaji Abdu Dawakin Tofa was appointed in his place; (ii) In 1983, a few months to the Governorship election Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Rimi resigned to enable him join the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and contest election to the office of Governor under that party and his deputyAlhaji Abdu Dawakin Tofa was sworn in as the Governor. Election was conducted that same year signifying the end of the composite term to which Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was first elected; (iii) In 1981 Governor Shehu Mohammed Kangiwa died and his deputy Dr Garba Nadama was sworn in; in 1983 election was held; signifying the end of the composite term to which Shehu Kangiwa was elected. (iv) Also in 1980 Alh Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa was impeached as Governor of Kaduna State and his deputy sworn in. In 1983 governorship election was held signifying the end of the composite term to which Alhaji Balarabe Musa was elected. (v) In 2002 DSP Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State was impeached and his deputy, now President Jonathan was sworn in as Governor. In 2007 President Goodluck Jonathan was nominated to run for election to the office of Governor of Bayelsa State but before the actual election he was nominated to the office of vice president. Election was yet held to signify the end of the composite term to which DSP Alamieyeseigha was elected. (vi) Upon the demise of President Umaru Yar’adua, Arch Mohammed Nanadi Sambo, who was then the Governor of Kaduna State, was appointed to replace Goodluck Jonathan as Vice-President. Elder Patrick Yakowa, the then Deputy Governor, was sworn in to replace him as Governor. In 2011 elections were held in Kaduna signifying the end of the compsosite term which Arch Namadi Sambo was first elected.

The common feature in all these events is that fresh elections were held at the expiration of the terms for which Governors Abubakar Rimi, Abdulkadir Balarabe, Alh Shehu Kangiwa, DSP Alamieyeseigha, as well as President Yar’adua were variously elected. It was logical and lawful

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014 to do so because all and sundry understood and agreed that the terms which these erstwhile Governors or President vacated and were completed by those who took over from them were meant to be a continuous one and the same.

It is significant that none of the persons who took over and completed the terms of their predecessors in office who had resigned or was impeached or died, including the incumbent President Jonathan, insisted that he must be allowed to complete his ‘own’ four years term beginning from the date of his assuming that office before fresh elections could be held! Governor Jonathan, as he then was, was the Governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party in 2003 before his nomination to the office of Vice President under late President Yar’adua.

Consequently, come May 28, 2015 President Jonathan would have exhausted the maximum time limit for any person to occupy the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Let me quickly remind that the Constitution does not contemplate that any person should occupy or remain in the office of a Governor of a State or President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria a day longer than 8 years.

This is the effect of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Marwa vs.

Nyako (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) P. 199 the facts of which are well known to you.

I like to draw your attention especially to the salient views expressed by their lordship at the Supreme Court on the tenure of Governors under section 180 which is identical to section 135 dealing with the office of the President. At page 280-281 of the said case the court per Onnoghen, JSC said – “From the language used in section 180 of the 1999 Constitution, it is very clear that the Constitution intended that a Governor of a State shall have a tenure of four years from the date he took the oath of allegiance and of office and nothing more, though he may spend less where he dies, resigns or is even impeached. In all, a governor has a maximum tenure of eight (8) years under the 1999 Constitution. From the language of section 180(2) of the 1999 Constitution “the tenure of a governor shall be four years from the date …. “ when the person first elected under this constitution takes the oath of allegiance and of office which took place on 29th day of May 2007. It has been argued that the tenure of four years envisaged in the 1999 constitution is a single unbroken tenure but that submission loses sight of the glaring fact that the provisions of section 180(2) (supra) does not expect or envisage an indefinite occupier of the office of governor of a state that is why the tenure is very definite: four years” Speaking in the same vein Adekeye JSC, as page 362 said: “I must declare that in our interpretative capacity this Court does not require the amendment/alteration to section 180(2) of the Constitution to identify and declare the intention of the legislation as embodied in section 180(1) and 180(2) (a) & (b). Section 180(2) (2A) of the 1999 constitution has no effect on our stand on the constitutional poser….”

In his contribution on this issue of tenure for elected officers, Dahiru Musdapher JSC, (as he then was) at page 294 also expressed thus: “If I may briefly explain, supposing like Dr. Chris Ngige a person elected as governor holds office for 3 years before the election was nullified, he contest the re-run election and wins it and resume office for another 2 years, when the electoral tribunals again nullified the election and again ordered a fresh election which he wins again, it would mean that the person would have spent 3, 2, plus another 4 years thus making it 9 or to take it a step further it may mean he could continue ad infinitum. Clearly this is not the situation the constitution has intended it has only created tenure of 4 years no more” To cap it all, Onnoghen JSC in the concluding part of the lead judgement of the apex court in this case reiterated at page 286 that: “The time fixed by the Constitution for the doing of anything cannot be extended.

It is immutable, fixed like the rock of Gibraltar. It cannot be extended, elongated, expanded, or stretched beyond what it states. In the instant case, to calculate the tenure of the 1st respondent in the appeals from the date of their second oaths of allegiance and of office while ignoring the period from 29th May, 2007 when they took their first oaths was to extend the four years tenure constitutionally granted them to occupy and act in that office which would be unconstitutional.”

I earnestly believe that it was in your appreciation of this fact that, despite the absence of any consequential order by the Supreme Court in the case of Marwa supra after holding that the tenure of some Governors had expired, you as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation of Nigeria rose up to the occasion and gave a fiat to the Chief Judges of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kogi and Sokoto States in 2012 directing that the Speakers of their State Houses of Assembly be sworn in as acting Governors and for fresh governorship elections to be conducted in those States. Your timely

intervention then had a most salutary and reassuring effect in those States and in Nigeria in general.

The purpose of this letter is to cause you to closely and objectively look into the unfolding political scenario, particularly the declared intention of the Peoples Democratic Party to field President Goodluck Jonathan for an unprecedented and unconstitutional third term and, in liaison with statutory regulatory bodies and others, take a patriotic stand on same before political parties conclude the nomination of candidates who would contest at the forthcoming presidential election.

Two reasons dictate that you do so now and with dispatch. Firstly, without at all intending to be patronizing, your timely intervention would afford the Peoples Democratic Party opportunity to field a qualified person as its candidate for the office of the President. Secondly, to avoid the enormous waste of fast dwindling national resources in conducting a presidential election with an unqualified person and the acrimony and tensions that results of such elections have been known to breed in Nigeria. Thirdly, your intervention would save the courts from the unwarranted trouble of having to be repeating itself on the same issues as were decided in the case of Marwa supra. Lest you forget, the Marwa’s case on which the Supreme Court gave interpretation of tenure was an appeal unusually pursued by INEC against the judgement of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. No express consequential order was given by the Supreme Court as to the conduct of election but because the Supreme Court pronouncement became the Law with your good counsel, INEC almost immediately organised and conducted election in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement, in the four of the affected states except Kogi who had a Governor-elect and now one wonders why INEC should not give, at this juncture, clear notices of Elections as they did in 2011 by specifying states where elections will hold, and in view of the raging outcry about the eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest in 2015 within the context of the Marwa’s case and also what will be the position of Governorship elections in Kaduna and Adamawa States? By May 28th, 2015 Ramalan Yero will be completing his composite tenure in which Patrick Yakowa was first elected, so also Bala Ngalari who was a couple of weeks ago sworn in as Governor of Adamawa State after the impeachment of Murtala Nyako Therefore, let me quickly say that I appreciate that this step which I urge upon you, is a most odious one and sound politically suicidal because you were appointed to the office of Attorney General of the Federation by President Goodluck Jonathan and would quite naturally not want to give any impression that you are anything but absolutely loyal to Mr. President.

However, you must constantly remind yourself or be reminded that you are more than just a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that this is a duty compelled on you by the same Constitution which the same President had on several occasions sworn himself to uphold, protect, preserve and defend.

It was Sir Wiston Churchill of Great Britain who said that “the optimist sees opportunity in every danger, the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity”. You do have the very rare opportunity of saving this country a lot of grief and rancour by the courage you bring to bear in the discharge of your duties and powers in the Nigeria of today!

At this point in our journey as a nation of diverse, but united people the Attorney General of the Federation need to use his very privileged position as the ‘conscience of the Nigerian law’ to give timely and objective advices and directives, as the case may be, to the duo of President Goodluck Jonathan and his sponsor, the People Democratic Party of which you are an exalted member as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to foist upon this great and promising country the ugly spectre of a third term.

As recent as in the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerians in their millions have stated clearly their aversion to third term or elongation of tenure by whatever name or means called for any political office holder.

The same Nigerians are still in the wings waiting and watchful and would again vehemently oppose any attempt or intrigues at recycling President Goodluck Jonathan as President for an unconstitutional third term.

From the consultations made by me, quite a large number of patriotic Nigerians share the views that I have expressed above although they may not have the character or opportunity to say so openly. Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, I repeat that it is more prudent to advise the Presidency which is presently under the firm grip and control of the Peoples Democratic Party not to field President Jonathan now than to defend him in a post election petition that is likely to follow if he is declared as duly returned as President for a third term.

I pray to Almighty Allah to give you the grace to appreciate the issues raised here and the courage to advise appropriately in order to save Nigeria and Nigerians further confusions, complications and disorientation.

INUWA ABDUL-KADIR, ESQ Magatakarda Babba

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BUSINESS EXTRA

CBN disburses N213b to boost electricity supply

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HE Central Bank of Ni geria (CBN) yesterday began the disbursement of the N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) to electricity generation and distribution companies.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with firms in the power sector for the provision of the fund under the NEMSF and government agencies such as the CBN, the ministries of Power and Petroleum Resources was signed to begin the disbursement of the facility to resolve the liquidity challenges facing the power firms.

Speaking at the event, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, lamented the inability of electricity firms to achieve appreciable increase

• Govt begins settlement of N36.9b gas debts From Nduka Chiejina (Asst. Editor)

in electricity supply but said the N213 billion facility would kick start the electricity market in a way to ensure improvement in the power supply.

He said: “The CBN will provide this facility to address shortfall in power supply. In exchange for this intervention, we expect parties that are signing this agreement today to ensure that the funds are repaid as and when due; ensure that gas increases into the generation of power and invest the fund in necessary improvements in generation.”

He said the CBN has indi-

cated its willingness to provide the NEMSF to settle certain outstanding debts in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and guarantee the take-off of the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM).

In specific terms, the facility will cover legacy gas debts and the shortfall in revenue during the Interim Rule Period (IRP).

According to him, the CBN has engaged the services ofTransaction Advisor - FBN Capital; Fund Manager Meristem Securities; and Legal Team – Detail Solicitors and Stream Sowers & Kohn (SSK). The facility will be administered through deposit money banks; the Facility

will be disbursed at the rate of 10 per cent per annum; the tenor shall not be more than 10 years; a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that complies with section 31 of CBN Act 2007 will serve as an intermediary between the banks and the electricity market players; Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shall reset the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) to ensure that it provides for the loan repayment including the costs of setting up and operating the NEMSF. He said other power sector value chain players must also agree to specific service related commitments which include gas suppliers to commit to assured gas supply at

higher volumes; generating companies (GENCOs) and Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to commit to utilising the funds for equipment/ infrastructure acquisition, refurbishment and/or upgrade.

He added that all parties that are licensed by the NERC to operate in the electricity market to accept to be immediately bound by performance agreements signed with the relevant authorities including the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE); all parties will also be subject to additional oversight mechanism to be developed by NERC and CBN to ensure business continuity; and that all power sector players must meet obligations that are critical for continued electricity supply.

Minister for Petroleum Resources Mrs. Alison-Madueke

said with the signing of the MoU, the N36.9 billion legacy debts that has inhibited investment in gas supply and infrastructure has been fully addressed.

She said unattractive pricing of domestic gas, anomalies in the tariff regime, difficulties across the value chain in addressing capacity issues primarily due to shortfall in revenues were some of the reasons for the initiation of the financial intervention.

She said: “This gas intervention and the legacy debt of N36.9 billion owed to gas suppliers by the power sector-(PHCN) over the last few years is now being settled through the CBN-led intervention scheme, and with this intervention, all undisputed claims are hereby settled.”

Reps probe 22 airports’ contracts

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HE House of Repre sentatives Committee on Public Accounts has instituted a probe into the unauthorised variation of contracts in the 22 designated airports across the nation.

The investigation by the Solomon Olamilekanheaded Committee is sequel to queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) on projects executed between 2009 and 2012 by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

The contracts being investigated among others include those for WGS-84 survey and acquisition of global navigational satellite and associated works/training of staff of 22 designated airports across the country worth N360 million awarded to an unnamed company.

The AGF noted in the query that “though the contract was executed and payments were being effected instalmentally, at the end of it all, it was observed that a total of N378.77 million was paid to the contractor instead of the agreed contract sum of N360 million.

“The project manager unilaterally raised a memo increasing the scope of work to include survey of Akwa-Ibom and Gombe airports at an additional sum of N24.77 million.

“The management of NAMA endorsed and approved the Project Manager’s suggestion that thus resulted to an unauthorised variation of the contract sum.”

According to the query, “the payment to the contractor of an amount over and above the original contract sum as approved and awarded by the Ministerial Board is a contravention of the Financial Regulations and Public Procure-

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ment Act.” Sequel to the queries, the AGF said the Managing Director should “explain the unauthorised additional contract sum against the provisions of the relevant extant regulations.”

He is also to “produce the approval by the Bureau of Public Procurement in support of the contract variation.

“In the absence of the above requirements, the additional expenditure N24.770 million should be recovered and refunded to treasury and evidence of recovery made available for my verification.”

The AGF noted that a visit conducted to the project sites on the 19th October 2012, showed that “neither the survey work nor the acquisition of the GNSS and other equipment prescribed in the contract, including the training of staff have been executed by the contractor despite full payment.”

He further noted that despite communication through the Audit Inspection report Ref. No. OAUGF/P&PAD/ NAMA/42 dated 7th February 2013, the Managing Director failed to respond to the queries.

“Financial Regulation 3104 provides that a public officer who pays money to a contractor for a job not executed shall be made to refund such money, he shall be removed from the schedule and the matter referred to the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) for prosecution.

“This is an established case of payment for unexecuted contract. The Managing Director has been requested to invoke the provisions of these regulations without further delay,” the AGF said.

• Manager, Infrastructure, Manufacturing & Services, Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), Frederik Kummersteiner; Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe and Investment Officer, Financial Institutions, Africa, FMO, Jeroen Harteveld, during the signing of $30million facility to support the Women Empowerment Fund at the bank’s head office in Lagos.

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Food import bill declines to N466b, says Fed Govt

HE Federal Govern ment has said the coun try’s food import bill has declined to N466 billion in the last three years.

The government also said the agricultural sector added N780billion to the economy during the same period.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who spoke in Abuja during the inauguration of the first commercial 10 per cent composite cassava flour product from Flour Mills of Nigeria and the Honeywell Group.

He said: “Our food import bill declined from N1.1trillion in 2011 to N634billion by the end of 2013 and it continues to decline.

“Our farmers are seeing the benefits and they are producing more food. Our national food production expanded by an additional 21 million metric tons of food within three years, this is a record in our nation’s history.”

At the event, equipment that will enable bakers raise the bar of cassava inclusion to 20 per cent and beyond were inaugurated.

• Agric sector attracts $5.6b From Franca Ochigbo, Frank Ikpefan, Abuja and Joseph Eshanokpe

Adesina also said Nigeria’s bread contains cassava flour, adding that all cakes and confectioneries eaten in the country now contain cassava flour.

He said: “With today’s momentous events, the landscape of cassava in Nigeria has been changed forever. “No more will cassava be seen as a subsistence crop for household and village-level processing. Cassava has become the raw material of choice for the burgeoning bread flour, sweetener, starch, and ethanol market.’’

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Sunday Echono, said the actualisation of the 20 per cent cassava flour in wheat for bread will save Nigeria N127billion yearly.

Echono also said it would create 1.3 million jobs which would help to grow rural agro industries.

“Apart from this, about 1.3 million jobs will be created. In the process, we shall grow the rural agro industries, at the same time increase processing activities and our farmers’ livelihood would have been highly improved and the nation will ultimately be better off for it,” he said.

He said in the past two years, the sector has attracted $5.6 billion in investment.

Speaking at a conference/ exhibition, titled, Agra Innovate by Informa/Afrocet in Lagos, he said the sector has also received good financial assistance from the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the United Kingdom Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

He also said in three years, food production rose by 21 million metric tonnes, ahead of the four-year target of 20 million MT by 2015. Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics, Akinwunmi said food imports declined from N 1.1 trillion ($ 6.7 billion) in 2009 to N684 billion ($4.35 billion) last yaer.

He said: “The latest release by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics shows that the agriculture sector grew by 9.19 per cent (Year-on-Year) in Q3 of 2014, up by 2.72 percentage points from Q3 of 2013. The agriculture sector grew by 38.53 per cent (quarter-on-quarter basis) in Q3 of 2014, with crop production being the main driver with a growth of 43.50 per cent.

“For too long, Africa has depended on food imports, spending a whopping $35 billion on food imports yearly.

This makes no sense. Africa must end the era of prodigal economics, where it ignores its own agricultural potential and turns itself into a net food importing region.

Nigeria, others need $25b investment in power sector

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INISTER of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, has said Nigeria’s and other West Africa’s power sector needed $25 billion (N3.88trillion) investment over the next one decade to have a reliable and consistent power supply in the industry.

In his presentation titled Updates on the Nigerian power privitisation at the ongoing West

African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC), in Lagos, he said there was the need to invest and develop regional grid through effective power generation across the West African sub-region region.

The minister said Nigeria, which is regarded as Africa’s foremost business destination is second to South Africa.

He said Nigeria, the 26 largest economies in the world and

the seventh largest population was one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

According to him, Nigeria’s economic performance is one of the most robust in Africa and an adequate power supply is a pre-requisite for a stable economy.

Nebo said the overall Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth for last year was 6.81 per cent was above the pro-

jected global growth average of 3.5 per cent.

“Today, Nigeria is an attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In the last three years, Nigeria has attracted over 10 per cent of the total FDI to Africa totaling over $20 billion.

“This performance is driven by favourable political, economic and demographic realities,’’ he added.

He said renewable energy remained the most neglected in the West African sub-region, adding that it stood as a veritable tool that could energise Africa.

He added that renewable energy could also be used to solve the energy problem in a very inclusive way.

He said: “The Ministry of Power is synergising with

the Minister of Petroleum and Central Bank Governor to address gas challenges and also to inject more liquidity into the system “Handing over successor’s power companies in Nigeria to investors remains one of the laudable achievements of the present administration, because before the privitisation the sector had been in comatose.’’

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 18-11-14

DAILY SUMMARY SUMMARY AS AS AT AT 18--11-14 25-07-14 DAILY

London, Nigerian Exchanges sign agreement on dual listing, others

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HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) yesterday signed a capital market agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation and promote mutual development between the two exchanges. The agreement supports African companies seeking dual listings in London and Lagos. The agreement is for an initial period of two years.

Chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, Chief of Staff and Head of International Development, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Nikhil Rathi and CoHead of Emerging Markets and Head of Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Ibukun Adebayo were present and signatories at the signing ceremony. The agreement was witnessed by chairman of the United Kingdom (UK) Foreign & Commonwealth

By Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

Office’s Nigeria Emerging Capital Markets Task Force, Sir Roger Gifford.

There are nine Nigerian or Nigeria-focussed companies quoted on London Stock Exchange (LSE) including six oil and gas explorers and three major Nigerian banks. They have a collective market capitalisation of $14.2 billion. Also, 115 Sub-Saharan Africa-focussed companies are quoted on LSE including 26 companies on the main market, three GDR listings on the main market, two GDR listings on the Professional Securities Market (PSM) and 84 companies quoted on AIM, the growth market The agreement was sequel to the implementation earlier this year of a new settlement process between the UK and Nigeria. This made significantly more efficient the listing and trading of ordi-

nary shares of Nigerian companies listed in London, as well as those of UK companies on the Nigerian market.

Seplat, the oil and gas business, which raised $500 million in an initial public offering (IPO) through this new mechanism in April, was the first company to simultaneously dual list shares in London and Nigeria.

Onyema described the agreement as another major step towards ensuring that all companies that have substantial operations in Africa are accessible to both Nigerian and international investors.

He added that the cooperation would ensure that Nigeria’s leading companies achieve the global profile and international institutional investment they deserve.

Rathi noted that the agreement was a reflection of the global investment community’s strong desire to be a part of the Nigeria story.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

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MONEYLINK Sterling Bank’s media award winners get $1,000

Bank directors under close watch, says BDAN T

HE Board of Directors (BoDs) of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have been urged to be watchful of their organisations as they stand to be punished if any wrong doing should occur within their organisations.

The President of the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN), Dr. Sonny Kuku, who stated this yesterday, said bank directors play critical roles in the successful operation of the banks Kuku who spoke on the theme: ‘Competing Globally from the Boardroom: Reviewing Benchmarks for Nigerian Bank Directors,’ said the health of every bank, and every organisation, depends on a strong, independent, and attentive board that adopts effective corporate governance practices.

“We are also aware that directors have some fiduciary responsibili-

Stories by Collins Nweze

ties to the bank’s shareholders, depositors, regulators and the communities they serve. These duties of the managers of the business have become very critical now more than ever,” he said.

He explained that directors make a lot of decisions which may make or mar the bank. “It is therefore pertinent to ensure that the right mix of individuals will be sitting in that room; people who have the requisite skills and knowledge to continually grow the bank, while ensuring that the bank/organization is able to effectively compete domestically, and in the long run become a global institution. Competition has always been contentious in banking, and regulators have traditionally tried to restrict competition in

the industry with the aim of avoiding excessive risk-taking,” he said.

Kuku said a fully-fledged liberalisation process was later put in place in many countries and there was consequently a notable increase in bank failures.

“To avoid further crisis in the industry, there is the need to ensure that strong boards govern our banks. There is also the need for these directors to be well remunerated for the challenging roles they play. Directors’ remuneration should be taken more seriously at every bank so as to also attract the right individuals for these positions of leadership,” he said.

He said that BDAN organises this forum annually to bring up current and relevant issues, as they affect our industry and the economy at large, for frank discussion among stakeholders.

W

•CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele “The Forum brings together executive and non-executive directors of banks, officials of other financial institutions, regulatory authorities, professional bodies and all other stakeholders in the financial services sector. Thus an opportunity is created for us to also network among ourselves and share thoughts on the theme of the forum,” he said.

Ogun to fund 2015 budget with IGR

O

GUN State would fund 47.23 per cent of its 2015 N210.354 billion proposed budget from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), the Governor , Senator Ibikunle Amosun has said.

Presenting the 2015 Appropriation Bill, titled, ‘Budget of Continuity to the State House of Assembly yesterday, Amosun said it would be funded as follows: IGR, N99.35 billion (47.23 per cent); Federation Account, N53billion (25.20 per cent) and Capital Receipt, N58 billion (27.57 per cent).

The budget, which he stated is aimed at sustaining the tempo al-

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

ready achieved in the Mission to Rebuild the State by taking it to an enviable pedestal through all around development strategy comprises Capital Expenditure of N118.26 billion (56 per cent) and Recurrent Expenditure of N92.09 billion (44 per cent).

“We are proposing a Budget of N210.354 Billion for the 2015 Financial Year, which is about the same as the 2014 Budget of N210.28b.

“The rationale for this is that the macro-economic outlook driven by the global oil prices suggests a con-

Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W. A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGE FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND

168.45 9.17 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.39 1,676.09 1,118.84 121.30 121.16 1,117.51 1.2147 1.2858 0.7802 1.0972

• UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

O/PRICE 1.34 3.27 21.88 4.80 10.44 4.34 8.30 2.51 0.85 3.84 1.73

C/PRICE 1.47 3.46 23.00 5.04 10.96 4.55 8.70 2.63 0.89 4.00 1.80

CHANGE 0.13 0.19 1.12 0.24 0.52 0.21 0.40 0.12 0.04 0.16 0.07

LOSERS AS AT 18-11-14

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

ASHAKACEM

25.38

23.00

-2.38

0.76

0.69

-0.07

FLOURMILL

52.00

48.30

-3.70

DANGCEM

205.19

194.94

-10.25

NEM

N34,423,000,000 (16 per cent), Affordable Housing and Urban Renewal, N22,373,726,000 (11 per cent), Efficient Health Care Delivery, N20,282,700,000 (10 per cent)and Agricultural Production leading to Industrialisation, N10,641,350,000 (five per cent).

While reiterating that the administration would continue to impact positively on the people, the governor noted that various project initiated and completed and the improved economic development of the State are positive indicator that shows that the state is on the right track.

DATA BANK

Bid Price 167.01 9.08 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.33 1,676.09 1,118.03 120.45 120.30 1,116.70 1.2072 1.2858 0.7666 1.0972

GAINERS AS AT 18-11-14

SYMBOL CUTIX ETERNA OANDO PORTPAINT UAC-PROP UBA BERGER SKYEBANK COSTAIN CUSTODYINS UBCAP

traction in the national economy.

I have always maintained that Ogun State is not immune from the wider economy. However I am confident that we will be able to maintain our budget size by innovatively growing our Internally Generated Revenue,” he said.

In line with the Government’s five cardinal programmes, the Affordable Qualitative Education programme got the highest allocation of N42,565,400,000 billion (20 per cent), follow by the Rural and Infrastructural Development/ Employment Generation,

CHANGE

INNERS in the 2014 Social Media Award promoted by Sterling Bank Plc, would get $1,000, social media training and other surprise prizes each.

Speaking yesterday at the preaward briefing held in Lgaos, Sterling Bank Executive Director, Strategy & Finance, Abubakar Suleiman said the event which holds on December 6, is based on the need to recognise and celebrate excellence, creativity and the impact of social media on human socio-economic development through its tools and platforms by individuals and organisations across the continent.

He said the bank is involved in the award because it wants to capturing the essence of how the world is changing. “The social media space is no longer on the fringe, as most people are increasingly using it. We want to encourage people across Africa on how beneficial the platform is and ensure that the best use of it is rewarded,” he said.

He said the bank supported the award organised by Development Diaries because it wants to support proper behavior in the use of social media. “It is an initiative to reward creativity. We want to sanitise what is a chaotic stage. We want to see decency in the social media space,” he added.

Founder, Development Diaries, Femi Aderibigbe said a total of 923 entries containing 3230 nominations were received within the two weeks window for nomination against the 700 nomination target set initially.

RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS) Transaction Dates 17/11/2014 10/11/2014 06/11/2014 ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation: October

8.1%

Monetary Policy Rate

12.0%

Foreign Reserves Oil Price (Bonny Light/b) Money Supply (M2)

Currency

Buying (N)

Selling (N)

$37.6b

US Dollar

154.78

155.78

$79.98

Pounds Sterling

247.6944

249.2947

Euro

193.4286

194.6783

Swiss Franc

160.4104

161.4468

Yen

1.3617

1.3705

CFA

0.2764

0.2964

228.0521

229.5255

Yuan/Renminbi

25.2949

25.4592

Riyal

41.2582

41.5247

SDR

228.8113

230.2896

N17.2 trillion

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

16.5%

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

Tenor

11-11-14 Rate (%)

Amount Sold in ($) 499.93m 399.97m 349.96m

CBN EXCHANGE RATES November 17, 2014

N16.42 trillion.

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

Amount Offered in ($) 500m 400m 350m

Rate (%) 12-11-14

Overnight (O/N)

10.54

11.17

1M

11.94

12.18

3M

13.08

13.33

6M

14.03

14.17

FOREX RATES

OKOMUOIL

28.24

26.83

-1.41

JOHNHOLT

1.03

0.98

-0.05

R-DAS ($/N)

157.29

157.29

LIVESTOCK

2.35

2.24

-0.11

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

FIDELITYBK

1.78

1.70

-0.08

CONTINSURE

0.97

0.93

-0.04

Parallel ($/N)

167.50

167.50

ROYALEX

0.53

0.51

-0.02

WAUA

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Nov. 12, 2014

Rates

T-bills - 91

9.85

T-bills - 182

9.98

T-bills - 364

10

Bond - 3yrs

12.61

Bond - 5yrs

12.77

Bond - 7yrs

12.73

56

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

SHOWBIZ

Tension, as Uti Nwachukwu, other ex-housemates enter Big Brother house

•Uti with IK as he arrived Big Brother Hotshots house

A

FTER the eviction of Mr. 265 (Malawi) and Samantha (South Africa) from the Big Brother Africa show last Sunday, tension appeared to have gripped Nigeria’s housemate, Tayo Faniran, who was reacting to why he might not win the show, because he is not as popular at home like previous winner, Uti Nwachukwu, who may return to the game.

It was not the first time that fellow housemates have tried to evaluate Tayo’s chances in the game, in view of the fact that Nigeria had produced three winners; Kevin Pam, Uti Nwachukwu and Karen Igho in a row, until South African Keagan Petersen and Namibian Dillish Mathews took the shine in 2013 and 2013 respectively.

Apparently upset by the analysis, Tayo went on and on, giving reasons why the game should not be based on popularity in one’s home country, rather on one’s performances and current realities.

It was exactly 42 days of the show, with just 10 housemates still standing out of 26 that entered the show on October 5.

But perhaps more devas-

By Victor Akande

tating was the speculation that ex-housemates may return to the house - as part of the intrigues.

True to speculations, the ex-housemates arrived on Tuesday, displaying high energy in the house. But it remains a prank, as they will not be competing the USD300, 000 with the current players.

The gimmick, according to information, is to unsettle the Hotshots who are unaware that it is all a big prank orchestrated by Biggie. Upon entering the house, the exhousemates started on the drinks that belonged to the Hotshots, spraying champagne and taking shots of tequila. Sheillah stood in her frozen stance in disbelief at the trouble that had arrived.

Prior to their arrival, the drama started with Nhlanhla and Tayo raving in the garden. The former said he has been asking where the drama was in the house and now it looked as if the drama was coming to them.

He said they had nothing to lose and ex-housemates did, but Tayo felt the opposite. He was worried about

being up against Uti, saying Big Brother Africa was the platform that made them, and now he could be robbed of his chance to shine.

Tayo was also worried about the advantages the exhousemates had, telling Nhlanhla they were coming prepared and would know their weaknesses. JJ interjected with a joke, saying they would starve them. They decided, though, that they would let the girls into the jacuzzi and teased the women, telling them they were looking for fresh meat.

The house was a swirl of wild emotions after the eviction show and Biggie’s announcement. Earlier on, Idris who was devastated at losing Samantha, ran straight into Ellah’s arms for comfort.

Butterphly got uncharacteristically upset, arguing with Idris, but just minutes later they apologised and Ellah made them hug.

But the jokes quickly dissipated and the emotions carried on flying. Ellah was unperturbed, saying she had been the reigning Ugandan in the house, and it would remain that way. JJ, despite having looked highly upset during the announcement, said he was not worried, claiming they were just old housemates, and if they had been celebrities he would have had reason to be concerned.

They started wondering about living arrangements and where the new housemates would sleep. They even speculated that there might be a second house. Sipe kept her cool, saying it was going to be a good week and she thanked Biggie for the men.

Idris bemoaned all the hard work they had done, which could all come to nothing, because now “someone else comes and takes the money.”

Housemates do not seem to have the kind of confidence they always tell Biggie about and are seriously threatened.

This challenge, which Africa knows is just a joke, has shown the housemates’ true colours more than anything else and judging by how upset they are, it is clear how much winning means to them.

Filmhouse plans 15 more cinemas

T

HE management of Filmhouse Cinemas has announced its readiness to open 15 new cinema outlets from December 2014, in additional to the existing four.

The company which began operations in December 2012 is fast becoming ubiquitous, beating old player, Silverbird Cinemas on the number of outlets across the country.

Co-founder and Managing Director of the company, Kene Mkparu, told newsmen in Calabar, Cross River State, during the just-concluded Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), about a new deal with African Capital Alliance (ACA). The deal, according to him, is to establish five new cinemas before the end of December and addi-

•Gets African Capital Alliance’s funding

By Victor Akande

tional10 outlets by 2015, and then about 4 yearly from 2016.

Mkparu’s words confirmed ACA’s earlier announcement of its investments into Filmhouse Cinemas and Film One, its associated film production and distribution company, which described the latter as the fastest growing cinema chain in Nigeria with a great team.

ACA is currently investing out of its third fund (CAPE III), a $400 million private equity fund.

Speaking on Filmhouse and Film One’s growth prospects, ACA Partner Paul Kokoricha said, “Despite Nigeria having one of the larg-

est film industries in the world the cinema space is largely untapped. The world over, cinema exhibition and film distribution are key segments of the film industry and the main drivers of economic value in the sector. We are looking forward to partnering with the team to deliver on the promise of the sector.”

Kokoricha praised the initiative of Mkparu and his team for diversifying its operations, by launching Film One, which has released the two highest grossing Nigerian blockbusters this year – Half of a Yellow Sun and October 1.”

Mkparu commented on the transaction, saying, “We are delighted with Africa Capital Alliance’s investment in our

•Set of a Nollywood film

Film fund: Fed Govt doles out N215.5m to filmmakers

T

WENTY six filmmakers, who applied for the film intervention fund grant made available

by President Goodluck Jonathan under the Project ACT Nollywood, knew their fate Tuesday, as they were called to Abuja for the presentation of the grants.

Although sources say the monies will take two weeks to clear, the filmmakers got between N15million and N2million, depending on the magnitude of the film project they proposed.

Disbursed by the Ministry of Finance, managers of the fund, Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, noted that the Federal Government was committed to using the creative arts industry as vehicle to boost the nation’s economy.

“President Goodluck Jonathan is very much aware of the contribution of creative industry to the economic development of the country and I think several

By Victor Akande

states have also tried to attract the industry.

“From what I understand, issues of intellectual property, quality and so on, are paramount and that is why the president thought that he would put this initiative together to support the industry.

“He had always believed in the power of the creative industries to try and help transform the country.

“This is through the employment that the industry will create for our young people, particularly those that have left the university,” she said.

According to OkonjoIweala, the N215.5 million that was being disbursed was part of the N700million earmarked for the film producing segment of the fund, and the 26 filmmakers are the first batch of beneficiaries.

She said that the industry had so far created no fewer

than 200,000 direct and one million indirect jobs worth 250 million dollars, but added that, “One of the problems we have with you is that we often have a little more of a contentious approach within the industry.”

The Project Director, Project ACT Nollywood, Dr Supo Olusi, explained that the amount was being disbursed as grants to industry operators who met the benchmark for accessing the money.

“There is a provision in their MoUs that they must produce movies from the grant within three months after the due date in the MoU to ensure that they deliver,” he said.

Notable filmmakers whose production companies applied for the fund and who were seen at the event included, Kunle Afolayan, Desmond Elliot, Akin Konhi, Emeka Ossai, Greg Odutayo and producer of Living in Bondage, Keneth Nnebue.

My regret as a band member – Presh

F

EW months after signing a mouth-watering deal, Precious John, aka Presh, a member of the defunct singing group, KCPresh has described his return to the scene as a dream

By Adewoyin Adeniyi

come true.

The artiste who made the statement recently, basking in the released of a new single, I No Dey Lie, in which he features Tiwa savage,

strategic plans for cinema rollout expansion, film distribution and production. With this investment, we can scale up quickly and strengthen our position as an industry leader.

We believe ACA brings valuable local and international expertise that will help grow our business.”

Filmhouse’s current cinemas •Kene Mkparu include, Leisure Ibadan, Oyo State; Ist Avenue Mall, Surulere, Foreshore, and Asaba Grand Hotel in Ikoyi and Apapa in Lagos; Asaba, Delta State; Kano, Marina Resort, Calabar, Kano State and Port Harcourt, Cross River State; Heritage Rivers State.

Mall Dugbe and Samonda in

said that he is fully set to launch into the music industry without holding back.

“I can swear to my fans that I will kill them with good music. Give me another six months; I should be everywhere because I’m going to hit it hard that even people around me will ask why I’m doing it that way. I have a lot of things to unveil. I now see the advantage of being a solo artiste because when you have things to offer because you are doing dual thing, you are limited as you try to be considerate,” said an excited Presh.

The artiste recalled his days with the group KCPresh with regret, stating that he wouldn’t advise any artiste to join a music group.

“Well, at some point you will learn things but with what I know now if I had known it back then I wouldn’t have bothered being in the group because I have potentials. I can do many things but when you are in a group you guys have to bend for each other.

If he is not your brother, don’t dare try doing group music,” Presh added.

57

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

NEWS Senate fails to okay emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe Continued from page 4

Ndume stressed that he would always stand by his people.

Senator Bello Tukur, who represents Adamawa Central, said the Senate discussed fruitfully on the state of emergency rule in the three affected states.

Tukur said that he was sure that decisive position would be taken by the Senate today on the Presidential request to extend emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

If further extension is granted, that will be the third time the National Assembly will approve President Jonathan’s request to extend the period of State of

Emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

P r e s i d e n t Goodluck Jonathan yesterday met Senate President David Mark and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha at the Presidential Villa, Abuja., •None of them spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting., •No official statement was issued after the meeting., •But the meeting is not unconnected with getting the National Assembly’s nod for the extension of the state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

House reconvenes tomorrow Continued from page 4 •Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina cutting the tape to open the international conference and exhibition in Lagos…yesterday. With him (from left) are: Chairman, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Alhaji Sani Dangote; Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Mekoh Augustine; Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Muniru Baba; Project Leader, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Alfred Dixon, and Project Director, AGRA Innovate Nigeria, David Ross

Tambuwal quits presidential bid Continued from page 4

any inordinate ambition to occupy any office.

“Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What any one becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever he pleases.

“I pledge my loyalty to our party the APC and cooperation with my uncles and senior brothers and colleagues who are already in the race for the APC presidential ticket : I refer to General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Rochas Okorocha and Mr. Sam Nda- Isaiah. There is no doubt that they are all eminently qualified.”

Tambuwal pleaded with the 80 members of the House, his associates and friends who bought a nomination form for him to accept his decision in good faith.

Tambuwal added: “I came into the APC to enhance and build. Therefore, in the interest of our great party, the APC, and indeed in the overriding national interest, I wish to appeal to all my associates, colleagues, supporters, admirers and friends nationwide to show some understanding. “ It has not been easy coming to this decision and I very well understand the frustration, disappointment and disbelief of many who have committed so much to the project, including sacrificing not only their physical, financial and intellectual resources but indeed their personal ambitions in the 2015 electoral contest.”

“I wish to seize this occasion to commend, most highly, these patriotic and selfless colleagues, admirers, individuals and groups for their sacrifice, diligence and single-mindedness in the pursuit of what they honest-

ly believe is in the best interest of our fatherland. “ I am fully aware of the physical, financial and intellectual resources all of you have expended in this regard besides the sheer volume of valuable time and the travel risk of crisscrossing to compare notes and confirm projections. Indeed I can not thank you enough.

“To all my associates, colleagues, friends, admirers across Nigeria who have faith that I am that instrument for the change we all desire, I assure you that your faith is not in vain, it is noble and will endure until this great nation of ours is rescued from the clutches of institutionalised corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness.

“I charge you to be comforted that your strength lies not in the limited capacity of a single leader, but rather in the collective capacity of the millions of great citizens of this nation. One day, and I believe not too long away, this formidable collective capacity will be ignited and the good Lord will lift Nigeria high up where she belongs.”

The Speaker said he was prepared to work with APC leaders and members to rescue Nigeria from the brink.

He added: “ On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty and responsibility, I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully

prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability, to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear country from the clutches of institutionalized corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness. “ I am prepared for the great task of rescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth unemployment, and the economic and social malaise that plague her.

“Given the opportunity, ours would be a clean, corrupt- free, competent and purposeful government : to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that have held us hostage for over a hundred years : the paradox of ever growing abject poverty in the midst of plenty; the paradox of ever growing menace of corruption in the face of the collective capacity of Nigerians to eradicate same, the paradox of decaying infrastructure, especially epileptic power supply in the face of abundant natural resources; the paradox of glaring internal insecurity in the face of a gallant military, police and other security agencies that have excelled in peace keeping and enforcement abroad. Indeed a government that would deploy extraordinary ways and means where such becomes inevitable within the ambit of the law.”

He said although Nigerians had become dejected with teamwork by APC administration, the nation’s developmental problems were surmountable.

He said: “The problems I speak about are real and glaring.

Over the past three and a half years of presiding over 359 equals, I often had occasion to discuss peculiar constituency problems with my colleagues but most importantly I have visited over 300 hundred Federal constituencies across the country and seen for myself abject poverty of our people particularly the majority of the population that reside in the rural areas, I have experienced, first hand, total absence of essential social facilities and decaying infrastructure, where they exist at all, and observed hopelessness in the eyes of millions of citizens.

I deeply feel the pulse of dejection of our people.

“I am convinced that with the progressive spirit and teamwork these objectives are attainable under an All Progressive Congress ( APC ) administration.”

There were indications last night that Tambuwal might vie for the governorship race in Sokoto State.

A source said: “I think the governorship ticket might be conceded to him in Sokoto State in appreciation of his sacrifice.”

Primaries: PDP raises panel to screen Reps

T

HE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced last night that it has set up a "special" committee to screen its serving members of the National Assembly in Abuja Thursday and Friday.

A statement by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, stressed that the screening is meant for members seeking the party's

From Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

return ticket; "owing to the scheduled resumption of the House of Representatives on Thursday.

"All such members of the National Assembly are by this advised to appear before the special screening panel at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja with their relevant documents for the

screening on the above-mentioned dates", the statement added.

Critics last night, said the move was meant to "work on" the legislators on critical issues, in the overall interest of the ruling party.

But the party said it's to enable the lawmakers participate in the National Assembly sitting, as well as the screening.

“Though I am doubtful as to its need, I will be persuaded by such an argument though blackmail in character. For us to do this however. the extension must be granted not later than Thursday as the constitution clearly states that it must be granted before the date of expiration of the state of emergency”.

Pally Iriase (APC, Edo) said the extension would enable the

military consolidate on its efforts at reclaiming lost territories.

“It is important because we have not achieved much in the past year of declaring state of emergency in these states.

“We have been moving back and forth; one step forward and 10 steps backward, but that notwithstanding, we still believe the requisite environment be created to enable them do their work,” he said.

Fayose seals off speaker’s office Continued from page 4

Ekiti people and they shouldn’t have the House platform to advance party’s interests. We are not justifying the situation, but Fayose cannot be blamed for self-inflicted injuries Dr. Adewale Omirin brought onto himself.”

Fayose urged the Speaker to “stop misdirecting himself over his woes”, noting that it was also impossible for the governor to freeze the Assembly’s accounts as he did not operate them.

“They have their banks. We are not going to freeze anybody’s accounts,” he said.

Fayose urged the Speaker to look “inwards” in resolving the crisis, noting that the troubles with him pre-date the coming of his administration.

“We don’t expect the telationship to be smoth because of party differences and the lawmakers have a right to reject Fayose only if that is on the basis and interest of Ekiti people but not to do so for the interest of APC. “The Speaker was not in any way removed as being rumoured. Members of the House of Assembly and even the National Assembly used to have causes to change their leadership. It is not a new thing in our political history.

“In Edo State, the APC lawmakers hold their sittings in the Government House while the PDP holds separate sittings. Even in Rivers, Judiciary and the House have been experiencing similar problems.

“They ordinarily ought to pass the Attorney General for Ekiti to

sign agreement on contracts and for the Commissioner of Works to execute them and without the Commissioner for Finance, Ekiti cannot access the N2 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Something honourable for any House to have done is to pass this without any controversy.”

Ogunsuyi also insisted that the fact that only 16 members attended the news conference in Ikere-Ekiti was a confirmation that 10 members of the Assembly sat on Monday in the absence of the substantive Speaker to ratify Fayose’s list of commissioner-nominees, special advisers and the allowance to constitute council caretaker committees. “If you agree that 16 were there at the meeting, look for the names of those who were not there and you would know the identities of the three lawmakers that enabled PDP to form a quorum,” he said.

On the sack of Speaker’s aides, the governor said: “It was the same House during the immediate past administration that passed the Law which empowers the Governor to fire and hire aides for the Speaker and his Deputy and even aides to Local Government Chairmen.

So, this Assembly enacted the law I applied as already applied by the last administration.

His words: “I even learnt that he said the electricity supply to his House has been cut . It smacks of insensitivity for a number three man to be crying wolf over this when the same government he served is indebted to the electricity company to the tune of N133 million.”

2015: APC raises 27-man panel for presidential primaries Continued from page 4

conduct the exercise itself that will finally catapult us from being an opposition party into the incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We are there to be consulted at every stage and at any point you deem it fit. You are to do the job to match into your own personal integrity as a fearless man of probity and integrity. “ I thank you for the sacrifice you will be making in the next 21 days. I am sure that at the end of the day. We will all have course to celebrate.”

The nominees of the aspirants are non-voting members. “Their

names have been announced and they are there to ensure the transparency of the process,” Odigie-Oyegun said.

Fayemi promised that the APC presidential primaries will be a model.

He said: “It is an exercise that will set us apart from those who are democrats and those who are monarchists. Those who prefer to coronate and those who want to elect. This assignment is not just about the how, but also about who.

“But the how is far more important than the who for us. That is, the process is more important than the end-product because, for us, what Nigerians require

most is that we demonstrate to the best of our ability, our commitment to internal democracy.”

Fayemi, who spotted a light blue Babanriga, said Nigerians are waiting for the alternative which will begin with APC presidential primaries.

He pleaded with presidential aspirants and party members to cooperate with the NCC. He added: “There is no doubt in the mind of Nigerians now that we have been on a journey without map in the last four years and this rudderlessness, the cluelessness must be brought to an end. Actually, the process is important.

“Everywhere I turn to even

before before being saddled with this assignment, I am asked, ‘when are you going to give us your candidate and how are you going to give us the candidate?’ because Nigerians are waiting with patience for the alternative we are presenting to the country.

“I want to assure you sir, that seeing the calibre of persons you have put in this committee that we shall deliver on this assignment on time, on course, on integrity, on commitment and on transparency to our party and to Nigerians.

“But we need the cooperation of all our members and not just the presidential aspirants , but

also their supporters. For me, it is a very unique addition that you have made as a party by asking all the aspirants to have observers on the committee. At the end of the day, we will turn this into a big celebration and a genuine desire for change.”

Members of the National Convention Committee are exGovernor Kayode Fayemi (Chairman); Alh. Kawu Baraje( Deputy Chairman); Barr. Boss Mustapha; Dr. Garba Abari; Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan Ali(Rtd); Prof. Umar Faruk; Hajiya Aisha Ibrahim; Mr. Olawale Edun; Prof. Mojeed Alabi; and Mr. Edwin Ogunbor.

Others are: Mr. Preye Agana-

ba; Dr. Kachin Nwoja; Hon. Tony Oneweek Muonagor; Sen. Babafemi Ojudu; Hon. Yakubu Dogara; Dr. Alex Ideh(Alternate Secretary); Alh. Mai Bala Buni( National Secretary /Secretary); Sen. Osita Izunaso(National Organising Secretary); and Alh. Lai Mohammed( National Publicity Secretary).

The representatives of presidential aspirants on the committee are Hon. Greg Eguh; Hon. Faruk Adamu Aliyu; Murtala S. Garo; Yusuf Mai-Anguwa; and Hon. Ifeoluwa Arowosoge.

The list of three more members of the committee was being awaited last night.

58

THE NATION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014

FOREIGN NEWS Zambia to hold presidential by-election Jan. 20

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AMBIA’S interim leader announced a presidential byelection on Jan. 20 and called for calm and tolerance amid concerns about a tense contest to succeed President Michael Sata, who died in office last month.

Interim president Guy Scott, who became the continent’s first white leader since the 1994 end of apartheid in South Africa, said he hoped all contestants, both from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and opposition parties, would desist from violence.

“It is my prayer that peace continues during the campaigning and the presidential by-elections,” he told a news conference.

Questions about the stability of Africa’s second-biggest copper producer arose when Scott fired a presidential front-runner, Edgar Lungu, as PF secretary-general on Nov. 3, without explaining why.

He reinstated him a day later after violent street protests.

Scott is barred from running for president because his parents were born in Scotland.

Supporters of Lungu want the PF’s central committee to pick the party’s candidate, while Scott says a party general conference should choose. No date as been set for the internal vote.

Kurds seize Islamic State arms

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URDISH fighters captured six buildings used by Islamic State fighters besieging the Syrian town of Kobani on Tuesday, and seized a large amount of the militant group’s weapons and ammunition, a group monitoring the war said.

Islamic State has been trying to take control of the town, also known as Ayn al-Arab, for more than a month in an assault that has driven tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians over the border into Turkey and drawn strikes by U.S.-led forces.

The hardline Sunni Muslim group, an offshoot of al Qaeda, has captured large areas of Iraq and other parts of Syria and declared an Islamic caliphate.

Kurdish fighters seized six buildings used by Islamic State on the edge of the town and took rocket-propelled grenade launchers, guns and machine gun ammunition, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The clashes killed around 13 Islamic State militants, including two senior fighters, according to the Observatory which tracks the conflict using sources on the ground.

Kurdish forces appear to have made other gains in recent days of fighting. Last week they blocked a road Islamic State was using to resupply their forces, the first major gain against the jihadists after weeks of violence.

“During the last few days we have made big progress in the east and southeast,” said Idris Nassan, an official in Kobani.

Speaking by telephone, he estimated Islamic State controlled less than 20 percent of the town. Last month, officials said Islamic State controlled around 40 percent as it pushed further into the town.

Attackers kill four at Jerusalem synagogue

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WO knife- and ax-wielding Palestinian men broke into a Jerusalem synagogue yesterday morning and killed four Israeli worshipers, Israeli police said.

Police responded and shot and killed the attackers, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told CNN. Authorities said the men, who also had a handgun, were cousins who came from East Jerusalem.

Six others were wounded during the attack in the Har Nof area of West Jerusalem, including two responding police officers, Rosenfeld said.

The four men were, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld: Rabbi Aryeh Kopinsky, 43; Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, 58; Rabbi Calman Levine; and Rabbi Moshe Twersky, 59.

Three of the men killed in the attack were dual Israeli-U.S. citizens, and the fourth was a dual British-Israeli citizen, according

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•Security at Synagogue...yesterday

to Rosenfeld. The FBI will investigate because of three of the victims were U.S. citizens, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

Later on Tuesday, Israeli security forces moved into the slain attackers’ neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber and clashed with residents, arresting nine people, police said. No details were available on the charges.

“We’re continuing to search the neighbourhood to make sure there are not any further terrorists,” Rosenfeld said.

Netanyahu summoned top

aides to a “security consultation” later Tuesday in Jerusalem, his office announced.

“We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were met by reprehensible murderers,” Netanyahu’s office posted on his official Twitter page.

A Hamas spokesman said the attack was a response to the death of a Palestinian bus driver under disputed circumstances. But the group did not claim responsibility for the Jerusalem attack yes-

PHOTO: Reuters

terday.

“The operation in Jerusalem is a response to the killing of Yousuf al-Ramouni and the other ongoing crimes by occupiers in Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri posted on Facebook.

“Hamas in general supports action against the occupation,” Hamad said by phone from Gaza. “Hamas supports any military action against the occupation anywhere it can be carried out.”

Japan PM Abe calls snap elections

APAN’S Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called an early election, two years ahead of schedule.

At a news briefing, he said he would dissolve parliament later this week and was also delaying a planned but unpopular increase in sales tax.

Mr Abe was elected two years ago with an ambitious plan to revive the economy, but has

struggled to do so.

His popularity has fallen but he is expected to win the election, which will take place in mid-December.

“I will dissolve the lower house on 21 [November],” Mr Abe said.

Mr Abe’s party, the Liberal Democrats, already have a majority in the lower house, but analysts said Mr Abe hoped to consolidate power over an opposition party which is in disarray.

He also wants public support to continue to press ahead

with “Abenomics”, his ambitious plan to kick-start Japan’s stagnant economic growth using heavy government spending and economic reforms.

A sales tax increase was implemented in April to curb Japan’s massive public debt But that dented consumer spending which is crucial to the Japanese economy Consumers not spending The rise in Japan’s sales tax was brought in by the previous government in 2012 to curb Japan’s huge public debt, which is the highest among

Romania foreign minister resigns over vote row

NATO leader sees ‘serious military build-up’ in Ukraine

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ATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced on Tuesday what he called a serious Russian military buildup both inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border and urged Moscow to pull back its troops.

Stoltenberg said NATO saw movement of troops, equipment, tanks, artillery and also of advanced air defence systems in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

Russia denies providing arms or troops to support a separatist pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which began after the removal of a Kremlin-oriented Ukrainian president by mass protests in February. A ceasefire was agreed in early September, but fighting flared again recently.

Stoltenberg told reporters as

•Stoltenberg

he arrived for a meeting with European Union defense ministers he had information on a buildup inside Ukraine.

“But we also see a military buildup on the Russian side of the border...This is a serious military buildup and we call on Russia to pull back its troops,” he said.

Russia denied similar accusations last week by NATO’s top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who said NATO had spotted military equipment arriving from Russia in regions of east Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatist rebels.

Italian police arrest 40 in mafia raids

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developed nations.

The first rise - from 5% to 8% - took place in April. Mr Abe’s government had hoped the increase would boost government income but instead Japanese consumers stopped spending.

Figures released on Monday showed that the world’s third biggest economy had fallen back into a technical recession.

The second increase, to 10%, was set for October 2015 but will now be delayed by at least 18 months.

NTI-MAFIA police have arrested at least 40 people in raids targeting groups in northern Italy linked to the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

For the first time, police were able to film secretive initiation rites where operations were decided, reports said.

Three groups were under investigation, based north of Milan, in the provinces of Como and Lecco in Lombardy region.

Most of the arrests were in northern Italy, but some of the men were detained in Sicily.

The ‘Ndrangheta is based in Calabria, in the far south “toe-end” of Italy.

Details of the recording of the mafia meeting were due to be given on Tuesday by Italian police.

But Italian media said three groups were present at the time, from small villages in Como and Lecco.

During the meeting, those presented organised their hierarchy and allotted roles to each other.

OMANIAN Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has stepped down, a week after his predecessor, because of problems faced by expatriate voters.

Thousands of experts were unable to vote in Sunday’s presidential election run-off, a fortnight after similar problems in the first-round vote.

A large majority of foreignbased voters backed anti-corruption candidate Klaus Iohannis, who won the election.

The ethnic German candidate unexpectedly defeated PM Victor Ponta.

Although the number of expat voters more than doubled from the first round to almost 380,000, Mr Ponta’s government’s handling of the crisis was widely seen as contributing to his opponent’s victory.

Days after the first round voting debacle, thousands of Romanians took to the streets in protest. Mr Melescanu’s predecessor Titus Corlatean insisted there was no legal basis to increase the number of polling stations and later resigned.

More polling booths were put up and more staff deployed, but thousands of Romanians had to queue again for hours outside embassies and consulates across Europe.

Police in Paris fired tear gas as tempers flared on Sunday evening. In Munich, would-be voters brandished toothbrushes as a gesture about the length of time they had waited.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014

SPORT EXTRA 2014 GOVERNOR'S CUP

of Europeans place Keshi to caution Kwambe Absence Nigerians in the lead over Ambrose criticism T

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UNSHINE Stars defender, Solomon Kwambe has incurred the wrath of head coach Stephen Keshi over his criticism of Efe Ambrose's performance in the Eagles last game against Congo.

Kwambe who was Ambrose deputy at right back for the Congo game, rated the Celtics man average, after his lackluster display against the Red Devils of Congo in Pointe

Noire.

Keshi according to a source was alerted to the reports published in SL10.ng by one of his assistants and immediately summoned Kwambe for an explanation.

The coach frowns at players criticizing their teammates and believes it can destroy team harmony and dressing room unity.

"No way Kwambe will be free, he will be used as a

scapegoat to prove true the unwritten rule of never criticise your teammate," he told SL10.ng.

"The team is like a family of soldiers going to war if you can't speak for your teammate don't speak against them especially at a crucial time like this.

"As a team we are already under a lot of criticisms,the last thing we need is one of us joining the critics, you

don't shoot from inside the tent."

The 22-year old was sparingly used this season by the team and failed in his bid to take his stock abroad after failing a trial with MLS side Vancouver White Caps.

SL10.ng sought to get Ambrose's reaction to the rating by Kwambe, but the soft spoken AFCON 2013 winner declined to comment on the issue.

HE coast seems clear for Nigerian players to excel after their European opponents didn’t show up for the 2014 Lagos Governor's Cup Tennis championship holding at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club due to the scourge caused by the Ebola Virus on the continent.

Taking the lead on the third day of the tourney, Nigeria's Abdulmumuni Babalola whipped newcomer, Mohammed Mohammed 6-3, 6-2 in the Men's Singles play to advance to the next stage of the tournament at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club.

Sani Adamu did upset number two seed, Dauda Ndiaye from Senegal in straight set of 6-

By Stella Bamawo 3, 6-2 just as John Otu lost to rookie Tsawko Abubakar, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.Paul Christian was all out to beat Etim Ekanem, 6-2, 7-5 while number one seed, Garanganga Takanyi from Zimbabwe beat Bala Musa, 6-4, 64.

Other matches played in the men's singles had Monday Igbinovia defeating Ghana's George Darko 7-6(5), 6-4 r while Moses Michael beat youngster Joseph Imeh, 7-5, 64.

In the Women's Singles, veteran, Omotayo Ibrahim, walloped Ngozi Dirisu, 6-1, 6-4 while Osas Airhunwunde whipped Blessing Anuna 6-1, 6-4.

Scoro vows to knock out defending champion

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• Stranded journalists and fans at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium where the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana team will play tonight PHOTO: BOLA OMILABU

It would be massive to beat Eagles —Furman

• Furman

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AFANA Bafana captain Dean Furman believes it will be a ‘massive’ achievement if South Africa beat Nigeria in Uyo on Wednesday.

South Africa head into the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary match having already qualified for next year’s show-

piece in Equatorial Guinea and will end top of Group A no matter the result.

Kick-off at the Akwa Ibom National Stadium is at 19h00 (CAT).

For the Super Eagles, though,the encounter is a must win and while South Africa are able to take things easy, Furman has expressed that having already qualified doesn’t mean anything and that Bafana Bafana are still hungry to do well and beat their rivals in their own backyard.

“It’s a huge game, having qualified doesn’t change anything for us, and it’s a major significance every time we go play Nigeria. It’s going to be a tough game, they will fight for their lives in an effort to qualify.

"But we want to fight for our nation, for fans, and for our-

Enyeama hits gym for SA

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UPER Eagles’ goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had a special fitness exercise ahead of today’s all important match against Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Uyo Township stadium, Akwa Ibom.

The Lille of France stopper was full of excitement when he stormed the gym room of their hotel at the Le Meridian, Ibom, hotel and golf resort, Uyo to keep fit before the tie.

Enyeama, who was Nigeria’s hero at the last match against Congo following his penalty save, had a ten minute work out before

From Taofeek Babalola, Uyo the team’s regular training session.

He was assisted by a lady staff at the hotel that helped him out with some fitness equipment.

The Eagles’ captain later joined his colleagues for team’s training when he left the gym.

When approached, Enyeama said: “I need to keep myself fit and I want to work out for ten minutes. It is important. I am doing this so as to have enough energy before the match.”

selves, beyond that we want to maintain our unbeaten record in this group and it’s important that we finish in a positive way,” Furman is quoted as saying in a statement released by SAFA. The Doncaster Rovers midfielder added that no one needs any motivation heading into the game as they aim to topple the current AFCON holders.

“No one needs any motivation for this match. We know we are playing African champions,so what more motivation does one need than to defeat the champs and that’s what we will keep in our heads.

"We want to send a good and strong message to the rest of the continent,that we are a strong side going into the tournament and there is no better way than to do it against Nigeria,” Furman continued.

“It would be massive to beat Nigeria in Nigeria.

People keep mentioning that we haven’t defeated them in so long, but records are there to be broken. We would also like to thank the nation for their support, they have been the driving force and we can repay them by beating Nigeria tomorrow night.”

Bafana Bafana head into the encounter having yet to lose a match in their qualifying campaign, notable beating Sudan 3-0 in Omdurman and Congo 2-0 in Pointe-Noire.

The reverse fixture between South Africa and Nigeria in Cape Town ended in a goalless draw.

We must beat South Africa — Oshaniwa

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UPER Eagles defender Juwon Oshaniwa has told SL10.ng that team cannot afford to be complacent when they face South Africa on Wednesday in Uyo. The Super Eagles play group leaders South Africa in their final 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and must win to qualify for next year’s African Cup and Oshaniwa believes they must understand the importance of the game.

The MS Ashdod of Israel left back started the last game against Congo in Point Noire and insists that despite the win in Congo,they must recognize the importance of win against South Africa and not drop any points.

“We must understand that we cannot drop any points, not even a draw. We must win against South Africa and qualify to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians. It is a win or nothing for us and we understand how important it is for us and we must get that win,” he stressed.

“We must beat South Africa and everybody knows that.

Thank God we beat Congo so now we must go ahead and beat South Africa so that our place at the next AFCON will be guaranteed,” he added.

• Oshaniwa

AIDI ‘Scoro’ Usman (6-1, 5 Kos) has vow to become the new National Featherweight Champion when he defeats the National champion Dare Oyewole (3-2, 1 KO) come Sunday 23rd November, 2014.

On that date, people are going to see me at my most dangerous and best. I’m coming with the intentions to lift the national title. I want to put in a grand performance and entertain all the fans.” Usman said.

Waidi is also out on a revenge mission as he lost the vacant featherweight title to the same Oyewole on the 2nd of December 2012.

“Losing that bout to Oyewole by a unanimous decision was one of the most

By Oluwmayokun Orekoya painful moments of my life. I believed I had done everything possible to win that bout but the referees and judges thought otherwise. I am out to prove everyone wrong and take back what is rightfully mine.” He stated further .

The featherweight Title bout is the third time both boxers are meeting with Waidi defeating Oyewole by a technical knockout in their first encounter way back in September 2011.

The national title fight will be held at the Indoor Sports Hall, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos on the 23rd of November, 2014 and is the main attraction for the Gotv Fight Night Boxing.

AIPS Executive C’ttee to hold historic meeting in Addis Ababa

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ENENISA Bekele, holder of the world record and Olympic record in both the 5,000 and 10,000 and compatriot Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian long-distance track and road running legend ‘ll attend the AIPS Executive opening on November 19 in Addis Ababa.

We have to go to the days of little beginnings. When the love to share what we have in common was overwhelming and our unity of purpose was so distinctive.

It was also the era of innocence from which pure thoughts flowed and it was said in all corners that a little sport was good for the heart.

Indeed the passion to celebrate the heroics from the sporting theatre was so strong it was easy for sports journalists to free their minds and give the public a heavy dose of enriching information.

For goodness sake the Olympic spirit was all encompassing and it was inevitable that our founding colleagues latched on to it in Paris to give us this cherished baby. 90 years on from that landmark rendezvous inside a boxing ring we have an association that has gone beyond its limited scope to make an impact not only as fighter for the independence of thought and its expression but also as a support companion for the values that lift humanity.

From November 19 to 24 the Executive Committee of AIPS will hold its first ever meeting in Africa and appropriately so in a city that has not lost its in-

• Obi

nocence.

Kenenisa Bekele, holder of the world record and Olympic record in both the 5,000 and 10,000 and compatriot Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian long-distance track and road running legend will attend the AIPS Executive opening on November 19 in Addis Ababa.

By Mitchell Obi, AIPS Africa President LAUSANNE, November 17, 2014 - We have to go to the days of little beginnings. When the love to share what we have in common was overwhelming and our unity of purpose was so distinctive.

It was also the era of innocence from which pure thoughts flowed and it was said in all corners that a little sport was good for the heart.

Indeed the passion to celebrate the heroics from the sporting theatre was so strong it was easy for sports journalists to free their minds and give the public a heavy dose of enriching information.

TODAY IN THE NATION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.9 NO.3,3037

‘It is fun to see a distinguished professor of surgery or philosophy or economics sing, recite poetry, juggle plates or play the trumpet. Nigerians spend so much time at parties it makes sense for party organisers to include an open microphone segment for guests to show their talents’ TONY MARINHO

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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OUR years ago or so, former President Olusegun Obasanjo lamented in far away America what he said was the thankless job of conducting Nigeria’s elections. “With due respect,” he said on a visit to “God’s own country” in April 2010, “if Jesus could come to the world and be the chairman of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission), any election he conducts would be disputed.”

The problem, however, he said, was not so much INEC itself as the Nigerian politician. So if anyone needed reform at all, he concluded, it was the Nigerian politician rather than INEC. “One thing that we need to reform in our society,” he said, “is the politician. We need to reform politicians.”

I have a feeling that Professor Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman, couldn’t have agreed more with Obasanjo about the frustrations of his job as he is forced to retreat from his announcement in August that his commission will increase the country’s 119,973 polling units created since 1996, by 30,000 - 21,615 of them in the North and the remaining 8,412 in the South.

Obasanjo’s lamentation then was in defence of the terrible record of Professor Maurice Iwu, Jega’s predecessor, in his conduct of the 2007 elections which was more or less universally condemned as hardly free, fair and credible. Obasanjo had replaced the late Mr Abel Goubadia, whose conduct of the 2003 election was adjudged even worse than that of 2007, with Iwu as INEC’s chairman in 2005.

Obasanjo’s remarks were widely condemned by the Christian clergy as blasphemous, but I believed that the condemnations were based on a misunderstanding of his motive, which, as a Christian, could never have been to question Jesus Christ’s powers. However, whatever anyone would’ve said about his motive, there was no doubt that he was dead on target about the need for Nigerian politicians to reform their ways, if ever the country is to experience a universally-adjudged free, fair and credible election.

When Jega announced his plans for the additional 30,000 polling units, he said INEC was motivated by the need to make voting easy for everyone by ensuring no polling unit served more than 500 voters. As Professor Lai Olurode, a National Commissioner, explained to the audience of a media interactive organised in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, by the state’s chapter of the Association of Veteran Journalists last month, many polling units in the country had served as many as 3,000 voters.

It so happened that the vast majority of these overstretched polling units were in the North.

In the 2011 elections for, example, millions of voters in the region, including this reporter, had to walk or drive at least one kilometre to vote. In perhaps what is possibly the most notorious case in the country, most voters in Rigasa, a sprawling suburb in Igabi Local Government, Kaduna State, with a population possibly bigger than that of Yenagoa,

RIPPLES State of the Nation: LET’s PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS, says cleric

Forget our LEADERS. Let’s pray for OURSELVES

People and Politics By MOHAMMED H ARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

As Jega bows to political blackmail... cal was the New Telegraph of September 26 which asked Jega to “Cancel the new polling units now!”

The plan, the newspaper said, “would only create more political crisis in the country.”

Why? Because, it said, “As of today, Nigeria’s exact population figure cannot be ascertained; it has been a matter of conjecture.”

The newspaper said in one breath that the argument of which of the country’s two regions was more populous “can never be won or lost” but in the next breath went on to contradict itself by asking INEC to put its plan on hold till after next year’s election and “after the controversies surrounding the nation’s actual population has (sic) been properly ad•Jega dressed.” How it is possible to do so when the the capital of Bayelsa State, had to walk for more editors at the newspaper had made up their than two kilometres to vote. Rigasa had only 12 minds that the battle for a universally acceptpolling units for all its vast size and population. able census is a futile one, it did not say.

Still the editors have a point about the seemHence INEC’s decision to create more of them in the North by a ratio of slightly two ing futility of battling for a universally acand a half to those in the South. The arith- ceptable census in the country. During Presimetic was simple. You simply divided the dent Obasanjo’s battle to run for his second existing voting population of each state by term against opposition from the North, South500. Equity demanded the increase in the num- ern organisations like Afenifere and Ohaneze, bers allocated to the North be much higher and Alliance for Democracy as essentially a than those for the South. However, big as they Southwest party, told him they would supseemed, the allocation hardly changed the port him only subject to his making the posratio of the adult population between the two session of a national identity card a condition regions which has been roughly 55 per cent to for voting in 2003. Their motive was appar45 since censuses started in the country in early ent; it would for once confirm their belief, in the words of the late Afenifere leader, Senator 20th century.

But then with the Nigerian politician nothing Abraham Adesanya, that the North had alis ever simple. No sooner did Jega announce ways made up its population by counting its INEC’s plan to increase the polling units and sheep, cattle and goats.

The demand was downright unconstitutional the ratio of the increase between the North and the South, than all hell was let loose by politi- and illegal, as was later pointed out to cians who saw the decision not only as a grand Obasanjo by INEC. But he accepted it all the conspiracy to rig next year’s presidential elec- same and went ahead to conduct it, ahead of tion against President Goodluck Jonathan as the the elections. He even voted N25billion for it, candidate from the South, they also saw INEC’s as against N3 billion for Agriculture. Howdecision as a repudiation of their cardinal belief ever, even though he went through with it he that their region has always been more popu- had to drop its use as a condition for voting when it became obvious that only a small numlous than the North.

As is all too often the case in the country, where ber of the ID cards could be issued to those the politicians go, the media soon follow. Typi- registered before the elections.

At the end of the exercise the figures sug-

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HEN a South African team, including military, forensic and autopsy personnel, came to Nigeria to collect the bodies of their compatriots killed in the September 12 building collapse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun, Lagos, there were lessons to be learned by the Nigerian side. But it is a different matter altogether whether the lessons were learned, or would ever be.

A report said: “The South Africans, who arrived in the country in two aircraft, shunned local facilities and items. They came with four forensic pathology trucks, generators, water, buses, pickup vehicles and other items.” The Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State and Consultant Forensic Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, was quoted as saying: “They brought in everything including trolleys, dustbins and water.”

In case anyone missed the point in the country, it should be pointed out that it was a most embarrassing experience for Nigeria, speaking specifically of the implication that the so-called giant of Africa could not be relied upon even in the smallest detail.

“When we talk about Nigeria being the giant of Africa, I think we are just fooling ourselves,” Obafunwa said. He elaborated on this put-down.

gested an even slightly wider margin of the population of the North over the South’s; whereas the 1991 census put the ratio between the regions at 53.23 for the North as against 46.77 for the South, the ID card exercise put the figures at 54.5 and 45.5 respectively.

It is noteworthy that although the 1991 exercise had its sceptics, several notable Southerners, including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the late former Chief Justice, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola who conducted the 1973 census under General Yakubu Gowon, and the late Professor Sam Aluko, the well-regarded and outspoken economist, all hailed the count as credible. It is also noteworthy that the ID card exercise was conducted by a president from the South, under a minister of Internal Affairs, the supervising ministry, Chief Sunday Afolabi, an Afenifere chieftain, and with the late Mr Deji Omotade, also a Southerner, in charge of the Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR), the parastatal which conducted the exercise.

If, in spite of the evidence of the compulsory National ID card registration exercise, some people chose to believe that the North is still a barren half-empty region, it’s hard, if not impossible, to see what else will shift them from their beliefs.

In joining the chorus of those against the new polling units, the Vanguard which has been in the vanguard of a campaign of vitriol against Jega, said in its editorial of October 7 that INEC must stop its plan because it “has been rejected by the generality of Nigerians.” Really? Obviously among Vanguard’s “generality of Nigerians” must be Southeast PDP, a creature strange to the constitution of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Afenifere, Ohaneze, the Middle-Belt Forum, the Unity Party of Nigeria, the Senate leadership and even the security services which Sunday Vanguard (November 9), obviously acting on highly privileged information, claimed had written a letter to Jega warning him of the “potential dangers of his action.”

As the newspaper knows all too well, none of these organisations, including the Senate leadership, truly represent the generality of Nigerians, as they are either self-selected, or had rigged themselves into power, or are more loyal to the powers that be than to the State.

However, even though the combination of all those who have attacked Jega hardly represent the true generality of Nigerians, INEC’s decision on November 11 to postpone the creation of additional 30,000 polling units until after next year’s election, shows their power to blackmail and cow those they disagree with into submission is truly immense.

It is a power that bodes ill for a free, fair and credible election next year – and probably long after.

If Jega wants to go down in history as someone who was not prepared to let blind prejudice get in the way of doing his job diligently, he should stick to his commission’s decision.

•For comments, send SMS to 08059100107

HARDBALL

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Giant of Africa, my foot!

agement promptly arrived in the country to focus on specific areas: “body recovery and repatriation, victims listing and confirmation, post-mortems as well as assessing of injured persons to determine the medical condition and the required levels of care”. In furtherance of this timely intervention, 25 injured South Africans were flown back to their country to continue treatment at the time. So, that first experience must have given the South Africans a sufficient opportunity to physically assess the state of things in the country, particularly in the health sector; and they must have arrived at the realistic conclusion that the country could not be depended upon.

Perhaps a redeeming feature in this story of unjustifiable negligence, if not an inexplicable blindness to the demands of disaster management in the modern world, is the creditable role of the local forensic team headed by Obafunwa. He said: “It is of note that South Africa has not complained about how we handled the forensic investigation. We have been working together.”

Only small-minded observers would interpret the South African approach as showing off.

No, it further highlighted the failure of Nigeria’s crooked leadership.

Speaking about the disaster refrigerated vans flown in by the South Africans, he said: “It is puzzling that Nigeria can conveniently provide 10 to 20 of this, yet none is in existence. I don’t see any reason why each state cannot provide its own disaster refrigerated vans. It is highly useful in the scene of mass disaster.

One doesn’t need to take in a body into a building; but with this disaster refrigerated vans one can carry out forensic analyses.”

Obafunwa further said: Nigeria needs a functional forensic science laboratory. And why is this too difficult for the Federal Government to establish? We don’t have a functional forensic science laboratory in this country.”

Against this background, is it surprising that the South Africans came with everything they needed, and did not leave anything to chance?

It is noteworthy that, shortly after the tragic incident, in an impressive demonstration of overseas crisis readiness, a South African team of experts in forensic science and disaster man-

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Editor Daily:08099365644, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO